Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted July 8, 2003 Oh man, you can find files everywhere. You if you have an XBox with Action Replay, it's very easy to get roster updates and such. I already have Excel files for all the teams and incoming players as well. Well for those of us who haven't fallen into the Bill Gates Cult of Home Gaming (yes, I'm j/k) it's a bit more difficult. I'm leery for some reason about sending off a memory card to some guy I've never met and hope he sends me my card back, and not some corrupted piece of crap. Oh well I just want to see what my friend's rating is anyway (Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe, probably still listed as a C although he's moving to RG, #51). He was rated pretty well last season IIRC, so I want to see how he looks this season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted July 9, 2003 BTW Phoenix, how long does it take you to enter all the rosters? Man for 165 teams and 54 per roster that's gotta take a shitload of time for guys that'll probably graduate in a year or 2 or turn pro early. I guess it is better than seeing "WR #4" and shit like that on jerseys. Conspiracy Victim, what's your friend's name? Depends on how much free time I have. Last year it took me a couple months or so. I don't mind the time, I like to have all the guys loaded onto the game...helps for my ongoing commentary. There are files online if you have a Sharkport or whatever that will do the names for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fazzle Report post Posted July 15, 2003 I just got back from Babbages, and the game is mine! After many attempts to get my XBox to actually read the damn disc, I created UNCW, and am ready to start a dynasty with them! Sorry Clemson, you're no longer part of the ACC, UNCW is. Heh, the new SI feature is cool. Despite making UNCW as bad a team as possible when asked to pick a ranking....I'm still projected to finish higher in the ACC than Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted July 15, 2003 I'm off to get my copy at 5 PM from Software Etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Spicy McHaggis Report post Posted July 15, 2003 Man, ToysRUs & Target say the 17th, Best Buy says the 18th... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted July 16, 2003 I picked up my copy. Now, I just have to wait for my XBox to come in sometime between the 21st-27th. KayBee's, Best Buy, and Software Etc. all had copies of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fazzle Report post Posted July 16, 2003 My UNCW CAS sucks. The CAS still needs work too, because there's too huge of a gap between the bottom 2 rankings and everything else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yankovic fan 0 Report post Posted July 17, 2003 They told me it wouldn't be out until the 16th. They called me yesterday to tell me it was in. Pretty cool. I like how it actually sells the Play Action with the camera angles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fazzle Report post Posted July 17, 2003 Yeah, but the camera angle selling can also screw you some times. By the time the camera has come back to you, and you're allowed to control the QB again, you're getting sacked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted July 19, 2003 Eh...Not that impressive and not that much different from last season... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted July 19, 2003 not that much different from last season... NCAA Football 2003 was the best football game out last year. If it's just improvements and such than 2004 will probably be the best football game this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted July 19, 2003 I couldn't tell you if there were ANY differences other the addition of Classic Games and the main page is a little smoother but I could NEVER tell a damn difference with shit like graphics and gameplay... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted July 19, 2003 Does anyone else's screen start to shake at times? It seems like when you have a televised screen and they open up with the matchup graphic at the start of the "broadcast", the screen shakes a bit. Man it's tough going in dynasty mode. I made an academic team (C- for just about everything) and replaced Navy. Pretty much got steamrolled. Had a decent recruiting class though (I like the additions to recruiting, makes it more in depth) including a 5* and a couple 4*, so we'll see how season 2 goes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Blackston Report post Posted July 19, 2003 First of all, this game is extremely similar to last years edition. The actual football in the game has been basically unchanged, with the exception of pass coverage. Play action pass is also one of the bright spots. Contrary to previous games where play action= automatic sack, play action in 2004 can be used to completely throw the defense off. Where the game has gotten much better is in the bells and whistles. If you are a fan of college football, these new additions make the game worth while. When you start up a rivalry game, it gives you a little rundown about the history of the rivalry and whathaveyou. When you have a great game that comes down to the wire against a friend, the game keeps track of the box score and the players of the game. Dynasty has been overhauled, and given a bunch of cool new features (SI, conference shakeups, other schools offering their position to you, etc.). The AI is also much improved from last year. It feels like college football... and that is the best complement that I can possibly give it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lightning Flik Report post Posted July 19, 2003 I'm still getting sort of used to it (the play calling on the fly) with certain playbooks, so we'll see how I do. Pretty much, I think I'll build a Canada team and be an Indepentant (replace Navy like as was mentioned). Problem is, considering my team will be all out Canada, I'm not too sure what I should put the team down as. I'm think either Ball Control (I like running) or Big Offense (Cause I use Westcoast a lot of times). What do you guys think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted July 20, 2003 I'm still getting sort of used to it (the play calling on the fly) with certain playbooks, so we'll see how I do. Pretty much, I think I'll build a Canada team and be an Indepentant (replace Navy like as was mentioned). Problem is, considering my team will be all out Canada, I'm not too sure what I should put the team down as. I'm think either Ball Control (I like running) or Big Offense (Cause I use Westcoast a lot of times). What do you guys think? Ball Control is probably the way to go. Throw in some play-action for big plays and you're all set. IMO, the AI is much improved and is doing a number on my passing attack - from 58% completions and 305 YPG in 2003 to 45% and 283 YPG in 2004. The coverage is improved, players shed their blocks much easier, etc. Quite a challenge. Of course this benefits me on defense too...I like to run lots of blitzes, and now I'm being rewarded with loads of sacks. Question: Has anyone beat the 1980 SMU/BYU Classic yet? Seems like that would be the hardest one, though I'm also having trouble with some of the others Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2003 In response to Phoenix, yeah sacks are a ton easier this year. My 5* recruit was a DE monster (6'7", 270, 4.75 speed) that I somehow managed to land. Needless to say he's starting as a freshman. I scoot him one man over (1 hit on the R1 button) outside the LT and on the snap speed rush him. Most of the time the tackle can't cut the angle and it's an easy sack. I've got 8 sacks in 3 games with him, including 4 in one game (against a tackle who apparantly played with cement cleats). As for playbook, I'm still trying to figure that one out. I don't have a back that's really fast enough to take the ball to the outside (they're rated 66 and 60, both power rushers) so I'm not sure about ball control. Right now I'm using Texas A&M because of the versatility in their playbook (I've got 3 good TEs, and A&M has 3 or 4 different Ace sets, as well as an I-back set and a 3 WR set). Play action looks cool, but it seems to lead to a sack more often than not. I can run the ball 4 straight plays, call a PA, and a DE is in my face before the QB can recover from the play fake. Haven't tried any of the Classics yet, trying to get a hang of everything before I give it a shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lightning Flik Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Ball Control is probably the way to go. Throw in some play-action for big plays and you're all set. IMO, the AI is much improved and is doing a number on my passing attack - from 58% completions and 305 YPG in 2003 to 45% and 283 YPG in 2004. The coverage is improved, players shed their blocks much easier, etc. Quite a challenge. Of course this benefits me on defense too...I like to run lots of blitzes, and now I'm being rewarded with loads of sacks. Question: Has anyone beat the 1980 SMU/BYU Classic yet? Seems like that would be the hardest one, though I'm also having trouble with some of the others Actually, I find Big Offense is a good starting point for anyone who remotely wants to add a team to a league. Gives a decent defense, good special teams, and godly offense. Sacks are easier this year, if you blitz them. That's not because it's easier to gain sack, but if it's a passing play, they must get it off right away and unless they are pocket passers (which most college players seemingly aren't) they usually will get sack. I'm currently up against Virginia (UVT, #18 ranked) and I'm up 28-0, have only allowed 55 yards, allowed only two first downs, made them fumble once, and sacked them a good 5 times. And I'm currently getting them to punt me back the ball. Just so you know, I'm just playing lowly levels with kick ass sliders cause I'm still working the play calling to perfection. Someday, I hope to move on to uppergrade levels. BTW, sliders are only set up for CPU to be better than me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fazzle Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Sacks are easier this year. Darn tootin they are. My created UNCW(who I started at the lowest ranking. Whatever's below academic) team, in their second year, just got *12* sacks against Baylor. I made their QBs hate life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lightning Flik Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Sacks are easier this year. Darn tootin they are. My created UNCW(who I started at the lowest ranking. Whatever's below academic) team, in their second year, just got *12* sacks against Baylor. I made their QBs hate life. Damn. You have CUPCAKE and 12 sacks? Nasty. Then again, I have 8 myself against Virginia and so heh. Blitzing works wonders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fazzle Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Damn. You have CUPCAKE and 12 sacks? Nasty. Yep, and so far Massey(senior who didn't get to play last year. I'm an idiot) and Chandler(freshman 4* DE who I somehow got to commit to me) have 5 sacks each through 2 games, and 8 tackles for losses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lightning Flik Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Yep, and so far Massey(senior who didn't get to play last year. I'm an idiot) and Chandler(freshman 4* DE who I somehow got to commit to me) have 5 sacks each through 2 games, and 8 tackles for losses. Hehe... I just blew out Virginia 93-3. Thanks to 10 sacks, 3TOs, 178PRY and a TD; 110KYR and a TD; 257 aerial yards and 4TDs from the air; 238 yards and 6TDs from the ground; and two field goals (early in the game when it was like near the start and I wasn't doing so hot). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest phoenixrising Report post Posted July 20, 2003 In response to Phoenix, yeah sacks are a ton easier this year. My 5* recruit was a DE monster (6'7", 270, 4.75 speed) that I somehow managed to land. Needless to say he's starting as a freshman. I scoot him one man over (1 hit on the R1 button) outside the LT and on the snap speed rush him. Most of the time the tackle can't cut the angle and it's an easy sack. I've got 8 sacks in 3 games with him, including 4 in one game (against a tackle who apparantly played with cement cleats). As for playbook, I'm still trying to figure that one out. I don't have a back that's really fast enough to take the ball to the outside (they're rated 66 and 60, both power rushers) so I'm not sure about ball control. Right now I'm using Texas A&M because of the versatility in their playbook (I've got 3 good TEs, and A&M has 3 or 4 different Ace sets, as well as an I-back set and a 3 WR set). Play action looks cool, but it seems to lead to a sack more often than not. I can run the ball 4 straight plays, call a PA, and a DE is in my face before the QB can recover from the play fake. Haven't tried any of the Classics yet, trying to get a hang of everything before I give it a shot. Conspiracy, if you got power running backs then ball control is perfect. I'm not sure if you were talking about the Ball Control playbook (never used it). I actually thought you meant a ball control style, in which case pounding power backs right into the heart of the defense over and over would work. About play action...if there's an end in my face I let the computer run it. The comp will throw automatically when a reciever is open. Or at least when it thinks one is open. But then again I've been throwing into coverage too, sometimes I get lucky. The CPU kills me when it runs play action though. That effect is perfect. Too perfect. The part about running on four straight plays and then calling a play action reminds me...Is it just me, or does the computer ALWAYS select a 3-4 when you select a pass play on first down. Even when I call playactions and ran the ball on the plays before, the comp puts the 3-4 in. Of course sometimes it does this when I have the HB Iso or Triple Option play selected, so I get a good four, five yards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lightning Flik Report post Posted July 20, 2003 -The part about running on four straight plays and then calling a play action reminds me...Is it just me, or does the computer ALWAYS select a 3-4 when you select a pass play on first down. Even when I call playactions and ran the ball on the plays before, the comp puts the 3-4 in. Of course sometimes it does this when I have the HB Iso or Triple Option play selected, so I get a good four, five yards. It doesn't ALWAYS call 3-4 but it's mostly what I've seen. If you keep the offense balanced throughout the game, it will be 3-4, but if you end up passing a lot, I've seen a dime/nickel play a couple times myself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Man it always seems to know when to go to a nickel or dime coverage with me. The AI is a lot better this year than last year in regards to that. As to the playbook, I've actually changed to a West Coast offense. I recruited 3 or 4 decent WRs to go along with my pass catching TEs so a short passing game combined with my new tailback (speed around 70-73 and you can tell the difference) leads to a different style of ball control offense. BTW, my 5* recruit (Wiley) ended up with 21 sacks and was the DL of the year and 2nd team All-American. This year in the opener against Michigan St. (in my first season in the MAC no less) he gets 3 more. Looks to be a good start. In case you were wondering I'm playing varsity 6 minutes with the standard sliders. I never figured out how to adjust the sliders to make it more realistic so I basically leave them the way they are. Has anyone else noticed that politics seem to play a part in the awards? I've seen 1st Team All-Americans finishing 6th and 7th in positional awards. Anyway, I'm 31st in the nation after beating Mich. St. and I've got ranked opponents Nebraska and Virginia still on the schedule. Seeing as how my team shuts down the run I oughta stand a pretty good chance of winning both. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lightning Flik Report post Posted July 20, 2003 Man it always seems to know when to go to a nickel or dime coverage with me. The AI is a lot better this year than last year in regards to that. As to the playbook, I've actually changed to a West Coast offense. I recruited 3 or 4 decent WRs to go along with my pass catching TEs so a short passing game combined with my new tailback (speed around 70-73 and you can tell the difference) leads to a different style of ball control offense. BTW, my 5* recruit (Wiley) ended up with 21 sacks and was the DL of the year and 2nd team All-American. This year in the opener against Michigan St. (in my first season in the MAC no less) he gets 3 more. Looks to be a good start. In case you were wondering I'm playing varsity 6 minutes with the standard sliders. I never figured out how to adjust the sliders to make it more realistic so I basically leave them the way they are. Has anyone else noticed that politics seem to play a part in the awards? I've seen 1st Team All-Americans finishing 6th and 7th in positional awards. Anyway, I'm 31st in the nation after beating Mich. St. and I've got ranked opponents Nebraska and Virginia still on the schedule. Seeing as how my team shuts down the run I oughta stand a pretty good chance of winning both. They are quite good this year. Very improved from last year. Only thing I find is that sometimes for running you can bust up the middle a lot easier than the sides. And I mean like ISO plays that are like daggerfalls through the center. Yet, when you use Westcoast offense, it's pretty easy to tell when you'll pass or run. Sadly that's the downside to it. Upside, you have a lot of good PA plays, some decent run plays, good passing plays, and a lot of trick plays. Good to hear about that pick in the recruiting process. Getting 5* recruits area God send most days. Yet, does anyone find that even if you don't get a 5* recruit, that picking up a 3* sometimes can be just as useful? Or is it just me that finds great talent that aren't highly *ed? Well, I'm restarting the season and placing my Canada Wolfpack into an actual division myself. As being an 1A Indy team makes life TOO easy (can we say I could play all crappy teams and probably win a national title?) Which one do you guys think I should go with? I'm leaning to Big East preferably, considering that would be more along the lines of where a Canadian College Team playing in NCAA would end up (cause let's face it, the place it would be would be Toronto). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 Well, I'm restarting the season and placing my Canada Wolfpack into an actual division myself. As being an 1A Indy team makes life TOO easy (can we say I could play all crappy teams and probably win a national title?) Which one do you guys think I should go with? I'm leaning to Big East preferably, considering that would be more along the lines of where a Canadian College Team playing in NCAA would end up (cause let's face it, the place it would be would be Toronto). Yeah I noticed that there sometimes isn't a whole lot of difference between a 5* and a 3*. For the most part a 5* OL will beat a 3* DL, but the defenses usually react so quickly it's not that big a deal. That's why I usually stress my DB's so much, since they're frequently out on an island against receivers, and other skill positions. As to your team, I'd probably go ahead and say the Big East, maybe even the MAC since the teams in there stretch all the way to Michigan and Ohio. My team (in Virginia, mind you) just accepted an invite to the MAC to hold me over until I get the call to the ACC or another power conference. It's harder to make my schedule difficult enough to impress the polls, but I like not having to spend all my time trying to figure out a 10-12 game schedule. BTW I don't know if you were facetious or not, but my first year I was an Indy and went 9-3 with a fairly easy schedule (inculding an upset of #15 Notre Dame, lost my bowl game though) and finished about 30. So it is possible to have a cupcake schedule and still finish well. Then your prestige goes up, recruiting points goes up, and you're ready to get better athletes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yankovic fan 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 I was #2 going into the bowl game. The National Championship game came down to #1 Miami and #4 Texas! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conspiracy_Victim 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 Yeah Hood that happened to me in the 2003 version. #1 Ohio State, #2 Houston (me), #3 Miami. Fiesta Bowl matchup: #1 vs #.....3? WTF! Anyway, just had to share my game o' the year. Rivalry game #13 University of Virginia at home vs. #14 Hampden-Sydney (me with my poor D3 school getting an upgrade). I jump out to a quick 14-0 lead at the half. They take second half kickoff and score in 3 plays to make it 14-7. Teams battle back and forth until early in the forth when they pick me off on a stupid deep out pattern (that pattern is almost NEVER open it seems BTW) and take it 65 yards to tie it up. We trade punts and go into OT. They score to take a 21-14 lead. I take one play and sneak my RB out of the Ace formation into the deep right. They get caught blitzing, I score. I take the ball and get 2 incomplete passes. They sack me for a 10 yard loss on 3rd to make it 4th and 20 at the 35. My kicker sucks ass since he's a walk-on (I lost 3 different kickers last recruiting period) so I send everyone deep and hit my slot receiver for 30 yards and a first down. I start breathing again. First down, my RB takes the lead play in for the score. They get the ball and on first down my DE Lamar Wiley (that 5* pass rusher I'm so glad I have) sacks the quarterback and knocks the ball loose, we recover, I win 28-21 in 2OT. Wiley is defensive player of the week with 6 TFL, 5 sacks, and a forced fumble. I get the Sports Illustrated cover and one of the lead story pictures. I also move up to #11. Damn that was sweet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted July 21, 2003 The Game is realistic until like 2009 Look at this... NATIONAL CHAMPIONS from 2009-2015... 2009- North Texas over Ohio State 2010- Air Force Over N.C.S.U 2011-Louisville Over Texas Tech 2012-Virginia Over Arkansas 2013-Texas Over Georgia (they had 3 losses) 2014-Illinois Over Miami 2015-Cincinnati Over Kansas State... Explain this to me... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
