Improvements in Madden 2010

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

On OS it has been confirmed that the a "network inspired highlights show" will be available each week.

Also, they have added back the injury cart that I enjoyed in my youth and they have added players warming up on the sideline and more realistic sidelines in general.

I'm concerned about execution here, hopefully framerates do not suffer.

Overall though, Madden 2010 sounds good....

[Raiders Army]

First Round rookies' ratings are up on espn's website: ESPN Games: Videogames Gallery

Pick-Name-Overall Rating

1. Matthew Stafford-79
2. Jason Smith-84
3. Tyson Jackson-77
4. Aaron Curry-85
5. Mark Sanchez-77
6. Andre Smith-79
7. Darrius Heyward-Bey-76
8. Eugene Monroe-82
9. B.J. Raji-80
10. Michael Crabtree-84
11. Aaron Maybin-78
12. Knowshon Moreno-81
13. Brian Orakpo-82
14. Malcolm Jenkins-80
15. Brian Cushing-78
16. Larry English-75
17. Josh Freeman-72
18. Robert Ayers-78
19. Jeremy Maclin-79
20. Brandon Pettigrew-81
21. Alex Mack-79
22. Percy Harvin-78
23. Michael Oher-78
24. Peria Jerry-78
25. Vontae Davis-78
26. Clay Matthews III-75
27. Donald Brown-77
28. Eric Wood-71
29. Hakeem Nicks-77
30. Kenny Britt-77
31. Chris Wells-79
32. Evander Hood-74

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

On OS it has been confirmed that the a "network inspired highlights show" will be available each week.

Also, they have added back the injury cart that I enjoyed in my youth and they have added players warming up on the sideline and more realistic sidelines in general.

Very interesting...

[Kodos]

hxxp://www.operationsports.com/BlyGilmore/blog/2816-ncaa-football-10-hands-off-first-impressions/

Some info on NCAA 2010. Sounds like a lot of customization options. Not sure how well the recreating your 2009 OD could work (aren't there different attributes in 2010 than in 2009?).

NCAA Football 10 Hands-Off First Impressions

Posted on April 27, 2009 at 09:55 AM. (17)

Last week, I had a chance to sit down with EA Sports and view the current build of NCAA Football 10. I also got a walkthrough of some of the new aspects of the game.

Based upon the walkthrough, it seems like customization is the name of the game with NCAA Football 10. Sure, the developers also want to fix some of the issues NCAA 09 had and improve the game on the field, but the theme of customization still stuck out most to me.

Create A School

The big news is the ability to create your own custom school via a pretty nifty online application. The options available are just as powerful as anything we have seen yet for a console title, if not more so.

It appears that every aspect of your team can be altered. Of course, the standard options are available: team name, nickname, location, team colors, uniform style, helmet design etc.

But you are also able to upload a custom logo for your school, select an existing or generic stadium to be the home for your team, while also customizing the look and feel of the stadium –- choosing where logos are placed and what it says in each of the end zones.

Once you are done with aesthetics, it is time to really build your school. This means customizing a school prestige rating and detailing where your school falls in areas like "fan base" or "academics." After that, you then create your team's roster from scratch or import a team’s existing roster.

When you are done, your team can be used in online pickup games or online/offline dynasties. Created teams can also be searched and downloaded by people across the world via the 360 and PS3.

Every aspect of your team, including its players, can be edited online.

The web application is actually going to be released a month before the game ships –- allowing the community to create a portfolio of created schools that can be used as soon as the game drops.

For online dynasty aficionados, all of this means you will be able to carry over your NCAA 09 dynasties –- creating carbon copies of your existing schools right down to their prestige and rosters.

Going hand-in-hand with create a school is the continued ability to swap teams in and out of conferences.

On the Field

EA Sports have also worked hard to iron out some of the gameplay issues from last year, while also adding some new wrinkles in the process.

At first glance, the gameplay seems to be pretty similar to last year, but the new wrinkles being added give you greater control over your team on the field, providing an added level of strategy that was not there last season.

Coupled with some A.I. changes, the new features should take NCAA 10 to another level.

On the offensive side of the ball, the biggest new addition is a system that links two plays together –- with one play setting up the other. For example, if you are running a "dive" play out of the I-formation, it will link to a play action pass in the same formation. The more you run the dive, the better chance you have of fooling the defense when you finally go with the play action pass.

With that being said, EA stressed that you still need to execute the play, and building up the play as much as possible does not guarantee success or a big play.

On the defensive side of the ball, you now have the ability to key in on certain types of plays before the snap. You have four options –- pass, run left, run right or run middle.

According to EA, it is all about risk and reward. Effectively read your opponent's play and you have a chance to blow it up or stop it cold. But if you guess wrong, you are exposing yourself to trouble.

The defense this year can also "spotlight" certain players before the snap. This allows you to pay extra attention to the spotlighted player, which should give you a better chance of shutting him down. However, you also risk leaving other players unattended.

The A.I. has also been enhanced to adapt to what players are doing on the field. So if you continue to run certain plays in certain situations, the A.I. will adapt and respond.

NCAA also includes a new "game plan" feature. Essentially, you are able to tweak certain settings, and each setting has a positive and negative associated with it.

For instance, you might choose to have your defense focus on intercepting passes instead of covering the receiver. This means you might intercept more passes, but there is also a better chance that your defense will get burned down the field on a double move or miss an interception and give up a big play.

Season Showdown

Taking a page from FIFA 08 and expanding it, NCAA 10 will include a new Season Showdown feature.

Upon firing up NCAA for the first time, gamers will pick their favorite school. From that point forward their actions on the field and off it will be used in match-ups each week based on the real NCAA schedule.

So if Florida is playing Florida State on Saturday, fans of both schools will be taking the field in NCAA 10, earning credits and trying to make sure their team earns bragging rights when it is all said and done. The team that does the best gets a win, the other a loss.


After each game you'll get credits that help your favorite school march to victory.

After each contest you'll be awarded points based on your skill, strategy, sportsmanship and a number of other categories. Winners aren't determined just on the field - a web trivia game is also available to help decide the outcome.

The credits earned are also used to rank online players, with information available both overall and by school.

Other Tidbits

- Online dynasty will return with the same look and feel from last season. EA have also made sure to fix things that did not work last year. For instance, now you will be able to talk players into returning to your school for another season.

- Both the offensive and defensive line has been worked on this year. The result is a true-to-life pocket. While we have heard this in the past, it looked pretty impressive this year. We might finally have a game that penalizes the 15-yard drop back.

- The game will feature something akin to the old accelerated clock.

- Pursuit angles on defense have been greatly improved –- fixing a big A.I. issue last season.

- Playbooks have been completely revamped again.

- Built into the Season Showdown is an interesting take on combating cheddar in online play. A player's sportsmanship score is based on how realistically they play the game. So if you aren't punting from the first quarter on, your sportsmanship score will take a hit. If you're running up the score, likewise your sportsmanship score will suffer.

- Before an online game you'll be able to see your opponents scores, including how sportsmanlike they are - letting you identify and avoid certain players before you take the field.

- Players who quit out of a game are also penalized by not earning points in their next contest.

- Tons of new animations have been added. You will see wide receivers slip on the wet turf, defenders try and force a fumble and players fight for the ball.

- When rushing the passer, you will now use the right stick to try and get around your blocker rather than the triggers or right/left buttons.

- QB accuracy has been adjusted to make it a bit harder to complete passes.

[Eaglesfan27]

Kodos,

There aren't any different attributes in NCAA 2010 as the different new ratings are exclusive to Madden this year. As far as "importing" the OD dynasties, it seems like it will still start the year in 09 and you will lose all history. Therefore to me, that option of manually entering in each team seems like a lot of work for only a partial gain.

[Karlifornia]

Does anyone care about create-a-school?

[Sun Tzu]

I might be willing to put in the work to recreate the teams from the RFL...but only if there was enough interest.

I'm also intrigued by the idea that we could potentially have a Coach-Only OD.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Does anyone care about create-a-school?

I have a friend who is thrilled that it is in so he can play with his alma mater which is not in the game naturally.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I might be willing to put in the work to recreate the teams from the RFL...but only if there was enough interest.

I'm also intrigued by the idea that we could potentially have a Coach-Only OD.

A coach-only OD would definitely interest me as well.

*Assuming the Coach-Only mode is better implemented than previous versions, which is a very big assumption.

[Big Fo]

Who knows, maybe this year the football games will be on the same level as EA's recent NHL and FIFA games.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

A coach-only OD would definitely interest me as well.

*Assuming the Coach-Only mode is better implemented than previous versions, which is a very big assumption.

Well...from my understanding it's the same thing as it's current implementation, with the only difference being the QB will act on his own until you take control of him.

[RainMaker]

So the biggest new addition to the game (Create-a-School) is a feature that was in the game 10 years ago?

[Sun Tzu]

Biggest new addition? I think calling any addition this year the "biggest" addition is opinion.

If you're just looking for a reason to rip on the game, then sure.

[RainMaker]

I'm just going off of the impressions from OS. He says the "biggest news" when discussing it.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

So the biggest new addition to the game (Create-a-School) is a feature that was in the game 10 years ago?

You've made comments about features that were in the game 10 years ago or should have been in the game 10 years ago three different times in this thread.

Can we just say that we get it and be done with it?

[ColtCrazy]

I'm glad to hear about some of the online tweaks in NCAA. I love playing online, but I'm admittedly a middle-of-the-road player. It irritates me to see guys go for it on 4th down constantly (one guy even went for it on 4th and 27), put WR in at QB to run the option, and other stupid stuff. The running up the score is annoying, but I can get over it, I need to figure out how to stop it!!!!

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Does anyone care about create-a-school?

I potentially do. It would mean we could create a sol8-like conference. All of our human teams as custom teams. That appeals to me. Just like I only play in FOF MP leagues that have custom teams.

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Biggest new addition? I think calling any addition this year the "biggest" addition is opinion.

If you're just looking for a reason to rip on the game, then sure.

Originally Posted by BrianD

You've made comments about features that were in the game 10 years ago or should have been in the game 10 years ago three different times in this thread.

Can we just say that we get it and be done with it?

I'm glad someone else said this so I didn't have to be the dick that started it.

Seriously RainMaker.

A) You're saying "things that were in the game 10 years ago" and most of the time it's just completely false or an extreme exaggeration. i.e. - 10 years ago you could create a team using a couple of generic logos with no color options. This is a dramatic change from there.

B) You're saying "things that should have been in the game 10 years ago"... by what standard? Did everyone's beloved anti-EA 2k have these features? I doubt it.

C) If you hate the game so much, get out of the the thread.

Yes - the EA Sports football franchises have their flaws. But 09 (at least NCAA) is a pretty damned solid game overall when you consider how complex football is. It's easy to say they did this 10 years ago. The games were MUCH simpler then. If they just kept everything else the same as it was before and made it uber-realistic, you all would hate that game.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Does anyone care about create-a-school?

Yep I do. One of my favorite NCAA features.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I potentially do. It would mean we could create a sol8-like conference. All of our human teams as custom teams. That appeals to me. Just like I only play in FOF MP leagues that have custom teams.

Yeah, I thought about that shortly after posting. That would be kind of nifty.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Yeah, I thought about that shortly after posting. That would be kind of nifty.

However, even as a huge I-AA fan, the only way this appeals to me for solo play is if someone loser with too much time on his hands totally creates the I-AA and I can d/l it..

I learned quickly that just dropping I-AA teams into the game in place of regular teams doesn't work well.

[Eaglesfan27]

In case you missed it, the create a school feature will be done online via a web app that will be ready to go a full month before the game releases. I could see someone undertaking a major project like the I-AA teams. This create-a-team appears to be much more robust than any prior incarnations.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by wade moore

A) You're saying "things that were in the game 10 years ago" and most of the time it's just completely false or an extreme exaggeration. i.e. - 10 years ago you could create a team using a couple of generic logos with no color options. This is a dramatic change from there.

How is that false? There was a create-a-school in the game 10 years ago. I'd certainly hope that this one is more complex than previous installments seeing as we are technologically a decade further along. It may be a great feature and certainly looks nice, but praising a company for adding a feature that never should have been removed seems stupid.

Originally Posted by wade moore

B) You're saying "things that should have been in the game 10 years ago"... by what standard? Did everyone's beloved anti-EA 2k have these features? I doubt it.

By their competition. The "network inspired highlight show" that is being promoted was in 2K's game 5 years ago. Pop in MLB: The Show 09 and then play Madden 09. It will feel like Madden was made 5 years ago. If they are going down the path of catching up to every other sport on the market, then great. But lets not blow a gasket over having accelerated clocks put back in.

Originally Posted by wade moore

C) If you hate the game so much, get out of the the thread.

Yes - the EA Sports football franchises have their flaws. But 09 (at least NCAA) is a pretty damned solid game overall when you consider how complex football is. It's easy to say they did this 10 years ago. The games were MUCH simpler then. If they just kept everything else the same as it was before and made it uber-realistic, you all would hate that game.

I don't hate the game, it's just grossly behind other sports in the video game marketplace. Since football is probably my favorite sports, I yearn for a solid game. It's tough to shift from their FIFA game over to one of their football games without taking a huge step backwards.

Bitching about games is what gets them fixed. The NHL and FIFA communities destroyed their games till the point they had to rebuild it into something that is great. Sitting around praising them for their press releases just leads to more sub-par games and more sub-par sales for EA football.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

In case you missed it, the create a school feature will be done online via a web app that will be ready to go a full month before the game releases. I could see someone undertaking a major project like the I-AA teams. This create-a-team appears to be much more robust than any prior incarnations.

One of the keys to this will be if we can schedule those teams in our dynasties. For instance, someone could go and create all these I-AA teams that you could download. You could then put them into your schedule instead of FCS Southwest.

Someday I'd like to see FCS put in the game completely. Not just the teams but the whole league (conferences and playoffs). You could then have a mode similar to closed legacy in College Hoops. You start off at a FCS school, build your way up to a crappy FBS school, then to a powerhouse. Would be a ton of fun trying to build up your resume and potentially pulling off that Appalachian State style upset early in your career.

[Eaglesfan27]

This week's Madden blog talks about and shows the Wildcat formation in action:

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...en-nfl-10.aspx

[ColtCrazy]

Here's another vote for create-a-team. I loved making a team based on the school I work at, Lexington, and use the school colors. Doing that in an online league would be cool.

[Big Fo]

Nice Pat White TD pass video, hopefully we see that in the NFL this season.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Nice Pat White TD pass video, hopefully we see that in the NFL this season.

Only if it is a TAINT (Touchdown after Interception). Accept no substitutes from Dolphin QBs!

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Nice Pat White TD pass video, hopefully we see that in the NFL this season.

+1

[Kodos]

If you preorder NCAA 2010 from GameStop, you get 13 extra Create A School slots (in addition to the regular 12).

http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/Produ...oduct_ID=73713

Pre-order now for NCAA Football 10 & receive 13 EXTRA Team Slots in EA SPORTS TeamBuilder.

[Eaglesfan27]

Another preview of Madden is up, this one on ESPN. The only thing I didn't like was the meter/button mashing for fumble pileups. The main developer on OS has said that he is surprised the interviewee even mentioned it, because they are considering taking it out of the game:

'Madden NFL 10': Five Things to Know - Videogames - ESPN

[BrianD]

When the fumble pile-up was first mentioned, I figured that a button-mashing mini-game was going to be part of it. I really hope they are smart enough to take this out. The game really needs fumbles that don't result in anyone picking up the ball while running, but a mini-game would be a poor choice.

[Eaglesfan27]

Some of the first NCAA videos are out. They focus on the Season Challenge Mode which I couldn't care less about and I seriously doubt it will improve sportsmanship online. However, the videos do show some nice gameplay elements. The defensive keys look very interesting as do the gameplan screens:

IGN: NCAA Football 10 Trailer, Videos and Movies

[Sun Tzu]

I'm getting kind of excited about the possibility of a Coach Only FOFC Online Dynasty. It will be nice to not have to hear people blame their losses on "stick skills"

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

I'm getting kind of excited about the possibility of a Coach Only FOFC Online Dynasty. It will be nice to not have to hear people blame their losses on "stick skills"

That would be pretty cool, I wish they would allow the CPU to kick/punt too.

[Eaglesfan27]

These improvements to Madden continue to impress:

Last week it was revealed that all 32 starting QB's will have signature throwing styles as will kickers.

This week, there is a blog on a much more realistic injury system:

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...en-nfl-10.aspx

[BrianD]

My vision of the game won't really change with signature throwing styles, but the injury news is nice. I like the idea of the injury progression and the fact that crazy spins on a bad knee can add to the injury. I hope that a part of this is increased injury risk for over-using a player in a game or in a season. As players get more tired, they should be more injury-prone.

[kingnebwsu]

Sounds good. I get the feeling that the Madden will take a much bigger stride forward than NCAA this year. Though I guess that's probably true for most years...

I wish I liked the NFL/Madden as much as I like College/NCAA.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by BrianD

My vision of the game won't really change with signature throwing styles, but the injury news is nice. I like the idea of the injury progression and the fact that crazy spins on a bad knee can add to the injury. I hope that a part of this is increased injury risk for over-using a player in a game or in a season. As players get more tired, they should be more injury-prone.

Yeah, the signature styles are nice but nothing game changing which is why I didn't post it last week. If done right, this new injury system is game changing in a very good way. I love that they have ratings being directly affected by the injury such as hamstrings lowering speed, acceleration, and agility.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yeah, the signature styles are nice but nothing game changing which is why I didn't post it last week. If done right, this new injury system is game changing in a very good way. I love that they have ratings being directly affected by the injury such as hamstrings lowering speed, acceleration, and agility.

Before, injuries were generally random, with random effects, and re-injuries were randomly related. I've never given a thought about injuries past how long until my guy was back on the field. Now something like a hamstring or a knee injury definitely changes the game. We have to think if the performance drop is acceptable and whether we might lose a guy for the season if we try to let him finish the game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

If done right, this new injury system is game changing in a very good way. I love that they have ratings being directly affected by the injury such as hamstrings lowering speed, acceleration, and agility.

Meh. Bring back the ambulance running over players on the field.

[Kodos]

I think they are actually bringing the ambulance back. I thought I read that somewhere. But I could be drunk on that one.

If they could have the create a team (whatever it's called) that NCAA has this year, I would be very excited about Madden. As it is, I'm still pretty excited. It seems like they are finally getting what we really want from the game.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nice blog on improved run blocking in Madden this year:

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...-run-game.aspx


After skipping the game last year, I'm pre-ordering later this week.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

After skipping the game last year, I'm pre-ordering later this week.

I don't get this. I can understand feeling like lots of good things are happening. But where's the advantage, when you were so disillusioned with last year's product that you didn't purchase, to moving before the game comes out? I'm not directing this just at EF, I just genuinely don't understand this case because it's not like there's some discount for buying in prerelease.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

I don't get this. I can understand feeling like lots of good things are happening. But where's the advantage, when you were so disillusioned with last year's product that you didn't purchase, to moving before the game comes out? I'm not directing this just at EF, I just genuinely don't understand this case because it's not like there's some discount for buying in prerelease.

True, but I'm sure I'm buying it based on all of the improvements, so why not pre-order it at the Gamestop that is 2 minutes from my work so that I know I'll be able to get it during my lunch break.

[RainMaker]

The new injury system looks real good. Don't think there is a sports game out there that is that complex. Maybe in the future they could add a feature that would just say "Knee Injury - Out For Game" on some and then the MRI would take place during the week when you find out the severity.

Anyways, I definitely like the ability to re-injure the same spot and having it effect certain attributes. Always hated having a guy with a sprained ankle play the same.

[Ironhead]

Pretty cool, they added a flyover from the USAF Thunderbirds. Nice detail with the players holding their hands over their hearts.

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...en-nfl-10.aspx

[kingnebwsu]

I haven't bought Madden in like 12 years...but this year's version almost has me duped. *Almost*

Maybe I'll rent it to see how it is...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ironhead

Pretty cool, they added a flyover from the USAF Thunderbirds. Nice detail with the players holding their hands over their hearts.

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...en-nfl-10.aspx

So they add a flyover for championship games and Super Bowl, but not for Veteran's Day???? Wouldn't that be the one weekend that would make the most sense out of those three weekends????

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

After skipping the game last year, I'm pre-ordering later this week.

May 25th and the PR hype train is already bearing fruit.

[gstelmack]

MBBF, if you can't see a difference in the development team's attitude between this year and the last several years, then there is no hope for you at all.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

MBBF, if you can't see a difference in the development team's attitude between this year and the last several years, then there is no hope for you at all.

Sure, there's a difference. But releasing a lot of PR talking about change is one thing. Releasing a quality game that fixes the numerous problems currently existing in the game while adding new features is another thing. There's no question judging from the declining sales over the past 2-3 years that most people will be taking a wait and see approach to this release. EA can't afford another drop in numbers for a 4th straight year given their large investment in the franchise.