Re: UFC 4: Needs vs. Wants
NEEDS
GRAPPLING
-reversals and denials are done via separate inputs (a denial should NEVER result in a change of position)
- Grapple Advantage is eradicated. Stamina, health, and stats are all that should affect your transition speed on the ground. When you have a silly mechanic like grapple advantage, it’s just going to become the meta - and any tactics which reward GA are going to dominate the grappling game. See EA UFC 3.
- Transitions have 2 “steps”, like in Undisputed 3, and are executed via swooping the stick. So the first part of the transitions is performed by pressing the stick in a direction, then the transition is finished by swooping the stick. The player then has the ability to stall on step 1, or abandon the transition entirely, as opposed to being committed to an entire transition with a single input like it is on EA UFC 3. This gives the player more control over their fighter, and looks more realistic than the rapid-fire “transition faking” we’ve seen from all of EA’s UFC games thus far.
- Takedowns and clinch attempts cannot be denied in entirety via a simple flick of the stick. Denying must require some degree of pushing, holding, running - anything but flicking an analog stick.
- At least every position, transition, and strike that existed on the ground in UD3 is present. This includes body knees from back side, elbows from bottom, cage seated position, swaying to avoid GnP, cancelling ground strikes, etc.
- Far less harsh stamina penalties for missing takedowns, especially for fighters known for their grappling endurance
- Holding is reintroduced to the grappling in some way. It doesn’t need to be the primary means of denying transitions, but it needs to be present. It makes the game so much more immersive, and keeps the player much more engaged. On EA UFC 3, you can basically set your controller down between denials. There is no button to press unless you’re quickly flicking the analog stick for a denial. It makes the grappling feel like a waiting/reaction game, instead of an active, engaging game. It murders immersion. Undisputed 3’s system of pushing the stick into your opponent at all times, in order to maintain any position, did a great job of keeping players engaged and making us feel like we were actively in control of our fighter at all times.
In EA UFC 3, it doesn’t feel like we’re actively in control of our fighter at all. There is no visual feedback to prove we’re actually controlling our opponent at all until they transition and we deny it. Then it’s back to just watching the screen, not even touching our controller, until the next denial.
STRIKING
- Far more individual strike power.
- The ability to move MUCH faster, in any direction, without a massive stamina penalty. Also the ability to sprint in any direction.
WANTS
- Denying clinch entries should be more oriented on escaping the clinch, as opposed to denying the entry itself. We should see clinches happen far more often, and be far easier to obtain - yet far harder to hold and maintain, especially in open space away from the cage. Rarely in real life do you see two fighters lock up and become engaged in a minutes long clinch battle in the middle of the octagon. Yet brief clinches happen all the time, and should be far easier to obtain.
NEEDS
GRAPPLING
-reversals and denials are done via separate inputs (a denial should NEVER result in a change of position)
- Grapple Advantage is eradicated. Stamina, health, and stats are all that should affect your transition speed on the ground. When you have a silly mechanic like grapple advantage, it’s just going to become the meta - and any tactics which reward GA are going to dominate the grappling game. See EA UFC 3.
- Transitions have 2 “steps”, like in Undisputed 3, and are executed via swooping the stick. So the first part of the transitions is performed by pressing the stick in a direction, then the transition is finished by swooping the stick. The player then has the ability to stall on step 1, or abandon the transition entirely, as opposed to being committed to an entire transition with a single input like it is on EA UFC 3. This gives the player more control over their fighter, and looks more realistic than the rapid-fire “transition faking” we’ve seen from all of EA’s UFC games thus far.
- Takedowns and clinch attempts cannot be denied in entirety via a simple flick of the stick. Denying must require some degree of pushing, holding, running - anything but flicking an analog stick.
- At least every position, transition, and strike that existed on the ground in UD3 is present. This includes body knees from back side, elbows from bottom, cage seated position, swaying to avoid GnP, cancelling ground strikes, etc.
- Far less harsh stamina penalties for missing takedowns, especially for fighters known for their grappling endurance
- Holding is reintroduced to the grappling in some way. It doesn’t need to be the primary means of denying transitions, but it needs to be present. It makes the game so much more immersive, and keeps the player much more engaged. On EA UFC 3, you can basically set your controller down between denials. There is no button to press unless you’re quickly flicking the analog stick for a denial. It makes the grappling feel like a waiting/reaction game, instead of an active, engaging game. It murders immersion. Undisputed 3’s system of pushing the stick into your opponent at all times, in order to maintain any position, did a great job of keeping players engaged and making us feel like we were actively in control of our fighter at all times.
In EA UFC 3, it doesn’t feel like we’re actively in control of our fighter at all. There is no visual feedback to prove we’re actually controlling our opponent at all until they transition and we deny it. Then it’s back to just watching the screen, not even touching our controller, until the next denial.
STRIKING
- Far more individual strike power.
- The ability to move MUCH faster, in any direction, without a massive stamina penalty. Also the ability to sprint in any direction.
WANTS
- Denying clinch entries should be more oriented on escaping the clinch, as opposed to denying the entry itself. We should see clinches happen far more often, and be far easier to obtain - yet far harder to hold and maintain, especially in open space away from the cage. Rarely in real life do you see two fighters lock up and become engaged in a minutes long clinch battle in the middle of the octagon. Yet brief clinches happen all the time, and should be far easier to obtain.
Comment