The Cohesion of KI and my feelings about it

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Since Season 3 has came out the cohesion of the overall game has become less and less. Its becoming a jumble of great ideas but very little to tie them together.
Over the seasons new modes, colours, accessories and what not has come into the game.
Story mode over the seasons has changed from stills at S1 to Rivals with cutscenes in S2 to Shadow lords in S3. But if you go into story mode is there anything to tell you this? The 3 seasons vary wildly. S2 had the best delivery of this.
Shadow Lords is great but as a story mode not so much ( zero endings for the S3 characters )
S1/S2 each character had a stage but S3 only had 4 ( 1 of which was for a guest and one was an after thought )
If S4 happens does it go back to a stage per character because we have SL and re lighting done?
Does that leave Mira and Eyedol out in the cold?
TBH id be happy with existing stages being redone for the new guys and mira/eyedol.

Stage Ultras is another weird one. Zero in s1 stages, 5 in s2 and only 1 in s3 and that one was on the guest stage.

The UI on the fight screen still baffles me as to why thereā€™s several different fonts used on it. The metal ready which is the best font. The combo names are different as to the names of characters and what they say.

SL tutorial lifts the entire section from another section, fonts and all and sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the mode.

Practice mode you can unlock KI1ā€™s music and stage to use but not the inclusion of the KI2 stages/music.
1 character has colours but no accessories and 1 has 6 colours and a handful of accessories.

The S3 guys have a retro 7 but the rest donā€™t.

Gameplay mechanics that are getting wilder.

The disc release has other features that the download doesnā€™t.

I downloaded the S3 soundtrack this morning but it isnt on par with the previous releases. Only had 9 tracks ( A warriors journey is a massive highlight ) but just under the same price as the others. I wouldve thought some remixes wouldve been added.
I know the Soundtrack has zero to do with the game.

I think the problem has been the season approach. I like that you get it sooner but you get different modes / add ons that donā€™t gel with the others, thatā€™s why I think the disc release would be the best.

These flaws just become more and more obvious over the seasons to me. Iā€™ve played the game less this S3 to the point I rarely even thinking about playing it or come to the forums to see whatā€™s new.

I hope if there is a S4 they go back to basics and tie everything up.

Re-reading this it comes across as a love letter from someone that has fallen out of love with someone/something.
Maybe thatā€™s exactly what it is.
I love this game but maybe iā€™m burnt out or Iā€™ve had my fill.
I hope S4 brings me/it back and it makes the overall experience flow more easily.

I love the devs and studios for everything theyā€™ve worked on within the game, I just question some of the choices and directions that have come about.

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2

Well, I canā€™t say that I disagree with you.

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I definitely think that the game feels incomplete and not well put together at some points.

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Iā€™ve felt similar vibes from the game, but I think only some of it is worth focusing on. The story approach from the perspective of a gamer completely new to KI would be confusing. That said, I donā€™t think itā€™s enough to put off someone entirely.

Your point about the character color/accessory inconsistency is probably the biggest point worth addressing. Iā€™d like to imagine adding character customization options is one of the easier things to do in the grand scheme of KI development. I believe IG has vaguely mentioned plans to add accessories for Shadow Jago and Omen. Retro Color 7 has always baffled me as an inconsistent design decision pending the release of S1/S2 Retro Color 7s.

Still, it gets weirder when looking at Gargosā€™ Gold/Platinum colors added with the Definitive Edition. Will every character receive ā€œnamedā€ colors at a later date? Why are these colors not ā€œColor 10 and Color 11?ā€ The action figure colors add further inconsistency with the cast as it is highly unlikely for every character to receive a figure.

Iā€™d like to think new players consider these things. But at the end of the day, we still have a ridiculously fun fighting game to play.

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5

This is definitely a downside to the seasonal model. On one hand, theyā€™re able to come up with some awesome new ideas. For example, season 2ā€™s story mode, for me, is WAY better than the what-if endings we got for season 1.

But instead of giving every character the season 2 treatment to keep the content consistent, season 1 characters donā€™t have season 2 level stories now and season 2 characters never got the season 1 treatment. So while we got an improved mode, the characters from the previous season donā€™t get to benefit from it. As much as I donā€™t overly like the way season 1ā€™s story was presented, it still wouldā€™ve been nice to get some extra content for the season 2 characters. As some of the most iconic characters in the series were reduced to bit parts in the stories of others in one season, while the other seasonā€™s characters got nothing at all in terms of the previous seasonā€™s content.

Same problem pops up in season 3. I absolutely love Shadowlords in both concept and execution, but none of the characters have endings like the season 2 characters got, and none of the season 1 or season 2 characters have the number of cut scenes and story presented the way season 3 characters have it. Well, some of the characters anyways. Season 3 characters similarly donā€™t have season 1ā€™s 3 what-if endings.

This bleeds over in to other aspects of the game, with characters not having the same number of colors or accessories, a dojo mode that still only has one character, older retro outfits that didnā€™t get nearly the same amount of love as later retros, some characters not getting stages, the list goes on.

As much as the devs want to plow forward and create new content, and as much as we all want that new content without question, I really think itā€™s time that they acknowledge the unevenness of the seasons in terms of content delivery and work to balance that out.

I say this because, at the end of the day, when all of the content stops and this game is considered finished / complete, they have to think about what fans will ultimately be left with as a single gaming experience, not just a collection of seasons, but one, single title.

I get that this costs both time and money, and evening everything out would likely be a massive undertaking, but I really think that it would be worth it in the end. As a fan of certain characters, itā€™s really rather unfortunate to see other characters getting stuff that your character doesnā€™t have and will seemingly never have.

Honestly, I would absolutely, 100%, without hesitation take this cohesion project over any new modes in season 4 and itā€™s not even close. I want Sabrewulf to have a season 2 level rivals story and a season 3 level cinematic journey. I want Mira to have the what-if endings from season 1 because itā€™d be fun to play through and unlock some earlier stuff for her, even if itā€™s not all story canon and Iā€™d love to get her season 2 rivals story to get more of the earlier information.

I really hope @developers will do this for the fans. Really try and even everything out form story content to character colors and accessories. Good thread, OP, much appreciated. I love this game and I love what the devs have been doing with it all the way through, but this is something that I really think is necessary now and in the future. If it makes content delivery take longer, then so be it. Hell, if they want to do a community fund for ā€œfinal cohesion,ā€ Iā€™ll gladly chip in.

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I just really think the missing stages would help a lot. Also I think some of the bugs like tusks black eyes and his and Kim wus faceā€™s looking kind of jacked up, need to be addressed and fixed but surprisingly never have. I also think every character needs the same amount of colors and accessories. I understand why omen and shadow jago donā€™t have retros. And yes the KI 2 music should be added to practice mode; thatā€™s an odd one to me as I figured it woulda been added a long long time ago. The 22nd of next month will be exactly 3 years that I and a lot of others have been playing this game. Iā€™ve never played any game in my life that long lol. I wanna see them start polishing it up to where it looks like a complete packageā€¦Iā€™m still totally down for new characters, stages, colors, and accessories too though.lol

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I liked the classic S1 storymode, because I found myself wanted to have more =P
S2 didnā€™t deliver the same for me I guess, I feel more inclined to play S1 storymode style than S2. The idea is not bad, is another thing Iā€™m not digging much.
Shadow Lords is something totally different, I played a bit and then I wasnā€™t having that much fun so I left it there (I think I played like 5 times, will pick it again maybe some other game) . Itā€™s ok, but itā€™s not for me.
I would like to know why Killer Instinct in the icon game is now named: ā€œKI Shadow Lordsā€ =/ Is that going to be the gameā€™s final name?
Sorry, I get too nostalgic sometimes..

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Yeah i agree the smaller things can actually have a significant impact on the games overall presentation it justs need balancing out (not in terms of gameplay) with the content it has got which makes the overall game ā€˜inconsistentā€™

here are some things which can cause this (the OP has mentioned some of these)
.Season 1 characters are arcade mode exclusive
.Season 2 characters are story mode (rivals) exclusive
.Colour 7 only for season 3 retros
.Training mode tracks only from KI1
.The holiday exclusive things were only seen once
.Ultimates and/or humiliations (i understand its a lot bigger than the rest)

those are just some examples but you know they are small things (well some of them). not hating on the game or anything its just wellā€¦trueā€¦

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9

I thought of some other things and re edited my original post.

Someone brought up holiday accessories, again for 3 characters. I mean why?

Shago is the only character in the game with an ultimate.

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I wish I could give this more than one like. The story modes and inconsistencies drive me nuts.

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My guess (hope?) is that this gets fixed in season 4. I meanā€¦ Iā€™d be shocked if they didnā€™t look at the results of the season 3 survey and say ā€œokay, we need to do this.ā€

I donā€™t need this to be uniform in terms of the specific holiday, like all characters should but yeah, if one character has a pair of holiday accessories, why not have 4th of July accessories for a few characters, Halloween accessories for a few characters, New Years accessories, Thanksgiving, etc so that every character has a something. Just seemed odd to start with a nice little idea and then abandon it. Maybe it was meant to be a nice little one off and thatā€™s cool and all and itā€™s appreciate it, but itā€™d also be nice if they took the idea and kept going with it as well.

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12

Yeah same here. I know I said it before but itā€™s worth repeating: Itā€™s crazy to me that some of the most iconic characters in the history of the franchise have what-if endings in season one and are largely bit characters in season 2ā€™s story as well as season 3.

Donā€™t get me wrong, I love IGā€™s new characters, especially Kan Ra. I also know that Jagoā€™s had a lot going on with Shago and Omen and heā€™s still essentially the hero of the story. But what about Orchid? It honestly feels like sheā€™s barely in the story at all. Same goes for Spinal. I seem to remember he was looking for a mask orā€¦ Something? Glacius, Sabrewulf, not a ton going on with either of them in terms of their own stories. A few things, sure, but not nearly as much detail.

Stuff like this matters. Cohesion matters. Iā€™m not angry about this or anything and I donā€™t feel cheated, as we have a lot of great content, but I do think that before this game is finished, they should really round everything out and make it uniform and equal, otherwise itā€™s just a collection of ideas divided unevenly throughout seasons and not a full, unified game, and I think that a VAST majority of fans would prefer the latter to the former.

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yea i gotcha brah, i can understand ur sentiment and agree with most of it. IMO, inconsistancy in updates bother me for all games.

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I agree. Not a fan of the story mode or lack there ofā€¦and not a fan of pure juggle combos that are easy to counter break, ect..
I still play everyday and Im getting used to themā€¦but it is a different game.

3 Likes
15

I predict a semi season with only one pick out of three.

ultimates
4 characters
or 4 stages

again only pick 1 out of those three cause we all know budget,budget and budget.

Iā€™d like a well rounded game too but were to far in to turn back now. cause ofā€¦you guessed it, budget. we will get one of those 3 tho and u can bet single player endings and consistency in them, isnā€™t one of them.

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Just so I understand you correctly, are you saying that if they put in ultimates (for example), that this means weā€™ll get less than 4 characters and less than 4 stages?

You realize that we got 8 characters, 4 stages and a substantial mode in Shadowlords this past season, not to mention a substantial project in the stage relighting and a redone select screen among other things, and now you think weā€™re getting less because of the budget? Based on what evidence are you coming to that conclusion?

Also not really sure what predicting less content has to do with consistency in the content offered. Or are we just turning this in to a generally negative thread? I hope not, as I think thereā€™s a legit conversation to be had as far as consistency goes in whatā€™s offered regardless of the season that I hope the developers will really listen to. Hope that doesnā€™t get lost somehow.

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lol. no. Iā€™m just trying to call it before it happens. I just see a smaller season based on what the community wants. ultimates are a big resource drain.

but everything else u mentioned above was an eventuality. they had to rework character select. they had to fix the lighting. per season value that had to offer 8 fighters. shadow lords is lame. it reminds me of game genie codes that tweaked the games programming. but itā€™s cool I guess.

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also requesting that the characters endings have consistency is only going to take away from other resources. Iā€™m not sure a single player story for seasons 1-2 ala season 3 style is worth the money thatā€™s diverted from other things. I was simply pointing this out. it just logically makes sense.

go ask crazy lcd if he thinks the roster needs more fighters. do u know what heā€™d say? I know its one persons opinion but the points he makes is convincing.

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Iā€™d so much rather have great new outfits and possibly ultimates than a storyline

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While I think more outfits would be great, I see that as an extra to the Base game.

The disc release should have the same content as the download and vice versa.

As for lcd, I take his reasons as I do with other pros. They only concern themselves with the multiplayer aspect. Which is fair enough.

If you build up a lore and even write a novella surely creating ending should be on the list.

While Iā€™m sure it wonā€™t happen Iā€™d like to echo lago407 when he said about each season story variants for each character.