Favourite 5 & Least Favourite 5 Features of our Games

[joepietersen]

Favourite features:
1. drop goals
2. hand-offs
3. shoulder charge
4. set-plays

Least favorite:
1. Game too easy
2. Being tackled while diving to score a try
3. Box kick of the scrum half can't be higher into the air(like an up 'n under box kick)
4. Rucks has no competition
5. Unrealistic interceptions. (You cant run into the pass and straight through)

 

[londonirishboy]

Favourite features:
1. World League - just whack in a bit more depth, choice and managerial stuff
2. Stadiums and sound - both solid
3. Fun - generally a really fun game, had many a post pub epic against friends and family
4. Teams - generally pretty accurate, good kits, bring back the haka!
5. the game - as no one else is trying to make a rugby game, god bless HB for doing so

Least favorite:
1. Set pieces - they should be key to victory, not something to be gotten out of the way
2. Variation - in tackling, running moves, set plays, attack types, defence formations, intensity
3. Difficulty - everyone knows it.
4. Break down - rucking...this needs to be re thought, the answer may be support players around the ball carrier compete with defensive ruckers, then the rucking ability/energy levels/aggression of those players determines the contest, this is certainly not what happens in 08
5. Depth - there is so much that could be done with no real extra cost. Management modes, training your team/player so they improve, new partnerships can be formed, players age over the seasons (on world league or equivalent), and retire (say at 35), online trading of players (possibly a sort of blackout rugby mode)

 

[nzbeansy]

Five Favourite:
- New camera views added in 08
- Lions tour
- challenges/ classic matches, though this mode needs to be improved. i got bored of it very quickly
- quick lineout and quick tap was cool
- offload added in 06
Five least favourite:
- new drop kick in 08
- lack of online play
- highest difficulty to easy. AI are not very smart at all either
- commentators.. so repetitive and one of them talks like a robot
- lack of chip kick

 

[TheBokke]

All I need is online I can live with the rest. Never remove side view LOL

 

[InsaneAsylum]

i'd like to see the space bar/run removed from the game and all players should always move at their running pace. i pretty much have the thumb permanently on the space bar when I play. not sure about other players/members.. what do you think?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Nah, you need something to give them a speed boost. I use the sprint pretty much constantly as well, but it should still be there, not just be automatically on

 

[TRF C A Iversen]

Just your top 5 likes and dislikes guys. That discussion should be in the attack thread.

 

[rugby1]

5 favourite -
new camera angles in rugby 08 how it would pan in and out
the world league mode and challenge mode
general gameplay
amount of players and teams and also representative teams
-

5 least favourite -
repetitive tackle animations
lack of running moves and animations e.g 1 type of sidestep which front row did it just aswell as backs
no online play
lack of a.i at rucks and mauls, only forwards go in and not the closest players
inaccurate player abilites

,, id hope for a camera behind the attack and more of a madden style wen running wiv ball in hand and behind view when tackling,,

 

[Scotsman]

I Like:

- they 'feel like' rugby
- graphics were pretty good in 2008
- I like the new lineout system, but could be more options
- I like the set moves, though they need to be more fluid and work better
- crowd noises

Don't like
- More focus needed on deeper gameplay rather than flashy graphics (better AI, more fluid movement, more tactical options)
- Lack of animations - each game 'feels' the same.
- AI defence. All games had huge gaps in the defence
- More room needed to make special moves. Break holes in defence through good play.
- offloads were random. More control required and option to offload left or right.

 

[diegopd]

5 favourite

.Skills like side step, hand off, shoulder charging rules!
.Haka from the All Blacks (maybe you can add in newer version Haka for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa - also NZ MAories)
.Excelente that playing keys or game pad buttons are for the same moves in 06 than 08, continue with that!
.Stadiums are great, but some not up to date
.it is rugby, it is great!


5 least favourite

.can't Try-Scrum or play a more realistic scrum, like some set plays starting from the scrum with n.8 and flankers
.set plays can be setted from a different way, more friendly or customisable by the user step by step like a coach. Also set modern defence plays, rush defence, plane wing defence (posts beside maul/ruck)
.players with stars, can be props, locks and other one that deserve them (in World League, maybe stars can be gain by playing evolution)
.line out could it be better, with better set plays, short line out, more customisable
.laws not up to date, and some bugs like in 08 when ball is kicked to posts and it went out, referee make the whistle when he should not do it.

 

[StevoIRL]

I think i speak for all of us who constantly played 2006/08 that your attacking play shouldn't be revolve around players running sideways to go make breaks. The way the defensive system worked was that many of the defending players simply just bunched up in the midfield and all you could really do was pass to your 13 and see if he could burn them to release your winger. Take a look at RL2 for the PC and see how players spread out to defend and actually leave gaps.

You want players to be be able to go through holes not having to constantly go to the wing (or pass to BOD to make a 100 meter break) to go score a try.

One more thing speed has to be sorted, props shouldnt be able to run down wingers at full belt when they end up suddenly defending on the wing, there should be some form of penalty given to a players attributes if he finds himself in a unfamiliar part of the field eg Prop on the wing, centre defending the pillar of a ruck etc

 

[aotearoa]

Dear HB,
I hope you find the following useful...

Plus
+ World League, challenge and training mode: were good (too easy and only lasted a few seasons though - option to create own team strip - players etc)
+ Right Stick Moves: Side step, drop shoulder, hand off (the ability to switch the hand the ball is carried in and hand off with the correct hand could be built in and advance the technical difficulty of the game-obviously doing this correctly would have to lead to a better outcome)
+ Ability to off load (could be made more organic rather than premeditated though - e.g. hold L2 going into tackle and player trys to free arms then use direction stick to release ball out of tackle or from the floor. Success depends on support/timing etc and links into new ruck system where defender can get to feet and compete for the ball??)
+ Box kicks, tap penalties and quick line outs Short balls using R/L2 to forwards These added some tactical depth, Your games are alot less arcadey (definitely a good thing) than WCR and less button bashing than SIDHEs RL (although this did have some very good technical/intelligent features that made you feel that you were genuinely creating space/tries through your "rugby brain" e.g. holding down pass button to highlight possible recievers and then selecting passing option
+ Licensed player teams

Minus
- Rucking: you have to be able to compete for the ball after making the tackle - especially if no support arrives immediately - could hear the ref calling hands off before penalising. Also quick ball option should be possible to break down new tighter defences
- Mauling: - the ability to set up a maul as a choice, to try and stay on your feet in the tackle e.g. with a forward (you'd have the danger of being stripped of the ball if you tried it with a back vs forward or without close support) and then to be able to add remove players and roll the maul left/ right and peel a runner off the back. Similarly the ability to wheel a scrum
- Set moves from line out or scrum: - set up driving maul peel round the front or tail with hooker running at 10 etc (this was done quite well in EA2001). No 8 pick up with set flanker/9 running lines or No 9. drops back and 8 flicks it from the back of the scrum between his legs creating an extra man
- Running lines: more intelligent lines of attack e.g a man coming up on your inside shoulder (when this did happen in 2008 this more of a quirk than a built in feature) that would fit nicely with the new offload system or forward running inside / outside first reciever after a breakdown and obviously depending on the number of forwards you commit to ruck. Similarly in defence - much more awarness of positon by AI and ability to select different defensive systems - blitz, rush, kick etc
- Passing - ability to have multidirectional passing perhaps with right stick and L2 modifier pressed to provide more subtle passing and offloading options. Ability to flick pass where reciever gives and passes in one movement by pressing the pass button again whilst ball is in air before it reaches player. Also ability to alter running lines, whilst the ball is in the air, by running on an angle onto a pass or fading on an angle from a pass and putting the reciever into a space between defenders.

Thanks for reading,

 

[Flyinkiwi]

World league was fantastic, loved it as it added real depth and made you want to keep coming back to try to sign that next great player! It did get too easy after a while though and the only part that got hard was the opposition got better at winning turnovers. I really love co-op as well as playing world league with a friend was brilliant. Something with even more depth than this would be great - more like a built in manager mode where you hired coaches and developed young players as well. Maybe a mode where you get to add your own team into an existing tournament - like making a supr 16!

Love the behind camera angle - ie from the posts looking down the field - does anyone ever use the side on angles?

Only things i dint like were it was too easy to score tries even on the harder levels (as I mentioned the opposition just seemed to be able to get turnover easier - that was the only way they got better), plus the opposition were very limited in their AI - they didnt exploit weaknesses or use and advanced tactics.

Great to see HB doing another rugby game - we've been waiting for this for ever!

PS - must have an online mode too please - playing with friends is where this game gets great!

 

[Hatch87]

Favourite

1. Drop goalsl in 08, I like the timing aspect rather than aim and kick, made it take real skill.

2. Lions Tour in 06

3. Classic Matches in 08

4. Tour mode in 08, I liked how top players wouldn't want to join your divison 3 team, made it last longer, rather than buy one fast player at the start which could just run circles around the other teams.

5. On the try line defence on 08 was a massive improvement, rather than in previous games where you could get to 5 yards and drive through almost guaranteeing a try

Dislikes

1. set moves like 'side step' and 'hand-off ' always looked like a pre-rendered move rather than flowing smoothly.

2. Being able to kick the ball from one corner to the other with top kickers everytime with no defence prepared for it, even if you are the defender, you couldn't force your back row all the way back.

3. Unlikely Try saving tackles. when someone is about an inch from the ground a defender would touch them and make them stand up again and stagger forward, sometimes out of play.

4. Poor AI. In 08 you brought in the no tackle in the air rule which was good, but the AI would still tackle in the air for no reason. Sometimes you would have a two on one run and then the other player would randomly run off, or the pass you make goes to nowhere even though the player was right next to you.

5. Defence. In general defending never really worked. Sometimes it was better to leave the computer to defend rather than yourself, I think the addition of a button to press for when you want to tackle, as well as dive tackle would be much better, maybe with use of the thumb stick to determine how high/low you want the tackle to be.

Really looking forward to this game, still playing 06 on the Xbox, and 08 on my laptop, although the keyboard doesnt let me press 3 buttons at once which makes for a whole new challenge lol

 

[Broadster86]

- What are your 5 least favourite features of our game(s)
1. Star players to good, I like the idea just not passing the ball to Habana and finding it hard to get tackled.
2. Most players look nothing like actual players themselves in some instances the skin color is wrong.
3. Positions, players should be able to play more then 3 positions. I should be able to put Spies in the second row if I choose and he is not a flyhalf.
4. Kick and chase, I should be able to put kicks in and have a chance of regaining, defending players must loose the ability to turn around so fast.
5. Rucks, If a player makes a break and is Isolated and the defending team has player at the breakdown it should be a auto penalty, we should be able to control the ball release in attack and the Pilfer in defence. This is one of the major things I believe should be implemented it would take more knowledge of the rules to play but will make it far more challenging therefore increasing the play life of the game and make for a more realistic multi player experience.

 

[staph.glorious]

5 Favourite Features:

* The stadia, which look very realistic and have a good sense of atmosphere; only a little improvement ideal, if possible (home crowd vs away crowd, reacting to on-field incidents).
* The set-plays; already a great foundation, so the more the merrier!
* The World League; again, as a foundation, it has a decent management system and offers what I feel is Rugby 08's only real challenge. Really, working towards a dream XV in this manner makes for some solid replayability. Hope to see it incorporated into all the club competitions in the upcoming ***le.
* Camera angles. Barring the odd glitch (see below), they're very good.
* Momentum bar. Don't quite fully understand it, but I dig on its importance.

5 Least Favourite Features:

* The glitches, or why-the-****-does-Rugby08-keep-crashing. Near unforgiveable, but I'll reinvest my faith (PS, thanks for this thread)
* Licensing/names; as long as you do your best, I won't b*tch too much!
* Speed is king. There's a whole array of stats on each player, and it would be a major breakthrough if they could all contribute towards a winning gameplan; not just "pass to J Robinson/B O'Driscoll - 5 points"
* Setpieces. (i) The lineout. There's no variety, very easy to defend against and often very easy to score from (ie throwing to the tail). The simulated throw-in was a nice touch in theory only; I'd rather it were improved on. Just not very realistic. (ii) The scrum. Well, it's nice not to see every 2-in-3 collapse, or whatever stat you can attribute to that. But I don't think it felt dynamic enough, and again not so realistic, which is my major gripe.
* Not realistic. Ya ground it out of me. I'm talking rucking, refereeing, rolling mauls and Ronan O'Gara's rocket boot, amidst every other discrepancy that ain't modern day rugby. Others have (probably) mentioned all these issues in their own posts, but it really just boils down to emulating the live action of that great sport we all love. They've all said it before me, so do your best and try to honour their wishes!

 

[Hulk Hogan]

5 Favorite features:
+ World League was the best feature of the game, managing your teams, trading players and managing injuries was great, however players should instead of having set positions, should have preferred positions, so that if over the seasons you play them out of position say Kankofski on the wing instead of number 8 or flanker that eventually his preferred position would change to Wing, much like what happened with Digby Ioane at the reds in 2008 he went from wing to center and played there until it was his preferred position.
+ Simulation offload was great.
+ Camera Angles were great.
+ Tackle animations that didn't look scripted, there was one in particular where they player put the shoulder in and sort of bounced over the attacking player and it looked fantastic.
+ Stadiums were good, could use bench players warming up and stuff on the side.

5 Least Favorite features:
- Rucks, were boring repetitive and looked nothing like rucks in a real game, same as mauls.
- Unrealistic tackling animations and tackling in general, looked very very very boring after a few minutes, when you rarely have two players involved in tackles.
- Speed and the like, It's no good when Props run down my wingers, and when wingers bust through props tackles.... weight played no factor in the game in the future games it should, I want Shane Williams to get snapped in half by Bakkies Botha, not break through him.
- Steps, handoffs and everything looked very very very unrealistic and dull, and slowed the players down so much that they just get tackled anyway.
- Injuries, players don't need to go off everytime they stub their toe, just have their performance decrease so you're forced to take them off, unless they break something they can usually still walk around and try to play, have that factor in the game.

 

[pasc1612]

5 favorite/successes
-create players
-place kicking
-comprehensive number of teams
-speed of game play
-fun gameplay

5 least favorite points
-very much the same thing ... same tackles same running lines same moves same kick ... there should be the difference in the tackle high low dependent on the attacker and .. more half tackles
- the way every line break became a turn over .. no supporting runners to generate quick ball
-loopy miss passes
-no AI on own team to make players run lines so that a selection of best pass is available ! all that happened is that you passed the ball down a static line
-ball always bounced the same so a little chip always worked

 

[primalskalas]

The good

.Habana was almost good enough
.stadiums was good
.sound effects not to bad


not so good

.graphics very bad actually
.physics sucks
.ai sucks
.the whole gameplay sytem sucks its unrealistic at its best if you want to improve the game give it the madden camara angle and the madden engine coz there is absolutly what so ever individual briliance if anybody understands what im saying thats good coz there is no feel in the game For example sory not the best one but it will explain its like avatar you have to become one with the players give the game something new not the same old boring rugby game plz...

the ugly

.the players allways ptackle high and get away with it!!
.plz improve the AI!!!!

 

[alexrock23]

I really like all feature of this game but My top 5 favorite features of this game all following
The wide selection of set-plays and stadiums in Rugby
Lions tours
Offload Mode
Challenge mode was interesting
Number of teams and players available