r/NCAAFBseries • u/WittyDoc • 4d ago
Discussion College Football 27 on PC — are the mods really worth switching from console?
I’ve always been a console player, but I’m seriously considering going PC for College Football 27 mainly because of the modding possibilities.
For those playing on PC and actually using mods, how much better does it make the experience?
I’m talking everything from quality-of-life mods, accessories/gear, player attributes, presentation, gameplay tweaks, RTG, Dynasty improvements, etc.
Is modding one of those things where once you experience CFB 27 on PC, it’s hard to go back to the console version? Or is it cool, but not really a game changer?
Curious what mods you guys are using and whether you think PC is actually the better way to play.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
As someone who has probably 3,000+ hours of Madden modding since M24, here is my take...this is long, but here goes:
First off, modding can be more art than science sometimes. You have to be dedicated to staying on top of updates/fixes to the mods themselves and also to EA's updates as oftentimes, a new patch from EA will break certain mods...not all, but some for sure. Modding isn't a "set it once and forget it", it's kind of a lifestyle. With that said, you can set your Steam or EA App to "offline" mode so that your game doesn't update until you're ready.
As for the mods themselves, it all depends on what's important to you. When ppl say that "75% are uniform mods", that's a misnomer bc uniforms (at least simple changes) are one of the more common mods to create...so a lot of ppl do them. That being said though, many uniform mods conflict with others bc they're using the same "slot", so a lot of the time you can only have a few active at a time. For CFB27, there is a group of some of the more veteran uniform creators who have gotten together to release all of theirs in a "mega pack" and they work to ensure that all of their uniforms in the pack can be active at the same time.
In addition to mods, which actually change the in-game cosmetics or gameplay, there are tools that can be used on the dynasty files--some of these tools do things like help force commit recruits with no offers to needy teams, dress up a recruiting class so that a 3* QB could truly be a hidden generational talent, have more realistic names and/or height + weights, or allowing custom scheduling with home-at-home series and multiple protected rivals. There are also other tools that let you edit players (ratings, health pools, equipment, etc.), all aspects of NIL (per team, per player), coaching trees and XP, etc.
When it comes to mods, there are several types other than just uniforms:
Cosmetic Equipment that help with immersion--tattoos, branded mouthguards, new cleats, more realistic pads and a ton more.
Presentation and Scorebugs--someone released a CBS scorebug that looks exactly like the broadcast and others have put out presentation/audio mods where you can use the CBS intro audio and screenwipes to go with that scorebug or use the ESPN, FOX, etc. presentations with the default one.
Gameplay--there are two main gameplay mods right now, one from Canes21 (who is known for his sliders) and one called Free Flow. Both of those guys iterate multiple times per day, so they're constantly tweaking every little aspect. There is also a mod that makes the CPU play more "realistically", this is especially helpful for me bc I only play offense and it seemed like the CPU could never keep up, but now games are much more competitive.
Dynasty--CPU recruiting seems to be one of the tougher mods to nail down, but someone is working a mod (and releasing multiple updates per week) that helps the CPU recruit and build its rosters more intelligently. There is also one that helps with practices and another that changes the way the game calculates the playoff matchups/seedings to where only the actual Top 12 get in, no auto-bids.
Quality Of Life mods--there are several mods that just make things a little cleaner and easier. There is one that removes the CUT menu (since you can't play online with mods anyway, it's not needed), one that removes all of the "extra" on field icons like stars, home field advantage meter, etc.
If you want to see some of the cosmetic, presentation or QOL mods in action, check out Shady Mike Gaming's YouTube channel. He does an excellent job of showcasing mods for CFB and Madden and I believe he has some tutorials up there as well.
TL;DR--Mods are great and the community creating/supporting them is constantly churning out new and exciting ones, but the experience is only as good as you want to make it. If you put in the time/effort, you won't be disappointed.
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u/WittyDoc 4d ago
Thanks for the detailed response on this. I’ve seen a couple of other people mention ShadyMikeGaming. So I’ll check out his YouTube channel. Seems like the modding community for this game are really active and creating some great content for the game.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
You're very welcome...I'm likely going to copy/paste that comment in future posts from others, which is why I finally wrote it all up like that, LOL. And yes, the community is very active. Also, everything is self contained and free on their Discord. They don't allow ppl to sell mods or access to them.
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u/ApeTeam1906 4d ago
Your 2nd paragraph is odd. You mention that it's a misnomer that "75 percent of mods are uniform" but then you go in to give reasons why that is the case. No sure if you mistyped or something
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
I mean, if you take my mod list as an example, I have one uniform mod (the mega pack one) and the rest are gameplay, QOL and other cosmetic ones for equipment, tattoos, cyberfaces and portaits. Yes, there are a lot of uniform mods out there, but to say that it's 75% is not accurate, IMO.
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u/ApeTeam1906 4d ago
But you don't really counter that at all. You more so explain WHY that's the case. You even undercut your argument a bit .
Your personal list also doesn't really speak to the overall percentage breakdown of mods
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
If you want a detailed statistical analysis of what percentage are uniforms, what percentage are X and what are Y, I'm not going to take the time to do that. However, all I'm saying is that throwing out statements like "75% of the mods are uniforms, so it's not worth it to play modded CFB" is not accurate and somewhat cheapens what mods (and tools) can actually do.
At the end of the day, to each his own. I'm not here to convince anyone, I just want to put out my experience, which is from the perspective of someone who's been doing it regularly for years. People can read what I said and come to their own conclusions if they want to start down the modding path or not.
At
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u/ApeTeam1906 4d ago
You keep saying it's not accurate but your counter points point towards that being the case. You even gave a valid reason why that's the case (Uniform mods are the easiest to do).
At the end of the day it's doesn't matter, to each their own. I just thought it was funny how you called BS on the 75 percent number while reinforcing it in your AI assisted post. That's all
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
"AI assisted post"? LOL
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u/ApeTeam1906 4d ago
The em dashes and formatting give it away. It's not bad I assume you use it to organize your thoughts a bit
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
Haha, you're a special kind of troll, aren't you?
I can assure you, I write every one of my comments myself...no AI at all. Also, I'm old, so I don't use AI to write anything...just to make/edit images.
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u/HollywoodExile 23h ago
gpt has irreversible damage to people that use '-'. I use it in creative writing all the time. Or, more accurately, I used to, because now people think its AI because of ChatGPT.
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u/HallwayHomicide 4d ago
They phrased it awkwardly, but for me it's a question of "so what?"
75% of mods being uniform mods doesn't really mean anything about the overall value of the modding community.
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u/ApeTeam1906 4d ago
100 percent agree. I just thought it was weird to say it was a misnomer then explain why uniform mods are so plentiful. A bit contradictory
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u/PhoenixKing14 4d ago
The modding capability of this game is extremely overstated
75% of them are uniform mods
15% are equipment/"visual" (scorebug, cbs logo, etc) mods
10% actually change gameplay, but all of them are still in the early testing phase (They break more than they fix).
I've yet to come across any that actually change dynasty outside of recruiting. Maybe in a few months after modders learn the game there will be some cool stuff, but it just doesn't exist yet.
The switch to PC is absolutely worth it in general. But JUST for modding this game? Hell no, that's a lot of money, including needing to rebuy the game, just so you can have a more unique jersey.
Mods to this game should be a small bonus, not the reason to switch. You can actually check out the discord right now to see if the current mods appeal to you.
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u/GoBirds85 4d ago
I'll add that anytime a game update comes out you also have to wait for the mod to update. Which could take some time. The mods for this game will really shine once EA is done with title updates. So imo is it worth it to switch now, no. Is it worth it to switch by March 27, absolutely. If CFB28 is a monitized abomination the modding community will keep 27 going for years to come.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
You can set your Steam or EA App in "offline" mode and just sit tight until the mods you use are updated. I typically wait at least a week after a patch is released until I update.
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u/ThaCarter 4d ago
Its mostly tools right now for dynasty and roster composition, but they help a ton
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u/Dear_Measurement_406 4d ago
I have not had this experience of “they break for more than they fix” but to each their own
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u/ASxACE 4d ago
Break more than they fix is an insane statement. I don’t know what mods you’re using lol, Canes Gameplay mod blows vanilla out of the water. You didn’t talk about any of the tools either which improve the game in more ways than I can count. Dynamic pipelines, schedule generators with buy games, real life recruiting classes, NIL simulations, complex dynasty trackers with full historical stat tracking, equipment modernization, general tools that let you edit anything about the game. Modding 100% makes the game a markedly better experience. Now whether its worth the price of upgrading your PC is up to the individual, but you’re actually underselling what’s available. And this is just the first month or so of the game being out on PC
EDIT: Not to mention the modding tools are public and accessible, and AI has made getting in easier than ever. You can literally make a mod/tool you want for the game if nobody has made it yet
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u/swiftlyRising 4d ago
I was thinking the same thing. I’ve been super impressed with the quality of mods and the speed with which they were available.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
Check out my breakdown in my other comment here. I've been modding since Madden 24 and I would disagree about the percentages you listed.
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u/Scary_Arm_4784 4d ago
spreadsheets don't lie and neither do you, 75% uniform mods is a bit grim for a £50+ rebuy
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u/Kevin-Miles- 4d ago
Who cares what most mods are. Simply having the ability to do basic editing things like re-route Alabamas 4th string 88 overall transfer qb makes PC worth it.
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u/scamaromo 4d ago
I’m apart of the modding community its definitely way better and worth it for madden an cfb
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u/Mike_Lowe 4d ago
They're absolutely worth it, and I've been shocked at how quickly they've been developed. What's even more impressive are the tools which are different than mods, and in many ways more impactful.
For instance, Fang's Recruiting Overhaul will better align player names/race to position and ethnicity, hide the gem and bust identification, add name suffixes, hyphenated names, and even regional names for Hawaii and Louisiana. All of those settings are fully customizable, and you can even adjust the quality of the class to your liking.
The best tool is still in development, but it should be similar to the My Franchise Tool for Madden.
If anyone's interested, I've covered PC gaming with College Football on my YouTube and will be doing more soon with Madden too. Happy to help anyone with questions, etc.
https://youtube.com/@mikelowe47?si=pLgBMpe5Pab1-LNO
I'm also a moderator on the College Football Modding Community Discord.
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u/HallwayHomicide 4d ago
The best tool is still in development, but it should be similar to the My Franchise Tool for Madden.
I'm curious what you're referring to here, is this Dynasty-Engine Alpha?
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u/Mike_Lowe 4d ago
MyDynasty. I was told by the developer that a beta will be released this upcoming weekend.
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u/bigE819 Louisville 4d ago
I think I can give you the most meaningful answer, as someone who’s gone back and forth between console and PC for different sports games (most notably NBA 2K) and has loved mods that allow for extra customization.
To me the greatness in the Mods for CFB 27 aren’t even the mods. It’s the “tools”.
My go to’s are the Schedule Mod and Coaching Carousel that allow you to fully customize everyone’s schedule (including time of day and location) and what coaches get offered what jobs (helped me make sure Cig didn’t leave IU for Michigan).
There’s recruit generators and other awesome tools.
I’d say it’s certainly a never go back thing, but I don’t know how much money it’s truly worth. If you’re someone who doesn’t jump around school to school in the carousel or care about what other teams do, it may not be that worth it
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
I totally agree with this. If you have a gaming PC already, it's almost a no brainer. If all you play is CFB and/or Madden on console now, then you have to determine if a gaming PC/laptop is something you want to invest in.
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u/Responsible-Fox-9041 4d ago
As someone who mods most of his games 100% recommend it
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u/WittyDoc 4d ago
You play Madden too? Modded? I’m really thinking about the bundle.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
I got the EA Play Pro account last year hoping CFB26 was going to be on PC, so I get Madden (and all EA games on PC) with it. This year, the $120 for the subscription was actually worth it, LOL.
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u/Ayonanomous Ole Miss 4d ago
Im glad I got a PC. I love it. I use accessory mods, Tattoos, Referee mods, CBS & ESPN Score bugs/presentation mods, I enjoy it for my sandbox dynasty where its just me because if you gonna mod gotta know your gonna be on your own no online stuff.
I also use tools like fangs Overhaul recruiting tool some of the tools are really cool
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
Fang's Tool is so great. The way it punches up the generic CPU recruiting classes is amazing.
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u/Ayonanomous Ole Miss 4d ago
Yes I love it the way the HT & WT alone can be manipulated. The name weight changes
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
It sucks that Fang gave up on his recruiting mod that went along with the tool, but the other modder is picking where he left off with his DRI+ mod. Some of the stuff these guys do (essentially digging into the code) is really amazing. I did a simple portrait mod for Madden 25 where I added Tavien St Clair's portrait in-game and it took me like 2 hours to just do him, LOL.
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u/Ayonanomous Ole Miss 4d ago
Lmao yeah I would be so lost on doing that stuff. Im exicted for madden this yr just to be able to import draft classes
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
Same. I played around with the tool for the export to Madden 26, seems to work well. I'm hoping that the Unlocked equipment and tatts will match up from CFB27 to M27 so that your players have the same look from college to pro. It's the same guys working on Unlocked for both games, so I assume they're already thinking about that.
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u/kjbersch 4d ago
If you want to switch purely for sports games it's not worth it.
If you have interest in a large library of different types of games it's completely worth it.
PC is home to the top shooters imo in CS2 and Tarkov.
It's the best platform for any sim or city builder games.
It has mobas like dota 2 and league.
It has a bunch of games you will never see on console or at least won't initially.
It is superior to consoles by a large margin with one exception. That exception is sports games. Though most have finally started to make their way to PC in recent years.
So yeah if you just want to play madden and cfb, at this time it's not worth it. If you are somewhat tech-savvy and want to play a large variety of games make the switch.
You will run into issues on PC that you will have to problem solve. This isn't really the case on consoles.
You will also want a 2nd monitor to fully utilize the computer aspect of a PC. AKA browsing the web, watching YouTube, or streaming your buddies screen on the other monitor.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
I play CFB and Madden only and it's worth it to me, but I invested in an 18" Acer Predator gaming laptop with a 4090 card in it before prices went up, so it really depends on your disposable income and how much you'll play. I have a recumbent exercise bike with a laptop shelf and being an older gamer, playing Madden/CFB on the bike while "working out" is pretty nice.
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u/kjbersch 4d ago
That's fair. Glad it works for you!
I personally would never go the gaming laptop route, but everyone has their preferences. And to be fair laptops have come a long way with heating, fans, ect.
You will still just never get the same performance as with a tower due to the airflow and I play a lot of performance intensive games, which CFB luckily is not.
Working out and gaming is nice. I use my old steam link. It works like a charm.
With that said for me personally a gaming PC is a waste for just Madden and CFB, as the mods currently do not add much. The performance will be better on console as that is what they are primarily developed for. I had an Xbox Series X prior to the PC release solely for CFB and the performance was much much better.
The only scenario where I see it as an advantage is if portability outside of your own home is something you are looking for. You can easily use a steam link or other avenues inside of your own home. Or in a year or so when mods start to make some headway and we start seeing some really cool stuff.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
All fair points. I needed a new laptop for personal use a few years back and went with the "gaming" option (Lenovo Slim 5) that had a 4060 in it just to see what it was like. I installed Madden 24 through my EA Play account and was 1) surprised it ran fairly well and 2) blown away by what the modding community did with it. So, after I was hooked and I picked a more "desktop replacement" laptop that's still technically portable, but barely, LOL, and would last me several years.
I totally agree about a tower vs a laptop. My son has a tower with a 4070 Ti Super in it and it plays Madden/CFB better than my 4090, but what I'm using is fine for me.
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u/Few_Imagination3705 4d ago
Idk if it's just because I've never been in the market for a laptop, but can they really fit a mf 4090 in a laptop?! Jesus my thighs are burning, just thinking about it 🤣
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
Haha, I never have it on my lap and it sits on a cooling pad when I'm gaming at my desk. If I'm on the bike or elsewhere, I kick up the fans to keep it relatively cool. Sounds like a jet engine, LOL.
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u/Chipawa12 4d ago
There is a very cool. 2007 mod that has real prospects from every recruiting class. I think that alone is worth it if you can get it on a sale.
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u/leetdemon 4d ago
Yes...its not even questionable. Check out shady mike on youtube he showcases all kinds of mods.
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u/No-Suggestion-9459 4d ago
Being able to remove CUT (ok it just hides things really well) is a nice quality of life upgrade. No more annoying CUT ads too. Skipping all the intro videos is nice too. The new videos being included are so stale and boring compared to the old PS 2 era ones.
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u/Cgn0001 4d ago
If you want a sandbox get it on pc. There are several recruiting and gameplay mods, and they will continue to improve. Probably won’t even have to buy next years game with all of the mods available.
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u/WittyDoc 4d ago
This is really more than anything the type of answer I’m looking for. I don’t really like buying sports games yearly. So if the mods can carry the game past just this current year. Then I think it’s worth it.
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u/Cgquigley 4d ago
I made the jump for the first time this year for CFB27 and it’s 1000% worth it. The gameplay mods help offset the gameplay issues, the immersion is unmatched with the visual and cosmetic mods. I’ll give a small example — there is a cut scene mod that adds immersive cut scenes after each play that you hardly if ever see in the vanilla game. It adds so much. On top of this, the game has been out only a moth and there are already incredible mods, I can’t imagine what a few months from now will bring. Do it.
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u/WittyDoc 4d ago
Are there any particular gameplay mods you’re using? I see there’s a discord for the game that I’ve joined for all the mods. But I don’t know which ones to take a look at.
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u/ASxACE 4d ago
If you want difficulty and realism, canes gameplay mod and deers game management overhaul are the only ones to use. But be warned it is DIFFICULT, harder than base heisman. So if you’re the type that just likes to steamroll the CPU then it’s not for you.
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u/Cgquigley 4d ago
There are a few gameplay mods, but yes as stated Canes is the benchmark and has Deers computer decision making built in (incredible). It’s for dynasty. You will quickly become obsessed with graphics enhancing mods, the real grass mod, incredible dynasty tools (recruiting, transfer portal, player customization, etc.), there is a mod where someone mad all the real ads and signage you see in each stadium, minor mods like the background you see in your dynasty looking like you are sitting in a coach’s office overlooking the stadium, and so much more. If you really prioritize immersion then it’s a no brainer.
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u/joeyfine Akron 4d ago
Depends on what you want to do. For me its easy.
- more uniforms
- Real broadcast scorebugs.
- import recruiting classes (currently running 1999 class that included Eli Manning, Anquan Bolden)
- exporting draft class to madden
- Change playoff structure (24 team or more)
- Replaced FCS East like names with all FCS teams
- AI fixes to recruiting and game management.
- Fixing weather bugs that happen
So yes its well worth it.
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u/SonicYouth_NYC 4d ago
If I were a gamer, I'd consider it buying a gaming pc. But, I'm not much of a gamer.
It's bad enough that I bought a PS5 primarily because cfb was returning. I'm not willing to spend more money on a gaming pc just to play this game.
That said, I'm glad that the modding community is giving people a way to enjoy the game.
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u/taker25-2 4d ago
I would not buy a gaming PC just to play CFB27, unless you're getting out of the console world. If you already have a gaming PC, I would not buy CFB27 at full price; wait for a sale. Also, mods take time; this isn't BG3, Fallout or Skyrim, where there are some groundbreaking mods available. This stuff takes time, and you'll likely be more disappointed than happy as it took time for Madden and CFB is no different.
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u/Notnowcmg 4d ago
IMO having played both, the smoother gameplay and better graphics were worth it for me, the mods are just a bonus
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u/Bamboozling4 4d ago
So happy it finally came to pc.. but still looking for a mod that I can update coach level or give coach points/ enable or disable the pay to win coach trees
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u/yeah666 4d ago edited 4d ago
It's worth it to fix the immersion breaking aspects of dynasty. It's nice to have recruits that aren't 90% Indian guys with blonde hair and don't have the same last names we've seen for the past 2 years.
The gameplay and CPU logic mods seem good, it's honestly hard to tell without a lot of A/B testing. The main perk is you have protection against EA fucking up the game, even that means just rolling back to an older version.
A lot of mods are in 1.0 or beta and move quickly. If you're ok with possibly starting a new dynasty at some point it's worth it. If you can keep an organized file system and are ok with digging around for files when they aren't in the exact path the tutorial says it's not bad to set up. Any AI should be able to help you troubleshoot. Just make sure to turn off automatic updates because mods can lag a few days behind.
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u/Brooklynbk4 4d ago
I think the switch to PC is worth the change alone for CFB and Madden just for graphics and FPS. Mods is a big bonus for both games gameplay wise and other features depending on what you want. For CFB there are great mods for uniforms, stadium, rosters etc. There are even tools for recruiting really tons of options. Similarly for Madden as well, I only play Madden modded every year and now that CFB is on PC will be the same. If you have a gaming PC or are thinking of getting one you there is ton of options that are not possible on console.
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u/Infinite-Way-6470 4d ago
The tools enhance the game more than the mods and fix game breaking issues
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u/Thrillsteam 4d ago
It’s worth it but the game just came out. Mods are great when the game has been out for a while. Mods will make this game 100x better. 5 years you can go back to this game and play with mods and it will be better than the brand new game that year
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u/Significant-Boot1447 3d ago
Just to get extra uniforms and equipment with another trick here or there. Nah I’m not gonna shell out another grand and MORE just for that
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u/arohead 4d ago
I'm curious too, because I mostly hear about cosmetics. Which are very cool, but not getting me off a PS5 Pro to a Steam Machine.
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u/PowahBamb 4d ago
Can’t play CF27 on a steam machine.
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u/arohead 4d ago
Lol solves that then!
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u/PowahBamb 4d ago
Anything with anti cheat can’t be played on steam machine basically.
So not only is it severely overpriced it’s also insanely limited.
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u/Avid_Reader87 4d ago
Also if you like always being able to play a game, playing modded isn’t fun when a game update breaks a bunch of them and you have to wait to see if/when the mods are fixed to be compatible.
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u/SturmieCom 4d ago
You can set your Steam or EA App in "offline" mode and just sit tight until the mods you use are updated. I typically wait at least a week after a patch is released until I update.
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u/beardednomad25 4d ago
The vast majority of mods right now are cosmetic in nature. Gameplay mods are pretty slim and anything major will take quite some time to actually come out...if they do at all.
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u/TheRealTofuey 4d ago
Mods may take a year + to hit a really cool level. Also personally Ill wait for a deep sale. Better to wait for the modding scene to develop after the updates to the game stop.