EA College Football, 2024 (PS5/XSX)

[UTK]

The sim system is awful. They could’ve imported one from an older game and it be better than this hot garbage.

Back in the ps2 era and early ps3/360 era it was quite rare to see upsets and they felt more impactful. Now it’s almost an upset if the better team wins

 

[UTK]

Small patch this morning.

View attachment 663004

Hopefully this next major patch after this one fixes some of the major stuff with dynasty.

 

[Smokey123]

Loved the gameplay and graphics, but man it's hollow. Dynasty is garbage. I'll buy if they actually fix these things.

How is dynasty garbage

 

[BallinVol]

How is dynasty garbage

I wouldn't say it's garbage, but it IS hollow. There is no life in between playing games and recruiting. The current state of the sim stat logic, the poll logic and the CFP logic kills immersion. If they can fix all those and build on more immersion factors like stories, etc next year, it will bode well for the longevity of the series dynasty mode.

Right now it just seems too linear going game to game with recruiting sprinkled in. I really hope they shoot for getting real coaches in next year as well.

 

[BisonVol]

Anyone else a little frustrated between the gap in difficulty? I’ve lost one game in varsity to Alabama when at 2:00 am when I was struggling to hold my eyes open. Other than that, I’ve beat good teams on varsity by 50+. On All American, I quit in frustration against Kent State because I was losing by two touchdowns in the first half. Seems like there should an in between difficulty.

Aside from that, though, I have I enjoyed the game. It doesn’t feel like Madden with college teams which is a huge plus. If I have a complaint regarding Tennessee specifically, it’s that they didn’t use the write song when we run through the T, and Dylan Sampson seems a little too good at times. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good player, but he’s like Alvin Kamara at times. Anywho, I like the game. Hope to be able to improve in All American because it does get a little monotonous beating the daylights out of everyone in varsity.

I’ve not delved deep into dynasty mode yet, so I can’t give a good review of that mode. I’ve read that recruiting is more in depth than in the NCAA 14 version which I’m grateful for. Way too easy in 15 to stack number one classes year after year.

 

[Ttucke11]

How is dynasty garbage

He kinda nailed it below. But the sim logic is downright terrible as well as the polls and CFP rankings. No way to look up previous champions or awards. Can't edit recruits. Ended up with a 4 star QB as #67 which irritates me to no end. Saw some issues with scheduling past year 3. Some teams ended up 0-0 at the end of the year. 1 sim I did Ohio State didn't sign a single recruit in a class. It's frankly pretty busted atm. If you just want to play 1 year with the Vols it would probably be a good experience if you ignored all the outside stuff.

I wouldn't say it's garbage, but it IS hollow. There is no life in between playing games and recruiting. The current state of the sim stat logic, the poll logic and the CFP logic kills immersion. If they can fix all those and build on more immersion factors like stories, etc next year, it will bode well for the longevity of the series dynasty mode.

Right now it just seems too linear going game to game with recruiting sprinkled in. I really hope they shoot for getting real coaches in next year as well.

 

[Creeker]

I’ve put a lot of hours into offline dynasty the first two weeks. Arguably too many lol but here’s what I’ve come away with.

Gameplay: for me, playing offline dynasty. All-American with some gameplay slider changes are just perfect. It plays almost exactly how I want it too, difficult games are difficult, games that should be competitive are competitive, etc. I’ve found a cheese play here or there I have to avoid, but outside of that I’m very happy with the spot I’ve found for gameplay.

Recruiting: personally I’d take even deeper recruiting, but I understand they had to make balance for those who do not want to spend a ton of time recruiting. It feels like a decent spot for that. Few things need to be fixed. Higher rated players not getting offers even late in the season, not being able to schedule invites to players who should be eligible for happens far too often.

Custom Conferences: here’s an issue, you basically can’t do it. Custom conferences throw things for a total loop, I’ve played several years of two dynasties and simulated some others and here’s what I found. A ton of issues people are mentioning I’m only seeing or more often seeing when you try to make custom conferences or custom conference rules. When I don’t mess with ANYTHING in the conferences, I hardly ever see the weird sim logic, never have scheduling issues, don’t get super weird poll results with teams with 4 loses being rated above teams with no losses, I’ve only seen an FCS team win one game when I don’t change conferences, and the one win was against UMASS. If you change anything with conference settings, it’s gonna lead to some issues right now, which stinks.

Player progression: this is the biggest issue FOR ME. I want a “realistic” gameplay experience. The player progression right now is broken, there is way too much inflation of player skill. I thought it was the XP sliders, but more testing has made me think it’s actually not those at all. I think it’s tied to development traits. The best I’ve been able to do is change XP sliders around to keep somewhat a balance of bad teams, middle of the road teams and good teams. Regardless of what you do though the number of 80+ overall players from the base roster to year 4 of a dynasty is going to basically double.

Overall, I’m still really enjoying, it’s the only thing I’ve played in two weeks. I’ve had to make less slider changes to be happy with playing the game than I do 2k or madden. Definitely some issues, some can be avoided. Others we can’t fix, it will have to be EA figuring it out.

tldr: gameplay, with sliders is great. Recruiting, not bad, needs fixes. Custom conferences completely bugs out your dynasty, if you wanna avoid several issues don’t mess with it. Player progression is super inflated.

 

[C-south]

Anyone else a little frustrated between the gap in difficulty? I’ve lost one game in varsity to Alabama when at 2:00 am when I was struggling to hold my eyes open. Other than that, I’ve beat good teams on varsity by 50+. On All American, I quit in frustration against Kent State because I was losing by two touchdowns in the first half. Seems like there should an in between difficulty.

Aside from that, though, I have I enjoyed the game. It doesn’t feel like Madden with college teams which is a huge plus. If I have a complaint regarding Tennessee specifically, it’s that they didn’t use the write song when we run through the T, and Dylan Sampson seems a little too good at times. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good player, but he’s like Alvin Kamara at times. Anywho, I like the game. Hope to be able to improve in All American because it does get a little monotonous beating the daylights out of everyone in varsity.

I’ve not delved deep into dynasty mode yet, so I can’t give a good review of that mode. I’ve read that recruiting is more in depth than in the NCAA 14 version which I’m grateful for. Way too easy in 15 to stack number one classes year after year.

Jump online and play some people. The default difficulty setting is All American. To each their own but there’s no way I could spend much time playing the cpu when I could play against an actual person.

 

[BisonVol]

Jump online and play some people. The default difficulty setting is All American. To each their own but there’s no way I could spend much time playing the cpu when I could play against an actual person.

Foolish question incoming as I’ve never played Madden or past versions of NCAA online, but is there any methodology to it as far as being matched up with opponents of similar skill level? I struggle to stick with it if I’m getting the snot beat out of me, but I suppose I could do it if I get better from it.

 

[C-south]

Foolish question incoming as I’ve never played Madden or past versions of NCAA online, but is there any methodology to it as far as being matched up with opponents of similar skill level? I struggle to stick with it if I’m getting the snot beat out of me, but I suppose I could do it if I get better from it.

This version is a little different. You’re stuck using whatever the team specific playbook is for the team you’re using. Before you jump into a game you can select from tier 1-3 or no preference. I assume tier 1 is the lowest level. While the game will keep your overall record it’s broken down into 10 game blocks. If you play well enough in that block you advance to the playoffs. If you don’t advance or lose in the playoffs it just starts another block over. Obviously you will run into a-holes playing online but for the most part my games have been mostly “cheese” free.

 

[BisonVol]

This version is a little different. You’re stuck using whatever the team specific playbook is for the team you’re using. Before you jump into a game you can select from tier 1-3 or no preference. I assume tier 1 is the lowest level. While the game will keep your overall record it’s broken down into 10 game blocks. If you play well enough in that block you advance to the playoffs. If you don’t advance or lose in the playoffs it just starts another block over. Obviously you will run into a-holes playing online but for the most part my games have been mostly “cheese” free.

Cool deal. Thanks. I get too locked up with work and what not I’m Saturdays, but I think I may try that on Sunday.

 

[C-south]

Cool deal. Thanks. I get too locked up with work and what not I’m Saturdays, but I think I may try that on Sunday.

Also quarter length is 3 minutes so it only takes about half an hour to play a game.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

View attachment 663260

Is that like NCAA 14 where it means you found an underrated player? And when that pops up with a red line through it, it means the player is a bust?

Also is there any way to check the players overall ranking once they’ve been fully scouted?

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

The excitement of having the game back has started to wear off some now. Game needs a patch especially for dynasty mode badly. I can’t customize my schedules for some reason, conferences glitch out (some teams play 5 conference games and some play 6, 7, 8, 9) it’s totally illogical. Sim system is a mess. The gameplay is honestly fun , but dynasty has a lot that needs ironed out

Agree.

I mean, if I'm being completely honest, I feel like NCAA 14 dynasty was better.

Little things like not being able to create recruits, or edit recruited players, or being able to change current players numbers etc bothers me. I hate not seeing a fully scouted recruits “overall” ranking.

I hate how you can’t watch games. Sounds nerdy but I can’t tell you how many times there’d be a big game in my dynasty and I’d just have the computer play it out on my TV in the background while I worked on my honey do list or do work on the computer. Like watching a game IRL.

There are other issues but it sounds like EA is fixing some. The other day I was #2 in the country and beat the #1 team (uga). Advanced the week and they stayed at 1 and I dropped to 5.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

I’ve put a lot of hours into offline dynasty the first two weeks. Arguably too many lol but here’s what I’ve come away with.

Gameplay: for me, playing offline dynasty. All-American with some gameplay slider changes are just perfect. It plays almost exactly how I want it too, difficult games are difficult, games that should be competitive are competitive, etc. I’ve found a cheese play here or there I have to avoid, but outside of that I’m very happy with the spot I’ve found for gameplay.

Recruiting: personally I’d take even deeper recruiting, but I understand they had to make balance for those who do not want to spend a ton of time recruiting. It feels like a decent spot for that. Few things need to be fixed. Higher rated players not getting offers even late in the season, not being able to schedule invites to players who should be eligible for happens far too often.

Custom Conferences: here’s an issue, you basically can’t do it. Custom conferences throw things for a total loop, I’ve played several years of two dynasties and simulated some others and here’s what I found. A ton of issues people are mentioning I’m only seeing or more often seeing when you try to make custom conferences or custom conference rules. When I don’t mess with ANYTHING in the conferences, I hardly ever see the weird sim logic, never have scheduling issues, don’t get super weird poll results with teams with 4 loses being rated above teams with no losses, I’ve only seen an FCS team win one game when I don’t change conferences, and the one win was against UMASS. If you change anything with conference settings, it’s gonna lead to some issues right now, which stinks.

Player progression: this is the biggest issue FOR ME. I want a “realistic” gameplay experience. The player progression right now is broken, there is way too much inflation of player skill. I thought it was the XP sliders, but more testing has made me think it’s actually not those at all. I think it’s tied to development traits. The best I’ve been able to do is change XP sliders around to keep somewhat a balance of bad teams, middle of the road teams and good teams. Regardless of what you do though the number of 80+ overall players from the base roster to year 4 of a dynasty is going to basically double.

Overall, I’m still really enjoying, it’s the only thing I’ve played in two weeks. I’ve had to make less slider changes to be happy with playing the game than I do 2k or madden. Definitely some issues, some can be avoided. Others we can’t fix, it will have to be EA figuring it out.

tldr: gameplay, with sliders is great. Recruiting, not bad, needs fixes. Custom conferences completely bugs out your dynasty, if you wanna avoid several issues don’t mess with it. Player progression is super inflated.

I haven't tried the new heisman yet, but All American is pretty easy for me.
I'm hanging 80 on teams just spamming 3 plays. Hb dive, hurry up until they run press man then just call verticals. And Tight slots wk, HB post drag wheel. 7 minute quarters and I'm putting up 900 yards of offense. In year 2 with Old Dominion I was losing games on purpose on the road to top 5 teams because I didn't want to win a natty yet.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

So, playing dynasty. I first would like to apologize to whoever I was arguing about recruiting with, it's definetly more time consuming, although I still don't think it's anything crazy.
With that being said recruiting is extremely broken.
What I do pre season, I add 35 to my board offer everyone a scholarship, then scout whatever positions, usually QB, WR and DB because I want speed at those positions.
Then in week 1 O re do my board, I keep who I want on my original board then look at who didn't get offers and add a bunch of them. I offer everyone a scholarship, then allocate more points to whoever I actually need to recruit. Then as guys sign, I move points around schedule visits etc.....Then as I go I may add a few guys here and there.

A couple notes
Athletes are broken, if you recruit a. Athlete that's supposed to be a QB and has abilities but decide to switch their abilities they'll get new abilities at their new positions, so you can get a true freshman DE with platinum quick jump.
Second and this may be common knowledge. If you're recruiting someone and they have a deal breaker even if they committ somewhere else, leave them on your board if the team falls below the requirement they sometimes switch committs and you can steal them late.

 

[SmokeyDaBear]

Is that like NCAA 14 where it means you found an underrated player? And when that pops up with a red line through it, it means the player is a bust?

Also is there any way to check the players overall ranking once they’ve been fully scouted?

Yup, the rankings don’t change on the players after scouting them full or throughout the season. If they are the number 9 CB, they will always be the that. BUT they may end up a green gem(good) or red marked gem (bad). That doesn’t mean that 5 star red gem isn’t good, it just means he isn’t as good as his rating. I recruited a 5star red gem QB who had awesome stats still and used him for two seasons. BUT he never got above a 79 overall rating because one of his stats was sandbagging him. I think awareness never grew from like a 66.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

One thing I've read, not sure how true. Gems or not affect development traits.
Busts are more likely to have normal, while gems can have anything from normal to elite.

 

[Creeker]

One thing I've read, not sure how true. Gems or not affect development traits.
Busts are more likely to have normal, while gems can have anything from normal to elite.

Someone tested this and posted their results and that was pretty much exactly it. Busts are going to almost always have normal, with a very small percentage having impact maybe?? If that’s the one right above normal. Gems can have anything from normal to elite, they have the highest chance of being elite of any recruit a 15% chance. Then recruits with no bust or gem can fall anywhere as well, but have less of a chance for the higher end dev traits than gems do.

 

[SmokeyDaBear]

Yeah I’ve had multiple players who were top 15 at their positions, but green gems with 1 or more abilities already, they end up better than my 5stars. I also look at special abilities a lot when recruiting if a player is a 5 star but has no abilities beyond team ones. I might take the 4 star with two or three at that position instead. Love recruiting in the game but am hitting the wall where I started with UNC and now they are so good and I got stacked roster, that recruiting isn’t so important. My coach is maxed on recruiting and I get 3-6 5stars each class. There isn’t much strategy now. It’s too easy with a maxed recruiting coach. I do love instant commits though and am addicted to finding gems with multiple special abilities.

Going to start with a new team I reckon. Holding off on the Vols till season starts. Haven’t played with them at all - too nervous, idk about what.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

Yeah I’ve had multiple players who were top 15 at their positions, but green gems with 1 or more abilities already, they end up better than my 5stars. I also look at special abilities a lot when recruiting if a player is a 5 star but has no abilities beyond team ones. I might take the 4 star with two or three at that position instead. Love recruiting in the game but am hitting the wall where I started with UNC and now they are so good and I got stacked roster, that recruiting isn’t so important. My coach is maxed on recruiting and I get 3-6 5stars each class. There isn’t much strategy now. It’s too easy with a maxed recruiting coach. I do love instant commits though and am addicted to finding gems with multiple special abilities.

Going to start with a new team I reckon. Holding off on the Vols till season starts. Haven’t played with them at all - too nervous, idk about what.

I use TN online. Won't do a dynasty with them, but try to get hired there. Game is too easy starting with a good team.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Yeah I’ve had multiple players who were top 15 at their positions, but green gems with 1 or more abilities already, they end up better than my 5stars. I also look at special abilities a lot when recruiting if a player is a 5 star but has no abilities beyond team ones. I might take the 4 star with two or three at that position instead. Love recruiting in the game but am hitting the wall where I started with UNC and now they are so good and I got stacked roster, that recruiting isn’t so important. My coach is maxed on recruiting and I get 3-6 5stars each class. There isn’t much strategy now. It’s too easy with a maxed recruiting coach. I do love instant commits though and am addicted to finding gems with multiple special abilities.

Going to start with a new team I reckon. Holding off on the Vols till season starts. Haven’t played with them at all - too nervous, idk about what.

That sounds crazy, like a different game. I have only played dynasty with East Carolina I pretty much take who I can get. I'm lucky if I can sign 2 or 3 4 stars, forget a five star.

 

[SmokeyDaBear]

That sounds crazy, like a different game. I have only played dynasty with East Carolina I pretty much take who I can get. I'm lucky if I can sign 2 or 3 4 stars, forget a five star.

Well truth is I started on freshman mode first couple years when I got the game. Then moved up one level. So I could just destroy teams, boost stats and win championships. Then you send guys to the NFL and increase ratings for the school. UNC had a pretty good roster to start too. Either way I think there are patterns. Plus I have put all my coach points into recruiting. That makes it way easier. Big thing is pipelines, green gems, and swinging for the fences sometimes.

I feel like if you spend some time in the beginning before the season actually starts IDing the top rated players with you in the top 5 - offer scholarships, then see if there are any highly rated players that are in your pipelines but maybe not high on you. Offer them scholarships. Scout players starting with interest not ratings.

Advance week and you’ll see that a lot of targets will become more interested. Now continue scouting with your full points again. Remove reds and keep greens. Use actions wisely and try do something each week. Also, make sure your schedule has plenty of home games and schedule tough ones where you can as home games. It matters mostly at week 4 and beyond. Set visits early for highest rated dudes. If you time soft sell and hard sell with your visit, you almost always get em if you win the game.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Well truth is I started on freshman mode first couple years when I got the game. Then moved up one level. So I could just destroy teams, boost stats and win championships. Then you send guys to the NFL and increase ratings for the school. UNC had a pretty good roster to start too. Either way I think there are patterns. Plus I have put all my coach points into recruiting. That makes it way easier. Big thing is pipelines, green gems, and swinging for the fences sometimes.

I feel like if you spend some time in the beginning before the season actually starts IDing the top rated players with you in the top 5 - offer scholarships, then see if there are any highly rated players that are in your pipelines but maybe not high on you. Offer them scholarships. Scout players starting with interest not ratings.

Advance week and you’ll see that a lot of targets will become more interested. Now continue scouting with your full points again. Remove reds and keep greens. Use actions wisely and try do something each week. Also, make sure your schedule has plenty of home games and schedule tough ones where you can as home games. It matters mostly at week 4 and beyond. Set visits early for highest rated dudes. If you time soft sell and hard sell with your visit, you almost always get em if you win the game.

Ah, I see. I am playing online dynasty with a friend group and we all picked 79ovr or below schools on All-American. So I haven't really experienced recruiting the best players. I do have an offline dynasty as UT but I just started my 2nd season.

 

[adam.vol]

How is dynasty garbage

I won 6 national titles in a row. Went undefeated 5 years in a row by playing every game. Simmed one game at the end of the 7th year and lost 14-9 to a 79 overall Vanderbilt. My team was a 96 overall.

I went ahead and won the national title, brought in another #1 recruiting class. Played and won every game until the last. Lost again summing to last in the SEC Vanderbilt. That’s garbage.