Madden NFL 13 Team Focuses on Making Defense Fun Again, What Do You Hope to See?

[kalimmortal]

what bothers me about the development of this game ... is customers and fans of the franchise .. come here and type hundreds of pages of excellent ways to improve the game and features they wanna see in the game..etc..

then when the game comes out ... the major improvement is some feature/gimmick that NOBODY asked for or wanted ...

and for the most part we only get incremental and marginal improvement because every year they change/overhaul a feature.. but since it's not done properly...they have to go back the following year and re-overhaul it...wasting precious time in the process..that could've been dedicated to other features..

but on the hope that somebody is listening ... here are my suggestions ...

1. Make ratings matter .. you can have all the ratings categories you want ... it's irrelevant if all the players play the same... if my 79 RT blocks just as well as my 99 overall LT ... then why am i breaking the bank to pay him?? why is it my 95 rated DE can NEVER beat an 81 rated Tackle?? and my 3rd down elusive 5'9" 205 lb half back ..should NOT.. play the same way as my 240 lb bruising RB...

2. Work on OL/DL interaction... the D-Line gets paid too... they should beat their man occasionally... and with a variety of moves .. from rip moves to swim moves to spin moves to bull rushes... the next time i see an O-Linemen get knocked on his butt..will be the first time...

3. Correct the WR/DB interaction ... the wideout is usually most open right out of his break...except in Madden this is not the case..due to DBs mirroring the route... get rid of the clairvoyant DB feature ... where cornerbacks jump up at precisely the right time to knock down a pass when they had their head turned the whole entire time and couldn't possibly have seen the ball...

4. Fix blocking on running plays, punt returns, and kickoffs .. so my blockers block the most logical person (i.e. the defender that's about to tackle me) ..instead blockin' somebody 10-20 yards downfield ... it's one thing to deliver a piss poor block.. it's another thing for my blockers to never even try...

5. Please do a better job of testing the game pre-release so as to avoid glitches, bugs, and freezes that make the game unplayable and therefore unenjoyable... and don't assume that you can jus patch everything post release...because not all of us connect our console to the internet...

most everything else i would've suggested has been listed over the years ad nauseum .. so i feel no need to repeat it...

i have some aesthetic suggestions ..as well as some auxillary feature requests .. but we need to get gameplay squared away first...

[statum71]

A pass rush that doesn't feel like I'm being held every play. While the CPU has ALL DAY to throw.

[marshallfever]

Quote: Originally Posted by LambertandHam

Hopefully before the final product ships. I kid, I kid. Would be nice to see some more CB vs WR interaction and fighting for the ball.

When I read that i laughed too lmfao

[scottyo60]

Just a thought... I thought pro tak was the biggest defensive change? I don't think in the last 2 years I've seen the kind of tackling I saw in 10

[johnnyg713]

Tackling
I want a tackling system that feels rewarding. Its not just about making size and strength matter, I want to be able to make a multiple hit tackle whenever I want to fully stop the running back's momentum. I'm sick of trying to "clean up" a gang tackle and watch as I just bounce off. If I'm putting myself in the right position to make the play, I should be able to contribute to the play 100% of the time.

Linebacker Play
When blitzing I want to be able to squeeze in gaps between the lineman.

I want to be able to put my shoulder down and bullrush a fullback or OL when he goes to block me. I want to be able to actually be able to counter his block by pushing him back, completely lay him out, Juke by, or spinning or swimming by him. (edit: simply pressing B can trigger certain animations based on the player, maybe even signature moves)

When I'm being blocked I still want to be able to make a play on the ball carrier. Putting an arm out to slow him down or reaching out to trip him up. Hitting X when being blocked should still trigger some sort of tackle animation (or potentially cause a chop block). I also want to be able to completely sell out if I see a ball being thrown and have a chance to bat the ball down or even make an interception.

Defensive Back Play

JAMMING A RECEIVER
I think there should be a button for jamming a receiver. Make it B. If you see a receiver within 5 yrds of the LOS, or coming across your zone, hit B to throw him off his route (this should be the same for Linebackers as well).

FIGHTING FOR POSITION/JOSTLING
I want to be able to fight for position (take the page right out of Fifa's book), you see a WR has a step on you and you want to stay with him or just give him a harder time to make the catch, hold down A which will trigger jostling and fighting for position. The purpose of this is to slow down the WR, not to have your CB speed up and mirror the route. You will still need to control where your DB is running but the jostling makes it easier to stay with him.

These Animations Must be Tied to Some Sort of Input
I believe we don't have good WR/DB interaction because it seems EA tries to get this stuff to trigger automatically. For this stuff to work the computer must have the logic to do it. In other words EA MUST MAKE "JAMMING" AND "FIGHT FOR POSITION" AI. If you have your AI actually using these tactics as actual moves and realizes there is an advantage to putting pressure on the WR, instead of these things just being automatically triggered, this stuff will finally work when it should and can be tuned.

Again Fifa has had this stuff down for years. Players don't jostle because they are running close to each other, its because the AI is actually trying to steal the ball. The animations will only be triggered when the AI wants them to be or when the user wants the to be. Now all this stuff can finally trigger penalties as well because its user/AI input.

COVERAGE TYPE/DB AWARENESS

1)Shut Down - use this type when you really want to get in a WR's face. The DB will be very aggressive. Bump n' run, jostling, barely looking for the pass. Coverage will be very tight but you are more susceptible to penalties and your DB will rarely pick off the ball because he's not paying attention to the QB, just the receiver. We see this all the time, especially when Linebackers are matched up against WRs or lesser DB's vs talented WRs.

2)Sag Off - this allows your corner to read the QB's eyes. (EA must get ratings and AI down right for this stuff to even matter). This will allow your receiver to make better plays on the ball and allow him to attempt to actually pick it off. However this will give the receiver a lot of room to run a good route or burn you on a quick slant.

3)Standard - pretty much the mid point between each one I just explained.

4) Shading - Allows the corner to force the receiver inside or outside.

5)Hitting/Going up for the ball - I want to have the option to have my safeties try and hit the receiver as he's comming down for the ball or make an attempt to swat it/intercept it/rip it out of his hands. (this could be tied to safety ratings too)

MISC
-I wanna see players diving to try and catch deflected balls.
-Awareness really tied to player ratings and finding the ball.
-Player styles really effect how they play the game (for example aggressive DBs)
-player momentum, defensive players slipping or really getting burned

Edit: After reading my post over I actually noticed 2 particular control mechanics.
1) Holding A (as a LB or DB)- triggers jostling/slowing down receiver (potential holding)
2) Pressing B (as a LB or DB) - triggers jamming a receiver and also countering a block from an offensive player

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

Easy, big fella. This guy is one of the highest-ranking officials at EA; I'm sure he had other things to do than to attend a Madden Community Event. That doesn't mean that he's not concerned or passionate about the game.

I respect that he's a high ranking official and I'm sure he's passionate about the business aspects of what Madden does for the company he works for - but not so convinced that he's passionate about the MADDEN game.

I could be wrong about him but I need to look into his eyes to be sure. Maybe next time I'm in Orlando, he'll be in Orlando.

Later

[N51_rob]

Don't know if this has been mentioned so I apologize if it has. But I would like to see defensive assignments work properly. If I want to have my #1 CB cover the #1 WR on the other team, that doesn't mean that I want my LB covering the #2 receiver in base personnel formations, or in a three wide when I go nickle and there is a 3rd CB/5th DB on the field. Just asinine to still have that happening.

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

Quote: Originally Posted by N51_rob

Don't know if this has been mentioned so I apologize if it has. But I would like to see defensive assignments work properly. If I want to have my #1 CB cover the #1 WR on the other team, that doesn't mean that I want my LB covering the #2 receiver in base personnel formations, or in a three wide when I go nickle and there is a 3rd CB/5th DB on the field. Just asinine to still have that happening.

This please, I'm sick an tired of the offense coming out in a twin wr set an for some reason my LB thinks its ok to gaurd the wr in the slot....ummm whoa there buddy. YOUR a LB, go cover the HB or something. I have two CBs on the field for a reason. Let Champ Bailey hold Santonio Holmes down. You just worry about filling your gap....../end rant