Lab Zero to give MLP project Skullgirls engine if $725,000 mark is reached, Skullgirls linux port in the making

WHAT THE..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AT LEAST CHARGE THEM FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK MIKE Z!

April fools isn't in 11 days...

Really now Hypermarth. A game that's going to be free for us in the FGC + Everyone should go even more into financial issues.
I prefer the goodwill in giving Mane6 the engine, even if they don't meet their mark.
They might meet that mark real soon though.
I hope.

@1 grow up.

Good for the Mane6 guys - They've put in a ton of work and it's good to see it being appreciated by others. I wonder if it'll come to console eventually?

Lab Zero needs money, why would he put all of that hard work into a fighting game engine and then just give it up for free.

I mean I guess he could be planning to get the Bronies on his side, which could work I guess.... he could get a lot more donations from them.

I normally like to act as the voice of reason, but if I have to be the guy being upset this time I don't mind.

I'm not exactly sure what this article is about.

Mane6 is back with a vengeance, and now they've got Faust on their side. Good gravy...

Fishing for dat brony money now? LabZero's desperate to get the 3rd character out. Whatever, any means necessary as long as I get to see Andy or Stanley animated.

Hypermarth, they'll give them the engine if they reach a certain (and substantial) monetary milestone. Either way they get money out of this. Why complain about something that doesn't concern you in the least.

I'm all for it. It'd be nice to see some more collaboration by indie studios on fighting games. Heck, if any of them can come up with a decent fighter, it's just that much more added to the FGC.

"Mane6 is the developers behind My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic which was recently cancelled by Hasbro due to copyright infringement. The fighting game engine would be used for the current project that is being developed which is not the cancelled project, but a slightly different game that is being led by one of the creators of My Little Pony."

I think this maybe would read:

"Mane6 ARE the developers behind 'My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic,' which was recently cancelled by Hasbro due to copyright infringement. The fighting game engine would be used for their current, altered project that is being developed."

Pffft...when Gen Y tries to write articles. C'mon kids, you tried to butcher the English Language with phones but it DIDN'T work, now catch up and do it right.

This is wrong on so many levels... MLP can't get famous at the cost of LabZero's hard work.
The engine is one of the many factors Skullgirls is so unique...

I'm completely against this idea.

Meh... wishing I could delete posts now lol. I'll stick by what I said since I pretty much have to now. I suppose if it gets them closer to Black Dhalia I'll settle for the bronies in my fighting game group dropping every other game.

I don't like my little pony but it's awesome that they would do that. You're a class act Lab zero.

@#11: I think you're confusing the engine with the system mechanics.

For anyone who does not know, here is a rundown (given by Mike Z during the Final Roundbats stream) of what the Skullgirls engine has over the engine Mane6 was using for Fighting is Magic.

"What does SG's engine get Mane6 over FM2K?
For the players:
- Widescreen and HD resolution support
- Per-pixel lighting on sprites, a first for ANY 2D engine
- Real shadows
- 2D and 3D environment support
- Camera zooming
- Negative-edge and multiple-button-input special moves (QCT+PP, etc)
- No corner problems (rapid sprite-flipping, etc)
- Continuous collision: characters don't pass through each other when they shouldn't, no matter how fast they move
- Unlimited palettes per character
- GGPO integration for seamless, non-delay-based online without a separate client
- Input display, save/load state, dummy record/playback, and all the other Skullgirls training mode features
- Frameskip that still accepts inputs on skipped frames, eliminating timing-based problems such as unblockables or dropped combos

For the developers:
- Full source code and any existing development tools; the ability to fix any problems with the engine themselves instead of having to just DealWithIt
- Tech support
- Future engine revisions and bugfixes
- HLSL shader support
- any graphical effects your little heart desires can be created
- In-game palette editor, customizeable debug keys and many other time-saving features
- A scripting system written in plain English, with move motions written in regular fighting game notation and a robust munge tool
- The ability for sprites to tell when they have left the screen, rather than just the stage
- Support for 32-bit (i.e. truecolor, unpalettized) art for sprites when necessary, and mixing of truecolor and palettized frames
- Support for teams/assists and a console release, if ever desired."

http://skullheart.com/forums/index.ph...

Not a brony myself, but I doubt Mane6 can put in as much effort as LabZero in the animation quality, hitbox balancing, and the overall presentation and feel of the game. The hand-drawn animation quality alone blew me away.

It's not like giving them the engine automatically makes Mane6's game godlike, it just gives them the tools to have the potential for a great fighter. They still have to put in the hard work and time to get it up to skullgirls' standards of polish and fine tuning. If they feel as passionate about their game as LabZero, then power to them for getting ahold of the tools to follow their vision - this is assuming the skullgirls kickstarter even gets to that goal anyway.

If this gets LabZero another big buttload of cash so they can keep doing what they're doing, then I'm all for it.

It's a show of good faith, but at the same time it's obviously a way to get some of that brony cash we saw come in at the beginning of the EVO charity fund. Nothing wrong with that of course, they want to get as much money for their own game as possible.

#15 is right though. Even with the engine, I doubt Mane6 will even come close to the same level of technical quality that Skullgirls has. A bunch of guys working on a passion project for free versus paid developers? Yeah.

I suppose there is no way Mane6 could have afforded the price of the engine, so the donations act as a half-off(Or better) sort of deal.

Off Topic:

Hello Keyblade! Not sure if I've seen you post to EHubs before. Nice to see new additions to the writing staff.

I'm all for milking money out of bronies, and it's apparent Mike Z is as well, but what I don't get is why Mane6 would WANT the Skullgirls engine. I would've thought they wanted to make their own fighting game, not just Skullgirls with horses.

Why is it a question of whether or not Mane6 will make a game as good as Skullgirls? I know you guys are SG fanboys and don't want anyone to dare touch your game, but come on, this has nothing to do with that. Skullgirls is sharing their ENGINE, not their system mechanics, artstyle, or anything like that. There are tons of different games that have been made with the same engine, and none of them were clones. You guys don't need to worry about Mane6 making a better game, just be thankful we're getting completely new fighters.

@#20: The engine is not the same thing as the system mechanics. Please read my last post for details.

Of all the people to help. why?

From my poitn of view I'm happy to see indie game developers helping out each other, this in fact may be a good step forwad for the FGC, unlike what most buthurt fanboys around here think.

@18 shut up

@18 - I agree.

The game is...its a game or a dream nerd wish??

Crapcom, please, release a real fighter game...NOW!!

After this, can they make something people would actually want? I like game devs. I have no clue why people above age 12 like MLP. I want to be happy for these guys...but goodness, they make it hard.

Also, why not just give them the engine instead of sucking up more dough from apparently REALLY loyal fans of your own ip. It goes only so far before it gets ridiculous...

@26
It's a fan game so it's both. Melty Blood started off as a fan game YEARS ago.. now it's a full blown game supported by a game company. That's more or less how Skull Girls started off too.

Woo! In your face Hasbro!

So they're trying to bring in that Brony money to that third DLC character. Clever, clever move Lab Zero.

mane6 should cough up the dough themselves on the last day and just close it out,
i imagine licensing an engine like that at that price point is more than a steal, i mean if ryu's arm alone cost the same amount to model

that way SG will get the 3rd character and everybody have a merry christmas, or happy birthday, whatever

@Hypermath Lab Zero is trying to get the fans of MLP to donate and push for that third DLC character. It's a smart move in my opinion, since the DLC drive is coming to an end.

@32 Lol ahhh...yes... there goes the familiar troll opposing force.

I'm all in donating money to SG but this is just too much now.

I'm failing to see the business reasoning behind this. If we somehow double the Skullgirls funds, rather than get something else for Skullgirls they're giving something they made, an asset they could license mind you, away for free to a tertiary party.

The only reasoning behind this I can think of is that they're trying to tap into another resource pool at the 11th hour here; however I can't imagine the overlap between people who are into fighting games as well as fans of... notponiesanymore is very large.

Also wouldn't that team then have to pretty much start from scratch since they would be abandoning their engine as well as all of the assets they developed? This would bring them to square 1.

Still all the best to the Lab Zero team.

So, what happened to that Pokemon fighter I saw on the web a while ago? That still a thing?

Did they provide a reason for having to reach that goal before giving the engine or are they not even trying to justify their cash grab?

See the reason he did this is because if he can get a different pool of fans to donate, the chance of reaching that goal is higher. This pleases the SG fans and the Pony fans while giving them all that bank.

Genius.

What about Card Sagas Wars?! They deserve it more!

truthfully I don't like mlp. but as a gamer it is very nice to see another developer paying it forward. Even though I will never play the mlp game. its gunna be good karma for zero labs if they give mane6 the jump they so desperately need after there whole debacle. Indie developers are on the rise and I love it. some games need to be simple and to the core of games and how they used to be.
And both companies have shown both. I really hope sony and Microsoft get pummeled one day. indie is something to look at.

I hope the donation was success, I would love to see mane6 continue their project. They already got the fame and should not let it go.

FUTURE SIGHT: Donations stop at 720k, sighs of relief the world around.

I can say I am pretty hyped for this.

Textbook hating in this comment section. Delicious tears are delicious.

Ok, lab zero was pretty smart for what it did before but this is f*cking GENIUS. The market for the bronies is insane. MLP can go die in a fire for all I care but this is going to completely revitalize funding for them

For what it's worth, two days after they announced this Fighting is MAgic support SKullgirls has gotten over $40,000. And they brought more $1,000 tier awards in and they seem to be selling well.

I'm a little confused about the engine licensing.

1. Is the engine available for licensing now? Like a program? Or is this the first time another game has been offered the license?

2. Will the engine ever be available for other independents to purchase/use? It seems that with FGM2002 being the last available indie engine, Mike could probably throw his up on Steam in a couple years and make a bundle. Any plans?

I'd love to make my own fighter (as would a lot of you I expect) and democratizing the engine seems like a grand move for the FGC. Awesome job Mr.Z!

They got to make it happen. They got to. Fighting is Magic will NEVER die. Ever.

It seems to me that the community cares more about this game than its own developers do. The community showed great support in trying to get this game to EVO. The community showed great support in trying to get this game mainstream at ALL. All the devs seemed to have done was post some shotty trailers and art work and addressed DAY-1 issues since the release of this game.

What was the saying? Dont count your chickens before they are hatched? Sounds like a perfect example of the ENTIRE Skullgirls development.

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@52: I couldn't agree more. I'm following them both on FB and Twitter.

Nice, i hope they reach that goal!