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After playing just about every version of CC in the last decade I thought I'd give my thoughts on the new version after finishing my first season. So far I've found the gameplay to be a lot more responsive to tactics, especially when batting, and overall there seemed to be a step up in gameplay more so than in previous versions. Also being the first time I've played on PC in a few years meant navigating menus took a bit of getting used to.
If anyone is interested in more season summaries like this that includes stats, etc. let me know and I'll keep an updated thread in Stories.
Season Summary
So, just finished my first season with Victoria and Melbourne R in the Aus domestic competition. Overall it was pretty successful taking out the OD and T20 comps and ended up coming runners up in the FC comp despite being top of the table. Went with the tried and true strategy of using spinners pitches with Holland and Maxwell picking up a number of wickets for Vic and Hatzoglou dominating for Melb R. Victoria have traditionally lacked in the batting department in my experience but with the likes of Pucovski and Harris seemingly getting buffed from the last version, it was easier to make competitive totals consistently. It was also good to see young players players such as Sutherland and Hatzoglou be star players and I hope they continue to maintain their results once regens are added. I wonder if anything was done to balance young players against regens.
Dominated the regular FC season, only losing one match to A?u?s?t?r?a?l?i?a NSW. Pucovski was the standout batsmen but was picked for Australia alongside Pattinson but the rest of the team made up for their absences. Harris was the leading run scorer for the team and Sutherland surprisingly was the leading wicket taker for both Vic and the entire comp. Unfortunately Pattinson got a 10 week injury a few rounds before the Shield final and Boland picked up a small injury and recovered in between the last round and the final. I didn't notice Boland's injury and picked him unaware that he had no stamina and he could only bowl 4-5 over spells for the match. Because of this Queensland made 500 runs in the first innings, fielded two spinners of their own, using my own tactics against me, and I was lucky to avoid losing by an entire innings. Something for me to keep an eye on for the next seasons for sure.
The OD comp, traditionally my worst performing format, also had only one loss to NSW in the regular season but managed victory over them in the final thanks to a 3 wicket haul from rookie, Seymour. Finch and Maxwell made runs most matches and once again Sutherland was again the leading wicket taker for the comp. I have the feeling that he was given quite the upgrade from last season. Not sure if it was luck, good tactics from me or changes made to the OD match engine but the OD format seemed to be more balanced than last season after playing only seven games.
The T20 comp was all over the place but I think the changes to the match engine are definitely better now. There were a lot more singles that meant that run rates could be maintained without playing riskily and there weren't as many instance of the opposition going on regular boundary hitting streaks and putting the match in an unwinnable position. I had Finch make consistent runs and he was surprisingly dropped from the Australian team (even though he was the opening with the most T20 runs for Australia this year) so it's the first time in a long time I was able to use him in the finals. Fan-favourite Haztoglou took wicket after wicket on the spin friendly home pitches and Sutherland again was the leading wicket taker for the club. Internationals performed abysmally. Ended up being being second on the ladder even though I only had five losses. First place, Adelaide also lost five matches and the rest of the finalists had six losses. Kind of strange to see the final table so close from first to fifth, not sure if it was luck or unbalanced results. Ended up losing the first final but made my way through to the granny with ease, which I ended up winning thanks to a very lucky and economical last over.
Minor Gripes
Let's call these pet peeves more than anything. Sometimes clicking on an arrow on the stats screen (First Class > One Day > 20 Over >etc.) it will skip a page such as going from FC to T20 and skipping OD. I think this has to do with the game thinking I'm holding the mouse button even though I am clicking normally.
On the team select screen, having space to see only four players on the bench is frustrating. When needing to replace an injured bowler, I had more bowlers than I could see at once meaning it was difficult to compare the several bowlers I had in reserve. Yes, I could just scroll but a pet peeve/minor gripe nonetheless. Perhaps consider putting in player filters to make it easier to compare players in future versions.
Finally looking over the player stats at the end of the season I noticed that players who were involved in the previous Eng domestic comp or would be involved in the next domestic comp (not sure which) were absent from the current comp stats at the end of the year. For example Marcus Harris was absent from Victoria's end of year player stat page and showed no 'current comp' data. His 'last comp' data however was labelled as 'AUS FC'. Similarly T20 only players are absent from the domestic player stats once the T20 comp is over. I've noticed this has carried over from previous versions. Prithvi Shaw was the leading run scorer for the comp, but was missing from stats since he was no longer considered a domestic player immediately after the T20 final.
Major Gripes that make the game unplayable and should be rectified promptly. This is the greatest error in CC history and has taken all enjoyment from the game.
Sydney Red should be named Sydney Pink.
Overall first impressions
I feel the last few CC versions have been lacking in updates between versions. Maybe it's not being interested in the 100 comp or playing other, new domestic comps, but aside from updated rosters they mostly felt the same. CC21 on the other hand really felt like it had significant gameplay updates. T20s don't seem to be games of chance any more, young players made more of an impact and batting tactics seemed to affect the result of the game more. Yes it still desperately needs a graphics overhaul, new commentary, associates and women teams, more comprehensive stats, etc, etc but I have definitely enjoyed CC21 more than the previous new versions. Fingers are still crossed those things are added slowly but surely over the coming years but I think most people are understanding that CT does not have the budget or resources to make those things happen quickly or easily.
In saying that, it's the best version of CC by a long shot with seemingly much more significant changes to the match engine than previous updates.
If anyone is interested in more season summaries like this that includes stats, etc. let me know and I'll keep an updated thread in Stories.
Season Summary
So, just finished my first season with Victoria and Melbourne R in the Aus domestic competition. Overall it was pretty successful taking out the OD and T20 comps and ended up coming runners up in the FC comp despite being top of the table. Went with the tried and true strategy of using spinners pitches with Holland and Maxwell picking up a number of wickets for Vic and Hatzoglou dominating for Melb R. Victoria have traditionally lacked in the batting department in my experience but with the likes of Pucovski and Harris seemingly getting buffed from the last version, it was easier to make competitive totals consistently. It was also good to see young players players such as Sutherland and Hatzoglou be star players and I hope they continue to maintain their results once regens are added. I wonder if anything was done to balance young players against regens.
Dominated the regular FC season, only losing one match to A?u?s?t?r?a?l?i?a NSW. Pucovski was the standout batsmen but was picked for Australia alongside Pattinson but the rest of the team made up for their absences. Harris was the leading run scorer for the team and Sutherland surprisingly was the leading wicket taker for both Vic and the entire comp. Unfortunately Pattinson got a 10 week injury a few rounds before the Shield final and Boland picked up a small injury and recovered in between the last round and the final. I didn't notice Boland's injury and picked him unaware that he had no stamina and he could only bowl 4-5 over spells for the match. Because of this Queensland made 500 runs in the first innings, fielded two spinners of their own, using my own tactics against me, and I was lucky to avoid losing by an entire innings. Something for me to keep an eye on for the next seasons for sure.
The OD comp, traditionally my worst performing format, also had only one loss to NSW in the regular season but managed victory over them in the final thanks to a 3 wicket haul from rookie, Seymour. Finch and Maxwell made runs most matches and once again Sutherland was again the leading wicket taker for the comp. I have the feeling that he was given quite the upgrade from last season. Not sure if it was luck, good tactics from me or changes made to the OD match engine but the OD format seemed to be more balanced than last season after playing only seven games.
The T20 comp was all over the place but I think the changes to the match engine are definitely better now. There were a lot more singles that meant that run rates could be maintained without playing riskily and there weren't as many instance of the opposition going on regular boundary hitting streaks and putting the match in an unwinnable position. I had Finch make consistent runs and he was surprisingly dropped from the Australian team (even though he was the opening with the most T20 runs for Australia this year) so it's the first time in a long time I was able to use him in the finals. Fan-favourite Haztoglou took wicket after wicket on the spin friendly home pitches and Sutherland again was the leading wicket taker for the club. Internationals performed abysmally. Ended up being being second on the ladder even though I only had five losses. First place, Adelaide also lost five matches and the rest of the finalists had six losses. Kind of strange to see the final table so close from first to fifth, not sure if it was luck or unbalanced results. Ended up losing the first final but made my way through to the granny with ease, which I ended up winning thanks to a very lucky and economical last over.
Minor Gripes
Let's call these pet peeves more than anything. Sometimes clicking on an arrow on the stats screen (First Class > One Day > 20 Over >etc.) it will skip a page such as going from FC to T20 and skipping OD. I think this has to do with the game thinking I'm holding the mouse button even though I am clicking normally.
On the team select screen, having space to see only four players on the bench is frustrating. When needing to replace an injured bowler, I had more bowlers than I could see at once meaning it was difficult to compare the several bowlers I had in reserve. Yes, I could just scroll but a pet peeve/minor gripe nonetheless. Perhaps consider putting in player filters to make it easier to compare players in future versions.
Finally looking over the player stats at the end of the season I noticed that players who were involved in the previous Eng domestic comp or would be involved in the next domestic comp (not sure which) were absent from the current comp stats at the end of the year. For example Marcus Harris was absent from Victoria's end of year player stat page and showed no 'current comp' data. His 'last comp' data however was labelled as 'AUS FC'. Similarly T20 only players are absent from the domestic player stats once the T20 comp is over. I've noticed this has carried over from previous versions. Prithvi Shaw was the leading run scorer for the comp, but was missing from stats since he was no longer considered a domestic player immediately after the T20 final.
Major Gripes that make the game unplayable and should be rectified promptly. This is the greatest error in CC history and has taken all enjoyment from the game.
Sydney Red should be named Sydney Pink.
Overall first impressions
I feel the last few CC versions have been lacking in updates between versions. Maybe it's not being interested in the 100 comp or playing other, new domestic comps, but aside from updated rosters they mostly felt the same. CC21 on the other hand really felt like it had significant gameplay updates. T20s don't seem to be games of chance any more, young players made more of an impact and batting tactics seemed to affect the result of the game more. Yes it still desperately needs a graphics overhaul, new commentary, associates and women teams, more comprehensive stats, etc, etc but I have definitely enjoyed CC21 more than the previous new versions. Fingers are still crossed those things are added slowly but surely over the coming years but I think most people are understanding that CT does not have the budget or resources to make those things happen quickly or easily.
In saying that, it's the best version of CC by a long shot with seemingly much more significant changes to the match engine than previous updates.
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