IGN LiveStream of NCAA Football 12 - Video & Recap

Published on 05-10-2011 04:19 PM

325 Comments

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.

Continue on to 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.

Categories:
NCAA Football 12

Tags: ncaa football 12

325 Comments

psusnoop - 05-12-2011, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by rhombic21

Sliders don't even apply for user v user online dynasty games, so even if your argument about ranked games were valid (and it isn't), there's still no excuse for having the pass rush be so ineffective on the default settings.

People playing online games who only care about Ws will maximize to whatever the game allows. If the game forced them to play more realistically, then they'd play more realistically and have the same amount of fun. But the rest of us would have more fun too. And just because people play ranked games doesn't mean they want arcade football with ineffective pass defense. There are more people who play ranked games but still want a "sim" experience than you realize.

I'll agree with that.

But I also know that deep down there really isn't anything that will be perfect. If it isn't the zone coverage, it will be the pass rush, if not that it will move onto something else. Sometimes we just need to look for solutions to problems and continue to grow the game instead of being a negative nancy all the time.

Deuce said it well, sometimes you just have to enjoy what we have and if that doesn't do it then maybe the game and series just isn't cut out for you. Always complaining about things just isn't the answer.

JeffHCross - 05-12-2011, 09:21 PM
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Where you play exclusively Online, Online Dynasty, or Offline, I think we can all agree that the default settings should provide a good game that is neither over the top nor unsatisfying. Then you can tweak from there to match your personal preference.

I OU a Beatn - 05-12-2011, 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted by JeffHCross

Where you play exclusively Online, Online Dynasty, or Offline, I think we can all agree that the default settings should provide a good game that is neither over the top nor unsatisfying. Then you can tweak from there to match your personal preference.

Agree completely. NCAA '04 had that and that was pretty well the last game that did - online anyway.

JeffHCross - 05-12-2011, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by I OU a Beatn

Agree completely. NCAA '04 had that and that was pretty well the last game that did - online anyway.

Well, and that's a good example of how hard it is for even our "hardcore" community to agree. I know I loved NCAA 04, but I also know some people that passionately disagree with the idea that 04 was good.

Dr Death - 05-12-2011, 10:05 PM
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They still have the fat # 1's on I've posted this on OS and I don't understand how they can have the number font's wrong. is the same way. When you guys go back down there this month, can you ask them about this???

I OU a Beatn - 05-12-2011, 10:14 PM
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Originally Posted by JeffHCross

Well, and that's a good example of how hard it is for even our "hardcore" community to agree. I know I loved NCAA 04, but I also know some people that passionately disagree with the idea that 04 was good.

I don't see how. That game was as close to being perfectly balanced as any other they've released and there's not an even remotely close second. But yeah, I know you're one. There's always going to be someone who loves it and someone who hates it.

xMrHitStickx904 - 05-12-2011, 10:18 PM
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NCAA '04 was just a great game. Geared toward the offense slightly, but defensive struggles could happen as well. The crowd >>>>

I OU a Beatn - 05-13-2011, 12:05 AM
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Defensive struggles happened if you knew how to play defense. I vaguely remember rhombic shutting me out 14-0 in an online game in '04. I've never quite gotten over that game as it remains the only time I've ever been shut out.

But, that's why I think it was the most balanced. If you had a dominant set of offensive plays and knew the flaws with the defense, you could put up 50. However, if you knew how to play defense and was a good user tackler and good at manual coverage, you could completely shut people down. The difference being that there was genuine pressure in that game. If you dialed up a blitz at the right time, you'd get almost instant pressure and you could really cause a lot of confusion for your opponent.

Now, you blitz, your opponent sits in the pocket for 8 seconds, and then fires a dime to a wide open receiver who broke off his route.

rhombic21 - 05-13-2011, 12:43 AM
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The NCAA '04 talk is not accurate. First, zone coverage basically didn't work, and passing was really pretty easy. I pretty routinely completed over 80% of my passes, and had some games where I went something like 23 of 24. It was also possible to set up 4 and 5 play offenses that were virtually unstoppable. You could come out in the same formation and just audible at the line depending on what the defense came out in.

I also developed an option offense (from wishbone) that was essentially unstoppable.

Also, '04 was before you could do hot routes on defense and was before you could switch the direction of running plays. So they had a whole bunch of formations where you essentially couldn't run to the weakside because there were no running plays that went to that side.

'04 is remembered as a great game because it was the first time people could play online, and a lot of the basic mechanics of online play worked pretty well. But most people started out playing that game without much experience playing user v user. That was also before the days of youtube and video capture, so there wasn't anywhere near as much sophistication by people breaking down gamefilm to understand what was working and why. There was also a whole lot less Xs and Os coverage in mainstream media, so a lot of people didn't have much of a grasp about how football worked in real life.

If '04 came out today, it would be remembered the same way that NCAA '09 is -- "wide open gameplay, with absolutely no defense."

None of the PS2 games were any better balanced for offense and defense than NCAA 10-11 were.

I OU a Beatn - 05-13-2011, 12:56 AM
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I don't know. I distinctly remember starting fresh a few months before '05 came out and I was giving up less than 200 yards and under 14 points a game. Of course, I was running a bullshit defense, but nonetheless, it was definitely possible to stop people. I do remember zone defense being pretty bad, but when you had plays like a manually setup Dime Dog Gold, you don't even have to run zone defense.

I still stand by it as the most balanced between offense and defense. Every year since then has usually been completely one sided. I doubt we'll ever see a perfectly balanced game because EA obviously wants the game to appeal to casual players, and by incorporating that kind of balance, it would be alienating them which is something EA...unfortunately...is not going to do.

xMrHitStickx904 - 05-13-2011, 01:14 AM
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The most polished NCAA PS2 game IMO was 07. It's also my favorite of all NCAA games.

I OU a Beatn - 05-13-2011, 01:26 AM
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The PS2 games were so long ago that I think they mesh together in my mind. I know I played the living hell out of '04-'07 on PS2, but I couldn't tell you a single thing about them with any certainty.

I'm going to have to rent all these games again and play them to see if I still like them now. Chances are that I'll find the same issues that bug me now, just like rhombic said.

Jayrah - 05-13-2011, 03:06 AM
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Originally Posted by psusnoop

I'll agree with that.

But I also know that deep down there really isn't anything that will be perfect. If it isn't the zone coverage, it will be the pass rush, if not that it will move onto something else. Sometimes we just need to look for solutions to problems and continue to grow the game instead of being a negative nancy all the time.

Deuce said it well, sometimes you just have to enjoy what we have and if that doesn't do it then maybe the game and series just isn't cut out for you. Always complaining about things just isn't the answer.

Well that's exactly it. It's not real live football, so there will always be an issue with something or other. There's going to be some things that aren't perfect. If it's the pass rush, then it's the pass rush, if it's an animation, it's an animation, if it's special teams.... I understand the sentiment to want to play real football, with real players that think for themselves and interact in a completely realistic way, because we would all want that, but it's just not going to happen. I'm gonna pick it up and play it all year long though , I can tell you that! My suggestion: f the lack of a rush ruins your experience...plan on bumping up the sliders or don't buy it because it cannot leave you unsatisfied this way.

gschwendt - 05-13-2011, 08:39 AM
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About the gameplay videos at 1/4th speed... I tried to combined the two gameplay segments into one video and had it edited down to 15:59 which SHOULD be allowed by Youtube. Apparently though when they finished processing it, they decided it was over the time limit so the 1/4th speed version is not available. However if you want to see only the gameplay moments, here is the same video playing at normal speed.

oweb26 - 05-13-2011, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by rhombic21

The NCAA '04 talk is not accurate. First, zone coverage basically didn't work, and passing was really pretty easy. I pretty routinely completed over 80% of my passes, and had some games where I went something like 23 of 24. It was also possible to set up 4 and 5 play offenses that were virtually unstoppable. You could come out in the same formation and just audible at the line depending on what the defense came out in.

I also developed an option offense (from wishbone) that was essentially unstoppable.

Also, '04 was before you could do hot routes on defense and was before you could switch the direction of running plays. So they had a whole bunch of formations where you essentially couldn't run to the weakside because there were no running plays that went to that side.

'04 is remembered as a great game because it was the first time people could play online, and a lot of the basic mechanics of online play worked pretty well. But most people started out playing that game without much experience playing user v user. That was also before the days of youtube and video capture, so there wasn't anywhere near as much sophistication by people breaking down gamefilm to understand what was working and why. There was also a whole lot less Xs and Os coverage in mainstream media, so a lot of people didn't have much of a grasp about how football worked in real life.

If '04 came out today, it would be remembered the same way that NCAA '09 is -- "wide open gameplay, with absolutely no defense."

None of the PS2 games were any better balanced for offense and defense than NCAA 10-11 were.

I totally agree with this, I'm glad I am not the only one who see '04 in that same light. I agree the game really hasnt taken that many drastic strides, which is why I dumbfounded that people get so passonately upset about the game in the first place. I think if something keeps letting me down for almost 10 years I wouldnt be buying it anymore or even commenting on it anymore there really is no point but maybe I am too rational. With that I do feel sorry for you online only guys, I stopped playing online back in 06 so in my eyes you have been getting jaded for years now online really made my blood pressure rise too much which is why OD was such a god send. lol

PS. None of my comments where directed at rhombic he is actually one of the few people who post constructive criticism before he rants, not the other way around or leave the constructive part out all together.

Deuce - 05-13-2011, 10:10 AM
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I think why I'm still so fond of 04 was the way the CPU played. ..or maybe it was just a larger variation between good and bad players??? I am an offline player only and I always start off with a cupcake roster. I remember getting beaten badly during the first season in 04...I would go into games against a great team just hoping to keep it close. It took 3 to 4 years to get to the top. NCAA11 was the first iteration since then that I've struggled in my first season. I think I went 5-6 in my first season last year. 04 had its bugs and so does 11..and so will 12, 13, 14,15,...

Didn't 04 have the corner routes that were money and/or the HB direct? My memory sucks so I'm not sure.

rhombic21 - 05-13-2011, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by xMrHitStickx904

The most polished NCAA PS2 game IMO was 07. It's also my favorite of all NCAA games.

NCAA '07 on PS2 is definitely the version that I played the most. The year after that I switched to the 360 version of the game, and it hasn't been until NCAA '10 that those games were really even playable.

oweb26 - 05-13-2011, 10:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Deuce

Didn't 04 have the corner routes that were money and/or the HB direct? My memory sucks so I'm not sure.

I think it had the corner routes but I know 06 HB direct was absolutely golden. You had to come out in something crazy like a punt formation to stop it. Like you though my memory sucks and then they all have merged in my memory.

Jayrah - 05-13-2011, 12:18 PM
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Question for cd guys that I haven't seen asked anywhere yet:

Did any of you try the different speed settings yet? Ben says in the 3rd part video that there are 3 different settings for speed.

gschwendt - 05-13-2011, 12:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Jayrah

Question for cd guys that I haven't seen asked anywhere yet:

Did any of you try the different speed settings yet? Ben says in the 3rd part video that there are 3 different settings for speed.

I didn't, but at the same time, those speed settings are also available in NCAA11. That said, I thought the Normal setting played about how I like it.