KI needs Polish

Game Suggestions & Feedback
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There is a thread that talks about nitpicks you don’t like in the game that would make your personal experience better. As much as I love this game I have quite a few that I feel would help bring in new players and make the game look more “modern,” you’ll see what I mean. These are in order of importance, the last 2 not being anything that will make or break it, just my thoughts. The first point is the longest, if you read through it all…bravo.

Before we get into this, I am keenly aware that there are budget constraints as this is a budget title, but I have a possible solution written at the end.

  1. The In-Game UI/UX and HUD: The UI (User Interface) was, in my opinion, changed for the better in Season 2. There are however some lingering issues with the look. As a designer, one thing that bothers me more than anything is the fact that none of the text has been properly kerned (Spaced) making each menu item less readable. You may say that the text is large enough it doesn’t matter, which I would agree with, but that is also a problem. The design of the UI plus the in-game HUD looks dated, like its trying to compete with SFIV and MK9 vs SFV and MKXL which both look much more polished and modern, though their styles wouldn’t work in KI it would need its own. The reason I put these together is because that is another major issue as far as the look of the game, it looks as if it has been frankensteined together. The Fonts, colors, and graphic aesthetic do not match when going from he UI to the in-game HUD. The lifebars and shadow meter still maintain the same look as they did in season 1, utilizing season 1’s fonts and graphic style (The Shadow Meter at least is using the font from the UI Now). The colors are also all over the place in-game, look at MKXL, you don’t need a rainbow to represent everything, the lockout colors are fine, but for the lifebar, shadow meter, and instinct meter, I believe there is a better way to go.

Now moving onto the UX (User Experience). Everything short of Shadow Lab and the Store takes a “minimum” of 3 steps to get to, the best experience for people is to be able to get where they want in 3 steps or less. This is a fundamental UX rule and should be used to reimagine the UI. This could also lead to a smoother experience for players on Xbox One, especially if you minimize all the visual clutter on screen…sorry but there is no need for all the video and movement. Look at any modern video game (Best Examples: Gears of War Ultimate, Halo 5, Star Wars Battlefront) simplicity makes things run smoother and the player spends less time navigating menus, and more time playing. Right now the whole UI has a very still feel

  1. Shadow Lab: This feature is great from a conceptual standpoint, but there is a major flaw with its implementation. When you turn on Shadows, more than anything else, it gets in the way of the rest of the game. What I mean by that is, if I have an online match with someone, and I want to rematch them, I have to be careful not so hit “Save Shadow Data,” its annoying. Don’t get me wrong I love shadows as an AI option, but I would rather it just save in the background based on options I set, and I think it should be more integrated into the whole KI experience, there are a lot of ideas here for that to take place…too many to list though.

  2. Animations/Completion: I don’t mind “some” reused animations, but it is used far too much especially on characters such as Omen. I understand why, but I think its time our current roster gets some individual love, not only with animations, but also with completion. What I mean is Shadow Jago and Omen need to have accessories, colors, and retros like the rest of the cast, also Shadow Jagos pose needs to match the UI Pose.

  3. Lighting Polish: Weird right? I’m not talking about every stage, but since Season 3 dropped the lighting works great in some areas, and not so well in others, I’m just saying it needs more polish. FYI, Sadiras stage should be Quality Standard to shoot for here, it looks amazing.

  4. Ultimates: Everyone should have one…enough said.

  5. Stages: I only say this because there are so many cool things you could do with Rash, Mira, and Gargos. I know there are “plenty” of stages, but this is KI, every character should have one period.

  6. Riptors Theme: This soundtrack is amazing save for this one track, let cell dweller and atlas plus redo it please, its so out of place.

OK so if you’re still here, amazing! I know that it costs money to have the things done I listed above, I have a simple yet somewhat risky solution to it though. How about for Season 4 we do less characters (4) and focus on polish. It frees up the budget, still introduces new characters for next year, and gives IG the ability to fine tune this amazing game.

Let me hear your thoughts.

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Trust me, a lot of your points has been asked by many players, hopefully they’ll get to this during or the end of Season 3. Still, patients is required for a request like this.

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As someone who studied Graphic Design. I agree with everything you said.
Like I said in another thread regarding the Green mist. Less is more. It feels like over using a new filter you just learned how to use in Photoshop thinking it looks cool.

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I think that polish is just what it is, polish.

They aren’t going to go out of their way to do it, and they certainly aren’t going to take a season to do it.

Polish is a kind of ongoing thing, and they probably plan to implement more things as the game goes on.

Like how the lvl.4 enders got that… thing.

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I love the direction of the character select and id love to see it go to the level of MKX

ULTIMATES yes

Season one new accessories they deserve it

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THIS^
and a new anti-aliasing filter IMO.

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I agree, mostly on 5th and, especially, 3rd point.
The new lighting system is cool and all but have introduced many strange behaviors on characters depending on surfaces (metal, fabris, etc.), alternate colors and customizations.

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The point about ultimates stands out here tbh. Unlike everything else mentioned, it may mean serious gameplay ramifications, depending on implementation.

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the fact that core characters don’t have their own stage reflects really poorly. At least give Mira a bizarro Maya stage like they did with shago/omen, that should have been common sense

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The thing I noticed needs the most polish is the character story mode screens. They seem off and don’t seem to match the quality of the rest of the game. Also, pressing start to go to the next fight will often cancel the character introductions.

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A lot of what you are asking I do not think will be feasible within the limits of manpower and money. I do, however, agree with what you have suggested for the UI. Some very well thought out points regarding making the experience easier to navigate and more cohesive.

The biggest sore spot is definitely the dated Season 1 in match UI. It was the product of a tight budget and the need to focus effort elsewhere (which was smart at that time.) I think minor tweaks to color scheme and use of universal fonts could go a long way.

As for the menu navigation, it’s not user friendly enough. Too many steps involved to get where you want to go and it’s not immediately apparent where portions of the game are located. I’d be willing to bet there are new players who couldn’t tell me where to find practice modes.

Couldn’t agree more on the save shadow data option, and funny enough has been an area of discontent on the previous forums since the launch of shadows. I actually chose this season not to create a shadow because it was counter intuitive to re-matching quickly/getting into search for next match and I found myself too often hitting it by accident.

Obviously all of these things can be overcome by simply exploring the interface but that’s not how these things are supposed to work. You shouldn’t need to explore the interface to familiarize, it should be immediately apparent where to go to find what you want.

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yeah we all need more Polish, funny accents.

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I agree with number 4 full on!

Number 6 is very VERY Iffy!
And unless they do something other than techno babble rock n roll no I don’t think Cell and Atlas should touch Riptor’s theme. If they do end up remaking the theme it should give the impression of a savage animal not a robot. Using similar instruments and rifts used in Riptor’s original theme.

I admit Mick didn’t do the best of jobs on Riptor’s theme but it still makes me think a savage prehistoric monster. I admit from what I herd so far on Riptor’s old WIP theme: it just sounded like a robot. But I admit that really isn’t fair because we haven’t really herd the finished version.

That being said.

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And Sadiras assassins appear and disappear on her stage.

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They’re assassin’s it makes perfect sense lol

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Lmao!

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While the game looks a bit better on PC, textures needs a significant update on PC, at least to take advantage of DIrectX 12

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I feel like I’ve been talking about #1 forever. Not so much the colors, for me, but the font styles. They’re wildly inconsistent and it’s actually somewhat frustrating to look at because of how unpolished that looks.

Character names, combo font, victory font… They couldn’t be more different. There’s no unity of style here, no consistency and no real touch to any of them that give off a specifically “Killer Instinct” vibe.

I know that’s a vague, somewhat undefinable idea in and of itself given how subjective it is, but it’d be great if they could take another stab at it and unify all fonts across the game.

I’d also agree with #2, but at this point, I think we’re stuck with reused animations. Is it somewhat glaring at times? Sure, with Omen especially, but I’d be more than willing to let that slide if they completed Omen and Shago’s colors, accessories and retros. Have a feeling the only way that gets done is via community fund and these specifically would only happen if they were a sort of goal tier achieved kind of deal, since they couldn’t be the only goal.

Ultimates could be that final goal, I guess. I don’t particularly care about them, as I tend to view them like MK fatalities, which I get bored of almost immediately after I see them for the first time, but people want them, so maybe they’d be more willing to spend on the fund to get them.

Stages for the weary travelors (Mira, Rash, Gagos, [redacted] and #8) would be ideal. At this point I’d take stages for Mira, Gargos and #8 if their not guest as the community fund reward. That’s how much I’d like to have them and give that KI established this pattern of giving each character their own stage through two seasons (plus historically), it would be nice to see it continue.

I’d also add two things to the list:

A. The Checking DLC screen: It takes forever, which would be okay if it didn’t look the way it did. Two different fonts saying the same thing along with s blank purple bar? This is what I get to star at? How about putting the words once in the right hand corner while showing me a slide show of hero art or some of the concept art I’ve unlocked by playing the game?

Or why not blow it out a little and create a sort of arcade attract mode type of thing where you briefly show a character in action, freeze them, and provide a season one dossier type thing on the character?

B. The “Fight On” Screen. Once you’ve selected the characters from the awesome new select screen and pick the stage, you’re sent to this season one relic where characters still spin in to the screen (often at different times), many characters either two close or too far away (i.e. TJ vs Aria).

There’s a large, out of place Vs logo, an unnecessary rotating KI logo with a different font, and the arena still flying by in the background from the last screen for some reason, but then most of it stops.

Characters are usually left blinking and we’re left staring at this silent hodgepodge until the intro animations start. Maybe it’s just me, but this whole thing could stand to be redone with greater emphasis on style and perhaps tradition as well.

I’m certainly not one of those people that always think the old KI away is better, but in this situation, the original KI, with the black background and the dark, awesome character animations nailed it. It was minimalist, it looked cool, and it didn’t require in game character models.

For this KI, I’d love it if they stuck to the black background, but maybe had more of a sequence, like a camera rushing through a forest, breaking through a gate, climbing an old castle’s walls and ending in Sabrewulf, freezing on his face after he’s howled at the moon.

Or a middle from a helicopter being followed by a camera as it crashes in to the building of Orchid’s background where she spins out from cover with a machine gun and starts firing, the camera focuses in and then freezes on her face.

So no blinking, no taxing 3D character models, you love that spin in animation, then see it in the character editor. Just have these two boxes. Maybe their names below, maybe not. Once the boxes stop, which is where the previous screen froze, have a V burn in between them with light cascading out and have the announcer say “Fight On.”

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I j use thought a hall or museum of mirrors would be awesome for those without a main stage. Think of the practice stage with images in the background that would feAture images of KI characters