Cobra

[LooseCaboose]

I am in the process of implementing flat EMS memory handling into QBDBZ. I have functions that work in a similar fashion to C's malloc and free which allows me to allocate a block of memory in flat EMS and return a pointer to it. All of the player data tables have now been pushed into upper memory, which leaves me with absolutely (fingers crossed) no memory hassles and allows characters to have hundreds of moves and very complex move animation.

Team fight is a cool option, players select more than one character (mine allows up to 5) and when a character is killed, the next jumps in to take their place. Unbalanced teams (ie 5 on 3) can help novice players or make for harder difficulty levels. You could also do a tag-team mode.

Special moves are probably the make and break for fighting games, players like characters to have lots of em, and for different characters to have different moves. A fighting game quickly gets boring if every character has the same slide kick, fire ball and uppercut. Supers, combos, power struggles and finishing moves all enhance a fighting games fun factor and replay value.

Mortal Kombat 4 had weapons which was an interesting idea. Bonus rounds (like street fighters car smashing stage) are always fun. Secret stuff (levels, characters, gimmicks) can make a game more interesting and add a bit of replay value. A good story doesnt hurt either.

Good luck with the game