Madden NFL 10 Q&A Blog with the Dev Team

[thereisonly1#1]

1. was the game ever given a thorough beta testing?

2. Do you guys plan on overhauling the engine since this one has reached its limits?

[Argooos]

Dear Madden Developers,

Big fan of your work, but I have a few questions:

General questions:

Has any work been done on customizable camera angles? The ability to adjust the camera in the same way we can in instant replay would be fantastic. I'm specifically thinking of the ability to set the camera so that on defense I'm looking at my players' backs, just like I do on offense. I'd also like to be able to see the sidelines when I'm throwing sideline passes

Will we ever (as users) be able to import things like portraits and team logos into the game?

Are there plans to add more logos for created teams? Even the alphabet would be good.

Why don't height and weight seem to matter in gameplay or player ratings? It seems to me it would be a simple matter of linking the player's height and weight to certain attributes. For example a high weight could cause a player to have lower speed and agility but higher hit power and strength. Also editing height and weight should change a player's overall rating.

Offline Franchise questions:

Will Potential ratings ever be editable? Part of the fun with past franchises was developing poor players into good ones. Now, if I see a player has "D" potential, why should I bother trying to develop him? Now what if that "D" player happens to be my favourite player?

Will we ever be able to turn on an option to be able to edit players in franchise mode? I believe this would make a lot of people more happy with the product because they would then be able to fix many mistakes/glitches themselves.

Are there plans to create portraits for the pre-created draft classes? It would add a lot to playing franchise mode deep into several seasons. A team full of blank faces has much less character than one with faces. If you're wondering where to get the faces, I'm sure Madden fans would be willing to donate photos of themselves.

Are there any changes planned for player progression? As it currently stands it is not realistic in the least. In reality a player may start the season good enough to be a starter, but as the season progresses he may regress or his backup may progress to the point where the depth chart must be changed. This is especially the case with the preseason, where players' "ratings" are constantly changing. I would suggest having progression occur at the end of the preseason and then several times throughout the season. This alone would make the preseason worth playing. As it currently stands there is no reason to actually play the preseason games. With progression the way it currently is, a player who has the ratings to be the starter in pre-season will almost certainly be the starter (barring injury) right through to the playoffs. That's not realistic.

What variables are player progressions based on? I would hope that it is a combination of age, potential, stats compared to others at his position, and stats compared to others on his team. It shouldn't be just one of the four, but a combination. A player should only get full (very high) progression if he is not too old, has good potential, has better stats than his teammates, and compares well against others in the league at his position. If one of these areas is lacking, it should lower his progression. That being said, offseason (but only offseason) progression should have some elements of randomization - sometimes a player seemingly randomly gets very good or very bad between seasons.

Are there plans to increase roster limits? Real NFL teams carry more players than the teams in Madden. The game should have a rather large roster limit in preseason. This, coupled with player progression at the end of the preseason, would make this part of the game one of the most interesting of the whole season. During the regular season there should be a practise roster as well as roster spots freed up by placing players on injured reserve.

Why are depth charts and substitutions limited by player position? This eliminates the possibility of something like Seneca Wallace lining up at wide receiver or Mike Vrable lining up on offence. It's not realisitic and dratically limits what we can do in the game. If I want my third string QB to also be the fourth string wide receiver, why can't I do that? Also, if I want to sub a linebacker into my goaline formation on offense, why can't I do that?

Will teams in the offseason get relocation offers? For example the Bills should probably get a relocation offer from the city of Toronto at some point in playing their franchise.

Why are player substitutions only availiable in the playcalling screen? I think a lot of people would appreciate a player substitution option outside of games or even in the start menu options in-game.

Why is there no reset button for player substitutions?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Sorry it's so long.

-Argooos

[SaintsNATION32]

i can careless bout M10 PATCHES its out lets start focusing on m11 all i want is al michaels to join colinsworth for commentary maybe add a 3rd guy an get people we can relate to..2k5 did that great wit espn sportcenter an BERHMAN....get indepth wit fellas ya made a good game in m10, LEts make the greatiest game ever in m11. DON'T LET A GAME OVER 5 YRS OLD....still hunt yall....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9O6jKorLRo


LET"S GO FELLAS.....THE HELL WIT M10 PATCHES......LET'S GET M11 ROLLIN.

[LHaze30]

You added a coach mode this year but you can't use it in an online franchise. Is there a way to patch this so we can play coach mode in an online franchise? If not, I am just curious as to why it was not included this year.

[gbeazy]

For Osh Kosh ba Josh Looman, can we get a roster update for Head Coach 09? Will pay real money

[Mofficial]

Quote: Originally Posted by SaintsNATION32

i can careless bout M10 PATCHES its out lets start focusing on m11 all i want is al michaels to join colinsworth for commentary maybe add a 3rd guy an get people we can relate to..2k5 did that great wit espn sportcenter an BERHMAN....get indepth wit fellas ya made a good game in m10, LEts make the greatiest game ever in m11. DON'T LET A GAME OVER 5 YRS OLD....still hunt yall.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9O6jKorLRo LET"S GO FELLAS.....THE HELL WIT M10 PATCHES......LET'S GET M11 ROLLIN.

I'm all for m11, but if they can't get m10 right, I really don't wanna focus on m11. I believe if they put the same effort they put in this year, and really deliver m11 will end all talk. But can we please fix m10? It sucks that a game this good isn't as enjoyable as it should because of all of these legacy issues. If they can fix these problems up by december I'll gladly turn all my attention to m11. But m11 isn't gonna be any good if we don't fix the problems that 10 and 09,08 and 07 had that 06 started (i'm just speculating) once we get these straight, then we can focus on m11 because only then will m11 be as good as it should.

And since we're not supposed to be having a discussion, here is my other question(s) Ian: How does fatigue work? And does it last for the entire game? What setting will allow defensive players to be tired in the 4th quarter after 3 quarters of pounding the rock and not be subbed? I really can't tell how fatigue impacts ratings and performance in-game. Can you show us how it does these things and show us what to look for?

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by SaintsNATION32

THE HELL WIT M10 PATCHES......LET'S GET M11 ROLLIN.

Generally speaking, working on patches for 10 IS working on 11.

[PYA-MUSTANG86]

- Will the excessive holding calls on FG's be addressed? I was on the 25 yard line down 28-26, with 10 seconds left I make the FG, it gets called back for holding. So I'm on the 35 make it again and get called for holding again. Thank God I had Mason Crosby, cause what was a 42 yard FG turned into a 62 yard FG and I bearily made it for the win. It was online and you can't adjust the sliders.

- Stat engine needs a serious face lift - Most of the time when when a HB rushes for 400 yards on 200 carries in real life, he's getting cut. Not only don't they get cut but they increase in progression. Not only that but it is unrealistic for so few yards on so many carries. Also ast. tackles and solo tackles should be combined. And 3-4 OLB need to get more sacks.

- Will a players draft info be added?

- What are there any plans in the works to update online franchise? A la salary cap and free agency.

- Will OL blocking AI be fixed?

- The same animations seem to occure way too often, has this been addressed?