NCAA Football 12: A Dynasty in the Making(Big Post with Pics)

[canes21]

This may be early and maybe should be in the wishlist forum. But I thought I would post it here instead just in case it stays here.

Now, I have no idea what EA is planning on doing or is doing right now with NCAA 12, but I have a feeling it will be career modes that they focus on. Madden 12 is the year of the Franchise mode, so it has me thinking NCAA may see the same thing. A lot of people feel gameplay this year was good and that EA can now spend time on the other parts of the game to make it even better, like NBA 2k11 was able to do after 2k10.

Since I believe NCAA 12 will be about dynasty mode, I had a few thoughts about what I would like to see and I felt they were quality ideas that others should see. So, I guess I'll get into it...

Presentation

The presentation of a dynasty mode may seem like a little detail that doesn't affect the longevity much, but it does. Look at NBA.com in the NBA 2k series. It makes the game feel much more alive and immerses you into your association.

NBA.com also inspired me with my idea for NCAA 12's dynasty mode. Since they have the ESPN license, I thought they should use it more than they have and have ESPN.com be the homepage in your dynasty much like NBA.com in NBA 2k. This could be the homepage for the dynasty mode.



This would add to the presentation and immersion of your dynasty. You could also control a cursor like in GTA IV with the left thumbstick and scroll down the page with the right thumbstick. Or you could simply use the D-Pad to precisely switch between links in your dynasty mode.

I would also like to see the homepage have most the features of the real website. so it feels even more real.The game could make up articles sort of like the Dynasty Wire, but more in depth and include box scores of big games around the league and put them in the articles box in the top right corner. Injuries, transfers, and big commitments from recruits could also be used for the articles box. Even coaching changes could be put there too. Imagine being able to click on all of these links and see whats going on around your dynasty.



Then you could click on the rankings link on the homepage to see the top 25 rankings like you can in real life. This could replace the way rankings are viewed now. It would make it easier to see both polls, and even the third when BCS polls come out. It would also be a cool touch if EA even had the ESPN Fan Power rankings and had those appear on the bottom of the rankings page. This is what the rankings page would look like in game.



You could also go back and look at preseason rankings, rankings from 2 weeks ago, etc. This, again, would make the dynasty mode even more organic.

Standings would work basically the same as rankings. This would also allow you too view multiple conference rankings at once instead of using the trigger method that is sluggish and frustrating. Just like in real life, you could use the joysticks to scroll down the page and look at each conference's standings exactly like the real website.





It would also be another nice touch if EA let you look at conference standings for each year of your dynasty and by each week of that year just like the website.

Statistics would be like the other pages and work just like its real life counterpart. You would click on the stats link and this is what you would get basically.



Then you could look at the "Complete Leaders" from each category and look at the stats leaders more in depth. It would work like the real website of course and would add to the presentation of the dynasty mode just like everything else.



Then you could click on your "Team Page" which shows you your team schedule, previous game, then the game you have that week, then the game the enxt week. You would see this basically.



From there you would be able to click on the scores of your previous game and see the box scores and articles for that game. You could also click on the stats pleaders on the right and see your teams players stats. It would also show you your conference and the standings on the right side too just like real life.

Where the video is on the top right, that could be where your saved highlights can be seen from the previous game, or the whole season/dynasty. This would make accessing them much easier than it is now.

Then to view the recruiting page, you just click on the recruiting link up top and you are presented with this page.



From there you can scroll down and look at the latest recruiting news. You could see the top classes so far. You could also click on the other links up top and look at the ESPN Top 150 like we can already, but we would be presented with a page reflecting the real thing instead. You could also click on the team link and go to your target board and do your recruiting like regularly. The other links could also be clicked on and used like they are in real life.

Then, finally, you could look at the Heisman page by clicking on its link. This would bring you to a page like this.



It would have an article about the top guy in the recruiting list talking about his performances and why he is in the lead. This would help stop the confusion as to why our player didn't win and the CPU's did. It would at least give us a "reason" and would make it more believable as to why he won or is out front in the race.

Just making the dynasty mode presented like this instead of how it is now would make it much better. It would draw you in more and make it much more organic and believable.

Features

Dynasty mode is lacking in features right now. There haven't really been any new features implemented this generation.

The first thing I would like to see is a coaching carousel. This would make coaches matter and would make the dynasty mode more realistic. If Alabama releases their coach for some odd reason, teams would be able to fight for him. You would have a decision to make. Do you spend a lot of money on a coach but leave yourself less for facilities and other coaching sports, or do you play it safe, keep' hire an average coach and have more money to upgrade your facilities, stadium, etc.

Along with the coaching carousel we need Head Coaches, Assistant Head Coaches, Coordinators, Trainers, etc. added too. If you want your team to have a strong defense that is consistent, then you would hire a great defensive coordinator/ coach, or a head coach with great defensive ratings. But in doing so you run the risk of not being able to get a good offensive coordinator/coach, or training staff.

Coaches also need rating. If I get lucky and land a coach that everyone wanted, then his impact should be felt. My players should get a boost in ratings to reflect his skills, they should play more consistently, they should play better on that side of the ball, or better on both sides if its a head coach. On the flip side, if I get a good defensive coach, but subpar offensive coach, then my offense should be inconsistent, have penalties, maybe have no ratings boost or lose a point or two, etc.

Coaches also need specialties. Have a coach who is a good quarterbacks coach, but can't teach WRs to save his life. This could maybe lead to position coaches or just make you choose your coaches more wisely. If you are a team that runs the spread, having good QB and WR coaches is important. You don't want a great QB who has terrible WRs to throw to.

The training staff would also matter. If you get an average staff, they may misdiagnose an injury sometimes, or may not heal your players as fast as a good training staff. But if you hire a top of the line staff, your players will be diagnosed correctly all the time, heal a little faster, and come back from injuries with lasting affects over their careers.

Say two WRs from two different teams go down. Both have the same ankle injury. WR A has a great training staff, but WR B has an okay staff. WR A comes back in time for bowl games and has no lasting affects. WR B misses the rest of the season and loses some skill points in his speed, agility, and route running.

This would make hiring good trainers matter more and would add strategy to dynasty mode. Top teams would be able to afford great coaches for each position while having a good head coach and training staff, while bad teams who have less money would maybe have good offensive coaches or good QB and WR coaches, but would have average defensive coaches and an average head coach with a bad training staff.

Adding elements like that really separates the great programs from the bad ones. It would also make building a powerhouse more difficult and more fun. Being able to get a bad program into an elite one with great coaches, a good training staff, plus having money for facilities would be more rewarding than it is now.

In order to make all the above work in good fashion, EA would have to add money into dynasty mode. A program like Texas would have much more money to spend on coaches, trainers, facilities, etc. than a program like Wyoming. Money would also make you want to win the bigger bowl games more. Say you win the ACC Title and win the Orange Bowl, then you earn money in doing so and the next season you will be able to upgrade your facilities or get a better coach(es). Winning bigger bowls earns more money, and winning a national title gets you the most money.

Money could also be spent on stadiums and facilities. Say you have a great training staff, but an average training facility, this would limit what the training staff could do and they might be held back and perform like an average training staff until you upgrade your facility. Then when its upgraded, they start performing like an elite training staff healing players in no time.

Other facilities could include locker rooms, practice fields, etc. Having a below average locker room could hurt the morale of your players and this would make them perform worse, inconsistent, and more likely to transfer. Having bad facilities could also hurt recruiting as well. Having a bad practice field could increase the potential of injuries during practice. Having great locker rooms, practice fields, etc. would increase morale, reduce the probability of injuries, etc. and would help your team out with maybe a ratings boost of a point in certain attributes.

Money could also be spent on your stadium. If you have turned Wyoming into a good program and have good facilities, then you could add seats to your stadium, or even build a completely new one. Depending on what you do, it could take a whole season until you get in your new stadium or you could be in it by the start of the next season. Having a bigger stadium with a great fan base would also increase attendance and ticket revenue, thus leading to more funds throughout the year.

And speaking of tickets, I would like to see features brought into dynasty from old Maddens. Ticket prices, food and beverage prices, parking prices, etc. Having expensive tickets, food, etc. would lead to your team having bad fan support at home. Having cheap tickets would lead to less money, but it may actually attract more fans and in the end earn more money.

I would also like to see a fan base type feature implemented. If you keep your stadium in good shape, treat the fans well with prices, events, prizes, etc. Then you would build a stronger fan base and at neutral site games or road games you would have more fans show up to support you. This could also tie into the top 25 stadiums. Do you give out free tickets with every rivalry win? If so, then maybe you have more fans show up to those games and in turn make your stadium tougher to play at. Or do you never have and ticket deals, give out prizes, etc.? If so, then your fans will not respond well and you will have a lower attendance rate and fans won't travel to road/ neutral games as much.

You could also spend your funds on new alternate jerseys, or completely new jerseys for home, away, or both. This way we could get new uniforms in our dynasty mode so teams won't look the same in year 20. EA would have to really work on this to keep the CPU controlled Penn State from getting new uniforms in your dynasty. But other teams like Oregon may get new alternates in year 3,4 and 10 through your first 10 years. I don't know how they could program this exactly. Maybe tie it intro a certain Head Coach rating, but it would be an awesome touch.

I have other ideas, but I have already typed a huge post and am having a hard time thinking of my ideas fully right now. Please read this and leave feedback and post your own ideas too. Thanks...

[hawkeyebred2332]

First let me say I love the fact that you put so much thought and effort into the post, so thanks for that.

However, most of what you mentioned with regards to the ESPN presentation is already in the game. To me it looks like it comes down to you wanting the ESPN brand on every menu instead of the menus we have now, which is not at all a concern of mine. I mean we already have all hte info you mentioned, its just arranged differently.

I'm probably in the minority on this one, but once again I am not a fan of the extra coordinators, training staff, etc. This is just based off of Madden's owner mode, but to me it feels like that stuff takes away from the game. I hated having to sign staff members, set ticket prices, set up promotions...I play Madden and NCAA because I want to play football and draft/recruit players, not so I can play AD and upgrade my facilities and all that other jazz.

Now if they kept the current dynasty format (of course I would love more addition to dynasty), AND offered another gameplay mode where they included this stuff, then we're all happy. But for me if NCAA ever goes the way of Madden and puts emphasis on staffing decisions, pricing, etc. they will probably lose me as a customer.

[canes21]

They could always have a mode called Athletic Director or just offer all the things I mentioned as options in the dynasty mode. The more options they offer, the better the game gets.

As for the ESPN info. We do have a lot of it, but it isn't presented in a good fashion and it feels like a video games. When I play NBA 2k11, the way they have all the info setup, it feels like a real NBA website. Like I said in the main post, it seems like a small detail, but when it is there it really has its impact.

[13]

This would be dirty as hell if they actually did all this. I want to do more when managing my school. Not just play the game and recruit, I want more responsibilities and things to manage. I don't think they will give us this kind of thing, sadly.

[Palo20]

As long as they don't include real ESPN headlines like: "Bieber Raps About Brady's Hair."

[CreatineKasey]

Along the lines of what you posted about coach influence:

I think it'd be a great place to help dictate progression. Great QB coaches will allow talented guys to progress into superstars. Maybe a bad coach obtains talented players sometimes, but isn't able to groom them into superstars. Think of having a guy like Norm Chow on offense to allow your QB to flourish. Think of having a Brett Bielema leading your run heavy squad, or Ferentz.

There's a lot of opportunity to further tie together progression with coaching in my opinion. The more RPG and RTS elements this game gets, the better.

[canes21]

Quote: Originally Posted by CreatineKasey

Along the lines of what you posted about coach influence: I think it'd be a great place to help dictate progression. Great QB coaches will allow talented guys to progress into superstars. Maybe a bad coach obtains talented players sometimes, but isn't able to groom them into superstars. Think of having a guy like Norm Chow on offense to allow your QB to flourish. Think of having a Brett Bielema leading your run heavy squad, or Ferentz. There's a lot of opportunity to further tie together progression with coaching in my opinion. The more RPG and RTS elements this game gets, the better.

Thats what i think too, but EA needs to have options for all of these affects. Maybe have the ability of each one to be turned on or off, or just have two settings for Dynasty mode. One being simulation with coaches, facilities, etc. Or one called casual that is basically the current dynasty mode. Or just make an Athletic Director mode. I think more people would like the RPG elements if they just tied them.

[Yeti_2009]

And they should also have all Husker recievers and even running backs having stones for hands cause they obviously cant catch to save their lives.....first picture of Kinnie says it all....

Getting over the disappointment of watching the Huskers horrendous play on Saturday, if EA integrated more along the lines of 2005 NCAA, that would be awesome. If I remember correct, the 2005 version had medical redshirts and different things that you would have to keep on top of your players for (discplinary things, academics, etc.)

I do like the style of 2011 but definitely can be improved for 2012. I am glad tho that EA spent alot of time on re-doing the gameplay this year so in year's to come they can focus on adding new features.

I am hoping and predicting that next year's game will be filled with a ton of extras and a very deep dynasty mode.