A Major Space Rocks Update — and the Soundtrack on Vinyl and CD
Space Rocks has received a major update, and its most significant addition is something entirely new for Hypseus: an online leaderboard.
If you have not played it before, Space Rocks is my free arcade-style space shoot-’em-up, made for Hypseus. You control a small ship in a wraparound playfield, destroying waves of rocks and hostile spacecraft, collecting power-ups and trying to survive for as long as possible while building the highest score you can.
The basic idea is inspired by the old vector-based space games, but Space Rocks is an original game with its own graphics, sound effects and full soundtrack.
Taking the high scores online
Until now, the Space Rocks high-score table has been confined to the machine on which the game is running. The new online leaderboard makes it possible to compare scores from different players and systems in one place.
When an eligible score is achieved and the game can reach the leaderboard server, Space Rocks offers the player an opportunity to upload it. Uploading is entirely optional, so the local high-score table still works as before for anyone who would prefer to keep their scores offline.
This is powered by a new leaderboard feature built into Hypseus itself. Space Rocks is the first game to use it, and I am looking forward to seeing how the rankings develop now that players can compete beyond their own local top ten.
View the Space Rocks online leaderboard
More colour, movement and personality
The update also changes the appearance of the rocks themselves. They can now appear in a range of colours instead of being restricted to a single brown shade, and they spin as they move across the playfield. Their purpose is unchanged, but the additional colour and movement give each wave more visual variety.
Players can now choose the colour of their own ship as well. It is a relatively small addition, but it gives the ship a little more personality and helps it stand out against the playfield.
The Death Blossom power-up has also received a redesigned visual effect. It still performs the same screen-clearing job, but activating it now produces a much more satisfying display.
Behind the visible changes, I have improved the efficiency of the game’s code and made several smaller refinements throughout. This is not an exhaustive list of every alteration, so returning players may notice a few other subtle differences as they play.
Playing Space Rocks
Space Rocks is completely free to download and can be played with a mouse, keyboard or game controller. No specialised hardware is required.
The game runs through Hypseus, an open-source emulator and game engine best known for recreating classic laserdisc arcade games on modern systems. It can also run compatible original games such as Space Rocks.
Windows users can also manage and launch the game through Borf Launcher, my free desktop launcher for Hypseus. Borf keeps games, artwork and video previews together in one interface, while allowing the settings for each game to be managed individually.
I have also built a one-off controller specifically for playing Space Rocks. Its main control is a spinner which rotates the ship, mounted on a spring-loaded sliding carriage. Pushing or pulling the carriage activates forward or reverse thrust, combining rotation and two-way thrust control in a single mechanism. It is a personal project rather than something needed to play the game, but it demonstrates another way in which Space Rocks can be controlled. You can see it in action in the YouTube video linked below.
If you need help with Hypseus, or simply want to meet others who use it, you can also join the Hypseus Discord server.
The soundtrack, now on vinyl and CD
The other piece of Space Rocks news concerns the music.
The complete soundtrack is already available through the major music-streaming services as Space Rocks (Original Game Soundtrack) by The Real Widge. It can now also be ordered as a twelve-inch vinyl record or CD through elasticStage.
elasticStage is an on-demand service, so each physical copy is produced when it is ordered. This makes it possible to offer a proper physical edition without manufacturing and storing a large batch of records or CDs in advance.
For anyone who enjoys the music and would like to own the album, put the record on away from the game or simply have a physical copy on the shelf, that option is now available. The soundtrack remains available on the streaming services as well.
Order Space Rocks (Original Game Soundtrack) on vinyl or CD
Listen on music-streaming services:
Play the update
The new version of Space Rocks is available now. If you already have the game, you can download it from the itch.io page and replace the previous version. If you have never played it, this is a good time to climb into the ship, head into the rocks and see where you can place on the online leaderboard.
Space Rocks, Borf Launcher and my other games and software are released free of charge. itch.io may suggest an optional contribution when downloading, and I also have a Ko-fi page for anyone who would like to support what I make, but neither is required.
Supporting me encourages me to continue developing free games, software and other projects. If you would like to do so, you can support me through Ko-fi.
There are more Hypseus releases in development too, including a few which may come as a surprise. I will have more to share about those in due course.
For now, good luck on the leaderboard.