Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Think I found a sweet spot for me using sliders on All-Pro.

Didn't move any slider more than 5 from default in either direction except for FG Power and Punt Power for both the human and CPU which I lowered both into the 40s.

Game is challenging as is. You may start the game off slowly struggling to move the ball or giving up passing yardage.

But if you play No Switch, you'll get right back into it.

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

I've had fun playing Madden 16. I really enjoy the new dynamics between WR and DB. Every time the ball is thrown the outcome isn't predictable. It adds a ton to the game which looks fantastic.

At first I thought the r-stick jukes were useless but they are actually good for subtle changes of direction in the backfield to avoid blockers. The real juke is the modifier juke though. That works nicely.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KMPMOJNujgQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I can't remember if I've seen any fumbles yet. Not a big deal with sliders and I've never liked them to be too high but I think default is pretty low. The commentary on QB injuries after coming back into the game is so repetitive and annoying. First time I experienced that myself this morning. After a game this morning the stats were off saying I had 3 players with 1/2 sacks. That's impossible. They have to add up to a whole number.

I've read people complain about zone coverage but I think the coverage is fairly balanced between man and zone. Both can be effective at times and both can blow coverages.

By far my biggest complaint about this game is the neutered DTs. This has been a trend the last few years and it remains my number one pet peeve. They don't shoot gaps, they get knocked off the ball, they never make tackles for loss in the run game. It's just terrible for both user and cpu. Ndamukong Suh had ZERO tackles or sacks this morning. Completely invisible. You just don't see them impact the game like they should while DEs routinely hold their ground against OTs leading to a running game that is unbalanced. Too easy to run inside compared to outside. It's just a real black eye on an otherwise good game.

Also, the cpu needs to be far more aggressive in calling plays when they are losing late in the game on defence. They sit back with 2 safeties deep when they need to be pressing and blitzing to prevent you from running out the clock. Where is the urgency on defence!

Please add an All-22 sideways camera! It would be incredible to have a Tecmo style cam!

[fatleg3]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Im loving the gang tackles. I like how you can have a stalemate between two players then come in with a third defender and stop the runners momentum. I just wish those extra defenders coming in with big hits could cause fumbles or injuries.

Sent from my HTC Desire 626s using Tapatalk

[MrX]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

This game would've been perfect for me if the following issues were done right:

1. I had a real playcall screen that windowed things instead of covering up the main scene. Tiburon should be kicked in the butt for forcing this crummy playcall setup on us. Madden 06, Madden 09, NFL 2K4, NFL 2K5, those got it right with this. I want a full screen playcall next year with a window for cueing up replays and seeing on-field action in-between plays. Being able to look at stats, and look at player health and more. No more of this cover up crap, seriously guys. Whoever thought of that is clueless and should be fired.

2. Blocking AI weren't broken, but it is. Fatally. How many times can OL's completely ignore their assignments? I lost a game last night because my tackle, all All-Pro tackle btw, decided that the DE he was supposed to block was in fact invisible, and so he ran left into the middle of the line to block an on-coming LB and I got sacked for a loss that crushed my chances on a drive where I was really marching toward a score.

3. Garbage Tight ends and low-level WR's making spectacular catches. Give me a break. You need ABILITIES ratings to dictate this, so only players who have the ABILITY in real life can make these kinds of plays.

[MrX]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

This game would've been perfect for me if the following issues were done right:

1. I had a real playcall screen that windowed things instead of covering up the main scene. Tiburon should be kicked in the butt for forcing this crummy playcall setup on us. Madden 06, Madden 09, NFL 2K4, NFL 2K5, those got it right with this. I want a full screen playcall next year with a window for cueing up replays and seeing on-field action in-between plays. Being able to look at stats, and look at player health and more. No more of this cover up crap, seriously guys. Whoever thought of that is clueless and should be fired.

2. Blocking AI weren't broken, but it is. Fatally. How many times can OL's completely ignore their assignments? I lost a game last night because my tackle, all All-Pro tackle btw, decided that the DE he was supposed to block was in fact invisible, and so he ran left into the middle of the line to block an on-coming LB and I got sacked for a loss that crushed my chances on a drive where I was really marching toward a score.

3. Garbage Tight ends and low-level WR's making spectacular catches. Give me a break. You need ABILITIES ratings to dictate this, so only players who have the ABILITY in real life can make these kinds of plays.

4. The ridiculous number of one-handed catches. Just no reason for that. And seeing the Beckham catch multiple times is simply embarrassing. A simulation football game should never get caught up in flavor-of-the-moment development, but this is where Madden is right now.

All of this is a shame, because honestly, if those things were done right, I'd be ready to crown this game because it does a lot of things well (finally!), but alas, the wait for greatness continues.

[roadman]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

4. The ridiculous number of one-handed catches. Just no reason for that. And seeing the Beckham catch multiple times is simply embarrassing. A simulation football game should never get caught up in flavor-of-the-moment development, but this is where Madden is right now.

All of this is a shame, because honestly, if those things were done right, I'd be ready to crown this game because it does a lot of things well (finally!), but alas, the wait for greatness continues.

You did know they are tuning those, correct?

[Walt Frazier]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Really enjoying the game.

The battles now between the O and the D just add so much more to the experience. I remember old Maddens where playing D basiclaly meant just watching until you got the ball back.

Great game...now right up there with the really elite sports games.

[RogueHominid]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Think I found a sweet spot for me using sliders on All-Pro.

Didn't move any slider more than 5 from default in either direction except for FG Power and Punt Power for both the human and CPU which I lowered both into the 40s.

Game is challenging as is. You may start the game off slowly struggling to move the ball or giving up passing yardage.

But if you play No Switch, you'll get right back into it.

Agreed. With more games played, I'm probably .500 vs. the CPU in Play Now games. What is more, I'm having great statistical variety in terms of game types and performance on offense and defense, all at AP default.

This game reminds me a bit of The Show in that regard. Out of the box, AS default will give you a great game and will produce the variety of game types necessary to give the game a high replay value. Madden appears to do the same on AP default for the first time ever. It's really refreshing and very encouraging.

Once the patch hits, I'm going to play a full season before I even mess with sliders so I don't prematurely adjust a game that seems to actually play well out of the box. If I do adjust values, it will likely be just by 5, as you say, rather than the slider alchemy of previous years.

[greglh]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

+ Physics are definitely improved (but still not where it needs to be)

+ Love the gang tackling (although it still needs to be cleaned up)

+ Love that they cleaned up the post play (players no longer clipping / morphing together)

+ CPU QB AI is definitely improved & QB's are playing like their real life counterparts

+ The new passing mechanics are a nice addition & much needed

+ Love the new handoff / play action fake animations

+ Love that they added various Ball Carrying styles! Bout time!

+ Like the new camera angles on replays & cut scenes

+ Like the new stat bubbles on players. Nice touch

+ Love the improvements to the crowd

- The Sidelines aren't still lackluster smh (all players wearing high socks, not wearing their accessories, no names on the back of jerseys, etc..) This is holding the look of the game back & must be a priority going forward. We need chearleaders too!

- When in a no huddle hurry up situation players still run right through other players (clip/morph) when running back to the line of scrimmage. Again, this is an immersion killer. They need to add player avoidance (similar to the sidelines) in these situations. They cleaned up the player clipping/morphing post play but neglected to do it for the hurry up offense. Please fix this!

- RB's still run up their blockers back without pushing off at times & RB's arms still bend behind their back with the ball stuck in their hand smh. I thought this would've been fixed by now! EA, RB's should contextually tuck the ball when in traffic or when near a defender to prevent this from happening. PLEASE fix this! I can't stand when a runner's arm gets stuck behind his back with the ball stuck in their hand. I can not begin to tell you how much I hate to see this! It makes me want to turn the game off every time I see it! I know this is tied to the physics engine but this has to go!

- Spin moves are way too effective & over powered. We shouldn't have RB's like Christian Okoye pulling off spin moves like Barry Sanders. There's needs to be a bigger differential in how RB's are able to utilize certain moves. RB's still feel too similar.

- CPU RB's still don't utilize their entire arsenal & aren't as effective as they should be (I should fear going up against Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, etc..)

- Players still feel a little floaty & not connected to the field. Players need to feel more weighted to the ground. Player momentum still needs improvement.

- Tackling (while improved) still feels sloppy at times. Defenders still flop to the ground like they're lifeless on gang tackles. There's also way too many pillow soft hits in the game. I do see my share of big hits, but I'm seeing a lot of soft hits that have no thump to them what so ever with players going down too easy. This should've been fixed by now in year 3 of the physics engine. Hopefully this can be tuned or patched.

- Way too many One Handed catch animations! In typical EA fashion, ODB Jr makes a once in a lifetime catch & now I'm seeing those types of catches in Madden 5 to 10 times a game smh. This needs to be toned way down. I'm not talking about aggressive catches in general, just these ridiculous one handed catch animations that you rarely see IRL. They don't have to eliminate them just tone them way down.

- The sound quality for the on field action isn't that good at times. Sometimes you can't hear the physicality being displayed (maybe this ties in to the pillow soft hitting). I forget which Madden it was (I think 07) where you could hear players stomping on the field when running. We need stuff like that in the game to add to the immersion. APF2K8 had great on field sound as well. I do like that EA added player chatter this year but the overall sound of the game needs a big upgrade.

- Animation quality still needs work (although it has improved)

- We still don't have True Step for all 22 players on the field (this would greatly improve the game)

- Some of the aggressive catch animations seem to be predetermined

- Still not able to assign DB's to WR's. We should be able put our best DB on the opponents best WR. This is a must & we need this to combat some of these aggressive catches. I know Rex said they were trying to get this in but EA please try your best to patch this in. It would be a shame if we had to wait until next year for this feature.

- The hit stick has been toned down. I'm not able to lay the wood like I used to. I don't like this.

- Presentation is still lacking (including commentary). It's disappointing that there's a ticker in the game but they use it for goals instead of scores & updates from around the league smh. EA dropped the ball on this. We need highlights from games around the league & a weekly wrap up show during CFM. These are the things I expected & thought were a no brainer for this generation. EA has to step it up in this department. We also need to go away from cut scenes & add Real-Time presentation. It's long overdue!

- Touchdown celebrations are completely out of wack. I shouldn't see Eli Manning doing the Nene after a score smh. Also, how are you going to add Ladanian Tomlinson to the game but not have his signature celebration? Come on EA! Also, we need team celebrations in the end zone after TD's. Looks extremely odd when your player is celebrating by himself whereas in the NFL you rarely see that.

- In Zoom cam when pulling the camera back presnap in a 5 wide empty formation, the outside receivers are cut off out of view on the edges of your screen. This is a problem because you can't see the matchup or who your edge receivers are when it happens. I don't recall this happening last year & I know it's not my TV. Not sure if it's a glitch or if the Zoom cam just needs to be adjusted. All they have to do is pull the Zoom back about an inch to fix this. I only use the Zoom cam & this problem is kind of killing it for me. PLEASE fix this!

Overall I like the improvements & I'm satisfied with the game but as usual with Madden it still falls short of greatness. Seems like every year I see the potential in the game but it always leaves me wanting more & waiting for next year. Hopefully a lot of these issues can be addressed in a patch & we don't have to wait til next year. Madden 16 can go down as a real gem if a lot of these issues I mentioned get fixed along with the numerous bugs (see the Bugs & Glitches thread).

Great detailed assessment.
I haven't played a game yet so my assessment is mainly from practice and custom playbooks.

But I agree 100% about the 1 handed catches. Way too often. I've seen this in practice mode and the funny thing is they make those catches almost automatic but will drop a two handed catch more often.

Hit stick I never cared for because they never did it right.
The game NEVER takes into account players having to accelerate again coming off a block and yet the old hit stick your player could be in a block and deliver a HUGE hit. That was ridiculous.


The unfortunate part of this series is it still thrives off of marketing cinematic game play IMPRESSIONS. Then in time we find out what we thought was good was not so good after all.

I see improvements. Yes. But some of the same lingering issues to me makes no sense considering the money this company makes. Seriously.

I mean... even though this isn't a game play issue the custom playbooks should have been fixed and instead the same lame thing just to say the have it and just because people keep accepting mediocre functionality for YEARS.

But the problem it DOES bleed into the game play because we still have the Hailmary designated plays.
We still have to go through way too much to start from scratch with a custom playbook rather than just having one. The rules of must have designation came come AFTER the playbook is made or the user can't use it in a game if they are so pressed by it. I don't use the game plan anyway.
Sorting plays in the playbook as well as play sets helps to navigate when calling audibles, which is how I play my game. I prefer my formations in a particular order because it helps to audible to a changed formation that I want without searching.


Commentary when playing head to head should point to the gamers tendencies and not the NFL team. But I won't hold my breath on that one.

Anyway great assessment. I have to post a number of post before I can post pics or video. I wish I had known this while posting in glitch thread.

I'll check today, but the game seemed slow in Normal speed mode compared to the past. I was just practicing to see the plays.
Just doing that could use some work.

[RnRexpress3423]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Agreed. With more games played, I'm probably .500 vs. the CPU in Play Now games. What is more, I'm having great statistical variety in terms of game types and performance on offense and defense, all at AP default.

This game reminds me a bit of The Show in that regard. Out of the box, AS default will give you a great game and will produce the variety of game types necessary to give the game a high replay value. Madden appears to do the same on AP default for the first time ever. It's really refreshing and very encouraging.

Once the patch hits, I'm going to play a full season before I even mess with sliders so I don't prematurely adjust a game that seems to actually play well out of the box. If I do adjust values, it will likely be just by 5, as you say, rather than the slider alchemy of previous years.

A sentence I thought I would never see said or said myself, "This game reminds me of The Show in that regard." The game is offering a wide variety of different outcomes and is beyond refreshing. The new QB and DB/WR interactions are well worth the price of admission in my opinion. I have yet to play CFM though after hearing all the complaints but I am having a blast playing games in Play Now and the Draft Champions mode. Hopefully the patch doesn't jack anything up like QB accuracy which is damn near perfect. Please don't do it.

[jb12780]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Something I noticed Rex say on Twitter is tuning updates are for gameplay. I guess we'll have to see when the next few drop to see if QB's change.

https://mobile.twitter.com/RexDEAFootball/status/637438474384187392

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

[fatleg3]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

This game would've been perfect for me if the following issues were done right:

1. I had a real playcall screen that windowed things instead of covering up the main scene. Tiburon should be kicked in the butt for forcing this crummy playcall setup on us. Madden 06, Madden 09, NFL 2K4, NFL 2K5, those got it right with this. I want a full screen playcall next year with a window for cueing up replays and seeing on-field action in-between plays. Being able to look at stats, and look at player health and more. No more of this cover up crap, seriously guys. Whoever thought of that is clueless and should be fired.

2. Blocking AI weren't broken, but it is. Fatally. How many times can OL's completely ignore their assignments? I lost a game last night because my tackle, all All-Pro tackle btw, decided that the DE he was supposed to block was in fact invisible, and so he ran left into the middle of the line to block an on-coming LB and I got sacked for a loss that crushed my chances on a drive where I was really marching toward a score.

3. Garbage Tight ends and low-level WR's making spectacular catches. Give me a break. You need ABILITIES ratings to dictate this, so only players who have the ABILITY in real life can make these kinds of plays.

I agree with 1. It clutters the screen way to much, and takes why to long to make quick subs or go to different play call styles like by formation, by concept, etc. Also, is the score overly and play clock disappearing during the play call screen a bug or intended? That was a problem last year too.

Sent from my HTC Desire 626s using Tapatalk

[Clemsonpanther]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

I was in the running he ball 3v3 drill. I hit L1 because i thought it was the skinny button. It was the pitch button. it immediatley ended the rep and a popup said "nobody likes a cheeser".

I KNOW madden is going in the right direction now. I was estatic

[lowndsy]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

After playing 3 full 15 min qtr games on exhibition game still rocks canot wait for fixes to CFM so I can start. I play coach mode and don't use buttons apart from FG punts of course.

Not seen any 1 handed catches all pro with sliders, cpu QB kap passed for 60% vs Jags Big Ben passed 50% had a bad day Mccown for Browns passed 48% and thru 4 int's really all felt very good kap also ran the other 2 did not. Running started on 1 yd a carry avg but each team gained more thru the game superbly ending between 3 and 4.5 yes per carry each game.

My QB may need to tweet a bit as they were all around 60% cpu auto pass and running also was around 4 a run great to watch trying to sort out a more effective pass rush as not getting much either way currently. Lots of pens also had false starts, holding both ways pass interference, late hit on QB and 1 on kicker. Superb effort just get the fix out sharpish so I can get some meaningful games in.

[Cowboy008]

Re: Madden NFL 16 Community Impressions

Something I noticed Rex say on Twitter is tuning updates are for gameplay. I guess we'll have to see when the next few drop to see if QB's change.

https://mobile.twitter.com/RexDEAFootball/status/637438474384187392

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

I hope they don't mess with the QB inaccuracy. The game has been playing great so far for me and I haven't had this much fun with Madden in a long time. If they nerf the QB inaccuracy I don't think I could play this game anymore.