Madden NFL 10 Developer Q&A (Gameshark)

[Dat Boi TJ]

Gameshark has posted a Q&A with the Ian, Josh and Donny, as they talk about Madden NFL 10.

Quote:

Gameshark: "I know that the team is very upfront about wanting player ratings to really matter this year. The fact that you guys chain Donny Moore to a chair and make him rate every player -- is pretty amazing when you think about it. But in terms of gameplay, how will we see a difference in say -- quarterbacks? It's been one of my pet peeves with football games for years: it's terribly hard to tell a difference between the QBs outside of arm strength and running speed. Will a quarterback with lower accuracy actually be off target with more throws?" Donny: "First off, it is a really comfortable chair. Now to your question. I think we have captured the strengths and weaknesses of each one of the quarterbacks in the league like never before for Madden NFL 10. No longer is every QB rated 80+ in throw accuracy. We now see guys covering a wider spread, rated anywhere from 50 to 99. This meant totally re-tuning the passing game, but it was something that we felt had to be done. You can see immediate differences just by taking the Dolphins into practice mode and checking them out. First, we have Chad Pennington. He is rated amongst the best QBs in the game in short and intermediate accuracy. However, he has a sub 75 rated arm (Throw Power), so you do not want to take too many chances deep with Pennington. Throwing the deep out across the field with Chad Pennington = not a bright idea in Madden NFL 10. Now, sub in the electric backup Pat White. Notice that he is almost like a running back or receiver in terms of quickness and agility. He has a stronger arm than Pennington (low to mid 80’s). So he is capable of making more throws. But you will quickly notice that his accuracy is nowhere near Pennington’s level. White is rated in the low 70’s to low 60’s for accuracy. Finally, sub in 3rd string Chad Henne. He has a laser arm (90+ THP). His accuracy is somewhere in between White and Pennington. Factor all these changes in, and I promise you will feel a significant difference this year. Not just with the Dolphins, but with each and every quarterback in the league."

[boooey]

Will the QB sneak be an automatic 3-5 yard gain this year? If not, how do you go about fixing something like that?

Ian: Not anymore! We introduced the new sneak animation that can be “steered” by you – this ensures that you don’t just take off running right when you get the snap. One key note though, this is only ‘active’ against 5+ down linemen fronts. If the defense comes out in a 4 man front or fewer against it, the QB will choose to run with it. We did this because it looked dumb when the QB would just fall to the ground with no defenders around. One thing to keep in mind though is that the QB is immediately exposed to hard hits and a risk of injury or fumbling (we juice all those chances up to emulate the increase in aggressiveness defenders get when they see a QB running in the open field). Anyway, against a goal line defense now, you can really only expect the sneak to gain 1-2 yards at the absolute maximum, with an obvious risk of not getting anything at all. You can see the new animation in action at the 7:40 mark in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqJrdp8MqUI .



to me this is not really fixed then..

[DirtyJerz32]

Sorry about that mods. He must have made his the same time I was making mine. He won. NO Worries


What about presentation? Ian, you told me at the show that you wanted the stadiums to all feel unique. How are you doing that?

Ian: One of the most common pieces of feedback from the community (and internally from our own time playing the game) was that every Franchise game really felt the same. There was no real sense of a “journey” through the season since every game was presented in a similar fashion. Since we had committed to a huge investment in re-vamping our cut-scenes (and their respective systems), Mike Young, Tavis Kahler, and crew did a bunch of research to pick out some of the most recognizable pieces that you see in various stadiums around the league.
This addition alone in pre-game (and cuts to these types of scenes throughout the game) was a nice way for us to give you (the fan) the feel of each stadium and location being different. We realize that many people skip through pre-game cut-scenes once they see them a few times, so by making every intro feel different it gave people a reason to at least give a second look and keep the game feeling new and fresh.
The most exciting thing for me is that we will be able to keep building on this for the future, since a huge chunk of our time this year was spent actually just getting the tech in place. Expect community polls and wishlist threads soon. (smile)
To add to this, we have all kinds of stadium-specific chants in the game as well – so now you’ll hear the chants that make you feel like you really are in that hostile opposing environment – such as “J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!” and “E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!”



It's about time EA. Finally I can hear the greatest crowd chant in football!

[mrprice33]

Quote: Originally Posted by boooey

Will the QB sneak be an automatic 3-5 yard gain this year? If not, how do you go about fixing something like that? Ian: Not anymore! We introduced the new sneak animation that can be “steered” by you – this ensures that you don’t just take off running right when you get the snap. One key note though, this is only ‘active’ against 5+ down linemen fronts. If the defense comes out in a 4 man front or fewer against it, the QB will choose to run with it. We did this because it looked dumb when the QB would just fall to the ground with no defenders around. One thing to keep in mind though is that the QB is immediately exposed to hard hits and a risk of injury or fumbling (we juice all those chances up to emulate the increase in aggressiveness defenders get when they see a QB running in the open field). Anyway, against a goal line defense now, you can really only expect the sneak to gain 1-2 yards at the absolute maximum, with an obvious risk of not getting anything at all. You can see the new animation in action at the 7:40 mark in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqJrdp8MqUI . to me this is not really fixed then..

how so?

[TDogg09]

Quote: Originally Posted by boooey

Will the QB sneak be an automatic 3-5 yard gain this year? If not, how do you go about fixing something like that? Ian: Not anymore! We introduced the new sneak animation that can be “steered” by you – this ensures that you don’t just take off running right when you get the snap. One key note though, this is only ‘active’ against 5+ down linemen fronts. If the defense comes out in a 4 man front or fewer against it, the QB will choose to run with it. We did this because it looked dumb when the QB would just fall to the ground with no defenders around. One thing to keep in mind though is that the QB is immediately exposed to hard hits and a risk of injury or fumbling (we juice all those chances up to emulate the increase in aggressiveness defenders get when they see a QB running in the open field). Anyway, against a goal line defense now, you can really only expect the sneak to gain 1-2 yards at the absolute maximum, with an obvious risk of not getting anything at all. You can see the new animation in action at the 7:40 mark in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqJrdp8MqUI . to me this is not really fixed then..

Yes it is. The QB will run if the Defense is spread out, like in Quarter or Dime. If the D is in goal line, the QB will try to sneak it. That's still realistic. I agree with Ian that it would look kind of dumb for the QB to just dive on the ground if the D is spread out and it's possible for him to get more yards.

[boooey]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrprice33

how so?

read the bold print..

for starters..
1. it only prevents big gains if you are facing a 5 line front.
2. going by what Ian is saying, all they did is just make the QB fall down automatically, and you just kind of steer the QB before that happens.

Maybe i am misunderstanding, and Ian can clarify this further.. but this is how it sounds to me.. and thats kinda lame if I am correct.

[Obelysk]

dang i cant see it, can someone post it here or is it too big?

[Broncos86]

Quote: Originally Posted by boooey

Will the QB sneak be an automatic 3-5 yard gain this year? If not, how do you go about fixing something like that? Ian: Not anymore! We introduced the new sneak animation that can be “steered” by you – this ensures that you don’t just take off running right when you get the snap. One key note though, this is only ‘active’ against 5+ down linemen fronts. If the defense comes out in a 4 man front or fewer against it, the QB will choose to run with it. We did this because it looked dumb when the QB would just fall to the ground with no defenders around. One thing to keep in mind though is that the QB is immediately exposed to hard hits and a risk of injury or fumbling (we juice all those chances up to emulate the increase in aggressiveness defenders get when they see a QB running in the open field). Anyway, against a goal line defense now, you can really only expect the sneak to gain 1-2 yards at the absolute maximum, with an obvious risk of not getting anything at all. You can see the new animation in action at the 7:40 mark in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqJrdp8MqUI . to me this is not really fixed then..

I don't expect a 4 man rush to stop a QB sneak.