Ashes Cricket 2009 Screenshots

[Skater]

What does it add to the game exactly? Having them and not having them, makes no difference to how much fun you have. Most people DO just want gameplay - there is nothing out there thats offers such a thing - no viable alternative.

If you want stats go onto cricinfo or look at wisden.

I will have more fun breaking records or boosting averages in game.

 

[Supershtuffthat]

To clear up the Atari thing they publish Codemaster's games in Australia.
Interesting reading this thread, I know what Tom means about chinks of light and the inevitable disappointment. Developers should get basic things like where the keeper stands correct: I mean they try to get the ground exactly proportioned so we should at least be able to expect fielders in the correct places.
My biggest ray of hope for this game is the developers explicitly saying in the interview that test cricket is no longer just odi cricket in whites, they've got the Ashes license and tried to make a realistic experience. I also agree that stats should be an essential, they're a big part of cricket and seriously they're not that hard to code.
I guess the complexity and layers that make up cricket and make us love it so much are just harder to transfer to a video game. How do you allow for Fidel Edwards to bowl 5mph faster when Jimmy Anderson is facing? How do you make a team have zero enthusiam in the field? How do you program the psychological effect taking certain wickets has?
Playing for swing and bounce shouldn't just be about when you manage to press the button but we're probably asking too much to expect even half the intricacies of cricket to be transferrable to 0s and 1s.

The same can be said of any sports game though. Barely any accomodate for 'team motivation' and enthusiasm. and 'psychological effects'. Liverpool dont play better in fifa 09 if they are up 1-0. The only things that effects the game is the tactics used and the skill of the user in this instance. Its the overall structure of a game and how well its built that detirmines if its a good game. All of this is quantitative - it can be put into one and zeros.

Every sport has intricacies. Im tired of people saying "cricket is so complex and intricate thats why its hard to make a good game" RUBBISH!!! Its because the developers lack resources and skill to make a good game. If soccer was played only in a few countries and on a small scale like cricket is, then I can guarantee that any game that comes out would be crap, just like all the cricket games that have ever come out. America is an exception - they have the resources and backing of their huge population. You might say "India has the population but?" But they dont have the resources.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

What does it add to the game exactly? Having them and not having them, makes no difference to how much fun you have. Most people DO just want gameplay - there is nothing out there thats offers such a thing - no viable alternative.

If you want stats go onto cricinfo or look at wisden.

Stats are a big part of TV coverage and that's the style the game is supposed to represent.

The same can be said of any sports game though. Barely any accomodate for 'team motivation' and enthusiasm. and 'psychological effects'. Liverpool dont play better in fifa 09 if they are up 1-0. The only things that effects the game is the tactics used and the skill of the user in this instance. Its the overall structure of a game and how well its built that detirmines if its a good game. All of this is quantitative - it can be put into one and zeros.

I disagree; cricket is an extremely complicated game where a matter of millimetres could mean getting a wicket and not, for example. Football translates so much easier to computer game format, as does Tennis.

MasterBlaster76 added 1 Minutes and 28 Seconds later...

Stats....meh - who gives a crap.

Same as bats, kits and player likeness. Really, this all pales into nothing compared to overall gameplay.

Most of us wouldn't agree.

There is a limit to how far that goes. Stats would add something to the game, we don't just want gameplay.

Exactly. In this day and age, there is no reason whatsoever why we can't have both.

MasterBlaster76 added 0 Minutes and 58 Seconds later...

What does it add to the game exactly? Having them and not having them, makes no difference to how much fun you have. Most people DO just want gameplay - there is nothing out there thats offers such a thing - no viable alternative.

If you want stats go onto cricinfo or look at wisden.

What, are they going to reflect what's going on in my game?

No?

Thought not. :

 

[Valaskjalf]

What does it add to the game exactly? Having them and not having them, makes no difference to how much fun you have. Most people DO just want gameplay - there is nothing out there thats offers such a thing - no viable alternative.

If you want stats go onto cricinfo or look at wisden.

Oh you must represent the mindless portion of cricket gamers everyone warned me about.

If you just want ONLY gameplay, go play in the park. If you want a true reflection of what cricket is and the way it is represented world wide then stats must be included. You might now know this, but some people actually regard stats as an integral part of the level of enjoyment you can get out of the game.

Im the kinda cricket fan who loves test cricket, the way cricket was intended to be played. And regarding the whole "if you want stats go to cricinfo" - thats a stupid comment. There is much more involvement in the game if you have stats in the game that you as the participant actually have an effect on, anything other than that is spectator-like and completely divorced from the experience. Why do you think so many people over the world enjoy career modes more than just random plays with no effect? Because you assume the role of that person and the way your play affects the player's effectiveness within the game. Stats would allow you monitor that - without it the game just turns into something you dont feel involved with.

 

[pcfan123]

i cannot wait for the game to come out so all the bickering stops!

 

[Eon]

Oh you must represent the mindless portion of cricket gamers everyone warned me about.

If you just want ONLY gameplay, go play in the park. If you want a true reflection of what cricket is and the way it is represented world wide then stats must be included. You might now know this, but some people actually regard stats as an integral part of the level of enjoyment you can get out of the game.

Im the kinda cricket fan who loves test cricket, the way cricket was intended to be played. And regarding the whole "if you want stats go to cricinfo" - thats a stupid comment. There is much more involvement in the game if you have stats in the game that you as the participant actually have an effect on, anything other than that is spectator-like and completely divorced from the experience. Why do you think so many people over the world enjoy career modes more than just random plays with no effect? Because you assume the role of that person and the way your play affects the player's effectiveness within the game. Stats would allow you monitor that - without it the game just turns into something you dont feel involved with.

Second... stats do make you feel more... connected to the game... so you feel more part of it, not a segregated controller

 

[Supershtuffthat]

I feel these are pretty weak arguments. Please explain why football and other sports are less intrinsic that cricket rather than just stating it. "Millimetres" are a part of every sport. if stats affected gameplay then, yes, I would see them as a neccisity. But they dont. and most people want good gameplay over stats, mate.

 

[Eon]

im not saying that... i love looking at stats in madden... checking how well ive done over a few seasons... therefore expecially with cricket stats should be included because with out stats cricket is... well not cricket. and i at no point said poor gameplay with lots of stats would make a good game. of course good gameplay is needed but stats will make the game more enthralling and enjoyable for most cricket lovers... i know for me... stats are just fun to finish a test series and then go through and looking at leading run scorers and wicket takers etc... thats all im saying

 

[sami ullah khan]

I get what Eon in saying. In BLC 99 the players stats were updated after every match. I remember how I tried to keep my players' averages close to their real averages. If Ashes cricket 2009 has that kind of feature or any game for that matter, it will be a real plus point to the game.

 

[rza89]

then i guess we wont need cricinfo :::

 

[savvart]

Has anyone tried playing MLB09...???

Here is a game that is so stat driven really, those yanks love their stats and the different scenarios that can eventuate in a game. I think it is proof that if a developer puts in the effort and time and money then the end result is excellent...

Cricket has been a poor cousin to all the other sports games and as such now needs someone to take REAL control and develop a game that cricket lovers want to play. Not always hoping that the "NON" cricket lovers might try it.

Let me tell you they won't because unless you understand the rules, the intricacies the fundamentals of a sport where will you find the enjoyment?

Its time to create a game of cricket, for cricket lovers, players, etc and not always catering for the lowest common denominator. Why, so you can try and make a bit of extra cash.

The fault with that sort of thinking is that you then alienate the very group you should be totally focused on. The cricket / er / lover. Lets hope all of the interviews and discussions that Codies have shown us are actually implemented in this game and not like most of the previous versions, end up being MUCH, much less then they claimed they would be...

 

[MasterBlaster76]

I feel these are pretty weak arguments. Please explain why football and other sports are less intrinsic that cricket rather than just stating it. "Millimetres" are a part of every sport. if stats affected gameplay then, yes, I would see them as a neccisity. But they dont. and most people want good gameplay over stats, mate.

They're not part of football. For example, a millimetre doesn't usually make that much difference between hitting the post or scoring a goal, but a millimetre can easily make the difference in cricket; how many times have we all seen a catch taken that looks like it didn't even touch the bat, when the tech shows that it did?

And no, stats don't enhance gameplay, but they do enhance the game.

MasterBlaster76 added 1 Minutes and 24 Seconds later...

Has anyone tried playing MLB09...???

Here is a game that is so stat driven really, those yanks love their stats and the different scenarios that can eventuate in a game. I think it is proof that if a developer puts in the effort and time and money then the end result is excellent...

Cricket has been a poor cousin to all the other sports games and as such now needs someone to take REAL control and develop a game that cricket lovers want to play. Not always hoping that the "NON" cricket lovers might try it.

Let me tell you they won't because unless you understand the rules, the intricacies the fundamentals of a sport where will you find the enjoyment?

Its time to create a game of cricket, for cricket lovers, players, etc and not always catering for the lowest common denominator. Why, so you can try and make a bit of extra cash.

The fault with that sort of thinking is that you then alienate the very group you should be totally focused on. The cricket / er / lover. Lets hope all of the interviews and discussions that Codies have shown us are actually implemented in this game and not like most of the previous versions, end up being MUCH, much less then they claimed they would be...

And therein lies the problem! They try to appeal to such a wide audience, instead of focusing on those who really will want to buy the game: us! Let's face it, if you're not interested in cricket, is a cricket game going to change that?

Methinks not.

 

[Allrounder18]

To me Cricket without stats is like batting without bat.

 

[chaitanyaraghav]

To me Cricket without stats is like batting without bat.

lol...good one!
I completely agree that stats do increase the overall playability of the game!

 

[MasterBlaster76]

To me Cricket without stats is like batting without bat.

It would certainly be odd if there was a televised match with no stats; a cricket game that's supposed to be 'televisual' in style needs stats. Lots of stats and not ones hidden away in a menu either.