Online Update V1.03!

I wanted to give it real hit out and look to get into a harder level of game before I add my 2 cents. Rather than bag the game like some of the others have in social media. I like the game it has in my opinion taken a step or two back since RC3 - no mitre 10 cup is a biggie for me but the addition of some more International licences and the curry cup are good additions.

I would like to get more control over the game play , it there a away to add auto / manual tactics the full back goes into the line and I end up getting scored on or I want my ruck commitment to no be med but it changes back some with how I play. I set to deep and wide and then it goes to narrow. would be great to have full control over this.

the ruck commitment is good and bad, seams like I can't keep the ball and the only way I win it to contest and then the ref blows a quick penalty on me yet the AI are aways blowing over the top of me. kinda gets frustrating when I have to commit over a 100 tackles to the AI 30 - 50 in a 20 minute half. can this be worked in with the low , med , high commitment. another issue is it seams like the AI forwards are on speed you place in behind them and chase then before you have tackled and contested they there and winning the penalty. I guess more reward for attacking play especially when the AI just chuck around off load after of load.

other wise keep up the good work and hopefully the IRB come to the party and get the world unions on board for extra licenses and a real WRC comp rather than the world championship

Nice patch

That's great WW. I hope it could be a little higher and a little more angled overhead slightly. Fifa manages to show player depth really well by useage of really carefully positioned cameras. Rugby Challenge could benefit from the same. It may even need a slight pull back or zoom out. At the moment, it's not unplayable, but it's difficult to read player depth for sure. Games like Rugby League Live (some editions) are also very good at rugby player spacing and side-cameras are great to play. Thank you for listening to players comments and feedback. :)

One point that needs mentioning for those who play the side-view. It needs to be elevated more so you can see player spacing better. Please tell me this is going to be addressed prior to release?

Couple big things still need sorting

- Opposition always trying to attack down less than a 5m blind side

- Half back or acting half back always running it

- First receiver usually far too flat

- Props always passing from mauls

- Getting picked as captain/kicker doesn't actually work

- Opposition never kicking the ball.

- Fullbacks still never catching the ball on the full

- AI picks terrible goal kickers and promotes a huge amount of BOT players over better real players

In Be a pro can we please call for the ball straight off scrum half? At the moment your player will always get it off the player thr scrum half chooses to pass it to first - this then results in a pass across the ruck or an intercept. Also please can we have an option to sit our player in the pocket? He always runs on and gets tackled before he can kick it properly.

Thanks for the breakdown of suggestions @mrkean1992 !

First off, great work so far on the patch. The development there shows real interest from the developers in what the community think about how to make this the best rugby game so far.

From my couple of weeks playing since, these are my ideas (I know some have been covered in other areas already) to date:

• Career Mode

• Has no depth/longevity. Needs player growth, a better recruitment system, and interest from other clubs

• A world league type tournament looks to be popular and would solve the longevity issue immediately

• Be a Pro

• As above. Needs to be more position specific, allow skills to be specifically and purposefully trained, and provide opportunity to more experienced player making more calls around which side of ruck to play, in-close or wide carry, and what defence/attack to run

• Team needs to be able to retain the ball for more than a couple of phases at least. Far too hard to get any possesion % at this point

• Again, consider World League as a Be a Pro option for the sake of long-term player development

• Gameplay

• A.I plays terrible rugby in general. Too many one-off runners off the ruck, very often the (acting) scrumhalf. Outside players hit the ball very flat off ruck and just immediately get hammered. Add depth if needed, and encourage the A.I to play to space. And please get them kicking the ball when they are 5m out from their own line

• Defence advancing in front of their kickers regardless of whether they make a tackle creates a very confusing field. Make sure these players are all standing or retreating behind the kicker before they start running. The counter attack from the kicks at the moment doesn't work because all of these players are off-side, and because..

• Fullback positioning is atrocious. The back three need to be significantly better at covering space and sitting deeper. Kicks need to be precise to hit space, at this stage you can kick almost any time and get an easy clearance

• Hitting your desired runner in general, but particularly off rucks, is too difficult. An added option to hold in the passing directional button and selecting a specific running would be great. This would allow us to utilise those nice new pods and put the right man in space, but also allow us to hit runners in open play that are in the right space but for some reason just aren't joining the attacking line properly. This would be a big shift and allow attack to be far calculated rather than pass and hope

• consider adding a 'bunt' option in addition to fend and step. A lot of players refer to lower their body and use their momentum in a small space to run over people (think Lomu, Savea, Laumape). This would make for a great new addition to an area that hasn't seen any change since RC1

• In addition to the 'Bunt' add more benefit for the timing of the stick with the fend, step, and bunt option. If people hit the timing bang-on they should be rewarded with a much higher chance of success. At the moment you can almost just run with your player holding his hand out for a fend

• Drop-kicks are too easy. Consider adding a skill dynamic similar to the kick at goal process where the kicker has to hit the mark twice in a small space of time (like the drop of the ball and the strike). At the moment its too easy to hit drop kicks with players 2m away. If not, at least consider having people close charge down the ball

• Allow captain to call defensive positions. These could be narrow, wide, kick, rush, passive. These would solve some of the issues above and allow players to select a style of play they like

• Limit passing distance dependent on players passing ability, and reduce any major passes that go the opposite direction of the attacking player. Props and locks at the moment can throw 40m passes to an open man, and can throw 20m passes through a ruck while running in the opposite direction.

A big amount of info I know but I think its all pretty fixable. Please have a look through and let me know what you think. Can't wait for the next patch to see what other improvements you guys have made. Keep up the good work!

Hi guys the new updates has made a big difference THANK YOU. But can you guys please still work on a few things.

1. The number 10 be the first reciever of the ball and not the number 12 or who is first in line in the number 10 position if the 10 is not available.

2. long distance goal kicks and the option to choose someone else to do long distance kicks. For example with the Springboks get pollard to do the normal goal kicks and then to get Steyn to do the long distance kicks

3. Back line to be in better order to spread the ball to wing and pass the ball thru the backline and not to always skip pass where you can have the option of skip pass or pass to the first person to your right or your left.

4. One thing that is annoying is when a team brakes thru and you only have your full back first it always run weird side ways and then when he gets closer to he runner with the ball then the full back runs straight but then its to late because 99% of the time the runner scores and sometimes it happens to the wingers aswell.

Appreciate these comments / feedback coming in!

Great update, far more more fluent and realistic. The following improvents are needed to make this the complete Rugby game:

- Scrum penalties (for collapsing if your opponent maintains dominance) and more game play penalties so that the scores aren't just mainly in 5's and 7's**

- Team ratings relevant to recent form**

- Realistic Arial contests

- A wider variety of try scoring animations

- More tackling techniques and offload types.**

- More realistic high tackling

- Long distance goal kicking (55-60m for the likes of Elliot Dailly and Francois Steyn)**

- Realistic support lines **

Great patch. Love the addition of Mitre 10 cup option in Be a Pro, it makes more it a more natural progression for NZ based players. Can you please add some more buttons to control gameplay as you become a more senior member (e.g. passing direction, formation, style of play). This will add a little more to the in-game aspect. Also you could add targets for specific positions to hit, and if they do so they can apply their earnes points towards a ln option of a range of specific, relevent attributes rather than being auto-assigned. This will allow us to develop a player with really strong specific skill-sets to stand apart in our positon

Love the patch.. fowards are slower.. in Online play rugby challenge 2 they stopped the timer when it comes to kicking conversions because people would sit there and waste 20 mins off the game clock to finish the game. so can you please stop the game clock for penalty decisions , and goal kicking ..

if it’s easier you don’t have to stop it for the whole game mainly in that last 10 or 20 minute period..

cheers

First off great job with the patch, its a good start. Love the tweaks around ruck numbers, scrum length, and pod setups. I would consider a hold in R1 and select passing option from the base of the ruck so that you can hit the forward in the most space or move the ball out the back off the pod to the backs.

Please please sort out player support lines, back three defensive positioning, and make the career modes worthwhile and this will actually be shaping up as a good game.

Nice job on the patch! That's a good amount of work to get done in a month, and the additional changes have made a huge, positive impact on the gameplay experience. I'm looking forward to the work you guys will be putting out in the months ahead.

Thanks for listening to us.

I have to commend the Wicked Witch team on the amazing patch update for RC4. Some minor and bigger changes that have made a MASSIVE difference. You definitely listened to the community, and it shows. Please keep up the amazing work!

Some noticeable improvements I thought I'd highlight:

• Framerate vastly improved.

• Camera swing/transition from lineout & scrums to open-play is great!

• Seems to be more midfield gaps that develop after a few phases. Player positioning seems improved and more realistic.

• Regathers work FAR better after chip-kicks and grubbers. Animations don't seem delayed anymore and it flows far better. This has made a huge difference for scooping up kicks.

• AI players running at gaps! THIS is amazing, had a few players dashing at gaps that I could throw nice flat passes to.

• Short passes seem more frequent and more possible - this is great. Player targeting from passes seems greatly improved.

• Passing is far smoother and animations look more fluid.

• Inside passes are more direct and target the closest inside player - big plus.

• AI support players loop around the winger/outside player quickly, which offers another passing option - really nicely done.

• When players are deep, they seem to run onto the ball 'better'. They accelerate a little to get onto the pass more flat AS the pass it made, rather than being too deep, and this is great!

Some quick clips to illustrate noticeable improvements (apologies for the lack of polish on the edits) </