Project EF-12

[MisterHentai]

Tucked away inside of the densely-packed Tokyo Game Show Indie Game Area was Project EF-12, which at first glance appeared to be a prototype 3D fighter along the lines of SoulCalibur or Tekken. After being introduced to designer/Quad Arrow CEO Masahiro Onoguchi, however, I learned that the game is in fact a free, totally customizable 3D fighting game engine.

Through modifying what essentially amounts to a collection of spreadsheets, users can change virtually everything about Project EF-12, from its characters, to their abilities and stages, all the way down to the appearance of the UI. The version I played had a selection of characters that had been modified into familiar archetypes: Virtua Fighter-esque, Tekken-like ÔÇô there was even a character that played with 2D-style controls, despite this being a 3D engine.

Players can also insert new character models they've built from scratch, assuming the models were constructed in either Soft Image or Maya. Trading/sharing new characters is as simple as downloading a zip and extracting the spreadsheet and models into the correct folder.

Project EF-12 is currently available with a mountain of Japanese-language tutorial material through Playism's Japanese website, with an English release expected on Playism's English site before the end of the year. In related news, expect Style Guide: Journalism Hyper Fighting from Joystiq Publishing almost immediately afterwards.

Joystiq

Judging from the videos so far, the animations, movement and speed, it's definitely alot more Tekken-inspired. Even close to the Street Fighter EX series too.

[iheartibuki]

I was just about to post this here. Looks very promising. I wonder if you can also import character animations. If that's the case then we need to figure out how to do that so we can do our own crossovers the devs will never do. : D

[MisterHentai]

Yeah if the animations and frame speeds can be adjusted too, to make them more similar to current VF/DOA, hell or even back to the slow floatiness of old, then this could be a damn good flexible engine.

Along with an option of doing your own 2.5D too!

[iheartibuki]

LOL I'd keep the speed it currently has. A lot of people complain that Tekken is so slow yet when they play somebody else they get bodied because the attacks aren't really that slow. VF and DOA's movements are far too fast even for real life fighters.

[ProtocolX27]

Hmmm, Intriguing. All of it already looks better than Girl Fight

With fighting games on the comeback tour, it's interesting to see the Fighter Maker esque stuff tagging along with it. Except this stuff actually looks decent especially ability to have better fan made material.

Fighter Maker used to chew up a whole memory card just to make some laborious animations with VF graphics.

[MisterHentai]

LOL I'd keep the speed it currently has. A lot of people complain that Tekken is so slow yet when they play somebody else they get bodied because the attacks aren't really that slow. VF and DOA's movements are far too fast even for real life fighters.

Or they get bodied simply because they can't adapt to the speed or the controls? There's plenty of other different reasons and it goes for each of the games.

And hardly a reason for "real life fighters" argument when at the end of the day, these are Japanese videogames, where the fantasy of Anime is always a major influence.

You want "real life", play some Western made Boxing, MMA or UFC game, which are simulations and quite frankly for me, very boring, just like a real life fight.

[iheartibuki]

because they can't adapt to the speed or the controls...

That and the fact that they still underestimate the speed of the game. Like the people who constantly hate on it.

[Dazzy]

Its free?! Wow, cant wait to try this and add epic characters

[RoxasKennedy]

Holy crap!!

IMAGINE ALL THE POSSIBILITIES WITH THY MODELS WE HAVE

But theres also the problem with anims :C

[MisterHentai]

That and the fact that they still underestimate the speed of the game. Like the people who constantly hate on it.

That statement applies for all others so hardly any different.