Questions for those with the game

[mikeyboy]

Tried asking these on gamefaqs, but not much joy so hopefully you can help:

Anyway, had any LBWs yet? Are they realistic?
Tried bowling legspin round the wicket yet to test the LBW AI?
Do you have to time your shots correctly or do you just pick your shot and the AI decides whether your are out or not?

How responsive is it? Is there a delay between choosing your shot and seeing it on screen?

Is it difficult to get a length? Is the targeting circle very twitchy? Is it different for different bowlers? Is it easier to get a good length with a bowler with good stats?

How many catches behind the wicket? Is it realistic?

Tried manual fielding yet? Easy or Hard.

Can you place fielders wherever you want? Can the ball go anywhere on the pitch or does it appear to have "set routes", i.e. if you play a cover drive for 4 will it always shoot off in the exactly the same direction?

What's the run rate like? Is it realistic? How long does it take to play an innings/ODI/tets match.

What's the stats tracking like?

 

[mavric41]

lbws are pretty realistic
keyboard controls are tough - a gamepad is much better.
Very few catches behind the wicket so far.
No delay between choosing your shot and seeing it on screen.
I haven't tried the manual fielding yet.
So far the AI is kicking my arse so I can't tell you about run rates.
With more practice the game could be more fun.

 

[mikeyboy]

Surely there must be more people with the game?

 

[luckyeddie]

Surely there must be more people with the game?

They're shy

 

[mikeyboy]

They're shy

Aussies shy? yeah right!!

 

[mikeyboy]

They're shy

Aussies shy? yeah right!!

 

[iamdavid]

Im an Aussie & I got it :P :P

Anyway, had any LBWs yet? Are they realistic?
Tried bowling legspin round the wicket yet to test the LBW AI?

generally the same as C2002 , all the CPU cares about is that it pitches in line & hits the batsman in line , if that happens it will be given out , dosent really take height or angle into account

Do you have to time your shots correctly or do you just pick your shot and the AI decides whether your are out or not?

Shot selection is very important , yes you obviously have to time it well to , the confidence meter also has alot to do with how well you hit & place you're shots.

How responsive is it? Is there a delay between choosing your shot and seeing it on screen?

Nope , all happens straight away.

Is it difficult to get a length? Is the targeting circle very twitchy? Is it different for different bowlers? Is it easier to get a good length with a bowler with good stats?

bowling is much harder than C2002 , the marker is much twitchier , obviously this varies according to the skill of the bowler (ala its easier to bowl with Shaun Pollock than Justin Langer)

How many catches behind the wicket? Is it realistic?

I've been extremely impressed with the realism of the game , there are lots of play & misses if the shot selection is poor , the ball swings more than in 2002 , Ive got out to several fine knicks to the keeper & edges to slips & gully , you will occasionally be caught down the legside off a fine tickle , very realistic IMO.

Tried manual fielding yet? Easy or Hard.

Havent tried yet

Can you place fielders wherever you want? Can the ball go anywhere on the pitch or does it appear to have "set routes", i.e. if you play a cover drive for 4 will it always shoot off in the exactly the same direction?

There's a manual feild editor so you can place the feildsman where ever you like , of course the ball can go anywhere , depends on pace of the bowler , pitch type , timing , confidence , etc.

What's the run rate like? Is it realistic? How long does it take to play an innings/ODI/tets match.

This is IMO the biggest improvement , on hard , mode you can no longer just go out there & blast away at 10 an over from ball 1 , must play yourself in first , work the singles , you actually have to wait for a bad ball to hit rather than just teeing off at anything.
CPU run rates also very realistic , depends how well you bowl.

What's the stats tracking like?

It tracks stats , what more can you say :P

 

[MrPerko]

I think the best feature of C2004 are the tours. I'm playing Australia away to South Africa at the mo and it's fantastic. You must first play a tour match or two against a SA domestic team, then you get into the tests, and afterwards, the ODIs. You also pick your squad at the beginning, then choose the players to play in each particular game.

Cool dadeo.


On a side note (or two of them)... has anyone had any injuries yet?? And, has anyone had the bowlers stamina level thingo down the bottom go down after a long spell. I've bowled spells with McGrath and Gillespie for about 20 overs and it hasn't bugded...

 

[bonoman]

yeah i noticed that in the Pura cup game VIC Vs NSW
mcrath bowled about 15 overs staraight and nothing happned
i did get an injury to one of my batsmen for Victoria...but they didnt retire hurt or anything....

i just played the best game so far...against bangledesh
they were 9 down with 24 to win off the last over
there number 11 scored 1 six and 5 fours to win them the match
:O
so i'm still yet to win a game after about 8 i've played
and right now i've started touring the sub-continet with a test against bangledesh (as australia)

does it rain in 2004?

 

[pontingrulz]

it hasnt rained when ive been playing

 

[Langeveldt]

my game was sent from NZ on the 17th! The waiting is doing my head in!

I think i might start on Hard with a SA v Bangladesh test...

 

[funky miller]

Yes. There is rain.

 

[Glenn Stiemens]

The most disappointing aspects of Cricket 2004 have to be multiplayer and a bug with team line-ups (PS2 version).

With multiplayer, the running between the wickets is particularly frustrating with run-outs all over the place as both players now seem to have to press the run button - and most of the time, one ends up running and the other left pressing run with the batsman refusing to move.

The second niggle is when the team you have selected will change midway through a match - meaning that you end up with two different sides playing. So far, I've only noticed this happening with team lineups that include players added to the database.

Otherwise, I'm thoroughly enjoying the game - a definite improvement over Cricket 2002.

 

[pontingrulz]

Yeh i noticed that as well. when i was playing nsw and i was wa i saved it when i had shuan marsh bowling. i reloaded the game and i had worthington bowling. pretyy ****ed up if u ask me. overall i think that in crikcet 2004 it is easier to hit 6es, expecially with that shot over fine legs head, than in cricket 2002. bowling is quite easy in cricket 2004 and the gameplay is the best aspect of the the game. also the crowd has improved heaps snce the last game making it just that much closer to the real thing

 

[bonoman]

Yes. There is rain.

good....

have you nocitec sometimes ritche finihes off Jim when he talks

Jim : thats the first runs of the day for
Ritchie : australia

i seem to be able to score 150 runs in 1 session (on medium diff) and 50 runs in a OD 10 over game

 

[pontingrulz]

have you tried using the backfoot straight shots or the backfoot cover shots? i find it easier to pick the gaps when in the first overs of a match using those shots. also if youy use the left key front foot slog shot and time it well enough it will go for six every time. I also noticed a fault in the game. i was at 2 for 705 in a pura cup match and langer was on 380* and then i played a sot that was going for six and the game just froze? i tried reloading it and playing it but as soon as i get past that score it freezes. i scored that in 1 and a half sessions. Langers score was off 165 balls. I normally average 150 to 200 in a 10 over match on hard difficulty. A tip for bowling. When in a 4 or 5 day match as soon as you can see the bowlers footmarks change to a spinner and bowl at the second furtherst away one. Make sure you have veryaggressive field with bat pad, silly mid off etc. Put the max spin and no speed at all. the batsman will play a forward defense straight into the hands of one of your close in fielders.

 

[anzac]

here's a question I'm really interested in so far as realism is concerned.....how do the pitches play??????

*firstly is there any discernable difference in pace / bounce for the different countries, or are they pretty generic as in C2002???

i.e. in C2002 if you wanted a Dusty pitch for India, you also got a Fast & Bouncy wicket & Fast outfield - the only way you could get a Low & Slow wicket with spin was to choose Damp / Wet but you also got a wet outfield so your scores were lower.......with so many different grounds to play on in the game esp with Tours & domestic comps it would be pretty disappointing if we had the same generic default pitch conditions....as part of the challenge for Tests is the various pitch conditions in different countries & venues.

if this is so I wonder if the patch makers etc could look into a way to correct this..........
e.g. - each nation has certain generic pitch traits
AUS, RSA & WI tend to be harder, faster pitches & outfields;
ENG, NZ tend towards the Green / Normal pitches & outfields;
the Sub continent tends towards low & slow pitches with fast outfields;
ZIM seems to have 'Normal' pitches & faster outfields.....

and the different test grounds for each nation also have their own traditional traits - GABBA offers some seam early with good pace & bounce, Adelaide is a batting track with slower & lower pitches that take spin later in the match; WACA has pace & bounce & Sydney is slower & lower & takes spin - yet even Sydney would have more pace & bounce than a sub continent pitch, whereas a 'normal' Adelaide pitch may be equivalent to a 'Hard' ENG / NZ pitch........

furthermore each should also be able to have the same options re weather without ending up with the same pitch surface & outfield as elsewhere - eg a damp pitch in OZ should not be the same as a damp pitch in the Sub continent, likewise for a Hard pitch in ENG or NZ should not be the same as for OZ / RSA or WI.

*secondly how do the pitches shape up over the 5 Days - do we see changes to the pitch & outfield traits re seam, pace, bounce, swing & spin?????

 

[James90]

Does Tony do a pitch report each day? And do cracks start appearing...what happens if you go on tour to a country without domestic teams in the game

For instance if you went to Zimbabwe
Would you have matches against Magabe XI and "A"
But no matches against Mashonland and stuff?

 

[MZ_RPFC]

Jim Maxwell does a report on the pitch and what he thinks. I have only got to 3 days in a test and wear marks were apearing then, And you do play teams like the "A" teams. I think its a very good game. EA have done a great job.

 

[anzac]

are there any other seam bowling options other than Fast / F/Med & Swing????? I'm thinking about the Medium bowlers - do we convert them to swing bowlers to get their pace about right

I also read that there is MORE swing in this game - so perhaps this may not work anymore....