Saturday, August 10, 2013
01:56 AM - August 10, 2013. Written by Wiggy
After watching the surprise knockout of Anderson Silva a few weeks back, I wondered about the viability of showboating and "faking the funk" in combat sports, but also in the context of fighting games in general. There were definitely some pundits and fighters who were backing Weidman in the fight, but I think the conventional wisdom was that it was going to be a grind-it-out type of fight for Weidman or a dominant fight for Silva.
As Weidman showed us, it's often all about the location of the punch when it comes to a knockout. A punch to the carotid artery not only compresses said artery, reducing blood flow, but it also sends the head into a state of whiplash, violently shaking around the brain and creating an electrical short-circuit, which affects motor function and ultimately produces a knockout. Silva, for all his fancy footwork, evasion and taunting, wasn't able to avoid the science of a well-timed punch.
However, most of the time, what Silva was doing during the fight would have worked for him, as he often psyches out his opponent by getting into their head and by evading punches and feigning damage. Since his striking is usually so much better than his opponent, he uses jabs, kicks and body shots to make his competition respect his power. Once they respect his power, he goes about disrespecting their power by using his amazing reflexes to create glancing blows that don't land flush. He then tops it off by dropping his hands and allowing himself to be hit just to mess with them some more. I've always thought that at certain points when he's doing this that he's probably getting somewhat damaged, but his real skill is in not showing the damage. He continues to clown and showboat, effectively sucking away his opponent's will to strike altogether.
The interesting thing about this style of fighting is that it's never really been translated into the virtual realm. I suspect the main reason is because it would be quite difficult to implement and balance. The closest the UFC games have come to emulating this is from the addition of feints and the inclusion of a taunt button. You can definitely mess with the AI or your friends by using these tools, and it can be fun to evade incoming punches, but there's nothing that quite matches up with the Anderson Silva style of fighting. Hell, there's nothing even really close to the slightly less flashy Jon Jones style of fighting.
To be sure, something like this would be incredibly hard to balance, as you would have to essentially buff the defense of a Silva character in order to compensate for the incoming shots he would have to take. Just the same, fighting with this style would almost run counter to how most people are used to playing fighting games, which is to get in there and start trading bombs. This isn't to say that everyone fights this way, but many users want to make fights a striking affair, so a gameplay system would have to accommodate several fighters who fought with some level of funk-faking and showboating.
It's easier to replicate someone like Lyoto Machida, as his elusive style just ends up resembling a patient fighter, and you can use feints and counters and quick kicks to achieve the desired effect of fighting something like the real-life person. Silva, or even Jones, would require a different type of gameplay balance, right down to the stats beneath the hood and the animations of the fighters. There would almost have to be some kind of intimidation or momentum system in place to show a fighter's mental state as well as his physical condition.
I think the only way to really achieve this kind of fighting style for certain fighters would be to completely rethink the feel of MMA games, particularly in terms of the animations. Much like how traditional fighting games (Street Fighter, etc.) have characters that move and carry themselves differently, I think the movement speed and animations of individual fighters would have to be unique. A fighter like Silva could have this sort of behaviour "baked in" to his fighting toolset, and most of the motions would be automated. In this way, it would actually be quite similar to games like Street Fighter, as you would have to know the timing, movement and animations of a given character before you could land their powerful attacks. Silva or Jones could be this way, where you would have to control them in a specific manner in order to unlock the mastery they truly possess.
If anything, I kind of feel that it's interesting to think about these sorts of AI possibilities as we enter the next generation of consoles and videogaming. AI systems haven't really been the focus of innovation in the last five or ten years, and it would be nice to see something more than just a throttle on aggression or speed. I'm intrigued by what I've heard about the "MMAI" that EA is touting for EA Sports UFC, but that seems specifically catered around game-planning and aggression. It would be nice to see fighters conduct their business with more personality and unique behaviours, and I think it's a goal that would be worth pursuing.
What about you, OS? Do you think an MMA product should accommodate this style of fighting? How would it best be implemented?
Friday, August 9, 2013
EA has finally posted a blog with a trailer and some details about the new "Live the Life" mode for NHL 14. The mode is a long-awaited revamp of the Be-A-Pro career option that's been present in the NHL series for the last few years. Many fans of the series were hopeful that this new spin on a career mode would freshen up the stale Be-A-Pro experience, especially if it was to borrow elements from the NBA 2K series and its "My Player" feature. Unfortunately, this new "addition" to NHL 14 looks half-baked, lacking in inspiration and presentation (much like the boring NHL '94 mode that is also being touted).
The conceit of this new mode seems to be that you'll have to make decisions about how to carry your player, both on and off the ice. This comes in the form of pre-game and post-game interviews as well as key decisions you have to make when dealing with your family or hanging out with buddies. All of these choices, as well as your on-ice performance, feed into likeability meters, and you have to manage these meters in four categories: fans, teammates, management and family. These meters will translate into things like cheers/boos, endorsement deals, off-ice events, becoming the team captain, getting traded, as well as your player's attributes.
In theory, some of these are actually cool ideas. I like the concept of your team hanging out with you more if you become likeable, and getting promoted to captain and being cheered by the crowd is also a fun wrinkle. However, when EA talks about "living the life," I don't think most people were envisioning the exact same career setup with a few text-based choices being dropped in (well, I think people were HOPING that wouldn't be the case). It really just seems like the same Be-A-Pro that we've known over the last few years with a few multiple choice questions (complete with grammatical errors!). I don't really feel like I'm "living the life" when I'm watching some basic meters and having my stats penalized for going out to a night club.
When you get down to it, all that's really changed is that they've added some text questions that possibly boost or decay your stats. These questions trickle into the various meters, but the meters are mostly dictated by your on-ice play, which is how the Be-A-Pro mode played before. I'm sure there will be some juggling in terms of the off-ice scenarios and game interviews (keeping teammates happy while not getting in trouble out on the town, for example), but all of this seems incredibly rudimentary. When the most dramatic thing about the sizzle trailer is the music, you know the "Live the Life" mode doesn't have a lot to hang its hat on.
What's also bothersome about this new mode is that it doesn't appear that much effort was put in to improving the presentation. The commentary and in-game overlays will be the same, and all of the menus and such look about how they did. There is no graphical representation of your player during interviews or in off-ice activities, and even endorsements come in the form of extra cash and images for your trophy case. How about some representation of your wealth, such as a house or cars? How about actually creating some new cinematics for this mode, even if there is just text conversation options? I can't believe that creating some newspaper or Hockey News screenshots showing your player's exploits would've been that hard to concoct. Just like the NHL 94 mode, none of this looks particularly well conceived or resourced on EA's part.
Since the NHL series is an annual franchise, maybe there is some merit to a mode like this if it was designed like Fight Night Champion, with a new "story" being created each season (grizzled veteran, rookie, cocky star). There could still be choices and some level of agency for the user, but this mode would allow more control for the people at EA. Cinematics could be created to actually tell a story rather than something half-baked like what they're showing, which seems to please no one.
I was excited to see what EA had in store for this mode, as all we've really seen so far has been some meaningful and needed changes to gameplay but nothing much else. The NHL '94 mode seems like it's not really going to please anyone except for those who trade on its name, and this new offering seemed like a promising direction for the NHL series in terms of solo content. With what I'm seeing, I'm not too optimistic about the choices EA has made for this.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
On June 1st of 2009, EA Sports released Teambuilder for NCAA Football 10. EA described it as follows: "TeamBuilder is a web-based create-a-school feature that allows anyone with Internet access to log on to teambuilder.easports.com to create and share schools with the rest of the NCAA Football ... community".
At the time, this was a real innovation in the EA football series. Over 100,000 user created teams were available within a month of Teambuilder's launch. Teambuilder was a huge success and a big hit with fans and critics alike. On June 20, 2013 Teambuilder was once again released for NCAA Football, this time for NCAA Football 14. Unfortunately, teambuilder was and is basically the same untouched "feature" that released over four years earlier.
Teambuilder has been crying out for innovation and feature set improvement as much as any part of the game and in this blog, I hope to shine a little light on this fact and point out some areas that need to be updated. In NCAA Football 12 and again in NCAA Football 13, EA added the additional high school stadiums and uniforms in Road to Glory mode and that's it. Expansion of Teambuilder is what is needed most of all. Four years with the bare minimum of upgrades is enough.
Expansion
The community of creators that use Teambuilder have managed to do an amazing number of things with the limited layers and uniform options available. The time has come to open this area of the game up.
- More Logo options with room for Nike/Under Armour/Adidas as well as conference patches and logo variety for the fields. The workaround to get realistic brands on Teambuilder jerseys shouldn't be needed. We should simply have many more logo slots available.
- More number and font style options. This should be a given. If EA Sports can't give us more options here, allow custom scripts and lettering to be uploaded.
- More jersey combinations/options. Look at teams like Oregon and Maryland to see just how many different helmet/top/bottom combos are necessary to create those type of schools authentically. Home/Away/Alt1/Alt2/Alt3/Retro/Special. I think expanding to just six jerseys would be a huge starting point. Obviously we could still mix and match as well, giving us plenty of options. We also need an option for mesh/textures on our jerseys, especially for next-generation consoles.
- Let us edit team equipment INSIDE Teambuilder. This way, we can fix helmets, elbow pads, sleeves, etc before downloading them. Equipment in future EA College Football games needs a major overhaul but that's for another blog.
- No more roster templates. The time has come to allow us to create our own rosters, if we choose, without the restriction of basing it off of a current FBS school. Let us determine how many QBs, HBs, FBs, etc are on our team's roster. Let us choose hometown, race, height, weight, etc as well as ratings within Teambuilder.
- Allow us to choose our Top 3 rivals and allow us to input school records (All-Time W/L, retired jersey numbers, etc.) WITHIN Teambuilder.
- Allow us to choose our individual pipeline recruiting states, instead of having them tied to whatever school's roster template we were forced to use when we created the team.
- Give us more than 12 Teambuilder slots out of the box. Can we get 16 or 20? With the talk of 16 team super-conferences, it only makes sense to give us a few more Teambuilder slots without having to buy the expansion to 120 schools for five bucks. For those that do buy the 120 slots (perhaps make it 124?), allow them to swap out the entire list of schools for Teambuilder teams if they so desire.
- Give us the ability to choose helmet texture. With more teams using glossy finishes, matte finishes, special metallic finishes and more, we need to be be able to adjust this and have a mixture on one team if we choose.
Innovation
It's also time to step outside of the tools currently available in Teambuilder and give us some completely new options.
- Stadium Creator. Let us mix and match different stadium parts to create our own unique home field. Open it up to at least give a choice of turf style and color (red, blue, etc), track or no track, how each end zone will look (bowl, open, hillside, buildings) and how each side of the stands will look. We need the option to set the size of the stadium and how many fans it will seat. Custom seat colors, background colors, scoreboard placement, banners, etc should all be options as well. Having to use pre-existing stadiums with other teams' logos present is not acceptable. And no, the generic stadiums are not a good answer.
- Let us create our own end zone art and upload them, the same way we can upload real logos to go on helmets and jerseys. End zones in Teambuilder have poorly spaced words and have a generic look in general. The same for sideline art. Allow us to upload custom sideline art for a richer experience.
- Create-a-Mascot. This feature is needed for created schools. I don't know exactly how this would be accomplished, but EA Sports needs to come up with something here.
- Custom Fight Songs. Allow us to upload custom fight songs, that can be downloaded with the Teambuilder teams. This would be separate from the in game stadium sounds feature.
- Allow us to add teambuilder teams to dynasty mode WITHOUT having to replace a current school. Before each season, during the preseason/offseason allow users to add between two and eight teams into dynasty mode. This would allow users to update the schools to match real life moves or simply create fantasy scenarios.
- Expand Teambuilder to Madden NFL. This seems like an idea for another blog, but give Madden an NFL specific Teambuilder with a list of popular cities to start with so the commentary can stay in tune with the team.
Could we get even a few of these expansions or improvements for next year? I don't know but I feel like these suggestions are sorely needed, especially with next-generation College Football 15 coming in less than a year's time. Be sure to add your suggestions in the comments section.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The 2013-2014 NHL season will bring a shuffle in the league's divisions, and it will have some meaningful impacts for teams in both conferences. The chief reason for the realignment is to create a bit more parity with some of the geography of the teams and their travel schedules, but it also has the knock-on effect of allowing a few teams to change conferences and for a fresh look to the overall league. These changes will also have an effect on NHL 14 as well, with the new divisions and playoff structure being fully implemented for the game.
The new conference layout, as seen above, will mean that there will be 14 teams in the west and 16 teams in the east. The other major differences are that Columbus and Detroit are moving to the east, and Winnipeg is moving to the west. All of the division names are holdovers from the previous format, but the eastern conference now has the "Metropolitan" as one of its two divisions. The playoff qualifying is also slightly altered, with the top three seeds in each division automatically getting in, but the next two spots in each conference are claimed by the best of the rest, regardless of division.
The most immediate problem I see for the league and for NHL 14 is that the playoff qualifying isn't equal in both conferences. When choosing which team to play as in a game, it only makes sense to gravitate towards the west, where you will have to face two less teams in order to qualify. In fact, when you take into account that there are usually two or three dud teams in a conference, it's basically about 10 or 11 teams going for eight spots, which is definitely a bit goofy. I realize that geography plays a big role here, as you just can't move eastern teams into the west randomly, but maybe some more tinkering would've been helpful.
I do like the playoff qualifying, as it mostly addresses the issue that's plagued the NHL for years now, where a weak division winner got a better seed. Since there are now more teams split between four divisions, it increases the odds of a better shakeout in the standings, with the final two playoff spots rewarding any discrepancies in quality between the two conference divisions. This will be good for leagues in NHL 14 as well, since there will be a better chance of competitive team standings and less individually bad divisions.
Looking at the west, it should be a much more competitive "Central" division, as Detroit has moved to the east (much to the annoyance of teams over there), and Colorado has moved to a division that makes more sense geographically. I think Colorado will fare the best, as they get to avoid the teams that have given them grief for a while now (Vancouver, Minnesota) and move into a division that's actually pretty even -- except for Chicago. Yeah, it should be an absolute feast for Chi-Town, as they are the elite, and everyone else is comfortably a couple of notches below them. The arrival of Winnipeg doesn't change too much, as that franchise is still looking to make an impact, and they'll probably have a tough go against some of the faster, stronger teams in the west.
For the "Pacific" division, I think the biggest change will be for the Canadian franchises, as they will now have to regularly face tougher competition from teams like Los Angeles and San Jose. Minnesota was always a pretty mercurial team to play against, and Colorado was a punching bag, so it now means teams like Vancouver will probably be on the bubble, and Edmonton will possibly sink entirely, even with their youth.
Conversely, the eastern conference's "Atlantic" division is a welcome sight to the Canadian teams there, as they can comfortably sit behind Boston and Detroit to fight over the remaining playoff seeds. A team like Toronto, in particular, is probably licking their chops, as a regular playoff appearance in that division is much more of a possibility now. On the other hand, both of the Florida teams are probably crapping themselves, as they'll be routinely pounded by the likes of Boston and Detroit and will have to crash against the logjam ahead of them.
The new "Metropolitan" division will actually be a very even division, save for teams like Carolina and Columbus. I think only Carolina really has the chance to surprise, as they're an odd team that way, but Columbus was just starting something in the west, and now they have to learn new teams -- and good ones, too. It should be fun watching the Rangers, Penguins, Capitals and Flyers smash into each other at the top, and the remaining teams will just try and stay afloat for a potential final playoff spot.
All of these changes could make for some interesting ratings in NHL 14, as some of these teams are now in a much different setting than they were before. A team like Vancouver, for instance, might be affected offensively, as they only had a middling offense before, and it's now been challenged by teams like LA, San Jose and Anaheim. Just the same, Chicago gets to be even more elite with the removal of Detroit and upstart Columbus and the addition of Dallas, Colorado and St. Louis.
Final Thoughts
This new division alignment gives a fresh coat of paint to the NHL and NHL 14, and I think it will put some teams into a tough position. The playoff qualifying is a lot more fair than it has been the past for teams in a given conference, but I really don't like two less teams in one conference. I'm curious to see how teams are rated in NHL 14, as some of the new alignment does change the relative quality of certain teams (Winnipeg and Columbus come to mind).
Monday, August 5, 2013
12:50 PM - August 5, 2013. Written by kelvinmak
A while back there was an article on the OS front pages about Playstation Magazine’s interview with FIFA’s executive producer David Rutter. In it was a quote that baffled a lot of us, about FIFA 14 having individualized AI for all 11 different positions on the field.
A few OSers ridiculed it—and rightly so—since a) there are more than 11 positions in soccer if you count those who play between the lines, and more importantly b) just because players play in the same position doesn’t mean they have the same role—both Andrea Pirlo and Javier Mascherano are defensive midfielders (unless you’re Guardiola), but they can’t be more different. So having AI for those positions without taking into context the player’s job in the team’s overall tactic sounds rather ridiculous.
Personally, I was on vacation at the time, so I just sort of skimmed it, chuckled, turned off my laptop, and went out to explore beautiful Vancouver. I didn’t really pay it any mind because it just sounded like something that was, like friend of the blog Matt10 mentioned in the initial news post, more of a misguided concoction from the marketing department than anything else. (In hindsight, maybe I could’ve hopped on the crosstown bus to Burnaby to ask for clarification.)
Anyway, I re-read the article yesterday for another piece that I’m supposed to be writing (sorry, OS bosses, got carried away with this one), and I noticed two things: One, the “individualized AI for 11 positions” wasn’t actually a direct quote from Rutter, so maybe he meant something a little different from what was written. And two, the actual quote that Rutter actually gave, that immediately follows that line about positional AI, was this (emphasis mine):
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It’s something that doesn’t enter the discussion very often when we’re talking about player individualization—a lot of times we focus solely on the behavior of the player with the ball and how they can “feel” more different, and that makes sense since he’s the player that sets everything in motion, plus it’s also something FIFA can stand to improve on (if they would only use the whole damn range of their ratings scale). But by the same token, it’s just as important for the other 21 men on the pitch to react accordingly, based on what they know about the strengths and tendencies of the ball carrier.
From what I can gather, currently the AI controlled, off-the-ball players behave according to the following factors:
- Where the ball is located on the pitch
- His team’s strategy
- His traits
- User inputs (manually initiating a run, like we’ll be able to do in the upcoming PES)
What those players aren’t doing, at least it’s nowhere near obvious enough, is realizing who has the ball, and factor that in their decision making. To use the Alonso/Mascherano example again, one would guess the wingers will position themselves differently depending on which one of those defensive midfielders has possession— stay tighter if it’s Mascherano, anticipating the short pass; and spread the pitch if it’s Pirlo, waiting for the long diagonal—and currently that’s not something that’s obvious in either FIFA or PES.
It’s the same thing on the defensive end. Right now there’s still too much of a one-size-fits-all defending philosophy at work. Yes, there are some concepts that won’t change no matter who you’re defending, but there are also others that do. You wouldn't defend Cristiano Ronaldo the same way you defend Dirk Kuyt, will you? And wouldn’t it also change things up depending on the ability of the defending full back?
Granted, a lot of this is the manager’s call (and pardon the tangent, but it would be a wonderful idea for FIFA or PES to implement something akin to Football Manager’s Opponent Instructions interface for a deeper tactical experience), but there should at least a bit of room for the AI player to make some sort of judgment call. Currently, soccer games rarely take into account the ability and tendencies of both the attacker and the defender himself—context, basically—and make decisions accordingly.
So ultimately, good for FIFA to try to make some headway on this. Having said that, of course, here comes the mandatory let’s-not-get-too-ahead-of-ourselves caveat. Rutter did mention that it’s going to be an ongoing process, so chances are we may only notice this for a moment or two in each match. Plus in the example he gave, he still talks about players by their positions, and not their actual roles, so we’re probably some ways away from the AI actually being conscious of who, or at least what distinct type of player, is carrying the ball.
But still, this is important because the way the other 21 players react to an “individualized” player with the ball is just as important as individualizing that player himself, and it usually doesn't enter into the conversation. If you really think about it, it can also help immensely in distinguishing between teams’ tactics based on the players they have—horses for courses and all that—so props to FIFA for, at the very least, starting to go down that path and explore its possibilities.
Friday, August 2, 2013
12:45 PM - August 2, 2013. Written by jmik58
Top Sports News for Friday, August 2, 2013
QOTD: Should the MLB be offering "plea deals" to PED users and cheaters?
- Settlement talks stall between A-Rod and the MLB, but some question why a settlement offer even exists.
- Despite forgiveness, LeSean McCoy says he'll never let Cooper into his BFF short-list.
- San Fran's secondary took a serious hit with the loss of Chris Culliver to an ACL injury that will likely sideline him for the enire year.
- Pen pal sells out Aaron Hernandez as private letter from the former Patriots tight end goes public.
- As strange as the name Pelicans may seem, the color scheme isn't completely dreadful.
- Will you tune in to catch any of the X Games this year?
- Do the Atlanta Falcons have a clear-cut path to the division title?
- Field too wet to practice for Redskins? No worries, we'll get the helicopter.
- When you're Alabama football you get bored with normal equipment and opt for the anti-gravity treadmill.
- Why is the MLB cutting deals with cheaters?
EA recently released a blog post that detailed the improvements to the online offerings for NHL 14. Since the EASHL and online team play are popular modes amongst the core fanbase of the franchise, it's always interesting to see how EA curates the community and tweaks the experience from year to year.
This year the team has addressed a few usability and matchmaking issues that have been bothersome over the last few years and has added the popular promotion/relegation feature from the FIFA series. Most of the changes don't affect gameplay all that much, but there is some good stuff for the off-ice experience, to be sure.
EA Sports Hockey League Online Seasons
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Having a dedicated "seasons" hub and tracking stats across multiple seasons will be a nice change as well, especially when you can find all of the relevant stats and info in one place. I still hold out hope that all of the menu navigation is faster than in previous years, but the EA server "spinny wheel" is likely to return.
Playing Through an Online Season
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Divisions
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Playoffs
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Matchmaking in EASHL Club Seasons
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Club Challenges
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Hockey Shop
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Edit Attributes
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This change also means that the +7 attributes mentioned previously will have less impact since you won't be able to go over a certain amount. However, it will allow for certain lesser categories to possibly be buffed more than they were before.
Improved Online Team Play (OTP) Flow
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Final Thoughts
The adoption of the FIFA style of relegation and promotion is a cool idea for the EASHL, and adding extra divisions and more playoff opportunity allows every user to feel like a part of the action while allowing the cream to rise to the top.
The removal of the cap-busting for boosts in player attributes will definitely shake up some of the established "builds" of the last couple of years (hopefully for the better), and the fix for OTP matchmaking is great to see. We'll get to try all of this out real soon now, as the game is a little over a month away, but the demo should be out at the end of August.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
03:48 PM - August 1, 2013. Written by jmik58
Top Sports News for Thursday, August 1, 2013
QOTD: Will a fantasy draft method of choosing NFL Pro Bowl teams impact your interest in the game?
- Drunken Eagles receiver Riley Cooper uses racial slur; faces tough climb in public eye.
- LeBron for President? King James has been weighing the possibility of running for NBPA prez.
- Texas Trifecta as Rangers walk-off for third consecutive night. [VIDEO]
- NFL Pro Bowl is being overhauled in big ways, including the elimination of AFC vs. NFC in favor of captains picking teams.
- Baltimore trades for Houston's Bud Norris and isn't wasting any time utilizing him in the rotation.
- Philadelphia's Chip Kelly isn't showing if he's concerned about refs slowing down his offense in the NFL.
- Locker-room instigators already at work as annonymous Jets player puts faith in Smith over Sanchez.
- Did you know college football games start this month? [VIDEO]
- The SEC is full of brutal rivalries, but Georgia vs. South Carolina may be one of the most underrated.
- New addition at Jack Trice Stadium enhances Cyclones tunnel entrance experience. [IMAGE]
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
10:38 AM - July 31, 2013. Written by jmik58
Top Sports News for Wednesday, July 31, 2013
QOTD: Will Tampa Bay, Boston, Baltimore or another team prevail in the AL East?
- White Sox, Tigers, and Red Sox make swap; Jake Peavy now in Boston.
- Vikings' Peterson predicts he'll pass Emmitt Smith in 2017 for rushing record.
- Criminal charges have been dropped against Ohio State's star halfback, but Hyde still faces 3-game suspension.
- First-place Pittsburgh Pirates! Cardinals drop double header, slide into 2nd in NL Central.
- Harvin says he expects hip surgery soon.
- MLB players' union given heads up on impending suspensions related to Biogenesis.
- Grantland describes the NBA offseason -- using movie quotes.
- Jadeveon Clowney, the best player in all of football? [VIDEO]
- Incredible finish by rugy player David Nofoaluma. [ANIMATED GIF]
- Former Giants closer Brian Wilson signs minor league deal with Dodgers.
The following tips are intended as general tips and do not contain any high level strategies or specific 'money' option plays. The additions to NCAA 14 in the option game make it a much more viable game plan and those who haven't had much experience running the option in past years, may find some value here.
4. Get familiar with the controls - I know this sounds like common sense, but particularly with this year's additions, you need to know exactly what controls make things happen. The shovel option plays in particular add a new wrinkle. On these plays you're gonna be using the left/right bumpers (or L1 and R1 on PS3). It's important to note that if you flip the play, you also flip the controls. On dive options you're gonna want to be comfortable with when and how long to hold down A (or X on PS3) to give the ball to the back (or keep it). These controls aren't rocket science but the last thing you want to do when you're trying to run the option is think about what button/trigger controls what action.
3. Know your personnel - Again, this sounds so obvious, but go ahead and check out the ratings of your QB, HB, FB, TE, and OL. You need to know where the strongest run blockers are on your offensive line and run plays behind those guys with the highest RBL ratings. Check the RBL ratings on your TEs too. The speed, agility, and carry rating of your QB are going to be important for QB keepers and the RBs with high speed, agility, carry, and break tackle ratings are going to be your most effective backs, especially on outside runs such as the speed option. For teams that run more traditional FB dives out of the triple option, your FB should have a high carry rating and good break tackle ratings. You need to know your players' abilities to run the most effective plays out of the option.
2. Know who you are supposed to be reading - Depending on whether you're running a simple hand-off option, a speed option, a triple option with a dive play, or a more involved shovel option you will have different reads; different players who you need to key on and watch both before the snap and as you snap the ball and start running the play. These will be defensive ends, outside linebackers, and defensive tackles depending on the type of option play you're running. Practice is the best way to get comfortable with this. Go into practice mode and run the various option plays that you want to use regularly until you feel comfortable with your reads.
1. Use the Nike Skills Trainer - Rarely are tutorials truly useful for both beginners and longtime fans, but the new Nike Skills Trainer is an exception. I can't emphasize how good this is for learning the option play. If you're having trouble running the option, this is where you should be spending your time. There are a few of different tutorials on both regular read options, triple options, and pitch/shovel pass plays. Get in there and practice! It really works and it's a very effective and fun tool in this year's game.
Those are my top four basic tips for improving your game as a read option QB. Add your tips in the comments!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Business reality. That's the reason NHL 14 is taking the easy transition towards next-gen development. There is no financial reason the franchise should risk the modest gains it has made in this generation for some paltry sales on the new consoles.
The fact is that hockey is still a fledgling sport in many markets, even though it remains popular amongst its fanbase and within the videogame community. Larger franchises, like the dependable Madden and the global juggernaut FIFA, are natural fits for the next-generation right away, and fans of those franchises have shown a willingness (with their wallets) to buy multiple versions of these games, even when the improvement in graphical quality and gameplay is dubious.
Consulting VGChartz, we can see that Madden NFL 2006 sold approximately 600,000 units back at the launch of the Xbox 360, and that is seen as a reasonable return on investment for a launch product on a new system. The R&D money for the "real" next-gen game hadn't yet been brought to bear, and that reasonable total is added on to the cross-platform success that Madden enjoyed across Playstation 2, Xbox and several other platforms.
Comparatively, the NHL series from EA took the year off in the previous "next-gen" as well, and that led to the innovation of the skill stick and a reinvigoration of the brand. Still, that reinvigoration has only created a reasonable measure of success -- nothing close to the millions that FIFA enjoys on a yearly basis. Once again consulting VGChartz, we can see that NHL 13 is just now reaching one million sales (across all platforms), even though the franchise has been deemed "successful" for the last few years, In fact, looking at previous years, we can see that NHL 12 reached 1.16 million copies sold, and NHL 11 was 1.24 million copies.
It's hard to argue with the reality that the NHL franchise, as good as it is, just isn't a major player in the sports scene, certainly not compared to Madden, FIFA, NCAA or NBA 2K. When you have a franchise that is actually slightly dipping in sales when heading into the next generation, the safest bet is to make the money you can on the old technology while you can, and then make a measured investment towards the new platform over the course of a couple of years. Selling a million copies is still nothing to sneeze at, and one has to believe that it makes the franchise profitable, considering that the dev/marketing budget for the NHL series is likely south of $50 million per game (that's an educated guess on my part). Still, when you can get that many copies sold and augment that with pricey DLC cards and equipment upgrades, it turns a healthy profit for one of the smaller EA brands, which is a good buffer for the company's riskier ventures.
If NHL 14 were to attempt a launch on Xbox One and PS4, it just wouldn't have the brand loyalty or horsepower to really make an impact in other markets. The increase in budget required to make said next-gen hockey product wouldn't be worth EA's time, and it could possibly even hurt the brand by getting lost in the shuffle of prettier and flashier next-gen products, sports or otherwise. On top of this, the install base of the new consoles will be quite small for the first year or so, so you'd be asking upwards of one million people to plunk down on a new hockey game when maybe only 10 million are going to own a console during that year. This is a tough proposition when the franchise can barely scratch one million copies today with 150 million consoles in the market.
The silver lining of this delay is that an EA development studio with slightly less budget than the big boys at the company is able to get an extra year to think about what their franchise is really all about at this point. They will have to decide where the NHL series -- and, to a larger extent, hockey -- fits in with the modern-day sports videogame landscape. Where will the next innovations come for control and social functions? Will the graphics be able to hang with other contemporary sports brands? Will the digital future harm or hinder this brand?
These are all questions the team at EA Vancouver will have to answer in the next 12 months or so, but it's a luxury they should enjoy when other studios are having to rush to market with no room to breathe.
Monday, July 29, 2013
11:27 AM - July 29, 2013. Written by jmik58
Top Sports News for Monday, July 29, 2013
QOTD: Do you feel bad for Johnny Manziel or put off by his poor decision making off the field?
- USA soccer is 'Golden' after winning Cup title, 1-0 over Panama.
- Jeter returns from DL; homers on first pitch.
- Manziel booted from UT frat party -- photo shows 20-year-old with booze in hand.
- Poll: What's your opinion of Johnny Manziel?
- Baseball inducted three not-so-household names into the HOF, but what about today's stars -- are they HOF material?
- Jets agree to first-round deal with Millner worth nearly $13 million.
- Angels may be without aging Pujols for remainder of 2013 season.
- Ryan Newman -- Indiana native -- earns Brickyard victory in NASCAR race.
- Bud Selig is considering lifetime ban for A-Rod if he refuses two-year suspension. Yankees would allegedly still owe Rodriguez $60 million if he accepts.
- Brewers fan booted -- later apologized to by team -- for changing Braun to "Fraud" on jersey.
Friday, July 26, 2013
11:02 AM - July 26, 2013. Written by jmik58
Top Sports News for Friday, July 26, 2013
QOTD: What team comes to mind when you think of 'Greatest Offense in NFL History'?
- Cubs clear space in bank account with departure of Soriano to Yankees.
- Aaron Hernandez photo shows gun or an example of confirmation bias?
- San Francisco player misses out on $2 million workout.
- Redskins receiver puts bullseye on own team's back, potentially 'greatest ever'.
- Falcons sign up for five more years with franchise QB, Matt Ryan.
- Whistleblower claims he has more names from various sports related to Biogenesis -- NBA, MMA, NCAA among them.
- Who cares what we think about the name, Pelicans fans have their own thoughts on the new mascot.
- Slow day at ESPN? "Docket buys tiger cub...attempt to buy monkey rebuffed..." [IMAGE]
- Freddie Freeman breaks camera with foul ball. [ANIMATED GIF]
- From The Onion: Romo practices for first time since ovarian cyst removal.
Last Friday EA posted a new blog that outlines some of the gameplay improvements for NHL 14. The changes appear to touch all aspects of the game, and they also address some lingering concerns that people have had over the last couple of years. Then again, some of these things should have been dealt with before now (players facing the wrong way, line change logic, etc.)
I will say that it is nice to see EA actually respond to some feedback and give concrete examples of how these changes will actually affect gameplay, but of course we won't really know the extent of that effect (or whether these changes have created new problems) until we get to put the game through its paces. A couple alterations to the AI logic seem really promising, so I hope those actually plug some of the flagrant gaps that the AI has had to deal with in NHL 13.
Looking at the changes...
Offensive AI Changes
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Defensive AI Changes
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Line Change Logic Changes
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Special Teams Changes
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Final Thoughts
The main changes that excite me here are improved defensive AI and vision. If this can curb some of the ridiculous breakaways and actually make AI defenders a moderate threat to actually hit or impede, then the flow of the game will definitely be changed for the better. Having players face the right way and position their body correctly will also be welcome, but I'm curious to see if that will work on reverses along the boards and angled plays near the net. It's frustrating when an AI doesn't recognized the space it's been given -- or it does but isn't ready for the pass.
I fully expect a couple of these changes to not change up the feel from NHL 13 that much, but I hope that the important ones truly impact gameplay in a positive way.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
11:46 AM - July 25, 2013. Written by jmik58
Top Sports News for Thursday, July 25, 2013
QOTD: Should the MLB implement a safety bag for runners at first base?
- Tim Hudson breaks ankle covering first base.
- First it was Penn State pretending away Paterno, now the Florida Gators are removing every piece of Aaron Hernandez -- even the bricks.
- Biogenesis doctor and A-Rod allegedly never met, but why does it even matter?
- He hasn't played in over a year but Bulls' Rose still thinks he's the best.
- US advances to Gold Cup finals but may be without coach after ejection.
- Soriano says he supports swap back to Pinstripes.
- Big Ten media days have turned into The Urban Meyer Show.
- Belichick speaks out on Hernandez situation for first time.
- If we embrace our history, then don't hide Ryan Braun -- the 2011 MVP Award can't be taken back.
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