Issues and suggestions for improved batting mechanics

[Cloda]

Same thing I posted on the BigAnt Studios forum...

As always, a forum is not the easiest place to get information and see what has been discussed before. As such, apologies if I'm starting a thread on points that have been discussed before.

I just joined the forum and am posting this as I have now reached a dangerous point with this game where I love the idea and see the potential in it, but I am just not enjoying playing the game due to certain frustrations. In most games that you continue playing these frustrations gets outweighed by the satisfaction you get from playing... the rest just doesn't get played.

Anyway, my frustrations are mostly around various aspects of batting; the control scheme, camera positioning and picking up the length of the ball.

Control Scheme

The control system is not at all intuitive for me and it is really hindering my enjoyment of the game. On Xbox360, the action to leave the ball (pressing down on the right analogue stick) just doesn't work practically and is really a hassle. I also really struggle to control the power of a shot using the right trigger. I either block it or belt it as you don't have that subtle control needed for a power adjustment due to the fact that your thumb and index/middle finger both need to be moving at the same time. Can you please consider changing the controls (or add and alternative control scheme) where the decision to leave the ball is by pressing the right trigger and where the power of the shot is controlled by how far you press the right analogue stick in a direction? I'm hoping that through changes like this, what you are trying to do as the batsmen will become more intuitive, without any premeditation, so that each ball can be played on merit.

Camera Positioning and Length determination

The best camera position for me for picking up length is the Pro mode and then secondly the close bowling camera (only in the batting nets though). The Pro mode camera has too many blind-spots (for a lack of a better term) to allow for good shot selection and timing whilst with the close bowling camera, there is too much camera movement in an actual game, so both are not a practical options for me. With the close batting view, there is just not enough depth of view to pick up the length even though the ball colour gives you an indication between short, good and full deliveries. The problem for me though, is that within those different categories you can't distinguish e.g. between a short delivery that is going to hit you on the head or one that won't rise up too much, allowing you to still get bat on ball. Same with a good length delivery, I can't differentiate until it is too late if the ball is e.g. just short of a length or towards the fuller side so that you can choose to play front or back foot. My suggestions for this is maybe a fixed camera e.g. above the umpires head looking at the batsman and rather than just having "green" for a good delivery have shades of "green" with lighter indicating more back of a length and darker indicating fuller (and the same for the "red" for short deliveries).


Please understand, I really appreciate the effort that goes into a game such as this and know that all these aspects discussed above must have been brainstormed and considered loads of times whilst the game was being developed. I hope that you understand where I am coming from and that you would please consider these points for future patches and iterations of the game. It would increase my enjoyment of the game immensely if these ideas or something similar can be implemented. I do relish a tough challenge but the challenge of a wildly swinging out-swinger is more than enough of a challenge without me still having to struggle with limitations of control, camera and length determination.

 

[Jadel]

I thought about the exact same thing for controlling the batter.

I have to think they must have tried analogue power controls with the RAS though and found it lacking because it seem like the most obvious way of doing it.

I'm not really interested in changing the leave Ball button though , it's really easy to press one button when your finger is already on the stick

 

[blockerdave]

i think the leave could definitely be looked at. i've got out several times by exerting slightly more pressure than usual on the RS and leaving a straight one to be bowled/lbw.

length... well i have a view on this that people are expecting to me too good too soon. it's a huge learning curve, and difficult and you can feel like there isn;t enough time against the fastest bowlers... but i do feel i am improving (slowly), and i feel the majority of time i get in trouble not because i don't have time to react but because i am unlearning the bad habits of pre-meditating.

at most, i'd have the length circle appearing a fraction of a second earlier. i wouldn't change anything else, other than the leave button.

 

[Ajh1977]

In regard to the leave button, what about if you still moved your feet but as long as you didn't move the RS at all it would leave it. Its basically what I do if I want to leave it, albeit it doesn't show the animations.

 

[grkrama]

In regard to the leave button, what about if you still moved your feet but as long as you didn't move the RS at all it would leave it. Its basically what I do if I want to leave it, albeit it doesn't show the animations.

the reason that wont happen is the game isn't built like that, just moving your left stick doesn't give foot movement, only after selection of shot with RS is the correct foot movement for shot done, so going by that logic it requires a button to be notify that no shot is selected.

A cosmetic leave like in AC09 could be achieved after the ball passes the strike zone but then that beats the point of having a leave control and looks odd.

At max i think it could be shifted to LS itself to be pressed instead of RS, so we dont press it while playing shot accidentally.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

length... well i have a view on this that people are expecting to me too good too soon. it's a huge learning curve, and difficult and you can feel like there isn;t enough time against the fastest bowlers... but i do feel i am improving (slowly), and i feel the majority of time i get in trouble not because i don't have time to react but because i am unlearning the bad habits of pre-meditating.

I think I'm getting a tad better and it's not the total doom and gloom I found it earlier, I played as a no.11 in my career bowling game and through the odd little cameos I get to play without pressure I'm gradually getting a bit better at picking my shots.

I think the gravest error committed is that you can't start career mode in a lower skill level. pro mode is just too high a level to play from the start and career mode is the best thing about the game by miles. I started a career pretty much as soon as I got the game, I clearly was never going to be a pro level.

Also, it would have been nice selecting your player in the nets, if you could select your career player then you'd actually get an idea of what you need to practice, but playing as a maxed out bradman is easy.

 

[Orangzeb]

My only main issue with batting is guessing the on coming ball. So I could choose between front or back foot / play it as pull, cut etc. Thats why I lack in ODIs anyone have tips to win ODIs on pro?

 

[Westindies]

there is a jerk given by batsman after he plays a shot when we use the lofted shot, is that necessary? it looks really bad, i remember a version of CA academy where we didnt have this , that was good actually

 

[cricket_online]

Also, it would have been nice selecting your player in the nets, if you could select your career player then you'd actually get an idea of what you need to practice, but playing as a maxed out bradman is easy.

If you specify the batsman as 'Very Poor' in "Match Practice", it should be pretty close to your career player in skills.

 

[speletjiesvraat]

So I stick to my first impression that ?this is the best cricket game ever.? Whenever I stop and think of how all the previous attempts/titles have simply ignored everything ?cricket?, I easily forgive the run out of my career player at the non-strikers end; I quickly lift my spirits back up after being caught on the square leg boundary for trying to ?clip one off the legs?. After going through 4 seasons of the odd 20 here and there and a solid, undeterred, unchangeable average of 12, I have recently struck my first 4-day century (the format in which I aim to please the national selectors). It was rewarding, satisfying and to large degree, reassuring. I subsequently entangled a few 30?s and 40?s and one more 50 into my usual streak of single digit scores, and now boast a proud average of 13.5.

However, in my knock of 125 I faced a lot of deliveries and as such I believe I now have a good enough sample with which to give my ?second? impression. One problem stands out for me. And this is not a criticism at all. I feel it is simply a limitation of emulating this sport on a gaming console. It is the input timing whilst batting. For me, it is unnaturally early. As a result, anything above 130km/h is unplayable if not premeditated. And by this I mean: any form of premeditation. If you are completely discarding the option to block/loft, or always play off the same foot? you are premeditating. To balance this, the game is surprisingly forgiving with regard to line and shot selection, but I am still sometimes completely baffled as to what my error was when hearing the edge of my bat or the ?clunk? of my stumps. I manage to successfully position myself and play an off-drive off the front foot against a bowler of 125km/h that bowls a short ball down leg, but I nick to a spinner tossing a half volley outside off which I pick up early, see well, and to my mind, time perfectly.

I realise that there is a lag between controller input and animation activation, and that is why this is not a criticism. I simply feel that it might be worth considering normalising speeds so that what is now 130km/h, becomes the upper limit of speeds encountered in game. It is just a number, and others would have a give/take tolerance of about 5km/h depending on their abilities, but these increments can be a product of different difficulty levels in the game. Further, I think it is vitally important that there be some kind of feedback after a shot. I want to know if I: a)played the wrong foot, b)played the wrong line, c)played the wrong shot, d)timed my shot wrong. It will not be unrealistic to show a graphic that tells me what I did with my analog-sticks and what my timing was. In real life matches, I always knew what my mistake was, but in DB14 I am only convinced of my particular error for about 10-15% of my dismissals. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing, but it requires reasonable feedback control. There are other tweaks regarding the batting mechanics that others have touched on, that I agree with. Leaving the ball with R3, or L3 is not intuitive in my opinion. I would prefer a circular movement of the right analogue stick, or a quick 180 degree ?cancelling? of shot. I also feel there needs to be an extra category of shots that I would call ?nudging shots?, for lack of a better term. These would include: pushing straight bats at straight balls; turning an angling ball off the hips; opening the face towards third man etc. The controller is currently utilized exhaustively, but maybe these shots could be activated by incremental use of the R2 trigger.

I am still sincerely grateful towards Big Ant for making this game. This is by far the best cricket game ever, and they have given themselves a perfect platform with which to strive for that ?perfect? cricketing experience. For what it is worth, I rate this game, as is: 8.5/10.
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[Frostyvegi]

For me, it is unnaturally early. As a result, anything above 130km/h is unplayable if not premeditated.

That's probably the problem. I'm currently playing where I have to hesitate a slight fraction of a second before playing a true 130+ km/h delivery to ensure my shot is late enough to play it into the ground close to me, but not too late to have my bat half way where it needs to before the ball gets to me (causing in a miss or a nick). I've played 40-50 deliveries in a row with the ball being hit into the ground within a few meters of my player (yes, resulted in ALOT of singles or no runs at all).

Spinners, you want to be playing your shot just about when the ball is going to hit the ground, just need to watch the shorter deliveries that may end up in a ball that goes into the air too much.. I've not gotten too confident against spinners as I don't get to face them a great deal, but I'm definately getting better.

 

[Blinder]

In regard to the leave button, what about if you still moved your feet but as long as you didn't move the RS at all it would leave it. Its basically what I do if I want to leave it, albeit it doesn't show the animations.

Same - at the moment I find actually clicking the button to leave it is more dangerous - I've had the ball come off the bat and get caught because the animation doesn't always allow you to get out of the way of the ball

 

[Kiko_97]

For the leave, i'd like it to be just hold RT and the foot selection, but no shot input. I do love the selective footwork! Moving to the pitch of the ball makes cover drives so much more rewarding