Gday, Not a regular poster but have been watching closely for a while to get any of the limited info that has been coming out about RC3 since it was announced.
I got my hands on a copy of RC3 today (ordered online in NZ,posted to Aust) and thought i'd add some thoughts for those who still have to wait a few more days.
I've been a long time rugby video game player and still play RC2 regularly so know it pretty well.
I will probably just write this in dot points as it comes into my head. Im playing on an xbox360 which i have to connect with component cables due to broken HDMI ports on the TV so can't really comment of graphics.
Haven't tried be a pro yet because i want to sort all the squads out first. Haven't tried the Fanhub because it wouldn't let me access it, not sure if i have to wait until the game is released elsewhere for that to work. I have been playing on Hard mode as that is what i played on RC2 most as i didn't find pro mode played very well on RC2. I have tweaked a few sliders but that will be a work in progress to get right.
- First thoughts/feelings after playing for a couple of hour: Pretty disappointing for a game that had 3 years to advance but not as bad as feared after the lack of info released, the delays and the initial youtube videos of gameplay.
- Game play has definitely changed slightly. Can't really put my finger on what it is. Its not a huge change but similar to the RC1-RC2 change. It is definitely harder to run through gaps in the backline and run around the outside with a winger. The AI defence just seems to react better or chase harder or something. You do still get the defenders running along with you not closing the gap of you are running away for a try but it seems a bit more realistic now. The AI attack seems more realistic as well. Less flinging it left the back right then back left. Although that still does happen occasionally. AI seems to hold onto the ball a lot longer now which can mean you are living off scraps.
- There seems to be a few new animations. When breaking a tackle there are new ones as far as i can tell, like a little spin. Could be wrong.
- Sevens is kind of fun, plays better than i had expected it to because of the tweaked defence.
- Goal kicking is a better system than previous versions but it's too easy. Especially in 7s
- You can now copy a player to make it easier to create a player but that only copies name and stats, not any likeness. You can now also select preset stats for each position rather than having to start from scratch, pretty sure that is new to RC3. You can also search a player name in editing now. However see below issue with Licensed player editing.
Now for the most frustrating bits that haven't been changed or have been made worse:
- Defender movement. ie. running back in cover defence to tackle a winger you are often trying to run sideways if that makes sense. This was one of the worst things in RC2. It has been toned down a bit i think but still happens. Frustrating.
- Poor support lines from team mates still. See my wish list at the bottom.
- Forward pass animations where the ball clearly travels forward but is let go. Same as previous versions. Various other bugs still there too.
- Player editing: As far as i can tell all licensed players are locked for editing. No stats editing, no physical editing, nothing. Some of the stats are terrible too. 7's players seems to rate very highly.
- Squad selection: A decent search function in squad selection is still missing, you need to filter the names alphabetically and scroll for hours. A search function like in the player editor (see above) would be perfect or at least a nationality filter.
Just on that, as seen in one of those Cornflake videos on youtube, you can select non national players in international teams, not just 7s but 15s also, Stupid.
- Squads: This one is worse than expected. The squads have been slightly updated but some of the players were definitely not even around in 2015 let alone 2016. Rene Ranger doesn't appear to be in the game and Kaino and Sonny Bill are pretty poor attempts at likenesses even though they had the properly constructed ones in RC1. Akira Ioane is listed as a scrum half and winger in 15s, wasn't in the sevens or Blues squad but can be found in Auckland's ITM squad.
- Still missing a pregame option to fine tune your lineup for that game. Mainly applicable to single matches.
Overall it's not too bad. It's just the fact that we have waited 3 years for not much advancement and bugs from RC1 are still in the game that makes it frustrating.
Here are a few things that I think would make the game a hell of a lot better via a patch or later version just in case the developers ever look at this.
- Better support lines from team mates in close to the ball runner. Outside players cutting back inside instead of getting bunched up as you angle out etc. Even if you need to call the to cut with LEFT trigger or something. This would make a HUGE difference. Better yet just have sprint controlled with the stick and use left and right triggers to control short passing or support player movement.
- Player name search function in squad selection and/or more filters.
- Allow licensed player editing. I realise this is probably a licensing issue but surely changing stats is ok as in previous versions. Not a deal breaker.
- Tweak defensive player movement to eliminate the issue with players trying to run sideways when chasing back diagonally.
- Split sliders to tweak AI and user gameplay separately. or at least explain a bit better what each slider actually does.
- Player development/regression in Career mode (see cornflake video on youtube) this would give it more life.
- A world league (similar to Rugby 08 and others) in career mode. If this isn't possible due to license restrictions allow custom tournaments to be used and/or have interest and job offers based on performance in career mode similar to 'be a pro'.
That's all i can think of for now but will add more if it comes up while im playing.
I got my hands on a copy of RC3 today (ordered online in NZ,posted to Aust) and thought i'd add some thoughts for those who still have to wait a few more days.
I've been a long time rugby video game player and still play RC2 regularly so know it pretty well.
I will probably just write this in dot points as it comes into my head. Im playing on an xbox360 which i have to connect with component cables due to broken HDMI ports on the TV so can't really comment of graphics.
Haven't tried be a pro yet because i want to sort all the squads out first. Haven't tried the Fanhub because it wouldn't let me access it, not sure if i have to wait until the game is released elsewhere for that to work. I have been playing on Hard mode as that is what i played on RC2 most as i didn't find pro mode played very well on RC2. I have tweaked a few sliders but that will be a work in progress to get right.
- First thoughts/feelings after playing for a couple of hour: Pretty disappointing for a game that had 3 years to advance but not as bad as feared after the lack of info released, the delays and the initial youtube videos of gameplay.
- Game play has definitely changed slightly. Can't really put my finger on what it is. Its not a huge change but similar to the RC1-RC2 change. It is definitely harder to run through gaps in the backline and run around the outside with a winger. The AI defence just seems to react better or chase harder or something. You do still get the defenders running along with you not closing the gap of you are running away for a try but it seems a bit more realistic now. The AI attack seems more realistic as well. Less flinging it left the back right then back left. Although that still does happen occasionally. AI seems to hold onto the ball a lot longer now which can mean you are living off scraps.
- There seems to be a few new animations. When breaking a tackle there are new ones as far as i can tell, like a little spin. Could be wrong.
- Sevens is kind of fun, plays better than i had expected it to because of the tweaked defence.
- Goal kicking is a better system than previous versions but it's too easy. Especially in 7s
- You can now copy a player to make it easier to create a player but that only copies name and stats, not any likeness. You can now also select preset stats for each position rather than having to start from scratch, pretty sure that is new to RC3. You can also search a player name in editing now. However see below issue with Licensed player editing.
Now for the most frustrating bits that haven't been changed or have been made worse:
- Defender movement. ie. running back in cover defence to tackle a winger you are often trying to run sideways if that makes sense. This was one of the worst things in RC2. It has been toned down a bit i think but still happens. Frustrating.
- Poor support lines from team mates still. See my wish list at the bottom.
- Forward pass animations where the ball clearly travels forward but is let go. Same as previous versions. Various other bugs still there too.
- Player editing: As far as i can tell all licensed players are locked for editing. No stats editing, no physical editing, nothing. Some of the stats are terrible too. 7's players seems to rate very highly.
- Squad selection: A decent search function in squad selection is still missing, you need to filter the names alphabetically and scroll for hours. A search function like in the player editor (see above) would be perfect or at least a nationality filter.
Just on that, as seen in one of those Cornflake videos on youtube, you can select non national players in international teams, not just 7s but 15s also, Stupid.
- Squads: This one is worse than expected. The squads have been slightly updated but some of the players were definitely not even around in 2015 let alone 2016. Rene Ranger doesn't appear to be in the game and Kaino and Sonny Bill are pretty poor attempts at likenesses even though they had the properly constructed ones in RC1. Akira Ioane is listed as a scrum half and winger in 15s, wasn't in the sevens or Blues squad but can be found in Auckland's ITM squad.
- Still missing a pregame option to fine tune your lineup for that game. Mainly applicable to single matches.
Overall it's not too bad. It's just the fact that we have waited 3 years for not much advancement and bugs from RC1 are still in the game that makes it frustrating.
Here are a few things that I think would make the game a hell of a lot better via a patch or later version just in case the developers ever look at this.
- Better support lines from team mates in close to the ball runner. Outside players cutting back inside instead of getting bunched up as you angle out etc. Even if you need to call the to cut with LEFT trigger or something. This would make a HUGE difference. Better yet just have sprint controlled with the stick and use left and right triggers to control short passing or support player movement.
- Player name search function in squad selection and/or more filters.
- Allow licensed player editing. I realise this is probably a licensing issue but surely changing stats is ok as in previous versions. Not a deal breaker.
- Tweak defensive player movement to eliminate the issue with players trying to run sideways when chasing back diagonally.
- Split sliders to tweak AI and user gameplay separately. or at least explain a bit better what each slider actually does.
- Player development/regression in Career mode (see cornflake video on youtube) this would give it more life.
- A world league (similar to Rugby 08 and others) in career mode. If this isn't possible due to license restrictions allow custom tournaments to be used and/or have interest and job offers based on performance in career mode similar to 'be a pro'.
That's all i can think of for now but will add more if it comes up while im playing.
