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cdj
01-09-2011, 06:51 PM
http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/images/NCAA11/PSUQBrain.jpg

With a new year upon us, it means the first info on NCAA Football 12 is just months away and an opportunity to glean what may be on the horizon for the franchise.

Back in November 2009, EA SPORTS distributed a survey with 13 possible feature additions for NCAA Football and asked respondents to select their top three choices. Let's take a look back at that survey to see what features were implemented in NCAA Football 11 and which items we may see in NCAA 12 or a future edition of the game.


http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/images/misc/ncaasurvey.jpg

Streamlined play calling allowing you to control the overall play time: This item appears to refer to GameFlow, a new feature found in Madden NFL 11. According to the Madden Developers Podcast, 70-75% of users relied on it for their playcalling. That stat may reflect the sheer number of gamers who play with default game settings, as many in the 'hardcore' online community were either not a fan of the feature or wished it worked differently.

Make last minute changes based on what you see: It is unsure whether this refers to the new No-Huddle system in NCAA Football 11 (see below) or a potentially new pre-snap hot route and/or audible system.

Coaching carousels at end of season, if they leave so does their style of play and you have to hire from the pool quick to ensure good recruiting: A Coaching Carousel was the winner of the 2010 NCAA Football Community Wish List Tournament. Some details requested within this feature by the community include schools making realistic changes, coaching staffs (OC & DC), a pool of assistants and former head coaches to hire from, and more.

Signature Coaching Plays, highlighted by the coaches themselves with direct audio via your gaming headset telling you where to throw or what play to run: Similar to Madden NFL's GameFlow in which a coordinator would give a short statement on the play selected and what aspects to look for.

All-New Athletic Director Mode with Stadium Builder: A long-time requested feature for the franchise, this would add a new level of depth for those who wish to build up a program whether it be an existing program or a TeamBuilder squad. The unknown is what other aspects might be added to form what may be called an 'Athletic Director Mode.' Contracted schedules? Managing the coaching staff?

Locomotion Gameplay with authentic momentum based physics (more dynamic cuts, AI acts more realistic): Locomotion was a feature added to both NCAA Football 11 and Madden NFL 11. Locomotion instilled more realistic movement and change of direction for the players. In Madden 11, the players were weighted slightly heavier than in NCAA 11.

College specific gameplay such as broken sack animations: This is a feature that seems to get added each year, whether it be through new and additional gameplay animations or team specific celebratory animations. One of the most significant animations added to NCAA Football 11 was an improved long run stride animation to make long plays look more realistic.

All-New Spread and No-Huddle Spread Gameplay (Teams look to the sideline as they increase the tempo of the game): NCAA Football 11 saw Spread and No-Huddle Spread gameplay added to the franchise. The new no-huddle system addressed a long-time issue in the franchise that many considered an exploit - gamers running no-huddle all game leaving the defense helpless. This feature allowed the defense to pick any play from their playbook on the fly, while both teams could regain energy the more time that progressed between snaps.

Active real-life coaches and coordinators on sidelines giving the most authentic game to date: An aspect that many tie into a Coaching Carousel, which is the most requested feature by the NCAA Football community. Coaches are often the face of their respective program, giving this feature appeal to a wide base.

Authentic offensive styles of play (USC will actually PLAY like USC utilizing their key styles you see on Saturday): NCAA Football 11 featured '120 Ways to Win,' focusing on offensive styles that separate one team from another. Eight specific offensive styles were added to the game (Multiple, Pro-Style, Air Raid, One-Back, Option, Run & Shoot, Spread, Pistol) as well as no-huddle and up-tempo play-calling. Heading into NCAA Football 12, many in the community are now hoping to see the same focus shifted to the defensive side of the ball.

More than 30 authentic team entrances and traditions: NCAA Football 11 saw the addition of more mascots and team entrances, including approximately 30 authentics including Howard's Rock at Clemson, the smoke at Miami, and more. Many in the community are hoping this aspect gets expanded in the years to come to include more authentic entrances, including vehicles and live animals (Auburn's War Eagle, Bevo at Texas, Ralphie at Colorado, etc.).

All-New ESPN style TV presentation with broadcast graphics and special attention to rivalries, bowl games, etc.: This feature was added to NCAA Football 11 and added a new level of realism to the in-game presentation. Rivalry and bowl games in Dynasty Mode featured trophies on the pre-game platform/monolith, and outdoor conference championship and bowl games had pre-game flyovers. One drawback was that ESPN changed their score overlay banner for the season, leaving the new NCAA 11 banner outdated. Many in the community have asked for more stat updates (team and player) to match ESPN programming.

Play from the QB's point of view with new camera angle: A feature found in NFL 2K5 and BackBreaker, this provided gamers a new way to play virtual football. While this view provides what some say is a more realistic experience, it will likely face an icy reception from most gamers who have played with the wide view for many years.


With this look back at the 2009 survey and examining which features made it into NCAA Football 11, what items do you think we can expect in NCAA Football 12 or a future version of the game?

JeffHCross
01-09-2011, 07:37 PM
Just ... please ... no QB point of view / camera angle. Ew, ew, ew.

steelerfan
01-09-2011, 11:17 PM
Just ... please ... no QB point of view / camera angle. Ew, ew, ew.

I'd agree because I wouldn't want time wasted on it. However, if it's optional, no biggie.

Sinister
01-10-2011, 09:08 AM
1.Locomotion Gameplay with authentic momentum based physics (more dynamic cuts, AI acts more realistic): Locomotion was a feature added to both NCAA Football 11 and Madden NFL 11. Locomotion instilled more realistic movement and change of direction for the players. In Madden 11, the players were weighted slightly heavier than in NCAA 11.

i'm really hoping this happens, overall ncaa 11 was the better of the football games this year. also the stadium manager and please for heavens sake beef up the defense and special teams.

tweety21
01-10-2011, 11:31 PM
how bout a user-defined camera angle instead of QB cam:nod:

JeffHCross
01-11-2011, 12:26 AM
how bout a user-defined camera angle instead of QB cam:nod:That would be very, very difficult to implement unless the team was extremely confident that they wouldn't run into framerate issues at any point in the stadium.

griffin2608
01-11-2011, 03:37 PM
If the coaching carousel and some type of career coaching mode isnt in this year I will not be buying.

tweety21
01-11-2011, 11:16 PM
That would be very, very difficult to implement unless the team was extremely confident that they wouldn't run into framerate issues at any point in the stadium.

the different playable camera angles is what really locked me into playing EA sports games. Kinda sad that with this new technology we cant get something we already had. Oh well maybe they or SOMEONE(2K) will find a way:popcorn:

JeffHCross
01-13-2011, 01:00 AM
Tweety, there's a big difference between having a selection of different camera angles and "user-defined", as your original post said.

If I remember back to the old generations, there were titles that had camera angles that could be, for lack of a better description, "tweaked". You could slightly change the angle, maybe slightly change the position, and probably change the zoom. The basketball games seem to have these more often than football (there's probably a reason for that, actually).

That is not what I would classify as "very, very difficult". I interpreted "user-defined" as "let me put the camera anywhere in the stadium, wherever I want, and play the game from that view". Obviously, that's significantly harder to implement and, more importantly from my view, much riskier to the team because of the sheer amount of testing involved. You'd essentially be talking about making sure that every single view point in the stadium has a 100% efficient frame rate and no obstructed view. There's probably a level of testing they would really have to do to be "confident", but that's why I can't see a "user-defined" angle happening for quite some time. Choices ... yes. Free reign, no.

HWill
01-13-2011, 10:34 AM
If I remember back to the old generations, there were titles that had camera angles that could be, for lack of a better description, "tweaked". You could slightly change the angle, maybe slightly change the position, and probably change the zoom. The basketball games seem to have these more often than football (there's probably a reason for that, actually).

IIRC, some of the older madden titles had a "user-defined" camera where you could place it wherever you wanted. The last time I remember seeing it was 2002.

JeffHCross
01-13-2011, 04:59 PM
IIRC, some of the older madden titles had a "user-defined" camera where you could place it wherever you wanted. The last time I remember seeing it was 2002.Yeah, I've seen it before. But the technological requirements to do it back then versus today have drastically changed. Tweety's right that with today's technology we should be able to handle that, but they're also, I expect, pushing today's technology as far as it can go. So then making sure you didn't push it too far (with camera angles that cause problems) becomes the problem.

tweety21
01-14-2011, 12:28 AM
Tweety, there's a big difference between having a selection of different camera angles and "user-defined", as your original post said.

If I remember back to the old generations, there were titles that had camera angles that could be, for lack of a better description, "tweaked". You could slightly change the angle, maybe slightly change the position, and probably change the zoom. The basketball games seem to have these more often than football (there's probably a reason for that, actually).

That is not what I would classify as "very, very difficult". I interpreted "user-defined" as "let me put the camera anywhere in the stadium, wherever I want, and play the game from that view". Obviously, that's significantly harder to implement and, more importantly from my view, much riskier to the team because of the sheer amount of testing involved. You'd essentially be talking about making sure that every single view point in the stadium has a 100% efficient frame rate and no obstructed view. There's probably a level of testing they would really have to do to be "confident", but that's why I can't see a "user-defined" angle happening for quite some time. Choices ... yes. Free reign, no.

Ok thanks Jeff..i meant having the tilt and zoom features that we use to have. Madden and Ncaa had those and they were called user-defined cams any way it was refreshing to play those games with a little variety:nod:

Pig Bomb
01-14-2011, 02:00 PM
EA's FIFA 11 has a camera with several options for angles etc- within those camera modes you can also customize the height and zoom... so i can have my "Tele" camera tilted way up high and zoomed way the hell out! The fact that NCAA does not have this feature is inexcusable.

gschwendt
01-14-2011, 04:36 PM
EA's FIFA 11 has a camera with several options for angles etc- within those camera modes you can also customize the height and zoom... so i can have my "Tele" camera tilted way up high and zoomed way the hell out! The fact that NCAA does not have this feature is inexcusable.I certainly wouldn't say inexcusable... I would venture to bet that at least 80% of the NCAA fanbase would stick with the default camera angle, even if given complete customization options.

HWill
01-14-2011, 04:50 PM
I certainly wouldn't say inexcusable... I would venture to bet that at least 80% of the NCAA fanbase would stick with the default camera angle, even if given complete customization options.

This sounds about right. I'd definitely mess around with the different angles, but i'd primarily use the default angle. I have a problem with seeing my outside receivers with the pre-snap camera, but i'll save that for the wishlist thread.

JeffHCross
01-14-2011, 10:15 PM
Ok thanks Jeff..i meant having the tilt and zoom features that we use to have. Madden and Ncaa had those and they were called user-defined cams any way it was refreshing to play those games with a little variety:nod:Agreed, and those should at least be possible.

XxDaMole00xX
01-17-2011, 01:38 AM
I believe a similar version of "Owner Mode" would definetly expand online dynasty. Such as having the ability to sign coaching staff or build your stadium. Lots of people use weak teams and build them up, so by the time a 2 star is a 5 star, I think they deserve a better stadium.


On a quick note, having the ability to allow weak teams in online dynasty get Conference invites would please many community members. More and more 1,2,3 Star dynasties are being started online and to see some teams move up to better Conferences would push those who havent gotten invited to work harder and eventually get their chance since the orginal players they lost to all the time wouldnt be playing them lol everybody wins!

JeffHCross
01-17-2011, 08:31 PM
The central problem with "AD mode", or anything involving Create-A-Stadium, is drawing the line. Should we allow someone to expand onto Ohio Stadium? And if so, how do we make it look remotely ... realistic? Unless you force players to start in custom stadiums (like Madden's Create-A-Team does), I can't find a way for Create-A-Stadium to work in NCAA. I completely agree that people who start at 2-stars deserve larger stadiums with increased attendance ... but getting that to work in the context of NCAA is tough.

JStein2469
01-27-2011, 06:34 PM
Pretty damn awesome that most of these have at least some sort of semblence in NCAA 11. The team definitely listens to the community!