Urban Assault (UA_source)
Game: Urban Assault (Windows, 1998)
UA_source: an open-source reimplementation of the engine of Urban Assault, the action strategy game Microsoft published in 1998, that replaces the original executable and uses the game’s files. It’s written in C++ with SDL2, OpenGL, and OpenAL, and runs on Windows, with a separate Windows XP build, and on Linux. Its nucleus.ini file adds options for vertical sync, adaptive included, a frame rate cap (the README advises against going above 60, since it breaks helicopter rotation and the AI), a new fade for distant terrain, an emulation of the original software renderer’s color effects, and a particle limit. It can enable a fix for an original bug that kept weapons from having different radii, hide factions and unit types per world or per level, and build several objects at once, and it has a Lua scripting API. Network multiplayer works, with a screen to enter an IP address, and music plays from the CD tracks converted to Ogg. It uses free fonts instead of the original ones, which you can add yourself. The latest release is from February 14, 2023, for Windows and Windows XP; the latest change, from March 2025, added CMake builds. The repository includes the game’s text in English, German, French, Japanese, and Russian (the .lng files), along with a script that extracts it from the original’s language libraries.
You needYour own copy of Urban Assault, installed on Windows or through Wine, or the Game folder from the CD. UA_source’s executable, its res and fonts folders, and its language.lng, inside locale, are copied into that folder. For music, the CD’s audio tracks as Ogg (2.ogg to 6.ogg) in a music folder; for the original fonts, Dungeon, Arial, and Microsoft Sans Serif in the fonts folder. Plus Windows (XP included) or Linux; building it needs SDL2, SDL2_ttf, OpenGL, OpenAL, vorbisfile, and ffmpeg.
- How it gets to PC
- Fan reimplementation
- Console
- Microsoft Windows
- Original studio
- TerraTools
- Year
- 1998
- Author
- Marisa-Chan
- Stars
- 139
- Last activity
- 2025-03-11 · 1 year ago
- Latest version
- 2023-02-14 · 2023-02-14
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Language
- C++
Type and pick from the list; if it isn’t there, type it and press Enter. For a launcher, the games it installs; for a generic tool, leave it empty.
README badge
If this is your project, you can add it to its README: it shows its status on Recompendium and updates itself when the status changes.
[](https://recompendium.com/en/port/urban-assault-ua-source/)