Im saying it right now to the NCAA Team......No "Strategy Pad" for NCAA 12

[ODogg]

I just hope Adam Thompson is reading the forums right now! Especially this thread and other 'strategy pad stinks!" threads!!

[Pull n Pray]

Quote: Originally Posted by NaptownMVP

Yeah, I'm sure the Strategy Pad figures big time into the future of the company as a whole.

Well Madden is just one of many games that EA produces, and button layout is just one aspect of the game. So obviously it would be dramatically overstating things to say that it figures big time into the future of the company as a whole, and I didn't say that it did. All I'm saying is that it would be foolish for EA to pass up an opportunity to improve the game simply because the change would cause some temporary awkwardness for current Madden players. They have to think of the big picture.

And they shouldn't have one way of making adjustments in Madden and a different way in NCAA. If you change one, you should change both, and preferably in the same year.

To me, the strategy pad isn't nearly as annoying and cumbersome as NCAA's new playcalling system which is inferior to the old one in almost every way (and not because its unfamiliar).

[ODogg]

Honestly my #1 wishlist item for NCAA 12 has gone from dreadlocks/long hair to NO STRATEGY PAD. I'm intensely worried now that EA has ruined one of my favorite games already in Madden and might do the same to NCAA as well. I want at least ONE good football game I can play without being frustrated beyond belief.

Please EA, for the love of all that is good in the football universe, do NOT implement the strategy pad into NCAA 12!! PLEASE!

[ODogg]

Pull n Pray - people aren't against the strategy pad because it's unfamiliar. They are against the strategy pad because it's inferior and clumsier than the old system.

[jayhouston12]

they wont do it....this year i think they nailed ncaa, i loved ncaa 10 and 11 is better i love it...strategy pad would only break it

[Pull n Pray]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

Pull n Pray - people aren't against the strategy pad because it's unfamiliar. They are against the strategy pad because it's inferior and clumsier than the old system.

If its inferior, its only because of the unresponsiveness. If that was introduced intentionally than it is is irrelevant (with regards to which button system is superior), because like you said before, they could have done the same thing to the old system. If the unreponsiveness is an unintentional side effect of the new system, then yeah, that's a problem. But it can be fixed. It doesn't mean the idea itself is bad, just that the implementation needs work.

[ODogg]

I can agree that the implementation may be a large part of the problem. If they'd do away with the "click to activate" aspect and make it responsive then ultimately maybe i'd be just fine with it given enough time.

[adembroski]

Quote: Originally Posted by NaptownMVP

One is a stupid change to just change buttons, call it something new, and tout it as some amazing new feature. The other really would be something to tout as a new feature.

Stratpad (which, for the record, I am not a fan of) was never treated as a "new feature". You're demonizing nothing. EA hardly advertised or even mentioned it. Most people didn't even know about it until the demo came out. It was never 'touted' at all. It was mentioned in passing when it was mentioned at all.

My point being you're going after EA for something they didn't do. If you're going to criticize, criticize the stratpad directly, don't make crap up for the sake of jumping down their throat. (I point this out because they catch this exact criticism a lot, and while they deserve a lot of the criticism they get, this is not valid!)

So to the point of the thread.

If the strategy pad remains in Madden, I want it in NCAA. I want the controls identical. I wish both would go back to last-gen preplay controls (it seems it keeps becoming more and more complicated as time goes on), but if it's on one, it should be on both.

Admittedly, Phil made an outstanding point about the strategy pad that I don't think people are taking into account. The fact that newer players would get stuck in the menus and have to take a time out or a delay of game is a valid reason for making the change. It's the only argument that's stuck so far. Ian's been dismissive, but he's pretty confident we'll prefer it in time. I'll reserve judgment, but Phil's argument was solid.