NCAA Football General Discussion Thread

[kmanharris]

Hate to say it, but yes it does. I'll take great gameplay and shit that needs to be patched over crappy gameplay and no bugs. I will play this version year round, surely it sucks to wait for a patch but the gameplay is beautiful so I'll hold out.

Honestly, me too. Minus the swats on swats on swats the game is great. Maybe its because I don't particularly care about sim stats but this good, really good.

 

[Survivor]

Hate to say it, but yes it does. I'll take great gameplay and shit that needs to be patched over crappy gameplay and no bugs. I will play this version year round, surely it sucks to wait for a patch but the gameplay is beautiful so I'll hold out.

Who said we have to pick between great gameplay/bugs and average gameplay/no bugs? We are paying top dollar and features are broken (Dynasty/RTG/Custom Playbooks/etc.). I am an offline dynasty guy and it is no fun after a few seasons when every single recruit is in the 90s. I'll turn it on to play against friends, but until progression is toned down to how it was last year (post-patch) I won't be doing much else.

 

[NAHSTE]

Who said we have to pick between great gameplay/bugs and average gameplay/no bugs? We are paying top dollar and features are broken (Dynasty/RTG/Custom Playbooks/etc.). I am an offline dynasty guy and it is no fun after a few seasons when every single recruit is in the 90s. I'll turn it on to play against friends, but until progression is toned down to how it was last year (post-patch) I won't be doing much else.

The nature of the development cycle pretty much dictates this. You can get fast service that isn't good or you can get good service that isn't fast.

 

[dave]

I am enjoying the game so far this year, the bugs aren't as big to me, but option QBs really, really suck in this game.

I haven't played an online game yet, would love to get one in

 

[Bear Pand]

I am an NCAA fanboy and fuck this game is broken. Good gameplay doesn't make roster edit glitches acceptable, and progression is completely broken this year again. I'm debating trading the game in or saving it for the patch. Optimism is overrated; EA supporter no more.

You're an EA supporter but you just now realized all of this?

Every year this is the best case scenario: above average gameplay, lots of strange bugs and glitches.

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And I disagree with Nahste saying it's a product of the dev cycle. Not when it comes to things like player progression which should be the same every year. They find new ways to mess it up every year.

 

[FirstTimer]

How is progression broken this year?

 

[Twigg4075]

Are the EA servers jacked? I keep getting messages post game saying my game can not be uploaded to the server.

 

[dave]

And I disagree with Nahste saying it's a product of the dev cycle. Not when it comes to things like player progression which should be the same every year. They find new ways to mess it up every year.

I agree with this statement.

Yes, one year is not enough time to put out a perfect game. But if the same problem persists year after year after year, it's A) an unfixable problem that the developers don't want to tell you about; B) they just don't give a fuck about it.

 

[NAHSTE]

I agree with this statement.

Yes, one year is not enough time to put out a perfect game. But if the same problem persists year after year after year, it's A) an unfixable problem that the developers don't want to tell you about; B) they just don't give a fuck about it.

This is accurate with my experiences working with Tiburon's dev team.

 

[Twigg4075]

Does playing RTG fuck up my rosters? I've noticed this at least twice and I think it's only happened after I played RTG. It seems the game doesn't load my named rosters and then when I back out pf RTG it auto-saves my roster file with the no-names. WTF?

 

[NateDogg7240]

Does playing RTG fuck up my rosters? I've noticed this at least twice and I think it's only happened after I played RTG. It seems the game doesn't load my named rosters and then when I back out pf RTG it auto-saves my roster file with the no-names. WTF?

You can't use named rosters in RTG...at least that's what I think your asking. Or are you saying that once you exit it doesn't load your roster? As for the auto-save over the named roster idk about that

 

[Garrett67]

I played this game 3 times and then put in Madden 11 (which I only played a few times before switching to NCAA 11).. and realized I actually like it.

Madden is more fun to me now. Not sure why, but it is.

 

[Twigg4075]

You can't use named rosters in RTG...at least that's what I think your asking. Or are you saying that once you exit it doesn't load your roster? As for the auto-save over the named roster idk about that

I know I can't used the named rosters for RTG. But when I enter RTG apparently it doesn't auto-load my named rosters, like every other mode seems to do. Then when I exit RTG it auto-saves over my rosters. So then it changes all my names players back to the default no-named ones. It's annoying as shit.

 

[Survivor]

The nature of the development cycle pretty much dictates this. You can get fast service that isn't good or you can get good service that isn't fast.

You are right. Pylon physics, 3D grass, and Erin Andrews' GameTrax all deserved more time, effort, and money thrown at them than did one of the staples of any successful sports franchise's career mode: progression. A problem that was FIXED post patch last year, no less.

You're an EA supporter but you just now realized all of this?

Every year this is the best case scenario: above average gameplay, lots of strange bugs and glitches.

---

And I disagree with Nahste saying it's a product of the dev cycle. Not when it comes to things like player progression which should be the same every year. They find new ways to mess it up every year.

NCAA really genuinely impressed me last year. They made few improvements and people hailed it NCAA 10.5, but the improvements they did make were lasting and added so much to the game. The feel of the game had me excited for the future of NCAA Football, especially after the patches, but this year things broken before patches last year are broken again. They must not care and I am fed up with it. I must just be too god damned naive. :headbang:

How is progression broken this year?

After three seasons there are over 10 players rated OVR 98 or above and 50 players rated OVR 95 or above. Teams like Memphis are going from D to B teams after a few years.

 

[Irish]

You are right. Pylon physics, 3D grass, and Erin Andrews' GameTrax all deserved more time, effort, and money thrown at them than did one of the staples of any successful sports franchise's career mode: progression. A problem that was FIXED post patch last year, no less.

I had to come in here for this. I don't know what game you played, but progression was never fixed in NCAA 11. They tuned it twice, patched it twice, and it still was never fixed. Certain positions still had overall ceilings, WR's came in with 60s in agility, and players would win the Heisman and boost 4 points. EA has never fixed progression. They can't. And of course they throw money into those cheap things. Those are easy additions that add to the features for the game. Would EA rather spend a lot of time adding a lot of little features, or one big one?

NCAA really genuinely impressed me last year. They made few improvements and people hailed it NCAA 10.5, but the improvements they did make were lasting and added so much to the game. The feel of the game had me excited for the future of NCAA Football, especially after the patches, but this year things broken before patches last year are broken again. They must not care and I am fed up with it. I must just be too god damned naive. :headbang:

Again I don't know what game you played last year. The patches last year broke the game. They would release a patch, then OS would find a new gamebreaking bug for us to laugh at EA about. Sorry you keep falling into the trap that EA is improving their games substantially, when every year it is the same bug riddled game. We just have to hope this patch doesn't break something else(remember the pump fake backwards glitch last year)

After three seasons there are over 10 players rated OVR 98 or above and 50 players rated OVR 95 or above. Teams like Memphis are going from D to B teams after a few years.

The only thing progression related that is broken this year is coaches progress way too fast.

The reason most players later on in the dynasty get boosted so much is because they have higher awareness. It was recognized last year that awareness plays a major role in how well the CPU plays. The awareness is boosted across the board to create a good CPU that can re act to my play call. This is why QBs actually run this year and can kind of run the option. Last year the QBs were idiots unless you played with a robo QB settings. Don't look at player overalls for progression, instead look at the standard ratings. Most are fair.

As for the Memphis rising or any other substandard team, that is just the way the NCAA is. Who would have thought some of these teams would rise to power? Do you want to play a dynasty where every team remains in control? OSU, Florida, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, ND? Or do you want some parody?

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I hate to sound like an EA supporter because I am usually far from that, but a lot of your issues with the game don't really make sense.

 

[RyanLeaf16]

I know I can't used the named rosters for RTG. But when I enter RTG apparently it doesn't auto-load my named rosters, like every other mode seems to do. Then when I exit RTG it auto-saves over my rosters. So then it changes all my names players back to the default no-named ones. It's annoying as shit.

This is something I complained about just a few days after release. Yes, auto-save will save over your named rosters if you attempt to load them into RTG. I just re-downloaded the rosters, but, it is a pain in the ass.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

How is progression broken this year?

I don't think its broken, per se...its just tied to Coach Prestige and it seems that coaches get too good, too fast in this game. The problem mostly comes from the abnormal number of high rated assistants that don't drop in prestige after they take a job.

For example...Kirby Smart (DC @ 'Bama) is a 99 OVR, which is higher than Nick Saban @ 97 OVR. When Kirby Smart becomes a head coach, he's still a 99 OVR.

You should be able to be a 99 OVR coordinator, but you need to be dropped down a bit when you become a head coach.

So, what happens is, you already have a default...10 coaches that are A+ coaches...however, by years 2 and 3, you have like 20-30 coaches rated A+ or A because all of the good assistants become rated A or A+.

So, you see a huge bump in player overalls (I've never been an OVR stickler) because of it.

If they patch it where assistants overall drops after they take a new job (say an A+ coordinator starts off as a C head coach), it could take care of that progression thing.

In the meantime, some of the OS people re-rated coaches that seems to delay the process for a few years.

 

[Survivor]

I had to come in here for this. I don't know what game you played, but progression was never fixed in NCAA 11. They tuned it twice, patched it twice, and it still was never fixed. Certain positions still had overall ceilings, WR's came in with 60s in agility, and players would win the Heisman and boost 4 points. EA has never fixed progression. They can't. And of course they throw money into those cheap things. Those are easy additions that add to the features for the game. Would EA rather spend a lot of time adding a lot of little features, or one big one?

Last year progression might not have been perfect but players didn't progress so fast. Teams like UNLV or Memphis shouldn't be A teams after a few years, but EVERY team was before the patch. Afterwards some players didnt progress as much as they maybe should but that's more realistic. Was Mark Ingram that much better the year after his Heisman? Do you really think there are 80 players worthy of 95+ OVR!?

Again I don't know what game you played last year. The patches last year broke the game. They would release a patch, then OS would find a new gamebreaking bug for us to laugh at EA about. Sorry you keep falling into the trap that EA is improving their games substantially, when every year it is the same bug riddled game. We just have to hope this patch doesn't break something else(remember the pump fake backwards glitch last year)

It is a fact that NCAA 11 was a massive improvement over 10 in terms of gameplay, and the post patch bugs didn't kill the game for an offline dynasty lover like myself. To each his own.

The reason most players later on in the dynasty get boosted so much is because they have higher awareness. It was recognized last year that awareness plays a major role in how well the CPU plays. The awareness is boosted across the board to create a good CPU that can re act to my play call. This is why QBs actually run this year and can kind of run the option. Last year the QBs were idiots unless you played with a robo QB settings. Don't look at player overalls for progression, instead look at the standard ratings. Most are fair.

Interesting, but I don't entirely buy it. If the massive amount of players progressing so much is bc of awareness then why not make the current rosters mirror that? It's better for gameplay? Hmmm.. I'll have to dig more into this.

I hate to sound like an EA supporter because I am usually far from that, but a lot of your issues with the game don't really make sense.

If awareness is really the root of the progression boosts then I can understand your POV somewhat, but I cant accept so many players getting so good so quickly as true to the sport of college football. It isn't real to life and it bothers me. I'll pop the game in and see if progression is really the reason but I feel like it'll be more than just that.

 

[calgaryballer]

I must be in the minority, probably helped by the fact i am not a very good player, but overall I am very much enjoying this game. My record with Idaho was probably a bit inflated, but I had games where I played like shit and also played great. 30-3 loss to Boise was lopsided but enjoyable. I am hoping season 2 is just as good

 

[Twigg4075]

This is something I complained about just a few days after release. Yes, auto-save will save over your named rosters if you attempt to load them into RTG. I just re-downloaded the rosters, but, it is a pain in the ass.

Yes it is. Makes me not want to play RTG. I guess I could turn auto-save off but it's so convenient and then I know I would forget to save crucial shit.