Madden 13 - player ratings mean absolutely nothing (video proof)

[TeamBuilder]

Quote: Originally Posted by Amino

Yup, I'm going to trade in the game. They can't even get the fundamentals right. Video

The difficulty setting is on All-Madden. Why would ratings matter on a difficulty setting that is meant to favor the CPU?

Put the settings on "Pro" difficulty, with all CPU sliders set to 75 (to match the human sliders) and speed threshold to 100. This defaults the game across the board and makes ratings matter.

[raiders81tim]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tp801

I thought with the Infinity Engine weight and height where suppose to matter to some degree.

They do just not in the trenches. I really hope things like this are fixed in 14.

[Black59Razr]

I posted about a similar problem with MLB 12 The Show (SCEA). For example, if a player has a 0 in the hitting attribute, I want him to swing and miss 100% of the time. Or a football player with 0 strength gets pushed down 100% of the time.

Some other members said that kind of absolute attribute system would open a Pandora's box of other problems. So, this is not just an EA issue. I would like to hear the point of view from someone in the gaming development industry.

Here is the old video I am sure everyone has seen. But its a good laugh to see what really should happen IRL. Go to 4:39
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc9L4PYXM_U

[DirkJesusNowitzki]

Quote: Originally Posted by Amino

With the likelihood of 2k going at it with EA over NFL licenses next year and possibly winning a joint license agreement like they had 8 years ago, EA's days of releasing a half-assed, glitch-riddled roster update may be over. They have the ESPN licence too but I don't see broadcast or presentation elements that makes full use of it - perhaps NCAA makes the best use of it. When 2k had it, they had freakin' SportsCenter, skycam, realistic stats overlay, Chris Berman and the halftime show. Let's look at basketball for a minute - 2K Sports and Visual Concepts have not only managed to produce the best basketball simulation in video game history - but their yearly iterations vastly improves because they don't simply rest on their laurels. They're not complacent like EA. Also look what happened with NBA Live franchise. Because EA couldn't compete with NBA 2K11 in 2010 with their horrendous offering NBA Elite, they took two years off only to come back with an even bigger travesty (NBA Live '13) that for the first time in NBA Live's history, will be a $20 downloadable game. Now think if 2k still had the NFL license - Madden would probably be $40 cheaper right now and in the Xbox Marketplace and PSN Store. Guaranteed.

2k basketball is routinely glitchy, especially online and in leagues. The gameplay has not evolved or changed much from last gen, only animations and graphics. The only difference between the two franchises is that 2k has simply stuck with what works and what was already a very solid basketball game. EA with Madden on the other hand has thrown all kinds of crap against the wall this gen seeing if something sticks.

Regarding Live 13, it's a $20 title for two reasons. One, it's downloadable only. There is no retail version. Second, it's NBA Live. The last one they tried to make was so crappy and buggy, they had to cancel it. The franchise has an abysmal word of mouth factor and little to no market power. They have to do something drastic with the price in order to spur interest in the title, regardless of quality. There's also a potential third factor, and that is that maybe the game just sucks and they want to make whatever little money they can on it?

You can't compare that to Madden because Madden has always outsold its competition, has always been known as a quality franchise, and has huge market power. There would be no reason for EA to have to launch at $20.

[Amino]

Quote: Originally Posted by DirkJesusNowitzki

2k basketball is routinely glitchy, especially online and in leagues. The gameplay has not evolved or changed much from last gen, only animations and graphics. The only difference between the two franchises is that 2k has simply stuck with what works and what was already a very solid basketball game. EA with Madden on the other hand has thrown all kinds of crap against the wall this gen seeing if something sticks. Regarding Live 13, it's a $20 title for two reasons. One, it's downloadable only. There is no retail version. Second, it's NBA Live. The last one they tried to make was so crappy and buggy, they had to cancel it. The franchise has an abysmal word of mouth factor and little to no market power. They have to do something drastic with the price in order to spur interest in the title, regardless of quality. There's also a potential third factor, and that is that maybe the game just sucks and they want to make whatever little money they can on it? You can't compare that to Madden because Madden has always outsold its competition, has always been known as a quality franchise, and has huge market power. There would be no reason for EA to have to launch at $20.

Fair enough NBA 2k titles have been glitchy but they've been resolved or at least an effort was made with countless and quite frankly, big patches. The current engine 2k is running on is probably from 2k9 - granted they've added tons of animations as well as a new collision system so we'll see how it pans out. However, it is the best simulation of basketball and as such the best representation of the NBA.

EA might have churned out a lot of ideas but nothing it has offered so far (apart from maybe franchise up until this year as well as the new Infinity Engine) has stuck. They need a new development team that actually know the game of football and aren't giving us an abysmal and unfinished product.

I also disagree with your assertion that it's NBA Live. Let's not forget NBA Live '98, NBA Live 2003 and 2004 are considered among the best basketball games ever made. They only started sucking because either EA couldn't care less of improving their product or they faced heavy competition - which they did with NBA 2k series - after 2k5 came out it was game over for NBA Live.

The reason I use that parable with Madden is because even if Madden is currently outselling everyone and is known as a 'quality franchise' it could easily follow the same path as NBA Live because it's not as innovative or productive and even 4-5 years from now Madden games will STILL be compared to NFL 2K5.

We should be having a realistic simulation of football by now. It's that simple.

[Brando70]

I found the video interesting but wanted to do more of a real-world Madden test. I don't really care so much if a punter or a 160lb guy can pass block -- that's BS, sure, but not what I'll be doing in my franchise. I'm more interested to see if there are significant differences in the o-lineman the game provides. Also, I wanted to do this at the All-Pro level since All-Madden provides such an unrealistic boost to the CPU.

I did a little experimenting with pass blocking to check this out. I started a practice with the Vikings on D (Jared Allen is the highest rated RE in the game) and the Dolphins on O, because the Dolphins have Jake Long at LT (95 OVR) and the worst-rated LT in the game who is a 41 OVR. There were also about 40-50 points difference in their pass blocking ratings.

I picked Cover 2 and Cover 3 defenses for the Vikings so they would only rush four players and also buy a little time before the CPU would throw the ball. Picked shotgun four-verticals for the Dolphins, and took turns alternating between playing offense and playing defense.

The "good" news is that Jake Long did a much better job against Allen. In fact, Allen could hardly do anything against Jake Long. This was the same whether I was controlling the offense or controlling the defense.

The bad news is that the 41 OVR LT was pretty serviceable against Allen. Long would basically take Allen out of almost every play. The worst I saw the OVR do was give the QB about three seconds to throw, and I would say that outcome occurred probably 40-50% of the time. But the scrub also had a lot of plays where he held his own and even pancaked a DE rated 55 points higher than he was. I ran probably around 30 plays with Allen and the scrub, and not once did Allen blow his man up.

I might toy around with this again and see how it goes with run blocking, but at least from an LT pass blocking perspective, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between a scrub and a superstar.

[TheBMarshall15]

Well you just can't please everyone,lol. Some of you guys expect perfection for $60 bucks, I challenge you critical nit pickers to make a video game and get EVERYTHING right,LOL.

[K0ZZ]

Quote: Originally Posted by Amino

With the likelihood of 2k going at it with EA over NFL licenses next year and possibly winning a joint license agreement like they had 8 years ago, EA's days of releasing a half-assed, glitch-riddled roster update may be over. They have the ESPN licence too but I don't see broadcast or presentation elements that makes full use of it - perhaps NCAA makes the best use of it. When 2k had it, they had freakin' SportsCenter, skycam, realistic stats overlay, Chris Berman and the halftime show. Let's look at basketball for a minute - 2K Sports and Visual Concepts have not only managed to produce the best basketball simulation in video game history - but their yearly iterations vastly improves because they don't simply rest on their laurels. They're not complacent like EA. Also look what happened with NBA Live franchise. Because EA couldn't compete with NBA 2K11 in 2010 with their horrendous offering NBA Elite, they took two years off only to come back with an even bigger travesty (NBA Live '13) that for the first time in NBA Live's history, will be a $20 downloadable game. Now think if 2k still had the NFL license - Madden would probably be $40 cheaper right now and in the Xbox Marketplace and PSN Store. Guaranteed.

Ironic because 2K5 was in that situation when the game came out. Let's look at baseball, 2K took the license and took the better game (MVP) out of the market and people are saying the current titles are still worse than MVP. Look at the NHL, the 2K series has been dead for a few years now? People said NBA 2K12 rested on its laurels and was even a step back from 2K11 [which is the best basketball game to date, CHoops 2K8 is the second best]

2K isn't some magical sports gaming god, assumptions like the bolded are asinine, especially when Madden is most likely the best or second best selling franchise in video game history [FIFA might have it beat, dont have figures] EA wouldn't let their best selling american game just disappear. Even if they secure a joint license you won't see a football game out until the next generation, that is something that is realistic to assume.