Omega Race 2009

This is my second remake of this classic vector graphics shoot’em’up from 1981.

In this game you control an “Omegan Space Fighter”, and attempt to destroy waves of enemy droid ships.
Battle takes place on a rectangular “track”. Player’s ship bounces off invisible walls of track.

I also remade this game in 2006. Back then it was my 3rd game but I wanted to remake it again,
only this time I wanted it to be easier, prettier and better. I hope I succeeded. Let me know.

Download for Windows XP and above. (3.9MB)
Download for Mac OSX (Intel). (4.5MB)

Latest update: July 26th, 2014. The Windows version is now updated to version 1.4.
The OSX version hasn’t been updated and is still at version 1.3.
Read about the changes at the bottom of the page.

MAC OSX note:
Please be aware, that the games I’ve ported to OSX doesn’t run on newer OS’s. I bought my MacBook Pro in 2011 and have never updated it, so I can assure you that the games still work. BUT Apple has removed “Legacy support” from their operating systems, and since the language I’ve used hasn’t been updated to support newer OSX versions, the games won’t run on on newer and updated machines.

Screenshot of the menu screen.

Screenshot from one of the higher levels (click to enlarge).

Version 1.4 has added a monochrome mode. Background can be disabled if you don’t like it.

Also new in version 1.4 – a “pureline” non-glow mode.

CONTROLS
Start the game with the ENTER key.

Use the LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to rotate your spaceship..
Use ALT to thrust and CTRL fire at anything that moves (and if if doesn’t move, shoot it anyway).

Joypad is also supported. Turn it on or off in the settings menu.

SCREEN RESOLUTIONS
The game runs in 1024×768 (4:3 format) and your monitor will automatically scale it up if your monitor uses a higher resolution. However, if your monitor is a widescreen monitor (usually 16:9 or 16:10) it will still scale the game to fit your screen but the graphics will be stretched. I’ve provided a few widescreen resolutions in the settings menu to fix that. If you use them the graphics will not be scaled up but rather centered on the screen instead. I may put in better widescreen support in an update.

If you’re using a netbook that uses a resolution of 1024×600, like an Acer Aspire One or a Asus Eee PC, you can start the game with -mini on the commandline and the game will start in 1024×600 and the playingfield will scroll as you move. I works perfectly. 🙂

SOUND
Appearently, when it comes to sound, what is perfect on Windows XP isn’t perfect on Windows Vista.
So if you’re on a Vista computer you can enable a fix to make the sound better. It should work. Try it out. You’ll find the option in the ‘options’ menu.

INSTRUCTIONS
A Challenging Chase In Space! Omega Race is a classic vector arcade game. This game takes place on a single screen with a large square in the middle that displays your score, lives and other information (This information square also serves as huge obstacle). You control a spaceship that moves much like the ship in “Asteroids”. You zip around the perimeter of the score area zapping several different enemy types while avoiding mines. Gameplay is very fast paced, it usually takes under a minute to complete each level.

TRIVIA
Omega Race was Midway’s only vector game created. It was designed as a direct response to Atari’s “Asteroids”, released two years earlier. Omega Race differed significantly from Asteroids in a few respects. First, there was no ”wrap-around” (where you exit on one edge and return to the opposite edge). The walls would stop the player’s fighter if it impacted them. Second, all the information such as high score and ships left were in a box in the middle of the playing field. Last, you could be expected to encounter multiple attackers in each wave. Although Omega Race wasn’t a big seller, it still created a following. Unfortunately, this game came out when games such as “Pac-Man” were at their peak.

FEATURES
* Backdrop ON/OFF (for the purists)
* Widescreen friendly (to a degree)
* Redefinable keys
* Joystick/Gamepad/mouse control options
* Run in fullscreen or window.
* Monochrome mode (new in v.1.4)
* Non-glowing “pure” line mode (new in v.1.4)
* Toggle music on/off (new in v.1.4)
* Adjust amount of glow on vectors (new in v.1.4)

COMPARISON BETWEEN REMAKE AND ORIGINAL

This is my second remake of this game and it was designed to look and play better than my original remake.
Everything is vector graphics – except for the background picture (which can be turned off if you’re a purist.
I didn’t convert any of my code from the original remake – everything’s written from scratch.

COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS
It’s not a big game. Download it and try it out. If it works – great, if not – sorry.

LEGAL BLURB
This game is FREEWARE and must remain freeware. The game can generally be distributed however you want, as long as all the files are included and unchanged. It shouldn’t be sold on any kind of compilation and you’re a smelly cunt if you do. I would like to ask, that if you’re going to include this game on a CD for a magazine or somewhere else, that you contact me first – I would like to know what kind places my little project goes…also it shouldn’t be asking too much, but then I’d also like a copy of the magazine or CD.

COPYRIGHT
The original arcade game was designed and programmed by : Ron Halliburton (Founder of Arcade Engineering), in 1981.

The remake is programmed by S. Borgquist, in 2009. The sound resources used in the game are taken from the original game using emulation, and the picture used as a backdrop were found “somewhere” on the net.
The music was done by Robert Fearon aka. Oddbob. I’ve reused the music he did for Rip Off and Space Fury because it’s awesome.

This, and other games, as well as any updates for them will be available for download at; http://tardis.dk/

Upload your highscore from the game and see how you compare to other players:

Title: Highscores
Description: Highscores


 

Version History

v1.0 – May 21st. 2009
First release

v1.1 – May 22nd. 2009
Lots of changes – mostly to make the game a lot easier to play.
Things changed include;
* The speed the enemies move.
* The frequency of shooting.
* The delay between dropping mines.

v1.2 – May 27th. 2009
Phew, a LOT of changes in this update.
What I remember are;
* Added a lot of sounds; when enemy fires, when enemy transforms, when shots hits or go through walls.
* Added a “check for update” options.
* Added mouse control.
* Added an option for better sound on Windows Vista.
* Added the possibility to enter name using joystick, to make the game more cabinet friendly.
* Game will now keep increasing speed and spawing the red enemy if you stay too long on a level.
* Many more changes to the difficulty.
* Tweaked inertia a bit. Now the ship takes longer to slow down, but loses a bit of speed when hitting the borders.

v1.3 – April 8th. 2011
Minor changes + newly ported to Mac OSX.
* Mouse control works. Unfortunately I’d made a mistake in v1.2 so it was only available if a joypad/stick was  available too.
* “Check for update” option now checks when the score is synced and will give a message on the menu if a newer version is available.

v1.4 – July 26th. 2014 (Windows version only).
Minor visual changes implemented.
* Monochrome mode added.
* Non-glowing “pure” line mode added.
* Option to toggle music on/off.
* Option for adjusting amount of glow on vectors.

v1.5 – December 1st. 2014 (Windows version only).
Changes related to online scoring.