C++ reconstruction of Aureal's A3D API 3.3.677.0 (a3dapi.dll) and its
A3D 1.x compatibility library (a3d.dll). It includes the COM interfaces,
geometry engine, resource manager and software audio renderer.
The reconstruction follows the reference binaries, including their defects. Implementation gaps and test failures remain; see current status.
Build
Requires Windows, CMake 3.21 or newer, and MSVC with x86 C++ build tools. Run from the repository root:
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 18 2026" -A Win32 cmake --build build --config Release
The DLLs are written to build/Release/. Use --config Debug for a Debug
build. Both use the static CRT and x87 floating-point instructions to match
the original compiler's behavior.
See build configurations for reference comparisons
and decoder builds, and getting started for a
game-oriented emulation build. Configuration reference
covers build and runtime settings. The default A3D_FIXES=ON build ships
a3dapi.conf beside the DLL. Edit its booleans and restart the game;
no rebuild is needed. Audio additions default to enabled, credits additions to
disabled. Use A3D_FIXES=OFF for reference comparisons.
Documentation
Start at the complete documentation for user guides, game integration, implementation details, and the public API reference.
Find your way around
| Path | Contents |
|---|---|
src/a3dapi/ |
A3D API implementation |
src/a3d/ |
A3D 1.x compatibility library |
inc/ |
Original SDK headers |
tests/, tools/, samples/ |
Tests, developer tools and sample applications |
ref/ |
Reference binaries |
artifacts/ |
Ignored captures, logs and dumps |
- A3D overview: concepts and application flow.
- Architecture: implementation and object ownership.
- Audio backends: device selection and rendering limits.
- Modern systems: Windows audio and environment support.
- Sound card hardware: not tested on real Aureal cards; what that means for you.
- Programming: a complete client example.
- API overview: scene objects, activation, and links to declarations.
- Developer tools: capture, diagnostics and binary analysis.
- Reference binaries: versions, hashes and build differences.
Provenance
Reconstructed from the binaries in IDA. Source citations use virtual addresses
at imagebase 0x10000000, qualified by module and build. Aureal's copyright
notices are retained. For study only.