Gridiron Notes June 21 QB Throwing Styles

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

I think it is safe to say over the years that the competitive and MUT crowds get a lot more resources in their areas of the game than the offline gamer does.

I don't think it's safe to say this. In fact, I think this is quite false.

I think the most outspoken Franchise mode critics - typically those who have been in the Madden community a very long time - ignore and disregard a ton of good additions and changes the mode has seen over the years because those changes aren't specifically the things they want.

In addition, this crowd also conveniently ignore additions and changes to core gameplay and/or changes which otherwise span all modes. These changes benefit everyone and should be considered as beneficial for Franchise mode as well.

I'm disappointed about the repeated absence of the details of running an NFL team as well - I've been banging the gavel for compensatory draft picks for about four years now - but what we have now is certainly the most easily playable and enjoyable version of a Madden franchise mode that has ever existed. And before you all jump me on this - no, franchise mode in Madden 12 and earlier wasn't actually as good as you remember.

Quote:

The second [MUT and competitive] users cry about anything EA is on it.

Unlike Franchise mode in M19 and earlier, MUT is and always has been a live service game mode. Many changes to live services can be deployed without a title update. It's not a matter of Tiburon caring about franchise more or less, the way MUT is built simply allows Tiburon to push out changes to users faster, without the support of engineers, and without requiring first-party approvals.

We should see Franchise get more in-season support over the next few years - starting this year - given that Tiburon has invested in making the mode a live service.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

I don't think it's safe to say this. In fact, I think this is quite false. I think the most outspoken Franchise mode critics - typically those who have been in the Madden community a very long time - ignore and disregard a ton of good additions and changes the mode has seen over the years because those changes aren't specifically the things they want. In addition, this crowd also conveniently ignore additions and changes to core gameplay and/or changes which otherwise span all modes. These changes benefit everyone and should be considered as beneficial for Franchise mode as well. I'm disappointed about the repeated absence of the details of running an NFL team as well - I've been banging the gavel for compensatory draft picks for about four years now - but what we have now is certainly the most easily playable and enjoyable version of a Madden franchise mode that has ever existed. And before you all jump me on this - no, franchise mode in Madden 12 and earlier wasn't actually as good as you remember. Unlike Franchise mode in M19 and earlier, MUT is and always has been a live service game mode. Many changes to live services can be deployed without a title update. It's not a matter of Tiburon caring about franchise more or less, the way MUT is built simply allows Tiburon to push out changes to users faster, without the support of engineers, and without requiring first-party approvals. We should see Franchise get more in-season support over the next few years - starting this year - given that Tiburon has invested in making the mode a live service.

Meh, Madden 2005 Franchise mode was special. Tony Bruno show, team newspapers with articles, actual training camp, etc. I’d say Madden is just getting there today.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by ForUntoOblivionSoar∞

Meh, Madden 2005 Franchise mode was special. Tony Bruno show, team newspapers with articles, actual training camp, etc. I’d say Madden is just getting there today.

Meh, to each their own.

Yes, it was deeper with setting hot dog prices and parking prices, but Tony Bruno was nauseating for me.

The only thing I did button skip over were the mini training drill.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

I am absolutely NOT a fan of every starting qb except Foles and Rodgers having the same release speed. I’m sorry but that simply isn’t true, and as a 49er fan it negates one of the main reasons I like Jimmy Garoppolo - the fact that less than a handful of qbs have a faster release.

Maybe ten to fifteen qbs in the NFL have that release speed that makes commentators start talking about it. 30 at the same speed is just not cool IMHO.

However, if roster editing can change this (or mods), I can deal.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Meh, to each their own. Yes, it was deeper with setting hot dog prices and parking prices, but Tony Bruno was nauseating for me. The only thing I did button skip over were the mini training drill.

Well, to be honest that’s more or less a preference, but even if you hated Bruno’s voice, or the training drills, or even hot dog prices, or the fact that you could customize your uniform if you relocated, you can’t deny that it was oozing with depth.

[mtmetcalfe]

Quote: Originally Posted by ForUntoOblivionSoar∞

I am absolutely NOT a fan of every starting qb except Foles and Rodgers having the same release speed. I’m sorry but that simply isn’t true, and as a 49er fan it negates one of the main reasons I like Jimmy Garoppolo - the fact that less than a handful of qbs have a faster release. Maybe ten to fifteen qbs in the NFL have that release speed that makes commentators start talking about it. 30 at the same speed is just not cool IMHO. However, if roster editing can change this (or mods), I can deal.

Isn’t Madden 20 only launching with a handful of signature animations? I believe they said they would be added more as the season went on. Maybe there will be more quarterbacks that will get the Nick Foles treatment? Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by ForUntoOblivionSoar∞

Meh, Madden 2005 Franchise mode was special. Tony Bruno show, team newspapers with articles, actual training camp, etc. I’d say Madden is just getting there today.

I disagree strongly with "special".

Speaking to the presentation points: Tony Bruno was repetitive and highly limited in the number of things he could talk about. I don't miss him literally at all. The newspapers are functionally no better or worse than the social media feed which has existed since Madden 13, and no one from my generation actually reads a physical newspaper so the value of the graphical presentation is limited at best, completely lost at worst.

More importantly, I'm not wistful for the presentation bells and whistles from those games because the actual gameplay of the old franchise modes wasn't very good; in fact I don't think they hold up at all. Progression and regression were obtuse and opaque nonsense; the user couldn't reliably influence how the players on his team developed; the CPU draft AI had only the vaguest idea of how to identify young players at positions of need and would routinely double down and triple down on positions of strength instead; and CPU roster management AI hadn't a clue as to whether it ran a 4-3 or 3-4 base defense (among other deficiencies). All of these actual gameplay shortcomings are handled much better in any current-gen Madden game, and also many Gen-3 Madden games as well. I personally never got an enjoyable single-player experience in a PS2-era Madden game unless I played on the PC with the aid of multiple mods and third-party tools.

Heck, just looking at a functioning part from the old games, Mini-Camp: the Weekly Training feature in the new games offers drills which are more authentic to real football, is more useful to a user because it's drilling high-level football concepts such as how to read various coverages and understanding various real-life route combinations (as opposed to dodging tennis balls), and it offers a greater degree of control over player development since it rewards multiple players with progression XP (as opposed to just one player per mini-camp drill).

Finally, I shouldn't forget to mention that the newer franchise modes are also playable online, which lets me easily continue to play Madden with my friends and family who live on the other side of the country.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by ForUntoOblivionSoar∞

Well, to be honest that’s more or less a preference, but even if you hated Bruno’s voice, or the training drills, or even hot dog prices, or the fact that you could customize your uniform if you relocated, you can’t deny that it was oozing with depth.

I had a typo, the mini combine drills(hurdles, sprints, etc...) were cute, that was about the only thing I didn't skip over, depth or not.