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View Full Version : Share Your Impressions of NCAA Football 11 (Post-update #3, LTP #4)



cdj
09-08-2010, 08:18 PM
With the third game update and Live Tuning Package available now (for PS3, 360 expected relatively soon), use this thread to post your impressions of the game.

morsdraconis
09-08-2010, 09:01 PM
Wow, so the 3rd update/tuner is STILL not available for the 360? Wow...

Rudy
09-08-2010, 09:42 PM
I'll paste my original comments here as well as some updated ones.

I played 1.5 games on Heisman after the patch. First game was me using Miami @ Ohio State. I was getting pounded 24-0 at the half although 3 turnovers didn't help. I was just screwing around with some playcalls to test some things as I normally would pound the Buckeyes. ;)

Second game I played as VT (home) against VT. The cpu ran all over me. This patch definitely requires some slider tweaking and while I had done a little, it needed more. I ended up losing a game in OT 34-31 as I fumbled on my first possession.

Overall I'm not sure how much difference I can really tell after only 1.5 games besides two main areas.

1) Rush defense slider work SO much better it's not even funny. If you drop the rush defense slider to 0 (and I had the cpu run block at 100) the cpu OL will drive you off the ball and pancake you consistently. After patch #2 the cpu OL never got much movement and on AA my DTs would still be in the backfield consistently. This is no longer a problem. And I tested this out briefly on AA - works MUCH better there too. I don't know if I'll go back to AA as Heisman is working pretty good but my biggest beef with AA was a horrible cpu running game post patch #2 and this is fixed with the third patch.

My running game took a hit on Heisman after the patch. I think I need a boost in this department.

2) Pass coverage needs to be boosted with sliders. Rhombic may be pissed because you can't do that with online ranked games but I think the man coverage (at least on Heisman) is roughly 10 points worse on the slider scale. Not 100% sure yet but I think people may need to boost their coverage slider up two clicks from where they had it (both human and cpu). I was using zone quite a bit and didn't notice it being any worse than man and I think it will be more useful vs. the cpu after this patch. More time is needed though.

One thing I did notice was the cpu taking more shots downfield against press coverage. Maybe it's because the WRs were beating it a lot easier and the player was open. Don't know.

3) The PS3 replay length still sucks. I thought someone said it was better but I think that was a placebo effect. Still plenty of plays getting cut off.

4) Just my Imagination (small sample set)? Fatigue seemed to be bigger. I saw RBs rotate in a little more. I saw a few more broken tackles too but that may be entirely related to the great RBs in the game.

Overall the running game sliders work a lot better and will need adjusting. Pass coverage (man) was toned down. Other than that I'm not sure I would have noticed anything different if I didn't know I had a new patch. That's not a bad thing but nothing else leaped out at me. I think I'll play another game soon and then just jump back into my dynasty.

Rudy
09-08-2010, 09:43 PM
I played two more halves tonight. One was with Oregon St (me) @ Oregon and I was leading 7-3 at the half. Oregon didn't run their spread too badly. The next half game was me at home with Wisconsin against Wisconsin. I find using the same teams can often help with figuring out sliders. Quite frankly, I've spent way too much time this year on testing sliders while playing after patch #2 and now patch #3. I'm a little sick of it and just want to play my dynasty but these patches have affected things quite a bit and adjustments are necessary.

Overall I think the patch is good (reminder - I am an offline gamer only that uses slider adjustments). But I do have some concerns about Heisman difficulty level. I like the running game results as I think there is more variety than after the 2nd patch. You get stuffed at times and yet can still break medium and long runs. This is good. The running game sliders work a lot better but the visual results of the cpu running game on Heisman looks really arcadish. I can boost the cpu run game to work well but the cpu OL don't just push my DL out of the way. It's a freaking pancake fest. Half of my DL are on their backs at the end of the play and it just looks stupid. Granted the results are pretty good still. My LBs can make tackles and John Clay averaged about 6.0 ypc against me in this last half (roughly 12 carries for 72 yards). EA should just have them hold the block longer rather than pancaking guys left and right (the stats are not tracked right either). Either way those guys are out of the play but one way looks retarded while a better way would look more realistic. EA really needs to add a physics based blocking engine in the future imo. Oh well.

On Heisman I think a few slider adjustments are necessary post patch #3. Bump up pass coverage 10 points (both cpu & human) and bump up pass rush 10 points (both). The run blocking sliders need a much bigger adjustment depending on what you were using. The human running game seems harder while the cpu seems easier/better. Zones do seem to work better but I also prefer setting them to aggressive in game planning.

While I'd rather just jump back into my dynasty I think I'm going to give AA another shot first. That's the difficulty level I normally prefer and it may be best suited for me again.

JeffHCross
09-09-2010, 11:54 PM
Might as well cross-post from the LTP thread.

------

I think one reason people are seeing worse pass defense is, with the exception of Online games, man defense is worse than it was given a certain slider set. I've played two games since the patch was released ... one Online against a User, one against the CPU.

Online versus another user ... Man Coverage was fine, overall. Both of us had decent to impressive man coverage throughout the game. We even noticed some instances where the psychic man coverage was overly evident (a CB leading a WR by 3 yards on an out pattern, then the ball going straight to him). I'm sure there are plays (5 WR particularly) that still break man coverage, but overall between two straight players it'll look pretty good. Plenty of plays made on passes, and overall good defense. If you get the right playcall, you can even completely blanket the receivers long enough for a 4 man pass rush to get there before anyone comes open.

However, against the CPU is a completely different story. If your sliders put HUM players at a disadvantage, get ready to see 09-esque gameplay. I just played a game in Year 2 of my OD (Ohio State vs West Virginia), and got torched for around 375 yards by the end of the 4th quarter. The game ended up going into 4 OTs because the CPU offense was completely unstoppable. Man, zone, it didn't matter. My guys were out of position on every play. And, because of the difference in sliders, the CPU defenders were in position, more often than not. The CPU would make plays on the ball ... several passes of mine were batted down by either DL or LBs. I don't believe my team had a single pass defended in the entire game, and I saw starting CBs get lost on simple routes time and time again.

I played probably 5 or 6 vs CPU games this weekend, using a similar Ohio State team, and every game was a 21+ blowout. Before this game in the OD, it was extremely rare that I didn't win by 20+. This game was so drastically different than anything I've experienced on NCAA 11, I don't know what to think.

CLW
09-11-2010, 12:20 PM
I'll just say I HATE the direction they went with this tune. Zone defense sucked. So what do they do, they make man defense suck? IMO, completely wrong way to go.

morsdraconis
09-11-2010, 02:18 PM
They've totally killed the game for me. I can't bring myself to screw around with sliders anymore after this new update. Really sad that this is the best game we've had in forever and because of updates, it's been ruined...

CLW
09-11-2010, 02:28 PM
They've totally killed the game for me. I can't bring myself to screw around with sliders anymore after this new update. Really sad that this is the best game we've had in forever and because of updates, it's been ruined...

Yeah I'm not happy with it either. It went from solid game with some problems to same old garbage I've been pissed @ since next-gen. I really think "the powers that be" believe easy points/yards is what people want. Perhaps the masses do but I want a REAL football game.

JeffHCross
09-11-2010, 06:38 PM
I do not believe that man defenses "suck" by any stretch now. Not based on what I've seen.

Escobar
09-13-2010, 09:37 PM
The ratings of your players matter more now in Man defense. All your players will not play like Darrelle Revis now. I have seen plays where my opponent plays man and literally no one was open, because all his defenders were good at man coverage. Then I have seen games where some corners just get left looking silly. It's more realistic now and makes you look for the weak defender to pick on, just like on Saturday's or Sunday's.

Rudy
09-14-2010, 04:54 AM
You mean like Baltimore targeting rookie Kyle Wilson trying to cover Anquan Boldin?

Rudy
09-16-2010, 06:20 AM
Maybe it's just me but I think you can squeeze passes into tighter spots after patch #3. I like this though.

The cpu threw a jump ball in the end zone here. Nice TD.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJlZsFUUHnw

Here is a corner pass from Forcier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvdO83WdsFw

Rudy
09-16-2010, 06:27 AM
The NCAA team really has to improve the cpu's ability to run the spread and option plays. They are still clueless. And we need mobile QBs to start scrambling a LOT more than they currently do which is almost never. The AI on when to scramble and how to scramble is lousy at best. We need true roll out plays and not just play action all the time. And on those roll outs the mobile QBs should be taking off a lot more. They also need to tie the play calling logic on options to the speed of a QB. There should be a sliding scale on how often a read option play is called depending on the speed of the QB. If a slow footed backup comes in don't run it!

Watch this video of LeGarrette James running the Wildcat for Oregon. It's a 3rd down play and he rolls right. He's got an easy TD but just runs right over to my DB to get tackled. What the heck was that?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQRJU7526A0



I'd really like to know if the NCAA team has the cpu play itself in certain offenses and then charts the average gains while watching them run certain plays. Not simming them but actually watching like coach mode. The cpu suffers too many negative plays running the spread and those negative plays kill that offense. The cpu QB is never dangerous to stop. I want to be scared going up against a guy like Denard Robinson (who also needs dreads next year). If the NCAA team is really trying to create 120 ways to win they need to make those 120 ways much more equitable. It's like Animal Farm - "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

morsdraconis
09-16-2010, 01:49 PM
The spread running game is absolutely awful from shotgun. It's just BAD.

CLW
09-16-2010, 02:21 PM
The spread running game is absolutely awful from shotgun. It's just BAD.

Yeah. The Georgia Tech option is AWFUL as well. Its a free W every year for me in my Duke dynasty.

JeffHCross
09-18-2010, 07:19 PM
Watch this video of LeGarrette James running the Wildcat for Oregon.You sure that was a Wildcat play? That looks like a play where they called Wildcat earlier in the drive, then No-Huddled into a regular shotgun formation. James is at QB, but doesn't seem to know what the hell he's doing. That looks like a massive AWR problem.

I agree though ... Shotgun running, Pistol, and Option are all very difficult offenses to be successful with this year. And it's even worse for the CPU.

jaymo76
09-19-2010, 02:22 AM
Just beat Oregon 28-0 on AA. I have a new record... Oregon had 23 carries for -37 yards and not one of the four players who carried the ball had over 0 yards rushing. They were all in the negative. A def rated C+ should not be able to do that against a B offense. Frustrating!!!

Rudy
09-19-2010, 04:25 AM
You sure that was a Wildcat play? That looks like a play where they called Wildcat earlier in the drive, then No-Huddled into a regular shotgun formation. James is at QB, but doesn't seem to know what the hell he's doing. That looks like a massive AWR problem.

I agree though ... Shotgun running, Pistol, and Option are all very difficult offenses to be successful with this year. And it's even worse for the CPU.

I'm not sure that was a Wildcat play lol. I only know it was a dumb play and showed horrible scrambling awareness. One other thing - remove the QB slide from the game! It's dumb to see a QB like Pryor slide two yards in front of a first down marker. College QBs don't slide that often and scrambling QBs are guys running the option should not be doing this when they are actually trying to dive forward to gain some yards.


Just beat Oregon 28-0 on AA. I have a new record... Oregon had 23 carries for -37 yards and not one of the four players who carried the ball had over 0 yards rushing. They were all in the negative. A def rated C+ should not be able to do that against a B offense. Frustrating!!!

I say give up on AA jaymo. The cpu spread attack is horrible so that's one reason but I strongly suggest you move to Heisman to get a bigger challenge. About the only way to fix the cpu spread attack is to have two different slider sets for spread vs. conventional but I don't want to go to that trouble. Nor do I want to have the cpu have a super goalline package when they switch to that either.

Rudy
09-19-2010, 04:27 AM
I will say this though, I'm still enjoying this game. My biggest pet peeve at the moment is the lousy cpu spread offense. The super blitzing on Heisman, particularly on 3rd down, is annoying along with the cpu kicker attempting 60 yard FGs that fall short (a Heisman issue only). I'd love to see this stuff fixed but I find the rest of the game to be good offline.

JeffHCross
09-19-2010, 08:26 AM
Just beat Oregon 28-0 on AA.Jaymo, give these a look: http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?587-Sliders Might not solve your problem, but I've liked them since Patch 3.

morsdraconis
09-19-2010, 09:51 AM
Jaymo, give these a look: http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?587-Sliders Might not solve your problem, but I've liked them since Patch 3.

I agree. Those are the sliders I'm using and they're better (though I still beat the shit out of the CPU on a regular basis...)

UGA14
09-27-2010, 07:42 AM
Use FistOfRage's Heisman sliders if you're tired of beating the computer. They're on OS. In fact, they're close to making me blow the game up. I had to turn down INTs. INTs on Heisman are freaking ridiculous.

morsdraconis
09-27-2010, 01:02 PM
I just done playing NCAA football against the CPU for a LONG while. I'm tired of dealing with stupid bullshit. It's the same shit as always, instead of actually getting outclassed by the CPU (like it adjusting to what I'm doing and actually stopping it) it just causes some stupid turnover from a dude that leaps 10 feet in the air and one hand intercepts the ball or something equally ridiculous. It's just REALLY stupid frustrating shit especially since the CPU continues to refuse to do anything but play the fuckin' run. It's hell bent on stopping the run to the point where I can throw the ball 50 times a day no problem. It's just stupid.

Rudy
09-27-2010, 06:01 PM
The cpu does overplay the run, particularly on early downs. It's stupid. I'd love to see it fixed through tuning along with having them blitz less. It's tough to run the spread with 4 WRs and have the cpu line up in a 4-3 and stack the box. So you audible and throw the ball to move the chains. It just isn't common sense to leave a slot WR uncovered.

Rudy
09-29-2010, 05:11 AM
I had my first freeze ever in NCAA 11 and that's without tuner #4. Just before halftime against ND the game went into super slow motion. I paused it and then when nothing was really happening hit the PS button. Everything went black and it didn't come back. Not sure if this was a PS3 glitch or a game glitch. I was trying to hot route at the time. That sucked to lose a game this morning to this.

Rudy
10-10-2010, 06:52 AM
The third patch certainly helped fix the sliders for the running game. Barely beat Nebraska at home and their RB had 24 carries for 207 yards. On one hand I was frustrated and on the other hand I was happy. Still won 27-24 on a late FG.

jaymo76
10-23-2010, 10:53 PM
Tonight I played NCAA for the first time in over a month. It's not that I don't enjoy the game but work and family (+ prep for another baby) have been huge on my time right now. However, tonight after painting the baby's room I played a play now game. I won- the score doesn't matter really. What I will say however is that after not playing this game for awhile I was impressed when I turned it on. For all of the issues with the patches this is a huge upgrade on this gen of consoles. Playing hour after hour; day after day this summer I think I started to take this game for granted. Maybe tonight I will get back into my dynasty...

Rudy
11-18-2010, 05:49 AM
I'd really like to see more animations for spectacular catch (are there any at all). In terms of QB accuracy people wanted more balls to simply fall incomplete without anyone touching them. I think the NCAA team has done a good job with that although crossing routes are still too accurate imo. But every game in real life we also see balls that are just off the WRs hands. It's a little too high or just out of their reach. They may jump or dive and get their hands on the ball but no catch and the defender didn't really affect the play. I'd love to see more animations that reflect this. These great catches often result in the WR hitting the turf for zero YAC. This might help improve the realism as most people probably average too much per completion and attempt in the game. I don't mind this because I think there is a certain fun factor we have to have in a video game and realism doesn't always translate to fun.

JeffHCross
11-18-2010, 09:10 PM
I'd really like to see more animations for spectacular catch (are there any at all).Yep, there are quite a few. Get a receiver with 90+ SPC and you'll see a good amount of them.

gschwendt
11-18-2010, 11:59 PM
Yep, there are quite a few. Get a receiver with 90+ SPC and you'll see a good amount of them.
Yep... I have one on each of my OD teams. I love throwing it to them, especially if I can get them to leave their feet then there is a good chance one will trigger.
Here's an example of one (http://www.easports.com/dynasty?_user_state=system#module=moduleStoryView&story=$00248d24c17e_12358_6AD927CA&dynid=74584&sku=661A0001&sid=1&wknum=30) (fifth highlight).

Rudy
11-19-2010, 04:20 AM
That was a nice catch. I don't see many of those but I'd also like to see the equivalent animation in terms of a drop.

JeffHCross
11-19-2010, 09:28 PM
Yep... I have one on each of my OD teams. I love throwing it to them, especially if I can get them to leave their feet then there is a good chance one will trigger.
Here's an example of one (http://www.easports.com/dynasty?_user_state=system#module=moduleStoryView&story=$00248d24c17e_12358_6AD927CA&dynid=74584&sku=661A0001&sid=1&wknum=30) (fifth highlight).Yeah, I had one of those the other day with one of my Buckeyes in my offline dynasty. DeVier Posey, actually. Exact same animation.

Side note ... did you know you can change the order of your highlights? When I have videos that I really like, I tend to move them first.

jaymo76
11-21-2010, 05:04 PM
Is it a specific type of receiver that uses those animations? I tend to go after possession receivers and I don't recall ever seeing a catch like the one above???

xGRIDIRONxGURUx
11-21-2010, 05:26 PM
if im not mistaken the catch rating (possession guys) dont necessarily have to have the high spec catch (animation triggers)... correct me though

"E"

gschwendt
11-21-2010, 05:32 PM
There's not a specific type... it's just based off of the Spectacular Catch (SPC) rating, generally the player needs 90 or better.

jaymo76
11-21-2010, 05:41 PM
There's not a specific type... it's just based off of the Spectacular Catch (SPC) rating, generally the player needs 90 or better.

That would explain it then. I don't think I have had one receiver with spec catch that high in NCAA 11. Maybe I will go out of my way to recruit one in the offseason.

Solidice
01-25-2011, 11:32 AM
has anyone ever come across the problem of not being able to enter practice mode within a certain Online Dynasty?

in one of the ODs I'm in(one that I'm the Commish of), I can no longer use practice mode(I can play the games just fine and do other Dynasty things). it starts to load, but the playbook never fills in the loading screen and the description box below it usually ends up showing random symbols(#, &,@, etc...) and then will freeze the system. it's been like that for at least 2 dynasty weeks. we're currently on week 12 of year 6.

The other OD's I'm in are fine and I can also enter practice mode from the main menu fine.

gschwendt
01-25-2011, 11:37 AM
I believe that PapaLonestar & Oneback have both seen this in our OD... I believe it cleared up, though we had to reload the OD a couple of times so that might have been what fixed it.

Oneback
01-25-2011, 05:29 PM
I believe that PapaLonestar & Oneback have both seen this in our OD... I believe it cleared up, though we had to reload the OD a couple of times so that might have been what fixed it.

Even after reloading the issue was not fixed, we were unable to go into practice mode until the next season.

Solidice
01-25-2011, 05:39 PM
Even after reloading the issue was not fixed, we were unable to go into practice mode until the next season.

if thats the case, it's not so bad for me. my games are done except for the bowl game. Although it would be nice to be able to practice with my team on the bye weeks that I have coming.

JeffHCross
01-25-2011, 07:34 PM
Solidice, what I've ended up doing, because of that issue being possible and because there are plenty of times (i.e. offseason) that I can't practice, is created a similar team in Teambuilder. That lets me get a little bit of practice here and there in just to pass the time. Plus I can use Play Now and other modes rather than just being restricted to Practice.

jaymo76
03-06-2011, 01:16 PM
Last night I won the National Championship game (#2 ASU 21 vs #1 Michigan 13). It was a great game. I honestly thought I was going to lose. At the half I was up 14-13 but I just could not stop Michigan's spread. Their QB (#1 Henderson was the Heisman winner and had like three other awards... the guy is the best QB I have ever see in the NCAA series!!!!!). However, first drive of the third quarter he goes out with an injury. Here's the thing... with him in the game it was non-stop passing... he was shredding my D. However, after he was hurt Michigan's backup wasn't that good and so the gameplan changed and for the whole second half Michigan ran the ball. I have never seen such a difference. Normally the QB style is interchangeable but not in this game. I was shocked but in a good way! From Heisman to nobody and the game play was entirely diffferent.

cdj
03-07-2011, 07:58 AM
jaymo - Do you happen to know what the OVR rating was for each QB? That's pretty interesting.

morsdraconis
03-07-2011, 08:31 AM
Sounds like an amazing game.

jaymo76
03-07-2011, 08:46 PM
jaymo - Do you happen to know what the OVR rating was for each QB? That's pretty interesting.

I just looked. Mind you the season is over and training has past but Henderson is a 99 and his backup is no longer in the game. I guess he graduated...??? Yeah this QB is amazing. I surely would have lost if he wasn't hurt.