The NCAA series is missing some VERY important nuances.

[TheBadOwl]

I mean, I get it, some things are just too hard to fix. Like the commentary (which will never be good enough in any sports game), or some of the gameplay mechanics, etc. But there are SO MANY LITTLE THINGS that could be EASILY fixed to make it more authentic.

It's easy to make a laundry list of complaints with this game, or really with any game. But, to me, there are really only two things that stick out: Equipment updates and 85-man rosters.

I'll start with the equipment. Now, from what I've seen, they STILL don't have the Revo Speed 2-bar facemask. Now, the game's not out yet, but if that was something in the game, I think we would have seen it by now. As a student at Ohio State, and a huge fan of the football program, I am perplexed as to why this facemask isn't in the game yet, seeing as about 80% of OSU players wear that, or the "Revo Speed Robot2" mask that EA botched last year.

We need more variations of the Revo Speed mask. Two-bar, at least four or five different robot variations (because there are a lot), a few more three-bar variations, a kicker version, etc. In fact, there should be about 10-20 different Revo Speed facemask options that are inexplicably absent.

The "standard" helmet option should not even be in the game. In fact, from what I can see, Riddell doesn't even have it to order on their website. NOBODY wears that helmet. If you go on the Riddell website, they have multiple variants of the "Speed" helmet, including the "360" helmet (which a lot of guys wear, here's a picture of it and a facemask you'll recognize) that should be in the game as well. As for other helmets, there should be at least two DNA 2-bar options, a DNA 3-bar (like DNA 6 but without the peripheral bars), and probably a few more after that. And the ION4D helmet should have a two-bar robot option.

They also need arm sleeves (like this or the half-gray, half-team colored Nike ones), more cleat variety (primary colors and more options), Nike/Adidas/UA logos on socks, wristbands, bicep bands, etc., Adidas visors (WHY are these not already in the game?), UA/Adidas gloves, secondary colors, and things like undershirt collars and two-tone socks should be in the game. This is NOT difficult to implement. At all.

Also, in the most recent video, a lot of the USC players are wearing those hideous DNA helmets (the bulldog-style ones), and the "standard" helmets. In reality, most players would be wearing Revo Speed helmets. Oregon, on the other hand, had a good mix of Ion 4D, DNA and Revo Speed helmets that they display in real life. But with schools like OSU, most players (and incoming recruits, in dynasty), should be wearing Revo Speed helmets, and at schools like Penn State, they should all be wearing DNA and Ion4D helmets. In dynasty, why not set the recruits equipment AFTER signing day? That way, I won't have to manually go in and change Penn State's players every year to have DNA helmets, or put Revo Speed masks on a LOT of players on other teams, and almost all of my recruits.

Nitpicky, I know, but players just don't wear "standard" helmets. None the incoming recruits in NCAA 12's dynasty mode wear Revo Speed or Ion 4d masks. Or anything besides low socks. And the majority of receivers don't even wear gloves. There should be logic for the recruit equipment. This shouldn't be too hard for the staff at EA to pull off.

To me, 85-man rosters are also absolutely necessary. I know, you'll probably never have all 85 players play. Whatever. But it makes recruiting SO much more realistic. In real life, teams are allowed to have 85 scholarship players, not 70 in the NCAA series. This means that if a team has, say, 17 seniors graduating and one player going to the NFL, they should only be able to sign 18 players that offseason. If it's a big class like 26 seniors, and a few more guys transfer or go to the NFL, you should be able to recruit more than the cap of 25 players. That's how it works in real life.

The way the game works now, anyone who actually plays dynasty the right way will end up with 22-25 recruits per year. For me, it's almost ALWAYS 25. With 70-man rosters, that's about 17 players that actually STAY on the roster. So that's a LOT of wasted time for those 8 recruits who end up getting cut for space.

With an 85-scholarship rule, instead of a 25-per-class rule, the dynasty mode immediately becomes 1000% more authentic. Recruiting gets more meaning, too. This is ABSOLUTELY necessary. The lack of equipment is frustrating and annoying, but 70-man rosters are downright wrong. Both of these can be EASILY fixed.

Now, of course there are other things I want, like more stadium-specific traditions, better commentary, better physics (size doesn't mean anything), etc. but those things are a LOT harder to change. These things can be changed VERY easily.

So, in review, here's a list of the EASY FIXES that would make the game MUCH better.

• More Revo Speed/DNA/Ion4D masks
• UA/Adidas gloves
• Adidas Visors
• More Adidas/Nike/UA cleats
• Manufacturer logos on equipment (wristbands, socks, etc.)
• two-layer socks
• secondary color accessories
• Adidas visors
• TEAM SPECIFIC GEAR IN DYNASTY (recruits)
• 85-man rosters

[redsfan4life]

Look at the player equipment in the Show. It's unbelievable how many options they have. If space is an issue just get rid of the mascot game, or road to glory to be honest. I haven't played that mode in three years because it's absolutely terrible.

[TheBadOwl]

Unfortunately, I have an xbox. So unless EA cleans up its act, I'm stuck with sh*tty sports titles for life.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by redsfan4life

Look at the player equipment in the Show. It's unbelievable how many options they have. If space is an issue just get rid of the mascot game, or road to glory to be honest. I haven't played that mode in three years because it's absolutely terrible.

Mascot game takes up like no space so that doesn't help anything.

If you look at the production value of The Show and then NCAA it's like they're from completely different generations of gaming. The Show when it comes to replicating its sport is light years ahead of anything EA has released thus far.

[TheBadOwl]

Honestly, I love the NCAA series, but they miss a lot of the little things that make other games great.

[steelersfan77]

Some very good points made.

I think it all comes down to competition and the fact that there isn't any. There is absolutely no pressure on the development team when it comes to making this game as authentic as possible. Rinse and repeat.

It'll never change.

Having said that I think the team made some nice improvements this year, albiet long overdue and always a step behind. We should've seen many more improvements in the right direction by now with the current consoles this generation.

Whatever it might be. Gameplay, presentation, sights and sounds, art and design. NCAA football is behind the eight ball.

[cgaff]

This may be a stupid suggestion but what if we got a bunch of people here to email someone at EA this post over and over again so that it would be flooding their emails they would hopefully have to look at it and see what we really want! What really gets me about the equipment is that they will put equipment on the covers of the game and leave it out of the game itself

[TheBadOwl]

I think it would be more effective if we could actually get into contact with some of the people who make the game. For example, the people from Bioware were VERY involved in the fan forums leading up to the release of Mass Effect 3, and took a lot of suggestions (and then botched the ending, but I digress...).

There is no such paradigm with the NCAA series. And there should be. I just made an account today, but I've been a lurker here for a while, and this is easily the most passionate group of NCAA gamers on the internet. If they're going to listen to anyone's opinion, it'd be ours. But yeah, we definitely should try to get into contact with the game's art director or something. Send a list of features that we really want, but not make it too insane.