NCAA Football 14 Pre-Release Q&A: Gameplay

[gschwendt]

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions.

Happy to do it guys... I know I'd be wanting to ask a million questions myself.

[Oneback]

So is it safe to assume that in NCAA 14 much like NCAA 13 the sg spread running game will be vastly superior to any other style of offense, but only magnified even moreso. From what I've heard they've added more advanced options (still would like to see them run), improved run blocking, WR screens, etc (all improvements for the sg spread running game) without doing anything to give the defense a ice cubes chance in hell of stopping it.

[CLW]

So is it safe to assume that in NCAA 14 much like NCAA 13 the sg spread running game will be vastly superior to any other style of offense, but only magnified even moreso. From what I've heard they've added more advanced options (still would like to see them run), improved run blocking, WR screens, etc (all improvements for the sg spread running game) without doing anything to give the defense a ice cubes chance in hell of stopping it.

That's my concern as well. First one to 77 wins?

[SmoothPancakes]

That's my concern as well. First one to 77 wins?

How the hell are you guys scoring so much? Christ, my last three games in my Tulsa dynasty, I've won 12-7, lost 63-6, and lost 19-16 in double OT.

[steelerfan]

Thanks, Tommy.

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[Deuce]

I did think of another question. Any info you can provide on the enhanced AI?

[CLW]

How the hell are you guys scoring so much? Christ, my last three games in my Tulsa dynasty, I've won 12-7, lost 63-6, and lost 19-16 in double OT.

I'd show you but I just mailed back 13 to Amazon for credit. It's really not hard. I play 8 minute quarters to get the appropriate # of snaps and I run a spread like offense (custom playbook but is my base with quite a bit of Pistol formations as well).

For me if its a pass play I make a read of man/zone and immediately know who is going to be wide open and when they will be open. For runs I usually call read option or spread guys out but be in the Piston and run dives if the CPU is in a Dime look which = 9 yards minimum per attempt. In my dynasty I regularly have 50 points at the half and then I sub in my backups and they put up 20-35 more points.

[Rudy]

Thanks Tommy for answering those questions. Too bad to hear the LE sack "glitch" will still be there. I hate it when my stud RE gets 4 sacks a year while the oaf on the other side is getting double digits. I also hated how the pass rushing moves (in M13) were so simple and so flawed. A basic turbo and run around the defender worked best. I was hoping they would finally upgrade the DL moves and make it more fun. Give us more control over the DL. This is an area that sorely needs attention. It hasn't been touched in 10 years. Furthermore I would love a slider to adjust for just user controlled DL. That way I can make pass rushing more difficult for me but easier for my cpu teammates if necessary.

[baseballplyrmvp]

really disappointed to hear that there arent any improvements to line interactions and that there arent any new ratings. but thanks for answering questions tommy.

[SmoothPancakes]

really disappointed to hear that there arent any improvements to line interactions and that there arent any new ratings. but thanks for answering questions tommy.

Yeah, line interactions was one of the very first things I thought of when this thread was created. Really hoping they would work on it some this year. Ditto for new ratings and I also would have liked to see some new sliders. Disappointing to hear none of those changed.

But likewise, thanks Tommy for taking the time to answer our questions.

[Kwizzy]

Not gonna lie, pretty discouraging to hear about the lack of defensive additions. I am honestly to the point where I have given up hope about many of the basic elements of football being implemented anytime soon. Maybe next-gen? While I really hope that they do not have to start over from scratch on the next set of consoles, I hope that using where they are in this generation as a start point does not prevent them from seriously overhauling the core elements of football in this game. I will probably try to make a post soon in the wish list thread to keep this thread on topic but there are some things that cannot be faked and at some point they are going to have to address those areas if they truly want to move this game forward substantially. Obviously I will still play the game some to get my CFB fix before the season gets underway, but I have no doubt that these frustrating areas will keep me from playing the game too much after the season begins.

Thanks for the responses Tommy.

[Rudy]

Tommy, I thought EA said that they didn't work on OL/DL last year but were promising to work on it this year? Now that doesn't appear to be the case. Any chance this is another big letdown IF a big improvement is found in Madden 25/14 and not in NCAA 14? I wonder if Madden will get any new tech that leaves NCAA fans out in the cold like IE did last year.

It would be nice if NCAA was as smooth on the PS3 as Madden is. The graphics and frame rate are better for Madden than NCAA on the PS3 and I don't know why that is.

[gschwendt]

Serious question... where did they say they were promising to work on it this year?

We might have relayed our expectations for them to work on OL/DL interaction but I don't remember EA ever going on record as saying they would be. That said, at this point we don't know any specific future plans. My best guess is that a lot of the overhauls that want/need likely won't come until next gen.

[WolverineJay]

Yeah I think we all wanted OL/DL to be overhauled but I don't recall EA Tiburon ever saying publicly they would like they did with the infinity engine at E3.

[CLW]

They really keep mentioning how the hit stick has more power. I know you said you didn't notice any difference. Any chance this was an "improvement" that was added after the community event?

[jaymo76]

The blog said something about an energy metre on the player? Is that shown during the play or before the play?

[Rudy]

Serious question... where did they say they were promising to work on it this year?

We might have relayed our expectations for them to work on OL/DL interaction but I don't remember EA ever going on record as saying they would be. That said, at this point we don't know any specific future plans. My best guess is that a lot of the overhauls that want/need likely won't come until next gen.

Maybe they didn't. I just remember being under the impression that it was very high on their to-do list for the following year. I felt they implied it would be a major point of emphasis but that could just be me misinterpreting what they said. I'm not going to to research the old comments lol. I am getting old.

[cdj]

They really keep mentioning how the hit stick has more power. I know you said you didn't notice any difference. Any chance this was an "improvement" that was added after the community event?

I felt the animations for the Hit Stick seemed to convey a "big hit", something that hasn't been there the last few years.

The blog said something about an energy metre on the player? Is that shown during the play or before the play?

During the play it is on the outside of the player indicator. It is basically a bar meter along the bottom half of the circle and it will will drain as the player moves, performs actions, and especially if you use the Acceleration/Speed Burst button. You only see it for the player you are controlling.

[baseballplyrmvp]

Serious question... where did they say they were promising to work on it this year?

We might have relayed our expectations for them to work on OL/DL interaction but I don't remember EA ever going on record as saying they would be. That said, at this point we don't know any specific future plans. My best guess is that a lot of the overhauls that want/need likely won't come until next gen.

i just dont understand the logic of implementing this brand new physics engine into the game and then not having it affect where almost half of the players on the field are located on every play. great defensive lines dont always have someone come running into the backfield or have linemen who can shed blocks like superman, but they're able to consistantly collapse the pocket. i'm not asking for partial wins or new animations or anything like that. 1 on 1 and 2 on 1 interaction movement is the key thing i'm focussing in on. i want to see a 350 lb d-tackle be able to push and shove a smaller o-lineman around. i want to see o-linemen driving defensive players back. movement is what i'm asking for. line interactions are not a static shoving match.

[Jayrah]

Maybe they didn't. I just remember being under the impression that it was very high on their to-do list for the following year. I felt they implied it would be a major point of emphasis but that could just be me misinterpreting what they said. I'm not going to to research the old comments lol. I am getting old.

It was high on OUR to-do list with the tourney, IIRC.

i just dont understand the logic of implementing this brand new physics engine into the game and then not having it affect where almost half of the players on the field are located on every play. great defensive lines dont always have someone come running into the backfield or have linemen who can shed blocks like superman, but they're able to consistantly collapse the pocket. i'm not asking for partial wins or new animations or anything like that. 1 on 1 and 2 on 1 interaction movement is the key thing i'm focussing in on. i want to see a 350 lb d-tackle be able to push and shove a smaller o-lineman around. i want to see o-linemen driving defensive players back. movement is what i'm asking for. line interactions are not a static shoving match.

This.