The Ultimate NCAA Wishlist

[huskerfan01]

Oh, how we all miss this beloved game. The thoughts of updated teams, from jerseys to stadiums. The thought of updated rules, from targeting to transfers. Here are my top 10 wants when the series is rebooted.

10 - Updated Uniforms
Plenty of programs have reached new deals with Nike, adidas, UA in the past 6 years that the uniforms at each school are dated in the game. Of course, uniform packs allow for DLC as the uniforms are released in real life.
9 - Add In-Game Sponsorships
Wouldn’t you love to know where your recruit is ranked in the 247Sports Composite? Or how about where Phil Steele ranked you? Or what about adding Battle equipment to your RTG?
8 - Dynasty Additions
This is by far my favorite game mode, but I just wish there was more historical data recorded. It would be nice to have a tab to view previous seasons. Another addition would to add scheduling matchups for the future. Being able to communicate with ADs and have conversations to lock down future games at an early date.
7 - Introduce Social Media
I would guess most college students in today’s world have multiple social media accounts. Adding a basic form of Twitter and including many big name personalities (such as 2K) would be fun. Seeing Barton Simmons push out a Tweet about your top ranked recruit or a team account posting about their upcoming game would be nice features.
6 - Updated Teams
This one is a given. There are now 130 FBS teams, but only 126 on the current game. TeamBuilder helps, but it is now defunct (I believe).
5 - Cut Scenes
A huge part of 2K’s MyCareer mode, cut scenes would be fantastic in RTG. Being able to talk with college coaches at your high school following a big game. Visiting their campus and watching the game from the stands like a recruit. Announcing your college selection on ESPN’s Signing Day coverage.
4 - New Recruiting
Ditch the point system and go back to X amount of hours per week. Furthermore, have the ability to hire a recruiting coordinator. The RC gives a bonus amount of hours based off their level. Higher ranked RC’s will only take jobs at the elite schools whereas bottom feeders will have D/F ranked RC’s who give little or no bonus hours. While your recruit is on campus, be able to talk to them in person. Add the ability to make promises, and have them carry weight. Promise that you will start them Week 1, but you don’t follow through? They sit out and declare to transfer. This would make dynasty that more realistic.
3 - Updated Playbooks
RPO’s, Trick Plays, etc. would make the game much more realistic. The spread option is very nice as it is currently, but teams and their playbooks have evolved since 2013.
2 - Include Targeting Penalty
Less of clipping. More of targeting.
1 - Transfer Portal in Dynasty
The biggest thing in college football right now: the transfer portal. Being able to pick off guys from other schools would be huge and a major addition to dynasty.

I didn’t include the basics which, to me, are updated graphics, updated engine, playoff system, etc.

Let me know what’s on your wish list. It’s fun to dream.

[The Gunslinger]

1. Ability to hire/fire OC/DC



2. Expanded TV network coverage

- There needs to be a clearer distinction between Nationally televised games, Regionally televised games, and non-televised games since this can affect recruiting. For example, breaking it up into 3 tiers. For example:

- National: ESPN presentation with Fowler and Herbstreit and maybe a sideline reporter too. Have unique presentation for the GOTW. Maybe add CBS as well with Nessler/Danielson.

- Regional: A second announcing team with SECN/ACCN/BTN/PAC12N/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPN+/etc. presentation depending on the conference(s) of the two teams involved.

- Non-televised: Maybe just a radio announcer with a scoreboard overlay. Similar to how there were no announcers for non-televised games in the PS2 era.



3. Incorporating College Gameday in to GOTW



4. Bring back old features like medical redshirts, spring games (NCAA 07'), academic suspensions (NCAA 05'), all-star games (NCAA 98'), FCS teams and having their season play alongside yours (NCAA 2000/2001), customize any school's schedule (NCAA 2000/2001), dynamic attendance/crowd noise (PS2 NCAA), CPU benching QB for poor play (PS2 NCAA), rivalry trophies (NCAA 13), unique pregame intros (NCAA 12), national/regional news headlines, etc



6. Show highlights from other games in progress



7. More neutral site options



8. Have former players who don't enter the NFL become coaches (similar to retired players in the PS2 Madden era)



9. Create-A-Stadium



10. Deeper recruiting

- I want something like College Hoops 2k8 where you could start recruiting kids as far back as freshmen in high school and follow their progress to graduation.

- All Star games for high school and JUCO

- Kids transferring to JUCO and later returning to FBS

- "gray shirts", allowing freshmen to play X amt of games without burning their redshirt, more feedback from players during the season about their morale.

- Having the types of guys you target affect your coaching prestige. (e.g. bringing in transfers who have been kicked off another team)

11. Expanded custom stadium sounds - like MLB the Show’s SOTS

[canes21]

Deeper recruiting

- the option for it to not be all knowing. I want to be in the dark and not know if I am first or second on their list.
- other recruits are easier to recruit and give you a verbal and shut their recruitment down
- decommits
- JUCO being tracked so kids that go there pop back up to be recruited again
- all-star games to get more evaluation time for some players

Deeper staffs

- all on-field coaching spots, offensive/defensive coordinators, all can be hired or fired, promoted, etc.
- S&C staff that can be hired and fired
- a budget set for the additional staff, think GA's, quality control coaches, etc. the guys that are not on the field, but can still make a difference. Bigger schools will have more money so they can allocate more here. Think Bama and their 100 coaches off of the field that help with scouting, recruiting, etc. No hiring firing here to keep it simple, the more money you put here, the more effective it is.
- all coaches that can be hired or fired have their own strengths and weaknesses, their own tendencies, their own varying abilities to adapt or to remain stubborn. The best coaches cost tons of money and move up the ladder quick.

Facilities that matter

- better training table = better S&C program
- better medical facilities = better injury management, keep players more fresh, etc.
- they obviously impact recruiting too

Less omniscience surrounding ratings, better scouting and evaluating for recruits and players in college

- Pretty much exactly how Out of the Park Baseball does this
- A sliding scale determining how accurate scouting is. A full bar = all ratings are 100% accurate for all coaches. An empty bar = pretty much nobody can evaluate to save their lives, they'll probably recruit primarily based off of recruit rankings only.
- This will combine with the coach ratings that determine how good they scout. If you leave the bar in the middle, the scouting will be somewhat accurate, the coaches that are really good evaluators are more accurate in their evaluations than those that aren't. It's rather straightforward. A full bar with 100% accuracy negates any scouting strengths or weaknesses because you and all staffs know exactly how good or bad every player and recruit is.

Less static development

- No more of every player at every program progressing in the same model like we have in NCAA 14 where everyone pretty much improves 3-8 pts an off-season.
- Players that need to be developed and don't really contribute until year 3 or 4 in the program.
- Players that are like a sponge and absorb all of the coaching and can play as a freshman.
- Players that are just busts. It's year 4 in the program, they still haven't shown the signs of it finally clicking, they eventually graduate and just never developed.
- No known potential ratings. Let it be a mystery like real life. Player X may have the tools that make you think he can be a great player, but he may just never progress. It keeps every dynasty dynamic. Player Y may look like a lost cause, but then he just develops as a junior and becomes a key piece to your defense.
- Your S&C staff, facilities, and position coaches all have impacts here. Better staffs develop players at better rates. Worse staffs may not develop all of their players. It's straightforward here as well. It is not a given that a great staff can develop anyone. Even the big dogs have busts on their teams.

Bring us the grind so the season can be appreciated

- Of course this will be optional like everything
- Let us go through the spring session. All of the training drills, the spring game, etc. Let us participate to get a feel for our players, to go through drills and develop certain players if we want like the old PS2 Madden games in training camp. Let us see position battles happen on the field in front of us.
- The summer drills. If we want to pick a player and go through the conditioning drills with them, let us. I would love to feel like I am there seeing my team putting in the hard work through spring, summer, and fall camp. Going through all of these drills would make finally getting into the actual season more rewarding. It is very bland now just jumping right back into the season with no work really being put in in the off-season.
- Fall camp, doesn't need to be explained.
- You could have your scouting set to be somewhat accurate and have two QB's that are fairly close in their scouting report. You could go through Spring Ball and Fall Camp and play with them through the scrimmages and finally make a choice based off of their performances. It would be more exciting than the boring method now of seeing who has the higher OVR and that is it.

Gameplanning

- Remember the NFL 2k VIP system? Bring us a very enhanced version of that.
- Your extra staff budget we talked about before, that impacts how indepth your scouting for your next opponent will be.
- The CPU teams also scout you based off of what your VIP profile says you do. That is dynamically updated as it tracks everything you do. They will see how you are playing the current season and create a gameplan to counter you.
- All coaches, USER or CPU have a profile like the VIP system that allows them to play more organically. Their ratings and abilities also determine how well they adjust(or remain stubborn) and how well they know how to out-scheme you or other coaches.
- You can create a gameplan and then go practice it. Think of how Madden has practice now. Take that and go more in-depth with it and allow us to go through maybe a few session to represent working on it through the week. You can have the option to never practice and it not negatively impact your team. If you have the settings on to practice, practicing the gameplan makes your players better in whatever your plan is. It also gets the user more used to running the plays, using the tools, etc.
- A higher staff budget that gives you a better report makes your scout team represent the other team in a more accurate manner. Less surprises on gameday.

Enhanced presentation on and off of the field

- Rather straightforward here, but...
- Different broadcast packages. The big time game between two ranked teams at night gets a different presentation package than the game that kicked off at noon between two lesser teams. Conference games for each conference get their own packages. SEC games are different than ACC games. Bowl games have different packages. The playoff games get the ultimate packages.
- Streamlined news in the dynasty that shows you what is happening around the country without you needing to go through different menus to see a story(Madden).
- Social media represented that tracks recruiting, the games, and off-field stories.
- Off-field stories. Is player X gonna transfer? Who will win the QB battle at Syracuse? Is coach Y gonna be fired before the end of the year? Stories that we see every year in CFB. Bring them to the game and let them dynamically play out and be updated for us to see easily. It's what we thought we'd get with the scenario engine in Madden, but even better.
- Better stat banner logic, better replay logic, better commentary logic, the more known ways to improve presentation. More excitement like the new NHL commentator.
- Halftime show, weekly recap show, highlights from games around the country, game breaks like we have now, but done much better with highlights

No more universal depth charts, better roster management

- No more RE, LE, ROLB, LOLB, etc. Let the scheme a team runs dictate the depth chart. A team like Miami does use the RE/LE format, but they still do SAM/WILL backers. Teams like Florida do boundary corners, Miami does not. Let schemes dictate these positions.
- Enhance what Madden did with the depth chart positions. The slot, nickel, 3rd down back, power back. This ties into the last bullet point. Let all depth chart positions be accurate to the scheme.
- No more recruiting a LT or a RG. You are recruiting an OL. Your coaches determine if a guy is a guard or tackle or center. The better coaches know where a guy should be more often than not. A poor OL coach may be putting a guy with slow feet at tackle. A great OL coach finds the best OL combination and rolls with it. A bad OL coach may just make you shake your head at what they trot out and they may even be rotating the OL guys all year making the group a liability each game.
- Coaches abilities to scout and evaluate and develop all determine how they fill out their depth charts. Great staffs put the players in the right spots. Worse staffs may play guys out of position. We see it every year in real life.
- Let depth charts be dynamic. They never change in NCAA 14. If a player is not playing well or a guy is really shining when he gets his opportunities then let the depth charts reflect that and change. Some coaches will remain stubborn and not change much, others may play the hot hand, others may change it too much and it becomes chaotic. If a QB at Texas has 20 interceptions by week 10, maybe he is finally benched and the freshman starts. This would tie into the news we see in the dynasty hub.

Give me all of this and I will never play another game. This would make dynasty so dynamic and lifelike that even playing as the only user in it would be fun and exciting and never get old.

[sherrane]

huskerfan01 touched on this, but "real" concussions. You can tell how old the game is since a concussion only knocks a player out of a game. The concussion issue is why targeting was introduced.


I am apparently alone on this one, but have the option to remove the TV broadcast. The play by play is tiring for me at this point, so I have the commentator volume at zero. Show meaningful "instant replays" if you are going to force them on me. When showing a replay of my QB being sacked, the replay starts after the defender has beaten by blocker. I want to see HOW he was beaten because I already know he was. The replay does nothing.



The Gunslinger nailed it with "Ability to hire/fire OC/DC" and canes21 nailed it with "Deeper staffs". Both would be outstanding in dynasty mode. I'm an OC for Illinois and get hired as the HC for Bowling Green. Let me take the QB Coach with me and promote him to OC.



The redshirt rule implemented last season.


There was a PS2 version (96?) where you decided if the season ended with the bowls or a 16-team playoff. Add the ability to expand the playoffs in a dynasty to 8 and then possibly 16 teams. I suspect we'll have an 8 team playoff in 2026 after the current deal expires.

[KSUowls]

Man I popped in NCAA 2001 like a year ago, and it was so nostalgic just hearing the PA Announcer say "Division 1 AA South, turnover on downs". It was almost therapeutic lol. I like having a broadcast booth, but it would be nice to go to something like that for non national games (or just the option to go to that when the broadcast gets repetitive).

My 5:

1 - Dynasty Coaching overhaul. Coaching matters, a lot, in football. This is especially true when it comes to recruiting, having some unique style of offense, or just creating super disciplined teams. It always irked me that it took so long to actually get coaches in the game, and then then series ended before that feature could really be expanded upon. The system needs some personality.
- Attributes for coaches (Recruiting, discipline, Offense X&O, Defense X&O, Special Teams X&O, motivation, positional expertise, etc). This would make coaches actually matter. Also maybe some kind of personality score (are you Nick Saban or Steve Spurrier).
- When you get to be the HC you should be able to hire/fire your coordinators, not have the PC do it for you. On top of that you should only be able to hire coordinators who fit your scheme (if you run the triple option then I don't think you'd want to join Mike Leach's staff).
- I wouldn't say no to a Special teams coordinator and positional coaches too (let each coordinator also be a positional coach).
- Overall this is the most important feature change as it can affect numerous other aspects of the game.
2 - Recruiting Overhaul - I haven't really liked any recruiting system from any of the NCAA games. The most recent one was probably the least awful of them with gems and busts. The point system was just too easily exploited though. There shouldn't be 5 stars who go unrecruited that you can just throw 5% of your points to and come out on top. The phone call system where you tried to find out what was important to the players was the most innovative, but it was also incredibly monotonous. I'm not exactly sure how it should look, but I want something that is less repetitive than the phone call system and less exploitable than the generic point system (maybe that just means fixing it so that AI doesn't just automatically throw 100% of the possible points on a player.

3 - Recruiting Overhaul (Advanced) - Canes and Gunslinger had some good ideas bringing a lot of the old College Hoops 2k stuff into the recruiting game. To add onto that I'd take advantage of the coaching overhaul in #1. Send out your various coaches to develop a relationship with the kids (even early on in their HS career). This really enforces that you'll want to have the right staff for the type of team you want to build.
> I'd add an additional layer to this, risk. If your OC/QB coach has developed a great relationship with some 5* QB and then he takes the HC job somewhere else...well that 5* qb might decide to join him. Not every recruit follows his main recruiter when that guy goes somewhere else, but it would be an interesting feature (you could also exploit this when your working your way up to a HC as a coordinator at another school).
> Let the relationships stay in-game for the course of the kid's college career. If you finished runner up for some QB and then he decides he isn't getting enough playing time and enters the transfer portal...well you already have a relationship there which gives an advantage.

4 - Dynamic progression. Similar to what Canes mentioned, but progression should be more dynamic. Once again we can take advantage of the coaching overhaul. If you're a defensive minded with an emphasis on the secondary then you should see your CB's and Safetys improve a lot year to year, but you'll be relying on your support staff to help build up that QB. Each coach could also have a different "training" attribute (CH 2k8) which is a multiplier to that.

5 - Bring back the momentum meter. One of the reasons I still love NCAA 2001 is the momentum meter. How you can put together a strong drive, get down to the 10 yard line, throw an interception and suddenly momentum is on the other team's side. It's a bit gimmicky, but I always enjoyed it.


A few other things, like those mentioned by others, would be nice additions. If I could get NCAA 14 with some improved gameplay and just #1-4 on my list. Man that would be just about the perfect CFB game for me.