Firstly. the game is looking great, considering this is early access I might echo much of what has been said so far but want to share with you my 2 cents and help where possible! I would consider rugby games my favorite with 17 years playing them, rugby 08 being my first video game.
Tackling
The new animations are looking great, they still need slightly fine tuning… as a few have said, when you’re attacking the defence almost teleport to you to make a tackle. For me it’s restricted any chance to offload, side step, hand off, dummy pass
This has also really restricted any possability of kicking the ball or passing the ball down the line to find space to attack. If there was time to kick the ball into space and chase it, it would make for more exciting gameplay.
Rucks
I’ve notice sometimes if you dont commint players to a ruck when defending then the opposition don’t play the ball… subsequently resulting in a scrum to the attacking team.
Not commiting players to a ruck is obviously legal (as we saw with italy in the six nations in 2017) but this would mean that the team not commiting players can roam the pitch freely and look for an interception. If you can find a way to implement this rule it could be quite funny but understand something like that isn’t straight forward
The new option to try and cause a turnover at a ruck is very much welcomed but this mostly creates free ball to pick up for either team rather than a direct turnover. It would be good to still create occasional free ball from a ‘messy’ turnover but i think the turnovers should be more succesful to the counter-rucking team.
Last one with rucks, occasionally the game won’t commit any players to the rucks and the referee won’t signal for a penalty.
*Offloading
I don’t seem to be able to do it still
*Box kicking
there’s no option to kick the ball directly out (for situtions like full time) if you could sharpen the angle to almost 90 degrees when trying to kick from the back of a ruck/scrum i think that would help a lot.
*half time/ full time sirens
I dont mean to sound pedantic but maybe remove them for the northern hemisphere stadiums?
*Bonus content which coud be nice to implement
Pitch wear through the game and dirty clothes
Sponsorship for the stadiums (real or fake to create some authenticity)
Fine tuning of camera angles (I personally like being able to see more of the pitch so i lower the camera angle on sports games)
Larger crash pads on the posts for authenticity (at least this is mostly the case in the northern hemisphere?)
All in all, as i said the game is looking great and giving us as fans a chance to offer our support shows a lot which we all thank you for!
I continue to play the game as regardless it’s still fun and a refreshing installment to the sport.
Hi and what is this with defender rolling away all the time after making a tackle. Doesn’t look right. In actual fact Im wrong. In real rugby the tackler does role away. It all depends on how fast the offense can form a ruck over the ball carrier. The quicker the offense can form a ruck over the ball carrier the more the possibility arise where the offense can trap the tackler and prevent him from rolling away. In turn this will create a penalty. I see where you guys are going with this. Now you just need to speed up ruck formation.
Something that might help to cater to most people I think rugby challenge did it good, is sliders on how you want to play the game might help with the offload issue let us choose how much we want to offload and how accurate we want them to be, so if you don’t want a game that offloads the whole time you can set that up yourself but if you want play like NZ with bunch off offloads you can do that.
Counter rucks are now easier to achieve which is great as previously I hardly saw them.
Combining the line speed and tackle animations, I can see the direction. However at the moment the fast line speed and new tackle animations seem to have brought in a larger tackle radius. Now it is hard to make any territory, especially hard to get clearance kicks away due to line speed.
I could just be washed, and this is a skill issue on my side. But an improvement I would suggest is the slow-mo kicking option like what is used in other rugby titles. Currently when I try and kick for territory I can hardly ever get the ball away.
I am having issues getting the ball past the first receiver (If I don’t opt to pass wide instantly), due to the large tackle radius and line speed. Offloads and passing could be tweaked to be a bit more responsive to allow for quick ball from first receiver.
An issue I keep seeing is when holding R1 or L1 the passing options don’t show up, unsure if others are seeing this.
The game is moving in the right direction, and thank you to the team for putting the hours into Rugby 25. I am looking forward to when set-plays are added, as imo currently the ability to gain territory is a struggle currently (any hints on the time frame for set-play inclusion would be great lol).
The face scans and official stadiums look great, keen to play as the Waratahs in Allianz stadium when they get added.
Yes sliders, are great, that’s why I got my updated Rugby challenge 3 playing so well. Prefer 3 over 4 because of 4 you can only commit 3 to the ruck. Even though I rarely do commit more than 1-3 to the ruck, there is that special occasion when I commit more. We should have this freedom because as the saying goes " if it’s in the game ,it’s in the game" Stick by this and you will have a decent simulation.
Ai defence is mental, can’t get two passes away
I guess would work better on RLL bc the defence has to be back 10m
Also can’t get a box kick away without being tackled
Somethings a bit skew whiff
But looks awesome, all the face scans are unreal just need the gameplay to follow suit
Confident it will get there!
Player positioning. It needs a serious look at, as we all know. This is a big topic but the recent update has made this painfully apparent so I’ll give my 2 cents on what I’ve observed, and what I’d love to see.
A very generic and important attacking move in rugby - SWAP or BLOCKER. Those are the names I’ve seen it called most widely. This involves the 3rd receiver running a hard line at the defense (As he’s the 3rd receiver, the line is run from the outside running in) and the 2nd receiver running an angle off into space behind the 3rd receiver. Essentially, the 2nd and 3rd receivers swap and test the defenses ability to adapt. The passer has the option to put the ball into contact or to pass it to the trailing runner. In any event, the player who doesn’t get the ball is a decoy runner. This creates an interesting core gameplay mechanic when it comes to how you strategize where and when you will hit the line and also how you will defend against it.
These plays are used hundreds of times a game in real life. A decent implementation of this type of mechanic is table stakes for me if we’re talking about a good rugby game that’s up to date with the times.
The best thing that the previous rugby games did (Rugby 20 / 22 although it was broken in 22) was the attacking structures and pod system. It gave the ability to pass the ball to a forward pod and have a back trailing behind the pod waiting for the ball “out the back” or to pass the ball directly behind the pod, missing them and use the pod as a decoy. You could string together several passes from forwards to backs, backs to backs, scrum half straight to a back using the forwards as a decoy etc. The implementation wasn’t perfect but the idea was there. The decoy runners didn’t really actually affect the defense but it looked cool as hell.
I just feel like the “intent” is not there. Players are standing there. They have no intent of hitting the line or setting someone up. It’s flat, it’s static. It needs more INTENT LOL.
A big part of rugby union strategy is planning and organizing your forwards and backs around the pitch. Attacking formations are particularly important and huge emphasis is put on them in any real life team. Thanks. Hopefully my first post wasn’t a $h1t post
Kia Ora Time for some feed back apon reading though what I’ve had problem’s with Seem’s most people have had the same as me.
Maul’s good feature (need’s abit of work) say maul is done and you are binding player’s it either does it for the one side engaging in the maul then other players just stand around or a Ai or player randomly picks up the ball very tricky to control, it’s abit fast for me doesn’t feel natural say like “Rugby Challange”
Passing So from the maul there is no quick pass, or you get really shut down no way to play the ball in play in a relaxed manner even passing in play seem’s acutally impossible cannot string 2 pass’s because computer is locked into a tackle 10m away already and no flick pass etc
Tackling way better looking and also “not sure sort of buggy” Ai high tackle’s nothing is done about it
and during normal play you are locked into a tackle so Early from the Ai the animation is already in place and cannot pass or nothing it Seem’s lock not sure how to explain it
In Rugby 25 i would like to see those set plays play out a bit like your videos with RLL4, btw has made me enjoy the understand how to play that alot more. I hope Rugby 25 alllows passing at the line before the tackle animation kicks in, but with fatigue playing a factor maybe miss timing passes, knock ons or getting caught with the ball. I really want fatigue and player attributes to have a significant impact on the gameplay. Could be used to open up fatigued defensive lines, mis reads in defence, inability to get back on side, prone to offside and head high penalties etc… so then it provides opportunity for attcking side to exploit that fatigues player…
Found the latest update to be a step forward and do prefer playing it - I wasn’t able to get much gametime in other iterations due to the bugs. There are elements of the latest which are making it difficult to play (large tackle radius, unable to quickly pass or evade tacklers, unable to get kicks away, etc.) - but is now enjoyable to play and able to get more hours into the game when previously I found it a struggle due to the bugs and lack of rugby feeling.
Being a Gallagher Prem fan having teams and a ground is a big win and I’m really excited for the other teams to be added once the gameplay has been fixed. I strongly feel the game has bags of potential, the latest animations around tackling as well do add a sense of rugby authenticity (admittedly still a bit more to go).
Further feedback:
button prompts at action moments, for example ‘X’ to steal hovers at the ruck (I’m often missing it because the buttons are small in the corner), ‘A’ to hook at scrums
can’t seem to hand off or bosh anyone out the way with the right analog stick
please please give an option to have arrows for kicking when box kicking and punting, even just showing a broad direction - similar to kick off and conversions. It’s rally hard to track otherwise
slightly slowed down line out process to add momentum, it’s over in a flash (I know this isn’t for everyone so perhaps can be an optional setting - there’s often a lot of excitement and anticipation around a 5m attacking lineout which currently feels lacking). Plus this would make it feel less frantic as currently the players are repositioning too quickly / awkwardly
replace the star player stars with icons more pleasing on the eye,
defending a line out I find my players often don’t compete and go into a strange off-side position - seems like a bug
bringing in more rules soon would be beneficial for gameplay
can’t figure out why I’m being penalised at scrum / maul time
box kicks to be more smooth visually and harder to charge down / be tackled (but not impossible - for example, if you commit 1 or 2 players only to a maul, the probability of opposition charge down increases - something of that ilk)
give option for players to have a slower motion when selecting who to pass to in open play, especially at the moment where tackles are happening within 0.5 sec of receiving the ball
Later stages nice to have:
match like features, increased TMO action for suspense, injuries that are longer lasting if in career mode, conditions playing more of a feature
with passing, try to integrate a second pass of a set piece / ruck, e.g. scrum half has ball, you hold down pass, select ‘A’ as first pass to 10, and then elect the ball goes to the FB (say ‘Y’ button) - then the scrum half plays the ball and you have organised your first two passes from the set piece
line out dummy moves
better tracking off the ball from opposition’s kick off and punting, I’m often quite surprised where the ball ends up because of the camera
camera of the scrum should stay with the playing side, there’s often an awkward switch immediately after they win the ball
Bugs:
kicking often results in a knock on or a pause in the game then flurry of activity and players teleporting
passing icons (A, X, Y, etc.) are available 50% in open play or from a set piece
players wandering offside teleporting into rucks
wind icon is only there about 50% of the time for me at kick off and when punting (I am playing on a reduced graphics set up because my computer can’t hack full speed - this could be an issue)
When I have a maul in 70-80 mins on the clock, the match freezes, buttons are redundant and I have to completely close down the game
rucks only initiated when both teams commit, ball stays in limbo and play halts in this case
All in all, I can see where the game is going and really excited for the journey to get a great rugby game. Cheers!
Game is moving in the right direction! The new teams like so good so unbelievable job there.
I think there ought to be more penalites, countless offsides are just not picked up on, and I feel like rucks are a bit better but should be a technique for timing rather than spamming. If mistimed or spammed then teams are penalised.
The passing as a lot of people are saying is odd now, and the icons dont always appear. It would be great to see pods of 3 forwards setup each time and with out the back options running from deep onto the ball rather than being infront and causing forward passes or intercepts. Offloads are ultra rare is that dependent on stats of players?
Rucks I think could have a secure option, so you know when it is safe to look at optoins rather than have to rush in case of being counter rucked. and more players on the floor after tackles would be good and realistic to create overlaps etc. They are going in the right direction but I think stronger rucking teams should benefit from having to put less players in to win their own rucks.
Lineouts for me are really going forward, I like the maul option and the animation looks great, perhaps some icons to show how to drive it and how to break from the maul. But I also think we need a fake lift and lineout pods to be able to move back or forward. Then hopefully we can bring in set piece of lineouts, that dont all have to be complex, just a 12 running a short line off the top to create momentum rather than the chaotic feel it is at the minute.
I wonder if the game may be opened up a bit with making the majority of forwards by rucks being tighter and setup to just run straight to oppose the attacking forwards close to rucks, and making majority of forwards that bit slower to see a difference?
The in contact drive animation I think would be great to build on and give ball carriers a bit more momentum in contact (stats dependant I presume in the future) and then that can help counter the blits and high IQ defence at the minute as that is what has been missing in other rugby games so really keen to see how we can beat defences as the game develops
The added teams and stadiums look excellent. Thanks for adding this as some more content. For me I am really excited to see a fully licensed and complete URC once all this can be added into the game.
I liked the new tackle animations, definitely adds more realism. Probably we need more if that’s possible in the future.
I raised a Ticket #24923 this morning with a video link to a match I played.
There was instances of Ai players not getting into the breakdown and ruck , standing around for 4-5 seconds and showing no urgency to get the ball or bind. I also find the bind button during these times not responding for my own players.
I was also having the same common gameplay issues as other people have given feedback on already. For example , difficulty to make more than one pass, gain ground up the field , no time to make any kick. Ai defence line far too quick. This can be seen in the video.
I find the Ai still not really doing much in terms of attacking intensity to find ways to break my defence with perhaps kicking grubbers or bombs with runners coming through or doing multiple passes , offloads, shoulder charges , hand offs but this might have been because I was playing on Easy difficulty.
I just hope to see a “closer and lower” behind camera angle in the future as a camera option to get a closer view to the players and ball. It will really add to the atmosphere and enjoyment of seeing more closer what is happening in the field and maybe “Feeling those tackles”
The matches still lack a lot of gameplay so I hope all this gets added eventually. Things I hope to see:
Bench replacements, fatigue issues , minor or serious injuries , random penalties for various things ,random foul play incidents , cards issued by referee with an animation of the referee issuing the card to the players walking off the field.
Ability to move or swap players into different positions on the field. Dropped balls from my players or Ai at random times.
Thanks for all your hard work. I definitely support this game and believe in your team working very hard behind the scenes. I will give as much time as I can to report issues and feedback.
On a side note I did really appreciate getting a saved Data upload request 2 days ago on my Steam Deck from your staff and I went through the prompts to transfer my saved data to the upload. This is for all the bugs and videos I previously reported over various stuff and game crashes.
Issue I came across the rare moment you actually break the defense line and hit the gap defense catch up because your player start pumping his arm on the air slowing them down because it seems they think they will be scoring
Hi there. I accidentally discovered this too but realised and had it confirmed by the developers if you hit the right or left stick by pressing it , you do the waiving/pumping action in the air. You also need to turn it off by hitting it again.
Competition bug: scrolling with triggers between lists of teams (e.g. the early access list vs early access clubs) can result in you not being able to scroll and select on the shorter list, if when hitting trigger to switch list you are highlighting a slot that doesn’t exist on the shorter list.
Example: highlighting team number 9 on the “Early Access” list, hit trigger to go to the “Early access clubs” list which only has 8 teams. It seems the game tries to find and highlight the 9th team on that list, but since it is returning null, the functionality for scrolling and selecting doesn’t work.
