Public Beta Reaction Thread

[Thomnipotent]

For me, the biggest problem is that the UI does not appear to consider the user experience. For people who have been playing this series for decades, it's just a matter of memorizing where each section / function is. I don't envy anyone coming into this series with the 2020 iteration, though. The layout is too busy. And redundant. And non-intuitive.

 

The fact that so many people have asked how to release a worker from a contract should be telling. That's a basic thing, and everyone should be able to find out where / how to do that without consulting the forum.

 

Idk. I'm conflicted. Games have evolved SO MUCH at this point, and for a game that's been rewritten from the ground up, TEW 2020's user-facing front end feels very stuck in the past. It's a shame because I know the mechanics behind the scenes are incredibly sophisticated.

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an improvement to the layout. Something more intuitive and user-friendly.

[daddytorgo1]

It's going to take some getting used to the new UI, but overall it's greatly improved over the previous releases.

 

Things like keyboard scrolling, and such being added to more screens is something he said he's looking into, one of my main gripes was road agent notes requiring clicks, for example.

 

I also hope he allows more customization in the products, or adds more choices, as I can't quite find one that gives me what I want with the desired match:angle ratios, etc.

 

But overall, I look forward to the full release.

 

Yeah, the product thing is really an issue for me TBH. I think given that the UI "brightness" is being addressed, I can deal with some of the other UX design choices, but the product thing is killing me.

 

Why can't I design a product the way I want? If I want a hardcore company that is receptive to deathmatches and glass/explosives and that isn't penalized at all for eye candy matches or angles based on sex appeal, why can't I have that?

[Rebby]

For me, all of my issues with the UI can either be fixed with skins, or just me getting used to it. I won't pretend that I love the layout of things either, but I'm still gonna get my money's worth out of this game, several times over. I'll adapt.

[The Nickman]

While I understand that delaying a game for polish is always a good thing (always, for every game, without exception, despite what the market has proven they'll put up with), I admit to being disappointed. I'm having a blast and every save I have to quit due to the time limit bums me out.

Yeah, I have to say I’m in the same boat too. I was definitely paying my 35 bucks on release date for the full version because I just know Adam will do all it takes to fix the issues we all have and it does suck that it’s now been pushed back a few weeks due to (in my opinion) some of the completely over the top reactions on this forum.

 

It does show the pride that Adam does take in his work, there’s not too many designers out there with his same passion and commitment.

 

It’s a shame, but in the end I know we’ll end up with the game we (well, the majority of us) all want and will love and sink thousands of hours into. Just need to be patient and keep working with developers.

[Arlie Rahn]

I'll wait to see what is done with the overhaul that he can do. I'm not a fan of the current UI but I'm more than willing to wait for skins/Adam's reworks to see if it makes it out to be any better. Its a beta and in the past Adam has made large fixes to accommodate things he personally didn't think were wrong.

 

The one thing I don't quite understand is that I agree about 80 percent of this board isn't a fan of the UI. So did the testing team say "bruh this UI isn't the best" and Adam said "meh I like it" was it worse than this and the testing team brought it to where it was or did the testing team say "looks great Adam". Or were the testing team not supposed to do anything but look for bugs and not comment on the overall look.

 

Either way I'm all for change but so far this UI is a regress from '16.

I don't want to speak for the testers, but I can speak for myself. As someone who has been following along (and playing some) since the early alpha period, I understand many of your initial reservations about the UI. It is a little different and even jarring at first.

 

I think because we watched it evolve and played with it for a while, the new look grew on us over time (to where we really liked many aspects of it). What I don't think the testers (and myself) took into account was a similar process starting with all the fans when they got the demo. So, I wouldn't be too hard on Adam or the testers, but we probably should have had a few new people come in as we entered the final portion of testing to give that "fresh" look. The positive is that I think many of you will get used to the new look at enjoy it over time (esp with some of the changes Adam has already stated).

 

One other thing, Adam isn't one to make excuses and takes a lot of pride in the state of his games on release. Another factor (esp when you consider a lot of the rewrites he did between 2016 and 2020) is that when transitioning to the limited time demo, the coding changes. I think some of the initial errors were related to that transition (as well as all the modding/customization you guys did).

 

Finally, just from my perspective, I think it's really outstanding that you guys give the feedback that you do for these public beta/demos. The passion and enthusiasm that you guys show for TEW is pretty amazing. We all appreciate it and I think the fact that Adam decided to extend the demo period to resolve as many issues as he can shows that.

 

So keep banging on that demo and we will keep you guys in the loop over this period.

[bigdaddykraven]

For me, the biggest problem is that the UI does not appear to consider the user experience. For people who have been playing this series for decades, it's just a matter of memorizing where each section / function is. I don't envy anyone coming into this series with the 2020 iteration, though. The layout is too busy. And redundant. And non-intuitive.

 

The fact that so many people have asked how to release a worker from a contract should be telling. That's a basic thing, and everyone should be able to find out where / how to do that without consulting the forum.

 

Idk. I'm conflicted. Games have evolved SO MUCH at this point, and for a game that's been rewritten from the ground up, TEW 2020's user-facing front end feels very stuck in the past. It's a shame because I know the mechanics behind the scenes are incredibly sophisticated.

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an improvement to the layout. Something more intuitive and user-friendly.

 

Yeah, like I said in my post, even if its a version 6 months after the game comes out, I'm hoping they can work with some people in the UX Community (I offered) to improve some areas, at least minimally. Getting 3-4 popups that you have to close before continuing should never happen.

[jwt13]

The UI isn’t even bad. It’s just people who don’t like change getting mad about not having it like it used to be. I quickly adjusted while playing a 2 month game. The only thing I would like is the scrolling with the colored list but I even adjusted to that easy. Change is ok guys the game is awesome once you learn the new features.

[Eastwood]

Also just in case, if you are changing the font, may I recommend Roboto? It's a freeware license and is modern/contemporary without being in your face. https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Roboto

Hope this doesn’t get lost in the flood, that’s actually a really nice professional looking font.

 

Glad that the UI is getting tweaked. Not getting too excited but I really hope that large grade graphics are back for matches and events. It’s so deflating to have them just be tiny white text thrown onto the screen...

[Misawa619]

I just don't feel like playing TEW 2020 anymore. It feels more like a chore than a game. The booking feels so broken, the UI is giving me Aurora flashbacks, and there is nothing that gives me that OOMPH to play it again. I like the concepts of being able to talk to workers but after that I'm just left deflated with the very meh booking results. The penalties kills my encouragement of booking, the ability to change product to the way I see it have been taken out and replaced with presets (What the **** is Avant Garde Puroresu?) and I'm just so disappointed with the beta. Yes I understand it is a beta but c'mon man. It's good that Adam will take time for it but I am worried if this will also result in something worse. To sum it all up, back to 2016 for the time being...

[sabataged]

I don't want to speak for the testers, but I can speak for myself. As someone who has been following along (and playing some) since the early alpha period, I understand many of your initial reservations about the UI. It is a little different and even jarring at first.

 

I think because we watched it evolve and played with it for a while, the new look grew on us over time (to where we really liked many aspects of it). What I don't think the testers (and myself) took into account was a similar process starting with all the fans when they got the demo. So, I wouldn't be too hard on Adam or the testers, but we probably should have had a few new people come in as we entered the final portion of testing to give that "fresh" look. The positive is that I think many of you will get used to the new look at enjoy it over time (esp with some of the changes Adam has already stated).

 

One other thing, Adam isn't one to make excuses and takes a lot of pride in the state of his games on release. Another factor (esp when you consider a lot of the rewrites he did between 2016 and 2020) is that when transitioning to the limited time demo, the coding changes. I think some of the initial errors were related to that transition (as well as all the modding/customization you guys did).

 

Finally, just from my perspective, I think it's really outstanding that you guys give the feedback that you do for these public beta/demos. The passion and enthusiasm that you guys show for TEW is pretty amazing. We all appreciate it and I think the fact that Adam decided to extend the demo period to resolve as many issues as he can shows that.

 

So keep banging on that demo and we will keep you guys in the loop over this period.

 

Thanks Arlie

[Benno]

The idea of it just being a vocal minority who think the UI needs an overhaul explains so much about the mentality behind making the game these days. Adam is (perhaps rightly) superserving the types of hardcores who got to test the game and somehow thought there was nothing wrong with it (more numbers and info on every screen must be good) - and doesn't seem to care for the world outside this forum that might be interested in the game and will be put off by the absolute state of it.

 

See also not having any mod makers involved in the beta as to not cause upset on the forum, despite how much that would have obviously helped the game work and be an attractive proposition on release.

[FINisher]

I must say I absolutely loved the status update. Thank you Adam. Two week delay doesn't hurt a bit.

[TheJG]

It's great that he's taken the feedback on board and delayed the release.

 

I'm hoping that when he refers to there being no chance for a "complete overhaul of the UI", he means in regards to the concept art that's popped up on the board lately, which is obviously unrealistic, rather than a rejigging and rethinking of what's already there. All I'd like is a game that's at least as functional and user friendly as the edition before.

 

I wouldn't class TEW 2016 as a pretty game, but it did everything well and the layout and flow were infinitely better.

[Arlie Rahn]

I just don't feel like playing TEW 2020 anymore. It feels more like a chore than a game. The booking feels so broken, the UI is giving me Aurora flashbacks, and there is nothing that gives me that OOMPH to play it again. I like the concepts of being able to talk to workers but after that I'm just left deflated with the very meh booking results. The penalties kills my encouragement of booking, the ability to change product to the way I see it have been taken out and replaced with presets (What the **** is Avant Garde Puroresu?) and I'm just so disappointed with the beta. Yes I understand it is a beta but c'mon man. It's good that Adam will take time for it but I am worried if this will also result in something worse. To sum it all up, back to 2016 for the time being...

I think this is fair - especially during this public beta period. There are times where it may seem like a chore and much different than what you are used to. What I would ask is that you try to make a little time to do a quick 2020 run every so often (in between 2016). This is a unique time to where the feedback and ideas found by you guys can impact the released version.

 

So, for those of you who can find a little time to keep trying the 2020 updates - we appreciate it! And for those who chose to keep using 2016, we understand and hope you will come back when 2020 is released!

[Lex Star]

I just don't feel like playing TEW 2020 anymore. It feels more like a chore than a game. The booking feels so broken, the UI is giving me Aurora flashbacks, and there is nothing that gives me that OOMPH to play it again. I like the concepts of being able to talk to workers but after that I'm just left deflated with the very meh booking results. The penalties kills my encouragement of booking, the ability to change product to the way I see it have been taken out and replaced with presets (What the **** is Avant Garde Puroresu?) and I'm just so disappointed with the beta. Yes I understand it is a beta but c'mon man. It's good that Adam will take time for it but I am worried if this will also result in something worse. To sum it all up, back to 2016 for the time being...

 

I think Avantgarde Puroresu is supposed to be like DDT? I'm not overly familiar with Japanese wrestling.

 

But overall I like the new product system, I just wish we had the option of customizing them at least a little bit to tweak them to our liking. Maybe an option to build a product from the ground up, but I'm not sure that is possible, depending on how the game is coded.

 

At the least I think Adam should and possibly will add more product choices in the future, so we can all hopefully find the perfect one for us.

[Stennick]

I don't want to speak for the testers, but I can speak for myself. As someone who has been following along (and playing some) since the early alpha period, I understand many of your initial reservations about the UI. It is a little different and even jarring at first.

 

I think because we watched it evolve and played with it for a while, the new look grew on us over time (to where we really liked many aspects of it). What I don't think the testers (and myself) took into account was a similar process starting with all the fans when they got the demo. So, I wouldn't be too hard on Adam or the testers, but we probably should have had a few new people come in as we entered the final portion of testing to give that "fresh" look. The positive is that I think many of you will get used to the new look at enjoy it over time (esp with some of the changes Adam has already stated).

 

One other thing, Adam isn't one to make excuses and takes a lot of pride in the state of his games on release. Another factor (esp when you consider a lot of the rewrites he did between 2016 and 2020) is that when transitioning to the limited time demo, the coding changes. I think some of the initial errors were related to that transition (as well as all the modding/customization you guys did).

 

Finally, just from my perspective, I think it's really outstanding that you guys give the feedback that you do for these public beta/demos. The passion and enthusiasm that you guys show for TEW is pretty amazing. We all appreciate it and I think the fact that Adam decided to extend the demo period to resolve as many issues as he can shows that.

 

So keep banging on that demo and we will keep you guys in the loop over this period.

 

A a fellow Metro East native thank you for this response Arlie

[TOTKingNothing]

I think this is fair - especially during this public beta period. There are times where it may seem like a chore and much different than what you are used to. What I would ask is that you try to make a little time to do a quick 2020 run every so often (in between 2016). This is a unique time to where the feedback and ideas found by you guys can impact the released version.

 

So, for those of you who can find a little time to keep trying the 2020 updates - we appreciate it! And for those who chose to keep using 2016, we understand and hope you will come back when 2020 is released!

 

Arlie, I think that particular poster is frustrated specifically with the product system, as am I, and their intent is to not come back to 2020 unless the feature is changed. Which is a stance I completely understand, because it is the one major feature that is detrimental to my fun.

 

I really appreciate all the work being put into the game by you, Adam, and others, and I hope our feedback on this feature isn't being ignored. I am still playing 2020 for the testing period (submitted a bug myself just today), but that feature is really disheartening.

[pat666]

I understand that Adam would want to delay the game because some people was pissed with UI and other stuff...

I'm actually enjoying the demo like crazy and was counting days until thursday so i can start my real game.. This is a pretty bad news for me. Ready this, i just closed the demo and wont touch it again, as i don't want to stay exited for something that ill still need to wait 3 weeks for....

 

Anyways, I'll buy it when it comes out.. but pretty sad it's delayed.

[Benno]

Adam's lack of real acknowledgement of the obvious and serious UI issues is really disappointing the more I read it. I really hope this incredibly useful looking post from NikeBee being moved into a closed generic UI thread isn't an indication its being ignored.

 

Default UI and UX Opinions and Feedback from a long time fan and developer

I want to preface this a little.

I've played since EW9000, I was part of the team behind the Arsenic Editor in the EWR days.

So I know what most things do, I know what buttons "mean", some of my critiscm is me perhaps being overly so and hoping to look through the eyes as if I were new.

 

The second piece to follow that up, from a professional standpoint, I am Head Developer for a large travel company in UK/Europe. I work with/lead some very talented UX/UI guys daily whose raison d'etre is to focus on user experience, conversion rate optimisation and user journies. Hopefully the years of experience here can help with some advice on some of your UX choices.

 

Everything I say is with love, and I know I will still be likely purchasing and playing a lot of this game - but I can't hide my disappointment from how it looks and feels.

 

I hope you find the following notes constructive, they're in no particular order but are just observations from multiple parts of my experience early on.

 

---

 

First thing, the whole "you have to run this as administrator" thing which we've had since ~2014 still reeks of a poor choice of development practices. If certain features won't work without it, you really need to question what those things are, why they don't work and what the platform you're developing them in is stopping them from working for. That is a rant for another day...

 

The UI in this interaction is, in a word, "amateurish". It's clear that a design pattern has been chosen that is "flat and black". But that is to the detriment of ensuring that clear CTA's (call to actions, those most important things you should see in an app) no longer stand out.

 

There's almost an "it fits, so it's going to be here" approach to some screens, and nearly every screen is crammed full of information which is overwhelming.

 

There's little things throughout that bother me, but it's my head doing this from professional experience and nothing more - I understand 90%+ of the fan base could give a rats ass about these but:

Borders are not consistent between certain buttons.

Radius on borders do not appear consistent in some places.

There's inconsistencies between the spacing of dropdowns and important sections on screens.

CTA's are not clear or in consistent places.

We're still using list boxes? We're still using list boxes that you cannot always use a scroll wheel on? It's 2020 and we cannot use functionality that was introduced in 1996

Spacing between things is not consistent, some are almost touching, some are 5~ pixels apart, some are ~1 pixel apart - again "it fits so it's fine".

Icons chosen for some sections really are not obvious enough and are non standard (email being an @ symbol not an envelope for example).

 

The fixed screen resolution.

I'm presuming this is because of VS .NET (or whatever you're using for this, I'm presuming VS because of the history of the series) and the design practices and limitations you feel you're under here, but it's not acceptable to have a fixed resolution app in this day and age.

It hurts for multiple reasons:

You rule out smaller screen users, you hinder the experience of larger screen users.

There are so many ways around this, but it might that you and the team feel too comfortable in an platform that is limiting you?

What's worse is it hurts you as a team! You are limited by space to build, you are left having to cram things in to pages, you're left making fonts smaller than they should be to fit things that "have to be on this page!". This ends up screwing up your users because the UI becomes cluttered.

 

On to some specifics about a few pages that have troubled me so far...

 

Help Icons - throughout

Fantastic intentions and an obviously a good contextual addition, but in too many places the question mark is clicked and I am not in a section that is relevant to what I am looking at. If there isn't help for that section, don't have the help icon... it's more frustrating being taken to the wrong thing than not having the help icon at all. Clicking help for a non-existing section is extremely unhelpful.

 

Office

It's a mess. On the right-hand side there are a staggering 40 buttons to choose from. Honestly, it's giving me the grey dots optical illusion (google it if you've not seen it).

 

Font sizing and padding on the buttons varies because of the fact there are so many buttons.

 

Why not introduce sub menus and grouping of sections for this?

Learn from the success of others, take inspiration from Football Manger by Si Games, mountains of information and things to do and change, all of which are easily accessible because they are in clearly labelled areas/menus.

 

None of these are grouped together for ease of use. If you have to have this many buttons on the page because you feel there are limitations in your language/IDE/platform then at least group things together to allow the user to easily spot where things "should be". 2016 did this well to be fair. This is a step back.

 

Companies page

The fact that the bar at the bottom (the quick/customisable bar) duplicates buttons is not great. I can see people accidentally clicking roster/titles/size below and not in the middle because they're not contextual to the company you are viewing.

 

Roster

You can't use the scroll wheel on this list on the left-hand side.

I don't need to hear the windows "ding" sound when I've successfully searched in an otherwise silent game.

 

In other pages, at the top of the list there are little left/right icons for quick searching. Add them here! They're helpful, they could quick filter by roster position and role. They're a very good addition on other pages, and seem to be missing in others.

 

There's hidden buttons here! Some of the copy in "status" is clickable, some of it isn't. The "Wrestler" icon is clickable...

 

Altering a character... I have the option to alter roster details, but I cannot click on most of them... they're not greyed out, there is no description or message as to why. I'm presuming it's because they're not contracted for those positions... but it's frustrating not knowing.

 

Give bonuses and time off...

The text boxes are smaller in height than the select boxes.

The buttons are larger in height than both and not lined up correctly. The time off is slightly lower than the others on it's line.

 

Contract Page

Small white text on a black background surrounded by white lines is difficult to read. There is an overwhelming amount of information on the screen that, again, you cannot scroll through.

Being able to filter this by push/perception would certainly be helpful.

 

Booking

Going back to the company page... the buttons now just say DISABLED in uppercase. This has obviously been done because it's been decided that all buttons will be flat and black. But it breaks basic UX rules here.

Disabled buttons generally follow one of two clear rules:

A. Have them, but make them clear that they're greyed out and why they are unavailable.

B. Remove them - in 2020 this is generally the way to go. Why? Because we should be building better interfaces with clear design choices based on user intent.

Why show someone something they cannot do, especially over and over again. Apps should be contextual.

Think about it, "Because you're in the process of booking a show, some of your options are limited".

 

Why is using "DISABLED" a bad idea? I can quickly explain:

If we know users cannot do something or should not be able to do something, showing them 10-15 things they cannot do is frustrating, especially as many people to your game are new. They will not remember what was there and will look for things they feel comfortable with. I have no idea what the 10-15 things that are disabled on this page are. It's frustrating me that I don't know what they are.

 

In some cases, we may want to keep things on the screen as they are 1 or 2 things away from being able to do something. In this case, disabled states are fine and welcomed. If these are CTA's or goal buttons, make them have 50% opacity than normal, the call to action buttons still stand out that way but we know that a user has to do "something" to be able to press that button.

 

Booking Screen

Booking a match, again no ability to use a scroll wheel?

Choosing the talent for a match, again everything is black. Why am I hunting for the save button?

The list of workers, you could previously drag workers from this into the competitors drop downs on the left. I have managed to do this once in the 2020 and it now no longer works.

As an aside, do people know you can do this? Do new users know this? Probably not.

 

Booking a match

To add a match to the card you press "Add Match".

This screen then has a button which says "Add New Match" and "Book Segment" and these are ambiguous.

I know from years of playing "Add match" lets me create a new match for the list... and book segment adds it to the card. But you have just changed the entire terminology on me in two buttons clicks "Add Match" > "Book Segment"

 

Having the "Add Match" and "Add Angles" in a section headed by "Segments" would reduce confusion perhaps?

 

The CTA for "Book Segment" is yellow for me to proceed, obviously a positive. That said, on the booking screen there are two other yellow buttons which are not buttons that take me further on my journey, they're used for information. It's a subtle thing that can cause confusion in UX.

 

 

 

Booking an angle

Road agent notes are welcomed here, but limit the workers in this list to workers users have added to the segment.

 

Simple UX rule, don't give me the chance to get a notification telling me I'm an idiot.

 

Don't tell me that I can't add Adam Matravers as a cameo because he's not in the main segment... I thought a cameo would be supplemental to the main thing now I feel stupid.

Stop me from selecting him and make me choose the workers first! Then my expectations are managed and I'm not left feeling a fool.

 

Booking a venue

Ronseal, it does what it says on the tin. Not much here is needed. No clear CTA, you can leave the screen after selecting a new venue in the list without having confirmed the change. It needs a prompt or to have the "select this venue" CTA coloured to encourage people to see it.

 

 

 

I've now gone back to the company page and the disabled buttons are all red... So clearly the fact they were white earlier was a bug? My points still stands about them being unsightly.

 

----

 

That's wrapping it up for now. I've spent far too long writing this! I hope the feedback, whilst may feel harsh, is at least constructive.

 

Finally, Adam you have a fantastic legacy here and a loyal fanbase. If the UX/UI of your games didn't look so amateurish these games would be SO SO much more popular - you must understand that. They do not stand up against other management/simulation games available (specifically looking at what is available on Steam) - but the fact that it's a wrestling niche means that you're well ahead of anything else that is out to market because the competition is so slim.

 

The gameplay, the "one more show" nature of the series has always been top notch. It's rivalled Football Manager for many of us for years and years, but the UX has always been wanting.

 

Thanks.

[Skummy]

Is a term like "Avant Garde Puroresu" really any harder to visualise than "Maximum Low Minimum None Current Very Low Hyper Realism" and so on?

 

Particularly when, in this instance, the game provides a description of what that product entails, both strictly in gameplay terms, and in the explanation of what the product entails?

 

 

I understand why people would like a little bit more freedom in editing products, particularly things like match/angle balance, though I've been surprised by the vociferousness of the response against this feature.

[Lex Star]

Is a term like "Avant Garde Puroresu" really any harder to visualise than "Maximum Low Minimum None Current Very Low Hyper Realism" and so on?

 

Particularly when, in this instance, the game provides a description of what that product entails, both strictly in gameplay terms, and in the explanation of what the product entails?

 

 

I understand why people would like a little bit more freedom in editing products, particularly things like match/angle balance, though I've been surprised by the vociferousness of the response against this feature.

 

The problem isn't the feature itself really, but it's almost impossible for Adam to add every single conceivable product to the game, so the ability to make our own would be ideal, if at all possible. Why can't I make a Comedy Hardcore company?

 

I understand that it might have been changed to prevent people from picking a product that has minimal penalties and maximum benefits, but if someone wants to play like that in a sandbox game like TEW where you can just edit to give yourself millions of $$$ anyways, why not let them?

[TOTKingNothing]

though I've been surprised by the vociferousness of the response against this feature.

 

When your games have been allowing freedom of choice and customization since like 2009 and then you take it away for something far more restrictive, you're gonna get a lot of push back.

 

In my opinion, rightfully so.

 

It's the one feature about 2020 that is really pushing me away from buying the game.

[Joshdb]

I’ve been played for two days now with a new skin (which I think is necessary) and I think 90% of the game feels good. I’d like a couple buttons back, a few numbers bigger but I like perception and I like the new product system. I definitely a fan of what I’ve experienced so far with gimmicks. Can’t wait to play a long save.

[Irishwhiskey119]

Arlie, I think that particular poster is frustrated specifically with the product system, as am I, and their intent is to not come back to 2020 unless the feature is changed. Which is a stance I completely understand, because it is the one major feature that is detrimental to my fun.

 

I really appreciate all the work being put into the game by you, Adam, and others, and I hope our feedback on this feature isn't being ignored. I am still playing 2020 for the testing period (submitted a bug myself just today), but that feature is really disheartening.

 

What disappoints me about it is not just that it sticks you in a box but it does with the A.I. as well.

 

I assumed that the game would have some fluid movement with potential product changes for the A.I. as time goes on, whether they are trying to re-brand or freshen up their product. I'm not a big fan of having to stick with the same product forever and i'm more thinking of the entire game world and not just the user here. The numerous product options are great but it's not needed when you can just use every combination of the sliders and have logic to move them for the AI so the potential of what they can do is much more vast. 16 had min and max settings to keep a particular one from getting too wacky and i find that to make WAY more sense than these set products. I can't wrap my mind around who thought that was a better idea because the way 16 opened up freedom with angles and gimmicks was genius and the right thing to do.

 

Similar to auto booker, i just hope that the boundaries can be pushed with potential. I can see Adam did a great job in implementing logic w/ a bit of randomness because you need it but i do wonder if it's a little too narrow in potential. You can always give us the ability to set auto booker logic ourselves too, although i'm sure that would take time to create.

 

The fact that we can fill in already started cards with auto booker is an outstanding addition though, really like that as long as it works well and it's not too limited in direction.

[absolutelyridiculous]

I like the new products because I was never crazy about the old system, but yeah, I think there should be more leeway with stuff like the angle ratios. I'd also love "carveouts" where maybe if something like hardcore only gets a minor penalty, you can still have one or two hardcore matches a year before you start getting dinged for them, just as a change of pace.

 

I never like trying to fight the min-maxers as a design choice (a lot of the time you see this in games that have both a single player and a competitive online) but I think these changes are more about getting the AI to have an easier time with it.