Big ant please sort AI
2 Likes
Hereās some feedback for the team:
Iāll give my point of view on some of the Patch Notes
- Support Runners:
Patch notes stated that there was improvements to the support runners?
I disagree as for me on the PS5 after todayās update the support runners are still way behind the passer and even when in passing distance the passer still cant pass to the support runner as seen in this video with a clear 2 on 1 the passer misses the support runner and the ball goes out to touch.
- Rucks:
I think this is new in where when you win a ruck (without the pushover) and when you get the ball back when you go to pass you get flagged for offside? If it is a new feature then itās massively flawed.
Another infuriating part of the game that really needs to be fixed urgently is when you win a ruck and pass the ball to the first receiver you either get flagged for offside or itās a forward pass, as far as I can see thereās no wat around this? If you wait for the players to get back you are more likely going to be pushed off the ball and lose the ruck.
- AI Passing Improved?:
Patch Notes Stated:
Improved AI decision-making
Changes to AI defensive tactics and offensive decision-making, including less conservative play, resulting in an increased number of passes in a phase.
I disagree as Iāve played a few games and itās exactly the same as before as you can see by the video above the AI makes no attempt to pass the ball.
- Floating Passes: I think this one maybe the most popular issue many people have?
As you can see the passes still look like the passer is passing a balloon and not a rugby ball, the passes need to be more direct, more sharp, make it look like they are passing and not just throwing it like a child would pass.
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Scrums: I think everyone needs to know how you actually win a scrum as since the day I started playing this game, not once have I won a scrum, itās extremely frustrating especially as when you give away a penalty the AI always seems to choose a scrum. Please explain to us how we win a scrum?
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Bugs:
I think this first one speaks for itself
Lineout thrown and when the 2nd row catches the ball it goes up to the heavens.
2nd one: player is just running with the ball and it drops out of his hands when passing R1 to pass.
****: Conclusion
Well letās start with positives: The game seems a bit more free-flowing however it might just be me but since this last update are people getting more high tackles from their players?
Lineouts seem good, goal-kicking seems good.
Negatives & Suggestions:
Floating Passes
Please can you fix these floating passes as I think this will make the game a lot better,
I think this is the single highest thing requested since the game launched and it still seems like itās getting there but needs a few tweaks, make the passes sharper, harder looking,
With the floating passes itās impossible to make any space for the runner as the defence are straight in your face and tackle you.
Support Runners
Even though itās been stated this has been improved I disagree, as you could see by the video above there was a clear 2 on 1 and the ball just got passed into touch, make the runner in line or just behind the passer so itās impossible to miss the receiver/support runner.
Rucks
Although the new feature of winning the ruck is really good thinking, technically it doesnāt work because as soon as the scrum half gets the ball and passes you get flagged for offside.
At the ruck when you win a pushover, please fix the issue where when you try to pass to the first receiver you get flagged for offside or a forward pass.
Scrums
If this scrum feature is completed then please can you give us a tutorial on how it works and how we win a scrum because as stated above, since the game launched I havenāt won a single scrum.
Make it a little easier, on the PS5, maybe slow it down a bit, R1 and L1 press, then on the next step, same again but slower so we can actually win a scrum.
Difficulty
On career mode i still feel there is no difference between Easiest and Hardest, Iām on Easiest and on some games Iām getting battered by teams with much lower stats than my team.
Please make it so when you play on easiest itās what it says in the title āEasyā.
Player Positioning/Bunching
The players are still bunched together after winning a ruck and thatās when you try to pass to get the ball out to the backline the ball just floats to players who are close to the passer and you end up getting tackled and not made any yards. The backs are all in the rucks and the forwards are out in the backs.
After winning a ruck the backs need to move into position so that when the scrum half passes the ball then it actually goes out to the backs and not to the nearest player thats bunched up and broke off the ruck.
Shadows
When the ball is kicked out of hand is there any chance a shadow of where the ball is cancelled be added so that we know where to stand to catch the ball?
Thatās my feedback, this update is pretty disappointing if Iām brutally honest, I have faith the development team will take our feedback and work on it and look forward to Thursdaysās update.
A lot of work needs doing guys but letās keep the faith.
12 Likes
Playing PS5 version. Easiest mode.
New update feedback:
Rucks - The ānon pushoverā ruck turnover is now a thing, but it doesnāt happen often.
And when it does on numerous occasions when passing by the scrumhalf from the base of ruck I am pinged offside.
I have been defending on my own 22, pushed the AI attacking team all the way back to their own 22 in defending tackles - to not get one turnover. Poor show. I only got a turnover when time reached full time and the AI tried to kick it out only to kick it about a metre (twice).
Players joining a defensive ruck - this is now very āclunkyā and players closest to ruck are unresponsive at most times. These unresponsive players then join the ruck as soon as the AI scrum half passes the ball away.
AI penalty choices - Again Ai continually chooses the scrum option. Really needs to be addressed - itās an issue.
Leading on toā¦ scrums. 
Scrums - Numerous times have got the ball to back of scrum, ref states āuse itā and I am given no option to use. Ends up with a collapsed scrumā¦ And you guessed it on the penalty option the AI yet again chooses is the scrum. Itās got to the stage I just donāt even bother competing and let the AI just win the scrum to get the ball back in play.
Scrum mechanics needs addressing.
Passing - Noticed a few āfloatedā passes which are unrealistic. Ruins flow of game.
The passes get thrown up in to the air like a balloon and when/if a player on my team catches they are blown up for offside.
Oh and guess whatā¦ AI chooses a scrum as their penalty option!
A positive i have noticed the last attacking player in the line does make a better running line as a passing option. Scored a decent try from the overlap. So this is an improvement!
Target passing - seems to have taken a step back in this update. When I am target passing off the back of the ruck it doesnāt hit the target chosen and ends up being passed directly behind ruck, to which the player recieving the ball then runs straight in to the ruck area.
AI attacking - noticed a couple extra passes in AI attack (no more than 2 mind) and the AI has developed a side step. Thatās all well and good but my defence line feels unresponsive at times.
Overall I think this update hasnāt had a positive impact.
Not enjoyable to play and I think Iām just going to wait until the next update to give it another go.
I have given up on it tonight in terms of testing because it was that un-enjoyable and clunky. I may try again later.
1 Like
Good day Lachieā¦ When will all the SA teams faces be scanned?
2 Likes
Just some quick notes from the latest patch, generally going in the right direction i feel, and can see real depth emerging, however todays patch seems to have been a slight backward step.
Halfback now occasionally stands ~20m infront of the ruck.
Halfback stands up and freezes before passing sometimes.
Penalties for offside are inaccurate. Often im penalised whilst in posession of the ball.
Forward passes are not actually forward a lot of the time.
AI still not passing more than once. Prior to this update i had witnessed them pass twice occasionally off a ruck, but in total maybe 3 times since release in feb.
No ability to offload during a tackle when my players arms are free.
2 Likes
Hello! 
From what I have seen with the national teams, the value of the teams is not done correctly. Romania, which is qualified for the World Cup in 2027, is rated weaker than Germany, whom we beat categorically in the last game and whom we beat anytime, anywhere and at any time. I understand that we are no longer in the top 8 teams in Europe, but apart from the Six Nations, only Georgia and Portugal are stronger than us recently. We are similar to Spain in value and much more than Germany, Belgium or Poland. We deserve at least a 78 OVR after our history and after qualifying for the World Cup, and please add Steaua Bucharest to Kaufland League. Thank you!
1 Like
Just played a game in Career mode after the latest patch on PS5. Findings:
- Rucks seem less winnable now; the over the top pushover animation appears to have gone, but therefore the main way of winning a ruck that was known to me (hammering the circle button) has disappeared. No idea what youāre meant to do even having had refresher on the tutorial, I get the occasional steal, but noticed that if youāre controlling an outfield player during a ruck and press square, they seem to visibly make some minor reaction to the button press that doesā¦ nothing. Itās a step backwards Iām afraid and I canāt help but feel the whole thing needs a re-think. Should the user not be locked into contesting the ruck, rather than simultaneously be controlling an outfield player and adding players into the ruck (still a max of 3)?
- Support runners seem much better again, having a lot more fun passing the ball about.
- AI play is more varied, theyāre chucking deeper passes from rucks and thereās a few box kicks. Seems more random than contextually realistic though, and even with a deeper pass, they still absolutely love a trot into a tackle as first receiver.
Other things Iāve noticed pre/post patch to raise:
- You canāt sub a seriously injured player. Stuck with them for the whole game.
- Not sure what setting a captain actually does? They donāt appear in cutscenes as the main player talking to the ref, as a cosmetic thing. For example, usually itās a prop whinging about nothing in particular when the ballās been kicked to touch. Is there any purpose to the captaincy? You canāt change it during a game to my knowledge either.
- If you scroll down the squad list so the Number 1 (PL) is not visible, and then back up to the top, the number 2 (HK) with be as high as you can go. You have to exit and go back in to see the prop in the list.
- The game stats in the pause menu/half time/full time doesnāt appear to track kicking metres.
- One of my weekly goals in Career mode is to complete 17 fends per match. I meet the goal every time, even though I havenāt fended even once to my knowledge.
Fair play to BA for the continued work. Appreciated, still a long way to go.
2 Likes
Had another crack.
Thereās some crazy bugs going on.
One pass went sky high when passed by AI and landed in the middle of the pitch.
Another AI pass from the 5 metre line in field was passed by the scrum half and ended up zipping a million miles an hour across the whole field in to the stands.
Players can be offside positions for kicks. Needs the rule added.
And I commented earlier that the last man in attack seems fixed. I retract this!
Hope Thursdays update moves the game forward.
1 Like
6 Likes
From todayās update.
Biggest issue I find is players still wandering from positions, despite what I do with formations etc, seems to always end up in attack the same, would love the next patch to take a look at this, FH doesnāt usually get into every ruck for example.
Overall is moving in a much better direction from first release, as others said still some bugs and issues like the out of position player.
3 Likes
Im done playing rugby 24
2 Likes
Disappointed with todays update. Passing has gone backwards (pardon the pun). That new turnover animation results in the scrum half lobbing the ball about 20ft in the air. This is so disappointing after last weeks good update, lots of things broken now
2 Likes
Big miss unfortunately with todayās patchā¦
2 Likes
Seriouslyā¦ā¦. Improved passingā¦ā¦ā¦ are you sure?
This game is worse yet again after an update and sadly for those of us here from EA1, this isnāt the first time
4 Likes
My findings on latest patch on steam patch 3/03, played two games 15 minute halves, Argentina vs Tonga , Argentina vs Hong Kong.
The timing and back and forth of rucks is working fairly good for a simulation(no ping pon rucks, thank you). (You really do have to time the rucks , when to send 0 when to send 3, if this could be increased to 5 , would open up the game even more.)
The new animation just steal is much better, without 1 player driving over 3.(Although seems to happen more in the beginning of games) But this is much improved.
You do still have the occasional, 1 player drive over 2 in the ruck for the steal that looks unrealistic. But overall good improvements in the rucks. There are more variations. Which is good. But Y contested tackler in the ruck, is still not available, Y is worthless at the moment. By the time the tackler stands back on his feet or even stays on his feet for the steal, two opposing offensive rucking players traveled 5 -10 meters to get to the ruck before. I get the feeling they are going to implement this better, because it is there, and it is in the tutorial, the Y tackling player stands up and contest, although the offensive player should be able to counter this by holding on with chance of a penalty, and on defense if you put hands in the ruck late when the ruck is formed after the ref signals hands off, should be a hands of penalty to counter balance the steal.
Problems with the AI:
The AI does not advance/gain ground at all in the mauls or scrums. Not even if you add no one to the maul.
The AI choses scrums as a penalty every time. (not realistic) (and the AI gets nowhere because itās too easy to win possession every scrum on hard setting)
The AI never commits penalty or collapseās the scrum.
The AI (although, slightly, slightly, better, does not pass or offload enough) but no doubt this will be fixed, itās an easy fix for Big Ant). Itās in all Big Ants past rugby league games. Big Ants AI has always been fairly challenging, (so I have confidence in this, that is why I focus more on features of Rucks, scrums and Mauls.
You can only, dummy pass to one side (left side), the dummy used to be effective in early builds.
Kicking for points is too easy, (instead of the player moving the first stationary arrow, have the arrow move back and forth on its own so we can time the first part, the better the kicker the slower the back and forth, you can leave the second timing graph part how it is.
Have the scrum take longer and be more rewarding if you do good, have the team that executes the scrum to perfection be able to gain good ground or have the opponent be called a scrum penalty. Otherwise, the scrums are boring, and it is pointless to time the graphs good other than to hold possession of the ball. Good system, poorly implemented, until now.
Overall, I think it is a considerable improvement, I felt most things were a little better, the rucks, user passing. On offense I am stringing together some great passing and gap runs. The flow felt very good at times, before, it was nonexistent. (HINT: Donāt sprint all the time folks) I think Big Ant has good intentions, it is just going to take some time to implement everything, so that it feels like Union Rugby. Please add up 5 to the ruck, this will open up the game play on both sides of the ball. Looking forward to future updates. For feedback:
as Argentina against Tonga and Hong Kong on hard difficulty it has been fairly easy to win in 15 minute halves by 2-3 tries. But this may be because AI passing and offloading is very little to nonexistent. The AI is to predictable.
Looking forward to more updates, moving in the right direction, but a way to go.
Note. The game crashed when I did a 7-10 meter maul over the try line, timing my players one by one, on the last one added maul made it over the try line, was about to celebrate a player touching down for a try, instead the game crashes back to steam page.
6 Likes
Still donāt think mauls and rucks are really that in dept as it still the same, for rucks doesnāt matter if you have no players or all 3 players in you donāt get punished by AI for it, and you still steal rucks with the same way pressing are player and steal together,
For mauls you can pretty much maul the whole field by just pressing add player and holding the maul button.
Positives for this update:
You can sprint more and your support line keeps up however, the animation for catching passes just kills your momentum as they catch the ball backwards so you have your player stop in action for a sec and it kills the speed. Remember itās not league itās union we run at speed onto the ball we donāt pass the ball behind our players.
Tackle animations seem to have a lot less of that RLL high hugging tackles so please donāt bring that in, probably should of been in the patch notes and have improved AI making removed as itās still crash ball pass by AI
1 Like
First of all, massive thank you for the continuing work being put into the game and the weekly patches, long may they continue!
Really enjoying the improved passing and support runners. Able to string passes together and score some nice trys.
The steal of the ball without the over dramatic ruck over is a nice add in, although its not completely clear as to when the ball has changed hands and you find yourself waiting for the Ai to play the ball and then realise you have the ball.
Butā¦ thats about as far as I feel this patch goes. Still not seeing any real passing come from Ai. Iāve seen maybe 3 second passes come in from the Ai in about 5 matches.
Ai continues to pick scrums every time they get a penalty, its becoming tedious!!
Scrums are an absolute mess. I find that if I hook the ball and hit the drive correctly, the scrum collapses, they get a penalty and the process repeats because of the Ai always picking a scrum.
Still unable to sub players. Had 5 injuries in one game. Ref kept stopping the game for the injuries, back to the scrum scenario and repeat. Just prior to the end of a match and for the first time, the Ai made subs for me, however it was backs for forwards and vice versa, with no option to change anything.
Ai consistently breaks first tackles.
Still a long way to go but its getting there slowly!
Would still like to see the ability to create a custom career mode with a created team and work through leagues. Dare I say it, like the previous Rugby 08 etc games had.
Look forward to the next patch!
2 Likes
Quick note:
Note for everyone: Rucks should be hard to turn over because rarely does the AI pass at the moment or go out wide or get isolated, so this helps them retain the ball more because they have better forward ruck support. It makes sense once they start passing out wide, or even passing more, thatās when we will get more turnovers, so turnovers should be very challenging at the moment and hard to come by.
In saying this, on Hard difficulty with evenly match teams, I am getting about 2 ruck turnovers to 1 against the AI, Argentina vs Tonga , Argentina vs Hong Kong. Although Argentina is rated a little better than both those teams. I am getting about 5-6 ruck turnovers per half in a 15 minute half games. Which is fairly normal. Opponent AI is getting 2-3 per turnovers per half. But I am also careful not to get isolated often.
2 Likes
Perhaps, but Iād really rather not have to play entire halves where I just gradually push them back the length of the pitch until they eventually box kick back to me
4 Likes
You are playing a different game as Iām getting a ruck turn over every 3 rucks which is good atm because I canāt be bothered playing against the AI itās repetitive. But winning pretty much every ruck is also un realistic.
Everything in this game is easy only time this game might be hard is when you over think the mechanics, I even started giving the controller to my 2 year old so they think they are playing the game and by just pressing button itās still ruck turnover fest 
1 Like