The Official Smackdown vs Raw 2 thread

**Disturbed316** · 07-04-2005, 06:06 PM

IGN: Speaking of the roster, that's the million dollar question. Of all the emails and letters I get asking about this game, the lineup is the one I get most often. So who can we expect to see this year and how many are there? Will there still be a number of legends instead of regular guys in the lineup for instance?

Cory Ledesma: The roster will be somewhat similar in the breakdown between superstars and legends. A big reason for that is because we're offering a season mode, we want to make sure that it offers storylines that would make sense on your typical WWE programming. In order to do that, we want to focus on the guys that are currently on television. Also, the WWE dictates a lot of how the roster turns out. Sure it is a partnership and THQ and the WWE decide the roster together, but in the end they have final say over who can and can't be in there. We also want the legends to be viewed as more of an unlockable bonus to the user and not a regular member of the lineup.

The good news is that the superstar potion of the roster is slightly bigger than last year, and the legend portion will be slightly bigger as well. So there will be a lot of guys (and divas) from which to choose.

IGN: Is there anyone that you can confirm for the roster at all at this point? Trust me, people want to know... big time.

Cory Ledesma: There characters shown in your screenshots are the only ones we want to mention right now (Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton, and Chris Benoit). But don't worry, when it's time to reveal the entire lineup everyone will know where to go.

IGN: Has Create-A-Superstar changed at all?

Cory Ledesma: I can't go into detail about that yet. We have made some significant changes to that mode, yes -- we've added a couple of new features and streamlined the interface -- but I want to save some surprises for down the road. Don't worry, though, we didn't ignore it. People are going to be happy with it this year.

IGN: My HDTV has grown angry at the SmackDown series. Will it finally get the widescreen and progressive scan support it demands? Please?

Cory Ledesma: Sadly, we won't be supporting either of those this year.

If Triple H tried this for real, he might have won his belt back.

IGN: How about stadiums? Have you guys on in and licensed actual locations like Acclaim used to do with Legends of Wrestling?

Cory Ledesma: That's something we were definitely looking at but felt that ultimately didn't have a lot of bang for its buck. It's something that adds a definite authenticity and realism to the game, but it's also something for the cost and time necessary to do it, isn't worth it. We think focusing elsewhere is money and time better spent.

IGN: Anything else you want to mention at this point?

Cory Ledesma: [Laughs] Yes, yes there are. We've made some cool presentation improvements this year that should really make you happy. We wanted the game to look like WWE programming and have that same feel, so we've improved the entrances. This year your opponent will be ringside during your entrance... he won't just disappear as he did in the past. So if your first guy is Jericho, you'll see Chris waiting ringside for his opponent to come out when the new entrance music starts.

We've decided to have some slight interactions during entrances too. It won't be like Xbox versions of RAW used to be and allow you to attack people, but based on who you pick your opponents react differently. So if you pick Kane or Undertaker, the opponent will most likely be scared and won't be waiting inside the ring but outside of it. But if you pick a lower-tier guy like Scotty 2 Hotty, your opponent probably won't be scared at all and will seem extra ready to get into the match and beat you down. So you'll some cool little additions like that that brings realism to the match that we didn't have before.

Let's see, some other little things are the announcers. Lillian Garcia and Tony Chimmel will be in the ring when they make their announcements, for example. The announcing teams will also be present in their proper areas during entrances. They're going to have a lot of neat ambient animations going during this time too. Superstar voice-overs are back too and should be better than before, but I can't go too much into that because it's season related.

One last thing that I want to touch on, though (and one that I know particularly bugged you last year), is that the winning scenes are back entirely. Winning scenes for particular match types, exhibition bouts, special main events, title matches, and all sorts of other scenarios are in there. So don't think we didn't listen [Laughs].

IGN: Thanks, that's good to hear. Sometimes it's the little things -- the subtleties that make a big difference when it comes to pulling off an effective presentation.

Cory Ledesma: We completely agree, and we did a lot of mo-cap work in anticipation for it, so all the entrances and winning scenes will be made from motion-captured animations. There are even character-specific win poses for a select few of the wrestlers!

IGN: Now for the biggest question of them all. Has production on the PlayStation 3 version of SmackDown vs. RAW begun yet and when can we expect to play it?

Cory Ledesma: Unfortunately we can't talk about anything for the next-gen systems at this point other than to say that THQ plans on bringing its biggest franchises along for the ride. But there's nothing else to say about that right now, sorry.

IGN: Well thanks a lot for hooking us up with all this info guys, as always I really appreciate it and I'm sure the millions of rabid wrestling fans we have do too.

Devin Knudsen: Thanks Jeremy!

Cory Ledesma: Our pleasure, but hey -- are we going to have our rematch this year?

IGN: Of course, if you want. But I don't have to beat you again though -- that would make two years in a row.

Cory Ledesma: [Laughs] This one will be a quick match that will end a lot differently!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We'd like to thank all the folks at THQ for their time and assistance, especially Cory Ledesma, Devin Knudsen, and Kristina Kirk -- you're the goods.

HOLY MOTHER FUCKING CHRIST!

07-04-2005, 06:06 PM	#11
Disturbed316 Posts: 22,695	IGN: Speaking of the roster, that's the million dollar question. Of all the emails and letters I get asking about this game, the lineup is the one I get most often. So who can we expect to see this year and how many are there? Will there still be a number of legends instead of regular guys in the lineup for instance? Cory Ledesma: The roster will be somewhat similar in the breakdown between superstars and legends. A big reason for that is because we're offering a season mode, we want to make sure that it offers storylines that would make sense on your typical WWE programming. In order to do that, we want to focus on the guys that are currently on television. Also, the WWE dictates a lot of how the roster turns out. Sure it is a partnership and THQ and the WWE decide the roster together, but in the end they have final say over who can and can't be in there. We also want the legends to be viewed as more of an unlockable bonus to the user and not a regular member of the lineup. The good news is that the superstar potion of the roster is slightly bigger than last year, and the legend portion will be slightly bigger as well. So there will be a lot of guys (and divas) from which to choose. IGN: Is there anyone that you can confirm for the roster at all at this point? Trust me, people want to know... big time. Cory Ledesma: There characters shown in your screenshots are the only ones we want to mention right now (Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton, and Chris Benoit). But don't worry, when it's time to reveal the entire lineup everyone will know where to go. IGN: Has Create-A-Superstar changed at all? Cory Ledesma: I can't go into detail about that yet. We have made some significant changes to that mode, yes -- we've added a couple of new features and streamlined the interface -- but I want to save some surprises for down the road. Don't worry, though, we didn't ignore it. People are going to be happy with it this year. IGN: My HDTV has grown angry at the SmackDown series. Will it finally get the widescreen and progressive scan support it demands? Please? Cory Ledesma: Sadly, we won't be supporting either of those this year. If Triple H tried this for real, he might have won his belt back. IGN: How about stadiums? Have you guys on in and licensed actual locations like Acclaim used to do with Legends of Wrestling? Cory Ledesma: That's something we were definitely looking at but felt that ultimately didn't have a lot of bang for its buck. It's something that adds a definite authenticity and realism to the game, but it's also something for the cost and time necessary to do it, isn't worth it. We think focusing elsewhere is money and time better spent. IGN: Anything else you want to mention at this point? Cory Ledesma: [Laughs] Yes, yes there are. We've made some cool presentation improvements this year that should really make you happy. We wanted the game to look like WWE programming and have that same feel, so we've improved the entrances. This year your opponent will be ringside during your entrance... he won't just disappear as he did in the past. So if your first guy is Jericho, you'll see Chris waiting ringside for his opponent to come out when the new entrance music starts. We've decided to have some slight interactions during entrances too. It won't be like Xbox versions of RAW used to be and allow you to attack people, but based on who you pick your opponents react differently. So if you pick Kane or Undertaker, the opponent will most likely be scared and won't be waiting inside the ring but outside of it. But if you pick a lower-tier guy like Scotty 2 Hotty, your opponent probably won't be scared at all and will seem extra ready to get into the match and beat you down. So you'll some cool little additions like that that brings realism to the match that we didn't have before. Let's see, some other little things are the announcers. Lillian Garcia and Tony Chimmel will be in the ring when they make their announcements, for example. The announcing teams will also be present in their proper areas during entrances. They're going to have a lot of neat ambient animations going during this time too. Superstar voice-overs are back too and should be better than before, but I can't go too much into that because it's season related. One last thing that I want to touch on, though (and one that I know particularly bugged you last year), is that the winning scenes are back entirely. Winning scenes for particular match types, exhibition bouts, special main events, title matches, and all sorts of other scenarios are in there. So don't think we didn't listen [Laughs]. IGN: Thanks, that's good to hear. Sometimes it's the little things -- the subtleties that make a big difference when it comes to pulling off an effective presentation. Cory Ledesma: We completely agree, and we did a lot of mo-cap work in anticipation for it, so all the entrances and winning scenes will be made from motion-captured animations. There are even character-specific win poses for a select few of the wrestlers! IGN: Now for the biggest question of them all. Has production on the PlayStation 3 version of SmackDown vs. RAW begun yet and when can we expect to play it? Cory Ledesma: Unfortunately we can't talk about anything for the next-gen systems at this point other than to say that THQ plans on bringing its biggest franchises along for the ride. But there's nothing else to say about that right now, sorry. IGN: Well thanks a lot for hooking us up with all this info guys, as always I really appreciate it and I'm sure the millions of rabid wrestling fans we have do too. Devin Knudsen: Thanks Jeremy! Cory Ledesma: Our pleasure, but hey -- are we going to have our rematch this year? IGN: Of course, if you want. But I don't have to beat you again though -- that would make two years in a row. Cory Ledesma: [Laughs] This one will be a quick match that will end a lot differently! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We'd like to thank all the folks at THQ for their time and assistance, especially Cory Ledesma, Devin Knudsen, and Kristina Kirk -- you're the goods. HOLY MOTHER FUCKING CHRIST!