So there are definitely lots of issues with Madden 20 and FRANCHISE remains the least interesting most bare bones career mode in all sports games today. That said, the passing trajectories make the game a lot more fun and the removal of leaping linebackers is a pretty big game changer for me.
Once again I will say that franchise is not the same as years before. On the surface it may seem like that, but as someone who has simmed/played multiple seasons/CFMs on 19 franchise is different. The change to progression, the ratings scale, and the scenario engine make it more dynamic and change how you must build your team. Players will complain if they don't get the ball and old players have the possibility to mentor young ones though the scenario engine. Also the fixed salaries make a huge difference. Now you have to decide between signing that one big name free agent or signing multiple players to build depth. You can't really do the cap cheats everyone was doing or you will end up in salary cap hell 1-2 years in.
The scenario engine started out interesting but it's definitely underwhelming thus far tbh. Now to be fair I have only seen 12 weeks of it but weeks 1-8 I had several... haven't seen any in the past four weeks.Originally Posted by Escobar
The most common I have seen in my time with the game are:
* mentorship. ~ agree to let a player be mentored and there is a ratings boost for the mentee
* opposing QB calling out your effort~ either your praise, dispute or disrespect (I saw this from Luck, Brady and …. Josh Allen???)
* team meeting ~ call a team meeting and take the blame or blame others
* guaranteed win~ win or lose and gain or lose morale
I hope this area gets a number of additions in the next patch. The mode has potential but right now it's still very limited. I praise Tiburon for putting it in. I hope they don't do what they are known for... add the feature and then leave it untouched for years upon years. I'm glad to see 5th year contracts will be added at some point. The fact that the cpu doesn't have scenarios makes your team gain xp a lot quicker than the cpu opposition. That needs to be dealt with. Also I don't believe scenarios are mentioned at all during in game presentation, or at least I have not seen/heard if they are.
I will take your word on the salary cap situation as I haven't played with it yet but I know that has been an issue in the past. I hope next year that contract negotiation takes on more of an rpg feel.
I do enjoy the gameplay this year. I can only image if franchise got the BIG stuff people want...
1. weekly wrap up show (still ZERO immersion in this game)
2. fully fleshed out contracts and contract negotiations
3. immersive draft and scouting
4. coaching carousel
5. OC and DC (coordinators are desperately needed)
Add this stuff and I may never leave the couch.
6. contract holdouts, etc.
A few things I don't like... again it's the lack of polish that plague PS3/PS4 Maddens...
1. Pro Bowl
* teams are referred to as the coaches team (eg rather than AFC the announcers will call them the Steelers... immersion killer!)
*starters play the entire game. This logic needs to be reworked the same as the preseason
2. Face of the Franchise
* insta starter has to go!
*when you play poorly the coach needs to pull you. I took every single snap last season. Not a single missed play
*it appears you cannot be injured in this mode? (confirmation needed)
*why can I not interact with the coach and provide suggestions? All I can demand is to be released.
* for example my backup RB is superior yet I have no way to influence the coach to put him in the game
*AFTER ALL THE TALK ABOUT ISIAH STREETS.... he's NOT in the draft... What!!!! WTF!!!! That's a quarter of the story.
*allegedly if you play poorly and are released you retire and the mode is over. You will NOT be picked up by anyone else
Something I did like about Face of the Franchise... at the end of the season the NFL Network crew talked about me and discussed whether or had hit my ceiling or if next year would be a breakout year. I really like the presentation. That said it's heart breaking they cannot add this type of stuff to FRANCHISE. Franchise even with the text messages is still severely lacking immersion. Unless I go on a quest through several tiles I have no idea how the rest of the league is doing. At this point I will kill for them to bring back "The Extra Point" wrap up show ala Madden 10.
The fumble situation in face of the franchise is just out of control and though I am really enjoying the mode for the most part, I may stop playing at the end of season 2 as every game my cpu teammates fumble due to monster hits and they don't cover the ball. It's just a game killer as the big hits are so overdone.
I downloaded EA Access and paid $5 to try out Madden. Downloaded the game and will try it out tonight or tomorrow.
Good decision Rudy! Who knows. You may end up passing on Madden but keeping ACCESS?
Possibly. Getting 10% off games is really good too. It is a great deal if you like those games.
Well I played two quick games on All-Pro this morning. I beat KC with Cleveland 12-6 and lost to NO with Dallas 27-24 on 6 minutes. I did play with a few slider tweaks right off the bat based on comments I’ve read. I put both QB accuracies at 40, fumbles at 75 (I hate too many fumbles and many complaints about this) and cpu run block at 60. Normal adjustments in many ways for Madden. For the record I have not played a minute of the last two Madden games after barely playing Madden 16 and 17. As a result I was a little rusty, particularly in kicking FGs as I missed my first two XP and two FGs.
Things I Like
The game looks great on the Pro. The game feels fluid, I don’t have an issue with the speed of the game and a lot of the tackles look good and fairly organic. A lot of 50/50 balls are really 50/50 this year instead of favouring the DBs while the WRs pick their nose. OBJ made a nice grab in the end zone as he fought the ball away from a DB. I like the TD celebration options. Picking team vs spiking the ball is a nice touch. I’ve enjoyed the RPO plays when I’ve tried them and generally had fun running and passing the ball.
I like on Defense the indicators on the field like who I am supposed to guard and the timing of DL moves. The game does feel more open in the passing game. I didn’t test throwing over LBs who can’t leap as well this year but will be nice.
Things I don’t like
The cpu is brain dead. To see a Madden game release where the cpu offence won’t call a time out and kick a FG at the end of the half is unbelievable. How does this get shipped? And when I was milking clock at the end of the game with a 6 point lead the cpu defence play calls had both safeties deep and playing very conservative. EA still doesn’t really give a crap about cpu AI and offline play.
Bree’s was 21/22 against me in my last game. While sliders can help I’m more concerned with the cpu play calling. Kamara only got 8 carries on a game they led the entire time. KC barely ran the ball. It’s too pass based and short pass based. I didn’t see the cpu throw any go routes once in two games. And while I appreciated the RPO plays, the Cowboys playbook looks largely untouched for years. I guess it is still Garrett (who looks about 100 pounds heavier that reality) but I was hoping for more new plays. Some of the same tackle animations where you bump each other than lie down and spoon are still there.
The sliders and options are really limited still. So far behind 2K in options. How about adding sliders to boost RB moves or adjust leaping ability of defenders or knock down abilities. They rush to the line for presentation (I am fine with it actually and don’t care about missing refs tbh) but to remove speed and presentation options is wrong. To not have a custom camera or at least zoom options for existing ones is bad. Tecmo was the greatest football game ever and I can’t have a zoomed out horizontal camera.
While I enjoy playing offence, playing defence is still not where it should be and isn’t that fun. DL moves are still incredibly basic. Just hit square or X when’s prompt shows up. It’s like comparing the Post game in Live vs NBA2K. Player movement feels better but still tough to cover manually.
At the end of the day I enjoyed my first two games. It’s a more polished game from when I last played. I may even pick up the game on sale. I’m looking forward to NBA more than the NFL. The Dolphins sucking doesn’t help.
A lot of truth in your comments. As for passing, the more I play the less I love all the passing changes. Yes the linebackers not leaping is a HUGE UPGRADE and I love that. However, I still find that the long game is still suspect. A DB diving to tip a pass when the db is 2-3 yards behind the receiver defies all laws of physics. Also, the tip drill where the ball bounces between 3-5 players is crazy. My biggest issue with passing though is CPU PASS DEFLECTIONS. This continues to hurt madden yet most people don't look at the stat. When I played Baltimore the Raven had 16 PASS DEFLECTIONS!!! You would be Lucky to see 2-3 per game in the real NFL. I suspect this is how Tiburon deals with anti robo passing.
Rudy,
Not having played the game in several years, I think you would enjoy it. Just remember, CFM will not have changed much since your last time you played as other than X FACTORS and the TEXT MESSAGE immersion, it's pretty much what you have been playing since the beginning of the generation.
The last two years I had it I never even made it to the draft the next offseason since I quit playing. I quit though over gameplay concerns. The passing game was very frustrating.
In terms of the passing game, how are the comeback routes and timing to outside WRs? I will play more later today or tomorrow. But a passing game that leans heavily on crossing routes isn’t a lot of fun.
Not happy about the shade of blue for Miami’s throwbacks. Should be darker.
Cpu still leaves some WRs uncovered in the slot once in awhile or has a LB in man coverage on a WR. That shouldn’t happen, especially inside two minutes when I’m trying to pass and score. I see a lot of legacy issues still in the game. Carolina was out of timeouts at end of half and throw to sideline. WR catches ball and then instead of stepping out of bounds tries to break tackles and is tackled with 5 seconds left and in long FG range. Why not step out of bounds? This stuff shouldn’t be in the game anymore. Cpu running game on all pro is pathetic. My Dolphins Defense totally stuffed Carolina.
I’m pretty rusty at passing and was never good at it. But pass coverage is just bad on all pro. DBs are lost too often. I did not make a good decision here but the cpu CB doesn’t even try and make a play on the ball.
Not a good decision but not sure what cpu was doing #PS4sharehttps://t.co/gUN9xuyEjR pic.twitter.com/8PVfr7RKch
— Rudy (@rudyjuly2) August 4, 2019
Last edited by Rudy; 08-04-2019 at 07:49 AM.
Played one All Madden game and lost to the Rams with the Colts. The running games on both sides were better. All Madden is tougher but it didn’t seem brutally so although Aaron Donald is an a-hole lol. But if you want to see a competent cpu rushing attack I think this may be the only solution. Gonna have to play with longer minutes since I think that hurts the commitment to the running game. I haven’t been able to get a good HB screen so far.
Comeback routes are money if the cpu is in zone or playing off the receiver. Outside routes are often 50/50 but there are way too many pass deflections IMO.
Why in Face of the Franchise, when your head coach decides to go for it on fourth down, why are you not allowed to play the snap if you are in the game? Typical oversight BS from Tiburon. It tends to happen almost every game and usually when in the red zone.
One BIG negative for the scenario engine... it is so repetitive!
In face of the franchise it's always the same.... a player on the other team calls you out and either you praise him, dis him, or intimidate him. In multiple seasons it's usually the same players and the same callouts. In three games vs the Pats Gilmore has said the same thing to me word for word.
By the way Rudy, thanks for posting. Other than the occasional drop in from Soulja, I think you and I are the last two people here.I miss my TGT.
Still plugging away!By the way Rudy, thanks for posting. Other than the occasional drop in from Soulja, I think you and I are the last two people here.
And franchise mode in Madden still doesn’t have separate user/cpu sliders for special teams. The Madden dev team for the last 10 years hasn’t given a shit about sliders and it really hurts the offline experience. They should let us create our own tuning files. NBA 2K has at least 50 gameplay sliders plus foul sliders plus oodles of customizable camera options. Madden has maybe 15 and don’t even separate special teams sliders. Just adding back the old RB ability slider from NCAA or the old knockdown slider would be nice.
But when your focus is on MUT and online this isn’t shocking although I’m surprised they don’t have a single dev that cares about sliders. If they did they wouldn’t be this terrible.
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