Story England in the 1980s

[blockerdave]

That's such a shame Dave. A potentially great match dampened by the age old bug. As you said probably one of few remaining PS4 users. It's seems to be PC version or play another game at present.....

What annoys me the most is it's not even a bug it's clearly a design choice. Some absolute numpty has thought "oh if the AI is defending a target they are more defensive" and nobody there has had the gumption to say "what are you talking about"?

We spent so long with them working on appropriate fields for attack, balance, defence etc. I didn't know we'd have to actually tell them you attack when you have 400+ runs in the bank and 4 & a bit sessions to win the game.

Honestly, someone who doesn't understand that basic element of cricket, and an organisation that can allow that view unchallenged, shouldn't be making a cricket game full stop.

I have zero confidence in any future cricket game out of that studio. Oh it'll have some excellent parts I'm sure, mostly thanks to the community here and their ideas and feedback, but it'll also be riddled with sloppy shit like this that even basic consideration should have wiped out.

 

[zimrahil]

Honestly, someone who doesn't understand that basic element of cricket, and an organisation that can allow that view unchallenged, shouldn't be making a cricket game full stop.

Thing is for all we know they may well not be making another cricket and then what? Do we want future games with issues or no game at all for a few more years. Can we see any other developer/publisher making a cricket game anytime soon?

It's tough !

 

[blockerdave]

Thing is for all we know they may well not be making another cricket and then what? Do we want future games with issues or no game at all for a few more years. Can we see any other developer/publisher making a cricket game anytime soon?

It's tough !

My understanding is there will be another BA cricket game. My hopes for it are zero. As i say I'm sure it'll have good or even great elements, but it will have rivers of turd running through it like 14 & 17. The good stuff will be down to the community, the turd on BA.

I don't think anyone else will make a game while BA are active in the sport. If they were inactive for a few years someone else might step in. Bottom line - a game where I can't play tests is as good as no game to me.

I design (enterprise) software. I know no code is perfect and I am extremely tolerant to bugs. They happen and won't always get picked up even in vigorous QA as it will never fully replicate what users get up to in the real world.

What I am extremely intolerant to is failure of design to get basic fundamentals right.

This is not about bugs, not even about AI performance which I accept is difficult to code. It's just about not understanding the fundamentals of the game.

The analogy is a calculator that will add, subtract and multiply but when you go to divide it subtracts again. Not by error, by design. A person / organisation who thinks that's how calculators work shouldn't be designing calculators, and that is BA when it comes to cricket, unfortunately.

 

[zimrahil]

My understanding is there will be another BA cricket game. My hopes for it are zero. As i say I'm sure it'll have good or even great elements, but it will have rivers of turd running through it like 14 & 17. The good stuff will be down to the community, the turd on BA.

I don't think anyone else will make a game while BA are active in the sport. If they were inactive for a few years someone else might step in. Bottom line - a game where I can't play tests is as good as no game to me.

I design (enterprise) software. I know no code is perfect and I am extremely tolerant to bugs. They happen and won't always get picked up even in vigorous QA as it will never fully replicate what users get up to in the real world.

What I am extremely intolerant to is failure of design to get basic fundamentals right.

This is not about bugs, not even about AI performance which I accept is difficult to code. It's just about not understanding the fundamentals of the game.

The analogy is a calculator that will add, subtract and multiply but when you go to divide it subtracts again. Not by error, by design. A person / organisation who thinks that's how calculators work shouldn't be designing calculators, and that is BA when it comes to cricket, unfortunately.

Yeah with the fields I remember someone at BA admitting they might have been too ambitious with DBC 14 by allow User to create any playing format they wanted. I.e. any number of overs number of innings etc. This lead to almost infinite match situations which become difficult to code for.

BA might be better doing what older games did and strip match formats back to basics

• 5 overs
• 10 overs
• 20 overs
• 50 overs
• 3, 4, and 5 day matches

and create fields for each of the formats. However you will still need to write logic for match situations in all formats above. IMO that alone would be tough so trying to do it for unlimited formats pretty much impossible.

Good to hear there will be another game though (good for this site anyway ) but when you are poor like us customers are when it comes to cricket gaming choice, you tend to accept the scraps being offered, regardless of how they taste. It's that or go hungry, or keep going back to the previous meals and regurgitate them

/philosophy

 

[blockerdave]

Yeah with the fields I remember someone at BA admitting they might have been too ambitious with DBC 14 by allow User to create any playing format they wanted. I.e. any number of overs number of innings etc. This lead to almost infinite match situations which become difficult to code for.

BA might be better doing what older games did and strip match formats back to basics

• 5 overs
• 10 overs
• 20 overs
• 50 overs
• 3, 4, and 5 day matches

and create fields for each of the formats. However you will still need to write logic for match situations in all formats above. IMO that alone would be tough so trying to do it for unlimited formats pretty much impossible.

Good to hear there will be another game though (good for this site anyway ) but when you are poor like us customers are when it comes to cricket gaming choice, you tend to accept the scraps being offered, regardless of how they taste. It's that or go hungry, or keep going back to the previous meals and regurgitate them

/philosophy

they've sort of done that. each match type is categorised as short, medium and long and fields are flagged as that.

the problem is simply the ludicrous idea that if the AI is bowling in a run-chase they obviously don't want to attack. the AI is picking test match balanced fields, that bit is working. it is just shit idiotic design.

 

[zimrahil]

they've sort of done that. each match type is categorised as short, medium and long and fields are flagged as that.

the problem is simply the ludicrous idea that if the AI is bowling in a run-chase they obviously don't want to attack. the AI is picking test match balanced fields, that bit is working. it is just shit idiotic design.

good to see with each post you are calming down - if I can get you to keep replying long enough you will eventually say game has great design and you will finish off your test series

In all seriousness, match situational awareness has always been an issue in cricket games. From what you are saying BA are getting closer but still have a long way to go?

 

[blockerdave]

good to see with each post you are calming down - if I can get you to keep replying long enough you will eventually say game has great design and you will finish off your test series

In all seriousness, match situational awareness has always been an issue in cricket games. From what you are saying BA are getting closer but still have a long way to go?

No. I am saying that actually the implementation is working, but the design is piss poor on a staggering scale.

This isn't match awareness. This is someone designing an algorithm that: bowling in run chase = start balanced. why is that person involved in a cricket game if they think that? why could nobody in that organisation say "that is wrong"?

 

[zimrahil]

No. I am saying that actually the implementation is working, but the design is piss poor on a staggering scale.

This isn't match awareness. This is someone designing an algorithm that: bowling in run chase = start balanced. why is that person involved in a cricket game if they think that? why could nobody in that organisation say "that is wrong"?

ah ok gotcha - I am in slow mode this morning......

 

[MuchMore]

I reckon opening with a balanced field might just be a generic thing they would have started with, with limited overs games in mind. May be they never got around to improving that for test matches?
And while we're at it, could it have been a case of overly cautious captain trying to secure a draw first before going for the win in the last session or two in batting friendly conditions? I guess not.

 

[blockerdave]

I reckon opening with a balanced field might just be a generic thing they would have started with, with limited overs games in mind. May be they never got around to improving that for test matches?
And while we're at it, could it have been a case of overly cautious captain trying to secure a draw first before going for the win in the last session or two in batting friendly conditions? I guess not.

I'd still need a lot of convincing that isn't shit design.

 

[Plotinus]

@blockerdave. really enjoying the match reports...and disappointed that the odd design choices are undermining your enjoyment. I agree with what you say about field selection and am just thankful that @francobaldo1 is working his magic on the PC platform (which is what I have) to allow for a better percentage of bowled and LBWs. I've been travelling a lot over the last couple of months (currently typing this in Dublin), so haven't managed to get so many hours into DBC17 of late, but have really enjoyed playing Tests in DBC17 (bowling and batting every ball). I never really did this in DBC14 (played almost exclusively career) but have had great fun with my crazy 1980's customer Test Match Championship competition. I've been, at times, thrashed and, at others, done the trashing..and I've also had some really tense finishes (again losses and wins).

The frustration is, of course, that DBC17 feels so very close to the perfect cricket game and just lets itself down in a couple of areas that feel that they a) shouldn't be hard to fix and b) shouldn't have got through early builds. I still enjoy DBC17 a lot and can live with the imperfections it has...or at least with some of them smoothed over by Franco. I probably wouldn't be quite so laid back if I was stuck on a console.

I hope you can continue with these matches.

 

[WizardOfOz]

Unfortunately, for many of the reasons you have mentioned in your posts, I have also given up playing/livestreaming my matches because I'm not enjoying having to face the same issues over and over again. I've tried to move to the online scene but in all honestly, the issues/bugs they face are awful, if not worse e.g. fields not sticking, run out bugs.

 

[blockerdave]

Well I did finish the above game... West Indies were dismissed shortly before tea on day 4, setting me 411 to win, or just over 4 sessions to survive.

I started well, getting past tea and well into the evening session without losing a wicket. But then disaster struck - in the last hour of day 4, I managed to slump from 47/0 to 70-odd for 6. Only Gower showed any resistance.

Game was over well before lunch on 5th day, Windies winning by 300 & change to go 1-0 up in a 5 match series.

The first 3 innings were fantastic, the best cricket game I have ever played by a country mile. A great shame it was ruined by the AI coming out with balanced fields in the 4th innings. Most galling of all, when I put them right I didn't just pick generic attacking fields but set the fields I would set for bowling... I lost several wickets to catches by fielders in positions where there wouldn't have been anyone in the default fields. ho hum.

 

[zimrahil]

Still gutted about the game design/AI causing such a disappointing final innings. Well done on completing the match though!

 

[blockerdave]

Still gutted about the game design/AI causing such a disappointing final innings. Well done on completing the match though!

Gone on to the 2nd test. (What can I say, I have no life.)

Won the toss and batting first on a slow dusty pitch. Lose Gooch (3) and Boycott (19) early but Tavare (31* from 103 balls) and Woolmer (31* from 65 balls) take me in to lunch at 90-2.