Early Access 2 – Interim Update 2 - Feedback

Rugby 25
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Hi everyone! Today we have a further interim update to the Early Access 2 release to share. After this, our next planned update will be the full launch of Early Access 3 late next week!

Build notes for this update are as follows,

Tuned Passing

Passing remains an area heavily in development, in this update the AI will be more willing to make passes in gameplay, however it is a known issue that these occasionally result in some poor passes being made, on balance however we believe this is a better gameplay outcome than how the passing was in the previous update.

In addition, this update includes further work to improve passing responsiveness for user-controlled players, as well as resolving cases where the ball wouldn’t be passed to the player indicated by the button prompts.

Updated Animations

Several changes to animations have been implemented, including:

  • Changes to avoid high tackle animations being played when the tackle didn’t meet the conditions to be an illegal tackle
  • Reduced delays in the in-play kicking animations
  • Improved general player positioning animations
  • Various supporting changes for improving tackles, passing, rucks and mauls

Improved Stability

Numerous updates have been made to address reported issues in completing matches, thanks to everyone who has sent in support tickets to help us identify them, the various videos and helpful reproduction steps we received helped track a number of them down.

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Played one game so far, gameplay actually feel a lot better and smoother not as clunky anymore.

Passes feels better but there moments that I feel that there is still a delay in when pressing buttons but seems better than before.

With passes feel offloads needs to get some love because atm I feel there many moments in the game where I should be able to offload in tackle as animations shows arms are free the option should be there for me to hit that offload.

Rucks feels went backwards a bit seems to be able to barely steal the ball now as both teams no matter what joins the ruck together. Also feel we need an extra player around the ruck the whole time as it gets frustrating when there is gap but there is no one at ruck to pass immediately.

Extra for passing AI seems to be passing the way we want to pass I feel with this update passing is working great for the AI team but it’s not as fast and fluent for us that’s in control as I was getting frustrated seeing the great passes AI team is doing against me but I can’t do it due to delays or players taking to long to get to the ruck.

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Hi guys!
thank you very much for the update. The game is much more playable. I still need in the game, to be more realistic, mud effects, rain… I’m sure it would give it a more realistic touch and it would be great

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@MattW, @JNT_BA and the rest of the team. Thank you for this, played two games now. And passing is definitely going in the right direction now, game feels playable, just need rules to be implemented now, so that more penalties and scrums can take place. And also the option to set your lines (tactics). There were still a few bugs, but I just quickly played through the games to get the feel for the passing, will give better feedback later today.

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Managed to string along a couple of games.

Passing
Much improved on the AI side of things. I like, and moving in the right direction, my AI actually scoring now, not just off interceptions but putting players in space. There has been instances where the AI is sure to score, 5m from the line, and then throws a pass.

Passing for the user has improved as well e.g. just pressing LB, RB actually now gets passes out. However, it does seem that line speed has been upped for the opposition, or maybe its something else, as in previous update most passing I could use holding LB, RB and selecting the player, its much faster/choppier now going that route. I do a short pass, and there is just no time to hold in LB or RB and select a pass, get tackled.

Updated Animations
Kicking!! I can finally do kicks. The bug has been fixed, where once kicking you cannot select players to chase too. It would be nice to add a potential slomo mode that the player can turn on or off, when doing kicks.

Improved Stability
Out of the 5 games I’ve managed to complete 3 of them to full time. There seems to be some bugs where mauling, for some reason, my maul wasn’t set and instantly went to the player to play on. Once tackled, the game just got stuck in a loop.This happened on two games.

Rucks
It does seem rucking has been more difficult, I don’t mind, as in most instances, you can win or counter ruck odd occasions in games when two leading teams are playing. I’ve done a match on medium with france vs sweden. The rucks still struggled a bit, even when their players was isolated. I had couple of instances where they broke the line, I tackle, none of their support players, I have three players at the ruck, but cannot counter or steal.

Ball Collection in Open Play
There seems to be an slowdown whenever a ball is in open play and needs to be collected. I’m pressing buttons for pickup etc, but my player just stands in front of the ball and opposition then can get it. It should be auto pickup when running onto the ball.

Player Positioning
Can we try to get the 9s at the ruck more often, also would like to see the ten sometimes going into the pocket so I can do clearance kicks and not just from a ruck.

I just want to add, the soundtrack is really awesome guys and please don’t ever remove the JOCKEY LT key, as I’ve been using it alot on defence, it works so well.

UPDATE: There is a bug, where if you finger bank the LB button sometimes this results in a grubber. Usually when I pickup from ruck and want to pass, which now is difficult as you get tackled before the pass, but also seen couple of times player grubbers, yet I was no where near the B button.

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Think there is a glitch with the commentary team as when I start a game they start off with ‘what a try or they need a try to get the lead’ it’s not major but can get bit weird when starting a game.

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Thanks for the update. The game is clearly getting better and will become a great game some day. But there are still some basic problems affecting gameplay.

Regarding passing. Longer passes with space are definitly much better. But shorts passes still Don’t work very well. I think one of the problems is that when you pass the ball out of the ruck the player is already running. Although this night work when crying to crass the line, if i cant give the ball to the playmaker and make a pass because that player is running to the line and gets tackled almost emidiatly. Couple this with the lack of offload passes and it is difficult to execute plays, even if you found the space to get a line break.

Kicking. Maybe it’s just me but I find it almost impossible to kick the ball when passing from the ruck. The player starts it’s run and if I want to kick there is no time kick the ball. For me it difficult to clear the ball when defending and need to always resort to a box kick to get the ball out of the 22. In another note. A kicking is very “spontaneous” no player is set to chance the kick. Maybe when we have a box kick there should be a button to tell the a player to prepare to chance the kick.

Other points. I find attacking inside the 22 difficult as forwards are to spaced and I can’t bring them to the game to either to attack the line or to create space in the outside. Maybe a toggle (like to choose the style you would like to attack) to bring the forwards closer to the ruck might work in the future.

Thus are my first impressions with only a few games played and will try to give more feedback when I have time to play more games. On a more general note the game is a lot of fun when I can do the things o try to do and very frustrating why I try make a play but the ball does doesn’t go to were I want to (mostly when passes don’t leave the players hands)

I hope this feedback is helpful in trying to make the game better. I know the implementation of new mechanics is very difficult in a short time but I still left some suggestions as they might be helpful

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Hi JNT, Matt, and team,

First off, thanks for all the hard work—this latest patch has significantly improved the playability and enjoyment of the game. Below is my feedback on each point so far:

Tuned Passing

Passing continues to be an area of active development. In this update, the AI is more inclined to pass during gameplay, though it’s acknowledged that some poor passes still occur. However, this is seen as a better outcome than the previous update’s passing issues.

  • I’ve noticed the increased willingness of the AI to pass, which is a positive step. However, it doesn’t yet seem to translate into a more effective attack. The AI could benefit from more intentionality—whether through improved running lines, set plays, or a game plan with clear objectives from each ruck and set piece. This would add authenticity to gameplay.

  • There’s a delay in user-controlled players’ defensive line movement. While this may be designed to give the CPU more time to pass and attack, it looks unnatural. Instead of completely inhibiting movement and then allowing it to move at full speed, it might be better to slow the initial movement gradually. This would mimic a slower line speed without making players appear idle.

  • The halfback occasionally still passes in the opposite direction of the input at the base of a ruck, which can be frustrating.

In addition, this update has improved passing responsiveness for user-controlled players and resolved issues where the ball wouldn’t be passed to the intended player indicated by the button prompts.

  • Targeted passing is now much more accurate, consistently reaching the correct receiver.

  • Responsiveness in general play has improved slightly, though there’s still a noticeable lag when the first receiver receives the ball on occasion. This delay is particularly apparent when trying to kick from the first receiver position.

Updated Animations

Several animation changes have been implemented, including:

  • High Tackle Animations: Adjustments have been made to avoid triggering high tackle animations unless the conditions for an illegal tackle are met.

    • There’s a clear reduction in unnecessary high tackle animations, but they still occur a bit too frequently given the penalties associated with them in rugby union.

  • In-Play Kicking: The delays in kicking animations have been reduced.

    • In-play kicking feels much improved—more responsive, with better aiming and power thanks to time on the ball.

  • General Player Positioning: Improvements have been made to player positioning animations.

    • It’s now possible to control your kick chaser’s direction and speed immediately, which is a great improvement.

  • Tackles, Passing, Rucks, and Mauls: Various supporting changes have been made to improve these aspects of the game.

    • The AI’s ability to retain possession in 3-on-3 rucks is much better. However, if you add just one more player to the ruck, it’s still relatively easy to counter-ruck, even against three opponents.

Improved Stability

Numerous updates have been made to address reported issues with match completion. Thanks to everyone who submitted support tickets, videos, and reproduction steps, which helped track down several of these issues.

  • In my first three games, I encountered a new issue where the game wouldn’t progress because the opposition halfback wouldn’t approach the ruck. I noticed that the UI instructions on the button map don’t appear when this happens.

    Screenshot 2024-08-23 100155
    Screenshot 2024-08-23 1001551920×1080 231 KB

  • In my fourth game, the game crashed after the CPU took a mark and attempted to pass out from it (instead of kicking directly).

Random Issues

  • At the game’s introduction, instead of Cotter discussing the match, the commentary oddly starts with the announcement of a try being scored. Then, there’s a pause before Cotter introduces Jiffy.

  • There’s a new bug where, after a single LB or RB button press to pass in one direction, the receiver automatically does a return pass back inside without any further input.

Thanks for taking the time to read my feedback. The team is doing a fantastic job, and the game’s direction continues to be promising. I’m looking forward to the next major patch and the new features! (Estonia cough—I’ll keep trying to get that included! :wink:)

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GotBy

Hello Big Ants teams!

Thanks for the patch! I have played only two games so far, i didn’t analyse everything yet but so far so good. I just had fun and that was not given.

I would to point out that the are still problemswith stability since the first ended up crashing, not sure why.

Also i would like to ask if the Parma stadium “Stadio Sergio la Franchi” is licensed 'cause the Stands back to the post are quite different from the real counterpart.

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Reading the feedback above, I feel like I am playing a different version!

Player passing is awful. Every time half back is at the back of the ruck, he runs forward and gets tackled.

One game played. Seriously frustrated with the gameplay. Will wait for the next patch.

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Not sure if this has happened to everyone else, just had the rare chance to do a drop goal. The ball went through but then the game restarted as a dead ball and no points were given

Thanks for the patch, things seem much better :slight_smile:

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so I say yes. This is clearly going in the right direction. We can finally play kicking and what’s more, the kicking game is good. However, I still have a problem from time to time with the scrum half when performing box kicks. The controller does not respond. The passes are getting better and better. And finally the opposing AI has improved considerably and that is very important for the interest of the game. The game becomes more fluid as it goes along and that is very good. I tell you that this game will be the best game ever released. It is already there for me in terms of gameplay sensations. Keep it up, developers, good work. Looking forward to the big update next week.

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Thanks for the update, a lot of improvement since the last one and once again a big step towards a great final product. Don’t let the people who don’t understand what an early access means discourage you.

As for my feedback, I’ve noticed two glitches since that last update.

The first one being the commentary team talking about a try at the beginning of a match.

The second one appears to be an endless ruck happening after a box kick from a ruck. Here’s a context to illustrate my point : I’m playing with Edinburgh against Dragon RFC and got myself pulled back near my 5 meters line. Obviously the best thing to do is to box kick (Y button) the ball from the ruck. The ball travels far and is not catched by the opposing team and hits the ground instead. After one or two rebounds, a Dragon player finally catches it and one of my player tackle him down and we are then joined by our respecting teams and a proper ruck ensure. That’s the endless ruck as nothing happens on the Dragon’s side (they possess the ball), my team can’t do nothing and the referee is just turning in circle not calling anything because there’s no half-back joining the ruck on the Dragon side to play the ball.

Other than those two glitches, everything’s good on my side. Keep up the good work.

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Gotby

Here again!
Some thoughts.

Player know pass more easily the ball, but i found the very near the tackler never pass.
I would like them doing it, with maybe a chance of missing or dropping.

I found lineouts to be lacking, is just about luck in offense just as in offence. Iwould like a bit of deepness, a fake jump, some plays, player moving around and maybe letting the opposition understanding more of whats will happen and not straight throw.

Kicking to the post is just present, it’s easy as just aiming a bit.
Again a bit of deepness would be great. Watch your old games and other rugby game for this.

Crowd noise also is just present.
Would be cool if they applaude for good kicking, going crazy for breakouts and making more noise the more you got near the try line.

Scrums are okay, they are good and they work.
I don’t know if it’s a problem now emerging or was present, but i found to easy to steal the ball in the “hooking” part. (Medium and Hard difficulty)
In real Rugby, this almost never happen on big stages, so for me stealing or winning a scrum should almost only rely on the push of the scrum pack!
And maybe adding a scrum collapsing on the push stage!!

Rucks, now they are an important part of the game unlike before.
Know i foud that when 3v1 situation happens they always clean out the 1 but then the ball is free to be played. A bit of a strange ssituations I don’t know what to suggest here but it has to change.
Also jackals and penalty for that must be in the game, so players should be reward or penalise if they arrive first or last.
Please do it.

All in all the game is significantly better, there some problems and some areas where there should be more care on things, but i found (now) to be very fun to play!

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Heading in the right direction. Was able to complete my first game since EA2 came out. Passing is getting there. Like being able to pick out the player with the control buttons as sends a a good quick pass where I want it generally. Would still love to be able to see the PlayStation controller options but still the concept works well most of the time

Sadly my second game crashed. I managed to kick the ball for the first time since EA2 and the opposition retrieved the ball and set up a ruck as my chaser approached. Sadly the opposition didn’t want to take the ball out of the ruck nor did the ref ask them to use it. After 10 minutes I’ve had to quit out of the game.

Still early but my first game let me try some passing moves and running moves out. Work to be done but felt like I was actually crafting an attack at times. Equally the opposition were passing the ball around which kept me a little more engaged in defending although I am no longer able to steal at rucks.

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Just a couple of notes with this one

with commentary Glitch, at the start of the a game jiffy is saying one of the teams have scored a try

Not sure if this is a common problem or just me but I’ve found that my 9 will just run into the ruck by himself and get tackled without me getting a chance to pass

Also had the game crash on me again, all that was happening was I was in a ruck

Good luck with the next major update ! :slight_smile:

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Thankyou for this one. Huge improvement. Its playable and i havent had a game breaking crash.

Passing is much better, noticeably less poor passes and i now have the passing options visible every time. If you are quick, and can pick the right option, you can put players into gaps.

Animations seem better and smoother, noticed the hand off animation seems to glitch.

A few issues with getting tackled when kicking, this seems throw the game all out. Players not getting tackled and then the rucks not forming correctly. And then not being able to select the player with the ball and they just seem to play on without me.

Also had an issue with a player not throwing into a lineout, which then led to an opposition free kick in my own 22, to which they kicked directly dead.

I like the new variations in passing by the ai, however, i think they need tweaking, there were some questionable decisions when on a clean break and then passing back 10meters.

The ai also seemed to get stuck in a loop when the clock went red. They passed back into the pocket, the player stops running, gets tackled, they win the ruck and do the same again. All the way back to their own posts.

Overall, a great improvement. Great work to the team.

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Like everyone said above yeah the game is more playable for sure and things getting better and better so to be simple the interim patch is really good better passing, better kicking but still need to be a little bit work. now I’m just waiting on the big patch next week to see what you gonna bring because one point you should work on is the offense of the IA, i made a IA vs IA game and 106min and 0-0 at the end and that’s because of the lack of animation most of the time the tackles are dominant one there’s never a line breaker or just wining the contact and the gain line , same i barely if not never see 2 on 1 tackles, there’s too many leg tackles we should have more chest chest tackles so you can add a mechanism like in madden to battle to stay up and win the contact and break the tackles , still no penalty for offsides or high tackles no dropping ball or knock on in 106 min so the game feel pretty flat and repetitive . Lineout need to be work on cause there’s really no interest of making lineout in this game, the scrum maybe just need to be a little bit longer cause obviously if I’m dominant i want to get a penalty or a advantage of it maybe add collapsing scrum during the push and not feeding the ball straight. Same thing for the offload barely see one it need to be implemented more. We really need to see more contact in this game and maybe add more time space for the box kick who still remains pretty hard to execute of course adding the offensive line but i know it’s already in your mind for the next patch. Other than that the game is getting better better feels really playable but need to bring more excitement, but congrats on the job for the interim uptade who makes the game clearly more playable

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Great update and easily getting more hours in now - super excited for the potential of the game and for getting additional teams in. Matches now quite challenging but in a good way, the new updates to opposition AI means you have to be engaged in defence. Offloads and passing are becoming easier to allow flowing rugby - even had a quick throw in option which was a nice touch not seen before. Still some smoothing necessary but the foundations are clearly there.

Constructive Feedback:

  • mauls off lineouts are not setting and the 9 takes ball into contact
  • AI kickers consistently kick to touch near halfway when under pressure off of kick off and when clearing their lines; no kick tennis to other team as you’d see in matches
  • punt kicking is better but still really struggling to get kicks away in open play, espcially off first pass, before being tackled, plus buttons feeling unresponsive
  • seems to be a favouritism to the attacking side as their players enter the ruck first even if isolated, my players slow to react even if nearby so lose any turnover potential
  • implementation of rules at next update would be great to have, particularly offsides
  • An option for first receiver to receive the ball statically (eg for kicking) or at pace for attack would help with appeasing the AI defence blitz
  • As mentioned by others, the AI offloads and decisions lean on the peculiar side at times - also they no longer opt to mark under pressure in own 22
  • tries being scored outside the try area and still awarded
  • occasionally I try kick, it doesnt work, but defenders dissipate before I am tackled by a ghost after running for 20-30m
  • option for player to hold on at ruck time would be nice to have, obviously with a risk of conceding a penalty

To the wider forum: how are people winning their own scrums? If I try to hook I end up giving away a penalty, if I don’t hook I’m not penalised but lose the ball.

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Helo everytime the AI get the ball and a ruck is formed they cant get the ball out and ends in a scrum for me. The passes has improved but can even get better when backs and forwards start running and standing there correct positions. If 10 receives the ball 12 13 14 15 everyone drift to the sideline and not running straight lines. If that can be sorted then we can actually start playing the game correct and wil spot errors and bugs easier.

3 Likes