M.U.G.E.N

M.U.G.E.N is a 2D fighting game engine designed by Elecbyte starting in 1999 using the Allegro game programming library. Elecbyte distributed beta versions that ran under DOS, Linux, and Windows. The engine allows for anyone to create characters, stages, and other game objects through interpreted text files and graphics and sound compilations, and it also supports MP3 background music during gameplay. The engine is very powerful and flexible, allowing for the same type of functionality found in most any commercial 2D fighting game, such as the Street Fighter games produced by Capcom or the King of Fighters games produced by SNK.

M.U.G.E.N history


From 1999 to 2001, there were several incremental releases of the M.U.G.E.N engine for DOS. Development of the DOS version was ceased when Elecbyte switched to the Linux platform in late 2001. An unprecedented number of donations to the Elecbyte site soon followed, as many users would much rather have a Windows versions instead. The new Linux releases added features that the DOS version does not have. There were then promises of a Windows port of the engine, but the development group decided to discontinue the project in 2003, apparently due to leaks of a private WinMugen beta that was provided to donators. The WinMugen beta contained a two-character roster limit, locked game modes, and nag screens. A "no limit" hack that removes these limitations was made available in 2004. This Windows version is functionally the same as the last Linux release and is the most widely used version of M.U.G.E.N today, despite some controversies - modifications made on the actual engine are sometimes seen as analogue to those made on the creations developed for it, and this is a recurrent topic of discussion among M.U.G.E.N fans (see Fork (software development)). Since development of the engine was halted, and no source code has been made available by Elecbyte, there are now some projects in the works to make a clone of the engine from scratch.

Legality of M.U.G.E.N
Be advised that previous license agreements for usage of MUGEN from Elecbyte have expired, and it appears that a new license agreement will never be granted. thus, any current distribution of MUGEN has not been authorized by Elecbyte and is therefore illegal, although Elecbyte has never taken any legal action; it has simply disappeared without explanation. Many people choose to continue using MUGEN despite the lack of a new license. Creations such as characters and stages for use with MUGEN are not a part of Elecbyte's license, but only the software itself is. So it is up to each individual to decide whether or not to violate Elecbyte's license by using MUGEN. Elecbyte itself has not made a public statement since 2003 when they stated that the project had "hit a snag". That it was, in the truth, an excuse to have disappeared off the globe, leaving the users and creators with no alternative.

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, most standing communities enforce a loose "time-release" rule, where 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 typically served to help avoid any legal pressure from the copyright holders. But some copyright holders, like Capcom understand that it is just a fanart work and don't care about it.

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 Mugen 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.

Where to get M.U.G.E.N
The download comes with a sample character, a sample stage, and all required information on developing your own characters, stages, and other add-ons. Developer tools formerly made available by the authors of M.U.G.E.N are now hosted at Winane's Whatever below.


 * RandomSelect hosts the Linux and DOS versions.
 * No Limit Winmugen Patch provides the Windows version.
 * Elecbyte is where M.U.G.E.N originated, although the site suddenly disappeared in late 2003. Snapshots are available from the Internet Archive.

Game projects


These are some full game projects being made using M.U.G.E.N:


 * Brutal - Paws of Fury Remix
 * DC vs Marvel Mugen Edition
 * Dragon Ball Z Millenium
 * Sanctuary Soldiers
 * The King of Fighters Z (also called KoFZ)
 * KOFRemix
 * Mortal Kombat Mugen (in Spanish)
 * Street Fighter Special Operations, a full project of just edited / revisted SF characters
 * Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo (in Japanese)
 * Marvel vs Capcom 3
 * Ultimate Mugen Master Battle : Creator Melee (also known as The Most Original Mugen Full Game Project Ever)

More information and downloads

 * Mugen Fighters Guild is an active English-speaking user and developer community forum that also has a growing international forum.
 * MugenBR is a large news site and download archive in Portuguese, and also has a multi-national community forum.
 * Mugen Fury is another French and English site with news and downloads.
 * NeoGouki's MUGEN Creations is the site of one developer who has created a great deal of quality work for use with the engine.
 * I-Xcell Network is a network of developer sites with M.U.G.E.N content, as well as a forum and an Oekaki section.
 * B.M.T - Brazil Mugen Team M.U.G.E.N site(in Portuguese), one of the oldest braziliam teams, maker of the Street Fighter Special Operations full project
 * Mugenesis Another M.U.G.E.N site(in Portuguese)
 * Mugen China Naruto Chars A good collection of Naruto M.U.G.E.N characters.
 * Sammas's News Site The daily-updated news site for M.U.G.E.N releases and updates.
 * Mugenation Page with lots of characters.

Clone projects
These are ongoing projects that intend to duplicate the functionality of M.U.G.E.N.
 * Rhakys is a closed source project.
 * openMugen is an open source project.
 * Mugen.Net is an open source project.
 * There are also private projects that are not yet publicized.

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