A Perfect Dynasty for NCAA 13 and Beyond

[sportzbro]

It's been almost a week after the much anticipated release of NCAA 12 and it seems to be (for the most part) a hit with the ever critical OS Community. Since getting my hands on the game I've been able to put a lot of time into the new, updated Dynasty mode. There are a lot of things to like this year with the big additions of Coaching Carousel, true Custom Conferences and BCS Tie-Ins, and those certainly have me busy working my way toward my dream job, moving them to an AQ conference. With all these great additions, however, there are still many features that have been left out, overlooked or need to be added. I'll be breaking those down in this write-up, and I'd like to hear your input.


Custom Conferences: I really like how we now have the ability to not only swap teams, but also add and subtract schools to our liking. I believe they should take this feature over-the-top for next year and the years down the road. Let's start by making it possible to have more than 120 schools in dynasty to account for those new schools joining the D-1A ranks (Texas St. UMass, UTSA, etc...Hopefully TeamBuilder will be significantly upgraded). This will allow users to make realistic WAC and Sun Belt conferences, and even add possible teams like Villanova to the Big East 4 or 5 years into dynasty.

Next would be to give users the ability to completely edit conference logos and to create/remove conferences for those seeking the 4 Super-Conference setup. How great would it be to make an elite Pac-16 by combining with the WAC and uploading your custom logo. Speaking of logos... the conference logos on all the uniforms and helmets need to change to reflect the moves, much like the field logos. It's minor, but seeing a huge WAC logo still on Utah State's jersey when I moved them to the MWC is annoying. Additionally, Dynamic Conference Prestige is a must. There is no sense in adding LSU to C-USA (outside of controlled chaos) if the prestige of C-USA doesn't increase and therefore effect recruiting.

Lastly, with all these changes and the ability to create huge, powerful conferences, why not bring back the option for a playoff at the end of the season? I don't know what type BCS blockades the NCAA team would face getting it in, but it would receive a loud applause if added. We would finally be able to determine our champ on the (cyper) field.


Neutral Site Games: How many times a year do you see two marquee teams match-up in a neutral site early in the year and duke it out? A few huge match-ups took place last year, yet we still can't do that in our little dynasty. Imagine pairing Notre Dame/FSU in the Georgia Dome. The bands, the build up and the special broadcast..and why stop there? How about Ohio St. meeting Texas in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN or recreating Boise/VT in FedEx Field in DC. This would not only be incredbly exciting, but it could directly impact your "National Exposure" rating for the better if you have the cojanes to challenge the big boys or accept other schools invites to play.

To make this a worthy addition, all stadiums must be available to play in, and the endzones should reflect the teams in the game why'll removing any bowl logo or school logos from the field. This should also apply to all conference championship sites. If I pick Lincoln Financial (Army-Navy currently) for the Big East Championship game, we shouldn't see all the Army/Navy logos, endzones, but rather it reflect the teams in the game. Hopefully we can finally get all the NFL stadiums in eventually to give us even more options.


Presentation: To me, there is almost nothing more important to dynasty than presentation. It's truly something that can keep me coming back like NCAA 06 did, or bore me to the point I shut off the game... much like previous installations on next gen. There are several things that were removed from the good ol' PS2 days that have yet to find their way back in. Hopefully they are on the way, but in case you forgot I have gone through and picked out the absolute best aspects of dynasty presentation and what would make this simply amazing.

Many would love to see the return of the magazine with players and coaches pictures along with short little captions at the center of the interface. It seriously made my season once my star QB made the cover or there was a page under stats about how dominant my defense was. I realize you can take a screen shot and it will show up in the interface, but why should I have to go through all the teams and take a pic when the PS2 generate cool little shots on its own? It doesn't have to be flashy, and obviously it would just need to switch from Athlon to ESPN. If there's one thing I want back in presentation wise, its this. Who else is tired of team logos? Get this back in!

Adding more of a personal feel to my team was this 3 second clip of the Heisman Trophy ceremony. It was especially rewarding when it was actually my guy. After dominating for a whole year, this really made it worth playing all the games to win this. If some type of awards show short could be generated for the other awards that'd be icing, but I'm sure the majority would be ecstatic for this little nugget shown below.

There is nothing better than waking up Saturday morning to catch College Gameday for a complete overview of the on-slot of games that afternoon. Bringing back the trio and giving them a graphical update, along with Chris Fowler and Desmond Howard would put Dynasty over the top. It could be as simple as a little pre-game analysis in front of your stadium (if game of the week) with crazy fans holding signs... to an entire preview show (think 2K5) that takes place at the national game of the week location. Must have for future versions of NCAA!

Something that added a lot of immersion to the feel of a dynasty game was the live score ticker at the bottom of the screen. During time-outs, penalties, scores, or big plays this simple element popped up and let me see if my rival was loosing and how the top schools were fairing. This is just on of those small things that add a lot to the feel of the game.

A rather small addition that needs to make a return is the pre-game stats and info. I'm glad the random facts about the schools have been removed, but while waiting give us a screen with a condensed version of team stat leaders & injuries or, in case of a rival/huge game, recent results or a decription of the rivalry. Currently, it is quite boring looking at button tips waiting for the game to load. Again, just a small feature that goes a long way.

Finally, in regards to presentation, are stat overlays. There just doesn't seem to be enough of these after playing numerous games over the last week. In comparison to an ESPN broadcast, its a little weak when you see overlays almost every couple of plays. It would be terrific if they also season stats and comparative stats to both the team you are playing/players and the rest of the NCAA. It kept me wanting give the ball to "my guy" and boost him up through the ranks of the NCAA stat leaders.

Coaching Carousel: Everyone is really excited that this got in. It's fun to see your traditional Pro-Style offense switch it up to a spread or an Air-Raid offense go to option with just one offseason due to coaching changes. The interface is smooth and quick, and the rate at which coaches move around seems to be at a good rate. The only nuances I see are way too many A+ rated coaches when there are really only a handful of guys that can't be fired (Saban, Joe Pa, Stoops). Its pretty great still for its first year in the game, and only see it getting better.

Now being a coach is a little different. I'd like to see more options added for our appearance (its pretty limited currently) and complete control of your coordinators once you are the head coach. Also, being an OC or DC, its seems like we should only be controlling that side of the ball in all aspects of the game - recruiting, red-shirts, etc. Having coaching as the focal point of dynasty, our created gurus need to be in many more cutscenes (in the booth and sidelines, end of game) and on the magazine as previously noted.

Violations: Now the NCAA may nix this idea, but its been such a hot bottom issue of late it seems like a no-brainer addition that should be represented in NCAA 13. It could be simple, effecting scholarships and academic prestige depending on the suspensions or lack of action you decide to take. Honestly, if they just ported over what we had in PS2, this would be a hit. It would make recruiting those great athletes who have a bad "character grade" a real risk.

Commentary: Probably the most talked about aspect of the game, and not in a good way. Kirk and Brad, although solid, have become a little stale over the last decade. The simple remedy here would be to add lines, but why not give us another team or two? They could be used for less significant games while Brad & Kirk are reserved for the "Prime Time Game" on Saturday night. Not sure of the chances on this, although FIFA has something like this, but it would be much appreciated.



In conclusion, and after this long read, we are all a very passionate community of sports and sports video game fans. Dynasty is definitely headed in the right direction, and will provide everyone with a lot of fun this year. These are a few items that should push the mode over the top and make it even better than its last gen counterpart. Here's to the NCAA team listening to us and taking these additions into serious consideration. NCAA 13 and onward should be very exciting. Now let's try and get these in.

Also linked to my profile blog.

[clevelandsfinest]

Great read, very well put together.

For next year, I think the goal should be franchise/dynasty mode. They can do a much better job of presenting things, such as the Heisman award, or game previews.

[Houndy]

Well written, I agree with all of it.

[Watson]

only thing I feel like adding right now-give us the ability to choose whether as an OC or DC if we want to be on the pressbox or the field

[boilermakernet08]

I love you. Seriously! I love you man for pointing out all the things that made dynasty mode so easily to get immersed in. Honestly, I think the era of online gameplay destroyed sports games' dynasty modes. Instead of EA sticking to their bread and butter, EA has decided to put time into developing online play and other gimmicks, which obviously takes time away from developing a dynasty mode that you can really get into.

Like the NHL series, every game in the next gen NCAA football games feel almost exactly the same. Really, its the simple things like the stat overlays, the sports ticker and the Heisman presentation that multiply the enjoyment I got out of dynasty mode. Take those away and essentially it feels like you're playing inside of a bubble where the only exposure you get to other teams is when you actually play a given team. Sure, you can go through the menus between the games and check out the stats but it would be so much more realistic if those stats were presented during the games you are playing.

I know I'm a dying breed, but I strictly play offline dynasty. I used to play online but the amount of cheesers simply makes online play, well, unplayable. I do appreciate some of the things the online era has brought to sports games such as roster updates and tuner sets. However, in my opinion, the advent of online play has caused the developers to (understandably) divert their attention away from the one thing that made their games notorious, which is the offline dynasty.

Anyway, that's just my $0.02.

[sportzbro]

Quote: Originally Posted by boilermakernet08

Like the NHL series, every game in the next gen NCAA football games feel almost exactly the same. Really, its the simple things like the stat overlays, the sports ticker and the Heisman presentation that multiply the enjoyment I got out of dynasty mode. Take those away and essentially it feels like you're playing inside of a bubble where the only exposure you get to other teams is when you actually play a given team. Sure, you can go through the menus between the games and check out the stats but it would be so much more realistic if those stats were presented during the games you are playing.

Totally agree.. I just feel like I'm completely disconnected from other teams and its tough to keep involved. Put these things in, and I'm glued to the game. I'm also strictly offline, and really believe that there is still a huge portion of players like that who would love to see these things.

[tarheelguy4736]

Awesome read and well thought out! You should submit this to the guys at EA yourself and hopefully they will check it out. Love all your ideas. What's even better about your article is that most of it is based off what EA has already done in past years. Im hoping that things they have done in previous years (and previous gens) will make the jump to the next few NCAA's. If I were you, though, I would send this exact article to them.

[AutoMG]

You should email this to EA for the everyday for the next year until they break. Very well written and I agree with all of it.