Crippled

Talked to our programmer a few minutes ago. He’s having a rough time with the ring ropes of all the stupid damn things to be holding us up. Apparently the rope models aren’t agreeing with the way he has physics acting upon them.

That’s right, we couldn’t just animate the ropes like a smart developer would have done for their first game, we had to go all fancy schmancy with real time physics. Looks cool, buuuuuut I might have chosen a simpler solution had I known we’d run into trouble.

But he promises me finished ropes by the end of the day and I believe him. He’s pretty fired up, actually. He’s been working so hard lately that he can no longer sit without losing the feeling in his left leg so he rigged up a new workstation that he can stand at instead. He’s literally standing up for PWX!

I told him I was writing the newsletter and asked him if there was anything he wanted me to say. He jokingly said, “Tell them this game has cost me the use of my legs!” I think he was only half joking.

New Menus

While our programmer literally stumbles along Eric is taking the time to make sexy new menus. I really like the current Uprising menu so I’m really looking forward to seeing how me might improve on it.

Cops

Wow. I received some scary stories from you guys after last week’s newsletter. Some of you have had some frightening run ins with police and almost lost your freedom for good. Be careful out there. Maybe we should start giving out free pre orders to anyone wearing a PWX shirt in their mugshot.

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

Arrested

A little advice:

Let’s just say hypothetically speaking that you’re walking home from the convenience store one evening, when all of a sudden cops surround you and place you under false arrest for armed robbery. Let’s pretend that while roughly handcuffed in the back seat protesting your innocence you and the police officers hear over the radio that the REAL robber has been apprehended.

I would not advise at this time that you inform the officers you will be filing a false arrest claim as soon as you are released. Because let’s just say that the next thing the ethical officers do is radio in that they are bringing in a mentally unstable person to the psych ward for his own safety.

Because it would really suck for you to then find yourself restrained and sedated in a mental hospital unable to contact family or even a lawyer. After all, you are not actually under arrest for anything. You are being lovingly cared for because you are a danger to yourself and others.

Wouldn’t it suck for your family to be panicking wondering where you are? Wouldn’t it suck to later learn your child cried themselves to sleep wailing, “Where’s my daddy?!” Wouldn’t it suck for them to have to wait 24 hours to file a missing persons report only to be told THEN that you are being held?

And wouldn’t it suck to be locked up like that for three days waiting for a lawyer to finally come down and have you released?

I’m not saying this happened to myself or anyone on the PWX crew this past week. I’m not saying there will be a chapter in any upcoming PWX book titled, “It’s Not Paranoia if They Really Are Out To Get You.” I’m just saying Uprising may be delayed a few days and offering you a little friendly advice. Just in case.

TNA

In slightly less human-rights-violating news I heard that TNA may be looking into developing a game made to be played in your browser on their web site. Pretty smart, actually.

Please excuse the short newsletter, got some catching up to do…

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

So our programmer has been sending me video updates of his progress. Gotta say he has been getting even better frame rates than I do. Fear not if you own a really old PC as we will have an “old school” rendering option for you that will turn off all of the advanced lighting and effects that slow games down and let you literally make Uprising look like an N64 game. Kinda neat actually.

One thing he has been experimenting with at this stage is proper animation blending. The game would look soooo much better if he can get a system working but we won’t let it hold up Uprising. I know you guys will forgive a small amount of visual clunkiness as long as it plays properly.

Speaking of videos, please check Youtube for a new video blog from our good friend Dave Horn and Action Arcade Wrestling 2. Sorry but I can’t hook you up with a direct link from this damn phone.

Eric’s got ya covered:

Hey maybe once there are enough wrestling game developers we will have enough to do one of those nude calendars for charity. I call February so I can be Cupid! Cuz of all the love I spread ya know.

Finally, here is some juicy gossip. Word is that THQ will not even have a booth at E3 this year. Hmmm fiscally responsible or another sign that their demise is a done deal? Gotta say, EA plus Yukes would be a fun partnership to watch.

In the meantime and in between time, thats it, another MOBILE edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

Apologies

Eric the Web Dork here. Sorry for the newsletter going out late. The database that holds all the fun address information got a bit twisted. The flux capacitor broke too. A little elbow grease, and we’re back in biz. Back to Dave…

Offensive

A couple of things came up in recent weeks that I feel should be addressed. Serious things. Without going into detail about the actual conversations that spurred this written statement, let me just say that the topic was raised out of genuine concern for the long term future of PWX and that no one involved with the development of PWX is the source of any bigoted or bullying views.

And while I don’t particularly expect future PWX story modes to purposefully exploit so-called “controversial” story lines I also will not ALLOW future PWX material to stick its head in the sand, either.

Wrestling, when it’s good, holds a mirror up to society and portrays characters and situations from the real world around us. So in that respect you can expect PWX story lines that will NOT avoid the following subjects:

• Sexual orientation
• Gender roles
• Cultural and racial diversity
• Religious beliefs
• Political dogma
• Addiction
• etc.

Now don’t worry, PWX isn’t about to start preaching like a Lisa Ling after-school special. I just want to give everyone fair warning that as PWX grows it will continue to grow in a way that treats its fans like intelligent adults who live in the real world. Once the roster grows to a certain size we could introduce gay characters, transgendered characters, etc.

Just like in real life there will be real diversity. There may be characters who wear religious items you may find offensive depending on your own faith. That’s ok. In order to give you all of the freedom I believe wrestling gamers deserve there will be generated the potential for some politically iffy situations.

I’ve already been asked to not show that large black man (G-Rush) mounting the little white girl (Cesey) and punching her repeatedly in the face. I’ve already been asked to remove the image from the Uprising logo that shows an outline of one of our crew members who happens to be clearly wearing non-Christian religious head gear. In both cases I politely refused.

While I understand the desire to avoid unnecessary offense (like a Muslim tag team called the Twin Towers) I will continue to respect the diversity of the people who are creating PWX and those who support it. It’s all about freedom and respect. If you want your CAW to wear a rainbow flag or confederate flag then it’s up to you. Do you want to finally see the Virgin Mary and Joseph Smith settle their debate in a Stairway to Heaven ladder match? Have at ‘er.

PWX is a special project and I believe its supporters are ready and mature enough for the new world it can offer. Because what’s the point of doing something new if we let tired old politically correct fear make the rules?

Fire Pro Trying

Last week I mentioned a rumor that publishers are finished with the Fire Pro brand. You should know, however, that the people who own the Fire Pro code haven’t exactly given up, at least not recently. I’ve heard confirmed reports from two different sources that attempts were made to license at least one U.S. wrestling promotion for the purpose of a proper 2D American Fire Pro.

I have heard nothing regarding the success of such attempts but at least it’s something real that we can hope for. Hell, I’d quite happily take a Fire Pro TNA game for any platform if that’s what it takes to keep Fire Pro alive.

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

From Eric the Web Dork: Dave has been mighty sick all week, hence the abbreviated newsletter. Get better, boss man!

Control

Our programmer is hammering out the menu and gamepad support this week. The end result is support for any combination of keyboard and gamepad controllers for two-player games. This kind of stuff comes pretty much out of the box with third-party game engines, but when you build your own… yeah not so much.

Fire Pro Dead?

Not to end such a short newsletter on a bummer but word from a guy who knows a guy is that backlash against the Fire Pro Avatar project was enough to not only kill that specific project but interest in the Fire Pro brand entirely. Apparently no publisher is willing to take on any Fire Pro project in any shape or form including repackaging old games for new platforms. I hope this isn’t true or at least a temporary thing. Fire Pro deserves to go out better than that.

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

Real Time

Do you like lots of match options? And do you like editing characters and environments? Most of us do but it’s almost always done from a separate pre-match menu. However, our engine will allow you to make a lot of changes without backing out of your match or even having to pause it. Cool? Yeah!

But honestly, can you think of any reason why you’d want to do something like change rope colors in the middle of a match or suddenly decide that weapons are illegal half way through a hardcore match? Maybe I lack imagination, but I’d sure appreciate some help in coming up with reasons for real time options to be a thing. Any ideas?

New Lucha Game

There is a new game coming to PC, consoles, and possibly Vita that deals with the culture of Lucha and Mexican folklore in general. It appears to be a ‘toon style brawler/platformer and you can watch some early gameplay video right here.

Its name? Guacamelee. Great name or GREATEST name?

Wrestlefest Xbox

The recently released Wrestlefest iOS reboot is coming to Xbox soon.

Personally, I’m looking forward to Action Arcade Wrestling 2 more. I do like the look of the new Wrestlefest, though, and if AAW2 looked more like that I doubt there would be a reason left for a new Wrestlefest to even exist.

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

Happy Anniversary!

As of this week it is officially ten years since I sent out the very first Wrestling Gamers United newsletter. Been a while, eh? In fact, I’m planning to show you just how far we’ve come with a special link on the PWX site in coming days. Keep your eyes peeled for a good laugh down memory lane.

Note from Eric: that day is today. Enjoy the very first Wrestling Gamers United website!

“$Game developers$ let us help you make the best selling wrestling game in history!”

Wow. There’s still a chance…

Creepers

Well, I keep getting more and more excited voice mails from our programmer over this last week. As much as the last ten years has trained me to keep my optimism and excitement firmly in check it’s getting hard and harder to not actually envision a release for Uprising.

I would say the biggest challenge at this point is no longer making the fundamental mechanics work but instead keeping the extra bits from creeping into our work flow. Seems like every day we’re tempted to just add one more thing, one more move, one more option, etc.

I have to say I’ve become pretty good at being the bad guy and shooting down feature creep as it rears it’s pretty head every day.

Sit! Roll Over!

“Hey let’s have moves that end in all sorts of unique positions so that PWX will have unrivaled depth.”

Yeahhhhh, that seemed a like a good idea until lately I was left wondering what to do with these moves that ended with the defender in a sitting, kneeling, or hands and knees position, seeing as how we didn’t actually get around to animating any OTHER moves that started in any of those gnarly positions.

So if your opponent was just sitting there or on his hands and knees at the end of a move you could… run the ropes and taunt at him. Take that!! But thankfully, as seems to be the case around here, we stumbled across some selling animations that knock a wrestler from any position to a lying face up or face down position where you can slap on submissions at will.

Six Months to Live

THQ is not expected to be alive in six months.

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

Thank you for your support,
Dave Wishnowski

Tag Teams

I forgot to answer a question a few weeks ago about tag team matches in Uprising. There will be none in Uprising and not likely for a good many releases afterwards. Why? Because until singles matches in PWX are over done and boring I don’t see a good reason to spend our dwindling resources on generic tag modes.

When PWX does tag team wrestling I want it to be better than just good enough. I want it to be awesome. Plenty of tag specific mechanics and nuances and features that no WWE game will ever give you.

Honestly, there is a gold mine of content and gameplay potential in tag team wrestling. Double team moves, entrances, match strategies, match types, etc. Enough to make a stand alone Tag Team game or certainly expansion pack. Let’s do it when we can do it right, yeah?

Smug Bug

The bad news. These beta bugs:

• Texture flickering started on Cesey and Troop hair models ONLY on Fire GL cards.
• Selling animations noticeably delayed from weak punches. Acceptable results for Legends of Wrestling games, not my game.
• Grappling from ringside to apron along top side only is not initiating every time.
• Climbing turnbuckle from apron works perfectly… when it works.

The good news:

• Got the transition animations to sell ground strikes to any position.
• A nice artist donated hi-res textures and so far they look niiiiiiiiice.
• Idle animations now reflect injuries. Who needs a HUD?

Pre-Orders

For all of you who pre-ordered PWX and were wondering about updating your old contact info, please sleep easy knowing we will be asking for your new info shortly before releasing Uprising. If your old contact info is still valid you don’t have to do anything. Either way, you’ll be getting your download instructions bright and early on release day. No worries!

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

He’s Hardcore

I seriously need to have a “Hardcore Programming Championship” title belt made for our programmer as a gift upon Uprising’s release. I have worked with a lot of talented and hard working people during the history of PWX but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a work ethic like I’ve seen from this guy.

For the last four days he’s been down with a serious viral infection. We’re talking a fever that most people would be hospitalized for and he SHOULD be hospitalized for. Instead he’s staying home and self medicating, and every four hours when the meds kick in and the fever breaks a little he gets back on the phone with me and in front of his computer coding PWX.

Every four hours like clockwork. Sleep. Wake. Meds. Code. Repeat. He refuses to stay down until we’re done. If Mick Foley was a game programmer he would be this guy.

Right is Wrong!

This section of the newsletter is for those of you interested in the nitty gritty of game development. It’s a story of how a simple file name almost axed a dozen moves from Uprising this week. Here goes:

We have a chunk of moves in Uprising that end with your opponent lying on his left side holding his head. Cool moves. However, we do not have a looping animation for a wrestler lying on his left side like that so we couldn’t have him really stay there and sell the move. He’d have to get right up after the move or we would have to have him just snap to an idle animation of him lying flat on his back with his arms at his sides instead.

One solution violated the design mechanics and the other solution looked way beyond what was acceptable to me. I couldn’t afford an animator to do the missing animation for me. (Lying Left Side Kickstarter campaign!). So I was thinking, sadly, that these moves needed to be axed until we had the right animations to make them work properly.

But what really pissed me off was that we had an animation in the list for a wrestler lying on his RIGHT side selling a head injury. I searched and searched through the lists of files we had on every file server, workstation, and back up disk and all I could find was the damn animation for the RIGHT side. Why the hell would we even HAVE such an animation when none of the moves ended with a guy lying on his right side?!

And then just the other day I was previewing all of the animations looking for something else and as I was scrolling through the idle animations I saw something that made me stop and think WTF. I just happened to see the end of a move with the wrestler on his left side followed by what looked exactly like the missing loop animation also lying on his LEFT SIDE. WOOHOO!! I found it! It’s there!

The missing animation we’ve assumed was lost forever for the last two years! I couldn’t wait to tell our programmer I had found it and I immediately looked to see what this lying LEFT side animation was named.

Basic_Idle_Inj_Lying_Right

FML.

Eric is Hot

This week’s newsletter may not arrive via email at it’s regular time as our intrepid web nerd, Eric, is likely boiling under the hot sun watching a ball game somewhere in Florida right now while on vacation. Don’t sweat it. It’s comin’!

Note from Eric: “Alas, I got too much sun, and now I’m staying indoors nursing a sunburn. I seriously look like a lobster. So I have plenty of time to send out the newsletter.

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.

New Video!

I have a new video up for you where I answer about 15 minutes worth of PWX related questions for you. Thank you and enjoy!

More New Video!

It’s a great day to be a wrestling gamer! Dave Horn of Action Arcade Wrestling has a new preview video of his upcoming Xbox 360 game… Action Arcade Wrestling 2!

Oh how the times they are a changin’ eh? Indie wrestling games FTW!

In the meantime and in between time, that’s it, another edition of Wrestling Gamers United.