Post Release Feedback

[happy_eagle]

Im sure Ross would want a thread like this, for people who have the game to give their honest feedback on where it is great, and where it can improve

Maybe those with the game can right a list of pro's and con's

From what ive heard the commentating is fairly poor, but Ross himself admitted this is tricky

 

[purpleblood29]

It isn't amazing. But it surely is great fun to play. The animations sometimes look a bit funky. But it once you get the hang of the controls it is good fun. Specially when your player with a mate, or three

7/10

 

[HBK619]

Ok, while I'm doing this a little bit early, I personally know I've had there abouts of more time with the game than anyone without the actual game.

So my VERY early pro's and con's would be as such.

PROS
Ruckwork - Easily my favourite and the best thing in the game still. Still hard to nail it down every time, but when you get it right and straight to a teammate it is just magic.

Pace - The pace of the game is incredible. I was speaking to the scottish dev (the one who's posted on here a few times...he has the lopsided ears) and he was saying that he's someone who's played FIFA heaps and when he goes from a couple of hours on AFL to FIFA, FIFA feels incredibly slow. After playing plenty yesterday and then playing FIFA last night, I have to say the same, FIFA just felt SO SLOW! AFL has this pace that is just spot on, the movement can be quick and wonderful or if you choose to you can hold it up and chip it around a bit.

Spoiling/Marking - Another great thing that has changed up HUGELY from the previous AFL games. Not only are there plenty of marking animations but the timing just seems right, I've had a lot of times when someone is furiously tapping the triangle button trying to get a mark and all I do is press it once at the right time and I'm the one who gets it (because the game rewards 1 well times press than button mashing). The spoiling and directing it is another great thing too, much like the ruckwork it just feels great when you hit it straight down to a teammate or into open space for you to run to.

There's plenty more I could put in, but those are my 3 (or 4) big standouts.

CONS
Commentary - Yes, this is probably the poorest thing in the game HOWEVER it isn't the worst thing I've heard. I think the only main problem comes down to it being a little flat. The best example I can give for this, while playing with Richmond a couple of times yesterday when Cotchin would get the ball or make a great tackle Cometti would let out a big "COTCHIN!" and it just felt so much more realistic and brings you in the game more. If the commentary can have that sort of feel and level of excitement then I think it will sound far better.

Goal kicking - It's nothing specifically geared towards the actual kicking for goal, I think it works and works probably as well as it can without any stupid mini-game gimmick (which I absolutely DO.NOT.WANT.). It's just that I think after a week or two you may get used to it relatively fast and be able to nail shots from almost anywhere (maybe only 50-60 out stays tough). Probably the only real recommendation I would have towards it is to open the arc system up to a lot of different variations so it becomes a matter of really having to know a player and his genuine arc instead of knowing that it's much the same each time.

That's all I've got for now, obviously you could add a con of there just not being a whole lot of other features outside of a single season mode and online as well as the create a team stuff, but that's been done to death and I really feel like the gameplay does stand the game out FAR more than the lack of features.

Will probably give some more pro's and con's once I get the game and have given it more hours.

 

[Glenno23]

Just a couple of odd things

When i interchange a ruckman just before a bounce, i can't use LB to change it back to the new ruckman (player selected is in the forwards) and the new ruckman (AI) doesn't even contest the bounce.

Alos, playign a wet game, seems to be more sliding on knees marks, even when there shouldn't be (due to an awkward position) but i think this may be hard to program to get it doing it "right"

Petty little things i know, but just played a match and it happened, see if it happens to anyone else?

 

[purpleblood29]

Just a couple of odd things

When i interchange a ruckman just before a bounce, i can't use LB to change it back to the new ruckman (player selected is in the forwards) and the new ruckman (AI) doesn't even contest the bounce.

Alos, playign a wet game, seems to be more sliding on knees marks, even when there shouldn't be (due to an awkward position) but i think this may be hard to program to get it doing it "right"

Petty little things i know, but just played a match and it happened, see if it happens to anyone else?

Haha yes, I played a game in the wet earlier and kicked it high in the air. Then Jack Anthony slid along the turf whilst taking a mark. Thought it did look a bit odd.

 

[grrofunger]

Pros:

Its great to finally have another AFL game - hats off to BigAnt and TruBlu/HES for going out on a limb to attempt to recreate our awesome sport into a video game

The game is pretty fun - it is a buzz when you pull off a great goal or a great passage of link play with handballs and finish off with a goal - especially with your favourite team and players.

Handball is the main weapon and the more you learn the more you can make it work - its possible to link up which is nice

Ruckwork is difficult - yes this is a pro - the no meter system is a good idea

Agree with HBK - the pace of the overall game is good -i think BigAnt nailed it in this aspect - the game just flows and you are never waiting around for something to happen

Cons:

Sprint button does not have a big enough impact - i would have liked to see a turbo/sprint bar used like in NBA and FIFA where you run faster for your alloted time and then you have to allow it to refresh - its too hard (almost impossible) to win a contested ball and sprint away from your opponent - which leads to lots of handballing to space to try and break free - i understand this would be a hard thing to balance

The game is quite raw, the lack of features will kill its longevity for me

Inability to see player stats during a match and even post match - yes you can check season stats - but not match stats.

the kick out counting as a disposal shits me - its a simple thing to have messed up - i cant believe how many people on here think that a kickout is a disposal/possession - IT ONLY IS IF YOU TAP IT TO YOURSELF AND PLAY ON !!

the Mckenna song really really grates on me - minor issue but its gotten old real quick - and only having that and holy grail over and over - well - YUK !

game is a tad too much handball handball tackle tackle tackle handball tackle handball tackle tackle tackle handball - (i know that makes no sense)

overall - Have bigant made a decent fun AFL game ? yes
Is it without flaws? no
Is there things in the game that totally shit you? you bet
Should you buy this and will you have fun? yes and probably

overall score for me is 6/10 at this stage -its fun to an extent , nice to have an AFL game but there is a lot of little things that appear simple to have been either included or not stuffed up.

I hope Bigant get another crack at this to improve on this base model - cos thats what it is - a base model - and i suppose BigAnt have said that all along

ps - notice how i didnt mention the commentary? there are some stupid things said at stupid times - but when playing i really do not notice it that much to be honest - not in a way to detract the playing experience anyway

 

[sTeeL]

Cons:
Jeff Darling

 

[Dangas]

Cons:
Jeff Darling

really? error somewhat

 

[henness]

One of the funnest games I have played for a long time. I love it, my brother hates it, namely because 1. it isn't COD, to him anything that isn't COD sucks, 2. I flogged him in the games we played, 3. he is nowhere near co-ordinated enough for the controls of the game, 4. he sucks at the game.

I like the unpredictability of the game. By that I mean, you know that every time you have a shot on goal on the run, the ball will not go straight through the middle unless you actually aim and time your kick well, unlike in the most recent games.

The ruckwork works well as every time you think that you are beginning to master it, you start losing the taps, the constantly changing camera angle of the ruck contests does that to you. I like the goal kicking set-up, it is about as difficult as you would want to make it without over complicating things and it works well, getting more difficult as you move through the difficulty levels.

I have noticed that there is a lot of tackling. However, this is pretty realistic as at ruck contests you barely see people getting free run at the ball and in the forward lines of course the forward will be tightly followed by a defender, resulting in more tackles if you get the ball on the bounce. The use and timing of the shrugging option helps you break the occasional tackle like in real life. The use of linking handball will also sort this out and no doubt as people become better at the game, those passages of play will develop.

The only thing that gets me about the game, and it isn't even the games fault, is the kick-ins. I cannot work them out for the life of me! Every time I get one, it turns into a 7 point play for the opposition! Hopefully I can work this out soon and get that coast-to-coast trophy.

Commentary isn't bad, even though it is missing some of the cult phrases from AFL Live 2004, "uncorking the genie". I guess we have to be lenient when it comes to rating the commentary because AFL is a pretty dynamic sport and I don't think that any amount of phrases could possibly cover all of the things that go on during games. So, naturally the commentary in the game will become a touch repetitive and seem at times to be a bit "random."

Haven't tried online yet as there is bugger all people who have the game right now, but I am sure that come Thursday night when everyone has the game, it will be one of the best features of the game.

Overall, probably a 7.5/10 for the game. Would love to rate it higher but will save those for the future versions as the game becomes more polished and adds new features. I can see how the game in it's first version might not be everyone's cup of tea, and yeah, they definitely need more than 2 menu songs in future! But, this game is suited perfectly to my "gaming" and it has already turned into "the new FIFA" for my mates and I.

 

[Ochre]

The ruckwork works well as every time you think that you are beginning to master it, you start losing the taps

this this this this

6 this'

so this

frustrating and great at the same time

 

[The King!]

Cons:
Jeff Darling

Would he be willing to change his name?

 

[Belcha]

so ill kick off with some name an shame
this guy is a habitual quiter on xbox live has quit 6 games ive played him
gamer tag : II MARCHO II
real name : Luke Marchant (pays to know people at xbl )

works at eb games Mulgrave & Dandenong (wont be shopping there again will be showing the area manager what i recorded off xbl though , wonder if eb want this type of person representing the company ...)

very abusive in game when he starts losing kept going on about how we are all fkwits to spend money on video games an how he gets all the premotional games at eb , bragged he got afl live for free an was the 1st to put it up on torrents for people to pirate because the games not worth shit anyway , was clearly smoking what sounded like a bong over the mic an sounded off his head which may explain the outbursts

this games online will die fast if the quitting situation isnt fixed asap *

 

[EBUS]

You posted it everywhere except in the "Name and Shame Thread".

 

[WCEprod]

What camera angle are you guys using? I like the end to end camera but the really quick switching when the other team gets possession is really annoying.

 

[EBUS]

Could you get some footage of that camera angle?

 

[grimface_87]

Goal kicking - It's nothing specifically geared towards the actual kicking for goal, I think it works and works probably as well as it can without any stupid mini-game gimmick (which I absolutely DO.NOT.WANT.). It's just that I think after a week or two you may get used to it relatively fast and be able to nail shots from almost anywhere (maybe only 50-60 out stays tough). Probably the only real recommendation I would have towards it is to open the arc system up to a lot of different variations so it becomes a matter of really having to know a player and his genuine arc instead of knowing that it's much the same each time.

I was just thinking that goal kicking could be tweaked by applying the player's real life accuracy when they are taking a shot. So even if you get the arc and power right if the player only kicks at 30% accuracy in real life, you only have a 30% chance of getting the goal. Obviously the angle and distance would also have to be taken into account.

I don't know if this is taken into account in the game but it could be someting to think about in the future.

 

[henness]

I am not sure if it is part of the game or it is just me but, there seems to be momentum in games. By that I mean if I kick 2 or 3 goals in a row then I seem to start winning more contests around the ground, finding more space and goals are easier to come by until the other team stops the flow. It seems to work the same for the computer against me.

If this is part of the game, I think that it may be from reading one of the 10 million FAQ posts, then that is a pretty awesome feature and definitely one of the huge positives in the game. Anyone else find this?

 

[grimface_87]

I am not sure if it is part of the game or it is just me but, there seems to be momentum in games. By that I mean if I kick 2 or 3 goals in a row then I seem to start winning more contests around the ground, finding more space and goals are easier to come by until the other team stops the flow. It seems to work the same for the computer against me.

If this is part of the game, I think that it may be from reading one of the 10 million FAQ posts, then that is a pretty awesome feature and definitely one of the huge positives in the game. Anyone else find this?

Yes there definitely is momentum in the game.

 

[HBK619]

I was just thinking that goal kicking could be tweaked by applying the player's real life accuracy when they are taking a shot. So even if you get the arc and power right if the player only kicks at 30% accuracy in real life, you only have a 30% chance of getting the goal. Obviously the angle and distance would also have to be taken into account.

I don't know if this is taken into account in the game but it could be someting to think about in the future.

It depends on how harsh that could be. I mean would aiming from straight in front and kicking it seemingly straight end up having anything to do with how it comes off the boot?

I get the idea of having the occasional 'Cloke' 'Richo' type of shank from ridiculously easy at times angles, but it could be a bit harsh if implemented wrongly to the extent where you literally could only nail 1/3 shots at goal.

I like the idea though of implementing that into a way of just expanding it along with widening the arc system to be broader amongst all players though.

I am not sure if it is part of the game or it is just me but, there seems to be momentum in games. By that I mean if I kick 2 or 3 goals in a row then I seem to start winning more contests around the ground, finding more space and goals are easier to come by until the other team stops the flow. It seems to work the same for the computer against me.

If this is part of the game, I think that it may be from reading one of the 10 million FAQ posts, then that is a pretty awesome feature and definitely one of the huge positives in the game. Anyone else find this?

Yep there is a momentum mechanic. Been mentioned a lot at the playtests and you definitely see and feel it in action.

 

[Stratton24]

Awesome game.
It will take a few hours of solid play to work it out and see wht the best camera angles are ect.

What angles are people favouring?
I'm liking side on close up.

 

[grimface_87]

It depends on how harsh that could be. I mean would aiming from straight in front and kicking it seemingly straight end up having anything to do with how it comes off the boot?

I get the idea of having the occasional 'Cloke' 'Richo' type of shank from ridiculously easy at times angles, but it could be a bit harsh if implemented wrongly to the extent where you literally could only nail 1/3 shots at goal.

I like the idea though of implementing that into a way of just expanding it along with widening the arc system to be broader amongst all players though.Yep there is a momentum mechanic. Been mentioned a lot at the playtests and you definitely see and feel it in action.

Yeah you wouldn't want it to be too harsh, but maybe if you give the player another attribute such as "goalkicking" and they could range from 60 to 100 and that would be your chance as a % of kicking the goal when you are lined up correctly. It would make it a bit more realistic especially since once everyone had worked out the aiming I doubt there will be many missed set shots.

 

[sTeeL]

Its gotten to the stage I rarely miss a set shot unless im shooting from 50+.

 

[grrofunger]

same - or a very tight angle

 

[1990crow]

Pros: Good graphics, easy and fun to play
Cons: No trading, drafting, player management i.e. training, improvement
Only one season
Salary cap for created teams is deplorable and the team just isnt competitive.

Not worth buying if your into building a premiership winning list

 

[stormee]

I am literally horrible