Cricket Captain 2014

[Starjust]

New to this franchise, are there any guides out there to assist a newcomer?
1st innings and my opponent declared for over 600. I'm yet to bat but I'm not confident

 

[_Sam_]

The game seems pretty good. Probably could use some polish here and there, and I wish there were an obvious way to mod the game, as I'd be all over that.

What I really think this series needs though is some serious support, as most of the "added" features over the years have been seemingly just squad updates, some cosmetic changes and such. The new skin at least works properly for modern resolutions though.

I really wish they'd take the time to have one big crack at it, rebuild the game from scratch and see what they could do with it, but sadly it seems that whilst there is a niche market for this kind of game, the bravery to try and make a true Cricket "Football Manager" isn't there, which is understandable.

Considering that cricket fans are stat nuts though, a well done modern game could really take the market by storm done right.

This all said, with the game as it is, it certainly fills the niche, and there's nothing so jarring as to make you think "was this really made for this year" as with previous versions, at least aesthetically. The 3D highlights can look a bit silly, particularly the fielding, but even DBC 14 can't get that right, and there it can actually be game changing, here it's just a mock up of what the game engine said happened.

If want a Cricket Sim like this, I'd recommend picking it up, because it certainly does the job.

I think a few problems with going for something like football manger are firstly there are so many less features you can put into a cricket sim, for example, loans are rare in cricket and contracts are not quite as 'exciting' or sought after with bigger clubs, with financial stuff also being less interesting behind the scenes in cricket. You've also got a problem with players being able to play for multiple clubs worldwide being a pain in the ass and sticking in a few more problems. Cricket just has a lot less structure to it than football and something like that is hard to make a simulator for.

 

[Alberts]

I think a few problems with going for something like football manger are firstly there are so many less features you can put into a cricket sim, for example, loans are rare in cricket and contracts are not quite as 'exciting' or sought after with bigger clubs, with financial stuff also being less interesting behind the scenes in cricket. You've also got a problem with players being able to play for multiple clubs worldwide being a pain in the ass and sticking in a few more problems. Cricket just has a lot less structure to it than football and something like that is hard to make a simulator for.

International Management in Football Manager is a lot of fun, despite it having no contracts, loans signings and such.

What's more is that one of the most enjoyable parts of Football Manager is talent identification and development, particularly from within. Both these things can be done in a Cricket Simulator.

In terms of raw contracts and transfers, there are plenty of fun leagues to play in for Football Manager that are quite similar to how cricket is. Leagues like the IPL are also an example of something that can have such features, although it's not really needed.

There are also plenty of unique features for Cricket over Football is also interesting. The key is that there's a market of people who are fanatical about cricket, not for it to be a Football Manager clone as such.

A modern, well presented game could do wonders for the genre at this point, and whilst Cricket Captain 2014 isn't a bad effort, it really does need a rebuild from scratch at some point.

 

[Kiko_97]

The game seems pretty good. Probably could use some polish here and there, and I wish there were an obvious way to mod the game, as I'd be all over that.

Seems a lot of files are in assets.bin, files are encrypted though. No way of guessing.

 

[_Sam_]

International Management in Football Manager is a lot of fun, despite it having no contracts, loans signings and such.

What's more is that one of the most enjoyable parts of Football Manager is talent identification and development, particularly from within. Both these things can be done in a Cricket Simulator.

In terms of raw contracts and transfers, there are plenty of fun leagues to play in for Football Manager that are quite similar to how cricket is. Leagues like the IPL are also an example of something that can have such features, although it's not really needed.

There are also plenty of unique features for Cricket over Football is also interesting. The key is that there's a market of people who are fanatical about cricket, not for it to be a Football Manager clone as such.

A modern, well presented game could do wonders for the genre at this point, and whilst Cricket Captain 2014 isn't a bad effort, it really does need a rebuild from scratch at some point.

Perhaps we should list all the features we'd like to see from a cricket management game . Some sort of financial involvement would be a top choice for me, would be hard to implement in a balanced way though I'd have thought..

 

[Aislabie]

Perhaps we should list all the features we'd like to see from a cricket management game . Some sort of financial involvement would be a top choice for me, would be hard to implement in a balanced way though I'd have thought..

I think what people want is the match engine of Cricket Captain, the depth and editability of Cricket Coach and a snazzy skin over the top.

 

[_Sam_]

I think what people want is the match engine of Cricket Captain, the depth and editability of Cricket Coach and a snazzy skin over the top.

I don't know if it's just the user interface of cricket coach but I always find it just feels a bit confusing and unorganized, nothing seems to be that clear.

 

[Alberts]

Seems a lot of files are in assets.bin, files are encrypted though. No way of guessing.

Would be nice for the game to be a bit more open to modding.

I think what people want is the match engine of Cricket Captain, the depth and editability of Cricket Coach and a snazzy skin over the top.

To be honest I'm a bit over Cricket Coach. I like Ollie and all, but it seems to have hit a bit of a wall. The game has balance issue, constant game breaking bugs and the player generation and development doesn't seem quite there. It's stats heaven, but it really, like Cricket Captain, needs a rebuild from scratch. It looks and feels like a game that has just been build on top of from the early 2000s.

Perhaps we should list all the features we'd like to see from a cricket management game . Some sort of financial involvement would be a top choice for me, would be hard to implement in a balanced way though I'd have thought..

- More in depth coaching options beyond who to give the sessions to
- Interaction between domestic and international sides
- More in depth player development
- More depth in the financial side
- World development
- Improved match graphics
- Better UI interaction (i.e. Click and drag functionality and such)

What's more is I wouldn't be against going a bit down Football Manager's path with showing some attributes for players, but I'm just not sure how that works under the hood in the game. A lot of people thinks it's unrealistic, but it's more about the flavour of a player, and gives something you can actually see about a player (if scouted). The way it works (particularly with hidden attributes) creates quite a good system, and in particular it's worth noting that I've seen plenty of people fall into the "he's got good finishing, he must be a good striker", without realizing the effect that composure, off the ball, anticipation, work rate, decisions, pace, strength, acceleration and agility also play. You can have a great striker who can barely finish, and a terrible one who can. Then there's those great players who look magnificent, but aren't consistent or have an odd balance, or characteristic. There are certainly merits to it.

It remains to be seen if there is a big enough future in such games, but hopefully steam helps in the journey. I do hope that some kind of financial success comes to someone to spur someone on to try and tap this niche market properly, because at this time I feel the market has been somewhat gutted by a lack of developments and to be honest never having a game that really takes up the mantle as games like Football Manager managed too.

If you look elsewhere, at companies like Paradox, who make really quite niche games, nobody would ever have rated a game like Crusader Kings II as having a chance of success, there were even questions about if it would ever exist, but with a bit of love and confidence in the idea it really did pay dividends. The real question with the market for a Cricket Management (well, board of selectors, coach and captain all rolled into one really) isn't whether it's there, but whether the game that can truly tap it ever will be.

Keep in mind, I'm not saying Cricket Captain 14 is a bad game, it's just it's not the special game that will create a long lived reputation and legacy. If you've got some cash lying around, and like cricket management games, I'd recommend Cricket Captain though. Who knows, our support might just fund them to give that dream rebuild a red hot go.

 

[Alberts]

I just handed a young, blond, leg spinner his debut against Pakistan in Sydney. He took 4-49 in the first innings and 6-51 in the second innings (10-100 for the match).

Things just got interesting.

 

[Deleted member 9102]

Nice batting Yorkshire... 35 all out at less than 3 an over...

 

[Alberts]

The game seems to have a sick fetish of breaking bowlers ribs in the first innings of Test Matches (while they're batting). It's happened at least 8 times in 4 years now, I think it's more than that, but it's been 8 since I started counting.

 

[Deleted member 9102]

Yeah, it never seems to happen to the mediocre 2nd XI player you draft in due to injuries... Always seems to be your talisman leading bowler.

I do find it really satisfying when it happens to the opposition though .

 

[Alberts]

I forgot how fun these games could be.

Went into an Ashes series a bit under prepared. I had that young, blond leg spinner in the side, and he had been doing well, but as you'd expect from a 21 year old leg spinner, he could either be fantastic, or ineffectual, depending on the day. I also decided to start bringing a young quick into the side (the only young true fast bowler I could find to be honest, a 19 year no less) to give me another option. Those two paired with the start of the last shield season, who took something like 24 wickets at 14 odd (a 24 year old MF) and who had been performing remarkably well (most notably in a recent trip to India) and another more established bowler would make up the attack for the series.

The side started well... well. Declared for 620 before lunch on day three, watching the pitch deteriorate. The 19 year old quick, on debut no less, took both of the English openers within the first half hour, and from there the medium fast, and the young leggie demolished England. Enforced the follow on, still 350+ ahead and quickly finished them off, again the young quick and the leggie starring to send the side to a inning & 100+ run win. Not a bad start, 1-0 to Australia.

The second match was certainly more even. England won the toss and chose to bat, and did well. Both the young leggie and quick struggled. The batting made up for the issues though. Through their second innings though the match was headed for a draw. Something snapped after lunch on day 5 though, and the young leggie took a casual 4 wickets in 5 overs, with the other bowlers picking up another 3 to send us back in, for what seemed like a pointless session and a half chasing a score in excess of 250. Was never going to be simply though was it, the side just fell to bits, all out for around 100. From 3 down to all out in 17 runs and 5 overs. 1-1.

The next two matches were interesting. The first England set a score of 550+ and declared, and would ultimately force the follow on after another cataclysmic collapse. But after some stunning batting in the second innings, particularly from the openers, the side would eventually set 200 to win with about an hour left on the last day. It ended as a draw. Still 1-1.

Having declared for 570 to start day 3, it was a good position, but the young quick, who had been increasingly ineffectual since the first match simply couldn't buy a wicket, and so the pressure went on the other bowlers. The young leggie and the MF together though managed to rip through England eventually, despite their solid start, to enforce the followon. They went on the defense from there on out, but having got them to 9 down with more than a session to play it seemed 2-1 was inevitable. It wasn't, they survived, it remained 1-1.

For the last match the young quick was left out, with bowling allrounder, the 12 man for the last few matches, and who had consistently averaged under 21 with the ball and over 40 with the bat brought domestically, but failed to perform with the bat or ball previously in Tests was brought in as a more solid option, keeping previous batting collapses in mind. England won the toss and elected to bat, and was ultimately dismissed for about 200, the leggie again starring. Following a solid start, there was of course another collapse, with the side ending up 30 runs behind England. England would perform quite well, and were running away with it, with an hour left on day three with 7 wickets in hand and a 300 run lead. The young leggie, and MF again combined in a very nice stanza though to take them apart in 50 runs, and on the morning of the 4th day the side came out with 350 runs to win the Ashes. The openers were gone by 20 runs, the number 3, one of the few consistent batsmen, gone by 50, but the middle order just stood there. They chipped away at it. By the time one fell, there were only 100 runs to go, and ultimately England didn't have enough to break the side down this time, though a couple of late late wickets fell with only 15 left. 2-1 to Australia, and the young Leggie, as well as that young MF were the standouts with the ball.

Definitely can have a bit of fun with this series still.

 

[Deleted member 9102]

Absolutely, it definitely recreates the tactics, feeling and emotion of a cricket match better than any other game and provides some great moments.

Although the new interface is a bit nicer looking, I think the old one was better in functionality... Hopefully they improve things with a patch.

 

[Alberts]

Absolutely, it definitely recreates the tactics, feeling and emotion of a cricket match better than any other game and provides some great moments.

Although the new interface is a bit nicer looking, I think the old one was better in functionality... Hopefully they improve things with a patch.

Hopefully. I'm hoping their get a bit of a bump in profit on Steam and can start improving the game year on year properly in the future. If they can actually work from the base they're at, and start bringing it more in line with modern games, they could potentially have a brilliant game in the future.

Still great fun though.