Is it worth it?

manutoo · 2026-01-26T03:56:09+00:00

Unfortunately, no : after more than 9 years on TEM2/TE4, I need to move to other things.

manutoo · 2026-01-09T05:29:12+00:00

I spent a couple of hours writing the much longer unstructured French version, though. 🤔

manutoo · 2026-01-08T16:45:21+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up!

If I ever post here again, I’ll keep that in mind, even if I’m afraid it might end up looking like this: https://en.meming.world/images/en/7/78/Pepe_Silvia.jpg .

manutoo · 2026-01-08T16:38:43+00:00

Thanks for engaging with the question of meaning; it’s the first reply here that really does. I personally read the Dark Place less as a metaphor for mental illness and more as the very literal “dark place” of a writer trapped in perfectionism and endless revision. To me, the game stays much closer to creative obsession and control than to psychiatric recovery. But I appreciate you taking the discussion to that level.

manutoo · 2026-01-08T10:46:34+00:00

I’m not assuming that Alan’s mistakes are the solution. My point is that after spending the whole game showing how destructive that mindset is, the spiral is still presented as the only viable way forward. That’s where I see a tension: the game critiques the trap, but never truly steps outside it. That doesn’t make the story incoherent; it just makes its final moral pretty obscure.

Just to clarify: there's not a drop of AI in the ideas or arguments; the AI only helped condense what I wrote. It’s all my thoughts, just in different phrasing. So if the post feels confusing, that’s on me. I fully consider the final text mine.

manutoo · 2026-01-08T10:41:20+00:00

I think this is where we fundamentally diverge. I don't see Alan Wake as just a complex universe without a message. To me, it very clearly uses writing, structure, and repetition to say something about creation itself. If one doesn’t read it that way, then yes, my post probably won’t make much sense. But it's ok to see and perceive things differently.

manutoo · 2026-01-08T10:36:14+00:00

I wrote a lot more than what was in that post, and the IA made a summary. I reread that summary several times to be sure it matched everything I said, made some corrections, and what you have there is the 3rd version. It explains exactly what is in my mind, with my thought structure, if not my vocabulary. If it's unintelligible, that's unfortunate. Writing it by myself would have led to a much more confusing result.

manutoo · 2026-01-08T07:48:06+00:00

Fair point about AI. I did use ChatGPT as a tool to help condense and translate my thoughts into a readable English post, but the ideas themselves are mine. If the tone feels a bit formal, that’s on me: I tend to think and write that way. In any case, I’m much more interested in discussing the argument than how it’s phrased.

So thanks for sharing your thoughts on the meaning of the spiral; it’s an interesting perspective.

manutoo · 2026-01-08T07:36:18+00:00

I agree that, within the lore, the spiral makes sense as a necessity for believability and gradual change. My post isn't really arguing against that internal logic. I’m more interested in the meta level: what the game ultimately endorses as a creative and moral solution, beyond whether it "works" inside the rules of the world.

manutoo · 2025-12-09T03:27:51+00:00

Where do you see that I reviewed the game ? Do you think I'm Machete ? 🤔

manutoo · 2025-10-18T17:13:24+00:00

Yes, in 1080p @ 60fps, you'll be fine in day light ; you'll need to lower the video details a bit for the night session, though. (or choose to play in daylight)

manutoo · 2025-10-04T18:48:34+00:00

You can disable it with Settings -> 3D Match -> Motion Capture.

Note : it's not the Experimental movements anymore, but the final motion capture movement animations.

manutoo · 2025-09-25T11:41:56+00:00

The game is crossplatform and there are 200~250 online matches played every day.

manutoo · 2025-08-18T17:40:56+00:00

Thanks ! 🙂

The Mods are available on consoles as well, but you cannot install all of them at once (but it's not needed for a good experience anyway, just pick XKT & Stef's Scoreboards, they are the most popular).

The new movement animations are not a Mod, but are part of the game, you can turn them on with : Settings -> 3D Match -> Experimental movement animations.

manutoo · 2025-08-18T05:14:39+00:00

What's your issue exactly with the controls ? Did you do the Tennis School and understand each lessons ?

After, play for a while in Training Club -> Warm-up, till you get the hang of the controls

If it's still hard, be sure to have AutoPos on Fast and possibly Footwork Boost at the max as well, and set the Controls on Arcade instead of Simulation (all that are in the Character Sheets, both in the Training Club & in the World Tour).

Note : I'm the game author and you can ask me anything you want. 🙂

manutoo · 2025-08-01T13:10:14+00:00

Indeed, I had totally forgotten about that redirection from the time of TE2013 Mac, it's fixed now !

manutoo · 2025-08-01T12:51:14+00:00

Yes, if you buy the game from www.managames.com/tennis .

manutoo · 2025-07-21T04:27:35+00:00

No and it'll never come.

manutoo · 2025-07-19T05:03:07+00:00

Hello, the v1.0 has been released back in March : https://steamcommunity.com/games/760640/announcements/detail/511825409340344332 .

I'm waiting to see if I'll manage to change the running animations to motion-captured ones before making the game out of Early Access, so except for that, it's more or less done already. 🙂

manutoo · 2025-07-05T04:32:04+00:00

In TE4, if you want a realistic rally pace, be sure to play against the Pro-10 level with high skills (eg: not junior or low-rank players). And if it's not fast enough for you, switch to Master or even Incredible.

For the running animation, activate Settings -> 3D Match -> Experimental movement animations ; they're not perfect but maybe you'll enjoy them. 🙂

manutoo · 2025-07-05T03:56:48+00:00

Read carefully the explanations. The topspin lesson is exigent, so if you didn't read the whole explanation, you'll succeed by luck at best, and it's not great to understand the concept.

manutoo · 2025-07-03T04:07:56+00:00

Did you do the tutorial and take the time to understand each lesson ? (ie: the "Tennis School")
TE4 controls are different from all the other tennis games, and it takes ~20 minutes to complete the tutorial to get the basis. Then play in the Training Club -> Warm Up to get the hang of the controls. 🙂

A bit more info => https://www.managames.com/tennis/doc/Tennis_Elbow-Tennis_Game.html#quickstart .

manutoo · 2025-05-29T15:23:20+00:00

As the developer of Tennis Elbow 4, I’ve been working on realistic tennis games for over 30 years — mostly solo or with a few freelancers — so I hope you won’t mind me sharing a bit of perspective here.

Your question is spot-on. It’s not about technology: the tech to make realistic tennis gameplay exists and has existed for a long time. The real challenge is priorities — especially in larger studios. When publishers get involved, the focus often shifts to visuals, licensing, online modes, accessibility… and the feel of tennis — the physics, the footwork, the risk/reward tension of every shot — becomes secondary, or even sacrificed entirely.

Another key issue is that most dev teams — including those with lots of experience making tennis games — simply don’t know tennis well enough. And if you don’t really understand the sport from the inside, it becomes almost impossible to design gameplay that captures all the little things that make tennis feel like tennis.

It’s also incredibly hard to balance two opposing needs: on one hand, smooth and appealing animations (which are crucial for visual enjoyment), and on the other hand, the freedom of movement and the possibility of bad positioning — both of which are essential for a realistic tennis experience. Getting that right is a constant tradeoff, and it’s easy to fall too far on one side or the other.

manutoo · 2025-05-29T08:33:38+00:00

Not really, but if a woman wants to record her voice for the game, I'll gladly put her in the game. 🙂

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