Ste
Executive member
PlanetCricket.net interview with Oli Norwell and Glenn Stiemens from Rockingham Software, about their upcoming game Cricket Coach, due to be released later this year.
Will there be different age groups within squads and
different teams? i.e. Under 19 age group, 1st eleven, 2nd eleven. (themuel1)
Glenn: No, in Cricket Coach you only have a club squad - this is something that could possibly change in the future but at the moment we don't simulate 2nd XI fixtures (we'd prefer to concentrate on more important features first).
Oli: This is something that may well appear in the future, but we didn?t feel was important enough for this version. Instead we have spent our time developing more critical features like the 2D overhead match view.
Will there be the option of starting the game with one team
and then changing. Also, if this is the case can you get sacked from a
team? (dobbo2k4)
Glenn: Yes, you can start the game as either a domestic side or as one of the ten Test playing nations. You can apply for other jobs, but obviously this works both ways - if you under perform you could find yourself out of a job.
Oli: Your performance at a club is determined by the initial expectations the club have and the actual results that follow. Therefore some teams may be very weak, and only winning one or two matches per season may be good enough, but if you happen to get the job of England coach, and lose a home series to Zimbabwe, then you will almost certainly be sacked!.
Will there be a demo? Will there be animations like ICC
2005 or just commentary like FM. (Turbonation)
Glenn: A demo will be released around the same time as the full game. Cricket Coach comes complete with an overhead 2D pitch view and text commentary. You can choose to view every ball, a selection of highlights or alternatively just view the statistics similar to how you did on MVCM.
Will it have online functionality? (salman1k)
Glenn: No, Cricket Coach won't be playable online - it might be added in the future when the time is right.
Oli: Online play between people is something we would like to be able to provide, we have investigated ways of making this possible and something may well appear in the next few years.
What's so special about the game? I mean how is different
from ICC2005? (sid_19840)
Oli: We believe we have combined the fun of an overhead match view of the action with a large array of stats and features to create an all-round enjoyable cricketing experience. We feel that previous games have often got certain elements right, but then have lacked in other areas. With Cricket Coach we hope to provide the complete game.
Will it have Aussie domestic teams? (Mike Hussey)
Glenn: Yes, domestic teams from all ten test playing nations are fully playable.
When top companies like Codemasters struggle to get real
player name licenses, how did you guys; being stand-alone developers,
manage to get accurate player details? (dexter)
Oli: We researched our data from a number of sources, mainly internet based, we don?t use player pictures or in depth text descriptions of the actual players. We believe however that our skill ratings are accurate and represent the real life players very well; we also have career domestic and international averages for each player.
Which domestic structures are in the game? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: The domestic leagues and cups of the 10 Test Match playing nations are included in the game.
Will the 2006 season have the new system for county cricket? (andrew_nixon)
Glenn: Yes.
Which international teams are in the game? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: The 10 test match playing nations are included, plus a selection of other teams that contest the ICC Trophy.
Is there a full qualifying schedule for the World Cup or
will the World Cup have the same teams in every time? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: We are currently investigating how World Cup qualification has happened for the 2007 World Cup, and hope to be able to add this to the game. We won?t settle for a solution where by the World Cup teams are always the same.
Will the 6 non test teams in the World Cup have ODI
status, as in real life? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: Yes they do, and they compete against other international teams in other ODI tournaments as well as the World Cup.
Will we be able to organise our own tours, or are they fixed? (andrew_nixon)
Glenn: Tours are fixed but with a bit of effort it would be possible for someone to edit these tours prior to starting their game. Although this isn't supported by us and so if you end up entering a tour incorrectly and it crashes the game we won't be able to help you.
Oli: Currently they are fixed, we wanted to add this feature, and may yet be able to do so, but it isn?t on the confirmed list of features for the game.
Keep checking http://www.cricketcoachgame.com for updates and screenshots, we expect to release the game before the end of the year.
Will there be different age groups within squads and
different teams? i.e. Under 19 age group, 1st eleven, 2nd eleven. (themuel1)
Glenn: No, in Cricket Coach you only have a club squad - this is something that could possibly change in the future but at the moment we don't simulate 2nd XI fixtures (we'd prefer to concentrate on more important features first).
Oli: This is something that may well appear in the future, but we didn?t feel was important enough for this version. Instead we have spent our time developing more critical features like the 2D overhead match view.
Will there be the option of starting the game with one team
and then changing. Also, if this is the case can you get sacked from a
team? (dobbo2k4)
Glenn: Yes, you can start the game as either a domestic side or as one of the ten Test playing nations. You can apply for other jobs, but obviously this works both ways - if you under perform you could find yourself out of a job.
Oli: Your performance at a club is determined by the initial expectations the club have and the actual results that follow. Therefore some teams may be very weak, and only winning one or two matches per season may be good enough, but if you happen to get the job of England coach, and lose a home series to Zimbabwe, then you will almost certainly be sacked!.
Will there be a demo? Will there be animations like ICC
2005 or just commentary like FM. (Turbonation)
Glenn: A demo will be released around the same time as the full game. Cricket Coach comes complete with an overhead 2D pitch view and text commentary. You can choose to view every ball, a selection of highlights or alternatively just view the statistics similar to how you did on MVCM.
Will it have online functionality? (salman1k)
Glenn: No, Cricket Coach won't be playable online - it might be added in the future when the time is right.
Oli: Online play between people is something we would like to be able to provide, we have investigated ways of making this possible and something may well appear in the next few years.
What's so special about the game? I mean how is different
from ICC2005? (sid_19840)
Oli: We believe we have combined the fun of an overhead match view of the action with a large array of stats and features to create an all-round enjoyable cricketing experience. We feel that previous games have often got certain elements right, but then have lacked in other areas. With Cricket Coach we hope to provide the complete game.
Will it have Aussie domestic teams? (Mike Hussey)
Glenn: Yes, domestic teams from all ten test playing nations are fully playable.
When top companies like Codemasters struggle to get real
player name licenses, how did you guys; being stand-alone developers,
manage to get accurate player details? (dexter)
Oli: We researched our data from a number of sources, mainly internet based, we don?t use player pictures or in depth text descriptions of the actual players. We believe however that our skill ratings are accurate and represent the real life players very well; we also have career domestic and international averages for each player.
Which domestic structures are in the game? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: The domestic leagues and cups of the 10 Test Match playing nations are included in the game.
Will the 2006 season have the new system for county cricket? (andrew_nixon)
Glenn: Yes.
Which international teams are in the game? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: The 10 test match playing nations are included, plus a selection of other teams that contest the ICC Trophy.
Is there a full qualifying schedule for the World Cup or
will the World Cup have the same teams in every time? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: We are currently investigating how World Cup qualification has happened for the 2007 World Cup, and hope to be able to add this to the game. We won?t settle for a solution where by the World Cup teams are always the same.
Will the 6 non test teams in the World Cup have ODI
status, as in real life? (andrew_nixon)
Oli: Yes they do, and they compete against other international teams in other ODI tournaments as well as the World Cup.
Will we be able to organise our own tours, or are they fixed? (andrew_nixon)
Glenn: Tours are fixed but with a bit of effort it would be possible for someone to edit these tours prior to starting their game. Although this isn't supported by us and so if you end up entering a tour incorrectly and it crashes the game we won't be able to help you.
Oli: Currently they are fixed, we wanted to add this feature, and may yet be able to do so, but it isn?t on the confirmed list of features for the game.
Keep checking http://www.cricketcoachgame.com for updates and screenshots, we expect to release the game before the end of the year.
haha. :happy 
