NCAA Football TeamBuilder Wishlist

Feature Article

Submitted on: 08/11/2010 by Mike Snider

In my opinion, TeamBuilder is the finest feature in NCAA Football 11. However, there is a lot of untapped potential that could make it the best feature in any sports game on the market. So I just want to highlight five personal additions that I believe would improve the mode.

Uploadable Fonts

A reason I like TeamBuilder is because you have so many fancy customization options at your disposal to create a unique team. However, there is just one thing that ruins the uniqueness of the team. Each team has three fonts for their numbers, word marks and end zones. Those fonts are College, Italic and Standard.

In today's college football world, almost every team has a unique font that shows off its respective school. It would be great if you could upload a font from a free fonts Web site that would match the style of the team you are creating. Imagine if you could stick Comic Sans on a superhero-styled team, or use a particular font for older football teams to create completely era-realistic jerseys. I would give bonus points to the developers if they could put the font as the player name on the back as well.

More Image Slots/Equipment Logos

I want to demonstrate a problem that I have found myself running into in the past. Say you have an animal logo that faces a direction, and your helmet logo has that logo with some text. You simply cannot flip the logo on the helmet because that would cause the text to be unreadable. So either you have to use both slots on your team for your helmets, or you have to abandon your helmet idea and just go with the plain logo.

I would much rather have enough slots so that I could have that helmet, along with end zones (some teams do not have just text in there), and perhaps even conference and equipment logos. It would be terrific if EA simply put in the equipment logos so that we could just pick which logo to put on there and have it available, but more slots would help in this regard.

Rivalries

When you decide to insert a TeamBuilder team into your dynasty, your team absorbs the rivalries of the team you replaced. While that is fine and all, I would much rather be able to determine my own rivalries. If I create Radford University, I want to make sure my rivals are the Hokies from Virginia Tech and so on.

Stadium Builder/More Generic Stadiums

Most people, when they create teams, will not worry too much about stadiums. They will probably pick one and be done with it. However, if you pick poorly, you will probably notice that your predecessor's legacy still lives on in a way. Maybe on the scoreboard, you notice Oklahoma instead of Idaho A&M, for example. This can ruin immersion.

It would be much better if there was a way to create your own unique stadium for your team to play in. If a stadium builder is not in the cards, at least model new generic stadiums so that there is more of a visual variety.

TeamBuilder Teams as FCS

This is a major one to me. Instead of playing FCS East, it would be more realistic to play Appalachian State. For one, Appalachian State is probably much better than FCS East. We could do this in the last generation NCAA games, but of course, we had the FCS teams on the disk. My hope in the future is that every team that plays an FCS team can have that team swapped out for a real FCS team that is better than the generic teams in the game.

In-Dynasty Edits of Jerseys

Isn't it annoying getting 20 years into a dynasty only to notice that all the teams are still wearing the same jerseys they were rocking in 2010 -- not to mention playing in the same stadiums as well? I think it would be pretty darn awesome to be able to edit these things so that we could upgrade and change visual identities. Plus, if you look at a team like Oregon, that squad will be outdated at the beginning of next year. I do not think this should be limited to TeamBuilder teams, either. It should be available for all teams, and it should be a stripped down TeamBuilder site that facilitates this.

Do you have any suggestions I did not come up with? Share them in the comments below.

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Member Comments

# 1 Stobie @ 08/11/10 03:32 PM

The major issue I find as you mentioned the lack of image options. Rotation, sizing, location could all be adjusted.

# 2 DeskCoder @ 08/11/10 03:37 PM

Rivalries!! Yes.

And either let me choose my pipeline states, or my player's hometowns.

Also would be nice if we could add this team to a conference, not swap a team out (I know this would be a lot of work, but I can wish ...).

# 3 SoulAssassin @ 08/11/10 04:05 PM

More image slots for logos is a must, even at least one more would be nice.

And we need to be able to select the pipeline states and rivalry's.. this is especially annoying when importing a TB team into a dynasty.

Oh.. and how about a Madden equivalent to TB? Madden's a Create a Team hasn't changed in 5 years.

# 4 The GIGGAS @ 08/11/10 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stobie


	The major issue I find as you mentioned the lack of image options. Rotation, sizing, location could all be adjusted.

True, that's a good point I didn't even think of while writing the article. Good call.

# 5 ajaxab @ 08/11/10 04:28 PM

Good ideas here. I would love to ditch the entire NCAA and create a 119 fictional college football league of my own. The 12 team at a time restriction is limiting. I wouldn't be surprised if this idea does come to fruition down the road, but the way EA is going, we'll undoubtedly be charged for it.

# 6 boomersooner31 @ 08/11/10 04:43 PM

How about more generic logos and options to edit them? The generic team names are awful. Vipers? Centurions? Really come on! Even the ability to edit current NCAA logos to your school colors! Like the UConn "C"...I like it...but not in blue. In red it would look sweet but I bet that has something to do with NCAA copywright issues.

# 7 SC0RCH @ 08/11/10 04:50 PM

I would love to see the use of pride stickers. I know this was an option on create a team in the past, bring it back.

# 8 Stobie @ 08/11/10 05:16 PM

As an expansion to what JerseySuave4 mentioned:

As for cleats we have the option in the uniform selection screen to choose:

Black/Black
White/Black
Team Color/Black

and so on.....

We should have these options in TB area. In addition based off new uniforms and I understand copyrights and so forth but we could have base sets of uniforms that already have sponsor logos suchs as Nike, Under Armour, Adidas etc... already incorporated in our uniform choice so that we don't have to waste a logo spot just for the sponsorship look.

Teambuilder this year is one of the better ones they have and granted they didn't spend a ton of time thinking of expansion of the TB area but I feel they should address this either next year or as an update later this year.

# 9 osubucksfan47 @ 08/11/10 06:03 PM

Just go to this thread and remove the text box, and you have a great list:

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/ncaa-teambuilder-forum/377390-teambuilder-wishlist-11-a.html

# 10 Pogo27 @ 08/11/10 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stobie


	As an expansion to what JerseySuave4 mentioned: As for cleats we have the option in the uniform selection screen to choose: Black/Black White/Black Team Color/Black and so on..... We should have these options in TB area. In addition based off new uniforms and I understand copyrights and so forth but we could have base sets of uniforms that already have sponsor logos suchs as Nike, Under Armour, Adidas etc... already incorporated in our uniform choice so that we don't have to waste a logo spot just for the sponsorship look. Teambuilder this year is one of the better ones they have and granted they didn't spend a ton of time thinking of expansion of the TB area but I feel they should address this either next year or as an update later this year.

If I'm not mistaken, when picking your uniform in the team select screen, you can only choose plain white or plain black cleats.

I think the logo slots work all right. I think though that for the chest and pant logos, instead of being forced to use either the primary or the secondary (keep these options), we should also simply have the option of various equipment sponsors (that are already in the game). Maybe I want to use two logos, but I also want to put a nike swoosh on the right shoulder or on the pants.

I should be able to choose whether I want primary or secondary logo for the midfield and sideline logos. Maybe I want an empty midfield but the primary on the sideline. But I want to keep the primary as primary because that's the symbol I want to primarily symbolize my team in the menus and on the score ticker at the bottom, etc.

White and black should remain default options for cleats and socks, however, I'd like to be able to pick a 3rd color for each (as there are plenty of teams that wear colored socks...and how come there aren't any solid cleats that aren't white/black). Along the same lines, a third pair of pants would be nice.

Also... instead of "Primary," and "Alt," the pants should be (including my wishful thinking 3rd set) "Home," "Away," and "Alt." Some teams wear the same pants home and away, but not all. And while you can set up the alt pants as your "away" pants, it you still have to auto-select it, and while I can do this for both my team and the other team (in the case of playing against a CPU controlled teambuilder team) for offline dynasty or play now, when playing in ONLINE dynasty, I can't control what the other team wears. Home, Away, and Alt pants would fix this.

Pants stripes that line up with jersey stripes. How hard is this? When I create teams, I never use stripes on both the pants and sides of jerseys (that continue down to the waistline) because NONE of them seem to match up. Even if they match-up in teambuilder, they don't seem to match up in game. Also, the stripe/logo relationship when it comes to logos on the side of pants doesn't quite match right. I tried making a pair of pants with a logo on the stripe, but what came out in the game was a pair of pants with a logo about 2/3rds on the on the stripe...it looked silly and amateurish.

Pride stickers. Whether as default options, like they were before...or as an uploadable logo (preferably a 3rd slot).

Helmet numbers -- Fix them. If Teambuilder shows them Bama-style, then the game should show them Bama-style. But Teambuilder should also include some options for putting them in other places, such as on the front or back, like many teams do.

Helmet text. Many teams have text in the white areas on the front center and back center of their helmets. Some may even have images. Arkansas has "HOGS" written in the white part just over the facemask. Doesn't Texas have their longhorn logo their? These options should be in teambuilder.

Leg-text. Oregon has it, and while I'm pretty sure they're not the only ones, I can't think of any others off hand.

Better helmet graphics. If no where else, uploaded graphics should be movable and stretchable on the helmet. I know many people would like to create the more unique looking helmets like the Philadelphia Eagles. This is hard (impossible?) to do without being able to move or adjust the size of the logo.

Yellow home jerseys. I know that you can accomplish this with some trickery, but the fact of the matter is that it requires trickery. Southern Miss has a good yellow color that's used as a home jersey. But Central Florida's gold jerseys look practically white and they get away with those as a "colored" jersey, forcing the other team to wear a dark color (meanwhile, in the NFL, when the Patriots wear silver at home, the visiting team has to wear their colored jersey--though in real life, UCF wears gold with opponents in white...so maybe the biggest problem is how light UCF's jerseys come up in the game).

[On a related note, do LSU and Georgia Tech default in their white tops at home?]

[On another related note, the NCAA has changed the rules and now allow the home AND away teams to both wear color jerseys as long as the colors are very different. When will NCAA Football be updated to account for this rule change? We saw USC and UCLA both wear colored unis in a game recently, and another EA title, FIFA (soccer has different uniform rules, but still) allows both teams to wear whatever they want...so it's not like it's a question of programming...not that it would be.]

Perhaps the ability to select one teams OFFENSIVE roster template and another teams DEFENSIVE roster template. Maybe I want to roll with Georgia Tech's triple option offense (and as such, their offensive personnel), but I don't like their 3-4 defense (or the personnel they have which are more suited to play 3-4).

Just to add to others suggestions:

Pipelines, definitely need to be chosen.

Stadiums, customizeable...and upgradeable. If I want to build up a program, it's most realistic for me to start with a 1-star school with a small stadium. What's unrealistic is getting invited to a big time conference, hitting 5 or 6 star prestige, and then playing at that level for 40 years... and still be playing in front of a small home crowd of 25,000 or whatever size you started with. Regardless of whether or not it is applied to regular teams, with Team Builder teams, I should be playing in an entirely custom stadium, and at points throughout my long dynasty, I should be given opportunities to expand the stadium. The change would not only effect max attendance, but also athletic facilities rating, as well as be a visual upgrade. I'd like to pick where the visitor section is...the student section, etc. etc. etc.

Rivals. I definitely need to choose these. Maybe I want to replace EMU in my dynasty because they're the worst team...but I don't want whoever is EMU's primary rival. I should be able to select a certain number of rivals, and perhaps select which is the primary rival (for the coach's goal that sometimes pops up to beat certain rival). And it'd be nice to name the rivalry game also, much like numerous rivalries in the game, with and without trophies.

Additionally, I'd like rivals to be less static. For a real example, Boise State-Idaho. It's certainly a rivalry game, but it looks like BSU doesn't want to play Idaho once they go to MWC...so if these teams don't play for the next 30 years, it's not really a rivalry game, is it? Much like Texas A&M was an old SWC rival of Arkansas back in the 80s, but then they quit playing each other through the 90s and 00s. They teams have renewed the rivalry with the "Southwest Classic" in Cowboy Stadium, and now EA lists it as a rivalry (didn't list it as one last year). When it comes to dynasty mode, this should operate much like this over time.

If you play a team regularly and the series remains relatively even, they should be added as a rival. If you stop scheduling a team for an extended period, they should no longer be considered a rival. Perhaps what this really applies to most is conference rivalries. If a team moves to a different conference, they should slowly develop rivalries with teams in that new conference, while their rivalries from the old conference should slowly disappear (unless they continue to play each other).

Any rivalry with a trophy should never cease being a rivalry game.

# 11 huntt26 @ 08/11/10 06:33 PM

Good list.

Don't forget fight songs/custom sounds for teambuilder teams

# 12 ericromain @ 08/11/10 06:54 PM

Really good suggestions everywhere.

-Logos should be size scalable and places on any portion of the uniform (or at least more). I when logos particularly on helmet come up too small.

-Striping should be more customizable : Choose how many stripes and how thick and what location. I hate that we are bounded so much by templates.

-More text/number options - as mentioned more fonts, we should be able to customize location more

-Away uniform - i hate how it forces you to wear bleach white while away, i want to design a light cream jersey or maybe a light yellow. I cannot currently do that.

-Sock options - I want to make some sweet classic striped high socks

# 13 gharp14 @ 08/11/10 07:31 PM

i think the edit uniforms for existing teams would be cool also wish u could take any logo and fill in colors of your choice like having a green texas logo. Also maybe choose what entrance u want like go through a banner, interlock arms, going through inflatable helmet, maybe making a custimizable sign that your team touches. A stadium creator is a must and create your own rivals and get gear sponsors like nike, addidas, under aumor, and russel.

# 14 Bamafan3723 @ 08/11/10 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gharp14


	i think the edit uniforms for existing teams would be cool also wish u could take any logo and fill in colors of your choice like having a green texas logo.

This would be fantastic! For me personally, it would fix the problem this year of Alabama's colors being wrong. I could just change the color of Alabama's uniform in TeamBuilder.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChris


	More Image Slots/Equipment Logos I want to demonstrate a problem that I have found myself running into in the past. Say you have an animal logo that faces a direction, and your helmet logo has that logo with some text. You simply cannot flip the logo on the helmet because that would cause the text to be unreadable. So either you have to use both slots on your team for your helmets, or you have to abandon your helmet idea and just go with the plain logo. I would much rather have enough slots so that I could have that helmet, along with end zones (some teams do not have just text in there), and perhaps even conference and equipment logos. It would be terrific if EA simply put in the equipment logos so that we could just pick which logo to put on there and have it available, but more slots would help in this regard.

These are musts.

Also, give us the option to use Nike/Addidas jerseys as the base template for our uniforms. Right now it's just a generic jersey, whereas the 119 or whatever teams all have more detailed/specific Nike or Addidas jerseys. Here's a picture comparison of what I mean:
Alabama's default jerseys in the game

My created Alabama TB jerseys:

Notice the difference in detail in the two jerseys. Also the number styles is different and number location is lower down on the generic jersey than the Nike and in turn, any logos would be lower as well so it's impossible to create an authentic jersey.

All helmets in TB have the "sparkle design" which sucks because not all teams use "sparkle" helmets. Give us the option to not have "sparkling" helmets.

Other needed additions: Custom fight songs for entrances.

# 15 DHINTON7295 @ 08/12/10 12:56 AM

I thnk it would be cool to be able to make your own mascot, or at least be able to change the colors of other team's mascots.

# 16 Pogo27 @ 08/12/10 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DHINTON7295


	I thnk it would be cool to be able to make your own mascot, or at least be able to change the colors of other team's mascots.

Or at least a handful of some generic looking mascots.

# 17 DubTrey1 @ 08/12/10 01:52 AM

Wow, great post and great ideas on here. Let's hope EA gets these added to an already tremendous game.

# 18 spit_bubble @ 08/12/10 02:04 AM

A small thing I would like to see added:

The ability to designate the punt and kick returners.

# 19 cdh72469 @ 08/12/10 11:31 AM

I would go 1 step further as far as wordmarks, how about allowing us to upload end zone art? I mean set the size, like they do with logos and let us create our school's unique wordmark and upload it to the end zones. Also, how about adding checkerboard, diamond, lines options for end zones? I also agree there should at least be a brand logo added and conference logos too. I mean for my Minnesota State team, I have the primary logo and my secondary logo is a team color Big Ten logo because I wanted to have that at the 25. I know it's probably a lot of coding and more complex than we think but it seems as technology progresses we should get a few more customization options.

Another idea, how about flags and conference logos on the back of helmets?

For all teams, how about practice uniforms, including team specific "no contact" jerseys? Just for dynasty purposes, I created "Practice Auburn Tigers" just to get a few practice screen shots for my dynasty.

# 20 Pogo27 @ 08/12/10 01:52 PM

I believe that conference logos get added to the field automatically.

I don't know for sure...but... I created a team and put them in the MAC and the MAC logo automatically showed up on the field, at the same yardline as my sideline logo, and on the opposite side.

Or maybe I'm mistaken...maybe I didn't pick a sideline logo, and then the MAC logo showed up in that spot... either way, without using it as a logo slot or picking it as a logo, the MAC logo appeared on my field.

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