Mana Games

[Brad1981]

Manu, would it be possible to have an alternate view of the courts? For instance, how TE 2006 has the split screen and the normal view. It would be nice to see this in TE 2008 also, but with the normal view of TE 2006 added as an option.
I see that in TE 2008, the view of the court is further back than in TE 2006. I was wondering if it is possible to make an option to switch to the closer up view (not the split-screen, just the normal) that was used in TE 2006?

[manutoo]

@Everybody :
I updated the Test version once again :
- tuned forehand
- tried another fix for the "dropshot serve", so if someone notices it again, thanks to report it
- support for 16-bit color depth rendering


@CC :
It seems you won't have to buy a new 3D card to play TE2008, nor fear anymore zombie attack..!
I think I fixed the problem with 16-bit textures & rendering... Can u dl latest version and tell me if it's alright or not ?

@Brad1981 :
The current widescreen TE2008 view is totally identical to the TE2006 + added band on left & right of the screen.

And the splitscreen is still supported ; in the Tennis.ini, under [Game], change this line :
SplitScreen = 0
to :
SplitScreen = 2

[CC]

Manutoo,

It is much better; thank you. I've posted some pictures. The first is just so that you may see how it looks now. The lower apparel on the returner seems a little odd, but maybe it is supposed to be that way.
The second picture is to illustrate the scale of the character compared to the net and the umpire. Is this correct? The net just seems very high, and the umpire and his chair seem a little large, but that may just be me. I have not compared these to TE2006, but for some reason they stand out to me here, whereas they didn't in TE2006.





Thank you![/img]

[Algo]

would there be the 2h forehand that appears on tennis.ini?, i would like to see that

[Brad1981]

CC, I think the reason the chair seems bigger is that the court in TE 2008 seems just a little smaller size than in TE 2006. I actually compared the two court.jpg files, which confirms this. Personally, I liked the slightly bigger court size in TE 2006.
This is what I meant by in my previous post, Manu.
A couple more things: 1) Is it possible to create a slice forehand sprite?
2) Is it possible to turn off the kmh/mph of shots other than serves?

[manutoo]

@CC :
I'm afraid that this time it's a bug due to your video card...
I tried with mine in 16-bit, and it's working correctly...

Could you try to play in 32-bit fullscreen ?

About the size, although maybe the chair umpire is bit slightly too big (I had trouble to find the right size for it once the side chairs were added), it's alright for the net : the woman is 1m60 (actually more 1m58 if you count 2cm for the shoes), and she's bending her knees, while the net is 106.6cm high on the side end.

@R.Valenzuela :
I may add the 2H forehand if I can find a good slow motion video showing one...


@Brad1981 :
0) no the court isn't bigger nor smaller.
It's only the texture ratio that changed, not the display. If you want to carefully check that, set the display mode to 1024x768 (or 800x600) in both TE2006 & TE2008, and press F11 key to take a screenshot; the courts should be exactly same, at most 1 or 2 pixels of difference, and only the chair umpire will be different.

1) maybe, if i can have some slow motion video showing clearly showing the gesture

2) it'll be off in the final version ; now, it's just there for testing purpose...

[Algo]

slice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP_Hylsddd4
topspin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDKV9j6VX4Y
another(0:44): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2UN_SgAyrQ
they are the only ones that i found

-the different courts will be released with the final version,right?


there they are lol

[Brad1981]

Yes, you are right, Manu. My mistake.
To get the court to look like I have it in TE 2006, I had to change from Aspect Ratio=-1 to Aspect Ratio=0. All is good now on this issue

[CC]

Manutoo,

I looked at the Tennis.ini file, and 32 bit was already set there. So, I just changed the option to enable full screen. The full screen mode looks fine, so that works for me. Thanks!
I understand about the scale. That makes sense. By the way, the slice/topspin shot seems better in TE2008. Is it the same effect as in TE2006? I am referring to the passing shot, where you have the effect of a slice but then hit the ball with a topspin strike.

Thank you!

[CC]

R.Valenzuela:

Interesting video, but you posted the same link for all three shots I would like to see the other two. Do you have them?

Thanks!

[S.Williamz]

The tuned forehand is really nice.

I have a question about the volleys...they are really hard to hit. Where am I supposed to try to position the player to hit a good volley?

[Algo]

R.Valenzuela:

Interesting video, but you posted the same link for all three shots I would like to see the other two. Do you have them?

Thanks!

yeah, lol... i'll fix it

[CC]

I've been trying the TE2008 some, but I haven't gotten a feel for it yet. I find it much more difficult than TE2006; I may be being distracted by the visual aids, but I know that I can turn these off. I find it very difficult, for example, to use the drop shot or the short shot anymore, and I hardly ever can volley, whereas I am decent at these in TE2006. Also, to me, the sound of the bouncing ball is a little to pronounced. It is very loud, and it really distracts me. I don't like hearing the ball bounce so much on the serve and especially after every point, as it is loud and always the same -- bounce---bounce--bounce.bounce.bounce.bounce. However, it is a nice detail, but just a little too much for me.
This may sound bad, as I know Manutoo has worked very hard on TE2008 and it is not finished, but right now, I enjoy TE2006 much more, even with the 2D visual effects. Maybe TE2008 would be better for me with a faster computer. I will download it to another computer that I have access to and try it there to find out. Right now, though, I will keep playing TE2006 and enjoying that primarily.

Thanks

[Brad1981]

I feel that TE 2008 is progressing nicely. The latest test version is a major improvement over the first version. I like how a lot of the random errors don't happen anymore. But, yes, volleying is more difficult than it should be I think. And the only other complaint that I have really is the movement of the player. When running in full stride, it seems ok, but when shuffling to the side, it still seems too slow/bouncy/sticky. I used the cheat code mtrun, and this actually makes it better (more fluid/smooth), but too fast. If there was a way to get it in between normal and fast, I think it would be better.
But overall I am liking how this is progressing after initially not liking it.

[manutoo]

@R.Valenzuela :
Thanks for the links...

Yup, all the courts will be in final version, but probably only for registered users...

@CC :
the slice-topspin shot (also known as the infamous Nadal shot ) has more or less the same effect than in TE2006, although it is more realistic, thanks to the new ball physics, 98% exact...

I'm kinda glad u prefer TE2006 so far, I guess u represent a fair percentage of overall TE2006 players (like S.Williamz)... For the Test #2, once the CPU will be there, I'll also add a setting to greatly lower the ball difficulty & other stuff that makes the control harder (& more realistic), hopefully, it'll be enough to make u prefer TE2008 over TE2006...
So I'm counting on u to be around to test the Test #2 (out within 3 weeks, hopefully )

@S.Williamz :
To volley well, you have to hit the ball with the cords when not moving too much.
It's surely a lot harder to volley in TE2008 than in TE2006, but the good volleys are also a bit sharper, so I think the result is more well balanced & realistic, and shouldn't make the volley over powered like in TE2006.
Also, you need to have good volley skills to volley the most difficult balls. You can't be a volley master with a puncher oriented player anymore.
I did some tests by playing with the current settings, and I can succeed most volleys, except when the CPU is playing a ball very high with a lot of topspin, in this case, the only choice seems to use the safe shot (or maybe a sliced volley, but I didn't try). I think it's ok, coz in real, it's a good hard ball to volley, but let me think what u think about it...

@Brad1981 :
>> I like how a lot of the random errors don't happen anymore

This isn't due to any change I did in the core gameplay...
It's only coz u got better at the game !

About the volley, try to raise all your volley skills, it might help...

PS about volley:
I just tested to play serve volley & return volley in a match, & like it is now, it's clearly way too hard..!
When I tested before, it was during warm up, already at the net, and usually sticking to it, and it was hard, but really not too much. But it's a lot harder when standing in the middle of the serve squares, and/or while rushing to net..!
I'll tune all of this once the CPU will be done, coz now, it's hard to see the balance between the attack & passing & winning volley & error volley, as the CPU reacts same to everything...