Fire Pro Wrestling D: Barbed Wire Fluorescent Lights Death Match #1

[XSC3]

The original PS2 ("fat" or "brick" to fans) requires you purchase an add on, the broadband adapter, and screw it to the back. The PS2 "slim" has it already built in.

[XSC3]

lots of people have created "surfer sting" for FPR, I'm not sure if anyone has done so yet for FPD, but then I've just started digging into the caws people have made for that game

[XSC3]

So creating new CAW layers would have been painstaking, but I bet you if they had, there would be people out there creating them. editing games just wasn't that big before the internet, and once consoles became internet capable, the rules changed and game companies are just now starting to catch up to the possibilities. of course there are always the fears that mod makers will make content for free that will put theirs to same, or threaten copyright or invite scandal

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

LOL, I know what you mean about the scandal part, LOL. I guess by copyright you mean the modders would start claiming copyrights on their work & cause problems. I'm sure if they weren't afraid of getting sued, Spike would have included nWo shirts in the game since nWo was big in Japan for a time (1997-2000). I wonder if someone will eventually figure out how to hack the wrestlers' layers too.

[XSC3]

I think originally Fire Pro D was supposed to have online play (5-8 players, with up to 4 of those on a single console) only in japan, but I never heard anything more about it, so presumably it was canceled. the PS2 can have 8 players if you use 2 multi-taps. the saturn had seganet but I don't think you could play online with Fire Pro S either, just use multi-taps or system links to have 6 players at once

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

No luck then since my brother doesn't really play videogames anymore & I have nobody else to play with. We had lots of fun playing 2-player Slammasters & 2-player WWF Wrestlemania Challenge in the 90's. He even got a 2nd DC controller (as he did with his Playstation & Xbox, but we never used it).

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman you can play emulated games through kaillera enabled emulators like mame32k, snes9xk (?) and gensk... or ZSNES which has its own network but yeah, sorry, unless you can find a ps2 or dreamcast emulator that does that, no Fire Pro D, G or R online...

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I've known about kaillera for a while (from MAME32), but I never used it. Once FPD is emulated (I'm guessing Bleem was able to before it was sued & shut down), then people would really be able to hack the crap out of it & create in-game translations. Well, maybe. If the DC uses checksums to recognize & load a hacked version of the game on a burned disc, then that probably wouldn't work.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman one way they could do it would be like how a lot of online games do it... say you have a "pure server" option that only allows default content (but changing the names and "looks" of wrestlers wouldn't affect that, since nobody would see your changes but you), and then another option where anything can be used. Making the edits use external files would make it easier, because you could just ban those files to prevent cheating or require everyone have them to play.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

From your words to Spike's ears. A company should approach Spike with this idea. I'd do it if I knew anything about servers & was a computer engineer or programmer & could set it up as a pure server.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I just finally opened the PS2 I got last October & the copy of Fire Pro Returns. I'm very impressed so far. I tried playing a cage match & saw that you could climb out of the cage in this game. Can you perform splashes & elbow smashes from the top of the cage? I think there's an option to disallow exiting the cage as a way of winning a cage match. In that option can you still climb the top of the cage?

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Also, in the selection screen when you're selecting the red & blue corner settings, I noticed it gives you the option of Wrestler & Second. What does Second mean? I tried to find it in the manual, but it just refers to it & doesn't explain it as far as I was able to find.

Also, I'm guessing there are many unlockable wrestlers like in the other games, right? I have to search online to see if there are any codes to instantly unlock them all. Haven't found Great Muta or AJ Styles yet.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I did find Mutoh and quite a few other wrestlers I know (Dynamite Kid, Jushin Liger, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sting, Mike Awesome, Rikishi, Andre, Vader, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Terry Bam Bam Gordy, Mr. Pogo, Abdullah the Butcher, and many others).

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman in both games you can fill in the missing players with bot AI, but yeah, it's not the same.

[XSC3]

The thing about downloading CAWs and rings for the Fire Pro Games is that you're not actually downloading new textures, you're simply downloading SETTINGS. in reality you could just write down what RGB values and what "pieces" you used, and somebody could re-create your ring, belt, wrestler, etc. it's just faster to download the settings they used (which you can also edit).

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Yeah, that's just how SFPWXP for the SFC is. I remember recreating other peoples' wrestlers by writing the settings on paper & choosing the same ones when I was in CAW mode.

[XSC3]

wish they had included the old six sided TNA ring, but I guess that would have meant more movement plane logics

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Well, I believe there was no TNA when this game came out. Or it just started. I think TNA started sometime in 2001, right? WCW was either still around or just recently bought out by WWF since the game came out in 2001 & has WCW wrestlers. I really wish Human would make a Fire Pro game for PS3. or better yet 2 Fire Pro games. It would have been great had it included all the usual organizations, plus tons of Japanese & American legends, ROH wrestlers & NWA Wildside/Anarchy wrestlers.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman fair enough. The lack of divisions is easily made up for by the edit packs. Thing is they toned it all down in America because of stricter scrutiny from brand copyrights I think (putting all the US wrestlers under "freelance American."). I guess I was thinking of Fire Pro Returns (which came out in 2005, then was ported to the US in 2007), rather than D, which yes, predated TNA, with the tail end of WCW and WWF (before it became WWE).

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Argh!!!! A game called Fire Pro Wrestling is supposedly coming out for the XBox 360 in 2011. I was hoping for one on the PS3, especially after the original PS had one game for it & the PS2 had two games for it.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman you're right. Here I thought people were still buying into the "Fire Pro HD" hoax. This new "fire pro" game looks like a joke though, it's 3D, but the characters are skinny and super deformed, like the "Mii" avatars from the "Wii" console. looks like they were going for the "comic cartoon" angle here.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Oh if that's the case, the heck with it. I like my Fire Pro games 2D in the same style they've been for all this time. The only 3D wrestling game I've played so far is Legend of Wrestling 2 on my brother's Xbox (the original Xbox) & although I liked it, I'd choose FPD or FPR over it easily.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman well if they ever made a 3D game with the level of customization and variety that FPR/D offers, I'd go for it, but if they're going to completely change the art style to this big headed cartoon theme, even if it happens to have online play, it's just a different game and not my interest level either.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman I mean, the same people who made Fire Pro have made the King of Coloseeum games, which offer a large number of wrestlers (for a 3D game), and not just Japanese ones. But still, it pales in comparison to FPR/Din terms of variety, and the animation is a bit off

[MXWEwrestling2009]

is this a ROM?

[wtcvidman]

Nope. I have a Dreamcast & the game, which my brother got from a store that sold Japanese import games. He also bought the DC-X, which is a CD that loads a bios that lets you play import games without having to modify the Dreamcast. You just stick it in when loading, then pop out the DC-X CD when prompted & pop in the game. I think the only thing he installed was a small spring by the hinge of the compartment/door.

This game kicks ass, but was surpassed by Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for PS2.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman yep, I own both games, and FPR:R is better in nearly every way, although the victory road and electrified cage match are unique to the DC (where the explosions are more violent and there's the red flash effect when you throw somebody into a barbed wire turnbuckle)

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I also got FPWR for the PS2 but don't have a PS2 yet. I went to Toys R Us last year around Christmas time & found it for $10 (or was it $12). Once I saw it I knew I had to get it. Once I'm employed again, I plan on getting a PS2 to play it on. I used to have Fire Pro Z also, but sold that game after being told it was garbage compared to Fire Pro D & Fire Pro Returns.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman yeah, looks like there's little point in getting Z if you own the other two. the graphics on the electrified cage are a bit different in that one though (but IMHO it doesn't look as cool). Interesting that the "Gruesome fighting" cage in Fire Pro D is actually an Octagon just like it says, but in FirePro R it's 12 sided (dodecahedron), I guess to avoid copyright issues (though they still call it an Octagon ring, go figure).

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman yep, playing import games on a DC is a snap! You don't even need to buy a DC-X or gameshark, btw, you can download the utopia bootloader for free and do the same. But yeah, it's all good. No need for mod chips or firmware hacks like most other systems.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

It's too bad PS2 wasn't like that. I guess you could play import PS2 games on one of those PS2-compatible PS3s that they used to sell since the PS3 is/was universal. But I don't feel like buying one of those at the crazy prices they sell for. I may finally buy a PS2 next month.

I meant to ask you, does FPR have a feature where you can change the hairstyle on any given wrestler's head? I wish FPD had that so I could use the Big Show's body & make him into The Giant.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman btw, if you meant Andre the Giant, or Giant Baba, both of those guys were already in Fire Pro D. To use them though you needed to unlock them. Two ways to do that: Win the "Victory Road" match (easiest way to win that title, play the "8 Man" version), or highlight "edit" (second option down on the right) on the menu screen and press & hold R+Y+L(will beep if timed correctly)

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I meant Tim Wight as The Giant in WCW as he was when he 1st appeared in 1995 & as he was until he left in late 1998/early 1999 (I saw a Nassau Coliseum show in 12/98 where he wrestled DDP, so he must have left in early 1999). I'd love to use his body & just change his hair to long hair as he had in WCW. But I don't think you can do that in FPD. I'd like to make an nWo version of him too.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman there are a finite number of heads in FPD and FPR that are obviously meant to resemble real life wrestlers (with a couple of humorous fictional heads thrown in like generic anime characters). what people do is pick somebody who could pass for them and recolor it. many edits of wrestlers are just approximate after all. throw in some similar theme music (again, limited selection of tracks) and moves they used, and it's pretty darn close

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

So I guess FPR didn't add a head edit option that didn't appear in the previous games. One thing I wanted to do with the Jake I made in this video was give him more hair at the front to make him look more like the 1991/1992 Jake. But then again, based on what you said about hair in FPR, you could probably do that in that game.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman yeah, Fire Pro D (and previous games) let you choose the head, that's it. one layer. Fire Pro R gave you three layers. So you could have the head and a beard or extra haircut, helmet, paint, etc stacked on top to taste and recolor each layer to your liking.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

That's the one big CAW mode improvement in the Fire Pro series that I always wanted. I really hope they added it in FPR. I would love to be able to download those rings & wrestlers I see in various videos. Who knows how hard that will be since there will be a huge learning curve with PS2. The last system I bought was the Sega CDX & the last system I used a lot was my brother's Dreamcast (which I have in my room but hardly use). How the heck did they make those rings look so accurate?

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman the edit system in Fire Pro R is super easy. it's very similar to the one in Fire Pro D, except in english. the only part that's hard is creating new logos (it's a frustrating, non-intuitive paint program). somehow people have figured ways to import images using hacks so I leave the logo creation to others.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

That's good. I just have to find websites that have the logos (& wrestlers) so I could download them. So I'm guessing this means you could edit the wrestlers' hair. Perhaps by choosing from a bunch of preset styles (like shaved head, short hair, long hair, crew/buzz cut, etc) & then changing the color.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman check your PM box, I'll hook you up ;)

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I saw those messages. I'll reply. Does FPR have network play? It would be great playing with & against other players for once.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman sadly no. I don't think any of the Fire Pro games have had netplay (except the upcoming Xbox game which looks like a totally different game as I said before). the Dreamcast version just let you download new moves (created by SPIKE) to use in your edits and the rename file as well as exchange CAWs and saves with other players on seganet. You can go online on the PS2 with broadband adapter and trade saves through the actionreplay archive thing, but no actual multiplayer

[XSC3]

The "network" option in Fire Pro D just goes to Spike's website (assuming your modem/adapter is properly hooked up)

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Is that a special accessory? And is that what you use to download the new moves that you said were created by Spike? Are they still available at the Spike site? Or perhaps at that site you referred me to?

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman to download stuff, the best way is to get the Action Replay Max Evo Edition and a compatible usb flash drive (at least 1 gig). you can also use the broadband adapter, but I find the former method easier. The new moves only apply to Fire Pro D (Dreamcast) and while I'm guessing spike no longer hosts them, tons of fan sites mirror them. check out fireproclub for starters

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Thanks. This was for the Dreamcast, right? I don't think the PS2 doesn't need a special modem because it uses a regular ethernet cable to connect to an internal modem.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman in Fire Pro D you could only import a logo onto a generic "spike" ring. in Fire Pro R, you choose the turnbuckle style (4 choices), and then you use RGB values to choose the color of the three ropes, the four posts, the four turn buckles, the mat (2 colors, since you have choice of three mat styles), apron color (the two "halves" of the ring around the edge). then you have the choice of logo. trouble is it only stores 6 custom logos at a time, the rest are the built in "fake" feds

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman the custom belts are identical to Fire Pro D... you have about 10 choices for a face plate, side plates, belt shape, and then RGB values for each "piece." What's new is that you can apply 7 values of "brightness" to each part, to make the belt appear shiny.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman in the CAW mode, in Fire Pro D, you got to pick the head of your wreastler (from about 500 choices, iirc) and that's it. Every other body part you choose... chest, upper arm, lower arm, waist, thigh, lower leg, foot, and hands. In Fire Pro R, you have multiple layers for each piece. so you can pick a head (bald or with hair already) and then add a "hair" layer or two. You can do crazy combinations like putting a male head on female body or long hair on somebody with an afro, etc.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Wow, that's nice that the FPR CAW mode is so flexible. I'm somewhat familiar with the FPD system since I made that Jake Roberts, an Ultimate Warrior (or 2), a colorful Randy Savage, and a few others. FPD's CAW is similar to SFPWXP's, but with many more bodies & moves & other advances. I made some great wrestlers in SFPWXP that I lost. I made a great Nailz, Rougeau Brothers, Mountie, Warrior, Savage, and many others that I lost when the srm file got lost/deleted.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman bummer! I was creating a pack of wrestlers and I accidentally saved over it in FPR, but I recently re-created them, and better this time too.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman basically the CAW in Fire Pro R is like playing paper dolls... you just put the cut out pieces on top of one another to end up with the 'effect' you're going for. the real customization is in messing with the RGB colors (and there are gradients and stuff for shortcuts). so for example there's no hockey style mask, but people figured out that you could take the demolition style makeups and make the areas the same color to simulate a face mask.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman sadly you can't do many things that are on one side of a character's face like an eye patch. sunglasses can be faked by modifying this layer that has a pair of eyes. of course this IS a sprite based game, so both the left and right "side" of a wreslter look identical. it's like the old problem in Mortal Kombat where Kano has his laser eye on both sides of his head or Sagat's eye patch is on both sides (since he flips and it's on the other side now)

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I guess this means that you can't create a shirt with an nWo logo since it has to be symmetrical.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman. Nope. plus. that shirt would have to already be in the game to be used on a wrestler. you can't import new textures (except, again, as mat logos, that some people have figured out how to do via hacking). the only place you get to "draw" anything is in the logo creator, and those logos can't be used on CAW body parts, sadly. You could make a shirt with some indistinct blobs on it and pretend it was nwo I guess, otherwise you could just use the colors, that's it

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Ah crap. I guess this means forget about drawing new facepaint on wrestlers' faces (like turning TNA Crow Sting into surfer Sting since the facepaint patterns are totally different).

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman there are a few symetrical things like Bull Nakano's face tattoo, but mostly not. the trouble is you can't create new textures, only recolor, mix 'n' match existing ones. and you can't say, put a boot on somebody's head, each body part (and body type) has a limited number of choices. so like the ladies have different choices than the "body builder" type and so forth, since these are all pre-drawn sprites.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I think what you're saying here is that creating new textures are impossible for a game that uses sprites. Which is why it was never seen in those games. Maybe it can be done in a game that uses tiles.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman it's not like it would have been impossible, since CAN create new logos. The game just wasn't designed to let you import new "parts" layers (for lack of a better term) for the wrestlers/referees themselves. They could have designed the game with that in mind, I guess they probably just figured this was enough to satisfy most players, not realizing the scope of the obsession!

[XSC3]

Just think for example if people were allowed to play these games online. you'd have to implement some kinds of safeguards to prevent cheating, because everyone would bring their custom wrestlers (especially if you COULD make your own moves or import your own animations or sprites). that's a lot more money for testing, etc.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

Haha. That would be like that episode of South Park with World of Warcraft (where that guy kills everyone's players). If something like that would ever be made, it would probably be a never-ending thing like that game someone told me about (I think the game is called Ever Quest). It would be a tremendous business opportunity if someone were to start a company that would partner with Spike & do that.

[XSC3]

The only thing you can't do, is adjust the moves of the pre-built wrestlers. All you can do is modify ONE of their four outfits. You can also rename them and edit their profile (Fire Pro D didn't have profile text, only their name, stats, etc). Some people have made packs where they changed all the existing wrestlers into other wrestlers, but see they would have identical moves to the old versions, just a new "skin" if you will.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

You're talking about FPR here right? Because if I remember correctly, FPD doesn't let you edit any aspect of the pre-built wrestlers. I have to play it again. But I think FPD did import the moves of pre-built wrestlers if you copied them to create a new version. I'm pretty sure that's how I made Naked McMahon seen in this video. Then I edited only some of his moves & taunts. It was much easier than in SFPWXP, where you had to recreate everything & there was no copy feature.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman yes, BOTH of these game let you edit ("recostume") one of the four outfits of each pre-set wrestler. So you could modify one of Rikishi's outfits, and you can change his name. But his moves, AI behavior and entrance theme stay the same. However at least in FPR what you can do is create a "new wrestler" in the edit menu and use "model wrestler," which means you can use any built in wrestler as a base, which shows you all of their stats and stuff and you can modify to your liking.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman but the point is that in Fire Pro R, you can have up to 500 CAW wrestlers completely from scratch (within the options of the game that is), and you could theoretically have another 127 "recostumes" of the existing ones. But if you want to say, change Sting, it would be better to start a new CAW using him as a base. because otherwise you're just changing one of his "looks" nothing more.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

By that, you mean going to "new wrestler" & choosing Sting as the "model wrestler" & then changing the hair type, color, face/facepaint color, and the color of his chest, tights, boots, etc (to create the colorful 80's/90's Sting), right? I know in FPD & prior games, if a preset wrestler had facepaint, you had limited # of things you could do. So you couldn't take the preset Sting in FPD & create the buzzcut blond Sting with the same body. I had to use another wrestler's head for that.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman you could take Sting and piece by piece turn him into somebody totally different like Andre the Giant or Lita. But if you just did recostume, the moves would still be those of sting. If you use the model wrestler option and create a new wrestler, you can change his moves too.

[wtcvidman]

@XSC3

I had a feeling that's what you meant. I definitely don't think FPD lets you do that if you create a new wrestler (you'd lose all the moves). Unless you take Sting & slowly recostume him & change the head, color, etc.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman Essentially I think it just copies the wrestler in question, everything intact (except it's just his or her default outfit), which you can then modify to your liking as you would any other caw template. You can just never replace the default wrestlers.

[XSC3]

@wtcvidman So you'd have a second "copy" of sting alongside the default one. The default Sting has four outfits. You can modify ONE of them (to look like ANYTHING in the game, but his moves, voice and AI logic will be identical to how it was before).

[XSC3]

So you could turn the Great Mutah into Shaggy 2 Dope of the Insane Clown Posse if you wanted to, but he'd always play like the Great Mutah. The CAW wrestlers don't have alternate outfits, which is why there are so many copies of each one (mostly Sting, Ultimate Warrior, and Hogan, but still).

[ultm8ninja]

LOL Naked McMahon!!!!