Madden 2006 and NCAA 2006 info

[MizzouRah]

http://www.maddentips.com/preview/madden2006.html



Todd

[illinifan999]

and so it begins :P

[Eaglesfan27]

I really like the idea of a cone of vision. I'll be interested to see how well it is implemented.

[illinifan999]

"Imagine playing for Notre Dame... Now picture the Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus, The Gipper, Rudy... Or playing for Michigan in the Big House... Both schools rich in football tradition that was only possible in your dreams. That dream has come true with the newly acquired game mode titled “Become a Legend: Race for the Heisman.”

Most users have created themselves at one point or another through NCAA Football’s history in the video game industry, but this time you control everything you do. The mode starts off from the get-go and the game opens up with a cut scene of you in a mini-camp where a college scout is talking to you. You then have to pick a position of where you want to play and then participate in drills to test your skills at that position. After you participate in the drills, according to how you progressed, you will be given a list of schools you can go to.

You then are placed in dorm room similar to ESPN NFL 2k5’s “crib” mode. Each new year in school, according to how good you are, your dorm room will get bigger and better. You can earn anything from different TV’s to posters to furniture. Your career goal is to win the Heisman but you can leave early to go to the NFL and into Madden as well. If you choose not to take your player to the NFL then you can make him a coach in NCAA Football 2005.

Oh, and yes, there is head tracking this year...

Look to MM for more news in the near future on NCAA 2006.

-StephensonMC"

http://www.maddenmania.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=90757

[illinifan999]

http://www.maddennation.com/ncaa2006/fredncaa.htm

here's another one that explains it

If done right I think this could be an amazing feature to do on the side of another dynasty.

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

Or playing for Michigan in the Big House...

been there done that... oh wait that was the michigan STATE stadium, damnit

[dubb93]

cone of vision

Oh god, I see this being a disaster. Something tells me there is no way they get this right the first go around........

Become a Legend: Race for the Heisman.

Now this looks like it has some promise. I just wish you could only control yourself[and fast forward through plays not involving you], it seems that you still coach the team and call all the plays. More damning, it says that it doesn't affect the way the game is played, I assume this would mean that if you choose to make yourself a cornerback, you wouldn't even have to control yourself. Anyone else read it that way?

[Ragone]

Your dorm room becomes bigger and better as you play better? wtf did they model this be a legend mode after.. maurice clarett?

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Ragone

Your dorm room becomes bigger and better as you play better? wtf did they model this be a legend mode after.. maurice clarett?

lol d00d

[Ragone]

I wonder what Mcnabb's cone of vision would look like.. probably just permalocked on terrell owens..

[Icy]

Damn i really would love to see NCAA in PC format.

About the “Become a Legend: Race for the Heisman.” its for a sure a great idea but only if you can just manage your player not the whole team in coach mode, that way it would be more like a sport RPG. If you manage the whole team there is no point on that unless you choose to be QB, if for example you're a WR you can pass yourself on every play to beat any kind of records.

I'm still waiting for the definitive sport RPG as NSS, ITP and Wrestling Spirit tried to do.

[WrongWay]

I've always hated Madden because it never alows me to print anything. I have never understood why this was for the PC version???

[wade moore]

Found this preview on IGN: http://sports.ign.com/articles/613/613583p1.html

A highlight for me:

We haven't even touched on the new aspects of franchise yet, how you can finally play online franchise games, scout the plays your opponents like to run, and use the EA locker to share and communicate the data.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. The Superstar mode sounds very interestng. However, the thing that will make this a must buy is the ability to upload franchise files and play a franchise with my best friend who is still in NJ.

[mhass]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

You then are placed in dorm room similar to ESPN NFL 2k5’s “crib” mode. Each new year in school, according to how good you are, your dorm room will get bigger and better. You can earn anything from different TV’s to posters to furniture...

...Expeditions, bling, women, Pistons' season tickets, fake jobs...

[Vince]

I like a lot of the barely mentioned additions...I'm worried that that might be all they are however -- barely mentioned, barely there. Adaptive AI covering individual routes more, receivers realizing they are close to a 1st Down/TD and going that extra step...could be some great things there.

[jaygr]

If the Superstar mode has an option to control only your player on the field, I am sooo sold. I like the idea of playing a running back for example, running on the running plays, picking up blocks on the passing, breaking for screens at the right time, etc.

If they do it right, a game mode like this for sports games has been a long time coming.

[DaddyTorgo]

awww c'mon. we know this is just more of the same old same old from madden. promise us the moon and fail to get us out of the atmosphere every year. Everything they say SOUNDS good, but whether they'll really get it right on the first go round (or the second, or the third, or however many they give it before deciding to drop it) is the real question. And don't get me wrong, I'll probably still pick it up, I'll just do my usual...wait till I can find it somewhere for 19.99 rather than paying the whole 49.99 for it.

[kcchief19]

Did I just read that in Superstar mode you'll get to choose your parents, take the Wonderlic test and have x-rays taken at the combine? Sounds like EA has taken ITP and TCY/FOF and put its hands together. I wonder if you'll also have a girlfriend and have the option to get drunk and fight with Steve Kuffrey.

The Superstar sounds OK in practice, but part of that exists right now. In most games you can control anyone you want to, but these games get boring real quick when you're controlling someone who isn't really involved in the play. I have a hard time believing that there are a lot of people out there who want to go out for a pass as the fourth receiver or stay in the backfield to block and pick up the blitz.

Maybe I'm just too "old school." The Crib and all this nonsense in these games today is cheap eye candy, not actually substance. It's entertaining for about two minues.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Wait, does it have the mode where you get to pick a real major? and is the GF imporvement factor just novelty or will her being at the game improve my player somehow?

[Julio Riddols]

The cone of vision should be a fun addition to Madden, and I also think its a good thing you can turn it on or off.. I don't want to use it if I can't get the hang of it.. There is also talk of an offensive hit stick.. I am already in line to buy this game so I can play a franchise with my friends again though.. Thats just huge to me.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm getting more excited about the recruiting in NCAA. Of particular note in this recent writeup on gamespot is the mention of soft and hard committments. Ignore your soft committment, and another team might swoop in and get them. Very cool. Here is the article:



Electronic Arts had playable versions of both PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of NCAA Football 06 available on the E3 show floor. We were able to get a demonstration of the game, and get a close look at the game's new "race for the Heisman" mode, which is a sort of football role-playing game where you follow the college career of a player from his freshman year through his senior season. The ultimate goal is to win a job in the starting lineup and do well enough in games that you win the Heisman trophy. When you first load up NCAA 06, you'll start out in the role of a high school senior whose coach tell you that you've got one last shot at impressing some college scouts. You find yourself in the midst of some kind of prep camp, where you'll do a different mini-camp drill, depending on what position you choose for your player.

You've got eight different options: pocket or scrambling quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive lineman, linebacker, or defensive back (sorry, aspiring offensive tackles, you're out of luck). We tried being a scrambling quarterback and ran some option-play drills. Your performance in the drills affects the quality of colleges that offer you a scholarship. Since we scored several touchdowns in the drills, our player received offers from powerhouses like USC and Ohio State. We turned them down and chose to walk-on at Arizona St. instead. Once you arrive on campus, you'll find yourself in your dorm room, which is a crib-like feature where you can check fan mail, read the campus newspaper, look up your stats on the computer, and do other tasks in between games. Many of these features serve as a barometer for how well you're doing in your quest for the Heisman. There isn't much guesswork involved there though, as an ever-present Heisman Hype meter in the upper right corner tells you precisely how highly you're regarded for the award. Fill the meter, and you'll receive an invitation to the Heisman ceremony in New York City.

Aside from the race for the heisman mode, the game has been overhauled in other ways. The pre-game show now takes place on a College Gameday-style set, where you'll get predictions and other analysis from veteran college football commentators Brad Nessler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit. New celebration and post-game animation has been added to the game, as well as updated stadium models, and new animations like combo tackles and pancake blocks.

In-season recruiting means that you'll have to expend more effort than ever in order to attract and keep the blue chip high school players. As in real life, you'll be able to get two levels of verbal agreement (soft or hard commitment) while you wait for signing day, but if you ignore your commits, they may end up getting swayed to go elsewhere.

We also got a taste of the new impact player mode while playing a couple of games. Impact players are the stars on each team who can pull off amazing plays in order to swing the momentum of a game. Pick a team like USC and you can find yourself with as many as three or four impact players on each side of the ball. Most ranked teams will have one or two impact players. These players are denoted by solid white halos underneath them, so you'll know who the go-to guys are. When these players get in the zone, the halos will glow, and the juke moves you do (which are now mapped to the right analog stick) can unleash special Burnout-style stop-action close ups that show your ballcarrier breaking some poor defender's ankles or stiff arming him into the turf. It sounds disruptive, but when they actually do happen, they're actually pretty cool looking and don't seem to disrupt the flow of the game.

NCAA Football 06 is slated to ship this July for the PS2 and Xbox. We'll definitely have more info on this game leading into release, so keep an eye on GameSpot Sports.

By Bob Colayco, GameSpot POSTED: 05/18/05 10:05 PM

[moriarty]

Is it me, or is anyone else concerned that they haven't mentioned improved game play in NCAA 2006, after the mess that was 2005 (with the robo DB's, dropped passes, etc.)?

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by moriarty

Is it me, or is anyone else concerned that they haven't mentioned improved game play in NCAA 2006, after the mess that was 2005 (with the robo DB's, dropped passes, etc.)?

My thoughts exactly...

[Emiliano]

Don't know if anyone has posted this, but there is an NCAA 2006 video at Gamespot.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/sports/...006/media.html

You gotta have a Gamespot account to download the video. And a DSL, since it's 28 MB...

Anyway, good stuff. Great thing they added packages like in Madden, cool addiction to me. It makes you rotate the player a lot easier.

[Greyroofoo]

the only way I'll buy madden is if I decide to buy an X-Box 360 as soon as it comes out and there's no good launch titles

[Kodos]

I don't want the recruiting to be in-season. I like them separate. SkyDog is such a dictator when it comes to in-season recruiting.

[dawgfan]

We haven't even touched on the new aspects of franchise yet, how you can finally play online franchise games, scout the plays your opponents like to run, and use the EA locker to share and communicate the data.

*sigh*

Yet more stuff we would've had in the next-gen Fever had we been allowed to continue. I'm not going to spill all the beans on where we were headed, but suffice to say we were going to take full advantage of Xbox Live and really tailor the game to the added advantages online play could bring you - would've been very cool. I'll be curious to see which other games incorporate similar ideas to what we had...

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I really like the idea of a cone of vision. I'll be interested to see how well it is implemented.

From what I've heard from people that were at E3, this feature needs a lot of adjusting - currently users are getting sacked waaaay too much with this feature added. EA has time to adjust this, but it may take another version or 2 to really fine-tune this style of passing.

[CraigSca]

is this cone thing only when playing in a special mode? Or, is this indicative of all gameplay? I'd hate to see that EA (once again) screwed up the NCAA series because of a new "feature".

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

is this cone thing only when playing in a special mode? Or, is this indicative of all gameplay? I'd hate to see that EA (once again) screwed up the NCAA series because of a new "feature".

I believe the "cone vision" is in Madden only. This year NCAA's new feature is the "impact player"...

[Cuckoo]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I don't want the recruiting to be in-season. I like them separate. SkyDog is such a dictator when it comes to in-season recruiting.

I agree with the alien. I've been playing TCY again and was actually pretty into it this time for the first several seasons. Once I started to get a bit bored, I realized that part of it may be how much I dislike in-season recruiting.

[Eaglesfan27]

The cone can also reportedly be turned off for those who don't want to play with it in Madden. From the videos I've seen it finally makes awareness an important attribute in Madden, and I'm looking forward to playing with it on.

Oh yeah, as I've previously stated, I LOVE that recruiting will be more realisticly in season in NCAA

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Oh yeah, as I've previously stated, I LOVE that recruiting will be more realisticly in season in NCAA

I love that too.
Plus, from what I've read, in-season you target only 12 players and you got only "soft" or "firm" commitments, and the prospect can still change his mind in the off-season recruiting.

[CraigSca]

I know I'm beating a dead horse on this one, but I get concerned when I hear about new features when last year's game was essentially broken. I know the console market is different than the PC market, and you HAVE to tout new super-duper features in order to attract interest. However, it worries me they're talking about yet another thing that may disrupt gameplay (the "impact" player - which sounds like a euphemism for exploitative money play) and may make it hard to achieve realistic results.

I'm just hoping my quarterback (as well as my opponents) can complete 50% of his passes this year.

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I know I'm beating a dead horse on this one, but I get concerned when I hear about new features when last year's game was essentially broken. I know the console market is different than the PC market, and you HAVE to tout new super-duper features in order to attract interest. However, it worries me they're talking about yet another thing that may disrupt gameplay (the "impact" player - which sounds like a euphemism for exploitative money play) and may make it hard to achieve realistic results.

I'm just hoping my quarterback (as well as my opponents) can complete 50% of his passes this year.

Good point.
I have to say that last year's game, to me, was a lot of fun (maybe because it was my first NCAA...). Yeah, the passing game was a little hard at first but once I got the system going I was able to get decent completion %. BTW I'm mainly a runner-type of player, so I admit I didn't threw a lot of passes...
I agree with you on the fact that they are selling the new "super-duper" feature, instead of focusing on the basic aspects of the game. But I think they HAVE to, the console market is a lot into these arcade things.
Let's just hope it's not overdone (like the Home Field Advantage last year, only thing that I didn't like about the game) and we can eventually turn it off. From what I've read, this Impact Player thing only occurrs few times a game, and only with certain players (in the video, they show Reggie Bush).

Anyway, my passion for college football games is too strong. I'll buy it.

[Julio Riddols]

MADDEN 2006 Defensive additions- From maddenplanet.com


Last year was the big year for defense. This year EA hasn’t stopped adding to the defense. There are some great additions to the D side of the ball in 06. The first is called Zone Lock and is my favorite. It’s been needed for quite some time. They added Man Lock but everyone knows that problem when in the Nickel covering a 3 WR set you would have to flip the play to get your Nickel back on the correct side. This is no longer the case as the Nickel back will go to the correct side initially and even follow the receiver if he goes in motion to the other side. It’s a very nice addition which will fix a lot of easy quick pass completions.

EA has also added Adaptive AI. The Defensive will now adjust to routes that are being run over and over. Think you can fool it by running the same route out of a different formation? Wrong. It tracks it by the route being run and not the play being run. What will happen is the defensive players involved will get a ratings boost. Not sure how much but some of the boosts mentioned were awareness and hands. Here’s hoping it takes care of those darn corner routes that were run so much in 05.

Another D feature I really liked was the DB shading option. You can now pick the shoulder of the receiver you want line up on. If you didn’t know which to be honest I never knew either … in all past Madden games they have shaded the inside shoulder. This is a lot of the reason the corner routes worked so well in last years game. Now if you know your opponent is running a lot of corner routes with the Slot receiver then you will want to shade that receiver to the outside shoulder and take away that route.

Some other things that are in the game that will improve the Defense
- you can now check the D assignment for 1 player at a time instead of showing the whole defense. This will work well for those local player vs. player games and won’t give away your complete strategy.
- I’m not sure to what extent but gang tackling is now in the game. Another player can come up when another defensive player is already in an animation with the offensive player and trigger another animation. So you can now try to strip the ball while the offensive player is “stood up”
- The play-maker pre snap read is back in the game
- This is a really cool part. You can now switch players pre-snap by holding down X or O (PS2) and using the D-pad to move the cursor around the field.
- For playcalling the quick audible option that you saw in NCAA last year has been added and improved. You do this by holding down R1 (PS2) and choosing your audibles on the fly.

[Julio Riddols]

Madden 2006 other Offensive additions-


We have already done a hands on article about Maddens new Vision and Precision passing. If you didn’t see that one you can read it here.
In this article we will talk about the other new features that EA has added to the offensive side of the ball. You can discuss this preview on our forum.

The first feature is called Smart Routes. When I first heard about this new feature I knew I had to try it and it worked great. What it allows you to do is force your receivers to run their route beyond the first down marker by calling an audible at the line of scrimmage…. it’s actually a hot route audible that replaced the “Quick Screen” hot route (triangle and then down on the right thumbstick). It works great and is something that was very needed on 3rd down plays. To often do you have a third down where your receiver doesn’t make the first down because his route didn’t take him that far.

Getting bombarded with nano or enhanced blitzes? They have now added slide protection for the offensive lineman. The feature wasn’t totally in the game when I played it but from the sounds of it it’s going to be great. What it will allow you to do is if your getting hit with blitzes up the middle you can pinch your lineman in and vise-versa with the outside. I’m not sure if you can go left and right with it that will be something that we will have to check out I am hoping this helps eliminate guys from calling one defensive play all game.

They have added the Truck Stick which is similar to the defensive hit stick of last year. You will flick the stick to make your player lower his shoulder and run over a defender or pick up a few extra yards. At the time I played the game it wasn’t sure if you would have to flick the stick in a certain direction. If Madden follows NCAA and adds jukes onto the stick then my assumption would be that you would flick the stick up to create the animation.

Fatigue progression has been added so now instead of a player resting and coming back in 100% his peak fatigue number will lower over the course of the game. So even though you rest your RB for a series of plays in the 4th quarter he may only come back at 90%. The higher your players stamina rating is the less they are going to be affected by this. So if you have one of those running backs that seem stronger in the 4th quarter than in the first. While the defensive lineman tire down throughout the game he is always going to have that edge on them. If you have players that tire easily then you will want to make sure you manage there playing time well.

I saw some cool animations while playing the game. A very cool new celebration is you can now do a dive & roll into the endzone when you have a breakaway. Another is you can now quickly fall to the ground after a catch to avoid a big hit. If you have watched Torry Holt and Issac Bruce play much you will know what I am talking about. It’s something like the QB slide only for receivers and with a different animation. They have also added what I would call a “taking the legs out hit” so if you hang a receiver out to dry and leave him up in the air he could take a big hit.

Here are some other things that have been added
- the bump and run has been reworked but I’m not sure to what extent
- head tracking has been added for WR’s
- 35 new formations
- when you fake the snap count at the line the screen will now zoom out like it does when the ball is actually hiked

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Fatigue progression has been added so now instead of a player resting and coming back in 100% his peak fatigue number will lower over the course of the game. So even though you rest your RB for a series of plays in the 4th quarter he may only come back at 90%. The higher your players stamina rating is the less they are going to be affected by this. So if you have one of those running backs that seem stronger in the 4th quarter than in the first. While the defensive lineman tire down throughout the game he is always going to have that edge on them. If you have players that tire easily then you will want to make sure you manage there playing time well.

Very cool. This should add A LOT to the realism of the game.
Will this mean that the sub-in/sub-out slider is gone? I mean, if it's automatic... Did you read something more specific about this?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I know I'm beating a dead horse on this one, but I get concerned when I hear about new features when last year's game was essentially broken. I know the console market is different than the PC market, and you HAVE to tout new super-duper features in order to attract interest. However, it worries me they're talking about yet another thing that may disrupt gameplay (the "impact" player - which sounds like a euphemism for exploitative money play) and may make it hard to achieve realistic results.

I'm just hoping my quarterback (as well as my opponents) can complete 50% of his passes this year.

I was bored tonight while waiting for FM to process, and so I've been searching the web to find info on NCAA Football 2006. According to Operationsports, impressions from E3 indicate that there are 3 areas of signifcant improvement in the gameplay and one slight one:

1. They report that passing is much improved from last year, and that receivers generally catch the ball when they are open unless they have bad hands ratings. If they have very good hands, they sometimes catch the ball even when being hit or relatively well covered. As a result, passing percentages seem more realistic.

2. No SUPER cornerbacks. However, they still feel the cornerbacks are very aggressive, but they don't "magically" block every pass and don't intercept quite as many passes.

3. The speed of the entire game is quicker and more similar to 2004.

4. The running game isn't perfect, but it is "better than any version of any game of EA before." Running lanes actually open and can be hit. However, occasionally players still get caught up on linemen.


In any case, I'm excited about this game and really hope that the passing issues from last year's version are truly fixed.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Pardon me if this is already listed somewhere in this thread, but is there a firm (or at least, almost firm) release date for NCAA yet? I assume second week of July as usual, but I haven't gotten a solid answer out of any of the game stores around here yet. I'm moving to Pennsylvania in late July, and I don't want to preorder here if I'm not going to be here when the game comes out. I probably have nothing to worry about, but I do kinda need to be sure about this.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Pardon me if this is already listed somewhere in this thread, but is there a firm (or at least, almost firm) release date for NCAA yet? I assume second week of July as usual, but I haven't gotten a solid answer out of any of the game stores around here yet. I'm moving to Pennsylvania in late July, and I don't want to preorder here if I'm not going to be here when the game comes out. I probably have nothing to worry about, but I do kinda need to be sure about this.

I don't think there is a "firm" release date, but my local EB Games said it would be here on July 12th.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Quite a few positive impressions out there about the E3 showing.

Pumpy, there are several people on Operation Sports who claim to work for Video Game Stores and all of them say they have received notice from corporate headquarters that the "Street Date" is July 12th. They will be getting their supplies July 11th, and some stores are apparently considering a midnight release on the 12th. So, it seems highly likely that you will be fine pre-ordering it in New Orleans.

[ThunderingHERD]

My artistic interpretation of NCAA 2005:

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by ThunderingHERD

My artistic interpretation of NCAA 2005:

ROFL!

I've read quite a few impressions on various boards and blogs and I'm cautiously optimistic that this won't be a problem in the next version.

Also, apparently on AA the AI is much more competitive and one guy somehow managed to play a few dozen short games at E3 and he reports completion percentages were typically between 55-60% after he adjusted the catch slider a few ticks to make receivers better (he didn't adjust it all the way.)

Anyway, I'm optimistic and looking forward to getting back into NCAA since last years version was such a disappointment.

Edited to add: He reports this was mostly accomplished due to the AI throwing plenty of 5-8 yard routes which ROBO linebackers don't stop incessantly anymore. Also, the drop problem is gone once you adjust the slider a bit.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I was bored tonight while waiting for FM to process, and so I've been searching the web to find info on NCAA Football 2006. According to Operationsports, impressions from E3 indicate that there are 3 areas of signifcant improvement in the gameplay and one slight one:

1. They report that passing is much improved from last year, and that receivers generally catch the ball when they are open unless they have bad hands ratings. If they have very good hands, they sometimes catch the ball even when being hit or relatively well covered. As a result, passing percentages seem more realistic.

2. No SUPER cornerbacks. However, they still feel the cornerbacks are very aggressive, but they don't "magically" block every pass and don't intercept quite as many passes.

3. The speed of the entire game is quicker and more similar to 2004.

4. The running game isn't perfect, but it is "better than any version of any game of EA before." Running lanes actually open and can be hit. However, occasionally players still get caught up on linemen.


In any case, I'm excited about this game and really hope that the passing issues from last year's version are truly fixed.

I'm still a bit wary, only because I heard nothing about any kind of passing issue by the early beta testers and people given the opportunity for first looks last year - i.e. ok, passing's fixed, but what did they break to fix it? I wait with bated breath and crossed fingers on this one, but I'll be in line at the local Gamestop on day one hoping to pick up a copy

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I hope the AWARENESS rating really factors in now with passing and catching the football./

[Bee]

Will the NCAA game be available for Xbox 360 or just Madden?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Bee

Will the NCAA game be available for Xbox 360 or just Madden?

I'm curious about this as well. I haven't seen NCAA on any of the lists for upcoming 360 games.

[Eaglesfan27]

I haven't seen any Xbox 360 lists with NCAA either. My strong suspicion is that it will not be on next generation consoles until next year.

[Emiliano]

Just found a new "Race For The Heisman" video.

Link