Virtua Fighter popularity... Relaunch?

True Beligerent but I didn't recommend those changes lol. I dont think the control scheme really needs changing and the movesets I agree should stay put because each character represents a unique style.

I think a new name, logo, and story and then simply let the gameplay evolve from there.

 

You know, throws didn't always end in P+G.
There used to be an evade button.
That's not counting many movelist changes, especially to the likes of Akira.

All of these changes can be classified as "simplified controls".

I said include possibly two or three slightly different, prepackaged movesets per style for character customization. Which is just a fancier character edit. If Wolf traded a pureso kick for a big boot or a jackhammer for a tiger driver, I think Sega could handle the balance issues.

But Virtua Fighter has stayed exactly the same since 93, right? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/whistle.gif

 

the customizable moveset was just wishing by me. It would be fun, but i could care less about that.

An awesome indepth create-a-character (picking one of the pre esxiting movesets) would i think, nearly double vf's popularity. You just can't argue that in todays video game landscape anything less is substandard. Look at games like smackdown vs. raw, some of these GTA type games, these guys are enjoying HUGE success, basically based off of their customizable, creatable content.

I realize some people who lack creativity would rather just play the standard characters, and bemoan anyone wanting to do otherwise, as would some hardcore vf fans. But if you want a larger fan base and to draw in new consumers and to be more profitable, then character creation and customization is the way to go, IMO.

I could easily argue (and in truth beleive) that adjusting movesets etc...would be too dangerous to undertake, and undermine part of the complexity of the game. Just as in creating characters you'd have to make some things unchangable, sorry, you can't have a jeffrey sized drunken master--so that would have to stay the same.

however, i digress. I would settle for more downloadable content, provided either
a--its free /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
b--make the item packs cost the same but have 10x more items
c--let me buy an item pack for just my character. I'd rather have 10 new lei fei items then 1 new item for everyone.

 

It's already been done: Kwon Ho MMO /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

Wrong. Giant Swing is Virtua Fighter lore. I would not play Virtua Fighter without Wolf in it.

The only character ever removed from Virtua Figther was Taka-Arashi and that was done because AM2 couldn't figure out how to include him into the VF4 physics engine. And now he's back in the roster with VF5R and he has his own set of animations when he's thrown.

Who cares that VF is not at EVO this year? VF4EVO and VF5 have been at EVO in the past. And VFDC has their own events.......and something called WCG. If VF5R comes out it'll be at EVO again.


SF4 is not 3D, it's 2.5D. And SF4 has very mixed reactions at SRK amongst the hardcore. And SF4 hasn't sold up to high expectations in Japan. And SF4 arcade (plus 3S) made less than VF5R did last month according to Arcadia Mag. Of course every game gets trounced by Tekken6BR and Gundam.

Exactly. If you want fireballs and kangaroos go play SF or TK. If you want the deepest and most balanced competitive fighting game then play VF.

That being said, a 30 hour story mode (ala BlazBlue), and other gimmicky modes (survival, iron man, events square etc.), would help VF out tremendously.

 

InstantOverhead: I hear you as far as the EVO thing I simply like seeing a game I enjoy get more exposure. I had the same bad feeling when ESPN dropped hockey. I was using SF4 only to illustrate that a transformation (new graphics and reverted to older gameplay mechanics) can get new heads rolling.

I think Im more troubled by the name than anything these days it just doesnt fit.
Soul Calibur= fight for soul edge, Street Fighter= street fighters fighting..., Mortal Kombat= to the death, Tekken= Iron Fist Tournament, Guilty Gear= "gears" weapons. Every fighters name has some recognizable tie to its gameplay. Virtua Fighter...well it has no story and like you said it could use one.

 

Yes, the Giant Swing is. If his moveset was still in, who cares? People missed playing as the sumo, not necessarily Taka. Other than Lau, nothing ever happens to these characters and they're bland (with a few exceptions) from a visual and storyline standpoint. And that's what sells the game. Not fireballs, kangaroos or any of that shit. Make cool characters, with cool storyline, casuals buy. The gameplay keeps people playing and possibly converting into more serious, competitive fans.

Tekken dropped Baek, Bruce, Eddy, Jun and a whole host of others (even if they did bring some of them back) and no one stopped playing that. They even had better stories to begin with. The only real fuss that I ever heard was when Jun was dropped, and that's because she never got a proper replacement until Asuka and that took care of that.

You should care how much support Virtua Fighter is getting from people who don't post on here, since that majority of casual gamers (ie the ones that make it possible for companies to afford to make more games) never post word one on a message board.

Virtua Fighter 5 sold shittily on all consoles in all countries. Virtua Fighter 4 only sold well outside of Japan because there was a 20 dollar update double stacked version of a game that didn't sell too well, IIRC. I don't think Sega wants to have to sell it's games at half price to get them into homes.

SF4 is no more simple than it has ever been aside from simplifying the input of basic specials (where does that sound familiar?), but so many casuals are buying and playing the game and Capcom is raking in the dough.

That's just idiot talk. Not once did anyone say anything about fireballs, lizardmen, kangaroos or any of that other bullshit. Maybe I want more people to play "the deepest and most balanced competitive fighting game" and to do that, they need to spice things up.

Agreed.

 

The characters in VF are all normal. They're not extraordinary and they're somewhat plain, which gives them a certain charm which is what I like about them. They're not demons or undead cyborgs. They're just fighters entering a tournament.

Bring back team battle, that's what we need.

 

KwonHOOOOOOO. Man that game was my first foray into 3D fighters lol. Thats also where I met a few people from VFDC, gl0ry, DandyJ and a few others. Game was really fun in closed beta. I remember Dandy running under the name "please_duck" and would just leg cutter random dudes all day because they wouldn't block low haha.

Hopefully if VF5r ever makes a console release they follow a few things that made that game so great. Namely that every online game was a "room" with settings. So you could set the room to 1v1 and 2 guys duke it out while the others watch and could chat. You could set up arcade style winner stays easily which was awesome.

Then they went and ruined it by adding in supers lol. Oh well, the game was never amazing, but had incredibly simple yet intuitive online modes.

Just goes to show how the online capabilities of a game can make it great. The VF5 online match searching in ranked and player are awful. Hopefully they'll upgrade that shit.

 

Sega is trying to hook us. Everyone does. Sega is using the deep gameplay as bait, and it's not working. Capcom uses well good graphic concepts and fire balls. $$$!

I was thinking of a new cartoon version of VF called Fighter Academy. (Not VF Kids!) There would be new characters, potential for permanent guests, with a bloody story mode to plant for once. This would be more a Groening cartoon style VF, so it looks real, even if it's physically impossible. They don't have to worry about it. It's just the beginning.

 

Recommendations for VF in the future.

1. Cut the movelist in half.
1. Then cut it some more.

 

So dumb down the game?

 

Wow cut the movelist... no no no. Do what you will but VF has some of the best fleshed out martial arts styles of any game. Cutting the movelist would put it on par with... Soul Calibur (yuck).

Seriously new name, new story, 2 or 4 new characters, new training system, and solid online match making and room system = pure win and greatest fighter of all-time.

 

Cutting down the movelist does not dumb down the game, you dolts.

If movelist size was a indicator of quality, then Street Fighter would be shit and VF would be the best game ever.

Reality check, VF is not popular, Street Fighter is.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with cutting down the movelist, as long as it is done thoughtfully.

LA Akira and I had this conversation before, back in January when he was in Japan. Simply put, the game is far too hard for most people to get into. It is okay if you have been a fan of the series since the beginning, but it is simply TOO OVERWHELMING for a new player. Not every character needs a stance or a special movement, and not every character needs multiple variants on a string for a mix-up game.

 

I agree Reno but I don't think you can compare the games on such a simple level. Decreasing the movelist won't instantly give VF Street Fighter success(not that you said that but just saying). Street Fighter is an insanely simple game though, the depth of it being completely behind the player's decisions.

I dunno with frame data being the way it is I kind of believe they DO need variants. Not all of them but some. I mean, in SF you craft your own strings. Not the case in VF. I mean, you could remove them but I think most characters would end up being played like Goh if you did. I like the variety.

I dunno though, your the man to ask. From videos alone to me it seems like they did tone down VF a bit in R (easier combos and more damage). Having played R do you really believe the movelists aren't properly designed? Got any specifics? Kind of an interesting topic, haven't seen anyone mention anything like that.

 

My point is, people saying it is a bad idea for Sega to cut down the movelist because it would dumb down a game have no idea what they are talking about. What that tells me is that people believe number of moves equals depth, and that is not correct at all.

5R does go off and makes things more damaging, but that's really not the issue here. The problem is that for a lot of people the characters really are just too hard to understand. Learning one character can be hard enough, but now you have to worry about every other character with movelists just as big.

Like, why exactly does Jeffry, a character that was designed for simple guessing games, get a stance to further his mixups? On that same note, why does Taka need one too? These characters do NOT need that kind of complexity in their games, yet they have it. Why does Lau, Jacky and others who were initially beginner or intermediate characters suddenly have stances and a bunch of new mixup strings added to their game? It's ridiculous how complex some of these characters have become, and honestly it has come at the cost of scaring off potential players.

 

they might as well just make a whole new game if they're going to do all that.

 

Huh. Y'know I never really sat back and looked at it from that perspective. I just kind of gazed on in awe of the game. But seeing that, it really does make sense what your saying. I don't know all the ins and outs of some of the characters you mentioned but it definitely fits with Lau.

Like going into Kokei stance. He has a circular (full?) off of it now, with a followup. AND a new launcher off of it. Both of which can be accomplished in normal VF5 by just delaying an attack, or not going Kokei and doing k+g or 4k+g. Maybe these vanilla VF5 options don't work well with the frames, but they could've just adjusted the frame data if they wanted, and accomplished the same thing.

Interesting stuff Reno. Got me thinking in a different direction than I'm used to.

 

Exactly. The game has gotten out of hand with moves and even though it's awesome to the hardcore player, its just inaccessable to a new player. Just imagine someone thinks VF looks awesome and wants to learn how to play well. That person not only has to learn all of moves for their character but many of the common moves for the other chars, how to block, etc. Learn about the game system, nitaku, guaranteed, frames. etc. etc. In the end, its just too much work.

 

Reno: I never said it would dumb down the gameplay. Only that the large quantity of moves give the each characters fighting style more of a fleshed out feel.

Also the movelist isnt making or breaking this game when it comes to new players. Pound for Pound move wise nothing is outdoing T6 (especially the console version with its 42 characters) in terms of quantity of moves. However I can say without doubt that Tekken 6 will sell well. Namely because of its characters, not because of a shorter move list (which it doesnt have) but the characters themselves.

The characters in VF are very difficult to connect with because they have virtually zero story. Its all fluff to hardcore gamers but their needs to be intro's, endgame cutscenes, and a more fleshed out boss for certain (sorry Dural).

The large movelist for each character is not whats turning players away. Its that this game has nothing to draw them in.

Long story short VF needs bells and whistles, the bike works add paint.