Kaiser Wilhelm's Blog
Connected Careers Mode: The Good, The Bad and the Future.
Posted on November 16, 2012 at 04:35 PM.
Madden 13 saw the introduction of a radically new game mode called Connected Careers Mode or CCM for short. CCM combined the elements formerly known as Franchise, Online Franchise and Superstar Mode. This change was received with mixed opinions of fantastic and the worst idea since hydrogen Zeppelins and like the Hindenburg, it would go down in flames. Let us take an emotionally detached look at this new mode now that Madden 13 seems to have run its course. For the sake of this argument I will be referring to Online Franchise and Franchise as they were understood in previous iterations of Madden with respect to their component parts within Connected Career Mode.
Firstly, what did they get right with this mode? Connected Careers is a novel idea that has brought a fresh breathe of air desperately needed to the Madden NFL Football brand. In theory it sounds fantastic. It brought Online Franchise mode up to speed with its offline counterpart. This alone might have been enough of a sell for this feature. I myself am not a huge online fan but I can see the writing on the wall and understand that if I want to continue my gaming habits I am going to have to get used to online being shoved down my throat (to a reasonable degree). Secondly it added in storylines which added a sense of an organic living world. The new twitter feed brought the game into the 21st century (although I cannot help but wonder how many resources were spent on licensing). These items have added a missing element of immersion fans have been asking for. I myself am still within the camp that the best storylines are made by the mind simply because the possibilities of the mind are infinite whereas scripted lines of code are finite and the developers cannot possibly think up of all the craziness that can happen any given virtual Sunday. Next is the progression system. Its not perfect by a long shot but the added bit of strategy is much obliged. Players now have to question who they want to start. Do you go for the experienced veteran with a few more years left, or the young gun with a bit of promise? My next bit of praise goes to a meaningful practice mode. This might be one of the best additions to Madden in years. This addition combined with the progression system actually allows the bench guys to show what they do off camera so to speak. Ideally this is where most progression should take place but I'm getting ahead of myself. My only big complaint was I never understood why they labeled them with difficulty and why lower difficulty scenarios were worth more points than higher difficulty scenarios. Lastly I like how coaches now have some noticeable effect with the packages they can purchase. It adds more RPG elements that were sorely needed.
The big problems with CCM have been well documented and to avoid completely beating a dead horse I just want to highlight them and talk about some issues I feel went under the radar. I'll begin with player editing. The absence of this feature, and then the shoddy attempt to patch it in, is rather insulting. Giving more control to the player to use at their own discretion is not a bad thing, especially with the historical issues Madden has had with equipment, numbers, player sizes etc. Next there was fantasy draft which has since been patched in for online. Thirdly there was the lack of imported draft classes. While I disagree with the priorities, I have given this a pass due to the new storyline mode which this feature would have seemingly conflicted with. Then there was the progression which uses a method of performance begets more performance which inevitably leads to a snowball effect with a large disparity between good and bad. Then we come to the depth chart issue where starters are also the backups at certain positions. Now normally people might not think this is a problem but this kills the preseason experience. Preseason is all about backups getting their time to shine, but this can't happen when my starting LT is my backup RT and vice versa. This is true for almost all of the line positions, offensive and defensive as well as some other positions. Also the issue with Kickers and Punters being subbed in and having shanked punts and 20 yard field goals coming up short. Next I want to draw attention to the scheduling. While it is true we do not know when the games will be played in future years we do know who every team will play. The NFL has a very rigid scheduling system which ensures every team will play one another on a four year cycle. Essentially the system can be broken down into two cycles, a three year intra-conference and a four year inter-conference. In my first ever experience getting pat year one I ended up playing the NFC East and AFC West which was the 2011 schedule. The next big gripe I had was that rookie free agents no longer had hidden stats. While it can be argued that there needs to be user constraint, when I go looking for a backup how can I not notice the rookie QB who is better than anybody on my team. It makes the draft almost pointless when so many high caliber players get passed by and are free for the picking without any scouting or guess work involved. This also leads me to the cut days. This feature is all but useless now. If I can see my entire team's ratings why would I want until week four too cut down to a 53 man roster unless I am really indecisive. However I believe this can be salvaged with fairly easily.
This paragraph I want to dedicate to how I think improvements can be made in addition to fixing the issues mentioned above. The first is with regards to the cut days. As I stated earlier this feature is seemingly useless as is. However, it is my belief that the addition of the 8-man practice squad could breathe some new life into this feature. If the 8-man practice squad was added it would make keeping those last 8 guys to get cut on the team as long as possible more meaningful. This is because you would want to get as much time as possible practicing and on the field before they get axed so when you sign them to the practice squad either week one or Pre-season week 4 they already have something to go off of. This would also allow the player to groom his young draftees who just missed the cut during practice. However it could come back to bite them if their rival decides to snatch that young prospect to their 53-man roster. Again this would add another layer of strategy. Next is progression itself. I honestly do not know how fix this but some more restrictions on progression would be nice. Also regression needs to be made into a factor. If this system were implemented three years ago, Shawne Merriman would be the best DE/LB in the league despite. Some element of random events to cause unexpected regression and even progression should be added. Is it always fair? No, but how many draft picks have we seen just never pan out, or they are late bloomers (like Reggie Bush). How about guys that have a few solid years and then fade to obscurity? Some amount of randomness is good for long term playability because it makes it adds unforeseen obstacles. Next up is the depth chart. The depth chart is very limiting. While the player can alter their depth chart to their liking the AI follows very strict rules that don't make for good football teams. Positions like corner and WR should be divided to slot and Wide-Out. Some skill sets allow for a better slot player and others for the Wide-Out spot and the game does not currently acknowledge this. Also there needs to be a special teams depth chart. Again, when it comes to the preseason, I do not want my star WR getting injured because he was added to the special teams depth chart. Next, players designated as a starter or first string on Offense or Defense should not be allowed to be designated as the primary backup or second string (i.e the Starting Left tackle cannot also be the primary backup for any other offensive position and the starting Right End cannot be the second stringer for any defensive position). I'm sure there are things I missed but I think as I approach the end of page four of MS Word it is time to wrap this up . For those who have taken the time to read this I thank you and would appreciate any and all feedback, be it the content of this piece or regarding the manner with which it was delivered.
Kaiser Wilhelm
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CPU roster management needs to be a lot better. I have a long review of CCM within my Madden review and one big area that needs fixing is salaries. Guys around 80 command far too little money. Also the CPU is a bit too obsessed with90+ rated guys. They pay them a ton (don't mind) but you see 85 rated guys like Matt Ryan, Andy Dalton, Ted. Hit the FA market. In 5 years Ryan has switched teams every year on one year deals until finally getting a 5 year deal this off season. This area needs work.