O-Lineman don't matter in Madden?

[Jarodd21]

Quote: Originally Posted by Franchise408

And that goes back to my argument in the other thread that ratings dont matter, just a difficulty setting. I'd accept the argument that ratings mattered on all pro if it wasnt so easy for me to turn Alex Smith into a hall of gamer on that difficulty setting.

Only ratings that don't matter on all-madden is against the CPUs pass block. Everything is pretty much spot on or easily adjusted with sliders..

[Jarodd21]

Quote: Originally Posted by thecarver

I agree. All-Pro is way too easy. Heck even All-Madden is too easy -- in online franchise vs. the cpu. I was always one of those guys in the league who liked o-linemen and I stayed true to realism. But there were guys who played with the weakest o-line and were in the top of the league standings. It seemed that the most important positions were mainly CB, QB, and LB. Some guys would have a 55 overall starting RB (with only a good speed rating) and with an o-line with 70 overall's across the board, yet they would rush for over 100 yards easily. I mean c'mon. I won two championships in the league and made it to the playoffs every single season, so I can play, I just think that the ratings need to show up more in the game.

Yea I heard that all-madden online against the CPU is super easy for some reason.. Its a little harder offline but once you become good offline all-madden becomes easy too.. I had to jack up my sliders just to get competion from the CPU..

[TheDelta]

Quote: Originally Posted by Franchise408

And that goes back to my argument in the other thread that ratings dont matter, just a difficulty setting.

And that argument is as flawed (or better, it's wrong, simple as that) here as it was in the other thread.

How does "Oline ratings don't matter like they should on All-Madden, yet they do matter on All-Pro and Pro" suddenly become "No ratings matter at all, not ever!"?

[TNT713]

PhillySoulJah,

Nice vids... I noticed that the human controlled player seemed to perform the WORST out of all the defensive linemen in the All-Madden vid. If you film it again, try this technique:

1) Engage with OL
2) Push with Sprint
3) Use right stick to Power or Finesse move
4) Sprint to QB

I don't know what Canty was doing, but it was not the proper technique to get off the line as evidenced by his laying on the ground for so many plays.

Later

[phillysouljah]

I did that video a few months back so I can not be certain but I'm pretty sure I did it off the sticks.

[Franchise408]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheDelta

To be honest, you get that kind of problem with any kind of sports game, in my experience. To find the balance between "too hard" and "too easy" is very tough and takes long.

I feel like other sports games have done a better job of finding that balance. When I played NBA 2K10 last year (didn't get 2K11), I won the NBA Finals my first season, but I was also using the Orlando Magic, one of the highest rated teams in the game, and a team who in real life were the defending Eastern Conference Finals. It wasn't exactly out of line for me to win the Finals, and it was a struggle to get there. During the season, I struggled with some of the East's elite teams like Cleveland, and especially Boston, but was able to put it all together in the end.

In MLB 2K11, I feel like I have a pretty good balance with my Giants. I pretty much dominate with the top of my pitching rotation, struggle out of the bullpen, and my lineup is inconsistent. I can put up some good offense one day, and struggle to even get a hit the next. Feels like the real life Giants, and accurate to my ratings (tho I do admit I have a couple players who are playing well above their ratings). I started 1-9, followed that up with a 7-2 run, and since then, while I continue to have a winning record, stringing together a bunch of wins in a row is a challenge.

And my best franchise mode experience to date was NFL 2K5 where I went through about 9 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. By the end, I really mastered the AI due to playing so much, and I was dominating pretty hard, but I did feel like I earned my 2 Super Bowl championships. I struggled early (with a bad team), scraping and clawing to get wild card spots, until I drafted a QB who turned out to be an elite, franchise QB, signed a big time WR (Reggie Wayne), and also drafted premiere players at safety, cornerback, and outside linebacker, while eventually finishing the job by signing a former top 3 draft prospect running back who was released by his original team and after signing with me, finally lived up to his draft hype. I felt like I worked hard to put together a winning roster, and keep it together, and finally after 9 years I was able to walk away from that franchise mode with a couple more Lombardi Trophies in Santa Clara.

With Madden, I appreciate that All-Madden gives me a struggle... I'm using the San Francisco 49ers, and currently they aren't a very good team. Thus, I hate playing on All-Pro because I shouldn't be winning every game and winning Super Bowls in year 1. I have done that in the past. It's no fun. I don't feel like I have to do anything, because I can just win with what I have.

I appreciate the feeling that I can lose any game. It's going to be tough for me. My team isn't good, and it's gonna take me awhile before I get going. My first year usually goes well. Frustrating, but box score results look realistic. I went 8-8, maybe 9-7, and maybe squeaked into the playoffs if my division was weak enough. I had some less than stellar passing #'s, but hey, I got Alex Smith? What do you expect. Michael Crabtree drops some passes he probably shouldn't, but hey, he's a 2 year guy. He doesn't have the best ratings yet. My offensive line gets blowed up regularly, but hey, they're a bunch of rooks. Let them get some experience, they will develop, and I should be good, and start going 11-5, winning the division, and making some noise in the playoffs, right?

Off-season time... I draft a top rookie QB prospect. He comes into the league nearly 10 OVR points ahead of Alex Smith. His throwing ratings, across the board, put Alex to shame. High power, high accuracy all around. Instant starter. My A potential rookie linemen are now all of a sudden some 90's+ pass and run block rating vets, and Michael Crabtree all of a sudden is a 90's OVR / 99 CAT receiver. Okay, I wasn't able to address my defensive backs, so my defense will still give up a lot through the air, but I should be able to hang now that I have a star at every offensive position, right?

Well, I can't complete a pass to Michael Crabtree because even with his 99 catch rating, he's still dropping those wide open drag routes 3 yards upfield, with no defenders around him. Those offensive linemen who were solid rookies, but now, star vets, are still getting tossed around by sub par defensive linemen. And my new rookie QB who's better in every way than Alex Smith is playing exactly like Alex Smith. Despite having a better team on offense at all the key positions, my team is still playing exactly the same. My QB with higher ratings across the board is making the same horrid throws as Alex Smith. My superstar wide receiver (ratings wise) is still playing like a 4th string special teamer, and despite having blocking ratings in the 90's across the board on all my linemen except maybe 1 (Chilo Rachal never got good), my offensive line is still nothing more than a revolving door flanked by traffic cones.

Certainly there are some differences. It's easier for me to run a power-o with Mike Iupati pulling than it is with Chilo Rachal pulling. Taylor Mays is still quick enough to get into position after almost any throw. And if I put Parys Haralson on the end of a 4 man defensive line, and manually control him, I will get pressure on nearly every play and end the season with double digit sacks.

But outside of a few small, negligible differences, I don't feel like my choices matter. For a more extreme example, I did take other elite teams, and test them in franchise mode, and I had the same results with even teams like the Patriots and the Colts, or the Steelers. There were *some* differences, but negligible.

As much as I complain about Madden and rag on in around here, it's not a horrible game. There's a lot to love about it. Playing Madden multiplayer with my brother is one of the best sports video game experiences I have. In multiplayer, that's where I feel the game is excellently designed and balanced, and ratings couldn't matter more than they do in Madden multiplayer. I know when my QB is good or bad, I know when my line is good or bad, I know when my WR's are good or bad. I think Madden is excellently balanced and designed in multiplayer.

I just don't think it has the same level of balance in offline franchise. NOW - this year's focus has been the offline franchise, and I am completely excited about it. I hope that a lot of my concerns have been addressed, because as much as I love playing with friends and such multiplayer, I am primarily an offline franchise kind of player. I rarely play online, and I rarely play in tournaments (although I have played in local tournaments, and I have held my own in them). So all of the news that I have heard thus far about Madden gives me great hope. I haven't really seen a bit of info about this year's installment yet that I dislike (except Peyton Hillis being the cover athlete ). I can only wait and see if it lives up to my hopes or not.

[iBlievN5]

well i think it's an issue of, how bad can they be? by they, i mean olineman in general. no person, listed as an ol is going to beat every play, heck getting beat 4 times in a game is considered bad to terrible in football. punters and qb's on the line will get beat but, due to the AI, and the devs figuring, "if they're playing all madden, they want realism" they don't get beat *every* play. but i'm willing to beat 7/10 plays they do.

[kingkilla56]

I think this is a case of "why cant the game beat me now?" and "why is the game cheating to beat me?". You admitted that you go through bad times at the start, you learn the video game, get better and it becomes too easy. You put it on hard and complain that its too hard. At this point in time, all you can do is find your sliders. EA cant tune the game so that Xcustomer will win and lose at the perfect rate that he is content with. And thats why guys are constantly changing their sliders as they get better and learn the game on whatever difficulty curve they have made it.

You're mad that you can make Alex Smith hof on all-pro, well damn your getting good. You make it harder for yourself and boom, "why cant I make Alex Smith hof anymore!? Damn you EA."