Mana Games

[KINGBARBOZA]

KINGBARBOZA,
thanks for the video ; it's a funny moment.
I'm not sure it means a lot though, especially as it might be around his average serve speed.

Anyway, I'm going to try to reformulate the question here : if the players can serve faster on demand, why don't they always serve faster ? If it's coz it lowers their 1st serve in percentage, why would they serve faster on break-points, as the most important things on a break-point is to put the 1st serve in ? (according to former tennis pro commentators, and myself ) (of course, it should still be fast like any 1st serve)

A quick Google search for "tennis how to modulate your serve speed" shows only links for serving faster, not a bit slower than your max : https://www.google.com/search?q=tennis+ ... erve+speed ...

squeakybum,
I did a quick check & your links show & explain why different players serve at different speeds, but not why the same player serves at different speeds.

I already explained why there's no execution (except the left/right aiming) on our side in TE : I never saw a mechanism in-game that felt at least a bit like serving for real. A total RNG is still closer to the real feeling than everything I have experienced in other games. I have an idea for a new mechanism that I'm going to try in the incoming months : on paper, it sounds much much closer to the tennis spirit, but I'm afraid in real it'll be clunky and/or too obscure to understand...

Putting a different spin on the ball makes the ball slower, as players don't always hit flat serves. Also on break point, some players would be desperate and try to bomb an ace for a free point, taking that risk of hitting an ace with a higher percentage of a fault.

[squeakybum]

I don't think most players are only thinking about putting the serve in as they want free points or at most serve + 1 combo on break points. Few players want to engage in a rally where with every ground stroke the chance of winning the point gets closer to or even less than 50% and a break point other than a match point, is the most important point in a tennis match. Players notoriously miss their first serves on big points because they're going for more as they dont want a return or quality return, and in the process they serve it long, wide or into the net. And those links explained the factors influencing serving even if it doesnt explain why one player serves at different speeds, pros can modulate their speeds, to an extent, based on the different factors which influence speed like toss, execution, spin etc. Anyways I am interested to see what the new mechanism would be like.

[Mosaaj]

Research suggests that serve speed is influenced by kinesiological factors which generates the power which is transmitted to the ball (and to some degree a combination of your upper and lower body brute strength), the toss, the timing of the serve (sweet spot) and it is most highly correlated with height. We currently cannot impact serve speed via the service motion and the only way we make a tall player hit faster serves is by adding high serve speed to the character. It is probably due to better execution that they hit their fastest serves, but it is a conscious decision by the player on many serves or on big points to hit your fastest. Thus I think there could be a mechanism such that we can try and hit our fastest serves but we are prevented from executing them often. The problem now is that our execution has no impact on the speed, which is disarming for the player.

Thank you for the information on serve speed and the factors that influence it. It's clear that there are many elements that contribute to a fast serve and that height plays a significant role. I appreciate the insight on the limitations of the current service motion and the idea of adding a mechanism for players to potentially hit their fastest serves on specific points or situations. It does make sense that our execution has no impact on the speed of the serve and that can be disarming for the player.

[knich]

All I can say is the CPU doesn't hit max speed nearly enough. I've been playing doubles with Isner (CPU) and am waiting for him to hit his max just once. Most of the time he is under 200km.