I hate the way this game is perceived vs the actual reality of it all

[stoncold32]

What do I mean?

I mean the way this game(and Madden too) is perceived one way by the casual masses, but yet the ppl on forums like these and others know the real deal. Madden is the absolute king of this, and now it has began with NCAA as well.

The average sports fan will be flipping thru stations and see this game featured on shows like ESPN's "First Take" or "Sports Nation", and from that limited & controlled showing, they think, "wow, that game is amazing. They look so real nowadays...oh, they have all the real entrances and they have Erin Andrews, etc." Then you hear the ESPN on-air personalities gushing over it, even though they know NOTHING more about the game than what's on their teleprompter.

Then you throw in a "Making of NCAA '12" documentary showing every week, and it's a wrap. It's a marketing win for EA, which would be great IF this game was consistently on the level of The Show franchise, a Call of Duty series, GTA/RDR, etc.

Thus the casual perception is that these games are the greatest thing since butter on bread, and if those people are parents, they blindly go out & buy the game for their kids.

Little do they know that seemingly half the stuff that is supposed to work properly, does not. Some of it doesn't work at all, and in the next gen lifestyle, we are now forced to wait months with a handicapped game b/c EA has the luxury of patching things that used to be a non-issue. In time, this too might be ok by me as a gamer, again, IF those patches fixed more things than they broke.....but as with every patched NCAA thus far, by the end of the patch releases, we've pretty much been left chasing our tail

I couldn't believe my eyes/ears when I was came across that "Making of..." show last weekend and half of it was about the "bug testing phase". I'm not discounting these guys work, but c'mon, a game that get's out with this many GLARING issues. That's not something that should be bragged about. A few bugs/issues that require some deep delving is one thing, but the ones in this game are huge.

[der juicen]

Quote: Originally Posted by stoncold32

What do I mean? I mean the way this game(and Madden too) is perceived one way by the casual masses, but yet the ppl on forums like these and others know the real deal. Madden is the absolute king of this, and now it has began with NCAA as well. The average sports fan will be flipping thru stations and see this game featured on shows like ESPN's "First Take" or "Sports Nation", and from that limited & controlled showing, they think, "wow, that game is amazing. They look so real nowadays...oh, they have all the real entrances and they have Erin Andrews, etc." Then you hear the ESPN on-air personalities gushing over it, even though they know NOTHING more about the game than what's on their teleprompter. Then you throw in a "Making of NCAA '12" documentary showing every week, and it's a wrap. It's a marketing win for EA, which would be great IF this game was consistently on the level of The Show franchise, a Call of Duty series, GTA/RDR, etc. Thus the casual perception is that these games are the greatest thing since butter on bread, and if those people are parents, they blindly go out & buy the game for their kids. Little do they know that seemingly half the stuff that is supposed to work properly, does not. Some of it doesn't work at all, and in the next gen lifestyle, we are now forced to wait months with a handicapped game b/c EA has the luxury of patching things that used to be a non-issue. In time, this too might be ok by me as a gamer, again, IF those patches fixed more things than they broke.....but as with every patched NCAA thus far, by the end of the patch releases, we've pretty much been left chasing our tail I couldn't believe my eyes/ears when I was came across that "Making of..." show last weekend and half of it was about the "bug testing phase". I'm not discounting these guys work, but c'mon, a game that get's out with this many GLARING issues. That's not something that should be bragged about. A few bugs/issues that require some deep delving is one thing, but the ones in this game are huge.

Oh darn, I must be a casual fan. One of the plebeians. Don't be so sure footed in labeling casual gamers as empty headed money pockets. Crazy enough, casual gamers can be helpful, and they aren't all doe eyed at "how real this game looketh".

You seem to outright believe the developers had no thoughtmin trying to fix these GLARING issues. Have a thought though. You're a developer, with a time limit. Say 8 months. You take the base of the game, from 11. Now you have many changes to implement, into somewhat of a working order without disrupting older implementations, and on top, working on what will soon be a legacy system. I'm no developer, but the blame can't solely be placed on them. Bugs will happen. Does anyone even remember how buggy Fallout: New Vegas was when released.

There is a patch coming out that fix some issues, might make new issues, and might be rushed due to the bloody out cry from this forum and no doubt many others.

In closing, the game is not a broken mess, nor is it a batch of freshly picked roses. I've never played a game from any company that was perfect. More often than not, they were somewhat problematic.

I'm not an EA apologist, just a developer supporter. People seem to get these two confused.

[mva5580]

Quote: Originally Posted by stoncold32

What do I mean? I mean the way this game(and Madden too) is perceived one way by the casual masses, but yet the ppl on forums like these and others know the real deal. Madden is the absolute king of this, and now it has began with NCAA as well. The average sports fan will be flipping thru stations and see this game featured on shows like ESPN's "First Take" or "Sports Nation", and from that limited & controlled showing, they think, "wow, that game is amazing. They look so real nowadays...oh, they have all the real entrances and they have Erin Andrews, etc." Then you hear the ESPN on-air personalities gushing over it, even though they know NOTHING more about the game than what's on their teleprompter. Then you throw in a "Making of NCAA '12" documentary showing every week, and it's a wrap. It's a marketing win for EA, which would be great IF this game was consistently on the level of The Show franchise, a Call of Duty series, GTA/RDR, etc. Thus the casual perception is that these games are the greatest thing since butter on bread, and if those people are parents, they blindly go out & buy the game for their kids. Little do they know that seemingly half the stuff that is supposed to work properly, does not. Some of it doesn't work at all, and in the next gen lifestyle, we are now forced to wait months with a handicapped game b/c EA has the luxury of patching things that used to be a non-issue. In time, this too might be ok by me as a gamer, again, IF those patches fixed more things than they broke.....but as with every patched NCAA thus far, by the end of the patch releases, we've pretty much been left chasing our tail I couldn't believe my eyes/ears when I was came across that "Making of..." show last weekend and half of it was about the "bug testing phase". I'm not discounting these guys work, but c'mon, a game that get's out with this many GLARING issues. That's not something that should be bragged about. A few bugs/issues that require some deep delving is one thing, but the ones in this game are huge.

What people like you refuse to acknowledge is that you are, and will always be, the minority.

Yes, the game has problems. Always will. But the people who obsess over those problems are a very low number compared to the people who never notice them.

[DorneyDave86]

Without going on this site, which I have become addicted to unfortunately, I wouldn't realize that 3/4 of the problems people complain about in Madden and NCAA even existed.

Simpler times, I miss them.

[joehoo]

Quote: Originally Posted by mva5580

What people like you refuse to acknowledge is that you are, and will always be, the minority. Yes, the game has problems. Always will. But the people who obsess over those problems are a very low number compared to the people who never notice them.

Good point. I dislike the game more after coming to this forum.

[Josh Knight]

Quote: Originally Posted by joehoo

Good point. I dislike the game more after coming to this forum.

Also agreed. I wouldn't even know about 75% of these bugs if i didn't come on here. It's depressing.

[Armor and Sword]

That is why I post my impressions...and usually move on from those threads.

I am too busy playing and enjoying the heck out of my games.

[stoncold32]

Quote: Originally Posted by der juicen

Oh darn, I must be a casual fan. One of the plebeians. Don't be so sure footed in labeling casual gamers as empty headed money pockets. Crazy enough, casual gamers can be helpful, and they aren't all doe eyed at "how real this game looketh". You seem to outright believe the developers had no thoughtmin trying to fix these GLARING issues. Have a thought though. You're a developer, with a time limit. Say 8 months. You take the base of the game, from 11. Now you have many changes to implement, into somewhat of a working order without disrupting older implementations, and on top, working on what will soon be a legacy system. I'm no developer, but the blame can't solely be placed on them. Bugs will happen. Does anyone even remember how buggy Fallout: New Vegas was when released. There is a patch coming out that fix some issues, might make new issues, and might be rushed due to the bloody out cry from this forum and no doubt many others. In closing, the game is not a broken mess, nor is it a batch of freshly picked roses. I've never played a game from any company that was perfect. More often than not, they were somewhat problematic. I'm not an EA apologist, just a developer supporter. People seem to get these two confused.

I respect your opinion, I never referred to casual fans in the "empty headed" manner you are suggesting. In some way, we all are casual fans of something. But the "development cycle" excuse is growing a bit stale to me. This game for better or worse is pretty much built on the back of the engine used since NCAA 2002 on PS2.

You're not re-inventing the wheel year after year wtih this game. Some things SHOULD improve, and build on previous games as opposed to taking a step back for no explicable reason. Things like commentary certainly dont seem to change, nor do the super vertical LB's. So why must the things that worked properly in '11 now be messed up? Why is something that is a given for years, like the pumpfake, no longer working properly?

And the patch is not being "rushed". Are you telling me that when this game was 100% done, presumably in late May or early June, that EA had no clue of these bugs like the freezing, and the countless other things mentioned in that huge bug thread? They had to wait until we had the game to find out what they could know within 10 mins of firing up the game in their own console? They could have/should have started on a patch right then. Who the heck doesnt notice alot of this stuff as soon as they take the field? The psychic DB's, the constant no-huddle freezing, etc.

You're right, no game is perfect, but to me, at least others like NBA 2K, The Show etc. seem to build year after year.

That's all I ask(ed). Give me NCAA '11 with better gameplay and whatever other bells or whistle you want to add. It's not wrong for me to EXPECT everything that worked last year to work this year.

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh Knight

Also agreed. I wouldn't even know about 75% of these bugs if i didn't come on here. It's depressing.

I'll be honest, I DON'T look at the bug/glitch thread on here, nor do I even look for glitches on the main page, BUT when I'm in the middle of a game and something weird starts to happen, I want to know if I'm the only one having the issue. Is it my game, do I have a bad copy, is my system acting up?

Thus I come here and either make a thread asking if others are having the same issue, or I do a search. You can't simply avoid everything.