The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

[LBzrule]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Ian make sure that people on offense have to play within the framework of PA. I'm getting at the "quick rocket" here. Because what guys will do is simply wait until the DB turns his head and then bullet pass, high, switch and rocket. Make sure this cannot happen. Matter of fact something needs to govern that if you throw too early before the WR makes his cut you over or under throw because he's not aware you threw it, if it is a route where he is making a cut. No amount of stick skill should be able to save you from making a bad decision in throwing the ball early. Make the QB and his throw based on the WR's route.

[roadman]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Ian make sure that people on offense have to play within the framework of PA. I'm getting at the "quick rocket" here. Because what guys will do is simply wait until the DB turns his head and then bullet pass, high, switch and rocket. Make sure this cannot happen. Matter of fact something needs to govern that if you throw too early before the WR makes his cut you over or under throw because he's not aware you threw it, if it is a route where he is making a cut. No amount of stick skill should be able to save you from making a bad decision in throwing the ball early. Make the QB and his throw based on the WR's route.

Man, I love this suggestion. Nice suggestion LBZ.

[BrianFifaFan]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Ian make sure that people on offense have to play within the framework of PA. I'm getting at the "quick rocket" here. Because what guys will do is simply wait until the DB turns his head and then bullet pass, high, switch and rocket. Make sure this cannot happen. Matter of fact something needs to govern that if you throw too early before the WR makes his cut you over or under throw because he's not aware you threw it, if it is a route where he is making a cut. No amount of stick skill should be able to save you from making a bad decision in throwing the ball early. Make the QB and his throw based on the WR's route.

Amen!

[cedwebb]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Ian make sure that people on offense have to play within the framework of PA. I'm getting at the "quick rocket" here. Because what guys will do is simply wait until the DB turns his head and then bullet pass, high, switch and rocket. Make sure this cannot happen. Matter of fact something needs to govern that if you throw too early before the WR makes his cut you over or under throw because he's not aware you threw it, if it is a route where he is making a cut. No amount of stick skill should be able to save you from making a bad decision in throwing the ball early. Make the QB and his throw based on the WR's route.

This is a good point..The rules that govern the PA should be enforced on both sides of the ball..period! If a QB decides to throw to a reciever that is not looking the ball should simply sail over that area. If you throw over the middle and the receiver is not looking the ball most likely will end up 10 yards past the reciever and into the safeties arms.

Just make the recievers at a certain point in there route start looking towards the QB.

[BrianFifaFan]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Ian, will PA also be tied to the ability to tackle? That would be really a big step toward realism. The guy has to square up or he goes into a funky missed tackle or flail and miss animation. For me the passing game and the tackles are the biggest places where PA would make a world of difference off the jump. Blocking would also be huge if they were bound by the "you have to see it to do it" creed.

[jfsolo]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Yeah, I agree, and there should be different sets of animations for looking back or not. If you look back you swat at the ball, and if you don't you just throw your hands up to attempt to hit it.

The chance of you swatting the ball should be greater if you look back but not impossible if you don't.

Plus, the DB's ratings should effect his chances and a reaction time rating should effect how long it would take to spot the ball.

Ian make sure that people on offense have to play within the framework of PA. I'm getting at the "quick rocket" here. Because what guys will do is simply wait until the DB turns his head and then bullet pass, high, switch and rocket. Make sure this cannot happen. Matter of fact something needs to govern that if you throw too early before the WR makes his cut you over or under throw because he's not aware you threw it, if it is a route where he is making a cut. No amount of stick skill should be able to save you from making a bad decision in throwing the ball early. Make the QB and his throw based on the WR's route.

These two posts are on the beam, and the D team really needs to make sure they implement these ideas into the game, without them PA will be severely neutered, and in some cases totally irrelevant.

[cedwebb]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

The more I think about this feature the more excited I get because of what it could mean to gameplay. I was just talking with my bro and I was running this concept by him to get some feedback. He gave me a very interesting idea as far as the tracking of the ball goes.

There have been some suggestions about how this will affect the user controlled players and such. Well some have suggested hitting certain buttons to get the players head to turn and look at the ball which at first I thought would be a great idea. Now my bro is a long time Madden player (all of them) but he just has never had the mad stick skills. So we were talking about players AWR and what that would mean to this new PA feature. We came up with this idea and to me it makes all the sense in the world and would translate easily to Madden players with not so good stick skills to the very best.

Why not make the PA feature directly tied into the AWR rating? With this you don't have to ever worry about turning your players head to find the ball as it is all based soley on the player you are controlling AWR level. The example is this, QB scans the field and throws toward the reciever, now you are controlling the DB but he will start tracking the ball and it will happen based on his AWR. Now once you see the DB turn his head, that is your cue to try and go for the swat or pick. When you hit the swat button before his head turns is where you will get burned or cause PI, or just make a terrible attempt. So you now are just running with the DB and waiting for that right time (head turning) to make the play.

Here is the deal, every DB will have a different level of AWR so they will all react at different times during the play to the ball when in there area. Champ Bailey and his AWR combined all his other attributes should be able to run with WRs and look into the ball for a lot longer than DBs that are rated in the 80's with lower AWR levels. Hope your still following!

Now on the offensive side of the ball the same should be applied to WRs of course. A WR running his route has a ball thrown his direction and depending on his AWR is when he will start to track the ball. So some WRs with low AWR levels will turn there head to track the ball alot later than Vets with great AWR, and that will def make a differnce in him making the catch or not. If the ball is thrown too soon the WR may not even get his head around if he has low AWR and thats when you see a ball go sailing over his head or off by 10 yards.

The whole concept is that players will turn the head toward the ball to make a play based on their AWR level and that is what will make the AWR level acutally mean something. Hope this all made sense.

[ch46647]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

^^^^ Excellent idea!

[LBzrule]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Just to echo what others are saying, it definitely also needs to be applied to the offensive line. A Left tackle should not be able to run all the way from the left over to the right to pick up a free defender. Matter of fact, the Oline might be the biggest area of impact. I'm don't know all of the logistics, but this could be a way of eliminating psychic blocking, but then it might also have people crying. Let's say I line my defense up on a passing down with 7 men on the line like a punt block and it is 3rd and 10, we just have the line stacked and spread, 7 on the line. With respect to the Oline how would PA work in this situation? Althought I have 7 on the line I might only rush 4. How does PA account for all of these guys up front outnumbering the OLine, but then on the snap, what should happen?

[IXI DECAY IXI]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

To get into the whole O-Line talk. The main thing that needs to be added using this head tracking is the D-Line! I'm kinda sick of having my Left Guard have a perfect block set up and a wide open whole available only to have their whole defensive line all of a sudden break off the block and stop my guy for no gain.

I will try and post a video of what I mean later in case you guys don't understand what i'm talking about...

[Pnutt6]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Another way of controlling the user DB's PA, could be that once the ball is in the air the user holds either the intercept or swat button to turn his head for the ball and release the button to execute the move. This would eliminate using a second button, and the longer you hold the button, the better look you get on the ball. Also the longer you look at the ball the more you will lose the receiver. This happens all the time in the NFL when the coverage is looking into the backfield and loses a step on the receiver.

There should also be zero chance for an interception if the DB does not have a lock on the ball.

The more I think about it the more procedural awareness could have an effect on so many aspects of the game.

User Passing:
Mostly visual unless used like vision cone without the cone
CPU Passing:
Able to read the QB's pass or his ability to look off receivers
Blind side blitzing

Coverage/Receiving:
Having to see the ball before making a play

Blocking:
Blind side blocks on kick and int returns
(The best hits in football never seen in Madden)

Tackling:
Hits on receivers across the middle.

Sideline:
Actually watching the game

[christdream]

sounds great. loving all the info and updates they u guys are willing to share with the public. id love to see much more OL and DL play. hands inside with the defensive line as they take on blocks. seperation once they get there hands inside on the O linemans shoulder pads and then get seperation and throw the lineman to the side to make a play. same thing goes for the linebackers too. very detailed press man to man coverage for the defensive backs.. feetwork and hand placement when the CB attempts to press the WR at the line of scrimmage. include the new feature here that u guys have come up with, which is very good i must say.

[DLaren]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Why not make the PA feature directly tied into the AWR rating? With this you don't have to ever worry about turning your players head to find the ball as it is all based soley on the player you are controlling AWR level. The example is this, QB scans the field and throws toward the reciever, now you are controlling the DB but he will start tracking the ball and it will happen based on his AWR. Now once you see the DB turn his head, that is your cue to try and go for the swat or pick. When you hit the swat button before his head turns is where you will get burned or cause PI, or just make a terrible attempt. So you now are just running with the DB and waiting for that right time (head turning) to make the play.

Now on the offensive side of the ball the same should be applied to WRs of course. A WR running his route has a ball thrown his direction and depending on his AWR is when he will start to track the ball. So some WRs with low AWR levels will turn there head to track the ball alot later than Vets with great AWR, and that will def make a differnce in him making the catch or not. If the ball is thrown too soon the WR may not even get his head around if he has low AWR and thats when you see a ball go sailing over his head or off by 10 yards.

The whole concept is that players will turn the head toward the ball to make a play based on their AWR level and that is what will make the AWR level acutally mean something. Hope this all made sense.

I hope P.A. can and will be used in a manner such as this.

[adembroski]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Just to add something to the user control debate...

I think user control should be contextual. You should be able to ATTEMPT anything you want, and have an immediate, responsive action. However, if your defender is facing the receiver rather than the ball, he'll play the receivers eyes rather than the football... I've been referencing Larry Fitzgerald's first touchdown in the Superbowl as an example... the defender did his best, had great coverage, but couldn't see the ball, and Fitz brought it in.

So if I make a swat ball action while not facing the ball, the player will try to make a play where it looks like the offensive player is expecting the ball, and a great receiver will still make the play.

What I fear is the defenders becoming complete morons when not facing the play. When in man coverage, you're rarely in position to see the ball. You make the play by reacting to the receiver. They need to be capable of doing that.

[NYyankz225]

Re: The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

Just to add something to the user control debate...

I think user control should be contextual. You should be able to ATTEMPT anything you want, and have an immediate, responsive action. However, if your defender is facing the receiver rather than the ball, he'll play the receivers eyes rather than the football... I've been referencing Larry Fitzgerald's first touchdown in the Superbowl as an example... the defender did his best, had great coverage, but couldn't see the ball, and Fitz brought it in.

So if I make a swat ball action while not facing the ball, the player will try to make a play where it looks like the offensive player is expecting the ball, and a great receiver will still make the play.

What I fear is the defenders becoming complete morons when not facing the play. When in man coverage, you're rarely in position to see the ball. You make the play by reacting to the receiver. They need to be capable of doing that.

That's exactly what I said. I agree completely.

You shouldn't take control away from the user...if they want to swat the ball when they're not looking they should be able to. But there should be the appropriate "penalty" (the term I was using) based on the situation. If you're not looking and you try to swat the ball you should be a lot less accurate.