20 Questions with NCAA Producer Jeff Ecker.

[RubenDouglas]

registration was instant for me... no email confirmation either

[Review]

Quote: Originally Posted by ifiok25

Can somebody just copy and paste the article? Please?

1) O-Line: Did ea take player attributes into account when doing this... in other words, will the university of wyoming's offensive line be able to push around the miami hurricanes defensive line, or will attributes matter... thanks!!!
Attributes do matter, as does a player’s size. You can see this by putting any top team versus a 1-AA team and see how often they pancake the defensive linemen. There is a huge difference.

2) What does scouting a prospect reveal (such as HS G.P.A., other positions he played in HS)?
Scouting a prospect during Off-Season recruiting reveals the prospect’s “true” attributes (40 Time, Field Awareness, Vertical Jump, Hands, Bench Press and Squat). Scouting a prospect also unlocks the prospect’s Potential and Discipline.

3) Is it harder to take a pathetic 1* and turn them into a 6* powerhouse?
This is one of the areas that we really wanted to address in this year’s game. We’ve taken into account not only the prestige of the school but the prestige of the conference as well.

4) Are there more 2*,3*, and 4* recruits? And is there less 1* and 5 * prospects?
We’ve tried to base the caliber and number of prospects based on the numbers you would see in real life. There are fewer 5 star recruits and less 4 star recruits. The bulk of the prospects are 3 to 1 star in caliber.

5) Have there been any changes to the in-game commentary?
We’ve added a lot of commentary about Impact Players. If you watch a game on television, broadcasters are constantly talking about the go-to guys on both teams. In NCAA Football 06, the commentators do the same thing, so Kirk, Lee and Brad will fawn all over your player if he’s having a great performance.

6) Are the CPU generated walk-ons (not prospects that went unsigned in off-season recruiting) better rated? Not all CPU generated walk-ons should be 45-55 rated should have an occasional 65 or 70.
In the game, generally the walk-ons are going to be 1 and 2 star caliber prospects that didn’t sign with a team for one reason or another.

7) Are there more realistic players declaring for the draft (only underclassmen rated at least 85 overall should declare)?
We have imposed tougher requirements for under-classmen that are interested in declaring early for the NFL draft.

8) Is there an others section in Top 25 toughest places (Like in the Top 25 polls)?
Not at this time, but we have updated this year’s Top 25 toughest places to play.

9) Does the HB in Shotgun still run automatically on a high snap from center (or does he wait for the QB to catch the snap)?
The HB will wait for the QB until he starts running.

10) Are the top CPU programs 4* and up going to recruit better in NCAA 06?
In NCAA 06 we have taken into account the program’s prestige but also the team’s conference prestige as well.

11) Will there be an option for schools to get invited to bigger conferences down the road like in the '05 game?
Yes, and this will be vital for lower prestige schools trying to become a “Powerhouse” program.

12) Will the bowl game matchups be more realistic? I mean that in past versions of the game sometimes you would see like two MAC teams play each other in the Motor City Bowl because there wasn't a Big Ten team eligible instead of getting like a Big East or even Sun Belt team to play the MAC team. Also, it was very common for 5-6 MAC schools and 3-4 SBC schools to play in bowl games. In reality, the MAC has had more than 2 schools in bowl games only this past year and SBC has never had more than two.
The situation where two teams from the same conference playing in bowl games should rarely occur in NCAA 06.

13) In '05 we saw a big increase in roster size to 70 I believe. Is '06 still at 70 or did they increase it even more?
We kept the same roster size for NCAA 06.

14) Can you still change player positions in the offseason in Dynasty mode like last season?
Yes, you can still change or assign player positions during Off-Season.

15) Are teams able to have more walk-ons than needed? For example people walk-on to your team if you have roster space even if you don't need them to fill voids. This happens all the time in real college football.
Currently, walk-ons will be assigned to teams solely to fill needs.

16) Will CPU teams change conferences?
For NCAA 06, only User teams will be offered the chance to join/change other conferences.

17) Will the CPU run more often as well as more effectively? Almost every team in the country runs more often than passes yet that isn't the case in the game.
Yes, even more so with impact running backs. If they are a running team, the back should get 20 or so carries. Even better, if the team has an impact fullback, the CPU will package him in at halfback for some plays to get him more carries.

18) Playbooks: Are they going to fix the playbooks? For example, they need to include more running plays, shorter passing routes (it seems a vast majority of the routes last year were 12 yards or more).
Playbooks have been totally updated and every team will have new formations and plays based on what type of offense they run. We have added several new formations, including more run-heavy types such as the Full House, I Form Twin TE, Strong Twin TE and Ace Big TE WR. We have also added some more passing formations such as Ace Tight, Ace 4WR Trips, Shotgun Trips Over and Shotgun Tight. Another big difference with playbooks this year is the addition of many more play-action plays. These plays are fakes off of a similar looking run play and can fake a defense out for a big play or a quick hitter in the flat. We have also updated our animations for the Shotgun Read/Choice plays where the QB has the option to handoff to the HB, throw a pass or take off running around the end. Many teams in college football today are using this type of Spread offense so it gives the game a more realistic feel.

19) Will the CPU QB be more intelligent and hit the open man for a five yard gain instead of throwing 20 yards or more downfield to a man that is covered. (this would also help solve the pass completion %)
The CPU quarterback is looking for his most open man. So if a guy is open underneath, he'll be getting him the ball. He does a good job of spreading the ball around, but will take deep shots to keep the defense honest. Also, the CPU will be moving around their Impact Wide Receiver to get him open so the best WR isn’t always lined up on the left…he'll line up in various spots now.

20) And getting back to number 1, will I finally have to concentrate on stopping the run for once against the CPU?
Yes…Yes…Yes. We have made sure the CPU is smart when running the ball (watch out for the back juke!). When they are successful, they'll keep running it until you stop them.

[kirkdawg]

#7 about the more stringent requirements for underclassmen planning to declare is all I needed as a selling point. Too bad about the failure to increase the roster size.

[Jistic]

Quote: Originally Posted by Review

1) O-Line: Did ea take player attributes into account when doing this... in other words, will the university of wyoming's offensive line be able to push around the miami hurricanes defensive line, or will attributes matter... thanks!!! Attributes do matter, as does a player’s size. You can see this by putting any top team versus a 1-AA team and see how often they pancake the defensive linemen. There is a huge difference. 2) What does scouting a prospect reveal (such as HS G.P.A., other positions he played in HS)? Scouting a prospect during Off-Season recruiting reveals the prospect’s “true” attributes (40 Time, Field Awareness, Vertical Jump, Hands, Bench Press and Squat). Scouting a prospect also unlocks the prospect’s Potential and Discipline. 3) Is it harder to take a pathetic 1* and turn them into a 6* powerhouse? This is one of the areas that we really wanted to address in this year’s game. We’ve taken into account not only the prestige of the school but the prestige of the conference as well. 4) Are there more 2*,3*, and 4* recruits? And is there less 1* and 5 * prospects? We’ve tried to base the caliber and number of prospects based on the numbers you would see in real life. There are fewer 5 star recruits and less 4 star recruits. The bulk of the prospects are 3 to 1 star in caliber. 5) Have there been any changes to the in-game commentary? We’ve added a lot of commentary about Impact Players. If you watch a game on television, broadcasters are constantly talking about the go-to guys on both teams. In NCAA Football 06, the commentators do the same thing, so Kirk, Lee and Brad will fawn all over your player if he’s having a great performance. 6) Are the CPU generated walk-ons (not prospects that went unsigned in off-season recruiting) better rated? Not all CPU generated walk-ons should be 45-55 rated should have an occasional 65 or 70. In the game, generally the walk-ons are going to be 1 and 2 star caliber prospects that didn’t sign with a team for one reason or another. 7) Are there more realistic players declaring for the draft (only underclassmen rated at least 85 overall should declare)? We have imposed tougher requirements for under-classmen that are interested in declaring early for the NFL draft. 8) Is there an others section in Top 25 toughest places (Like in the Top 25 polls)? Not at this time, but we have updated this year’s Top 25 toughest places to play. 9) Does the HB in Shotgun still run automatically on a high snap from center (or does he wait for the QB to catch the snap)? The HB will wait for the QB until he starts running. 10) Are the top CPU programs 4* and up going to recruit better in NCAA 06? In NCAA 06 we have taken into account the program’s prestige but also the team’s conference prestige as well. 11) Will there be an option for schools to get invited to bigger conferences down the road like in the '05 game? Yes, and this will be vital for lower prestige schools trying to become a “Powerhouse” program. 12) Will the bowl game matchups be more realistic? I mean that in past versions of the game sometimes you would see like two MAC teams play each other in the Motor City Bowl because there wasn't a Big Ten team eligible instead of getting like a Big East or even Sun Belt team to play the MAC team. Also, it was very common for 5-6 MAC schools and 3-4 SBC schools to play in bowl games. In reality, the MAC has had more than 2 schools in bowl games only this past year and SBC has never had more than two. The situation where two teams from the same conference playing in bowl games should rarely occur in NCAA 06. 13) In '05 we saw a big increase in roster size to 70 I believe. Is '06 still at 70 or did they increase it even more? We kept the same roster size for NCAA 06. 14) Can you still change player positions in the offseason in Dynasty mode like last season? Yes, you can still change or assign player positions during Off-Season. 15) Are teams able to have more walk-ons than needed? For example people walk-on to your team if you have roster space even if you don't need them to fill voids. This happens all the time in real college football. Currently, walk-ons will be assigned to teams solely to fill needs. 16) Will CPU teams change conferences? For NCAA 06, only User teams will be offered the chance to join/change other conferences. 17) Will the CPU run more often as well as more effectively? Almost every team in the country runs more often than passes yet that isn't the case in the game. Yes, even more so with impact running backs. If they are a running team, the back should get 20 or so carries. Even better, if the team has an impact fullback, the CPU will package him in at halfback for some plays to get him more carries. 18) Playbooks: Are they going to fix the playbooks? For example, they need to include more running plays, shorter passing routes (it seems a vast majority of the routes last year were 12 yards or more). Playbooks have been totally updated and every team will have new formations and plays based on what type of offense they run. We have added several new formations, including more run-heavy types such as the Full House, I Form Twin TE, Strong Twin TE and Ace Big TE WR. We have also added some more passing formations such as Ace Tight, Ace 4WR Trips, Shotgun Trips Over and Shotgun Tight. Another big difference with playbooks this year is the addition of many more play-action plays. These plays are fakes off of a similar looking run play and can fake a defense out for a big play or a quick hitter in the flat. We have also updated our animations for the Shotgun Read/Choice plays where the QB has the option to handoff to the HB, throw a pass or take off running around the end. Many teams in college football today are using this type of Spread offense so it gives the game a more realistic feel. 19) Will the CPU QB be more intelligent and hit the open man for a five yard gain instead of throwing 20 yards or more downfield to a man that is covered. (this would also help solve the pass completion %) The CPU quarterback is looking for his most open man. So if a guy is open underneath, he'll be getting him the ball. He does a good job of spreading the ball around, but will take deep shots to keep the defense honest. Also, the CPU will be moving around their Impact Wide Receiver to get him open so the best WR isn’t always lined up on the left…he'll line up in various spots now. 20) And getting back to number 1, will I finally have to concentrate on stopping the run for once against the CPU? Yes…Yes…Yes. We have made sure the CPU is smart when running the ball (watch out for the back juke!). When they are successful, they'll keep running it until you stop them.

'Thanks man.

[NoleFan]

I'm starting to get excited about the release of '06.

[davin]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoleFan

I'm starting to get excited about the release of '06.

Less than 2 months left!

I really hope that this game can pull off all it claims to do, because it is sounding really good.

[OG_McNabb]

I hope they get 19 and 20 right in Madden as well