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[Archived] Ashes 2009

Guest Kamy100

By Guest Kamy100
in I Can't Believe It's Not Football Archive

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Guest Kamy100

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Interview with the developers (from www.planetcricket.net):

HS - Heath Smith, Lead Designer, Ashes Cricket 2009, Transmission Games.

JF - Jamie Firth, Producer, Ashes Cricket 2009, Codemasters.

Q1: Hi Jamie, Heath, thanks for your time in talking to PlanetCricket. First of all, how did you judge the reaction to Brian Lara Cricket 2007 and what was the first thing that the development team decided needed changing from it when starting work on Ashes Cricket 2009?

HS: The first thing we decided needed changing was the user feedback loop. BLIC 07 was a great game, but it wasn't always clear what you were doing right (or wrong). We've totally redesigned the in-game feedback HUDs to be - we hope - much more intuitive to both the casual player, and the seasoned BLIC fan. With bowling in particular it seemed the was room for improvement in how the bowler could know if he's on the right track, or simply firing balls down the pitch and hoping for the best. I'll talk some more about bowling later on.

JF: Heath’s spot on for me: Although 07 was a good forward move from 05, for me there was still too much work for the casual fan to do. It still relied on a lot of cricket knowledge from the player, and this was always the key thing we wanted to do with 09: keep the nuances and skills of Cricket, but to make it so that the more casual fan could understand what they were doing.

Of course, the secondary challenge was to fix the things that the cricket fans didn’t like about 07: fix those annoying little bugs that we read about so much on Planet Cricket. ;-)

Q2: Speaking of BLIC 2007, how different is the base of Ashes Cricket 2009 to it, has there been work from scratch (at least in parts) and is there anything that is unchanged?

JF: Let me make one thing perfectly clear from minute one: The Wicket Keeper no longer takes the bails off every time he gets the ball. OK? ;-)

HS: We thought it was time for a re-write to take advantage of the next gen hardware, so it's a brand new code-base. Only one section of the code was initially used as a reference - the batting 'shot grids'. Over the course of development this has been completely replaced by what we hope is a much more dynamic batting system, so you should see a lot more variety of shots played in the game.

Q3: The PlanetCricket Forums had a very long thread titled ‘Brian Lara Cricket 2007 Bugs’, has this been utilised as a guide to check against when working on the new game? Specifically, have the major AI issues such as the pacing of innings, the tactics utilised (field placements, batting/bowling strategy) and leaving the ball impacting confidence been fixed?

HS: We're often on the PlanetCricket forums looking at all the feedback on the previous cricket titles, and of course BLIC 07. One of the reasons for starting with a brand new code-base was to address a lot of these issues.

Innings pacing - we have run rate objectives for our AI batsmen, based on real cricket play theory. For example, in an ODI you will see the batsman start off quite conservative, and get more aggressive as the innings wears on. Our AI batsmen will also taken into account required run rates, and weigh up these 'game' factors against the quality of each delivery coming towards them. Smarter batsmen will make better choices about when to go for that big six, and when to play it safe.

Field placements are tied to AI bowling tactics. Our AI bowlers bowl real cricket tactics - we've even given a hint to some of these in the legends lessons (you'll have to play them to find out!). Our AI will also adjust their field settings dynamically based on where you're playing your shots. Try hitting a few shots to the same area and see what happens...

Q4: Has saving been implemented?

HS: You can save your match at the start of each delivery, on -any- delivery. You can also simulate an over, innings or whole match if you like, but you'll lose the chance to earn any more unlocks or rewards for that innings.

Q5: Have there been any major changes in control structures? Bowling has always been one of the major problems in any cricket game, does Ashes Cricket 2009 do anything different that will make bowling fun again?

HS: Right, so let's talk bowling.

We really wanted to get in there and make bowling the equal experience to batting. Both in pure fun, and depth.

We've kept the 'face button' bowling system as it's easy to pick up and play for the first timer: We liked the idea that left-moving and right-moving deliveries were mapped to the left and right buttons, and 'straight' ones to the middle buttons - it's easy for the user to understand. We've built on that by splitting up the face buttons into sets of specific deliveries. You can cycle between these sets, sort of like choosing your driver, iron or wedge in a golf game.

You can also review all of your available deliveries, and why some might be disabled. As your confidence and stamina increase/decrease, different deliveries become available/unavailable. Some, like the reverse swing deliveries, are also dependent on the age of the ball. They all have separate top speeds, spin/cut/swing amounts - it's a true representation of a bowler's arsenal, and a real incentive to skill up your bowler to unlock those special deliveries.

We've taken the aiming reticule and made it more important. Bowling is no longer just how well you time your bowling meter press, you also have to take into account how well you aim the ball. Spin and swing also play a factor in your aiming quality for those deliveries. All this is communicated through the reticule itself, which tints different shades of green to let you know how well you're doing. As you move the reticule around, you'll see poor aiming spots... good aiming spots... and 'hot spots'. These 'hot spots' are delivery specific, and represent ideal aimings to intimidate the batsman. There can also be more than one ideal aiming for a certain delivery, so don't just search near the batsman's feet...

JF: Just a quick one on the bowling meter - we've moved away from it being a 'power' meter: “Power” never made any sense to me: bowlers generally only ever bowl 3 speeds: Stock (Metronomically the speed they’re most comfortable bowling), a quicker ball, and a slower ball. This made the “Power” meter not make sense: if I want to bowl a slower ball, am I being penalized by the game if it perceives that I’ve hit the “power” meter at the bottom? Does it just think I’ve poorly judged the meter?

So now you now have the choice of bowling fast, slow and medium paced deliveries through the different deliveries available to you in your sets: there was no need to duplicate this functionality.

So the meter now represents how well you executed your aimed delivery. The speed at which it travels is consistent with the quality of the type of delivery you're bowling i.e. a high quality pace ball will be faster than a low quality one, whereas a high quality spinner will be slower than a low quality one.

So you have your AIMING quality (line and length that you’ve set), then using the “execution” meter you have your EXECUTION quality, or how well you release the ball. Both of these factors together determine your final DELIVERY quality, which has a direct impact on the batsman. Top quality deliveries are harder to hit, and are a sure fire way to intimidate the batsman, increasing your chances of an edge, and a wicket opportunity. It’s a much better, and clearer system, and we’re really happy with it: it makes sense to casual AND hardcore players.

HS: We've also moved the spin/swing adjust to the run-up period, as we felt that was a more realistic approach i.e. you can't adjust the spin of a delivery after you've released it in real life!

In addition to all of these changes, we've also given the bowler the ability to 'trick' the batsman in multiplayer. You can select one delivery to run up, and then press a different delivery button to bowl the ball - the ball that is bowled will be the final button you press! This opens up a range of tactics, especially when you consider different deliveries have different aiming 'hot spots'... I'll leave the rest up to you to discover.

JF: We haven't ignored batting though. You can now specify your footwork - back foot or front foot. This can really give the advanced players the edge. Back foot shots give you more time to play the ball - perfect for those shorter pitched deliveries. By specifying your footwork, you increase your chance of hitting the ball accurately. You'll see your aiming wedge on the radar shrink - perfect for threading through those gaps. If you choose the wrong footwork it can backfire, and you wont hit the shot as well as if you'd left it up to the game to choose for you. The player will choose their own footwork (the higher-order batsmen will be better at this) so the casual player doesn’t HAVE to use the advanced controls: This is really for advanced players, you'll see what we mean!

HS: We've also tuned the batting to try and get away from it being the 'slog fest' of previous titles: A test match will be very different to a 20/20 game: confidence will have to be built before you can take the bigger shots with less risk. We really look forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

Q6: Is there an option for automatic fielding? I was always forgetting to press the button in time in BLIC 07 and always ended up with the keeper dropping the ball and then taking the bails off.

HS: We agree! Again, it’s about giving the user more control IF THEY WANT IT, or leaving it automatic. Fielding is automatic by default, or you override the fielder and specify which end you want to throw to, for example. In this way you can target a specific batsman you want to get run out.

JF: Catching is now a mini-game in itself with a fun real-time-event mechanism. Again, the player is just having influence over-riding the players stats: if he’s a great fielder he may catch it on his own, but the user can make sure of a catch with their skill. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll see!

Q7: How has the Ashes licence impacted the thinking behind the game design? Has there been a focus on getting a true Test Match experience?

HS: As the Ashes is our primary game mode, we've definitely focused on making Test matches feel like test matches, not ODIs in white uniforms! AI batting and bowling tactics are different for test matches, with the 'big picture' coming in to play as well as delivery-by-delivery factors as I mentioned above.

Q8: A PlanetCricket focused question here, how customisable is the game compared to previous versions?

HS: You can edit all the names of all the unlicensed (i.e. non Aus/Eng) players in the game, as well as their appearance, kit bag etc. You can also create your own player, and add him into the team of your choice. So yes, you can play in the Ashes side of your choice.

JF: Ahhh, I think you’re talking about patching our game non? Well, I realise that you guys are always tweaking and playing with our titles. We can’t set about sending out an “open-source” version of the game, for reasons I’m sure you understand. Licensing and future titles depend on it. But you guys seem to always find a way… And I’m sure you will again!

Q9: Have the ECB and Cricket Australia licenses been leveraged beyond the Ashes mode, is there any domestic cricket for example? Secondly, any unlicensed modes that replicate other tournaments?

HS: There is no domestic cricket this time around. You can create your own custom ODI, Test and 20 Overs single matches and tournaments, if you want to replicate the World Cup, IPL etc.

JF: Certainly domestic cricket is very much part of our future plans… That’s all I can say at this point.

Q10: Is it possible to play an Ashes series in Australia? if so, are there also a range of Australian stadiums. On the topic of stadiums, has there been much of an increase in them over previous editions?

HS: You can create your own custom 5-test series in Australia, sure, but you won't be playing for the Ashes - that's reserved for the official English/Welsh stadia!

We've got eighteen stadia in the game, from all corners of the world. One thing we wanted to do this time around is allow the user to experience all the stadia straight up. So the stadia are initially bound to game mode i.e. the English stadia are always available in Ashes mode, and the rest are spread evenly across the other three game modes (ODI, Test, 20 Overs). Now when you unlock a stadium, you unlock it for playing in all modes. Our artists have gone to a LOT of trouble to re-create the stadia. I hope you'll be impressed with what we've come up with.

JF: Yeah, we really wanted to give the stadia character too: in previous versions we’ve had crumbly wickets at Lords and sticky wickets at Brisbane: you’d VERY rarely see that (if ever). So this year there will be specific conditions locked to location: if you want to play in blisteringly hot conditions on a rock solid wicket then you’ll have to play at a stadium that suits this. Possibly not Cardiff is what I’m saying. This gives people more reason to think about where they want to play: it changes the whole game! And don’t worry about your Australian stadia: they’ll feature much heavier in Ashes Cricket 2010!

Q11: There were quite a few complaints on the forum about the high PC system requirements on the previous version, with the improved graphics in Ashes Cricket 2009 will this mean more users will miss out, or have steps been taken to help the lower end systems play as well?

HS: You can scale the quality of the graphics and resolution, so it should be playable on most PCs without a worry.

Q12: A problem I’ve always had with cricket games was the seeming link with reaction times and difficulty levels. Is there more to difficulty than just hitting the perfect spot, or holding down the six-hit button and smashing each ball over the fence?

HS: As I was mentioning before, it's not just when you press the button, but where you aim your shot/delivery. These really factor in to the gameplay now. With the addition of footwork modifiers for batting, and spin/swing adjust for bowling, we think you'll find there's more going on to gameplay than just getting the button press timed right.

Q13: Getting the multiplayer aspect of the game right has always been fairly simple, BLIC has always been brilliant fun when playing against someone. Is the AI adaptable in this manner, as in does your play in multiplayer games (or against the CPU) shape how the CPU responds in future?

HS: Your play vs the CPU will definitely affect how the AI plays against you. For example, if you're restricting runs as a bowler, you can frustrate the AI batsmen into playing more aggressively towards you. There are a number of these sorts of decisions going on in the background, but I'm hesitant to mention them here as half the fun is experiencing them through the gameplay yourself.

JF: Yeah, Heath is being coy about this. We’ve actually got hundreds of layered tactics in this game: we’re just scared that the AI is too smart that very often you can’t see what it’s doing! Hopefully you’ll see that it’s a really deep and rich cricketing experience. It adapts to the situation and has a wealth of cricketing knowledge instructing it what to throw at you. Fingers crossed you’ll love what we’ve done with it!

Q14: I could go on forever here, but I’ll finish off the questions with a can of worms, do you think that Ashes Cricket 2009 is better than the game Codemasters released 10 years ago, and still generally regarded as the best, Brian Lara Cricket '99?

JF: For me, Lara 99 is the benchmark. I was never into Cricket per say as a kid, but at University we played Lara ’99 on PS1 religiously. It was our post-pub game, before PES took over in the early 00’s. It was madly accessible, but had loads of subtlety to it as well. For that reason, Lara ’99 is the design standard: If we can win non-Cricket people over the way that game won ME over, then we’ll have done a great job.

Q15: Thanks for your time, I know I took a huge chunk of it. I certainly look forward to playing the game and to speak to you again.

HS: Thanks Matt, it's been a pleasure. I hope everyone has a much fun playing the game as we had making it. We will be checking the forums so please get on there and let us know what you think.

JF: Heath’s right: we’ll be watching you. I know (I read it often enough) that you guys don’t think we watch the PlanetCricket forums, but I assure you we do. Your review of 2007 pretty much formed the backbone (as well as, obviously, commercial considerations) of the 2009 design ethos. I check them daily to see what’s on your minds. The last few months have been a lot of fun: the conspiracy theories, the speculations. I’m glad we’re out in the open now and able to talk about the game: I’m really hopeful that we’ll have brought all of you guys some justice! Roll on release day!

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Guest Kamy100

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I went to Codemasters HQ in Leamington Spa for a playtest of the full game, below is the preview that I did for another site:

Two years after Brian Lara 2007, which was widely regarded as a disappointing effort, Codemasters step up to the crease with Ashes 2009.

Prior to doing this preview and getting some hands on time I decided to spend a couple of days playing BLIC 2007 so that I remember the things that really annoyed me about that game, the unrealistic run rates, the poor AI tactics, the stand there and slog gameplay and the jerky animations.

Going into the playtest and despite the positive previews I still had low expectations and expected Ashes 2009 to be BLIC 2007 which a few graphical touches and minus the bugs that crippled the previous game. How wrong was I!!

The first things to report that the next gen versions (PS3, 360 and PC) look and play exactly the same, the PS3 build that we saw was more advanced but that was simply because Sony’s authentication process takes a lot longer than that of Microsoft.

The first thing talking to James Firth who is the producer is that he knows a lot about the game of cricket, and he has spent the last 2 years researching all facet so as to make this as authentic a experience as it can be, as well as making it easily accessible for beginners, therefore the games difficulty is layered, so if you want a pick up and play experience than the lower levels (Easy, Medium) are tailored for that, if you want more of a hardcore experience then the hard mode is tailored for you, this combined with the control system really helps Ashes 2009 achieve this aim. James also said numerous times during the playtest that the aim is to make Ashes 2009 the Pro Evo of cricketing games.

The game has a brand new engine which the development team have been working on for the last two and a half years, and has authentic teams and appearances for Australia and England, also contains 120 pieces of licensed bats, gloves etc. These are all locked to begin with but can be unlocked by getting different records such as fastest ever fifty etc.

The legends mode is superb, it is designed to give the player all the basics of playing the game, there are the basic elements which people from this forum will probably not need to look at, but than there are advanced training sections which will help people to master/explore the advanced elements of the gameplay.

Graphically the game looks gorgeous, it looks way better than BLIC 2007. The Australian and England team players look excellent and the player models have improved since the last version. The front is excellent and players are able to choose their own team based themes, so for example if you choose the Australian Theme than the menu music will Channel 9’s theme tune etc. The other themes will also have different music etc.

The game has 18 authentic stadiums, they look really good and each of then have their own unique characteristics, for example the conditions at Lords will be different to Karachi. Also the atmosphere will be different. The levels of detail within the stadiums are superb and even the crowds look better than previous versions.

The important part of any game particularly is the gameplay; you can have the most gorgeous looking, featured packed game but without a great gameplay experience all of that effort would be wasted. I am pleased to report that after 3 hours of hands on time with Ashes 2009 that the gameplay is the stand out feature and has improved in every aspect from BLIC 2007:

BATTING:

The batting is so much more an authentic experience in Ashes 2009. Whereas in BLIC 2007 you could stand and slog all over the place (even on the hardest difficulty level) and get unrealistic scores with batsman pulling of impossible shots, in Ashes 2009 this is no longer possible on the hard mode. The test matches that I played on hard mode against a human opponent were quite realistic, in terms of the way we scored runs, how we had to monvure the ball around the pitch and the way the realistic way the ball behaved when playing shots. The new batting control system works really well. You are given different types of shot options (Defensive, Attack and Lofted). As the bowler runs in you use the analogue stick to define the direction that you want the ball to go in, and when the ball is bowled you select the type of shot that you want to play (attacking, defence or lofted) and then there is a timing window, if you get the timing window correct the ball will go where you want it, but if you don’t then it could take the edge, flick of your bat and into your body/pads or go somewhere else on the field. The timing window is affected by the confidence of the batsman (there are six levels of confidence) and the ability of the batsman. This mechanism works really well, and the key thing was that you are on the hard level forced to play authentic cricketing shots. You can also choose to play a back foot shoot (by pressing L1), or front foot shoot (by pressing L2) or run down the pitch (L1 & L2 together) or leave it to the AI to choose for you, the better the batsman the better choices that the batsman will make when you leave it to AI to choose. If you decide to charge down the pitch and miss the ball then you will have to manually (by pressing a button) get your batsman back into the creases.

The running between wickets has also improved, you can scamper quick singles, you can choose to dive or slide your bat into the crease, and if you change your mind mid run the players are now much more responsive so it gives you a better and more realistic chance of getting back, unlike BLIC 2007 where batsman where like the titanic when trying to turn back.

The shots look really good and behave very realistic, when you time a shot properly it now really feels like you have hit a proper shot, I loved timing my leg glances or pushing shots into gaps to pick up singles. Also edges are now more realistic, they happen more frequently if you are getting your timing wrong etc. There are also edges off defensive shots. Also loved that mistimed shots also come of the bat and onto the pads or body, very much like in real cricket.

Bugs such as leaving the ball affecting confidence have now been eradicated. Overall the batting experience during the playtest was really positive and rewarding experience. The positive is that test matches on the harder level seem to be much more realistic, whereas the gameplay experience playing a T20 game is more open.

I didn't play against the AI as was playing a human all the time so can't comment on batting AI.

BOWLING:

The bowling has been complete overhauled and pretty much all of the changes are improvements on previous versions. As the bowler starts his run up you select the type of delivery you want to do, each bowler has different types of deliveries. As the bowler starts their run up you have a second or so to find a good area to ball your selected delivery. As the bowler runs up there is a balling metre, there is a poor delivery area, good delivery area, a very small perfect area and a red zone on the metre. The metre works really well, you can ball a good delivery quite easily but if you want to try and ball a perfect delivery than it is a risk/reward approach because it increases the chances of bowling a no ball, which in T20 is very effective because the free hit for overstepping has been implemented into Ashes 2009. Also factors such as bowler skill come into account when a perfect delivery is being bowled and it doesn’t mean that if you bowl a perfect delivery that it will result in a wicket, all it does is maximise the opportunity to get a wicket, other factors such as the shot the batsman is playing, the skills/confidence of the batsman, the pitch conditions all come into the equitation.

The bowling side of the game is now much more challenging and enjoyable experience, for example I was playing one of the PC members and saw that he was playing a certain way, I thought that an arm ball would cause him problems if he played the type of shot he was playing, I decided to ball the arm ball, which was pitched just short of a good length, he misread the ball and the length and tried to flick to the leg side and it caught the outside edge and was caught by the slip, it felt great that I could use realistic bowling tactics that actually worked.

Delivery types of reverse swing only become available, when the wear and tear gets to 75%, this and a whole host of other things can be accessed by the advanced bowling options (pressing L1).

The bowler speeds for people like Anderson (his maximum speed was 75MPH) were slightly off but we were told that these would be sorted for final version.

FIELDING:

Fielding has also been changed from the previous version.

The catching mechanic is now different. If the ball is skied, things slow down matrix film style, as the ball flies towards your fielder and a there is a ring around the ball, if you press the button when the ring is green the fielder catches the ball, if it is orange the fielder will still try and catch the ball but the fielding ability of the player comes into play, if it is red it will be dropped. This mechanic works very well. If the ball flies to the slip or wicketkeeper you have to have a much quicker reaction time, than say when someone mistimes a slog down the ground and skies it.

IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO CATCH GROUND SHOTS!! This for me is huge, even if you get your timing prefect but hit the ball straight at the fielder, there is a chance you may get caught out.

You can now through the ball to either end by using the right analogue stick to choose or you can leave it to AI to decide where to throw. There are overthrows, for example there were a few occasions during the playtest where there was an increased chances of a run out batsman who were taking a quick single by throwing at the bowlers end, but the bowler hadn’t quite made it back over the stumps, so if I threw and the ball missed which resulted in overthrows. Again like in proper cricket that it the risk/reward choices that fielders are presented with.

Wicketkeeper animations are now very realistic and they no longer whizz the bails off all the time.

There are lots of different preset fields that you can set or you can have a fully customised field, all the time proper cricket terminology is used. Very minor gripe is that silly point does not wear a helmet.

Other stuff:

You can earn skill points and use them to improve skills of players, for example you play matches as India, you can earn skill points to improve skills of the Indian players, this will allow players to customise favourite teams, so that player abilities are represented accurately, when playing online the squads will revert to default squads.

Pitch wear and tear looks very realistic, e.g. we selected a 5th day pitch in Karachi and it looked dry, had marks and pronounced cracks.

Confidence can be linked to a situation, for example a player approaching a century may see confidence fluctuate, or when a team needs 15 off the last over to win, in other words the match situation is linked to confidence.

I think that I will finish here, I have lots more notes but this has gone on long enough. I hope people find this useful, and throughout I have tried to be as honest as possible. I will answer some of the specific questions that people sent me at some point tomorrow but at the moment I am ready for bed as it has been a very long day.

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DeadlyDirk Champions League

DeadlyDirk

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I went to Codemasters HQ in Leamington Spa for a playtest of the full game, below is the preview that I did for another site:

Two years after Brian Lara 2007, which was widely regarded as a disappointing effort, Codemasters step up to the crease with Ashes 2009.

Prior to doing this preview and getting some hands on time I decided to spend a couple of days playing BLIC 2007 so that I remember the things that really annoyed me about that game, the unrealistic run rates, the poor AI tactics, the stand there and slog gameplay and the jerky animations.

Going into the playtest and despite the positive previews I still had low expectations and expected Ashes 2009 to be BLIC 2007 which a few graphical touches and minus the bugs that crippled the previous game. How wrong was I!!

The first things to report that the next gen versions (PS3, 360 and PC) look and play exactly the same, the PS3 build that we saw was more advanced but that was simply because Sony’s authentication process takes a lot longer than that of Microsoft.

The first thing talking to James Firth who is the producer is that he knows a lot about the game of cricket, and he has spent the last 2 years researching all facet so as to make this as authentic a experience as it can be, as well as making it easily accessible for beginners, therefore the games difficulty is layered, so if you want a pick up and play experience than the lower levels (Easy, Medium) are tailored for that, if you want more of a hardcore experience then the hard mode is tailored for you, this combined with the control system really helps Ashes 2009 achieve this aim. James also said numerous times during the playtest that the aim is to make Ashes 2009 the Pro Evo of cricketing games.

The game has a brand new engine which the development team have been working on for the last two and a half years, and has authentic teams and appearances for Australia and England, also contains 120 pieces of licensed bats, gloves etc. These are all locked to begin with but can be unlocked by getting different records such as fastest ever fifty etc.

The legends mode is superb, it is designed to give the player all the basics of playing the game, there are the basic elements which people from this forum will probably not need to look at, but than there are advanced training sections which will help people to master/explore the advanced elements of the gameplay.

Graphically the game looks gorgeous, it looks way better than BLIC 2007. The Australian and England team players look excellent and the player models have improved since the last version. The front is excellent and players are able to choose their own team based themes, so for example if you choose the Australian Theme than the menu music will Channel 9’s theme tune etc. The other themes will also have different music etc.

The game has 18 authentic stadiums, they look really good and each of then have their own unique characteristics, for example the conditions at Lords will be different to Karachi. Also the atmosphere will be different. The levels of detail within the stadiums are superb and even the crowds look better than previous versions.

The important part of any game particularly is the gameplay; you can have the most gorgeous looking, featured packed game but without a great gameplay experience all of that effort would be wasted. I am pleased to report that after 3 hours of hands on time with Ashes 2009 that the gameplay is the stand out feature and has improved in every aspect from BLIC 2007:

BATTING:

The batting is so much more an authentic experience in Ashes 2009. Whereas in BLIC 2007 you could stand and slog all over the place (even on the hardest difficulty level) and get unrealistic scores with batsman pulling of impossible shots, in Ashes 2009 this is no longer possible on the hard mode. The test matches that I played on hard mode against a human opponent were quite realistic, in terms of the way we scored runs, how we had to monvure the ball around the pitch and the way the realistic way the ball behaved when playing shots. The new batting control system works really well. You are given different types of shot options (Defensive, Attack and Lofted). As the bowler runs in you use the analogue stick to define the direction that you want the ball to go in, and when the ball is bowled you select the type of shot that you want to play (attacking, defence or lofted) and then there is a timing window, if you get the timing window correct the ball will go where you want it, but if you don’t then it could take the edge, flick of your bat and into your body/pads or go somewhere else on the field. The timing window is affected by the confidence of the batsman (there are six levels of confidence) and the ability of the batsman. This mechanism works really well, and the key thing was that you are on the hard level forced to play authentic cricketing shots. You can also choose to play a back foot shoot (by pressing L1), or front foot shoot (by pressing L2) or run down the pitch (L1 & L2 together) or leave it to the AI to choose for you, the better the batsman the better choices that the batsman will make when you leave it to AI to choose. If you decide to charge down the pitch and miss the ball then you will have to manually (by pressing a button) get your batsman back into the creases.

The running between wickets has also improved, you can scamper quick singles, you can choose to dive or slide your bat into the crease, and if you change your mind mid run the players are now much more responsive so it gives you a better and more realistic chance of getting back, unlike BLIC 2007 where batsman where like the titanic when trying to turn back.

The shots look really good and behave very realistic, when you time a shot properly it now really feels like you have hit a proper shot, I loved timing my leg glances or pushing shots into gaps to pick up singles. Also edges are now more realistic, they happen more frequently if you are getting your timing wrong etc. There are also edges off defensive shots. Also loved that mistimed shots also come of the bat and onto the pads or body, very much like in real cricket.

Bugs such as leaving the ball affecting confidence have now been eradicated. Overall the batting experience during the playtest was really positive and rewarding experience. The positive is that test matches on the harder level seem to be much more realistic, whereas the gameplay experience playing a T20 game is more open.

I didn't play against the AI as was playing a human all the time so can't comment on batting AI.

BOWLING:

The bowling has been complete overhauled and pretty much all of the changes are improvements on previous versions. As the bowler starts his run up you select the type of delivery you want to do, each bowler has different types of deliveries. As the bowler starts their run up you have a second or so to find a good area to ball your selected delivery. As the bowler runs up there is a balling metre, there is a poor delivery area, good delivery area, a very small perfect area and a red zone on the metre. The metre works really well, you can ball a good delivery quite easily but if you want to try and ball a perfect delivery than it is a risk/reward approach because it increases the chances of bowling a no ball, which in T20 is very effective because the free hit for overstepping has been implemented into Ashes 2009. Also factors such as bowler skill come into account when a perfect delivery is being bowled and it doesn’t mean that if you bowl a perfect delivery that it will result in a wicket, all it does is maximise the opportunity to get a wicket, other factors such as the shot the batsman is playing, the skills/confidence of the batsman, the pitch conditions all come into the equitation.

The bowling side of the game is now much more challenging and enjoyable experience, for example I was playing one of the PC members and saw that he was playing a certain way, I thought that an arm ball would cause him problems if he played the type of shot he was playing, I decided to ball the arm ball, which was pitched just short of a good length, he misread the ball and the length and tried to flick to the leg side and it caught the outside edge and was caught by the slip, it felt great that I could use realistic bowling tactics that actually worked.

Delivery types of reverse swing only become available, when the wear and tear gets to 75%, this and a whole host of other things can be accessed by the advanced bowling options (pressing L1).

The bowler speeds for people like Anderson (his maximum speed was 75MPH) were slightly off but we were told that these would be sorted for final version.

FIELDING:

Fielding has also been changed from the previous version.

The catching mechanic is now different. If the ball is skied, things slow down matrix film style, as the ball flies towards your fielder and a there is a ring around the ball, if you press the button when the ring is green the fielder catches the ball, if it is orange the fielder will still try and catch the ball but the fielding ability of the player comes into play, if it is red it will be dropped. This mechanic works very well. If the ball flies to the slip or wicketkeeper you have to have a much quicker reaction time, than say when someone mistimes a slog down the ground and skies it.

IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO CATCH GROUND SHOTS!! This for me is huge, even if you get your timing prefect but hit the ball straight at the fielder, there is a chance you may get caught out.

You can now through the ball to either end by using the right analogue stick to choose or you can leave it to AI to decide where to throw. There are overthrows, for example there were a few occasions during the playtest where there was an increased chances of a run out batsman who were taking a quick single by throwing at the bowlers end, but the bowler hadn’t quite made it back over the stumps, so if I threw and the ball missed which resulted in overthrows. Again like in proper cricket that it the risk/reward choices that fielders are presented with.

Wicketkeeper animations are now very realistic and they no longer whizz the bails off all the time.

There are lots of different preset fields that you can set or you can have a fully customised field, all the time proper cricket terminology is used. Very minor gripe is that silly point does not wear a helmet.

Other stuff:

You can earn skill points and use them to improve skills of players, for example you play matches as India, you can earn skill points to improve skills of the Indian players, this will allow players to customise favourite teams, so that player abilities are represented accurately, when playing online the squads will revert to default squads.

Pitch wear and tear looks very realistic, e.g. we selected a 5th day pitch in Karachi and it looked dry, had marks and pronounced cracks.

Confidence can be linked to a situation, for example a player approaching a century may see confidence fluctuate, or when a team needs 15 off the last over to win, in other words the match situation is linked to confidence.

I think that I will finish here, I have lots more notes but this has gone on long enough. I hope people find this useful, and throughout I have tried to be as honest as possible. I will answer some of the specific questions that people sent me at some point tomorrow but at the moment I am ready for bed as it has been a very long day.

Great review and can't wait to play the game, stupid PS3!!

Will be interesting to see what the AI batting is like though, still worried that in a test match against Australia they'll be 300/0, it's so tricky getting the difficulty realistic but at the same time being able to take wickets while also making sure wickets don't tumble ball after ball.

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Hughesy World Cup

Hughesy

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Great review Kamy - thanks

When are they out? All versions out at the beginning of next month or is PS3 later?

Finally - I know its 'ashes', but can you use other nations in like friendly games or not? Or is it just England v Aus?

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Guest Kamy100

Guest Kamy100

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All versions are out on 7th August.

The only teams that are licensed are England and Australia. The other teams are all in there but the names of the players will not be proper (ie sapin Tondolkor). There is a full editor so you can edit the names.

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Hughesy World Cup

Hughesy

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Ah thats fine - just didnt want it to be 2 nations only, as that would give it less shelf life.

Think this will be my next game then - iv been waiting for a new game for ages so this should tie me over for a few weeks

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SIMON GARNERS 194

SIMON GARNERS 194

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Sounds good Kamy.Big fan of the Brian Lara series but you could see so many things about the game especially the game play could be better,sounds like these have been rectified.

Put my mind to rest Kamy...tell me the ball doesn't go through the batman's leg or bat onto the stumps anymore! :lol:

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Guest Kamy100

Guest Kamy100

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Put my mind to rest Kamy...tell me the ball doesn't go through the batman's leg or bat onto the stumps anymore! :lol:

:D I think that was one of the first things that they corrected!! You also now can get inside edges onto the stumps and bat/pad catches which other cricket games have never been able to do.

I will say that the graphics are an improvement on BLIC 2007, however people expecting FIFA 09 or Fight Night Round 4 type graphics will be disappointed, the developers have focused on getting the core gameplay right, for me personally if the gameplay is right than I can live with the graphics.

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DeadlyDirk Champions League

DeadlyDirk

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:D I think that was one of the first things that they corrected!! You also now can get inside edges onto the stumps and bat/pad catches which other cricket games have never been able to do.

I will say that the graphics are an improvement on BLIC 2007, however people expecting FIFA 09 or Fight Night Round 4 type graphics will be disappointed, the developers have focused on getting the core gameplay right, for me personally if the gameplay is right than I can live with the graphics.

Yeh definitely, if the gameplay is good then I couldn't really give a toss about the graphics as long as there at least average. Not really fussed about the lack of domestic teams or unlicensed international teams either, can always edit them, it's all about the gameplay for me.

Would it be fair to say Kamy that gameplay wise this will be the best cricket game so far?

Secondly on the subject of editing, can you adjust team names and attributes or is it just player names, just thinking if I can edit those I could create a couple of county teams over the top of some nations if I felt the need too.

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Guest Kamy100

Guest Kamy100

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The best cricket game that I have ever played is Brian Lara Circket 1999! However, yes I would say that this heads and shoulders above any other cricket game, if you play on the hardest difficulty it is very much a simulation, if you try to slog out in a test match you may make 50 runs in 5 overs but you will also be 8 or 9 down. You can score runs but have to play proper cricketing shots, also the AI is very smart, for example in the playtest I hooked 2 deliveries in an over, straight away the AI put in a third man, or on a green wicket the AI kept balling away swingers to try and get me to drive, when I didn't it decided to ball an inswinger which I wasn't expecting and I chopped it onto my stumps!

They have done a really cool thing with editing, you can edit the names straight away. Also if you play as an unlicenced team and win matches you earn point, you can use these points to alter attributes of the players, I think that is positive because it means you have to earn the right to change attributes and you can make players more life like in terms of their ability.

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DeadlyDirk Champions League

DeadlyDirk

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The best cricket game that I have ever played is Brian Lara Circket 1999! However, yes I would say that this heads and shoulders above any other cricket game, if you play on the hardest difficulty it is very much a simulation, if you try to slog out in a test match you may make 50 runs in 5 overs but you will also be 8 or 9 down. You can score runs but have to play proper cricketing shots, also the AI is very smart, for example in the playtest I hooked 2 deliveries in an over, straight away the AI put in a third man, or on a green wicket the AI kept balling away swingers to try and get me to drive, when I didn't it decided to ball an inswinger which I wasn't expecting and I chopped it onto my stumps!

They have done a really cool thing with editing, you can edit the names straight away. Also if you play as an unlicenced team and win matches you earn point, you can use these points to alter attributes of the players, I think that is positive because it means you have to earn the right to change attributes and you can make players more life like in terms of their ability.

Excellent, I can't wait, what console do you have Kamy?

I'm a little worried about online play, all it takes is for someone to work out an unplayable delivery or a ball that regularly takes wickets and online games become pointless. What are the chance of something like that happening do you think kamy, would you say the game is too advanced for a simple 'Unplayable Delivery' bug?

Do you know much about online games by the way, what are the match options? Twenty/20 games mainly I suspect? Test matches would be great to play against another human instead of AI but you'd never finish one unless you had a very trustworthy person on the other end. I'd imagine there would be plenty of people who would be like, 'Hmm I've lost the toss and am fielding first, umm quit!'.

Does Big Kev do his switch hitting? That would be pretty sweet.

Why couldn't they have been sensible and bring this game out coinciding with the first test, then I'd be bloody playing it by now, I haven't played a cricket game for 3 years and the last couple were crap.

Oh and yes some of the old Brian Lara games were great, the second one on the mega drive which included county teams was great, Except that definitely had a few glitches like giving people '1' for bowling accuracy made fast bowlers lob donkey droppers which landed on top of the bails and were very hard to play, swing bowlers who could start it out of the screen then swing in with an unplayable delivery and spin bowlers who could bowl around the wicket, pitch it a long way outside of off stump and turn it past leg stump haha. The game was great as long as you didn't play any of those people, bloody good fun though.

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