Online play is a staple of today's fighting games, and very few have gotten it right. The UFC Undisputed series has had two mediocre showings in the online space prior to UFC Undisputed 3, so I was curious to see how the servers, community size and general community behavior would hold up about a month after the game had come out.

Servers / Latency

UFC Undisputed 3 had a rocky start for its online servers when the game first launched, with servers going down at various times and spotty latency in a majority of the matches. To be fair, matches were still generally playable, when you got them, but it was hard to get a sense what the community would look like and how it would behave.

These days, the servers are a lot more stable, with minimal outages and mostly “stable” gameplay. It's never too hard to get a match, whether playing in UFC or PRIDE mode, and users seems to be mixing it up between playing ranked and player matches.

The latency in most fights does seem somewhat more stable, but admittedly, there are still times where you'll find significant lag and input delay. Playing on a wired connection makes a big difference, as does playing someone who is geographically close to you. This is usually common advice for most games, but with UFC Undisputed 3 it's almost doubly important.

Fighters Used by the Community

One problem that continues in this year's online offering is fighter selection by opposing players. This has been mitigated slightly by a secondary confirmation screen after both players have selected a fighter (allowing you to back out), but you're still going to get a lot of players using GSP at welterweight, Anderson Silva at middleweight, Jon Jones at light heavyweight, and so on. It's actually not as bad in the lighter weight classes, as you have less “power” in the fighters there, and there are usually more than a few top-tier fighters to select from.

The issue of facing someone like GSP or Jon Jones online is that the law of unintended consequences comes into play. By this I mean that while someone like GSP is meant to be dominant on the ground, which he is in the this game, it gives unfair credit to his striking. Since you're so paranoid of being taken down and exploited by his quick transitions and top control, you leave yourself open to his unorthodox striking.

It's not to say that GSP is a bad striker in real life, but the game's top fighters almost get a boost in this regard because one aspect of their game is so dominant that it can be challenging to compensate for the other. Also, many top fighters have transitions, reversals and strikes that help them get out of sticky situations much easier than most of the mid-level fighters. Created characters can also be a pain to face online for this reason, as they usually have a plethora of special throws and transitions, making it very hard to keep them on the ground or have them in one place for long.

Choosing “player” matches does help get more variety in opposition fighters, as the community seems a little more willing to take risks when permanent records aren't part of the equation. I've had a string of fun battles with various competitors when going with player matches, and both of us went through different fighters and match-ups that mirrored real-life scenarios and possibilities.

 

Fighting Styles Used by the Community

Much like in real-life MMA fights, most people online want the fight to stay standing, with large haymakers and heavy counter-punches. There is a bit of variety in this regard, as there are more players who employ feints and sways, which is nice to see, and there is definitely a lot less headkick spamming than in the past.

If you're going to fight a smart fight, though, you'll have to work the cage and bring it to the ground. The fascinating thing is that while many users are actually fairly good at transition reversals and controlling things off their back, they really don't like it when you slam them into side control and start hitting elbows. I got three messages in a row one night, stating, “You ****in' suck,” which was amusing because all three opponents and been beaten and battered in all aspects of the fight. One fight I had taken my opponent down about 15 times when he was trying sloppy punches, and I had also controlled him against the cage, landing knees and elbows. Amusingly, he still questioned my ability at the game. Some users just outright quit when you take the fight down to the ground.

Still, there are lots of good strategies that people employ. Working someone in a clinch and pushing them towards the cage can lead to dominating knee strikes, and many users can sprawl and block transitions quite well, keeping the clinch and ground situations from getting as out of hand as they have in past games. I have seen a reasonable amount of users attempt submissions, but I've yet to be caught in one. The minigame has proven itself to be inoffensive and functional, but it really is quite hard to get catch someone unless it's late in a fight or they blow out their stamina.

OS Community Opinion

Here are a few quotes from users in the OS community.

User “Phobia” had this to say:

“I could most likely have a better record if I would use Cain, Anderson Silva, St. Pierre, Edgar, Aldo, etc. Instead I roll with a bunch of different people based on what style I feel like playing. For instance I use Skyscraper Struve last night and got the submission from my back. While my record is not extremely important it does feel good to have a winning record against all these super powers in each division with much weaker fighters. Goes to show you how good planning and execution can win you fights.”

“ManiacMatt1782” gave some advice for ground fighting:

“Against good fighters who stall their transitions, I flat out don't look for reversals. When people look to immediately transition a lot and show that tendency, I anticipate and try a reversal and most times get it. It's about timing, but it's also about feel. Sometime you just know when an opponent is gonna try to transition, so you try the reversal.”

Finally, user “geisterhome” relayed the following cautionary tale (something Matt Mitrione has brought up before in relation to real fights):

“I got knocked out online once after I attempted to touch gloves. That other guy unfortunately had other things in mind, and so I got rocked and KOed after maybe 5 to 10 seconds.”

Outlook

This year's entry in the Undisputed franchise still has some minor-to-moderate problems with its online, whether it's latency or the types of fights you're likely to find, but if you go into player matches and ensure the best possible connection on your end, you're likely to find some competition in the community that fights with diverse fighters and plays for the right reasons.
The State of the Online Union – UFC Undisputed 3