Fans of Midway’s 90s racer, Cruis’n USA, rejoice - because there are ports of both the arcade original and the Nintendo 64 version in the works for the Sega Dreamcast.
The arcade port is the work of “HombreImaginario” of Xenocider fame, and the N64 version is being handled by “MoneyShift64” - two completely separate projects.
Before we talk about each project, I must admit that I’m a huge fan of the Cruis’n series (Cruis’n World will always be in my favourite game list) and I remember as a teenager I always wished for a Cruis’n game to appear on my beloved Dreamcast. Indeed, there was a rumour that Cruis’n Exotica was in the works for Sega’s console; noted in the official UK Dreamcast Magazine (Issue 9, Page 30), which I remember reading with delight during the summer of 2000.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and a Dreamcast version was never spoken of again, which is why I’m so excited we’re finally getting some Cruis’n games on the system all these years later! I’ve been fortunate enough to play work in progress builds of both versions on Dreamcast, so here is how they are shaping up.
To kick things off, let’s take a look at the arcade port.
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| [Arcade Port] Who doesn't want to visit the White House hot tub? |
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| [Arcade Port] Flames from my exhaust are a good thing, right?! |
The latest version runs really well and is a great example of using the Dreamcast to learn more about coding, as HombreImaginario explains.
"I'm part of the team who developed Xenocider, but I know very very little code. I've always wanted to contribute to the scene and the community, so I made a list of games before 1999 that had their source codes available and among them was Cruis'n USA (arcade).
So, the source code is a starting guide, but the arcade hardware is vastly different from the Dreamcast, so the game still needs lots of translating and adapting.
My goal here is to be as faithful to the arcade as technically possible, then fix details here and there that make sense to me, like a custom boot screen, or the logo in the VMU, or trying to reduce or hide the popping in the horizon. We'll get there, hopefully. But the whole project is just a learning experience, really!"
Excellent stuff, and it will be a welcome non-NAOMI Arcade port to the Dreamcast’s growing post-life library. HombreImaginario has also confirmed he's working on a Dreamcast port of 1997 boomer shooter Shadow Warrior, so keep an eye out for that as well.
As for the Cruis’n 64 port, it seems to be very well optimised from the version I played, despite being told that this Dreamcast demo is still not anywhere near the final release, it is running at a very smooth frame rate with little slowdown. The demo features just one track, but you can see my run in the video below.
I also spoke to MoneyShift64 to find out a bit more about this version and they shared some exciting details for the future of the project.
"This won’t just be a straight port of the N64 version. The Dreamcast version will include a locked 30fps frame rate (something the N64 game struggled with) and a whole load of Dreamcast easter eggs scattered around for people to find. I'm also hoping to include rumble support and there will be VMU screen functionality.
The most exciting inclusion will be online leaderboards! It’ll be great to see the community trading fastest times on each track! We'll talk a lot more about this soon.
Eventually, I'd like to make a "Cruis'n Everywhere" version, which includes select cars and tracks from USA, World and Exotica all rolled into one game."
Seeing ports getting Dreamcast-exclusive features is one way to make them stand out from the crowd of ports we've seen recently. Online leaderboards are certainly quite a mouthwatering prospect. Especially for those amongst us who just can’t get enough of taking their Dreamcast’s online! Personally, I can’t wait!
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[N64 Port] Cruis'n Dreamcast!
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We’ll bring you more news of each port as they progress. Exciting times.