Still no user addable photos

[Scritty]

Just been through the screenshots on Steam. A lot there.
User added player photos not included in the new UI (it was mentioned they would be)

A real immersion killer for me. The only text sim I play that doesn't allow users to add their own player photos - sad because up until ICC2002 you used to allow it, then nerfed the feature.

I know no-one else really cares about this, so I won't go on and on about it, but that's me out. Immersion is just too important when simming for me - and lack of player personality is a killer. Photo does so much for this.

Cricket Coach's biggest thread after bug reports is STILL the user player photo thread on their forum. Check out NHL Hockey Franchise, OOTP 15 and other text/management sports sims (FM as well) photo's are MASSIVELY popular - yet you had them, allowed users to add them - then removed the feature from the game.
Gotta rank as the strangest design choices I can think of.
Again I'm not on about you providing them, I know you cannot due to licensing issues, I'm talking about user added.

Back to playing something else. No ICC for me this year - again

[swannyschin]

^^^^^^^nerd alert^^^^^^^

[Sureshot]

Can you show me where we've said we'll have player photos in the new UI?

The nerfing of the original feature was because of a change of law.

[Hampshire]

Just curious Sureshot as you probably know it better than me, but what law would prevent you from just adding an upload picture(s) button? Surely you're not distributing it in any way therefore I'd personally have thought it would be fine?

[victorbubba]

look at football manager. they found a way around the licensing issue so to say we can't because of law is a load of rubbish.

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

^^^^^^^nerd alert^^^^^^^

Who's been about for years mate so no need for any abuse - joking or otherwise

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

.... And thats show to kill a thread

(Apologies Scritty)

[Scritty]

.... And thats show to kill a thread

(Apologies Scritty)

Just looked for the reference to it - and I can't find it. On this forum somewhere as something we will consider I'm sure.
Yes that's not a firm promise, but then - meh.

As for nerd YUP that's me. No worries with that
I play a lot of sports sims from NFL Hockey Franchise, OOTP , Football Manager, Boxing Manager, GP Manager - even golf management games, and this is the only one that doesn't allow player photos.

Very few of them supply the photos - you have to add your own, but they all have them, and the pages that spring up on the games support forums that are on the topic of sharing photo packs are often among the biggest you'll find.

Maybe there's a reason for that?
Maybe there was a reason Brian and Chris had the ability for user photos to be added in the original game?

Always hoped ICC would develop into a serious cricket sim - instead it's a game for people to play out their IPL franchise or a season or two with Kent. Very few "long term plan" or "Young player development" threads on this forum because the game isn't interested in long term anything - certainly not long term immersion.

The level of stats provided is still woeful, the graphics are a sop to the "Call Of Duty" generation and the thought that goes into immersion and emotional investment in a team or franchise is precisely zero.

But you're the only player in town, and that's really sad given the billions in the sport now. I wish someone would come out with a proper serious cricket game for simmers and stat heads. I mean it's not like there aren't millions of us out there.

Football, a game that until very recently had no stats and very few people remotely interested in them has several really stat heavy games. Proper drill downs, analysis etc.

Cricket - a sport where people take their own score sheets to real match FFS. Whole rows of people willing in their own score chart. Noting down things that the official scorecard misses. Writing to Sky to tell them the weaknesses in the new "Batting Index" stat (which is a terrible metric) and how poor using bowling average and economy rate alone is to measure bowling performance (and mis-leading).

A great chat where Nasser is saying "What are these people on, haven't they got anything better to do" and Bumble chiming in telling him how important they are, and how he thought he should have paid more attention to the stats that had just been started during his time as England coach "Vital they are Nas, they tell their own story to the folks who understand them"

Not in ICC they don't - most don't even exist, and if they do, unless they are a world record, they are wiped out once a player retires or a few years pass.
Those it does have are not sortable, not filterable, not one level of drill down nor one search option. Nothing in the way of proper export.

These aren't unusual things to have in a sports sim game.
These are things that just about every other sports sim has had since they launched.

Cricket and baseball are perhaps the two sports with the most stat heads in the world. I mean just as a marketing perspective - have you not considered the potential audience from those people?

Stats that tell the full story of a teams progress over many years coupled with player photos (and bios) add so much immersion to a game. Players become personalities. You have a pride in the long term achievements of your team

I'm guessing now the new UI is designed player photos are out till the next big redesign in another 8-10 years?

I could see no reason to play ICC2013 over ICC 2002.(which plays really well with the 1.01 patch, no crashes, believable scores and player progress, quick to sim etc. player photos can be added)

Hoping that some day the developers will give me a reason to play another version

Yes I'm moaning - yes I'll get flamed for it. Yes I care more than I probably should. But it needed saying.

[ri916]

If I'm honest I think the saddest thing about this franchise is that the developers clearly don't care about/enjoy improving the game. It is utterly amazing just how similar it is to the first version I played, ICC III. Give the ICC match engine/stability to the developer of Cricket Coach and you'd have the perfect game.

[Scritty]

Yes Cricket Coach - Oli adds stuff to that hand over fist, much of it doesn't work long term. The features are all there - they just break the game.
Again, if you want a quick couple of games, maybe a season with a pre-set team it works ok most of the time. As soon as you go deep in terms of play time or customizing (the tools for which are included in the game - I'm not talking about "hacking" here) the game invariably falls over for me.

I choose the word "invariably" with care, because I have tried and tried again with CC, and it has always crashed and frozen at some point, often only hours after starting a game.

ICC. Well I believe the guys when they say they are sweating buckets over it - but I have to say I can't see what on. I've not really noticed much of the meta game improve since launch.
For example, ICC2013 still had the fourth innings win issue (where sides who could only score 150 on a belting wicket first dig - go into the 4th innings - with a minefield pitch - and chase down 500 with no fuss at all)

Something about close fielders behaving better. Noticed that.
And that's about it - since 2008.
Sure theirs some very clever stuff going on somewhere, but I've not noticed it have any impact on long term play, scores, career run totals, career wicket totals.

The list of things that were put on the Empire Games forum 16 years ago -many still not addressed.

F bowlers becoming FM as they age etc.
Bowlers developing new balls
Keepers standing up to seamers

And stats. Some permanent way to record what you've done in the game.

Game-play wise 2013 didn't seem much of an update and maybe a patch or two from 1998. GFX - yes.
I don't like the 3D engine. If you are going 3d do it well or don't bother.
The sprites had character and the faces/hair etc was left to the imagination.
Now these 3D Lego men we know look bad from the get go.
Their soul-less 1000 mile stare eyes, "screw on" hair do's and clunky "No WD40 here mate" lego style limb movements. It's right in your face - unless you turn them off - then if you do that - why not play ICC2002 or earlier?

I'm sure theirs a lot of new stuff going on underneath that we can't see or appreciate - but if it's having no impact on the game... what's the point?

I'm a game developer (Doc Clarke on Steam - you'll see I'm a developer for sim software if you check my profile) I also run cricket stat websites.

I know that, unless you've accidently designed your game in Fortran and have a gun tied to your head telling you you can't change to a better language - none of what we've been asking for for 16 years is that difficult.

From where I'm sat most of it is completely intuitive

"So we are having a serious cricket game are we.. well immersion and stats will be important then"

If that's lower than 4th place on your "List of things this game should have day one" Then I really have to wonder.

[KopThat]

Just looked for the reference to it - and I can't find it. On this forum somewhere as something we will consider I'm sure.
Yes that's not a firm promise, but then - meh.

As for nerd YUP that's me. No worries with that
I play a lot of sports sims from NFL Hockey Franchise, OOTP , Football Manager, Boxing Manager, GP Manager - even golf management games, and this is the only one that doesn't allow player photos.

Very few of them supply the photos - you have to add your own, but they all have them, and the pages that spring up on the games support forums that are on the topic of sharing photo packs are often among the biggest you'll find.

Maybe there's a reason for that?
Maybe there was a reason Brian and Chris had the ability for user photos to be added in the original game?

Always hoped ICC would develop into a serious cricket sim - instead it's a game for people to play out their IPL franchise or a season or two with Kent. Very few "long term plan" or "Young player development" threads on this forum because the game isn't interested in long term anything - certainly not long term immersion.

The level of stats provided is still woeful, the graphics are a sop to the "Call Of Duty" generation and the thought that goes into immersion and emotional investment in a team or franchise is precisely zero.

But you're the only player in town, and that's really sad given the billions in the sport now. I wish someone would come out with a proper serious cricket game for simmers and stat heads. I mean it's not like there aren't millions of us out there.

Football, a game that until very recently had no stats and very few people remotely interested in them has several really stat heavy games. Proper drill downs, analysis etc.

Cricket - a sport where people take their own score sheets to real match FFS. Whole rows of people willing in their own score chart. Noting down things that the official scorecard misses. Writing to Sky to tell them the weaknesses in the new "Batting Index" stat (which is a terrible metric) and how poor using bowling average and economy rate alone is to measure bowling performance (and mis-leading).

A great chat where Nasser is saying "What are these people on, haven't they got anything better to do" and Bumble chiming in telling him how important they are, and how he thought he should have paid more attention to the stats that had just been started during his time as England coach "Vital they are Nas, they tell their own story to the folks who understand them"

Not in ICC they don't - most don't even exist, and if they do, unless they are a world record, they are wiped out once a player retires or a few years pass.
Those it does have are not sortable, not filterable, not one level of drill down nor one search option. Nothing in the way of proper export.

These aren't unusual things to have in a sports sim game.
These are things that just about every other sports sim has had since they launched.

Cricket and baseball are perhaps the two sports with the most stat heads in the world. I mean just as a marketing perspective - have you not considered the potential audience from those people?

Stats that tell the full story of a teams progress over many years coupled with player photos (and bios) add so much immersion to a game. Players become personalities. You have a pride in the long term achievements of your team

I'm guessing now the new UI is designed player photos are out till the next big redesign in another 8-10 years?

I could see no reason to play ICC2013 over ICC 2002.(which plays really well with the 1.01 patch, no crashes, believable scores and player progress, quick to sim etc. player photos can be added)

Hoping that some day the developers will give me a reason to play another version

Yes I'm moaning - yes I'll get flamed for it. Yes I care more than I probably should. But it needed saying.

Scritty....

This is very off topic but here goes...

I thought your post above was really good and agreed with a lot of it....I also really enjoy sports sims....only really play FM at the moment though, I was just wondering which GP and golf sims you play (I remember Grand Prix Manager from a long time ago but I didn't know there was something current on the market).

Also...what is OOTP like for someone that's knows nothing about baseball or current players other than the very basics.

And...do you recommend any good sims for IOS devices?

Sorry for replying off topic but I couldn't resist...

Thanks,
KT

[sasnoz]

I want to see the catchy intro from earlier versions brought back, I agree scritty about the stats and what not but am not fussed about player pics because I would be too lazy for that sort of thing, I agree though that it would add a more personal touch.

[Scritty]

I want to see the catchy intro from earlier versions brought back, I agree scritty about the stats and what not but am not fussed about player pics because I would be too lazy for that sort of thing, I agree though that it would add a more personal touch.

I have a customized "PHOTOS" folder which I just cut and paste into the root directory of the game.

Then, when the game regens an all-rounder FM aggressive who gets into the England team I rename him
Ian
Botham
I (followed by a space)

Only do that when a suitable player comes up, maybe 4 or 5 a season on average, then for none English players, once someone has played 10 tests I consider renaming them. All the photos are in a file. .BMP format 70x60 pixels
Over time every major player in the game is renamed, but only one at a time. My ICC2002 game is now well over 300 seasons in. Imran Kahn has been regenerated about 6 times in that period. HE retires, then a few years later another Imran seems to pop up.

Playing with faceless, generic named "F Francis" would not cut it for me. It's the difference between playing the game - and not playing it. As soon as it's Courntey Walsh, Dale Steyn, Sachin whoever, then the personality is there, the aspiration is there the story can unfold from that point. I care if they retire just short of a milestone. I try and get them as my overseas player.. whatever.

F Frances (A name that pops up a hell of a lot in regens) Don't know him, couldn't care a less about him. He is less than the sum of the numbers that make him up. A set of stats to bolt into a starting 11 alongside 10 other sets of stats.

Without being able to personalize my players I have an issue about 5 or 6 years into the game, when 70% of the starting players have retired it's either start again - or quit for me.

I tend to quit and wait for the next release hoping that the devs will introduce some more depth to the meta game or re-introduce the immersion they nerfed after 2002. They never do.