KI is “complete”

General Discussion
82

Yeah, I definitely hope that we get more Killer Instinct as well. This game had insanely fun characters, modes and gameplay, and I’d love to see what MS and IG could do with a sequel that was built from the ground up with all the lessons, ideas, concepts etc gleaned from making this game.

As much as this game had going against it initially, I’d call it a highly successful experiment in creativity and execution. As much as I enjoy many of the games this genre has to offer, I’ve never been hooked on a game for this long, and I have no desire to stop playing anytime soon.

I’m sure you have to move on to several other projects that you’re no doubt juggling at the moment, Adam, but I hope you won’t let the other decision makers at MS forget about how well this game turned out and the following it generated.

I really think that a sequel could come in to the market with several advantages and far fewer disadvantages than this current game had, which could make it both a welcome addition for KI and fighting enthusiasts, but also yield a potentially greater return on investment financially without having such a steep climb out of the gate like this game had.

Obviously I’m just guessing here, but given where this game started:

Six characters
Online only
A payment system that was hard to explain
XB1 only
Launch title
Made by an unknown developer

Versus where it finished:

29 exceedingly unique characters
Several unique modes
Two retail releases
A kick ■■■ comic
Action figures
A reputation for superb online play
Ported to PC and Steam
Iterated on for two seasons by a very much up and coming Iron Galaxy

I’d have to think that people would look at the growth of this game, everything you guys have been able to do with it and the player base growth over the course of the seasons and see the potential for future investment in a sequel that’s rebuilt from the ground up to be bigger and better than this wonderful foundation.

Okay, fan goggles off lol. I really do believe all of this, as someone that’s been playing tons of fighting games since the early days. I really think it’s a worthwhile game that MS would be wise to turn in to a reliable franchise. I know there’s always more going on behind the scenes than we’ll ever know as fans, but it’s my sincerest hope that this game, awesome as it’s been, isn’t left to history.

But either way, I’d really like to thank MS for giving this game a final send off both with the comic, as well as with the tourney pots at Combo Breaker and CEO. I know the Kilgore fund was going to have to go to something, but as a fan that enjoys watching high level play, it’ll be great to see some of the better players duking it out on stream for some nice prizes again this year. :slight_smile:

TL/DR: I really appreciate all that MS and IG did with this game!

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83

Mine are coming today, I’m so stoked! Going to spoil myself to all six readings in one go.

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84

Thanks for the explanation Adam. It’s nice to finally have an official word on this - hitherto we could all only just assume that Microsoft hated money or something :joy:

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85

Same here! Going to reread the first one and then the rest of them, all in a row. Can’t wait!

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86

I just need to order this last one…but Id like to get the alternate covers for all of them some day as well.

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87

No, its far from complete, we still need an arcade ladder, the current offline modes are pretty bad, we need a basic ladder it will take them no time to make a ladder

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88

It’s been interesting to see how other “mainstream” games copied ideas and character archetypes from KI, and even the business practices.

I just like to sit down sometimes for a half-hour and play through a ladder to challenge myself and unwind and KI doesn’t really let me do that due to the lack of single-player options. I’d really hoped for a groundbreaking “choose-your-own-adventure” arcade mode that would have you play through until the end, without continues, instead switching characters depending on whether you won or lost and how (taking the multiple endings in KI2 to the next level). I didn’t think that would require any new assets other than some voice acting and hand-drawn art; moreover you’d encourage people to play the game again and grind out all the paths, justify charging $1.00 or whatever because it was such a new system, and get some good headlines from Maximilian and others who would be able to try out your latest paradigm shift in real-time.

At this point it seems like anything you can get to maximize engagement and revenue from an already-completed asset is a good business decision, and that’s the best way I can think of to do it. Nevertheless, I second what @Iago407 said earlier - the fact that we got this far at all is a triumph and I appreciate what the whole team did. I rock the soundtrack in my car all the time (except Shinsako, who did nothing for me) and will always look back fondly on the excitement I got for each character reveal when a part of my childhood came back to life.

89

@TempusChaoti Is there anything that we can do to get ultimates for all characters? :smiley:

I’ve been fortunate that my characters have them but I can empathize for those who can’t experience the satisfaction of pulling off an ultimate on their opponent. Love the fact that you earn them from supreme victories btw! Thanks!

90

If Phil Spencer really does want to focus more on exclusives for Xbox One X, that’d be a great reason to supply the team with a bigger budget for the next iteration. Do it Phil. Do it.

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91

I’ll disagree here, because we have standard arcade ladders (for S1 and 2) and a complex arcade ladder system in the form of Shadow Lords for every character. The Shadow Lords mode also allows for meta difficulty which normal arcade ladders don’t have. Simply put, it allows you to put restrictions on yourself as opposed to just making the computer read more of your inputs, which is why I like the SoulsBorne Series.

In your opinion. I’m not saying that you’re wrong. I’m just stating that this is incredibly subjective. Also, it’s fine to dislike, but you have to give them credit for trying to do something new within the genre, (which Injustice 2 probably took notes from).

I don’t want to assume here, but I’ll guess that you’re not a game dev, much less one that works on titles as complex as KI2013 is, simply because out of everyone it’s a very small amount of people that do. You need art, UI, and people to work on AI for the arcade mode. That means that it will take time, and depending on how much time is how expensive it will be, because you have to pay the people who do those things. So, not only is it time consuming, but requires money as well.

92

Releasing an all new KI designed around Xbox One X hardware is a really really bad idea. The system is a just stop-gap entry with limited market penetration and limited longevity.

What we need is an all new KI4 for the true next generation Xbox, which I believe is in the works. Just have to be patient cause ‘NextBox’ probably isn’t coming till 2020…good news is that gives MS plenty of time to get KI4 ready to be a featured launch title.

93

Hi @TempusChaoti!

I’ve got a serious question for you: With all of the talk about Killer Instinct being “complete,” does that mean that the Crimson Guardians that were teased in the newer dossiers are never seeing the light of day?

I mean, I’ve heard the term “complete” officially used by the KI Crew several times both here and on social media, and while I’m assuming that it means that rumors that a Season 4 is on the way have less meat on them than Spinal does, and on the surface this sounds like a silly question, but can you do everyone a solid by explaining what “complete” means in this context? :thinking:

I assume that we’ll still get bug fixes and stability updates, but I know that there are a few of us who are still holding out for the rest of the Crimson Guardian. If growing up in the 90’s taught me anything, it’s that we’ve gotta catch ‘em all!

No matter what, thanks so much for everything that you’ve done for KI, and whenever my favorite monsters are ready for a new adventure, you’d better believe that I’ll be there!

Fight on! :t_rex::wolf::shark:

-Zenek

94

Oh, good question! I would like to get the rest of those Crimson Guardians as well.

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95

More like Killerincomplete. Oh well. Back to waiting for another several decades.

96

I’m sure the next KI that comes out, whether it’s released in 2 years or 20 years, will satisfy your every desire.

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97

Honestly, some of the stuff that got left out, like ultimates, arcade mode, some colors for some characters, etc… I dunno. None of that seems like a very big deal to me. Especially not to the point where I’d say the game is “incomplete.” I get that consistency, symmetry, whatever you want to call it is great, but as long as they can fix some of the buggier issues so that it’s a fully functioning game, I’ll be more than satisfied. Even as it stands, I’m happy with this game.

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98

In terms of what I’d feel might make the game complete (in an ideal scenario):
Entire cast with ultimates
A way to unlock the Astral Plane without Shadow lords (due to its inaccessibility without sighted assistance, maybe tie it to Boss Shago or something).
A cross-seasonal arcade mode, possibly with specific bosses etc.
Player 2 theme being an option in the theme selector.

Other than those features though, the game is a good example of how an accessible fighting game can be developed out of an inaccessible system (i.e. the HUD volume slider, whilst a small change, wasn’t included in the game to begin with but made night/day improvements to how the game could be played. This with combo assist allowed for a greater variety of strategies/combinations than I’d thought possible at the time.

Hopefully something positive comes of this - a sequel, an update, who knows. We’ll see though but regardless, we have an interesting game that, whilst it may only be a causal venture for newer players, is still a testament to just how well a game reboot can actually go, even on a budget like this.

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99

I agree ultimates are still needed.

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100

Lol, the biggest regret of my life was investing the money on my Xbox one.I bought it on launch date JUST because of this game. I bought 2 fight sticks and everything.

Then, a HUGE deception right out of the box, the game was SUPER rushed to get released with the console. It was rushed to attract people to buy the console thats it. It went from studio to studio, and okay, they have the talent,the game looks beautiful.

Since the first week of playing this game, I have been waiting for the game to be completed (since November 22, 2013) … Now 5 years later, reading the patch notes, the developers are skipping too many steps!

A character having a ultimate, and the other not… It’s a joke. It’s like downloading the MAME version of the VERY VERY RARE Primal Rage 2 (released cancel, but playable version exists) …

So guys, I am afraid that we will end up with one thought … “What could killer Instinct have been if it was completed?”. I hope I am wrong a year from now…

They missed fatalities, Humiliation, Character Stages, a real Arcade Ladder… I mean we are stuck with an incomplete game as far as I know.

RIP

101

Why are people so obsessed over the fact that they don’t have some cosmetic aspects of the game. Like geez maybe focus more on the actual content in the combat of the game for once. ULTRA WERE ADDED INTO THE GAME UPON OUR REQUEST! It was not planned to be there to begin with! It’s not the staple of the franchise. We still have C-C-Combo breakers don’t we!

They give us so much stuff that people take for granted. We have a great number of stages, one of the best FGs soundtracks I’ve ever heard, amazing diversity in character and playstyles, an arcade mode for most characters and an amazing and innovative offline single player experiance in Shadow Lords. Bring those into mind when saying a game is incomplete or not. Those things are add ons that were never designed to be in the game when it started. Can’t we just be greatful that we got this far into its lifespan!

Sorry for the rant, it’s nothing against anyone. Just what i think.

/endrant

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