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[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by SageTheInfinite

Werent the shadows fixed on Madden 06 360? If not they looked really good last year too. This years graphics look pretty damn good tho.

I didn't buy a 360 until this year, so you may be right. Did the lighting update after every play in Madden 06?

[SageInfinite]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

I didn't buy a 360 until this year, so you may be right. Did the lighting update after every play in Madden 06?

Yea Im pretty sure it did. The lighting was pretty amazing. This year definatly looks better and more detailed. The shadows seem to be EXACT. I cant wait to play those afternoon games. Makes it a little more interesting and immersive.

[ausar72]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

I didn't buy a 360 until this year, so you may be right. Did the lighting update after every play in Madden 06?

Shadows were in, but they were off. I know FEDEX Field was off for sure, but looking at those early Redskins/Cowboys movies they have it right, finally.

At FEDEx, the home field side is always in the shadows at the start of the game, while the visitor's side is in the sun. By the end of the game (even a 1pm game in the fall), the whole field is in the shadows. Last year they had the sun creating shadows in the endzone, so it looked like the whole field orientation was off. Being a season ticket holder, I noticed it. Not a gamekiller by any stretch, but a little disconcerting.

It's cool that they look like they got it right this year.

[MizzouRah]

I traded in NCAA last night for Madden and from that preview, the game looks really nice. I just hope the player control is better than NCAA is.

[Moostache]

Quote: Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I traded in NCAA last night for Madden and from that preview, the game looks really nice. I just hope the player control is better than NCAA is.

That is going to depend on what you thought was wrong with player control in NCAA. Please note, I am speaking in general terms here and not trying to impunge you for your views on player control.

If you believe that NCAA was "off" because of its increased reliance on physics - for things such as change of direction and recovery speed of players moved out of position - then you will be very disappointed because Madden uses the same engine for those things, in fact it may be slightly more restrictive.

The best way I can describe this is to say that the next-gen games seem to be more sluggish at first; until you get used to this mechanism of having the players behave more realistically on the field. You cannot use the FS to rove the middle of the field and still expect to get back into deep coverage (somethign I have seen countless times in online games past). Of course that is not always true, but as a rule, the players cannot stop on a dime and switch directions at full speed as easily as in current-gen and previous versions of Madden or NCAA. They also do not jump as high, dive as far or float through the air as long (especially frustrating to guys used to controlling DBs and WRs and making them do things that never should have been possible in the first place).

On the other hand if it was more a problem with collision detection or getting manual control of the player when switching defenders or switching to a WR, then you will be pleasantly surprised, as those things work very smoothly in Madden, more so than NCAA. There are still collision detection problems in Madden - and it remains to be seen how much this impacts gameplay in the long term - but the frequency and blatancy of the occurrences seems toned down on Madden versus NCAA.

I have talked with guys who LOVE NCAA and guys who HATE it. Many times the guys who hate it are disappointed that they cannot play the game the same way they used to play Madden or earlier NCAA releases (at least if they are attempting to play straight-up football and not exploit the corner routes on every offensive play or use a 8 man blitz on every defensive snap...). They don't like the restrictive physics and they equate this loss of unrealistic player control from the past to a "lack of player control" in the current versions. This is actually not the case at all, IMO. I have found NCAA (and Madden in the limited time I have played it) to be a much more realistic experience and (clutch the pearls, not trying re-ignite this old debate again) more NFL2K5-like in the way the players move on the field.

It is just one man's opinion, but I like the way the players control in NCAA and I loved the way they controlled on Madden. The collision detection problems are still annoying, but the player control was solid to me in both titles.

[Jistic]

Quote: Originally Posted by Moostache

It is just one man's opinion, but I like the way the players control in NCAA and I loved the way they controlled on Madden. The collision detection problems are still annoying, but the player control was solid to me in both titles.

I love NCAA. But I can still have my MLB come up to the line at the snap, then turn around and get back to the endzone on hail mary plays. Better than it used to be, but it's still there.

[MizzouRah]

Quote: Originally Posted by Moostache

That is going to depend on what you thought was wrong with player control in NCAA. Please note, I am speaking in general terms here and not trying to impunge you for your views on player control. If you believe that NCAA was "off" because of its increased reliance on physics - for things such as change of direction and recovery speed of players moved out of position - then you will be very disappointed because Madden uses the same engine for those things, in fact it may be slightly more restrictive. The best way I can describe this is to say that the next-gen games seem to be more sluggish at first; until you get used to this mechanism of having the players behave more realistically on the field. You cannot use the FS to rove the middle of the field and still expect to get back into deep coverage (somethign I have seen countless times in online games past). Of course that is not always true, but as a rule, the players cannot stop on a dime and switch directions at full speed as easily as in current-gen and previous versions of Madden or NCAA. They also do not jump as high, dive as far or float through the air as long (especially frustrating to guys used to controlling DBs and WRs and making them do things that never should have been possible in the first place). On the other hand if it was more a problem with collision detection or getting manual control of the player when switching defenders or switching to a WR, then you will be pleasantly surprised, as those things work very smoothly in Madden, more so than NCAA. There are still collision detection problems in Madden - and it remains to be seen how much this impacts gameplay in the long term - but the frequency and blatancy of the occurrences seems toned down on Madden versus NCAA. I have talked with guys who LOVE NCAA and guys who HATE it. Many times the guys who hate it are disappointed that they cannot play the game the same way they used to play Madden or earlier NCAA releases (at least if they are attempting to play straight-up football and not exploit the corner routes on every offensive play or use a 8 man blitz on every defensive snap...). They don't like the restrictive physics and they equate this loss of unrealistic player control from the past to a "lack of player control" in the current versions. This is actually not the case at all, IMO. I have found NCAA (and Madden in the limited time I have played it) to be a much more realistic experience and (clutch the pearls, not trying re-ignite this old debate again) more NFL2K5-like in the way the players move on the field. It is just one man's opinion, but I like the way the players control in NCAA and I loved the way they controlled on Madden. The collision detection problems are still annoying, but the player control was solid to me in both titles.

I guess my issues had more to do with the animations that start their routines (like the RB fake handing off when running) at odd times. I would start a good run to the outside, and then a defender would come along and at times my player would go into some animation that would make me lose yards. It's hard to explain, but getting my player to do what I wanted him to do, took too much effort.. imho of course. The game is beautiful and still was fun to play, but I don't have enough time to play two football games and NCAA just doesn't feel right to me gameplay wise. (maybe 25% of it doesn't)

Who knows with Madden, but player movement looks really good from the videos I've seen, which doesn't amount to much usually.

I'm hoping with a full development cycle, Madden will really make its mark this year.

[sroz39]

Quote: Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I guess my issues had more to do with the animations that start their routines (like the RB fake handing off when running) at odd times. I would start a good run to the outside, and then a defender would come along and at times my player would go into some animation that would make me lose yards. It's hard to explain, but getting my player to do what I wanted him to do, took too much effort.. imho of course. The game is beautiful and still was fun to play, but I don't have enough time to play two football games and NCAA just doesn't feel right to me gameplay wise. (maybe 25% of it doesn't) Who knows with Madden, but player movement looks really good from the videos I've seen, which doesn't amount to much usually. I'm hoping with a full development cycle, Madden will really make its mark this year.

I hear what you're saying here. I posted about one time where in the 360 NCAA, I ran a HB Dive(or Slam - irrelevant) to the right, and I ran the RB for about 3 yards, but animations (broken tackles mainly) took me another 8 or 9 more. The animations are just slightly too long.

Having said that, the game seems to have made major leaps and bounds improvements over Madden 06 on the 360, which isn't saying much, other than that the devs definitely were hard at work making lemonade out of that lemon.

One thing does bother me though. When someone mentions that they are probably gonna pick up the current gen game instead, why does someone inevitably become defensive about the next gen game and make some smart @$$ comment? Personally, I think I'll enjoy the current gen game more for one more year, simply because though the NG game looks good, it's not quite there yet. Again, I say this based on videos, not actual gameplay, and my best guesstimates after playing NCAA and Madden 360. Does this make me stupid? Or just able to look past the stunningly good looks this game has?