What I would do is play a 20 over ODI match on Test level, with humid weather, a normal pitch, and always in Durban, South Africa.
I always play as Pakistan, so I went in the player editor and reduced each player?s batting stats by 20. I raised the batting stats of players of all opponents to a minimum of 45.
Even then, the game was not challenging. So I decided that if I bat first, whatever total I post, the AI has to get half of that. If I bat second, I have to get the AI total in half the allotted overs.
This made the game REALLY fun, I had so many close matches with great finishes. Australia, specifically, are difficult for me to beat. Sometimes I will beat a team with ease as well. It feels like real ODI cricket.
The interesting thing is that whatever score I post in 20 overs is always similar to a realistic score in 50 overs. For instance, a par score for me in 20 overs is about 240 (12 runs per over), which is a par score in a real 50 over ODI. Once, when I was batting really really well, I got around 350. These are scores the AI will never be able to chase in 20 overs, so I reduce them by half and if the AI gets half my score I forfit the match. Usually the AI can come very close, which is why this method makes the game exciting.
I just think of the scores I get in terms of a 50 over match, so the scorecards look realistic except for strike rates of course. Because the game is played in Durban, I find that the AI will always smash you for six or four if you bowl a poor line, so bowling good line and length is vital. Because of the humid weather, bowling is a lot of fun as you can swing the ball - though indippers will be smashed for six often.
I also never change my field setting when I am bowling, except for adding a slip. I think you have to be creative to make this game fun, and by placing these handicaps the game became really fun for me while it still retained a lot of the psychology of real cricket.
I always play as Pakistan, so I went in the player editor and reduced each player?s batting stats by 20. I raised the batting stats of players of all opponents to a minimum of 45.
Even then, the game was not challenging. So I decided that if I bat first, whatever total I post, the AI has to get half of that. If I bat second, I have to get the AI total in half the allotted overs.
This made the game REALLY fun, I had so many close matches with great finishes. Australia, specifically, are difficult for me to beat. Sometimes I will beat a team with ease as well. It feels like real ODI cricket.
The interesting thing is that whatever score I post in 20 overs is always similar to a realistic score in 50 overs. For instance, a par score for me in 20 overs is about 240 (12 runs per over), which is a par score in a real 50 over ODI. Once, when I was batting really really well, I got around 350. These are scores the AI will never be able to chase in 20 overs, so I reduce them by half and if the AI gets half my score I forfit the match. Usually the AI can come very close, which is why this method makes the game exciting.
I just think of the scores I get in terms of a 50 over match, so the scorecards look realistic except for strike rates of course. Because the game is played in Durban, I find that the AI will always smash you for six or four if you bowl a poor line, so bowling good line and length is vital. Because of the humid weather, bowling is a lot of fun as you can swing the ball - though indippers will be smashed for six often.
I also never change my field setting when I am bowling, except for adding a slip. I think you have to be creative to make this game fun, and by placing these handicaps the game became really fun for me while it still retained a lot of the psychology of real cricket.
