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.

 

[Sewelly101]

It's kind of like he was getting some work done on this version This still isn't the newest.

Any chance JNT we can get a ball shadow marker on the ground? It made it really easy in the EVO games to keep track of the ball

 

[bdawwg1021]

2.5 minute quarters doesn’t help

Exactly.
People were pointing out how low the stats and finals scores were in twisties footage, but they seem to forget twistie also had it on short quarters, so the stats and results were always going to be very low.

 

[Nicho50]

Personally everything I’ve seen so far is positive it looks like it will play well and I know the cricket games so I am confident in that. No state leagues to play as is fine as long as we can change draft classes or edit players at the least:

The only negative I can say is 2 days out from release why are people being shown a build that’s not the newest, Ross said people would have plenty of chances to see what the game is like before release and so far it’s been very limited.

The issue about the Xbox copies for people hasn’t been answered either, I mean if you pre ordered a while ago and you’ll get it that’s fine but it must be confusing if you weren’t following it as closely to wonder what’s going on with the coming soon rather than 4th date.

 

[Mootsy]

All looked great, only thing I noticed, handball gameplay looked a bit awkward at times, a player facing forwards and a sideways handball angles out sideways without the player facing the direction of the handball. Graphics looked very nice, menus awesome, it’s a good foundation to mould an AFL game into a FIFA/2K style franchise.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

All looked great, only thing I noticed, handball gameplay looked a bit awkward at times, a player facing forwards and a sideways handball angles out sideways without the player facing the direction of the handball. Graphics looked very nice, menus awesome, it’s a good foundation to mould an AFL game into a FIFA/2K style franchise.

The animation should reflect what the player would really motion in real life. Will be interesting to see what the release version is like.

 

[Quivorir]

So when are the in store play sessions?

 

[Pickitt]

So when are the in store play sessions?

Wednesday 8PM

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I think expecting (or hoping for) things like gang tackling, multiple players hunting the ground ball instead of standing around watching a 1v1, pack marking contests etc will be disappointed. Gang tackling especially seems like a fundamental change requiring a lot of testing, that will affect everything, from animations to AI, and I'm not sure something that far-reaching will be patched in.

Seems very much like AFL Live, but prettier.

These things would have to be top of the wishlist for AFL 25 though.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I think expecting (or hoping for) things like gang tackling, multiple players hunting the ground ball instead of standing around watching a 1v1, pack marking contests etc will be disappointed. Gang tackling especially seems like a fundamental change requiring a lot of testing, that will affect everything, from animations to AI, and I'm not sure something that far-reaching will be patched in.

Seems very much like AFL Live, but prettier.

These things would have to be top of the wishlist for AFL 25 though.

I really do hope they can patch in those 3v1 tackles that are in their League Live games, at the very least. It'd be frustrating not being able to support your teammate when they're forced to tackle an opposition player on their own. So many times I saw in that demo players just rushing past their teammate and not being able to support them.

 

[Kickpuncher]

Adelaide Oval looks incredibly dark during night games.

Also I’m assuming it’s an easy fix but cheer squads need to be switched. Away team is always down the northern end.

 

[Tacomix41]

Michaels I dont know if it was mentioned on stream as I had to leave but what time are you dropping the much awaited AI vs AI gameplay today

 

[palmomagpie]

Thursday can't come soon enough. It feels like a full time job reading this thread after a big night. Will sit down to watch Michaels stream later today and get my own thoughts, but from what I'm seeing in these comments, there's a bit of work for the day 1 patch that I'm sure Big Ant are already aware of and on top of.

 

[palmomagpie]

Probably a silly question, I know JNT mentioned a "support page", but what is your preferred feedback method from all of us at Bigfooty JNT BA & BigAntStudios ? Post release, do we all just let you guys know in here or raise official tickets/posts on the Big Ant website support page?

Support

support.bigant.com

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I really do hope they can patch in those 3v1 tackles that are in their League Live games, at the very least. It'd be frustrating not being able to support your teammate when they're forced to tackle an opposition player on their own. So many times I saw in that demo players just rushing past their teammate and not being able to support them.

Oh I agree 100%.

But Cricket 24, with a global market set to swamp AFL in sales is out next month. I daresay Big Ant's focus will shift very quickly to what makes them the most money (seen it already with career mode dumped in favour of microtransactions mode) and big changes like gang tackling won't come. I'm sure legit bugs will be fixed, I'm even hopeful for things like the camera being on the wrong side of the ground will be fixed, but 1v1 tackling will have been a deliberate design decision.

Hopefully we see it in the next game though. This place will burn down if we get another 1v1 fest

 

[GoldbergsGold]

Oh I agree 100%.

But Cricket 24, with a global market set to swamp AFL in sales is out next month. I daresay Big Ant's focus will shift very quickly to what makes them the most money (seen it already with career mode dumped in favour of microtransactions mode) and big changes like gang tackling won't come. I'm sure legit bugs will be fixed, I'm even hopeful for things like the camera being on the wrong side of the ground will be fixed, but 1v1 tackling will have been a deliberate design decision.

Hopefully we see it in the next game though. This place will burn down if we get another 1v1 fest

It'd be a really bad idea if that's a design choice, because they've already upgraded the tackling to include more fend offs, now. I'm totally in favour of that, but because of that, players can evade more, and to circumvent that, you'd need more support, so 1v3 tackling should have been implemented, especially since they already have it in their Rugby League Live games.

 

[OhDustinMartin]

I think expecting (or hoping for) things like gang tackling, multiple players hunting the ground ball instead of standing around watching a 1v1, pack marking contests etc will be disappointed. Gang tackling especially seems like a fundamental change requiring a lot of testing, that will affect everything, from animations to AI, and I'm not sure something that far-reaching will be patched in.

Seems very much like AFL Live, but prettier.

These things would have to be top of the wishlist for AFL 25 though.

Spot on, but I think AFL Live but prettier is under-doing it a bit.

The AI is undoubtedly smarter here, and there's a real feeling that you're playing an AFL simulator. Live I didn't play enough of but I played a shitload of Evo 1 and 2, and it was hard to get the thing to truly feel like footy without constantly buggering with the sliders.

AFL23 looks to be at the point where the level of simulation is generally good enough that you notice more what's missing than what's present.

The next 'build' on this engine must get more complex with gameplay. This version, when finalised, looks to ne really, really good and I want to emphasise that. But there's no reason for a future game (or even a big patch for say season 2024) not to have added complexities to marking contests, tackling and ground-ball contests.

I feel a bit NBA 2k14 about this. As in, the engine and base game are really good, graphics hugely improved. This will be the watermark game, it's now about adding features, complexities and enhancements that make the thing pop in pursuit of making the thing a 10/10.

Also - can't be arsed screenshotting, but from Michaels' comments on his YouTube video, seems orientation, sirens, players appearing on the bench and those pesky, yet legitimate, cosmetic issues will get a fix,

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

When I say AFL Live but prettier, I mean getting the basics right. Expectations have shifted quite a bit in the last 12 years, so yes it's more than literally AFL Live with a fresh coat of paint, but in comparison to other 2023 sports games I think it's a decent comparison. Most have career mode, this does not etc.

I still find it weird that when people question the deepest AFL game ever claim, Ross always points out face scanning. Having players look right (Tippa excluded it seems haha) is important, but to me anyway, it's part of getting the basics right, regardless of how big a chunk of the budget that took up.

 

[JNT BA]

Probably a silly question, I know JNT mentioned a "support page", but what is your preferred feedback method from all of us at Bigfooty JNT BA & BigAntStudios ? Post release, do we all just let you guys know in here or raise official tickets/posts on the Big Ant website support page?

Support

support.bigant.com

Of course, I welcome an open forum of ideas and suggestions. Saying that the Support site is actually so much easier for me to keep track of. It's one of the many things I watch over, I get regular updates from there so it is honestly the best way to give us feedback as it's all tracked as well as provide support for released products.

Any chance JNT we can get a ball shadow marker on the ground? It made it really easy in the EVO games to keep track of the ball

Interesting idea, there is a ball trail option in the settings that I use that some of the people that came in noticed(can't remember who or if it's in their footage). This helps me as sometimes I play on a massive tv.

 

[dylan7]

JNT BA any chance we could see the updated Tippa?

 

[GoldbergsGold]

When I say AFL Live but prettier, I mean getting the basics right. Expectations have shifted quite a bit in the last 12 years, so yes it's more than literally AFL Live with a fresh coat of paint, but in comparison to other 2023 sports games I think it's a decent comparison. Most have career mode, this does not etc.

I still find it weird that when people question the deepest AFL game ever claim, Ross always points out face scanning. Having players look right (Tippa excluded it seems haha) is important, but to me anyway, it's part of getting the basics right, regardless of how big a chunk of the budget that took up.

I was expecting more from the gameplay, until I heard they were putting so much investment and effort into face scanning. I'm very pleased about the motion capturing, though, but the face scanning wasn't worth taking the labour away from the gameplay.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Interesting idea, there is a ball trail option in the settings that I use that some of the people that came in noticed(can't remember who or if it's in their footage). This helps me as sometimes I play on a massive tv.

Great to hear. I literally could not see the ball when watching the YouTube gameplay footage on my big TV, so to know there are options to help with that crosses that concern off the list!

 

[Mitho]

Email from JB Hifi... Mid to late June the release been pushed to. Assuming just Xbox physical so I'll just cancel the preorder.

 

[GoldGoal06]

Email from JB Hifi... Mid to late June the release been pushed to. Assuming just Xbox physical so I'll just cancel the preorder.

Yep Same Email For Me Too


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[Ambrose Burnside]

Me too.

What a shitshow.

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

Email from JB Hifi... Mid to late June the release been pushed to. Assuming just Xbox physical so I'll just cancel the preorder.

Mid June?! They must be using one of those pedal duck boats to get them here


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