NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

[Collegefbfan]

This is not a post about getting 13 over 14. I have both. My awesome wife just bought me a backup PS3. So, I was gonna try it out to see how it played, noise level and all that. It ran perfectly. I decided to play NCAA 13 because I leave 14 in my other system. I could not believe how good 13 played. I could actually see my DL swim and rip and try to bust through. I have never seen it in such great detail on 14, and I have played 14 a lot. Please tell me is this because on 14 I play dynasty and have a pretty good set of sliders and on 13 I just played an exhibition game? I was playing as the Ragin Cajuns on 13 and we know they aren’t that great. My players on 13 seemed to make cuts better running the ball. I have only played 13 a couple of times and never noticed it before. Anyone else see this or feel this way about 13? Don’t get me wrong, 14 is crazy awesome. But 13 just surprised me. Feedback appreciated.

[Tuscaloosa]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

I prefer '11, '12 and '13, over '14. '12 is probably my favorite of the 3, just because I've played it the most out of the 3.

[MrOctober430]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

'13 was my favorite out of all the games on the 360. But it was also very buggy and glitchy, even now there's some issues to it.

'14 runs smooth and the overall control feels like a big upgrade. Either or are really good imo

[OBinKC]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

‘14 has its advantages. The different offensive styles might be more fun to run than on any of the other games. But it just becomes too easy. And the most disappointing thing to me about ‘14 is the line play. The balance is so screwy that it almost looks like it was an afterthought. I like the challenge of needing to recruit guys in the trenches to determine my success, but that’s not really even a thing in ‘14.

I’ve never played ‘13, but I have ‘12 and I know it’s the same engine. You’re going to see some great things when it comes to line battles and the importance of player ratings. And the thing is, it’s even more evident in the PS2/360 gen games!

[speedy43]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

And the thing is, it’s even more evident in the PS2/360 gen games!

Oh man. The graphics have definitely aged, but I do remember that gen's engine was soooo much better. '08 on the PS2 was my first introduction to the game and I would take that game with 14's graphics/models any day of the week.

[Collegefbfan]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Well now that I have played about 18 games on NCAA 13, I have come to the conclusion that they really focused on the defensive side of the game. I am building up San Jose State. I play on All American with some sliders found here. I even had to down the CPU rush and pass attack. They were killing my players. I recruited pretty well and came up with the #21 class. But man this game is super tough. Even though my QB is a scrambler, he isn’t fast and can’t escape crap. It’s like the CPU defense knows what I am gonna do even though I mix up the playcalling. If I run to the outside, they stack the box with three or four LBs. This prevents a run up the middle or the outside. When I audible to a pass play, no matter how fast my fastest WR is, the defense stays on him. Even playing teams like Idaho, UTSA, etc. Is this because my team is still horrible in my second year coaching or is the game that much tougher? I even went in and changed some player attributes. Like awareness and play recognition. I never did this on any other version and I have played many. I am letting off the thumbstick before throwing the ball. Any other insight you all can share?

[OBinKC]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Well now that I have played about 18 games on NCAA 13, I have come to the conclusion that they really focused on the defensive side of the game. I am building up San Jose State. I play on All American with some sliders found here. I even had to down the CPU rush and pass attack. They were killing my players. I recruited pretty well and came up with the #21 class. But man this game is super tough. Even though my QB is a scrambler, he isn’t fast and can’t escape crap. It’s like the CPU defense knows what I am gonna do even though I mix up the playcalling. If I run to the outside, they stack the box with three or four LBs. This prevents a run up the middle or the outside. When I audible to a pass play, no matter how fast my fastest WR is, the defense stays on him. Even playing teams like Idaho, UTSA, etc. Is this because my team is still horrible in my second year coaching or is the game that much tougher? I even went in and changed some player attributes. Like awareness and play recognition. I never did this on any other version and I have played many. I am letting off the thumbstick before throwing the ball. Any other insight you all can share?

Again, I’ve played ‘12 which isn’t ‘13, but ‘12 is considered the toughest defense of the PS3 era. So I feel I can still give you some insight.

The thing you have to keep in mind is that you really have to mix up a good gameplan with games before ‘14 whereas with ‘14 offense is too easy. So you have to use concepts that get your guys open against zone, and learn which routes in the given year can burn man coverage.

I found most success using compressed sets. The streak/corner/flat would always torch zone. The corner route was even more effective when I smart routed it. Against man, I would slant-out an inside receiver and slant-in the outside receiver, creating a criss-cross of the slant routes and creating rubs that could get one of them wide open. Not sure if this still worked in ‘13, but like I said, you have to test routes in ‘13 to see which ones were best against man.

Oh, and you have to use lots of audibles, especially to run. It’s like they pick the perfect defense to stop the play you come out in. So if you always come out in a pass play, the defense will usually play soft against the run. Hopefully some of this works for you.

[Collegefbfan]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Yes sir, many thanks. I did some testing last night and out routes are great. My newly recruited scrambling QB is pretty fast along with mid 80s throw accuracy and power as a freshman is promising. I do see safeties flying and I mean FLYING to the passed ball and DEs catching my 93 speed QB and this is not real or sim playing. But can I really control that? If so, tell me. Sliders? I play on All American but to combat this great CPU defense even for sucky CPU teams, I allow myself two drives on varsity. If I score, great, if I don’t score, too bad.

[OBinKC]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

I’m not sure where you’re going wrong because I play on default Heisman and it’s still possible to win. They nerfed QB ability, so scrambling and options were useless. In ‘12, there wasn’t really a good set of sliders that made QBs play to their true speed, so I recruited pocket passers. It’s all about making correct reads and mixing up the run and pass.

[Crazy Packers Fan]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

I have both the disc and download version of 14, and both of them freeze nearly every game I play. Not to mention the slow frame rate. But 13 runs perfectly and almost never freezes. (I can't play against Western Michigan, Texas State, or UMass, but that's a small price to pay.) To me, 13 seems to be the exact same game as 14. I'd recommend 13 over 14 every time. Unless you're a Western Michigan fan.

[Collegefbfan]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Well, after a lot of research, and a faster QB, and finally using out routes and comebacks, I have improved. Can someone tell me about using smoke screens or is that hot route in ‘13? Can’t remember. Or even in ‘14, do I have to send the players out to block on a smoke screen? I beat Fresno State 55-0 using the 4-3 and though tit was the way to go. Then, Duke torched me through the air. I am still enjoying the challenge because ‘13 to me isn’t easy. I could never play on Heisman with these 45 year old fingers. Thanks for all the help.

[WoolyGuy]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Are there any fatal flaws or glaring problems with 13 or 12? I have given up on 14, defense is just impossible, and I want to play a more defensively oriented game.

I am hoping 12 or 13 don't have any game killing issues, so I can try a long term dynasty.

[Collegefbfan]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

I am liking 13 a lot. The CPU did challenge me a lot until I recruited some better players. I am still a huge fan of 14 also. I had 12 a long time ago. The LBs could leap 6 feet to intercept passes. Pretty frustrating. On 13, it seems the CPU safeties can cover a lot of ground pretty quickly. Just watch out for that.

[Limasbravo]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Are there any fatal flaws or glaring problems with 13 or 12? I have given up on 14, defense is just impossible, and I want to play a more defensively oriented game.

I am hoping 12 or 13 don't have any game killing issues, so I can try a long term dynasty.

Haven't played 13, so can't speak there.

12 probably would have been my favorite of the PS3, but I've given up on it because there's problems with it crashing and commentators stopping. The commentators don't bother me much. Supposedly there's a patch to fix the crashing issues but I myself must have not got it.

12 people talk about the super-jumping linebackers being terrible, but they don't bother me, talk whatever you want from that.

[MSTATE12]

Re: NCAA Football 13 vs. 14 Some Insight Please

Honestly, I only use to play 13 because of the custom sounds working, gameplay, recruiting, etc. Now, b/c of the revamp. I have gone back to 14 and I am really enjoying it. You should check it out. The game is much better than I remember. I dont like the recruiting as much as 13, but it is fun with all the updates to the stadiums, uniforms, etc. that they have done.