The Strength (STR) Rating for Linemen in EA Football

[cdj]

Clint Oldenburg - former Colorado State Ram & NFL offensive linemen and current member of the Central Gameplay Team for Madden NFL & EA SPORTS - has posted a blog that details how the Strength (STR) rating is determined for linemen in Madden and also its role in gameplay.

Here is what he says it does on the field:

Now that you know how the STR rating is determined, I'll go into what it does in the game for the big guys. It doesn't have an affect on movement one way or the other and it doesn't change how blocks look for the most part. I'll even go as far as to say STR won't produce any more pancake blocks than you'd normally see. For the linemen, STR is a match-up between a blocker and a defender who are engaged with each other. If the disparity is largely in the blocker's favor, he will be able to hold his block for a longer-than-average amount of time based on the size of the disparity (not every time). If the STR rating matchup is in favor of the defender, he will be able to disengage from the block much quicker than normal on average (again, not every time). And if the two players have similar STR ratings, you'll see varied results in wins and losses over the course of game, but neither will dominate in this one specific area.

His full blog entry is available here. He adds that if people would like to see a further breakdown of how ratings are determined and what role they play, they should ask in the blog comments.


Hat tip: MaddenTips.com

[souljahbill]

Is this just Madden?

[morsdraconis]

Is this just Madden?

Unless NCAA is jumping to the new physics system, yes.

[cdj]

Is this just Madden?

He doesn't clarify, but I assume how it plays out is the same for each title. Granted, Madden will have some differences with the physics system, but I would think the core is the same.

Unless NCAA is jumping to the new physics system, yes.

Around E3 they stated that NCAA 14 will be adding in the system+ from Madden.

[baseballplyrmvp]

we definitely need a further breakdown of every rating. a couple of years ago, i believe it was wisey over on the site formerly known as ncaa strategies, said that some ratings are purely there for sim stats. it'd be nice to know exactly what does what in the game. it'd help with recruiting a ton, especially next year in 14.

[steelerfan]

we definitely need a further breakdown of every rating. a couple of years ago, i believe it was wisey over on the site formerly known as ncaa strategies, said that some ratings are purely there for sim stats. it'd be nice to know exactly what does what in the game. it'd help with recruiting a ton, especially next year in 14.

It would definitely be nice to have that sort of transparency with all of the ratings.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

[baseballplyrmvp]

make it happen next week, jb!

[morsdraconis]

The problem is, I don't think they know what some of the ratings actually do. From what was gathered previously via NCAA Strategies, it was basically understood that they didn't know what most of the ratings did because the code was so damn convoluted, they had to basically spend a ridiculously large amount of time to track down what exactly the code said that a certain rating did. Now whether or not that was actually true, I don't know, but that's what I remember from those threads all so long ago.

[JeffHCross]

There's surely some truth to the "so damn convoluted" theory, but it's also all about getting the right person to answer. This guy is Central Gameplay, so he's likely to need to know what the ratings do. Most of the Q&As we've had over the years were with designers or producers, who are less likely to know, overall. It's all about areas of responsibility.

Also, I don't think the new Madden physics would have changed anything about how long animations run or which ratings influence that. This code for STR has probably been around for years.

[baseballplyrmvp]

hoping to hear about some more ratings soon!

[JeffHCross]

The link no longer goes directly to the blog. It has a different URL now. It also looks like the text is slightly different from the original posting. It now says the length of the block is determined by the offensive STR versus a different defensive rating (Block Shedding maybe?), though he uses the defensive rating as a tease and won't disclose it now.

He also suggests we shouldn't expect more about ratings until closer to release.

[CeeGee]

So besides Strength, what do the other ratings do??? Power Moves? Finesse Moves? Block Shed? and for Offensive Lineman, Pass Block Footwork? Pass Block Strength? Run Block Footwork? Run Block Strength?

This article is leading me to believe that STRENGTH is the only Rating that matters

[JeffHCross]

No, this article is saying on what STR handles, which is apparently the length of the block. Doesn't say anything about the success of it, who wins, likelihood of a pancake, etc. The other ratings probably even affect which animation is selected.