Biggest letdown in gaming history about to drop

Will it still use EA's sheety Frostbite engine? If it does it'll be exactly the same as the last few Madden's, look absolutely great in the screenshots and trailers and play like crap. The money EA makes out of it's sports franchises they should be able to make a dedicated sports game engine rather than repurposing a decade old overcomplex FPS engine for everything.

 

2 months before release and all they've shown is a 2 minute trailer with no gameplay....this game is going to be absolute garbage 

On 5/18/2024 at 3:13 AM, devpool said:

2 months before release and all they've shown is a 2 minute trailer with no gameplay....this game is going to be absolute garbage 

That's because just it's a Madden re-skin. I'll still buy it, but I'm not expecting what the old NCAA games were like.

I was very wrong about this game. It's fantastic. I love dynasty, haven't gotten into RTG yet. Gameplay feels very different from madden, presentation is light years better. They nailed it. Now I expect every one after this to get worse but I can play this for another 10 years like I did ncaa 14

On 7/20/2024 at 9:46 AM, devpool said:

I was very wrong about this game. It's fantastic. I love dynasty, haven't gotten into RTG yet. Gameplay feels very different from madden, presentation is light years better. They nailed it. Now I expect every one after this to get worse but I can play this for another 10 years like I did ncaa 14

I’m having a lot of fun with this. RTG and Dynasty are both awesome. Defense is hard I always seem to give up a big play for a TD but this game is way better than Madden

This pile of sheet doesn't even have formation subs. Even Madden has something as basic as that.

On 7/27/2024 at 1:29 PM, we_gotta_believe said:

This pile of sheet doesn't even have formation subs. Even Madden has something as basic as that.

Like spell HB, heavy etc? Because it definitely does

6 hours ago, devpool said:

Like spell HB, heavy etc? Because it definitely does

No, those are generic subs, I mean using particular players in particular packages and having them not revert game after game. For example, if I have a trips formation, I may want a particular WR as the X, a different one as Y, and maybe my TE as Z. Then in a doubles bunch set, I may want different ones entirely all based on the routes I usually have them run from each formation. Same goes for run plays, I may want an unbalanced line or tackle eligible packages. On defense, I may want certain linebackers in nickel and different ones in 4-3. This was all possible in the last ncaa game a decade ago, and even in last year's Madden.

4 hours ago, we_gotta_believe said:

No, those are generic subs, I mean using particular players in particular packages and having them not revert game after game. For example, if I have a trips formation, I may want a particular WR as the X, a different one as Y, and maybe my TE as Z. Then in a doubles bunch set, I may want different ones entirely all based on the routes I usually have them run from each formation. Same goes for run plays, I may want an unbalanced line or tackle eligible packages. On defense, I may want certain linebackers in nickel and different ones in 4-3. This was all possible in the last ncaa game a decade ago, and even in last year's Madden.

Try submitting feedback to them somehow, they just put out that title update with some things based on feedback

How is it? 

23 hours ago, Godfather said:

How is it? 

Flawed, annoying, frustrating, but... still playable and when you've been starved for something for a decade, you're willing to overlook a lot. I played 5 seasons of dynasty, shortened quarters to 4 min and simmed weaker opponents. Won 3 titles on heisman, and much like previous iterations, once you figure out recruiting and find a set of 10 core plays that work well, it's not that hard. 

The things that are bugged or broken:

• Defensive player AI is real bad, worse than madden even, especially zone defense and pursuit angles. This can be exploited to your advantage when you're on offense, but be prepared to roll your eyes when it's your own defense out to lunch mutliple times each game. 
• OL blocking is garbage, even with studs at all 5 positions. Forget deep shots or any semi-longer developing routes. Focus on quick hitters like slants and drags. Even mesh routes,outs, and digs can take too long to develop. 
• Related to the above, play action is completely pointless. Just don't bother with it. Ever. 
• Spiking the ball to kill the clock is needlessly complex. Used to be a single button before but now is a two button sequence with little margin for error.
• Passes are far more likely to be intercepted than broken up, even when you're on defense (user INTs are way too easy.) 
• Fumbles were pretty frequent before one of the recent patches. Holding R1 on every single carry helped, but it still would happen. Thankfully this seems to have been addressed. 
• Recruiting was super buggy but seems better now, player visits would get locked out if you didn't schedule a visit immediately once it became available but seems to have mostly been fixed too.
• Tons of missing features that were all there on NCAA 13 that I played through numerous seasons of online dyansty on: formation subs, audibles without having to set a custom playbook, much better stat tracking, recruiting depth, etc.
• The UI in general isn't very good, very slow and delayed actions, unskippable interludes that often result in picking plays you didn't want, just seems to lag by a second for every selection you make. Which is normally not a huge deal but when you are spending so much time on recruiting actions, it can be annoying.

I could go on but you get the idea, it's basically a reskinned madden with worse gameplay somehow, but has all the NCAA flair that makes it interesting enough to put up with. I had to tweak the sliders to address most of the above but that took time to find a balance between something that was playable but still realistic. Eventually I decided to give up and revert them all and just live with the flaws because it became too easy even on Heisman. I'm glad they give us the option to do so, but in 2024, you shouldn't have to waste the time tweaking stuff like this for a company that's been making football games for over 30 years.

 

I will add some of the good to give a better idea of why I sunk so much time into it:

• The physics, graphics, and animations are all top notch. Every tackle seems unique. Catches don't require suspension of disbelief. Defeating blocks feels satisfying because of how accurate and realistic they look. A physics engine this complex will undoubtedly result in some goofy bugs from time to time but the benefit is a game that at times can look and feel like actual football in these small moments. 
• The university atmosphere is on point, as it was in the past. The stadiums, mascots, traditions, even some of the commentary (which is limited and gets repeated to the point of nausea) is tailored for each school and well done. Lots of little things that casual fans would never get and only alums would pick up on.
• The time spent in recruiting, developing, and then finally playing with certain players two or three seasons later is pretty fun. You remember all their names. It makes you feel connected to them like an actual coach might be. This aspect is probably what differentiates it the most from madden games.
• Taking a school from being an afterthought or disappointment and boosting its prestige to be one of the top programs is rewarding and keeps you coming back season after season.
• Likewise, the skill progression tree for coaches is pretty deep, though you get capped to level 50 so you don't even get to be able to hit half of the skills before you get limited. Maybe like a third or so depending on what paths you choose.

It all adds up to be a mixed bag, lots of flaws, but still entertaining enough to put up with it since we literally haven't had any other option to play for the last 10+ years. If you were a huge fan of the previous series, you should give it a shot, but don't expect too much and you won't be too disappointed.

On 8/27/2024 at 2:16 PM, we_gotta_believe said:

Flawed, annoying, frustrating, but... still playable and when you've been starved for something for a decade, you're willing to overlook a lot. I played 5 seasons of dynasty, shortened quarters to 4 min and simmed weaker opponents. Won 3 titles on heisman, and much like previous iterations, once you figure out recruiting and find a set of 10 core plays that work well, it's not that hard. 

The things that are bugged or broken:

• Defensive player AI is real bad, worse than madden even, especially zone defense and pursuit angles. This can be exploited to your advantage when you're on offense, but be prepared to roll your eyes when it's your own defense out to lunch mutliple times each game. 
• OL blocking is garbage, even with studs at all 5 positions. Forget deep shots or any semi-longer developing routes. Focus on quick hitters like slants and drags. Even mesh routes,outs, and digs can take too long to develop. 
• Related to the above, play action is completely pointless. Just don't bother with it. Ever. 
• Spiking the ball to kill the clock is needlessly complex. Used to be a single button before but now is a two button sequence with little margin for error.
• Passes are far more likely to be intercepted than broken up, even when you're on defense (user INTs are way too easy.) 
• Fumbles were pretty frequent before one of the recent patches. Holding R1 on every single carry helped, but it still would happen. Thankfully this seems to have been addressed. 
• Recruiting was super buggy but seems better now, player visits would get locked out if you didn't schedule a visit immediately once it became available but seems to have mostly been fixed too.
• Tons of missing features that were all there on NCAA 13 that I played through numerous seasons of online dyansty on: formation subs, audibles without having to set a custom playbook, much better stat tracking, recruiting depth, etc.
• The UI in general isn't very good, very slow and delayed actions, unskippable interludes that often result in picking plays you didn't want, just seems to lag by a second for every selection you make. Which is normally not a huge deal but when you are spending so much time on recruiting actions, it can be annoying.

I could go on but you get the idea, it's basically a reskinned madden with worse gameplay somehow, but has all the NCAA flair that makes it interesting enough to put up with. I had to tweak the sliders to address most of the above but that took time to find a balance between something that was playable but still realistic. Eventually I decided to give up and revert them all and just live with the flaws because it became too easy even on Heisman. I'm glad they give us the option to do so, but in 2024, you shouldn't have to waste the time tweaking stuff like this for a company that's been making football games for over 30 years.

 

IIRC they patched in formation subs.

Also if you're having issues with your oline blocking you might want to start doing some half slides.  Fixes a lot of issues with their blocking.

From what I gathered, a large chunk of the team on NCAA25 are the guys that were doing all the roster updates and tweaks for the last ten years after NCAA14

31 minutes ago, Bill said:

IIRC they patched in formation subs.

Also if you're having issues with your oline blocking you might want to start doing some half slides.  Fixes a lot of issues with their blocking.

From what I gathered, a large chunk of the team on NCAA25 are the guys that were doing all the roster updates and tweaks for the last ten years after NCAA14

Where are you seeing formation subs?

And the o-line blocking issue isn't because of free rushers, it's just overpowered DL pass rush moves or bad AI logic like where the OL drops too deep and then just turns and watches the DL blow inside of him. 

Believe me, it's not a "git gud" issue since I've been able to deal with it by cutting way down on which pass plays I use and occasionally keeping TEs and RBs in when I want to max protect. You can Google it and find a ton of similar complaints about it. 

7 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Where are you seeing formation subs?

And the o-line blocking issue isn't because of free rushers, it's just overpowered DL pass rush moves or bad AI logic like where the OL drops too deep and then just turns and watches the DL blow inside of him. 

Believe me, it's not a "git gud" issue since I've been able to deal with it by cutting way down on which pass plays I use and occasionally keeping TEs and RBs in when I want to max protect. You can Google it and find a ton of similar complaints about it. 

I thought I saw it come out in one of the patch notes. I haven’t gotten the game yet since I don’t have a next gen. Been busy playing strategy games on my PC so I put off getting a ps5.

34 minutes ago, Bill said:

I thought I saw it come out in one of the patch notes. I haven’t gotten the game yet since I don’t have a next gen. Been busy playing strategy games on my PC so I put off getting a ps5.

Just checked, I don't see them anywhere. To be clear, since launch you have always been able to do it in-game, but there's two problems with this: it doesn't save and carry over to the next game so they always reset to defaults every week just like audibles, and it doesn't stop the play clock so you're basically having to do one formation at a time in between each play. It's so F'ing stupid. 

9 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Just checked, I don't see them anywhere. To be clear, since launch you have always been able to do it in-game, but there's two problems with this: it doesn't save and carry over to the next game so they always reset to defaults every week just like audibles, and it doesn't stop the play clock so you're basically having to do one formation at a time in between each play. It's so F'ing stupid. 

Ah that’s kinda lame. 
 

there’s only so good an EA sports game can be with their insistence on using frostbite. 

5 minutes ago, Bill said:

Ah that’s kinda lame. 
 

there’s only so good an EA sports game can be with their insistence on using frostbite. 

I have mixed feelings about the engine. If it's the reason why the AI is so poor then the criticism is well deserved. On the other hand, as I mentioned before, the physics and animations are excellent. The moments are fleeting, but there are times where it legit looks and feels like an actual football game.

New patch fixed a bunch of stuff, the most prominent that affects the way I play is audibles can now be saved without having to use a custom playbook. That's a decent quality of play improvement for me. Still no formation subs though, and AI still blows, but it's still fun enough to play on occasion. Mass subs was also included and Wear and Tear was nerfed but I turned that ish off immediately. I'm about half-way through my 6th season in dyansty and will probably drop it after this.

On 8/27/2024 at 7:16 PM, we_gotta_believe said:

Flawed, annoying, frustrating, but... still playable and when you've been starved for something for a decade, you're willing to overlook a lot. I played 5 seasons of dynasty, shortened quarters to 4 min and simmed weaker opponents. Won 3 titles on heisman, and much like previous iterations, once you figure out recruiting and find a set of 10 core plays that work well, it's not that hard. 

The things that are bugged or broken:

• Defensive player AI is real bad, worse than madden even, especially zone defense and pursuit angles. This can be exploited to your advantage when you're on offense, but be prepared to roll your eyes when it's your own defense out to lunch mutliple times each game. 
• OL blocking is garbage, even with studs at all 5 positions. Forget deep shots or any semi-longer developing routes. Focus on quick hitters like slants and drags. Even mesh routes,outs, and digs can take too long to develop. 
• Related to the above, play action is completely pointless. Just don't bother with it. Ever. 
• Spiking the ball to kill the clock is needlessly complex. Used to be a single button before but now is a two button sequence with little margin for error.
• Passes are far more likely to be intercepted than broken up, even when you're on defense (user INTs are way too easy.) 
• Fumbles were pretty frequent before one of the recent patches. Holding R1 on every single carry helped, but it still would happen. Thankfully this seems to have been addressed. 
• Recruiting was super buggy but seems better now, player visits would get locked out if you didn't schedule a visit immediately once it became available but seems to have mostly been fixed too.
• Tons of missing features that were all there on NCAA 13 that I played through numerous seasons of online dyansty on: formation subs, audibles without having to set a custom playbook, much better stat tracking, recruiting depth, etc.
• The UI in general isn't very good, very slow and delayed actions, unskippable interludes that often result in picking plays you didn't want, just seems to lag by a second for every selection you make. Which is normally not a huge deal but when you are spending so much time on recruiting actions, it can be annoying.

I could go on but you get the idea, it's basically a reskinned madden with worse gameplay somehow, but has all the NCAA flair that makes it interesting enough to put up with. I had to tweak the sliders to address most of the above but that took time to find a balance between something that was playable but still realistic. Eventually I decided to give up and revert them all and just live with the flaws because it became too easy even on Heisman. I'm glad they give us the option to do so, but in 2024, you shouldn't have to waste the time tweaking stuff like this for a company that's been making football games for over 30 years.

 

The Play Action stuff is just ridiculous, it's for a loss every single time.

The gameplay in single player is either beat the CPU 95-3 sacking the QB 23 times or have every single pass that isn't a slant or drag under 12 yards picked off by a ball hawking robo corner as you struggle to beat the mighty Kennesaw State defense with Georgia, It doesn't matter if your receiver has a yard of separation downfield, as soon as that ball is out of your QB's hand the DB's will fly straight to it no matter how fast or accurate the ball is.

It's great for games with friends, but EA Sports just cannot do single player games with a learning curve and the sliders were always a cheat to disguise that rather than address it with proper coding.