I like the Overall system. At least give a generic grade for a player like B+.

What I'd really like them to do is get rid of ratings for players that don't need them. Why does a DL have a punt rating or an arm rating. Unnecessary. At least group the ratings necessary for a position to the beginning so we can check them out.

i don't like the abc rating like someone else said it should be relative to that system ran. so if your in the west coast offense a qb may have a rating of 86,but if he is in a shotgun then he may go up to 96.

also if the ovr won't go away it need to be relative that players in that position and team. for example josh cribbs may have an high ovr on the browns because he would be the best player on his team, but if he went to the eagles his ovr would fall, because he wouldn't be themost skilled wr on the team.

ovr should be their overall rating or importance on a team. the the rest of the rating would be their actual stat builders. you should have - strength, speed,agility,intelligence- that would be your starting fundamentals, - then all of the other ratings would be built off of the starting fundamentals

2k basketball has had this in both systems. they have a grade system, A, B, C, etc, and it was position specific. the PF with a B+ 3 pt was B+ by PF standards.

i like the grade system. you have to determine if they fit your system. i like the 2k scouting system also. some scouts suck and you would get a guy nowhere near what your scout said.

i think both systems of rating players should be in to please all gamers. the user should be able to choose which he prefers.

i'm just saying his ovr wouldn't be the same he wouldn't be the best skilled at every team it would be relative to his roster. for instance lets take avery from the st. louis in his recieving corps there would have and high over , but if he went to say San Fran his ovr relative to josh morgan may be the same or lower. in my example over would mean more to playmaking or importance to team. it would have anything to to do with their skills. skills is what it is its there abilities . if deon branch went to vikings along with their other recievers thay have there it would be lower than what he had at seattle because he would fall down the totem pole as far as importance.

I don't like icons beside a players name as that comes off as being arcade-y. I do favour getting rid of the Overall rating, and perhaps replacing it with a "value to the team" stat.

What I'd really like to see is more movement in the minor leagues for franchise, and perhaps for the exhibition season. I thought I'd love exhibition when it came to franchise because its fun to see what players come up and who fits with who. I haven't gotten that much out of exhibition seasons so far.

I'd love for hotstreaks and cold snaps to be better represented as well through presentation such as play by play.

I don't think anybody wants them on the screen like they were in Madden 08.

I think most of us just want to see those icons in the menus when we're scouting, which will save us from having to sort through 50+ ratings categories just to find out that a guy is a "pass rush specialist."

I don't argee with the whole "icons" thing. One the things I loathed about APF 2K8 was the attributes system. It would say, "Great Hands" or "Route Running GOD", but it never gave them a weakness. And, developing a game involves math. If you take away the numbers, how does that help the AI?

JWill,

I don't think I ever proposed getting rid of the numbers? In fact, I think they should still be available to view as well. What I'm proposing is a new way to view your depth chart and to be able to tell the strengths (and even weaknesses) of your players through a visual icon based method within the roster management screens. However, I'm a big fan of flexibility and giving the users the options to play the game how they will, so with the push of a button you should be able to switch to a more classic view as well. I'm not a "it must be this or it must be that" kind of guy. I think developers do a disservice to their customers when they decide how the game must be played before it reaches the consumers hands.

MMChrisS,

I know you didn't, but a lot of the people commenting on this blog are.

Just to use as an example, put on APF 2K8, and watch a CPU vs. CPU game. Does one QB stand out from the other? No, because 1.) The roster is made up of legends, and 2.) All the attributes say is, "Pocket Presence", or "Rocket Arm". So, that (coupled with horrendous DB AI) made the only result a 4+ TD game.

Plus, after reading the "How to make Madden Better For Text-Simmers", an icon-heavy dept chart would make those text sim guys jump off a bridge. But, you can't please everybody.

I like the idea of a strength/weakness recognition system using icons. But, if we were to see that, it would have to go all the way for me...

i think it would be great to do away with the numbers. In Ncaa football it would make that standout recruit feel that much more like a game changer than just having a 99 strapped to his name and knowing that he cant get any better. I would welcome this with open arms for all sports gaming.