Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Beta 1

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Beta 1

The native Windows port enters beta with all twelve campaign levels, keyboard
and mouse controls, and optional PC features. This release adds Vulkan image
effects, a revised Classic HUD crosshair, combat improvements and rendering
optimizations. Multiplayer is still unavailable, and original-game parity
continues to be refined.

Play

You need your own European Serious Sam Advance ROM. It is not included.

1. Extract ss-advance-v0.8.0-beta.1-windows-x64.zip into a writable folder.
2. Put your ROM at orig/SSA.gba.
3. Run play-native.cmd. No compiler, Vulkan SDK or emulator is needed.

Keep save.dat, settings.dat and scores.dat when updating. Saved settings,
unlocks and scores are retained. The supported ROM's SHA-1 is
4ff48d8c18b70a5184758f1917343ae85a70858e.

New since Alpha 4

• Vulkan graphics options: optional antialiasing, sharp anisotropic texture
  filtering, world-texel ambient occlusion and camera motion blur. Motion blur
  affects the scene while weapons, crosshair and HUD stay sharp. All four
  effects default Off and are disabled outside Vulkan.
• VSync: a saved Graphics option for all three renderers when Windows
  compositor synchronization is available. Defaults On for fresh settings and
  older saves that predate the option. An existing saved VSync choice is retained.
• Rendering optimizations: GPU-retained effect data reduces transfers;
  stationary frames skip unnecessary motion-blur work, and combined effects
  reuse working buffers. A stationary-camera 1080p diagnostic measured about
  8% lower render time with motion blur on an RTX 4060 Laptop GPU. This is an
  isolated renderer result, not a gameplay FPS guarantee.
• Classic HUD: a custom centered crosshair uses green/yellow/red target-health
  feedback with shaded palette details. The notification now reads "Analyzing".
• Combat: doubled chainsaw damage; Time Strike plays its impact sound when
  falling objects hit the floor. Normal enemies no longer melee Prion-converted
  enemies; converted enemies can still melee others, and melee hits still cause
  flinching. UMT is now last in weapon order, after Cannon: Time Strike uses 8,
  Cannon 9 and UMT 0.
• Menus and settings: "Alternate weapons" is now Enhanced weapons.
  Graphics groups display options, filtering/effects and scene details. Volume
  controls have more space, and non-audio settings no longer reapply audio.
• Website: updated release information and weapon/NETRICSA references.

Still included

• All twelve Egypt and Rome campaign levels, original weapons, enemies and music.
• Keyboard/mouse controls, adjustable FOV and sensitivity, optional jumping,
  third-person view and enhanced Colts/double-shotgun behavior.
• Original and Classic HUDs, in-game NETRICSA and an optional zoomable automap.
• Vulkan, Software and GBA rendering; optional water reflections, decals,
  godrays, sprite shadows and weapon bobbing.
• Original, optional SoundFont and Windows MIDI music.
• Saved level unlocks, high scores, original passwords, finite lives and retries.

Vulkan remains the default where available, with automatic Software fallback.
VSync, mipmapping, vertical aim, third-person and in-game NETRICSA default On.
Jump, Automap, Enhanced weapons, weapon bobbing and optional visual effects
remain Off by default. Existing saved choices take precedence.

Controls

Control	Action
WASD	Move
Mouse / left-click	Look / fire
E	Use
1?0 / mouse wheel	Select weapon
Q	Previous weapon
R	Reload Colts with Enhanced weapons enabled
Space	Jump, when enabled
H	Toggle third-person, when enabled
Tab / N	Toggle NETRICSA
M	Toggle automap, when enabled
+ / ? / mouse wheel in automap	Zoom
Esc / P	Pause / resume
F11	Toggle fullscreen / windowed

Known limitations and validation

This is a beta, not a finished parity release. Multiplayer is not playable.
Saves retain progress, settings and scores, not a mid-level position. Vulkan
still uses CPU composition and readback; full-resolution reflections and optional
effects can be demanding. Motion blur follows camera movement, not independent
object velocity. VSync uses the shared Windows presentation path; switching it
Off removes the application's wait, not Windows desktop composition.

Focused native, Vulkan, Windows input/settings/audio and sanitizer checks pass.
Release checks include the packaged executable/launcher and website. All twelve
campaign levels remain available for manual validation; no new full campaign
playthrough is claimed. SoundFont banks and ROMs are not bundled.

Website
? Report a bug
? Source

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 4

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 4

Alpha 4 adds optional lighting and shadows, richer water and surface details,
original-asset mipmapping, mouse sensitivity controls, and faster rendering.
All twelve campaign levels remain available.

Play

You need your own European Serious Sam Advance ROM. It is not included.

1. Extract ss-advance-v0.8.0-alpha.4-windows-x64.zip into a writable folder.
2. Put your ROM at orig/SSA.gba.
3. Run play-native.cmd. No compiler, Vulkan SDK or emulator is needed.

Keep save.dat, settings.dat and scores.dat when updating. Existing settings,
unlocks and scores are retained. The supported ROM's SHA-1 is
4ff48d8c18b70a5184758f1917343ae85a70858e.

New since Alpha 3

• Water and surface details: animated tiled shoreline waves, ripples and
  white glints, plus connecting floor/ceiling edge details. Reflections fade
  toward the water's own color; GBA reflections no longer use color dithering.
  Backgrounds and godrays appear in reflections again.
• Godrays: optional short light shafts beneath sky openings, using the same
  textured, world-texel dithered gradient in GBA, Software and Vulkan.
• Sprite shadows: optional size-scaled billboard shadows for players, enemies
  and items, drawn behind their subjects. Death sprites and explosion effects
  are no longer cut off by floor geometry; wall and doorway occlusion remains.
• Mipmapping: the original lower-resolution texture and sprite assets are
  used at distance, including reflections. Enabled for fresh settings and
  always On in GBA mode; existing native preferences migrate without changing
  their previous appearance.
• Controls and menus: one mouse sensitivity slider controls both axes,
  from 10% to 300%, default 100%, above Field of View. Graphics now holds
  Mipmapping, Surface decals, Water reflections, Godrays and Sprite shadows.
  The Classic HUD notification now reads “Analysing”.
• Combat and input: healthy enemies choose between the player and converted
  enemies by distance. The extra half-melee/double-other damage modifiers
  between enemies have been removed. Fire clicks during reloads or button
  interactions are discarded instead of firing later.
• Rendering performance: cached surface sampling and Vulkan texture uploads,
  shared sprite clipping preparation and streamlined reflections. Three paired
  1080p runs on an RTX 4060 Laptop GPU measured 28–32% less render time in
  reflective water scenes and about 20% less with godrays, with identical output.
  These are isolated rendering measurements, not gameplay FPS guarantees.

Vulkan remains the default on supported systems, with automatic Software
fallback. Existing renderer choices are preserved. Surface decals, Water
reflections, Godrays and Sprite shadows are independent Graphics options, Off by
default. Jump, Automap, Alternate weapons and Weapon bobbing also default Off;
third-person, in-game NETRICSA and vertical aim default On. Saved choices win.

Controls

Control	Action
WASD	Move
Mouse / left-click	Look / fire
E	Use
1–0 / mouse wheel	Select weapon
Q	Previous weapon
R	Reload Colts with Alternate weapons enabled
Space	Jump, when enabled in Extras
H	Toggle third-person, when enabled
Tab / N	Toggle NETRICSA
M	Toggle automap, when enabled
+ / − / mouse wheel in automap	Zoom
Esc / P	Pause / resume
F11	Toggle fullscreen / windowed

Original, optional SoundFont and Windows MIDI music are selectable when available.
SoundFont banks are not included; see soundfonts/README.md for setup.

Known limitations and validation

This is still an alpha. Multiplayer is not playable and original-game parity
is still being refined. Saves retain unlocks, settings and scores, not a
mid-level position. Vulkan still uses CPU composition and frame readback;
full-resolution reflections remain demanding.

The Windows build, eleven focused regression suites, Vulkan validation,
sanitizer checks and settings/audio tests pass. Before/after rendering hashes
match in eight Vulkan and eight Software scenes; 39 menu captures are unchanged.
Release checks also cover the packaged launch and website. All twelve campaign
levels remain available for manual playtesting; no new full playthrough is claimed.

Website
· Report a bug
· Source

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 3

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 3

Alpha 3 adds Vulkan hardware rendering, configurable field of view, and
gameplay, audio and rendering fixes. All twelve campaign levels remain available.

Play

You need your own European Serious Sam Advance ROM. It is not included.

1. Extract ss-advance-v0.8.0-alpha.3-windows-x64.zip into a writable folder.
2. Put your ROM at orig/SSA.gba.
3. Run play-native.cmd. No compiler, Vulkan SDK or emulator is needed.

Keep save.dat, settings.dat and scores.dat when updating. Existing settings
and unlocks are retained. The supported ROM's SHA-1 is
4ff48d8c18b70a5184758f1917343ae85a70858e.

New since Alpha 2

• Vulkan renderer: hardware rendering for the world, sprites and reflections.
  Vulkan is the default for fresh settings and Clear Data. If unavailable or a
  render fails, the game falls back to Software and hides Vulkan from the choices.
  Existing saved renderer choices are preserved; select Vulkan in Graphics to
  try it on an upgraded installation.
• Rendering optimizations: cached GPU readback, parallel surface processing,
  combined depth/effects passes, and fewer redundant buffer clears. The latest
  refactor reduced median isolated render time by 21–30% in four 1080p scenes
  on an RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, with identical captured outputs. This is a local
  render benchmark, not a guarantee of gameplay FPS on other machines.
• Visual fixes: stable sprite priority in Vulkan, full-resolution half-alpha
  water reflections, and a background that retains its original scale at any FOV.
• Graphics and controls: a dedicated Graphics menu contains Display Mode,
  Renderer and Aspect Ratio. Settings includes Language and a 60–120° FOV slider
  (default 70°). Vertical aim is toggleable in Extras and defaults On; turning it
  off uses GBA-style aiming and autoaim. GBA mode keeps its fixed FOV and aspect.
• Pickups: collect ammo before owning its weapon, and pick up duplicate
  weapons even with full ammo, in both weapon modes.
• Prion combat: affected enemies can exchange melee attacks with other
  enemies, prefer nearby ranged opportunities and chase less. Conversion doubles
  remaining health once. Enemy-versus-enemy melee damage is halved and other
  damage doubled when a converted enemy is involved; player damage is unchanged.
• Boss projectiles: bosses no longer collide with or damage themselves with
  their own projectiles, including split projectiles and explosions.
• Audio and menus: enemy sounds carry farther, including kamikaze screams.
  Fresh settings use 80% music and 100% sounds. Settings, Graphics and Extras
  have updated organization and grid spacing.

Vulkan requires a compatible graphics driver. Software and GBA remain available.
Original and Classic HUDs work with all three renderers. Jump, Alternate weapons,
Automap, Weapon bobbing, Surface decals and Water reflections default Off;
third-person, in-game NETRICSA and vertical aim default On. Existing choices win.

Controls

Control	Action
WASD	Move
Mouse / left-click	Look / fire
E	Use
1–0 / mouse wheel	Select weapon
Q	Previous weapon
R	Reload Colts with Alternate weapons enabled
Space	Jump, when enabled in Extras
H	Toggle third-person, when enabled
Tab / N	Toggle NETRICSA
M	Toggle automap, when enabled
+ / − / mouse wheel in automap	Zoom
Esc / P	Pause / resume
F11	Toggle fullscreen / windowed

Original, optional SoundFont and Windows MIDI music are selectable when available.
SoundFont banks are not included; see soundfonts/README.md for setup.

Known limitations and validation

This is still an alpha. Multiplayer is not playable and original-game parity
is still being refined. Saves retain unlocks, settings and scores, not a
mid-level position. Vulkan still uses CPU composition and frame readback;
full-resolution reflections remain demanding.

Validation covers focused rendering, HUD, settings, saves and audio checks;
Vulkan validation and sprite ordering; Prion and boss combat regressions;
website checks and packaged launch tests. All campaign levels are available
for manual playtesting; no new campaign playthrough is claimed.

Website
· Report a bug
· Source

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 2

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 2

The second alpha adds a usable Classic HUD, an optional automap, saved high
scores, and more visual extras, alongside gameplay, audio and reliability fixes.
All twelve campaign levels remain available.

Play

You need your own European Serious Sam Advance ROM. It is not included.

1. Extract ss-advance-v0.8.0-alpha.2-windows-x64.zip into a writable folder.
2. Put your ROM at orig/SSA.gba.
3. Run play-native.cmd. No compiler or emulator is needed.

Keep save.dat, settings.dat and scores.dat when updating. Existing settings
are retained. The supported ROM's SHA-1 is
4ff48d8c18b70a5184758f1917343ae85a70858e.

New since Alpha 1

• Classic HUD: choose Original or Classic in Extras. Classic includes health,
  armor, ammo meters, a weapon selector, high score, timer, boss icon/bar and
  unread NETRICSA notifications. Both renderers support it.
• Automap: enable it in Extras, then press M. Zoom with +/− or the mouse wheel.
• Scores and lives: qualifying runs offer keyboard name entry and saved high
  scores. Death consumes a life and retries the level automatically; the last
  life leads to Game Over before returning to the menu.
• Visual extras: optional weapon bobbing, subtle floor/ceiling stain tiles,
  animated water glints/ripples and water reflections. These default to Off.
  The blue floors in the Forum of Mars and Caesar's Palace are treated as dry.
• Display controls: F11 toggles borderless fullscreen/windowed mode. Software
  rendering offers Native or 3:2 aspect ratio; GBA mode stays at 3:2.
• NETRICSA: enemy dossiers unlock on kills; starting equipment is already
  known. Opening the guide selects the newest unread entry. In-game NETRICSA
  preserves the music track and playback position.
• Gameplay fixes: ammo can be collected before its weapon, duplicate weapons
  supply ammo, and R manually reloads Colts with Alternate weapons enabled.
  Improved weapon/HUD feedback, transitions, pickup sound handling and menus.
• Reliability and performance: safer save-error handling, synchronized audio
  status, shared decal data and renderer optimizations. Extras now shows every
  option on one page, one grid tile per row.

Jump, Alternate weapons, Automap, Weapon bobbing, Surface decals and Water
reflections default to Off. Third-person and in-game NETRICSA default to On;
the HUD defaults to Original. Existing saved choices take precedence.

Controls

Control	Action
WASD	Move
Mouse / left-click	Look / fire
E	Use
1–0 / mouse wheel	Select weapon
Q	Previous weapon
R	Reload Colts with Alternate weapons enabled
Space	Jump, when enabled in Extras
H	Toggle third-person, when enabled
Tab / N	Toggle NETRICSA
M	Toggle automap, when enabled
+ / − / mouse wheel in automap	Zoom
Esc / P	Pause / resume
F11	Toggle fullscreen / windowed

Original, optional SoundFont and Windows MIDI music remain selectable when
available. Music and effects have separate volume controls. SoundFont banks are
not included; see soundfonts/README.md for setup.

Known limitations and validation

This is still an alpha. Multiplayer is not playable, and original-game parity
is still being refined. Saves retain unlocks, settings and scores, not a
mid-level position. All campaign levels are available for manual playtesting;
this release does not claim a new automated campaign completion run.

The release build is checked with focused native rendering, HUD, settings,
save/audio and frontend tests, plus website checks and packaged launch tests.

Website
· Report a bug
· Source

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 1

Serious Sam Advance v0.8.0 Alpha 1

This is the first alpha of the fan-made Windows port. All twelve campaign levels
are available, with keyboard and mouse controls. It’s still rough in places,
so please report any bugs you run into.

Play

You’ll need your own ROM of the European version of Serious Sam Advance.
A ROM is a file containing the original GBA game. Other regional versions
won’t work. The download doesn’t include a ROM.

1. Download ss-advance-v0.8.0-alpha.1-windows-x64.zip and extract it to a folder such as Games.
2. Rename your European ROM to SSA.gba and place it in the orig folder.
3. Double-click play-native.cmd. You won’t need build tools or an emulator.

Keep save.dat and settings.dat when updating so you don’t lose your unlocks or settings.
Extra music files are optional. If you need to check your ROM, its SHA-1 fingerprint
should be 4ff48d8c18b70a5184758f1917343ae85a70858e.

What’s in it

• All twelve levels across Egypt and Rome, with saved unlocks and original passwords.
• The original enemies, weapons, pickups, traps and encounters.
• Mouse look, optional jumping and a third-person view.
• A picture that fits your window, or the original GBA-resolution view.
• NETRICSA briefings and in-game guide, chapter screens, ending and pause menus.
• End-of-level time and ammo bonuses, with your score carried into the next level.
• Original music and sound, optional SoundFont and MIDI music, and separate volumes.
• Optional dual Colts with reloads and a different double-shotgun spread.

SoundFont is an optional instrument file that changes some of the music's sound.
See soundfonts/README.md in the download for setup. Music choices appear in
Settings only when they are available on your computer.

Controls

WASD moves; mouse looks; left-click fires; E interacts; Space jumps; H switches
view. Number keys 1–0 / mouse wheel select weapons; Q recalls the previous weapon.
Tab/N opens NETRICSA; Esc/P pauses; R restarts the level. In Extras, you can turn
jumping, third-person view and in-game NETRICSA on or off. Alternate weapons starts off.

Still to do

• High-score lists, name entry and multiplayer are still unfinished.
• We are still improving the sound, menus and other differences from the original.
• All twelve levels are available for testing. Earlier checks finished eleven in
  a row and the final level separately; the whole campaign still needs more playtesting.
• Saves remember unlocks and settings. They do not save your place halfway through a level.

The game leaves your ROM unchanged. You can also explore the maps in your browser
without a ROM, using the project website below.

Project website
· Source and build instructions