NCAA Football 11 Demo Available Now! Share Your Impressions

[xGRIDIRONxGURUx]

I felt as if I were controlling a guy on skates rather than running, especially on kickoffs. Couldn't cut at all. One extreme to another almost

i dont know too many players in real life NCAA/NFL that can sprint down on kickoff coverage and make sharp cuts... thats why youre taught from pee-wee league on up to stay in your lanes...

i see quite a few of these type of comments, and most of it is because were used to an ultra-responsive player who can turn on a dime, and leave you change... now that we are finally getting a realistic representation, such as... the inability to cut precisely while sprinting full speed, the inability for LB's to see out of the back of their head, the inability of DE's to man-handle the outside edge, things are different...

we have to be careful (while i know gamecock gave a thumbs up and im not really saying its him) but we have to be careful or else we will just end up hating a game that we have asked for... we all wanted more realistic, more life-like, more simulation... like i said in the write up... play-calling just became the biggest thing EVER in this game... especially on the defensive side of the ball...

"E"

[psusnoop]

Had a small glitch last night when I went into an OT game. Triple OT to be exact. Anyway, the little down and distance window in the lower right got stuck on the word 'turnover' during one of my possessions. Wouldn't change at all through the whole series. When possession changed to the CPU, it reset and worked properly again.

This has happened to me during a normal game and lasted the whole way through. Maybe a glitch thread should be created to list anything that we might see during the demo test runs.

[Gamecock999]

i dont know too many players in real life NCAA/NFL that can sprint down on kickoff coverage and make sharp cuts... thats why youre taught from pee-wee league on up to stay in your lanes...

i see quite a few of these type of comments, and most of it is because were used to an ultra-responsive player who can turn on a dime, and leave you change... now that we are finally getting a realistic representation, such as... the inability to cut precisely while sprinting full speed, the inability for LB's to see out of the back of their head, the inability of DE's to man-handle the outside edge, things are different...

we have to be careful (while i know gamecock gave a thumbs up and im not really saying its him) but we have to be careful or else we will just end up hating a game that we have asked for... we all wanted more realistic, more life-like, more simulation... like i said in the write up... play-calling just became the biggest thing EVER in this game... especially on the defensive side of the ball...

"E"

I understand what you are saying here, and I've read other posts prior to the release about getting use to the running game. It is a demo, and different, just that. In the final build, I'm sure it will play a little different. I personally will just have to get use to the new running game, just like everyone, and that's not a negative thing. I love the realism.. In the past 16 years, this is absolutely the best college football game produced. It has definitely come a long way just since 08 on next gen.

[I OU a Beatn]

It has the potential to be the best, but if it remains in it's current state, it's going to be one of the worst. The underwhelming pass rush combined with inability for blitzing defenders to bring pressure along with the absolutely putrid pass coverage are going to be severe issues if they aren't fixed in the final game.

[JeffHCross]

Eh, it's still above and beyond NCAA 07 and NCAA 09 on next-gen. Even the Offense-fest that was 09 was worse than this.

[SmoothPancakes]

well, pretty much any thoughts I had from playing my first game of the demo have already been stated here, multiple times even. But I do know one thing, I need to work on my game bad. Apparently just straight picking up and playing the game after hardly playing NCAA 10 at all since January isn't recommended.

Just played the Miami-Ohio State demo, and what a way to blow it. I was up 24-7 with 1:30 left in the 3rd quarter, and then proceed to give up 3 passing touchdowns. Miami onside kicked twice, the first time, my player picked it up, promptly fumbled it, Miami recovered and then ran it all the way for a touchdown to make it 24-21. And then my players decided not to pick up the ball at their feet on the second onside kick, Miami recovers, and promptly throws a 60 yard bomb on their first offensive play to take the lead 28-24 with 20 seconds left. After getting a pass off to my receiver running a corner route and getting him out of bounds around the 50 with 1 second left, I was able to throw up a hail mary, only to have it knocked down in the end zone.

I think I need to go take a shower. I feel dirty after the abuse I just took in that last 3:30 of the game.

[Kingpin32]

Did anyone else experience a tad bit of lag while they were playing the games?

[rhombic21]

BTW, the hook zone issue is basically a combination of the problems from '09 and last year. Part of it has to do with when the ball is on the hash marks. The players will still drop to incorrect locations unless a WR runs across their face. It's not as bad as it was last year, but it's clearly not fixed correctly. We'll see if it's in the final version. If so, then that's just hilarious. It would almost be better if they didn't do anything at all. Now it looks like they tried and are so clueless that they didn't realize that they hadn't fixed the problem.

Second, it appears that players in zone coverage in general are just not very aware of receivers in their area, and are not cognizant of the fact that they can no longer change direction on a dime. So you see routes developing and you as a human know that the defensive player needs to be entering "sprint as fast as you can to gain depth and play catch up" mode, but the CPU that is controlling the defender doesn't, which results in some big plays.

And as others have stated, the players on both sides appear to be completely ignorant of both first down and endzone markers. And defenders make no effort to get between the WRs and the ball, which is very reminiscent of the way zone coverage was on '09.

Also, the CPU seems to come with some really questionable playcalls. I just won a game because the CPU came with a cover 0 blitz (no deep safety help over the middle) when they were up by 3 and I had to go 80 yards in less than 20 seconds. Maybe it's fixed in the final build, but it doesn't look to me like the CPU has a very good logic for understanding game situations in calling defensive plays.

[rhombic21]

As for the pass rush, I have to agree with those who have noted that it seems like the pass rush is pretty reasonable when the defense pass commits, but that it is very lackluster when it doesn't. Given the revamped nature of the running game, which might make it difficult to pass commit as often as was the case in the past, this might be problematic, though it is difficult to tell for sure.

[I OU a Beatn]

So if you pass commit pre-play, the pass rush is better?

I haven't really used commit in the demo. If the defense still plays the run relatively well while pass committing and the defensive line generates more pressure, that would definitely help things out. I'll have to tinker around with it a bit. As of right now without pass committing, I'm getting pretty much zero pressure whatsoever which only makes the problems in the secondary that much worse.

[rhombic21]

Yeah, if you pass commit and set your DL to aggressive, you get some decent pressure. It also seems like the ends get a little bit of a better rush if you individually hot route them to blitz straight ahead and spread the line. Many of the default plays have the DEs rushing at an angle into the OL, whereas if you have them rush straight ahead they do something that more closely resembles a speed rush.

As for the problems in the secondary, they are really pretty massive. And in some ways worse than '09 because even in zone defense you can end up giving up huge plays on simple streak routes. At least on '09 you could sit back in zone and force them to dink and dunk. Now you can't seem to do anything to prevent your CBs from biting on double moves or simply falling down/getting turned around for no reason. It's like the AI has no concept of the overall defensive scheme, and doesn't understand that if that player gets beat deep, there's no help. Same thing goes for players in man coverage with no safety help over top. In real life, corners in that situation generally play off and make sure that they don't get beat deep (sacrificing quick passes underneath). That's why stuff like comebacks work in real life, but never really work on the game. On the game, corners pretty much always play a hyper-aggressive mode where they break down and squat as soon as the WR makes his first break, whereas in real life, corners don't do that because they know that it makes them vulnerable to giving up a big play deep. In the past, corners on NCAA and Madden could get away with this logic because they were able to turn and recover unrealistically fast. Now that they can't do that anymore, it's a problem.

Locomotion is a great idea, and it works great in many areas of the game, but without massive improvements to the defensive AI, in terms of players understanding how they fit into a larger scheme, it's going to be a giant problem. Defensive players need to know when they can be aggressive, because they have help over the top, and when they can't.

[beartide06]

Ok just played a game on the demo on heisman. I was Ohio State playing Miami and I was winning 28-7 with about 50 seconds left in the game. I jumped offsides and they snapped it, my guy picks it off, then gets hit and fumbles it and they pick it up and run it in for a TD. When they decide whether or not to accept the penalty or decline it... THEY ACCEPT IT and don't score instead of declining it and getting the TD!!!!

[Keontez]

the near to true life midline out of the pistol in the MIZZOU book is nifty, cant wait to use it with a real option/mobile QB though, as i cant tell if its the slower QB, the glitchy option delay thats in the demo, or if its just going to be a wasted play b/c it wont animate correctly, but i do like the idea in theory... along with a lot of the changes in the books, even on plays that were in last year, being able to run some of this stuff is just awesome with great blocking... even if im only gaining maybe 3 yards... still nice...

Did you mean Pistol out of FSU's playbook? I dont see it in the Mizzou playbook. I wanna try this play out.

[jaymo76]

It has the potential to be the best, but if it remains in it's current state, it's going to be one of the worst. The underwhelming pass rush combined with inability for blitzing defenders to bring pressure along with the absolutely putrid pass coverage are going to be severe issues if they aren't fixed in the final game.

I would not say it will be one of the worst as this game just has such an upside... BUT... the pass rush and man-to-man coverage are absolutely brutal. But hey, this was the case last year before the patch with NCAA and Madden. I am interested to hear the feedback from the Tiburon team at E3 about these issues and if they have been addressed in the final build or if it is a patch issue. Okay back to the demo... loving these Pistol formations this year!

[JBHuskers]

Curious to see Pasta's reaction to the demo after playing the final build at E3. See what differences he's noticing.

[jaymo76]

Curious to see Pasta's reaction to the demo after playing the final build at E3. See what differences he's noticing.

Just read it.... his concerns are what we have been saying.... no pass rush and minimal defense vs the pass...

[Rudy]

Played two games on Heisman. Beat Mizzou 24-14 and lost to OSU 14-0. Game is definitely more competitive on Heisman although it was hard to run and I didn't like the pass rush (cpu all over me, me struggling to get a rush). I think sliders will help.

I hope I don't have to use pass committ or the game planning to get a rush. Things may be tweaked for retail or an early patch could address some concerns. Sliders may fix things too.

[xGRIDIRONxGURUx]

here again... even pasta... and most here...

this game has correct blocking... aka... 4 man pass rush will sometimes get pressure, but you are going to have to dial up your play-calling to get the heat you want and expect from past versions of this game...

there is no real life game in which a 4 man rush absolutely rattles a QB, unless you have a carlos dunlap type player @ DE or insert other beastly athletic DE here, namely Suh... ive said it already... blitzing, is going to require numbers in NCAA 11... your calling plays is going to have to shape up way more than previous versions, because the normal crash the DL out wont get you a sack unless its a pure coverage sack in which the QB is holding the ball for 5 seconds... it just wont happen, just as in real life... the G's this year on the OL are too smart and dont just sit anymore...

they have made the game like real life... fluid, quick but not hyper-speed, and you MUST CONTROL perfect angles or you will whiff like an idiot and look like a nub when you dive right past a RB... and just like real life, offense is powerful... defenses today in the college game rely on mixing up looks and coverages, and its going to take some last second audibles from man-to-zone and zone-to-man to confuse your opponents, and as i have stated... blitzing 6 this year is what you would get with the unrealistic 4 man rush of yesteryear versions...

my advice for NCAA 11... know your playbook on defense... and you BETTER be able to read and recognize your opponent, whether OD or just Ranked online game, because there wont be any superman DE crash out sacks this year until some in OD start recruiting 90 ACC LB's and ATH's and placing them at DE's... then you may see some jumps on these OT's where the G cant scrape to double or seal up...

and i dont understand why if you WANT a PASS rush... why you dont want to PASS COMMIT... doesnt make sense to me and sounds a bit lazy... everyone is spoiled by former versions of this game where you can half-a__ it through everything and rely on generic stuff that was broke... now everyone is having to actually send numbers when you want to blitz, and nobody likes it...

this game plays true-to-life a lot more than everyone is giving credit... you have 11 men... its your job to place them correctly... otherwise you will get burnt up on the pass... now keep in mind i do think a bit of tweaking could be made to awareness to help out with flooding of zones on vertical routes... but other than that its really not bad at all... i love it...

everybody needs to take off the "old version goggles" and stop looking at it from "what youre used to doing"... we all asked for a new game that plays more realistic... we have it... and we are complaining...???

"E"

[rhombic21]

I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Even with a 4 man rush, the QB should rarely have more than 5 seconds to pass the ball. And some of these teams have pretty good defensive lines. The issue isn't just sacks and pressures. The issue is that a lot of times you get all or nothing. You either get instant pressure or the QB has 7+ seconds to sit in the pocket and scan the field.

I'm not complaining about coverage for the player that I'm controlling. I'm complaining about the CPU covering the areas that it's supposed to. Putting those 11 guys in position only matters if they carry out the assignments that I give them.

[CLW]

I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Even with a 4 man rush, the QB should rarely have more than 5 seconds to pass the ball. And some of these teams have pretty good defensive lines. The issue isn't just sacks and pressures. The issue is that a lot of times you get all or nothing. You either get instant pressure or the QB has 7+ seconds to sit in the pocket and scan the field.

I'm not complaining about coverage for the player that I'm controlling. I'm complaining about the CPU covering the areas that it's supposed to. Putting those 11 guys in position only matters if they carry out the assignments that I give them.

Completely agreed. I almost feel like going to youtube and showing videos of a 4 man rush getting after the quarterback within 3-4 seconds on a regular basis just to show what you me and everyone else is talking about.

I fooled around last night and committing to pass + d-line agressive settings do help you get a much more realistic pass rush. However, the flip side once again is I did not see ONE offsides call after I chose to go agressive with my d-line. Again, everyone is just going to automatically set their d-line to agressive to get the "jumped snap" with no possible negative ramifications for making that decision.

I also messed around with Mizzou last night. I played on Heisman and went no huddle staying in the shotgun quad sets and WOW there are at least 5 plays that literally cannot be stopped. Simply hike the ball make the correct read and it will either be a completion or a dropped pass. The CPU tried zone, man, blitz everything and they were TOAST every play. I ended up putting up 31 points in the game scoring on every possession.

The more I play this game the more I FEAR that there simply is going to be ZERO defense in this game (except for finding and manipulating AI glitches).