Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

[Methlab]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

I have never even looked my stats..lol. Most games out nowadays are so boring to play because the gameplay is overlooked, that I rarely buy video games anymore. But this game has the gameplay nailed so well. It really feels like pro tennis when you play online or level hard/very hard.

If there is a discrepancy in stats, or something like that, I will deal with it. I am just happy to play a sports game that is all aboout gameplay instead of selling popcorn at stadiums or inventing special tech to keep a stale engine seeming fresh each year.

This is simply a great game.

[Dudd]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

I agree with what everyone else is saying about career mode, not much of an improvement from TS3. Gameplay wise, my biggest problem with the demo remains in the final build, namely the complete lack of errors, even on the harder difficulty settings and against other people online. The AI does hit more errors on very hard, but it's still very difficult for me to hit an error, about the only time it happens is when I'm panicking on the baseline and release my shot very late as I'm moving. Other than that though, it's just way too easy to aim for the lines. One game online in particular stands out, I played one guy online who was a little better than I was and it was just winner after winner after winner. I think the final tally was 21 winners and 1 error for me versus 25 winners and 2 errors for him. That's not just complaining that the stats are off either, it's a core gameplay problem. There just isn't enough risk in going for a winner, unless the court is wide open I should have to hit a really nice shot to get one past the other player. It's fun for what it is, but I don't think it's going to have a lot of staying power.

[Seymour Scagnetti]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

Is there a way to change the rules in career mode? I'm playing full sets which would be fine if I were playing real players, but I'm only level 12 and playing these low level scrubs in minor tournaments with 6 game sets is boring.

If you're at level 12 already then all you have to do is win 2 major tourneys and you get the next status where you can play the masters series and play all the top guys. Winning those 2 tourneys takes less than 2 hours. If it's boring because they are easy to beat then it won't take long to build up your level.

[Seymour Scagnetti]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

I agree with what everyone else is saying about career mode, not much of an improvement from TS3. Gameplay wise, my biggest problem with the demo remains in the final build, namely the complete lack of errors, even on the harder difficulty settings and against other people online. The AI does hit more errors on very hard, but it's still very difficult for me to hit an error, about the only time it happens is when I'm panicking on the baseline and release my shot very late as I'm moving. Other than that though, it's just way too easy to aim for the lines. One game online in particular stands out, I played one guy online who was a little better than I was and it was just winner after winner after winner. I think the final tally was 21 winners and 1 error for me versus 25 winners and 2 errors for him. That's not just complaining that the stats are off either, it's a core gameplay problem. There just isn't enough risk in going for a winner, unless the court is wide open I should have to hit a really nice shot to get one past the other player. It's fun for what it is, but I don't think it's going to have a lot of staying power.

Tennis is the most difficult game to get right gameplay wise. Seems simple but is really hard to master. If you allow too much room for unforced errors from you and the AI then the game can get too easy because no matter what, when you play anything long enough you will master the controls and you're not making any errors after awhile and the AI still is.

If you go the other way and make it too difficult to nail winners then every rally is gonna be 30 shots long and the matches get too long and people will complain they are playing a fancy version of Pong and there's not enough excitement playing because the AI is getting to everything.

You can only do so much with tennis gameplay and this game, with a couple of refinements here and there, is probably as good as it's gonna get for the foreseeable future.

[DustinT]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

Also, getting to Level 20 doesn't mean you're near the end of the career mode. It shouldn't even take that long to reach, really.

If every pro in the game is a Level 20 then wouldn't it seem obvious that your created player should also become a Level 20 early in their career? Nadal still has years of tennis left to play.

I always though the career mode was geared toward becoming a Legendary player. The level is just a number, a numerical value for where you are as a professional player ability-wise. Now, you have to develop your status in the world.

That's what a tennis career is about, really.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

For what it's worth, I've had plenty of errors both online and offline. My last online match I had 15 errors and my opponent had 10. I'm not a huge tennis kinda guy though so I don't know how realistic that number is for a 2 set 3 games match.

[CMH]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Now the issue, and something I think is inexcusable if true, is the Level 11, Level 15, etc. guys you play early in your career that never become a Level 20.

Is that true? That's horrible. The game should have guys leveling up with you. By the time you reach a Level 20, there should be a bunch more guys at Level 20 so that you can have a competitive field in Grand Slam tournaments (as an example). Then the world should populate with more guys below Level 20 that need to build themselves up.

That's what needs to happen in Top Spin 5. Right now, from what I'm reading, the focus is on your player's development and status. That's cool. But, no world is real without the other players around you also developing and building their status as legends.

As it is right now, you could never have a Nadal to your Federer. An Agassi to your Sampras. A Seles to your Graf.

That's unfortunate. Really unfortunate and disappointing in a tennis career mode.

[Seymour Scagnetti]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

Ok i've gotten to the point where I suspected that hard was getting a little too easy. My CAP is at 16 right now and I almost beat Murray in the quarters so I tested exhibition with using level 20 pros and every match I played on hard difficulty I pretty much won easily by 6-1 or 6-2. Then I decided to try very hard and got smoked every time 6-1 or 6-2. At that level the pros are unrealistic IMO. So now I'm stuck in between difficulty levels and I don't think i can get much better at this game than I am now.

The only fix I could do which is fine with me is at hard difficulty leaving my CAP at 16 and not levelling up anymore. I just had an amazing 3 set match with Federer where I barely beat him and now then just lost another amazing 3 set match against Blake and it was really fun with Blake because almost every rally seemed like 20+ shots, took me an hour and a half to lose 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

So keep in mind that leveling up your CAP to 20 might make it too easy and keep testing yourself on exhibition to make sure you don't get too good because the difference between Hard and Very Hard is pretty big.

[Fiasco West]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

Ive havent much dabbled in Career Mode yet, but I understand why some people arent happy. What it comes down to is there is probably a way higher percentage of casual tennis fans that play Top Spin 4 than most other sports games so they are more likely to look past the criticisms the vocal minority have levelled.

I myself dont follow the sport closely but know the disappointment with sports games from other sports I am passionate about when they leave out key details (I'm looking at you Madden and Fight Night...). I think those that have problems with the lack of depth and authenticity of the career mode are well within their right to express their displeasure. Top Spin has been the more realistic of the big two tennis games series and coming from 2K Sports which is known for their attention to detail the game should have done a better job catering to fans of the sport. Just because isn't a team sport doesnt mean things should be overlooked.

I agree.

I have bought this game even though I am not the most hardcore of Tennis fans. It is a fun game and seems true to the sport (as much as I can tell...)

But as a sports gamer, a guy who loves to play sports games of all kinds and try their Franchise/Career modes...this one is pretty shallow if you ask me.

While I understand it is not a team sport...still there should be progression in every single game that claims it is a sim game. It would add so much if there were 1 or 2 rivals that almost seemed to follow your career and block your path(or you block theirs...) I mean I may not be the biggest Tennis fan but I do know the rivalries are important and I am a little disappointed to find out that there are not guys that progress/decline. It would be fun to knock off a aging Federer only to be in that same position near the end of your career.

Also the whole thing about players playing one to three tourneys is just not right. Same that the tourneys are not full ones, I understand that some people may not want to play the scrubs in the first round of the tourney...

Well some of us do. In my Washington Wizards franchise, where I Was able to build them up into a contender. As the 2nd seed I lost in 6 games to the Nets who had a 2nd year SG that was shooting incredible from 3 point for that one series. This moment would have never happened in Top Spin 4 though because of the shorter tourneys. In Top Spin 4, I would just start off playing against the 3 seed who also just skipped the first round.

I understand that maybe they meant for it to be more about developing your player...but I think for a lot of Franchise/Career guys like me, we like to see the sport world develop around our player or team.

I like to see the guy that has won as many titles as my player and is now playing him in a grand slam matchup for the 3rd time...

The gameplay is really good though, i'll play it a little more before making any final decisions though. Although the career mode could be a lot better and I hope they really dig into it for Top Spin 5.

[fearwhatnow]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

Μy suggestion: Don't upgrade the stats of your player in career mode if you're having fun/intense matches against some pros.Reach for example level 10-12 and stay there.
The lack of a custom tournament mode is the biggest dissapointment of the game imho.Top Spin 5 must bring back full tournament mode and seasons along with a deep pros creator tool where users can create their pros in any level and then importing them to tournaments.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

For what it's worth, I don't think the players on Very Hard have been unrealistic at all. I'm one tournament away from qualifying for Masters tournaments and I'm somewhere around 22-1 this season. Shawn Watson finally beat me but I just beat him last night to get my revenge (6-7 7-6 7-5). I think I'm level 16 right now.

[rangerrick012]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

I like career mode. So far through my first year and I'm about to reach the 'new talent' status. I understand other's concerns about things like length of tournaments and lack of progression from other players, which I do hope they improve for TS5. But I do think that this career mode adds more from TS3. And me personally, I play using the realistic settings, and don't think I'd have the time to play through the tournaments (particularly the slams) if I had to play 6 or 7 matches total. But I do agree that full tourneys should at least be an option. And I don't have a problem w/ lack of progression, b/c I want to play the best of the best when I get to the top, not some no namers, even if they came 'through the ranks' with me.

[Methlab]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

This game is meant for online..it's been stated MANY times by the devs. So if you are an offline person only, you are missing out. Taking your created player online against other people's players is the way to go. They advance and grow with you and you will have really fun battles and tournaments. this game is really geared more for online players so I am not surprised that people who just play franchise modes in games are frustrated. But just reading interviews months before the game came out prepared me for this, and since I am an online guy, I'm quite happy with this format.

[rangerrick012]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

This game is meant for online..it's been stated MANY times by the devs. So if you are an offline person only, you are missing out. Taking your created player online against other people's players is the way to go. They advance and grow with you and you will have really fun battles and tournaments. this game is really geared more for online players so I am not surprised that people who just play franchise modes in games are frustrated. But just reading interviews months before the game came out prepared me for this, and since I am an online guy, I'm quite happy with this format.

Yep, forgot to mention that. The online World Tour mode adds another dimension to the game, and the leveling system makes it so overpowered cheese players aren't as prevalent anymore.

[DJ]

Re: Top Spin 4 Impressions/Questions Thread

This game is meant for online..it's been stated MANY times by the devs. So if you are an offline person only, you are missing out. Taking your created player online against other people's players is the way to go. They advance and grow with you and you will have really fun battles and tournaments. this game is really geared more for online players so I am not surprised that people who just play franchise modes in games are frustrated. But just reading interviews months before the game came out prepared me for this, and since I am an online guy, I'm quite happy with this format.

I've got no problems with that, as long as the developers were up front about it.

I'm an offline guy and while I'm really interested in this game, I don't know if it would sustain me over the long haul. One of the moderators (CMH, I think) brought up a great point about how CPU players in Career Mode need to progress along with your created player. Otherwise, you'll end up without any true rivals, and that takes a lot of fun out of the game.