Official Madden 15 E3 Video Thread

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

10 & 12 were fairly solid but I'm saying that they never built off of titles until 13. Madden 11 was one of the worst ones and did nothing to build off of 10. Some people really like 08 too but 09 was awful. Every year from 13-15 the game has improved and built off of the previous year.

It's funny you should post this because this claim just happened to be fresh on my mind. JP sir, I'm really starting to think, there is no hope for this game ever being complete because it seems that continuous year over year building is not possible. I recall Ian stating something to the effect of, it's hard to implement and balance things afterwards in Madden because so much in the code is intertwined. I know this is a "new" team but they're still dealing with generally the same code and I seem to be noticing potentially the same issue.

I know you claim since M13 they have built on stuff but I don't know how accurate that is man. I'll hold off an in depth critique about this until M15 has been out long enough for a a couple patches but my concern is that there are going to be things that either were removed or toned down to the point where they're not effective.

To be clear, this has nothing to do with the people making the game, it's mainly about how difficult or challenging working with the legacy coding for Madden would be for anyone, imo. To this team's credit, they don't mention that like Ian did because it's not the consumer's problem but it's still a problem all the same.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

. To this team's credit, they don't mention that like Ian did because it's not the consumer's problem but it's still a problem all the same.

This post right here, well, up to this point.lol

Just saying the reason why the "new team" doesn't mention this is because Ian communicated with us much more than this team does.

That might be part of the reason.

[FBall Life]

Ian was very transparent with us, going as far as to post running animation prototype videos and asking which one the community thought was best. Yes, in the end, 10 was still extremely disappointing, but Ian and co really did try. 10 was an enormous step up from 09. If we could've gotten that same effort year in and year out, Madden would be on track by now... Possibly.

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

This post right here, well, up to this point.lol Just saying the reason why the "new team" doesn't mention this is because Ian communicated with us much more than this team does. That might be part of the reason.

For sure and I didn't mean to disparage Ian's perceived frankness by giving credit to this team's quiet resolve, I just meant at the end of the day both teams likely deal with the same coding issues. I think we all have grown tired of the excuses for why Madden is what it is but whether they express the issues or not, doesn't change the fact of them existing. The reason I put some stock into what Ian stated is because he has continued to state much of the same thing after leaving Tiburon and because even several years removed from Ian, in spite of this teams good intentions, Madden still is what it is.

There's plenty of stuff I want to post about the writing that seems to be on the wall but it would undoubtedly come across like Madden hate instead of a reality check. So I'll just state that I'm concerned that whatever incremental gains are being and will be made in the coming years, might only be due to the expanded power of the new consoles yet still be extremely limited, in comparison to other sim sports titles, due to legacy coding issues.

[jpdavis82]

This is from the OS interview with Rex regarding WR/DBs

OS: Will we see more jostling for position/hand fighting from the offensive and defensive players on pass plays?

RD: Due to the impact of the overhauled coverage AI, you will see defenders in much better position to make plays on balls. This includes jostling for position and aggressively moving towards the catch point. We definitely have some major plans around WR/DB interaction coming in the near future in addition to the great work that has been done this year.

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

This is the first next gen title, smallest leap forward? The game has advanced more in core gameplay from 25 to 15, then it did from 06-12. How can I say that you ask? well because from 06-12 the game never built off of the previous title. There were a lot of improvements made in gameplay like another year of improving blocking, that aren't back of the box features, so until you play it you wont be able to tell. many of you didn't see the improvement from 25 gen 3 to gen 4 until you played it right? This year I predict that feeling will be much stronger.This was even a short cycle too, remember 25 was released in November on gen 4. 16 will be a bigger jump than this. 15 is the turning point for Madden.

I disagree that the game has improved more from 25-15 than 06-12. '06 might be the worst madden ever. From that through '10 is the bigges improvement IMO.

It's been the same segmented approach with this new team. The physics engine looks about the same, maybe less impactful since its implementation. True Step looks untouched since its implementation. Outside of graphics & presentation, I'm seeing very little of the improvements listed for '15.

I think Big nailed it here. With the core coding firmly in place, I wouldn't guess there was as much turnover at EA/Madden as there has been. Knowing what I know, the change from Ortiz & them to Ian & Co was more noticable to me. My guess is that we won't see much change until the real coders are replaced.

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

This is from the OS interview with Rex regarding WR/DBs OS: Will we see more jostling for position/hand fighting from the offensive and defensive players on pass plays? RD: Due to the impact of the overhauled coverage AI, you will see defenders in much better position to make plays on balls. This includes jostling for position and aggressively moving towards the catch point. We definitely have some major plans around WR/DB interaction coming in the near future in addition to the great work that has been done this year.

Hopefully this has been "turned off" in released vids, because I'm not seeing any of this. I know, I know, next year is THE year.

[jpdavis82]

Quote: Originally Posted by BezO

I disagree that the game has improved more from 25-15 than 06-12. '06 might be the worst madden ever. From that through '10 is the bigges improvement IMO. It's been the same segmented approach with this new team. The physics engine looks about the same, maybe less impactful since its implementation. True Step looks untouched since its implementation. Outside of graphics & presentation, I'm seeing very little of the improvements listed for '15. I think Big nailed it here. With the core coding firmly in place, I wouldn't guess there was as much turnover at EA/Madden as there has been. Knowing what I know, the change from Ortiz & them to Ian & Co was more noticable to me. My guess is that we won't see much change until the real coders are replaced. Hopefully this has been "turned off" in released vids, because I'm not seeing any of this. I know, I know, next year is THE year.

True Step was extended this year beyond the ball carrier, they did a whole cycle again on the blocking, they added new physics tech for reaches, pileups, organic falls, consecutive hits, eventually this tech will allow for real gang tackling.

This team isn't just implementing something and then not touching it, it is a big focus for them. People are just assuming based on the past and I can't wait till people play 15 and see how wrong they were to assume things implemented from last year were untouched.

Why can't we get past this back and forth though? I have good reason to feel the way I do and based on the past so do all of the people who seem like they want or at least expect Madden to fail.

I research this stuff from almost every source possible, I'm not just blindly optimistic but I trust the people I talk to about this game and they haven't been proven wrong yet. If they are this year then maybe I'll lose a little hope but so far the future is looking much brighter than many of you are expecting.

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

True Step was extended this year beyond the ball carrier, they did a whole cycle again on the blocking, they added new physics tech for reaches, pileups, organic falls, consecutive hits, eventually this tech will allow for real gang tackling.

In the vids released so far, I've not seen True Step for anyone besides the ball carrier. I'm having a tough time remembering an example of it fot the ball carrier. The only Ture steps I see in this game are when juke buttons are used and for 180 degree changes in direction. Please show me something different, especially for a non-ball carrier.

I have seen some double team blocks. Not much other than that.

That reach that had no affect on the ball carrier?

That out-fo-context pile up with the same lack of interaction from prior years?

I did see a couple of cool falls and a consecutive hit tackle or 2. What I see more are falls out of context and 2nd defenders avoiding interaction.

Next year though...

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

This team isn't just implementing something and then not touching it, it is a big focus for them. People are just assuming based on the past and I can't wait till people play 15 and see how wrong they were to assume things implemented from last year were untouched.

You talk about what you heard & what you hope. Some of us talk about what we're seeing in the vids that have been released.

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

Why can't we get past this back and forth though? I have good reason to feel the way I do and based on the past so do all of the people who seem like they want or at least expect Madden to fail. I research this stuff from almost every source possible, I'm not just blindly optimistic but I trust the people I talk to about this game and they haven't been proven wrong yet. If they are this year then maybe I'll lose a little hope but so far the future is looking much brighter than many of you are expecting.

It's a forum set up to discuss sports video games. Not sure how to avoid back & forth.

You talk as if we're lying about vids of '15 that have been released. We can only talk about what we see. None of us have played yet, but we've all seen the vids.

Proven wrong about '15? Nah, not yet.