Is it just me?

[cryuff]

I have been dying for this game.. college football. But… it’s off? Or is it just me? Seems like many of you love this game. Too many sacks. Interceptions come in bunches. No injuries. On defense it seems like I have to blitz constantly to get stops. The game… it’s close. But like I said.. it seems forced. Am I wrong with the things I have seen?

[GoDucks1224]

Re: Is it just me?

I have been dying for this game.. college football. But… it’s off? Or is it just me? Seems like many of you love this game. Too many sacks. Interceptions come in bunches. No injuries. On defense it seems like I have to blitz constantly to get stops. The game… it’s close. But like I said.. it seems forced. Am I wrong with the things I have seen?

Are you using default sliders? Cause I don’t recommend that.

[Sweed]

Re: Is it just me?

Injuries seem a bit on the low side to me. Other than that I don't have any of the issues you have brought up. GoDucks is right, sliders are needed. I use Armor's average Joe varsity sliders and have great results.

I play "bend but don't break defense" and only control a DE, ie I never switch to a DB and I have no problem getting stops. Mostly I'm cover 3 match zones and cover 4 match to a lesser degree. Throw in an occasional M to M and blitz to keep the CPU honest. In the end I'm not any kind of expert on defenses or how they work, but I'm still able to have a lot of success.


The game to me is so good I was spending too much time running replays just to see the details of what happened on the last play. This meant my games were taking an extra hour or more to play. I've since become more accustomed to how good the plays look as they unfold and have reduced my need to see a replay to confirm that the play I just completed was as good as I thought it was.

[GordoJ]

Re: Is it just me?

This game is like a box of Legos.

If you just open it up and dump out, it's kind of a mess, not resembling at all the thing on the box you're trying to make.
If you tweak it, customize it, adjust sliders and find the settings that work for you, it's a love letter to CFB fans.

Now, you shouldn't HAVE to do that. EA could make a game that plays realistically out of the box and has adjusted sliders and AI off the bat. So I totally get the frustration of having to do that in the first place.

And of course, even when it's all tweaked and adjusted for you---it's still a looooong way from perfect. With lots of bugs, quirks, glitches, and missing features that SHOULD be there, but aren't.

But at the end of the day, it can be a truly immersive, genuinely addictive and fun CFB game that sucks you in like the good old days of NCAA Football.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Is it just me?

This game is like a box of Legos.

If you just open it up and dump out, it's kind of a mess, not resembling at all the thing on the box you're trying to make.
If you tweak it, customize it, adjust sliders and find the settings that work for you, it's a love letter to CFB fans.

Now, you shouldn't HAVE to do that. EA could make a game that plays realistically out of the box and has adjusted sliders and AI off the bat. So I totally get the frustration of having to do that in the first place.

And of course, even when it's all tweaked and adjusted for you---it's still a looooong way from perfect. With lots of bugs, quirks, glitches, and missing features that SHOULD be there, but aren't.

But at the end of the day, it can be a truly immersive, genuinely addictive and fun CFB game that sucks you in like the good old days of NCAA Football.

I think its dependent on each persons skill set whether or not sliders need to be altered. Thats pretty much every sports ball game tho. If you can leave sliders at default, consider yourself among the fortunate, you hit the lottery , in a way. The reason I had to alter sliders, is because I need to play fifteen minute quarters. If I played five minute quarters, I might be able to roll with the default.

[Lunchpail]

Re: Is it just me?

No injuries? I feel like I have multiple every game lol

[cdub71323]

Re: Is it just me?

This game is like a box of Legos.

If you just open it up and dump out, it's kind of a mess, not resembling at all the thing on the box you're trying to make.
If you tweak it, customize it, adjust sliders and find the settings that work for you, it's a love letter to CFB fans.

Now, you shouldn't HAVE to do that. EA could make a game that plays realistically out of the box and has adjusted sliders and AI off the bat. So I totally get the frustration of having to do that in the first place.

I think sliders and settings definitely should play a part. I think most sports gaming companies want their game out of the box enjoyable/winnable for every one that plays it. For those of us purists on sites like this and others that want a more realistic/challenging experience, they give us those options to do so. But I totally understand why sports games are like they are out of the box

[Collegefbfan]

Re: Is it just me?

I have to echo the whole "grab a set of sliders from here" thought. I will say in older versions I could do fine on All American default sliders. Not so on this game. My advice would be to start out on a lower slider set. Maybe Armor & Sword's Average Joe Varsity Sliders. Try a couple of seasons, maybe more, on that set. You might find that this set works out good enough for what you are looking for. It did wonders for me. If that set gets too easy, adjust them or move up to a harder difficulty set. And don't be put off by playing a varsity set. This is not your grandpa's varsity level. And remember, it is a game. Have fun with it.

[cryuff]

Re: Is it just me?

I have to echo the whole "grab a set of sliders from here" thought. I will say in older versions I could do fine on All American default sliders. Not so on this game. My advice would be to start out on a lower slider set. Maybe Armor & Sword's Average Joe Varsity Sliders. Try a couple of seasons, maybe more, on that set. You might find that this set works out good enough for what you are looking for. It did wonders for me. If that set gets too easy, adjust them or move up to a harder difficulty set. And don't be put off by playing a varsity set. This is not your grandpa's varsity level. And remember, it is a game. Have fun with it.

Thanks for the advice guys.... I will go back. The varsity sliders it is

[moTIGS]

Re: Is it just me?

About the only thing I haven't been able to tailor to a place that feels good is sacks (and stops in the backfield more broadly).

No matter how I tweak my sliders, I can't find a way to get CPU quarterbacks to scramble to avoid pressure while keeping eyes downfield for a checkdown option. They either take off and run (if they're scramblers), panic and run backward (and still get sacked), or just throw the ball away. I feel like the amount of pressure I get is fine. The CPU just doesn't handle pressure well.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Re: Is it just me?

I play online exclusively and this is probably the best I've felt about it this Gen. It feels like the player has enough tools in the box to at least make each game feel "earned." I honestly haven't come across any unbeatable cheese.

[Instant C1a55ic]

Re: Is it just me?

I have been dying for this game.. college football. But… it’s off? Or is it just me? Seems like many of you love this game. Too many sacks. Interceptions come in bunches. No injuries. On defense it seems like I have to blitz constantly to get stops. The game… it’s close. But like I said.. it seems forced. Am I wrong with the things I have seen?

I would suggest going on youtube, watching some videos on O-Line adjustments, and how to read coverages/blitzes.

I use Armors All-American sliders, and with the help of some videos to refresh my memory from 20+ years ago, i dont encounter these issues. Gone are the days of just going up to the line and snapping.

Sent from my SM-F946U using Operation Sports mobile app

[xCoachDx]

Re: Is it just me?

The game will never be worth a crap until they get away from Frostbite. Either that’s the root of the issues, or EA is just purely and completely incompetent that they completely ignore the issues.

There are things wrong with this game that middle school football would get right, but have been issues with EA for years.

DE’s lined up outside of tackles shouldn’t be getting reach blocked by them (happens everywhere else on the line too). CB’s shouldn’t be running inside on outside run plays. Defenders shouldn’t be stuck on blocks as the ball carrier is beside or behind them. DB’s shouldn’t be shaded overtop/inside and stand still until the WR runs past them… the list goes on. And all of these have been problems since about Madden 17.

Everyone who bought into the “built from the ground up” nonsense should be embarrassed. 80% of the game was ripped straight from Madden 22/23 and it shows.

[lqstuart]

Re: Is it just me?

It really depends on you personally. Out of the box, this game is tuned to be an arcade game for people who only play as one of the top 5 schools and go long on every pass, because that's what everyone does online, which is what their moneymaker is. That's fun, but it's not really for me, so I use sliders.

[AUChase]

Re: Is it just me?

I think out of the box the game best for H2H play. When I play a user in my league, the game is very balanced and fun. For offline, I'm slowly tweaking sliders trying to find the balance.

I liked the way the offense played prior to the first big patch. Speed seems to matter less than it did and running between the tackles isn't as rewarding anymore. Most of my big run plays are outside the tackles now but there's just a lot more "warping" and stuff in the current version of the game. I do like defense better after that patch on default settings. Before the patch it was the first time I had really seen an offensive line hold their blocks consistently. Now I'm back to seeing DL shed double teams with ease all the time even when I make the right pre-snap OL adjustment.

I'm slowly but surely tweaking sliders and experimenting with what I see here to try to get some balance in my game. I'm usually not up for the rat race but I have played about 280 hours of this game somehow and at this point it's obviously important enough for me to need to make the game a better experience for myself since default isn't cutting it anymore.