Request to Big Ant for Online Gameplay

[alfa_beta]

One request for Big Ant/Ross (and will request the same of 505 Games/Chief) is to ensure that players can only select the default fields built in the game while playing online. If not then we will have the same issue we had in AC09, i.e. pretty much every online game hast the same 1or 2 fields - one where nearly all fielders are posted on off and the opponent bowls yorkers wide of the off stump, or a variation of in-out field where you just have one or two players outside the circle and rest in the circle where they could latch on to even the perfectly timed shots. It became so ridiculous that most folks ended up playing with their friends with house rules (i.e. min 2 players on the boundary, only 2 fast bowlers in the team, at max only 2 players in catching position etc.). I don't want to have a similar scenario played out once again.

Even if you make a game where you think nobody can game the system, people will still eventually find a bug with a custom field and in no time everyone will be using it. Best way is for online gameplay to be based on default fields and let players build strategies around the same. At least by forcing players to use default fields you take away one way players can't cheat online.

 

[Gone4aDuck]

Right now, ide settle for the online actually WORKING!

 

[superfreddie]

Totally agree to both these posts, I think testing the game thoroughly is the key, to eliminate as many exploits as possible. Lets face it anything online will be better than IC10. Although it did have online failings I did have some good online games with AC09 though.

 

[isrararrafi]

I would rather they make it as bug free as possible rather than restricting me online. Having a solid batting system where i can just step over and flick an offside ball to the leg or being able to chip the ball over the infield without trying to hit it for 6 would prevent these kinds of exploits not to work (AC 9/10 did not have either of these ability).

 

[superfreddie]

Also just to add, I think after sale support and dlc is paramount to fix any problems or exploits we find, because we are bound to find some.

IC10 had none of that, which I will never forgive codemasters for, especially as the game was completely broken online.

 

[alfa_beta]

I would rather they make it as bug free as possible rather than restricting me online. Having a solid batting system where i can just step over and flick an offside ball to the leg or being able to chip the ball over the infield without trying to hit it for 6 would prevent these kinds of exploits not to work (AC 9/10 did not have either of these ability).

Problem is no matter how thorough you are at testing and eliminating bugs, you can't test for every single scenario possible. The reason I want only the default fields online is coz the developers most probably will test the game thoroughly for those fields but when you make it "open field" online, i.e. folks can pretty much have whatever fields they want, the game breaks down coz you encounter a particular field which would never have been tested at all and the game wasn't designed to counter it.

And trust me, if games like Madden, FIFA etc. have these issues, cricket game definitely will. Best option is to limit the glitchers/cheats coz once someone finds the "silver bullet" field, pretty much every game online will feature that field forcing folks to simply give up on online gameplay which would be a shame.

 

[Gone4aDuck]

Even if you have default field settings people will still bowl 5 Yorkers/slower balls every over. Nothing you can do about that. My advice would be to play people you know for sure will play properly. If if nobody's around, then we are all keeping our fingers crossed the ai will give us a great match.

 

[sahilnatu]

They could provide us with many preset field settings with all permutations & combinations and all of them thoroughly tested. So that we have every type of field we would want & yet there would be no glitches. So basically, maximize the number of preset tested loophole-free fields.

 

[alfa_beta]

Even if you have default field settings people will still bowl 5 Yorkers/slower balls every over. Nothing you can do about that. My advice would be to play people you know for sure will play properly. If if nobody's around, then we are all keeping our fingers crossed the ai will give us a great match.

You can hit the ball along the ground and find gaps. Most of the foks who resort to such tactics are the ones who try to hit every ball for the 6 as well and will end up losing with default fields. Playing only the people I know is what I'm afraid we would be reduce to if we allow folks to set any field they can.

I hope offline gameplay/AI is pretty good but AI can hook you only for so long and no AI can beat a human and that's why good/glitch-free online gameplay is a must-have for longevity of the game. I understand online gameplay can never be glitch-free but in previous cricket titles (specifically AC09), custom fields was the biggest issue/glitch and it should be fixed in the next iteration of cricket games.



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They could provide us with many preset field settings with all permutations & combinations and all of them thoroughly tested. So that we have every type of field we would want & yet there would be no glitches. So basically, maximize the number of preset tested loophole-free fields.

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Issue with AC09 was that default fields were cr@p but if Big Ant & 505 Games have decent/realistic fields and maybe add the no. of default fields, that should be good enough for online gameplay. If you want to experiment with the fields etc., feel free to do so offline.

Even Madden, FIFA series imposes a few restrictions regarding gameplay and rosters for online and I hope we get the same sort of restrictions for online fields coz I don't want to play folks with 8 fielders on the off and bowling yorkers outside off. Or folks who have all their fielders in and then mix up slower ones every othr ball so essentially scoring runs becomes a lottery as you can only score if you go over the top and figure out whether the ball is a slower one or not.

 

[superfreddie]

Hey Alfa beta, Ross has probably read this thread already, but he might tell you what plans they have for online fields if you ask him in the q and a thread, he's been pretty forthcoming so far. By the way I agree custom fields could destroy online play.

 

[alfa_beta]

Hey Alfa beta, Ross has probably read this thread already, but he might tell you what plans they have for online fields if you ask him in the q and a thread, he's been pretty forthcoming so far. By the way I agree custom fields could destroy online play.

The reason I created a new thread about it is coz this issue was a huge issue for most folks online, and would potentially be a deal breaker for me in the new game(s). I am hoping more folks could raise concerns about AC09 online gameplay as online gameplay is what keeps you hooked on to the games after the first 2-3 weeks. Am also hoping Ross/Big Ant could share their plans a bit about online fields in the thread.

 

[BigAntStudios]

We put thousands of hours into testing, however the game will have millions of hours of play out there in the wild within the first month.

I doubt any online sports game has got out there without the need of a patch. We always try our best but someone will find an exploit and try to get cheap wins.

In short, we will do our best to test for exploits but are unlikely to find them all. All of our games so far have been patched to try and patch whatever is being exploited.

 

[alfa_beta]

We put thousands of hours into testing, however the game will have millions of hours of play out there in the wild within the first month.

I doubt any online sports game has got out there without the need of a patch. We always try our best but someone will find an exploit and try to get cheap wins.

In short, we will do our best to test for exploits but are unlikely to find them all. All of our games so far have been patched to try and patch whatever is being exploited.

You are right that you can't really avoid glitchers online but dubious custom fields (8 players packed on one side in an odi or 9 men in the circle in a T20) were the biggest problem last time round and it would be great if we can have a handle on it, or preferably avoid the glitch altogether.

I would rather you focus on having realistic default fields for all scenarios than allow custom fields online where some bloke somewhere will figure out a way to pack fielders in a particular area and devising a delivery type that can only be played in the said packed area of the field making online gameplay an exercise in futility.

 

[BigAntStudios]

You are right that you can't really avoid glitchers online but dubious custom fields (8 players packed on one side in an odi or 9 men in the circle in a T20) were the biggest problem last time round and it would be great if we can have a handle on it, or preferably avoid the glitch altogether.

I would rather you focus on having realistic default fields for all scenarios than allow custom fields online where some bloke somewhere will figure out a way to pack fielders in a particular area and devising a delivery type that can only be played in the said packed area of the field making online gameplay an exercise in futility.

We understand. You will not have an issue in this area.

 

[alfa_beta]

We understand. You will not have an issue in this area.

Thanks and appreciate you listening to us