Spawn Game feature?

[Nik]

Hey guys,

Does anyone know if next-gen madden, or even current gen for that matter, will feature the spawn game feature from the ea locker like the xbox and ps2 versions have for the last few years? Just wondering, because those cheesy madden leagues they're hyping do nothing for me. I need online dynasties, and the only option is with the spawn game feature. If anyone knows anything, let me know please. Thanks,

[roll2tide]

just my guess....but NO on NextGen and probably on XBOX and PS2. I agree that it is the only way to do a league that even comes close to feeling right.

[Nik]

roll2tide....is this feature not as great as we think it is? why are you the only response....I don't get it.

[roll2tide]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nik

roll2tide....is this feature not as great as we think it is? why are you the only response....I don't get it.

Well I'm an old schooler who was lucky enough to experience true online franchises on the PC back in '99/'00 games. real time stats, trades, free agents....it was the most incredible feature in any sports title ever. I've longed for it ever since.

the lockers allowed us to really come close to simulating that in my league. we did ncaa imported drafts, FA bids, trades, and held playoffs. stats done on leaguedaddy. it was work because you have to manually maintain an offline franchise file that accurately reflected the player movements as well as win/loss recods but it was well worth it.

Imo, online franchises are the "depth" and "immersion" factors that EA could use to take madden gaming to the next level.

[Sneez]

Well I must say I am with you guys 100% but if there are only two responses regarding online franchise than maybe EA is making the right decision. IMO the online league feature will be fun to a degree and I am running one over in my community. Tide you actually signed up for that by the way. I think with a good mix of guys you can make the Online League Idea interesting to a degree, but, it does not hold a candle to online franchise which ultimately is what expected when I heard "leagues". Lets face it substance is the ticket for me.

If they are doing dynasty in ncaa, there is no reason not to go franchise in madden. This is just as popular of a feature on madden as it is in ncaa. The same general layout would work fine. It doesnt have to be a 32 team league, a simple 12 user option setup like ncaa would work wonders. With any luck I hope we see it, but in general I think "online leagues" will not be as popular as ea expects and they may doubt the need or want to put franchise up there when ultimately it would have amazing returns.

[likebuttababy11]

Spawn game feature was the best option I have ever seen,I ran 14 seasons on the old xbox,too bad merging was broke but this allowed for a true franchise league just like Roll said.

My only problem with EA leagues and 2K run leagues is you can't have multiple team owners,it would be nice just to get 16 great owners(2 teams)to have a league,32 owners is a pain in *** and I ve seen many leagues die b/c of owners not playing their games and no divisions,WTF!!

[roll2tide]

Sneez, its my experience in playing in likebuttababys league that guys that are interested in online franchises that run several seasons deep are more likely to be sim style players and less likely to frequent boards such as this. I think there is a market for it among the hardcore group.

If any of the current dev team played the PC version at the start of this decade then they know that were TONS of leagues with very long waiting lists. leagues that produced Andy that ran maddenPlanet for a long time and guys like Kobra (MaddenGuru's now i think) and Bly (founded/bought Maddenmania via an old ladder system ranking site). Honestly, some of the best Madden sites are run/owned/edited by guys that got seriously involved in the game during the PC days and they played in and ran online franchise leagues.

the other plus was that it provided a group of hardcore gamers that the dev team could work with to improve the game. Hell, several of us had job possibilities (albeit as testers mostly) with EA just from our relationship with the producers at that time. i remember having Xing(lead tester) and Doug (Producer) on my IM at the time and alot of us were in constant communication with them as far as ideas and constructive criticisms.

It was a true win-win situation.

[dave731]

I remember the spawn game feature in last gen as well tho there was the week 4 bug where the results would not import back into the franchise after the player progression kicked in during week 4. I don't understand why this feature has yet to be fleshed out. We've still got the EA locker sitting right there just as able to do what it did 3-4 years ago. Now they give us this half hearted online league feature that is basically a tease for something more.

Isn't Madden returning for the PC this year(or is it next year)? If so, I may be picking that up instead just for the ability to do some online franchising.