Next Year: The Year of Custom Playbooks

[GodLovesYou]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dewie12

Read my signature. All we can do is wait and hope.....

Dewie12
I read your signature and i disagree with you.
If EA charged everyone 10 dollars for the right to have Custom Playbooks or be able to use them then NO ONE would want them.
The only way people would want the custom playbooks would be if they were for FREE.
Also if EA allowed custom playbooks to be used online then NO ONE would play online.
EA would have to make only have it for offline.

[TXHusker25]

Quote: Originally Posted by goalieump413

Custom playbooks are a thing of the past. That is, until EA develops a good way of transferring playbook information and play design over the web for online play. They get around lag by preloading playbooks for online games, saving a ton of data transfer.

That doesn't really make any sense. I assume by preloading playbooks, you mean they are "shared" during the loading screen for the game. Why would that affect a custom playbook, couldn't that just be preloaded at the same time?

Now if by preloaded you mean, the same 120 (+ Generics) playbooks that are on one persons game are on the other so the game simply has to find the one that was chosen and load it, that makes a bit more sense. However, it would be a fairly easy solution. For online dynasties, custom playbooks would just be one of those things uploaded to the server when you edit, just like the depth chart, formations subs or the roster. It would then download right before the game and then off you go.

Custom playbooks should NOT be available for lobby games so that shouldn't be a concern. That would just be inviting abuse. 6 five wide formations, a Maryland I, a flexbone, a wildcat and maybe something with option and it would turn into even worse of a cheesefest.

Getting the data transferred is not a problem at all, that is a simple programming job that could use parts of existing code. The hard part would be the actual custom playbooks menu. Listing all 209 separate formations (including some formations with multiple variations) would be very difficult.

Ideally the menu would look something like this:

Select Formation (From list of 209) -> Select plays (List all available plays for that formation, allow user to select a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 24) -> Rearrange Plays (put them in whatever order the user wants). Repeat.

Maximum of 12-15 formations, plus a customizable goal line and hail mary and maybe a customizable Special Teams (spread punt, unbalanced punt, variety of fakes, swinging gate on PAT).

Same thing for defense.

[GodLovesYou]

Quote: Originally Posted by TXHusker25

Custom playbooks should NOT be available for lobby games so that shouldn't be a concern. That would just be inviting abuse. 6 five wide formations, a Maryland I, a flexbone, a wildcat and maybe something with option and it would turn into even worse of a cheesefest.

TXHusker25
Actually EA should make the Custom Playbooks NOT available for everything that is ONLINE .
Just make the Custom Playbooks available for OFFLINE and thats all.
If they did make it for ONLINE then it would not matter if it was in the lobby games , online dynasties , ranked games , unranked games ,etc people would find ways to CHEAT to win and find NEW ways to CHEAT against other players.

[demon19000]

As far as offline, I would absolutley LOVE custom playbooks. I'd love to pick and choose formations to make my old high school offense. A sort of double wing/single wing offense that included the use of unbalanced lines. But our coach also had a couple shotgun formations in the book too. Didn't work amazing for us (somehow don't think it was the playbook haha) but would be a ton of fun to run that offense in NCAA.

[goalieump413]

Quote: Originally Posted by TXHusker25

That doesn't really make any sense. I assume by preloading playbooks, you mean they are "shared" during the loading screen for the game. Why would that affect a custom playbook, couldn't that just be preloaded at the same time? Now if by preloaded you mean, the same 120 (+ Generics) playbooks that are on one persons game are on the other so the game simply has to find the one that was chosen and load it, that makes a bit more sense. However, it would be a fairly easy solution. For online dynasties, custom playbooks would just be one of those things uploaded to the server when you edit, just like the depth chart, formations subs or the roster. It would then download right before the game and then off you go...

My guess is that the standard playbooks shipped with the games all have some sort of indexing that when an online game is played, the playbooks are simply indexed codes that display correctly in terms of formation on your screen. Your opponent won't know what play you call, or audible, hot route, etc, but at least the available formations and plays are already "in his console".

If EA allowed custom playbooks, then the formation and play you see on your screen from your opponent would have to be loaded to the server each time you play an online game. That takes time to upload to, and download from, the server.

Think of it like this: Remember the game "Battleship"? Each player has a coordinate grid where they place their ships. The placement of the ships is different between players, but the grid system is the same. I know that if I call out coordinates to my opponent, that they'll know exactly where I'm attacking and can reply hit or miss. In NCAA 11, the standard playbooks act like the grid. Now imagine if you had a custom playbook full of formations and plays you designed. Now, your grid is different than your opponent's grid.

In essence, both you and your online opponent would have to track two unique grids (playbooks). That means more data uploaded and downloaded. Too much time, too great a risk of lag. Not worth it for EA.

[demon19000]

The playbooks wouldn't create a problem online if they weren't available online.

[TXHusker25]

Quote: Originally Posted by GodLovesYou

TXHusker25 Actually EA should make the Custom Playbooks NOT available for everything that is ONLINE . Just make the Custom Playbooks available for OFFLINE and thats all. If they did make it for ONLINE then it would not matter if it was in the lobby games , online dynasties , ranked games , unranked games ,etc people would find ways to CHEAT to win and find NEW ways to CHEAT against other players.

If you are playing in an online dynasty with random cheesers, what happens is 100% your fault. If they weren't allowed for online dyasnties, I wouldn't but NCAA 12 and that would go for a lot of other people.

I don't play offline so it would be pointless. Offline only features get you nowhere.

[GodLovesYou]

Quote: Originally Posted by TXHusker25

If you are playing in an online dynasty with random cheesers, what happens is 100% your fault. If they weren't allowed for online dyasnties, I wouldn't but NCAA 12 and that would go for a lot of other people. I don't play offline so it would be pointless. Offline only features get you nowhere.

Actually i take offense that it is 100 % my fault .
I could be wrong but i am pretty sure you really don 't pick who play in ranked and/or unranked.
So in essence it is the other person fault for trying to CHEAT to win and getting away with it.
I think you meant you wouldn 't BUY ncaa 12 not you wouldn 't BUT NCAA 12.
Also i think other people would be with me on this case that they would buy the game . They just would not want to have every game they play be a cheesefest.
Well the only way people would want Custom playbooks online is if EA , playstation network and Xbox live kept up with EXPLIOTS people were finding and using .
they would have to give us PATCHES and/or TUNERS where they found a way to fix the glitches , bugs , etc.