Official Fight Night Round 4 Thread

[Irish]

This game is still resides in Haymaker City. In the demo i can knock Hatton or Pacquio out in the first round only throwing haymakers

 

[stevsta]

Has anyone gotten a KO on the demo?

ive gotten one had to knock him down like 2 times in the 3 to do it though

 

[stevsta]

This game is still resides in Haymaker City. In the demo i can knock Hatton or Pacquio out in the first round only throwing haymakers

well guess what the cpu isnt fast enough or smart enough to just block or dodge really i can throw the uppercut 5 times and it will land 3 or 2 which is good odds but im thinking and hoping that users are smart enough to dodge and or block it

 

[BigBucs]

Some info and screens (sliders = nice for legacy mode!!)

Legacy Mode Features

-There will be LEGACY RATINGS to achieve from "Bum", "Prospect", "Club Fighter", "Contender", "Champion", "Superstar", "Hall of Famer", "Ring Legend" and "Greatest of All Time"

-These Legacy Ratings will have several achievements that each fighter will have to satisfy to move to the next like: win percentage, popularity level, rank, number of fights, televised/PPV events, winning titles, defending titles

-These achievements can be changed/tweaked by the user in Legacy Setup.

-Quick KOs will earn you more popularity. Longer 12-round wars will help you more in stats and can be rewarded with rematch request.

-There are ESPN Pay-Per-Views that fighters can fight on undercards or for main events.

-There are eight weight classes to fight in. Flyweight, bantumweight, featheweight, lightweight, welterweight, middle weight, light heavyweight, heavyweight.

-Each weight class will have 3 separate belts to win. One of which is called the EABF. It's logical to assume the other two are called the EABA and the EABC(or EABO).

-User fighters can move up weight classes. AI fighters will also move up and down weightclasses as well.

-Rilvaries in Legacy Mode are more fluid and sensible than in Round 3's career mode. In other words, if you and a AI fighter fought at welterweight in a 12-round battle, then it is likely there could be a rematch(or rubbermatch) in the middleweight division.

-There are rankings for each individual weight class as well as an overall pound-for-pound ranking.

-12 User CABs(Create-A-Boxer) can be supplemented into Legacy Mode at set up.

-"Legacy Central"(Legacy Mode main screen) will allow users to schedule their next fight, view their last fight(not watch), get advice from their trainer, view their popularity, rank and pound-for-pound rank.

-When fights are scheduled, it's done on a "Fight Calander". Each fight, when scheduled will feature several days preceeding the bout for training camp.

-There are six training games to choose from: "Open Sparring", "Stay on Your Feet", "Heavy Bag Combos", "Heavy Bag Push", "Double End Bag" and "Maize Bag"

-Each career in Legacy Mode begins with amateur bouts, which can be skipped.

-You can be called out by rivals or you can be pick or select lesser skilled fighters(ie tune-up/"Rocky" events)

-You can create your own fighter or use a fighter from the roster in Legacy Mode.

"Your Legacy Meter is made up of two things, your Popularity and your Pound for Pound rating. Your Popularity is based on how exciting your boxer is to watch: Does he knock people out, does he have 12 round wars? Your popularity can go up even if you lose, as long as you’re exciting. Your Pound for Pound rating is entirely different. It measures your technical proficiency. Do you waste punches? How’s your accuracy? Can you counter effectively? That 12 round slugfest you lost probably did wonders for your Popularity, but it won’t be helping your Pound for Pound rating, and you need both to become the greatest.

You’ll also be fighting against father time. Many boxers are way past their prime once they hit their late 30’s and the game will reflect that. As your fighter ages, doing the training exercises that once improved your stats will only sustain them, and eventually will only manage their decline. The good thing about Legacy mode is that what you must do to become the Greatest of All Time will be fairly clear. For example, at the end of your career you’ll be able to see that if you beat two more top contenders, you will be known as the greatest, but it won’t be easy because those fighters are deadly and if you lose to them you could be knocked out into retirement and obscurity."

 

[stevsta]

http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/232753.page;jsessionid=A8F727EFA789A4FA6F03C93F0E8BB055

some updates about the game and the demo

Update: 05-15-2009

Couple of quick things that I can speak about right away. First, for those interested timelines, the demo was locked down about 7 weeks ago in early, early April. As you might imagine, the final weeks of development is when a lot of the fine tuning and polishing gets completed. For example, off the top off my head:

1. Stamina. Stamina loss is a little higher and stamina regeneration is a little slower.

2. Punch connections. Landed punch collisions are cleaner and hit reactions have more intensity.

3. Cuts and Swelling. The onset is very fast in the demo. In the final version, depending on your susceptibility to damage you find that you might have several fights without incurring any significant damage - but then when it does happen, it really affects the way your fight plays out between rounds.

4. Punch Animations. Tweaks on many punches occurred after the demo was out the door to address performance/technique issues.

5. Gameplay Audio. The mix in the demo is not great and we know that. Lots of audio work was done in the final 6-7 weeks and it sounds much better.

6. Counter Punch Window. The counter window is roughly the same length, maybe a little shorter in the final version. But we tuned how often you can open it up. They don't happen as often overall.

7. AI Difficulty & Exploits. The final weeks were spent heavily invested in finding AI exploits like the hook spamming, body punch spamming, haymaker spamming, etc. It's tightened up quite a bit. Difficulty on the demo is pretty low, but we did that on purpose so people wouldn't get annihilated their first few fights.

8. Foot Speed & Locomotion. Little bit faster overall, but also behaves much better changing directions and maintaining distance to opponent when moving laterally.

9. HUD & Settings. There is an option to turn off HUD in final game. Options to change camera too. Gameplay sliders to adjust power, damage, speed and CPU behaviors.

10. Miscellaneous Hatton has his new tattoos. Shane Mosley's name is spelled correctly. As mentioned previously, several of the boxers overall ratings have been updated/balanced.

Hope that helps. More info to come when its available.

 

[stevsta]

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/994/994933p1.html

more info on the legacy mode including a fight and training with a created boxer

 

[mfbmike]

Fuck, this latest information has me stoked!

Thanks nurga.

 

[stevsta]

more updates for problems in the demo

Update 6-15-2009 from Brian Hayes

Some players have said that the Bob and Weave is not responsive enough and takes to long to pull off.
It is somewhat of an advanced technique and not 100% in the demo. People were picking it up at E3 pretty quick.

However, here are some tips: it’s important to do the quarter circle movement relatively quickly and in one single motion. It doesn’t work if you are already holding the stick up or down and then roll it towards the opponent, or if you do it in two parts.

Straight Right Hands need a Haymaker Modifier and the current Straight Right Hands feels like it has no Pop to it. Visually, it does not look like the fighter leans into the punches.

We have tweaked the straight right hands in the final version to get more pop on them. The haymaker modifier only works on hooks and uppercuts though. That is something we will investigate for DLC.

When you import CABs that will be CPU controlled into legacy mode I hope their attributes do not change and you can set their record before you start the legacy. Ex. I create Margarito, can I make his record 37-6 and have it stay that way when I import him as a CPU controlled CAB? Fighters you create and import in Legacy Mode need to keep their Records and Attributes you give them.

Fighters you create keep their attributes but you cannot create their records for Legacy Mode. The CPU Boxer Retirement logic takes the boxer’s record into account, so if you were to enter the boxer’s true records they would almost always retire before you ever met them in the rankings. Furthermore, since all the boxers in Legacy Mode are fighting each other behind the scenes any record you enter for them would change after a period of time during Legacy Mode. But again, they do retain the Boxer Attributes you give them if you are importing them into Legacy Mode as opponents.[/i]

How about longer Ring Entrances
This is something we will investigate for DLC.

More suspense for Decision readings and reading the official score card before actually showing the winner.
The post fight flow has changed since the demo.

 

[BigBucs]

New Videos. Dude playing is garbage.

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...s/figh4_gmp_thomashearnsvsshanemos_61509.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...os/fight4_gmp_royjonesvsjoecalzagh_61509.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...ideos/fight4_gmp_natewhitevsjermai_61509.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...ideos/fight4_gmp_jorgearcevsnonito_61509.html

 

[stevsta]

New Videos. Dude playing is garbage.

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...s/figh4_gmp_thomashearnsvsshanemos_61509.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...os/fight4_gmp_royjonesvsjoecalzagh_61509.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...ideos/fight4_gmp_natewhitevsjermai_61509.html

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/...ideos/fight4_gmp_jorgearcevsnonito_61509.html

lol @ the jab jab jab jab jab jab haymakers x5 combos

 

[Point Blank]

New Blog - http://blog.fightnight.easports.com/archive/2009/06/16/r-e-a-l-ai-in-fight-night-round-4.aspx

R.E.A.L. AI in FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4

Hey everyone, I’m the AI Lead for Fight Night Round 4, and I’d like to take you on a tour of the work my team has done and give you a glimpse of what you’ll be enjoying come June 25th! A few months ago, when our producers started taking the stage and unveiling massive feature sets and unprecedented visuals, one of the announcements was that we’re going to be featuring REAL AI. I’d like to give you a glimpse of how this new technology will bring our extensive boxer roster, past and present, to life in Fight Night 4.



Styles make fights

One of our biggest features for Round 4 has got to be the addition of in-fighting through the use of physics, not just because we’re able to give our fans the most realistic boxing experience ever, but it gives my AI team a bigger canvas to work on. It gives us the opportunity to use contrasting styles to highlight what boxing strategy is all about. With the addition of the inside fighter, we can challenge the user to stay at jab’s length if they’re playing as Ali, or challenge them to get in past the jab if they’re fighting against him. You really do need to play differently based on your reach and your opponents reach.

Positioning in the ring is also very important as a boxer. Working an outside fighter AI into a corner can take some skill, you have to learn to cut off the ring and use your punches to overwhelm the opponent, while avoiding the jab flurry. Once you have him in the corner, make your shots count or else the tables could turn and the hunter can become the hunted!
We feature 7 main boxing styles: Conventional, Boxer Puncher, Brawler, Inside, Outside, Counter Puncher and Unconventional. But the differentiation doesn’t end there, our team watched a lot of classic footage over the entire project, and we’ve been adjusting the AI to represent the uniqueness of each boxer style and punch output.

R.E.A.L. AI

R.E.A.L. stands for Record, Evaluate, Adapt and Learn. These actions are the key to the AI Technology that has been developed over the past few years and is really on the cutting edge of how AI in games is made. One of the major differences in the AI in Fight Night is that it is now completely data driven. In Round 3, each boxer style actually had hard coded punch combinations which made the game very repetitive. Using R.E.A.L. AI technology, our production and testing teams taught the AI System how to move, punch, block and counter by playing the game as the boxer they wanted to create. We’re able to reproduce all the fluid movements available to us from the Physics engine. In Round 4, each boxer has thousands and thousands of individually recorded sequences, making sure no two fights are ever the same!


If that wasn’t enough, the R.E.A.L. AI technology allows us to adjust the specific boxer styles for specific boxers, because even within boxing styles boxers are unique. Ali hardly throws to the body, Frazier’s sweeping hook combinations, Roy Jones Jr’s tendencies to throw leading rights and the list goes on and on.


Difficulty Levels

Fight Night 4 features 4 different difficulty levels that have been tuned to fit all player styles. Amateur is great for new users wanting to experience Fight Night for the first time, Pro satisfies most of our regular gamers. For those users that have been playing Fight Night for a while, Champion difficulty level will give you a good run for your money. During production we looked at all of our user feedback and we wanted to give those who love the series something to keep them challenged. We added a fourth difficulty level just for them! If you’re looking for the fight of your life, challenge Tyson to a heavyweight fight on G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), you might just be able to get an achievement or trophy out of it, (just watch out for that uppercut!!).

Data Driven

The change to use a fully data driven system allows us to do things on a scale never before possible. Traditionally, AI is typically a set of rules that the CPU follows based on a set of conditions. IF this, THEN do this. You can imagine that then the AI is limited to only the conditions listed by the programmer. When you move to a data driven system, like REAL AI, you’re able to make connections from game states to actions that is difficult to comprehend. I made the image above a few months ago of what Mike Tyson’s AI ‘Brain’ looks like as trained by our experts. Each connection represents the relationships between actions and game situations, tens of thousands in total. Isn’t that so cool?

 

[stevsta]

Difficulty Levels

Fight Night 4 features 4 different difficulty levels that have been tuned to fit all player styles. Amateur is great for new users wanting to experience Fight Night for the first time, Pro satisfies most of our regular gamers. For those users that have been playing Fight Night for a while, Champion difficulty level will give you a good run for your money. During production we looked at all of our user feedback and we wanted to give those who love the series something to keep them challenged. We added a fourth difficulty level just for them! If you’re looking for the fight of your life, challenge Tyson to a heavyweight fight on G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), you might just be able to get an achievement or trophy out of it, (just watch out for that uppercut!!).]

i really want to try out that difficulty (G.O.A.T.)hopefully the cpu can give me a run for my money

 

[stevsta]

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/994/994965p1.html

already been posted but you could quote the ign article

 

[nflman2033]

oh god I can't wait

 

[stevsta]

http://www.gamespot.com/sports/blog...-on-with-legacy-mode.html?tag=topslot;title;2

The road to championship gold in Fight Night Round 4 is a long one, and that's no more evident than in Legacy mode. Like the rest of this fourth entry in the Fight Night series, Legacy mode is a revamp and reimagining of the straightforward career mode found in earlier versions of the game. And while there's nothing here that will totally reinvent career modes from the ground up, Legacy mode has enough significant improvements to make it one of the highlights in a game that looks to be filled with them.

In fact, the nuts and bolts of Legacy mode are as clear-cut as can be: you create a boxer from scratch, train his skills on a periodic basis, enter him in as many fights as possible, and try to take his career from zero to hero. It's the refined presentation that tells the Legacy mode story--as well as the absolutely ludicrous amount of data the game records--that makes it so special.

I started off my Legacy career by creating a heavyweight who was close to my 6'1" frame (a big mistake, I later learned, and will discuss a bit later). While you can use an existing boxer in career mode, if you're anything like me, you'll want to dive into the create-a-boxer fun. The creation tools display the typically obsessive detail that you find in the best create-a-player features and you can use a camera like the XBL vision camera to import your face into the game. You'll be able to customize everything from the look of your fighter (including body style, eye color, and so on), to his demeanor when making his way to the ring, as well as his ring entrance music (choosing from a large list of provided tunes or from playlists you've created yourself).

If you like customizing your boxer's look, you'll love the gear customization options, which lets you choose everything from the exact color combination for your boxing gloves (the purple, pink and green monstrosities I created strike fear into my opponents' hearts) to the text that appears on the back of your trunks. Everything can be customized: gloves, trunks, socks, shoes, mouth guard, even your ring entrance robe--all of it can be tuned to your preferences.

The game has seven "style" options for customization as well. They are:

• Boxer Stance -- Orthodox, southpaw
• Boxer AI (controls what type of fighter he is when you simulate fights) -- Boxer, brawler, slugger, unconventional, counter puncher, boxer/puncher, infighter, outfighter.
• Boxer Style (controls how boxer holds hands and how he moves in his stance) -- Balanced, upright, textbook, peekaboo, power, wild, mummy, speed, slickster, smooth, hyper, crazy, easy, sniper, steady, high rise, old school,
• Block Style -- Textbook, Philly shell, cross,
• Punch Style -- Balanced, power, speed
• Best Punch -- Straight, left hook, right hook, left uppercut, right uppercut, jab
• Signature Punch -- Bolo lead hook, bolo lead uppercut, bolo rear hook, bolo rear uppercut, chinfake straight, ducking lead hook, ducking lead uppercut, head fake lead hook, head fake straight, shuffle straight

All of these style choices affect not just how your boxer controls in the ring, but how effective he is as well. For example, choosing a "balanced" Boxer Style offers slightly higher foot speed than if you choose the "upright" Boxer Style. Conversely, "upright" will give you slightly improved block strength over the "balanced" style.

Once your boxer has been created, you'll move on to the meat of Legacy mode: namely making a name for yourself in the boxing world. Unlike the Fight Night 3's relatively stale ladder system, Legacy mode in FN4 feels more like a proper boxing "world" that you are part of. You'll get e-mail from your trainer and manager, there are end of the year awards in all weight classes that you can be nominated for, and you always plenty of information at hand, both about your career and when scouting your next opponent.

The central component of Legacy mode is the calendar, which you'll use to schedule fights, training sessions, and your rest in between matches. Before you can start scheduling fights, you'll need to make your way through a series of fights in an amateur tournament. Luckily, most of the guys you face are tomato cans and you'll have little trouble getting through them. That said, the competition stiffens once you go pro, especially if you don't make the most of the few training opportunities you have.
Depending on the amount of time you have between fights, you'll typically have just one training session available to you so you'll want to make sure you make the most of it. There are six training minigames to play and, while you can simulate training, you'll only gain the maximum benefit by playing them and doing well. The six training games are:

• Open Sparring -- Box against a sparring partner. You score points by hitting your opponent, and avoiding his punches. Points are deducted for missing punches or getting hit. Sparring benefits head and body toughness, as well as your chin rating.
• Stay On Your Feet -- The goal here is to simulate keeping away from an opponent when you're dazed. You start the round with low health and stamina and must try and stay on your feet as long as possible, avoiding your opponent's punches. This training activity benefits your heart, chin, and head movement ratings.
• Heavy Bag Combos -- Hit the heavy bag with punches your trainer calls out (and are shown on screen). Not only does this activity boost your punch accuracy and block strength ratings, it also demands accuracy on the right analog stick and should improve your overall skills in the game as a result.
• Heavy Bag Push -- You move a heavy bag down a track by punching high or low and the further you move it down the track, you'll score more points. This one is great for your boxer's stamina, heart, and punch power ratings.
• Double End Bag -- As you circle around a bag, your goal is to move to specific zones indicated by the game and punching quickly. Hitting zones correctly in succession will earn you point modifiers as you go and this training activity boosts your punch accuracy, foot speed, and stamina ratings.
• Maize Bag -- My personal favorite of the bunch, the maize bag will put your bobbing and weaving to the test. You lean side to side as a maize bag swings back and forth, then throw punches at the correct moment. Stringing together successive combos will earn you point modifiers. This training activity boosts your head movement, block strength, and hand speed ratings.

Because you have so few chances to train, one bad training session can often be a significant factor in your next fight. String together a couple of bad training sessions together and you'll wish you had chosen a lower-rated fighter as your next opponent. The boxing AI in Fight Night 4 is one of the more underrated aspects of the game; the more time I spent with the game, the more it impressed me, even if I did find myself on the mat more than once as a result.

You see, my created heavyweight boxer is only a heavyweight in name. At 6'1" he's a bit short to be effective against the bigger guys in the weight class, often giving up a significant advantage in reach. This problem is compounded by the fact that I wanted him to be an outside, jab-first type fighter. If I'd been smart, I'd have done one of two things: 1) Moved him to light heavyweight where his height would be more in line with the top-tier competition or 2) Made him an inside fighter. When you compound his size problems with a bad training session or two, it's no wonder that I've lost as many fights as I have.

In the ring, the problem of a short outside fighter is compounded by the fact that jabs and straights actually do matter in this game. Not only can you score points just from landing the punch but, if you land a few combos, you'll be able to back the AI up, even with punches that don't seem to be doing that much damage individually.

The AI's willingness to change up its fight strategy as you continue into the later rounds is one of the game's most impressive strengths, and while knockdowns and KOs are certainly possible, you'll also frequently see your AI opponents go the full distance, changing their strategy from an offensive strategy early on, to a defensive one as the fight continues. Furthermore, any opening you give it will be exploited. I've had several fights where I was winning on points, got a little greedy towards the latter rounds and started looking for a knockout, only to have the CPU make the most of my sloppy punching and reverse the fight on me.

The second aspect of FN4's AI is one that's a bit more subtle but has a marked effect on each fight: fighter positioning. Blocking and head movement are absolutely essential skills in FN4, as they are the key to the counterpunching feature. If you dodge a punch with a head bob, or manage to block it at precisely the right moment, you'll get a small window of time where you can land a powerful counterpunch. The mechanic feels a bit forced--the action in the ring temporarily slows down, making it obvious that you have this counterpunch opportunity--but its effectiveness is undeniable. That said, the AI is adept at always positioning itself so as to make dodging a challenge.

For example, a typical strategy when you get in trouble is to take a small step backwards, looking to open up just enough space between you and your opponent to make leaning back to avoid a punch that much easier. The AI, however, is not fooled, and will close that distance to make sure your fighter is within range of its punches. And while the strategy of body positioning changes if you are playing as an inside fighter, the overall result is more jockeying for position in the ring than I initially gave the game credit for, and better fights to boot.

As you complete fights, you'll move up and down the rankings, depending on your results you're your reputation will increase and decrease accordingly. Eventually your goal will be to become the greatest of all time and there's a progression system that will judge your career based on factors like number of championship belts held, popularity ranking, and winning percentage. The game also records extremely detailed fight stats, showing the type of punches thrown, where they were aimed, and how successfully they landed. In the career hub, you can also check out your entire fight history (all the way down to a round-by-round basis) and see your average fight punch stats as compared to all of the rest of the fighters in your weight class.

Even if Fight Night Round 4's Legacy Mode isn't rewriting the rules of sports game career modes, it's certainly giving it a fresh coat of paint with slick presentation and an easy-to-use interface. I haven't seen much in the way of out-of-ring activities, such as press interviews, or trash-talking your opponent, and while those kinds of things would be welcome, their absence doesn't detract from the overall fun of Legacy Mode. Fight Night Round 4 is due for release next week.

 

[James2Stapleton]

Im pretty sure that this game will have like an online mode where you can fight other people for an online title etc. And I think that there's a legacy mode where you can create a brand new boxer and have a career. You can also take a photo of your face and upload it to the game and it creates your face on the game. Also, you can upload you created character to the interwebz and people can vote & download different created characters.

 

[mfbmike]

Sounds sick. Now lets just hope we can take screenshots like we can in MLB. Thatd be sick for like careers and shit.

YES MASSAH

So when's this shit coming out again? I'm getting the itch.

 

[JrRawlins]

that shit looks nuts...... cant wait.....

 

[Archer]

OH MY GOD I CANT CONTROL MYSELF!!!!

As you can see by my all caps i am visibly excited for this game

Cant wait for the 27th (UK release)

 

[mfbmike]

Srsly, the fucking release date has been moved around so much I'm confused as to when I should take my ass to gamestop and pick this shit up.