Then don't do them.

NPCs aren't integral to the story- the core cast is. They're the ones whom we should be more concerned with- not some random NPC cameos.

They could have made the NPC fights into cutscene sequences, I suppose, like they did for Smoke and Fujin. But that would have taken a lot of interactivity out of the story mode, and wouldn't necessarily have made it less of a "tease" since the characters would still have decent screen time and plot relevance.

So it looks like we have to live in an MK universe where any characters outside the roster only get minor speaking roles, to avoid having them look too important not to be on the roster. Sounds kinda boring to me. And it probably still wouldn't solve the problem, because then, "Why does _____ only get a 30-second cameo?!"

... I wish more fans had a greater capacity to appreciate something that's intended to be enjoyed, even if it isn't perfect. The NPC fights may not have been as much as people wanted from certain characters, but it gave them a lot more stage presence than a mere cutscene would, and certainly more than just leaving them out altogether to avoid triggering fan rage. They put more work into it than they had to, and got it spit back in their faces.

If it were me, I'd be a little sour on giving those people everything they wanted the next time around. Not just out of spite -- I also wouldn't want to set a precedent for good outcomes to come from ungrateful, obnoxious, and even abusive behavior.

If your kid smashes the new toy you got them because it wasn't as cool as the one they wanted, and tells you to your face to go fuck yourself for trying, do you buy them the bigger shiny one they wanted afterward?

They brought in Tremor and Skarlet due to positive fan demand. It'd be an awful shame if certain fans ruined the chance of other characters coming back, as a consequence of all the negativity associated with them by now.

Klassic reptile unde este în quest mode lati făcut dispărut de ce

I disagree. The roster is picked before the story is written.. then the story is written to include those characters.

The story mode should be about the MK universe at large, not necessarily strictly centered around the roster characters

Nah, multiple interviews have indicated that the story guys are already drawing up ideas and getting things underway even while the previous game is winding down its development. Needs to happen that way because so much work goes into the cinematics. They need to nail down a story direction fast so they can get a head start.

The story guys wanted Rain to be more involved in MKX, which is probably why he featured so prominently. The roster was shuffled around somewhere down the line. I'm sure there's some back and forth between departments along the way, swapping characters in and out and tweaking the story, but story does appear to come first.

Honestly I think the truth is somewhere between what both of you just said...

I have heard that they start working on the story for the next game before the previous one is even finished. I mean that's obvious, because we often get arcade ladder endings which tease things that come to fruition in the next chapter. But we also get plenty that ultimately prove non-canon and go nowhere. I'm sure they're planning things, I'm sure they have ideas brewing, but I'm sure it's in broad strokes. There's no way in hell they have the plot of a game nailed down to the smallest detail 4 years in advance.

That said, I've also heard them say during the MK11 rollout that early in the process they have roster meetings and start throwing names into the mix to see who they want in, and who sticks, and that yes, once they hammer out a roster, sometimes they need to figure out how to "work characters in" so to speak. While I'm SURE there are characters that the story writers have ideas for, and push to include, they've absolutely stated in the past that sometimes the roster comes before the story, and once it's nailed down, they need to figure out what role some characters will contribute to the overall plot.

So like I said, I think the truth is somewhere between both viewpoints. I think the story in BROAD strokes, comes first, but I absolutely think there are characters that wind their way in later on. And I absolutely think there are sometimes characters who get chosen for gameplay reasons, even though they don't necessarily have a solid place in the story (Hello Triborg!) The team has flat out said as much.

I think they have the general story roughly mapped out. I doubt they have the individual character story arcs firmly hammered out until those characters are firmly decided to be included. (Other than the no brainers. It's damn likely that they had some rough idea where Scorpion and Raiden and Liu Kang were headed in MK11 before they even finished MKX. But I doubt they had much of an idea for Skarlet's plot before they decided to bring her back into the mix.

Hell, Boon admitted in a recent interview that up until very recently in development, Kronika was a male. And she's the lead antagonist. Clearly they're not beyond making major changes to the broad picture if they have the room and desire for it.

The story is centered around Raiden and the earthrealm clan. That’s the story arc they start writing before development .

All revenants must be in the game, it makes no sense for them to be absent. Even if Sindel and Nightwoolf are indeed DLC, there are still Smoke and Stryker. They should at least be shown as NPC.

I guess I'm in the minority here, I liked fighting the non-playable NPC's and glad they were included. Rain the most. I wanted him to be on the roster, but fighting him and having very cool (but brief) cutscenes was a good consolation prize. I'm definitely not on board with the all or nothing approach of making NPC's playable, or not including them in the game at all.

I think damn near everybody liked the fact they were there and enjoyed fighting them, the problem is a great many people wanted it to go one step further, and made the leap that they had good odds at being DLC, and then when they weren't DLC, there was a lot of backlash toward NRS, and they got soured on the idea of doing it again.

I'm not saying the backlash was justified, but it happened all the same. *Shrug*

I can't say I didn't enjoy the NPC fights, I did, but I also can't say I wouldn't have loved to see them become DLC too, because I would have.