How to keep this game fresh?

[mm boost]

^^^ bingo. I always post results to my games in the off-line dynasty progress thread, which makes my dynasties more personal and allows for more build up. I feel like I am really running this program, and it makes me build up anticipation to play my next game. Like tonight, I have my next game in my Cowboys franchise on Madden, and I have to hold off til tomorrow night to play #23 Miami with my #4 Hokies, after coming off a huge overtime win against #5 Boston college last Wednesday. I am building up my season as I go, and in my 3rd season, I missed the national title game my first year, and last year, I lost 2 games (including upset of the year by losing to Duke, and a nail biter loss to Clemson), and missed conference championship and national title games. So far this season I am rolling, but barely escaping nail biting victories, hoping to make the title game for the first time. I feel like a real life head coach with my team, and I always post everything that happens in my game in the offline dynasty thread. I highly recommend checking that thread out for lasting appeal.

[thescoop]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pogo27

I made 9 teams in Team Builder (about to expand to 12) to replace the Sun Belt Conference with a fictional "Gulf Coast Conference" using colleges both real and fictional such as Tampa, Florida Gulf Coast, Biloxi, New Orleans, etc. and started a dynasty playing as one of the 9 teams in a completely custom conference. If you don't want to make teams yourself, you can feel free to check out my teams. All you have to do is go download them and put them in for the teams listed and you're ready to go. http://www.operationsports.com/forum...fictional.html

I've made several Mississippi CC teams in team builder, including Mississippi Gulf Coast if you'd want to check them out just to have real team. Also, for Biloxi, you might want to make them Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast. Again, a real team, but one without a real team. You may not care and just love your created teams, which I respect as well.

Also, I do like someone else said and I create several recruits before I start recruiting. This makes recruiting more fun. Also, I love to play against the ones I made that didn't sign with me. Makes the other teams better too.

[Yeti_2009]

I think just giving yourself a challenge keeps the game fresh. If you dominate every team it gets old fast cause its the same thing over and over and over again..... thats when you need to switch to a different team

Basically once I win a national title and as soon as my contract is up, I like to move on. If I know that I get destroyed by a top 5 team with a new team i've taken control of, then I know I've made the right choice and its going to be fun building the team.

[dray8theman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bucs1211

Any more ideas?

Don't know if this has already been suggested, but what I did to make things a little more interesting is I used the custom conference feature in dynasty mode. I changed the teams around a little. Not anything drastic, but things like putting North Texas in Conference-USA East, putting Lousiana Tech in the SunBelt, my best one is putting TCU in the Big 12 North and trying to beat Texas and/or Oklahoma every year. (Honestly I think that would be a ggod move in real life seeing as TCU is a good mid major school and they would be a good edition to the Big 12/10.)

If you wanna know more about this, I'll probably make a blog about it.

Oh yeah I forgot, another thing is to start as a coach for a bad team build up your prestige win championships, bowl games, get good recruiting classes, etc. I usually do this for 5 years (the time it takes to take a 1 star program to a 6), then after you do that accept the coaching job at a mediocre school in a big conference, like Indiana, Iowa state, or Vanderbilt. I don't know just a few ideas.

[johntom2000]

What I did after winning the NC with Tenn and Florida, I went from a 4 and 5 * team to a 1 * team. I use my playbook and try build the team to your style of play by go getting players that you need to make your system work.

[CreatineKasey]

What's a way to make the CPU challenging? I've always struggled with this in sports games. I wouldn't mind playing an offline dynasty, but I want to get beat more often than not by better teams. Does anyone have a slider set that's challenging?

Is recruiting at the highest difficulty more difficult in the right way, or does the CPU just have some massive advantage?

Anyone try just calling "coaches pick" plays and seeing what happens. Anyone super sim games? Does it stay fresh only recruiting and setting up your gameplan?

[Yeti_2009]

Quote: Originally Posted by CreatineKasey

What's a way to make the CPU challenging? I've always struggled with this in sports games. I wouldn't mind playing an offline dynasty, but I want to get beat more often than not by better teams. Does anyone have a slider set that's challenging? Is recruiting at the highest difficulty more difficult in the right way, or does the CPU just have some massive advantage? Anyone try just calling "coaches pick" plays and seeing what happens. Anyone super sim games? Does it stay fresh only recruiting and setting up your gameplan?

I use SEC sliders for AA and those keep it challenging for me especially with a team that isnt so good.

Recruiting on higher difficulty, if I am not mistaken, just reduces the amount of times you can change the topic. I think Varsity is 3 times, AA is 2 and heisman is 1

Personally, if I am going to get a sports game, I am going to want to play the game. Recruiting and setting up the gameplan is fun, but I think thats only because I am looking forward to it after I play a game and work through the season. If all I was doing was recruiting and gameplanning, I dont think it would be that fun. You dont get the excitement of close games.

[CreatineKasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by Yeti_2009

I use SEC sliders for AA and those keep it challenging for me especially with a team that isnt so good. Recruiting on higher difficulty, if I am not mistaken, just reduces the amount of times you can change the topic. I think Varsity is 3 times, AA is 2 and heisman is 1 Personally, if I am going to get a sports game, I am going to want to play the game. Recruiting and setting up the gameplan is fun, but I think thats only because I am looking forward to it after I play a game and work through the season. If all I was doing was recruiting and gameplanning, I dont think it would be that fun. You dont get the excitement of close games.

Thanks for the response!

Yeah, I think I'm going to try out some sliders on here and see if I can get my butt kicked by a better squad in OD. The key to enjoying this game long term is a fair challenge. It's always that way for any sports game or video game IMO. That's why I love online usually, I find it a fair challenge against another person.

I'll probably amp up the recruiting difficulty if I get the hang of it too.