Hello everyone,

the surprise we have been hinting about is this -

                             NEW PLAYER MODELS
 
Now, before you see the screens, i gotta say a few things...
 
Q) you probably want to ask why?  The old models were ok i guess, so why did we waste this extra time doing new models when we should be coding AI and stuff?
 
A) Several reasons, all of which totally justify the 2 weeks or so spent.  Firstly, look at the comparison between the old and the new -



whoah, massive difference folks!  You dont realise sometimes just how much something sux until you see a much better version of the same thing Secondly, the new models were based on a semi-professional mesh, so by modding a basic human model into a crickter for use with TAOC we instantly received many advantages:
 
- saved time building a new one from scratch (only took 2 weeks to fully mod an existing one as opposed to months required to build a 'from scratch' model that would never even come close to this one)

- proper UV mapping (cutting admin time down massively as now only one base texture used for the whole model instead of several different templates.  This also makes modding so much easier!

- one texture map per player means that each player can be totally customised!  So for example, Ponting could have a particular badge or something on his shirt or pants that no-one else has if you really wanted to do that??  Or if you were really crazy you could mod each individual player's skin tone to be exactly what you want it to be, rather than be restricted to X different skin tones only.  You could give a player a unique scar on his arm if you wanted to?  This, folks, is really cool - a modder's dream  And with t...

It has been a very long time in coming, but fielding is finally nearing completion.  It has taken several months and progress has stalled several times, but im very happy to report that FINALLY it is all back on track.  The fans have been extremely patient which we are ever grateful for.  I plan to release several videos over the next week or so which will be small 'teasers' designed to show the fielding in action, culminating in a huge gameplay video once all fielding aspects are completed.

Here's the link to a short video showing a brief glimpse of a fielder in action - http://www.mediafire.com/?twzt3fli69d

UPDATE FROM PAUL a.k.a Legend_Master

Hey all,

sorry for the lack of updates and meaningful progress...

This fielding stuff is definately my toughest challenge yet and is really proving a difficult obstacle to overcome, but i am getting there, just way slower than hoped or expected. Im just really so time-starved, making it extremely frustrating. I wanted to thank everyone for being so patient and for your continuing support.

Each day im doing a little bit more, but there's some serious stuff that needs to be sorted with the fielding, though i know im really close to the finish line. Just want you all to know i am working on the game every day.

Seeing as there hasn't been any updates or anything for a while and the new vid seems miles away, im going to upload a few new pix and maybe a teaser vid in the interim, just to tie us over til the fielding is done.

expect these no later than the end of this weekend.

cheers,

LM

UPDATE FROM PAUL SNELL :-

Hi all,

been a while since last update, just wanted to give a heads up.

Fielding has turned out to be much more difficult than expected with some real curveballs thrown my way, HOWEVER - i am making progress, slowly but surely. Catching chances are now all taken care of. So the fielder (who is in best position) will make a judgement whether he can reach the ball in time for a catch. If he can, then he will run to the correct spot and catch it

If he cant, then he needs to run to where he can intercept the ball after it bounces. This is where im getting a lot of grief lol. Once i do that i can apply the same algorithms to ground shots (e.g. drives) - meaning the fielder who is in the best position needs to intercept the ball and return it back to the bowler or keeper. Anyway, we will get there evenntually, just a hard slog, and lot of time and thinking.

Still, have to say that its very exciting to finally see the fielders running around with some life!

Anyway, please as usual stay patient and we'll have a really quality video for the next one when it finally is released.

cheers,

LM

UPDATE FROM ME :-

i've been learning and also working on the animations for TAOC ! have made a new bowler action and
also follow through.....it doesnt resemble any star player though....!! but still good enough IMO !

Check Out The Action :-
http://www.mediafire.com/?znzfzyhidbw

please do reply for any improvements/suggestions etc !!

also, finished an offspinner Action based on chris gayle and a Slingy action based on Lasith Malinga.
Still Some Final Touches Are Required Though !
Unfortunately, i cant work on the game till april 20 as i have my University exams. So, will post the resp videos as soon as i get back to work

Cheers

JK

UPDATE FROM PAUL a.k.a Legend_Master

Hi all,

time for an in-depth update cos there's been a fair bit happening behind the scenes, believe it or not

As you all know, i had to overhaul the bowling physics system to fix the 'looping' from the fast bowler. Turns out there were a lot of workarounds i had earlier put in place that caused the looping. Well, i fixed all of that and now it works so much better and correctly. In the process i was able to improve the whole appearance and feel of the bowling system overall, also giving me much more control over it. I can now simply input a max speed (in kmph) for a bowler and the system will take careof everything else for me, such as slower ball range etc.

I then fixed up the wicket keeper. So he will now dive around and catch most things - i noticed a few little bugs pop up, but no biggies there, nothing at all concerning. I then fixed up a few other little things such as batsman body collision which works great now - for example, bend down to do a slog sweep and miss the ball and it can bounce up and hit you in the upper body - looks and feels very realistic. This will also effect stamina for slower deliveries and could result in injury from pacers.

I fixed up other little things such as:

- after hitting 4 or 6 the cam will stay focused on that area for a bit longer rather than cutting away immediately - trickier to implement than first expected!
- front foot no-balls
- batsman body collision and resulting effect of ball
- player builds - e.g. 'well-built' players such as Hayden now will visibly appear bigger in upper body / shoulders / arms than other lesser built players
- ball ricochet after hitting stumps - dependent on pace and angle of incoming ball

Then i started tackling the fielding. Discovered there was a massive problem with the batting when i tried to calculate where the ball would land after being struck. The...