Things we can do without...

[Biggs]

Seen a few posts popping up here and there, be good to collect them all in a "catch-all" thread so developers can quickly assess things we DON'T need in a Cricket Game (or at least, a general consensus between a greater majority in the forum)

I (for one) could care less about the following being included in any cricket game:

Correct Uniforms
Face it, these change ALL the time... if you're a Pakistan fan you would have gone broke in the last 2 years with all the uniform changes that team has. Kits are something that we (PlanetCricket) can take care of for people in our download mods threads and they tend to be among the more popular downloadable content pieces on these forums. While not essential, a "Kit Creator" is a simple way to get around this for PS3/XBOX users, but if you're buying a cricket game, it's for the SPORT not for pretty looking clothes.

Correct Names
Simple bit of code that allows players to edit team rosters is all that needs to happen. Yes, editing rosters can be time consuming but it helps PERSONALIZE your game... and that's something that I would HATE to lose in ANY game, especially cricket. Again, Rosters/Players change ALL the time and sometimes whole teams can change with the variety of formats cricket is played in today. Correct names are a waste of time for developers to spending money on sourcing and getting the rights to. Especially with the "bigger" (read: more expensive) cricket boards.

Bats
As above, bats change all the time, as do brands and what is "popular" a "Handful" of bat licenses would suffice in any game and let us modders do our bit to personalize the game later. Not something worth spending money on and persuing... If you're a cricket manufacturer and NOT wanting to promote the very gear you sell in a cricket game, you're utterly insane and don't know how to market your brand in the modern age, so any "Cricket Gear Manufacturers" out there reading this, get your PR and Marketing team in contact with Trickstar asap because that's how you market your gear to the kids who'll be playing for England, Australia and other countries in a few years... It's simple free marketing inside of a game, if you're a "Puma" and not wanting to be a part of that you're utterly foolish.​

I'm sure there's lots more, but those are the top three that I've read and agree with. Feel free to post your own... There may also be some game-mechanic things you've seen in previous games you can do without, stick em here and see what the majority agree on.

The point of this thread isn't to rag on older games, but come up with an idea to help cricket game developers to assess the needs of the more "Core" cricket gaming community... I'm also assuming they're going to put the effort into really good cricket gameplay in AC13 that's going to give us the longevity to enjoy the game past superficial things like team uniforms and names. While those things might be nice to look at, they're not essential to the heart-and-soul of a cricket game, for me.

What do you think?

 

[SiriusBlack]

edited

 

[BlitzBerg]

That way, we dont need correct adboards, pitch ads, board logos, etc. We could do away with any licensed material for textures.

 

[coolz_hari]

Hoping to see more non-australian and non-england stadiums .at least from major asian games

 

[Biggs]

That way, we dont need correct adboards, pitch ads, board logos, etc. We could do away with any licensed material for textures.

I'm not saying do away with ALL licenses. You want a polished looking game for what we're paying for it, but spend the money on licenses that MATTER. If a cricket board (or supplier/sponsor) is playing hardball, then just flag it. If you're an international cricket team (or a "brand" as they should be referred to, really) you're crazy if you're playing hard-to-get for a game that's only going to PROMOTE your team, your players and your country.

...but lets not get hung up "Correct Shirts" and other stuff that is ancillary to a good cricket game. Ball and Batting Physics are far more important (and worth the time and financial investment)

 

[Gone4aDuck]

Really wouldn't bother me in the slightest if the names on the advertising boards around the grounds were just made up brand names. That's just cosmetic stuff. Who cares if the stumps have Pepsi or trickstar on them?
If it saves money they can put towards a more solid game then I'm all for it. Same with commentary. I'm not bothered if its done by two or three people from the development team. As long as its fresh and entertaining, I say put the money towards gameplay development.

 

[MattW]

Licences to a point are an important product differentiator - for one the obvious marketing aspect - 'Ashes Cricket 2013' as a game will get automatic promotion through all the mentions of the Ashes Series next year, so there's far less work on getting the brand of game out there.

Very few people would buy more than one game for a particular sport - so when there's multiple players in the market there's a need for differentiation. Being the 'official' game of something certainly helps, and gives a prestige to a product that another game might not get - at least not without earning it over many years. As such, in the small market for Cricket games, the licences form a key part of how they are promoted.

Of course a strong endorsement helps too - the old Codemasters releases relied just as much on Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting as they did the licences that they got for the Champions Trophy and World Cup.

The endorsement of one player is risky - could Shane Warne Cricket have made it if the game was released in late 2000 instead of 1999? Would we have seen a Shane Warne International Cricket 2005 if he didn't have a doping ban? Likewise, you'd need a player to perform reliably and be widely liked around the world (or the extra expense of endorsements from a lot of players in a lot of countries).

The names in the game being right is probably the least important part of the licences, it's the ability to have things be 'official' and the naming and the board logos on the box - very important when you're targeting regular consumers and not enthusiasts.

Being able to 'edit' things isn't something that's done by the majority of people - it's a small subset of the small subset who play on PCs. Of course it'd be great for PlanetCricket if lots more people did, but for the mass market, buying the game with a famous player and a picture of the Ashes Urn on it probably trumps most things that are on the requests list.

 

[badvintage]

We really don't need license if it can be modded...

Graphics don't look good then.

 

[coolz_hari]

As matt mentioned a definite brand is very important for promotion of a game.

 

[duberryboy1]

This list is silly, considering they make most there money from console sales all the list seems to cater to PC users with the idea that someone will just mod it in later. Console users do not have that luxury.

 

[Master Khan]

Yeah must users use consoles not PC.

 

[barmyarmy]

This list is silly, considering they make most there money from console sales all the list seems to cater to PC users with the idea that someone will just mod it in later. Console users do not have that luxury.

Why not? FIFA and PES are very editable on console.

 

[pcfan123]

How much time/resources went into the FIFA editor? Probably more than is going into this entire game.

Editing players kits and other aesthetics should be very low on the list, especially when nobody has gotten the gameplay right

 

[Biggs]

Yeah must users use consoles not PC.

Have you got some statistics to back that up, or is that just an assumption?

You'll find even on MODERN games there's a pretty even split between console gaming and PC gaming, although the more advanced the game technology (3D Graphics, etc) you get a bigger drop-off from PC to Console gaming.

Given the existence of this very forum and how active all the relevant PC Cricket Games downloads forum are, I think you'll find there's just as many PC based gamers as there are console gamers... The cost of licensing teams, uniforms, players names, sponsors and gear would be overwhelming for a developer unless they get a reasonable "all in one" deal with the ICC or something like that. Again, players "likenesses" are generally down to the individual players or their managers these days and I imagine it's a hugely complex and time-consuming issue to resolve.

A great cricket game with great mechanics and a basic level of customizing is going to move the product, not the built-in stuff which changes so regularly (like team uniforms and players names/likenesses)... and if the built-in stuff ISN'T customizable, you instantly date your game the minute it ships with uneditable players, kits and so on. I'd much prefer to have the freedom to do that myself (on a console or PC) than get stuck with a game that's dated. Unless they're updating rosters and kits every other year, which I highly doubt.

As Mark says above, all the effort should be going into a great GAME not whether or not they have the right uniforms. A basic editor with rudimentary customization is really all that's needed, because if the gameplay isn't any good, nobody's going to buy it no matter what it looks like.

 

[79cricket]

I see your point but at the same time licences sell mate.
Let me ask you something, have you ever got a new cricket
shirt and said i just bought that because i saw it on tv or at
a real game like me, god i payed $110 for my newest aus shirt.

I have and many others have also, yes gamplay is number one
but having a famous person on the front cover with options like
real player names and uniforms sell.
lets hope oneday we get both and remember bigant and trickstar
are trying to sell lots of copies of there games not just hardcore cricket
and gamers like us. The casual cricket fan that likes T20 and IPL will
love to see the licences like IPL on the front cover.

My personal feelings are with you, i don't care for licence as much,
sure there nice but gameplay is number one.

To ross and chief get a balance of both and maybe we will have 2 very
different and great cricket games next year to look forward to