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]

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]

'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]

‘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]

Quote: Originally Posted by OBinKC

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]

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]

Quote: Originally Posted by Collegefbfan

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]

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.