More NCAA 2006 info

[scooper]

Great news on recruiting

For NCAA Football 06, we really focused on the most popular aspect of Dynasty Mode, which is recruiting. Now, in addition to the current off-season recruiting, users will be able to recruit high school prospects during the regular football season as well. We really wanted to introduce the concept of targeting prospects in the summer, inviting them to campus for official visits in the fall, and then getting verbal commitments based on how well their visits went.


We now also have soft verbals, which are prospects who have committed to your school, but are still looking at other schools. So as a coach, you will have to continue to pursue these guys until you're sure they are committed to your program. So the in-season recruiting experience, although familiar, is a totally new game-within-a-game for our dedicated fans. All of this is packaged neatly in our Rivals.com Recruiting feature, which will bring you news and prospect interest movements in the form of headlines of the popular online recruiting service.

For off-season recruiting, we've totally revamped the user experience as well. We've added your school's academic reputation as a factor in dynasty and during recruiting. Now prospects will look at your school based on your academic prestige in terms of program and in terms of graduating players. The flipside of that is that recruiting players on talent alone may affect your school's academic prestige. Another great addition is the ability to build pipelines when recruiting. Now having success in a particular area will lead to better success recruiting that area in the future. With these elements, coupled with players that do not qualify based on grades, users will have to totally change up their strategy when recruiting.

From this interview:

http://www.easports.com/games/ncaa06/producer.jsp (http://http://www.easports.com/games/ncaa06/producer.jsp)

[Kodos]

I personally prefer recruiting to be done during the offseason. During the season, I just want to play games without having to worry about recruitings.

[Passacaglia]

How about focusing on getting it onto a PC?

[ice4277]

I personally prefer recruiting to be done during the offseason. During the season, I just want to play games without having to worry about recruitings.
I agree. This is one reason I have never really been able to get into Take Two's ESPN NCAA Basketball. Ironically, recruiting is one of the few things that I feel EA has done better than the ESPN series over the last couple years.

[Noop]

If they do this rigth I take back all the mean things I have said....

[Ben E Lou]

I personally prefer recruiting to be done in an unrealistic manner.Fixed it for ya. :p



Does this game have a coach-only mode that works?

[moriarty]

Yeah, I prefer recruiting in the offseason as well.

I also hope they do the academic prestige right. I mean not all students (aka most of the top athletes) care about academic prestige, so I hope the top players don't start going to Stanford and Ivy League schools.

[KevinNU7]

I love these games for the realism. In season recruiting is more realistic, I am very pleased.

[rexallllsc]

If they do this rigth I take back all the mean things I have said....

Likewise (even though I buy it every year).

How awesome would it be to have a top 10 class committed, but falter at the finish, end up 6-6/7-5, and lose a couple of top commits to rivals because you're looooosers?

I mean, it would suck, but be awesome.

[dawgfan]

Not sure what you mean by "coach-only", but I've taken to playing the NCAA series in almost exclusively a 'sim' mode where I just sim the games. It's quite limited, as all you can control are your playbook, your base defense and sliders governing run vs. pass, aggressiveness vs. conservative play calling and playing time of your starters.

That said, I'm fairly sure you can actually play the games and call the plays without having to control your players, but I wonder if that might not be an exercise in frustration in watching the action unfold.

As limited as the console games can be in terms of dynasty/sim functions, I've been very impressed with how the NCAA series has evolved in how it handles recruiting. From that interview it sure looks like they've borrowed some things from TCY, and I'd love to see Jim borrow some of the things EA has done - in many ways, the recruiting in the NCAA series is better than TCY.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm very glad to see in-season recruiting. I just hope that they manage to fix the completion percentage issues from last year.

Skydog, previous versions have not had a good coach only mode. Madden came close to getting it right last year, but I don't think NCAA has even come close in previous incarnations.

[Ben E Lou]

Not sure what you mean by "coach-only", but I've taken to playing the NCAA series in almost exclusively a 'sim' mode where I just sim the games. It's quite limited, as all you can control are your playbook, your base defense and sliders governing run vs. pass, aggressiveness vs. conservative play calling and playing time of your starters.OK. That's not bad.

That said, I'm fairly sure you can actually play the games and call the plays without having to control your players, but I wonder if that might not be an exercise in frustration in watching the action unfold.That is specifically what I was wondering about. I bought Madden for the PC one or two versions ago, and it was very difficult at the time to get realistic stats and results from Coach-Only mode. I don't mind letting the action unfold without controlling my players one bit, but I don't want to see backs rush for 350 yards, 21 sacks per game, and that sort of thing. For college football, I don't need the stats to be dead-on balls-accurate in every category, but I need them to be believable.

As limited as the console games can be in terms of dynasty/sim functions, I've been very impressed with how the NCAA series has evolved in how it handles recruiting. From that interview it sure looks like they've borrowed some things from TCY, and I'd love to see Jim borrow some of the things EA has done - in many ways, the recruiting in the NCAA series is better than TCY.Yeah, what I read above sounds good--and much more realistic than anything promised in BBCF, or what we've seen so far in TCY. If there's a TCY2 this year, recruiting is the thing I'm hoping is made much more realistic.

[dubb93]

I'm not sure of the coach only stats, but last years version I had very realistic stats all around[except for completion % both ways] by playing 11 minute quarters with sliders. I'm sure you can find sliders somewhere that will give you what you want skydog. Also, when you just simulate the games and don't "coach" them, you get very good stats as well.

[mrsimperless]

NCAA generates decent stats when you sim the games, but not when you coach, watch or play them. I'm with dawgfan where I just sim the games and play it like a better in some ways/worse in others TCY.

Keep in mind there is a difference between simming the game and looking at the box scores as opposed to getting into "game mode" and either just watching the games or even coaching them and then getting stats. The stats will be skewed if you get into game mode and sim your games that way. It seems to use a different engine for simming only than it does when simming and also controlling the AI players on the field.

[dawgfan]

NCAA generates decent stats when you sim the games, but not when you coach, watch or play them. I'm with dawgfan where I just sim the games and play it like a better in some ways/worse in others TCY.

That's about how I looked at it as well - the last time I played TCY I got so frustrated at being fired when I really didn't think it was deserved I started playing dynasties with NCAA 2005 and just simming games. It's a little dry, and it's probably too easy to succeed, especially once you get into a high prestige school, but I enjoy how they handle coaching contracts and there are a lot of things I prefer about how they handle recruiting.

Keep in mind there is a difference between simming the game and looking at the box scores as opposed to getting into "game mode" and either just watching the games or even coaching them and then getting stats. The stats will be skewed if you get into game mode and sim your games that way. It seems to use a different engine for simming only than it does when simming and also controlling the AI players on the field.

I haven't really tried doing 'hands-off' in-game coaching, but I'll concur that just using the regular sim mode will produce realistic stats.

Between this upcoming revision and Arlie's game, Jim is going to have some work ahead of him to make TCY2 the college game of choice - which is good; the more (and better) competition, the better for all of us.

[Cuckoo]

I agree with Kodos. I prefer it to be unrealistic, though I am pleased with the additions anyway.

[rexallllsc]

Between this upcoming revision and Arlie's game, Jim is going to have some work ahead of him to make TCY2 the college game of choice - which is good; the more (and better) competition, the better for all of us.

I wish Jim would just team up w/ SI already! :)

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Kodos
I personally prefer recruiting to be done in an unrealistic manner.


Fixed it for ya. :p



Does this game have a coach-only mode that works?

Too much realism sucks. Just ask Mike Price.

[VPI97]

I will buy the game.

I will play my requisite 250 games online.

I will love the game.

[JeeberD]

Too much realism sucks. Just ask Mike Price.

http://www.benelou.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[maximus]

How about focusing on getting it onto a PC?

I agree.

[CraigSca]

I wonder why they don't? Are game sales on the PC that poor?

[Eaglesfan27]

More info from a gamespot hands on preview.

I'm worried about the impact player feature. If overdone, I'm worried it might imbalance the game too much and make it feel less realistic and more like an arcade style game. On the other hand, I think redoing the models slightly is a good idea and I like the recruiting info (which had already been mentioned in this thread.) I also will be glad to see improvements to the inside running game. Here is a copy of the article from gamespot:



NCAA Football 2006 Hands-On


EA Sports' NCAA series has been the only college football game in town for a while now, which made the recent announcement of the publisher's snatching up of the NCAA collegiate football license not exactly surprising, and not nearly the news item as the company's deal to acquire the NFL license in December of last year. Of course the NCAA Football series is operating in a different environment than the Madden series, one free of direct competition yet, remarkably, the series has remained stable in terms of quality from year to year. In much the same way Madden NFL 06 will need to make an impression now that it's the only pro game in town, so will NCAA Football 2006 need to shine in order to maintain the series' relatively sterling reputation.



http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2005/112/reviews/927412_20050423_embed001.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/sports/ncaafootball2006/screens_6122847.html?page=0001)
The game changes but one thing remains the same: Boise State's uniform and grass is still all jacked-up. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/sports/ncaafootball2006/screens_6122847.html?page=0001)


In a previous preview, we've already seen the game's main new addition, the Race for the Heisman mode, where you'll take a created player throughout his three- or four-year college career in an attempt to be named the best college football player of the year. Here, we want to give you an overview of the rest of the new features of NCAA Football 2006, which you can expect to see more detail on in the coming days and weeks leading up to both E3 and the game's release later this year. So, without further ado, here's a laundry list of what's new in NCAA Football 2006:

Impact Players
It follows that in order to win the Heisman Trophy, you're going to need to be a play maker, that deadly combination of speed, power, and precision who can literally change the course of a game with one big play, or carry a team upon his shoulders for the length of a game. In the world of NCAA Football 2006, that type of high octane powerhouse is known as an "impact player." Impact players in NCAA 2006 will be highlighted on the field and be capable of supreme bouts of skill during select moments in the game. If the game is on the line and it's time to step up and make a play, your impact player will be the man to go to, whether on offense or defense. Though you ideally want your created player to become that impact player, a strong team such as a USC or LSU might have impact players across several positions, any of which are able to step up and make a play at any time. Plus, when these elite athletes really hit their stride and get "in the zone", their abilities will increase into near-gamebreaker status ala NFL Street to help you clear a path on the road to victory. Not every impact player can become a Heisman winner, but even if you don’t take home the trophy, you can still become a legend at your school (and improve your Madden NFL 06 draft ranking while you're at it).

A New Look, A New Feel
Let's face it, only a select few college football players even are considered NFL material. Most college ballers are simply above-average athletes who find their way onto a team thanks more to hard work than God-given talent. The player models in NCAA 2006 have been overhauled to reflect the slightly more modest look of most college football players. Sure, you've still got your beef on the lines, but for the most part, the player models will be slightly thinner and slightly less muscular than their pro counterparts, all in keeping with the collegiate air of the game. These player models are bolstered by a host of new animations, numbering somewhere in the 300 to 400 range. Especially welcome are some new juke animations, reflecting an altered control scheme that will let you dodge right, left, or back with the right analog stick. Speed burst is now tied to the X button, which will also allow you to scramble out of the pocket when playing as the quarterback, a subtle change but one that seems to make the most sense to your thumbs. Of course, this means the X receiver will now be assigned to the triangle button but we doubt this will disrupt the passing game too much.

For those who love to run the ball as much as the college game demands it, some offensive line blocking AI tweaks have been included to make running both up the middle and outside more effective than ever. Even better, for fans of the option it looks like the EA developers have taken to heart the concerns players had over the option play, as halfbacks will follow their lead blockers closer than ever which, in effect, could make the option play more effective than ever before.

Finally the broadcast team of Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Brad Nessler are still in-tact, and new-look studio style game introductions inch ever closer to that ESPN College Game Day presentation style that fans of college ball love. And yes, love him or hate him, you knew it was coming: The Coach will don a gigantic mascot head when predicting his winner.



http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2005/112/reviews/927412_20050423_embed002.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/sports/ncaafootball2006/screens_6122847.html?page=0002)
Gentleman, we introduce the back-juke. You'll be avoiding defenders with the right analog stick in NCAA Football 2006. (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/sports/ncaafootball2006/screens_6122847.html?page=0002)


Matchups and Dynasties
While the good news is that popular features of the series such as the match-up stick and create-a-sign return in NCAA Football 2006, the series' always involving dynasty mode will be tweaked as well. Of course, you can expect the game to completely comply with the newly realigned conferences such as Conference USA and the ACC but the changes go much deeper than that. EA admitted that some of the flaws in last year's dynasty mode—too many upsets in simulated games, an overly fanatic discipline system that could easily unduly hurt your program--have been addressed. Even better, the recruiting system has received some substantial tweaks, including goodies such as in-season recruiting and an expanded pipeline system.

With pipelines, you'll be building direct feeds into neighboring regions to your home school, in order to grab the best talent from those regions. The more you make your presence known in a particular area, and the better your team does, the stronger that pipeline becomes and the better chance you have of stealing away talent from rival teams. Of course part of stealing talent comes in knowing as much as you can about the athletes your looking for and NCAA 2006's improved scouting mechanics will give you accurate ratings based on scouting reports you assign to staff members. Once you’ve got some target talent, it will be up to you to pitch that potential recruit on any number of motivational aspects: playing time, academics, coaching style, playing time, school prestige, program prestige, etc. The system will keep track of the types of pitches you use on a particular player, so you won't have to worry about unduly repeating yourself (unless you want to). You'll also get more detailed feedback from your potential recruits, which will give you a better idea of how to approach them on the next go around.

In-season recruiting is the biggest addition to NCAA 2006's dynasty mode and, as the name implies, adds a year-round approach to picking talent for your team. As your season progresses, you can keep an eye on a recruiting board that will list the top players in the nation, and their interest level for their top schools. As you might expect, a player's interest levels can be manipulated, provided you've got something to offer. That's where an on-campus visit will be ideal. Yes that's right, for those top recruits you're really going after, you'll be able to schedule on-campus visits. If you're smart you'll schedule the visit on the weekend of a big game, but be careful. Come away with a big win over a rival and you'll likely have an excited prospect looking for a dotted line to sign on. Tank the rivalry game and all you'll be met with is blank stares and unreturned phone calls. In-season recruiting will often result in soft verbal agreements but you'll still need to spend points on recruiting those players as the season continues.

NCAA Football 2006 is looking to cover a lot of ground this time around. For those who hate recruiting, the first-person approach of the race for the Heisman mode will be ideal. Those looking for more meat on the dynasty side will likely also be pleased due to some noticeable upgrades as well. We'll have much on NCAA Football 2006 as we approach the game's release later in the year.

By Brian Ekberg (http://www.gamespot.com/user/profile.html?user=BrianEk), GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/)<NOBR> POSTED: 04/23/05 03:17 AM</NOBR>

[dubb93]

I would like them to keep nfl street as far away from madden and ncaa football as possible. I really don't want a guy being invincible in a football simulation......

[Eaglesfan27]

I would like them to keep nfl street as far away from madden and ncaa football as possible. I really don't want a guy being invincible in a football simulation......

That is my concern as well. Hopefully, that feature is not nearly that dramatic.

[Blade6119]

What it made it sound like to me is elite level talent only...im thinking guys rated 90 or 95+ overall....that really does cut it down, and those talents do tear apart the other teams sometimes

[illinifan999]

First video is on the ea website. And wow. I really can't wait.

http://www.easports.com/games/ncaa06/videos.jsp?setID=First%20Look%20Trailer&resID=hi

[CraigSca]

Aren't the "impact" players higher ratings enough to make them the better players in tough situations? Like the others, the fact that these guys will artificially be given the ability to make great plays in key situations scares me. What's next, fire coming out of their feet and a brick wall across their chest?

Last year's version was highly disappointing to me, and it wasn't because there was a lack of impact players. My hope is that they (behind the scenes) focus on getting the engine right, which they have seem to have done with dynasty disciplinary issues and too many upsets. Focus on that, add impaact players (but greatly minimize their uptick over their true ratings) and you again have a winner.

But...this is what stinks when you have a licensing monopoly. If EA decides to make NCAA look like NFL BLitz or NFL Street, where is the simulation guy who likes graphics to turn for the console?

[Balldog]

There has never been a big enough difference in ratings IMO. Great players versus average players is only a 10-15 point difference. It should be greater. There shouldn't be that many impact players IMO. There are few that I can think of from last season, the one that stands out is Braylon Edwards. Basically that is just from that game against Michigan State which seemed like an NFL Street like performance.

[cartman]

Does this game have a coach-only mode that works?

There have been some serious issues in the passing game with coach only mode in the past. But if you run SkyDog's "3 yards and a cloud of dust" offense, then the coach mode might be ok. :D This is the method I've always had to fall back on if I didn't want to run the plays myself.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Sounds like it's gonna be a great game.