Where Does the Smackdown Series Go From Here?

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

I agree with this to an extent. I think you can combine the two from a feature standpoint though. You can have the career mode AND set up all the matches, etc. You can either choose to set up the storylines or have them play out automatically. My problem with GM mode is that it's been boring. Setting up storylines is just a generic way of building a show rating in the last couple GM modes. You should still get the cutscenes, backstage stuff etc. You can either choose to set up the stories and matches or build the matches around the stories as they play out. It would give a much more realistic feel to GM Mode. I just think better options, story, and user control would lead to much more satisfying experience. Plus, as some have alluded, GM Mode is basically what the story mode used to be. They just took out the story and even some of the control.

I'm with ya on this idea.

[TheShizNo1]

How is this on the PS2? Is CAF there also?

[statum71]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

I agree with this to an extent. I think you can combine the two from a feature standpoint though. You can have the career mode AND set up all the matches, etc. You can either choose to set up the storylines or have them play out automatically. My problem with GM mode is that it's been boring. Setting up storylines is just a generic way of building a show rating in the last couple GM modes. You should still get the cutscenes, backstage stuff etc. You can either choose to set up the stories and matches or build the matches around the stories as they play out. It would give a much more realistic feel to GM Mode. I just think better options, story, and user control would lead to much more satisfying experience. Plus, as some have alluded, GM Mode is basically what the story mode used to be. They just took out the story and even some of the control.

I'm with ya too. I've always wished the GM Mode way more than just satting up matches and watching show ratings. Seeing cutscenes and stuff WOULD make it HIGHLY replayable.

[DXZeke]

As for Reversals:

That's what the sliders are for! And they do work. I've turned them down so the harder difficulty levels aren't as such. That you do get a bit more offense in.

Sliders are helpful for any sports game. It gives the user control instead of being stuck with just one way.

[goh]

I think they need to can the whole thing and start over. I made a list in another topic about all the ways it's been going backwards so hopefully it's not going to keep going that way.

[JiggidyJames]

I thought this was the last year they had the license. Or was that just THQ as the publisher?

[Misfit]

I want a "real" GM mode which is why I haven't bought a Smackdown game since the first one with a GM mode came out (whatever year that was). I want a mode where I decide who is going to work with whom and what the outcome will be. The ultimate goal being to manage talent and compete agains the other GM's show in terms of ratings. Say I'm making Edge fight a bunch of hardcore or hell in a cell matches, maybe he complains that he wants more money if he's going to go through this type of stuff. Or perhaps Triple H doesn't like that I'm not using him i the main event. The unreal part of it would be that the other shows would be like seperate companies and you would have to compete for talent and operate within a certain budget. After every Wrestlemania you should get rewarded or penalized based on how well you did.

I think it would be a good marriage of the real and the fake side of wrestling and would make things enjoyable. You would also have the option of playing any match and the characters would have free will, so if someone is pissed that they're supposed to lose they might defy your orders. The mode would need a lot of tweaking and to make sure there isn't too much of that kind of stuff but I think its worth trying and would be a step forward for the franchise, and not a step back.

[bears5122]

They need to give people a reason to play it for longer periods of time. The bread and butter in sports games there days are the season/franchise modes. The SvR has not done enough to enhance this or make it enjoyable. While some of the storylines are interesting, the user has little power in how it goes over. Sometimes they completely make no sense. My suggestions:

1) Go back to the old season mode that allowed as many humans in the season as you want. Treat it like any other multi-user season mode in sports. They used to do this back on the PS2.

2) Build an internal ranking system that changes as wrestlers win/lose matches. Guys in the top 4 of each brand would be considered main eventers and viable WWE/World Championship contenders. Those 5-10 would be mid-carders competing for the Intercontinental title or just getting higher in the rankings. Matches early in the card mean less than main events, and PPV would count for bigger boosts as well.

3) Allow you to build alliances/enemies based on your interactions with wrestlers. Allow your wrestler to interfere and help a wrestler or hurt them in their match. These alliances or enemies would determine feuds and eventually stables. Those close alliances would be tag partners and allow you to compete for the title there.

I don't think this is all that complicated. Most sports games have franchise modes ten times more sophisticated. All you need is a nice ranking system, scheduling algorithm, and alliance/enemy system.

Online mode would be where this works best. You could have a CPU GM or a human one. Each week is treated the same as a week in NCAA football or whatever. Get your matches in and go to the next week. Keep track of title history, records, etc and it makes it a fun system to play with friends.