NCAA Football 14 Demo is Available Now, Post Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[chi_hawks]

Played 2 games last night.

Game 1 - OSU @ MICH, varsity diff, default sliders.

Score - OSU (me) 30, Mich 15

Lots of scoring! I didn't play NCAA or Madden 13, so I was a bit rusty at first. Was down 7-0 real quick. Once I got the read option plays figured out, it was all over. The running felt really good. Lots of cool animations. Saw two fat lineman colide and trip over eachother. Had a pick six right towards the end too. Really enjoyable game.

Game 2 - VT (me) vs Bama, varsity diff, default sliders

Score - Bama 24, VT (me) 17

102 yd kickoff return for a TD right out of the gates gave me (vt) an early lead. Bama then shoved the ball down my throat and tied it up really quick. Funny ending to the first half. It was 10-7 Bama with about a minute left. I threw a 56 yd TD pass with about 50 secs left. They then scored with around 25 seconds left (two long throws). I then took the kickoff back to the 50, quick seam route to the 33 yd line. Field goal at the buzzer. 17-17 halftime score.
Second half I couldn't move the ball. But neither could Bama. I threw an awful pick six with like two mins left. Then they stopped me on 4th and like 16. Bama wins by 7.

Both games were very enjoyable. Very organic feeling. Two biggest negatives was AWFUL crowd (didn't cheer when home team scored) and boring commentary. Those are not critical though IMO. But its really pathetic that the crowd is still this awful. Didn't they boast the improvements to this last year or the year before? Cmon EA.

Game feels way better than 12'. 13' was awful from all reports so maybe the "year off" they took is paying dividends? Either way, game seems like the best on current gen.

[Matt10]

Quote: Originally Posted by Art01

Here's a thought for everyone who is concerned about the "4 verticals, safety glitch" issue: I play single game Coach Mode against the CPU in Heisman with 15 minute quarters. My Roster edits and Slider adjustments have been made to equalize play between two evenly-matched teams. Remember the old Momentum Meter from earlier game versions? Well, the meter may be gone, but momentum effects are certainly still present - especially in Heisman mode and even more noticeable when the CPU team runs no-huddle on almost every play throughout the game. Momentum continues to build to the point where the CPU team is dominant on both offense and defense. Reversing the momentum effect only happens when the User team either has long drives or scores. Long drives are almost impossible under high CPU momentum, so being able to score quickly is the only alternative available - and using deep routes such as 4 verticals is the way to score quickly. I view the overly-high momentum effect as a "software exploit"; thus I view using deep routes as a "counter exploit" to quickly re-balance the game. I have used this technique repeatedly to recover an otherwise un-enjoyable game. There's almost always "more than one way to skin a cat".

Art - I understand where you're coming from - and the concept is sound; but no matter what you do - it could not be fixed. I downloaded your roster and used your slider suggestions for NCAA 13 - I was very excited, but the DB glitch still occured.

It's also not just occuring on 4-verticals, it is on any streak play.

I'll wait for NCAA 14 officially to come out. But to anyone that thinks the glitch is so easily fixed - yes, it is. But it has to be done by the developers/programmers - the hardest part is getting them to notice. Noone with any pull "noticed" last year when it was September and I posted that thread - and now of course it has seemingly slipped through the cracks. Even if it is gone - noone addressed it officially; so that has me worried.

Again - I'm looking forward to NCAA 14, think the demo is great (from what little I have played and viewed). I'm just really hoping the glitch is gone - and guys on here support me and whoever else that are working on making it officially a concern - and not just dismissing it because you haven't seen it. I have the proof, I've posted it - and I'm surprised that no true gamechangers have done anything about it.

[RandyBass]

Quote: Originally Posted by PowerofRed25

Well the safety "glitch", if still in, could probably be fixed. CPU play calling, I highly doubt it can be fixed...

Theoretically anything can be fixed, but considering poor safety play was in last year's game and a well known issue it raises a huge red flag.

I know these are hopeful times, new demo and all, but let's not lose our wits.

[BoltThrower74]

Ok, why the blue hell can't you audible on defense when the offense is calling hurry-up? You could do it in prior games. Once the AI starts calling hurry-up (which I have zero problem with, to be clear), I can't call my defense until I get to the damn line! And by then, the AI hikes the ball! Not buying unless they fix this. In prior versions, you could call your defense AS you're coming to the line. For example, when I know I'm against a running-QB offense, I could hot-route a defense to spy. Nope, can't do that here, gotta wait until I line up before I can call my defense! Not buying, no thank you!

[jmatthe313]

I just ran the read option all 41 of my plays. 356 rushing yards. Things like this are what annoy me. After the 15th time, key on the run maybe? Or better yet, don't over power the read option that much?

Sent from my SCH-R830 using Tapatalk 2

[HozAndMoose]

Quote: Originally Posted by BoltThrower74

Ok, why the blue hell can't you audible on defense when the offense is calling hurry-up? You could do it in prior games. Once the AI starts calling hurry-up (which I have zero problem with, to be clear), I can't call my defense until I get to the damn line! And by then, the AI hikes the ball! Not buying unless they fix this. In prior versions, you could call your defense AS you're coming to the line. For example, when I know I'm against a running-QB offense, I could hot-route a defense to spy. Nope, can't do that here, gotta wait until I line up before I can call my defense! Not buying, no thank you!

K.......................

[jmik58]

Quote: Originally Posted by jmatthe313

I just ran the read option all 41 of my plays. 356 rushing yards. Things like this are what annoy me. After the 15th time, key on the run maybe? Or better yet, don't over power the read option that much? Sent from my SCH-R830 using Tapatalk 2

The game (like any) requires slider adjustments and difficulty setting changes to find the sweet spot. I've played the demo with a wide range of slider adjustments and I've seen what you just pointed out. However, I also found that proper slider changes also got the CPU to adapt and stack the edge against the read option very nicely.

[Clemsonpanther]

I played one and a half games on default AA, here are my thoughts. It's great but not perfect. For some reason defense kills my runs, you can thread off big ones, spin move doesn't work well, more to come.