Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

[Junior Moe]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

As a franchise buff, these improvements are underwhelming if this is all that was added to CFM. I was hoping to at least see some things from Head Coach or even past Madden Franchise Modes implemented. I honestly thought that with Looman onbord we would have had most, if not all, of Head Coach in Madden by this point. But that's neither here nor there... The problem for me is that the mode feels so dead and stale for single players; like it's designed for online play. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't play online at all. Hopefully they do something to liven (CBS presentation, Wrap Up Show, Ticker...) it up some.

[fballturkey]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

If you believe that then that's fine for you, but I haven't seen anything in the history of Madden or EA Sports that leads me to believe they have a long term vision or goal for CCM/Franchise/Etc. The closest thing I've seen to one was when they ripped out a ton of features from Franchise and rebranded it as CCM supposedly so they wouldn't have to take a step back with the new console launches, and now it's 2015 and we're not even back to where Franchise was yet.

I don't hate the game; I actually like it quite a bit. But it would be really hard to convince me that a company with EA's track record is seriously 'building for the future' when all we've experienced, ever, is them cramming half-finished features into the game so they could put it on the back of the box and sell more copies. Sometimes they fix it the next year (procedural motion) sometimes it quietly dies (QB vision cone,) but for them to be doing what you're saying would be a huge change of course for the company. One I seriously hope they've made, but I'm not going to believe it till I see it.

[jpdavis82]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

If you believe that then that's fine for you, but I haven't seen anything in the history of Madden or EA Sports that leads me to believe they have a long term vision or goal for CCM/Franchise/Etc. The closest thing I've seen to one was when they ripped out a ton of features from Franchise and rebranded it as CCM supposedly so they wouldn't have to take a step back with the new console launches, and now it's 2015 and we're not even back to where Franchise was yet.

I don't hate the game; I actually like it quite a bit. But it would be really hard to convince me that a company with EA's track record is seriously 'building for the future' when all we've experienced, ever, is them cramming half-finished features into the game so they could put it on the back of the box and sell more copies. Sometimes they fix it the next year (procedural motion) sometimes it quietly dies (QB vision cone,) but for them to be doing what you're saying would be a huge change of course for the company. One I seriously hope they've made, but I'm not going to believe it till I see it.

Did you feel like gameplay was improved from 25 to 15 and did they remove anything from 25 in 15? The answers to those questions for you will probably tell you what you need to know. The vision for this game is pretty much from 25 on and on next gen consoles, most of 25 and 15 was done with removing legacy issues and building for the future in mind. I think once people see m16 gameplay they will start to catch the vision, even if it's not fully where we would like it yet, a lot of work has been done and 16 is the first next gen title to get a full dev cycle time to develop it.

[jpdavis82]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

If you believe that then that's fine for you, but I haven't seen anything in the history of Madden or EA Sports that leads me to believe they have a long term vision or goal for CCM/Franchise/Etc. The closest thing I've seen to one was when they ripped out a ton of features from Franchise and rebranded it as CCM supposedly so they wouldn't have to take a step back with the new console launches, and now it's 2015 and we're not even back to where Franchise was yet.

I don't hate the game; I actually like it quite a bit. But it would be really hard to convince me that a company with EA's track record is seriously 'building for the future' when all we've experienced, ever, is them cramming half-finished features into the game so they could put it on the back of the box and sell more copies. Sometimes they fix it the next year (procedural motion) sometimes it quietly dies (QB vision cone,) but for them to be doing what you're saying would be a huge change of course for the company. One I seriously hope they've made, but I'm not going to believe it till I see it.

I understand where you're coming from, hopefully we can re-address this discussion again once they announce the gameplay improvements later this month, most likely around E3.

[oneamongthefence]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

Again insults are no way to get us heard.
There are tons more mature ways to get your point across. Using the tone you are simply will get you ignored.

Do they always see eye to eye with us? Nope and they will never see eye to eye 100% with us.

State your things you dislike and for that matter like and go from there.

This "excuse of a company" has donated millions to such charities as the Red Cross and Veterans Organizations.

They may not be Saints in the realm of video games but they've done a lot many people don't know or pay attention too.

Anyways I'm simply saying to keep it respectful and that will be heard a lot more than the opposite.

Speaking of this they had one button controls for disabled gamers. They need to bring this back.

As for CFM nothing substantial has really been added. Its just been tweaks and New menus. I think most people are disappointed that the mode hasn't seen a substantial upgrade. The player aspect of it is lacking so much. Its pretty much just a player lock. It doesn't feel special and it's been rehashed for years how ps2 franchise mode was amazing. Years of baby steps and missteps set us back so many years. I'll take anything new added but its just underwhelming when it still needs so much love.

[GaspipeGorgeous]

Again insults are no way to get us heard.
There are tons more mature ways to get your point across. Using the tone you are simply will get you ignored.

Do they always see eye to eye with us? Nope and they will never see eye to eye 100% with us.

State your things you dislike and for that matter like and go from there.

This "excuse of a company" has donated millions to such charities as the Red Cross and Veterans Organizations.

They may not be Saints in the realm of video games but they've done a lot many people don't know or pay attention too.

Anyways I'm simply saying to keep it respectful and that will be heard a lot more than the opposite.

You certainly have a point, but it's just built up anger and frustration after years of paying money for in my opinion the last ten years a sub par product. Especially since they are capable of delivering a way better product as they have proved in the past but consistently seem not to do so. This is the ps4, during the PS2 they were way more innovative than they are now. Has my language been a little harsh, yes but like I said it stems from built up anger and frustration of an extremely dedicated Madden fan for over 15 years.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

You certainly have a point, but it's just built up anger and frustration after years of paying money for in my opinion the last ten years a sub par product. Especially since they are capable of delivering a way better product as they have proved in the past but consistently seem not to do so. This is the ps4, during the PS2 they were way more innovative than they are now. Has my language been a little harsh, yes but like I said it stems from built up anger and frustration of an extremely dedicated Madden fan for over 15 years.

Oh we all share the frustration I asure you.
Been too long BUT I had fun with 15 even with the flaws.. and hope M16 gets a step better and we see improvements each year.

Doesn't change the fact though it's been way to long since real improvements were implemented.
Nothing we can do about that though. Here's to hoping the future gets better and better.

[GaspipeGorgeous]

I understand where you're coming from, hopefully we can re-address this discussion again once they announce the gameplay improvements later this month, most likely around E3.

Quite simply, the Franchise/CCM mode comprise the bread and butter dedicated customer base of this franchise and we have been neglected for a while. The game play has certainly improved, this is without question. However, it's the presentation and features in the CCM mode that keep a player dedicated, that keep them infatuated with a game. The attention to detail, the attention to realism, the attention to make the game more then just about the game play (which like I said has certainly improved very, very nicely over the years) but it's about more than that. It's a total package, and the Franchise/CCM mode has been the part of the package that has lacked the most and that's the most disappointing.

[mestevo]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

Quite simply, the Franchise/CCM mode comprise the bread and butter dedicated customer base of this franchise and we have been neglected for a while. The game play has certainly improved, this is without question. However, it's the presentation and features in the CCM mode that keep a player dedicated, that keep them infatuated with a game. The attention to detail, the attention to realism, the attention to make the game more then just about the game play (which like I said has certainly improved very, very nicely over the years) but it's about more than that. It's a total package, and the Franchise/CCM mode has been the part of the package that has lacked the most and that's the most disappointing.

Eh. given that context I don't see how you can act we are getting so little this cycle. The player card, scouting and draft weaks are pretty significant improvements to the quality of life for a franchise player. The way they're discarded I think some need to go and try and do all the things the consolidated player card will do for you now in one place that before were split among multiple locations in the UI. From how easy it is to compare stats (no more endlessly scrolling to the right!) and being able to perform any of the actions (half of which lived in the depth chart it seemed, the other somewhat arbitrarily in the largely redundant 'roster' section) is pretty awesome.

The other improvements are huge too... team needs have for a long time been split off into it's own screen away from any other context, now we can easily see that along w/ rankings of remaining players at each position as we're drafting. The (welcomed, imo) simplified scouting and doing away with banking a season's worth of scouting points... and that's all just off the top of my head. These changes let us get back to actually playing the game after being able to quickly and efficiently manage and grow your team.

[jeremym480]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

I'll need to see the scouting and draft for myself to know if it's an improvement or not. The Player Card is nice, however I can't show them too much love on that until I know if we can view attributes during Free Agency. If we can't, then I'm going to be really disappointed.

Of course, all of this is for nought if progression, confidence, draft class ratings and contracts aren't fixed.

[EricFreakingBerry]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

I like some of these tweaks, but we are still missing some things. I enjoy how they have reworked the draft/scouting, and the combine stats are fantastic.

Still seem to be missing:

Restricted FA's
DRAFT CLASSES, DRAFT CLASSES, DRAFT CLASSES
Edit Players in CFM
Practice Squads
Sim Sliders for statistics (if the sim engine sucks again)
Better situational depth chart management and specialists, not just visual overhauls.

I really hope they did some work to the sim engine this year. I also hope they brought back the team the player played for on the career stats page. If not I'll be a bit upset about that.

[GaspipeGorgeous]

Eh. given that context I don't see how you can act we are getting so little this cycle. The player card, scouting and draft weaks are pretty significant improvements to the quality of life for a franchise player. The way they're discarded I think some need to go and try and do all the things the consolidated player card will do for you now in one place that before were split among multiple locations in the UI. From how easy it is to compare stats (no more endlessly scrolling to the right!) and being able to perform any of the actions (half of which lived in the depth chart it seemed, the other somewhat arbitrarily in the largely redundant 'roster' section) is pretty awesome.

The other improvements are huge too... team needs have for a long time been split off into it's own screen away from any other context, now we can easily see that along w/ rankings of remaining players at each position as we're drafting. The (welcomed, imo) simplified scouting and doing away with banking a season's worth of scouting points... and that's all just off the top of my head. These changes let us get back to actually playing the game after being able to quickly and efficiently manage and grow your team.

I'm not saying that these improvements won't be beneficial. They will, but I'm saying the level of innovation is greatly lacking. These improvements aren't up to the level that the technology PS4 presents. I mean a re worked player card is nothing to brag about as one of the top new features in CCM/Owner mode. Completely custom stadium design would be something (which they had 10 years ago) or instead of bragging about Free Practice, you can have Free Practice as well as completely upgrading your practice facilities with visuals. This re enforces the importance of one the latter improvements with financials for small market teams and this is just off the top. I mean there are so many different directions to go and they seem to do the bare minimum. Football is by far my favorite sport. Madden used to be my favorite game. It was light years ahead of the other sports sim franchises. It was cutting edge. They had Newspaper articles, they had a Radio Show, they had Complete Coaching staffs that offered benefits with real coaches, they had custom Stadium design with details, they had a great training camp progression system with drills, and they took ALL of these Great FEATURES out of the game. So since the end of the PS2, Madden has progressively fallen behind the 2K series and The Show. It's disappointing and it's not because of the game play it's because of the lack of innovation with the Presentation and the CCM/Owner modes.

[EricFreakingBerry]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

I know that CFM players and us stat geeks and sim freaks are in the minority. And we absolutely positively get under the skin of a large portion of the fanbase who plays online exclusively or (ugh) MUT modes with our constant wishlists and gripes.

But for as long as football is my favorite sport, each year that Madden puts out a product (last year was my first year purchasing in 3 years) that I feel is not up to specs I will raise my voice around this time every year in the hope that it will eventually be heard.

Like GaspipeGorgeous said, Madden used to be innovative and by the era of the PS4 I never in a million years thought we'd still be unable to edit our players the way 2K allows us to, unable to edit or create our own draft classes (especially after the crumbling of the NCAA games), not have complete coaching staffs, practice squads, a good sim engine, realistic contract options/compensatory picks, or better situational team structuring for style and process.

Look, I am never ever going to apologize on here for being the kind of gamer I am. I enjoy *playing* Madden football games, but the LOVE of sports games for me comes from becoming immersed in the franchise. I want things to feel pretty real, have some measure of control that EA puts in my hands for how my league/team functions even when I SIM the game versus when I play it.

So I am excited for some of these announced features, once again it has the *sound* of "heading into the right direction." However, I am ready for us to be at our destination now on year 3 of the PS4 era. I can't apologize for that.

[MelR2000]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

A simple request. I want to know can we edit players gear and numbers at least on ALL teams in franchise? This is a must, especially with all the jacked up gear that comes with the rookies.

[neume1mb]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Connected Franchise Details Revealed

I'm not saying that these improvements won't be beneficial. They will, but I'm saying the level of innovation is greatly lacking. These improvements aren't up to the level that the technology PS4 presents. I mean a re worked player card is nothing to brag about as one of the top new features in CCM/Owner mode. Completely custom stadium design would be something (which they had 10 years ago) or instead of bragging about Free Practice, you can have Free Practice as well as completely upgrading your practice facilities with visuals. This re enforces the importance of one the latter improvements with financials for small market teams and this is just off the top. I mean there are so many different directions to go and they seem to do the bare minimum. Football is by far my favorite sport. Madden used to be my favorite game. It was light years ahead of the other sports sim franchises. It was cutting edge. They had Newspaper articles, they had a Radio Show, they had Complete Coaching staffs that offered benefits with real coaches, they had custom Stadium design with details, they had a great training camp progression system with drills, and they took ALL of these Great FEATURES out of the game. So since the end of the PS2, Madden has progressively fallen behind the 2K series and The Show. It's disappointing and it's not because of the game play it's because of the lack of innovation with the Presentation and the CCM/Owner modes.

Dead on man, sadly, dead on.

It mystifies me how EA isn't listening us fans, 99% of all want the same things. Just fix the game, hell, update '05 with graphics and rosters, give us that one back.