Review: Tennis World Tour 2 – A Promising Seed With Far Too Many Faults
Let’s forget the warm-up and jump straight to the first serve, shall we? Tennis World Tour 2 demands a level of precision from its players that it simply isn’t capable of facilitating. This is a sombre and serious tennis sim that bases its take on the sport around the perfect timing of shots and their precision placement on court. It’s a solid idea with a steep learning curve that should prove satisfying but is instead turned into a frustrating and unrewarding experience by a serious lack of fluidity in the game’s moment-to-moment action, player animations that fail to cover even basic eventualities, dodgy AI and a framerate in handheld mode that isn’t up to snuff.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a truly great entry in the tennis genre and this generation in particular has had to make do with a handful of pretty mediocre experiences, particularly in terms of titles that aim to recreate the sport in a realistic way. The first entry in the Tennis World Tour franchise, released back in 2018, was a rather woeful affair that was easily bested by its nearest competitor, the AO Tennis series, and although what’s here is an improvement, it still suffers from infuriating core gameplay that drains the fun and excitement out of matches no matter how much practice you’re willing to put in.
Before we press on with the various negative aspects of this one, lets talk about what Tennis World Tour 2 does right, for those who are willing to put up with its myriad failings. There are a decent number of modes to jump into, the most comprehensive of which is a career that sees you create your own tennis ace (although be warned the character creator here is basic — we couldn’t even give our poor lad a bit of facial hair) and jumping into a jam-packed calendar where you’ll play exhibition matches for XP, take part in training exercises, hire and fire coaches and agents and make enough money to enter tournaments and purchase new rackets, clothes and gear to pimp out your future world champion.
You can also take part in exhibition matches in either singles or doubles flavour as one of the thirty-eight professional players included in the game’s rather impressive roster, aim for victory at Roland Garros, create your own tournament, or jump into Tie Break Ten mode. Rounding out what’s on offer is a tennis school where you can get down to practicing and an online element with a FIFA-esque divisions component and the ability to play quick or custom matches. It’s all perfectly serviceable stuff, nothing we haven’t seen before in just about any sport’s game we could mention, but there’s plenty to keep avid tennis fans busy here, or at least there would be if the gameplay and performance didn’t constantly let the whole endeavour down.
The main issue we have with Tennis World 2 — beyond the framerate fumbles in handheld mode, beyond motion controls we can’t even imagine trying to play with, and beyond an online component that’s DOA as far as trying to find an opponent is concerned — is the lack of fluidity or finesse when it comes down to its core gameplay. This is a game that drills you in the importance of timing strikes precisely, takes the time to instruct you on the various types of shot you can play and when is best to play them and then cuts you loose in a sea of jank that makes doing any of this in a constant or reliable fashion nigh-on impossible.
There’s a serious lack of basic player animations here, meaning that stuff like diving — or even just leaning over — to reach a shot that’s just out of reach is an impossibility and players feel sluggish and rooted to the spot as a result. Tame shots fired at you by your opponent will whizz frustratingly by as your avatar remains fixed in position and this is compounded by the AI assuming control of your player randomly during games, moving them around the baseline, swinging for shots, and jolting forward towards serves when you haven’t pressed a single button. You’ll choose to lob but the game will slice the ball, you’ll aim for your opponent’s baseline with a perfectly timed banger that inexplicably ends up in the net or line up a meaty, powerful service return that defies the laws of physics as it floats slowly across the court in entirely the wrong direction, ignoring the fact that you just absolutely walloped it.
There is absolutely zero net play here either. The stiffness of player movement combined with that lack of basic animations means that getting in and around the net and taking the game to your opponent just does not happen. Moving in for the kill here will result in the ball flying past your player 100% of the time. Tennis World Tour 2 just isn’t capable of the level of fluidity required to incorporate this fundamental part of the sport it seeks to recreate.
Opponent AI, even on harder difficulty levels, constantly double faults on its serves, hits seemingly easy return shots completely wide of the mark and makes decent rallies a very uncommon occurrence. It rarely feels, even when you’ve got a good handle on the timing required to hit a perfect shot, as though you’re in any sort of control. There’s zero sense of skill or satisfaction here as unpolished mechanics and a dearth of animations constantly derail the action. This is a game that wants you to get into a particular rhythm and, once you feel like you’re just about there, it changes the music and starts writhing around like your drunk uncle at a wedding.
There’s a serving system at play here that — just like that shot timing mechanic — should work well. You need to time your initial ball toss in order to affect placement then time your strike in order to determine the power of your hit. However, no matter how hard you try, no matter how much time you invest in practicing, it feels flaky, never really responding with accuracy to even a perfect lining up of its various parameters. Aces here are pot-luck, as is most every decent shot or point you manage to score during matches that, for the most part, consist of hoping for the best and winning more often due to AI error than skill.
On top of this lacklustre, unpolished core gameplay, Big Ant Studios has decided to add a card mechanic that feels entirely at odds with the attempted simulation style of the action. Players can use accumulated coin, earned here entirely through matches, to grab packs of cards which can then be made into decks of five and taken into games to give you a series of boons you can activate whenever you choose to. There are various rarities of card, some have single uses, some have several, and they affect things like rate of fatigue, shot power, serve return success and so on. As odd an addition as it is, it would be a welcome one if it ever felt as though these cards were making any difference. However, in practice, it’s just another element of Tennis World Tour 2 that feels like it doesn’t work very well.
It’s all so infuriating because what’s here feels like it could have been a decent game. The shot-timing and serving mechanics are good ideas, there are enough modes, a decent roster and it all looks and sounds fine enough. However, when you can’t trust any element of this to work properly, when the AI is incompetent, your avatar has a mind of its own, there aren’t enough basic animations to fuel a fluid and enjoyable match, net play doesn’t exist and, in this Switch port, the framerate can make things difficult from time to time, the whole thing becomes a slog; a game that expects so much from its players but can’t reciprocate with anything approaching the level of competence required to reward their efforts.
If you’re absolutelymad for a simulation style tennis game and have exhausted every other available avenue on Switch, you may be able to put up with the myriad failings here and eek out some sort of mild challenge or limited fun. Otherwise, we’d suggest you either stick to AO Tennis 2 — Big Ant Games’ marginally better Tennis offering — or keep your fingers crossed for something altogether more superior down the line.
Conclusion
Tennis World Tour 2 is a simulation style affair that demands much from its players but doesn’t reciprocate with a game that’s capable of matching their efforts. Flaky AI and a lack of basic player animations leads to core gameplay here that feels rough and unsatisfying for the most part. Matches often descend into a procession of double faults, there’s absolutely zero net play, and no matter how much practice you put in, things always feel like they’re out of your control. There is a decent selection of modes here and the fundamental ideas behind the gameplay could have made for a good time, but a lack of finesse in how these things have been implemented mean this one is best avoided by all but the most foolhardy of tennis fans.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-26-2020, 12:06 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Disneyland Is Sort Of Opening, But Don't Expect To Ride Anything
The Disneyland Resort in Southern California has been closed since March. At least, the two theme parks in the resort--Disneyland and Disney California Adventure--have been. That's about to change, though.
Starting in November, a portion of Disney California Adventure will open to the public. That doesn't mean you should get ready to ride the rides, though. The Buena Vista Street section of the park, made up of dining options and stores, are going to be open for business, according to the official Disney Parks blog.
While the shopping will be indoors, the seating for dining will be in expanded outdoor seating areas. Among the eateries opening are the Carthay Circle Lounge, complete with a new food and cocktail menu. For shopping, a number of gift shops will be open along the Buena Vista Street section, offering a ridiculous amount of Disney-branded items for you to take home.
How to Build Your Brand as a Freelance Developer [Ultimate Guide]
This guide shows you the importance of building your personal brand as a freelance developer.
Why Freelance Developing?
Freelancing is the new mega trend in the 21st century. Freelancing platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr grow double-digits year after year. The COVID-19 crisis has revived the interest in remote work and, statistically, most people dream of being their own boss and gaining more control of their lives.
Do you want to be one of the winners of spotting this trend early? There are many arguments why freelance developing may be a great thing for you to do. Here are the most convincing ones:
Time: Zero time on the road—you don’t have any commute time (I love it!)
Your personal brand is the image you represent to the outer world.
“Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning them as an authority in their industry, elevating their credibility, and differentiating themselves from the competition, to ultimately advance their career, increase their circle of influence, and have a larger impact.” (source)
This definition consists of different parts:
Conscious and intentional: The act of personal branding is an active one. You must pursue it and aim to control the positioning and your perception.
Effort: Building your personal brand is a long-term strategy for success. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. But it’s by far the most certain, predictable, and controllable way to success.
Positioning: You cannot be the jack-of-all-trades. You must be the master of one. You may not have thought about this much, but choosing the right positioning, where you can perform from your strengths, is the most important business move in your whole life. Read my detailed blog tutorial on this topic!
Credibility: It is hard to be earned but easily lost. Never jeopardize your good name and your credibility. Be a man or woman of your words. Overdeliver. Keep your promises. Be punctual.
Differentiation: It is more important to be different than to be good. If you cannot be excellent—that is: you cannot join the top 5% in your field—no problem: be different! You’ll still be able to command premium prices with average skills, if you’re different.
Impact: The easiest way to motivate yourself, get others to follow you, and build your personal brand that is perceived positively is to choose to aim for a goal higher than your own selfish ones. Don’t aim for your own profit but allow others to make great profit and you will have impact. The rewards will follow if you’re truly impactful.
You may ask: why is it important to build a personal brand in the first place? Let’s explore this question next!
Why Branding?
The most fundamental law of economics states that as demand for a fixed resource rises, prices rise, too. As you build and refine your personal brand, the demand for your time increases. This has all kinds of benefits such as higher hourly pay, higher status, higher perception of attractiveness, increased opportunities, and an exponentially growing network of supporters. Building a personal brand that shines is more than ever the highest-leveraged activity you can do to ensure your success into the future.
The web has broken up many social structures and the way personal brands are created. If you don’t have a web presence, it’s very unlikely that you have already built yourself a powerful personal brand. The web is a highly scalable way to reach people all over the world. Without this highly-scalable distribution channel, it becomes very hard to reach more people. However, if you use the web in the right manner, you can make a name for yourself in relatively little time.
The brand is a concept of your person in other people’s mind. If you give them stuff they like and make them feel good, they’ll have an overwhelmingly positive concept of your person. If you make them feel awkward or bad, they’ll also have a negative concept of you. Your personal brand is a reflection of your own actions. If you control your actions and reactions, you control how other people perceive you.
Examples of Great Personal Brands on Upwork
Next, we’re going to look at three freelance developers who built their personal brand on Upwork.
Jason clearly positions himself as a machine learning engineer and data scientist. He doesn’t offer web development, Python, or server maintenance. Great brand building is always a game of smart positioning in an attractive space. He clearly states his value proposition in his profile text:
If your project involves data, I CAN HELP, here's how: Don't have any data? I'll scrape some for you! Have data, but it's very raw?
I'll clean it for you! Have data, but not sure what to do with it? I'll analyze it, provide useful insights, and create stunning visualizations! Trying to build a machine learning model? I'll use state of the art techniques to develop the best model possible!
He positions himself as an expert in a field charging premium prices of $300/h. And his testimonials support the great value he offers. Here are four testimonials:
Social proof is always an important building block of powerful personal brands.
Now, let’s have a look at another machine learning engineer that earns less than one-tenth of Jason:
#2 Machine Learning Engineer ($20/h)
The positioning is more freelancer-focused than client-focused (read the first few sentences and you’ll know what I mean). Social proof is not as strong as for the first freelancer Jason. That’s why the freelancer both has less total earnings, fewer ratings and gigs, and a reduced hourly rate.
These two examples show, plain and simple, how powerful building your personal brand can be. What one person earns in 15 hours will another person earn in only one hour—to a large extend because of personal brand building.
How to Nurture Your Personal Brand [5 Simple Steps]
As a general framework for brand-building, you can perform the following five simple steps (source).
Step 1: Clearly formulate your personal brand statement. Before you can start working on your brand, you must know what message you send out to the world. Brand consistency is king!
Step 2:Examine your online presence. Look for everything you’ve ever posted online and put it in a document for easy access.
Step 3:Remove threats hurting your reputation. The data protection laws of most countries empower you to request removal of all harmful content that can hurt your reputation or are not in line with your personal brand.
Step 4:Create online assets that are in line with your brand strategy. You can post to social networks, create your own blog, or shoot videos. Make sure that the message you’re delivering is consistent to your brand strategy. For example, if you want to position yourself as trusted advisor, make sure to earn that trust and don’t sell your audience to the highest bidder!
Step 5: Strengthen your brand by creating a habit around fostering your brand. Every one-time action is destined to fail. However, if you establish a regular process or routine for brand reputation management, you create a positive upward spiral towards success. The more assets you create that are in-line with your brand, the more other people will reinforce this brand and it becomes stronger and stronger. Before you know, you’ll be able to charge $300 per hour on Upwork.
Do you want to develop the skills of a well-rounded Python professional—while getting paid in the process? Become a Python freelancer and order your book Leaving the Rat Race with Python on Amazon (Kindle/Print)!
Where to Go From Here?
Enough theory, let’s get some practice!
To become successful in coding, you need to get out there and solve real problems for real people. That’s how you can become a six-figure earner easily. And that’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?
Practice projects is how you sharpen your saw in coding!
Do you want to become a code master by focusing on practical code projects that actually earn you money and solve problems for people?
Then become a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.
[www.indiegala.com] ? NBA 2K21 is the latest release in the world-renowned, best-selling NBA 2K series
The 218th GalaQuiz will be LIVE soon, win up to $50 in GalaCredit!
[www.indiegala.com] The GalaQuiz will take place in less than 5 minutes from this announcement Today's GalaQuiz[www.indiegala.com] hints are up. The theme will be White Day Redux. Look forward for an awesome upcoming event.
The Drag[en]gine is a highly modular, open source (C++) game engine that has been under active development for several years. The Drag[en]gine’s modular approach is built around the GLEM concept breaking your game project into the Game Script, Launcher, Engine and Modules layers. The Game Script is implemented by default in Dragonscript, another open source project available here. Drag[en]gine is open source under the LGPL license on GitHub.
If you want to get started with Drag[en]gine you can download binaries for Linux and Windows available here, it’s most likely the IGDE file you want to start with. There are a number of samples to get you started available here. You can learn more about Drag[en]gine in the video below.
Apple TV Remote app influenced Steve Jobs into making Siri Remote
In a tweet thread following the discontinuation of the standalone “Remote” app for Apple TV, the former Apple engineer explains how his creation evolved and helped with the design and development of the current Siri Remote.
On October 21, Apple removed the App Store listing for its first-party “Remote” app, a tool that was first introduced as the iTunes Remote before being turned into a controller for the Apple TV. Apple’s removal of the app leaves users with the option of using the bundled Siri Remote for the Apple TV, or the software-based version for their iOS devices, integrated into Control Center.
A series of tweets posted following Apple’s delisting of the app by Alan Cannistraro, a former Apple engineer who originally worked on the app, explains the history of the tool within Apple from its first code written in 2016. According to Cannistraro, he started to write code before he was able to see the iPhone user interface, by using UI elements of his own creation.
Cannistraro was encouraged to go further with his initial efforts as Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs was “nervous the App Store wouldn’t be a hit, so he wanted Apple to have apps,” which Jobs explained to the developer on seeing his work. It was also the first production app to be used by the App Store team to trial the “upload flow” to the App Store, earning its place as the first app on it.
6) In 2010, I sat down with with Steve to show him how Remote controlled Apple TV with swipes, and he said, “our next Apple TV Remote should be this without a screen”. It took five years (lots of stuff paused when Steve died), but eventually Siri Remote came out and was just that
The shipped version was also a stripped-down variant of Cannistraro’s work, as the prototype also enabled the control to turn lights, televisions, and receivers on and off via an IR adaptor, as well as to save and resume a room’s state as a “Scene.” This may have been a precursor to HomeKit, Apple’s smarthome platform which also uses Scenes as a concept, but Cannistraro admits his pitch was a “larger idea around device communication that never got off the ground.”
A later prototype in 2009 was able to use the touchscreen of the iPhone to be a computer mouse, as well as a way to “interact with photos, applications (the original TouchBar) and screensavers” on a Mac, Cannistraro claims.
By 2010, Cannistraro once again sat with Jobs about a version of the Remote app, one that allowed for the control of the Apple TV using swipes. He claims Jobs said at the time “Our next Apple TV Remote should be this without a screen.”
Five years later, which Cannistraro attributed to Jobs’ death pausing “lots of stuff,” the Siri Remote was released, one that almost all Apple TV users are familiar with using, and employs the same control mechanic.
Despite the removal of the Remote for Apple TV from the App Store, Apple still maintains the iTunes Remote app, which is used to manage the playback of media in Apple Music, iTunes, and the Apple TV app on a Mac or a PC.
Nightdive Studios Delays Its Enhanced Edition Of Blade Runner
Nightdive Studios has confirmed Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition will no longer be released this year on the Nintendo Switch and other platforms. In an interview with our friends over at Eurogamer, Nightdive’s CEO Stephen Kick said the launch date was now “TBD”.
“There have been some obstacles we’ve had to overcome in terms of the old technology the game uses. And our hunt for the original source code and assets have come up empty.”
Long story short, the source code for Westwood’s classic was lost when the studio was purchased and relocated by Electronic Arts in 1998, and although a lot of its past work was uncovered by EA during the development of the Comand & Conquer remaster not so long ago, it’s not believed to contain any Blade Runner content.
Nightdive is also struggling to get a clear response from EA, and even if there is anything related to Blade Runner in there, it’s unlikely to be released due to “legal reasons”. The studio has been left with no option but to reverse engineer the code, and there’s been a number of other hiccups along the way as well, which have been described as a “real challenge”.
“It’s just taking a bit longer than we originally anticipated.”
Nightdive Studios is the same team that’s restored a number of classics such as System Shock: Enhanced Edition, Turok, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil and Forsaken Remastered with its proprietary game engine, KEX.
How do you feel about the delay of this game? Leave a comment down below.
PS5 Third-Party Face Plates Are Already Available To Preorder
The PlayStation 5 comes in a sleek duotone design with white fins jutting up from the black center. Sony hasn't officially announced any plans for other colors or faceplate designs, but a third party has already started selling preorders for a handful of other faceplate colors and patterns. If you were hoping to buy an all-black PS5 eventually, this could let you do so well before Sony releases an alternate color scheme--if it ever does.
The site Platestation 5 is offering five faceplate designs: cherry red, indigo blue, chromatic, jungle camo, and a limited-edition matte black. Each is priced at $40, including the limited-edition version, and the site says it's aiming to ship within two weeks of the PS5 launch to assure they arrive close to your new console. You can also select a Digital Edition faceplace. On one side, it should be virtually identical to the standard version. The other lacks the disc drive bump, however, and is more symmetrical.
Be advised, we haven't sampled these faceplates ourselves, so we can't vouch for their quality or fit. If you want to take a gamble, though, read up on the store refund policy just in case.
Xbox Insider Release Notes – Delta (2010.201013-0000)
Hey Xbox Insiders! We have a new Xbox One update preview coming to the Delta ring. It’s important we note that some updates made in these preview OS builds include background improvements that ensure a quality and stable build for Xbox One.
We continue to post these release notes, even when the noticeable changes to the UI are minimal, so you’re aware when updates are coming to your device. Details can be found below!
System Update Details:
OS version released: RS_XBOX_RELEASE_2010\19041.4994.201013-0000
Available: 2 p.m. PT – October 15, 2020
Mandatory: 3 a.m. PT – October 16, 2020
Fixes Implemented
Thanks to the hard work of Xbox engineers, we are happy to announce the following fixes have been implemented for this build:
System
Various updates to properly reflect local languages across the console
Note: Users participating in Preview may see “odd” text across the console, for more information go here.
Known Issues
We understand some issues have been listed in previous Xbox Insider Release Notes. These items aren’t being ignored, but it will take Xbox engineers more time to find a solution.
We’re still tracking these known issues:
Audio
Some users have reported that Dolby Atmos for Headphones audio setting changes when the console is rebooted/updated.
Note: If you attempt to set the audio to Dolby Atmos for Headphones and see a message advising you to launch the Dolby Access App, please file feedback before launching the app.
We are receiving reports of users stating the console has no audio or low audio levels with recent updates.
Note: If you are seeing this behavior, please submit feedback immediately when you notice the behavior. Also, please ensure you don’t have any audio settings that could be affecting your volume like the chat mixer.
Guide
We are investigating reports of the audio mixer being unable to adjust chat/game audio levels.
There are reports from users that the Guide not launching or loading.
My Games & Apps
Users have reported seeing black tiles instead of game artwork when browsing their collection.
Note: We are still investigating the issue, please report the issue again from the console if you have done so with a prior update and are still seeing this behavior.
Some users are reporting seeing the Mixer app in their collection and being unable to remove/uninstall it. The issue is being investigated.
Some titles in collection may appear with a “trial” tag incorrectly in collection.
Parties
Some users have reported being unable to create or join parties.
Profile Color
Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
Make sure to use Report a problem to keep us informed of your issue. We may not be able to respond to everyone, but the data we’ll gather is crucial to finding a resolution.
How to Get Xbox Insider Support
If you’re an Xbox Insider looking for support, please reach out to the community subreddit. Official Xbox staff, moderators, and fellow Xbox Insiders are there to help with your concerns.
When posting to the subreddit, please look through most recent posts to see if your issue has already been posted or addressed. We always recommend adding to threads with the same issue before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can! Don’t forget to use “Report a problem” before posting—the information shared in both places helps us understand your issue better.
Thank you to every Xbox Insider in the subreddit today. We love that it has become such a friendly and community-driven hub of conversation and support.
For more information regarding the Xbox Insider Program follow us on Twitter. Keep an eye on future Xbox Insider Release Notes for more information regarding your Xbox One Update Preview ring!
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-25-2020, 11:30 AM - Forum: Lounge
- No Replies
Video: The lighting technology of Detroit: Become Human
The branching story of Detroit: Become Human lives and dies on the robot-filled dystopian future that defines its setting. That future is told through a number of visual indicators, one of them being the game’s lighting technology. How was that technology implemented?
At GDC 2018, Quantic Dream’s Guillaume Caurant shows how the Quantic Dream team transitioned their lighting system to only use photometric units based on real life measurements for Detroit: Become Human.
It’s a helpful talk for programmers working on lighting systems everywhere, one you can watch up above or for free on the GDC YouTube channel.
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.
