Madden 19 with RPM

[pk500]

Early impressions after one game from a longtime but not hardcore Madden player:

+ You can really feel the difference between good and bad players, especially quarterbacks. Cam Newton ripped up the Bills' secondary in a preseason game, while his backup missed a bunch of open receivers. Shady McCoy was running strong for the Bills when he got hurt, and Chris Ivory wasn't nearly as effective as a backup. I think the skill differentiation between players feels more realistic than ever.

+ Suggested playcalling seems to be geared toward the skill and tendencies of each quarterback. When A.J. McCarron started for the Bills, the suggested passes went downfield more. When Josh Allen came in, the playcalling featured a lot of slants, quick outs and high-percentage play-action passes. A cool, realistic touch.

+/- Field goals and extra points were far too easy in Madden 18. They're tougher this year, but I still haven't quite wrapped my head around the new kicking mechanism. Time and practice should tell the tale.

- I don't feel that much of a difference with the new RPM momentum and cutting engine. Maybe I'm not using it properly or well enough or not schooled enough in the intricacies of football, but this new feature doesn't feel anywhere near as revolutionary for the franchise as depicted by EA.

- Graphics seem identical to last year other than some new overlays and perhaps lighting.

More play to come. Again, one exhibition game. But Madden 19 feels like an incremental improvement over Madden 18, not nearly the same leap I felt from Madden 17 to 18.

Madden 18 was a damn good game, so maybe my expectations were too high for Madden 19. But this feels a lot like Madden 18.5 to me.

We'll use the full 10-hour trial in our household, but this may be the first year we wait four to six weeks for a sale before purchasing Madden. I just don't feel enough on first play to justify a Day One purchase. Completely different experience than last year, when EA had my money after the first quarter of the trial of Madden 18.

[dbdynsty25]

Madden 18 was a damn good game, so maybe my expectations were too high for Madden 19. But this feels a lot like Madden 18.5 to me.

Unless you're going from console generation to generation, Madden has always felt like a .5 release. Last year was better, but still not a monumental upgrade.

This year...got bored after a half. Need to play more obviously, but clearly I'm just not a football gaming fan anymore. RIP 2k football.

[pk500]

This year...got bored after a half. Need to play more obviously, but clearly I'm just not a football gaming fan anymore. RIP 2k football.

You're on to something, man. After I played my first game of Madden 19, I thought: "Man, when are FIFA 19 and PES 2019 being released? Hey, F1 2018 is coming out in three weeks! And I think I'm playing theHunter: Call of the Wild tonight."

[Danimal]

- I don't feel that much of a difference with the new RPM momentum and cutting engine. Maybe I'm not using it properly or well enough or not schooled enough in the intricacies of football, but this new feature doesn't feel anywhere near as revolutionary for the franchise as depicted by EA.

Sorry if this sounds like me being a jerk but I have no idea how you can't notice this unless you're basically jamming the turbo button the second you touch the ball. DB's need to plant to change direction and momentum, I've been able to fit passes into windows I would of never had last year because the secondary can't switch on a dime. When running the ball if you hit turbo the second you get it then you've basically taken RPM off the table, if you don't hit turbo you can do some nice moves with it.

More play to come. Again, one exhibition game. But Madden 19 feels like an incremental improvement over Madden 18, not nearly the same leap I felt from Madden 17 to 18.

Madden 18 was a damn good game, so maybe my expectations were too high for Madden 19. But this feels a lot like Madden 18.5 to me.

I don't think that is an unfair assessment a lot of the changes might only be noticeable to people who play it a lot. I like a lot of the changes such as the delay in QB audibles, the schemes in franchise etc. Hell I saw an offensive pass interference in my second game on the AI, it happened on stream with 7 witnesses. However these games can only change so much, there is as much if not more improvements in this years Madden then the last few iterations of The Show but that game gets fellated every year because it's not made by EA and Madden became better than NFL2K about 4 years ago. It might not be for everyone and is far from perfect but its pretty damn good IMO.

[Rodster]

Still waiting for season mode.

[pk500]

However these games can only change so much, there is as much if not more improvements in this years Madden then the last few iterations of The Show but that game gets fellated every year because it's not made by EA and Madden became better than NFL2K about 4 years ago. It might not be for everyone and is far from perfect but its pretty damn good IMO.

The last NFL 2K game was released in 2004. So congrats to EA for finally catching them in 2014.

Again, I'm not a hardcore Madden player. I don't notice the nuances that you and Terry do. I save that thesis-level study for soccer and racing games.

I also stated at least twice in my post that Madden 18 was a very good game that I liked very much. But EA hyped the RPM feature in Madden 19 so much that I thought it would be a groundbreaking advancement for football gaming. Silly me for believing the hype.

[Danimal]

But EA hyped the RPM feature in Madden 19 so much that I thought it would be a groundbreaking advancement for football gaming. Silly me for believing the hype.

It might not be ground breaking for you but it is something players have asked for years to have added. I don't know, players actually having to plant, stop their momentum and move realistically is a pretty big change and a first for football games.

What were you expecting it to do?

[Teal]

Yeah, I played it. Didn't notice the big changes. But then again, I'm staying in a soft protest until NCAA returns... don't give a flat damn about the NFL. It's purdy and all, but I haven't given Madden a dime since the SNES days, and am in no danger of parting with cash for one any time soon.

[Rodster]

Again, I'm not a hardcore Madden player. I don't notice the nuances that you and Terry do. I save that thesis-level study for soccer and racing games.

I thought I read all EA Sports games are getting RPM this year.

[pk500]

But EA hyped the RPM feature in Madden 19 so much that I thought it would be a groundbreaking advancement for football gaming. Silly me for believing the hype.

It might not be ground breaking for you but it is something players have asked for years to have added. I don't know, players actually having to plant, stop their momentum and move realistically is a pretty big change and a first for football games.

What were you expecting it to do?

More than a graphical enhancement, because that's what it feels like to this player who isn't in online leagues, doesn't play hundreds of Madden games each fall and doesn't study the game at a P.h.D level.

RPM doesn't change the way I play the game. In recent years, I have laid off the turbo button and waited for holes with running backs. I do the same with RPM, except now I actually see a realistic planting and cutting animation. Nice, but not mind-blowing.

When a racing game series changes its physics model, I can feel it immediately in the gamepad, good or bad. When the NHL series changed its skating model to be more realistic a few years ago, I felt it immediately in the gamepad. I didn't get the same sensation with RPM in Madden other than it's a cool animation that enhances the visual realism of the game.

[Rodster]

More than a graphical enhancement, because that's what it feels like to this player who isn't in online leagues, doesn't play hundreds of Madden games each fall and doesn't study the game at a P.h.D level.

RPM doesn't change the way I play the game. In recent years, I have laid off the turbo button and waited for holes with running backs. I do the same with RPM, except now I actually see a realistic planting and cutting animation. Nice, but not mind-blowing.

When a racing game series changes its physics model, I can feel it immediately in the gamepad, good or bad. When the NHL series changed its skating model to be more realistic a few years ago, I felt it immediately in the gamepad. I didn't get the same sensation with RPM in Madden other than it's a cool animation that enhances the visual realism of the game.

Someone tends to agree with you: "Nevertheless, it's hard to point to any one element of Madden 19 and call it a definitive selling point. The animation improvements are noticeable, but not so much so that they fundamentally change the game. It all adds up to an entry that is decidedly geared toward the hardcore, with the sort of additions that they are most prone to notice."

https://www.usgamer.net/articles/madden-nfl-19-review

[Aristo]

I had some crazy good OL play in a game last night on a run up the middle. On the left the side of the line, the LT, LG, and C all collapsed on the DT and DE, causing a cluster. The other team's LB began to cut around the cluster, but my C saw him, and spun around and and met him before he could get to the HB, just chipping him long enough for HB to hit the hole.

Meanwhile, my RG had fired out and taken on a MLB, so the HB had a deep hole to run through, but as he caught up to the RG, the RG left that man and continued up field, chipping the safety coming in to help, which left me with just one man to beat, which I did for a 78 yard TD. It was a pretty cool sequence that I meant to record and share, but forgot to go back and save it after the game.

Overall, I think the gameplay is improved significantly. It's subtle, but the effects on the gameplay are pretty big.

[pk500]

Someone tends to agree with you: "Nevertheless, it's hard to point to any one element of Madden 19 and call it a definitive selling point. The animation improvements are noticeable, but not so much so that they fundamentally change the game. It all adds up to an entry that is decidedly geared toward the hardcore, with the sort of additions that they are most prone to notice."

https://www.usgamer.net/articles/madden-nfl-19-review

Interesting. And hand-on-the-Bible truth: I never saw that story or excerpt until right now.

I clicked the link to that review and skimmed it. The review reminded me that Frostbite was introduced to Madden last year, and that had a more pronounced effect on me -- as a veteran casual Madden player -- than RPM does this year.

Frostbite was a major overhaul to the entire graphics engine, while RPM feels like a cool animation truly appreciated by the hardcore Madden player and somewhat negligible to the casual player.

[Murph]

I get bored with Madden year after year. I’ll never be happy until NCAA Football makes its triumphant return someday (I hope).

[Danimal]

Overall, I think the gameplay is improved significantly. It's subtle, but the effects on the gameplay are pretty big.

Exactly, but it's easier to play one game say everything looks the same for the ill informed.

[Danimal]

I get bored with Madden year after year. I’ll never be happy until NCAA Football makes its triumphant return someday (I hope).

It's never coming back, thank the NCAA for that. EA offered to compensate the players the NCAA said no.

[pk500]

I get bored with Madden year after year. I’ll never be happy until NCAA Football makes its triumphant return someday (I hope).

Agree with Dan. Icicles will cluster in hell before college sports returns to gaming. FAR too big of a legal minefield.

[pk500]

Overall, I think the gameplay is improved significantly. It's subtle, but the effects on the gameplay are pretty big.

Exactly, but it's easier to play one game say everything looks the same for the ill informed.

Well, well, well. Dan, you prefaced your original response to my impressions -- which were CLEARLY labeled as a one-game impression from a casual player -- by saying they might make you look like a jerk. Those comments didn't, but the above one sure as hell does.

I could dissect a racing, soccer or boxing game to the doctorate level, as you do with Madden. But would I essentially call you a Luddite in those sports if you didn't see the same nuances as me when playing them?

Hell, no.

Enjoy Madden 19. Play the hell out of it and savor the myriad improvements that hardcore players like you notice and appreciate. But the rest of us great, unwashed football masses are not "ill-informed" because we don't take the game as seriously as you do or have seemingly as vested of an interest in it.

Rant over.

[Danimal]

PK I don't care if you like it or not to be honest and my comment was more the general tone of this thread. It's OS like to be honest. People playing 1 game or 1 half, not playing it but commenting anyway. It like me coming into the Hunter thread after playing for 15 minutes and saying this game is boring and like every other $12 budget hunting title ever released.

I was trying to explain to you why I think RPM changes the game but your posts made it clear you didn't care, you called it a minor animation change at that point there is no reason for me to even try.

That's fine it is your choice on what you want to play, I'm certainly not claiming it is a mind blowing new game but for people who play it a lot, especially in franchise there are good changes for example.

The fact that audibles and hot routes now have animations attached which make it impossible to hot route every player multiple times.
The fact teams have schemes and players fit better into those schemes. Do I take the 85 overall or the 80 who fits my scheme?
The fact you can depth chart Slot receivers, power backs, sub LB's Rush ends and also that the game now subs players without messing with sliders, big for me.

I could go on but I want to play it more, there are a lot of things I don't like, for example the AI run game is not great. Injuries seem out of control, wacky mouse support.

At the end of the day I don't care if people like it or not, or who plays what but lets be honest if this wasn't Madden which people love to hate, half these people wouldn't even post in this thread.

[Rodster]

but lets be honest if this wasn't Madden which people love to hate, half these people wouldn't even post in this thread.

That's not a fair statement tbh. You could say the same for The Show or NBA2K. Any game that dominates and is exclusive to any given sport will have it's fair share of detractors. It's not that the game is bad but it becomes the same 'ol, same 'ol. While The Show is a top notch baseball game i've grown tired of it because there is no other option for a serious baseball game.

Up until recently it was only NBA 2K and I felt it was long in the tooth. Last year I purchased NBA Live 18 because it was different and I had more fun with it. Was it the better basketball game, no but I enjoyed it more. When there's only one choice you can become bored and when you become bored, you become indifferent so subtle changes are not likely to have a massive positive effect on the gamer. Like PK said, the animations looked cool but it had no other effect on him as to how he played the game. The reviewer a few post up elicited the same type of opinion. I'm sure I would feel the same way about FIFA if it were the only Futbol game in town. I can't speak for PK but he doesn't sound like a Madden hater, he wasn't even being critical of the game. It was just a feature that he was indifferent about.

In a nutshell Madden in it's current form is light years better and more advanced than anything NFL 2K5 did. And even if 2K decided to make another NFL game it would take several years just to catch up. The only thing gamers want is choice and for the last 10-15 years those choices have been taken away from us.

[pk500]

I was trying to explain to you why I think RPM changes the game but your posts made it clear you didn't care, you called it a minor animation change at that point there is no reason for me to even try.

So if I don’t see the same improvements in the game through RPM, I don’t care? Well, that’s adorable.

I don’t see or feel the same enhancement to the game through RPM as you. That doesn’t make either of us right or wrong. It’s my IMPRESSION, and for someone who doesn’t take Madden nearly as seriously as you, RPM does little SO FAR to increase my enjoyment of the game.

You write as if I’m denying RPM exists, so why bother trying to talk about it. Not even close. I see RPM, but it’s more of an animation change than a gameplay enhancement for this non-hardcore player.

I could notice a subtle difference in the tire friction model of a racing game and think it was a big deal. Others who were more casual racers may not see or feel it. Fine. I understand that I’m a hardcore racing enthusiast, and those people aren’t, so their appreciation of features may not be the same.

Not everyone will have the same impression as you. Game analysis is subjective as hell, especially within the context of one’s zeal for a franchise.

Finally, I think the feedback at DSP for Madden has been largely positive in recent years because it’s a good franchise. Not sure why you think otherwise.

Oh, well.

[Wilk5280]

It's that time of the year again. Ground hog day, but only on an annual level.

The only game I feel that had the same amount of back-and-forth every year was Tiger Woods PGA Tour. You could set your clock to it.

[TCrouch]

Holy sh*t, this blew up.

For me, RPM is a massive, massive upgrade. But I notice the RB planting their feet and accelerating in the direction I'm pressing with the subtlest movement of the stick. What this leads to is the best "up the middle" runs I've ever seen in Madden. There can be a tiny crease between linemen, and when I move the stick a HAIR to the left or the right, my RB now plants and cuts right to the direction I'm looking to go. I can zig-zag in a phone booth, zipping around blockers, and now that they toned down the crazy block-shed of CPU defenders...make beautiful, realistic-looking runs right through the teeth of a defense. It's no longer boom-or-bust for me, where I either run a stretch/toss and gain 50 yards, or run up the middle for 2 yards. Now, I can get stuffed for a couple yard loss, gain a couple yards, bust 5 to 8 yarders up the middle, and rarely get "locked up" on a cluster of linemen in the trash zone. And in the open field, slowing down a hair and then sharply cutting another direction with a synchronous press of RT initiates a "one-cut" mechanic that lets you speedily burst past defenders without juking or anything else.

To me, this has fundamentally changed the game, as the same movement works on defense. I can strafe the line, shadow a ballcarrier as a linebacker, and when I see the hole develop with the blocking assignments of the OL, use the same 'cut-and-RT' mechanic to burst into the gap and blow dudes up. I can no longer spin wild circles on defense and change directions like a hyperactive gnat. I need to make calculated decisions in coverage, and it helps that simply being ON a guy can create incompletions. I don't have to keep myself between the QB and the WR to hit the swat button like in years past. I can simply stay in the dude's hip, and tight coverage leads to a lot of drops automatically.

That being said, I think the key word is "perspective". It used to be very tough for me to grasp the concept that somebody else might not see the same stuff I'm seeing. Same thing with racing games, and how to apply the knowledge of how a vehicle interacts with a track to notice the tiniest elements in a game. But then I would look at NBA2K and NBA Live and go "same stuff every year", because I have no clue about basketball. I couldn't tell you why one is better than the other. I've loved NHL for a long time (until I finally got tired of it this past year), even though I see PK's rants on why the AI is so poor. It never bothers me, because I don't understand true hockey gameplay enough to notice. All I see is the crazy-deke-kids making it not fun to play online!

In the end, though...we're basically a family here. I am happy we all have our own sh*t we like, and while I COMPLETELY do not "get" TheHunter, I'm happy you guys have it. And I didn't really see anything PK or anybody else said as a "this game sucks balls" type of comment--but perspective is a tough thing to come to grips with.

We're all brothers, here. Sort of. Sometimes!

Let's sing kumbaya and smoke something...

[Teal]

I get bored with Madden year after year. I’ll never be happy until NCAA Football makes its triumphant return someday (I hope).

It's never coming back, thank the NCAA for that. EA offered to compensate the players the NCAA said no.

Solution: EA Sports College Football. No real teams, no real players, no conferences, just a great football game engine, and a comprehensive editor that is community shareable. I don't give a damn about the commentary; I prefer the sounds of gameday at the stadium (also editable). Traditions editable. Conferences. Everything. You'd have a game that never got old.

[pk500]

By the way, Dan and I took this pillow fight to Facebook Messenger.

He graciously apologized to me and other non-hardcore players in this thread and also offered some good information about the RPM feature that helps me see it more clearly. He also understands that many of us aren't as hardcore as he is with Madden and don't notice the nuance.

No harm, no foul. All's good in the hood. Dan's a top DSP brother.