From Bill Abner's blog:

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel


VERY VERY EXCITED for Head Coach..

Yea this game is keeping me from cancelling my preorder of Madden CE. I can't wait to check this out with the Lions.

I've cancelled mine and I'm sure I'll have a hard time waiting another month. :)

Although.. I'd rather pay $50 for Head Coach instead of $90 if Madden is bad.

I want to make love to this game. :)

So if you get the CE for Madden you get HC a month before the release date?

But you spend $90 for it.

If Head Coach is good, I'm definitely getting it. But I'm not getting Madden unless it's good, so I'll gladly wait.

(Plus you know it'll show up 2nd hand before Sept.)

Have to say my interest level in this game was zilch before today. After reading Abner's blog post and checking out some posts on OS this will get at least a rental.

I wonder if I could buy the Madden CE to get Head Coach and then return Madden.

I'll probably end up putting Madden on Ebay and getting $40-50 for it. Plus I had a $20 off coupon I used for preordering.

Anybody?

Ditto. It'll be rough if the game is great and I'm reading glowing reviews here, but I'll manage to wait the few weeks.

Sounds good, at the end i won't cancel my Madden CE preorder just to get this sooner. I'll use Madden some for some SS mode.

Yes. Ironically, there was speculation when they did that it was to increase Head Coach sales because it might be a crap game like the first. Now, I think it is to try to boost Madden's sales which might not be as high if Head Coach wasn't included in that version.

When I've seen interviews with the guys working on Head Coach, I actually felt like I believed what they were saying. With the Madden games, it's always feeling like salesmanship.

Looks like Bill is going to post some more on HC later today:

After reading the Madden preview at Abner's site (and sportsgamerblog.com as well), I just cancelled my Madden CE preorder, and I preordered HC. I'm not going to pay double for a shit Madden game to get what I really want right now

Maybe you'll be able to get Head Coach on ebay before September 2 if people pick up the CE and sell that.

After it's out for a few days if people are feeling really good about HC 09 and Madden is merely disappointing (comparable to pre-patch NCAA 09) as opposed to a total stinker it might be hard for me to resist getting the CE.

I can't remember, is there a next version of FOF coming or any other company currently making a pro football sim game?

My neighbor is getting Madden CE for his birthday and has no interest in HC.. looks like I'll trade him GOW for HC. :)

Anybody know if Head Coach will be available for the Wii?

It should also be noted that Head Coach is a relatively new franchise. Yes, they use the Madden engine for displaying gameplay, but most of the underlying code has been built from the ground up. It should be given far more leeway than a Madden franchise that has significant problems 20 years in.

Three more relatively positive posts about HC are up on Abner's blog.........

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: NFL Head Coach 2008 Draft Round 1

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Round 2 Quick Note

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Draft Over -- Notes

On the 12th I'll be playing HC before Madden for sure!! Really looking forward to playing this!

That clearly wasn't the case with the first version which was obviously just an add-on to Madden's code with many of the same logic problems.

Yes, which is why it was such a mess. As Abner has noted, they made a lot of changes to move away from the Madden game modes and engine, which appears thus far from his impressions to be a great move on their part.

Abner's blog post about the 2nd round of the draft, how scouting works, really has me pumped for HC.

I am stupid enough to pay $90 to get it early. My son likes to win 100-0 in Madden so at least he'll play it. :)

New Abner post up today about gameplay. More positive stuff.

The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: Quick Update: Browns/Giants Preseason game #2

Now of course I am guessing HC isn't coming out for PC?

Correct. It is PS3/360 only, at least this year.

:(

Damn, this game actually looks fun. Is it a game that is conducive to "fast simmers"

The List doesn't match my list very well...

I doubt it. The game is only 15 years long and I think a fast simmer would quickly get to the end of that time limit. However, with Bill describing how much time he has taken (and enjoyed) setting up his draft board, playing games, etc it seems like I'll be able to get my money's worth even with that restriction.

Well, I'm officially 'done' buying in to EA's Madden promises, and will never buy that game again. However, and I never thought I'd say this after the mess the original Head Coach was, I might just be making a purchase there! DEFINITELY keeping my eye on it, at least.

Too bad I don't own any systems this is coming out for. Maybe laterz.

I'm definitely not opening this thread again until a couple days after release. Well thats my plan as of right now. So tempted.

Out of the 10 pages, it was a good prelude. :)

I'm just glad it isn't coming out for the PC.
I don't have a console so I can't be tempted.

I don't have a PS3 or XBOX360 either, but I'm tempted. Head Coach might just be a system seller, at least for me. Naturally, I will wait for some reviews after it is released before purchasing. It is also possible that TCY 2, Bowl Bound Pro Football, or a new FOF patch might get released that will take my interest away from Head Coach and save me from buying either console system.

Nevermind this. The packaging is in a tri-fold DVD case, so the two games don't have seperate packaging for the CE.

If this game is everything it is supposed to be, I might be tempted too.
(I have been thinking about getting one)

But for now, this all reminds me too much of the original launch.

From Bill's blog (hxxp://nutweasel.blogspot.com/) it's looking very promising... I'm really getting excited for HC 09.

I think we won't be seeing bowl bound pro football until AT Least 2009 football season if not later.

Do you have a link to information about this?

I also doubt TCY 2 will show up this year. And, it looks like the cheapest cost to play Head Coach, for me, will be $250 plus tax. That would be $200 for the XBOX arcade system, on September 7th, plus $50 for Head Coach which comes out a few days before.

I really need to stop reading information about this game, if I want to avoid buying it. Arggghhhh...

If he did (and he doesnt), it'd be 8 months old. That's how long since his last visit to the GD boards. Merely his uneducated (on the subject) opinion.

Like CleBrownsfan has said, if you're reading this blog: The Nut and the Feisty Weasel

You should be getting pretty tempted by now.. of course it's not out to the masses yet. I'd probably pay $250 for HC if was in fact really good though.

My neighbor just told me I could play HC all I wanted to when he picked up the CE edition of Madden next week, HUHHAH!!!

I took my vacation two weeks too late. :banghead:

Im still pissed about the 15 season cap though, kills seasons 10-15 IMO unless you want to see what the team you put together in years 1-9 can do

Yeah, it would be hard for that not to affect the way you manage your roster in the last couple seasons.

I just found out that the CE also comes with the Genesis version of Madden 93, but does anyone know if the rosters are the guys from 1993 or the ones from today?

I'm with you here.. In all actuality I would probably never make it that far into the game but just the thought alone makes the dynasty feel restricted or something.

Dear meth addicts,

Remember how you felt the day after you blew all your money on meth? That's how you're going to feel the day after you blow all your money on meth this time.

A 15 year coaching career is a decent length in today's NFL.

I think 20 seasons would be better though.

From what I read, it is gameplay from 93 but it has current rosters.

I'm not thrilled that I am out of town pretty much all next week.

Josh from EA is saying they will have a roster update on release day and I believe they were putting Farve on those rosters as well.

From Bill Harris's site (Dubiousquality.blogspot.com, this is from a NFL Head Coach Designer on the game's FA/Draft engine work

1. Essentially, the CPU will assign a value to all available players and compare them against one another. "Player value" is a third type of rating we use in addition to the raw Madden player abilities and system-dependent player grades.

Player value takes everything into account you could possibly imagine.

First, it scales each player's grade based on his position. For example, a 99 overall QB is much more valuable than a 99 overall kicker.

Second, it scales players with the same position relative to each other in a non-linear way. For example, a 60 overall QB is not 60% as valuable as a 99 QB (in fact, a 60 QB is basically worthless). So the value mapping is actually a curve, and when you look at your Team Roadmap you'll see a huge dropoff in value from the top-tier players to the lower-tier guys.

After that, a ton of other things are factored in to tweak the value such as projected cap hit, playbook knowledge, etc.

Once the team has evaluated every single player, they need to decide who will add the most value to their team. "Added value" is the secret sauce that drives almost all of the logic in this game.As an example, let's say you're the Colts and Tom Brady is on the FA auction block. Do you acquire him? No, because although Brady has a high value, he has essentially zero *added value* to your team. Your money is much better spent somewhere else.

The trick is that added value encapsulates both value *and* need, so teams will always go after the guy who is the best available relative to their current needs.

During the draft, the player who fits this description might not be expected to go for several picks, and this is when the CPU will trade down.

2. The CPU will go after a player in proportion to how much value he adds to their team. As per above, teams with more need will be willing to pay more.

Also, each team has a philosophy as to how it spends its money. Some teams will go all out for their top need, while other teams will try to distribute their money among all of their needs.

NFL Head Coach 09 Q&A | pastapadre.com

Q/A with HC's game designer..

CANNOT WAIT UNTIL NEXT TUESDAY!!!

I'm all but sold on this one now.

With all of the good games that exist, is it sad that this game might push me to buy a 360?

What challenge are folks going to take first? I am going to take over the Falcons in the offseason and redo the draft. Bye bye Matt Ryan. Time to focus on the area this team has sucked for eons - in the trenches.

Dammit we will see back to back winning seasons! :banghead:

Takeover the Bengals and attempt to keep them out of jail.

If that happens, I'm calling it in as a bug. :lol:

I traded in NCAA (got $45 for that) and 2 other old games tonight and put it toward the Madden CE so I could get Head Coach. I figure I can sell Madden even if it's the disc only.

Lions, I'm undecided on redoing the draft or keeping everything where its at.

From reading Bill Abner's blog and how in depth the gameplay is, I doubt you'd get anywhere near there. The gameplay seems to be more micro vs. macro.

I d/l a podcast on ITunes last night for Head Coach 09- it's under EA Fantasy Football.

Wolverine Studios is coming out with a Football Sim Game.

http://www.wolverinestudios.com/news.php?id=55

Well take the example of the post above where the guy wants to rebuild the Falcons in the trenches. do you know how many seasons it can take for a team to do that then put in the specialty players around it for a 3-4 year shot? Its a shame (maybe not a big negative but a negative nonetheless) that the season cap is there and then it's so low.

I'm starting before the draft, creating myself as the head coach of the Rams. I'll probably take DT Glenn Dorsey instead of Chris Long.. but you never know.

Check out this screen.. kind of like a CIV technology tree when creating your coach:




LOVE this stuff as well:

This would be a great game to write a dynasty for.. I might give that a go.

Is the game for the PC or just the consoles?

EA Sports is not producing any PC games this year.

Figures...Well, I guess no head coach or Tiger Woods for me. Solecismic, Wolverine, or Grey Dog to the rescue.

And it's only being made for the Next Gen consoles, so no Wii.




















:p

What's the word on online play? I really haven't read anything about brining this on XBOX llive..

Online play will only have supersim games, which is a disappointment.

With Leagues or dynasty?

I think online play is only for a single "play now" type game. I think the clear focus of this game is a single player experience. I don't think there is any online franchise/dynasty mode, but I might be mistaken.

To bad... maybe future HC will have an online dynasty

Is there any word as to when there will be a demo?

I was wondering that myself.. on the Q and A they said it would be a totally different type of demo, but there was no release date given. Oh well, only 5 days until it's out.

Five loooong days

First time a strategy guide is a must for me: http://www.easports.com/downloads/ea...C09_SAMPLE.pdf

Can't wait to pick that up and read through it.

I'm telling you, this game will be the only game in my 360 for quite some time... it feels like those good ol FPS Football release days. :)

FOUR!

So they STILL haven't realized that if they're going to use a 0-100 scale, they should use all of it?

Ugh....why do I get this bad feeling that people are gonna find some horrible bugs in the game after a week of play (like last year). Call me pessimistic, but this sounds too good to be true. For a first iteration of a game, since it was built from the ground up, I feel that things are gonna be a bit buggy, especially when people take a stab at online play. Not to say I am happy they are taking this on, I just hope a majority of issues deal with balance problems which users can at least tweak.

This one should be an interesting release... I am buying into some of the hype but luckily would never buy this packaged with Madden so I will wait for impressions and the real release...

Gamestops have the strat guide in if you guys are interested in getting one!!

Because it's EA :devil:

I'm hoping we wont find a gamekiller bug but I guess we always take that chance buying an EA sports title.

The stand alone game doesn't come out for a couple of weeks. Just wait for that and you should have plenty of time to find out if any hidden bugs surface. The late release would seem to be doing us all a favor unless you're one of those impulse people that will spend $90 on the Madden package.

It should also be mentioned that there may be a lot of Madden fans who buy the $90 package and then sell back the Head Coach disc. It could result in a pretty nice supply of used HC games.

Since the game is going to reportedly come with Madden, HC plus the extra content all in the same jewel case, there probably won't be that many copies out there, since the big chains usually require the jewel case, or some form of original packaging.

I think you might see copies on Ebay the day of release or shortly after.

I have the strategy guide, if you want to know something.. especially about your team.. just let me know.

St. Louis Rams

Overall rating: 74
Offense rating: 84
Defense rating: 70

Salary cap room: $42.5

Head Coach: 28 (that's why it's going to be me)
Off Coordinator: 83
Def Coordinator: 33

Best off player: Torry Holt (94)
Best def player: Chris Long (88)

how does seattle look?

I need to get that strategy guide! How do the Lions look?

How do the Vikings look? Also the the Rams already have Long, so you don't start as coach before the draft?

You can start either before or after the draft and with the current coach or creat yourself.

I was going to start before the draft with myself as the HC, but after seeing how good Long looks, I think I'll start after the draft. Plus, with Farve now in the game, I'm anxious to play out the real season.

Seattle

Overall: 90
Offense: 91
Defense: 87

Cap room: $39.4

Head Coach: 92
Off coor: 60
Def: 51
Special T: 99

Best off player: Matt Hasselbeck (91)
Best def player: Marcus Trufant (89) Lofa Tatupu (89)

Season Outlook: The Seahawks won the NFC West in 2007 and is the favorite in a still-weak division in '08. This team needs to find a long-term prospect at RB and upgrade the coaching staff. Overall Player Grade: A

Detroit

Overall: 73
Off: 77
Def: 67

Sal cap: $53.3

Season Outlook: The team has weapons on offense, notably at WR, but their defense is the team's Achilles heel. The playbook probably needs a tune-up as well. Overall player grade: C+

Head Coach: 32
Off coach: 29
Def coach: 31
ST Coach: 28

Best off player: Roy Williams (90)
Best def player: Ernie Sims (84)

What about the Falcons coaching staff? Thanks in advance.

Minnesota

Overall: 81
Off: 76
Def: 85

Cap room: $19.9

Season Outlook: The Vikings boast a solid defense and a breakout superstar in running back Adrain Peterson. Build your team and playbook around those two things, and you'll be in good shape for the future. Overall Player Grade: B

Head Coach: 34
Off coach: 20
Def coach: 38
ST coach: 20

Best off player: Steve Hutchinson (91)
Best def player: Jared Allen (95)