NCAA 2004 vs. NCAA 2006

[OmflShark]

I have played 5 seasons in my dynasty mode in NCAA 2006 and I am still playing it but I have now beat the game on Heisman level. I never played NCAA 2004 and I actually have a brand new copy of NCAA 2004 that I have never opened and played. The resell value of NCAA 2004 is next to nothing, so I was thinking about opening it up and playing it. Would I be wasting my time playing this older version? I know that you guys loved 2004. Which version is better and what are the main differences between the two versions? Is 2004 more difficult then 2006? Is the recruiting about the same? Thanks in advance for your responses

[Danimal]

Since no one has anwsered you, IMO if you have bnoth version and the 06 is opened then go with that. If you hadn't opened one, I would say stay with 04 and save some cash. While 06 is better in somne areas, it is not $50 better IMO.

I don't see a point to playing both however.

[OmflShark]

Since no one has anwsered you, IMO if you have bnoth version and the 06 is opened then go with that. If you hadn't opened one, I would say stay with 04 and save some cash. While 06 is better in somne areas, it is not $50 better IMO.

I don't see a point to playing both however.

Thanks for the post. After 75 views and no responses, I was starting to get a complex.

I was thinking about selling NCAA 2006 while the market value is still good and take NCAA 2004 for a spin since it has no market value. I play strictly offline and love to play dynasty mode. I could care less about the extra fluff EA put into 2006 (heisman mode, HFA, etc.). Is the gameplay and recruiting in NCAA 2004 pretty similar or are there some pretty significant differences? For example, is it really easy to run the ball in 2004? Is the long bomb as effective in 2004? Is 2004 more difficult to master? etc.


I was also curious how everyone would rank 2004 vs. 2006. So for those people viewing this thread, please at least let me know which version you think is better (explanation of your choise would be nice, but not required).

Thanks

[Danimal]

This is going off memory.

2004, no long pass problems.

2004 has no where near the good running game of 06. Not saying it is bad, just 06 is much better.

2004 doesn't have in season recruiting, but by and large the end of year stuff is very similar if I remember.

abner would be a good person to speak about this.

[Inuyasha]

2004 is probably a little better gameplay-wise.

2006 has a lot of options 2004 doesn't.

[Leebo33]

I was also curious how everyone would rank 2004 vs. 2006. So for those people viewing this thread, please at least let me know which version you think is better (explanation of your choise would be nice, but not required).

I think 2006 is marginally better overall. I would heavily favor 2006 if it wasn't for the ease of the long passes, dropped passes, and impact players/confidence. However, the CPU run game is a lot better, the return game is better, and teams play more like they do in real life. The human run game is also better in 2006 and I love the right stick jukes. Although I can't remember actual money plays in 2004, there are a few plays that would come very close. 2006 is tighter in that aspect.

If you do play 2004 you have to get Bill Abner's sliders. It plays like crap out of the box. I think you also need house rules for recruiting, although I don't know from personal experience as I usually don't play dynasty mode in college games. For some reason I usually make it through a season with Penn State and spend the rest of the time playing many rivalry games.

[matthewk]

Since 2004 is worth next to nothing, why not just open it and play it? That way you can decide for yourself, and at worst you're out $2 from opening it.

I still have both, and have thought about selling 2006, but it's still sticking around (even though I haven;t played it in weeks). I think 2006 has a real CPU running game, whereas 2004 was a bit lacking in that area.

[HipE]

NCAA 2004 is worth opening up OmflShark. Like others have mentioned, the main problems with the game are the human inside running, the lack of any CPU running, the ease of getting to the qb with a defensive end, and the loss of the new features. The recruiting is way too easy, there are too many blue chip recruits, and it is too easy to fill your class with them, especially when you can get multiple blue chippers at the same position. Abner's sliders really make this game great, especially if you force yourself to lay off the turbo if you rush with a defensive end. With the catch slider up some, you can get rid off all of the drops, which is especially helpful on bullet throws (which are almost always dropped on default). You will definitely get your money's worth out of the game, even with NCAA 06 out.

BTW, you said you won a national title on Heisman, did you do it with the default sliders? I have a chance to win my first title on default AA level with SMU tonight, and I'm going to make the jump to Heisman level if I do.

[OmflShark]

BTW, you said you won a national title on Heisman, did you do it with the default sliders? I have a chance to win my first title on default AA level with SMU tonight, and I'm going to make the jump to Heisman level if I do.

No, I used sliders which were very similar to Jistic's. I enjoyed Heisman level quite a bit. The computer AI did a better job of defending the deep pass and the run. I am playing with Kentucky and I had recruited them up to a B team so that helped as well. I also got the benefit of playing Texas Tech in the championship game. Florida beat me in overtime during the regular season.

I sold NCAA 2006 last night, so I will try out NCAA 2004. Now I need to find some good sliders and hopefully the rosters from 2004 over at OS. It also sounds like I will need to make some house rules for recruiting. Thanks to everyone for their input.

[Bill_Abner]

BTW, you said you won a national title on Heisman, did you do it with the default sliders? I have a chance to win my first title on default AA level with SMU tonight, and I'm going to make the jump to Heisman level if I do.

No, I used sliders which were very similar to Jistic's. I enjoyed Heisman level quite a bit. The computer AI did a better job of defending the deep pass and the run. I am playing with Kentucky and I had recruited them up to a B team so that helped as well. I also got the benefit of playing Texas Tech in the championship game. Florida beat me in overtime during the regular season.

I sold NCAA 2006 last night, so I will try out NCAA 2004. Now I need to find some good sliders and hopefully the rosters from 2004 over at OS. It also sounds like I will need to make some house rules for recruiting. Thanks to everyone for their input.

I dug up my NCAA 2004 house rules post from OS. Hope this helps.

Pre-Game:

-Before playing a game add a new coach in the coach options page. This new coach should be assigned to the team you are about to play. Takes about 30 secs to do this. Then go into coach strategy and alter the team's offensive playcalling to at least 70% running (I go as high as 80 sometimes unless the team is pass crazy ala Washington. Also, and this seems to be important, move the Conservative playcalling slider as far left as possible. Now, this does not make the team refuse to throw deep it just makes most teams look underneath first before throwing it 30 yards downfield. As a result, CPU completion % is better and the game has a much better flow to it. You can also play with the defensive settings too; I usually make the CPU teams play run D more often than not. Also make sure to use the correct team playbook for your new coach. After you play the game make sure to delete this coach so you can make a new one for the next game. All of this takes less than a minute to do.

-Make sure the team you are playing (your Dynasty team) has its coach defensive slider at 80% pass. No idea if this helps the CPU run game, but it doesn't hurt to do this just in case.

Before Kickoff:

I'll add sliders later but play on AA. Seriously. As much as I think Heisman is better this year, you can certainly get great games on this level and in some respects get a much more exciting game than you can on Heisman.

Before kickoff, change the controller settings and take control of the CPU team *if* they have their starting HB as a kickoff and punt returner which seem to happen a lot. All this does is tire the starting CPU HB. Change this to another player and then set the controller back to your team.

Game Time:

Here are the rules I use during play and it makes AA a very playble and enjoyable lvl.

-No speed rushing (sprtinting) with defensive ends or outside linebackers. If you have a fast DE you can still get great pressure off the corner without sprinting, but speed bursting just makes it too easy to get a sack. You CAN sprint if rushing or blizting between the tackles, though. You may use all the swim moves and rip moves you want. I still get sacks doing this but rarely do I get the 8+ sacks per game I get when sprinting.

-No using motion on running plays. It's too easy to use motion to secure a great running scheme in this game. You'll still get good blocking but you just cannot take advantage of a game quirk if you don't use motion. You can use all the hot routes and audibles and motion you want on passing plays.

-Do not switch players on defense EXCEPT during pass plays. I still take control of a DB from time to time but to help the CPU run game, don't switch like crazy to the nearest guy and dive to stop the HB. Stick with the guy you started with and it helps a lot.

-Before you kick a FG (not the CPU, just you)--set the game level to Heisman. If you miss a FG on All American you suck. Just make sure to set it back to AA after the kick.

-Punt returns. Another issue with the game is the ease of which you can return kicks. Therefore I fair catch the ball every other punt return. Sucks that I have to do this but I like it better than returning every kick 20 yards.

-Play on 11 min quarters. This has been proven to help the CPU playcalling as well as it doesn't feel rushed. Work the clock and try not to snap the ball until 5-7 secs are left and you'll get a very accurate number of plays. (130-150 total)

-In using this system I am in year 3 of my OSU Dynasty and we're 3 games into the season and OSU is 2-1 after beating North Texas 45-41 in a thriller (they scored off 4 OSU turnovers). We then whipped #1 Oklahoma 34-17 and lost a heartbreaker to #9 Arkansas 29-24. The Ark game was the best NCAA 2004 game I have ever played against the CPU. They scored on a 98 yard pass and OSU answered with a 93 yd kickoff return to make it 29-24 with 2 mins to play. I shut down Ark on 3 plays and got the ball back but failed to score from the Ark 35. What a game. Arkansas also ran for 145 yards which was nice.

-Recruiting:

Use OSUMike's recruiting rules. See the sticky above. Makes the off season stuff so much more enjoyable from a realism POV.

Sliders:

AA

OFF (HUM/CPU)
QB Acc - 10/18
Pass BLK- 5/17
WR CAT- 13/13
Run ABL- 10/20
Run BLK- 5/20

DEF (HUM/CPU)
AWR- 5/18
KNOCK- 8/18
INT- 5/10
Break BLK- 5/18
TAK- 5/15

Special Teams:

MAX Human FG accuracy (remember this will be on Heisman)

MIN CPU FG Accuracy

Penalty Sliders:

False Start: Max right
Holding: +7 from left
Face Mask: +4
OFF PI: Max right
DEF PI: Max right

The rest are in the middle.

[OmflShark]

Bill,

Thanks a Million! Can't wait to try these out. I truly appreciate it.

[Inuyasha]

2004 was really a great game on the field using sliders. It still does a lot of things better than most of the current games.

The only big problems I remember from it was recruiting was too easy. It was no fun to play after you're first season since it was too easy to get blue chip players and you would go unbeaten your 2nd dynasty season even if you choose hard opponents.

Also, for some reason they took out rotating schedules that year. Rotating schedules were in 2003 but not in 2004. So playing the same conference schedule year after year was another knock against the dynasty mode.

But it was probably the most fun I've had with a football game. It had the best controls for any sports or non-sports game period.

I still own the game and will probably never get rid of it even though I very much enjoy ncaa2006.

[OmflShark]

Well the biggest difference between 04 and 06 might be getting an accurate roster file. I searched everywhere for a NCAA 2004 roster to download to my action replay but no luck. Does anyone know where I can find a 2004 roster to download? I searched OS, but came up empty.

[HipE]

If you can't find a file, I can always transfer mine from my hard drive to my pc and email it to you. If you don't find a file tonight to download, let me know and I'll hook you up.

[Leebo33]

I changed my display options to show posts from beginning and searched for NCAA 2004 and found these in about 15 seconds

Do they work for you?


http://forums.operationsports.com/vBull ... 04+rosters

[OmflShark]

I changed my display options to show posts from beginning and searched for NCAA 2004 and found these in about 15 seconds

Do they work for you?


http://forums.operationsports.com/vBull ... 04+rosters

Yep, work great! Thanks

Time to play my first Dynasty game.