Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

[Steve_OS]

"New Game, New Players and New Ratings!

There’s probably still confetti and BBQ sauce stuck to hidden places in Cowboys Stadium and we’re already turning our attention to the future of football. In video games.

Each February the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis provides hundreds of football players the opportunity to run, jump and lift their way into the NFL. This time of year also finds the EA Tiburon development team hard at work on Madden NFL 12 adding new features, adjusting what works and updating teams, players and other details you’ll surely notice. As these two occasions line up, we get the opportunity to discuss the topic that drives heated Madden NFL conversations year round: player ratings.

We got a hold of Madden NFL’s ratings czar/designer, Donny Moore, to get a peek at what he’s looking for at this time of year when it comes to NFL players in general and rookies in particular. Not all college superstars translate to the NFL and even with updatable rosters, Moore wants the new game to get it right on the new players as soon as possible."

Check out the entire interview, right here.

[KingV2k3]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

Interesting read...

Hopefully, they take a long hard look at AWR and not only tighten the range, but make it possible for rookies to get significanly "smarter" as their career progresses...

Same thing for STR on the OL and DL...

Too wide a range leads to difficulty balancing the pancakes vs. the block shedding...

Thanks for posting this!

[Meast21Forever]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

I don't know why, but I have this strange feeling of contempt for Donny Moore. Just reading his words irks me.

Like comparing Ingram to Ricky Williams and then tweaking that template? That seems like a shortcut way of doing ratings.

But, maybe I just hate him because I'm a Redskins fan and we've been terrible for a while

[bigsmallwood]

They should re-do the ratings system ala AP2K8. Mark Ingram is actually an Emmitt Smith type and his speed is pretty deceptive. The way that is incorporated into the game should be shown as such. Some RBs like Mendenhal don't run fast from the start like CJ2K, but rather get a head of steam going and turn on the burners....either way it should be interesting to see what they come up with.

[jeremym480]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

When I saw that pic I thought the interview was going to be about M12 adding scouting combine. :o

[spacehopper]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

Hopefully the 'new ratings' is a hint hopefully. im sick of the computer playing god!

[jyoung]

Outside of rookies having ridiculously low awareness that never improves, the ratings in Madden are pretty well done.

The problem in Madden is that there are too many rating categories (40+) when only 5 or 6 of them really matter.

[khaliib]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

Well, we know this area is not going to change.

It also sounds like the Open Editor discussion by Ian was something to generate conversation about the game and not a serious attempt to include.

I know there's little they can do to this game because the Engine is Maxed Out. So nothing major is going to happen to M12, that's just foolish wishing.

How about a In-Game Global Editor?
The first thing people do is adjust ratings, because Donny's perception of what a players rating should be is different from gamer to gamer.

Editing one player at a time for 32 Teams plus FA is very consuming.
And it's all in an effort to make the current Ratings System mean something on the field.
Outside of Speed, for the 4th year, there is little difference between a 12 rating and a 99 rating.

This is what so many have been complaining about, and to hear that the same format of slapping a rating on a guy verifies it is, what it is.

So now what's left is Visual, Presentation and Animation Upgrades.

What harm would Threshold Sliders for main ratings do at this stage of the game for the Madden Series?

What good is Scouting if the only rating that has an impact during gameplay is Speed?

Sorry to be so sour, but I'm one of those looking for ways to Hex Edit the roster file becuause what we are given is just garbage.

[at23steelers]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

They should re-do the ratings system ala AP2K8. Mark Ingram is actually an Emmitt Smith type and his speed is pretty deceptive. The way that is incorporated into the game should be shown as such. Some RBs like Mendenhal don't run fast from the start like CJ2K, but rather get a head of steam going and turn on the burners....either way it should be interesting to see what they come up with.

Mendenhall's acceleration in M11 is absolutely ridiculous!! You're right, he is quicker than he is fast. He should be 90 speed, 93 acc, instead of 90 speed and 88 acc. He actually had 86 acc during most of the season, which was worse than Moore.

[azdawgpound]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

Outside of rookies having ridiculously low awareness that never improves, the ratings in Madden are pretty well done.

The problem in Madden is that there are too many rating categories (40+) when only 5 or 6 of them really matter.

i agree they should only have certain ratings for certain players qb's dont need ol blocking etc same goes for other players.

[LiquorLogic]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

When I saw that pic I thought the interview was going to be about M12 adding scouting combine. :o

I don't know what you were thinking ?

[DCEBB2001]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

"To quickly walk through the process: I’ll take a guy like Mark Ingram or Blaine Gabbert and I’ll find what everyone perceives is his best NFL comparison. Just to throw an example out there let's say Mark Ingram’s baseline equivalent is Ricky Williams. I’ll take Ricky Williams and utilize him as a template. I’ll know right away that the Mark Ingram player I’m creating is in a similar mold as a Ricky Williams. From there, obviously, I’m tweaking each individual rating to how Ingram plays. It’s just a starting point to give me a template for a player and how he plays."

This right here is why the ratings system presented by the folks at EA is broken. They are using templates that may or may not correlate to new players in draft classes. Why not just make a player like Mark Ingram a MARK INGRAM instead of a modified Ricky Williams. Was DJ Shockley based off of Michael Vick because he was a scrambling QB with size? Of course not! What they need to be doing is making these players total individuals who are independent from one another. If I can do it in my spare time for my site, then I would think that some guys who are professionally paid to do this could do it as well. Sheesh...

[raguel]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

When I saw that pic I thought the interview was going to be about M12 adding scouting combine. :o

lol so did I. Wishful thinking I guess.

[LambertandHam]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

lol so did I. Wishful thinking I guess.

Maybe we're all to optimistic . Still, as someone who never really used scouting in Madden for years, the system needs a revamp. The only problem would be with the large draft classes in Madden, not many would want to sit through each players workout. If you got a summary of each position, like 40 times, Throwing drills, etc.

Then that would be kind of cool to use for the draft. Like DCEBB2001 mentioned above, you have no real connection to these drafted players, they have no personality. Maybe have an Extra Point like bit talking about who impressed at the Combine. I have to reel in my imagination when it comes to Madden

[at23steelers]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Interview: Donny Moore - Scouting Talent

"To quickly walk through the process: I’ll take a guy like Mark Ingram or Blaine Gabbert and I’ll find what everyone perceives is his best NFL comparison. Just to throw an example out there let's say Mark Ingram’s baseline equivalent is Ricky Williams. I’ll take Ricky Williams and utilize him as a template. I’ll know right away that the Mark Ingram player I’m creating is in a similar mold as a Ricky Williams. From there, obviously, I’m tweaking each individual rating to how Ingram plays. It’s just a starting point to give me a template for a player and how he plays."

This right here is why the ratings system presented by the folks at EA is broken. They are using templates that may or may not correlate to new players in draft classes. Why not just make a player like Mark Ingram a MARK INGRAM instead of a modified Ricky Williams. Was DJ Shockley based off of Michael Vick because he was a scrambling QB with size? Of course not! What they need to be doing is making these players total individuals who are independent from one another. If I can do it in my spare time for my site, then I would think that some guys who are professionally paid to do this could do it as well. Sheesh...

Good post bro. Every player has their own style. I sure don't want a player like Polamalu getting a template from whoever, because there is no one that plays quite like him.