We are excited to hear so many of you jumping on the first update with the ability to now go online. Although our main focus was to get that in for PS4 and Xbox One (Switch update is still in the works and is estimated to be around 4 to 6 weeks away) , we were able to sneak in a few other small things while we were at it that may just boost your enjoyment - just that little bit more. If you've spotted them already, kudos to you! If you haven't, we thought we might try to break down the list here: What you already know: - inclusion of online play for ps4 and xbox one (1 console vs. 1 console, option to have 4 players on each console)
- Female players will no longer be recruited into men's career
- New Be A Pro careers will select the correct International Team
- Reduced the amount of forward passes
- Added shorter match lengths for 7s Career matches
- Numerous camera and replay fixes What you might have spotted / missed:
- reduced ruck commit size
- shortened scrum length
- referee kits changed
- enhanced position specific attributes (forwards will now feel like forwards and backs will feel like backs)
- optimised frame-rate
- faster set up and go for set-plays
- improved ai decisions
- smoother goal kicking and line-outs
- sound and audio adjustments
- enhanced player fatigue Your feedback here in the community has been pivotal on what we prioritize, so make sure you have your say / keep sending in your feedback! Some big things still on the way so make sure you keep an eye on those official updates when they come!! 🙂
Yeah agree. Good first up patch, just a few majors to tidy up then all the little things can be ironed out. Agree with the above points especially around fullback being way out of position and guys just not keeping up and being passing options + career mode needing a significant upgrade and/or adding in multi-season World League type set up. Love the work so far
Are there any movements on the NZ Mitre 10 cup? Seems like a big comp to miss- would be great timing to add this in as it kicks off in the next three weeks
I see its been added as an option in Be a Pro, albeit unlicensed. Once the game is out properly if no one else works on the teams I will try and find time to go through and update teams as best as possible
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)
: Clip 1: Tackle animations trigger individually/one at a time so that running a player into the defensive line FEELS powerful and has a sense of impact. Makes it feel like a viable attacking option and sucks in defenders, rather than pinballing off defenders as their tackle animations are cut short for another one.
Clip 2: After a kick-off, deep player running into the gap, allowed for a quick pass to put him straight through.
Clip 3: Deep pass to Piatau allowed him to run into a gap and break the line (which previously, I'm sure would've been unsuccessful with the 'magnetism' of the defenders, as the defenders would've latched onto the tackle). Resulted in a nice little move and felt like a 'slipped' through, which should be a more common occurrence if the gap is big enough.
KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK!
Agree its been a great update, but just look at the support line that the player next to Piatua is running, it's like he's attached by a string, he needs to be a bit wider. Noticed this a few times with support runners either being almost joined at the hip to the player making the break, far too deep, or not looping to the outside on the wings to allow for an easy pass. Needs improving to make it even better, as I'd say at this point it's not as good as it was in RC3!
Perfect example of the support lines not quite being right. The support player runs from a supporting line on the outside, albeit a bit too close, where it would be a guaranteed try, to the inside where he's no use at all!
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.
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.
Cool idea on forward runner specific button bro. Will be much better than just choosing that one runner and getting smashed
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
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
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 **
Appreciate these comments / feedback coming in!
The team has made a great leap forward with the patch! Excited to see what's more to come, but loving what's there already! Having tons of fun and scoring some great tries :)
Hi guys the new updates has made a big difference THANK YOU. But can you guys please still work on a few things.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
👏👏 all bang on. Great post @mrkean1992
This is fucken perfect. Could've have put it better. Would add a good few years to the longevity of the game. Especially if more licences are gained over time! Mainly focusing on player stats progressing or declining based on form.
F
ave points in this post are;
Career mode
Be a pro
Bunt/bump off +timing
Allow captain to call defensive tactics
AND LIMIT PASSING DISTANCE.
Far too many times the opposition will get a turn over and throw it to the other side of the pitch and score a try. Backs passing should be way better than forwards.
Again, couldn't have put that better myself. Love the post!
Only thing I don't like from the update, is how quick the scrum is. No chance of competing really (on normal). Would be nice to increase it so you can win a turnover!!
Keep up the good work guys. Hope there's another update soon!
Thanks for the breakdown of suggestions @mrkean1992 !
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 suggestion @franky_frank !
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
Thanks for the suggestions @str8up96 !
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?
Thanks for the suggestion re the sideline camera @Craig Iversen !
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. :)
Nice patch
Hi , i dont have RC4 yet, waiting for PC release, did they patch something? if so , any good?
Thanks @ArchDemons ! Glad to hear you're liking it 🙂
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
Hi @gk54 ! Appreciate your feedback here. When you talk about setting particular tactics, are you talking about how it resets every time at each breakdown?
@WW - Cole yes it gets annoying when the fullback joins the line on his own the I the ball is blown over 1-2 tackles later and then kicked down the field and a try is scored by the AI as no one was back.
@gk54 no worries thanks for sharing this 🙂