Madden NFL 25 News Post

25 Days of Madden: The Vision Cone

04:29 PM - August 5, 2013 by RaychelSnr

Throughout the Madden franchises' history, there have been a lot of feature which were hotly debated.

Few generated quite the uproar that the vision cone did when it was implemented in Madden NFL 06. The 'QB Vision Control' feature was polarizing, with people on either side giving numerous reasons why the cone was or was not the game-changing feature the franchise required.

For those who don't remember, the vision cone featured a cone of light on the field of play which denoted the QB's vision of the field. Better QBs had a very wide cone, which covered most of the field. Worse QBs had very narrow cones, giving the better QBs a clear leg up in the game.

However, controlling the cone with the right stick while moving the QB with the left stick proved too much for some gamers. Others simply hated the look and/or implementation of the feature.

With such a polarizing presence, the vision cone was scrapped entirely with no attempts to revive it or anything similar within the series since it's disappearance.

Where did/do you stand on the vision cone debate? Should it make a reappearance as a required feature within the game?

Game: Madden NFL 25Reader Score: 5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 54 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 majesty95 @ 08/05/13 04:33 PM

I liked the concept but it was too hard to control.

# 2 cthurt @ 08/05/13 04:34 PM

Well with the high accuracy of the QBs in the current madden games i wouldnt mind it coming back with a better way to control it, becuase using both joysticks while trying not to get sacked was pretty hard unless you had Peyton Manning lol.

# 3 snc237 @ 08/05/13 04:45 PM

I loved it, made elite qb actually elite apposed to just having a cannon for an arm. However it was really hard playing as a rookie qb, and made the learning curve for new people just that much harder. Wish it wasn't gone.

# 4 bodymore @ 08/05/13 04:45 PM

One way to implement it would be to require selecting a button twice to throw. The first click is basically telling the quarterback to look at the X receiver then next button click would actually throw it to that reciever. You could also have it where the primary reciever in the route only requires pressing the button only one time. You could maybe delay the response time between the clicks for lower rated passers.

# 5 dat boi Q @ 08/05/13 04:46 PM

Best feature ever!
Using the right stick was not the only way to control it.
By hold down R2 then pressing the icon of the wr the cone would go to that wr.

# 6 TalenT @ 08/05/13 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dat boi Q


	Best feature ever! Using the right stick was not the only way to control it. By hold down R2 then pressing the icon of the wr the cone would go to that wr.

Yep. I was gonna mention that too. It was awesome to me. It really made a difference you felt the disparity between good & bad QBs. I'm a Dolphin fan and it was brutal because I believe AJ Feeley was under center for us that year LOL

# 7 BoCgrist @ 08/05/13 05:17 PM

Loved the cone! Best feature in a long time. Forced you to make reads and look at progression. You couldn't run straight back and chuck the ball down field. It was the closest thing to playing QB. Wish they would have left it optional for real sim players. Madden 06(Xbox) was my favorite of all time. Played many online seasons with friends using spawn game feature. Bring that back!

# 8 gr18 @ 08/05/13 06:02 PM

All this love for the cone.idk

In theory it was o.k. but that's if one truly made reads regularly.We all know when push comes to shove it was too easy to lock down on a receiver right away on that short slant,quick throw to the tight end and other high pct. pass plays.It just shortened the playbook depending on cone size.

# 9 Raw Energy @ 08/05/13 06:12 PM

Love it i would make small cone qbs look like manning. It would be sweet if they would implement

# 10 Equinox831 @ 08/05/13 06:18 PM

I would love it if they brought it back as an option. With the next-gen of consoles out I want to believe that they could program really efficient defensive AI against this. I would love to be able to look off safety's and actually have it work. Maybe you call the same route combination too many times and the DB's figure it out, you try to look one way and go back the other and boom, a safety is right there waiting for it.

# 11 gr18 @ 08/05/13 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Equinox831


	I would love it if they brought it back as an option. With the next-gen of consoles out I want to believe that they could program really efficient defensive AI against this. I would love to be able to look off safety's and actually have it work. Maybe you call the same route combination too many times and the DB's figure it out, you try to look one way and go back the other and boom, a safety is right there waiting for it.

I agree that if there was an adaptive A.I. the cone would be much more useful and would negate what I said in my earlier post.Unless they do that it's just too easy to work around.

# 12 pabryant @ 08/05/13 07:01 PM

Another added dimension of realism people often overlook when talking about the infamous vision cone, in a real NFL game, the defense can see where the quarterback is looking. Players that utilized linebackers, safeties, and corners could see the QB's progression, giving players on defense the slight advantage of anticipation. Without it, its just a matter of reacting to the throw. The offense definitely holds a strong advantage with the defense having no clue where the QB might go. Much of the time, by the time you know, its too late.

# 13 Armor and Sword @ 08/05/13 07:10 PM

Never purchased Madden 2006.

Because of this feature. Not a fan.

# 14 TreyIM2 @ 08/05/13 07:38 PM

I dug it. It was challenging with using the other analog stick, especially being one of the lone few who first started using analog controls when games first introduced them and digital was still optional and most couldn't get with it.

As with cone passing, I would go between the regular button passing and cone passing, increasingly leaning more toward cone passing as I got better and more comfortable with it. Heck, I remember when they had analog passing in Madden and used that a lot where u controlled the target on the field to aim on where u wanted to throw the ball. No one I've known who were Madden heads remember that. It was like a quiet option.

# 15 radney @ 08/05/13 07:39 PM

HELL-TO-THE-NO!!!!

# 16 Jr. @ 08/05/13 07:49 PM

As someone who plays FS exclusively on defense, I loved the vision cone. It actually allowed you to "read the QB's eyes" so to speak, and gave me the most realistic representation of playing the position (estimating here, I never played safety in real life).

Using it, I thought it was well done too. Like others have mentioned, you could hold R2 and press the WR's corresponding button to shift the cone to that WR, much like a QB turning his head before throwing. This allowed you to look off safeties by looking at a WR on the opposite side of the field before shifting to your intended target and throwing.

I loved it and would love to see it, or some representation of it, return to the game.

# 17 Gorilla Glass @ 08/05/13 08:15 PM

I am so glad this feature is gone.

Especially got tired of facing Tom Brady or Peyton Manning every other game online.

Good riddance!

# 18 SageInfinite @ 08/05/13 08:15 PM

I liked the idea of adding the vision of a qb as a factor, but I think the execution of the idea was awful. A flashlight........smh.

# 19 unclejitz @ 08/05/13 08:32 PM

Yep the flashlight was an eyesore but if you removed it you still had to turn your head with the analog it was truly hardstyle football or cycle thru the button way. Madden was wwaaayyy more realistic with this feature hard learning curve and all.not this super easy anyone can play and press button trash.just make it optional thats all like the baseball games with pitching......

# 20 chipman5544 @ 08/05/13 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TalenT


	Yep. I was gonna mention that too. It was awesome to me. It really made a difference you felt the disparity between good & bad QBs. I'm a Dolphin fan and it was brutal because I believe AJ Feeley was under center for us that year LOL

It forced you to make pre-snap reads like a real quarterback, and then from there go through progressions, again like a real quarterback. You could look off defenders with it as well. I was a fan, and I don't think enough people realized you could hold down R2 and snap to a receiver. I for one found it as a way of slowing down scrambling quarterbacks like Vick. Players couldn't necessarily run backwards and bomb a pass perfectly 50 yards downfield without setting up the cone. I miss it honestly, especially being from Virginia around that time, everyone was playing with Vick even before Madden 04

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