As said previously, Soul Calibur IV be locked at 60fps & 720p (60fps was their goal so they weren't going to sacrifice it for resolution).
New Additions / Improvements Info:
Based on the 'design flow' of Soul Calibur II
Stages will be much larger than before and be more interactive
Ring Outs will be less common as this is something the developers want to cut down on
Tower of Caliaga challenges players to customize their characters to take on new quests and enemies of different capabilites
New features to the battle system, Active Matching Battle (AMB) introduces life points in the place of winning rounds. While Critical strikes allow players to pull off huge devastating finishing moves to round out new system offerings.
All new and enhanced character creation mode that allows the player to build their own custom fighters by choosing weapon style and costume types. Each item chosen now provides specific attributes to further the customization and add strategy in the battles.
New and Improved 'Create a Soul / Character'
Customizations will have an effect on gameplay
Created Characters can be traded online
Chronicles of the Sword mode will not be included but will be replaced with a new mode
Health Gauge will be changed
'Guard Impact' is back
Features huge movesets unique to each character's individual fighting style with some having as many as 4 stances and up to 10 weapon variations
When asked about other Star Wars characters making it into the game, a LucasArts rep said 'Quite Possibly'.
Every character has 2 selectable outfits besides Vader (he only has his trademark outfit).
Armor can be broken off at 3 different levels (High, Mid, Low).
Broken armor can be kicked around (thanks to the Havok physics system).
The 'Armor' system makes use of a 'Soul Gauge.
The 'Soul' gauge was implemented to force players to play 'aggresively'.
'Soul' gauge changes color over time after successful hits.
When the 'Soul' gauge turns Red, you are able to execute a 'Critical Finish'.
If 'Critical Finish' connects, will cause an 'Instant Death' regardless of opponent's health.
'Critical Finish' is executed by a 'simple' 'Up, Down, and Kick combo'.
'Critical Finish' is delivered in a 'devastating cutscene animation'.
Online Details:
Online will be handled by the same team that worked on Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection's online component. T5DR was a test round for both Soul Calibur IV and Tekken 6 to help produce a lag-free experience for both titles
Uses a 'Active Matching BattleSystem' (AMB).
AMB works as a kind of 'King of the Hill'.
Gauge at bottom of the screen will tell you who is up to fight
You begin with 199 seconds on the timer.
When an opponent is defeated, they are kicked to the back of the gauge.
Timer keeps ticking down limiting their chance to get another go.
Staying in is going to be tough as you don't replenish health when a new opponent enters.
Will replenish health if you've knocked out enough people (isn't entirely clear as to how many or if it's when you start back at person 1).
You will be begin the next round where you were on the previous (on the edge for instance) which can have the next opponent ring you out.
Darth Vader Details:
Vader will be playable from the start.
Vader has a second bar under his Health Gauge the represents his 'Force' power.
Force is regained by landing successful hits on your opponent.
If Vader uses the Force when his 'Force' gauge is empty, he'll do damage to himself.
Lightsaber is supposed to automatically block attacks if positioned correctly.
Vader is an exception to having armor broken off (no smacking off his helmet)
CES 2008: Soul Calibur IV Trailer (the quality of this vid is great)
