Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

[Big FN Deal]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

2k5 had one of the greatest weekly wrap ups and halftime/postgame shows. It would tell you the playoff picture when you were getting towards the end of the season. It would also tell you the top draft prospects to expect out of the upcoming draft. It would tell you all the going ons of the off season each week. I just wish we could get something like that out of Madden, hopefully next year. Btw did anyone hear if Josh Looman said anything about presentation next year?

This why I don't understand when people say it got stale after a while because the core info that mattered was ALWAYS different and relevant. People talk like the weekly wrap-up show was somehow like the Extra Point from M10 with the repetitive live video segueing into stats to read but it wasn't like that at all. The repetitive things they showed for each game, each week,flowed well enough with the in-game stats and various graphical overlays to create a cohesive dynamic package. Also, like Speedy stated, the same thing applied with the playoff hunts, awards, draft prospects, etc.

I honestly don't know if next-gen Madden has stunted some people's perspective on this type stuff or if some people's perspective has stunted this stuff in next-gen Madden.

[Meast21Forever]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

I always skip that crap. Half-time shows and weekly previews and all that. Just don't care when I'm playing the game. A post-game highlight reel is enough. Something like NBA 2k does it.

As for the subject of this thread *ahem* - yes. I hate that they've taken so much away from offline players to cater to online guys. The entire reason things are so 'closed off' is so things will be unified online. It sucks. They should just allow certain things offline that aren't allowed online. The lack of player editing blows. I don't really care about the 32 team control or playing other games aside from your own, though I understand why people are.

I haven't really commented on this subject (mostly because I'm angry and me ranting would benefit no one), but what they've done this year is a real bummer. No other way to put it.

[coke hogan]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

This why I don't understand when people say it got stale after a while because the core info that mattered was ALWAYS different and relevant. People talk like the weekly wrap-up show was somehow like the Extra Point from M10 with the repetitive live video segueing into stats to read but it wasn't like that at all. The repetitive things they showed for each game, each week,flowed well enough with the in-game stats and various graphical overlays to create a cohesive dynamic package. Also, like Speedy stated, the same thing applied with the playoff hunts, awards, draft prospects, etc.

I honestly don't know if next-gen Madden has stunted some people's perspective on this type stuff or if some people's perspective has stunted this stuff in next-gen Madden.

man. i loved all that stuff. it tied franchise together so well. it lasted about 5mins or so. it flowed so effortlessly, like u were really watching espn.

i think we forget sometimes that alot of people played that game on a ps2 and didn't see alot of that stuff. a hd was required for the ps2 version in order to get the full experience, well not the whole experience the xbox version was the full experience. either way this is something madden really look closely at.

i think it's both of them when it comes to perspectives being stunted.

[DeuceDouglas]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

This why I don't understand when people say it got stale after a while because the core info that mattered was ALWAYS different and relevant. People talk like the weekly wrap-up show was somehow like the Extra Point from M10 with the repetitive live video segueing into stats to read but it wasn't like that at all. The repetitive things they showed for each game, each week,flowed well enough with the in-game stats and various graphical overlays to create a cohesive dynamic package. Also, like Speedy stated, the same thing applied with the playoff hunts, awards, draft prospects, etc.

I honestly don't know if next-gen Madden has stunted some people's perspective on this type stuff or if some people's perspective has stunted this stuff in next-gen Madden.

To me, it just got old really quick. Outside of the highlights and some more info, I didn't see much of a difference between it and the Extra Point. I can only watch stat screens for so long before it's going to get old.

In my opinion, I'd like to see something like an ESPN ticker at the bottom of the screen. It would scroll through scores and stats, league news, awards, and what not just like on ESPN. It wouldn't be highlights, but it would accomplish the same thing as a weekly show and would be something I would be a lot more likely pay more attention to.

I'm probably in the minority there but I spend a decent amount of time in franchise menu's and stats between games and probably even more so now seeing the amount of activities to go through on any given week. Throw in some additional in-game presentation elements regarding things like playoff hunts and I would be completely happy with it.

[Bizekidz]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

It's a bit disappointing, but I will still be buying this day 1. This game is too much fun to let something like this ruin it for me. I'll just work around it.

[btvs]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

I knew CCM was too good to be true. Not being able to edit players is huge disappointment but not a deal breaker. Hopefully they can fix this in a patch.

[speedy9386]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

To me, it just got old really quick. Outside of the highlights and some more info, I didn't see much of a difference between it and the Extra Point. I can only watch stat screens for so long before it's going to get old.

In my opinion, I'd like to see something like an ESPN ticker at the bottom of the screen. It would scroll through scores and stats, league news, awards, and what not just like on ESPN. It wouldn't be highlights, but it would accomplish the same thing as a weekly show and would be something I would be a lot more likely pay more attention to.

I'm probably in the minority there but I spend a decent amount of time in franchise menu's and stats between games and probably even more so now seeing the amount of activities to go through on any given week. Throw in some additional in-game presentation elements regarding things like playoff hunts and I would be completely happy with it.

I'm sorry but what 2k5 had was like 100 times better than Extra Point. Hopefully they'll look to expand on the well, nothing we have now in franchise mode presentation wise.

[NFLfan80]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

This is the first time in a very long time I won't be buying Madden. I'm an offline guy and love editing players and controlling more than one team in Madden.

[twoboz]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

I won't buy madden 13 on day one I will wait and see what people say about it as the lack of roster control is a issue for me along with other key basic features. I confused as why in madden 12 they had so much freedom with rosters and controlling the game to your liking and took it all away in 13. Super excited with the new engines and what they did with game play. I am mostly offline player and if they want to favor the online player then expect to lose the offline players. I have bought every madden since 2000 so I have put up with a lot of different features.

[Bdubb]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

The not being able to play other games doesn't bother me too much but like the norm the not being able to edit players is a huge "WTF" Hopefully the fix for that comes quick. Disappointed because alot of the other stuff looks promising in this Madden

[Big FN Deal]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

The other thread this was being explained in got closed so I wanted to post this is here because I think it adds some clarification about no editing in CC.

I've never seen anything from the development team that states that implementing things in CCM is any more difficult than implementing things in the old franchise mode. For the sake of this discussion, let's assume you are correct, because it really doesn't impact my explanation.

That said, your basic understanding of how things work is flawed a bit. Player ratings are stored in a database, which is just a fancy way to say it's store in tabular form (like Excel does). The actual CCM features, for example a screen that shows those ratings, simply pulls the appropriate data from the database and displays it. Once that is wired up, the underlying data is independent of that screen. So, they can change ratings at any point and they will be updated in game.

Actually implementing the user interface for player editing for USERS is very different than the development team editing the players directly in the database. Not to mention, they can push rosters to the console at any point, so they can wait until release day to push the rosters that are determined by fan voting.

Does that help clarify?

That was a really good explanation, imo, thanks. So it harkens back to when I think CR was stating that it's the UI that would have taken time to design and implement, not the editing itself. Then that goes into what Bucky60 was saying that it seems like a flawed or inferior design decision to not include the UI into the blueprint for CC.

Very interesting stuff.

The entire short discussion is here
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2043960025

[DNMHIII]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

The other thread this was being explained in got closed so I wanted to post this is here because I think it adds some clarification about no editing in CC.



That was a really good explanation, imo, thanks. So it harkens back to when I think CR was stating that it's the UI that would have taken time to design and implement, not the editing itself. Then that goes into what Bucky60 was saying that it seems like a flawed or inferior design decision to not include the UI into the blueprint for CC.

Very interesting stuff.

The entire short discussion is here
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2043960025

A few of us have been saying this all along that the reasons things aren't in the game is most likely due to poor direction and design decisions. The only people truly responsible for these decisions comes from most likely 2% of the entire Madden Dev team and the other 98% is just doing what they're told.

[Big FN Deal]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

A few of us have been saying this all along that the reasons things aren't in the game is most likely due to poor direction and design decisions. The only people truly responsible for these decisions comes from most likely 2% of the entire Madden Dev team and the other 98% is just doing what they're told.

I am not condemning whoever made that decision just pointing out how interesting it is that even something like adding UI for an existing function still has to be allotted/planned for when a layman like me would think that would all be a given.

[DNMHIII]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

Who knows but the original Franchisee mode in next-gen Madden didn't even get that UI for editing ratings until M12, so it could just be the way they do things. I am not condemning whoever made that decision just pointing out how interesting it is that even something like adding UI for an existing function still has to be allotted/planned for when a layman like me would think that would all be a given.

Roger that.....I think a lot of people, including myself, don't take into consideration how much work goes into developmental stuff. I just get really frustrated with basic common sense issues that don't get addressed year after year and then new direction that takes the game backwards for so many instead of bringing it forward for everyone.

[Perfect Zero]

Re: Sound Off: Has the 'Closed' Nature of Connected Careers Turned You Away?

EA has been very good at doing the same thing over and over for new features. Connected Careers sounded so awesome in the beginning with the way they were trying to clean up everything. Then the little things start to become noticed. You are now more of a coach than a general manager. Now you can't use custom playbooks for your team. Now you can't use NCAA 13 for your draft classes. Now you can't even choose the uniforms to match what the teams really wear. Now you can't play with the other teams in the league (or even watch them). Why can we have these things for so long only to be told that by not having them, everything is better?

EA always takes two steps forward and one huge step back in everything they do. If the product isn't finished, then don't release it. Yeah I know, money is almighty God but I feel they are turning away some of their most important members; those of the gaming community.

At this point, fantasy football is where it is for me when it comes to any type of football franchise. EA just doesn't care anymore about the single player; it's all about the "online experience" and the least common denominator.