A Year on From the World Premiere

[MattW]

Today is a year since the first time I got to play DBC14 when it was premiered at EB Games in Melbourne. It was a crazy day, very memorable and a great experience to see that level of enthusiasm for the game.

The thread at the time is well worth a flip through just to see the evolution, but I thought I'd comment on where I think my first impressions have stacked up to the result.

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It's hard to get a judge of the game overall in the time I had with it, chopping and changing modes and really just trying to get a hang of the controls. I'll review the game proper once I've had it for a few weeks, so these are first impressions - the game could still suffer from a catastrophic lack of replay value like IC2010 did after a good first impression.

Replay value certainly isn't catastrophic, indeed it's pretty high - I've got more hours out of DBC14 than all other cricket games combined.

I think there is a point at which you start to really master the controls and that you see flaws of AI out of that which weren't immediately apparent - but I was hundreds of hours in by that point. A check.

Batting, Pace Bowling, Spin Bowling and Fielding in that order in terms of learning curve. But as I mentioned, they felt right - you could really see exactly why they've made the decisions that they have. It is very different - forget everything and enjoy.

I'd disagree on the order - fielding - at least semi-auto, is very simple - I was way over thinking the amount you need to do to field. I've said in the past that I liked the AC09-IC10 style of catching, but the DBC one is perfectly fine and it's not something I want to disable.

Batting is rewarding for getting shots off - but also forgiving enough that you're not edging every ball you slightly mistime like other games. At least on the lower difficulties, shot selection is by far more important than perfection in timing - for me that's great. You might be brilliant so you can turn all the batting aids off - but they also don't feel distracting.

I'd say timing does matter a lot, but that shot selection is still the one that matters more, though the increased edges in the latest patch slightly tips that balance perhaps.

I haven't seen the need or desire to turn off any of the batting assistance.

Ross described to be the 'eye on the ball' feeling they wanted to recreate with how the batting worked, vs having a pitch marker. I think they've done really well. I enjoyed hitting singles.

Add to that enjoyment, nailing a cover drive. Those are still sweet.

The negative would be in how easy it is to find yourself out of the crease - you also need to keep a keen eye on the off striker, I got them out hitting the ball back down - they just stood there out of the crease. It's just a habit you'll need to get yourself in.

Not an issue in the final game.

Pace bowling was great - while there wasn't enough time to find out about things like CPU rhythm, etc. The controls are again logical, a big break from the past and fun. It's very interesting not just plunking down a donut on the pitch - the release timing mechanism makes you really feel in control, without it being another exercise in trying to get as close to a red line as possible - this is far better than watching a timing meter.

Past me is spot on.

If I had to criticise, the bowling speeds were a bit high at times - one of the South African bowlers was clocked at 163km/h. The key more broadly is how it goes longer term, and how well it can replicate tricking the batsman - I'll need a lot more time with bowling before I'm sure on it - but it's much more enjoyable than previous games at the very least.

Well the bowling speeds thing is fixed, but tricking the batsman is a weak point.

Spin bowling will take a lot of getting used to. I get totally why it's different, but I couldn't get the ball to behave how I wanted it. You'll need patience to not be hit for six every ball. It was mentioned that we weren't playing on good spin pitches, so that could be a factor too.

I still haven't been able to nail down a tactical approach for spin - I understand the mechanics now, but don't really feel the association between what I do and taking a wicket in the same way as I do for pace.

I don't know where that problem lies exactly - whether I need to spend some time trying to get in a rhythm or that there's something control wise that needs modification - but it's still an area I don't feel in total control of.

Should point out, you get a rev meter for the spin and distance meter for sixes in the game. Didn't see the promised cheerleaders, but no one played a T20.

Apparently there aren't cheerleaders at all, but who cares.

I don't think it's hyperbole or overstating it to say this is the best yet. I'm sure there will be flaws found - but the other impression I got from today was just how invested Ross is in all of this. He's exactly who you want to be making your cricket games. Mike's alright too.

I agree - it's the best yet, but there's a few flaws. And Ross is still here two years after he first posted - it's one thing for a developer to be around pre-release, but we've never had the degree of post release support from any other developers.

The AC09 guys tried early on and perhaps out of their control at the end, but still a mark in Big Ant's favour.

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So - for everyone else - how do you all think the hype has washed out since the big day last year?

 

[Vans]

Cool post Matt.

Still loving this game everyday!

Just hope they work on online Gameplay for Patch 3 for console. Otherwise I'm happy.

And I hope they share some light on when patch 3 would likely release.

 

[lastig]

This game is brilliant and it is the only game I am playing. It still feels as good to score a fifty or a hundred as it did the first time. The fact that it isn't just a slugfest like Ashes 09, makes it brilliant. I especially enjoy being able to build an innings. Big Ant produced what I wanted out of a cricket game.

 

[ChinamanSpin]

The fact that I still am trying new things and enjoying them this far into the game is a credit to it. Still loving every part of the game, whereas I just started batting soon after the start in past games. Not perfect but just as good as I hoped it would be a year ago.
Nice post Matt.

 

[SpitfiresKent]

Considering that this is BigAnt's first attempt at a cricket game they really have done a smashing job. It was frustrating but also exciting at the same time following the development of the game, and I can't wait to do it all again

 

[Ajh1977]

I still think the game is great tbh, currently the way it is playing on Xbox is superb in the career mode IMO. Obviously a year on the fame is a different animal from those early videos from the premiere, but in general, the changes/patches have been positive, BA's continued support has been excellent( and praise for the colonials from a Pom is rare) I'm sure, with the amount of feedback given on here, BA have some great ideas for the sequel, and I like most am certainly on board for that. Thanks for the journey so far guys (PC & BA)!

 

[Dutch]

Hope we get a chance to review a release of that other thing in a couple weeks !!

Still enjoy playing DBC; bowling and AI are frustrating sometimes.

 

[blockerdave]

due to a laptop on the blink and a new baby, it's a couple of weeks since I played... otherwise i'd still be playing most days. it's a fine game, and as with Matt it's given me an immense number of hours of play. on PC i've had about 50% of hours in DBC to that which i've had in Civ 5, a game which came out in 2010 (and that obviously doesn't include the hours spent on xbox)

it's a pity the AI is so poor - i've actually not really played a full test match through all 4 innings without simming (something i hoped to do a lot) because there's simply no value in bowling to the AI. but everything else has been excellent.

it's interesting looking at the evolution of DBC since release - we've gone from the good but highly flawed (thor in the covers, anyone) release, to a much better post patch-1 game, to a mixed patch 2, to a vastly improved post patch 2.5 (on console) and more on PC. this is something that might have taken 4 years/releases from another developer. i think it's to Big Ant's immense credit we've had this support.

 

[BigAntStudios]

Thanks for the posts guys, I do still get on here at least a few times a day and still am reading every post. We've also had @fiction working with us for months now distilling what he believes are the most important items to address and getting those ideas across to the dev team.

We've got a few announcements to get over and then we'll be a bit more prominent on here again. We will be supporting DBC14 for a lot longer before putting our hands out for the sequel.

@MattW you should have come down to Melbourne for an annual celebratory Vegetarian Indian lunch

 

[Acid Burn]

Still enjoying the Best Cricket Game out there .

Hoping that the all conquering Patch No. 3 will sweep all online shenanigans out of the way .

Keep up the great work BigAntStudios !!!

 

[MattW]

@MattW you should have come down to Melbourne for an annual celebratory Vegetarian Indian lunch

That almost worked out - I'm up in Melbourne tomorrow. Oh well, maybe next year.

I did have Chicken noodles for lunch today, so given the ad boards, I'd say that's appropriately marking the occasion.

 

[Dutch]

That almost worked out - I'm up in Melbourne tomorrow. Oh well, maybe next year.

I did have Chicken noodles for lunch today, so given the ad boards, I'd say that's appropriately marking the occasion.

You ripper.....

Will be good to have some of the ba boys back here again and helping out with tweaking a number of things: no shame in holding your hand out Ross: quality deserves justs rewards... Just hope that some of the twats pirating the game on here realise that at long last ....

 

[prtblue]

Great game. Clocking up a few hours every day.

Only trouble now is that PES 2015 comes out next week and I only ever play that. What to do?

 

[zaff4444]

Great game. Clocking up a few hours every day.

Only trouble now is that PES 2015 comes out next week and I only ever play that. What to do?

Lol true,btw! DBC14 is the only game I ever play and is much greater now then the first released,thank you/well done bigant studio team and thank you P/C for this great site and keeping it oraganised.

 

[Ajh1977]

Every time I hear Ross mention a sequel I start to get excited!! From what I've seen of the latest PC patches, I think I'd be happy with the more offside line and the pause screen showing the scoreboard, for the latest xbox patch and as I've never played online, that's about the only thing missing ATM for me at least, the rest can wait for DBII. Im also now excited about the announcement, and hoping its cricket related!!