Is it just me or has sports gaming.....

[therizing02]

To me, it's not really the lack of features in games. It's things like comeback AI, linebackers with 56 inch verticle leaps, and money plays. This just screams pure laziness on the part of the developers and testers that pisses me off. How about better AI on the higher difficulty levels?

I also don't think it's too much to ask for realistic looking player models? What about linebackers that run faster than receivers? In baseball games what about rocket arms from 400 feet from home plate? I mean really, is this too much to ask? I really don't wanna here from a corporate mouthpiece that says "we tried to get that in there, but there was no time". Horses*it!

The frustrating thing is that a lot of the dynasty modes in sports games are very deep and a lot of fun to play however, to have the same boring comeback AI and the inability to get the basics down is mind boggleing.

[Bobolini]

Quote: Originally Posted by therizing02

To me, it's not really the lack of features in games. It's things like comeback AI, linebackers with 56 inch verticle leaps, and money plays. This just screams pure laziness on the part of the developers and testers that pisses me off. How about better AI on the higher difficulty levels? The frustrating thing is that a lot of the dynasty modes in sports games are very deep and a lot of fun to play however, to have the same boring comeback AI and the inability to get the basics down is mind boggleing.

I agree, comeback AI sounds like programmer's laziness. I never noticed this in FPS football (original 93-94). Sure, I played in coach mode but I think that game was way ahead in AI. If this could be done 12 years ago why hasn't this been fixed or addressed?

[ehh]

I don't think that age has anything to do with it. Most sports games are running in place these days, with the exception of College Hoops which has made amazing strides in each of it's four years in existance.

MVP Baseball is another, in it's short lived career the game got significantly better with each version.

[michigan21]

Quote: Originally Posted by jrivera34

I am 31 and I don't think we were spoiled in any way with gaming. I think now that gaming has become really big business and is now in the main stream, the creativity and innovation has suffered. It is all about getting that next release out as soon as possible so the developer can make their money and move on. EA Sports lead the way with sports gaming and now they appear to be on cruise control. Do you guys remember in the early Madden years where they would show you plays from other games? I don't remember if it was at halftime or at the end of the game, but it is was really a nice addition. Why did they take that feature out? If they were able to do that 20 years ago on the Sega Genesis, imagine what "those" programmers would come up with today. Signature shots in NBA 2K7 are great, but what the hell took them so long. Do you remember Tom Chambers from Lakers vs. Celtics? He had a signature dunk in that game and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Others like MJ had some signature stuff too if I remember correctly. Let's get back to pushing the damn envelope people and enough with the same ole same ole. Features from previous versions should NOT be taken out and I DON'T care if it is a new console or not. The programming for franchise mode for example could remain the same because that code is not dependent on a systems hardware (not now a days at least). Edit: Programmers love to bullsh*t the end user. They try it all the time in my office and once they realize that I have programming experience and call them out on it, then that project that would have taken a month gets done in a few days.

I agree. Good post.

[michigan21]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bobolini

I agree, comeback AI sounds like programmer's laziness. I never noticed this in FPS football (original 93-94). Sure, I played in coach mode but I think that game was way ahead in AI. If this could be done 12 years ago why hasn't this been fixed or addressed?

Man, I loved, loved,loved fps football series. I miss the hell out of that game.

[MassNole]

Quote: Originally Posted by michigan21

Man, I loved, loved,loved fps football series. I miss the hell out of that game.

Yeah, it is scary how some aspects of that game, including add-ons by third parties, still exceeds what EA can offer us today.

As for the comeback AI from Bobolini's post, I gotta say that EA's games in the mid-90's like Madden 94 & 95 and NHL 94 had some of the worst comeback AI I have ever seen. I can remember blowing multiple, considerably large leads based on that. I almost gave up Madden back then it was so bad at times.

[motormooseAJC1]

Programmer's laziness. I think that observation completely expresses the state of sports gaming, especially in the last few years. That and a general lack of attention to detail.

It seems that programmers get so worked up and excited about a single new aspect of a game (i.e. SuperStar mode in Madden, SuperStar moves in NBA Live, etc.), that they gloss over the parts of the game they got right previously, and sometime even regress in those areas, especially when it comes to presentation. Take last years current-gen Madden (06), for example. I realize this is superficial, but why would they screw up the uniforms of 5-6 teams, including the Rams & Seahawks, when they had them correct in 2005? And what happened to the TV-style intro segment that 2005 and every Madden previous opened with? Sure, it was repetitive sometimes, but it added that extra level of presentation that's sorely lacking in the current version. And the ESPN integration? Still practically non-existant. I was really excited when I heard that EA and ESPN had hooked up; I had images of the outstanding ESPN presentation of ESPN NFL 2K5 with the gameplay of Madden. But no. Still the same generic EA presentation, now with no pre-game, halftime or post-game presentations. In fact, one need only look at the NCAA Football series to see how presentation should be done or at least where to start. The NCAA series still has a pre-game presentation, has better use of instant replay, AND has better commentary with the 3-man booth. So you can't tell me that the Madden team can't at least equal what the NCAA team does. It's just trying to maximize returns each year with the least amount of effort. Again, I know this is all superficial, but it's these little oversights that make me think that the programmers are just going thru the motions rather than taking a lot of pride in their product.

Oh well, it could be worse, I guess. The current-gen NBA Live series commentators have never said the name of a created player, even if his name matches an existing player! Oh wait, that was the ONE correction they made for 07! Too bad the rest of the game is a complete embarrassment. But that's a topic for another board!

[drae2]

Well I think that part of the reason the sports games are lacking is because of the exclusive license bs. Competition is great for everything. Look EA doesn't have any competition in football and it's showing. I'm sorry, but NCAA is okay, but Madden is horrible. And I attribute this to no comp. Now let's look at what a little comp does. MLB2K6--Just a horrible game, but it did have some comp on the PS2 with MLB The Show. Major League Baseball was not happy with MLB2K6, and basically told them(TT) they better improve or they may lose the license. Let's look at Live. Live has regressed the last few years, and then VC drops NBA2K7--Which IMO is the best sports game to hit the next gen systems--and you now have avid Live fans who are sending very angry letters to EA telling them it's time to step their game up. In other words, competition keeps pressure on all game companies to improve from year to year. I truly believe that EA approached the NFL for the license from the minute VC released the 2K series on the Dreamcast, because they saw another company trying to do something different and innovative, which could take from their fan base. And with the release and acclaim of NFL2K5, they knew they were in trouble, so EA decided to throw the pot of gold to the NFL, NCAA, and anything else football, to rid of the comp. And now we see what no comp can do. I just wish the NFL had the same moxie that MLB did.