Mana Games

Hello,

for the World Tour, where you play against the players from all around the world, I'd like to create some special play behavior to better simulate some real players.

And I'd like you to give me some ideas on that, because I don't know perfectly all the players.

I need only play behavior (and possibly gestures for end of point) ; but nothing that'd need new animations or other new stuff.

Here 3 examples of what I'm looking for :

1- Thomas Muster :
- does a lot of short balls with a lot of topspin and a lot of angle
- very strong mentally (like it's already the case for most defenders in the World Tour)

2 - Marcello Rios :
- does a lot of short balls with a lot of angle, and usually does short accelerations instead of the normal ones, in order to get more angle
- often mentally weak in tie match in final round

3 - Pete Sampras :
- aces very often against break point
- does an accelerated forehand, deep & crossed, when he's on the run, near the right lane

These are short examlpes, but it could have a lot more points for each player, with very precise case ; for example, a specific behavior on a short crossed ball while on the run, etc...

For the gestures, the v1.0c (planned to be released within 3 weeks) will have the following new ones :
- on a point won : cheer jump ; cheer fist (elbow down, fist near the chest, unlike the brandished raging fist)
- on a point lost : hit the forehead with the racket cord ; hand gesture that means "crazy"

As it's quite a technical topic, it may be hard to answer, but don't hesitate to give me only just 1 specific behavior of your favorite player..!

Note : it's better to have the full version of the game to answer this topic, as you'd be more familiar with the World Tour CPU behaviors (which aren't much different from the ones in the Training Club, actually )

Great

Rafael Nadal (SPA) use to play excellent when he is against break point... when his opponent is at the net, he hits a double-handed backhand with top spin which is sure a passing shot.

This is how he celebrates his important points:
.

Daniel Koellerer (AUT) (is he on the game now that he is top 100?) is a bad boy ... I saw him this year in Buenos Aires, he served from down, like volleyball!!! He use to annoy his opponent when he is lossing and he says words to make laught to the fans. He can celebrate his points in front of his opponents.

David Nalbandian (ARG) plays excellent his Davis Cup matches.

And it would be good that Nadal and Federer could reach at least the semifinals in at least 3 of 4 Grand Slam per year...

James Blake: Accelerations on virtually every ball, loves going after returns (especially when he shouldn't ), gets down on himself easily when he's not playing well.

Ivo Karlovic: Aces/service winners about every other serve, serve and volleys most of the time on his first serve but not much on his second, doesn't come to net much on return games.

Gasquet : Falls appart when 2 sets to love up

Richou wrote:Gasquet : Falls appart when 2 sets to love up

But likes being 2 sets to love down when playing Andy Roddick

I'll do some Women..

Safina
Mentally Weak in Grand Slams
strong accelerated backhand

Serena
Good 2nd kick serve
Big Serves down Break point
Plays better in Grand Slams
Very strong mentally
Hit accelerated groundstrokes on the run
strong accelerated forehand

Venus
weak second serve
inconsistent
very strong mentally
Hit accelerated groundstrokes on the run
strong accelerated backhand

Dementieva
Mentally weak in grandslams
Hit accelerated groundstrokes on the run
weak 2nd serve

Jankovic
Runs around forehand to hit inside out Backhand acceleration down the line
Uses forehand angles
weak 2nd serve

Kuznetsova
Runs around backhand to hit insideout forehand acceleration down the line and crosscourt
Mentally weak in grandslams and tour finals
Good kick 2nd serve

Wozniacki
Hits with alot of depth and topspin
Strong mentally
weak 2nd serve

Azarenka
Strong mentally
Strong accelerated Backhand

Petrova
Big serves down break point
Mentally weak
Slow Mover
Good kick 2nd serve

Ivanovic
runs around backhand to hit a inisde out accelerated forehand down the line or crosscourt
slow mover
usally says come on after each point

Bartoli
Takes ball early
slow mover

Radwanska
She uses a dropshot - lob - dropshot combo effectively
She mixes up her game with slices, dropshots, angels etc.

Mauresmo
same as Radwanska

Schnyder
Uses her lefty forehand topspin to pull you off the court with an angle then go for the open court
Bad mental
Varied

Sharapova
Good mental
Strong Backhand acceleration down the line
Slow movement

Roger Federer

Bends over at the waist, twirling racquet while awaiting serve (may require a new anime movement?)

Says, but not yells "come on!" after very important points...

Hits extremely short angled backhand sliced shots to pull defensive opponents to the net away from their comfort zone...

Hits wicked, extremely angled inside-out forehands as well as extremely short angled crosscourt forehands...(for the same reason as above, also for winners)

"Little" Lleyton Hewitt:

Steps around second serves to hit forehand winners down the line (When on the ad court)

Plays a very good double-handed backhand winner.

Shouts "C'Mon" on big points.

PattySchnyder wrote:I'll do some Women..
[...]

nicely done! serena also yells come on after big points and important points and shows alot of emotions, venus seldom shows emotion and moves fast

I'm not agree that Safina has mentally weak in Grand Slam... maybe in finals...

I don't know if it's part of AI, but:

Carlos Moya (SPA) uses to play ATP Buenos Aires.
Roger Federer (CHE) uses to play ATP Halle.
David Nalbandian (ARG) used to reach quarters or semifinals in Grand Slam from 2002 till 2006.

Gaston Gaudio (ARG) has a weak mentally, like Guillermo Coria (ARG). They played much better on clay than on fast surfaces. Coria retired this year and Gaudio is on a bad form now. Coria was the best on clay till Nadal arrived in 2005.

Now in the game, Novak Djokovic (SRB) can usually hit services at 227 km/h, but in real life he doesn't do it...

Andy Murray always shouts "c'mon!" when he's in trouble but wins a point. Also, when he makes a mistake he gets angry with himself though I don't know how this would be added into the game.

He also loves doing drop shots and tries to bring his opponent into the net so he can pass them with his incredible double handed backhand

Great idea!
I have a few suggestions from my observation watching the pros play:

1. Djokovic: very easy, just let him bounce the ball like ten, fifteen times before big serves.
2. Gonzalez: the opposite, he's in a rush to serve.
3. Murray: as a counter-hitter he sometimes slows down and hits really weak shots if his opponent doesn't supply any power.
4. Moody players play fantastic when winning the points, but fall apart when not.

I think you should consider adding a mental dimension to the game. Tennis is such a mental game in real life. A high percentage on a mental bar would mean playing well in close situations, and a low making it more difficult. And it wouldn't require any animations. Another idea is having the hawk eye-function (which in short time have become quite an essential part of the big tournaments, and a nice addition for the audience), but I understand it's more complex to add.

thanks for a great game, can't wait for more upgrades!

Novak Djokovic's drop shots are mostly (90%) on the forehand of a right-hander and the backhand of a left-hander.

that_dood wrote:"Little" Lleyton Hewitt:

Steps around second serves to hit forehand winners down the line (When on the ad court)

Plays a very good double-handed backhand winner.

Shouts "C'Mon" on big points.

its not even just on important points. he screams cmon when opponents hit random errors. (Chela vs Hewitt AO = spitting incident )