Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

[Steve_OS]

If you've been following Undisputed from the beginning, the recent news announced by Undisputed Community Manager...

Written By: Kevin Groves

Click here to view the article.

[13whitebread]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

I am slightly confused about this title and I have just skimmed every article about this game so forgive me but is this coming out to the console?

[KG]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

I am slightly confused about this title and I have just skimmed every article about this game so forgive me but is this coming out to the console?

No announcement has been made yet for when it will come to consoles but that's not necessarily a bad thing though. Let the PC crowd work the kinks out

[Freakywwe]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

I am slightly confused about this title and I have just skimmed every article about this game so forgive me but is this coming out to the console?

They've hinted at a console release at some point but the game is still in Early Access on Steam so I wouldn't expect it anytime soon

[ggsimmonds]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

Just want to add my thoughts on the final part of the article -- yes they are a small studio, but that is exactly why I've been so critical. When this was very first announced it was presented as a very realistic game for the boxing purist. I still remember the early videos where it was all about putting together a foundation for the best possible boxing experience.

Since those early videos, they've pivoted. They changed their scope and started chasing getting as many licensed boxers in the game as possible. To use a comparison to another video game genre, they decided to skip making Divinity Original Sin and jumped straight into making Baldur's Gate 3. About a year ago my hype for this game took a nosedive. I haven't even purchased it yet because early reviews and feedback do not paint a pretty picture.

[TomL]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

Looks and sounds promising. One feature that I really would like is the possibility to "populate" your universe (either in career mode or in a sandbox mode of some sort) with the fighters of your choice. Imagine creating a ton of CAF:s and play through whatever era you like.

[allBthere]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

They've hinted at a console release at some point but the game is still in Early Access on Steam so I wouldn't expect it anytime soon

it's more than a hint, it WILL be on consoles when they ship the game.

I'm personally STOKED about career mode. IT has so many elements no combat game before it has other than text sims. You pick your whole team (manager, coach/trainer, cutman) ..there are elements to 'energy' and weight leading up to the fight. The line-items for negotiation include arena, rematch clause, date, purse % etc... it's great. Like the poster above mentioned the create looks quite good so assuming you could populate the already massive roster w/ your own would be great. The 'stacked' divisions that have like 20 licensed guys will be fun because you may face 6-10 scrubs early on, but it would soon be entirely real pro fighters on the rankings.

I also love that there are 4 belts and the ultimate goal would be to be 'undisputed' at some point in your career.

One thing that could partially ruin all of this is if they force you to play lame mini-games. The management aspect of it is enough that as it stands it may take you 10min to line up and sim the pre-fight stuff as it is. Don't make me do some moronic quick time event thing to boost my stats, just make it randomized and like an rpg.

It's also cool for boxing fans that they can do a full career with their fav real boxer and it's not limited to ONLY create a boxer.

Even with all my issues with the game I'm still playing and still having fun. over 400 ranked fights is quite a lot given that a 12 rounder will take over 20min

They also mentioned they are doing additional mo-cap to iron out problems with the punching at this point which is super promissing - they are doing it specifically to target either animations they are missing or replacing existing ones that don't work or finally just adding more variety.

Career will be a great way to dive into single player for longer play-sessions. A lot of good things coming - only downside is full release is quite further away than most (including them) thought.

[Money99]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

Agreed allBthere!
I'm stoked for this Career mode. Definite first day buy when it hits consoles.

And like you said, my only fear is training mini-games.
I've given up on the idea that we'll see a console boxing game where fighters ratings were static and you just had to deal with a fighter having subpar power or handspeed.

One of the Victorious Boxers games had some great training depth.
Want to work on your handspeed? Spar with 20oz gloves.
Need to sharper your left hook, throw it a tonne in sparring.
Stuff like that.

I'm not expecting this in Undisputed, but based on what they've revealed so far, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that training won't be the same old copy/paste we've seen from every single boxing game over the past 20 years (minus VB)

[JayBee74]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

it's more than a hint, it WILL be on consoles when they ship the game.

I'm personally STOKED about career mode.

But don't you play mostly online? What do you think about single player? I've dabbled with it on intermediate level and find it excruciatingly boring. It's like you're going through the motions. I confess I don't have a lot of offline hours logged in because I don't have the patience.

[Dead2009]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

I cant wait for this game to come to console.

[Freakywwe]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

But don't you play mostly online? What do you think about single player? I've dabbled with it on intermediate level and find it excruciatingly boring. It's like you're going through the motions. I confess I don't have a lot of offline hours logged in because I don't have the patience.

I would give it another shot. They update the AI with every update. Fighting against the AI on Undisputed difficulty is a much more enjoyable experience now. AI actually use the tools at hand rather then just walk forward and punch. A good counter puncher will have you swinging at air most of the time

[allBthere]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

But don't you play mostly online? What do you think about single player? I've dabbled with it on intermediate level and find it excruciatingly boring. It's like you're going through the motions. I confess I don't have a lot of offline hours logged in because I don't have the patience.

normally I play most sports games offline - this one because it's just single matches and the AI has gone through the ringer I am mostly online yes.

The updates have drastically changed the AI - it went from crazy hard to non-existent and now it's back to being a challenge again not just on undisputed - but also Pro (I think). The judges are rigged and I lost 2 decisions I should have won.

That said, creating a boxer and going through the ranks with all the negotiation stuff in and of itself will be fun and with the current AI it should be fun. When I do play offline 1/2 the time I boost the damage at least one notch so we'll see with career. CPU used to initiate clinches which I don't see NOW but expect in the future, so with the odd illegal blow and clinching that should help the offline pace to get closer to real boxing.

Overall though, the AI still needs a lot of work because fighting a real person - even if they are using non-boxing tactics or cheese - still provides a noticeable difference like how they are slipping punches (or not) ...vs the AI it feels too much like it's doing its thing according to your inputs rather than 'watching' your fighter if that makes sense.

You might want to also have some online fights just to check it out too! There is zero socializing and when it works it can be pretty good.

Either way, career is a huge addition I'll be using 100%. I want to get undisputed and all that smoke. The creator actually looks really good too.

[Bamtino]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

But don't you play mostly online? What do you think about single player? I've dabbled with it on intermediate level and find it excruciatingly boring. It's like you're going through the motions. I confess I don't have a lot of offline hours logged in because I don't have the patience.

I only play offline on Undisputed difficulty...

Its completely broken and not challenging, the AI in its current state is not at all suitable for a game marketing itself as a boxing simulation...Nowhere close to where it needs to be...The AI fights the exact same way with every boxer of the roster, its movement and counter focused...Doesn't matter who you select to fight against, the AI has the reflexes of prime FMJ with everyone on the roster...

This makes it very easy to figure out and time, especially against slower boxers...I've had one fight go past the 4th round on Undisputed difficulty and that was because I fought Canelo with the worst boxer on the WW roster...

If the AI isn't drastically improved, I definitely won't be wasting my time with career mode...There is no point to that IMO...

[kingsofthevalley]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

These guys can still win some hearts and minds if they do this correctly. Lately, I've been playing at an increased pace while at the same time waiting for UFC 5 to release in order to see which title I would naturally lean towards. It's definitely turning out to be Undisputed, and with me being a heavy critic, that's a plus for Undisputed lol!

I think Steel City is really on to something here. The last patch was successful imo as far as increasing the punch impact (seems better online than offline), but not so much with the boxer A.I. Overall, the A.I. appears to fight better, but there's no delineation between boxer personalities as they seem to all use the same aggressive strategy abusing that odd sidestep (which doesn't go with the game by the way, its more of an arcade style mechanic). A.I. boxers don't use loose movement either, which takes away from the aesthetics of the game replicating a real boxing match.

The boxer movement is head over heels crushing UFC 5 hands down (as far as real world physics integration is concerned). I think the movement can be sped up juuuuust a bit, along with punch speed. It doesn't feel like you can really "let your hands go" and get busy, needs to be loosened up overall.

I can see the devs vision and I think they're just about there with the above listed tweaks. Once again:

- Create different boxer types for A.I. and apply individually, i.e. brawler, outside boxer, etc. Right now, it appears all A.I. is fighting under "swarmer/brawler" set.
- Ensure A.I. is using "loose movement" and actually moving around the ring, not just pressing up to you (this could be tied into boxer personality A.I. set).
- Remove the odd arcade "duck" sidestep, or make it more subtle. The aesthetic of this mechanic needs to change.
- Speed up boxer movement slightly, there's a "stuck in sand" feeling to the matches that could use some improvement.
- Loosen up the character models and allow more fluid and savage combos.

Lastly, any information on career mode release? I'm hoping this week, but "fall" is considered September, October, November, so we could be waiting for another entire month.

[allBthere]

Re: Undisputed Career Mode and Character Creator Breakdown

The AI main guy posts on their discord and he knows there is a long way to go. He mentioned what's coming in the next update (6) and beyond that. There's a lot to be added on the roadmap - so I'm not as concerned as he's been in the role for about 4-5 months and still has another 4-5 months (imo) before the game leaves early access. There was even talk alluding to the addition of sliders - so we'll see.

I agree regarding UFC as I'm playing the trial. To be fair there are some things it does do well - the blood, the ko replays, the clinch. But the movement is terrible - head movement is ok though - striking animation and fluidity is so inconsistent. I don't think I'll be buying the game -

For the update - yeah it could be anytime but 2 things to keep in mind. The next update coming any day now will NOT have career. A poster mentioned that on discord - so there are 2 updates planned in the near term, next one will have damage and a couple of fighters and AI tweaked - the one after that is the big carreer one. With Career though, it was playable at gamescom so that leads me to believe it's far enough along to release in early access and they're likely dealing more with bugs and other kinks to release it. It's not like they can't add to it in future updates, so I'm imagining they just need to to work consistently en mass before letting it out .... So in other words I think update 6 is next week and 7 including career will come mid-late NOV (all guesses by me but not unreasonable)