Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain — native port (play-test build)

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain — native port (play-test build)

An unofficial native port of the PlayStation 2 game Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (2004) to Windows and PS Vita. It is not an emulator: the game's systems (mission scripts, AI, animation, collision, combat, menus, level loading, sound) are rebuilt in C++ from the original USA executable and checked against it.

No disc-extracted game data is included. You need your own 1:1 image of the USA disc (SCUS-97264); the port reads it at run time and never modifies it. The required size and SHA-256 are in docs/REQUIRED_DISC.md.

This repository is the play-test snapshot of the port's source, updated from the development repository as work lands. Each update's commit message names the development commit it was taken from.

Downloading a playtest build

After a successful build of main, download the newest prerelease from this repository's Releases page. It provides three build downloads:

File	Use
OmegaStrain-windows.zip	Extract the OmegaStrain folder, then start OmegaStrain.exe inside it.
OmegaStrain-vita-GXM.vpk	Install the GXM renderer build (title SFOS00004) with VitaShell.
OmegaStrain-ps5-PPSA99720.zip	Extract the PPSA99720 folder title for PS5 homebrew.

The Vita vitaGL build still has to pass CI but is not a prerelease download. Each prerelease links its source commit and successful Build run. Bring your own 1:1 USA disc image (SCUS-97264); no disc-extracted game data is included.

What works

Area	State
Front end	Boot movies, title, options, agent profiles and memory card, command centre, loadout, loading screens, single-player debriefs
Mission coverage	All 18 load; historical scripted level-end routes cover 17. TOKYO still needs a complete route. Full campaign acceptance at the current native frame rate remains open
Widescreen	True 16:9 (and wider) in levels and menus: a wider view with the HUD, headers and button hints anchored to the screen edges. 4:3, pillarbox and stretch options
Controls	Gamepads and keyboard / mouse; D-pad Down opens the carried-weapon drop menu
Port Settings page	Display, control and port options inside the game's own Options menu
CPU co-op partners (port-only)	1–3 CPU agents that follow, fight and climb, and take orders from a command menu (D-pad Up). They do the co-op objectives in TORONTO1–3, BELARUS2 and UKRAINE
Mods (port-only)	Replace any disc file, texture (PNG / DDS, any resolution), character, gun or level model (glTF 2.0) without touching your disc (docs/MODDING.md)
LAN Play (port-only)	Play LAN on the Offline / Online screen: host, browse and join on the local network (peer to peer, no server). All players should update together; incompatible builds are rejected. Two-player startup, objective results/stage deactivation, loadout agent records and periodic statistics exchange are tested; full mission completion remains open
Online (port-only server)	omega_server: accounts, lobby, game list, create / join, chat, contacts, stats, admin tools, relay and UPnP (docs/ONLINE_DEPLOY.md)
PS Vita	Boot, intro movies and all menus run on real hardware in 16:9. The first in-level build (TORONTO1 / TRAINING) is being tested

What does not work yet

• TOKYO: the current replay completes the chopper defense, but its remaining street, tower and extraction route is unfinished. Individual mission routes do not prove every objective branch, restart or a full saved campaign.
• CPU partners: they don't use lifts yet, BELARUS1's co-op objective "save all 7 workers" is not escorted, and stealth behaviour (silenced weapons, disguises, stopping alarms) is planned. Choose the number of partners with coop_partners=1|2|3 in local\port_settings.txt.
• LAN in-level sync: damage to enemies the other console controls, their aim and fire, and shared objectives are still being finished. An opt-in diagnostic path now connects shared endings, multiplayer results, local saves and return to the menu; it is not yet enabled by default. A naturally played full mission through synchronized debrief remains unaccepted. Expect desyncs.
• Online: the server works, but in-level online play has the same gaps as LAN. Agency cells (clans) are not done.
• PS Vita: in-level play is brand new and still being tested on hardware. Speed (30 fps target) and memory are being worked on.

Playing on Windows

You need 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, a Direct3D 11 GPU and your disc image.

1. Download and extract OmegaStrain-windows.zip from a prerelease, or build the game (below) and make a play folder:

   .\tools\package_release.ps1 -Out C:\Games\OmegaStrain
   

2. Start OmegaStrain.exe in your extracted or packaged play folder. It finds your disc image (or asks for it), verifies it once, derives a few tables from it and starts the game.

Controls, settings (local\port_settings.txt), cheats, CPU partners, mods, saves and online hosting are in the player guide, tools/package/README-PLAY.md, which is copied into the play folder.

In windowed mode, use the standard title-bar Minimize, Maximize / Restore and Close buttons. F11 or Alt+Enter switches fullscreen/windowed mode. To pause the whole application, use Esc, Pause/Break or Alt+Space → Pause application; repeat to resume. F7 opens the port menu (Port Settings, Cheats). The game starts as the PS2 version (4:3 picture, 30 fps, native resolution); its enhancements are in Port Settings. The title shows [PAUSED]. Switching focus, minimizing or using Win+D does not automatically pause or resume it.

Playing on PS Vita

You need a Vita (or PS TV) with HENkaku / Enso, VitaShell, and libshacccg.suprx in ur0:data/. That file is the shader compiler: extract it from your own firmware, for example with the ShaRKBR33D homebrew (other vitaGL homebrew needs it too).

1. Download OmegaStrain-vita-GXM.vpk from a prerelease, or build omega_vita.vpk (below), and install it with VitaShell.
2. Copy your disc image to ux0:data/omega_strain/omega_strain.iso.
3. Start Omega Strain. The first start compiles the shaders (with a progress bar) and prepares data from the disc, which can take a minute or more on black screens. Later starts are quicker.

Controls: the buttons are as on the PS2, and L / R are L1 / R1. The touch panels stand in for L2 / R2 / L3 / R3: on each panel, top-left is L2, top-right R2, bottom-left L3 and bottom-right R3. Either panel can be turned off in ux0:data/omega_strain/vita_input.ini. START + SELECT quits, and SELECT with R held shows the frame-rate overlay. Settings use the PC's format in ux0:data/omega_strain/port_settings.txt (for example aspect=pillarbox).

Building

Windows

Needs Visual Studio 2022 or later with Desktop development with C++ (it includes MSVC x64, CMake and Ninja).

.\tools\build_native.ps1 -Configuration Release

The game is local\build-native\Release\OmegaStrain.exe. The build also makes:

• omega_play.exe: the same game with diagnostic options;
• omega_mod_tool.exe: exports textures and models from your disc for modding;
• omega_server.exe: the online server. It also builds on Linux; see docs/ONLINE_DEPLOY.md.

PS Vita

Needs, on Windows:

• VitaSDK, Windows-native (default C:\vitasdk, or set VITASDK), with vitaGL, mathneon and vitashark installed into it (for example with vdpm);
• Python 3, which draws the LiveArea images during the build;
• CMake and Ninja (the Visual Studio ones are found automatically, or put them on PATH).

.\tools\build_vita.ps1 -Jobs 4

The package is local\build-vita\omega_vita.vpk. Add -Reconfigure after a toolchain change.

The native GXM renderer is a second package (title SFOS00004, installs beside the first): configure local\build-vita-gxm with -DOMEGA_VITA_RENDERER=gxm -DOMEGA_VITA_TITLE_ID=SFOS00004 -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF and the VitaSDK toolchain file, then build its omega_vita.vpk target.

PS5 (homebrew)

Needs Linux or WSL (Ubuntu 24.04) with clang 18, lld 18, LLVM 18 and compiler-rt (libclang-rt-18-dev), CMake, Ninja, make, Python 3, git, unzip and rsync. tools/ps5/fetch_toolchain.sh fetches the PS5 toolchain from its public releases, pinned by version and sha256, into ~/ps5-app-toolchain: the ps5-payload-sdk v0.45 and cybervisi0n/ps5-app-sdk with its OpenGL runtime (ps5-mesa, ps5-opengnm-psbc, ps5-gl-runtime). Then, from Windows (it runs the fetch itself):

.\tools\build_ps5.ps1

or on Linux bash tools/ps5/fetch_toolchain.sh, cmake -S . -B local/build-ps5 -G Ninja -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/ps5/ps5.toolchain.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release and cmake --build local/build-ps5 --target omega_ps5_package. The folder title is local/build-ps5/PPSA99720.

Automatic builds

Every push builds the Windows package, both Vita packages and the PS5 folder title (with the pinned toolchain above) on GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/build.yml). A successful build of main publishes a prerelease with the Windows zip, Vita GXM VPK and PS5 zip. All four build artifacts remain available under the run's Artifacts for 30 days; vitaGL is available there, but not in the prerelease.

Reporting problems

Open an issue saying what you did and what happened, with the log:

• Windows: local\omega_strain.log in the play folder, plus both files in local\crashes\ if it crashed or stopped with an error;
• Vita: ux0:data/omega_strain/omega_vita.log, plus the newest ux0:data/psp2core-*.psp2dmp after a crash.

If a level stopped, say which level and roughly where. Never attach game files or disc data.

Legal

This repository contains the port's own code and documents plus explicitly supplied shell artwork and selection music under config/windows and config/ps5. Disc images, extracted game assets and original executables must not be added. Syphon Filter is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment. This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony or Bend Studio.

License

The port's source code is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (see LICENSE). The supplied shell artwork/music remains the property of its respective rights holders and is not covered by the code license; see the READMEs in config/windows and config/ps5. Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain belongs to its rights holders, and you need your own copy of the game disc to play.