NCAA Football 14

[Groundhog]

When screen passes work for me they are generally good for about 5-15 yards. They work well enough that I try them once or twice a game, in particular when I'm about 8-10 yards out from the endzone.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

This is correct because the 1st outside can crash on the RB and the 2nd go to the QB, which I see as well. I audible to the screen into the pressure when I get this alignment.

The more I thought of it: I seem to recall at least one coach saying that the tackle would make a call or signal that he would block the inside of the two defenders to try and keep the heat off the give.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

The more I thought of it: I seem to recall at least one coach saying that the tackle would make a call or signal that he would block the inside of the two defenders to try and keep the heat off the give.

Yeah, you can zone it if he is in a straight 5 tech also, which will change the aim point of the back or on the give or also check to speed option and read the #2 defender outside the OT.

I do like the offense, just not as much as Wing T

[nilodor]

I am playing as Arizona State and just had a ESPN classic game. I had been doing pretty well on defense through my first 3 games (played Stanford, Wisconsin and Old Miss) and was ranked in the top 30 in defense. Then I got shredded against USC, their QB went like 25-30 for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 3 huge plays downfield where their receiver beat 2 or 3 of my guys for the ball. Also their running back went over a 100 yards and had a 60 some odd yard touchdown where none of my guys were even on the screen. They were up 3 touchdowns at one point but I kept running my offense and chizzled it down to a one score game by limiting them to field goals (they didn't punt once). Unfortunately I just ran out of time to complete the comeback and lost 41-35. It was a lot of fun on offense, super frustrating on defense. It was the first time in video game football where I felt like it didn't matter what I did, I wasn't stopping them. It was made all the more frustrating because it would up being an instant classic, which only seem to come up when I lose.

[TroyF]

I can use play action, but I don't get the play action screen passes. They just take way too long to complete. I use a custom playbook. I run the spread, but found it didn't have a lot of running plays outside the tackles that weren't option related. Added some sweeps and off tackle runs. Took away 75% of the play action screen passes and redundant formations.

I have a playbook I'm pretty happy with now.

[DaddyTorgo]

Okay - so I just got around to trying out the demo.

Is it just the demo graphics, or does the game (grass, player models) look a lot more "gamey" and less "realistic" than in (I think it was) 12, the last one I purchased. Feel like it's gone backwards in that regard.

[PurdueBrad]

I had been holding off but basically got bored yesterday and so I picked it up. I snagged PastaPadres rosters, made some minor slider tweaks that address my skills and push my weaknesses.

I'm the OC for Purdue but am not coaching, I'm actually running the offense. I struggled during the first 4 games, winning at Cincy, beating an FCS (Indiana State), and beating an NIU team that is not performing well in my dynasty. I took it on the chin against Notre Dame and played a close one with, but ultimately fell to, Wisconsin. I'm turning the ball over waaaaaaay too much. The +/- going into the Nebraska game was -15.

Recruiting is...well, I'm not sure. It feels tedious at times and yet I think its faster than previous versions. I'm not having much success yet (1 recruit by week 7). As others have said, I do wish I was limited to just recruiting the offensive half. Although one very smart decision I made was not to invite any players to the Nebraska game. They're coming in 17th in the country and I knew better...

...or so I thought. I played a very tough game with them winning 42-28. It actually felt like an accomplishment beating a better team, something I hadn't really felt in some of the previous versions where it seemed like my options were to dominate or feel like the game was cheating. So, with no recruits present, we pulled off a huge upset.

And now: #9 MSU, #1 Ohio State, unranked 5-1 Iowa, and unranked 5-1 Penn State. Hmmmm, maybe I should've had those recruits over for the Nebraska game!

Anyway, the game is solid but I'm not sure how big an upgrade it is. I'll have to play around with the coaching only system next (when I can find out how to set it up because that's what I thought I was doing when I took on the OC job with Purdue).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Is it just the demo graphics, or does the game (grass, player models) look a lot more "gamey" and less "realistic" than in (I think it was) 12, the last one I purchased. Feel like it's gone backwards in that regard.

I think I'm in the minority but I actually thought this looked/felt more like humans than any edition I've played.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Now in my 5th season, single player dynasty, playing AA out of the box.

I think I've found something that's pretty broken, or at least seems to be. By this point the game is almost entirely new recruits (I guess all that's left of the starting roster are 5th year seniors). And nearly every player is a stud.

What seems to be happening is that 4 years worth of off-season training is adding 12-24 points to everyone's overall rating, meaning that the bottom feeding teams in the game nearly all have rosters in the upper 70s, and there's got to be several dozen between 88 & 100 overall. IMO either player development is overpowered or the starting skill level of the average recruit is too high relative to what constitutes a 'star'.

edit to add: Plus, the coaches are steadily improving, which means there's more & more bonus points being added to players through that method as well.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Now in my 5th season, single player dynasty, playing AA out of the box.

I think I've found something that's pretty broken, or at least seems to be. By this point the game is almost entirely new recruits (I guess all that's left of the starting roster are 5th year seniors). And nearly every player is a stud.

What seems to be happening is that 4 years worth of off-season training is adding 12-24 points to everyone's overall rating, meaning that the bottom feeding teams in the game nearly all have rosters in the upper 70s, and there's got to be several dozen between 88 & 100 overall. IMO either player development is overpowered or the starting skill level of the average recruit is too high relative to what constitutes a 'star'.

edit to add: Plus, the coaches are steadily improving, which means there's more & more bonus points being added to players through that method as well.

Yikes - that's pretty severely broken.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Yikes - that's pretty severely broken.

Honestly, without serious slider tweaking (which I'm not into), the gameplay experience ends up just like what I found last version. I'm riding a 28 game winning streak at Georgia State, closing in on a chance to defend my national championship. But weirdly, the game is actually getting a little harder. My mostly bottom feeder opponents routinely have players well into the 80s now.

I suspect my son's observation is the mostly correct one "You're one of the relatively few people who ever get 5 seasons into a dynasty, one of even fewer who play a lot but don't play mostly online".

edit to add: And I'm far from being good at the game. I'd get slaughtered online I'm sure (luckily I have no interest in playing that way). But as a single player experience, out of the box, this is still the same thing I've seen in most all console sports game: it either gets very easy quickly or it's unplayably hard for an average adult if you crank it up too far.

[Groundhog]

I'm only in my 2nd season, but the stat progression definitely looked extreme following my first year - lots of guys +5 or +6 overall.

[PurdueBrad]

A tale of two games.

I was tied 7-7 with Michigan State in East Lansing when I made a bad turnover. The game turned ugly quickly and I found myself down 28-7. We stormed back on the passing game but fell short, 31-26.

I was tied 7-7 with Ohio State on a snow West Lafayette afternoon. I threw a pick when I hit the wrong button. On the next drive I threw a pick of my own doing and again, found myself down badly 23-7. I chipped away through the air and on the ground, battling..23-10, 23-17, 30-17, 30-20, 30-27. The Buckeyes scored on their next drive, a field goal. With the score 33-27, I got the ball back with 2 minutes to play and put together the drive that brought us back. So with 48 seconds to play, I took a 34-33 lead and I had to sit there and wait and watch while the CPU played defense for me...but we won.

Purdue is 5-3 and ranked 16th. Not sure I'll hold on to make this a great season but we'll see.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

lots of guys +5 or +6 overall.

Very common in my experience.

It's interesting though, if you had told me that + a little about the coaching bonuses, I'd have figure that was the cause. But none of them seem to affect that directly. IIRC there might be a bump in your training based on prestige or something like that, but no direct modifiers. I think it's just too uniformly overpowered.

[PurdueBrad]

Hmmm, well, after playing some tough, close games I've rattled off 5 straight wins to go to the Big Ten Championship game against #20 Michigan (I'm #10). I just finished a game where I threw 6 picks against Indiana and, for some reason, my interceptions have skyrocketed as the season went on. I'm hoping to get hired as a HC after this year as OC and hopefully that will let me just coach.

If not, how do you set up a coach-only dynasty so I don't have to play?

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Honestly, without serious slider tweaking (which I'm not into), the gameplay experience ends up just like what I found last version. I'm riding a 28 game winning streak at Georgia State, closing in on a chance to defend my national championship. But weirdly, the game is actually getting a little harder. My mostly bottom feeder opponents routinely have players well into the 80s now.

I suspect my son's observation is the mostly correct one "You're one of the relatively few people who ever get 5 seasons into a dynasty, one of even fewer who play a lot but don't play mostly online".

edit to add: And I'm far from being good at the game. I'd get slaughtered online I'm sure (luckily I have no interest in playing that way). But as a single player experience, out of the box, this is still the same thing I've seen in most all console sports game: it either gets very easy quickly or it's unplayably hard for an average adult if you crank it up too far.

You and I seem to have similar playing abilities. I've played 3 games online just to see how it goes. I'm 0-3. But I do fairly well on AA against the computer. I'm only in year two of my dynasty but I'll be another of the few to get to year 5 and beyond. Right now I have just 3 legitimate teams that are "difficult" to play in the MWC. Curious to see what that number is in a few years. I have noticed that 3 star recruits seem to be in the low 70s once I scout them. Seems a bit high because even a basic 6-8 point gain per year puts them at 90s by the time they are seniors.

edit: I've finished the regular season on season two, my first at Colorado St. Ended up 11-1 and winning the conference. One the conference title over San Diego St, who did a good job of slowing down my run first offense. Playing USC in the Las Vegas bowl.

Quick question: I create my own play books. Which formation is everyone's favorite to run from?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

You and I seem to have similar playing abilities. I've played 3 games online just to see how it goes. I'm 0-3. But I do fairly well on AA against the computer. I'm only in year two of my dynasty but I'll be another of the few to get to year 5 and beyond. Right now I have just 3 legitimate teams that are "difficult" to play in the MWC. Curious to see what that number is in a few years.

My prediction is that you'll manage to have 1-2 games a year in-conference that are scares/tougher than they should be ... but by year 5 there shouldn't be anybody that you're afraid to play, in or out of conference. I beat Ohio State (now ranked #10 in the nation) in a good competitive NCG last season, scheduled them in the regular season this year & beat them 65-25 ... but had to get a 2pt conversation to beat a sub-500 Texas State in OT.

Quick question: I create my own play books. Which formation is everyone's favorite to run from?

With heavy use of audibles I end up running as many plays out of Goal Line as anything else (my son says I use it more than all of the online universe combined). It's the basis of my first season offense most of the time anyway, so I don't get all that far away from it. By the same token, I use a fair bit of 5-wide shotgun stuff as well as all of the I's.

[Poli]

Funny, Jon. I'm using Georgia State as well. I am 9-0 in my first season on AA. Mind you, I did take Bama and the BCS schools off the schedule, but I did expect the Sun Belt to give me more of a fight considering the talent level at GSU.

I'll bump it to Heisman for any Bowl I might go to and I'll keep it there for next season.

One note on mine: I went with Oregon's offense.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Poli

Funny, Jon. I'm using Georgia State as well. I am 9-0 in my first season on AA. Mind you, I did take Bama and the BCS schools off the schedule, but I did expect the Sun Belt to give me more of a fight considering the talent level at GSU.

I went 6-6 the first season fwiw, even with removing anybody out of conference that looked remotely competitive. I'm very familiar with the stadiums at Memphis, ODU, and both New Mexico schools at this point

[Poli]

I've only had one game that was within 7, and that was because of a late TD by the opponent.

[Groundhog]

I'm running with Oregon's playbook as well. I run 80% of my plays out of the shotgun formation that has the TE lining up behind and between the RT and RG with 3 wideouts and a HB.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

With heavy use of audibles I end up running as many plays out of Goal Line as anything else (my son says I use it more than all of the online universe combined). It's the basis of my first season offense most of the time anyway, so I don't get all that far away from it. By the same token, I use a fair bit of 5-wide shotgun stuff as well as all of the I's.

So you're Stanford, basically. Cool!

[ColtCrazy]

Starting to see what Jon meant. I won the championship as Colorado St. in my 2nd season there. Had a sold freshman class coming in but decided to leave when lowly Old Dominion came open. They were 1-11 the previous year yet I inherit a team that's 79 overall. I'm 3-0 so far, beating my old Colorado St. team, barely beating Akron at home, then upsetting Va Tech on the road.

No team was less than a C in the preseason ratings (I'm in year 4 overall).

[Eaglesfan27]

Part of the problem is that progression is too fast and star players aren't leaving early for the draft. I had a 99 rated Marquis Lee return for his senior year. I also had several draft eligible players in their mid 90's return. All of them without any persuading to stay. Interestingly, I had 2 high 80's guys decide to declare early but I was able to persuade them both to stay for 1 more year. That being said, I'm still finding this the most enjoyable version in almost a decade and my favorite of this generation of videogames.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'll give this much credit to the current iteration. It marks the first one that has EVER prompted me to play even a single contest online (the card collecting mode thing)

[Simbo Klice]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Part of the problem is that progression is too fast and star players aren't leaving early for the draft. I had a 99 rated Marquis Lee return for his senior year. I also had several draft eligible players in their mid 90's return. All of them without any persuading to stay. Interestingly, I had 2 high 80's guys decide to declare early but I was able to persuade them both to stay for 1 more year. That being said, I'm still finding this the most enjoyable version in almost a decade and my favorite of this generation of videogames.

It seems like if they would go in the 1st round, they don't even declare. I'm about 25 years in and I've never seen a player declare and be projected to be a first rounder.

[ColtCrazy]

I agree with stars staying. I noticed Manziel stayed till his senior year. So did Lee from USC.
This is by far the most fun I've had playing in a long time. I love the run option. I love passing. But when guys are going up 4-7 points a year, so your 65 bench warmers are high 80s as seniors, even your bottom feeders have talent. I've kept my draft files. I wonder how they'll translate to Madden? My Heisman winning RB at Colorado St. ended up being a 92 when he graduated. He was projected to go in the 3rd round.

[Groundhog]

I'm thinking, given the skill inflation, it might be best just starting in a 5-star conference. At least that way you'll be playing the top teams 80% of the team.

Game definitely plays the best it ever has. Running has been a thing of beauty once I learnt to lay off the turbo button.

[whomario]

Isn´t progression one of the few things they reliably patched before ? So there might be hope for you guys yet in that regard

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

That being said, I'm still finding this the most enjoyable version in almost a decade and my favorite of this generation of videogames.

There is no doubt this is THE greatest football game I've ever played on a console. The tackles, the immersion, it just feels like football more than any other game.

I'm 2-0 after beating Toledo, 42-14. It started out tough though.. and I had to think of ways to stop their no huddle offense. The CPU is a much tougher opponent and until I adjusted, it was me 14-7 at halftime.

The game is great.. vibrant, I love how they chant MIZ-ZOU now and show more stats this year.

The infinity engine is excellent and I've seen so many different tackles.

Loving it!

[Danny]

Hopefully the new madden plays as well as you guys are saying NCAA does

[StLee]

Last season for the SEC in EA Sports games, for now:

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/08/14/se...lege-football/

Reading is fundamental. I overlooked this at the end:

Update #2: The Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences are reportedly joining the SEC, and will no longer license their brands to EA. "The Pac-12 Conference has decided not to renew its current licensing agreement with EA Sports that allows the use of Conference trademarks," Pac-12 spokesman Erik Hardenbergh told CBS Sports. "Our member institutions continue to make decisions on their trademarks on a school-by-school basis."

[Groundhog]

I'm excited about the customisation EA will presumably be forced into including now.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

It started out tough though.. and I had to think of ways to stop their no huddle offense. The CPU is a much tougher opponent and until I adjusted, it was me 14-7 at halftime.

FWIW, through NCAA 12 and NCAA 13, this is mostly what I've found. I have to figure out how to adjust to the AI's gameplan, and the AI does a poor job of adjusting to mine. I do think 13 did a better job than 12 at differentiating player skill, so that I can't simply cakewalk over better opponents once figuring out what to call (although in 13 there are some gripes that it feels like the computer flips a coin and decides if you're going to have a good or bad day; I wonder if the hot / cold streak for players is a bit overdone), but really the big difference between me and the AI is they stick with a plan, while I adjust mine based on how the game is going.

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I'm excited about the customisation EA will presumably be forced into including now.

It's either that or they sell stripped down College Football, change the names and generate generic rosters.

[flounder]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

(although in 13 there are some gripes that it feels like the computer flips a coin and decides if you're going to have a good or bad day; I wonder if the hot / cold streak for players is a bit overdone)

Yeah, I hated that about 13 and that's why I stopped playing it.

[kcchief19]

I feel like I got comeback coded ...

Bad enough that I lose in triple overtime at Vanderbilt, but then my 4-1 Mizzou Tigers travel to No. 1 Georgia. After a slow start, we took a 10-point halftime lead and turned it into a 16-point lead early in the 4th quarter. Georgia struck quickly, scoring a TD to make it a 9-point game. They managed to stop me on my next drive, and scored another TD with less than 2 minutes to play. Of course they recovered the onside kick, marched into field goal range and escaped with one-point win. Until midway thru the 4th quarter, I had been dominating.

Then we get torched by Florida and then manhandle South Carolina. Odd game.

I'm using BYU's sliders, and they're pretty good. I can't run the ball to save my life ... everything is a three-yard loss or 15-yard gain. I struggle to break 50 yards rushing. Not sure if that is a slider problem or button-mashing problem.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I feel like I got comeback coded ...

Bad enough that I lose in triple overtime at Vanderbilt, but then my 4-1 Mizzou Tigers travel to No. 1 Georgia. After a slow start, we took a 10-point halftime lead and turned it into a 16-point lead early in the 4th quarter. Georgia struck quickly, scoring a TD to make it a 9-point game. They managed to stop me on my next drive, and scored another TD with less than 2 minutes to play. Of course they recovered the onside kick, marched into field goal range and escaped with one-point win. Until midway thru the 4th quarter, I had been dominating.

Then we get torched by Florida and then manhandle South Carolina. Odd game.

I'm using BYU's sliders, and they're pretty good. I can't run the ball to save my life ... everything is a three-yard loss or 15-yard gain. I struggle to break 50 yards rushing. Not sure if that is a slider problem or button-mashing problem.

We will have to compare.. I'm 2-0 on the young season. Heading to Indiana next.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I feel like I got comeback coded ...

Bad enough that I lose in triple overtime at Vanderbilt, but then my 4-1 Mizzou Tigers travel to No. 1 Georgia. After a slow start, we took a 10-point halftime lead and turned it into a 16-point lead early in the 4th quarter. Georgia struck quickly, scoring a TD to make it a 9-point game. They managed to stop me on my next drive, and scored another TD with less than 2 minutes to play. Of course they recovered the onside kick, marched into field goal range and escaped with one-point win. Until midway thru the 4th quarter, I had been dominating.

Then we get torched by Florida and then manhandle South Carolina. Odd game.

I'm using BYU's sliders, and they're pretty good. I can't run the ball to save my life ... everything is a three-yard loss or 15-yard gain. I struggle to break 50 yards rushing. Not sure if that is a slider problem or button-mashing problem.

I have found that holding off to hit speed burst helps, let the line set, then cut and hit it.

FWIW here is an updated version with an adjustment for those that need a little more challenge running the ball in parenthesis. I added slow or normal as speed options as I have tried a couple of games on slow and they play pretty good too.

Skill: All-American
Speed: Normal or Slow
Threshold: 28
8 minute quarters

Sliders (Hum/CPU)
QBA: 5/10
PB: 60/65
WR: 40/45
RBA: 45/65
RB: 25/45 (20/45)
PC: 70/70
Int: 30/30
RDef: 40/75 (40/80)
Tack: 35/35
FGP: 55/50
FGA: 50/40
PP: 50/50
PA: 45/35

Penalties

Offsides and False start: 85
Holding: 40
Off and Def PI: 0
Clipping: 51
Int grounding: 60
RP: 52
RK: 0

Others at default

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by StLee

Last season for the SEC in EA Sports games, for now:

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/08/14/se...lege-football/

Reading is fundamental. I overlooked this at the end:

One of the side effects of the lawsuits may be the death of console college sports games.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Izulde

One of the side effects of the lawsuits may be the death of console college sports games.

Quite the opposite. I see it as a door wide open for us to get some real competitors with a game that is actually designed well rather than relying on licenses for sales. The mod community will take care of the licensing issues.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I have found that holding off to hit speed burst helps, let the line set, then cut and hit it.

FWIW here is an updated version with an adjustment for those that need a little more challenge running the ball in parenthesis. I added slow or normal as speed options as I have tried a couple of games on slow and they play pretty good too.

Skill: All-American
Speed: Normal or Slow
Threshold: 28
8 minute quarters

Sliders (Hum/CPU)
QBA: 5/10
PB: 60/65
WR: 40/45
RBA: 45/65
RB: 25/45 (20/45)
PC: 70/70
Int: 30/30
RDef: 40/75 (40/80)
Tack: 35/35
FGP: 55/50
FGA: 50/40
PP: 50/50
PA: 45/35

Penalties

Offsides and False start: 85
Holding: 40
Off and Def PI: 0
Clipping: 51
Int grounding: 60
RP: 52
RK: 0

Others at default

I'm still using your sliders with good success. I did up the pass blocking a little bit for the CPU as my 83 and 84 rated defensive ends are racking up 17-18 sacks over the course of the year. I do control one of the ends when I play defense but the other one is doing it all on his own.

[Balldog]

I've recently started using BYU's sliders and have found them to be very good. Good enough that I think it is time to fire up my first dynasty.


Thanks for sharing BYU!

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Balldog

I've recently started using BYU's sliders and have found them to be very good. Good enough that I think it is time to fire up my first dynasty.


Thanks for sharing BYU!

Awesome, glad they are working out for quite a few of you. Now if only I had time to play with Football practice in full swing

[mauchow]

I hate the end of the game freeze-up... I've played 6 games now and two of them froze up after the game was over. I will need to just stop clicking X when I finish and let it do it's thing.

[ColtCrazy]

Well, in the fourth year of dynasty, my first as HC at Old Dominion. I went undefeated in the regular season and I'm facing what looks to be a juggernaut Clemson team in the championship.

RBs love playing for me. I've had the Doak Walker award every year in 4 years. This is mainly due to high TD numbers because passing inside the 5 is very difficult (at least for me).

I've had some games on both end of the spectrum. Had a game where the halftime score was 10-3, though I ended up scoring some late to get to 33. I've never scored less than 30. Played Missouri in what was a ridiculous game. I sim defense, but against them Missouri scored 5 straight possessions. I tried to take over defense, and they kept scoring. They ended up not scoring on one drive and lost another on downs. I won 77-63. Crazy. Still loving the game despite that one game.

[Kodos]

Has anyone had problems with it freezing during recruiting? It's done it twice now tonight for me.

[Kodos]

Make that 3 times.

[Eaglesfan27]

I haven't had any freezing problems at all and I've put a lot of time into the game.

[Kodos]

I think I have a bum console. It's my second one. I was hoping that'd be the last one.