Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

[Cowboy008]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

Can't wait to see what the Frostbite engine brings to Madden 18.

[bxphenom7]

Well this was obviously coming ever since the announcement FIFA had moved to Frostbite. Please be worth picking up.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

I play a ton of FIFA, and have played a ton of 16 and 17. The move to Frostbite imo was an overall minor leap. I'm not saying that it won't eventually be the groundwork for huge advances, and workflow improvements, but I was actually surprised how much the game felt and moved like FIFA 15 (rather than 16).

Player models, and certain visual flourishes like lighting and sweat did make a decent jump, but it's not monumental, and the game still uses a lot of old assets that look poor. The lighting on the grass also took a bit of a step back. Animations are more or less the same.

More notable is the lod for the general gameplay view makes it look very similar to FIFA 16 and mutes some of the lighting and model improvements.

There are some nice physics upgrades with the ball and player interaction, but there are also some new and glitchy issues with both. For instance, at times the animations feel too long and control when involved in certain situations and interactions feels less responsive than years past. The game feels like a work in progress here.

Overall 17 just feels like it's still in the transition phase with its tech. Its Frostbite innovations seems partially implemented or not completely mastered by the devs. It's not really an indictment, but I'm not expecting anything monumental or all that dramatic for Madden 18 this year. I suspect it will be very similar looking and feeling to 17.

[dmslapped]

Can't wait for a helmet to explode like a battlefield building.
Kidding obviously, but wouldn't it be cool if the jerseys and field got a bit torn up

[johnnyg713]

Very exciting. I passed on madden 17 because of the announcement of the frostbite engine last year. I'm going to Be optimistic and say madden's jump from 17 will be greater than fifas jump from 16 - 17. The tech has been out longer which gives the dev team the luxury of learning from fifas experience. Not to mention madden has probably been developed using the frostbite engine for quite some time now.

[Americas Team]

Just get the player movement realistic already, add custom camera angles, and dynamic weather.

[carnalnirvana]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

new engine same AI....

same issues that look prettier

[shadowkaga]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

I'm just hoping for madden to return to pc with frostbite

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

I'm just hoping for madden to return to pc with frostbite

One thing worth noting about FIFA 17 PC and its move to Frostbite is that the game is no longer moddable.

The community is working on it, but it's been a tough nut to crack so far.

Of course EA does not support modding for the game either.

[Rebel10]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

I think this is driven by Sony and Microsoft's incremental hardware releases w/ PS4 Pro and Scorpio. Frostbite is a powerful engine that scales better across variable hardware, and the transition to Frostbite should enable the team to progressively enhance the game for the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio next Fall.

It's a good change to make from a technical point of view, but I wouldn't expect it to change anything in regard to locomotion, living worlds, or anything like that. Not that those changes are ruled out, but they don't come along with adopting a new graphics engine.

[ODogg]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

Why would that matter since Madden is not on the PC?

[ODogg]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

One thing I hope they can get now w Frostbite is the ability to see smaller/shorter players who can run fast (think Darren Sproles for example) have very fast leg "churn" and by that I mean their legs move so quickly to move them around the field that it's almost difficult to even see their legs.

Madden really loses a lot of the look of speed because of the lack of leg churn IMO.

[sccavs64]

Re: Madden 18 Frostbite confirmed on EA Shareholders Call today

Played over 500 hours of both FIFA 15 and 16 and played around 200 of 17 so far. Massive overhaul to animations in 17 and the graphics are insane. Stadiums look and feel more alive. The game plays so much better though. For instance, last year if the ball was going "near" a player they would automatically get a touch on it. In 17 that doesn't happen. It has to actually touch them for them to interact with it. There's no suction anymore. It's sick. I had a penalty shot last night that the goalie dove for and his legs were spread because he was in the air diving and the ball went right between his legs. Last year that would've been saved because it was "near" the goalie. Tough to explain without a video but hopefully I explained it decently well. This is going to be a game changer for madden.

Agree with this 100%, didn't start playing FIFA religiously until FIFA 15, but there's definitely a significant level of improvement in the aesthetics and gameplay in FIFA 17 compared to FIFA 16. Player models look much better, the lighting is tremendous, the movement of the players with and without the ball is less "video game like" and more natural. I noticed it within the first 30 seconds of playing and I thoroughly enjoy playing.

And keep in mind too, the default camera angle you play with in FIFA is extremely zoomed out so that you can see the majority of the field, and I still notice the differences in the aesthetics. Playing Madden on Frostbite with a more zoomed-in camera should be fantastic.

[sccavs64]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

FIFA 17 is the worst FIFA of all time. The coding is horrible. The ball moves in unrealistic ways to bend to a character. Just look at some of the videos on youtube that talk about the awful ball AI this year. If that is an indication of what Frostbite does for sports games, look out Madden.

I've played over 500 online games and honestly have never seen this once.

[BadAssHskr]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Will Transition to the Frostbite Engine

what's the lifespan of a gaming engine? how long has the current engine been with Madden, and with it, has it been maxed out, like have the programmers advanced it as far as it can go?

aren't we due for a new xbox in the pretty near future? how will a change in console effect the direction of madden, the way they are coding for ps4/xbone vs. how they will have to code for a new generation?

i mean it could be said that madden took a franchise hit in M17 because they new Frostbite was on the plate, so now when they drop M18, then there is a console generation change, does this have the potential for years of setback?