EA's NCAA Football 14 Catch-All

firesloth wrote:

Also, the commentary is now officially stale. And the crowd noise is not really much different. They still don't have that right.

That's actually my biggest disappointment with this entire generation. NBA 2k is getting there, but crowd noise is such a big part of the overall experience. Not getting that right is really odd to me.

Overall after two games (two easy wins, once with the Ducks and once with A&M) I think it's alright. Plays about like NCAA 13. I didn't notice anything jenky yet. No leaping linebackers or anything like that. It seems like players go down really easily. There aren't really hard hits. Also it's really hard to run the read option from what I can see. That defensive end always collapses hard, even if he's not lined up like he's going to collapse hard. So I found it virtually impossible to run with Mariota or Manziel. They could scramble out of the shotgun like old school Madden, but that's about it. The option isn't terribly successful either.

I don't think it looks like a reskinned Madden, so that's good. But it doesn't feel like college football to the same degree that previous games did. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong. I'll have to play around with it more.

You have to be doing the Read Option wrong, because it is really easy, and I found it almost too effective.

I hope there is a way to turn off the big glowing icon pointing to the guy you read on option plays. I'm sure it is helpful to a lot of folks that never run the option much, but I spent a good chunk of time in both NCAA 12 and NCAA 13 learning to run it. I would run the plays over and over in practice to get used to reading the right guy and making that snap decision. You have to make it even quicker on the triple option. So I don't really need to be told who to look at, and I'd prefer to turn it off.

I ended up using it as prime way to run with Oregon, and Manziel is a beast on the read option.

I just did the option skill training, and it's pretty well done. The option shovel pass bit is quite fun!

firesloth wrote:

I just did the option skill training, and it's pretty well done. The option shovel pass bit is quite fun!

You're right. It is really well done. And once I did it I discovered that Jayhawker was right as well. It is almost too easy. I think the thing that was throwing me off is that I was completely ignoring the icons, as crazy as that sounds. I assumed it was meaningless information to me and that there was no way the game was telling me what to look at. Especially with the game on All American. Once I went through the drills, though, and realized that that was THE information it become easy. I started slashing through Texas A&M's defense for 10 yard runs regularly.

This is that rare situation where I see the utility of higher res football games. This is where I see the benefit of a new generation. The reads in this game on the triple option are so subtle that they have to tell you who to look at. I was already looking at the correct players, but I was reading their alignment as opposed to what they did after the snap.

While there are definitely reads after the snap Oregon usually makes pre-snap reads based on alignment, which is what I was attempting to do. One of the more interesting aspects of watching Oregon is that you'll see them gain 2 or 3 yards regularly and then suddenly a 30 yard run, 10 yard run, 7 yard run. This is because they commit to those reads and once the DE starts crashing they read the DE pre-snap and do something different. They run up the gut a lot more than people realize and that sets up the option. This game is replicating something like that, but isn't really replicating the real thing. It's better. It's definitely interesting. But it's not quite there.

By the way, the ice the kicker stuff seems really overdone this year.

Hello, my name is Kush, and I have not played an XBox game in 86 days.

Tomorrow, is another day!!! As God as my witness, I will never go hungry for XBox gaming AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to playing my 360 again. NCAA 14 will be a day one purchase for me. Sign me up Kush!

Gonna suck having to put a disc in again. I bought the OD versions of the last two NCAA games just so it was easier to pop on and update stuff while playing in multiple dynasties. Can't wait for NCAA 15 on the XB1.

But yes, I'm in for day one.

I'm downloading now, but I don't know if I'll get to play it tonight. Crazy week at our house.

firesloth wrote:

By the way, the ice the kicker stuff seems really overdone this year.

I think I lost a Bowl game in NCAA 11 or so when a Goodjer iced me on FG to win. I don't know how it is now, but it made it almost impossible to kick.

I've been in favor of disabling this ever since. I wouldn't want to win that way.

Jayhawker wrote:
firesloth wrote:

By the way, the ice the kicker stuff seems really overdone this year.

I think I lost a Bowl game in NCAA 11 or so when a Goodjer iced me on FG to win. I don't know how it is now, but it made it almost impossible to kick.

I've been in favor of disabling this ever since. I wouldn't want to win that way.

Especially since it's a ridiculous doesn't-actually-work made-up bit of sports "logic" in real life.

DSGamer wrote:
firesloth wrote:

Also, the commentary is now officially stale. And the crowd noise is not really much different. They still don't have that right.

That's actually my biggest disappointment with this entire generation. NBA 2k is getting there, but crowd noise is such a big part of the overall experience. Not getting that right is really odd to me.

Yeah, game after game after game doesn't seem to be able to really represent what it's like when 80,000 people are going berserk, or to delineate the difference between just some regular game and the crowd's reaction to a BIG GAME. I mean, this is what Kyle Field sounded like on the broadcast...

The one in-game sounds like the fan in my bedroom on medium.

That said, the game felt surprisingly nice. Enough to make me consider buying it.

Better crowd noise, especially in a college game, would be an extremely welcome addition. But since I have yet to play any sports game that has delivered, its way down on my list of stuff to weigh out in assessing a game.

One thing you can do is lower the sliders for the commentary and on field noise, and max the crowd. It gives you the balance you want. I've done that with various sports games.

Sliders aren't just for gameplay, guys!

College Hoops 2k8 was pretty awesome. You could make custom chants for the crowd. Really wish 2k sports could get back into making NCAA games, of either or both sports.

But yeah, I always turn down the commentary sliders and turn up the crowd.

If you are an EA Season Ticket holder, NCAA 14 Early Release is up and ready to download.

http://www.gamespot.com/ncaa-footbal...

One of the worst reviews I have ever seen Gamespot do. No mention of the new engine, new features, etc. This guy should never be allowed to review another sports game!

$25 gift card if you buy at Toys-R-Us next week.

Seems to be the only deal. Amazon not doing it's usual $10-20 credit. No other pre-order deals except the conference uniform packs.

simpilot wrote:

http://www.gamespot.com/ncaa-footbal...

One of the worst reviews I have ever seen Gamespot do. No mention of the new engine, new features, etc. This guy should never be allowed to review another sports game!

I never go to regular gaming sites for reviews. Here's a better one.

http://www.operationsports.com/revie...

OS gives it an 8, and says the option has been toned down from the demo.

Jayhawker wrote:

I never go to regular gaming sites for reviews. Here's a better one.

http://www.operationsports.com/revie...

OS gives it an 8, and says the option has been toned down from the demo.

Thank goodness. If the option was going to be that broke, I was gonna cry.

So, I caved and bought early access. My wife is out of town with the kids all weekend, so I have a lot of time to play some football. After 3 games, I can say it plays very well, although a lot like previous iterations. The field looks more artificial than in past years. The foot-planting is very nicely done.

And, the game seems accurate, as Notre Dame crushed Michigan 26-7 (it was a shutout until near the end...and, yes, I put that in there just for you Leroy).

However, I did see a bug I saw reported from the demo that's pretty awful for online play.

I was playing as Notre Dame against Tennessee. I intercepted a pass along the side lines at the ND 3 yard line (i.e., close to my own endzone).

The game gave me the ball on the Tenn 3 yard line. So, rather than having to march 97 yards for a TD, it gave me a pretty automatic one that required only a 3 yard drive. This is frustrating. Hopefully they fix this one ASAP, as it will make for some unfair wins.

firesloth wrote:

However, I did see a bug I saw reported from the demo that's pretty awful for online play.

I was playing as Notre Dame against Tennessee. I intercepted a pass along the side lines at the ND 3 yard line (i.e., close to my own endzone).

The game gave me the ball on the Tenn 3 yard line. So, rather than having to march 97 yards for a TD, it gave me a pretty automatic one that required only a 3 yard drive. This is frustrating. Hopefully they fix this one ASAP, as it will make for some unfair wins.

ROFL! How the hell can this even be released like that? So terrible.

And you need to up the difficulty. Sounds like you're playing on Pee-wee.

I'm a little less convinced that I want to roll on Heisman, but time will tell. It feels fair, but my skills are not great.

I played Frankie for 24-21 OT loss today using Kansas against his Pitt. I then got smoked by Ruthless 38-6 using Navy versus his Ole Miss. That might have been a fairy realistic outcome based on the ratings, though.

I'm actually really enjoying the option even more than before. Mainly, that is due to the run game feeling even more organic than before. I actually moved the ball decently versus Ruthless most of the game. But I once I got behind my pass game did me in.

Mostly, the game feels fresh enough that it will keep my interest for another year. And it feels familiar enough that it is not like learning a new system.

The thing that got me playing last night was that normal speed is faster than I want to play. Otherwise Heisman felt fair, unlike other years.

Hello, my name is Kush, and I have not played an XBox game in 103 days.

I fully plan to pop in MLB 2K13 today to get used to the controls, shake off the rust, and break this streak. But thanks to my wife, the pre-order for NCAA is already in, so regardless if I play today or not, I will break the streak this week!

I will start up a thread at some point this week.

Also, my wife's schedule was changed, so now I am guaranteed 2 nights each week to play, which is a change from 3 nights one week and only Monday the next. Every other weekend will give me a chance to play as well. Of course, if I need to, I can play when she is home, but she is very distracting and is an eternal jinx

Kush15 wrote:

Hello, my name is Kush, and I have not played an XBox game in 103 days.

I fully plan to pop in MLB 2K13 today to get used to the controls, shake off the rust, and break this streak. But thanks to my wife, the pre-order for NCAA is already in, so regardless if I play today or not, I will break the streak this week!

I will start up a thread at some point this week.

Also, my wife's schedule was changed, so now I am guaranteed 2 nights each week to play, which is a change from 3 nights one week and only Monday the next. Every other weekend will give me a chance to play as well. Of course, if I need to, I can play when she is home, but she is very distracting and is an eternal jinx :-)

MLB 2K13 is a great game, but I'm not sure getting Teddy Bridgewater's fastball down pat is going to help.

A few thoughts after playing a bunch of this over the weekend:

- Man, is the run be overpowered a bit? Personally I like it, but I find I'm calling twice as many running as passing plays. Maybe that's just my style.

- It actually feels like controlling a D-lineman is worthwhile this year. In the last two iterations I'd switched to playing LBs (thanks for showing me how it's done, Leroy). This year it feels like you can control a D-lineman and actually make a difference.

- Heisman difficulty feels good without feeling like the CPU is cheating, like it has in previous years.

- I still like the slower speeds better.

Have you adjusted any sliders to balance the run game?

I've not touched anything with the sliders. The run game feels good in the sense that the blockers act appropriately. In the past they balanced rushing by having your blockers be dumb. It feels good, in all honesty, to have the running game be powerful enough that it competes with the passing game.

I think in my case I'm running a lot because I throw a lot of interceptions if I throw too much!

Also, the dynasty video encoding/uploads still take a large amount of time.

Still, the punt and kick returns feel good this year. I've run 2 punts back for TDs (sorry Jayhawker!) and one kickoff. All felt appropriate.

It seems like punt returns are far better handled this year. In last year's game you either got 0 yards or a TD. This year I'm seeing 10-15 yard returns with regularity and some 25 yard returns sprinkled in as well. Good stuff.

I just finally am playing the demo this weekend. I have to say, watching them capture the Kyle Field game day experience is very cool. For years, they showed us with female cheerleaders. Now, they show our yell leaders as they are, moving like they do, and you can hear the crowd doing our yells. Pretty cool.

I'll be snagging a copy of this tomorrow from somewhere. Has there been any discussion as to what sliders/difficulty we'll be on? What will be the team restrictions?

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