Multiplat AFL 23 - PS/Steam Releasing May 4, Xbox TBC

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

WHEN CAN I PLAY? READ BELOW:

• PlayStation (Physical): Thursday 4 May
• PlayStation (Digital): 8:01am AEST Thursday 4 May
• Steam: Currently 8:01am AEST Thursday 4 May, may be moved to 12:01am AEST
• Xbox (Digital or Physical): TO BE CONFIRMED, unlikely to be 4 May

Spoiler: Specific Big Ant quotes about the release:

Those that pre-ordered PS versions will be able to play on Thursday, disks will have already been mailed by retailers, they will also be available in-store.

Steam will also be available Thursday.

Stating the obvious, we are still having issues with XBox.

Seriously, anyone that looks hard knows there’s issues - why do you think there are so many exclusives for a particular platform that are not marked as exclusive, but are only on that platform.

If I took that road, life would have been a lot easier.

Xbox digital and retail will release at the same time - that is not a decision we get to make.

It applies now and I will no doubt pay a price.

Spoiler: Other Quotes

Re: commentary team

Spoiler: Other Quotes

Hamish is still there, Daisy didn't make it into the final version of the game.

We added Gary and increased the workload of Harf.

Re: game availability/release dates

I can never give 100% guarantee about anything in the future, but as it stands today, the statement I am prepared to make it that all stock that is at retailers on 4 May will be available for sale.

As to the amount that will be there for sale, and whether it is enough, that is a question I cannot answer.

It will be made digitally available on the various platform holder electronic stores.

Clarifying, the game will not release prior to 4 May 2023.

I am vague as there is one platform that has had sufficient stock at retailers and the other has not, and I cannot name them (contractual reasons).

The game will not be further delayed because of the numbers of units in stock.

Re: Steam listing

I've already put in a request for the screenshots to be replaced with current ones, they'll probably only be there for a day.

As much as the feedback has generally been positive, these are old, meant to be placeholder only and were not meant to go live.

Re: playing lists

All playing lists are accurate for the 2023 season.

Re: content creator footage

This is all prior to day one patch (as some have noted updates like numbers etc are apparent)

Re: Career mode

A head's up on Career mode.

At the AFL 23 Launch night I mentioned the non-team based Individual Career Mode in an interview with Dean (Twistie3). As alluded to at that same event, we were working with the AFL and AFLPA to include as many past legends in the game as possible.

The great news is that we have received approval for far more AFL legends than were previously envisaged, but this has meant that we had to make the tough decision to divert resources away from the Individual Career mode development. The individual Career Mode function will not make it into AFL 23, Career Mode will be entirely team based. I expect this mode to be include in future iterations of the game.

Re: microtransactions

You do not have to make purchases, things can be earned.

Re: general development

So fundamentally flawed, in so many ways, it’s bananas.

We are doing AFL as it’s a passion project, without us doing it there would not be one being made.

So much more upside with making games that are played internationally, let alone one that will not even be played in every state in this country.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Perhaps the March demo build is really from September?

We will never know

 

[stkilda7894]

They've already neglected a lot of the gameplay mechanics, which was something I had predicted. It's definitely an incomplete game gameplay wise. I'd imagine had they used the time and money on gameplay, instead of likenesses and other extras, then we could have had more complete gameplay.

We haven't seen up to date gameplay yet. What we've seen is from around October and filmed on hand held cameras. Until we see actual gameplay we can't go making assumptions that gameplay has been neglected. However a concern of mine is the fact we haven't seen proper gameplay and we're less than 20 days from launch.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

We haven't seen up to date gameplay yet. What we've seen is from around October and filmed on hand held cameras. Until we see actual gameplay we can't go making assumptions that gameplay has been neglected. However a concern of mine is the fact we haven't seen proper gameplay and we're less than 20 days from launch.

It's good to work on that assumption, in the likely case key aspects such as collisions, aerial acrobatics, ground wrestling for the ball, asymmetrical centre bounces and gang tackling among other things are all missing. They can just take it easy if it's all included, but I highly doubt that.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Those goofy umpire glitches aren't even my main concern, because they're easily fixable. It's just the key aspects to the sport missing or the strange Evo 2 errors as a mechanic to the game that are concerning. I would like to see the first truly real simulation Aussie Rules video game.

I know, but they're the funniest!

There was also multiple occasions of AI controlled players running through the protected zone without penalty.

Pissed me off in Evo 2 as well.

I say without penalty which is accurate, but the AI shouldn't run to those locations at all, because if it's just left in there but a free kick is awarded every time it happens, there will be constant 50m penalties throughout the game caused by dumb AI, and that will be even more annoying.

Hopefully there really is massive improvements to the AI because that's my biggest concern from the footage seen. Seems very Evo 2-like which I find bizarre.

 

[Michaels]

How does it hurt though?
If it has already been rectified upon reading the comment then all big ant needs to do is give it a thumbs up.

They literally have stated they are here to report back on ideas from this thread. Does that not include what people saw during the gameplay?

I would have thought they see it as a positive and gives them an extra level of proofing that there team potentially could have missed.

It is only because people are super passionate about it. I have been pro big ant since live 1, trust me when I say I only want success for them!

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Your blurring what I said.

Be critical of what was seen, absolutely.

But some are passing it off as the final version which we know it isn't is my point

 

[Xc9894]

Gee this thread confuses constructive feedback with blatant disrespect, which I don’t see too much disrespect, rather concern over some issues clearly visible (which is all we are able to see right now)


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[Lesnish]

I know, but they're the funniest!

There was also multiple occasions of AI controlled players running through the protected zone without penalty.

Pissed me off in Evo 2 as well.

I say without penalty which is accurate, but the AI shouldn't run to those locations at all, because if it's just left in there but a free kick is awarded every time it happens, there will be constant 50m penalties throughout the game caused by dumb AI, and that will be even more annoying.

Hopefully there really is massive improvements to the AI because that's my biggest concern from the footage seen. Seems very Evo 2-like which I find bizarre.

Unrelated to AFL23.

But I thought one good aspect for evo 2 when lining up for a set shot or kicking inside 50, was the AI would constantly be making leads in front of you and if they weren't used, would run out of the area and lead again.
Pretty well every game up until then when kicking inside 50 would just be mostly stationary AI.



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[Ambrose Burnside]

Unrelated to AFL23.

But I thought one good aspect for evo 2 when lining up for a set shot or kicking inside 50, was the AI would constantly be making leads in front of you and if they weren't used, would run out of the area and lead again.
Pretty well every game up until then when kicking inside 50 would just be mostly stationary AI.



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Evo 2 definitely had some good aspects to it. I feel some were to paper over mistakes made in other aspects of the design, but still. I think the throw it on the boot button falls into this category. Was a life saver in the game, but the game should have been designed so that it wasn't needed.

Loved Match Day mode. Wasn't perfect but had potential. Doesn't look like it'll be back which is a shame (something that pisses me off with AFL games is when good ideas are abandoned when a new developer takes over). There's already been multiple matches this year I'd like to take over at a certain point to see if I could change the outcome.

Starting with the second quarter of the Eagles vs North game

 

[jdoggdrool]

My favourite is the goal umpire chilling out on the 50m line, and the field umpire randomly running through the goals like he's going to Cantona someone in the crowd.

What about Dimma turning into a goal umpire at the end of his qtr time address?

 

[CraigMc24]

Evo 2 definitely had some good aspects to it. I feel some were to paper over mistakes made in other aspects of the design, but still. I think the throw it on the boot button falls into this category. Was a life saver in the game, but the game should have been designed so that it wasn't needed.

Loved Match Day mode. Wasn't perfect but had potential. Doesn't look like it'll be back which is a shame (something that pisses me off with AFL games is when good ideas are abandoned when a new developer takes over). There's already been multiple matches this year I'd like to take over at a certain point to see if I could change the outcome.

Starting with the second quarter of the Eagles vs North game

Match day mode was a decent idea. That’s why I wouldn’t mind seeing a scenario mode and being able to go back in time and play some of those great comeback games. The miracle on grass Brisbane vs Geelong and ofcourse the greatest comeback of all Essendon vs North Melbourne Rd 16 2001 69 points down. All you need is for someone to recreate those teams from back then and you’re all set. Even trying to create a replica MCG from back from then before the redevelopment. Would love that.

 

[SugarShane]

Every suggestion someone has made in this thread has been in the hope that the game is better for it.

That includes highlighting mistakes.

My favourite is the goal umpire chilling out on the 50m line, and the field umpire randomly running through the goals like he's going to Cantona someone in the crowd.

I'll admit I lean heavily to the BA fan boy side when it comes to AFL games, but you're absolutely right. Blindly accepting and praising everything helps no one. Likewise blanket criticism helps no one.

Constructive criticism will make better games. It reminds me of the story of the restaurant owner. His food wasn't great, and he'd ask after every meal how it was. Customers always lied and said "great". Then people stopped going and he closed down. He couldn't understand it because everyone always said the food was good.

There's nothing wrong with pointing out glitches in the dev build. We don't know if they're fixed yet because no one has seen anything newer. Maybe some of those glitches slipped through the cracks (or didn't even present until the demo night) and could be fixed by day 1 by pointing them out now. We're not the reddit or Facebook crowd of "hurr goal umpire on the 50, game is shit, they want $100 for this", we all just want the best game possible.

 

[StoneyHawk]

Big Ant has gotta fix this error. If I have to guess, the person pressed the sprint button and it automatically played on, which is the same error with Evo 2. It should only be play on for kick outs if the player leaves the goal square, or the time allocated runs out.
View attachment 1638721

And there is that bloody blue screen that appears at every cut screen...hating it already!

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

That was only for the Dev build demo. Won’t be in the final game come April 13.

I see you post quite a few definitive statements. Do you work at Big Ant?

 

[game_chromosome]

Does anyone know exactly how long the game has been I development?

 

[Archer_11]

At the risk of this being a non sequitur I was thinking the other day how real time sync with champion data presents some interesting design choices. If anyone from BA reads this can you please say a bit more about how it will work?

My wish list - I'm sure all of this won't be provided but anyway here goes -

• option to use real time data for any game format i.e. you are not locked into specific fixtures, you can play a season, a friendly, anything. The sync option is a flag you turn on and off and that's it.
• option to have injuries either in real time (e.g. a four week injury is four weeks, whether it's one season or ten) OR in game time (e.g. playing the 2023 fixture in September will have players come in and out according to the round)
• option to automate the syncronisation - you don't have to 'remember to patch'
• timestamp history - you can select to play any game with the round 1 team, the round 7 team etc.
• option to update the stats but not the player positions you have saved from the previous game

For future games - I'm sure it's not in this one - it would be great if there was a virtual assistant coach telling you which players were getting towelled or on fire etc, with suggestions to make position changes by pressing a button, not by rifling through a sub menu in the three seconds before a centre bounce.

Thanks in advance for any response.

 

[SugarShane]

If those errors were fixed and the key aspects of the sport being omitted in that demo have been added into their latest build, then my concerns may not be warranted. But I find that highly unlikely, and I think it'd be wise to make suggestions and criticism of what they presented to the public as their game, just in case the latest build is incomplete.

Best case scenario, everything that is being picked up from the incomplete build has already been fixed. But when you showcase something that is, presumably, a few months old, you're sort of inviting feedback on what is presented. I'm pretty sure in one of those Cheetos videos that someone posted he mentioned he sent a page of feedback to Big Ant (and he was playing the dev build like everyone else).

If people are rattling on about things that are already fixed, sweet. Doesn't cost Big Ant much time to go down the list of feedback and tick them all off as done. Even if one thing that is mentioned is not fixed, and gets fixed before release that's a win for us and Big Ant. Lord knows there's going to be a mountain of feedback after the release so if a few incidentals get picked up now then great.

We're all just in this weird limbo right now where we've now kind of seen a lot, but also really not much, so are desperate for every morsel of content we can get.

 

[GOTHELIONS16]

Also, the little trivial details like the AFL logo on the numbers were missing, which even ticked off Ross in September, but wasn't fixed for this March demo. Perhaps the March demo build is really from September?

The general consensus on here has been the build is from post the home and away season September/October last year.

 

[GOTHELIONS16]

Ross has stated that since AFL Live was made, they have had people toying and chipping away at refining and creating a new game.
This has been in the making for a very long time!

What else can you tell us? Thanks in advance.

 

[Xc9894]

Best case scenario, everything that is being picked up from the incomplete build has already been fixed. But when you showcase something that is, presumably, a few months old, you're sort of inviting feedback on what is presented. I'm pretty sure in one of those Cheetos videos that someone posted he mentioned he sent a page of feedback to Big Ant (and he was playing the dev build like everyone else).

If people are rattling on about things that are already fixed, sweet. Doesn't cost Big Ant much time to go down the list of feedback and tick them all off as done. Even if one thing that is mentioned is not fixed, and gets fixed before release that's a win for us and Big Ant. Lord knows there's going to be a mountain of feedback after the release so if a few incidentals get picked up now then great.

We're all just in this weird limbo right now where we've now kind of seen a lot, but also really not much, so are desperate for every morsel of content we can get.

Lucky it’s 2023 and not 2011 and if things aren’t fixed from that build we can hope to see some things chipped away over the course of this and next year


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[game_chromosome]

Ross has stated that since AFL Live was made, they have had people toying and chipping away at refining and creating a new game.
This has been in the making for a very long time!

Cheers yeah I've heard that I was more meaning when the development started full time officially

 

[berisha]

Wrote up an article about the launch event/game if anyone is interested

AFL 23 Represents A New Frontier For AFL Video Games

Exciting times ahead for AFL fans

www.well-played.com.au

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Wrote up an article about the launch event/game if anyone is interested

AFL 23 Represents A New Frontier For AFL Video Games

Exciting times ahead for AFL fans

www.well-played.com.au

Ruck contests are won by flicking the right analog stick when the ball is at its highest point, and when the ball did hit the ground it was a very contested affair, with players being tackled almost instantly. Tackling does have a welcome new feature, with players having the ability to get rid of the ball once tackled, although the success rate in doing so was very low (this is one element Big Ant is working on).

At various stages I attempted to play “realistic football” by using overlapping handballs (or as close as I could get) or playing on, however frequently the man on the mark was able to quickly run me down and wrap me up. It raises the question about player speed, and at one point Marc Pittonet exploded from a centre bounce as if he was sprinting to the nearest porcelain throne after the morning coffee hit faster than a John Wick headshot. I’ve got no doubt that it’s an area that Big Ant is likely fine-tuning before launch.

Interesting that the reveal build had the exact same issues as AFL Live. Would have hoped that was one of the first things fixed, even if it's just so that these write-ups could talk about it as an improvement. Hopefully it is fixed by release. Would hate for the tackle fest to be a deliberate design decision.

Thanks for the write-up, much appreciated!

 

[Lesnish]

Wrote up an article about the launch event/game if anyone is interested

AFL 23 Represents A New Frontier For AFL Video Games

Exciting times ahead for AFL fans

www.well-played.com.au

Well balanced article Zach.


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[JNT BA]

Wrote up an article about the launch event/game if anyone is interested

AFL 23 Represents A New Frontier For AFL Video Games

Exciting times ahead for AFL fans

www.well-played.com.au

One example of this was in the banners that players run through before a game, with the Collingwood banner featuring the famous “tonihgt” misspelling.

I'm so glad someone took note of the banners. It took me a while to find some of them for that extra little bit of fun, well ones that were appropriate anyway. There was also someone on the night who came up to me, as one of the people who I was with pointed to me and told them to tell me, small things like that just added to a great night overall, a little bit of appreciation goes a long way.

This was a great read. I don't think we got to meet on Wednesday, but hopefully sometime in the future!

It's better to highlight issues (and Big Ant have said they monitor this thread and collate our ideas/concerns etc)

This is 100%, while we won't always comment on everything cause I don't have enough time. We are here every day of the week reading and taking notes of everything that is said. From the biggest to the smallest thing. Sure while I take notes I'm not going to be like "<insert criticism> x10", I watch many places and communities and take notes and watch the videos on youtube, yes all of them so far, and some TikTok content cause it's informative and all helps paint a picture.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Sure while I take notes I'm not going to be like "<insert criticism> x10"..

It must be frustrating not being able/allowed to refute things you know are wrong. It's one of the issues I have of the marketing approach.

Unsure if that counts as criticism