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.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

Another reason the gameplay looks bad is because people are awful at the game because the controls are new and some people have never played a video game or an afl one.

I wouldn't say bad, it looked to be the best gameplay for a footy game by light years, but that demo wasn't near a true simulation of the sport. It's definitely incomplete and rough around the edges, but it could be on track to be a top tier simulation if they were to add the missing aspects of sport, and fix the animations to be more weighted, and not so choppy and weightless. And one issue should be to remove the error they took from Evo 2, being the "sprint/play-on" mechanic, we don't need that, it should just be play-on when peeling off a mark (exactly the same as AFL Live 1) or leaving the goal square at kick outs.

 

[jdoggdrool]

In one of the moments of gameplay he shows a Richmond player manages to what it looks like burst through a stoppage and thump the ball forward. which i love to see

Only thing that worries me is that player is Nankervis. Should he be that lightning quick?

 

[Xc9894]

Like many have said, the gameplay we've seen is from approx 5 months ago now. People can bag it all they want but the facts are that we have not seen up to date gameplay. It still concerns me that we haven't seen any, but we can't make final conclusions based on what's been seen so far.

100% agree though that gameplay should be the top priority. I was just questioning as to why one the most wanted game modes has not been more discussed. Actually questions and answers about solo career have been pretty much ignored besides Ross' comment on Twistie's video.

So if the up to date gameplay is improved on what is shown, I don’t think there are major things for you to worry on. There will be patches to improve on stuff after release. Go watch Twistie3 and his latest YouTube vid where it’s a heap more clear view with the finished product will only be better on that. Think after last week we have actually seen quite a decent amount of footage etc.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[stkilda7894]

Where did anyone say it was from 5 months ago? And critiquing a game is not "bagging", it's observing its flaws and making suggestions on how to improve it. And why would it be bad to criticize an outdated build if they've already fixed the issues I've observed? They can just ignore the suggestions and know they're ahead of us, but I don't think that's the case, but who knows.

You're definitely right. I appologise for saying bagging. Big difference between bagging and constructive critiscm. Twistie mentioned this build is from months ago and if i'm being honest, I trust his word more than a lot of what I read on here. He's always been pretty reliable with this stuff so that's where I got the 5 months from.
Nothing wrong with critiscising what we've all seen so far. Might of been JNT but there was definitely a comment somewhere where it was mentioned that BA do monitor this thread and take on board ideas and crtiscm. I hope thats true because I do agree with your points, I'm just don't think that what we saw was in fact a recent copy of the game.

So if the up to date gameplay is improved on what is shown, I don’t think there are major things for you to worry on. There will be patches to improve on stuff after release. Go watch Twistie3 and his latest YouTube vid where it’s a heap more clear view with the finished product will only be better on that. Think after last week we have actually seen quite a decent amount of footage etc.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

No there is definitely reasons to be concerned if gameplay was to be the sole focus. We know thats not the case, but a game that has great gameplay but no extra modes is pointless. A repeat of Live 1 with no career mode would've been a disaster. People are well within their rights to worry about areas of the game outside of gameplay

 

[hawk699]

People. Need to chill it’s just a demo and the gameplay is like 5 months old no stress it be all fixed what is the soundtrack going to be like I want know

 

[andy_c91]

Fair enough, hopefully that's the case, when we play it. But just in case, no harm in critiquing what we saw. I was concerned when I saw the "play on/sprint" on a piece of paper, though, as if this was a cemented feature, and then seeing that error in the gameplay. Hopefully it was just for the demo only.

never any harm in critiquing what we all have been seeing, i've been posting stuff on the forum regarding WHAT I WANT in the game knowing that it was just a demo and not everything was shown.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

So if the up to date gameplay is improved on what is shown, I don’t think there are major things for you to worry on. There will be patches to improve on stuff after release. Go watch Twistie3 and his latest YouTube vid where it’s a heap more clear view with the finished product will only be better on that. Think after last week we have actually seen quite a decent amount of footage etc.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

That's an if, though, we don't know that for sure. What's the harm, though, in criticising the demo? They may have fixed the issues, but maybe they haven't, either. We don't know. Best to be on the safe side and make our thoughts be known, so perhaps they can fix the flaws down the line.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

People. Need to chill it’s just a demo and the gameplay is like 5 months old no stress it be all fixed what is the soundtrack going to be like I want know

The 5 months ago claim has already been debunked as misinformation by Ross. He said it was a custom build for the demo, not a dated build. And again, there is no bitterness, but pure interest in their work. No idea why observing, questioning and critiquing what we saw is upsetting some people.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

One little thing I love is they have the players "realistically" jogging back on the mark unlike with Evo 2, where they sprinted back every single time like there was only 20 seconds left on the clock.

 

[Quivorir]

Another day closer to launch and still **** all info for the general public. The red flag is becoming a giant red banner.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

Stadium shot here looks life like, too. Also, really like how the players collect the ball, when it bounces the player jumps towards it with their arms stretched out to grab and possess the ball.

 

[andy_c91]

Honestly, I think the gameplay should have been top priority. It's differently rough around the edges. I think the players could be a bit more weighted with their animations, they seem a bit weightless running around a little bit. Maybe their animations need to be slowed down? And I do think we will be missing a lot of key aspects of the sport, ie, collisions, backwards running for a mark, gang tackling, ground wrestling for the ball, etc, but I could be surprised if they're somehow added in, later, but I doubt it. I don't know why they implemented one of the errors from Evo 2, being "sprint/play-on", that shouldn't be in there. It should be peeling off the mark (like in Big Ant's Live 1) or running out of the goal square when kicking out to "play-on", not pressing the sprint button. inb4 but modes are what people want more! No, people drop the game instantly if the gameplay isn't up to scratch, even if the modes are in there.

with the players running and the weight of them, i would refer to how the players run in cricket 22, the players in that game doesnt seem to be weightless and quite weighted hope those physics transfer over to AFL 23

 

[Freo16]

Only thing that worries me is that player is Nankervis. Should he be that lightning quick?

That wasn’t the one I was referring to, in my example, the ruckman tapped it to a midfielder who then burst through a narrow gap in the contest.

What was also cool about this was that a better oppo player or ai would’ve attempted a tackle or bump, so not only do you have to find your way through the contest, there’s a chance you could be overwhelmed and caught out, that’s a fun kind of risk/reward

 

[GoldbergsGold]

with the players running and the weight of them, i would refer to how the players run in cricket 22, the players in that game doesnt seem to be weightless and quite weighted hope those physics transfer over to AFL 23

Probably needs to have more animations or motion capture for when players change direction, to make it more fluid and less choppy. When the players begin to wrestle in a marking contest, there's no transitional animation, it just skips to the players wrestling. Probably need to motion capture players moving into a wrestling position.

 

[Freo16]

Stadium shot here looks life like, too. Also, really like how the players collect the ball, when it bounces the player jumps towards it with their arms stretched out to grab and possess the ball.

View attachment 1642523

This camera angle gives me major Live 1 flashbacks (in a very good way)

I agree about players collecting the ball, after playing so much Evo over recent years, I was watching twisties footage expecting players to awkwardly wait for the ball rather than collect it seamlessly on the fly

 

[jdoggdrool]

That wasn’t the one I was referring to, in my example, the ruckman tapped it to a midfielder who then burst through a narrow gap in the contest.

What was also cool about this was that a better oppo player or ai would’ve attempted a tackle or bump, so not only do you have to find your way through the contest, there’s a chance you could be overwhelmed and caught out, that’s a fun kind of risk/reward

Gotcha. I agree, that is cool. The risk/reward of a more dangerous style of play need to be readily available.

 

[Xc9894]

You're definitely right. I appologise for saying bagging. Big difference between bagging and constructive critiscm. Twistie mentioned this build is from months ago and if i'm being honest, I trust his word more than a lot of what I read on here. He's always been pretty reliable with this stuff so that's where I got the 5 months from.
Nothing wrong with critiscising what we've all seen so far. Might of been JNT but there was definitely a comment somewhere where it was mentioned that BA do monitor this thread and take on board ideas and crtiscm. I hope thats true because I do agree with your points, I'm just don't think that what we saw was in fact a recent copy of the game.


No there is definitely reasons to be concerned if gameplay was to be the sole focus. We know thats not the case, but a game that has great gameplay but no extra modes is pointless. A repeat of Live 1 with no career mode would've been a disaster. People are well within their rights to worry about areas of the game outside of gameplay

You have massively contradicted yourself with massive concerns over gameplay and saying it should be their #1 focus, and then saying if it’s a repeat of live 1 with no additional modes it’s a failure, cmon man


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[stkilda7894]

You have massively contradicted yourself with massive concerns over gameplay and saying it should be their #1 focus, and then saying if it’s a repeat of live 1 with no additional modes it’s a failure, cmon man


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

If you read my posts you would've seen that I said we shouldn't judge gameplay solely based on what we've seen as I'm of the strong belief it's no where near the final build. I was concerned that we haven't seen proper gameplay, similar to how most people are concerned that we've officially seen sweet fa from Big Ant other than an edited trailer. However I have not stated at all that i'm concerned with the gameplay we saw from last weeks launch.

I said gameplay should be their number 1 focus as thats obvious and the general consensus here.

I said it cannot be a repeat of live 1 with limited game modes. While gameplay needs to be the top prioriy, other game modes cannot be neglected otherwise there would be no purpose to playing the game.

So where did I contradict myself?

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Another day closer to launch and still * all info for the general public. The red flag is becoming a giant red banner.

Reckon we're due a half answer from the powers that be on something soon ala this beauty:

Q: "Will it be on Steam on the same day as the consoles?"
A: "It will be on Steam"

 

[chenny420]

I don't know why people are so offended when constructive criticism is made of the game.

If anything, it's a good thing as it results in a better finished product for everyone.

Especially when we don’t know for sure how old the gameplay we’ve seen is. Not saying Big Ant are obliged to tell us how old the build is (they aren’t), but it’s 100% fair for us to critique what we’ve seen, because with no other info, we don’t know for sure what is going to carry over into the final game.

 

[SugarShane]

I don't know why people are so offended when constructive criticism is made of the game.

If anything, it's a good thing as it results in a better finished product for everyone.

Imagine if everyone who watched the Sonic movie trailer just thought "That's ok, it's probably not the final product."

 

[Cubs2Lions]

Imagine if everyone who watched the Sonic movie trailer just thought "That's ok, it's probably not the final product."

That’s what happened with Cricket 22 tbh though, it was buggy as hell at first with so many issues but now the game seems to be working really well now with limited issues with all the patches being put in the game.

 

[FearTheBeard13]

I’m gonna predict about 3 months into release with a few extra patches and everyone will be raving about this game. I think BA probably have a ton of content ready to launch post-release (legends, guernseys etc) and as the patches follow it should hopefully improve the overall experience.

 

[Treehill23]

Looking at the controls page, it seems relatively similar to AFL Live with some extra options so not sure why it was so hard to get the basics right for most people
Have a feeling it was more to do with that particular build of the game rather than people actually being incapable of using their fingers

 

[bone2468]

Clive Waterhouse or don't bother having the mode in the game!

Zac Dawson ?