Official NCAA 2005 Impressions

[mad_bomber]

Post your impressions of the game here. All comments are welcomed and appreciated.

[CheqMate]

First impression: I love the flow of the game

2nd impression: I'm getting my butt kicked.

[kbell97]

Offense -1. I need flares back in the shotgun bunch - haha
2. love the running game- especially out of one back sets- WR option out of shotgun bunch, hb option out of Wishbone Tight, the HB reads with Olineman zone blocking.
3. So my passing game need a lot of work, the analog seems really touch when directing a pass.
4. I am having better success running with the DPAd and not the analog stick, I don't know why, I will just stick with dpad then.
5. I like the slant as an audible, its about time!!!!!!!

Defense 1. I like the 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 - gives us all new possibilities as far as blitzes.
2. Seems like cover 2 is even stronger, taking away the flood routes, thanks to Bomber he found one way to beat it with the wheel routes
3. Like that EA has added new defensive plays to the 4-3 , dime, nickel, etc...............I really like Dime and Nickel Max plays.........I just need to go into the labe and develope some blitzes
4. I do like the big hits (L2) button, I mainly use it when a reciever is going to catch a ball
5. I am not a big celebrations guy after a play, I just hand the ball off to the ref, know your role and show respect

General
I do like the flow of the game, it does seem to make everythink even. I don't understand the whole tipped passes thing with the ball hanging in the air so long. The matchup stick is pretty cool especially one on one coverage, and the Home Field advantage is awesome. Well I will shut up now, :D

[TrojanNole]

Kbell, I hear ya buddy, we need the Flares back! But, can you tell me how u auibled into a slant? I havent figured it out yet.

[kbell97]

I think it is either L2 or R2 as a hot route

[orlandoPace]

i just went to the mall to pick this game up with my friend, as soon as we got to my place we started it up.

this game is ****ing amazing, i have only played one game but from what i played i loved it.

i was ohio state and he was usc. score 21 - 3 OSU

i love the fact that you can actually run in this game, the trap blocking kind of worked like it was supposed to, and now the o line will block in a direction, 2 rushing TDs and a pass to lydell ross in the flats. so he had all my tds, ill have to check out dynasty mode next, or maybe online.

[mac6262]

i like it, however it's a little buggy. the tip balls, are like ;pop ups.....will miss the faster pace though!

[Rcknrolxpres]

This game is horrible. The players move choppy. Not fluid like in last years game. The field looks like cement, and everyone is slow. The pace of the game is horrible.


I have found NO positives or enhancements from last years game. Its going backwards.

Already the server for online play is down.

Give me my '04 back! :mad:

[seanmac]

My initial impression is not positive. The slowdown is very noticeable, both during play and during the cut scenes, making for a game that kind of drags along. All the fluidity of NCAA 2004 is gone. I haven't gone online yet, but word on the street is that play is even slower there.

In terms of gameplay changes, I can see where things have improved. The interior run blocking is noticeably better, as is the play action. I've had good success with the matchup stick in identifying DBs to target. The HFA is great for atmosphere, but it's tough to choose between resetting your defense (and I'm not even talking micromanaging each player but simply position shifts or audibles) and pounding on the white button. There are a lot of new animations that have been showing up, making some of the quarterback movement in the pocket look particularly nice. I haven't had a ton of problems with drops so far, but I know that some other people are not getting their receivers to hang onto the ball.

Mostly, the slowdown is kind of overwhelming right now. I'm sure I'll adjust after a few games, but the smoothness and fluidity of 04 put 05 to shame.

[Rcknrolxpres]

This game is hard. It's so slow and cumbersome on line its hard to move the ball at all. These new defenses make it REALLY easy to stop slants and any passes over the middle. I just played a guy online that was one of the best last year and beat him 3-0. Acutally I like the pass defense being beefed up. It was so easy last year to just throw it up and have your receiver leap up and get it. Not so this year, at least so far anyway.

I dont really play Dynasty or anything like that. I play mostly online. Anyone wanna hit me up for a game my names are Count Rugan, Rcknrolxpres, Prvte Pyle, and deGunslinger.

I really suck tho. :(

[getting awn]

I was not impressed with the game.
-They screwed up the passing plys.. Bring back my plybook from 04.
-The speed was noticeable when I was on defense blitzing. HFA is a beast. I was plying this guy I had him 13-6. 4th down and 20+, he made the reception, and scored the winning TD.... Against Oklahoma no less. It was a LSU vs. OK showdown. Whe I got the ball, my passes were not accurate at all. I never got the chance to come back. I was pissed.

I tried to ply TrojanNole, and couldn't get my bearings on the game. Luckily he was nice enough to allow me to friendly quit. "Friendly Quit???" What kind of Bullsht is that!!!

They took away the controller settings from the game. They have two choices. I am use to plying with Madden configurations as my controllers.

UL Monroe plybook is screwed.... My favorite pass plys from the spread shotgun are gone, or worst than that. They were converted to PA plys. I HATE PLY ACTION.....!!!! :mad:

I won a game with negative yardage. Don't get me started about that one.. I am pissed off at this. :mad: :mad: :mad:

This is Y I stopped plying Madden in 04....!!!!

They took away the pass lead sensitivity of holding the L2 button... I am on the verge of a cursing fit right about now.

I hope I can adjust to this new style of game, or else I will look at Madden again.... I am very disappointed in this game right now....

[TrojanNole]

Hey getting awn, I saw u having a hard time with the controller tonight. I was using the UL Monroe playbook too tonight and am missing alot of plays, I just had to improvise on the fly.

Actually, I'm gettinguse to the game and starting to enjoy it. Dont fight it, go with it and be patient, your mojo will start to flow again. :rolleyes:

I'm better at defense than offense which is really wierd :confused: , actually I wasnt playing offense at all tonight my buddy was and I played defense only, he was going though the game for the first time.

Lets try again sometime.

[getting awn]

:cool: Sure thing TrojanNole. I found out the problem with the controller, and was able to adjust. I didn't really ply any warm up games, just a qtr or 2, so I didn't get a good feel of it. :confused: I should b able to adjust in a couple of days.... I will definitely hook up with u at another time. :mad: :D

[orlandoPace]

how can you guys think the game is worse?

just cause you cant complete every pass, well i hate to break it to you, but watch some real football, offense is hard, punts occur more often than youd want to think.

and if you need to remember something from last year, the running game was freakin terrible, with a good rb and o line, a 4 yrd rushing avg was good.

this year a good running team is amazing, i was playing a game with ohio state last night, 198 rushing yds. and 6.5 yds. avg, but it was on AA

[R-ILLA]

What system are you using?

[Farmer]

Right now the only gripe I have is that I'm not used to the poor, or limited controller configs.

The drops are killing me but I'm pretty sure I can adjust to that.

But what's killing me more so is the fact that I can't find a PB that I like. I spent 3 or 4 hours going in and out of practice mode looking at all the different PB's.

Oh well, I guess I will have to give it more time. I will check out the dynasty mode tonight. But I did go ahead and create my good ole University of Houston-Metro Outlaws. :D I made them a middle of the road team instead of following my usual formula of making my created team an A+ juggernaught.
I'm really anxious to see how the dynasty mode will pan out.

[TrojanNole]

I knew something was going on with you, most of these VG guys are seasoned vets and I thought you were off in getting plays in, something just wasnt right. Its all good AWN.

We'll hook up again.

[kbell97]

I Know what you mean Farmer, I madE made own custom playbook last night, after a couple of day of playing srimmages and getting a feel for the game running and passing, I am going to go through my playbook and break down plays offensively and defensively. I want plays on offense from each formation that I don't even have to make any adj. with audibles, the only adj. I would like to make is using motion, I am doing this for the HFA.

[FlaPride]

just got the game.
I took the first drive playing as the Gators vs FSU and went 6 for 6 passing and ran the ball well and scored. the drive lasted 5 minutes. then I could not repeat that for the rest of the game and got beat. I am definitely going to have to get used to the game. I do like the fact it does seem very defensive and I really didn't think the game speed was bad at all. I have seen a lot of complaints about the speed but I personally didn't see it.
there is a lot I need to figure out like how to switch the direction of the run.( it didn't seem to work for me) and the CPU certainly had no problem beating the cover 2 when I called it. CPU always hit a streak on the sidelines everytime I called it (without blitzing). I can't wait to get a little more time in so I can compare notes with everyone.

[djwill13]

Offense:

1) you MUST learn how to use the matchup stick in order for you offense to be effective
2) adjust your sliders from the get go. my first game i threw 7/23 with david greene from UGA and his orv is like 92. the majority of those passes were overthrows on crossing routes. thinkin it was a fluke my second game i threw 11/30. adjust your qb accuracy
3) in order to throw the ball you must know who your "go to WR's are"
4) the speed of the game is a tad slower, but makes the running game a lil more effective
5) the option has been toned down and isn't as effective as last years, but can still be deadly
6) if your qb is having a bad game bring in the backup
7) i love how the ratings change as the game goes along
8) homefield advantage is just nasty. not sure it affects the cpu the same way it affects a human player though

Defense:

1) even tougher than last years
2) the 3-3-5 is a very versatile defensive pb that gives you the option to do multiple zone blitzes or even drop back in to quarters
3) too many batted passes instead of picks once the balls have been tipped to begin with. what i mean is instead of goin for the pick your db's knock the ball down
4) DO NOT try and go for the int. knock the ball down. i've been burned i don't know how many times tryin to go for the pick
5) the "hard hit" is just nasty and come in handy for plays over the middle


Overall: great game, and exciting college atmosphere. a lil difficult at first, but with some practice you will get it. i am a lil mad at the playbooks though. it 2 days i still haven't found one i am comfortable with.

[Farmer]

1) you MUST learn how to use the matchup stick in order for you offense to be effective

I used this in practice to get myself used to using the stick. So far I think I'm adjusting quite well to it all.




2) adjust your sliders from the get go. my first game i threw 7/23 with david greene from UGA and his orv is like 92. the majority of those passes were overthrows on crossing routes. thinkin it was a fluke my second game i threw 11/30. adjust your qb accuracy

What would you recommend?? I really don't mess with the sliders at all. Do the adjustments to the sliders carry over to online play??


3) too many batted passes instead of picks once the balls have been tipped to begin with. what i mean is instead of goin for the pick your db's knock the ball down
I noticed this alot during my practice session. I think I had like 4 pics where the DB jumped the route and got it. But I had like 20 pics due to tipped balls that just seem to never hit the ground.


5) the "hard hit" is just nasty and come in handy for plays over the middle
How do you accomplish this?? I tried using it but didn't see anything. Isn't that where you hold the L2 button down when tackling?




i am a lil mad at the playbooks though. it 2 days i still haven't found one i am comfortable with.
Ditto to the max. :(

[djwill13]

i bumped mine and the cpu sliders for qb accuracy up 3-4 notches, however, i don't believe it's availible for online play. i did notice a difference in my dynasty. i still have overthrows, but not near quite as often as before

in order to get the hard hit, you must have an open lane to the ball carrier, then before you make the takle hit L2. it actually gives wear and tear to the ball carrier causing his stats to suffer as the game goes on and you keep pounding him. you'll see "user big hit" on the screen when you do it correctly. consider the L2 version another way of tackling

[kbell97]

Thats cool, I was not aware that the big hit wore down the ball carrier, I guess if you keep sacking the QB it should wear him down also then.

[McMadden]

My thoughts so far. One I just stuck with one team from last year, USC. Last year they were #9, this year they are #1. People will probly think I am a band wagon fan, but if you look at my NCAA 2004 profile you'll see my last game was in the fall with #9 USC.

Back on topic, I am a passive NCAA player, played the game for the first time and thought it was awsome, this year, well, its been tweaked. I passed the ball more than I ran it, but didn't know that there was a run problem with the game. This year running is som much more enjoyable, and HFA is more of a nuisence than a distraction for me, and that surprised me. You can quite the crowd later in the game with big drives and scores, they even boo the home team if they are loosing!?!? LOL

But defense is a huge huge improvement. The DB AI is so much better to watch and play more realistically than last years. Defense is fun! Good news for (MAdden 2005 fans) This year the 50-60 plus blow outs are a thing of the past, atleast for now (Virtual Filmroom, get ta cooking! :p lol) I have seen so many low scores on-line so I will say that now you really have to earn those scores! Last year I got no user picks at all, last night I had three! Now that tells you how much better the DBs are in coverage. Another note, I think it was in the 4-3 formation where the SS blitzes. Well in Madden when a DB or Safety blitz, they 9 times out of 10 get jammed up behind their own players. But now for the first time I saw a SS blitz and expertly avoided a Offensive lineman to make the hurry up throw! He advoided the lineman, cool! :cool: But defense can be exploited, a tip from gamefaqs message board wrote that a player suggested that with the new match up stick you can pick on a rattled player to make a big play! (Virtual Filmroom, get ta cooking! :p lol)

Special teams, the return game is much more enjoyable now. When returning kicks you can set up your blocks much better this year.

Offense, ther run game is much better, holes and using the juke button feels like you can get away from the defender instead of seeing the sucked in animation you sometimes get from Madden when you run near a defender he sometimes magically shoe string tackle you.

User feedback is Aw,aw,aw, awsome dude! You can now read and find out how many times a guy blitz, hurry up, his favorite formation, and PB, etc, etc and his rep rating. If you create an on-line profile from scratch your rep rating will be around 123-125 I'm guessing, (thats what mine were)but, if you use you old NCAA 2004 or Madden on-line profiles your rep rating starts at 200, cool huh. now you can choose to give positive feedback to a player you know or just played.

If I were to nit pick, and this is nit pick, why can't EA fix collision detection between players after the play has stopped? I see to many players walking through referees and coaches, this is 2004 people fix this already. lol ;) Thats my only nit pick, later got a game to play!

Screen name phillyfan743, or McMadden

[Farmer]

I just stuck with one team from last year, USC. Last year they were #9, this year they are #1. People will probly think I am a band wagon fan, but if you look at my NCAA 2004 profile you'll see my last game was in the fall with #9 USC.



That is so true for me as well. Actually on 04 I had very good success running the ball with USC. I was having so so success until Mad_Bomber suggested that I give Miss. States play book a try. Then my run game just exploded into a whole nother gear.

I tried to go online last night but it kept telling me the servers were down. After seeing USC's rating I wasn't suprised to read how many players wanna be them. But that's my team and I'm sticking with them, win or lose ( knowing me, proabably more losing :p ) on the game and in real life, they're still my team. :D


-Farmer

[djwill13]

LSU's defense is sick
FSU is over rated, but their d is extremely fast. attack them up the middle
UGA's D.J. Shockley has been toned down (all scrambling qb's have from what i've seen). we have a horrible kicker 48 ovl. fred gibson is the man (#82 for those of you that don't know)
Miami isn't as dominate as they were last year, but their defense is still nasty

[McMadden]

LSU's defense is sick
FSU is over rated, but their d is extremely fast. attack them up the middle
UGA's D.J. Shockley has been toned down (all scrambling qb's have from what i've seen). we have a horrible kicker 48 ovl. fred gibson is the man (#82 for those of you that don't know)
Miami isn't as dominate as they were last year, but their defense is still nasty
Well what about USC?

[McMadden]

That is so true for me as well. Actually on 04 I had very good success running the ball with USC. I was having so so success until Mad_Bomber suggested that I give Miss. States play book a try. Then my run game just exploded into a whole nother gear.

I tried to go online last night but it kept telling me the servers were down. After seeing USC's rating I wasn't suprised to read how many players wanna be them. But that's my team and I'm sticking with them, win or lose ( knowing me, proabably more losing :p ) on the game and in real life, they're still my team. :D


-Farmer
Oops off topic, sorry :D
I have been using USCs PB, they took out the Pro Set. What PB are you using for them now?

[djwill13]

haven't played with or against USC yet, but in my dynasty they lost the first game of the season.

FSU beat miami (yeah right)

Chris Leak (qb for UF) is 3rd in the heisman

i'm (uga #4) playin #2LSU tonight at samford. i'm so excited, i want to go home and play now. i have to wait an hour and a half though. lol

[blackpowdereer]

For me the slow down is not a good thing. I found using the WVU playbook I could run at will....now?? my average is under 50yds online. Against the CPU I like it.....the running game is more realistic and the passing game is actually harder.....User catches are really the ONLY way to get some yardage using the pass.
I like the new dimension added to the dynasty....already had to sit my second string HB down for the season....he was a TRUE f#ckup.

Online is something I guess I'm just gonna have to get used to. Having broadband...I guess I got spoiled....forgot what lag was....well I remember now....it's frustrating....if your playing and practicing a LOT against the CPU,don't expect it to help your online play cause it's a different game online. I am really miffed about the inability to carry your custom pb online. It's like starting all over again. But hey...there is something to be said for even play. And that is truly what this is, right now.

[djwill13]

man, i was so worried goin into my game against LSU tonight. i just knew fred gibson was gonna do something and i was gonna have to sit him. luckily he didn't and i got to go to the select playbook screen. i left it on pause right there lol.

i've had to sit: my starting tailback, my 4th WR, and a lowsy LT already and i've only played 3 games! i wish they had an academic list similar to the injury report so that you could see who is and who isn't playin in the game for both you and the cpu. that would be nice

[blackpowdereer]

Excellent idea DJ.....that would give you an opportunity to coach a player up...so you don't have to sit him down.

[Farmer]

McMadden,

I started out using USC's PB in the practice mode, but I really wanted to find a PB similar to the one I was using on 04. I would really like to find one that has the SG Bunch, SG Trips, I Form, I form Weak/Strong SB trips, and the Maryland I. If I could find a PB that has all or most of those I would be happy. But as it stands I'm not going online or up against the cpu until I can find a deacent PB to work with.






-Farmer

[sandman]

I tried and exbition game and won it. I really surprised myself. i drove down the field first drive and easily scored. I had trouble for the rest of the game. i got a pick for a td in the third quarter and ended up winning 17-0 with the Moutaineers. I did play Nebraska who is decent. I am proud of what i have accomplished. On a side note, I haven't heard this mentioned a lot but I love the new feature that you can coach a certain position during the timeout. It seems to have been helpful.

[mad_bomber]

That does come in handy during timeouts especially when you consider the game situation.

[jandt]

I have always played Madden but never NCAA before 2005 so I have nothing to really compare it in a previous version sense..All I can say is that so far my guys drop footballs all the time when they are wide open...I do better if I manually catch it...Running is kind of tough for me since the game seems to run at a slower speed than I am used to..Maybe it's just my guys but the acceleration button doesn't seem to give alot of boost immediately, takes a second or so before it kicks in... I have only played 4 games ( all online ) and lost them all.. First time I was the away team and the other guy picked Florida and I had to turn off vibration after about 2 minutes before I did perm damage to my hands from it going nonstop. Homefield advantage is AWESOME!!!

[BamaGrad]

I like the new features, but it's going to take some time to get used to them... I was snapping the ball with 1-2 seconds on the play clock every down.

Passing seems harder this year, need to practice my reads more.

Overall, good game and very fun to play, again I personally need much more practice! I also need to develop my own playbook tonight to fit my style better... Alabama's default playbook is decent but not great.

[UM_Juggalo]

Just got the game yesterday evening and have only managed to win 1 out of about 5 games... but it seems pretty cool... haven't started the dynasty yet cause the Rosters with names ain't out yet... i also think the game runs slow as hell compared to last years or even madden of last year. I really don't like having to sit there for 30 sec and watch as FSU is celebrating in the orange bowl after a TD that brought them to within 20.... yes the one game i did win was at home against FSU. Maybe thats why I like the game already:)

Xbox Version
Gameplay-8.9
Graphics-9.0
Flow-1.5
Extras-10 - Flat out what makes the game so gooood...HFA is awesome but its also kinda borin playin on the road i keep hitting white now for no appearant reason

thats my 3cents on the game

[sandman]

I have two complaints about the game. One, I think for all PS2 users the dynasty takes up way too much room on the memory card. Its takes around 3850. With all of my other games, that is hard to fit on. My other complaint is the unrealistic outcomes like Miami losing to USC in my dynasty and OSU losing to Marshall.

[orlandoPace]

I have two complaints about the game. One, I think for all PS2 users the dynasty takes up way too much room on the memory card. Its takes around 3850. With all of my other games, that is hard to fit on. My other complaint is the unrealistic outcomes like Miami losing to USC in my dynasty and OSU losing to Marshall.

i dont really think those are unrealistic outcomes.

miami losing to usc is very likely, usc is much better in my opinion

and osu losing to marshall isnt likely to happen, but think of it as an upset, they happen all the time, your probably just too used to the old game where the good team always wins, but thats not real football.

[sandman]

Actaully Orlando, I made a small typo. Miami didn't lose to USC, they lost to "UNC."

[Aldogg]

I got the game Tuesday, and have already done a season and a half of my dynasty. The only thing I have noticed is that the computer plays too much zone defense. I found a couple of plays which work good against the zone out of Miami's playbook and in one game, Ryan Moore set the all time NCAA Recieving yards in one game record and had 17 catches averaging over 30 YPC. This was against Virgina, which was ranked #9 in the country at the time. I don't know if the AI is programmed to stay in a zone most of the time or if it was the team strategy to stay in a zone despite getting killed. Throw that complaint out and I think the game so far has been great. I am going to try the online play Monday or Tuesday when I get my cable internet installed rather than the dial up I have now, and I have low expectations from what I have read with people still pulling and doing stupid things like WR at QB.

[mightypharaoh]

FIrst i have 2 get used 2 playing lousy. I was telling hobbs2324 in a PM I am such a cheeser right now bc I can't do diddly doo. The one thing I can do is run the option. I am actually in the process of running through a full dynasty, mostly sim, to see how it progresses over 30 years.


THe other reason I am doing that is bc I don't have a sharkport yet 2 download the rosters. ANd I want 2 have the player names for my imported draft classes for my Madden 05 chises.

The one thing I would have like would be a training camp for dynasty. Other thatn that I am happy with the game

[Warbuck$]

May I ask of the benefits of the Sharkport?

[mightypharaoh]

May I ask of the benefits of the Sharkport?

ps2 rosters.com requires that u have sharkport 2 download their rosters

[mtsouth]

Got it last night and played as UNC on default level vs. Dook. Won 28-21. Was able to run at will my RBs and FB. The passing will take some getting use to, but hitting triangle when trying to catch greatly improves things. On defense, I had to play a lot of Dime as they came out in 4-5 WR sets a lot.

I think the game is good, but I'll probably trade it once Madden comes out. I have the PS2 version and it did hang at the end of the game and I had to restart the machine. There was some shaking on the playcalling screen as well.

Overall, it's a decent game, but one that I won't keep for a long time and play endlessly. I also played with hometown boy Chris Leak against Dook and was up 28-0 midway through the 2nd quarter. Talent does make a difference.

[kbell97]

I agree with you the running game is great. I don't get to cocky with the running because running against the computer and people is totally different, at least in my opinion.

[CrazyOldGuy]

After waiting an extra week for delivery (maybe that 100 mile drive isn't so bad... :eek: ) I FINALLY GOT the game thursday...

I've been playing it non-stop since. The playbooks and plays have some better tweaks but they also have a lot of head scratchers... why the TONS and TONS of option (is Frank Solich the consultant?) I used the play occasionally now it so prevelant if you want run anything other than the iso you almost have to use it.

The computer is UNBELIEVABLE at covering the flood rotues or shallow outs.. so much so that I'm already exploiting this sillyness by routinley hitting streak routes that have an out slant underneath them (Shotgun wide deep attack hot the left slot to an outside slant, motion him across), the slant route in generall has been huge for me so far...

Defensively I'm not quite used to the new formations yet (3-3-5,4-2) so I've fallen back a lot on my old reliable goaline, 3-4 and dime defenses. Looks like I need to really barrel down in that defense forum to try to pick up some tips to get some better ideas on how to use the new formations, but I was a little dissappointed in how they actually seem to be working...

They've added some great new d1aa teams, however I am still puzzled by the appearance of the generally useless mascot teams. It looks like they got REAL lazy in the classic games section too nothing useful there its the same darn games from last year... those are some good games but surely there are more or different ones that can be used.

Gameplay wise, its slower and very maddenlike, the usefullness of the hurry-up is pretty much non-existance because of the mentioned problem of not being able to audible on the fly. The fans are dumb and I don't need to see them after every play. Create-a-sign is an ok feature but I've only seen it once, the dialogue is pretty generic although now when I'm lambasting an opponent I am getting a tongue lashing by Lee Corso. EA must have got a nice check to keep flashing that Pontiac log infront of me, maybe next year they can use it to improve the game. Also I noticed the "TACKLING REF" feature is back (where the zebra conviently gets in your way to slow you down)

I'd like to say it looks like they fixed a lot of problems from the past but really everytime they fix something they seem to make something worse.. .I like the game and I'll probably play it a lot because I'm such a football fan but honestly I'd give it a C-, adding more D1AA teams is very appreciated but there isn't that much more in this game that makes me go "WOW"...

Now if they could the play editor back in or make us a great play editor period.....hmmmmmmmmm


In the meantime any chance espn or somebody else can come out with a better college football game?

[mad_bomber]

COG, overall how would you rate the offensive playbooks? I'd stlill like to see some additional things added to the base two back sets. I'm ok with shotgun sets for the most part.

[Farmer]

COG, overall how would you rate the offensive playbooks? I'd stlill like to see some additional things added to the base two back sets. I'm ok with shotgun sets for the most part.


I like the depth added to the ShotGun formations, and more run plays that they contain. But EA really screwed up with the two back sets. There are no off tackle plays, most of the run plays that they have the DT's blow them up way to easy. The majority of the time the DT's are a step in front of the HB/FB when they get the hand off. I've never seen a LB/DT/DE shed a block so easily in real life as they do in this game. Running to the outside is still suspect to the suction effect, where you clearly have the Defender being tied up by his blocker; but here you come running along and he sheds his blocker as easily as if he laid down the sunday paper on the coffee table and tackles you.

[Bronco]

Man, there is NO accurate representation of a vertical offense...I've found maybe three plays with a WR running a 15 yard dig...and what I want is 17-20. Same for outs and comebacks...there is nothing deep.:(

And make no mistake: when I say 'vertical offense' I'm not talking four vertical take-off routes...I want the precision deep game.

This is the precise reason I love the play editor so much, because I can accomplish this style of offense, straight from real playbooks. :mad:

[kbell97]

Bronco, their are deep outs and deep comebacks in Shotgun 5 wide, if you don't get sacked waiting for the deep out and comeback to get open.

[Bronco]

Bronco, their are deep outs and deep comebacks in Shotgun 5 wide, if you don't get sacked waiting for the deep out and comeback to get open.
I haven't found anything like that deeper than 15 yards...unsat.:mad:

[WayoftheGun]

this game is so awesome,i have called off of work just to be able to sit at home and play with my big screen and surround sound on and i will say that this is the most fun i have had in a long time.none of my lady friends understand my fascination and love for these games but i am quite sure everyone here does.with that being said , i cannot stop playing until i am about to pass out from fatigue,lol. i have started playing with the arkansas razorbacks and i have lost 10 straight games and usuallly i am playing against the top teams in the country,and i am so tired of seeing florida.lol i was playing against VT and one of my lbs hit marcus vick, well i guess he did not like it and got upset and started pushing my lb and he was pushing back and then we got called for bad sportsmanship and vt got a free 1st down,now when all of this happened,it was like 4th down and 20 and my opponent took off running with vick and my olb laid a nasty hit on him and the crowd went crazy although he was at home.our game had been intense from the first whistle but when we saw this we both paused the game and laughed for about 5 mins, i lost like 14-7 but it was a good game and a tough loss and even though the call tipped the momentum in his favor and my team lost their composure ,it was an awesome experience just from playing a video game.i must admit i loved every minute of that game.

[CrazyOldGuy]

Bomber,

I haven't had a chance to dig into the two back shotgun because I've been tinkering with the wider sets. I did glance at some of the plays but don't recall anything that jumped out at me.

I like the added running game in the shotgun wide sets, but I sure do miss my flood route. Also there isn't a good corner post route that I can use off the bat ,without some hot audibles. I don't really like the over emphasis on play action and it ticks me off that when I do call PA I have a defender running free in my backfield (true he gets fooled by the PA 90% but he's running around there unchecked). The routes with the play action aren't that well designed either with players uselessly running all over the place.

I still see WAY TOO MANY of the routes that somebody that either a) doesn't have a clue beyond watching MNF designed or b) were designed PURPOSELY to make it easier for the defense to defend. My contention is build better defenses (some of the zones are laughable). The removal of the bubble routes is KILLING ME (my receivers are cutting up field WAY TO SOON! instead of applying horizontal stretch).

On the other hand the "hot" slant route has opened up huge possibilities for my offense, Including a REAL RNS Slide route.


Still I must say if they don't hire you as a consultant the only thing that will make me happy is A REAL TRUE PLAY EDITOR! :D

[Farmer]

Bomber,

I don't really like the over emphasis on play action and it ticks me off that when I do call PA I have a defender running free in my backfield (true he gets fooled by the PA 90% but he's running around there unchecked). The routes with the play action aren't that well designed either with players uselessly running all over the place.

The removal of the bubble routes is KILLING ME (my receivers are cutting up field WAY TO SOON! instead of applying horizontal stretch).




IMO, Play action still takes too much time to set up. By the time I can even get to bring up the passing icons, I'm eatin dirt. :mad:



I still see WAY TOO MANY of the routes that somebody that either a) doesn't have a clue beyond watching MNF designed or b) were designed PURPOSELY to make it easier for the defense to defend. My contention is build better defenses (some of the zones are laughable).

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one COG, I was noticing that a few days ago when I looked at the crossing routes. On 04 those were a 5 yard pattern, but on 05 the WR runs that route parallel to the LOS, and when I complete the pass it's usually good for only 1 yard!! Who/What team in hell runs a 1 yard pattern!?!?!? :mad: In years past it took players a long time to see the short commings in EA's sports games, but with NCAA 05; you can clearly see the short cuts that were made. Man I sure wish I could have been one of their Q&A testers. This game sure would have turned out differently.

-Farmer

[TrojanNole]

I have noticed that this year, there are different kinds of PA in the game, some take longer to go though. Like some in the Shotgun take too long to go though, but on a pass like the Ace-Y-Twins TE Screen it donest say PA but the QB make a quick fake toss to the RB and freezes up the DB's.

Check IT out! The TrojanNOLE!

[mad_bomber]

Interesting I'm going to checkout that play. Quite a few teams use play action when throwing receiver screens.

[Bronco]

Interesting I'm going to checkout that play. Quite a few teams use play action when throwing receiver screens.Yeah, well, before you get too excited, that actually is one of the worse screens in the game. For some reason, the lineman don't pull at all...the TE essentially is just run a horizontal hitch route - with his nuts hangin' out in the wind.

Other than that, it is a very well conceived play.

[Farmer]

Yeah, well, before you get too excited, that actually is one of the worse screens in the game. For some reason, the lineman don't pull at all...the TE essentially is just run a horizontal hitch route - with his nuts hangin' out in the wind.

Other than that, it is a very well conceived play.


LOL LOL LOL

LMAO!!!

That was just too funny. LOL



-Farmer

[Bronco]

LOL!

You know, I actually just read what I wrote...that is kind of funny, though I actually was serious about the play being very well conceived! The damn limeman just don't block...but everything else up until that point is very well done.

But...well, you know the rest...:rolleyes:

Damn I love EA sometimes! We ***** and moan about them all the time, but the unintentional comedy they provide almost makes up for all the stuff that drives us crazy.

And "create a sign" is (in all seriousness) giving me hours of fun....good times. :D

[DuckFan]

My first post on this side of the fence... and yes, this is horrendously long... (in fact it's over 10000 characters and I had to split it...)

Some of the active posters from the Madden side last year will recognize my username I am sure, although I haven't been there in six months.

I am a huge fan of the NCAA games, in fact, last year was the first time I bought Madden in a decade and I only did so because I loved the NCAA 2004 game so much I wanted more...

The folks who know me from the Madden side know that I am far more interested in the Dynasty/Franchise side of things than I am in the actual gameplay (although I do have around 900 played games of NCAA 2004 under my belt, and another 800 of Madden 2004).

My impressions of the game so far, after 37 played games and 13 years of a Dynasty. Note that I was out of state when it was released and bought it a week ago today...

1) Game stutters, A LOT... and not just during play. The hesitations to bring up the save screens, the hesitation between choosing to save a file and when the popup appears saying it's happening. Scrolling from screen to screen feels like I am watching a Tarantino movie. It reminds me of how a computer acts when it's just a little short on memory. And there is no excuse for this. When you write a platform game, you have the exact specs for the platform and there is no reason to write code that will tax the machine.

2) The game is prettier than it used to be. I like the look of the graphics, the extra 3d effects on the school logos on the opening screens. All much prettier. But if this is the reason for sluggish response, it was a stupid choice.

3) WEATHER. This is so unbelievably stupid I can't even begin to comprehend. Last year the weather system worked great. Days in August were hot, hotter the further south. Nights were cooler. It rained when it was supposed to. By November, some northern cities would get occasional snow.

This year????

Okay, you're sitting here reading this post. Go to your PS2 and cue up a week 1 game at home for the Ducks. Is the game at night? Perfect. Now you tell me what's wrong with this picture! And for those of you who want to cut to the chase I will tell you what's wrong. It's 25 degrees and SNOWING! In AUGUST!

I have played 11 week one games at home so far. Four day games with temperatures of 65 degrees (Yeah right). Four night games with temps around 25. And three night games where it snowed...

I don't know what they did to screw up a system that worked, but somehow they did... :mad:

4) The menu structure is annoying. They moved several things around and made them much harder to find. It took me 3 Dynasty years to find where the autosub settings were. Hiding them under custom controller settings is a poor choice (especially when there is really nothing to customize). Trying to access weekly injury reports under Features-Rosters-Injury Reports is also annoying. That's info that should be closer at hand. And there is no way to see who is suspended for an upcoming game on the opposing team. You can see who is injured, but suspensions you either have to find them manually in the depth chart, or scroll through all the school suspensions before the game.

5) The new Home Field Advantage seems to be well done. I agree with previous posters that it may not affect computer opponents as much as human. But with the bar maxed out and a blitz on, the computer tries unsuccessfully to audible pretty regularly, and guys run the completely wrong routes, which is good. To take best advantage of it on defense you really need to have coach cam on when he audibles, so you can see which receivers didn't get the message...

6) Rating changes during the game are a huge plus. What a great addition and so real! For those who are not aware, your ratings also change every four weeks. So the in-game ratings change based on the performance in that game, and then after week 4, 8, and 12, your base ratings change to reflect the performance during the previous 4 weeks. So a guy may start the season as an 80, be an 83 after week 4, an 84 after week 8, and an 85 after week 12. You can view the rating changes under the Features-Rosters screen. The depth chart screen shows just the current rating, the Rosters screen shows 83(+3), showing that the guy was an 80 before and is now an 83...

7) The game has reduced the number of 5-star recruits. In my mind this is a big improvement, and more accurately reflects real recruiting. In NCAA 2004 I would commonly get 20-21 5-stars each year, and usually had around 30 that were interested at the start of recruiting. Now there are typically only 27-32 5-stars total in the whole country, and most of the top 100 is made up of 4-stars. I have had the top recruiting class each of the last 6 years, and only once did I even get 9 5-stars. Most years the top class has only 6 or so.

8) The color-coding during recruiting, with green circles and target symbols helps a lot in keeping track of who is who. Big improvement.

9) Scouting makes a LOT more sense. My wife used to joke how stupid it was that each week you would send a guy out to recruit and as he was leaving he would say "oh by the way, how are your hands?" and then the next week as he was leaving he would say "oh yeah, how fast can you run?" Now you pay a flat fee and get updated stats on every category including discipline and potential. Big improvement.

10) Recruiting budgets are AWESOME. The idea that you have to choose whether to spend money on recruiting, training, or discipline is a big improvement, and reflects what really goes on. Some schools recruit studs every year (like UCLA) but don't do a good job developing them. Other schools recruit 2nd-tier guys (like Oregon) and do a good job building them into stars. The Ducks have sent 13 guys to the pros in the last five years and none were heavily recruited by other schools. Heck, our backup QBs can be starters in the NFL?? That's not because of how great a prospect they were in high school.

Even better about the recruiting budgets is that the more money you spend on recruiting and training, the less you have for discipline. For those of you new to the system, believe me you don't need the 33% it defaults to the first time. 15-20% is more than enough for most schools. But if you push it too low, you won't have discipline points available to suspend your guys and the NCAA will cut your scholarships (or kill your tv appearances, bowl games, etc). Each year you will look at it at the end, and go "man, I could have spent half as much on discipline, I didn't use up any of it!" But the year you cut it too thin and get NCAA sanctions, you're screwed.

It even represents real life well. If a school spends tons of money on recruiting, some of the players are getting stuff under the table, they start to feel like the rules don't apply, they act out, and the program suffers. Great improvement!

11) Larger Rosters. Looks like a plus, though to be honest I have been playing 11 years and have yet to cut anyone. There are always guys graduating, turning pro, and transferring. I have yet to be forced to cut back.

12) Transfers. Realistic, but annoying for the power gamer. You can't just recruit all the best guys and tie them up year after year on your roster. Their first two years if they don't like their playing time they just leave. I used to punish other schools in 2004 by recruiting 4 kickers a year to make sure no one else had a good one. Can't do that any more. One minor question I have about this is that I have yet to have a single guy transfer in. Lots of them transfer out (usually to SDSU, Ariz, ASU, Idaho, etc). None have transferred in.

(continued)

[DuckFan]

13) Undecided recruits. Man, this pissed me off the first time, but I love the change. At the end of the 5 weeks of recruiting, probably 15% of the guys don't pick ANY school. At all. They will still be listed on your targets screen, and they eat up a scholarship, but they may not show up. So far it appears that if you have a position need after 5 weeks and you offered a scholarship to a guy at that position who didn't sign, he will likely show up in camp. But if you filled your needs, don't be surprised if he goes somewhere else even if he had you first.

14) Editing positions. Holy Mother of Sweet Dear Lord this is awesome... I can't even begin to describe how cool this feature is. And it is such an improvement in the game that I will happily overlook so many other flaws. Between seasons (and right after recruiting) you can change the positions of your players. Logjam at TE? Make one of them a FB! Too many corners? Make one a WR! It forces you to REALLY look at the players on your roster, because if you recruit 4 WR, you may find that one of them has a 59 TAK rating, and it may be better for him to play on D for you. No more of the stock "everyone gets a 40 if the stat isn't important to the position". Some guys have extra skills. I have a DT on my team with 70s for KPW and KAC. If push comes to shove he can fill in for me...

15) Athletes. Guys who can play more than one position. You have to guess when you recruit them what they are good for, although you do get some clues. Size tells a lot. And guys with no entry under "hands" are obviously OL/DL guys. PLus anyone who can play QB will have passing stats listed. But a guy who is 6-0 215 that's fast and has good hands could be one of about 8 different positions.

I really like the addition of Athletes, but I have already found something that is broken with them. I won't be giving it out just yet (except maybe to hobbs2324). But they screwed up when they did the code for athletes and there is an abusable feature in them.

16) Coach Prestige recruiting. A very nice, very real addition. The fact is there are defensive players wanting to go to Arizona right now because Stoops is now the coach. They don't care that the team has been awful. They care about the new coach. And this is a big improvement.

17) Play-By-Play. Some good new comments, although they still haven't fixed the two big flubs from last year that bug the heck out of me. One, on a busted run, when Corso says "I've seen plays like that where the tailbRack breaks one and goes for a touchdown." And the other, when Herbstreit talks about a minor injury and says "small injuries can turn into siezing-ending ones". Both of those still make me cringe. I do like the commentary that derides you for running up the score although they STILL don't understand squib kicks. With 10 seconds left and kicking off in a close game I almost always squib so they can't get a return, and they always yell at me for going for an onsides.

18) Custom Signs. Cool... just cool... nothing else to say.

19) Celebrations. Mostly good. Although some of them are pretty dorky. My two favorite animations are the one where the guy drops his sign and his buddies have to catch him before he goes over the railing after it, and the one at the end of a game where guys tap each other and gesture "hey, let's get out of here" then shuffle past the weeping fans. Those are good.

20) As far as gameplay itself, most of the things have already been said. The secondary plays almost too well (for both sides). I have already found a broken blitz that gets me around 13 sacks a game from one player. My biggest complaint is that the lateral movement of the CBs is unrealistic. They cover too much E-W ground now (both mine and the computers).

It is very important now to check your depth chart several times during the game. I have had guys whose AWR changed by 15 pts during the game, both up and down. And you have to watch that stuff.

21) Composure. I love this addition. Finally there is a reason to not cut my seniors. In NCAA 2004 I would regularly cut 5-6 seniors every season so that my younger guys would get more time. (ie cut an 86 senior so that an 84 freshman (who will be a 99 by his senior year) would start). Now it actually makes sense to keep the seniors around. I love the change.

That's it for now. My first post in a while. I'll be happy to expound on some things in other threads if people want more info. I am sure hobbs2324 will have some questions for me now that I am back. :cool:

All in all, I think they added a lot of great stuff this year, but it's not as polished as it should be. I give it a B+

DuckFan

[DuckFan]

Oh and one minor thing that affects me personally (and anyone who plays against the Ducks in the game)...

The roster does not reflect Igor Olshansky turning pro... he's still in the game.

How the heck does that happen? How do you not have the guys who turned pro removed from the roster?

I imagine there are other such glitches, but the Ducks roster is the only one I know well enough to immediately spot it...

[mightypharaoh]

Duck fan as far as the week 2 week player progressions, what determines them? What is the most points 2 expect from a player over 4 games? What catergory do they see the increases?

I totally agree about the in game substitutions. I actually found that today by accident about an hour before I read your thread.

Now my guess for coaching sliders is that style of offense and defense affects your play for sim games. Your thoughts? One poster felt that the sliders helped him recruit better players. Your thoughts.

Lastly have u been saving your draft classes for exporting or are u going 2 use MGD's when 05 comes out?

[DuckFan]

As near as I can tell, the week to week progressions are based on the individual performances in the games. So if a guy is a +2 in each of the weeks during that cycle, he will likely go up 2 at the next update. The biggest change I have seen in a 4-week cycle was +4 and I have only seen that once. Normally you may get a few 2s and a few 1s. Increases are normally in AWR, and then also in whichever categories are most relevant (TAK for LBs etc...)

Seriously, you MUST check and recheck your depth chart. I would suggest checking at every change of possession. Yes, that often. You will have guys whose AWR changes by 15pts during a game up or down. And if you leave a guy in the game who is playing down, it will affect him in future games. He won't actually drop at the 4-wk update (at least I haven't seen it yet). But if he is having a -6 game you can make it a -10 game if you leave him in, and that makes it that much harder to his good games later to help his rating climb. Don't assume you have your best players on the field, you probably don't. Especially if one of your D guys is doing well on special teams. His ratings will have gone up and he may be better than the guy you have starting...

Sliders definitely affect simmed gameplay... and as near as I can tell, that's all they affect. They do not affect recruiting. I ran many tests with the sliders last year, and several already this year, and they do not affect recruiting. What DOES affect recruiting, especially if you choose "coaching style" as the pitch, is where your team ranked in stat rankings. If you have the #4 defense overall and the #1 rushing defense, you should absolutely pitch coaching style to every DL and LB the first week. There will be a few that will actually like you for Coach Prestige or something else, but when you have one opening at LB and there are 7 4-star LB who have you high, that's because they love your coaching style. They see that you have great stat rankings and that's why they want to come.

What you have to ask yourself when recruiting is "Why does this guy have me high on his list?" There will never be more than two or three possible reasons. So when I pull up interested prospects, and I have a 5-star program with me as a 5-star coach at Oregon, and my roster has four MLB on it, and there is a stud MLB from Texas who has me ranked first, I ask myself why...

He doesn't rate me high for playing time. There is no reason for him to.
He doesn't rate me high for location. I am too far away.
So there are four choices: Team Prestige, Coach Prestige, Coaching Style, and my pipeline. I won't get into pipelines now because it's way too complicated and won't affect most people until year 8 or so.
So of the other three: Team Prestige, Coach Prestige and Coaching Style

I look at who else is in his top 3. The other schools are Texas and Florida.

I know from playing them last year that Texas is a 5-star program. And Florida won the NC. Both have high-prestige coaches.

I check and see that Texas' defense was terrible last year. So it's unlikely that coaching style is this guy's first choice. If it was he wouldn't have them in his top 3. He would have TAMU instead, who was in the top 5 defensively.

So this guy has me first because of either Team Prestige or Coach Prestige. Those are the only two pitches I would even consider the first week. I probably make the Team Prestige pitch first, and after the first week if that wasn't what he wanted to hear I switch to Coach. On a guy like this, in this situation, one of those two will get the + symbol about 90% of the time.

You HAVE to start by asking why the guy likes you... That HAS to be the beginning of the recruiting for you. Yes, you go out and cold call some random guys as well. But you start with your interested prospect list, and with those guys you have to ask what the guy likes.

Even when you do your cold calls, you look at the three choices the guy has made and see what they have in common. If you have a good pitch for that item, you can cold call him with more confidence...



I have not yet been saving draft classes. I probably will with my next franchise, but I will have this one done long before Madden comes out and I figure I will just save the next one...

DuckFan

[mightypharaoh]

Good stuff I am a day away from recruiting so I will put some of it 2 use. i have seen the -15 in game regressions, wow. How does the =/- translate 2 the ratings at the end of the season.

[DuckFan]

Good stuff I am a day away from recruiting so I will put some of it 2 use. i have seen the -15 in game regressions, wow. How does the =/- translate 2 the ratings at the end of the season.

The end of season ratings are exactly what they were after the last played game...

Here's what I mean.

You got a Sophomore FB with an 82 rating to start the season.

You play 3 games in the first four weeks, and he gets some good blocks and carries it a couple times. At the week 4 update, his rating goes up to 83.

For the next four weeks, his base rating is an 83 (going up or down in each game depending on how he is doing in that game).

You play 3 games in the next four weeks, and he has two okay games and one terrible one. During that game he fumbles the ball and allows two sacks, has like a 75(-8) at the end of the game. At the week 8 update he stays at an 83.

For the next four weeks his base rating stays at an 83.

You play four games in the next four weeks, and he has a couple monster games. Some great blocking, several broken tackles, YPC of 5.7... At the week 12 update he goes up 3 pts to 86.

For the next four weeks his base rating is an 86 (going up or down in each game depending on how he is doing in that game).

During those games he plays pretty mediocre, doing about average for his rating. He finishes the season at an 86.

When you go to the off-season, he will show as an 86.

You do your recruiting (during which time if you check returning players he will still show as an 86). You finish your recruiting and go to training results. He has a good offseason of training and goes up 3 more points.

He starts the next season as an 89... and the whole cycle continues... He got 4 pts of bonuses during the season, which get added to his base every four weeks. And then he got another 3 pts of bonus in the offseason... Seven pts of improvement year-to-year but you see the benefit of it during the season...

[hobbs2324]

Finding player progression quest DF. At the end of the year you can see in the training part how much a player progressed, is the progression\regression stats that you are picking up in the game or week to week something you can see by remembering or noting the previous weeks stats or is there a screen or somewhere else where this is really spelled out.
I like to go for my in state players at the start of recruiting, luckily it is Texas [ I play with UTEP, yeah thats right UTEP] after I pick a bunch of guys I go to top 100 and then maybe check all players. I do well, by stressing location, program prestige to instate kids, and play time and coaches prestige or philosophy.
Thanks for the recognition, and please don't leave my partner in crime out of it [mightypharoah], we sing your praises together and frequently
My play by play peave is when you are smearing them by 20+ points before the half and the other team gets the ball back with aless then a minute and run the ball, and the comment is "they are going to play keep away" like I care, you just want to end the half and get away from me before I embarrass you more and you running the clock out, makes less then zero sense.
Got to go play hockey now and bust some skullz
Later guys

[DuckFan]

The Depth Chart screen during a game will always show the instantaneous rating of that player, with parentheses that show what the change is from the start of the game.

The Depth Chart screen between games will always show the rating that player will have to start the next game.

The Roster screen between games will always show the current rating, plus the change from the start of the year in parentheses.

Example:

CB starts year at 84
At week 4 update he goes up to 86
During game in week 5 he is playing well and has an 88 rating

Depth Chart screen in the game will show 88(+2). Currently an 88, two better than his base for the game

The Depth Chart screen after the game will show 86, just his current rating.

The Roster Screen after the game will show 86(+2). Currently an 86, two better than the beginning of the season.


Something I doubt many people know... When you look at the Roster screen (which shows the changes) you have to physically scroll to a column to see the changes. It will only show the changes in the column currently highlighted. So if OVR is highlighted, that CB may show 86(+2), but if there has been a change in speed since the start of the season you would have to move the cursor to see.

[hobbs2324]

I looked at that and was trying to figure out what exactly it was trying to tell me, thankyou for that info,so in middle of the game and your QB couldn't throw the ball in the ocean and his OVR is the same as another guys[happens with freshman sometimes] but the starter has a -3 next to the OVR he is really rated 3 points lower then the OVR #, is that correct

[hobbs2324]

PS, I definitely know about the scroll!!! ;)

[DuckFan]

I looked at that and was trying to figure out what exactly it was trying to tell me, thankyou for that info,so in middle of the game and your QB couldn't throw the ball in the ocean and his OVR is the same as another guys[happens with freshman sometimes] but the starter has a -3 next to the OVR he is really rated 3 points lower then the OVR #, is that correct

No, the OVR will be accurate.

So if you started the game with an 83 and an 80, you might see them as:
80(-3) and 80

In most cases you are better off playing the more composed player if the ratings are within 2 pts (ie a Senior with an 81 instead of a Sophomore with an 82). But when you see an 80(-3) and 80, you have to keep rechecking the 80(-3). Because a guy who has already dropped 3pts is likely to drop more. Plus if you are used to playing the guy when he is an 83, YOU may cause his performance to drop further because you expect him to make throws that he can't currently make.

I have a certain tempo I use on Toss plays, based on the running speeds of my HB and FB. If one of the two guys is at a (-3) number my whole tempo can wind up off and I run him straight into an OLB that I would have missed if I was using a random HB...

[mightypharaoh]

DF, I do notice the in game changes as I will check them in a close game 2 see if I need 2 make a substitution. I did have a QB drop 15 pts in 2 quarters I think he was like 4-20 and 2 picks. At the half I went 2 the backup a redshirt soph with less mobility, who I had benched earlier in the season for the same reason poor game. I finish the season with the guy he improves in the off season and I use him as my starter for the following season.

DF what are your gameplay setting? Quarter length, subs in/out playbook etc.

[DuckFan]

I play on AA, 6 min quarters, auto sub at 80 and 85 (since I hate injuries with a passion and I want my backups to get time)...

with all the CPU's offense sliders up about 3/4, and the CPU defense sliders for awr, tackling and knockdowns at 3/4, interceptions and breakblock at default...

On my side, I have the passing accuracy at 3/4, the rest of the offense at default. Interceptions down to 1/4, awareness knockdowns and breakblock at default, and tackling at 3/8.

On special teams I have both punt lengths around 5/8, with the CPU punt accuracy at 3/4. The rest at default.

For penalties I have both interference at max, holding and false start at 7/8, roughing the kicker at 3/4 and roughing the passer at 5/8 (although I think both of those should still go up since they still don't happen enough).

I use the Oregon playbook, since I am running a Duck team the first time through. But given a choice, if I need to win games, the Wake Forest playbook is money for me. After my first dynasty is done (or I get bored with it around year 25) I will switch back to the WF playbook and use that exclusively. Normally after I play through once as the Ducks, I restart with a truly horrible team (created if need be), and keep changing schools until I am coaching a perennial national champion.

One thing I really like about the 2005 version is that you don't have your complete pick of schools. In 2004 once you won a couple titles you could jump ship and literally EVERY school would hire you, and it just doesn't work that way in real life. Now I get two offers a year from other schools (which I turn down when I play my Duck dynasty)... Should be more fun to start with a patsy and work my way up...

[hobbs2324]

yeah that is why I decided to play witrh UTEP, but in state recruiting may be a bit too easy, I will know more after this season and I have another recruiting class under my belt. As far as coach contracts go, I seem to get offered a contract from maryland and UNC all the , and my school keeps trying to extend my contract which is up at the end of this season. In last years game I had a hard time recruiting one season so I took the extension the following season and got a lot more recruits, but I wasn't sure if this was a coincidence or actually something they incorporated into the game. Do you see any potential drawbacks with me playing out the contract. Call me old school but I think you should do your job for the agreed price, probably the reason I have too many customers in real life and so many that like me as well.
Also when you are offered a contract from another school, what are you looking at specifically if you are thinking about taking the job. I think stadium size is important for HFA, and I look at current leaders on the team, and sometimes I will look at the rest of the current roster to see how they are built.
One last thing I swear, I looked at my current goals of my coaches contract, [1] was beat Penn State which just suddenly appeared after I beat them, second was recieve a bowl bid, and third was beat my rival, anybody know whom might be UTEP's rival? Do you think it is Texas? I haven't scheduled any of those big in state schools, I picked at the top 10 preseason favorites to fill out the schedule

[DuckFan]

When I do my "rookie coach comes out of nowhere" Dynasty, I just start with a horrible school (I think the first time it was NIU) and then take every job offer that bumps me up to a higher prestige program.

In 2004 I created my alma mater (which is a Div III school) as a 1-star program and had them start as an independent. I eventually got them invited to join the Mountain West, then they got upgraded to the WAC, and finally to the Big XII (replacing Texas Tech as I recall). That took around 18 years if I remember correctly... By year 21 I won a National Title (I could have won one sooner but I tanked because I didn't want the expectations to get too high too soon and get fired). From year 24-on I never lost a game...

I really enjoyed the conference realignments, it was nice seeing new opponents every few years... But usually I just coach a horrible team to 3-star level, then jump to a real 3-star program, coach them to a 5-star, jump to a real 5-star, then take them all the way...

That was all in 2004... This year, with the standard 2 or 3 contract offers I imagine it will be different. I may get to see a lot of schools along the way...

As far as UTEP's rival, if you don't have a game that shows "Rivalry Game" when you scroll through the schedule there's something wrong... I believe that UNM and NMSU are their two biggest, with New Mexico State probably the lead...

[hobbs2324]

because of the revolving schedule for your conference and the WAC's size i wa thinking maybe I haven't seen them yet or that maybe it was an out of conference rivalary. I'm thinking I will re-up my contract for a couple more years, I got some real goons and thorobreds on my team that I want to keep on riding for a while :D

[sandman]

DuckFan- I can't figure this one out. In year 3 of my dynasty, my freshman halfback was an 82 overall to start out the season. By the end of the seson he had a +8 next to his name and was a 90 overall. I was surprised to learn when I started year 4, he was an 87 overall! I just don't have an explanation.

P.S. I'm dying to learn about the glitch you found in athletes.

[DuckFan]

All I can suggest is that there may be a final 4-5 week update period that takes effect at the end of the season...

So that you get updates after week 4, 8, and 12, and then what the guy does after week 12 goes onto his numbers at the end...

I am keeping my Athletes secrets for now... :cool: Along with a couple of the other broken things I have found... Don't want to ruin the game for people this early in the process.

[gloves off]

me and my boyz have put ncaa back in the box. The gaming experience was terrific at first with the new animations and great defence. But the tipped balls, recievers catching in tripple coverage then dropping 5 yard passes, the defenders in the backfield because of horrible blocking on counter plays was just too much. I pray that madden 05 lives up to everything that i have heard so far. But the real test comes when one begins to play online. I may even have to even try ESPN on the Xbox. I heard the gameplay for it on the Xbox is smoother than on ps2 and that you have more control over your player

[hobbs2324]

thanks for holding some info back for us Duckfan

[DuckFan]

One last thing I swear, I looked at my current goals of my coaches contract, [1] was beat Penn State which just suddenly appeared after I beat them, second was recieve a bowl bid, and third was beat my rival, anybody know whom might be UTEP's rival? Do you think it is Texas? I haven't scheduled any of those big in state schools, I picked at the top 10 preseason favorites to fill out the schedule

Happened to see today that UTEP's rival is New Mexico State... They actually play for a trophy (a big shovel of some sort) and it's called Battle of I-10...

Thought I would pass it along... :)

BTW, just had a 640-yd rushing performance by my new backup option QB (the guy I converted from CB). He started the game with a 59 rating, and finished with a 65(+6). His AWR went up 18, CTH, CAR, and BTK were all up about 7, but his INJ was down 4 (even though he never got hurt)... I would imagine that +6 is the best OVR improvement you can get in one game, I don't recall seeing higher and a 59 QB who has 48 carries for 640yds in a 6-min quarters game would seem about as hot as you can get...

[hobbs2324]

Nice game stats for sure, thanks for the info on the rival game, just thinking back I am pretty sure I have never played NM State, but I can't wait until I have that shovel hanging in my office :D

[sandman]

It doesn't make sense because he did have productive numbers those last 4-5 weeks. The problem might lie in the fact though he wasn't as productive in the later weeks.

[mightypharaoh]

Nice game stats for sure, thanks for the info on the rival game, just thinking back I am pretty sure I have never played NM State, but I can't wait until I have that shovel hanging in my office :D

YEah a big shovel 2 pick up all of the CRAP coming out of your mouth lol.

DF how have u dealt with NCAA sanctions. I am in year 2 of a sanction holding steady. I did go all out on suspensions this past year so the NCAA interest would go down a bit. My overall discipline is a B and I would like 2 keep it that way. I have played the last 2 seasons with 59 players, I have a few grads this year so I want 2 be sure I am stocked for next season.

My plan again is 2 go with the hard punishment. I have discipline at 34%. I was thinking of dropping 2 about 30% next season.

your thoughts

[sandman]

I might lower mine too. Its at 35%, but I am happy knowing the NCAA has never punished my team.

[DuckFan]

I have been running between 18-24% each year. But that's with a team that is in the NC game each year...

If I was a 6-5 to 8-3 kind of team I would probably run around 27% on discipline...

I have yet to receive any sanctions, although twice I have been down to 8 points left at the end of the year. Those were year 11 and year 13, and strangely in year 12 I only had to suspend one player, and that was only for 2 quarters... No rhyme or reason to it...

[mightypharaoh]

I have been running between 18-24% each year. But that's with a team that is in the NC game each year...

If I was a 6-5 to 8-3 kind of team I would probably run around 27% on discipline...

I have yet to receive any sanctions, although twice I have been down to 8 points left at the end of the year. Those were year 11 and year 13, and strangely in year 12 I only had to suspend one player, and that was only for 2 quarters... No rhyme or reason to it...

hmm I have been in the NC every year as well. Maybe my boys like the Miami nightlife a bit 2 much. I'll try 27% next season.

[hobbs2324]

Thats cold, and I thought we were tight :D , Man go to work for the day and come home to this, I'll get you MP!!! ;)

[mightypharaoh]

Thats cold, and I thought we were tight :D , Man go to work for the day and come home to this, I'll get you MP!!! ;)

Dawg I couldn't help it.

[maddenbowl62]

duckfan, i think i know the glitch in athletes ur talking about. is it that their awr doesnt change when they change positions?

[jclethal]

This year is sick. It no longer allows the Human controller who has no knowledge of football to pull off a win. No lucky long balls. Not totally gone but in real life there are lucky long bombs. This years ncaa took a step in the right direction. you must have some knowledge about football. You must know how to read both defenses and offences. Just wait people when Playstation 3 comes out. The game will be way more smooth. With ther p2 you have to choose one or the other graphics or game speed you cant have both. EA found a in between.

[pnut&smeagle]

This is the greatest game ever. No, it is the greatest creation of all time. I have forsaken all of my personal life and sworn a life allegience to the wise and powerful NCAA 2005. I can only pity those who have to deal with jobs and wifes trying to prevent them from reaching their potential as great college coaches.

As for my club, I have found many deep patterns, particularly play action that I have been quite successful with, in 2 back shotgun and ace slot. However, I am very limited in my intermediate and short passing game. Any suggestions would be appreciated. One more question. Does anyone know why I get put on probation so often? I am not running out of discipline points and suspend players when and for as long as advised but still the NC double *******s put me on probate.

Well, I have spent enough time away from my Memphis Tigers. Time to go work over some poor schmucks. Love your ballclubs and they will love you back!

[pudge34]

I was really enjoying ncaa 2005 online was take a break for all b.s that goes on in madden, I play with the la tech bulldogs some guy challeges me with a good rank i take all challenges he picked byu i figure i have a chance well he comes out in shotgun 4 wr i go dime man cover 2 after snap of the ball he drops back about 10-15 yds a pump fakes about 3-4 times in a row untill my stupid dbs for it and throw a bomb for a touchdown. Why must people resort to b.s. online both gmes its getting silly i could of done the same thing i guess but i play str8 some people say fight fire with fire but i just like to play real football! i play on the xbox pudgerific34. any suggestions to couter this besides blizting every down

[friendlyfire]

i thought this game sucked bad. the ai is horrible and just about everything else. the passing is horrible and makes no sence. it is easier to complete a bomb into double nad triple coverage than it is to throw it to a wide open reciever. the game can also force you to fumble if they need a great comeback. one time i was winning in the 4th quarter and 3 of my possesions in a row i fumbled the ball and the defense happened to get all 3. and online this game isn't much better. people just pick the best teams and take there qb and run outside or bomb it and pray they catch it. i hated this game and plan on never buying another one

[jclethal]

To the people that hate this game (friendlfire). People who hate this game are the people who have no idea how to play football. This game is a game of strategy. unlike madden. Madden is to friendly to those who dont have a clue. First of all I can stop any scrambling QB **** you can put your 99 speed receiver in at qb Ill still stop him. I can see why some people hate this game its simply because they have no concept of Football what so ever. Just like real life you have to be able to read your defense and offense. This is the best football game on the market.

[hobbs2324]

too many drops is my only problem with it, the receivers in madden catch everything, and in NCAA not nearly enough :o

[mad_bomber]

Isn't it ironic that a game with a receiver on the cover would be plagued by dropped passes?

[hobbs2324]

yeah in Madden the MLB is unreal this year, [ray lewis on cover] and in NCAA the receiver is below average, [fitzgerald? not average for sure] it doesn't make sense

[friendlyfire]

no i do know how to play football games very well. this game is just horrible though. in one game i had 13 dropped passes and my wr's had catching ability set to full cause i know how bad the games catching is. but i'm not tlakign abotu dumb passes in double or triple coverage. i mean wide open no one around hit them in the hands passes. thats what ruined this game this year. i guess all i can do is tell people not to buy it, which i've already told a ton of my friends and some cousins to not even rent it so i feel like i'm doing my part and spreading the word on how bad this game is this year.

[hobbs2324]

I know the dropped passes is annoying as can be, but if you saw the UConn West Virginia game last night you could have seen numerous guys drop passes when wide open. Not apologizing for the product, but it is one of the things which make it alot more challenging this year.
Last nights game, Uconn TE wide open at the 10 drops the ball with no one within 20 yards, earlier in the game the WR on a streak misplays the ball and drops a 40+ yard catch. It does happen in real life, maybe not as much, but it can for sure

[russ1606]

If you are out there, what have you picked up related to pipelines? Or is that one of your extra-special secrets

[XxRENO6xX]

NO MATTER HOW MANY COMPLAINTS PEOPLE GIVE THIS GAME IT IS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN LAST YEARS.

PEOPLE USE TO ONLY TAKE THEIR WINS AND IF THEY WERE LOSING, THEY WOULD JUST GLITCH OUT OF IT.
THERE IS NO GLITCHING ON 05!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT'S ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.

OF COURSE THE USER CATCH/LOB IS IS BIG PROBLEM,
BUT I WOULD TAKE THAT OVER PEOPLE GETTING OUT OF LOSSES ANYDAY!!

RENO6.............XxWHO'S NEXTxX?

[hobbs2324]

why did you feel the need to write everything in capitol letters?

[XxRENO6xX]

Why Did You Feel The Need To Post Everything In Lower Case Letters.
If You Speak, Have Some Context!!

[hobbs2324]

speaking of context XxRENO6xX, there was a discussion about dropped passes and you went into a diatribe about glitching and how much better the game was then last years, your post had nothing to do with the posts before it so I guess "If You Speak, Have Some Context!!"

[XxRENO6xX]

Hobbs,
Just to let you know the title of this thread is called "NCAA Impressions", not "Hobbs world, do things the way Hobbs likes."
I saw the thread and decided to put down my "impressions."
Then you saw my name and thought,"Now's my chance to bash RENO!"
I guess it's my fault for responding to you.
But I'll tell you one thing, it's not gunna make you look any better by randomly bashing me.
L8,

[hobbs2324]

dude, I didn't randomly bash you, nor did I bash you at all, I asked a question about why you capitolized everything, I didn't say, hey theres reno I'm going to go after him. Are you living in a TO world? You have to stop thinking everyone, or even me for that matter is against you, I posted a simple question, and you got defensive. I've been posting a long time here, and I think my record stands for itself as far as bashing members
later

[XxRENO6xX]

ok
It's kinda funny how you turn it around to make yourself seem innocent. But that's cool, just leave my name out of your mouth unless you have something to tell me about football. :)
L8,

[hobbs2324]

don't worry, I'll leave you out of whatever from now on
Peace

[sparkyosu]

I hope everyone goes back over these threads to see the diffrenece a couple of months can make in an opinion. like how there is a no loss glitch again....

[djwill13]

i'm so sick of this game right now. i'm beginning to only play dynasty cause online sucks

all everyone does is AB and throw bombs all game long. i want a real game. it's really pissin me off. it's amazing though, everytime i play a straight game it's fun. the cheeseball game sucks and i find myself tryin to let my opponent score just so i can concede. it really is horrible

sorry, i just had to rant about my 3-7 record online

[jsilknsmoove]

I am in dynasty mode, and I've been there about 3 seasons, but I can't get none of my created signs to come up. What must I do to get them to show?

[80sChild]

I am in dynasty mode, and I've been there about 3 seasons, but I can't get none of my created signs to come up. What must I do to get them to show?

The only way I've seen my created signs is in a bowl game where I'm the designated home team.

[nc 40 acers]

I bought the vg playbook buddy I have been bringing wood to folks still having trouble with the long ball time to time but over all I am doing well I am ranked 3046 I was 70,000 I beat the best and nothing feels good then beating someone whos 32-2 and u give them the 3 lost.....LOL. I am going to continue this can opener! Thanks


Coach Clark

[kbell97]

Penn St. also has LB Paul Posluszny as an impact player, sweet

[Soccerbest7]

Penn St. also has LB Paul Posluszny as an impact player, sweet

wrong thread lol

[kbell97]

oh well :rolleyes:

[chrisbzn832]

Offense -1. I need flares back in the shotgun bunch - haha
2. love the running game- especially out of one back sets- WR option out of shotgun bunch, hb option out of Wishbone Tight, the HB reads with Olineman zone blocking.
3. So my passing game need a lot of work, the analog seems really touch when directing a pass.
4. I am having better success running with the DPAd and not the analog stick, I don't know why, I will just stick with dpad then.
5. I like the slant as an audible, its about time!!!!!!!

Defense 1. I like the 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 - gives us all new possibilities as far as blitzes.
2. Seems like cover 2 is even stronger, taking away the flood routes, thanks to Bomber he found one way to beat it with the wheel routes
3. Like that EA has added new defensive plays to the 4-3 , dime, nickel, etc...............I really like Dime and Nickel Max plays.........I just need to go into the labe and develope some blitzes
4. I do like the big hits (L2) button, I mainly use it when a reciever is going to catch a ball
5. I am not a big celebrations guy after a play, I just hand the ball off to the ref, know your role and show respect

General
I do like the flow of the game, it does seem to make everythink even. I don't understand the whole tipped passes thing with the ball hanging in the air so long. The matchup stick is pretty cool especially one on one coverage, and the Home Field advantage is awesome. Well I will shut up now, :D

I love the game, but I'm losing patience with the passing game, I've gotten solid at throwing and catching the short routes, but it's shouldn't be anywhere near as hard as it is. I've noticed that even with solid QBs and WRs my completion percentage on the short stuff is usually only around 70-75%, which is bs. The game needs to get back towards being a war of strategies along with controller talent, not just control talent. If I throw a five yard out against a soft, Cover 3 corner, the pass should be a gimme. There's no way he's going to jump that route.

[Soccerbest7]

I've noticed that even with solid QBs and WRs my completion percentage on the short stuff is usually only around 70-75%, which is bs.

You must not play online, then

[hobbs2324]

offline with user catch i still can't get that high of a percentage of completions

[pinolian]

NCAA 2004 was the passer's game. In dynasty, my QB always had 25+ completions per game when I played them, and I only ran to kill the clock. So they over compensated a bit in 2005, trying to emphasize defense. There is virtually no such thing as posession passing in 2005. Corners virtually own hook routes, and even if you manage to hit your guy, if the corner hits him he probably drops the ball, better yet, he probably drops the ball anyway without being touched. The guy has to be left virtually uncovered for a pass to work on a hot route, and if you drill the ball it probably means the receiver drops it.

The only good news about this is that it forced me to learn how to run read and option plays. But the sad news is that I hardly ever recruit a pure pocket passer any more in dynasty, and do not play online with a team that has a qb speed of lower than 65. And that is because I have to have a running game with the option to make up for the lack of possession passing in this year's game. I used to recruit QB's based solely on arm strength and accuracy, but that is all gone in 2005. My online stats now show 60% or so option plays with 60% run; all because I had to adapt to be successful.

I am hoping that this year will be the best, and they have found a good balance.

[djwill13]

i dunno, in my dynasty i was averaging anywhere from 52-65 % on my pass completions.

let's be real though, this game does reward you for your user interaction. go on and play madden and lob it up, there's no way you're gonna come down with it (unless you rocket catch).

they need to have "user juke" as one of the words that pop up on screen when you break someone's ankles!! (i'm just being silly now)

[chrisbzn832]

i dunno, in my dynasty i was averaging anywhere from 52-65 % on my pass completions.

let's be real though, this game does reward you for your user interaction. go on and play madden and lob it up, there's no way you're gonna come down with it (unless you rocket catch).

they need to have "user juke" as one of the words that pop up on screen when you break someone's ankles!! (i'm just being silly now)
My overall completion percentage is usually between 55-60%, which is good, but I just sick of having 1 out of every 3 or 4 short routes hit the ground. I do agree that it rewards you for your user interaction and I've gotten better at "user catches", especially on the deep stuff. One thing that I would really like to see in 06 or 07 is more realistic corner play. Let's be real here, corners lined up with a five yard cushion are not going to be able to bail into a deep third quick enough to defend a fade route. There's a reason college and pro teams have a freakin' disguise package. They line up in press coverage, give the QB a pre snap read, and the move a couple yards deeper to play their deep coverage.

[RyanZ923]

they were just trying to make it more realistic. Watch any college game with mediocore qb and receivers, they wont make to many catches, so they mainly rely on the run, but if u come out with a team that can pass like USC, u can make more passes cuz u got an amazing qb and good enough wide recievers who will make the play

[hobbs2324]

they did the easiest thing possible to reduce the catches by increasing the bounce effect [NHL games by EA had a slider for this called puck elasticity], which makes the ball stay in the air an inordinate amount of time or you have the 40 yard fumbled ball bouncing all over the place. They probably lowered receiver awr and increased the DB's, because no matter how open a guy is, once the ball gets to him there are [3] defenders on him, and the guy running the curl route waving his hands will usually have the ball hit him in the numbers and fall for an incompletion :confused:

[chrisbzn832]

they were just trying to make it more realistic. Watch any college game with mediocore qb and receivers, they wont make to many catches, so they mainly rely on the run, but if u come out with a team that can pass like USC, u can make more passes cuz u got an amazing qb and good enough wide recievers who will make the play
Yeah, but I don't play with mediore recievers or QBs. I had those kind of drops while playing with a 90+ QB and two 90+ recievers. Plus, I'm not talking about the deep or even the moderate stuff here, I'm talking about money, 5 yard passes that I've seen HS freshman QBs hit with better consistency.

[RyanZ923]

Yeah, but I don't play with mediore recievers or QBs. I had those kind of drops while playing with a 90+ QB and two 90+ recievers. Plus, I'm not talking about the deep or even the moderate stuff here, I'm talking about money, 5 yard passes that I've seen HS freshman QBs hit with better consistency.


well then the game just hates you

[riTzy]

manual catching is the way to go if u want to avoid drops