NCAA Football 2012 game catch-all

Yeah, I'm surprised they wil be able to fix rosters already done. A little bummed we didn't either wait for the patch in our league or used Fairdale's corrupted version. But I'm already getting to know my fake players.

Leroyog wrote:

It's a bit frustrating to try and run the option and QB designed runs when your QB WALKED THE FIRST 3 STEPS!!! :p

I will say that I got decent results by running more to the LOS of scrimmage than parallel to it on options out of the shotgun. While Padron (Sam Davis in out Dynasty) is still a pocket passer, EA saw fit to give him decent wheels this year. He's only a 75 SPD, but he also doesn't fumble every time he gets the ball. So I've been able to get the option back into the gameplan for SMU.

I would try and run all kinds of speed and read options as michigan only to have denard robinson take one slowmo step and get buried. The ONLY effective way to run with a QB right now is to scramble on a passing play and even then it can suck.

Leroyog wrote:

I would try and run all kinds of speed and read options as michigan only to have denard robinson take one slowmo step and get buried. The ONLY effective way to run with a QB right now is to scramble on a passing play and even then it can suck.

Let's hope they don't fix it until after the ND-Mich game.

Weird. I was about to say how that's not in the manual but then I realize I never read the manual this year because it's on the damn disc.

Still surprised they didn't at least include just a basic control list/picture in the insert manual. Like a quick reference guide. Oh well.

Might try it out, but I'm still generally waiting for the patch to continue. Even my RtG game is messed up since I'm a DB and can't audible, one of the bugs they are fixing. I think things will go much better for me when I can audible into FS Blitz a few times a game for a sack.

I don't remember seeing it in the manual on the disc either. Apparently it is a feature that was originally put into Madden 10. It does work. But it can also lead to more sacks.

One of the things i really appreciated about NCAA 11, and now NCAA 12, is that there is a real sense of risk/reward in so many elements of the game. It can aleays be argued if those elements are realistic, but they make for compelling gameplay.

Wouldn't EA over-hype the CRAP out of "Finesse passing" though?

I will definitely be trying the later.

Jayhawker wrote:

One of the things i really appreciated about NCAA 11, and now NCAA 12, is that there is a real sense of risk/reward in so many elements of the game. It can aleays be argued if those elements are realistic, but they make for compelling gameplay.

Except for Play Action. All risk, no reward.

I swear if 1 out of 10 PA plays actually let you get off a pass without getting a sack/knockdown, you're doing good. :p

Every time the coach would call one in RtG it was like why even run my route, you're not going to get a chance to throw the ball.

Stele wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

One of the things i really appreciated about NCAA 11, and now NCAA 12, is that there is a real sense of risk/reward in so many elements of the game. It can aleays be argued if those elements are realistic, but they make for compelling gameplay.

Except for Play Action. All risk, no reward.

I swear if 1 out of 10 PA plays actually let you get off a pass without getting a sack/knockdown, you're doing good. :p

Every time the coach would call one in RtG it was like why even run my route, you're not going to get a chance to throw the ball.

I can't comment on RtG, but play action is working great for me this year. It helps if you set it up by running the ball.

Jayhawker, do you have the link to that thread on OS? I'd be curious to read about how others are fairing with that. It's interesting.

Interesting discussion over at OS:

So I have read a whole bunch on these forums about "Super LBs" and instead of posting this in 5 different threads, I thought I would make this and perhaps it will allow people to enjoy passing the football as much as I do.

The L2/LT Button:

The L2/LT button when throwing adds air to the trajectory of the ball.

Now I have been trying it and this is what I can tell you.

On a lob pass, it definitely goes higher and does very rarely gets picked off by the trailing CB on deep passes. It makes the ball come down at a higher angle and more of a basket catch is made by the receiver.

On bullet passes I see a difference as well.

When my receiver is running an out route and the defense is in zone, the ball seems to drop in towards the sideline and the LBs will jump for it, just as the do to pick off the bullet passes, but just hit air and the ball keeps going. So it adds a bit more air under your bullet.

When running a quick out route, have you guys noticed if you throw the bullet then the receiver will loose 2 yards to catch the ball? Well when I throw the L2/LT and throw that bullet to the out route, the ball floats over the top of the receiver and he catches it over the head and does not loose ground. Careful though, safeties and DBs if in man, coming in at a perpendicular angle from the path of the ball can pick these off.

Two warnings:

1) Throwing with L2/LT makes the release of the QB longer. Similar to if you throw a long bomb, he winds up for more power, he will wind up for more of a finesse pass.

2) Since you press and hold L2/LT when throwing, you need to release it once the ball is in the air. If you hold it when your receiver catches, he will try to lateral the ball backwards as that is what the button is supposed to do when you control a ball carrier.

Now I at first thought it was all a placebo effect when I first used it.. and some of my friends are still skeptical... so don't think I am saying this is 100% fact. But I have noticed a huge difference when I use this button and do not deal with "Super LBs" when throwing. In fact, I am only picked off by mistakes by me or being rushed, almost never cheap AI things. (And if I am, it is only warping but I can live with that as I only see it like once a season.)

So try it for yourself and see. I am pretty sure it makes a difference and should put an end to the Middle pass and Super LB debate.

This was added by EccentricMeat

Only thing I'll add is that when holding LT/L2 when using a bullet lead pass, the spot that the QB throws the ball to is closer to where the receiver is at when the ball is thrown than when you throw just a normal bullet lead pass.

So with a normal bullet lead pass, the ball goes farther out in front of the receivers route. But when using LT/L2, it throws it very close to where the receiver is WHEN THE BALL IS THROWN. This is VERY helpful when you need to sneak the ball in between zones, ESPECIALLY to a TE/WR going up the seam with the safety lurking. Using LT/L2 can sneak this ball in there if you lead pass to the inside.

Originally Posted by Gotmadskillzson

But for some reason it does make WRs with good hands and awareness be more aggressive going after the ball. I see them dive more for passes out of reach, even dive for tipped passes.

Here is goalieump413's take on L2/LT -

The best way I can describe what I'm seeing is that the LT acts as an alarm for both the QB and the intended receiver. It has the feel of the QB spotting the window to throw the ball in to, as well as an alert for the intended receiver to turn, break off his route if necessary, and go get the ball. And yes, holding the LT also affects the trajectory of the pass.

The pass' trajectory and aim are now more "situational" if you will. On quick slants, the pass is now thrown to a spot where the receiver has a better chance of making the catch without the DB swatting it away of picking it off. On crossing routes, the ball is thrown with more touch, dropping into his hands just a few feet before contact or better. On deep routes (go/post/flag) the ball takes a higher arc for over the shoulder chances and so on.

I can also confirm that it makes a difference in RTG in games and in the 25 rep practice sessions. In those practice sessions, the deep slant out route is my favorite to test. When I don't hold the LT while throwing the pass, the WR doesn't turn, leap, or cut off his route to get the ball as rapidly or effectively. He is more lazy, allowing the pass to come to him while not recognizing that there might be a defender near by. However, when holding the LT, he acts as he should.

I've also noticed that there is more animation variety all over the field when holding the LT through the pass than I've seen prior. The WR will jump, sometimes get his legs taken out, etc more frequently.

I have a suspicion that, prior to release day, the videos we were seeing coming from EA showing leaping and diving catches were in this "LT" mode. But, for some reason, be it the release day patch or whatever else, that functionality was removed from the game to allow the AI defense to gain the upper hand. We did hear that zone coverage was improved, but it might be helped by the fact that WR's are now morons, and don't go after the ball like they should.

Like I said, have not contacted EA to confirm it but I have noticed a difference. I have also heard they put this in to Madden '10 and has been in Madden and NCAA since its introduction.

Edit: Feel free to add to what else you know about the L2/LT button and I will add it to this post.

Edit: L2 = PS3. LT = Xbox.

Edit: Look at it like this. Accuracy is your left stick. Power is how hard/long you press the button. Finesse is L2/LT.

Edit: So glad I could help you guys and from the sounds of it, many have found this useful. If you have any question at all or need help using it, feel free to send me a PM and I will help however I can.

DSGamer wrote:

Jayhawker, do you have the link to that thread on OS? I'd be curious to read about how others are fairing with that. It's interesting.

Interesting discussion over at OS:

Apparently it has been updated to say that a dev has said that the LT does not affect the ball at all. some think the code is in there to do it, even though the NCAA devs didn't put it in, and that it is leftover from Madden.

Who knows?

I will say that if you use generic rosters and adjust sliders, the issue is mostly gone.

The dev does say that pushing up on the LS will arch the ball higher, as that is how the precision passing is supposed to work.

Jayhawker wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Jayhawker, do you have the link to that thread on OS? I'd be curious to read about how others are fairing with that. It's interesting.

Interesting discussion over at OS:

Thanks. Interesting thread so far. I wonder, though, if this is intended functionality or if it's like that bug in NCAA 11 that someone else pointed out where holding sprint would cause the D-Line to collapse and holes to collapse while running the ball.

Jayhawker wrote:
Stele wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

One of the things i really appreciated about NCAA 11, and now NCAA 12, is that there is a real sense of risk/reward in so many elements of the game. It can aleays be argued if those elements are realistic, but they make for compelling gameplay.

Except for Play Action. All risk, no reward.

I swear if 1 out of 10 PA plays actually let you get off a pass without getting a sack/knockdown, you're doing good. :p

Every time the coach would call one in RtG it was like why even run my route, you're not going to get a chance to throw the ball.

I can't comment on RtG, but play action is working great for me this year. It helps if you set it up by running the ball.

Yeah the only times I got it to work in 2011 were when it would be marked as "setup" play on the selection. But even then, working was maybe 50/50. After seeing it go so horribly in RtG I took them out of my custom playbook.

Maybe I'll go back and tweak when the patch hits and I actually settle into my permanent dynasty.

I should note that I have, as does the league, have pass blocking set at 70.

If anyone can confirm what happens with using LT while passing I'd appreciate it. I'm still curious about the game. I played a ton of 11 and would casually play 12 as time permits (sold the game soon after getting it) if I knew there was a solution to the "aggressive" cheating D.

The LT was formerly called precision passing and yes it does exist. Been around for awhile, it gives you some capability to "steer" the ball. Essentially it throws directly to the receiver where he is at and not where he will be. Coupled with lead passing you can do some interesting things, but it is finicky. I like to use it with slant ins when the receiver has inside position. It is also good for quick outs and ins, again with inside position. On streaks, you can use it if the receiver has inside position on the safety or corner depending on how you use lead passing. Accurate QBs seem to work better, but it can be used to make up for not so good QBs as well. You almost always have to user catch with this unless the receiver is flat wide open. Hope that helps.

Yes, it is there. I tested it out and sure enough, there is a difference in throwing motion and targeting when using the LT. Pretty nuts, never knew it was there.

Leroyog wrote:

Yes, it is there. I tested it out and sure enough, there is a difference in throwing motion and targeting when using the LT. Pretty nuts, never knew it was there.

Tried it out. Same thing. I was able to pass over the middle (that was my big test, can I pass 20 yards downfield right over the top of leaping LBs). I didn't notice a huge difference graphically, but when I held LT and pushed up on the left stick while passing the receiver had to go up to get it and the LBs didn't swat at it. There were plenty of swats at balls that seemed out of reach by CBs. So that's still there. But this oddly seems to work to some extent. I wish it was just something that worked out of the box. I remember this as a setting in 2k. You turned it off or on before the game and just learned to play with it.

Well, while I think this still works better, but the psychic DBs are driving me nuts. Same with the horribly missed blocks by the O-line. There's no other way to skin it. EA football games gave me a lot of entertainment value for 3 years there, but otherwise I really miss 2k.

Wow, just kicked a punt that died on the 1 inch line. Very next play the Kentucky HB took it to the house, they recorded it as a 100yd run in the record book. Man my poor defense.

Ouch.

More amazing psychic DB videos. I need to bust out NCAA 11 to see if it was this bad and if I can just go back to that.

Without information on settings and sliders, these kinds of videos are meaningless. But they sure are fun for people that aren't playing the game to watch.

Unfortunately, they don't represent the game I have been playing at all.

http://www.operationsports.com/news/...

Jayhawker wrote:

Without information on settings and sliders, these kinds of videos are meaningless. But they sure are fun for people that aren't playing the game to watch.

Unfortunately, they don't represent the game I have been playing at all.

They are representative of gameplay right "out of the box" which is what the game should be judged on. These are the settings you play with in ranked online games and can't be adjusted. Not everyone wants to screw around with sliders to make the game playable for them. I play the game and those videos are reflective of "regular" play.

SpyNavy wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Without information on settings and sliders, these kinds of videos are meaningless. But they sure are fun for people that aren't playing the game to watch.

Unfortunately, they don't represent the game I have been playing at all.

They are representative of gameplay right "out of the box" which is what the game should be judged on. These are the settings you play with in ranked online games and can't be adjusted. Not everyone wants to screw around with sliders to make the game playable for them. I play the game and those videos are reflective of "regular" play.

No doubt. Online ranked games have been cheesefests for years. And a definite weakness in the game this year is the lack of custom sliders you can use in play-a-friend games.

So yeah, if your man interest is playing pick-up games online, then this game might be dorked. But the article is about how most of us play the game, which is single player dynasties. Heck, even our OD is mostly single player.

Jayhawker wrote:

Without information on settings and sliders, these kinds of videos are meaningless. But they sure are fun for people that aren't playing the game to watch.

Unfortunately, they don't represent the game I have been playing at all.

http://www.operationsports.com/news/...

They aren't "fun" for me. I played around 30 seasons of offline dynasty between NCAA 09, 10 and 11. I'd love to be playing 12 and would be if the default AI wasn't so bad. My only joy in these videos is the validation that I'm not alone in seeing the game is messed and hoping that EA straightens it out. I follow the forums here and on OS in the hopes it gets better. Until then I'm stuck playing FIFA and NFL2K5 (yes, I went back to that).

Any word on when this super patch is coming? I want some competitive NCAA action already!

Leroyog wrote:

Any word on when this super patch is coming? I want some competitive NCAA action already!

Latest from Pastapadre, looks like it is slipping until almost mid-September, surprise, surprise. It was just shipped to MS and Sony for testing and that takes 2 weeks. I've been waiting to progress past year 1 on my Georgia dynasty so that it will fix the rosters but I'm not waiting that long.

Yeah I haven't played for a while. Mostly waiting on this topic to pop up and tell me there's a patch.

I just had the craziest ending ever. I took on on A&M with SMU tonight, and it was nip and tuck the whole way, and I picked up 1465 points for my #1 instant classic.

I led 3-2 after the first quarter. I stuffed the Aggies on 4th and goal from the one, but could not get my HB out of the endzone on a dive play. By the end of the first half I was down 12-10.

I was up 17-15 at heading into the 4th quarter. After giving up a FG, I scored what I thought might be the game winning TD with less than two minutes left. Up 23-18, I hadto go for two, and blew the play. I ran an option, and for some reason pitched it to my HB when my QB could have just fallen into the endzone, and failed to convert. This play won me the game.

A&M had a nice return to midfield on the ensuing kickoff. They then moved down the field, finally hitting on a nice pass play to go up 24-23 with 23 second left. Basically it was game over. They obviously went for two, so that if I got lucky, the best a FG could do is tie. Kicking the XP would do nothing. That's why my failure to convert was so important.

Not only did A&M fail to convert, but I sacked the QB and forced a fumble. My LB picked up at the line of scrimmage, surrounded by players. He broke one tackle, and was then off, returning the fumble the length of the field for 2 points. I recovered the onside kick and knelt twice to seal a 25-24 win.

Had I converted the two point conversion, or just kicked the XP, A&M would have kicked, either winning or tying the game. But missing it forced them to go for two, which produced the game winning play. Too much fun!