Mugen (game engine)

For other uses, see Mugen.

File:Mugen0.png

M.U.G.E.N's default motif. Many different looks are possible for the engine.

M.U.G.E.N is a freeware 2D fighting game engine designed by Elecbyte, written in C with the Allegro library. The engine was originally released in July 17, 1999. Beta versions of it were made to work on DOS, Linux and Windows platforms, distributed through their website or to donors via email. With the release of the Linux version, support for DOS ceased.

The engine allows anyone to create characters, background stages and other game objects through interpreted text files, graphics, and sound compilations. It supports various types of audio formats such as MP3 and MIDI initially, although it can be configured to play various audio formats via Winamp plugins, such as ADX and OGG, as background music during gameplay or at other points such as an introduction or the select screen. The engine allows for most of the same type of functionality found in most any commercial 2D fighting games, up to and including close recreation of those games' characters and gameplay. While the engine is set up primarily for fighting game development, several other game types have been developed using it, including shooter and platformer style games.

Officially, Elecbyte claims to have forgotten what the acronym M.U.G.E.N stood for, but the readme documentation states that its meaning referred to the days when the engine was meant to emulate shooting games as opposed to fighting games. There is no official pronunciation.

History

DOS and Linux Versions

First released on July 17, 1999, M.U.G.E.N was initially created for MS-DOS. Development of the DOS version ceased when Elecbyte switched to the Linux platform in November 2001. For a time, Elecbyte had posted a request for donations on their site to legally obtain a Windows compiler to make a Windows version of M.U.G.E.N. However, the development group discontinued the project in 2003 and shut down their site. Later speculation pointed at leaks made public of a private Windows-based M.U.G.E.N beta that was provided to donators.

Legality

The previous license agreements for usage of M.U.G.E.N from Elecbyte have expired and it appears that a new license agreement will never be granted. Thus, any current distribution of M.U.G.E.N has not been authorized by Elecbyte and is technically illegal, although Elecbyte has never taken any legal action; the company has simply disappeared without explanation. Many people chose to continue using M.U.G.E.N despite the lack of a new license. Creations such as characters and stages for use with M.U.G.E.N are not a part of Elecbyte's license, but only the software itself is. So, it is up to the individual whether or not to violate Elecbyte's license by using M.U.G.E.N Elecbyte itself has not made a public statement since 2003, when they stated that the project had "hit a snag".

Most characters and stages are of dubious legality as well, as most are made using sprites and sounds ripped from copyrighted games. For this reason, some standing communities enforced a loose "time-release" rule, whereby they do not allow linking to characters made from recent games. While this has no actual impact on the legality of the materials in question, it has presumably served to avoid any legal pressure from the copyright holders. But some copyright holders, such as Capcom, are said to understand that it is just fanart work.

The work material has two categories: the content of the SFF (sprite format, based on PCX images) and SND (audio format based on WAV) files are copyrighted by the respective owners (like Capcom, SNK, etc); the other files, like CMD (command file), AIR (animation file) and CNS (constant and state definitions, the main file of a M.U.G.E.N character) are copyrighted by the author of the character or the stage. Elecbyte stated that the reason why the code files were text-based and directly processed by the engine in this manner was so that users could learn from each other, yet there has been a great deal of controversy regarding permission (or lack thereof) between coders.

Windows Version and Subsequent Hacks

The private WinM.U.G.E.N beta contained a two-character roster limit, locked game modes, and nag screens, and dubbed "Doritos 3D" by American community facet MRev. With the beta leaked and Elecbyte gone, a "no limit" hack that removed most of these limitations was made available in 2004 by Rou Hei, followed by subsequent updates to deal with bugs and other issues. This version of M.U.G.E.N. is functionally the same as the last Linux release, though with subtle differences and unique issues, mostly revolving around proper music and music plugin support. Because of the changes between the DOS and Linux versions of M.U.G.E.N however, many older characters required at least the SFF files to be modified to show palettes correctly (notably on portraits) as well as some changes in how certain CNS script controllers functioned, causing some minor upset and those that could still run the DOS version in some form sticking to that, as well as DOS patches to downgrade characters to be compatible with the older version of the engine.

In May 2007, a hacked version of WinM.U.G.E.N was released by a third party that added support for high resolution stages (like those seen in Guilty Gear X) at the cost of losing support to standard resolution M.U.G.E.N stages. Later that month, another hack was done to add support for high-res select screens. In July 2007 another hack created by Sion and Kung Fu Man based on the last high-res hack allowed for only the select screen to be high-res and not the stages. In December 2007, a hack from an anonymous source allowed both low-res and hi-res stages to be functional in the same build, requiring only a single line of code to be added to hi-res stages.

Elecbyte's Website

In mid 2007, Elecbyte's site returned, though not without some controversy as to the legitimacy of it, as it only showed a single logo with Google ads on the side. On July 26, though, a FAQ was added to the site. This FAQ went on to claim that they would release a fixed version of WinM.U.G.E.N before major format changes in the next version, and noted the formatting changes would remove compatibility in regards to older works: "Do not expect old characters to work. At all."

These claims are still being questioned, with the possibility this is a hoax by someone who bought the domain, or someone that hacked it. Although the logo presented on the website is much different than the original logo[1]--which is subject to copyright/trademark laws--further evidence beyond speculation does not exist at this time. However the most recent change to the page, one that states that a new version of M.U.G.E.N would be out "when 2D is back in fashion", the site has been written off as being fake.

Clone Projects

Since development of the engine was halted and no source code has been made available by Elecbyte, several clone projects started to try and duplicate the functionality of the engine from scratch, such as ShugenDo and InfinityCat. Some of them present online gameplay capabilities, a feature many users have sought after.

Gameplay

An example of M.U.G.E.N's gameplay: original character Dragon Claw faces Darkstalkers character Hsien-Ko on the RAW is WAR arena. The skin used for the game is based on Capcom vs. SNK 2.

The engine uses 7 buttons for gameplay along with the directional keys, in order to accommodate six-button fighters, which use three punches, three kicks, and a taunt. However, characters do not necessarily use all seven buttons, nor need to follow a traditional six- or four-button format. At most, two human players can control characters, with others controlled by the engine's AI; including a demo mode where the computer controls all characters. In addition, several gameplay modes are available via the main menu.

The main mode of play is Arcade mode, where a character fights random characters as in other fighter games. There are also three different kinds of team modes: Single, Simul, and Turns. A fourth mode, Tag, is listed in the EXE along with two related script controllers, but was never used. In team mode, either side can use any of the team modes. Single is identical to not having a team, Simul gives that side a computer-controlled partner who fights simultaneously, and Turns uses a different character for each round of play, varying from a set number usually from 2 to 4 different characters in a row. If set, the characters' starting life will be adjusted according the number of players on each side. If one side has two characters and the other has only one in one of the Team modes, the side with two characters will each have half their respective normal maximum life values. Pre-WinM.U.G.E.N versions of the engine could have this feature adjusted or disabled via the options screen or the config file, but due to the nature of the hack, the option has not yet been reactivated.

Team Co-op is similar to Simul, except both human players fight on the same side at the same time.

In Survival mode, there is an endless stream of opponents, fighting them either one by one or two in a simul match. The objective is to beat as many opponents as possible, with the game ending when the player's team is defeated. The player can choose to play alone or in Simul or Turns mode, though single player mode gives the highest life and life recovered at the end of each round won. Survival mode was last addition done to the engine. As such, it is not present in any of the DOS versions of M.U.G.E.N.

Kung Fu Man

File:Kungfuman.png

Elecbyte created a single character, Kung Fu Man, for the engine. He is a practitioner of karate with hair spiked straight up and closed eyes who wears a gi with a black shirt underneath, blue shoes, and a headband. Kung Fu Man's movelist relies on a variety of close-range strikes, and, oddly enough, is more reminiscent of Karate. As Kung Fu Man is the template character for MUGEN creations, each of his moves serves as a guide for basic coding principles.

Reception

Demos of the engine have made their way into magazines. M.U.G.E.N has appeared on television shows more than once, notably seen on G4's "Attack of the Show", as Peter Griffin from Family Guy fought Sakura Kasugano from Street Fighter in Gato's stage from Garou: Mark of the Wolves. The show's hosts believed it was a hack of Marvel vs. Capcom and stated such, but it has been proven to be a video of M.U.G.E.N gameplay. Later it was featured on a VH1 internet countdown. this game is the game that have the most acc and player

See also

• Fighter Maker

External links

• A Windows version (typically called WinMugen) can be downloaded at RouHei's website.
• RandomSelect hosts several versions of mugen, including the high-res versions.
• Mugen-Wiki is a wiki covering various aspects related to the engine and original/semi-original characters.
• Mugen-Infantry has a character database and downloads
• M.U.G.E.N Fighters Guild Network is one of the largest English forums.
• Mugen Fury (English and French) covers creations database, tutorials and community.
• MugenBR (Portuguese, has an English speaking section. Main mugen hub of Brazil)
• PãoDeMugen (Portuguese, has an English speaking section. Other site of Brazil)
• MUGENACJA (Polish, has an English speaking section.)