Full game w/ EA Designers (Colts vs. Vikings)

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by adembroski

* What was that receiver doing on the out-route?!?!?

User error.

Again, I'll blame it on my worn-to-the-plastic left stick on my 360 controller though.

[JagerMichael]

What are your 5 favorite things about the game or the Good?

1. Post play animation, opposite teams helping eachother up. Nice little detail.

2. Tackling was great. I saw arm tackles, dragging down tackles, ball carriers fighting the tackles and even ball carriers spinning the tackler 360 degrees. Good stuff.

3. Momentum looked great all around.

4. Deke moves are a nice addition.

5. The receiver camera is really nice. No more guessing where your guys are.

6. Some of the QB animations are nice. There was a pass by Manning where he had a defender in his face and he kind of pulled up his follow through.

7. The announcing was pretty accurate throughout the game. I only noticed a few mistakes. Collinsworth rocks.

8. Kickoff distance seems to be fixed.

9. Pop out stats are a good thing.

10. The diving TD catch was really nice. I loved how he got his knee down.

11. T-Jack being off on some of his harder/distance throws was good to see. Sometimes it felt like you could play with a guy like that and still play well.

12. I liked the block that the punt returner through on one of the gunners.

13. I didn't see any real crazy DB or LB play which is key.

14. Dug seeing the sideline tip toe on the Colts second TD pass.

15. Even though the pre, half and post shows are lacking...Madden is far, far, far better than Faulk.

Needs improvement or the Bad?

1. The commentary is so dry from Hammond. I know this isn't an easy thing to do, but if it means choosing someone that is willing to spend hours and hours in the sound booth...please do it.

2. Defensive line and offensive line play is still off. I see some good stuff, but I also see a lot of bad. Specifically the sack at 2:00 in the 3rd Quarter. The right tackle didn't even block the defender.

3. The defenders jumping over other players just looks off to me. Especially when it's a huge lineman.

4. The handoff animation from Manning to Adhai at 2:30 in the 1st quarter looked strange. Maybe it's the quality of the video but it looked like some odd warping or suction took place.

5. While the pop out stats are nice, we need more. 2K5 did this so well with graphics and player images...it would be really nice to see something of that quality.

6. There seems to be a lack of cut scenes. And the ones that are there seem to repeat a lot. More views of the coaches and the sidelines would be nice. Maybe even rabid fans.

7. The overall speed still seems fast. And I don't mean straight speed, but the speed and ease of movement of the players. They just bounce around without effort it seems. The game needs more "weight".

8. Is it me, or were there no auto replays at all. Maybe you guys were just skipping them?

9. Pre, Half and Post game shows are pretty lackluster. I don't really care, but it's a big thing in the community.

10. There were no penalties outside of delay of game. I thought there were all new animations put in that would allow for more of this. I consider this a fairly large problem.

11. While a lot of the new tackles are great, some of the those old shoulder tackles are still there.

12. The QB pocket movement is way to fast. T-Jack was sliding back and forth like he was on a skateboard.

Thanks a lot for doing this Ian. The game looks so much improved and it looks like it will be a blast to play.

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by jrp1918

Overall, I like how the game played. I like how the two teams seemed to have their real life styles. The vikings kept the game very AP focused and the colts came out in 3 wide, obviously this is the human players decision, but I liked that it works. AP had it going and so did Manning, and the Vikings got in trouble when Jackson was forced to pass.

Originally I was thinking we would record our voices during the game over top of the gameplay (like a behind the scenes DVD thing), but I'm glad we didn't because the video would have been very NSFW after I lost Peterson for the game.

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by TwoHeadedDog

I'm watching the hi-res downloads now. It all looks pretty well done. There seems to be one little bug that becomes very distracting (once you notice it): You can see a sliver of panning stadium background at the top of the play-call menu.

Yeah I noticed this too - but I am pretty sure this is only because of the capture kit. On a normal TV, that will be cropped out (since it's outside the safe area).

[cdon2k]

What I liked.

1. Broken Tackle, Attempted Broken Tackle Animations, Great Job!

2. Jab Step/Juke Animations, Big Juke still covers too much ground though.

3. Improved player models and animations overall, tackling is coming along.

4. New Cameras and presentation. I am loving the new pre-play controls help list.

5. Improved play books, more in depth!

What I did not like.

1. There was a play where a guy came back to catch a tipped pass, somehow his momentum and a defender tackling him carried him back an extra 5 yards?!? This was very prevalent in past versions and seems to be reduced to a minimum, but I am not sure because it's only one game, this is a very big problem if frequent.

2. The tackle animation where the ball carrier is bent back and it looks like his ankle is broken is still in, those of you who play a lot know the one I am talking about, please ian, look through this video and find it and make sure this is taken out of the game or make it an injury animation, it's ridiculous.

3. Still too many 2 on one "stand the ball carrier up" gang tackles. The cause of this problem is that your initial "fall foward for a few more yards" animation "08" led to a 3-5 yard gain in past versions and was the main reason for the need for a stand up tackle. That initial animation was flawed and was a major problem with the old run game. Now, the stand up animation is triggered too often to counter that old problem, but there is still no reasonable fall forward animation. Re do the old one and add more, and the stand up animation could be used less.

4. I don' like the new play call screen. I don't like it covering up the stadium. I feel like it takes you out of the action. It would be one thing if the game wasn't running behind that screen, but I believe it is. I like watching the players running around, or a replay in between like madden on ps2. Maybe the whole screen is needed to get all of the functionality your team added to the play call screen, but I don't like being taken away from the game. This screen could even be transparent with black letters as far as I'm concerned.

5. RB's turning on a dime without planting, You have made some great strides, but it's a little to easy to quickly go around guys still.

Keep up the great work!

Cdon

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by Agame

2) Audibles should dely the snap at least 5-seconds after Qb calls it- 3) Game clock 5 Min? Is it adjustable to 10 or 15 minutes? 120 plays in a game NFL avg.

#2 - again this is bluff play art - no audibles.

#3 - yes, you can edit the quarter lengths.

[spankdatazz22]

The Good:

- Gameplay looks better than '08

- Chris Collinsworth is OUTSTANDING - very enjoyable to listen to

- some of the WR anims are pretty well done; like the knee down TD in the first vid. The LB bump on that play looked appropriate as did his reaction to the pass

- I liked the game speed

- When a player left his feet the resulting animation was seamless. The tackling mechanic does a good job for allowing for lower body contact, but you rarely see the fundamentally sound lower tackles/lower body contact. And too much of the over the top player toggled into the air type hit when it occurs

- Great graphics. Although I think they'd benefit from less 22player on the field detail and more detail in the surroundings. The game never gives you the feeling that there's something there other than the 22 players on the field.

- offensive playbooks seem to be very well done; distinctive


The Bad:
- Almost everything about the QB play. It's distracting at best, terrible at worst. Awkward throwing mechanics and animations; deep passes seemed to float forever and seemed perfectly thrown (length) everytime. Even the playaction stuff the guys kept doing looked weird (or maybe I just got tired of seeing it so much). The incomplete pass that Jackson threw was nice to point out, but still looked very unnatural. It really takes away from the game because the QB is such an integral part of every play.

- Physics overall. Even during times when the tackling seemed appropriate, it seemed like there was no accounting for the weight of the players involved. Like Adrian Petersen dragging Freeney for too many yards after contact. Dallas Clark flips a defensive lineman over his back on a crackback block in the 4th quarter. The game could use more of a wrap/struggle mechanic when tackles occur, instead of so much focus on how many people get involved in a tackle (though improvement in that area would be welcome)

- Tom Hammonds is almost radio-guy bad. Crowd seemed dead most of the game; even more noticeable considering Minnesota's known for having a loud crowd.

- Offensive/Defensive linemen may as well be transparent. OL/DL interation needs a lot of work; QBs can take leisurely strolls outside the pocket on demand

- Post-play anims are welcome but the humpbacked models of '06 they're based off of seem to rear their ugly heads during that time. Some of it's overdone. Either way doing a better job w/it would convey a better sense of emotion, which the game is still lacking.

*pet peeve* I hate the NFL Films music during replays. Sounds pretentious lol

Overall:

I don't mean for my comments to sound overly negative because I was able to watch all four of the videos - a few times I even rewound to check out a play. Last year I couldn't stomach even playing a full game. A lot of the game's issues visually for me seem to stem from the direction they're going with the animations. You get more user control, but it looks less realistic. Lack of physics is playing into it; when you see a lineman hit a ball carrier and the resulting animation isn't appropriate it stands out. It's hard to tell some players apart because they all have that same striding animation. And there isn't a noticeable enough difference in quickness/acceleration. Player models are mostly well done but could use more work; I couldn't tell either of the Colts receivers apart without seeing their number for example.

There was a play in the fourth quarter where a defender took out the ball carriers legs from under him - looked great. And on a few plays you could see RBs start to be able to imply lateral movement and not be stuck playing a mostly north/south game. There's too much 11pm ESPN highlight action and not enough fundamental action being displayed (imo). The footplanting has been tightened up considerably; didn't notice anything where the players seemed to noticeably slide. And I like that the guys tried to show off the left-stick analog movement. There were times in the first quarter where it looked great, then times later in the game where it looked forced.

[BrianFifaFan]

Ian, the X receiver was in single coverage on your ill-fated attempt at a bomb..... "noob........"

Plus you threw to Sanders side? double-noob......