Fight Night Round 4 Producers Answer some of the Questions

[POETICDRINK2U]

Jeff & Brian Field a Few Community Q's

Hey Fight Night Fans!


Okay, look, maybe we underestimated your appetite for details about Fight Night Round 4. Maybe we overestimated your desire to read anything about what the team thinks about Ali, Tyson or the sport of boxing in general. (Brizzo is still going to post more Fight Game commentaries though, he doesn't care!) Evidently, some of you are very anxious to hear some details about the game. In an effort to satisfy your hunger, we took a look at the list of questions that POETIC has been compiling in the forums and selected a bunch of the most common ones to provide a handful of answers to. Read on and then let's blow up the comments and forums.


The Roster
When will the roster be released?
When will you guys start dropping the Roster list?
Will [insert boxer name here] be in the game?

Jeff Atienza: We will begin announcing the rest of the roster in late Feb/early March. We can tell you now it will be the biggest roster for any Fight Night game to date.

Legacy Mode
Is the Legacy Mode the same as career mode?
Is Legacy Mode another name for Career Mode or is it a deeper experience?
How in depth will the legacy mode be? In the past the career mode was kind of garbage.

Jeff: Yes, Legacy Mode is the name for Career Mode. Everybody on the team is aware of the shortcomings in FNR3's career mode. Mike Mahar and Raymond Lo are working hard to ensure Legacy Mode is a deeper and more authentic experience. It includes new training games, divisional rankings, multiple titles in each division and several other features that you will hear more about in the weeks and months to come.

Arcade or Sim
Will this be the best version of a boxing sim?
Will this be a sim game or more arcade? (sorry, gotta ask!)
Is FN4 going to be like FN3 where you could get Frazier and throw haymakers and parry all day, or does it actually require strategy?
Is the boxing going to be sim or arcadey? Please say sim!
How much will skill and strategy actually come into play when trying to win a match?

Brian Hayes: I know you've heard this before, but we've rebuilt the engine from scratch. Our goal from the outset has been to create the most realistic boxing experience to date. The gameplay mechanics and AI have all been refined and improved to create a larger variety of styles and strategies you can use to be successful inside the ring. It's too early for us comment specifically on all the mechanics and details, but our objectives are to deliver more variety, excitement and authenticity to gameplay.


Referee In-Game
Will there be a referee in the game?
Will we get a referee inside the ring, like in Prizefighter and will it have a more active role in the fight?
Will there be a Ref in the Ring during the Fight?

Brian: Yes, there is a Referee present for the Pre-Fight Instructions and Post-Fight Results. Any time there is a Knockdown, a Point Deduction, Fight Stoppage or Disqualification he is a part of the action too. During the second-to-second flow of the fight the Referee is not visible. This is for a couple reasons: it allows us to use those resources to draw higher quality boxers and it prevents instances where the referee gets in your way.

Ring Entrances
Will there be entourages to accompany the fighter to the ring?
Will there be authentic entrances like Prince Naseem flying in on a carpet, or Tyson sporting the white towel?
Will each boxer come to the ring wearing their belts and their robes? (this is necessary for that authentic feeling)

Brian: Unfortunately, we aren't able to recreate all the theatrics and stagecraft used by some boxers. For example, there is no riding in on a white tiger and you won't be able to perform a live rap song on a stage with back-up dancers before your fight. However, you will see much more authentic ring entrances that include the trainer, the cutman, the chief second, robes, towels and championship belts.

[Rocky.]

Jeff & Brian Field a Few Community Q's

Hey Fight Night Fans!


Okay, look, maybe we underestimated your appetite for details about Fight Night Round 4. Maybe we overestimated your desire to read anything about what the team thinks about Ali, Tyson or the sport of boxing in general. (Brizzo is still going to post more Fight Game commentaries though, he doesn't care!) Evidently, some of you are very anxious to hear some details about the game. In an effort to satisfy your hunger, we took a look at the list of questions that POETIC has been compiling in the forums and selected a bunch of the most common ones to provide a handful of answers to. Read on and then let's blow up the comments and forums.


The Roster
When will the roster be released?
When will you guys start dropping the Roster list?
Will [insert boxer name here] be in the game?

Jeff Atienza: We will begin announcing the rest of the roster in late Feb/early March. We can tell you now it will be the biggest roster for any Fight Night game to date.
Legacy Mode
Is the Legacy Mode the same as career mode?
Is Legacy Mode another name for Career Mode or is it a deeper experience?
How in depth will the legacy mode be? In the past the career mode was kind of garbage.

Jeff: Yes, Legacy Mode is the name for Career Mode. Everybody on the team is aware of the shortcomings in FNR3's career mode. Mike Mahar and Raymond Lo are working hard to ensure Legacy Mode is a deeper and more authentic experience. It includes new training games, divisional rankings, multiple titles in each division and several other features that you will hear more about in the weeks and months to come.

Arcade or Sim
Will this be the best version of a boxing sim?
Will this be a sim game or more arcade? (sorry, gotta ask!)
Is FN4 going to be like FN3 where you could get Frazier and throw haymakers and parry all day, or does it actually require strategy?
Is the boxing going to be sim or arcadey? Please say sim!
How much will skill and strategy actually come into play when trying to win a match?

Brian Hayes: I know you've heard this before, but we've rebuilt the engine from scratch. Our goal from the outset has been to create the most realistic boxing experience to date. The gameplay mechanics and AI have all been refined and improved to create a larger variety of styles and strategies you can use to be successful inside the ring. It's too early for us comment specifically on all the mechanics and details, but our objectives are to deliver more variety, excitement and authenticity to gameplay.


Referee In-Game
Will there be a referee in the game?
Will we get a referee inside the ring, like in Prizefighter and will it have a more active role in the fight?
Will there be a Ref in the Ring during the Fight?

Brian: Yes, there is a Referee present for the Pre-Fight Instructions and Post-Fight Results. Any time there is a Knockdown, a Point Deduction, Fight Stoppage or Disqualification he is a part of the action too. During the second-to-second flow of the fight the Referee is not visible. This is for a couple reasons: it allows us to use those resources to draw higher quality boxers and it prevents instances where the referee gets in your way.

Ring Entrances
Will there be entourages to accompany the fighter to the ring?
Will there be authentic entrances like Prince Naseem flying in on a carpet, or Tyson sporting the white towel?
Will each boxer come to the ring wearing their belts and their robes? (this is necessary for that authentic feeling)

Brian: Unfortunately, we aren't able to recreate all the theatrics and stagecraft used by some boxers. For example, there is no riding in on a white tiger and you won't be able to perform a live rap song on a stage with back-up dancers before your fight. However, you will see much more authentic ring entrances that include the trainer, the cutman, the chief second, robes, towels and championship belts.

Hell yeah

[warp1432]

Sounds good, but the no ref is kind of disapointing. He doesn't really get in the way if he's moving.

[POETICDRINK2U]

Sounds good, but the no ref is kind of disapointing. He doesn't really get in the way if he's moving.

yeah, maybe next go round. They are working on a new engine and maybe they didn't want to waste time trying to figure out how to keep the referee out of the way in fights.

[warp1432]

All legacy mode needs is so you can manage your fighter's weight and it should be ready to go. Kinda wish the training mini games weren't there and how it was like in BR2, but whatever.

[Pharoahe]

Kind of disappointing to hear that there's no ref, but to be honest, I don't think it's going to take much away from the game, and I'd rather they work on getting the new fighting system as good as possible rather than working on the ref as well. I'll just always assume that the ref is behind the camera.

[-Hyperion-]

diets would be nice imo.....

[Pharoahe]

I don't know about that. I mean the concept is cool, and maybe at first it would be a nice element to the career mode, but eventually it's just going to be doing the same thing over and over before every fight, and it's not as if the player has any attachment to what the fighter eats.

I hope they make it so that in the career mode you don't end up fighting one of the legendary fighters from years ago. It's great that they have them in the game, but for authenticity, that really shouldn't happen.

[Mersey]

I can't wait to see the roster.

[gravity62]

All legacy mode needs is so you can manage your fighter's weight and it should be ready to go. Kinda wish the training mini games weren't there and how it was like in BR2, but whatever.

Totally agree. I was trying to get to EA to make some kinda media day type thing in the legacy mode, where you do all your manual workouts and spars on that day, before cheering fans. These mini games won't be for points but to help you brush up on your boxing skills before a fight. Everything else would be like BR2 but more polished.

EDIT: I aslo wanted to have it where media day takes up one calander day, the restof the calender goes to the fitness and nutritrion - hour to hour on a regemen. If you like the idea, or even if you don't please leave feelback...