Use this thread to post your thoughts and any news on Madden 11.
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Use this thread to post your thoughts and any news on Madden 11.
OS posted the G4/XPlay Madden First Look video here: http://www.operationsports.com/newspost.php?id=414758
Lots of footage of running plays in that video, so it gives a good look at locomotion and the Real Assignment AI. Very solid in my book.
I liked the juke move that CJ put on and the moves seem good but the first thing I thought about on that video was how slow the players looked running the ball. I'm not sure if that's due to a running animation where the legs aren't turning over fast enough or just the slow game speed. At 14 seconds Marion Barber looks like he's been medicated while trying to take the ball outside. I look quicker than him. And soon after the kick return at 22 seconds looks slow, like it takes him almost three seconds to move 10 yards. That kick return is why I think turbo is still a crucial part of the game. When you have open field in front of you, you should be sprinting like mad to get upfield. It's not like a RB who has to keep his pads low through the hole. Again, that might have been recorded on slow game speed which I wasn't a fan of last year (when I had the game).
Here are two videos. The first one is of the real Marion Barber. Take a look at two runs - one at 30 seconds and another one at 1:38. These are two similar runs to one he has in Madden where he just tries to get outside. His feet are constantly moving as he's looking to make a move, read, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBOmLnAI6ek
Now look at the Madden video at 14 seconds where Barber takes it outside. The real Barber takes twice as many steps while the video Barber just looks slow and lethargic. I'm not sure how to fix that exactly but I do think the running animations have to have their leg turn sped up to make it look better. Even Chris Johnson makes a nice move at 1:15 but he gets in the open field and normally you would expect him to take off but it looks like he never moves any faster. There is no burst to try to take it to the house. Video games may never be able to mimic reality properly but this needs to be better imo. Can the community day guys comment on if this is just an over-analysis of a video or whether it feels good in NCAA 11?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnxSSLIPseI
I tried to find some NCAA 11 videos to see how this looked. In this one at 55 seconds it looks good although it looks like Russ is trying to make moves so it looks natural.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmuHUSSQMg
OK. I'm convinced that Madden video run with Barber that looked brutally sluggish is a Madden problem and not an NCAA problem. It's either related to the animation or most likely a slow game speed that just looks bad.
I know I sound like one of those idiots that breaks down videos too far (and I normally hate those guys) but I just hated some of those runs in that Madden video and I needed to prove to myself that NCAA 11 would be OK. I think it's perfectly fine.
Barber in that Madden video is as explosive as John Brantley in NCAA 11. Take a look at the VGrevolution video that was a great 10 minute video (gameplay at 3:30 and on) and it showed some nice stuff. Brantley running the QB option at 4:20 looked the same as Barber - slow, sluggish, no agility or acceleration. But you get to see some runs to the outside that look a lot better in NCAA 11 (check 5:07, 8:50 and 10:08). That stuff looked good. Feet were moving quickly and the guys looked dangerous. I know a lot of people thought NCAA 10 was too hectic but I always felt Madden 10 on Slow or Normal were too sluggish. The slower game speeds can look natural when running in traffic but as soon as you hit the open field or try to get to the outside it just looks and feels bad imo.
I couldn't find this video on youtube so you will have to click here:
http://blip.tv/play/hcZTgdi_VgA%2Em4v
I think the Game Speed is what you are seeing, Rudy. NCAA 11's default is 'Normal' while IIRC Madden 10's was 'Slow', so I am assuming 11 will be the same. The slower game speed is more to some's liking, but in videos I think it just looks odd.
I didn't see a lot of a huge 'breakaway' speed like you are talking about in NCAA, but yet I was able to make moves and pull away for big plays. I think it all boils down to the ACC rating and I may not have been using the true burners in the game.
I agree with cdj, that it's Game Speed. Madden on the whole, in that video, looked slower. But I didn't particularly mind that (for the purpose of that video), because that gave me more time to look at the blocking, Locomotion and the like.
havent bought madden in a couple of years, may get it this year. Do believe it looks slow and if its because they are showing the locomotion then im fine with that. I do believe that madden makes a better effort in making a true "sunday" feel of the game.
I don't have time to play both games. I just want NCAA 11 to be great. As long as that's great I won't bother with Madden. If I ever picked Madden up it would have to be later on for cheap (and I don't play online so I wouldn't bother with the online pass).
Normally I get both on time, but this year it's looking like I may wait till Madden goes down a price bracket or two. Ncaa looks like what I've hoped for since NG finally, so I should be way too busy playing that. Plus come August I gotta a lot of stuff going on career-wise so I'll be too busy for 2 games I think.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
The updates of Madden look intriguing. I will be interested to finally see what a 'major' difference can mean in playing both titles. Before now, they've been relatively side by side from a design standpoint
I will say that I feel like both of these games could greatly benefit from adding a few different "running styles". In the past couple years is has been more and more annoying to me that every player seems to have the same running animation. A shifty quick little 5'8" still has the same long strides as a 6'3" power back & it really frustrates the realisitic looks of the game IMO. I would love to see them add a few different running animations to differentiate between the guys that are long striders & the guys who have shorter choppier footwork.
It was too bad that you couldn't choose the game speed online for franchises (unless I missed something). I was going with the speed that basically matched NCAA, I liked it a lot better than the slower speed.
I don't know why they couldn't let you set the speed online. That really led to a split among the community.
I had Madden 10 for a bit and didn't like any of the camera options they had either. I prefer college football and I want NCAA to be better. I did like the pro-tak last year. The funny thing is I thought the passing speeds in NCAA were crazy fast at times but a little too slow/floaty in Madden. I tried the Slow speed and found it way too slow for my tastes. Fast was my favourite although Normal wasn't too bad.
I may be wrong, but I think due to Microsoft (and maybe Sony) regulations to comply with ranked online standards, all ranked games had to be the same so speed could not be set by users, only one norm could be used & accepted.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy
Unfortunately that makes a lot of sense. Wouldn't bet on a change this seasonQuote:
Originally Posted by cdj
Many of us have heard, or seen blogs and livechats about some of the new features in Madden11, as one who has had a chance to play the game I'm looking forward to wut ur impressions are once u get it. My question is wut do you think of the things u heard about so far? How well do u think Locomotion will take Madden this yr and yrs to come? Interested to here your feedback
Based on what I've heard so far it seems like it will be better than 10. I would like to hear more about defense especially when it comes to controls, schemes and overall control. I hope that the passing is tuned alittle so that I can place the ball anywhere I want in relation to that players pass ratings.
I haven't really heard much in terms of big change other than game planning. I'm more interested in NCAA 11.
Right now this is a PASS for me. I ust am not impressed by what little they have announced. I thought this would be the year of MAJOR dynasty upgrades but it really seems like no huge announcements are forthcoming. NCAA however has made MASSIVE strides... bring on the demo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinister
I can remember sitting in the Playtest room waiting to play Madden11, When we all got together in the room with Ian Cummings, we didnt play the game right away he went to the projector screen and gave us a layout of what we were there fore, one of the things that stood out for me was he showed us some drawings that were on a white board that he had posted the picture up along with his blog, right away ppl who read the blog made speculations of what the drawings were, but had NO CLUE that they had nothing to do with Madden11, he stated "I done it for a reason to see what ppl would say"! We cant speculate on what Madden11 will be like but instead, play the demo, and even then give the game a chance. So many times we play the demo to games and it is the total opposite of what we actually play once we buy it! Just because you dont hear the things you wanna hear in the live chat, doesnt mean that its not in the game, if they tell us everything and show it all, there wont be any room for "Hype". I cant tell you what is in the game from what I have played of it, but what I can say is What you see on Sunday you will see in Madden11!
Madden 11 introduces online scouting
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0601...ting_2_576.jpg
I like to throw the curl route on first down in "Madden." Prefer to throw it to the receiver on the right side of the screen. I have the timing down so perfect in my head that I can usually do it without even looking. Eight yards to open the drive.
As John Madden used to say, "Boom!"
And it's funny, I know my tendencies, a couple of my best friends know what I've been up to for years, but when I go online and play random people, that curl route is still always open.
But not for long.
With "Madden NFL 11," EA Sports is tracking your every play in order to deliver scouting reports to your online opponents. So now, whether I'm playing against a "Madden" vet in Sacramento or a newbie in Denver, all they need to do is order up my report and they'll know my tendencies as well as the people I've been playing "Madden" against since high school.
"Online scouting tracks all of your play-calling and what you like to do in different situations," explains producer Donny Moore. "We're tracking every online game that you play: online ranked, unranked, and 'Madden Ultimate Team' head-to-head."
And according to Moore, there are ten different situations that the game is tracking: First down, second down and long, second down and medium, second down and short, third down and long, third down and medium, third down and short, fourth down, goal line, and red zone.
"On defense, the first thing you're going to unlock is the run/pass percentage of your opponent. The next thing you're going to unlock is the field location," says Moore. "Where on the field does your opponent target in this given situation. If it's a run, it's broken down into three zones: right, middle, and left. If it's a pass, it's broken down into more zones: right, middle, and left, and then also short, medium, and deep."
The final thing gamers unlock on defense is the player-specific target. Who does your opponent like to throw to or hand the ball off to in these certain situations.
"On offense, you're going to be scouting the percentages on how often your opponent likes to play man or zone versus the blitz in certain situations," adds Moore. "The other thing you're able to unlock on offense is to view your own tendencies. This adds to that chess match where you can see that on third down and short, you actually run the ball 87% of the time, and during those runs, I'm running to the left 68% of the time. So now that I know what I do, I'm actually going to flip my play and run to the right because my opponent might scout me and know what I'm doing."
So now, not only will my opponent know about my curl route on first down, but I'm reminded of that fact myself, leading me to change my gameplan and maybe call a draw, or even an out and up to catch my opponent off guard. Says Moore: "By changing your gameplan, it's actually making you a better player."
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0601...ting_1_576.jpg
With one message, you know the chess match is on.
But how do you unlock these scouting reports? "Madden" producer Phil Frazier provides the details: "Scouting is a consumable. So you earn coins in every online game that you play as long as you don't quit or disconnect. You can then spend these coins on scouting reports or other things within the game (gamers will also be able to use real money to buy coin packs or scouting packs, but the prices are not final). It's the same economy that drives 'Madden Ultimate Team.' So you can literally be playing 'Madden Ultimate Team' online, earn some coins, then turn around and either buy a pack of cards or a scouting pack. The economy drives a lot more this year than just 'Madden Ultimate Team, but we're not talking dollars per scouting report here. You're earning these coins by playing 'Madden' online, so this isn't a money-grab for us. This is about building up your online skills. We're trying to provide a competitive advantage and we're presenting it to you in a way that's authentic to the sport of football.'"
And to give gamers a taste of the strategy, everybody who buys the game new will receive 50 free scouting reports with purchase tied to the new EA Sports Online Pass initiative.
"When you total everything up, there are 45 different pieces of scouting report information that you could buy per game," explains Moore. "Or you can just buy the full game purchase option before the game for just 25 coins so you can just have all the scouting before the game without having to buy every piece of information separately. It's a pretty good discount. Then when you're in-game, if a scouting report is available to be viewed, you just hit a button to activate."
Adds Frazier: "What ultimately drove this feature was the hardcore, competitive, head-to-head gamer who wanted the ability, just like NFL coaches, to have a tool to understand what their opponents are doing. And that's why we've focused this feature on online head-to-head and not carried it over to online franchise which we feel is a more social aspect of gaming."
As for how the new scouting works with "Madden's" GameFlow play-calling system? Frazier believes the two work hand-in-hand. "With GameFlow, you're giving the A.I. the ability to choose for you, so maybe the statistic of pass versus run isn't as valid as the others, but even when a pass play is called, it's up to you on how to execute that play. When we call out the primary receiver who is running a streak route, you can choose instead to throw to the receiver on the other side of the field who is running the corner route. So the information on where the play is run, who is favorite target is, how deep he likes to throw, all of that information is very much relevant even though the play was called by GameFlow. And since you can also audible out of GameFlow, we're also tracking those plays that you're calling. There's no way to circumvent the system as we're tracking the final result."
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0601...ting_3_576.jpg
Viewing your own tendencies will help make you a better play-caller.
In addition, Moore sees the advantage coming from how online opponents like to constantly change playbooks. "The computer doesn't change his playbook, but online, gamers are always adapting.
"And just because you have the information on what your opponent likes to do, that doesn't mean he's going to do it. It's just some great, useful information that could help you gain that edge in your game. And it's cool, because when someone is scouting you, a pop-up appears on your screen that reads, 'You've been scouted.' So you know when somebody is watching you and it gets back into that chess game where he thinks you're going left, so you throw a deep ball to the right when he's least expecting it. But to me, the scouting I find most useful is field location. This lets you know if a guy likes to throw those screens and drag routes across the middle or if he likes to throw deep more often."
"I agree," adds Frazier. "I was playing a game against ('Madden' producer) Ian Cummings the other day, and when I play defense, I like to play safety, and the scouting enables me to cheat a little one way or the other. But at the same time, Ian was using his own scouting to target places on the field he doesn't usually throw to because he knew I was cheating my safety deep. It really added an extra element to the gameplay.
"We have high hopes for this feature because of this. Now if you're being shut down, it's not because of your stick skills. It's because you're not calling a good game. You won't be able to get away with calling the same plays over and over anymore. It's geared to make the average Joe play a more serious game of football and call the game more like a real coach."
Looks my days of first down curl routes are coming to an end. Then again, now that you know what's coming, and you know that I know that you know what's coming, you never really know what's coming.
And that's what playing "Madden" is all about.
I'm not really a Madden or online guy but this is very cool. I hope they incorporate this into CPU AI in NCAA. I know they have CPU AI but I never saw any of it. Does anyone know how CPU AI was implemented in NCAA10?
This is cool. Reminds me of the VIP stuff 2K used to have. How the cpu adjusts to this will be crucial.
Just me but I will NEVER buy a feature. But, for those of you who will, have fun.
AFAIK, this feature is not in NCAA unless they just didn't tell us (unlikely). Not sure how the CPU AI in NCAA works compared to the way it is mentioned here. That is a good question though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deuce
If I understand it, just playing online games will give you the (or some) 'coins' to continue to buy more scouting reports. However, I'm not sure what level of success you need to get enough coins to purchase the full report versus only partial. If people buy the full scouting report each game, you'll probably have to shell out some cash, unfortunately. Though, if someone is getting their tail waxed (or administering the waxing) they may not buy any (or few aspects) of the scouting. I supposed it's all part of the 'chess match' Robinson is referring to. Go up big (or trail significantly) in the first quarter/half, don't 'buy' them. In a close game, start 'buying' some scouting aspects (like 3rd & short tendencies). It sounds similar to the coin system in Madden Ultimate Team, if you played around with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
Yeah if it is anything like the currency model on Madden Ultimate Team, where you're going to have to play a decent amount of games in order to just buy the crappy pack. The feature itself looks cool. I'm just not a fan about paying for something to get an advantage. But offsetting it by not having to play a million games just to buy one report is good. I can definitely see the competitive Madden community being a fan of this feature, even though there will be the vocal minority that litter the message boards with their usual.
The feature sounds cool honestly but probably isn't something I'll use. Mainly because I don't play outside of the Madden community leagues I'm in. And chances are I'm definitely not buying them.
I'll give it a try atleast
Blah, I definitely don't need a scouting report when playing people online. I usually have their 3 or 4 plays figured out by the time they touch the ball for the 2nd time. At least they're paying attention to online play for a change.
(sigh)
Yes, MORE money for a $60 game already. That's the ticket!
For god's sake EA, you money hungry whores.
These stupid DLCs that you try to force out are NOT worth it. EVER. DLC for football games is NOT a good idea.
(sigh)
At least I never play Madden anymore (until they actually do something to Superstar Mode, Madden will continue to be a non-purchase for me) so I don't care that much about what they are doing with it.
Lol, did you guys read that you earn the coins by playing the game? You don't absolutely have to buy this feature, you can just play enough to earn coins to unlock it. Relax.
Yeah I read that lol. Before I got to that part I thought you had to pay but then seen that. Again its optional so it won't bother anything I do
If that feature requires you to pay money then it's going too far. If they gave you enough money for fairplay standards, not quitting in games, etc., that would be a great way to limit cheezers/losers online and reward sim/good guys with these reports. It's the VIP system only they charge you for it.
I swear, the Madden team is looking like the NCAA team did last year. The focus seems to be on the wrong stuff. With Madden it looks like a massive cash grab. Their big features seem to be game flow and this stuff which I don't think are features that are going to really create interest in the casual fanbase. Paying for stuff will kill that interest.
Yeah but if you played Madden Ultimate Team on Madden 10, you had to play a LOT to even get one of the crappy packs. The platinum pack cost 9000 coins....that was the rough equivalent of 30+ games.Quote:
Originally Posted by IOUaBeatn
Yeah I agree with what seems to be the general consensus here... If you earn enough credits by simply playing and finishing games & whatnot, then this is GREAT. If I'm going to have to spend any money at all, I will NEVER use it.
I agree as well on the money part.
However, this feature is exactly what I want to see for ncaa dynasty. It's actually very well set up, from a design and coaching standpoint. If this were used in dynasty mode (offline AND online), without the necessity of payment, that would make dynasty SO MUCH MORE FUN. So I applaud the feature as such. And if it were implemented into dynasty free, then having to pay for it for online is actually not bad to me at all.
Oh I agree on the feature itself. In all my posts about what I hoped the dynasty additions were for this year this is almost the EXACT feature I described. I just think the money part is the holdup for me personally.
Team Ratings announced today.....
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6264588...opslot;thumb;2
Good to see a significant stretch between top and bottom. Can't help but think though the Philly should have dropped more.
Yeah the point spread is AWESOME here. I think Philly will be better than what people outside of Philly think. But they definitely won't be the same team. I think Arizona is a bit overrated here, and probably Chicago as well. Both by maybe a couple points. Arizona lost too much to still be above some of those teams imo. They rightfully lost the most points from last year though, so can't fault it too much. Surprised Detroit isn't just a point or 2 higher they had a nice offseason.
The stretch is actually less than last year as it went from 65 to 94 and now goes from 66 to 92.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaymo76
It's funny to see San Diego drop 4 points - all because LT2 was over-rated along with Cromartie last year.
I thought the Dolphins initial ratings were fairly bad last year (how they rated the DL and Henne). The Dolphins offense should be pretty good this year. My only real concern right now is their pass rush which could be fairly bad.