• NCAA Playbook #3 - Ultimate Team

    Hey College Football Fans, EA SPORTS Game Changer SG Dirtyburt here to discuss the latest NCAA Football 14 Playbook reveal, Ultimate Team. You may ask, what is Ultimate Team? The Ultimate Team mode has been in other EA Sports titles (Madden NFL Football, FIFA, and NHL) for several years now. Ultimate Team is a combination of Fantasy Football and Card Collecting allowing you to put together a “Dream Team” of players from different teams by opening card packs. You will start this journey by choosing your favorite team and opening their Starter Pack to fill the positions on your team. One thing you will notice about the players in the Starter Pack, they are all former College Football players. The Starter Pack also gives you the Stadium, Jersey, and Playbook of the team you choose as your favorite. Now you are ready to begin building the next Dynasty in College Football.


    The best way to build a Championship Team in College Football is by recruiting or adding the best players in the country to your team. This is accomplished in Ultimate Team by opening card packs that contain different players to improve each position on your team. There are a couple of different ways to acquire card packs to open. You can earn coins in the new Head-to-Head Seasons Mode or Solo Challenges. The more difficult the opponent or challenge, the more coins you will be awarded. If you want to improve your team immediately, the option to buy card packs with Microsoft Points or Sony PSN Credit is also available. Once you have earned or purchased card packs, it is now time to open the packs and see what players you pulled to improve your team.

    Now that you have the basic concept of what NCAA Football Ultimate Team is and how to get started, let’s revisit the players and possibilities of building your team. As I previously mentioned in the opening paragraph, all of the players will be former College Football players. NCAA Football Ultimate Team will not feature any current or fictitious College Football players. I had mixed feelings about this at first, but after getting hands-on playing time at a Community Event, my feelings changed. The sheer number of former College Players that were heroes to their Universities and fans but never made an impact in the NFL is what sets NCAA Football Ultimate Team apart from the professional game franchises. The first player that came to mind was Charlie Ward. Following his Heisman Trophy winning at Florida State, Ward bypassed the NFL and joined the NBA’s New York Knicks. Having a 99 rated Heisman Trophy Winner Charlie Ward QB card running today’s Spread Option attack is only scratching the surface of the possibilities NCAA Football Ultimate Team offers. Just think of all the players from your favorite school that never made a “splash” in the NFL, but on a College Football Saturday meant everything to their University. There will also be current and former player cards that went on to become NFL Superstars. Currently there is not a cohesive list of all the players that will definitely be in the game at launch because EA SPORTS is still in the process of signing players. I can assure you that the number of players in the game will make very diverse teams to play against.

    The statement “You Play to Win the Game” from Coach Herm Edwards leads us to the final segment of the Playbook reveal. The goal of assembling your Ultimate Team is to earn coins and cards by winning games in two different ways. The first is the all-new Seasons mode which will make its debut in American Football games. In the Seasons mode, you will play head-to-head against other human controlled teams for a coveted playoff spot. Winning throughout the playoffs and championship game will earn you huge coin rewards and exclusive player cards. In FIFA Soccer, the Seasons have tiers based on player’s skill level and overall team rating. When I play tested Seasons at the community event in March, all of the attendees were set to the same tier and similar rated teams. We played each week in head-to-head games through the championship game. The goal of the Development Team is to allow games, weeks, and seasons to progress at a faster pace than user controlled Dynasty leagues. The second way to earn coins and cards is the Solo Challenge mode. Solo Challenges will be you versus CPU controlled teams of various ratings and difficulty.

    With the additions of Ultimate Team and Infinity Engine 2.0, NCAA Football 14 is shaping up to be the best College Football on this generation of consoles. The Ultimate Team mode will bring a plethora of new players to the NCAA Football experience. Stay tuned to thegamingtailgate.com for news on the Legend Player vote-in contest and a beginners guide to getting started in NCAA Football 14 Ultimate Team.

    ***

    Keep up on all the latest NCAA Football 14 news & media heading into the July 9 release date with our NCAA 14 News & Info Central page. We'll provide all the best & latest information regarding improvements to Gameplay & Infinity Engine 2, Dynasty Mode, Presentation, and new features such as NCAA Football Ultimate Team & Play a Season.

    NCAA Football 14 News & Information Central: http://tgt.pw/ncaa14info
    Comments 26 Comments
    1. SGdirtyburt's Avatar
      SGdirtyburt -
      You can view the page at http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/for...-Ultimate-Team
    1. JBHuskers's Avatar
      JBHuskers -
      Good stuff Dirty Burt!

      Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
    1. CLW's Avatar
      CLW -
      In the Seasons mode, you will play head-to-head against other human controlled teams for a coveted playoff spot. Winning throughout the playoffs and championship game will earn you huge coin rewards and exclusive player cards.
      Can you "control" who joins your "Seasons Mode" (i.e. like a private online dynasty)? Or, will you put up against "random" opponents who just happen to be online at the same time as you?
    1. ram29jackson's Avatar
      ram29jackson -
      Quote Originally Posted by CLW View Post
      Can you "control" who joins your "Seasons Mode" (i.e. like a private online dynasty)? Or, will you put up against "random" opponents who just happen to be online at the same time as you?
      it will surely be random
    1. CLW's Avatar
      CLW -
      Wow member since Jun 2010 and makes first two posts today. Talk about "lurking".
    1. Big Blue's Avatar
      Big Blue -
      I really didn't enjoy the Heisman Challenge but I can really see myself playing this mode a lot. I feel like it will be very nostalgic just seeing a player that you remember from 5 or so years ago that didn't make it in the NFL.
    1. JBHuskers's Avatar
      JBHuskers -
      Quote Originally Posted by Big Blue View Post
      I really didn't enjoy the Heisman Challenge but I can really see myself playing this mode a lot. I feel like it will be very nostalgic just seeing a player that you remember from 5 or so years ago that didn't make it in the NFL.
      Yeah you could try to put together that dream team of players from the same school/conference.
    1. ram29jackson's Avatar
      ram29jackson -
      Quote Originally Posted by CLW View Post
      Wow member since Jun 2010 and makes first two posts today. Talk about "lurking".
      well, who exactly is he aside from a gamechanger guy ?
    1. ram29jackson's Avatar
      ram29jackson -
      Following his Heisman Trophy winning at Florida State, Ward bypassed the NFL and joined the NBA’s New York Knicks. Having a 99 rated Heisman Trophy Winner Charlie Ward QB card running today’s Spread Option attack is only scratching the surface of the possibilities NCAA Football Ultimate Team offers
      this is the stuff that cheapens the mode though. He shouldn't be a 99 even as a Heisman winner. The concept is creative but it is always reduced to the dumb asses online who just stock 99s and chuck deep and hit stick every play etc. In retrospect..he wouldn't have made it as a pro QB and he knew that. Make it interesting, make him a 91 at best LOL
    1. SGdirtyburt's Avatar
      SGdirtyburt -
      Quote Originally Posted by CLW View Post
      Can you "control" who joins your "Seasons Mode" (i.e. like a private online dynasty)? Or, will you put up against "random" opponents who just happen to be online at the same time as you?
      We talked with them about adding a Friends Only Season option with small coin rewards or user buy-in. I'm not sure if it will be added for launch day.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Quote Originally Posted by ram29jackson View Post
      this is the stuff that cheapens the mode though. He shouldn't be a 99 even as a Heisman winner. The concept is creative but it is always reduced to the dumb asses online who just stock 99s and chuck deep and hit stick every play etc. In retrospect..he wouldn't have made it as a pro QB and he knew that. Make it interesting, make him a 91 at best LOL
      If he is only a 99 on the Heisman winner card - and it is a rare card - it's not that bad, but I do see your concern where there may be too many highly-rated players. Hopefully the underclassmen cards are more pro-rated (no pun intended).
    1. GatorfanStovy's Avatar
      GatorfanStovy -
      Why EA just why. OH wait you wanna throw in unless gameplay modes into games and not build on current ones like RTG or dynasty.

    1. baseballplyrmvp's Avatar
      baseballplyrmvp -
      Quote Originally Posted by GatorfanStovy View Post
      Why EA just why. OH wait you wanna throw in unless gameplay modes into games and not build on current ones like RTG or dynasty.

      what are unless gameplay modes?
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Quote Originally Posted by baseballplyrmvp View Post
      what are unless gameplay modes?
      And as for dynasty, we still have no clue what they have changed, fixed or added onto yet this year. We will find out (at long goddamn last!) on Tuesday in the next playbook.
    1. TIMB0B's Avatar
      TIMB0B -
      Quote Originally Posted by Big Blue View Post
      I really didn't enjoy the Heisman Challenge but I can really see myself playing this mode a lot. I feel like it will be very nostalgic just seeing a player that you remember from 5 or so years ago that didn't make it in the NFL.
      It would be nostalgic for me if they had the same equipment and jersey look from their playing days. If they're creating a Bozworth player, make him look like the Boz or the authenticity is not there. Having them "look" like they did would be the selling point for me. Imagine Little Joe with his silver shoes.
    1. GatorfanStovy's Avatar
      GatorfanStovy -
      Quote Originally Posted by baseballplyrmvp View Post
      what are unless gameplay modes?
      Um this one will be at least in IMO. I won't ever use never have in Madden. Or the button masher mode pointless again. and the mascot game. All that effort into those modes could pointed towards dynasty and RTG and putting import rtg and draft classes back in stat !
    1. steelerfan's Avatar
      steelerfan -
      Quote Originally Posted by GatorfanStovy View Post
      Um this one will be at least in IMO. I won't ever use never have in Madden. Or the button masher mode pointless again. and the mascot game. All that effort into those modes could pointed towards dynasty and RTG and putting import rtg and draft classes back in stat !
      Have you ever tried to read what you post? It is barely comprehensible.

      Anyway, importing draft classes into Madden is back.

      I'm using Tapatalk 2 and the Cleveland Browns STILL suck.
    1. JBHuskers's Avatar
      JBHuskers -
      Plus Mascot Mode hasn't been worked on ever since it was introduced.

      Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4 Beta
    1. baseballplyrmvp's Avatar
      baseballplyrmvp -
      Quote Originally Posted by GatorfanStovy View Post
      Um this one will be at least in IMO. I won't ever use never have in Madden. Or the button masher mode pointless again. and the mascot game. All that effort into those modes could pointed towards dynasty and RTG and putting import rtg and draft classes back in stat !
      as jb just said, mascot mashup has never been worked on....and when MM was first introduced, they said it was built in ONE afternoon. all the effort they did put into that mode alone, wouldnt have made much of a difference in the other modes in the game.

      so an "unless" gameplay mode is on that you wont ever use? just asking for clarification.
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Quote Originally Posted by GatorfanStovy View Post
      Um this one will be at least in IMO. I won't ever use never have in Madden. Or the button masher mode pointless again. and the mascot game. All that effort into those modes could pointed towards dynasty and RTG and putting import rtg and draft classes back in stat !
      *WOOSH!*

      Right over your head. Swing and a miss. Enter your own idiom here.