NCAA's Broken Dynasty Mode -- Another reason we need a revolution

[BIG17EASY]

Quote: Originally Posted by MMChrisS

They are mutually exclusive to a certain point. But the real point I'm making is that this brokenness is the result of developers trying to put a fresh coat of paint on a el camino and calling it exciting again. For those who have played the series for a long time you'll agree: Dynasty mode, at it's core, is the exact same mode it was in 1998. The year is now 2010, I think it's time to rethink the entire process and formula dynasty has gone with for 13 years because yes, it is incredibly stale. You dont have to reinvent the wheel, but at least put some focus back into it (ie be the coach). Right now, what are you in dynasty mode? The coach? If so then it hardly scratches the surface of the college fb coaching world and on that point alone: it's a highly flawed concept.

Every sports game was and is essentially about being the coach, aside from the introduction of the Road to Glory, Road to the Show, etc., modes from the past few years. I played NCAA the first year it came out for the PC, so I understand that dynasty mode is the same since it was first introduced. I didn't buy NCAA the last few years (rented it for a bit) because the gameplay was bad.

It may be time to rethink the dynasty process, but I still don't see how that has anything to do with the ratings. No matter how dynasty mode is built, there will still be new players/recruits introduced in each year of the dynasty and how those players are rated and how they progress will affect the game regardless.

And to call it a flawed concept isn't fair. That's based on how you want the game to play, but there are lots of people who are happy with the current dynasty mode. I, for one, don't want more duties as a head coach. it already takes me 20-plus minutes to do the recruiting each week, plus the hour or so for a game. That's a lot of time to advance just one week.

If you want a game focused strictly on coaching, lobby EA to make an NCAA Head Coach game or to add a Head Coach dynasty mode separate from the current dynasty mode.

[youALREADYknow]

I can't decide what is more disturbing.

A. The fact that dynasty mode (aside from the introduction of Online Dynasty) hasn't changed much in 13 years and has actually regressed since last gen.

B. The fact that EA has had 13 years to nail down prospect generation, progression, and CPU recruiting strategy and yet still has so many release issues regarding these areas every year.

It leads me as an outside observer to believe that the NCAA product team simply does not value their "hardcore" dynasty mode user community. They must not invest much in the way of time and resources into this mode.

The only areas which have seen work done are areas which can be marketed as "new". See Online Dynasty, new recruiting engine, and custom conferences. These are all nice additions, but do little to address the foundation of the dynasty mode. It's likely because the meat and potatoes of a true dynasty mode isn't sexy stuff... it doesn't sell games on it's own.

The true dynasty mode players are looking for AI and simulation on par with games such as OOTP Baseball. Casual gamers and EA apologists will claim that this is an unrealistic expectation and we should be happy with what we have. I vehemently disagree because OOTP has/had ONE DEVELOPER! ONE! ONE PERSON! That's how much it takes to get realistic prospect generation, simulation statistics, and true attention to detail. ONE PERSON.

That's the reason some of us can't just sit back and act like everything is alright. If this was an unprecedented standard that we held EA to, then the complacency would be understandable. As it stands, we're merely asking for a product to actually work as intended. We're asking for product quality. We're asking for something that has been accomplished before by development shops with far fewer resources and tighter budgets.

[dragon4ever]

Quote: Originally Posted by youALREADYknow

I can't decide what is more disturbing. A. The fact that dynasty mode (aside from the introduction of Online Dynasty) hasn't changed much in 13 years and has actually regressed since last gen. B. The fact that EA has had 13 years to nail down prospect generation, progression, and CPU recruiting strategy and yet still has so many release issues regarding these areas every year. It leads me as an outside observer to believe that the NCAA product team simply does not value their "hardcore" dynasty mode user community. They must not invest much in the way of time and resources into this mode. The only areas which have seen work done are areas which can be marketed as "new". See Online Dynasty, new recruiting engine, and custom conferences. These are all nice additions, but do little to address the foundation of the dynasty mode. It's likely because the meat and potatoes of a true dynasty mode isn't sexy stuff... it doesn't sell games on it's own. The true dynasty mode players are looking for AI and simulation on par with games such as OOTP Baseball. Casual gamers and EA apologists will claim that this is an unrealistic expectation and we should be happy with what we have. I vehemently disagree because OOTP has/had ONE DEVELOPER! ONE! ONE PERSON! That's how much it takes to get realistic prospect generation, simulation statistics, and true attention to detail. ONE PERSON. That's the reason some of us can't just sit back and act like everything is alright. If this was an unprecedented standard that we held EA to, then the complacency would be understandable. As it stands, we're merely asking for a product to actually work as intended. We're asking for product quality. We're asking for something that has been accomplished before by development shops with far fewer resources and tighter budgets.

This is what happens when a company has no competition.

[J-Unit40]

Quote: Originally Posted by GreenReign86

Saying that, they do need to patch progression. It seems to me that they forgot to tweak that to match lower rated recruits. Because, even I will admit it is kind of unrealistic to have not one true powerhouse, and like 30-35 teams in the preseason have a real chance at winning the championship. But as a guy who pays more attention to the NFL, I can live with the increased parody, even if that means, unrealistic championship results. This is a bit off topic here but here goes. Spreaking of championships, I think it would be a killer idea for the folks at EA to provide us the option of turning off the lame BCS and instead incorporateing an exact replica of the FCS championship playoff system. And even let us choose how many At Large teams would be selected to compete. Other then a coaching carrassel, that imho might be the next great addition that they could add to dynasty. Along with letting us start year one of said dynasty, recruiting that years freshman class. $.02

That's not going to happen. NCAA will not allow it.

[Purplepower_NC]

Well...I could be done with this before I even get my dynasty up and running. I did go into the coaching recruiting and every CPU team I looked at has all positons listed as Low for areas of need, plus there is no postions listed for K and P. Could this be what is causing this mess. The CPU can't figure out who and what postions to recruit. There is no way of changing these unless they are a human controlled team and you can only create 10-12 coachs.

I did sim only one season....and with the 4 kickers I did see chosen...no one had a ratings of over 46 and kick power in the low 40's. Not good. How anyone can say this does not affect game play is just not looking at the big picture.

[White Out]

Quote: Originally Posted by youALREADYknow

I can't decide what is more disturbing. A. The fact that dynasty mode (aside from the introduction of Online Dynasty) hasn't changed much in 13 years and has actually regressed since last gen. B. The fact that EA has had 13 years to nail down prospect generation, progression, and CPU recruiting strategy and yet still has so many release issues regarding these areas every year.

So true. It's effing ridiculous.

[kenlovin]

Quote: Originally Posted by georgiafan

After playing the game this past week I came into work today thinking this was the best game of all time. After reading all the progression threads Im not sure if life is worth living anymore lol

Man tell me about it, this board can take the f u out of fun. I mean that in a good way lol, but sometimes its good to revel in your own ignorance. I am in year two of my dynasty and I love this game but now Im worried that Im heading for a heartache. Hopefully before I get to these late years it will be patched

[Vechi8]

Quote: Originally Posted by kenlovin

Man tell me about it, this board can take the f u out of fun. I mean that in a good way lol, but sometimes its good to revel in your own ignorance. I am in year two of my dynasty and I love this game but now Im worried that Im heading for a heartache. Hopefully before I get to these late years it will be patched

You have it right, the game is awesome! You could be be with Cameron Diaz for a month but eventually you will see cellulite on her legs