On Wednesday, IGN hosted a LiveStream event with the NCAA Football 12 developer Ben Haumiller. The LiveStream event provided the community with their first in-depth look at gameplay and presentation improvements. Also stated were that Dynasty and Road to Glory improvements will be made at a future date.
Watch the show here at The Gaming Tailgate and then share your thoughts with the community.
Update: Thanks to xMrHitStickx904 for capturing the footage of today's streaming event to give us a sample of the full thing. IGN has now updated their Youtube page to include the live stream in three parts.
Part 1
- IGN Editors Peter Eykemans and Greg Miller are joined by Producer Ben Haumiller
- First game features Florida State to show off new team entrance (Renegade & Osceola) and gamplay improvements
- New opening featuring ESPN wipes, rival team entering field, and players warming up are shown
- Some of the approximately 30 new team traditions (entrance, touch tradition, etc.) include Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Wake Forest.
- New in-game sponsors include Nike SPARQ, Lowe's, and from last year Coke Zero.
- The first game played featured Florida (CPU) at Florida State (Haumiller). The new field art changes for Florida State are visible as well as the updated playcall screen (three button playcall selection). Florida (CPU) won the coin toss and elected to Kick. (Typically, CPU teams almost always elect to Receive.)
- What is the most difficult part of maintaining a yearly franchise? 'Making it fresh, making it new, making it something that you feel you need to go out and buy the new version of it...'
- What goes behind the research to figure out what these teams are doing? People know the obvious ones such as USC's Tommy Trojan, but there are some we work with schools - such as Tennessee's "T" touch sign. Most UT fans do not know it exists. 'Message boards and forums are a great resource. They'll tell you what you did right and they'll tell you what you did wrong, too.'
- Miller asks if Missouri commentary bug (mispronunciation of 'Faurot' Field) has been fixed. Neither confirmed nor denied by Haumiller - likely something not in his area of development focus.
- Miller then highlights the 3D grass, very visible during replays. Haumiller: The art team mantra was to "touch every pixel." Grass and turf pellets can be kicked up, also added are new gear, dreadlocks, and 3D crowds.
- Eykemans: "What other engine and graphical elements were pumped up this year?" Lighting-wise, the new addition is HDR Lighting.
- What new improvements have been made to Road to Glory, Dynasty Mode, and online modes? 'Those are things we have not announced yet, so look for Dynasty [info] later this month, Road to Glory around E3, and along that same timeframe will be our online announcements there as well.'
- Haumiller shows off the new X-button (Square on PS3) feature to allow users to initiate a wrap tackle.
- On PAT attempt, we now see that the sponsor on the field goal nets is Allstate Insurance.
- Haumiller then discusses the Enhanced Tackling & Collision System, where the tackle does not occur until the point of impact to help eliminate 'suction.'
Part 2
- How does a players Awareness [rating] factor into zone coverage? 'Awareness does have a factor into it, but it's really more about Zone Coverage rating, that's the big key. We added a lot of different ratings over the last couple years to break it down so Awareness isn't the one rating that held the keys to all the different parts of the game. You have that Zone Coverage rating which will factor in a lot to how that zone coverage is played which is a big upgrade for us this year. We did a lot of work to zone coverage to really improve how that's run in the game.'
- What other improvements were made defensively, aside from the zone coverages? Zone coverage defense, tackle animations, tackle changes and collision system were the big ones. Also some updates to man coverage (defenders more realistic), new plays (4-2-5 specifically with huge upgrade).
- Any range or date on when the demo may be out? Demo is in process of going through certification. Just received word from Microsoft.
- New quarter break shown. Will feature highlights of game as well as vignettes of players, coaches, etc.
- How are entrances different an neutral sites versus home games? Neutral site entrances will be more generic (no Ralphie for CU-CSU), update to bowl presentation (US Flag on field for BCS Games).
- Next game: Oklahoma State (Haumiller) at Missouri (Miller). Picked to show off conference wipes.
- Does CPU QB actually scramble this time and can you block kicks? QB will scramble more in appropriate situations this year. Blocked kicks are tough as you don't want to
- Haumiller and Miller discuss commentator Brad Nessler and his ability to deliver lines consistently. Haumiller announced that this year's intro video will be more ambitious than last years.
- How often do you update rosters before game is released? Yearly update. Updated for team style, not individuals. Full-time gig for roster creator.
- What is the potential of the game given the NFL (lock-out) situation? With the NFL and their situation, you're seeing more of a push for college football in the real world. College football will be on the forefront and we want to be on the front lines with them.
- Any chance of NCAA Football in Europe? Maybe down the line....we get more demand for that each year than you would expect.
Part 3
- Haumiller also discusses using the X button (Square) to perform a user-controlled Dive catch attempt.
- Will there be multiple deadlock length and player faces? There is the one dreadlock length, we will get to more in the future.
- Have pass trajectories receoved any changes? With other game changes, we did have to change pass trajectory. You will be able to lead receivers more.
- Is the gameplay faster? It is the same speed as last year, but users have the option to customize game speed.
- Is weather constant throughout the game or will it change? TWC feed still exists, but during the course of the game there is not dynamic weather.
- Viewer recommend Mills not drop back so far when passing the ball. Miller counters with his admiration of Brad Smith
- Any new playable camera angles? They have some news in this regard and it will be announced later on.
- Any specific crowd color games? (EX: White Out at Penn State, Gold Rush at Mizzou) Not in this year, but look for it in the future.
- Any changes to playbooks? A lot of research goes into each playbook, based upon coaches and coaching changes made at each school.
- How does the pass rush feel? In the past it seemed lacking. Miller said it was not as much as he would like. Haumiller commented that with the new Collision system, offensive linemen will no longer 'slide' to get into place, which should allow for users to generate more of a pass rush.
- Any new ratings or sliders this year? None added this year.
- Are roster sizes the same this year? With 120 school and 70 players, there are current limitations with roster size and file. They are looking into it for the future.
- Miller commented that he is excited and looking forward to the point where he can talk about currently undisclosed features.
For another recap of the event, check out this article from our friends at MaddenMatrix.
Keep visiting The Gaming Tailgate for all the latest NCAA Football 12 news and visit our NCAA Football 12 Information Central for all game info and media.
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Originally Posted by CLW
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