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RaychelSnr · 12-18-2014, 10:42 AM

Defense is improved in Madden NFL 15, that's not a lie. The improvements are minimal, and don't impact the game with a realistic impression. But if you find the right set of sliders (and beware, one size does not fit all) you'll notice realistic scores, balanced attacks on both sides of the ball, and a reasonable but not overwhelming number of turnovers.

Unfortunately, Madden still doesn't feel quite right.

Read More - How to Make Madden Play More Realistic Defense

Blazingheat98 · 12-18-2014, 11:02 AM

Get rid of those greedy F#@$ing idiots from EA and ****-can that senseless hold on the rights to the NFL, so 2K and Visual Concepts can back in the game and show them how it's done! EA has just ruined everything....

snc237 · 12-18-2014, 11:08 AM

I like the list. The game is good but feels oh so robotic. They really do need a new A.I. that is dynamic and learns tendencies through out the game.

GlennN · 12-18-2014, 11:33 AM

The problem is they are the only game in town. EA knows we will buy Madden every year, despite that there may be little improvement from year to year. Just not enough incentive to create real improvement. The blame? Not EA in the least. This is all on the NFL. If there were multiple NFL licensed games, EA would have to innovate.

RogueHominid · 12-18-2014, 11:55 AM

Absolutely agreed on the game plan and the defense as a unit points.

The problems here are:

Game plans:

We can't even assign a specific DB or LB to a specific WR/TE/HB yet, so there's no way anything as robust as an entire philosophical approach to stopping a specific team can be implemented.

I think it would be interesting to name, specifically, the things you'd like to be able to do in a defensive game plan. Do you mean the ability to choose specific matchups, to favor certain receivers with certain coverage adjustments globally, to create strong/weak alignment rules, to create certain spacing, etc.?

Defense as a unit:

This goes back to M10 and the confusion that Ian's group seemed to have over why many in the OS community were asking for individually assignable fronts and coverage calls. It was clear from that discussion that they really didn't get why a user would REALLY WANT to call particular line stunts for particular coverages, as one could in other football games.

They would have to 1) understand and 2) program a robust and realistic set of gap assignments for the front 7 and force assignments for the secondary. There's no way they understand enough real football to do that. Then they'd have to train their AI defenders how to diagnose and handle route combinations, and there's no way they're capable of that. The best they can do is say X has yellow/purple/blue area and does his best to cover what comes through there. Relating several players together as a coverage unit for a given route combination is likely well beyond their capacity.

These suggestions really bring out the extent to which Madden is and always will be checkers rather than chess. I think the ideas are great, but some have been broached before and have been left unadressed or unsuccessfully addressed.

RickyAC · 12-18-2014, 12:01 PM

I would take even a step back from there. All your ideas are perfect and necessary IF AND ONLY IF they are being built on a solid foundation.

Football is fundamentally a game of contact and positioning.

Madden Offense, Defense, and Special Teams all sorely need proper systems for
1) locomotion and momentum
2) engaging in and breaking off from tackles and blocks

When something resembling modern game programming is done for those parts of the game, then it is time to add strategic depth and gameplay polish.

I would love to see Madden take a COD approach in it's development cycle, and give three studios each three years to develop their madden.

kingdavidtaylor1989 · 12-18-2014, 01:00 PM

The game is too robotic. I bought it when the price was reasonable (35$. probably worth 30$ at best). The cornerback/WR interaction is still awful. Create a player is another problem. Have you ever created a 6'2 330 pound DT and they end up with skinny arms? Needs to be changed immediately. I know they have QB unique throws. They need for every position. I hate to say it but 2K would have had this by 2k10. Madden needs a ton of work.

cmehustle · 12-18-2014, 01:01 PM

The game is incredibly dumbed down. They only offer the most basic coverages, and that way individual players dont have to 'think' which is what really seperates the good ones from the bad defenders in real life. In Madden, every defender is dumb.

12-18-2014, 10:42 AM	#1
RaychelSnr Executive Editor OVR: 57 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 4,846 Blog Entries: 490	How to Make Madden Play More Realistic Defense Defense is improved in Madden NFL 15, that's not a lie. The improvements are minimal, and don't impact the game with a realistic impression. But if you find the right set of sliders (and beware, one size does not fit all) you'll notice realistic scores, balanced attacks on both sides of the ball, and a reasonable but not overwhelming number of turnovers. Unfortunately, Madden still doesn't feel quite right. Read More - How to Make Madden Play More Realistic Defense Platform: Xbox 360 / PS3 / PS4 / Xbox One

12-18-2014, 11:02 AM	#2
Blazingheat98 Banned OVR: 0 Join Date: Oct 2011	Get rid of those greedy F#@$ing idiots from EA and ****-can that senseless hold on the rights to the NFL, so 2K and Visual Concepts can back in the game and show them how it's done! EA has just ruined everything.... AStubbs7 likes this.

12-18-2014, 11:33 AM	#4
GlennN MVP OVR: 13 Join Date: Oct 2003	The problem is they are the only game in town. EA knows we will buy Madden every year, despite that there may be little improvement from year to year. Just not enough incentive to create real improvement. The blame? Not EA in the least. This is all on the NFL. If there were multiple NFL licensed games, EA would have to innovate. captainnitro likes this.

12-18-2014, 11:55 AM	#5
RogueHominid Hall Of Fame OVR: 33 Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 10,722	Re: How to Make Madden Play More Realistic Defense Absolutely agreed on the game plan and the defense as a unit points. The problems here are: Game plans: We can't even assign a specific DB or LB to a specific WR/TE/HB yet, so there's no way anything as robust as an entire philosophical approach to stopping a specific team can be implemented. I think it would be interesting to name, specifically, the things you'd like to be able to do in a defensive game plan. Do you mean the ability to choose specific matchups, to favor certain receivers with certain coverage adjustments globally, to create strong/weak alignment rules, to create certain spacing, etc.? Defense as a unit: This goes back to M10 and the confusion that Ian's group seemed to have over why many in the OS community were asking for individually assignable fronts and coverage calls. It was clear from that discussion that they really didn't get why a user would REALLY WANT to call particular line stunts for particular coverages, as one could in other football games. They would have to 1) understand and 2) program a robust and realistic set of gap assignments for the front 7 and force assignments for the secondary. There's no way they understand enough real football to do that. Then they'd have to train their AI defenders how to diagnose and handle route combinations, and there's no way they're capable of that. The best they can do is say X has yellow/purple/blue area and does his best to cover what comes through there. Relating several players together as a coverage unit for a given route combination is likely well beyond their capacity. These suggestions really bring out the extent to which Madden is and always will be checkers rather than chess. I think the ideas are great, but some have been broached before and have been left unadressed or unsuccessfully addressed. dirtguru, KingV2k3, Sausage and 1 others like this.

12-18-2014, 01:00 PM	#7
kingdavidtaylor1989 Banned OVR: 0 Join Date: Mar 2012	The game is too robotic. I bought it when the price was reasonable (35$. probably worth 30$ at best). The cornerback/WR interaction is still awful. Create a player is another problem. Have you ever created a 6'2 330 pound DT and they end up with skinny arms? Needs to be changed immediately. I know they have QB unique throws. They need for every position. I hate to say it but 2K would have had this by 2k10. Madden needs a ton of work. captainnitro and Big FN Deal like this.

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12-18-2014, 11:08 AM	#3
snc237 Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: Jul 2013	I like the list. The game is good but feels oh so robotic. They really do need a new A.I. that is dynamic and learns tendencies through out the game.

12-18-2014, 12:01 PM	#6
RickyAC Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: Jun 2014	I would take even a step back from there. All your ideas are perfect and necessary IF AND ONLY IF they are being built on a solid foundation. Football is fundamentally a game of contact and positioning. Madden Offense, Defense, and Special Teams all sorely need proper systems for 1) locomotion and momentum 2) engaging in and breaking off from tackles and blocks When something resembling modern game programming is done for those parts of the game, then it is time to add strategic depth and gameplay polish. I would love to see Madden take a COD approach in it's development cycle, and give three studios each three years to develop their madden.

12-18-2014, 01:01 PM	#8
cmehustle Rookie OVR: 3 Join Date: Oct 2007	The game is incredibly dumbed down. They only offer the most basic coverages, and that way individual players dont have to 'think' which is what really seperates the good ones from the bad defenders in real life. In Madden, every defender is dumb. Clemsonpanther, Fist Of Kings and Big FN Deal like this.