VersuS

VersuS is a simple DOS-based eight-character fighting / platform game, on a single non-scrolling screen.  Last man standing wins.   Combos are counted, and add to the experience points gained by the character.  Leveling up increases health and strength.  Scores are displayed between rounds.  The game lasts forever.  Download game and source code.   It will run in most any DOS emulator.

It has been specifically designed so new characters and stages can be added later, as if to support a "mod" scene.  The two tools are VSCC, the Versus Character Creator, and VSSC, the Versus Stage Creator.  The character creator, VSCC, is essentially a compiler for its own scripting language.  Image and sound files are merged with movement and attack data via the script to create a single, stand-alone "VSC" character file.   The stage creator,  VSSC, merely allows one to interactively place platforms onto a static bitmap, then saves the bitmap and floor data into a stand-alone "VSS" stage file.  These floors are not drawn by the game at all, so creating invisible platforms is possible.

How To Play

Unzip the download into C:\VERSUS for example.  Ensure your SOUND environment variable is set to C:\VERSUS or wherever you've put CT-VOICE.DRV.  The BLASTER environment variable should also be set according to however your system is set up.   (Remember we're working with a pre- Plug And Play operating system.)  Start VERSUS.EXE.

It will ask for "computer speed".  Enter 1 and press return.  Later, if the game runs too fast, up this value.  (It's a band-aid added late in the game's development.)  If you have joysticks plugged in, it will ask you to swirl the stick then press a joystick button so it can calibrate it.  (The DOS emulator DOSBox for Mac OS X detected my dual-analog joystick, so Versus could use it!)

The stage select screen appears.  Factory is shown in the screen shots, MarioBro has a black screen with white platforms in the same places as that classic game.  You may also tinker with the game options on the right side by first pressing the capital letter of the option (such as I for Impact), then pressing a number.

• Number of Characters is the total number of characters onscreen.  Set it from 2 to 8.
• Impact controls how far a struck character moves backward after being hit.  (Don't use a value greater than 5.  You've been warned.)  
• Recoil is how long a struck character is stunned -- how long until he can start moving again.  
• Recovery is how long that person is invincible after being hit.  
• The Experience Point multipler affects all characters equally.  But, since experience points are awarded per-hit basis, not per-combo or per-death, the multiplier greatly helps characters who do the most work of clearing a round.  
• Message Time is how long messages (such as combo hit counts) will stay underneath a character before disappearing.

The default values are good for sane play.  By adjusting the Impact, Recovery, and Recoil values, combos can be anything from physically impossible to ridiculously easy.  As a rule of thumb, Recoil must be less than Recovery to allow combos, assuming a high impact doesn't move them away too far.  An impact of zero means a character doesn't move back at all when struck, and when combined with zero Recovery, a single foot, held extended, is death to all who touch it.

After pressing return on a stage, the character select appears.  Ken and Martial are the only two characters I made so far, and Martial is a dumbed-down palette-swap of Ken.  Use the arrow keys to highlight someone, and press a particular button to assign that character to that particular controller.  Repeat for all characters.  The choices are:

• 1 for joystick #1
• 2 for joystick #2
• K for the keyboard -- arrow keys to walk and duck, Cntrl to punch, Shift to jump/kick
• P for the numeric Keypad -- may or may not work with emulator
• B for keyboard 2 -- not implemented, or not working with emulators
• Return or Enter for the computer.  AI isn't really implemented; the character will move randomly.

The Escape key ends a round immediately and shows scores.  Pressing Escape on the score screen ends the game.  The score screen doesn't typically stay onscreen for very long; hold Space while its up to keep it there.