A first look at patch 2! [new video on page 29]

[MattW]

Im playing on pro difficulty

Well Pro is better balanced now, so it won't be as bad, plus you can have bowling assists on any level, if that was why you weren't higher.

Still - if a game's too easy, go up a level.

This sounds quite promising. As long as the AI is competitive, it will enhance offline mode's longevity and other things such as realistic edges (number as well as variety) or scenario editor can be addressed in a future iteration of the game (hopefully DBC 15).

We're tweaks away from edges being right, not a new iteration - I understand them being cautious about changing things there, some games and some AI patches I've seen go crazy with adding edges, and you can draw them from the slightest bit of movement.

One of the factors obviously has to be getting feedback from thousands of people, not just those in the Big Ant offices. Maybe some people will get this patch and be edging all the things and think they've made it too easy to get edges. Just like those who think the Patch 1 made too many dropped chances occur (probably best those people don't update).

 

[BigAntStudios]

It's fine for people to compare the outcomes with the real world however if we manufactured the gameplay to suit real-world stats as the primary goal then we run the risk of destabilising the game and making it less fun.

Balance must evolve over time with hundreds of thousands of games played.

 

[aabretz]

How do you view the strength & weakness of bowlers/batsmen? By pressing R3 (Right Stick down)?

for me on the 360 its the D-pad's right arrow or down arrow i cant remember off the top of my head

 

[Lebanna]

for me on the 360 its the D-pad's right arrow or down arrow i cant remember off the top of my head

On the 360 I believe it is pressing the right stick to see the bowlers/batsman strength & weakness. D-Pad right is fatigued level and batting mentality.

 

[cricket_online]

We're tweaks away from edges being right, not a new iteration - I understand them being cautious about changing things there, some games and some AI patches I've seen go crazy with adding edges, and you can draw them from the slightest bit of movement.

One of the factors obviously has to be getting feedback from thousands of people, not just those in the Big Ant offices. Maybe some people will get this patch and be edging all the things and think they've made it too easy to get edges. Just like those who think the Patch 1 made too many dropped chances occur (probably best those people don't update).

In an ideal world we would have a slider setting for every aspect of the game - edges, run-outs, batting, fielding, catching etc. - and you can play around with the slider settings to get a customized setting that works for you, i.e. similar to Madden where you have fan forums for slider settings to provide the most realistic gaming experience.

Unless you have such a mechanism in place IMO it would be extremely difficult to nail down edges in a short timespan. Again reason for the same is it's not just the number of edges that need to be worked on but also the variety. It will take a lot of time, effort and exhaustive testing to figure out the right balance and that's one of the reasons why EA allows customizable sliders so users can tweak the gameplay, so EA doesn't need to spend hundreds of hours to do so.

If Big Ant add too many edges, it will ramp up the difficulty level, if they don't the game might be too easy. And then you have to factor in the variety of edges as even with a large no. of edges but with huge variety of edges, the difficulty wouldn't be high as lare no. of edges will miss the fielders but if the majority of edges are catchable it may adversely impact the gameplay as far as difficulty is concerned. This balancing will take lot of time which leads me to believe more realistic edges will require a new iteration of the game along with new features (such as scenario editor/creator) and is unlikely to be fixed via a patch.

 

[MattW]

Unless you have such a mechanism in place IMO it would be extremely difficult to nail down edges in a short timespan.

The difference from the current game to patch 2 makes me disagree.

 

[Chief]

Balance must evolve over time with hundreds of thousands of games played.

Have you got an analytics system in the game? Tracking gameplay data?

 

[cricket_online]

It's fine for people to compare the outcomes with the real world however if we manufactured the gameplay to suit real-world stats as the primary goal then we run the risk of destabilising the game and making it less fun.

Balance must evolve over time with hundreds of thousands of games played.

Exactly. That's why it will take an iteration or two for edges and gameplay balancing to be nailed, which is to be expected in a sports video game.

 

[adikal]

I agree with @cricket_online on sliders. This is something a lot of us requested in earlier cricket games (e.g BLIC) but that didn't happen (not to mention those devs didn't talk to us like Big Ant does .

Has there been any explanation on why sliders are not provided in DBC? This way each person can customize the game to his/her own liking, with the right balance of fun/competitiveness. Thanks

 

[grkrama]

Have you got an analytics system in the game? Tracking gameplay data?

Its called planetcricket.org..

 

[graham]

Coming soon...

1 hour and 17 minutes of an AI run chase on Veteran in a 50 over match, Australia vs England. Including mods!

MATT have i missed this video ?

 

[Chief]

Its called planetcricket.org..

Planetcricket is a terrible guide to overall gameplay data. You need a cross-section, not a longitudinal one.

 

[MattW]

MATT have i missed this video ?

No.

 

[Dutch]

Exactly. That's why it will take an iteration or two for edges and gameplay balancing to be nailed, which is to be expected in a sports video game.

On the one hand I agree. On the other hand edges, those beautiful Jimmy Anderson induced "swing it in, swing it in, swing it in, swing it in, swing it OUT" slipcatches, slip misses and mix ups, those "oh why did I just move third slip out" moments are so unique to cricket, so absolutely gobsmackingly beautiful that when they are not there in sufficient amount in a game portraying it, it does leave a very visble gaping hole in an otherwise beautiful picture......

 

[whiteninness]

O? est le video?