Gaming Examiner: Madden 13 Interview with the Developers

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by tazdevil20

To add to this, I don't think connected careers is an "online" mode. It is an all encompassing change to how franchise modes will exist which happens to include both elements from offline AND online.

Bingo Bango, I agree.

I guess what I meant is online franchise crowd would have been greatly disappointed if CC was held back a year and no updates for online franchise.

[moylan1234]

I don't think anyone should get the short end of the stick either. But I also don't think developers should include new modes that by their own admission aren't ready to be included.

So if I'm to understand yours and Roadman's point then without CC online franchises would be broken completely? It's not possible that they could have fixed whatever online bugs there were without a total rehaul?

[jpdavis82]

Quote: Originally Posted by moylan

I don't think anyone should get the short end of the stick either. But I also don't think developers should include new modes that by their own admission aren't ready to be included. So if I'm to understand yours and Roadman's point then without CC online franchises would be broken completely? It's not possible that they could have fixed whatever online bugs there were without a total rehaul?

What people who never played Online Franchise don't understand is that NONE of the improvements to Franchise Mode last year transferred to Online in Madden 12. The issue wasn't online bugs in online franchise it's that there was no salary cap, new FA bidding system, cut days, or any of the other features that offline franchise got in Madden 12.

Oh and how is Connected Careers not ready to be included into Madden?

[Purple28Pedestrian]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

I promise I'm trying to be as objective as possible about this, but why would people want this feature left in the game the way it was(broken) if they can take it out for a year to improve it and make sure it works right for next year and years to come? Assuming that is what happens obviously, but if that is what they are doing I can definitely understand their decision. If they bring it back the way it was then yeah they deserve to be questioned and criticized.

JP and to all others out there, in regards to the statement I bolded, what people seem to forget is that many things in the game are broken, the thing is that even though madden hasn't perfected many aspects of their game, they almost inevitably allow us, directly or indirectly to adjust the game until we see these features as NOT BROKEN anymore.

So the import didn't work, re-rate the players/rename the players/different equipment,

Players are too fast, too slow, too whatever, re-rate the players,

Don't like the way a CPU team handled free agency? [control all 32 teams]

Franchise gets too boring for you....do a fantasy draft.

Madden hasn't done a ton of things right, but what they DID get right was where they were going in terms of full user customization, they added detailed sliders for all aspects of the game, they added player editing during franchise, they added franchise team switching...they were heading in the right direction because this allowed gamers to bandaid whatever flaws they perceived to have with the game.

it didnt make the game perfect in my eyes, but I had more fun with M13 than any other madden to date.

I dont think they are trying to "oppress" offline franchise guys or any of us for that matter [I hate that i can't edit and play with my friends] but what this means is that we have to play the way EA wants us to and we can't do those micro fixes that helped make the game better and more fun.

[GiantBlue76]

Quote: Originally Posted by moylan

I don't think anyone should get the short end of the stick either. But I also don't think developers should include new modes that by their own admission aren't ready to be included. So if I'm to understand yours and Roadman's point then without CC online franchises would be broken completely? It's not possible that they could have fixed whatever online bugs there were without a total rehaul?

Actually, that IS correct. You probably never played online franchise because you aren't interested in it. So just to tell you, online franchise isn't really online franchise. It had ZERO elements of franchise. All it was was a seasonal multiplayer that lasted over a max of 10 seasons. There were zero front office capabilities except trading. It literally was false advertising to call it "online franchise". On top of that, they bragged it was implemented on the server which would allow for changes frequently, but it never happened. This mode existed the same exact way in M10, 11 and 12. The entire "franchise" experience was rewritten from scratch, and it was actually done right. There is no longer online and offline. You can play the modes by yourself or with others and have the same feature set. I can't guarantee you that your features will return, but they really should. Having to wait a whole year really sucks, but having to wait 5-6 years is worse. Would you rather miss out on one year, or would you rather them go the more common route they have gone in the past where they half *** something and throw it in there with crap quality?

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by moylan

I don't think anyone should get the short end of the stick either. But I also don't think developers should include new modes that by their own admission aren't ready to be included. So if I'm to understand yours and Roadman's point then without CC online franchises would be broken completely? It's not possible that they could have fixed whatever online bugs there were without a total rehaul?

There was nothing there much to technically "fix" sense so many features or basics from offline Franchise, were completely missing from online Franchise. No salary cap, no money or contracts of any kind, no trade logic, no nothing for the most part. Just a 32 teams capable of playing multiple games together for multiple seasons. It was a 3 year travesty and why so many are glad t see CC, in spite of it's apparent short comings.

[moylan1234]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

What people who never played Online Franchise don't understand is that NONE of the improvements to Franchise Mode last year transferred to Online in Madden 12. The issue wasn't online bugs in online franchise it's that there was no salary cap, new FA bidding system, cut days, or any of the other features that offline franchise got in Madden 12. Oh and how is Connected Careers not ready to be included into Madden?

How long is the list of things they've said "we really want that but didn't have time". When you have a list that long it tells me the thing is not ready.

Edit: Okay thanks guys I had no idea all that stuff was missing. It still puzzles me why so much had to be sacrificed to get that all in. Or why they would even have the mode in the first place when it was so bare bones. oh well.

[SoxFan01605]

Quote: Originally Posted by jpdavis82

What people who never played Online Franchise don't understand is that NONE of the improvements to Franchise Mode last year transferred to Online in Madden 12. The issue wasn't online bugs in online franchise it's that there was no salary cap, new FA bidding system, cut days, or any of the other features that offline franchise got in Madden 12. Oh and how is Connected Careers not ready to be included into Madden?

At this point, that's a matter of perspective. Offline franchise players are the ones making a trade-off here. So, depending on how one plays, the game might not be to the level of function it was in 12. From that standpoint, one could argue (admittedly from a singular point-of-view) that the mode isn't ready.

Really, all of this is subjective. I completely disagree with EA's sense of priorities in creating the base for this mode and will not purchase 13, but whether or not it's "ready" (in terms of its inclusion this year) should be determined by functionality. That is something none of us can judge at this point.