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

 

[RU_]

tonight, we get all the patches (3 of them) that Steam got over the weekend in one patch

But by tonight will it be 3am tomorrow morning?

Not sure how the patch times work.

 

[FearTheBeard13]

Some rose-tinted glasses going on here for what was a genuinely rubbish game. Every other AFL game, I played for dozens and dozens of hours, but those Evo games (and Live 2, which is the first AFL game I never bought) felt so empty.

Agreed. I played a fair bit of the Evo games but their biggest appeals for me weren’t things revolving around the mechanics of the gameplay. I liked the dynamic weather/timing of the games, customisation, Grand Final mode and the open training. If we actually strip all that away and make it gameplay vs gameplay then Live 1 is still mountains better then any of them and 23 has a chance to eclipse Live 1 with these patches.

 

[Blogbusser]

The negative voices in here are clearly the more common posters but just wanted to say I'm really enjoying the gameplay even though the level of jank is still a bit too high. The tweaks needed aren't that significant anymore based on my games - understand others seem to be getting more glitches.

Also just want to mention I'm really keen for custom seasons. More so than Management mode. It was fun in AFL live to play as all teams for a half of each game so that the season stats make sense and game results are somewhat left up to fate.

 

[andy_c91]

But by tonight will it be 3am tomorrow morning?

Not sure how the patch times work.

More than likely, seeing that is what has been happening with the previous PS patches.......BA submits at around 6 pm AEST - Sony twiddles their fingers for around 2 - 8 hours, which means we wake up tomorrow morning and the patch is there. (FFS Can't WFH tomorrow which means I won't be able to play the patched version until after work...........)

 

[hooked on fishing]

Has anyone on ps4 (pre patch I think we are at 1.05) played women’s league matches. I thought id give it a crack and it feels like it plays a lot better and smoother then the men’s. No idea why that’s a thing but

 

[BlackMamba]

yeah but it's hard to outrun tacklers otherwise, I just feel as though it should be an option in an already congested game.

If so, I would expect the top speed during the bounce animation to be around 90% of the player’s top speed… not as slow as not-sprinting currently is, but not at full sprint pace, to balance it out.

I don’t think many players can properly bounce at full pace anyway (and if they try, it’s usually a skidded one that often is fumbled anyway).

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Has anyone on ps4 (pre patch I think we are at 1.05) played women’s league matches. I thought id give it a crack and it feels like it plays a lot better and smoother then the men’s. No idea why that’s a thing but

There’s two less players on field per side in the women’s. They have 5 forwards and 5 defenders. Could that be playing a part?

 

[AnAussieWancker]

BigAntStudios JNT BA after all the patches are said and done i think adding a statistics in game that show up every know and them and also after a certain player kicks a goal just like what the AFL EVO Series had or even prior when there having a set shot would be cool so you can tell how many possessions, goals and tackles the player has had who is lining up to have a set shot or after they have kicked it

 

[ice444]

But by tonight will it be 3am tomorrow morning?

Not sure how the patch times work.

The patch should with playstation by 6pm and then it takes 2-8 hours to release it.

 

[RG16]

WW also had a playable game.

Looked like a SNES game on PS4 though.

 

[Quivorir]

Looked like a SNES game on PS4 though.

It didn't, but sure.


Hows the scale look in game? Watching some of these videos the ground looks gigantic compared to the players. Does it feel out of scale?

 

[RG16]

Has anyone on ps4 (pre patch I think we are at 1.05) played women’s league matches. I thought id give it a crack and it feels like it plays a lot better and smoother then the men’s. No idea why that’s a thing but

Yeah I didn't mind it. Commentary is definitely better. Felt weird doing 75m torpedoes from the kick-out though

 

[AnAussieWancker]

BigAntStudios JNT BA with set shot goal kicking as well to make it a little tougher you could make it a similar system to what NBA2k has with there shooting. how you will basically only make the shot if you time it completely correct so maybe you could add a little green window where we have to time it in and if its in or gets close it has a more increased chance of being accurate rather then if you were to completely miss time it

 

[RickSanchez]

I cannot win a ruck contest at all, tried many different ways too. I feel the AI can be too quick at times as well, I won't even be able to get the player I want to control. I'm glad AI tackle now but when I tackle it just goes through them or I can't get to the player I want to control. I'm glad it's harder but feels often it's 18 vs 1, but lucky the ai do some strange things and over use it.

I like them moving it quickly at times as they try find space to move in order to launch an attack, but it's disappointing I can pretty much only move one at a time so it feels super difficult, especially not being able to tackle.

Hopefully these things improve in the patches, as well as a pretty casual afl gamer as myself, getting more used to it.

 

[Xtreme]

It didn't, but sure.


Hows the scale look in game? Watching some of these videos the ground looks gigantic compared to the players. Does it feel out of scale?

Looks worse when it scans around the ground (eg game intros). It plays well enough both the left to right or up and down camera views.

 

[Cheifkeith95]

The game is still ridiculously too easy on hardest you can pile on 12 goals in a row with west coast v any team
Ai can not spoil and when they are clear out on goal they handball it backwards
Hopefully patches fix this because it’s so annoying you can put the remote down and you’ll still win every marking contest

 

[Xtreme]

Seriously, thank you. I feel like I'm going insane seeing people talk about how 'good' it has become.

It's better than how it launched lol. It's done well enough that I'd buy another copy with further improvements made.

As I said Saturday night, for me it's good, but still hasn't gone past (as in be better than) Evo 1/Evo 2 for me.

 

[RayceHawk53]

Of course there's a chance, but it's dependent on PS. Expected to be available anytime from 8pm to 2am.

Doesn’t it depend on what time they upload the patch?

 

[Xtreme]

The game is still ridiculously too easy on hardest you can pile on 12 goals in a row with west coast v any team
Ai can not spoil and when they are clear out on goal they handball it backwards
Hopefully patches fix this because it’s so annoying you can put the remote down and you’ll still win every marking contest

I was smashing the AI on easiest
Now they are destroying me lol.

 

[ptrg]

Seriously, thank you. I feel like I'm going insane seeing people talk about how 'good' it has become.

Every video I’ve watched looks unbearable, and impossible to enjoy.

I challenge anyone who’s saying the game is better and enjoyable to post a 2 minute unedited video of gameplay. It’s just so “boring” as it currently stands.
I thought one thing BA would bring to the table is library’s of different animations, but every video I watch looks identical.
2 guys awkwardly shuffling for a mark, same teleport tackle rundown animation every time, same pause after every ball goes to ground tackle etc.

It all just looks so unappealing and laborious

 

[thedavemiester]

Can we include a player eating grass animation?

 

[hawk699]

I know the game was a shitshow but it is good seeing Ross keep getting back to everyone I respect that from Ross just a couple of things in afl evo 2 they had the scoreboreds showing at the games aswell could we add that also and another is what’s the go with grand final logos on jerseys I was pretty hype seeing it but now they don’t show

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I cannot win a ruck contest at all, tried many different ways too. I feel the AI can be too quick at times as well, I won't even be able to get the player I want to control. I'm glad AI tackle now but when I tackle it just goes through them or I can't get to the player I want to control. I'm glad it's harder but feels often it's 18 vs 1, but lucky the ai do some strange things and over use it.

I like them moving it quickly at times as they try find space to move in order to launch an attack, but it's disappointing I can pretty much only move one at a time so it feels super difficult, especially not being able to tackle.

Hopefully these things improve in the patches, as well as a pretty casual afl gamer as myself, getting more used to it.

It's the same as Live 1, and I think you have to be inside that big circle graphic.

 

[T2B_]

What an absolute cop out, this is a show of pure ignorance and arrogance on BigAnts behalf. This comparison between BigAnt and 2K and EA releases is complete degeneracy. Unlike AFL23, 2K and EAs releases have the promised game modes and don't release games that are 1/4 finished. In AFL23s release you couldn't tackle, players would frequently run backwards, goal umpires were coaches, wrong coaches during cut scenes, AI would be borderline useless and unable to function, AI wouldn't spoil, you could not handball, full length games seeing scores like 270 to 15 and other issues even an amateur wouldn't release. If these issues were similar with a game like 2K23, you wouldn't of been able to dribble, pass, dunk, layup, rebound or interchange and this simply didn't happen. Now lets not forget the issue which you morons still haven't rectified, and that is that every single draft player is bald and has the same player face or the fact that too many bald players on the field would crash the game. The issues experienced with AFL23 especially within the first 3 days is perhaps the worst release in gaming history. What you did, was effectively release a pre alpha release and charge people 100 dollars for it. There were demos released in the early 2000s that had more function than what AFL23 has.

And to make things worse Ross is blocking people on twitter for simply posting negative feedback. The lack of accountability and remorse towards the customer is something that no Australian game dev has ever done in the past. Just on PC alone you have made over $40,000 in a week, and instead of rectifying the issues faced, Ross was out at the Carlton game spending our money like some sought of celebrity. The AFL, Valve, Microsoft and Sony should be suing you because this down right pathetic.

What a gross overreaction.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Every video I’ve watched looks unbearable, and impossible to enjoy.

I challenge anyone who’s saying the game is better and enjoyable to post a 2 minute unedited video of gameplay. It’s just so “boring” as it currently stands.
I thought one thing BA would bring to the table is library’s of different animations, but every video I watch looks identical.
2 guys awkwardly shuffling for a mark, same teleport tackle rundown animation every time, same pause after every ball goes to ground tackle etc.

It all just looks so unappealing and laborious

Maybe it's better in the sense that the Eagles were better vs Richmond on the weekend than they were against Carlton last weekend.

Still absolute shit but an 8 goal loss away after hitting the lead in the third is still better than a 100 point loss at home.

Jai Culley's 12 month injury stretches the analogy somewhat we've already seen how patches can introduce new issues so I think it still works.