Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Means

[illwill10]

Re: Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Mean

As bad as RTG is I'm truly surprised it's second. If anything that's a huge victory and confirms RTG should be a priority.

I was at first surprised, because I know a ton of people doesnt like it and feel like the resources should go to something else. I am a big BAP player, but it is lacking. I cant wait till 5/23.
But after thinking about it, Im not surprised. A lot of people really dont play online. SOme people dont have online or dont like cheesing and lag. I dont like Online gaming at all. Dont plan on playing online on any game.

[DorianDonP]

Re: Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Mean

Nicely written article, but I'll still wait for the details of the mode before I believe it will be worth playing. EA knows how to hype games and modes. I don't let myself get excited over articles that don't include details.

I didn't play RTG at all on NCAA 11. The mode doesn't do enough to immerse you in it's premise; that you are experiencing the life of a student athlete at the division 1 level. It's monotonous.

I think EA should hire writers to write storylines like in the WWE wrestling games. Instead of playoff performances deciding your rating and which scholarships you get, they should have the user pick which storyline they want to play. After they pick the storyline, then they jump into the playoffs. It's not as if great playoff performances automatically make you a 5 star player. Devonta Freeman had over 600 yards rushing in back to back playoff games and he still ended up a 4 star.

Here are a few ideas of storylines.

5 star (pick position)

You come in as the main gem of a recruiting class. Dozens and dozens of emails from people, boosters, coaches. There is a ESPN segment on you. Radio segments. Newspaper articles. And then you get on campus. Instead of everything happening from a main menu, how about your created player becomes usable in a sandbox campus (think Grand Theft Auto). You start out in your dorm, where you can walk to your computer and check your email or schedule and stats and ratings. You have to keep up with your class times and practice times. You schedule classes around your practice schedule and you have a social life, calls from friends to hang out, and so on. Each of these things count towards your rating.

Have there be minigames like playing pool, or darts, or fantasy football. Have that ESPN segment I mentioned be viewable by turning on the TV in your dormroom to ESPN. Just little fun things. Then you literally have to WALK to your class and WALK to practice. If you are late, by not maganing your time well, then there are consequences (maybe you don't play in a quarter or you are suspended for a game or you get a bad grade on a test).

Have it to where while you walk around your campus, people stop you (RPG style) and spark up conversations with you. To maintain certain popularity and develop a reputation, you chose to either ignore them or engage in conversation. Your reputation decides how liked you are as a person. If you ignore everyone, then maybe you get seen as a arrogant jock. If you talk to every person, then maybe you are late for a class or practice. It becomes a microcosm of managing being a student athlete.

The classroom is nothing but a few facts (like on past RTG games). You just have to memorize them for the exams at the end of the semester (10 question exams or so).

When you go to practice, your start off in the lockeroom with your team mates. Wearing a stripped down version of your teams uniforms. Not the exact same gameday uni. Then you walk with them out to the field, and you do drills with your position coach and your position players. There isn't a scrimmage every day in practice, so you only scrimmage once a week.

If you are a 5 star player, you are treated like a king. But also, everyone is gunning for you. You have to earn the respect of your teammates as a freshman by being hazed just like everyone else. When a senior asks you to hang out that night, choose to do it and get some respect points or skip it and don't receive any. You can become a loner type, or a people person.

Have the writer make plots for your character and your team. Make your teams rival have an undefeated season which sets up for a huge matchup. Have your 5 star player receive an injury in practice which forces him to miss time recovering, and have everyone question him for the first time in his career. ESPN has a segment on it. You fall down the depth chart. And have to climb your way back. In the big game vs your rival, the starter at your position gets hurt, and it's the same week you come back from injury. You have to battle with the 2nd string player to see who starts in the BIG GAME with your rival. All that week is intense in practice as you try to outdue the computer player.

If you perform better, then you get your first start in the big game. If you don't, then you have your second setback. Then the story is determined by how you perform. If you won the starting job and won the big game, then you are a made man. If you lose that job or lost the big game, then you fall a little out of favor on campus and in the headlines. Just have little storylines like this for the 4 years you are on campus.

If you are a 4 star, then make the storyline that the team you choose also had a 4 star player from your home town. And for the four years, you and him are rivals on campus and on the field. This storyline would be very fun if it was the QB position that you choose. One of you is going to have to transfer.

If you are a 3 star player, then make the storyline revolve around you not being offered by your favorite school (which you specify when you first start the game). Your team is going to schedule a road game with that team sometime in your career. But after you work your way up your freshman year, your coach leaves to another school. Then his promise to look after you is broken and now as a sophomore someone who didn't recruit you is the coach and you have to prove him and everyone else wrong as you try to work your way up to become a starter. As opposed to being a 5 star on campus, with everyone wanting to talk to you as you walk on the sandbox campus, it's only a few people that recognize you. Your popularity depends on you becoming a star on the field. You have multiple 300 yard passing days or big wins as a QB, then more and more people on campus start noticing you and wanting to start up conversations. How cool would it be to integrate facebook with RTG?

I think having 3 different storylines you can play would make RTG a favorite feature. I would put tons of hours into each storyline (3 star player, 4 start player, 5 star player) to experience the differences. Playing the games would still be the selling point, but it would be so many other things to do to make it feel fresh and rewarding to do well in the games.

All of this you would be able to sim (including the games). But for those wanting to become immersed in it, this would be pretty fun and a TRULY different but engaging mode opposite Dynasty.

I doubt anything like this is in, and it may be something I could only see on next gen. But this is maybe the only thing I could see making me want to spend a ton of time in RTG. At this point, I'm strictly an offline Dynasty player.

[DirtyJerz32]

Re: Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Mean

but to be honest if they scrapped this mode and dedicated those resources to other things, I would be more than ok with that.

This! I'd be really interested in seeing how many people play this feature. It works for other games like NHL, but football is such a "team" game that having this is not worth it. Just my opinion...

[Roggie]

Re: Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Mean

I won't quote your post because of the length, but Dorian, that was a genius post. Totally agree and that would make it so much more fun. Even back in 09, when random things happened to you for your daily event instead of Gym, Trainer, Library, Playbook. You'd be riding a bike and avoid a car, have something happen to you, have your grades go up/down depending on whether you went to a party the night before or did a major project. All of that made the game more inviting to play.
Then they took it out and make it horribly bland. I mean, it didn't make Campus Legend (that was the name still in 09) great, but you actually had to make realistic decisions at times, and it drew you in more than the whole Gym, Trainer, Playbook, Library thing EVERY DAY.

[illwill10]

Re: Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Mean

I won't quote your post because of the length, but Dorian, that was a genius post. Totally agree and that would make it so much more fun. Even back in 09, when random things happened to you for your daily event instead of Gym, Trainer, Library, Playbook. You'd be riding a bike and avoid a car, have something happen to you, have your grades go up/down depending on whether you went to a party the night before or did a major project. All of that made the game more inviting to play.
Then they took it out and make it horribly bland. I mean, it didn't make Campus Legend (that was the name still in 09) great, but you actually had to make realistic decisions at times, and it drew you in more than the whole Gym, Trainer, Playbook, Library thing EVERY DAY.

Yea I really miss though features, hopefully the RPG effects adds something like them back.
I even miss taking the Test on the PS2. I would usually pick the Math major or something else. I actually studied so I can get a 100 each time. Little things like that add immersion to a mode

[Aggies7]

Good read. Just can't wait for NCAA news on franchise and road to glory.

[HoundsOfHowl]

Re: Road to Glory - A Walk-On Who Made the Team Wants You to Know What It Really Mean

Just a hunch about this, if you go to the NCAA website @ easports.com
the main page says "Pick Your Path to Glory." My hunch is that this RTG will have different paths, maybe like if you ever played WWF No Mercy, every action has a reaction. Thats just my hunch, I really dont play RTG but I always buy 2 copies and give one to my dad for his birthday, and he plays RTG, Im a dynasty fanatic, but if they can revamped RTG and make it like it was on the last-gen systems I might play RTG once, especially if it ties into a coaching carousel with Dynasty mode

[mcmike9]

By putting this out there, ea has created a lot of hype. I hope rtg has gift improvements

[Jakeness23]

I feel like this mode needs story lines and player types. You need to be able to choose if you want to be the 5 star stud recruit wanted by every school in America. Or a 3 star under the radar guy who only gets offers from the teams in his area. Or maybe you want to be the preferred walk-on that works his way onto the team and plays as an upperclassmen with hard work. And most of all they need a way to have schools actually recruit you. That would be the most fun for me, to pick between a smaller school that was showering you with love or the big time program that you have always dreamed of going to. Also add High School All-American games.

This would be SICK. Maybe you should go work for EA... or 2K when they get football back lol