Madden 12 King Of Current Generation For Offline Franchise

[hyacinth1]

I remember when 12 came out people were surprised and positive. 11 was a step back from 10 so 12 came as a shock that it was half way decent.

As for running the ball in 25, it gives you options but the RB system is too much in favor of the RB. I don't mess with sliders and only play on default, but running the ball is way too unrealisitc in 25.

Now I LOVE running the ball in FB games and I see lots of potential with 25 running game being toned down int he next patch. The best Madden game for running the ball this gen was 10. It was near perfect balance.

[edgevoice]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

And this is where everyone has an opinion that counts. I'm waiting for the day that we have full blown physics, but I'll take the Infinity Engine 2.0 over 12's animations.

Full-blown physics would be mind-blowing that's for sure. However, without taking into account actual player ratings, I'm not convinced the end result would accurately depict a realistic outcome.

If they could put that all together, correctly program technique for each position, with the caveat that the better player doesn't always win every time, then gameplay would be off the charts.

[willIam9387]

Quote: Originally Posted by edgevoice

Full-blown physics would be mind-blowing that's for sure. However, without taking into account actual player ratings, I'm not convinced the end result would accurately depict a realistic outcome. If they could put that all together, correctly program technique for each position, with the caveat that the better player doesn't always win every time, then gameplay would be off the charts.

Yeah that's my main issue with the physics engine is how can we merge physics with the attributes of players to make a real-life gaming experience. It's definitely a tall order to do so and I think in the past two years Madden has done a great job laying a solid foundation to really do that. Integrating sliders into this will be another issue as I really don't know how sliders interact with the physics system. First of all, the sliders seem broken as it's tough to know exactly what influences what, and the penalty sliders have people trying out all these theories.

But physics and ratings are definitely where the EA team needs to focus and much more importantly an paying more focus on attention to detail.

[Robcards]

12 has been the best offline franchise mode by far. The ability to basically change whatever you wanted, and how it was quick and easy to control all 32 teams made it the Madden I've spent the most hours on in my life. Franchise mode is the only reason I play Madden.

In order to control 32 teams in Madden 25 it takes at least 30 minutes of going through the motions to take control of all of them, and then once re-signing starts you need to go through every team which takes forever this year since it switches you to the home screen and to get from home screen to actions lags a little because of the news feed. Very frustrating, I'm not sure if I'm going to put up with it for an offline franchise this year.

Not being able to edit incoming rookies is extremely frustrating as well. It's nice that the import feature doesn't have the graphical errors that M12 did (I ended up just using generated classes and changing names because it was so bad, which was a PITA, but at least I could fix the ratings while I was at it too). But sometimes an imported guy will come in with some ridiculous ratings and you can't do anything about it.

I've brought this up in other threads, but its also worth mentioning here. M12 had REAL schedules for year 2 and beyond in franchise. This was broken in M13 and somehow is still broken in M25, which is a HUGE disappointment for a franchise mode. You can't look forward to playing a particular division next year, you have no clue what divisions you're playing next year.

[PGaither84]

As someone who stuck with 12 over buying 13... and who bought Madden 25, but hasn't received it in the mail to play it [only playing the demo] I want to chime in as well.

Madden 12's franchise mode is SOOO BORING. There is no life in it what so ever. The AI treats every team like they run a 4-3 defense, so the 49ers under computer control only keep 2 MLBs on their roster while loading up on DTs, as well as every other team in the game. So unless you spend all your time messing with 32 teams, even year one is a mess. Then they cut MLB N. Bowman because he is the second MLB on the depth chart... and since the game is running on 4-3 logic, he has got to go. However, if I make him a ROLB and make Aldon a DE, Justin a DT along with Ray Mac... only then will most of the team kind of resemble the 49ers I know... kind of.

So, you have to user control all 32 teams, but it still doesn't matter because the 4-3 defense is all that matters for simulated games and roster management.

Then, there is the whole mess of just how lifeless the thing is. I don't know what Madden 25's franchise will really be like, but all this story lien stuff seems interesting. In Madden 12, you are playing 16 exhibition games, then the playoffs start and we get a dull ending to the season. Rinse and repeat. I have simulate a ton of season in Madden 12, but have yet to complete one season of franchise mode in any madden game since Madden 07 on my XBox. The mode is so lifeless there is no reason to keep going. I lose interest by week 4 or so every time I try.

What helped for me in the past is that I have a friend in real life who I would play franchise with in Madden 02-07 and we would always play as the other guy's opponent and use that team's playbook. It was a fun way to use different teams/players/playbooks. That kept it interesting, but so did the deeper franchise mode EA gave us in 06 and 07.

For Madden 25, my friend has the game and we want to play online now that I no longer live in the states, and I know a couple people from here at OS I will be inviting as well.

[gr18]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

As someone who stuck with 12 over buying 13... and who bought Madden 25, but hasn't received it in the mail to play it [only playing the demo] I want to chime in as well. Madden 12's franchise mode is SOOO BORING. There is no life in it what so ever. The AI treats every team like they run a 4-3 defense, so the 49ers under computer control only keep 2 MLBs on their roster while loading up on DTs... as well as every other team in the game. So, unless you spend all your time messing with 32 teams, even year one is a mess. Then they cut N. Bowman because he is the #2 MLB and since the game is running on 4-3 logic, he has got to go. however, If i make him a ROLB and make Aldon a DE, Justin a DT along with Ray Mac... only then will most of the team kind of resemble the 49ers I know... kind of. So, you have to user control all 32 teams, but it still doesn't matter because the 4-3 defense is all that matters for simulated games and roster management. Then, there is the whole mess of just how lifeless the thing is. I don't know what Madden 25's franchise will really be like, but all this story lien stuff seems interesting. In Madden 12, you are playing 16 exhibition games, then the playoffs start and we get a dull ending to the season. Rinse and repeat. I have simulate a ton of season in Madden 12, but have yet to complete one season of franchise mode in any madden game since Madden 07 on my XBox. The mode is so lifeless there is no reason to keep going. I lose interest by week 4 or so every time I try. What helped for me in the past is that I have a friend in real life who I would play franchise with in Madden 02-07 and we would always play as the other guy's opponent and use that team's playbook. It was a fun way to use different teams/players/playbooks. That kept it interesting, but so did the deeper franchise mode EA gave us in 06 and 07. For Madden 25, my friend has the game and we want to play online now that I no longer live in the states, and I know a couple people from here at OS I will be inviting as well.

I here what you're saying but I don't think EA will ever be competent enough that 32 team control won't be a must.

[Terpfan76]

I play almost entirely offline franchise. I've owned most madden games since the late 90's and have had a blast with most of them. I really didn't understand all the angst over CCM last year. People were pissed because there was no franchise mode yet you could do everything in your connected career that you could do in previous iterations. I like the game so far but my biggest issue as a draftnik is not having immediate access to combine information. 40 times etc should be provide even if you don't get an actual score. Things like awareness and arm strength would require scouting...

I'm glad you can update your stadium again and manage all of those aspects. Its funny however that some people are fine micromanaging 32 teams to get their desired results but can't be bothered with messing with sliders... Seems odd to me but to each his own.

[edgevoice]

Quote: Originally Posted by willIam9387

Yeah that's my main issue with the physics engine is how can we merge physics with the attributes of players to make a real-life gaming experience. It's definitely a tall order to do so and I think in the past two years Madden has done a great job laying a solid foundation to really do that. Integrating sliders into this will be another issue as I really don't know how sliders interact with the physics system. First of all, the sliders seem broken as it's tough to know exactly what influences what, and the penalty sliders have people trying out all these theories. But physics and ratings are definitely where the EA team needs to focus and much more importantly an paying more focus on attention to detail.

The merging of player ratings combined with a true physics engine would be an important piece of the equation. However, they would have to figure out a way to allow a lesser player vs. a better player get the best of the equation once in awhile. Programming that would be very tricky, but necessary.

I would like to see EA scrap the present format and separate offline from online again. Online players should be given every option that offline receives, but commisioners should be in charge of what options will be allowed. Custom playbooks, fantasy draft, slider settings, etc need all be included for everyone.