Alright Boyz, here we go! Madden 13 first impressions thread

[Mike Lowe]

First, I'm honored to have started this thread. The game was released via early-bird about 20 minutes ago and I was going to take the plunge until I read that there is an issue with tackles/assisted tackles?

Anyone privy to what this is? I've learned long ago that the opinions of this forum are far more valuable that the mess that is the Madden OS board...I'd love to hear how things look as I'm actually thinking this might be the game all of us who loved HC '09 have been waiting for.

[whomario]

Yes, a quick google search says that assisted tackles don´t get counted.

But how would that be a dealbreaker of all things ? (sorry if that comes across as ignorant).

I´m more worried about the new progression system not doing a good job with older players, what i´ve read so far suggests that a) the Ratings out of the box are way too high (compared to draft classes) and b) Veterans don´t regress much at all to the point that a ton of 34 year old Running Backs are still in the high 80s/90s and starting.

Which was exactly my fear when i read about progression determined by production ...

Won´t release over here till next Friday (although a couple stores might have it on Wednesday)

[Mike Lowe]

I think people were saying that the asst tackles affects progression???

[Big Fo]

I haven't bought Madden for a few years now but if it turns out to be legit this year maybe I will. I'll be waiting to see what ya'll have to say about this year's game.

[Balldog]

I downloaded the Early Release this evening. Let me know if you guys have anything specific you want me to check.

[IlliniCub]

Honestly...I just wanna know if it feels like a significant upgrade over 12

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

I think people were saying that the asst tackles affects progression???

As far as i can tell people were afraid it would do that, but now EA has taken the stat out of the game completely (propably to avoid just that).

A user named CWSapp757 (who does a great job with long term analysis for NBA 2K as well) has done some longterm simming and so far it looks pretty good as far as progression goes, albeit with a few problems regarding regression/out of the box ratings. But even in that case that´s a problem for 5 or 6 teams for most positions (basically the cream of the crop of todays players stays a little bit too good in terms of overall as the production rating offsets the physichal decline), which for the whole league i don´t see as significant enough to be a real problem.

That being said : If we could edit ratings, those 5-6 guys would be soooo easy to fix. I don´t at all get why they took that away

One interesting wrinkle is that the Overall gets displayed differently with each offensive/defensive scheme you choose as different attributes get weighed more or less (if you adjust your scheme you see players from different teams differently. Propably would make more sense to see their rating relative to their scheme, but oh well ...)

I´m propably going to get it, haven´t played a Madden for years (bought last years, then immediately sold it after the problems i discovered) and i figure that it´s going to be the sports game i have most chance to get a real career going with the short season.
Not sure if i´ll buy NBA2K this year, maybe FIFA for online purposes ...

[Mike Lowe]

So how do the online connected careers work?

Can we actually set up a
32 team league online that goes year to year?

If so, that'd sell me I think. FOFC league!

I don't mind the $25 for early release, but I wish I was sent (eventually) a copy of the physical game as I want to be able to sell it later on.

Can we sell a digital version somehow?

[whomario]

From what i can tell you can do it just the same as in years past, only that it now has the exact same features as offline mode.

I´d love to play in a quick hitting online league that actually gets a couple seasons in somehow (even though i realize how tough it´d be logistically) but can´t imagine finding one that also works with my euro time zone.

No way can you sell a digital version. The whole point of digital versions is people not getting to resell the games (well, for publishers like EA at least ... )

[Raiders Army]

Got the early release and the game is pretty fun. I like the Infinity Engine and the commentary is "better". I say "better" since after you hear the same old crap for the 100th time, it's no longer better. I liked Gus Johnson a lot.

Anyhow, after playing about 10 games, it's pretty good out of the box.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Balldog

I downloaded the Early Release this evening. Let me know if you guys have anything specific you want me to check.

Do the alternate uniforms on the Chargers have that bolt thing on the helmet?

[INDalltheway]

This is year 1 of Connected Careers and it has laid a great ground work for the future. There are little things that you would think would be obvious to have that just aren't in there now. This game will be great if you can find a league of good owners. That is where the game will prosper.

Things that should be in there that aren't: a transactions screen, editing players, ability to look at player cards on ALL screens.

I will write down some thoughts as I play tonight.

[DaddyTorgo]

How are offline careers?

[Raiders Army]

Editing players is a huge issue, especially with trades. The good news is that it's a lot harder to gank the computer. The bad news is that if you trade for a player with the same jersey # as a player on your team, you'll have two players with that jersey #. It's the same problem as last year, but it's worse because you can't fix it by editing the players.

[whomario]

One thing that a programmer has posted over at the easports forums has me questioning wether it´d be a good idea to play my offline career game online (which i´d normally avoid because of possible disconnects f.e.) :

We have since toned it down a bit in an update that is live on the server if you play an online career. This update is confirmed for the next patch for offline careers. It also fixes an issue where you could offer a low draft pick for some of the rookies that were drafted early in 2012 but aren't good enough to start yet.

i understand that as meaning that they can quick-fix the management-AI in online careers, which could make the waiting time between Patches more bearable.


edit :

@ Raiders Army : The programmer/developer on the EA forum suggested a quick fix for the player numbers :

Definitely looks like a bug with trades. We reassign numbers correctly when you sign a player, but it looks like it is incorrect for trades.

Give this a try if you want (save your game first, obviously): If you release Jacoby Jones and sign him back right away, he should get assigned a new number. The CPU will not try to sign him until you advance the week, so you should be safe. Since you traded for him, you won't have to worry about a cap penalty, either. Not ideal, but it might fix the issue.

I'll look into fixing this.

[MizzouRah]

I liked the demo.. but after reading a few reviews and Pasta Padre's thoughts on cc and game play... I'm going to wait on this one.

Most sites say the CPU AI is horrible and teams feel the same, playing vs Philly isn't much different than playing against say, Arizona.

I'll be interested to read impressions...

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Editing players is a huge issue, especially with trades. The good news is that it's a lot harder to gank the computer. The bad news is that if you trade for a player with the same jersey # as a player on your team, you'll have two players with that jersey #. It's the same problem as last year, but it's worse because you can't fix it by editing the players.

I really wish EA could implement a new feature without breaking something else. We haven't had issues with player numbers since the fucking Sega Genesis days.

[dubb93]

I do like that EA's Season Ticket program lets the bug reports come out before the game actually does.

Seems there is a huge man coverage bug according to the OS boards. Controlling someone on the d-line causes your corners to run commit and get ran past by the WR. This seems to have resulted in multiple huge TDs a game and possibly a few controllers getting broken.

Someone from EA seemed to acknowledge that they know about the issue and told them to switch to a LB or someone in the secondary. This seems to fix the issue.

I haven't played the game but I see this causing the more casual players some frustration as they get burnt repeatedly and can't figure out what is happening.

[whomario]

ok, scouting seems nice and deep and everything, but it feels very forced that you get absolutely no information beforehand. I´d really like to be able to at least have basic information available beforehand, the way it is i´m basically picking guys at random to scout...

gameplay wise it seems as if there isn´t enough passing by the CPU.

Also, the interface is incredibly clumsy, takes forever to navigate and some stuff just is hidden very well (and other things like player profiles aren´t accessible from most screens you´d expect it to be)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Critics: Hard-hitting new Madden is the best in years | Games Blog - Yahoo! Games

[whomario]

While i agree it´s a really good game that will likely be great after a patch and think that online it could be amazing with good people, i really have been disapointed how little reviews actually, you know, review the game. Instead of blabbering on and on about philosophy and how EA reinvented the game it´d be nice of them to at least show some of the flaws as well.

The OS review is a discgrace quite frankly, the fact that they didn´t acknowledeg a single bug discussed on their own boards is just incomprehensible for me.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Are there any reviews out there by people who don't take every little detail seriously and just mention if the game is fun to play? If it's fun, I'm buying it.

[dubb93]

It is fun.

[whomario]

It is indeed fun

I rasced through a season in franchise/CCM just to see what you have to do over the course of the season. I took the Rams because they have 2 first rounders and managed to get their overall rating from an abysmal 72 down to a really abysmal 68 and when the new season rolled around. So i guess that didn´t go so well

[samifan24]

I love the music in this game. Reminds me of the Arkham City soundtrack and, best of all, no annoying pop songs that grow old after ten minutes!

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Are there any reviews out there by people who don't take every little detail seriously and just mention if the game is fun to play? If it's fun, I'm buying it.

It's fun.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by whomario

It is indeed fun

I rasced through a season in franchise/CCM just to see what you have to do over the course of the season. I took the Rams because they have 2 first rounders and managed to get their overall rating from an abysmal 72 down to a really abysmal 68 and when the new season rolled around. So i guess that didn´t go so well

Don't make me buy it!

Taking the Rams would be quite fun...

[Pumpy Tudors]

I bought it tonight. Haven't played it yet. Thanks, guys!

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I bought it tonight. Haven't played it yet. Thanks, guys!

Return it at once frumpy pudors!

[whomario]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I love the music in this game. Reminds me of the Arkham City soundtrack and, best of all, no annoying pop songs that grow old after ten minutes!

To be honest, i get brain freeze from it (as in i can´t think coherently and just aimlessly click around) and then have to mute it

[dubb93]

Is anyone else finding the CPU incapable of running an offense? They can't run the ball at all(2 ypc is about what I'm finding). The QB holds the ball too long and ends up missing the window where guys are open. The QB takes way too many coverage sacks as a result(5+ a game so far for me). This results in them routinely getting in 3rd and 15 or so.

Also the CPU seems to tip off their game plan. They almost always throw the ball out of 3 WR sets and run out of 1 or 2 WR sets. I mean almost always. Has resulted in me beating both the Packers and Lions by 30 points to open up my first connected careers mode with the 49ers.

I'm playing default All-Madden at the moment. I'm not sure sliders can/will be able to correct these kinds of issues.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Is anyone else finding the CPU incapable of running an offense? They can't run the ball at all(2 ypc is about what I'm finding). The QB holds the ball too long and ends up missing the window where guys are open. The QB takes way too many coverage sacks as a result(5+ a game so far for me). This results in them routinely getting in 3rd and 15 or so.

Also the CPU seems to tip off their game plan. They almost always throw the ball out of 3 WR sets and run out of 1 or 2 WR sets. I mean almost always. Has resulted in me beating both the Packers and Lions by 30 points to open up my first connected careers mode with the 49ers.

I'm playing default All-Madden at the moment. I'm not sure sliders can/will be able to correct these kinds of issues.

What level and online or offline connected career?

Haven't read a lot at OS but the general thought is that All-Pro, at this time, is giving the best game. Also it has been mentioned that a CC career online game has the cpu being able to run while offline CC cpu has trouble running. Someone posted Looman(?) said tuning is up to date for online but won't be for offline until patch drops.

I set up an online CC. All-pro level, default sliders, private league, and single player only so nobody can join my league and screw it up.

I've only played one preseason game, me Rams vs Colts, and Moore ran for over a 100 yds. They also threw the ball well. For default sliders I thought it played a good game. Getting ready for my second game now and will go with default again. I plan on looking at OS to add some penalty and fatigue settings and see how things go.

Take the above with a grain of salt, it is based on only a couple of things I read at OS.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Sweed

What level and online or offline connected career?

Haven't read a lot at OS but the general thought is that All-Pro, at this time, is giving the best game. Also it has been mentioned that a CC career online game has the cpu being able to run while offline CC cpu has trouble running. Someone posted Looman(?) said tuning is up to date for online but won't be for offline until patch drops.

I set up an online CC. All-pro level, default sliders, private league, and single player only so nobody can join my league and screw it up.

I've only played one preseason game, me Rams vs Colts, and Moore ran for over a 100 yds. They also threw the ball well. For default sliders I thought it played a good game. Getting ready for my second game now and will go with default again. I plan on looking at OS to add some penalty and fatigue settings and see how things go.

Take the above with a grain of salt, it is based on only a couple of things I read at OS.

Well I was offline CC. I will give it a try tomorrow with online and All-Pro, but I'm a little skeptical at the moment I guess.

[Eaglesfan27]

I've read a few other places that online has multiple tuning/patch features available that offline doesn't until the patch drops. When I get time with the game, I'm also planning on doing a solo online CC for that reason.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I do like that EA's Season Ticket program lets the bug reports come out before the game actually does.

Seems there is a huge man coverage bug according to the OS boards. Controlling someone on the d-line causes your corners to run commit and get ran past by the WR. This seems to have resulted in multiple huge TDs a game and possibly a few controllers getting broken.

Someone from EA seemed to acknowledge that they know about the issue and told them to switch to a LB or someone in the secondary. This seems to fix the issue.

I haven't played the game but I see this causing the more casual players some frustration as they get burnt repeatedly and can't figure out what is happening.

There is an update to this from the developers. Controlling any player and pressing down on the Right Stick immediately after the snap triggers this issue. You can control anyone you want, just be careful not to press the right stick immediately after the snap.

[Groundhog]

Thanks a lot guys, off to pick this up now. I spent a total of 2 hours on last year's version, so I'm really hoping this one sucks me in.

[MizzouRah]

Take what you read over at Operation Sports with a grain of salt. Some of those guys pick about every single game apart that comes out.

[Super Ugly]

Hmm, I might wait for a patch before picking this up.

I've read mixed things about CC. I thought '12 provided a fun game, but there was zero immersion. It felt so airless and repetitive. I mostly play offline, so feeling connected to the game world is really important to me. Has CC improved things at all in this regard?

[BillJasper]

Guess I'm going to pick this up today for thr PS3.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Super Ugly

Hmm, I might wait for a patch before picking this up.

I've read mixed things about CC. I thought '12 provided a fun game, but there was zero immersion. It felt so airless and repetitive. I mostly play offline, so feeling connected to the game world is really important to me. Has CC improved things at all in this regard?

I haven't played very far yet, but experts are constantly tweeting about what is going on in the league. I have enjoyed this through about two regular season weeks(and the full pre-season too ofcourse) of CC. The tweets are relevant and usually solid. That said it has been two weeks, so we will still have to wait and see how long they last.

I REALLY enjoy the tweets about prospects. I've seen tweets along the lines of a WR(the top player in that draft) being compared to Megatron, only faster, "If that is possible." I've also seen tweets of college results, such as a DT racking up 4 sacks and helping to carry Nebraska to a win.

The college tweets aren't just about top prospects either. I've seen a QB(#6 in that draft) get a tweet that he needs to step it up this year and prove he is a top QB. Another about a CB who feels he is underrated as all he does is make big plays. Also tweets about guys who are starting to creep up the draft boards are great too. They even give the prospects nicknames from time to time. It feels really good. In this regard CC has never been better.

That said college scouting is terrible. I feel I get little to no feedback. It kind of sours the whole thing a little bit.

Also in years past I loved to simulate all the computer games one at a time. I can't find a way to do this in this years game and as a result all I get are the game related tweets and standings to look at. The tweets do cover the big games and such, but I would really like to be able to simulate games one at a time.

[Mota]

No CPU vs. CPU mode.
No coach mode.

This is strictly arcade play now.

I basically just wasted $50 for this piece of crap that's actually WORSE than last year's version!

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by Mota

No CPU vs. CPU mode.
No coach mode.

This is strictly arcade play now.

I basically just wasted $50 for this piece of crap that's actually WORSE than last year's version!

I saw a setting for coach mode. Something along the lines of if you don't take control of the QB it will do the rest. Am I crazy?

[Balldog]

No Coach Mode in CCM

[whomario]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

I saw a setting for coach mode. Something along the lines of if you don't take control of the QB it will do the rest. Am I crazy?

It isn´t in CCM , only available for play now.


Immersion imo is great, i also think that scouting needs work though.

Online play is outstanding. Of course i don´t have many comparisons, but compared with NBA 2K i think this game is made for online play. Didn´t hurt that i actually managed to win a game yesterday

If anybody wants to play on the 360, i´ll be online quite a bit today and this weekend (staying home taking care of packing up stuff for a move in october, will need break in between ), gamertag is Whomario.

[RedKingGold]

What is "CC"?

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

What is "CC"?

Connected careers.

[BillJasper]

Probably the best "on the field" version in years, but presentation is still incredibly dry. Especially in practice where you could crickets in the background if they had them.

[BillJasper]

Some things I've noticed...

* Preseason depth charts are broke. You play your starters for the first quarter then the second string plays the rest of the game.
* Kickers make poor punters. You may get a ten yard punt out of them.
* Been seeing some weird glitches. Had a corner bite on play action when there was none. Tried to lead a receiver by pushing the stick to the left and pressing "O" and the QB did a spin move to the left even though he was in the pocket.
* Still seeing where DB's/LB's are trying to cover guys on the opposite side of the field. Guess they'll never actually fix this.

[korme]

I have got to find a cheapish way to get a new/repair my old PS3. I need a football VG in my life

[MizzouRah]

Picked it up yesterday and finally had time to sit down and play a game on AP defaults, 15 minute quarters, clock run off to 12 seconds left each play.

I am thoroughly enjoying what I'm seeing so far. Played Rams vs Dolphins, beat them 23-9, but I was losing 9-6 at halftime. Taking that game overall, I just think that was one of the best games I've football I've played in a very long time. I only played the demo, so having a full game to play really allowed the infinity engine to show its stuff. It needs tweaking obviously, but it resembles football better than any game has to date, really impressed.

Rushing is tough, but you can tell a power back from a speed back. Passing is great too, leading receivers and I had one pass where I floated the ball in between the CB and the FS that looked so freaking real, I replayed it about 8 times.

The game is very beautiful too and for now, the commentary is quite refreshing. I think there are way too many replays, but you can hit A to skip over them.

I'm already anxious to start an online CCM with the Rams, but I'll wait on the first patch.