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Mortal Kombat 2 Source Code Reportedly Leaked Online

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

Major Takeaway

  • Mortal Kombat 2’s source code has surfaced online and is available on GitHub for the community to download and scrutinize.
  • The source code contains everything related to the game; all the canned assets, sprites, animations, and other particulars can be tinkered with in the code.
  • Various fanciers on Twitter and Youtube have already documented the alluring details hiding beneath all of the leaked material.
  • The leak will allow modders and the community to create more ports and mods that could breathe new life into the well-renowned nostalgic game.

The source code shared on GitHub was revealed in the r/MortalKombat subreddit. The leak details all of the game’s canned assets, animations, sprites, and movesets that never saw the light of day in the version that was officially released.

The nostalgia of many fans has also shipped all over the web, documenting various details in the leak. One YouTuber, TehDrewsus, conducted almost a 3-hour live stream to explore the specifics of the surfaced Mortal Kombat 2 source code.

The YouTuber dives into details like the sprites of the Mortal Kombat 2 roster, background assets, sounds, coding, and much more. Moreover, TehDrewsus could seemingly not even explore half of all the leaked material. Another fancier on Twitter, Pegasus Kid, created a long thread to record all their findings.



 

Eimran

Member
I don't have a lot of knowledge of this. Can someone explain how this exactly happened?

How is it that the code stayed secret for 30 years. Is it so difficult to hack?
I always thought finding this code was as easy as modding the game or using specific software.
 
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keraj37

Member
I don't have a lot of knowledge of this. Can someone explain how this exactly happened?

How is it that the code stayed secret for 30 years. Is it so difficult to hack?
I always thought finding this code was as easy as modding the game or using specific software.

After compilation of c/c++ and assembly code, getting the source code is practically impossible without massive, rather impossible manual work for skilled developers.
That is why leaks like that are so important since they are in human-readable fashion, contrary to compiled code which is not human-readable.

Thanks to leak like this it is possible to check for every logic in game, as the mentioned cheating in arcade mode, without it, it is not possible.
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
I love old 2d hardware. Indexed bitmaps with color pallets is the absolute best way to do 2d. It takes a lot more performance in comparison to replicate that using todays hardware with shaders.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
Does it confirm the game is scamming and running tricks on you in Arcade Mode?

This is known. And after about 3 losses the AI suddenly becomes crippled and lets you kill him, this is deliberately built in the game. It uses an invisible slider that remembers the amount of consecutive losses.

It more than reads your inputs, nearly every move the AI pulls on you has priority over yours. They uppercut without crouch, etc. SF2 kinda did the same with charge characters.
 
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The Stig

Member
Waiting to see if someone found the Nudalities hidden in there
oh-my-gooood.gif
 

Scotty W

Gold Member
Can someone tech-savy explain why we cant get in 2024 a crisp and clean version just like in the arcades, instead we get low-res sprites (GOG, STEAM) version. This video shows perfectly how good the game can look but the versions I mentioned look like ass. Timestamped:



And this is how GOG version looks like:

oJL18BQ.jpg
 
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zeomax

Member
Can someone tech-savy explain why we cant get in 2024 a crisp and clean version just like in the arcades, instead we get low-res sprites (GOG, STEAM) version. This video shows perfectly how good the game can look but the versions I mentioned look like ass. Timestamped:



And this is how GOG version looks like:

oJL18BQ.jpg

Old games are made to be displayed on an CRT TV and not on LCD. Connect an old CRT monitor to your PC and the game will look crisp and clear like in the arcade.
 

Scotty W

Gold Member
Can someone tech-savy explain why we cant get in 2024 a crisp and clean version just like in the arcades, instead we get low-res sprites (GOG, STEAM) version. This video shows perfectly how good the game can look but the versions I mentioned look like ass. Timestamped:



And this is how GOG version looks like:

oJL18BQ.jpg

Exactly. Make it look good, fix the broken ai.
 

john2gr

Member
Can someone tech-savy explain why we cant get in 2024 a crisp and clean version just like in the arcades, instead we get low-res sprites (GOG, STEAM) version. This video shows perfectly how good the game can look but the versions I mentioned look like ass. Timestamped:



And this is how GOG version looks like:

oJL18BQ.jpg


You can use filters to make MK2 look just like the arcades via MAME64. I don't really remember the settings I've used, but here are MK2 and UMK3.


 
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s_mirage

Member
Can someone tech-savy explain why we cant get in 2024 a crisp and clean version just like in the arcades, instead we get low-res sprites (GOG, STEAM) version. This video shows perfectly how good the game can look but the versions I mentioned look like ass. Timestamped:

And this is how GOG version looks like:

oJL18BQ.jpg

The GOG version is the old PC port, not the original game. It ran at lower resolution.

Why isn't there a perfect home version? Who knows at this point? The original MK games have been pretty much perfectly emulated in MAME for something like 20 years now, yet every commercially emulated release has been half-arsed.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
It's too bad WB hates MK's 30yr history so much that we will never get a true modern Klassic Kollection of arcade perfect versions of MK1-MK4 on today's systems. The sad thing is, Ed Boon has said many times he'd love to do something like that using all they've learned in the 30yr history of making the games to do them too, like a Directors Cut.

Unless NRS can get away from WB, i don't think it will ever happen. Look at how bad WB has ruined MK1.....they just don't care about what makes MK great.
 

Trunx81

Member
Always interesting to look into developments like this. If it´s an old game, that is.
This guy here is fooling the AI in the Arcade mode, quite interesting to see how they did not foresee that:
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
Always interesting to look into developments like this. If it´s an old game, that is.
This guy here is fooling the AI in the Arcade mode, quite interesting to see how they did not foresee that:


Ah yes, the old jump back and then the AI jumps towards you for an easy hit lol......i used that one all the time.
 
You can use filters to make MK2 look just like the arcades via MAME64. I don't really remember the settings I've used, but here are MK2 and UMK3.

I just wish they made proper ports for the consoles. Its not that hard and it would sell at $20 a pop. Bring all the filters included as well etc. Honestly that is what I was expecting we were going to find in Invasion mode but alas.
 
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