NCAA Football 12 News Post

The "Commandments" of NCAA Football 12

10:28 PM - January 22, 2011 by AuburnAlumni

I've played more NCAA Football 11 than I think I've played of any other NCAA ever. The series has taken a giant leap forward since its rather disappointing introduction to "Next Gen" with NCAA 08. NCAA 11 in my opinion is the best of the series.

That being said....I think I've put together the ultimate "commandments" that most folks would agree would send NCAA Football 12 into the stratosphere of greatness. I haven't gotten it to 10 yet..but feel free to add to this.

1. "Thou shalt not giveth every 5 star RB 91 speed with 71 agility and 73 acceleration". I dig the whole acceleration addition this year...I do. But some of the ratings are a bit off. For example, I've seen probably 80% of the top backs in each recruiting class end up with very mediocre speed/agility/acc combos. If I land the #1 RB in the nation...that kid should be the total package. To piggy back onto this..the #1 Fullback in the land should not be 5'10" and 189 pounds. A 5 star Defensive End should not be coming into school weighing 207 pounds. While the acceleration emphasis was, in my opinion, a smart and much needed addition...more tweaking is necessary.

2. "Thou shalt not make Strong Safeties slower than most O linemen". We've all seen it. Strong Safeties..in a word...stink in NCAA 11. Most folks end up moving them to OLB because no one is going to start a Safety in the secondary with 84 speed and 72 acceleration unless they want to get toasted by the opposing Receiving corps. This is amplified when I see MLBs and OLBs with 87 speed and 99 acceleration.

3. "Thou shalt not have Ohio State be the end all be all in recruiting." Seriously...did a Buckeye program this recruiting logic? Literally, every top player in America has Ohio State in their top 5. All of them. Oklahoma and Alabama suffer from this favoritism as well, but man it feels like Ohio State is the god of recruiting in this game.

4. "Thou shalt have Coach Prestige and Stability adjust." These never change. I've won 4 straight Big 12 titles at Nebraska and my Coaching Stability is still a B.

5. "Thou shalt make CPU Read Option squads competent". It is still far too easy to destroy the Georgia Techs, Navys, and West Virginias of the Digital College Football world because of the lack of ability for CPU teams to run an effective Read option attack.

6. "Thou shalt speed up the QB/FB option handoff animation so that it shall be a viable option". The Triple option is fairly useless in that the animation of the QB faking and or handing off to the Fullback is waaaayyy toooooo slooooooow. This allows your opponent to effectively kill either your FB in the backfield or destroy your QB before he's able to turn the corner. Speeding this animation up would help this greatly.

7. "Thou shalt remember the rules of the game". Where o' where is my long lost Pass Interference Penalty? Much like Haley's Comet or Bigfoot, it is rarely seen in the NCAA world. If you are lucky enough to see this rare feat in a game, tell your fellow gamers. But don't expect them to believe you. By that same token, clipping and holding seem to skyrocket with just a click or two of the slider settings. As Mr. Miyagi always said...must have balance. In addition, the ability to have multiple and/or offsetting penalties during a play would be great. It's quite frustrating to see my team get called for holding on the same play that the opposing middle linebacker rips the facemask off of my tailback and it doesn't get flagged.

8. "Thou shalt make special teams a bit more special". As with Pass Interference, it seems there are no more blocked punts or blocked field goals in the digital college football realm. In a combined 17 seasons of online and offline dynasties....I have seen a total of one blocked punt and zero blocked field goals. While we shouldn't have the superhuman field goal rejections of NCAA 08, even professional football players aren't this perfect.

9. "Thou shalt have Recruits look at depth charts before committing". I'm Nebraska in our online dynasty. I run the old school triple option of the Tom Osborne era and I run it well. I average almost 400 rushing yards a game....and not a single 5 star scrambling quarterback will give me the time of day. If a team is the reincarnation of the 1995 Cornhuskers, 5 star RBs and Mobile QBs should be beating down that Coach's door wanting to commit. If I return 2 defensive backs on my entire team....I shouldn't go to the prospect list and see a total of 3 out of 200 generated defensive backs that have me in their top 10. By that same token, Georgia should not sign 3 of the top 6 Quarterbacks in a single recruiting season....while they already have 3 Signal Callers on their roster. Blatant roster management/recruiting snafus like these are quite common in NCAA 11 and should be tweaked for NCAA 12.

10. "Thou shalt have kids work in the offseason." If I move a 215 pound LB to the defensive line....I'd like to see the kid eat a few more hamurgers in the offseason. Realistic weight gain/loss in offseason position changes would really help out. Having a player only gain 2-3 pounds in the offseason would get most strength and conditioning coaches fired. Seeing a Linebacker pack on 10-20 pounds in the offseason and reach more of a true Defensive End size would be a welcome addition. By that same token...moving an end to tackle should pay off by seeing a 240 pound lineman move to a 280 pound lineman after 2 years of weightlifting and protein shakes.

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Member Comments

# 81 balr @ 02/15/11 12:44 AM

Did anyone mention increasing the roster size?? Honestly why can't we have an 85 man roster?? I hate having to go through my roster and not being able to have all the freshman on the team.

# 82 N51_rob @ 02/15/11 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balr


	Did anyone mention increasing the roster size?? Honestly why can't we have an 85 man roster?? I hate having to go through my roster and not being able to have all the freshman on the team.

I believe the reason is "disk space".

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

# 83 Playmakers @ 02/15/11 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balr


	Did anyone mention increasing the roster size?? Honestly why can't we have an 85 man roster?? I hate having to go through my roster and not being able to have all the freshman on the team.

wouldn't that lead to more scrutinizing since they have trouble getting 55 man rosters and ratings right?

# 84 jethrotull @ 02/15/11 03:37 PM

My biggest gripe about this game.

When moving a OLB to ILB or vice versa their awareness drops drastically. My question is why? The same goes for Rb to FB, DE to DT, OG to OT.

Players move positions every year in College Football to provide depth, especially with roster size set at 70, this needs to happen.

For Instance a MLB could move to OLB, DE or FB. A MLB could move to DE but have him gain weight. (Brandon Graham from Michigan came in as a MLB then moved to DE) Why do they lose so much in awareness?

A big RB or FB could move to LB. For Instance (Ian Gold was recruited as a RB out of high school and moved to LB and then went on to play in the NFL) I think you guys see my point. I would like to see position changes work like this,

The only time an awareness drop should happen is if they move way out of position or DEF-OFF or OFF-DEF

A MLB - OLB, DE and FB.
A OLB- MLB, DE, SS, and FB
A CB- FS, SS, or WR
A FS- CB, SS or WR
A SS- FS, CB, or OLB
A DE - DT or OLB
A DT-DE or OL

On Offense

A QB- WR, TE, RB, CB, FS depending on size, speed
A RB- FB, WR, LB, CB
A WR- CB, FS, SS
A TE- DE, FB
A OL-any OL position or DE, DT

Do you guys pick up what I am putting down?

# 85 89OneHanded @ 02/16/11 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jethrotull


	Do you guys pick up what I am putting down?

I semi-agree. I actually think an awareness drop is completely realistic, even between linebackers. Honestly, even a move from LOLB to ROLB should have an awareness drop, the difference in what a weak side LB and a strong side LB has to do is huge. Think about it this way. This past year, Thomas Davis of the Panthers went down, and Jon Beason played half the year at strong side LB, Davis's position. Both his stats and impact on the game were severely reduced, so much so that midway through the season they put him back at MLB. Even moving a DE to a DT, or vice versa should be accompanied by an awareness drop, because DEs start in a different stance than DTs, they're asked to do different things, and they're trained completely differently.

However. What this game does that I do not agree with is physical stat changing when you do position changes. I was low on DEs last year, and moved one of my DTs, just to be the second string, when my RE needed to be spelled on long drives. His strength was 90, and when I moved him, his strength dropped to 71. So...putting him at a different place on the field reduced him from D-line/O-line strength to TE/FB/LB/SS strength? Unacceptable. Reduce his block shedding and awareness, not his physical attributes. This is just an example, but this happens whenever you move player positions.

This goes back to the point of my previous post on this thread. If they emphasized the difference between 3-4 style players and 4-3 style players, they could also emphasize hybrid players, like a 3-4 OLB/4-3 DE, or a 4-3 DT/3-4 DE.

# 86 CuseGirl @ 02/16/11 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeyes_Doc


	Agreed on all points AA. About the recruiting, it is ridiculous how good Ohio State and Alabama are. I'm in year 2023 of my dynasty and Ohio State & Alabama are dominant every year. I don't expect them to fall off the face of the earth, but to maintain top 5 status over the course of a decade is very difficult. It would make dynasty more interesting to have teams rise and fall more often.

Not to brag but Ohio State has been a top 5 program for the last 7 years....

# 87 CuseGirl @ 02/16/11 02:54 PM

Thou shalt increase the size of the playing field.

Thou shalt get pulling lineman and fullbacks to block defenders that are directly in front of them instead of REVERSING themselves against the grain of the play and running into the ball carrier.

Thou shalt get coaches fired across the nation!

Thou shalt let Teambuilder teams have custom sounds WITHOUT using the ALL-TEAMS settings

Thou shalt post bowl game banners for Teambuilder team in their custom stadium.

# 88 AuburnAlumni @ 02/16/11 05:10 PM

I'd add the option to have Corners "shade" WRs and focus on either the inside our outside shoulder would be a huge addition to stopping some of these pass patterns.

# 89 89OneHanded @ 02/16/11 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuburnAlumni


	I'd add the option to have Corners "shade" WRs and focus on either the inside our outside shoulder would be a huge addition to stopping some of these pass patterns.

I agree that would be a great addition, but before that would work, EA needs to program cornerbacks to be able to play competent coverage, both man and zone.

# 90 Hova57 @ 02/17/11 09:41 PM

That doesn't make sense then why have the rating

# 91 89OneHanded @ 02/18/11 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hova57


	That doesn't make sense then why have the rating

That's exactly the problem. They have an excellent rating system for determining how good a player is at something, but when you get into the situation on the field, the ratings are barely used to determine the outcome. Especially on heisman difficulty, the ratings system is thrown out the window to give the computer advantages. Why does the computer get advantages that override the player ratings? Because the AI is predictable and brainless, and hidden advantages in situations that should clearly be dictated by the player ratings are the only way EA can think of to level the playing field for the CPU against humans.

This lazy way to even the playing field is the reason for our biggest frustrations that I see many many many people griping about on this board. Here are a couple examples of the more noticeable ones;
1. O-line vs. D-line
When we are on offense, the CPU pushes aside our o-line like they are small helpless children and gets pressure on us within 1-3 seconds. Play action is rendered completely useless, because the CPU does not even pretend to fall for play action, the QB motion takes WAY too long, and my o-linemen are treated like bags of feathers.
On defense, however, our high rated d-linemen will get locked onto one, just ONE CPU o-lineman and then proceeds to act as if he's giving him a very long hug. I have seen the CPU QB stand still in the pocket for twelve seconds against a 4 man rush.

These blatant inconsistencies between the human and CPU pass rush happen no matter what the ratings of the players are. Doesn't matter what the block shedding rating of our d-lineman is, doesn't matter what the pass blocking rating of a CPU o-lineman is, doesn't matter that our LG is a 91 ovr and the CPU DT is a 74 ovr. It still all happens the same way. If it doesn't matter, why does EA have the ratings again?

2. WR vs. CB
When the human is on offense, the CPU CB in man coverage runs the route better than the receiver, many times making a cut before the WR. When the human is on defense, our corners will continue to run straight up the field for a full 2 seconds after a CPU receiver makes a cut in their route, giving their receiver 10-15 yds of separation. Yet again, all of this happens no matter what the ratings of the players are. Doesn't matter that our CB has 95 man cvg rating, while the CPU receiver has a 71 route running rating. Again...why do you have the ratings again? It's painfully obvious that you're trying to give the CPU an advantage in a cheap way.

3. Turnovers
I don't even need to go into detail now, the people who have read this far know exactly what I'm talking about. QBs fumbling 30 times in one season, tipped interceptions by D-linemen...don't even get me started on that. How many interceptions does the human D-line get in a season? Exactly. Yet again, these CPU d-linemen that make acrobatic interceptions have less than 50 catch and less than 30 spectacular catch. So painfully obvious. It feels so dirty, so cheap.

4. AI Playcalling
The most uncomfortably obvious way that the CPU get an advantage is the psychic defensive playcalling. As if (GASP) the computer knew exactly what you were calling. They stack and blitz the play side if you're running the ball, press man coverage against slants, have QB spies against crossing routes, heavy blitz when you call play action...it's so predictable, I call plays based on what I know the computer will call against it. Then I audible to something that will easily beat it, or switch the run to the other side...it's too easy! It becomes predictable in a reverse psychology sort of way. But it's supposed to be giving the CPU an advantage, since the AI is too mentally handicapped to call a play based on player tendencies, or game situation, or down and distance, or offensive personnel.

I think those are plenty of examples. Plus I'm getting all worked up, I'm going to have to pick smoking back up if I keep going. You get my point though.

WHY EVEN HAVE THE RATINGS IF HEISMAN NEGATES THEM?

# 92 Playmakers @ 02/18/11 08:57 PM

show me one game where the highest difficulty level doesn't overide ratings?

This isn't a just a NCAA thing every sports games I've played has had most of the higher levels not take ratings into consideration

The reason why the highest levels are included is become it's designed to have the CPU win at all cost...if people hate the way the game plays on Heisman level then why play on the level and then complain about how ratings don't matter.....

# 93 dougdfc @ 02/19/11 01:55 PM

"Thou shall remove player ratings" It makes depth chart work simple with ratings. If you have a 92 ovr RB and an 89 ovr RB, you'll make that 92 the starter almost any day. Replace it with certain abilities. like a more enhanced version of the APF 2k8 system. Abilities like second level speed(meaning the obvious), or Pocket Presence(Harder to sack in the pocket, extend plays etc. etc.) and the like. It'd make the depth chart process and recruiting a more pleasing experience in the long run. I hate recruiting a 5* "Scrambler" with B+ speed, and then having a QB who can't outrun 3-4 DT's.

# 94 hampshire2012 @ 02/20/11 08:47 AM

I think the reason that so many people complain the read option animation is too slow is because, in my opinion, the control system is the wrong way round.

In real life, the QB's passive action is the hand off, the active one is "pulling the ball up". Whereas in the game it is the other way around (you press X to hand off, do nothing to keep the ball).

I reckon if you made it so the default is the hand off, and you pressed X to pull the ball up, the system would work a lot better. That way you could choose when to break out of the animation, as it would be defined by when you press X.

What do you all think?

# 95 SeaOfRed75 @ 02/20/11 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hampshire2012


	I think the reason that so many people complain the read option animation is too slow is because, in my opinion, the control system is the wrong way round. In real life, the QB's passive action is the hand off, the active one is "pulling the ball up". Whereas in the game it is the other way around (you press X to hand off, do nothing to keep the ball). I reckon if you made it so the default is the hand off, and you pressed X to pull the ball up, the system would work a lot better. That way you could choose when to break out of the animation, as it would be defined by when you press X. What do you all think?

That may contribute to the problem. I believe its the usual cpu cheat bull**** of knowing your play. You may "read" the DE like you are supposed to, but a DT, SS, and maybe a LB or two crashing down on you IMMEDIATELY. Then you try to give to the back or run play action to combat this aggressiveness? Oh yeah still cheating. Because the CPU is still cheating knowing what play you called. Everything in a vacuum. No previous play affecting another.

# 96 hampshire2012 @ 02/20/11 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaOfRed75


	That may contribute to the problem. I believe its the usual cpu cheat bull**** of knowing your play. You may "read" the DE like you are supposed to, but a DT, SS, and maybe a LB or two crashing down on you IMMEDIATELY. Then you try to give to the back or run play action to combat this aggressiveness? Oh yeah still cheating. Because the CPU is still cheating knowing what play you called. Everything in a vacuum. No previous play affecting another.

Yeah it definitely feels like the CPU knows your play. Like when I play as Texas Tech, call 15 pass plays in a row, then come out 4WR zone read and suddenly the defence is in a 4-3.

If you go into practice mode, choose a 4WR set and go random play against Dime formation random play, the zone read works as it should I think.

# 97 89OneHanded @ 02/21/11 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Playmakers


	show me one game where the highest difficulty level doesn't overide ratings? This isn't a just a NCAA thing every sports games I've played has had most of the higher levels not take ratings into consideration The reason why the highest levels are included is become it's designed to have the CPU win at all cost...if people hate the way the game plays on Heisman level then why play on the level and then complain about how ratings don't matter.....

My point is not asking them to remove the hardest difficulty. My point is asking them to create an AI that gameplans against the user tendencies, and uses the user's team weaknesses against, so that it is difficult in a realistic way. I don't care if they do this with every other sports game on the planet, it feels incredibly cheap with football. When I turn it onto Heisman, I want to feel like I'm playing against the best player in the world...not the best cheater in the world.

# 98 Hova57 @ 02/22/11 07:41 PM

I don't know what they added, but the biggest mistake they made was taking out the CPU ability to read plays and slowly stop the same play called over and over. I believe it was 04 it was great you called a sweep yeah you burned them the first time , but after that for get it. I know I've seen in 11 at time the CPU load up to one side, but I also felt like it blitzed way too much and if they would have just played coverage it would have been serviceable in stopping my play called. couple that with the bogus corner play, man and zone coverage and the olympic jumping ability of linebackers and dlineman. I feel like they were on to something in 11, but the stuff I listed lead to some unneeded frustration. I think they may have corrected this stuff, considering its mostly defensive stuff anyway.

# 99 kodiak @ 02/22/11 11:09 PM

Thou shall not have the RB lined up at QB when a no huddle team goes from a wildcat formation back to a normal shotgun.

Thou shall give us the ability to manually set a double team on a DL that has been dominating and we shall get double teamed when we have a dominant DL destroying the CPU. Of course this means that individual OL/DL interactions must be utilized.

Thou shall make it that a defender in zone covg is aware of his zone before running straight to it. Too many times I have seen a safety, LB, or DL run right by a potential receiver or ball carrier and get to his zone before "awakening" and going to make a play.

Thou shall stop having db's continue dropping 8 steps further after a WR makes his break. If he is poor in a certain covg, sure a step or two I understand, but 8

Thou shall give us the ability to shade wr's to the inside or outside shoulder. And to add on, if a player is continually running drags and slants and I key on that receiver, it should mean something. Especially on defenses when that guy is double teamed.

Thou shall revamp and retool recruiting. Enough has already been said about this.

Thou shall bring back defensive struggles. Not every game but hey even the highest octane offenses have a game or two in the teens (see Orgeon/Cal and Auburn/Miss St)

Thou shall give QB's ratings in short, intermediate, and deep ball throws. There should also be a on the move rating for accuracy as well. And qb's don't often fire missiles when they are getting drilled by a defender

I liked 11 far and away better than any other 360/PS3 version but there is always room for improvement

# 100 KG @ 02/23/11 11:09 PM

Thou shall read the post above.

I enjoy the game for what it is but underneath the hood there are many things that need overhauling, not fine-tuning.

- The physics in this franchise are just horrible. See any tipped pass and you will see guys covering insane amounts of space with no respect to ratings (size/speed/acceleration).

- The fact that there are more ratings for OL than QBs is a joke. I don't even know THP is a rating in this game. QBs all seem to be able to make every throw.

- Spread/option offenses cannot be run successfully by the CPU. Not only are they not smart enough but DT's turn into Nick Fairleys and disrupt everything in the backfield. The handoff animations already put them at a disadvantage.

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