Chronicles - The Recycle Bin

Browsing Posts in Chronicles

RTTS Update (Those Damn Walks)

April 6, 2008 at 4:47 pm jcalvert No comments

I put together a decent run at my first set of goals, but my plate discipline sucks, which is really a generous description. I started off on the bench, but after one of the starting pitchers went on the DL, I was promoted to the starting lineup as the Macon Braves CF. Not sure how that works, but I will take what I can get.

18G, 55AB, 25H, .454AVG, 6HR, 8RBI, 2D, 0BB, 4K

+Increase your bunting ability over the next 4 series.
+Increase your contact vs. LHP over the next 4 series.
+Increase your plate discipline over the next 4 series.
-Over the next 4 series, draw 5 or more base on balls. [This was set to 2 walks, but the goal was adjusted. Either way, I did not walk once, so it did not matter.]
+Over the next 4 series, collect 6 or more total bases. [45]
+Over the next 4 series, have an on base percentage of .400 or higher. [.446]

If I could have drawn 2-5 walks I would be sitting pretty at AAA Richmond. Not sure how I can get better because I have a lifetime of swinging at first pitches and everything under the sun. Not just in videogames; real life as well.

Chronicles, Video Games none

MLB 08 The Show – RTTS Fun

April 5, 2008 at 6:24 am jcalvert No comments

To be young again. Thanks to MLB 08, a 21 year old me is trying to make the Atlanta Braves as a CF. I also picked 1B/3B for my secondary positions. The game, and in particular Road To The Show mode, is extremely addicting. Unfortunately I made a couple of mistakes.

While I played MLB last year on the PSP, but I have not played a console version in a while. Instead of spending a lot of time learning the game, I played a couple of exhibition games and jumped right into RTTS. This has been a problem because I stink at hitting and I cannot run the bases. If I were a pitcher, I would be in trouble because my pitching ability is somewhat suspect.

During Spring Training I did not get anytime in the infield, but started plenty of games. The Braves have me ranked 4/5 at CF, with CF being a moderately set position. Much like real baseball, it is frustrating when I get my hits; a lot of times when it does not matter. I guess I am not very clutch at the plate. It sucks for me when I have a goal to achieve and blow it, and then the next at bat I get a single. Very much like real baseball.

After my undisciplined spring at the plate, I considered myself lucky to land a 1 year contract for $30K to warm the bench for the AA Mississippi Braves.

Final Spring Training statistics:

27G, 85AB, 26H, .305AVG, 1HR, 6RBI, 2SB, 5CS, 3R, 1BB, 15K

The strikeouts and blunders on the bases hurt, but this goes back to two problems. Not have much experience with the game, and not having any discipline at the plate (I like to swing early and often).

My Scouting Report is not very encouraging; makes me wonder if I should try to give this baseball thing a go.

Overall D
Contact D
Power F
Fielding D
Speed C
Potential A

A clear step below average at the plate.

Not your man if you’re looking for a good average.

Not a long ball threat.

Solidly below average glove, keeps the official scorer busy.

His speed is nothing special, maybe less so.

As close to being a sure thing as you can get.

I was surprised that I quickly moved from warming the bench into starting in center. I guess the guy in front of me was not really much better. I will do some periodic updates until I progress further, or abandon this career and start over (after I actually know how to play the game).

RTTS mode is completely addicting. I am not sure when I last played a baseball game where I had that “just one more game” feeling, as I struggled to stay awake. Still early days, but MLB 08 looks to be a superb game.

Chronicles, Video Games none

NCAA Chronicles 2007 (Season 1, Week 2)

August 13, 2006 at 7:40 pm jcalvert 1 comment

Part 1 of (2 or 3). A couple of quick housekeeping items. First, in order to get in more subs, I changed my controller settings to 45 for sub out, and 85 for sub in, but this seems to have little effect. I changed the game to All American, 6-minute quarters. I have decided to follow any recommended discipline recommendations, but I am going to track each player; three strikes and they are out. I am not going to put up with crap at my schools.

North Texas Logo This was one of the best NCAA Football games I have played in recent memory, and absolutely the best I have played with the 2007 version. I hope the new settings are going to be golden.

This game earned the #1 ESPN Classic rating (622 pts). North Texas was two by two touchdowns at the start of the 4th quarter, but battled back, finally pulling even with 14 seconds left. SMU won the toss in OT, and elected to go on defense. North Texas drove on two rushing TDs to take their first led of the game since their opening drive of the 1st quarter. SMU’s offense was stopped on four consecutive plays, earning North Texas a hard fought victory.

(#101) SMU (0-1) 35 � (#52) North Texas (1-0) 42 OT

               1st   2nd   3rd   4th   OT   |  Final
SMU            14    14    7     0     0    |  35
North Texas    14    7     0     14    7    |  42

I did not plan to go into tons of detail with my three dynasties this year, but this game was so fun, so even, that I have to post the goodness for all to read.

                SMU          North Texas
Score           35           42
1st Downs       20           23
Total Offense   462          499
Rushes-Yards    35-144       25-206
Comp Att TD     16-28-3      15-25-0
Passing Yards   318          293
Sacked          4            0
3rd Down Conv   9-14 (64%)   2-6 (33%)
4th Down Conv   1-2 (50%)    2-2 (100%)
2 point Conv    0-0 (0%)     0-0 (0%)
Red Zone Conv   2-2-0 (100%) 6-5 (83%)
Turnovers       0            2
Fumbles-Lost    1-0          1-0
Int             0            2
PR Yards        10           6
KR Yards        151          123
Total Yards     623          628
Punts-Avg       3-43.0       2-36.5
Penalties-Yds   0-0          0-0
T.O.P.          13:47        10:13

There are a lot of discussion points here, but I am only going to mention two. First, my goal is to always win the T.O.P. battle; SMU played me incredible tough in this regard, as their impact HB ran all over me. Second, I averaged 2 yds/punt return, which absolutely sucks. I have not figured out what I can do to make this better.

Key Contributors:

North Texas
QB #7  15-25 293 yds, 2 INT, long pass of 39 yds
HB #20 21-173 6 TDs
WR #81 7 recs 190 yds

SMU
QB #16 16-28 318 yds, 3 TDs, 0 INT, long pass of 72 yds
HB #8  24-112 yds, 2 TDs
* 2 WRs had 100 yards receiving

This was the most fun I have had with a video game in a long time. I was constantly battling against momentum, which is too easily given to visiting teams, but I finally managed to stop SMU on consecutive possessions, which gave me an opportunity to pull even. The two defensive stops where key to the win, because SMU did not turn over the ball the entire game.

I doubt I will go into this level of detail for future chronicles (don’t hold your breath, but you never know), but this one was just too good not to share.

Chronicles none

Dynasties Away…

August 12, 2006 at 9:35 pm jcalvert No comments

I finally decided to start a NCAA Football 2007 dynasty, but I am going to do things different this year. I doubt I will do any sort of major chronicle of my exploits. Not that the chronicle reports are no longer fun, but I am always pressed for time, so better to spend it playing and writing about an assortment of stuff, instead of spending detailing the statistics. Besides I am tackling three teams this year � Georgia, North Texas, and Texas.

I still have to work out all the odds and ends, but after playing several random games (mostly of the rivalry sort), I think week one of my schedule shed some light on a need to switch things up. This well be addressed in short order.

I only have a few “house” rules. I have been playing on varsity, 5-minute quarters, and some adjustments for the CPU to drop passing completion percentage. I have not determined what I am going to do about recruiting, but I have kicked around the idea of only letting UGA and Texas recruit 3-star players, which should up the ante, and balance things out due to reported escalating rating statistics as the game progresses. On defense I try to play out of the base formation as much as possible, and one office I rotate through each formation (i.e. play one is called from formation one, play two is called from formation two). I am allowed to make exceptions on fourth down; assuming I am trailing or it actually makes sense to try something other than a punt. I think this will expose more of the playbooks then I might normally uncover. This strategy also may put me in a strange position where I may have to run a shotgun formation on 2nd and goal, at the two yard line, while trailing by six, instead of being able to resort to a power formation. I will tweak as necessary.

(1AA) Western Kentucky 0 � (#16) Georgia 49
(#110) North Texas 21 � (#2) Texas 14

There is not much to say about the Georgia game; the damage should have been much worse, but I made a couple of blunders in the red zone. Thomas Brown (HB #20) went well over the 100 yard mark in his bid for this year’s Heisman trophy. All in all I was happy to gain my first shutout with this year’s game. Next up are the cocks from USC.

I debated what to do with the North Texas/Texas game, finally opting to go with the Mean Green because I figured it would offer up a nice challenge. This one was never in doubt; I went up 7-0 before Texas equaled the score and then I went up 21-7 to start the 4th quarter. I should have put this one away, but I just missed a 38-yard field goal, and I had an attempt inside the 5-yardline blocked after I had a brain fart and forgot what to do with the damn right analog stick.

I did wonders with my impact WR, #81 (Johnny Quinn), racking up several receptions for 250+ yards and 2 TDs. Impact HB, #20 (Jamario Thomas) put up 100 yards on the ground, but that is typical for me with a good HB. Last year I would have struggled against a team like Texas, but this year it was never in doubt except for worrying about the momentum feature.

North Texas gets SMU, while Texas looks to avoid going 0-2, while hosting Ohio State. I should have a major worry spot with Ohio State; realistically I do not, so I think I am going to have to bump the game to All American before proceeding with week two.

Chronicles none

Navy (#71) 14 – Tulsa (#74) 19 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 4)

October 16, 2004 at 3:09 pm jcalvert No comments

This is the game that may have driven me to the breaking point with NCAA Football 2005. I have not picked up the game since because of the ridiculous QB sack issue – see a NCAA Football 2005 – QB Sacks (and Cheating AI) for more info. At this point I am not sure if I will continue this series. Can you say eBay? I thought you could. Oh well, on to the game, which was actually played three weeks ago, but just now recorded because of my disgust with the sack issue.

I figured that this game would be fairly easy for me, but I should have known I was in trouble when the game presented me with a bright-sunny day and 25MPH winds. Passing and kicking would prove difficult.

I could not move the ball through the air (7-12 for 65 yards) while Tulsa seemingly moved the ball at will racking up 181 yards in the air on 7-17 passing. It was rather depressing to give up big play after big play, yet completely control every other aspect of the game. In the end our downfall was our dreadful attempt to protect our QBs, as Tulsa racked up 9 (count ‘em, 9) sacks. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

There is no point to belaboring the damage; on to the statistics.

               1st   2nd   3rd   4th   |  Final
Navy            0     7    7     0     |  14
Tulsa           6     7    6     0     |  19

The wind was responsible for Tulsa missing an extra point in the first quarter, and a couple of missed field goals for my beleaguered kicker (he is having an awful year). As I said earlier, sacks were the story and the main reason that we could not put it all together. Third down conversions were terrible (23%), mostly due to sack after sack. It was horrible to watch, and even worse to experience. This was a game we should have won, but in the end Tulsa won on the scoreboard which is all that really matters.

The defense played well enough, but Tulsa managed to get big plays when it mattered. We have much work to do on pass defense in the coming weeks.

                   Navy           Tulsa
Score              14             19
1st Downs          15             6
Total Offense      219            204
Rush-Yards         46-154         12-23
Comp-ATT-TD        7-12-0         7-17-2
Passing Yards      65             181

Other interesting Navy stats/figures/numbers: 3-13 (33%) 3rd down efficiency; 3-2-0 (66%) in the redzone (redzone-TD-FG); TOP 17:44 – 6:16; Sacks 9-1 in Tulsa’s favor; 3 penalties (30 yards); Tulsa had no penalties; Next up: #87 Vanderbilt (0-2)

Chronicles Football

Northeastern 14 – Navy (#78) 31 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 3)

September 16, 2004 at 3:35 pm jcalvert No comments

Another week, another infraction to take care of; this time CB #23 was recommended for a 3 game suspension due to academic infractions (bad grades). I said the heck with that – this is Navy, so I only suspended the guy for a quarter.

I did not know what to expect with Northeastern. I figured it would be easy, but that never seems to be the case with my games. I let them stick around a little longer than I should have, and once again my experimentation at the end of the game (once in hand) almost cost me. With that said, there were really no worries with this one.

Week 3: #5 Georgia 20 – South Carolina 12; USC remains #1

It is obvious by now that I can run the ball and control the clock. The risk of running an option attack is playing from behind, having to come from behind. Luckily we outclassed our opponent, so we did not have to worry about coming from behind. I do worry about our ability to come back if and when we are trailing somewhere down the road.

The game was rather mundane, but a scary moment happened when my starting QB (#6) went down with an injury in the 2nd quarter (he later returned after the half). My backup came in cold off the bench – 3:18 to play in the half, 16 yard line, 4th and 10. My back (QB #2) easily took the ball in for a TD on the next play. Looks like I may have a capable backup.

I should have had 3 more points, but my kicker was slightly short on a FG attempt at the end of the half, clanking the ball off the crossbar. And it was a resounding clank. At this point I was up 24-7 so the game was as good as over so I decided to let the backups see some action, and to experiment with some of the lesser used plays in my playbook.

               1st   2nd   3rd   4th   |  Final
Northeastern   0     7     0     7     |  14
Navy           10    14    0     7     |  31

Once again I did well passing, but the passes are really there to help with the run; I mostly roll out looking to run and rarely throwing unless my target is very open. My offensive line is giving up way too many sacks; this will hurt me at some point down the road.

                   Northeastern   Navy
Score              14             31
1st Downs          11             21
Total Offense      241            356
Rush-Yards         15-(66)        47-231
Comp-ATT-TD        9-32-1         8-15
Passing Yards      175            125

Sophomore SS #25 was named Defensive Player of the Week (for Independents) – 2 Tackles, 2 INTS, 1 TD

My starting QB (#6) continues to do a bang up job of leading our option attack. He had a 123.3 QB rating, and while he was only 8-15 passing, there were 2 recorded dropped passes.

We really improved on 3rd downs, and we easily won the turnover battle. We have to get better in the redzone – I have to make sure I do well in the red zone because each drive is important when you run a ball control offense.

Other interesting Navy stats/figures/numbers: 7-13 (53%) 3rd down efficiency; 6-3-1 (66%) in the redzone (redzone-TD-FG); TOP 8:08 – 15:52; Turnovers 4 – 1 in Navy’s favor; Next up: Navy travels to #74 Tulsa (1-1); Combined Opponent Record: 2-5

Chronicles Football, PS2

Duke (#94) 14 – Navy (#88) 24 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 2)

September 16, 2004 at 8:29 am jcalvert No comments

First let me get the preliminary stuff out of the way. I decided to go with Navy because in all my years of NCAA Football I have never played with them so Navy should be a fresh experience. Second, I like the idea of an independent school – I am not tied to a league as I would have been with my traditional NCAA Football favorites – North Texas, Texas, SMU, and Georgia. Navy starts the year (in NCAA 2005) ranked #88 – so there is a challenge. Finally, Navy runs an option offense, and I love me some option offense.

I am playing on All-American, 6 minute quarters, with heavily tuned sliders. I will discuss these in a later post. NCAA 2005 does have a tendency to drop too many passes, but I have found slider settings that compensate well enough to give me an enjoyable gamplay experience.

One thing I am doing different this year is not listing player names for default players. I will go with number for current roster players, and names for new players. I can go into reasons in a later post.

Week 1 was a bye week for Navy. I’ll post recaps every of other games each week to keep the flavor interesting.

Week 1: USC 62 – Virginia Tech 28; USC had 511 Total Yards in a total Hokie
Week 2: Georgia 42 – Georgia Southern 7; LSU 35 – Oregon State 32

Prior to getting started with my first game I had to take care of some NCAA rules violations. FS #33 (I cannot list these guys names since they are serving our country) was recommended for a 3 game suspension due to Fraud/Team Rules Infractions. At the time I did not realize that he was one of my key players (74 overall rating). I took the recommendation and told the kid to sit for three games.

       1st   2nd   3rd   4th   |  Final
Duke   0     7     0     7     |  14
Navy   10    7     7     0     |  24

Out of the game I dominated with a strong option attack, getting my primary backs (QB, HB, FB, WB) involved quickly. Duke struggled time and again with the option, and play-action passes were easily setup and completed as Duke cheated against the run. The option is a beautiful thing when implemented correctly – truly the option is the great equalizer in college football.

                   Duke           Navy
Score              14             24
1st Downs          10             15
Total Offense      160            263
Rush-Yards         12-(-5)        38-186
Comp-ATT-TD        11-36-2        8-17
Passing Yards      165            77

Obviously the passing completions to attempts for Duke were not too hot. I’ll have to give it a few more games to see if more adjustments can be (or should be) made. I have figured out how to pass, but the CPU just does not put up a good ratio.

I was actually doing very well with my passing attack (7-11) before I started experimenting towards the end of the game. I was up 24-7 and decided to get creative; I’ll have to be more cautious next time as my excitement got the better of me and resulted in an INT and two wasted series.

There was nothing really exciting to report in the game – I kept the ball on the ground and pounded the heck out of Duke’s defense. I completed just enough passes to keep Duke off balance, but I have to get better with third down conversions. My offensive line can run, but pass blocking was lackluster, as my guys up front gave up 3 sacks.

Other interesting Navy stats/figures/numbers: 1-10 (10%) 3rd down efficiency; 3-4 (75%) 4th down efficiency; 4-3-1 (100%) in the redzone (redzone-TD-FG); TOP 7:43 – 16:17; Turnovers 1 – 1

Chronicles Football, PS2

The Recycle Bin

Browsing Posts in Chronicles

RTTS Update (Those Damn Walks)

MLB 08 The Show – RTTS Fun

NCAA Chronicles 2007 (Season 1, Week 2)

Dynasties Away…

Navy (#71) 14 – Tulsa (#74) 19 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 4)

Northeastern 14 – Navy (#78) 31 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 3)

Duke (#94) 14 – Navy (#88) 24 (NCAA Chronicles 2005, Season 1, Week 2)

Categories

Recent Posts

Archives

Sell Out

Tags

Popular Posts

Random Posts

Recent Comments

Meta