The "why I love NCAA 14 three years later" thread

[beast10]

Quote: Originally Posted by ak nako

The biggest problem I've found with NCAA is I can't lose anymore. Even on Heisman, even with tweaked sliders, the computer simply can't beat me. I've had to change the way I play, recruit drop back statue pocket passers and even then I just end up pounding the rock to oblivion. I can only lose to the CPU if I intentionally make myself lose. My QB/RB will always win the Heisman, and it doesn't really matter what my roster looks like because as soon as I get any speed it's over. This makes rebuilding 1-star teams kind of a bore too. And it sucks because I love this game. It's a weird gripe but weirdly it takes away from the fun of the game. In contrast when I play college hoops 2k8 the computer mauls me (admittedly because i'm not very good) but it makes for interesting game play. The national champion isn't a foregone conclusion. I haven't figured out a solution yet.

I found myself in a similar position the other day so I randomly decided to watch my team go CPU vs. CPU - figured it would be amazingly boring but I was wrong. With good sliders the game ran very smooth. I use an option run offense so it was refreshing to see my inexperienced QBs make incorrect reads while the more experienced thrived.

I searched the web and found that the feeling was mutual: http://www.operationsports.com/forum...-ever-did.html

[bh446066]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cardot

I am still enjoying '14 and have no plans to stop playing for the foreseeable future. I still HATE the entrances....Loved them in '12 and '13. Also bummed about custom sounds glitch. But still a fun game to play. My favorite part might be that Ultimate Team is not completely in my face like it seems to be with every other sports game these days.

GOD, seriously! That horrible country music riff just KILLS me! Haha, get it sorta fits since I play with Tx State

[BDawg35]

I'm feelin' some of y'all.

I'm in about the 12th season of my dynasty, and I'm getting bored out of my mind. I won my first national championship last season with Western Michigan. I was happy it took that long to win one, but I was also super competitive for a while, usually slipping up because I threw too many interceptions in a key game.

After winning the title, I loaded up my schedule the next year, opening with No. 2 Alabama in a 1-2 matchup. I expected a real battle, but won 38-0 or something like that. I went to Oregon and did get an overtime game, but won. Everything since then, even a game against long-time nemesis Ohio State, has been a breeze. I've stopped playing for several reasons (real life, Stanley Cup playoffs among them), but mostly because the games don't excite me. When I was in the sweet spot of my dynasty, playing lots of close games, winning most, losing enough to keep me nervous, it was great. I couldn't wait to pick up the sticks and play again. Now, I have to have absolutely nothing to do and lots of time on my hands to play. I think I've played two games since late January (both the same night, right before the Stanley Cup playoffs started).

I made my sliders a little tougher going into this year, but it hasn't seemed to matter. The only way I can lose is if I serve up a bunch of picks. Since I went to a power ground game, interceptions have been way down - as have losses.

I've thought about establishing a rule that I must use the playbook of the team I'm playing. My experience in video games has always been that it's not improving your talent so much that makes your team better, it's that the user (me) gets more comfortable with the game. I'm TOO comfortable now! I use "ask coach" for plays, but there is usually one play that I can execute near-flawlessly in third-and-long. I don't sweat third-and-long situations when one of those plays pops up.

I play All-American mode, tweaking a set of sliders I started out with on this site, with nearly every tweak being in the CPU's favor. Heisman mode has always been a source of frustration for me.

My team is 99 OVR and across the board. I'm not sure how much that matters, or if it's because I've seen the plays in this game so often that I can execute them in my sleep.

Hoping I can come up with a fix, because we're not getting a new NCAA any time soon.

[Reed1417]

Quote: Originally Posted by bh446066

GOD, seriously! That horrible country music riff just KILLS me! Haha, get it sorta fits since I play with Tx State

Yeah that country one is my least favorite! But I play with Arkansas now so I guess it makes sense there too! But I really wish they would have kept the entrances around. I'll be honest half my schedule used to be based around seeing certain teams entrances like Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State just to name a few. The build to them and running on the field with the fight song playing......can't beat that feeling.


Reed is comin' atcha!!

[FarFromEer]

Quote: Originally Posted by BDawg35

I use "ask coach" for plays, but there is usually one play that I can execute near-flawlessly in third-and-long. I don't sweat third-and-long situations when one of those plays pops up.

Why not use a custom playbook and remove the gimmee plays?

[BDawg35]

Quote: Originally Posted by mcfeenathan

Why not use a custom playbook and remove the gimmee plays?

Possibly. When I find the time and inclination to get back into the game (Stanley Cup playoff time is NOT that time!), I'll do something like that. The money play that works for sure on third-and-10 or third-and-15 is the one where the two outside receivers cut in (called safety divide sometimes), then cut back out to the sidelines. The CPU sometimes covers it well, resulting in a breakup or a pick, but most of the time I can get one of the two guys open for about an 18-yard gain and a first down. It almost never breaks huge, because the player's momentum always seems to take them out of bounds after the catch, but it works wonders for moving the chains. Without that play, I'm guessing my offensive production would drop quite a bit.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[DavidTheGreat20]

Quote: Originally Posted by BDawg35

I'm feelin' some of y'all. I'm in about the 12th season of my dynasty, and I'm getting bored out of my mind. I won my first national championship last season with Western Michigan. I was happy it took that long to win one, but I was also super competitive for a while, usually slipping up because I threw too many interceptions in a key game. After winning the title, I loaded up my schedule the next year, opening with No. 2 Alabama in a 1-2 matchup. I expected a real battle, but won 38-0 or something like that. I went to Oregon and did get an overtime game, but won. Everything since then, even a game against long-time nemesis Ohio State, has been a breeze. I've stopped playing for several reasons (real life, Stanley Cup playoffs among them), but mostly because the games don't excite me. When I was in the sweet spot of my dynasty, playing lots of close games, winning most, losing enough to keep me nervous, it was great. I couldn't wait to pick up the sticks and play again. Now, I have to have absolutely nothing to do and lots of time on my hands to play. I think I've played two games since late January (both the same night, right before the Stanley Cup playoffs started). I made my sliders a little tougher going into this year, but it hasn't seemed to matter. The only way I can lose is if I serve up a bunch of picks. Since I went to a power ground game, interceptions have been way down - as have losses. I've thought about establishing a rule that I must use the playbook of the team I'm playing. My experience in video games has always been that it's not improving your talent so much that makes your team better, it's that the user (me) gets more comfortable with the game. I'm TOO comfortable now! I use "ask coach" for plays, but there is usually one play that I can execute near-flawlessly in third-and-long. I don't sweat third-and-long situations when one of those plays pops up. I play All-American mode, tweaking a set of sliders I started out with on this site, with nearly every tweak being in the CPU's favor. Heisman mode has always been a source of frustration for me. My team is 99 OVR and across the board. I'm not sure how much that matters, or if it's because I've seen the plays in this game so often that I can execute them in my sleep. Hoping I can come up with a fix, because we're not getting a new NCAA any time soon.

I'm with you on that. What's different from me and you is that you lasted WAY longer than me with your WMU dynasty. Hell, I only lasted 1-2 years of my Michigan dynasty because it seems like it got easy real quick and you lasted a whole 12 years!

I feel like the more seasons you play, the more you get comfortable. Maybe the coaching carousel is the way to go if you want a new challenge, but the emotional attachment to your team and players make it harder to leave.

[jello1717]

Quote: Originally Posted by BDawg35

I've thought about establishing a rule that I must use the playbook of the team I'm playing. My experience in video games has always been that it's not improving your talent so much that makes your team better, it's that the user (me) gets more comfortable with the game. I'm TOO comfortable now! I use "ask coach" for plays, but there is usually one play that I can execute near-flawlessly in third-and-long. I don't sweat third-and-long situations when one of those plays pops up. I play All-American mode, tweaking a set of sliders I started out with on this site, with nearly every tweak being in the CPU's favor. Heisman mode has always been a source of frustration for me.

Tougher sliders are a big help, but you absolutely need to stop calling money plays. I use a CPB and call all of my own plays (as opposed to using "ask coach") and I most certainly sweat 3rd and longs. A few of my house rules are that I can't hot route any receivers, I can only call any given play once per drive, and I can't run options w/ a mesh (read option, WR motion option, inverted veer, etc) on 3rd down or inside the 10 (speed or power options are fine). Obviously I also don't have/use any money plays (IMO any play that can be executed near-flawlessly in third-and-long is a money play).

As for sliders, I play on Heisman, but I've found that user QBA = 5 is absolutely essential, and I also always use user RBA = 25 as this slows down my ball carriers and REALLY cuts down on my YPC.

Quote: Originally Posted by BDawg35

My team is 99 OVR and across the board. I'm not sure how much that matters, or if it's because I've seen the plays in this game so often that I can execute them in my sleep. Hoping I can come up with a fix, because we're not getting a new NCAA any time soon.

I'd say that's still a huge issue. Obviously the user has an impact, but so do the players. I use recruiting house rules which help a ton. In my current Michigan dynasty, even after 5 years of recruiting as a 5* and 6* my team OVR is only 93. In my last dynasty I played 23 years and my teams never approached 99 OVR. In that dynasty my career winning % was 0.760, and that's mostly at schools a lot more prestigious than WMU.

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