gamespot.com Previews NCAA Football 08

[gschwendt]

http://www.ncaastrategies.com/images/ncaafootball08/gamespot.jpgGamespot has also posted a preview of NCAA Football 08 and there are some differences between this and the teamxbox.com article. One major difference is that it mentions 115 stadiums rather than 90. Maybe it's 90 teams and 25 bowl stadiums? Also it goes into a bit more depth in certain areas.

NCAA Football 08 First Look

When most folks think of April, images of warmer weather, sunny skies, and the start of the Major League Baseball season come to mind. When the development team at EA Tiburon think of April, they've got to have college football on the brain. That's because it's traditionally this time of year when EA Sports spills the first beans on its upcoming college football game NCAA Football 08. We got a chance to see the game during EA's recent Tiburon press event.

Last year was the debut for the NCAA series on the Xbox 360 (there were entries on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PlayStation Portable too). This year NCAA 08 will be dropping for the PlayStation 3 as well. The series looks to be continuing some of the long-running features that have made it a success, though not without some crucial tweaks that look to set it apart not just from previous games in the season but from its big brother at Tiburon, Madden NFL 08.

Consider the impact player feature, for example. The NCAA series has been putting an emphasis on star players on both sides of the ball now for a couple of iterations. The feature isn't changing with NCAA 08--teams will still include impact players on offense and defense. Thanks to a new motivation system, however, practically any player in the game will be able to rise up to the level of an impact player, depending on the skill of the player with his or her thumbs on the game controller.

As it was featured in the game demonstration, the motivation system will reward individual players with boosts to their motivation level when they perform well on the field. The better and more consistent a player performs, the more motivation he will earn as he goes. As the old saying goes, success begets success, and as motivation builds up, that player will eventually get into the zone (something previously reserved only for the aforementioned impact players). If you've got a player in the zone and he pulls off a huge play, such as a big touchdown run or a game-changing interception, he can inspire the entire team with a huge performance boost. It's known as "leading by example" in the game and these kinds of huge-motivation moments can change the direction of a game.

In an example shown during the demonstration, a quarterback ran a number of option plays; for each successful toss of the ball to the running back, the player gradually earned more motivation, and his icon began to glow. At the peak of his motivation, the player icon was pulsing orange and red and, when he finally crossed into the end zone on a sharp end run, the motivation blasted out to engulf the field in that same orange and red glow--a visual effect we're hoping the developers will consider toning down before the game is released. Still, cheesy effects or not, you can't argue with the results. On the very next play--which saw the team going for two points after the touchdown--the unusually motivated team provided the extra push to get the two-point conversion.

The new motivation system has a few interesting connotations. First, it means that you won't necessarily have to depend on your impact players in order to make things happen on the field. After all, it's all too easy to key in on your opponent's impact players and attempt to shut them down, taking away the biggest weapons in their arsenal. If any player on the team has the ability to rise to the occasion and make a play, it opens up the game nicely. The other aspect of the system is that it rewards the person playing the game for actually making plays. Earning motivation points will seem natural--by doing things like making spectacular catches, huge runs filled with jukes and spins, and the like; and you'll be equally rewarded for coming up huge on defense. Instead of relying on the artificial intelligence to make that big interception or huge hit, the system will reward the player for taking control of that middle linebacker or safety and coming down with the ball themselves. Of course, blowing big plays will result in a hit to your motivation total as well--so you'll want to make sure you pick your spots.

After a few games spent racking up motivation, gaining glory on the gridiron with your impact players, and generally trouncing all teams who step in your path, it follows that you'll want to save and share your on-field conquests with your friends. NCAA Football 07 started that trend by allowing you to keep photos from your big games in a photo album. With NCAA 08, you'll be able to save and share more of these types of highlights thanks to an improved replay system and a new feature known simply as the "shrine."

An improved replay system will let you go back and revisit practically any play in a game (though producers were quick to point out that you could only do this in games with shorter quarter lengths). Once you've found a highlight you're particularly fond of, you can then choose to create a highlight of that play, letting you take a snapshot or segment of game-generated video using multiple camera angles you can choose from. From there, you'll be able to either save these photos or videos on your hard drive, or upload them to share with friends. Got an annoying Alabama fan who has conveniently developed amnesia since your Auburn Tigers wiped the floor with them two weeks prior? Send them the video to remind them of their failures. Producers said the online repository of videos and photos will include a searchable database you can file through, in case you're only looking for clips of certain types of plays or from certain schools. Plays will also be graded with a "greatness score"--and we expect it won't be long before people are comparing their favorite plays' scores like tailgaters compare BBQ grill sizes.


When saving your favorite videos locally on your console, you'll have a chance to show them off in your personal "shrine" which, as it sounds, is a memorial to your personal accomplishments in the game. A huge jumbotron screen can be loaded with your favorite highlight videos, while accompanying screens on the side can show off photos from your various victories. There's also a ton of room for trophies in your shrine--a perfect place to show off your conference and national championship gold, as well as rivalry-specific awards such as Paul Bunyan's Axe (from the Wisconsin/Minnesota series) or the Little Brown Jug from the long-running (and one-sided) Michigan/Minnesota rivalry series. ESPN's Chris Fowler will join his College GameDay co-hosts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit (as well as play-by-play man Brad Nessler), with Fowler providing audio descriptions of the various rivalry-specific trophies. The game will also feature extensive stat tracking--recording everything from the number of jukes and spins you use in a game, to how often you've motivated your team using the game's "lead by example" feature. You'll then be able to compare your stats with other players to see how you measure up.

So you've worked out the motivation system, you've led by example on the field, and you've got a shrine that's always growing in tribute to your collegiate greatness. Where do you go from there? How about the game's new-look campus legend mode for starters. The campus legend feature has been a part of previous NCAA games, and allows you to step in the shoes of an up-and-coming football star at your favorite college. This time around, though, the series has a few new twists in store for you. First of all, when starting up, you'll be able to either create a new player from scratch, or take control of a currently existing player on a school roster. Of course, should you decide to take control of a senior quarterback, you'll only be able to play him for a single year before he graduates.

Another thing that's changed is how your player will make the transition into the collegiate game. With NCAA 08's Campus Legend mode, you'll start out by playing in a high school football tournament. Your first few games as a player will be played in small high school stadiums. Once your team makes it to the championship, with you leading the way, naturally, you'll get your first taste of college atmosphere when you play in a college stadium for the first time. Play your high school tournament in Tennessee, for example, and your championship game will take place at Neyland Stadium (home of the Volunteers). After each game in the tournament, you'll get a feel for your performance, as well as an idea of the various scouts that were in attendance to check you out. The higher you're rated as a performer, the more options you'll have once it comes time to commit to a Division 1-A team.

But hold on there, Mr. Superstar. Just because you actually made it onto a team doesn't mean you'll automatically have the starting job. Indeed, should you sign for a big time football school like Florida or USC, you'll likely find yourself way down the depth order at your specific position. In order to raise your profile, and fight for that starting job, you'll need to take part in the daily practice sessions during the season. You'll have ten reps to perform various plays and, based on your success, you'll earn points until you overtake the guy ahead of you on the depth chart. The good news is, you can't lose a position once you've gained it, so make sure you work hard in the early going. And of course, you'll need to balance you're personal and academic life in NCAA 08's campus legend mode. You'll need to juggle your academic work with putting time in with your nose buried in the team's playbook, as well as fitting in time with your buddies. The system will work slightly differently this year--one producer used a pick-up basketball game as an example. Should you choose to go out with your buddies and play hoops, you might play a big game and earn a small boost to your jumping ability for your next game; conversely you might also twist an ankle on the hardtop and miss your next start.

As with superstar mode in last year's Madden NFL game, campus legend mode in NCAA 08 will find you playing the position you chose, and only that position. If you're a quarterback, you'll be making plays, if you're a middle linebacker, you'll be responsible for bringing down ball carriers, snatching balls out of the sky, and bringing down the odd scampering quarterback or two. As with superstar mode, the camera will shift to focus on your player depending on his position and, unless you're a QB who can call audibles, you'll depend on your AI coach to get you the ball. One cool feature in NCAA 08 is the super sim, which will let you skip to your next possession in the game, or simulate a game entirely should you start beating up your local community college at homecoming. At any point in a sim, you can jump back into the game in order to ice off an opponent or simply add another touchdown against your most hated rival. The super sim feature should make all modes in the game--including the still unrevealed dynasty mode--move at a much-needed quicker pace.

NCAA 08 will be sharing the core football engine technology that will be at the heart of Madden 08, tweaked to better represent the college game and we're looking forward to seeing more of how the improved engine actually plays. Beyond gameplay, the biggest questions for NCAA 08 revolve around the online feature set and dynasty mode. Details are few and far between though we're intrigued to report that one producer referred to it as a "revolutionary" dynasty mode. Sounds good to us.

One last stat to whet your appetite: NCAA 08 will include 115 modeled college football stadiums, up from around 40 in the previous year's game. In addition, several stadiums have been tweaked in accordance with their real-life upgrades from the previous year (Crimson Tide fans, we're looking at you). With more questions to answer--mainly about the game's dynasty mode--we look forward to bringing you more on NCAA 08 as we lead up to its release later this summer. - gamespot.com (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/ncaafootball08/news.html?sid=6168928&om_act=convert&om_clk=newlyadded&tag=newlyadded;title;1)

[Simo77]

At the peak of his motivation, the player icon was pulsing orange and red and, when he finally crossed into the end zone on a sharp end run, the motivation blasted out to engulf the field in that same orange and red glow--a visual effect we're hoping the developers will consider toning down before the game is released.
So once a players is in the "zone" are we then playong on a pulsing orange and red field?[rock]

[gschwendt]

So once a players is in the "zone" are we then playong on a pulsing orange and red field?[rock]

I think its when a highly 'motivated' player scores that the field flashes orange & red. As gamespot says, hopefully they'll tone that down... it's not NFL Blitz we're playing. Make the game look like a 100% accurate television broadcast!

[Cory]

The motivation bullshit is really irritating. A pulsing orange and red field? Come on.

[WKUsSledgehammer]

The motivation bullshit is really irritating. A pulsing orange and red field? Come on.

No freaking kidding. This is why we can't have DBs that can actually play defense? To get a flashing field? Cory said it ... come on.

[cdj]

I think its when a highly 'motivated' player scores that the field flashes orange & red. As gamespot says, hopefully they'll tone that down... it's not NFL Blitz we're playing. Make the game look like a 100% accurate television broadcast!

I agree....that mention was the only thing that made me roll me eyes while reading. Hopefully that is toned down (or off). I don't mind Leadership Control (I'll wait on judgment until I play it), but the field lighting up orange? Please reconsider that, EA.

I also agree 200% in that I want the game to resemble a TV broadcast as much as possible. I can understand a few liberties here and there, however.

It is amusing that the NCAA staff at Tiburon adds in real-time weather for realism, yet also adds in a feature that turns the field orange for a few seconds. Seems like conflicting interests.

[WKUsSledgehammer]

I think its when a highly 'motivated' player scores that the field flashes orange & red. As gamespot says, hopefully they'll tone that down... it's not NFL Blitz we're playing. Make the game look like a 100% accurate television broadcast!

Amen to that. And that included the impact player BS. Show the white circles and pulsing circles for IPs in the playcalling screen, and leave the on-field presentation alone. God. How long before "in the zone" IPs start emitting lightning flashing and transform into 15-foot tall robots?

[rhombic21]

In an example shown during the demonstration, a quarterback ran a number of option plays; for each successful toss of the ball to the running back, the player gradually earned more motivation, and his icon began to glow. At the peak of his motivation, the player icon was pulsing orange and red and, when he finally crossed into the end zone on a sharp end run, the motivation blasted out to engulf the field in that same orange and red glow--a visual effect we're hoping the developers will consider toning down before the game is released. Still, cheesy effects or not, you can't argue with the results. On the very next play--which saw the team going for two points after the touchdown--the unusually motivated team provided the extra push to get the two-point conversion.

The new motivation system has a few interesting connotations. First, it means that you won't necessarily have to depend on your impact players in order to make things happen on the field. After all, it's all too easy to key in on your opponent's impact players and attempt to shut them down, taking away the biggest weapons in their arsenal. If any player on the team has the ability to rise to the occasion and make a play, it opens up the game nicely. The other aspect of the system is that it rewards the person playing the game for actually making plays. Earning motivation points will seem natural--by doing things like making spectacular catches, huge runs filled with jukes and spins, and the like; and you'll be equally rewarded for coming up huge on defense. Instead of relying on the artificial intelligence to make that big interception or huge hit, the system will reward the player for taking control of that middle linebacker or safety and coming down with the ball themselves. Of course, blowing big plays will result in a hit to your motivation total as well--so you'll want to make sure you pick your spots.
Fucking hell. Are you kidding me?

People complain that impact players are too arcadey, and EA's response is to just make EVERY player arcadey? Lame. Really fucking lame.

This just has me depressed. Get a fucking clue EA.

[WKUsSledgehammer]

Instead of relying on the artificial intelligence to make that big interception or huge hit, the system will reward the player for taking control of that middle linebacker or safety and coming down with the ball themselves.


That's all well and good, except don't try to tell me that when a CPU lineman blows up my offensive line and puts my quarterback in the hospital, he's not going to get a motivational boost. Lame.

[westsidetide]

That's all well and good, except don't try to tell me that when a CPU lineman blows up my offensive line and puts my quarterback in the hospital, he's not going to get a motivational boost. Lame.

All too typical of an EA game.....bells and whistles (that you can't turn off), the continuing concentration on individual players, and a target audience of 12 - 15 year olds....[evil]

[bman09]

I don't want to be too pessimistic, but it seems like all of the problems that we so desperately wanted fixed are going to get worse.

Let's look an example:

On one problem with NCAA (http://www.ncaastrategies.com/utopia/showthread.php?t=47579) as addressed in Rhombic's thread, 'The problem with HFA, impact players, and momentum'

As it was featured in the game demonstration, the motivation system will reward individual players with boosts to their motivation level when they perform well on the field. The better and more consistent a player performs, the more motivation he will earn as he goes. As the old saying goes, success begets success, and as motivation builds up, that player will eventually get into the zone (something previously reserved only for the aforementioned impact players). If you've got a player in the zone and he pulls off a huge play, such as a big touchdown run or a game-changing interception, he can inspire the entire team with a huge performance boost. It's known as "leading by example" in the game and these kinds of huge-motivation moments can change the direction of a game.

Great. So, basically, we will just continue to hope our guys don't fumble, and the first drive will determine the game. Brilliant. The player will have no control other than a little stickwork early in the game to set up the "motivation" which controls the outcome of the game.

"success" does not beget success, but rather Random AI crapulence and programming errors begets 'motivation' which begets success. Absolutely shameful.

[WIAggie]

[I]One last stat to whet your appetite: NCAA 08 will include 115 modeled college football stadiums, up from around 40 in the previous year's game. In addition, several stadiums have been tweaked in accordance with their real-life upgrades from the previous year (Crimson Tide fans, we're looking at you). With more questions to answer--mainly about the game's dynasty mode--we look forward to bringing you more on NCAA 08 as we lead up to its release later this summer. - gamespot.com (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/ncaafootball08/news.html?sid=6168928&om_act=convert&om_clk=newlyadded&tag=newlyadded;title;1)

Lame....Very Very Lame
Next-Gen Football sucks...always have....always will
sucks to be a next-gen system owner

[cmq]

Bah, too much negativity considering these are the first two press releases about the game. Why don't we hold our pissing and moaning back for a few weeks, at least until we get gameplay videos.

[Cory]

Bah, too much negativity considering these are the first two press releases about the game. Why don't we hold our pissing and moaning back for a few weeks, at least until we get gameplay videos.

A lot of the problems that existed last year were a result of the "momentum" and "impact players" in addition to the less than stellar gameplay. When they mention that they add more of these gimmicks on top of these ones it just makes it harder to believe that it will get any better. I'm going to hold out but this definitely got me less excited.

[coogrfan]

Lame....Very Very Lame
Next-Gen Football sucks...always have....always will
sucks to be a next-gen system owner

Sounds like someone needs to find a new hobby. [cool]

[Thompson219]

it appears alot of this is for next gen...so i won't have the shrine feature[down]
One good thing rhombic forgot to point out while bashing was that they were going to the madden engine.

None of this really has me pissed. I'm more worried about what new features are in dynasty mode right now..Of course there wasn't any info in the article other than OMG IT WILL BE THE BEST DYNASTY MODE EVA'

[JackRyanWMU]

A glowing red and yellow field? Why don't they just have the players turn into He-Man when they get 'in the zone?'

I HAVE THE POOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

[CFR-116]

All too typical of an EA game.....bells and whistles (that you can't turn off), the continuing concentration on individual players, and a target audience of 12 - 15 year olds....[evil]

I have to admit Westsidetide this was pretty much the samething I was thinking as well. Impact players again....now the field glows red and orange[laugh] and your team is...."In the zone"!....oh my God. Although there were acouple of decent adds, that might be pretty cool....but overall, sounds to me anyway, that the Ncaa series is headed ever deeper into the world of arcade. But should we really be suprised? Disappointed....yes, but suprised no. While I'm not ready to pronounce Ncaa '08' DOA, but as of now I'm not feeling too good about what we've heard so far.

The general feel I'm getting is that the Ncaa series is continuing it's arcade like base right into the new gen. of games, sadly for the more "hardline" gamers that want a more realistic feel to the game. While news of the field glowing red or whatever may not be the end of the world....but it doesn't really give off the sence of reality either, or that it's the direction that EA is trying to go with this game. I don't want to preach doom and gloom here but, it seems more and more evident that the sim crowd [including me] maybe pi$$ing up a rope when it comes to the Ncaa game....now, and looks like in the near future.

For me now...the news [that we knew already] that Ncaa is useing Maddens game engine is great...but it being "tweaked" to more closely simulate the college game, is what worries me most. If history means anything, that very well could mean basketball on grass....again. Where it states...."Pounding every team that gets in your way."....yep...thats Ncaa alright. To save what sanity I have left, I'm just accepting that Ncaa IS the acrade version of the two football games from EA Sports, at least how I see things. And every indication seems to point that it will continue. While I'm not happy about it, I believe I've come to grips with it....Ncaa is what it is, the more acrade slanted game, if thats not what I'm looking for in a video football game....oh well, is it Aug. yet?[smile]

Again...at this very early point I don't think it's really fair to consider the '08' game dead in the water....listing 17 degrees to port maybe....;) but not sunk. I should say Westsidetide that I'm not meaning to point my comments directly towards you....but just in general. I wish there was a Ncaa '08'-A [the adult version] but there isn't....but thank God there is another choise coming in Aug,

[westsidetide]

IAgain...at this very early point I don't think it's really fair to consider the '08' game dead in the water....listing 17 degrees to port maybe....;) but not sunk. I should say Westsidetide that I'm not meaning to point my comments directly towards you....but just in general. I wish there was a Ncaa '08'-A [the adult version] but there isn't....but thank God there is another choise coming in Aug,

Hey CFR, I think you and I agree about the direction of NCAA 2008. I'm also not declaring this year a flop, but as always, adopting a 'wait and see' position.

I do think the new fast simulation mode is pretty cool, and should be a welcome addition to dynasty (at least it's our choice to use it or not.)

I guess I'm looking forward to learn what this "Best Dynasty Mode Ever" will include.
NOTE TO EA: "Please give us an 'On/Off' switch or sliders for this new Leadership Mode."

[bman09]

Bah, too much negativity considering these are the first two press releases about the game. Why don't we hold our pissing and moaning back for a few weeks, at least until we get gameplay videos.

You're right. I swore to myself that I would be optimistic about this year's game, but it has not taken me long to break this vow. You are wise, cmq.

[adder30]

There seems to be a pretty even split of those who are pro and con on the Madden engine, but that part did intrigue me. It seems like that setup is better at toning down the awkward and unbeleiveable, even if its at the cost of a little big play excitement. This part makes me [smile]

Just like everyone else, I'm completely dumb-founded that they added another layer of snow-balling to the momentum stuff. If they completely removed HFA, Impact/in the zone, momentum meter, then perhaps "motivation" would be okay, but now.... let's see if I can get this right:

Play well = screen vibration from HFA
Little flashing white circles = players in the zone
Tiny helmet smashing in top right corner = team attribute bonus
Pulsating red and orange circles for various IPs and non-IPs = highly motivated
Red/orange explosion = motivated players spewing excess motivation to others

Wow.... first, I can't wait to go into a seisure from staring at all the flashing colors and gyrations the first time someone scores a TD.
Secondly, this game will fly out of control so fast that giving up a first down or turnover should essentially just be a nuclear explosion that kills the opposing team and all their fans. It will be less aggrivating than the slow/demoralizing fumbles, snap-jumpage and broken tackles.

[CFR-116]

Hey CFR, I think you and I agree about the direction of NCAA 2008. I'm also not declaring this year a flop, but as always, adopting a 'wait and see' position.

I do think the new fast simulation mode is pretty cool, and should be a welcome addition to dynasty (at least it's our choice to use it or not.)

I guess I'm looking forward to learn what this "Best Dynasty Mode Ever" will include.
NOTE TO EA: "Please give us an 'On/Off' switch or sliders for this new Leadership Mode."

Ya Westside....sometimes old goats think alike.[laugh] I'm trying very hard myself to take the "Wait and see aditude." I had a feeling that many of us were ready to pounce on almost any info that came out about the game. Several members [including myself] are just getting so frustraded with the game lately that throwing out info....was like tossing raw meat into a lions den. For the most part, glowing fields and icons just isn't what many gamers we're waiting to hear about, and the panic buttons are getting pushed already, and I don't blame anyone for being worried about it.

I mean....what I wanted to read was....."Ncaa '08', the most realistic gameplay to date." [although gameplay wasn't really mentioned] I guess I wanted to read about the '08' edition being the break from the norm in the series....where say goodbye to the glowing this or blinking that, and breaking 80 yard runs nearly all game. "The smartest AI ever!"...."Bombs away all game long will lead to certain defeat in this years game." "We ran the same play three times in a row....and out came our punt team."....that kinda stuff.

But ya Westside....people like yourself....me, and several others want the game to just be more realistic in nature, but early signs are, that most likely isn't whats happening.:( This "Leadership Control", if not done correctly and with great care, could be a freaking nightmare for the '08' game. I mean...it's not like EA to over due anything.;) As far as on/off options....we can only hope, I would like that to cover all the features. One big one for me is coach contracts. In my little gaming world, if I choose say New Mexico ST. or Praire View A&M and I want to struggle for several seasons....which to me is realistic, and I want to remain the coach through all the suffering, so be it. Without having to recreate the coach and start all over, with my pittiful records eraced.

To me now....winning the national title in afew seasons is a drag, and ruins my dynasty. And ya...it kinda suxs to have to dream up all these BS restrictions to prevent that from happening. This may sound kinda stupid but...I'd love to play as say Sam Houston St., and struggle through several seasons of getting pounded, and because of far more realistic gameplay and recruiting, no need for self imposed restrictions....heck...your pulling your hair out trying everything to get out of this 15 year losing season streak. Facing Texas St in the last game of the season...and the winner at long last gets that first winning season in years....ahhh, thats my idea of a great Ncaa game. Or getting that first ever 3* recruit and ya yell out..."Freaking A Right!"....and your wife thinks your losing it.[laugh]

But the game just hasn't set up that way, I guess the "normal" gamer wants nearly instant sucess....maybe struggle for a season or two, but after that the wins better start coming, as well as the bigtime recruits or the game isn't very exciting to them. But for people like myself [and maybe you too Westside] the longer the wait....the more a$$-kicking ya took through the years of dynasty the winning seasons [if at all] are just the more sweet.

But anywho...sadly Ncaa is about impact players all over the place, blinking flashing lights and blowing out the poor dumb a$$ computer every freaking game. But I think Westside, whats been said manytimes is true....EA Sports is making Ncaa the way the majority of gamers want it to be like....the change of pace from Madden, and to me that means, fast paced action and high scoring games. Where field position means nothing, and winning the Heisman trophy with your 4,000 yard a season RB is neat-o.:)

[CFR-116]

Secondly, this game will fly out of control so fast that giving up a first down or turnover should essentially just be a nuclear explosion that kills the opposing team and all their fans.

[laugh] [laugh] [laugh] This is one big reason I like Utopia so much!....Through all the pending darkness, someone provides some much needed comic relief. Thanks Adder 30!

[bman09]

There seems to be a pretty even split of those who are pro and con on the Madden engine, but that part did intrigue me. It seems like that setup is better at toning down the awkward and unbeleiveable, even if its at the cost of a little big play excitement. This part makes me [smile]

It's a shame that those two things must be mutually exclusive just to have a realistic football game. It really seems to me that stick skilled players should be rewarded, but just in a manner more realistic to how they play (big punt returns, screen passes, etc.). This may seem stupid, but it is important to me that the game is fun to watch as well as play, which means, among other things, the big plays that characterize college football. It is really cool in a videogame when one can watch what is happening on the screen and really notice a particular playing style of the user. NCAA should show these differences more than any other game. Sadly though, all to often the games are bland and prdictable, because of lack of formations for one, lack of player ratings for another, AI for another, and, as it pertains to this discussion, the engine for another.

I hope this new madden style engine delivers more of that type of experiance.

[CFR-116]

There seems to be a pretty even split of those who are pro and con on the Madden engine, but that part did intrigue me. It seems like that setup is better at toning down the awkward and unbeleiveable, even if its at the cost of a little big play excitement. This part makes me [smile]


Any mention of the Madden engine being used in Ncaa brings a smile to me as well Adder30. My worries are with the "tweeking" that will be done to...."Closer simulate the college game." I'm in the minority of people who would be much happier if really no "tweeking" was done to the Madden engine for Ncaa. I know thats not a popular view...but thats how I feel. To be honest, I just don't trust EA to get it anywhere close to right. I understand that more big plays happen in the college game than in the pros....but not over and over, and I just can't see how EA will find the right balance within the gameplay to blend the two. It just seems to me that either your playing a football game where field position matters....or it really doesn't.

I know I'm onesided on this....I really like the way Madden plays, as I've gotten deeper into the Madden game it seems like several little things add up to make it so much better of a playing game than Ncaa is....and a much more refined game at this point. What you would think are equal playing levels...AA [Ncaa] and All-Pro [Madden] I find All-Pro to be quite challenging and realistic. My current record after two seasons in my Vikings franchise is year one 8-8, year two so far 9-5. With the Ncaa game on AA....and bear in mind I sux, I'd be undefeated with any halfway decent team and be destroying the computer by about any point spread I wanted, with ease.

I guess my point is, I hate to see the Madden game engine all muck up with the gimmick features in Ncaa, and have that decent game engine ruined by EA's idea of how college football plays. If I could have things my way it would be like this....Ncaa has Maddens gameplay engine, if your not happy with it...just drop the AWR sliders down to zero and wala...things are back to normal.:p

[illuvius32]

"Revolutionary" Sniper Mode - Really attack the defense. Extra motivation points for headshots. OMGROFLPWNZOR'D

[sayo]

Sounds pretty gay. Especially EA's emphasis on star players rather than the teams and the schools they represent.

[FSUprime]

hopefully they revamp the response time from pressing catch/intercept and the player actually doing it, it is rediculous how slow it is compared to ps2/ps3/xbox regular.

[CFR-116]

Sounds pretty gay. Especially EA's emphasis on star players rather than the teams and the schools they represent.

Ya this whole thing about "Impact players"....kinda seems like it should be....played out.

[WIAggie]

reading it that did nothing but brought out all the damn flaws in the game!
I have a XBOX360, so will this ---- not be in it.

I am actually going to wait a few days until AFTER the game comes out to see if I want to drop 60 on it....if not I'll just update the rosters on NCAA 07 With all the damn gimmicks, its not worth the frustration.

Way to go EA.

See..this is why i kept my old XBOX given the crap that was Madden 06 & NCAA 07 for the 360

[IowaWolverine]

It's early, but I don't know about this Motivation System. It sounds arcadey.

[westsidetide]

...To me now....winning the national title in afew seasons is a drag, and ruins my dynasty. And ya...it kinda suxs to have to dream up all these BS restrictions to prevent that from happening. This may sound kinda stupid but...I'd love to play as say Sam Houston St., and struggle through several seasons of getting pounded, and because of far more realistic gameplay and recruiting, no need for self imposed restrictions....heck...your pulling your hair out trying everything to get out of this 15 year losing season streak. Facing Texas St in the last game of the season...and the winner at long last gets that first winning season in years....ahhh, thats my idea of a great Ncaa game. Or getting that first ever 3* recruit and ya yell out..."Freaking A Right!"....and your wife thinks your losing it.[laugh]
But the game just hasn't set up that way, I guess the "normal" gamer wants nearly instant sucess....maybe struggle for a season or two, but after that the wins better start coming, as well as the bigtime recruits or the game isn't very exciting to them. But for people like myself [and maybe you too Westside] the longer the wait....the more a$$-kicking ya took through the years of dynasty the winning seasons [if at all] are just the more sweet.

But anywho...sadly Ncaa is about impact players all over the place, blinking flashing lights and blowing out the poor dumb a$$ computer every freaking game. But I think Westside, whats been said manytimes is true....EA Sports is making Ncaa the way the majority of gamers want it to be like....the change of pace from Madden, and to me that means, fast paced action and high scoring games. Where field position means nothing, and winning the Heisman trophy with your 4,000 yard a season RB is neat-o.:)

Yeah, CFR. Most people today want 'instant gratification'. There's no way that building a program should take 3 - 4 seasons.

My wife accepts my gaming, but damned if she understands it.

I just want realistic college football...period. I want the different Head Coaches to be represented (and sometimes they get fired or retire.) I want to be able to discipline players as often as necessary not according to point totals. I want the experience to be more about strategy than thumb skills.

[WKUsSledgehammer]

Yeah, CFR. Most people today want 'instant gratification'. There's no way that building a program should take 3 - 4 seasons.

My wife accepts my gaming, but damned if she understands it.

I just want realistic college football...period. I want the different Head Coaches to be represented (and sometimes they get fired or retire.) I want to be able to discipline players as often as necessary not according to point totals. I want the experience to be more about strategy than thumb skills.

You said, west ... EA seems to be panning to the arcaders. I've never played it but NFL 2k had an arcade made in addition to the sim mode. I don't know the differences, but at least it was an attempt to satisfy both crowds. I wonder why EA doesn't do this.

[westsidetide]

You said, west ... EA seems to be panning to the arcaders. I've never played it but NFL 2k had an arcade made in addition to the sim mode. I don't know the differences, but at least it was an attempt to satisfy both crowds. I wonder why EA doesn't do this.

My guess would be cost and intended target audience. EA has consistently tailored their product to the younger, FPS-Role Playing, 'Mad Skillz' audience because in their estimation, that is where the money is. If additional research showed them (EA) that there was a big enough audience for the hard core simulation group, then I think they would field something for the market. In fact, NFL Coach was just such an attempt.

[keyser soze]

Man, I just read this article this morning.... and I really wish I hadn't logged on to read this. I am now bummed out because it sure looks like my age (32) in the video game world have finally caught up to me. I knew it would at some point but it definitely has now. Since I am over 30, and come from the legacy of controllers with 2 buttons and a single D pad, my hands have not evolved to have 6 thumbs and fingers that can tap any one of 8 buttons without thinking about it. No sir, I am the old school gamer that spends more time in practice mode learning how to pre-read the defense BEFORE the snap so that my grandpa-like reflexes are not needed during the play then I do in game mode. (Well that was before they stripped that feature down last year) Unfortunately since 2004 there has been an evolution in the NCAA series from somewhat of a simulation game to a totally hands on who has best stick skills game. With the lack of game balance and arcade effects, you don't even have to know anything about the game any more, which I think is a damn shame, but I realize why they are doing this to draw in a much larger fan base of young kids. They want 5 year olds wanting to turn their field pink in excitement as they juke and jive their way to the end zone. Maybe we are slowly regressing in game play back to the original techmo bowl where Bo Jackson would start blinking as I pounded on the B button and he threw all defenders off his body and off the field and ran for 1000+ yard GAMES.

I am sad to say that I think this will be the first year that I do not run out and purchase this game with anticipated excitement. This is the first year that the previews have me totally 100% bummed and see no reason to purchase because the amount of slider work that will be needed to get this puppy back to simulation mode will probably be impossible.

Can anyone cheer me up by telling me that they heard that all these features are at least going to have a toggle button to turn them OFF? I mean, do I get the chance to say no, I don't want the fact that shifting defensive linemen and LBs to the non TE side will cause all games to end in 120-21 blow outs because of the sacks and tackles for a loss that I can rack up which apparently will turn my field pink with polka dots and enable me to dominate worse then in years past..... unbelievable.... Why not do stuff like, "This year we fixed AI so that the computer will learn your tendencies, scout you and force you to be creative and adapt like real football." Even simple stuff like noticing that shifting the defensive line and LBs to the non TE side seems to rack up an OBSCENE number of sacks would be a NICE start. When the human does this, the CPU should audible to a different formation, keep a FB in to block, or audible to a run to the TE side of the ball for huge yardage.

AAAAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh, I suck at FPS and now I am going to suck at this game. Should I just take this as the sign that perhaps it is time I put the controller down and move on with the natural progression in life and call in to reserve my spot in the BINGO hall? Man, I sure hope not... not yet anyways....

[Fluff E Bunny]

soce, your wife wants babies, you may as well accept the inevitable and give up gaming and practice changing diapers.

:D

[heisman6183]

The best news EA could drop, for everyone on this site, is such a simple thing. LET US TURN THAT STUPID SHIT OFF. Let Impact players be turned on or off like HFA, same with the leadership mode, just let us turn it off. I can't imagine it would be that hard to do. If you can put it in, you should be able to turn it off. And sorry if I'm offending anyone, but I'm watching TV and a Nickelback video just came on, can they please stop making "music".

[keyser soze]

There seems to be a pretty even split of those who are pro and con on the Madden engine, but that part did intrigue me. It seems like that setup is better at toning down the awkward and unbeleiveable, even if its at the cost of a little big play excitement. This part makes me [smile]

Just like everyone else, I'm completely dumb-founded that they added another layer of snow-balling to the momentum stuff. If they completely removed HFA, Impact/in the zone, momentum meter, then perhaps "motivation" would be okay, but now.... let's see if I can get this right:

Play well = screen vibration from HFA
Little flashing white circles = players in the zone
Tiny helmet smashing in top right corner = team attribute bonus
Pulsating red and orange circles for various IPs and non-IPs = highly motivated
Red/orange explosion = motivated players spewing excess motivation to others

Wow.... first, I can't wait to go into a seisure from staring at all the flashing colors and gyrations the first time someone scores a TD.
Secondly, this game will fly out of control so fast that giving up a first down or turnover should essentially just be a nuclear explosion that kills the opposing team and all their fans. It will be less aggrivating than the slow/demoralizing fumbles, snap-jumpage and broken tackles.

[laugh] [laugh] [laugh] Probably funniest, but so true, post I have read in a long time... BRAVO!

[J Hall]

Shit like this sounds like it's going to be is why I've stopped playing this game. I bought it last year, played about 4 games and sold it. Doesn't seem like it'll be fun at all to me...but maybe when more info comes out I'll change my mind.

[keyser soze]

I haven't played Madden in years, does madden have this crap? Maybe the answer for me is to make the change to the pro football game even though I like the college game 100 times more. If the game isn't reflective of the actual game of college football, then my rationale for buying it year after year over the pro game goes out the window. Last years game, even with house rules, is not what you see on Saturday afternoons because of the utter lack of balance in game play, the glaring holes in AI and the pile up of gimmicks like guys running around with circles who are harder to tackle when their circle starts blinking.

So, I ask you this question, is madden my answer in '08 or is it just as cheesy?

[WKUsSledgehammer]

I haven't played Madden in years, does madden have this crap? Maybe the answer for me is to make the change to the pro football game even though I like the college game 100 times more. If the game isn't reflective of the actual game of college football, then my rationale for buying it year after year over the pro game goes out the window. Last years game, even with house rules, is not what you see on Saturday afternoons because of the utter lack of balance in game play, the glaring holes in AI and the pile up of gimmicks like guys running around with circles who are harder to tackle when their circle starts blinking.

So, I ask you this question, is madden my answer in '08 or is it just as cheesy?

Well, Madden does not have the super-pulsing, ionically charged, gamma-radiating impact players. In fact, it is much, much closer to a TV-type presentation like gschwendt talked about above. Madden is a better game, IMO, especially on current-gen consoles, and it's not even close. Probably is, I, like you, enjoy the college game much more than the pro, so I will never play Madden as much as NCAA.

[keyser soze]

Well, Madden does not have the super-pulsing, ionically charged, gamma-radiating impact players. In fact, it is much, much closer to a TV-type presentation like gschwendt talked about above. Madden is a better game, IMO, especially on current-gen consoles, and it's not even close. Probably is, I, like you, enjoy the college game much more than the pro, so I will never play Madden as much as NCAA.

Well I hear ya but does Madden stay balanced every year? My biggest grief with NCAA is that it is completely unbalanced every year. Now I might get this mixed up but here is what I remember from past years.

2004: probably best game of series but still very pass heavy and SG was pretty broken compared to under center. if real football was anything like this, every coach in America that took a snap from under center would be instantly fired.

2005: Ultra run heavy. Wishbone tripple option was far superior to any type of offense. I felt like this game was made for the late 70's early 80's... like it was suppose to be a throw back game. Defense had to line up in 4-4 blitz all or goal line to have any chance of stopping you. You only attempted passes at all to keep the defense from blitzing 11 on every play.

2006: HELLO HALF BACK DIRECT SNAP! run the HBD or throw the streak, to do anything else is just too risky. it was 1000 times easier to catch a 40+ yard bomb then a 2 yard hitch, again game balance completely missing and game play not resembling anything that I see on Saturday football games. To date I have not seen too damn many HBD snaps but if you played NCAA football you have to walk away thinking that coaches around the country are stupid for not running that at least 65% of every game.

2007 (360): pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass and pass some more. running the ball and risking a OL taking the play off or a HB fumbling was just too risky when throwing 25 yard corner routes can be done in my sleep. the fact that my guys would actually CATCH open passes this year was such a nice new feature that it did at least keep me playing for a while... which is sad.... i am sure that in the first week of owning 2007, i caught more non bomb passes then i did in all of my games in 2005 and 2006 combined. this alone kept me excited for a while... that is until i realized that throwing for 1000 yards in 6 minute quarters was a real possibility.

has madden seen this progression or is the game pretty balanced every year? i want a freaking video game where I count the guys in the box and that MEANS SOMETHING. I want a game where when I see a 4-4 and I have 4 WRs on the field, I am licking my chops. Also, if I come out in a 2 RB, 2 TE set and the defense is in a prevent dime, I can expect to run the ball with some success. I don't remember which year but I know in one of the years listed above the Dime defense what the only defense that stood a chance against the RUN!!!!!

so, tell me my utopia brothas, is madden the answer for me or does that game vaguely represent a football game any more?

[Southpaw]

NCAA 2008 Street w000t

[TubbyChooChoo]

If we were all 12 years old we would love this freaking game.

[coogrfan]

[smile] You guys should take a look at the IGN preview thread, there's some good stuff there that hasn't been mentioned in the other previews. For example:

60 frames per second

Makes me smile just typing it.

[oweb26]

Like some other posters on this thread Im going to reserve my judgement for when the game actually comes out, but I must admit Im very "iffy" about the leadership control. Im pretty good on the sticks, so it should work in my favor, my problem is with when u are playing "cheesiers" then there whole fucking team should be blinking!!!! I mean come on, not unless the AI gets better I cant play defense with everyone on the field, so naturally im more then likely going to be out of position when the ball is even thrown, so I dont have a chance to make a play on the ball in the first place. Whats funny about the whole thing is that, I can see away to make some receievers do good on my team already and I havent even seen the game, I do alot of user catches so what do u get your tallest reciever and just out-jump everyone, come on EA I shouldt see a way to win before I even have the game in front of me. Big recievers are hard to stop on out routes and deep routes with a one on one match up!!! The entire field thing has been covered pretty good by other people on this board so far, It is crazy that other people can have impact status for just doing good during a game, I mean I liked on the current-gen that when a player was doing good, they just had the + (whatever number) by there attributes or there overall would go up, but giving them "impact status is crazy and I think I know EA they are going to severely over do it. What they do need to add is some form of interactive dynasty mode!! Ok I could go on longer but I dont feel like it.

[cmq]

There are a handful features I've only read about and not seen or played, but they don't sound good to me. Therefore I'm not excited about this game, will not buy it the first day it comes out, and EA hates me, my family, and anyone I've looked at this week.

- Signed,
Most of Utopia

[coogrfan]

There are a handful features I've only read about and not seen or played, but they don't sound good to me. Therefore I'm not excited about this game, will not buy it the first day it comes out, and EA hates me, my family, and anyone I've looked at this week.

- Signed,
Most of Utopia

:D

[CFR-116]

I haven't played Madden in years, does madden have this crap? Maybe the answer for me is to make the change to the pro football game even though I like the college game 100 times more.

So, I ask you this question, is madden my answer in '08 or is it just as cheesy?

I also much prefer the college game IRL Soce....by a mile. As far as Madden goes, no...it's not about "Impact players, glowing fields and blinking icons. I believe the two games are going in different directions....with Madden I think EA is trying to make the game as life-like as possible, where as with Ncaa.....ahhh, life-like doesn't seem to be EA's goal. I'm quite sure Madden '08' will not include glowing this...and flashing that, I feel fairly sure the new features for Madden '08' will be about inhancing a more realistic look and feel to the game,IMO.

I guess the bottom line may be....EA is not going to make two Madden games, one pro version and the other a college version. [if ya know what I mean] One game is focused on realisum....the other is not. I really hoped that this wouldn't happen in the age of the new "super systems", that the power of them wouldn't be used by EA to move Ncaa ever further away from reality. In the past [older systems] Ncaa was just kinda arcade-like....now with the new found power, it's being turned into "Super-acrade".

I too feel my days of being a Ncaa gamer drawing to a close....sadly. I'm not going to say what we've heard so far about Ncaa '08' suxs....rather, it most likely just doesn't sound like it's what I'm looking for in a home video football game. I stopped playing Ncaa '07' awhile back [360], in favor of Madden 360 and IMO it's much closer to what I looking for. Now....I can't even get through a qrt. of Ncaa without just hitting quit, I just don't like it....period. The Madden series seems to be headed in the direction I prefer, a more realistic playing, look and feel of the game of football. Where as with the Ncaa series, the reverse seems to be where it's going...the "Anti-Madden" game.

I my very well be wrong about this but....I believe the groundwork is being laid for the future of the Ncaa series for the 360 and PS3 system games. The road map seems easy to read....expect more of the same to come as the two games go their different paths. I'm a "sim" type of guy myself Soce, I'm pretty sure which path I'll be going down. I don't think all hope is lost however for the Ncaa game....on/off switches might help, and the arcade-like gameplay might be controlled with slider use....who knows?[smile]

[keyser soze]

I also much prefer the college game IRL Soce....by a mile. As far as Madden goes, no...it's not about "Impact players, glowing fields and blinking icons. I believe the two games are going in different directions....with Madden I think EA is trying to make the game as life-like as possible, where as with Ncaa.....ahhh, life-like doesn't seem to be EA's goal. I'm quite sure Madden '08' will not include glowing this...and flashing that, I feel fairly sure the new features for Madden '08' will be about inhancing a more realistic look and feel to the game,IMO.

I guess the bottom line may be....EA is not going to make two Madden games, one pro version and the other a college version. [if ya know what I mean] One game is focused on realisum....the other is not. I really hoped that this wouldn't happen in the age of the new "super systems", that the power of them wouldn't be used by EA to move Ncaa ever further away from reality. In the past [older systems] Ncaa was just kinda arcade-like....now with the new found power, it's being turned into "Super-acrade".

I too feel my days of being a Ncaa gamer drawing to a close....sadly. I'm not going to say what we've heard so far about Ncaa '08' suxs....rather, it most likely just doesn't sound like it's what I'm looking for in a home video football game. I stopped playing Ncaa '07' awhile back [360], in favor of Madden 360 and IMO it's much closer to what I looking for. Now....I can't even get through a qrt. of Ncaa without just hitting quit, I just don't like it....period. The Madden series seems to be headed in the direction I prefer, a more realistic playing, look and feel of the game of football. Where as with the Ncaa series, the reverse seems to be where it's going...the "Anti-Madden" game.

I my very well be wrong about this but....I believe the groundwork is being laid for the future of the Ncaa series for the 360 and PS3 system games. The road map seems easy to read....expect more of the same to come as the two games go their different paths. I'm a "sim" type of guy myself Soce, I'm pretty sure which path I'll be going down. I don't think all hope is lost however for the Ncaa game....on/off switches might help, and the arcade-like gameplay might be controlled with slider use....who knows?[smile]

WOW, freaking GREAT feedback to my question. I am honestly leaning on Madden or nothing this year then. I will wait 2 weeks after release of NCAA. Typically the first 7 days brings praises on these boards and if you say anything bad you are flamed. After the first 7 days however, the tide turns and the flaming reverses direction and if you say anything positive you are in the wrong. This for sure will be the first year where I don't have a reserve copy and I wait and see..... Hmmmm, I guess I will sign up to play multiple fantasy football leagues this year then if I am going to purchase madden... i need more reasons to care about football on Sundays to get into dynasty mode. I will miss the recruiting aspects of ncaa however.

Thanks so much for your insightful feedback.

[rhombic21]

I have read a number of previews, and quite a few of the authors expressed some serious reservations about this "lead by example" feature. That has me pretty nervous, especially given EA's track record.

[Estes]

There are a handful features I've only read about and not seen or played, but they don't sound good to me. Therefore I'm not excited about this game, will not buy it the first day it comes out, and EA hates me, my family, and anyone I've looked at this week.

- Signed,
Most of Utopia

Sig material. Very nice(and sadly true).

[CFR-116]

Thanks so much for your insightful feedback.

Your more than welcome Soce. However....please remember these were just my own opinions, my intent wasn't to try to sway you one way or the other. I just honestly believe that if a person is looking for the game that better simulates the game of football....Madden seems like the better choise. I too am willing to give Ncaa '08' a fair chance, however...this time around if it's just not my thing, I won't resitate to pull the plug and jump to Madden. I'm about 3/4 the way in my transistion [sp] to being a fulltime Madden gamer at this point anyway....so I won't fight too hard to just stick it out with the Ncaa game. In the last few years I found myself forcing myself to play Ncaa....thats just plain foolish on my part. Best of luck Soce....I hope ya find what your looking for either way.

[Cory]

Sig material. Very nice(and sadly true).

It would be one thing if this was the first time EA was presenting a crappy feature...

[CFR-116]

I have read a number of previews, and quite a few of the authors expressed some serious reservations about this "lead by example" feature. That has me pretty nervous, especially given EA's track record.

Ya Rhombic, it seems like most everyone has some real worries about this feature...and as you said...."given EA's track record."....our worries are well founded. I imagine the affect won't be very sudtle, hence the glowing field and flashing icons...and maybe the overwhelming affect on the player ratings and the overall gameplay. The way it has been described so far in the previews, already smells of it being overboard and sounds like it could be a huge problem if not done with great care, and a sence of reasonability. IMO, the last thing this game needed was for it to get any more wild and high scoring that it has been already, and this feature has all the ear-marks of doing just that. Note to EA: A pinch is not a pound.

[westsidetide]

Does anyone else question the motivation, experience level, or representative demographic of the guys who EA invited in for their 'first look?' It could be that the guys who wrote these early look columns are typical of the arcade, first-person shooter, 'football lite' group and these guys just naturally write their articles to highlight the kinds of things this demographic is interested in. If you take the time to read the boards at IGN, many of the posters are pre-pubescent kids with short attention spans and affluent parents.

Maybe there will be some features for the the more simulation conscious, but these features may not be advertised.[rock]

[dshban]

Maybe there will be some features for the the more simulation conscious, but these features may not be advertised.[rock]

Good point.

I mean, EA might have upgraded the DB AI. EA might have made things less arcadey. Hell, we might be able to turn all these crazy features off. But would the writers of these previews or the people at EA really point these things out in the first previews? No, they wouldn't. The casual fan doesn't want to hear about how the defense will play better, he wants to hear about how the defense will play worse or the same as before so he can continue to scramble around and throw long bombs all game. We still don't know about the game. We have no videos, no gameplay footage, nothing concrete that will say, "Right, this is overdone, this is going to be incredibly annoying." Everyone just needs to wait and see what happens. Stop being so negative - the majority of us are going to buy it either way.

[rhombic21]

I'm not buying current gen next year unless the blocking is revamped. I will probably end up getting next gen regardless, probably more out of blind hope than anything else.

[keyser soze]

I'm not buying current gen next year unless the blocking is revamped. I will probably end up getting next gen regardless, probably more out of blind hope than anything else.

Oh baby, did you say that backwards? The next gen blocking was HORRIBLE. I believe that OL blocking and DB AI are the 2 biggest problems with next gen 2007. If these 2 items aren't addressed I will not even touch this game at all. The house rules that need to be made to keep the game within 50 points with the computer is just too hard and cumbersome. I really hope that EA looks at these 2 items coupled with DB assignments vs. motion. Last year if you motioned out of certain formations against certain man blitzes the computer would try to cover a wide receiver with a LB lined up on the other side of the field. It was just pathetic and lead to even more house rules.

[rhombic21]

Yeah, but current gen is at the end of it's life cycle, so the chances that they make any meaningful changes there are over. Next gen is the future, and the only real hope for the series.

[pavel_quad]

Yeah, but current gen is at the end of it's life cycle, so the chances that they make any meaningful changes there are over. Next gen is the future, and the only real hope for the series.

Exactly right. I only played 3 games on the 360 and the potential (gameplay and graphics, primarily) is really beyond comprehension. I think sports games take forever to get "right", and standards are unfairly high- no one ever really seems to complain about other genres if a gun loads too slow, or their character doesn't run fast/ realistic enough, or so-and-so's arms are too stubby and unrealistic for a cartoon fox- but the true sports gamers will fret like it's the end of the world because they have a real-life model with which they compare the game, justified or not.

That said, football should be easier to get "right" than other sports (baseball and basketball come to mind), simply by the scripted nature of plays, the specific roles of players, etc.- the chaos of basketball and the exact timing necessary for baseball games seem much tougher to get right. Sadly, NCAA's not quite there yet, nor may they ever be, although I share your hope for next-gen, however potentially misguided it may be...

The fact that EA squanders this hope and development time on gimmicky features designed to appeal to gamers other than the ones that frequent this board is disappointing, and with no real alternatives, the frustration is palpable, but no game can be all things to all people. I'll probably buy it and play it enough to have warranted my purchase, but to hope it's anything more than a $50 diversion for a few evenings a week (not unlike a few 12 packs, really) is simply setting yourself up for disappointment...

[keyser soze]

Yeah, but current gen is at the end of it's life cycle, so the chances that they make any meaningful changes there are over. Next gen is the future, and the only real hope for the series.

Well to be really honest I think the move to simulation is over and there will be a shift to arcadish games because unless someone is going to make a game where you are playing as a player in first person, we have gotten as close to "real" as we are going to get. The true game of football would just be too boring for most people and when you couple this with the fact that all current football games are 3rd person see all or almost all 22 guys at once, it is simply IMPOSSIBLE to make a simulation in this manner.

The big problem with the first person football game aspect would be changing to other players on the fly and having any freaking clue of orientation to make plays. The defensive side of the ball in particular would be really hard to do in first person without getting kind of boring relative to the format we have today.

Okay, I sound really negative here and I don't mean to be. Its just that when you look at the AI and technology we have today and you see what sells in gaming world, there probably just isn't going to ever be a push to make a game to sell to the masses that a football coach would like to use to train a QB in college. Frankly, the game would be next to IMPOSSIBLE to play without lots of reps/practice and football knowledge. This game that I dream about and would go nuts over probably wouldn't sell over 1,000 copies even if I bought 10 of them.

Just my 2 cents.

[rhombic21]

Soce, what I'm asking for is not PERFECTLY realistic football. I'm fine with some elements being catered for a more casual fan base.

But what I care about is when the BASICS of football aren't represented. The zone running play and power plays with a pulling linemen are at the heart of virtually every offensive football team in college football. And they aren't in the game in any kind of usable way. Defensively, you STILL have really poor pursuit logic, where defenders do not attack running lanes in any kind of realistic manner. In some cases you have cases where DBs are backpedaling away from the ball well into the play. Same thing goes with zone coverage. You have defenders in zone coverage that aren't even looking at the ball or covering the right area. Tell me how you can have any sort of realistic experience if the basics aren't there?

The thing is, I can't even come close to replicating what OU does in real life, from a scheme standpoint. Here are some videos of OU's offense, and if you watch the blocking schemes on this film, you realize that there's no way to do it on the game:

http://dodownload.filefront.com/6877453//7f43d4be045c5306044de344cf9cdcb077f07e80c938333391 ccb9a46cd5a28cd49173f5942ac129
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq2l41E97hE&NR=1

At this point, I just want a game where I can run the same plays that teams run in real life, and have them work reasonably similar to what we see on gamedays.


What I really want is a game that looks like somebody had some pride in what they were doing with gameplay. It baffles me to see the way that some of these plays don't work. This isn't something that takes a lot of time to test and figure out that something's wrong. Run the play 10 times and it doesn't work once, and that's a pretty good indicator that you need to fix stuff. Given the fact that a lot of these things are perpetual problems, I don't understand how they aren't fixed yet. And then you have stuff that's pretty obviously broken and I can't see how it makes it to the final product. Like you have a situation where fumbles are quite obviously out of control. Tell me how that makes it in the final game.

Seriously, tell me how this makes it into the game, without somebody stepping up and fixing the problem:

http://www.zshare.net/video/hbtoss-wmv-y4n.html

I cut next gen some slack with the bugs and the glitches, because they're building a game from the ground up. And a lot more of the basics seem to be implemented correctly, so now it's a matter of them building on a fairly solid foundation. Current gen has been working with this engine for 6 years, and they still don't even have the basics down yet.

[keyser soze]

Soce, what I'm asking for is not PERFECTLY realistic football. I'm fine with some elements being catered for a more casual fan base.

But what I care about is when the BASICS of football aren't represented. The zone running play and power plays with a pulling linemen are at the heart of virtually every offensive football team in college football. And they aren't in the game in any kind of usable way. Defensively, you STILL have really poor pursuit logic, where defenders do not attack running lanes in any kind of realistic manner. In some cases you have cases where DBs are backpedaling away from the ball well into the play. Same thing goes with zone coverage. You have defenders in zone coverage that aren't even looking at the ball or covering the right area. Tell me how you can have any sort of realistic experience if the basics aren't there?

What I really want is a game that looks like somebody had some pride in what they were doing with gameplay. It baffles me to see the way that some of these plays don't work. This isn't something that takes a lot of time to test and figure out that something's wrong. Run the play 10 times and it doesn't work once, and that's a pretty good indicator that you need to fix stuff. Given the fact that a lot of these things are perpetual problems, I don't understand how they aren't fixed yet. And then you have stuff that's pretty obviously broken and I can't see how it makes it to the final product. Like you have a situation where fumbles are quite obviously out of control. Tell me how that makes it in the final game.

Seriously, tell me how this makes it into the game, without somebody stepping up and fixing the problem:

http://www.zshare.net/video/hbtoss-wmv-y4n.html

I cut next gen some slack with the bugs and the glitches, because they're building a game from the ground up. And a lot more of the basics seem to be implemented correctly, so now it's a matter of them building on a fairly solid foundation. Current gen has been working with this engine for 6 years, and they still don't even have the basics down yet.

Rhombic, first off I have more respect for your write-ups then anyone else's on any board I have ever read but maybe I am just in a different place then you are. I guess since I am older then you and have been in the business world of supply and demand now for a while, I look at these things slightly differently. What I truly wish for and what I think is remotely realistic are completely different. I 100% agree with all of your issues that you list but as you say, after 6 years there really isn't an attempt to fix these. Well I believe that is because of the market that they are trying to sell these games to. Unfortunately for you and I, our $60 is the same to EA even though we play the game to a level of depth that my much younger nephews couldn't even begin to understand. I know this because I went to my uncles house and played a game with them. I made a few comments about the CPU controlling the DBs incorrectly. The looked at me like I was on crack. All they cared about was the graphics, big plays, animations, TD celebrations and scoring as many points as humanly possible. Basically these kids (who do play football by the way) were looking for all the OPPOSITE things I wanted in my video game. This is when I realized that I am 32 years old and a dinosaur. Couple that with my uncle looking at me like a freak when I get into the game and I wonder why I am typing this at all.....

Until there is a market or need for a real simulation game (like college coaches using it to teach players and willing to pay TONS for this) the vast majority want a game that is easy to pick up and start playing/winning in minutes, not days/weeks. Until there is this need to realism, which I believe will never exist, then there is no reason for EA or anyone else to go out and hire a coach to help beta test this and get it right.

I really wish it was different but face it, these are video GAMES and the pressure on the programmers assigned to this game is NOT to get it realistic but to make it "FUN" so that they will sell like hot cakes. How else can you explain these other games that I see selling like street football and basketball? I for one would never touch those but they get as much for the those as they do for the games I buy. I can picture my nephews now loving a field that is glowing purple in anticipation of their impact player literally knocking the head completely off of the running back.

Once upon a time I went back to grad school to get into the business of making video games (hopefully football games) but then the path of life lead me in a different direction, but what I can tell you is that the time and effort that it would take to make a football game realistic as hell would not be offset in additional sales. People want fun and graphics for the fixed price of $50/$60... until that changes or the need for a football game goes beyond an 8 year old being able to play it in minutes, we are stuck with this.....

Trust me when I say, I wish it were NOT so.

[coogrfan]

Very perceptive stuff there, soce. Imo your conclusions are unassailable.

[rhombic21]

Eh, I disagree. A lot of these things aren't problems on Madden, so at the very least it's as simple as walking down the hall and figuring out how the Madden team implemented the stretch play or the toss play.

Also, I never said anything about making it "realistic as hell". But I don't think that having the basic fundamentals executed properly are at odds with making a fun game. I don't think casual football fans like the fact that zone running plays and toss plays never work anymore than I do. I don't think that EA makes those plays not work on purpose as part of their business plan. I doubt that IGN is going to give the game a higher score because run blocking is horribly designed, or conversely because run defense doesn't react realistically.

In a lot of these cases, it's not a matter of making the game easier or more casual friendly. It's just a matter of not having any quality control or getting things right. Again, casual fans would enjoy realistic run blocking just as much as hardcore fans would. That's not really an issue of catering to one group or the other. That's a matter of not having a competitor to hold your feet to the fire, and not really caring about the quality of product that you put out.

I think that you're incorrect to make it out like we've gotten anywhere near as realistic as we can without making the game unfun for casual players. There are a ton of things that could be improved upon that wouldn't necessarily work to make the game any harder for a casual fan to play or understand.

[MtneerManiac]

What a bitch fest ...







Though I'm disappointed too. Only part I didn't like was the red and orange field.

[keyser soze]

Eh, I disagree. A lot of these things aren't problems on Madden, so at the very least it's as simple as walking down the hall and figuring out how the Madden team implemented the stretch play or the toss play.

Also, I never said anything about making it "realistic as hell". But I don't think that having the basic fundamentals executed properly are at odds with making a fun game. I don't think casual football fans like the fact that zone running plays and toss plays never work anymore than I do. I don't think that EA makes those plays not work on purpose as part of their business plan. I doubt that IGN is going to give the game a higher score because run blocking is horribly designed, or conversely because run defense doesn't react realistically.

In a lot of these cases, it's not a matter of making the game easier or more casual friendly. It's just a matter of not having any quality control or getting things right. Again, casual fans would enjoy realistic run blocking just as much as hardcore fans would. That's not really an issue of catering to one group or the other. That's a matter of not having a competitor to hold your feet to the fire, and not really caring about the quality of product that you put out.

I think that you're incorrect to make it out like we've gotten anywhere near as realistic as we can without making the game unfun for casual players. There are a ton of things that could be improved upon that wouldn't necessarily work to make the game any harder for a casual fan to play or understand.

Sigh.... okay... my last time kicking this dead horse and I will quit. Here is what I know about college football with my background.

I know that when I walked on at Purdue Univ to play football with all these great division one athletes the speed of the game was tremendous. I know that guys showed up there with absolute TONS of speed and TONS of athletic ability yet in college the amount of repetitions that were needed by running backs just to hit holes perfectly, qbs to make proper drops, make reads and get rid of the balls was ridiculous. I mean the speed of the game and the time that you have in real life to make a decision is just awesome. It takes all these hours of dedication and practice time just to get 3.9 yards per rush and 7 yards per reception.

Unless a QB is just superior to the D all around (say Mike Vick) a QB better REALLY know what in the hell is going on before the ball is even snapped. He has to have a great pre-snap read and then in the next few seconds of the play be able to re-read the blitz and coverage and get rid of the ball. Example: in football there is always a defensive guy that is just not able to be blocked, sometimes more then one with the new age zone blitzes, they are guys that the QB is responsible for.... these games can not begin to address these things or my nephews would call the game trash and throw it in the trash can. I personally would get a woody and probably see divorce papers laying on the door step from my wife but I am not in the norm here.....

Okay, I know I just jumped off the deep end again compared to what you wrote above but then again... not really. When a college freshmen shows up to practice many already have a pretty good understanding of the game pending on their high school program. Regardless, it usually takes a full year of reps, skeleton drills, film studies, yada yada, before they are even close to ready to step onto that field. (of course there are exceptions) But my point is that 99.8% of the video gaming world does NOT want to have to put much time into reading defenses and making check offs just to play a game. So, knowing that most don't want to live in practice mode (UNLIKE WHERE I SPENT 80% of my time prior to last year's game) then they have to dumb the game up to an extent because of the CPU was to execute like a real team that does practice all the time, we would get STOMPED when we turn the game on.

Man, I am not even sure where to go with this any more. I think you get my point and I hope you know I AGREE with yours. Somewhere on this site I asked if Madden was better and more football like and I heard a resounding YES. Well I believe this is where my college football loving arss is heading with my time for 2008. I do wish that EA would take the Madden game and simply put college jerseys, stadiums and the option/spread offense into the game and stick it in a box labeled NCAA 2008 and I would run out and pre-order it. Unfortunately they will sell LESS total games (madden + NCAA together) because then there will be ZERO reason to buy both. Madden I guess is going to be their more serious game for football fans and NCAA will continue to be their college football loving wannabes with gimmicks like get a hot girlfriend crap. Those who need both a fix for their college appetite and for a better football game, will continue to buy BOTH to EA's delight.

Everything I am saying could be total garbage, I don't know, all I know is what I see on these boards, at my nephew's house and the view of myself (former qb) and my other old buddy (former Div I AA OT) view points. I think my personal view is semi-well rounded.

Does anyone know if EA's best product in 2004 effected Madden sales? I am still left wondering why the back pedaled after that year's game play. 2004 was the one year where if you liked college football more then pro football, I doubt there was any need to buy both. Since then they have given football video game players a need/want to get both and I believe this is why the college game (lesser gameplay) is always released first and will never be second to Madden.

[rhombic21]

Soce, I agree that at some point you would reach a breaking point where the game becomes TOO realistic, and yes, at that point it would be too hard for almost anybody (probably myself included) to play.

My point is that we're nowhere near that area right now. My frustration with the game isn't along an easy/hard continuam. I just want to be able to run the plays that I see teams run in real life, and have them work in a way that resembles the way that they work in real life. There are a TON of things that you could do which would MAKE THE GAME PLAY BETTER. These things have nothing to do with hardcore fans versus casual fans. These are things that are pretty universal.

I have a hard time believing that if you implemented accurate blocking schemes, and we saw some physical zone blocking that worked, that casual fans would do anything other than say "wow, that is really cool." Let's say that you made it so that the running game looked something pretty close to what you see in those videos. Do you honestly think that casual fans would have anything other than positive impressions of that?

And let's be realistic here. EA is going to sell football games regardless, because they're the only show in town, and college football is probably this country's second most popular sport (behind professional football). Casual fans do LESS research than realistic fans, so they're actually a lot LESS likely to change purchase decisions based on gameplay AI. Most of those people probably have no idea what the game plays like until after they purchase it. So the idea that you're somehow going to reduce the number of casual people who buy the game if you make it more realistic is misplaced.

As far as Madden and NCAA, there are a ton of things that will always set those games apart, because pro football and college football have a lot of differences, both in terms of the kinds of schemes/plays that teams run, and in terms of the non-gameplay elements. I don't think Madden is in any danger of losing business to NCAA if NCAA improves its gameplay. If anything, you might have increased sales because pro football fans would play NCAA when it comes out in July, realize how awesome it is, and then go buy Madden in August.

[CFR-116]

I think we do have atleast one thing we all can feel alittle better about....the '08' game just has to turnout better than the '07' game....doesn't it? Now that may not be saying very much, but atleast it's something.

[gesvol]

I have a hard time believing that if you implemented accurate blocking schemes, and we saw some physical zone blocking that worked, that casual fans would do anything other than say "wow, that is really cool." Let's say that you made it so that the running game looked something pretty close to what you see in those videos. Do you honestly think that casual fans would have anything other than positive impressions of that?

And let's be realistic here. EA is going to sell football games regardless, because they're the only show in town, and college football is probably this country's second most popular sport (behind professional football). Casual fans do LESS research than realistic fans, so they're actually a lot LESS likely to change purchase decisions based on gameplay AI. Most of those people probably have no idea what the game plays like until after they purchase it. So the idea that you're somehow going to reduce the number of casual people who buy the game if you make it more realistic is misplaced.


I don't think casual fans would say "wow, that is really cool" because I don't think casual fans are really that familiar with blocking schemes and zone blocking. At best, they may notice some plays work better now than they used to, but they probably wouldn't know why. (And it's not like toss plays and zone plays can't gain yardage, even if they may not be technically be blocked right, so they may not even notice that. The plays do work sometimes, at least on All-American against the CPU A.I.)

And I think your point about EA selling football games anyway and casual fans not changing purchasing decisions based on gameplay AI actually helps support Soce's point. Why spend the money and resources improving blocking schemes that hardly anyone will notice unless it will lead to a significant increase in sales? The bottom line is would such changes lead to higher profits? I am not sure it would.

[CFR-116]

I do wish that EA would take the Madden game and simply put college jerseys, stadiums and the option/spread offense into the game and stick it in a box labeled NCAA 2008 and I would run out and pre-order it.

Not only Soce would I pre-order it....for God's sake I'd freaking pay $200 dollars for it....no kidding. I've been wishing for this for quite awhile now....and IMO, it will never happen....sadly.

[CFR-116]

[QUOTE=soce;1258616]

I really wish it was different but face it, these are video GAMES and the pressure on the programmers assigned to this game is NOT to get it realistic but to make it "FUN" so that they will sell like hot cakes. /QUOTE]

My intent is not to take sides....but Soce, this statement I believe is on the nose. The Ncaa game is about high scoring and free-wheeling gameplay with little regaurd to being realistic....and it sells fairly big that way each year. The kind of gameplay that would have Madden gamers up in arms. IMO, the Madden series has been leaned towards a more of a field position type of game, where as the Ncaa series is the 62-52 bombs away game....and I believe that will continue. I believe that the Ncaa game isn't meant to be taken too seriously, or thought of as a "simulation" game, so really any kind of close attention to detail is ignored.

I'm doing my best to just accept the fact that Ncaa will most likely never be the strategy type of game I wish it was, where throwing to the marker was a more winning strategy than just heaving it up instead. I remember playing as Baylor awhile back on heisman default, I was trying to play the game straight up. But of course after falling behind 28-0 after the first qrt. [and getting pi$$ed] I took the gloves off.[laugh] For the next three qrts I used the same play nearly everytime...I-Form Slot with the two outside recivers running fly patterns. I smashed all of Baylor's passing records by repeatedly completing bomb after bomb without a problem....again on heisman level. This is just the way it is with the Ncaa game, and there's no way I'd ever get away with playing like that with Madden. Throwing deep play after play in Madden is asking for certain defeat in my experince....but with Ncaa it's a sound offensive strategy.

Playing home video football games is far from the most important thing in my life....but I do however enjoy trying to play these games in a serious manner. I mean...I want to play each game as if it were meaningful, and I love taking hours to search for recruites and try to built up a crappy program. But my dynastys never get very far, because the gameplay is so arcade-like and foolish...it's impossible for me to play the game in a serious manner. I had really hoped that the Ncaa game new gen. would be a more senceable playing game, that option left....option right....heave her deep just wouldn't cut it anymore. That sound realistic football strategy, and solid recruiting would be needed....vs the same ole same ole. However, Ncaa is what it is, and appears like it may always be....a wacky devil may care kick back and run up the score type of game. Doesn't mean it suxs....but just not for me.

Not meaning to offend anyone but....those who are looking for the Ncaa game to be a more detailed and realistic playing game may have a long wait in store for them. IMO, EA already makes a football game like that...and I don't believe they plan on making two of the same. I wish Ncaa came with a arcade/sim switch, but I don't see that coming anytime soon either.

[keyser soze]

I have not bought Madden in years, as I have stated on this site, but I was watching TV the other day and I saw them playing a Madden tournament on TV. These guys go around on a bus and play games in different places promoting the game. They don't show a ton of gameplay but the little that they did show looked like decent "realistic" type of gameplay. Man, I wish they would do something like THIS for NCAA. THAT WOULD FORCE BETTER AI. I know I am far from being a great player on HUM vs. HUM (mainly due to my age and reflex time as displayed to me on halo 2) but I am very good at exploiting the games weaknesses which EVERYONE would be trying to do when you throw a $100K prise for winning the thing.

Wow, something like this would really change the game I think because if they were to make this tourny happen, after seeing that 95% of every play called contained a corner route the programmers might have to address such issues.

Dunno, just found it fascinating that "Madden Nation" exists and I think that an "NCAA Nation" type of deal, might be the answer. Playing the current version of the game, baring house rules, the tourny would show just how cheesy this game is when played to win real money with zero house rules.... The 2005 and 2006 versions of this game were so unplayable that they would have to cancel the tourny and show after realizing that watching the HBD and bombs away on every play is not fun at all....

[husker_blitz]

I have not bought Madden in years, as I have stated on this site, but I was watching TV the other day and I saw them playing a Madden tournament on TV. These guys go around on a bus and play games in different places promoting the game. They don't show a ton of gameplay but the little that they did show looked like decent "realistic" type of gameplay. Man, I wish they would do something like THIS for NCAA. THAT WOULD FORCE BETTER AI. I know I am far from being a great player on HUM vs. HUM (mainly due to my age and reflex time as displayed to me on halo 2) but I am very good at exploiting the games weaknesses which EVERYONE would be trying to do when you throw a $100K prise for winning the thing.

Wow, something like this would really change the game I think because if they were to make this tourny happen, after seeing that 95% of every play called contained a corner route the programmers might have to address such issues.

Dunno, just found it fascinating that "Madden Nation" exists and I think that an "NCAA Nation" type of deal, might be the answer. Playing the current version of the game, baring house rules, the tourny would show just how cheesy this game is when played to win real money with zero house rules.... The 2005 and 2006 versions of this game were so unplayable that they would have to cancel the tourny and show after realizing that watching the HBD and bombs away on every play is not fun at all....
I think they actually do hold tournaments at college campuses or at least they have done so in the past. Even our famed SoJon has won some NCAA tournaments.

[keyser soze]

I think they actually do hold tournaments at college campuses or at least they have done so in the past. Even our famed SoJon has won some NCAA tournaments.

I would be very interested to know what game play was like in these.... I have to believe that in a cash tournament the "cheesing" is going to be in full force because if it is not ruled out, and it is the most effective style of game play, these issues would come to the forefront. Also the lack in variety of game style and even different plays called would be revealed and addressed.... at least I would hope so. Things like fast QBs, sprint out and chuck, and other big online problems would be completely visible... no way would the game play in a cash tournament represent real college football in any way, shape or form.

[MacGyver Hawg]

Realistic = fun

[husker_blitz]

I would be very interested to know what game play was like in these.... I have to believe that in a cash tournament the "cheesing" is going to be in full force because if it is not ruled out, and it is the most effective style of game play, these issues would come to the forefront. Also the lack in variety of game style and even different plays called would be revealed and addressed.... at least I would hope so. Things like fast QBs, sprint out and chuck, and other big online problems would be completely visible... no way would the game play in a cash tournament represent real college football in any way, shape or form.
I have no idea, I have never myself played in a tournament other than a round-robin with friends. Send SoJon a PM or maybe he'll see this thread and respond but I can't really answer how cheesing is avoided.

[keyser soze]

I have no idea, I have never myself played in a tournament other than a round-robin with friends. Send SoJon a PM or maybe he'll see this thread and respond but I can't really answer how cheesing is avoided.

I would be SHOCKED if EA would host a tournament like they do with Madden and then lay down house rules to avoid their crappy AI/programming. No way they could do this and call it a promotion. This is the stuff that Rhombic is talking about. It only takes 1 day living in practice mode to beta test about 80% this game. I have made numerous offers to assist EA in this for free but never hear anything back.

I sure wish they would get former QBs or young football coaches to play this game and talk DIRECTLY to programmers. Hell, get anyone who knows the real football game and is decent at playing this game to point out the big flaws which need to be addressed before the game is fine tuned I guess. Human vs Human play always ends up in some funky arss defenses winning out that would never even be usable in real life. Crap like fan the line out and slant them in or dime prevent and blitz would be eaten up in real life.... need to get blocking and whatnot to the point that having 6 DBs on the field vs zero WRs is a real hazard against inside runs.

Am I the only one that gets worked up when they get to typing about this stuff? I come here, read a post, start out with a reply that is about what I read and then run on a tangent because of utter frustration that surfaces when i start thinking about the past 3 years. I swear to GOD I better not be able to get easy sacks by shifting defensive players towards the non TE side for the 53rd year in a row without any negative side effects like being really weak against the run TOWARDS the TE side and the CPU not exploiting it.... If they leave that problem in I am going to..... well..... I'm going to....... well....... nothing....... sigh......

[rhombic21]

Cheesing isn't avoided. I have posted some videos on here from a guy named Userskills/I'm Like Weis:

http://dodownload.filefront.com/4954829//7f43d4be045c5306044de344cf9cdcb077f07e80c938333391 ccb9a46cd5a28cd49173f5942ac129
http://www.zshare.net/video/userskill-wmv.html

He has competed in EA's NCAA Challenge tournament ($10,000), which is open to campus champions from select Universities, and told me that this is basically how people play there.

That being said, if you guys go to Madden tournaments, those things aren't exactly cheese free either. The only thing that they have in the way of rules is that they outlaw certain glitches, and they limit what kinds of out of position subs you can make.

[CFR-116]

Am I the only one that gets worked up when they get to typing about this stuff? I come here, read a post, start out with a reply that is about what I read and then run on a tangent because of utter frustration that surfaces when i start thinking about the past 3 years.

Your not reading MY posts then Soce.[laugh] I almost always climb on the soapbox and freaking preach my views....but most times the guys just let me rattle off without telling me to shut the hell up.:) My complains about the game are very basic...because I just don't know that much about the X's and O's of football. I've only been watching the game of football for 40 years....what can ya expect from me.:p My wants for the Ncaa game are so basic, even EA should be able to handle it. In a nutshell...all I really want is not to be able to destroy the computer on AA level, and have no choise but to jump to heisman and then deal with the pathtic way EA makes heisman level more challenging.

On my soapbox I've said several times that....a bozo like me at 48 yrs old, and I consider myself to be sub-average player shouldn't be able to blast the computer without any effort each and every game. [AA] And I shouldn't have to deal with my defense being all but shut off on heisman level to get a challenge. Pardon my language but....thats just a cheap a$$ way to program the game IMO. The different playing levels to me should be based on AWR...not BS, as it has been since I've started playing Ncaa. I don't say this to pat myself on the back but....I think I'd almost be the ideal person to judge the different gaming levels. Come on EA....give ole CFR a call, if ya set me down to test say AA level and I'm kicking the crap out the computer...I'll most likely tell ya..."Houston....we have a problem.":D I mean for Christ sake I'm playing as Utah St., and I'm blowing out Neb by 30 at the half.....come on.

I'm quite sure we've all found ourselfs doing this....ya call plays ya know don't work because your trying to give the dumb a$$ computer AI a freaking chance on AA. You only use the playbook out of shear boredom, rather than because ya have to. I guess I really don't expect the computer to "learn" anything....but Christ...stop something, sometime. Then on to heisman, and the computer is completing bombs into triple coverage on ya....and I use the term "coverage" VERY loosely, if you want to call it that at all. I'm sorry if I'm stepping on any toes here but....Ncaa to this point [including next gen.] IMO is a cheap beta copy of a football game.

See Soce....ya got me flying off the handle....again.[laugh]

[keyser soze]

Well its great to know 2 things.... 1, there are other old geezers out there that play video games and 2, you feel almost my exact same pain. I know exactly what you mean from AA to Heisman. Its just I have been posting on these sites for a while now and nothing seems to change. This is the most I have ever posted during the "off season" but something has me fired up this year. Maybe it is my subconscious reacting to these early game previews that are so damn similar as the past 3 years and my defenses are up so I can actually say, AH-HA, this year I was not pooped on without warning. I knew EA was gonna poop my way!

I love your idea but difficulty being a simple AWR tweak... I think this is brilliant. Playing at a skill level of say AWR 100 would be like playing against Peyton Manning.... the CPU goes to work dissecting your butt in 2. Playing against a low AWR of say 1 would be like playing your baby sister who just wants to look at the pretty colors......

Okay, I am tired. See you all tomorrow. I need to recharge my rant batteries.

[CFR-116]

Word is that a new game engine will be used for both Ncaa and Madden '08'....so theres maybe hope things might get better.

[J Hall]

man... this all sounds just like last year at this time. and the year before that. and the year before that...

[WKUsSledgehammer]

Well its great to know 2 things.... 1, there are other old geezers out there that play video games and 2, you feel almost my exact same pain. I know exactly what you mean from AA to Heisman. Its just I have been posting on these sites for a while now and nothing seems to change. This is the most I have ever posted during the "off season" but something has me fired up this year. Maybe it is my subconscious reacting to these early game previews that are so damn similar as the past 3 years and my defenses are up so I can actually say, AH-HA, this year I was not pooped on without warning. I knew EA was gonna poop my way!

I love your idea but difficulty being a simple AWR tweak... I think this is brilliant. Playing at a skill level of say AWR 100 would be like playing against Peyton Manning.... the CPU goes to work dissecting your butt in 2. Playing against a low AWR of say 1 would be like playing your baby sister who just wants to look at the pretty colors......

Okay, I am tired. See you all tomorrow. I need to recharge my rant batteries.

I feel you, too, soce ... I've enjoyed reading your insights and believe you are spot-on with regard to the philosophy/direction behind the game.

That being said, I think we'd all (me, first and foremost) be best served to heed cmq's advice and just chill out a bit, and wait until we get more info. Otherwise, we've still got over 3 months until release, plenty of time to work ourselves into strokes, especially us old folks. :D

[CFR-116]

That being said, I think we'd all (me, first and foremost) be best served to heed cmq's advice and just chill out a bit, and wait until we get more info. Otherwise, we've still got over 3 months until release, plenty of time to work ourselves into strokes, especially us old folks. :D

Agreed Sledge. The news of the field glowing and whatever already had me grapping at my chest....I think I'll take a pill as well.

[westsidetide]

Agreed Sledge. The news of the field glowing and whatever already had me grapping at my chest....I think I'll take a pill as well.


Hey CFR....I'm not going to stroke out this year, no matter how the game turns out. I've just set my expectations so low that I'll be OK with whatever we get. In fact, I'm planning on getting the new NASCAR game which comes out around the same time just so I'll have something to play until Hoops 2K8 comes out in November.:)

[keyser soze]

Agreed Sledge. The news of the field glowing and whatever already had me grapping at my chest....I think I'll take a pill as well.

HAHAHAHHA, it is a shock to me how old other people are on here. I figured that Fluff and I were extremely rare since my online experiences have always found me playing with people who compare me to their Fathers since I am usually much closer to their age then to the people I am playing with. Some of these younger kids actually get a major kick out of the fact that I play games like Halo 2 with them. Its all fun and good until they do actually tell me that I remind them of their Dad or Uncle or something..... then I never know how to feel.

Is there a location on this site where I can see people's ages? Like is there a thread for that where I can better put names of posters with an age? I thought I had seen something like that before. If not that would be a pretty cool sticky thread to have where people could give a short bio of themselves and then link it on their signatures or something. Heck this is probably already done but I just don't spend much time looking for that info and I am an old man after all....

[CFR-116]

Hey CFR....I'm not going to stroke out this year, no matter how the game turns out. I've just set my expectations so low that I'll be OK with whatever we get.

Thats most likely the best idea Westside. But ya know....I'm trying to walk the tight wire of hopeing for the best while trying to protect myself from disappointment. I guess I want to get excited about the up coming game on the one hand...even at the risk of being letdown, because I don't really want to miss out on the fun as the release grows ever nearer. But ya....it's tough not to kinda lash out at some of the news we get while in a way we bunker down trying not to get too up beat about things. I've been spitting some posion lately and I think it's just my goofy way of protecting myself....but for me now....I don't want to be the little boy sulking in the cornor, pi$$ing and moaning about something we haven't even seen yet, while most others are enjoying the possibilty of a good game coming soon.

I'm only kidding myself if I try to tell myself my hopes won't be sky high as the day draws near....it's a danger, no question....but it sure is fun while it lasts.[smile]

[WKUsSledgehammer]

HAHAHAHHA, it is a shock to me how old other people are on here. I figured that Fluff and I were extremely rare since my online experiences have always found me playing with people who compare me to their Fathers since I am usually much closer to their age then to the people I am playing with. Some of these younger kids actually get a major kick out of the fact that I play games like Halo 2 with them. Its all fun and good until they do actually tell me that I remind them of their Dad or Uncle or something..... then I never know how to feel.

Is there a location on this site where I can see people's ages? Like is there a thread for that where I can better put names of posters with an age? I thought I had seen something like that before. If not that would be a pretty cool sticky thread to have where people could give a short bio of themselves and then link it on their signatures or something. Heck this is probably already done but I just don't spend much time looking for that info and I am an old man after all....

You can see it in their public profile, if, that is, they've chosen to put in their date of birth. Click their username, select "Public Profile", and if they have it, it's under Additional Information.

[westsidetide]

HAHAHAHHA, it is a shock to me how old other people are on here.
Is there a location on this site where I can see people's ages? Like is there a thread for that where I can better put names of posters with an age? I thought I had seen something like that before. If not that would be a pretty cool sticky thread to have where people could give a short bio of themselves and then link it on their signatures or something. Heck this is probably already done but I just don't spend much time looking for that info and I am an old man after all....

I think I'm the oldest goat on this site as I just turned the big '50' last year..
This is the only site where I feel comfortable enough to post.

[CFR-116]

It's almost shocking the number of people over 30 that are Utopia members. What's really neat is that the different age groups interact with each other as well as we do. I can't ever remember seeing a post that read something along the lines of...."Your just a kid, what do you know?".....or...."Aren't you a little old to be on a board like this?" It's been my experince here on Utopia that respect is given to all...no matter their age or opinion [as long as it's respectful of others.] Yep...Utopia is the only site I post on as well.

PS. I would like to also say that....we should be thankful that freedom of speach is alive and well here on Utopia. Not long ago, I was "lurking" on a gaming board....and a poster dared to suggest that EA was being lazy about how they made their games. One of the mods called the poster an idiot for assuming such a thing. Other posters sorta came to the defense of the "Idiot"....but I could tell they were posting on egg shells on how they went about it. Ya...sometimes I believe we may be too hard on EA here at Utopia....of course I include myself, but I'm grateful that Utopia isn't just a EA kiss a$$ board. On Utopia we're free to express our opinions without fear.....thats pretty cool, and not universal.

[oweb26]

It's almost shocking the number of people over 30 that are Utopia members. What's really neat is that the different age groups interact with each other as well as we do. I can't ever remember seeing a post that read something along the lines of...."Your just a kid, what do you know?".....or...."Aren't you a little old to be on a board like this?" It's been my experince here on Utopia that respect is given to all...no matter their age or opinion [as long as it's respectful of others.] Yep...Utopia is the only site I post on as well.

PS. I would like to also say tha