Recruiting...

[NoleFan]

Why do some folks prefer the phone call recruiting of games like 09-12, maybe 13 too?

[canes21]

Because 14 is way too streamlined and doesn't feel engaging at all. The phone call method was far from perfect, but at least I felt like I was doing something. With the recruiting in 14, you just set your points up and are more or less good to go the entirety of the season.

I get some people didn't want to spend so much time in the menus between games and I get that. Myself, I honestly love when games make one experience the grind between the big moments, so I'd have loved it if recruiting had been fleshed out even more, made more ambiguous, something similar to what they(EA) did in their basketball games, what 2k did in College Hoops, or what is presently done in the Draft Day Sports college games.

With the phone call method, I at least went in and did work every single week of the season, remembered recruits names, was hurt when a guy went elsewhere, would follow their careers, etc. In 14, I set my points up, would casually check if any adjustments needed to be made, spent maybe 2 minutes total doing anything recruiting, and I wouldn't even remember the names of my own commitments let alone the guys that I lost.

[NoleFan]

Respect. It's funny, you'd think that I'd be ok with the more time consuming phone call method considering that I sim my games but, I'm not. I like the way 14 does it. Reminds me of 06 which I still also play.

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[canes21]

Yea, it seems like people either want a really deep experience in the menus, or they don't. Hardly seems like there is ever anyone that wants something in the middle.

For me, personally, I'd love it if recruiting, practice, game prep, etc. all took as long as playing each game took. I want to experience the grind of each aspect of a season, and then have the games feel like big moments where wins are truly rewarding and losses are true heartbreaks.

I'd love to go in and have a budget where I'd have to choose who to visit/scout each week, decide who gets the most attention from the coaching staff, and so on, but EA typically likes to streamline their games, so I'd imagine the new game will be more like NCAA 14 than not. I personally hope not and wish for a very deep recruiting experience that can be automated for those who don't like to spend much time in the menus, but that's not been EA's style for awhile now.

[WarSeagull]

Yeah I expect the new game to be much closer to NCAA Football 14 style recruiting just based on how they've revamped other games since then (like recently in Madden with scouting).

I personally prefer the older style more in-depth experience but I just don't see that happening.

[NoleFan]

I like 10 where you can offer a schollie with a quick call. In that one, I quick call all the things until it's time to schedule a visit...UNLESS I've delegated visit scheduling. I'm different though...a lot of guys want to micromanage all the things. In my universe, I've got staff for that

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[rjsuperfly66]

I put this in another thread, but recruiting to me is often too simplistic and leads to the lack of realism in dynasty.

The flaw is that power schools do not feel like power schools. 25 points from Alabama should equal approximately 600 points from Eastern Michigan. Alabama should be able to cast a wider net on players because a simple phone call would be worth sending my assistant to visit a player 20 times because of who they are, how they compete, etc.

That aside, I HATE seeing my ranking on the list, because really if I'm trying to maximize my competitiveness, how would I recruit? I used to sort the recruiting list by my position, and subsequently target the guys I was leading on and working down, and throughout the season, would adjust based on the difference in my lead. And if I noticed a team pulling away, pull the points and reallocate.

I'm ok with a system that tells you that you are on a list - "Top 5" "Top 8" "Top 12". Different stages of recruiting should have different lists. But having great recruiting attributes should determine your competitiveness from there. If I put a ton of effort into a player, my recruiting ability may say the next week "We are in this" "We think we are leading" "We are out of this" etc. A great recruiter is likely right. A bad recruiter is inconsistent. You may think you are in on a guy and then get cut from the list.

But ultimately, there needs to be a difference between power programs and low majors. Doesn't matter how great a coach is, consistently pulling 4-5 stars to MAC schools is unlikely. There needs to feel like there is incentive to advance in the carousel. And that incentive is getting better players to build a program that is a NC contender.

[NoleFan]

I think that's why I like the recruiting in the PS2 era games. The amount of points you had each off-season were contingent on your wins and losses. If you had a bad team/season, you didn't have a ton of points to use. I've had times with some failed replacement (swap out and FCS team with FIU in the FBS) dynasties where I'd go 0-11 or 1-10 and end up with 48 recruiting points. That adds to the challenge in a major way.