E
Erikhfp
Guest
What profile are you talking about? and I've got a geforce 8600 plus I have the drivers installed to
What profile are you talking about? and i have updated my geforce 8600's drivers
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W
woosaah
Guest
cool card, but its not supported by the game.
E
Erikhfp
Guest
I don't think that is the problem because when I click on the display settings to go and change it Windows throws up an error messagecool card, but its not supported by the game.
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I
Ihsaan
Guest
So no chance of this coming out on PS3?
A
alpopa
Guest
Apart from the bugs, which were already discussed, I have to say that Rugby 2008 is still far from giving a powerful experience. I think the game lacks depth. You just find out, after 4 or 5 games, that the AI does the same things over and over again. Even on the hardest difficulty.
I
Incredible Schalk
Guest
Its not much of an improvement on the last one i bought which was 06. :angry:
K
king_nothing6
Guest
Its not much of an improvement on the last one i bought which was 06. :angry:
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<_< Exactly !
G
Gay-Guy
Guest
So no chance of this coming out on PS3? [/b]
Yea anyone know.....PS3, Xbox360....anything?????????
D
Dmx#1
Guest
I suspect another 1-2 years before they'll bring one out on 360,ps3 or Wii
M
melon
Guest
Rugby 2010 on PS3 and X360 :bana: (hopefully...)
D
Dmx#1
Guest
I hope your right melon but i got a feeling that we'll have to wait longer than that.
M
melon
Guest
Most likely.I hope your right melon but i got a feeling that we'll have to wait longer than that.
[/b]
I'd say by the time an EA Rugby game comes out for PS3 and/pr X360, there will be new models out like PS4 and X720, and then they won't be supported til PS5 and X1440, and so on and so forth (that is, being one model behind).
B
Brodizzle
Guest
Boycott Madden, the world over, that's the ONLY option
D
Dmx#1
Guest
Everyone here needs to send a death threat letter to EA.
B
Brodizzle
Guest
EA don't fear death, they saw Star Wars, they know that scientists can bring them back even more evil!Everyone here needs to send a death threat letter to EA.
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C
Cusker
Guest
Anyone know where i can pick up a good cheap copy for PS2?
M
melon
Guest
The internet. Or an actual copy played on a chipped console. Or you could just find it in a bargain bin?...surely its there by now??Anyone know where i can pick up a good cheap copy for PS2? [/b]
L
linl29
Guest
there will be an online mode for the next rugby which should be the 2010?
L
legs
Guest
EA Sports IRB Rugby ideas
1.0 - Ball Physics
1.1 - Graphics
1.2 - Player movement
1.3 - Passing
1.4 - Rucks
1.5 - Kicking
-1.5.1 - Punt kicking
-1.5.2 - Drop goals
-1.5.3 - Up and unders
-1.5.4 - Grubbers
-1.5.5 - Soccer kick
-1.5.6 - Goal kicking
-1.5.7 - Scrum half kicking
-1.5.8 - Kick offs
1.6 - Skill stick
1.7 - Mauls
1.8 - Scrums
1.9 - Tackling
2.0 - Lineouts
2.1 - A.I
2.2 - Set plays
2.3 - Open play
-2.3.1 - Hold ups
-2.3.2 - T.M.O
-2.3.3 - Try scoring
-2.3.4 - Offloading
-2.3.5 - Ankle taps
-2.3.6 - Penalties
-2.3.7 - Tactics
-2.3.8 - Quick taps
-2.3.9 - Loose ball
2.4 - Career mode
2.5 - Stadiums
2.6 - Statistics
2.7 - Player positions
2.8 - Player ratings
2.9 - Teams
3.0 - Commentary
3.1 - Online mode
3.2 - Menus
3.3 - Create a player
3.4 - Legends
1.0 Ball physics
Completely redesign the ball physics so the ball moves through the air like a real rugby ball. The ball should be the rugby equivalent of the fifa ball. It should even go down to the detail of the player's hands in relation to the ball, like none of this two meters away from the ball and it magically appears in your hands. There needs to be several different ways players can hold the ball. To me this is one of the major improving points because it will create so many more variations in the long kicking, grubbers (player kicking the ball can hold it on angles to create reverse swing ie. right to left, or left to right), chip kicks, passing (none of this perfect bullet stuff, sometimes passes can be wonky or end on end depending on the players positioning and handle of the ball), and it will also create a realistic bounce of the ball if the physics are done precisely enough.
1.1 Graphics
Improved graphics, more attention to players' faces, skin, crowd, and sky. More post try celebrations, lots more, look at some footage and get some ideas, like the one where they throw the ball into the crowd and do a big roar with their hands in the air (one of my favourites). Better post match celebrations. Trophy and medallion presentation. Visible on field referee and side line referees. Animations of crowd and bench players celebrating after a try and a victory. Medics and trainers running on field to assist injured players. Stretcher animation. Fix the injury glitch in the world cup where the game freezes if a player is injured, how this got through game testers amazes me, because most people discovered this with in an hour of buying the game. I would like to see a lot of real footage, what was done with the world cup footage far exceeded my expectations. Next time around show the whole tries, have a top ten tries package (best five individual tries, best five team tries), top ten tackles, top ten denied tries (brilliant lead up only to be denied by a tiny knock on/forward pass/controversial refereeing decision), top ten bloopers. Leave the actual commentary used in the footage and have the documentation at the bottom of the screen at the start of each clip (team names, player name, date, final score)
1.2 Player movement
Players need to be faster and more aware. Different running styles. Players' whole bodies should move, especially their heads and hips. They need to point where they want other players to run to (call for an inside runner, the ball carrier points his arm behind himself. Before players chase a kick, they should raise their arm). They should throw their arms up at the ref when a controversial decision is made, like a player being taken out without the ball and players are told to play on. A fatigue bar next to every player, even opposition players, so you can pick out tired forwards with fresh backs. The movement of players is a bit too silky, like you can run around in a circle and run back ten meters to avoid tackles, you should lose pace when you change angles or do one of those worm runs. Take a look at fifa, that's how players should move, smooth at times, but really jerky at the appropriate times. Fix the flock chase, if players are definately not going to catch a player, they should start jogging, look down, and put their hands on their hips/head.
1.3 Passing
Passing needs variation, there is a time and a place for bullet pass' and that time isn’t every single play. I want to see more classic end on end pass', more wonky pass', more pass' falling short, more pass' going too long. Cut outs need to be quicker and not so lobby. Dummies don't appear on replays, what’s the deal? The dummy pass' need to be longer but not too long like in RL2. The player should change running stance and arms, shaping to pass then pulls out. The player's natural hand and weak hand should be taken into account when passing, their weak hand should have a rating out of ten, if it is low, passing with it is likely to result in a wonky pass or an end on end pass. In real rugby no one stands still when they are receiving the ball from a pass unless they are going to kick it, they are either moving sideways, forward or at angles. Pointing and holding the movement analogue stick a direction should result in the ball receiver running onto the pass at the desired angle and speed e.g push the stick half way foward and hold for the ball receiver to jog onto the pass, or hold it fully in any direction and the player sprints onto the pass. If you press the pass button and are tackled in the process, the ball should still be passed sometimes, just not very well. L2 should be 'call for an inside runner' then pressing L2 again passes to him, if you don't press it the second time, the player with the ball dummies to the runner. Holding down L2 should call every player you run past to go inside and for you to dummy to them, then release L2 to pass to the intended player. When you press pass + X, you pass to a player who should stop and turn, ready to offload, and the player that passed the ball should run behind the player with the ball to run onto the offload.
1.4 Rucks
There needs to be a button to send players in the ruck (X) (at speed if possible, depending on how far away they are, the more run up the harder they hit the ruck. Each players initial impact to the ruck results in the ball moving a certain distance towards the playable position on their side of the ruck. You should have the ability to hit a ruck with the player that you have selected), and a button for rucking (hold down X or R3, which results in players who are on their feet contesting the ball and pushing/clearing players out of the ruck, there needs to be close up detailed rucking contests where you can actually see the wrestle and momentum yourself). There should be a metre above the ruck that is split into two halves with a ball marker just above the metre that states the ball position in the ruck, the ball marker has to cross the middle of the metre for either side to be in posession of the ball. There is a certain point on each side of the metre that represents the playable position which the ball must reach before the scrumhalf can pick the ball up. There should be a number below the metre that is the combined total rucking skill of all players involved in the ruck, one for each side. The side with the highest number should be green and the side with the lower number should be red. If you have the advantage of the highest number but do not have posession, holding down the ruck button can move the ball towards the playable position on your side of the ruck. It will be easier to get the ball to the playable position if the ball is on your side of the metre (each side of the metre should be broken up into four zones, each zone has a rucking skill which is added to your players rucking skill, the closer the zone is to the playable position on your side of the ruck, the higher the added skill is. The first quarter closest to the centre should be +20 rucking skill, the next one should be +40, the next one should be +60, and the final quarter which goes over into the playable position should be +85, so even if the opposition has a higher overall rucking skill, you may still have the advantage if the ball is on your side of the ruck). This idea can incorporate backs going into rucks, if a big physically dominant back (or even a small one) hits the ruck at speed, he can force momentum in your favour but may not have much imput to the rucking skill. No more turn overs for no reason, after every line break you automatically get the ball turned over when tackled with no contest, both sides have to do something to retain the ball or turn the ball over. When the scrum half is at the ruck he should push players out of the way and ruck at the ball with his foot. There needs to be a dummy and run option from the ruck, also you need to have more control over the scrum half as soon as he touches the ball when running from the ruck. If the scrum half is too far away from a ruck, another player should take the scrum half's role (when you are playing two humans on the same team, one is selected as the scrumhalf and doesn't realise it, next ruck they are 50 meters away). Pick and drive set play for forwards needs to be introduced.
1.5 Kicking
-1.5.1 Punt kicking
Dummy kick then step is one thing that definitely needs to be inaugurated in the next installment. Get rid of the visible ball path and replace with a short straight arrow. Have a horizontal power metre below the player that fills quickly by holding X, when you release X a vertical line appears in between the start of the power metre and the point where you stopped powering the kick, another vertical line moves from the start of the power metre towards the end and you have to press the kick button again as it passes over the middle to determine how accurate the kick is. The less power you give the kick, the slower the line moves towards the accuracy zone. This will all be very quick, like 1 maybe 2 seconds. The kick will go the direction you point, depending on how close you stopped to the accuracy zone, if you fail to press X the second time the kick will slice off the side of your boot. Have the line land in the middle of the accuracy zone for the lower difficulty levels and have it on the manual kick for elite. You should be able to assign a player who isn't the flyhalf as a long field punter (different from the long punter who you select to kick from penalties), and there should be a button to get him to move into first reciever.
-1.5.2 Drop goals
The drop goals are okay they just need to be a bit slower, have further distance, and the camera angle should cut to behind the player until the ball has landed then go back to the camera angle that was being used. A new way of doing drop goals would be to include the bounce of the ball and timing of the strike, the lateral accuracy should be aimed at the posts at full power, the better the player's kicking rating is, the thinner their arrow is and further distance they will be able to kick the ball. When you initiate the drop kick an enlarged diagram of the ball appears to the right or left of the player (depending on the player's kicking foot) around their waist. Near the bottom of the ball is a mark which is the sweet spot. There is a line at the players feet that represents the ground, and a bit further up from the ground line is another line which is the ideal striking height. You hold circle and the ball diagram drops towards the ground line, bounces, then as the sweet spot passes up through the ideal striking height, you release circle, the diagram disappears and the player then does the drop kick, or it could all be done at the same time, what ever works best. Releasing circle too early results in the ball staying low, too late makes the ball go high and sliced/hooked off to the side.
-1.5.3 Up and unders
Need some work, get rid of the ball path and replace with a short straight arrow which can be moved laterally alot easier than the big long one and it will make the landing point a bit more unpredictable which is a good thing because no one can pin point a bomb. Tapping square once should do a small chip kick, tapping square twice does a medium high ball for you to chase, and tapping square three times does a huge torpedo bomb that can be used as an attacking kick in the opponents 22, when you do a torpedo bomb the landing marker should move around on the ground in the approximate landing area because they can be unpredictable at times. Now for jumping and contesting the ball in the air, this isn't my idea but i think it is one that will make for awesome user conrol and satisfaction. You put the bomb up as usual - by pressing square, but instead of having a little marker aiming at the exact point of where you want to kick it, it has a large circle, with a much smaller circle in the middle of it. The Large circle indicates the area the ball WILL land in, however, the smaller circle indicates where exactly your aiming the ball to land. Obviously, the better your kicking stats, the closer the ball will be to the small middle circle. Now, to have any participation in contesting the bomb, you must be in the large circle. This brings me to the contesting part, to attempt to jump and catch the ball, you keep tapping triangle when in the circle and the ball is in the air, the better your player's handling and jumping attributes are, the higher you shall jump and more likey you shall catch it. Being closer to the smaller circle will give you a better shot at catching it off a good kicker. This idea brings height into a factor as the taller you are, the less you have to tap triangle to jump to max height. However, in addition to this, by holding triangle, instead of contesting for the catch, the player jumps, takes a swipe and tries to bat the ball back to team mates, this would be good for short kick-offs.
-1.5.4 Grubbers
Should bounce and change direction depending on the angle the ball was kicked on (holding L1 whilst powering a grubber will make the kick turn left as it bounces along the ground by the kicker changing the angle of the ball so it is pointing right (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the rugby ball, kicking the point into the ground will make the ball bounce the opposite direction), R1 makes it turn right). Grubbers need to be executed quicker and when tackled by a player whilst powering a grubber, you should pull the ball back in and go down, or snap at the ball with your foot resulting in an inaccurate grubber and unpredictable power, sometimes the ball can go way down field, and sometimes it can go five meters.
-1.5.5 Soccer kick
Needs the distance to be determined by length of time you hold the button down for e.g hold it down for two seconds, the ball gets air and goes thirty meters, tap it and the ball goes ten meters rolling along the ground. They should bounce like grubbers.
-1.5.6 Goal kicking
Re-design it. My idea is firstly aim with the arrow and press X to accept the desired direction, the camera then zooms in close up on the ball on the kicking tee, a red ring appears around the ball and closes in on the sweet spot, it starts off closing in slowly then the closer it gets to the sweet spot (ideal striking point), the quicker it moves in and the colour of the ring changes from red, to orange, to yellow, to green, to bright green. You have to press X when it closes in on the sweet spot, if you don't press it at all, the ring re-expands and then contracts again. The closer you stop the ring to the sweet spot, the tighter the kick sticks to the path of the arrow. When the accuracy ring has stopped, a random point will be selected any where around the perimeter as the part of the ball the kicker will strike, if you mistime the stopping of the ring, the kick will slice or hook depending on the sleceted striking point, too far right of the sweet spot will create excessive hook, too far left will create excessive slice depending on the players kicking foot, it would be the reverse for left footed kickers, too far below the sweet spot will make the ball go higher than the intended path, too far above the sweet spot will cause the kick to stay below the intended path. The better the kicker's goal kick rating is, the thinner their arrow is, the slower the ring closes in, and longer the ring stays green. When you have pressed X to select the striking point, hold it down for power, the more power you give it, the more hook it has. Some kickers should have a curved arrow to start with, guys who always give the ball hook. Once you have finished powering up, you should be able to hold the left analogue stick left or right to add hook or fade if you dont think the kick will make it (only a minimal amount). The camera angle goes to behind the kicker so you can see their unique run up and kick of the ball. Alot more players should have their kicking styles included and the players' kicking foot should be correct (Matt Giteau is a star, he is left footed in real life, but right footed in the game, i'm going to nominate this boo-boo as one of the biggest mistakes hb has ever made).
-1.5.7 Scrum half kicking
The chase needs to be more enthusiastic from scrum half kicks. There should be more kicking options for the scrum half from rucks and scrums, like a high bomb or a pick up and grubber. Kicking from the ruck needs to be quicker, more of a snap than a power up and kick.
-1.5.8 Kick offs
Firstly get rid of the blue path of the ball and replace it with a short straight arrow to make the landing point of the ball to be determined by the height & direction you point the arrow, and the player's power & accuracy. Players jumping for the ball need surrounding forwards to lift them and form a maul. Get rid of that stupid uncontrollable mid air tackle when you go for a short high kick off. Split kick offs (forwards and backs spread across field). You should be able to lock the direction you are looking and aim the other way to catch players off guard. Low powerful kickoffs.
1.6 Skill stick
Scrap the current one and start again, the current one is a complete joke. Have it so instead of the game going into an automated sequence, have it in open play, and make it quicker. The side stepping should be right then left, or left then right, resulting in a fake one direction and go the other (depending on running direction) and it should be able to fool opposition players on several different running angles instead of just when you are running towards the oppositions try line. There needs to be a dummy+step. Rotating the skill stick from back to front should result in a fend+spin. Changing direction sharply with the movement analogue stick (left) should result in the player digging their foot into the turf, which is a variation of side stepping that can leave players grasping at air. The hand offs are rubbish, when they do work they are so drawn out and the player you fend off goes flying five meters. It gets annoying when you are too far away and you initiate a hand off, the player moves to the side and puts there hand near the ground, get rid of this. It needs to be a quick brush off, or a push down and you need to have more control over your player when you are executing it so you can avoid cover tackles. Sometimes when you fend a player they should be able to grab onto your arm and pull you down, the regularity of this happening should be determined by the defenders tackling ability & the ball carriers strength. Shoulder barges are alright the way they are. When you push the skill stick the direction you are running, pulling it back quickly should result in a goose step, the forward motion slows the player down slightly, preparing for a shoulder barge, then the pulling back motion does a hop. There would have to be some freaky ball shaking when you do a goose step to make it look like you were supposed to do it. A goose step can leave a defending player flat footed and easier to run around them.
1.7 Mauls
Players need a mauling attribute. When tackled upright press square for surrounding players to join and form a maul. Sprinting mauls. Players falling off and rejoining from behind. Twisting mauls. Rolling mauls. With the E.L.V's, have the ability to pull down a maul with out being penalised, so collapsing a maul should be harder to do than just pressing R3, maybe pull the movement analogue stick away from the oppositions try line and repeatedly press R3, and it should be harder to do against guys who have a good mauling ability.
1.8 Scrums
Why is there no engage, that is only the most crucial part of the scrum and it has been left out. Both packs should be competing for the lowest position and heaviest contact. An in depth scrummaging battle needs to be introduced. This idea i have for it is both sides have a vertical metre with a point marked on it, the bottom of the metre represents the ground and the top represents the top of the players heads when standing, the point marked represents the lowest possible crouching point for the pack with out collapsing. On the referees signal of crouch, a bar starts moving from the top down to the bottom, you have to press a button to stop the bar as close to or on the lowest crouching point to win the battle of the best driving position, if either side stops the bar after it has passed below the lowest crouching point, on engage the scrum will collapse and a reset, free kick, or penalty kick will be awarded to the other team depending on whether the ref is confused about the E.L.V's. If both sides stop it above the lowest point, on engage the team that stopped the bar as close to or on the lowest crouching point will have slightly more momentum and let them exert more engage power. The better the entire scrum is rated, the lower to the ground their collapse point will be. There should be a power metre that appears above the players heads after the crouching point has being selected to decide the engage power. The metre starts at empty and fills quickly, when it reaches full power you have to press x, if you dont press x before it reaches full power or as it reaches full power, your engage power will go back to a default of 3/4 power. The driving will be based on all the players scrummaging ability and should be a button mashing battle of several taps of a button to fill the same power metre used for the engage, each taps adds a small amount of power. Once the metre is full, hold down and point the direction you want to push. The better the scrummaging statistics of the players, the quicker the metre fills up. Scrums like New Zealand and South Africa will only take 4 taps, and a bad scrum like the USA will take 8 taps. The scrumhalf should automatically feed the ball into the scrum and the hooker should automatically hook at the ball. There needs to be set plays for forwards in the scrum, like number 8 pick up then quick pass to fly half, number 8 pick up and pass back inside to flanker, number 8 peel off and form a rolling maul. Something I noticed happens alot, the A.I leaves the blindside unmarked from scrums, and sending the ball that way results in a try about 100% of the time. The blindside should never be left unmarked, that is just common sense.
1.9 Tackling
Get rid of the r1 high tackle. A tops idea i read somewhere is to use the right analogue stick for tackling, pull down on it for low tackle and push up on it for a torso tackle (a torso tackle can lead to an accidental high tackle). Tone down the dive tackle, it's just a bit too unrealistic e.g sprint up on the fly half when he is kicking and instead of doing a charge down you can just do a superman and force a knock on, when you do this the fly half should be aware of the pressure and perform a dummy kick then step away, get the kick away quicker, or pass to the secondary kicker. The dive tackle should be more of a 'lunge' tackle. More tackling styles. Gang tackles. The ability to join in a tackle once it has been started. If a player is wrestling around whilst being tackled and stays upright, both sides should have the option of joining and forming a maul.
2.0 Lineouts
2004 lineouts with some adjusting. The way i remember the lineout you could select the number of players in the lineout and do set plays like pass back to the hooker, or lift back jumper and form a maul. Why this was scraped i have no idea, but it's not too late you can still right a wrong hb if you put them in the next rugby game. Quick lineouts need to be fixed, not so many impossible intercepts. With the E.L.V's be able to throw the ball backwards from a quick lineout.
2.1 A.I
Things that need to be implemented: Rushing defence. Sliding defence. Aggressive forwards. Defending players crouching around the ruck near the goal line. Knowing that in over lap situations it is sometimes better to dummy e.g when i have been defending, the a.i has had a four man over lap and i just hold off the man with the ball, watching them spread it to the winger then i come in and tackle him. Waiting for support. Tactical kicking from someone who isn’t dan carter or johny wilkinson. Jumping contests for high ball. Tactical grubbers. More fending and stepping runs. Man marking. The A.I needs to be more aware of the side line.
2.2 Set Plays
Set plays should be incorporated into open play, like when you initiate the set play with the fly half, you have control over him and choose who to dummy to, pass to, kick to and the exact path of his run. The set plays should basically just be your team mates running angles or sprinting for a chase so you can pick out who ever you think is in the best position, which is kind of the way it currently is, you just need to have more control over the player with the ball. A set play for the forwards to pick and drive to give the backs a chance to get in position for a set play. Create a set play is a must, it really needs to be put in.
2.3 Open play
-2.3.1 Hold ups
Defending players should position their body's and arm's between the ball and the in goal, stripping at the ball if possible.
-2.3.2 T.M.O
Television Match Official assessing footage from several angles, checking offside, knock on's, sideline, and hold ups.
-2.3.3 Try scoring
Crawling when on the ground near the try line. Reaching out for the try line. Diving for the line needs improving, especially when a cover tackle is being made, the way it currently is when you dive for the line the ball is centimeters from the turf, then a cover tackle is made and you are upright then you fall over the line and score any way, it is so bad. When the tackle is being made, the player should move sideways and possibly result in a knock on if the ball carrier is reaching out for the line. When diving for the corner your player should be aware of the touch in goal line, so if you accidentally do a swan dive or are being carried over by tacklers and are about to go dead, your player reaches down and scores the try, same thing when you run near the back of the try zone and you do a swan dive. More variations in put downs, somersault put down, low long slide on wet grass, turn around under the sticks with a two hand put down. I know that show boating before you score a try is more of a rugby sevens thing, but it would be nice to see some of that in the next game, like holding the ball in the air on your finger tips, or even waving your free arm around and pointing to the sky.
-2.3.4 Offloading
Needs fixing, an offloading attribute needs to be included. Whether a player can offload in a tackle should be determined by how many people are making the tackle & their tackling ability, and the offloading stat of the player with the ball. The offloads should look more realistic. If you have a player with a high offloading ability and you press the offload button when in traffic (two or more tacklers), they should do a flick pass. Players should be looking for offloads and sprint on to them at angles into gaps which eventuates in them slicing through the defence, which will create some nice footage for the highlight reel.
-2.3.5 Ankle taps
Needs fixing, must be sharper and smaller. The player shouldn't do a ten meter army roll then stay there on the the ground surrounded by opposition players looking like idiots after being ankle tapped. When a player is ankle tapped they should fall on their torso and slide, with maybe a small roll onto their back depending on their running angle. When they are on the ground they should crawl to get back to their feet or opposition players should reach down and rake the ball out of their arms.
-2.3.6 Penalties
More penalty tries, and some penalties for late tackles would be nice. If the ball is with in reach of a player when the ball is kicked for touch, they should jump and knock it backwards in field. Advantage needs to be played after a high tackle when you are about to score a try.
-2.3.7 Tactics
There should be an in game tactic where you can set the depth of your players when you have the ball in hand e.g shallow, normal, deep (standing deep results in the players running onto pass' at speed), wide. Charge down team mentality (fastest forwards attempt charge down all at the same time, only two or three players). Intercept team mentality (instead of your defensive line holding off and marking a player, they mark the spaces between players and rush up, this is a must because taking running intercepts manually in Rugby 08 is near impossible, I have only manually taken a running intercept around five times and I have played several hundred hours).
-2.3.8 Quick taps
They are ridiculous in the game, they need to be instant, rather than the wait till the defensive line is set and go from a standing start. Not every player has to chip the ball, they should be able to throw it up and touch it with their foot then grab the ball. Players should have a run up from a quick tap and players need to support the player taking the tap. An offside player making a tackle on a player taking a quick tap near the try line is called a professional foul, which is a yellow card offense.
-2.3.9 Loose ball
Players should have collisions when going for the loose ball and high ball. Picking up the ball should have more options than the flying one hand pick up, and the stop kneel down & pick up with two hands. The A.I needs to assess whether to go for the ball or the player e.g grubber the ball and pick it up, the closest opposition player kneels down and swings at the ground when he is no where close to the ball, he should be worrying about making the tackle if he wont arrive in time for there to be an actual contest for the ball.
2.4 Career mode
We all want an in depth career mode, it’s what we have all wanted ever since hb started making rugby games, all we have ever received was a world league which is so shallow and unrealistic. Players need to grow, age, and retire. Schedule training sessions and pre-season friendlies, hire staff, buy training equipment, get sponsorship deals, crowd attendance determined on how well you are playing, scouting, youth academy, board expectations, press conferences, rival games e.g Reds vs Waratahs, realistic player trading with real to life pricing of players contracts, be able to offer any player a contract instead of a list of players that is presented to you (a new way of approaching this would be to contact the player's manager to arrange a meeting, then have the actual negotiations in a real time email conference scenario where you select from various statements of reasons why the player should join the club (all of the pros and none of the cons of course), then offer him a salary, they discus for a few seconds and can accept, knock you back, ask for more, or ask for special alterations to the contract like escape clauses and bonuses. Have the player and his manager's silhouette behind the message screen for an extra touch of realism, and the shake of the hand when the deal is done (a picture or an animation, either or)). Players who commit dangerous tackles or foul play should be sent to the leagues judiciary and have the tackle graded, the number of weeks the player is suspended for is determined by how harshly they grade the tackle. International season at the end of club season for your nation, you select the side from scratch, you get presented with the form players who deserve selection on a page (all the players who were in the top five of a category of stats for players from the nation you are coaching, like top five try scorers, top five hit up takers, top five tackle breakers, top five tacklers, top five kickers in kick meters, top five goal kickers, top five try assists, top five meter gainers and so forth). When you highlight a player from any of the categories, you are given additional information like where they rank in other categories of stats, their error count for the season, as well as their attributes. You can select players with high attributes who haven't had a great season, but you risk them playing poorly because their from and moral will be low.
2.5 Stadiums
More stadiums, proper names of all stadiums, different atmospheres at different stadiums (pitch, lighting, crowd chants, more booing/cheering when certain players get the ball and when the ref makes a bad or good decision e.g the home crowd's favourite player gets high tackled, a haunting boo roars through the stadium, the player who made the tackle gets a yellow or red card, a massive, vengeful cheer floods the ground). Photos of the real stadiums in the menu. You should be able to choose day or night matches at every stadium, unless it hasn't got lights. Be able to select light rain/heavy rain, fog, or snow.
2.6 Statistics
Lots of statistics need to be included. Some of the main ones are: Meters gained with ball, passes, tackles broken, missed tackles, tackles made, kicks in open play, hit ups, try assists, turnovers, line breaks, errors (knock ons, forward passes, kicks out on full out side 22m), lineouts won/lost, penalties, free kicks, yellow/red cards, scrums won/lost, runs with ball, man of the match.
2.7 Player positions
Every player should have one primary position, and some players should have one secondary position. Playing them out of position shouldn't make them drop the ball every time they touch it, it should just change their rating, sometimes improving it, like putting a quick fly half/inside center with a good kicking game at full back may up his rating by a few points. Putting a lock at flanker or number 8 would only change his rating slightly for better or worse because they are similar positions. The combination idea was ace, one of the best introductions to the rugby series, a way to improve it would be instead of only players with special abilities having combinations, all players in the team should have a combination with other players and the combinations be rated out of 100. The front row (tight head prop/hooker/loose head prop) have a combination rating, the back row (open side flanker/locks/blind side flanker/number 8), the halves (scrum half/fly half, and maybe inside center), and the back line (wingers/centers/fullback). The more you play players together in the same positions, their combination rating will grow improving their stats and their morale.
2.8 Player ratings
All players need a good re-do, the highest rated player in the world should only be 93-94, and that would be Dan Carter, Richie Mccaw, and Matt Giteau. Some players have been so hard done by and some have been given a gold star for making one good tackle eg. Sam Cordingley rated 60, he is the back up Australian scrum half, any player who can make an Australian 22 should be rated around the 80's. Gavin Henson is on the other end of the scale, he is a good player, but 98!!, that is saying he is 2 away from being perfect, he cant make the Wales squad who cant even make the quarter finals of the world cup. Every player should have an 'Initiative' attribute. The higher a player's initiative is, the more likely they are to perform acts that are above and beyond e.g try saving tackle, big hit, intercept, charge down, kamikaze run at full speed.
2.9 Teams
More leagues, teams, tournaments, and players. Currie Cup, Air New Zealand Cup, French Top 14, Magners League. Full licensing of players names. In Career mode, club and international team's rankings should change through game results. The official IRB rankings down to the decimals, like South Africa 90.07, New Zealand 89.12, Australia 86.28. Get rid of impact (star) players and make it so that the captain of the team has a marker above his head and players near him play better, just an idea. Or just leave it the way it is and annoy everyone. Gavin Henson cant even make the bench of his nations team, and he is a star player, it would be so much more sensible to take away star players. People can interpret who the star players are them selves by the players statistics, and the skills need to be evenly distributed for all players to get rid of the massive bell curve that these super humans have created. Two players who in real life can kick the ball the same distance, pass with the same accuracy and power, break tackles on a similar basis, yet in the game one is given a star and one is not, the one with the star can now kick the ball the whole field, break every tackle, fool a player every time he dummies. It's not fair, it's not accurate to real life. Roster management needs fixing, like when you try to transfer a player from one super 14 club to another it wont let you, you have to trade them for a player with no contract then get the player you want who is then off contract, it is a complete waste of time and leaves the club who you took the player from with some argentinian prop at fullback. You should be able to straight transfer players from club to club and drop players who have left or retired.
3.0 Commentary
Expand it, get rid of some lines, add a new person into the mix, more discussion about the teams playing and the impact players on each team (it would be nice to hear the commentators talking about props and hookers as players who will change the game). Commentator's score prediction. Comment's about the stadiums. Comment's relating to the coaches. Comment's about newly signed players. Comment's about young players on debut. My personal favourite addition to the commentary would be the whole panel going "ohhhhhh ho ho ha!! that was massive!" when a big hit happens, but obviously have lots of variations on that like "ouch!!!", "oooooohww", "smack!", "Swatted like a fly!", "Kabang!", "Was that a bus", "he was just hit by a smooth criminal", "what a bone cruncher!". More commentary names, like i mean alot more, hundreds, maybe even several hundred.
3.1 Online Mode
3.2 Menu's
They are too sluggish, need to be re-designed and made faster. Players should be categorised in their preferred position in a small window to the side of the list of players so you can skip straight to the player's position who you are looking for. Get lots of up and coming artists for the soundtrack.
3.3 Create a player
When creating a player you should first be able to select from a range of common face types like long slim face, round pudgy face, big square face, average face, small v face, islander face, asian face. You should be able to adjust the exact separation and height of eyes, eye brows, nose, chin, and cheeks, similar to fifa's create a player where you use the left and right analogue sticks for height and width. More hair styles need to be included, ones that real players actually have and then some weird artistic ones thrown in there for a good laugh. Needs to be a wider variety of body types, you should be able to select from several templates and adjust them accordingly, like short and bulky, tall and lanky, tall and bulky, small and wily, average height and really wide (Rodney Blake), average height and average weight. Smaller players need to be quicker, better at stepping, and be more likely to do a chip kick than take a hit up. Bigger forwards should look alot bigger than backs, they kinda all look like they have similar body types. Every player should have the option to have head gear on or off, and not just players you create, i'm talking about every single player in the game, so if one of your cocky wingers gets a head injury, your medical staff sends you an email advising that the player wear head gear from now on. How about players who have head gear on have lower morale than players without head gear on because they look like gooses, they can't breathe easy, they are taunted by opposition fans near the sideline, and are raked at the head by opposition players. Taking head gear off increases the player's morale but also increases chance of head injury. The ability to edit players already in the game would be nice so we can fix up some really bad mistakes (Sam Cordingley).
3.4 Legends
Definitely should be a hall of fame with legends of rugby, maybe the 3 or 4 best guys in history in each position (players like John Eales, Jonah Lomu, Mark Ella, Nick Farr-Jones, David Campese etc). All the players in it should have a price tag, you get points through achieving certain game play tasks to unlock them with. When you unlock each player, you get a photo, a page of their history, achievements, actual statistics, as well as the ability to select them in an exhibition team, so when you unlock the players you want, you can build YOUR legendary team to take on who ever, even a second legendary team you have built to simulate an ultimate clash of rugby greats.
The secret of being a bore is to say everything.
1.0 - Ball Physics
1.1 - Graphics
1.2 - Player movement
1.3 - Passing
1.4 - Rucks
1.5 - Kicking
-1.5.1 - Punt kicking
-1.5.2 - Drop goals
-1.5.3 - Up and unders
-1.5.4 - Grubbers
-1.5.5 - Soccer kick
-1.5.6 - Goal kicking
-1.5.7 - Scrum half kicking
-1.5.8 - Kick offs
1.6 - Skill stick
1.7 - Mauls
1.8 - Scrums
1.9 - Tackling
2.0 - Lineouts
2.1 - A.I
2.2 - Set plays
2.3 - Open play
-2.3.1 - Hold ups
-2.3.2 - T.M.O
-2.3.3 - Try scoring
-2.3.4 - Offloading
-2.3.5 - Ankle taps
-2.3.6 - Penalties
-2.3.7 - Tactics
-2.3.8 - Quick taps
-2.3.9 - Loose ball
2.4 - Career mode
2.5 - Stadiums
2.6 - Statistics
2.7 - Player positions
2.8 - Player ratings
2.9 - Teams
3.0 - Commentary
3.1 - Online mode
3.2 - Menus
3.3 - Create a player
3.4 - Legends
1.0 Ball physics
Completely redesign the ball physics so the ball moves through the air like a real rugby ball. The ball should be the rugby equivalent of the fifa ball. It should even go down to the detail of the player's hands in relation to the ball, like none of this two meters away from the ball and it magically appears in your hands. There needs to be several different ways players can hold the ball. To me this is one of the major improving points because it will create so many more variations in the long kicking, grubbers (player kicking the ball can hold it on angles to create reverse swing ie. right to left, or left to right), chip kicks, passing (none of this perfect bullet stuff, sometimes passes can be wonky or end on end depending on the players positioning and handle of the ball), and it will also create a realistic bounce of the ball if the physics are done precisely enough.
1.1 Graphics
Improved graphics, more attention to players' faces, skin, crowd, and sky. More post try celebrations, lots more, look at some footage and get some ideas, like the one where they throw the ball into the crowd and do a big roar with their hands in the air (one of my favourites). Better post match celebrations. Trophy and medallion presentation. Visible on field referee and side line referees. Animations of crowd and bench players celebrating after a try and a victory. Medics and trainers running on field to assist injured players. Stretcher animation. Fix the injury glitch in the world cup where the game freezes if a player is injured, how this got through game testers amazes me, because most people discovered this with in an hour of buying the game. I would like to see a lot of real footage, what was done with the world cup footage far exceeded my expectations. Next time around show the whole tries, have a top ten tries package (best five individual tries, best five team tries), top ten tackles, top ten denied tries (brilliant lead up only to be denied by a tiny knock on/forward pass/controversial refereeing decision), top ten bloopers. Leave the actual commentary used in the footage and have the documentation at the bottom of the screen at the start of each clip (team names, player name, date, final score)
1.2 Player movement
Players need to be faster and more aware. Different running styles. Players' whole bodies should move, especially their heads and hips. They need to point where they want other players to run to (call for an inside runner, the ball carrier points his arm behind himself. Before players chase a kick, they should raise their arm). They should throw their arms up at the ref when a controversial decision is made, like a player being taken out without the ball and players are told to play on. A fatigue bar next to every player, even opposition players, so you can pick out tired forwards with fresh backs. The movement of players is a bit too silky, like you can run around in a circle and run back ten meters to avoid tackles, you should lose pace when you change angles or do one of those worm runs. Take a look at fifa, that's how players should move, smooth at times, but really jerky at the appropriate times. Fix the flock chase, if players are definately not going to catch a player, they should start jogging, look down, and put their hands on their hips/head.
1.3 Passing
Passing needs variation, there is a time and a place for bullet pass' and that time isn’t every single play. I want to see more classic end on end pass', more wonky pass', more pass' falling short, more pass' going too long. Cut outs need to be quicker and not so lobby. Dummies don't appear on replays, what’s the deal? The dummy pass' need to be longer but not too long like in RL2. The player should change running stance and arms, shaping to pass then pulls out. The player's natural hand and weak hand should be taken into account when passing, their weak hand should have a rating out of ten, if it is low, passing with it is likely to result in a wonky pass or an end on end pass. In real rugby no one stands still when they are receiving the ball from a pass unless they are going to kick it, they are either moving sideways, forward or at angles. Pointing and holding the movement analogue stick a direction should result in the ball receiver running onto the pass at the desired angle and speed e.g push the stick half way foward and hold for the ball receiver to jog onto the pass, or hold it fully in any direction and the player sprints onto the pass. If you press the pass button and are tackled in the process, the ball should still be passed sometimes, just not very well. L2 should be 'call for an inside runner' then pressing L2 again passes to him, if you don't press it the second time, the player with the ball dummies to the runner. Holding down L2 should call every player you run past to go inside and for you to dummy to them, then release L2 to pass to the intended player. When you press pass + X, you pass to a player who should stop and turn, ready to offload, and the player that passed the ball should run behind the player with the ball to run onto the offload.
1.4 Rucks
There needs to be a button to send players in the ruck (X) (at speed if possible, depending on how far away they are, the more run up the harder they hit the ruck. Each players initial impact to the ruck results in the ball moving a certain distance towards the playable position on their side of the ruck. You should have the ability to hit a ruck with the player that you have selected), and a button for rucking (hold down X or R3, which results in players who are on their feet contesting the ball and pushing/clearing players out of the ruck, there needs to be close up detailed rucking contests where you can actually see the wrestle and momentum yourself). There should be a metre above the ruck that is split into two halves with a ball marker just above the metre that states the ball position in the ruck, the ball marker has to cross the middle of the metre for either side to be in posession of the ball. There is a certain point on each side of the metre that represents the playable position which the ball must reach before the scrumhalf can pick the ball up. There should be a number below the metre that is the combined total rucking skill of all players involved in the ruck, one for each side. The side with the highest number should be green and the side with the lower number should be red. If you have the advantage of the highest number but do not have posession, holding down the ruck button can move the ball towards the playable position on your side of the ruck. It will be easier to get the ball to the playable position if the ball is on your side of the metre (each side of the metre should be broken up into four zones, each zone has a rucking skill which is added to your players rucking skill, the closer the zone is to the playable position on your side of the ruck, the higher the added skill is. The first quarter closest to the centre should be +20 rucking skill, the next one should be +40, the next one should be +60, and the final quarter which goes over into the playable position should be +85, so even if the opposition has a higher overall rucking skill, you may still have the advantage if the ball is on your side of the ruck). This idea can incorporate backs going into rucks, if a big physically dominant back (or even a small one) hits the ruck at speed, he can force momentum in your favour but may not have much imput to the rucking skill. No more turn overs for no reason, after every line break you automatically get the ball turned over when tackled with no contest, both sides have to do something to retain the ball or turn the ball over. When the scrum half is at the ruck he should push players out of the way and ruck at the ball with his foot. There needs to be a dummy and run option from the ruck, also you need to have more control over the scrum half as soon as he touches the ball when running from the ruck. If the scrum half is too far away from a ruck, another player should take the scrum half's role (when you are playing two humans on the same team, one is selected as the scrumhalf and doesn't realise it, next ruck they are 50 meters away). Pick and drive set play for forwards needs to be introduced.
1.5 Kicking
-1.5.1 Punt kicking
Dummy kick then step is one thing that definitely needs to be inaugurated in the next installment. Get rid of the visible ball path and replace with a short straight arrow. Have a horizontal power metre below the player that fills quickly by holding X, when you release X a vertical line appears in between the start of the power metre and the point where you stopped powering the kick, another vertical line moves from the start of the power metre towards the end and you have to press the kick button again as it passes over the middle to determine how accurate the kick is. The less power you give the kick, the slower the line moves towards the accuracy zone. This will all be very quick, like 1 maybe 2 seconds. The kick will go the direction you point, depending on how close you stopped to the accuracy zone, if you fail to press X the second time the kick will slice off the side of your boot. Have the line land in the middle of the accuracy zone for the lower difficulty levels and have it on the manual kick for elite. You should be able to assign a player who isn't the flyhalf as a long field punter (different from the long punter who you select to kick from penalties), and there should be a button to get him to move into first reciever.
-1.5.2 Drop goals
The drop goals are okay they just need to be a bit slower, have further distance, and the camera angle should cut to behind the player until the ball has landed then go back to the camera angle that was being used. A new way of doing drop goals would be to include the bounce of the ball and timing of the strike, the lateral accuracy should be aimed at the posts at full power, the better the player's kicking rating is, the thinner their arrow is and further distance they will be able to kick the ball. When you initiate the drop kick an enlarged diagram of the ball appears to the right or left of the player (depending on the player's kicking foot) around their waist. Near the bottom of the ball is a mark which is the sweet spot. There is a line at the players feet that represents the ground, and a bit further up from the ground line is another line which is the ideal striking height. You hold circle and the ball diagram drops towards the ground line, bounces, then as the sweet spot passes up through the ideal striking height, you release circle, the diagram disappears and the player then does the drop kick, or it could all be done at the same time, what ever works best. Releasing circle too early results in the ball staying low, too late makes the ball go high and sliced/hooked off to the side.
-1.5.3 Up and unders
Need some work, get rid of the ball path and replace with a short straight arrow which can be moved laterally alot easier than the big long one and it will make the landing point a bit more unpredictable which is a good thing because no one can pin point a bomb. Tapping square once should do a small chip kick, tapping square twice does a medium high ball for you to chase, and tapping square three times does a huge torpedo bomb that can be used as an attacking kick in the opponents 22, when you do a torpedo bomb the landing marker should move around on the ground in the approximate landing area because they can be unpredictable at times. Now for jumping and contesting the ball in the air, this isn't my idea but i think it is one that will make for awesome user conrol and satisfaction. You put the bomb up as usual - by pressing square, but instead of having a little marker aiming at the exact point of where you want to kick it, it has a large circle, with a much smaller circle in the middle of it. The Large circle indicates the area the ball WILL land in, however, the smaller circle indicates where exactly your aiming the ball to land. Obviously, the better your kicking stats, the closer the ball will be to the small middle circle. Now, to have any participation in contesting the bomb, you must be in the large circle. This brings me to the contesting part, to attempt to jump and catch the ball, you keep tapping triangle when in the circle and the ball is in the air, the better your player's handling and jumping attributes are, the higher you shall jump and more likey you shall catch it. Being closer to the smaller circle will give you a better shot at catching it off a good kicker. This idea brings height into a factor as the taller you are, the less you have to tap triangle to jump to max height. However, in addition to this, by holding triangle, instead of contesting for the catch, the player jumps, takes a swipe and tries to bat the ball back to team mates, this would be good for short kick-offs.
-1.5.4 Grubbers
Should bounce and change direction depending on the angle the ball was kicked on (holding L1 whilst powering a grubber will make the kick turn left as it bounces along the ground by the kicker changing the angle of the ball so it is pointing right (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the rugby ball, kicking the point into the ground will make the ball bounce the opposite direction), R1 makes it turn right). Grubbers need to be executed quicker and when tackled by a player whilst powering a grubber, you should pull the ball back in and go down, or snap at the ball with your foot resulting in an inaccurate grubber and unpredictable power, sometimes the ball can go way down field, and sometimes it can go five meters.
-1.5.5 Soccer kick
Needs the distance to be determined by length of time you hold the button down for e.g hold it down for two seconds, the ball gets air and goes thirty meters, tap it and the ball goes ten meters rolling along the ground. They should bounce like grubbers.
-1.5.6 Goal kicking
Re-design it. My idea is firstly aim with the arrow and press X to accept the desired direction, the camera then zooms in close up on the ball on the kicking tee, a red ring appears around the ball and closes in on the sweet spot, it starts off closing in slowly then the closer it gets to the sweet spot (ideal striking point), the quicker it moves in and the colour of the ring changes from red, to orange, to yellow, to green, to bright green. You have to press X when it closes in on the sweet spot, if you don't press it at all, the ring re-expands and then contracts again. The closer you stop the ring to the sweet spot, the tighter the kick sticks to the path of the arrow. When the accuracy ring has stopped, a random point will be selected any where around the perimeter as the part of the ball the kicker will strike, if you mistime the stopping of the ring, the kick will slice or hook depending on the sleceted striking point, too far right of the sweet spot will create excessive hook, too far left will create excessive slice depending on the players kicking foot, it would be the reverse for left footed kickers, too far below the sweet spot will make the ball go higher than the intended path, too far above the sweet spot will cause the kick to stay below the intended path. The better the kicker's goal kick rating is, the thinner their arrow is, the slower the ring closes in, and longer the ring stays green. When you have pressed X to select the striking point, hold it down for power, the more power you give it, the more hook it has. Some kickers should have a curved arrow to start with, guys who always give the ball hook. Once you have finished powering up, you should be able to hold the left analogue stick left or right to add hook or fade if you dont think the kick will make it (only a minimal amount). The camera angle goes to behind the kicker so you can see their unique run up and kick of the ball. Alot more players should have their kicking styles included and the players' kicking foot should be correct (Matt Giteau is a star, he is left footed in real life, but right footed in the game, i'm going to nominate this boo-boo as one of the biggest mistakes hb has ever made).
-1.5.7 Scrum half kicking
The chase needs to be more enthusiastic from scrum half kicks. There should be more kicking options for the scrum half from rucks and scrums, like a high bomb or a pick up and grubber. Kicking from the ruck needs to be quicker, more of a snap than a power up and kick.
-1.5.8 Kick offs
Firstly get rid of the blue path of the ball and replace it with a short straight arrow to make the landing point of the ball to be determined by the height & direction you point the arrow, and the player's power & accuracy. Players jumping for the ball need surrounding forwards to lift them and form a maul. Get rid of that stupid uncontrollable mid air tackle when you go for a short high kick off. Split kick offs (forwards and backs spread across field). You should be able to lock the direction you are looking and aim the other way to catch players off guard. Low powerful kickoffs.
1.6 Skill stick
Scrap the current one and start again, the current one is a complete joke. Have it so instead of the game going into an automated sequence, have it in open play, and make it quicker. The side stepping should be right then left, or left then right, resulting in a fake one direction and go the other (depending on running direction) and it should be able to fool opposition players on several different running angles instead of just when you are running towards the oppositions try line. There needs to be a dummy+step. Rotating the skill stick from back to front should result in a fend+spin. Changing direction sharply with the movement analogue stick (left) should result in the player digging their foot into the turf, which is a variation of side stepping that can leave players grasping at air. The hand offs are rubbish, when they do work they are so drawn out and the player you fend off goes flying five meters. It gets annoying when you are too far away and you initiate a hand off, the player moves to the side and puts there hand near the ground, get rid of this. It needs to be a quick brush off, or a push down and you need to have more control over your player when you are executing it so you can avoid cover tackles. Sometimes when you fend a player they should be able to grab onto your arm and pull you down, the regularity of this happening should be determined by the defenders tackling ability & the ball carriers strength. Shoulder barges are alright the way they are. When you push the skill stick the direction you are running, pulling it back quickly should result in a goose step, the forward motion slows the player down slightly, preparing for a shoulder barge, then the pulling back motion does a hop. There would have to be some freaky ball shaking when you do a goose step to make it look like you were supposed to do it. A goose step can leave a defending player flat footed and easier to run around them.
1.7 Mauls
Players need a mauling attribute. When tackled upright press square for surrounding players to join and form a maul. Sprinting mauls. Players falling off and rejoining from behind. Twisting mauls. Rolling mauls. With the E.L.V's, have the ability to pull down a maul with out being penalised, so collapsing a maul should be harder to do than just pressing R3, maybe pull the movement analogue stick away from the oppositions try line and repeatedly press R3, and it should be harder to do against guys who have a good mauling ability.
1.8 Scrums
Why is there no engage, that is only the most crucial part of the scrum and it has been left out. Both packs should be competing for the lowest position and heaviest contact. An in depth scrummaging battle needs to be introduced. This idea i have for it is both sides have a vertical metre with a point marked on it, the bottom of the metre represents the ground and the top represents the top of the players heads when standing, the point marked represents the lowest possible crouching point for the pack with out collapsing. On the referees signal of crouch, a bar starts moving from the top down to the bottom, you have to press a button to stop the bar as close to or on the lowest crouching point to win the battle of the best driving position, if either side stops the bar after it has passed below the lowest crouching point, on engage the scrum will collapse and a reset, free kick, or penalty kick will be awarded to the other team depending on whether the ref is confused about the E.L.V's. If both sides stop it above the lowest point, on engage the team that stopped the bar as close to or on the lowest crouching point will have slightly more momentum and let them exert more engage power. The better the entire scrum is rated, the lower to the ground their collapse point will be. There should be a power metre that appears above the players heads after the crouching point has being selected to decide the engage power. The metre starts at empty and fills quickly, when it reaches full power you have to press x, if you dont press x before it reaches full power or as it reaches full power, your engage power will go back to a default of 3/4 power. The driving will be based on all the players scrummaging ability and should be a button mashing battle of several taps of a button to fill the same power metre used for the engage, each taps adds a small amount of power. Once the metre is full, hold down and point the direction you want to push. The better the scrummaging statistics of the players, the quicker the metre fills up. Scrums like New Zealand and South Africa will only take 4 taps, and a bad scrum like the USA will take 8 taps. The scrumhalf should automatically feed the ball into the scrum and the hooker should automatically hook at the ball. There needs to be set plays for forwards in the scrum, like number 8 pick up then quick pass to fly half, number 8 pick up and pass back inside to flanker, number 8 peel off and form a rolling maul. Something I noticed happens alot, the A.I leaves the blindside unmarked from scrums, and sending the ball that way results in a try about 100% of the time. The blindside should never be left unmarked, that is just common sense.
1.9 Tackling
Get rid of the r1 high tackle. A tops idea i read somewhere is to use the right analogue stick for tackling, pull down on it for low tackle and push up on it for a torso tackle (a torso tackle can lead to an accidental high tackle). Tone down the dive tackle, it's just a bit too unrealistic e.g sprint up on the fly half when he is kicking and instead of doing a charge down you can just do a superman and force a knock on, when you do this the fly half should be aware of the pressure and perform a dummy kick then step away, get the kick away quicker, or pass to the secondary kicker. The dive tackle should be more of a 'lunge' tackle. More tackling styles. Gang tackles. The ability to join in a tackle once it has been started. If a player is wrestling around whilst being tackled and stays upright, both sides should have the option of joining and forming a maul.
2.0 Lineouts
2004 lineouts with some adjusting. The way i remember the lineout you could select the number of players in the lineout and do set plays like pass back to the hooker, or lift back jumper and form a maul. Why this was scraped i have no idea, but it's not too late you can still right a wrong hb if you put them in the next rugby game. Quick lineouts need to be fixed, not so many impossible intercepts. With the E.L.V's be able to throw the ball backwards from a quick lineout.
2.1 A.I
Things that need to be implemented: Rushing defence. Sliding defence. Aggressive forwards. Defending players crouching around the ruck near the goal line. Knowing that in over lap situations it is sometimes better to dummy e.g when i have been defending, the a.i has had a four man over lap and i just hold off the man with the ball, watching them spread it to the winger then i come in and tackle him. Waiting for support. Tactical kicking from someone who isn’t dan carter or johny wilkinson. Jumping contests for high ball. Tactical grubbers. More fending and stepping runs. Man marking. The A.I needs to be more aware of the side line.
2.2 Set Plays
Set plays should be incorporated into open play, like when you initiate the set play with the fly half, you have control over him and choose who to dummy to, pass to, kick to and the exact path of his run. The set plays should basically just be your team mates running angles or sprinting for a chase so you can pick out who ever you think is in the best position, which is kind of the way it currently is, you just need to have more control over the player with the ball. A set play for the forwards to pick and drive to give the backs a chance to get in position for a set play. Create a set play is a must, it really needs to be put in.
2.3 Open play
-2.3.1 Hold ups
Defending players should position their body's and arm's between the ball and the in goal, stripping at the ball if possible.
-2.3.2 T.M.O
Television Match Official assessing footage from several angles, checking offside, knock on's, sideline, and hold ups.
-2.3.3 Try scoring
Crawling when on the ground near the try line. Reaching out for the try line. Diving for the line needs improving, especially when a cover tackle is being made, the way it currently is when you dive for the line the ball is centimeters from the turf, then a cover tackle is made and you are upright then you fall over the line and score any way, it is so bad. When the tackle is being made, the player should move sideways and possibly result in a knock on if the ball carrier is reaching out for the line. When diving for the corner your player should be aware of the touch in goal line, so if you accidentally do a swan dive or are being carried over by tacklers and are about to go dead, your player reaches down and scores the try, same thing when you run near the back of the try zone and you do a swan dive. More variations in put downs, somersault put down, low long slide on wet grass, turn around under the sticks with a two hand put down. I know that show boating before you score a try is more of a rugby sevens thing, but it would be nice to see some of that in the next game, like holding the ball in the air on your finger tips, or even waving your free arm around and pointing to the sky.
-2.3.4 Offloading
Needs fixing, an offloading attribute needs to be included. Whether a player can offload in a tackle should be determined by how many people are making the tackle & their tackling ability, and the offloading stat of the player with the ball. The offloads should look more realistic. If you have a player with a high offloading ability and you press the offload button when in traffic (two or more tacklers), they should do a flick pass. Players should be looking for offloads and sprint on to them at angles into gaps which eventuates in them slicing through the defence, which will create some nice footage for the highlight reel.
-2.3.5 Ankle taps
Needs fixing, must be sharper and smaller. The player shouldn't do a ten meter army roll then stay there on the the ground surrounded by opposition players looking like idiots after being ankle tapped. When a player is ankle tapped they should fall on their torso and slide, with maybe a small roll onto their back depending on their running angle. When they are on the ground they should crawl to get back to their feet or opposition players should reach down and rake the ball out of their arms.
-2.3.6 Penalties
More penalty tries, and some penalties for late tackles would be nice. If the ball is with in reach of a player when the ball is kicked for touch, they should jump and knock it backwards in field. Advantage needs to be played after a high tackle when you are about to score a try.
-2.3.7 Tactics
There should be an in game tactic where you can set the depth of your players when you have the ball in hand e.g shallow, normal, deep (standing deep results in the players running onto pass' at speed), wide. Charge down team mentality (fastest forwards attempt charge down all at the same time, only two or three players). Intercept team mentality (instead of your defensive line holding off and marking a player, they mark the spaces between players and rush up, this is a must because taking running intercepts manually in Rugby 08 is near impossible, I have only manually taken a running intercept around five times and I have played several hundred hours).
-2.3.8 Quick taps
They are ridiculous in the game, they need to be instant, rather than the wait till the defensive line is set and go from a standing start. Not every player has to chip the ball, they should be able to throw it up and touch it with their foot then grab the ball. Players should have a run up from a quick tap and players need to support the player taking the tap. An offside player making a tackle on a player taking a quick tap near the try line is called a professional foul, which is a yellow card offense.
-2.3.9 Loose ball
Players should have collisions when going for the loose ball and high ball. Picking up the ball should have more options than the flying one hand pick up, and the stop kneel down & pick up with two hands. The A.I needs to assess whether to go for the ball or the player e.g grubber the ball and pick it up, the closest opposition player kneels down and swings at the ground when he is no where close to the ball, he should be worrying about making the tackle if he wont arrive in time for there to be an actual contest for the ball.
2.4 Career mode
We all want an in depth career mode, it’s what we have all wanted ever since hb started making rugby games, all we have ever received was a world league which is so shallow and unrealistic. Players need to grow, age, and retire. Schedule training sessions and pre-season friendlies, hire staff, buy training equipment, get sponsorship deals, crowd attendance determined on how well you are playing, scouting, youth academy, board expectations, press conferences, rival games e.g Reds vs Waratahs, realistic player trading with real to life pricing of players contracts, be able to offer any player a contract instead of a list of players that is presented to you (a new way of approaching this would be to contact the player's manager to arrange a meeting, then have the actual negotiations in a real time email conference scenario where you select from various statements of reasons why the player should join the club (all of the pros and none of the cons of course), then offer him a salary, they discus for a few seconds and can accept, knock you back, ask for more, or ask for special alterations to the contract like escape clauses and bonuses. Have the player and his manager's silhouette behind the message screen for an extra touch of realism, and the shake of the hand when the deal is done (a picture or an animation, either or)). Players who commit dangerous tackles or foul play should be sent to the leagues judiciary and have the tackle graded, the number of weeks the player is suspended for is determined by how harshly they grade the tackle. International season at the end of club season for your nation, you select the side from scratch, you get presented with the form players who deserve selection on a page (all the players who were in the top five of a category of stats for players from the nation you are coaching, like top five try scorers, top five hit up takers, top five tackle breakers, top five tacklers, top five kickers in kick meters, top five goal kickers, top five try assists, top five meter gainers and so forth). When you highlight a player from any of the categories, you are given additional information like where they rank in other categories of stats, their error count for the season, as well as their attributes. You can select players with high attributes who haven't had a great season, but you risk them playing poorly because their from and moral will be low.
2.5 Stadiums
More stadiums, proper names of all stadiums, different atmospheres at different stadiums (pitch, lighting, crowd chants, more booing/cheering when certain players get the ball and when the ref makes a bad or good decision e.g the home crowd's favourite player gets high tackled, a haunting boo roars through the stadium, the player who made the tackle gets a yellow or red card, a massive, vengeful cheer floods the ground). Photos of the real stadiums in the menu. You should be able to choose day or night matches at every stadium, unless it hasn't got lights. Be able to select light rain/heavy rain, fog, or snow.
2.6 Statistics
Lots of statistics need to be included. Some of the main ones are: Meters gained with ball, passes, tackles broken, missed tackles, tackles made, kicks in open play, hit ups, try assists, turnovers, line breaks, errors (knock ons, forward passes, kicks out on full out side 22m), lineouts won/lost, penalties, free kicks, yellow/red cards, scrums won/lost, runs with ball, man of the match.
2.7 Player positions
Every player should have one primary position, and some players should have one secondary position. Playing them out of position shouldn't make them drop the ball every time they touch it, it should just change their rating, sometimes improving it, like putting a quick fly half/inside center with a good kicking game at full back may up his rating by a few points. Putting a lock at flanker or number 8 would only change his rating slightly for better or worse because they are similar positions. The combination idea was ace, one of the best introductions to the rugby series, a way to improve it would be instead of only players with special abilities having combinations, all players in the team should have a combination with other players and the combinations be rated out of 100. The front row (tight head prop/hooker/loose head prop) have a combination rating, the back row (open side flanker/locks/blind side flanker/number 8), the halves (scrum half/fly half, and maybe inside center), and the back line (wingers/centers/fullback). The more you play players together in the same positions, their combination rating will grow improving their stats and their morale.
2.8 Player ratings
All players need a good re-do, the highest rated player in the world should only be 93-94, and that would be Dan Carter, Richie Mccaw, and Matt Giteau. Some players have been so hard done by and some have been given a gold star for making one good tackle eg. Sam Cordingley rated 60, he is the back up Australian scrum half, any player who can make an Australian 22 should be rated around the 80's. Gavin Henson is on the other end of the scale, he is a good player, but 98!!, that is saying he is 2 away from being perfect, he cant make the Wales squad who cant even make the quarter finals of the world cup. Every player should have an 'Initiative' attribute. The higher a player's initiative is, the more likely they are to perform acts that are above and beyond e.g try saving tackle, big hit, intercept, charge down, kamikaze run at full speed.
2.9 Teams
More leagues, teams, tournaments, and players. Currie Cup, Air New Zealand Cup, French Top 14, Magners League. Full licensing of players names. In Career mode, club and international team's rankings should change through game results. The official IRB rankings down to the decimals, like South Africa 90.07, New Zealand 89.12, Australia 86.28. Get rid of impact (star) players and make it so that the captain of the team has a marker above his head and players near him play better, just an idea. Or just leave it the way it is and annoy everyone. Gavin Henson cant even make the bench of his nations team, and he is a star player, it would be so much more sensible to take away star players. People can interpret who the star players are them selves by the players statistics, and the skills need to be evenly distributed for all players to get rid of the massive bell curve that these super humans have created. Two players who in real life can kick the ball the same distance, pass with the same accuracy and power, break tackles on a similar basis, yet in the game one is given a star and one is not, the one with the star can now kick the ball the whole field, break every tackle, fool a player every time he dummies. It's not fair, it's not accurate to real life. Roster management needs fixing, like when you try to transfer a player from one super 14 club to another it wont let you, you have to trade them for a player with no contract then get the player you want who is then off contract, it is a complete waste of time and leaves the club who you took the player from with some argentinian prop at fullback. You should be able to straight transfer players from club to club and drop players who have left or retired.
3.0 Commentary
Expand it, get rid of some lines, add a new person into the mix, more discussion about the teams playing and the impact players on each team (it would be nice to hear the commentators talking about props and hookers as players who will change the game). Commentator's score prediction. Comment's about the stadiums. Comment's relating to the coaches. Comment's about newly signed players. Comment's about young players on debut. My personal favourite addition to the commentary would be the whole panel going "ohhhhhh ho ho ha!! that was massive!" when a big hit happens, but obviously have lots of variations on that like "ouch!!!", "oooooohww", "smack!", "Swatted like a fly!", "Kabang!", "Was that a bus", "he was just hit by a smooth criminal", "what a bone cruncher!". More commentary names, like i mean alot more, hundreds, maybe even several hundred.
3.1 Online Mode
3.2 Menu's
They are too sluggish, need to be re-designed and made faster. Players should be categorised in their preferred position in a small window to the side of the list of players so you can skip straight to the player's position who you are looking for. Get lots of up and coming artists for the soundtrack.
3.3 Create a player
When creating a player you should first be able to select from a range of common face types like long slim face, round pudgy face, big square face, average face, small v face, islander face, asian face. You should be able to adjust the exact separation and height of eyes, eye brows, nose, chin, and cheeks, similar to fifa's create a player where you use the left and right analogue sticks for height and width. More hair styles need to be included, ones that real players actually have and then some weird artistic ones thrown in there for a good laugh. Needs to be a wider variety of body types, you should be able to select from several templates and adjust them accordingly, like short and bulky, tall and lanky, tall and bulky, small and wily, average height and really wide (Rodney Blake), average height and average weight. Smaller players need to be quicker, better at stepping, and be more likely to do a chip kick than take a hit up. Bigger forwards should look alot bigger than backs, they kinda all look like they have similar body types. Every player should have the option to have head gear on or off, and not just players you create, i'm talking about every single player in the game, so if one of your cocky wingers gets a head injury, your medical staff sends you an email advising that the player wear head gear from now on. How about players who have head gear on have lower morale than players without head gear on because they look like gooses, they can't breathe easy, they are taunted by opposition fans near the sideline, and are raked at the head by opposition players. Taking head gear off increases the player's morale but also increases chance of head injury. The ability to edit players already in the game would be nice so we can fix up some really bad mistakes (Sam Cordingley).
3.4 Legends
Definitely should be a hall of fame with legends of rugby, maybe the 3 or 4 best guys in history in each position (players like John Eales, Jonah Lomu, Mark Ella, Nick Farr-Jones, David Campese etc). All the players in it should have a price tag, you get points through achieving certain game play tasks to unlock them with. When you unlock each player, you get a photo, a page of their history, achievements, actual statistics, as well as the ability to select them in an exhibition team, so when you unlock the players you want, you can build YOUR legendary team to take on who ever, even a second legendary team you have built to simulate an ultimate clash of rugby greats.
The secret of being a bore is to say everything.
D
dady11
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Sorry but what is it?Rugby 09??
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