Madden NFL 11 News Post

Madden NFL 11 Blog: Run Blocking Improvements

02:29 PM - May 12, 2010 by Cvhsalumni

EA Sports has just posted another Madden NFL 11 blog. This one was written by Mike Scantlebury and features run blocking improvements, with a few video examples included.

Quote:


	"As we started planning out the changes to make to run blocking In Madden NFL 11, we just focused on creating the true run blocking schemes exactly as they are drawn up in real life. No reason to try and make a video-gamey version of it - it needed to be the real thing. It definitely took a lot of tuning to get the matchups right versus the many defensive fronts in football, but we have done it. The very first thing we had to do was really lay down the law. What I mean by this is that blockers had to be given realistic rules for who they are going to target depending on what type of run it is. We had to devise rules for each run blocker individually, starting from the play-side Tight End to the back-side Tight End, and all the Linemen in between. These rules also had to work in the situations where there was no Tight End, had to affect blockers in the backfield, and had to work whether you had a fullback to lead block or if you were running out of a Singleback formation. These realistic blocking matchup rules have stood the test of time in football at every level of play, from Pee Wee to professional. So we set out to implement these timeless rules into our football game. Daniel White (who from here forward I will refer to as the greatest software engineer of all time) was able to take the rules that I laid out and actually code them into the game. The result? Better overall run blocking, bigger holes for ball carriers to run through, and more realistic running lanes created by smarter offensive players. Let's look at specific improvement made to the different runs in our game."

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Member Comments

# 121 CreatineKasey @ 05/13/10 11:14 AM

People's knowledge of gaps will probably be challenged by this solid run blocking. Guys who know where to blitz to blow up a stretch or power-O will have a strong advantage. It looks like we'll probably have to manually keep tabs on gap responsibilities on defense, something we've always done in Madden. Fortunately I'm already decent at it considering I've done it for so long. Unfortunately it does suck up a lot of attention on defense, especially on base D and base O downs.

# 122 LeafyBug @ 05/13/10 12:15 PM

Hey guys, just saw the latest blog & I figured I'd join in add my two cents.

After watching the vids, I noticed the LBr's getting knocked down almost instantly on contact. I know this was likely on a lower difficulty, or maybe the settings were adjusted for emphysis but its still good to see EA attempt to address line play & blocking in general (especially run blocking).

I honestly felt like the spacing or the areas on the field where the blocks were taking place seemed off or odd...just not really forming with good flow or visually seeming accurate to real life. I'll take it though! I mean, its better than what we have right now, and it does get me more interested in the run game because I'll be able to pick my own holes (hopefully), set up my blocks, and actually cut it back when the defense overflows.

At some point though, they (EA) are going to have to stop arm waving every little wrinkle and touting it as a NEW FEATURE. This stuff is all core to football & belongs in the game. Not saying they shouldn't advertise it as selling points in text or imagery, but just standing on these additions as singular reasons for me to go out and buy this years version of the game...its getting old.

I honestly have to see all the details about the game (and in game video) before saying I will or won't buy it...but, at this point I can say I'm leaning more towards NCAA 11. Waiting to hear about what Madden has to offer from a presentation/offline franchise standpoint...I have a feeling I may be pleasently surprised.

Overall, EA has me pretty much sold on NCAA 11. I dont know about Madden 11 as of right now.

# 123 kjcheezhead @ 05/13/10 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they are communicating differently than last year. Oh wait,........

They are communicating with OS differently this year, if all people are doing is reading the blogs and listening to the Q and A's, then it would seem to be more hype train similar to last year....

They put some vids up of a feature being played on rookie/pro and show how great it is, or in the case of the catch debugging tool, they just tell us how great it is while showing us 2 picks of animations from Madden 10. Then during the Q and A question they talk up the feature and tell us how great it works.

Same hype train, just not as flashy as last year or as NCAA's vids have been.

# 124 RGiles36 @ 05/13/10 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjcheezhead


	They put some vids up of a feature being played on rookie/pro and show how great it is, or in the case of the catch debugging tool, they just tell us how great it is while showing us 2 picks of animations from Madden 10. Then during the Q and A question they talk up the feature and tell us how great it works. Same hype train, just not as flashy as last year or as NCAA's vids have been.

Yeah, it's a hype train. They have no business trying to market their game in order to build anticipation and generate revenue

.

Not biting your head off sir LOL. It's just funny that anything EA does for marketing is looked at as a "hype train" and not marketing. I hate analogies b/c they're overused on this forum, but Toyota is showing commercials for their new Avalon despite the bad pub this year. Hype train too? No, it's an effective way of marketing to get individuals like myself into what they're selling.

# 125 Valdarez @ 05/13/10 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgiles36


	Yeah, it's a hype train. They have no business trying to market their game in order to build anticipation and generate revenue . Not biting your head off sir LOL. It's just funny that anything EA does for marketing is looked at as a "hype train" and not marketing. I hate analogies b/c they're overused on this forum, but Toyota is showing commercials for their new Avalon despite the bad pub this year. Hype train too? No, it's an effective way of marketing to get individuals like myself into what they're selling.

At CD did you notice any incidental contact animations? In a couple of the videos it looks like the HB is swiping his hand, but he's doing it several steps after he brushed up / made contact with a defender.

# 126 LeafyBug @ 05/13/10 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjcheezhead


	They are communicating with OS differently this year, if all people are doing is reading the blogs and listening to the Q and A's, then it would seem to be more hype train similar to last year.... They put some vids up of a feature being played on rookie/pro and show how great it is, or in the case of the catch debugging tool, they just tell us how great it is while showing us 2 picks of animations from Madden 10. Then during the Q and A question they talk up the feature and tell us how great it works. Same hype train, just not as flashy as last year or as NCAA's vids have been.

Don't mean to steal your thunder here but, Madden is really an unspectacular product. It doesn't aim to overwhelm its fans with huge improvements year-to-year, so understanding it for what it is kinda makes me come to expect less from it than I do other titles. Why? Cause thats how EA has trained me. They make very little progress with this game from one year to the next.

Often, things that I love when I open the box...I end up hating a few short months later. I'll give EA this much, they really are good at making a football game that attempts to simulate pro football while being easy for the non-football minded person to play.

I can't believe I just said that...

# 127 Bremser_Rules @ 05/13/10 12:56 PM

best blog ever

# 128 boritter @ 05/13/10 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sois


	Wow. Finally, looks good, it's awesome to see the OL not spinning in circles thinking about who to block next!

Ha ha. I wonder how many controllers have been broken due to that stupid animation?

# 129 sniperhare @ 05/13/10 01:46 PM

Still annoyed the game has suction blocking.

# 130 jmik58 @ 05/13/10 03:59 PM

I'm sure someone else has mentioned this but it looks like the linebackers are VERY slow to react. In the real world there are keys that linebackers react to (guards/fullbacks) that tell them if it's a run/pass.

The linebackers were just shuffling side to side in those videos waiting for the blockers to come get them.

# 131 kjcheezhead @ 05/13/10 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgiles36


	Yeah, it's a hype train. They have no business trying to market their game in order to build anticipation and generate revenue . Not biting your head off sir LOL. It's just funny that anything EA does for marketing is looked at as a "hype train" and not marketing. I hate analogies b/c they're overused on this forum, but Toyota is showing commercials for their new Avalon despite the bad pub this year. Hype train too? No, it's an effective way of marketing to get individuals like myself into what they're selling.

My response was just basically how I felt someone who didn't enjoy the previous Madden games would feel. Your right, EA has every right to market and sell their game. It's just when consumers begin to feel the features are overblown they start to get defensive.

To your analogy, if Toyota hypes/markets the car and promises everything is great and then consumers find a problem with the accelerators in this years model, people would start to say Toyota is all hype and just that they sell people garbage. That's a natural reaction.

I'm not saying there are no improvements or the blogs are all hype, I actually originally posted that this one looked good. My response was just meant to say people who have come to feel EA imbelishes on how good the improvements are would have no reason to trust this blog any more than the Toyota commercials you are talking about.

# 132 jmik58 @ 05/13/10 04:44 PM

Here's something that could be done to improve defensive gameplay:
http://www.offthebag.com/coaching/defensive-intelligence-reading-keys/

# 133 Valdarez @ 05/13/10 04:45 PM

The hype doesn't seem near as high as last year, which is good, and they are releasing blogs of finished, or nigh finished things, instead of in progress, which is good as well. Wish there was someone on the site to answer questions, but glad expectations aren't all out of whack this go around like last year.

# 134 BenjiA @ 05/13/10 06:41 PM

when will we ever hear about franchise updates?

# 135 roadman @ 05/13/10 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdarez


	The hype doesn't seem near as high as last year, which is good, and they are releasing blogs of finished, or nigh finished things, instead of in progress, which is good as well. Wish there was someone on the site to answer questions, but glad expectations aren't all out of whack this go around like last year.

I said that in another thread.

Good observations.

I don't think you would want someone on the site to answer questions. Look what happened last year.

If anything, I would support a $10.00 payment for the supporter forum to enhance our experience with the progress of Madden 11.(said tongue-in-cheek)

# 136 wickedbadman @ 05/13/10 08:30 PM

This is definitely the best video I have seen come out before the release of a Madden game to date.

It's crazy to see something everyone has wanted actually in the game for so long, rather than told it will be in there and having to wait for demo/release. And I am not blind, there was some suction going on, but it's still A LOT better than least year.

Def got me back to "high interest".

# 137 ~Chance~ @ 05/13/10 09:29 PM

Wow. This year is going to be great!

# 138 SouthernBrick @ 05/13/10 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdarez


	The hype doesn't seem near as high as last year, which is good, and they are releasing blogs of finished, or nigh finished things, instead of in progress, which is good as well. Wish there was someone on the site to answer questions, but glad expectations aren't all out of whack this go around like last year.

I would agree with you that the hype around here doesn't seem that high imho which is always a good thing. To much hype equals to much drama.

# 139 oneamongthefence @ 05/14/10 12:30 AM

All the things that were in last year but didn't make it hopefuLly make it in this year. We could call those gameplay improvements and features.

# 140 Goffs @ 05/14/10 07:42 AM

i like how the blocking logic is done but the OL/DL interaction still needs a LOT of work...

sooo...will there be PASS blocking logic to? like double teaming a threat during pass plays?

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