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borka105
07-15-2003, 01:14 PM
The new passsing (the developer's words):


the read and lead after the QB snaps the ball?


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Basically, when you come to the line before the snap, you have a yellow passing reticle that starts about 10 yards directly in front of the QB. Think of this reticle as the QB's eyes (where he's looking) from now on and you'll be set. You can move this reticle with the right analog stick. You can move it before the snap if you want to pre-position it maybe to have it be closer to the primary receiver or maybe just to fake out your opponent. Or you can leave it alone.

When you snap the ball, the reticle will just sit there. It will not move by itself. Not yet, anyway. You throw the ball with the right trigger. The faster and harder you pull it, the faster and straighter the pass will be. If you tap it, you'll lob the ball (but not sky high like last year.. it'll be a slower higher-arcing pass that can loop over a defenser's head.. very useful if you know when to use it). Anyway, when you throw the ball, it heads pretty much precisely where the reticle was *when the trigger was pulled*. This means that it doesn't auto-adjust in mid flight or anything stupid like that. It goes where you told it to go. If the receiver left that spot and is somewhere else, the ball will not be caught or could be picked off.

Now, let's go back to the snap.. So the reticle starts out in front of the QB. After the snap, you can select a receiver to throw to with the face buttons on the controller (just like last year). So hit B and the reticle will *move* from wherever it was to where receiver B is. Since receiver B is moving, the reticle will basically "chase" him until it catches up. At that point it sits right on top of him and moves with him. Any time the trigger is pulled, the ball will go to where the reticle is at that instant. If it's currently travelling to receiver B, well, guess what.. that's where the ball will go. There is a a built-in delay (think of it as "travel time") for the reticle to move from one receiver to another (when hitting the face buttons). This simulates the QB looking off receivers and adjusting to the new speed and location of the receiver. But this travel time is much faster than a defender can run so the QB has an advantage in that respect.

Once the reticle is right on top of a receiver, it'll start to move with him exactly so it would always stay right on top of him if you didn't move it with the right stick. If you were to throw the ball now, you'd be screwed because what QB throws the ball exactly where the receiver is (if he is moving)? No, you need to "lead" him. Hence the name. Read the D, lead the receiver. In some case, (like when the receiver is not moving), this might be ok, but even then you probably want to move the reticle to throw to where the defense isn't. So you need to move the reticle out in front of the receiver's path. The nice thing is that once you stop moving the reticle, it will move automatically again, but this time relative to the receiver's movement. So if you moved it downfield and to the right, it continues to be in that position relative to the receiver but still moves with him exactly. So once you've figured out how much you want to lead him, you can leave it there.

Now, when you throw, the ball will go to where the reticle was when you pulled the trigger, but since the receiver is moving in that direction, he should be right there ready to catch it (provided you led him right). If you lead him too much, it'll be overthrown. Too little and he'll need to slow down or twist backwards to catch the ball. In both these cases, you're looking at an incomplete pass or a pick a lot of times. Hit him right on stride and you'll have a big gain. This makes throwing the bomb so much harder but so much more rewarding knowing you threw it exactly where it needed to be. It's also hugely rewarding knowing you threw the ball where you knew the defender couldn't get to it.. maybe in the receiver's back pocket.

One more thing you can do is once you pull the trigger, you have about 1 second or so to adjust the height of the pass while the QB is in his throwing motion. Once he lets go of the ball it's too late. During this time, you can push up or down on the right analog stick to adjust the height of the reticle. A higher pass would be used for maybe a taller receiver with better hands if he has a step on a DB. A lower pass would be used to maybe have the receiver dive for the ball or make a shoestring catch with DBs closing in. Or you could just screw up and do it by accident because you panicked under pressure and threw too high and overthrew the receiver and the defense got a pick. But hey, that was your fault, not the game's. Happens to real QB's all the time.

By the way, since you won't be able to look at the presuure coming (you'll be too busy looking downfield) we made it so that the controller will vibrate stronger and stronger as pressure approaches. If you feel the controller vibrating, better hurry up (or throw the ball away) or you're gonna be flat on your back. This increases the chances of bad QB's just throwing up a lame duck that can easily be picked. Got to be able to handle the pressure, man!

Now, on defense, things get a lot more fun as well. This is because the defense *can* see the reticle as well. DBs often read the QB's eyes or where he is looking. And QBs sure as hell won't throw to a place they aren't looking at. So if the QB keys on a receiver too long and doesn't look off to another receiver, you can just hang out by the reticle and await your pick. But a good QB will look you off and switch to another receiver. If he's good and leading quickly, you won't have much time to switch to the defender closest to the reticle (using the left trigger on defense) and make your break on the ball. If you don't have a defender nearby the reticle, well, that's not gonna be good for you.

Since receivers are not vacuums, you, as a QB, need to be pretty close to right on the money with passes because they'll do their best to catch your garbage throws, but they can't catch everything you throw at them. Receivers with higher Hands ratings would be better targets because they'd be better at catching bad throws.

There's actually a bit more to it that this

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this and more can be see at operationsports.com
I'll be updating this thread with more innovative stuff that nfl fever 2004 will offer.


The game has done a complete 180 and I'll be telling you guys why!


-borka105

borka105
07-15-2003, 01:17 PM
How the coaches play a factor in NFL FEVER 2004:

1) Play picker coach. This is the head coach giving you advice about what to do next. He shows up in the play picker. i.e. "These guys like to go long here. You might want to consider putting in another DB to defend the deep pass." This is taking into account 2 things: The current game situation (i.e. 2nd and short) and the opponent's tendencies for that situation. This works for all types of games, whether it be against the CPU, against another local player, or against an XBL player. You won't "see" the coach online, but you will hear his advice. This advice is not foolproof, but it does have some complex logic to keep track of your opponent and how he plays. This data is collected for every game played so it works better the longer your opponent has been playing Fever. So it will be right a lot, but it will be wrong too because obviously it can't predict what your opponent will do. A good opponent, knowing this, will probably change up his style to keep the coach guessing.

2) Sideline coach. Also the head coach, but you'll see him on the sideline after a play is over for a reaction. He'll say stuff like: "yeah! good job.. keep it going!" or "get rid of it!" (in the case of a sack).

3) Assistant coach help in the play picker. Hit the Y button when a play is highlighted and you'll get the assistant coach describing some interesting info about the play. i.e. "Hit the primary receiver on the slant *after* he makes his cut but before he reaches the secondary" (for offense).. or "You show a strong 8 man front, but you drop some men into coverage to confuse the QB". (defense) I personally love the assistant coach because I always forget when a play is good to use and I like to be reminded what I should be keying on.

credit goes to operationsports.com

-borka105

borka105
07-15-2003, 01:24 PM
other cool tid bits:


1. Just like in nba2k3, you will be able to see the time, stats and scores of your friends games when you go to your friends list

2. The Optimatch feature has been greatly improved where now you can choose to play people who only use Real NFL teams (if they have modified teams, they will be locked), or people who use only modified teams (the real teams will be locked).


3. you also get success ratings for your plays that you've used in the past (even for past games). So when you highlight a play in the play picker, it will show you how successful that play has been in the past. i.e. "vs Short Run 75%, vs Deep Pass 50%, vs Short Pass 17% vs. Outside run 100%", etc. Yeah the other player has his own info about you. Your coach keeps track of what your opponent does throughout the game and gives you advice based on what it thinks is the best thing for the situation.
"I use the success percentages all the time in online games because I can never remember how good a play worked and this really helps me decide what play to run. Also, the suggested plays come from this situational advice." (Developer of NFL FEVER 2004)


info came from operationsports.com


-borka105

Bakeman
07-15-2003, 05:55 PM
WOW!!

Sounds like they have done ALOT of work on this one. Gonna have to rent it for sure.

SkoalMint
07-15-2003, 07:26 PM
Good information Borka. This makes me glad that 2K4 was delayed as it will give me time to rent this first to see how it plays and test all of the XBL/XSN features it will have.

borka105
07-21-2003, 03:33 PM
checkout this thread for every possible thing you would want to know about nfl fever 2004:

http://forums.operationsports.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=429689&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1


the developers of the game have been stopping by daily to answer questions. So if you have any, go there and post.


-borka105

Bakeman
07-21-2003, 04:18 PM
wow lots of post in there... I didn't get to far.

One thing I noticed and didn't like what he developers were saying.

Basically it was that they make the game based on 5 minute quarters so that the stats are realistic at 5 minute quarters. So if I was to play an 8 or 10 minute quarter game the stats would be way more then a real game.

I think they are going about that all wrong. If they are wanting to get realistic stats why are they making it unrealistic by allowing you to get 'realistic' stats in 5 minute quarters. They need to make it a realistic game on 15 minute quarters and work backwards. That's realistic stats. If the NFL switched to 5 minute quarters they would be getting the same amount of yards.

Looks like this one is gonna be another rental until ESPN Football (aka 2k4) comes out.

borka105
07-21-2003, 05:08 PM
if you continue to read on, the developers explain why they did this, and what would happen if they didn't.....



IMO, whoever plays quarters longer than 5 minutes? Especially online..... It's kinda sad that you can nitpick such a small thing in deciding on not to get this game....

they've done and included so many more features then any other football game this year, and such a small little thing (I actually agree with them) can be the deciding factor for you.....


-borka105

Bakeman
07-21-2003, 09:16 PM
The reason that is a big factor to me.. and might be to others is it's unrealistic.

I like as realistic as I can get in a video game. So when I play a 5 minute quarter game and I'm rushing for over 100 yards with one guy and throw for over 300 yards it's unrealistic.

That's why it's a big factor.


I'm still gonna rent the game and check it out. Heck I have an extra month after it comes out until ESPN Football. I'm sure Fever will hold me over.

Even in NFL 2k3 I don't play 15 minute quarters. I play like 8 minute quarters and get a pretty realistic statistical/scoring game. That's better then a 5 minute quarters.

borka105
07-21-2003, 10:55 PM
who says that you won't get realistic scores if you play 8 minute quarters in fever?

they are saying that in the franchise mode, the computer opponents may not get realistic simulated scores, but that has nothing to do with how you play.



-borka105

enhanced
07-22-2003, 02:12 AM
sounds great, i played 2002 and play 2003 now with a friend all the time, 04 sounds good and ill be there first day to get it

CrazyCougar
07-22-2003, 11:01 AM
Ahem..cough..rental..cough...cough... The more I read the less interested I am in this game.

borka105
07-22-2003, 02:40 PM
that pretty funny crazycougar.


the fact that you don't find the new passing game, the whole usages of the coaches and xsn interesting.

while you find that a new camera angle (fp mode), and a "crib" mode is revolutionary.



wow!


-borka105

CrazyCougar
07-22-2003, 03:20 PM
No the fact of the matter is I dont think what Fever is doing is all that revolutionary. And XSN, loooks interesting, but how full proof is it? Look at the online scoreboards now, full of cheaters. Also will XSN stay free? I highly doubt it.

Fever just isnt sparking that much interest in me and its mostly because of 2 years of crap. They need to do something just to get my interest back.

borka105
07-22-2003, 03:35 PM
Originally posted by CrazyCougar-XBA
No the fact of the matter is I dont think what Fever is doing is all that revolutionary. And XSN, loooks interesting, but how full proof is it? Look at the online scoreboards now, full of cheaters. Also will XSN stay free? I highly doubt it.

Fever just isnt sparking that much interest in me and its mostly because of 2 years of crap. They need to do something just to get my interest back.


i guess all I can say is rent the game this year and play it.


-borka105

bluefire712
07-28-2003, 01:53 PM
Originally posted by CrazyCougar-XBA
No the fact of the matter is I dont think what Fever is doing is all that revolutionary. And XSN, loooks interesting, but how full proof is it? Look at the online scoreboards now, full of cheaters. Also will XSN stay free? I highly doubt it.

From Xbox.com:

NFL Fever 2004 will team up once again with Xbox Live to offer football fans across the world the ultimate gridiron challenge. Building on its much-acclaimed online rookie season, the new version of NFL Fever will provide downloadable content, roster updates, updated player ratings, tournaments, and an all-new "Cheater Beater," destroying the hopes of less-honest opponents.

Access to XSNsports.com and its league/tournament services will be free with the purchase of any XSN Sports title, as long as you have an active subscription to Xbox Live.

Anthony4sho
08-02-2003, 11:36 AM
Originally posted by bluefire712


From Xbox.com:

NFL Fever 2004 will team up once again with Xbox Live to offer football fans across the world the ultimate gridiron challenge. Building on its much-acclaimed online rookie season, the new version of NFL Fever will provide downloadable content, roster updates, updated player ratings, tournaments, and an all-new "Cheater Beater," destroying the hopes of less-honest opponents.

Access to XSNsports.com and its league/tournament services will be free with the purchase of any XSN Sports title, as long as you have an active subscription to Xbox Live.

Looks like MS is going to fund for XSN thru the monthly or yearly payments or content payments and shat like that. well, if XSN is free with XBL, then it looks like I just added another game to my most wanted list!