AI Angles, Feuds and Stables

[edenborn]

Several observations about TEW 2020's AI booking.

 

Let's start, though, with a quick look back at TEW 2016.

 

TEW 2016

As you recall, TEW 2016 has very rigid patterns for booking its shows. SWF Supreme TV will feature exactly 5 matches in the main show. The main event match will be set up by an angle immediately before it. Some of the other matches will receive set up angles as well. Then you'll have some angles that do not immediately set up an immediate match.

 

Set up angles can be brawls, pre-match interviews, confrontations or backstage segments. Hype video set up angles only show up on events. Non set up angles can be brawls, interviews, confrontations, backstage segments or skits. Angles will involve 1-6 workers, depending on the type of angle. The show will always end with a match; it will never end with an angle.

 

(B-shows have different similarly rigid patterns, as do events, as do shows with products that don't make much use of angles. To not get too lost in the weeds, though, let's put our main focus on Supreme TV as a point of comparison.)

 

Storylines may or may not come into play when the AI books a show. Stables do not. In a tag or trios match, it's not uncommon to see the AI team a wrestler up with teammates he has no history with, even when stablemates are available on the roster. (This is particularly frustrating with a stable-rich company like SOTBPW.)

 

Feuds are built up on TV intermittently at best, heading towards PPVs where those in the feud may not interact at all. Major stars in feuds may be left off the PPV entirely, while openers get PPV time in their place.

 

TEW 2020

TEW 2020's Supreme TV is not quite as rigid with its patterns. I'm looking at two months' worth of shows and here's what I'm seeing.

 

- Instead of 5 main show matches, there are now 6 or 7.

 

- There are now 4 different kinds of angles.

 

1. Set Up Angles
   
2. Non Set Up Angles
   
3. Feud Angles
   
4. Revenge Attacks
   

- Set Up Angles set up a match later in the show. In a refreshing change from TEW 2016, the match it sets up doesn't need to immediately follow the set up. In other words, an angle at the beginning of the show might set up the co-main event or main event. Types of set ups include:

 

"An interview with [a team or trio set to see action later]"

"A brawl between [wrestlers set to see action later]"

"A confrontation between [wrestlers set to see action later]"

 

As with TEW 2016, PPVs may feature a video as an immediate set up to a match:

 

"A video hyping [singles, tag teams or trios set to see action later]"

 

Note that sports entertainment shows like Supreme TV do not always book set up angles.

 

- Non Set Up Angles (or throwaway angles if you prefer) don't set up matches or advance feuds. Typically they involve one worker only. They look like this:

 

"An interview with [one worker]"

"A backstage segment with [one worker]"

 

You see a lot of these angles. Every show has them. They might feature wrestlers or non-wrestlers. If they're wrestlers, that might be their only segment of the show. Or you might see a backstage segment with a wrestler, and later they're in a tag match. But the backstage segment doesn't seem to set up the tag match in any meaningful way.

 

Skits seem to have been completely removed from AI booking. Even in soap opera or comedy companies like RAW or ZEN.

 

- Feud Angles advance storyline feuds. They look like set-up angles but they're much more colorful. Here are the ones I've found:

 

"[Wrestler 1] attacks [Wrestler 2]"

"[Wrestler 1] attacks [Wrestler 2] backstage"

"[Wrestler 1] attacks [Wrestler 2] via the crowd"

"[Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2] brawl and have to be physically pulled apart"

"[Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2] confront each other backstage and have to be pulled apart"

"[Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2] come face to face backstage and get separated"

"[Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2] get into a brawl backstage"

"[Wrestler 1] leaves [Wrestler 2] laying after a brawl breaks out"

"[Wrestler 1] manages to leave [Wrestler 2] down after a backstage brawl"

"[Wrestler 1] calls out [Wrestler 2]"

"[Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2] have an angry confrontation"

"[Wrestler 1] gets the better of an exchange with [Wrestler 2]"

"[Wrestler 1] cuts a heated promo about [Wrestler 2]"

"[Wrestler 1] does an interview talking about [Wrestler 2]"

"In an interview segment, [Wrestler 1] mocks [Wrestler 2]"

"[Wrestler 1] taunts [Wrestler 2] in a backstage interview"

"[Wrestler 1] insults [Wrestler 2] in an in-ring interview"

"A video covers the feud between [Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2]"

"A video covers the rivalry between [Wrestler 1] and [Wrestler 2]"

"A video recaps the [Wrestler 1] vs [Wrestler 2] feud"

"[Tag Team 1] cut a promo on [Tag Team 2]"

"[Tag Team 1] taunt [Tag Team 2] in a backstage interview"

 

I'm sure I've missed some. Especially tag team feud angles. But you get the idea. Feud angles don't need to be in a show. When they do appear, they're always (?) either the first or second angle in the show. Sometimes they're both the first and second angle. You don't see them later in the show, which seems odd and arbitrary.

 

- Revenge Attacks are rare post-match attacks that the loser/losers launch against the winner/winners. They take place immediately after the match or shortly after the match. They look like this:

 

"[Wrestler 1] attacks [Wrestler 2]"

"[Tag Team 1] attack [Tag Team 2]"

 

If I'm not mistaken, a revenge attack is the only time you might see a show end with an angle. All in all, this an interesting idea but strangely executed. Logically, you would think that a revenge attack would create a new feud or further an existing. But these angles are unrelated to feuds. The loser of a main event can clobber the winner in an exciting angle to close the show... and those two wrestlers might never interact with each other again.

 

As for the number of total angles per show, I'm seeing from 7 to 9 for each episode of Supreme TV.

 

Have I missed any of the angles? Or types of angles? If you see something I don't, I hope you'll reply with your addition.

 

Let's talk about stables.

 

Stables in TEW 2020 have a weird bug where they seem to be constantly closing and opening with any rationale. That needs to be fixed. But there are other issues as well.

 

Before getting into those issues, I would like to say that this is such a potentially great addition, and it's cool seeing stables listed in match results, name checked in AI feuds, etc. Appreciate all the work that's gone into the feature.

 

- Stables don't have angles. I looked and looked but never saw anything like:

 

"Interview with [stable]"

"[stable] jumped [Tag Team] backstage"

"[stable] cut a promo on [Wrestler]"

"[stable] cut a promo on [Tag Team]"

"[stable 1] cut a promo on [stable 2]"

 

Etc.

 

This doesn't represent reality. I know this as an Attitude Era wrestling fan who watched hundreds of nWo, DX and Nation of Domination promos, skits, etc. If you're going to put stables in the game, they should have angles where some, most or all of them get involved.

 

You could reduce the number of non set up angles -- those solo-interviews and backstage segments that don't seem to do much beyond giving a worker TV time -- and add the possibility of stable angles instead.

 

- Stables don't get very involved in feuds. They don't seem to have each others' backs. Yes, the AI will sometimes book them in random matches together, but you never get the sense that they're a dangerous force that can overpower you with numbers. Here's an example:

 

Looking at my game right now, Rich Money is feuding with Nicky Champion. They've had one match and three angles. In addition to being USPW World Champion, Rich heads up The Business: it's a stable with Dusty Ducont, Rajah, Charlie Thatcher, Elizabeth Cartier and Sterling Whitlock. You would think Nicky would have some trouble getting at Rich because The Business will be challenging him to matches, attacking him backstage, etc.

 

Here is Nicky Champion's match history:

 

* Winning a tag match against Rick Law & Bulldozer Brandon Smith

* Winning a trios match against Bulldozer Brandon Smith & Shockwave

* Losing a title match to Rich Money

* Winning a tag match against The Cold Warriors

* Winning a tag match against Rick Law & Running Wolf

 

Conspicuously absent? Any of Rich Money's stablemates. Similarly, Nicky has no angles with any of Rich Money's stablemates.

 

This has no basis in reality.

 

Look at Raven's Flock in WCW. Benoit chasing Raven but having to fight off Saturn, Kidman, Sick Boy, Lodi, etc. only to finally get his hands on Raven at the PPV. There's none of that in this game.

 

Or look at the nWo spoiling main events with crazy brawls that close the show. Love it or hate it, that sort of stable interference angle is a big part of the wrestling landscape. There's none of that here.

 

On a side note, the lack of a main event angle -- except for that odd revenge attack that doesn't advance a feud -- remains strangely absent from the AI's booking. Yet, so often in wrestling you see this. Austin retains his title in a grueling main event and BAW GAWD KING THAT'S KANE'S MUSIC! And Kane (or whoever the new challenger is) destroys the champion to close the show. Right? And that sets up a new feud. Why can't TEW 2020's AI do that every now and then?

 

- Stables don't seem to feud with ex-stable members. Get kicked out of a stable, there don't seem to be any consequences. In actual wrestling, a feud is commonly (though not always) created. Now I see an interesting feud note about ex-tag partners feuding with each other but I don't see it happening with stables. Workers can quit or get kicked out, change from heel to babyface and then have entirely new adventures while the old stable has no further interaction with them at all. Once again, it's odd.

 

All in all, there are improvements I like -- the show booking is a little less rigid, the range of feud angles is rather fun, and the booking doesn't feel quite as random as TEW 2016 -- but many of the most exciting features feel broken or incomplete. I recognize that my dream version of the AI -- where the AI would book strategically, thinking many shows ahead the way a human booker might -- isn't going to happen. But I feel like TEW 2020 is still quite far from realistic booking, and I'm hoping against hope that improvements can be made before the release or in the weeks that follow.

 

Those are my initial impressions. I'd be curious to hear yours.