Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

[Hooe]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Any improvement to the sidelines or "living worlds"?

AJ pointed out to me that crowds and NPCs got some attention. There are women in the crowd, fans can bring towels and signs to the game, and sideline characters should now dress appropriately for the weather. There's also an end zone cameraman who goes on the field for close up shots sometimes after touchdowns; from other cameras and in instant replay mode, you can actually see this camera man moving around exactly as he did when capturing the footage of the celebration.

[The JareBear]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

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.

Gotcha.

That is good input, thank you

I still have a "dream" if you will of playing the game without pressing any button at all, having the WR and DB play it out on their own based on ratings and traits or whatever, but I do like that you don't have to switch over officially to use the new mechanics.

It seems that, so far, the CPU will Play Ball more ofthen than Play Man which is leading to these aggressive catches popping

[kholling]

Have they addressed the lack of a consistent 4 man-rush or reduced pocket time for pass plays? That is the biggest issue with Madden was the lack of real pressure on a quarterback and the pocket collapsing. It seems like devs ignore the fact that QB hurries, QB hits, well-formed, and badly formed pockets impact the passing game.

[Hooe]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Gotcha.



That is good input, thank you



I still have a "dream" if you will of playing the game without pressing any button at all, having the WR and DB play it out on their own based on ratings and traits or whatever, but I do like that you don't have to switch over officially to use the new mechanics.

To the bold - in my chats with devs, the CPU v CPU crowd was touched on a bit. The general impression I left with is that A - the CPU v CPU crowd is incredibly small to the point where it is difficult to prioritize any wish list item to that end, and B - it's not something they are particularly interested in emphasizing in Madden anyway; they are building a video game to be played by people who actively want to take control of the superhuman athletes the NFL has to offer, not Head Coach.

[The JareBear]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

AJ pointed out to me that crowds and NPCs got some attention. There are women in the crowd, fans can bring towels and signs to the game, and sideline characters should now dress appropriately for the weather. There's also an end zone cameraman who goes on the field for close up shots sometimes after touchdowns; from other cameras and in instant replay mode, you can actually see this camera man moving around exactly as he did when capturing the footage of the celebration.

Thank you for your feedback and impressions, as well as responding to tweets. Appreciate it

[Skyboxer]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

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.

Will have to play for myself and see whats what. (Mainly concerned about No switch leagues and how that will be handled)

[The JareBear]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Will have to play for myself and see whats what. (Mainly concerned about No switch leagues and how that will be handled)

I have the same motivation/interest. I solely ask these questions in regards to Online CFM (hoping to run in SOS again this year).

I am sure this will end up just needing to be kind of "round table discussed" in leagues as far as where do you draw the line. Where does cueing the catch or DB approach fall as far as switch/no switch. Are ratings still the driving factor, etc. It's a brand new mechanic so it's tough to gauge right now without testing.

My perfect world is I make the throw and let everything else happen as it should. If the CPU, entirely on its own, cannot handle that and routinely makes the wrong choice, leagues may have to consider allowing the aggressive/rac/possession and play ball/play man mechanics be user influenced.

I am actually super curious to see where the no switch guys fall on this when the game comes out, I will be lurking in other CFMs discussion threads to read everyones opinions.

Either way, I think it is a win for everyone. We are getting an improved game in this department no matter which route happens.

Thanks again to BenG and CM for sharing their experience with the game

[The JareBear]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

So CM and BenG, it sounds to me like the best bet is to Play Man on defense unless it is a sure fire pick situation? Kinda like, when in doubt, better safe than sorry, Play Man is the more conservative option (less risk, less reward)?

[Skyboxer]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

I have the same motivation/interest. I solely ask these questions in regards to Online CFM (hoping to run in SOS again this year).

I am sure this will end up just needing to be kind of "round table discussed" in leagues as far as where do you draw the line. Where does cueing the catch or DB approach fall as far as switch/no switch. Are ratings still the driving factor, etc. It's a brand new mechanic so it's tough to gauge right now without testing.

My perfect world is I make the throw and let everything else happen as it should. If the CPU, entirely on its own, cannot handle that and routinely makes the wrong choice, leagues may have to consider allowing the aggressive/rac/possession and play ball/play man mechanics be user influenced.

I am actually super curious to see where the no switch guys fall on this when the game comes out, I will be lurking in other CFMs discussion threads to read everyones opinions.

Either way, I think it is a win for everyone. We are getting an improved game in this department no matter which route happens.

Thanks again to BenG and CM for sharing their experience with the game

If the pop ups are turned off there's no way to monitor it BUT:

Here's some thoughts (again at work in between stuff)
If the ratings in fact are not negated by the RAC,Possession or Aggresive catch button getting hit.. then probably can live with it IF we find out that aggressive catches aren't money.

Would add a bit to some thinking as far as when to aggressive or RAC catch etc...
However I'm still on the side of wanting ratings to matter more and the virtual player needing to make a decision on their own...

[The JareBear]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

If the pop ups are turned off there's no way to monitor it BUT:

Here's some thoughts (again at work in between stuff)
If the ratings in fact are not negated by the RAC,Possession or Aggresive catch button getting hit.. then probably can live with it IF we find out that aggressive catches aren't money.

Would add a bit to some thinking as far as when to aggressive or RAC catch etc...
However I'm still on the side of wanting ratings to matter more and the virtual player needing to make a decision on their own...

Yeah. We really won't know for sure until we get our hands on the game.

This blurb from the EA blog eases my mind a little

"Each WR has a new series of traits that determine which types of catches they look for when under AI control. This includes the RAC, Aggressive, and Possession traits. Throwing the right route to the right receiver and using catch mechanics linked to traits is a critical strategic component in Madden NFL 16."

Anyway, I think we're gonna be fine regardless. Good point though about the visual feedback

[Hooe]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

So CM and BenG, it sounds to me like the best bet is to Play Man on defense unless it is a sure fire pick situation? Kinda like, when in doubt, better safe than sorry, Play Man is the more conservative option (less risk, less reward)?

I think Play Man is the safest bet on defense in one on one and jump ball situations, yeah.

You can still get rewarded doing this, though, because the DB can knock the ball out and it has a good chance to careen up into the air when that happens, opening up chances for tipped pass INTs which didn't exist before. When an INT does happen, it's a "Wow" moment.

It's a hard habit to break, though, hitting Triangle to defend a pass, which is why I was having so much trouble.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Playing safety is going to be fun again.... Can't wait..

[Iceman87GT]

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.

Here's 2 pics at TCF stadium at night (the same night no less - a preseason game against the Cardinals).

Matt Cassel


Teddy Bridgwater


Now maybe because they have the new stadium in the game they decided against revamping the lighting for TCF Bank Stadium, considering how most stadiums have this issue at night (and quite a few of the indoor ones as well), I think its a problem with the lighting system period. The light doesn't seem to affect the players like it does the stuff around them, and it doesn't seem to reach the field as much to begin with (so the field is brighter than the players but dimmer than it would be in real life).

Untitled.jpg

Even if AT&T and Centurylink look correct at night, I don't care if Lambeau, Soldier Field, TCF Stadium then US Bank Stadium, and Ford Field aren't lighting correctly at night because those are the stadiums where most of my night games will be played (and from the trailer it certainly looks like Ford Field is having lighting issues even when its a day game). It shouldn't be an issue anywhere, and it's mind-boggling because the day games look so much better this year but the night games only looked improved in that Metallic Helmets aren't being dulled anymore (which makes night games less ugly but still doesn't solve the issue).

There are so many positives about this game, and I can't wait to play it, but its messed up that I hope my team doesn't get many primetime games in season 2 of my CFM because of how bad it looks.

I mean the Packers' Gold actually looks sharper at night than it does in the day (in photos and on television) and yet it always looks significantly duller at night in Madden.





Madden:

PackersNight.jpg

[Iceman87GT]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Also: why did they change Rodgers's sleeves? The had the length and the cut right last year, really hoping that sleeve style is still in the game, because do few QBs have sleeves as long as his are in the video.

This may seem nitpicky (and maybe it is for the purpose of this thread), but the little things do take you out of the moment from time to time.

EDIT: that said I love that they added medium tight sleeves where you can actually see the bunching from the elastic as opposed to "tight" meaning you couldn't see the cuff.

[jpdavis82]

Re: Madden NFL 16: E3 Hands-On Preview

Here's 2 pics at TCF stadium at night (the same night no less - a preseason game against the Cardinals).

Matt Cassel


Teddy Bridgwater


Now maybe because they have the new stadium in the game they decided against revamping the lighting for TCF Bank Stadium, considering how most stadiums have this issue at night (and quite a few of the indoor ones as well), I think its a problem with the lighting system period. The light doesn't seem to affect the players like it does the stuff around them, and it doesn't seem to reach the field as much to begin with (so the field is brighter than the players but dimmer than it would be in real life).

[ATTACH]100555[/ATTACH]

Even if AT&T and Centurylink look correct at night, I don't care if Lambeau, Soldier Field, TCF Stadium then US Bank Stadium, and Ford Field aren't lighting correctly at night because those are the stadiums where most of my night games will be played (and from the trailer it certainly looks like Ford Field is having lighting issues even when its a day game). It shouldn't be an issue anywhere, and it's mind-boggling because the day games look so much better this year but the night games only looked improved in that Metallic Helmets aren't being dulled anymore (which makes night games less ugly but still doesn't solve the issue).

There are so many positives about this game, and I can't wait to play it, but its messed up that I hope my team doesn't get many primetime games in season 2 of my CFM because of how bad it looks.

I mean the Packers' Gold actually looks sharper at night than it does in the day (in photos and on television) and yet it always looks significantly duller at night in Madden.






Madden:

[ATTACH]100556[/ATTACH]

Just wait to judge this until you see it in person, the colors "pop" this year unlike ever before.