Early thoughts on AFL Live 2003.

[Sargemo369]

Originally posted by The Ewok
The PS2 version of it is getting ripped to shreads by the users in the Australian PS2 forum

Awful game by the sound of it

Where is this message board?

 

[The Ewok]

Originally posted by Sargemo369

Where is this message board?

http://forums.au.playstation.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

 

[leco3110]

Originally posted by go team
anyone here wanna start making a player editor of some sorts please. i'll be your best friend... i would make one myself, but i dont know anything about those sorts of things...

I am taking 3 weeks leave from next week so I'll have a bit of time. I might have a look and see what I can do.

BTW, those who plays FIFA games probably know me, I am the guy who wrote FEd

 

[Captain Random]

I understand that PS2 games are region encoded - does anyone know if AFL Live will be?

I'm thinking of getting it for my nephew in Ireland. He was pretty keen on AFL 98? 99? One of those years anyway.

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by Macca19


Thats a poor effort i reckon. Its pretty poor to have season play but not keep the stats. Games started keeping stats back in 1995 - even earlier, surely its not that hard to implement one that keeps kicks, marks, handballs, goals etc.

I know its only nit-picking but i find stats etc the second most important thing behind playability and replayability in my opinion.

Completely agree. It's gameplay first and foremost, then longevity, i still wanna be playing it in 6 months. And then stats. Cant believe they are'nt in the game....NBA Live 95 had full season stats for gods sake.

Pretty annoying but if the gameplay is alright and im still playing it in 6 months and not THRASHING the computer i will be pretty happy. Then I'll just wait for AFL Live 2004....with hopefully some freaking stats.

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by The Ewok


http://forums.au.playstation.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Do you know of any XBox forums like this?

 

[Jabber]

Originally posted by leco3110


I am taking 3 weeks leave from next week so I'll have a bit of time. I might have a look and see what I can do.

BTW, those who plays FIFA games probably know me, I am the guy who wrote FEd

I like your work leco3110 - If you could come up with something similar for AFL Live 2003 it would make the game superb. If you need any non-programming type help, I'd be glad to help out.

 

[go team]

an editor would be jawsome

 

[Donners]

Originally posted by Macca19


so framerate is a bit down? Not meaning to sound rude but could that just be a problem with your computer, like not enough RAM or something like that?

1.7GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB RAM, 32MB TNT2 graphics - all on or above the 'recommended'.

 

[Donners]

Originally posted by Fwoy
Hey Donners,

For a challenge, have you tried removing some of the stars from your team and put the kids in? It may only be psychological, but when I took more than two of the established players from the centre square, I was slaughtered in the midfield, and that was on medium difficulty.

Try playing Plugger at full forward...that will stop the goal scoring spree

Or maybe put Daffy in the midfield

Also, I'm yet to experience injuries. What happens? Does the game get held up, while you're asked to make an interchange?
Does the plyer visibly limp around? Etc...Come on, spill the beans.

Strangely enough, I've actually struggled since that screenshot, losing my last four (albeit tight ones - one by two points and another with a goal after the siren).

With an injury, a red cross appears in the circle underneath the player - think of FIFA. The player then lurches around a bit rather than limping - think of the walking undead in Heroes of Might and Magic. There is supposed to be commentary about it (I heard Gary Lyon say something about 'ooh, that looks like a knee'), but it is rare. You don't get to actually see them go off.

 

[mustapha]

Matthew Lloyd got injured for me. He was marked with a red cross and Garry Lyon saying something like "He's done a knee".

 

[Macca19]

Originally posted by jod23


Completely agree. It's gameplay first and foremost, then longevity, i still wanna be playing it in 6 months. And then stats. Cant believe they are'nt in the game....NBA Live 95 had full season stats for gods sake.

haha NBA Live 95!!!! How GOOD was that game!!! I bloody loved it. Was the first Sports game on CD i bought for my PC and it was awesome!

Pretty annoying but if the gameplay is alright and im still playing it in 6 months and not THRASHING the computer i will be pretty happy.

You just got to find ways to make the game enjoyable again. For instance after i started to thrash every team in AFL 98 i would play as the opposition for 2 quarters, which made it a bit more of a challenge and you would lose a game out of every 3 or 4 you played which made it interesting again.

 

[Donners]

One thing that's been bugging me - it can be damned hard to switch players during a marking contest. I had Paul Williams and Stephen Doyle in a marking contest about 15m out from goal, but I was unable to select Doyle despite pounding the 's' key and therefore couldn't take the mark.

 

[gPhonque]

Originally posted by topdon


The oops was because i have got the PS2 release before it has gone on sale in stores! Played it all last night and some today ... it isn't too bad a game on the PS2. I still think that it will still be better (graphics wise) on XBox. Now for the gameplay ... its a vast improvement in previous AFL releases ... but can become stop/start if you chose to play that way.

To answer some of your questions .. yes ... it seems impossible to lay a bumb. Haven't successfully landed one so i doubt that skill is built into the game. Tackling alone is an art in itself, and if you do have two players on a collision course (no ... no ref to croc hunter), they do run past each other. You cannot lay a front-on tackle. Most tackles are layed from behind or side on.

Gotta play a little more to get a better feel, then i will explain more. Gameplay could be better, but it'll improve with further releases. Its a step in the right direction at least. [/B]

cheers topdon


And one more question for anybody who wants to answer it:

How's multiplayer mode? That's what i'm looking forward to most of all.

 

[Donners]

Unless there are huge differences between the PS and PC versions, it is definately possible to lay a front-on tackle - it looks like something more suited to rugby, but it's very effective.

 

[TheMase]

Originally posted by jod23

Pretty annoying but if the gameplay is alright and im still playing it in 6 months and not THRASHING the computer i will be pretty happy.

You might be disappointed then. I have only played about 4 games, and already I am thrashing teams on hard!

I beat Brisbane by 60 odd yesterday in a 5 minute match!

Also, I changed the whole side put all the Swans kids in, there was nobody over 25 in my side, and most were under 23. Well I beat Adelaide by around 60 or 70 points.

My take on the game:

I think the gameplay itself is excellent. I have played a running style out of the backline. The handball is extremely effective, and in a match I would sometimes have more handballs than kicks, thats how effective they really are. You can setup play and fire off a quick handball when an opponent is approaching.

Shooting for goal is fairly easy, although you have to aim to kick when the white glow thing comes up for accuracy, otherwise you are more likely to miss.

Rucking is great, I have worked out how to win the centre ruck clearances, and they simulate the real thing extremely well around the ground and at boundary throw ins. Tackling in very effective aswell!

When kicking for goal on an angle a player will do a snap kick or a checkside kick depending what foot they kick from, I think thats a great add in for the game.

The ground and the crowd look great with those big flags waving as do the stadiums.
The song as you run out and when you win is also great as is the lap of honour after a win (I have not experienced a loss yet!!!)

The bad is really the sound. It does seem really jump and stetchy (I dont have a great computer, so that could be the problem!).
The commentary is absolutely ****. The .. Score .. Is ... Sydney 1 goal ... 1 .. to brisbane ... yet to register on the scoreboard. ..
Not impressive at all...

I like the crowd when they yell out BALL! and that is great.

Overall I think its a fairly good game, but in the next edition these things can be improved.

SOUND, HARDNESS OF THE GAME and the players faces and hair colour etc, they are pretty ordinary.
At least Barry Hall is bald

 

[Leigh Roy]

Sorry, I missed the boat.

Disregard my thread, please.

Originally posted by Leigh
I don't have the game in any of its forms (PC version/Playstation 2 version/X-Box version/Gamecube version) but I'd like to have this thread for all questions people who don't have it/are thinking of getting it want to ask.

If you have it, post and say what version you have either for starters or when you're answering someone's question(s). Might be a good idea to quote them too, I dunno.

For starters, what is the PS2 controller like for the game? Can you tell me what button does what please? For the uninitiated (like myself) make sure you explain it clearly, I don't know where the square, cross, circle and triangle buttons are exactly on the right side.

I hear that in all versions the 'star' players are actually more skillful, is this true?

What do the players look like? Clones or do they resemble the actual players? I saw one picture of what was clearly M Lloyd and N Buckley and I thought groovy baby.

What's this about Millencolin (probably spelt wrong) songs?

Any glaring faults?

The fixture is the 2002 fixture, right? How far have you gotten if you've started playing the season? Obviously if your team's the Blues and you're kicking arse, the ladder would be a lot different from the get go.

The commentary isn't that bad is it? I'd rather turn it off and have some mates call the game while they watch us.

What does the crowd actually do?

On the PC version, any way you can show us pictures or stats of your games?

What's the interchange bench 'system' like, if any? Do players who've been out there all day tire at all, and what kinds of injuries/circumstances make them not as good to use?

Last but not least, say where you got it and how much for, doesn't that Electronics Boutique place give it to you for less if you show them a catalogue from another shop that's selling it for less than they are?

So now go for your life. Thanks in advance to those who will hopefully help us out.

I would like to buy this and hope that the game sells well enough to get another one out next year, but first I'm wondering what version to get and of course which console to buy for it. I reckon the only way I'll be able to work this out is by playing the damn thing.

 

[TheMase]

I hear that in all versions the 'star' players are actually more skillful, is this true?
More skilled probably yes, but that doesn't really stop the less skilled players getting the ball, and using it well.


What do the players look like? Clones or do they resemble the actual players? I saw one picture of what was clearly M Lloyd and N Buckley and I thought groovy baby.
Some players look similar, but I think in general they don't really look much alike. They have the general idea though, hair colour (in most cases) and skin colour. Barry Hall is bald, so that gives you an idea.

What's this about Millencolin (probably spelt wrong) songs?

They have the opening song in the game, cant remember what its called ...

Any glaring faults?

There is one I have just remembered that I noticed. When you go to tackle someone and they are going to kick the footy, if they are in the motion of kicking then you press the tackle button, they will break from their motion of kicking and end up being tackled. This is happens quite often.

Also kicks sometimes dont flow that well, and when you are running towards goal you sort of skip a run and then shoot at goal.

The fixture is the 2002 fixture, right? How far have you gotten if you've started playing the season? Obviously if your team's the Blues and you're kicking arse, the ladder would be a lot different from the get go.
Not very far as my sisters bf's computer is pretty **** and not good enough for the game, so after one match it generally locks up! But I would probably be undefeated if I had done a season so far ...


The commentary isn't that bad is it? I'd rather turn it off and have some mates call the game while they watch us.
The commentary is absolutely shocking. They sometimes have flowing words, but generally the commentary is all broken up and robotic like. It does not flow, and its like talking to the optus machine when you are checkign your credit. The .. score is ... Sydney .. 1 goal .... 1 .. to brisbane ... yet to register on the scoreboard.
[/b]


What does the crowd actually do?

They cheer, wave big flags (both sides) and yell out BALL! when someone gets tackled. Also, the cheersquads seem to be at different ends of the ground and if you are at the oppositions cheer squad they tend to boo, I think thats how it is.


On the PC version, any way you can show us pictures or stats of your games?
Can get a screen shot, I might have a go at that later for ya's...


What's the interchange bench 'system' like, if any? Do players who've been out there all day tire at all, and what kinds of injuries/circumstances make them not as good to use?
I wouldn't know because no player will really tire on 5 minute quarter mode, you would have to play a full match I would think to get that.
I use them often for changes in the midfield and around the ground if it is not working, and to give young guys a go.
When injured they are good to use, and it tells you who is going on and off much like the tele.
You can see the interchange bench from the ground aswell..


Last but not least, say where you got it and how much for, doesn't that Electronics Boutique place give it to you for less if you show them a catalogue from another shop that's selling it for less than they are?
Around $69 from Harvey Norman in Bathurst

 

[Chris_23]

Originally posted by gPhonque

How's multiplayer mode? That's what i'm looking forward to most of all.

Yeah, it doesn't really matter if you beat the p|ss out of the computer. It's good to have some decent competition (thank god for Konami!) but games are best played (IMHO) with mates. Anyone played multi-player yet?

 

[i_luv_westcoast]

I have found another fault I think. I was in defence and under pressure so ran over the goal line to concede a point. The player then tackled me and I was called for holding the ball. Only have done this once but will try it again and see what happens.

 

[hawkfan5]

Originally posted by i_luv_westcoast
I have found another fault I think. I was in defence and under pressure so ran over the goal line to concede a point. The player then tackled me and I was called for holding the ball. Only have done this once but will try it again and see what happens.

I have done exactly the same thing, been tackled over the line when I was rushing it, BUT I wasn't pinned for holding the ball, so hopefully it was just a one off thing and won't affect the game too much.

I will give everyone a full review of what I think of the game later tonight so look out for that.

Cheers.

 

[CarterS]

It's not that easy for me...I get flogged on hard and medium is still a challenge. You just need to time the marking but that is impossible on the hard setting.

 

[TheMase]

Originally posted by CarterS
It's not that easy for me...I get flogged on hard and medium is still a challenge. You just need to time the marking but that is impossible on the hard setting.

It is very hard. But try playing more of a handballing and running game then a kicking game, you might find you go a little better in medium and hard.

I run off halfback and use the handball running up the ground and kick inside 50.

It is hard to time the marking but not impossible!
I am still yet to lose a match on ANY setting

 

[rfctigerarmy]

can you swing ur game cover around and have a look at what type of game it is? is it dvd rom or cd rom?

cheers

 

[TheMase]

Originally posted by rfctigerarmy
can you swing ur game cover around and have a look at what type of game it is? is it dvd rom or cd rom?

cheers

I dont need to look at the game ... Mine is on PC and it is running in a CDROM therefore it must be a CD