37 minute interview with Rex Dickson on Madden 18

[R1zzo23]

Quote: Originally Posted by PVarck31

Fixing so many legacy issues sounds to me like direct nod to sim players. Very excited about that.

I was thinking the same thing when I read the recap of the interview.

[howboutdat]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

Says Franchise blew up this year. Usage went up over 100%. People played it longer and were happier with it than ever before which helped achieve their goal but he also thinks it upset a lot of their competitive users.

So CFM usage went up 100% huh? Ok so that should mean it gets more funding for 18, should it not ?I mean after all, its all about where they see people using the game. Going up 100% is a large amount if you consider how many every year was already playing it. Although, while he acts like people were really satisfied with it this year( because they put most resources in it ever) , they didnt really add any more this year than past 3 years either.If you look at what people actually say about CFM,there is a TON that needs to be done to it for alot to actually be satisfied But id note, since they wanted to hype last year they put most resources in to cfm than ever and saw its usage go up 100%, even the business side would have to say lets put even more in this year, but do i believe that happened? Not at all.

I find the last part of the first quote above odd. Why is is that CFM having more people use it and play it longer upset the competitive crowd? i mean that literally does not make any sense at all.

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

5:40 - "Says 18 is bigger than eSports and is about players who identify themselves as competitive Madden players and those who primarily play H2H modes. "

This sentence makes it sound as if , Madden 18 is more about competitive focus than anything else, include in that he has said Madden 18 is the year of the user, and i can not help but feel like , they added a simulation mode that is just what we have already been playing......If there was only a real focus on competitive and he thinks madden is great Simulation football now.... well, this boat is sinking fast for the sim crowd then. Its like we just got someone to toss us a life preserver out in middle of ocean, only to find out ,it has a huge hole in it ....

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

23:30 - Says there is going to be an announcement between now and maybe EA Play for a HUGE, HUGE, EPIC core community feature. Something that core MUT users have been asking for for years, loudly. Biggest core community feature they've ever done. Caters directly to the MUT core.

Pretty sure this is the 3 vs 3 MUT team comp he is talking about here, they even hinted more about it late yesterday.

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

He makes it seem like Sim has been holding back H2H/Competitive all this time and I hope that when the time comes that he gets to talk about the Simulation setting he acknowledges that the H2H/Competitive was holding back Sim just as much because I strongly disagree that they've been tuning the game specifically for simulation players. Especially when you consider how many times they've said over the last several years they won't do something because of how it will affect the online environment and you look at how the game gets patched because of backlash from the online community. I just hope that when he talks about creating unique features for competitive game style it also applies equally to the simulation setting as well and it doesn't get left behind or knocked down the priority list because they've already spent all this time "tuning the game specifically for simulation players" when that hasn't necessarily the case.

Yeah to act as if they have only been focusing on Simulation football for past 3 years and that is what they have produced, is kinda a joke right? I mean last two years in particular, starting with very first patch they have done nothing but water the game down.After 16 Rex claimed they wasnt going to do that to 17 , yet thats just what they did.But making it sound like by trying to only please sim crowd last 3 years man, its statements like this that at times makes it hard to believe some things he says.Majority ive talked to , do not at all feel like sim has been a focus for last 3 years.

Hopefully making the 3 separate modes is a good thing, and they can still put a focus on sim gameplay. You would think, with Rex claiming for so long that is what he is about , that would always reign true, but it sure does sound and feel like, he is starting to be swayed by those suits to see things in a different light now.Hope not ,but if so , these may be the last few years i can purchase madden if that alone becomes their main focus.

[Mike Lowe]

Rex is good for the game, good for the community. I'm glad he's as available as he's been.

As for LBs having coverage lines, hasn't that been in the game for years?

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[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Americas Team

the cpu is too easy and boring to play against. I feel like a lot of people started gravitating to online head to head because of the same reason's (Franchise mode and the cpu AI wasn't worth a darn), and the younger generation never experienced a great Franchise mode Madden had in the PS2 days and all they know is online H2H. I feel like now they are focusing on the competitive crowd before they went back and fixed the great Franchise mode and gameplay we had two generations ago, how about get those areas back up to snuff, then see how many people come back to Franchise mode, I bet a lot more people would play Franchise if the mode was good, deep, and the cpu played realistic and provided a challenge without cheating.

I took out the parts where I agree with you, but the CPU is too easy is not even close for me today. On default all-pro, I'm 7-8 with the Packers and battling for 1st place with the Lions in the next game. Completely different experiences than what you seem to be experiencing.

They still have John White employed, so, as long as John White is employed, I'm sure they will keep adding to FM, at whatever pace that may be.

Personally, I understand I'm in the minority on this one, but I don't need a super deep FM mode to entertain me, but understand that it needs a fresh paint job and more. My games are an 1hr and 15 minutes to play already and I just can't find myself digging more and more into FM on top of that time. Of course, if there are save points and auto piloting for FM, I'm all over that.

My most exciting time is the game on the gridiron and FM mode to me is icing on the cake.

Everyone's mileage may vary with that opinion.

[jmurphy31]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

3:20 - Says he felt pretty strong about 17 out of the gate. Says three year plan was all about authentic simulation football which means at the exclusion of thinking very heavily about competitive Madden. Says the last three years have been all about simulation and competitive wasn't a priority. With competitive coming onto the scene it forced him to change perspective. Says 17 achieved their vision as authentic football simulation but the more sim it got the more they lost their competitive community which is primarily the MUT community because they were building things for the simulation community and not for them. Says they shipped a great simulation game but over the course of a couple patches they lost their competitive core community. Says Franchise blew up this year. Usage went up over 100%. People played it longer and were happier with it than ever before which helped achieve their goal but he also thinks it upset a lot of their competitive users. 5:40 - Says 18 is bigger than eSports and is about players who identify themselves as competitive Madden players and those who primarily play H2H modes. Those people have been very loud and vocal about what they want and don't want. Specifically dropped INT's or dropped passes. Those are things you get because of Sim. What happens now is they can give competitive players exactly what they want without impacting the simulation community. Says that was the big thing holding them back because they were tuning the game specifically for simulation players and now he has this whole separate game style that he can tune uniquely and build custom features for this unique competitive game style. Says it's awesome and different from what they've had before.

I know he is talking to the competitive crowd in the interview, but it really makes you nervous going forward if you are a solo franchise player.

Its like saying "Hey look are usage in franchise mode went up a ton, but now we have to change to cater to some other group" Hopefully, they still put time into franchise mode, but it really sounds as if all the focus will be going into H2H and competitive modes. As if they made the perfect sim product so now its time to move on

Also, if the competitive crowd is so upset about random drop passes and overthrows, why not make every player 99 or 100 overall in those modes so its all about the sticks vs strategy. I watched some of the Madden events online or on TV. A few tournaments ago, some guy had Gronkowski as his FB most of the game and ran FB dive a majority of the game.

[NDAlum]

Quote: Originally Posted by Americas Team

Back in the PS2 days I was a Franchise and H2H local player. When Madden came to the 360 and PS3 was when I started playing online competitive hardcore. One of the main reason's was because the Franchise mode sucked, and the cpu AI was horrible and it got boring playing against the cpu after a few games, and til this day the Franchise mode is still bad and the cpu is too easy and boring to play against. I feel like a lot of people started gravitating to online head to head because of the same reason's (Franchise mode and the cpu AI wasn't worth a darn), and the younger generation never experienced a great Franchise mode Madden had in the PS2 days and all they know is online H2H. I feel like now they are focusing on the competitive crowd before they went back and fixed the great Franchise mode and gameplay we had two generations ago, how about get those areas back up to snuff, then see how many people come back to Franchise mode, I bet a lot more people would play Franchise if the mode was good, deep, and the cpu played realistic and provided a challenge without cheating.

I can't describe how badly I want the CPU to be smart, tough, and be an absolute battle!!!

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by NDAlum

I can't describe how badly I want the CPU to be smart, tough, and be an absolute battle!!!

17 has been for me with default sliders.

I was 7-4 at one point with the Packers and I've lost 4 straight and 2 of those 4 were teams well below 500.

[Hova57]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

It was really interesting to hear him talk to the "other side," so to speak. It was also interesting to me how he made it seem as if H2H/Competitive hasn't received any kind of attention or priority over the last couple years because it's been all about 'authentic simulation football.' I've never been under that impression over the last couple years and I've felt that it's been more of a balance between the two with some give-and-take where we can get some Sim, but it also has to have some sort of H2H flavor involved. The way he talks about the last couple years make it seem like it's been exclusively dedicated to Sim and I don't necessarily agree with that at all especially looking at what patches affect. And then lumping CFM into his sim argument I think shows how out of touch he is with the mode because it's philosophy is the exact one he ends up saying he disagrees with later on. It's going to be interesting to see how the game changes over the next couple years because I think a lot of people want to believe (as do I) that this game style separation is going to cater equally to everyone but I get the impression that he feels like his work is done for the simulation side and this transition is all about the new plan moving forward which is largely focused on competitive. I think the current state of the game is currently more of hybrid which makes complete sense given that there haven't been separate settings until now but it's troubling for me to hear him describe it in the way he does. But I don't know. I don't want to get too down on one interview and I should know from the last couple years that he's a great salesman and great at pandering to his audience so I should know to take it with a grain of salt and that what he says is usually never the whole story but it still has me a bit wary given how committed and involved he is to competitive now.

I feel like the last 2 yrs of Madden tournaments has changed focus and intent..things players done that made the game look bad and how they play made them change clothes.

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