Oneback
07-08-2012, 09:24 AM
As everyone has surely read or seen by now if you have the game there are issues with alignment, zone coverage, man coverage, pass rush and run defense – might have been easier to just say there are problems with the defense. But how do they fix it?
Defenses are reactionary, what I mean by this is defenses must align and play in certain ways to combat offensive formations, for if they leave a gap unguarded or a receiver unaccounted the offense has the potential for a large gain. There are two basic ways to guard an offensive gap – the defense can one-gap or two-gap (both of which need to be implemented) but essentially it comes down to alignment. EA attempted to get alignment right this year but just as with pattern reading coverage’s of last year it was poorly executed and the result is gaps go unaccounted for in the defensive alignment.
Fixing defensive alignment has several factors, first and foremost is aligning the front and tied in with that is giving the user more control over what positions each player plays. When calling defensive fronts in real life you can align them in several ways: to the tight end side, to the split end side, to the field side, to the boundary side and finally by formation – for example if you want the 3 tech to or away from the running back, typically used against shotgun option teams or if you want to align a certain way against a trips formation. Now, I understand you can do this by flipping the play either in the play call screen or once you’re at the line of scrimmage however the problem there is that all the assignments change for the secondary, you’ve now got players running across the formation which leads to broken coverage’s, additionally all your defensive linemen have now moved as well, meaning that 3-tech DT you recruited to rush the passer is now aligned as a NT and your big NT you recruited to hold his ground and stuff the run is now aligned as a 3-tech.
In order to fix these problems we need to first be able to specify what positions each of our players will play: Nose Tackle, Defensive Tackle, Strong Defensive End, Rush End, Sam, Mike, Will, Field Corner, Boundary Corner, Strong Safety, Free Safety, etc. Next, in the play call screen we will see the defensive formation ie. 43 Normal much as we do now, then we can select how we want to align the 43 Normal formation: to the tight end side, to the split end side, to the field side, to the boundary side and based on formation. There also needs to be basic adjustments to said formations available in the play call screen, for example you should be able to call a ‘G’ adjustment, here you would have the option to call Tight G – the formation would align to the tight end, but now your nose tackle instead of aligning as a 1-tech (outside shade of the center) would now align as a 2i tech (inside shade of the guard), this helps against weak side runs. There also needs to be automatic checks at the LOS (that the CPU will do automatically for you), for example you call Split 43 Normal, you’ve now aligned the formation to the split end, however there is a tight end attached opposite him – you’ve got a 1 tech and a 5 tech to the tight end side, not good, the AI should automatically recognize this and move the NT to a 2i or G tech. There are several other adjustments but in the end it is giving the user more control to put their players in certain positions to combat what their opponent is doing. Linebackers and secondary defenders should adjust accordingly to whatever front and coverage is called based on the formation the offense is in – this isn’t difficult as it’s based on the alignment of eligible receivers: 2x1, 2x2, 3x1, 3x2 and the width of those receivers.
For presentation purposes I’d like to hear the Mike linebacker call out “Ringo” or “Lucy” (maybe even change it up based on the defensive formation) to set the front either right or left based on the call. If there is an automatic check like stated above I’d like to hear the Mike call out “Loose, Loose” to move that NT from a 1-tech to a 2i-tech.
This brings us to pass coverage, first there needs to be automatic coverage checks based upon alignment – there are only so many coverage’s a defense can play based upon the front and secondary alignment (which is all tied into the offensive formation). Second EA needs to get away from spot dropping zone coverage’s and move more towards pattern reading coverage’s (I know they said they implemented pattern reading last year), if you don’t know the difference please read my article on ncaaplaybook.com: Affecting the Quarterback: Spot Drop or Pattern Read Zones (http://www.ncaaplaybook.com/spot-dropping-versus-pattern-reading-zone-defenses/). They also need to fix or include more man coverage techniques: Banjo, Funnel, Fiddle, Double, etc, etc. Basically the entire coverage system needs to be overhauled.
Now, I understand this is a lot and how can we trust EA to implement these items correctly when there hasn’t been a good track record of them doing this in the past – the honest answer, we can’t. However, this is what the game needs, some will contend these items will make the game more complex for the general public that just wants to pick up the game and play, I believe this would actually make the game easier and it would certainly make the CPU a better opponent worthy of actually playing.
Let me explain why I believe this would make the game easier – I contend a lot of new users to the franchise, especially when playing online, just give up on the game because you have to do everything in order to have a chance on defense especially when playing some online that have learned every trick in the game to break the defense. This means you either get beat like a drum or you go into practice mode for hours at a time attempting to figure out how to combat certain things or ways to break the game. By implementing the defense correctly there wouldn’t be ways to break the defense, thus giving people a greater chance. Another item I would like see implemented that could help new users is the difficulty level not changing the way the game is played or how players react, but it would actually change how much input the AI has on defensive adjustments or the queues it gives you. For example, on freshmen difficulty, you’d pick formations and plays just as you would on any other level but the AI would make front and coverage adjustments but would give you prompts as to what those adjustments are, then as you move up through the different difficulty levels the AI would either stop prompting or making adjustments meaning the user would need to do so themselves. This would allow two different players to play online together using two different difficulty levels, leveling the playing field and removing a lot of frustration.
Another item I would like added is player drills, if implemented correctly you could actually teach the game to new players, a great place for these drills would be Road to Glory as it would tie in perfectly with what they are trying to do there. However, adding them in as a sub game would be great as well so anyone can pick up the game and quickly work on an area of the game much like MLB: The Show has done with their mini-games like batting practice, etc.
I know I’ve gone a little long on this post but there seems to be so much untapped potential with both NCAA and Madden, I know the development team has passion for the game and wants it to succeed, but in the end we as purchasers of the product end up being disappointed year after year and a lot of these items haven’t changed since I started playing the series 20+ years ago. It’s time for a change EA, throwing new flashy marketing ploys or new modes out is resulting in diminishing returns because core gameplay lacks in so many areas. The focus should not be on what modes can be added to subdue your customers as the fun only lasts so long before gameplay starts to rear its ugly head. Focus on fixing gameplay, that thing the game is built around, something everyone sees almost daily during football season before moving on to Road to Glory, Heisman Mode, Mascot Games, etc, etc, etc.
Defenses are reactionary, what I mean by this is defenses must align and play in certain ways to combat offensive formations, for if they leave a gap unguarded or a receiver unaccounted the offense has the potential for a large gain. There are two basic ways to guard an offensive gap – the defense can one-gap or two-gap (both of which need to be implemented) but essentially it comes down to alignment. EA attempted to get alignment right this year but just as with pattern reading coverage’s of last year it was poorly executed and the result is gaps go unaccounted for in the defensive alignment.
Fixing defensive alignment has several factors, first and foremost is aligning the front and tied in with that is giving the user more control over what positions each player plays. When calling defensive fronts in real life you can align them in several ways: to the tight end side, to the split end side, to the field side, to the boundary side and finally by formation – for example if you want the 3 tech to or away from the running back, typically used against shotgun option teams or if you want to align a certain way against a trips formation. Now, I understand you can do this by flipping the play either in the play call screen or once you’re at the line of scrimmage however the problem there is that all the assignments change for the secondary, you’ve now got players running across the formation which leads to broken coverage’s, additionally all your defensive linemen have now moved as well, meaning that 3-tech DT you recruited to rush the passer is now aligned as a NT and your big NT you recruited to hold his ground and stuff the run is now aligned as a 3-tech.
In order to fix these problems we need to first be able to specify what positions each of our players will play: Nose Tackle, Defensive Tackle, Strong Defensive End, Rush End, Sam, Mike, Will, Field Corner, Boundary Corner, Strong Safety, Free Safety, etc. Next, in the play call screen we will see the defensive formation ie. 43 Normal much as we do now, then we can select how we want to align the 43 Normal formation: to the tight end side, to the split end side, to the field side, to the boundary side and based on formation. There also needs to be basic adjustments to said formations available in the play call screen, for example you should be able to call a ‘G’ adjustment, here you would have the option to call Tight G – the formation would align to the tight end, but now your nose tackle instead of aligning as a 1-tech (outside shade of the center) would now align as a 2i tech (inside shade of the guard), this helps against weak side runs. There also needs to be automatic checks at the LOS (that the CPU will do automatically for you), for example you call Split 43 Normal, you’ve now aligned the formation to the split end, however there is a tight end attached opposite him – you’ve got a 1 tech and a 5 tech to the tight end side, not good, the AI should automatically recognize this and move the NT to a 2i or G tech. There are several other adjustments but in the end it is giving the user more control to put their players in certain positions to combat what their opponent is doing. Linebackers and secondary defenders should adjust accordingly to whatever front and coverage is called based on the formation the offense is in – this isn’t difficult as it’s based on the alignment of eligible receivers: 2x1, 2x2, 3x1, 3x2 and the width of those receivers.
For presentation purposes I’d like to hear the Mike linebacker call out “Ringo” or “Lucy” (maybe even change it up based on the defensive formation) to set the front either right or left based on the call. If there is an automatic check like stated above I’d like to hear the Mike call out “Loose, Loose” to move that NT from a 1-tech to a 2i-tech.
This brings us to pass coverage, first there needs to be automatic coverage checks based upon alignment – there are only so many coverage’s a defense can play based upon the front and secondary alignment (which is all tied into the offensive formation). Second EA needs to get away from spot dropping zone coverage’s and move more towards pattern reading coverage’s (I know they said they implemented pattern reading last year), if you don’t know the difference please read my article on ncaaplaybook.com: Affecting the Quarterback: Spot Drop or Pattern Read Zones (http://www.ncaaplaybook.com/spot-dropping-versus-pattern-reading-zone-defenses/). They also need to fix or include more man coverage techniques: Banjo, Funnel, Fiddle, Double, etc, etc. Basically the entire coverage system needs to be overhauled.
Now, I understand this is a lot and how can we trust EA to implement these items correctly when there hasn’t been a good track record of them doing this in the past – the honest answer, we can’t. However, this is what the game needs, some will contend these items will make the game more complex for the general public that just wants to pick up the game and play, I believe this would actually make the game easier and it would certainly make the CPU a better opponent worthy of actually playing.
Let me explain why I believe this would make the game easier – I contend a lot of new users to the franchise, especially when playing online, just give up on the game because you have to do everything in order to have a chance on defense especially when playing some online that have learned every trick in the game to break the defense. This means you either get beat like a drum or you go into practice mode for hours at a time attempting to figure out how to combat certain things or ways to break the game. By implementing the defense correctly there wouldn’t be ways to break the defense, thus giving people a greater chance. Another item I would like see implemented that could help new users is the difficulty level not changing the way the game is played or how players react, but it would actually change how much input the AI has on defensive adjustments or the queues it gives you. For example, on freshmen difficulty, you’d pick formations and plays just as you would on any other level but the AI would make front and coverage adjustments but would give you prompts as to what those adjustments are, then as you move up through the different difficulty levels the AI would either stop prompting or making adjustments meaning the user would need to do so themselves. This would allow two different players to play online together using two different difficulty levels, leveling the playing field and removing a lot of frustration.
Another item I would like added is player drills, if implemented correctly you could actually teach the game to new players, a great place for these drills would be Road to Glory as it would tie in perfectly with what they are trying to do there. However, adding them in as a sub game would be great as well so anyone can pick up the game and quickly work on an area of the game much like MLB: The Show has done with their mini-games like batting practice, etc.
I know I’ve gone a little long on this post but there seems to be so much untapped potential with both NCAA and Madden, I know the development team has passion for the game and wants it to succeed, but in the end we as purchasers of the product end up being disappointed year after year and a lot of these items haven’t changed since I started playing the series 20+ years ago. It’s time for a change EA, throwing new flashy marketing ploys or new modes out is resulting in diminishing returns because core gameplay lacks in so many areas. The focus should not be on what modes can be added to subdue your customers as the fun only lasts so long before gameplay starts to rear its ugly head. Focus on fixing gameplay, that thing the game is built around, something everyone sees almost daily during football season before moving on to Road to Glory, Heisman Mode, Mascot Games, etc, etc, etc.