The Eye of the Tiger
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
There has been an abundance of posts criticizing the NCAA dev team for some of the baffling mistakes that have surfaced over the past few weeks. Broken rosters, ineffective sliders, lack of a pass rush, uniform errors – these things have been discussed and critiqued ad nauseum. These posts might be read and taken to heart by EA devs and other higher-ups... or they might not.
The one thing that EA can not and will not ignore is whether you purchase the game. While we play games to have fun and relax, EA makes those games to make money. Period. As EA CEO John Riccitiello has said, shareholders don't care about the quality of games, they care only if they make money.
With this in mind, before you go out and purchase NCAA Football 10, ask yourself one simple question: "Am I satisfied with the direction this game has taken?"
If your answer is "yes", go ahead and purchase and enjoy the game.
If, however, your answer is "no," do yourself and everyone else like you a favor and pass on this year's version. It may be tough to do if you are a college football fanatic, but the only way to ensure that your message of dissatisfaction with the game is heard by EA is to vote with your pocketbook.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Posted on July 6, 2009 at 02:19 PM.
SCEA Identifies, Eliminates Infamous CPU Comebacks in Upcoming Patchby Ryan Spencer
The Onion: OS
SCEA San Diego Community Manager Ramone Russell announced on Monday that a patch would be available sometime next week for MLB 09: The Show that would address the infamous "CPU comeback" problem.
"It was a stroke of luck, really," Russell said. "One of our programmers, Brian [Hendley], was watching the Marlins-Pirates game on Sunday. The Marlins scored first and led the whole game. Something must have just clicked in Brian's head, because he called me right after the game was over to tell me he figured out the CPU comeback problem."
According to Hendley, the issues with CPU comebacks were caused by an egregious coding error that allowed the AI to score even if the user-controlled team scored first.
"Yeah, I don't know how that got past our testers," Hendley sheepishly said. "It's embarrassing, really."
To verify his hunch, Hendley poured over box scores from every MLB game played thus far this season and found that the team that scored first pitched a shutout in 99.5% of the games.
When asked whether he saw Saturday's Mariners-Red Sox game or Sunday's Angels-Orioles game – which both featured come-from-behind rallies from the team that did not score first – Hendley simply replied, "crazy weekend, huh?"
"I'm thrilled we will be delivering a fix for the community," Russell said. "Now gamers can enjoy the realism of never having the CPU score after the user scores first."
The Washington Nationals, which have a league-leading 19 blown saves and are currently 24-55, are hopeful this patch will help them as well.
"It's great, great news," manager Manny Acta said. "Hopefully this patch, in addition to us turning "Guess Pitch" on, will allow us to turn around our season."
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Posted on July 2, 2009 at 03:02 PM.
Ian Cummings Out for Rest of Development Cycle with Carpal TunnelBy Ryan Spencer
The Onion: OS
EA Sports President Peter Moore announced today that Madden NFL 10 Lead Developer Ian Cummings would miss the rest of the current development cycle after being diagnosed with an advanced case of carpal tunnel syndrome.
"It was a tough call, but we decided we couldn't jeopardize the rest of his career just for the benefit of these final few weeks of development," Moore said. "Of course Ian, being the trooper that he is, wanted to keep working, but his potential is just too great to take that risk."
It is believed Cummings developed the condition while typing non-stop to answer the estimated 2,400 questions asked of him every day in the OS Madden forums. Security video from inside the EA Sports office appears to show Cummings wincing in pain as he types out a response to yet another question about facemasks.
"I just felt it was important to answer all of the questions the community has, even if it is the tenth time I've discussed the color of the trim on the Dolphins' alternate jerseys," Cummings said.
The injury forced EA Sports to dip into their depleted minor league system, calling up Dennis Waverly, who last worked on NASCAR Thunder 2003, to replace Cummings.
"Yeah, football, I've seen that on TV a couple times," Waverly said. "That Vinny Testaverde is one hell of a player."
Cummings is scheduled to have corrective surgery performed next week by Dr. Lewis Yocum, and is tentatively scheduled to return just in time to get flamed for not rating Knowshon Moreno high enough by some guy with 3 posts.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Posted on June 13, 2009 at 11:52 AM.
Obama Declares NCAA Football Forum a Federal Disaster Areaby Ryan Spencer
The Onion: OS
Earlier this morning, President Barack Obama officially declared the NCAA Football section of the Operation Sports forums a federal disaster area, clearing the way for significant aid for the much-maligned message board.
"I pledge to help the OS NCAA community in any way possible during its time of great need," President Obama said.
The boards have been hit by a salvo of crushing blows recently, as waves of bad news have left the community in shambles.
It began with the revelation that the rosters that will ship with the game are likely completely inaccurate, as some teams may not have any freshman.
The community was hit hard again when gameplay videos revealed NCAA Football 10 would essentially play the same problem-plagued way it has since 2007.
The early rebuilding efforts were setback when the news came that Teambuilder slots will only be provided to players who bought the game new, leaving gamers who rent the game or buy it used out in the cold.
The most recent – and most significant – blow came when it was learned that one of the "New Features" of the game was the ability to purchase dynasty boosts with real money, destroying all sense of hope that the community may have had left about the direction the development team was taking.
"We've lost everything," OS member Moostache said. "Our whole community lays in waste."
Obama is scheduled to tour the devastation by helicopter on Monday.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
I was able to see Zack pitch last Friday in Kansas City. The guy is simply phenomenal. He has allowed just one run so far this season, and it was unearned. I would love to see a Royal start an All-Star game!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
MIDWEST
#1 Louisville 88, #16 Alabama State 53
#8 Ohio State 65, #9 Siena 47
#12 Arizona 102, #5 Utah 78
#4 Wake Forest 56, #13 Cleveland State 54
#6 West Viriginia 79, #11 Dayton 61
#3 Kansas 74, #14 North Dakota State 45
#10 Southern California 78, #7 Boston College 69
I'll be running 3 or so more games tonight before calling it a day. You can watch them live here:
justin.tv/rspencer86
Just to be safe, I'm going to start simming the games that are scheduled for Thursday instead of running straight down the brackets. That means the next game I will do is #8 LSU vs. #9 Butler from Greensboro, NC.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
As a way to pass time before the madness begins on Thursday, I am doing a live broadcast of a simulation of the 2009 NCAA tournament thru College Hoops 2k8 on justin.tv. See it here:
justin.tv/rspencer86
Currently, Louisville is beating Alabama St. (play-in winner) 43-27 at halftime. Check it out!
And yes, this is pretty ridiculous.
Friday, February 13, 2009
While the Pearl Jam album is looming on the horizon, here are five DLC 3-packs I would love to see released in the meantime:
5. Queen
- Hammer To Fall
- Tie Your Mother Down
- Now I'm Here
4. Green Day
- When I Come Around
- Basket Case
- Wake Me Up When September Ends
3. .38 Special
- Hold On Loosely
- Fantasy Girl
- Caught Up In You
2. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
- I Won't Back Down
- Even the Losers
- Runnin' Down a Dream
1. Steely Dan
- Reelin' In The Years
- Black Friday
- Kid Charlemagne
I don't know how realistic any of these are — I'm no expert on licensing. All I know is that if any of these three-packs were announced, I would buy them (and play them) in a heartbeat.
What do you think about the three-packs above? What are some three-pack DLCs you would like to see?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A foul with .4 seconds left in the game put Kansas' Christian Moody on the line for two shots to win the game. Moody clanked them both, due to the deafening roar that I and the other 15,000 Mizzou fans created and what Fran Fraschilla claimed was "the loudest I've heard an arena in 25 years." Mizzou went on to win that game 89-86 in what was one of my best sports memories ever.
Last night, in the final Mizzou-Kansas home basketball game I will witness as a student, Mizzou recovered from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a two point lead with 40 seconds to go. KU's Mario Little hits a heavily contested jumper to tie the game at 60 with 23 seconds left.
Mizzou's final shot went to Zaire Taylor, a kid from New Jersey who just last week sunk a layup and free throw that won the game on the road at Texas. Taylor raised up and fired a shot that looked like it had no chance of going in.
A funny thing happened, though. It went in. After a first half where Mizzou couldn't get anything to drop, they finally got things to bounce their way. 62-60 Mizzou.
Of course, this game, this rivalry won't get the pub it deserves. Hell, there wasn't even a game thread here at OS. I don't care, though. To me, this is one of the best rivalries in college basketball, and I began — and now have ended — my college career witnessing two of the most thrilling, entertaining, and satisfying games of my life.
Go Tigers.
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