Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

[elgreazy1]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Sorry if this has been asked, but the Depth Chart enhancements...will there now be (across all modes) a 3-4 depth chart and a 4-3 depth chart for the one team? Also, will there be a offensive package depth charts? Instead of only having package substitutions in the middle of a game.

Thanks.

That's an excellent question. I really hope the developers include this so as to create platoon-like packages where you can deploy specific players in special occasions. Also, it'll add to more realism seeing as it makes it worthwhile to draft & cultivate role players to give teams mismatch advantages; an example of this would be the Saints on offense who use multiple packages of players or the Jets on defense who use situational pass rushers.

[GGEden]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Thanks for the replies. If they've not got it in, hopefully it's something they can bring in thru that new Tuning system.

[Demoncrom]

This all sounds like welcome changes. The progression stuff is more like - about time we get back the features that have been MIA for 5 years - the other stuff is more like wow finally an attempt to make Franchise worth playing. Is should be noted that NFL 2k5 had very good player progression and one of the funnest franchise modes ever ( as opposed to what this guy said earlier about no game having a fun franchise). He meant that no EA game has a fun franchise. But I digress - cant wait to see this in action

[UH53]

I have some questions for all of those people that say Ian is behind all of the change that has come into play. How was Madden last year... Especially franchise? How long was Ian on the team? Didn't EA admit to hiring more people to improve the game? Josh Looman came back to work on this game not Ian Cummings. If he felt that he wanted to be apart of all this change that you say he's responsible for then he should've at least seen it through. Looman did all the work on the Madden series for the PS2 and franchise for this game and now you want to give Ian's praises for Looman's work... Give me a break! This isn't about wanting to see my posts, this is about stating the obvious. Thanks for acknowledging your bias! I believe most of the people wanting to give Ian praise are the same people who complained about what Madden lacked. I like to give credit where credit is due and I don't give credit to quitters no matter what excuse they give for leaving! Enjoy the game.... I know I finally will. Thanks Josh for your hard work!

[NaturalSelected]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

I've read through the whole thread. I don't think we've confirmed whether only ratings are editable, or other features of players as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd like to know this.

[db56]

I'm definitely excited and I have one foot on the hype and promise train, If all of this proves to be true it would be the biggest one year improvement in the history of gaming.

however, the Madden team track record has proven to resemble the hot girlfriend from the past that we continued to hold onto because she promised to be faithful and change, this time I wont cheat, this time, I wont let you down.

Not trying to be a downer here, but I'm going to remain a bit skeptical..

[Pringles]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

after watching the video on franchise and reading what has been posted
i am excited for franchise mode i am wondering if EA does roster updates
if it will include allocating draft picks to teams if there are trades during the regular season. would be nice if i lost a star player that i get compensated for it if i start a new franchise.
and those icons there are 20 of them i am hoping that you can turn them off because i do not want to see them under players as they walk up to the line of scrimmage, viewing them when looking at player cards is a lot better than having to see them symbols under there realative bodies.

[JaySmooov]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Um, no. You don't understand my question.

I don't control all 11 players on the field, and I'm taking a wild guess no one else does either.

So, let's say I'm not controlling my #1 CB, who is an 88 OVR (I like to control on the line). He has a lousy game. I have a deep CB corps and now, going in to next week, my dude has the frost icon - he's cold. His OVR is now more like a 78.

Now, purely from a depth chart perspective, his OVR makes him my #3 corner.

If his cold streak is rigid, then I should play him at the nickel until his three weeks are up.

But if the streak duration is itself dynamic, maybe based on some player attribute (maybe some players are more streaky than others), I may play him as a #1 next week anyway hoping he snaps out of it fast.

Or, if I'm decent playing user controlled corner, I can take him over and try to force him out of it myself, even though his OVR at the start of the game is low.

But, if the streak duration is fixed, and no user control will make a difference, I should just stick to my preferred control of a DT and drop him on my depth chart.

Now, I actually think streak durations will probably be variable, but no more than 3 games. But I have not seen that made explicit anywhere.

So that's why I'm asking.

I know I'm late responding to this, but from what I interpreted, and from putting 2 and 2 together (Which you can fairly safely do without over-analyzing) it is INDEED dynamic.
From the Franchise blog:

If a player is inconsistent, you could see pretty significant rating swings from week-to-week.

One week you might get the 90 overall Michael Vick and the next week you might get the 70 overall Michael Vick. Or you could just get the 80 overall Michael Vick.

If a player is very consistent, their ratings will only change slightly each week and you’ll typically always know what you’re getting (example: Peyton Manning or Tom Brady).

Building around these players (and finding them in free agency and the draft) provides an entirely new layer of strategy to the game.

A player that is coming off of a terrible game is “on a cold streak”. That streak ensures that they’ll go into their next game with ratings lower than normal.

The opposite is true for a player on a hot streak.

Players on streaks can only continue those streaks for a maximum of three games before they are re-set to original ratings.

To me, the first point I highlight shows that generally, the ratings will be dictated on a week-to-week basis, depending on play from the previous week, and the consistency rating the player has. It's no secret that Vick can be wildly inconsistent. At times, he'll play like the best QB in the league, and at times, he'll play like a career backup, so you're gonna have to have great stick skills to keep him under control and break his inconsistency as much as possible, over time.

The second highlighted point piggybacks off of my first point. Brady/Manning may have had a bad game the week before, but his ratings wont drop too much (maybe from a 95 ACC to a 89, still fairly good) where you have to seriously consider toning down the offense to restore his confidence, or even bench him, because he has that high consistency rating, and you can be fairly sure he'll bounce back. That 3-game stretch where Manning threw like 10 picks was the extreme case, and his rating, in this system, likely wouldve dropped to around 80-84 ACC. But you know they'll bounce back eventually, unless you have horrible stick skills.

The third point, i'll use to address what you're asking. If Antonio Cromartie has a bad game, which you can be sure he will, his ratings will have a decent drop because he isn't consistent right now. His confidence will drop some. So, talent wise, he'll still be a top corner, but his intangibles won't be there (Awareness, for example), so you seriously have to consider limiting his play time or even benching him a game if it gets too extreme, or teams will attack him. I understand what you were saying about just benching him, but I really think you should do it if it's extreme. Lets not forget that progression still happens throughout the year, so a guy like Kyle Wilson could get on a hot streak the same time Cromartie gets on a cold one, gets 4 pick in 3 weeks, and progresses to the point where they have similar ratings. Now you have to decide, do I put Cromartie back in, or reward Wilson for his play.

The 4th point just points out that a cold/hot streak can continue for a max of three weeks. I don't think that once a player has a good game, he'll automatically go on a 3-game hot streak. If Chris Johnson has a great game against the Bills (worst run defense in the league, I think), I don't think he'll shred the Steelers and Ravens if they're up next. But when you factor in progression and a possible favorable schedule, you could really see a guy like Johnson or AP get a couple of hot streaks going, versus being hot one week and coming back to earth the next.

I know it's lengthy, but I hope my interpretation helps.

[TLF]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

after watching the video on franchise and reading what has been posted
i am excited for franchise mode i am wondering if EA does roster updates
if it will include allocating draft picks to teams if there are trades during the regular season. would be nice if i lost a star player that i get compensated for it if i start a new franchise.
and those icons there are 20 of them i am hoping that you can turn them off because i do not want to see them under players as they walk up to the line of scrimmage, viewing them when looking at player cards is a lot better than having to see them symbols under there realative bodies.

they dont appear under their feet , go play Madden 07 its just on the player screen so you are aware of what they can do
some players have 2 icons so it makes showing the icon under them Pointless


i really wanna see the Streaks in action , see my player either have a MVP performance and sometimes my player cant convert a 3rd down to save his life

but the O-Line is who i wanna see , will they be as affected in the HOT/COLD Streaks as the Skill guys at QB , RB and WR

[JaySmooov]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Um, no. You don't understand my question.

I don't control all 11 players on the field, and I'm taking a wild guess no one else does either.

So, let's say I'm not controlling my #1 CB, who is an 88 OVR (I like to control on the line). He has a lousy game. I have a deep CB corps and now, going in to next week, my dude has the frost icon - he's cold. His OVR is now more like a 78.

Now, purely from a depth chart perspective, his OVR makes him my #3 corner.

If his cold streak is rigid, then I should play him at the nickel until his three weeks are up.

But if the streak duration is itself dynamic, maybe based on some player attribute (maybe some players are more streaky than others), I may play him as a #1 next week anyway hoping he snaps out of it fast.

Or, if I'm decent playing user controlled corner, I can take him over and try to force him out of it myself, even though his OVR at the start of the game is low.

But, if the streak duration is fixed, and no user control will make a difference, I should just stick to my preferred control of a DT and drop him on my depth chart.

Now, I actually think streak durations will probably be variable, but no more than 3 games. But I have not seen that made explicit anywhere.

So that's why I'm asking.

I understand what you are saying but I think you are looking at this the wrong way.

First off, the Madden Franchise Playbook video says that there are NOT just hot and cold streaks but in between streaks as well. So this would imply a gradual scale that resets in 3 weeks, bye weeks and at the end of the season.

The fact of these being static time frames actually adds to the challenge of making hard decisions, not lessens it. If a players gets on a gradually declining cold streak, benching him until the static duration of the streak wears off, is NOT an easy fix due to the risk/reward balance of player roles and in season progression.

You get the reward of not playing a guy for a set duration until they are back to normal. However, the risks of having to potentially play a lesser skilled back-up until then, having the benched player's permanent skill ratings potentially not progress like they naturally would from playing or even actually regress and that could lead to losing player roles or not earning one. Multiply that risk/reward potential for ALL your starters because the more a player actually takes the field, the increased chance of them getting on some kind of streak.

All that together makes for a very realistic risk/reward situation because of static streak durations.

From the way they explained it, it was all performance driven. So if that is the case, if you carefully play better the next game, that person should snap out of his cold streak.

Since they said the max was 3 games straight, not that it was a guranteed 3 games straight.

THIS, is what I wanted to say basically.

[JaySmooov]

Completely agreed.

And not just playing time....but actual quality performing.

I remember in Madden 10, Darius Heyward Bey had a 67 in year 1 with A potential...in the first two years he had less than 1000 yards and 10 TDs combined, yet he was close to a 90 by year three.

Yeah that was a problem in both NCAA and Madden last year. In NCAA, after a couple years in dynasty, every team had about 10 guys rated 95-99. A plethora of 90+ ratings on EVERY team. Seeing as how potential does increase slowly and slightly throughout the year, and it's not just end of the year based, AND it is performance based, it'll be interesting to see if we'll truly have busts this time around. I want to see if Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Colin Kaepernick, or Christian Ponder end up not fulfilling their potential, much like VY and Leinart showed they couldn't do.

[at23steelers]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

I didn't see this brought up either, but I wonder what drops or raises when there is a hot or cold streak? IMO, strength and speed (physical attributes) should never be touched. However, awareness, pass accuracy, catching, route running, and other on the field ratings are the ones that should be adjusted.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Sorry if this has been asked, but the Depth Chart enhancements...will there now be (across all modes) a 3-4 depth chart and a 4-3 depth chart for the one team? Also, will there be a offensive package depth charts? Instead of only having package substitutions in the middle of a game.

Thanks.

Yesterday I was wondering the same thing and hoping they added this BACK but just now I remembered something Looman stated in his blog:

"Practice Mode

This may seem like a small addition but, to me, it’s big. Being able to practice with your Franchise mode team at any point in the preseason, regular season or playoffs without having to export them allows you to get a look at your team at any time."


So with practice mode being available in the franchise hub, we can almost certainly just make individual formation substitutions there, that will carry over into games. In Madden 11, if we made formation subs during any franchise game, they were permanent and were the same for following games.

Even if they didn't add back the pregame formation subs from past Maddens, using practice mode for this should be work well. I would think we can even take Gameplans into practice mode and make individual formation substitutions in them too.

Man, I just got myself hype again thinking about this! LOL

Can't wait.

[TLF]

Re: Madden NFL 12 Blog - Franchise Mode in Madden 12

Yesterday I was wondering the same thing and hoping they added this BACK but just now I remembered something Looman stated in his blog:

"Practice Mode

This may seem like a small addition but, to me, it’s big. Being able to practice with your Franchise mode team at any point in the preseason, regular season or playoffs without having to export them allows you to get a look at your team at any time."


So with practice mode being available in the franchise hub, we can almost certainly just make individual formation substitutions there, that will carry over into games. In Madden 11, if we made formation subs during any franchise game, they were permanent and were the same for following games.

Even if they didn't add back the pregame formation subs from past Maddens, using practice mode for this should be work well. I would think we can even take Gameplans into practice mode and make individual formation substitutions in them too.

Man, I just got myself hype again thinking about this! LOL

Can't wait.

yea Practice Mode was my Favorite thing to do in Madden 05 and 07 for my XboX id spend hours a day in that mode doing plays i had one play where my best Run Blockers were in on a formation that i ONLY used for screens it was trying Random stuff out and with different Personnel

[JaySmooov]

True, but the problem is if the User can initiate trades in the off season and season but the CPU can't, it alows you to 'cheat' the league. I know for my franchise I won't initiate any non-draft day trades, but it does take a lever away from building your team.

Sorry to break it to you guys, but after doing extensive research (ok, maybe not-so-extensive) I found that most trades are generally done, in fact, in the offseason period. Consider these numbers, from the 2010 season:
14 trades in April
2 trades in May
1 trade in June
1 in July
9 in August
9 in September
2 in October (The Marshawn Lynch trade, and the Mike Bell/Jerome Harrison trade)
The trade deadline generally is in the 6th week of the season, or Mid-October

What this shows is that most trades occur around the beginning and ending periods of the off-season. In the beginning, where teams are trying to make speculative adds on talent, and the end, where teams are trying to fill out rosters (though a lot of the trades, all in all, were for future draft picks - another good reason why having them added to Madden improves the franchise mode).

April was generally around draft time, as there were a couple draft-day deals listed, as well as trades for picks before the draft.

The heavy activity in August/Sept. was generally the end of August/beginning of September, or when a new year in football would begin in Madden. So basically, the CPU offering trades in the off-season in Madden would be enough, depending on the volume in which it happens.

All in all, there were only TWO (2) trades in the regular season. Most roster additions were from preseason cuts and signings, which is ANOTHER reason why the expanded rosters were well needed. If you're on your job, you can expect to be scouring the waiver list for ways to upgrade you're team.

It would be nice if the CPU did trade during the season, but why add it if it doesn't work? I'd rather have zero CPU-CPU trades than 5-10 unrealistic ones, such as trading Asante Samuel for Vernon Davis or something. The only trade from the entire year that had a true impact was the Marshawn Lynch trade; however, if Lynch was on ANY other team, he would've been traded on draft day, as the Bills, for some reason, couldn't pull the trigger.