Madden NFL 25 Connected Franchise Q&A with Josh Looman

[BradyFan12]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&A with Josh Looman

Basically, we can edit players and take custom rosters into starting up a new CCM....but as far as changing ratings after that, the XP system can't handle it. I figured this would be the case. Still, we can edit gear, positions and jersey numbers. That's more huge to the majority of us.

(side note: Be aware that the answer was in question to just single player CCM, though. If you are a 32 team/league Owner mode CCM/F, perhaps you get to do whatever you want - and this didn't clarify online/offline differentials, either)

Now if they'd just answer if we can do CPU vs. CPU in offline CCM. This question just keeps getting unanswered.

[cuttingteeth]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&A with Josh Looman

All that talk, and local multiplayer didn't get mentioned once. I buy Madden to play through a Franchise with my sons. If we want to do a Connected Career and play against each other we need 2-3 xbox's, copies of the game, live subscriptions, so on.

In '12 and earlier, we could just boot up the xbox, both login and play each other. Worked fine, '13 made that impossible. Reeeeally hoping they bring back local multiplayer, though I did see you can control multiple teams, that doesn't necessarily mean they can play each other with humans controlling both teams, and it would be better to just have our own separate franchises.

I would think with 32 team control coming back (confirmed), there's no reason you can't play each other head-to-head on the same game. Systemically, it should be impossible NOT to play head-to-head, actually. If you control all 32 teams, surely you must be given the option to play as them, too.

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Now if they'd just answer if we can do CPU vs. CPU in offline CCM. This question just keeps getting unanswered.

Yeah, I've yet to read about even Simming through games - is that in...does that not freeze up...etc. ? I hope to hear about that soon.

[slingblade73]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

What about position changes in the pre-season? An injury could force a move.

[jpdavis82]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

What about position changes in the pre-season? An injury could force a move.

Great question and a very good point, I'm going to tweet Josh about this in a minute. As far as I know you could only make position changes in the offseason but I'm double checking. I know one thing you could do is edit your teams roster before you start a league so you have even amounts of players at each position, then start your league.

[N51_rob]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

VSN: Improvements to pass trajectories? They were much better in 13 vs. 12 but still an issue with INTs going to DB’s that are 10 yards behind the receiver.

Josh Looman: I am pretty sure that answer is yes but I will have to defer to the guys back in Orlando that work on the gameplay features.

Biggest thing I take away from this interview is that I no longer need to hear from Josh Looman this development cycle. I played Madden 10 when online franchise was bare bones, played 12 when XFN was better than anything EA sports had and played 13 when the EA's site wasn't very useful. Bottom line I will play online franchise no matter how bad I think the interface(s) are. But gameplay is number 1. Its clear that Looman has nothing to do with gameplay and seems to not even be aware of some of the game play issues so I really don't need to hear anymore from him this cycle.

[therizing02]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Lots of previews, interviews, marketing, and feature dumping....but when will anyone, anywhere, ever ask about the AI? Play calling? Predictability? What about the broken fatigue for RBs last year?

It seems that there is an unwritten rule that EA will allow Q&As and interviews and previews but only if the site/blog tees up questions that can be answered with the announcement of new features. A lot of great improvements for Madden 25, but it is football and poor AI can negate the hours and hours of work put into game engines, Owner Mode, and CCM improvements.

Someone needs to start asking tougher questions.

[EMbow513]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Can someone please tell me that we can edit player bodies this year

[Godgers12]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Can someone please elaborate on what the new commissioner tools are in the online franchise portion of CCF

[N51_rob]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Can someone please elaborate on what the new commissioner tools are in the online franchise portion of CCF

No one can, because they are not talking about it yet.

[roadman]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Lots of previews, interviews, marketing, and feature dumping....but when will anyone, anywhere, ever ask about the AI? Play calling? Predictability? What about the broken fatigue for RBs last year?

It seems that there is an unwritten rule that EA will allow Q&As and interviews and previews but only if the site/blog tees up questions that can be answered with the announcement of new features. A lot of great improvements for Madden 25, but it is football and poor AI can negate the hours and hours of work put into game engines, Owner Mode, and CCM improvements.

Someone needs to start asking tougher questions.

Rizing, I did ask CorySA, a CGer, last week about the AI playcalling. He played a version a few weeks ago and was mainly there for CFM. He did take note of my post and said he would find out because he remembers the play calling was bad last year for the AI, especially late game AI play calling.

Waiting to hear from him.

[cuttingteeth]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Lots of previews, interviews, marketing, and feature dumping....but when will anyone, anywhere, ever ask about the AI? Play calling? Predictability? What about the broken fatigue for RBs last year?

+1 I was hoping to hear about this fatigue bar they've introduced, but no mention of it has been made in this "gameplay" sort of reveal. Whatever it does (if still in the game, now) will likely answer a lot for us that want player degradation of any kind, whether over the course of a season or per a single game and certainly to the degree of injuries that may or may not occur.

[Big FN Deal]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Lots of previews, interviews, marketing, and feature dumping....but when will anyone, anywhere, ever ask about the AI? Play calling? Predictability? What about the broken fatigue for RBs last year?

It seems that there is an unwritten rule that EA will allow Q&As and interviews and previews but only if the site/blog tees up questions that can be answered with the announcement of new features. A lot of great improvements for Madden 25, but it is football and poor AI can negate the hours and hours of work put into game engines, Owner Mode, and CCM improvements.

Someone needs to start asking tougher questions.

Yep, another year of bending to Tiburon's will and having tunnel vision on the shiny new thing they put out in front, instead of asking "what's wrong". If I go to buy anything or consider becoming involved with a female, the cons are the first things I want to know about because the pros are usually pretty evident. We always get sold the bill of goods as if the new Madden is perfect, which of course there is no such thing, so stop with act and tell us the real.

I don't get why Looman would choose to focus on a Tycoon mode and leave the basic Franchise elements the same as M13. What it seems he/they did was address some basic design flaws, like adding a transaction log and added some needed editing ability but there should have been a 2.0 element to wholesale porting HC09. It seems he took the premise of HC09 with regard to player management and applied it to Owner Mode but I don't get doing that before actually completing that premise for player management in M25.

Another thing is this continued commitment to XP, why? Again in the owner mode they don't seem to be using XP or some other video game moniker for progress, they are using money, fan morale, media scrutiny, advisers, etc, real world elements, so why the eff the XP stuff for players?

[daniel77733]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Happy about being able to fully edit players in CFM. Granted, can only switch a player's position in the off-season but I can deal with that. Very happy that we can edit the draft classes as well. Now, all I need to see is that depth chart being changed and I'll be a happy camper.

[cuttingteeth]

Re: Madden 25 Connected Franchise Q&amp;A with Josh Looman

Yep, another year of bending to Tiburon's will and having tunnel vision on the shiny new thing they put out in front, instead of asking "what's wrong". If I go to buy anything or consider becoming involved with a female, the cons are the first things I want to know about because the pros are usually pretty evident. We always get sold the bill of goods as if the new Madden is perfect, which of course there is no such thing, so stop with act and tell us the real.

I don't get why Looman would choose to focus on a Tycoon mode and leave the basic Franchise elements the same as M13. What it seems he/they did was address some basic design flaws, like adding a transaction log and added some needed editing ability but there should have been a 2.0 element to wholesale porting HC09. It seems he took the premise of HC09 with regard to player management and applied it to Owner Mode but I don't get doing that before actually completing that premise for player management in M25.

Another thing is this continued commitment to XP, why? Again in the owner mode they don't seem to be using XP or some other video game moniker for progress, they are using money, fan morale, media scrutiny, advisers, etc, real world elements, so why the eff the XP stuff for players?

Good points. It makes me wonder how future use all of the emotional immersion (because honestly, twitter really just creates or destroys hype - all social media really does) will merge with goal based features.

[MrBill]

Good discussion guys. I am the person that spoke with Josh yesterday and wrote the original article on VSN. Keep the questions coming as we will be having a follow up in a few weeks with either him or Mike Young.