Some Thoughts on Realism

[mwolin]

I have been tinkering extensively with NCAA 08 and have come to some conclusions about how to increase realism. Three areas, in particular need slider tweaking, namely the pass rush, the running game and interceptions. The major problem with the fumbling and interceptions come from the momentum shifts that occur when things "get out of hand." For example, if the CPU cannot run the ball, it will shift to the pass and inevitably interceptions will occur. Likewise if momentum is against the CPU, it will tend to fumble more. Therefore the cpu (and you) must run the ball more effectively in order to stay away from the momentum spiral. You also have to avoid sacks as these are momentum killers as well.

Unfortunately slider settings are not simple to solve these problems. In part, they appear to be team specific. The lower ranked the team, the more easily it can fall down the momentum black hole and the game becomes a spiral of fumbles and interceptions. Therefore, I think you have to customize sliders for your specific dynasty team and the ratings of your players. The only way to do this is to go into practice mode and test some settings. Practice mode isnt perfect and you will need to play a few games to confirm the settings.

On the defensive side (regardless of level) all defensive sliders need to be decreased. I worked on AA, with MN. Starting with break block, set all the defensive sliders to zero. Use default offensive (or max pass blocking) and set up your offense to throw a generic pass. Defense should be a 4-3 without a blitz. Simply snap the ball and measure how long it takes for the pocket to collapse and a sack occurs. Now adjust the break block (and/or off pass block) so that the number is acceptable to you (4-5 sec for me). Again test against a blitz, and see how much time you have.

Now work with the running game. With tackling at zero your RB will have a pretty easy time of it. Make sure you adjust his RBA up as this will avoid fumbles. Play with tackling, RBA and run blocking with the various defensive schemes. Unfortunately AWR also becomes a factor. But I keep it at zero for now. Once you are able to average 3-5 yds per carry against a generic defense try blitzes etc. Now add in AWR. AWR should be in 25-35% range and tackling may need to be decreased slightly.

As for the CPU start with the same settings. If you are an expert gamer, then CPU sliders should be greater than human. If you are a novice, then keep human above CPU.

My settings favor the offense but keeps the CPU ground game alive and keeps sacks manageable and this is key. Using my settings (and remember they will vary for each team), I get pretty good results using 7 min quarters. Significantly teams can run consistently over 100 yrds and turnovers are much decreased (2-3/game total) and I have 3-4 sacks per game.

Unfortunately, momentum still rears its ugly head and games go awry especially if you are behind and have to throw on every down. Other threads address these issues but suffice to say that if you get behind, staging a conventional comeback is extremely difficult because of the momentum against you (which may not be a bad thing).

Finally for those interested in coach mode--forget it. If you let the cpu control your players they will never "get in the zone." Auto pass is simply not sufficient to compete against the cpu.

I am playing on the PS2 though I also have the 360 game. These principles also work on the 360 though sliders don't translate from one game to the other. I like the game better on the PS2 esp the dynasty options.


Thoughts?

[Smithy07]

I've been looking for realism so much that i went to the "0" sliders, to the 40/35 sliders to this and that....I would play a couple of games in a season and be like this is too easy on Heisman...

I will post them later, messing around I use some Madden 2008 sliders for ncaa and I have refound this game....

[dkrause1971]

Quote: Originally Posted by mwolin

I have been tinkering extensively with NCAA 08 and have come to some conclusions about how to increase realism. Three areas, in particular need slider tweaking, namely the pass rush, the running game and interceptions. The major problem with the fumbling and interceptions come from the momentum shifts that occur when things "get out of hand." For example, if the CPU cannot run the ball, it will shift to the pass and inevitably interceptions will occur. Likewise if momentum is against the CPU, it will tend to fumble more. Therefore the cpu (and you) must run the ball more effectively in order to stay away from the momentum spiral. You also have to avoid sacks as these are momentum killers as well. Unfortunately slider settings are not simple to solve these problems. In part, they appear to be team specific. The lower ranked the team, the more easily it can fall down the momentum black hole and the game becomes a spiral of fumbles and interceptions. Therefore, I think you have to customize sliders for your specific dynasty team and the ratings of your players. The only way to do this is to go into practice mode and test some settings. Practice mode isnt perfect and you will need to play a few games to confirm the settings. On the defensive side (regardless of level) all defensive sliders need to be decreased. I worked on AA, with MN. Starting with break block, set all the defensive sliders to zero. Use default offensive (or max pass blocking) and set up your offense to throw a generic pass. Defense should be a 4-3 without a blitz. Simply snap the ball and measure how long it takes for the pocket to collapse and a sack occurs. Now adjust the break block (and/or off pass block) so that the number is acceptable to you (4-5 sec for me). Again test against a blitz, and see how much time you have. Now work with the running game. With tackling at zero your RB will have a pretty easy time of it. Make sure you adjust his RBA up as this will avoid fumbles. Play with tackling, RBA and run blocking with the various defensive schemes. Unfortunately AWR also becomes a factor. But I keep it at zero for now. Once you are able to average 3-5 yds per carry against a generic defense try blitzes etc. Now add in AWR. AWR should be in 25-35% range and tackling may need to be decreased slightly. As for the CPU start with the same settings. If you are an expert gamer, then CPU sliders should be greater than human. If you are a novice, then keep human above CPU. My settings favor the offense but keeps the CPU ground game alive and keeps sacks manageable and this is key. Using my settings (and remember they will vary for each team), I get pretty good results using 7 min quarters. Significantly teams can run consistently over 100 yrds and turnovers are much decreased (2-3/game total) and I have 3-4 sacks per game. Unfortunately, momentum still rears its ugly head and games go awry especially if you are behind and have to throw on every down. Other threads address these issues but suffice to say that if you get behind, staging a conventional comeback is extremely difficult because of the momentum against you (which may not be a bad thing). Finally for those interested in coach mode--forget it. If you let the cpu control your players they will never "get in the zone." Auto pass is simply not sufficient to compete against the cpu. I am playing on the PS2 though I also have the 360 game. These principles also work on the 360 though sliders don't translate from one game to the other. I like the game better on the PS2 esp the dynasty options. Thoughts?

I could agree more with what you posted. I am on the 360 and all my D sliders but tackling are zero for me. In addition, to what you mentioned i lowered the run/pass slider in dynasty so the CPU would run more but the key is doing the sliders so the CPU can run against you. Lets face it, most teams run more than they throw and unless your a LSU you shouldn't be stuffing the run all the time.

Last years Team Rush D
http://web1.ncaa.org/d1mfb/natlRank....shdef&site=org

As you can see- pretty much every team should be giving up 100 per game, and at least 1/2 should give up 4 yards a carry. If you take sacks out- i assume most would be 4+.