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{{Other uses|UltraStar Cinemas}} {{Other uses|UltraStar Cinemas}}
{{multiple issues| {{multiple issues|
⚫ {{unreliable sources|date=September 2016}}
{{Primary sources|date=July 2007}} {{Primary sources|date=July 2007}}
⚫ {{unreliable sources|date=September 2016}}
}} }}


{{Infobox video game {{Infobox video game
|title = UltraStar | title = UltraStar
| image = ] | image = ]
| developer = Loud Arts | developer = Loud Arts
| publisher = STERGAMES | publisher = Loud Arts
| designer = Patryk "Corvus5" Cebula | designer = Patryk "Corvus5" Cebula
| released = May 2012 | released = June 2023
| genre = ] | genre = ]
| modes = ] ] | modes = ] ]
| platforms = ], ], ] (]-based only) | platforms = ], ], ] (]-based only)
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = UltraStar
| website = {{URL|http://ultrastaronline.com/}}
}} }}


'''''UltraStar''''' is a clone of '']'', a ]. ''UltraStar'' lets one or several players score points by singing along to a song or music video and match the ] of the original song as well. UltraStar displays lyrics as well as the correct notes similar to a ]. On top of the correct notes UltraStar displays the pitch recorded from the players. UltraStar allows several people to play simultaneously by connecting several microphones possibly to several ]s. To add a song to ''UltraStar'', a file with notes and lyrics is required, together with an audio file. Optionally a cover image, a backdrop image and a video may be added to each song. ''UltraStar'' comes preloaded with a short sample from ] hit "Discipline" from ] album. '''''UltraStar''''' is a clone of '']'', a ] by Polish developer Patryk "Covus5" Cebula. ''UltraStar'' lets one or several players score points by singing along to a song or music video and match the ] of the original song. ''UltraStar'' displays lyrics as well as the correct notes similar to a ]. On top of the correct notes ''UltraStar'' displays the pitch recorded from the players. ''UltraStar'' allows several people to play simultaneously by connecting several microphones possibly to several ]s. To add a song to ''UltraStar'', a file with notes and lyrics is required, together with an audio file. Optionally a cover image, a backdrop image and a video may be added to each song. ''UltraStar'' comes preloaded with a short sample from ] hit "Discipline" from ] album.


== License == == License ==


The UltraStar is released under ] License. Very old versions were available under ] and most game forks were initially based on the old code.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}} ''UltraStar'' is released under ] License. Very old versions were available under ] and most game forks were initially based on the old code.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}}


== Shop == == Shop ==


New version of the game introduces Song Shop, where users after free registration can download free songs and buy points. Free songs includes: New version of the game introduces Song Shop, where users after free registration can download free songs and buy points. Free songs include:


{| class="wikitable" {| class="wikitable"
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! 1 ! 1
| ] | ]
| "Discipline" | "]"
| English | English
| {{yes}} | {{yes}}
Line 77: Line 81:


! 6 ! 6
| Hungry Lucy | ]
| "Just Imagine" | ]
| English | English
| {{yes}} | {{yes}}
Line 85: Line 89:


! 7 ! 7
| Hungry Lucy | ]
| "Balloon Girl" | ]
| English | English
| {{yes}} | {{yes}}
Line 93: Line 97:


! 8 ! 8
| Devyn Rose, formerly known as Tanya T6 | ], formerly known as Tanya T6
| "Fly Away" | "Fly Away"
| English | English
Line 120: Line 124:
== Ports == == Ports ==


The original ''UltraStar'' is programmed in ]/] and made for ] operating-system. There are also ] available in ] for other operating-systems such as ], ] and other ] platforms. The original ''UltraStar'' is programmed in ]/] and made for ] operating-system. There are also ] available in ] for other operating-systems such as ], ] and other ] platforms.


==UltraStar Deluxe== ==UltraStar Deluxe==
Line 127: Line 131:
|title = UltraStar Deluxe |title = UltraStar Deluxe
| image = ] | image = ]
| developer = b1indy, b_krueger, brunzelchen, canni0, eddie-0815, hawkear, jaybinks, k-m_schindler, mogguh, mota23, s_alexander, tobigun, whiteshark0, basisbit, RattleSN4K3, rhaamo, brianch<ref name = "deluxe-members"> cited 11 April 2010</ref> | developer = b1indy, b_krueger, brunzelchen, canni0, eddie-0815, hawkear, jaybinks, k-m_schindler, mogguh, mota23, s_alexander, tobigun, whiteshark0, basisbit, RattleSN4K3, rhaamo, brianch<ref name = "deluxe-members">{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/project/memberlist.php?group_id=191560 |title=sourceforge.net: 11.04.2010 18:45 Memberlist |access-date=11 April 2010}}</ref>
| released = October 2010 - August 2017 | released = October 2010 - October 2024
| genre = ] | genre = ]
| modes = ] ] | modes = ] ]
| platforms = ] (Stable), ] (Stable), ] (Stable) | platforms = ] (Stable), ] (Stable), ] (Stable)
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = UltraStar Deluxe
| website = {{URL|https://usdx.eu|usdx.eu}}
}} }}


'''''UltraStar Deluxe''''' was started as a modification of ''UltraStar''. Whiteshark initially offered to collaborate with Corvus5, but this offer was declined. Instead Whiteshark started to add some features on his own with the help of Mota. The first release is known as X-Mas mod, due to a release date around Christmas time. This attracted the attention of other developers that were willing to help. The team grew and the source code departed more and more from the original. Smaller features are often implemented in both projects allowing them to benefit from one another. Though the projects' implementations of such features often differ. ''UltraStar Deluxe'' is different in three key ways from UltraStar. Significant effort has been put into improving ] by repairing ]s. The second difference is the visual appearance. Sparkling stars and various other effects have been added in addition to skin support. Many effects are also based on the Singstar on PS3, ] and ]. Many new features have been implemented: '''''UltraStar Deluxe''''' was started as a modification of ''UltraStar''. Whiteshark initially offered to collaborate with Corvus5, but this offer was declined. Instead Whiteshark started to add some features on his own with the help of Mota. The first release is known as X-Mas mod, due to a release date around Christmas time. This attracted the attention of other developers that were willing to help. The team grew and the source code departed more and more from the original. Smaller features are often implemented in both projects allowing them to benefit from one another. Though the projects' implementations of such features often differ. ''UltraStar Deluxe'' is different in three key ways from UltraStar. Significant effort has been put into improving ] by repairing ]s. The second difference is the visual appearance. Sparkling stars and various other effects have been added in addition to skin support. Many effects are also based on ''SingStar'' on PS3, ] and ]. Many new features have been implemented:


*More audio and video formats are supported, such as ], ], ], ] and ]. *More audio and video formats are supported, such as ], ], ], ] and ].
*Singing screen with golden notes, line bonus and popups *Singing screen with golden notes, line bonus and popups
*Lua scriptable Party mode with various game types. This includes support for lua plugins that allow further extension of such game types. *Lua scriptable Party mode with various game types. This includes support for lua plugins that allow further extension of such game types.
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*More detailed statistics screen *More detailed statistics screen
*6 player support on one or split over two screens *6 player support on one or split over two screens
*jukebox mode to listen music *Jukebox mode to listen music
*"battle of the bands" party tournament mode *"Battle of the Bands" party tournament mode
*webcam support *Webcam support
*the game now runs on Windows XP up to Windows 10, OS X up to El Capitain and many Linux distributions *The game now runs on Windows XP up to Windows 10, OS X up to El Capitan and many Linux distributions
*duet singing of songs *Duet singing of songs
*new keyboard shortcuts *New keyboard shortcuts
*improved song editor *Improved song editor
*improved overall speed and lowered memory requirements - you can now easily play the game with 5000 songs loaded on a system with 1 GB of ram *Improved overall speed and lowered memory requirements - you can now easily play the game with 5000 songs loaded on a system with 1 GB of RAM
*smart search feature for song selection and playlist creation *Smart search feature for song selection and playlist creation
*switched from SDL1.2 to SDL2, updated many other dependent libraries *Switched from SDL1.2 to SDL2, updated many other dependent libraries
*better Unicode support for multilingual characters in lyrics *Better Unicode support for multilingual characters in lyrics


UltraStar Deluxe is written in ], and compiles with ], ] and ]. UltraStar Deluxe is written in ], and compiles with ], ] and ].


As of version 1.0.1 UltraStar Deluxe runs on Linux via ].<ref name="deluxe-wine"> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175225/http://www.ultrastardeluxe.org/ |date=October 6, 2016 }} cited 20 December 2007</ref> As of version 1.0.1 UltraStar Deluxe runs on Linux via ].<ref name="deluxe-wine">{{cite web| url=https://usdx.eu/ |title=usdx.eu: 23.11.2007 15:40 UltraStar Deluxe 1.0.1 Release! |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175225/http://www.ultrastardeluxe.org/ |archive-date=October 6, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=20 December 2007}}</ref>


As of version 1.1 UltraStar Deluxe runs on Linux and Mac OS X natively. As of version 1.1 UltraStar Deluxe runs on Linux and Mac OS X natively.
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As of version 1.3 UltraStar Deluxe uses SDL2, ffmpeg 2.8, compiles with freepascal 3 and runs natively on all current versions of Windows, Linux and OS X. This version merged the various forks of the game and was intended to revive free/libre open source development of the game. As of version 1.3 UltraStar Deluxe uses SDL2, ffmpeg 2.8, compiles with freepascal 3 and runs natively on all current versions of Windows, Linux and OS X. This version merged the various forks of the game and was intended to revive free/libre open source development of the game.


The version "2017.08.0" released at 2017-08-08 is the latest stability update and adds support for ffmpeg up to 3.3. It is the first version which is marked as a stable release after the version 1.1 release from 2010 and after the revival of the project.<ref>https://github.com/UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX/releases/tag/v2017.8.0</ref> The version "2017.08.0" released at 2017-08-08 adds support for ffmpeg up to 3.3. It is the first version which is marked as a stable release after the version 1.1 release from 2010 and after the revival of the project.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://github.com/UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX/releases/tag/v2017.8.0 |title=Release UltraStar Deluxe v2017.8.0-stable · UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX |website=GitHub |date=7 August 2017}}</ref>

The latest stable version is the "2020.4.0".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX/releases/tag/v2020.4.0|title=Release UltraStar Deluxe 2020.4.0-stable · UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX |website=GitHub}}</ref>


==Performous== ==Performous==
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| title = Performous | title = Performous
| image = ] | image = ]
| developer = Vincent Le Ligeour, Lasse Kärkkäinen, Markus Raab, Tapio Vierros, knittl, Stefan Kristiansson and others<ref name = "performous-contributors"> cited 29 November 2009</ref> | developer = Vincent Le Ligeour, Lasse Kärkkäinen, Markus Raab, Tapio Vierros, knittl, Stefan Kristiansson and others<ref name = "performous-contributors"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091207090843/http://www.ohloh.net/p/performous/contributors |date=2009-12-07 }} cited 29 November 2009</ref>
| released = January 2007 - October 2010 <ref name = "performous-release"> cited 29 November 2009</ref> - November 2014<ref name="performous-blog">{{cite web|url=http://performous.org/blog|title=Performous - News|work=performous.org}}</ref> | released = January 2007 - October 2010<ref name = "performous-release"> cited 29 November 2009</ref> - November 2014<ref name="performous-blog">{{cite web|url=http://performous.org/blog|title=Performous - News|work=performous.org}}</ref> - January 2016<ref name="performous-blog"/> - March 2022<ref name="performous-blog"/>
| genre = ] | genre = ]
| modes = Singing, guitar, bass, drums | modes = Singing, guitar, bass, drums
| platforms = ], ], ], ], ] (], ]) <ref name = "usng-ps3"> cited 24 March 2008{{dead link|date=September 2016}}</ref> | platforms = ], ], ], ], ] (], ])<ref name="usng-ps3">{{cite web |url=http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?t=2713&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30&sid=d066647fdb9f4ea5713e00b3bafe9dca |title=YellowDogLinux Forum: 22.03.2008 UltraStar-NG screenshots on PS3 |access-date=24 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611150935/http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?t=2713&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30&sid=d066647fdb9f4ea5713e00b3bafe9dca |archive-date=11 June 2008 }}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Performous
| website = {{URL|https://performous.org|performous.org}}
}} }}


'''''Performous''''' is an open-source rhythm/performance platform that contains singing, guitar/bass playing, drumming and dancing all in one game. The project began as rewrite of the UltraStar singing game in October 2006, using C++ and targeting Linux. Adding more elements to the game was planned for several years and in 2009 first band game features were added and published on ] game development competition. A few months later work on the dance game feature began and even though it is not yet complete, the feature is already available on the development version of the game. '''''Performous''''' is an open-source rhythm/performance platform that contains singing, guitar/bass playing, drumming and dancing all in one game. The project began as rewrite of the UltraStar singing game in October 2006 (first commit on 15-10-2006 11:52 AM UTC <ref>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/p/ultrastar-ng/code/1/|title=First commit UltraStar-NG |website=sourceforge}}</ref>), using C++ and targeting Linux. Adding more elements to the game was planned for several years and in 2009 first band game features were added and published on ] game development competition. A few months later work on the dance game feature began and even though it is not yet complete, the feature is already available on the development version of the game.


The project was originally known as UltraStar-NG, but the name was changed in version 0.3 in anticipation of adding other instruments and to avoid confusion as the game is not a ] of UltraStar. Also, since version 0.3 the graphics rendering is based on ] for high performance even on slower machines, with full effects, as long as any OpenGL support is available. Various background video formats are supported using ]. The project was originally known as UltraStar-NG, but the name was changed in version 0.3 in anticipation of adding other instruments and to avoid confusion as the game is not a ] of UltraStar. Also, since version 0.3 the graphics rendering is based on ] for high performance even on slower machines, with full effects, as long as any OpenGL support is available. Various background video formats are supported using ].
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=== Singing game === === Singing game ===


This part of the game is essentially karaoke, but with scoring and realtime feedback. The gameplay is similar to ]: the game analyzes the pitch of each singer and scores the performance based on how precisely the song was performed. As a reference, the lyrics, the notes and the singer's pitch are displayed on screen as the song plays. This part of the game is essentially karaoke, but with scoring and realtime feedback. The gameplay is similar to '']'': the game analyzes each singer's pitch and gives scores based on how precisely the song was performed. As a reference, the lyrics, the notes and the singer's pitch are displayed on screen as the song plays.


''Performous'' does not attempt to clone SingStar but rather has unique features such as scrolling notes and precise singing pitch display as a wave drawn on screen. These allow the player to sing without interruptions and to easily correct his or her singing pitch to hit the notes precisely. ''Performous'' does not attempt to clone ''SingStar'' but rather has unique features such as scrolling notes and precise singing pitch display as a wave drawn on screen. These allow players to sing without interruptions and to correct their singing pitch to hit the notes precisely.


''Performous'' does pitch detection with ] (FFT) combined with a sophisticated post-processing algorithm. This system is able to operate well in extremely noisy environments, even when using very cheap microphones. ''Performous'' does pitch detection with ] (FFT) combined with a sophisticated post-processing algorithm. This system is able to operate well in extremely noisy environments, even when using very cheap microphones.


On Linux the game autodetects any connected ''SingStar'' microphones and uses them automatically. On other platforms and with other types of microphones (e.g. webcams or analog microphones connected to sound cards) a best-effort detection is done. On Linux the game autodetects any connected ''SingStar'' microphones and uses them automatically. On other platforms and with other types of microphones (e.g. webcams or analog microphones connected to sound cards) a best-effort detection is done.


Songs need to be supplied in UltraStar or ] format. ''Performous'' comes with a tool named ''''ss_extract'''', for converting SingStar DVDs into UltraStar format. Songs need to be supplied in ''UltraStar'' or '']'' format. ''Performous'' comes with a tool named ''''ss_extract'''', for converting ''SingStar'' DVDs into ''UltraStar'' format.


=== Band game === === Band game ===
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For guitar and bass the game tries to figure out the intention of the player rather than just comparing the nearest available chord, making it easier to play fast passages. ]s and ]s (HOPOs) also consider player's intention. If the player intends to pick a note in a regular fashion but happens to HOPO it by accident a moment before, the pick will undo the HOPO and no mistake happens. These little gameplay tweaks in favor of the player make the game much more enjoyable as playing correctly will no longer produce mistakes when the timing is slightly off or when the player chooses not to use the HOPO feature. Timing accuracy is still considered in the scoring so that hitting all notes does not always give the maximum score. For guitar and bass the game tries to figure out the intention of the player rather than just comparing the nearest available chord, making it easier to play fast passages. ]s and ]s (HOPOs) also consider player's intention. If the player intends to pick a note in a regular fashion but happens to HOPO it by accident a moment before, the pick will undo the HOPO and no mistake happens. These little gameplay tweaks in favor of the player make the game much more enjoyable as playing correctly will no longer produce mistakes when the timing is slightly off or when the player chooses not to use the HOPO feature. Timing accuracy is still considered in the scoring so that hitting all notes does not always give the maximum score.


''Performous'' detects any connected Guitar Hero or Rock Band controllers automatically. Additionally, a PC keyboard can be used as a guitar controller. Songs need to be in Frets on Fire format. ''Performous'' detects any connected ''Guitar Hero'' or ''Rock Band'' controllers automatically. Additionally, a PC keyboard can be used as a guitar controller. Songs need to be in Frets on Fire format.


=== Dance game === === Dance game ===
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''''Performous Band'''', a stripped-down version of the game, containing only the band game (guitar, bass and drums) took part in the game development competition. The game was displayed with a pre-recorded presentation video, but there were significant audio-video synchronization issues with the video even though the game itself had no such issues. Due to copyright issues and the lack of freely usable songs at the time, part of the demonstration was done with the music completely muted. The game finished on the 12th place with 642 points.<ref name="performous-asm09">{{cite web|url=http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53628|title=Performous by Tronic & Yoda :: pouët.net|work=pouet.net}}</ref> ''''Performous Band'''', a stripped-down version of the game, containing only the band game (guitar, bass and drums) took part in the game development competition. The game was displayed with a pre-recorded presentation video, but there were significant audio-video synchronization issues with the video even though the game itself had no such issues. Due to copyright issues and the lack of freely usable songs at the time, part of the demonstration was done with the music completely muted. The game finished on the 12th place with 642 points.<ref name="performous-asm09">{{cite web|url=http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53628|title=Performous by Tronic & Yoda :: pouët.net|work=pouet.net}}</ref>


=== 1.0 Release === === Releases ===
On 2014-11-01, ''Performous'' released its 1.0 version containing a new engine based on SDL2, the ability to create playlists, and a lot of bug fixes.<ref name="performous-blog"/> On 2014-11-01, ''Performous'' released its 1.0 version containing a new engine based on SDL2, the ability to create playlists, and a lot of bug fixes.<ref name="performous-blog"/>

On 2016-01-23, ''Performous'' released its 1.1 version containing mostly bug fixes.<ref name="performous-blog"/>

On 2022-03-27, ''Performous'' released its 1.2 version.<ref name="performous-blog"/>

On 2023-09-01, ''Performous'' released its 1.3 version.<ref name="performous-blog"/>

On 2023-11-24, ''Performous'' released its 1.3.1 version.<ref name="performous-blog"/>


== See also ==<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER --> == See also ==<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
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== External links == == External links ==
* - Original game created by Corvus5 * - ] repository with the original game created by Corvus5

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultrastar}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ultrastar}}
] ]
] ]
] ]
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] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]

Latest revision as of 10:09, 30 October 2024

For other uses, see UltraStar Cinemas.
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2023 video game
UltraStar
Developer(s)Loud Arts
Publisher(s)Loud Arts
Designer(s)Patryk "Corvus5" Cebula
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X (Intel-based only)
ReleaseJune 2023
Genre(s)Music game
Mode(s)Singleplayer Multiplayer
UltraStar
URLultrastaronline.com

UltraStar is a clone of SingStar, a music video game by Polish developer Patryk "Covus5" Cebula. UltraStar lets one or several players score points by singing along to a song or music video and match the pitch of the original song. UltraStar displays lyrics as well as the correct notes similar to a piano roll. On top of the correct notes UltraStar displays the pitch recorded from the players. UltraStar allows several people to play simultaneously by connecting several microphones possibly to several sound cards. To add a song to UltraStar, a file with notes and lyrics is required, together with an audio file. Optionally a cover image, a backdrop image and a video may be added to each song. UltraStar comes preloaded with a short sample from Nine Inch Nails hit "Discipline" from The Slip album.

License

UltraStar is released under Freeware License. Very old versions were available under GNU General Public License and most game forks were initially based on the old code.

Shop

New version of the game introduces Song Shop, where users after free registration can download free songs and buy points. Free songs include:

L.p. Artist Title Language All countries Add date
1 Nine Inch Nails "Discipline" English Yes 24.02.2010
2 Dead Smiling Pirates "I 18" English Yes 24.02.2010
3 Antarhes "Different Way" English Yes 24.02.2010
4 Viola "Cute Destroyer" English Yes 24.02.2010
5 Magdalen Graal "Behind You" English Yes 24.02.2010
6 Hungry Lucy "Just Imagine" English Yes 11.05.2012
7 Hungry Lucy "Balloon Girl" English Yes 11.05.2012
8 Devyn Rose, formerly known as Tanya T6 "Fly Away" English Yes 11.05.2012
9 Josh Woodward "Heritage Place" English Yes 11.05.2012
10 Josh Woodward "Go" English Yes 11.05.2012

Ports

The original UltraStar is programmed in Kylix/Delphi and made for Microsoft Windows operating-system. There are also ports available in C++ for other operating-systems such as Linux, BSD and other UNIX platforms.

UltraStar Deluxe

2010 video game
UltraStar Deluxe
Developer(s)b1indy, b_krueger, brunzelchen, canni0, eddie-0815, hawkear, jaybinks, k-m_schindler, mogguh, mota23, s_alexander, tobigun, whiteshark0, basisbit, RattleSN4K3, rhaamo, brianch
Platform(s)Windows (Stable), Linux (Stable), Mac OS X (Stable)
ReleaseOctober 2010 - October 2024
Genre(s)Music game
Mode(s)Singleplayer Multiplayer
UltraStar Deluxe
URLusdx.eu

UltraStar Deluxe was started as a modification of UltraStar. Whiteshark initially offered to collaborate with Corvus5, but this offer was declined. Instead Whiteshark started to add some features on his own with the help of Mota. The first release is known as X-Mas mod, due to a release date around Christmas time. This attracted the attention of other developers that were willing to help. The team grew and the source code departed more and more from the original. Smaller features are often implemented in both projects allowing them to benefit from one another. Though the projects' implementations of such features often differ. UltraStar Deluxe is different in three key ways from UltraStar. Significant effort has been put into improving reliability by repairing bugs. The second difference is the visual appearance. Sparkling stars and various other effects have been added in addition to skin support. Many effects are also based on SingStar on PS3, Vocaluxe and Performous. Many new features have been implemented:

  • More audio and video formats are supported, such as DivX, XviD, FLV, Avi and WMV.
  • Singing screen with golden notes, line bonus and popups
  • Lua scriptable Party mode with various game types. This includes support for lua plugins that allow further extension of such game types.
  • Improved song management and selection with the ability to search for songs and use playlists
  • More detailed statistics screen
  • 6 player support on one or split over two screens
  • Jukebox mode to listen music
  • "Battle of the Bands" party tournament mode
  • Webcam support
  • The game now runs on Windows XP up to Windows 10, OS X up to El Capitan and many Linux distributions
  • Duet singing of songs
  • New keyboard shortcuts
  • Improved song editor
  • Improved overall speed and lowered memory requirements - you can now easily play the game with 5000 songs loaded on a system with 1 GB of RAM
  • Smart search feature for song selection and playlist creation
  • Switched from SDL1.2 to SDL2, updated many other dependent libraries
  • Better Unicode support for multilingual characters in lyrics

UltraStar Deluxe is written in Object Pascal, and compiles with Delphi, Free Pascal and Lazarus.

As of version 1.0.1 UltraStar Deluxe runs on Linux via Wine.

As of version 1.1 UltraStar Deluxe runs on Linux and Mac OS X natively.

After the v1.1 release many developers left the team to work on the new and very similar karaoke games Performous and Vocaluxe. This caused development to cease. Some (new) developers started the UltraStar Deluxe World Party mod and the Challenge & Medley mod. These projects started as forks from UltraStar Deluxe 1.1 sourcecode and eventually developed many new features and bugfixes.

As of version 1.3 UltraStar Deluxe uses SDL2, ffmpeg 2.8, compiles with freepascal 3 and runs natively on all current versions of Windows, Linux and OS X. This version merged the various forks of the game and was intended to revive free/libre open source development of the game.

The version "2017.08.0" released at 2017-08-08 adds support for ffmpeg up to 3.3. It is the first version which is marked as a stable release after the version 1.1 release from 2010 and after the revival of the project.

The latest stable version is the "2020.4.0".

Performous

2007 video game
Performous
Developer(s)Vincent Le Ligeour, Lasse Kärkkäinen, Markus Raab, Tapio Vierros, knittl, Stefan Kristiansson and others
Platform(s)Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, PS3 (Yellow Dog Linux, Gentoo Linux)
ReleaseJanuary 2007 - October 2010 - November 2014 - January 2016 - March 2022
Genre(s)Music game
Mode(s)Singing, guitar, bass, drums
Performous
URLperformous.org

Performous is an open-source rhythm/performance platform that contains singing, guitar/bass playing, drumming and dancing all in one game. The project began as rewrite of the UltraStar singing game in October 2006 (first commit on 15-10-2006 11:52 AM UTC ), using C++ and targeting Linux. Adding more elements to the game was planned for several years and in 2009 first band game features were added and published on Assembly game development competition. A few months later work on the dance game feature began and even though it is not yet complete, the feature is already available on the development version of the game.

The project was originally known as UltraStar-NG, but the name was changed in version 0.3 in anticipation of adding other instruments and to avoid confusion as the game is not a fork of UltraStar. Also, since version 0.3 the graphics rendering is based on OpenGL for high performance even on slower machines, with full effects, as long as any OpenGL support is available. Various background video formats are supported using FFmpeg.

Singing game

This part of the game is essentially karaoke, but with scoring and realtime feedback. The gameplay is similar to SingStar: the game analyzes each singer's pitch and gives scores based on how precisely the song was performed. As a reference, the lyrics, the notes and the singer's pitch are displayed on screen as the song plays.

Performous does not attempt to clone SingStar but rather has unique features such as scrolling notes and precise singing pitch display as a wave drawn on screen. These allow players to sing without interruptions and to correct their singing pitch to hit the notes precisely.

Performous does pitch detection with fast Fourier transform (FFT) combined with a sophisticated post-processing algorithm. This system is able to operate well in extremely noisy environments, even when using very cheap microphones.

On Linux the game autodetects any connected SingStar microphones and uses them automatically. On other platforms and with other types of microphones (e.g. webcams or analog microphones connected to sound cards) a best-effort detection is done.

Songs need to be supplied in UltraStar or Frets on Fire format. Performous comes with a tool named 'ss_extract', for converting SingStar DVDs into UltraStar format.

Band game

The gameplay is similar to Guitar Hero or Rock Band: a guitar controller is used and the player will need to match the notes.

For guitar and bass the game tries to figure out the intention of the player rather than just comparing the nearest available chord, making it easier to play fast passages. Hammer-ons and pull-offs (HOPOs) also consider player's intention. If the player intends to pick a note in a regular fashion but happens to HOPO it by accident a moment before, the pick will undo the HOPO and no mistake happens. These little gameplay tweaks in favor of the player make the game much more enjoyable as playing correctly will no longer produce mistakes when the timing is slightly off or when the player chooses not to use the HOPO feature. Timing accuracy is still considered in the scoring so that hitting all notes does not always give the maximum score.

Performous detects any connected Guitar Hero or Rock Band controllers automatically. Additionally, a PC keyboard can be used as a guitar controller. Songs need to be in Frets on Fire format.

Dance game

The gameplay is similar to Dance Dance Revolution or StepMania: the dancer will have to match the steps displayed on screen on a dancing mat as precisely as possible. Songs need to be in StepMania format.

Assembly Summer 2009

'Performous Band', a stripped-down version of the game, containing only the band game (guitar, bass and drums) took part in the game development competition. The game was displayed with a pre-recorded presentation video, but there were significant audio-video synchronization issues with the video even though the game itself had no such issues. Due to copyright issues and the lack of freely usable songs at the time, part of the demonstration was done with the music completely muted. The game finished on the 12th place with 642 points.

Releases

On 2014-11-01, Performous released its 1.0 version containing a new engine based on SDL2, the ability to create playlists, and a lot of bug fixes.

On 2016-01-23, Performous released its 1.1 version containing mostly bug fixes.

On 2022-03-27, Performous released its 1.2 version.

On 2023-09-01, Performous released its 1.3 version.

On 2023-11-24, Performous released its 1.3.1 version.

See also

References

  1. "sourceforge.net: 11.04.2010 18:45 Memberlist". Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  2. "usdx.eu: 23.11.2007 15:40 UltraStar Deluxe 1.0.1 Release!". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  3. "Release UltraStar Deluxe v2017.8.0-stable · UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX". GitHub. 7 August 2017.
  4. "Release UltraStar Deluxe 2020.4.0-stable · UltraStar-Deluxe/USDX". GitHub.
  5. sf.net: Performous version control tags cited 29 November 2009
  6. ^ "Performous - News". performous.org.
  7. Performous contributors on Ohloh.net Archived 2009-12-07 at the Wayback Machine cited 29 November 2009
  8. "YellowDogLinux Forum: 22.03.2008 UltraStar-NG screenshots on PS3". Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  9. "First commit UltraStar-NG". sourceforge.
  10. "Performous by Tronic & Yoda :: pouët.net". pouet.net.

External links

  • - SourceForge repository with the original game created by Corvus5
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