uqm-vita

uqm-vita is a port of the Ur-Quan Masters project to the PS Vita system.

Gameplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YE5_cMjox8

The Ur-Quan Masters is a volunteer project that brings the classic game ‘Star Control II’ to modern systems. The code from the Ur-Quan Masters project is derived from code written by Toys for Bob, Inc. for the 3DO version of ‘Star Control II’.

uqm-vita is derived from David Holmes’ UQM cmake build system (https://github.com/dholmes215/uqm).

Pre-requisites

You will need a PS Vita equipped to run homebrew. Follow https://vita.hacks.guide/ if you haven’t yet hacked your Vita.

For uqm-vita to function correctly, you will need either the FdFix or rePatch plugins which fix a problem where file descriptors are invalidated after suspend and resume, causing erratic behaviour when suspending then resuming the game if not installed.

If you have neither installed, FdFix is recommended. Installation instructions can be found here: https://github.com/TheOfficialFloW/FdFix (note that your taiHEN config may be in ur0:tai/config.txt instead)

It is recommended to save your game before suspend if possible.

Installation

Make sure you have read the Pre-requisites.

Note: if you have already obtained the application through the Vita Homebrew Browser or otherwise, you only need to copy and extract your chosen data zip.

1. Visit the Github releases page to download game data and binaries: https://github.com/argarak/uqm-vita/releases
2. Download uqm.vpk and either of uqm-data-minimal.zip or uqm-data-full.zip.
   • uqm-data-minimal.zip contains only the base configuration and content to make the game work. Choose this version if you intend on installing your own selection of addons.
   • uqm-data-full.zip contains the base configuration, content and all addon packs from the Ur-Quan Masters project download page, i.e. the 3DO music, voice audio and all of the official Precursor music remix packs (fairly large ~380MiB).
3. Make sure both files are downloaded correctly (you may want to check the MD5 hashes on the release page) and copy both the vpk file and the zip file to the ux0:/data directory (either using FTP, USB or otherwise).
4. Once both files are copied (uqm-data-full.zip may take a while), extract/copy the uqm folder inside of the zip to the ux0:/data directory, after which you can delete the zip file to clear unnecessary space.
5. Install the vpk file.

If you used the content files from uqm-data-full.zip, you will need to enable the extra content in the Setup menu, then restart uqm-vita.

Installing Addon Packs

If you copied the files in uqm-data-minimal.zip you may want to install addon packs which you can find on the Ur-Quan Masters project download page. Addon packs can be installed by copying the addon file (usually .uqm or .zip) to ux0:/data/uqm/content/addons. Only official UQM addon packs will work.

Building

If you want to build your own version of uqm-vita, you will need to configure vitasdk with all default packages installed. You will also need cmake and all prerequisites to vitasdk. Instructions on installing vitasdk can be found at https://vitasdk.org/.

First clone and navigate to the repository. Then execute the following commands:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release .. # or Debug if you prefer
make

You can specify the amount of concurrent processes for make with -j<processes>, e.g. -j6, to build faster if your hardware allows.

If compilation succeeds, you should find uqm.vpk in the build directory to transfer to your Vita via FTP, USB or otherwise. Note that you will need the game content installed also, follow the instructions at the Installation stage, and omit installing the provided release vpk with installing your own build.

Install PrincessLog if you want remote logging for debugging purposes.

Default Controls

In melee, the default controls are:

Control	Purpose
D-Pad	Movement
Left Analogue Stick	Directional Turning
Right Analogue Stick	Throttle (Digital Control)
R1	Primary Attack
L1	Secondary Attack
Select	Pause Game
Start	Quit

In *Space, the default controls are:

Control	Purpose
D-Pad	Movement/Selection
Left Analogue Stick	Directional Turning
Right Analogue Stick	Throttle (Digital Control)
Circle	Open Menu
X	Confirm
R1	Zoom In (Starmap)
L1	Zoom Out (Starmap)
Square	Search (Starmap)
Triangle	Search Next (Starmap)
Select	Pause Game
Start	Quit

When landed on a planet, the default controls are:

Control	Purpose
D-Pad	Movement
Left Analogue Stick	Directional Turning
Right Analogue Stick	Throttle (Digital Control)
R1	Lander Weapon
L1	Takeoff (Alternate)
Square	Takeoff
Select	Pause Game
Start	Quit

Touchscreen input is not supported. In the Super Melee menu, the Square button is used to remove the selected ship from either team.

Options

In the Setup menu, which can be accessed from the main menu, there are multiple options to configure, some of which work better than others at the moment. Refer to the following table for various gotchas or unexpected behaviour with certain options:

Category	Option	Notes
Graphics	Resolution	No effect. Original game is always 320x240 upscaled to match the Vita resolution.
	Aspect Ratio	No effect. Will always letterbox to fit the original aspect ratio.
	Display	No effect.
	Gamma	No effect.
	Scaler	“None” by default (recommended). Bilinear also works fine, other scalers are extremely slow.
3DO/PC	Melee Zoom	“Stepped” by default. Smooth scrolling results in lag in melee, avoid if you can.*
Sound	Positional	Not supported.
Advanced	Show FPS	This shows FPS in the remote console (not on screen). For this use a FPS counter plugin.
	Sound Driver	OpenAL not supported.
	Sound Quality	High quality sound causes lag. Medium quality is recommended.

*this may be due to some quirk with the gxm renderer, if you have an idea why smooth scaling could be slow, please let me know here: Issue #3

There is also a hidden option in the ux0:/data/uqm/uqm.cfg file called directionaljoystick where you can disable the directional turning joystick input.

Gameplay

If you’re new to the game, I highly suggest reading the Non-Spoiler Hints at the Ultronomicon wiki. There are other useful articles there if you are already familiar with the game, keep in mind most pages are spoiler heavy!

If you want an arcade experience of the battle system, try the Super Melee mode!