IMPORTANT: There will be no system wars in this thread! You will be moderated if you bring up things that can, or will or straight up ignite a system comparison debate. Please if you can, try to talk more about the game than the system it is on. I will persuade people to abuse or troll flag mark those that just want to bring GameFAQs/Youtube bullshit. Keep the wars there.
If Killer Instinct being on the Xbox One does not fit what you are looking for in a Killer Instinct game, this thread does not fit you. You have been warned.
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This will be the new home for people who want to talk about Killer Instinct for Xbox One.
I will be using this first page to update with info regarding how the game is played, the basic mechanics and general FAQs for the game and the Xbox One. This game is being more fronted by legends in the fighting game scene than probably any other fighting game ever. This is truly a community effort fighting game and we need to emphasize that first.
MFING FULGOOOOOORRRREEEEE
NEC14 hosting First Official KI major in Philly this weekend!
http://bigegaming.com/killer-instinct-rules/
11/21 Launch trailer is out. Fulgore artwork revealed.
11/17 CD JR vs. Filthie Rich set at NLBC
11/6 Microsoft giving away Killer Instinct (all characters, most likely 20 dollar pack) FOR FREE! Must live in North America and supposedly have had Xbox Live for 10 years.
10/22 IGN showing off a TON of a new information on Halloween. Maximilian states "FINAL characters will be revealed"
10/1 Ryan Hart approves the Xbox One exclusive, Killer Instinct.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plpp&v=6h4rDuzLPWk
9/20 NEW: Sadira revealed, Orchid teased (dat booty is back) and Ken Lobb confirms that Shadow Jago is not one of the original 8 characters (yet will be available to those that purchase new year of XBL, details are still hush hush past that).
9/16 Mr.Wizard confirms that Evo will be all Xbox (except for PS3 exclusives). Meaning the entire tournament is most likely sponsored by Xbox. Which could possibly also mean KI is a shoe in for a main event at Evo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhUC_Dhkujo
9/4 Xbox One Launch Date Set
A new snippet of Sadira’s theme
https://vine.co/v/hJW1abapOle
9/3 : Sadira’s theme teased on Mick Gordon’s Vine.
-DRDOGG’s Pax Impressions http://www.doublehelixgames.com/forum/index.php?threads/pax-prime-impressions.2072/
9/1: Microsoft confirms Killer Instinct to be one of their “Xbox One eSports games” during a Halo tournament earlier today.
Gameplay changes part 2
8/29 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wyF4zuF5ckc
8/26: What do you REALLY GET with this Xbox Live deal?
Supposedly buy Xbox Live for 59.99 and get Killer Instinct Round One with Shadow Jago. Some people think this means you get all 8 characters + Shadow Jago for free if you buy Xbox Live. Which would essentially be like giving you the entire 19.99 Combo Breaker pack + an extra character. Hopefully this clears up soon so we can figure out if we can just buy a year of Xbox Live and not have to worry about actually purchasing the game.
-Overview of features/ideas/tidbits from E3. For those that just want a general synopsis of what features are in the game that make it worth the purchase. (text description below video)
Things I got from the video:
-GGPO/rollback style netcode. Wasn’t specifically said that they are using GGPO, but they confirmed they are using rollback netcode and that the creator of GGPO (Pond3r/inkblot of SRK fame) is helping them with the code. Meaning they’ll most likely actually be using GGPO.
-An explanation of the counter combo breaker system/what it is and how it works (they call them “bluffs” in the video)
-The way the announcers voice works (Will say “combo” after your combo if you cash out all the damage built up with a finisher, otherwise just says “master”, etc with no “combo” added to it.
-Ken Lobb himself feels like this is the KI he was trying to make back when he did KI 1
-If you can keep up with the lingo, the entire combat system is explained pretty well at about 30 minutes into it including linkers, manuals,frames,potential damage, KV meter (plays huge part in how long your combos can be), JUGGLE SYSTEM, difference between fierce and medium auto-doubles, hidden enders,
-They all check out this forum on a regular basis and read all the feedback/posts
-Updates and balancing will be done on the fly, wont have to wait for updates to be released they will just be downloaded automatically as soon as changes are made.
-Every characters different enders will do different things (extra damage, launcher, wall splay, refill meter, etc). You can do the ender that will best fit your needs in the moment.
- It has a “Super Deep” practice mode. They think most training modes in games “suck” and feel they have made a really nice training system.You will be able to watch tutorial videos as well using the xbox one snap feature while playing the game.
- They will be tweaking the game extensively after launch. - They are smart enough to know when to listen to the community, and when not to.
- They Hint at possible online tournaments
- They mention having a grappling character
- In depth explanation of Glacius’s gameplay mechanics
- Every combo breaker is a hard knockdown
- Quote from Ken Lobb “No Fucking way is this a free to play game.” Their goal giving Jago for free is trying to get as many people into the fighting game community as they can and are confident you will buy the game after playing it, and you do have the option just to buy the few characters you might want to play instead of the whole package.
- New features, characters, updates, etc will constantly be added. They are treating this as a long term investment. In this regard you will NOT have to buy newer, more updated version of the game. (unlike street figher… )
-They will show frame data in the moves lists.
-They are looking into being able to do different enders depending on player performance as mentioned in this very forum
-Every show they go to they will have a new playable character and tease another one as well and dont have a set number of characters yet, they want to grow the roster as long as people play the game
-Riptor was a girl
**: 8/23 FEMALE SPIDER WOMAN TEASED
Breakdown of Microsoft Stream.** New info on added features and teaser of weird/new character.
http://www.doublehelixgames.com/forum/index.php?threads/microsoft-stream-breakdown-new-info-teases.1346/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdNxtwZFZYY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
8/20: Pricing details for game revealed. 39.99 for Ultra Edition.
http://news.xbox.com/2013/08/gamescom-ki
8/8 Double Helix’s interview. Showing why they believe they can give you a product worth your money.
4 - Sabrewulf’s 75 percent damage, counter hit, 2 meter+instinct meter/mode, double lockout (opponent guessed wrong on combo breaker twice) combo.**** May not need to up the damage quite yet. http://www.twitch.tv/iebattlegrounds/c/2686684?t=3m40s
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For those worried about the online play, in the Evo panel it was said that the company is going to be using a rollback netcode similar to GGPO** (do not admit to using the exact same coding/brand). They are directly consulting with Tony Cannon/Pond3r (the creator of GGPO and one of the founders of SRK) on how to utilize the netcode.
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Extra info on how Killer Instinct One’s gameplay will work and what you should be thinking about that may be different compared to other fighters. In a game where combos are long and regular, the idea is to make a game where not every stray confirm is always leading to damage. Not to mention also stop people who try to break you out of your damage. The combos right now may seem like they don’t do enough damage or the combo breakers may seem to occur too often, but once you read the below and add in top level players…you may want to think a bit. Especially since doing the below successfully adds A LOT damage to combos.
Spoiler
Basically…you’ll want to have played poker before if you want to understand exactly how this game works compared to other fighting games. It’s a constant mind battle even during the combos and works around the idea of bluffs and reading that someone will bluff.
Bluff in poker = a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its profitability to the bluffer. By extension, the term is often used outside the context of poker to describe the act of making threats one cannot execute.
The idea is to read people and ALSO to read that the opponent is trying TO READ YOU. Reading that the opponent is trying to read you in this game is called a bluff (specifically utilized with the counter breaker). The bluff is the “I know you’re trying to stop my combo, so I will stop you from stopping my combo” strat. You make the opponent think you are going to bash them with your super duper strong hand of rapid auto doubles with Sabrewulf that are easy to read and counter break. You go for a counter breaker by pressing MP+MK when they try to combo breaker, you blow through their combo breaker and continue your combo. Which stops them from being able to combo break for a few seconds during the “lockout” phase.
Essentially from the Evo panel there’s a triangle of strategies as you’re being put in a combo. More akin to a real fight, there are no true combos and you don’t get anything guaranteed just because you are swinging attacks in succession. This is very radical in ideology compared to most 2d fighting games (or fighting games in general) where everything is rigid. You win a position in the spacing game, you get all of the damage from what you just hit confirmed. The only chance to get out being a burst mechanic in some anime/air dash games that recharges very slowly (on average will get access to the burst twice in a match at most) games and can be baited rather easily.
This in some ways in controversial, because in the past no fighting game that has worked around these types of mechanics has been heavily successful in tournament turnouts and general competitive player recognition. Dead or Alive has never gained a huge following in the tourney scene mostly due to this and it’s aesthetics. The closest to that is probably 3S, but your combos in 3S are always rigid with no breakers. It’s mainly the neutral game in 3S that only keeps adheres to the system and does so with not as much consequences as what is in KI.
Killer Instinct looks to change that. Keeping the neutral/footsies mostly rigid while allowing a lot of dynamics to be had during long combos instead of the typical “anime game style get put in a youtube video 1 player game” situation.
**The triangle of strategies/yomi during a combo is
1.Breakers beat Attacks
2.Bluffs beat Breakers
3.Attacks beat Bluffs**
Example of each scenario during a combo:
- Typical KI1/2 anime game combo breaker/burst strategy. You know the opponent is doing a combo on you and you know they’re doing the same canned part with the same move to maximize damage. You use a combo breaker/burst to get out of the combo. In Killer Instinct combo breakers are part of the engine in the same way that special moves are. There is no limit to how many times you can break a combo. There is only a penalty aka “lockout” for guessing a wrong breaker. In the older KI games there was no penalty as long as you eventually guessed right. Not anymore. Which is why knowing or feeling a pattern will be better than guessing.
Knowing this is typical for beating people who mash on easy execution HP/HK auto doubles (similar to chains) just to maximize damage quickly without much combo theory. Auto doubles can be broken much more easily than manuals (basically links) since you can break auto doubles during frames outside of their hit stun. Higher level play will revolve around the use of LP/LK, MP/MK auto doubles or manuals (links) to give the opponent less time to reaction break you and force it more towards a read or a guess. With the lighter doubles and manuals they will have to guess the type of attack and do it at the right, strict timing which will make the success rate for the breaker really low at that point.
- This is where things get interesting. As you’re doing combos you may be getting used to that typical heavy auto double combo or manual that gets you the damage. Let’s say you haven’t practiced the game enough to understand how to switch up your combos too much and the opponent gets pretty solid at catching the strict timing for your manual that you always use. You can then go “alright, you’re screwing me out of my max damage, so I’m going to catch you trying to break my combo and use your breaker against you”. If you press MP+MK you go into a stance mid combo. This stance does nothing, but break combo breakers. If successful you’ll blow through their breaker, be able to continue your combo as normal with a damage increase. On top of the damage increase they will be locked out of being able to break a combo again for 4 seconds. Giving you time to throw in your heavy auto doubles, rapid doubles or manuals and activate instinct mode for maximum damage.
This will be one of the key tools to use for those that think the game is too combo breaker heavy and want to keep their combos going against novice to average players who abuse the break system.
- Attacks beat bluffs. This is where the yomi during combos comes full circle. This won’t be necessary or seen a whole lot until high level play really kicks in. This is when you’re done going through all of the “I knew you thought I was going for max damage, so I stopped your attempt to stop my max damage”. Now the opponent can turn that table back on you again. “I know you knew that I thought you were going for max damage, so now I know you think that I think you’re going for max damage so you’re going to bluff and actually not have any real cards. I know you don’t have any cards and will punish you with my hand of combos instead. You thought I was a combo breaker masher, but I am beyond that and know you are scared of me mashing breakers.”
This is essentially the idea of setting the opponent into thinking you are going to break their combo, because you may have tried once or twice and succeeded or failed and got counter broken/bluffed. You catch their bluff and know they really don’t have an arsenal of weapons or big set of cards to throw at you. They try to catch you escaping their big combo, but you are patient and force them to whiff their counter breaker and now you are putting them in a combo. The circle is complete.
Lockouts: Lockouts are a new thing to strive for in Killer Instinct. Now that everything is breakable there’s a lot more incentive to get out of long combos. Well…as long as you don’t get locked out. Unlike the older KI games, you can’t just guess forever on getting out of a combo. If you really love combos and want to put someone in a big damage “put em in a movie” combo, you can still do so. You’ll just have to read into if the opponent is trying to break the combo or if you’re trying to stop the opponent from breaking your combo. If the try to break the combo and you mix up your doubles and manuals well enough, they time the breaker wrong or use the wrong breaker and get locked out. If they guess right on the combo breaker, BUT YOU KNOW they are going to combo breaker, you can counter breaker and they will also get locked out.
Once the opponent gets locked out, they can’t combo break again for 3 to 4 seconds (I believe it’s 3 for missed combo break, 4 for abusing combo break and getting counter broken). This also ups the damage and if a counter breaker caused this, resets the KV meter (potential hits you can do before person breaks out of combo without any penalty).
**NEW 7/29
- Added Buktooth to important people in the community you should know about working on the game.**
**-Preview of Chief Thunder’s theme on Mick Gordon’s Vine **
**- Mick Gordon’s soundtrack suite on YouTube. ** The guy who is working on the music for the game and he makes sure to pass all of the music to the original music composers of KI1 or 2. They have to approve the soundtrack before it gets put in the game. Also supposedly went to Southeast Asia to learn throat singing for Jago’s song.
[details=Spoiler]
[/spoiler=Mick Gordon teaser suite]
Legends of the FGC that working on/with this game that you should know more about:
FilthyRich Essentially the game’s Seth Killian. Working the hardest to ensure that the community is actively playing a role in what happens with the game and relaying what is happening to the community. Top Tekken player and many of his videos from Tekken 5 to Tag 2 are on youtube. His ability to stay calm and collected during the Xbox One booing at Evo shows he is the man for the job.
Ken Lobb One of the original developers for the KI team, resurrected specifically to help with the authenticity of the game. Went on a huge winning streak at E3 against multiple top and generally well known players of fighting games at the game. Shows after all of those years he is still formidable at fighting games and isn’t a bad guy to have working on them.
James Goddard Old school SF/ST heads know who this guy is and others may have at least heard the name. The history of SF2 worked where Americans had a big part in the release of Super SF2 and Super SF2 Turbo. Originally Capcom didn’t intend for those games to be released, but people like James pushed for such a release. James Goddard was the creator of the character DeeJay in the SF universe and brought a unique character design and worldly aspect to the SF series. One of the only 3 characters in SF history to be designed by an American. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Jay
He also developed the acclaimed Genesis/SNES fighting game Weapon Lord that system/feature wise, was probably ahead of its time. Had a parry mechanic, fatalities and an interesting combo system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaponlord (Project Lead: James Goddard)
The only fighting game that litearlly let you style on people during a fatality. Juggle their decapitated head until it splits into multiple pieces all over the battle field.
MikeZ Really isn’t too much that needs to be said. Huge fan of Killer Instinct and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, who used concepts from both games to help create the well received indie fighter, Skullgirls. Known for doing very well with very unorthodox, grappler based teams in MVC2 and being a strong Blazblue player in the earlier days of the game. He’s done more combo videos for Killer Instinct, MVC2 and other games than you can shake 2 sticks at. As a game programmer he is most likely overseeing development of the game and adding his own input for the direction the game should go in. It’s been said that he’s already figured out some really nasty combos within the game engine. It’ll be interesting to see what he ends up doing within the game.
Buktooth A staple of the CVS2 community who has won quite a few local and major events in the game. Known for playing an unorthodox, execution centric team of N groove Hibiki, Iori, R2 Morrigan. Known for playing Ibuki in SFIV and helped write the guides for Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Did a lot of FAQs for CVS2 on GameFAQs so his helping the community predates before many people here were eve playing fighting games competitively.
This does nothing, but show that this is the premiere game to buy if you are looking to support the fighting game community for next gen. It doesn’t get better than this. The community of the last 20 years is literally inside this game.
Filthy Rich’s System Info: Learn more about the game from a Tekken legend and the game’s main PR guy. Explains the basics of the combo system. The combo system is rather unique compared to most other fighting games, but you’ll have some characters like Sabrewulf who have typical light, medium, hard chain starters. >>>>http://doublehelixgames.com/forum/index.php?threads/killer-instict-2013-introduction-mechanics-and-character-guide.109/
