It’s been a little while since we’ve dug deep into Undisputed but fresh off this weekend’s mega fight between Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia, it’s time we take a look at what Steel City Interactive have been up to. As marquee matchups like Tank/Garcia, Spence/Crawford, and Lomachenko/Haney are on the cards, the sport of boxing has experienced an uptick in attention so naturally fight fans will want to take to the sticks and play a good boxing game. Now that we’re done with the formalities, let’s see what’s going on!
Four New Boxers
Boasting a pretty solid roster for a game that’s not officially out yet, Undisputed has added four new fighters:
- Vasiliy Lomachenko (Featherweight and Lightweight)
- Amir Khan (Lightweight, Welterweight, and Middleweight)
- Floyd Patterson (Heavyweight) division.
- Daniel Jacobs (Middleweight)
Lomachenko is the headliner here and his movement might be the best in the game. His unique style where he uses angles, top level fitness, and a quick straight left are so well done it’s scary. My muscle memory hurts with me when using southpaws but Loma is worth learning. Amir Khan has lightning quick hands but his chin is a little suspect while Floyd Patterson is solid all around, very Joe Louis-like if you need a comparison. Don’t sleep on Daniel Jacobs, he has always been an underrated fighter whose only losses, apart from his most recent loss to John Ryder have to been to the likes of Canelo and Triple G.
New Venue
The more the better, and the Kiritsu Arena is a nice middle-sized venue.
Gameplay Updates (4.17.23 Patch)
Health System
It’s no secret that online there are punch spammers. Even after Steel City introduced arm fatigue folks still found a way to abuse the game, and with this original update Undisputed has changed the way they display damage. Gone are the body part specific damage graphics, now replaced with just one overall head and body zone map respectively. The thinking behind this is to mix up the fight styles instead of seeing Canelo players spam the left hook to the body knowing that they can target that area. Knowing what we had it looks a bit barebones but I think it’s a good change for the game if you fight online.
Damage Threshold & Daze Movement
Again, one punch spammers throwing nothing but hooks are starting to see some system changes they might not like. Instead of overly relying on one punch haymakers, Steel City has tweaked it so that combinations are more likely to put your opponent into a daze mode. While we’re on the subject of being dazed, movement while in that state has been decreased so you’re finally able to close them down instead of seeing them get on their bike and avoid pressure. Both changes have had a positive impact on the game as Steel City continues to try and stamp out some of the frustrating areas the community has complained about. Lastly, Undisputed sees the following change:
Added a warning to the in-fight UI that will show a player if they’re close to being dazed and removed the sectional body-part UI
Stamina
The curve has been reduced across Overall Stamina / Stamina Regeneration, which means fighters with higher-rated stamina have a less steep advantage. The ultimate goal here is to make sure we’re seeing punch stats that are more in line with what you’d see in a real fight. This is a first step, and we’ll continue to iterate on this area of balance as we follow your feedback.
Stamina is one area that requires a finely tuned balance. Too overpowered and boxers can throw nearly 1,000 punches a fight. Too underpowered and fatigue sets in way too early. Shooting for that sweet spot that mimics real life punching stats is the target here but a lot comes down to individual fighter attributes and traits. My experience so far has been a mixed bag, one which I can’t quite pinpoint. At times it feels like I should be wearing opponents down with connect percentages over 50% and punching outputs averaging ~75 per round.
On the other hand, I’d expect to see a significant decline towards the later rounds and so far I haven’t quite seen this as I’ve been able continue throwing a lot as we get into the championship rounds. I’d expect stamina to be a moving target, one which Steel City continues to tweak until they find their desired sweet spot.
Better AI
It’s not all about player vs. player here so it’s nice to see Undisputed continue to focus on the AI:
Overhauled our AI system. The new system should allow us to control and adjust more elements of the AI’s gameplay. With this update, players should see that the AI has improved ring movement, punch and stamina management, and weaving/dodging. Players can expect to see continued improvements including a more noticeable difference between fighter styles (like slugger vs outboxer) over time.
As someone who usually gets at least one fight in vs. the AI and one online a night, I like the changes to the AI, especially on the Undisputed difficulty level. There’s a good balance between aggression, movement, and punch output with some solid defense sprinkled in. I’m looking forward to the day when career mode rolls out, the true test of how good the AI is.
4-20 & 4-23 Hot Fixes
- Fixed Cuts and Bruises not appearing in Custom Lobbies.
- Fixed not being able to weave on the ropes.
- Fixed health bars not showing the correct health in the fight results screen.
- Fixed punching from a weave sometimes causing a directional punch.
- Fixed not being able to select Amir Khan in Custom Lobbies.
- Fixed not being able to cycle through boxer information in some select screens.
- Fixed bug around fighter selection and favorites.
- Fixed boxer’s facial reactions snapping off after a punch.
- Fixed deformations staying on longer than intended.
- Updated the range of motion for weaving near ropes.
- Dodging near ropes should feel more responsive.
- Boxer’s faces should now react when they are low stamina.
Some general bug fixes here as well as a few tweaks to movement, most noticeably when near the ropes where at times pre-fix it felt very sluggish. It’s also worth noting that some attention was given to facial expressions, which now correlate to the things like fatigue.
Bottom Line
Despite the modes currently available starting to become a little stale, it’s very encouraging seeing Steel City continue to push out new content (fighters and venues) as well targeting gameplay areas that need refining. While we wait for the official release, which should see modes like career mode come into play, refining the gameplay and stamping out cheats is well appreciated. Here’s to bigger and better things with Undisputed!
