Tester's view

[MarkCwee]

Hello to all of ya' people B)

I've downloaded this latest BETA, and I'm delighted, I must say.

Engine is perfect! :woohoo:

There's plenty of work on the graphics, and intro/outro scenes

Players are moving like some robots, when entering the court, and at the end of the game.

Anyway, idea is AWSOME, and I'd like to congratulate to the main braniz who did this game so far.

Keep up the good work!

[Vicencio]

So I've tried playing an exhibition match in Full Ace Beta. First of all, the opponents serve too fast. It's hard enough to anticipate the direction of the serve much less prepare in the right direction. To fix this problem, I just edited the player stats and reduced them to more playable settings. The backhand preparation looks great while much can be done to improve the look on the forehand. I play tennis in real life and I have tried a lot of tennis video games. I have to say, this is the closest you'll ever get to playing real tennis. The concept of preparation is really great but I still have to get used to it in this game. Also, I am having slight difficulties with the serve. I don't know if it's just me or serving in this game is really difficult. There hasn't been a game where I didn't do a double fault. My biggest concern in this game is that the players run too fast. I knew I hit a lot of shots that should have been winners but the opponents are able to run down every single one of them. I only score points if the opponents make errors, forced or unforced. Also, I am having difficulties hitting the ball during rallies. Your character really has to be close to the ball for you to be able to hit it. It would be great if you can hit the ball a little further away from your body. I'm still having difficulties keeping the ball in play because there's just so much to control: preparation, choosing the shot type, and specifying the direction. Also, you must be able to release the shot type button before you hit the ball or you won't be able to hit it if you don't release. I also have issues with shots toward the body - very confusing. Even if you prepared one way or another, the character wouldn't be able to hit the ball if it went straight to his body.

It would be great if you could vary the strength of the shots. For instance, if you press a shot button longer, the shot would be more powerful than if you pressed it quickly. It would be also great if the shot variety is developed further, like adding sidespin to some of the shots. There aren't a lot of games that incorporate the concept of sidespin.

Hope my comments are helpful!

[kschoice]

So I've tried playing an exhibition match in Full Ace Beta. First of all, the opponents serve too fast. It's hard enough to anticipate the direction of the serve much less prepare in the right direction. To fix this problem, I just edited the player stats and reduced them to more playable settings. The backhand preparation looks great while much can be done to improve the look on the forehand.

You did the right thing in changing stats to get used to the game. It is indeed very difficult to return serves when you begin playing the game. However, it is important that the best players serve very well and very fast in order for the game to be difficult enough, and to get matches like Wimbledon's last final.

I play tennis in real life and I have tried a lot of tennis video games. I have to say, this is the closest you'll ever get to playing real tennis. The concept of preparation is really great but I still have to get used to it in this game.

Thank you. The preparation system is something I had in mind for a long time. It sure needs some getting used to but I believe it opens up a wide new range of possibilities.

Also, I am having slight difficulties with the serve. I don't know if it's just me or serving in this game is really difficult. There hasn't been a game where I didn't do a double fault.

You have to get used to it, and reduce your power and risk on second balls. I don't want players to be able to serve 90 % first serve or more in Full Ace, because it is not the case in real life. As for anything else, serving has to be difficult so as not to ruin the game when someone manages to master it. With my experience playing the game, I can get myself out of almost any situation when impersonating Federer (sorry, Rougier ) just because I can hit an ace almost at will. As for many elements of the game, serve still needs some balancing, but my main goal is for the game to be difficult, neither more nor less than the real thing.

My biggest concern in this game is that the players run too fast. I knew I hit a lot of shots that should have been winners but the opponents are able to run down every single one of them. I only score points if the opponents make errors, forced or unforced.

That is definitely the main problem with the beta. I already changed things drastically in that regard in the current developing version.

Also, I am having difficulties hitting the ball during rallies. Your character really has to be close to the ball for you to be able to hit it. It would be great if you can hit the ball a little further away from your body. I'm still having difficulties keeping the ball in play because there's just so much to control: preparation, choosing the shot type, and specifying the direction. Also, you must be able to release the shot type button before you hit the ball or you won't be able to hit it if you don't release.

Strokes also still need balancing, definitely. You don't actually have to keep the button pressed until the shot, tutorial text needs some fixing there. It is my goal that there is pressure keeping the ball in play during rallies, but as of now, it's not quite the way I want it. Character seems to miss some shots wide when you didn't think you were asking for a lot.

I also have issues with shots toward the body - very confusing. Even if you prepared one way or another, the character wouldn't be able to hit the ball if it went straight to his body.

I noticed that too. I have to investigate if there is a special problem in these situations limiting character movement.

It would be great if you could vary the strength of the shots. For instance, if you press a shot button longer, the shot would be more powerful than if you pressed it quickly. It would be also great if the shot variety is developed further, like adding sidespin to some of the shots. There aren't a lot of games that incorporate the concept of sidespin.

About shots strength, there is a feature that is undocumented yet in the tutorial. You may hit your shot type button a second time immediately after you release the stroke (while you are aiming) to add some power to the shot. It somewhat widens the range of possibilities in your shots. But in the end, there is only so much you can do with a pad controller, and the gameplay is already hard enough to master, therefore more sophisticated things like sidespin are not my concern right now, especially when some features like online multiplayer are missing.

Hope my comments are helpful!

You did a thorough review, and your remarks are spot on. Hope you will be convinced by my answers


Also, I understand you had problems with your ATI card for running the game ? Could you create a thread dedicated to ATI problems and tell there how you managed to run the game properly ? Thanks.

[Vicencio]

Yes I am convinced ... I can't wait until the full release (or if there will be a gamma that would be great too!)

[Vicencio]

As for the shot power, I have tried the "double press" strategy of making the shot stronger. I'm able to make more winners now. It works great with both topspin and backspin shots. The ball travels slower and really stays low for the slices. Pressing the shot button twice also works great with dropshots. As for topspin and strong shots, It's not high percentage going down the line but it's fine for crosscourt, just like you would expect in a real tennis match. How about making it just a single push of the button? The strength would depend on how long you pressed the button before you release your shot. I have a question though, will other camera views be available in the future? It would also be great if we can try out the different court surfaces.

[kschoice]

How about making it just a single push of the button? The strength would depend on how long you pressed the button before you release your shot.

It seems to me that in real life, the time you have to prepare your shot is not directly related to the power you can put in your shot. In other words, even if you have few time to prepare, you can still put much power in the ball. That's why I didn't choose this system so far.

I have a question though, will other camera views be available in the future? It would also be great if we can try out the different court surfaces.

For now, we haven't made anything to manage different camera views in-game. About the surfaces, we will try something with upcoming demos, but it's all a matter of showing the game potential without providing everything .

[solarisaint]

Hi
I think crowd appluse on long rallys is important, this is a court i made and added the crowd on long points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pe8oKwjIC4
and maybe a low atmosphere crowd in between points.
check audiosparks.com. also when the ball goes out the judges call out not fault. fault is called on serves.
sound+sight+involvement=reality

[kschoice]

Hi
I think crowd appluse on long rallys is important (...) and maybe a low atmosphere crowd in between points.

I agree with you on that.

check audiosparks.com.

Did you mean audiosparx.com ? I checked out this and didn't find much material likely to be useful. Plus it's commercial.

also when the ball goes out the judges call out not fault. fault is called on serves.

okay I had overlooked that. This will be fixed in future versions.

[kschoice]

Hi
I think crowd appluse on long rallys is important (...) and maybe a low atmosphere crowd in between points.

I agree with you on that.

check audiosparks.com.

Did you mean audiosparx.com ? I checked out this and didn't find much material likely to be useful. Plus it's commercial.

also when the ball goes out the judges call out not fault. fault is called on serves.

okay I had overlooked that. This will be fixed in future versions.