Madden 17

[TCrouch]

I have played Madden 16 far more than any Madden game to date (still play multiple games per week in a couple of leagues as we enter June), and some of the stuff for Madden 17 hits all the required hype buttons. The thing that jumps out at me is the new defensive zones and man tracking as receivers pass through their zone. The biggest exploit play in online stuff is the mesh and outside toss, and scrambling QBs who break contain in the pocket and the defender is clueless, defending neither the QB nor the WR behind him. IF (and that's a big if) this works as they say, that will be a game changer.

https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/new ... s-overview

The ball carrier moves is nothing but a new level tacked onto what's already there...so that's nothing big.

https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/new ... cial-moves

But the "win the tackle" event is concerning. The ability to block FGs and it going back to a tri-click method is concerning and awesome, respectively. It'll be cool to have some tension in a late game FG, but knowing EA, there will be way too many blocks.

Overall, I thought the aggressive catch last year would be overpowered, and against elite WRs it feels unstoppable. But at least playing Man with the ball in the air is sort of a rock/paper/scissors game where you can get some tip drill picks and just try to contain them. If any of what they try to describe here works, I think we might be in for a treat in a few months.

Fixing Money Plays

[Danimal]

Win the tackle sounds stupid, hopefully you can turn it off but knowing them...

I like that the moves can be set to auto, this makes it usable for an old guy like me.

[Brando70]

The kicking game really does need the overhaul they describe. I have blocked a punt once in 20 years of playing Madden, and haven't blocked a FG since the original Xbox days.

If I recall, one of the early 2000 versions had a way to block FGs by rushing up the middle - it was completely overpowered but also a hell of a lot of fun head-to-head.

[Danimal]

The kicking game really does need the overhaul they describe. I have blocked a punt once in 20 years of playing Madden, and haven't blocked a FG since the original Xbox days.

If I recall, one of the early 2000 versions had a way to block FGs by rushing up the middle - it was completely overpowered but also a hell of a lot of fun head-to-head.

Way, way back I won a playoff game by blocking a punt and returning it for a TD in Front Page Sports Football (don't recall the version) and haven't blocked a punt or FG since in any game.

[MizzouRah]

Way, way back I won a playoff game by blocking a punt and returning it for a TD in Front Page Sports Football (don't recall the version) and haven't blocked a punt or FG since in any game.

Still the best football game ever made, FPS 97 with Barry Sanders on the cover. I had Deon Sanders too, if he picked one if.. to the house he would go with that 99 speed.

[Danimal]

http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/8/1188110 ... rles-davis

Found this article very encouraging on commentary.

[pk500]

http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/8/1188110 ... rles-davis

Found this article very encouraging on commentary.

Encouraging and also a sign EA Sports is looking to trim costs. These guys are nobodies, just like pre-game host Larry Ridley. EA needs to pay them far less than big names.

[Rodster]

Wrt the commentary, count me skeptical so i'll believe when I hear it. Every team they've used in Madden with the exception of Madden and Summerall has been disappointing.

What they should have done was hired voice actors like NFL 2K did back in the day and have them both sit in the recording studio and just record lines. The best commentary is still FIFA but that's a totally different studio.

NHL and the NBA games are equally as bad. I just turn the commentary off.

[Danimal]

What they should have done was hired voice actors like NFL 2K did back in the day and have them both sit in the recording studio and just record lines.

Did you even read the article? They basically have been doing this once a week for 7 months. These guys are local and can come in whenever they need them unlike the last crew. Still doesn't matter how many lines they record if it's not stitched well but the guy in charge used to be an OS Mod and was hired 3 or 4 years ago and was always saying he was waiting for his turn to blow up the previous engine and start fresh so we'll see.

[Rodster]

What they should have done was hired voice actors like NFL 2K did back in the day and have them both sit in the recording studio and just record lines.

Did you even read the article? They basically have been doing this once a week for 7 months. These guys are local and can come in whenever they need them unlike the last crew. Still doesn't matter how many lines they record if it's not stitched well but the guy in charge used to be an OS Mod and was hired 3 or 4 years ago and was always saying he was waiting for his turn to blow up the previous engine and start fresh so we'll see.

Yes, I did read the article and one of them is a Pro and works for Fox Sports. What made the commentary work in NFL 2K was that both were just voice actors who had no broadcast or professional Sports experience, who both worked extensively on the audio commentary in the booth at the same time and they were in the studio a lot "throughout the year because they didn't have other commitments such as Davis who has a time cutoff when the NFL season starts.

With EA's combo, one's a pro so like I said, i'm not getting my hopes up that this is the year i'll turn up the commentary audio slider past 0.

[Brando70]

http://www.polygon.com/2016/6/8/1188110 ... rles-davis

Found this article very encouraging on commentary.

Very interesting, and I like the approach they are taking. It's a tough thing to get right especially if you play franchise and have longer games to get more realistic stats -- after a season of playing every game, there's a good chance you'll have heard most of the commentary. But working from the ground up, I hope they are able to do more contextual comments -- seasonal milestones, intensity that matches the timing of the game (like a late-game go-ahead score vs. an early one), etc. Even if the commentary gets repetitive, if it's informative, that is very useful.

[Dave]

I haven't played much Madden the last couple years, but any change that results in less Phil Simms on my TV is a good one.

[Danimal]

What made the commentary work in NFL 2K was that both were just voice actors who had no broadcast or professional Sports experience, who both worked extensively on the audio commentary in the booth at the same time and they were in the studio a lot "throughout the year because they didn't have other commitments such as Davis who has a time cutoff when the NFL season starts.

What made it work was it was stitched well, there are professionals in NBA2K and The Show. Those games sound good because of competent sound design. It doesn't matter who is in there if you're getting a lot of commentary (they say they are) and it is stitched together correctly then that is the key. They could record thousands of hours of commentary but if it was broken and didn't flow it wouldn't matter.

[Aristo]

Yeah, for the problems MLB 2K baseball had, they absolutely nailed the commentary, including the use of John Kruk, which should have ben awful.

There is a way to do commentary, and EA has never seemed to really get it. It has nothing to do with using pros versus voice actors. Voice actors do have the advantage of being cheaper and more available, but its success is really based on how it is stitched and applied.

[Rodster]

What made the commentary work in NFL 2K was that both were just voice actors who had no broadcast or professional Sports experience, who both worked extensively on the audio commentary in the booth at the same time and they were in the studio a lot "throughout the year because they didn't have other commitments such as Davis who has a time cutoff when the NFL season starts.

What made it work was it was stitched well, there are professionals in NBA2K and The Show. Those games sound good because of competent sound design. It doesn't matter who is in there if you're getting a lot of commentary (they say they are) and it is stitched together correctly then that is the key. They could record thousands of hours of commentary but if it was broken and didn't flow it wouldn't matter.

The commentary worked because of the time put into the audio by the voice actors and as I read they were constantly in the studio rehearsing their lines and included adlibs into the script. NBA 2K is just benefiting from the initial work that Visual Concepts started with NFL 2K.

Prior to The Show, it too was garbage with Dave Campbell and Vin Sculley. Madden's audio commentary team has been garbage for the last 10 years so i'm still skeptical it'll be good.

[Danimal]

The commentary worked because of the time put into the audio by the voice actors and as I read they were constantly in the studio rehearsing their lines and included adlibs into the script.

By that logic 2 voice actors who did the same thing would make Madden sound good with their current sound engine.

[wco81]

scrambling QBs who break contain in the pocket and the defender is clueless, defending neither the QB nor the WR behind him. IF (and that's a big if) this works as they say, that will be a game changer.

When has that not been a problem?

People have been playing Vick for years, sprinting out and waiting for the corner pattern to the same side.

You had to rush from the outside or play contain, compromising coverage.

[Rodster]

The commentary worked because of the time put into the audio by the voice actors and as I read they were constantly in the studio rehearsing their lines and included adlibs into the script.

By that logic 2 voice actors who did the same thing would make Madden sound good with their current sound engine.

Madden's audio commentary primarily suffers from the announcers they chose which were real NFL announcers and analysts who work during the season and have a limited amount of time if any during the regular season. The Show's audio has regressed some as well as little work has been done to improve or freshen the commentary sans the occasional analysts they plugged in which made the commentary seem disjointed.

I'll give you that audio editing is essential but without both voice actors spending enough time together throughout the year to provide a good foundation or body of work will give you crap results and the team that's responsible for Madden's audio has been awful to say the least and their NHL and NBA commentary isn't much better.

[Aristo]

Honestly, I love playing those Vick-style guys in MUT and DC. You simply run QB contain on nearly every play and rack up sacks, as the DEs are in effect position to take down the QB. Those guys so freaking easy to beat.

I did play play a kid the other night that used Tyrod Taylor, and he was able to cut back into the middle and run on me. He needed one BS 4th down conversion, but he scored on his first drive. I finally went to a spy as well as QB contain on every play. Heck, I started just using the same play every down. He quit when I went up 14-6 (yeah, cheese went for 2). Basically, I started sacking him and picking him off. I scored late in the 2nd quarter to go up 7-6, and "iced" the game mid way in the third.

I'm not great at Madden, but I have been able to find ways to stop every cheesy play guys run, both on offense and defense. People complaining about cheese just aren't trying to alter what they do. It does seem like the debs are trying to help gamers by creating new ways to find plays that counter specific tactics, but a lot of those solutions are already there.

[Aristo]

The commentary worked because of the time put into the audio by the voice actors and as I read they were constantly in the studio rehearsing their lines and included adlibs into the script.

By that logic 2 voice actors who did the same thing would make Madden sound good with their current sound engine.

Madden's audio commentary primarily suffers from the announcers they chose which were real NFL announcers and analysts who work during the season and have a limited amount of time if any during the regular season. The Show's audio has regressed some as well as little work has been done to improve or freshen the commentary sans the occasional analysts they plugged in which made the commentary seem disjointed.

I'll give you that audio editing is essential but without both voice actors spending enough time together throughout the year to provide a good foundation or body of work will give you crap results and the team that's responsible for Madden's audio has been awful to say the least and their NHL and NBA commentary isn't much better.

Then how is Kevin Harlan so good, as he might work more than anyone broadcasting today. Sure, more free time to lay more tracks helps. But it really is the production that makes stuff sound stilted and terrible. In fact, Gary Thorne's experience with 2K seemed to help the commentary in the NHL games be more fluid.

[TCrouch]

scrambling QBs who break contain in the pocket and the defender is clueless, defending neither the QB nor the WR behind him. IF (and that's a big if) this works as they say, that will be a game changer.

When has that not been a problem?

People have been playing Vick for years, sprinting out and waiting for the corner pattern to the same side.

You had to rush from the outside or play contain, compromising coverage.

That was exactly my point. It's been an issue for years, and the QB Contain DL audible helps it some, but if they break that and get outside, the AI still fails to recognize the scrambling QB OR the WR behind them. At least force the QB to make a quick decision/poor throw. They described all of these changes to their zone concepts, how they'll perform 'realistic' threat determination, etc. I don't buy it, but IF they manage to do it, a lot of that frustration will be eased.

[sportdan30]

I listened to the phone interview yesterday. These guys really seem to be Madden fans, especially Gaudin, who is only 32 years old.

A positive... I liked the fact that there will be much less generic commentary. That was one of my biggest beefs with the game. Sims calls were all "the quarterback, the running back, etc". They said it'll be rare that you don't hear the player's name called out.

And for a slight negative.....they are unable to break in to a big play while either of them is talking about a previous play or player. It's something they will try and devote more time to in the future.

[Danimal]

New Blog up on presentation. An I lost the link, well wasn't that thrilling anyway.

[vader29]

[MizzouRah]

I'm pondering if I get Madden... with the Rams gone.. do I still play with them or do I play with my other favorite team, the Buffalo Bills?

Maybe I'll just go with the Chiefs!