Is NCAA 09.5 really that bad?

[legendkiller5]

Quote: Originally Posted by BORN4CORN

My #1 & #2 things for 2011.. if these get addressed, my complaints stop cold turkey plain and simple.

QF m.f. T

[callmetaternuts]

Quote: Originally Posted by legendkiller5

I hear ya, but you hafta understand where I'm coming from about the player equipment. It's just frustrating and a lack of attention to detail, and it bothers me. I didn't say anything last year, but this year? No. No excuses.

I'm not picking on anyone, including EA. Just pointing out the two sides to each coin. If they fix a game, we blast them for no features and it shouldve been right the first time. If they intro new features/modes, we blast for not fixing existing issues.

I'd LOVE an error free game with tons of new modes and features, but we will NEVER get that on a one year dev cycle

[OMT]

Quote: Originally Posted by callmetaternuts

You know what I find funny? If any company (and we'll use EA in this example) took a yearly game, NCAA 09, and just updated it, fixed the bugs, added new unis, new rosters and tuned the heck out of it, people would complain that it was a $60 patch. But if EA took NCAA 09, made a new game, or built off of 09 and added new modes, nea features and did their best to tune any exisitng bugs, but pretty much only pimped their new mode and gave us a decent yet buggy game, people would be mad they paid $60 for a broken game. So which is it? what do you guys want? A fixed game, i.e. NCAA 09 with the bugs gone, the glitches fixed and essentially the same game error free? Or a new game that has tons of new features but may bring tons of new bugs? They cant win And for the record, im not defending EA, or saying they went either of those two ways. Im not a big online dynasty guy, nor a big CAS (or teambuilder) guy, even though it seems like a neat feature. So for me, offline dynasty, got some tweaks, and hopefully game play fixes. If its NCAA 9.5 and they fixed the gameplay, which, lets face it, is what matters, Im happy. I dont want colored shoe laces if they dont fix playcalling etc.

It isn't either one way or the other... not as black and white. It is a combination of both.

We have to judge fixes, tweaks, and tunes against anything else on the feature list. If we determine that a fix is a must do (for instance the players leaving in Online Dynasty issue), we schedule it just like it was a feature. From a dev team point of view, we don't look at things as "features" and "bugs." They are actually line items on a backlog of TODOs. We actually have vacation time for people on the team scheduled just as if it were a feature.

[NoLittleBabies]

To answer your question: No, NCAA 09.5 wouldn't really be "that bad". But honestly, when will "not that bad" start to be unacceptable? EA is a multi-million dollar mega-corporation paying competent developers good salaries to work full-time on this game, and the foundation (the "game engine") was already in place two to three years ago. That means these guys have roughly 200 full work days to take last years game engine and develop NCAA 10 into something really special.

I mean, look around the game industry and you'll find developers innovating and pushing the amazing current technology to its limits to create amazing, inspired games. The gaming industry is at its prime, and billions of dollars are being pushed around to find the best talent to create the best games. Games that are creative in ways we never could have imagined just a few years go. And here we are, the passionate college football gamers, sitting around for another year saying, "Well, it's not really that bad... it's decent... it'll do."

And here's EA, perfectly alright as long as they sell their 1.5 million copies. Tweak gameplay a bit (sometimes for the worse), add two or three features (80% of which are useless gimmicks) to help keep sales stable, and voilà! Oh, and keep an eye on the "community" so that when their anger is about to boil over from the lack of a certain feature, EA can throw it in to ensure their $60 for at least another season (online dynasty, coach mode, create-a-school, etc.).

I feel like I'm a (legal) Mexican immigrant who loves great Mexican food, but the city I move to only has one Mexican place... and it's Taco Bell. And I don't mind Taco Bell-- it's decent-- but I can't help wanting something considerably better... something more exotic, more exciting and just, well, tastier. But I know there isn't going to be anything in the near future, and I know Taco Bell doesn't give two sh*ts about me outside my wallet. It's hopeless, really.

I've bought every NCAA since NCAA Football 2002 on PS2. It's the only game I buy every year, and the only series I really care about. I'm buying NCAA 10 because I've already committed to run and play in an online dynasty. But after that, it's up in the air. The frustration of getting bland game after bland game (2004 was the last great game, IMO) is getting to be too much. If EA doesn't really show me something with NCAA 11-- something that really wows me, excites me and demonstrates that they have creative people there who are truly inspired to create something truly great-- then I'll be done with this series. And I'm not saying this to start a boycott or anything of the sort. I'm just venting and being honest to the community members, many of whom probably share a good number of my points.

I should add that I do have respect for some of the game developers, and believe that a number of them really care about the product. And I won't speculate as to what the problem is within EA, because it wouldn't be anything more than that... speculation. I just know what I see in the final product, and obviously those in positions of power are not taking steps to make significant improvements in the final product, whatever those steps may be.

[bdawgdude]

Quote: Originally Posted by OMT

I don't know of any uniforms we don't have in 10 yet off the top of my head. Which are you talking about?

LSU's white helmets.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoLittleBabies

I feel like I'm a (legal) Mexican immigrant who loves great Mexican food, but the city I move to only has one Mexican place... and it's Taco Bell. And I don't mind Taco Bell-- it's decent-- but I can't help wanting something considerably better... something more exotic, more exciting and just, well, tastier. But I know there isn't going to be anything in the near future, and I know Taco Bell doesn't give two sh*ts about me outside my wallet. It's hopeless, really.

WTF?

Seriously, could you have not used a different analogy?

[OMT]

Quote: Originally Posted by bdawgdude

LSU's white helmets.

That they wore once? As I said, we did not include throw backs or one time special uniforms this year.

[sportzbro]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

WTF? Seriously, could you have not used a different analogy?

I get his point, but that was an awful analogy.