Review Demo impressions thread

[Golden28]

AI batting/pacing



I'm sorry, but that seems very discouraging to me! As long as you get the ball in the right place, the batsmen usually leave or defend the ball? That'd be fine if it wasn't so easy to get the cursor in the right place, as I'd imagine it is? That means that the AI will never cut loose unless you start bowling absolute rubbish. In real cricket, even if the ball was a good one, they still get hit for four occasionally.

I'm going to put their lack of aggression down to the fact that they are openers playing the first three overs of a test match. I think (and hope) that if the game was on the line, and they needed to, they would start flaying at everything.

I didn't say they left or defended everything just most of the stuff in the "corridor" again I think this is due to AI openers getting settled in.

With regard to the placing of the cursor, you are absolutely right, it is easy to position it in exactly the place you want. A little cursor wobble wouldn't have gone amiss.

 

[dajesmac]

AI batting/pacing



I'm sorry, but that seems very discouraging to me! As long as you get the ball in the right place, the batsmen usually leave or defend the ball? That'd be fine if it wasn't so easy to get the cursor in the right place, as I'd imagine it is? That means that the AI will never cut loose unless you start bowling absolute rubbish. In real cricket, even if the ball was a good one, they still get hit for four occasionally.

MasterBlaster76 added 10 Minutes and 15 Seconds later...



As long as it doesn't happen too often, it doesn't matter too much. Otherwise, it'll get like the dismissals where the batsman kept leg glancing the ball onto their stumps.



BLIC '99 ambience + crowd chants = perfect cricket atmosphere.



Well, if the ball curls a different way than it was supposed to, it'll determine whether there is a goal, or if the ball reaches its intended target. If the ball in cricket goes backwards/forwards/up/down/left/right after bowling someone, it doesn't matter in the slightest: the guy is still out! Not a good comparison.

As to the 'poor' feedback from some people not from this forum, maybe they were the sheep who liked BLIC 07's baseball style, as opposed to this game's realistic looking cricket style? Some links would be good.



Official source?



I agree, I like the crowd.



Excellent stuff!



Indeed. Rome wasn't built in a day.

And when this game gets to PES 6's level and then starts going down the toilet, especially in PES 09, we can stop buying it and just keep updating the last 'good' version...

To me it sounds exactly like the BLC99 Ambience haha. Also the PC demo was set toc ome out 7 days after the 360, along with the PS3, so thats probably what hes going off. Thats what everyone heard anyway.

 

[GilchristRulz]

When is the pc version demo releasing?

 

[pingusten]

Official source?

I'm guessing he's taking it that when they release the demo for silver accounts next week they'll release the PC demo then too. Makes sense, I suppose.

The demo will be available to Silver members on 30th July 2009, to coincide with the beginning of the Third npower Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

YouTube - Ashes Cricket 2009 Batting

Haha woah look at Pontings reaction at the drop catch (over 2.3), haha its so realistic its scary!

Hmm... 40+ from only 3 overs? Was that video shot on easy mode (please say it was)...

 

[dajesmac]

With regard to the placing of the cursor, you are absolutely right, it is easy to position it in exactly the place you want. A little cursor wobble wouldn't have gone amiss.

Jamie said that he thought the cursor wobble was a bit hard for the casual fan I think, and he mentioned how with the timing bar already in palce it would have been too hard to get a good delivery.

I dunno if I agree, the wobble does make a nice challenge, and make it more realistic.

Having said that, the worse you get off in the timing bar, like if you click it way too early, the ball won't bounce perfectly in the cursor anyway, itll bounce like half a foot outside, only if you get it in the yellow section does it bounce exactly in the cursor. SO it all evens up. Heath Smth (hsmith1978) posted about this, thats how I know.

Sorry if that was hard to read, I kept changing my mind haha.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

I'm guessing he's taking it that when they release the demo for silver accounts next week they'll release the PC demo then too. Makes sense, I suppose.

Cool; I know nothing about how Xbox 360 accounts work.

 

[dajesmac]

Hmm... 40+ from only 3 overs? Was that video shot on easy mode (please say it was)...

Haha no I'm 90% sure it was, because Johnson was bowling around 94mph and the deliveries looked a bit loopy. They said on easy it would have loopy deliveries.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Jamie said that he thought the cursor wobble was a bit hard for the casual fan I think, and he mentioned how with the timing bar already in palce it would have been too hard to get a good delivery.

I dunno if I agree, the wobble does make a nice challenge, and make it more realistic.

Having said that, the worse you get off in the timing bar, like if you click it way too early, the ball won't bounce perfectly in the cursor anyway, itll bounce like half a foot outside, only if you get it in the yellow section does it bounce exactly in the cursor. SO it all evens up. Heath Smth (hsmith1978) posted about this, thats how I know.

Sorry if that was hard to read, I kept changing my mind haha.

As long as it evens itself up somehow, it should work ok.

MasterBlaster76 added 0 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...

Haha no I'm 90% sure it was, because Johnson was bowling around 94mph and the deliveries looked a bit loopy. They said on easy it would have loopy deliveries.

Good, thanks for that.

MasterBlaster76 added 3 Minutes and 4 Seconds later...

I'm going to put their lack of aggression down to the fact that they are openers playing the first three overs of a test match. I think (and hope) that if the game was on the line, and they needed to, they would start flaying at everything.

I didn't say they left or defended everything just most of the stuff in the "corridor" again I think this is due to AI openers getting settled in.

With regard to the placing of the cursor, you are absolutely right, it is easy to position it in exactly the place you want. A little cursor wobble wouldn't have gone amiss.

Surely there's some sort of system to introduce some of the occasionally random nature of bowling, especially if facing a bowler who sprays it around?

 

[Golden28]

Jamie said that he thought the cursor wobble was a bit hard for the casual fan I think, and he mentioned how with the timing bar already in palce it would have been too hard to get a good delivery.

I dunno if I agree, the wobble does make a nice challenge, and make it more realistic.

Having said that, the worse you get off in the timing bar, like if you click it way too early, the ball won't bounce perfectly in the cursor anyway, itll bounce like half a foot outside, only if you get it in the yellow section does it bounce exactly in the cursor. SO it all evens up. Heath Smth (hsmith1978) posted about this, thats how I know.

Sorry if that was hard to read, I kept changing my mind haha.

Makes perfect sense. That timing bar really does have a huge effect on the delivery outcome. If I position the bowling cursor so that it goes yellow (obviously indicating ideal position) but screw up the timing meter the AI batsmen cut you to shreds.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Makes perfect sense. That timing bar really does have a huge effect on the delivery outcome. If I position the bowling cursor so that it goes yellow (obviously indicating ideal position) but screw up the timing meter the AI batsmen cut you to shreds.

How easy is it to get the timing meter perfect and does the bowler's condition/ability come into it?

 

[Golden28]

How easy is it to get the timing meter perfect and does the bowler's condition/ability come into it?

It's not that easy. It rises pretty quickly and if you stop it too early it's a poor delivery and very hitable and if you stop it too late it's a no ball. To get it perfect every time you need to stop it quite late and really risk bowling a no ball.

From memory I think that the different bowlers have differingly sized 'sweet spots' in their meters. I think Monty's meter was different than Freddies. Might be my imagination though. EDIT: It was my imagination. From looking at a video Freddie and Monty's meters were the same.

As for condition, obviously we don't get to see that on the demo, but I'm sure in a full game depleted condition will have a big effect on the accuracy. Again, I'm just hoping here.

 

[rlfan82]

Yeah, the free hit rules in too.

dajesmac added 0 Minutes and 38 Seconds later...



It's posts like this that get me shivering with excitement about the game.

That and it's like 15 degrees in here and I'm not wearing a shirt.

dajesmac added 10 Minutes and 37 Seconds later...

hey i just noticed this video on youtube, no idea if its been posted:

YouTube - GAME 2 - Part 1: Ashes Cricket 2009 - Xbox 360 Demo (Hard Mode) It has Bopara's bowling rating as 43! Below KP and Colly!

Part 2 should be up now, if its been processed by youtube

 

[Maximum]

I heard that if you bowl in the yellow zone too often your players tire out more quickly (in longer forms of the game) because it's a full-power/control delivery. This would add to the gameplay in a big way because it'll force you to be attacking in shorter spurts and you'll need to rotate your bowlers more often and contain the AI with your field placements. I like the idea of bowling to my field and mixing up the bowling pace to bring about a poor shot from the batsman.
I guess it's easy at the moment to dominate with only 3 overs so your bowlers don't tire. Can't wait to test this on the full game with Twenty20's, 50 over ODIs and Test Matches especially!

 

[786123]

wens the demo being released for the ps3