NCAA Football 12 Blog - Gameplay, Part 1

Check out the newest NCAA Football 12 blog, written by Mike Scantlebury, Developer of NCAA Football 12.

Hey NCAA fans! It's Scantlebury here to give you some insight on what the Central Gameplay team has been cooking up for the NCAA Football 12 title. We’ve touched several core areas of gameplay including: tackling, blocking, catching, and coverage. The changes we have made will be evident on the very first play of the game and I’m not talking about your first snap – I mean from the opening Kickoff. Let me tell you a little bit about what we’re doing for each of the core areas of gameplay to give you guys a brand new gaming experience.

NO MORE SUCTION ON TACKLES. Yeah you read that correctly. Did you hate it when you would do a spin move then get sucked back into a tackle? Or when you would be running through a hole in the line—a clear lane—and then a D-Lineman just warps in front of you and makes the tackle? Well this year there is no more warping on tackles. Tackles only occur on collision. So you won’t see a tackle happen unless actual collision is made between the ball carrier and the defender. Jukes and spins are more valuable than they ever have been and running through holes in the line never felt so good.

MOMENTUM ON TACKLES. We’ve all seen this happen: you’re running down the field with a full head of steam and then when you meet up with a defender WHAM complete momentum stop. It’s like the two of you were never running and collided with each other from only two feet away. Well, this year when you see that same situation you will actually notice the preservation of momentum on the tackle. Who wins the momentum battle depends on various factors including speed, size, and weight of the participants in the tackle. If the defender wins you’ll see the ball carrier being driven back as soon as they collide and that will carry through even as the players hit the ground. The movement doesn’t stop as soon as the players hit the ground; it carries through just like real life.

TACKLE BUTTON. This is a new feature that we have added this year; the old Dive Button has been replaced by the Tackle Button. Now this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll make the tackle but once you hit the button you are driven towards the ball carrier. There is a timing aspect to this because if you hit the button too early your defender will lunge in a last ditch effort to make a tackle. This is incredibly useful because the same way CPU defenders have no suction on tackle attempts, neither do user defenders. So, as you can imagine, it is somewhat harder to be pin-point accurate and run into that moving ball carrier. The same steering is applied to our Hit Stick and Strip ball Tackle attempt so the choice is yours. Personally, I like the play it safe and hit the Tackle Button.

NO MORE SUCTION ON BLOCKS. You know if we removed the suction on tackles we certainly corrected that on blocks, too. I know too many of us have said at least one time, “hey I got sucked into that block.” Please believe me, I feel your pain. Right when you are about to make a tackle, out of nowhere you get sucked into a block. The crazy thing is you actually feel like you are being pulled, I don’t mean the character in the game I mean YOU (well that’s how I felt anyway). Now that’s a thing of the past. If you get by that blocker or he’s not in the appropriate position to make the blocks you won’t get sucked back into him, you’ll continue traveling to your final destination which is undoubtedly the ball carrier.

CATCHING THE LOVE. Yes, we had to give some love to catching, as well. We made a deliberate effort to add some new sprint catches to reduce warping and sliding when the receiver positions himself to catch a pass. Another great addition is the brand new dive catches. If the ball is far out ahead of you then a dive catch may get you there to make the play. The dive catches in NCAA Football 12 are reliable and incredibly useful. And, in case you were wondering, yes, the user can trigger the same dive catches that the CPU players can trigger. In previous years, you would get the same ineffective generic dive catch every time you hit the button, but now you get a dive catch that matches the same way you get a sideline catch or a jump catch that matches. Trust me; if you make use of it when the opportunity arises you won’t be disappointed.

That’s just a few of the gameplay improvements in NCAA Football 12 that I know will enhance your experience. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog for more information regarding tackling (add-ons and stealing tackles), as well as new and improved defensive zone logic.

Additional information will be released soon, including announcements about your favorite features like Dynasty and Road to Glory!

Source - NCAA Football 12 Gameplay Blog Part 1