NCAA Football 14 - A Deeper Look at Coach Skills

[GruffyMcGuiness]

Screenshots look great. Won't say anything about the coach skills until I've seen them in the game. Intriguing if nothing else

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[BenGerman]

As a huge Gator fan, I can't tell you how nice it is to see the colors pop out like in those screens. I don't think I'd ever be able to go back to '13 after seeing that.

I'm really digging all of this. I think that one of the things that NCAA Football was sorely missing was variation, and this is going to help out a lot. Hopefully, having the difficulty turned up on being able to accumulate points will really make it a grind.

There are a few things that worry me though. Hopefully, Offensive and Defensive Line ratings matter more than last year. They've slowly been moving that in the right direction, but even last year, the difference between a freshman 2* O-Lineman and Senior 5* O-Lineman was WAY too minimal. If this isn't the case, there's no reason I'd ever want to stick my points on recruiting. I'm also hoping that these skills play a large role for the CPU. It would really make the whole thing competitive.

[DirtyJerz32]

Quote: Originally Posted by BenGerman

As a huge Gator fan, I can't tell you how nice it is to see the colors pop out like in those screens. I don't think I'd ever be able to go back to '13 after seeing that.

Colors in 13 were ok, but I agree 14 pops like Madden 13 does.

[boxboy99]

I like it for the most part. I am worried about a couple of the skills. I'm not sure how much I like the 25% chance of someone knowing my play. I usually ran a very diverse game plan. I would be more okay with that if it was more likely to happen when it is a play that is called often. Wouldn't the coach guess wrong sometimes? It would be cool for 15 if they added more skills that counter or negate the other coaches skills. I do like the idea of skills to give coaches a different feel and the chance to create a team identity. I am already thinking about what skills will be selected by my Online Dynasty opponents. This should make for a fun cat and mouse match.

[jello1717]

Quote: Originally Posted by boxboy99

I am already thinking about what skills will be selected by my Online Dynasty opponents. This should make for a fun cat and mouse match.

I'd like this a whole lot more if we couldn't see what skills the other coaches have. I'd much rather have my skills hidden so they don't know in what I've invested.

[BleedGreen710]

I hate how theres a coach skill that lets you know what play the opponent ran and gives a 25% chance of knowing what play they will run next..

That's part of being a coach, recognizing an offense and their tendencies, and being a good play caller. It seems EA has essentially conceded to the fact of stick skills being more important then football IQ to be good at this game.

Instead of expecting you to recognize the offenses plays and tendencies the game tells you their play automatically.

I cant believe how no one has brought this up yet.. its disgraceful that they would have a skill like that in my opinion.

You used to be able to play Madden/NCAA and learn the game of football but now I fear its becoming more of an arcade style series where timing your jukes and pressing the right button is more important to winning then being able to read defenses and make smart calls. I fear a day when it will be impossible to 'out coach' your opponent.

[JerseySuave4]

Quote: Originally Posted by BleedGreen710

I hate how theres a coach skill that lets you know what play the opponent ran and gives a 25% chance of knowing what play they will run next.. That's part of being a coach, recognizing an offense and their tendencies, and being a good play caller. It seems EA has essentially conceded to the fact of stick skills being more important then football IQ to be good at this game. Instead of expecting you to recognize the offenses plays and tendencies the game tells you their play automatically. I cant believe how no one has brought this up yet.. its disgraceful that they would have a skill like that in my opinion. You used to be able to play Madden/NCAA and learn the game of football but now I fear its becoming more of an arcade style series where timing your jukes and pressing the right button is more important to winning then being able to read defenses and make smart calls. I fear a day when it will be impossible to 'out coach' your opponent.

Trust me, i was going to go on about this one in particular but i'm holding my tongue so I don't have to see people complain about me complaining (the irony). But yes, when I read the blog and saw this one it just confirmed all my feelings I had about this whole "coach skills" thing. Even other things like the one that prevents Icing the Kicker from having as much of an impact (did it really have much of an impact before?), that's something the player himself controls, not a coach. A coach can't make a kicker be composed, that's up to the kicker himself.

[Swamp Swagger]

So if someone in your Dynasty just runs up the scores against the CPU they get way more points than anybody else?