OK, here goes capcom. This is my wishlist for Third Strike online edition. Long post coming up.
Don’t remix 3S, or if you do have to remix it don’t do it the same way Super turbo was remixed by altering move properties, all you’ll do is split the community and open up a big can of worms like what’s happened with ST versus HDR. At the very most all that should be done with it is fixing any obvious bugs or glitches that are more or less universally agreed on, and maybe (MAYBE) tweaking damage output for insane characters like chun, yun, ken, etc, and at the other end of the tier list, sean to make them a little fairer. It is annoying to see the same 4 characters all the time, but if you are looking to widen the roster please err on the side of caution, and don’t do anything drastic.
Do everything you can to make this the definitive online version going forward, nothing that will split oppinions on which mode should be played or what settings to use, so no system direction options online, no classic mode or remixed mode toggle switches, no different versions of anything that affects game mechanics. Make sure everybody playing this game online is on the same page with all but the cosmetic stuff that has no bearing on actual gameplay (backgrounds, colors, music etc).
As regards the online modes and experience, this is where the big value will be in this game. I would like to see it have all of the best features from SF4 and HD Remix combined such as:
Quality, robust, well tested netcode,
Lobby support for endless battle with chat.
Custom searches that allow you to search for games in your region, any region, and crucially CLOSE BY regions (for those of us who have other countries near us).
Proper game options like a “rematch” button that dont involve jumping through a load of hoops after a match, just one quick button press to go again,
An option to skip your next turn in the queue, in case nature calls or the phone rings or whatever
Double blind picking by default (this is a MUST HAVE)
Ready/not ready option for when you’re up next in the queue, so both players have to be ready before the match starts.SF4 did this very well. Maybe add a 30/60second wait limit or you miss your turn or get booted, to stop people holding things up too much in lobbies.
Custom search to include PROPER ping info, not the useless 4 bars system in SF4, and a custom search option based on ping speed, eg “only show lobbies under 100ms ping, 150ms ping”, or whatever.
Replay feature like in SF4, but better executed, with an option to save and upload files to share. File share option integrated with capcom’s website where you could store and view files like in halo 3 would be great, but who are we kidding 
Input display is a must for replays, so we can see WTF the latest internet daigo wannabe was doing to pull off some crazy sh1t in practice mode.
Also make sure the button config is tourney standard, so do it like HD Remix, NOT like SF4. Give players a model that facilitates easy, on the fly switching of button configs. If you want to be really clever, then let people save up to 8 different configs under differnt user definable names, so that 8 players in a room playing locally can switch between their own custom configs as simply as choosing their own name from a drop down list on the controller config page that they set up earlier.
Graphical and interface stuff:
The game HAS to be 16:9 format by default. No more black bars at the side of the screen, it just doesn’t cut it anymore and looks really dated in an age of widescreen TV’s. Use the zoom in model like HD remix, and reposition the energy bars slightly if needed. Include an option so that purists can switch it back to 4:3 if they want.
HD redrawn sprites would be great, but i would settle for HD filtered graphics, or decent interpolation like what MVC2 or Final Fight for XBOX live arcade had if it meant no massive delays to the project and an earlier release date.
A fully featured Training mode. make sure you don’t skimp on this one. Most people i play Street fighter with spend lots and lots of time in training mode, it’s the second most important part of the game, after online play. Give us a wealth of customisation and recording options, proper hitbox display that we can SEE fully during pause, the ability to set the dummy to automatically do a preselected special move on wakeup or in response to a fluffed combo or failed link, etc, etc.Don’t drop the ball on this one, please don’t underestimate how important a good training mode is. Also include comprehensive parry training modes, and make it possible to set fight requests from other players to happen when you’re in training mode.
One more thing on training mode. I want this one so much i’m giving it it’s own line.
2 Player CO-OP. Invite a friend to train with you across XBL or PSN.
Come on…how cool would that be?, it would really help people to hone their skills in particular matchups, and would be a lot of fun too.
Character, color, and costume requests:
Don’t include any additional bonus characters, it will mess with the balance of the game. Keep it faithful to the original arcade game, and don’t do anything stupid like making Gill selectable online because there will just be an army of assholes playing him. That mtherfker was the cheapest piece of crap that you ever came up with. That one move where stuff rains on you from the sky and chips the crap out of you, i mean WTF was that, and resurrection…RESURRECTION???..i mean COME ON!!!. Keep gill out of the online modes!!
I don’t really care about the music or stages, maybe include some stuff from across the 3 SF3 games, but make them selectable or toggleable so if i don’t want to see or hear them they can be turned off for my view of the game, like in HD remix.
A color edit mode, and 1 or 2 save slots to save custom colors you created like in SVC2 would be great too, just to add a bit of individuality and get away from the same boring old white ken in every second match. The number based system like in that game so people can publish their palettes to the web with the numbered codes for others to apply the same color scheme to their character would be cool too.
Lastly, and this is a really important one, in terms of the project as a whole, put the right resources into it, and SUPPORT the game after it’s released. Give it some love with at least a couple of bug fixes and patches to fix the inevitable issues that will come up after the community playtests it. Listen to your fans on this one. You have a chance to make something really cool here, don’t do a “cash cow” exercise on it, don’t give it to some shoddy second rate development house like backbone or whoever. Put some love into it this time. Do this one right…please!
