NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

[jfsolo]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

We've fixed the issue with the CPU recruiting a bunch of LTs when they need a RT. The problem is you are only recruiting Ts, and you don't know if they are left/right until you sign them. The depth chart logic puts the best player with that natural position (left or right), but the CPU never does position changes.

Now the CPU will do position changes if the backup on one side is better than the starter on the other side. Note, this does not actually happen during Position Changes in the offseason, so if you look at CPU teams before starting a new season, the change won't have happened yet.

This makes me very, very happy. This has been an issue for literally at least a decade, and now it seems to be fixed. As mierk talked about, the thing now would be to make sure that the CPU doesn't over or under recruit certain positions creating absurd roster imbalances, e.g. having six QB's, but only 3 CB's

[imraged]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

I posted this in the wishlist thread a while back and I didn't really feel like retyping it. Some of the things I asked for have already been addressed in this topic but I'm interested to see if Russell or Adam can touch on my comment about player development.

I know this is probably already been said, but I just want to express myself.

One thing that has always bothered me is the way positions are handled in this game. Whereas in the game players come in with their position predetermined, it's not uncommon in real life for guys to have played at one position but be projected to play at another in college. The ATH identification in the game doesn't really solve this problem.

My main issue isn't with moves from WR to DB for example, my issue is with relatively simple moves from one spot on the Dline to another, whether a recruit will play on the Oline or the Dline, or a guy playing either safety spot without taking a ridiculous penalty in ratings. It's the same for HB to FB. It's not uncommon to see a high school HB play FB in college.

Player development also ties closely into this issue. As it is now, the player has zero control over how the players develop. This needs to be changed. If I have elite athletic facilities I want to be able to take a 260 pound prospect and make him into a 300+ pound nose tackle; or have the option of only having him gain 10-20 pounds and have him play end in my 3-4.

Another thing that has bothered me about the measurebles of prospects is the number of highly rated QBs who are under 6'2''. This rarely happens in real life unless he is a dual-threat QB yet I see 4 and 5 star guys every year who are 5'11" to 6'1".

[md0t]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

okay EA guys Russ and OMT - WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING ABOUT SUCTION BLOCKING/TACKLING?

screaming WTF at my television still has not solved this issue, any BRIGHT ideas?

[Allaboutme]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

Oh this isnt a big deal , i like what im hearing but are we gonna be able to challenge replays in user vs user games in 2010? for some reason you cant and i wish it wernt so some plays in my OD i would very much so like to reviewed, and it doesnt get reviewed and some plays i could live without it being reviewed and the cpu does it.

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

So I'm going to try and cover your questions by explaining what our goals are on the line... Mainly because the line play is still a work in progress and not everything is functioning correctly yet.

1. The D-Line has to matter, blitzing should not be the only way to get pressure

What I mean is simply we want the defensive line to be able to make an impact on the running and passing game, guys should be able to get off blocks and make plays.

2. Higher rated players should dominate (when faced up against lower talent) on both sides of the ball

Ratings need to be able to drive the action, while I don't want to create a situation where a 90+ DE beats a 75 OT 100% of the time, you should be scared that every play that DE can be in the backfield.

Also I'm going to have to double check but I'm pretty sure most of the huge impact blocks no longer play for inteior linemen. It is sort of silly a 280 pound player gets pushed back in the air 3 yards. But they still can be cut blocked, so you will see some D-Linemen on the ground.

-Russ

This makes me happy. Hopefully it actually comes true and we see viable improvements both in line play and in differences in ratings.

[ODogg]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

This is a very open ended and difficult to put-into-words question but i'm going to ask it anyways. I would like to know if the gameplay has become more dynamic, more interesting and more lifelike? By that I mean have ball physics improved, will we see scrambling QBs scramble and slow ones realize they are too slow to scramble all the time, will players express emotion before, during and after big plays, will we have some pageantry, finally get some realistic crowd noise (ie a big hit where someone gets laid out makes the crowd go WOo-ahhh), etc, etc, etc?

Jeesh, I guess what i'm asking is this: Have you ever played The Show 09 and saw what makes that game so great and managed to get some of that attention to detail and dynamics of competition into this year's game?

Because bottom line although NCAA 09 on the surface wasn't a bad game it simply got boring after not too many games because the game seems so sterile and repetitive, which is difficult to explain as to how to fix but again, playing the Show can show you areas to improve.

Injecting some emotion, details and passion into the game would be a wonderful way to start.

[Allaboutme]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

This is a very open ended and difficult to put-into-words question but i'm going to ask it anyways. I would like to know if the gameplay has become more dynamic, more interesting and more lifelike? By that I mean have ball physics improved, will we see scrambling QBs scramble and slow ones realize they are too slow to scramble all the time, will players express emotion before, during and after big plays, will we have some pageantry, finally get some realistic crowd noise (ie a big hit where someone gets laid out makes the crowd go WOo-ahhh), etc, etc, etc?

Jeesh, I guess what i'm asking is this: Have you ever played The Show 09 and saw what makes that game so great and managed to get some of that attention to detail and dynamics of competition into this year's game?

Because bottom line although NCAA 09 on the surface wasn't a bad game it simply got boring after not too many games because the game seems so sterile and repetitive, which is difficult to explain as to how to fix but again, playing the Show can show you areas to improve.

Injecting some emotion, details and passion into the game would be a wonderful way to start.

I for one still play ncaa just as much as when i first got it, but some friends have started to play less, but i believe thats in every game that you purchase. eventually u will stop, my question is how long as MLB the show 09 been out for that comparison of longevity? Ive had 09 since first day and i still enjoy it to this day.

[FadeEmAll]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

We've fixed the issue with the CPU recruiting a bunch of LTs when they need a RT. The problem is you are only recruiting Ts, and you don't know if they are left/right until you sign them. The depth chart logic puts the best player with that natural position (left or right), but the CPU never does position changes.

Now the CPU will do position changes if the backup on one side is better than the starter on the other side. Note, this does not actually happen during Position Changes in the offseason, so if you look at CPU teams before starting a new season, the change won't have happened yet.

Thanks for the response on this topic. As well as the fact you are addressing the speed and various attribute changes when switching positions. That's the best new Ive heard of all the changes Ive read about in the two football games so far. Of course once you guys dropped Online Dynasty into the game, all I needed was a roster update from year to year and I would have been cool. Everything else is just gravy.

[ODogg]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

I for one still play ncaa just as much as when i first got it, but some friends have started to play less, but i believe thats in every game that you purchase. eventually u will stop, my question is how long as MLB the show 09 been out for that comparison of longevity? Ive had 09 since first day and i still enjoy it to this day.

You are correct that games lessen in time but honestly I think you're missing my point, EA's NCAA series playtime gets shorter and shorter for me (and I think I speak for a lot of folks) each year now since the series came to next-gen. Back on the PS2 I would literally be playing the previous year's game up until the time the new one would come out. Then on next-generation the time has lessened with each release. Last year I played it for slightly longer than a month on and off.

Personally I will not be playing The Show 09 probably 6 months down the road but that's because i'm not a big baseball fan, not because The Show isn't able to hold my attention. The bottom line is that even for NCAA 09 the game felt stale after just a couple of weeks and there is no WAY that should happen that quickly to a die-hard, fanatical football nut like myself.

[sportzbro]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

Alright, I haven't seen this mentioned on here yet:

Preset Attribute Ratings (Create-a-Recruit) - let me explain

While in dynasty I typically will create 3-5 players for the upcoming class. It is really annoying though when all of the sliders on the ratings are preset at 78 (I believe that is the number). No matter what position the player is, all of them are set at that default number.

Example: When I create a QB for the upcoming class, I don't want to have to go all the way down the attribute list and lower ratings like Impact Blocking, Man Coverage, or Kick Return. These are irrelevant for that position.

Instead, the ratings that correspond to that position should be the only ones preset highly, and the rest could be preset somewhere between 0-50. In the case of the QB, you would essentially see a 78 rating as the default number for the attributes that matter (Throw Power, Throw Accuracy, Awr, etc.). Of course though you would still have the ability to adjust any of the ratings to your liking.

Any chance you guys can give this a look?

[hornfan]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

Thanks for answering questions guys. The game sounds great so far! I have one question and it is an important one... Will the computer throw deep this year?!? There was really no play action game at all last year. The computer would only throw short to medium passes and it got really old. The deep pass is one of the most exciting plays in football. Thanks again!

[TCF]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

its great seeing the EA guys on here answering questions and talking about the game. been so busy i forgot about NCAA coming out in 3 months.

[J.R. Locke]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

Interior line push is very important!!! I hope that instead of pancake blocks and DT blow ups we get movement/push/drive on the OL/DL interaction.

The push of the DL makes a QB scramble or throw the ball quicker with less accuracy.

OL drive makes holes and allows for a four yard run up the gut without pancakes and clotheslined tackles....

[youALREADYknow]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

Alright, I haven't seen this mentioned on here yet:

Preset Attribute Ratings (Create-a-Recruit) - let me explain

While in dynasty I typically will create 3-5 players for the upcoming class. It is really annoying though when all of the sliders on the ratings are preset at 78 (I believe that is the number). No matter what position the player is, all of them are set at that default number.

Example: When I create a QB for the upcoming class, I don't want to have to go all the way down the attribute list and lower ratings like Impact Blocking, Man Coverage, or Kick Return. These are irrelevant for that position.

Instead, the ratings that correspond to that position should be the only ones preset highly, and the rest could be preset somewhere between 0-50. In the case of the QB, you would essentially see a 78 rating as the default number for the attributes that matter (Throw Power, Throw Accuracy, Awr, etc.). Of course though you would still have the ability to adjust any of the ratings to your liking.

Any chance you guys can give this a look?

I mentioned this to Greg on the NCAA team months ago, but hopefully Russ sees this as well and can confirm that some changes are being made. The way this was done in NCAA 09 was horrific and completely ruined Create-A-Prospect/Player for me. It takes hours to create the 25 recruits for a class with the current system.

[Madwolf]

Re: NCAA Football 10 - Designer Chat

Definitely agree on the pre-set attribute ratings. It should work like this:

Position: RB (just one example)
Type: Power/Balanced/Finesse
Star: 1/2/3/4/5

You're type would dictate what type of back they are of course, and what stats stand out, and then you could change how good of a back they are by the star ratings which would increase or decrease their ratings accordingly.

It was incredibly frustrating in 09 to allow everyone to create a player that could only be a 3 star player.