NCAA 2011 thread

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Why are you leaving heaven?

Heaven is nice, but it's only heavenly in moderation.

[whomario]

The Patch is out. No word yet on what it actually does since it´s still the middle of the night where you guys and EA are sitting, but it´s definitely out

only things mentioned in the tuner-centric blog a couple weeks ago :

NCAA FOOTBALL 11 CLIENT UPDATE 2
More details on the client update to come, but here are three of the big ones we've solved:
-- RANDOM PLAY ACTION CRAZINESS - Sure it looks funny, but annoying as heck when it costs you a drive or a game. We're sorry we missed this one as well and apologize for the issue.

-- SEASON SHOWDOWN STATS REPORTING - The season showdown warning is harmless right now and this issue and related lobby problems ultimately get fixed with the update.

-- UNIFORMS THAT NEVER NEED WASHING - This is one of the more painful ones for us given all the work on visuals this year. The game actually does degrade uniforms; unfortunately we broke something in a final build that made the impact way too subtle. Consider this one solved with the update. And we want you to know that we've really been enjoying the great "Art of NCAA Football" threads. It's clear we have some incredible photographic talent in our community! So I expect things will go next-level when the update rolls out. For example, this shot comes straight out of the updated game:

[Balldog]

Anyone find a way to get the CPU to run the option effectively and reduce the amount of all out blitzes by the CPU? Those are really my only gripes at this point.

[whomario]

aparently there´s a huge issue with players not progressing after the Patch. Early guess on OS is that it´s a 360 related problem as PS3 seems to work fine (just tested in my PS3 dynasty and simmed ahead and it worked)

Originally Posted by Balldog

Anyone find a way to get the CPU to run the option effectively and reduce the amount of all out blitzes by the CPU? Those are really my only gripes at this point.

Option : No. Just can´t be done i´m afraid. I´ve actually gone ahead and change the teams playbook for the teams that run a lot of option when i´m playing against them (try to avoid it, but may happen in bowl games)

Blitzes : In dynasty, go to "coach philosophy" , choose your next oponent and tone down the defensive playcall agressivness ( i found that toning it down by 15 gives good results) and then exit the screen directly (this is important. If you then simply choose another team to edit the changes won´t keep. If you want to edit multiple teams you have to enter the menu multiple times)


I actually made a habit out of changing the playstyle of the top 25 and my scheduled oponents a bit to make it go with their current talent level. Sometimes playbook changes but mostly just changing run/pass frequency and playcall agressivness.
F.e. if a team with a great HB on the default roster ends up having a great QB but only a decent HB 3 years into the season i´ll change the run/pass ratio towards the pass.

Takes propably 30 minutes to do and i do it every other year for the Top25 and each year for my oponents.

[whomario]

so it seems it was "only" a little error releasing the Patch and the new Tuner Set not 100% simultanously.

Fixes and changes :

Hello again NCAA Fans!

I’m Russ Kiniry and I’d like to welcome you to Client Update 2 for NCAA Football 11. You should be able to download the update now (it will automatically download when you start the game). Roy talked about this update coming a while back in his blog ‘Thank You’ and I brought it up again when we released Live Tuner Pack 1 last week. I am happy to finally say it is here, and we’ve got a long list of tweaks, tunes, and fixes. Many of these changes were requests straight from you, the fans of NCAA Football, so it was very important to us to get them in the update. Enough words, let’s get to the list!

Graphics
- Uniform degradation has been fixed.
- Fixed a graphical issue with TeamBuilder sideline home uniforms.
- Fixed several camera bugs (pulled back on field goals, blurry cameras, and replays after a change of possession)
- Fixed helmet numbers for Rice and Wake Forest

Online
- Resolved crash issue with Season Showdown, allowing us to turn it back on, so you’re upload failure message every time you go in/out of game is gone!
- Fixed a couple crashes related to lobbies
- Fixed voice communication in Online Dynasty Hub on PS3
- Fixed an issue that could lead to a disconnect in online play during play calling

Offense
- Fixed an issue on a couple plays where the QB would miss a hand off and run backward
- Reduced the chance that the ball will be knocked out when a receiver is hit at the time of the catch
- Tuned the CPU ball carrier so that they will break to the outside more often when appropriate
- Tuned how the CPU ball carriers utilize leans and special moves so that they won’t be called in situations when they shouldn’t be used (e.g. a HB in the open field will not put his shoulders down when running forward)
- Tuned pass accuracy and the ability to lead a receiver
- Tweaked sideline catches in the end zone so that they have a bit more room to play
- Fixed an exploit where backwards passes could be overly effective

Defense
- Fixed defensive reaction to pump fake to be more balanced. Skilled defensive backs will not be as easily fooled by pump fakes.
- Tuned the Aggressive Defensive Line Gameplan to have more risk of jumping offsides
- Removed a hesitation from defensive lineman pass rush on screen plays
- Improved flat zone and deep zone coverage
- Tuned man coverage reaction to the run
- Adjusted CPU pursuit angles in some specific cases where they weren’t being aggressive enough

Special Teams
- Tuned onside kicks to be less predictable
- Fixed an issue where catching a kicked ball after hitting the goalpost would result in kicking team getting the ball back
- Fixed an issue where the punter could line up out of place
- Adjusted cross bar collision on field goals and extra points
- Tuned Kick Power and Kick Accuracy of kickers and punters

Other
- Tuned CPU clock management where they would let the clock run out in some cases they shouldn’t
- Fixed a bug with time of possession tracking
- Adjusted substitutions to be more intelligent (previously would see some weird players in the game with lots of aggressive no huddle)
- Fixed a couple places where the wrong custom stadium sounds would play
- Fixed a bug that caused Road To Glory to be simulated day by day near the end of the season
- Fixed a couple infrequent game crashes
It’s safe to say this is the biggest update in NCAA History. We wanted to be sure that we continue to improve your experience while playing NCAA Football 11, so this update touches almost every area of the game. Again, I want to thank you for providing us with all the feedback you have thus far, and encourage you to continue to do so. You can look forward to more Live Tuner Packs for NCAA Football 11 in the near future.

This update is for you Mr. Passionate-NCAA-Football-Gamer.


-Russ Kiniry
Designer NCAA Football

some big ones in there, let´s see if they work as advertised.

As usual, they fail to mention what way they tuned certain things. "Tuned QB accuracy" , but in what direction ?

[MizzouRah]

Had a close one last night against Miami University, won 45-35, but was down 35-31 with only 2:30 left.

[whomario]

could someone explain to me how to run the option plays ? I can´t even figure out how to pitch the ball (or isn´t that possible in some plays ?), when to hit the button. Let alone figure out wether or not to do it in the few plays where i get both options (taking it and pitching) to work. All that happens is my QB either miraculously (seemingly to me) getting an opening or my QB getting knocked on his ass rather sudden by some 300 pound DE ...

If anyone could take any PB they are familiar with and give me some examples of plays and how to run them that would be great

[rowech]

So is NCAA looking rock solid at this point? I'm debating it and Madden.

[flounder]

I haven't played any version since 09, but I played as Georgia Tech and ran mostly option plays. I'll tell you how I did it in that version. I would think it would be fairly similar in this version, although I know they have worked on the option logic since 09.

In real life, the point of the option play is to leave certain players unblocked, and then choose a option based on those players' actions. For example, in the triple option, the QB first looks at the play side defensive end. The offensive tackle that would normally block him, instead double teams the defensive tackle. If the DE moves toward the outside of the line of scrimmage to take away the QB keeper, the QB hands the ball off to the fullback. If instead the DE moves toward the inside to take away the fullback's run, the QB keeps it.

The next player to be "optioned" is the playside OLB. He has two choices: take the QB or take the pitchman. Depending on his choice, the QB either keeps the ball or pitches it.

In the game ('09 at least), it's different. The OT just blocks the opposing DE, no matter what. So what I would do is watch the MLB first. If he moves out of the center of the field, to blitz to the outside for example, I would hand the ball to the fullback. If not, I would keep it then look next at the OLB.

Obviously, if you can't block the DE, you're not going to be able to run the triple option, because if he takes away the QB keeper and the MLB takes away the fullback run then you're out of options. In cases like that I would try a speed option play where the QB just keeps the ball and sprints around the edge. If your QB is fast enough, he can get around the DE before he gets off his block. If not, run your plays in the other direction.

[whomario]

the cpu is definitely running the ball a lot better and more versatile, actually using different moves and breaking to the outside when possible.

Heck, they even scored a TD on a 60 yard option play, although that could have been more me being surprised by the play (i avoided playing teams with much option as it wasn´t working) as oposed to the cpu running it so great (but he really pitched it at the last second)

unfortunatly i had the feeling they blitzed even more than before, not less... And the man coverage seemed even better than before ...

@ flounder : Thanks, although i don´t really need to run "heavy" option plays, it´s more the QB and either a HB or a sweeping WR.

My problem really is that a lot of times i´ll press the button to pitch, but nothing happens. Also there´s "read option" plays where it basically ends up being the HB running by the QB, who fakes the handoff and then goes the other way. Where´s the "option" in that play ?

[Sun Tzu]

For the love of god, they did a full tuner adjustment AND a massive patch, and still haven't fixed supersim? What the fuck is wrong with these people? Do they not understand that Road to Glory is essentially broken, broken, broken, broken until supersim is fixed? uuuuuuugh

I guess that's what happens when anytime you point out a glitch on the OS forums you get banned. Nothing ever gets fixed!

[Kodos]

You sure seem to get worked up about a game you don't have.

[whomario]

i don´t actually think there´s all that much wrong with super sim actually. Seemed weird to me as well at first, but playing a season in RTG it actually played out fairly well and "realistic" overall.
Same for dynasty games where i super sim defense in games allready decided.

[illinifan999]

(Taken from OS)

They may screw up a lot of things, but they sure can make a game pretty.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Kodos

You sure seem to get worked up about a game you don't have.

Only because I want to buy it and enjoy it, as I enjoyed the hell out of the series years ago. But when they seem to come sooo close, then they completely shit the bed in one area...it's frustrating.

[whomario]

some weird, random thing that had me almost fall out of my chair, had to pause for a solid 5 minutes before being able to play on :

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by whomario

i don´t actually think there´s all that much wrong with super sim actually. Seemed weird to me as well at first, but playing a season in RTG it actually played out fairly well and "realistic" overall.
Same for dynasty games where i super sim defense in games allready decided.

The past couple years supersim would result in roughly 2x the number of plays being called. For example, sometimes the score would be 85-92 or something ridiculous, and it would throw an entire seasons statistics out of whack. With "Road to Glory" mode, every play you're not a part of is simmed via supersim. So if supersim is still broken, then the entire mode is pretty much shot.

[whomario]

I agree with that, plays do happen to quickly in super sim as opposed to real life and it annoyed the heck out of me with Madden last year. But with NCAA : Well, since RTG is 5 minute quarters and most people play dynasty at 7 to 9 minutes i´d say you can get by with it being the way it is. It really is pretty much in line with what happens on the field. If i played 15 minute quarters every game would end 60-54 or sth playing myself as well, so me playing 8 minutes is pretty much in line with what super sim produces.
(in Madden i played 12 minutes i think)

Just simmed 2 games with super sim in my dynasty to test a bit (as said, normally i only sim at the end of decided games or in RTG)

Game 1 :

Stanford 35
ND 28

Stanford 15 First Downs, 398 Offense
ND 18 First Downs, 379 Offense

Total run/pass plays : 74 for Stanford, 70 for Notre Dame

Game 2 :

ND 38 / 21 First Downs, 435 Yards, 67 plays
Michigan State 17, 14 First Downs, 352 Yards, 64 Plays


Last game played before the sim experiment :

ND 35 / 15 First Downs / 395 Yards / 61 Plays
Indiana 24 / 17 First Downs / 388 Yards / 58 plays

Yes, it is a little faster still (although i played that Indiana game propably slower than usual, didn´t go to no huddle much f.e.) but not at all a gamebreaker to me.

I´ve seen the number 140 thrown around as some sort of benchmark for total plays in College games and that would fit ok enough.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by whomario

some weird, random thing that had me almost fall out of my chair, had to pause for a solid 5 minutes before being able to play on :

Looks like you definitely fooled the LDE. He's completely turned around, and wearing the wrong color uniform to boot.

[Bigsmooth]

Figured as much:

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: NCAA 11 Tuning pack #2

[whomario]

i actually get by by ok by cranking up the sliders for the cpu kicking and on very bad cases super sim extra points ...

Originally Posted by illinifan999

(Taken from OS)

They may screw up a lot of things, but they sure can make a game pretty.

this one looks really awesome

here´s a move i made in a game tonight (actually have no idea how exactly i made it though ... )



another great pic from OS :




For what it´s worth, i think it´s a really good game, after adjusting sliders a bit (again ...) i had another great run of games tonight and am really enjoying it. It´s been a while since i advanced as deep into a career mode this rapidly in any game, just ended a great 3rd season going 11-1 and playing the fiesta bowl (will do tomorrow or saturday, need a break ). But then again i might not be the best judge with limited football knowledge

Might very well be loosing both my starting QB and HB to the Pro Dradft (and the backup HB is a senior) as well as 2 of my 4 top receivers as seniors, so the next season might be a bit rocky. I also loose like half my starters on defense.
Will need to adjust some in that case, my starting QB will likely be a redshirt freshman. 2 in contention (both converted Athletes) with as of now 78 OVRL each : 1 with 83 THP and 89 THA (before training) and ok running skills (low 70s for speed and acc), the other so far has 89 THP and 77 Acc but amazing run skills (86 speed, 90 ACC, 88 AGI, 79 break tackle, 84 ELU, 83 JKM and 74 SPin move with 76 carrying)

Both also have good WR skills, can this be used in any way ?

Plus 1 of my next HBs in line is 6´5 with great ACC, Break Tackle and Trucking.

[bhlloy]

How many recruits can you create every year? As annoying as it would get, creating a bunch of 70 rated kickers every would somewhat fix this bug I would have thought.

[Groundhog]

it sounds like you'd need to create enough kickers for every team in the nation.

[bhlloy]

Well, if you are in the Pac 10 then creating 10-15 West Coast based kickers every year would probably be enough to keep a decent flow through the dynasty (guys stick around for 4 years). It's not like I care who the Marshall kicker is if I'm USC.

Not an ideal solution, but I'm asking if this is really a dynasty killer right now rather than being an annoyance.

[bhlloy]

Of course the flipside is with development all those guys are going to be 90+ by their junior year. Not great.

Genuinely basing my decision whether to go out and buy the game on whether there are any bugs that make dynasty mode "broken", not just throwing out random hypotheticals.

[Sun Tzu]

Yeah, I've been borderline on picking this up. I'll just wait until the "final" patch is released and see if there are still some game breakers hanging around.

[whomario]

One thing about the kicker-problem is that for some weird reason the cpu doesn´t put in punters as kickers and vice-versa in the depth chart. When playing against teams that have only 1 quality kicker/punter i just create a new coach and set their depth chart (you have to write down the teams tendency beforehand as it sets everything to 50% when you take over, as mentioned i change the tendencies/strategy for the Top25 and conference teams every other year anyway) so that the competent guy is slotted in both spots.

[bhlloy]

Well, that's a poor Madden/NCAA design decision in the first place. Good kicker does not equal a good punter in 98% of cases. Very few elite NCAA teams have guys that do both jobs (you may see the punter be the kickoff guy)

But yeah, that's another possible fix. Probably pick this up if I see a good deal going on in the next couple of weeks or if I have some Gamefly coupons to use.

[MizzouRah]

Ugh.. lost to Colorado last night in a defensive game, 17-13. They took the lead for good after a Blaine Gabbert fumble that was ran back 65 yards.

I'm not sure why I bought Madden as NCAA has been a blast to play thus far.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Ugh.. lost to Colorado last night in a defensive game, 17-13. They took the lead for good after a Blaine Gabbert fumble that was ran back 65 yards.

I'm not sure why I bought Madden as NCAA has been a blast to play thus far.

With Madden you can have the game pick the plays for you!!1!1

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

With Madden you can have the game pick the plays for you!!1!1

haha.. might have turned out different.. but I like calling my own plays, even if gameflow speeds the game up quite a bit.

[Ksyrup]

Not sure when I'll have the chance to play, but I got this for my birthday today.

[Sweed]

Had NCAA11 for a week now and game play wise this is the best football game I have played since the ps2 days of Madden. If they get the AI depth chart issue patched for offline dynasty mode I'm going to be playing a lot of seasons.

The running game is great from blocking to how plays develop. Pulling linemen actually do something. Linemen also get to the second level defensive players.

Pass blocking also is much improved. I haven't noticed once a lineman giving the old ole' play and letting a defender come in untouched. I have yet to have a play where I was sacked and thought "what the fuck?".

The recruiting module is fun and not tedious.

It may not be up to the total package quality of The Show or NHL, but the bottom line is, like the previously mentioned games, the games are just plain fun to play. IMHO a huge improvement over anything EA has done in a very long while.

[Ksyrup]

I still haven't had a chance to fire this up yet. But I did unwrap it yesterday. So I'm getting there, slowly.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I still haven't had a chance to fire this up yet. But I did unwrap it yesterday. So I'm getting there, slowly.

What's next, opening up the case?

[Sun Tzu]

If they fix the f'ed up recruiting, I'll probably pick this up.

[Ksyrup]

I opened up the case yesterday, I might play tonight.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I opened up the case yesterday, I might play tonight.

Whoa whoa whoa...slow down there. You have to press down on the middle of the case, to pop out the game first. Then let it sit there for 4-5 days before you even contemplate playing it.

[Ksyrup]

Ha! I actually got about an hour's worth of playing around in last night. I haven't played in 10 months or so, so I messed around with practice then played a short exhibition game. I'm feeling back in the swing of things.

Anyone got a decent set of sliders they are using? Also, it seems like most of the slider sets I see over at the OS forums are using slow speed - is that what most people are using? I just played on default sliders/speed last night.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Ha! I actually got about an hour's worth of playing around in last night. I haven't played in 10 months or so, so I messed around with practice then played a short exhibition game. I'm feeling back in the swing of things.

Anyone got a decent set of sliders they are using? Also, it seems like most of the slider sets I see over at the OS forums are using slow speed - is that what most people are using? I just played on default sliders/speed last night.

Playmaker's slow varsity sliders seem to give the most realistic game since the latest patch and tuner file. Here is the link Playmakers Slow Speed Varsity Level Custom Skill Sliders - Operation Sports Forums but he's still doing some testing on his post patch set so the first page is not the final set. You need to go to post 1044 to get his most current tweaks.

I started a game using his pre-patch set and tweaked it on my own post patch. Here are the ones I'm using now..


My varsity sliders for ncaa11

10 MINUTE QTR's

OFFENSIVE SLIDERS
QBA-10/45
PASS BLOCK-50/50
WR CATCH-35/40
RBA- 40 /45
RUN BLOCK-50/55

DEFENSIVE SLIDERS
PASS COVERAGE-40 /50
PASS RUSH-80/100
INT-65/65
RUSH DEFENSE-30/95
TACKLE-15/50

SPECIAL TEAM SLIDERS

FG Power-5/5
FG Accuarcy-20/45
Punt Power-15/55
Punt Accuarcy-55/70
Kick Off Length-35/50

Auto subs same as Playmaker

AUTO SUB'S
QB:60/75
RB:80/85
WR:80/85
FB/TE:80/85
OL:60/75

DT:75/85
DE:75/85
LB:80/85
CB:65/80
S:65/80

Player speed threshold 25

I'm old and slow so you may find these too easy but they work well for me.
Most use 8-9 minute qtrs but I take my time at the LOS so I need 10 minutes to get the right number of plays.

Before you think "oh, yeah varsity? No." there are a number of posts in Playmakers thread from former AA and Heismann players that now find this level to give the best game. Of course YMMV.

[Ksyrup]

Thanks. And yeah, I'm old too so I odn't have a problem playing at varsity.

[MizzouRah]

I just play on AS defaults with 8 min quarters.

So far, I'm 5-1 with Missouri, losing to Colorado 20-17, then going to Texas A&M last night and squeaking out a 20-14 W behind QB Jimmy Costello. Gabbert is out for 11 weeks...

[Ksyrup]

Can someone tell me where I can change the numbers to random names? I swear I saw it when I started the dynasty and set it to "yes", but everyone's just got a number and I don't see the option that was in NCAA10 to give everyone a name. Thanks.

[MizzouRah]

You can only do it at the beginning of your dynasty.

[Ksyrup]

I thought I did. And now that I've looked through my team 2 years in, a few guys have names but most of them are numbers.

[Ksyrup]

I started a new dynasty and got it figured out. I bet I got one of those double-clicks and I ended up going back to the default no instead of yes on the names thing. Anyway, I simmed 3 years as the coach for Western Michigan, did well enough to get a bunch of offers once the contract was up, and took over an absolutely awful New Mexico State team that went 0-12 in 2012. I knew they were bad, but I didn't realize my roster was essentially 80% walk-on. I've only got about a dozen guys rated 50 or better, 2 guys over 70. Holy crap.

I've got recruiting on AA level. I got my butt kicked in the half-year I recruited once I took over, but that's probably because the team sucks balls and I wasn't going to just recruit 1 star guys. I'm assuming AA will be a challenge, but not impossible once (if) I start winning games.

[illinifan999]

Damn. TCU has got a MONSTER kicker in my dynasty. Playing against them in the National Championship, they line up for a field goal with 10 seonds left in the 2nd quarter from 64 yards away. I figure, hey I'll finally have to ac hance to try for a field goal return. Wrong. 64 yarder with enough boom he probably coulda made a 70 yarder.

[Ksyrup]

OK, so I need a bit of help/advice. I was under the (mistaken) impression that this "tuning pack" was basically like a patch that was automatically downloaded when I start up a game. But I'm reading some things elsewhere and realizing it is not. So how do I get the tuning packs? I am connected to the internet and have an XBox Live free account, but not the membership. Is online access enough? If so, how do I get them, and if not, how the F am I supposed to get access to them (without paying up, I guess)?

Any help is appreciated. I don't spend any time on XBox Live - I rarely play games, but nothing online, and my kids don't play online either.

[k0ruptr]

lemme guess,your playing on Heisman level? the kicker thing I mean.

[Sweed]

Playing as Iowa at Mich. Check out this sack, I'm controlling the DE

EA Sports: NCAA Football 11 Video