What is the Bottom line with BBCF?

[PSUColonel]

I have been debating whether or not I should get this game. It seems to me like it's a nice first effort game, but not really going to blow people away. That's ust my impression. The fact is not many people have been talking about it, and it just seems like it's probably a game I can live without. I know there were a couple of threads dedicated to BBCF here, but they are so long it becomes difficult to sort through. I'm looking for more of a bottom line synopsis type evaluation. Any opinions are appreciated.

[CamEdwards]

I haven't been writing about it because I've been playing it. I will probably play for 90-120 minutes every night, and haven't touched a game other than Star Wars: Battlefront in weeks (and even then, it's only to play a game with the kids).

It definitely has that "just one more turn" feel for me.

[PSUColonel]

I am really loking forward to OOTP 2006, and perhaps whatever Jim does, so this game would need to blow people away for me to buy it. Plus, I just think Pro sports is a much better fit when it comes to text sims. There's just more to do I think.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've enjoyed it immensely. I'm taking a break from my dynasty waiting for the next patch (because I think there was some unintended side effects from trying to improve the polls in the last patch.) However, I find the game to be well worth the money and I've already gotten many hours of enjoyment out of it.

[WSUCougar]

My overall thoughts:

The game is generally a good one. I think captures the essence of the sport. I can immerse myself in managing my team.
I think the time of release may have hurt it in terms of continued word-of-mouth. My interest in it certainly waned once college football season ended, but that's just me.
The interface and screen designs are not the best. Again, just my opinion, but they detract from the experience in a way that's difficult to pin down. As a comparison, TCB (another GreyDog product) has screens that use a much cleaner design, and are much more appealing to me.
AI/play-callling issues hurt the game. I haven't played it much since the most recent patch, but they were tough to deal with if you called your own games.
HTML was not available for multiplayer at last report


Bottom line is that I think it's worth purchasing but it might not blow you away. I feel like it's a solid product but I'm not knocked off my feet by it.

[Bee]

I've put it aside again until the next update, so that's why I haven't talked much about it. I think it's a good game and worth buying, but it didn't blow me away. I think it's a couple versions away from being a really top notch game but headed in the right direction.

[MizzouRah]

I've enjoyed it immensely. I'm taking a break from my dynasty waiting for the next patch (because I think there was some unintended side effects from trying to improve the polls in the last patch.) However, I find the game to be well worth the money and I've already gotten many hours of enjoyment out of it.
Great minds think alike... same here. :)

[I. J. Reilly]

Put me on the list of people who have stopped playing for now.

The play calling and game management feature was the big draw for me. Hopefully there will be some additions to this part in the future, because it certainly doesn't feel like it's done yet.

While the play calling was a pretty big let down, the rest of the game was a pleasant surprise to me. Recruiting in TCY was pretty boring for me, but it is exciting and entertaining in BBCF.

All that being said, I've probably played for 40-50 hours before getting bored with it and I have no doubt that I will fire it back up after 1.1 is released.

[miked]

I'm still playing it, though I'm not a major team, so I really don't care as much by the polls. I also don't have time to sit and call my own plays, so I really don't care as much about that either. I love the recruiting and really get into all the offseason stuff.

I'm waiting for 1.1 so I can get some multiplayer fun going on and seeing what else can be put in. I'd rather pay my money for this as it is a new sim than OOTP:SI:7:BM whatever as Markus has continually disappointed over the last few versions.

[Cuckoo]

Enjoying it quite a bit and playing it whenever I have the time. It's a good game and worth buying. There are still issues (that others have noted here), but nothing showstopping in my opinion. And I definitely get the "one more turn" feel from it.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I played it briefly on release day and haven't played it since. Too many other things have taken up my time. After the 1.1 patch comes out, I'll give it another go.

[Raiders Army]

Played it about five minutes...literally. Other than that, nada.

Edit--Like Madden 2006 for the Xbox 360, I could live without it. Madden 2006 and NCAA 2006 for the Xbox are much better games that I would rather play. I'd much rather play FOF 2004 than BBCF simply because there are too many bugs.

[Emiliano]

It's a very good, deep game in my opinion. I played it like crazy for about a month after the release, and then stopped because I don't really have the time to play right now. I'm sure I'll get back to it soon. I'd suggest you to try it.

[Ben E Lou]

Count me in the group that says it is solid, but not knock-you-off-your-feet good yet. If Arlie can include a good number of the suggestions compiled, it *could* be knock-you-off-your-feet good. Playing with a very low prestige school, the issues with the polls are meaningless to me right now, but hopefully by the time I need them to work properly, they'll be fixed. :p

[George]

Count me in the group that says it is solid, but not knock-you-off-your-feet good yet. If Arlie can include a good number of the suggestions compiled, it *could* be knock-you-off-your-feet good. Playing with a very low prestige school, the issues with the polls are meaningless to me right now, but hopefully by the time I need them to work properly, they'll be fixed. :p

This sums up my feelings as well.

[Toddzilla]

Count me in the group that says it is solid, but not knock-you-off-your-feet good yet. If Arlie can include a good number of the suggestions compiled, it *could* be knock-you-off-your-feet good. Playing with a very low prestige school, the issues with the polls are meaningless to me right now, but hopefully by the time I need them to work properly, they'll be fixed. :p

And to follow up on that thought, if the accuracy of the polls and the way they work week in and week out are of any interest, you better wait until the next release to see if they have been fixed. As of now, the polling system is a complete joke with absolutely no basis in reality whatsoever. If you plan on playing with a decent team with the goal of trying to win a national championship using the BCS, then I'd warn you that such a pursuit is basically hopless since the polls dont work so you may find yoiurself very frustrated.

If, like Skydog, you plan on taking control of a low prestige team and trying to move them up the ranks, then IMO the game simply cannot be beat. It is challenging, immersive, and absolutely has the one-more-turn feel to it.

[ahbrady]

You could just wait for Maximum Football to come out. It has the "Bubba-guarantee" of being out this week.

[Eaglesfan27]

You could just wait for Maximum Football to come out. It has the "Bubba-guarantee" of being out this week.
:D

[Easy Mac]

Played it a few times, I just can't get in it. It seems I'm in the vast minority, but I prefer the sim/recruit being at the same time. Simming and tweaking game plans by itself becomes boring for me, I don't find the recruiting enjoyable by itself. I don't really feel like the interface is a fluid as it needs to be, too many button presses. I really don't like a lot of the AI logic, especially at the end of games, it still pretty bad in that area in my opinion. I've seen a lot of horrible clock management, and penalties that aren't charged correctly... It just doesn't feel all there, so I don't really feel like I can trust the results. I also lost a season when the game froze during recruiting. I tried the minimizing, alt-tab, everything but nothing worked.
I guess its more of a game that needs to be cleaned up for me before I really feel like playing it. Its not inherently bad, and I can see why people like it, but it just isn't all there for me though.

[WSUCougar]

I prefer the sim/recruit being at the same time.
You are not alone! Fight The Man! Power to the people!

[Ben E Lou]

It seems I'm in the vast minority, but I prefer the sim/recruit being at the same time.Agree 100% there. Simming and tweaking game plans by itself becomes boring for me, I don't find the recruiting enjoyable by itself.AGree with the first part, but I do find recruiting to be enjoyable spread out, although it doesn't feel right that way. I don't really feel like the interface is a fluid as it needs to be, too many button presses.Agree 100%!!! Have the guys at GreyDog heard of "keyboard shortcuts???" Both BBCF and TCB could benefit lots from just activating the arrow keys, for goodness' sake.

[Schmidty]

I love the game and currently play it more than any other game I own.

[dawgfan]

You are not alone! Fight The Man! Power to the people!
Yep. Recruiting is not free agency - it happens all season long and should be reflected that way in the game.

[FBPro]

I think I've reached 2020 and still having a great time. Taking a slight break to work on a few other issues but plan on going right back to it. FWIW, I have already played BBCF way more than I have ever played TCY 99% due to the fact that when you allow your staff to recruit it does a good job and keeps you competitive...TCY never did that for me and I do not like to recruit.

[miked]

Recruiting is (and should be) such a task. The last thing I want to do is split my focus between managing my team and managing recruiting. My patience is only so much. I haven't played TCY, so I'm not sure how tedious it is, I just know that when I start splitting my attention, it makes the individual aspects less fun for me.

[Capital]

I've played BBCF more than any game since WoW and I stopped playing that game in July. I'm in season 2031 with my Vanderbilt career. Although, I only sim so I cannot comment on the playcalling.

[CraigSca]

Anyone know when 1.1 is due to be released?

[miked]

Anyone know when 1.1 is due to be released?


http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11384

Good luck, I think the only thing they'll say is that they have nothing currently to say.