Oktober 17th Patch Feedback

I think the game is in a very solid state now for super casuals but there is still work to do for people like me and others who like to have a more challenging experience.
First of all…Pumpin up the AI isn’t the solution!
Question going forward is the following! Maybe it’s the best idea at this point to really implent a Arcade(Now) mode and a Simulation mode for the following remaining gameplay issues.

  1. Serve/Return:

This is still the “loudest” feedback i see across platforms. The New update brought back more Speed but the overall Serve mechanics are still not satisfying or challenging and the serve is still not really an Advantage plus Return is still overpowered! Just press a button and your player gets into animation lock! Almost no weak returns or Serve winners(i am not talking about aces when i say serve winners btw).

  1. Risk/Reward:

There is too much reward right now in the game. It’s nice that we can aim shots to the lines once again :wink: but you have to find a way to make timing and movement matter more. I’ll add a gameplay video from AJ4 Games here. These are CPU vs CPU videos but it shows that there are now a lot of rallies with up to 84 shots possible. That comes from more factors. 1. is for sure that cpu doesn’t go for the obvious winner when possible. 2. The mechanics when it comes to Animation lock. 3. Some smaller mechanic things like half-volley top spin shots are too powerful and easy to aim. 4. It’s too easy to get into the offensive position again if you are in a defensive position.

users like @itsandy09 or @F14tomcats already made good suggestions to add the systems you have in Cricket24 going forward. I know nothing about Cricket and i didn’t play that game but looking into it, it looks like a very good suggesion/solution.

-Gameplay sliders for AI and players!

Cosmetics:

-That damn slice jumpy forehand finally has to go/reworked please xD it really is the ugliest shot ever modeled in a tennis game IMO. Here’s a video what shot we mean

-Andy Murray serve animation still not right!

-Replays still don’t have that TV Presentation(weird camera angles etc.)

-Another user complains since weeks about Signature strokes from some players. Personally i don’t have a problem how it is now but i definitely want that feedback added here.

-add all stadiums to exhibition mode

-Soundesign: Strokes/Hard Flat Serve could use more “punch” in overall sounddesign. In EA 1 for example the strokes sound punchier. Don’t know why this was changed along the way? Heard this feedback a couple of times now from other users too!

-All surfaces play the same

-I think it would be a good idea to add a bigger pool(for all players) of animations when it comes to
close ball reaches, blocks etc.

-transitioning to the middle of the field plus net doesn’t really work fully. I think there are also animations missing for example forward moving forehand/backhand shot(now you run forward and the normal forehand animation starts) that looks choppy. Also forward slidding animations for short balls behind the net for example and better animations for dropshots.–>overall a little bit better with the last couple of updates but dropshot animations could really use some love!

-Players still don’t apologize when they hit a net cord winner!–>It looks like this is actually fixed in the new update…if you press down on the d-pad when you hit an net cord winner my player apologized yesterday.

-problem with the application of backhand styles on our created character.
the backhand styles never really apply, they’re just generic backhand no matter which backhand style you choose.–>didn’t test that not sure if that is fixed???

ok…i think i have it here mostly. As always folks if you have something to add what i miss or if you have better solutions go forward :wink:

Another word for the BigAnt team. I think most of the community really applauds you for the constant updates and showing that you actually care…not like some other folks from another tennis game xD :wink: Have a nice one!

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It does unfortunately feel like they are catering to the super casual, I get it attract more players potentially. But the problem with that is once they move on to the next game you’re going to be left with the hardcore fans who are not playing or even buying because of the issues of to easy and no challenge. You clearly can see pleasing both sides is proving extremely tricky and isn’t really happening, so as has been suggested many times two different players options ,arcade and pro mode and custom difficulty is definitely the route to take . I guarantee the hardcore carer mode players who plan on playing this for year plus will not stick around if they ain’t been challenged. Custom difficulty is probably big ant games strongest feature so seriously you desperately need to utilise it here …

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Yes you covered almost everything here.

Just a few things to add on the cosmetics section.

COSMETICS
-Ball needs to be way brighter. The color is so faded that it is nowhere near what a tennis ball actually looks like.

-Give us more customization gear. We see players with tank tops, licensed racquet bags, backwards hats. Yet we can’t give these to our custom players…why not?

-Let us choose our opponents kit in career mode.

-Still can’t link custom stadiums to Grand Slam events for career mode

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Unfortunately gameplay could be still easily broken by playing just drop shots. AI doesn’t have a clue how to punish it and drop shot is not risky at all as well as all other strokes. I agree that big problem is a shot animation lock.

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I am 61 years old and i can tell you i am a hardcore tennis fan , own just about every tennis game there has been from Virtua Tennis to all Topspin games and others with AO2 being my favourite and after latest update i can honestly say Tiebreak now is easily my favourite tennis game ever. These forums and the STEAM TIEBREAK forum which is disgusting where anybody who says they like Tiebreak cop the same 5 or 6 other players who just make fun of and ridicule them for liking it. Yes make a tough simulation mode for the better players but don’t keep calling us super casuals because the devs are starting to get sick of those comments also.

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I hope you aren’t experiencing that here. Steam I’m a little more hands off on, if I kept the same standards there they would just come here. I let them do their thing so they can have a place to vent that’s not here to bring people down, if there are people who are just harassing people here for just enjoying their time with any game just report/let me know if I miss it. I don’t mind people not liking things or having differences of opinions but the hate for just liking something has no place here. Can’t expect anyone to respect their opinions if they can’t respect others.

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Thank you for that reply,Steam forum is far worse than on here but what is so frustrating is that it is so obvious how much better as of now Tiebreak is to Topspin 2K25 which has the most boring slow gameplay which is nothing like real tennis and i ended up trading it in which was lucky i bought a disc copy. The serving update is in a good place now thank you. Please get sliders put into game like AO2 for difficulty and AI to use dropshots and netplay if that is the type of player they are,also court and ball speed sliders would be great. I am loving the improvements made recently keep up the good work.

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i agree…there are some bad actors on steam but i didn’t see that here on the forum! Top Spin players are like a cult xD my take on it is that Top Spin 3 should have been the way forward but they went in a more casual and arcady direction with 4 and now Top Spin 2k25. They have a very robust engine when it comes to core animation quality for example but i can’t take it if i see comments with “The Gameplay King” or “most realistic tennis game” xD. Top Spin has a lot of potential but 2k doesn’t care at all. They had name recognition and the good will of the players but i think after 2k25 a lot of that is gone now. BigAnt on the other hand is fighting an upwards battle with their track record BUT i think they are on a real Sylvester Stallone Rocky alike ressurection story right now with their constant updates and listening to the community! Let’s see how good this game gets going forward.

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It’s too easy to break the opponent’s serve. Just drop shot early on the return and easy pass. Every point the same. I’m in the career with a new born player (rate 48) , i can’t hold my serve turn and it’s normal cause my player is a beginner…but i broke all the opponent’s serve…so boring… please fix it, they also can’t close a simple volley with the nose on the net…they gave me only a lot of gift for the pass…PLEASE FIX IT :sunglasses:

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Yeah, I sent them video with these gameplay breakers so I hope they’ll fix it in upcoming updates. @JNT_BA

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Why do you play like that? Do you have fun doing this? :man_facepalming: If you know that something is broken in a game, don’t abuse of it…….

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It’s the job of the developers to make sure their are no abusable or game breaking mechanics in the game mate xD idk what you are talking about.

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Hahaha omg, I would NEVER abuse a broken mechanic in a game, it’s even worse if you’re playing against AI :joy: People complain about something but keep using it hahah

the following has some sarcasm involved so please take it as a joke ;)…man you are the perfect customer for every game studio dude. I mean with costumers like you they could just throw unfinished games with countless bugs and broken game mechanics into the market…wouldn’t mater because you don’t abuse those mechanics and don’t care xD. I mean i just played this ego shooter…well you couldn’t really shot in that game because the fire button was somehow broken…but melee worked just fine…great game! Almost as good as this football game i played last time where the the AI was so broken that the goalkeepers just danced in front of the goal. Wasn’t really a problem…i didn’t abuse long distance shots why would i!

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Yes, I totally agree with you. For example Full Ace Tennis has no weakness like that so you can’t abuse it and it’s not frustrating nor annoying at all.

On the other side if you were playing a real tennis match you would not be doing dropshots all match like in Tiebreak now where players just keep doing that short dropshot that falls close to the net and just keep abusing it. I would only use the dropshot with a little more length most of the time and the cpu does get it back otherwise i just really enjoy the game using World Tour Movement without triggers sprinting on Hard difficulty and have great matches. I am not saying to stop improving the game but while the devs work on it why not just have good rallies and enjoy the game using topspin,flat shots and slices that vary the gameplay. The devs surely soon will have the CPU using dropshots,coming to the net and slices more mainly for the players that are known for using those shots.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CAREER MODE

  1. The ranking continues to have players over 50 years old, this is simply ridiculous. Fix this. At what age will they retire? 100 YEARS?

  2. What would it cost to include more in-depth statistics in career mode? There are no statistics or updates on the titles of other tennis players. When we enter the profile of the AI ​​tennis players, there is nothing about titles and achievements. Having these details is important to make the career more immersive and to challenge you to surpass the number of titles of the other AI tennis players.

  3. The news tab urgently needs updating, it is very repetitive. At least include relevant news about the AI ​​tennis players, opinions of journalists, fans, etc.

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