NCAA Football 11 Demo Available Now! Share Your Impressions

One thing that's REALLY been a pleasure for me is how when you bullet the pass it's not a bullet. It's a normally thrown quick pass where it has some zip but isn't on a line. It has some arc. That shit drove me CRAZY in previous versions (not just '10).

Just won my first Heisman difficult game as Texas 10-7 on a last second field goal. Starting to get a bit worried about the viability of the defense in this game. On the one hand, spreading someone out forces them to basically play man, giving you easy crossing routes and such or play zone and making it HORRIBLY apparent to everyone that you are playing zone but, on the other hand, it seems like zone defense is crippled now. Defenders definitely do not seem as aggressive with following a receiver when they enter their zone area. That's going to be serious problems if it's not different in the final version of the game.

There are definitely some changes to the defensive playbooks. Mainly seems to be addition zone blitz setups.

REALLY REALLY liking how the offensively lineman will occasionally bite on a defensive player rushing up field and then dropping into coverage. Had a truly realistic looking sack from a play where the RE dropped back into coverage and the OT hesitated for just a second which allowed the blitzing LB to get around him and get the sack. Tried it again later and it didn't work so it's definitely not an every time thing.

Had another REALLY realistic looking sack happen on a blitz with the 3-2-6 Dime formation against a 4 or 5 WR set (can't remember which off the top of my head). It's the Cover 2 Man play where the O-line has the LE crash inside and the MLB blitzing behind him. RT followed the crashing DE as the RG double teamed the crashing DE, resulting in the MLB coming free. Need to test it more to make sure there isn't a nano blitz hiding there or something but I'm pretty sure what I did was spread out the line and then spread out the LBs.

Overall, I'm very happy with the line blocking but the CPU is retarded good at running the ball on Heisman. The HB makes CRAZY good reads and it's quite hard to stop them once they get going (or, at least, that's been my feeling about it).

My issue with the pressure is that it seems to be all or nothing. Either instant pressure or very little pressure. I have noticed that a lot of pressure seems to stem from getting a "jump the snap", which happens much more when you set the DL to aggressive.

Beatn, when you were talking about the playcall screen being slow. I think that was in switching formations while you're in the play list. If you go back one step to formation view, they'll switch between formations a lot quicker. Hopefully it's quick both ways for the retail version.

Hey JB.....did the players "look to the sideline" in the build you guys played when going no huddle? I've yet to see that in the demo.

It's not a big deal, but I do remember seeing that in some of the vids released by EA.

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Originally Posted by shadez

Hey JB.....did the players "look to the sideline" in the build you guys played when going no huddle? I've yet to see that in the demo.

It's not a big deal, but I do remember seeing that in some of the vids released by EA.

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The last build we last played at the end of April is what you're seeing now. When we were down for the NFL Draft we basically played the demo build to see if there was anything completely glaring or major before they would green light it for E3. So minus a few tweaks here and there, we're playing the same thing then as we are now. There will be some differences in the retail and the demo, and of course the first patch.

Just finished game two, this one was on the PS3 where the first one was on the 360. I lost 14-3 with Florida State against Florida. The deep ball wasn't there in this game like it was with Mizzou against Clemson. Only had one fumble in the game, and it was recovered by the offense. Game was overcast as well. So maybe the rain makes a difference in the frequency of fumbles to some degree (of course there are many other factors as well).

Jesus christ, reading the impressions of this game on the "other forum" is like walking into a warzone with a live grenade in your hand. It's immediately obvious who the EA haters are...

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Originally Posted by shadez

Hey JB.....did the players "look to the sideline" in the build you guys played when going no huddle? I've yet to see that in the demo.

It's not a big deal, but I do remember seeing that in some of the vids released by EA.

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Your players do that if running no-huddle (& aggressive tempo, I think) but you can't see it b/c the playcall screen is in the way.

[After a two hour download I got in SIX games... I couldn't turn it off. The game is fun though this is definitely the year of OFFENSE first! I purposely didn't read any posts today because I wanted to go into this completely fresh and overall I am very impressed. Yes, there are issues but I can live with most of them.

The good:

The Pistol (Ohio) wow! This will be my offense for 11
ESPN... good, not grerat or excellent but a HUGE upgrade from 10
The entrances... good, though I would love to see the visitors enter
The pregame/post game... add a lot to the game
Fan cut scenes add so much personality to the experience
Replays are AMAZING... I mean wow!!!
Passing game feels good and the deep ball plays well
Run game is fluid... though perhaps a little to easy to exploit???
The stadiums look amazing
Lighting and the sky settings are beautiful
rain drops on the camera... nice touch
Pro-combat unis... we can never have enough unis
Stadium PA announcer sounds great
The no huddle is awesome... I will use this a ton
Formation subs... although I would like to also see Madden's on the fly subs
fatigue actually works
refs on the field :)(but no chain gang...:()
etc. etc. etc.

The not-so good:

Any Qb's or RB's that don't go warp speed??? They are so much faster than everyone else
Crowd... awful like last year
FUMBLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enough already!!! Conservative doesn't do anything!!!
User pics.... 7 in six games for me (on AA)
No halftime show... just seems weird to have pre and post but nothing in the middle
Tons of offense... there may be a lot of high scoring games this year???

The unsure:

I am still trying to warm up to the new playcalling screen... I will need a few more games for sure...

Overall, EA/Tiburon has done one heck of a job! Day one purchase... as usual:o

Just finished all 4 games. I played on AA. I went 2-2 in this order: lost 17-14 as Miami, lost 10-7 as Texas, won 23-20 in OT (17-17 after regulation) as FSU and won 21-0 as Clemson.

Some thoughts:

- CPU ran the opening kick for 6 in my 1st game with OSU. It was cool because I kicked down the middle and the CPU couldn't return them all the way if I did that in '10. Unfortunately, the Miami fans celebrated by showing the "U".

- The deep ball is way to easy.

- I like the new PA announcer.

- Presentation and graphics are great (hopefully will be tweaked a bit).

- Didn't have a fumble problem except in the "rain game" (Mizzou-Clemson).

- Pass defense needs some serious tweaking.

- Pressure was good (particularly when blitzing which I felt was terrible in '10 when blitzing) but sometimes there was no pressure at all. I had one play where I was in Cover 3 Zone and the CPU must have had 10-12 seconds to throw.

- I couldn't run against OSU or OU, which is good.

- It's hard to judge the game (particularly the running game) with 2 minute quarters.

- I scored an embarrassingly easy 80-yd TD using the Circus play in Hail Mary to end the 1st half against Clemson. I threw to the crossing route then simply ran to the corner adding a little "Tecmo" running (zig-zag) and watched 2 defenders dive and miss.

- I saw next-gen Mario Running.

- I'm not a fan of the playcall interface.

- I love the no-huddle.

- The players seem to be gliding a bit and sometimes keep their feet too close together when cutting to change direction. I can't explain it but it looks weird.

- If sliders work, I believe I could tune this build to be very fun and realistic which is good since this is an old build.


Overall, I had fun and I still have very high hopes that the final build and any patches will make this the NCAA game I've waited for on this generation of consoles.

I just finished playing all 4 games a second time on AA. This time I went 4-0. I won 21-0 with OSU, 17-3 with OU, and 10-7 with both Florida and Mizzou.

I did see many more fumbles this time around. I also think the fans wearing orange jerseys (UT and Clemson) look like their jerseys are red. There is also a weird instance where the ball will warp back and forth between a players hands when he's running in the end zone after a score. Not that I use it really, but Ask Coach suggested a Slants play on 3rd and goal from the 5 with 1 second remaining in a 7-7 game instead of suggesting a FG.

All of these things can/should be fixed in the final build (except the jersey color thing). The one that concerns me is the pourous pass defense.

cdj, IIRC, at one time you said that there was something coming to help on defense. Is that something we know about yet?

Also, building on what I said in my above post about it looking weird the way players change directions, they seem to look like a top. They have a narrow base and change directions by leaning one way or another.

But, again, let me say that if sliders work and pass defense is tweaked - this will be a fantastic game.

I thought the pass rush was pretty good on AA. Played 5 games on that level and it's too easy after I'm shaking some rust off. I went 4-1 and beat OSU pretty easily with Miami. Pryor threw 3 picks in one game and had two fumbles in the other. Too many fumbles imo. I hope there is a fumble slider. I don't think we should have to go "conservative" or cover up the ball constantly. NCAA 08 had too many fumbles. I hope we hear more about the slider system soon.

Playing as a DL is a lot of fun. Less suction imo. I was able to get some nice sacks with the Miami DE and the Clemson DE.

Sideline awareness is a lot better.

PS3 ball rotates in replays!

Locomotion is nice but part of me wishes it was even more effective (heavier momentum).

Some people are saying the deep ball is too easy. Not sure about that but I did hit a few and if it's too easy I'm OK with that. I saw a WR beat a CB jam on one play and toasted him. Very nice.

Why did the cpu win the coin flip in OT and go on offense first? Wasn't this fixed already?

CPU QB still makes a few too many bad decisions on default AA imo.

Definitely saw a few instances of warping to the ball (WR sped up to catch) but only saw this a few times.

I like that auto strafe is back. I feel with the toned down passing speeds I'm a factor on defense. Madden 10 passing speeds were too slow imo - these feel just right.

I don't have a good feel for the running game yet and barely tried the option. Need some longer quarter games and more play time to get a good feel for it.

The worst thing about the demo is the play call screen limiting you to 3 plays and the slow cycling. This is worse on defense imo. You better know your playbooks. I wish they hadn't changed this.

Overall I liked it. I won't say I was blown away by it but this demo is infinitely better than the NCAA 10 demo. I'm going to have to try Heisman tonight since the cpu offense just isn't very good on AA right now.

Played my 3rd game lastnight Texas vs OU. All games have been played on Heisman. I don't mess with any of the gameplanning stuff or use run/pass commit. Don't like either.

Fumbled 2 more times, while the CPU had 1 fumble. (Brings the total in 3 games up 10 fumbles between the two of us. Every game I've played has been a defensive battle, although I can't seem to get much pressure on the QB as they just sit in the pocket and always find a target...though a good portion have been batted down.

The camera angle, play call screen and instant replay cam/angles is really making me dizzy. They focus in, out, then to another sequence very quickly and its hard to keep up with. And is it me or is the lighting seem a bit dark?

What really feels realistic is that on kickoffs the game does appear to move faster which IRL kickoffs are faster than a typical down because everyone on the kick team is sprinting down field.

The running game is pretty nice, actually had some real good runs. On the other hand the CPU's run game is unstoppable at times when they stick to it.

I'll play some more later

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Originally Posted by steelerfan

cdj, IIRC, at one time you said that there was something coming to help on defense. Is that something we know about yet?

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There's something that will help the game in general.

The ball warping between hands is something that we saw at the CE, but was fixed later on. I played the 360 and PS3 versions yesterday. The Texas jerseys in the crowd do look red on PS3 and there's some small graphical hiccups in terms of the shadowing, but I don't expect that to be a problem in final build.

In a game last night, I scored 73 and 76 yard TD runs off the HB Lead Draw on back-to-back offensive plays with OU. Dangerous stuff. That was on AA difficulty.

Yeah as you said....graphics and etc. are toned down for the demo. Was that way on Tiger 11 as well.

I've played 12 games so far.

First 4 out of the gate Heisman 1-3. (only W was Miami @ Ohio state 10-0, L FLA @ FSU, L Mizzou @ Clemson, L OU v. Texas). All of these games went down to the wire. There were two games that I "should" have one but for multiple fumbles. Perhaps, I'm doing something wrong, but I'm seeing a TON of fumbles (2-3 per game) for both myself and the CPU.

Next 4 AA (same teams as above) 4-0. Most were not really close with the exception of the FLA @ FSU game which I won 31-28. The game got silly in a hurry. I think there were 4 defensive TDs (3 by the CPU 1 by me).

4 This Morning Heisman (flipped the teams) 3-1. (only loss OU v. Texas by 3). more of the same close games as before. For me Heisman appears to definitely be the way to go when playing the CPU at least.

Some thoughts:

- The Deep pass is "back" - CPU attempts them in realistic situations. I am somewhat concerned that they may be too easy to complte for a HUM though. If I got time from the o-line or bought time by rolling out to avoid the rush, guys running deep routes would often get WIDE OPEN.

- Fumbles occur FAR TOO FREQUENTLY - this seems to be hit or miss. Some guys are seeing few/none. Others like me are seeing a ton.

- Scores/Scoring % Per Possession seems too high - I'm frequently getting 20+ PPG even on heisman difficulty. If I multiply that out to my normal 6 min qtrs that I like to use I'm putting up 60 PPG regularly. Concerned about the lack of defense.

- Pass rush - I'm not sure if I'm just "seeing things" or not but I seem to get virtually no pass rush if I do not also use the Pass Commit feature. It seems that when I select pass commit on say a 3rd and long my front 4 get a good/reasonable rush. If I blitz in the same situation my blitz gets there in a hurry. If I do not use the pass commit it seems like the CPU has all day to throw. I recall one play where the CPU sat in the pocket for what seemed like 7 seconds (literally) before a receiver finally found a hole in the zone and the CPU found him.

- Running - I love the new blocking. It just looks/feels more realistic. However, I don't feel it has made the run game any more powerful/easier than it was before. I love that the CPU can now wear you out pounding the rock. In the past I never worried about the run but now if I don't the CPU will run it right at me for 10 yard gains from time to time.

- Spin too effective? - I've noticed that if you get the ball in space and hit the spin button the defender NEVER makes the tackle. This has led to some HUGE runs/passes as I spin right past the would be tackler.

- Pass coverage too weak? - I have concerns that the coverage (especially zone) is far too conservative/weak. I haven't messed with the "strategy" settings at all yet so perhaps this can be fixed by setting them to aggressive.

- QBs still too accurate - While it is somewhat better than in the past (ive actually seen a few "wild" throws) QBs are still far too accurate which leads to only 4 possible results on 90% of pass attempts: (1) completion; (2) dropped pass; (3) DB deflected; (4) interception.

- Still getting used to the new playcalling format - going to take some time to get used to but I believe eventually it will be no big deal either way.

Overall: The game is playing much better than I can recall it playing so far on next-gen. The presentations/replays are really nice. Although there are some issues I believe that with the right sliders and hopefully a few tweaks by EA prior to release this game could be the best we have seen from the series since the 04-05 days.

EDIT: Another thought that just crossed my mind, does anyone else think the CPU defensively playcalling is overly agressive? It seems like in my games the CPU is blitzing roughly 2/3 of the plays. This of course is leading to a feast or famine for their defense.

There are some SERIOUS issues with pass coverage. Hook zones still seem to be messed up, though not in exactly the same way as before.

The deep zones are also problematic, both for safeties and cornerbacks. It appears that there's some kind of problem with these players constantly misjudging how fast the WR is moving, and not getting out of their backpedal and protecting deep until after the WR has already run past them, by which time it is too late to react, due to the locomotion.

A glitch that I just thought of.

Last night while playing as Florida against FSU, FSU called a playaction pass. Everything looked normal until the RB and receivers continued to go as they should, but the QB just kept running bent over straight back. Eventually, my defense caught up and just as he was hit he threw a duck which fell incomplete.

Is this the "moon walk" glitch you guys were talking about?

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Originally Posted by CLW

A glitch that I just thought of.

Last night while playing as Florida against FSU, FSU called a playaction pass. Everything looked normal until the RB and receivers continued to go as they should, but the QB just kept running bent over straight back. Eventually, my defense caught up and just as he was hit he threw a duck which fell incomplete.

Is this the "moon walk" glitch you guys were talking about?

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No, but I ran into that in Clemson's playbook right now. IIRC, it's I-Form Y-Trips, PA Boot Screen. The Moon Walk will warp your QB 40 yards downfield at the snap.

Now that I've had more time to mess around, I can safely say I'm not even buying this game unless they fix the pass coverage. Hook zones are completely wrong. Not only do they do sit in the wrong spot on the field, but it's often way too deep and they will make no attempt whatsoever of cutting in front of a receiver.

Then, as rhombic said, there's all kinds of problems whenever the DBs actually cover the wide outs. I've had 3 or 4 times where there was a wide open score because the DB either fell down or for some oblivious reason turned around and looked at the QB.

I also had an instance where the CPU had run a no huddle, and I called a cover 2. I controlled the safety on the left side of the field and covered the edge as I was supposed to. The CPU throws to the flat on the right side(remember with Cover 2, that side should be covered by a close CB with safety help) and there is NO ONE is the area. The RB catches the ball, turns around, and runs 30 yards untouched for the score. Whenever he scored, there still was not a defender on the screen. Where the hell my DB and safety went is completely beyond me.

Combine those issues with the severely underpowered pass rush and ability for blitzing players to get to the QB and you've got a recipe that is going to make it nearly impossible to stop offenses.

This is all on All American like online play uses, by the way.

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Originally Posted by IOUaBeatn

Now that I've had more time to mess around, I can safely say I'm not even buying this game unless they fix the pass coverage. Hook zones are completely wrong. Not only do they do sit in the wrong spot on the field, but it's often way too deep and they will make no attempt whatsoever of cutting in front of a receiver.

Then, as rhombic said, there's all kinds of problems whenever the DBs actually cover the wide outs. I've had 3 or 4 times where there was a wide open score because the DB either fell down or for some oblivious reason turned around and looked at the QB.

I also had an instance where the CPU had run a no huddle, and I called a cover 2. I controlled the safety on the left side of the field and covered the edge as I was supposed to. The CPU throws to the flat on the right side(remember with Cover 2, that side should be covered by a close CB with safety help) and there is NO ONE is the area. The RB catches the ball, turns around, and runs 30 yards untouched for the score. Whenever he scored, there still was not a defender on the screen. Where the hell my DB and safety went is completely beyond me.

Combine those issues with the severely underpowered pass rush and ability for blitzing players to get to the QB and you've got a recipe that is going to make it nearly impossible to stop offenses.

This is all on All American like online play uses, by the way.

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The Zone defenses are indeed suspect (at best). I've also noticed on run plays the LBs and secondary are seemingly too slow to react and keep dropping back into coverage even after the RB has crossed the line of scrimage.

I've successfully mixed in a zone here and there but its a rare feat (particularly on Heisman).

I'm fearful that if it isn't fixed in HUM v. HUM games you are going to be left to only playing man and either bringing the house or playing cover 2 man and just allow your opponent to drag you up and down the field to a slow death.

I haven't played enough to agree or disagree here but I must say, with all of the announcements released & after playing 3 games of the demo, I am VERY concerned that defense is going to be severly underpowered at best this year. It concerns me that when I play with Nebraska (one of the top 3 defenses in the country) I'm going to have to participate in a shootout. It bothers me that 120 WAYS TO WIN only applies to offensive principles.

Hopefully they have addressed some of these concerns in the final build or can do so in the first patch. Otherwise it could have a marginalizing effect on what is an otherwise impressive set of additions this year.

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Originally Posted by IOUaBeatn

Then, as rhombic said, there's all kinds of problems whenever the DBs actually cover the wide outs. I've had 3 or 4 times where there was a wide open score because the DB either fell down or for some oblivious reason turned around and looked at the QB.

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One of the builds we played at CD had this same error. It had some issue with where the DB was trying to switch between animations from back-peddling to turn & running. They fixed it in a later build but I suppose it somehow snuck back in there. I have confidence that they'll get it straightened out.

For the other issues, I haven't played the demo very much yet but I have to hope that they'll have most of them addressed.

One thing that hurts is that we don't have an instant replay so for instances like your 3rd paragraph, you can't go back and see what actually transpired. Hopefully the eventual blog that was mentioned addresses some of those concerns.

At the Community Event, some of the devs did say that the new additions (Locomotion, Real Assignment AI) helped make the offenses strong and worked well enough to make them very high-powered, but they did recognize that and stated they were working to make sure the defense wasn't helpless. At the CE, several of us (maybe all) did point out some slow reaction times by defenders. Hopefully when they post the info on improvements between the demo and retail version it will address some of these defensive issues. Personally, it also makes sense to have a high-powered demo to try and sway casual gamers into buying. However, with varying difficulty levels in the demo you'd hope the D would be sharper, but a lot of these issues will need to be addressed by Locomotion tuning.

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Originally Posted by cdj

At the Community Event, some of the devs did say that the new additions (Locomotion, Real Assignment AI) helped make the offenses strong and worked well enough to make them very high-powered, but they did recognize that and stated they were working to make sure the defense wasn't helpless. At the CE, several of us (maybe all) did point out some slow reaction times by defenders. Hopefully when they post the info on improvements between the demo and retail version it will address some of these defensive issues. Personally, it also makes sense to have a high-powered demo to try and sway casual gamers into buying. However, with varying difficulty levels in the demo you'd hope the D would be sharper, but a lot of these issues will need to be addressed by Locomotion tuning.

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I may be crazy, but I seem to recall in Madden a defensive reaction slider (or something to that effect) where the user could adjust how quickly the CPU responded to both the pass and run. Perhaps giving us the option to adjust more things to our own liking (we all have different wants/needs) could solve the issue(s).

I just really hope they fix the issues I mentioned. This game is genuinely fun so I'd have to have it ruined by something that I know can be tuned without all that much effort. Hopefully it's addressed in the final game, and if not, hopefully via a patch. If they do fix those things bringing balance between offense and defense, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this will be the best game they have released this generation...by far.

As it is now, those issues are really dampening things for me.

I hear ya CDJ but here's the issue with that, "make sure the defense isn't helpless". That represents a lack of acknowledgement of DOMINANT defenses.

The issue with defense isn't locomotion tuning IMO... Combined with improper zone location & reaction, it's a lack of focus on what makes great defenses so dominant. Press coverage throwing off timing, well timed blitzes catching the oline & QB off guard, stunts and twists on the dline confusing blocking schemes, etc.... It seems their approach to defense is to tune it to give it a chance against whatever adjustments they have made to the offense. That needs to change.

I realize this is only the demo, & i hope you're right & everything is fixed or at least better. But this is a major concern I have just based on comments of others, the feature list for this year, and a couple games with the demo personally. At this point, it's definitely not enough to say well, we've fixed that in the final build. They've said that in the past, & it hasn't been the case. They would serve themselves well to release videos of any changes since the demo went to cert.

To me, it just seems like the locomotion has exposed how faulty some of the existing defensive AI was. Defenders in the past could get away with essentially squatting on routes and jumping on the WR's first break, without any real threat of getting beat deep. Now that's not the case (and rightly so), but they haven't updated the defensive AI to reflect that. So it seems like defenders are often times still playing too aggressively as though they can get away with the things they did in the past. This is amplified by some of the issues with zone coverage, which result in defenders flat out covering the wrong areas and not reacting realistically to receivers that threaten their zones.

This extends beyond the simple issue with the hook/yellow zones over the middle (which simultaneously seem to result in too passive coverage against extremely short routes, and too aggressive/short coverage when receivers go deeper downfield towards the seam areas). For instance, in cover 2 zones, the CBs in the flat zones should sink back and get underneath deep routes down the sideline, particularly when there is no threat to the short flat area. Realistically, most teams employ a cover 2 scheme that resembles what you see if you put the CBs in purple zones instead of the light blue flat zones. But my point here is that just as they have offensive line blocking rules, they should also have defensive keys and defensive coverage rules. Defenders far too often find themselves standing around and covering nothing but grass, when in real life a player in that position would alter his coverage to adjust to the play. For example, if a LB is in a flat zone and covers a HB out to the flat, he doesn't just stop covering him completely when that HB turns up the field and goes down the sidelines, unless a second player enters the short zone. If there is nobody near his primary zone, then an LB in that situation will get depth and guard deeper down the sidelines.

Another MAJOR area that needs to be addressed defensively is with regards to pre-snap alignment. This is a serious problem, not only with man coverage where you end up in situations where defenders are lined up on the completely wrong side of the formation, resulting in wide open receivers, but also in terms of run defense and reaction to motion. Many of the defensive alignments that are widely used on the game would rarely be used in real life, particularly when the offense motions into an unbalanced formation. There desperately needs to be an easier to way to audible from the 2 deep safety alignment to a single high safety alignment.

My point here is that there are probably some things that can be addressed with AI tuning and tweaking, but there are other issues that require a major reboot of the way defense is programmed in this game.

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Originally Posted by Kwizzy

I hear ya CDJ but here's the issue with that, "make sure the defense isn't helpless". That represents a lack of acknowledgement of DOMINANT defenses.

The issue with defense isn't locomotion tuning IMO... Combined with improper zone location & reaction, it's a lack of focus on what makes great defenses so dominant. Press coverage throwing off timing, well timed blitzes catching the oline & QB off guard, stunts and twists on the dline confusing blocking schemes, etc.... It seems their approach to defense is to tune it to give it a chance against whatever adjustments they have made to the offense. That needs to change.

I realize this is only the demo, & i hope you're right & everything is fixed or at least better. But this is a major concern I have just based on comments of others, the feature list for this year, and a couple games with the demo personally. At this point, it's definitely not enough to say well, we've fixed that in the final build. They've said that in the past, & it hasn't been the case. They would serve themselves well to release videos of any changes since the demo went to cert.

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That line about defenses is my own line & paraphrasing so please don't attach that to the team. :p They want teams with great defenses to play that way. I agree on your other points. I hope they get very detailed when explaining the differences between demo and retail as well as when they announce any additional game features coming.

haha yeah cdj I knew those were your words not theirs, but you get what I mean right? :D

Rhombic I couldn't agree more, especially with your first paragraph. I think the limitations placed on players by adding actual physics to the game will begin to show some glaring errors in the AI of the game, especially on defense. What we are seeing in this demo is a reflection of the fact that defenses in real life need to react, as a unit, to what the offense is trying to do in order to overcome the physical limitations on a single player. So like you said, if there is no threat to the flats, the defender needs to react to that and help out elsewhere.

Also to one of your other points. Defensive alignment needs to be addressed ASAP. Lining up correctly and factoring in the strength of the offensive formation is crucial to any success a defense has. In this game, when I see a 3 WR set & call a Nickel, I shouldn't have to flip the play if that 3rd WR happens to line up on the right instead of the left. There are many alignment issues that need to be fixed, along with how players react to the offense before defenses will have more than a fighting chance.

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Originally Posted by cdj

There's something that will help the game in general.

The ball warping between hands is something that we saw at the CE, but was fixed later on. I played the 360 and PS3 versions yesterday. The Texas jerseys in the crowd do look red on PS3 and there's some small graphical hiccups in terms of the shadowing, but I don't expect that to be a problem in final build.

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Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Kwizzy

I haven't played enough to agree or disagree here but I must say, with all of the announcements released & after playing 3 games of the demo, I am VERY concerned that defense is going to be severly underpowered at best this year. It concerns me that when I play with Nebraska (one of the top 3 defenses in the country) I'm going to have to participate in a shootout. It bothers me that 120 WAYS TO WIN only applies to offensive principles.

Hopefully they have addressed some of these concerns in the final build or can do so in the first patch. Otherwise it could have a marginalizing effect on what is an otherwise impressive set of additions this year.

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I'm at work right now so I haven't played since last night but after the excitement of the demo died down I had to reflect on the experience. I am still excited about the game BUT the PASS DEFENSE has MAJOR issues to be worked on. Let's hope sliders will solve these. In the Miami/OU game Pyror (er... #2 for legal purposes) had well over 15 seconds on one play.... and I was in a 4-6 D!!!! Also, my secondary gets scorched. If you play around with the GAME PLANNING and the RUN Commit be prepared to be burned big-time on the pass D.

On another topic... I still beleive that SPEED KILLS in NCAA 11. Anyone with speed and acceleration are untouchable. I hope that is tuned in the retail version.

Come on clock... I need to get home for some more gaming!!!

Playing the Clemson Mizzou game and its raining. I just ran a 5 WR Package and the slot ran an out route. He actually slipped on his cut which I thought was realistic and it didn't happen often in '10 :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jaymo76

I'm at work right now so I haven't played since last night but after the excitement of the demo died down I had to reflect on the experience. I am still excited about the game BUT the PASS DEFENSE has MAJOR issues to be worked on. Let's hope sliders will solve these. In the Miami/OU game Pyror (er... #2 for legal purposes) had well over 15 seconds on one play.... and I was in a 4-6 D!!!! Also, my secondary gets scorched. If you play around with the GAME PLANNING and the RUN Commit be prepared to be burned big-time on the pass D.

On another topic... I still beleive that SPEED KILLS in NCAA 11. Anyone with speed and acceleration are untouchable. I hope that is tuned in the retail version.

Come on clock... I need to get home for some more gaming!!!

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But why? That's real life.

If the dude has 4.3 speed and the acceleration to hit that speed ridiculously fast, why shouldn't he be a burner that can get behind coverage and make teams pay for single coverage on him?

Hell, I just played a game where I nailed my TE on a fly route overtop of double coverage because they brought the safety up to the line of scrimmage letting him get behind both players. It happens.

Now, if it happens every time, that's when there's an issue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by morsdraconis

But why? That's real life.

If the dude has 4.3 speed and the acceleration to hit that speed ridiculously fast, why shouldn't he be a burner that can get behind coverage and make teams pay for single coverage on him?
Hell, I just played a game where I nailed my TE on a fly route overtop of double coverage because they brought the safety up to the line of scrimmage letting him get behind both players. It happens.

Now, if it happens every time, that's when there's an issue.

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I don't dissagree with you. However, my point is that for the demo every QB and RB seem unstoppable (PS3). It didn't matter if I was Ohio or Mizzou... a QB run could easily go for 20-30 yards time after time. Also, RB speed as compared to defensive pursuit just seems off... like 2-3 steps behind. I don't find this an issues of Wr's or anyone else, just your power positions of QB and RB.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by morsdraconis

But why? That's real life.

If the dude has 4.3 speed and the acceleration to hit that speed ridiculously fast, why shouldn't he be a burner that can get behind coverage and make teams pay for single coverage on him?

Hell, I just played a game where I nailed my TE on a fly route overtop of double coverage because they brought the safety up to the line of scrimmage letting him get behind both players. It happens.

Now, if it happens every time, that's when there's an issue.

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The problem, IMO, isn't that the offensive players are so explosive, it's that we haven't been given defensive improvements adequate enough to stop them on a consistent basis even if we decide to focus on them. At least in the demo.

i played the demo without reading any reviews here, at all, then played the demo some more AFTER reading some of the responses here...

from a "coaching" standpoint...

OFFENSE
* blocking obviously is great
* little glitchy on a few of the options (i expect this to be fixed in retail)
* passing game is more realistic as far as bullet vs lob and the accuracy that comes along with them
* good explosion from the RB's when you do hit speed burst once you find the hole

DEFENSE
* on PS3 i can get great pressure with 4-5 (havent had the problem some have had here)
* only time i see a problem with deep coverage is when my DB's face a vertical route inside and a corner route on the outside
* good flow to run plays to give good support, and i PURPOSELY scrambled my butt off with pryor and saw no problems with pursuit

there are tons of other things i saw, but i do think some DAI will need to be tuned pretty seriously so that FS's in that cover 3 situation will flow to help out so that CB's dont sit on someone having to pick from a 1 on 2 situation... im assuming some awareness tweaking could fix this problem easily...

i think the speed/acceleration is spot on, and does not/will not "rule" in NCAA 11, its all fluid, and for the FIRST TIME the game/field feels "crowded" during the play as it does in real life in college ball... that crowded feeling FINALLY comes from a great balance of GOOD BLOCKING mixed with GOOD penetration... the blitz now scrapes correctly when the blitzer recognizes run away from him...

man coverage (with time) still tends to give up the meshes and crosses a tad too easy, but the whole reason for those routes exist for these coverages anyways, so really no complaints... and they can be covered easily if you switch and cut in front of the route, but you better be sure otherwise its automatic 6 for CPU (and eventually user)... but the corner routes vs man are much better covered...

i did see the locomotion REALLY take over on defense when i TRIED to turbo blitz, which from what i can tell is completely out now... i tried, and tried, and tried, and tried, and tried to get a rocket catch off on a deep vertical, but being the demo, im not sure if its just removed altogether or animations out, or just left out or what... but i couldnt even come close to ANYTHING that looked like a rocket catch like you could still do from last year... on the deep ball you really have to have a step on someone, and with saying that the DB's do better vs the pump fake than in NCAA 10...

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...

the speed option from ACE BIG doesnt work like it did in NCAA 10, you can still read it, but the automatic 4-6 yards doesnt happen anymore... i do like how they actually account for the DE on load options, forcing you to read the first LB/OLB/SS thats forcing the alley... GREAT STUFF THERE!!! (big thumbs up from a coaching stand point) the pitch is a tad off on timing, as i find myself sometimes hitting it 2-3 sometimes 4 times before it will actually pitch the ball... aggravating... really sucks...

back to defensive coverage on zones though, i LOVE that the underneath guys dont "hug" to people crossing their zones like they do in NCAA 10, no LB has eyes in the back of his head... so i dont see why they would have eyes in the back of their head on the game... i never liked the whole running backwards and sideways while you sat still in the pocket to only sit right in front of someone on a deep curl that they never "saw" the whole play...

the one thing that sums everything up for me on the NCAA 11 demo is this... "PLAY CALLING"

those zones will be exploited if they are stretched correctly, man will be beat without a good blitz to accompany it... the run game will actually help you with setting up the PAP, so now we can actually open the game up from the offensive side... on the defensive side though, a needed tweak to the awareness will help out with some of this deep ball conversation... but if you are going to blitz, again, PLAY CALLING, YOU BETTER BRING NUMBERS... blitzing 6-7 on NCAA 11 demo with the FIXED blocking, is like sending 4-5 on NCAA 10 game...

i am EXTREMELY satisfied with the demo, as its only a demo, and i have absolutely no concerns, especially with the way they have responded so far in the builds to our feedback, and with the talk about certain things now, they will follow suit and tweak as we see needed to ensure the best game play experience...

"E"

What is the auto-speed burst used for? I’m guessing it just uses speed bursts for you atomically? I would think the same for auto pass? They will pass just pass the ball?

I'm going to try the auto-sprint tonight. I'd still like to know the sliders available this year.

Downloaded and played 4 games last night, went 2-2 on AA. First game lost with OU, just getting a handle on the new controls. Won with Miami, mostly passing. Lost with UF, gave the CPU 2 pick 6's. Actually came back and tied it, but it scored at the end. Blew out Mizzou with Clemson. Up 28-0 at one point. Used a lot of PA passes and got 2 int's. On this game, the CPU threw 2 hail mary type passes over jumping double coverage twice towards the end of the game (just to make it close I think). Not realistic.

Overall, game played smooth. The jury is out on the run game. On all 4 games, 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. Thumbs up though. The actual game usually plays much better. Counting down to the 13th.