AFL Live 2004 Update

[rfctigerarmy]

Acclaim announces AFL Live 2004!
Hasan Sadiki | Friday, June 13th, 2003

Acclaim Entertainment (NASDAQ: AKLM) has launched the sequel to AFL Live 2003 with AFL Live 2004 due to hit the shelves in August 2003. AFL Live 2004 will have vastly more gameplay, many new features and some surprises, which will keep gameplayers glued for hours on end.

The new AFL Live 2004 game is for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation 2 video game system from Sony Computer Entertainment as well as a PC-CD Rom version..

Features:



14 new animations including new kicks (torpedo, snap), handballs, tackles, marks, bumps as well as a few surprises.


New commentary panel including Denis Commeti, Gerard Healy and Christi Malthouse as Boundary Rider


Wizard Cup preseason competition including all the new rules including the nine point goal and three point rushed behind


New and updated AI to make the game even more realistic and challenging to play


4 New mini games including Handball challenge, Superkick, Around the World and Elimination


New Instant Replay feature


New mission based games as you try and take this years team to match a classical historical match for your club


All the awards including Brownlow, Coleman, Norm Smith medals as well as all the club Best and Fairest awards


Updated statistical information to include season marks, kicks, handballs etc.


New training elements and three new grounds including a suburban ground for training


Highlights

Training Mode - Interactive tutorial introducing the player to the basics of the game and teaching how to perform each manoeuvre. You will also be able to practice your “speccies” in the classic Kick to Kick

Additional Moves - More than fourteen new moves the AFL player can perform, including Torpedo Punts, 1-2 Handballs, Snap Kick at goal and more evasion tactics, bumps, tackles etc.

Player Awards - Player awards will add more realism and give the player more objectives to complete. Awards include Rising Star, Club Best and Fairest, Brownlow Medallist, Coleman Medallist, Norm Smith Medallist.

Full Statistics Rap – You will be able to track how your player fares by judging his performances on kicks, marks, handballs on our complete statistical overview of each rounds performance culminating in the yearly result

Player Missions - This option will give the player the chance to experience a specific game scenario. For example it is the 15-minute mark of the last quarter, you are 4 goals down, 4 star players are on the bench injured – can you get your team home! You will also be challenged to emulate or achieve something your own team did in our classic missions. Can you take the current Essendon team and get them to repeat their record comeback against the Kangaroos – we set the scenario. Or can you win the 1989 Grand Final as the current Geelong team, when the 1989 outfit just failed to make it. Each Club has one classic mission.

Mini Games – We have included a number of different mini-games. These include the classic Handball Challenge, Superkick, Elimination (1-4 player) and Around the World.

Pre Season Wizard Cup - A mini knockout competition is played before the full season begins including all the new rules. See what it is like to bang home a super goal (9 points) from outside 50.

Improved Commentary - Add more commentary to increase realism and the overall look and feel of the game. New Commentators include Denis Commeti, Gerard Healy and Christi Malthouse

Instant Replays - Cool replay effect for when the player performs a spectacular mark or goal, including “Matrix” style replays.

New Player Faces - AFL players will feature animated photo realistic faces if the relevant source material is made readily available. This will be essential for the national anthem and replays.

Player Tribunal - AFL Players can receive match bans if the gamer has set players to high aggression levels or is constantly making late challenges.

 

[St-KriS]

Holy crap. Sounds great this time. Much more depth. Pity about Christi Malthouse being in though.

BRING ON THE TORPS!!!

 

[rfctigerarmy]

omg I THINK RICHOS GONNA BE ON THE COVER!

 

[RzrBlade]

THIS GAME SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! it sh1ts over previous versions features-wise if all that was mentioned is included. I CAN'T BLOODY WAIT!

one thing i notice missing is a ongoing team option, where you can do trades in the off-season

 

[insainiac63]

bring on christie!!!

HELLO!!!!!

 

[Lethal]

Sounds a bit better. Like the idea to play classic matches, could have a few more than just the 1 for each club though. And some very welcome news on season stats being included, as well as best and fairest awards, etc.

Oh, and Dennis.

Now, lets just hope the gameplay is also improved.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Originally posted by Lethal


Oh, and Dennis.

They are "in two minds" about that one mate

 

[Mr Eagle]

The medals bit implies that there are multiple seasons to be played....wish they'd confirm it though!

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Originally posted by Mr Eagle
The medals bit implies that there are multiple seasons to be played....wish they'd confirm it though!

mmm yea but I doubt there will be multiple seasons be able to play


Also on the site said it was due to be out 1/7/03 - lets just hope they are right!

 

[Supermercado]

Can't be any worse than the last one at least.

Think they might put some commentary in that sounds remotely natural? That rubbish in the last one was worse than Joe Montana Sports Talk Football on the Sega Megadrive.

Back to playing Finals Fever - at least you can make Jeff Hilton kick 18 goals against Fitzroy in that.

 

[Jeffers]

http://www.gamesnet.com.au/prod2032.htm



Here is a link to the cover of AFL Live 2004

It's clear to say that Eddie had alot of input on the design

 

[Winmar]

I think it will be a lot better than the last one. The developers still haven't been given enough time though, so don't expect it to be perfect! There were lots of things they would have liked to have done, but haven't got time to. I think it's coming out in August.

 

[Mr Eagle]

Originally posted by Jeffers1984
It's clear to say that Eddie had alot of input on the design

Not enough, obviously...otherwise that Brissie bloke would not be seen in public

 

[lamby29]

2003 has about 100 speccies a game. I hope that 2004 has fixed this problem!

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Originally posted by Jeffers1984
http://www.gamesnet.com.au/prod2032.htm



Here is a link to the cover of AFL Live 2004

It's clear to say that Eddie had alot of input on the design

Umm... wheres Richo on the cover?!?

 

[rfctigerarmy]

AFL Live 2004

Sport G

Release Date: 14/08/03

Well the release date has gone from the 1st to the bloody 14th.
That sucks!

 

[CarterS]

If last year is anything to go by it will continue to be pushed back and frustrate us all.

 

[Portia]

Will you be able to set the consistency of umpiring for each game?

 

[Macca19]

Im gonna go thru it point by point and give my opinion on each.

Features:
14 new animations including new kicks (torpedo, snap), handballs, tackles, marks, bumps as well as a few surprises.

Torps and Snaps is nice. Marks...as lamby29 said - every 2nd mark in the game is a one handed speccie. Hopefully with the bumps its realistic...like if you run at someone you both fall over instead of going thru the player like ehs a ghost.

New commentary panel including Denis Commeti, Gerard Healy and Christi Malthouse as Boundary Rider

Not a fan of AFL game commentary. Its always very unrealistic and im sure we'll end up hearing 'Gun Barrell Straight' from Commetti after every goal.

Wizard Cup preseason competition including all the new rules including the nine point goal and three point rushed behind

Meh.

New and updated AI to make the game even more realistic and challenging to play

Hope so. I never lost a game on AFL 2003 and by my 4th match I was killing sides by 80 point minimum. It would be nice to have a game that is always challenging. Id love for their to be a AFL game that you dont master in 5 minutes and it takes you a long time before you start to win games regularly.
The last couple of NHL games have been fantastic in the fact that its always challenging. Even tho i won 80% of the games, it was always bloody hard work to pump out a win.

Also realistic player values would be nice. I ended up having Damon White kick 150 goals, and had Chris Hall pick up 30 possesions a game in a season when neither of them had played a game when the game came out.

Some sort of fatigue would be nice as well so that a midfielder that has been on for the whole match is really struggling by the end.

Also more realistic injuries would be nice. I had the problem where every game i played id end up with 4 injuries a match - sometimes 4 injuries in the first quarter...meanwhile i never once saw an opponent get an injury. Not once. Different type of injuries would be nice too. Knee injuries...shoulders and the like. Also the ability to play guys that arent 100% fully fit like what happens in real life. If a player has an ankle injury that will keep him out for 4 weeks..a.dn we have a blockbuster in 3 weeks, then id like to be able to have the chance to play him at 80% fitness etc etc.

Tho im sure...like every other Football game...we'll all end up winning by 10 goals minimum by the 2nd match.

4 New mini games including Handball challenge, Superkick, Around the World and Elimination

Sounds nice.

New Instant Replay feature

Good. There wasnt one last time.

New mission based games as you try and take this years team to match a classical historical match for your club

Sounds nice.

All the awards including Brownlow, Coleman, Norm Smith medals as well as all the club Best and Fairest awards

Good as long as you can give votes in your Best and Fairest award.

As for the Brownlow..a nice addition but im sure we'll end up with midfielders and full forwards getting all the votes and we will rarely see a defender get a vote.

Updated statistical information to include season marks, kicks, handballs etc.

About f**king time.

New training elements and three new grounds including a suburban ground for training

Nice.

Highlights

Training Mode - Interactive tutorial introducing the player to the basics of the game and teaching how to perform each manoeuvre. You will also be able to practice your “speccies” in the classic Kick to Kick

Considering every 2nd mark will be a speccie anyway i dont see why we will need to practice it.

Full Statistics Rap – You will be able to track how your player fares by judging his performances on kicks, marks, handballs on our complete statistical overview of each rounds performance culminating in the yearly result

Nice to see AFL Live has progressed into 1994.

New Player Faces - AFL players will feature animated photo realistic faces if the relevant source material is made readily available. This will be essential for the national anthem and replays.

Nice to see that AFL Live has progressed into 1997.

Player Tribunal - AFL Players can receive match bans if the gamer has set players to high aggression levels or is constantly making late challenges.

Sounds alright.

 

[jod23]

All the new features sound great but at the end of the day if the gameplay isnt any better, the AI isnt any smarter then what's the point. If they think they can add all these new features on top of AFL Live 2003 then the game will tank.

Let's hope the developers have addressed the real problems with the game before adding all these fancy extra's.

Oh and make it realistic. I could drum up a realistic score in 5 minute quarters. I want to play a full real game, with full length quarters but when I did that on AFL Live 03 I ended up scoring like 4000 goals....

 

[Jabber]

Originally posted by CarterS
If last year is anything to go by it will continue to be pushed back and frustrate us all.

Push it back as much as necessary, just make sure it is half decent and bug-free

 

[Deestroy]

It's a step in the right direction, I recon by 2007 this game will be awesome (providing it continues to add features, tweak AI etc).

 

[slyolddog]

Originally posted by Jeffers1984
Here is a link to the cover of AFL Live 2004

Dodgy photoshop job that one I'd say

Christi 'I just got this job because of my last name' Malthouse? Oh brother

 

[tige19]

How about they fix the 1 thing that realy screwed the game, HOW EASY IT WAS.
Have they fixed this problem does anyone know i mean i could go Fremantle and flog the Brisbane by 30 goals on 5 min quarters.
If someone could answer me this it would be great.

cheers

 

[Fwoy]

From www.xboxworld.com.au


INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD AU, LEAD PROGRAMMER ON AFL LIVE 2004

Pete Sharpe is from Sydney and therefore either a Swans supporter or a follower of that 'other' football code. Shane Bryan is an avid Tigers fan but neither of these disturbing attributes stopped them from drop punting some questions to lead programmer Richard Au of the soon to be released Aussie home-grown footy title AFL Live 2004.

XBW : Being that AFL Live 2003 was IR Guru's first attempt at an AFL game, were you pleased on how it turned out? What aspect of the finished product were you most happy and unhappy with?

Richard : Yes, very pleased. The game looked good graphically, with the replica stadiums looking fantastic. Having as many stadiums as we did allowed us to make it a truly national game. Also, seeing how well the full intro sequence, where players run out of the race and through the banners, turned out was very pleasing too.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the game is that it was made almost entirely in Australia. Having several members of the development team being mad keen AFL fanatics was a bonus as it allowed us a better understanding to how to make the game, as well as assisting in interpreting all those obscure rules.

I was fairly happy with the look of the player models, being it was our first attempt at making a game as complicated as Aussie Rules is, and having the reference material for the jumpers, shorts and socks allowed the art team to get the players and umpires looking as close to the real deal as possible.

There wasn’t that much of the AFL Live 2003 that I was unhappy with, but there were things that could have been improved. The player animations were pretty good, but due to technical limitations of the game engine, we couldn’t do various things easily and that meant that some animations that we wanted to get into the game didn’t make it in the end. Overall it was a fairly good game and it was probably the right time that the gamers and fans alike were exposed to a new simulation of Aussie Rules.


What sort of feedback did AFL 2003 get from the AFL itself, positive and negative?


We received both positive and negative feedback for AFL Live 2003, which is not an uncommon thing. Most of the negative feedback was mainly about the longevity of the game, with suggestions on new features, but unfortunately we just didn’t have time to implement those extras due to the tight production schedule.

The AFL were very positive about the game as a whole. They especially liked the extra details that make AFL the unique sport it is – celebratory team songs after a win that were especially formatted to sound like they are being played through the ground’s PA system, running through the banners before a match, huge species, things like that.

Are you using the same graphics engine this time around as the gameplay movie that we’ve seen seems to indicate this. Will we see some of the high profile players looking a bit more like their real-life counterparts and will the graphics and audio take advantage of the extra grunt that the Xbox offers?

AFL Live 2004 offers the gamers with 3 new stadiums in addition to the six that were in last year’s game. The new game includes stadiums at Geelong and Carlton, and a training ground where the training and mini game modes are played. The stadium at Melbourne even features brand-new ‘city views’!!!

The player models have been updated, and will have a higher polygon count than the previous version and will be of higher definition as well. There will also be a batch of new animations such as snap kicks, chip kicks, and of course, several new speccies.

All the stadiums have had a rework with more geometry for stairs, entry points and even the player benches will look a lot more detailed. We have also added ground damage to each stadium so you will be able to see the grass progressively get damaged during a match to add a little more realism to the game.

Will the commentary be more varied and expanded for 2004 as some people thought that it came across a bit ‘stilted. Are Steve Quartermain and Gary Lyon back for the commentary or can we expect some more variety with Eddie, Tim Lane, Dermie and interstate commentators?

We have had a commentator changeover from Steven Quartermain and Garry Lyon to Dennis Commetti and Gerard Healy for this year’s version of the game. With Dennis, we have even added a few of his ‘Commettisms’, sayings that he normally uses when calling a game, not unlike what you would hear him say on television.

We’ve even included a boundary rider in AFL Live 2004 with the help of Christi Malthouse. Christi will give you updates on injuries, weather, etc during the breaks and also give you her votes at the end of a match.

With additional categories relating to players’ statistics and their part in a given match, the commentary will sound more varied, that is, more match focused comments will be heard over the general play by play calls. This is especially noticeable when you play a longer match (10 or 20 minute quarters), where the commentators have more opportunities to notice trends developing and comment on them.

Some players have commented that winning matches even on the hardest setting was too easy in 2003 and that the A.I seemed to follow the same paths a lot of the time. Will you be ramping up the difficulty and the A.I for 2004?

We are currently in the process of reviewing, what we call the ‘main problem areas’ of the AI, and endeavor to improve these areas. We will also be increasing the difficulty of the AI so that players will have to choose shorter options for their kicks. The AI will also be utilizing the new player moves like the handball 1-2, snap kicks, stab and chip passes.

Marking in 2003 seemed less reliant on gaining the right position, more on the timing of the Marking button press. Will there be any changes and more variation in animations such as big double handed over head grabs (for example) for 2004?

The marking control will also be revised to allow players to gain the right position and based off the timing of hitting the mark button the mark animation will be chosen so players that hit the mark button early will animate early and in turn miss the mark if not timed correctly.

There will be some variation in the mark animations with more speccies this time round, adding more excitement to taking a huge grab from a pack. So timing your mark will still be a major part in deciding whether or not you will come away with the ball or it falling into the oppositions hands, or even dropping behind the pack.

Has the kicking system been altered in any way? Will wind play more of a part in accuracy when booting the ball?

Yes, there are a larger variety of kicks in AFL Live 2004. We have included snap kicks for when you get into sticky situations and need to clear the ball from a pack really quickly, chips and stabs to pass the ball to players in short, or you can even unload a massive torpedo to kick those 9-point super goals in the Wizard Cup competition.

Another kick that we have included is the safety kick where the ball will tumble along the ground, useful when you don’t have anyone to kick to and try to get it close to the boundary line. The drop punt kick has also been improved as well, and kicking is more responsive than last year, as you will see the players launch into the kicking animations as soon as you press the button.

Wind has also been added as a feature to AFL Live 2004 and will play a part in where you have to aim before you kick the ball. You will see the bend in the ball’s trajectory and if you’re not aiming left or right of the sticks on a windy day, then you may miss the opportunity to kick a goal.

Statistics and game tactics gain a lot of interest these days from sports fans. Will 2004 see any improvements or new features in this area?

AFL Live 2004 will provide more statistics for all those statistic hungry people out there who like to see how many possessions a player is getting during each season. We are recording statistics for every player of each club for each season you play (which will be capped). The Coleman and Brownlow medals will also get a guernsey in this years version of the game, so consistently kicking goals with a particular player from a club will move that player higher up in the Coleman medal ladder.

Included this year is a lot more historical data in the game, such as how many times every team has played every other team, win/loss records, complete player career stats, record goal kickers for each club, etc.

Any chance of customizing competitions or leagues or creating your own player in 2004?

You won’t be able to customize competitions, leagues or create your own players in AFL Live 2004 due to time constraints and the number of other features we have included in the new game, but it is something that we have considered and will hopefully be available in future versions of the game.

However, we have extended the playability of the game by allowing multiple players in a season and also playing multiple seasons. In AFL Live 2004, you will be able to play a season with your mates and play against each other during the season rather than being forced to play on the same side. This makes it more fun for when your friends come around because you can play against or alongside each other and see how each of your teams is progressing for that season.

The competition has also been extended with the introduction of the Wizard Cup. Most of the rules of the pre-season game has been implemented including the 9-point super goal, 3-point deliberate rush behind, play on if you kick backwards in the defensive 50, and so on.

A lot of people would love to see ‘classic players’ included. Will players such as ‘Dipper’, Bruce Doull, Kevin Bartlett or older ones like Jack Dyer or ‘classic teams’ make it into AFL Live 2004?

Unfortunately due to licensing issues, we don’t have the rights to access old players for use within the game, so you won’t be able to play the game with players like the ones mentioned. It’s a shame, as it’s something we’d have loved to implement. We have however included an exciting new section of the game: Missions. Missions include historical, fictional and user defined.

Historical missions will be based off ‘classic’ matches whereby you play an historical match of the past with the teams of today. So you could relive the ’89 Grand Final between Geelong and Hawthorn and try to change history by playing Geelong and winning that historical match.

Custom missions will include being 4 points down in the Preliminary Final with only 15 seconds to go and you need to kick the goal to make it to the Grand Final. This is just an example of one of the custom missions available to the player.

The user missions will allow the player to fully customize their game from the teams playing through to how many goals and behinds currently scored, which quarter of the game you’re in, how much time you have left in the quarter. These are just some of the things you can customize to set up your own missions to play. This will definitely add longevity to the game.

The user missions are really good as well for those people that may want to have a quick game when they don’t really have a lot of time as they can set up a match to suit the amount of time they have available to play.

4 person multiplayer was one of the praised aspects of 2003. Are their any plans to include Xbox Live! support with 2004?

Xbox Live! isn’t one of the features included in AFL Live 2004 but it is something to consider in future versions of the game. It would be an awesome extension to the game to allow players to play a match with other people on-line and choose a specific player to play as rather than playing a whole side. Imagine a 36 player network game! It certainly has enormous potential.

The US Acclaim website hints that a North American release for 2004 might be on the cards. Do you see an American audience taking to AFL, considering the very competitive sports gaming market over there and do you think Aussie developers can compete in their market?

Unfortunately AFL doesn’t have a very large presence in North America so it would be very hard to market the game there and compete with NFL titles. The sport is gaining in popularity in the U.S. though, and I do know that they have some sort of Aussie Rules league over there.

Last year the U.S., Canada, Japan and various other countries around the world participated in an International Aussie Rules Competition held here in Australia so there is definitely a small audience around the world that enjoys the sport as much as we do over here in Australia. If that market continues to grow, there’s definitely potential for future release in markets outside Australia.

The North American market is a pretty hard market to get into in terms of the video games industry and trying to sell a game like AFL there is quite difficult. But that said, I do believe that Aussie developers have the ability and talent to produce top quality games that can rival those in the U.S.

I think with a cool idea, design, budget, talent and time, Aussie developers will be able to penetrate the North American market, but sadly a lot of developers in Australia just don’t have those luxuries to be able to make a huge hit that will be popular in the North American Market.

Finally, what addition to AFL Live 2004 do you expect players to find most exciting over last years version?

Players of AFL Live 2004 will hopefully enjoy the new features that we have added to this year’s version of the game. We have included minigames, for those that want to play the game when they’ve only got a short amount of time. There are 4 minigames featured in AFL Live 2004, they are Handball Challenge, Superkick, Around The World, and Elimination. Each of these games can be played with up to 4 players on the Xbox.

We have also added user profiles so that you can record the number of games that you have played with each club with win/loss records, number of goals that you’ve kicked, and other statistics that will allow the players to keep track of how much of the game they’ve been playing for.

Also included is a training facility where you can practice the player moves that can be used within the game to familiarize yourself with the player controls and learn all the new kicks.

Visually it will look more detailed than last year as the stadiums, players and textures have all been reworked. There will be new animations included, with more kicks, marks and speccies.

There is also a new interactive replay feature where the player can have full control of watching the last goal scored or last piece of play when they want to. Players will get to control which player to focus on, how fast to play the replay back, and even watch the action in reverse as well.

So with all these new features and more, we hope to have increased the playability of the game and extended the replay value of it as well.