We don’t want to split the player base?

[bcelts]

If you are worried about splitting the player base in regard to a more sim like mode does that mean there are a lot of people that want this? Are you worried about splitting the player base because there are not high numbers playing the game? If so then that is a problem in itself. Do many people even play Blitz mode? Why couldn’t a more sim like mode replace Blitz mode? Why not try a sim like mode and see how it goes? I am not trying to make anyone angry. I am just trying to understand this better.

[tomitomitomi]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

The idea is that if everyone plays the same mode then the matchmaking experience will be better because there will be more people with good latency and similar matchmaking rating. If let's say 20% of the player base started playing sim mode instead, not only would matchmaking for sim be trash it would also hurt the normal mode as well.

As far as Blitz is concerned, it always came across as a gimmick pseudo-battle royale mode to me. I honestly don't know if it has had any post-launch updates. Sim mode enthusiasts would demand comparable balance updates to the normal mode which is double the work.

This is pretty common in all popular games by the way. League of Legends for example has one de facto competitive mode and even there people complain about queue times and team balance.

[LarsP]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Imo "We don’t want to split the player base" is a smoke screen. As tomi above said, they don't want the extra work load of having to keep another game mode balanced throughout the games lifecycle.

[bcelts]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

I think after Esports Boxing drops they will have wished they would have done something like a sim mode. I know two different sports. Looks like Esports Boxing will be more sim like and will have another mode for casuals.

[aholbert32]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

I think after Esports Boxing drops they will have wished they would have done something like a sim mode. I know two different sports. Looks like Esports Boxing will be more sim like and will have another mode for casuals.

I'm excited about ESBC but why do people here think that it will affect what EA does with UFC? Lets say ESBC does all the things you think (and I hope it will): Sim mode for online, realistic and fun gameplay and online balance. How does that change what EA will do?

MMA fans will still buy UFC 5. We saw with UFC 4 that for all the complaining that OSers do, the large majority of them still will buy the series even if they market and cater the game to a completely different group of people.

Also, EA doesnt really generate any revenue from people who play a game online a year after its released. So if ESBC comes out and is great and EA UFC players navigate to ESBC, it really doesnt matter. As long as they come back and play UFC 5 when it comes out.

[bcelts]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

I'm excited about ESBC but why do people here think that it will affect what EA does with UFC? Lets say ESBC does all the things you think (and I hope it will): Sim mode for online, realistic and fun gameplay and online balance. How does that change what EA will do?

MMA fans will still buy UFC 5. We saw with UFC 4 that for all the complaining that OSers do, the large majority of them still will buy the series even if they market and cater the game to a completely different group of people.

Also, EA doesnt really generate any revenue from people who play a game online a year after its released. So if ESBC comes out and is great and EA UFC players navigate to ESBC, it really doesnt matter. As long as they come back and play UFC 5 when it comes out.

MMA and Boxing are two combat sports and totally different. I don’t think the boxing game is going to take away people from buying UFC games. I just think tEA will wish they had tried making a game more realistic and to give the people that play it more options once they see that something like this can actually work.

[aholbert32]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

MMA and Boxing are two combat sports and totally different. I don’t think the boxing game is going to take away people from buying UFC games. I just think tEA will wish they had tried making a game more realistic and to give the people that play it more options once they see that something like this can actually work.

Why would they wish that? EA is happy with how EA UFC 4 sold. Which means that they are likely to be happy with the approach that they took with 4. If ESBC's approach works (and I hope it does) that doesnt mean that EA will change their approach.

[TapOrSnap]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Imo "We don’t want to split the player base" is a smoke screen. As tomi above said, they don't want the extra work load of having to keep another game mode balanced throughout the games lifecycle.

Totally not a smoke screen. We have discussed the feature and decided not to do it specifically because of concerns about splitting the player base.

Your other point of not wanting to do the work is somewhat unfair as we love working on our game and as such put as much as we can into it. However it would be fair to state that adding a sim mode would also split our capacity. We have limited resources and post ship a significant portion of them are dedicated to tuning the game. Having multiple areas to tune would absolutely reduce the amount of time dedicated to each area.

[Granbyroll]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Totally not a smoke screen. We have discussed the feature and decided not to do it specifically because of concerns about splitting the player base.

Your other point of not wanting to do the work is somewhat unfair as we love working on our game and as such put as much as we can into it. However it would be fair to state that adding a sim mode would also split our capacity. We have limited resources and post ship a significant portion of them are dedicated to tuning the game. Having multiple areas to tune would absolutely reduce the amount of time dedicated to each area.

Mlb the show and 2k21 have sim modes and it doesnt affect anything at all.

[aholbert32]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Mlb the show and 2k21 have sim modes and it doesnt affect anything at all.

Both of those games have SIGNIFICANTLY larger online fanbases. Also correct me if I'm wrong but 2k21 has online sliders (which the UFC team should absolutely consider adding) not a sim mode for online. I think its the same for the Show but I havent played the Show online in years.

[ryangil23]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Both of those games have SIGNIFICANTLY larger online fanbases. Also correct me if I'm wrong but 2k21 has online sliders (which the UFC team should absolutely consider adding) not a sim mode for online. I think its the same for the Show but I havent played the Show online in years.

How do online sliders work? Is it just where you can invite somebody to a game and it allows you to change sliders?

[aholbert32]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

How do online sliders work? Is it just where you can invite somebody to a game and it allows you to change sliders?

Correct. Its not the same as a sim mode where you are forced to fight on the settings that EA/2k think are sim. It gives players an option to decide what the settings are.

You want to slow the pace of the fight....drop the stamina all the way down.
You want punches to really matter.....raise the power all the way up.
You think its too easy to sub someone....change that setting.

My take is even if they added a "sim" mode (to be clear, im not against them adding one), people here would still find areas to complain. The damage will be too much or too little. The stamina will be too draining or not enough. With sliders, the control is in the players hands.

[igor.rn]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Alberto, what are the most realistic sliders for UFC 4?

[aholbert32]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Alberto, what are the most realistic sliders for UFC 4?

I wish I had an answer for you. Its tough because every gameplay change that is made for online "balance" affects offline play. I swear every month I have to increase or decrease things like damage and stamina because of some patch change for online reasons.

Also "realistic" also depends on the player. I can have fights where the CPU and I will have 50 strikes per round or less but that is all dependent on the AI that I'm fighting (Guys like AI Wonderboy and Machida can have 30-40 strike rounds if you are willing to distance fight them).

Currently, I have damage -5 for both and Stamina -3. I know some of you will think that stamina is too low but I got sick of seeing players gas in 5 rounders when using a moderate pace. I have clinch frequency at -1 and sub attempts at -2

I also have house rules for GNP. Its too easy to stop the CPU with GNP so if the CPU blocks 3 shots while im postured up, I stop striking and let them pull me down. That rule doesnt apply to when I knock them down and am attempting to finish them.

[johnmangala]

Re: We don’t want to split the player base?

Correct. Its not the same as a sim mode where you are forced to fight on the settings that EA/2k think are sim. It gives players an option to decide what the settings are.

You want to slow the pace of the fight....drop the stamina all the way down.
You want punches to really matter.....raise the power all the way up.
You think its too easy to sub someone....change that setting.

My take is even if they added a "sim" mode (to be clear, im not against them adding one), people here would still find areas to complain. The damage will be too much or too little. The stamina will be too draining or not enough. With sliders, the control is in the players hands.

If the concern is splitting the playerbase, why not replace blitz mode with online sliders? The different rulesets in blitz mode could be toggles in online sliders, and there could be ranges that match you up accordingly.

I'm not keen to the numbers but I would assume UT was more popular than blitz mode and it was still removed. Even if sim mode alone wouldn't be more popular than those two, online sliders could allow the same playstyles as those but also cater to various other playstyles.