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

 

[BigAntStudios]

Magpiesfooty98 has made a gameplay video of some of the custom teams I made from the Northern Areas Football Association (South Australia) for those interested.



The SANFL songs sound awesome. I only wish i could get them on PC.

Love this.

Will try to talk to the guys about removing the AFL (Toyota, etc.) branding on the ground.

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

This game is some good fun, moving the ball around the ground is fantastic


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[tigerairau]

- teleporting spoils
- de goey handball goes straight past cox, then I spam LB and my control does not swap off de goey even once, cox decides to take a walk towards the ball meaning I have to force de goey to chase it up, followed by this shite
- excuse my miss I mistimed it very badly

Some highlights from my game tonight\
edit: game crashed in the last quarter, first crash in a few days.

Can say that the last 2 patches have been dissapointing in terms of gameplay, stability and features. I have been very positive towards BA and Ross and receptive to their feedback as they have been to ours, but we are still missing lots of features that were promised, and the current product although playable, is still needing work. The game IS in a much better state than launch, but features like guernsey numbers should be a basic part of management mode. State leagues were promised at launch and are nowhere to be seen and all we know is they are "imminent". Pro Team is nowhere to be seen, and there is a complete lack of information as to when we can expect it.
Definitely hope we get some larger patches asap.

I am still enjoying the game, but getting tired of one patch making the hardest mode actually fun and competitive, and the next night I install a patch and I win on hardest by 200 points.

 

[hooked on fishing]

Not a bad intercept mark I say

Looks like Michael Jordan flying through the air to land a dunk.

The fact the player comes from like 10 meters away, the ball as it’s falling suddenly raises and moves to the left makes in the players hands makes me feel sick.

I feel like all these patches are going to get it to at least a “playable” state and that’ll be it. They can’t keep patching untill afl24 there has to be a day when they dust of their hands and say our work is done.

Still trying to be optimistic and I am actually enjoying the game I can put up with the bugs, but how much longer can they keep doing this everyday for not much change.

 

[BigAntStudios]

- teleporting spoils
- de goey handball goes straight past cox, then I spam LB and my control does not swap off de goey even once, cox decides to take a walk towards the ball meaning I have to force de goey to chase it up, followed by this shite
- excuse my miss I mistimed it very badly

Some highlights from my game tonight\
edit: game crashed in the last quarter, first crash in a few days.

Can say that the last 2 patches have been dissapointing in terms of gameplay, stability and features. I have been very positive towards BA and Ross and receptive to their feedback as they have been to ours, but we are still missing lots of features that were promised, and the current product although playable, is still needing work. The game IS in a much better state than launch, but features like guernsey numbers should be a basic part of management mode. State leagues were promised at launch and are nowhere to be seen and all we know is they are "imminent". Pro Team is nowhere to be seen, and there is a complete lack of information as to when we can expect it.
Definitely hope we get some larger patches asap.

I am still enjoying the game, but getting tired of one patch making the hardest mode actually fun and competitive, and the next night I install a patch and I win on hardest by 200 points.

If you can send them to the guys support.bigant.com they'll check them out.

There are some people loving a particular patch, some hating the same one - some will say one particular thing is broken and others will claim that very thing is the best it's been. We're gaining analytics around win/loss ratios etc. and will continue to tune the difficulty.

Once we are feature complete we will move from daily patches, I'd have hoped it would have been by now but we've been surprised by the range of opinion about the very same controls/outcomes and we need to tune it appropriately.

 

[GetAroundHim99]

Ok, I'm starting to get frustrated with the game a bit.

I've encountered a glitch where the player kicking in keeps turning to the right and you're unable to kick in without it being a deliberate rushed behind or out of bounds on the full.


There was also this graphical glitch at Fremantle Oval at Half Time that put the camera under the ground.


And Finally, I still can't get past playing one game at a time as the game keeps locking up every second game I play...


It's getting quite frustrating for me as I seriously can't play more than one game before I have to close the game to restart it... This is my main problem with the game at the moment. It's hard to get a grip on what's right and wrong with the game if I can only play it once before it locks on me...

 

[carn tigez]

If you can send them to the guys support.bigant.com they'll check them out.

There are some people loving a particular patch, some hating the same one - some will say one particular thing is broken and others will claim that very thing is the best it's been. We're gaining analytics around win/loss ratios etc. and will continue to tune the difficulty.

Once we are feature complete we will move from daily patches, I'd have hoped it would have been by now but we've been surprised by the range of opinion about the very same controls/outcomes and we need to tune it appropriately.

I've not played since last week as been unable to access, but definitely feels like some are potentially a "loud minority" who expect perfection but forget games take time to master. People complaining about very hard being too hard gets me, though at the same time if it jumps from too easy to "cheaty" hard without any in between thats also a problem.

Can we get some commentary on team ratings please Ross? Surely there's no planet where north and hawthorn are within 2-3% of Geelong/Melbourne etc on ratings? And as one review said, how can Jack Ziebell be rated the same as dangerfield? The same review questioned silvagni being rated as high as Ziebell which I would suggest implies they know little about footy but notwithstanding, the ratings are heavily flawed and it really breaks the immersion.

 

[Archer_11]

Ok, I'm starting to get frustrated with the game a bit.

I've encountered a glitch where the player kicking in keeps turning to the right and you're unable to kick in without it being a deliberate rushed behind or out of bounds on the full.


There was also this graphical glitch at Fremantle Oval at Half Time that put the camera under the ground.


And Finally, I still can't get past playing one game at a time as the game keeps locking up every second game I play...


It's getting quite frustrating for me as I seriously can't play more than one game before I have to close the game to restart it... This is my main problem with the game at the moment. It's hard to get a grip on what's right and wrong with the game if I can only play it once before it locks on me...

For the first one, you have to play on from kick ins. I'm not sure a fix here is a high priority atm.

I've not played since last week as been unable to access, but definitely feels like some are potentially a "loud minority" who expect perfection but forget games take time to master. People complaining about very hard being too hard gets me, though at the same time if it jumps from too easy to "cheaty" hard without any in between thats also a problem.

Can we get some commentary on team ratings please Ross? Surely there's no planet where north and hawthorn are within 2-3% of Geelong/Melbourne etc on ratings? And as one review said, how can Jack Ziebell be rated the same as dangerfield? The same review questioned silvagni being rated as high as Ziebell which I would suggest implies they know little about footy but notwithstanding, the ratings are heavily flawed and it really breaks the immersion.

The ratings help, sure, but I don't think there is a huge difference when it's under ten points. A good player with a bad team will beat a bad player with a good team if you know what I mean.

If you can send them to the guys support.bigant.com they'll check them out.

There are some people loving a particular patch, some hating the same one - some will say one particular thing is broken and others will claim that very thing is the best it's been. We're gaining analytics around win/loss ratios etc. and will continue to tune the difficulty.

Once we are feature complete we will move from daily patches, I'd have hoped it would have been by now but we've been surprised by the range of opinion about the very same controls/outcomes and we need to tune it appropriately.

I think you have the difficulty about right Ross. Really like the increase in team mate AI and the game is more playable in general, which ironically means it's a little easier. For the players that find it too easy, I would consider adding difficulty levels, not removing old ones. Make the top one 'legendary' where it is almost impossible to beat and watch the complaints come in.

Also can I make a suggestion - given there's only so many ways you can skin a cat with the AI, for the ultra hard difficulty why create a challenge mode? Could save a ton of effort. e.g. 'win a game with half stamina / only kicking goals from boundary / playing with half sized players' etc. Maybe create some in game recognition that gives them some bragging rights when playing online. I would say a special guernsey but people will just copy it.

Last one re: gameplay - can I repeat my observation that due to the fast scoring nature of the game you're currently spending as much time either performing or looking at a set shot as you are playing the actual game. In an ideal world we are a few steps back from that being the case imo. Need to find a way to make marking harder but not more frustrating. It will be a challenge but I'm sure BA are up to it.

 

[carn tigez]

The ratings help, sure, but I don't think there is a huge difference when it's under ten points. A good player with a bad team will beat a bad player with a good team if you know what I mean.

Yeah this is kind of my point. Not sure it should work that way, obviously depending on the ratio.

 

[Xtreme]

I've encountered a glitch where the player kicking in keeps turning to the right and you're unable to kick in without it being a deliberate rushed behind or out of bounds on the full.

Same here, thought it was controller related at first.

I feel like all these patches are going to get it to at least a “playable” state and that’ll be it. They can’t keep patching untill afl24 there has to be a day when they dust of their hands and say our work is done.

Still trying to be optimistic and I am actually enjoying the game I can put up with the bugs, but how much longer can they keep doing this everyday for not much change.

And the day that happens, will be when I stop playing and give up on the game.

There are some teething issues that have been adjusted since day 1, but not entirely fixed. They don't kill the game, but it's less enjoyable with them in it.

What I have played has been ok in parts, but I've had more fun and less frustration in older AFL titles.

 

[rlm42]

Anyone else not seeing speccies in game? Played almost 10 games, 5min quarters since that patch and have not seen one yet?

 

[bdawwg1021]

Anyone else not seeing speccies in game? Played almost 10 games, 5min quarters since that patch and have not seen one yet?

L2 and triangle.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

So I'm not allowed to diagree?

I don't agree with the comments made and never made the assertions made. I merely put that a reviewer should review the game they are playing with the patches to that date. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not the slightest bit emotional, used all my emotion at the footy, nothing left.

I wasn't replying to you though, I was replying to BlackMamba who did make those assertions.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

The game we got wasn’t the intended release.

I don't believe that at all. Seems like some arse covering otherwise it would've been sorted pretty quickly. The game was rushed out after an initial delay and was still not ready for release - for whatever reason they decided to push ahead anyway.

 

[Treehill23]

If you can send them to the guys support.bigant.com they'll check them out.

There are some people loving a particular patch, some hating the same one - some will say one particular thing is broken and others will claim that very thing is the best it's been. We're gaining analytics around win/loss ratios etc. and will continue to tune the difficulty.

Once we are feature complete we will move from daily patches, I'd have hoped it would have been by now but we've been surprised by the range of opinion about the very same controls/outcomes and we need to tune it appropriately.

What about getting rid of the bug that’s been there since day 1 ?
Players always get stuck in front of the man on the mark and no 50’s are rewarded etc

 

[BlackMamba]

I wasn't replying to you though, I was replying to BlackMamba who did make those assertions.

And I was meaning ‘in a perfect world’ those reviews get updated.

Later in the conversation I asserted what the journalist should’ve done… review the latest patch version and state which version it was.

 

[BlackMamba]

I don't believe that at all. Seems like some arse covering otherwise it would've been sorted pretty quickly. The game was rushed out after an initial delay and was still not ready for release - for whatever reason they decided to push ahead anyway.

This was a video from before the launch.
It shows a game closer to what we have now, than what what we got at launch.


Believe.

 

[Grechy]

A big complaint from a few streamers is player switching. I reckon polishing that up will make a hell of a difference.

The other I’ve banged on about is goalkicking. Set shots are too easy, goal kicking on the run also. Needs adjustment. In the video above Twistie was having trouble with goal kicking.

Tactics is another big one.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

I can't for the life of me have a set shot from more than 30m with Charlie curnow. Everything misses to the right as if my input makes no difference

Got the same issue but with Rory lobb and ugle hagan. Whenever he marks it I just pass it to someone else in the forward 50

With these players, for some reason you need to press the timing bar really early, about halfway. If you don't, they shank it. No idea why.

 

[mattyfatty2014]

A big complaint from a few streamers is player switching. I reckon polishing that up will make a hell of a difference.

The other I’ve banged on about is goalkicking. Set shots are too easy, goal kicking on the run also. Needs adjustment. In the video above Twistie was having trouble with goal kicking.

Tactics is another big one.

I'd agree with these three. If we can have those fixed...I think this game jumps from being not quite as good as evo 2, to being way up there and potentially one of the best installments we've had of an AFL game.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Once we are feature complete we will move from daily patches, I'd have hoped it would have been by now but we've been surprised by the range of opinion about the very same controls/outcomes and we need to tune it appropriately.

So it's not the crashes, the teleporting handballs, the players stuck on the mark, player switching, set shot shenanigans with certain players but not others, or all the other glitches everyone is reporting, it's the range of opinions about the ... controls?

 

[BlackMamba]

A big complaint from a few streamers is player switching. I reckon polishing that up will make a hell of a difference.

I just found that Radial Player Select is working!!!
L1 + R Stick

Not sure if it was this patch, or an earlier one… only problem is there’s no indicator to show who you are selecting… but it works to get someone further to one side of the ball.

 

[Mkcaptain]

I've read that AI has access to tactics even though the user doesn't yet. Question for PC/Playstation players - are you able to pick up the different tactics that the AI uses during the match or have you noticed them switching tactics during the match?

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Later in the conversation I asserted what the journalist should’ve done… review the latest patch version and state which version it was.

Does anyone do this for any game? State the patch version I mean.

Serious question I don't think I've ever seen a review specify which version of the game is being reviewed. Closest maybe is when a review is released at launch (as they should be) and the review might say if it was with or without the day one patch, or if they note any glitches, that a promised day one patch will fix it.

Not really relevant to this disaster at launch. I think the reviewers waiting a week to see if the game was fixed was more than reasonable, and after a week it is still a 5/10 game.

 

[BlackMamba]

Does anyone do this for any game? State the patch version I mean.

Serious question I don't think I've ever seen a review specify which version of the game is being reviewed. Closest maybe is when a review is released at launch (as they should be) and the review might say if it was with or without the day one patch, or if they note any glitches, that a promised day one patch will fix it.

Not really relevant to this disaster at launch. I think the reviewers waiting a week to see if the game was fixed was more than reasonable, and after a week it is still a 5/10 game.

Nah they wouldn’t normally… correct.
But this wasn’t a normal launch… ‘obviously a major malfunction’.
Knowing that, I think the patch info is warranted.