Ross Posted no update today but tommorow looks like a big one.
Also only one patch per week going forward as per the boss.
3 Likes
The patch notes shall be as follows;
Added five player ruck option
Added player send off
Added new Celebration Cutscene
Balanced fatigue and fatigue management in career matches
Improved Career pending offer functionality
Improved end of season award stat tracking
Improved free agent salary expectations
Improved player recruitment menu flow
Improved camera options during rucks
Improved AI substitution and injured player decisions
Improved Stamina system
Improved AI pass decision making
Improved Stability
Looks like theres a lot coming tomorrow. Player send off should be good. Was doing achievements this weekend and yellow cards were very tricky to earn.
5 player rucks though⊠not sure about that, player line depth and width will require a large adjustment if 2 extra players and up getting lodged in a ruck, already a lot of issues with players stood in a ball behind the ruck and having no ability to pass wide. Losing 2 extra players to a ruck meaning less pass options will be interesting to test.
8 Likes
I hope the player playfaces not showing up on console and custom teams play now is fixed tomorrow, didnât see it in patch notes
Iâll be disappointed if all they are doing to the ruck mechanic is allowing 2 extra players to be added. It still needs so much more, proper jackal animation, proper timing, proper ability to isolate the ball carrier and win the ball, proper momentum, ability to remove players from the ruck, forward pick and goes, quick and heavy binds for forwards and backs like RC4, in fact RC4 rucks would be ideal!
5 Likes
Kinda excited for tomorrowâs patch! Fingers crossed, but ready to be disappointed, just in case.
That said, when end of EA and official release?
BA building the blocks 
7 Likes
Hopefully it is good, I do think the 5 to a ruck is positive, I just hope the rucking minigame or whatever gets altered too, for example, timing becomes more important. No point committing 5 to a ruck and one player bulldozes over them. Also, I hope they adjust positioning too, I can see picking and going with the 9 becoming OP if they dont adjust it with the 5 in a ruck. The rest, lets just hope AI passing isnt down the list for a reasonâŠ
4 Likes
100%! Having five go into a ruck could be a good thing, but there are other more fundamental things that are just a little higher up the list for me.
1 - Players engaging in the ruck immediately when present and selected by the player, not just standing there.
2 - The âhow and whyâ of winning ruck ball needs explaining. How is this mini-game played, how do you win or lose it? How do you enhance your chances specifically and please not the usual âdonât engage in every ruck and itâll increase the chances of winning when you doâ weâve heard Rugby Challenge use in the past to explain more or less random outcomes.
3 - The two âwill they work or wonât theyâ controls explained and WORKING as they should. Thatâs Steal and Contest Tackle.
These things need to go into the tutorial section of the game. The very CORE of Rugby is possession of the ball, this is ruck play. This needs to be the fun, contestable struggle of the game.
I hope Big Ant is working on this along with making kicking worthwhile. People just donât kick at all as pocket still isnât always there (if itâs not the 10, then the 12, or the 15 should be there or even the Wingers!!!) and the distance isnât worth it for what players can bring on kick return. Players can run back the kicking distance with maybe one offload!
If tactical kicking isnât part of the game, it isnât Rugby.
10 Likes
Agree completely on kicking, online I have some really good games where some of us dont abuse mechanics and we try apply/relieve pressure through using a kicking game. Ideally, 5 in the rucks would be useful if your on your own line to secure the ball then force you to kick, however, all your points should be advanced along with this. I wish you could call a cross field kick and other set plays, maybe the camera can adjust for this too so you can pull it off.
Honestly the only hopeful thing I have for the game is that online games can be competitive games and be similar to actual rugby but still, you have to play in a courteous way which is not possible for most, even though I play that way and am 17-0 in online games since the reset.
You know full well its just going to be 2 extra players in the mini scrum rucks 
Really trying to not get my hopes up, but it sounds like a good patch.
Fingers crossed
5 in a ruck is listed as an option. To each there own. I think to get the full ruck experience 5 in the ruck option is needed. I applaud Big Ant, for this, at least they are trying. What was the saying in an old school sports gaming " if its in the game , its in the game" The rucks have improved dramatically, if they continue on this path it could eventually be the best rucking system to date. Itâs got all the elements for it. The correct animations, and the three button system can come together to create one of the best if not the best rucking system to date, in saying this, it needs.
- Better tackling player isolating in the tackle and then stand and jackle. Like RC 3/4
- Both AI and user penalized for holding on to long
- Allow more time to run the play if you have control of the ruck and you keep adding supporting rucking players.
- If you wait to long to play the ball, even if adding extra players, the defense can counter ruck(this would be the push over animation)
- You can attempt a hand in the ruck if the ruck forms, with chance of being penalized risk vs reward. Both for AI and user. Some meter or audio Q.
- Add more flexibility to who picks and goâs in a quick ruck situation. Now its fairly random, forwards should be able to pick and go, its mostly number 9 that does this with the occasional forward, let us choose.
Other things to work on: - Side step is to slow, the animation got to be quicker or shorter (to be affective)
- Allow high tackles to limit offloads with risk of being stepped. (More effective then RLL3 please) In RLL3 there was no reason to use high tackle, low tackle was much better. For Rugby 25 have high wrap tackles more effictive to help elemintate offloads. User can choose low or high tackle both come with risks.
- Low tackles more effective against the fend, but offense has more chance of offloads.
- Scrums need a bigger reward if you play them perfect, create a pushover penalty, or keep gaining meters if you are timing them perfect for some good distance. If you play them bad ( you should be penalized or you are pushed back) (the system is good, just has to be implemented better).
- Have the mauls have more rewards if you play them perfect, (should have a meter like the scrums) the AI needs to be more competitive here on offense and defense. Maul penalties forced if you play them perfectly. Or penalty against you if you play them bad, (example: coming in from the side) More risk vs reward in the Mauls will make them more fun to play.
- Up and Unders and chip kicks must have a higher trajectory, and a quicker release if your player is good at kicks in play. Add better cross kicks.
- Have the fend be a timed thing rather than a hold down the right analog button thing, it is still too powerful, if anything the barge when performed by the correct player should be more effective for short meter gains. And this could be a hold down button feature rather than a timed movement. Just put your head down and drive by holding the right analog up button up. Although would normally be for short meters. Where the fend should be a timed moved that when timed correctly could give you more meters, each offensive move should have a different risk vs reward outcome, so that they feel unique.
Overall the game is improving, and I applaud Big Ant for risking big changes, like option of up to 5 in the ruck. As mentioned, I know we have a way to go but I have confidence Ross and team will have a very good Rugby game base once all is said and done. Thank you Again Big Ant team for taking risks. Thank you for listening to your fans/customers. Looking forward to the 4/23/ update.
Cheers and Salud
9 Likes
GotBy
Played a match.
Hardest as always.
Now AI turnover basically always the ball and overall is easier to regain possession.
Its ok i like that, but seems that the new 5 player ruck is make AI incredibly powerfull, canât tell how many times i recieved a ball from kick off, get tackled, pressing A and added player into ruck just to loose the ruck instantly.
AI should be penalised for holding onâŠ
I hate that i always win the ball back just by jackaling, and that sometimes result in a try by me.
5 in ruck shouldnât be always equal to counter ruck. Sometimes 2 player can easily defend a ruck from a lot of defenders⊠its not just a numeric thing, it has a lot of variable that influnces thatâŠ
AI STILL DO NOT PASS THE BALL.
I thought this was worked on, apparently not.
STAMINA DOESNâT WORK.
I arrived on the 70minute with JUST 2 players with a stamina lower than 80%âŠ
Why donât you add a function that lower the stamina for every minutes that passes? Plus all that happen on the pitch.
So something like:
Every minute is minus 1% stamina by default.
Maybe you could adjust the % by the weighy or age but thats up to you.
On top of that you add all the other factors⊠running, tackling, scrums, ruck.. ect.
Please let make this 1 week update more fruitful than before.
P.S.: Thoughts after another match.
Ai 9 never do a kick box, or maybe he tries but get stack or tackled.
Still no urgency to clear a 5 meters situation.
The AI kicking lacks of intelligence, no attacking kick neither a good clearence kick.
Maybe the Ruck thing isnât that bad, you have to play with the A button, still maybe i would turn down the counter ruck to many.
5 Likes
Is this with the update for today ?
It feels to me that they have hit a massive roadblock as it seems they are struggling to figure out how to fix AI and gameplay as just after playing this game unfortunately still feels like the same game I have been playing for months just with added stuff and but game still feel janky like playing a game thatâs years old pretty much everything unfortunately needs work still
2 Likes
In view of the above comments, I wonât even bother booting up when the patch comes to PS5. Another week of disappointment, the wait goes onâŠ
1 Like
Yes there needs to be a line out mechanic, maul mechanic, better ruck mechanic, kicking mechanic⊠everything is just press a button and it happens. No challenge to it at the moment. I remember in the tutorial it mentioned something about holding R2 too long and the maul collapsing? I havenât seen this. Also the tackler contest still does not work. Up and under still doesnât work (this one baffles me, is it hard to code to make a ball just go higher when itâs kicked?)
2 Likes
What a complete disappointment, this update is trash and we had to wait a week for nothing.
Not only is AI passing exactly the same, not a singled change, and there was not a single substitution all game, even with injured players on the field, but now every second ruck is a turnover, because for some reason the ball carrier places the ball on the wrong side of the ruck, giving it to the opposition, and the 9 now picks up and runs himself far too often, particularly when on the defense in the 22, close to the try line. Just pass the ball to the 10 to kick the ball away to relieve pressure.
Didnt even bother changing the camera settings, even though I was looking forward to it, as the game crashed as soon as the ball got stuck in the ruck and players just kept entering and exiting the ruck.
The 5 man ruck sucks and is unnecessary, as you hardly see it irl, yet AI uses it all the time, taking players away from attack and defense. Rather focus on the ruck animations and mechanics and revert to 3 man rucks.
The worst is, we are only getting 1 update per week now, which is 4 per month and when there is an âupdateâ, nothing changes and the game goes backwards. Need a second weekly update just to fix what the first update broke. Alternatively, one weekly update on the big fixes and another update on smaller additions and fixes, including content. One broken update a week and this game will never be finished Unbelievable to think that so little is done on a weekly basis. I would recommend Ross gets hands-on with this game.
7 Likes
Steam v1.0.3162, Hardest Difficulty, Career Mode, 10 Min Halves
Added five player ruck option
Itâs both kinda better, kinda pants, but overall it is still so messy. Still needs to be balanced
It seems difficult to make an attack in its continuity for both AI and myself because there are so many turnovers in the rucks, 1 time out of 2 the opponent takes the ball from the one who had possession.
However it seems the ball is almost always going to the team which was the first in the ruck (which is good in a way)
Turnover animation is pants: itâs just the player with the ball changing its position to give the ball to the opponent
Added player send off
Didnât notice any during the game
Added new Celebration Cutscene
Not seen
Balanced fatigue and fatigue management in career matches
Fatigue End of 1st Half:
Fatigue Beginning of 2nd Half:
Fatigue End of 2nd Half (all subs implemented):
Fatigue for Next game:
Improved Career pending offer functionality
Not sure to see any difference
Improved end of season award stat tracking
No visual difference, but seems in accordance with the players who performed within the season in-game
Improved free agent salary expectations
Tried a New Career with Stade Toulousain.
PSDT, Kolbe are Free Agents, only requesting 130k max which is a low salary compared to the other players in the team. The salary requested is way too low for such players, to be balanced.
If it can helps, RugbyPass shared an average salary range for Top 14 Players. Star Players to be paid more
Improved player recruitment menu flow
Donât see any difference
Improved camera options during rucks
Didnât check
Improved AI substitution and injured player decisions
IA did a substitution after having a player injured. This one its only sub of the game, the 7 others subs where preparing oranges and lemon juice
Improved Stamina system
Donât really see any modification while playing compared to last patch
Improved AI pass decision making
Still pants, no particuar noticeable changes
Improved Stability
Nothing to report so far
Floaty (and laser) passes seem to be back. I hate floaty passes
Still no gripsocks = Pure disappointment
No new photogrammetry = Photogrammetry team probably too busy with AFL26 and RLL
When Patch ? When end of EA ? Because yeah, it is still EA
5 Likes