Mana Games

[POLAND]

Hi, can you increase the probability UE in return? There are players who can easy hit winners from +190-200km/h services or placement their return is so unreal to speed of the ball. I can understand few times per set but regularly dealing with this easily is not normal in real life competitions

[Gusbaldo]

I agree with what you say. There are times when the game becomes an "ace simulator".
I've also noticed that, regardless of the player's stats, a strong serve almost always goes down the line and is an ace.
In TE3 i find it balanced and logical.

[JulitoU]

Hi Manu.I agree with Poland.Return of serve is broken from quite some time.Players stand very close to the line and simply block a powerful service by just moving a litlle to the right or left.And the return is a bomb,very difficult to deal with.Its like they are cashing in a glitch.

In real life tennis,we dont see atp players standing very close to the line on a 1st serve.If they do,it should be an ace or a very weak return,not a bomb return.

I think UE should be increased for return of service and people standing very close to the line on return should be a dangerous proposition.Otherwise people focus on their service games and then do that on their return games.

[manutoo]

Gusbaldo,
you actually said the opposite of Poland...

POLAND & JulitoU,
I just watched the last 4 games (without the tiebreak) of Barboza vs Danishusband, which according to Mystery was the match that (re)triggered this concern.
From what I saw, the returner didn't get an obvious advantage from standing a baseline, so much that one of the players stepped back 1 or 2 meters near the end of the set, plus they didn't break each other, and all that while the servers didn't use the slice or topspin serve, which could help : the slice was done just a couple of time and was effective (ie: 2 aces out of 3 tries), but I didn't notice any topspin serve (although they are harder to spot so maybe I missed them).
Moreover, the serve placement wasn't too great, but maybe it's coz of the WTET whose serve skills prevent aiming too close to the lines ?

So right now, it might be not perfect, but it doesn't feel particularly bad, especially gameplay-balance-wise. If you have a different experience, you're welcome to send me a Bug Report during a problematic match, but 1st try slicing & topspinning your serves (or even twisting them).

[Gusbaldo]

I misunderstood, sorry. However, that is the feeling i get from the services.
I really hope that one day TE4 will give me the same satisfaction that TE3 gives me, have faith in your work and I know that this game has the potential to be much better than it is now.

[manutoo]

Gusbaldo,
the game won't change much anymore now.
But read the tips in 3) here to not get aced too often : topic8-6180.php .

[Gusbaldo]

Yes Manu I know, i'll probably take a break from TE4 until the next significant update, at the moment I'm really hooked on the latest TE3 mods.
I know the tip, i've been playing TE3 for years, i've also been playing tennis for 20 years so i understand positioning and that's one of the things i love about the game.

[manutoo]

Gusbaldo,
you can activate the Footwork Booster (in your Character Sheet) if you want a feeling closer to TE2013.

[KINGBARBOZA]

Returning is very very easy and completely unbalanced on slow surfaces. You can return 200km serves from near the service line with ease. But It's also because the rng serving mechanics make it difficult to hit consistent good serves. Both should be addressed imo

[squeakybum]

I think the biggest issue is that autopositioning may be overpowered on return or the speed of return relative to the serve might still be a bit high when clean contact is made. Some people struggle with return especially if they don’t use autopos, but for others regardless of the speed of the ball, they return the ball back and with pace. I.e. Barboza has returned a 250 km/h serve back like a pinball onto the baseline before and routinely will return anything regardless of the speed of the incoming serve. It seems like master level players are almost never aced but they tend to return with a little safer distance than Barboza would but I still think they should be aced more often than they are. All the serve speeds in wtet range from like 92-99 btw and serves clock over 220km/h occasionally and the precision and consistency stats also in the 90s. I kind of wish it wasn’t possible to use autopos to return but also curious as to whether slow autopos would make a difference in this regard. Many of the game breaking things arise from the master level players.

[manutoo]

squeakybum,
I just did a quick try with Slow AutoPos in Service Training Mode (taking control of the 2nd player) and it might be harder to stand on the baseline and do a good return against fast serves that aren't too far nor too close of us (ie: the ones where you didn't have to release the button coz AutoPos was bringing you in the correct position by itself). So I guess it could be a solution if it doesn't confuse people...