XCOTA TAG V5.6 — TWO-PLAYER GAMBIT EDITION

YOU SUPPLY TWO CLEAN GAMES

1. X-Men: Children of the Atom — Euro 950331, usually xmcota.zip.
2. Marvel vs. Capcom — Euro 980123, usually mvsc.zip.

Leave both games zipped. Their required original members and keys must be
INSIDE their game ZIPs. XCOTA is the project shorthand; xmcota.zip and
xmcota.key are the normal game names. A loose key beside an incomplete ZIP
does not complete it. The builder identifies actual member sizes and hashes,
not the archive name.

Complete merged Euro parents containing regional clone subfolders are
supported, along with wrapped folders and small desktop metadata. You may
also supply one outer ZIP containing the two intact game ZIPs. Do not mix
loose members from different games into one ZIP. Your originals remain
unchanged. No game ROM, key, donor graphics or samples are in this download.

Use the Euro 950331 XCOTA parent for this Gambit edition. The older xmcotau,
xmcotaj and xmcotar1d source revisions supported by the V4.1 patch are not
interchangeable with this recipe. Use clean inputs, without an earlier patch.

WINDOWS: BUILD

1. Extract the WHOLE builder download into a new writable folder. Keep the
   README and all sources together. Do not run inside the download ZIP or
   copy individual files over an older builder.
2. Select BOTH clean game ZIPs together and drop them onto
   BUILD XCOTA V5.6.cmd. Any order works; paths with spaces are supported.
3. The generated game is output/xmcota.zip. Keep this filename and keep your
   clean inputs separate. Windows PowerShell 5.1 and inbox .NET are sufficient;
   no Python, SDK or compiler installation is needed.

PLAY

Use output/xmcota.zip with the existing two-player XCOTA MAME/FBNeo driver.
Back up your previous installed game before replacing that separate copy.
In MAME, put the generated output folder FIRST in the ROM search path.

MAME also needs your clean qsound_hle.zip BIOS in that search path. A missing
dl-1425.bin is a missing QSound BIOS, not a bad Gambit patch. Modified-game
checksum warnings are expected; missing required files still prevent launch.
The original-ROM audit in a frontend can reject a modified game even when
the emulator command-line launch works.

Fightcade players must use identical generated game members and settings.
This repair does not claim a new online or physical-controller session.
The four-player Special edition is a separate four-game build with its own
expanded RetroArch core; renaming this two-player game cannot make Special.

CONTROLS

Choose two fighters for each side. MP+HK tags to the living partner.
LK+MP during hitstun spends one bar for a breaker; use only those two buttons.
Full Level Max plus QCB+MP+HK starts paid timed Duo. During TIME, X-Powers
are free. QCF+MP+HK starts a supported team super at full Level Max.
Both team actions require a living partner.

Team supers require BOTH partners to be among the ten original X-Men.
Gambit and bosses use individual supers and Duo; their teams do not receive
the original-ten team-super mappings. Storm and Iceman retain their familiar
special commands.

Gambit replaces Akuma in this 13-fighter edition. Juggernaut and Magneto
remain selectable. Existing portraits, body previews, frames and select
layout are retained. After both picks, UP/DOWN selects CPU NORMAL or HARDER,
LEFT/RIGHT changes stage, and LP confirms READY. HARDER is the fresh-selection
default. A NORMAL selection survives another player joining.

RETAINED ROSTER REPAIRS

Gambit's normal strength and chain metadata now persists through frame changes
and hit pause. The repaired close-range LP > MP > HP chain reaches three hits;
LP > LK > MP > MK > HP reaches five. Normal animation timing, frames,
damage and hitstun stay intact. A motion entered during hit pause is buffered
until the current move's legal cancel point; hit pause and meter rules remain.

The existing crouching HP launcher and jump cancel remain: after a real
crouching HP hit, press DOWN then UP, then continue with air LP and air MP.
The preserved continuous three-hit launcher route is checked on both sides.
These selected routes do not establish every MVC1 air combo or move timing.

Healthy tag and KO-partner entry no longer adds the extra defeated-character
voice cue. Genuine native KO handling is retained. This does not add new
imported-character voice samples.

Gambit retains authentic ground/air Kinetic Card art and contact/floor effects,
plus THREE body/card source clips. Existing XCOTA music and samples remain.
Stock Royal is a bounded three-fan adaptation. Full donor timing, charged-card
behavior and complete staff, normal, hurt/KO and hyper audio are outside this
partial port. Imported hurt/KO callbacks retain partial voice/fallback behavior.

V5.6 CURRENT-ROSTER REPAIRS

Gambit crouching LK, MK and HK use the authentic low-attack guard class:
standing back cannot block them; down-back can. Damage, animation and
hitstun properties are retained. The tested crouching LK-to-MK-to-HK route
now connects for three. Its medium-kick recoil uses the native XCOTA
value matching MVC1 measured travel. Per-frame recoil differs from MVC1;
this is a native-engine adaptation, not complete donor parity.

CPU POLICY AND COVERAGE

V5.6 keeps the existing CPU policy and HARDER default without strength tuning.
The native Harder policy chooses legal attacks, guard and jumps using delayed
visible position, height and pose; it earns meter and uses ordinary damage.
Normal retains the native brain with separate earned-meter admission.
Stock Gambit's CPU policy is a separate adaptation. External testers judge
the near-unbeatable target; finite checks establish no universal win rate.

Selected native gameplay and complete clean-source conversion checks are
recorded in the supplied release evidence. They do not establish all-roster,
all-move or all-stage parity, a complete arcade ladder, Windows gameplay,
four physical controllers, online play or physical CPS-2 support.

IF THE BUILDER STOPS

Package source differs: README.txt (or another file): extract the complete
matching download into a fresh folder. An older Special package changed its
README after sealing and failed before ROM validation. Keep every file from
one download together; do not edit package files or disable verification.

Missing game/member or no games received: drop both complete clean game ZIPs
together. Wrong size/hash or unsupported revision: use the clean revisions
listed above. A merged archive is allowed; a filename change does not fix
wrong contents. A loose xmcota.key beside the ZIP is insufficient.

A different output already exists: use a fresh builder folder or choose a
fresh output location named xmcota.zip. The builder refuses to overwrite a
different game or an original input.

Missing dl-1425.bin at launch: add your clean qsound_hle.zip BIOS folder to
MAME's ROM search path. That launch error is separate from checksum warnings.
