Game Clock should be more important

[Spartan_1]

I have always first and foremost checked to see how a football game uses the game clock to determine "Sim" vs "Arcade".

The game clock is IMO just as important to making a realistic sim as the gameplay is.

The usual excuse given by game companies is that the players don't use the full 40 seconds so they end up with more plays than the AI. So the AI has to play the same way. Which is true. However, an Accelerated clock takes care of this.

The problem is, the way Madden implents the Accelerated Clock, still takes away from the realism. They accelerate the clock as soon as the play is over then give you 40 secs to snap the next play. The AI still ignores the 40 sec clock and snaps the ball at any time.

The clock should not speed up until you have selected your play. Then speed up to about 10-15 seconds left on the play clock as you break the huddle. Plenty of time to get to the los and audible or motion or w/e. This way you still get to use 15 min Qtrs and wich will give a realistic amount of plays and you don't have to spend 3 hours playing a game.

You can even give the user the choice of when they want to go into "hurry up" mode. For PS3 controler they just hit square after they select the play to not have the ACC clock and hit X to for normal accelerated clock. This avoids haveing to progam to switch to slow clock at 5 mins left in the half or w/e because if you stop accelerating the clock at the end of the game, the team with the lead has to wait and wait and wait when they are trying to run the clock down. Nothing looks sillier than the AI calling a QB kneel and then standing at the los for 30 seconds.

And yes it works when the player is on defense also. If the offense wants to go "hurry up" the defense should be aware of the situation and be expecting in anyway and will be trying to get there play selected asap. If a 2 player game and the offense has selected thier play b4 the defender, you make a beeping sound that lets the player know they have 5 seconds to make a selection or w/e then accelarate the clock.

Anyway, I realize this is probably just wishfull thinking. I finally broke down and bought a ps3 so I could try out MLB the Show 09. I have been pc all the way. Since I have the PS3 I decided to try out NFL Head Coach. While I was reading the headcoach forum one of the producers posted the News about Madden 10. And when I read this, " “What does that mean?” you may ask…well it means that we have one goal, and that is to make an NFL football game that is as true to life as possible.", I think my heart took an extra beat. It reminded me of the opening page of the original FPS football game from dynamix. The first line in the manual was from the game producer Pat Cook and said something like " Lets get one thing straight, this ain't no arcade football".

Well, just wanted to add that on Sunday's a big part of what I see on tv involves the 40 sec clock. Like a QB calling timeout when he realizes the play clock is to low, or getting mad at the sideline because they are not getting the plays in fast enough. The player standing beside the ref waiting to call a time out with one second left on the play clock b4 they punt late in the game.....

I realize this is all just wishful thinking but I was truley impressed with the off the field stuff in Head coach. And although the on field wasn't too bad, it was still madden. Well Maden is all about gameplay so with the guys from Head coach spending more time on the gameplay, it may turn out to be ok.

I may die before the Lions ever make it to the superbowl, so please make it at least possible for me to see it happen in a video game that is true to life as possible.",

[krc1130]

Quote: Originally Posted by Spartan_1

I have always first and foremost checked to see how a football game uses the game clock to determine "Sim" vs "Arcade". The game clock is IMO just as important to making a realistic sim as the gameplay is. The usual excuse given by game companies is that the players don't use the full 40 seconds so they end up with more plays than the AI. So the AI has to play the same way. Which is true. However, an Accelerated clock takes care of this. The problem is, the way Madden implents the Accelerated Clock, still takes away from the realism. They accelerate the clock as soon as the play is over then give you 40 secs to snap the next play. The AI still ignores the 40 sec clock and snaps the ball at any time. The clock should not speed up until you have selected your play. Then speed up to about 10-15 seconds left on the play clock as you break the huddle. Plenty of time to get to the los and audible or motion or w/e. This way you still get to use 15 min Qtrs and wich will give a realistic amount of plays and you don't have to spend 3 hours playing a game. You can even give the user the choice of when they want to go into "hurry up" mode. For PS3 controler they just hit square after they select the play to not have the ACC clock and hit X to for normal accelerated clock. This avoids haveing to progam to switch to slow clock at 5 mins left in the half or w/e because if you stop accelerating the clock at the end of the game, the team with the lead has to wait and wait and wait when they are trying to run the clock down. Nothing looks sillier than the AI calling a QB kneel and then standing at the los for 30 seconds. And yes it works when the player is on defense also. If the offense wants to go "hurry up" the defense should be aware of the situation and be expecting in anyway and will be trying to get there play selected asap. If a 2 player game and the offense has selected thier play b4 the defender, you make a beeping sound that lets the player know they have 5 seconds to make a selection or w/e then accelarate the clock. Anyway, I realize this is probably just wishfull thinking. I finally broke down and bought a ps3 so I could try out MLB the Show 09. I have been pc all the way. Since I have the PS3 I decided to try out NFL Head Coach. While I was reading the headcoach forum one of the producers posted the News about Madden 10. And when I read this, " “What does that mean?” you may ask…well it means that we have one goal, and that is to make an NFL football game that is as true to life as possible.", I think my heart took an extra beat. It reminded me of the opening page of the original FPS football game from dynamix. The first line in the manual was from the game producer Pat Cook and said something like " Lets get one thing straight, this ain't no arcade football". Well, just wanted to add that on Sunday's a big part of what I see on tv involves the 40 sec clock. Like a QB calling timeout when he realizes the play clock is to low, or getting mad at the sideline because they are not getting the plays in fast enough. The player standing beside the ref waiting to call a time out with one second left on the play clock b4 they punt late in the game..... I realize this is all just wishful thinking but I was truley impressed with the off the field stuff in Head coach. And although the on field wasn't too bad, it was still madden. Well Maden is all about gameplay so with the guys from Head coach spending more time on the gameplay, it may turn out to be ok. I may die before the Lions ever make it to the superbowl, so please make it at least possible for me to see it happen in a video game that is true to life as possible.",

Wait... what? "The way it should be" in your opinion is the way it is. At least in Current Gen. Its really realistic too because sometimes ive had to burn a timeout because i almost had a Delay of Game