Well, this game would be a perfect example of how you can make the game more challenging without cheating with the AI! Earlier, higher difficulty would be equal to you having shorter timing windows while the AI playing perfectly times shots almost all the time.
However, with BigAnt's approach and inventions, they would not need to resort to such tactics, as the game engine itself (which includes the bowling/batting mechanism, the physics, dynamic weather/pitch/ball condition and its impact on the play) will ensure that the game is hard to master on higher difficulty levels just with the unpredictability provided in gameplay by the game engine!
If the effect of weather, ball condition and pitch condition do play as big a role as Ross has said they would, then whether you are batting or bowling, you would always need to be aware of the conditions you are playing in and accordingly change your game! It will not longer be a race to master the timing alone.....you now need to master a lot of other things, and even then there would be days when you would be blown away!
I am really excited about the direction in which this game is moving. No longer is this game gonna be about how well you can use the controller, but instead you would need to use your head for a change....and that will determine (in most cases) the difference between the winner and the loser...i.e. the person who understands the conditions the best and adapts his game accordingly will be the winner.....now how often have we said that in a cricket game...never!!! Even if BigAnt does not get this right in this game, they have developed an engine which can be enhanced to include everything I just said!
Some scenarios that come to my mind to support my observations above (Ross or Mike can confirm if these would actually play out in this version of the game or not):
- You have two batsmen set in the middle, scoring runs freely. Suddenly there is a strong breeze which starts assisting swing. So from dominating the bowlers, you would now need to play more conservatively and ride out through this situation without much damage!
- You are bowling beautifully, and suddenly you lose your timing for releasing the ball.....now you are on the backfoot!!
- You would now try to bat out sessions, hostile bowling, hostile conditions.....trying to leave as many deliveries as you can to survive!
- You would now target certain bowlers in certain conditions. I am hoping that all bowlers cannot bowl all kind of deliveries.
There are tons of permutations and combinations available now that 'will' noticeably affect your gameplay! This variety or unpredictability is what will make every match feel new and fresh!!
Ross is trying to tell us in a nice way not to get our hopes up
......Now its your turn to post some screenies
