As the title suggests, I’ve played enough of the game now that I feel like I just have it figured it out. I can’t remember the last time I lost a game that wasn’t in pro team. I’ve tinkered with the sliders a lot to create the most realistic sliders as I really want realism but there seems to be some sliders where there is a spectrum with realism on one side and difficulty on the other. I don’t like that a lot of sliders seem to have some give and take between realism and difficulty. What if I want both? I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I’ve constantly changed the marking/spoiling sliders for the most realistic experience but I feel like I am at a point that if I was to make the marking/spoiling harder then I would have a less realistic game.
What else can I do to make this game harder as I’m already on the hardest difficulty? I have a lot of issues with the AI just giving me the ball. The AI seems to be incapable of having an attacking style that is punishing as I seem to be able to rely on the fact that I will get a chance to intercept the ball every time. I’d much rather the game be too hard than too easy and adjust the sliders to make it easier instead of harder. Do I have to start giving myself an inherent disadvantage by having my goal kicking accuracy or player speed slider values lower than the AI? On 7.5 minute quarters, I haven’t yet seen the AI make 100 points yet I seem to make it to 100 points every time. A lot of my sliders are designed for realistic scores too as I have slowed the game down on 7.5 minute quarters. What I would do to have 6 minute quarters for the most realistic scores and no slider adjustments (with my playstyle)…
Do I really have to sacrifice realism in order to make this game more difficult?
yea they really need to update the difficulty its the same as 23, i change the sliders on hardest to make it harder for me to mark and punch but the AI is just so dumb they always turn the ball over straight to me. and if i dont change the sliders im winning on hardest by 80 plus playing as west coast
Firstly, I’d suggest you log a support ticket, if you haven’t already.
But I think you may need to break up some of your concerns into smaller, more detailed (or even screen-grabbed) descriptions… and what you’d like out of it.
AI in games is a complex thing, combining multiple decisions and lines of code to produce an outcome… so sometimes there’s conflicts from one thing that affects another… so the more precise any bug description (and suggested outcome) can be, the easier it’ll be for Big Ant to understand and hopefully fix in the future.
For example, this line:-
I would drill down like this (from my understanding and preferences):-
AI Turnover the Ball a lot, through predictable and easily defeatable movement of the footy.
From a kickout, when I have Locate set as a tactic, AI will always do a short kick, pretty straight, slightly either to the left or right. They usually mark it.
The next kick is usually forwards and slightly to the side also, about 15-20m… often slightly wider. I can usually position a player there and they will still kick it to me anyway.
If I don’t intercept that kick, then next AI kick is likely to be another 15-20m kick slightly more inboard. Again, placing a player there will often intercept the mark, and they do little to avoid me.
Suggested:
AI be smarter and harder to predict, with more variation on their plays.
AI to use more of a variety of passing movement. Wider at times instead of the same kicks and they should attempt to avoid extra or loose players that I place up the field on harder difficulties.
This should be a variety of passing directions they use. Wide to clear one-on-ones… sometimes well placed in front of the teammate where I can’t spoil it.
AI teammates should move differently around the ground. They should follow the play style… so could be ‘Wide’, instead of the midfield always flooding and leading up and down the Corridor.
AI could lead close, and look for more over-the-top kicks if they can get teammates to double back and open up space.
(you could also go into what you see when you run a Partial Zone or Full Zone tactic…and how the AI try to overcome those tactics by you…and what you’d want to see them do).
Hope this helps in your Support requests. (I’m also interested what other parts you are seeing and would like to see).
Respectfully, I didn’t come here to be critiqued or coached as to how to constructively criticise a game. I just wanted to hear what other people have done to make the game difficult for themselves. Sorry I don’t have a degree in criticising games.
More to your points, it’s mostly just the decision making of the AI in terms of when/where they dispose the ball and how they dispose of it. It mostly seems to be the AI’s inability to find an uncontested player. They may be programmed to kick to space in front of a leading player but it almost seems like there’s 0 consideration for other players that aren’t the targeted players direct opponent. These players very easily intercept the ball all over the ground but especially in my forward 50 when they are kicking out from defence.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t touched the tactics (play style, where my loose player is etc.) because I seem to win no matter what my tactics are. I’ve had no reason to really play with this feature.
The pressure awareness slider seems to be something that could influence the difficulty but I’ve played around with this slider and I don’t see what difference it makes. I’m almost always able to tackle players. I feel like the AI could be more aware of what’s going on by disposing of the ball much quicker than they currently are when the slider is all the way up at the max value.
I just feel like something could be done to improve the AI decision making that makes the game more attacking beyond just the play styles. I want this game to be more punishing but right now it’s far too forgiving when you make a mistake.
Fully agree. I let the AI score a few goals (on the hardest difficulty + sliders way up for set shots, marking etc), and then try to come back to make it difficult.
You don’t need ‘a degree in criticizing games’. This next post now has more detail in what you’re trying to communicate about the AI.
As someone that likes these sorts of discussions and wants the game to get better… it’s sometimes difficult for me to understand what someone’s actual issue or concern is.
Some people (like on Facebook) just say ‘the game is ***’ or whatever… and there’s nothing to tell what scenario made them say that… or if they’ve just not properly understood parts of the game… or they’re just trolling…
You’ve put more time than that into it, by creating a post with some more words to it… and now a follow up… which is great… but I didn’t initially understand what was wrong and what you’d like it to be… thus my reply.
With more detail like that, people can respond to your main question, ‘how do I make it harder?’, (plus hopefully Big Ant can put some of that consideration into it in the future).
One suggestion is to switch Play Styles… and see how the AI will play differently against you. There appeared to be slight updates to tactics recently, which you may not have seen if you haven’t changed the Play Style in a while.
I dunno, You might find they can tear apart your zone, and you need to outsmart them another way to gain the upper hand.
I hear you but why would I change my play style when it works? At the end of the day I play to win. But I want to feel like I earn the win and right now I don’t feel like I’m earning the win when the game seems to just give it to me. I want the game to be harder by design and not from me having to play in a different way. It would be good if I was forced to change my play style to make it easier but to change my play style to make it harder sounds counter-intuitive to the whole point of having play styles. Do you see where I am coming from?
The tactics for AI seem to remain unchanged, and I suspect there won’t be any adaptive AI system in AFL 26. The only game released by BA featuring some form of adaptive AI was Cricket 22-24, where bowlers would alter their line and length and adjust the field accordingly. This was relatively simple adaptive behaviour, but it likely won’t be effective in AFL 26 due to the greater complexity of the game.
Just on the decision making for the AI aspect, have you played around the the AI disposal risk levels? I haven’t played with it on the full extent yet but I feel like if you test and make it 100 safe option for the AI disposal it might make it a bit harder as you wouldn’t get it back.
Yeah I see what you’re saying… but then, you’re saying you want the game to be harder by having it different from what it is… leading me back to my first post around being descriptive on the specifics of what you want changed.
You can play around with the sliders… but in a way, that’s the same as my tactics suggestion… you’re modifying the current game to make it difficult. You can then easily drop a setting to make it easier, the same way you can change back to a Locate tactic and gain the upper hand again…
I came here to create a discussion on how we can make the game more difficult. I don’t have all the answers. Which is why I came here.
I want the game to be harder while maintaining its realism and fairness. I don’t know how exactly. It’s just food for thought if the Big Ant team are watching this space
Yeah all good. I reckon there are a mix of things you can do now (sliders, Play Style tactics, and even play as a VFL team against an AFL side in Play Now)… and also things we can hope for in the future… so that’s why I went down the criticism-reporting angle.
They do update the games they release… so I’m hoping with some of this feedback we can get deeper and more difficult AI in those updates.
