EA Head Coach 09

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:12 pm

I'm with you Leebo.. I'm already tired of remembering when I should and when I shouldn't save my game.

Glad my neighbor bought the CE edition and let me use Head Coach.. not sure I'll keep playing if all these bugs take over my career.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:33 pm

There is a patch in the works, Josh pretty much confirmed it even though he can't officially confirm it.

I still think it is a stellar game with the bugs. I honestly would have never noticed the salary bug.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:51 pm

So when can and can't you save? I do have one guy on my team who just never seems to heal.

I had my first regular season game with my Seahawks the other night, a 24-21 nail-biter win against the Bills. My guys played terrible at first, the Bills were passing on me left and right. Luckily I game planned a lot of blitz plays, so was finally able to shut them down and come back to win. It was a very exciting game overall, and played out pretty realistic.

How do you hand off play calling duties to one of your coordinators? I've been calling plays on both offense and defense, and really don't have time to check out any of the other screens (I've had a few delay of game calls against me). It would be nice to let them take over for a few plays.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:41 pm

Saving has nothing to do with the injury bug, it is with the salary bug.

Bottom line if you created plays from the coach's clipboard then you're injuries are screwed. You need to do them in game or from the main menu.

As for saving and the injury bug it is best to save on Weekend days.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:32 pm

From the devs, on saving to avoid the Salary bug:

The easiest rule of thumb is to always save on Friday night. The bad data will be correctly recalculated in time for the next round of signings.

The following are also safe, with noted exceptions (for the exceptions, save your game on Friday night):

* Immediately before and/or after your game, unless it's a Thursday game.
* Saturdays and Sundays, except in preseason week 4 (uggh).

During the off season, it is always safe to save on Saturday and/or Sunday and this will solve all issues.

Admittedly a bit to remember, but at least there is no disc boiling required.

Also, issues they are looking into for a patch:

Any crash or freeze we can reproduce

The Play Creator/Injury Bug

he Salary Bug Bekins has been posting about (scrubs ask for large contracts)

Fumbles

Switching WRs back to QBs after switching them from QB to WR in the first place

Possibly the Draft trading issue

I won't promise anything but my boys Bekins and Staymates are trying out a solution for the two minute drill. Again...don't kill me if it doesn't work!

Team not kicking the FG and instead letting the clock run out bug

I am looking forward to diving into the game this weekend and glad EA has been posting workarounds. The bugs are annoying, but I think Danimal's right, they sound like they are going to try and release a patch.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:25 pm

Brando70 wrote:Admittedly a bit to remember, but at least there is no disc boiling required.

...So sad but so true.

Brando70 wrote:I am looking forward to diving into the game this weekend and glad EA has been posting workarounds. The bugs are annoying, but I think Danimal's right, they sound like they are going to try and release a patch.

I am also...Madden's been keeping me away so far.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:28 pm

I can't put the game down. Absolutely love it.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:35 pm

TCrouch wrote:I can't put the game down. Absolutely love it.

Great to hear!...you are the football dude.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 8:42 pm

I haven't played much of either, and i'm admittedly a pre-schooler when it comes to football, but I bought Madden CE for Madden and HC, and so far have played HC wayyyy more then madden.

Maybe it's the Eastside Hockey Manager in me.......

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:30 pm

XXXIV wrote:
TCrouch wrote:I can't put the game down. Absolutely love it.
Great to hear!...you are the football dude.

No he's a Raider dude, there's a difference. Raiders haven't played football in years.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:57 pm

If they did another version I hope they would consider online league support.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:03 pm

the PS3 DEMO IS OUT!!!!!

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:32 am

Have definitely enjoyed this more than I expected. Like many here, the offseason probably took about 3-4 hours as I set about scouting and pursuing the necessary roster changes.

As I took the Ravens, I was tasked with acquiring a competent LG, LE and QB.

I targeted high-profile FA Alan Faneca and acquired Pat Kerney through a trade for picks. I signed Faneca to a deal not unlike what he got from the J-E-T-S and got Kerney for a 2nd and 3rd. I planned to pick up QB Flacco as the Ravens did IRL but that plan was shot down as he was picked by the J-E-T-S. Instead, I had a consolation prize in Darren McFadden who fell into my lap. I had to ditch McGahee (for a first and a seventh in 09) to stay under the cap, especially since it took two rounds of negotiations to bring McFadden into camp.

The best I could do at QB was to aquire Kerry Collins

in a trade. On a 1 year deal, I figure he'll tide me over and he has better numbers than Boller.

I found my first couple of pre-season games to be something of a slog as my team fared very poorly against the Pats (surprise,surprise) and I found the whole play calling to be a bit of a drag. Also, DMac was clearly out of sorts coming into camp late and adjusting to the Pro game. I'd often "Ask the Coach" but seemingly be offered the same two or three plays much of the game.

Finally got a lot more enjoyment out of the last pre-season game when I discovered that I could let the OC/DC call the game by dismissing the playcall option and only opting to call plays myself in certain key moments. One particular 3rd down conversion sticks in my mind as a nice call. We routed the Falcons 28-0 and my team seems to be starting to gel. Also, changing the camera to cinematic proved better for me as well.

Now, I've made a promise to reach the playoffs so hopefully I can live up to it.

It might be tough with Ray Lewis sidelined for the next 6 weeks...

Overall, the game is incredibly absorbing and posesses that "one more week" type of gameplay. I think the trade and player negotiation screens are brilliant and would be a worthy addition to any sports game franchise mode. I think the "levelling up of coaches" is an interesting addition and provides a nice means of tailoring your teams abilities. I also like the player/team roadmaps. It makes it very easy to have an idea where your team is heading.

Here are some nitpicks:

Game-defining moments, while sometimes fun, are a little wonky. After driving down to first and goal, up two scores, I fail to get into the end zone and get blown up on third leaving me on the 6 yard line. I'm promptly informed that everyone from my owner to the janitor and all my fans wants me to go for it and if I settle for a FG, I'm losing approval across the board. WTF?

I think some of the moments should be with your OC or DC calling you aside with 2-3 options. Maybe this happens but I just didn't see any in pre-season. Too many times the moments seem to be huge all-or-nothing decisions.

This game *needs* better documentation. When I am assessing the many packages available to a FA, what is the difference between 3 different packages as it applies to Signing bonus and incentives. I know common sense dictates that players will prefer guaranteed money, et al, but what significance is there in game terms? Will my cap be affected differently, will I face penalties if incentives come to pass, will players be more likely to hold out if the bulk of their money came early in their contract?

Same thing with gameplan options. I was awfully confused about the impact of my prep meeting options in pre-season. With so much emphasis on either training rookies or single plays I was confused how to best meet the needs of my team. This is another area where some input from your coaches would be useful. Have I been neglecting essential plays or other situational needs? Now that I have reached week one of the regular season, I see a lot of options have opened up and I can't help thinking I could have put the preseason in its proper perspective if I'd known of the changes between pre-season and regular season matchups.

There needs to be better accessibility overall when assessing player abilities. From Trade Offers, to Cut Days to Free Agency, we need to be able to jump to personnel info.

That's all for now. I'll be away this week with the whole family so I know Maddden will get the bulk of the football time with the brother-in-laws but I look forward to continuing HC when I get back.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:24 pm

For what it's worth, I'll toss a cheap pimp out for my review. Pretty much all of my thoughts on the game.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/n ... eview.html

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:20 pm

TCrouch wrote:For what it's worth, I'll toss a cheap pimp out for my review. Pretty much all of my thoughts on the game.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/n ... eview.html

"It’s a slippery slope to be the toast of the town, though, as you can go from the penthouse to the outhouse in a matter of weeks if you’re not careful."

What are you, IGN? LOL...that line gave me a mighty chuckle coming from yourself.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:23 pm

TCrouch wrote:For what it's worth, I'll toss a cheap pimp out for my review. Pretty much all of my thoughts on the game.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/n ... eview.html

Great review Terry.

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:58 pm

TCrouch wrote:I can't put the game down. Absolutely love it.

Ditto, I can't stop playing.

I took over the Falcons and have re-installed the run and shoot to see if I can make it work. Problem is I don't have the WR's that fit the scheme or more importantly the triggerman.

Best game I have played in years, and if it wasn't for the online dynasty I am in with NCAA, this would probably be the only game I would be playing for the forseeable future.

hellbent · Post by **hellbent** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:08 pm

bkrich83 wrote: I took over the Falcons and have re-installed the run and shoot to see if I can make it work. Problem is I don't have the WR's that fit the scheme or more importantly the triggerman.

Jeff George isn't available?!?

Damn you all to hell for having the game already. Great review by Terry - between his and Abner's blog impressions I have a pretty nice little supplement for the owner's manual when I pick up the game. Sounds like the little bugs and questionable interface design issues here and there are worth putting up with, to say the least.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:19 pm

From OS

I got the Ok to officially say that we are doing a patch. I've wanted to say that for a week, but we had to make sure of a few things first.

Here's an update on our progress with the patch:

* We have fixed the Play Creator/Injury Bug.

* We have added the ability to call plays during the 2 minute drill. You guys better thank Bekins for this. Normally, this would have been a feature that would have taken forever to get in, but the kid killed himself to put it in there to help everyone out.

* We have added Favre's stats back in the game.

* We fixed a bug you guys didn't know about that allows me to change team philosophies in the roster update. Woo-Hoo! This lets me get the teams where I think they should be and correct some ratings issues that way.

* We fixed the contract bug (where scrub players would ask for a ton of money when re-signing).

* We fixed the Draft Day trading bug (where you could force every team to trade their pick by asking them to trade and then backing out)

* We fixed the ability to change a QB to WR and change him back to QB again.

* We fixed the bug where teams would not kick a FG at the end of the half.

* We are investigating a fix to make fumbles better. Staymates found out that a fatigued player would be getting larger penalties than expected to their attributes, including their carry rating. We are greatly reducing this so that fumbles should happen less. This is going to need some more testing since a lot of different factors influence fumble chances.

* We are also investigating a fix for CPU teams subbing out fatigued players quicker in-game so that backups get some carries. Our thresholds for subbing a guy out were too low, so we are raising those. This also needs mucho testing.

* We are fixing any crashes we can reproduce including the issues found on PS3.

I don't have a date for when this will be delivered to you (we are working very quickly). Once we are done with it, it typically takes a couple of weeks to get through everybody else before it makes it's way to you.

As I've said before, I'm sorry for these bugs. As you can see, we are making it right.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:14 pm

Very good news!

Terry, that is the most informative review I have ever read.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:46 am

First an NCAA patch and now one for Head Coach?

WOW!

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 5:42 pm

This is the best effort I've seen from EA since the last MVP. It has its quirks but I'm already having a blast, and I've just scratched the surface.

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:00 am

Good for EA. Sounds like they are really busting their butts to try and make all of us happy. Little do they know that is actually totally impossible

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:45 pm

Are you guys getting a decent pass rush from your d-line? That's the one area that where I'm getting killed -- my front four constantly get upended or stuck on their blockers. I manage to break away for a sack or two usually, but the other times the QBs get an eternity back there. Even blitzes don't help that much. I'm playing with the Bears and I should be getting more pressure than I am. I turned CPU pass block down to 30 but it didn't really help. Anyone else having an issue with this?

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:58 pm

macsomjrr wrote:Good for EA. Sounds like they are really busting their butts to try and make all of us happy. Little do they know that is actually totally impossible

...yeah I agree... but dont give them a break...It is what they should be doing.