You're way over your head thinking that customization is the way to go..
The irrevocable fact of the matter, and the constant that all propositions must operate from, is that
the customisation is already present, and it is going exactly nowhere.
As such, they may as well explore it as much as possible (three-slot customisation for tournaments; pointless restrictions removed for casual / superseding ability conflicts and slot cost per ability, left as is), and see where it leads. I'd love the game to have characters' with complete ability repertoires available and balanced, and to hell with the "customisation" gimmick... But, NRS have clearer committed to the system -- because casuals love it (rather, the concept thereof) and it allows them to render their games quasi-RPG's (facilitating content gating / micro-transactions). Hence, they sold the game largely on its premise.
So, either they go hard, or they go home. The "middle ground" is what we have now... and no one is happy.
I could tear each, successive MK game's core mechanics a new poop chute -- as anyone with a modicum of fighting game knowledge could. We accept the rote, stilted, un-intuitive, predictive / non-reactive gameplay style of the franchise, largely because of its superlative production values, lore, character diversity
et al.. However, with NRS increasingly homogenising these erstwhile strong-points on the series, they're invariably exposing the gameplay mechanics
that much more... And the series has never had the wriggle room to allow the liquefaction of samey dumbing-down to loosen the its tenuous foundations. Take SFV as a salient, cautionary tale: With infinitely more refined and respected gameplay pedigree (than MK), in one iteration, once esteemed said brand has been severely damaged its reputation -- due to the regressive steps it took in its latest instalment, which have been seen as an unashamëd selling-out to the casual market, and done at the direct expense of the mortar that the series is bound by (*its gameplay; to a lesser degree, its roster).
Mortal Kombat does not have the luxury of taking the same tact and then expecting to not hurt the franchise to an even greater degree than SFV did. Indeed, when they further lose focus on what actually
matters in a Mortal Kombat game -- by shoehorning money-grubbing scams and petty politicking into the product -- the game is
that much more undermined, and the compounding effect become real. It's the sum of the parts of the problems afflicting the game, not any one problem
per se.
Nothing could 'go wrong' with loosening the reigns on customisation. The restrictive nature of thus is the no.1 criticism that I have come across in my travels around the 'Net, and irrespective of the specific discussion or content being commented on happens to be. MK11 is a
game, and no Middle East wars for neither for profit nor ideology, will be fomented from exploring the potential of the game's extant systems. Again: you can so-called "balance" the game up the wazoo... BUT, if it is not fundamentally fun to play and watch, only those die-hards still playing it, will even be aware of the game's existence... And that myopic, minority demographic would play with even a dildo--if it had "Mortal Kombat™" etched on it.
The irony of diluting so much of the game in order to pander to casual players, and filling it to overflowing with (admittedly laudable) training tools, YET, then screaming "B-B-B-B-BUT, BALANCE!!" whenever the roads of criticism lead to MK11's core gameplay and customisation systems, would be hilarious if it wasn't so idiotic. Who are they making the game for: casuals or purists? They cannot have their casual cake and eat the plaudits of deep gameplay too. Either they clearly demarcate the causal and tournament "builds" of the game, or they will end up with something neither hot nor cold, just spat out onto the pavement next to the other abandoned NRS titles.
The reason, and the only reason, that NRS game lifespans are short is that they release a new game every two years. That’s it. Everything else is just excuses.
The only excuses are those that fail to address the glaring problems that, though perhaps relatively easily fixed, seem to attract some personal umbrage from the fanboy fan base, who refuse to accept their beloved video gaming partner has cheated on them with a cashed-up, smoothing-talking casual suitor.
I'm not naïve enough to think I can persuade the apostasy of those who genuinely
believe (*noting that
belief is an operation of the
emotional brain and, therefore, not a
logic function) that the only reason NRS games have the shelf life of female porn stars, is because of their
quantity--nay
quality... Only electro-shock therapy, or some "MK Ultra" styled reprogramming could ever hope to achieve that.
v_v
I've been watching a ton of tournaments since release, and I'm already sick of watching Geras, Erron Black, and Jacqui.
