Problem: Need help while batting (playing through off without edging)

[cricket_online]

Try advancing down the wicket and don't use the aggressive modifiers buttons / triggers (only right-stick). I cover drove for 6 (with LT) using tail-ender Craig McDermott who has nearly 0 on all his batting stats!

NB: Cover drives are one of the hardest shots to play, so expecting to do it regularly without any risk is unrealistic and more befitting arcade-y cricket games like Ashes Cricket 2009.

Yes, we do expect cover drives to be difficult to play but not nearly impossible or random. I think @Chief nailed the issue best with his two cardinal rules of game design...

1. Tell the user what he's doing wrong (either in terms of input/timing or strategy)

2. Tell the user how to improve

I think point no. 1 is where the problem or frustration is. I've spent plenty of time in 'Practice Match' mode and get the "Perfect or Good" feedback for footwork & timing consistently but I still edge behind a lot. In a video game you would assume good timing/input should lead to a decent output and that's why edges seem to be random. I seem to have hit the wall playing outside off using regular shots and I don't see how I can improve. I have taken to playing aggressive ground shots while playing to the off which shouldn't be the solution to the problem. Maybe that's something DBC can address in the next iteration.

@Chief would be great if you can mention those two game design rules again as I may be botching them a bit

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

Yes, we do expect cover drives to be difficult to play but not nearly impossible or random. I think @Chief nailed the issue best with his two cardinal rules of game design...

1. Tell the user what he's doing wrong (either in terms of input/timing or strategy)

2. Tell the user how to improve

I think point no. 1 is where the problem or frustration is. I've spent plenty of time in 'Practice Match' mode and get the "Perfect or Good" feedback for footwork & timing consistently but I still edge behind a lot. In a video game you would assume good timing/input should lead to a decent output and that's why edges seem to be random. I seem to have hit the wall playing outside off using regular shots and I don't see how I can improve. I have taken to playing aggressive ground shots while playing to the off which shouldn't be the solution to the problem. Maybe that's something DBC can address in the next iteration.

@Chief would be great if you can mention those two game design rules again as I may be botching them a bit

For that I would expect a career mode like NBA2k15, not comparison with their product but something like a coach throughout the career analysing our gameplay and decide what needs to be improved and the area of specialty etc...These things would make us get better in the game as well as cricket in general because we do know that BA will concentrate more and more on the core gameplay....

 

[cricket_online]

For that I would expect a career mode like NBA2k15, not comparison with their product but something like a coach throughout the career analysing our gameplay and decide what needs to be improved and the area of specialty etc...These things would make us get better in the game as well as cricket in general because we do know that BA will concentrate more and more on the core gameplay....

I was expecting simple feedback explaining a dismissal such as... "you played shot on the front foot" or "you played the shot early/late" etc. I mean pretty basic stuff so we know what needs to be done going forward.

 

[zimrahil]

I was expecting simple feedback explaining a dismissal such as... "you played shot on the front foot" .

Even that is not straight forward - half volleys can be played off front or back foot for boundaries IRL, and bouncers can be played off front foot etc (Assuming ball is not too high)

Therein lies the problem, how can you realistically code game to know in every given situation what the correct foot is. Perhaps better foot to use would be useful?

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

Even that is not straight forward - half volleys can be played off front or back foot for boundaries IRL, and bouncers can be played off front foot etc (Assuming ball is not too high)

Therein lies the problem, how can you realistically code game to know in every given situation what the correct foot is. Perhaps better foot to use would be useful?

It might be possible when playing against AI as the AI knows what ball its gonna bowl...So depending on the kind of delivery the footwork and shot selection can be discussed...Not sure whether I am right, someone who has coding knowledge might tell a better point of view...

 

[cricket_online]

Even that is not straight forward - half volleys can be played off front or back foot for boundaries IRL, and bouncers can be played off front foot etc (Assuming ball is not too high)

Therein lies the problem, how can you realistically code game to know in every given situation what the correct foot is. Perhaps better foot to use would be useful?

Well I'm hoping there's an algorithm or a mechanism used within the game to determine whether the batsman should be dismissed or not. I'm simply asking for more insight into it. Let's take the case you mentioned about half volleys. Let's say I get dismissed playing a half volley off the back foot. That means the game must have determined something wrong with the way I played the ball either in terms of footwork or timing. If the game thinks half volleys need to be played off front foot, I could get a simple message such as "played shot off the back foot" as the reason for being dismissed. Or in case the game thinks I could play a half volley off the back foot but my timing was off it could say "played shot too late". In the scanario where both footwork and timing is an issue a message on the lines of "played too late and off back foot" would suffice.

In nearly all cricket games dismissals were based on timing. If you played early you hit the ball in the air or if you played late, you edged the ball etc. but you were never dismissed when you nailed the timing. In DBC 14 you can get dismissed even when you think you have nailed the timing and that's why such form of feedback is required. At the end of the day it's a video game and there's an algorith or set of rules which decide you should get out or not and I think we need more clarity and feedback regarding the same so we can improve over time.

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

Well I'm hoping there's an algorithm or a mechanism used within the game to determine whether the batsman should be dismissed or not. I'm simply asking for more insight into it. Let's take the case you mentioned about half volleys. Let's say I get dismissed playing a half volley off the back foot. That means the game must have determined something wrong with the way I played the ball either in terms of footwork or timing. If the game thinks half volleys need to be played off front foot, I could get a simple message such as "played shot off the back foot" as the reason for being dismissed. Or in case the game thinks I could play a half volley off the back foot but my timing was off it could say "played shot too late". In the scanario where both footwork and timing is an issue a message on the lines of "played too late and off back foot" would suffice.

In nearly all cricket games dismissals were based on timing. If you played early you hit the ball in the air or if you played late, you edged the ball etc. but you were never dismissed when you nailed the timing. In DBC 14 you can get dismissed even when you think you have nailed the timing and that's why such form of feedback is required. At the end of the day it's a video game and there's an algorith or set of rules which decide you should get out or not and I think we need more clarity and feedback regarding the same so we can improve over time.

Right or wrong!!! But I agree....

 

[Chief]

@Chief would be great if you can mention those two game design rules again as I may be botching them a bit

Firth’s First Law of Games Design - AppyNation

In terms of SEO "Firth's Law" is currently Googling second. I must work on that.

 

[T.J.Hooker]

Even that is not straight forward - half volleys can be played off front or back foot for boundaries IRL, and bouncers can be played off front foot etc (Assuming ball is not too high)

Therein lies the problem, how can you realistically code game to know in every given situation what the correct foot is. Perhaps better foot to use would be useful?

Well there are two distinct factors to the usefulness of footwork. Number one is physically where you set up, and number two is where your weight is when you hit the ball. You've got some leeway with position, not so much with weight.

 

[cricket_online]

Firth’s First Law of Games Design - AppyNation

In terms of SEO "Firth's Law" is currently Googling second. I must work on that.

Thanks Chief. I guess this is the part missing while batting in DBC 14, i.e. we are never sure whether it was the action or decision which led to the dismissal.

 

[Valaskjalf]

I guess the only tip i can give is to not be trigger-happy. The cover drive is probably the shot im most comfortable playing but i never use triggers (except for blocking) outside T20s. In FC games i only use the sticks and rarely edge the ball...also i try to play the balls quite late. Ive only had the gane about 2 weeks (i play on Pro difficulty) and found the blocking the balls upfront to get confidence helps in scoring later on and ive scored a few 50s that way in FC matches. Perhaps edging the ball occurs when you play too early?

 

[Chief]

Thanks Chief. I guess this is the part missing while batting in DBC 14, i.e. we are never sure whether it was the action or decision which led to the dismissal.

There's probably no way to do it definitively in this case. With these controls it's really hard for the player to fully communicate to the game what they are INTENDING to do. It's much more subtle than that, so hard to know whether the outcome is actually the desired "decision" or "action".

Hardcore cricket fans will probably get a better sense of it, and that's probably why people are reporting "bugs" like this: the outcome seems off. However, people less familiar with Cricket will find it quite hard to understand and quickly get frustrated with it. Hence why I think it's important to try and get a bit more tutorial in there to explain not how to play the "game", but how to play the "sport". Not just "use LB for front foot and RB for back" etc, but explain WHY you would normally want to be on the front or back foot.

 

[Sablicious]

Agreed, it's a bit ridiculous. I've restarted career and now play on amateur. This is the only way I've found to avoid the incessant edging to the keeper.

I need bowling to be at a higher difficulty though. I can take 5 fors all day, even on Pro. Bowling is pretty easy.

I think the fact the game difficulty affects both CPU actions and the controlled player, compounds the dramatic difference in arguably misnamed "Amateur" and "Pro" difficulty settings. There needs to be an 'Intermediate' difficulty where the CPU improves over Amateur but the controlled actions are left untouched.

It's just too jarring to have certain line and lenght deliveries be played one way in Amateur with relative surety then turned into near unplayable balls in Pro.

 

[AshleyWilliam]

This whole issue everyone is having in edges when batting - are you on PC version? And what difficulty?

Cos playing pro on xbox 360 = no problems with edges

 

[lastig]

I play on ps3 and 85% of my dismissals is caught behind, 5% bowled, 5%lbw, 4% caught by outfield players and 1% run outs. I edge a lot on pro level, but can score freely around the wicket. I have noticed that edge the ball when I play an incorrect shot or with incorrect timing. That is just what I found and mostly it will be my own fault and I feel that it was. It is frustrating sometimes, but it is a form thing. Some days everything is spot on and I score runs and other days I cannot bat. A few times now I have gotten frustrated and took the game out and played mlb the show and what I found is that my timing on certain days would either such in both or be spot on. So according to me it's mostly just how I play on a day.