NFL Head Coach 09 [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Pages : [1] 2 3

jonesz

02-29-2008, 04:05 PM

I can't believe they are making another version of this game. The article says they brought over the guy has been doing franchise mode for Madden and a new team from the ground up to improve on last year. Let's hope so:

http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/news/story?id=3265421

EA Sports chose Tony Dungy's home field as the launch pad for NFL Head Coach 09, the new next generation video game shipping this fall. Indianapolis Colts head coach Dungy is on the cover of the new game and was on hand, taking some time out from the NFL Scouting Combine, to give his thoughts on the new game.
"EA Sports talked to us a lot about our jobs and what we do and what are some of the big decisions that we have to make and their timing and how we go about it," explained Dungy, who's not a gamer, but enjoys watching his son play video games. "I think they've made it very realistic and gotten a lot of input from a lot of different coaches. That's what I'm always amazed at, is how realistic these games are."
Whereas gamers playing Madden NFL 08 can focus on the on-field action, the heart of NFL Head Coach 09 is not just the on-field play-calling, but the year-round scouting process that builds up a team over time into a Super Bowl contender. Dungy, who guided his Colts to a Super Bowl win in 2007, believes this new game will find an audience with millions of armchair quarterbacks out there who are obsessed with the NFL.
"I think that's the group that's really going to be affected by this ... the people who play fantasy football and watch all of the NFL shows during the week and want to really zero in on how their team is built and how their team is doing," said Dungy. "They're going to really have fun with this game because they're going to be able to explore the ins and outs and the behind-the-scenes stuff. It's not just watching Ladainian Tomlinson making a great play on Sunday afternoon, but it's figuring out how to get his offensive line in place and how to make sure he has a good back-up in case he gets hurt. It's all of those things."
Dungy has seen the impact of NFL video games first-hand over his years as a head coach and the popularity of the Madden franchise amongst his players.
"I think that's one of the things in the NFL now," said Dungy. "Everybody's going to new facilities that have to have big screen TVs so that guys can play Madden during their lunch hour. I think it's great. We have many more guys hanging around our facility because we have that availability to play these games."
Josh Looman, lead designer of NFL Head Coach 09 at EA Tiburon, said that since the NFL Combine is the start of the new football season and scouting players is a huge part of the new game, the team decided to debut the Xbox 360 game in Indianapolis. The fact that Dungy lives here was another bonus.
Looman, who spent the past five years overseeing the Franchise mode in Madden, leads an entirely new team that was constructed from the ground up with the goal of making NFL Head Coach 09 more accessible and more fun than the original. This new game was built from scratch to take advantage of next gen functionality and to start with a clean slate.
"We focused a lot of attention on the game's navigation, since the original was very difficult to actually get around the world in. The artificial intelligence in this game is much more robust, as well."
The game employs a wizard navigation format (borrowed from the PC world), which makes it very easy to navigate to anywhere in the game from the main screen. The Coach's Clipboard is a 3D utility that can be turned left or right to open up new menu options for any maneuver needed in the game.
"We bring everything you need to do in the game directly to you through this feature," explained Looman. "If you don't want to deal with it, hit the B button and assign it to the assistant coaches or general manager."
Just make sure those coaches, assistant coaches, and your general manager that you hire are good, because based on their own ratings, they'll make good or bad decisions on evaluating talent, making deals and even making calls on the field.
Front and center on the main gameplay screen at all times is your coach's approval rating. This aggregate score comes from fans, coaches, media, players and the owner's ratings on your performance. Unlike the Madden franchise mode, in which a coach can play for 60 years and never get fired despite his record, just like the real cutthroat world of the NFL, one bad season could be enough to get you axed in NFL Head Coach 09.
"The higher your approval rating, the easier it is to sign free agents and make trades in the game," said Looman. "Your approval rating will change as you progress through the year. In addition to determining whether you keep your job, it will also impact the difficulty level of the game. We based the rating off the ESPN Coaches voting that fans take part in online, so a coach's rating will swing up and down based on decisions on the field and off."
Other ESPN elements are also being implemented in the game. Todd McShay, ESPN football analyst and director of college football scouting for Scouts Inc., will appear throughout the game as a 3D avatar on the bottom left of the screen providing detailed information on players. In addition, a sports ticker will constantly update in-game happenings around the league and every move you make as a head coach will instantly break on ESPN. In addition, Looman said the final game will likely integrate real-time sports scores from ESPN and other content into this virtual world.
The team has added a lot of real-time strategy elements to the sports genre with NFL Head Coach. Just like in Madden NFL 08 or NCAA Football 08, players can simulate to any point in a season. You can also fast forward the day clock at any time to make the action move faster. There are even role-playing game elements like the ability to buy skills and upgrade coaches and GM abilities as you move through the season.
Although the new game allows you to skip over the NFL Scouting Combine and the NFL Draft and jump straight into the preseason, Looman said that championship teams are built through scouting.
"We have every stage of scouting that exists in the NFL," said Looman. "You start out with regular season high level looking at prospects, then you'll go into a Senior All-Star Game, Pro Days and then individual workouts and look at those guys there. Every time you scout a player more, you'll unlock more ratings on him. If you only look at a player in the NFL Combine, his rating will be based on that and won't be an accurate look at his potential. There will be times when you see a guy go from a 90 rating down to a 70 after you've seen him in every stage of scouting. You don't want to draft a guy who's going to be a bust for you and we reward players who go the extra effort to scout players for their teams."
While the NFL Class of 09 will feature every player in this year's draft, future fantasy draft classes in the game will have players that are the second coming of past NFL greats like John Elway, Dan Marino and Barry Sanders. NFL Network broadcaster Adam Schefter will provide detailed descriptions of both the real and fantasy players through stories and anecdotes, like how Boar Jackson got his name from hunting with his father.
"There are so many stories in this game that by the time you get to the NFL Draft you feel like you know these guys," said Looman. "We did things differently than any sports game has done before. We had each team rate the players differently based on the kind of guys they like. So in the game, the Colts like Cover-2 corners and as a result they'll rate a prospect or free agent who's Cover-2 higher than a guy who's better at Man coverage. They'll go after that guy in free agency and give more in a trade for him. The Colts love running backs who can catch the ball."
Although NFL Head Coach 09 is packed with features -- far too many for EA Sports to show all at once, the overhaul of the game has made this 3D world much more vibrant to explore. Gone are the old, boring spreadsheets. This new game has player stats and attributes pop with official college team colors.
"Successful coaches have to have a plan for each position," said Looman. "Look at your current roster, what's available in the Draft and make decisions for position for both first and second-string. There's the ability to look deep into your roster, including the upside of a player, whether he's overpaid or underpaid, the role he plays on the team. Is he indispensable like Peyton Manning? Even a player's character is evaluated. Is he a team player? All of this in-game logic makes the simulation run more realistically than in the past."

Antmeister

02-29-2008, 04:22 PM

Why am I having deja vu?

sabotai

02-29-2008, 04:25 PM

Why am I having deja vu?

A deja vu is usually a glitch in the matrix. It happens when they change something.

aran

02-29-2008, 05:39 PM

It's all fluff until the game comes out.

Mizzou B-ball fan

03-10-2008, 07:44 AM

Pretty amusing comments about Gamestop's 'preview' of Head Coach '09............

http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/03/ea-to-gamespot-i-heart-u.html

EA to GameSpot - I Heart U

Peter Moore of EA has posted a new blog entry that talks about...EA stuff. Namely NFL Head Coach 09. Read the blog if you will but my favorite line was this beaut, "Last week, we had a group at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis showing a select group of media an early look at the game, and as our friends at GameSpot noted: “NFL Head Coach 09 is a sequel in name only”.

GameSpot Fever -- CATCH IT!

As someone who has been part of several of these "select media events" I can say without hesitation that GameSpot saw maybe some interface stuff and a few of the basic ideas that help differentiate it from the old game, but doesn't this come off sounding like an advertisement? Or at the very least a slight endorsement? Like when you see a pull quote for a really bad movie in a TV ad? "Rambo is back!" -- John Doe, Small Paper You Have Never Heard Of

And I'm happy Peter Moore considers the folks at GameSpot his buds. We're all one big happy fam in this biz.

The gaming media needs to STOP DOING THAT. So EA lets you into the Combine to see a sequel to a terribly shitty game. You are not obliged to provide tag lines to EA PR because of it. Good lord, people.

Oh, Pete also says this about the PC:

PC Games – While we’re committed to the PC as a sports game platform, it’s certainly not a platform without its business challenges due in large part because so many of you have migrated to the console as your primary platform. I think on-line will give us some innovative new ways to re-vitalize the PC sports business again, and we’ ll keep pushing from our end to make that happen. But in the meantime, understand that while we have a limited lineup of EA SPORTS games coming this summer and fall to the PC, we do continue to weigh our options on PC.

Translation: We at EA Sports consider the PC one helluva way to check email, send pictures of ugly relatives, and watch NBC reruns in your underwear. Now, go buy our $60 console games.

TroyF

03-10-2008, 10:01 AM

This new game has player stats and attributes pop with official college team colors.

Wow!!!! I'm excited about this now. . .

SirFozzie

03-10-2008, 10:21 AM

Are we SURE that Daivd Winters is not involved with this title?

Flasch186

03-10-2008, 10:24 AM

Welcome to the Combine!

kcchief19

03-10-2008, 05:44 PM

All the original Head Coach game needed was for an operation like Gigawatt Studio to come up and dress up the spreadsheets with flashy graphics. Sounds like EA is well on its way!

WSUCougar

03-10-2008, 08:40 PM

Is it fully...awwww, never mind.

A-Husker-4-Life

03-10-2008, 08:52 PM

No PC, Pass...

sachmo71

03-11-2008, 08:57 AM

With the EA bankroll, the beer tents should be customizable.

Wolfy

03-11-2008, 01:57 PM

http://www.easports.com/nflheadcoach09/home.jsp

Looks like not only the beer tent customization made it but also the custom sock stripes as well.

astrosfan64

03-12-2008, 01:19 PM

I can't lie. I'm excited for the game. I know I shouldn't be, but it sure does sound good again :(

Pumpy Tudors

03-12-2008, 01:32 PM

No PC, Pass...
Yeah, um, I don't think you'll be missing much.

A-Husker-4-Life

03-12-2008, 03:57 PM

I can't lie. I'm excited for the game. I know I shouldn't be, but it sure does sound good again :(

EA Hype, that's all.. Once you actually play the game, you will change your tune.

Passacaglia

03-12-2008, 04:23 PM

No PC, Pass...

Yeah, I saw. Thanks.

Passacaglia

03-12-2008, 04:24 PM

Other ESPN elements are also being implemented in the game. Todd McShay, ESPN football analyst and director of college football scouting for Scouts Inc., will appear throughout the game as a 3D avatar on the bottom left of the screen providing detailed information on players.

Why don't they come right out and say, "We couldn't get Mel Kiper?"

SirFozzie

03-12-2008, 05:04 PM

Kiper's getting booted out of ESPN, anyway.. so he loses his cachet.

RainMaker

03-12-2008, 11:43 PM

So EA spent millions of dollars for an ESPN license to add Todd McShay to a game no one will play? They should add Sean Salisbury sending pictures of his dick (http://deadspin.com/sports/sean-salisbury/if-sean-salisbury-asks-you-to-look-at-his-phone-dont-do-it-226599.php) to you cell phone in the game.

Eaglesfan27

03-13-2008, 08:21 AM

Mizzou B-ball fan

04-02-2008, 07:42 AM

Peter Moore's latest post at his blog says that they know the last version of Head Coach was bad, but this one will be better..............

http://www.itsinthegame.com/

Pumpy Tudors

04-02-2008, 08:36 AM

Peter Moore's latest post at his blog says that they know the last version of Head Coach was bad, but this one will be better..............

Could it possibly have gotten worse?

redfox000

04-03-2008, 08:06 AM

A deja vu is usually a glitch in the matrix. It happens when they change something.

LOL

Flasch186

04-03-2008, 08:13 AM

Peter Moore's latest post at his blog says that they know the last version of Head Coach was bad, but this one will be better..............

http://www.itsinthegame.com/

then why the F did they release it! They shouldve recalled it like Sierra did.

Bee

04-03-2008, 11:19 AM

then why the F did they release it! They shouldve recalled it like Sierra did.

How did that work our for Sierra and the series?

Eaglesfan27

05-22-2008, 10:50 AM

Over the last few weeks, the EA marketing machine has been generating a positive buzz (on OS as well as a few other sites) about the game with a variety of video clips on a few different sites. This new injury system is the first one that has me intrigued and thinking about renting the game:

http://www.easports.com/nflheadcoach09/home.jsp

SirFozzie

05-22-2008, 04:47 PM

......

did they just say that they are throwing in random off-field injuries "if you're doing good"?

Eaglesfan27

05-22-2008, 04:50 PM

......

did they just say that they are throwing in random off-field injuries "if you're doing good"?

If they did, I missed that and it obviously would temper my bit of enthusiasm that I was starting to develop.

Surtt

05-22-2008, 04:53 PM

The feature list of the first one had everyone drooling too.
The problem was way they implemented everything.

Surtt

05-22-2008, 04:54 PM

......

did they just say that they are throwing in random off-field injuries "if you're doing good"?

Yeah, I caught that too....

SirFozzie

05-22-2008, 04:55 PM

....

Ok.. just got back to that section. (it's about 2/3rd of the way through)

"a suprise thing.. so if you're doing really well you might get a notification that hey, your player broke a finger barbecuing in the back yard."

DO.

NOT.

WANT.

AgustusM

05-22-2008, 05:24 PM

I am very cautiously anticipating this game.

1. my biggest complaint from the first game was the ludicrous decision to lock the game at 5 min quarters and that has been confirmed fixed. qtr lengths are adjustable. I still think in a football SIM game there shouldn't be any such thing as qtr time. Qtrs=15 min and the clock should accell appropriately to equal an average NFL number of plays. But at least with the adjustable qtrs that can be approximated.

2. my second biggest problem was the torture that was the interface - that has been trashed as well

3. issue #3 was the non realistic sim stats - lets call this one a wait and see.

4. the graphics in the last version were behind the current standard by a couple years. early screens seem to indicate they are up to "next gen" standards

5. the focus of the last game with the "feelings" of the players and staff has been trashed and the guy who came with it appropriately fired, tortured, killed, whatever.

I am disappointed in the departure from the PC, but as much as that ticks me off - I think that is more of an industry thing then a specific title thing and I understand the rationale behind it, even if I don't like it.

Having said all that I am very cautiously anticipating the game, last time I thought it was going to be the game of my dreams and I was very disappointed. EA has proved time and time again their ability to disappoint the hell out of me by coming so close, yet so far so I will

Of course I have already pre-ordered because I like to set money on fire to keep up with my wife.

rowech

05-22-2008, 06:32 PM

The interface to the first one destroyed any chance of me even trying to like the game. It was simply awful.

Antmeister

05-23-2008, 10:48 AM

Luckily I didn't buy last year's version even though I was heavily tempted. Because of the demo itself last year (on the PC), I decided not to purchase until I heard better reviews.

However this year, I am so looking forward to this game even though it may turn out being crap again. It is one of those games I had always been looking for if they are able to live up to their feature list and have realistic stats. However I still fear they are going to fall on their face and EA won't even give this game another chance.

gstelmack

05-23-2008, 10:54 AM

If it takes less than 8 hours of gameplay to get to my first actual game, I might look at it again...

MizzouRah

05-31-2008, 12:24 PM

http://www.pastapadre.com/2640/nfl-head-coach-09-hands-on-report#more-2640

http://www.mymaddenpad.com/?L=ezine.index&id=34

I will admit, I'm getting more interested in this game....

bmerryman

06-01-2008, 06:09 AM

http://www.pastapadre.com/2640/nfl-head-coach-09-hands-on-report#more-2640

http://www.mymaddenpad.com/?L=ezine.index&id=34

I will admit, I'm getting more interested in this game....

Me too.

Icy

06-01-2008, 06:11 AM

No matter how disappointed i was with Madden past year, i'm going to order the Special edition that comes with Madden 09 and head coach 09 for 60€.

Yeah i know it doesn't help to raise EA games quallity to keep buying their garbage, but... sadly there is no other alternative.

Epi_862

06-01-2008, 07:36 AM

Flasch186

06-01-2008, 07:54 AM

Eaglesfan27

06-01-2008, 08:29 AM

http://www.pastapadre.com/2640/nfl-head-coach-09-hands-on-report#more-2640

http://www.mymaddenpad.com/?L=ezine.index&id=34

I will admit, I'm getting more interested in this game....

Me too, I've been reading articles and one thing that I like is that 15 minute quarters with accelerated clock is the default. That makes me hopeful that they actually have the game giving at least close to realistic stats at that length as opposed to last year where it was designed to be run on 5 minute quarters.

Eaglesfan27

06-01-2008, 08:32 AM

Are people calling madden games garbage just becouse all the cool kids on the internet do it? Stupid. And people are calling HC'09 garbage, and the damn game aint even finished yet. Grow the hell up.

Madden 08 was a huge leap from 07, and a great football game. That isnt even debateable.

Actually, Madden 08 was not a great football game. It had broken franchise where you got multiple backs with over 2000 yards. All defensive players had interceptions doubled. There was horrible franchise AI in which teams took QB's in the 1st round despite having 90 plus rated young QB's on their roster. There were a ton of problems with Madden's franchise and that is part of the game. The gameplay was a step up from 07, I'll give you that.

All of that said, I'm getting excited about Madden 09, too. The gameplay videos that Ian has put up on OS look good. The previews have been good. However, I'm still waiting to see some franchise screen shots including stats, before I get too excited about that game.

Icy

06-01-2008, 09:20 AM

Are people calling madden games garbage just becouse all the cool kids on the internet do it? Stupid. And people are calling HC'09 garbage, and the damn game aint even finished yet. Grow the hell up.

Madden 08 was a huge leap from 07, and a great football game. That isnt even debateable.

Are you serious? are you talking about the next gen versions that had the same doubled int numbers bug for two versions (07 and 08) in a row? About the next gen 08 version that had no presentation at all, no commentators besides the horrible radio guy, where every interception was returned for TD, where the AI QB's threw int after int, where the top running backs fumbled again and again, where the AI Qb's never threw deep, where the linebackers jumped from nowhere to catch the ball, where the CB's had eyes on their back so they could turn to pick the ball before the WR's, the same next gen madden that had way less features than the old gen versions?

Where was the huge leap with 07 in next gen? Maybe only in your game DVD? because clearly not in anybody's else game. Madden08 was only fun to play friendly games vs a friend and not caring at all about realism. At least NCAA08 was playable somewhat and had way better presentation that madden that imho was garbage in next gen systems. The best version of 08 was Madden PSP that used old gen engine and at least didn't have any bug.

MizzouRah

06-01-2008, 10:03 AM

Me too, I've been reading articles and one thing that I like is that 15 minute quarters with accelerated clock is the default. That makes me hopeful that they actually have the game giving at least close to realistic stats at that length as opposed to last year where it was designed to be run on 5 minute quarters.

I read that as well EF. I would like nothing better than both Madden 09 and HC 09 to be excellent games.

Pumpy Tudors

06-01-2008, 10:54 AM

Are you serious? are you talking about the next gen versions that had the same doubled int numbers for two versions (07 and 08) in a row? About the next gen 08 version that had no presentation at all, no commentators besides the horrible radio guy, where every interception was returned for TD, where the AI QB's threw int after int, where the top running backs fumbled again and again, where the AI Qb's never threw deep, where the linebackers jumped from nowhere to cath the ball, where the CB's had eyes on his back so they could turn to pick the ball before the WR's, the same nexg gen madden that had way less features than the old gen versions?

Where was the huge leap with 07 in next gen? Maybe only in your game DVD? because clearly not in anybody's else game. Madden08 was only fun to play friendly games vs a friend and not caring at all about realism. At least NCAA08 was playable somewhat and had way better presentation that madden that imho was garbage in next gen systems. The best version of 08 was Madden PSP that used old gen engine and at least didn't have any bug.
Damn, Icy with the beatdown of the century. GET HIM

sooner333

06-01-2008, 11:30 AM

The first head coach was so bad that I didn't even get to the part where the games sucked because I gave up before the preseason games.

kingnebwsu

06-01-2008, 03:06 PM

Flasch186

06-01-2008, 03:09 PM

but boy was it good on the genesis, revolutionary. I spent so much time playing it my thumbs would hurt.

MizzouRah

06-01-2008, 07:25 PM

Yes it was Flasch... yes it was.....

Emiliano

06-02-2008, 03:06 AM

http://www.pastapadre.com/2640/nfl-head-coach-09-hands-on-report#more-2640

http://www.mymaddenpad.com/?L=ezine.index&id=34

I will admit, I'm getting more interested in this game....

Me too. I'm actually more interested in this one than Madden/NCAA combined. They seem to have taken a different approach developing this game, and that could be a positive. Obviously, they're selling it very well with all these nice videos (pastapadre has some new ones, btw) but I still have some doubts.

I mean, I'm reading that this game is "packed with features", you have "control over everything". Will all this stuff work?

bmerryman

06-02-2008, 05:34 AM

I mean, I'm reading that this game is "packed with features", you have "control over everything". Will all this stuff work?

I'm sure all of the stuff won't work well but I'm just hopeful that it will work well enough for my wife to complain.

Epi_862

06-02-2008, 06:22 AM

Flasch186

06-02-2008, 07:42 AM

Despite my earlier ramblings, i do recognize that not everyone liked next-gen madden 08 as much as i did, it's all subjective. But im just tired of people calling 09 garbage wihtout playing it, thats all.

Also, it's pretty funny how a lot of people are calling last year's head coach carbage. There was no head coach last year. Doesnt work too well if you are trying to post believable opinions.

Considering there's been only one, ever, I dont think people will have a hard time figuring out which coaster we're talking about. However in case you do here is an image for reference where you're catching Bill answering a reporter's question about the quality of the game...

http://www.ripten.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/head_coach_header.jpg

Gallifrey

06-02-2008, 10:45 AM

Humm...I wonder if they have coders who watch and understand American football.

MizzouRah

06-02-2008, 06:12 PM

The extra year does make me believe there is hope.

MizzouRah

06-02-2008, 06:13 PM

MizzouRah

06-03-2008, 01:29 PM

http://consolesports.net/content/view/326/51/

More promise.... ?? or Hype??

BrianD

06-03-2008, 01:48 PM

I do like the idea of scheme-specific ratings...if it is done well. The fact that this made it into the game design gives some hope of actual sports-management fans being involved in the process.

gstelmack

06-03-2008, 01:56 PM

Well, that talked very little about how they streamlined the offseason, and hinted that I'd still have to sit there and practice plays until my team gets perfect with them. Lots of focus on in-game coaching, which was the only part I enjoyed in the whole game.

Emiliano

06-03-2008, 05:53 PM

Have you guys read the Live Events Blog on EA Sports' site? (http://www.easports.com/nflheadcoach09/news.jsp?itemID=liveevents_blog) Again, it seems they've at least TRIED to take a different approach to things. Check out the Staff Hiring part in particular.

Eaglesfan27

06-04-2008, 11:50 AM

One of the developers of Head Coach is on OS answering any questions submitted by users:

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/nfl-head-coach/251227-lead-designer-q-session-5.html

A few of the positives so far:

- Full expanded pre-season rosters, with real cut down dates and limited scouting of street FA's that will expand the longer you keep a guy on the roster. The more time a guy is with a team, the more you will see about them.

- Again stating that game has been tuned to give realistic stats with accelerated clock and 15 minute quarters. Averages about 125-135 plays per game. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

- The CPU will download the most popular user created plays and will test them out. If they are successful for that team's personel, it will be incorporated into their playbook (that sounds very cool if it works.)

- Different coaches will run different schemes and take them to teams. An option spread college coach will look to recruit a fast QB and bring a variant to the NFL.

- The ability to set a gameplan for the team to practice, and then just sim it without losing player ratings. There is no need to watch practices, unless you want to see how certain plays work.

The big negative:

Only 15 years to a career. The developer said they want to give users 100 things to do over a season and keep it at 15 years, rather than fewer things at 30 years.

Mizzou B-ball fan

06-04-2008, 11:56 AM

- Again stating that game has been tuned to give realistic stats with accelerated clock and 15 minute quarters. Averages about 125-135 plays per game. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

I personally want abbreviated sims. It would be great if they had a sim that only showed the big plays, much like Football Manager does. If the sims are going to be an hour, I might as well play Madden.

The big negative:

Only 15 years to a career. The developer said they want to give users 100 things to do over a season and keep it at 15 years, rather than fewer things at 30 years.

Sim people love open-ended games. This sounds like a way to restrict how quickly users can sim through the game, which is never a good idea.

Flasch186

06-04-2008, 12:04 PM

One of the developers of Head Coach is on OS answering any questions submitted by users:

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/nfl-head-coach/251227-lead-designer-q-session-5.html

A few of the positives so far:

- Full expanded pre-season rosters, with real cut down dates and limited scouting of street FA's that will expand the longer you keep a guy on the roster. The more time a guy is with a team, the more you will see about them.

- Again stating that game has been tuned to give realistic stats with accelerated clock and 15 minute quarters. Averages about 125-135 plays per game. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

- The CPU will download the most popular user created plays and will test them out. If they are successful for that team's personel, it will be incorporated into their playbook (that sounds very cool if it works.)

- Different coaches will run different schemes and take them to teams. An option spread college coach will look to recruit a fast QB and bring a variant to the NFL.

- The ability to set a gameplan for the team to practice, and then just sim it without losing player ratings. There is no need to watch practices, unless you want to see how certain plays work.

The HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEE negative:

Only 15 years to a career. The developer said they want to give users 100 things to do over a season and keep it at 15 years, rather than fewer things at 30 years.

So the player I draft number 1 in the first draft will play for me the length of his career and then, when I get to the draft in year 11 I wont give a flying F because the game is going to end right around the corner so in essence you have a 7-10 year career playable. pissshaw.

Eaglesfan27

06-04-2008, 12:59 PM

I personally want abbreviated sims. It would be great if they had a sim that only showed the big plays, much like Football Manager does. If the sims are going to be an hour, I might as well play Madden.

Sim people love open-ended games. This sounds like a way to restrict how quickly users can sim through the game, which is never a good idea.

Even though I'd want to play out every game, the producer says in another answer that a "fixed" supersim is in the game. So it sounds like that is available if you want to use it.

So the player I draft number 1 in the first draft will play for me the length of his career and then, when I get to the draft in year 11 I wont give a flying F because the game is going to end right around the corner so in essence you have a 7-10 year career playable. pissshaw.

I agree. I think this is a huge design flaw of the game. Just like Flasch said, why should I care about guys I draft in the 11th plus year if I know I'm never going to see the end of their career.

Antmeister

06-04-2008, 01:15 PM

Only 15 years to a career. The developer said they want to give users 100 things to do over a season and keep it at 15 years, rather than fewer things at 30 years.

Very confused by this statement. Wouldn't you still be doing those same 100 things regardless of the length of the career? I am trying to figure out how length of career ties in with all the tasks.

The only thing I could thing of is if somehow more options are opened up after each year, but that doesn't quite make sense either. So I guess I won't be planning to be the next Bill Parcells.

Eaglesfan27

06-04-2008, 01:45 PM

Very confused by this statement. Wouldn't you still be doing those same 100 things regardless of the length of the career? I am trying to figure out how length of career ties in with all the tasks.

The only thing I could thing of is if somehow more options are opened up after each year, but that doesn't quite make sense either. So I guess I won't be planning to be the next Bill Parcells.

Agreed. Seems like an odd response. Only factor I can think of is the number of players they created and the variety of ways they have to test them. In another response, they say they have over 21,000 created rookies though and that would seem to support more than enough to support a 30 year career.

Sgran

06-04-2008, 01:57 PM

I'm trying to find a way to buy into this game, but it's awfully hard. The 15-year limit is weird, but maybe we just need to remember that it's a coaching sim, not a GM sim.

Eaglesfan27

06-04-2008, 02:01 PM

I asked the developer in the Q&A thread to clarify his post about 100 features in a 15 year span and here is his reply which is disappointing but makes some sense:

It takes more development time to add a feature and have it work correctly over a 30 year career instead of a 15 year career.

That usually means you spend twice the time implementing one feature and end up not being able to get other features in.

GrantDawg

06-04-2008, 02:04 PM

Very confused by this statement. Wouldn't you still be doing those same 100 things regardless of the length of the career? I am trying to figure out how length of career ties in with all the tasks.

The only thing I could thing of is if somehow more options are opened up after each year, but that doesn't quite make sense either. So I guess I won't be planning to be the next Bill Parcells.

My guess is because this is on a console, and they only have so much memory they can work with. Definitely saves me from being interested in buying it.

Mizzou B-ball fan

06-04-2008, 03:00 PM

It takes more development time to add a feature and have it work correctly over a 30 year career instead of a 15 year career.

That usually means you spend twice the time implementing one feature and end up not being able to get other features in.

Translation: "That would require much more QA testing and work by our development team to created a fully featured game. That's simply not an option."

Flasch186

06-04-2008, 03:21 PM

Translation: "That would require much more QA testing and work by our development team to created a fully featured game. That's simply not an option."

"...because unlike what you've heard deadlines will still be more important than quality"

I just cant believe it. Im totally beside myself as I thought I was 99% sure I was going to buy this game but with the cap at 15 years it is in essence a 10 year career and not worth the $65 it would take to buy on the PS3. Assholes!

MizzouRah

06-04-2008, 04:30 PM

MizzouRah

06-04-2008, 04:35 PM

I personally want abbreviated sims. It would be great if they had a sim that only showed the big plays, much like Football Manager does. If the sims are going to be an hour, I might as well play Madden.

Sim people love open-ended games. This sounds like a way to restrict how quickly users can sim through the game, which is never a good idea.

Honestly.. this game isn't for you then. When FPS Football was around, the joy was watching each play, each player.. to evaluate your team from game to game, season to season. I do agree that 15 years sucks, but by the time I get to my 15th year, I will have moved on to some other game.

At least they took an extra year to "hopefully" make this a fun, semi-realistic, challenging game.

I'm a glutton for punishment, so for me.. I'll probably skip NCAA Football and get the Madden Collector's edition this year.

I'll see once Madden and HC gets closer to being released.

MizzouRah

06-04-2008, 04:36 PM

My guess is because this is on a console, and they only have so much memory they can work with. Definitely saves me from being interested in buying it.

I would love to see an endless career with a pc version.

Calis

06-04-2008, 04:41 PM

Eaglesfan27

06-04-2008, 05:16 PM

I think it'll be a moot point. If I'm playing every game it'll take me a long time to go through 15 years.

Anyway, I think it's beside the point..what are the chances anyone will want to play it more than 15 seasons? Frankly if that ends up being an issue to me, that means I'll be pretty damn happy with the game.

That is a very good point. I can't believe I'm considering it, but I'm thinking about getting the collector's edition of Madden to get Head Coach cheaper.

MizzouRah

06-04-2008, 07:52 PM

That is a very good point. I can't believe I'm considering it, but I'm thinking about getting the collector's edition of Madden to get Head Coach cheaper.

That makes two of us. :o

Plus.. you'll get HC sooner.

Madden 09 Collector's Edition ships 8/12
Head Coach 09 ships 9/3

KWhit

06-04-2008, 08:23 PM

You guys are going to be disappointed.

DeToxRox

06-04-2008, 08:31 PM

You guys are going to be disappointed.

It's like telling a buddy "I don't think stickin' it to her is a good idea" and they come back with a big sore on their lip.

KWhit

06-04-2008, 08:36 PM

True. I said the same thing last year and it did no good.

(Not that I was going way out on a limb or anything).

KWhit

06-04-2008, 08:37 PM

True. I said the same thing last year and it did no good.

(Not that I was going way out on a limb or anything).

Or two years ago or whatever.

(I don't want Epi_69 to come kick my ass because Head Coach wasn't released last year.)

MizzouRah

06-04-2008, 08:54 PM

You guys are going to be disappointed.

I didn't say I was pre-ordering or anything. :p

Flasch186

06-04-2008, 09:19 PM

Or two years ago or whatever.

(I don't want Epi_69 to come kick my ass because Head Coach wasn't released last year.)

god forbid

KWhit

06-04-2008, 09:24 PM

he scares me

MizzouRah

06-09-2008, 05:43 PM

http://www.easports.com/nflheadcoach09/news.jsp

New video and a new blog post.

I'm sure it's all hype and what not, but seriously hope this game is all they are making it out to seem...

Eaglesfan27

06-13-2008, 08:41 AM

Head Coach Producers are answering question on OS and while there are things I wish that made it into the game that didn't, I think this sounds like a nice feature and makes me think that these guys "get it" in their pursuit of realism:

Yes - you can check out the box score of any game, regular season or post-season, at any point during the season.

What is really cool about the game this year to me, is that if you get eliminated from the playoffs as soon as your week 17 game is over, you immediately start going thru the Staff Evaluations/Staff Hiring/Firing phase of the offseason.

Teams who are still in the playoffs do NOT go thru this yet. If they are still in playoffs, no staff evaluations occur. So what this means for you the gamer, do you risk waiting around for a Jim Caldwell type of guy with the Colts, who are in the playoffs, will he leave this year for a better opportunity on my team as a Offensive Coordinator, or do I just play it safe and go after a college fantasy coach or someone from another team who got fired.

The thing is with a guy like Jim Caldwell, it is somewhat a random chance that he will leave vs. stay with Colts. When I say random, I don't mean we are flipping a coin based on nothing. I mean that the chance for coaches to leave in general is a % chance type of deal, so the experience always feels fresh. Yes, there might be a 90% chance of Caldwell leaving if he has a certain personality type or if he is unhappy with the head coach. but very rarely do we make things like this happen 100% of the time.

Sorry to sidetrack here, just wanted to make sure you guys knew about this nice little feature we got in.

MizzouRah

06-13-2008, 05:47 PM

Thanks for posting that EF.. pretty cool feature.

MizzouRah

06-13-2008, 10:11 PM

IGN Hands On:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/881/881706p1.html

X360 Videos:

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14233303/nfl-coach-09/videos/HeadCoach09_061108_04.html

There is nothing I want more in my gaming life than this game to be good... really good. The biggest issue I see is the AI.. it has to be good or else the game will be worthless.

I thought the play editor thing would be boring, but after watching the video.. that even looks fun to mess with. The interface really looks well done and I really like the FA bidding process as well as the draft layout.

Yep.. they've drawn me in...............:cry:

MizzouRah

06-21-2008, 06:50 PM

Full game - MIA vs NE: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1612722418

rowech

06-21-2008, 07:22 PM

This might have some good potential.

Eaglesfan27

06-21-2008, 07:23 PM

I've just about made it through the first half of the video, and that looks much better than the first version.

MizzouRah

06-21-2008, 07:49 PM

I've just about made it through the first half of the video, and that looks much better than the first version.

Yes it does.. MUCH better.

Mac Howard

06-21-2008, 10:06 PM

Is there a demo? I put the word "demo" into the search function of the forum and it told me to be less restrictive :)

Eaglesfan27

06-21-2008, 10:08 PM

Not yet. Not sure if there will eventually be one or not. The retail game won't be out until August or September.

Mac Howard

06-21-2008, 10:12 PM

Not yet. Not sure if there will eventually be one or not. The retail game won't be out until August or September.

Thanks, Ef. I'll keep an eye out for it. FOF demands too much of my limited understanding of the gridiron game but this sounds right up my street.

JPhillips

06-21-2008, 10:26 PM

I want to see the preseason before I commit. I spent so damn much time clicking to get through the preseason that I only ever made it to a real game once.

rowech

06-21-2008, 10:39 PM

Reviews are going to mean everything for this game. Anybody who bought the first one is going to hold off until word starts rolling in.

BradS

06-29-2008, 06:47 AM

Another video starts out slow but at 1:40 shows more features.

http://www.operationsports.com/videoview.php?id=17

Zelig

06-29-2008, 09:13 AM

I love the guy's fake professional voice he employs. Sort of a poor man's Jim Rome. I wanted him to call someone Chris Everett.

MizzouRah

08-02-2008, 05:57 PM

From Bill Abner's blog:

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/)

The NEW Head Coach has the potential, although it is still extremely early in the review process, to be an absolute first rate coaching simulation complete with sharp visuals and tense gameplay. It is the kind of game on the surface at least, that I wanted the original to be.

Let's run down the list of complaints from the first game:

Games locked at 5 min quarters: fixed. It uses 15 minutes with the fast clock. Takes a little over an hour to play a game.
Plagued by INT: Fixed. My preseason game against the Jets saw 1 pick.
Lack of Dline sacks: Fixed. Ask Ken Dorsey how that went against New York...yikes 'twas not pretty.
The worst user interface in the history of videogames: Fixed. It still screams for a PC UI, but this is pretty darn easy to navigate and in the game you can quick sub players with the press of a button and you no longer have that silly "2 task per week" thing. It moves MUCH quicker and is nowhere near as tedious. There still might be things you choose to simulate during the week to week grind, but it moves along at a nice clip.
CPU never returns a punt: Fixed
FA signings: Dunno yet. I do know that during the first preseason week I got into a bidding war over Travis Henry (and lost the bid war, thankfully).OK the Browns won the pre season opener 31-24. Here's some numbers:
Anderson 7/12 105 yards
Quinn 6/7 70 yards
Dorsey 2/6 26 yards
Clemens: 6/11 91 yards
Pennington 17/29 303 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Lewis: 10 carries 90 yards (one run was for 43)
Wright: 8 for 54
Harrison 7 for 6 and a fumble
Quinn scrambled 5 times for 23 yards

Jones: 16 for 70 yards
Washington 9 for 3 yards

Josh Cribbs ran a kick back 98 yards for a TD. Cribbs -- if you know the Browns -- is the MAN on special teams.

A lot of players were dinged up during the game and all came back as fine except old man Willie McGinest is down for 2 months and Winslow hurt his knee and will miss the rest of preseason.

The final drive even though it had nothing but backups shows you how tense just calling plays can be. I use the Overhead Cam angle which shows me as much of the field as possible. NY had the ball on my 10 yard line, :04 secs left down 7. They had moved from the 50 to the 7 in under a minute. My backups were helpless and TIRED. Checking the fatigue, these boys were huffing and puffing.

I decided to blitz both OLBs. Pennington dropped back and the OLB (Peek) came in untouched and was just about to drill him but Pennington avoided the rush; he stepped up in the pocket to get away from Peek and ran right into reserve lineman Lewis Leonard. Game over. Great call. :)

You'll see dropped passes, sacks, overthrows, passes broken up, missed tackles, hard hits that dislodge potential catches, blitzers getting picked up and blizters coming in like madmen, wide open receivers and times when the QB will tuck and run, missed blocks, pancakes, deep passes from the AI, bad reads by the QB, fumbled pitches, missed FGs, kickoffs returned for a TD, hurry up offenses, blown coverages, kickoffs returned for 20 yards...I saw ALL of that stuff in one full game of Head Coach.

After only messing with it for one day -- this thing has the potential, and again I stress potential based on the small sample size, to be up there with FPS: Football in terms of combining graphics with gameplay.

How's that for a first impression?

VERY VERY EXCITED for Head Coach..

Balldog

08-02-2008, 06:11 PM

Yea this game is keeping me from cancelling my preorder of Madden CE. I can't wait to check this out with the Lions.

MizzouRah

08-02-2008, 08:31 PM

Yea this game is keeping me from cancelling my preorder of Madden CE. I can't wait to check this out with the Lions.

I've cancelled mine and I'm sure I'll have a hard time waiting another month. :)

Although.. I'd rather pay $50 for Head Coach instead of $90 if Madden is bad.

TLK

08-02-2008, 08:37 PM

I want to make love to this game. :)

CleBrownsfan

08-02-2008, 09:48 PM

So if you get the CE for Madden you get HC a month before the release date?

dbd1963

08-02-2008, 09:51 PM

But you spend $90 for it.

If Head Coach is good, I'm definitely getting it. But I'm not getting Madden unless it's good, so I'll gladly wait.

(Plus you know it'll show up 2nd hand before Sept.)

Ironhead

08-02-2008, 11:09 PM

Have to say my interest level in this game was zilch before today. After reading Abner's blog post and checking out some posts on OS this will get at least a rental.

Terps

08-03-2008, 12:30 AM

I wonder if I could buy the Madden CE to get Head Coach and then return Madden.

Balldog

08-03-2008, 05:47 AM

I'll probably end up putting Madden on Ebay and getting $40-50 for it. Plus I had a $20 off coupon I used for preordering.

CleBrownsfan

08-03-2008, 08:09 AM

So if you get the CE for Madden you get HC a month before the release date?

Anybody?

Eaglesfan27

08-03-2008, 09:51 AM

I've cancelled mine and I'm sure I'll have a hard time waiting another month. :)

Although.. I'd rather pay $50 for Head Coach instead of $90 if Madden is bad.

Ditto. It'll be rough if the game is great and I'm reading glowing reviews here, but I'll manage to wait the few weeks.

Icy

08-03-2008, 09:53 AM

Sounds good, at the end i won't cancel my Madden CE preorder just to get this sooner. I'll use Madden some for some SS mode.

Eaglesfan27

08-03-2008, 09:53 AM

So if you get the CE for Madden you get HC a month before the release date?

Yes. Ironically, there was speculation when they did that it was to increase Head Coach sales because it might be a crap game like the first. Now, I think it is to try to boost Madden's sales which might not be as high if Head Coach wasn't included in that version.

rowech

08-03-2008, 10:38 AM

When I've seen interviews with the guys working on Head Coach, I actually felt like I believed what they were saying. With the Madden games, it's always feeling like salesmanship.

MizzouRah

08-03-2008, 02:08 PM

Looks like Bill is going to post some more on HC later today:

I have my Sunday basketball game in about 50 minutes so I'll be brief.

I started a new career in HC and started from the FA period and into the draft. I started at 9:50 this morning, thinking I'd run through it..and an hour and 20 minutes later and I am JUST starting Draft Day. The scouting stuff is really cool, and I'll have a more in depth post about the FA period and the scouting later today. I love how we get the real rookies.

There's some good, some I need more info on, and some things about this part of the game that I'm not a big fan of (basically I have no idea when a trade offer comes in what the guy's current contract is...unless I'm missing something) -- but we'll get to all that later.

SirFozzie

08-03-2008, 07:52 PM

After reading the Madden preview at Abner's site (and sportsgamerblog.com as well), I just cancelled my Madden CE preorder, and I preordered HC. I'm not going to pay double for a shit Madden game to get what I really want right now

Big Fo

08-03-2008, 08:13 PM

Maybe you'll be able to get Head Coach on ebay before September 2 if people pick up the CE and sell that.

After it's out for a few days if people are feeling really good about HC 09 and Madden is merely disappointing (comparable to pre-patch NCAA 09) as opposed to a total stinker it might be hard for me to resist getting the CE.

I can't remember, is there a next version of FOF coming or any other company currently making a pro football sim game?

MizzouRah

08-03-2008, 09:00 PM

My neighbor is getting Madden CE for his birthday and has no interest in HC.. looks like I'll trade him GOW for HC. :)

jonesz

08-04-2008, 07:25 AM

Anybody know if Head Coach will be available for the Wii?

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-04-2008, 08:40 AM

When I've seen interviews with the guys working on Head Coach, I actually felt like I believed what they were saying. With the Madden games, it's always feeling like salesmanship.

It should also be noted that Head Coach is a relatively new franchise. Yes, they use the Madden engine for displaying gameplay, but most of the underlying code has been built from the ground up. It should be given far more leeway than a Madden franchise that has significant problems 20 years in.

Three more relatively positive posts about HC are up on Abner's blog.........

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: NFL Head Coach 2008 Draft Round 1 (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/08/nfl-head-coach-2008-draft-round-1.html)

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Round 2 Quick Note (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/08/round-2-quick-note.html)

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Draft Over -- Notes (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/08/draft-over-notes.html)

CleBrownsfan

08-04-2008, 09:03 AM

On the 12th I'll be playing HC before Madden for sure!! Really looking forward to playing this!

Eaglesfan27

08-04-2008, 09:58 AM

It should also be noted that Head Coach is a relatively new franchise. Yes, they use the Madden engine for displaying gameplay, but most of the underlying code has been built from the ground up. It should be given far more leeway than a Madden franchise that has significant problems 20 years in.

That clearly wasn't the case with the first version which was obviously just an add-on to Madden's code with many of the same logic problems.

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-04-2008, 10:23 AM

That clearly wasn't the case with the first version which was obviously just an add-on to Madden's code with many of the same logic problems.

Yes, which is why it was such a mess. As Abner has noted, they made a lot of changes to move away from the Madden game modes and engine, which appears thus far from his impressions to be a great move on their part.

spleen1015

08-04-2008, 10:55 AM

Abner's blog post about the 2nd round of the draft, how scouting works, really has me pumped for HC.

I am stupid enough to pay $90 to get it early. My son likes to win 100-0 in Madden so at least he'll play it. :)

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-04-2008, 11:28 AM

New Abner post up today about gameplay. More positive stuff.

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Quick Update: Browns/Giants Preseason game #2 (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/08/quick-update-brownsgiants-preseason.html)

Galaril

08-04-2008, 11:42 AM

Now of course I am guessing HC isn't coming out for PC?

Eaglesfan27

08-04-2008, 12:17 PM

Now of course I am guessing HC isn't coming out for PC?

Correct. It is PS3/360 only, at least this year.

Galaril

08-04-2008, 01:32 PM

Correct. It is PS3/360 only, at least this year.

:(

MrBug708

08-04-2008, 02:04 PM

Damn, this game actually looks fun. Is it a game that is conducive to "fast simmers"

Surtt

08-04-2008, 02:37 PM

Let's run down the list of complaints from the first game:

* Games locked at 5 min quarters: fixed. It uses 15 minutes with the fast clock. Takes a little over an hour to play a game.
* Plagued by INT: Fixed. My preseason game against the Jets saw 1 pick.
* Lack of Dline sacks: Fixed. Ask Ken Dorsey how that went against New York...yikes 'twas not pretty.
* The worst user interface in the history of videogames: Fixed. It still screams for a PC UI, but this is pretty darn easy to navigate and in the game you can quick sub players with the press of a button and you no longer have that silly "2 task per week" thing. It moves MUCH quicker and is nowhere near as tedious. There still might be things you choose to simulate during the week to week grind, but it moves along at a nice clip.
* CPU never returns a punt: Fixed
* FA signings: Dunno yet. I do know that during the first preseason week I got into a bidding war over Travis Henry (and lost the bid war, thankfully).

The List doesn't match my list very well...

Eaglesfan27

08-04-2008, 03:57 PM

Damn, this game actually looks fun. Is it a game that is conducive to "fast simmers"

I doubt it. The game is only 15 years long and I think a fast simmer would quickly get to the end of that time limit. However, with Bill describing how much time he has taken (and enjoyed) setting up his draft board, playing games, etc it seems like I'll be able to get my money's worth even with that restriction.

Arctic Blast

08-04-2008, 04:42 PM

Well, I'm officially 'done' buying in to EA's Madden promises, and will never buy that game again. However, and I never thought I'd say this after the mess the original Head Coach was, I might just be making a purchase there! DEFINITELY keeping my eye on it, at least.

MrDNA

08-04-2008, 08:27 PM

Too bad I don't own any systems this is coming out for. Maybe laterz.

TCY Junkie

08-04-2008, 08:59 PM

I'm definitely not opening this thread again until a couple days after release. Well thats my plan as of right now. So tempted.

MizzouRah

08-04-2008, 10:03 PM

The List doesn't match my list very well...

Out of the 10 pages, it was a good prelude. :)

Surtt

08-04-2008, 11:10 PM

Out of the 10 pages, it was a good prelude. :)

I'm just glad it isn't coming out for the PC.
I don't have a console so I can't be tempted.

twothree

08-04-2008, 11:24 PM

Terps

08-05-2008, 01:56 AM

I wonder if I could buy the Madden CE to get Head Coach and then return Madden.

Nevermind this. The packaging is in a tri-fold DVD case, so the two games don't have seperate packaging for the CE.

Surtt

08-05-2008, 09:10 AM

I don't have a PS3 or XBOX360 either, but I'm tempted. Head Coach might just be a system seller, at least for me. Naturally, I will wait for some reviews after it is released before purchasing. It is also possible that TCY 2, Bowl Bound Pro Football, or a new FOF patch might get released that will take my interest away from Head Coach and save me from buying either console system.

If this game is everything it is supposed to be, I might be tempted too.
(I have been thinking about getting one)

But for now, this all reminds me too much of the original launch.

CleBrownsfan

08-05-2008, 09:13 AM

If this game is everything it is supposed to be, I might be tempted too.
(I have been thinking about getting one)

But for now, this all reminds me too much of the original launch.

From Bill's blog (hxxp://nutweasel.blogspot.com/) it's looking very promising... I'm really getting excited for HC 09.

Galaril

08-05-2008, 01:45 PM

I don't have a PS3 or XBOX360 either, but I'm tempted. Head Coach might just be a system seller, at least for me. Naturally, I will wait for some reviews after it is released before purchasing. It is also possible that TCY 2, Bowl Bound Pro Football, or a new FOF patch might get released that will take my interest away from Head Coach and save me from buying either console system.

I think we won't be seeing bowl bound pro football until AT Least 2009 football season if not later.

Comey

08-05-2008, 02:23 PM

I think we won't be seeing bowl bound pro football until AT Least 2009 football season if not later.

Do you have a link to information about this?

twothree

08-05-2008, 02:25 PM

I think we won't be seeing bowl bound pro football until AT Least 2009 football season if not later.

I also doubt TCY 2 will show up this year. And, it looks like the cheapest cost to play Head Coach, for me, will be $250 plus tax. That would be $200 for the XBOX arcade system, on September 7th, plus $50 for Head Coach which comes out a few days before.

I really need to stop reading information about this game, if I want to avoid buying it. Arggghhhh...

cooleyvol

08-05-2008, 02:26 PM

Do you have a link to information about this?

If he did (and he doesnt), it'd be 8 months old. That's how long since his last visit to the GD boards. Merely his uneducated (on the subject) opinion.

MizzouRah

08-05-2008, 05:03 PM

If this game is everything it is supposed to be, I might be tempted too.
(I have been thinking about getting one)

But for now, this all reminds me too much of the original launch.

Like CleBrownsfan has said, if you're reading this blog: The Nut and the Feisty Weasel (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/)

You should be getting pretty tempted by now.. of course it's not out to the masses yet. I'd probably pay $250 for HC if was in fact really good though.

My neighbor just told me I could play HC all I wanted to when he picked up the CE edition of Madden next week, HUHHAH!!!

I took my vacation two weeks too late. :banghead:

Flasch186

08-05-2008, 06:54 PM

Im still pissed about the 15 season cap though, kills seasons 10-15 IMO unless you want to see what the team you put together in years 1-9 can do <shrug>

Big Fo

08-05-2008, 07:58 PM

Yeah, it would be hard for that not to affect the way you manage your roster in the last couple seasons.

I just found out that the CE also comes with the Genesis version of Madden 93, but does anyone know if the rosters are the guys from 1993 or the ones from today?

INDalltheway

08-05-2008, 08:08 PM

Im still pissed about the 15 season cap though, kills seasons 10-15 IMO unless you want to see what the team you put together in years 1-9 can do <shrug>
I'm with you here.. In all actuality I would probably never make it that far into the game but just the thought alone makes the dynasty feel restricted or something.

JPhillips

08-05-2008, 08:13 PM

Dear meth addicts,

Remember how you felt the day after you blew all your money on meth? That's how you're going to feel the day after you blow all your money on meth this time.

rowech

08-05-2008, 08:20 PM

A 15 year coaching career is a decent length in today's NFL.

I think 20 seasons would be better though.

Eaglesfan27

08-05-2008, 08:20 PM

Balldog

08-06-2008, 05:25 AM

My neighbor just told me I could play HC all I wanted to when he picked up the CE edition of Madden next week, HUHHAH!!!

I took my vacation two weeks too late. :banghead:

I'm not thrilled that I am out of town pretty much all next week.

MizzouRah

08-06-2008, 07:45 PM

Josh from EA is saying they will have a roster update on release day and I believe they were putting Farve on those rosters as well.

SirFozzie

08-06-2008, 08:11 PM

From Bill Harris's site (Dubiousquality.blogspot.com, this is from a NFL Head Coach Designer on the game's FA/Draft engine work

1. Essentially, the CPU will assign a value to all available players and compare them against one another. "Player value" is a third type of rating we use in addition to the raw Madden player abilities and system-dependent player grades.

Player value takes everything into account you could possibly imagine.

First, it scales each player's grade based on his position. For example, a 99 overall QB is much more valuable than a 99 overall kicker.

Second, it scales players with the same position relative to each other in a non-linear way. For example, a 60 overall QB is not 60% as valuable as a 99 QB (in fact, a 60 QB is basically worthless). So the value mapping is actually a curve, and when you look at your Team Roadmap you'll see a huge dropoff in value from the top-tier players to the lower-tier guys.

After that, a ton of other things are factored in to tweak the value such as projected cap hit, playbook knowledge, etc.

Once the team has evaluated every single player, they need to decide who will add the most value to their team. "Added value" is the secret sauce that drives almost all of the logic in this game.As an example, let's say you're the Colts and Tom Brady is on the FA auction block. Do you acquire him? No, because although Brady has a high value, he has essentially zero *added value* to your team. Your money is much better spent somewhere else.

The trick is that added value encapsulates both value *and* need, so teams will always go after the guy who is the best available relative to their current needs.

During the draft, the player who fits this description might not be expected to go for several picks, and this is when the CPU will trade down.

2. The CPU will go after a player in proportion to how much value he adds to their team. As per above, teams with more need will be willing to pay more.

Also, each team has a philosophy as to how it spends its money. Some teams will go all out for their top need, while other teams will try to distribute their money among all of their needs.

MizzouRah

08-06-2008, 09:03 PM

NFL Head Coach 09 Q&A | pastapadre.com (http://www.pastapadre.com/2885/nfl-head-coach-09-qa#more-2885)

Q/A with HC's game designer..

CANNOT WAIT UNTIL NEXT TUESDAY!!!

rowech

08-06-2008, 09:59 PM

I'm all but sold on this one now.

BrianD

08-06-2008, 10:05 PM

With all of the good games that exist, is it sad that this game might push me to buy a 360?

Ironhead

08-06-2008, 10:06 PM

What challenge are folks going to take first? I am going to take over the Falcons in the offseason and redo the draft. Bye bye Matt Ryan. Time to focus on the area this team has sucked for eons - in the trenches.

Dammit we will see back to back winning seasons! :banghead:

rowech

08-06-2008, 10:50 PM

SFL Cat

08-06-2008, 11:43 PM

Takeover the Bengals and attempt to keep them out of jail.

If that happens, I'm calling it in as a bug. :lol:

Terps

08-07-2008, 01:31 AM

I traded in NCAA (got $45 for that) and 2 other old games tonight and put it toward the Madden CE so I could get Head Coach. I figure I can sell Madden even if it's the disc only.

Balldog

08-07-2008, 05:19 AM

Mota

08-07-2008, 06:03 AM

Im still pissed about the 15 season cap though, kills seasons 10-15 IMO unless you want to see what the team you put together in years 1-9 can do <shrug>

From reading Bill Abner's blog and how in depth the gameplay is, I doubt you'd get anywhere near there. The gameplay seems to be more micro vs. macro.

CleBrownsfan

08-07-2008, 06:34 AM

I d/l a podcast on ITunes last night for Head Coach 09- it's under EA Fantasy Football.

redfox000

08-07-2008, 06:55 AM

I can't remember, is there a next version of FOF coming or any other company currently making a pro football sim game?

Wolverine Studios is coming out with a Football Sim Game.

http://www.wolverinestudios.com/news.php?id=55

Flasch186

08-07-2008, 07:21 AM

From reading Bill Abner's blog and how in depth the gameplay is, I doubt you'd get anywhere near there. The gameplay seems to be more micro vs. macro.

Well take the example of the post above where the guy wants to rebuild the Falcons in the trenches. do you know how many seasons it can take for a team to do that then put in the specialty players around it for a 3-4 year shot? Its a shame (maybe not a big negative but a negative nonetheless) that the season cap is there and then it's so low.

MizzouRah

08-07-2008, 10:07 AM

I'm starting before the draft, creating myself as the head coach of the Rams. I'll probably take DT Glenn Dorsey instead of Chris Long.. but you never know.

Check out this screen.. kind of like a CIV technology tree when creating your coach:

http://www.pastapadre.com/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/nfl-head-coach-09/createacoach04.jpg

LOVE this stuff as well:

Each player has been given health at 6 different body parts; left leg, right leg, left arm, right arm, torso and head. We track each time a player is hit during the games and subtract some health based on a number of different factors including the player’s current health, injury rating, severity of impact and their toughness rating. The lower a player’s health gets at each body part, the greater the chance that the next big hit could cause an injury, specific to that body part. So if Kurt Warner takes a huge hit to the head with his already low health there, he stands a really good chance of suffering a severe concussion. How quickly the player heals and is able to return to the lineup is based on their age and toughness rating. Keep an eye on your players as the season goes on…they can and will wear down.

There’s so much really. If I had to pick one thing, it would be the sense of immersion in the world we created for you. We wanted you to really feel like you were in a living world as an NFL head coach. We created a fake college season, we have off the field injuries and news and the fact that every NFL team actually plays like they do in real life means that every day you’ll see something new. People that are in their 3rd or 4th season are telling us they saw something new every day. I hope that really resonates with the fans and they get lost in this game.

MizzouRah

08-07-2008, 10:08 AM

This would be a great game to write a dynasty for.. I might give that a go.

Capital

08-07-2008, 10:54 AM

Is the game for the PC or just the consoles?

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-07-2008, 10:58 AM

Is the game for the PC or just the consoles?

EA Sports is not producing any PC games this year.

Capital

08-07-2008, 11:01 AM

Figures...Well, I guess no head coach or Tiger Woods for me. Solecismic, Wolverine, or Grey Dog to the rescue.

Kodos

08-07-2008, 11:01 AM

And it's only being made for the Next Gen consoles, so no Wii.

:p

CleBrownsfan

08-07-2008, 11:02 AM

What's the word on online play? I really haven't read anything about brining this on XBOX llive..

Eaglesfan27

08-07-2008, 12:03 PM

Online play will only have supersim games, which is a disappointment.

CleBrownsfan

08-07-2008, 12:09 PM

Online play will only have supersim games, which is a disappointment.

With Leagues or dynasty?

Eaglesfan27

08-07-2008, 01:24 PM

I think online play is only for a single "play now" type game. I think the clear focus of this game is a single player experience. I don't think there is any online franchise/dynasty mode, but I might be mistaken.

CleBrownsfan

08-07-2008, 01:36 PM

rowech

08-07-2008, 02:06 PM

Is there any word as to when there will be a demo?

MizzouRah

08-07-2008, 09:59 PM

Is there any word as to when there will be a demo?

I was wondering that myself.. on the Q and A they said it would be a totally different type of demo, but there was no release date given. Oh well, only 5 days until it's out.

CleBrownsfan

08-08-2008, 07:33 AM

I was wondering that myself.. on the Q and A they said it would be a totally different type of demo, but there was no release date given. Oh well, only 5 days until it's out.

Five loooong days

MizzouRah

08-08-2008, 11:34 AM

First time a strategy guide is a must for me: http://www.easports.com/downloads/easports/nflheadcoach09/videos/NFLHC09_SAMPLE.pdf

Can't wait to pick that up and read through it.

I'm telling you, this game will be the only game in my 360 for quite some time... it feels like those good ol FPS Football release days. :)

MizzouRah

08-08-2008, 11:34 AM

Five loooong days

FOUR!

Passacaglia

08-08-2008, 11:38 AM

Antmeister

08-08-2008, 12:07 PM

BigDPW

08-08-2008, 12:09 PM

This one should be an interesting release... I am buying into some of the hype but luckily would never buy this packaged with Madden so I will wait for impressions and the real release...

CleBrownsfan

08-08-2008, 12:13 PM

Gamestops have the strat guide in if you guys are interested in getting one!!

CleBrownsfan

08-08-2008, 12:16 PM

Ugh....why do I get this bad feeling that people are gonna find some horrible bugs in the game after a week of play (like last year).

Because it's EA :devil:

I'm hoping we wont find a gamekiller bug but I guess we always take that chance buying an EA sports title.

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-08-2008, 01:24 PM

Ugh....why do I get this bad feeling that people are gonna find some horrible bugs in the game after a week of play (like last year). Call me pessimistic, but this sounds too good to be true. For a first iteration of a game, since it was built from the ground up, I feel that things are gonna be a bit buggy, especially when people take a stab at online play. Not to say I am happy they are taking this on, I just hope a majority of issues deal with balance problems which users can at least tweak.

The stand alone game doesn't come out for a couple of weeks. Just wait for that and you should have plenty of time to find out if any hidden bugs surface. The late release would seem to be doing us all a favor unless you're one of those impulse people that will spend $90 on the Madden package.

It should also be mentioned that there may be a lot of Madden fans who buy the $90 package and then sell back the Head Coach disc. It could result in a pretty nice supply of used HC games.

cartman

08-08-2008, 01:58 PM

It should also be mentioned that there may be a lot of Madden fans who buy the $90 package and then sell back the Head Coach disc. It could result in a pretty nice supply of used HC games.

Since the game is going to reportedly come with Madden, HC plus the extra content all in the same jewel case, there probably won't be that many copies out there, since the big chains usually require the jewel case, or some form of original packaging.

Balldog

08-08-2008, 05:13 PM

I think you might see copies on Ebay the day of release or shortly after.

MizzouRah

08-08-2008, 09:34 PM

I have the strategy guide, if you want to know something.. especially about your team.. just let me know.

MizzouRah

08-08-2008, 09:39 PM

St. Louis Rams

Overall rating: 74
Offense rating: 84
Defense rating: 70

Salary cap room: $42.5

Head Coach: 28 (that's why it's going to be me)
Off Coordinator: 83
Def Coordinator: 33

Best off player: Torry Holt (94)
Best def player: Chris Long (88)

Travis

08-08-2008, 10:30 PM

how does seattle look?

Balldog

08-08-2008, 11:21 PM

I need to get that strategy guide! How do the Lions look?

rockboy70

08-09-2008, 01:00 AM

I have the strategy guide, if you want to know something.. especially about your team.. just let me know.

How do the Vikings look? Also the the Rams already have Long, so you don't start as coach before the draft?

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 10:28 AM

How do the Vikings look? Also the the Rams already have Long, so you don't start as coach before the draft?

You can start either before or after the draft and with the current coach or creat yourself.

I was going to start before the draft with myself as the HC, but after seeing how good Long looks, I think I'll start after the draft. Plus, with Farve now in the game, I'm anxious to play out the real season.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 10:33 AM

how does seattle look?

Seattle

Overall: 90
Offense: 91
Defense: 87

Cap room: $39.4

Head Coach: 92
Off coor: 60
Def: 51
Special T: 99

Best off player: Matt Hasselbeck (91)
Best def player: Marcus Trufant (89) Lofa Tatupu (89)

Season Outlook: The Seahawks won the NFC West in 2007 and is the favorite in a still-weak division in '08. This team needs to find a long-term prospect at RB and upgrade the coaching staff. Overall Player Grade: A

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 10:38 AM

I need to get that strategy guide! How do the Lions look?

Detroit

Overall: 73
Off: 77
Def: 67

Sal cap: $53.3

Season Outlook: The team has weapons on offense, notably at WR, but their defense is the team's Achilles heel. The playbook probably needs a tune-up as well. Overall player grade: C+

Head Coach: 32
Off coach: 29
Def coach: 31
ST Coach: 28

Best off player: Roy Williams (90)
Best def player: Ernie Sims (84)

Ironhead

08-09-2008, 10:42 AM

What about the Falcons coaching staff? Thanks in advance.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 10:46 AM

How do the Vikings look? Also the the Rams already have Long, so you don't start as coach before the draft?

Minnesota

Overall: 81
Off: 76
Def: 85

Cap room: $19.9

Season Outlook: The Vikings boast a solid defense and a breakout superstar in running back Adrain Peterson. Build your team and playbook around those two things, and you'll be in good shape for the future. Overall Player Grade: B

Head Coach: 34
Off coach: 20
Def coach: 38
ST coach: 20

Best off player: Steve Hutchinson (91)
Best def player: Jared Allen (95)

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 10:52 AM

What about the Falcons coaching staff? Thanks in advance.

Falcons coaching staff

Head Coach

Mike Smith

Current Approval: 75
Personality: Titan
Difficulty: Very Hard
Overall Skill: 36
Special Skills: 4 of 44

Coach and Staff Overall Skill Ratings

Head Coach: 36
Off Coach: 22
Def Coach: 26
ST Coach: 63
QB Coach: 32
RB Coach: 5
WR Coach: 56
OL Coach: 16
LB Coach: 9
DL Coach: 75
DB Coach: 95
Trainer: 1
GM: 38

Season Outlook: The Falcons are desperate for talent and a beefed-up playbook. This will be a multiseason project to turn this team around. Overall Player Grade: C-

Ironhead

08-09-2008, 10:56 AM

Falcons coaching staff

Head Coach

Mike Smith

Current Approval: 75
Personality: Titan
Difficulty: Very Hard
Overall Skill: 36
Special Skills: 4 of 44

Coach and Staff Overall Skill Ratings

Head Coach: 36
Off Coach: 22
Def Coach: 26
ST Coach: 63
QB Coach: 32
RB Coach: 5
WR Coach: 56
OL Coach: 16
LB Coach: 9
DL Coach: 75
DB Coach: 95
Trainer: 1
GM: 38

Season Outlook: The Falcons are desperate for talent and a beefed-up playbook. This will be a multiseason project to turn this team around. Overall Player Grade: C-

LOL. Does the team just put players back together with duct tape and Robitussin?

Thanks again Mizzou.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 11:01 AM

LOL. Does the team just put players back together with duct tape and Robitussin?

Thanks again Mizzou.

I think it means he doesn't have much skill in getting players recovered from injury.. but you can increase that throughout the year.

rowech

08-09-2008, 12:04 PM

Dare I ask how the Bengals look?

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 01:50 PM

Dare I ask how the Bengals look?

Bengals

Overall: 75
Off: 89
Def: 68

Salary Cap: $52.1

Season Outlook: The Bengals are in disarray. While they have talent on offense, they've struggled to win games. Upgrades to the defense will be necessary to get this team back on track. Overall Player Grade: C+

Head Coach: 38
Off Coach: 67
Def Coach: 38
ST Coach: 38

They do have a 99 for a trainer!

Best off player: Chad Johnson (95)
Best def player: Keith Rivers (90)

rowech

08-09-2008, 01:51 PM

Bengals

Overall: 75
Off: 89
Def: 68

Salary Cap: $52.1

Season Outlook: The Bengals are in disarray. While they have talent on offense, they've struggled to win games. Upgrades to the defense will be necessary to get this team back on track. Overall Player Grade: C+

Head Coach: 38
Off Coach: 67
Def Coach: 38
ST Coach: 38

They do have a 99 for a trainer!

Best off player: Chad Johnson (95)
Best def player: Keith Rivers (90)

Looks like a challenge!

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 02:29 PM

Looks like a challenge!

Sure does.. just like getting some defense on the Rams. :) I'm also going to sign Steven Jackson to a long term deal.

Travis

08-09-2008, 02:43 PM

Thanks for putting up the Seahawks info, now whether or not to redo their draft and get a RB or not.

TLK

08-09-2008, 02:47 PM

From the guide:

When you start a new career, you can choose a playbook not being used by any NFL franchise.

On Offense:
-Spread Option
-Pistol Attack
-Michigan Spread
-Miraldi Tech Passing
-Wishbone
-Option Attack
-Wing T
-Sanders Army Run
-West Coast
-College Attack
-Run & Shoot
This looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 03:19 PM

From bkrich83 over as OS who has the game:

I played for about 5 hours last night, I've come to the conclusion this game is basically FOF on crack with a GUI.

I love that players need to learn the playbook,I love that personality traits are such a big deal, I love the way ratings are handled, especially for young players, etc.

This game should take up my free time for the next 9-12 months.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 03:20 PM

From the guide:

This looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

The Wing T, Ardent (Poli) would be proud!!! :D

Eaglesfan27

08-09-2008, 03:27 PM

Ok, what the heck. Todd, can you show me Philly's stats? It's not going to make the wait until September release any easier, but I might as well see it.

Chubby

08-09-2008, 03:48 PM

Bills?

I can't wait until tuesday night :D (which means this game will break in season 2)

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 06:08 PM

Ok, what the heck. Todd, can you show me Philly's stats? It's not going to make the wait until September release any easier, but I might as well see it.

Philadelphia

Overall: 86
Offense: 86
Defense: 88

Cap Room: $40.1

Season Outlook: The Eagles' rebuilding effort is still a work in progress. The team hasn't made inroads when it comes to upgrading talent. Overall Player Grade: B+

Head Coach: 77
Off Coach: 41
Def Coach: 99
ST Coach: 19

Best off player: Brian Westbrook (92)
Best def player: Brian Dawkins (91)

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 06:17 PM

Bills?

I can't wait until tuesday night :D (which means this game will break in season 2)

Buffalo (my favorite AFC team)

Overall: 74
Offense: 71
Defense: 75

Cap room: $46.7

Season Outlook: The Bills last season came close to earning a playoff spot. The talent on this team is subpar overall but decent enough in spots to build upon, and the playbook is fairly weak. The team needs to break its recent history of slow season starts and stop blowing late-game leads. Overall Player Grade: C+

Head Coach: 46
Off Coach: 20
Def Coach: 34
ST Coach: 99

Best off player: Lee Evans (91)
Best def player: Marcus Stroud (90) Brian Moorman (90)

damnMikeBrown

08-09-2008, 06:22 PM

This could be a system seller for me. I'll wait another month or so to see. . .My only pre-purchase lament is the time frame. 15 years...as stated numerous times above, that just isn't long enough.

Neuqua

08-09-2008, 06:31 PM

Love to see the Bears when you get a moment..

JPhillips

08-09-2008, 06:33 PM

There's a hell of a lot of cap space on all these teams. I wonder what that will mean for free agents.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 11:17 PM

This could be a system seller for me. I'll wait another month or so to see. . .My only pre-purchase lament is the time frame. 15 years...as stated numerous times above, that just isn't long enough.

From what I've heard so far, would definitely be a system seller for me. :D

I'm going to check some 7-11's for the CE edition.. my neighbor would buy Madden from me if I get it before he does. I've also heard if you buy a snickers, you get $10 off.

Someone I know picked up Madden at a 7-11 today.. but he lives quite a bit from where I live.

MizzouRah

08-09-2008, 11:26 PM

Love to see the Bears when you get a moment..

Da Bears

Overall: 78
Off: 73
Def: 87

Cap room: $23.4

Season Outlook: The quarterback position lacks long-term promise, and the defense is aging. You'll need to upgrade the offensive playbook, utilize Devin Hester in the offensive scheme, and stretch the field with longer pass plays. Overall Player Grade: B-

Head Coach: 48
Off Coach: 17
Def Coach: 23
ST Coach: 79

Best off player: Devin Hester (83) (96 as a KR) Desmond Clark (89)
Best def player: Brian Urlacher (93)

MrBug708

08-10-2008, 01:34 AM

This might seem like a dumb question, but can you start with fictional rosters?

mckerney

08-10-2008, 01:57 AM

This might seem like a dumb question, but can you start with fictional rosters?

With the draft prospects being predeveloped instead of random I would be surprised if you could.

Eaglesfan27

08-10-2008, 02:06 AM

This might seem like a dumb question, but can you start with fictional rosters?

No, you cannot.

With the draft prospects being predeveloped instead of random I would be surprised if you could.

Actually, they say most draft picks are random. However, there is a set number in each class that are predeveloped and have more specific commentary attached to them in the draft analysis.

Ironhead

08-10-2008, 09:09 AM

No, you cannot.

Actually, they say most draft picks are random. However, there is a set number in each class that are predeveloped and have more specific commentary attached to them in the draft analysis.

Based on what I have read from the developers they hand crafted 21,000 players to be used in the draft. That is close to 60 different draft classes. A select number of elite players will always have the same name coming out of the draft. All other players, while their ratings were pre-crafted, will be generated with random names.

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-10-2008, 09:51 AM

Since the game is going to reportedly come with Madden, HC plus the extra content all in the same jewel case, there probably won't be that many copies out there, since the big chains usually require the jewel case, or some form of original packaging.

Gamestop will take only the game disc without any need for the packaging or manual. They're the major reseller in the U.S. by a wide margin.

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-10-2008, 10:37 AM

MizzouRah

08-10-2008, 01:19 PM

No, you cannot.

Actually, they say most draft picks are random. However, there is a set number in each class that are predeveloped and have more specific commentary attached to them in the draft analysis.

They have a section in the strategy guide called, "The Future 50".. I've skipped over it because I don't want to know who's going to be a stud.

BigDPW

08-10-2008, 01:26 PM

Carolina Panthers Ratings?

Chubby

08-10-2008, 03:40 PM

is it possible to simply turn injuries off?

MizzouRah

08-10-2008, 04:24 PM

Looks like Abner has spotted a problem where players don't heal at all from injuries. Sounds like he's told the development team. Probably another good reason to wait for the HC release to buy the game. I'm guessing they'll fix it as they've been pretty responsive to his testing, but it might be a couple of weeks.

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: The First Real Head Coach Issue? (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-real-head-coach-issue.html)

Reading some posts over at OS, it seems the bug is not always repeatable.. and when you get an injury during the season, the players start healing again.

bkrich has been doing some testing and he's hopeful it's not a game killer like originally thought.

Still.. a bit disappointing.. but what console sports game isn't anymore?

MizzouRah

08-10-2008, 08:32 PM

Per Bill:

Started a new career with Romeo as the coach in Cleveland and the injuries looked fine.

No clue what triggered the bug for the other career but at least it's not something that is guaranteed to happen in every career.

CleBrownsfan

08-10-2008, 09:08 PM

I'm a little worried the stats put up on his blog after his test sim:

Reggie Wayne nabbing 2,100 yards receiving was a tad extreme. Wayne destroyed Rice's single season mark of 1,848. Manning also flirted with Marino's single season yards record, but failed by 35 yards.

I think there were eight 4,000+ yards QBs, only 11 1,000 yard rushers, and Tom Brady led the league in completion percentage with 65%. There were a lot of QBs with 40+ TDs, though. By a lot I mean maybe four or five. That's pretty high considering throwing 40 TDs has been done only five times in NFL history. I think Manning had 45 TDs and 24 INTs.

MizzouRah

08-10-2008, 11:16 PM

CleBrownsfan

08-11-2008, 08:00 AM

I'm actually thinking about getting Madden CE (for HC) tonight at midnight... I'm really getting excited to jump in and play this one!

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-11-2008, 08:16 AM

I'm actually thinking about getting Madden CE (for HC) tonight at midnight... I'm really getting excited to jump in and play this one!

Funny how things have changed. A couple of months back, everyone was thinking that the CE edition was worthless because it had HC included in it. Now, everyone is pretty sure that Madden is going to be awful, but some compulsive buyers are willing to toss down 90 clams to make sure they get HC before the solo release. Depending on what they offer for Madden trade-in in the week after release, it may be a good gamble. Funny stuff.

CleBrownsfan

08-11-2008, 08:25 AM

Funny how things have changed. A couple of months back, everyone was thinking that the CE edition was worthless because it had HC included in it. Now, everyone is pretty sure that Madden is going to be awful, but some compulsive buyers are willing to toss down 90 clams to make sure they get HC before the solo release. Depending on what they offer for Madden trade-in in the week after release, it may be a good gamble. Funny stuff.

I hear ya - I never thought a Head Coach game made by EA would get me excited ;) I'm still hoping Madden with some patches will be an okay game to play. If not, I'll ebay it.

astrosfan64

08-11-2008, 04:19 PM

I can't wait for HC. I prepaid the collectors edition and counting down the minutes.

I think Madden is going to be pretty good also.

Flasch186

08-11-2008, 04:30 PM

i was thinking about going up to Gamestop, waiting outside and do a reverse auction on who wants to sell me their HC disc....Start at $30 and see if it'll go down from there.

BigDPW

08-11-2008, 04:47 PM

BigDPW

08-11-2008, 04:48 PM

i was thinking about going up to Gamestop, waiting outside and do a reverse auction on who wants to sell me their HC disc....Start at $30 and see if it'll go down from there.

I doubt anyone with any sense would take 30 for it but they might would ball at $40 which is still cheaper than the retail version!

Big Fo

08-11-2008, 05:20 PM

I had avoided all of the HC talk on purpose until this past weekend... Now I am pretty excited about it and may in a moment of weakness go purchase Madden CE just for it over the next few days...

I hope if there is a game killer out there that someone uncovers it quickly or I may get burned again...

If you can hold out until Wednesday night there'll be tons of impressions out there by then, enough to decide for yourself whether the flaws will be game-killing or tolerable.

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-12-2008, 02:20 PM

Abner discussing some season sim results. Sounds like the passing stats for the QB and WR are a bit nutty.

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Head Coach Rosters and Stats (http://nutweasel.blogspot.com/2008/08/head-coach-rosters-and-stats.html)

Mizzou B-ball fan

08-12-2008, 02:27 PM

Roster update has been posted. Here's the players that were changed according to the lead developer (posted on OS forums).......

Here's the list of players I changed for the roster update.

It's a quick, informal list so bear with me on it.

Houston Texans
• Increased Duane Brown’s ratings
• Dropped Frank Okam’s ratings
• Changed Alex Brink’s face.
• Increased Sage Rosenfel’s ratings.
• Increased Matt Schaub’s ratings.
• Increased Amobi Okoye’s ratings.
• Increased Demeco Ryans’s ratings.
• Increased Dunta Robinson’s ratings.
• Increased Alex Brinks’ ratings.

Minnesota Vikings
• Increased Adrian Peterson’s ratings.
• Increased Kevin Williams’ ratings.
• Dropped Ryan Longwell’s ratings.
• Increased Steve Hutchinson’s ratings.
• Dropped Tarvaris Jackson’s ratings.
• Increased Anthony Herrera’s ratings.
• Increased Pat Williams’ ratings.
• Increased EJ Henderson’s ratings.
• Increased Chad Greenway’s ratings.
• Increased Madieu Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Tyrell Johnson’s ratings.

Tennessee Titans
• Increased Steve Bironas’ ratings.
• Increased Alge Crumpler’s ratings.
• Dropped Ingle Martin’s ratings.
• Increased LenDale White’s ratings.
• Increased Michael Roos’ ratings.
• Increased Kyle Vandenbosch’s ratings.
• Increased Albert Haynesworth’s ratings.
• Increased David Thornton’s ratings.
• Increased Ryan Fowler’s ratings.
• Increased Michael Griffin’s ratings.
• Dropped Kerry Collins’ ratings.

Pittsburgh Steelers
• Increased Gary Russell’s ratings
• Increased Heath Miller’s ratings
• Increased Jeff Reed’s Ratings
• Increased Casey Hampton’s ratings
• Increased Sean Mahan’s ratings.
• Dropped Justin Hartwig’s injury rating.
• Increased Willie Colon’s ratings.
• Increased Chris Hoke’s ratings.
• Increased Lawrence Timmons’ ratings.
• Increased James Harrison’s ratings.
• Increased DeShea Townsend’s ratings.
• Increased Rashard Mendenhall’s ratings.
• Increased Dennis Dixon’s ratings.

Seattle Seahawks
• Increased Lofa Tatupu’s ratings
• Increased Marcus Trufant’s ratings
• Increased Owen Schmitt’s potential and ratings
• Increased Coutu’s ratings to match Mare.
• Increased John Carlson’s ratings.
• Increased Darryl Tapp’s ratings.
• Dropped Marcus Tubbs’ injury rating.
• Increased Rocky Bernard’s ratings.
• Increased Deon Grant’s ratings.
• Increased Brian Russell’s ratings.
• Dropped Olindo Mare’s ratings.

New Orleans Saints
• Increased Jonathan Goodwin’s ratings.
• Increased Jamar Nesbit’s ratings.
• Increased Charles Grant’s ratings.
• Increased Hollis Thomas’ ratings.
• Increased Brian Young’s ratings.
• Dropped Randall Gay’s ratings.
• Dropped Roman Harper’s ratings.
• Increased Taylor Mehlhaff’s ratings.
• Increased Reggie Bush’s ratings.
• Increased Jeremy Shockey’s ratings.
• Increased Will Smith’s ratings.

Washington Redskins
• Increased Jason Campbell’s ratings.
• Dropped Clinton Portis’ ratings.
• Increased Mike Seller’s ratings.
• Dropped Santana Moss’ ratings.
• Increased Chris Cooley’s ratings.
• Dropped Reed Doughty’s ratings.
• Increased Durant Brooks’ ratings.
• Dropped Jon Jansen’s ratings.
• Dropped Cornelius Griffin’s injury rating.
• Dropped Shawn Springs’ ratings.

Baltimore Ravens
• Increased Marcus Smith’s ratings.
• Increased Ray Lewis’s ratings.
• Dropped David Hale’s ratings.
• Dropped Tom Zbikowski’s ratings.

St. Louis Rams
• Dropped Torry Holt’s ratings.
• Increased Randy McMichael’s ratings
• Dropped Alex Barron’s ratings
• Increased Cliff Ryan’s ratings
• Increased Will Witherspoon’s ratings
• Changed Tye Hill’s ratings.
• Increased Fahkir Brown’s ratings.
• Increased Atogwe’s ratings.
• Increased Corey Chavous’s ratings.
• Increased Josh Brown’s ratings.
• Increased Steven Jackson’s ratings.
• Dropped Orlando Pace’s injury rating.
• Dropped Roy Scheuning’s ratings.
• Dropped John Greco’s ratings.

Oakland Raiders
• Increased JaMarcus Russell’s ratings.
• Increased Andrew Walter’s ratings.
• Increased Justin Fargas’ ratings.
• Increased Justin Griffith’s ratings.
• Dropped Javon Walker’s ratings.
• Increased Zach Miller’s ratings.
• Increased Kwame Harris’ ratings.
• Dropped Mark Wilson’s ratings.
• Increased Cornell Green’s ratings.
• Increased John Wade’s ratings.
• Increased Cooper Carlisle’s ratings.
• Increased Kirk Morrison’s ratings.
• Increased Thomas Howard’s ratings.
• Dropped Sam Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Robert Thomas’ ratings.
• Increased Nnamdi Asomugha’s ratings.
• Increased DeAngelo Hall’s ratings.
• Dropped Michael Huff’s ratings.
• Increased Gibril Wilson’s ratings.
• Increased Sebastian Janikowski’s ratings.
• Increased Shane Lechler’s ratings.
• Dropped Seth Wand’s ratings.
• Dropped Chris Morris’ ratings.
• Dropped Mario Henderson’s ratings.
• Increased Tommy Kelly’s ratings.
• Dropped Greg Wesley’s ratings.

New England Patriots
• Increased Ben Watson’s ratings.
• Dropped Lonnie Paxton’s ratings.
• Increased Dan Koeppen’s ratings.
• Increased Logan Mankins’ ratings.
• Increased Russ Hochstein’s ratings.
• Increased Vince Wilfolk’s ratings.
• Increased Richard Seymour’s ratings.
• Increased Ty Warren’s ratings.
• Increased Laurence Maroney’s ratings.
• Dropped Ellis Hobbs’ ratings.
• Increased Fernando Bryant’s ratings.
• Dropped Nick Kaczur’s ratings.
• Increased James Sanders’ ratings.
• Increased Kevin O’Connell’s ratings.

Carolina Panthers
• Increased Jeff King’s ratings.
• Increased Ryan Kalil’s ratings.
• Increased Damione Lewis ratings.
• Dropped Ma'ake Kemoeatu’s ratings.
• Dropped Na’il Diggs’ ratings.
• Increased Landon Johnson’s ratings.
• Dropped Ken Lucas’ ratings.
• Dropped Chris Gamble’s ratings.
• Increased Richard Marshall’s ratings.
• Increased Chris Harris’s ratings.
• Dropped John Kasay’s ratings.
• Increased Jason Baker’s ratings.
• Dropped Julius Pepper’s ratings.
• Increased Jonathan Stewart’s ratings.
• Increased Jon Beason’s ratings.
• Increased Terrence Holt’s ratings.
• Increased Dan Connor’s ratings.
• Increased Jeff Otah’s ratings.
• Increased Charles Godfrey’s ratings.

Green Bay Packers
• Increased Brandon Jackson’s ratings.
• Increased DeShawn Wynn’s ratings.
• Increased Ryan Grant’s ratings.
• Increased Donald Driver’s ratings.
• Increased Donald Lee’s Ratings.
• Increased Scott Wells’ Ratings.
• Dropped Junius Coston’s ratings.
• Increased Allan Barbre’s ratings.
• Increased Aaron Kampman’s ratings.
• Dropped Cullen Jenkins’ ratings.
• Dropped Justin Harrell’s ratings.
• Increased Nick Barnett’s ratings.
• Dropped AJ Hawk’s ratings.
• Changed Atari Bigby’s ratings.
• Increased Aaron Rouse’s ratings.
• Increased Ryan Pickett’s ratings.
• Increased Johnny Jolly’s ratings.
• Increased Nick Collins’ ratings.
• Increased Atari Bigby’s ratings.
• Increased Jermichael Finley’s ratings.

Detroit Lions
• Increased Kevin Smith’s ratings.
• Increased Jon Bradley’s ratings.
• Increased Shaun McDonald’s ratings.
• Dropped Jeff Backus’ ratings.
• Dropped Jonathan Scott’s ratings.
• Dropped Corey Hulser’s ratings.
• Dropped Stephen Peterman’s ratings.
• Dropped George Foster’s ratings.
• Dropped Jared DeVries’s ratings.
• Dropped Jordan Dizon’s ratings.
• Increased Ernie Sims’ ratings.
• Increased Leigh Bodden’s ratings.
• Dropped Gerald Alexander’s ratings.
• Increased Daniel Bullocks’ ratings.
• Dropped Brian Kelly’s ratings.
• Dropped Greg Blue’s ratings.
• Increased Nick Harris’ ratings.
• Increased Cliff Avril’s ratings.

NY Jets
• Dropped Wayne Hunter’s ratings.
• Dropped Nick Mangold’s ratings.
• Increased Dustin Keller’s ratings.
• Increased Vernon Gholston’s ratings.
• Increased Calvin Pace’s ratings.
• Increased David Harris’s ratings.
• Increased Kerry Rhodes’ ratings.
• Increased Sione Pouha’s ratings.
• Increased T. Jones’s ratings.
• Increased Mike Nugent’s ratings.
• Increased Eric Ainge’s ratings.

Jacksonville Jaguars
• Dropped Khalif Barnes’ ratings.
• Increased Maurice Williams’ ratings.
• Increased David Garrard’s ratings.
• Increased Vince Manuwai’s ratings.
• Dropped Tony Pashos’s ratings.
• Dropped Brent Hawkins’ ratings.
• Changed Mike Peterson’s ratings.
• Increased Brian Williams’ ratings.
• Dropped Maurice Jones-Drew’s ratings.
• Increased Justin Durant’s ratings.
• Increased Daryl Smith’s ratings.

NY Giants
• Dropped Eli Manning’s ratings.
• Increased Brandon Jacob’s ratings.
• Increased Madison Hedgecock’s ratings.
• Increased Plaxico Burress’s ratings.
• Increased Kevin Boss’ ratings.
• Increased Kevin Snee’s ratings.
• Increased Mathias Kiwanuka’s ratings.
• Increased Justin Tuck’s ratings.
• Increased Antonio Pierce’s ratings.
• Dropped Aaron Ross’s ratings.
• Increased Sammy Knight’s ratings.
• Dropped Lawrence Tynes’ ratings.
• Dropped Andre Woodson’s ratings.
• Dropped Kenny Phillip’s ratings.
• Increased Derrick Ward’s rating.
• Increased Ahmad Bradshaw’s rating.
• Increased Rich Seubert’s ratings.
• Increased Corey Webster’s ratings.

SF 49ers
• Dropped Isaac Bruce’s ratings.
• Increased Bryant Johnson’s ratings.
• Increased Vernon Davis’s ratings
• Increased Delani Walker’s ratings.
• Dropped Joe Staley’s ratings.
• Increased Mark Roman’s ratings.
• Increased Michael Lewis’s ratings.
• Dropped DeShaun Foster’s ratings.

Atlanta Falcons
• Increased Michael Turner’s ratings.
• Increased Roddy White’s ratings.
• Increased Stephen Nicholas’s ratings.
• Dropped Todd Weiner’s ratings.
• Dropped Terrance Pennington’s ratings.
• Increased David Irons’ ratings.
• Increased Michael Koenen’s ratings.
• Increased Chris Redman’s ratings.
• Dropped Joey Harrington’s ratings.
• Dropped Justin Blalock’s ratings.
• Dropped Tyson Clabo’s ratings.
• Increased Trey Lewis’ ratings.

Philadelphia Eagles
• Dropped Donovan McNabb’s ratings.
• Increased Broderick Bunkley’s ratings.
• Increased Mike Patterson’s ratings.
• Dropped Darren Howard’s ratings.
• Increased Chris Gocong’s ratings.
• Increased Stewart Bradley’s ratings.
• Changed Asante Samuel’s ratings.
• Dropped Sean Considine’s ratings.
• Dropped Brian Dawkins’s ratings.
• Dropped Lito Sheppard’s ratings.
• Dropped David Akers’ ratings.
• Dropped Saverio Rocca’s ratings.
• Increased Omar Gaither’s ratings.

Miami Dolphins
• Increased Ernest Wilford’s ratings.
• Increased Anthony Fasano’s ratings.
• Increased Jason Ferguson’s ratings.
• Dropped Joey Thomas’s ratings.
• Increased Reggie Torbor’s ratings.
• Increased Charlie Anderson’s ratings.
• Dropped Jay Feeley’s ratings.
• Dropped Joey Porter’s ratings.
• Dropped Jake Long’s ratings.
• Increased Josh McCown’s ratings.
• Increased Chad Pennington’s ratings.

Dallas Cowboys
• Increased Jason Witten’s ratings.
• Dropped Cory Lekkerkerker’s ratings.
• Dropped James Marten’s ratings.
• Increased Chris Canty’s ratings.
• Increased JayRatliff’s ratings.
• Increased DeMarcus Ware’s ratings.
• Dropped Anthony Henry’s ratings.
• Increased Terence Newman’s ratings.
• Dropped Roy Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Nick Folk’s ratings.
• Increased Matt McBriar’s ratings.
• Increased Tony Romo’s ratings.
• Increased Marion Barber’s ratings.

Indianapolis Colts
• Increased Dallas Clark’s ratings
• Increased Tyjaun Hagler’s ratings
• Increased Freddie Keiaheo’s ratings.
• Increased Antoine Bethea’s ratings.
• Increased Marlin Jackson’s ratings.
• Increased Kelvin Hayden’s ratings.
• Dropped Adam Vinatieri’s ratings.
• Dropped Hunter Smith’s ratings.
• Increased Ed Johnson’s ratings.
• Dropped Philip Wheeler’s ratings.

Kansas City Chiefs
• Dropped Will Svitek’s ratings.
• Dropped Damion McIntosh’s ratings.
• Dropped Brian Water’s ratings.
• Dropped Donny Edwards’ ratings.
• Dropped Derrick Johnson’s ratings.
• Increased Bernard Pollard’s ratings.
• Dropped Patrick Surtain’s ratings.
• Dropped Billy Cundiff’s ratings.
• Dropped Damon Huard’s ratings.

San Diego Chargers
• Dropped Jeromey Clarey’s ratings.
• Dropped LJ Shelton’s ratings.
• Increased Kris Dielman’s ratings.
• Increased Jamal Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Igor Olshansky’s ratings.
• Increased Brandon Siler’s ratings.
• Increased Shaun Phillips’ ratings.
• Increased Antonio Cromartie’s ratings.
• Increased Eric Weddle’s ratings.
• Increased Antoine Cason’s ratings.
• Increased Paul Oliver’s ratings.
• Increased Clinton Hart’s ratings.
• Increased Mike Scifre’s ratings.
• Dropped Nate Kaeding’s ratings.
• Dropped Jeremy Newberry’s ratings.

Arizona Cardinals
• Dropped Edgerrin James’s ratings.
• Increased Anquan Boldin’s ratings.
• Dropped Larry Fitzgerald’s ratings.
• Increased Leonard Pope’s ratings.
• Increased Antonio Smith’s ratings.
• Increased Darnell Dockett’s ratings.
• Increased Chike Okeafor’s ratings.
• Increased Karlos Dansby’s ratings.
• Increased Aaron Francisco’s ratings.
• Increased Rod Hood’s ratings.
• Increased Eric Green’s ratings.
• Increased Gabe Watson’s ratings.
• Increased Alan Branch’s ratings.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Dropped Warrick Dunn’s ratings.
• Dropped Mike Clayton’s ratings.
• Increased Donald Penn’s ratings.
• Dropped Luke Petitgout’s ratings.
• Increased Aaron Sears’ ratings.
• Increased Davin Joseph’s ratings.
• Dropped Jeremy Trueblood’s ratings.
• Increased Javon Haye’s ratings.
• Dropped Derrick Brooks’ ratings.
• Dropped Eugene Wilson’s ratings.
• Increased Jermaine Phillip’s ratings.
• Increased Josh Bidwell’s ratings.
• Increased Jeff Garcia’s ratings.
• Increased Chris Simms’ ratings.
• Increased Sabby Piscatelli’s ratings.
• Increased Aquib Talib’s ratings.

Cleveland Browns
• Increased Martin Rucker’s ratings.
• Increased Brady Quinn’s ratings.
• Increased Derek Anderson’s ratings.
• Dropped Ken Dorsey’s ratings.
• Increased Lawrence Vickers’ ratings.
• Increased Jason Wright’s ratings.
• Increased Shaun Rogers’ ratings.
• Increased Kamerion Wimbley’s ratings.
• Increased D’ Qwell Jackson’s ratings.
• Increased Daven Holly’s ratings.
• Increased Corey Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Eric Steinbach’s ratings.

Denver Broncos
• Increased Daniel Graham’s ratings.
• Increased Brandon Marshall’s ratings.
• Dropped Tom Nalen’s ratings.
• Dropped Tim Crowder’s ratings.
• Increased Jarvis Moss’ ratings.
• Increased Elvis Dumervil’s rating.
• Increased DJ Williams’ ratings.
• Dropped Niko Koutovides’s ratings.
• Dropped Boss Bailey’s ratings.
• Increased Hamza Abdullah’s ratings.
• Dropped Champ Bailey’s ratings.
• Increased Dre Bly’s ratings.

Buffalo Bills
• Increased Troy Edwards’ ratings.
• Increased Marshawn Lynch’s ratings.
• Dropped Lee Evans’ ratings.
• Dropped Dockery’s ratings.
• Dropped Langston Walker’s ratings.
• Increased Jason Peter’s ratings.
• Increased John McCargo’s ratings.
• Dropped Marcus Stroud’s injury rating.
• Increased Aaron Schobel’s ratings.
• Increased Paul Poluszny’s ratings.
• Increased Angelo Crowell’s ratings.
• Dropped George Wilson’s ratings.
• Increased Terrence McGee’s ratings.
• Changed Donte Whitner’s ratings.
• Dropped JP Losman’s ratings.
• Increased Rian Lindell’s ratings.

Cincinnati Bengals
• Dropped Rudi Johnson’s ratings.
• Increased Kenny Watson’s ratings.
• Increased Bobbie Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Andrew Whitworth’s ratings.
• Increased Stacy Andrews’ ratings.
• Dropped Willie Anderson’s injury rating.
• Increased Robert Geather’s ratings.
• Increased Domata Peko’s ratings.
• Changed Shayne Graham’s ratings.
• Increased Ben Utecht’s ratings.
• Increased Leon Hall’s ratings.
• Increased Marvin White’s ratings.
• Increased Nedu Ndukwe’s ratings.

Chicago Bears
• Increased Rex Grossman’s ratings (not by much )
• Increased Kyle Orton’s ratings.
• Dropped Devin Hester’s ratings.
• Increased Roberto Garza’s ratings.
• Increased Hunter Hillenmeyer’s ratings.
• Increased Dusty Dvoracek’s ratings.
• Increased Jamar Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Charles Tillman’s ratings.
• Increased Alex Brown’s ratings.
• Increased Mike Brown’s ratings.
• Dropped Chris Williams’ ratings.
• Increased Matt Forte’s ratings.
• Increased Zach Bowman’s ratings.
• Increased Kellen Davis’ ratings.

Free Agents
• Dropped John Lynch’s ratings.
• Dropped Shaun Alexander’s ratings.
• Dropped Terry Glenn’s ratings.
• Dropped Junior Seau’s ratings.
• Dropped Jeremiah Trotter’s ratings.
• Dropped Wayne Gandy’s ratings.
• Dropped Ruben Brown’s ratings.
• Dropped Ted Washington’s ratings.
• Dropped Rod Coleman’s ratings.
• Dropped Ty Law’s ratings.
• Dropped Mike Flynn’s ratings.
• Dropped Keenan McCardell’s ratings.
• Dropped Scott Player’s ratings.
• Dropped Grady Jackson’s ratings.
• Dropped Lorenzo Neal’s ratings.
• Dropped Travis Henry’s ratings.
• Dropped John Carney’s ratings.
• Dropped Zach Piller’s ratings.
• Dropped Rob Morris’ ratings.
• Dropped Jordan Black’s ratings.
• Dropped Randall Godfrey’s ratings.
• Dropped Kyle Turley’s ratings.

MizzouRah

08-12-2008, 03:20 PM

I thought he said Brett Farve would be added as a Jet?

TLK

08-12-2008, 03:38 PM

The transactions aren't listed in the post above. They said all moves within the past two months are included in the update, up to the Pennington move.

MizzouRah

08-12-2008, 03:49 PM

Ahh yes..if you start in the pre-season Farve is on the Jets.

Chubby

08-12-2008, 04:21 PM

how the fuck do you get the update? i'm on PS3 and can't find a link, I can download plays but can't find rosters...

BigDPW

08-12-2008, 05:37 PM

Okay I broke down and bought the Madden CE for Head Coach today... If I get up the nerve to open the package and can get the wife to stop watching the Olympics long enough tonight I will post some impressions....

INDalltheway

08-12-2008, 07:37 PM

Very early impressions from me are that this game is awesome. The FA and draft process alone are just plain fun. The ingame help is incredibly useful as you can just pick up the game and play pretty much. The draft appears to be pretty well done. I have some nitpicks that I need to write down. I really wish during trade and free agent discussions you could look at a player card instead of just seeing an overall. There are some small things like that, but the draft AI looks like nothing I've ever seen in a console football game. It's looking like Madden will be getting very little play from me. I would be looking to see if I could pick this game up used or something fellas. I am not a big EA guy, and I will say these are early impressions.

Kodos

08-12-2008, 09:03 PM

Are there announcers during the game?