Spanish Conquerors… Because if you didn’t had steel and firearms in XV century, you just lost at Civilization.
Good work, guys!
As a fighting game fan for decades, EC was always a favorite of mine. The graphics, the fighting system, the deep storyline, the diverse characters, and of course the violent finishing moves made EC a really special franchise. Putting it into context, I was roughly 16 when Eternal Champions (and CFTDS) were out.
In recent years, the fighting game community has seen phenomenal reboots (Mortal Kombat), introduction of new franchises (Injustice), as well as a return of a nearly forgotten cult favorite, Killer Instinct. When I saw EC was being floated out there, honestly, I nearly lost it.
My excitement aside, I do have some suggestions, most of which are echoed here, but I still feel compelled to state my feelings.
Take your time!
The one thing NetherRealm Studios (NRS) does exceptionally well is offer an immersive experience; their visuals, UIs, audio score, story telling, and attention to fine details is superb. They treat their games like an art form. They accomplish this because they take years to produce their games. They never rush just to get something out to market and patch it up using a “seasonal” model.
Take your time, don’t rush, and get it right. Wow the fighting game community (FGC) with a polished, thoughtful, complete product from the start. Will it be perfect? Nope, but optically if it at least feels like effort was put into it, then the FGC is usually more forgiving about patches.
Buck the trend. Don’t do “seasonal”.
I was thrilled in 2013 when Killer Instinct was announced to be making a return after 16-17 years of dormancy. I was less-than-thrilled about the “seasonal” roll-out Microsoft had planned. It forced Double Helix to put out a broken mess at the launch and Iron Galaxy had to scramble to get out content under tight deadlines month after month for two years.
In the extra content of the “Definitive Edition”, various producers, leads, artists, clearly state they were under a lot of pressure to shove content out the door. The result is an unprofessional, half-baked, unbalanced mess that’s left to the FGC to clean up via constant feedback. It felt like the QA/QC process was intentionally shouldered onto the FGC.
Street Fighter 5 is doing a similar “seasonal” delivery of content and, like KI, it’s been received with mixed-to-negative reviews. Personally, I don’t think it works using a seasonal delivery system, others may disagree, but given how KI and SF5 handled it, I think it’s clear.
EC has a lot of great classic characters and to have to endure a drip, drip, drip wait again to see all them return could seriously hinder a reboot of EC. If EC can be brought to market in a more complete, well-tested package, all the better.
Embrace nostalgia!
The mockup with Trident and his Atlantis stage heralds back to the original EC game(s) with a modern update. That’s exactly what needs to be done across the board. Update and modernize, but clearly and proudly nod to EC’s past. Never, ever undervalue the effects of nostalgia and exploit it shamelessly!
Netcode needs to be near-perfect
SF5 and even MK XL (up until the netcode update) were terrible to play online. Fighters are meant to be played online so netcode needs to be spot-on. A large amount of focus and consideration needs to be on netcode. This isn’t the days of XBAND where laggy dialup matches were the norm.
Marketing: Build hype!
Slick trailer videos, official and high-quality renders of characters, an official web site, are all needed to garner interest and hype. Being consistent with how info is released is key too. It’s annoying having to check Twitter for one thing, find something different on Facebook, go to “X” site for an exclusive reveal, etc. Keep all channels in tune so it’s not confusing for people to hear what’s new, what’s coming, or whatever.
DLC
DLC is inevitable these days. However, it’s highly insulting when a dev/publisher throw a popular/most request piece of content behind a DLC wall. Also, DLC should be a “surprise”. Say EC is out for a bit, had a few balance patches etc released. Ok, surprise the FGC with some new content. These days DLC is announced, in detail, even before games are released.
I would rather enjoy a complete game for a bit, learn characters, play a story mode, etc then be wowed with some new DLC content that was never announced or expected. DLC is predictable to the point know where it’s not even considered “additional content” to bolster a game, but rather it is “cash cow content”.
Guest characters
Please don’t do it. Injustice 2 already is going to have two MK characters and KI had three sigh. EC does not need guest characters, especially on a reboot. I want to be reintroduced to the EC characters I haven’t seen in ages without guest characters grabbing the spotlight. Guest characters always come across to me as something needed because the rest of the game can’t stand on its own merits. I understand the marketing aspect of it to make money and get attention, but it always feels like a cheap, easy cop-out.
**Accessibility **
There are a lot of great gamers out there who are blind, deaf, or have other disabilities. They play games too and are very good! I would hope during the dev of EC, thought is put into how the game can be made more accessible to those with disabilities using subtitles, animations, and audio cues.
I apologize for the long, long post, but I am really excited and passionate about seeing a new EC game come to fruition! I have waited over twenty years for a new EC game and I simply want it to return with the glory and respect it deserves! The fact you are already soliciting input from the FGC, this gives me hope it can be pulled off!
[quote=“affinity, post:22, topic:182340”]
sega better not tamper with it nor mess it up like they ruined Shining Force and Valkyria Chronicles’s new game.
and they should use Challenge from the Dark Side as a foundation for roster size and ultra violence, even if its a new spiritual successor IP under a different publisher
[/quote]OMG, someone linked my video! That’s awesome!
Does Chin Wo and Thomas Blast Chavez count as well?
Would like to see some one from the Aztec era too.
Well guys, here is your chance! SEGA will outsource + revive old IPs.
As a fan of both Killer Instinct and EC, I can barely contain my excitement. My favorite game has already been remade and now my second favorite game is getting remade. I feel happy and old all at the same time…
Please don’t forget the battle room with an option for the old school battle room music.
Also a random story idea. Every fighter should have a rival like the gladiator that trident was battling when he died and during the eternal champion boss fight with the final form of the boss is a powered up version of that fighters rival sort of like how King of fighters had Orochi Iori. If the game does well, down the line the rival fighters could even be playable characters in a dlc.
So… Any news?
Was wondering the same thing
They’re probably in pre-alpha building the engine, the team is small and they still don’t know if Sega will be envolved. There’s nothing much to show us besides these type of mockups, it will take time to do something more interesting for the public.
Any luck with this game?
Last I heard, back in May, Sega was going to work on reviving “major IPs” which one would assume would include EC. They outlined a roadmap to 2020 which seemed to lean towards making Sega a household name again.
As for the EC reboot, I’m sure tons is going on in the background but since it’s not even pre-alpha stage we’ll have to wait (im)patiently. 
If they revive this, I hope that it gets the “Fighting EX Layer”, “Mortal Kombat” & “Killer Instinct” treatment in which they were reboots.
There’s only like what, 15 characters (barring clones & animals)?
1.) Blade
2.) Blast
3.) Chin Wo
4.) Dawson
5.) Jetta
6.) Larcen
7.) MidKnight
8.) R.A.X.
9.) Ramses III
10.) Raven
11.) Riptide
12.) Shadow
13.) Slash
14.) Trident
15.) Xavier
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I see that another Sega IP, Streets of Rage, is being put to use with the upcoming release of Streets of Rage 4. Curious to know if there’s any updates about “Eternal Successors”? The suspense is killing me!
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i want to know about Eternal Success aswell.