There has been nothing going on at the Cossacks: Back to War house lately, but then MR. CODERMAN came along and stirred things up. The modder has come out with a new version of the GSC Game World classic, version 1.52 to be exact, which has improved the stability and compatibility of the game over previous versions.
MR. CODERMAN spent many months on the project, whose simple motivation was to switch to a MacBook and continue enjoying his beloved classic while keeping the game running smoothly on modern systems. So he weeded out outdated DirectDraw and DirectSound dependencies, fixed memory fix leaks, and even added new cheat codes to the single-player section.
The project can be tracked on the GitHub page below: https://github.com/MisterCoderman/cossacks-2025
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OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:
What’s New in Version 1.52?
Full Compatibility with Windows, macOS, and Linux The game now runs smoothly on all modern platforms without crashes, delivering stable performance. Removed 1920×1080 Resolution Limit You can now enjoy the game in high resolutions with no screen size restrictions.
Improved Graphics and Interface Updated textures and UI make the game easier on the eyes, adding vibrancy and enhancing the visual experience.
Fixed Water and Nation Color Bugs Visual issues related to water and nation colors have been corrected — everything now looks just like in the original game.
AI has been improved (AI Pack). Bots are now much more challenging.
The issue with music playback in the game has been resolved.
Mod Reloaded Launch Instructions
To launch mod reloaded, use the batch file Cossacks.Reloaded.bat located next to dmcr.exe. When using Wine on Linux or macOS, launch with the command: dmcr.exe /reloaded.
Multithreading Support
Previously, the game only used one CPU core, which caused severe slowdowns when many units were present. Now, with multithreading support, the game utilizes multiple cores, significantly improving performance. Tested in multiplayer with 40,000 units on the map — no lags or crashes occurred. In theory, even more units can be used, but this has not been tested.
Memory Leaks Fixed
Issues that caused lag and crashes during long play sessions (over 1 hour) have been completely resolved. Fully Functional Multiplayer Hundreds of maps have been added for multiplayer and random map modes.
Removed All Dependency on DirectDraw and DirectSound
One of the major improvements in version 1.52 is the complete replacement of DirectDraw and DirectSound. The game now runs entirely on SDL2 and SDL2 Mixer, offering better compatibility and stability on modern systems. No more “Direct Draw init error” issues! The menu opens in windowed mode and the game switches to fullscreen upon launch. This design choice improves user experience. The menu resolution is 1024×768, which can look terrible in fullscreen on large monitors — hence the windowed menu.
New Features for Single Player (Cheats)
king: God mode, millions of resources, maximum of 15,000 units, artillery construction limits removed. Building and unit prices don’t increase, and the artillery depot has almost no construction limits.
house: Bots build a lot of houses. To stop them, enter the cheat again.
nocost: Disables the cost increase for units and buildings.
peace: Enables a peace mode at any point during the game. Re-entering it will disable it.
Localization and Mods
Russian language: The game will automatically switch to Russian if your system language is set to Russian. Mods mod1, reloaded, and ultimate pack: Fully translated into Russian.
Language Support
For translating the Reloaded modification: You can create a translation file named reloaded_.gsc (for example, reloaded_ru.gsc for Russian). For custom translations of the classic game: You can create a translation file named all_.gsc (for example, all_ru.gsc for Russian).
Mod Installation
Mod installation: You can add your own mods by simply uploading the override.gsc file to the game folder.
Testing
Testing on ARM versions of Windows and macOS: The game has been tested on ARM versions of Windows and macOS running on Apple Silicon processors. In both cases, the game runs smoothly and without crashes.
For Developers
Code usage recommendations: It is recommended to use the code of version 1.52 as the basis for future game versions, as it is the most stable and improved version compared to 1.42. Manual project build: To manually build the project, use Visual Studio 2019 and Windows 11. All necessary files for building are in the Source archive.
How to Run the Game on Linux or macOS?
To run the game on Linux, use Wine or Proton . To run it on macOS, use Whisky or CrossOver. Simply copy the game folder into the created bottle and launch the dmcr.exe file, or dmcr.exe /reloaded if you want to start the game with the Reloaded mod.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the esteemed ereb-thanatos for the massive work on version 1.42. GitHub repository ereb-thanatos