Multiplat AFL 26 - Releasing May 8th

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

A reminder before this game's alleged release.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
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Hello. Perhaps you've been here before. Perhaps you haven't. If you haven't, here's what you need to know: these threads have a long history of being dumpster fires. For that reason, we take a much stricter approach to moderation than we otherwise do.


What is okay:

• Heated debate / disagreement​
• Criticising the game / developers​
• Praising the game / developers​
• General shit talk​

What is not okay:

• Personal attacks / name calling / abuse / criticising the person rather than the argument / game
• Repeating the same thing over and over and over and over (and over) to push an agenda or attempt to dominate the thread

We will not hesitate to permanently thread ban you if you are taking too much of our time.

In the wise, wise words of Jasper Beardsley:

 

[mickelboy182]

Some say he already is...

Too much self awareness, can see why Ross didn't give you the job.

 

[UAWM]

How is there not a trailer or screenshots about this game yet lmao

 

[Dez!]

How is there not a trailer or screenshots about this game yet lmao

Are you new to this?

 

[UAWM]

Are you new to this?

oh good sir, I am most definitely not new to this

 

[Flagmantle Pod]

Do they even remember they’re supposed to be making this game?

 

[Lesnish]

Do they even remember they’re supposed to be making this game?

In fairness they "finished" 2 years ago.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I can't believe people actually think the gameplay is any good? Granted I will give the fact majority of the bugs are gone but there still are some really poor animations in it like dropping the ball to kick it right footed but ends up on the left side.

Yeah, it's still unplayable, the current gameplay footage I see on YouTube is shocking, still got players running in random ring patterns, stopping randomly and running super fast weightless like they're 2 kilos.

The marking contests are horrible, it feels completely random and the animations are terrible. The player in front position looks to be in the best position to mark but all of a sudden is out marked from the player behind , it doesn't look natural or clean. If anything marking contests are the single most aspect I hated about the game.

In Evo 2, especially with the sliders making marking harder, it feels so good when marking the ball, because it's all about positioning and nudging opponents out, not competing with a vibrating controller.

 

[carn tigez]

Yeah, it's still unplayable, the current gameplay footage I see on YouTube is shocking, still got players running in random ring patterns, stopping randomly and running super fast weightless like they're 2 kilos.

'Yeah it's still unplayable.....from what I see on YouTube'

Exactly what I said lol, people who aren't playing the game are the ones saying this. These things aren't great, and tarnish aspects of the game, but they don't make it unplayable. Animations being janky don't make it unplayable. Marks from out of position don't make it unplayable.

In fact if every player in the better position took the mark, the game would suck. Player ratings would be completely meaningless, Steven May would get outmarked by the Wizard purely based on position. Yes I'm oversimplifying it, but when you actually play the game, you see there is some logic to why the animations look weird (eg, May coming from nowhere to outmark Watson).

This is not a bad gameplay experience, but looks shit on YouTube. And ideally they make this smoother and better which it sounds like has been a focus for 26.

Anyway I still see a high chance this game releases as a steaming turd pile, but I also see a decent chance that it either doesn't, or more likely, in a few months it's quite good gameplay wise. I have a long list of improvements I'd like to see and I doubt we'll see 10% of them, but that doesn't make it unplayable.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

'Yeah it's still unplayable.....from what I see on YouTube'

Exactly what I said lol, people who aren't playing the game are the ones saying this. These things aren't great, and tarnish aspects of the game, but they don't make it unplayable. Animations being janky don't make it unplayable. Marks from out of position don't make it unplayable.

In fact if every player in the better position took the mark, the game would suck. Player ratings would be completely meaningless, Steven May would get outmarked by the Wizard purely based on position. Yes I'm oversimplifying it, but when you actually play the game, you see there is some logic to why the animations look weird (eg, May coming from nowhere to outmark Watson).

This is not a bad gameplay experience, but looks shit on YouTube. And ideally they make this smoother and better which it sounds like has been a focus for 26.

Anyway I still see a high chance this game releases as a steaming turd pile, but I also see a decent chance that it either doesn't, or more likely, in a few months it's quite good gameplay wise. I have a long list of improvements I'd like to see and I doubt we'll see 10% of them, but that doesn't make it unplayable.

I'm also going by my experience playing it, last year, nothing has changed is what I'm saying when I mention what I see on YouTube. It is unplayable if you can't dictate to the players where they should move, that's a fundamental problem that makes any game unplayable. Players running around in non-sensical ring patterns has been a problem for ages, same with the weightless 2 kilo like player running, none of the mechanics were planned out right, tested or polished, they just threw them in there and developed it after release, but it was never in a proper functioning state. I shouldn't be fighting the controls, when WW who weren't the greatest managed to always make user commands functionable in their AFL games. Most games, even games that are panned usually get user commands in a functioning state.

With marking, that's true in reality that you can be out of position to mark the ball if you're rushing at it with momentum, but that's not at all a mechanic in 23, they forced glued wrestles and it's not a visual based mechanic with collisions in the marking contest. With Evo 2, I was saying they at least got one element right that if you have players static in a position, being in the right position and nudging players outside of the drop ball will give them the best chance to mark it.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I wouldn't say it's unplayable (it was at launch though) it's just that most of the modes and mechanics are broken

A fine line to be sure.

 

[Strahany]

I wouldn't say it's unplayable (it was at launch though) it's just that most of the modes and mechanics are broken

A fine line to be sure.

When sport games are supposed to be as close to a simulation of the actual sport as possible, then the mechanics are integral to the game.

It’s like playing an FPS where shots don’t register and don’t go where you’re aiming, or a racing game where your brakes don’t respond consistently and steering is janky.

But hey, at least you can make a custom jumper.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

But hey, at least you can make a custom jumper.

Still missing the standalone Academy on Steam that was promised though.

 

[FearTheBeard13]

Hopefully we see the next big back of the box feature:

‘TOTAL PLAYER CONTROL’ Players will now run in the direction of the controller using adaptive thumb-stick sensitivity, with a 50% chance of accurate responsiveness

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

They won't be able fix control until they fix the AI.

For example, despite the direction you point the stick, the game often forces your player to run 20m to man the mark. It does this because you know for certain where the AI player will pass the ball, because they're dumb as dogshit, and the game doesn't want you to move into position for the easy intercept mark.

Almost everything wrong with this game from a gameplay perspective is because the AI is broken. Fix that, and they'll be able to fix everything else.

 

[Treehill23]

They won't be able fix control until they fix the AI.

For example, despite the direction you point the stick, the game often forces your player to run 20m to man the mark. It does this because you know for certain where the AI player will pass the ball, because they're dumb as dogshit, and the game doesn't want you to move into position for the easy intercept mark.

Almost everything wrong with this game from a gameplay perspective is because the AI is broken. Fix that, and they'll be able to fix everything else.

Yeah agreed. Fixing the AI will fix the flow of the game.
AI and contested footy is a must fix for this game to succeed imo

Played a game of AFL23 on the weekend and the lack on control based on how the AI is programmed is extremely frustrating

I feel like they’re not far off making a really fun game but also not far off another disaster if they don’t rectify these issues

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Yeah agreed. Fixing the AI will fix the flow of the game.
AI and contested footy is a must fix for this game to succeed imo

Played a game of AFL23 on the weekend and the lack on control based on how the AI is programmed is extremely frustrating

I feel like they’re not far off making a really fun game but also not far off another disaster if they don’t rectify these issues

Agree with that.

As much as I'm critical (and that's mainly because the behaviour of a certain CEO and his lackeys), I really, really want them to succeed. Our sport is the best in the world and deserves a good videogame.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

See it's shit like this that piss me off:

There are just other people who aren’t able to accept the fact that it’s possible for a game to be released without knowing everything about it.

The mental gymnastics involved to hold that viewpoint even after AFL 23's launch. How dare you expect to be able to make an informed decision peasants!

 

[BlackMamba]

I feel like there was enough in 23 to see there is potential things to reach greatness in the series. Like people have said, more complex marking and bumping (which apparently we’re getting something new - whether or not it’s better or meets expectations is another thing), better and more challenging AI, more intricate control (would love a square-the-shoulders but run slower button).

I think most people have the long list of suggestions like carn tigez has.
Hopefully we get that 10%, or more!

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I feel like there was enough in 23 to see there is potential things to reach greatness in the series. Like people have said, more complex marking and bumping (which apparently we’re getting something new - whether or not it’s better or meets expectations is another thing), better and more challenging AI, more intricate control (would love a square-the-shoulders but run slower button).

I think most people have the long list of suggestions like carn tigez has.
Hopefully we get that 10%, or more!

It's all shovelware, though, I don't see any potential given how none of the mechanics were thought out or were fine tuned at all, they just threw it all together after development and it doesn't have basic user commands working properly after 2 years. The fact they're also hiding gameplay footage on purpose after their 23 disaster is a major red flag. This is even far less transparent than before 23 came out, which makes no sense given how they lost trust among diehard fans, they're acting even more shady, which is astonishing.

 

[Treehill23]

It's all shovelware, though, I don't see any potential given how none of the mechanics were thought out or were fine tuned at all, they just threw it all together after development and it doesn't have basic user commands working properly after 2 years. The fact they're also hiding gameplay footage on purpose after their 23 disaster is a major red flag. This is even far less transparent than before 23 came out, which makes no sense given how they lost trust among diehard fans, they're acting even more shady, which is astonishing.

I actually don’t think they’re ‘hiding’ gameplay. I think it’s more to do with poor marketing. From memory, they don’t tend to show anything up until about 2 weeks from release. I could be slightly off but yeah I think that’s just more poor marketing at this point as they do it with all of their games.
Also realistically, in the absolute worst case scenario, the game is a copy and paste of AFL23 so if they’re hiding that then we’ll all see it 2 weeks from release anyways.
I normally Pre Order every AFL title but I’m waiting to see gameplay or at least a trailer of sorts that actually shows improvement

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I actually don’t think they’re ‘hiding’ gameplay. I think it’s more to do with poor marketing. From memory, they don’t tend to show anything up until about 2 weeks from release. I could be slightly off but yeah I think that’s just more poor marketing at this point as they do it with all of their games.
Also realistically, in the absolute worst case scenario, the game is a copy and paste of AFL23 so if they’re hiding that then we’ll all see it 2 weeks from release anyways.
I normally Pre Order every AFL title but I’m waiting to see gameplay or at least a trailer of sorts that actually shows improvement

They showed off a bunch of 23 gameplay footage via YouTubers, screenshots, with loads of forum communication, 2 years ago. They're definitely trying to hide the fact it's AFL 23 2.0. Also, what I think happened is they tried to purge that 26 teaser which looked/sounded exactly like 23, because it vanished quickly, only preserved by YouTubers.

 

[FearTheBeard13]

I feel like there was enough in 23 to see there is potential things to reach greatness in the series.

You must be taking the absolute piss

 

[GoldbergsGold]

You must be taking the absolute piss

If BA actually showcased gameplay, and went into vast detail on what 26 was going to do differently in a competent way and was super transparent about all of 23's faults, then I could understand people being opportunistic, but BA are doing the opposite shady business. They're even demanding on their own forum people not talk about 23's faults and how to make it better for 26.

 

[Treehill23]

They showed off a bunch of 23 gameplay footage via YouTubers, screenshots, with loads of forum communication, 2 years ago. They're definitely trying to hide the fact it's AFL 23 2.0. Also, what I think happened is they tried to purge that 26 teaser which looked/sounded exactly like 23, because it vanished quickly, only preserved by YouTubers.

Yeah you’re right with AFL23 actually but I think that might be the only one (at least in recent memory) that has had footage that early on

I feel like even if AFL26 was genuinely a huge improvement, we still wouldn’t be getting anything until we hit that 2 week mark because of the poor marketing
I could be wrong tho
Guess we’ll know soon

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

To be honest I prefer nothing at all if the alternative is a ****ing coin toss animation they got strangely defensive about when the collective response was "who gives a shit about a non-gameplay animation we'll all skip anyway"