Re: MADDEN 26-27 IMPROVEMENT IDEAS

kballs13​ I actually suggested this to EA Shepard when we were discussing the game's future in a previous thread. If they can't at least get the basics working by launch then that's definitely what many staff even feel needs to be the focus. Unfortunately the devs are kind of at the mercy of what's requested of them though, and they are seriously crunched for time and hard pressed to make the checklist. The whole thing from the top down has been failing for some time, but since EA just sold out, we'll see if new management will right the ship or steer it further off course. If they don't resctructure from the top down though, the whole thing will likely implode.

GVRH​ i got this one too!

kballs13​ Can you break down more of what you mean by excess? I get too many modes. When i watch my young ones play games i see how many modes and it's insane. To a point, I agree with you on that front, but with the advancement of games, that is the future. This is why i stopped playing mobile games in general. There are too many things to pay attention to;, I don't have the time.

EA_Shepard​ Idk if I asked you this before, but would it be viable to split MUT into a free online game with sub service since they make so much on microtransactions anyway and keep other modes the paid source of Madden? It just seems to me like it would be better if MUT and the other modes like Franchise could have two separate spaces and teams working on them so they each are capable of getting the attention they deserve. This just comes back to the discussion of there being waaaaay too much to address in the current yearly cycle to viably keep up with the demand and scope of changes that are requested.

The excess is the modes. Each mode is so large they could be their own game and I’m sure they must require their own dev team no? That must be expensive. Maybe separate games is the answer. For most of us it’s the MUT mode that ruined the rest of the game. I’ve accepted that MUT is here to stay but to me it’s really just a fancy play now mode. Franchise and Superstar are also similar. Maybe combining those two modes is a start. So when you start a new franchise you can start as an owner/GM or player. For MUT maybe just make it special rosters selectable in play now. 

As a father I’ve stressed the distinction of wants vs needs to my kids. Most things are wants. For Madden, we all want the little details like perfect uniforms, end zone celebrations, and realistic stadiums. However those are just wants that don’t affect the actual gameplay. We need the gameplay to work. We need the modes to not have 50 million glitches that are still being patched 1 month before the new game releases. We need to be able to access online leagues and maintain them. So the players need to get their priorities straight with EA. First fix the bones, then add the accessories. 

I've actually discussed with EA Shepard about taking what works best within Superstar and making it the revamped Franchise player mode. I think it would be a perfect route to take in finding a balance of what works vs what doesn't, giving what works within Superstar the foundation of what Franchise already has to build upon as well as a perfect space to incorporate the RPG type elements/scenarios they've been trying to work in these past few years. That way other modes like coach/owner mode could focus less on those scenarios and more around actual franchise details like improving training camp/practice, refining the coach abilities/carousel, and focusing on team building and gameplay.

I was wondering if you like my ideas so far to improve for madden 27. 

would their be an opportunity to have a halftime show in madden 27 where we can pick what bands and artists will perform? 

I want to have a cinematic experience across all modes, including ultimate team 

Good luck with getting 5 people to decide on what's "excess" and what's "basics."  If there's one thing I've learned from being part of these type of discussions for 20+ years is that the "basics" are in the eye of the beholder because we all play for different reasons and have different expectations.  

I'm eager to know what you believe belongs in each category.  

Later

MaddenUniversity​ Hey man, thanks much and I appreciate you reaching out! These are great suggestions for Regs. As I'm sure you can tell by my suggestions, I'm a Franchise player, so most of my suggestions are Franchise based. 

If I recall, the Play Editor was something we had in the past briefly, but as with many other things, it didn't stick around too long. I really think Play Editor is a must at this point, and something that could fairly easily be reintroduced considering we already have the route/stem adjustments, having practice mode serve as a base for a play editing. I could see it working essentially by having practice mode serve as the foundation, choosing a base play you'd want to edit out of a specific formation you'd want within that formation, having it load the offense on the field as it would normally in practice, then just route adjusting into the play you want; rename and save when done.

I especially like the Show Actual Play Art idea as well as part of the previous play art, but it also kind of compromises the point of route adjustments on the fly too, which is part of the chess match to begin with, doesn't it? It could also maybe argued though, that there's just way too much freedom in adjustment which could be considered a contributing factor to the lack of meaningful defense being experienced by most. Being able to essentially create a whole new play with adjustments is incredibly powerful, even to the point that with enough time, it makes audible less effective or neccessary as they should be.  Makes play call limits slightly worse too. This is why I set runoff between 15 and 20. It's a very interesting topic of discussion on how it all affects gameplay, but it would be cool to kind of get an idea of where a player's head is at with it. On a real field, coaches and coordinators are absolutely paying attention to the types of adjustments being made by the opposing team according to what they're seeing run. But they also don't have the exact play the opponent just ran handed to them like we do in Madden. So idk here, but it's very interesting to me in how it could be introduced even.

John Madden and Pat Summerall as commentary options might just be my favorite of your suggestions though. I've already suggested bringing legendary coaches back for franchise as options, and having these guys included in commentary is right in alignment with the high number of suggestions to keep nostolgia involved in gameplay.

Excess VS. Basics is also a very interesting topic of discussion too, and you're right. It's very difficult to get anyone to agree on what should be prioritized due to the fact everyone plays different game modes and has differing opinions on how things should be addressed. When I think of excess vs. basics, I essentially just come back to gameplay vs. cosmetics. A lot of people have a ton of cosmetic suggestions for immersion and such and want them prioritized, and that's perfectly fine that they have these ideas and want these things, as most are very good suggestions. But when it comes to the time the devs have to code everything in, it's of my personal opinion that gameplay and functionality have to be prioritzed, with cosmetics being the "excess", as it's not neccessary for the overall functionality of the game. But even then, it has to be broken down to which modes get prioritized then too, and that's really where I feel the game and development of it is suffering. Too many problems within too many different modes, and not enough time to address everything on the yearly cycle they maintain. If too much time is spent on one, other modes come out broken and neglected, but if they spread out too much of the time and effort, nothing within any of them gets accomplished effectively. I think we're really seeing that this year where, yeah everything works....but not very well. Without knowing how many teams they having working on what, and what kind of time, effort and money is being put into each though, my opinions are worth peanuts. I just think it would be good if they got off the yearly cycle routine, split into teams to address each mode effectively, and had a singular MADDEN title where everything just essentially becomes an add-on that is released when ready and things like rosters and uniforms are updated regularly. By observation while considering the end product, everything just seems too scattered and disorganized, but idk.

Thanks for the reply...  I'm not sure how long you've been at EA.  If it's been a while, we may have met.  I've been at a couple EA Football Community Days (2008, 2012).  The best suggestions I've ever given for Madden were:

- Let Users choose whether they use QB Vision in online games (2007)

I hated QB Vision.  HATED IT.  It made ranked games unplayable for me in Madden 2006 and 2007.  I wrote a college paper about how horrible QB Vision was both visually and as an unecessary, cumbersome layer of buttons manipulation, just to do what we'd always been able to do with a button and a stick.  I sent it to Phil Frazier in 2007.  He was Executive Producer at the time, and I appreciated that he took time to let me know he read it and he wasn't happy about what I wrote.  It was very professional though, because we both wanted what was best for the game.  Fast forward to Madden 2008, the cone was optional and mostly unused.  By Madden 2009, it was gone.  

In the time I wasn't playing Madden online because of the Vision Cone, I started throwing tournaments.  I noticed that the pro players that were winning my events were using the cone, but only for one of two throws a game, in situations where they needed to throw a pass that they couldn't throw with the button and left-stick alone.  Many of those passes went toward the sidelines.  Defenders ALWAYS dropped any ball they didn't intercept at the sideline, particularly when the cone was used...  NEVER would a defender catch the ball and land out of bounds...  NEVER.  I also noticed that the screen changed on leaping interceptions while the defender was still in the air.  When I went back to Community Day in 2012, I asked the developers if they could make another change:

- Change possession so defensive players must have one knee or two feet inbounds before the screen flips (2012)

The second took 2 years to accomplish the 2nd one because there was something tying the screen turn after a turnover to defensive catches at the sideline where defenders dropped 100% of the balls if both feet weren't going to land in bounds.  They said that at the stage in the development cycle they were in, they wouldn't be able to get thaat change in before Madden 13 was released - but they said they would work on it.  

In a game of Madden NFL 15, I threw a pass to a receiver streaking down the seam against what I thought was a Cover 3.  It was a well disguised Cover 2 and the linebacker made a leaping grab just inside the numbers, landed, and they screen turned...  Before or since, I've never been HAPPIER to throw an interception.  

I'm down for whatever makes the game better...  

Later

MaddenUniversity​ Hey no problem, and thanks right back to you! I'm actually not at EA though, I'm just another guy out here like you trying to brainstorm, voice ideas, and fight for a better product. Idk if we would have met or not, but it sounds like you been playing as long, or likely even longer than I have for sure. It's nice to run into guys that were around to experience how things were years ago though, to both appreciate the inovation in how it's developed over the years to now, but also point out the garbage that sucks and was way better then. It's nice the older crew is able to hold EA accountable when they keep reintroducing stuff into the game from years ago and calling it new lol.

I wasn't a fan of QB Vision either tbh, and I didn't really enjoy playing while it was around too much. Pretty much the point I'm getting to again now with the state of the game. Much like the pass settings now, it was a pretty divisive move, but at least now we can choose what to have our pass settings at thanks to experiences like that. I always emphasize that giving the choice, in most cases, will almost always garnish better results, The more options you give players to experience the game to their preference and skill set the better.

Sounds like you've had a hand in a couple of pretty meaningful changes through what I consider the games golden years, between 05-10, so that's pretty awesome actually. Couldn't stand when MUT came out though (still don't), so I didn't play much after 10 up until a few years ago again on PS4. Haven't played regs in like 2-3 years either.