Post Release Feedback

[Super Hans]

This wouldn't just be sour grapes because you suck at the game now would it?

Maybe, but how am I meant to enjoy a game when I get tackled everytime I touch the ball, can't "sprint" away from a contest and Taking a mark is all chance.

The one thing they did get right is online, lag free!

 

[Ant_]

Maybe, but how am I meant to enjoy a game when I get tackled everytime I touch the ball, can't "sprint" away from a contest and Taking a mark is all chance.

The one thing they did get right is online, lag free!

I had the same issues at first. Then I read the manual in more detail and was just starting to get the hang of drawing the man and hand balling over the top last night before I went to bed.

In short master the controls and the tackle fest can be avoided some what.

 

[Ochre]

Maybe, but how am I meant to enjoy a game when I get tackled everytime I touch the ball, can't "sprint" away from a contest and Taking a mark is all chance.

The one thing they did get right is online, lag free!

So it is just the fact you suck at it?

 

[sTeeL]

Marking is not chance if you use your brain. If your out of position spoil. Play smarter instead of relying on one or two guys being super fast.

 

[glenn_ox]

I'm hearing and reading alot of: I'm not good straight away so I don't like it.

What happened to reading the manual?

I love it, i know it's a little rough in some parts, but people are complaining like it's broken. With easy access to patches and DLCs think of the potential this series has. I think it's a great first release.

 

[EBUS]

actually, yes there is...

Just Youtube'd that game, and was it made by the same people that made AFL Premiership 2005 - 2007?, same graphics, same camera angle and even the layout with the players names look the same.

EDIT: It is, was made by IR Gurus.

 

[Super Hans]

I was over reacting because it's just frustrating when you have someone like Sandilands playing infront and being outmarked by Aaron Joseph!

I think it's the AI that's is really just pissing me off! Against mates it seems to be alot more free flowing.

 

[Espe]

Eh, so far having mixed reactions over the game. The one thing that I can't get out of my head is that it has 'potential' to be a great game. But it just misses the mark, slightly. So many little issues but hopefully the patch may get rid of a few. Online doesn't seem to need a lot of skill, just whoever gets the free man after the 10 tackles in a row gets the kick away...

Probably give it a 4/10

 

[Gak Attack]

Played a few exhibition games and found it way too hard first up on easy, as I mentioned in the other thread easy mode should be just that.. you should be able to have little to no idea about the game and pick it up and be competitive as you can be in Fifa and NBA. While I did get better it was kinda frustrating. However... then a mate came around to play it and I played him and man oh man did it become fun when the opposition is on a similar level to you, went from considering taking it back to loving it. Wondering if something can be done with making easy easier.. I have the patience to improve but plenty of people will get pumped first up on easiest mode and rage, plus you may save some controllers!

 

[Dez!]

You seriously can't take created players into season mode?

What's the point of creating them then?

 

[funk44]

not exactly a casual players game, in order to avoid the bland and boring tackle fest which is pretty much all i have experienced you need to devote time to mastering the controls, something which i dont have the time to undertake, so for those of us who wanna have a quick game a few times a week and still feel like we are able to boot some awesome goals and play a skillful free flowing game of footy this game fails.

 

[Riders of Rohan]

Any way to change the difficulty of a season? 5 rounds in with 3 people playing would hate having to restart the season to change the difficulty.

 

[Niximus]

hmmmm controls certainly aren't intuitive at all. Looks like it will take quite a while to get used to all of the controls. That kinds sucks as I was hoping it would be something I could play with my GF on the easiest difficulty, or non-gamer friends who pop around.

 

[Dangas]

Once you get used to the controls for loose ball, shes all right

 

[Be Aggressive]

It's a hectic game, but it is so fun. When it opens up and you create a 2-on-1 contest or get some space, it is just a brilliant time. A bit hard to see what is going on when everyone is scrapping for a contested ball (button mash!) but that was expected really.

Totally stoked to finally have an AFL game.

 

[a1118374]

Loving the game so far (4 games in). Just getting the hang of the contested possessions. A great step towards good AFL games. Gameplay is a massive winner.

Obvious additions

• career mode
• detailed stats
  
  Very glad these were skipped on in favour of improving gameplay though. Well done those involved

 

[Peck]

Okay, what I need to say is this:

I ****ing love this game. Seriously.

The gameplay is outstanding. Making passes forward, via handball or kick is so much bloody fun, and far beyond what I expected. I don't particularly like the way marking and spoiling works, but I could just be extremely bad at it. If someone knows exactly how it works, I'd love to hear it, because I just spam triangle and hope at the moment.

Ruck contests are fun, tackling is fun, but seriously, nothing compares to 4 uncontested possesions in a row, followed by running it into fifty and having a ping from 40 metres out.

I only have a couple of problems with this game, mostly based on the presentation of it, I.e. The way you set your team up - its way too hard to do it quickly, there should seriously be a field view or something, hopefully its patchable. Also, how the game overall looks very bare.
The other issue I have is how easy the game seems. I've only played against legend once, in a 12 minute game, with my "edited" Port Adelaide (Westhoff with kicking 95 or something heh) against Adelaide. But I won about 40 - 14, which doesn't fill me with confidence.

Aside from those things, I love it, and believe it is the funnest multiplayer game I have played in years. Hopefully I can get my mates on the bandwagon too.

Also, please, please fix player ratings. There is no ****ing way that Boak is a 75 and Kane Cornes is a 91. Also Justin Westhoff, and Schulz's marking abilty were both way off.

Anyway, fantastic work Ross, and everyone else at Big Ant Studios.

 

[Artifakts]

This is the BEST AFL game in terms of gameplay and realism.

There are issues though.

PROS

* Fast paced
* Set shots at goals
* Ruck contests
* Marking
* Calling for leads

CONS

* Dreadful commentary (I would rather listen to "Out of bounds....on the full"....doesn't ruin the game though)
* No in game statistics (in this day and age where Supercoach and Dream Team are so popular, you would think they'd cater to this market, even go as far as having an "official" Dream Team statistic).
* No career mode
* Team selection page (I watch a lot of footy shows and have never seen them display a team the way it is shown on AFL Live)
* Tribunals (you don't get the sense that you need to take it easy on any players because there's no rough conduct)
* Ladder and leaderboards (very difficult to follow)

The gameplay is exceptional though. It is everything around it that needs fixing to take it to a whole new level.

Great job, Big Ant!!

 

[LegacyNexus]

I am definitely enjoying the game so far, havent won a match yet but getting better each round.

A few things that annoy me are when your player is injured in season mode it doesn't tell you the injury. I think it showed me on the screen when it happened but about 3 injuries happened in 30 seconds so I couldnt remember what the injury was.

Definitely a multi season mode would have been good.

Speed button works, especially for Sloane and Cook, but a major increase in speed would be better.

Marking is a bit lame.

Not a fan of the lock system when I can't see who I am kicking to and am basically guessing.

I love the gameplay, tactics, roster, stadiums, ruckwork, handballs

 

[Big Saverio]

Okay, what I need to say is this:

I ****ing love this game. Seriously.

The gameplay is outstanding. Making passes forward, via handball or kick is so much bloody fun, and far beyond what I expected. I don't particularly like the way marking and spoiling works, but I could just be extremely bad at it. If someone knows exactly how it works, I'd love to hear it, because I just spam triangle and hope at the moment.

Ruck contests are fun, tackling is fun, but seriously, nothing compares to 4 uncontested possesions in a row, followed by running it into fifty and having a ping from 40 metres out.

I only have a couple of problems with this game, mostly based on the presentation of it, I.e. The way you set your team up - its way too hard to do it quickly, there should seriously be a field view or something, hopefully its patchable. Also, how the game overall looks very bare.
The other issue I have is how easy the game seems. I've only played against legend once, in a 12 minute game, with my "edited" Port Adelaide (Westhoff with kicking 95 or something heh) against Adelaide. But I won about 40 - 14, which doesn't fill me with confidence.

Aside from those things, I love it, and believe it is the funnest multiplayer game I have played in years. Hopefully I can get my mates on the bandwagon too.

Also, please, please fix player ratings. There is no ****ing way that Boak is a 75 and Kane Cornes is a 91. Also Justin Westhoff, and Schulz's marking abilty were both way off.

Anyway, fantastic work Ross, and everyone else at Big Ant Studios.

What is Schulz's and Westies overall rating? Does Schulz have his glove

 

[Minsoned]

The game is fantastic. Its exceeded my expectations no doubt. At the end of the day I think the key was to get the gameplay right. I must say I've only played it on Rookie, but its hard to fault the gameplay so far. The FIFA franchise has been around for years and still has faults. In fact FIFA 6-7 years ago was a bit of basket-case in terms of gameplay. I'm quite amazed how well Big Ant have done to get the gameplay this good already.

One thing I find is that its a pretty hardcore AFL game. Anyone hoping to sprint away and kick a running goal (like in AFL 98), or take speccies all the time (like all previous AFL games) will be disappointed. After doing a bit of training and learning the controls I had a couple of really good matches against the AI. Even stuff like soccering the ball off the ground works great! The ball spilled free on the goalline and I hit the shoot button in hope that it was soccer it and it actually did soccer it through! Not like the old games where the player would have just picked it up and carried it over for a rushed behind. And after I figured out how to do clearances properly it just got even better. I think this seems like a game that will get better and better with more plays.

I can't believe the amount of people complaining about lack of features, or music and stuff. What we have here is a fantastic base for hopefully a long lasting franchise. With potential future versions there's heaps of time for a career mode or gameplay tweaks. If Big Ant focused on features like career mode we'd have rubbish gameplay and the extra features would be pointless. I also work for a games developer so understand that Big Ant don't just have a magic wand to wave to get all the features in... to get to where they're at would have taken a lot of hard work no doubt! I hope this game gets all the support it deserves so we get versions in the future as well!

Some things I would like to see in the future:

- Set shots are a bit easy. Once you get the hang of them its hard to miss.
- Close ups of the players. I realise this is a bit of fluff, but it seems there's a fair bit of work done into modelling lots of the players, but we don't really get to see it. The only faces I really get to see are the players (full forwards and full backs) who are hanging around the goal ump when they signal.
- Kick ins seem too difficult. That view from behind is difficult to weigh up the options, on my TV anyway. I think we need to be able to lock on to a receiver, like we can in the normal gameplay. I find my most effective kick in is to just hit and hope.
- Instant replay feature.
- Dylan Addison needs a higher rating (kinda a joke but I think at 64 it makes him seem like a spud but I rate him!)

But I think my suggestions are quite minor as everything is pretty solid so far. Congratulations Big Ant!

 

[Smoooothy]

This is the BEST AFL game in terms of gameplay and realism.

There are issues though.

PROS

* Fast paced
* Set shots at goals
* Ruck contests
* Marking
* Calling for leads

CONS

* Dreadful commentary (I would rather listen to "Out of bounds....on the full"....doesn't ruin the game though)
* No in game statistics (in this day and age where Supercoach and Dream Team are so popular, you would think they'd cater to this market, even go as far as having an "official" Dream Team statistic).
* No career mode
* Team selection page (I watch a lot of footy shows and have never seen them display a team the way it is shown on AFL Live)
* Tribunals (you don't get the sense that you need to take it easy on any players because there's no rough conduct)
* Ladder and leaderboards (very difficult to follow)

The gameplay is exceptional though. It is everything around it that needs fixing to take it to a whole new level.

Great job, Big Ant!!

pretty much how i feel about it

just won my first game (season mode, carlton vs adelaide). once you get used to the controls the game is pretty easy to master.

but i love it!!! it's a fantastic start, and hopefully the start of a franchise

graphics don't bother me at all, would much prefer to play a game that plays good rather than something that looks brilliant but is shit to play.

 

[T Rick]

I think it's possibly a little bit too hard to hit a target with a handball. When you are scrummaging for a ball and get first touch you want to just be able to rifle a handball to a player but so often the ball just goes to space and you have to do it all over again. I reckon if you shoot the analog stick in the general direction of a player the handball should hit him nearly every time, it's pretty rare afl players (especially good ones) don't hit handball targets.

 

[John Dorian]

I think this game is cooler than the other side of the pillow.

 

[Hellgood]

What camera angle is the best one to use? Whenever the ball is out on the outer wing I have trouble seeing who is there and whats going on.

My goalkicking is atrocious. And I really struggle with the loose balls on the ground, I always run around them - probably due to me playing FIFA. My ruckwork is shocking as well.

As I get better I am going to have a lot of fun with this game! Any tips would be really appreciated.

Things I don't really like, that aren't to do with my very ordinary gaming skills:

- Commentary, very ordinary, not the be all and end all, but until it can be done perfect, maybe just have the noise of the crowd and game? I think I'm just going to turn it off

- Team selection menu, a lot of people have commented on this and I can definitely see why! Keep it simple guys!

- Camera, I could just be using the wrong camera, but I don't really like the view. It's too far away from the outer wing and it's annoying when theres a shot from the boundary or something, pretty hard to judge, and you can't see who you're kicking to. Also would like in next edition, the camera to go to the set shot camera when the opposition are having their shot would just make it seem a little bit more like watching on TV!

- Music, I love Holy Grail, but I am going to hear it so many times over the coming few months! Two songs is probably too little, but understandable.

These are all generally pretty minor things - most importantly from my limited experience the gameplay is 1000x better than previous AFL games. I think as I improve and as I learn, my experience of this game will grow immensely.