Obviously I’m not suggesting r25 is a better game, it’s pretty much unplayable.
Rugby challenge was a fully released game
R25 is a messy early access.
R25 being a mess atm doesn’t make rugby challenge or rugby 22 great games. And certainly should not make them the finished project that big ant are aiming for.
Aim higher.
Agreed, please , no dumb down rugby. Rucks are huge part of Rugby, automation is horrible. Part of the the fun is determine when to send everyone into the ruck for a turnover or when to hold the line. I am normally fairly positive person , post go as far back as Rugby Challenge , and through the game developments Rugby Challenge Series and Rugby 2000 Rugby 2022 always kept it positive. At this point with these updates, it seems like we are getting trolled. Not good. it seems like 2 steps forward but then 2.5 steps back. The offloads or lack there off is shocking. I gave this game a thumbs up and positive review on steam. Because I have enjoyed Big Ants league games and thought this could head in the right direction. It has not. Not losing complete hope, but it really does seem like we are getting trolled at this point. The game is awful at this point. Hopefully they can pull a rabbit out of there hat .
Feel a bit like Valhalla with the big novels of feedback here! Having to live vicariously through gameplay footage as usual (had a watch of Mad Dragon’s very thorough test of EA2 this morning), all of the gameplay points you guys are mentioning are VERY valid, and definitely need some polish - but as a Gallagher Premiership viewer week in, week out, there are some aesthetic things I feel duty bound to pass on to the art/UI teams.
Northampton/Bath: are the studio allowed to call Northampton’s stadium Franklin’s Gardens in-game?, and I properly feel for BA as the club launched a new logo just shy of three weeks ago! As for the stadium model - the big screen shown in the EA2 trailer is on the opposite end of the stand compared to where it is IRL. Player likenesses for the two Premiership clubs is good, with the relevant league branding where it should be, just need to make the player names a smidge bigger.
Side/broadcast cameras: a BIG bugbear of mine when it comes to authenticity as it stands. Not sure on the other grounds in EA as it stands but at Stade de France, Northampton (and most clubs), the TV cameras are located in the areas ABOVE THE TUNNEL. At the IRL grounds, the side with LED advertising boards is the side facing TV cameras. For example, if the Salford Community Stadium is featured (home of Sale Sharks), then the East stand will be the side featured most prominently.
Pitch/grass textures: some users have pointed this out in EA1, but with Saints widely regarded as having the best real grass surface in the league, this is the blueprint for what it should look like (a side by side image of how it is during a televised match vs in-game is attached). The way Northampton do it, is how most teams in the Prem, URC and Top 14 mark their pitches.
Longer Term Ideas
One thing BA need to be aware of, especially when tactics and other clubs/stadia are implemented, is the size of the pitch itself. From a pure Premiership standpoint, again as it’s the league I’m most familiar with - Exeter’s dead ball area is significantly larger than others, Leicester’s are amongst the smallest/narrowest, with others varying. It’s not one size fits all, club grounds are significantly smaller than a Test venue for example. And crucially, we’ve all said this ad nauseum: get Rugby 25 in the hands of those who play the game for real during this Early Access window.
Keep the faith everyone, it took six major EA updates for Tiebreak to go from its initial build to full retail release.
Please change the texture/ colour of the grass it makes the game look like a mobile game
Hello all,
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.
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.
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
*Box kicking
*half time/ full time sirens
*Bonus content which coud be nice to implement
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.
Keep up the good work 
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.
Use rugby 22 as starting point you had a very good game there. Just improve graphics, animations, game modes and it will be gold.
The next update needs Pod options, the reason for that is that the players are not in the right positions, The attack does not flow.
Needs set plays, for example, dummy pass, cross kick, put fly half in the pocket, etc.
For Defense options, for example, press down for deep defense. Up for blits. left and right to spread the defense.
Goal kicking must be harder like Rugby 08 which was the best Goal kicking.
controls Xbox
RB - Pass right to Backline
LB - Pass left to backline
LT - pass left to the Pod
RT - Pass right to Pod
A - Kick
Y- grubber
B - Dropkick
X - Up and ander if hold and Tap for a chip
Needs more animations to build up the game. Ex. Players warm up animations and after that show the lineup with players’ faces and fans singing.
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.
Played a bit the last few days while being crook.
Main thoughts:
AI defensive line speed seems to be faster.
Tackle animations look a lot better.
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!
That’s been there since day one
Off topic but I disagree with the RLL4 take. It was a few updates away from being the “perfect” League game.
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
Team’s Acutally not sure who they are but they look Great (i’m a Aussie living) in NZ so yeah kit’s look great players look really good
Keep up the work team doing amazing work.
Hello to the team
I preferred to play this update for about fifteen hours to express my feelings about this update.
My analysis for this update.
the scrum half no longer takes steps backwards when taking the ball behind a ruck but sometimes takes the ball alone instead of passing.
The passes still need to be improved because there are still some floating passes instead of passing directly into the hands.
the combination system is present but too random and most of the time the attackers and supports are in front of the ball carrier.
Very difficult to make more than 1 pass without going through a ruck; I think the solutions are to put more depth in the attack line or otherwise to slow down the speed of the defense’s rise (except if later we have a Blitz defense option which allows you to rise quickly but which can be dangerous)
The keys are too random. Either a mini game to be able to contest the hit, or a small hint for the defensive jump block to try to counter the attack.
Add the rules of world rugby (offside; when the rucks are long if the defense is ahead of the attack penalize for having kept the ball on the ground; if the attack is ahead and the ball is not does not penalize the defense)
Big latency problem on passes and kicking games. players take too long to kick the ball or do not pass when their hands are free for an off load.
The tackle animations are well done BUT they take precedence over all other actions (footing is impossible, the ball comes back into our hands to be tackled; it is impossible to do an off load because the tackle animation cancels it). Another point on the veneers, the hit box of the veneers is really too wide.
Teleportation bug for some players
Random positioning of players on the field (most of the time my number 6 or 7 is found as a winger and 12 or 15 is found on the edge of the ruck)
I think that for the next big update it would be good to create a tutorial if that is possible.
Bug sometimes on rucks which take time to complete while the players are around the ball.
Side step animation no longer works as well as before but is more difficult to exit so that’s cool.
The pass buttons disappear over time on the rucks so we press a button hoping that it gets into the hands of the right player.
Thanks to @MattW For his explanations and feedback. Communicating with players does a lot of good and we hope to hear from you.
Thank you if you took the time to read me
Wishing you good work and have a good day, be strong
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:
Later stages nice to have:
Bugs:
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
