Abuse

This is an enhanced version of Abuse based on the original source code that was released to the public domain. See the Changelog for details.

If you have any problems with the game or just want to chat, join my Discord server. I'll see what I can do to help.

To report a bug, please create a new issue here on GitHub. Pull requests are welcome!

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Configuration
• Resources
• Acknowledgments

Getting Started

To install the game, see the last release available for your platform in the release section.

Data Files

While this repository contains all data files needed to play the base game, these assets come from different sources with varying licenses and historical records. My hope is that the educational and non-profit intentions of this repository will enable it to stay hosted and available. If you prefer to use only clearly-licensed content, please replace the included assets with the public domain subset of the original shareware content available from various archives online.

Save files and configuration are stored in the user folder, which can override default files in the game folder. The game only looks for built-in files if they weren't already found in the user folder. This allows adding custom levels or mods without affecting the original bundled game files.

Default paths for user data:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\abuse
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/abuse
• Linux: ~/.local/share/abuse

For custom content, there are three types to consider:

Type	Installation	Launch
Custom Levels	Place level files in the data/levels folder	abuse -f levels/levelname.spe
Regular Mods	Place mod files in the data/addon folder	abuse -a modname
Total Conversion Mods	Place directly in the data folder	Launches automatically when starting the game

Cheats

To use cheats, press Enter to open the console and type the desired slash-prefixed cheat command. The mouse cursor must be inside the console window for input. Press Enter when done, or type "quit"/"exit" to close the console. Use the scrollbar, mouse wheel, or arrow keys to browse the chat history.

Available cheats:

• /god - Makes you invulnerable to all damage
• /giveall - Gives all weapons and maximum ammunition
• /flypower - Grants Anti-Gravity Boots effect
• /sneakypower - Grants Cloak effect
• /fastpower - Grants Flash Speed effect
• /healthpower - Grants Ultra-Health effect
• /nopower - Removes all active special abilities

Configuration

Configuration is stored in settings.toml in the user folder. See data/user/settings.toml for a complete example.

Settings File Options

Display Settings

• fullscreen - Enable borderless desktop fullscreen
• borderless - Remove window decorations in windowed mode
• widescreen_support - Expand the framebuffer to match the desktop aspect ratio; when disabled, use the configured framebuffer size exactly
• framebuffer_width - Internal game framebuffer width when widescreen support is disabled (minimum 320)
• framebuffer_height - Internal game framebuffer height when widescreen support is disabled (minimum 200)
• editor_framebuffer_width - Editor baseline framebuffer width (default 640, minimum 320)
• editor_framebuffer_height - Editor baseline framebuffer height (default 400, minimum 200)
• window_scale - Integer window scale used in windowed mode
• linear_filter - Use linear texture filter (nearest is default)
• hires - Enable high resolution menu and screens (2 for Bungie logo)
• big_font - Enable big font
• gamma - Display gamma (0.5-2.0; 1.0 is neutral)

The game is designed for a 320×200 framebuffer displayed with the original VGA pixel aspect ratio. With widescreen support enabled, one framebuffer dimension expands to match the desktop without changing the baseline gameplay zoom. For example, a 16:9 desktop uses a 427×200 framebuffer. With widescreen support disabled, framebuffer_width and framebuffer_height are used exactly.

The editor uses editor_framebuffer_width and editor_framebuffer_height as its independent zoom baseline. With widescreen support enabled, one dimension expands to match the desktop; for example, a 640×400 baseline becomes 853×400 on a 16:9 desktop. With widescreen support disabled, the editor dimensions are used exactly. Entering or leaving the editor resizes the existing display in place.

Audio Settings

• sound_volume - Sound effects gain (0.0-1.0)
• music_volume - Music gain (0.0-1.0)
• mono - Use mono audio only
• music_enabled - Enable music
• sound_enabled - Enable sound effects
• soundfont - SoundFont filename from data/soundfonts, or an absolute path to a custom .sf2/.sf3 file

The in-game Audio Settings window lists available SoundFonts from data/soundfonts and applies a selection without restarting the game. Changes apply as soon as a SoundFont is selected while preserving the current music position.

The build converts every HMI song in data/music to Standard MIDI. Only the generated .mid files are installed and packaged; HMI conversion is not part of the game's runtime audio path. The C++ converter is also available manually as abuse-tool hmi2mid <input.hmi> <output.mid>.

Game Settings

• [gameplay].difficulty - Difficulty ("easy", "medium", "hard", or "extreme")
• [gameplay].physics_tick_ms - Physics update time in ms (65ms/15FPS original)
• [gameplay].max_fps - Frame-rate limit
• [gameplay].record_replays - Record every game as a timestamped replay under the save path's replays/ folder
• [general].grab_input - Confine the mouse to the rendered game area in windowed mode
• [general].language - Game language ("english", "german", or "french")
• [multiplayer].player_name - Player name used in multiplayer games (maximum 18 characters)
• [multiplayer].server_name - Default name used when hosting a multiplayer game (maximum 18 characters)

Key Bindings

Default control scheme:

Action	Default Binding
Left	← A
Right	→ D
Up/Jump	↑ W
Down/Use	↓ S
Prev Weapon	Q Mouse Wheel Up
Next Weapon	E Mouse Wheel Down
Fire	Mouse Left
Special	Mouse Right

Keyboard bindings are arrays, allowing two keys for movement, for example left = ["a", "LEFT"]. Special key names include:

• LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN - Cursor keys and keypad
• CTRL_L, CTRL_R - Left and right Ctrl
• ALT_L, ALT_R - Left and right Alt
• SHIFT_L, SHIFT_R - Left and right Shift
• F1 - F10 - Function keys
• TAB, BACKSPACE, ENTER - Standard keys
• INSERT, DEL, PAGEUP, PAGEDOWN - Navigation keys
• CAPS, NUM_LOCK - Lock keys
• SPACE - Spacebar

Hardcoded Keys:

• 1-7 - Direct weapon selection
• Escape/Space - Reset level on death
• P - Pause game
• Enter - Open the cheat/chat console
• Ctrl+V - Paste text into the open chat console
• F1 - Show help/controls screen
• F5 - Quick save on save consoles (slot 1/"save0001.spe")
• F6 - Toggle window input grab
• F8 - Toggle gamepad use
• F9 - Quick load
• F10 - Toggle window/fullscreen mode
• Print Screen - Take a screenshot

Default Controller Bindings:

• D-pad, left stick - Move in all directions
• Right stick - Aim
• South face button - Jump; confirm in menus
• East face button - Down/use; cancel in menus
• West face button - Use the active special ability
• Left/right shoulder - Previous/next weapon
• Left/right trigger - Special ability/fire
• Guide/Home - Show help/controls screen
• Back - Acts as Escape key
• Start - Acts as Enter key

Gamepad Support

Options in [input.gamepad] include:

• enabled - Accept gamepad input; F8 toggles and saves this setting
• aim_invert_y - Invert the right stick's vertical aiming axis
• aim_correction_x - Horizontal crosshair correction
• crosshair_distance - Crosshair distance from player
• aim_sensitivity - Right stick/aiming sensitivity (1-100)
• aim_dead_zone - Radial right stick/aiming dead zone (1-32766)
• move_dead_zone_x - Left stick horizontal dead zone
• move_dead_zone_y - Left stick vertical dead zone
• trigger_threshold - Trigger activation threshold (1-32767)
• trigger_hysteresis - Required trigger release movement below its activation threshold
• menu_confirm, menu_cancel - Buttons used to confirm and cancel in the main menu
• quick_save, quick_load - Optional buttons for quick save and quick load

Button binding names:

• south, east, west, north - Face buttons
• left_shoulder, right_shoulder - Shoulder buttons
• left_trigger, right_trigger - Triggers
• left_stick, right_stick - Stick clicks
• dpad_up, dpad_down, dpad_left, dpad_right - D-pad directions
• start, back, guide - System/menu buttons

Each configurable button or trigger maps to "up", "down", "left", "right", "special", "fire", "weapon_prev", "weapon_next", "confirm", "cancel", "help", or "none". The first gamepad used becomes active; other connected gamepads are ignored until the active one disconnects.

Command Line Arguments

Core Settings

Argument	Description
-lsf <filename>	Custom startup file (default: abuse.lsp)
-a <name>	Load addon from addon/<name>/<name>.lsp
-f <filename>	Load specific level file
-nodelay	Disable frame delay/timing control

Network Settings

Argument	Description
-nonet	Disable networking
-port <number>	Set network port (1-32000)
-net <hostname>	Connect to host name or IP
-server <name>	Run as server
-online-join <code>	Join an online room by code
-signal-server <url>	Override signaling URL (default: wss://abusecoop.com)
-min_players <number>	Set minimum players (1-8)
-ndb <number>	Network debug level (1-3)
-fs <address>	File server address
-remote_save	Store saves on server

Online Room Codes

Online play uses WebRTC for encrypted direct peer-to-peer traffic. A self-hosted STUN service assists NAT traversal, but this release deliberately does not relay traffic through TURN. It does not replace the existing LAN and direct-IP modes. Deploy the service with the installer described in online/README.md. Create the online host through the graphical Multiplayer menu. A client can use the same menu or optionally join from the command line:

abuse -online-join ABC234

The host displays the room code in the waiting window and above the score list. The graphical multiplayer menu can host either a local or online game and join an online room by code. -signal-server is only needed to override the default service at wss://abusecoop.com.

Development/Debug

Argument	Description
-fwin	Open foreground editor
-bwin	Open background editor
-owin	Open objects window
-no_autolight	Disable auto lighting
-nolight	Disable all lighting
-bastard	Bypass filename security
-size	Custom framebuffer size
-lisp	Start LISP interpreter
-ec	Empty cache
-t <filename>	Insert tiles from file
-cprint	Enable console printing

Colored Lights

Light sources support these palette-aware color values:

Value	Color	Value	Color
0	White	4	Gray
1	Red	5	Green
2	Yellow	6	Blue
3	Purple	7	Cyan

The level editor exposes the value as Color 0-7 when creating or editing a light. Lisp code can pass the color as the optional eighth argument to (add_light type x y r1 r2 xshift yshift [color]), change it with (set_light_color light color), and read it with (light_color light). Omitting the color keeps the traditional white light. Runtime effects can fade a light with (set_light_intensity light value), where the value ranges from 0 to 63; (light_intensity light) returns its current value.

Line lights are available as (add_line_light x1 y1 x2 y2 r1 r2 [color]). The light has full strength within r1 pixels of the segment and fades out at r2; (set_light_line light x1 y1 x2 y2) moves both endpoints. Weapons 1, 5, and 6 use this shape for red, white, and cyan glows respectively.

Resources

Game Information

Moby Games page
Abuse homepage
Free Abuse (fRaBs) homepage
Abuse fan page Gameplay video

Downloads

ETTiNGRiNDER's Fortress
Assorted Abuse Files HMI to MIDI converter

Source code releases

Original source code
Anthony Kruize Abuse SDL port (2001)
Jeremy Scott Windows port (2001)
Sam Hocevar Abuse SDl port (2011)
Xenoveritas SDL2 port (2014)
Antonio Radojkovic Abuse 1996 Andrej Pancik Abuse 2025

Acknowledgments

Special thanks go to Jonathan Clark, Dave Taylor and the rest of the Crack Dot Com team for making the best 2D platform shooter ever, and then releasing the code that makes Abuse possible.

Also, thanks go to Jonathan Clark for allowing Anthony to distribute the original datafiles with Abuse.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas, bug reports, and patches over the years (see the AUTHORS file for details). This project stands on the shoulders of many developers who kept it alive for three decades - from the original Crack Dot Com team to the various port maintainers like Anthony Kruize, Jeremy Scott, Sam Hocevar, Xenoveritas, Antonio Radojkovic and Andrej Pancik.