Official OS letter to EA

[TeeDogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by TeeDogg

I'll admit when it was first mentioned I figured it would take an EA fan site to make a diffrence. But hey its worth a shot. maybe it will piggy back on the publicity of the live letter and get some attention, maybe more sites will join in. This could be our chance (the hardcore community) to be heard and addressed. we could possibly use this thread for forum input on the letter, then a well respected (neutral) Mod could be selected to write the letter. Nothing abrasisve or insulting, just a letter that shows our distaste with the development priorities surounding madden. and some things we feel should be in the game and done well at this stage in technology and gaming. more so a list of things we feel should be a given , not on a wishlist. I know, I know, its along shot, and maddens sales arent suffering so they realy have no reason to listen, but something tells me this may get some attenion and possibly results so what do you guys think? I'll start: 1.Complex tackling system, not just gang tackling, but give it gameplay implications. minimize gains, bringing down the big guys, coraling elusive backs, i cant emphisize how varied and on the fly this needs to be 2. wrap tackles should be the norm 3. animations that chain off each other and are not pre determented after initial contact. 4.find out how some are able to cram SOOOOOO many animations into sports titles. 5. player interaction and animations that are more detailed and varried than games we have seen before (this is hard to put into words here without going into alot of detail) 6. this goes without saying but solid A.I. and minimum glitches (we dont expect perfection) 7. next gen presentation ( comentary, shows, life like fluid afterplay interaction and animations, use ESPN) wow us. its next gen!!! 8. give us the alt Uni's, charge us for cool stuff or that rare alternate uni. but most should be there 9. next gen camera work and options. 10. plays that happen on the fly that are so impressive we cant believe werent scripted 11.work on QB drops and Qb roll out, forming a pocket and having to use it. 12. ability to plow ahead for extra yds, fight through weak wrap tackles. 12. give your programers the time and resources to showcase their talents.

Thanks for listening EA. even though this never turned into an official letter, you have obviously decided to address concerns from sites like this one. the interviews and info starting to surface about your 08 titles seems to be the most sincere, meat and potatoes info i have heard from you guys in years.

Again thanks for the direction you are attempting to take your FB titles (back to the hardcore where it should be)

[dbshady]

Quote: Originally Posted by TeeDogg

I'll admit when it was first mentioned I figured it would take an EA fan site to make a diffrence. But hey its worth a shot. maybe it will piggy back on the publicity of the live letter and get some attention, maybe more sites will join in. This could be our chance (the hardcore community) to be heard and addressed. we could possibly use this thread for forum input on the letter, then a well respected (neutral) Mod could be selected to write the letter. Nothing abrasisve or insulting, just a letter that shows our distaste with the development priorities surounding madden. and some things we feel should be in the game and done well at this stage in technology and gaming. more so a list of things we feel should be a given , not on a wishlist. I know, I know, its along shot, and maddens sales arent suffering so they realy have no reason to listen, but something tells me this may get some attenion and possibly results so what do you guys think? I'll start: 1.Complex tackling system, not just gang tackling, but give it gameplay implications. minimize gains, bringing down the big guys, coraling elusive backs, i cant emphisize how varied and on the fly this needs to be 2. wrap tackles should be the norm 3. animations that chain off each other and are not pre determented after initial contact. 4.find out how some are able to cram SOOOOOO many animations into sports titles. 5. player interaction and animations that are more detailed and varried than games we have seen before (this is hard to put into words here without going into alot of detail) 6. this goes without saying but solid A.I. and minimum glitches (we dont expect perfection) 7. next gen presentation ( comentary, shows, life like fluid afterplay interaction and animations, use ESPN) wow us. its next gen!!! 8. give us the alt Uni's, charge us for cool stuff or that rare alternate uni. but most should be there 9. next gen camera work and options. 10. plays that happen on the fly that are so impressive we cant believe werent scripted 11.work on QB drops and Qb roll out, forming a pocket and having to use it. 12. ability to plow ahead for extra yds, fight through weak wrap tackles. 12. give your programers the time and resources to showcase their talents.

I think your missing some stuff.

1.) Where is the ability to edit players! Info, Attributes and Equipment.

2.) No IR on roster updates or at least let us release them when they get released.

3.) Better create a player. I dont mind doing drills, but let me at least edit the rankings when im done if i dont like them, not start all over. (edit players could fix this problem)

4.) Can we get a Fantasy Draft!!! please. That was the best and still is the funniest thing to do on Madden, making a whole team from scratch. That would be awsome.

5.) What happend to John Madden and Al Micheals! The Radio annoucer isnt bad, but come on, id rather have John and Mike then a Radio annoucer, if they are going to use the memory in the game for someone to talk, let it be madden, not a random voice. I really dont even care if its old takes.

6.) Better superstar mode camara angles! More camara angles in general! Supermode was pretty cool last year, if you could see what you were actually doing some plays. But most of the time all i could see was my big hunchback filling up the whole screen as i run around and make myself dizzy. Let us at least play on the default camara! Dont let us switch players, that would be the best way. To be honest, all of those position camara views sucked. Give us the option to play with the default camara.

7.) add a practice squad. Especially in Franchise mode, give us 7 more roster spots on the Practice Squad that we can bring up and down players. That would be awsome to develope players and rookies.

8.) give us new presentation. What happend to the pre-shows, the sports illustrated or ESPN magizines. After the draft they paper can talk about our picks. Where is all that stuff. Tony Bruno radio DJ, he was pretty cool when he would talk about the NFL as you messed with your team on the menu screen.

9.) Better crowd noise, i want to hear cheers, not silence, all of sudden a team makes a big play and the crowd cheers for 5 seconds and then silence. NCAA does a better job at this. I wanna hear boo's when a home team gives up a key 3 and 9 play. I want to feel the game.

Honestly, the only things i really want and need in this game to be totally satisfied is edit player (i need that!) equipment, attributes, info (#). I want a fantasy draft for franchise mode. And i want the default camara angle for Superstar mode. THATS IT! Edit player, Fantasy draft, Camara Angles. 3 things.

Everything else would be great, new animations, features, whatever. But if they do anything, i hope they do at least those 3 things! Ill be ok. If they dont i will be disapointed once agian.

There is plenty more in my "This is what we need..." thread. They better get it right this year.

[dbshady]

This is what we need!

---

Ok, ive been quiet about this game for a while, NCAA 07 was the first game i got when i bought my Xbox 360 and i didnt think it was that bad... but this is what i want to see! ***(and this also kind of goes for Madden also)***

NEW RIVALRY SYSTEM - I understand what teams are rivals. Theres no need for a Rival logo next to the game, if when you play the actual game... Its no different then a regular season game. Lets add new cut scene's of players jawing at one another, pushing shoving, after wistle, frustration, make it feel more than just an average game, only found in a rivalry game. It means more than just a game, make us see that.

WR IQ SYSTEM - I need better WR play. When i need 7 yards, and i make my WR run a cutback, and he hits the 7th yard, i dont want him running up 5 yards to catch it ball and give me a gain of 2. This happens all the time. I want to see a WR hit a Mark, and plop down. Put your hands if your open, if the play breaks down, then the WR can add lib like they do in NCAA 07. But i needa WR to hit his mark and stay there. (they did a better job of this in current gen versions). Sometimes, i think madden and ncaa have too much movement to a football game...everyone seems to feel the need to move and never stop running, from the blocking to the WR to the CB, and thats not really football. I want to see people drop down, have a SS slowly creep over the top, not sprint over there.

RB EQ SYSTEM - First off, better running animations. Sometimes, players running just seems werid and choppy. I want to see more movement from the RB. Get skinny, real skinny, go to a lower base, protect coming out the whole and run threw, Change directions, shift, hop step, duck the shoulder, go under, over the top, arch his body away from an arm tackle.....and yes, get in trouble (BUT, not get caught behind a lineman and just run in place!!!!). Pound in the back of a blocker, slip, fight threw, get mualled by a group of lineman.... but dont just run in place. HOOK ON A BLOCKER - Grab a Lineman and follow him. Control the RB and the Blocker in front of him. (not lead blocker control, link the players together, move right, they both move right) RB in football do this all the time, they will often grab onto the back of a blockers jersey and creep behind him. Once you find a block, the RB will unlock. And this goes for all runners with the ball (even QB's.. IE: Vince Young), just natural fluid running.... SPIN, DIVE, JUKE, STIFF ARM are great... but i want to see this stuff done with just the joystick (LS). Pressure sensitive running, depending on position of the joystick and movement (sort of like ISO-Motion in NBA 2K series... i shouldn't have to press a button to protect the ball, unless i feel i really have too and my RB isn't doing it for me). So you and you RB can make mistakes! This is real running, uncertianty, breakdowns, not just sprint and sprint harder. There are more than 2 speeds when running the football.

Better blocking, make a whole or at least try too. I want to see something that maybe looked like a whole every play. It gets filled fast, its small, its big, whatever, but we should notice it, in the place it's supposed to be, almost every play!

BETTER ANIMATION - Not as monkey like or hunchback. Too big of shoulders, too skinny of legs. I want to see more filled bodys. (sort of like the first Madden on PS2, the big phat bodys, just not as fat). The fields are great and the crowd is fine, i mean, the cut scenes could be better with the crowd, but as for when your playing the game, it doesnt matter, we shouldn't be able to see all 30,000 people in the stands, it should be fuzzy to us, as long as the animation on the field is sharper. Better, way better lighting, some spots are too dark and some spots are too light... on the same exact field. Its a great tool, but sometimes is too drastic.

EASY MENU SCREEN - Someone also said this on here i think. But It seems like im pressing a lot of buttons to see who the starting QB is for the Bears. Its hard to move around and go back.

IN GAME HELP SCREEN (Help Ticker) - Great.. Just HELP me turn it off.

PRE PLAY MOVEMENT - Better movement. I dont want them thinking im in man coverage the whole game, less computer movement, sometimes the computer puts my players out of position, not me. Better line up too, When there is a slot WR, and the CPU puts my outside linebacker over there (when im in zone, and hes covering the flat) the CPU just kinda sets him out there somewhere, and it looks almost like hes doubling up on the outside WR. Line up with the slot, if were showing man. i want to see then play the slot, play the man inside, outside, cat, back, up, whatever, just better set up by the CPU.

Audibles are too fast. I want to see a WR jog to the other side, take time to set in position, Different signals by the QB for each audible, indecision by players, not sure where they line up, but end up going in the right spot, some lineman looks back at QB (Colts and Peyton Manning to do it all the time). just different and slower motions before the snap. (unless playcock is running out, but hey, i wouldnt mind if they didnt not notice sometimes either, thats football).

Same with defense, better movement before the snap and with audibles. CB and saftey slowly shift, change position, creep up creep back, more fake blitz, come up and go back (sometimes, go back, then really come) from corners, safteys, and especially linebackers. players telling players to move over, agian, maybe some indecision and re-set.

BETTER THROW ANIMATIONS - Some are just awful, when i look right, and throw back left, it looks like im throwing straight to my coach and the football comes out of the side of my body. Better animation, the QB should have his front foot faced where the ball is going to go. And step up and into it, throw off the back foot, throw side arm, movement in the pocket.

I have a feeling these football games could be amazing if they just slow the pace down and concentrate on movement and animations. There should be 5 or more speeds a player should move, walk, creep, jog, run, sprint, ect. Slow the pace of Sprint all game down and continue focusing on graphics and animation, and this will look like a much more fluid football game. Focus on communication with the players, tackling, arm tackles, body movments, catching movements, running styles, the more animations the more natural this game will look. Slow the game down and make these small details noticeable and we can get closer to a great football game.