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OS Roundtable: If You Could Add One Feature To Madden...

If you could add one feature/do one thing for the Madden NFL series, what would it be?

Bob Kollars: Online Co-Op seasons. If EA would implement the ability to have three or four guys on the same team, and run through an entire season on the same team playing different positions, it would take this title to the next level, for me at least. As much as I liked this years title, if EA would add this feature, it would add some much needed longevity to next year's game. Online leagues have been a nice addition, but they largely still have somewhat of a disconnected feeling to them.

By adding online co-op seasons it would allow a group of friends to enjoy the experience truly together and further the "gaming together" idea. Take a look at the popularity of FIFA Pro Clubs/OTP, and the ability to play a season together, and work your way up through divisions. This mode in FIFA is wildly popular, and I believe it would be even more so in Madden.

Matthew Coe: If you've played NBA 2K14 on next gen consoles then you know where I'm going here. The MyCareer mode is the highlight of the game in my opinion, and in an era of increasingly multi-player features being added, I would welcome a single-player story driven career mode in Madden. The current implementation within Connected Franchise Mode just isn't very engaging. I'd call it something like Madden: Path to the NFL.

Imagine working out at the NFL Draft Combine and then hearing (ala NBA2K14's Real Voice) Adam Schefter, Chris Mortenson, Todd McShay, and Mel Kiper Jr. break down your strengths and weaknesses and then project your draft position. Then the tension of the draft and where you might go. Dealing with the introductory press conference, rookie OTAs, training camp, pre-season, and trying to make a difference on an NFL team. An NFL career mode that is done in the same vein as MyCareer would be a huge selling point. Real Head Coach voices, NFL personalities all weighing in on social media, team mate disagreements, dissension, earning your coordinator's trust, I mean think of all the intriguing possibilities that are there.

Steve Noah: I'd like to see more jostling between the receivers and defensive backs. We need to see more animations when fighting for position, more hand fighting and animations to show players battling for the ball. I'd even go a step further with it and implement defensive players tugging at receiver jerseys (of course we'd love to see more penalties, but that's another subject) or getting their feet tangled up. We need incomplete passes because of good defensive play, not because a receiver or defender drops the ball. If a receiver is going over the middle and gets obliterated, we should definitely see a few more drops in those situations. Bring in different animations for tall receivers vs. short defensive backs and vice versa. Make player size matter more. Simply put, we need more ways to improve the defensive side of the ball, as the game feels too offensive friendly.

Jayson Young: Rather than piling on more unnecessary back-of-the-box features like this year's Precision Modifier, my wish is that Madden NFL 15 simply fixes the many broken features that are already included in the game.

Even after three title updates, auto substitutions still do not work in Madden NFL 25's franchise mode. Formation-specific substitutions continue to reset after every game instead of being permanently saved. Injuries rarely occur away from the ball, making offensive linemen invulnerable. Additionally, if a team only has two quarterbacks on its depth chart, both QBs become immune to injury. Many sliders, such as quarterback accuracy, interceptions and pass coverage/pass reaction, seem to have little impact on gameplay. The holding slider appears to only affect passing plays and kick returns, as holds are seldom called on designed running plays. Faulty tie-breaking logic still places the wrong teams in the playoffs.

With franchise sales figures continuing to decline, Madden's long-term health on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One would be best served by taking a year or two to tackle the series' longstanding issues before EA Tiburon attempts to fit any more Jenga blocks onto the trembling tower of code that is Madden NFL 25.

Caley Roark: While it might be completely superficial for some, I'd welcome a complete overhaul of Madden's presentation. The context that authentic and meaningful highlights and pre/post-game packages add help create a true "universe" that I can fully invest in.

While NFL 2K5 did it best for football, Madden could take cues from the NBA 2K series and recent NCAA Football games. Specifically, I'd love to see narrated half-time and post-game recaps, complete with score updates from around the league.

I'm sure EA could put either ESPN or NFL Network branding to use, to create a weekly highlight show that we'd want to watch (for me, the twitter feeds aren't getting it done).

If none of that is feasible, at least they could put in reaction shots that aren't canned (and repeated) animations but rather part of the natural flow of the action on the field.

Zachary Arthur: This one is very easy for me. I would absolutely love for Madden to put in a Create-A-Play feature. We all feel like we have what it takes to be that next great coach, and Madden has always had such an opportunity to put in Create-A-Play and let its players see how good they really are when it comes to strategy.

I have a world of ideas in my head when it comes to plays, and I would love the opportunity to see them on the virtual gridiron.

Chris Sanner: All of the above features are great, but the biggest thing this series (and all sports games) needs is a full slate of sliders which not only work, but let you actually define your on-field experience. I'd like to think being able to adjust and tweak different parts of the game would be very possible, allowing you to set diffculty levels for each individual piece of the game -- to allow for the best fan to fan experience as possible.

 

What about you? If you could add one feature/do one thing for the Madden NFL series, what would it be?


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Member Comments
# 101 kehlis @ 02/20/14 07:05 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by vannwolfhawk
This might be a dumb idea, but what if the user had the ability before the snap to focus on 1 particular receiver that he chooses pre snap. You could change this pre snap as well while at the LOS. When the ball is hiked the QB is looking dead on and locked into that receiver he chose pre snap. If he wanted to pass to the opposite side of the field he would have to hit the receivers button to scan over to him then hit the button again to throw it...

Each QB could transition (scan field) faster than others for the likes of a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning as opposed to a Terrell Pryor type player. If you threw the ball to soon before he scanned over to see where he was throwing then you see more errant throws and balls in the dirt. It would add realism if playing as a LB or Free Safety against another user in reading the QB's eyes. But on the flip side a user who is good on the sticks could lock into a WR purposely to throw the defense off knowing he wants to attack a different area of the field. And let the chess match be on! This could be tied to a QB's awareness rating.

Maybe this feature could also have a toggle on or off option so if you don't want to use it then you do't have to.

IDK, just an idea...
Pretty much did that already with the vision cone, I loved it, some hated it, it got removed.
 
# 102 vannwolfhawk @ 02/20/14 07:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kehlis
Pretty much did that already with the vision cone, I loved it, some hated it, it got removed.
True but just eliminate the vision cone visual aspect of it. I liked some aspects of the vision cone but I remembered that being operated by moving the stick right or left and not the double button press no? It's been awhile so I forget.
 
# 103 kehlis @ 02/20/14 07:17 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by vannwolfhawk
True but just eliminate the vision cone visual aspect of it. I liked some aspects of the vision cone but I remembered that being operated by moving the stick right or left and not the double button press no? It's been awhile so I forget.
You could do both, you could just move the stick or hold one of the triggers (can't remember which) and press the icon for the receiver you wanted to gear in on and it would switch his way.

That was the only way I ever used it, never just freely moved the vision cone.
 
# 104 vannwolfhawk @ 02/20/14 07:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kehlis
You could do both, you could just move the stick or hold one of the triggers (can't remember which) and press the icon for the receiver you wanted to gear in on and it would switch his way.

That was the only way I ever used it, never just freely moved the vision cone.
Whatever it was I had a love hate relationship with it that I remember. I liked the idea just not the implementation. I want to say I was using the stick and I didn't like it so I eventually turned it off. Now that you bring it up i vaguely remember hitting RT or LT and button to scan field. What if the trigger button was eliminated from the equation though. And the ugly cone lighting up the field? Would that make it easier. I think it would with just having to double press 1 single button.

How else could you even try and simulate a true to life passing game with realism for QB's awareness?
 
# 105 Eiche15 @ 02/23/14 12:59 PM
I would like to see a some sort of combine instead of the point system for scouting. Even if it's just drill times or results. For example maybe a instead of having to unlock deep ball accuracy for a qb you get an x/10 or 20. Even NCAA football had bench and 40 times. That would make it more realistic because nfl teams don't have point systems for scouting guys
 
# 106 m-dogg @ 02/28/14 12:02 PM
Online co-op connected career. 2 players connected over online, playing on the SAME team as player lock players.

basically OTP in a career mode, with playoffs, drafting etc.
 
# 107 TMJOHNS18 @ 03/05/14 08:42 AM
Progression system similar to The Show's, or at least NBA 2k.

Hate the XP based system. I want JeMarcus Russell's and Ryan Leaf's. I want bust that you scout and fall in love with only to be disappointed. With the XP system you can take any player with the physical tools and make him an all-time great. Players that are dumb as rocks and have no technical skills can become elite at their positions after a year of practices.

See that 60 ovr 6'2'' 98 spd corner? Sure he has no ability to cover and plays like a blind bat, but year and a half later he'll be a top flight corner without ever playing a down in an NFL game. Guess his first 3 years in the NFL didn't mean anything, but 2 years on my practice squad has changed his life for good.



2nd option would be revamped scouting system. Grades are OK, A/B/C/etc., but leave that to my scouts. Let me hire scouts and let them do the work for me. Look at NBA 2k's system here. Scouts give feedback on players, give me comparison's to other NBA players, and give me a rough estimate of their ability (depending on level of scout).

Wait, NFL HC09 had this, so.... it's there EA, added it in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !
 
# 108 Aggies7 @ 03/05/14 09:11 AM
I like the idea about Madden adding a 2K type My Player mode. I won't get my hopes up though considering stuff such as presentation and other feature 2K offers has been requested and yet it never happens.

One thing I would like to add is tips passes in the secondary and CBs that can dive to make the pick.
 
# 109 Jerros @ 03/06/14 04:33 AM
There are tons of things I would add to Madden but I will keep it simple since there are plenty of folks addressing gameplay. One feature I would like to see is multiple announcers. 6 pairs of announcers. Three pairs for AFC games and Three pairs for NFC games. How about that for spicing up presentation. Phil Sims and Jim Nance can't be at EVERY game. How about some variety to make the games feel more fluid? 6 announcing teams to start. Even 4 would be great. Give us something. That would be some true innovation presentation wise. And don't say it can't be done. EA evidently has money to burn being the monopoly it is. Just pay the guys. We need something fresh since Madden is all we have right now.
 
# 110 Aggies7 @ 03/06/14 04:40 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerros
There are tons of things I would add to Madden but I will keep it simple since there are plenty of folks addressing gameplay. One feature I would like to see is multiple announcers. 6 pairs of announcers. Three pairs for AFC games and Three pairs for NFC games. How about that for spicing up presentation. Phil Sims and Jim Nance can't be at EVERY game. How about some variety to make the games feel more fluid? 6 announcing teams to start. Even 4 would be great. Give us something. That would be some true innovation presentation wise. And don't say it can't be done. EA evidently has money to burn being the monopoly it is. Just pay the guys. We need something fresh since Madden is all we have right now.

Love the idea for multiple announce teams but I don't see them going as high as 4. I'd be happy with 2 announce teams and have then picked just like how FOX and CBS split NFC and AFC games. The. Have them alternate Super Bowls.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see your wish come true with that amount but at this point I would take 2.
 
# 111 BadAssHskr @ 03/07/14 02:11 PM
college football '15 mode.
 
# 112 ForUntoOblivionSoar∞ @ 03/10/14 12:20 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by MMChrisS


With next year's Madden game in development, it's never too early to start expressing what we'd like to see the future of the franchise contain feature-wise. With that in mind, we asked the staff what one feature they'd like to see the Madden team implement into the game for not only this year, but for future editions to come.

Predictably, everyone has their own idea for what they'd like to see. Be sure to read our ideas and add your own.

Read More - OS Roundtable: If You Could Add One Feature To Madden...

The ability to change official NFL uniforms. By that I mean, keep the 49ers logo, but give them red pants, and different (user made) jerseys.

Why? Because in 2025 in your franchise, it is highly unlikely that every team will have the same uniform, but it is more likely that they will still have SIMILAR but UPDATED uniforms.


/lame, yes.



If not that (because of copyright b.s.), then an actual scouting combine, and a completely overhauled scouting system that is less a point-guessing game and more of an actual scouting exercise, where scouting combine measurements mean much, much more. I don't want to see "99 speed." I want to see "ran 40 yard dash in 4.3 seconds." (and watch that player run that time)
 
# 113 Rebel10 @ 03/10/14 01:34 PM
I don't think that the question really matters, because there is just so much wrong with the game, and so many "little" things, and then also some pretty enormous problems as well...

But, let's pretend that there is one feature/thing that could be added and added just as you'd like it... as impossible as it would be or as unlikely:

Realistic passing play. I am tired of going 23 / 27 and having 3 of those incompletions be interceptions, and the only other incompletion be a dropped pass. Quarterback play is, especially today, the fundamentally recognizable aspect of the sport of American football. I'd like to see a world where Tom Brady can throw for 65% and still have a good game, instead of throwing for 87% and being guaranteed that the handful of non-completions to wide receivers were either INTs or drops. Balls hitting the ground, balls being batted down, contested non-receptions. Madden 25 on nextgen is probably the worst Madden when it comes to this, at least as far back as, say, Madden '01 on PS2.

If there is one feature that I think they could achieve:

Stable, locked 60 frames per second. They'd get a lot of praise for doing this, as well.
 
# 114 kjcheezhead @ 03/11/14 11:51 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rebel10
I don't think that the question really matters, because there is just so much wrong with the game, and so many "little" things, and then also some pretty enormous problems as well...

But, let's pretend that there is one feature/thing that could be added and added just as you'd like it... as impossible as it would be or as unlikely:

Realistic passing play. I am tired of going 23 / 27 and having 3 of those incompletions be interceptions, and the only other incompletion be a dropped pass. Quarterback play is, especially today, the fundamentally recognizable aspect of the sport of American football. I'd like to see a world where Tom Brady can throw for 65% and still have a good game, instead of throwing for 87% and being guaranteed that the handful of non-completions to wide receivers were either INTs or drops. Balls hitting the ground, balls being batted down, contested non-receptions. Madden 25 on nextgen is probably the worst Madden when it comes to this, at least as far back as, say, Madden '01 on PS2.

If there is one feature that I think they could achieve:

Stable, locked 60 frames per second. They'd get a lot of praise for doing this, as well.
I can't agree more. I hate throw a wr open with a passion. The route based system where timing and ball placement along the route is so much more rewarding and realistic. It's a big reason I keep going back to apf.
 
# 115 OriolesFanRD @ 03/11/14 11:39 PM
I'm a simple person. Just give me a game on PAR with the PS2 versions of Madden.

If you shook your head while reading that statement like I did, you understand how sad it is that we're having this discussion in 2014 with how far technology has come.
 
# 116 Aggies7 @ 03/12/14 10:07 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by OriolesFanRD
I'm a simple person. Just give me a game on PAR with the PS2 versions of Madden.

If you shook your head while reading that statement like I did, you understand how sad it is that we're having this discussion in 2014 with how far technology has come.

Sadly I didn't shake my head. I agree with you. In a way I feel like Madden skipped the whole PS3/Xbox 360 generation with just lackluster games filled with gimmicks.

I used to stay up for hours playing PS2 Madden and would love to see them get back to that.
 
# 117 CT Pitbull @ 03/12/14 05:45 PM
CUSTOM CAMERA
 
# 118 Madwolf @ 03/12/14 07:53 PM
I wouldn't call it a feature, but defense. Especially that whole "the TE can't be covered in Man" thing. It's ****ing lovely.
 


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