It's not much, but IGN just interviewed a guy from THQ about Smackdown VS Raw 2008 (
here).
Info relevant to our concerns about the UFC game is:
- They're starting over on most aspects of the engine they've been using for the WWE franchise. He pointed out that when your animations are lacking, you can't update them by adding more frames, because that'll just make the same crappy animation slower. So they're going back and motion-capturing brand new ones with modern technology.
- More than ever before, they're going to take into account how different each wrestler is in terms of size, power, speed, style, etc, and have that affect how they play in the game. He was saying how before you'd start out with a game just trying to learn how the basic game works and how to pin your opponent. But now, you'll have to learn how to "play" each wrestler, and how to both overcome their limitations and capitalize on their strengths.
- They're overhauling the AI because they know it's been so flawed, and they want it to be smarter.
- Grappling and submissions: I'll just cut & paste this part.
IGN: On the subject of submissions, there's also a new submission system. Can you talk a little about that?
Ledesma: We're implementing a new "Struggle Submission System." Last year we wanted to give players improved controls with the analog sticks and this just the next step. We really want to get rid of the button mashing meters that we have because those are really dated. We're getting pretty tired of those, honestly. But now that we have our "Ultimate Control" theme going, we can apply that to submissions.
What's that mean for this year? It means that submissions are now controlled with the analog sticks. You can decide as an offensive player how much pressure you want to apply when you put an opponent in a hold. The more you push the stick in a particular direction, the more force you're putting behind that particular move.
Say, for example, that we have the Crippler Crossface applied to someone. As you add the pressure with the analog stick, you'll see your character pull back harder on the opponent in real time. That's an example of our new animation and how it applies to gameplay too. What's really great about it, though, is that you can also be defensive with this system and power out of a submission hold using the same analog mechanic. It makes the whole thing more of a cat and mouse game. We're trying to introduce a system where players always have control -- we don't want anyone sitting around waiting until their next opportunity. Adding a real strategy, a true "back and forth," is cool too.
IGN: Do the fighting styles alter how someone will escape a submission? Bobby Lashley powering out of a Masterlock is a whole lot different than Chavo.
Ledesma: There is some level of detail there, but it's not necessarily tied to your style but more your attributes. The submission artist and technician will have advantages in submission moves, of course, but how you escape will mostly be tied into your numbers.
And this last part should please Imdahman:
Ledesma: I want them to know that we're doing a lot of research this year to find out what the fans want. We're doing focus testing, dealing with research groups -- we're trying to get their opinions on what they think about our current feature sets and what they'd like to see. We're also doing the data-mining in titles we've already released so we can see what and how the fans are playing. We're taking all this info, putting it together with reviews and message board feedback, and we're trying to get it to become as close to what the fans want as possible.
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Okay, granted, this isn't the UFC game they're talking about. But it appears that they care about the right things, and they're trying to listen to what the fans want to see. Also, I would say that the developments they're making for this series will benefit the UFC game as well.
Yukes is still working on these WWE games, though, so I wonder if that means a totally different development team making the UFC game?