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Beats of Rage is the original 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up that gave its name to the BOR engine, and OpenBOR is the open-source continuation of that engine — the tool people now use to build and play community-made beat 'em ups. If you want to play existing games or create your own, the practical starting point is ChronoCrash, the home community for OpenBOR, where you can browse downloads, read the wiki, and get support. Note that forum registration is required to download games and resources.

Beats of Rage, BOR, and OpenBOR: how the names connect

The three terms get used almost interchangeably, but they refer to different layers of the same story:

So when someone says "a BOR game," they usually mean a game running on the OpenBOR engine. When they say "OpenBOR," they mean the engine and the ecosystem around it. The naming overlap is historical, not a sign that these are competing projects.

What you can actually do with the engine

OpenBOR is described by its home community as "the world's most powerful 2D side scrolling engine." In practice that means two distinct paths:

Play existing games

• Browse the downloads catalog on ChronoCrash for finished games and demos.
• Register on the forum first — downloads require a forum account.
• Watch playthroughs and previews on the OpenBOR YouTube channel to see what a given project looks like before committing to a download.

Build your own

• Use the OpenBOR Wiki as your reference: it's positioned as a knowledge base, lexicon, and technical manual, aimed at both new and experienced creators.
• Pull tools and assets from the same downloads catalog to speed up production.
• Ask questions on the forum when you hit a wall — the community explicitly supports independent game makers, not just players.

Where the community lives

ChronoCrash is the central hub, and its structure maps directly onto the two paths above:

• Forum — the center of the community, for questions and support on OpenBOR and other engines.
• Wiki — the technical reference and manual for the engine.
• Downloads — finished games, demos, tools, and assets. Forum registration required.
• YouTube channel — playthroughs, tutorials, and previews of new projects.

The site also supports other sprite-based engines such as Mugen, so if you're coming from that background, the same community can help.

Choosing your entry point

• Just want to play? Register on the forum, then browse downloads for a finished game or demo.
• Want to learn the engine? Start with the wiki, then ask specific questions on the forum.
• Coming from Mugen or another sprite engine? The community supports general sprite-based engine questions, so you don't need to start from zero.

One practical caveat worth knowing up front: the download requirement means you can't evaluate the catalog anonymously. Budget a few minutes for registration before you go looking for a specific game.

OpenBeats of Rage (OpenBOR) is a 2D side-scrolling engine used to build and play beat 'em up games. It grew out of the original Beats of Rage, a fan-made tribute game, and was later released as an open engine that anyone can use to create their own titles. If you want to make or play 2D beat 'em ups, side-scrollers, or sprite-based action games, OpenBOR is built for exactly that. The main hub for the engine, its documentation, and its games is ChronoCrash, which describes itself as "the home community of OpenBOR, the world's most powerful 2D side scrolling engine."

What OpenBOR actually is

OpenBOR is an engine, not a single game. The original Beats of Rage was a specific fan project; OpenBOR took that foundation and turned it into a general-purpose tool. That distinction matters:

• Beats of Rage — the original fan-made beat 'em up that started it all.
• OpenBOR (OpenBeats of Rage) — the open engine derived from it, which creators use to build their own games.

Because it's an engine, the games you see running on OpenBOR are separate projects made by different creators, not official releases from a single studio.

What you can build and play with it

OpenBOR targets 2D, sprite-based action games. The most common output is the classic side-scrolling beat 'em up, but the engine is used for a range of side-scrolling and sprite-based projects. ChronoCrash groups OpenBOR alongside other sprite-based engines like Mugen and IKEMEN, so if your interest is 2D fighting or brawler-style games more broadly, the community covers that ground too.

In practical terms, you can:

• Play finished games and demos made by the community.
• Build your own game using the engine, plus the tools and assets shared by other creators.
• Learn the engine through the wiki and community support.

Where to get started

ChronoCrash organizes its resources into a few clear entry points:

One thing to know before downloading

Browsing the downloads catalog is one thing, but downloading games and assets from ChronoCrash requires forum registration. If your goal is to grab a game or a set of assets, plan to create a forum account first.

Who this is for

ChronoCrash describes itself as a support community for independent game makers and fans, with a focus on OpenBOR and a willingness to help with general questions and related sprite-based engines. If you're a creator who wants to build a 2D brawler, or a player who wants to explore what the community has already made, the forum, wiki, and downloads section are the three places to start.

2D CAD is software for drawing and editing flat technical drawings — plans, parts, schematics, and diagrams — using precise geometry rather than freehand sketching. If your work stays on one plane (a floor plan, a bracket outline, a wiring diagram), 2D CAD is the right tool; if you need to model solids, check surfaces for interference, or render photorealistic views, you want 3D modeling instead. QCAD is a free, open source 2D CAD system for Windows, macOS, and Linux that covers the standard 2D workflow, so it works as a concrete example of what this category of software does.

How 2D CAD differs from 3D modeling

The distinction is about the kind of data you create, not just the view on screen.

A 2D drawing is often the deliverable itself — a plan a builder works from, or a schematic an electrician follows. A 3D model is usually the source from which 2D drawings are generated. Many workflows use both, but they are not substitutes.

What you can actually produce

QCAD's documentation lists the drawing types it targets: plans for buildings and interiors, mechanical parts, and schematics and diagrams. In practice that means:

• Architectural and interior plans — walls, doors, fixtures, room layouts, drawn to scale.
• Mechanical parts — outlines, holes, slots, and section views of individual components.
• Schematics and diagrams — electrical, hydraulic, or logical layouts where connections matter more than physical shape.
• Site and layout drawings — positions of objects relative to a boundary or grid.

If your task is "show exactly where things go and how big they are, on a flat sheet," it belongs in 2D CAD.

The core tools you will use

QCAD ships with over 40 construction tools and over 20 modification tools. The entities you draw and edit include points, lines, arcs, circles, ellipses, splines, polylines, texts, dimensions, hatches, fills, and raster images. In day-to-day work these group into a few jobs:

• Drawing geometry — lines, arcs, circles, and polylines form almost every drawing.
• Annotating — dimensions and text carry the measurements and notes that make a drawing readable.
• Filling and hatching — hatches and fills distinguish materials and cut sections.
• Measuring — measuring tools let you check distances and angles without leaving the drawing.
• Referencing — raster images can be placed under your geometry as a tracing base.

Organizing a drawing so it stays editable

Two features do most of the work here, and both are standard across 2D CAD:

• Layers separate content by function — walls on one layer, dimensions on another, hidden construction lines on a third. You can show, hide, or lock each layer independently, so a complex drawing stays manageable.
• Blocks group objects into a single reusable unit. A door, a bolt, or a title block drawn once can be inserted many times; editing the block updates every instance.

Object snaps are the third pillar. They let you attach new geometry to exact existing points — endpoints, midpoints, intersections, centers — instead of guessing. Snapping is what separates a CAD drawing from a sketch: the line you draw actually meets the line you meant it to meet.

QCAD also includes a part library with over 4800 CAD parts, which saves redrawing common symbols and components.

Files, units, and printing

QCAD reads and writes DXF and DWG, the two formats most 2D CAD work is exchanged in. That matters for collaboration: you can hand a drawing to someone using different software and expect it to open.

Units are configurable in both metric and imperial systems, so you can work in millimetres or inches as your project requires. For output, QCAD supports printing to scale and printing on multiple pages — the latter is how you get a large plan onto a normal printer by tiling it across sheets.

QCAD also includes command line tools such as dwg2pdf, dwg2svg, and dwg2bmp, which convert drawings without opening the graphical interface. That is useful for batch conversion or for generating a PDF from a script.

Getting started with a free open-source option

QCAD is released under GPLv3 and its current version is 3.33. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and the project states you do not need CAD experience to begin.

A practical first session looks like this:

1. Install QCAD for your platform from the project's download page.
2. Set your units (metric or imperial) before drawing anything.
3. Create a few layers — for example, one for geometry, one for dimensions.
4. Draw a simple object using lines and circles, relying on object snaps to connect them precisely.
5. Add dimensions to confirm the drawing reports the sizes you intended.
6. Save as DXF, then try printing to scale to verify the output.

If you later need to automate repetitive work, QCAD exposes an ECMAScript (JavaScript) scripting interface, and a separate QCAD/CAM product adds G-Code export and nesting for machining workflows.

When 2D CAD is the wrong choice

Choose 3D modeling instead if you need to check how parts fit in three dimensions, calculate volume or mass, produce rendered images, or drive a CNC toolpath from a solid model. Choose a general vector illustration tool instead if your drawing is decorative rather than dimensioned — 2D CAD's value is precision and scale, and it is more effort than a drawing app when precision is not the point.

OpenBOR is a 2D side-scrolling engine for building and playing beat 'em up games. You can use it two ways: download finished games and demos to play, or use the engine and its tools to build your own. ChronoCrash, the community site at chronocrash.com, describes OpenBOR as "the world's most powerful 2D side scrolling engine" and serves as its home community, offering a forum, wiki, and downloads. If you want to play, head to the downloads catalog; if you want to create, start with the wiki and forum.

What OpenBOR actually is

OpenBOR (short for Open Beats of Rage, sometimes just BOR) is a sprite-based engine focused on 2D side-scrolling action games, especially beat 'em ups. It handles the core systems such a game needs: characters, movement, combat, stages, and scrolling levels. Creators supply the game content — sprites, animations, level layouts, and logic — and the engine runs it.

Because it's an engine rather than a single game, "OpenBOR" refers both to the software and to the many games built with it. The ChronoCrash downloads catalog lists "dozens of finished games and demos, plus tools and assets to help build your own."

OpenBOR vs. Mugen and IKEMEN

These engines are related in spirit — all sprite-based, all community-driven — but they target different game types.

ChronoCrash's primary focus is OpenBOR, but the site also supports "other sprite based engines like Mugen" and welcomes general game development questions. If your goal is a scrolling beat 'em up, OpenBOR is the natural fit; if you want a versus fighting game, Mugen or IKEMEN is the better starting point.

Playing OpenBOR games

1. Go to the downloads section of ChronoCrash.
2. Browse the catalog of finished games, demos, tools, and assets.
3. Note the access condition: forum registration is required to download.
4. Download a game, then run it through the OpenBOR engine as directed by the game's own files or release notes.

The site also links to an OpenBOR YouTube channel with "playthroughs, tutorials, and previews of new projects," which is useful for seeing a game in action before you download it.

Creating your own game

The exact workflow depends on the tools and templates you choose, but the general path is:

1. Learn the engine. Read the OpenBOR Wiki — ChronoCrash describes it as the "knowledge base, lexicon, and technical manual," a "reference bible for new and experienced creators alike."
2. Get the engine and tools. These are available through the downloads catalog alongside games and assets.
3. Build your content. Create or gather sprites, animations, and level data, then wire them together using the engine's scripting and configuration.
4. Test and iterate. Run your project through the engine, fix what breaks, and repeat.
5. Ask for help. The forum is the "center hub" for questions and support.

A practical first step is to open an existing demo or finished game and study how it's put together before building from scratch — the downloads catalog includes assets and tools specifically for this purpose.

Where to get help

• Forum — ask questions, get support for OpenBOR and other engines, or talk with community members.
• Wiki — technical manual and reference for the engine.
• Downloads — games, demos, tools, and assets (forum registration required).
• YouTube channel — playthroughs, tutorials, and previews.

ChronoCrash describes itself as "a support community for independent game makers and fans," with staff including the site owner and OpenBOR project manager alongside several OpenBOR developers, so engine-level questions have a reasonable chance of reaching people who work on the engine itself.

Mugen is a 2D fighting game engine used to build custom fighting games from sprite-based characters, stages, and menus. You can use it to assemble your own roster, recreate characters from existing games, or design original fighters, then package everything into a playable fighting game. It is best suited to creators who want a versus-style fighting format rather than a side-scrolling beat 'em up, and who are comfortable working with folders of configuration and definition files.

What Mugen actually is

Mugen is a fighting game engine, not a single game. The engine provides the rules for how two characters face off: movement, attacks, hit detection, health, rounds, and win conditions. What you supply is the content — the characters, the stages they fight on, and the screens that tie it together.

This is why two Mugen projects can look completely different. One might be a small roster of original fighters; another might be a large crossover collection. The engine stays the same; the content defines the game.

The core pieces of a Mugen project

A finished project is assembled from a few recurring building blocks:

• Characters — each fighter is its own package of sprites, animations, and behavior definitions. A character defines its moves, hitboxes, and states such as standing, attacking, or being hit.
• Stages — the backgrounds characters fight on, including the floor and any stage-specific elements.
• Screenpack — the interface layer: title screen, character select screen, and the overall presentation of the game.
• Configuration files — the settings that tell the engine which characters, stages, and screens to load, and how the game should behave.

The practical workflow is to gather or create these pieces, place them in the correct folders, and point the configuration at them. The engine then runs the assembled game.

What finished Mugen projects look like

Because Mugen is a fighting engine, finished projects are typically versus-style games: a character select screen, a match between two fighters, rounds, and a win screen. Projects vary widely in scale — from a handful of characters to large collections — and in theme, from original designs to characters adapted from other games.

If you have seen a fan-made fighting game with a custom roster and a character select screen, that is the shape a Mugen project takes.

How Mugen differs from OpenBOR

Both Mugen and OpenBOR are sprite-based engines, and communities often support both, but they target different game formats:

The distinction matters when you pick an engine. If your idea is one-on-one fights with a character select screen, Mugen fits. If your idea is moving through scrolling stages and fighting groups of enemies, OpenBOR is the closer match. ChronoCrash, the community behind this site, focuses primarily on OpenBOR but also supports sprite-based engines like Mugen and welcomes general engine questions.

Where to get help and resources

ChronoCrash is a support community for independent game makers and fans, with a discussion forum for questions and engine support, a wiki knowledge base, and a downloads catalog of finished games, demos, tools, and assets. Note that forum registration is required to download from the downloads section. If you are working with Mugen or a similar sprite-based engine and want a place to ask questions or troubleshoot, the forum is the entry point.