xeSM3

Spider-Man 3 PC Mod Loader and Native Renderer Restoration Project Created by TSGAMING264

Download Latest xeSM3 Release

xeSM3 is a Spider-Man 3 PC mod loader and native renderer restoration project created by TSGAMING264.

v0.1.0 adds strict loose-resource mod loading, WRAP resource support, and restored Xbox-derived post-processing features using Spider-Man 3 PC's dormant/native rendering systems. It targets Spider-Man 3 PC / Windows x86.

Features

• Loose-resource mod loading
• PACK/APKF-aware replacement paths
• Multiple mod folders
• Simple 0 / 100 enable system
• Spider-Man and non-Spider-Man character model support
• Large and high-resolution texture replacement
• Arbitrary-size ANIM replacement
• Skeleton replacement
• ASKL replacement
• Standalone WRAP input support
• Deterministic mod conflict handling
• Strict 0 / 100 enablement
• Adaptive Xbox-style bloom
• RESZ / INTZ sampleable-depth recovery
• Depth-aware F18 final combine
• ImageZoom / camera-motion ZBlur
• Native GodRay restoration with duplicate suppression
• D3D9 Alt-Tab/device-reset recovery

Supported loose resource types:

• MESH
• MAT
• TEX
• ANIM
• SKEL
• ASKL

Installation

Download the latest packaged release from GitHub Releases, then copy these items beside Game.exe:

• dbghelp.dll
• xeSM3.dll
• xeSM3.ini
• Mods\

Your game directory should look like this:

Spider-Man 3\
├── Game.exe
├── dbghelp.dll
├── xeSM3.dll
├── xeSM3.ini
└── Mods\

See docs/INSTALL.md for detailed installation and troubleshooting.

Enabling Mods

Open Mods\mods.config.ini and list each installed mod under [EnabledMods].

[EnabledMods]
My Mod=100

The only supported values are:

0   = Disabled
100 = Enabled

The name on the left must exactly match the mod directory name inside Mods.

PostFX Configuration

The Retail Xbox and Debug Xbox PostFX routes are alternative renderer profiles. Enable only one Xbox profile at a time. Keep PostProcessFix=100 when using either Xbox profile.

Debug Xbox (qualified and recommended):

[PostProcessing]
PostProcessFix=100
PostProcessRetailXbox=0
PostProcessDebugXbox=100

Retail Xbox:

[PostProcessing]
PostProcessFix=100
PostProcessRetailXbox=100
PostProcessDebugXbox=0

0 means disabled and 100 means enabled. Other public numeric values are not supported. Do not enable both Xbox profiles at the same time.

• PostProcessDebugXbox: the currently qualified and recommended Xbox-derived restoration route.
• PostProcessRetailXbox: the retained retail Xbox comparison/restoration route.
• PostProcessFix: master/native PostFX fix enablement; keep this set to 100 when using either Xbox profile.

The PostFX implementation restores and reuses native Spider-Man 3 PC renderer infrastructure. It is compiled directly into xeSM3.dll; it is not an external ReShade-style filter and does not require d3d9.dll for normal operation.

Making Mods

Loose resources use the original archive scope in their directory path:

Mods\<Mod Name>\<PACK>\<APKF>\<resource>

Character example:

Mods\My Character Mod\
└── CH_SPIDERMAN\
    └── _O0069.0xCFB154CD.T36.apkf\
        ├── 0xAC92103D.ch_spiderman000.mesh
        └── 0xAC92103E.ch_spiderman001.mesh

Texture example:

Mods\My Loading Screen\
└── SPIDERMANLOGO\
    └── _O0001.0x348E72F4.T36.apkf\
        └── 0xDEF62318.i_loading_screen_bkg.tex

No example mod is installed or enabled automatically. Reference resources remain under src/xeSM3/Examples/ and must be copied into a deliberately created mod folder before they can load.

See docs/MAKING_MODS.md for path rules, hashes, catalogs, and example workflows.

WRAP Resources

xeSM3 v0.1.0 introduces support for standalone Treyarch/WoS-style WRAP resources. WRAP files are unpacked and normalized in memory before being passed into xeSM3's existing native loose-resource routes.

Supported names include:

0xHASH.name.wrap.mesh
0xHASH.name.wrap.tex

WRAP is an input container for the existing MESH, MAT, TEX, ANIM, SKEL, and ASKL routes. xeSM3 validates and unwraps it in memory, normalizes internal pointers, preserves external/global resource tokens, removes .wrap before native resource-name hashing, and passes the normalized resource into the existing strict loader path. Malformed WRAP input fails closed and leaves the stock resource in control. Source PCPACK/APKF archives are never rewritten.

For NativeMESH exports, v0.1.0 also supports the Web of Shadows-style external-MAT contract. A mesh material field may remain 0 while the WRAP external patch supplies the real MAT filename hash and target field. xeSM3 first scans already-loaded stock mesh sections for that live MAT hash and reuses the exact live MAT pointer, then falls back to the game's global resource resolver when no stock match is found. The serialized-material fallback remains available for raw MESH files and older WRAP MESH mods. This stock-match path was verified in game with a Blender v0.5.1 zero-field WRAP mesh using MAT hash 0xE52A3DF4.

Compatibility

xeSM3 has been tested with:

• The original Spider-Man 3 PC game
• 4GB Patch
• DxWnd
• DXVK / Vulkan
• Original/base RaimiHook

xeSM3 uses dbghelp.dll for its bootstrap. Original/base RaimiHook normally uses d3d9.dll, and DXVK also uses d3d9.dll. RaimiHook's d3d9.dll and DXVK's d3d9.dll therefore cannot simply occupy the same filename at the same time.

These items have been tested as listed, but that does not claim that every possible combination of third-party tools is supported.

Blender & Model Tools

The Blender add-ons now have their own dedicated repository: SM3 Blender Tools.

That repository contains the SM3 Blender Toolkit and SM3 Material Combiner Toolkit, with their source, installation guidance, and Blender-specific documentation kept together. Blender tool source is no longer bundled in the xeSM3 loader repository.

Documentation

• Installation and troubleshooting
• Making loose-resource mods
• SM3 Blender Tools repository
• Changelog

Notes

• xeSM3 v0.1.0 targets the Windows x86 release of Spider-Man 3 PC.
• xeSM3 v0.1.0 includes the tested V10.5.72 native PostFX integration and Alt-Tab/D3D9 Reset recovery.
• Only Mods\mods.config.ini is authoritative; a root-level mods.config.ini is ignored.
• Duplicate mod entries use last-assignment-wins behavior.
• Public Release builds intentionally compile startup diagnostic popups out.
• Official examples are opt-in and should only be enabled when the user chooses to test them.
• The repository contains source and documentation; tested binary packages belong on GitHub Releases.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for the supplied public release history.

Blender Tools & Community Help

The core xeSM3 loader and v0.1.0 renderer work are release-tested. Blender-side development now lives in the separate SM3 Blender Tools repository.

Community contributions are especially welcome for improving:

• MESH importing and exporting
• Skeleton workflows
• Materials
• Texture workflows
• Blender compatibility
• Exporter reliability
• Usability

This is an invitation to improve the Blender tooling, not a warning that the xeSM3 loader itself is unusable.

I have a lot of faith in the Spider-Man modding community, and I hope people can continue improving the Blender side and build on the foundation xeSM3 provides.

The v0.1.0 PostFX restoration is included directly in xeSM3.dll and uses the tested narrow D3D9 Reset and DrawPrimitive hook pair.

xeSM3 v0.1.0 is the beginning, not the end. ❤️

❤️ Special Thanks

Kirbystealer — Huge shoutout to the legend behind exWoS. exWoS was a massive inspiration for xeSM3 and demonstrated what was possible with loose-resource mod loading. Without Kirbystealer's work, xeSM3 would not exist.

AkyrosXD — Huge shoutout for recreating the Spider-Man 3 Debug Menu. That debug menu became one of the most important tools throughout the research and reverse-engineering process that ultimately led to xeSM3.

Josuke777 — Huge shoutout for making a serious attempt at recreating an exWoS-style system for Spider-Man 3 and for sharing notes, discoveries, methods, and information about model importing. That work provided valuable information during xeSM3's development.

Devryx — Huge shoutout for creating the Web of Shadows Blender Kit. That project provided an important reference and foundation while the Spider-Man 3 Blender tools were being developed.

Haruse — Huge shoutout for the Web of Shadows Blender tooling, including the texture conversion workflow and material/model research that provided useful reference material while adapting similar ideas for Spider-Man 3.

Tmprogamer — Huge thanks for beta testing xeSM3 and putting the loader through real-world testing.

ArchiverOfTriviality — Huge thanks for beta testing xeSM3 and helping throughout development and release QA, including verifying stability, compatibility, and mod-loading behavior, as well as helping identify the D3D9 device-reset / Alt-Tab issue and pushing important compatibility tests such as the 4GB Patch, non-Spider-Man model testing, and DXVK / Vulkan compatibility.

Bread — Huge thanks for SM3 IDA coding.

xeSM3 was built on years of experimentation, reverse engineering, testing, and knowledge shared throughout the Spider-Man modding community.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible.

Source Code and Releases

The frozen Visual Studio source is organized under src/xeSM3/. Blender tool sources are organized separately under tools/.

Compiled DLLs and packaged release ZIPs are intentionally not committed to the normal source tree. Official tested packages are distributed through GitHub Releases.

This is an unofficial fan-made modding project. No original Spider-Man 3 PCPACK archives or Game.exe are included.