Anyone playing Top Spin on Xbox?

shoju dude my charachters a serve volleyer , the great thing about this game is you can have a couple of your own charachters made, damn ugly lot though. Personally its kind of hard to serve and volley as once you slam a hard serve at your opponent ,time you get to the net and attempt to volley, ends up turning intop a drive volley. Volleying is pretty awesome in this game, especially the volley drop shot when your stretched so far out and plant one of them babies to the other side, it is truly a sight. Everypart of this game is balanced so you can be the type of player you want to and win!.

 

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Shoju said:

Vollying puts more emphasis on your serve and postioning and it ends points quickly and is more attacking, but some people do prefer longer rallys. People were complaining about the dominance of the serve and the lack of rallys at Wimbledon that's why the courts there got slowed down. It's good to hear both styles of play can be used effectively to win in the game though. I regret getting a GC instead of an Xbox now put I'll put that right eventually.

How does the online system work? Do you use the same connection that your PC uses and it will run through the same flat rate broadband subscription?

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Depends on your set-up. I use connection sharing with my PC via one account. The Xbox just logs in when it wants, so long as my laptop is powered-up. You can also use a router if you want the connection independent of your pc.

I'm well pleased with the Xbox. Thought I'd only be playing Topspin, but now I also have Project Gotham 2. Wow, fantastic game. Nothing beats tearing down Princes Street in a F360 with 7 other folk via the lve service.

 

Yeah Xbox is looking better all the time. A number of games with huge potential are coming out like Fable and Jade empire.

That store you mentioned you got the Xbox from does it do mail order and have you got their number?

 

I think Maximum said it was Neo-Gen, which is close to me as well. Not sure if they do mail order, but no harm in asking I s'pose.

01312288844

 

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Why are you all going for baseline style play? No wonder the serve and volley player is becoming extinct in the real world . That's the most satisfying style of play rather than slugging at the back of the court and wearing the opponent down. Love to bang in a huge serve forcing the opponent off balance and then finnish it with a cross court volley in VT2.

Have you come across any really good serve volley players yet?

Chanchai what did you mean by serve is telegraphed?


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On Styles:
Hey, I'm all about the All-Court game, which I'm glad I'm finally starting to see in a lot more players on the ATP now. Well, it's not quite a consolation, but at least there are still a few dedicated serve-and-volley players--mainly Taylor Dent now. It has been surprising seeing Agassi string in a few serve and volley plays this year too.

I just built my first CAP (create a player) on aggressive baseline play to get a better feel for the engine. The rest of my CAPs have been based on real players, though what you get on the profile screen can be different from what you get during win animations (especially since all CAPs seem to have a big grin on their face). So far, they have been built on baseline play (Rainer Schuettler, Carlos Moya, Andre Agassi), but I'm trying hard to build a Federer (god, that guy's amazing on a good week).

On AI Telegraphing:
Basically, look at the computer's positioning and you have a 95% accurate guess of where the serve goes.
-If the CPU is standing wide, it's almost always a wide serve. Standing in, almost always down the T.
-Of course, you can see if the opponent is using a risk (huge flat serve) or a normal (usually slice, sometimes topspin) serve.

There's also a pattern of subtle switching of tactics when the AI is down a set... but for the most part, you can guess how the AI will play in the set by testing out a few things. If he goes for the wide "normal" serve options, just inch off to the side a bit and prepare for an extremely angled topspin return--forcing the AI to be weak either against such angled returns, or generally running to fetch those a lot. If it's running to fetch those, down the line is a good option.

The complaint isn't about opening the court and the usual return tactics, so much that the AI pretty much tells you straight up how it will serve about 95% of the time. It was only some players like James Blake that would stand in the middle and serve sorta wide.

But the serve-and-return (without return of serve skill anyways) does represent something I really like in Top Spin. If you can really anticipate it, you can get a good enough return to engage in god rallies. If you don't, you're likely to be at a big disadvantage (unless you're a good runner and are good at risk shot returns). WIth the return of serve skill, returning serves with the risk return is pretty scary (at least for the server).

I'm not the type of person to bitch about risk shots in the online game, but yeah, definitely hoping it isn't the only thing I see. I did hear that risk-volleys were scary as hell though (I assume you have to have the Volley skill to use this well).

-Chanchai

 

risk volleys are alot harder to pull off then the shots so i dont think there anything to worry about, being at the net your not gonna have enough time to anticpiate and time the risk volley, or maybe im wrong as i seem to do loads of drop volleys fairly often, a good tactic is to drop vp;;ey them if there at the net and thers a possiblity a risk volly might hit the net. Im finding it hard beating players that with really powerful groundies, i have 2* forehand,3*backhand,5* serve,and 4* volley. Plus have curved serve, power and ace as skills. I would of picked volley but im constantly put under pressure and on the defence in rallies, best thing i can do is perform a short slice to the middle or on occasion topspin crosscourt but having a 2* forehand is usually where my opponent aims too. Maybe i should add topspin as a 4th skill what do you guys think when i get to it, Either i choose slice, topspin, aggressive lob or smash.

 

shoju theres really no point ordering an xbox from endiburough unless they do free shipping as the thing weighs a ton, and is the size of 2 and half GC. So which would mean one fat shipping price. maybe around £20. Best thing to do is just get it from GAME, computer excange. I got mine for game focus, pricey though. Secound hand cost me £105, but with starwars KOTRand topspin cost me £169

 

I haven't been following the ATP very closely of late, but one thing I notice about modern play is the progression towards power hitting. I think Agassi started the whole trend many years ago, with his ability to slam the ball early in the bounce, generating tremendous pace.

Prior to that there were more players using what I would describe as "classic claycourt" style, which I think is the most strategic and entertaining to watch. This style is typified by safe topspin or slice serves and heavy topspin baseline rallys, encouraging the opponent to come into net so he can be passed by a flat measured ball down the line or cross-court. You don't really see tennis like that these days except amongst some of the continental players who tend to shy away from grass.

Not entirely sure what my point is here, however. I guess I'm justifying why I favour baseline play over serve & volly or power games.

Great thing about topspin is it lets you recreate any tennis style. The animation and ball dynamics are so sound that the game almost balances itself, and strategies work as you imigine they would in real tennis.

 

First Respose is to Gee Ho:
Well, I'm actually comfortable doing risk shots and volleys with a flick of the R trigger. Just got used to the timing for the most part. But I don't see too much trouble with risk-abuse. If you can still control the rally and refuse an amount of setup for the opponent (though not the easiest thing to do against good opponents), the risk shot won't be that overwhelming (in some cases, it'll just be a weak response anyways).

As for 4th skill, I really like the topspin and slice skills. Mainly because they add more angle to those shots, which adds up if you play groundstroke rallies. Just my preference on 4th skills.

Maximum:
I'm no expert on tennis, but here's my impression after following the game closely the last year or so and reading more than I should on the game. It's not really a disagreement, but it's how I view "Modern Tennis" and if it's arguing with anyone, usually those that worship the serve & volley play and well, hating the "power game."

Well, it's become a cliche to say that tennis has become a power game. I find this only partly true, but if I was watching a lot of tennis around the year 2000 and such, I probably would have said the same thing.

Many factors are changing the sport--some surfaces are slowing down or adding extra bounce, tennis balls have gone through some changes, racquets have gone through changes (but I think many people exagerate the amount of blame on the racquets). However, I don't think the game is changing to all power, but there is a definite change in techniques and fitness levels of tennis players these days--and as such, the game is indeed changing--just not to a game of "He who has the power, wins." Furthermore, strategies and tactics are being built (or reintroduced) to maximize some powerful techniques--usually by means of junk.

Technology: If we want an argument of semantics... the difference between the racquets now and the racquets 15 years ago seem to mostly add up to sweet spot, strings that players are using, and weight. I can't say that the racquets are more powerful, but they do offer a larger margin of error and less chance for injury in the conventional sense--so yes, they are allowing players to have more confidence in their strokes. They're more powerful than wooden racquets, for sure, and some changes in technique have come out of that--namely techniques that are built more around westernized (more face down) grips and a focus on the acceleration of the racquet (instead of just solid contact and follow through). Could go on and on--but that's my understanding of "modern racquets and their effect on the way the game's played."

Sadly, I haven't watched much "classic claycourt" style matches... I wish I could find some videos or something... For the most part, I can only find those on Wimbledon and the US Open. No idea if The Tennis Channel even plays some classic claycourt matches, but I don't have access to that either... However, I guess the popular "forehander" tactic of 2003 was slice for time whenever somebody attacked your backhand to afford yourself to run a forehand or go inside-out if the ball was sent to your backhand again. As for virtually half-volleying full ground strokes, Agassi seems to still be the best at it, though I'm starting to lean towards Federer in that department... That guy's ability to do it on both wings and create some deadly passing shots and court-opening shots has me cursing (but in appreciation) when I see it.

I guess, when I factor in Juan Carlos Ferrero's ability to not only run down almost every ball thrown at him, but to also hit some powerful forehands--I might be able to relate to what you mean. The guy's got a scary amount of speed and power. However, watching some of the consistent results from some players like David Nalbandian and Rainer Schuettler reminds me that there's quite a variety in the game in my mind. Eh... I think I'll just list some players I currently like and mention what I see in their games (and probably make obvious the things I don't see).

Andy Roddick -- Yeah, he's the power game. That's true. Some will get excited by his play, some will despise it. The guy is making bloody good use of his serve now, moreso than 10 months ago if you ask me. Serve variety (acing flat serve, slice serve, changeup--slow--serve, HUGE TOPSPIN second serve that kicks extremely high, a nice American Twist Serve--he aced El Aynaoui with it at the Australian Open). The guy's leading the hold department with that serve and usually a big forehand afterwards or an alright volley that works because the guy just doesn't have much chance after getting the serve back into play. However, players like Federer and Nalbandian have been able to drive him nuts with nicely controlled chip returns and forcing him into longer rallies while attacking his backhand (one of his biggest weaknesses, though it's improving some).

Roger Federer -- The guy's got every shot in the book, a lovely all-court game, and probably the best player out there hands down whenever his confidence is really there. His serve is far from being the biggest, but it probably is one of the most accurate, and because of that, he's been able to string up aces on people purely on position. His groundstrokes are extremely smooth in picking up balls off of the bounce creating a lot more pace than you probably would expect from him, and he controls those them with amazing precision. He's not the fastest, but he's fast enough to get enough balls back (and with good shots) to drive a lot of people mad. Furthermore, his dexterity and agility adds to his net game, which has been able to frustrate many. The guy can play from the baseline, he can transition to the net with ease, and he's a shotmaker who can really drive an opponent insane when they realize the ball really does get back into the court. However, he's also been able to disappoint when he feels he isn't having a good week and against opponents who can return some of those "amazing shots." I guess you figure, he's gotta be cursing inside asking how many times he has to make those shots.

Juan Carlos Ferrero -- Not just a clay-courter in my book. At least that's how I've felt after watching him play on indoors and some hardcourts. The guy is fast (one of the fastest on tour), the guy's got a big forehand, and he can make a lot of shots. Sadly, he doesn't get covered enough in the US imo and I feel like I haven't seen him enough to have a feel for how exactly he'll play--just that he's one of my favs now too. Oh yeah, his serve got pretty darn big recently too.

Andre Agassi -- Umm... Percentage Tennis almost always. Yeah, he has the reputation of being one of the big hitters, especially when he was younger--but he's much more of a consistent percentage player nowadays. The guy plays tennis like a machine. Forehands go left, backhands go right--like 90% of the time. Drive the guy wide, attack the open-court. But he makes adjustments as the match goes on and can make the game pretty exciting when that happens. Despite how much he seems to hate volleying, he seems to be finishing sets or matches with a serve and volley play. I think the guy's actually faster than he used to be and has got good endurance (though he's showing some signs of wear as the year got late, but I believe he's got a good 2 years in him at least).

David Nalbandian -- I didn't think much of this guy until recently. Is he proving to live up to his talents, or is he going to suffer the fate of an excellent year and then some? I don't know... But his game is quite interesting to me. He's fast. He returns extremely soft against big servers. His forehand's fine, but his two-handed backhand is scary. He can hit sharp angles and down the line and make it look extremely easy. And as his speed implies, he gets a lot of balls back into play. To me, he seems to clearly play with regards to his opponent--he plays with a strategy based on what his opponent does, as opposed to "just playing his game." There have only been a few times where I found his play questionable (to me, he clearly tanked the 4th set against Roddick in the US Open Semifinal). In any case, I find him interesting for playing a game of mixing it up, combined with speed and a scary backhand.

Younnes El Aynaoui -- Okay, I stuck him here because he represents a popular "big serve and forehand" strategy. That and the guy's fun to watch whether or not you're into tennis. Basically, he's got a big serve and will serve out aces quite a bit. He's got a big forehand and if possible, prefers to use it all the time. And to compensate for his lack of a backhand, he will use some extreme slice to create some floaters that'll give him time to run around the next backhand and hit a huge inside-out forehand. If the return is down the line, forcing him to run and hit a forehand, he's been able to hit some big forehands on the run too. And he's not afraid to finish some points off at the net either. For the most part, I believe that Roddick played a very similar game before taking on Brad Gilbert as a coach.

For those that like the Serve & Volley style of old: I recommend watching Roger Federer when you can. He'll be the closest thing to a blast from the past. Taylor Dent's been improving and he's the new dedicated Serve & Volley player that's doing pretty well for himself (just one his first tournament in Thailand). As long as Dent's on serve, you can always expect him to charge in. Roddick might improve his volleys? I kinda doubt it, but you never know. Marty Fish uses it quite a bit, but I don't know if he'll live up to whatever hype might be in the making. Not trying to harp on just American players (aside from Federer), they're just the only ones I've seen that have been pushing serve and volley into the next generation. Kinda too bad that Rafter isn't playing anymore, nor is Sampras. At least Tim Henman finally won his first Masters Series Title.

Well, I've reached out and dug out the old Chanchai with his million word posts... so I guess I should stop here, but it was fun /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-Chanchai

 

For serve you have to say Sampras and Goran Ivanesivich (spelling /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif). It may be a long time before you see someone to match them in that department. Goran's win at Wimbledon must be the most amazing thing in tennis history (makes me wonder if Jimmy White will one day win the snooker world chapionship when everyone presumes he's finnished). Henman and Rafter have certainly been the best vollyers in recent times nobody can dig out the half volley like they can and Henman has to compensate for a rather weak serve.

 

Well, I wouldn't argue against Sampras being the best server in tennis--he is the best server in tennis imo. However, since he's retired and Ivanesivich is virtually retired, I didn't put them in to represent how I see tennis being played at the moment. Really happy that Pete won the US Open in 2002. As for Goran, too bad he couldn't make it to Wimbledon this year, even though he made statements like "I'll go even if I have to be brought out in a stretcher). Was definitely a great story for Goran to eventually win Wimbledon. Props to him for playing doubles in the first round of Davis Cup this year though.

On the Croatian side of things, I'm interested to see how far Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic will go in the next few years. What is it with Croatia and big serving? /versus/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah yes, Henman's half-volleys are a joy to watch. I enjoy watching almost all of his game actually. Volleys, slices, and especially those half-volleys. I really wonder if he could have fulfilled the hopes of Henman Hill and England if his serve was better in some ways.

BTW, who's been paying attention to the Davis Cup Finals news? Though I thought Australia would win 3-0 on this one, it's become an interesting contest at 2-1 with Moya pulling out Serve & Volley play to beat Philippoussis on the grass.

I'm rooting for the Aussies personally, as much as I'm a fan of just about every player playing in the tie. I guess I want to see Hewitt salvage his year and Philippoussis to be totally pumped for 2004. Too bad the National Anthem debacle happened (they accidentally played an outdated Spanish National Anthem on Day 1, later corrected and apologized for).

-Chanchai

 

Ah, I love Davis Cup. Unfortunately I don't have cable TV installed and the BBC seem to consider tennis a fortnight-a-year event when Wimbledone is on. Shame really, because there's so many more exciting championships on the tour. I absolutely love Roland Garos and Flushing Meadows.

If tennis were better represented and less elitist in the UK, we've have much more high quality players. Here in Scotland we have two potential star players who could make it big, but the LTA in London (lawn tennis assosiation) refuse to spend money up here on development and coaching.

Sorry, personal rant I needed to get off my chest. Must be said, things are getting better now with loads of independent indoor centres being built. I'm now a member of a 12 court tennis centre in Edinburgh, that's completely open and welcoming to everyone. And the quality of play is excellent.

 

im not really a fan of the mens game and am no fan of henman but i can appreciate his skills at the net, ive never seen somebody with such great anticipation at the net, but then i havent watched many matches with rafter or sampras or even federer.
Personally i prefer the womans game, i love a good slugfest follwed by loud grunts.

 

I wish there some cheaper indoor courts for the winter. All there is here is the really expensive David Loyd center which is really only for those on high income and not for those who want to become really good. It's funny hearing the guy on commentary about the awful state of British tennis when his own center is overpriced and perhaps elitist.

 

Yea, I totally agree, the indoor places are really expensive, and they try and justify the huge membership fees by making it compulsory to join the gym and pool that adjoin the courts. Most tennis players I know couldn't care less for having access to a gym as they play tennis for the sport, not to work-out.

Having said that, these places are a step in the right direction. 10 year ago all you had was the really small secluded clubs with onlu outdoor courts, generally run by pensioners and snobby as hell. The memberships are cheaper but you can only play 3 months a year due to the shite British weather.

What we need is some local goverment funded indoor courts for everyone to enjoy. Only problem is, most local councils in Scotland consider tennis a niche sport, so all out taxes go towards maintaining expensive football grounds. Fair goes if you play football, but it kind of sucks for us tennis players.

 

That's the main reason I play alot of Badminton now since it's always indoors and not dependant on the weather /versus/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Id rather play tennis but I hate the fact that you can't really play at all for half the year. My friend has told me how much better and cheaper the facillties are in the US add in good weather and better attitude from management and you can see where their great players are coming from.

 

well in my area theres a tennis court which is pretty cheap depending what membership you have as its a brough owned court linked too the borough owned gym. But no lessons, just availible to play. I would love to take lessons but the nearest place that does in central london is near south kensington which charges £10 an hour. Bloody awful prices.

 

So how would you guys rate your real-life tennis play? Any notable achievements, or just play for laughs?

I'm alright these days, but not as good as I was when I was 17/18. I was runner-up two years running in the Hawco Highland tennis championships. He he...sounds kind of lame now but it was a big deal for me back then. Made it into the sports section of the local papers....I need to find the pictures.

These days I mainly just play for the fun, and only enter the odd club tournament. Work just dosen't allow me the time to practice enough to raise my game substantially.

 

I haven't played tennis for about 6/7 years now cause of my move into badminton and during the summer I play cricket which takes up so much time. I struggle to play tennis and badminton together since playing one makes it difficult to play the other.

Im looking to get back into it this summer though as watching on TV really puts me in the mood to play. If I do persist I wanna do it properly and get as far as I can in a club but I may have ditch badminton and cut back on cricket. Problem with that though is too much sport in the summer and very little in the winter /versus/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

Virtua Tennis 2 actually got me thinking about how I should look to play tennis, like hitting the ball on top of the bounce, looking for depth and using forehands to create wider angle to your left and backhands to your right. The animation for volleys is so good Im sure I could actually apply some of that when I get back into the game.

Does anyone feel TSP is helping them in this way? If it does that then you know the game is dam good.