I don't know who helped the developer but they should've used people who actually bass fish. 1) Fishing line looks horrible when you get close to the boat. Sometimes it looks like it has 10 feet of slack. Not realistic. 2) Using a Carolina rig with 3/4oz weight. Why does my bait hit first? Shouldn't the heavy weight hit first. 3) Dropshot needs a lot of help. When you drop shot in real life the bait isn't dragging on bottom the weight is. Your bait will be suspended above the bait unless you let it set there. 4) Why are some of the fish models always sitting straight up or straight down? And then they swim into the ground. 5) There is ZERO action on the baits. I played a Sega bass game the other day which is 10-15 years old and the spinnerbait blades actually spin and flutter. 6) Could've used a little more development on the depth/fishfinder. I thought it would've had a little more detail. When you go over something like a hump, then stop and go reverse. You don't see the same thing. 7) working a jerk bait or topwater spook, you should be able to work it/walk it with the rod tip. Seems like the action is supposed to come from the reel retrieve. There are some great features about this game that I love. Some of the fishing is pretty realistic. I like that you have to actually set the hook. Maybe some of my complaints are user error?
Check out my post about what works/doesn't for me. You and I noticed a lot of the same things! I think the shell of the game is decent (although it won't ever really be any good unless they make the lake maps massively larger). I agree that it appears that the dev team didn't bother to talk to anyone who actually fishes as part of their process!
This is the first fishing game I've invested in and played extensively since Super Black Bass on the SNES. I am an avid fisherman and have fished tournaments. This game can be fun and holds a lot of potential with updates and future releases. Here are some of the items that need work and I agree with the two posters above. I am certainly not expecting it all be fixed at once and I'm glad someone is developing fishing games. Couple of things I spotted. FISH: hoping some work can be done to build in how species relate to their habitats. For example in game off many of the boat launches I see trophy fish off all species just swimming around in droves. Not saying this happens but finding a 13lb brown trout in 5ft of water in 90 degree weather is unlikely! A little bit of species separation per their preferred habitat and seasonal movements would be amazing to make the game a bit more "real" feeling. Another example I have is adjusting out some of the fish sizes and making each spot feel more real. For example...during a tournament on Lake Chickamauga I caught a 12 lb bass and then 3 duplicate 9lb bass (same length) off one spot. Also all species tend to react the same when hitting baits...it's always on the fall. There are slight variations like pike that swoop in on slighter pauses but the feel is the same...retrieves have no real affect on getting hit. Lure Movement / Reel Speeds: the poster above brought up lure specific rigging and techniques. As other posters have mentioned...very few baits under water move as they should. NED rigs stand up when paired with certain plastics, blades spin, etc. The drop shot looks completely off! Pop-Rs don't float etc...On this topic the reels as others have mentioned are too fast and gear ratio has 0 effect on retrieval rates. Using the right analog stick is slow and when it moves the bait or rod it's extremely exaggerated so you can jerk, pop, twitch a bait. The devil is in the details in any type of fishing. Underwater Camera Angles: a pan option similar to when you are on the boat would be nice or some other options other than side and boat side with angler. Also more that when casting to shore the camera often glitches to readjust depending upon angle of entry into the fishing spots. A bit more control over the underwater footage would be nice and lead to better presentation of lures to fish. Inventory: the tackle menus manageable but frustrating. Why do I need to remove a weight and select weightless to switch over to a crankbait? Why not separate out the gear purchase screens from the actual tackle screens and inventory. Right now they are all crammed together and it can be frustrating. That said it's a great game and worth the playthrough. It's the closest thing to a fishing game I have played since the Genesis and Super Nintendo days as far as having a complete package. I'm pumped to see updates and future releasesm
Agree. Despite, these issues I do love this sim. It could easily be the best on the web and win awards..... but not with the flaws
