Hey there College Football Fans,
Today’s Campus Huddle is covering another core game mode that we all know and love, Road to Glory.
Here to deliver the information is Chad Walker, Producer, and Ben Haumiller, Principal Game Designer. Let's get started with Road to Glory!
When setting out to design Road to Glory, we immersed ourselves in the world of college athletes. We spoke with current and former players, engaged with our community, and absorbed countless stories and experiences. Our goal was clear: to create an authentic, engaging, and replayable experience that captures the essence of being a college athlete.
With this vision, we anchored Road to Glory around four core pillars: “Live the Life of a College Athlete”, “Week-to-Week Experience”, “Fast to Fun and Highly Replayable,” and “Foundation for the Future”.
Live the Life of a College Athlete: This pillar is all about immersion. From the excitement of game day to the challenges of balancing academics and athletics, every aspect of a college athlete's life is brought to you. Your journey will be filled with highs and lows, triumphs and setbacks, mirroring the real experiences of student-athletes.
Week-to-Week Experience: In Road to Glory, every decision matters. We’ve designed the experience to revolve around key in-game decisions and time management. Whether it’s choosing how to spend your time between practice, studying, and social activities, or making critical plays on the field, your choices will shape your path to glory. We drew inspiration from story driven games where meaningful decisions with no clear right answers helped shape your journey. The way you respond to situations will ultimately decide your path.
Fast to Fun and Highly Replayable: Road to Glory is designed to be fast-paced and fun, ensuring that you’re always in the thick of the action. With multiple storylines and pathways to explore, each playthrough offers a unique and fresh experience.
Foundation for the Future: Road to Glory is not just about the here and now; it’s about building a lasting legacy. This year lays the groundwork for the future and enhancements, ensuring that your journey as a college athlete continues to evolve and improve.
Your decisions will ultimately shape your journey, your story, and your Road to Glory.
Your journey in Road to Glory begins with your first meaningful decision point, one that will have a significant impact on where your journey begins and how it will be shaped.
Begin by choosing which path you want to take. There are four different journeys you can choose from, each offering a unique starting point and set of challenges.
Next, select your position from quarterback, running back, wide receiver, linebacker, or cornerback. Each position comes with its own unique set of challenges and gameplay styles, impacting where you play on the field and what mental abilities you have available.
Based on the position you selected, choose your archetype. Your archetype will affect your starting attributes and skill group caps, as well as which physical abilities are available to you. For example, a field general quarterback is going to be a better passer in the pocket than a scrambling quarterback. The field general will also have access to abilities like Sleight-of-Hand, which boosts the effectiveness of play action and trick plays on defenders, along with Step Up, which gives an accuracy boost when climbing in a clean pocket. On the other hand, a scrambler quarterback is going to be better at making plays on the run. The scrambler archetype will have access to abilities like Option King, which gives an aggressive boost to quick pitches and the off platform ability which improves your accuracy for cross body or back foot throws.
Once you have selected your position and archetype, you will then customize your player. This is where you can make your player unique and swag them out with gear to give them that on field drip. This year we have added new gear customization options like pants above the knee, scrunched socks, tights, hoodies, and the crop top jersey style, so you can show off that sweet six pack. If you are a quarterback, you will also be able to select your throw style animation.
Once you have customized your player's look, you will then select your starting mental ability. Every position and journey will always have three core mental abilities tied to your weekly agenda meters, which we will talk more about later. Each of your core mental abilities has an activation and deactivation requirement:
If you select the Elite or Blue Chip journeys, you will be able to select an additional mental ability. This grants you a fourth ability that is in addition to your three core mental abilities. It is not tied to a weekly agenda meter and it will always be activated. The mental abilities you can select are based on your position.
Once you finish selecting your starting mental ability, it is time to start your Road to Glory.
Your recruiting journey will begin with an interview with a local TV reporter, Donna Harper. In this interview, Donna will ask you about your motivations and what drives you as a player. Just like our Dynasty recruits, this will formulate your own Ideal Pitch. For example, do you want to compete for a national championship? Become a starter early in your career? Or make it to the next level and play on Sundays? Your answers to these questions will determine the schools that align with your goals and values, creating a more personalized and engaging recruiting experience.
After completing your interview with Donna Harper, you will land on Signing Day. Signing Day is your big day. This is where you will decide who you want to start your career with.
Every school will have an interest bar that tells you how interested they are in you. On the right-hand panel, you can see high-level information about the school, such as their team overall rating, what their record was last year, and their offensive and defensive schemes. Additionally, it will show whether they offered you a scholarship or not, and what your projected role is. You can also see the projected depth chart and where you stack up relative to your teammates. If your OVR is very close to another player in the depth chart, it is likely that you will initiate a position battle at some point, where you’ll have to compete against that player for that depth chart spot (more on that later).
Just like a real-world student-athlete, you’ll have to manage your time both on and off the field. Each week, you will have two main activities to focus on. First, practice is where you will earn coach trust, which is essential for improving your spot on the depth chart. The more trust you earn, the more opportunities you will have to prove yourself and climb the ranks within your team.
Second, your Weekly Agenda, where you will manage your time off the field. You will have to decide how to allocate your time among various activities. Do you want to focus on your academics to ensure you meet eligibility requirements and perhaps even activate certain mental abilities? Or do you want to get better in the weight room to improve your physical attributes? Alternatively, you might choose to socialize to boost your brand. Proper time management will be key to excelling in all areas, from improving your skills and performance on the field to maintaining your academic standing and building your personal brand off the field. Balancing these activities effectively will be key to becoming a well-rounded and successful student-athlete, however it will be difficult to keep all of them in good standing.
Practice plays a vital role in your development and progression as a student-athlete. During practice, you will complete one minigame each week. Each minigame has a score threshold to earn different medals: bronze, silver, and gold. The medal you earn will dictate how much coach trust you gain, with bronze earning you 200 coach trust, silver 350, and gold 500. This coach trust is crucial for improving your spot on the depth chart and earning more playing time.
You will have the option to choose which minigame you want to play. Minigames are grouped into two categories: team and skill.
If you don't feel like playing the minigame, you have the option to simulate it. Simulating the minigame will give you the same amount of coach trust as your highest medal earned, ensuring that you still make progress even if you choose not to actively participate in the minigame for that week.
As a student-athlete, managing your time off the field is just as important as performing well on it. Each week, you will need to balance your responsibilities and manage your time, which is represented as energy. By default, you will have 5 energy points to spend each week. In a short week, when you play on a Thursday, you will only have 4 energy points to spend. Conversely, in a free week when you have a bye, you will have 6 energy points since you have more free time. Each week, you will have to juggle your time between these activities, and it will be very difficult to keep each one in good standing. Balancing these activities effectively will be key to becoming a well-rounded and successful student-athlete. Proper time management will be essential to excelling in all areas, from maintaining your academic standing and building your personal brand to improving your skills and performance on the field.
You will decide how to spend your time among five key activities: Academics, Leadership, Health, Training, and Brand. Each activity is represented as a meter and comes with its own set of pros and cons.
Mastering the art of time management will ensure your success both on and off the field.
Academics play a crucial role in your life as a student-athlete, impacting both your eligibility and overall success. Academics are divided into two key components: test readiness and GPA.
Every week, you have the opportunity to allocate some of your energy towards studying, which will boost your test readiness. How prepared you are is represented by the bar at the top of the panel. The pane also shows how long you have until your next midterm exam is, allowing you to plan your study schedule accordingly. Midterms occur on Week 8 and Week 15 of the regular season. The higher your test readiness, the better you will perform on these exams.
Your performance on midterm exams will directly affect your GPA. A high test readiness will result in better exam scores, positively impacting your GPA. Conversely, if you do poorly on the exams, your GPA will take a significant hit. Maintaining a minimum GPA of 2.0 is essential to your eligibility to play in games. If your GPA falls below this threshold, you will be ineligible to play and will be required to attend mandatory study hall sessions to improve your GPA. These study hall sessions will consume a portion of your energy each week until your GPA is back up.
In addition to midterms, you will also face periodic quizzes that come through various scenarios. Unlike exams, quizzes do not utilize your test readiness. Instead, you will be asked how much you want to study for each quiz, which will consume a set amount of energy for that week. Quizzes serve as additional checkpoints to ensure you are keeping up with your academic responsibilities.
Maintaining a high GPA has several other benefits:
Balancing your academic responsibilities with your athletic commitments is essential for maintaining eligibility and achieving success both on and off the field. Proper time management and dedication to your studies will help you excel in all areas of your student-athlete life.
Leadership is a vital aspect of your role as a student-athlete, influencing not only your relationship with your coach and teammates but also your overall team dynamics and performance.
Spending time on team building activities will improve your leadership skills. These activities help you earn respect and trust from your teammates and coaches, potentially leading to a leadership role on the team.
Your leadership level will provide you with a weekly bonus in coach trust. If your leadership is high, you will receive a positive bonus each week, reflecting your coach's confidence in you as a team leader. Conversely, if your leadership is low, you will incur a negative coach trust bonus each week, as your coach may view you as a negative influence in the locker room.
Your leadership also significantly impacts how fast your teammates progress. A strong leader acts as a force multiplier, making your teammates better every day and helping them achieve their full potential. On the other hand, poor leadership can drag your teammates down, resulting in less than 100% XP for them.
Leadership also affects your team's starting composure. A good leader can rally the team and get everyone pumped for a big game, ensuring high team morale and readiness. In contrast, a negative energy force can bring the team down, negatively affecting their composure and performance.
Once you reach excellent leadership status, you will activate the Clearheaded ability. This special ability provides protection from composure loss events in-game, ensuring that you and your team remain focused and composed during critical moments.
Managing your body and health as a student-athlete is critical to maintaining peak performance and ensuring you stay in the game. In Road to Glory, your health is represented by your wear and tear.
As you take damage on the field and through training, it is essential to allocate time to recover and get your body back to full health. Unlike Dynasty players, you will not automatically recover a set amount of wear and tear damage when advancing to the next week. If you do not spend your time recovering, your wear and tear damage will persist, affecting your performance and availability.
If your health gets too low, it will impact how much you play on gameday and could potentially prevent you from playing at all until you recover. Maintaining a good balance between training and recovery is essential to ensure you are fit and ready to perform at your best.
Within the health panel, you can monitor your current wear and tear damage and see the ratings impacts of your damaged body parts. This detailed view helps you understand which areas need attention and how your overall performance is being affected.
In addition to ratings impacts, wear and tear will increase your chance of injury. An injury can keep you off the field for a significant period, hindering your progress and affecting your team's performance. Regular recovery sessions are crucial to minimize this risk and maintain your health. Lastly, any unspent energy each week will be automatically applied to recovery to improve your health.
Training is a crucial aspect of developing your skills and enhancing your performance as a student-athlete in Road to Glory. In RTG, you will earn XP by completing in-game goals. As you earn XP, you will fill a progression bar. Once the progression bar reaches 100%, you will earn a skill point and the progression bar will reset, allowing you to continue progressing and improving your abilities.
While gameplay will naturally progress your player, the best athletes also dedicate time off the field to improve. This means spending time in the weight room and on the practice field to hone your skills further.
As part of your weekly agenda, you have the opportunity to spend time on training. This dedicated training time will earn you additional XP, helping you fill your progression bar faster and earn skill points more quickly.
Each time you train, you will earn XP but also incur a small amount of wear and tear damage, which will reduce your health. It's important to balance your training with recovery to avoid letting your health get too low. If your health falls below an acceptable level, you will be unable to train until you recover and restore your health to a good level.
Balancing your training regimen with proper recovery is essential for maintaining peak performance and ensuring continuous improvement. Dedication to both on-field and off-field training will help you become a well-rounded and successful student-athlete.
Your brand is a representation of your off-field social status and influence as a student-athlete. Building a strong brand can open up numerous opportunities and benefits. You will have the opportunity to grow your brand and potentially become a Global Phenom. Your brand is represented by the number of followers you have. The more followers you gain, the higher your brand level becomes.
As your brand level grows, you will unlock Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Deal slots. These slots allow you to be offered off-field NIL opportunities, which can enhance your overall brand and provide additional benefits (more on NIL deals later).
Once you reach the Influencer tier, you will activate the Road Dog ability. This special ability increases your composure gains when playing on the road, helping you perform better in away games.
Each time you perform the socialize action, you will increase the number of followers you have, as well as your engagement meter. The more frequently you socialize, the higher your engagement meter will be. A higher engagement meter means your content is more likely to go viral, allowing you to gain followers more quickly.
As you progress along your journey as a student-athlete, you will encounter unexpected scenarios and dilemmas that add complexity and excitement to your experience. These scenarios and dilemmas will trigger based on the decisions you make and how you spend your time off the field. They can involve interactions with teammates, advisors, other students on campus, NIL deals, and other fun surprises that keep your journey dynamic and engaging.
When faced with a new dilemma, there is no right or wrong answer. How you choose to respond will ultimately shape your journey. Your decisions will determine how these scenarios impact your various meters, such as health, brand, and coach trust.
Some dilemmas will present actual conflicts, such as being asked to attend an off-campus party. Attending the party could increase your brand by boosting your social presence, but it may also require you to skip your night class. There is a risk associated with this decision; getting caught skipping class could negatively impact your GPA, which might affect your academic standing and eligibility.
There might also be situations where you are playing poorly and the fans are just letting you have it. You’ll have to make a decision on how you want to respond. Do you want to take the high road? Criticize them? Make a burner and be your biggest hype man?
Navigating these scenarios and dilemmas requires careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks. Each decision you make will contribute to your unique story and influence your journey as a student-athlete.
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals are a significant aspect of your journey as a student-athlete, offering you opportunities to become an ambassador for various brands and earn rewards.
As part of the scenarios you encounter, you may be presented with NIL deals. To be offered an NIL deal, you must have an open NIL deal slot, which is determined by your brand level. The higher your brand level, the more NIL deal slots you will have available, increasing your opportunities for brand partnerships.
NIL deals come with a duration for which they will run and an energy cost associated with them, as they require some of your time. The energy cost can be either an upfront cost or a weekly cost over the course of the contract. Managing your energy and time effectively is crucial to balancing your commitments.
Accepting an NIL deal comes with rewards, which can be provided upfront, weekly, or at the conclusion of the deal. These rewards can be:
When deciding whether to accept an NIL deal, consider the associated energy cost and the potential rewards. NIL deals provide valuable opportunities to enhance your brand and gain various benefits, both on and off the field. By strategically managing these deals, you can maximize your rewards and grow your influence as a student-athlete.
An example NIL deal you could earn is with a physical therapy center. As a part of their deal, they want you to participate in a regional commercial shoot that will air during the next month. While you won’t physically pose for the camera this year in Road to Glory, the deal will cost you two energy up front. In return, they will give you free physical therapy sessions which will give you immediate wear and tear recovery and improve your health. By taking the deal and getting the health recovery, this will enable you to do other things during your weekly agenda time management.
Keeping your brand high ensures you will always have the best opportunity to secure more NIL deals. Don’t overlook the power of NIL deals and the flexibility they can provide to you in your weekly agenda as a result. Some opportunities and gains will only be possible via NIL deals.
We've talked a lot about the off-field elements, so let’s dive into the on field action. In Road To Glory, Coach Trust is your lifeline. It’s a constant currency that you’ll earn throughout your journey. Think of it as the key to unlocking your playing time on the field. Whether you're a hotshot five-star recruit or a gritty two-star underdog, earning enough Coach Trust is essential. You can build it up by managing your weekly activities, excelling in weekly practice sessions, and playing well during games.
Not only are you going to be earning Coach Trust but your fellow teammates will also be earning Coach Trust based on their performances and actions each week. You can see where you stand on the depth chart in comparison to other members of the team by accessing the Coach Trust screen from within the weekly agenda. Scrolling the bar left and right you can see how close or far away you are from your teammates in the eyes of your coach.
Once you've accumulated enough Coach Trust, you’ll trigger what we call a position battle. This is your golden opportunity to earn your spot on game day. Position battles are intense and task you with winning 2 out of 3 position-specific mini-games. For example, if you're a QB like in this scenario, you might find yourself playing the option attack. It’s all about showcasing your skills under pressure.
But here’s the catch – if you lose the position battle, you’ll need to climb back up the ladder over the next few weeks before you get another shot at challenging your teammate. On the flip side, winning the position battle gives you a sweet bump in Coach Trust boosting your position on the depth chart.
Keep in mind, though, that your CPU teammates are also vying for Coach Trust throughout the season. If you’re not performing up to par and they are, they might just initiate a position battle themselves, trying to take over your job. So, stay sharp and keep pushing your limits.
Player progression is a core element of your journey in Road to Glory, allowing you to continuously improve your character's skills and abilities. You can upgrade your player at any time by pressing the Upgrade Player action item in the actions tab of the RTG Hub or via the Player Info button the Player tab.
As a Road to Glory character, you will earn progression XP through various activities:
Unlike Dynasty players, your RTG character will not earn any off-season progression. This places an increased importance on how much time you spend training and your performance on the field.
As you accumulate XP, you will fill a progression bar, once that is filled, you will earn a skill point which can then be spent on upgrading your character's ratings and physical abilities. This system will allow you to tailor your progression to suit your play style and strategic needs.
Similar to Dynasty players, you will upgrade your attributes by spending Skill Points to upgrade an entire Skill Group. A Skill Group is a collection of related attributes; for instance, the quarterback Power skill group includes Throw Power and Strength. Every Skill Group can reach a maximum level of 10. Each time you upgrade a skill group, its level increases, thereby enhancing all the attributes within that group. However, your Road to Glory character may have a Skill Group maximum level or cap that is less than 10 depending on the archetype you chose during character creation.
Skill Group caps represent your character's maximum potential in a specific area. These caps vary depending on the Skill Group, position, and archetype. Once a Skill Group reaches its cap, it cannot be upgraded further unless your coach possesses the Architect archetype along with the Limitless or Put a Ring on It abilities. The Limitless ability offers a chance to increase a random skill cap each time your character levels up, while the Put a Ring on It ability provides a chance to raise your highest skill cap after winning a Conference or National Championship.
Unlike your Dynasty players, your Road to Glory character has the unique opportunity to progress their mental abilities by completing in-game objectives. Each time you complete an objective, the corresponding ability will upgrade to the next tier, up to a maximum level of platinum.
For example, to upgrade the Field General ability to the silver tier, you need to throw for 20 touchdowns in a season. As you continue to meet these performance benchmarks, your mental abilities will progressively enhance, providing significant advantages on the field.
It is important to remember that three of your mental abilities are tied to your meters. If your meter is not in good standing, the corresponding ability will not be active and you will not be able to reap the rewards of that upgraded ability until you activate it again by bringing your meter back into good standing. However, you can still make progress towards the upgrade objective even when the ability is inactive.
On the other hand, physical abilities can be upgraded with skill points if you meet the upgrade requirements. Every physical ability tier has a rating requirement associated with it. For example, to unlock the Sleight of Hand ability at the bronze tier, you need an 83 Play Action rating. This applies to every tier up to the maximum tier of platinum.
In Road to Glory, our goal is to immerse you deeply into the game environment, making you feel every moment on the field. During gameplay, the effects of homefield advantage are palpable. As a quarterback, you'll experience challenges such as incorrect preplay art, missing button icons, and miscommunication with your receivers when attempting to hot route them. These obstacles are designed to simulate the pressures of playing in a high-stakes environment.
This is where your composure and mental abilities become crucial. If your leadership meter is high, you'll have the ability to keep your teammates calm and composed, especially at the start of a big game. Additionally, possessing the Head Strong mental ability will allow you to remain more composed yourself, making pre-snap adjustments and communication with your receivers much smoother.
To enhance immersion, we've introduced new camera angles that place you right in the heart of the action. These dynamic perspectives are designed to make you feel like you are truly on the field. When you are in the zoomed in camera angle, you can press R2/R2 to open the coach cam and then move the left stick to pan the camera side to side. If you prefer a different view, you can always back up the camera by pressing down on the D pad.
We've also added multiple presentation elements that revolve around you and your character. These elements are intended to highlight your journey and achievements, making your gameplay experience uniquely personal.
Wear and tear play a central role in the Road to Glory gameplay, requiring you to actively manage your character's physical condition. Unlike Dynasty players, your character in Road to Glory does not automatically recover from wear and tear on week advance. Each week, you are responsible for managing your wear and tear, making it critically important to enter each game in good health. The wear and tear damage you carry into the game will affect your starting condition on the field.
You'll need to make strategic decisions to preserve your health. Do you purposely miss a block to save your body? Do you think twice about scrambling on 2nd down and taking a big hit? Do you give yourself up on a big run and step out of bounds as opposed to fighting for extra yards? These are the decisions you will have to make during gameplay.
During the game, you can monitor your wear and tear status every time you are taken off the field. This screen provides vital information about your current attribute hits and damaged body parts. Remember, the more damaged a body part is, the higher the risk of sustaining an injury.
If your body takes too much damage, your coach may decide to pull you from the game to let you recover on the sideline. Additionally, if you start the game too damaged, you may not play at all. Therefore, managing your wear and tear effectively is crucial to ensure you remain on the field and perform at your best.
Along with your wear and tear status, you will also be able to see additional game insights, including your current game stat line, how much coach trust you’ve earned this game, and the key moments that positively/negatively impacted your coach trust in the last drive.
By keeping a close eye on your wear and tear status and managing your health effectively, you can reduce the risk of injury and maintain peak performance throughout the season.
Within gameplay, you will initially have access to limited playcalling. On the play selection screen, you will see only one play that the coach has called for you.
As you increase your Coach Trust, you will earn the ability to change the play. By pressing Triangle (for PlayStation) or Y (for Xbox) during the playcall, you can expose two additional plays to choose from. The number of times you can change the play is displayed above the center play on the play selection screen.
Once you get to the line of scrimmage, you will not have the ability to change the play via audibles. However, you can still make pre-snap adjustments to optimize your chances of success by hot routing your receivers. Additionally, you will be able to initiate no huddle after the play to hurry up to the line of scrimmage.
In the world of RTG, the transfer portal is just as pivotal as it is in real life. At the end of each season, your player will face a crucial decision: stay loyal to their current school or enter the transfer portal to explore new opportunities. This choice isn't just a simple yes or no—it's a gateway to new adventures and possibilities based on your player's performance throughout the season.
The potential suitors lining up for your player won't just be random picks. They'll be schools that align with your player's performance and the key pitches that initially attracted them during the recruitment process. This adds an authentic layer of strategy and realism, making every decision meaningful and tailored to your unique journey.
The transfer portal keeps your experience fresh, allowing you to find the perfect fit for your play style or craft the epic story you want to tell. Whether you're looking to climb the ranks, find a team that complements your skills, or simply shake things up, the transfer portal offers you the opportunity to reshape your journey.
Imagine a world where there’s no definitive end—only the boundless possibilities of your journey, uniquely crafted by the choices you make.
In RTG, you chart your own path. Will you aim for those coveted conference player of the week awards? Or perhaps set your sights on the prestigious national player of the week honors? The Heisman trophy is up for grabs, but so are ten other position-specific awards like the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The stage is yours.
Do you envision yourself leading your team to multiple conference championships? Or maybe you’re driven to navigate the thrilling new 12-team playoff gauntlet and reach the National Championship game. How many National Championships can you win in your four-year career?
We want you to immerse yourself in RTG, to invest time in your first journey, and then dive back in with fresh decisions and perhaps a new position to see how differently your career can unfold.
Once you’ve conquered college football, your adventure is just beginning. We’re incredibly excited about the seamless transition to Madden NFL 25 and Superstar mode, where you can continue your unique career in the NFL (EA account, internet connection, and all game updates required). The road ahead is limitless, and we can’t wait to see how you navigate it.
So, gear up, make your choices, and let’s see what incredible stories you’ll create in RTG!
We are excited to see what stories you create and the decisions you make along your Road to Glory journey. Being a college athlete is not easy and our goal was to replicate that experience, while providing you with the ability to shape and craft your story the way you want. Thank you all so much for tuning into today’s Campus Huddle. Next time we come to you, it will be for the final Deep Dive for College Football 25, where we’re talking about TeamBuilder. See you all next time!
- Chad Walker, Ben Haumiller & And the Entire Road To Glory Development Team
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College Football 25 launches worldwide on July 19th, 2024. Pre-order the Deluxe Edition* or the EA SPORTS™ MVP Bundle** and play 3 days early. Conditions and restrictions apply. See disclaimers for details. Stay in the conversation by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Answers HQ.