Shopmaster Interview with Ben Haumiller Part 2

[kennypowers88]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

Can you give me an example of this? I'm aware of them focusing on things that arent of interest to me or the sim community but not them wasting development time.

If I had time, I'd be interested in going back through previous releases to get a good list together. But, let's start with any feature that was implemented and quickly scrapped/replaced. True step, Total control passing, etc. Then, you could argue any feature that was poorly implemented or never expanded on was a waste of time when you consider the opportunity cost. Scouting, playbook gameplans, etc. I'd also considering any additions, such as a draft board, to these terrible features a waste of time. And none of this even covers the more broad concepts like losing developers to NBA Live, or more miscellaneous examples like spending time after EA play to dumb down man coverage in Madden 18. And none of this factors in creative differences, because I think adding to CFM was a mistake, as was creating Longshot before the other features were of decent quality. Worst of all, this only goes back 5 or so years...

From where I sit, it seems like Madden is always trying to surpass other video games, but it doesn't realize that it hasn't even caught up yet. I realize that no business is perfect, and even the best waste time, but Madden seems to have made a habit out of it. I think the disparity between it and other games helps reinforce this idea, because surely these developers have talent or they wouldn't have gotten to where they are.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Operation Sports mobile app

[Junior Moe]

I like Ben. I don't personally care about the suits, or company or whatever else. I just judge the end product in areas I care about against other games in the same space. That's it. I don't follow nor care about the dev cycle of any other game I purchase. That being said, time will tell. I like the improvements franchise has seen so far. Ben mentioning immersion as much as he did is a plus. The first step to getting out of a hole is to stop digging. If nothing else I feel they have done that with franchise by adding things the community requested.

Id really like to have the option to see all the draft picks (not their ratings or anything). If I have the 20th pick, I want to see 1 through 19. At the very least the first round should be shown. This adds immersion. Another small thing that adds up to something big for me is stuff like having the players in their practice equipment (like training camp during the PS2 days) during weekly training. I love stuff like that.

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

Its not fun vs. authenticity imo. Its care or dont care. When adding a feature will the majority of gamers (sim or casual) care about the feature they are adding? Is this feature going to motivate past purchasers to buy the game and motivate people who dont buy Madden to buy the game. Take Longshot. I'm not privy to Madden's numbers but I've talked to EA's devs and story modes are pretty popular. EA's data shows that. The Journey on FIFA was a success. 2k's story mode is really popular for its NBA title. Longshot didnt make a single person at OS excited about that game but it was directed at them. It was directed at the person who plays Madden casually or not at all in an attempt to give them another entry point to the game. I have to give Madden 19 some credit so far though. They have added a few things and gone in a realistic direction from what ive seen. The reality is no one but hardcore sim players care about things like draft class edits in CFMs and they made that a focal point of their CFM improvements. RPM is an animation system that they could of gone in a completely goofy and unrealistic direction but it APPEARS that they direction they took it in a direction that this community will like. In the end, its just a corporation being a corporation. Some choose to go in a more sim direction for sales (NBA 2k and some aspects of the Show)...some dont.

The bold is generally fair to say BUT with Madden, EA is constantly marketing and touting implementation of authenticity, as well as at times claiming it's priority. So when you add in that fact which clearly shows they see merit in authenticity when it suits them, with the fact that other games are delivering that consistently, using "fun" first as a reasoning for lacking authenticity is bizarre and comes across as disingenuous.

[jpdavis82]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheBleedingRed21

Smace. You’re not reading what I’m writing. 1st year in FRANCHISE. Do you think the dude is making it up when he literally says it in the interview? Lol

Rex was over gameplay from Madden 13-19, ok now here’s the timeline for CFM, I’m pretty sure this was the way it was anyway.

Madden 13- Looman
Madden 25-Kolbe and Looman
Madden 15- Kolbe and Looman
Madden 16-Kolbe and John White
Madden 17- Kolbe and John White
Madden 18- John White
Madden 19-Ben and John White


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Toupal]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

Rex was over gameplay from Madden 13-19, ok now here’s the timeline for CFM, I’m pretty sure this was the way it was anyway. Madden 13- Looman Madden 25-Kolbe and Looman Madden 15- Kolbe and Looman Madden 16-Kolbe and John White Madden 17- Kolbe and John White Madden 18- John White Madden 19-Ben and John White Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In all fairness John White was assigned to NBA Live durring Madden 18.

I think it is best to just leave that year blank to reflect the amount of effort that was put into Franchise that year.

[Toupal]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheBleedingRed21

The biggest thing I’ll take from this: We have the right guy finally leading franchise. Ben is a class act and his passion is something that was sorely needed. This is his first year with franchise so I’m excited to see what he brings. His work speaks for itself and I think as long as he is there, we will see real improvment.

That's what I took out of the video.

You can tell he is passionate about his work, and more importantly a football fan that seems to be aware of what the community wants, and what the game lacks.

I first became a fan on his when I found out he was one of the guys that pushed for custom draft classes, and his transparency on the implementation of Assistant Coaches.

I look forward to playing Madden 19, and can't wait to see what he brings us in Madden 20 (hopefully coaching carousel, easier 32 team control, and historical stat tracking from year to year)

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by PackBucks

The contract issue removes free agency. Very few players even hit FA. You have to build your team like you are Ted Thompson former GM of the Packers. Players sign for peanuts. I don't understand how it would be any difficult at all to increase the % that players sign for. A higher % will force the cpu to let players hit FA. I feel that most devs or even indie devs could fix the contract issue in a day. Not expecting it to be perfect but just increase the amount players sign for.

I think this is a legit concern for long-term franchise play, and they kind of have it wrong on multiple levels.

The top guys don't ask for top money. I can sign Mack in my franchise for a shade over $10M/yr.

The middle guys don't ask for enough money. 80-85 OVR starters that are getting about half what they command IRL.

The backups ask for too much, but not so much that it offsets the savings on the middle and top-tier guys.

All this makes it far too easy to keep everyone you want to keep and to build a deep roster with extended deals for stars and solid depth.

I don't think the sky is falling with franchise mode, but I do think this contract demands thing is a real thing that impacts team building in a significant way.

I'd think the could tweak the amounts desired without a major overhaul.

If they made the top guys' demands higher, doubled the "solid starters," and decreased the backup types', that'd do it.

[stinkubus]

Good post. The whole thing also gets exacerbated by the fact that for many positions you can develop players in a manner which turns them into studs on the field but keeps their OVR and salary lower.

Since anyone who wouldn't want to mess with the increased difficulty this would present can simply turn the cap off when they start their franchise it wouldn't be harmful to casual players, either.

Another potential solution would be to allow commissioners to set a custom salary cap. The problem of deciding just how much a player should ask for is a non-trivial one because their are issues regardless of whether you use OVR or on the field production.

You can't just say "have them ask for what they are getting now" because franchises can go on for decades and no one knows what the cap or average salaries will look like beyond the current CBA.