Madden 18 Franchise PSA (Shopmaster)

[TheBleedingRed21]

Quote: Originally Posted by KickassJohnson

It's a longshot that I'll be buying this year.. first time in 15 years I won't have the new one 17 with new rosters will be just fine

This is your right, but I am just curious as to why?

From everything I have read and seen, the gameplay has taken a big leap from where 17 was and fixed quite a few legacy issues.

Plus Frostbite alone would be worth the upgrade. Does ON FIELD gameplay not trump anything else? I know it does for me.

[Rebel10]

Wow, pretty disappointing... It's my top feature in Madden every year and the only thing that I really look forward to, so seeing quotes like this:

• Not a normal year of development.
• Not a lot of CFM info he can give. Hasn't played or seen it this year.
• There's not a lot of stuff going on with CFM this year.
• Probably not this year.
• Not a lot to get into.

Is very disappointing to me.

I don't think that this is the "the devs don't care," I think it's that the production managers, and ultimately the product leads don't care. They see big dollar signs with MUT, the core competitive modes, and other versus modes, so the motivation to even touch franchise isn't there. It's a shame, but more so a reflection that revenue generation in the industry has moved away from what veterans of the series have always liked, and towards short-term recurring revenue strategies, and one-time 'story mode' like features. It's clear that franchise mode probably costs more money to support than 'story modes,' where someone might play it for 6-8 hours and then likely not pick it up again, so a mode like Franchise mode, which registers hundreds of hours, and much more opportunity to find difficult to fix post-release bugs means that the ratio of development cost to revenue value is imbalanced for EA.

It's a shame. From this interview and scattered other thoughts, it sounds like this is a lost year for Franchise mode. I have a running list of pretty simple "nice to have's" in franchise mode, but if they're not making the "big" improvements that other people have been requesting for years, then there's no hope for any of my small improvements and bug fixes. Probably means we'll also have the same infuriating wind bug in CFM that's been there for 3 or so seasons (or more?)

I'm a sucker for the NFL, though, and I can't see myself not buying the game. I'll appreciate the on-field improvements, but having the same buggy, sloppy CFM that they've had the last couple of years (though one that I still enjoyed) will be very disappointing.

Quote: Originally Posted by howboutdat

I'll tell you one thing ,that ive heard many mention. Shop, while he seems like a good dude, started #cfmmovement, but then half the time he stream he is streaming MUT .Now im not saying a person cant enjoy the mode if they like,but when you are seen as the voice of CFM by Gamechangers, and create a hashtag like that, then turn around and half your streams are about MUT....... Well that tends to turn CFM people off from you. I mean your trying to support CFM but when your streaming MUT ( the mode many feel is why CFM does not get much attention) its kinda seen like your supporting the very reason many feel CFM gets no love.Not saying that thought is 100% true, but its how many feel and view it. It would be like a republican who supports trump doing streams for showing democrats in a positive light.........

Unfortunately, similar to EA, it looks like streamers have to follow the revenue as well. There's likely much more revenue in streaming MUT than there is in a CFM stream. I don't do much Twitch/YouTube streams, but I've streamed CFM games in the past for my small franchise and they end up getting 30 or 40 views on YouTube, then I accidentally uploaded a stream of me opening up some random MUT cards (I dont' even play the mode, I just had them), and that video got 1,000+ views... Of basically nothing but some into rookie pack of cards for players who might have never taken a snap in the NFL. For a big streamer who can make money off of streaming sports games, there's just much more revenue in a 60-second stream of them opening a pack of cards than there is in a 60-minute stream playing CFM mode.

Unfortunately it's just the nature of revenue now, both for EA and for people who play the game. It's disappointing if you're a long-time Madden player who doesn't really care for the microtransaction/grinding mini-game, or the competitive tournament games.

Quote: Originally Posted by PVarck31

I've mentioned this before on here, the biggest mistake EA ever made with Madden was not porting the PS2/Xbox engine to the Xbox 360. Maybe it wouldn't work for some reason, I don't know. But even if it didn't, they screwed themselves by not being prepared. I remember a long time ago reading an article which stated from an anonymous Madden developer that it was four months prior to the launch of Madden 06 on the 360 and they were literally staring at a blank screen. They rushed a terrible game to market and it crippled the entire series for a whole console generation. They had to play catch up every year and they never did. That's where all the coding got screwed up, and then left them having to write code over code and causing legacy issues galore. As the game started to reach the end of the Xbox 360/PS3 generation and after its umpteeth development team, it finally started to resemble a football game. And when it made the jump to PS4/Xbox1 it started a slow but steady improvement. And when the current team took over a few years ago the improvements started coming at a faster pace culminating with 17 and being a good game of football on the field. I'm pretty sure 17 ended the current developers "three year plan" and now the focus can move to other things like the implementing the Frostbite Engine, and fixing legacy issues that have plagued gameplay. ... Sorry so long winded. tl;dnr: Madden crippled itself last gen and has been playing catch up until now basically. Franchise included.

You are 100% spot on with this, though I don't think it was a technical reason, it was a business decision. 2005/2006 was a bad years of revenue for EA, one of their worst in a decade, and it was because they had to support multiple platforms and make a stiff investment in 'next gen,' while they were also being strongly criticized for not introducing new IPs, for the work environment at EA, and other issues inherent to the industry. 2005/2006 was a bad year for the industry in general, revenue and business-wise.

EA's biggest mistake, and one that they paid for for about 5 years, was their 2005 E3 showing of Madden '06 for Xbox 360. Microsoft had them come out to the 360 E3 reveal show, and they were pressured to wow viewers with a transcendent football visuals (also because it was just after they reached agreement with the NFL on an exclusive license)... SO they outsourced/produced that now infamous CGI-McNabb video, which wowed the audience in attendance, but anybody who knew a lick about how football videogames played knew that was a nonsense, BS video that just wouldn't be at all playable if the game behaved or looked like that. But, when it came time to actually make Madden '06, their development schedule was short, and they hamstrung themselves with this very aggressive E3 CGI clip that they tried to hold themselves to as a development standard.

It was basically the quintessential opposite of what you're supposed to do in software development. Of course, Madden '06 (360) was a disaster, the worst Madden ever, but worse than that, that E3 video hung over their heads for four more years, as non-football-game enthusiasts expected that Madden would look or play like that. They stuck to that vision for at least four more years, before finally letting go of most of the development managers for those iterations of Madden, and then started to get back to be gameplay focused. It would take another 2 or 3 years before they really exorcised the demon of that E3 trailer from Madden, but unfortunately, it caused them to lose almost a decade of progress with the series.

[seasprite]

I want updates and new additions to CFM and consider myself a very sim player who only plays online CFM, but if they have the exact same CFM this year, but clean up the gameplay, then I really cant complain that much......CFM in 17 wasn't horrible IMO.

[Lexicon]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheBleedingRed21

This is your right, but I am just curious as to why? From everything I have read and seen, the gameplay has taken a big leap from where 17 was and fixed quite a few legacy issues. Plus Frostbite alone would be worth the upgrade. Does ON FIELD gameplay not trump anything else? I know it does for me.

Some people like a little garlic mashed potatoes or fries with their steak. Those people are tired of the potatoes being cold.

No reason Gameplay can't significantly improve each year AND have significant improvements to Franchise, as well.

[seasprite]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lexicon

No reason Gameplay can't significantly improve each year AND have significant improvements to Franchise, as well.

I'm not a professional when it comes to game development or programming, but from what I see and hear from developers, this isn't really true. The short development cycle makes them really have to choose which part to really put into.

[SteelD34KC]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lexicon

Some people like a little garlic mashed potatoes or fries with their steak. Those people are tired of the potatoes being cold. No reason Gameplay can't significantly improve each year AND have significant improvements to Franchise, as well.

That and the fact they came out and said, in multiple interviews, that everything took a back burner to Longshot, CFM for NBA Live and so on.

Mind you, I will probably get the game because i understand going to a whole new engine requires a ton of work.

Then again, I may not, because Im pretty angry about these reviews, and the youtube streamers going on and on about how we the fans know nothing.

[Brightline]

We knew that we were headed for this when they "focused" on CFM last year. Really that is the problem. We can't expect major improvements to CFM every year but last year in which they ostensibly focused on it they didn't really add a whole lot. They added:

• Play the Moments
• game planning
• score ticker
• big decisions
• player editing
• practice squads

[Lexicon]

Quote: Originally Posted by seasprite

I'm not a professional when it comes to game development or programming, but from what I see and hear from developers, this isn't really true. The short development cycle makes them really have to choose which part to really put into.

Yes, but Longshot was a choice that was made by the executives. It was a chioce. Meaning that in any given year, they can allocate enough resources to gameplay and franchise (since they are two separate areas with different leads) so that both of these things can benefit.

The issue is that choices are being made that prohibits Franchise from getting a lot of attention (even though they said it did last year, but I think most would feel that was way below their expectations).

The same year that NBA 2K brought in Spike Lee and did their story/career hybrid mode (that I believe ate up a ton of resources), they gave their consumers not one, but TWO great franchise modes. And some would even argue that gameplay in 2K16 was better than it was this year.

Again, there is no reason Gameplay and Franchise can't both significantly benefit in the same year. This year was the Frostbite port, so I understand that, but it doesn't make things less disappointing for those who are looking for EA to deliver in Franchise.

And then there was sending important parts of the Franchise team over to NBA Live to help out there, and that they'll be able to benefit from each other "down the road." But we don't even know if NBA Live will be a thing in a few years. And even then, it's hard for me to see what could possibly be brought to the table that benefits both games in Franchise Mode.

Bit of a mess right now, it seems.