Video Game Passing Needs to be Reworked

[Vast]

Your solution would work great for superstar mode, or a camera option. but impossible to play multiplayer that way.

[sois]

I always though a "double button press" mechanic would work well to simulate good/bad QB play. Remember how kickoff's used to be in the 90's? One press for the start of the kick, one to stop in the "sweet spot".

If you nailed it, the kick would be perfect. If you were off, the kick would miss. I think this could work for QB's. Good ones will have slower meters or wider sweet spots. The meter would go crazy fast while scrambling, unless QB has good "Throw on the Run" rating.

Maybe you could anchor the speed of the meter with a very faint heartbeat before the snap. That way you could estimate the speed of the meter.

The only problem with this is it will have to be fast no matter what. You can't take a whole second to pass the ball. Maybe a matrix style slowdown? Also, you will have to build another lob/bullet mechanic.

[El Greazy 1]

Your solution is a great idea but it would fail miserably to implement. With FPF in NFL2K5, it was nearly impossible to see the field or any actions going on. So you say to pull back the POV to about a 3rd person, low cam, that would work great but it would still be quite cumbersome. Imagine having to flick sticks left &right on the Right Analog, while still having to move your QB with the Left Analog THEN having to press a button corresponding to the player, well, then what you just described IS the Vision Cone just from a different perspective and that failed miserabley, as well. Then comes in the whole jumbled mess of trying to play multiplayer with such a POV.

In real life football (yes, played outside) QBs are not taught to look at their players but the defenders and the progression they're taking on the field post snap. This is the same lesson that should be taught to video game ballers. When you "stare down your receivers" in real life every secondary player will eat you alive but their is no way to implement this in a game as of yet successfully (Vision Cone).

The writer of this article clearly knows nothing of real football and QB play. As a QB you are supposed to know the routes your players are running and what you are supposed to do is follow your progressions and checkdowns knowing where your players will be and at what times. The QB has two ways to read the play: by offense or defense. Offense incluces going through his progressionion by player: 1st route, 2nd route, dump off, or goes progression by route (can be a combo of all the following): deep, mid, short. Defensive progressions/reads go by coverage: LB's (zone or man), then Safeties (zone or man) and then, if time holds, CBs (zone or man).

Yes there does need to be a way to simulate pocket pressure and the urgency of the game, but only if it can be implemented with real-life football tactics. EA has tried and failed miserably. 2K tried (as an afterthought) and failed. Backbreaker will be the next to step up to the plate.

[XCalmLikeABombX]

I think it is really hard to simulate the pressure on the qb when his vision is limited to a certain line to a reciever (in a fps type view). I understand what the author or article is saying, I just think that in essence many people want to play a game of football like they are watching a game on tv, and have control of the game. I think thats why there are so many complaints about so few camera angles.

I have been playing video game football since the very first Madden football on sega genesis (ok I'll date myself and say first one was the blocky atart football for 2600.) I feel that it is all about getting every aspect of the game tweaked just right, or allowing users to tweak settings to make it "right" for them. I would love this years Madden without all the glitches. You hear of so many speaking of ESPN NFL2k5, and I think the reason that this game is respected so much, that while it wasn't perfect it came so close to getting it right.

I am not sold on a first person view, and it still being an entertaining game. Just my 2 cents.

[Smokez4DAyz]

football is not just passing with a qb, so i cant follow. furthermore, l cant see the action at the line of scrimmage, i cant decide where to go with ball. its the same thing real qbs do, they watch the safety, and make the read. Focusing on one target, is a real and video game no-no. You have to quickly read your options and fire the ball. a game that restricts view is a game that will have cheesers hangin on the end of your cameras view and sacking you because you cant see or switch to another target until the camera switches??? Nah buddy, this idea is not that deep in thought. why the special camera for qbs, how about for cbs, or lbs, or rbs, or dline? thats for superstar mode buddy, not co-op play.

[Stroehms]

How about a zoom in camera version of the 09 camera and you throw using the right stick. Like if the receiver is running right, throw it slightly right and if you throw slightly left by accident, he'll either try to catch the ball thrown behind him, it's picked off or incomplete. Of course thats just my rough sketch....let me know what you think.

[doublerballa20]

i feel like madden 09 is def a good start....when the camera turns so you cna see all of ure WRs its a different exp for everyone i almost feel like it has crouched down so i have to kinda anticipate when a WR will hit an open spot or if the WR has a step on an opposing player

[spursfan]

This would simply not work. Just an adaptation of the vision cone/fps football from espn nfl 2k5. Maybe for single player, not co-op. Because ppl would cheese and glitch it to death. The reciever icons would work temporiarly, till u learned to memorize the reciever's and routes and buttons. (If u play it that much.) I can generally do this now with most sports games nba, madden.