Deep analysis of the Ashes cricket game

[silverthorne]

Granted.

Seriously though, last mention of Xaitment I can find anywhere is a press release about it being available for PS4 from early 2013, and nothing since then?

They disappeared without a trace.


However, the Xaitment is used internally inside Ashes Cricket 2013.
I think they (the vendor) may have been very embarrassed about that.

 

[Chief]

Hmm. All a bit of a stretch to say that they had "collapsed" non?

I highly doubt that anyone outside of this forum (indeed, this thread) is aware of what plug-ins were used under-the-hood of a game that was withdrawn from sale after a couple of days. It's not like their logo was on the (non-existent) box: I think you're stretching a little to suggest that it would have had any impact on them at all (if indeed they still existed by the time the game came out.)

 

[silverthorne]

erm... OK, so they disappeared. It may or may not be related to AC2013.


I had a very deep analysis of Ashes Cricket 2009.

Please correct me if wrong.

The game is made using Visual C++ 2007 with DirectX 7. The source code is a derived source, meaning, it is made from an older game Brian Lara Cricket series. It uses an older version of an existing game-engine. They licensed on a per-title basis, so every version of Ashes Cricket, they had to pay license for it. The big .w32 file is a big WAD file similar to the one found in Doom series.


It uses the older OBJ file format and builds a mesh. They render using DDS. I felt it was better than AC2013. The physics is the older OpenDynamicsEngine, with lots of constraints. In order to make the cricketers go around, they move around the mesh using path-finding. and simple AI*. The AI has not changed a lot since the original Brian Lara '97.

It implements a round-robbin system. where the closest person runs catching the ball. They use multiple meshes and markers to denote areas where you can or cannot move, where the batsman must do so-and-so actions at that position. And so on. It uses the older Lua for scripting.


The deadly part -

The main difference, is that Unity don't have very defined areas or regions to walk. That's one of the deadly flaws of Unity pathfinding. In Unity, it uses a simplified version of navigation. That's good enough for simple small games (Unity being an Indy game engine).

The weird movements you see in AC2013 is because of the AI being asynchronous to the models movement.

(In English: The AI takes a few milliseconds to calculate. Due to slower computer speeds, the batsman and other fielders behave erratically due to slowness. Since the AI takes a few milliseconds to calculate, the movement of the models behave in erratic or start/stop manner.).

At many times, the Unity version tries to find the nearest positions or points where the fields and lines intersect as the regions to walk or do actions specific to the fielders, batsman and umpire.


Coupled with their inefficient coding practices (i.e., using PlayMaker and huge PlayMaker scripts of all things!), QUAZAL Network library switched to Photon Library, it may be reasons for their poor game being made.

 

[silverthorne]

Xaitment: A glorified version of the Ogre + Recast:
Ogre Forums • View topic - Recast NavMesh in Ogre (w/ Entity Demo)

 

[Chief]

I had a very deep analysis of Ashes Cricket 2009.

Please correct me if wrong.

You have a much deeper understanding of it than me. I'm afraid I can't really confirm any of this, mainly because I don't understand it! I've never worked on the coal face of development: I've only ever worked in external production (so I'm more about getting it made than actually making it!) so I don't know much detail about what is underneath the hood.

I think you're right about Ashes 09, with the exception that very little of Brian Lara was in there (from memory I think there was a tiny part of the network code carrying over, but that was the only thing that remained from the Lara engine: it was all new beyond that). It was definitely used for reference though, as Transmission had previously done a port to PSP.

 

[whiteninness]

I just spent an hour reading through this whole thread and it is breathtaking.

 

[zimrahil]

I heard they were going to introduce keyboard controls as well. Such a pity....

 

[whiteninness]

Still never heard a word from Trickstar on this. Not one word.

Utter criminals.

 

[silverthorne]

Still never heard a word from Trickstar on this. Not one word.

Utter criminals.

And that is despite this mega-thread disclosing lots of information on Ashes Cricket 2013.

It's been two years now.

I'm still curious as to how Trickstar is surviving...

 

[Haynes123]

is trickstar still in business?

 

[abdul170]

is there any chance of a game based on ashes cricket 2009 to come, though dbc14 was great, still feel need to see honest and professional people like big ants to work on ideas that were mishandeled by ashes13 developers?

 

[zimrahil]

There was one called International Cricket 10 - it was great with modding for its time..

 

[abdul170]

I saw a thread about ashes cricket 17....top score posted about Michael slater radio interview... Wts news on it

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

I saw a thread about ashes cricket 17....top score posted about Michael slater radio interview... Wts news on it

What ever might be the case, we have to wait for official announcement... Ashes Starts from November 23 so we have to wait until then and only come to a conclusion if nothing is announced till it starts..Until there we shall hope there's something going on with the game..

 

[abdul170]

Yes I also believe ashes17 is being secretly developed. But I can't figure out why so secrecy. Need advertising atleast months before game