Multiplat AFL 23: Launch Thread (Xbox release date TBC)

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

STATE OF PLAY:

• The game is out for Steam and PlayStation. There have been issues with Xbox release and it is unclear when the game will be available.
• Big Ant are aware that there are playability issues & bugs at present.
• Content has been temporarily removed from the game to identify where the issues lie.
• This content will be re-introduced via patches in the coming days.
• Big Ant have released a summary of what is to be reintroduced, which can be seen below.

Spoiler: Features to be added

Spoiler: MOST RECENT PATCH NOTES

Issues & constructive criticism are best communicated to: support.bigant.com

Michaels Twitch video with QA from Ross(BigAntStudios) from 31:40

 

[itsapitapitacake]

in the future AI take over the footballing industry to create the most perfect team possible

 

[BigAntStudios]

Completely agreed. A mistake was made (by who or how, we’ll never know), the game wasn’t its finished version upon its release and in spite of numerous complaints and literally hundreds of pages of them, Big Ant have come out and detailed a plan to rectify everything they can and do so within the next 7 days. There’s not much more to be done and to those who continue to drag it through the mud I cant help but wonder why you just wouldn’t return the game, get your money back and move on. Some of us actually want to see the best AFL game we can enjoy on current game consoles/PC with updated hardware.

There are approx 100 employees at Big Ant and there is no one person that is responsible for where we find ourselves, a mistake was made at the very last hurdle and all of us are trying to rectify the situation as soon as possible. The team have worked every day, and night into the am, to get it done. I could not ask more of them.

Prima facie, the game played better on the launch night, let alone in the week prior to the public release.

When we get the game back to where it should be, it will be obvious that these functions were not written within a week.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Playing before it's patched

Possibly, but I haven't seen others mention issues with kick outs and a few (like quoted post) have asked that other aspects of the game play more like kick outs...so I think there is some user error in there too.

 

[MustyDartin]

BigAntStudios what time can we expect the steam patch today?

 

[itsapitapitacake]

Okay, super dumb question here, but I've had serious troubles with kick outs.

So I swivel the camera and identify an option. If I let go of the stick, and just hold/release X, the ball literally goes over my head for a rushed behind. If I push the stick forward, 9 times out of 10 the camera keeps swivelling to a random direction because there is obviously a slight angle in the direction I'm pushing the stick.

What am I doing wrong?

I normally just press the right trigger to play on, it doesn't actually play you on but it gives you your normal camera view so it doesn't swivel when you kick

 

[thedavemiester]

I've never understood the "it shouldn't be the same price as a AAA title" argument.

What price should it be?

The production of discs, marketing etc would be the same no matter who the developer is. Are you expecting the Devs to make a smaller profit margin? If so, how do you expect their games to get better?

This release has been crap, no question. The fact that Xbox owners have no idea when it's really coming is super crap, but I fully expect to pay full retail when it does eventually come because how else does big ant survive?

 

[JT_the_Man]

Whoever pays for the license.

So no one. Got it.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I've never understood the "it shouldn't be the same price as a AAA title" argument.

What price should it be?

The production of discs, marketing etc would be the same no matter who the developer is.

Marketing?

Plenty of games retail for less than $100.

 

[extractasam]

I've never understood the "it shouldn't be the same price as a AAA title" argument.

What price should it be?

The production of discs, marketing etc would be the same no matter who the developer is. Are you expecting the Devs to make a smaller profit margin? If so, how do you expect their games to get better?

This release has been crap, no question. The fact that Xbox owners have no idea when it's really coming is super crap, but I fully expect to pay full retail when it does eventually come because how else does big ant survive?

It’s $70 for something that’s going to bring possibly thousands of hrs of entertainment for some people once it’s been fixed up and managed. Think how many man hours has gone into the game. I imagine it would be supremely hard to turn a decent profit or even break even when you consider the hours they continue to put in to post release.

I pay $50 to play a round of golf that gives 4 hours of entertainment and I suck. Not to mention 4 of the greens aren’t even in use.
$70 just feels pretty small tbh

 

[thedavemiester]

Plenty of games retail for less than $100.

I've had an Xbox since the original one. Don't think I've ever seen a game at launch be less than $100 RRP.

Sure retailers offer discounts. I've scabbed every $ I could over the years though pricematching and tradeins etc and very rarely pay RRP. But to expect it to be sold at a lesser price at launch is crazy to me.

 

[FearTheBeard13]

There are approx 100 employees at Big Ant and there is no one person that is responsible for where we find ourselves, a mistake was made at the very last hurdle and all of us are trying to rectify the situation as soon as possible. The team have worked every day, and night into the am, to get it done. I could not ask more of them.

Prima facie, the game played better on the launch night, let alone in the week prior to the public release.

When we get the game back to where it should be, it will be obvious that these functions were not written within a week.

I think the team have responded immaculately, as stated before. I personally cannot wait to see this game back on track and despite the glitches we’ve all experienced, I have no doubt all will be rectified.

Again massive thank you to you and the team for this game even existing in the first place.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I've had an Xbox since the original one. Don't think I've ever seen a game at launch be less than $100 RRP.

Sure retailers offer discounts. I've scabbed every $ I could over the years though pricematching and tradeins etc and very rarely pay RRP. But to expect it to be sold at a lesser price at launch is crazy to me.

Depends on the game. Those that aren't your AAA blockbusters often do.

I'm looking forward to Boltgun. Will be less than $30 at launch.

 

[thedavemiester]

There are approx 100 employees at Big Ant and there is no one person that is responsible for where we find ourselves, a mistake was made at the very last hurdle and all of us are trying to rectify the situation as soon as possible. The team have worked every day, and night into the am, to get it done. I could not ask more of them.

Thanks for this Ross. Are you able to clarify the Xbox situation as it stands now?

 

[SammaGilberto]

I think this is already the same as what you just posted, thanks heaps for sharing!

Does that mean these updates probably happen before I even notice ?

yeah if pc is on, steam open. just look at your downloads area on steam and you'll see the last patch that downloaded

 

[mickelboy182]

I've given you the explanation.
If you don't understand the complexity, perhaps best educate yourself rather than make ignorant, uneducated statements.

So you insult me instead of provide ANY case law or logical reasoning? Your 'explanation' was a completely vacuous excuse without any legal basis or reasoning. You clearly know sweet **** all about the law.

Pro-tip: if you are the one making the claim, the burden of proof is on YOU and not the other way around. You might have known this if you had even a skerrick of legal background. Shit, most people with a high school education would know that. Instead, all you've got is calling everyone else's intelligence into question? Unreal.

 

[new0066]

Hopefully AFL 23 has these kinds of crazy wind at some stadiums

 

[BigAntStudios]

I've never understood the "it shouldn't be the same price as a AAA title" argument.

What price should it be?

The production of discs, marketing etc would be the same no matter who the developer is. Are you expecting the Devs to make a smaller profit margin? If so, how do you expect their games to get better?

This release has been crap, no question. The fact that Xbox owners have no idea when it's really coming is super crap, but I fully expect to pay full retail when it does eventually come because how else does big ant survive?

When one Soccer player can demand almost all of the salaries of all AFL footballers combined, without thinking too hard, there's the main answer. We're working in a different, local economy.

It's the same as arguing that our best players are as talented as the best in other sports, shouldn't they also get the same as them? (When the top 20 players in the AFL get $50,000,000+ each per year then we'll be on the same page as other sports/titles.)

Essentially, the costs divided by the number of sales is not much different to other sports games/AAA titles, so the price needs to be roughly equivalent.

 

[Nicho50]

There are approx 100 employees at Big Ant and there is no one person that is responsible for where we find ourselves, a mistake was made at the very last hurdle and all of us are trying to rectify the situation as soon as possible. The team have worked every day, and night into the am, to get it done. I could not ask more of them.

Prima facie, the game played better on the launch night, let alone in the week prior to the public release.

When we get the game back to where it should be, it will be obvious that these functions were not written within a week.

Most would appreciate this answer and take it at face value but the fact that no one had any idea what features were in the game, if pro team would be at launch, stats, leagues etc that make up a big portion of management modes makes it easy for people to come to the conclusion the game wasn’t ready. If some of this was answered when people asked it could have saved a lot of people having major issues with the release.

 

[BlazeOfGlory]

My thoughts on AFL 23.

Picked up the game on release on Thursday.
The game was barely playable and crashed more times then games I could finish.
I managed to finish 1 game on the easiest difficulty and had a thumping win on 7.5 min quarters. STK 171 vs NORTH 75.
The next day I downloaded the first patch which had very slight improvements gameplay wise but was noticeably slightly better.
I attempted to play a few games in easiest difficulty again, this time 5 min quarters and lost to FREM 66 vs STK 18. It seemed like the patch made the easiest difficulty harder. After this I spent the rest of my time on stadium creator which I actually found quite fun, just needs more options to do more.
Saturday things were much the same gameplay wise, noticeably less crashes on the game though.
Come Sunday I thought I’ll give it another crack on easiest to get some practice. I managed to get over the line in a tense match STK 61 vs DEES 53. I’m thinking the game is still not there yet, players standing over the ball on the ground, slow to get kicks off etc and thought, F*ck it everyone is saying the game is too easy I’m going to test my self on the hardest difficulty.
Well surprisingly I had an unexpected Win STK 84 vs FREM 50. The thing I noticed was the gameplay seemed better for both sides on the hardest difficulty. There was much less if any standing over the ball, I layed far more tackles, handballs and Kicks seemed cleaner and I actually won my self a few hit outs for the first time. It was just overall a better experience.
The game overall is quite enjoyable and frustrating at the same time.

Fixes im looking forward to:

• Need to be able to get a kick off easier without been done for incorrect disposal.
• do need to be able to tackle a little better.
• Difficulty settings need tinkering as well as team ratings. There’s like 2 point rating difference between the best and worst teams. I would have Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane, Collingwood all rated high 80’s to low 90’s and teams like Hawthorn, Kangaroos, West coast in the low 80’s and everyone else in between.
• Easier Rucking/ centre bounce clearances as I lost 98% of these.
• Rucking around the ground seems like it doesn’t work.
• players gathered around standing on the mark.
• team mates in groups of three doing seeet FA while the opponent just picks up the ball and is off.
• Opposition seems to find far to much space.
• Features such as adding a created player into a team, having or been able to change teams and players stats and ratings, Players/ team statistics, my career mode.

I was pissed at first and can now see the light as this game definitely has potential IMO.

BAS, we need better communication going forward though.

Have a happy day.

 

[Nicho50]

When one Soccer player can demand almost all of the salaries of all AFL footballers combined, without thinking too hard, there's the main answer. We're working in a different, local economy.

It's the same as arguing that our best players are as talented as the best in other sports, shouldn't they also get the same as them? (When the top 20 players in the AFL get $50,000,000+ each per year then we'll be on the same page as other sports/titles.)

But you did say EA and 2K are you competition and standard not WW, when you make those kind of statements you know it’s coming back big when it doesn’t go to plan. You can understand why people had high expectations.

 

[stkilda7894]

How long do people reckon JB and EB will give a full refund for? Holding out in hope that patches will make amends over the next week as promised, however don't want to hold on if we find that they aren't going to give a full refund after a certain amount of time

 

[BigAntStudios]

BigAntStudios what time can we expect the steam patch today?

I can't give an exact ETA, it is likely early evening.

 

[BigAntStudios]

But you did say EA and 2K are you competition and standard not WW, when you make those kind of statements you know it’s coming back big when it doesn’t go to plan. You can understand why people had high expectations.

We will get there, the game will compare favourably.

Both EA and 2K have had recent launches that are not dissimilar to ours, while never ideal, mistakes happen. At least, as we are small, we can be nimble and can release patches in short timeframes.

 

[bdawwg1021]

How long do people reckon JB and EB will give a full refund for? Holding out in hope that patches will make amends over the next week as promised, however don't want to hold on if we find that they aren't going to give a full refund after a certain amount of time

EB Games is a 7 day return policy. Not sure about JBs policy.

The game may not be in the best state right now, but it's not going to be a full blown Cyberpunk situation.

You're thinking way too outside the box

 

[bdawwg1021]

BigAntStudios Question for ya mate. Will more face scans be added into the game?

Todd Marshall

4

Todd Marshall

Age

26

Ht

198cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.0

2star

K

6.4

3star

HB

2.5

2star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

8.9

2star

K

7.1

3star

HB

1.8

1star

M

3.8

4star

T

3.0

4star

G

1.1

5star

D

9.6

3star

K

5.6

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.6

5star

Aliir Aliir

21

Aliir Aliir

Age

30

Ht

194cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.2

4star

K

9.3

4star

HB

5.9

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.9

4star

MG

240.9

4star

D

11.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

5.0

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

6.4

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

158.4

3star

Tippa, etc.