Might be Worth a Read for even Jim and Co

[wildhawke11]

Originally posted by Tosti
I love this game and I know it is 90% about utilising your imagination, but would it be possible for a little bit more time to be spent on the animation before the next update. I have just watched Frank Bruno(lighter skin guy) hammer Joe Bugner(darker skin guy). For me it would make the game a lot more exciting if the fighters had a slightly more authentic look, or for instance you could stipulate certain trunk styles, hair colouring etc. I don't know how many man hours this would entail but I think it would add a lot to the game and make the game much more viable in the broader market place.

Tosti
I of course don't know if you are familiar with the Title Fight series of games which date back many years, But unlike most bash em up fighting games on the market today the Trunzo's games have always been first and foremost a pure and accurate simulation of boxing.

I think you will find that in affect there is nothing or very little on the market that can touch this new game in regard to representing the fight game in a realistic manner.I am of course taking into account the fact you only asked for the action pics graphics to be enhanced and not the game become a bash em up.

The fear the true boxing fan has in taking this route, is that once you attract the more casual fan or indeed the just curious type of person. They in turn will want more and more put into the game turning a once great simulation of professional boxing into an arcade type sort of game.

Would this even in a business sense be a good move, a lot of thinking would have to be put into this, Because the drawback of taking this route would be to lose in affect i feel the 75% of an already established fan base that this company at present have, I would add my self included as one of them in this respect.

Then the position this company could find itself in is having to now complete with the giant software company's and the vast resources that they can bring to the table.

Could then even an arcade type boxing game which the once great Title Bout has now become complete with the many other fighting games that are available. On this i have my doubts, because boxing itself is a very minor sport today as we all well know.

So what at first might look good could in trying to enter a broader market could backfire on the makers of Title Bout in a bad way.

By the way in case you don't know Roy Jr Jones has lent his name to another boxing arcade game for one of the more major software company's that will be on the market i think this year.

I will as usual finish up by saying of course this is only my own thoughts and many may of course see it very different from my own.

I don't think Tosti is asking for arcade elements to be in the game.

I like the animated figures (in their unblurred state) and I think the game would only be better if the figures could be enhanced the way Tosti suggests.

I would also like to see something dramatic when a knockdown punch is thrown. Such as a fist hitting a chin (or a body), and a figure slowly crumpling to the floor. If anyone has ever played Stratomatic basketball, it is a text game with minimal animation, like TBCB, but when there is a dunk, you see a short clip of a figure jamming the ball. Sure it's chrome, but it's cool. I'd like to see something similar with TBCB.

[Tosti]

Hi Wildehawke, 60's fan is right, I don't want to see this turned into some crappy 'arcade style' game and it's obvious it won't be. I spent about 5 years solid playing the original AH boardgame in the early eighties and I'm now using the game to refresh my rather weak knowledge of boxing history. My reasoning behind my original comment was that I have spent the last 6 ish weeks organising my own boxing world and last night played my first fight. I was slightly downbeat with the visual element and I think with some minor 'tinkering' the game would improve it without infringing on its statistical bent.

[wildhawke11]

I am of course taking into account the fact you only asked for the action pics graphics to be enhanced and not the game become a bash em up.

60s
With respect did you miss the above lines from my early post.
I feel sure Tosti knows i am just taking his way of thinking a stage on.

If you care to read back in past threads as i am sure guys like Cap etc etc will confirm. People in the past have come on here and almost asked for it to become an arcade type of game.
My posting was really meant just to make people think a little.
As it happens i to love the more clear pics in the game 60s


*The Fire that destroyed the Forest was once a small spark *

[doors11]

One thing i'd like to see and it shouldn't be too hard to do.

Is have the fighters match up to their skin color.

Just like in the High Heat series..

You have light,Medium and Dark..All you need is 3 different Boxers each with those skin colors. You have it so the boxers have that rating and the Fighters show up that way as the Boxers in the ring.

I know to some this is kind of stupid, but I like to see the Boxers match up..This adds to the realism.

As far as other animations showing when different actions happen in the ring.That would be awesome.

Each time someting is added to game it just gets better and better.

[Jim Trunzo]

Our official stance on this matter is as follows: We fully intend to improve the graphics and both the variety and smoothness in the animation. Our hope is to not only allow for a variation in skin colors but also in size, trunk color, and features that would reflect nationality.

However . . . and there always is one . . . this is not a priority at the very moment. The above will be worked on in conjunction with the role-playing game that will be taking shape very soon. Another problem that we have is that, quite frankly, we are not sure about the actual skin color of many of the more obscure fighters.

One solution that we may have to go with is to do as much research as we can and if we fail to come up with anything definitive on a certain fighter, simply default him and let our educated gamers enlighten us.

I am strongly in favor of various depictations. We have no intent of EVER changing this into anything resembling a Nintendo-style game; on the other hand, improving the graphics and animation which do exist will strengthen the accuracy and presentation of what we already have without leading us down a different path.

[Tosti]

Thanks Jim, to be honest I think the aims that you have outlined and the priority they will receive are spot on. Cheers

[wildhawke11]

James
Thanks Boss thats what i was waiting for.
Daniel

[David Myers]

"Our hope is to not only allow for a variation in skin colors," Jim Trunzo writes, "but also in size, trunk color, and features that would reflect nationality."

Oh goodee. Could you add a module for giving the Asians slanty eyes? And for putting little Stars of David on the trunks of the Jewish boxers? Could we also give them big noses? Oh, and oh--big fat lips for the Negro fighters too.

The idea of adding racial features to TBCB is absurd and disgusting. One of the things that makes TBCB so great is that it <i>removes</i> the specter of race from boxing. Now, at last, Jack Dempsey can face Harry Wills without Tex Rickard’s fear that a "black heavyweight champion would not be worth a bucket of warm piss."

Moreover, TBCB already includes the capacity for adding "features that would reflect nationality." Namely: the biography screen on the fighter’s record. Here you can write anything you please about the fighter. You can develop storylines; you can include rumors about his background and pedigree; you can describe how he looks and how he fights. The difference is that the biography screen fits perfectly with TBCB’s character as a <i>text</i>-based game. And it permits far more variation, in far more than skin color, than any graphical improvement to the game ever could.

[wildhawke11]

Tosti
Your remark about it being obvious that this game would not be turned into an arcade game is a very bold statement to make.

Jim Trunzo himself might possible agree with you, but what you have to remember is there are other party's involved in running any business and at board meetings it is not always the vote that you had hoped for that comes out of that meeting.

Lets put it another way if a major company offered you a great contract with them even thought it meant giving up a job you like doing, Its a very very tempting offer knowing that a few years work with them could in fact set you and your family up for life.

Many company's have sold out to a bigger company, because they often realise that where they are at present is about as far as they can take the company and a big offer or in fact a take-over from a major company is seen by them in fact as a great result.

Don King himself who i might add i have no time for, once said

"You don't get what you deserve in life you get what you negotiate"

When you think about it, in most walks of life that saying rings so very true.
Cheers Tosti

[Tosti]

Hi Wildhawke! I'm not sure 'bold' is a good description of what I said. If the animation screen develops down the lines that Jim outlined then fine, if it doesn't change then i'll still love playing it.
Cheers

[PyroFalkon]

At the moment, I don't mind the blurry graphics, save one thing... It's a little creepy to set up a women's match and still have male fighters doing the work. That keeps me up at night... *shivers*

Seriously though, I don't have a problem with either route. Improved graphics would be nice, but honestly, I played OOTP5 for a long time without needing anything more than the field during the game sims.

[wildhawke11]

We all differing feelings about what we would like to see in the game in regard to the graphic action pics.

My own personal feeling are though, right now to sort out what is already in the game. If you check out the folder called skins you will pics there of a fighters hand being raised and another of both fighters awaiting the refs decision.

They are just screaming out to be put on view in the announcing of the result of the fights screen.

All in all though i am sure one thing we can agree on, is that Jim and Co can be proud of what they have produced, and its well on its way to becoming a true Classic.
Cheers Gentleman

[doors11]

wildhawke11

Those are the pictures that i was talking about about in my post to andreas..It would be nice to see those after a result od of fight.
I'm pretty sure that is what they are for..


I'm sorry if anyone thought my skin color request was racial.
I just wanted more realism. Like i said in my post, This makes High Heat much better..You can even make heads for the game that look like the players..Sure added to my 1960's teams to see thier faces. I'm not asking for this, just match the boxers up is all.

All i can really say is I think that this game is more than what Jim and Tom promised it would be..I love it. And i can wait for each improvement they have for it as they feel fit.

Each time they do something for this game,just makes it so much better.Each thing improves makes it even more fun.How many games do this?

Thanks Jim and Tom, Andreas and everyone else.

[David Myers]

The very best thing that Jim and Tom can do to improve TBCB is to add more fighters!

More fighters before graphical improvements!