Here's some feedback from a game that @
kushari and I just played.
This was the third game we are playing together. The first two games (pre-patch) were not as bad as today's game.
Positives
Nothing that is different from offline play. A great game. The game, if you can get through it (now that the Black Screen of Death is solved) and if you can ignore the myriad bugs, is super fun online (if you play with someone you know). If you haven't done so yet, I suggest you try it.
Negatives
Where do I begin?
- We start by both players given less than 5 seconds to pick their team and modify their batting lineup (and select kits).
- Not nearly enough time for the batsman to check the field, because the bowler starts his runup before the batsman can view the field. The names over the players' heads is much better, but surely there should be an optional fielding radar for online. I understand that the game is trying to deter time-wasting, which is a good idea, but in practice it doesn't occur well. The simple solution is to give players the option to turn 'forfeit' on or off before the game is created. The game auto-forfeits the match if someone defaults on its very strict time-wasting rules.
- Extreme lag occurred very often. I am on a 60Mbps connection in London. Kushari seems to be on a good connection as well in India. The bowler once stopped midway during his runup, but still delivered the ball (without any bowling animation - the bowler had himself stopped his runup)
- Shane Warne bowled a ball which was a no ball, and the batsman hit a six. The number of runs awared to the batting team was not 7. It was 14.
- Shane Warne took a wicket off the 4th ball of the over. After that, the over restarted. For a few balls after that, the number of balls bowled still showed 0. In all, he bowled 13 legitimate deliveries in the over.
- Ball hits the batsman's leg, and he is given out bowled (this happened during an earlier game and happened twice).
- The field needs to be changed after every ball if a wicket falls or the batsman changes. Unless you know exactly how to get to your pre-selected field, the ticker will begin. If you spend more than 30 seconds in an over adjusting the field and just waiting, the opposition is awarded a chance to accept a forfeit. Forget about changing your field in the last over of a tense game - you won't have the time to look through the settings.
- I'm batting with a score of 158 off 9.4 overs. The run rate that the game states? 14.22. How is that possible? I noticed later that I had batted a total of 11.1 overs in my T10 game. These were the 7 extra deliveries that Warne bowled.
- I bowled a few too many wides, and the game automatically gave the opponent the victory. I was only in my 3rd over, and had bowled perhaps 3-4 wides and 3-4 no balls in all. It didn't just offer him a chance to accept - it offered him the game. That was it - our game that we had just invested 1.5 hours on just vanished. The opposition spent so much effort bowling but didn't even get a chance to bat it out. Neither of us wanted the game to end - neither of us offered or accepted the forfeit. This was just gutting. Absolutely terrible feeling. And of course, a bowling meter will help reduce the number of bowling no-balls. But no, we don't get that.
Look, I'm as big a fan of the game as anyone on this forum, and have been speaking highly of it to everyone. But tonight's game was a disaster. I'm part of a few online leagues and running the Ranji league as well, and this does not bode well at all for online game play.
Really sorry to say this, but online has been a total let down, @
BigAntStudios.
