ICC 2006 Impressions
 

Is there anyone else out there who has tried it? My 2 days has expired and you can read my verdict at:

http://forum.cricketweb.net/showpost...05&postcount=4

i think its pretty crap the only good features are the 20/20 stats, Powerplays and Online play

Dunno, from the bit i've played i'm kinda impressed. Didnt realise the 20/20 was seperate, so that was a bonus for me. Not worth all that money mind, but if i didnt have 2005 i'd get it, cant fault it for what it is really.

i bought it, i got icc05 too. the stats are almost up to date with where the game starts. from what i hear the county teams lineups arent correct - anyone surprised?

to me, this is what icc2005 should have been. theyve fixed up those niggly little things, like no scores on the form graphs, balls faced shown on the batsmen in the comentary screen, and updated the fixtures to the 6-year program.

some questions - has anyone played it enough to know whether the game has been tweaked for the future - in 2005 and versions before, the bowlers take over, spinners esp., there are no decent wk, cpu team end up with very weird teams like all batsmen or wk at no11, asian teams dominate in international - has any of this been fixed? and can you hire overseas players after they have had a year off on int. duties?

Wishlist for ICC 2007
 

Since the developers have said that ICC 2007 will be overhauled and new features, I will list my ultimate ICC wishlist.

- More domestic teams - All test-playing nations and their domestic teams.
- More depth - under 19s, minnows, 'A' side matches.
- Career Record tracking - including not just FC and TEST records but all records constantly updated with Top 10 team/world rankings in runs/wickets/matches etc.
- More 6s in the game!
- Player events - Early retirements, career ending injuries, personal reasons to not tour, retirement from one version of the game (eg. only Test player).
- Team events - eg. the Zimbabwe crisis, teams banned, players banned, coaching problems, new grounds becoming available etc.
- Custom made pitches - ability to change pitches before series/season.
- More player info - birthplace, relations, specialties (leadership, fielding, stamina etc.), junior level stats, season-by-season stats (runs/wickets/catches in each season), former clubs, records held by player (either World or user stats).
- Photos put back into profiles!
- Multi-cultural players - eg. India/Pakistan born players with Aus citizenship, indigenous Australians etc.
- In-Built editor - change or create players but in creating, only create second XI averages and player progresses from that. Also edit/create team names.
- Live updating - instead of paying for a data update, have a system that updates, via internet, the inital database when you start a new game. (might be hard i know)
- More tournaments - Champions trophy, proposed 20/20 tournament, new computer generated tournaments.
- Minnow Career Mode - play as affliate or associated nations (eg. Bermuda, Italy, France, Croatia, Ireland, Canada etc.) and build your local teams to international status.
- Sponsorships - player and team sponsorships, logo/team strip design, more or less money depending on results.
- Fantasy Draft - just a suggestion, if you get bored...

That's all I can think of for now. Any quesitons/comments?

Agreed. I would buy this if I didn't have ICC 2005....as it is, it just isn't worth it. Hopefully ICC 2007 is more than just a data update.

Actually, I haven't played ICC for a while and played it last night. Forgot how addictive it was. Still, Cricket Coach all the way for me.

Teams coming into competitions/international level i.e Kenya, Scotland

I agree with these ones wholeheartedly.

I would also like to see some more stuff:

- bowlers strike rates
- career strike rates for batsmen
- able to sort by average, strike rate, rpo, wickets taken, overs bowled, balls faced etc.
- better stat searches - ideally it would be as good as the cricinfo stats guru (although i know that would be really tough to do)

and in the game

- catches going to cover/midwicket
- batsmen playing the right shots to the right balls (at the moment you can see them driving bouncers and cutting yorkers)
- more accurate playing and missing/thick edges (there isnt enough)
- a meter showing how much the bowler is swinging/reverse swinging the ball

Oh yes, and why is a leg stump line considered most attacking? I never worked that one out.

I would like to keep the 3 lines as options, but not have them associated with attacking or not.

I was thinking about strike rates today. Saves time with my records book.

On that topic, I am happy to donate my record book to the ICC developers as a template for the record tracking myself and other fans are looking for.

I guess the attacking line as leg stump is if it is a heavy leg side field. That's all I can think of why it would be that.

More Wishes

- More commentators - Okay, Agnew has been with it from the beginning but please, he must be lonely up there looking at the oblong field. Give him someone like Holding, Taylor, Lloyd, Grieg, Stackpole, Gavaskar... even Thomson!
- Bowling Aggression - more clear cut. For example, a fast bowler on aggressive making mroe mistakes or defensive, keeping a rhythm and frustrating the batmsan.
- Target players - Before a match, you can target a player you believe is dangerous and when he bats/bowls, use specfic tactics.
- Rain in one day matches!
- Just in general, more variables eg. world events, new rule changes etc.

Most of those ideas sound good in theory. But if you have too many things crammed together into one game, it'll just be a big mess. The essential things like rain in one dayers, more sixes, more teams etc. are fine, but when you get into details like team/player crisis', targeting players, sponsorships etc. it just won't feel like ICC any more. ICC is a simple game, and that's what most people that play it like about it. I wouldn't change too many things about it TBH.

Yeah, i guess i am getting carried away. More sixes, more teams, different teams in world cup (if possible), record tracking and given name for generated players from IND/NZ/PAK/WIN/ZIM/BAN.

Thats a good point squiz. The beauty of ICC is its simplicity. Its the Sensible World of Soccer to Cricket Coach's Champ Man..... One has immense playability thanks to its almost idealistic approach (whilst still being realistic and in depth).... the other has all the bells and whistles and makes a fully inclusive great game (though i'm still to be drawn in by cricket coach... in time...). Such features would be brilliant (and easier to impliment) in CC, whereas in ICC they'd feel odd and out of place.

No, it needs a change, just English County with nothing else is old. They have lost me. I'm sorry. But they are poor.