Thought it'd be fun to list the features that have come and gone. As I posted elsewhere I think simply keeping the features and adding new ones would have made the game great.
Now I don't know about programming games and i understand that MAYBE you have to drop features to incorporate new ones. I'm not BASHING Madden here.
What I am doing is listing past features good and bad that if left in the game would have at least left me happy to have the option to use them when i wanted:
(note.....many features I'm going to list were not popular but no matter, I think they should be options for those who do like them).
1. Vision cone....simply put I could tell in an instant the difference in Qb awareness and how it affected my approach as a QB. I remember doing a Vikings chise and using Tavaris Jackson. His cone was so narrow I had to stare the receiver down and go to the one guy on most plays....very realistic. When i played as Peyton all my options were in my field of vision...I just like how that felt.
2. Coverage assignments....in real life I can choose who my #1 corner will cover. ie. if I'm playing the Pats, even if Welker is a slot guy I want my best cover corner on him.
3. Weapons....I thought this was cheezy at the time but I found it alerted me as to when backup DB had come into the game so I could go after him. As it is now the cpu may sub and I don't know it...in real life they know who's coming into the game. The only other solution would be to notify the user that "so and so is replaced by what's his name".
4. Tony Bruno show and newspaper articles......sorry I loved these features. Not that the didn't get old (although there seemed to be more commentary variation than the game commentators had). But here is why I liked it. One day while doing roster adjustments I had the Bruno show on (never really cared to have the music going...didn't feel like football unless it was the NFL films stuff..anyway...). He starts talking about the great day some rookie QB had...USING HIS NAME....I had been simming the games that weren't Vikings...and i'm like..."who the heck is that"...so I went to the box scores and sure enough he'd thrown 4 TD passes. I just it was so cool.
5. The ability to build new stadiums without moving the team.....now i heard that there was a licensing issue here...I don't know....but not having the ability to build my vikings an outdoor stadium where I'd actually get snow and sub freezing temps....(yes the game did this).....is frustrating.
6. The halftime report and extra point shows....yeah they were a bit lame..but it added a realistic feel to the game and broadcast...think about it..they actually went to the studio during half time to check highlights and scores from around the league. Implementation was faulty but boy was the idea a great one.
7. Scouting other teams....i loved in my chise scouting another teams players to find weaknesses and strenghts...it was also cool to Scout my own guys to see what they said. "Joe Blow would not be a starter on most teams, or so and so needs double coverage etc."
8. Draft board rooms, working out pending draftees and the college allstar game......even the Mel Kyper grades on the draft. All added a realistic feel and depth.
9. Mini games or drills against real players.....how bad were the mini games against the Giant Tackling Dummies (the player silouhettes aren't much better).....I liked the 3 on 3 drills vs real players though. i spent much time honing tackling and other skills doing this. Now they are so graphically unappealing.
10. Sub packages and easier substitution menus...remember when you could call a play, highlight the position and then click to sub in your backup RB?
I'm finding I could go on and on....I'll let others finish this list if they like. I'll end on an appeal (and those who think i'm bashing will be pacified with this).
"Dear EA, since you've taken out so many features that I liked, I'm appealing to you this year to leave some nice features you currently have in the game. Namely:
1. Scouting during the season.
2. Team and player entrances.
3. Stadium blimp overviews.
4. The ability to practice in my franchise.
5. The current slider system (although they need more for special teams).
6. Cut scenes...but feel free to add some more.
7. The ability to get scouting reports on rookies without working them out yourself....although i like to do this, sometimes I don't feel like working out 20 guys...its easier to just read a report sometimes.
8. the 75 man roster (I sim preseason myself but it seems like a very popular feature to many).
9. The ability to edit players in franchise...just starting loving this. as I'd have to get a free agent FB due to injuries and the only guys left are 38 ovr...i can pump up some levels (awareness at 18?????) to make them serviceable. Heck I can even create a beast RB if i feel like it. Nice job here.
10. I know I'm missing some....you guys can add to this list also.
Now I don't know about programming games and i understand that MAYBE you have to drop features to incorporate new ones. I'm not BASHING Madden here.
What I am doing is listing past features good and bad that if left in the game would have at least left me happy to have the option to use them when i wanted:
(note.....many features I'm going to list were not popular but no matter, I think they should be options for those who do like them).
1. Vision cone....simply put I could tell in an instant the difference in Qb awareness and how it affected my approach as a QB. I remember doing a Vikings chise and using Tavaris Jackson. His cone was so narrow I had to stare the receiver down and go to the one guy on most plays....very realistic. When i played as Peyton all my options were in my field of vision...I just like how that felt.
2. Coverage assignments....in real life I can choose who my #1 corner will cover. ie. if I'm playing the Pats, even if Welker is a slot guy I want my best cover corner on him.
3. Weapons....I thought this was cheezy at the time but I found it alerted me as to when backup DB had come into the game so I could go after him. As it is now the cpu may sub and I don't know it...in real life they know who's coming into the game. The only other solution would be to notify the user that "so and so is replaced by what's his name".
4. Tony Bruno show and newspaper articles......sorry I loved these features. Not that the didn't get old (although there seemed to be more commentary variation than the game commentators had). But here is why I liked it. One day while doing roster adjustments I had the Bruno show on (never really cared to have the music going...didn't feel like football unless it was the NFL films stuff..anyway...). He starts talking about the great day some rookie QB had...USING HIS NAME....I had been simming the games that weren't Vikings...and i'm like..."who the heck is that"...so I went to the box scores and sure enough he'd thrown 4 TD passes. I just it was so cool.
5. The ability to build new stadiums without moving the team.....now i heard that there was a licensing issue here...I don't know....but not having the ability to build my vikings an outdoor stadium where I'd actually get snow and sub freezing temps....(yes the game did this).....is frustrating.
6. The halftime report and extra point shows....yeah they were a bit lame..but it added a realistic feel to the game and broadcast...think about it..they actually went to the studio during half time to check highlights and scores from around the league. Implementation was faulty but boy was the idea a great one.
7. Scouting other teams....i loved in my chise scouting another teams players to find weaknesses and strenghts...it was also cool to Scout my own guys to see what they said. "Joe Blow would not be a starter on most teams, or so and so needs double coverage etc."
8. Draft board rooms, working out pending draftees and the college allstar game......even the Mel Kyper grades on the draft. All added a realistic feel and depth.
9. Mini games or drills against real players.....how bad were the mini games against the Giant Tackling Dummies (the player silouhettes aren't much better).....I liked the 3 on 3 drills vs real players though. i spent much time honing tackling and other skills doing this. Now they are so graphically unappealing.
10. Sub packages and easier substitution menus...remember when you could call a play, highlight the position and then click to sub in your backup RB?
I'm finding I could go on and on....I'll let others finish this list if they like. I'll end on an appeal (and those who think i'm bashing will be pacified with this).
"Dear EA, since you've taken out so many features that I liked, I'm appealing to you this year to leave some nice features you currently have in the game. Namely:
1. Scouting during the season.
2. Team and player entrances.
3. Stadium blimp overviews.
4. The ability to practice in my franchise.
5. The current slider system (although they need more for special teams).
6. Cut scenes...but feel free to add some more.
7. The ability to get scouting reports on rookies without working them out yourself....although i like to do this, sometimes I don't feel like working out 20 guys...its easier to just read a report sometimes.
8. the 75 man roster (I sim preseason myself but it seems like a very popular feature to many).
9. The ability to edit players in franchise...just starting loving this. as I'd have to get a free agent FB due to injuries and the only guys left are 38 ovr...i can pump up some levels (awareness at 18?????) to make them serviceable. Heck I can even create a beast RB if i feel like it. Nice job here.
10. I know I'm missing some....you guys can add to this list also.
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