Fightcade is a

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

client used to enable online capabilities to play of various

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

and

home console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...

systems via

emulation Emulation may refer to: *Emulation (computing), imitation of behavior of a computer or other electronic system with the help of another type of system :*Video game console emulator, software which emulates video game consoles *Gaussian process em ...

. Fightcade utilizes networking middleware

GGPO GGPO (Good Game Peace Out) is middleware designed to help create a near- lagless online experience for various emulated arcade games and fighting games. The program was created by Tony Cannon, co-founder of fighting game community site ''Shoryuken ...

to mitigate the effects of

network latency Network delay is a design and performance characteristic of a telecommunications network. It specifies the Latency (engineering), latency for a bit of data to travel across the network from one communication endpoint to another. It is typically ...

on gameplay, and functions as a successor of GGPO's now-defunct matchmaking client.

History

, the networking middleware which Fightcade uses for facilitating online play, was created by Tony Cannon in response to the poorly-received netcode of the 2006

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

re-release of '' Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting''. GGPO was originally bundled with a client that enabled users to play networked multiplayer games via an embedded emulator. The GGPO client supported a wide variety of popular arcade games, such as '' Street Fighter II'', '' King of Fighters'', and ''

Metal Slug is a Japanese run and gun video game series originally created by Nazca Corporation before merging with SNK in 1996 after the completion of the first game in the series. Spin-off games include a third-person shooter to commemorate the 10th ...

''. Pau "Pof" Oliva, one of Fightcade's major contributors, noted that the GGPO client often suffered from intermittent service, sometimes going offline for several days at a time. Expressing concern over the future of GGPO, Oliva began work on Fightcade during a prolonged GGPO service outage. Oliva originally intended to only use the Fightcade client amongst friends, but positive reception from beta testers encouraged him to publicly release the client. Fightcade launched into beta in late 2014, during a period where other contemporary netplay clients were noted to be largely unsupported by their creators, suffering from either lengthy outages or financial distress. Following the discontinuation of the GGPO client, Fightcade now functions as the GGPO client's ''de facto'' successor. A significant portion of Fightcade's functionality was developed through

reverse-engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

GGPO's client; Fightcade would go on to inherit many of the GGPO client's features. New features exclusive to Fightcade were also implemented, such as network hole punching, which forgoes the need to

port forward In computer networking, port forwarding or port mapping is an application of network address translation (NAT) that redirects a communication request from one address and port number combination to another while the packets are traversing a net ...

when connecting to other users, and replays, which enable users to re-watch their game matches at a later time. In October 2017, Fightcade 2.0 was released through a limited public beta. Features added in 2.0 include an overhauled

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

and an updated version of the bundled emulator, which enables Fightcade to support a broader range of arcade and console hardware.

Design

Fightcade contains a built-in emulator, "FinalBurn Alpha", which it uses to run supported games. GGPO is utilized for online multiplayer play, affording Fightcade the same "rollback" lag mitigation techniques present in GGPO's original client. The software client supports a large variety of arcade hardware, including many Capcom boards ( CPS-1, CPS-2,

CPS-3 The or CPS-3 is an arcade system board that was first used by Capcom in 1996 with the arcade game '' Red Earth''. It was the second successor to the CP System arcade hardware, following the CP System II. It would be the last proprietary system ...

) and SNK's

Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was ...

. With the beta release of Fightcade 2.0, Fightcade features preliminary support for the Sega Genesis and

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

. Although the software is free, players must acquire and install the ROM files themselves. This is done for legal reasons, as while the concept of emulation is perfectly legal, the necessary files are sometimes downloaded without permission from the copyright owner, which is a form of

online piracy Online piracy or software piracy is the practice of downloading and distributing copyrighted works digitally without permission, such as music or software. The principle behind piracy has predated the creation of the Internet, but its online popul ...

. This is especially true for games that can no longer be purchased brand new at any storefront, as illegally downloading them is sometimes the only feasible way to play them.

References

External links

*{{official website 2014 software Free software projects Video game emulation