Post by #HEEL Dark Lord on Oct 12, 2007 21:40:10 GMT -5
October 12, 2007 - The fans fired off their wrestling questions, and the publisher is ready to respond.
At IGN, we like to think we're pretty good to our readers. We give our honest opinions on games, we create dazzling video features, and we even answer e-mails.
Some of them.
See, for months we've been getting e-mails about SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 -- I'm talking before the game was even announced. Before we had the game, it was impossible for us to answer them. Even now with several different builds of the game, there's no way to answer every Ashley attire and roster complaint that you crazed readers send in.
But we're not abandoning you. We're just turning you over to the folks behind the game -- namely THQ Senior Creative Manager Cory Ledesma. Here's how it works: Superfans report to the IGN SmackDown Message Board, they post their questions in our official thread, and THQ responds to the ones we submit. Today, we present the second part of our SmackDown Mailbag.
Can you dig it, sucka?
Online Battle Royale
Will the online mode be improved this year, and if so - how? I'm tired of people disconnecting after I have them beat.
-- Allzo
Hey "Allzo." The online portion of our game will be similar to last year. There are roughly 50 matches to play, online rankings, online title matches and the ability to trade Create-A-Superstars. We plan on having big improvements in the future to the online feature set, but this year was solely dedicated to get up and running on PS3 Online. However, we are continuing to ramp up our efforts in the future and have some exciting features in the works. As far as new features for this year, it's very similar to last year. However, we have improved the interface a great deal this year to clean up some of the clutter. \
When it comes to disconnection, the system works the following way: 1) If an opponent quits out of the game before the end, he will be credited with a loss. 2) If a player disconnects his network cable, the player will be credited with a loss and their disconnect rate percentage will increase. It's difficult to fix all instances because unfortunately there are occasional disconnections due to network issues. We try to combat cheating this way. However, if there is another kind of network disconnection before the match ends, there is nothing we can do about it but award a draw. The only thing I can suggest is to expect a person with a high disconnect rate to possibly use this tactic to be a coward and not face you man-to-man. Try to avoid accepting matches from these opponents. If you know of other cheat tactics that people are using, please contact our customer service department so we can learn about these tactics and fix them for next year.
Welcome To Wrestlemania
Is This Years WrestleMania 23 Arena Big In The Game Or Is It A Standard Sized Down Arena?
-- josh1989uk
Hello "josh1989uk." The WrestleMania 23 arena is the standard size arena, as are the rest of our arenas. We need to make them all relatively the same size due to memory limitations and the fact that we need to keep the stage and ramp areas the same dimensions so that we don't have to create custom entrance animations just for that particular arena. If the arenas are all different sizes then we have to do 15 times the amount of animation work. That would mean we would have to cut our animation work from other areas such as Create-An-Entrance, new moves, etc. Therefore, we make this sacrifice in order to create one set of great looking entrance animations for all arenas. Hopefully this gives you a little more insight on why we do this.
Haven't We Heard This Before?
Will you be updating the ring-side announcer commentary that has been in the game for the past two years, or only adding new announcer commentary for ECW...?
-- Jeddite
Hello "Jeddite." We will have three commentator teams this year: 1) Michael Cole and JBL; 2) Joey Styles and Tazz; and 3) Good Ol' JR and King. It's very difficult to have three different commentary teams. I don't know of any other game out there that has three, to be honest. It was a big challenge for us to get them all in the game. In order to get three in, we had to record tons of new lines this year. However, it's a yearly process to update the lines, so hopefully the commentary doesn't sound too repetitive to our more seasoned SmackDown vs. Raw fans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wrestler's New Clothes
Are there Alt.Attires and will we ever get create-a-wrestling promotion
-- guns_n_roses_fan2210
Hey, What About This Team?
Do you have something against Paul London and Brian Kendrick because they have been left out once again and they were tag team champions for close to a year.
-- randyorko
Good question "randyorko." I have seen some complaints about their omission; however it was out of our control. They were on our initial list, but we were requested to remove them for other talent. When we expand our roster next year, hopefully they will make it in the game. We apologize if your favorite Superstar is not on the roster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Split GMs and Seasons?
Will the Wii version of the game get a seperate GM Mode and Season Mode since it supposedly won't have WWE 24/7?
-- TomBgamer
Hello "TomBgamer." Yes, the Wii version will feature an entirely different Season Mode than WWE 24/7. The GM Mode will not be feature in the Wii. The Wii's Season Mode is called Main Event Mode and it gives you the opportunity to challenge who you want, when you want and how you want. Players will be able to choose any Superstar or Create-A-Superstar to play with and be on the brand of their choice. Check out the IGN Wii channel for exclusive details on Main Event Mode.
What's Up With The Belts?
Why put in the tag belts if there is only ONE TAG TEAM on the roster? (Im not counting the Hardys because there not taging any more) Also Why even bother with the CW title if there are only 4 CWs on the game roster? I GUess what im saying is why even bother with the different devisions if there are NO competeters? FIX THE ROSTER OR AT LEAST MAKE THE SAMPLE CAWS REAL COMPETETERS (ps this time its not thqs fault its the dam WWEs)
-- ImDoneItsOver
Thanks for your questions, "ImDoneItsOver." I'm sure you could imagine how upset everyone would be if we didn't have the Tag Team or cruiserweight belts in the game? If we removed those, I'm sure I would get a question similar to this asking why we removed the championships. Like I've mention before, who is on the roster is out of our hands. Also, we leave the option, for you the fan, to create your own tag teams/cruiserweights in the game so that you can use the belts in the game. We obviously didn't feel that removing the championships was the best move. We understand that the fans want every character in the game and we will try our best to accommodate, but every year there is going to be someone missing. That's just the nature of the WWE. There is no off-season. There is no trading deadline. There is no signing period. Things can change in the blink of an eye on the day we ship the game. We will continue to strive to find ways to keep the roster as up-to-date as possible in the future.
I Know Kung Fu
I see & like the new fighting styles,which one did you work on extra hard?
-- d.wkingofkingd
We're so glad to hear that you're excited about the new fighting styles. This is our favorite feature by far here at THQ. We think it's going to change the way you play the game and give gameplay a nice change of pace. What's most exciting about the feature is that you need to learn the strategies of each fighting style to be really proficient at the game. Plus, you'll need to pick your fighting style based on the match type and opponent you're facing. Instead of just learning how to play WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, you're learning how to play all the different Fighting Styles in connection with the game.
We didn't really work on one fighting style more than others. We tried our best to make sure they were all balanced so that one fighting style is not too strong and one fighting style is not too weak. My favorite fighting styles are the High Flyer and Hardcore styles. They really change the way you play a match and they both have some really cool special abilities like quick springboard attacks, weapon grapples and the hardcore rejuvenation special ability. I feel confident that the fans are really going to like gameplay this year. PS - I know fans have been wondering if you can change the default Fighting Styles for the Superstars, and the answer is yes - in fact you can!!
At IGN, we like to think we're pretty good to our readers. We give our honest opinions on games, we create dazzling video features, and we even answer e-mails.
Some of them.
See, for months we've been getting e-mails about SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 -- I'm talking before the game was even announced. Before we had the game, it was impossible for us to answer them. Even now with several different builds of the game, there's no way to answer every Ashley attire and roster complaint that you crazed readers send in.
But we're not abandoning you. We're just turning you over to the folks behind the game -- namely THQ Senior Creative Manager Cory Ledesma. Here's how it works: Superfans report to the IGN SmackDown Message Board, they post their questions in our official thread, and THQ responds to the ones we submit. Today, we present the second part of our SmackDown Mailbag.
Can you dig it, sucka?
Online Battle Royale
Will the online mode be improved this year, and if so - how? I'm tired of people disconnecting after I have them beat.
-- Allzo
Hey "Allzo." The online portion of our game will be similar to last year. There are roughly 50 matches to play, online rankings, online title matches and the ability to trade Create-A-Superstars. We plan on having big improvements in the future to the online feature set, but this year was solely dedicated to get up and running on PS3 Online. However, we are continuing to ramp up our efforts in the future and have some exciting features in the works. As far as new features for this year, it's very similar to last year. However, we have improved the interface a great deal this year to clean up some of the clutter. \
When it comes to disconnection, the system works the following way: 1) If an opponent quits out of the game before the end, he will be credited with a loss. 2) If a player disconnects his network cable, the player will be credited with a loss and their disconnect rate percentage will increase. It's difficult to fix all instances because unfortunately there are occasional disconnections due to network issues. We try to combat cheating this way. However, if there is another kind of network disconnection before the match ends, there is nothing we can do about it but award a draw. The only thing I can suggest is to expect a person with a high disconnect rate to possibly use this tactic to be a coward and not face you man-to-man. Try to avoid accepting matches from these opponents. If you know of other cheat tactics that people are using, please contact our customer service department so we can learn about these tactics and fix them for next year.
Welcome To Wrestlemania
Is This Years WrestleMania 23 Arena Big In The Game Or Is It A Standard Sized Down Arena?
-- josh1989uk
Hello "josh1989uk." The WrestleMania 23 arena is the standard size arena, as are the rest of our arenas. We need to make them all relatively the same size due to memory limitations and the fact that we need to keep the stage and ramp areas the same dimensions so that we don't have to create custom entrance animations just for that particular arena. If the arenas are all different sizes then we have to do 15 times the amount of animation work. That would mean we would have to cut our animation work from other areas such as Create-An-Entrance, new moves, etc. Therefore, we make this sacrifice in order to create one set of great looking entrance animations for all arenas. Hopefully this gives you a little more insight on why we do this.
Haven't We Heard This Before?
Will you be updating the ring-side announcer commentary that has been in the game for the past two years, or only adding new announcer commentary for ECW...?
-- Jeddite
Hello "Jeddite." We will have three commentator teams this year: 1) Michael Cole and JBL; 2) Joey Styles and Tazz; and 3) Good Ol' JR and King. It's very difficult to have three different commentary teams. I don't know of any other game out there that has three, to be honest. It was a big challenge for us to get them all in the game. In order to get three in, we had to record tons of new lines this year. However, it's a yearly process to update the lines, so hopefully the commentary doesn't sound too repetitive to our more seasoned SmackDown vs. Raw fans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wrestler's New Clothes
Are there Alt.Attires and will we ever get create-a-wrestling promotion
-- guns_n_roses_fan2210
Hey, What About This Team?
Do you have something against Paul London and Brian Kendrick because they have been left out once again and they were tag team champions for close to a year.
-- randyorko
Good question "randyorko." I have seen some complaints about their omission; however it was out of our control. They were on our initial list, but we were requested to remove them for other talent. When we expand our roster next year, hopefully they will make it in the game. We apologize if your favorite Superstar is not on the roster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Split GMs and Seasons?
Will the Wii version of the game get a seperate GM Mode and Season Mode since it supposedly won't have WWE 24/7?
-- TomBgamer
Hello "TomBgamer." Yes, the Wii version will feature an entirely different Season Mode than WWE 24/7. The GM Mode will not be feature in the Wii. The Wii's Season Mode is called Main Event Mode and it gives you the opportunity to challenge who you want, when you want and how you want. Players will be able to choose any Superstar or Create-A-Superstar to play with and be on the brand of their choice. Check out the IGN Wii channel for exclusive details on Main Event Mode.
What's Up With The Belts?
Why put in the tag belts if there is only ONE TAG TEAM on the roster? (Im not counting the Hardys because there not taging any more) Also Why even bother with the CW title if there are only 4 CWs on the game roster? I GUess what im saying is why even bother with the different devisions if there are NO competeters? FIX THE ROSTER OR AT LEAST MAKE THE SAMPLE CAWS REAL COMPETETERS (ps this time its not thqs fault its the dam WWEs)
-- ImDoneItsOver
Thanks for your questions, "ImDoneItsOver." I'm sure you could imagine how upset everyone would be if we didn't have the Tag Team or cruiserweight belts in the game? If we removed those, I'm sure I would get a question similar to this asking why we removed the championships. Like I've mention before, who is on the roster is out of our hands. Also, we leave the option, for you the fan, to create your own tag teams/cruiserweights in the game so that you can use the belts in the game. We obviously didn't feel that removing the championships was the best move. We understand that the fans want every character in the game and we will try our best to accommodate, but every year there is going to be someone missing. That's just the nature of the WWE. There is no off-season. There is no trading deadline. There is no signing period. Things can change in the blink of an eye on the day we ship the game. We will continue to strive to find ways to keep the roster as up-to-date as possible in the future.
I Know Kung Fu
I see & like the new fighting styles,which one did you work on extra hard?
-- d.wkingofkingd
We're so glad to hear that you're excited about the new fighting styles. This is our favorite feature by far here at THQ. We think it's going to change the way you play the game and give gameplay a nice change of pace. What's most exciting about the feature is that you need to learn the strategies of each fighting style to be really proficient at the game. Plus, you'll need to pick your fighting style based on the match type and opponent you're facing. Instead of just learning how to play WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, you're learning how to play all the different Fighting Styles in connection with the game.
We didn't really work on one fighting style more than others. We tried our best to make sure they were all balanced so that one fighting style is not too strong and one fighting style is not too weak. My favorite fighting styles are the High Flyer and Hardcore styles. They really change the way you play a match and they both have some really cool special abilities like quick springboard attacks, weapon grapples and the hardcore rejuvenation special ability. I feel confident that the fans are really going to like gameplay this year. PS - I know fans have been wondering if you can change the default Fighting Styles for the Superstars, and the answer is yes - in fact you can!!
