1. Info
The Tactical-Retreat project produces a freely available, multi-platform QuakeC-based Counter-Strike v1.5 port.
This is made possible with the Nuclide project by Vera Visions L.L.C. and the FTE QuakeWorld engine.
2. Downloads
3. Screenshots
This image was created for use on this site using components taken from the Counter-Strike v1.5 mod for Half-Life owned by Valve Corporation. The copyright for the components are held by Valve Corporation while the copyright for these particular compositions are held by us.
4. Installation
Quick and dirty: curl -s https://www.frag-net.com/install_tacticalretreat.sh | bash
Extract the release archive. If you don't already have the game data use REWise to extract the content of csv15full.exe and merge the cstrike directory with the one from the archive.
You can then proceed to run the game with the TacticalRetreat script.
5. Building
Be familar with the git program, and you can clone Nuclide, and then
within that directory clone the cstrike and valve repositories.
Then issue: make game GAME=cstrike
to build the various pieces of game logic (in the form of QuakeC .dat files).
6. Credits
- Spike for FTEQW and for being the most helpful person all around!
- Xylemon for the hundreds of test maps, verifying entity and game-logic behaviour
- Theuaredead`, preston22, dqus for various patches
- To my supporters on Patreon, who are always eager to follow what I do.
- Any and all people trying it, tinkering with it etc. :)
7. License
ISC License
Copyright (c) 2016-2026 Marco "eukara" Cawthorne
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF MIND, USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER
IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
8. FAQ
Because the original games aren't open, and I wanted to change that. There are tons of weapon mods for Counter-Strike on websites such as ModDB and GameBanana that could be turned into new weapons for purchase. You can basically build the CS server of your dreams. Make every LAN-Party personalized.
- Tactical-Retreat wants to be faithful to classic CS
- It needs to be compatible with the existing custom content
- Needs to be freely available to everyone
Being built from the ground up with hindsight and other modifications in mind, it's a lot simpler to get started creating custom objects. You can design whole weapons, items, NPCs (as well as their schedules) without writing a single line of code. This is due to Nuclide's data oriented design and the use of id Tech 4 style decl files.
Because it's built on Nuclide, it also has a different netcode, with weapon prediction standard across the board. There's also bots included with every game, as well as voting features and a metamod inspired plugin system, with a few ports of popular plugins.
Even gamerules can be swapped out on a whim, as they're simply external modules separated from the server to begin with.
Anything that the engine binary (provided by FTE QuakeWorld) runs on is supported. All components in Tactical-Retreat are platform/architecture independent. Being a QuakeC project has that benefit. This generally means that unless you are making engine modifications for your project, you will not need to port your project.
We've successfully tested it ourselves on Linux, OpenBSD, and Windows.
It is mainly orchestrated by Marco Cawthorne which you can support on their Patreon. He also runs the frag-net game network that powers the on-line backbone of the project. Helping out with the costs that way is greatly appreciated. That said, expressing yourself in the Matrix chat can also nudge the project. If you're the type of person that knows exactly what we need and can lend a hand, be sure to reach out!
No. The project includes enough of its own replacement data to be able to run the game solely from the freely available mod data. When running some custom maps however, that heavily depend on custom Half-Life content, you may not be able play them properly. This will improve over time.
Tactical-Retreat logo by Vera Visions L.L.C.;
This site Copyright © 2025, 2026 Tactical-Retreat Project; FTE QuakeWorld is Copyright © 2002-2026 David Walton; Half-Life, and any associated characters belong to Valve Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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