NCAA 11 Impressions

[Twigg4075]

I hadn't bought an NCAA game since 2007, and I returned that one in a week. I finally bought this years and I'm having a blast with it. Is it a perfect game? Hell no. Is it a really solid game and the best next gen football game I've played? Absolutely. And it's not even close.

Yeah, I hear ya. I was just trying to argue both sides of the point.

I'm still thinking about buying it. I love football in general but I'm a diehard NFL fan. I don't know if I have time for two football games amongst the dozens of other games I need to play.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Once they fix the progression and recruiting issue...I think this will be a decent game.

Probably their best effort on the next gen console.

I have no idea how half the shit gets past beta testers though...I mean, these are things that are found by the community in less than half a day. I mean, some of these glitches the past few years are the exact thing the community looks for.

Statistics in dynasty...do they resemble real life throughout the duration of the dynasty.
Player progression in dynasty...does it resemble "real life" throughout the duration of the dynasty (do rosters have a similar feel as out of the box stock roster with similar distribution)

I mean, how hard is it for shizz like this to not get beta tested through the roof, especially when this has been an issue for years.

They just can't get it right...I mean, its been done properly before (well, statistics yes, but rarely progression...it is either everyone becomes superman, or the good teams continue to be good and the shitty teams stay shitty).

I mean, I just think the guys aren't smart enough or savvy enough to fix the problem...I mean, its been like...a decade and its still the same shizz.

[Maynard]

QB Accuracy...................20-30
Pass Blocking..................40-50
WR Catching...................50-50
RB Ability.......................45-60
Run Blocking...................50-75
Pass Coverage................35-35
Pass Rush......................55-55
Interceptions..................15-30
Rush Defense..................35-55
Tackling.........................45-45
FG Power........................5-20
FG Accuracy...................15-55
Punt Power......................5-45
Punt Accuracy.................25-75
KO Power........................25-45


ND UTEP
Total Off: 317 343
Rush Att/Yds: 27/118 24/83
Pass Com/Att: 18-22 26-43
Pass Yds: 199 260
TOP: 16:05 20:39

those look real good. I am most curious about your cpu cover and hum accuracy. obviously u fixed the DB issue with that slider, but i wonder how your comp % is for other games besides utep. I have to think utep sucks so that % isnt the best measurement.

-I might be bumping Rushing D back up but the further it goes up the more the CPU "mirrors" your play rather than actually has the players react. I'm still tinkering with that one.

with these settings,
RB Ability.......................50-60
Run Blocking...................25-80
Rush Defense..................25-75
i just lit up TCU on the ground in the title game. it wasnt even my plan. Looking at their roster i planned to attack their secondary. then i get into the game and see the 4-2-5 dee is their base. 1st time facing that this year so i was totally confused. So i went to the ground game after they took a 7-0 lead in the 1st.
Saine was my offense after that. 25 carries for 365 yards and 6 TD. I was even stunned at how i was able to run the ball on them.

it was an excellent game though. they had 250 yards rushing themselves and 230 passing. 28-28 with 5 mins to go. i then took a 35-28 lead and they drove again but threw a pick on the 1 yard line. next play from my 1 i ran goaline pitch run and he took it 75 yards. I scored again and that was that

[FirstTimer]

Once they fix the progression and recruiting issue...I think this will be a decent game.

Probably their best effort on the next gen console.

I have no idea how half the shit gets past beta testers though...I mean, these are things that are found by the community in less than half a day. I mean, some of these glitches the past few years are the exact thing the community looks for.

Statistics in dynasty...do they resemble real life throughout the duration of the dynasty.
Player progression in dynasty...does it resemble "real life" throughout the duration of the dynasty (do rosters have a similar feel as out of the box stock roster with similar distribution)

I mean, how hard is it for shizz like this to not get beta tested through the roof, especially when this has been an issue for years.

They just can't get it right...I mean, its been done properly before (well, statistics yes, but rarely progression...it is either everyone becomes superman, or the good teams continue to be good and the shitty teams stay shitty).

I mean, I just think the guys aren't smart enough or savvy enough to fix the problem...I mean, its been like...a decade and its still the same shizz.

I agree with you. It's a tired discussion. Shit happens every year. For the most part though I'm really liking how this game plays on the field. Now they need to tune/patch the recruiting/progression stuff and I'll start my dynasty up.

Honestly if they fix the dynasty mode the way they say they are going to I might run two dynasties or run with two teams. Notre Dame and Illinois/NIU.

[Twigg4075]

Let me just ask you this FT. Since you are using ND, does it feel like you are really playing a game at South Bend in the game? That's one of my main issues with NCAA. Last year seemed ok but it still wasn't anything to write home about. This gies for really all of the bigger names stadiums.

Although I must admit, I never got tired of the mascot antics and being able to celebrate with the mascot after a TD. Is that shit still in?

[FirstTimer]

those look real good. I am most curious about your cpu cover and hum accuracy. obviously u fixed the DB issue with that slider, but i wonder how your comp % is for other games besides utep. I have to think utep sucks so that % isnt the best measurement.

I don't have the stats handy as I didn't write them down but for the ND Nebraska game Crist started hot(9-13 rings a bell) then cooled down a lot. I think he ended up like 17-28 or somewhere around there.

In the NIU vs Alabama game NIU's QB was around 11-21 or 12-22 Something just over 50% completion wise.

Crist's last game against UTEP is very high % wise but you'll notice the yardage isn't that high either. I wasn't able to free up much deep and really lived underneath to guys like Rudolph, Tai-ler Jones and Armando Allen on screens. That higher % has a lot more to do with my passing choices than it does with Crist putting balls on the money down the field.

with these settings,
RB Ability.......................50-60
Run Blocking...................25-80
Rush Defense..................25-75
i just lit up TCU on the ground in the title game. it wasnt even my plan. Looking at their roster i planned to attack their secondary. then i get into the game and see the 4-2-5 dee is their base. 1st time facing that this year so i was totally confused. So i went to the ground game after they took a 7-0 lead in the 1st.
Saine was my offense after that. 25 carries for 365 yards and 6 TD. I was even stunned at how i was able to run the ball on them.

it was an excellent game though. they had 250 yards rushing themselves and 230 passing. 28-28 with 5 mins to go. i then took a 35-28 lead and they drove again but threw a pick on the 1 yard line. next play from my 1 i ran goaline pitch run and he took it 75 yards. I scored again and that was that

Looks nice. What I have noticed though with Run blocking set really low unless you have a beast offensive line you'll get lit up. Nebraska was lighting up my offensive line to the point where I could barely hand the ball off. I know Nebraska's D is good but it felt unbalanced. I think I'm going to dip my run blocking down 5-10 points and up the CPU's run defense 5 and see how that plays.

This most def isn't a finished set and I'll probably play two more games tomorrow night. One with ND and another with a team like NIU or Illinois against a top tier team to see how they play.

I think I'm close to where I want to be slider wise but not quite there yet.

[Maynard]

if u can, post some more passing stats as u go. cause that is the one thing i want to tweak and i like the way your sliders look for the coverage stuff

[FirstTimer]

Let me just ask you this FT. Since you are using ND, does it feel like you are really playing a game at South Bend in the game? That's one of my main issues with NCAA. Last year seemed ok but it still wasn't anything to write home about. This goes for really all of the bigger names stadiums.

Although I must admit, I never got tired of the mascot antics and being able to celebrate with the mascot after a TD. Is that shit still in?

1. The stadiums look fucking gorgeous in this game. The lighting for all weather choices is great. It looks like you are in South Bend. Now, as far as crowd noise and feeling like you're playing there. I would say yes..as best it can. I mean they can only plug in so many unique ND songs into the game so what tips it off for me is being able to load in unique ND music and program it to play at certain times. This has improved the experience a ton and with my music set to play as it does in real life the game is REALLY enjoyable.

I LOVE hearing the 1812 Overture at the start of the 4th quarter.

The crowds stay in the game and there's no "dead spots" or lulls. It's very solid. Nothing out of this world but done very well.

2. Yes you can still celebrate with the mascot.

[Bear Pand]

The funniest thing to me is, allegedly (I never played NCAA 10) the third patch on last years game fixed progression. Then this year they manage to mess it up again.

It's like either EA will try to fix something and take it overboard in the other direction, take a shortcut (dbs mirroring routes instead of actual db ai) or just take a step backwards/ remove features.

I don't know if they're just too dumb to fix things, or smart enough to realize the game will sell even if they don't.

Even though things like sliders are a pain to adjust, how hard would it be to put in sliders that adjusted player progression and recruit talent. If they aren't going to fix it themselves they should at least leave as much room for customization as possible.

[FirstTimer]

if u can, post some more passing stats as u go. cause that is the one thing i want to tweak and i like the way your sliders look for the coverage stuff

Will do.

I'll post the passing stats from my games tomorrow night.

I'm considering taking QB ACC for the USER even lower, I'd rather err on the side of being more difficult, but we will see how the two games tomorrow night play out.

I might play Illinois(me) vs OhSt at the Shoe as my second game.

[FirstTimer]

The funniest thing to me is, allegedly (I never played NCAA 10) the third patch on last years game fixed progression. Then this year they manage to mess it up again.

It's like either EA will try to fix something and take it overboard in the other direction, take a shortcut (dbs mirroring routes instead of actual db ai) or just take a step backwards/ remove features.

I don't know if they're just too dumb to fix things, or smart enough to realize the game will sell even if they don't.

Even though things like sliders are a pain to adjust, how hard would it be to put in sliders that adjusted player progression and recruit talent. If they aren't going to fix it themselves they should at least leave as much room for customization as possible.

Agree completely but I have NO idea how these games are made or coded to say what's possible slider wise and what isn't.

The DB AI thing I kind of see how the slider works. The DB's mirroring the routes is a direct function of the AI being set on the slider to where the DB's AI either actually KNOWS the route or REACTS to it. I see the "logic" in how the slider it set to work but I would still agree that out of the box the AI should be set to react to the route rather than mirror/know it.

[FirstTimer]

And just to touch on the Run blocking slider again maynard. With mine set the way they are I was able to run decently against Alabama. I say decently because I would have a nice/good run here or there. Nothing where I was breaking off good runs consistantly, but I would have a play here or there. Got to the edge on a sweep/off tackle play every now and then.

I think my NIU back ended up with like a 4.0YPC average(like 21-86 or something in that area) but only a long run of like 8-10 yards. Which isn't too bad seeing as NIU typically has a very very good running game.

[FirstTimer]

I should also note that of Crist's 199 yards roughly 45-50 of it was on a pass to Floyd. I caught UTEP in a blitz that left Floyd single covered on the edge. The DB was playing off with a decent cushion in a zone because of the vacating safety and I hit Floyd at about 10 yards on a stop route, he broke the tackle of the CB and was off to the races for the score.

[Maynard]

1. The stadiums look fucking gorgeous in this game. The lighting for all weather choices is great..

just to touch on this a bit more....lighting in general looks amazing this year

http://www.easports.com/dynasty#module=moduleStoryView&story=$002248a6f844_B0CB_6A0379E6&dynid=45259&sku=662A0001&sid=0&wknum=30

Twigg, look at the 1st pic, then scroll to the 5th picture where saine is airborne going over the goaline. Take a look at the lighting itself in the stadium. Yeah its the lights and its how they should look, but the point is to show you how much they have improved lighting in this game. you get progressive lighting during the games, u see shadowing, and the skies look amazing

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Agree completely but I have NO idea how these games are made or coded to say what's possible slider wise and what isn't.

The DB AI thing I kind of see how the slider works. The DB's mirroring the routes is a direct function of the AI being set on the slider to where the DB's AI either actually KNOWS the route or REACTS to it. I see the "logic" in how the slider it set to work but I would still agree that out of the box the AI should be set to react to the route rather than mirror/know it.

The most important attribute that is never used is "awareness"...

Literally means NOTHING in this game, when it should be the key attribute determining overall (it used to be years ago, and even then, it wasn't quite enough).

Players need to come in to the game (recruits) with better physical attributes (Speed, Agility, Acceleration, Spin Move, Juke Move, etc.) and Awareness along with position specific attributes (man coverage / zone coverage for a defensive back, play recognition for defensive players in general, power / finesse moves for linemen, pursuit for linebackers) should be the focus of growth every year and much of that should be determined by HOW WELL YOU FUCKIN PLAY...

I mean, if I have a 69 overall running back run for 1400 yards and 10 TDs, he should NOT be All-Conference First Team at a 74 overall. Dudes ratings should go through the roof and should be an 83+ (if I'm at a small school, higher if I'm at a bigger school).

Whats even worse is the First-Team ALL AMERICAN defensive lineman from a small school having 15-16 sacks the year before and being a 64 overall the next year.

I mean, how in the fuck is that supposed to make sense.

I mean, this is not difficult coding...its just not. It can't be.

However, I have no idea what these guys do...I mean, I just don't think they are savvy enough to fix the problem in total, as, its been YEARS.