Give me my defense back EA.

[adembroski]

My "official" opinion on NCAA--- It's an average game that's very close to greatness.

In other words, it's got the foundations of an absolutely astounding experience, but seemingly minor problems create major obstacles to being a great game.

Pass rush issue... ok, no big deal, some slider tweaks and we're good to go.

Zone D issue... alright, well, up the awareness, hopefully they're react quicker, drop WR catch so when they get hit they're more likely to drop it. Not quite what it should be, but I can deal.

Sliders broken... er... wut? Okay, that's not cool at all.

It's not that the bugs EA misses are huge or the tuning issues are uncorrectable, it's just that there tends to be so damn many of them they add up and affect one another and it's absolutely destructive to the game.

I really do like NCAA 09, a lot. But the fact that I like it so much makes me look even closer at what it might have been.

[AuburnAlumni]

Quote: Originally Posted by adembroski

My "official" opinion on NCAA--- It's an average game that's very close to greatness. In other words, it's got the foundations of an absolutely astounding experience, but seemingly minor problems create major obstacles to being a great game. Pass rush issue... ok, no big deal, some slider tweaks and we're good to go. Zone D issue... alright, well, up the awareness, hopefully they're react quicker, drop WR catch so when they get hit they're more likely to drop it. Not quite what it should be, but I can deal. Sliders broken... er... wut? Okay, that's not cool at all. It's not that the bugs EA misses are huge or the tuning issues are uncorrectable, it's just that there tends to be so damn many of them they add up and affect one another and it's absolutely destructive to the game. I really do like NCAA 09, a lot. But the fact that I like it so much makes me look even closer at what it might have been.

See that's the thing. The combination of "minor gameplay issues" leads up to some pretty major ones.

I do believe most of what we have been discussing was blatantly programmed in.

It probably went something like this...
[EA Boardroom. A number of guys in matching EA Polo Shirts sit at a large table]

EA Developer 1: "Ok boys, here's our gimmick this year. WIDE OPEN GAMEPLAY!!"
(round of applause)

EA Developer 1: "Thank you, thank you. So! How do we accomplish this?"

EA Developer 2: "Well, we can jack up the speed ratings for players. So like, Percy Harvin can not just be slightly faster at 98 speed, he can be like twice as fast as a 90 speed corner. That way, he can pretty much score at will!"

EA Developer 1: "I like it. I like it! Good thinking."

EA Developer 3: "We can also make the DBs less agressive. If we reprogram them to only go after a Wide Receiver after he catches a pass, we can give guys more chances of breaking off big gains after the catch."

EA Developer 1: "Yeah. That way, a big time Wide Receiver can really put a whoopin' on a defense! Great! What else?"

EA Developer 2: "Well, we can make QBs more accurate. We can also make them immune to pressure. That way, if you are fixing to get sacked, you can still make a great highlight pass to your wide receiver downfield."

EA Developer 1: "Yeah, that brings up another issue guys. We had a lot of problems with folks blitzing too much last year. Aggressive defense could really put a damper on our theme this year. What can we do to stop this and give the offense that WIDE OPEN GAMEPLAY we want?"

EA Developer 2: "Here are a couple of ideas sir. One, we make the Offensive lines block very very well. In fact, we could have the defensive linemen get knocked down. That should give the Offense plenty of time to find their open receivers."

EA Developer 1: "What about the LBs or Corners?"

EA Developer 2: "Well sir, we could slow them down a bit after the snap. We could also have them back off the line a few yards on a blitz. That way, the combination of their being slower and being a little further off the line of scrimmage should negate the blitz pretty well."

EA Developer 3: "Yeah, and combined with our improved QB passing accuracy, as well as speeding up the WRs, plus O lines that block great each play, we should be able to get a lot of offensive fireworks in a game."

EA Developer 1: "Brilliant guys! Just great. How about adding some new animations while we are at it?"

EA Developer 2: "Oh I know! We can make the defenders stumble and fall trying to tackle guys. That would look really cool and it would help let RBs and WRs break off long touchdown runs."

EA Developer 1: "Well this sounds great guys. Make sure to dumb down the Defensive AI in the secondary. I don't want to see Corners breaking on the ball at all. That wouldn't be good for the offense."

EA Developer 2: "No sir!"

EA Developer 3: "We'll make sure the offense is high powered."

EA Developer 1: "Well this should work guys. With those minor tweaks it should all equal out to some really exciting, high scoring games for our customers. Great...well we'll go get started with our WIDE OPEN GAMEPLAY advertising. Excellent work guys. Let's make it happen!"

(more applause.)

I would guess it went something like that.

Lots of "little" defensive dumbdowns, plus lots of "little" offensive increases such as speed bonuses, super blocking O linemen, and Robo QBs = One very large slant towards the offense and wide open gameplay. Mission accomplished.

Now,

That's all fine and good.

But...all I'm saying is, with effective and DETAILED (see "more than 5") sliders per offense/defense/special teams, the sim community could "reprogram" the game to their own tastes by decreasing the speed factor, decreasing the insane pass blocking, increasing Defensive line effectiveness, and increasing DBs ability to both cover and tackle.

[jdrhammer]

Quote: Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni

WTF is your point? Other than telling us how incredibly awesome you are at NCAA and how the other 99.8% of folks who have serious issues with the AI "really suck". If you hate slider talk, I'd suggest moving along to another thread that will please you a bit more.

Well, MacPlex is a hell of a gamer at NCAA. No cheese whatsoever and he will frustrate the hell out of you when you're trying to score against him. He agrees with you on some points and disagrees on some points. He basically said there should be no need for sliders if the attributes/rankings were properly put to use. He's right.

He commented on sliders, seeing as how this is a slider thread, and agreed with the gist of your post, how you wanted your D back, but no need to get pissy because he didn't agree with the slider philosophy. No big deal.

Since you're an AU fan, could you tell me if Ontario McCaleb qualified? I'm updating some SEC teams and saw where he wasn't on the roster. Who would you recommend swapping him for if he didn't qualify??? Thanks. I miss my D too.

[TheGreat]

I can honestly say that my defense is doing good. Im playing with Miami in an online dynasty and I finished the season with the top defense in the country.
I was like top 10 in pass defense and #1 in rush defense.... (which isn't saying much because rush defense is easy as hell.)
I know sometimes the Robo QB becomes a problem but with them only throwing short passes they usually don't cause too much damage.
I'm not causing any 3 and outs but I'm definitely holding my own.

I'm playing on Heisman with no sliders.

[sportyguyfl31]

Based on past track record, we need to hope for a bunch of 17-14 BCS Bowl Games.

That way, when the NFL Draft rolls around, James Laurinaitis is unvield as the cover athlete, and the NCAA 20010 featuring hitstick 2.0 trailor drops, we will know exactly what we are getting.

[debauchlord]

I'm still confused as why EZ cannot include two "versions" of the game on one disc...instead of "dumbing down" or "smartening up" AI, why not just have "arcade" and "sim" versions of the game, each with differing engine tweaks and requirements? Of course, EZ would have to call them something different entirely for marketing/customer purposes, like "arcade" could be "EA presents Score-A-Lot(tm)" and sim could be "R.E.A.L. Sim" where REAL is an acronym for something EA just invented. Of course, you'd have to alter sliders and stats for each version, but not by much, so instead of "Pass Blocking" or "Tackle/Hit Power" on the REAL system you'd have "Block Good" or "Hit Good" on Score-A-Lot. Oh yeah, the Score-A-Lot cover athlete could be Bobby Boucher. That's sure to bring in the all important tween and soccer mom dollar (or is that NCAA mom dollar? times are a changin')

[Jas8099]

Quote: Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni

See that's the thing. The combination of "minor gameplay issues" leads up to some pretty major ones. I do believe most of what we have been discussing was blatantly programmed in. It probably went something like this... [EA Boardroom. A number of guys in matching EA Polo Shirts sit at a large table] EA Developer 1: "Ok boys, here's our gimmick this year. WIDE OPEN GAMEPLAY!!" (round of applause) EA Developer 1: "Thank you, thank you. So! How do we accomplish this?" EA Developer 2: "Well, we can jack up the speed ratings for players. So like, Percy Harvin can not just be slightly faster at 98 speed, he can be like twice as fast as a 90 speed corner. That way, he can pretty much score at will!" EA Developer 1: "I like it. I like it! Good thinking." EA Developer 3: "We can also make the DBs less agressive. If we reprogram them to only go after a Wide Receiver after he catches a pass, we can give guys more chances of breaking off big gains after the catch." EA Developer 1: "Yeah. That way, a big time Wide Receiver can really put a whoopin' on a defense! Great! What else?" EA Developer 2: "Well, we can make QBs more accurate. We can also make them immune to pressure. That way, if you are fixing to get sacked, you can still make a great highlight pass to your wide receiver downfield." EA Developer 1: "Yeah, that brings up another issue guys. We had a lot of problems with folks blitzing too much last year. Aggressive defense could really put a damper on our theme this year. What can we do to stop this and give the offense that WIDE OPEN GAMEPLAY we want?" EA Developer 2: "Here are a couple of ideas sir. One, we make the Offensive lines block very very well. In fact, we could have the defensive linemen get knocked down. That should give the Offense plenty of time to find their open receivers." EA Developer 1: "What about the LBs or Corners?" EA Developer 2: "Well sir, we could slow them down a bit after the snap. We could also have them back off the line a few yards on a blitz. That way, the combination of their being slower and being a little further off the line of scrimmage should negate the blitz pretty well." EA Developer 3: "Yeah, and combined with our improved QB passing accuracy, as well as speeding up the WRs, plus O lines that block great each play, we should be able to get a lot of offensive fireworks in a game." EA Developer 1: "Brilliant guys! Just great. How about adding some new animations while we are at it?" EA Developer 2: "Oh I know! We can make the defenders stumble and fall trying to tackle guys. That would look really cool and it would help let RBs and WRs break off long touchdown runs." EA Developer 1: "Well this sounds great guys. Make sure to dumb down the Defensive AI in the secondary. I don't want to see Corners breaking on the ball at all. That wouldn't be good for the offense." EA Developer 2: "No sir!" EA Developer 3: "We'll make sure the offense is high powered." EA Developer 1: "Well this should work guys. With those minor tweaks it should all equal out to some really exciting, high scoring games for our customers. Great...well we'll go get started with our WIDE OPEN GAMEPLAY advertising. Excellent work guys. Let's make it happen!" (more applause.) I would guess it went something like that. Lots of "little" defensive dumbdowns, plus lots of "little" offensive increases such as speed bonuses, super blocking O linemen, and Robo QBs = One very large slant towards the offense and wide open gameplay. Mission accomplished. Now, That's all fine and good. But...all I'm saying is, with effective and DETAILED (see "more than 5") sliders per offense/defense/special teams, the sim community could "reprogram" the game to their own tastes by decreasing the speed factor, decreasing the insane pass blocking, increasing Defensive line effectiveness, and increasing DBs ability to both cover and tackle.

You should really spend some more time playing video games, getting out of the house, reading a book, anything to give you a little peace of mind. You've got a little too much time and anger on your hands.

[deebo2246]

Sorry about the long post but I couldn't help it....


After reading through this thread I have to admit that you guys are 100% accurate with your outlook of NCAA. I can not believe how the issues of the defense were just missed by anybody testing this game. It just shows how being the only kid on the block gives you the freedom to experiment with your consumers.

If people want a mascot game don't put it on the disk put it on Xbox live or PSN and let them download it.

If I am the programmer and director of EA Sports I am not catering to the babies who have no money to purchase the product. My focus is how can I get my core audience to be happy and use them as my marketing mouthpieces for free. I understand the concept of making more money, but in the end of the day once word gets out about my broken game I am screwed and my sales diminish tremendously. The only sales that take place later are from those people who buy the game used which makes me no money in the long run.

Sports video games have become prone to who's gimmick sounds better than the other company. (EA DNA vs. 2K DNA) It does not amaze me when these companies have the same type of gimmick because someone every year jumps ship and tells about the other guys plans. Also, it shows how lazy they are because if they do not know about it until a trade show a few weeks later when they reveal their game. The gimmick shows up in their game with some minor aesthetics changes. Now if you can program that whithin a month then you can re-write the code to make the AI play better.

I am not going to be fooled by their excuses to say it was to late. It is never to late when you go gold more than 2 weeks before release. Shame on you for trying to lie to me because EA has first rights when it comes to pressing and shipping product because of the enormous size of their company.

We are the last line of defense against these type of behaviors by companies. Until we stop trying to be the first person with the game to post impressions. This practice will never stop because of our ego and lack of willpower to wait until 2 weeks later to get the game once the drones have purchased the game.

I love the old EA when authenticity mattered, but the new guy running the ship has no clue about a game and he only cares about what the shares value is for that day.

Finally, by no means am I calling anyone out but why are the producers absent and void from the threads now once we found out their was alot of misrepresentations with their game?

However, all of these posts means nothing because we are a minority and it does not matter when you sell millions of copies to be completely authentic since my sales are guaranteed and I have no competition.