NCAA Football 11 News Post

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

02:30 PM - July 27, 2010 by RaychelSnr

As many of you may know already -- and if you don't it's okay because I'm about to enlighten you -- NCAA's dynasty mode is horribly broken this year.

Since EA Tiburon made the decision to rate recruits lower coming into school (but yet I guess forget to work on the progression of the game), most teams end up with middle of the road talent after years 4 or 5. It's like all of the football talent in America dries up after this year and all you are left with are a bunch of players rated in the 70s. I did a sim to see how bad it was and my Oklahoma Sooners went from a team with A ratings to a team with C+ ratings, yet they still won the Big XII in Year 7 with that kind of talent. Mostly because Texas had slipped to a team with C-s across the board. Baylor actually was rated as D+ (roughly where such powerhouses as UL Monroe and Western Kentucky lie today).

To me -- this just shows how horribly stale Dynasty mode is in NCAA.

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# 61 RaychelSnr @ 07/27/10 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krioniq


	Not to be argumentative here (...but I am...), but what exactly gameplay-wise needs to be rebooted in Dynasty mode? The way I see it, the mode has at least linearly improved year-over-year, and online dynasty in particular is the main reason I even buy NCAA Football at all. On top of that, there's only so many ways that one can emulate building a college football program in video game form. While I acknowledge the merits of the historic program scenario proposal in your article, I'd posit that most people buying NCAA Football would rather play with their current-year teams. That the act of recruiting is actually a significant gameplay challenge this year ought to be a welcome enough change gameplay-wise to warrant some praise, IMO. Finally, while I do agree that there needs to be more emphasis on the head coach of each team in Dynasty mode, my ultimate point now is that what exists now is, IMO, more than fine, and there's no reason to just throw everything out and start over.

It's good you are satisfied with basically the same mode every year. But here's the crux of the problem:

NCAA 99: season - offseason/recruiting - pre season - next season

NCAA 11: pre-season - offseason/recruiting - pre season - next season

The basic formula hasn't changed in 13 years. You then have the problem that recruiting is the exact same thing for each player. And the difficulty increase is an aberration. It was basically, "recruiting seems to be too easy, what can we do to make it harder? Oh I know, let's take control AWAY from the players and let it be more of a game of luck."

Because we all know college coaches use a ouija board before entering a recruits house to decide what to pitch. I'm all for taking control out of the players hands if it's realistic and implemented right...but recruiting this year was the laziest possible option to make it harder. So yes, recruiting needs work.

Overall, the mode needs to be less predictable from year to year. It's very linear and each season is just like the previous. If gamers are willing to accept a mode which sucks today then I guess I'll just have to deal with it (or create my own game), but the dynasty in ch 2k8 was light years ahead of NCAA 11. I'm not accepting mediocrity.

# 62 minister @ 07/27/10 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChrisS


	It's good you are satisfied with basically the same mode every year. But here's the crux of the problem: NCAA 99: season - offseason/recruiting - pre season - next season NCAA 11: pre-season - offseason/recruiting - pre season - next season The basic formula hasn't changed in 13 years. You then have the problem that recruiting is the exact same thing for each player. And the difficulty increase is an aberration. It was basically, "recruiting seems to be too easy, what can we do to make it harder? Oh I know, let's take control AWAY from the players and let it be more of a game of luck." Because we all know college coaches use a ouija board before entering a recruits house to decide what to pitch. I'm all for taking control out of the players hands if it's realistic and implemented right...but recruiting this year was the laziest possible option to make it harder. So yes, recruiting needs work. Overall, the mode needs to be less predictable from year to year. It's very linear and each season is just like the previous. If gamers are willing to accept a mode which sucks today then I guess I'll just have to deal with it (or create my own game), but the dynasty in ch 2k8 was light years ahead of NCAA 11. I'm not accepting mediocrity.

I have to agree with you, it is getting old. The same thing every year.

Problem is, like you said NCAA has had the same system for 13 years and it is still screwed up and needs patched every year. How long would it take them (EA) to get a new system right. 10, 20, 30 years. Can we really wait that long for them to get a new system right?

I'm 38 years old next month and I don't have another 20 years left for them to get it right. I will be to old to care by then.

# 63 sniperhare @ 07/27/10 09:18 PM

Hopefully the work on a new engine for the new consoles. We've had these same consoles for around 5 years now, I've replaced my computer and had 3 phones in that time.

# 64 mgoblue678 @ 07/27/10 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenReign86


	There are both sides of an arguement. And I'm going to present two reasons which state that dynasty is not as broken as some may think it to be. Parody: I for one, and I don't think I'm alone on this, love parody, the more the better. As a Syracuse fan and alum, it kind of makes me sit back and smile that teams like, Bama, and OSU, get what they deserve, and start to suck after a while.This may give the "St. Merry's School for the Blind"* schools a chance. Eastern Michigan for the championship? Doesn't aply to all: I recently recruited a 4* WR, even though he only has 85 speed, he was rated a 76 OVR which is the equivalent of a gem for a 4* player, and has a great CIT rating, which makes him perfect for the slot. He was in my 2nd recruiting class. So far in year 3 week 4 of my dynasty, he has had Wes Welker type slot production, with 26 REC for 392 yards. *My coach always referred to cupcakes as "St. Merry's School for the Blind"

That is not the case at all. The quality of recruits a team like Eastern Michigan brings in this game is absolutely terrible(even more so than real life). No chance that would allow them to win a national championship in the game. The teams around them may get worse but they get worse as well.

# 65 ABR173rd @ 07/27/10 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarHeelPhenom


	1) What grown man with any type of personal life has the time to play 8-25 years in dynasty mode? 2) This problem needs to be fixed hands down. 3) EA would do themselves a great service and take a very close look at hiow 2k implimented dynasty mode into their game...from recruiting to recruit ratings. 4) I guess until this is patched the only thing a hardcore gamer can do do is to create a max number of create-a-recruits

In Response.
1)Soldiers (When their in the rear).
2)Roger that.
3)Yep
4)It's a band aid a couple people mention, however if grown men don't have time to play 25 seasons,they definitely don't have the time to create 15-20 new recruits at the end of every season

# 66 delspf @ 07/27/10 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sniperhare


	Hopefully the work on a new engine for the new consoles. We've had these same consoles for around 5 years now, I've replaced my computer and had 3 phones in that time.

then expect games to get stripped as most do with a new console

# 67 silkysmooth @ 07/27/10 09:44 PM

It's simple. This ruins dynasty. Dynasty is for me and possibly many others, the reason they drop $60 on the game. The gameplay is fantastic for the most part. But progression in dynasty is broken and ruins that part of the game. You wouldn't buy a Call of Duty game with terrible multiplayer would you?

# 68 delspf @ 07/27/10 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silkysmooth


	It's simple. This ruins dynasty. Dynasty is for me and possibly many others, the reason they drop $60 on the game. The gameplay is fantastic for the most part. But progression in dynasty is broken and ruins that part of the game. You wouldn't buy a Call of Duty game with terrible multiplayer would you?

the no coaching changes, no dirty unis put me off on the game big time but after reading this...yea i was going to trade this for RDR...guess not

# 69 delspf @ 07/27/10 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youALREADYknow


	Been asking for a Coaching Carousel for years now to no avail. Dynasty Mode is quite bland and boring without it. I agree that the mode needs a drastic overhaul. Hopefully part of that overhaul is a true Coach Mode or AD Mode.

same can be said about Maddens franchise mode..its EA....they slacked off on franchise aspects of the game for a while now to cater to the online A.D.D. kids

quantity over quality anymore

# 70 BIG17EASY @ 07/27/10 10:46 PM

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.

# 71 youALREADYknow @ 07/27/10 11:18 PM

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.

# 72 dragon4ever @ 07/27/10 11:26 PM

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.

# 73 J-Unit40 @ 07/27/10 11:27 PM

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.

# 74 Purplepower_NC @ 07/27/10 11:35 PM

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.

# 75 kenlovin @ 07/27/10 11:47 PM

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

# 76 Vechi8 @ 07/28/10 01:12 AM

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

# 77 dabigman9748 @ 07/28/10 02:11 AM

Woah! I'm shocked! The same game that was supposed to be the "savior of the NCAA Football series" has major problems! Give it up guys, it's like this every year! First we hear about what a great game it is and how it's the best football game ever! Then a couple of weeks later, we find out that it has major problems. Every year Chris calls the new NCAA football the best ever, only to call the previous year's iteration complete trash. EVERY YEAR!

EA hasn't made a decent NCAA without a major problem since 2006 on last gen. They just don't get it. I haven't bought since '09 because it's pretty much the same game with a few minor enhancements. I lol at all the times EA talks about how they have totally revamped something when really all the did was add a little polish to it.

In the words of the great Luther Vandross: "It all ends up the same. It's never gonna change."

# 78 youALREADYknow @ 07/28/10 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by srudoff


	sorry but you can't compare a graphics driven ps3/360 game with a text only baseball sim that only works on pc/mac. ootp would have to be dumbed down big time to 1. include next gen graphics and 2. run on a console. all you have to do is look at mlb the show for an example - looks beautiful - amazing game play - stupid FA logic - stupid trade logic.

The generation of prospect ratings, player progression, and other object oriented data-driven programming has virtually nothing to do with the 3-D engine and/or console based gaming.

I agree with everything else you said from the business perspective, but the fact remains that EA has someone on the payroll who is responsible for this task every year. If a game with one man in charge of such programming can produce a quality product on an annual basis, then I see no reason why EA cannot produce the same quality even with one man tasked with these areas of the game.

Profit is king though as you said. The sad thing is that nobody else can generate it and therefore EA holds the key to the profit castle in the football world. I'm actually satisfied with the work that has gone into this year's game considering the lack of competition, but there are some areas where either a lack of expertise/skill or a lack of QA efforts are apparent.

# 79 youALREADYknow @ 07/28/10 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabigman9748


	Woah! I'm shocked! The same game that was supposed to be the "savior of the NCAA Football series" has major problems! Give it up guys, it's like this every year! First we hear about what a great game it is and how it's the best football game ever! Then a couple of weeks later, we find out that it has major problems.

Unlike in past years where this game has been practically a disaster IMO, this year's game is better by leaps and bounds. I think it's fair to say that this will be the best NCAA game ever if the majority of the known bugs and flaws are patched out.

# 80 Bellsprout @ 07/28/10 02:37 AM

"NCAA's dynasty mode is horribly broken this year."
"this just shows how horribly stale Dynasty mode is in NCAA."

Are there editors here? Does anybody read articles before they go up? Someone should have caught how dumb that looks. Especially given how close they are to each other in the article.

Anyways, continue with the topic...

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