Madden to Feature Uniform Fashion Critic in its Fake Twitter Feed

[TB12TCUPROCOMBAT]

Hmm. Doesn't really effect the game but it seems like it would be Ncaa rather than Madden because that's where the Uniform craze started.

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by cuttingteeth

Therein lies the ultimate division of us all, then. There are those of us that played the real game (or always wanted to) and now want to play the "real game" similarly on consoles. We feel it in the center of our souls and say "That's right!" when we hear someone like Herm Edwards say, "You PLAY to WIN the GAME!" We feel it. We understand it. There is no questioning it. It just is and makes all the sense in the world. There are those of you that have to have more than gameplay on the gridiron, too, though. You need more than competition to keep you interested. Why? I have no idea. In what is the core reason anyone ever truly wants to play in the first place - to compete - you have to have a whole circus surrounding it, too. That's fine. Just know that, that is all extras, though. The game, how you play it and if you love to compete are all what came first. Extra: Still, no one has made the case that twitter feeds better the game play. It might help you be informed a little better, but wouldn't the devs making sure the menus were easier to navigate work, too? I know...what if...you had 32 team control and could literally see everything for yourself?

For the record, I consider myself what was previously known as a "franchise mode guy", so a robust and complete-in-all-aspects career mode feature is important to me. Obviously the football has to play well, it's just not the only thing to me for what I see as a good football game. I have avoided games entirely in the past due to lack of a sufficiently deep career mode.

I highlight the bold just to say this: the design and flow of the career mode user interface is easily my biggest criticism with the game. IMO it's cumbersome to navigate and the player isn't presented with relevant information quickly or efficiently. I've written a few posts about this elsewhere and as such won't go into further detail here.

[Grey_Osprey]

Just my humble opinion, but with all the issues surrounding gameplay and missing/gutted features, it's a little disheartening to read about something as trivial as a fake twitter feed being "enhanced". I want to play football, not read fake twitter posts. This game existed for 12 years without Twitter, now after Madden 13 it HAS to have it in order to be "immersed"? What does that say about the quality of gameplay and depth of game features/modes (see NBA 2K, NHL, FIFA, and MLB The Show)?

I know I'm putting the cart way in front of the horse, but the last thing I want to see is come Aug/Sep they release the game and we see what's NOT in it, or what doesn't work properly and then have to listen to the company line about how they "ran out of time" or "if we couldn't make it work right, we didn't want to put it in the game".

[bucky60]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

Absolutely not. My position which apparently is so disagreeable here is that there's more to a sports video game than the sport itself. Particularly in a career mode context where the user is actively competing against other teams not only on the field but also via team-building, information about how other teams are constructing their rosters must be at a user's fingertips so he may react appropriately and make informed team-building gameplay decision.

Wouldn't proper roster mechanics be at the top of the list of things that would give a career mode more context. I guess my position, which seems disagreeable to you, is that accurate NFL mechanics, like roster mechanics, and other off season mechanics, bring much more context and depth to a sports video game than FASHION TWEETS.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

Let's consider this from the Madden NFL 13 dev cycle perspective for a second. Let's say that instead of the Twitter feed, that no longer exists because instead the team chose to properly implement a one-week waiver period for players with less than four years of NFL experience (no way to implement a 24-hour window in the current weekly setup) and also a practice squad (ostensibly, extra roster spots, but players here are ineligible to play in games and players may only be on the practice squad if they have less than three seasons of league experience). CCM in Madden NFL 13 now no longer has a means of updating players on game results, players of the week, trade occurrences, free agent signings / releases, scouting activities of other teams, and so on. The player now essentially must operate blind as to what other teams do unless he goes digging for information about player movement, trade happenings, etc.

Not sure exactly what this has to do with FASHION TWEETS. And if the information about team transactions and players is that hard to find, then the game is POORLY DESIGNED. I don't have that problem in NBA2K13, and they don't have FASHION TWEETS. Practice squads, contract restructuring, waiver wires, etc are important parts of the NFL team building and team improving strategy and process.

YES it makes the game much better (for a franchise mode). No reason at all why Madden should not have this by now. I could care less about FASHION TWEETS.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

Is that really better? I don't think so. Again, my point of view is that the player ought to be kept informed of what's going on in his league, and that's more important than minor roster management nuances, particularly when there's a reasonable fallback option (unrestricted free agency) already in place. Again, waived players automatically revert to free agents after 24 hours (and Madden has no concept of hours), and players on practice squads may be signed by any team to the active roster at any given time, so in both cases the players might as well be free agents. It's an excusable omission, IMO, and a low-priority feature to implement. I completely understand and agree with the point of view that there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to implementing a proper career mode.

Low priority? A waiver wire would solve problems with cutting players just to immediately sign them for lower contracts. Also, allowing true contract restructuring would be a significant feature and not a "minor management nuance". These things are important to team building strategies. Much more important than FASHION TWEETS.

I'm starting to believe that you're not trolling and you really believe that FASHION TWEETS are more important than more accurately portraying how the NFL and teams operate which would provide much greater off season depth and add greatly to off season strategy.

[LingeringRegime]

So basically it is a underhanded message to people who are demanding authentic details in their game?

Status quo Ftw.

[SmashMan]

...he's arguing from a pro-fake Twitter feed stance, not specifically from a pro-UniWatch inclusion stance.

If you're going to argue against it, it'd be fair to not over-simplify his end of it.

[CM Hooe]

First, basically what SmashMan said. I'm talking about the Twitter feed as a whole at this point, not just the addition of the UniWatch guy (ostensibly, the addition of content to the feature, I could not care less what it is for the purposes of the point I've been trying to make). As you have done on previous occasions, you're deliberately twisting my words in an attempt to make my point of view sound preposterous and ridiculous, something I really wish you would stop doing.

Quote: Originally Posted by bucky60

Wouldn't proper roster mechanics be at the top of the list of things that would give a career mode more context. I guess my position, which seems disagreeable to you, is that accurate NFL mechanics, like roster mechanics, and other off season mechanics, bring much more context and depth to a sports video game than FASHION TWEETS.

Context (n) - the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.

The inclusion of any roster management mechanic doesn't add or subtract anything from the context of a simulated world within a video game. Any feature added typically to enhance the presentation of the mode - in this case, the Twitter feed - adds context by building up the artificial world the video game is attempting to simulate. It adds a purpose - if only an artificial one - to what the user is doing. This is similar to the robust non-basketball feature set of NBA 2K such as the shoe editor, Nike endorsements, My Player billboards, postgame interviews, etc. etc. None of those features are basketball-related, but they add to the atmosphere of the game and improve the game as a whole. The MyPlayer mode in NBA 2K succeeds so well because there are so many features which add context such as what I listed above in addition to a great-playing game of basketball. Neither side of the coin succeeds in delivering the feature on its own.

This is why I support the Twitter feed in Madden. It adds context. It adds a purpose to what I'm doing by providing information and narrative.

Quote:

And if the information about team transactions and players is that hard to find, then the game is POORLY DESIGNED.

You, myself, this message board, the GameChangers, and Josh Looman himself all agree that a proper transaction log is a glaring omission from the first iteration of CCM. Though I have no inside knowledge one way or the other, I would like to think that its inclusion is a high-priority item in Madden NFL 25, given that it was right up there with player editing and fantasy draft with regard to highly-publicized omissions from the first iteration of the mode.

I wholeheartedly agree that the user interface in Connected Career mode could use improvement and have stated repeatedly in this thread and elsewhere that poor UI is my biggest problem with the mode.

Quote:

Low priority? A waiver wire would solve problems with cutting players just to immediately sign them for lower contracts. Also, allowing true contract restructuring would be a significant feature and not a "minor management nuance". These things are important to team building strategies. Much more important than FASHION TWEETS.

I'm not sure you understand what waivers are in an NFL context. To reiterate, waivers don't come into play for any NFL player with over four years of NFL experience, thus it doesn't accomplish what you are saying it will. Players with more than four years of experience immediately become free agents at the termination of their contracts. The mechanic is only relevant for younger players whose contracts are terminated, and waived young players typically only get claimed if there is an interested team and the player has a favorable salary cap hit for the current year. Further, since Madden doesn't simulate the progression of a franchise with a proper calendar, rather using a weekly time progression, the proper 24-hour waiver window cannot be implemented; if a player is unclaimed on waivers after 24 hours, he becomes a free agent. As such, it can make sense for a young player to hit free agency immediately in the video game.

The omission of the waiver wire if nowhere near as big of a deal as you are making it out to be. Would it be nice if it were there? Sure. Can Madden get away without it? Absolutely.

[bucky60]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

First, basically what SmashMan said. I'm talking about the Twitter feed as a whole at this point, not just the addition of the UniWatch guy (ostensibly, the addition of content to the feature, I could not care less what it is for the purposes of the point I've been trying to make). As you have done on previous occasions, you're deliberately twisting my words in an attempt to make my point of view sound preposterous and ridiculous, something I really wish you would stop doing.

This thread is about TWITTER FASHION. I haven't made any comments about twitter in general. Just TWITTER FASHION. I'm not the one twisting anything. Even when twitter was introduced last year I didn't make any comments about it. I'm commenting about the THREAD TOPIC.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

The inclusion of any roster management mechanic doesn't add or subtract anything from the context of a simulated world within a video game. Any feature added typically to enhance the presentation of the mode - in this case, the Twitter feed - adds context by building up the artificial world the video game is attempting to simulate. It adds a purpose - if only an artificial one - to what the user is doing. This is similar to the robust non-basketball feature set of NBA 2K such as the shoe editor, Nike endorsements, My Player billboards, postgame interviews, etc. etc. None of those features are basketball-related, but they add to the atmosphere of the game and improve the game as a whole. The MyPlayer mode in NBA 2K succeeds so well because there are so many features which add context such as what I listed above in addition to a great-playing game of basketball. Neither side of the coin succeeds in delivering the feature on its own.

Are you Bill Clinton? You pulling that "defining what is is" stuff on us? How about "building up the artificial world" by building up the things that are relevant and important to the NFL and NFL off season? Stuff that's missing in madden.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

This is why I support the Twitter feed in Madden. It adds context. It adds a purpose to what I'm doing by providing information and narrative.

And proper roster management/off season/financials adds much more of a purpose to building and running an NFL team than fake twitter feeds. I have nothing against twitter being added. I have something against significant aspects of the NFL being incomplete or non existent and adding twitter before other more important aspects of the NFL have been added.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

You, myself, this message board, the GameChangers, and Josh Looman himself all agree that a proper transaction log is a glaring omission from the first iteration of CCM. Though I have no inside knowledge one way or the other, I would like to think that its inclusion is a high-priority item in Madden NFL 25, given that it was right up there with player editing and fantasy draft with regard to highly-publicized omissions from the first iteration of the mode.

A proper transaction log is just one of many glaring omissions in Madden.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

I'm not sure you understand what waivers are in an NFL context. To reiterate, waivers don't come into play for any NFL player with over four years of NFL experience, thus it doesn't accomplish what you are saying it will.

It does make madden come closer to how the actual NFL operates. And it would make a difference in the game for players with 4 years or less of experience.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

Players with more than four years of experience immediately become free agents at the termination of their contracts. The mechanic is only relevant for younger players whose contracts are terminated, and waived young players typically only get claimed if there is an interested team and the player has a favorable salary cap hit for the current year. Further, since Madden doesn't simulate the progression of a franchise with a proper calendar, rather using a weekly time progression, the proper 24-hour waiver window cannot be implemented; if a player is unclaimed on waivers after 24 hours, he becomes a free agent. As such, it can make sense for a young player to hit free agency immediately in the video game.

There are ways of simulating an order that teams are allowed to claim these players, even in a week to week advancement.

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

The omission of the waiver wire if nowhere near as big of a deal as you are making it out to be. Would it be nice if it were there? Sure. Can Madden get away without it? Absolutely.

And how CM Hooe of you to ignore all the other things I mentioned and just focus on one thing. And how you ignore that I've only been commenting on how useless and unimportant TWITTER FASHION is. Heck, I wouldn't even care about twitter fashion if EA/Tib didn't produce such an incomplete game. I wouldn't care one way or the other if NBA2K14 had twitter fashion. I would just chuckle at it. But I wouldn't care. Why? Because NBA2K13 is a much more polished game. Madden, this entire gen console, has been greatly disappointing. At this point, adding TWITTER FASHION is just frustrating.