Oscar22

I think the best stances we ever had were in SYM and HCTP, remember those? RVD would bounce between his feet, Rhyno would have his arms in front of him and stand hunched, Brock would roll his shoulders, Undertaker had a whole way of standing and sort of looking down on you…. Appreciate we had smaller rosters back then so it was easier to personalise people but it made the game so much more immersive.

If it helps any attire creator fans visualise it, the forty years of WM bonus pack attires: Triple H - WM30 - this has been in the game before, it’s the small skull on front of the tights, shaved head and the terminator entrance. Rhea Ripley - WM36 - This is her white and blue gear with shorter blonder hair, shaved sides that she wore against Charlotte at the WM with no fans. Macho King - WM6 - He’s against Dusty here, long tights, various neon style colours, mostly pink, yellow and green, lots of hand and wrist taping, to my knowledge not in a WWE game before off the top of my head. Charlotte - WM32 - this is her blue gear in the sort of style she had in 2k19. Rey - WM22 - This is the black gear with the entrance head dress he wore against Angle and Orton in the triple threat for the WHC.

That thing with the finishers going from three to five slots, I’m not reading that as in we can select five different finishers for each wrestler, I think what they mean is five chances to hit your finisher saved up. So if you’re Cena you can save up five finishers then hit them one after another, or trade them and use your super finisher. I think you would still only have two finisher slots as in the last few games though. Happy to be wrong mind you.

You’re right in the sense of it never living up to what some have in their heads, however the programming of it leaves a lot to be desired. The cutscene control is fairly limited and doesn’t do much to take away that rivalry’s are in the most part leading to the same people facing each other every single week, so by the time you reach the PPV in some rivalries the two involved have already faced each other numerous times and the pay off match doesn’t really feel like it’s worth much. Expanding rivalries would also be useful, so instead of just one v one and two v two putting some faction rivalry options in there. If you had two four person factions, the AI could select variations to see them face off at least, singles matches, tag, 6 man. These alongside cut scenes where other people interfere to get their faction the upper hand, post match attacks etc. It would feel like a good upgrade if there were squares dropped in that could be used for cutscenes in between the matches, like we used to have the promo slots which weren’t amazing but at least they made shows feel more like they had content outside of just matches, perhaps we can have cutscenes for contract signings, backstage fights, backstage interviews, people arriving, people leaving… numerous other things. Raw 2 on Xbox had a lot of flaws but its version of what would now be universe mode did at least feel alive. It would also mean we could have cutscene attires make a return as well. A lot of the smaller presentation elements have also gone missing, even just the show openings with fireworks etc at least makes it feel like a weekly tv show rather than a list of however many matches. I think it was HCTP which had a cutscene before big PPV matches which would hype the match about to happen. Linking some of the elements of GM mode into universe would make it feel like it had some life in it. Put a draft back in, even some generic cutscenes hyping debuts and returns from injury. I never said it was a lack of effort either, I said it was a neglected mode, mostly because a lot of their work has gone in to things like bringing back GM mode in the first place and their work on MyFaction, i’d just like to see them put some love into making universe more than a list of matches again.

They’ve barely touched universe mode. It’s one of the most neglected areas of the game, hasn’t had a meaningful update in years.

I know I’m not going to get the 2k19 controls back, but I hope at the very least they sort. out the controls for things like springboard attacks this year. Trying to hit Springboard sigs and finishers requires multiple buttons being held across different sides of the controller, god only knows how people with disabilities manage it. Holding a direction, run, and the two buttons required for sig/finisher… I don’t see how anyone can say that is simplified. Im also hoping they work on the distance required for them as well, things like Joe Gacys finishers require you to be stood next to the opponent and makes it all look too tight and ruins the animation.

I’m not a fan of the gameplay but it isn’t going anywhere, if they could chuck a ton of match types in that we had years ago that would be something so casket, special referee etc.. plus a massive roster update with a ton of legends - does it make it worth a £100 pre order maybe not, but we’ll see. An Undertaker showcase would be great as someone said above the arenas, legends etc could be amazing. Smacktalks did put up an interesting point, WM13 of course Austin vs Bret, special ref was Shamrock (in the cut up refs shirt) who has recently signed a legends contract, so the WM 13 match could be Bret vs Austin… which they actually did already in 2k16 so could be mixed thoughts on that. Would add to the theory’s in some senses but of course it is all just guesswork currently.

I honestly don’t mean this offensively, are you like fairly new to 2k’s WWE games or something? If not, where did the idea it would be 75% different come from? Just your own hope? Or did you read something that made you think it could be that way? Outside of graphics 2k haven’t made any huge monumental improvements to this game since…. Well, probably arguable in terms of which game has seen the most change. However 2k23 is very much 2k22 with wargames and roster updates. For me the gameplay has gone into reverse but that’s been done to death here and is also based on your opinions of what you want from the game. I don’t feel like 2k have gone all out to create a truly different, significantly impressive wrestling game in a number of years. There’s a reason a lot of the retro games are still so much better in every aspect. However, these 2k games are really your only option for a half decent wrestling game currently. ….anyway, away from that I was thinking earlier there’s a ton of really easy adds in terms of match types they could add that wouldn’t be hard for them to add at all, but equally would at least give players some variation. So I’m talking an actual gauntlet match where perhaps we can select up to 6 people. The other would be the old scramble matches to come back, so perhaps a five man match, time limit, who ever holds the most recent pinfall when the time runs out wins the match. It was in one of the SVR games already.

I can’t see 2k doing the whole Spotify thing, they’ve said numerous times as have others that it isn’t an easily doable thing and 2k from their efforts in this game series seem generally lazy so… Speaking of, when it comes to the create modes, I’d like to see some of their laziness removed - for instance, Ultimate Warrior, in CAW mode, none of Warriors boots and knee pads work together. They’re all on the game, but I imagine during testing they were clipping together or something, so as opposed to fixing this, 2k have just restricted it so his boots and knee pads can’t be used together freely. Likewise, all of his face paints are on the game and in general are all the exact same shape and size, yet you can’t switch them out for each other. You just get the base one where you can change the colours, so you either always have the same one on the base model, or create your own Warrior so you can switch this. It’s just massively lazy. I’m sure there are other attire parts to be used together as well. At this point the reason 2k get away with their laziness is a lack of competition - the AEW game wasn’t anywhere close to enough as fun as it can be for a few matches. UPW and the Wrestling code look promising but we don’t know when they arrive, nor do they have the big budgets/licenses 2k do with WWE. Also, stop putting things like arenas and logos in, then just removing them the next year - 2k22 had the classic Starrcade and Souled out arena… no where to be seen in 2k23, why? Licenses haven’t changed, you’ve already created them and they get taken out. I understand it with things like shirt logos when wrestlers leave the company, but why do you need to remove various arenas and things? Biggest focuses this year outside of fixing the boring gameplay needs to be Universe mode, with the notable fixes to create modes as well, Create an arena for instance could do with a ton more options.

Completed the survey, however based on the difference between 22 and 23 I’m expecting 24 to be 23 with special referee added.

My biggest wish would just be a game where the superstars feel different from each other and don’t all play the same. 2k23 got boring for me in about July, because just no matches felt different from one another. Adding people and legends is one thing but the game actually needs to feel like a proper wrestling game and be fun first.

Has the DLC been any good? I’ve got no enthusiasm to play the game at the moment, I was popping in creating some bits and then switching off but the gameplay just puts me off actually playing matches. Has the Wyatt pack added any interesting features of made anything particularly fun to play as?

Could do with the International title too for some extra choice

Anyone else find that deleting unused images actually sometimes deletes actual caws? That, and deleting images causing CAW pictures to be the yellow ! Sign, which when you change it to another picture doesn’t work, and it won’t let you use the standard menu screen pose… instead you get the choice between the yellow ! Or a literal blank space, the wrestlers name appears with literally no picture of them at all

Yes this does look good, and in terms of all developers saying they have the “Successor to No Mercy” UPW really does, it basically IS no Mercy after all! Its looking good from the various streams they have out out, various match types, and a creation suite that so far looks great (and already better than FF!) High hopes for it!

Without putting pressure on it, will also be interesting to see how the Wrestling code plays in to this dynamic, as it seems to be from early impressions a decent mix of content but also gameplay, with decent graphics. Have high hopes for it, to have three quality wrestling games out there will be amazing in terms of choice and play style.

Probably the best thing about FF is that it hasn’t had the time or the legacy the 2k games have yet, it’s literally their first go and it’s a week old. They have time to add and update loads and add things in here and there, it’s missing a lot of course but it’s fun to play and that’s a great start, im not really seeing that it’s a sim, it’s definitely more of a start it up and have a great time playing some random matches arcade type experience, and that is 100% fine. FF is a great starting point and hopefully over time the developers add some basic additions that would actually make a massive difference to the overall experience. 2k meanwhile need to learn that shiny graphics, and a new match type doesn’t make your game any less soulless an experience. Creation suite, fantastic even if certain parts of it have been crying out for updates. However their insistence on MyFaction and similar things means the actual core game is boring, and has actually regressed massively. 2k19 was a better wrestling game. Im just hopeful that them both being about now actually promotes some healthy competition and makes them both up their games.

How on earth do you out the announce table on the stage? I’ve tried all sorts of combination of venue, stage, ramp etc…. On all of them the “stage announce table” option stays greyed out…

I actually completely agree with you and your write up. Basically word for word if I’m honest. Im really enjoying the gameplay, matches are fun, we can do things that the 2k games just don’t allow and you can tell it’s built, or at least heavily influenced by wrestlers who are also gamers. Not like with 2k where it’s like the game is designed by the folk who create NBA games… who have also listened to fighting game fans. 2k doesn’t feel like a wrestling game. It’s like you say, the games issue is a real lack of content, and I’m really, really hopeful there are regular content updates. Max Caster replied to a comment on Twitter and told people that he and and Bowens have just taken pictures for use in the game. Unless I missed something they weren’t mentioned as part of the DLC so we are going to get other wrestlers, it’s just about how long that takes. Id like to think they will add a cage match option at some point too, plus some other match types. The creation suite needs work first of course. I guess the best thing about the situation around the AEW game is it isn’t a yearly instalment, so it can be updated regularly, so hopefully these content drops are soon and often, because I actually think the replay ability of this game is very high with some additions.

It would make a big difference to the creation suite if they just allowed us to change the colours on the attires so we could have a different look. Obviously that really should have been in there anyway, but it’s surely a simple fix moving forward. It is mad that they based this game on No Mercy, and the creation suite in No Mercy is actually substantially better than this in its current state.

Also I can’t be the only one who gets Yakuza vibes from RTE??

They definitely need to allow you to update skills for wrestlers. For example I tried adding the figure 8 for Andrade as a finisher as he’s been using it since returning on collision. However he’s set to only having two finishers, and if you try and update his skills so he can have a third you just get told “AEW wrestlers can’t gain new skills”. One of the best parts of this game is being able to have multiple finishers and sigs available, so really hoping they open that up, even if it means taking people through Road to Elite to upgrade them.

Looking forward to having a wrestling game where I actually want to play matches this week.

For me above all else, it does the one thing 2k don’t, it makes me want to switch it on and just play some matches. It has that ‘just one more…’ feel to it. On the odd occasion every few weeks, I’ll switch 2k23 on, I’ll create an arena or two, maybe some attires, then I just switch it on again. The gameplay has regressed to something so dull, soulless and samey that I’m not interested in playing a match that turns out pretty much the same regardless who you use in it. The AEW game is going to have a fair few downsides, the creation suite is tiny… but I actually want to PLAY it.

It’s very much a game that once you’ve played with the new shiny stuff, there’s not really anything there for you gameplay wise. These 2k WWE games are very soulless.