What is the deal with franchise?

[Toupal]

So, I have been playing in NBA 2k's myLeague, and needless to say, comparing it to madden's career mode, it really puts it to shame.

I want to know the communities thoughts on this.

[DeuceDouglas]

They consolidated the modes which, at the time, was a good idea but turned out being a huge step back for franchise mode as a whole. The biggest problem with it has been that instead of building on any kind of depth within the mode they chose to consistently go all-in on goals, confidence and XP. Even with things like the overhaul this year in menus it seems like everything is still overly vague and cumbersome. It's just not a well put together mode and could honestly use another complete ground-up rebuild with a completely different focus but that isn't going to happen any time soon.

[msdm27]

The deal with franchise (CFM) is: They're trying to save something that is beyond repair.

Good idea, poor execution, to put it simply.

Funny how, for a game that is known for launching things one year and then scratching them shortly thereafter, they've just refused to scratch CFM altogether. It's simply not a good mode! You will find people who enjoy the experience but that's simply because they put all the imagination in the world into making it a decent franchise experience. It's as if the game forces you to employ 32 team control, only that the mode is built to make 32 team control as troublesome as possible :/

But heck, in the end I can understand why they decide to stick with "the vision" of the mode and try to salvage it... What's really discouraging, at least for me, is the fact that even the new things being added are flawed in ways that make you think ZERO time was put into thinking them through.

Biggest example in this year's CFM: Sim-a-win and drive goals

This is something they introduced this year, it's something new... When I read about sim-a-win, I was like "Ohhh snap, that's cool" but then I went to test it and every single score is like 75-3

The drive goals thing... I mean, WOW! This was the main addition to the mode and look how it turned out. I'm not even talking about the absurd confidence boosts... Let's just say that's a bug that could happen to any game (NOT)

What drives me crazy is how little thought was put behind the feature: "Allow less than 30 rushing yds this drive".... Then you go on to allow a 80 yd td pass and all of the sudden... DRIVE GOAL ACHIEVED!

Like seriously, someone should be fired over that... again, that was the main addition to the mode!
I mean, you needed 2 minutes of testing to find out the feature is broken... but nope, nothing done to it after two patches. That just shows a complete lack of awareness and attention to detail.

I'm probably gonna get reprimanded for this but I'll be as respectful as possible: CFM concept was introduced by one person, let's call him PERSON A, and it was, as I mentioned earlier "good idea, bad execution", then when they hired someone else to help turn the good idea into a good product, PERSON A was given a testing/tuning role... Guess what, the game was awfully tuned and bug filled... See a pattern here?

Next year will be very telling for the future IMO... At some point they have to accept defeat with this and get the right people for the job.

[ggsimmonds]

It seems the gameplay team understands the desires and wishes of their consumers.

The team behind CFM seems to be oblivious to what the community wants.

[kse79x]

Quote: Originally Posted by ggsimmonds

It seems the gameplay team understands the desires and wishes of their consumers. The team behind CFM seems to be oblivious to what the community wants.

I really think some of the Devs should join one of the popular leagues or at least talk to those who run them and play them. I know at least one dev says he plays in a league(s), but if that is the case, I can't imagine him not understanding what is needed to improve/fix/make CFM better.

But maybe it's not a matter of them not knowing. Maybe they do know and just have other priorities or think they can get by with the minimum.

There are a lot of things they could do to make CFM better. But I dont think they feel they need to. When they ignore simple things (Auto_subs that havent ever worked, backing out of certain menus resets the previous screen, the basic MaddenCFM site that hardly allows you to do anything.

[tubaSimulator]

I agree, they need to rebuild the entire franchise and when doing so they should have a look at what actually goes on in the NFL and try to replicate that. Rookie training camp, training camp, accurate roster size during preseason, accurate cut days (seriously, how hard is THAT to get right??), more contract options and not just the outdated contract type Madden has been offering for years and so on and so on. Right now if feels like they haven't paid attention to the real NFL for a decade and they're just making stuff up as they go along. That makes for an inaccurate game mode that lacks depth.

[T5063]

I'm an offline franchise only player and I'm currently enjoying madden 16 despite all the CFM issues and shortcomings only because the on-field game play is really good.

However, if there isn't a major shift in their approach to Franchise in M17, and I mean a totally new direction, I will be skipping that game. I'm just sick of how hollow the mode is. They made a few changes this year but apart from the scouting everything was cosmetic, underneath the new-look menus everything is pretty much the same. Lipstick on a pig perfectly describes the situation.

[RumbleCard]

The whole XP, confidence and RPG aspect of team building is an antiquated concept. They don't seem to understand this.

EA keeps building on top of this "level up" approach and goal oriented tasks which is 100% the opposite direction of what 2K has built. Collectively I believe even the average buyer is looking for a more organic approach to progression and player development.