Gameflow and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand

[RaychelSnr]

The older I get, the more I realize that I took my childhood for granted.

I started playing video games back when the Super Nintendo and NBA Jam were in their primes. I started getting serious about video games when Diddy Kong Racing made its way into my N64. Madden 2001 and NHL Breakaway 98 were the first sport games I played to death. By the time Madden 2004 was released, my sports gaming passion had gone from being just a hobby to being more more of an obsession.

That was a long time ago. Now I'm 23 years old. I recently broke up with a long-time fiancée, and I am stuck with the responsibilities that three jobs (and OS) and bills bring my way. I still love gaming, but the time is just not there. I have played too many games that were shut off in the seventh inning. There have been too many times that fourth-quarter comeback never had a chance to materialize. It got to the point where I would have to schedule my life around my games -- not what I wanted.

Read More - Gameflow and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand

[Logic Doctor]

Well said.

I actually hope NCAA Football includes some version of gameflow next year. If you take the time to set up a game plan (which you can always audible out of at the line,) it definitely makes the gameplay experience more enjoyable.

[RJTurneR]

Re: Gameflow and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand

I downloaded some custom PAL version GamePlan's to make this game more enjoyable, and even then I still edited them a slight bit myself. Now I have all 32 Coaching Scheme slider settings for franchise, plus the custom GamePlans. As you mentioned, Madden has its flaws, but the user can make the game itself enjoyable to their own preference or experience.

Just coming here to OS can achieve that enjoyment, which is why we should give credit to all the guys who spend time testing & posting slider sets & those who spend time making GamePlan's.

All of these things have me enjoying franchise mode.

[Todem]

If players take the time to do even some vanilla gameplanning like I have the game becomes so much more rewarding during your franchise. I did not do all 32 offensive and defensive gameplans. What I did do was 5 offensive gameplans and 4 defensive gameplans.

Offense:

Run Heavy
Run Balanced
Pass Heavy
Pass Balanced
West Coast

Defense:

3-4
4-3
Aggresive attacking def
46


I know which teams run a West Coast (Philly), Pass Heavy (Colts) Run heavy (Baltimore, NY Jets) etc. And just assign those generic gameplans to the teams I face in Franchsie. I also know who is a 3-4, 4-3, 46 or attacking aggresive defense and do the same. I took out all the all steaks on offense as well as all corner routes. The CPU still goes up top but not with the unrealistic frequency it was "out of the box". I also took out all the engage 8 and double CB blitz's that were way too frequent and unrealisitc and replaced them with Man/zone base defenses. Most blitz's I use in all packages are 5 or 6 man rushes. It makes for a much better game.

The Gameflow feature is awesome for offense most of the time. I thik it is a great sim like feature to use and challenge yourself by running the plays your OC calls and executing them. I will take over the play calling depending on the situation. Some games I have let the OC call 90% becuase the offense was humming, some games he has called a lousy game and i had to go "head coach" on him and take over.

On defense this is where the flaws really come out and it has been well documented. I do not gameflow defense ever.

But as a tool to help the CPU play a sound game it is fantastic and I am having outstadning offline games!

EA please refine and expand this feature and don't put it on the shelf like so many others in the past.

[Galarius]

Another great way is SuperSim....In NCAA i am playing about 10 games a week right now for every week of the season using supersim...It is better for NCAA because you have the option to watch plays as well as sim them(which i watch about every third down i don't SIM)...then i just play(or coach) my team for a few drives a half...i din't use to like this but i am having a blast taking part in so many games and having more of a feel for the entire league now..Gameflow is pretty cool on Madden.you can even create separate gameflow saves where you can lod them in and have the CPU run a gameflow plan u invented.Which sometimes can be fun to play against, or even watch teams battle it out with gameflows you create

[Rebel10]

Good luck with the end of the engagement thing. At 23, it's definitely a good thing, too young to be tied up like that.

I'm midway through my 26th year and usually balance gaming, work, & social life decently well. I go through spurts... one day I may play a couple games, then I'll go a while without playing. I find myself usually playing games that all of my friends and I get, because then we're not really missing out on much by playing a game Friday night rather than going out to the bar or whatever. Some of the most fun we've had together in the last few years has been playing in a party of CoD for hours on end... it's a great way for us to stay in touch when we ended up splitting off and moving to different cities after college.

My GF lives about 45 minutes away and so we usually see each other on the weekends, so I have most of the week to myself except for a few times when she'll come to my house during the week. I kind of like it this way... gives me an opportunity to live my life, which invariably involves videogames. Growing up, I always thought, "when I'm 16, I won't play games anymore," or "when I'm 18 I won't..." "When I'm in college I won't..." "When I'm out of college and have a job I won't..." but at some point in my 20s I realized that gaming is something I really enjoy and it's something that I'll always make time for. Maybe when I have kids I won't have marathon sessions of NCAA Football, but who knows, I would have said the same thing at other times in my life, and thus far, it's worked out.

[sportyguyfl31]

gameplan+gameflow makes for a nice experience.

I have time when I just dont want to cycle through a bunch of plays a I will never use...plus there are times I just want to relax and take it easy.

[crabcola]

I have to second a lot of posters' and the writer's sentiments here. Gameflow is great. I get to share the TV with my fiancee', and since I took the time to do all 64 gameplans, this is the most fun I've had on Madden in years!

[bulls23]

NCAA does have a form of gameflow.....if you go with basic playcall it selects a few plays for you to choose from by scrolling left or right. Saves me a lot of time.

[teebee]

So what happened with you and your fiance'?

[Raven Nation42]

Good read, about to get some gaming in as soon as I get out of the office. The weekends are my time and I look forward to it.

[stlstudios189]

I love this gameflow feature!!!! I am actually going to finish my Madden season this year.

[Franchise408]

Re: Gameflow and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand

While I do like the GameFlow (I haven't played a single franchise game without it) it doesn't cut down game time for me.

Really because I knew the playbooks that I used so well anyways that it took me about 3 seconds to find my play in any given situation, as opposed to the split second it takes me now to just hit "GameFlow".

My franchise games w/o GameFlow took about an hour, and they take about an hour now as well.

That said, I still enjoy the GameFlow. Once you make a gameplan, it's just auto calling plays I was gonna call anyways.

[Dog]

Re: Gameflow and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand

Good read. I don't have the same issues, but it makes you think.

[Dazraz]

Re: Gameflow and Responsibility Go Hand in Hand

Another great way is SuperSim....In NCAA i am playing about 10 games a week right now for every week of the season using supersim...It is better for NCAA because you have the option to watch plays as well as sim them(which i watch about every third down i don't SIM)...then i just play(or coach) my team for a few drives a half...i din't use to like this but i am having a blast taking part in so many games and having more of a feel for the entire league now..Gameflow is pretty cool on Madden.you can even create separate gameflow saves where you can lod them in and have the CPU run a gameflow plan u invented.Which sometimes can be fun to play against, or even watch teams battle it out with gameflows you create

With you on this. Supersim works great on NCAA this year. on previous versions you ended up with some crazy scores but this year it is alot more balanced. I would like to see a similar feature on NBA 2K. I like to play full 12min quarters to get realistic stats but it can be hard to put the time aside to do this.