Serving and groundshot problems

[Zinger]

I like my gameplay to be tough but at the moment, as a newcomer to the game, I am getting frustrated because I am playing badly and don't know why. I really think some more detailed explanatory notes about gameplay would be a good idea. When serving I almost always miss my first serve. I usually get the marker in the green zone but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Is the marker meant to be at the very top of the green zone? Am I meant to keep the court aiming marker where I want the ball to go or release it just before hitting the ball? With groundshots I keep hitting the ball out, usually long. Is this because I am hitting the ball too early or too late? Does my position in relation to the ball have to be absolutely spot on? Does the length of time pressing the button matter?

[kschoice]

I like my gameplay to be tough but at the moment, as a newcomer to the game, I am getting frustrated because I am playing badly and don't know why. I really think some more detailed explanatory notes about gameplay would be a good idea. When serving I almost always miss my first serve. I usually get the marker in the green zone but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Is the marker meant to be at the very top of the green zone? Am I meant to keep the court aiming marker where I want the ball to go or release it just before hitting the ball? With groundshots I keep hitting the ball out, usually long. Is this because I am hitting the ball too early or too late? Does my position in relation to the ball have to be absolutely spot on? Does the length of time pressing the button matter?

Full Ace's gameplay is very singular in the fact that it's not entirely up to you whether a shot goes in or out.
As in real life, you're aiming for a desired target, and depending on several parameters, the ball will land in a wider or narrower area around this target. These parameters include :
_ character abilities (precision, consistency)
_ position in relation to the ball
_ incoming ball speed
_ attempted shot's difficulty and speed
_ timing
Similarly, regarding services and the timing bar, stopping the marker as close as possible to the top will only maximize your chances to hit near your aiming spot.
Therefore, in all shots, you have to estimate what margin you should take with the lines.

I'm open to suggestions regarding how best to make this information available to all new players.

[Zinger]

I can see how these parameters add to the realism and will certainly persevere in trying to improve. So far my longest rally is about six shots! Regarding aiming during rallies, I find I am either aiming down the middle of the court by not moving the left stick at all or I am aiming at the line if I aim left or right. Is there a way to aim left middle or right middle, cutting down the risk? The aiming marker doesn't seem to want to go there.

[kschoice]

I can see how these parameters add to the realism and will certainly persevere in trying to improve. So far my longest rally is about six shots! Regarding aiming during rallies, I find I am either aiming down the middle of the court by not moving the left stick at all or I am aiming at the line if I aim left or right. Is there a way to aim left middle or right middle, cutting down the risk? The aiming marker doesn't seem to want to go there.

Depends if you're using an analog device or not. With an analog device, it should be pretty straightforward to aim anywhere you like. In the other case, you should find that it depends on how long you keep the controls pushed during the aiming period. I think the best way to get used to it is using the first aiming tutorial lesson, where your character can't move and you can really focus on the aiming system. Then the next one where you must combine running and aiming.

[Agassi74]

I can see how these parameters add to the realism and will certainly persevere in trying to improve. So far my longest rally is about six shots! Regarding aiming during rallies, I find I am either aiming down the middle of the court by not moving the left stick at all or I am aiming at the line if I aim left or right. Is there a way to aim left middle or right middle, cutting down the risk? The aiming marker doesn't seem to want to go there.

I suggest to try what kschoice said and spend alot of time in practice (practicing groundstrokes). When in practice mode practicing groundstrokes pick an area of the court you want to aim for and when the ball machine sends them at you try to hit the spot you targeted say 10 staight times or 20, 30 etc, etc, until you can consistently do it (just like in the tutorials). Then do the same with the Serve. Remember practice makes perfect.

[PatrickR]

As a newcomer I found it hard and counter-intuitive learning to have to press the top-spin or strong-shot button twice and then holding it down the second time to add more spice to the shots. In all sports simulations I knew before this behaviour was already covered with the first (and only) click so I often failed to get a shot away since I was still pressing the button. What's the idea behind this ? It's not like real life players have to swing their rackets twice in order to perform a stronger shot.

While I've got somewhat used to it now and few problems with playing against weaker opponents it still hinders me when competing against better guys as the 'normal' top-spin shots are quite weak imho - although I use 80 ratings for my character. They are pretty much useless against more aggressive players as you're only inviting the pressure on you.

[kschoice]

In all sports simulations I knew before this behaviour was already covered with the first (and only) click so I often failed to get a shot away since I was still pressing the button. What's the idea behind this ?

In tennis simulations where you use only one click, and the length of this click to add speed to your shot, you can only hit a ball hard if you're on it early, which is not the case in real life. That is the thought behind that second click.

[PatrickR]

In tennis simulations where you use only one click, and the length of this click to add speed to your shot, you can only hit a ball hard if you're on it early, which is not the case in real life.

Let's say "which is not always the case in real life". What do you think, would it be much work to make this configurable so that gamers could try out and then use what works best for them ?

[kschoice]

In tennis simulations where you use only one click, and the length of this click to add speed to your shot, you can only hit a ball hard if you're on it early, which is not the case in real life.

Let's say "which is not always the case in real life". What do you think, would it be much work to make this configurable so that gamers could try out and then use what works best for them ?

I said that the rule "you can only hit a ball hard if you're on it early" was wrong in real life, and I stand by that statement. Even though I am a low ranked player, I know even I can attempt to hit hard even when I'm late on a ball and it works sometimes, with a clearly reduced success rate of course.
As of now, the first click on the shot button is used to let Full Ace know you're closing to the ball and you're ready to hit, so the game helps your character position in regard to the ball. This happens when releasing the button, so that can't deal with power as well. I'm actually experimenting with modifying this process right now, but in order to include timing, rather than power.

[Hami]

The double click is hard to get at first but it really comes naturally with time. And in comparaison to others games, you can really chose risky shots whenever you want them. As you said, against top players you have to play most of the shots with double click and it gets really intense if you're player isn't that great. But with the game, you can make the choice to attempt a winning shot or to avoid making an unforced error.