Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

[RaychelSnr]

Last week, we learned a ton about what Madden NFL 16 is bringing to the table when it comes to connected franchise mode. Several intriguing new features are coming, which will include a visual depth chart and a new weekly goal system. However, it is in that latter feature where the staff finds its biggest hang-up with the announcement of the mode. Is Madden sacrificing realism to create a more RPG like experience in Connected Franchise? We discuss after the jump!

Read More - Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

[Skyboxer]

Pretty close to my thoughts Ben, in a thread the other day I posted.

Goals etc.. could IMO have had an impact also on $.
Reach goals and player asking price when contract is up.. goes up etc..
So much more football GM/Coach aspects could have been tied to the goal system other than the easy way out of just linking with XP stuff.

[Hooe]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

Player performance should dictate player progression, not a series of arbitrary goals (which one can only muse will be something like: "achieve two sacks with X player!").

Aren't statistics one means by which to measure player performance?

Unless the author wants a more continuous scale for progression rather than discrete goal thresholds, I'm not sure what he's asking for here. Anyone care to elaborate?

[redsox4evur]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

Aren't statistics one means by which to measure player performance?

Yes and most casual fans determine performance by looking at stats.

[Hooe]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

Yes and most casual fans determine performance by looking at stats.

To be absolutely clear, I'm not saying there aren't better stats to look at to handle player progression - I'm big on the advanced stats like Win Probability Added and Expected Points Added - but the whole point of tracking statistics is to compare players' performances relative to one another.

[capa]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

They are going backwards. Pretty soon it will be run for 2000 yards and unlock this player or that piece of equipment. All the stuff that the younger casual crowd gets off on that "realism" guys tend to despise.

I paid for the game. Just let me have access to everything! And the observation is spot on - goals will make cheesing and exploits a high priority again.

C

[bucky60]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

Yes it is sacrificing realism. XP/Goals/Stats is the exact opposite to how this mechanism works in real life.

People confuse re-evaluation with progression. re-evaluation happens after seeing performance. This would be how a coach, scout, or other talent evaluator perceives a players talents. This portion could be a great, realistic addition to Madden.

Progression follows practice, coaching, and many other realistic factors. Better performance follows progression. That's realistic.

CFM lacks this kind of realistic depth. It has been moving toward, and continues to move toward arcade depth. I don't like it, but many others do.

I could come up with many ways to make CFM more realistic, but that probably should be in another thread.

[JayD]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

MUT and online is ruining CFM.

[redsox4evur]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

MUT and online is ruining CFM.

Online, maybe but not MUT. There are 2 completely different development teams working on these 2 modes.

[speedtrucker]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

honestly, this bit of news was more welcomed then what they currently have for confidence...

which is vague at best... my QB can be going against San Fran, throw for 175 yards, 1 TD, no turnovers and basically just captained my ship as we ground out a 21 - 14 win. my WRs all basically have 3-5 catches, no drops, 30-40 yards each and a TD for 1 of them. my RB rushes for 95 yards, 2 TDs and no fumbles, also ground out the last 2 minutes of the game for the win. Defence holds them to 200 total yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 passing TD, no turnovers, 3 sacks.

end the game and see that my confidence ratings look like this:
QB: I had a terrible game -5, I should have contributed more -3, we won a close game on the road +4. total: -4
WR1: I should have contributed more -3, we won a close game on the road +3. total: 0
RB: I should have contributed more -4, I scored 2 TDs +4. total: 0
all DBs: I should have had an INT -4, I should have had more tackles -3, we won a close game +3. totals ~ -4 to -2
LBs: basically always losing confidence all season because of various factors despite having the #5 defence in year 1, #2 in year 2 and #1 defence this season...

so yeah I'll take mini-games that at least tell me what I might need to do to get my WR or QB or RB a confidence boost because sometimes the randomness of it all is silly as it stands now.

oh and if I could add some sort of feature to the confidence ranking it would be "season outlook". if my team is in "rebuilding" mode, my teams mindset should be more in line like "less negative drops for subpar results but more yo-yo effect on win streaks and losing streaks". if my team is in "win now" mode, "less positive gains for 'normal' to 'expected' wins and less yo-yo effect for losing streaks". for "we want to make the playoffs" mode, "more yo-yo effects for wins and loses"

the idea being that a team that is rebuilding might have a sudden jump in interest if they have 2 or 3 wins in a row but if it is followed by 2 losses then fans would be back to the "they're just too young" or whatever. a win-now team would have expectations that they are supposed to beat 75% of the teams, losing a game here and there doesn't matter, they can't go 16-0, etc. a just-make-the-playoffs team would yo-yo as the team/fans would live and die more on week-to-week results especially as the season went on, a key win against a divisional team would be a boon, beating the 7-0 Pats would be a big boon, losing to 3-4 titans would be painful, losing to 10-3 NFC leading Packers would be a painful loss because the team might question their ability to make the playoffs.

[ASUBoy93]

honestly, this bit of news was more welcomed then what they currently have for confidence...

which is vague at best... my QB can be going against San Fran, throw for 175 yards, 1 TD, no turnovers and basically just captained my ship as we ground out a 21 - 14 win. my WRs all basically have 3-5 catches, no drops, 30-40 yards each and a TD for 1 of them. my RB rushes for 95 yards, 2 TDs and no fumbles, also ground out the last 2 minutes of the game for the win. Defence holds them to 200 total yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 passing TD, no turnovers, 3 sacks.

end the game and see that my confidence ratings look like this:
QB: I had a terrible game -5, I should have contributed more -3, we won a close game on the road +4. total: -4
WR1: I should have contributed more -3, we won a close game on the road +3. total: 0
RB: I should have contributed more -4, I scored 2 TDs +4. total: 0
all DBs: I should have had an INT -4, I should have had more tackles -3, we won a close game +3. totals ~ -4 to -2
LBs: basically always losing confidence all season because of various factors despite having the #5 defence in year 1, #2 in year 2 and #1 defence this season...

so yeah I'll take mini-games that at least tell me what I might need to do to get my WR or QB or RB a confidence boost because sometimes the randomness of it all is silly as it stands now.

oh and if I could add some sort of feature to the confidence ranking it would be "season outlook". if my team is in "rebuilding" mode, my teams mindset should be more in line like "less negative drops for subpar results but more yo-yo effect on win streaks and losing streaks". if my team is in "win now" mode, "less positive gains for 'normal' to 'expected' wins and less yo-yo effect for losing streaks". for "we want to make the playoffs" mode, "more yo-yo effects for wins and loses"

the idea being that a team that is rebuilding might have a sudden jump in interest if they have 2 or 3 wins in a row but if it is followed by 2 losses then fans would be back to the "they're just too young" or whatever. a win-now team would have expectations that they are supposed to beat 75% of the teams, losing a game here and there doesn't matter, they can't go 16-0, etc. a just-make-the-playoffs team would yo-yo as the team/fans would live and die more on week-to-week results especially as the season went on, a key win against a divisional team would be a boon, beating the 7-0 Pats would be a big boon, losing to 3-4 titans would be painful, losing to 10-3 NFC leading Packers would be a painful loss because the team might question their ability to make the playoffs.

You have some really great ideas in here that I share. The current confidence boosts are random and non-sensical. I REALLY want a system that allows me to set expectations for the players and fans like rebuilding, build-and-compete (reach playoffs), and win now. EA has this in Live, why it's not implemented in every sports game blows my mind.

[cuttingteeth]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

I think my favorite upgrading in a sports video game, still to this day...it has to be the first couple of Fight Night games. Your boxer would train according to what you wanted or felt you needed the most before your next bout. Your performance in that bout would also cause you to regress either a little or a lot. That directly made you have to wisely choose how you trained for the next bout, as you would see how you stack up against your opponent.

And let's not forget...these were also EA games.

I have seen easily how it could relate to football because long have we seen EA give us the bar-graph-style ratings of how each team stacks up before every game. Ravens offense might be an 80 to the Redskins 78, defenses might be a 84 compared to the other team's 87 and so on. Well, just let me see/know these same things again, and then I know how to either/or/both practice as a team and/or train as individual, star players who will most likely make a difference in the game.

I guess, I'm just saying that they (EA) created the easiest and IMO best way to seek progression and forced to deal with regression that I've ever seen in a sports game...and it was simple to use and understand....but they can't figure it out for any other sports games they have, that it could work just as simple and effective..? Not a rant, I promise. I just feel it could have been taken care of and already in use by now.

[iFnotWhyNoT]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

How Goals Should Work.

Player – dynamic drive goals build trust with coaches and earn you playing time. Vets/leaders/captains have more trust and can sacrifice unrealistic demands.

Coach – Call the right plays, manage egos, and build chemistry. For Example during practice a coach goal is tied to game prep to get his players ready for this week’s opponent. What you choose to focus on can affect your player’s game day performance. Your goals are accountable to the Owner.

Owner/GM – Goals should affect contracts and free agency. Like Skyboxer stated earlier.

If the draw this year for goals is to get that game within the game feel, you can still achieve that with a slightly more realistic fashion.

What goals shouldn’t do is build XP solely to progress your players. Goals should have some affect in progression but not the only effect.

I’m not interested in my CFM being dominated by goals even during loading screens where I would prefer to see division standings and injury reports about my CFM universe.

[Dr Death]

Re: Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

What if I rush for 99 yards, one short of my game goal -- does that mean I'm less confident now?

Chris brings up a valid question here... say the goal is 100 yards for the HB, but what happens if he rushes for 99 yards but makes a key block on the game-winning TD pass, saving the QB from getting sacked? {A la Walter Payton back in the day when McMahon came off the bench to beat the Vikes.}

This whole goal system is geared towards casual gamers and leaves those wanting a true sim game out in the cold.

[@marcusjiles]

Surprise surprise Madden is aiming to a more general feel than take any steps towards realism. This has been the formula for almost a decade. We know what this game is. We know what it will be next year. We know what it is this year. Same problems will be in the game maybe minus 1 or 2. Features that were in last year will be cut in half, faded out, and brought back at a later time. The WR/DB interaction will be 5 new canned animations. Like, WE KNOW what Madden will be every year. Hashtag shrugs lol