This feature would mean that winning a match by pinfall would not be as predictable as it is in SVR2009. Currently in SVR2009 as long as one or two of your opponents body parts are red, then performing a finisher, signature or other high risk move will guarantee that you will get the pin. On the reverse side in SVR2009 going for a pin before your opponent is red will never score a successful pinfall. The Pin Meter would add an element of surprise as to whether your pin attempt would be successful or not. Here how it would work;
The Pin Meter would have 25 levels to it. Each opponent would have their individual Pin meter and the match would begin with everyone on level 0. The Pin Meter would NOT have an onscreen hud so that you wouldn’t know how likely you are to get the win by pinfall. As you beat up your opponent your opponents Pin Meter Level would increase. The higher the level of your opponents Pin Meter, the more chance there is of a pin attempt being successful. The likely hood of winning by pinfall is as follows;
The higher the impact of moves you perform on your opponent the quicker their Pin Meter would reach higher levels.
The higher a wrestlers Pin Meter level the slower they become etc. as per the current system.
The Pin Meter also allows the player to have quicker or longer matches whenever they desire. In options there would be five sliders, one to determine how quickly ‘Player Ones’ Pin Meter increases, one for ‘Player Two,’ one for ‘Player 3,’ one for ‘Player 4,’ and one for ‘The CPU.’ For longer matches you would set the sliders on the lower settings and for shorter matches you would set them on the higher settings. There are separate sliders for the CPU and each Player so that veteran players can be handicapped against novices or the CPU if desired.
This system would ultimately create epic matches where anyone could win at any time. You would never be guaranteed to win by going for the pin. You would really have to work for the win but with the sliders you could still make matches quick.
Level 15 on the Pin Meter would be the equivalent of your opponent having two red body parts in SVR2009.
This is actually very close to the system already in place in Uprising. I like that you have a very gradual curve making the likelihood of successfully pinning very low until a lot of damage has been dealt. However, even at 1% how pissed would you be to see a pin end a match after the first snapmare?
Unless it was a sim of Batista v. Nunzio (ONE move, that match lasted! Less than 30 seconds, even!), VERY pissed off. And even in the event of Batista/Nunzio, I'd at least expect a SETUP move before the Batista Bomb. Is it TOO much to ask from the WWE, even for a squash?
This system would work, but the probabilities would need to depend on other variables, namely a wrestler's crowd affiliation and popularity.
That is to say, a popular face's finisher performed to an injured and hated heel would be likely to bring the meter up to level 25, i.e. Hogan's legdrop, but if said heel were to perform their finisher to an equally-tired face, level 24 would be all they would reach. I propose this to ensure the most popular wrestlers are able to perform the desperate kickouts for which they are famous.
(To provide balance, a heel performing an illegal move or pin to a face would be likely to achieve level 25 as well- meaning that disliked wrestlers must break rules to be as successful in the game as fan-favourites.)
I would add that up to level 18 or so, the ONLY way you'd get a chance to get pinfall would be via a pinning move. i.e. a small package or a bridge. That would eliminate the "frustrating" early pins but still allow you to hold your breathe on any pin attempt.
Zin5ki: I think there is a border we should not cross. I mean, if you want a realistic wrestling game, a wrestler like Hulk Hogan (or a different wrestler that prefers the basic wrestling movement) would only be as strong as his movement is (plus Hogan's power and strength). And as far as I'm concerned, I think that most of the fans of Pro Wrestling X do not want just another arcade game in which the top guys are undeafeatable.
I understand your qualm, theflo, but this exchange introduces the problem of what we consider to be realistic for a simulation of a staged performance. Naturally, it should be equally possible for one wrestler to win or lose to another of equal athletic abilities (in order to prevent unbeatable characters), but the means by which these wins or losses occur ought to be restricted to what happens in a typical match between the two.
That is to say, flukes and cheating should be more likely to result in successful pins for an American-style monster heel, whereas most faces would be at their best when using clean attacks to finish things off.
On the defensive side of things, a babyface like Hogan should have a natural resilience against clean moves, but a weakness to dirty tricks, provided both are dealt by heels. Mechanics like these would be most faithful to the fact that the majority of his losses as a face were as a result of heel tactics. Conversely, when facing another face such as The Ultimate Warrior, Hogan losing cleanly would be more likely.
Combined, these systems would result in a greater similarity between in-game matches and real-world staged bouts, without the competitive nature of a video game being notably compromised.
Put more succinctly, the system of probabilities I have in mind for wrestlers of equal athletic ability, which could be combined with the OP's pin meter system, is this:
If (face1 vs face2): P(face1 wins cleanly) = P(face2 wins cleanly)
If (face vs heel): P(face wins cleanly) = P(heel wins dirtily) P(face wins cleanly) >>> P(heel wins cleanly) P(face wins dirtily) <<< P(heel wins dirtily) {I add this rule for the sake of gameplay balance}
Naturally, this association of clean with face and dirty with heel doesn't apply to all wrestlers, especially not orthodox puroresu stars or rule-breaking American faces. If some system akin to this is applied to the correct subset of wrestlers though, one could ensure that certain traits in wrestling survive intact in the game. (As a suggestion, these mechanics could be toggled by selecting an 'American-style' match in the pre-match options, in a manner akin to Fire Pro.)
Zin5ki: After your last sentence I finally believe in your idea. Great idea. Thank you for the explanation. By the way: I already saw a simplified system in KOC 2. But that wasn't as sophisticated as your system. Good Job!