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Despite my steadfast commitment to not obtain any new games until I finish my backlog, I heard the most beautiful siren song coming from this game and just had to boot up my Playstation app to start downloading it. I don't know if I should feel regret or excitement. Probably excitement.

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I don't want to discourage noobs but...

If you are under the ball, you are in the way of my shot. Please move. This isn't "How many times can I touch the ball" the game. If you don't have a shot, someone else probably does so line yourself up for the next one by putting yourself between the ball and your own goal.

Having a strong opinion about this type of thing probably means that I should start playing ranked matches.

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You know what is worse than accidentally scoring on yourself?

-Getting mixed up and defending their goal for 2 minutes. 

 

I just did that. It's embarassing. My team managed to score on me after I made a few saves and then I realized what was up.

 

 

----------

Also, ranked matches are a lot more susceptible to my bad internet connection so I can't play them during neighborhood-is-watching-Netflix time.

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I don't want to discourage noobs but...

If you are under the ball, you are in the way of my shot. Please move.

...

If you don't have a shot, someone else probably does so line yourself up for the next one by putting yourself between the ball and your own goal.

 

 

If they are under the ball, they probably think they have a shot (even if they're wrong).

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1v1 is infuriating and not fun.

 

I still really loathe the faceoff mechanic, because it results in way too much bullshit out of your control. That's most of the reason 1v1 is bad.

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I think the face off thing is fine in 1v1? You can just rush it and both hit it at the same time sending it flying off, or hang back and let them shoot it at your goal and just punt it back. I have spent most of my time in 1v1 and haven't really had an issue with it that wasn't my fault.

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I recorded a short game to show people how long match-making typically takles for me (an important thing to me for online multiplayer) and I go into the basics of my playstyle.

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I think the face off thing is fine in 1v1? You can just rush it and both hit it at the same time sending it flying off, or hang back and let them shoot it at your goal and just punt it back. I have spent most of my time in 1v1 and haven't really had an issue with it that wasn't my fault.

 

Yes, you can rush it and both hit it at the same time and send it flying off... directly into your goal. Or you'll end up on the other side of the map, unable to defend your goal as the ball has conveniently bounced right in front of it. A statistically significant portion of the goals in games I've played, 1v1 or other, have come directly off of bullshit from the faceoff that wasn't just someone who took too long to drink their soda during the replay. It's REALLY awful.

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PSA: don't just sit there in a ranked match when your team has 3 players and they only have 1. I got kicked for idling. I'm not complaining,  I understand the need. Still, it's good to know.

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Yes, you can rush it and both hit it at the same time and send it flying off... directly into your goal. Or you'll end up on the other side of the map, unable to defend your goal as the ball has conveniently bounced right in front of it. A statistically significant portion of the goals in games I've played, 1v1 or other, have come directly off of bullshit from the faceoff that wasn't just someone who took too long to drink their soda during the replay. It's REALLY awful.

I dunno what to tell you. I don't think it's great or anything but its fine. I always feel like I have control over the outcome of a round.

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Tex and Hollywood are the worst AI teammates I could have ever asked for. I decided to run a 36 week season on Rookie difficulty just for fun and I lost track of the number of replays I watched where Tex or Hollywood stylishly slammed the ball into our own goal. If the ball was ever slowly rolling towards our goal and they were directly behind the ball, their dumbass AI dictated that they should continue to drive in a straight line and just tap the ball all the way across the field into our own goal instead of driving to either side and bumping it out of the way. Tex was by far the worst though. He took it to a whole new level by regularly working with the other team to spike the ball into our own goal off of one of my epic saves. It is so crushing when you narrowly deflect the ball away from your goal only to have Tex fly 20 feet into the air and slam it right back down your throat.

 

Fuck you Tex.

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I recommend raising the difficulty in AI matches as soon as you get hang of the basics. Much less frustrating.

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I'd be interested to find out of the differently named AI is different in its behavior. I doubt it though. I like the idea of having opinions about certain AI teammates and playing through a season with them.

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I'd be interested to find out of the differently named AI is different in its behavior. I doubt it though. I like the idea of having opinions about certain AI teammates and playing through a season with them.

 

It's funny you mention that because my daughter watched a good number of matches during the season and every time Tex did something stupid she would say things like "Oh my god, Tex just hit the ball into our own goal again!" and "What is wrong with Tex? He's the worst teammate ever!". I like to think they do have different behaviors and that it wasn't just random chance that Tex was so terrible.

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It's funny you mention that because my daughter watched a good number of matches during the season and every time Tex did something stupid she would say things like "Oh my god, Tex just hit the ball into our own goal again!" and "What is wrong with Tex? He's the worst teammate ever!". I like to think they do have different behaviors and that it wasn't just random chance that Tex was so terrible.

 

Let's just go with this until it's proven otherwise.

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I just had my first encounter with a Veteran player. (I'm guessing since I went Semi-Pro at level 10 and Pro at 20 that Veteran happens at either levels 30 or 40).

 

Anyway, within the first two minutes of the game the Vet (on the opposing side) scored four unassisted goals, his team-mate scored less than one hundred points for the entire match, he over one thousand. Frankly, I was a little gobsmacked but we managed to get it together and hold out the rest of the match without conceding though the thing that struck me was how the Vet was always thinking about how he could score, regardless of his position on the pitch. Where I would hit it up the side walls playing for territory he would attempt a shot, and many more than he scored came close. 0-4.

 

The second match started and we went 1-0 up, 2-0 up, before dropping down to 2-3, another unassisted Hat-Trick for the Vet. Yay! It ended up at four all going in to overtime where I bundled in the ball for the win, nothing special but it felt so good! At this point the Vet left the lobby. 5-4.

 

I haven't felt so good about playing an online game in a long time, going from a complete thrashing to winning in overtime! I love this game, it just keeps getting better and better. Instead of resorting to the same working tactics as I would normally do in an online game (recently Splatoon) Rocket League just keeps opening up into more advanced moves and tactics.

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I had my teammate for a ranked 2v2 leave 1' in for a ranked match at 0-0. I proceed to win 7-3. FELT SO GOOD.

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Oh man I might need to retire from this game on a high. I just got a long message from some random player telling me that I was awesome to watch me play the game. All those hours spent practising goal keeping have finally paid off!

 

It is one thing to feel great playing that game and another thing to be told you're great to watch playing it. It was almost like I got to feel like I was a pro-athlete, and the ego-trip was HUUGE...

 

It's definitely true that Rocket League is different to most sports games. When I have a good game, the pay-off from controller input to in-game result is just so visceral and intoxicating, and when I screw up I feel the same shame I felt as a kid failing at actual physical sports. Other sports games are so focused on recreating the TV viewer experience that they forget about that experience of actually being an athlete.

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I really like this game, but the more I play it, the more I realize that as an approximation of an actual sport, it feels absolutely hollow. When I first started playing the game, I was amazed at how much it reminded me of being part of a minor league hockey team throughout my childhood. The way you could do little things to help the team; how it felt to score; etc. But I guess as I've recently got more into fitness again and playing physical sports after a few years off, I'm seeing how this game cheaply produces the same endorphins/dopamine/(science happy stuff) for less than half the effort and it makes me feel like part of a dystopian cyber-future. 

 

A lot of people who don't like physical sports and like e-sports feel like the lack of physical prowess makes the games more pure because they are intellectual and anyone (regardless of physical prowess) can jump in and play at a decent level. But part of what makes physical sports satisfying is the fact that being fit is really hard and sports are an avenue for all that effort to pay off. It takes a whole lot more dedication and effort to become good at a physical sport, and a lot of that time is spent doing boring hard things that are not the actual sport. This is exactly why it's satisfying to do/watch someone do really cool moves in a physical sport. It is interesting because behind the scenes you just know there is so much going on and what it means to the player to be that good. 

 

And it's not just important at the top end. I was never the most skilled hockey player, or a terribly fast player. But god damn it I tried very hard and I came off the ice every shift dead tired and proud of myself. Skating across the rink as fast as you can and diving to make a defensive play feels great because it's hard. It means something. Boosting back and making a save in Rocket League gives you the cheapened version of that experience a few times, but after a while it pales in comparison. In a physical sport you can actually make a difference just by trying hard even if you kinda suck, where in Rocket League there is no trying hard other than doing well. No one can tell you're trying hard when you're just driving around aimlessly and missing shots. And it leads to less empathy for teammates, because when they suck there's no redeeming qualities. Like I said, I wasn't very good at hockey, but everyone on the team appreciated the effort and wouldn't give me much shit for missing shots or passes or anything. But in something like Rocket League it's so easy to get frustrated at a teammate because there's no indication of effort.

 

I guess this is all really obvious and pointless to say but I've just been thinking about it a lot while playing and seeing everyone compare the game to physical sports. My long-term irrational worrying-person worry is that as these become more popular everyone will forget what it actually feels like to play a physical sport and then the robots/aliens will challenge us to a basketball game and we will all die.

 

(I still think the game is cool)

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I'm starting to be able to reliably land aerial hits on balls that are just out of double-jump reach and the advantage my team gains in most matches is significant.

I've been playing 30 hours or so now, but in addition to that I started going for the aerials regularly when a teammate will still be in a good position if I miss. I'm getting good at it fairly quickly at this point.

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I've been playing a bunch of games where all the saves and goals I pull off cause everyone on the other team to rage quit. Maybe I am a bad person, but that is always such a satisfying feeling.  :P

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I've started running ranked matches and quickly realized that if I want to win, I have no choice but to play goalie every time. Nobody seems to be able to resist chasing the ball all over the field and any time I've not played goalie, the other team scored easy points because nobody was back there. It's fun enough I guess but sometimes I want to chase the shiny ball everywhere too.  :(

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I've started running ranked matches and quickly realized that if I want to win, I have no choice but to play goalie every time. Nobody seems to be able to resist chasing the ball all over the field and any time I've not played goalie, the other team scored easy points because nobody was back there. It's fun enough I guess but sometimes I want to chase the shiny ball everywhere too.  :(

 

Even as goalie, you can play aggressively. I've gotten pretty good at conceptualizing the trajectory of the ball when the other team clears it and I'm totally willing to dribble it back to their goal, especially when everyone else is facing my goal in an attempt to chase the cleared ball.

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Yeah I will often play in the most defensive position on my team, but I don't necessarily stay near the goal the entire time. It's entirely possible to score shots from halfway up the field so I'm comfortable sitting fairly far back for strong defense without sacrificing the opportunities for counterattacks.

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