The team at Harbour Masters has done it again. They have released a new PC port of the classic Nintendo 64 game Star Fox 64. The port is called Starship.
Starship brings many modern features to the beloved space shooter. It supports ultrawide resolutions, unlocked frame rates, and even rumble support for Bluetooth controllers. These enhancements make the game more enjoyable on current PCs.
To create the port, Harbour Masters converted the original game ROM into PC executable code. This means it does not use any of Nintendo’s proprietary assets. It also opens up the possibility for modding, allowing the community to create new content.
Getting Starship up and running is a relatively simple process.
Starship enhances classic Star Fox 64
First, download and extract the emulator files.
Then, obtain a legal copy of the Star Fox 64 ROM in the z64 format, specifically the v1.1 (Rev A) version. Place the ROM in the same folder as the Starship emulator. Run the generate_otr application to extract the necessary files.
Finally, launch Starship and press F1 to configure the controls and graphics settings. The original character designer for Star Fox 64, Takaya Imamura, expressed his happiness about the port. “I don’t think Nintendo would tolerate this, but I’m personally very happy about it,” he said.
Fans on Reddit also shared their excitement, with one user commenting, “Finally, the best rail shooter ever made gets even better.”
Starship currently supports DirectX11 on Windows, OpenGL on all platforms, and Metal on macOS. Users can switch between these rendering APIs in the Settings menu, though restarting is required for changes to take effect. While there is some concern about potential legal action from Nintendo, fans are thrilled to experience this classic game on modern systems.
The Starship port is a significant achievement for the Harbour Masters team and a treat for retro gaming enthusiasts.
