Graphics or Gameplay? Need More Space?

[g2thecore]

I honestly think that all the things that you guys are asking to be removed wouldn't really make a difference. Though I agree that most of that BS isn't necessary for a great football experience, I don't think removing them is the solution. In my opinion, it all comes down to RESOURCES. Is EA willing to invest more $$$ in adding more bodies to the team? Are they willing to revise the code? Are they ready to admit that their animation engine is inferior to you know who's and build it from the ground up?

It doesn't matter if we had 100GB of space on the disc, the problem isn't space. The problem is time and lack of resources. When you're trying to develop a game on a yearly basis with about 50 people, that limits the amount of things you can do.

[phatskillz]

Trust me, there is plenty of room on a DVD for anything that they want to do with madden.

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrianFifaFan

But isn't that the reason that developers used to use cutscenes, to add depth to the experience and not run out of RAM? I ask in the context that the presentation has been kinda blah,especially when it comes to playoff atmosphere, Super Bowl and even pre-post game. For us single player guys, that's critical. Now I realize that the focus of Madden this gen is away from cutscene stuff, because guys just skip them after a while. Is there a way to add cutscenes that are like Head Coach in appearance to add flavor? If we can't get living sidelines can we at least get those?

Right on Brian...scripted animations live only on the disc and get streamed into memory one at a time, instead of having to have them all stored in memory. As we are heavy into pre-production for Madden 2010, I will drop a slight hint that we are definitely investigating how to use this technology more.

[BrianFifaFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheFuture15

Right on Brian...scripted animations live only on the disc and get streamed into memory one at a time, instead of having to have them all stored in memory. As we are heavy into pre-production for Madden 2010, I will drop a slight hint that we are definitely investigating how to use this technology more.

Color me happy. Now here's an idea that could work. Madden has every player watching the game like in HS. Normally there are guys huddled up and getting coached, etc. Couldn't they have say those little huddled groups and then go to a cutscene of the coach with his clipbaoard and photos? Maybe after a TD was given up? You get the general idea. Not living sidelines like NBA2k, but postioned guys that have minimal movement and then have cutscenes bring them to fuller life. Just the beginning of an idea......Brian

[Agame]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheFuture15

Yeah just to re-affirm what's already been said: - Graphics and gameplay DO fight for space, but not in a disc space way. They fight for memory, and as someone said, 360 and PS3 both have 512. If there was 1 gig of memory tomorrow, we'd have no problem adding something like fully stocked sidelines...it would probably be a one or two week task to finish. We could also double our animation numbers as well with no problems whatsoever. I pray the next consoles have like 4 gig of RAM or something absurd like that so we can really go crazy with more characters (that's usually the big limiter...not CPU cycles). - We are not limited in disc space...we still fit fine on a DVD-DL...with TONS of room to spare on Blu-Ray. We're actually trying to think of ways to utilize Blu-Ray more next year to give PS3 a little extra love. Tutorials, trophies, HOF videos, gifs, EA Sports Extras, etc...have little to do with the in-game product other than the fact that time was spent on them initially that wasn't spent elsewhere. And of course now they have small "maintenance" costs each year. But nothing out in the menu systems (i.e. before you get into game) is limiting anything in gameplay.

Thanks for the quick insight on how things work.

Ian, can EA contract with one or two colleges that teach “game designer” i.e. codeing.

Each college could compete on tuning the running, blocking, passing, and tackling for Madden and add animation to improve the game (whatever area you wish to assign).

The students would benefit by working real tools and a real game, and EA could reward the colleges with donation of $$ to who does the best job. Non Compete and other legal documents can be signed, etc.

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by Agame

Thanks for the quick insight on how things work. Ian, can EA contract with one or two colleges that teach “game designer” i.e. codeing. Each college could compete on tuning the running, blocking, passing, and tackling for Madden and add animation to improve the game (whatever area you wish to assign). The students would benefit by working real tools and a real game, and EA could reward the colleges with donation of $$ to who does the best job. Non Compete and other legal documents can be signed, etc.

Working with schools is probably not the best approach...our engine is not easy to learn and it's not easy to teach. There is a huge learning curve before most people are able to make changes...so our better bet is just to keep dedicating more resources to them (and I'm much more confident in what we're doing for the upcoming years).

[g2thecore]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheFuture15

Working with schools is probably not the best approach...our engine is not easy to learn and it's not easy to teach. There is a huge learning curve before most people are able to make changes...so our better bet is just to keep dedicating more resources to them (and I'm much more confident in what we're doing for the upcoming years).

That sounds like great news to me...I'm always happy to hear some confident remarks.

[Exonerated]

Quote: Originally Posted by BrianFifaFan

Color me happy. Now here's an idea that could work. Madden has every player watching the game like in HS. Normally there are guys huddled up and getting coached, etc. Couldn't they have say those little huddled groups and then go to a cutscene of the coach with his clipbaoard and photos? Maybe after a TD was given up? You get the general idea. Not living sidelines like NBA2k, but postioned guys that have minimal movement and then have cutscenes bring them to fuller life. Just the beginning of an idea......Brian

I like this idea! Maybe you can take a loot at what Brian's suggesting Ian. Sounds cool and is exactly what Ncaa are doing with their cheerleaders and mascots.