The full-resolution update. Super Mario Galaxy now runs at the Vita's native 960×544 at a steady 30 FPS, with a new Performance mode that reaches for 60.
Pick your picture
- Quality (the default): the sharpest picture at a steady 30 FPS, at up to the full 960×544. In the busiest moments it softens edges first, then sharpness a step at a time, and brings everything back as soon as there's room.
- Performance: as close to 60 FPS as each scene allows. When 60 isn't possible it settles on a smooth 30 rather than a choppy 40.
- Locked 30: always 960×544, always 30 FPS when the Vita can manage it.
Measured on a PS Vita (widest camera zoom, the toughest view)
| Galaxy | Quality | Performance | Locked 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good Egg | 30 FPS, up to 960 wide | 54 FPS | 30, at 960×544 |
| Beach Bowl | 30 FPS, up to 784 wide | 30 FPS | 25, at 960×544 |
| Honeyhive | 30 FPS, up to 848 wide | 42 FPS | 30, at 960×544 |
| Bowser's Star Reactor | 29 FPS, up to 848 wide | 45 FPS | 30, at 960×544 |
At the default camera zoom, Performance mode hits 60 FPS in Good Egg and 54 in Honeyhive.
Smoother play
- Honeyhive, Beach Bowl and the Bowser fights hold 30 FPS in Quality mode. They used to drop into the teens and 20s.
- All four CPU cores. With the CapUnlocker plug-in, sound, animation and part of the graphics work move to the Vita's fourth core.
- The game and the graphics work side by side, so the game never waits on the renderer between frames.
- Leaner graphics: lighter shaders, cheaper water and glow effects, and nothing drawn that ends up off screen.
- Even frame pacing, with each frame shown right on time.
Better picture
- Widescreen picture sizes and texture sharpness that follows the resolution.
- Edge smoothing across the whole picture, with the HUD kept crisp.
- No more stray lines: a 1-pixel line in Beach Bowl and under menu buttons, and a line under the star counter, are gone.
- The unpowered Comet Observatory, early in a new game, now has dim but visible floors.
Controls and gameplay
- New pause-menu options: use the right stick as the Star Bit pointer (Square), and set Star Bit reach (Select) to collect from farther away.
- Enemies that grab and release Mario hurt him again, just like on the Wii.
- Hidden-star missions work properly.
- Rear touch works right after the Settings menu.
- Spins come out every time, even when you press Square right after a jump.
Under the hood
- Shaders are prepared again after an update, graphics memory stays tidy in long sessions, and a 500 MHz PSVshell profile is left alone.
- The HD texture pack builder matches the game's colours exactly.
- Full details are in Technical notes and Source record.
Thanks
Several fixes and ideas come from Producdevity's fork of version 1.1: Star Bit reach, the right-stick pointer, the enemy-damage, hidden-star and rear-touch fixes, and some speed-ups. See Credits.
Updating? Install the new VPK over the old one. Your saves and settings stay. Measured frame rates are in Performance.