My Final NCAA 2004 House Rules and Stuff Post

[Bill_Abner]

First off, my apologies if this should go in the slider thread but I wasn't sure so feel free to lock this if needed.

OK this is it. This is what I am sticking with for the rest of my NCAA 2004 days.

I'll post sliders at the end of the post but the important part is the house rule system I am using. I'm having more fun with NCAA 2004 than ever before because of this and I still feel it blows the current NFL games out of the water. (ESPN not withstanding)

Anyway here's what I'm using:

Pre-Game:

-Before playing a game add a new coach in the coach options page. This new coach should be assigned to the team you are about to play. Takes about 30 secs to do this. Then go into coach strategy and alter the team's offensive playcalling to at least 70% running (I go as high as 80 sometimes unless the team is pass crazy ala Washington. Also, and this seems to be important, move the Conservative playcalling slider as far left as possible. Now, this does not make the team never throw deep it just makes most teams look underneath first before throwing it 30 yards downfield. As a result, CPU completion % is better and the game has a much better flow to it. You can also play with the defensive settings too; I usually make the CPU teams play run D more often than not. Also make sure to use the correct team playbook for your new coach. After you play the game make sure to delete this coach so you can make a new one for the next game. All of this takes less than a minute to do.

-Make sure the team you are playing (your Dynasty team) has its coach defensive slider at 80% pass. No idea if this helps the CPU run game, but it doesn't hurt to do this just in case.

Before Kickoff:

I'll add sliders later but play on AA. Seriously. As much as I think Heisman is better this year, you can certainly get great games on this level and in some respects get a much more exciting game than you can on Heisman.

Before kickoff, change the controller settings and take control of the CPU team *if* they have their starting HB as a kickoff and punt returner which seem to happen a lot. All this does is tire the starting CPU HB. Change this to another player and then set the controller back to your team.

Game Time:

Here are the rules I use during play and it makes AA a very playble and enjoyable lvl.

-No speed rushing (sprtinting) with defensive ends or outside linebackers. If you have a fast DE you can still get great pressure off the corner without sprinting, but speed bursting just makes it too easy to get a sack. You CAN sprint if rushing or blizting between the tackles, though. You may use all the swim moves and rip moves you want. I still get sacks doing this but rarely do I get the 8+ sacks per game I get when sprinting.

-No using motion on running plays. It's too easy to use motion to secure a great running scheme in this game. You'll still get good blocking but you just cannot take advantage of a game quirk if you don't use motion. You can use all the hot routes and audibles and motion you want on passing plays.

-Do not switch players on defense EXCEPT during pass plays. I still take control of a DB from time to time but to help the CPU run game, don't switch like crazy to the nearest guy and dive to stop the HB. Stick with the guy you started with and it helps a lot.

-Before you kick a FG (not the CPU, just you)--set the game level to Heisman. If you miss a FG on All American you suck. Just make sure to set it back to AA after the kick.

-Punt returns. Another issue with the game is the ease of which you can return kicks. Therefore I fair catch the ball every other punt return. Sucks that I have to do this but I like it better than returning every kick 20 yards.

-Play on 11 min quarters. This has been proven to help the CPU playcalling as well as it doesn't feel rushed. Work the clock and try not to snap the ball until 5-7 secs are left and you'll get a very accurate number of plays. (130-150 total)

-In using this system I am in year 3 of my OSY Dynasty and we're 3 games into the season and OSU is 2-1 after beating North Texas 45-41 in a thriller (they scored off 4 OSU turnovers). We then whipped #1 Oklahoma 34-17 and lost a heartbreaker to #9 Arkansas 29-24. The Ark game was the best NCAA 2004 game I have ever played against the CPU. They scored on a 98 yard pass and OSU answered with a 93 yd kickoff return to make it 29-24 with 2 mins to play. I shut down Ark on 3 plays and got the ball back but failed to score from the Ark 35. What a game. Arkansas also ran for 145 yards which was nice.

-Recruiting:

Use OSUMike's recruiting rules. See the sticky above. Makes the off season stuff so much more enjoyable from a realism POV.

Sliders:

AA

OFF (HUM/CPU)
QB Acc - 10/18
Pass BLK- 5/17
WR CAT- 13/13
Run ABL- 10/20
Run BLK- 5/20

DEF (HUM/CPU)
AWR- 5/18
KNOCK- 8/18
INT- 5/10
Break BLK- 5/18
TAK- 5/15

Special Teams:

MAX Human FG accuracy (remember this will be on Heisman)

MIN CPU FG Accuracy

Penalty Sliders:

False Start: Max right
Holding: +7 from left
Face Mask: +4
OFF PI: Max right
DEF PI: Max right

The rest are in the middle.

You WILL see more holding calls but this has given me a very good and fair # of penalties.

Anyway that's all for now. Hope they help.

bill

[Lib157]

I changed all of my sliders to exactly what you put down. I can't play a game at the moment, but I'll post when I get a chance to play a game, let you know how I like em.

Thanks bill!

[ochoco]

Thanks for all of your hard work Bill! Its nice to have people who are dedicated enough to this little community to take the time and effort to help others out like this. I have been using most of the house rules you posted and it doesn't take long at all and makes the game much more enjoyable.

I have two dynastys going. One with 10 min. quarters, may change to 11 now and one with 8. Sometimes the 10+ minute quarters are too long for me so I just play my other dynasty when I'm in this sorta mood.

The part you posted about changing the computers return man to another person if they are using the starting running back. This makes alot of sence and will help a ton I'm sure. You could prolly even do this ahead of time couldn't you?

I mean pre-season, make coaches for all of your opponents for the season and change it then delete the coaches. Or will they just change it back?

Thanks again!! You Da' Man!!

[cbird]

thanks mr. Abner!!!

[Lib157]

Ok, I sat down and played a game with these sliders and here are my thoughts.

The game plays very realistic, it is very challenging. I am not the greatest player at this game, I never owned ncaa 2003 or any previous football games in my life. But I very much enjoy these sliders.

Overall. I felt the computer was too good on offence. So the only thing I did was bump up human awareness a touch. Because they were completing passes left and right no matter what I did. In the end the game was a thriller, came right down to the end, I lost 30-38. But the game plays very realistic, good amount of penalties it seemed. Sorry for the not-so-exciting post, I'm really tired.

But I do suggest try the sliders out. The best I've tried yet. And I don't think I'll feel a need to ever change them.

[Michael_Jordan]

Bill, will these sliders give me blowouts as well as good games? I am in a dynasty with a created school and we are currently ranked #18. With your sliders, will I be able to blowout teams like Rutgers and UConn like I am supposed to or will I have great games with them too? Will I have great games with teams like Virginia Tech and Oklahoma or will I get destroyed? Will the receivers still drop wide-open passes as they do? And my offensive line blows. With my pass blocking at 15, they still hurry a lot and I get sacked a few times per game. With your slider at 5, won't it be impossible to have a legitimate chance to throw the ball? Let me know please.

[Bill_Abner]

Quote:

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Michael_Jordan said:
Bill, will these sliders give me blowouts as well as good games? I am in a dynasty with a created school and we are currently ranked #18. With your sliders, will I be able to blowout teams like Rutgers and UConn like I am supposed to or will I have great games with them too? Will I have great games with teams like Virginia Tech and Oklahoma or will I get destroyed? Will the receivers still drop wide-open passes as they do? And my offensive line blows. With my pass blocking at 15, they still hurry a lot and I get sacked a few times per game. With your slider at 5, won't it be impossible to have a legitimate chance to throw the ball? Let me know please.

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Impossible for me to say because everyone plays differently , uses different teams, etc. Ss far I have played 4 games with OSU in year 3:

I beat North Texas 45-41 (I committed 4 or 5 turnovers)
I beat Oklahoma 34-17
I beat Kent State 51-7
I lost to #9 Arkansas 29-25

I also suggest trying some of the hourse rules as well as the lider settings as that makes a big difference for me.

[rambodoc]

Bill, I tried your sliders and think they are great. I do however, have one problem with pass blocking. I have a dynasty as Norfolk state and was playing San diego state. My team was rated solid B across the board and SDSU was B+ across the board. I kept it close for 2 quarters and then got blown out 32-10. The problem was the SDSU left DE set an NCAA record for most sacks in a game. I also followed your house rules and enjoy them. My next game I will tweak the pass blocking to hopefully hold my own.
By the way I am a complete newbie at this game and am loving it.
Thanks again for all of your hard work. It is appreciated.