Online Gameplay Modes

[RJ O'Connell]

So after playing Soulcalibur IV for awhile now with limited success (and I do mean limited, folks) I got to thinking about Wipeout Pulse's online play. And how limited it is.

In my mind the Wipeout series has made the most important and overdue evolution in gameplay with Pulse, but for future installments, only having SR and Tournaments would get boring after a while.

So here's some of the things I think SL should add for online play in future games.

Eliminator: It's a no-brainer, I've heard the Medievil Eliminator matches on Kai are pretty entertaining. Plus, there's no pressure on being the fastest, just being the one who destroys the most. It would appeal to the "all-FPS, all the time" crowd. Additionally, there should be a Tournament mode for Eliminator, points based on number of eliminations.

Time Trials: Players take turns trying to set the fastest Race Times. It's straightforward, it would certainly be lots of fun for the veteran TT masters.

Head to Head Tournament: Bracket tournament of head-to-head races, with or without weapons. Got the idea after watching a bunch of Red Bull AirRace and the videos Arnaud recorded at the first World Wipeout Tournament at Al's house.

Let me know what you think, obviously there are still people who play the PSP games online and definitely have something to say on the matter...

[Asayyeah]

I am with you about the eliminator mode : like you mentionned we had great fun playing through Xlink Kai with Wipeout Pure. i also like a lot the tournament not based on pts earned by winning but by eliminating the most opponents possible.

TT : why not but i am not a big fan : it's pretty boring to race ala Pure TT through Kai : you go through your opponent and ...that's all ...
Sorry but i have no idea how to develop this mode online.

Head to head tourney : i like this idea too but i don't know how really you can make it possible ( in term of online organisation), viable and not too long. We shall have an option to watch the current head to head for those who have been eliminated from the brakets to keep all pilot's interest.

Set up number of tours you want to race for a sr or for a tournament, 5 laps in phantom is definitely TOO short time racing especially if you compare the ratio between time racing and time spending by waiting the end of the race ( the famous 50 sec ) then loading time to go back to the online lobby , then choosing another track and wait again the game to load. I must reckon Pulse is REALLY bad with that sort of process and even slower than Pure. Why not giving the possibility to race again the track after the race itself is finished ( i hope i am clear with this) and not being obliged to go back to the lobby.

It's not a mode here but definitely something they can add to let pilots being aware of their ranking : you load a track and while you load this ( 40 sec it's pretty long) your best racetime done previously on that track and the lap or other stats can be displayed on your loading screen to motivate you to beat the record holder of that track.

Here's my contribution to your great thread Rory

[RJ O'Connell]

Hey, thanks.

Personally I find the TT competition interesting if done how I envision it - when you're not participating yourself, you are able to watch the other pilots and pick up strategies (i.e. racing lines, BR spots (god forbid)).

[mdhay]

I think Zone would be crazy online.

[Mad-Ice]

Set up number of tours you want to race for a sr or for a tournament, 5 laps in phantom is definitely TOO short time racing especially if you compare the ratio between time racing and time spending by waiting the end of the race ( the famous 50 sec ) then loading time to go back to the online lobby, then choosing another track and wait again the game to load.

Wouldn't it be sweat to set a number of laps or set a time for a race? For example: SR, Phantom, weapons on, number of laps 20, or SR, Phantom, weapons off, shield unlimited, 10 minutes!

[RJ O'Connell]

It'd be enough to make one's eyeballs explode! XD I couldn't stay consistent through the standard five laps at Phantom, let alone a ten-minute endurance race.

As for Zone, a better way to go about it would be to have your scores instantly placed on the world rankings once you finish, ala Forza 2.

[Medusa]

Well this is a pretty basic wish for online, but I think it would be great to have set tournaments you could choose from quickly again, like Pure had (Delta, Omega, Ascension, Descension...).
I found it annoying in Pulse when I had to take a full three minutes deciding/setting up a long tour for online. Oftentimes I'm sure people dropped out only because they hadn't seen the name of each track they were in for. I know you could use loaded grids, but I still think preset ones would be handy, no?

Probably the best improvement could be with loading times, like I think Asa said, that 50 sec wait time was enough for a nap.

[lunar]

Agree totally with that, Medusa. On Kai with Pure it would just be "let`s do Delta," or whatever, and you knew what was coming. Each tour had its own clear identity which was great. It gave a structure and character to the play which Pulse didn`t have with all those almost randomly made tours. We need something like that back in, even if via patch to HD, imo.

[RJ O'Connell]

Then again, you couldn't race Sol 2 after Vineta K...

[lunar]

There could be custom tours aswell, but I would prefer to just load up a tour and know what`s in it, so long as every track is represented somewhere

[GalacticSpartan]

Hmm..I would love eliminator on Pulse online. If only you can make custom made tracks and put them online for you to race on XD lol. But can`t they have that in Pulse, so how bout a Team match, with 2 players in each team?

[RJ O'Connell]

Back in my day, multiple ships per team wasn't something we had to request! XD

[Darkdrium777]

About online Zone, how bout if it was done Trackmania style, with each ship being a ghost, but all players see each other? Sure after a while the poor pilots would be separated from the best (As they crash less into walls and therefore don't explode as soon), but maybe just maybe there could be some sort of spectator mode where you can switch between the active pilots for those who are dead, and take screenshots? How does that sound? Also, the winner is the last one alive.

[mdhay]

See? I said it would be crazy. (And this crazy is good)

[RJ O'Connell]

I'd prefer that the victory would go to the pilot with the highest score, it would reward players who actually want to go faster by hitting speed pads at higher speeds rather than just avoiding them to try and last longer...