Season 4 or a new KI?

General Discussion
43

There are only 3 reasons why sequels ever happen to be honest:

  1. More eye candy (better graphics, different stages, different costumes, different characters)
  2. Reworked mechanics ( could be a slight tweaking or a complete overhaul, the second of which may or may not be for the better, even if the intentions are good, and the overhaul process could basically undo any form of skill you’ve aquired from previous games.)
  3. New modes. Can include a continuation of a story narrative.

And here’s the thing…we’ve been getting all 3 in KI since season 1. So the big question to ask is what exactly would a sequel acomplish that isn’t already being done with every update?

This KI has not been your typical game where they release it in its complete form, you play it for a couple of months, and then throw it out for the new shinier one with a number next to the name. This KI has been like Minecraft: Slow & steady updates that make the game so unrecognizable from its initial form that if we were to sit down and play the first version we’d swear it was broken beyond redemption.

So no, we don’t need a sequel. Just add more goodies to this KI and let us be happy. :smiley:

…oh, and we need one stage per character minimum. Having 3 or 4 that were strictly non-character specific wouldn’t hurt IMHO. :wink:

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44

I totally agree. I actually made that exact Minecraft comparison earlier on the “What does the future hold for ki after S3” topic.

45

It’s been 3 years, 3 seasons especially a rushed last season. I would like a new KI with some new and refined mechanics from this game. The game as it stands can last maybe another 2 years at best. However, I would much rather a new KI at this point. Everyone has their own stages, themes, music, everyone has an Ultimate or Finisher equivalent, more touch ups on the story, and some new characters, kind of tired of having so many guest.

46

New KI please, I mostly agree with most of the things Maximilian has stated so I won’t repeat that.

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47

I think a 4th season can re-invigorate the game more than any previous season, simply because they can surprise us with all new creations, the poll options showed some really neat character ideas in this regard. It could really make this game feel like something really new because of it.

If they launch a new KI (say 16 characters) and half of them are new characters people will only complain because of the lack of known characters…not to mention that with a new engine, having to create all new modes, etc it will takes a several years till we even get a new KI.

I say let them make a 4th season, while in the background have a few staff members work out the basics for the new game, that way we may get a new KI only 1 1/2 to 2 years after season 4…

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48

Too soon yet for a new KI. So Season 4.

For me, Season 4 should have:

  • 4 new characters, giving the roster a PERFECT total of 30 characters. NO GUESTS, three is already enough.
  • New stages, perhaps.
  • New costumes and acessories for all Season 1-3 characters. I think a Microsoft/Xbox Character costume pack would be awesome.
  • New announcers. Maybe we can have Kan-Ra and Gargos announcers. And for fun, Microsoft Sam and Divekick announcers.
  • Arcade Mode
  • Scene Creator mode. When I mean by that, you can make your own movie by selecting characters and stages, and use existing animations or use saved replays to edit stuff. Kinda like those character trailers and cutscenes for Rivals and Shadow Lords mode.

I think that’s about it.

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49

Well, the main reason I’d want a sequel over a S4 is for better and more consistent production values. Real cutscenes, more voice acting, etc. They feel kind of tied down in the current KI.

50

Why do you believe this, and why do you think this will be different in a sequel?

Honest question.

51

I’m mostly talking about cutscenes, voice acting, etc. The current KI lacks a lot in this department compared to other AAA Fighters. All the story modes so far have been cheap narrated slide-shows and free-cam editors as far as presentation, which I’d like to see improved. The current game couldn’t improve on this without glaring inconsistencies across modes, unless they cut or remade the existing modes entirely.

There’s also the limitations of the current engine. One of which being that we can’t have two player profiles playing together on the same system in local matches.

I’m not saying these things would necessarily get better in a sequel, but I’m talking about the ideal situation.

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52

The scorpio is an xbox 1. Its just a high end version of the existing xbox the only benefits with scorpio are 4k and vr.

53

No they were rated t in the 90s.

54

Season 4 or more characters and content on the current engine. I personally think we have an amazing game (despite my reservations about the breakers meta). The current engine is too good and the game is only 3 years old and ever evolving.

55

I dont think a game like KI makes enough to afford ‘cutscenes’ of the quality you would like to see. Its hindered by being limited to one console and lacks the fanbase MK and SF have built up over decades, even if the game is better than those (which I feel about the current KI) those masses wont just show up because a new version is released…

56

Could you provide a source that backs up that statement?
It’s not that I don’t believe you, I’m just too lazy to google it myself.

57

We need a new season. I don’t think people get if we get a new game we will end up with less character’s less stages and less mode’s if you get a new game then all we will probably get is what we got for season 1 and nothing more. If we get a season 4 we keep everything we have now and we get the additional content.

A new KI would just be season 4 by its self on it’s own where if you get a season 4 for this KI it will be season 4 added to this season 1,2 and 3. The season is the better option a new game is a bad move. If we should ever get a new game it should be on the next generation of consoles not on this one.

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58

I agrew the game chose the f2p model for the reason that it would be the best way to keep the series alive over a long period of time. And I kind of like the mob like seasons personally season 4 all the way

59

I disagree. Season 1 was made in a little more than one year by DH that had to literally go to court to fight to get the right to make another killer instinct game since another random guy was using the name for a reeaally obscure random tv show before they could start officially working on a game.

If IG created a small team to lay the foundation of the new game while releasing new content for the base KI (doesn’t matter if the content was called season 4 or not) with colors, costumes, 3 MAYBE 4 new charecters etc. then by the time they are ready to put the full effort to the new game and spent a AAA 3-4 years development time into the game then they won’t need to pull a season 1 with only 8 charecters released over a year but 20-25 charecters with the whole shebang of modes and etc that honestly could just be pulled from ki for ex. Shadow lords and etc.

charecters and etc

60

Thought I’d look through the 18 other threads with this subject and see what I already posted, but I’ll just post a new comment.

I have yet to see a good argument for a new KI.

Phil Spencer isn’t going to drive up in the hype train and throw sacks of money at IG just because this game is successful. So the dream of a “full budget” KI is just that. They’ve seen how much they can make with their current budget, so while I could see that increasing (and it should increase), it’s not going to suddenly get Gears or Halo money. It’s just not.

As for Scorpio, what does that have to do with a new KI when it’s just a 4K system? It’s like some of you are advocating for an exclusive on a system you don’t even own. Strange.

Oh and the “don’t want too many characters” argument. Super Street Fighter 4 (not Ultra, just Super) had 35 characters. MK9 had 32 characters. MKX had 33 (and that increases significantly if we include variations). Tekken 7 has 33 characters (so far). King of Fighters XIV andmost versus games have 40+ characters.

Why can’t KI go over 30? What, because tourney players don’t want to learn more matchups? No offense to them, or high level players in general (really), but why should the other 95% of the people that play these games be forced to adhere to the whims of this elite 5%, even as those same elite people seem to be largely okay when many other games in our genre have larger or even much larger rosters?

Well, maybe they don’t love huge rosters, but they certainly tolerate them. So why is it so intolerable for KI, a game that was BUILT to be a platform?

Also, I keep seeing this idea parroted that KI is “almost done” or it “feels complete.” Based on what exactly? Because we have all of the old characters? So? I love IG’s new character designs. How about we get some more of those before we ask IG to make a brand new game where we’ll ask them to keep the roster under 30 characters for some strange reason and, oh yeah, bring back every character from this KI because it “wouldn’t be KI without them.”

Or maybe because it’s been out for a while a few guys with channel’s think it’s getting stale? Who cares about years for a platform game if the audience seemingly grows with each passing season. That’s the point of a platform: Grow the audience. Not saying it’s exactly the same, but Blizzard didn’t shut down WOW because it was out a few years or because a few guys thought it was getting stale. What, so they could make a new platform every three years? WOW2? WOW3? What WOW would we be on by now?

Oh and the last argument: A new KI would fix this KI’s problems. Yeah but couldn’t a new KI have new problems too? What if the budget is even less or the timeline is too narrow? What if they build a new engine or use Unreal 4 or whatever and it doesn’t work as well? What if there are story issues and bad retros or no retros and half of the characters we know and love are missing?

I’m not trying to be negative, but the realist in me knows that you can’t please everyone, and those that are down on this game? I tend to think that they’ll be just as hard to please the next time around.

So yeah, I still have yet to hear a good reason. Graphics on this game can be improved in areas. But the game is still a ton of fun, there’s still a ton of stuff to do and unlock in different modes, and much more stuff can be added from Shadow Lords items and story missions to characters and stages to ultimates and modes we couldn’t even conceive of yet.

So why end this platform now? I’ll just end this like I end every other thread about this topic:

Give me season 4 please!

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61

to be fair there is a big difference between fighting in those games and memorizing/recognizing AD’s quickly with the breaker system. not to mention how varied the KI roster is with almost 0 clone charecters in comparison to the other games each with seemingly wildly different tools

62

Since we’re talking about this again, I’ll say what I’d like in my ideal season 4:

June 13, 2017: Season 4 officially revealed at E3 with the first character, Joanna Dark, shown for the first time. Release date will be August, 2017.

June - July 2017: New details on the season trickle in. Three additional characters, Eagle, Magical Archer and Lovecraftian revealed. All will be released on day one.

August 1, 2017: Season 4 rebalance stream. Parts of season 4 UI revealed. New gameplay mechanic. The first non-Shadow Jago Ultimate is shown.

August 28, 2017: Season 4 trailer shows the first four characters in action, plus brief reveals of character’s 5 and 6, which will be Djinn and Wendigo and a shadow of the final boss.

August 29, 2017: Season 4 releases with:
-New content added to Shadow Lords. Not season 4 story, but more consumables, guardians and scenarios in new cities, with new choices.

-New UI with new colors and a few redone odds and ends. Possibly a new “Fight On” screen, though I tend to doubt it.
-All characters have Ultimates.

-Four stages at launch.
-New graphical project completed: Redone characters faces and hair.
-New project ongoing: Characters will be added to the dojo over the course of the season starting with the remaining season one characters.

-New Game Mode: I think they’ll add a new mode in, but it’s hard to say what. I’ll just throw out a few guesses:
-Team Battle Mode. They seem to be able to do it in Shadow Lords, so it only makes sense that this should become a thing.
-Assist Mode. Assuming they can’t do a full on tag mode, I could see them creating something where you can call in a partner with the taunt button to do a regular move, or a shadow move at the cost of one stock of your own meter, though how that would work and what they’d do is completely beyond me lol. But I could see this being both single player and multiplayer.
-Ronin Mode: I said this a long time ago, but for the people that have characters up to level 50, it’d be cool if they could keep earning stuff that you can only get once you’ve reached level 50; specifically, things to customize your profile with that only show up when you use that character. I proposed a belt system like in martial arts; the more matches you win, the more you move up in belt rank, maybe you get titles for that character as well.

Each match you win, you get a star toward your next belt, each match you lose, you lose a star. You just can’t lose the belt you currently have, as all of the belts become part of the inventory for that character.

-Ultra Pack will contain 10K in KI Gold, a killer version of one of the new guardians, a small stash of good consumables, permanent Double XP (for those that didn’t get it with the S3 Ultra pack), and the gold and platinum Gargos colors. I’d love to say plus two classic stages and since this is pie in the sky wishing, I will.

-Final four characters, including the final boss, will be released monthly thereafter, which will include Djinn, Wendigo, an old Sage (Pleeeeeeese IG!) and a returning Ichorian as the boss, with the Season 4 story added to Shadow Lords at the end of the season, which will wrap up at the end of December, 2017.

-The reward for defeating the final boss in Shadow Lords will be his stage as well as the secret 9th character; pretransformation Cinder.

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