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DAMN iNATOR 04-19-2014 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4413843)
Damn, yeah, I totally forgot about the orb task.

I think like some of it may have been optional, but if you got them all, “Masked Kane” would appear in Week 12 (last week before WM XXVI).

Cool King 04-19-2014 04:03 PM

Yeah, though I can't remember the story behind it. Were they suppose to be souls or something that escaped from the Urn when the lid fell/was taken off?

I now remember getting them all though and having to run around like an idiot backstage trying to find them.

DAMN iNATOR 04-20-2014 09:55 AM

I guess, something like that. There was even 1 or 2 weeks in there where you'd have to not only collect the orbs but avoid caskets.

Emperor Smeat 05-13-2014 06:42 PM

According to Take Two's fiscal report, Yukes got demoted as the sole developer for the WWE with Visual Concepts (NBA 2k series) now helping out as a full-time developer.

WWE 2k15 might end up missing the usual Fall release window because of the changes though.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...-release-.aspx

drave 05-13-2014 07:14 PM

That's okay though. I am all for waiting for a BETTER product. 2k14 was complete doo doo butter.

Kalyx triaD 05-13-2014 10:59 PM

Pretty much in line with my expectation that this will be in-house by 2015. Hope 2K does some research.

Fignuts 05-14-2014 12:26 AM

Oh fuck, that is good news. NBA 2k series is amazing. If they put as much effort and passion into WWE2k15, it could be really great.

Kalyx triaD 05-14-2014 12:31 AM

Making a pro-wrestling game is really tricky. Not exactly a fighting game, not a sport, with lots of theatrics and stunts you must reproduce. I'm sure we could make a system, because we're bout dat lyfe, but my observation is many Western studios failed in the past. Many of them take the combat mechanics either too seriously or flak on it. Presentation is easy.

Disturbed316 05-14-2014 02:28 AM

Glad to hear it could take extra time, series needs it.

Emperor Smeat 05-14-2014 02:00 PM

Quote:

The release date for the new WWE 2K15 video game has been pushed back. Instead of the usual October release, the new WWE video game is scheduled for an early release, likely in March of 2015, which would coincide with WrestleMania 31.

There hasn’t been a lot of details revealed about the specifics of the game, however there is rumors that a “My Career” mode will be replacing the “30 Years of WrestleMania” mode, which would feature the player of the game starting out in NXT and working their way up to the main roster, and ultimately to championship glory.
http://www.sescoops.com/release-date...w-career-mode/

Fignuts 05-14-2014 02:06 PM

Nice. Would be great to finally get an NXT roster.

Dark-Slicer Diago 05-14-2014 02:15 PM

That's great news, not that I hate the game at all, but it's surely lacking depth.

Fignuts 05-14-2014 02:22 PM

If it's getting delayed, I wonder if we'll even see anything at E3.

Kalyx triaD 05-14-2014 02:33 PM

I imagine we get at least a teaser, otherwise they'd have no E3 presence at all until launch.

SlickyTrickyDamon 05-14-2014 03:58 PM

Great news. They need some new blood in this series.

Hope this means we'll finally be able to have a 4 on 4 or 5 on 5 Survivor Series matches.

Dark-Slicer Diago 05-15-2014 08:51 AM

Indy wrestler Adam Pearce isn't the only person doing the mocap this year, joining him NXT's Kassius Ohno(Chris Hero) who posted himself in the 2k motion capture suit on instagram.

Fignuts 05-15-2014 01:39 PM

Chris Hero was released months ago, way before the roster cut off date, so I'll take that with a grain of salt.

James Steele 05-15-2014 05:01 PM

2K still may have brought him in to do Motion Capture.

Kalyx triaD 05-16-2014 12:37 AM

As a studio contract they could do that. It doesn't have to be a WWE guy.

Dark-Slicer Diago 05-16-2014 07:55 AM

Exactly, just like in WWE 12 when Austin Aries did the mocap as well as the voice for Jacob Cass.

teamXtremist 05-16-2014 05:22 PM

Should be a solid game glad their taking it sloow

dronepool 05-16-2014 06:36 PM

A delay? No annual copy and paste? Yay!

Evil Vito 05-17-2014 11:27 AM

<font color=goldenrod>A proper My Career mode for WWE 2k15 would be awesome. So far they haven't announced any "theme" with respect to the roster or anything so I think it might be going back to current roster focus for the first time since WWE 12. Really the rosters for the last two games were large enough I think they could easily fit the entire current roster plus a bunch of notable NXT guys in. They'd need at least some NXT guys to make the My Career mode work especially well.</font>

whiteyford 05-17-2014 11:54 AM

Would seriously rather it featured a bunch of Job guys from the 80s/90s than 4 versions of Cena/HHH/Hogan, PN news > Cena in a green Shirt.

Kalyx triaD 05-17-2014 01:13 PM

As many current people as possible. No/few legends.

Frank Drebin 05-17-2014 02:37 PM

Legends with cool theme music/entrance/pyro. Big Bossman with blue shirt is a must this time. I demand it.

whiteyford 05-17-2014 02:39 PM

I would accept multiple Bossmans in place of multiple Cenas.

screech 05-17-2014 03:43 PM

If there's no Maven, we riot.

whiteyford 05-17-2014 04:10 PM

Or the Bushwhackers.

Cool King 05-17-2014 04:26 PM

I'm still waiting for Steve Blackman.

whiteyford 05-17-2014 04:31 PM

I mean how much would it cost to sign up the likes of Maven/Steve Blackman/Damian Demento/ future top billing hall of famers Mosh & Thrasher to deals to put them in the game? Seriously who in their right mind wouldn't want to unify all the titles with the Headbangers?

Cool King 05-17-2014 04:46 PM

I would much rather see guys like Blackman, The Headbangers, Mideon, Max Moon, Gangrel, Raven, Saturn, Molly Holly, Tekno Team 2000 and the like, be included in future WWE game rather than seeing guys like Hogan, Andre, Bret, Austin, Rock and so on, for the 457th time.

Cool King 05-17-2014 04:47 PM

Then again, that could have just been down to the laziness of THQ/Yukes.

whiteyford 05-17-2014 05:20 PM

You're always going to get the same group of core Legends year in year out but it's the 4 versions of the same wrestler where only the entrance changes but we can say it's 4 separate wrestlers to inflate the roster number thing that irks me, especially with some of the CAWs out there that have 3 or 4 skins that really do the same job.

Disturbed316 05-17-2014 08:28 PM

Would prefer as many current wrestlers rather than legends. Other than Attitude/Wrestlemania modes I never used them. But all I'm really wanting is the replay value that the series has missed for so long. Like I've said previously, I want the game make me want to return to it, rather just play it for a couple of hours or one game mode then trade it in.

screech 05-17-2014 08:28 PM

I want more 1999-00 midcard guys, dammit! D'lo Brown, Val Venis, Ken Shamrock, Jeff Jarrett (not really feasible, I know), Al Snow - guys we haven't seen in a while. No reason to, as whiteyford alluded to, have different versions of the same person taking up roster spots.

Basing these picks on playing No Mercy/watching 1999 PPVs, by the way.

SlickyTrickyDamon 05-17-2014 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4431325)
I would much rather see guys like Blackman, The Headbangers, Mideon, Max Moon, Gangrel, Raven, Saturn, Molly Holly, Tekno Team 2000 and the like, be included in future WWE game rather than seeing guys like Hogan, Andre, Bret, Austin, Rock and so on, for the 457th time.

Community Creations usually fits the need without having to pay them royalties. Some of them online are better and more detailed than DLC.

SlickyTrickyDamon 05-17-2014 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by screech (Post 4431391)
I want more 1999-00 midcard guys, dammit! D'lo Brown, Val Venis, Ken Shamrock, Jeff Jarrett (not really feasible, I know), Al Snow - guys we haven't seen in a while. No reason to, as whiteyford alluded to, have different versions of the same person taking up roster spots.

Basing these picks on playing No Mercy/watching 1999 PPVs, by the way.

There was a reason. It was necessary for the full immersion of the Attitude/WrestleMania modes.

The only character that didn't really change at all in the modes was John Cena.

Eklipse 05-17-2014 08:51 PM

I just want to see my CAS actually wear a title or have it over their shoulder...not floating 3 feet away from their body...

Cool King 05-17-2014 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disturbed316 (Post 4431390)
But all I'm really wanting is the replay value that the series has missed for so long. Like I've said previously, I want the game make me want to return to it, rather just play it for a couple of hours or one game mode then trade it in.

This.

Recently, I've barely touched my WWE games. The last WWE game from the main series, that I kept coming back to was SvR11, and that was only really to try to get 100% of the achievements, as I did that with SvR10.

The last WWE game from the main series that I honestly enjoyed and couldn't wait to play again was SvR07, though I'd say SvR06 is my favourite of the SvR series.

Optimus Bone 69 05-18-2014 08:26 AM

Hopefully we will get Angle this year

XL 05-18-2014 08:31 AM

I'm happy to have semi-active/recently retired guys like HBK on the roster as it allows you to do dream matches with the likes of Bryan. Can do without having long-haired HHH or some of the older guys. Honestly, did anybody play as Bruno this year?

DAMN iNATOR 05-20-2014 09:48 PM

And what does end up getting changed in Universe has mostly been for the worse in my experience. The one thing I did enjoy in the original (SvR 2011?) was after × # of wins on RAW, SD! and Superstars, Vince would show up and you'd fight another opponent that when beaten became playable.

I'd also like to see the return of tournaments, which I believe they did once, in SvR 2009. Used to play the hell out of KotR and Beat the Clock tournaments.

screech 05-20-2014 10:15 PM

Hated beat the clock in games. Love King of the Ring in all forms, though.

SlickyTrickyDamon 05-20-2014 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAMN iNATOR (Post 4433880)
And what does end up getting changed in Universe has mostly been for the worse in my experience. The one thing I did enjoy in the original (SvR 2011?) was after × # of wins on RAW, SD! and Superstars, Vince would show up and you'd fight another opponent that when beaten became playable.

I'd also like to see the return of tournaments, which I believe they did once, in SvR 2009. Used to play the hell out of KotR and Beat the Clock tournaments.

They have tournaments in 2k14. How does something return when its there?

Fignuts 05-21-2014 01:04 AM

Yeah, they actually made a big deal about it, when it came back in 2k13.

teamXtremist 05-21-2014 01:20 AM

I'm looking forward to a more immersive career mode with my caw

Also no more starting your caw as 100 ovr make them work their way up like svr 06

Fignuts 05-21-2014 01:48 AM

That isn't happening.

A lot of people like to make guys that aren't in the game. Forcing people to grind through career with every single damn one, just to get their proper stats was bullshit, and I'm glad we have the freedom to edit stats as we please now.

Kalyx triaD 05-21-2014 02:56 AM

Agreed.

SlickyTrickyDamon 05-21-2014 05:16 AM

Yeah I agree to a point. I don't like how every wrestler is 100 online though. People taking advantage of the convenience. In other games you have to level up to be a superman.

Fignuts 05-21-2014 06:50 AM

Make online leveling seperate from singleplayer.

Problem solved.

Cool King 05-21-2014 04:00 PM

The "WWE 2K" Facebook account has announced that WWE 2K15 will be released on October 28 (I'm assuming in North America) and October 31 internationally, for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Kalyx triaD 05-21-2014 04:02 PM

That's not a delay at all!

Emperor Smeat 05-21-2014 04:14 PM

Amazon had those dates up earlier as well.

If I had to guess, the WWE didn't want the game to be delayed beyond the year. Would be similar to WWE 2k14 where Take Two wanted a delay or to skip a year while the WWE demanded it to be made in time because of the financial mess from THQ's demise.

Fignuts 05-21-2014 08:31 PM

That is very disappointing, though not at all surprising.

Emperor Smeat 06-06-2014 03:56 PM

Quote:

WWE 2K15 will be released on October 28th for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. You can pre-order the game now from Amazon.com.

Based on what we’re hearing this week, WWE 2K15 will include an all-new career mode that will be similar to NBA 2K14, where gamers can create a character (or use an existing Superstar/Diva) and rise up the ranks from rookie to legend. This will involve paying your dues and making a name for yourself in NXT before making your way up to the main roster.

The career mode is expected to include several NXT talents for the first time ever, so we could see playable characters like NXT Champion Adrian Neville, NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze.

Aside from the all-new career mode, it’s expected that the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode will be returning.

Both Sting and Goldberg are rumored to be featured in the game as legends.
http://www.24wrestling.com/new-detai...-mode-legends/

DAMN iNATOR 06-07-2014 12:43 AM

UGH. I'm still $20 from having Borderlands Pre-Sequel pre-order paid off, not to mention I haven't even STARTED to look in earnest for a decently priced copy of 2K14, and now you want $63 MORE for 2K15 just 2 weeks after BL: TP-S is out, 2K?! Methinks this will be a 1 or 2 time rental until at least Holiday '14, maybe even sometime in '15, and that's even if EVERYONE says it's a must own immediately game, which I'm guessing it probably won't be, at least not this year. I hope and expect 2K to make some improvements but if they're releasing this soon I'm not going to hold my breath that this effort will make my jaw drop through the floor.

Evil Vito 06-07-2014 12:15 PM

<font color=goldenrod>Sting has "pre-order exclusive bonus" written all over him</font>

Purgatory 06-07-2014 01:33 PM

They should retool the "Belt Creation". Make it more like SVR2007/SVR2008 or something like that. More styles, center plates, etc. I loved SVR2007, except that created titles couldn't be worn by CAWS. I thought it was just something with my PS2 version at first, so I traded it in for the 360 version and it did the same thing. I later found it was a glitch in the game across all platforms.

Custom textures, or being able to put your own face on a CAW via Kinect/whatever PS4 users use.

Kalyx triaD 06-07-2014 02:38 PM

You could totally asked people with the 360 version before making that trip.

Purgatory 06-07-2014 02:55 PM

it was a few years ago anyways...roughly 2008 or so. It was my first SVR game, as they didn't have SVR2006 at Gamestop at the time.

Purgatory 06-07-2014 02:56 PM

and from what I'd heard about SVR2008, $10 for 2007 made alot more sense than ponying up the $40 or so for that one. I gotta buy it to round out my collection now, tho.

SlickyTrickyDamon 06-08-2014 05:14 AM

2006 too.

Cool King 06-10-2014 04:06 PM

Just posted on the 2K Instagram account.

Quote:

We're here at #E3, giving a select few a sneak peek at what to expect from WWE2K15.

<iframe src="//instagram.com/p/pE1xmbn6gG/embed/" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>

Evil Vito 06-10-2014 04:24 PM

<font color=goldenrod>I was bored so I tried taking a stab at the potential roster factoring in the rumors of NXT inclusion, etc. and keeping in mind that the roster cutoff for current guys seems to be somewhere between February and March. I decided to not exceed a roster of 82, which was what the roster size was last year not including DLC.

Current Roster

Alberto Del Rio
Bad News Barrett
Batista
Big E
Big Show
Bo Dallas
Bray Wyatt
Brock Lesnar
Brodus Clay
Cesaro
Christian
Cody Rhodes
Curtis Axel
Damien Sandow
Daniel Bryan
Darren Young
Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler
Drew McIntyre
Erick Rowan
Fandango
The Great Khali
Goldust
Heath Slater
Jack Swagger
Jey Uso
Jimmy Uso
Jinder Mahal
John Cena
Justin Gabriel
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Luke Harper
Mark Henry
The Miz
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
Roman Reigns
R-Truth
Rusev
Ryback
Santino Marella
Seth Rollins
Sheamus
Sin Cara
Titus O’Neil
Triple H
The Undertaker
Zack Ryder

The current roster would be really well represented here, especially since there has been very little turnover. I would think CM Punk is one of the first character models that they worked on, but I can't see WWE wanting him in the game right away. If anything, I could see them holding Punk up for DLC. A few head-scratching inclusions like Gabriel, Clay, Ryder, etc. but recent history shows that guys who have been in the last year's version of the game have a better chance at being thrown in than brand new characters, like Los Matadores. As an aside, I have Bo Dallas and Rusev listed here since they're technically now main roster talent, but really I think they'll be in for NXT mode as they were making regular appearances there during cutoff time, otherwise they'd have missed out and been DLC, like Adam Rose.

NXT

Adrian Neville
Aiden English
CJ Parker
Corey Graves
Konnor
Mojo Rawley
Sami Zayn
Tyler Breeze
Viktor

It's not a huge NXT roster by any stretch, but I think they'd have gotten most of the "key" guys in. Could not give a fuck less about Mojo Rawley, but I think he'd be more likely to get in than Enzo, sadly. As mentioned above, if you figure Rusev and Bo Dallas are representing NXT in Career Mode and you sprinkle NXT with main roster guys like Cesaro as they do in real life, there should be plenty of guys to make the start of Career Mode fun. I won't even complain about CJ Parker being in because he'd be fun to use as a test dummy against CAWs.

Legends

Billy Gunn
Edge
Goldberg
Hulk Hogan
Jake Roberts
JBL
Mr. McMahon
Road Dogg
The Rock
Scott Hall
Shawn Michaels
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Ultimate Warrior

13 legends would make me go "ugh" but then again the way they're categorized in this list could be misleading. Vince is always in, it's just a matter of whether he's listed as a legend or main roster guy. Ditto for JBL who I think will play a role in NXT in Career Mode, though I'd rather have Regal for that. The Outlaws are also just kinda listed as legends by default as they're no longer acive, I think they're getting in the game because they were the tag champions at the time of cutoff and featured on TV weekly pretty much right up until WM. Roberts and Hall I just kinda threw in as placeholders since they went into the HOF with Warrior this year but really there are a billion legends that could be put in the game interchangeably on a year in, year out basis. Sting will probably be in but technically as a pre-order exclusive, so I won't count him in this list.

Divas

AJ Lee
Brie Bella
Cameron
Charlotte
Emma
Naomi
Natalya
Nikki Bella
Paige
Sasha Banks
Summer Rae

I honestly would be fine with no divas in the game since I really never use them, but that won't happen. AJ was the long running divas champion at cutoff, so she gets in along with pretty much everybody from Total Divas, because of course WWE would want to put them in. Paige and Emma are main roster divas now, but I figure they're mainly in for NXT to go against Sasha and Charlotte. Summer Rae could play into that, too. I would think there will be a divas Career mode of some sort so they'd at least want NXT representation.

You have RVD, Los Matadores, Adam Rose, Xavier Woods, etc. all kept aside for a possible DLC pack along with a standard legends DLC pack and possibly even another NXT pack if more people debut sooner rather than later.</font>

Cool King 06-10-2014 07:33 PM

http://oi58.tinypic.com/i2nkgw.jpg
http://oi58.tinypic.com/fmqv51.jpg

Cool King 06-10-2014 07:35 PM

http://oi62.tinypic.com/2qicvw5.jpg

Kalyx triaD 06-10-2014 08:08 PM

Cena confirmed.

Evil Vito 06-10-2014 08:09 PM

<font color=goldenrod>WOOOOOO 5 for 5 so far</font> :shifty:

Purgatory 06-10-2014 09:43 PM

Random injuries should be in again, only make it more frequent and random. Maybe this time throw in bumps and bruises that carry on for awhile (maybe a closed eye, or a black eye), something like that.

Emperor Smeat 06-10-2014 11:25 PM

Quote:

Visual Concepts is incorporating its impressive scanning tech made famous in its NBA 2K games. The team has hounded WWE's roster of wrestlers during their nonstop travel schedule and already has 90 percent of the in-game roster scanned in. Interestingly, I saw a photo of Hulk Hogan getting scanned. While a classic version of him is in the game (alongside announced wrestlers John Cena, Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, and Cesaro), it's unclear what role today's older Hulk would serve. Maybe he shows up for a hosting role as he did for the recent Wrestlemania XXX.

This new tech is already showing impressive results. I saw side-by-side character models for wrestlers like John Cena, A.J. Lee, and Daniel Bryan, and they all looked leaps and bounds closer to their real-life counterparts. Hair, skin, faces, and ring gear are all majorly upgraded. VC is capturing a variety of facial expressions so that wrestlers will express more realistic emotions in the ring. A John Cena facial rig demo showed off lifelike expressions of pain, excitement, and exertion.

The ultimate goal of all this is to closer match WWE's TV presentation. I couldn't get any specifics on actual game mechanic changes, but Visual Concepts is working toward more realistic match pacing and flow. The key to all of this is a new mo-cap studio that contains an actual WWE ring set up by a real WWE ring technician. This will result in five times the number of animations than 2K14. A new months-later cutoff date for inclusion of the latest WWE content will help ensure that the game is that much closer to the latest roster and storylines.

Audio is getting a complete overhaul as well, with five times the sound of last year's game. For the very first time announcers Jerry "The King" Lawler and Michael Cole will be recorded in tandem, creating more natural conversation threads. I heard a sample clip of the two discussing Undertaker's Hell's Gate submission and it already sounds much improved. There will be a massive 30 to 35 hours of commentary per announcer to keep things fresh and prevent hearing constant repeats.
http://www.gameinformer.com/games/ww...t-details.aspx

Kalyx triaD 06-10-2014 11:29 PM

I dig it, but I need some game mechanic news.

SlickyTrickyDamon 06-10-2014 11:39 PM

So far so good. Hope they can get Regal, Saxton, Tom Phillips and Renee for NXT mode. Love them all. Nothing on mechanics except match flow jargon. 2k has major problems with game flow in NBA series. They have insane comeback modes.

Kalyx triaD 06-10-2014 11:54 PM

Oh boy.

SlickyTrickyDamon 06-10-2014 11:56 PM

Cant believe they never had Cole and King together talking. I guess they can't fucking stand each other. What about JBL Maggal?!

Disturbed316 06-11-2014 03:32 AM

I would expect the graphics to be improved, given the change of dev and next gen too. Just want the mechanics sorted out so that it 'feels' more real.

Cool King 06-12-2014 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WWE 2K Facebook
We're thrilled to have the voice of the WWE, Michael Cole, along with Jerry "The King" Lawler, back for ‪#‎WWE2K15‬. Even better, for the first time in WWE Games history, they're recording their lines together!

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/...64198260_n.jpg


Cool King 06-12-2014 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon (Post 4448981)
Cant believe they never had Cole and King together talking. I guess they can't fucking stand each other. What about JBL Maggal?!

I quickly scrolled past this to post my previous post, and I initially thought the "Cole and King" part of that post said "Cool King".

DAMN iNATOR 06-13-2014 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4450244)
I quickly scrolled past this to post my previous post, and I initially thought the "Cole and King" part of that post said "Cool King".

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...fbe9caee93.jpg
:shifty:

Disturbed316 06-13-2014 02:39 AM

I wonder if the commentary will no longer sound so robotic now they are doing it that way.

drave 06-13-2014 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAMN iNATOR (Post 4450511)

And the creepy LawlerStalker in red.

Cool King 06-13-2014 01:08 PM

If anyone wants something to read.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polygon.com

WWE 2K15 promises a more polished game for next-gen consoles



When 2K Sports does motion capture for its WWE game, it does so with a full, regulation, touring ring provided by the wrestling circuit. Turnbuckles, ropes, steps, even those dastardly kendo sticks hidden underneath. The WWE sends an official ring setter-upper to make sure it’s all regulation whenever they’re filming.

Yes, Mark Little, WWE 2K15's executive producer, has jumped off of the top rope.

"It hurts like a —" Little said, catching himself before saying what I figured to be a 12-letter word. "I jumped off onto one of our thin crash pads and still hurt myself. It hurts. It really hurts."

Motion capture is just one realm in which 2K Sports is promising a much more polished gem when this game arrives in late October. Last year, the explosion of Planet THQ sent everything it owned hurtling through space; the team at Visual Concepts, 2K Sports' in-house studio, woke up one morning with a huge asteroid called WWE in its back yard, wondering what to do with it.

So last year wasn't really the time for overhauls. Work already had begun on the 2013 edition of the game when THQ cratered in January. After acquiring the license and the game, 2K's influence was seen mostly in its marketing, built largely by Yuke's Future Media Creators, which has made WWE video games going back to 2000.

"Obviously we were all very happy to be able to get the license, be a part of the WWE universe, bring on a new team, and still get a game done in the midst of what was an absolute disaster," Little said. "So the fact we were able to get WWE 2K14 done is a testament to everybody who was involved in that project."

But it was still a game that showed a lot of age and a lack of polish in its core gameplay and visuals, and commentary. This is where Visual Concepts comes in. In its first full year managing the game — and the series' debut on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One — Yuke's still is a full partner in development, but Little vows that WWE 2K15 will show the polish and attention to detail that have made the NBA 2K series so highly regarded.

That's where the wrestling ring comes in. Little says WWE 2K15 will feature at least five times the animations of any previous WWE title and while that's something developers across all sports titles like to tout, its benefit should be recognizable in this one. WWE 2K has suffered from a lot of popping in and out of animations, some rather brutal transitory movements, and very long animations that instead of being interruptible by the player, appear to be sped up.

It should be noted here I did not see any gameplay in what was basically a table-setting discussion at E3 2014 with Little. These are his assurances, not my impressions. Still, 2K's basketball title is well known for having animations upon animations that make its brand of basketball fluid and balletic, and give players a greater sense of control over the players. That's what WWE 2K15 is going for.

Supporting that will be full head and body scans for basically every wrestler, and I was shown comparisons of John Cena in WWE 2K14 and what he looks like after the scan. Straight away I noticed Cena now has creased lower eyelids, which does a lot for how you judge the realism of his look. I was shown some new facial expressions, also taken with the head scan — so this was Cena himself making the faces. The lighting systems used on the NBA 2K series also will help out, removing the plastic sheen bare skin had in the past. Little said the new lighting and rendering systems will be a part of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions as well as the next-generation version.

Bodies also will be better proportioned — Little showed me Cameron, one of the Divas and a star of their reality show. Cameron was based on a more generic female body type in WWE 2K14; her curves are more accurate in the latest modeling. Clothing and other textures also are improved under better lighting, especially Cena's trademark jorts.

In gameplay, Little didn't get into specifics but laid down the game's new goal: "We're not a fighting game featuring WWE superstars." Visual Concepts wants matches to have a pacing similar to that of a real WWE event. Little concedes the basic impossibility of replicating something scripted, but has it as a goal anyway, just to give matches less of a free-for-all tone.

"At no point do I think we'll get it to be quite the same as a broadcast, just because of the scripted nature of the event, especially between two humans," he said. "The choreogrpahy that goes on in a match in the WWE is a very different thing than what we'll be able to replicate. But what we will be able to bring to life is that opportunity to have that experience. So if you want to use the ring psychology of a wrestler, the match will play out like a normal wrestling match should."

I asked if this meant the toolkit players have used to construct rivalries, storylines, run-ins and other staples of televised pro wrestling also would get an overhaul. The toolset is very deep, but users are thrown into its deep end with a balky tutorial and a laborious assembly process. Little wasn't commenting on that feature today, but said, "I think you should expect us to build upon what's been there. Some of it's going to be rethought, specifically inside the context of a match, we're going to rethink of a lot."

The roster reveal is a huge marketing campaign for 2K Sports, so there was no way I was getting much more than a peek at E3. However, Bray Wyatt will make his debut in this series (though the man who portrays him appeared as Husky Harris in WWE '12, and be joined by mainstays like Cena and Hulk Hogan, as well as another star on the rise, Roman Reigns.

Finally, Visual Concepts is going to bring its best-in-class commentary to bear on WWE. No other sports studio does presentation like Visual Concepts, so when they say they're improving the presentation, it rates plenty of trust that they are. Announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler have now spent about 35 hours in the booth recording new lines — most of them together. I heard an introductory clip in which they bantered about The Undertaker and it sounded a lot more natural. Lawler, recorded separately, had a tendency to overact as himself and here he is what he's supposed to be on the show — the analyst, chiming in with his take on whatever Cole has just described.

My sense of it is that Visual Concepts is very much in charge of this project, with Yuke's still very much needed to implement the polish and the changes and improvements 2K is feeding them. "It's a partnership between the two of us," Little said. "In a lot of areas in the game, yes, we're the one fronting that up. But it's still very much a partnership.

"Yuke's has a very long history of making this game, and some people would tell you it's good and bad, but they have a lot of expertise and knowledge about making WWE wrestling games," he said. "My job is to find a way to pull the best out of both groups."

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/12/580...review-e3-2014

There's also a little section on the site that says:

Quote:

Transcript of a conversation between Owen Good and Mark Little, talking about the roster for WWE 2K15.

Little: "In honesty, some of that has to do with licensing and rights and stuff like that."

Good: "Sure, but, I mean, the folks we’re seeing every night, we’re going to see in here. With the exception of maybe CM Punk."

Little: [pause] "Talkin’ about rosters later."

Good: "Oh. Oh ... Oh? Is this a work?"

Little: "I work on the WWE now; you shouldn’t know what to expect."

Cool King 06-13-2014 01:09 PM

Also, reading that and other stories about how Cole and King are actually working together, it makes me think:

Are we not getting JBL on commentary then?

drave 06-13-2014 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool King (Post 4450803)
Also, reading that and other stories about how Cole and King are actually working together, it makes me think:

Are we not getting JBL on commentary then?

JBL - $5 DLC

Evil Vito 06-13-2014 06:47 PM

<font color=goldenrod>Meh, adding a 3rd commentator just takes up a ton of extra space.

I remember one game (SVR 08, I think) where they had 3 unique announce teams for Raw, SD, and ECW - and as a result the roster itself was probably one of the worst in the history of the series because so much room was invested for commentary. And the commentary still sucked based on everything I'd read.

Then again, that's the one game in the series I never got around to playing.</font>

Dark-Slicer Diago 06-14-2014 09:58 AM

Out of all the SvR games, 08 was the one I most regret buying(despite it having Marcus Cor Von).

DAMN iNATOR 06-14-2014 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark-Slicer Diago (Post 4451264)
Out of all the SvR games, 08 was the one I most regret buying(despite it having Marcus Cor Von).

Cor Von was awful in WWECW and SvR 2008. The story mode was pretty much absolute garbage. You picked a superstar or C.A.W. and no matter what you played the same shit over and over no matter who you choose. Fucking hated that damned December to Dismember PPV part where your guy could choose to take a week off SD!/RAW and go to DtD instead, and then you get thrown into a match v. ECW guy #1, then when you win that the G.M. makes you fight a second ECW guy, and finally a 3rd opponent and when you win all 3 matches the show goes off the air with Tazz and Styles bitching about ECW getting punked at its own PPV.

The worst though is the stupid fucking "superstar v. McMahons" bit that runs from like Christmas or New Year's through WM 23.

Evil Vito 06-14-2014 04:03 PM

<font color=goldenrod>I remember the roster reveal for that game they were hyping 75 characters being in. And there were...including NPCs. They included announcers, ring announcers, refs, storyline NPCs, alt attires, etc. in their count. And they defended themselves by being all like "we said 75 characters, not 75 playable" even though they had to know it was blatantly misleading.

The roster was shit enough that I wanted to skip out but held out hope that story mode would save it. Then they announced you couldn't use ECW guys and the actual list of guys you could use was so small and I skipped. Never played anything of that game other than the demo. Admittedly wish I had given it a rent at one point solely to cane the shit out of people with The Sandman.</font>

Evil Vito 06-14-2014 04:07 PM

<font color=goldenrod>I will say I kinda loved SVR 06 and SVR 07's story modes. Yeah the voiceover limited your options for who you could play as, but they still had a pretty solid list available plus you felt compelled to at least play several times through since Raw and SD had their own set of storylines plus there were different ones for face and heel.

I did play the everloving shit out of HCTP's story, though. Probably went through it over a dozen times. Same exact storylines every year no matter what show you were on, but I'd always mix up the rosters and face/heel alignments and it somehow was enough to keep it feeling a bit fresh.</font>

DAMN iNATOR 06-14-2014 10:38 PM

Yeah, SvR '06 had a story mode that was way better than 07 or 08. Fucking loved the Legends Tour story.

Still remember having a CodeBreaker disc with codes for '06 that made a bunch of NPCs playable, good times. Was always funny though to see certain NPCs come up in the selection menu and see it say like, "NO IMAGE" or something.

Dark-Slicer Diago 06-15-2014 07:38 AM

I used the CodeBreaker to unlock Jake "The Snake" Roberts as I didn't have a PSP at the time, and now you made me want to play it's story mode again, so thanks.

DAMN iNATOR 06-16-2014 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark-Slicer Diago (Post 4451715)
I used the CodeBreaker to unlock Jake "The Snake" Roberts as I didn't have a PSP at the time, and now you made me want to play it's story mode again, so thanks.

Yeah, I'd forgotten about the fact that they had a code to unlock him without needing to hook up a PSP since I didn't have one either and he was the only unlockable I hadn't gotten.

Cool King 06-25-2014 06:00 PM

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...26804240_n.jpg

Kalyx triaD 06-25-2014 06:45 PM

It's been a dream of mine that every superstar in the roster would mo-cap their own entrance, signatures/finishers, taunts, etc. I understand if that's a logistical nightmare. But if they get an active guy with experience working with a lot of different people, in a physical class that makes him able to recreate a lot of different moves, that works too.

Cool King 06-25-2014 06:55 PM

Funny you should say that, as I've just this second came across this image.

http://38.media.tumblr.com/4fce2acf5...uiqyo1_500.jpg

Kalyx triaD 06-25-2014 07:27 PM

Holy fuck.

Fignuts 06-26-2014 01:13 AM

Obviously brought him in to mocap the shooting star press.

Razzamajazz 06-29-2014 06:34 PM

they motion capped him talking about his client brock lesnar ending the undertaker's streak at wrestlemania

Cool King 06-30-2014 06:15 PM

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en-gb"><p>Tonight is the Night: Tune in to Monday Night <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RAW?src=hash">#RAW</a> where <a href="https://twitter.com/StephMcMahon">@StephMcMahon</a> will reveal the cover Superstar for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWE2K15?src=hash">#WWE2K15</a>. <a href="http://t.co/TL5osBt7vl">pic.twitter.com/TL5osBt7vl</a></p>&mdash; WWE 2K (@WWEgames) <a href="https://twitter.com/WWEgames/statuses/483731937308053504">June 30, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Cool King 06-30-2014 06:15 PM

Looks like the next game will be using the new logo.


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