Only months before the expected release of NCAA Football 11, we finally have some information on what will be included. Most of the changes are features that should have been included in previous versions that they are finally addressing. Here’s the short list:

1. Referees
2. Gang Tackles
3. Auto save
4. Autoloading of rosters from one mode to the next
5. Formation subs
6. New equipment including the “Revolution Speed Helmet”, knees braces, and more
7. Bowls are a single week in online dynasty
8. Dynamic conference logos
9. Numbers on helmets

There’s nothing too big here to get excited about. However,I’m impressed that they’re finally addressing some of the most wanted features.  This could be the year that NCAA Football 11 becomes the true “next-gen” game that we have all expected.

Here in the NCAA Football community, we’ve seen our fair share of lawsuits from has-been players trying to make a buck off of EA and the NCAA.  However, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a case get as much press as the one below:

Being that EA’s exclusive license will run out sometime during 2010, it’s hard to say what will happen to the game.  Sales have been down over the past few years despite a better gaming experience.  Will EA start shipping games with base rosters and ask the community to make updates to the rosters / ratings?  Please voice your opinion in the comments.

Wow!  Where in the world have I been?  According to the guys over at ncaastrategies.com, a third patch has been released for both PS3 and XBOX 360.  Please see this link for more information.

One of the biggest complaints about the NCAA Football series is the lack of emotion, drama, storyline, and presentation.  With the article below, I have detailed several items that could make the overall experience with NCAA Football ‘11 more unique.

***All of the below was seen only a few plays into the BCS National Championship between LSU and Ohio State:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/7354/bcs-national-championship-national-championship-ohio-state-vs-lsu

Improve Kickoff presentation:

• Show an upclose shot of the 2 returners fixing their gloves, pointing at the sideline, or jumping up and down.
• Show an upclose shot of the cheerleaders.
• Show the kicker setting up the tee and backing up while the referee blows the whistle (if it’s windy, have the ball fall over and watch the kicker reset it).
• When the kick is in the air, show a panning shot of the entire stadium from left to right.  Right before the player catches the ball, swing the camera behind the return man.

• Show the entire offensive team huddled up with the coach or the coordinator
• Display the “This Season” stats as the QB walks up to the line:

• Before a play begins, show a tight view from the sideline that includes a graphical 1st & 10 marker on the field (yellow line & red arrows):

• Show a graphic of the offense:

• Show a graphic of the defensive players

• Show a pan and scan of the band

• More team animations (players run from up the field & celebrate with the player)
• Pan and scan the band
• Pan and scan the fans celebrating (preferably up close…just a few fans)
• Show the opposing coach getting pissed off and angry at his coordinators (alternatively, show him throwing his clipboard, standing there with his arms folded, just shaking his head…there’s a million things here…)
• Show the player that got the touchdown running off of the field with a stat overlay:

After the play presentation:

• Show the players slapping each other’s helmets (butts for that matter)
• Helping each other dig themselves out of a pile
• Show the QB looking at the sideline for the next play
• Show the QB looking at his playbook wrist chart

• Show opposing quarterbacks, show opposing coaches, show a DB and  WR.  This is common when the announcers are talking about specific matchups.
• Here’s what I envision when there’s a really good LB facing off against a good QB:
  (On one side of the screen, show the QB in the huddle with his team.  On the the side of the screen, show the LB talking to his players about assignments.)
  Brad:  “We’re really going to have to watch this matchup between the linebacker and the quarterback.  These two guys are some of the best in their positions.”
  Kirk:  “That’s right Brad.  Quarterbacks really hate worrying about getting sacked by the defensive line.  Now, the Quarterback also needs to be conscious of the linebacker at all times.  You never know when this team will throw a blitz into the mix.”

• If the defensive player made a good play on the ball, then show them getting up and celebrating.  In NCAA Football ‘10, the camera always sticks to the offensive player with them “struggling to get up”.

According to the NCAA Football Community Wish List Tournament over at ncaastrategies.com, custom playbooks has defeated correct option blocking as the most wanted feature in NCAA Football ‘11.  Unfortunately, the feature is not nearly as complex as what you would expect from a custom playbooks feature.  In fact, when I think of custom playbooks, I think of the ability to create plays and add them to your playbook.  However, the description over at the tournament is far less appealing:

Many NCAA Football gamers spend days (if not weeks) trying to find the perfect playbook – one with the right mix of plays and formations they feel comfortable with. However, many end up disappointed – only finding a playbook that contains a portion of what they want. With Custom Playbooks (a feature in last-gen NCAA Football), users could pick a set number of formations and plays to use in a custom playbook linked to their profile.

Personally, I would love to see a Playbuilder feature that is online and similar to what we already have with Teambuilder.  Could you imagine spending 3 weeks building your perfect playbook before the release of NCAA Football ‘11?  I think that a Playbuilder feature would be much more appealing to the typical consumer than the Teambuilder one.  While Teambuilder was a huge step for getting teams in the game that you don’t normally see, the biggest downside was that you could only replace 12 teams.  Also, you couldn’t replace the “FCS” teams that have cursed the game since it has moved over to the “next-gen.”  Hopefully, if there was a Playbuilder feature, you wouldn’t be limited to only replacing a set amount of plays.  Rather, you should be able to create playbooks that can be applied to every single team in the game.

So, what do you think should be the most wanted feature?  Sound off in the comments.

As many of you know, the guys over at ncaastrategies.com are having a great tournament to decide the most user-wanted feature for NCAA Football ‘11.  If you haven’t already voted, here’s your chance to vote for the Final Four!  Here’s the matchups:

Formation Subs vs Custom Playbooks

Correct Option Blocking vs Better Offensive Playbooks

Vote now & help make a difference in NCAA Football ‘11!

The long awaited second patch is now available for NCAA Football ‘10 on Xbox 360 and PS3.  Here’s the release notes for the patch:

• Player Lock in Online Games will now move the camera behind the locked player (like Offline games)
• Greatly increased the quality of uploaded videos
  
• Fixed an issue with penalties on a change of possession in Overtime
  
• Fixed an issue where you would sometimes lose control of your player going offsides in no huddle situations
  
• Tuned holding chances on Field Goals and Extra Points
  
• Fixed a couple pass coverage issues with Wild Cat plays
  
• Tuned the chuck success chances to favor more neutral results. Wins and Losses are extreme and should occur less for both the offense and defense
  
• AI Tackle slider is now more effective
  
• Lead Blocking tweaks to fix some cases of pulling lineman ignoring defenders
  
• Fixed a few rare cases that would cause players in pursuit to run away from the ball carrier
  
• Tuned the CPU ball carrier to make some smarter choices
  
• Fixed a bug where the CPU would high step at inappropriate times
  
• Tuned player switching logic to give a more appropriate player
  
• Fixed an issue with Punts being spotted incorrectly when the punt went out of bounce
  
• Corrected an issue where pressing in man coverage would cause the CPU to throw the ball too early
  
• If the receiver caught a pass during a slip, rarely would he be ruled down after the catch (even if he got up before making the catch). This has been fixed.
  
• Fixed a bug where sometimes the clock would continue to run after hold on an extra point
  
• Forward pitches are now correctly tracked as passing and receiving yards for the players involved
  
• Receivers will now try and release to the appropriate side of the defender based on their route
  
• Fixed some problems that were causing defensive players to not always get back in time during hurry up plays
  
• Reduced the effect of the Run Block Slider on special teams plays
  
• Tuned how effective the slant route for running backs out of the backfield was
  
• Tuned how far away diving sacks will start from
  
• Fixed an online grieve with pausing the game
  
• Fixed a bug where using a TeamBuilder team as the away team would cause the team colors to be incorrect
  
• Fixed an issue where some Dynasty teams were only able to offer 15 scholarships. You will not have to restart your dynasty for this to take effect, the fix is for offline and online dynasties.
  
• Certain TeamBuilder teams were incorrectly being blocked by the profanity filter and showing up as XXXX, this has been corrected
  
• Fixed an issue where Punt was not the default selection on 4th down and punting distance
  
• Off-centered single digit jersey numbers are now centered correctly
  
• Fixed a crash in Custom Stadium Sounds when the list of files was too long
  
• TeamBuilder teams with & in the name can now be searched properly
  
• Fixed an issue where the “Online Dynasty Servers are Down” pop-up was showing up incorrectly

As a side note, this patch does not address any dynasty progression issues.  Based upon past releases of the NCAA Football series, it’s safe to say that this will be the last patch until NCAA Football ‘11 comes along.

According to Adam Thompson, the second patch for NCAA Football 10 has been submitted for certification to Microsoft and Sony.  While there are many people that have hopes that Dynasty Progression will be fixed, we can only wait and see what will happen.  If EA posts release notes for the patch, I’ll update this post as soon as possible.

According to operationsports.com, the roster patch for the Xbox 360 version of NCAA Football 10 is now available.  When you start NCAA Football 10 and you’re connected online, you will automatically be prompted to download the patch.  Here’s the details of the patch:

The best thing about TeamBuilder is the fact that you can create and add just about any team to NCAA Football ‘10.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be compiling a list of the best teams that I can find on TeamBuilder.  Without further delay, here’s the Ivy League:

Harvard Crimson:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Brown Bears:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Penn Quakers:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Yale Bulldogs:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Princeton Tigers:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Cornell Big Red:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Columbia Lions:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

Dartmouth Big Green:  Search for IVY LEAGUE 17

(note:  There’s no need to put an underscore.  A standard space will work for the search.)