Website to Visit: Thundercats & Silverhawks Mugen Project

I just heard about a new project being started up called Thundercats vs Silverhawks.

Visit the site

Volzzilla's Mugen Reviews: Hulk 2099 by Acey

The following is part of CVGUnited's database where comprehensive reviews are given by me, and allow for the community to offer similar content and give their own ratings of the characters. To check it out, go to:

CVGUnited.com's Character Review Database

As part of the Infinity Mugen Team's release party, Hulk 2099 has gone through some pretty significant updates. Acey did all of the sprite editing and coding initially, but the majority of the updates are courtesy of R@ce45.

I like his look as he looks very comic accurate, and you have to love the way that tongue waggles around in his mouth. I think the sound is also decent as it gives me a feeling for the comic character's true nature...and that is one of the things you need in regards to sound coding for a Mugen character.

The main part of the update involves adding moves to him, and that is always a good thing, so thank you R@ce45. They are comic accurate for the most part with their brutality, I just wish there was something a little more unique added (more on that later.)

*Specials*
----------------
- Pass Charge: Slash attack
- Rebound Charge: Charge attack
- Ground Stomp: Shakes the ground knocking opponent to the ground
*Hypers*
---------------
- Tri-Slash: Strong combination slash attack
- Gamma Haste Mode: Enters a mode where he can attack faster
- Gamma Charge: Stronger Charge attack
- Gamma Rage Mode: Enters a mode where his attacks are stronger
- Gamma Slash: Multiple slashing attack

Other than the Ground Stomp which I like, to me the special and hyper moves, which I am glad there are more of, mostly seem unimaginative. I'd like to see a little more differentiation with the moves. Plus, Wikipedia says he has a healing factor, why not incorporate that somewhat. People more familiar with the comic history of the character can probably discuss this more than me. I also think the AI is very weak, especially for a character with Hulk in his name. He does not take full advantage of his basic attacks, and under-utilizes his specials/hypers. This is one of the reasons I had him fight himself in the video, as everyone else was basically kicking his butt. A bug was shown of him walking on air, and the Rebound Charge special can sometimes be too fast to see the effect.

You can download him at:
http://www.infinitymugenteam.com/infinity.wiki/mediawiki/index.php?title=Hulk_2099

My score: 7

And take this link if you would like to offer up any discussion on the character and/or offer up your own review/score:
http://cvgunited.com/index.php/topic,173.0.html

By taking that same link, you will also be given the chance to give your own score, and then compare it to others given by members of the community there. Hope to see you there rating characters and giving your own feedback!

Grudge Match: Mai Shiranui vs Chun Li

So I've been wondering if Mai Shiranui from SNK's fighting games could beat Chun Li from Capcom's. I think it would be a close fight. But I think Chun Li Would ultimately win. She has better energy-based fighting moves.

Mugen: Mai Shiranui

Mai Shiranui is one of the most popular female fighters in video games. Could it be her personality? Her fighting skills? Or her outfits? Take your pick. There are several versions of her for MUGEN. I doubt that I have all of them. Her moves are falshy and always interesting to watch...especially for adolescent boys such as I was when I first encountered the Character. The Street Fighter craze had started and companies like SNK were attempting to make their characters stand out. Mai certainly does stand out.

Mai Mugen Versions

Name	Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Downloads
cvs_mai		unknown	7	6	7	Download
mai_cvs		Unknown	7	6	7	Download
mai		Unknown	7	6	7	Download

Here is the test Demo

Creator Interviews: Scruffy Dragon Production's Seth Zankuten

1) How did you first learn about MUGEN and how long ago was that?

I think I first learned about MUGEN back when I did Mega Man sprites. I was a freshman in high school (We called it Intermediate school, grades 9-10 only), at the time, 1999. My buddy Zephiroth X (The Cold Mage) was going to be making a Mega Man vs. Final Fantasy game. So I started looking for Fighting Game Engines over the next few years, and I wound up downloading the MUGEN beta when it came out in 2001.

2) Why did you decide to get into the creation side of MUGEN, and do you focus more on spriting or coding?

I have a love for battle systems like no other. Originally, I was a sprite artist that wanted to make sure my sprites did exactly what I imagined so I picked up coding...then I started finding people that wanted me to code their characters so I started to lean towards coding. As of right now I'm working on a degree in game/simulation and design so coding is kind of my focus all around now.

3) I could not think of a better degree for you to get. When you are just focusing on having fun and playing, what characters do you tend to use the most and why?

I usually don't play MUGEN for fun...but I like to load up the full games and play them. When I do play MUGEN I enjoy playing with P.O.T.S' Cammy and M.Bison/Vega, and sometimes Big Eli King's Venom.

4) What comic character not already made or in the process of being made do you wish was MUGENized?

Well, I don't know if he has been started but Daredevil has always been a dream to make.

5) Can you please tell me about what current WIP you are most looking forward to other than your own?

As far as my own, easily the Phase1 for DCvsMARVEL. Other than that I have about 20 characters on the back burners ready to be cooked and seasoned, withh most of those being on the Down-Low.

What WIP am I looking forward to other than my own? Hmmm I'm really looking forward to a good Shocker...but I haven't seen any complete ones yet. (editor’s note - Check out BigPimp’s WIP of Shocker here: http://cvgunited.com/index.php/topic,40.0.html )

6) How and why did you get involved with Scruffy Dragon Productions?

Well, back when I started coding, I wanted to create a functioning Maximum Spider for Spider-Man....back then I wasn't concerned about balancing and functionality, just how things looked. Buyog saw my Spider-man and asked me to join up with him in his quest to finish this game. I agreed and joined the Ranks of Buyog, Loganir, Magus and McCready and after that I'm sure most people know the story.

7) Very nice, and glad that all happened. Since then, please tell the readers all the characters you have worked on towards their release.

Off the Top of my head;
Spider-Man
Superboy
Carnage
Angel Ryu
Ironman (Magus)
Superman (Kal-Elvis and Han)
Savage Hulk (Buyog and Bob)
Ultron (McCready)
Strong Guy (McCready)
Evil Dan (ilcane87)

I've had several discussions with creators like Syn, iTorres, Grave of Death, and others with coding suggestions and help, while I've also helped Sprite artists tweak their sprites to be top notch. So I guess I'm really a Mugen Coach more than a Creator ;)

8) Which one of those stands out the most to you and why?

I know most people are going to think its Spider-Man but, the one that stands out the most to me is Carnage....reason? Well he was a hack job beta that I really never had time for, so I threw a bunch of crap together just to release him...and people still download him. I really want to redo all the sprites, as that was just a trial run on what I could actually do back in the day. So most likely when this happens, I will come up with a whole new concept for him. Carnage will have some things from the old version but in all reality he will probably be massively different. Mostly new sprites, some moves may stay the same with just new animations. One day this will happen, but as of right now I have bigger fish to fry.

9) Speaking of Spider-Man, I noticed that you have a pretty massive update on the way in some regard with the Blacksuit version. Is this going to be an all new character, or a 2nd mode of your main Spiderman? Can you tell us more about him please?



Uh-Oh, someone’s digging deep. Black-Suit is kind of behind closed doors right now. All I can say is that WINMUGEN may not be able to handle him alone.

10) I really like your Superboy, but noticed that v.65 and v.95 are massively different. I like them so much and saw numerous differences that I actually have both in my roster. When you released v.95, you said some of the moves were just placeholders for when he gets a full release. May I ask what will change between those versions? And when might we be on the lookout for him?

As you may or may not know, Titan Goku and I both sprite on Superboy, and we originally had two completely different WIPs of him. As of right now Titan Goku is MIA and he had a ton of plans for the new update of Superboy…as did I. The only updates I was able to put in where my own sprites and gameplay elements. We'll have to wait on big TG before we know what is really in store for him.

11) We all know you are working very hard on Phase 1 of Scruffy's DCvMarvel project, and word has it, the release is semi close. Can you tell us how things are going on that please? And what can we expect to see that we might not be familiar with from other game projects of that nature. I do not suppose I could get you to guesstimate when it might be ready for the public?

As of right now the Mugen Community has only seen snippets and pieces of our full plan. We don't want Phase 1 to just be another screen pack with DC and Marvel characters. We all want it to feel like a full game, not just a MvC rip off, but something stand alone. There are many new game elements and features to make it original but still have that exciting high impact, lightning paced game play everyone has grown to love.

We were aiming for Scruffyversary, but a few things had held us back from actual release. We want to give the best we got and not just something half-finished.

12) For anyone that has seen your signature, avatar, and anything else that you choose picture wise to represent you, they would know you are a big Cyclops fan. May I ask what is so appealing to you about him, and why is it you've not actually made your own version of him for Mugen to this point? (i'm assuming your not heavily involved in verz's astonishing version, but if i'm wrong so be it)

Cyclops has always been my favorite X-men. When I was young I always picked him on all the games, and always claimed "Dibs". I believe the reason behind it all was when I took a bunch of my brothers comics when I was young and I read "Uncanny X-men 175". This issue is part of the Phoenix Saga where Scott defends himself against the X-men (Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Rogue, Shadowcat, even Lockheed) with a pair of broken ribs. Ever since then Cyclops has been an underdog that gets pushed aside for characters such as Wolverine.

Why haven't I made one? I've thought about it but then I look at Sunboy's and I'm pretty happy with his version. I know I could go and add some flashy effects and maybe a move or two, but really its not worth my time right now to try and give him a face lift, when I enjoy playing as the one Capcom and Sunboy made already.

13) Any tips you would like to share on how you all work that may help other creators?

Don't quit, and be kind. When you quit, all your work was for nothing. You lose part of yourself to what you never completed, even if something takes you 10 years. Finish it and be proud.


14) Everyone knows that MUGEN creation is very detailed oriented and time consuming. What keeps you motivated to continue your work?

I get bored...and I can get lost in coding. Just imaging being able to do something with your favorite character, than make it come true is captivating to me. I heart it.

Grudge Match: Felicia vs Wonder Woman

Don't get me wrong, I think Felicia from Darkstalkers is very formidable. I for one would not want to have to fight her. Her power set is similar to Cheetah's and I just don't see why Wonder Woman would have any more trouble taking down Felicia than she does Cheetah. To be honest, I think the fight would be over quickly. I saged a fight in MUGEN just to see how the characters would play out.

Mugen: Felicia

Felicia is from Capcom's Darkstalkers games. I like the character because she is graphically striking. She is fun to watch and fun to play with. Her powers and moves are based on cats. I think it is definitely worth having in your MUGEN. I have found 2 versions of the her, I don't think that this all there are and if you know of any please leave the info in the comments.

Felicia Mugen Versions

Name	Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Downloads
Felicia (mvc)		N64Mario	7	6	7	Download
Felicia		Unknown	7	6	7	Download

Here is the Test Video

Websites to Visit: SinhRa.com

For those of you who do not know, Eternaga is one of the legends in Mugen. He was one of the founding members of the Infinity Mugen Team before retiring from them and going off on his own. He now has his own website that is pretty cool and you should check out.

One thing you will find are many hosted characters. You will find:
- Mega Man X by Chaotic
- Blade by Doggiedoo
- Black Ranger by Ermac Won
- Young Link by Ermac Won (my favorite version of this character)
- Cutman by Excurision
- Iceman by Excurision
- Symbiote Onslaught by Excurision
- Metalman by Laspacho
- Crashman by Laspacho
- Lou by Laspacho
- King by Spawn
...And every character ever made by Sludge (which all rock, so check them out)
These can be found at: http://sinhra.com/sinhra/mugenhostcharacter/index.htm

Etg, which is also a name he goes by, is also an expert with photoshop. Check out one of his many sprite tutorials here:




This is one of the characters he is working on that I am looking forward to, Yuna from Final Fantasy X:

But he is also working on:
- Sakura
- Dante
- Fireman
- Helmetless Megaman (which is downloadable)




There are also a number of stages you can download at his website. Here are a couple images:

To get those stages, see his sprite tutorials, and to check out the website for yourself, go to: http://sinhra.com/

Grudge Match: Darkseid vs M. Bison

Who would win in a fight: Darkseid or M. Bison? In my opinion Darkseid is the most evil because his goal is to conquer the whole universe. Bison on other hand seems to just want take over the earth. I think in a true fight, Darkseid would kill Bison with his "Omega Beams". No way Bison could compete with that. Here is a video showing a fight in Mugen.

Website to Visit: Doorhenge's Mugen

I have heard of a great site to find stages and screenpacks that you may be missing for your MUGEN. I was really impressed with the selection and I certainly don't have all of the content available.

Check it out: Doorhenge's Mugen

Mugen: M. Bison

M. Bison is most definitely the villain of the Street Fighter franchise. The thing is M. Bison is really a powerful character and really evil. He has been in almost every version of the franchise. My favorite move he has is called the "Psycho Crusher". He glows and flies across the screen and knocks his opponent. In Japan the character is called "Vega" so some versions in MUGEN are called "Vega". Apparently the name change took place because in Japan the boxer character was named "M. Bison" kinda like "Mike Tyson" so Capcom change things around in the United States. M. Bison became Balrog. Balrog became Vega. Vega became M. Bison. I have found several versions of the character in MUGEN.

M. Bison Mugen Versions

Name	Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Downloads
Bison CVS		Unknown	7	6	7	Download
Bison CVS 2		Unknown	7	6	7	Download
CVS Vega		Unknown	7	6	7	Download
Dead Bison		Unknown	7	6	8	Download
God Bison		Unknown	7	6	7	Download
God Vega		Unknown	7	8	9	Download
MBison		Unknown	7	6	7	Download
SF2 Vega		Unknown	7	6	7	Download

Here are the test videos

WIP Focus: Scorpion by Hobgoblin

At CVGUnited.com, CarnageBrunner won a mini contest that allowed him to choose the focus of a WIP Focus article. This was his choice.

1) So how did you decide upon bringing Scorpion to Mugen?

Well, I'm a big Spider-man fan, and I always loved Scorpion, so when I found some good bases to use for him, I thought to myself, "why not?"

2) Sounds like a good reason to me. Please share your thoughts about his general comic back history and about the character in general.

Scorpion was a private investigator named Mac Gargen. He was hired by JJ to follow around peter parker in order to know how Peter gets those marvelous pictures of Spider-man. When Gargen had his transformation to the Scorpion, he became insane and because he is so crazy, I think he'll make an interesting character to play in MUGEN.

3) So tell the readers what bases you are using for the character and for the various moves themselves.

At the moment, the main base is Venom. For the tail, I'm using a shortened version of Justice's tail from Guilty Gear. About the moves, Scorpion's going to have punches, but no kicks…instead of kicks he'll have tail-related attacks.

4) I know its early on, but may I ask how the progress going on Scorpion?

Right now, Scorpion has all the standing basic attacks. He also has his stance, walking forward, and 2 standing get hits.

5) What has stood out the most during the creation process in a positive manner to this point? What has been giving you the most trouble?

The thing that has been giving me the most trouble is…you guessed it, the tail. But the most annoying thing to draw from scratch is the tail "pack" which connecting the tail to his back.

6) Everyone wants to know about that tail, so can you please tell us what all you have planned for that tail?

Well, I'm planning him to use the tail a lot, as I've mentioned earlier, he won't have kicks, but tail strikes. I want him to use his tail to grab an opponent, and use his tail for many "gadget” attacks he have beyond just the stinger.

7) What kind of special and hyper moves might we expect beyond what you might have just mentioned in the previous question?

I don't have many ideas on how he will use just the tail yet, but I’ll figure out something. Although, Scorpion is pretty fast as well, so he might have hypers related to that. As for the "gadgets" I've mentioned earlier, I plan to have laser, acid, poison, etc, coming from the tail.

8) I'm fairly new to Mugen still, but I know at one point there is/was a Web Crawler project. If this is still active, will Scorpion be a part of this? May I ask how things are going on that project in general?

Well, I don't know if the project is still active, so I'm pretty sure Scorpion won't be part of it. I am interested in having a Spider-man project related to the Scruffy Dragon site, but haven't really discussed anyone about it.

9) That project sounds like a great idea. Any hints you would like to share on how his intro might be with Spider-Man? Will he have any intros or winposes with any other characters?

He will have intros with other characters. As for Spider-man, I'm planning an intro involving JJ. And who knows? Maybe he'll have something with vulture too.

10) So what are your general thoughts on beta releases? Can you give a possible timetable on a beta to release and/or a goal for the full release?

Well as stated before, Scorpion is very early on and would take some good time to complete. I don't have a date on release, but he will need to have all the basics done, plus a couple of hyper and specials before even considering a beta release.

To learn more about the character's comic history:
http://www.marvel.com/universe/Venom_(Mac_Gargan)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Gargan
If you would like to follow Hobgoblin's progress on Scorpion, you can do so by keeping track of the following link:
http://www.scruffydragon.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6522

Grudge Match: Wonder Woman vs Psylocke

I really like Psylocke but I don't think she could beat Wonder Woman. Hpw would it go down? Well, I think that it would come down to hand-to-hand and Wonder Woman wins on that basis because she has centuries of battle experience. I staged the fight in MUGEN.