The Players.

[djarvik]

Please give us your feedback. Likes and dislikes.

The players should be all balanced. We will be reviewing them after the Test Tournaments, but you can use this thread to give us an early feedback.

Please remember, no all Pros can be represented in the game as they are in real life. Balancing needs to be considered. So yeah, you can say "Djokovic should have all 100 stats!".... but think of the consequences of such request.

The basic theory is that we tried to stay as close as possible to the reality. We got the Top 4, that are marginally better then the rest players. We got the dangerous players that depending on the surfaces or style of play will upset the top 4. We got the big servers that can consistently get tie breaks, but will be tough to handle on returns games. We got the defenders that can run the balls down and counter attack. And we got an array of unique mid level players that with a good game play can be extremely effective.

Thank you!

[djarvik]

No takers?

OK, I'll start. From the top 4 players, I like Federer the most. I think he is a dream to play on Hard courts. That Forehand does damage every-time you hit it. A few guys outside of top 4 that I like are Davydenko - a wall, and that backhand is dangerous. I like Almagro as well, fast and powerful and tons of spin on the strokes, great on clay courts!

I don't like Gulbis or rather I am still not good enough to reap the benefits of his power. Playing on Pro 2-3 at the moment and it is tough to time that FH, but when I do - the point is mine usually.

[Tamthewasp]

I like nadal. He is sooooo pretty

[L Sanchez MD]

I enjoyed playing with Djoko - he's a consistency beast.
I haven't tried playing with enough to really comment, although I played with Ferrer, and I find it a b*tch to time/aim serves with that quick motion.
(speaking of which, his quick motion I think should be emulated in Dolgo, whose serve has a super quick motion / low ball toss, which doesn't quite seem to be right in TE).

[djarvik]

I actually like faster serve motions. If I have too much time, I mess up more.

If you like Djoko, try Davydenko and Baghdatis. Both very solid of the ground and both hit a bit flatter.

I find it VERY tough to play with Rafa on anything other then clay. His top spins sit up for a lot of players there, tough to hit winners.

[L Sanchez MD]

Wanna try a match sometime, to see if things work?
My router is really retarded, so I'm not sure if online matches will consistently work.

[djarvik]

Sure thing, pm me your MSN. I will be on for 15 min in 30 min.

[VMoe86]

Can you explain the reasoning behind the Smash and Drop Shot stats of Federer, Murray, Djokovic and Nadal? Djokovic probably has the weakest smash among these in reality, no way that Nadal should just get 66% compared to 80% for Murray and Djokovic.

Here some thoughts on the guys I've played as, but I still have to add some good net game to my game:

Söderling: Took some time getting used to the serve motion, but if you time that serve correctly you should be breezing through your service games. If you have time to set up the groundstrokes, especially the forehand, then you can control the point.

Tipsarevic: Can time his serve very well, no problems with the serve motion. Solid from the baseline off both wings, good counter stat and really suits my game so far.

Federer: Nice serve motion, easy to time the serve for me. The forehand is just great, the backhand is good. Slice is good and combined with his speed one can defend very well with Federer.

Gulbis: Played a couple of games as Gulbis, too. The forehand is a good copy of his real life version -- powerful but inconsistent. I've hit some amazing winners, but one cannot do this consistently with Gulbis. His serve has the same "problem": If timed perfectly, a great weapon, but difficult to use that weapon consistently. I'm sure though, that one can compete well with him, because he has variety besides his inconsistent weapons.

[Otlichno]

I love Gulbis's backhand motion!

[djarvik]

Can you explain the reasoning behind the Smash and Drop Shot stats of Federer, Murray, Djokovic and Nadal? Djokovic probably has the weakest smash among these in reality, no way that Nadal should just get 66% compared to 80% for Murray and Djokovic.

First, thanks for the reviews! Exactly what we are looking for.

To be honest, the Lob and Drop will be reworked for the top 4. I already noticed the problem. It should not affect the game play for the them as most are baseliners and come to net to finish. But we still need to get it right.

As for other stats, specifically strokes and serves, I think we did a good job. I have been trying to find a glare irregularities - with no luck. That's a good thing.

[VMoe86]

First, thanks for the reviews! Exactly what we are looking for.

More to come.

To be honest, the Lob and Drop will be reworked for the top 4. I already noticed the problem. It should not affect the game play for the them as most are baseliners and come to net to finish. But we still need to get it right.

The "finesse" shots (i.e. volleys, lobs, drop shots) are probably the most difficult to nail down with stats in this era.

[polca456321]

I tested two players especially, I'll give my opinion about them :

DJOKOVIC : It's such a pleasure to play with him, you can hit a shot where you want without difficulties. Especially his backhand is awesome, when you do a great cross one the opponent just can't return it. But I don't think he is overpowered, because his serve isn't that good, and he isn't really fast. I guess he is a great player, but not the best.

MONFILS : Monfils. Is. Really. Fast. When you play with him you have the feeling you can return every ball, even the more powerful ones and well placed. Moreover, he has a pretty good forehand, he looks a little bit like Gulbis on this point : he can hit very strong ones, but he's inconsistent enough to not be overpowered. His backhand is correct, a little less powerful than his forehand but correct. He is, in my opinion, one of the best players of the game.

[eliomelma]

My favourite is Roger, a killer on hard, great forehand and big serve.
The second i like is Gasquet, but i think that his serve is too powerful, he can't in real life serve at 220 km\h.

[djarvik]

Yeah, if you hit a well times serve with a bit of a kick with Gasquet - you get get it up to 129. But trying to do it, I was able to do it once in a set. Most of his flat first serves are around 115. I think it is rather good, but maybe we can lower it a bit.

[L Sanchez MD]

I just served 233 kph with Davy.
WUT