Fixing the kicking game

[countryboy]

Alright boys and girls, one of my biggest beefs with the Madden series for the past several years has been the ease of making field goals and kicking in general. Now I know that Ian has mentioned that overhauling the kicking game is something they are looking into at some point, so I thought that we could come up with some ideas on how to improve the kicking game and make it not automatic anymore.

My idea is to keep the analog kicking but do it more like the Tiger Woods Golf game where you aren't given a meter showing your power or accuracy. Also, don't show the arrow to point to the direction in which you are aiming. If you need to kick from the right hashmark then you'd better make sure you move the analog stick in the correct direction and so on and so forth. Also, power would be decided by how far back you pull the analog stick back.

Thats my barebone idea of how to improve the kicking game, now how about yours.

[Erick]

Personally it's not just the kicking game that needs to be fixed. i think that special teams has gotten the shaft since day one.

Special teams play an integral role in football as much as offense and defense. Just watch the Steelers - Giants game a week ago. There has to be a designated long snapper rating or position for each team and not put just any lineman in there.

I would like to see better Gunner interactions with their blockers as they fly down the field. And also have more variation in the kickoff/punting plays.

As for kicking itself, I totally agree with your assesment ,Country, and have a tiger woods type of control scheme. Basically anything that would up the challenge for the kicks as right now they are pretty much automatic.

Maybe have weather play into the equation too. Kicking in the wind isn't that challenging even when kicking from 50 yards out.

Also missing pressure kicks at crunch time should effect how a kicker kicks throughout the season. its all a mental game for them and something to depict that throu the course of your franchise would be cool.

What would be interesting as kickers would have some sort of meter to show you how shaky or confident he is throughout the season. If he is shaky at crunch time make it much more dificult. If you are kicking with some one like Vinitieri, it would be almost automatic as they seem to shrug off adversity the best

As for Punters. Lower rated punters hold on to the ball a little longer giving the defense time to block the ball, while punters like Feagles get the bal off quickly and pin the offense back with his accuracy. I think the CPU does a horrible job with directional punting in the game no matter who it is. I think that has to be addressed as well. Don't do it for everyone, but I think if I am facing Feagles, he shold kill me inside the 20 EVERYTIME.

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Erick

Personally it's not just the kicking game that needs to be fixed. i think that special teams has gotten the shaft since day one. Special teams play an integral role in football as much as offense and defense. Just watch the Steelers - Giants game a week ago. There has to be a designated long snapper rating or position for each team and not put just any lineman in there. I would like to see better Gunner interactions with their blockers as they fly down the field. And also have more variation in the kickoff/punting plays. As for kicking itself, I totally agree with your assesment ,Country, and have a tiger woods type of control scheme. Basically anything that would up the challenge for the kicks as right now they are pretty much automatic. Maybe have weather play into the equation too. Kicking in the wind isn't that challenging even when kicking from 50 yards out. Also missing pressure kicks at crunch time should effect how a kicker kicks throughout the season. its all a mental game for them and something to depict that throu the course of your franchise would be cool. What would be interesting as kickers would have some sort of meter to show you how shaky or confident he is throughout the season. If he is shaky at crunch time make it much more dificult. If you are kicking with some one like Vinitieri, it would be almost automatic as they seem to shrug off adversity the best As for Punters. Lower rated punters hold on to the ball a little longer giving the defense time to block the ball, while punters like Feagles get the bal off quickly and pin the offense back with his accuracy. I think the CPU does a horrible job with directional punting in the game no matter who it is. I think that has to be addressed as well. Don't do it for everyone, but I think if I am facing Feagles, he shold kill me inside the 20 EVERYTIME.

very good points.

[cedwebb]

This is one area of the game that is just flat out boring. I like the ideas of having no visible meter on the feild at all. Use the Tiger method but just let it come down to the kickers ability's in conjunction with how well the user can measure the kicks. You have two thumb pads on the controller so set one up to measure the angle and the other to measure distance. Have it all simultaneous after the snap and you have a very fun and challenging method of both kicking and punting. I mean after the snap if you don't move the sticks...guess what, your kicker or punter just sit there. Make it more user involved. This also will allow time for blocked kicks and mishaps in the kicking game because the kicker is controlled by you, not some automatic motion starting at the snap.

You would just have to learn how to gage wind and know your kicker. Also throw in some bad snaps here and there so the timing is always going to be different. Right now there feels like there is no interaction at all and this would make the kicking game something you would have to actually work at. As for the biginners, just give them the arrows so than can see whats going on (on/off option).

[Segagendude]

A picture of the ball that you move with the right analog stick for position, followed by a power meter----you hit the "X" button to start the power meter,then hit it again when you hit the desired strength, be it full or midway or whatever.From there the kicker would do his thing on his own.
Wind also needs to be a major factor.If you kick into a 10-12 MPH crosswind, the travel of the football needs to reflect that. I.E., starts in the middle, then goes to the left or right...
This would be for PAT's FG's, and punts.
As for kickoffs, they're ok as is, but bring back the wedge, please! (sorry, off-topic)

And, like the member mentioned above, an option for the traditional "easy" kicks for beginners.

[Stroehms]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

Alright boys and girls, one of my biggest beefs with the Madden series for the past several years has been the ease of making field goals and kicking in general. Now I know that Ian has mentioned that overhauling the kicking game is something they are looking into at some point, so I thought that we could come up with some ideas on how to improve the kicking game and make it not automatic anymore. My idea is to keep the analog kicking but do it more like the Tiger Woods Golf game where you aren't given a meter showing your power or accuracy. Also, don't show the arrow to point to the direction in which you are aiming. If you need to kick from the right hashmark then you'd better make sure you move the analog stick in the correct direction and so on and so forth. Also, power would be decided by how far back you pull the analog stick back. Thats my barebone idea of how to improve the kicking game, now how about yours.

I like this idea.

[TheWatcher]

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

Alright boys and girls, one of my biggest beefs with the Madden series for the past several years has been the ease of making field goals and kicking in general. Now I know that Ian has mentioned that overhauling the kicking game is something they are looking into at some point, so I thought that we could come up with some ideas on how to improve the kicking game and make it not automatic anymore. My idea is to keep the analog kicking but do it more like the Tiger Woods Golf game where you aren't given a meter showing your power or accuracy. Also, don't show the arrow to point to the direction in which you are aiming. If you need to kick from the right hashmark then you'd better make sure you move the analog stick in the correct direction and so on and so forth. Also, power would be decided by how far back you pull the analog stick back. Thats my barebone idea of how to improve the kicking game, now how about yours.

Aside from the missing arrow, this sounds pretty much like what they did with All Pro Football's kicking game. There was a lot of frustration expressed from it because you could never really tell how well or how bad you were doing and even when you used the same motions you got different results, sometimes drastically different. Some people--myself included--blamed the inaccuracy of the 360 analog sticks. I don't know for sure about that, but it certainly felt like it.

I think it would probably be best if they just give us the option of classic, or "new" which would be the style you described (with classic being the default) and that way everyone would get what they want. After all, this game is anemic in terms of options and customization so this would be yet another great opportunity to beef that up.

P.S. I suck at kicking be it classic or new, but I usually play myself into positions where I don't have to kick so I guess I'm lucky in that regard, lol...

[NuJoiseySoulja]

The kicking in that "other game" was a challenge, the arrow moved and you can determine how powerful you wanted to kick the ball. They should use that.

Also with a slider you can make the kicking more difficult with the power moving so fast its hard to max out.