Official NCAA Football '13

[p mac one]

Originally Posted by toine2983

New NCAA 13 Info

• No more psychic DB's, DB's have to see the ball, before they can make a play on the ball
• 25 different pass trajectory zones (Drop it over LB's, lead your receiver using left stick)
• 20+ new dropbacks, including new screen play dropbacks
• New rollout passing animations, will still be difficult to complete passes throwing against your body, as you will not have enough arm strength
• Icons are dimmed out, until they are actually "ready" to make a catch
• Available in stores July 10th

Info came from a video clip from Gametrailers TV. Tried to include it in this post but yuku isn't cooperating.

EDIT:

Yuku will not let me embed the video.

Go here and fast forward to the 12:55 mark.

Intriguing, but I'm gonna have to see it to believe it.

 

[feeture]

i wish they could better implement the effects of home field advantage. playing at your house should give you an advantage but this random crap they do now sucks. dont just make the cpu AI worse cause there own on the road. i usually turn it off when i play cause its just to ridiculous.

it should be much harder to get a first on 3rd and 4th downs. its like your recievers and running backs just turn up on 3rd and forever.

MORE BLOCKED PUNTS AND FIELD GOALS AND MORE PUNT RETURNS. i mean this is college football.

if the QB goes out with 'elbow bursitis' dont let him come back and rocket the ball 60 yards on the numbers. make the injuries mean something.

lastly, i know the are roster updates and edits but out the box can we please see  cornerbacks, wideouts and rb faster than 85 speed. im mean cmon.( i know there are exceptions but overall these positions felt slow)

alright rant over.

 

[T0INE]

FYI, EA will be having a playbook webcast later today where they will be discussing the gameplay improvements for NCAA 13.

The webcast starts at 2pm and can be viewed HERE.

 

[T0INE]

 

[caerus]

^ Looka great! My only grip is movements are still so robotic.

 

[T0INE]

[h1] [/h1]

[h1]NCAA Football 13[/h1] [h2] NCAA Football 13 Strengthens Its Aerial Attack[/h2]

NCAA Football 13 developer EA Tiburon is addressing both legacy issues and introducing new elements to this year's game thanks to some exciting gameplay changes on both sides of the ball.

NCAA 13 gameplay designer Larry Richart says that the gameplay team has doubled in size and that the title contains "the most gameplay changes we've made in the console generation."

This is just the tip of the iceberg for the game announcements, so be sure to check back in the future for details on Dynasty mode and more. Don't forget to check out the screenshot gallery at the bottom for some new shots as well.

THE PASSING GAME

Like an inexperienced QB, past NCAA titles have struggled in the passing game. Because of either super-jumping linebackers or poor accuracy, QBs could only consistently throw to a few areas on the field, which limited your options in the passing game. Add in the ineffectiveness of play-action plays, and even a 2nd and five could feel like a third and long.

• To improve this, EA has added over 20 new pass zones on the field, as well as a variety of ball speeds and trajectories. This should hopefully avoid moon balls as well as create more areas to put in the ball in around the field – including more medium-ranged passes. Accordingly, a pass out of the backfield looks and feels different than a hook route or a screen, and deep outs are different than slants.

• Improved player-controlled ball placement with the left analog stick, such as leading receivers on slants, throwing it high for jump balls, and fades. You've been able to use the left analog stick in passing in previous games, but this year the ball placement – and the catches associated with them – let you put the ball in more places where defenders can't reach it.

• After the snap, the passing icons for your receivers are grayed out until the receiver reaches the point in the route where he expects the ball or is actually looking at the QB. EA created exceptions for when teams execute corner blitzes or the receiver beats a jam at the line of scrimmage and is suddenly open. When these circumstances happen, then their icon will light up like normal. This doesn't mean you can't throw to a receiver whose icon is gray or that you can’t lead the receiver or throw into space; it simply creates a more realistic window of when the receiver is able to catch the ball because of when he's expecting it. Taking control of the receiver overrides the icon system regardless.

• NCAA 12 had four different dropback animations. NCAA 13 has 20, including one- to seven-step drops, some of which happen much faster than the standard drops from last year. In general, quarterback moves like dropbacks, throw-on-the-run animations, shovel passes, and pitches take less time to complete. EA Tiburon says it wants your moves as a QB to be less jittery to allow for better pocket shapes and user control.

• NCAA 13 introduces receiver-specific pump fakes, with different fakes for whether the quarterback is you're inside or outside of the pocket. Like the other QB actions, pump fakes unfold faster. Say goodbye to the drawn-out jump/spin pump fake.

• Play action has been a weak spot for both the Madden and NCAA franchises for years now, as the run fake gave defenses plenty of time to beat the blocks and meet the quarterback in the backfield before he had a chance to scan his receivers. For NCAA 13, EA Tiburon is trying to make play-action viable with quicker handoffs and the handy ability to abort the handoff before it occurs by hitting right trigger. When this happens the running back automatically starts blocking. EA is also adding more plays where tight ends chip block defensive ends before releasing into a pass pattern to give play-action plays more of a chance to develop.

• A new catching system features more than 430 new catch animations, which hopefully means fewer balls going right into the facemask. This list includes some that were in previous titles but weren't occurring. The developer also wants to allow more user catches, so player control of receivers has been slowed down slightly so you can get receivers in better position for user catches.

• If the intended receiver is still within five yards from the line of scrimmage and is looking at the QB, the QB will automatically perform a quick shovel pass instead of a big windup throw.

• EA has cleaned up the animation for option pitches to address getting tackled in mid-pitch and to fix the ball morphing through the body. The distance between the running back and the quarterback is also taken into account.

• Quarterbacks can get out of potential sacks in the pocket with a new eight-direction QB avoidance system. This allows them to shrug off, sidestep, spin out of, or duck to avoid a sack.

DEFENSE

• In NCAA 13, defenders do not react to passes unless they turn their head to locate the ball or they react directly to a receiver's movements.

• Different defenders cover receivers using different techniques. Some play off a receiver, allowing them to see the ball better and react to plays like slants. Others play more underneath coverage knowing they have safety help over the top. Defenders also engage in hand fighting with receivers as they both run down the field. Defensive backs can even knock the ball out of a receiver’s hand after the initial catch.

• EA has rebuilt the pre-snap defensive alignments from scratch. They are now based on mirroring what the offensive is doing in order to get the best matchups. Defenses now adjust to counter to unbalanced offensive formations, and they also better disguise whether their defensive coverage is man or zone.

SPECIAL TEAMS, PLAYCALLING, ETC.

• EA has adjusted punt and kick-off coverage lanes to keep players from bunching up. The receiving teams also have better wall setups than in past years.

• AI-controlled playcalling shows more variance by flipping plays, cutting down on the re-using of plays, and incorporating more team-specific tendencies such as spread offenses in the red zone or at the goal line.

• The controller layout for NCAA and Madden are synchronized so they are the same between the two games.

Link

 

[T0INE]

With many teams around the nation participating in spring football it reminds us that the fall season is just around the corner.  With that in mind, the development team here at Tiburon is busy at work putting the finishing touches on NCAA Football 13. 

This year, we have placed a special emphasis on gameplay.  In fact, we have doubled the size of our Core Gameplay team and made the most gameplay changes in the console generation.  We started with an area of the game that has become a very popular trend in the college game today:  passing.

Teams from across the nation are slinging the rock all over the yard at a record rate.  Looking at box scores it’s not uncommon to see each team’s quarterback throw for well over 300 yards in a game.  Depending on a team’s offensive style you may even see a quarterback throw the ball 60 times in a single game. With all this “pitching and catching

 

[T0INE]

Via Tradition Sports Online

Summary of the Details from the Gameplay Playbook webcast:

 

[mmg]

someone post this for me

 

[T0INE]

Via Tradition Sports Online:

NCAA Football 13 Hands On Gameplay Impressions:

I just got back from from the NCAA Football '13 Community event and I finally have gotten back and situated in front of a computer. Myself HackGolfer and Shaun Mason all attended the event as well.

I did not say too much (on the site) while down there testing because I really tried to dig into the game as much as possible, take notes on everything I saw, and help find bugs/issues as well.

This was my first time ever experiencing this and while I cannot go into detailed specifics on some things, I can tell you honestly this was nothing like what I was thinking in my mind in regards to how sports games are made...lol. Alot of time goes into these things and it's amazing how many hands/people/teams it takes to develop such a game. Obviously I knew it took time to create a game but some of these guys you wonder if they had even left the building when I would come in for the day, some serious hard work is going on at the moment and you can tell they are in overdrive to pump out a great football game in '13.

From the "Experience" side of things it was really refreshing to know that most the ppl involved in the game knew the game of Football alot. We got to spend DAYS with these people so it did not take long to know that these are just not a bunch of programmers just shooting off the hip on a sport they do not know. They had several key guys involved with the game that played major college football which was a surprise and really nice to know as well. On top of that they are very kind and open minded, they listened to our opinions and ideas and really seemed to enjoy our feedback. They are very upfront and do not BS you on certain ideas and "wants"...if it just isn't doable at the time or maybe they do not agree fully/or have another vantage point they are upfront about it and that is refreshing because they are not just nodding or agreeing.

Well the whole point of this is for me to share my impressions of what I got to experience in NCAA Football '13 this week. Some of it might be "repetitive" but just take that as me confirming what you have already been told from the EA release of gameplay and video.

I'm SURE I have left things out of these notes so do NOT hesitate to tag me and ask me something specific that you are curious to know or even if you are looking form more detail into one of my impressions/comments. Long as it's GAMEPLAY related I'm allowed pretty much to talk about it. I just cannot delve into anything other than Gameplay at the moment.

• Many new catch animations -----I mean a lot! And the receivers relate to the type of throw and the players body positioning.

• Pitch relationship is much improved, cleaner, you must get it out early which is nice

• If the receiver doesn't see it he won't make the play—Same for the defense on ball play.

• DB/WR interaction is great, very realistic, doesn’t stick like glue and run step for step with the receiver

• Defensive backs do a much better job competing the jump balls, the interaction midair is great

• OLine/DLine interaction is tuned (not overhauled). The offensive linemen extend and grab, slide accordingly as well with the defender. Great playaction play is back for ’13!

• Defensive backs with good awareness trail receivers well and when they see the ball coming can make excellent plays on midair balls without warping thru the WR. Also when making a play or interception for example the DB catches stretched out and rolls across the turf like in real life

• Neat and new team celebrations between plays...not just an individual anymore (seemed like only “team

 

[7th Chamber]

Originally Posted by MMG




someone post this for me

 

[jfmartimcdandruff]

"If the receiver doesn't see it he won't make the play—Same for the defense on ball play."

whoa....finally....i was thinkin bout DB vision cones since 06....i'm wondering if they'll bring this to madden

 

[fac3 tak30v312]

Originally Posted by dmxgod

A lot of you are complain bout NCAA 2012..what's wrong with it? *shrugs*..i have played 8 seasons of the dynasty mode with UNC and I can't get enough of it..

Will cop this once it drops on release date..

far too often have I had linebackers leap 5 ft into the air to intercept a pass or have a corner back beat to have him run back five yards on an in route to intercept the ball with the WR just standing there, not to mention the seemingly non existence of timing, time and again I'll have a ball thrown to where the WR currently is instead of where he's going to be 

 

[T0INE]

FYI, the NCAA 13 Dynasty webcast is today at 2pm.

You can watch it here.

 

[4318michaeljohnson4318]

not bad not bad at all

 

[atlsfinest]

NCAA 12 is so bad I went back to my dynasty in 11. Linebackers with 40 inch verticals and psychic defense backs make passing impossible. I had a corner just start running toward the receiver I targeted to get an INT. How does he even know where the call is with his head turned away and while defending someone else?

 

[T0INE]

Hi NCAA Football fans, Jordan Peterson here and I’m happy to be the one to discuss the new additions and improvements to Dynasty mode.  Developing new features for such a deep mode that is also a fan favorite is always an exciting challenge.  This year, we have focused on several different areas to improve depth, make Dynasty even more dynamic, and strengthen the existing foundation of Dynasty mode.  Some of the new features include Scouting, enhanced Phone Calls, Dynamic Pitches, Breaking into theTop 10, and Triple Threat Athletes.

The new Scouting experience starts in the pre-season where each Coach will have 20 hours to scout players to determine their actual attributes, eventually unlocking their true Overall rating.  This time in the pre-season is best spent trying to find the most suitable players to fill a team’s needs, looking for gems and trying to filter out the prospects that do not quite meet expectations.  Going into the regular season each Coach should have some knowledge of the abilities of players on their recruiting board.

Once in the regular season, there will bethreehours available that can be used to continue to scout prospects already on the board, or to unlock attributes for new prospects that have been added.   Prospects can potentially have a large difference between their actual OVR rating and their projected rating.   For example, you may scout the 5[sup]th[/sup] best half-back in the country, to discover his overall is higher than the top half-back.  Prospects that have actual overall ratings either far above, or below, their projected rating will be identified as either a Gem or a Bust. 

Scouting is done by selecting the amount of time you want to spend on a player in the Recruiting Action popup.  The amount of time spent scouting directly corresponds to the amount you can learn about each prospect.    Keep in mind, depending on the prospect’s position, there will be a varying amount of attributes that are important to discovering their Overall rating.  Athletes will have the most attributes to unlock; however, their unlocked ratings will help determine where they will be most efficient on the field.   

While we’re discussing Athletes, I should take the time to mention that Athletes have also been given a complete overhaul, making them some of the most valuable prospects each year.  These are the premier players in each prospect class who are now truly skilled at two to three positions. In short, they will provide significant flexibility for your recruiting class.  These prospects will not only be able to play at multiple positions, but there have been new position combinations created for the prospects.  For example, previously a QB would only have skills associated with a HB, or WR.  Now, they may be skilled at WR, HB, DB, or in some cases even TE.

Breaking Into theTop 10

Scouting is vital to the recruiting strategy this year, largely because of the changes that were made to how prospects’ interest in schools is calculated.  Prospects will now have open spots in their Top 10 to consider other schools than those on their initial short list.   Previously, it was very difficult, and sometimes felt impossible,to break into a prospect’s Top 10 schools if you were not there already.  Now, if you see an open spot on a prospect’s Top 10, it may be worth adding them to your recruit board.  This may be enough to gain some interest in the prospect, and break into their Top 10. 

This is an excellent way to gain the interest of prospects that simply have yet to be targeted by other schools.  Especially as a low tier school early during the season, it may be possible to gain some interest in a 3 star prospect before the upper tier of schools start looking to fill the gaps in their own recruiting board.   There is some risk involved though; going star chasing for the big prospects can backfire.  If you reach too far, you may find that once the top schools start talking to the same prospect you will not be able to keep their attention. 

Express your interest in the prospect by adding them to your recruiting board, and the following week you will see if you made it onto their Top 10 schools.  Also, keep an eye out on your prospects; you may see some other schools try to join the chase later in the season!

Dynamic Pitches

After scouting has revealed which players you want to recruit, the next step is to sell them on the ratings of your university using the Phone Call system.  However, before I get into the changes made to the phone call, I’d like to discuss just how you can now improve these ratings with the new Dynamic Pitches feature. 

Each school has 14 pitches which can be viewed on the My School screen in the Recruiting hub (Pictured above).  These grades are utilized during the Phone Call, and in the past were practically static with only a slight chance of changing from year to year.  However, they are now dynamic and can be directly influenced through various actions in Dynasty.  I’ll be walking you through each of the pitches, detailing out how the pitch can be influenced, how often they will be updated.

Championship Contender

Championship Contender is based upon Coach Poll rank and updated weekly.  The contender grade will look four years in advance, evaluating the overall rating of not only players on the team, but any prospects that have committed to the university.   The better the recruiting class, the better your championship contender rating will look for the next four years.  Also, if a high quality prospect commits early during the season, you may see an immediate impact upon this grade, helping you recruit other prospects.  The current classes are weighted so that they will count more towards the overall grade than projections for later years. 

Coach Prestige

Each week Coach Prestige is determined by passing, or failing, goals in your contract.  These objectives will have varying impact upon Coach Prestige, depending upon their difficulty.

Coach Stability

The new Coach Stability rating replaces Coach Loyalty and Program Stability.  It is determined by the number of years a Coach has spent at the school, years left on the coach’s contract, their current job security percentage, and the number of times the Coach has renewed their contract at the school.  There is also a penalty for leaving a contract early if it’s not for a better job, so be careful when trying to switch positions in the Coaching Carousel. 

Conference Prestige

Previously Conference Prestige was static and never changed, regardless of how the teams in the conference perform.  Now each week, the conference’s prestige will be evaluated based upon the BCS ranking of the top six schools in the conference.  You are now partially reliant upon the success of the other teams in the conference, so you may find yourself cheering for your rivals.  

If you are fond of creating your own custom conferences using the Custom Conferences feature the conference prestige will now dynamically update after you have made your changes in Custom Conferences.

TV Exposure

TV Exposure grade is now based upon a team’s performance in front of the camera, whether on the national or regional stage. Furthermore, the number of televised games has been slightly increased to more accurately represent the current level of media coverage for college football.  Playing in, and more importantly, winning these games will provide a boost to TV Exposure grade.   Of course, Bowl games and the National championship will also improve TV Exposure. 

 However, be careful, losing those big games in front of a national audience can also have a negative impact on your TV Exposure.  While you do earn the prestige of playing in front of a national audience, losing the big game can also give you a negative reputation of not being able to win the big games.  Nothing is more embarrassing than finally making it to a national stage and then choking against a tough opponent!

Pro Potential

Each team’s Pro Potential rating is evaluated by looking at the draft classes for the past four years.  Improving this grade will require signing prospects with high overall ratings and having them play well on the field once they are at your university.  With consistent positive results in recruiting and on the field, you will see your prospects drafted at higher rounds, which will increase your pro potential.  

Keep Pro Potential in mind when deciding whether to convince a player to stay instead of declaring early for the draft.  Another year playing at the collegiate level could potentially increase their draft stock, or, it may be better off to let them go pro if they are projected at an early round.  While on the topic, I should discuss the new Players Leaving feature, which changes how you convince players leaving early for the draft and transfers to stay with your school. 

Players will now be more likely to leave early based upon their projected draft rank.  Each season there is a mock draft generated, assigning eligible players a projected draft round.  The mock draft is generated based on actual data on how many players are drafted per position each year.  All eligible players are considered for the draft, but it isn’t finalized until after the players leaving stage.  This way, any players that are convinced to stay are replaced by other players that did not initially make it onto the mock draft board. 

How difficult it is to convince a player to stay is largely dependent upon their projected round.  In order to convince them to stay, you once again have to promise something to player, whether it is a higher draft round next year, guarantee an award, or even the national championship.  Coach Integrity ties directly into how convincing the coach is when making these promises to the player.  The prospect will evaluate the new promise and ultimately decide if he is going to stay for another year, or enter the draft early. 

For Transfers, there are now a myriad of different reasons a player may consider transferring from a school, or to a particular school.  A player may request a transfer if a Coach has broken promises that were made during the recruiting promise, coaching changes during the Carousel, not getting enough playing time or perhaps even because they are homesick.  Transfers can be convinced to stay by leveraging a different series of promises focused upon their requirements as a transfer, such as more playing time, or better statistics.

Stadium Atmosphere

Stadium atmosphere is directly driven by the Toughest Places to Play each week.  The more success you have at home by winning games, and creating home win streaks, the more this grade will improve.  It’s now more important than ever to get those victories at home, especially if you have big rivalry games later in the season.

Playing Style

Playing Style is completely new pitch that is evaluated by tendency based directly on how your team is performing on the field.  This allows a team that runs an Air Raid offense with a pocket passing quarter back to have a higher Playing Style grade for Pocket Passing Quarterback prospects.  Of course, they will be competing directly with all of the other schools that are passing the ball frequently.   Each tendency will be evaluated by a different statistical category, meaning a Scrambling Quarterback will be looking at different statistics than Pocket Passing quarterback.  In order to improve this grade, focus on the statistics for the tendencies you want on your team.

Keep in mind that having a low Playing Style grade for a prospect doesn’t mean you will not be able to sign the prospect.  It will simply be more difficult, especially if they have a high interest level in Playing Style.  The positive side is that since this is evaluated weekly, you can focus on improving the right statistics and potentially climb up the ranks and boost the grade for that tendency.       

Program Tradition

Another pitch that is impacted directly by your team’s performance on the field is Program Tradition.  Winning regular season games will provide a slight boost, but it’s winning the conference championship games, bowl games, and the National Championship that will really boost a program’s tradition.  You will also be able to improve Program Tradition by simply playing in Conference and National Championship games, but winning those games will provide a significantly higher boost.

Playing Time

Playing Time is evaluated by each prospect’s position against the skill level of the players on the team already and other prospects that have committed.  This will require you to think twice before offering scholarships to multiple prospects at the same position, especially if one is more talented than the rest.

Proximity to Home

Proximity is determined by how close a prospect is to the university.  However, in order to get an A+ rating the prospect must be from the same town as the school.   There was nothing more frustrating than seeing a prospect from the same city as your teams have no interest in their local team whatsoever.  Now, if the prospect is from the same city as the University, they will have that boost to Proximity to Home grade.  

Academic Prestige, Athletic Facilities, & Campus Life style

These three pitches have a small percent chance to change each season, depending on how well the team is playing and the number of victories. 

Now that you have an idea of how each pitch can be impacted and how frequently it’s evaluated, you can begin putting together the best strategy as to how you will improve your school’s pitch grades.   This entire system is meant to be dynamic and to be a more accurate assessment of your team’s status week-to-week and year-to-year.  Now, if you take a 1 star school and win a National Championship, you will see some significant improvements in the team’s grades.   You can now truly turn that one star school into the powerhouse program to rival the best in the nation. 

Phone Call

We receive a significant amount of feedback from our fans, and one thing we have seen and heard repeatedly over the past few years is to remove the randomness from the Phone Call and put the control back in the player’s hands.  Now the Coach will be able to select the topics of discussion for each conversation. With this added level of control over the Phone Call, it’s important to discover which pitches are important to your top prospects.  This will help determine what areas you should be focusing on improving.  A prospect that may have seemed out of reach since their interests did not align with your school’s strengths may suddenly be an excellent match because of changes to your school’s Dynamic Pitch grades. 

Alternatively, the Coach can also take a chance and see what the prospect wants to discuss.  However, as opposed to years past where the call was completely random, now the prospect will only select topics that are at an Average or above interest level.   Since you are letting the prospect choose, you will receive a slight bonus, but be careful, the prospect will select any topic they are interested in regardless of the school’s grade.

Finally, all promises are now available from the start of a dynasty, regardless of initial coach integrity rating.  Breaking any promises will cause a significant loss to Coach Integrity, decreasing the value of future promises and how convincing the coach will be when attempting to convince players to stay during the off-season.   Also, breaking promises that were made to a prospect could potentially cause players to transfer.  So while there is significant gain to making some of the more grandiose promises, there is also significant risk associated with breaking them.

Online Dynasty Stability Improvements

When NCAA Football 12 launched, we were troubled by the stability issues we saw with Online Dynasty which lead to Transfer Failed errors for some of you out there.  When reports of those errors started to roll in, we found that we did not have the proper tools we needed to be able to diagnose and solve those issues quickly and efficiently.  While we have continued to work diligently to resolve these issues; there is always the potential for one of these incidents to occur.  This year we have added a new popup indicating a transfer failed has occurred and an associated incident identification number.  This will provide an idea about what has caused the transfer and help us track down the issue faster.  We have also added new processes to provide more detailed logging of failures should they occur, improved automated scripting to help identify the failures, and finally improved logging for user actions within Dynasty.  

However, due to the complexity of an online feature such as this, there is always the possibility that an error can potentially occur.  Through our new tools we will be notified when an error occurred but reporting the identification number will help with the communication of what errors people are seeing when they are reported and also which errors have been addressed if we have to roll out fixes.

Between Dynamic Pitches, Scouting, Triple Threat Athletes and Breaking into the Top 10, Dynasty mode in NCAA Football 13 will be a dynamic and unique experience, offering more depth and accuracy than ever before.  I look forward to everyone diving into the new Dynasty experience when NCAA Football 13 hits stores on July 10[sup]th[/sup].

 

[T0INE]

Hi NCAA Football Fans!

Christian McLeod, NCAA Football 13 designer, here again, and today I get to tell you about one of the most exciting new additions to the presentation of  NCAA Football 13’s Dynasty mode- The ESPN Bottom Line and Studio Updates.

Every week college football tells a story- the upsets, battles for position in the polls, conference struggles, last second plays and big player performances, each shaping the national landscape that given week.  Even more importantly, the story of college football unfolds over the course of an entire day, from the kickoff of the 12:00pm games, to the final whistle of the Pacific coast late games. College Football as a whole is a living entity, with every score potentially affecting another team’s season as the day unfolds.

As an avid college football fan I can tell you that there is nothing more exciting in all of sports than spending an entire Saturday in front of the television watching the story of the week play itself out.  If I’m not flipping between channels during each commercial break, my eyes are glued to score tickers and updates from around the country at every break in the action. Just because I am rooting my Spartans to victory doesn’t mean there aren’t other compelling stories going on at the same time.

This feeling of a truly dynamic, living college football experience was extremely important for us to capture in Dynasty mode, and was a major focus from a presentation standpoint in NCAA Football 13.

The first step we took when examining how to mirror the compelling experience described above, was to examine where non-user games were simulated within the Dynasty mode itself. In past NCAA Football titles, every game from a specific week would be simulated after a user had played their game and advanced to the next week.  The result of this system was that it was impossible to see what type of impact other games from around the country had on your team until you advanced a week and then navigated through the menus to check in on scores from across the country.

I like to use the following example when discussing our old way of simulating in Dynasty. Imagine living in a world where you could only watch your favorite team’s game, and would not receive any type of in game updates via your television, phone, or other device. Knowing your team had a 3:30 kickoff you do yard work until that time and then bunker down for the next 2.5 hours.  After your game was over you turn your television off, go to sleep and then read about all the exciting action that happened before, during, and after your favorite game the next morning in the Sunday paper.

 In today’s ever-connected sports universe this scenario simply isn’t realistic, and we realized that for NCAA Football 13 we needed to change our weekly simulation logic so that it better reflected what we see in real life. The simulation process now evaluates games being played before and during the realistic time frame of a user’s game, and then begins to expose them in real time during the game. How are they exposed you ask? I’m very proud to announce the implementation of the ESPN Bottom Line ticker into this year’s game.

Utilizing the data that is received from the simulated games, the ticker will be keeping you up to date throughout your own game. That means should you be playing a 3:30 game, you will be receiving final scores from any of the 12:00 contests that are completed. Furthermore, the 3:30 games will be updating in real time as your game progresses, and you will even start seeing some early scores roll in from games that start even later in the day. The ticker will also give you a quick glimpse at upcoming games, complete with team logos and time of kickoff. What makes the ticker even cooler is that it reacts exactly like what you see on ESPN on game day. That means you’ll be seeing Priority Score Alerts--complete with the score changing dynamically on screen--Final Score Alerts, and Upset Alerts. The Bottom Line ticker will even remain visible during instant replays and while the game is paused. We wanted to ensure you wouldn’t miss a score, even if you are busy adjusting your depth chart or looking to capture that perfect screenshot (any screenshot you take will not have the bottom line present, so have no fear aspiring virtual photogs).

As cool as the Bottom Line ticker is, we wanted to take the immersion of the scores you see one step further. Being avid college football fans we immediately knew the perfect feature we needed to implement in order to keep users updated throughout their game on the happenings of college football--NCAA Football 13 will mark the debut of Studio Updates in Dynasty mode.

That’s right; you now will be kept up to date throughout your dynasty game by live cut-ins to the studio to provide updates on everything going on across the country as your game is being played.  And if you watch as much college football as we do, you know there is only one voice that is the definition of Studio Updates:

I am very proud to publically announce the addition of Rece Davis to the NCAA Football commentary family.

Rece and his son are big fans of the NCAA Football series and he was thrilled to get a chance to be a part of the game.  Rece will be your man in the studio on your game day, keeping his finger on the pulse of everything college football and narrating the scores and stats from big games, upsets, rivalries, BCS updates, and even talk about  players having great games.

Rece will also be the first voice you hear when you boot up a game of NCAA Football 13, providing a live look-in from the studio before sending it off to Brad and Kirk in our all-new game introductions.

Studio Updates will occur dynamically throughout your game, presenting single score screens, multiple score screens, or any combination of the two whenever an exciting event happens throughout the country, just like what you see every Saturday on ESPN. The dev team has spent a tremendous amount of time working on the tech and logic behind  these updates to ensure that you will not only be receiving updates that are relevant to the conference you are playing in, but also to touch on the best stories throughout your game  as soon as they happen.  The result of everyone’s hard work is an experience that ties you into your virtual season unlike anything seen before in the franchise, and an experience that will differ dramatically from user to user.

Regarding the commentary of the updates, it was very important that we capture the essence of Rece through his very unique delivery style and passion for college football.  In our first meeting we sat down and discussed how we wanted him to approach these virtual updates as he would on any given game day in the studio. It was the goal to make the feature sound as authentic to Rece’s personality as possible.  Utilizing our new ad-libbed commentary style discussed in my previous Audio blog, Rece immediately brought his colorful descriptions of teams, rivalries, stadiums, players, and scoring plays to life like only he could. No matter what teams you are a fan of you are going to be smiling when you hear the personal touch Rece gave to each of your schools.

There is a tremendous amount of depth in the commentary we recorded for the Studio Updates, with thousands of possibilities for each game.  Our new commentary engine allowed us to create branching story paths for each of the updates, creating something new for Rece to say about each of his games, even if he returns to a game multiple times.  After polishing the commentary of the feature for several months now I can definitively say I am very excited for you to hear what Rece has to say as your season progresses.

We didn’t just stop at Rece when it comes to updates either. My personal favorite part of the feature is that Brad Nessler will react to the updates and describe their impact on the national landscape and within your game. That means if Rece just updated you on a monumental upset, Brad will react.  Better yet, if you just saw an update on a hated rival, a team you are jockeying for position within the conference/top 25/BCS, a team you played last week or play next week, or a possible upset in progress, Brad will talk about it. Brad’s reactions act as narration to your season, and how what is happening across the country directly impacts your team that week.

The implementation of the Bottom Line ticker and Studio Updates was a big undertaking for our team, and we all feel the end result is something really special. We can’t wait for you all to jump into your dynasties and see just how immersive the experience is.

 

[T0INE]

What's up NCAA Football fans? My name is Dr. David Johnson (aka Madscientist06) and I am an EA SPORTS Game Changer and owner of MaddenMatrix.com - a NCAA Football and Madden NFL community site.  Those who know me, know that I am a NCAA Football Dynasty-aholic! I was honored to be invited to attend several NCAA Football 13 Community Events this year and because Dynasty mode is my absolute favorite, I was excited to be asked to discuss several of the new features of this upcoming release with you. Let's dive right into the good stuff!!!

For those of you new to Dynasty mode, this is the mode that allows you to take over a team as the head coach or coordinator and play out multiple seasons, building your team by recruiting fictitious computer-generated prospects. Players on your team transfer to other schools, graduate, or head to the pros, just like in real life; so it is your job to continually bring in new players and, at the same time, develop the players currently on your team (they improve, partly based on their performance and playing time). I call it "Refresh and Rebuild"! To add to the excitement, you can compete with a number of your friends in the same dynasty for bragging rights! The better job of recruiting you do, the better your team will be and the better your chances will be to achieve NCAA Football glory!

One huge feature everyone is sure to love in NCAA Football 13 is how the game emulates the stories of Saturday.  One of the things that really keeps a Dynasty player engaged is to become totally immersed into the emerging stories within the dynasty.   Now, while you are playing your dynasty games, you'll receive in-game Studio Updates containing late-breaking action, ESPN style, with commentary by ESPN's very own Rece Davis! The ESPN-styled update is done very realistically, so, if you are playing an early game, for example, you would not get scores from a game that is being played later that evening.  EA has also added an ESPN Bottom Line ticker, which is virtually identical to its real-life counterpart in appearance and functionality.  The ESPN Bottom Line ticker, which displays at the bottom of the screen, keeps you updated with non-stop updates while you are in the middle of playing your game with scores from games in progress around the league. How cool is that?

One of the great appeals to Dynasty mode, and a feature which adds tremendous replay value to me and many of Dynasty enthusiasts, is recruiting.

Dynasty mode has received a major upgrade with the addition of recruit scouting. Yes, I did say scouting! Here's how it works: You can scout recruits weekly and during the off-season. During the off-season, you are allowed 20 hours to scout players that you are interested in. Each week during the season, you are allotted 5 hours of scouting time which you can spend on any recruits of your choice.  Similar to recruiting in previous years, you can spend as much as 1 hour scouting each recruit or as little as 10 minutes.

Once you select how much time you want to scout a player, you are taken to the scouting screen where you'll see the true ratings revealed.  The scouting screen is nicely designed, organizing recruit's attributes into related groups, such as Base (speed, strength, awareness, agility, acceleration, stamina, and injury), Tackling (tackle, hit power, pursuit, and play recognition), Coverage (man, zone, and press), and Block Shedding (block shedding, power moves, and finesse moves).  Of course the groups listed depend on the position (e.g. quarterback, wide receiver, defensive end) of the recruit you are scouting. The example I included was for a cornerback.

Those familiar with dynasty mode know that each computer-generated recruit has a letter grade for each of the existing player skill attributes such as Speed, Catch, Acceleration, Route Running, Strength, Break Tackle, and Agility, the same as in previous years. New to NCAA Football 13 you can view a recruit's "Projected Overall Rating (OVR)". The term "projected", in this case, means the prospect's OVR could actually be better or worse than advertised, and in some cases, the difference could be substantial. As true player attributes are revealed, the player's projected OVR also changes, moving closer to the true OVR rating with each new reveal.

In previous years, a player's true numerical attribute ratings would not be revealed until the off-season.  In NCAA Football 13, you are able to discover a recruit's true attribute ratings, over time, starting in the off-season, and weekly, as you devote more scouting time to the same recruit. You may, however, uncover an attribute that changes your interest in a particular player as well. For example, you are looking for a possession wide receiver and find the 85 OVR rated recruit with a B+ catch you added to your recruiting board is not as good as you initially thought. In that case, it may be time to target other recruits. On the other hand, you may find the prospect is actually better than initially rated. This, my friends, is real life! Gotta love it!

Another HUGE upgrade to Dynasty mode is the new Dynamic Pitch system.  In Dynasty mode, each team is rated on a number of key characteristics or attributes such as Pro Potential, Coach Prestige, Conference Prestige, Program Tradition, and Championship Contender. Each computer-generated recruit rates each of these team pitch grades based on his interests. For example, the recruit may be interested in playing at the NFL level, so teams which have traditionally produced pro athletes (teams with high Pro Potential grades) would greatly appeal to him.  Your job as a recruiter is to match up your team strengths with what the recruit values most.  In other words, accentuate the positive. One big problem with team pitch grades in previous versions is the grades were mostly static, meaning some of them never changed over time. The problem with that is if you took over a low C-rated team and built them into a powerhouse, you'd often still be stuck with the same low pitch grades.  The same would normally be the case if you took over a powerhouse and performed poorly.

EA has addressed this issue in NCAA Football 13 by linking team pitch grades to team characteristics and on-field performance metrics.  Let me give you an example. Conference Prestige will now be determined based on an evaluation of the top teams in a selected conference.  If the top teams, on average, get better over time, the Conference Prestige pitch grade will improve.  Conversely, if teams decline, so will the pitch grade.  The Pro Potential pitch grade is determined based on your team's ability to produce NFL players.  A mock draft conducted at the end of each season is used to determine where your players would fall in the draft. The more of your players that make this mock draft, the more it helps improve your Pro Potential pitch grade. Players drafted higher make more of an impact on the pitch an players drafted in the later rounds.

Each pitch grade is linked to a number of metrics.  In order to help you maximize your grades, EA has included dedicated screens, in the dynasty, which provides details on what factors are used to determine each pitch grade, providing you clear understanding of what you need to work on to improve your pitch grades.

One last thing, random recruit pitches are a thing of the past! In NCAA Football 13, you have complete control over the pitch process. You decide which pitches to make each week, and, to add even more flexibility, you can even ask a recruit what topic he'd like to talk about as well. The only stipulation is you cannot duplicate a pitch during a single phone call. I'm sure everyone in the community who were not fans of random pitches will be happy with this change.

I want to thank EA for allowing me this opportunity to share some of the new features with you.  There are so many other great changes to dynasty mode I could talk about, but I just wanted to cover a couple to get you fired up for the early July release!

I personally can't wait to get my hands on NCAA Football 13 and start a new dynasty! I think the community will be really excited about the improvements made to my favorite mode! If you have any comments, hit me up on twitter (@Madscientist06).

 

[scott frost]

Damn you toine. Damn you

 

[T0INE]

FYI, you can pre-order NCAA 13 for $45 on Amazon now.

Xbox 360 only though.

Not sure how long this deal will last so if interested get on it ASAP.

Damn you toine. Damn you

 

[cycovizion]

 

[T0INE]

 

[MVP]

Originally Posted by toine2983

FYI, you can pre-order NCAA 13 for $45 on Amazon now.

Xbox 360 only though.

Not sure how long this deal will last so if interested get on it ASAP.

Damn you toine. Damn you

Improvements look

I'll be reeled in again this year. Good looks on the preorder toine

 

[10508 cardo jr ln]

Game gonna be bugged out...*
*tries to kill the anticipation