The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

[knucklez]

What some posters are asking and haven't been answered yet is this: Will the defender still make a ridiculous interception just because he has his head turned to the ball, or is attempting to turn his head to the ball? I feel like it's just an asthetic thing that will have no bearing on ridiculous interceptions.

[glitchditcher]

You can use this feature to allow offensive lineman to recognize the guys they are assigned to block and blitzers. You could differentiate the great lineman from the cruddy ones by making the good players better recognize blitzers.

[monkeybutlerz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nza

BTW, on the DB sight thing, lets not forget some DB's can make plays on balls they're not looking at on occasions. Downfield it's not uncommon for a DB to watch the WR's eyes and hands to determine when the ball is coming down.

Agreed, but a lot of these times, the DB doesn't leave his feet. When he does, it's a matter of luck whether or not he contacts it, while in the game right now, they hit it with too high a frequency. It would be nice to see more misses and maybe some hits on his back, shoulder or arm, as opposed to a lot of the backhanded swats.

[StonesRunIt]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tito78

It could be used for the ball carrier. Right now, the ball carriers look straight ahead regardless of where the defenders are coming from. It would be much more realistic if the ball carriers were looking at on coming defenders when running with the ball.

I third this notion.

[StonesRunIt]

Quote: Originally Posted by glitchditcher

You can use this feature to allow offensive lineman to recognize the guys they are assigned to block and blitzers. You could differentiate the great lineman from the cruddy ones by making the good players better recognize blitzers.

co-sign

[hmoob]

Quote: Originally Posted by glitchditcher

You can use this feature to allow offensive lineman to recognize the guys they are assigned to block and blitzers. You could differentiate the great lineman from the cruddy ones by making the good players better recognize blitzers.

What you're talking about is AI. This is merely a little tool to make the head look in the direction of a certain object and follow its movements. The other problems like DBs making impossible interceptions are a whole different issue and will have to be fixed seperately.

[TheWatcher]

The QB head tracking looks solid. I've certainly been wanting this for a long time, and seeing it translated to defense (can't hit what you can't see) will make a big difference. Thanks for sharing this info, Ian!

One thing I want to mention that this video reminds of is the QB's behavior while idle. It needs revision. In Madden, the QB seems to be constantly moving up and down in a jittery I-just-had-7-cups-of-coffee kind of way. QB's don't do that with such exaggeration in real life. The QB's idle behavior needs to be more stabilized... more subtle. Like the space in the loop of that animation needs to be much longer so the QB doesn't look like a jackhammer.

The most you get from a QB in a real life is a few quick and purposeful bounces up and around the pocket (and those movements are usually very short nervous-like flinches) , but they're definitely not pumping up and down, up and down, up and down while staying in one place like that.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

[youALREADYknow]

One other huge area besides the obvious improvements needed in defensive ball actions is that CPU QB's need to react/act to pressure in the pocket based on what they can see.

Examples:

#1: Defensive pass rush from the blindside while the QB still goes through progressions.

Expected Result: The QB should not be able to react to the oncoming pressure until the point of contact. At the point of contact, the QB's Elusiveness, Strength, and other ratings come into play to determine whether he can elude or break the tackle.

#2: Defensive pass rush coming into the QB's vision while QB is looking to the right side of the field.

Expected Result: The QB can either choose to elude the oncoming rush or throw the ball to the side of the field where he is looking. The QB should NOT be able to throw the ball downfield to the opposite side where he hasn't been looking.

#3: QB standing in pocket after dropback and progressing through receivers.

Expected Result: Not only does the QB's head progress through the receivers, but his feet/stance and body position should also reflect where he is looking with the ball. Along with this, the QB should plant their feet before throwing in the pocket.

#4: QB facing immediate pressure and must either take sack or throw the ball away to a dump down receiver/back.

Expected Result: The QB can have a nervous or similar look and his body posture should be leaning backwards and back pedaling. If the QB decides to throw, it should be off the back foot and with greatly reduced throwing power. The throw also shouldn't be 30 yards downfield to a receiver in coverage and on the money.

Just some thoughts, but I'm very excited since player vision preceding player action is something I've been begging for in EA football games.