User Control and Online Play

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

You're playing as the Cowboys, thus you are virtual Jason Garrett. It's late in the fourth. Should the game have some built-in mechanic that prevents you from using a late timeout to simulate Garrett's subpar game management skills? After all, Garrett shouldn't all of a sudden be a great clock manager just b/c you, the user, are calling the shots, right?

I could go for that. Perhaps there's a "delay" in getting the t.o. called. Maybe I have to hit the button a few more times. Perhaps the "accel. clock" ticks 5 seconds more if my HC or OC has a low OVR rating to represent sometimes being too slow getting plays off (for that matter, low AWR players should sometimes cause that 12-man in the huddle play, or if I change grouping so frequently, it can happen on lower guys).

Things happen like that on the field. Being the HC doesn't make them immune, and I'd welcome the "inconvenience" of having a weaker/inexperienced coaching staff.

Sometimes, things are out of a person's control. That's the game, that's life. I want the challenge of succeeding in spite of difficult circumstances.

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

Doesn't that sound imposing and controlling at least to a limited extent? It's the same exact logic you're employing, only looking at it from another perspective from which the game is played. The user is the head coach. Should the user's smarts override the apparent deficiencies of the head coach of your team?

Then what's the point of having a HC in the game? Why does he have a rating? Why even put them in if they are meaningless?

It is limited. If my team has a bad HC - it should be limiting just like it's limiting/harmful in the real game.

The user's smarts can overcome it, especially given the CPU AI in it's current state - or maybe it's just not their day (happens). Bill Walsh lost games and stuff go wrong on him - one of the best minds ever. Why should I be immune to something a great HC like him wasn't?


*shrug* I get it, though. I'm just "out there" and it will never happen and never be popular. I'll just go back into my Ron Paul corner and let you guys have the floor

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

*shrug* I get it, though. I'm just "out there" and it will never happen and never be popular. I'll just go back into my Ron Paul corner and let you guys have the floor

Ha!

I'm definitely not inferring that you're out there! After all, I use my imagination when playing this game as well (we've both contributed to the How's Your Franchise thread).

I just think there's arguments to be made on both sides for that sort of stuff.

[BezO]

Russ, maybe someone mentioned delay, but what I'm suggesting are animations & mechanics to represent the indecision of less aware players.

QB is easy. Many of us have been asking for an improvement on cone passing... something to represent the difference between a QB "seeing the whole field" vs the QB that doesn't read defenses as well, thus not being able to anticipate and having to scan the field more deliberately.

Other positions are a bit tougher because some of these can be seen as taking control away from the user. But I'm not suggesting delaying user input, per se. Just animations to reflect indecision...

A low awareness MLB on 3rd & 1... LBs are responsible for the run first anyway and would definitley be anticipating run on 3rd & 1, barring any odd tendencies from their opponent. Run play by the offense, no interferring animations. Play action though, even if the user recognizes it quickly, when the user moves his stick towards the MLB's zone (man would be different as he'd likely be responsible for a RB), the initial step is a shuffle, to represent that hesitation/indecision, instead of letting him flash to his assignment as quickly as a higher awareness LB would. The user still gets response for his stick movement, but the animation triggered represents the player's ratings to keep the user in check.

The opposite on a 3rd & 15... hesitation animations responding to a draw, but none getting back to his zone. And these animations would only happen for a certain time after the fake so that if the user recognizes the play late, there are no shuffle animations necessary. And it wouldn't happen every time. They could also be tied to a returning "watch the pass/run" mechanic so the user can respond accordingly to his opponent's tendencies.

We also mentioned RB vision. We can't take away the user's global view. But part of vision is not just seeing, but exploding to the openings that a RB sees. Maybe low vision could affect a RB's agility behind the LOS, between the tackles. If he's fast & agile, he'll still have those abilities on the edge & in the open field. And the user still has full control. But again, it keeps the user in check by not allowing him to hit holes as quickly as RB with good vision & equal speed & agility.

[Big FN Deal]

Yes. Getting the same affect of what KB is describing, using animations. I like the way you described that Bezo, it demonstrates how this animation mechanic could be utilized to account for all ratings, not just some like I was thinking before. I know in that other thread I was advocating for brief ratings hits in some instances to represent hesitation or indecision but it seems that brief animations can achieve the same affect in those instances as well.

I love this idea and now I will be frustrated by Madden even more until this is added. lol

Also, to piggyback on the Head Coaches, I am with KB in the sense that different coaches/coordinators should have various risk/reward factors for the User too. This game is entirely too cookie cutter, imo, with so many things having little to no effect on others. Football has so many nuances that Madden barely even attempts to represent, if at all, that would add greatly to immersion, imo.