Hey Nick, nice to have you in the forums!

I definetely agree with the wide array of submissions, aim to reduce lag to a minimum online (I'm from the UK and the lag in undisputed made it unplayable, so please don't forget about people outside of the states!), grand prix mode with injuries sustained being taken forward sounds GREAT.

Obviously, you're working from the FNR4 engine so the physics are very good to start with, but my philosophy would be, especially with 4oz MMA gloves, if a big shot hits you right on the button you should go down or be rocked. So yeah, just basically setting what level of force is needed and where it needs to hit on someone's chin for a knockout to happen, taking into account how much the head is thrown to the side would be a good way to go about the knockout system. Rather than a'la undisputed where to get a flash KO your opponent has to be halfway through a punch of his own wtf? So for me, its physics, physics, physics

Also a replay theatre where you can save, edit, change camera angles, slow bits down, cut different clips together and upload them to the net etc would be AMAZING. It means we could create classic/dream match ups and post them for all to see - people would love it!

With submissions, I think maybe some kind of system with the analogue stick might be cool, e.g. you have to break the right way in relation to your opponent while the opponent has to try and turn into your body. Some kind of representation of the real motions involved rather than just button mashing would be excellent.

A relatively minor point, but entrances in full would be very nice to see. ESPECIALLY if you got DREAM on board (not that you would admit that yet :twisted. Lenne Hardt (i.e. crazy screaming lady) announcing would blow most people on this forum's mind, believe me. lol, Also, if you do plan to have multiple announcing teams, you should approach Michael Schiavello, he does a great job with the dream promotions and could be a valuable asset in conveying enuthusiasm and bringing authenticity.

Customisation of logos, banners behind fighters etc would also be very welcome - allowing us to create our own organisations, select rings or cages, colour schemes etc and maybe host our own leagues/tournaments online. That would be very cool too.

Hope to hear feedback from you on everyone's topics soon, thanks for your time and messages!

Hey Nick,

I think that the defining gameplay point about EA MMA has to be the ground game. It's what will seperate MMA games from other fighting games. I don't know what is possible to do, but a really fluid ground game would be great. UFC Undisputed was to rigid - you could spend quite a while just lying on a guy when that really doesn't happen in MMA. Also, the positions in the ground game in Undisputed were poor. Obviously Guard, Half-Guard, Side Control and Mount had to be the main ones, but slight variations on the would be nice. But overall, a more fluid ground game will be a great start.

I'm sure the stand-up will be great. If it's anything like FN4 it will be awesome, but I'd really like to see body/leg kicks actually hurt a person. If a fighter does not check a leg kick in a real fight, he's going to feel it, he might stumble or something, but he'll definatley show a reaction to a good leg kick. If possible, thats what the game needs to be like. Another thing is Knockouts and Knockdowns. When a fighter is rocked, it would be great to be able to actually see himget worse as strikes are coming down on him. Also, it would be great if refs (Big John) actually got in & stopped the fight, not telling you to get off a guy 10 seconds after the fight has finished like Undisputed.

Also, would you be able to give us any info on what the controls will be. Will the analogue stick be used for striking, what will you use to control the ground game? Obviously you won't be able to go into massive detail but any general info would be great.

I dont know how much say you have on the Career mode aspect of the game, but I will say that thats the mode I spend 99 percent of my time in, in all sports games. A great idea would be to have online incorporated into the career mode, there should be a quick fight option in career mode where it pits you against somebody ranked around the same as your fighter, or online tournaments should also all be part of the career mode.
But the single player experience in career mode I think should be somewhat similar to what we saw in Virtua Tennis 2k2, where you could travel around the world, train at various locations, choose to compete in different events. You would have a world ranking so certain events would require certain ranks. You would sign with organizations, and sponsors, exclusive signings to open contracts...training should play a big part in career mode, make the mini games fun, but not button mashing. For example, you would hit pads with the same button combinations you use in the actual fights...some training like weights and cardio would be tied in with some of the same button combinations you use in fights, etc

hey nick glad to see you on the forums.

just wanted to know if you can let us in on a bit of the ground game at least from an animations stand point. is it going to be 1 animation per position or what?

Thanks for joining us Nick.

Ok, let me get out as much as I can,
First, thanks for making me feel welcome, you guys are great.
Second I’m going to touch as much as I can here (And cleverly skip over stuff I can’t talk about)
Crowds: very important and we’ve got our Oscar winning audio dev working on it right now – Fighting is all about giving the fans a good show and crowd sounds are one way to measure that.
Controls: Buttons and analog sticks very similar to our sister game, FN4
Online Modes: Stay tuned…
Commercial: We’re all big fans of MMA here and have a tremendous amount of respect for the fighters – we wanted to Commercial to be a glimpse into what we have to offer but still not show either fighter getting the upper hand. For our sake… sometimes they come to my office…
Ground Game: Ah, very near and dear to my heart. It’s a highly complicated and extremely subtle set of actions – very difficult to simulate in a video game. On top of that it is still largely misunderstood by western fans (have we ever heard booing during a highly technical grappling match?) one of my challenges has been to teach as many people as I can about the details of Grappling to help them appreciate MMA even more. And with this game we’re starting with that mindset. Once the basics of ground game are understood and built into the game anything is possible. Add the ability to punch a guy in the face and now you’ve got a fight.
Grappling is the chess match – you have to know what your plan is before you get there and be confident you can execute it from anywhere. When striking, you can swing for the fences and come out on top, but there no such thing as a “grapplers chance” to win the fight, it’s a methodical, planned victory.
Ronaldo Jacare: hmm, I’ll think about it.
Clinch: to me it’s just one of the ranges you must learn to handle in MMA easily as important as stand up striking or grappling, some people know how to use the clinch very well. Randy Couture is clearly a master of that range.
Grappling, High skill verses low skill: Basically, nothing should be completely impossible. Even though we are building a simulation sports game – it’s still a game so we must keep that in mind. That being said, with some fighters, depending on their training, it can be harder to stop than others.
Fights ending at anytime: We discussed at length here and in public that everything happens for a reason and it’s not hidden numbers, this includes that a fight could end at anytime. I just want you to know WHY. If you walk into a fight without thinking of your exits, your angles and your defense the odds of putting your head in a great position to get knocked out are pretty high. Right on the button when you are exposed equals big trouble. In the meantime, you know the rules: “protect yourself at all times...”
Variation: This is key in sports simulation games, variety is what makes life interesting and Sports unpredictable – we’re working really hard to that end. We are lucky enough to be working with very robust foundation of FN4 where Ali fought like Ali in real life with speed and long jabs and Tyson fought inside and rough like he did in real life.

cem_ea_id.EA_NickLaing wrote:Ok, let me get out as much as I can,
First, thanks for making me feel welcome, you guys are great.
Second I’m going to touch as much as I can here (And cleverly skip over stuff I can’t talk about)
Crowds: very important and we’ve got our Oscar winning audio dev working on it right now – Fighting is all about giving the fans a good show and crowd sounds are one way to measure that.
Controls: Buttons and analog sticks very similar to our sister game, FN4
Online Modes: Stay tuned…
Commercial: We’re all big fans of MMA here and have a tremendous amount of respect for the fighters – we wanted to Commercial to be a glimpse into what we have to offer but still not show either fighter getting the upper hand. For our sake… sometimes they come to my office…
Ground Game: Ah, very near and dear to my heart. It’s a highly complicated and extremely subtle set of actions – very difficult to simulate in a video game. On top of that it is still largely misunderstood by western fans (have we ever heard booing during a highly technical grappling match?) one of my challenges has been to teach as many people as I can about the details of Grappling to help them appreciate MMA even more. And with this game we’re starting with that mindset. Once the basics of ground game are understood and built into the game anything is possible. Add the ability to punch a guy in the face and now you’ve got a fight.
Grappling is the chess match – you have to know what your plan is before you get there and be confident you can execute it from anywhere. When striking, you can swing for the fences and come out on top, but there no such thing as a “grapplers chance” to win the fight, it’s a methodical, planned victory.
Ronaldo Jacare: hmm, I’ll think about it.
Clinch: to me it’s just one of the ranges you must learn to handle in MMA easily as important as stand up striking or grappling, some people know how to use the clinch very well. Randy Couture is clearly a master of that range.
Grappling, High skill verses low skill: Basically, nothing should be completely impossible. Even though we are building a simulation sports game – it’s still a game so we must keep that in mind. That being said, with some fighters, depending on their training, it can be harder to stop than others.
Fights ending at anytime: We discussed at length here and in public that everything happens for a reason and it’s not hidden numbers, this includes that a fight could end at anytime. I just want you to know WHY. If you walk into a fight without thinking of your exits, your angles and your defense the odds of putting your head in a great position to get knocked out are pretty high. Right on the button when you are exposed equals big trouble. In the meantime, you know the rules: “protect yourself at all times...”
Variation: This is key in sports simulation games, variety is what makes life interesting and Sports unpredictable – we’re working really hard to that end. We are lucky enough to be working with very robust foundation of FN4 where Ali fought like Ali in real life with speed and long jabs and Tyson fought inside and rough like he did in real life.

suitably cryptic response in most areas lol, in all seriousness though, thanks for the feedback!

cem_ea_id.EA_NickLaing wrote:
Crowds: very important and we’ve got our Oscar winning audio dev working on it right now – Fighting is all about giving the fans a good show and crowd sounds are one way to measure that.

Can you suggest to them that they really capture the douche baggy tone of some American audiences? I don't mean that as an insult but if I'm fighting in America I want to hear really bad fight suggestions being screamed randomly from the crowd. Here are some suggestions.

"Knee him!"
"Break it!"
"He's in your world now!"
"WAR [insert fighter's name here]!"
"Don't tap to that!"
"He's tired!"
"Hand's up and chin down!"
"You suck!"
"Pull the trigger!"
"Power out!"
"Sweep the leg!"

im very happy to see where your priorities lie...

this is the best peice of news ive heard since Pride Rules......wait that was yesterday. THIS WEEK ROCKS!

cem_ea_id.EA_NickLaing wrote:Ok, let me get out as much as I can,
First, thanks for making me feel welcome, you guys are great.
Second I’m going to touch as much as I can here (And cleverly skip over stuff I can’t talk about)
Crowds: very important and we’ve got our Oscar winning audio dev working on it right now – Fighting is all about giving the fans a good show and crowd sounds are one way to measure that.
Controls: Buttons and analog sticks very similar to our sister game, FN4
Online Modes: Stay tuned…
Commercial: We’re all big fans of MMA here and have a tremendous amount of respect for the fighters – we wanted to Commercial to be a glimpse into what we have to offer but still not show either fighter getting the upper hand. For our sake… sometimes they come to my office…
Ground Game: Ah, very near and dear to my heart. It’s a highly complicated and extremely subtle set of actions – very difficult to simulate in a video game. On top of that it is still largely misunderstood by western fans (have we ever heard booing during a highly technical grappling match?) one of my challenges has been to teach as many people as I can about the details of Grappling to help them appreciate MMA even more. And with this game we’re starting with that mindset. Once the basics of ground game are understood and built into the game anything is possible. Add the ability to punch a guy in the face and now you’ve got a fight.
Grappling is the chess match – you have to know what your plan is before you get there and be confident you can execute it from anywhere. When striking, you can swing for the fences and come out on top, but there no such thing as a “grapplers chance” to win the fight, it’s a methodical, planned victory.
Ronaldo Jacare: hmm, I’ll think about it.
Clinch: to me it’s just one of the ranges you must learn to handle in MMA easily as important as stand up striking or grappling, some people know how to use the clinch very well. Randy Couture is clearly a master of that range.
Grappling, High skill verses low skill: Basically, nothing should be completely impossible. Even though we are building a simulation sports game – it’s still a game so we must keep that in mind. That being said, with some fighters, depending on their training, it can be harder to stop than others.
Fights ending at anytime: We discussed at length here and in public that everything happens for a reason and it’s not hidden numbers, this includes that a fight could end at anytime. I just want you to know WHY. If you walk into a fight without thinking of your exits, your angles and your defense the odds of putting your head in a great position to get knocked out are pretty high. Right on the button when you are exposed equals big trouble. In the meantime, you know the rules: “protect yourself at all times...”
Variation: This is key in sports simulation games, variety is what makes life interesting and Sports unpredictable – we’re working really hard to that end. We are lucky enough to be working with very robust foundation of FN4 where Ali fought like Ali in real life with speed and long jabs and Tyson fought inside and rough like he did in real life.

yyyeeaa!! this is game of the year in the making!

Glad I can help.

Awesome post Nick.
I get excited for the game by only reading about it..

BallPtPenTheif brought up a valid point.
If DREAM is really in the game then I would really like to fight in a quiet environment with a crowd that does go active when something happens, but remains calm during the actual fight. That would be awesome.

Also a change of volume for the American audience when landing a couple of nice shots would be great. It would be even better if they can actually boooo aswell (But please not during the grappling ).




As for the ground game, it is indeed alot like a chess game. I really hope it can be transfered into the game just like that. When striking theres always a chance for a upset, but during a grappling match you have to be really careful. I am looking forward to seeing more of this aspect of the game.

Also very glad that there is a realistic approach towards the knockouts. I mean, as long as you are defending properly there should be no reason to get knocked out unless your defense is broken by a big amount of shots (as in FNR4 but no idea what to call it).

And if the (previously mentioned by other dev) risk vs reward thing works out properly then I would love to see headkicks be as powerful as they should be. Being able to knock someone out with a single hit or either rocking them, but such a move still leaving a opening for the other player if not timed perfectly. But in the end, being safe, as long as you keep your hands up.

Could we spectate our friends fight online??? i want to see #1 in the world vs #2 or something like that ...

Okay, big gripe point from UFC-while mount is a dominant position, their method of countering out of mount was pathetically bad, especially when playing online. Their system works like this-you either have to (a) catch the punch of the opponent(I can see how that would be a bit tough), or (b)transition out(with 5 joystick motions of either major or minor transitions, no mixing(i.e. it has to be either one or the other-mixing them resets the count)). While I respect the power of the position, martial arts has shown many ways to break mount(bucking the hips, having some degree of guard and taking advantage of the opponent's fatigue, etc), especially considering that someone with a great degree of skill on the ground should have a better advantage in that position(I expect to see a BJ Penn escape faster than a "Crazy Horse" Bennett or a Kimbo Slice). Any thoughts on the way transitions will work in EA MMA, and how this will be remedied?

cem_ea_id.TapoutOrKnockout wrote:Could we spectate our friends fight online??? i want to see #1 in the world vs #2 or something like that ...

I am so hoping for a spectator mode, i would love it (if possible of course) if say a buddy is about ready to fight i get an invite to spectate his fight. maybe also have a filter, where as if i set this filter to "Top 50 fighters", if 2 fighters in the top 50 are about to fight i get an invite to spectate the fight.

obviously i would only want this IF it doesn't cause havoc with the fight itself, id rather have no spectator mode than have it lag up the fight.