Madden 22 Franchise Mode: Improvements Are Only a Step in the Right Direction

[ChaseB]

While franchise mode in Madden games had been stuck in a bit of a holding pattern...

Written By: Kevin Scott

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[jrp1918]

Really good write up.

"players will have a good game because they got better rather than them becoming better players because they had a good game"

This echos how I think about franchise mode progression and the problem I've had with the XP system.

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[threattonature]

One thing that unfortunately has not changed within franchise mode is the way that you will periodically be presented with opportunities to upgrade the dev traits of a player, meaning that you can take a player who currently develops at one rate (star, for example) and then get them to develop at a better rate (superstar, for example) so they can then become a better player faster. The way that you achieve this upgrade is by accomplishing some sort of statistical goal in a game, which has always seemed counterintuitive to how improvement actually happens in real life in my opinion.

Exactly how I feel on the issue.* Great write up overall and fair judgment of highlighting the positives while pointing out areas where they fall short.

[malky]

Franchise presentation needs better immersion as well

[griffkhalifa]

Quote: Originally Posted by jrp1918

Really good write up. "players will have a good game because they got better rather than them becoming better players because they had a good game" This echos how I think about franchise mode progression and the problem I've had with the XP system. Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Both ways are "unrealistic" and I don't really think either one is more realistic than the other. I think the way they do it now makes the most sense. And players don't solely have a good game "because they got better." I can take a 60 OVR player and slot him into the starting lineup and feed him the ball and his stats will increase due to XP gains.

If you sit an 80 OVR rookie and he gets no touches, that doesn't mean he isn't still an 80 OVR rookie that won't progress in practice.

At the end of the day it's a video game and it's impossible to simulate real life "progression". The way they do it is fine imo.

As for the actual writeup -- I'm so tired of hearing "it's a step in the right direction." I swear to god I've read that phrase for 20 years straight regarding Madden. It's called incremental improvements. Sports games have short dev cycles compared to regular AAA games that have multiple years of development; this means all new features and improvements are incremental and seem small, but when you skip a year or two, changes feel bigger.

At this point I think Madden (and most sports franchises) should go to a free-to-play model. It blows my mind people pay $60 (or more) per year for the game and then pay additional to upgrade their MUT teams -- only for their teams to be arbitrarily reset 12 months later, rinse and repeat.

Weird consumer psychology.

[Dagan]

Quote: Originally Posted by threattonature

One thing that unfortunately has not changed within franchise mode is the way that you will periodically be presented with opportunities to upgrade the dev traits of a player, meaning that you can take a player who currently develops at one rate (star, for example) and then get them to develop at a better rate (superstar, for example) so they can then become a better player faster. The way that you achieve this upgrade is by accomplishing some sort of statistical goal in a game, which has always seemed counterintuitive to how improvement actually happens in real life in my opinion. Exactly how I feel on the issue.* Great write up overall and fair judgment of highlighting the positives while pointing out areas where they fall short.

Agreed. I would expect such a thing affects more how the player suddenly wants to be a diva, hold out for a contract negotiation, pull an A A Ron, etc. haha. Player ability increases might should be half goal related but more so in the context of this fatigue system they are trying to implement. As in, if a player can do more in expected lesser than scenarios - say you have the worst O line in the league, but you are a RB that's still tearing it up - that warrants leveling up or the gamer version of being a breakout player..?

[NYJin2011tm]

Practice injuries are nice. But I would like to see random length of injuries from it, not just one game.

[oneamongthefence]

This game really needs holdouts. That's the thing that's missing from scenarios. Would rather have seen this than random retirements. It's a better mode but too much of it is offhands and the players still lack personality. They have personality traits but I don't think they amount to anything. I think they should have taken the gameplanning drills and put them before the preseason and let that stand in as the minicamp. Just a small way to earn a bit of xp and it's not something you wouldn't mind doing since it happens once a year rather than every game.

It is a step in the right direction and I can see myself really enjoying franchise this year once the bugs get ironed out.



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