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Starshot: Space Circus Fever

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Revision as of 05:35, 14 June 2021 by Dandelion Sprout (talk | contribs) (→‎nGlide: Upgrading links to HTTPS with AutoWikiBrowser, replaced: http://www.zeus-software.com/ → https://www.zeus-software.com/ (2))
Starshot: Space Circus Fever
Starshot: Space Circus Fever cover
Developers
Infogrames
Publishers
Infogrames
Steam Pixel Games UK
Engines
i3D
Release dates
Windows December 4, 1998
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Starshot: Space Circus Fever guide on StrategyWiki
Starshot: Space Circus Fever on MobyGames
Starshot: Space Circus Fever on Wikipedia

Key points

Compared to the Nintendo 64 version the PC version has full voice acting, pre-rendered cutscenes and higher quality textures, but has no widescreen support. The music is completely different between the two versions.
The PC soundtrack has been made available for download by the original author.[1]
Can be played on modern systems using nGlide with full 3D hardware acceleration.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
DRM details are not known
Windows
Steam
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Windows

Demo

A demo is available here. It includes the first level Tensuns.

Essential improvements

nGlide

Software rendering (left), Glide rendering (right).
Software rendering (left), Glide rendering (right).
nGlide is a 3Dfx Glide wrapper which translates all Glide calls to Direct3D and enables older games to be played on modern systems. It can also be used to force higher resolutions.
Instructions[2]
  1. Download and install the latest version of nGlide.
  2. In the Start menu run the nGlide Configurator program and edit the video settings to your liking.
  3. Right click SpaceCircus.exe, select Properties and in the Compatibility tab select Disable desktop composition.

Notes

Sometimes the pre-rendered cutscenes will only play the audio with a black screen. In software mode the videos play correctly.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Infogrames\Space Circus\[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1437040/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Infogrames\Space Circus\[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1437040/pfx/[Note 2]
This game is designed to be played directly from the CD and doesn't require installation. Settings and saved games in the registry are encrypted.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

Options menu.
Options menu.
Video settings.
Video settings.

Template:Video settings

Input settings

Control settings.
Control settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Sound settings.
Sound settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Dutch
Italian
Spanish

Issues fixed

Problem running the game in software mode

When running the game in software mode in fullscreen the game freezes after the intro cutscene or after loading a save.
Run the game in windowed mode[3]
  1. Enable windowed mode in the video settings or see the available parameters.
  2. Windows needs to be set to run in High Color (16 bit) mode or the game will fail to launch.

Other information

Debug mode enabled.
Debug mode enabled.
Warp++ menu.
Warp++ menu.

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 5
Glide 2.46, 2.53, 3
Software renderer
Run the game with soft parameter.
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Command line parameters

See command line arguments on how to use the following options.
More information about each parameter can be found in the ReadMe.wri file included on the game CD.
Parameter Description
mode<width>x<height>{w,f} Set screen width and height, fullscreen or window mode (example: mode640x480w).
wintimer Use Windows timer.
libtimer Use internal timer.
glide Enable Glide rendering mode (default).
soft Enable software rendering mode (the CPU will handle all the calculations).

Debug mode (Warp++)

It is possible to activate the debug mode, which also activates an additional menu called Warp++.
Warp++ menu has options to cheat, load levels and view some cutscenes not used in the PC version.
A controller is required, because direct camera control buttons are only available on a controller (usually D-pad/POV switch).[4]
Instructions[5]
  1. Press Esc to open the Pause menu.
  2. Highlight Continue and press D-pad Up, D-pad Down.
  3. Highlight Start another game and press D-pad Up, D-pad Down.
  4. Highlight Options and press D-pad Right, Camera Move (default Space ␣).
The Pause menu should now have an additional option, Warp++, and show the build version and date.

Improved camera control

vJoy and UCR configuration example.
vJoy and UCR configuration example.
The only way to freely control the camera while also moving is using a controller, but the camera controls are mapped to the D-pad and the movement is mapped to the left thumbstick which is not ideal. Camera controls are also inverted. There is no option to change these settings in the game.
Using vJoy and UCR it is possible to create a virtual controller that controls the game, while a real controller is used to control the virtual one. This makes it possible to control the camera with the right thumbstick which significantly improves the gameplay experience.
vJoy instructions[3]
  1. Download and install vJoy.
  2. Launch the vJoy configuration program.
  3. Add a new device and make sure at least one continuous POV Hat Switch is enabled.
  4. Press Apply and Enable vJoy.
  5. Exit the program.
UCR instructions[3]
  1. Download UCR, extract the archive and launch the program.
  2. Press Add to create a new profile.
  3. To map the D-pad to the right thumbstick:
    1. In Plugin Selection select Remapper (Axis To Buttons) and press Add.
    2. In the newly created Axis To Buttons menu select the proper stick and axis as Input Axis, and in Output Buttons select the proper vJoy Stick and vJoy Hat button.
    3. Move the right thumbstick to test if it activates the D-pad buttons. Adding a deadzone (around 25) is recommended.
    4. Repeat the process for the other pair of D-pad buttons.
  4. For the other thumbstick use Remapper (Axis To Axis) and for buttons use Remapper (Button To Button) and remap the controls similar to the way it was described above.
  5. Save the settings.
  6. UCR must be running when playing the game.

Cheats

Some cheats are available in debug mode in the Warp++ menu.
Holding F12 freezes enemy AI and camera and disables some traps.[6]

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95, 98
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 200 MHz Intel Pentium 133 MHz
System memory (RAM) 32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) No installation required
Video card (GPU) DirectX 5 compatible 3Dfx Glide compatible
Information taken from the game manual. Minimum shows the requirements when playing in software mode without a dedicated GPU, so the CPU requirements are higher.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Applications writing to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE will be redirected to other locations based on various criterias, see the glossary page for more details.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:

References