Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

[tripleh1142]

In my time playing against a competitive online player, the player expressed frustration with former "cheese plays" not working quite as well.


The above line was one of the most important to me. The less cheese the better.

[Mr.Smif]

The interaction between corners and wide receivers is much better. It is hard to say whether or not it's where it needs to be, but it's a start.

I wonder if he is talking about lack of contact before the ball is thrown, which is something concerning to me, there seems to be a lack of contact/jostling before the ball is in their air, hope this isn't the case.

[JKSportsGamer1984]

No mention of the cleaner more improved physics or gang tackling? This is arguably the biggest improvement in the game. Out of all the vids I've seen, I have yet to notice any morphing/player clipping (limbs fusing together, players walking right through other players lying on the ground after plays, etc...) This is a HUGE plus for me! Really makes the game look more polished. EA really paid attention to detail this year (minus the equipment upgrades & sideline characters). I'm impressed!

[RogueHominid]

A major concern for me will be whether the CPU QB is capable of throwing more realistic games at or near default.

Last year's game had lots of problems in this regard, with 85% completions being very easy to achieve unless one lowered QBA to a level below 5.

I was a bit concerned to hear Rex talk about how precise pocket passers could be at E3 and how they could carve you apart. That has not been a problem, but the opposite has.

If I have to do slider magic to produce realistic sack and completion numbers, this will be a no-purchase.

[LorenzoDC]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

It's good to hear the targeting of legacy issues, and let's hope the gameplay arrives and stands up to real play time. This is the season for peak encouragement, but it has to be proven by hands on experience by sim players. Let's hope this year delivers on results more consistently than past years have.

I'm still not going to buy, because I've learned to be very suspicious of Madden claims prior to release. Also, even if the game play is much improved - and CPU AI has been a big, if not the biggest, thing for me as an offline sim player - I can't get ongoing enjoyment from the game worth $60 if the franchise CCM mode is done badly.

Since it doesn't sound like CCM is going to create an improved offline sim "fantasy" type experience, with no customization and expanded player based XP mini-game dynamics, even great gameplay would not get me to buy. I just wouldn't get my money value from what amounts to a series of offline play now games.

Still, this is the season for Madden optimism, so if game play is getting meaningfully improved, especially at the AI level, I'm all for it. It makes it possible for me not to write off the series completely, with an eye toward the unknown future.

[Mr.Smif]

Not thrilled with 'nerfed' user control of running. Running was great, why mess with it?

IMO, the running was not that good in Madden 15. The main reason being that it was hard to hit holes because it was hard to perform small jukes and cuts, this issues seems to be improved in Madden 16, also one-on-one tackling was way too solid, not enough broken tackles which is another legacy issue in Madden which seems to be improved in 16. On top of that the running animations were bad, all the players carried/ran the ball the exact same and the open field running animations looked nothing like what we see in real life. From the videos ive seen the running game looks much better in Madden 16.

[KOYO78]

If EA devs continue on this path of refining what has been set from M15 through the years l believe we wi hv a goo product in the future. Liking the improvements anything that makes ppl play real FB I'm for

[OhMrHanky]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

No mention of the cleaner more improved physics or gang tackling? This is arguably the biggest improvement in the game. Out of all the vids I've seen, I have yet to notice any morphing/player clipping (limbs fusing together, players walking right through other players lying on the ground after plays, etc...) This is a HUGE plus for me! Really makes the game look more polished. EA really paid attention to detail this year (minus the equipment upgrades & sideline characters). I'm impressed!

absolutely. this was one of the 1st things i noticed as well. and, if this is alpha version, and that's clean, i am amazed. These have been glaring issues for years. not only does this make it look more polished, this has to improve gameplay, i would think. I have always felt that madden's programming approach has been off (not that i know exactly what they were trying to do, but i base this off of years of playing the game. lol) in that it always feels like they are trying to calculate outcomes within the game, and then that determines the physics. When, it should be the other way around, meaning u need to create the physics in the game, first. create the football "universe" with gravity, momentum, etc, and THEN the players ratings will dictate the outcome based on their personal "physics", and of course, some calculated outcomes are probably inevitable. But, create the physics, FIRST, then proceed with the football. This game looks like they are close to that approach, anyways.

[JKSportsGamer1984]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

If EA devs continue on this path of refining what has been set from M15 through the years l believe we wi hv a goo product in the future. Liking the improvements anything that makes ppl play real FB I'm for

We're getting a good product this year lol. The future is here! Is it at the level we want it to be yet? No & even the devs admit that but they're getting close. I wouldn't of said that 2 years ago.

I get your point though

[Iceman87GT]

To me the lighting for night and indoor games is what really makes this game shine and all the new animations. The new scans are a big improvement too and most of those people haven't really seen yet, especially for night games.

So have they changed the lighting since they put out the first trailer? Because the night lighting still looked as dim as it has for years, believe it or not the light makes it all the way to the field. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, because it takes what should be the best environment to play a game in (primetime) and makes it look like the home team could only afford to turn on half the lights.

[Mr.Smif]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

So have they changed the lighting since they put out the first trailer? Because the night lighting still looked as dim as it has for years, believe it or not the light makes it all the way to the field. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, because it takes what should be the best environment to play a game in (primetime) and makes it look like the home team could only afford to turn on half the lights.

Check out the Pack vs. Vikings video, the night game looked pretty good to me.

[jpdavis82]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Check out the Pack vs. Vikings video, the night game looked pretty good to me.

It looks ok in that video, wait till you see Cowboys Stadium or Centurylink or something like that at night, looks awesome. Gophers Stadium is just not that bright of a stadium.

[BenGerman]

In regards to the challenge play stuff, I honestly don't think I saw a single challenge across my four games. I'd be surprised if that is much better, though. Between talking with the devs and watching other people play the game, it didn't seem to be a priority. I'm officially out of the conference and can answer some other questions if you guys have them.

[green94]

Any improvement to the sidelines or "living worlds"?

[Hooe]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

I am also curious to find out if it is only overpowered if you user it. I don't think we've seen a no-switch video yet

The catch controls do not require switching, they are context-aware. Just press Triangle / Y while the ball is in the air and the WR will queue up an Aggressive Catch attempt, regardless whether you are user-controlling the WR.

I think the biggest thing people will have to learn (and maybe weren't doing effectively on the floor; I know I wasn't) is using the Play Man defensive control (Square) as opposed to the Play Ball / Intercept control (Triangle). The former makes the defender make a conscious attempt to punch the ball out of the receiver's possession at the point of the catch, rather than try an interception without considering the WR's position. AJ from EA did this well against me, with the Play Man control he was able to knock the ball out from Dez Bryant's hands with Dwayne Gratz and then a CPU teammate intercepted the redirected football. Giving safety help is another option.

I actually don't think Aggressive Catch is overpowered, to be honest. Rather I think that it wasn't being countered effectively by those playing the game. We'll see.