Spunk's SCFL-themed mega-giant CPU Logic Guide

"I know some of you out there are working on updates to your edits. Unfortunately, I'm not yet ready to release the updated edit pack so you have something to test against. Instead of doing that, I'm going to take some time away from working on Gang Wars to put down on record my basic thought process that is going into creating my own edits for EFW and the modification process that several (read: almost all) of the existing ones have gone through in recent weeks.




I'm going to state here once again that I do not feel any hard and fast rules are needed. What I'm going to do instead is explain how my edits are created, the methodology behind their design, and expect you to follow along.





First of all, read this.

Now, read this.

Lastly, read this.





Getting the picture yet? Please read this. ALL of it.






Next, download this and keep it handy. Look through it. After reading this, some of the move data and the impact it has on the engine may surprise you.







EFW is essentially divided twice. The first division is a class division. We have five classes in EFW at the moment: Heavyweights, Angels, No Limits, Perdition and Tag Team. These classes are not divided by weight as much as they are divided by the style of wrestling that they represent.





Heavyweights wrestle a more grounded, less energetic style. There is typically more psychology to a heavyweight match and less flying around. There should be less bumps taken and more striking moves thrown. An example of an EFW heavyweight match would be something like Bret Hart vs The Undertaker. Perfect examples of EFW heavyweights are Jack Furlong, Rick Idol and Jack Dod.


The vast majority of EFW's competitors fall into this category. Heavyweights should NOT neglect non-knockdown grappling strikes. I am simply not going to accept an edit that does not have at least one and you should be trying for at least TWO. The edit should be using them at high (5-10+) percentage throughout the match, the higher the better, and not just used at the beginning. This helps the match keep a slow-build pace.


Try to limit your moves that cause huge bumps (read: virtually everything in strong grapple and most of the end of medium grapple) to only occurring at the end of matches and keep their percentage fairly low (8% max). Don't give your edit many more of these moves than you have specials. Moves like power bombs, choke slams, grapple shining wizards, F5's and so on should be restricted to being used as a finisher or special or not being used at all. This serves a two-fold purpose: it keeps the big moves more spread out amongst our various edits and it limits the amount of big moves an edit will throw in a match. I would rather see every single wrestler on the card have a neck breaker drop than see two with non-special choke slams. Now keep in mind: I'm not saying you CAN'T use one as a non-special. One non-special, non-finisher, non-pinning big bumping move in your front strong grapple is usually acceptable as long as it is restricted to low (5% or less) logic percentage.


NOTHING can destroy a good match more quickly and completely than a shitty finish. Design your edit with your limitation of three priority combos in mind. I want you to try as hard as you can to totally eliminate the random ground pinning from the equation - you should work towards making your edit win his matches with a finisher, a specialty, or a non-finisher, non-special pinning manuver or submission hold IN THAT ORDER. Willie Ramsey is awesome about this, and so is Jack Dod. They NEVER do "random" pins or holds to win because they were designed to finish with their finisher, or barring that, a specialty. In some designs, you won't be able to completely remove the ground pins. You can keep them if you absolutely must, but try your damndest to avoid it. Just remember: that 5% in a random pin is all it takes to totally ruin a legendary match. Do you really want to take that chance?


Be sure any big bumping move is combo'd into a pin or finishing hold with a Priority Combo. The days of seeing guys get choke slammed, power bombed and pile driven ten times with no finish even attempted are over. Don't look at the move category (Weak grapple, medium or strong) to determine the damage of the move, because there are medium grapple moves that out-damage strong grapple ones. Use your wrestling common sense: medium grapple or not, a pile driver is NOT a medium strength move. If you're going to use something like a pile driver and NOT combo it, then keep the percentage LOW (5% or less) and only use it at near death.


I love punches. Please, make your edit do some punches, chops or some other sort of hand strike. An edit can use the American punch rush 10 times in a match and I will never complain, but if I see an edit use something like the Brazilian kick rush or similar moves more than twice, I'm going to get mad. This isn't No Limits, this is heavyweight. Heavyweights throw lots of punches to space out the big moves. Standing or grappling single-strike kicks are perfectly acceptable at all times. The three standing combinations annoy me. I say again: non-knockdown grappling strikes are your friend, please use them.


I don't care if I see a hundred knuckle arrows in a match, but if I see four reverse tombstones or three fire thunders from an edit, that's too freaking much. Personality logic is the most important part of making an edit. I am a strong believer in keeping Flexibility as close to 50/50 as possible - this will keep your edit "on track" and make him listen to your logic programming. Dropping Entertainment (or Personal Traits) by a few percentage points can stop characters from spamming their finisher or specialty moves during matches, it's something you can try if you're getting bit by the repeat move bug.



To recap: Keep a slow build pace by utilizing weak grapple strikes throughout the match and limit the percentage on your big moves. Avoid bad finishes by utilizing your finisher, specials and priority combos intelligently. Use punching/chopping/hand strikes and avoid fancy kicking combos unless they're specialty/finisher.








Angels division wrestlers are exclusively female and are unique in that they are pretty much open to using virtually any style they choose. You might think you shouldn't give a power bomb whip or a choke slam to an Angel's wrestler, but this isn't the case - since they'll only be facing other women, it's perfectly okay to do so.


The Angel's division is the most open division simply because female wrestlers who are only wrestling each other can utilize the same power maneuvers, psychology and tactics of heavyweight males OR incorporate a higher speed, higher energy style if they so choose. Their size, while often seen as a detriment, is in this case a tremendous advantage.


To recap: Angel's division competitors are the least restricted of all EFW competitors because their relatively similar size and build allows them to wrestle each other in virtually any style.







No Limits is EFW's cruiserweight division. This division is for smaller guys who wrestle an extremely high-energy match, use a lot of running and flying moves, and dazzle the crowd with their athletic ability. Typically, there is less psychology in a No Limits match. Examples of real life wrestlers who would fit the mold would be anybody from WCW's Cruiserweight division in the mid-to-late 1990's. Perfect examples of No Limits wrestlers currently in EFW are Rick Danger, Anarchy and Iggy Dod.


Most of the heavyweight concepts also apply to this division, but there are some differences:


No Limits wrestlers should trying to keep the energy going at all times. Don't be afraid to bump up your irish whip percentage to 25 or 30 or even higher, especially early on, to keep things rolling along.


While the heavys are more concerned with throwing punches, on No Limits guys it's acceptable to use kick combos more liberally. On the flip side, huge crushing grapple moves should be even more restricted here than in the heavyweight division as they can be murderous to smaller guys. This style is famous for guys using complex grapple moves like the Gory Crusher, Darkness Buster, Michinoku Driver, etc. but these should ALWAYS be restricted to being a special or finisher. Otherwise, replace them with something else.


Don't have your edit flipping off the turnbuckles every time an opponent falls in the corner. Yes, I want to see energy, I DON'T want to see Jeff Hardy. He sucks balls and should quit. If your edit is going through spurts, where at times he does five top rope moves in a row and then for three matches he does none, try lowering his Flexibility some to make him obey your percentage more.


Psychology of No Limits matches will often come in the form of a 'supreme technician' in the vein of Dean Malenko or, to a lesser extent, Chris Benoit. Lance Van Horn is a good example of this. Anarchy also works the arm well while mixing in a lot of high-energy maneuvers.


Use a light heavyweight style. Many things in the FP engine are hard-coded into the offensive styles. For a No Limits character, you want to stick with a style like Junior or American.



Remember, these competitors are much more slight of build than the heavys. Their points should reflect this, both in parameters and in other point categories.



To recap: Energy, energy, energy! Avoid doing too many top rope moves and avoid crushing grapple moves unless they are special/finish marked.







Perdition matches are deathmatches. It's important to note the word 'death' in 'deathmatch'. There is no psychology to a deathmatch and very little actual wrestling. This division is brutal, violent and sadistic. Matches typically turn into bloodbaths and are over quickly. Real life wrestlers who would fit into the Perdition division include Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Mr. Pogo, Atsushi Onita, and New Jack. Examples of EFW wrestlers who fit the mold perfectly are Weehawk, Bo Abobo and Ronnie Dod.


This style throws virtually all the main guidelines out the window. Deathmatches have no psychology. They're not interested in a slow build, they're not interested in wrestling. The purpose of this division is to deliver violence and brutality against your opponents. That's the only objective.


Perdition matches should contain even more brawling than heavyweight matches. 95% of a Perdition match should be punches, kicks, head butts, weapon strikes, blows to the groin, chokes, eye gouges and so on. Remember: Perdition guys are not interested in wrestling, thus most of them won't know much about wrestling. The moves that ARE used are typically either basic but damaging ones, like a DDT or pile driver, or sick bumps, like the thunder fire power bomb or burning hammer. Many are moves designed to be more effective when used in combination with a weapon, like a sit-out facebuster.


Perdition wrestlers should have at least 15% to pick up weapons. I would recommend starting at 15% and go up until you find a good spot.


Perdition competitors typically care little for winning and go for finishes less. This means I don't want to see ANY random pins in Perdition matches. None, zero. Random submissions? These are okay. Why one and not the other, you ask? Because this division isn't about winning, it's about HURTING PEOPLE. Wrestlers in deathmatches don't use an arm bar because of the far-reaching rammifications of damage to the tendons making their opponents unable to use their offense, they do it because they want to break somebody's arm off and beat them to death with it. They want to kick, choke and beat their opponents until the referee pulls them off and stops the match.


None of this means I will accept Perdition guys with ultra-repetitiveness, no weak grapple strikes or that ignore the most basic EFW tenet which is to make sure he is having good matches. 'No rules' doesn't mean you make old school robot edits, it means you make brutal, violent edits that still mesh well and have good, even matches with their Perdition peers.



To recap: Violence is the word of the day. Brutal brawling mixed with basic damaging moves is the way to go.






After GW, I'm going to re-organize the Character Profiles boards. I will put wrestlers where I believe their points, move equipment and overall theme of design fits best. If I move one of your guys from one division to a different one where you don't want them, then it's probably time for you to open up the editor.

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The second division of EFW is a division that exists in every wrestling federation. We have the Legends, Superstars, Mid-Card and Jobbers.





Legends have more points and are usually given a lot more leeway in what I'll let their edits get away with than anyone else. If you have to question whether or not your edit is a legend, he's not. Currently, active EFW legends are Vermin, James William Bain, Bo Abobo, Weehawk and Nomad. EFW President Nightmare is also a legend.

There are various reasons for the ones on this list to be on it. Vermin, Nightmare and Nomad go without saying. James Bain and Weehawk were the first tag team champions, Bain has won virtually every title EFW offers and Weehawk is the undisputed king of EFW deathmatches. Bo Abobo barely makes the list, mostly by association with his groupmates and by virtue of his legendary reputation for KO'ing people with suplexes. We have several superstar-level guys who are right on the cusp of going legend but haven't quite reached that peak yet.




Superstars are the main event guys. This list includes, but is not limited to, in their respective divisions: Rick Idol, Hannibal Lecter, Jack Furlong, Tyrant, Z-Force, Jack Dod, Condo, Onslaught, Mornewen, Jane Dod, Anarchy and David Mercury. These characters have won titles or proven themselves to be legitimate, lasting and iconic representatives of their respective divisions. As a result, I usually give them a bit more leeway than I would the ones below them, and I'll more readily give them access to 3rd tier special skills and be less critical of their point assignments. Idol, Onslaught and Hannibal are one step away from the legends group.





Mid-Card guys are plentiful. Examples include Mike Phillips, Dutch Rogers, Super Canadian, Vivian Cole, Whisper, Al Jackson, Patrick Potterdam, Ronnie Dod, Covenant (not far from Superstar), The Machine, Jim Freedom, Quinten Sunder, the whole Fred Baxter Project, the whole Justice League minus Mercury, etc. These guys should have relatively low/average parameters and should avoid High on R/B/S. Shouldn't be using third tier special skills, either.






These classifications are not written in stone. Bret Stillman has had steady improvement since the day I made him, each new version gets a point added here, a slight adjustment to logic there, to represent his steady development into a good wrestler. You can do this, too. Just meet with me and let me know what you want to do. Character development is one of my favorite things that can happen in EFW. I love seeing guys react and learn from the angles and such that take place. I love seeing logical, well-thought out move changes, I love seeing points moved up or down based on performance.

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Special Skills can have huge impacts on matches, or they can do nothing but waste points. Currently, we're not restricting any special skills except Reborn, which only I will be handing out when I deem it earned. 'Blood' and 'Hardcore' work very well for Perdition competitors. 'Guts' is good for ballsy guys who refuse to submit. I like using 'Strike Back' on mega-face characters to give them a good chance to come back at the end. Avoid using 3rd tier special skills whenever possible, and they should NEVER be given to mid-card wrestlers. Only guys who compete at a very high level consistently will be allowed to keep them.





I have said nothing about Parameters here. The reason I haven't is because they are HIGHLY subjective. What is 'medium' for one guy is 'too FUCKING high!' for another. The only thing I'm going to say about them is that there is a HUGE difference between a 5 and a 6, a 6 and a 7 and a 7 and an 8. One point can legitimately make or break an edit. Assign them carefully and always start low, working up, rather than starting high and going down.




Ukemi can be utilized to help an edit better work the match as he is supposed to. If your edit is a face character, giving him High/Low/High Ukemi can help him come out strong, start selling during the middle of the match, then come back towards the end. A heel character can go Medium-Low/High/Low to come out showing ass at the start, then take over in the middle (usually with a cheap shot), then at the end go back to getting pounded. Experiment with the settings. Find a medium you like. Remember the role your character is supposed to be playing.





A word about female competitors in the heavyweight division: I'm not going to tell you guys "No" on this because I dislike telling people no more than I do watching Vermin kill an edit half his size that has no business being in the ring with him. I'm not a sexist person, I don't believe women are inferior to men in any way. Physiological differences DO exist, though, and these manifest most strikingly in contact sports. This is why there are no women in pro football - it's not that they can't grasp the concept, it's that a woman simply cannot push the 6'4, 305lb Matt Light out of the way to sack Tom Brady or out-muscle Terrell Owens to stop him from catching a pass. They simply do not possess the body mass. Have you ever seen an NBA referee standing up next to Shaquille O'Neil? That's what 95% of all women look like standing next to Vermin. If you're going to make a female designed for heavyweight competition, then it is up to you to make their moves realistic for their relative size. A female in the heavyweight division must be designed, pointed, prepared and equipped with moves that enables them to wrestle a realistic match against the likes of Caleb Dod, Onslaught and Vermin. If they're not, I'm going to change them. So make sure you give them something acceptable and that if it's even remotely questionable that you have a damn good argument prepared for it, or else it's going to get changed and it may not be to something you like. Do yourself a favor and give them something of YOUR choice, even if it's not your first choice, rather than leaving it up to me. Or better yet, put them in the Angel's division where they belong and where all of these restrictions magically vanish.

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On the subject of edit testing, I want to make something clear:







Do not test against the Lords of Doom.




Do not test against the Lords of Doom.




Do not test against the Lords of Doom.





Do not test against the Lords of Doom.






The reason you shouldn't do this is because these edits are not reflective of the "standard" that is applied to their respective divisions. If you want to test against a main event heavyweight, test against Jack Furlong. If you want to test against mid-card heavyweights, Mike Phillips and Dutch Rogers are your best bets because they are the measuring stick *I* use. If you're testing an Angel, do so against Blaze or Whisper. If you're testing No Limits, go with Rick Danger, Mercury or Iggy Dod.


DO NOT test against the LoD because what you are going to see is NOT the result you will see in 99% of the matches your edit will be in. You're going to turn around and make unnecessary changes to the edit because they get stomped to death and that's going to make your edit worse, not better. TRUST ME ON THIS: if your edit can go toe to toe with any of the edits I mentioned above just now, they CAN and WILL do so with the LoD.


Please don't test against them. Feel free to run sims just to see what happens, of course, that's always fun. But don't make changes based on what happens.

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My final word on this whole subject is something I need everybody to understand. I absolutely love you guys and I seriously love all your edits. I hope that my hard work on the site, on the cards and on posts like this is evidence of that so you don't have to take me at only my word. I've promised you in the past that I'm not going to put a shitty sim on a card, and I never will. I hope you all know I have nothing but the best interest of everybody's having fun in mind when I make EFW decisions.


Having said that, there is no edit on the EFW save that is immune to my changing it, in any way I see fit and at any time I feel like it, in order to make it fit better into the federation. I rarely have to do this, but I want to make you aware right now that I will do it without hesitation to make your edit mesh better and better fit his or her role. I'm not going to cripple edits. I don't care about winning and losing, it truly has no bearing on my decisions. But HOW matches are won and lost, THAT I care about. I'm not going to put on a bad match, but I'm also not going to run a sim two dozen times to get one I approve of. If I feel the need to adjust an edit, I'm just going to do it.


If you're not planning on submitting any changes, don't worry. I'll be making adjustments to any edit that I feel needs them to make them better fit what I want to see out of EFW. After you submit them to me the first time, you won't ever need to change them again unless you want to. I'm perfectly capable of handling it all myself.



Thanks for reading this. I hope it helps you better understand what it is I'm looking for in edits and what my expectations generally are." 

Published to FPZOMG on 1/18/2008

"Here's some info I've collected over the years and my opinions on proper edit creation. I am patiently (but anxiously) awaiting the day that JB's Engine Guide is completed and renders this entire document useless.

Note: I will gladly answer any questions related to FP that I can through e-mail (press the Contact button in the menu) or on the forum here. E-mail will be much faster.

Note 2: Missing elements of this page from its previous incarnation, such as the FPD music replacement tutorial, will be uploaded to ZOMG in time.

1-21: Added image and clarified logic section slightly. This is a confusing subject for many people so don't feel bad if you don't get it right away.
Table of Contents
1. Logic: Entertainment, Serious Time and Flexibility
2. Offensive-Defensive Points
3. Rank and Charisma
4. Your Moveset and You: B - A - L - A - N - C - E.
5. E-Fed Notes
6. Fight Style Move Grade Chart
!~NOTE~!

The three personality settings - Entertainment, Serious Time and Flexibility - have more control over the way your edit acts in the ring than everything else about the edit put together. They are by far the most critical settings involved in making an edit behave the way you want him to behave. You MUST have a good grasp of using these settings to make good quality edits.

Personality: Entertainment (US FPR: 'Personal Traits')

This setting represents the character's willingness and effort to put on an entertaining match for the fans.
Characteristics of "YES" (LOW) Personal Traits:

* IN GENERAL: The Edit will wrestle a grounded, intelligent, mat-based match and care little for entertaining the fans.
* Edit will stick to grounded offense.
* Edit will use less top rope moves or suicide dives.
* Edit will not choose Specialties/Finishers above other moves.
* Edit will not use as many Performances.
* Edit will stop to rest more often.

Characteristics of "NO" (HIGH) Personal Traits:

* IN GENERAL: The Edit will wrestle an aggressive, high-flying and entertaining match at any cost.
* Edit will not restrict his offense.
* Edit will use more top rope moves and suicide dives.
* Edit will sometimes choose Specialties/Finishers above other moves.
* Edit will somtimes repeat the same moves many times, especially Specialty/Finisher moves.
* Edit will use Performances normally.
* Edit will not stop to rest as often.

A character that is being made as a professional wrestler should NEVER have a high "YES" percentage here. The vast majority of all Spike-made wrestlers have between 100 "NO" and 70 "NO" / 30 "YES" on this percentage - this is the range all professional wrestler edits should fall in.

Personality: Serious Time (US FPR: 'Discretion')

This percentage controls how long a match lasts and how much of a priority the character places on winning.
Characteristics of "YES" (LOW) Discretion:

* IN GENERAL: The Edit cares little for winning, instead prefering to damage the opponent as much as possible.
* Edit is more concerned with inflicting damage on the opponent than winning.
* Edit will drag matches out longer and go for wins less often.
* Edit will drag to a corner when using the front facelock (R1) manuver.
* Edit will not stop to drag an opponent out of the ropes before continuing to attack.

Characteristics of "NO" (HIGH) Discretion:

* IN GENERAL: The Edit values winning above all else.
* Edit is more concerned with winning than anything else.
* Edit will try to end the match as quickly as possible.
* Edit will drag to the center of the ring when using the front facelock (R1) manuver.
* Edit will always drag an opponent out of the ropes before continuing to attack.

The majority of the Spike-created pro wrestlers have 65 "NO" / 35 "YES" in this category, which is a good median between wanting to win and dealing damage to your opponent. Professional wrestlers CAN have "YES" percentages here - many Spike-created heelish or wild wrestlers who care very little for the win/loss result of their match have a very high "YES" percentage. Wrestlers like Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Mick Foley and Sabu are examples of wrestlers with extremely high "YES" percentages. They can also have higher "NO" percentages - technicians like Ric Flair and Dean Malenko were given 100 "NO". For Flair, this reflects his 'win at all costs' attitude. For Malenko it reflects his single-minded focus on winning.

Note: In tag team matches, a high "NO" percentage will still cause a wrestler to drag to his corner instead of to the center. This is because a high "NO" percentage simulates the wrestler wrestling a 'smart' match, and in a tag team situation, it is smarter to drag the opponent to your corner than to the center of the ring.
Personality: Flexibility (US FPR: 'Flexibility')

This percentage determines how much the character will stray from his own "game plan", or the logic settings you give him for his moves, in order to have a good match with his opponent.
Characteristics of "YES" (LOW) Flexibility:

* IN GENERAL: The Edit is uncooperative with his opponent and follows his logic settings to the letter.
* Edit will follow his logic settings exactly with no variation.
* Edit will completely ignore his opponent's size, style and attack patterns.
* Edit will not modify his game plan for any reason.

Characteristics of "NO" (HIGH) Flexibility:

* IN GENERAL: The Edit is cooperative and attempts to modify his own style to mesh well with his opponent.
* Edit will adapt on the fly, sometimes ignoring logic settings to mesh better with his opponent.
* Edit will choose attacks and moves that better suit the current situation, such as not trying to lift a Giant.
* Edit will sometimes attempt to mirror an opponent's moves, such as using lots of running moves against a Junior.

A character with 100 "NO" will change whatever logic is necessary in order to put on a good match - this CAN result in a move with 0% logic assigned actually being used. A character with 100 "YES" will never go off the logic settings you have put in for him. "YES" flexibility is one of the defining characteristics of shootfighters - the higher the "YES" flexibility, the less your wrestler will cooperate with his opponent. This, however, can be necessary for larger wrestlers (such as Vader, who is 50/50) who simply should not be adapting to their opponents and will find themselves crippled if they try.

To give you an example of such cooperation, a high Flexibility edit that is facing a Junior style opponent may find himself throwing his opponent to the ropes more often than his programmed logic dictates because this is the preferred style of match for a Junior style wrestler - a fast paced, high energy style. A Power styled edit with high Flexibility might find himself using his ground holds much more often than normal if he is facing an opponent who is trying to mat wrestle him. An edit with high Flex will avoid trying to lift a Giant style wrestler and will instead attempt to only use moves he knows he can land, such as strikes.

Low Flexibility is one of the defining characteristics of shootfighters, who don't cooperate with each other at all. Given the above example, a low Flex edit that is programmed to mat wrestle will mat wrestle any edit he faces, regardless of what his opponent wants to accomplish with the match. Even though it is better for the Junior to be running around, the low Flex edit doesn't care and will keep the match on the mat if at all possible. Likewise, if his logic says to do a throwing german suplex, it doesn't matter if he's facing Rey Mysterio or Andre the Giant, he's going to try the throwing german suplex the exact percent of the time that you set it to.

Pro wrestlers are all over the board with this setting, but the majority are set high, between 100 "NO" and 80 "NO / 20 "YES".

Offensive-Defensive Points

Check this link to GSWF.org's stats page for the Road Dogg, circa FPD. You will notice that the mid-card Road Doggy Dog has NO stats higher than 8. He only has two 8's - technical offense, which proves someone at Spike is smoking calcified dog shit, and flying defense. You will also notice he only has a single 1, in submission attack, which is justified because he doesn't know jack shit about joint locks. Now, check this link to stats for The Undertaker from the same era. You'll notice a lot more 8's and even a few 9's. Finally, check this link to the stats page for Ric Flair. You'll see several 8's, 9's and even a few 10's.

The lesson here is that there are a LOT more Road Doggs in the world than there are Undertakers, and there are a LOT more Undertakers than there are Flairs. Only the top-level superstars of any federation will have 9's on their stats and only the legendary will ever have 10's. There are exceptions to this to be found, but it is a reliable guideline to follow.

The point of all this is that you should rarely exceed 8 when allocating points to your wrestler. You should limit the number of 8's you have to one or two, and that's only if your wrestler has experience in the business in his backstory. Keep the point numbers low and spread your points out. There are very few pro wrestlers that are completely one-dimensional. The only statistics it is usually reasonable to leave at 1 are Joint and MMA attack and defense (MMA is known as 'Overall' in the US release) since those techniques are not something normally taught in wrestling school.

Update 1/18/08: There is another lesson to be learned from these stats, and that is one of reality vs perception. If you check this link for the stats for the shootfighter Igor Vovchanchyn, you will notice his Punching attack stat is the same as Ric Flair. This link shows Giant Baba is actually rated higher than Vovchanchyn. Does this mean that Ric Flair has the legitimate punching power of Vovchanchyn, or that Baba had MORE power? No - it means that, within the realm of professional wrestling, Giant Baba and Ric Flair are/were perceived to be delivering incredibly damaging chops. Keep this in mind when assigning points. A wrestler doesn't have to be Mike Tyson in reality in order to have damaging punches or chops in the world of pro wrestling, and the same example applies to most of the other statistics as well.
Rank and Charisma

Credit: www.fireprozomg.com/forum/index.php?topic=62.0

The difference between their Ranks of two wrestlers who are locking up determines the amount of cheers they receive from the crowd. If an "S" rank wrestler is destroying an "E" rank wrestler, the crowd will be quieter than usual as this is expected behavior. However, they will react for any amount of offense the "E" rank wrestler manages to inflict against the "S" rank wrestler, as this is unexpected and exciting. The closer the Ranks are, the more 'normal' the crowd involvement becomes.

The Charisma level determines the level of crowd reaction to whatever is happening. It doesn't determine -if- the crowd reacts, but how strong the reaction is when it does occur.
Ukemi

Credit: www.fireprozomg.com/forum/index.php?topic=18.0

When you set your Ukemi rating to high, the character has a higher chance of activating Ukemi, thereby letting his opponent do a move to him in grapple. However, moves that the wrestler takes after activating Ukemi also build up a hidden "Ukemi meter". Once the wrestler hits 0 Spirit, they get a bonus in spirit and damage based on how much Ukemi-based damage they've taken over the course of the match.

Utilizing this hidden attack boost, perhaps combined with the Strike Back special skill, could be usefull for simulating a "Hulking Up" scenario or creating a "Rocky" style edit that absorbs lots of punishment and comes back strong at the end.
Your Moveset and You: B - A - L - A - N - C - E.

No matter what country you're in or what fed you're watching, every wrestling match boils down at some point or another into strikes and holds. It is impossible to have a prolonged match that is halfway interesting or realistic that contains nothing but top rope dives, dives to the outside, or neck/back breaking grapple moves. From a mechanical standpoint as well as a realism one, you should limit your wrestler's killer moves to MAYBE two or three. Mechanically speaking, loading your wrestler up with these types of moves gives him a MUCH higher damage output than a wrestler who isn't loaded with them, thus totally unbalancing the match. That's a Bad Thing(tm). What makes a killer move, you ask? Use common sense. The Burning Hammer? The Steiner Screwdriver? Sleeperhold Suplex? You know, those moves that make it look as though the poor, unfortunate slob who ate them should be wheeled off on a gurney, or the flying ones that are so monumentally against nature that they look like it'd take Mary Lou Retton on speed and crystal meth to pull them off? THOSE are killer moves.

Be sure to make the killer moves your edit does have occur rarely. Remember when Jake Roberts was about the only guy using the DDT? Back then, since it was seen so rarely and used only once per match, the move was godlike. When Roberts landed the DDT, it was lights out. Game over, man. The move was feared and respected - aka, a killer move. Nowadays, guys get DDT'd sometimes five or six times a match, and the move has lost it's luster. It's no longer a killer move, it's just "a move". If you don't want your wrestler's specialties to wind up being like the DDT, then you have to make sure, through logic programming, that he is NOT trying to do them ten times in a match. Do you see HHH or Kobashi hitting the Pedigree or the Burning Hammer five times in a match? Of course not. Then why should your edit be any different? The fact that they only need to use them once to put nearly any opponent away makes them special and elevates them above the rest of their arsenal - as they should be.

Having said all of this, I don't mean you should load a wrestler up with nothing but striking moves, either. Striking moves are given very high priority in the FP engine, meaning they are countered less and used more often most of the time. A wrestler who is built with too many strikes in his grapple moveset is not only going to be boring, he's going to get a lot of cheap damage on his opponents, and that's a Bad Thing(tm). Try to limit your striking moves to one per button set, or three spread out amongst all his front grapple slots. You don't want to give a pro wrestler edit too many stiking moves, but you also don't want to give them too few - this will hurt their performance as well as produce an unrealistic edit.

So, I say again: balance, balance, balance. Balance is the key to a good moveset.
E-Fed Notes


A professional wrestling match is a STAGED ATHLETIC EXHIBITION where all participants work together. It is NOT two or more men trying to kill each other. If one or more participants in a match are out there selfishly trying to put themselves over, the quality of the match will ALWAYS suffer. Why should this not also hold true in a Firepro match? If you are in an e-fed, remember that your fellow members are NOT your opponents or enemies, but your PARTNERS. Your edit needs to work WITH theirs, not against them, in order for everyone to enjoy themselves. Sometimes, this means taking your lumps, and sometimes, it means losing. That's just the way it is.

If you're in or planning to join a FP e-fed, remember that winning and losing matches is inconsequential. The result of a match is meaningless. Your sole goal should be to design a wrestler that puts on good matches. I know what you're thinking: "What's the point if you're not trying to win?" Winning is the character's goal, junior, not yours. Winning CANNOT be the primary goal in your mind when you design your wrestler in Firepro. If it is, HIS MATCHES WILL SUFFER. If he always wins, HIS STORYLINE POSSIBILITIES WILL SUFFER. If he always wins, THE FEDERATION AS A WHOLE WILL SUFFER, and as a member of said federation, SO WILL YOU.

Believe me, kids, because I've been there. I made the wrestler that everyone in the modern FP era was afraid of. He lost less than ten matches in SEVEN YEARS. The original Vermin could beat the shit out of Arugak in less than ten minutes. It may seem like a pipe dream, but take it from a guy who has been down that road - it will cause you nothing but grief in the end.

Don't choose ANY aspect of your wrestler, be it style, points allocation, move grades, or anything else, based solely on what seems most effective. If you are making a wrestler based on a real life counterpart, your goal should be to make the FP version AS CLOSE TO REAL LIFE AS POSSIBLE. If your wrestler is fictional, then you need to outline his or her strengths AND weaknesses (and EVERYONE, and I do mean *EVERYONE*, and that means YOUR EDIT, TOO, has weaknesses) in advance of creation. Allocate points, choose a style and moves based off of that outline - NOT based off of whatever will do the most damage or will win the most matches."