Madden 11 Impressions

[GTHobbes]

On another note, it's nice to know I can not be around for a few days and come back to the same people trolling the same thread.

I'd submit that comments like these add nothing of value to the board, and are just as tired as my "trolling." How about both sides put an end to it, once and for all? Thanks.

[dbdynsty25]

How about both sides put an end to it, once and for all? Thanks.

Murder is out of the question.

[Danimal]

I'd submit that comments like these add nothing of value to the board, and are just as tired as my "trolling." How about both sides put an end to it, once and for all? Thanks.

I'd say there are about 8-10 of us who feel the same way about 95% of your posts, doesn't seem to stop you.

[Danimal]

I could care less about ads in games as long as they don't interfere with playing the game.

You mean kind of like how the friends notification blocks the field goal meter. Amazing how that one got by testing.

[Aristo]

no. You're not

the Old Spice Ad in Madden 2010 is one of the cheapest entities have ever witnessed
_

Just curious how the Old Spice add is any more obtrusive then the Stirde drive summary in APF?

On another note, it's nice to know I can not be around for a few days and come back to the same people trolling the same thread.

The Stride long drive summary was annoying as all get out. It was especially bad because it would run for one long pass play. It was so poorly implemented. But I think it's the Gus Johnson smaltz that annoys me more.

But none of the ads have any impact on my actual enjoyment of the games. You get far less product placement and advertising than actually going to the games. It's not even close, as the video screens of the modern age blast commercials non-stop, and billboards cover everything. And my tickets never get cheaper, either.

[vinny-b]

no. You're not

the Old Spice Ad in Madden 2010 is one of the cheapest entities have ever witnessed
_

Just curious how the Old Spice add is any more obtrusive then the Stirde drive summary in APF?

On another note, it's nice to know I can not be around for a few days and come back to the same people trolling the same thread.

trolling. whatever then

[Danimal]

no. You're not

the Old Spice Ad in Madden 2010 is one of the cheapest entities have ever witnessed
_

Just curious how the Old Spice add is any more obtrusive then the Stirde drive summary in APF?

On another note, it's nice to know I can not be around for a few days and come back to the same people trolling the same thread.

trolling. whatever then

Wasn't referring to you but still love to hear what the difference is between the two. Aren't you a big 2K person? Explain how ths Stride product placement is any better then the Old Spice one

[vinny-b]

Wasn't referring to you but still love to hear what the difference is between the two. Aren't you a big 2K person? Explain how ths Stride product placement is any better then the Old Spice one

unfortunately, never did pick up All Pro Football. Did take me a minute to detect the abrv APF

[tmdba37]

Whereas this thread has devolved into a bit of a flame-war trolling nightmare, there are some interesting developments in game to report. . .

The game is actually somewhat more intriguing online. In the once-a-week Online Franchise that I am in, the games have turned back into matches that somewhat represent NFL football games vs. 120 point (total) arena league shootouts. . .some guys have even pitched shutouts, which would have been impossible with the out of the box build.

Big plays are still abundant, but the punters are also getting a workout, which is nice.

The biggest problem, that has probably run under the radar due to indifference, has been rampant disconnect issues with the Online Franchise Servers. I have yet to play a game without at least one disconnect and there have been a handful of times where folks in the league have had multiple starts and restarts.

It's just unfortunate that this feature has been put on the pay no mind list, I think that it could be a really fun and much more addictive game mode if done right. Hopefully it'll be a higher priority for them in the future.

[greggsand]

Playing a guy who loves to pass to the RB (esp up the middle). Defense suggestions to stop this???

[Jared]

On another note, it's nice to know I can not be around for a few days and come
back to the same people trolling the same thread.

Honestly, how can you complain about trolling when you bring up something that had died out a few days ago?

And to add to this, Leebo and myself clearly made posts that laid out why we thought GT was trolling, and he for the most part cut it out. I have no idea why you feel like you need to inject yourself into this afterwards - but it's just as bad as the original trolling.

[TCrouch]

Playing a guy who loves to pass to the RB (esp up the middle). Defense suggestions to stop this???

A cover 1 with the MLB and safety going 2-up down the center of the field will stop a lot of those little RB-down-the-center-of-the-field plays.

If he's really blatant about it, you can even switch to a defensive tackle and use the defensive hotroutes to drop him into a hook zone so you end up with 3 guys there, which almost always triple-bracket the 5-to-10 yard area that those throws end up in. Several picks a game against guys like that. If it's a fast running back, it's tough to stay with them man to man unless you manually control the defender and really give the guy a cushion. A lot of those "zig" routes look the same coming out of the backfield, so it can be tough. It may cut back inside or flow to the outside, so I will sometimes run with the cover 1 in the center and drop a DE into QB contain which leaves him in the flat for guys like that.

Of course then you're left vulnerable to a trap or an off-tackle run, which will absolutely gouge your vacated DE spot. But against players like that you usually don't have to worry about them noticing and exploiting things like that. They'll just go back to the well repeatedly, because that's what they know.

Good luck.

[GTHobbes]

At the risk of offending people by digging up the Madden thread yet again, I thought this twitter exchange that pasta padre posted on his site was interesting. Good to see Tiburon at least recognizes the problems with Play Action. Hopefully it becomes a "priority" for them in the near future.

"Pastapadre: And yet another surprise onside kick. #missingfrommadden

Ian_Cummings: you’d rather have in essence a “cheese” play than fundamental gameplay improvements? I’m not a fan.

Pastapadre: why call it a “cheese play”? It carries risk. “Cheese” to me is exploiting a flaw. Not replicating real life NFL

Pastapadre: risk-reward tactic employed by NFL coaches to shift momentum. Only is done relatively rarely because of field position risk.

Ian_Cummings: because everyone will run it non-stop and there will be all kinds of backlash about fixing it. It’s not core to sim gameplay.

Ian_Cummings: NFL ratio is now what…1 out of 5000 kicks is surprise onside? How many do you think will be called in Madden?

Pastapadre: Why don’t people run onside kicks non-stop then?

Ian_Cummings: big difference…your opponent knows it is coming, and even if not, he can audible. This is a free hidden shot at an extra poss.

Pastapadre: then you’re saying outlaw fake punts too? Just like surprise onsides they are high risk and only done selectively for a reason

Ian_Cummings: I’d rather focus on the core issues than adding a play that will just add trouble.

Ian_Cummings: I’d love to add everything, but we need to pick highest priorities (that also hopefully don’t cause griefing)

Ian_Cummings: obvious you aren’t going to budge on this. But those EXIST. This would have to be BUILT. Not worth it with other priorities.

Pastapadre: try not to feature a play unavailable in Madden on the intro video in the future then at least

Pastapadre: appreciate the dialogue regardless, I just don’t agree with the thinking on this.

Ian_Cummings: name something that drives you crazy about Madden AI or animation from 11, or for years…and we’ll prioritize together

Ian_Cummings: no doubt it will eventually get in…hell maybe in 12…but it’s not at the top for me due to prev-mentioned issues

Pastapadre: My #1 might be effective play action. Quicker/signature QB PA animations.

Ian_Cummings: good one…need to use rating better also. So which would you rather get- Effective PA (used >10x per game), or surprise onside?

Ian_Cummings: both require new CPU AI, new animations & mocap, and playbook support…very similar in dev cost.

Pastapadre: The answer is obvious, I dont debate that. Just consider things like SOK is somewhat symbolic for missing things in the game."

[Brando70]

I frankly wouldn't want surprise onside in any game. It's one of those things that would be really hard to balance. It reminds me of the old Play Action Football for the Nintendo. You could not only recover an onside kick about half the time, but if you played with the Niners (who had Rice on the onside kick team), Rice would recover the kick and score every time he recovered it.

[GTHobbes]

I also couldn't care less about surprise onside kicks being in the game. But I thought it was interesting that he said implementing them and effective play action pass plays would both require "new CPU AI, new animations & mocap, and playbook support," and that both are "very similar in dev cost."

[Danimal]

Last patch is coming, spare you the details it is all MUT related.

Frankly I am done caring about madden, I'll play it for what it is a mediocre game but it is clear that Madden is focusing only on modes that they can micro-transact. I mean of the Ultimate Team modes madden is the worst.

[AJColossal]

I frankly wouldn't want surprise onside in any game. It's one of those things that would be really hard to balance.

I can see that, but it's another thing that's in the game that's not "in the game".

I guess even the great games like NBA 2K (no technical fouls) and MLB The Show (no balks) have certain components of their respective sports missing, but Madden seems to be missing quite a bit more.

In a great year for sports titles, Madden's mediocrity stood out a bit more this year.

[GTHobbes]

Last patch is coming, spare you the details it is all MUT related.

Frankly I am done caring about madden, I'll play it for what it is a mediocre game but it is clear that Madden is focusing only on modes that they can micro-transact. I mean of the Ultimate Team modes madden is the worst.

I sure wish someone at EA would recognize that it's no longer just us "trolls" who aren't happy with their product. When the most loyal of their fans are saying they're done caring, someone at EA would be wise to take notice, IMO.

[Rodster]

I got my $39.25 in trade from Amazon.com, used it towards NFS: Hot Pursuit (PS3). Oh if DB is keeping score +2

[Spooky]

I got my $39.25 in trade from Amazon.com, used it towards NFS: Hot Pursuit (PS3). Oh if DB is keeping score +2

How so...? I see it listed for $33 trade in value.

[GTHobbes]

Just saw the 4th patch information Dan referenced:

http://maddennfl.easports.com/blog.acti ... tleupdate4

"First off, we have been aware of a roster de-sync issue that resulted in more disconnects during some online games - primarily affecting Online Franchise and Madden Ultimate Team games. Rest assured we have a fix slated for this upcoming title update, and more details are explained below.

Ultimate Team ‘Rivals Pack'
The biggest delivery for this update is a set of features built around Madden Ultimate Team, and this signifies a few months of development work as we couldn't squeeze these features in by the ship date. The "Rivals Pack" delivers three new features for Ultimate Team, allowing you to make new rivals in Tournaments, face off against old rivals in Play vs. Friends, and renew some rivalries with Refer a Friend.

New Feature #1: Tournaments
You guys have asked for Tournaments in Ultimate Team for a while now, and we're happy to say that they will be available in the next title update. Here are some details about this brand new feature:

1. Each tournament has entrance criteria which can range from specific players to minimum team skill or chemistry.
2. Once you enter the tournament, you'll be matched up against another tournament player and battle it out. The owner who wins the game will move on to the next round while the loser has to start the tournament over.
3. You win coins every time you advance and if you advance to the last round and win, you'll earn even more coins and you might even win a rare player.
4. Tournaments, like Collections, are dynamic and new tournaments can (and will) be added throughout the season.
5. We're also planning on having special promotional tournaments where we release an insert for the weekend and those that find that insert can enter a special tournament.

New Feature #2: Play With Friends
Another feature the community has asked for is the ability to play against your friends in Ultimate Team, and that will finally be available in Title Update #4. You can challenge your friends anytime they are online and play a game of MUT.

New Feature #3: Refer a Friend
One of our favorite new features is Refer a Friend. If you have buddies that play Madden, but they haven't joined Ultimate Team, you can earn coins for getting them to join up. A brand new screen has been added that allows you to keep track of your invites and your rewards from the friends that have accepted the referral.

Here's a list of uniform updates that will be rolled out when Title Update #4 releases:

• Added alternate tops for the 3 Vikings jerseys featuring the 50th anniversary patch being worn this season.
• Added the current Redskins Home and Away uniforms. In addition the socks issues are fixed.
• Added the current Chargers powder blue uniform.
• Added a uniform top for the Saints including the Super Bowl Champions patch as seen in their home opener.

Content Updates
Here's a list of some of the other changes we've made to Madden NFL 11 that will be rolled out when Title Update #4 releases:

• Fixed a couple of random Madden Moments stability issues.
• Fixed the user's ability to view play art manually if the opponent on defense holds LT/L2 pre-snap.
• Fixed an exploit where the user could audible when coming out in the Bronco Heavy formation with a HB or WR at QB.
• Fixed an exploit where after pressing the square/X button on defense a user is able to hold down on the L-stick which allows the defender to release off the LOS and go after the QB as soon as the ball is hiked.
• Fixed a hanging issue with onside kicks in Madden Moments Live and offline Madden Moments.
• Fixed an issue causing a high percentage of disconnects in Online Franchise, Madden Ultimate Team, and other online head-to-head games

Well, that's it for the update on Title Update #4. Expect it to arrive at the end of this month or the first week of November with all the features and improvements you see listed above. If you have any questions or comments feel free to hop over to the EA Forums to discuss.

- Madden Team"

[Rodster]

I got my $39.25 in trade from Amazon.com, used it towards NFS: Hot Pursuit (PS3). Oh if DB is keeping score +2

How so...? I see it listed for $33 trade in value.

You waited too long, trade-in price dropped. Still $33 is probably more than you'll get from Gamestop.

[MizzouRah]

As usual, Jim Gindin of FOF came out with a new roster so as usual for my football fix, it's all about the text sim FOF.

I'm just happy NCAA 11 is such a great game.. I'll probably even pick up BB at some point.

[Lancer]

the last patch broke NCAA for me. As for Madden, I haven't played in a while. I am keeping it hoping it gets fixed but I think it's just a frantic game at the core that cannot be changed with patches.

[greggsand]

Great news on the patch. Ever since the last patch, one of my friends & I were getting online drops about 90% of the time (online franchise). A real drag.