My suggestion is easy off on the sprint button. Passing (other than the few weird floaty passes) is fine.
Xbox-s latest patch V1.02766 The good the bad the ugly.
The good
- The game is advancing in the right direction
1.Ai starting to pass more
2.User passing almost perfect except for some glitches here and there - User offloading almost perfect (some of the best offload in a Rugby game.
- Running and passing rugby is very good , hitting gaps, good use of no sprint and sprint
- Dummy pass does work and can be used as weapon(but only to the left)
- Amount of Ruck turnovers feels good , timing for rucks feels fairly good
- Some beautiful visuals
- The down right stick move works good and the sidestep works fairly good
- Speed to the ruck has improved
- Love the instant steal without bulldozer effect ( more on this later)
- It seems Big Ant is listening (please add ability to add 5 to the ruck)
- Grubber kicks are working good
- Scrum mechanism is a good mechanism (although more on this later) because they are now very boring to play
The bad
- Still no 5 players max in the ruck (this would open up the gameplay)
- It seems they have the animations reversed in the rucks (although the outcome is somewhat the same) Explained: when one player steals it does the bulldozer effect, 1 player ploughs through 2-3 players. This steal move should be the quick passive steal with no bulldozer/pushover effect,(maybe every once in a while) in a 1 vs 1 or 1 vs 2 players situation it would be ok for the pushover animation, in reverse the 3 player bind in the ruck leads many times to a passive steal, this should be the when the bulldozer/push over effect animation should kick in, not when its 1 player vs 3 rucking players, where 3 over power 1, 2, or 3 players and push them over not when 1 player steals. Exchange the animations would make more sense. Again, it is already in the game, just has to be implemented correctly.
- Y contest at ruck, tackle, stand, and jackal still does not work, when it is eventually applied to the defensive game, offense should be able to hold on with risk of penalty
- AI still not passing enough and AI offloads are non-existent (that why so easy to win)
- Game is still very easy playing on Hardest with 2 even teams Argentina vs Wales, I always beat Wales by 3-4 tries on 10 minute games , no fear of losing. I always play same teams so the test are consistent, And well I am Argentinian.
- AI is horrible at scrums, so scrums are to easy and no reward system, I could win every scrum if I wanted, except for going for perfect scum graphs, I do lose some.
- AI. never fouls in the scrum or rucks
- Scrums have no reward if played great, makes them boring, should be able to gain ground if played perfect or cause the opposing team to create a scrum collapse or penalty.
- Up and Under are the worst of any Rugby game, but can be fixed, a higher trajectory and the player animation to get it off should be quicker, also the button is glitchy, you canāt always do it.
- Not enough time to set up plays when you do secure the ball on offense with adding more players to the ruck (thatās why ability to add 5 to ruck is needed) the more players you add to the ruck the more time you should have to use the ball. Now it should come with the risk of the defense challenging with a push over if you take to long, again say you have 3 in the ruck on offense the defense could attempt to add a 4th for a pushover, that is how it should work in the ruck. Itās not an exact science but the gist of Rugby gameplay would shine through.
- You can not pick and go in this game, this is in Rugby but not in the game.
You must always bind at least 1 for a pick and go, when the time is right you should be able to pick and go from a tackled player if the defense is not contesting in the ruck in a tackle. This would lead to more exciting play.
12.Set Plays and Pod control would make it a more cerebral game; I use this all the time in Rugby Challenge Series and Rugby 20 and Ruby 22 it adds a whole other level of deep fun gameplay. - Mauls need a deeper system it is too linear and sort of boring, there should be maul penalties, and you do a need a mini game to be able to give mauls justice. Think Risk vs Rewards systems that is what makes game fun.
The Ugly
- I have had the game crash twice when doing a maul, most of the time when adding the last player.
- Still every know in then the passing glitch that the ball goes crazy
- In quick lineouts the ball sometimes goes crazy, better then last patch though.
- Ai difficulty must improve,(which I think once they start passing and offloading more it will) should not be able to be winning comfortably on Hardest difficulty. Why learning the game the AI should be able to win consistently on medium difficulty. This does not mean add a cheat were the AI steals more at rucks that they should loose, or does impossible offloads when they should be tackled. They should be able to out pass, use sidesteps, dummies, and fends and trick plays at the right moment to defeat you. I have seen evidence of this in Big Ants Rugby league games , so I believe it will make into the game eventually. As mentioned I think they have everything in the game to make into a really good fun Rugby game, so again, I am keeping the faith, this will end up being at least in the top two Rugby games of all times. Thanks again Big Ant team, for continue to improve the game and listening to our cries. Looking forward to the next improvements (like up to 5 in a ruck and quick pick and go from the tackled player ) one can dream right?
9 Likes
If we can have an introduction lineup for every match showing each player like this one would be really nice to have in the future updates
9 Likes
Good update! Game flows! Now add the rest of the face scans and allow us to edit teams!
4 Likes
And add the real players to custom teams as well
6 Likes
Games getting better. Pls fix this offside glitch when we pass. Also please let us make teams with licensed players.
5 Likes
I think I need more tips because Iām finding the game very very hard I havenāt won a game in a week and keep losing like 21-0
Go have a read of the tips thread - genuinely, the biggest one is the sprinting
ISSUE: Would also add, that when the AI kicks out for half/full time, another AI team member will often catch it and keep it in
2 Likes
I agreee! We need this!
2 Likes
PATCH FEEDBACK
Passing is way better! Massive well done, I know how much of a pain itās been.
On the flip side, the AI, whilst passing more, is trying to run from sooooo deep that you can catch them 10-15 behind the gainline every single timeā¦ Means they still just canāt score a try even on hardest
5 Likes
Hello! Please fix this problem, I canāt play a match until the end, when a player is knocked to the ground, he remains motionless and the others just sit and look at him without anything happening. Itās a big problem, because you canāt finish the match, all you have to do is exit the game and lose the whole match.
2 Likes
This is the kind of love and attention to detail they have put into the AFL game thatās just not present in Rugby 25.
Donāt get me wrong, AFL 23 has its issues too. As a newer player, I didnāt experience all the challenges at launch, so my perspective might differ to some. However, the foundation of AFL 23 feels far more refined and complete than what we have in Rugby 25.
Take the pre-match experience for example. The stadiums feel alive, the crowd is engaged, and the commentary is solid. The animations, ranging from player entrances and warm-ups to the coin toss, help create atmosphere and immersion. In contrast, Rugby 25 offers only a brief player walkout and a team sheet before the action begins, which feels lacking in comparison.
Then thereās the depth of gameplay. On Xbox Series X, I have found many core mechanics in Rugby 25 are still broken or inconsistent. We are all aware of the issues. Passing is erratic, making it tough to execute satisfying plays. Rucks are still a lottery, and lineouts and scrums feel clunky. The AI also struggles with repetitive playstyles and poor decision-making. Even little things like during kick-off, you can still manipulate your kick trajectory if you hold the kick button (Y on Xbox) for max strength. That just seems weird to me, there should be a consequence or timing element to kick-offs. Otherwise you will always perform a perfect kick.
Thereās a lot of interesting and well-implemented mechanics in AFL 23. The kicking options are a standout. Under pressure, I can launch a Hail Mary clearance or chip kick if a defender is close. If I spot a teammate in space, I can quickly deliver a torpedo kick to help them take a mark. Plus, there are the added touches of banana kicks and low kicks for goal. These elements are really fun and makes it feel like you can do almost anything with the ball. With Sam Prendergast bringing spiral kicks back into fashion wouldnāt it be cool to see that as a kick modifier in Rugby 25?
In AFL 23, the key elements of the game, rucks, contested marks and kicks all actually work and success is based on a combination user input and player ratings. So itās more likely a skill issue or bad player matchups if you canāt get anything going, rather than Rugby 25 where everything feels like a game of chance and all your forwards can easily kick bombs and 50:22s for some reason.
The AI in AFL 23 is another highlight. Teams adapt their strategy, like pushing up on kicks to prevent short options and forcing you to go for longer, more challenging contests. Some teams will give you space on the wing to stop you from creating opportunities in the middle. This keeps the game fresh and requires tactical adjustments. In Rugby 25 the AI doesnāt challenge you in the same way. The handoff mechanic is overpowered, allowing players to break through the first defender with near 100% success, which makes the game feel repetitive and boring honestly.
I guess what Iām trying to say is that after a month of updates to Rugby 25 I still feel like weāre playing a beta. I wish I wanted to pick up and play the game but I just donāt in its current state. The standard is poor, even when compared to other games Big Ant have developed. That being said, although itās far from perfect, and I understand a lot of people donāt like it, for me seeing what AFL 23 has become, and the polish and clear passion for the sport thatās been put into it, gives me hope we can get to that point with Rugby 25.
2 Likes
Yesterday wasnāt happy with the updates this week. However, things seem to have changed for the better. Played several games today, which actually looked like rugby union. Passing is much better- took advice regarding not sprinting so much, now so much easier to draw players and create gaps.
AI is passing multiple times, fairly deep in most cases but looks much better. Not many scrums were chosen by them, seem to kick for touch majority of the time. Also loving the fact if the AI arenāt making ground with phases the are kicking for territory.
Well done big ant.
However, please can we sort out the scrum system. Also the constant offsides are so frustrating. Had multiple overlaps, pass the ball to winger, flagged for off side. Plus still geting a lot of forward pass penalties that arenāt forward at all.
Also AI still seem to bind players to rucks much quicker than i can, even when thumb sticks are left alone.
Looking forward to next weeks updates.
3 Likes
On the offsides, offsides at rucks also donāt seem to be called most of the time. I can basically hang around over the offside line with one player and single blitz them back to their own try line
Testing this, it seems that the offside lines are the wrong way around - only concede a penalty if you cross the opposition back foot, rather than your own
4 Likes
So the new update made the game feel really good. However there are still a few things.
Please can you make the AI pass a bit more? Even a little bit more than they are doing already. I love that they do set play pass moves now but still I would like more passing.
Also they need to offload. I have not seen one AI offload as of yet. Also make them be more tactical . Like more kicks or tactical kicks, and such.
Then some issues I picked up.
ā¢ On the End to End camera, bump offs donāt work still.
ā¢ On the Side camera, Fend offs and bump offs donāt work when playing from Right to Left.
ā¢ AI STILL chooses Scrums like 90% of the time.
ā¢ If and when AI decides to take a kick for touch, they donāt really kick deep at all. Just a 5m or 10m gain on the kick for their lineout. They should kick much deeper to gain more territory.
The game is a bit more challenging now with the AI passing but still not challenging enough. On the Hardest difficulty I want to actually struggle to win. Not win comfortably by 20-30+ points.
Also I found in Career mode, when you have injured players or players with Red Cards, you can still play with them by just skipping the lineup. Then they play no matter what.
AI also needs to start doing some substitutions. My players run circles around them close to the end of the match due to them all being out of stamina.
6 Likes
The rucks need sequencing logic with proper animations
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If the first player to the ruck is an attacker, he secures the ruck by standing over the tackled player and can be joined by another 2 teammates. Once they have secured the ruck, the only way for a turnover to be conceded is for the defending team to try and counter ruck, which is the existing animations you have. The counter ruck can only succeed if they have more players and/or better player stats. They can attempt a counter ruck as long as the ball is still in the ruck. Any attempt to steal the ball in a ruck, without counter rucking, is penalised as hands in the ruck
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If the first player to the ruck is a defender, he has the opportunity to immediately steal the ball, before the attacking support arrives to secure the ruck. If he has not stolen the ball by the time the support arrives, he can quite easily be rucked/pushed off by the support. If he successfully steals the ball, it is a turnover which is clearly announces audibly (commentators etc). If he is unable to steal the ball because the tackled player is holding onto the ball, then it is a penalty for holding on. Player stats influence steal success. The appropriate animation for stealing the ball is something like below (one player trying to grab the ball and the other trying to get him off)
The existing ruck clearing animation is great, but they donāt form a scrum first and then push over, they go into the ruck with speed and immediately drive the player attempting the steal (point 2 above) or the players protecting the ruck (point 1 above). The likelihood of driving one player off the ruck or the ball, is far higher than driving 2 or 3 players off the ruck or ball.
You could also introduce a momentum feature around the rucks and general play, with faster play generating momentum while defense are still trying to get into position, but if you overextend from your support and a defending player gets to the ruck first, before the supporting players, he has a good chance of stealing the ball. It has to be dynamic like this to work properly.
Similarly, do not introduce set plays, instead focus on dynamic running and positioning to open up various unique options for passing the ball on attack, whether short inside or outside, dummy runner, switch runner, wide runner, etc. The important thing then is to work on player positioning to put the support runners in the correct space, and perfect passing, so you can pass to any option around you.
3 Likes
Hello Big Aunty ,
V1.0.2763 on steam
Latest interim patch kinda saves this weekās big fumbles of those 2 weekly patches.
Unbroke the floating passes, but passing still not finished. Close passes should be more direct, needs a better responsiveness in small spaces. Latest pass still goes directly to touch, still canāt select a player on a loose ball.
Support runners a bit more present, but still run some weird routes at times. Horrible stutter jump by support runners when receiving a pass, aiming their run to where they want, still no control of the receiver before the ball is in his hands. The problem is sometimes he will head straight for a defender when there is a gap, we need more fine control of the attack.
And the rest hasnāt evolved so mauls are still a shame, scrums boring, lineouts are over simplified and still not properly working. On kick reception the jumping pod is nice, but on landing the animation is still broken before the maul.
Attack is still missing lots of animations, but defense is missing even more. No possible defense against the diving try, Canāt counter the fendā¦ In attack we should be able to avoid some tackles with running skills from a back or raw power from a big without necessarily using a special move. Like when hitting a gap, we should be able to avoid tackles by running away from the defender.
Rucks are randomly rewarded, the first defender isnāt always rewarded even when he is first in the ruck by far, which is weird. AI still picks scrums instead of obvious penaltiesā¦
User interface is still not showing player names, still loads of face scans missingā¦
And so on , and so onā¦
And still no roadmap !
This game has brought so much deception on all of us as it was fully released with so much delay and in such a bad state ā¦ I can almost understand the excitement of some of my fellow forumers whenever a small patch makes one aspect of the game okayish, but the state of the whole game is still a huge deception. Fully realesed, almost a month of patches and still not finished, the game is missing so much depth and fun it is just boring.
Cheers !!
1 Like
Hey guys wanted to flag a couple of things. Been playing on the xbox version tonight. And its amazing the way the xbox version does seem to be better than the PC version. Not finding a lot of scrums from penalties. AI passing way more, AI commiting high tackle penalties.
New ruck turnovers dont do the big push over counter-ruck no matter what side the camera is on. Overall feels like a better experience.
Did notice a couple of things though. Still issues with blanket colour over the image, todays colour was Yellow, rather than the pink or blue seen before on Stade de France
Also noticed a difference with serious injuries. On the xbox version when a serious injury happens, it pops up saying a substitue has been automatically selected. The problem is the automatic sub is the wrong way around. And the game queues up substituting the injured player already on the pitch, to come on from the bench.
And the non injured player to come off the field who isnt even on. Its not just a labelling issue, because the substitue doesnt even happen anyway.
Im also not a fan of the idea to force an automatic substitue on (if it was working) rather than letting the player choose who to sub on. Incase you have multiple players covering the position and want someone else instead. Would be better after a serious injury for the game to pause after the cinematic and allow you to sub on a new player of your choice.
6 Likes
Getting to a point where unless the AI seriously improves, the game is a little pointless.
On hardest, now winning games on 5 minutes halves 50/70 - 0, which is rubbish
7 Likes