The Frynasty Tipping Point

[RaychelSnr]

It is almost time for many Madden and NCAAers to decide. Is the game now too easy? Would it be better if the reigning Super Bowl Champs three times over are put on the shelf for awhile to make way for other virtual career pursuits? Wil McCombs checks in today with an article on the Frynasty Tipping Point. Be sure to give it a read and decide for yourself!

"Every year in both Madden and NCAA, there is a moment when, despite the overwhelming buildup, my franchise/dynasty (or “frynasty”) becomes stale. It is inevitable. And I know I am not alone."

[PaulZweber]

I find myself with the same problems. Madden this year has been nothing more than Blah to me. NCAA looks promising for years to come with Online Dynasty, but the future looks a little more bleak for Madden. Online Franchises are a MUST, but before we have that we need the ability to replace owners. Without that one little feature, Online Leagues and Franchises are worthless unless you have a small number of dedicated players. In Madden, our 32 team Online League has failed due to people quiting, and not being able to replace them. My 12 team Fantasy Draft Online League has also failed because of one player quiting. The ability to replace owners is the single most needed feature needed.

[allstar3970]

if you want everything to be exactly the same as real life, why bother playing a game? just watch real football. YOU'RE the variable, thats why your skill can make kyle orton throw for this crazy stats, as in that example.

[BadAssHskr]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

I haven't even gotten into online dynasty play, for that matter i haven't even played a game online this year as of yet.

i'm totally in love with my dynasty, but maybe because at best i only get around 3-4 game per week in, sadly.....

i'm currently just entering my bowl game of my 2nd season, am like 9-3 overall, but like 5-3 in conference. my game plan is to improve on that, and looking back, i did simulate the Huskers 09 season schedule, and up front it is extremely easy, same with '10 season as well. i'm sure that sways my record.

I have to admit that defensively i am getting better and starting to really shut some teams down, but then again have my D-AWR set pretty high. Aiming to turn this down after this season, and boost the cpu D-AWR as well. Should keep things interesting for me for a while!

my first goal is still a big XII championship, and believe it or not, i can't even remembet when the last time i even stayed interested enough to become a national champ!

[Lucky Lacy]

great article, as I am using the bears in madden and went 8-8 in season one losing in the playoffs and went 13-3 in season two winning the superbowl. It is starting to get a little boring with the start of season three because on the field action had gotten easier

[stewaat]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

In my opinion the problem is the CPU roster AI. They never seem to improve as much as me and the game becomes easier.

I'd love for dynasty/franchise to be a tough challenge.

[youALREADYknow]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

Another reason dynasty/franchise tends to get too easy and boring is that after playing 30-40 games against the CPU you learn more of their tendencies and habits. Since AI does not "evolve" or adapt in NCAA, I have to force myself to not take advantage of certain known weaknesses to make the game more challenging.

My main dynasty in NCAA was with Temple and after winning back-to-back BCS bowl games and winning 30 out of the last 31 games, I decided to change to Florida State (my favorite team) who was coming off a couple of disappointing seasons. Without house rules, the game would be child's play even on Heisman. I've implemented a ton of recruiting and gameplay house rules and I must say that the experience has been very rewarding so far. I'm 3-2 in my first season with Florida State having lost to two ranked teams and feel like the game has new life.

My personal favorite dynasty house rules:
1. Cannot recruit players with 40yd dash times under 4.30 (any speed restricting rule is good)
2. Can only recruit players within pipeline states
3. CPU controls all punt returns (The punt coverage in this game is atrocious)
4. Cannot recruit out of state players who don't have school in preseason top 10 interest list

Without having some kind of house rule system, I think NCAA would have been used as a beverage coaster about 2-3 weeks ago.

[stewaat]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

The CPU AI is terrible all-around this year. It's frustrating to see a CPU runner have a wide open lane but "ghost juke" so you catch up and tackle him. The CPU tries to lose IMO.

I agree that house rules are a MUST. Speed is broken in this game...well not broken but it makes the game extremely easy.

[Zalf]

Can we agree to never use "frynasty" as a gaming term again?

[asu666]

I have been playing the same two (one AFC, one NFC) ESPN NFL 2K5 franchises for almost five years now. The game never gets old. I never know if I'll win the next game or not, but I do know that for 2 hours I'll be in football gaming heaven. There isn't much in this world that makes me cry; however thinking about how incredible ESPN NFL 2K9 would have been this year just about does it.

[Young J 334]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

Another reason dynasty/franchise tends to get too easy and boring is that after playing 30-40 games against the CPU you learn more of their tendencies and habits. Since AI does not "evolve" or adapt in NCAA, I have to force myself to not take advantage of certain known weaknesses to make the game more challenging.

My main dynasty in NCAA was with Temple and after winning back-to-back BCS bowl games and winning 30 out of the last 31 games, I decided to change to Florida State (my favorite team) who was coming off a couple of disappointing seasons. Without house rules, the game would be child's play even on Heisman. I've implemented a ton of recruiting and gameplay house rules and I must say that the experience has been very rewarding so far. I'm 3-2 in my first season with Florida State having lost to two ranked teams and feel like the game has new life.

My personal favorite dynasty house rules:
1. Cannot recruit players with 40yd dash times under 4.30 (any speed restricting rule is good)
2. Can only recruit players within pipeline states
3. CPU controls all punt returns (The punt coverage in this game is atrocious)
4. Cannot recruit out of state players who don't have school in preseason top 10 interest list

Without having some kind of house rule system, I think NCAA would have been used as a beverage coaster about 2-3 weeks ago.

So you go 30-1 with Temple and are considered good. But I go undefeated with Hawaii n get called cheese. Lol. I get it now. Im jus a very disliked person on this site huh?

This post is not mend to offend you buddy. Just added some sarcasm. Cuz you have to have some mad stick skill to have a record that impressive with a team THAT bad

[PaulZweber]

Thats how it is on this site. Favoritism at its finest...

[OU81206]

The answer to this, for college games at least, is simple.

Do what College Hoops 2k8 did. You start your career at a handful of tiny schools. After each season you can receive job offers from other schools. You build programs while moving up the ladder. Sure, when you reach the top and are coaching at Syracuse, winning national titles it may start to become a little stale. But by then 20-25 virtual years have gone by and you can start over again with a new "starter" team and get an entirely different experience by the end of your career.

Career mode in CH2K8 is hands down the best experience(s) I have ever had with a sports video game. If this type of system was implemented into NCAA College Football... oh man, it would make the game incredible.

The sad part of the death of CH2K is that I think they were set to expand on this system. I always thought it would be perfect if you could start your career as a HS coach and work your way up. Maybe include DIII and DII schools. How satisfying would that be? Then, you could also receive job offers from the NBA and export your career into NBA 2K.

[youALREADYknow]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

I understand where you're coming from (Young J), but I wasn't playing against USC and Florida every other week with Temple. I only played 2 teams who were rated above 80 each year with Temple and the one game I lost was against Oklahoma by 3. I also had 2 Heisman candidates on my offense who pretty much guaranteed me victory against any opponent who couldn't score 35+ on my defense.

As far as I'm concerned, once you get a HB and a WR who are above 95 SPD then you're playing on auto-cheese because the CPU AI is not equipped to defend speed. I house ruled speed out after switching from Temple to Florida State and it's been a very different game experience.

If you lose ANY games with a team rated in the 90's and players with 98/99 SPD at premium positions, then you probably just aren't any good at this game. I find it laughable that someone is considered cheating for having a good offline record in dynasty, especially since most dynasty players don't use house rules.

In offline dynasty you get the experience that you want. If you feel like you should never lose a game then you'll probably never lose because you won't play on the most challenging sliders, will always resort to the money plays in the clutch, and will be satisfied playing with a 99 OVR team against inferior competition every week.

If you put restrictions on your playing experience and are secure enough in your abilities to take a loss like a man, then you'll get a more realistic game experience.

Just do whatever makes you happy with the game because we all know it takes a LOT of effort to remain satisfied with this game given all of the flaws.

[Young J 334]

Re: The Frynasty Tipping Point

I understand where you're coming from (Young J), but I wasn't playing against USC and Florida every other week with Temple. I only played 2 teams who were rated above 80 each year with Temple and the one game I lost was against Oklahoma by 3. I also had 2 Heisman candidates on my offense who pretty much guaranteed me victory against any opponent who couldn't score 35+ on my defense.

As far as I'm concerned, once you get a HB and a WR who are above 95 SPD then you're playing on auto-cheese because the CPU AI is not equipped to defend speed. I house ruled speed out after switching from Temple to Florida State and it's been a very different game experience.

If you lose ANY games with a team rated in the 90's and players with 98/99 SPD at premium positions, then you probably just aren't any good at this game. I find it laughable that someone is considered cheating for having a good offline record in dynasty, especially since most dynasty players don't use house rules.

In offline dynasty you get the experience that you want. If you feel like you should never lose a game then you'll probably never lose because you won't play on the most challenging sliders, will always resort to the money plays in the clutch, and will be satisfied playing with a 99 OVR team against inferior competition every week.

If you put restrictions on your playing experience and are secure enough in your abilities to take a loss like a man, then you'll get a more realistic game experience.

Just do whatever makes you happy with the game because we all know it takes a LOT of effort to remain satisfied with this game given all of the flaws.

In my 4th year with Hawaii they are 88 overall, 90 offense, 82 defense (cant remember special teams. think around 80)

My team is slow. My fastest guy is my senior RB at 92spd, 90 agi and 92 accel. Fastest WRs and corners 89-91 speed. And I have a pocket QB

My only house rules for my offline dynasties are:
-dont user pick everything thrown your way cuz even on Heisman ints are tedious with the right defensive set ups
-no user catching on posts or streaks
-if its 4th and 2 or more you HAVE to punt or kick a FG unless ur losing by more than 4 points in the 4th qtr
-NO HB SCREENS
-No FB flat routes. With a fairly fast FB its unstoppable even on Heisman

I dont have any recruiting house rules. I always pick guys that are interested w/o comparing stats. Long as they fit my needs and are a good size I go after em. The fastest recruit I ever got was a 93 spd receiver that was juco. But his butt couldnt catch so he didnt see the field.

I quick call every body based on interests. If Im there number 3 team they get thirty minutes, #2 team gets them 20 minutes and if im at the top they either get 5 or ten minutes. I only iniciate actual calls when the guy is ready for a visit

And regarding your last sentence. Damn you are not kidding.