25 Days of Madden: The Vision Cone

[Mauer4MVP]

In theory, it was one of the best features Madden has come up with. It needed to be easier controlled though.

I'm not sure what the solution would be.

Have control stick still be fore the cone except when ever you push it, it locks on to an area where a receiver is (because quarterbacks should know the running routes).

[TDenverFan]

Loved the cone, but I hated how small the vision for some backups were. If they were just marginally bigger, but still small enough that the best QBs had a significant advantage, this would be great.

I'd love to see this in NCAA, too. Playing on the road in Happy Valley, and you put in a freshman? That cone better be tiny

[jyoung]

As a Titans fan who played a lot of Madden 06, Madden 07 and Madden 08 on the PC:

Vince Young with the vision cone = awful
Vince Young without vision cone = best QB in the game after Vick and McNabb

That right there is all you need to know about why the vision cone should still be in the game, at the very least, as an option you can toggle on/off.

The vision cone helped bring bad QBs back down to reality instead of the way Madden is now where any QB can be an all-pro in the hands of a skilled player.

[GiantBlue76]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

As a Titans fan who played a lot of Madden 06, Madden 07 and Madden 08 on the PC: Vince Young with the vision cone = awful Vince Young without vision cone = best QB in the game after Vick and McNabb That right there is all you need to know about why the vision cone should still be in the game, at the very least, as an option you can toggle on/off. The vision cone helped bring bad QBs back down to reality instead of the way Madden is now where any QB can be an all-pro in the hands of a skilled player.

You make fair points sir, but I have to disagree. The Vision cone is simply medicine designed to treat a symptom rather than addressing the real problem. In fact, that is the mantra that has plagued Madden for a long time. The developers constantly search for a solution to issues and implement the wrong solution. They kill the headache by cutting off the head. Nothing about the vision cone was realistic in any way, shape or form. The real issue is the engine which handles how the ball interacts with the players and the need for nearly every throw to go to a player (offensive or defensive). That same problem exists even today. I hate to do this, but it applies here... The 2k developers had a separate physics engine just for the ball. Yes - in 2004 they had this. Because the ball is separated from the players on the field, it allows them to adjust accuracy realistically based on who is throwing it, what kind of arm strength they've got, etc. etc. In Madden, the ball is connected to it's target. Sure, you can make overthrows or errant passes once in a while, but only if you use the lead passing mechanism. Also, the context of the bad throws is wrong. You will see a QB get hit as he throws, yet the ball will shoot out of his arm and go 50 yards in under 2 seconds.

This is part of my biggest issue with Tiburon over the years. They just can't ever get to that level of vision and ability to implement things like this that work smoothly and realistically together. Sure, Cam Weber is a good guy, smart and says the right things, but he's not writing the code. If the programmers don't know how to properly build these systems, you get the disjointed mess that you have now.

[Iceman87GT]

Loved this thing, It required you to read the defense before the play and determine your checkdowns. You had to know who you were going to try and go to and you made your progressions. It also made Awareness a relevant stat for player controlled QBs. I loved selecting a receiver before the play with the intention of then shifting it to my real intended target, you could actually look off the receivers.

It was so cool to be forced to change how I approach the passing game after Brett Favre retired, Rodgers hadn't progressed very much in that first year (Couldn't get Favre to last past the 1 season, despite the fact that he played 2 more seasons for the Packers in real life), but I saw a gem of a QB in the draft class and traded up to get him. His awareness was garbage but he had improvising speed (like Big Ben), and his Throw Power and Accuracy were in the 90s (one was 91 the other was in the upper 90s I forget which was which, its been awhile).

In terms of my QBs arm things didn't change much, but the new QB could really only focus on 1 player at a time, where as Favre could focus on about half the field at a time. It required me to be even more deliberate with my planning, I had to be quicker with my decisions, and had to be more aware of my surroundings.

Flashforward to Madden 08 on the PSP, I'm playing it during the pregame (or maybe it was halftime) at a Super Bowl party, I'm training Jared Zabranski (Boise State QB in that Fiesta Bowl comeback), and I ask a friend who knows his football if I should spend any points on awareness and he asks me "is there a vision cone?" I reply no, and he says don't worry about it then. Because when you are controlling a player Awareness is a non-factor, you should only work on your QB's awareness if you plan on simming games.

I didn't mind the fact that it messed with the presentation aspect, because the mechanic added more realism to the game than the presentation (even sans cone) did.

I would love to see them re-introduce this as an option, don't make it the default, but allow us to use it if we want in the various modes.

[brettmickey]

I was only 12 when the Vision Cone was implemented and of course I turned it off after a game or 2 and never went back to it. Now, I would LOVE the challenge/ability to control where my quarterback is looking in order to draw the defense into certain areas of the field and look them off. I didn't understand progressions at that age so it didn't register to me how much it added to the realism (and I was using JP Losman who didn't exactly have the biggest cone so I became frustrated with it). Now I wish they had the option to turn it on or off so everyone could choose to use it or not.

[A_New_Classic]

I liked the cone, it should at least be an optional feature...doesn't seem like it would be that hard to add in either so there really isn't a reason not to have it.

[cream6]

Hated it!!!