Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

[Steve_OS]

http://www.ea.com/1/live-chat

It's going on right now... fyi

[SHAKYR]

Legacy Mode Chat Transcript

Here is a transcript of the Legacy mode chat with developers that just went down:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...dyU/edit?hl=en


On another note, I've been away from forums and community as a whole but I am always lurking around. I heard about this live chat and decided to go in there and ask some good questions. However its palpable how these moderated chats allow them to dodge tough questions or questions to stuff they won't support on the game. I asked 8-10 questions mostly related to the possibility of managing more than 1 boxer on Legacy mode (playing the part of a promoter) and none were posted. However they did post 2 questions I did which were:

"Why are you posting compliments instead of questions?"

"Will you have a chat like this one for online mode?"

Now why do they post those easy/silly questions and not answer the one question I had. All questions posted were for things they have in the game or stuff people already know. They didn't waste time posting compliments from people in the chat.

Coming from a past moderator, community leader and huge fan of the franchise, I'm extremely disappointed.


Enjoy chat transcript.

The developers answered some of the fans questions.

[The Visualizer]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

some good info there, thanx for posting the transcript

[Kanobi]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

Its cool that they have stoppages and 3 belts per weight class

[DavonBrown]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

I think both of those things were in the last game.

[Money99]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

Some sweet info here:

Q: Are injuries possible in legacy mode, like broken hands, sore wrists, fractured orbatal?
A: You bet. Getting your face constantly pummeled can have potential long-term effects on your career.

Q: Can you freestyle train like in real life without being forced to do a mini game?
A:Yes, there is Open Sparring, but it's still timed and still requires you to be within the training period.

Q: can a fight be stopped on a boxer taking too much damage without being cut. TKO
A:Yes.

Nice stuff.

[The Visualizer]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

I think both of those things were in the last game.

They had stoppages for cuts, but I only seen it happen once in like 1000 fights. In the chat they mentioned stoppages at the end of fights for getting beat on while not defending yourself (like a lot of fights actually end nowadays)

And I didn't play much Legacy mode but I'm pretty sure there was only one belt per division.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

Some sweet info here:







Nice stuff.

I agree.

I also like what he said when someone asked about if they learned anything from NBA 2K11. He mentioned that what he has learned is it takes 6-8 years to get a game "perfect." If I'm correct, this is their second go at FN. We come on here and expect only the best but we really sometimes have no clue on what restraints are set in place, why limitations they have etc..

[SHAKYR]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

I agree.

I also like what he said when someone asked about if they learned anything from NBA 2K11. He mentioned that what he has learned is it takes 6-8 years to get a game "perfect." If I'm correct, this is their second go at FN. We come on here and expect only the best but we really sometimes have no clue on what restraints are set in place, why limitations they have etc..

Not to sound too negative because I have been dealing with the producers for awhile, but that is company talk. NBA Live has like 20 years under their belt and failed horribly. The producers are going to protect/defend their decisions.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

Not to sound too negative because I have been dealing with the producers for awhile, but that is company talk. NBA Live has like 20 years under their belt and failed horribly. The producers are going to protect/defend their decisions.

I disagree. I think that's experience talking. anyone can sign on to a live chat and ask such a general question, "Have you guys learned anything from NBA 2K11?" In fact, we all know many questions are sometimes comments in disguise. The 2K11 question was a comment to say, FN is not in the same leagues as NBA 2K. but, isn't this Brizzo and crew's 2nds go around with this title? What I get from the answer is that it takes many years to get it "just right." And there's still work after that.

I'll hold the fire to their feet like anyone else, but I have zero understanding on what it takes to develop a video game and what pressure comes from management that might cripple would be ideas and concepts. We want the game to be the best it can be and then come here and easily hold the devs accountable because it's not. That's easy to do. We have no idea what goes in the one single dev cycle.

[Phobia]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

I disagree. I think that's experience talking. anyone can sign on to a live chat and ask such a general question, "Have you guys learned anything from NBA 2K11?" In fact, we all know many questions are sometimes comments in disguise. The 2K11 question was a comment to say, FN is not in the same leagues as NBA 2K. but, isn't this Brizzo and crew's 2nds go around with this title? What I get from the answer is that it takes many years to get it "just right." And there's still work after that.

I'll hold the fire to their feet like anyone else, but I have zero understanding on what it takes to develop a video game and what pressure comes from management that might cripple would be ideas and concepts. We want the game to be the best it can be and then come here and easily hold the devs accountable because it's not. That's easy to do. We have no idea what goes in the one single dev cycle.

Well said Dave. I am no different than Poetic in my wants of a simulation experience. Where we do differ is I am not as black & white with my point of view of the situation.

Reason my point of view leans towards the developers rather than the "hardcore" crowd on this matter is this. My current job I face similar stresses from two conflicting sides. On one side you have your customers who you want to provide anything and everything to. Then on your other side you have your higher ups aka "management". These guys outlook on the situation might not agree with yours, yet you are semi-forced to favor the management side because in the end you need a pay check to supply for your family.

Lets not forget that Brizzo ,Mike and the rest of the FNC dev team all are EMPLOYED by EA the company. They take decisions to a degree from people above them. So no matter how much they might want to take a certain direction with the title. There is a "suit" telling them "No that does not work with our direction of the franchise".

So before anyone starts attacking the devs themselves. Take a step back and realize they are going to work and getting paid no different than you and me. I am sure they also face much higher stress levels to not only please the community but also their superiors who write their checks.

In the end, they are taking orders no different then any of us at work. Just be mindful that it is not as black & white as "Ugghhhhh brizzo does not even want it to be realistic". There could be many different intangibles you have no clue about. Soooooo basically my point, is to focus dissatisfaction to EA the company NOT the devs on a personal level.

[SHAKYR]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

I understand what you are saying phobia, but when games like UFC 2009 did so much in it's first try out the box you have to question some decisions. I'm also aware that some of the decision are the producers personally. When they didn't add a proper clinching game in Fight Night Round 4 it was done on purpose. The producers didn't want people people doing a John Ruiz. They can't call a game realistic or they are try to make it a good representation of the sport when clinching is a tactic.

I'm starting to think clinching wasn't a priority in the new game. You have to think that way after the answer he gave before.

[Phobia]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

I understand what you are saying phobia, but when games like UFC 2009 did so much in it's first try out the box you have to question some decisions. I'm also aware that some of the decision are the producers personally. When they didn't add a proper clinching game in Fight Night Round 4 it was done on purpose. The producers didn't want people people doing a John Ruiz. They can't call a game realistic or they are try to make it a good representation of the sport when clinching is a tactic.

I'm starting to think clinching wasn't a priority in the new game. You have to think that way after the answer he gave before.

Well they had a working clinch game when we were there. But they could not get ironed out bugs from the punch physics system by release time. I think it is almost a 100% guarantee it will be in the following title.

This goes back to the management system. I am sure they would love to spend extra time working on it to get it in. Matter of fact brizzo told me his self he wanted it in bad. But time crunches forced them to cut it rather than release a buggy product. Think of the backlash if they released it with the clinch game but it was buggy and ruined the experience. So these kind of decisions to cut key areas falls back to EA the company. To many of these game companies force early release dates to meet market value and get the best bang for their buck year after year. Instead of delaying a title to get everything right, EA is known for rushing products. This is one area of game development which has taken steps backwards. Patch system has ruined game development to a degree. We the consumer suffer because of this rushed effect. NBA Live franchise is a perfect example of this in action.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

If FN4 was their first work under the new dev team, I'd say they did well in comparison to what EA MMA did. When you look at FN4, they did a solid job for a first cycle. I know they had past version to build from, but they improved commentary, physics and even the legacy mode. Not to mention that FN4 had/has a solid net code. The online ranked matches and world championship mode ran very smooth.

Again though, I won't sit back and ignore things I wish weren't in their or missing. I think the first thing I'd ask the team is, "Why on earth do illegal blows and headbutts like that?"

[Jukeman]

Re: Developer Chat: Fight Night Champion

Did NBA 2k have the same Dev team for 8 years?