Uniracers Recomp

Uniracers recomp

A native recompilation of Uniracers (USA) for desktop, built on snesrecomp.

The port is playable. On top of the original game it adds:

• widescreen races from 16:9 to ultrawide — 21:9, 32:9 or any decimal aspect, rendered up to the 512 px cap — in 1P and in 2P/VS split screen, with the extra track drawn from the game's own track data, the HUD spread to the corners and riders kept correct in the margins. Widescreen applies only during a live race: menus and the title screen stay at the native width;
• a small radar in the bottom-right corner with your position and the rival's, which can be turned off from the in-game menu;
• an in-game options menu (F10 or Select+L) that applies every option live and saves it;
• an opt-in unlock of all nine tours;
• save states, rewind, audio and controllers from the framework (netplay is not built into this project).

You must legally own a copy of the game. No ROM data is distributed with this project, in the repository or in any release. The recompiled C is generated locally from your own copy and is never committed.

Download

Prebuilt packages are on the releases page:

Platform	Package
Linux x86_64	redcomp-dream-<version>-x86_64.AppImage
Windows x64	redcomp-dream-<version>-windows-x64.zip

Both packages include the launcher, assets/ and the licenses. No ROM is included: you must legally own a copy of Uniracers (USA). The AppImage needs Linux x86_64, glibc 2.35+, OpenGL and FUSE/libfuse2 (or --appimage-extract-and-run); the Windows build is a portable folder with redcomp-dream.exe. Each release also publishes .sha256 files.

Documentation

The complete documentation starts at docs/README.md. It is exhaustive: every feature was developed as an OpenSpec change, and the proposal, design, measured evidence and report of each one are kept in openspec/.

Document	Contents
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md	repository layout, the port modules, the frame sequence and the framework patch
docs/WIDESCREEN.md	how the wide race picture is built: width, track margins, HUD, riders and radar
docs/TWO_PLAYER.md	2P/VS split screen and per-viewport rendering
docs/CONFIG.md	every option, precedence, the in-game menu and the debug variables
docs/VALIDATION.md	the output gate and how a change is checked
docs/ROADMAP.md	open work and planned features
docs/formats/	the track, BG1 and save-data formats
openspec/specs/	the current requirements per capability

The archived changes in openspec/changes/archive/ hold the development history: proposal, design, tasks and the measured report for each feature.

Build

You need git, CMake 3.20+, a C/C++ toolchain, Python 3 and OpenGL development headers. SDL3 is downloaded and built automatically when no system package is found.

Put your ROM at rom/Uniracers (USA).sfc (the folder is git-ignored), check out the launcher submodule, then:

git submodule update --init --recursive   # game/recomp-ui
cd game
bash tools/regen.sh --rom "../rom/Uniracers (USA).sfc"
cmake -S . -B build-local -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build-local --parallel

regen.sh checks the ROM against game/rom_identity.txt and refuses anything else, then generates game/src/gen/. More on the game/ directory in game/README.md.

The helper wraps the same configure/build steps:

game/tools/build.sh                                  # Linux -> game/build-local
game/tools/build.sh windows --fetch-toolchain         # .exe -> game/build-windows
game/tools/build.sh both --fetch-toolchain            # both

--fetch-toolchain downloads llvm-mingw into game/.cache/ (ignored by git) the first time; the Windows binary is a static .exe that needs assets/ beside it. The playable .exe does not need the source tree or a compiler; a setup-host pack does, because its first-run wizard builds the game.

Create a ready-to-copy Windows folder/zip:

game/tools/package-windows.sh --build
# -> game/dist/redcomp-dream-<version>-windows-x64.zip

It contains the playable .exe, assets/ (the launcher banner/fonts), mods/ when present, a README and the licenses. No ROM, source tree or toolchain.

Create a single-file Linux AppImage:

game/tools/package-appimage.sh --build --fetch-toolchain
# -> game/dist/redcomp-dream-<version>-x86_64.AppImage

The AppImage contains the game, launcher and assets/ inside the image; no asset folder is needed beside it. config.ini, keybinds.ini, saves/ and mods/ are written beside the .AppImage, so keep it in a writable folder. It needs Linux x86_64 with glibc 2.35+, OpenGL and FUSE/libfuse2 (or --appimage-extract-and-run); --rom selects a ROM when no zenity/kdialog is installed.

Run

From the repository root:

./run.sh              # straight into the game (development path)
./run.sh --launcher   # pre-boot launcher: ROM, display, audio, input, saves, mods

The first time you run the executable without a ROM, the launcher asks for your copy, checks it against rom_identity.txt and remembers it in rom.cfg. The launcher is also where display, audio, controller bindings, save management, mods and Generate & rebuild live. The F10 menu is still the in-game options menu: the launcher owns the generic host settings, F10 owns the port's widescreen, margin, HUD, radar and unlock options. If you tick Skip launcher on boot, ./run.sh --launcher brings it back.

When launched with ./run.sh, the executable keeps its runtime files (config.ini, keybinds.ini, saves/, mods/ and rom.cfg) in game/build-local/. Extra arguments are passed to the game; use absolute paths, because the script starts the game from game/build-local/:

./run.sh --script "$PWD/tools/scripts/ws-native-map-spike/route-dragster-move.txt"

Options

Press F10 or Select + L in a race, in the game's menus or on the title screen to open the options menu. The options are also plain keys in config.ini:

[Graphics]
Widescreen = 1       ; on for a fresh config.ini; set 0 to turn it off

[Widescreen]
Aspect = auto        ; auto, 16:9, 21:9, 32:9, or a decimal such as 2.0
MaxWidth = 512       ; 342..512
Margin = source      ; source (track table) or clamp (native 256 px track)
Hud = 1
Cull = 1

[Video]
MiniMap = 1          ; the radar

[Emulation]
UnlockAllTours = 0

Widescreen appears only during a live race, in 1P and in 2P/VS split screen (menus, the title screen and NOW PLAYING stay native); the radar remains 1P-only and can be turned off with MiniMap = 0 (or the F10 row). UnlockAllTours is permanent for that save: it raises the tour reveal stage in the battery save, which the game stores on exit; turning it off later does not hide the tours again. Keep a copy of game/build-local/saves/save.srm if you may want to go back.

Every option, its environment override, the precedence rules and the debug variables are in docs/CONFIG.md.

Launcher art

game/tools/launcher-art.sh converts an image to the TGA the launcher uses and rebuilds:

game/tools/launcher-art.sh --boxart cover.png --key-black --trim
game/tools/launcher-art.sh --brand mark.png --key-black --trim
game/tools/launcher-art.sh --clear

--boxart is the GAME card, --brand the small mark next to the title and --pad the controller image. The generated files live in game/launcher_assets/; commit them if the release should carry them.

Roadmap

Status: ✅ done · 🚧 in progress · 📋 planned. Effort, design notes and the open reliability work live in docs/ROADMAP.md; finished changes are in openspec/changes/archive/.

Feature	Status	Notes
Widescreen 16:9	✅ done	Races render up to 512 px wide in 1P and 2P/VS split screen, with the extra track drawn from the game's own track data and the HUD spread to the corners. In-game only: menus and the title screen stay at the native width.
Ultrawide	✅ done	21:9, 32:9 or any decimal aspect (e.g. 2.39), rendered up to the 512 px cap, with per-width track fill, margin policy and rider fixes.
2P / VS split screen	✅ done	Widescreen applied to each half with per-viewport BG1, HUD and rider OAM.
Radar / minimap	✅ done	Bottom-right radar with the player's and the rival's position (1P only, toggleable).
In-game options menu	✅ done	F10 or Select+L opens a menu that applies every option live and saves it.
Unlock all tours	✅ done	Opt-in unlock of the nine tours (permanent for that save).
Pre-boot launcher	✅ done	ROM selection, display, audio, controller bindings, saves, mods and Generate & rebuild.
Portable builds	✅ done	Single-file Linux AppImage and a self-contained Windows folder/zip.
Off-screen rival indicator	🚧 in progress	Border arrow with a 1–3 dot distance cue in all eight directions; widescreen-aware and presentation-only (uniracers-rival-edge-indicator).
Per-track times and splits	📋 planned	Best time, best lap and splits per track, plus a live delta to your best.
Race ghost	📋 planned	Record the best lap's position, pose and sprite each frame and draw it translucent, paired with per-track times.
Track gallery	📋 planned	Shape, index, name and record of all 45 tracks from the decoded table.
Custom tracks	📋 planned	Track editor or randomizer built on the decoded track table; needs the collision data decoded.
Graphics effects	📋 planned	libretro-style GLSL shader presets (sharp-bilinear, light CRT) and, later, per-layer shaders that only affect the track.
Extended HUD	📋 planned	Speed, splits, delta to best and lap position.
Progress bar for long tracks	📋 planned	Start, finish, player and rival strip for the 1024×16 tracks, where the radar says little.
Quick restart and practice	📋 planned	One key restarts from the start line; practice checkpoints without a rival.
Online 2P and leaderboards	📋 planned	Depends on netplay/rollback being validated for this title.

Checking a change

game/tools/validate.sh

runs a set of headless races on a copy of the executable (your saves are never touched) and compares frames and logs against game/tools/validate_refs.txt. See docs/VALIDATION.md.

Repository

Path	What lives there
game/	the recomp project: hand-written src/, analyzer input recomp/, CMake, tools/
game/snesrecomp/	the framework, vendored with the local patch game/patches-snesrecomp-local.diff applied
game/recomp-ui/	the shared pre-boot launcher (a submodule)
docs/	documentation, starting at docs/README.md
openspec/	requirements (specs/) and the history of every change (changes/archive/)
tools/	development scripts, input routes and research patches (tools/README.md)
rom/	your own ROM, git-ignored
run.sh	launch from the repository root

License

redcomp-dream is source-available, not open source. The project is under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0: the port's own source is copyright (c) 2026 fselich, and the vendored snesrecomp framework is copyright (c) 2026 Matthew Stanley. Commercial use is not permitted. The framework's own notices are in game/snesrecomp/LICENSE and game/snesrecomp/THIRD_PARTY_ATTRIBUTION.md. Game data is not distributed.

Uniracers is a trademark of Nintendo. This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo.