Well, before we answer this question justly - let's just go over what IS in the game right now -
Offline play - Currently you can play the game if the server fails to log in but it cuts out all online options , makes sense right ? so what does this leave players to do ?
Character story , "A shadow falls" cinematic story , Survival mode , Training, Challenge mode (with trials and video tutorials) , Versus (only against humans currently)
The basic problem here is that while you can play through the story modes and get some backstory for the goings on as well as an "okay at best" anime style story , you don't earn any of the games currency offline. Survival mode still allows you to unlock more colors , if you choose to waste the time playing through it ... it's current setup is kind of contrary to fun though. With the update due this thursday an option to play versus mode against an AI will be added (I'm guessing with difficulty options just like the training mode has). You do at least earn XP towards leveling characters up but even that's less worthwhile if you aren't online for the fight money bonuses it garners.
What's missing here though ? Well the most demanded and oddly lacking feature of all that literally every single previous installment of SF has contained - a proper arcade ladder. One where you play through 8-10 battles that has a minimal amount of story at best (maybe even none at all) that has a proper boss fight at the end. Survival mode attempts to fill this void but it's not the same.
Online play - this IS the meat of the game as far as Capcom is concerned so let's go over what you can and can't do just based on the current capabilities within the games menus and such -
You can earn fight money for all single player content , you can spend this fight money in a store that's only available when connected to the server, this store contains 3 extra colors for everyone , story mode costumes (that need to be both unlocked by clearing character story AND purchased with fight money) and new characters and stages as well as stage variations.
You can play against others online (so long as you have PS+ if you're on playstation) via ranked battles (where wins generate league points that help keep the matchmaking working properly) , casual battles (where you can test out an alternate character without worrying about points. Both these modes award fight money if you win and character experience win or lose. lastly, you can open a battle lounge which is just a lobby where no one earns any points, xp or fight money but you can have up to 8 players in the same room. You also have an online stats card that tracks your wins and losses while allowing you to view your replays (by flagging them) , currently the features that track all of your stats don't work.
So let's move on to overall content here -
SFV has 21 characters currently with a 22nd on the way soon (maybe end of september ?), each character has a main outfit, a story outfit and a battle costume while some characters have a swimsuit and a few characters even have capcom pro tour evening wear. As mentioned earlier , each character has 2 default colors with color 3-10 unlockable within survival mode and colors 11,12,13,14 (as well as pro tour) purchasable within the store.
For stages there are currently 10 standard stages only 1 of which has breakable environments. DLC wise they've added 2 "SF2 classic" levels with at least 1 more on the way as well as night time variations of 2 other stages and a daytime variation on a third. During Evo a fully brand new championship wrestling ring stage was also added.
For music , SFV has a themesong for each different stage as well as a song for each character.
Finally - what's still coming this season ? Well I brought most of it up above but - Urien is the 22nd character , he doesn't have a release date just yet but he's coming. Classic outfits for some characters have been showcased (namely Ibuki and Alex getting their SF3 outfits back) and another SF2 classic stage is coming in the form of M.Bison/Dictator's Thailand level, which means we will also get a remix of that levels theme. Outside of that the big patch coming this month is supposed to add a VS CPU option to versus mode (this is NOT an arcade ladder) as well as finally adding double fight money weekends along with daily/weekly/monthly challenges to earn more fight money. Basically, by the end of this season worth of updates SF5 will be in ... an acceptable state content wise but it still needs that arcade mode.
So, moving right along to what it needs going forward into season 2 / 2017 -
Offline mode needs to be far more robust. There should be as much stuff / content to try out and unlock playing offline as their is playing online. Even if this means a key change to the game - switching rewards for playing to 2 separate currencies. See, I know why you can't earn fight money offline , it would be too easy to game the code (especially on PC) to just hax up a bunch of FM then log on and spend it. This is also why you can't log in with the same account anywhere but where it was started. Here's the thing though, if sales numbers are to be believed , at least 1 out of every 2 SFV owners has never played the game online, possibly even 2 out of 3 ! People needs a reason to play this game offline to stay interested in it and I feel like this is the only way to do it. To this end - a proper arcade mode needs to be built into season 2 from the day it launches. So when you turn the game on , it just loads up a traditional menu complete with a brand new intro video (and hopefully catchy song) which you then press start to get passed and boom - you are greeted with a menu of options - Story - Arcade - Challenge - Versus - Training - Options - Go Online. Story mode would let you play character stories for everyone (the same ones that are currently there) as well as "a shadow falls" and if they choose to do another cinematic story it will be in here. Arcade mode would offer that proper ladder based arcade mode complete with mini games and rival battles and a proper boss battle a well as a hidden boss for those who preform well enough. Challenge mode would contain a revamped survival mode as well as a full set of new trials closer to what SF4 had (like, make people do all the special moves before you practice a combo) and they could even have gimmicky challenges for each character in here like certain special moves are turned off or win a match with no health (some of the stuff from the current crappy survival mode). Versus mode would pretty much be the same as it is now but perhaps a tournament rules option could be in place that would default matches to 2/3 while keeping stage select set to random (really capcom could tweak this as needed). Training mode would be the same as it is now but a new proper basic training mode would be included that actually shows ALL the fundamentals properly and multiple lessons and player interaction instead of simply a 5 minute video. Options mode would be the same standard stuff as always but perhaps with even more stuff - adjusting every aspect of the music (like setting online notifications to mute for example) and finally the option to go online.
What would Online mode entail now ? Well - your player card would be visible on screen , the currently broken stat tracking features would work properly and everything done in this mode would earn you fight money. The store would again be select-able but instead of being a clearly slapped together ugly mess , it would be a fancy story front complete with an avatar representing your purchases , fancier buttons to select various categories and a clear fancy option to buy stuff with real money too. Ranked, Casual and battle lounge would all still be there but what if Capcom added a CPT channel - when lit up there'd be an active online event going on and , if there's room you could join in with minimal effort. If it was an offline event like evo , there would be a link to a high quality stream you could watch from within SFV. Maybe capcom could even offer up online teams people could join up with , each month the winning team might get a nice little fight money pot based on their overall performance (sort of like MKX does it). As well , the challenges that are being added this month would be clearly listed, complete with how close the player is to completing them and what the fight money reward for doing so would be.
So what should be added in terms of content ? While the easiest and most expected thing I think is new characters. I think launching season 2 with 2 new characters (bringing the total up to 24) would work out well enough with say another 6 characters planned from launch until september. Throw in 2-3 brand new stages and a couple more classic stages (remake levels from more than just SF2 too). I feel a missed opportunity is happening with the store as well - more cosmetic options - let people buy a classic outfit for everyone , let people buy character themes from other games. On that same note , some stuff like titles and background colors should be earn-able without even spending fight money/real money. Finally - finish up the stage transitions so you can do them on most or even all levels instead of just the Hong Kong stage.
What's left now ? Well just cosmetic / QOL stuff I suppose - the PS4 version has some iffy graphical problems, mostly the shadows look poor and it can make the game look washed out far too often. It takes too long to load generally , see if some netcode improvements and engine tweaks can force the game engine to operate 25-50% faster than it currently does. Even if it means a single long load time on first boot. Also, maybe go in an clean up some of the character models to deal with longstanding complaints (which are mostly only a problem during closeups such as victory poses post match and character select screen posturing)- these complaints are mostly aimed at Ken but what I've found is that it's the way the game handles shading teeth , anyone that smiles looks a bit ghoulish on closeup. Maybe , if it's possible, fix the hair for Ken and Alex so it looks a bit less chunky and playdough-y.
Finally - and perhaps most importantly , what to do about marketing this thing going forward. Season 2 needs to be treated the same as FFXIV a real reborn or Destiny A taken king. It's a relaunch for the game and an attempt to kickstart the whole project.
-People that bought SFV anytime in 2016 should be given some kind of loyalty reward , namely I think a pre-order period should exist from the time capcom cup 2016 ends until the end of 2016 where you can get the entire season 2 pass for 30% off. (20$ maybe?)
-A barebones version of SFV that simply has all 22 characters in it with the new arcade mode and a standard VS mode needs to come out in Japanese Arcades , it should be able to download character/stage updates as they come out as well and maybe even , should there be no local opponents , go online to play against PC/PS4 players or even those in other arcades.
-Any remaining retail copies of SFV need to be discounted down to no more than 20 USD to make sure none are left by the time season 2 launches. Digital copies should be sold only in "complete" versions OR you can buy the season pass separately but not the game separately.
-When season 2 launches , whatever form or name it takes , it needs to be a free update for anyone that currently has the game. This much was basically already promised so it's pretty much a given.
-When season 2 launches a new retail disc will come out - this disc will contain ALL season 1 content plus the base game patched to season 2 as well as the first 2 characters for the season 2 update. It will cost 60$ at launch. Adding the rest of season 2 will cost another 30$. This upgrade will only apply to those with the disc version.
A new digital version would come out , also for 60$ that would include the same content as the new retail disc.
-For anyone that owns SFV digitally , upgrading fully to season 2 (adding in all 8 characters) would cost 30$ if you didn't pre-order it.
-Finally, SFV needs to offer a version that just increases the player base - a digital only free to play version that wouldn't have the offline mode. This version of the game would let people buy any character with fight money/ real money and would allow all online features (outside of battle lounge). Character packs could also be purchased in bulk and this version could be upgraded fully for the same 60$ as the standard copy costs if one wished. In this way the player base should increase exponentially. There could be 3 select-able characters in the game at all times - one on weekly rotation, a second on bi-weekly rotation and finally a character on monthly rotation. Buying any character that's being previewed could carry with it a discount too.
---
So anyway, this lengthy ramble is just something I've been meaning to put online for weeks now and I think now is as good a time as any. Thanks in advance to anyone that read through it all and I'd love to see thoughts and comments below on anything I may have missed that any of you feel should be in there next year. Hopefully someone from Capcom is reading. I love SFV but I want more people to play it.
Offline play - Currently you can play the game if the server fails to log in but it cuts out all online options , makes sense right ? so what does this leave players to do ?
Character story , "A shadow falls" cinematic story , Survival mode , Training, Challenge mode (with trials and video tutorials) , Versus (only against humans currently)
The basic problem here is that while you can play through the story modes and get some backstory for the goings on as well as an "okay at best" anime style story , you don't earn any of the games currency offline. Survival mode still allows you to unlock more colors , if you choose to waste the time playing through it ... it's current setup is kind of contrary to fun though. With the update due this thursday an option to play versus mode against an AI will be added (I'm guessing with difficulty options just like the training mode has). You do at least earn XP towards leveling characters up but even that's less worthwhile if you aren't online for the fight money bonuses it garners.
What's missing here though ? Well the most demanded and oddly lacking feature of all that literally every single previous installment of SF has contained - a proper arcade ladder. One where you play through 8-10 battles that has a minimal amount of story at best (maybe even none at all) that has a proper boss fight at the end. Survival mode attempts to fill this void but it's not the same.
Online play - this IS the meat of the game as far as Capcom is concerned so let's go over what you can and can't do just based on the current capabilities within the games menus and such -
You can earn fight money for all single player content , you can spend this fight money in a store that's only available when connected to the server, this store contains 3 extra colors for everyone , story mode costumes (that need to be both unlocked by clearing character story AND purchased with fight money) and new characters and stages as well as stage variations.
You can play against others online (so long as you have PS+ if you're on playstation) via ranked battles (where wins generate league points that help keep the matchmaking working properly) , casual battles (where you can test out an alternate character without worrying about points. Both these modes award fight money if you win and character experience win or lose. lastly, you can open a battle lounge which is just a lobby where no one earns any points, xp or fight money but you can have up to 8 players in the same room. You also have an online stats card that tracks your wins and losses while allowing you to view your replays (by flagging them) , currently the features that track all of your stats don't work.
So let's move on to overall content here -
SFV has 21 characters currently with a 22nd on the way soon (maybe end of september ?), each character has a main outfit, a story outfit and a battle costume while some characters have a swimsuit and a few characters even have capcom pro tour evening wear. As mentioned earlier , each character has 2 default colors with color 3-10 unlockable within survival mode and colors 11,12,13,14 (as well as pro tour) purchasable within the store.
For stages there are currently 10 standard stages only 1 of which has breakable environments. DLC wise they've added 2 "SF2 classic" levels with at least 1 more on the way as well as night time variations of 2 other stages and a daytime variation on a third. During Evo a fully brand new championship wrestling ring stage was also added.
For music , SFV has a themesong for each different stage as well as a song for each character.
Finally - what's still coming this season ? Well I brought most of it up above but - Urien is the 22nd character , he doesn't have a release date just yet but he's coming. Classic outfits for some characters have been showcased (namely Ibuki and Alex getting their SF3 outfits back) and another SF2 classic stage is coming in the form of M.Bison/Dictator's Thailand level, which means we will also get a remix of that levels theme. Outside of that the big patch coming this month is supposed to add a VS CPU option to versus mode (this is NOT an arcade ladder) as well as finally adding double fight money weekends along with daily/weekly/monthly challenges to earn more fight money. Basically, by the end of this season worth of updates SF5 will be in ... an acceptable state content wise but it still needs that arcade mode.
So, moving right along to what it needs going forward into season 2 / 2017 -
Offline mode needs to be far more robust. There should be as much stuff / content to try out and unlock playing offline as their is playing online. Even if this means a key change to the game - switching rewards for playing to 2 separate currencies. See, I know why you can't earn fight money offline , it would be too easy to game the code (especially on PC) to just hax up a bunch of FM then log on and spend it. This is also why you can't log in with the same account anywhere but where it was started. Here's the thing though, if sales numbers are to be believed , at least 1 out of every 2 SFV owners has never played the game online, possibly even 2 out of 3 ! People needs a reason to play this game offline to stay interested in it and I feel like this is the only way to do it. To this end - a proper arcade mode needs to be built into season 2 from the day it launches. So when you turn the game on , it just loads up a traditional menu complete with a brand new intro video (and hopefully catchy song) which you then press start to get passed and boom - you are greeted with a menu of options - Story - Arcade - Challenge - Versus - Training - Options - Go Online. Story mode would let you play character stories for everyone (the same ones that are currently there) as well as "a shadow falls" and if they choose to do another cinematic story it will be in here. Arcade mode would offer that proper ladder based arcade mode complete with mini games and rival battles and a proper boss battle a well as a hidden boss for those who preform well enough. Challenge mode would contain a revamped survival mode as well as a full set of new trials closer to what SF4 had (like, make people do all the special moves before you practice a combo) and they could even have gimmicky challenges for each character in here like certain special moves are turned off or win a match with no health (some of the stuff from the current crappy survival mode). Versus mode would pretty much be the same as it is now but perhaps a tournament rules option could be in place that would default matches to 2/3 while keeping stage select set to random (really capcom could tweak this as needed). Training mode would be the same as it is now but a new proper basic training mode would be included that actually shows ALL the fundamentals properly and multiple lessons and player interaction instead of simply a 5 minute video. Options mode would be the same standard stuff as always but perhaps with even more stuff - adjusting every aspect of the music (like setting online notifications to mute for example) and finally the option to go online.
What would Online mode entail now ? Well - your player card would be visible on screen , the currently broken stat tracking features would work properly and everything done in this mode would earn you fight money. The store would again be select-able but instead of being a clearly slapped together ugly mess , it would be a fancy story front complete with an avatar representing your purchases , fancier buttons to select various categories and a clear fancy option to buy stuff with real money too. Ranked, Casual and battle lounge would all still be there but what if Capcom added a CPT channel - when lit up there'd be an active online event going on and , if there's room you could join in with minimal effort. If it was an offline event like evo , there would be a link to a high quality stream you could watch from within SFV. Maybe capcom could even offer up online teams people could join up with , each month the winning team might get a nice little fight money pot based on their overall performance (sort of like MKX does it). As well , the challenges that are being added this month would be clearly listed, complete with how close the player is to completing them and what the fight money reward for doing so would be.
So what should be added in terms of content ? While the easiest and most expected thing I think is new characters. I think launching season 2 with 2 new characters (bringing the total up to 24) would work out well enough with say another 6 characters planned from launch until september. Throw in 2-3 brand new stages and a couple more classic stages (remake levels from more than just SF2 too). I feel a missed opportunity is happening with the store as well - more cosmetic options - let people buy a classic outfit for everyone , let people buy character themes from other games. On that same note , some stuff like titles and background colors should be earn-able without even spending fight money/real money. Finally - finish up the stage transitions so you can do them on most or even all levels instead of just the Hong Kong stage.
What's left now ? Well just cosmetic / QOL stuff I suppose - the PS4 version has some iffy graphical problems, mostly the shadows look poor and it can make the game look washed out far too often. It takes too long to load generally , see if some netcode improvements and engine tweaks can force the game engine to operate 25-50% faster than it currently does. Even if it means a single long load time on first boot. Also, maybe go in an clean up some of the character models to deal with longstanding complaints (which are mostly only a problem during closeups such as victory poses post match and character select screen posturing)- these complaints are mostly aimed at Ken but what I've found is that it's the way the game handles shading teeth , anyone that smiles looks a bit ghoulish on closeup. Maybe , if it's possible, fix the hair for Ken and Alex so it looks a bit less chunky and playdough-y.
Finally - and perhaps most importantly , what to do about marketing this thing going forward. Season 2 needs to be treated the same as FFXIV a real reborn or Destiny A taken king. It's a relaunch for the game and an attempt to kickstart the whole project.
-People that bought SFV anytime in 2016 should be given some kind of loyalty reward , namely I think a pre-order period should exist from the time capcom cup 2016 ends until the end of 2016 where you can get the entire season 2 pass for 30% off. (20$ maybe?)
-A barebones version of SFV that simply has all 22 characters in it with the new arcade mode and a standard VS mode needs to come out in Japanese Arcades , it should be able to download character/stage updates as they come out as well and maybe even , should there be no local opponents , go online to play against PC/PS4 players or even those in other arcades.
-Any remaining retail copies of SFV need to be discounted down to no more than 20 USD to make sure none are left by the time season 2 launches. Digital copies should be sold only in "complete" versions OR you can buy the season pass separately but not the game separately.
-When season 2 launches , whatever form or name it takes , it needs to be a free update for anyone that currently has the game. This much was basically already promised so it's pretty much a given.
-When season 2 launches a new retail disc will come out - this disc will contain ALL season 1 content plus the base game patched to season 2 as well as the first 2 characters for the season 2 update. It will cost 60$ at launch. Adding the rest of season 2 will cost another 30$. This upgrade will only apply to those with the disc version.
A new digital version would come out , also for 60$ that would include the same content as the new retail disc.
-For anyone that owns SFV digitally , upgrading fully to season 2 (adding in all 8 characters) would cost 30$ if you didn't pre-order it.
-Finally, SFV needs to offer a version that just increases the player base - a digital only free to play version that wouldn't have the offline mode. This version of the game would let people buy any character with fight money/ real money and would allow all online features (outside of battle lounge). Character packs could also be purchased in bulk and this version could be upgraded fully for the same 60$ as the standard copy costs if one wished. In this way the player base should increase exponentially. There could be 3 select-able characters in the game at all times - one on weekly rotation, a second on bi-weekly rotation and finally a character on monthly rotation. Buying any character that's being previewed could carry with it a discount too.
---
So anyway, this lengthy ramble is just something I've been meaning to put online for weeks now and I think now is as good a time as any. Thanks in advance to anyone that read through it all and I'd love to see thoughts and comments below on anything I may have missed that any of you feel should be in there next year. Hopefully someone from Capcom is reading. I love SFV but I want more people to play it.
