Q&A With Simon Sherr - Animation Director, MADDEN

[kevster2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Anim8or

Hello all, with the success of Ian's Q&A I thought I would kick off a gameplay animation thread so I don't need to filter through his thread to find animation questions. Small twist, I have some questions for you. 1. Would you prefer totally uncompressed animation in replay that shows the the last 8 seconds of the play (like APF) - or have us leave it as is (unlimited replay buffer, but the longer the replay the less the animation quality because we must compress it). 2. Would you like a menu option that would allow "uncompressed replays" and "Full Replay"? Options are always a good idea. -compressed replay is the reasons our motion looks "Robotic" in replay 2. Would you like to see a "realism" and an "arcade" mode of play. Realism mode would give you realistic acceleration and deceleration, slips and falls if you cut before decelerating, more realisitc deceleration for jukes and spins, more realistic acceleration out of catches, realistic turn rates for run and sprint, the need to "setup" before doing jukes and spins, more user-created injuries, greatly reduced "big hit" tackles replaced with more wrap-up, lower success for diving tackles. As everyone else has already stated YES! REALISM!!!! 3. Is it ok (or even good) to have lots more slipping in the snow and rain - like the above if you don't slow down before planting you slip, if you turn too hard while sprinting you slip etc.. This would be awesome. 4. What other weather specific features would you want to see. Probably just the effects of guy's falling,tackling or diving in the snow and rain,seeing the skid effect in the snow and water splashing in the rain. That's it for me for right now, feel free to answer these and post any questions or requests, I'll try to get online as often as I can to respond.

Thank you for your time and coming onto the forums to help better the game.

[Anim8or]

I have wanted to add a realism mode to our games for a while, I think it will showcase the animation engine in a very good way, because we CAN do realistic acceleration and deceleration, we CAN do gathering, we CAN do realistic turn rates and realistic cuts, realistic slips and stumbles, realistic transition, but there is a fear that the game will fail to meet response requirements (which is 100% true for the casual gamers). I would like to try this and see if we can get it working. No promises (obviously, since i just had this idea for a mode of play option last night) but I am going to work with Ian and see what we can do.

I guess the only question I have to answer really was Euphoria.

While Euphoria is quite impressive for things like car collisions and force pushes through space ships, the realism just isn't there yet for me on the football field. I also am fairly confident we would take large framerate hits with 22 players running it (and 60fps is non-negotiable with management, or fans). The new physics informed tackling system is a foundation we have LOTS of plans for. I have only seen massive diving tackles from Natural Motion and have not seen the end of those hits after they hit the floor (I played linebacker, and the first thing I was taught was to keep your feet on the ground and face in his numbers, diving tackles is a last resort). I have many more tricks up my sleeves for the new tackling engine though and can't wait to move on to the next steps.

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way ignoring the technology or saying it isn't breakthrough, I think it's very cool, I just haven't seen it hands-on at a level ready for 22 player football. we will be keeping an eye on them for sure.

[stmark]

i wonder if this was the secret project ian and his guys were working on and couldbt talk about

[bigeastbumrush]

Quote: Originally Posted by Anim8or

Hello all, with the success of Ian's Q&A I thought I would kick off a gameplay animation thread so I don't need to filter through his thread to find animation questions. Small twist, I have some questions for you. 1. Would you prefer totally uncompressed animation in replay that shows the the last 8 seconds of the play (like APF) - or have us leave it as is (unlimited replay buffer, but the longer the replay the less the animation quality because we must compress it). 2. Would you like a menu option that would allow "uncompressed replays" and "Full Replay"? -compressed replay is the reasons our motion looks "Robotic" in replay 2. Would you like to see a "realism" and an "arcade" mode of play. Realism mode would give you realistic acceleration and deceleration, slips and falls if you cut before decelerating, more realisitc deceleration for jukes and spins, more realistic acceleration out of catches, realistic turn rates for run and sprint, the need to "setup" before doing jukes and spins, more user-created injuries, greatly reduced "big hit" tackles replaced with more wrap-up, lower success for diving tackles. 3. Is it ok (or even good) to have lots more slipping in the snow and rain - like the above if you don't slow down before planting you slip, if you turn too hard while sprinting you slip etc.. 4. What other weather specific features would you want to see. That's it for me for right now, feel free to answer these and post any questions or requests, I'll try to get online as often as I can to respond.

1. 8 seconds uncompressed. Most players don't like watching continuous replays to begin with. That free space could be used for more important needs.

2. REALISM!! Arcade mode was for NFL Blitz and the like.

3. Not too much slipping. I think the higher rated players should slip less than lower rated players.

4. I'd like to see:
-The QB slipping in his dropback animation in bad weather conditions (see APF 2K8)
-DBs in Bump and Run coverage either slipping or getting thrown to the ground in poor weather
-More tipped passes in poor weather
-Defenders slipping off of big backs when trying to tackle in poor weather
EDIT:
-High snaps going over the punter's head

[cdon2k]

So when you say, "I am not making any promises", is this a feature that could get in 09 or are we strictly talking 2010 here? Please clarify.

Thanks,
Cdon

[Russell_SCEA]

Quote:

I have wanted to add a realism mode to our games for a while, I think it will showcase the animation engine in a very good way, because we CAN do realistic acceleration and deceleration, we CAN do gathering, we CAN do realistic turn rates and realistic cuts, realistic slips and stumbles, realistic transition, but there is a fear that the game will fail to meet response requirements (which is 100% true for the casual gamers). I would like to try this and see if we can get it working. No promises (obviously, since i just had this idea for a mode of play option last night) but I am going to work with Ian and see what we can do.

Is there a happy medium?

[Da Rebirth]

Realism is always a good thing, make it optional if you must...

Compressed replays is fine

Weather should be a factor, wind (throws as well as kicks), rain/snow, field degradation, etc...

Geographic effects could be included. Opponents playing in Denver should fatigue (maybe a slight decreases in other attributes) a little faster while the Broncos (used to the effects of high altitude) don't suffer the same "penalty". Teams visiting in the south in the non-winter months could suffer a similiar penalty, while the "Home" team doesn't. Not to get all "RPGish", but maybe choosing a light colored uniform vs. wearing a dark one could play a factor. The same for teams visiting locations notorious for inclement weather in the winter. Visiting places like Foxborough or "The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field" could affect both teams equally as far as weather, but perhaps a 1 pt AWR decrease for the visiting team (thinking about how unpleasant it is to play in cold weather) to really make it a home field advantage.

Not really a weather related issue, but maybe a tweaked system similiar to the NCAA "Composure" feature for NFL Franchises that have especially loud crowds (or have been accused of piping in crowd noise) could be used to affect gameplay. Visiting D-Linemen,especially those with lower awareness ratings, could be more susceptible to offsides penalities. Maybe the home team could get a temporary boost for the 1st half (to reflect the visiting team geting used to it/making adjustments). I wouldn't want to see veteran WR's looking back at their QB after every play (especially since it got old quickly in NCAA), but I'm sure that you guys could figure out a way to make it work. Include dynamic crowds so that sorry teams won't have the fan support to generate a homefield advantage that actually impacts the game. Not sure if the NFL would allow the teams to be ranked with "Prestige", but this could play a factor in what constitutes fan support.

True "Homefield Advantage" types of effects could be toggled on to add realism to the "offline/franchise mode" players and let the online/tourney crowd have their generic fields.

Allow there to be a visible difference between playing on grass or turf.

Just my brainstormed 2 cents...

[cdon2k]

Quote: Originally Posted by russell05

Is there a happy medium?

Please don't go for a happy medium, that is what EA has been attempting to do (which is the reason we are where we are), and what we have now (arcady gameplay) while that "other company" went in a different direction and as a result, we are still talking about that "other game". The product we are playing now is a result of an attempt to appeal to the masses and it has somewhat backfired as what we now have does not resemble football. That is what EA is here to fix. Lets help them do it.

Cdon