Hey mate,
I’m great thanks! Tis the season! 
No need for feedback from me when you’ve got everything already covered 
Maybe next year ha ha.
3 Likes
Gotby’s post covers most of the gameplay comments. I will focus mainly on non-gameplay issues I experienced.
Team roster & management & URC league:
- The SA based team players do not look like their real life counterparts.
- The player positions are not correct. E.g Grant Williams for the Sharks is labelled as a scrumhalf as all three positions. He is a scrumhalf/wing. Other player positions listed wrog eg. Locks as flanks etc.
- Still unsure about the appropriateness of specifying LW/RW as two different positions. I would expect Grant Williams could plau both positions. Splitting up positions could result in some players having 5 preferred positions.
- The team lineups are incorrect e.g. for the Bulls FH is populated with a scrumhalf.
- No team management, so I can’t confirm more on the correctness of the squad. But the match day 23 is clarly wrong.
- The SA stadiums names are wrong.
- A big positive from previous rugby games is that the top team Leinster at 85 and the bottom ranked team Zebre as 79. I feel that previous games mismatch teams even though in reality they are very close.
Team tactics, Tutorials & General play
- Tutorials not complete and lacking depth of explanation.
- Attacking lines: Players out of position and standing too deep.
- Defence/Attack position not making any significant difference in actual team position.
- Passing is eratic. Too many passes going to the wrong player or line from support players out of position.
- Buttons not responsive. Wrong actions or no actions to regularly.
- Little differentiation between forwards/backs. Forwards show no real power punching imover the gainline. Backs seem slow and no real pace.
- General acceleration and endurance while sprinting seems a bit slow/short.
- Field turnaround when losing/gaining possession is not smooth results in players either running in the wrong position or stopping.
- No line out strategies and line out motion looking unrealistic.
- In general some player motions still looking unnatural eg try scoring.
- alot of Rugby League playstyle vs union
- replays/ highlights not starting from the correct play nor is the highlights correct for the game.
- Substitution animation not present.
- No idea how to use or create mauls. Big part of Rugby Union which should be a viable tactic to use. Currently can’t see any way to use this.
1 Like
The small little dribble kick you should only get when it’s bad bad. In the video you’ll see me doing the three variations of kicks from the timing input first is perfect second is eh 3rd is bad. The eh ones will have kicks like that depending on angle you hit on the controller.
(NOT THE OFFICAL NAMES OF BAD I JUST HAD NO BETTER WAY TO EXPLAIN THEM 
)
2 Likes
When it comes to teams, names and positions. It’s just cause the data isn’t complete, a by-product of previous versions. Some teams and things you guys will not see right up until launch.
3 Likes
When do you expect console release 2nd quarter or are you thinking 3rd quarter of 2025? All so when will the yellow and red cards be turned on? When will the next road map drop?
3 Likes
Oh the kick could be cool to have some “angle” variation. Sometimes the kick on angle, sometimes is straight, sometimes takes a strange curve.
1 Like
I can appreciate that, would be ok maybe if you seriously underpowered a kick however it seems to happen whenever I do not flick super fast and hard on the RS, if I just push it up.
In the GIF above I still pressed forward with decent speed, but it will just do that whimper kick
I use 2 different controllers, both relatively new and it does it on either. If I miss a kick it is generally only due to the 5 metre wobble and it happens a number of times per game.
I do not feel it is a skill issue either as I can get them almost every time if like I say I really flick the RS but it feels unreasonably hard I have to do so.
If I just move the RS up and down as I would in golf etc it is more like this result lol. The mechanism itself is not difficult, it is very simple … but it just feels … touchy (NOT THE OFFICIAL NAME OF BAD EITHER)
3 Likes
Yep, that sounds about right for how it is at the moment. Was one of the things I brought up to the team before the EA7 launch. The UI guys have more to go in there to:
- Bring in better player feedback for what/when things are happening.
- Allow us to tune more errors into it that may not just be “flick it quickly”
4 Likes
Been on the usual binge of gameplay since the update to feed in what I can, firstly there’s three issues with photogrammetry in the Sale Sharks squad in this build:
- Robert du Preez: his hair ain’t blonde anymore, and hasn’t been blonde since April 2024
- Bevan Rodd: basically spot on once his scrumcap is changed to black
- Rouban Birch: well… hate to say it but he’s still not accurate at all to how he is IRL. Neither the hair (or the best beard in the Sharks squad) are in yet.
GotBy has hit all the main points in his mega post of feedback, just one note on the cutscenes for ‘teams out’ as stadium operations people call it - nine times out of ten at club games, it is the away team who come out of the tunnel first, THEN the home team/pyros - with teams coming out together for the European fixtures (if EPCR competitions are licensed, of course). All starting to come together slowly and surely, looking back at EA1 there is a night and day difference to how it was at launch- still a way to go but we’re getting there Big Ant team.
3 Likes
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Passing
The passing system still doesn’t convince me. It always goes directly to the receiving player’s position, which tends to make him stop or slow down a lot to catch it. The ball should be thrown a little further forward, where the player is expected to cross while running, so as not to lose momentum.
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Ruck animations
The rucks look like scrums. Players must not only push, but clean out the ruck of opponents. I think Rugby Challenge 2006 is the only one that understood this concept.
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Too upright postures
Also related to passing, players look very strange when they pass.
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More expressive faces
Avoid as much as possible that players have blank expressions
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Limitations in the replay
I’m impressed by how much the graphics, lighting and colours have improved over the updates, but you can only see it in detail during the cinematics. In the replay section, the camera has a limit on how much it can zoom in and out, and doesn’t give the same result.
Clearly what is missing here is an option to change the field of view, Madden for example uses the left and right d-pad to change it.
7 Likes
Would be nice to have the option to tackle the opponent player when he is diving/mid air when he is in the try zone instead of just looking a him scoring a try. Like an animation with both player in mid air.
1 Like
Need more control of players, when coming from ruck/mall etc and you pass down the line, you need to be able to hold your player back so if yo want to kick you can, at the moment its just a running game and ts garbage for kicking. My players seem to huddle/cuddle whatever it is sometimes during the game, either during a mall or even on the run, they will just stop and be all weird.and runthe clock down then whenever they feel like it they will come back to life.
3 Likes
After some more playtime, I have more feedback:
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Random times during gameplay when your player is tackled, he slips through the defensive player and carry-ons for several metres. The player randomly stops with no one attempting to tackle. The play buttons turn unresponsive for a few momets. Then gameplay only continues after a while when a pass is made.
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Controlling players still feels like driving a cement truck. The agility of the players are bad. When you change direction it takes a wide birth like a ship turning. Not realistic, I have seen props with better directional change than backs in the game.
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Something went wrong with the academy. basically all the team ratings went to zero. Previously the teams had ratings.
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The Profanity filter does not work. I also have to question the use/purpose of the filter. Can we get an option to to disable it. I found that usually these things are only targetting English speakers and serves no value to non-English speakers. It doesn’t take into account the non-english culture/language by filtering out non-effensive words in that language.
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Play near the try line is unrealistic or the try scoring button is not responsive. Player tackled on the try line. Techncally on the tryline and instead of placing the ball for a try the player stretches backwards for a ruck.
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During gameplay, the attacking player appears to slow down whenever a defensive player is about to tackle. It creates unrealistic attacking play.
2 Likes
when i create teams and stadiums and then use them, the scrum half wont get the ball out of the ruck
1 Like
it’s always annoying when anything in front, or even the player name bar covers the kicking meter.
Possible solutions: Make everything in front of the player transparent, make the meter visible above the objects, or simply position it somewhere else.
2 Likes
Would be good to see rolling maul trys in the game but don’t know if this is realistic or possibly, scrums going down if you miss time the bar to meany times
5 Likes
Can we have players catch the ball in front of them or with two hands rather than the one hand catch then to the chest ? Basic rugby teaches those fundamentals, two hand pass, two hand catch in front of you ,
4 Likes
Will there be an update for player ratings? They seem all over the shop at the moment and dont really seem to make much sense eg David Feliuai for the centres in the Wallabies has never actually played for the Wallabies but also is one of the highest rated back when in the real world I dont think he would be anywhere near this
Im just going to repost my EA7 feedback from the EA6 thread, with some addition
We still have the bug where an opposing AI player becomes invulnerable for like 3 to 5 seconds after fending off a defending player. This ruins the game
Game is extremely laggy, notably in general play when large portions of the crowd are seen. Please introduce a setting to reduce the crowd quality, AND a match setting to set the crowd size.
Still no notable penalty infringements or knock-ons. This will have a major impact on the flow/realism of the game. Please introduce with next update.
Still no ability to select custom teams in competition creator.
In stadium creator, please add another pavilion type, where you have a large pavilion, without the small first tier, i.e. the way most large stadiums in the world are designed. You still have the option to add 3 tiers, but each tier also adds the option to add small hospitality stands right above.
Played a game and team management is locked. Had an injury, but could not make a replacement
Game crashed 35min in
At this point, major updates are not good enough and game name will need to change to Rugby 26. When last has a new international team been added to the game, or new face scans?
Every update releases new features that are all broken and have seemingly not been tested before release, while previous issues have not been addressed.
3 Likes
Feedback and suggestions from playing on Steam deck with following versions: v1.0.1716, v1.0.1830 and v1.0.1835
Major bugs encountered
- Ball stuck in ruck for ~10 in game minutes, appears linked to scrum half picking up ball/pass selection mechanic
- Opposition invulnerability to tackle after breaking through line
- Player or CPU can lose control of player in possession who then runs in straight line until past touch or dead ball line
- Game crashes in settings → graphics every time
Minor bugs encountered
- Invisible player in replay cut scene after high tackle penalty
- TMO called when there is a clear try scored with no defenders nearby simply because near at edge of field
- When ball goes into touch opposition hooker teleports and is instantly ready with ball. Could fade out/in screen or cut to close up camera first
- Wrong calls on 50/22s
Below is list of gameplay areas that need most work starting with most important to improve. Main point is gameplay should be intuitive and fun to pick up an play for non-gamer but also rewarding and have some depth to maintain interest. Passing, carrying, kicking, tackling, rucks and lineouts would be what I would focus on for now as all have some major flaws in EA7
Passing
- Responsiveness - needs more responsive feel with always clear response to pressing button. Needs less delay/lag particularly after pass receipt preventing quick pass on
- Broken pass select – auto pass selection fails and player throws ball directly toward touch even when player outside available e.g. winger
- Momentum – linked to carrying but default good pass should be in front of receiver, currently passes are behind or at the receiver losing all momentum and destroying game feel (particularly wingers who should be receiving flatter and wider generally). Also major issue with player receiving pass far closer and deeper than intended and running straight into defender. Good draw and pass timing should be rewarding and accurate passing should require player to stop sprinting and time pass to put player into space.
- Improve passing mechanic – standard automatic pass to next receiver should be tap bumper in correct direction, holding bumper and using right stick with a passing line UI showing arrow direction and power meter should allow for more manual pass selection where multiple pass options exist (i.e. drag back pass deep or long flat looping cut out pass) – this should be tricky to get right but satisfying to master and open up emerging gameplay in broken play. Then double tap bumper to pop pass/offload (or a small face button timing based quick time event if support line is being run with timing crucial otherwise drop ball/knock on/forward pass). Move current targeted passing to holding left trigger (right trigger still sprint), can use for set plays with running lines like rugby 22. Could have automatic running lines (more common from players with good attacking stats) with early/late/perfect pass selection mechanic. If kept each button should be consistent to enable enough time for decision i.e. Button south is always flattest pass available , another is deepest player, another is shortest and another longest pass available (or position specific e.g. first receiver button).
- Player passing stats – these should have dramatic impact on the passing options available (potentially overexaggerated during EA and then reigned back in). There should be obvious benefit to passing from a very high level passer such as Finn Russell as currently no unique feel. Better passing selection should allow for more passing options available as well as better passing range (tight forwards with poor passing stats should generally have closest options available i.e. max pass range limited by passing stats). Longer passes should be loopy and slower and risky/less accurate (less impacted for better passers).
- Offloads - Offload need to have a UI marker if available and a short reaction based opportunity to tap left or right bumper in time. Risk involved of losing ball, forward pass, knock on with miss timed offload. UI gives player feedback on their timing. Longer timing window for better offload skilled players, very risky for low offload skill players failing most the time
- Physics/feel – short passes should have quick zippy feel whereas longer passes floaty loopy feel. Spin/ball rotation should be clear and pop passes could include rugby league style end over end short pass
- Extra – passing range restricted even further for passing the opposite direction you are running (to prevent bullet passes the wrong way). Add dummy passes (right bumper then left bumper or vice versa) – needs to have proper animation/s and influence on AI tackle selection to be worth adding
Carrying/running
- Momentum – like passing carries lack momentum which destroys game feel. Forwards with high power/strength stats sprinting into opponent particularly with low strength and/or tackling stats (multiplier if both) should initiate metres after contact carries rather than stopped dead which should be rare (more common on risky blitz defence style) i.e. calculation of player stats + player speed to determine which tackle animation to play
- Responsive agility and footwork – Responsive feel and agility of players need to improve for backs in particular as very rigid/on tracks, smaller steps and quicker/sharper turns. Good wing or fullback should usually be able to beat first defender with footwork on kick return. FIFA style skill moves for footwork and agility like side steps, goose steps, spins, bump offs, stutter stops etc. i.e. flick the right stick in certain way to complete spin. Should be able to do this anytime in open play but timing it is crucial as is selection depending on scenario. Certain player can do more i.e. Marcus smith is 5 star footwork As well as side step should be able to hold perhaps left trigger (in open play if used for set plays from set pieces) to enter precision control and use agility to beat player with precision footwork
- Players running stats – especially for EA should exaggerate the player stats. Outside backs sprint stamina should last for 70/80/90m sprint but slow over course of a match i.e. if fast player clean break through with no covering defence they should make it to the try line. Props should be a lot slower as some can currently run round defence with sprint until stamina runs out. Player running/sprint stats should be more impactful than stamina especially in first 60/70 minutes of game. Stamina should only come into effect after 70m sprint or 60-70 mins play
Kicking
- Responsiveness – kicking from hand need to be more responsive. Potentially require a held kicking stance button (previously suggested) where can’t sprint but kick are instant response
- Improve kicking from hand mechanic - tapping button south should be a little chip and chase (rather than button west) and should have some ability to aim it left right or straight with stick direction. Hold longer for punt. Tapping button east should do quick grubber through and needs to be very responsive to actually use. Hold slightly longer for more power and aiming like rugby challenge/rugby 22. Button west still up and under and button north drop goal attempt. Game kick off should be button south – to be intuitive/pick up and play same button as punt
- Kick preparation – No time to kick ball currently. Need to be able to drop fly half deeper or into pocket for up and under/spiral punt or drop goal attempt. May not drop fly half deeper but simply prevent them running at the line into defender on receipt of ball to allow time to kick ball. Optional and may be unnecessary if kicks are made more responsive and can get kick away quicker
- Kick placement - Better UI on where the ball is intended to land with larger margin for error (larger ‘drop zone’ circle) for worse kickers. More control on in play kicks for better kickers i.e. can be more precise with where exactly to kick with less fight to move intended kick drop circle to desired placement. Box kicks need better indication of where they will land as currently circle doesn’t indicate this properly. Need mechanic for box kicker protection and charge downs. Need winger kick chase mechanic (part of team tactics)
- Kick power meter – need clear UI with kick power meter. If overpower then likely to slice or go in unintended direction such as straight into touch. If perfect then can hit 50/22s from distance with player with good kicking stats. Low kicking power player shouldn’t be able to kick ball far i.e. most player can’t kick ball past dead ball line
- Ball landing - Need a cross marker indicator on where the ball will land on floor once kick has been made and ball is in the air as UI feature so can properly control player for kick catch. Potentially timing event for catching high ball in some cases.
- Offside - Prevent offside players from advancing after kick from team member e.g. full back. Can currently kick ball to player 50m ahead and score easy try
Defending/tackling
- Animations – severely needs tackle animations for rugby union. i.e. standard union textbook tackles for tight and open play scenarios. Once implemented can move a lot of the current tackle animations to button west for dominant tackle attempt button which has some level of risk and requires proper timing and player stats to be successful at stopping attacker dead or pushing back
- Tackle type selection and timing – to make this element of the game both fun and rewarding/engaging it needs a more interactive rework. Face buttons should allow standard low (incl. chop), chest tackle and dive/tap tackle options (using three face button that aren’t use for change to defender nearest to ball). Poor choice and mistiming leads to weak or missed tackle or dangerous tackle depending on tackle choice. More difficult timing window to tackle strong or agile players who have good evasive movement i.e side step or shoulder charge. Press tackle too far from player and miss tackle animation slightly slowing player and penalising spamming button. Different players temperament and tackle types have different margins for error/risk. Perhaps late, early, ideal rating bar like in cricket 24. Dominant tackle should be if use high tackle and tackle timing is perfect or good timing and strength much higher than player tackled. Better tackler have bigger timing windows for making a good to perfect tackle. Good/perfect/poor/miss tackles have their own animations. If miss timing window then high or miss tackle
- Defensive shape – Need to be able to organise defence on the fly (depth and width) – the arrow keys would make most sense (as much more common than switching 1331 to 242 on the fly). Left/right for wider or narrower defence and up/down for deeper or flatter with flattest being a blitz option with some timing window involved. Leads to decision making on having strong defence around ruck but weak edges for example. Lots of other issues here but most basic is opposition wing and outside centre often right at edge of pitch outside your winger with big gap inside them
- Jockeying – left trigger hold should enter obvious jockeying type movement for defender. Necessary on edges to use touchline as defender and make successful sidestep less likely. Make successful tackle more likely if in range but slows defending player down a lot so risk of being burnt on outside if not quick enough
Rucks
- Bugs – primary issue is ball getting stuck in the ruck
- Animations - Ruck animation need improvement including joining ruck, ruck secured animation and clear out + jackle animations. Currently all players in ruck look like front row of a scrum and all are off feet supporting with their hands. Need proper rucking clearout and securing animations
- Ruck secure and compete mechanics - Have to secure ruck to play ball. Clear ruck security rating UI. Better rucking stats players boost ruck security bar more (could have +number to show effect of adding player to ruck). If low ruck security there is jackle opportunity. Low ruck security after each tackle needing securing by others so risky for attacker to run away from support play and get tackled. Need quick ball ruck cleanout button. Certain players better at this Chance of getting really quick ball but also a penalty against for off feet or yellow card for dangerous play. Sometimes necessity if ruck security dropping quickly and limited players to resource ruck. Which players are in ruck should influence quicker and slower securing of ball. Hand on ball prompt to slow down ball and hand off ball call by ref if no release the penalty or yellow card. Jackle quick time event with timing bar if low ruck security and good defensive ruck player in ruck. Larger time for better jackler. Allow up to five players in ruck per team
- Set plays from rucks - Set plays from rucks using selecting button pass and running lines. Arrows to select a set play. Select four/eight/twelve plays in team management including multi layered attacking lines rugby league style. Unders and overs. Forward pods from ruck
- Ruck UI – need clearer ruck security and resourcing UI. Including when ruck is still competition Vs won/fully secured
- Button mapping – button south would feel more natural to call extra player to resource the ruck
- Pick and gos - Pick and go needs to be more effective and make a meter or two but risks turnover if ruck not resourced/secured quickly
Lineouts
- Throw in - play as the hooker. Call which jumper and then timing window for hooker throw and throw strength power meter. Mistake leads to overthrow or not straight or steal. Jumpers are still automatic but better lineout jumpers have a better chance of catching mistimed throw.
- Line out defence - compete for lineout steal, sack maul etc. Need quick time event/timing window for stealing or disrupting a lineout with risk of penalty from mistiming and largest timing window for lineout specialists who are adapt at lineout steals like Tadhg Beirne
- Line out moves – lineout set moves with pods shifting
- Quick line outs – currently exists but very buggy
- Bug – fix strange delays after lineout caught and passed to scrum half. Pass from lineout is problem, should be able to get straight to fly half
Scrums
- Player stats influence – there should be clear UI on the influence of combined scrumming score from players stats (+ pack weight and general strength stats). For example a timing window with size influence by how both scrums ratings compare
- Scrum penalties – important part of scrums, if team very dominant then can keep ball in scrum and get scrum pen
- Tutorial – currently completely broken, remove until it is useable
Mauls
- Interactiveness - Timing based push with bigger timing window depending on combined mauling and strength stats of players in maul. Perfect or good timing give multiplier and if score is higher than opposition the maul goes forward otherwise stops or starts retreating
- Maul controls - Button south to bind, ability to attempt to wheel maul
- Ref calls – need clear calls from ref to use it on second stop
- Maul disruption/defence – need ability to disrupt maul with interactive quick time/timing based event if have well resource defensive maul
Tactics
- Set plays - Need to be able to call set play moves. Can select a set of moves for that team in advance in team management before game like rugby 08. Call from any set piece (ruck, lineout, scrum, maul) with some time required for players to get into shape then when pull the trigger timing required to hit players on automated running lines using face buttons quick time event. Hold arrow button when in ruck/scrum/lineout/maul for preparing a set play backs move with pass selection and running lines similar to rugby 22
- Attacking width/depth – need to be able to set width and depth of the attacking line with arrows. Need to be able to set wingers to full width in attack for example to exploit edges with kick or pass
- Team management shape - Need to be able to set default attack structure for each team including pod formations, back set plays etc. in team management I e. Don’t really need to change 1331 on the fly so use arrow button for width and depth. Need to be able to set defensive method for each team (e.g. press) and default defensive width, how aggregative or conservative in press etc. Focus on 1331 attacking shape and drift Vs blitz defensive structure as most common structures and so should be foundation for game. Other can be added back later down line if fundamentals are solid. If 1331 is properly implemented in team management before match you should be able to assign role such as who is your wide forwards (i.e. 6 and 7)
Goal kicks
- Better UI – need more feedback from UI on timing like batting in cricket 24
- Power meter and kick sway timing – add multiple component to get right for successful kick and multiple failure types with most common been misdirected – can use timing window for direction first in addition to current EA7 mechanic for power. Flick should just be for timing not power i.e. left stick for general direction/angle, hold right stick for power with risk of over/under power and then as player starts run up need to flick at correct timing for get the correct angle that was desired otherwise miscued
Laws/rugby events
- Missing various laws – Offside, knock ons, various foul play like holding on or in from side of ruck, quick tap penalties, quick lineouts, defensive mark, yellow and red cards
- Injuries – risk should increase if player stamina low and/or in large collision event. Should be very clear i.e. slower running speed, unable to pass, kick or tackle depending on injury. Head injury assessments and blood subs
- Misc - If kick the ball dead then can select 22 dropout or scrum from where ball was kicked
Player creation/stats
- Player stats impact – for EA in particular the impact of player stats should be exaggerated (and then dialled back as required later). For example wingers should be much faster than props and clear differences on good vs poor passers, kickers, tacklers etc. For this you need a few teams with reasonable player stats first i.e. focus on France and Australia, Dupont should be 93 and other down from there, positions need to have stats reflective of that i.e. Penaud much faster than Atonio by perhaps 30 points enough to be extremely clear on the pitch
- Player unique feel – players, in particular star players, should feel unique to use to add some depth and reward to gameplay. Could have player traits (chops tackle, jackle specialist, goose steeper) and specific animation styles modelled on real world player including running/passing/kicking/tackling styles (similar to cricket 24 bowling and batting style). Mark players above certain overall rating threshold as star/marquee players to stand out. In team/player management have player specialists with badge showing their skills that are above average including if they are complete player for their position
- Player stats – Player overall rating are problem as bad goal kicking shouldn’t reduce overall of openside flanker. Also shouldn’t need to be fast to be 86 rated unless winger. Each position should have overall rating primarily influenced by 3 or 4 position specific stats with other stats having much more minor impact. Currently the overall rating populator seems randomised (i.e. if you set a winger from 85 to 90 it should increase the winger specific stats mainly not others, currently increasing rating of prop increase sprint speed but should be increasing scrummaging and strength by default)
- Player customization – Ensure body shapes are realistic to that player with default player shape for different positions. Need shorter beard hair including stubble. Need more normal length beard. Allow uploading player faces as UV map. Add a few licenced boots of ability to create custom ones
- Player editing - Allow editing everything about licenced player to create a copy of it for local use. Customized appearance can be used in ranked but stats in ranked have to be the latest downloaded official stats like fifa
Team management
- Edit lineups - Allow to edit existing licenced teams lineups, stadium etc. Allow to set default team tactics for each team as well as things like set play. Should be latest official version from bigant but an edited a local only version
- View lineups - Team lineup with individual player views (before and during match). Show player models in team management screen as part of UI
Game modes
- Manager Career mode – need to be able to select specific team to become manager of with board objectives and wage cap for the year. Need to run for multiple seasons (5-10 seasons at least). Could include sponsors, pre-season friendly fixture selection, competitions, international windows, board/fan contentedness and firing if miss objectives multiple times. Include promotion and relegation where relevant. Allow career in custom leagues. Need to be able to sign players if within budget with negotiations and contract lengths/wages. Key thing is player development with players having potential in addition to current overall with rating move up and down over the seasons generally with age, experience and current vs potential gap. Need player match fitness, fatigue and injuries to contend with for making use of the full squad (as well as giving experience to new players). Need player form and team morale which are temporary modifiers on ratings.
- Pro team – As seen in AFL23. A lot of potential in ultimate team style gameplay considering how widespread the licencing is. Ideally add a auction player market with min/max sale prices but otherwise focus on having specific packs to be able to go for targeted players like rugby 22. Focus on progression starting with a very weak team and building up as there are enough players for this with licences. Include special team of the year and in forms cards based on real world matches (could focus in forms on just international for example to limit scope). Include legends if possible later down the line i.e. Dan Carter
- Draft mode – customizable snake draft mode against CPU to build a squad and then compete in a league. Like hundred draft in cricket 24. Make this a customizable mode where you can select parameters on squad size, limiters/filters on who can be selected i.e. how many of certain nationalities, how many above 85 rated, certain wage bands, how many opponents in the draft, how long for each pick. This would also work as really fun online mode where players could compete in custom draft events or public/private lobbies i.e. a Lions draft or super rugby draft
- Tournaments - allow creation of any tournament format with any set of teams. Heavily customize including specific custom graphics so can make any of the missing tournaments. Also allow to editing pre-existing tournaments with local version if want to change the graphics, teams list or format.
- Scenarios/classic matches – have specific classic matches and scenarios to relive i.e. one off matches or series such as 1997 Lions vs SA 1st Test
- Practice Minigames – could have specific minigames for training/learning mechanics like in fifa/rugby 08/virtua tennis for example i.e. knock down pins or kick into bins to practice punting
Presentation/visuals
The presentation and visuals are very good currently particularly close up photogrammetry . More work to be done but below are a few basic more practical suggestions outside of general visual/graphics improvements:
- Option for controlled player names by player feet during play
- Option for showing opposition player name in bottom right
- Player lineups shown as build up to a match
- Show birds eye minimap of field when hold select button to check where wingers, full back are etc.
- Loading screen looks poor, use player photogrammetry models in loading screen as it’s the games main visual strength currently
- Meters made rather than age in stats during goal kicks following try scored
- Get Gilbert rugby balls
- Get some licenced rugby boots or allow to create them like bats in cricket 24
Audio
The following a list of potential beneficial changes:
- Add commentary names for players
- Need massive crowd cheer for a try scored/awarded
- ‘Receives the pass’ very overused by commentator better to say player commentary name or nothing at all
- Would benefit from various referee real voice calls
Developer Comms
- Roadmap – need a roadmap of specifically what is planned for 2025 (could use a Trello board for example). Give a bit more detail than simply gameplay improvements on what is being worked on as next few main priorities. Also some detail on what visual or content is in the pipeline would be good even if not set time or order i.e. team x or league y is x% complete. Could include ‘You said, we listened’ when something you’re working on is direct from player feedback during early access
Misc/extra
- For scoring a try it would be more satisfying if tap button south then tap ball down, if hold then dive to score try (with momentum in the slide if running)
- When tackled when trying to score try having some interaction to work to get ball down i.e. need to quickly tap button south to get ball down when over line otherwise held up. Opposition does same and whoever wins gets the ball
- Allow to select players from pre-existing licenced and unlicensed bigant produced teams to add to custom domestic and international teams i.e. create England team from players in current prem teams available
- Have main official roster for online ranked and then a custom local versions of teams that can be edited and used offline or online friendlies so players can keep up to date as they want outside bigant updates. Could have community uploaded rosters to download
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