Eng-Exclusive Interview with Pro Rugby Manager2
By Kath 18/1/05
February 4 2007
Unofficial England Rugby are delighted that Joe Ryan of Cyanide, developer of Pro Rugby Manager2 has taken time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions about the new game.
Unofficial England Rugby - Exclusive Interview
with Cyanide developers of Pro Rugby Manager 2
The Developers located in Paris, Cyanide was founded in March 2000 by a team of professionals from all the fields of game development. From the original eight founders - all former employees of the French publisher Ubi Soft - the company has now grown to 25 employees.
Unofficial England Rugby are delighted that Joe Ryan of Cyanide, has taken time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions about the new game.
Yeah, the British Lions in New Zealand is probably the ultimate rugby experience. However, Pro Rugby Manager is about club rugby so we have no agreement with the Lions or the All Blacks. There will therefore be no official games. Also we also don't have a Tour mode. So basically the answer is "no".
However, we include a full range of New Zealand sides and if we have the time we could pre-select a "British Felines" 2005 team. Unfortunately, the team editor is not yet ready so it would be impossible to modify our selection (that's currently only possible in career mode through player transfers). So we'd be forced to select a squad over 4 months ahead of the official tour with little chance that we'd get it right. It would therefore be a cack-handed selection, which would satisfy nobody. And there's also the question of the Maori side !! All in all I can't see it happening !
What about the Laws of the game, can they be referred to by the Referee or the players during the game?
A referee will appear when there is an infringement and this will be linked into text and verbal commentary, so it will be clear why a player or team is sanctioned. However, we don't have an online book of rules.
How easy is it for people playing the game for the first time to get to know the laws or is the game aimed at people who already play the game of rugby?
We're not setting out to teach people rugby. But we're also not trying to say that rugby should lie shrouded beneath opaque layers of tactics and rules. It's a technical sport which can't be picked up overnight, but the basics can be learnt fairly easily. Someone who knows nothing about the game can play, since the game's AI will make decisions if there is no player input. That allows more advanced rugby gamers to influence on-pitch tactics while the learner can sit back and watch. However, input is required for line outs, scrums and penalties.
What has been interesting is to see the way children take to the game. I've let friends' children (10-12 years old, boys and girls) play with the beta version over the past few months. They don't ask too many existential questions. They've seen rugby on TV so they have a basic idea about tries, drop-kicks and the like, and they just get on with it. They know that by clicking on a player that something will happen. There has been as much laughter and shouting as one gets with any computer game. I've even started taking one of the kids to matches. And that ties in with what Premier Rugby are looking for. Rugby will grow if it can attract youngsters into the game. Pro Rugby Manager suits that goal perfectly.
Again thinking along the lines of the real game – what about the Video Referee – is this included in the game?
There is no video referee. Our Pro Rugby Manager referee can rely on the computer code to let him know what happened.
Is it possible to pause a game ?
Yes. A game can be paused by pressing the Escape key. This, in fact, brings up a little window that enables substitutions and gives access to match stats. Once the window is closed the game resumes. The game also pauses, waiting for player input, at line-outs, scrums and penalties.
You can also press on the Pause key. “Pause” is displayed on the screen. What’s good with the Pause key solution is that you can move the camera around to get a good angle for a screen capture.
What is the most significant update in the new version of Pro Manager Rugby or What do you believe are the big improvements over the previous version ?
There are several updates and improvements and each person would choose a different one. At a cosmetic level, the game's interface has been totally reworked. It's far more pleasing to the eye and far easier to understand.
We've also made a couple of significant additions to the game. Namely a 2D match mode and the integration of motion capture (Mocap) player animations. The 2D game is far easier to play and it excludes tactical commands on individual players. It has several advantages : it doesn't require as powerful a PC as for a 3D match and it is far easier to get a grip on and yet it offers many of the tactical choices of a 3D match such as scrum, line-out and penalty tactics (wheeling, selection of jumper or kicking for touch, for example) as well as the selection of the ensuing attacking gambit. It offers an easy route to the full blown 3D experience. And there we've also made significant improvements. Players have about 40% more polygons, allowing us far more detail. Matches take place in a wide selection of 3D stadiums.. We've rendered all the Zurich Premiership grounds and integrated floodlighting to allow for night matches. We've also filmed hundreds of match sequences (tackles, tries, line-outs, drop-kicks, penalty kicks, ..) and integrated them into the game. The reason that a tackle looks so real in the game is that somebody did feel it. It's not just code on code !
Finally (although I know I'm leaving some things out) I'd like to mention the player editor. It allows the gamer to redesign player images in Pro Rugby Manager's database. There are about 50 parameters that can be changed.
Who has set the Journalist questions after the game – is this done by the other players live on the net, or are these taken from a bank of questions?
The journalist questions were set by JB Drouot, the game designer. I suppose that we could integrate gamers' questions. We'll see if the idea appeals to them.
What were you seeking to achieve with this new version?
We were seeking to improve on the first edition and to fulfill the expectations of all those who gave us feedback. That could basically be summed up by saying that we wanted to make the game easier to play and also to increase the gamer's experience. There are certain things that can be improved on and, no doubt, we'll get plenty of feedback, but we're pretty happy about where Pro Rugby Manager is today.
What are the greatest challenges facing today's Pro Rugby Manager ?
The biggest challenge for us is to satisfy all of those who gave us ideas and suggestions for Pro Rugby Manager 2. Hopefully, if we can fulfill their hopes then, at the same time, we can satisfy those of Premier Rugby Limited and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby. We are very aware that they, the governing organisations of English and French professional club rugby, have entrusted us with valuable assets. We hope that Pro Rugby Manager 2 pleases all clubs and players involved.
What's the incentive to buy the new version if you already own the first one?
There's the obvious one of playing with current clubs, competitions and players. Then there are all the improvements and evolutions that make it a totally new experience (mentioned earlier). We've really put the 12 months, since the release of the first edition, to good use. The name hasn't changed, but what's in the box has !
Are you planning to offer versions for Operating Systems other than Windows? e.g. MacOSX, PS2
We are seriously thinking about porting Pro Rugby Manager to a console platform.
How easy is to create a custom team?
At present it is not possible to create a custom team. We've been working on an editor, but the game's database is large and complex. At present we don't have a stable version that combines power and ease of use. That's something we'll be working one over the coming weeks and months.
Who is going to win the Pro Manager Zurich Premiership ?, Heineken Cup ? and Six Nations ? are these predictable or can the players using the game really make a tactical differences to the outcome.
Firstly, I'd like to say that we do not have official Heineken Cup or 6-Nations competitions. We do have an elite European club competition and we do have a northern hemisphere competition that takes place in February/March and involves the national sides of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy !
On the other hand we do have official Zurich Premiership clubs, players and grounds. Nothing is preset, although teams do reflect rugby reality. I don't think that anybody is surprised to see the Tigers at the top of the Zurich Premiership and the current hierarchy, reflected especially in player attributes, has been respected. However, a good Pro Rugby Manager player who chose Worcester Warriors could definitely beat a bad player who chose Leicester Tigers.
and finally Joe who is going to win the Pro Rugby Manager World Cup 2007 ? - We would like to know please? :-)
Sorry, but you'll have to wait for Pro Rugby Manager 4 !!
Oh I think you dodged that last question quite nicely Joe!
www.unofficialenglandrugby.co.uk would like to thank Joe for spending time talking to us. May we also add that we are delighted to be promoting Pro Rugby Manager 2 in our Six Nations Prediction League Competition.
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