After Huddle Animations

[TheWatcher]

^^^ It's like I've been saying for a while now, the animations of just standing still need a complete redo. When a football player finishes performing an action, or is simply standing still he does so in a certain way. Madden's rendition of that is not only robotic, but it also looks goofy and unserious.

When you look at MLB The Show 09, you quickly realize that the developers were really paying attention to those types of subtleties and man did they nail it. Then compare that to MLB 2K9 and you realize the result of a dev team not paying attention to those subtleties, lol. It's a night and day difference. The Show is a game that shows the evolution of sports gaming animations and where they ALL should be today, smooth, blended well, fluid, and very realistic. Madden looks like a Dinosaur compared to just MLB 2K9 which isn't even good in this regard... compared to The Show, Madden looks like a Fossil based on the past 4 games.

[ch46647]

I agree with all you guys. One of the top 5 things on my wishlist is that they get rid of the robotic running (even though it looks like they are jogging) animations. They are supposed to replicate professional athletes and there is nothing about the way they walk,run, or sprint that makes them look that way. I am confident that Ian and company will take care of this.

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by Guillotine 1

I understand the concern, and I'm really doubtful that they fix this.

I'd have to disagree with you Guill. Maybe I'm naive, but I have confidence that this has been addressed. After seeing how detailed the blogs are about things that have been tweaked or fixed in favor of realism, I'd have to think that this is something that they couldn't just sweep under the rug. I could be wrong, but I certainly hope not.

[Hotlanta]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheWatcher

^^^ It's like I've been saying for a while now, the animations of just standing still need a complete redo. When a football player finishes performing an action, or is simply standing still he does so in a certain way. Madden's rendition of that is not only robotic, but it also looks goofy and unserious. When you look at MLB The Show 09, you quickly realize that the developers were really paying attention to those types of subtleties and man did they nail it. Then compare that to MLB 2K9 and you realize the result of a dev team not paying attention to those subtleties, lol. It's a night and day difference. The Show is a game that shows the evolution of sports gaming animations and where they ALL should be today, smooth, blended well, fluid, and very realistic. Madden looks like a Dinosaur compared to just MLB 2K9 which isn't even good in this regard... compared to The Show, Madden looks like a Fossil based on the past 4 games.

Agreed, and I have hope that there will be a upgrade based on this quote by Ian

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

I just wanted to post over here in case the devs read this forum... To the SCEA dev team: you guys have really set the bar as to what sports games should be. After a few of us got our hands on it, we have forced our entire Madden design team to go through the game, take notes, and come up with ideas that could apply to us - and the one universal happening has been that everyone has been 100% blown away by the detail and quality of the product. From the commentary to the animation to the graphics to the presentation to the depth...you guys knocked it out of the park (bad pun intended). I don't want to make it look like our opinion matters more than anyone else or anything, but I did want to say - from the Madden design team - GREAT job to all those involved in making this year's game. You've set the bar extremely high for us and everyone else in this industry (which is a very good thing IMO). - Ian

[Guillotine 1]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

I'd have to disagree with you Guill. Maybe I'm naive, but I have confidence that this has been addressed. After seeing how detailed the blogs are about things that have been tweaked or fixed in favor of realism, I'd have to think that this is something that they couldn't just sweep under the rug. I could be wrong, but I certainly hope not.

I really hope your right, I do get the same type of hope. I just don't know...I sure hope though.

[Ian_Cummings]

Jerky animations and non-smooth transitions are ALWAYS on my radar. I think Phil knows how obsessive I am over blending (my loud cursing about the incorrect foot being down during a blend probably scares him a little). Unfortunately the areas that you guys are talking about above just aren't simple fixes. Believe me, they drive me crazy to no end but there are just so many frickin' things we're working on right now those always end up on the lower end of the priority list.

With confidence I can promise that both post-play and pre-play will definitely look better 09 (procedural awareness helped ten-fold). I can also say that it's a stretch goal to get a much more natural walk / jog to the line for the offensive players (with much less sliding...especially on the QB). But will they be perfect? To be honest I'm not quite confident yet (and it kills me to say that). Hopefully the gameplay/animation team can come up with some free time at some point and address it. But there are bigger fish to fry right now unfortunately.

Actually, hmmm, maybe they could find someone to work on it post-final...and have it ready to go in a patch or something. I will go float that one out there...

[Guillotine 1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

Jerky animations and non-smooth transitions are ALWAYS on my radar. I think Phil knows how obsessive I am over blending (my loud cursing about the incorrect foot being down during a blend probably scares him a little). Unfortunately the areas that you guys are talking about above just aren't simple fixes. Believe me, they drive me crazy to no end but there are just so many frickin' things we're working on right now those always end up on the lower end of the priority list. With confidence I can promise that both post-play and pre-play will definitely look better 09 (procedural awareness helped ten-fold). I can also say that it's a stretch goal to get a much more natural walk / jog to the line for the offensive players (with much less sliding...especially on the QB). But will they be perfect? To be honest I'm not quite confident yet (and it kills me to say that). Hopefully the gameplay/animation team can come up with some free time at some point and address it. But there are bigger fish to fry right now unfortunately. Actually, hmmm, maybe they could find someone to work on it post-final...and have it ready to go in a patch or something. I will go float that one out there...

Whatever they pay you, its not enough.

[ch46647]

Im hoping you are referring to just the animation while walking to the LOS and not the overall robotic running animation that everyone on the field has. Like I said before fixing the running animations were a top 5 thing on my personal wishlist.

Regardless, I know you guys are working extremely hard on Madden 10 and I am sure it will be a great game!