If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

[Netherscourge]

I would be happy.

If they did absolutely NOTHING for the next Madden game except add a brand new physics engine and update the rosters, I would be ecstatic.

Seriously. They could leave every other aspect of the game unchanged for all I care. In fact, they could delete Superstar mode completely to save space on the DVD-ROM.

They could delete the sidelines too, since all the people on the sidelines look like stand-in props and movie-extras.

All I want for EA to do with Madden at this point is to get rid of the canned animation system and implement a 100% physics-based engine, allong the same lines as Backbreaker.

They could do some motion-capturing for the purpose of setting physics limitations/instrucitons, but no more Pro-Tak stuff.

They could keep the same cameras, the same presentation, the same online/offline franchise, the same highlight show... keep all that stuff the same.

Just update the actual football gameplay engine to a realisitic physics-based one where every player has arms, legs, heads and bodies that can be individually interacted upon by an unlimited number of other players, the field and the football itself.

No body parts passing through other body parts. No invisible force-fields. Just pure, realistic player interaction.

That's all I want. Do that and slap the NFL license on it and I'll be a happy Madden gamer for the first time in over a decade.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

In fact, they could delete Superstar mode completely to save space on the DVD-ROM.

They could delete the sidelines too, since all the people on the sidelines look like stand-in props and movie-extras.

It does not work that way. It never has and it never will. Space is taken up by assets. Skin textures, jersey textures, etc. These are things that take up space. Modes, code, etc. These do not.

[swanlee]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

The funny thing is Backbreaker in only 1GB, yes you heard me correct en entire game is only 1GB.

What Ea really needs to do is just buyout 505 take backbreaker as an engine and just build on it fix a few gameplay issues and slap the NFL license all over it and you have one of the best football games ever made.

[Exonerated]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

Theres one thing to have a physics engine ala backbreaker. Its another thing to have ratings, weight, and different body sizes to affect the physics. All of which backbreaker does not.

Since the other two ea games are going physics based. Expect to see ncaa and madden go physics based soon.

Theres no point to physics based engines if weight and ratings are thrown out the window. Then you'd just have 11 similar players playing eachother.

[Netherscourge]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

It does not work that way. It never has and it never will. Space is taken up by assets. Skin textures, jersey textures, etc. These are things that take up space. Modes, code, etc. These do not.

Well, cool then - leave Superstar in the game since it doens't affect the space taken up on the DVD-Rom.

Just don't touch it - don't waste any dev time on it - focus all dev time on the physics engine.

Backbreaker has a 1GB HDD install capacity- that leaves around 3GB of space for all the other stuff.

All I want is a physics engine. Heck, they might save space by deleting the animations stored for the current engine and just let the physics engine do all the "animating".

I don't even think disc-space is the issue to be honest. But if it is, then hit the delete button for all I care.

Whatever it takes, I want it to get done.


I'm serious - I'm BEGGING EA to do this. I can't watch any more of these E3 videos of Madden 11 - it's depressing.

I need Madden's attention to NFL details and Madden camera angles with Backbreaker's physics engine. Why can't I have both?

[o Mass Murda o]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

physics and a real deep franchise like last gen (madden 07 ps2) is all this game needs. the good thing is if they do go this route with physics, unlike bbreaker, they already have a ton of animations for the animated stuff, so it would in turn look a ton better than bbreaker does since they have crap animations for things like dropbacks, catches, throwing, handoffs, jukes, etc. if they did this, madden would never leave my disc tray

[Testarossa28]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

I agree all this game needs is a physics engine and a deep franchise mode. However, no way that is happening anytime soon. They say they just spent an entire dev cycle on gameplay and locomotion. You really think they are going to just junk it and put in physics? Especially since they promised franchise for next year? So your looking at M13 at the earliest but by then the next gen systems will be close to comming out. Face it, this gen of Madden is dead.

[Netherscourge]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

It's literally the final, missing ingredient for Madden to step out of this recycled plateau it's stuck on.

It's long, long, long overdue.

They got most of the other NFL details down pretty good. But the lack of a true physics engine is holding the whole Madden franchise back.

So many people would get back on EA's side if they just went for it. The Backbreaker peeps, the 2K peeps, the old-school Tecmo/Joe Montana/10-yard-fight/Blitz/Cyberball/Mutant League peeps would all jump on this game again.

It an untapped technology that just BEGGING to get implemented.

Backbreaker tried and missed the mark - but it serves as a proof-of-concept that you CAN DO IT and you can do it ON THIS GENERATION of consoles.

EA has got the money and the resources to do it the RIGHT WAY - they just need to make the comittment.

[bucky60]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

If all they did was a physics engine, I wouldn't buy it.

The game would still be greatly lacking in the franchise area.

They should have had a GREAT franchise a long time ago. Really, franchise has VERY LITTLE direct interaction with game play. Only a few calculations should be effected if players ratings are changed/added onto/deleted from. Every other aspect of a GREAT franchise would be unaffected by game play changes or even complete redesign of game play.

With a GREAT franchise in place, they could almost exclusively work on game play EVERY YEAR.

[Netherscourge]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

If all they did was a physics engine, I wouldn't buy it.

The game would still be greatly lacking in the franchise area.

They should have had a GREAT franchise a long time ago. Really, franchise has VERY LITTLE direct interaction with game play. Only a few calculations should be effected if players ratings are changed/added onto/deleted from. Every other aspect of a GREAT franchise would be unaffected by game play changes or even complete redesign of game play.

With a GREAT franchise in place, they could almost exclusively work on game play EVERY YEAR.

True, but what good is a good franchise mode if the actual football gameplay is bad?

No matter what features they add to the game, it all boils down eventually to the basic, on-the-field gameplay and if that fails to be impressive then all the other stuff is irrelevant.

It's like the reverse of Backbreaker - they got a great on-the-field engine, but they left out all the other stuff that Madden has to make it an authetic football game.

It's crazy - each game has the one thing the other game needs- and neither game really works with satisfaction without that missing ingredient.

[JBucc]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

I'd bet a dollar real time physics will be next year's locomotion or pro-tak. NHL is implementing it, NBA is implementing it, if it goes over well in those it will be in Madden next year.

[Triathlete_201]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

True, but what good is a good franchise mode if the actual football gameplay is bad?

No matter what features they add to the game, it all biols down eventually t othe basic, on-the-field gameplay and if that fails to be impressive then al lthe other stuff is irrelevant.

I'm with you on this one. Gameplay should always be the #1 priority. Madden and NCAA look great and have some nice features but the gameplay (mainly physics and animations) is stuck in the 90s era imo.

[bucky60]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

True, but what good is a good franchise mode if the actual football gameplay is bad?

No matter what features they add to the game, it all biols down eventually t othe basic, on-the-field gameplay and if that fails to be impressive then al lthe other stuff is irrelevant.

The game play isn't "BAD". It's serviceable. Franchise is bad. There will ALWAYS be game play issues. You will ALWAYS push franchise off for game play. Game play will forever be evolving. A Great Franchise (as far as coding/programming goes) are almost (not quite), but almost, mutually exclusive. A Great Franchise has almost NO impact on the game play itself. Get the franchise down, and then game play can almost be exclusively worked on EVERY YEAR AFTER THAT. The tug of war ends.

It's like the reverse of Backbreaker - they got a great on-the-field engine, but they left out all the other stuff that Madden has to make it an authetic football game.

Backbreakers game play is pretty poor. The only thing they did well was the physics engine. But I give it leeway being a first attempt.

[Netherscourge]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

The only thing that worries me is their exclusive NFL contract requiring them to pump out a Madden game every August.


It took The Backbreaker team like 4 years to build the Backbreaker physics engine. I'm not sure if EA can do it in 12 months.

If the EA guys haven't already laid some sort of groundwork for a physics engine, then they might not even bother with it since it would take some serious development time.

Then again, EA has a TON more money for Tiburon to make MAdden then the Backbreaker guys did. I think they funded their game out of their own pockets for the most part.

Plus, it's possible they might just purchase the rights of someone else's already created physics engine and implement it to save time and money.


Who knows. Whatever it takes, I hope they can get it done.

[tlc12576]

Re: If EA did NOTHING but add a real physics engine...

Well, cool then - leave Superstar in the game since it doens't affect the space taken up on the DVD-Rom.

Just don't touch it - don't waste any dev time on it - focus all dev time on the physics engine.

Backbreaker has a 1GB HDD install capacity- that leaves around 3GB of space for all the other stuff.

All I want is a physics engine. Heck, they might save space by deleting the animations stored for the current engine and just let the physics engine do all the "animating".

I don't even think disc-space is the issue to be honest. But if it is, then hit the delete button for all I care.

Whatever it takes, I want it to get done.


I'm serious - I'm BEGGING EA to do this. I can't watch any more of these E3 videos of Madden 11 - it's depressing.

I need Madden's attention to NFL details and Madden camera angles with Backbreaker's physics engine. Why can't I have both?

This sentence really caught my eye.I know very little about programming and stuff but I try to be a logical guy.This right here just seems very logical to me.I read so much about canned animations and how they take control away from the gamer.Also,how every year this or that game added x number of new animations,your suggestion is off the charts logical,IMO.Add in the BB engine with some good branch animations where they are needed and it could really be something special.Not to mention the space and/or resources it would save for other game improvements.

That said I dont want EA/Madden getting or going anywhere near it though!LOL

I hope some other company gets the BB engine and uses it in a NCAA licensed football game next year to give gamers a taste for what it could be like.That way,if this wretched exclusive NFL license ever ends,that company would have a early start on making football games with it.