Franchise Blog is Up

[mikeveli20]

Quote: Originally Posted by PacMan3000

I'm dying to know where are all the great elements that immersed you into franchise mode have gone? Where's the newspaper? Where's the radio show, where fans would call up and sometimes criticize your front office decisions? Where is the all-star game that gave you a better feel of who you would be selecting in the NFL Draft? Even if the 2009 franchise mode is devoid of glitches, it still doesn't change the fact that it's essentially all just a bunch of menu's and numbers. That's it. It seems to me that they've stripped out the core elements that created the replay value for franchise mode, and I don't understand why.

Things like the newspaper and radio show don't add any replay value. Yes they add atmosphere to the franchise mode, but even after the first year they don't serve a purpose as it's essentially the same thing over and over again. I'll agree with you on the College all-star game, that was cool.

[SHO]

Those stats look a lot better than the ones from the OS build. Still don't like see the run stoppers on most team's lines being the sack leaders of the league. Kampman and Schobel are the only ones that belong.

Now I have a question about the stats, will changing the following sliders below actually effect the stats for their respective team?

[ChuckMonts]

These are the things that I think can get mistaken. Sure the newspaper and tony bruno show were a nice bit of atmosphere to help pull you into the game. They were basically the same things over and over again. I would bet my savings (don't worry it's not that much money) that if these were added in next year everyone would complain about how repetitive they are. I'd much rather have them work on the gameplay and AI during games and for the GM then add those features back into the game. We have to think that these guys have a timetable to work with and only the most important make it into the game every year. It's not like most games that get a full 3-4 years to put in everything and then tweak to pull things out and add more in.

[DLaren]

Thanks for the blog EA, the stats looks good and should help produce better player progression results. If you guys plan on releasing another blog I'd personally like to know if you could address whether or not any of the following have been added or improved upon:


Is there pre-season and mid-season progression (without needing to manualy train)?

Has the progression system been tweaked so that it isn't totally performance/stat based? (Young QBs should be able to progress while watching from the sidelines ex.C.Palmer)

Has the Scouting menu been fixed (last year it was not functional)?

Is there a rookie workout/combine period prior to the draft?

Is there a central news hub for week-to-week happenings (newspaper, radio show)?

Is there an in-season practice mode?

Is there any kind of weekly preparation/scouting report for the upcoming opponent?

Is there a 'team chemistry' aspect to the game? If so, are there player personalities that must be balanced to maintain a solid team morale?

Have there been any additions to Owner Mode?





At this point I'm pretty much assuming that all of the above is a no-go, but if some of those features have been added I'd like to know about it (or maybe there are other things you've added/improved that haven't been mentioned that you'd like to talk about)...Thanks again...

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by davep

'Broken' is an incredibly nebulous term. I understand that the game may not live up to people's expectations, but if you can deal with that then buy it. If not, don't. The idea that all of EA employees are a bunch of fat cats laughing at us for buying their 'broken' game is ludicrous. It's obvious that EA is really trying to improve this game. It's also obvious that they only have a certain amount of time and resources to accomplish what they would like to accomplish. That being said, I think it's a little unfair to scream (and I'm not referring to you Semper, just in general) that "It's so easy, why didn't they include that?" or "they're screwing me over!". Sure, we'd all like a 'perfect' football game...but I think they're taking some nice strides in the right direction. Again, if you don't like where it's going, don't buy it (and respond to Ian's thread with your suggestions. He's risked his sanity to come on these boards). It's really that simple.

I agree w/ the first paragraph. Though some of us are critical of Madden/EA, I don't believe they are intentionally putting out less of a product just b/c they know folks will buy it. That's foolish.

But when you say, "It's also obvious that they only have a certain amount of time and resources to accomplish what they would like to accomplish," I disagree. While it is obvious that they have a limited dev cycle (10 months), what about all the other sports games out there that produce stellar games on the same short cycle? MLB The Show 08, NHL 08, NBA2K8, College Hoops 2K8, among some others come to mind. There may be a logical reason for Madden's shortcomings but I'm not sure if I buy the limited resources/time argument. Hell, I'd be suprised if Madden did not have the biggest budget out of all those sports games I mentioned. Anyway, there's too many great yearly sports games out there to make 'limited time' a valid excuse especially if you think to consider those of generations past.

People often only talk about how harsh critics (fans) are on the Madden series and I somewhat agree with that. But man, is there another company out there that consumers also continually make excuses for? Go figure.

[davep]

Rgiles...I agree with you to a certain extent, but all those games you mentioned (including NHL 08, which is a stellar game) have their issues and had been floundering (and some still are) around for a few years before they've gotten back on track.

People seemed to give 2k football a free pass because they were the david going against goliath....when 2k had more than it's fair share of flaws. Then when EA got the exclusive license, it gave people their license to bash madden more and more. Point being, EA football is definitely moving in the right direction and people shouldn't take it like EA killed their grandmother when they chose not to put a chain gang in.

I know I'm going against the grain here and quite frankly don't have the time to debate this...but I felt compelled to say something after the whining got way out of control when EA developers gave up a large portion of their time and energy to answer the whining....with tact, which is admirable. I would've been gone from these boards so fast.

cheers!

[cowboy_kmoney]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

I agree w/ the first paragraph. Though some of us are critical of Madden/EA, I don't believe they are intentionally putting out less of a product just b/c they know folks will buy it. That's foolish. But when you say, "It's also obvious that they only have a certain amount of time and resources to accomplish what they would like to accomplish," I disagree. While it is obvious that they have a limited dev cycle (10 months), what about all the other sports games out there that produce stellar games on the same short cycle? MLB The Show 08, NHL 08, NBA2K8, College Hoops 2K8, among some others come to mind. There may be a logical reason for Madden's shortcomings but I'm not sure if I buy the limited resources/time argument. Hell, I'd be suprised if Madden did not have the biggest budget out of all those sports games I mentioned. Anyway, there's too many great yearly sports games out there to make 'limited time' a valid excuse especially if you think to consider those of generations past.

I agree as well ,but like you said ea isn't putting the work into ncaa and madden like it seems they are with the other steller games thats on the market with the same amount of time or less. But I'm wondering why when they do come on the boards for input, why do they avoid the real things thats asked of them?I know it's stressful at times but stay with us and give us real feedback.We're with you guys all the way till the end. Just keep it real with your fans.And don't let the small stuff that's said keep you guys from staying on the boards with good stuff that awaits your fans..

[Anti Honor]

The simmed stats are fixed, wow. What about when YOU PLAY AGAINST the CPU? I found that most of those awful, unrealistic stats came when I played my franchise games. My corners lead the league in picks, with ridiculous numbers. I always lead the league in sacks, even when I didn't blitz. I just can't seem to get any answers about the game play against the CPU, which leads me to believe that it's going to be the same turnover crap as in '08.

I mean, I guess it's cool if I want to pay $60 to sim all my seasons.

A few responses, as well - ''If you don't like it, don't buy it.'' Yeah, well, I did that for Madden '08, and I would like to have an NFL game this time around. Is it asking too much for improvement, when they have people coming to the forums insisting they're here to improve the game? It's not like we have any other options for NFL games out there - If we did, some of us would probably go in that direction. I don't care about the ''lighting'' or the new gang tackling. I don't care if my player looks like Donovan Mcnabb. None of that is going to make up for when the CPU turns the damn ball over 5 times a game again, and completely ruins my franchise.

The only response I got was Ian telling me there was never more than 2 turnovers for the CPU, during the FEW games that he saw played. I'm assuming that's 5 min quarters. I play on 8-9 min quarters. That could be 4 to 5 turnovers per game, again. And every time I mention the word ''sliders,'' I get some clueless response, which obviously tells me that we won't even be able to adjust the weak game play again this year, and actually get results.

I want improved CPU AI in franchise, I want less CPU turnovers, I want sliders that actually make the game play more difficult, so I won't be ready to trade the game in after 2 seasons - IF it doesn't freeze up by then. I guess I could go online and play against some 13 year old kids who bring in Seneca Wallace, so they can scramble to the sides every single play, right? I already tried it - It wasn't fun. I want to play in a franchise with my nephew, and actually have to put in some effort to win our games.