UltraCombo v1.2.5

New in v1.2.5:

• Fix: the attract mode had no music and ran too fast (#11). Two timing bugs, both checked against MAME 0.289:

  • Reads from the boot ROM chip were too fast, so the boot finished before the sound board was ready and the attract music never started (the same thing MAME fixed). Both games now play their attract music from the start.
  • The game's CPU got about 5% more time per frame than it should with translated code, so everything the game times with the CPU's own clock ran fast. The Rare coin in UltraCombo's intro took 2.4 s instead of 4.4 s; it now matches MAME.

  Thanks to CCCP1982.

• Fix: fighters flickering as they walk in (#5). The game flips to its next picture at the start of vblank and finishes drawing the fighters just after. UltraCombo took the picture a moment too late, so every few frames one came out without a fighter. It now takes it when MAME does. Thanks to clintosfan and CCCP1982.

• Disk loading is a little faster (about 4 MB/s instead of 2). At 2 MB/s, UltraCombo's intro fell behind its music, which cut the "Killer Instinct" before Glacius's movie. The VS screen still waits for the fight, so "Fight On" plays in full (#10).

• Rumble only for your own fighter: no more rumble from attract mode demo fights, the CPU opponent, or at the end of a fight.

• Run-ahead no longer stutters between movies: it pauses for a moment when a frame is too heavy to repeat, instead of starving the sound.

Save states from v1.2.0 on still load. For netplay both players need the same version.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.2.4

New in v1.2.4:

• Fix: training mode crashed UltraCombo after a minute or so (#12). The health refill could leave a fighter's health just above the maximum; the first Killer Instinct then drew its life bar far past the screen, overwrote its own memory, slowed to about half speed and froze on a black or still picture. Training now sets whole health values, in both games. Thanks to ness1776.

• Training mode: keep the Combo Breaker reward on (#8). Menu → Practice has a new option, off by default:

  • UltraCombo: Breaker spark. The white spark at the end of both life bars stays on, for practising the moves a Combo Breaker unlocks.
  • UltraCombo 2: Super meter full. In Killer Instinct 2 a breaker earns super meter, so both super meters stay full.

  Thanks to TheRealKi4Life.

• Performance overlay: LOAD instead of SPEED (#11). The second line used to show how much faster than needed the PC could emulate ("1065% SPEED"), which read as the game running too fast. It now shows the share of each frame's time spent emulating (e.g. LOAD 9%; under 100% your PC keeps up). Thanks to CCCP1982.

v1.2.3 added the Player 2 health option for practising Ultras (#8); v1.2.2 added Windows 7 and 8 support for the first-launch build (#9) and the Health refill option; v1.2.1 fixed the game running too fast when vsync doesn't work (#11); v1.2.0 brought the VS screen's full "Fight On" (#10), starting from launchers and quitting from a controller. See their notes. Save states from versions before v1.2.0 don't load, and for netplay both players need the same version.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.2.3

New in v1.2.3:

• Training mode: practise Ultras on the last bar (#8). Menu → Practice has a new Player 2 health option:

  • Full: as before.
  • Last bar: player 2 is put on their last health bar, at full health.
  • Last bar, low: player 2 is put on their last bar at 20 of 120, low enough for an Ultra.

  It's set at the start of each round and again after each combo. With Health refill off it's set once, and the damage then stays. Works in both games. Thanks to TheRealKi4Life.

v1.2.2 added Windows 7 and 8 support for the first-launch build (#9) and the Health refill option; v1.2.1 fixed the game running too fast when vsync doesn't work (#11); v1.2.0 brought the VS screen's full "Fight On" (#10), starting from launchers and quitting from a controller. See their notes. Save states from versions before v1.2.0 don't load, and for netplay both players need the same version.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.2.2

New in v1.2.2:

• Windows 7 and 8 support for the first-launch build (#9). The bundled Zig compiler needs Windows 10, so on Windows 7 and 8 the first launch now skips it and builds the game code with the bundled TinyCC (or a C compiler you have installed), instead of showing "entry point not found" boxes. A compiler that can't start or crashes now fails quietly and the next one is tried, on any Windows. TinyCC's code is slower than Zig's but still well above full speed on most PCs. Thanks to ncflagg.
• Training mode: Health refill on/off (#8). Menu → Practice has a new Health refill option. Turn it off and the clock still stays stopped, but damage adds up, so you can bring the opponent down to their last bar and practise Ultras. It's on by default, so training mode works as before. Thanks to TheRealKi4Life.

v1.2.1 fixed the game running too fast when vsync doesn't work (#11), and v1.2.0 brought the VS screen's full "Fight On" (#10), starting from launchers and quitting from a controller; see their notes. Save states from versions before v1.2.0 don't load, and for netplay both players need the same version.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.2.1

New in v1.2.1:

• The game no longer runs too fast when vsync doesn't work (#11). On a 60 Hz screen the game is timed by vsync, and if the graphics driver has vsync forced off, it ran as fast as the PC allowed. UltraCombo now notices within a few seconds, shows "Vsync isn't working here", and times the game by the sound card instead. Thanks to CCCP1982.
• Vsync on 120/144 Hz screens now keeps the game at its own speed. Setting Frame pacing to Vsync on a faster screen used to run the game at 2–2.4× speed; it stays tear-free, but the game is timed by the clock.

v1.2.0 also brought the VS screen's full "Fight On" (#10), starting from launchers, and quitting from a controller; see its notes. Save states from versions before v1.2.0 don't load, and for netplay both players need the same version.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.2.0

New in v1.2.0:

• The VS screen waits for the fight again, and the announcer finishes "Fight On". The disk used to load instantly, which cut the VS screen short along with the announcer's line (#10). Disk reads now take about as long as the cabinet's hard drive took, so the VS screen holds while the fight loads, as in the arcade: about 4.5 seconds in UltraCombo and 6 in UltraCombo 2. If you'd rather skip the wait, set Menu → Game & system → Disk loading to Instant. In netplay the host's choice applies to both players. Thanks to molasar2024.
• Start from your launcher. LaunchBox/Big Box, Playnite, ES-DE, Pegasus and Attract-Mode can start a game directly. Give the program a MAME set's zip, its CHD or a folder, for example UltraCombo.exe "D:\MAME\roms\kinst2.zip". Zipped sets are found by checksum (merged, split, non-merged or renamed), and a clone's zip such as kinst14.zip starts that version. Started this way, Esc quits (F1 opens the menu). README.md has set-up notes for each launcher.
• Quit from a controller by holding Back+Start for two seconds; a tap still opens the menu. You can also bind a quit key or pad button under Controls → Hotkeys / Gamepad hotkeys (unbound by default).

Please note: save states from earlier versions don't load in v1.2.0, and for netplay both players need v1.2.0.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.1.0

New in v1.1.0:

• Native sound. The sound board's own program is now translated for your PC at first launch, along with the game code, instead of being emulated instruction by instruction. It sounds exactly the same, bit for bit, and save states and netplay work as before. The game runs about 25% faster overall, so slower PCs keep full speed more easily. Because of the change, the first launch prepares each game once more (about a minute).
• Fullscreen switching fixed. Cycling the Fullscreen or Exclusive options in the menu no longer switches the window at every step. On GNOME that could lose the window entirely. Changes now apply once you stop on a choice; F11 and Alt+Enter still switch straight away.
• Controller button labels now match the pad you're using (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo layouts) without changing your bindings. Thanks to djultra64.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.0.4

New in v1.0.4:

• Safer save-state loading. A damaged or truncated save-state file is now refused with a message, instead of being loaded half-way or read past its end. Valid save states load exactly as before. Thanks to @djultra64 (#3).

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage. AppImages from
  v1.0.3 on can update themselves with AppImageUpdate.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.0.3

New in v1.0.3:

• The AppImage can update itself with AppImageUpdate (or tools that use it, such as Gear Lever or AppImageLauncher): it finds the newest release here and downloads only what changed. This works from v1.0.3 on; earlier AppImages need downloading once by hand.

The program itself is the same as v1.0.2.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.

UltraCombo v1.0.2

New in v1.0.2:

• Welcome screen. Started without game files, UltraCombo now shows what to add and the folder to put it in, instead of an error. Press O to open that folder, Enter to check again (the game then starts), Esc to quit.
• Lola Retro arcade CRT presets (lola-retro/arcade-15khz and arcade-15khz-flat): a 15 kHz arcade monitor look, MIT-licensed.

No game files are included: you need your own copies of MAME's kinst
and/or kinst2 sets, the ROMs and the CHD as they come (see
READ-ME-FIRST.txt in the download; README.md lists checksums). The first time
you play each game it takes about a minute to prepare it for your PC; after
that it starts straight away.

• Windows: unzip, put your game files in run/, start UltraCombo.exe.
• Linux: the tarball works like the Windows zip; or make a run/ folder beside
  the AppImage, put the game files in it, and start the AppImage.

Killer Instinct is a trademark of its owners. This project is not affiliated
with or endorsed by them.