Gotmadskillzson's Blog
Animations, Animations, Animations !!!!!
Animations are the back bone of any video game. When they are done correctly and run smoothly, they can make a game look awesome. However when they don't run smoothly or are simply off, they can make a game look weird. This is the problem with NCAA 14. The frame rate and animations don't run smoothly 100% of the time. Way too many hitches and stuttering on certain plays. Then at random times after a score, the frame rate just drops out and everybody on the field moves really slow. It is quite noticeable and highly annoying to the point it makes the game unplayable and you are forced to quit the game and start over. This has happened to me around 6 to 8 times now. Most of the time it has happened in the 1st quarter, sometimes it has happened in the beginning of the 3rd quarter.
Over all though, animations in NCAA 14 still look too stiff and too rigid at times. Especially when see the QB moving around in the pocket. Look like robots. Their body don't naturally bend or twist when they are moving around in the pocket. Instead it is just rigidness and most of the time you will see the QB move in a circle instead of spinning around like a real person would.
Physics + Canned Animations = Canfinity
Infinity Engine suppose to be EA's version of physics. Last year was the 1st time they put it in their football games. With NCAA 14 we have Infinity Engine 2.0, suppose to have been all new and improved. But is it really ? No it isn't.
Infinity Engine 2.0 seems to have blended canned animations with physics. There are times when you play NCAA 14, you see canned tackles play out that simply doesn't fit nor does it look natural or correct. There are times when a player is tripped up, instead of falling forward, he violently jerks back and fall flat out on his back as though he just got shot with a cannon ball to the chest.
That is canned animations. Nobody was in front of him to make him fall backwards violently like that, he got tripped from behind. Then you still have those times when the CPU QB is trying to avoid the rush, runs into his own offensive lineman and just falls down in a scripted manner looking like Mark Sanchez.
Then you have the most canned animation in the game, the dive from behind trip a player's feet animation. This is canned animation at it's finest. Reason I say that is the amount of distance a defender can cover when they dive. Don't matter if the defender is a 330 pound defensive lineman or a 180 pound defensive back, they both do it way to well. It is like they just go super man and fly into the back of your legs and both of their hands automatically clasp around your ankle.
What make it even worse is that I see defensive linemen do it from a STAND STILL. They aren't even running, but yet they can shed their block, turn around and dive 4 yards into the back of your legs to trip you up. Highly unrealistic to see.
Another problem with Infinity Engine 2.0 is that I see the same types of tackles way too often over and over and over again. If your game has physics, we shouldn't be seeing the same 4 tackles over and over again through out the entire game. EA needs to fix that. Need way more variety of tackle animations, especially on QB sacks. I see the grabbing their shoulder pads and just flinging the QB to the ground tackle animation happen way too often. Matter of fact I see the shoulder pad tackle animation play out way too much period all over the field.
I have seen it happen to running backs running at full speed as wel. Trying to tell me a running back running full speed towards a defender and a defender can simply grab his shoulder pads and sling him to the ground ? Highly unlikely. What is more likely is the defender will dislocate or maybe even break a couple of fingers trying to do that in real life. Seriously try it out in real life. Have somebody run full speed at you and you try to stop them by simply grabbing the top of their shoulders. You won't be able to stop them like that, their momentum would be too great.
Terrible AI Play Calling
One of the biggest gear grinder right here is the terrible play calling by the AI. The AI still isn't self aware or have any type of self preservation. Too often they will call dumb plays that will take themselves out of the game. Some examples:
1. Going for it on 4th down in the 1st quarter when the score is 0-0.
2. Going for it on 4th down when they are in FG range. Seriously, they skipping 30 yard FG attempts just to go for it on 4th down and 98% of the time they FAIL on 4th down.
3. Calling running plays letting the clock run in the 4th quarter when they are down by 14 points and it is less then 3 minutes left in the game.
4. Not calling time outs when they are losing the game late in the 4th quarter.
5. All out blitzing way too much that leave them exposed to the deep ball.
6. Passing the ball to the RB or FB in the flats on a 3rd and long.
7. QB sliding on a scramble on a 3rd and long, 5 yards short of the 1st down marker, even though there is no defender in front of him. IF they keep running, they could easily have gained an additional 15 yards or more.
Open up the AI to Users
I never understood why they have NCAA so locked down. You can change the AI in NBA 2k13 and FIFA 13. However with NCAA games you can not. That is one of the problems right there. With NBA 2K13 I can not only change the AI of individual players, but also the AI of the coaches and even change the team's playbook. With FIFA 13, you can change the AI of teams and players as well. Once you do that, NBA 2K13 and FIFA 13 plays excellent.
Just imagine how much better NCAA 14 would be if you were able to change the team's AI when it comes to play calling and what plays they call based off of down and distance. What you would get are teams that play more like their real life counter part and not 126 teams basically all playing the same way with their play calling.
Coach AI playbook should be on a tiered system like so:
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Special Teams
Special teams is still the weakest part of the game. CPU AI is just brain dead when it comes to this area. Every once in a while you might see a returner break towards the sideline on a punt return, but 99% of the time they are still brain dead and simply just blindly run directly into the wall of defenders.
Kick off returns are no better for the CPU AI. Punt blocks ? Still don't happen. They get close, but never do block your kick. Mainly because the defender dives towards your punter left foot all the damn time instead of diving directly across BOTH feet. If they did that, they would actually block the punt. But nope, they dive towards your left foot all the time, when in the game every punter kicks with his right foot.
What is even more baffling is that when you select punt return safe man, 2 and some times 3 of your defenders break free right up the middle of the CPU's offensive line getting close to the punter. This is the only formation this happens in. Regular returns and all out punt block, nobody ever breaks free up the middle. I just thought that was interesting.
Then you have matter of the CPU constantly kicking the ball out the back of the end zone on punts, instead of coffin kicking it or putting more air under the ball. Don't matter to the CPU, they kick it full blast all the time. Quite annoying.
Gotmadskillzson
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Once again, I'm NOT saying we shouldn't point out ways that the team could improve the game, but there comes a point when it just sounds like nitpicking. I've seen a lot of your articles and how much you post in the forum and I think I agreed with you on 95% of what you had to say about NCAA 13, but this is a new, fresh game and you of all people should know this. It's not perfect and never will be, but I would consider myself a very reasonable person and this game is much better. Now I'm willing to concede that it might be in part to how BAD 13' was, but nevertheless I've just had enough of these articles for the time being. It just reminds of when Lebron won his first title. SO much criticism before his first ring, and some deservedly so, but when it was all said and done and he won it, people the VERY next day talked about how he would "never be the greatest", or the fact that this would never happen again and how he got lucky. There has to be a point of appreciation in that process.
All I'm saying is that in due time many issues will pop up with 14' and in fact my game has crashed like 3 times and it's slightly worrying me, but now is not the time. This is the first weekend for most of OS to try the game out at home and have a good time and it's just like.... let them be...
/rant