The First Official Feature For Madden NFL 10!

[wolfpack]

I have always wanted some sort of control over whether my WR or DB jumps for the ball. It has always seemed random to me in NCAA or Madden.

So, maybe something like this could be tied to the PA. If my DB or WR has tracked the ball, a one-tap on the catch button will make him attempt to reach for the ball and a double-tap will allow him to jump for it.

But if his head has not tracked it, a one-tap and a double-tap will react the same way.... a random flailing of the arms to swat at the ball.

I think this would be kind of cool too in setting up some different types of Pass Interference calls. If your DB is not in position (ie. is not aware of where the ball is) and you attempt to swat at the ball, you could get called for Pass Interference since you're not looking back for the ball. I would hope this would not be called too often, though. But if it was blatant, it would add a new type of Pass Interference. Then you could have the announcer comment on the play (why it was called) and maybe even have the DB plead his case to the ref to no avail.

[Blkcanes]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Sim God

an extra button push to "look" for the ball is non-sense. itll be the exact same as this year with 1 extra button push. with the amount of games we all play, we will have the extra button poush programmed into our gaming styles within a week and itll be every other madden all over again. i also agree where if you wait for a db to turn to run with the wr is that THEN is when people will pass the ball. something needs to be given for throwing the ball in a situation like that when the wr isnt ready. this is when a button push to "look" for the ball would be handy......YET in the nfl if the wr never "looks" for the ball, will the db turn around?! dont look at things from the madden high view where we see the entiore field and KNOW when the ball is released, even thiough the db back is to the ball. look at it from the wr/db eyes. and when playing zone it would be sweet if a zone(lbs/cbs/safeties) reads the qb eyes to move coverage around(ss/fs for example, or offensively looking off lbs to open something behind it up).....this is another case where the flashlight(qb vision) should retirn BUT in a different form. have the qb square their shoulders to pass. same concept as the flashlight except with NO light on the field and reading the qb eyes. you ever see tom brady look left then throw right without squaring his shoulders? if so its a pick 6....lol watch mcnabb in the pocket as he goes thru his reads he has that hop in his step while squaring his shoulders to every read so he can be ready to throw.

I mention this earlier, but I think that part that is bold is actually in the game watch the video that Ian showed and look at how it seems like the QB's feet are actually moving so If he wants to throw to the left when facing the right he is ready

Now that I look at the video with the Qb again I really would like to know if the qb is going to actually square is shoulder to throw to his target I hope it's not just stand there see your target then throw he should have to scare up to be accurate

[gabs485]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blkcanes

I mention this earlier, but I think that part that is bold is actually in the game watch the video that Ian showed and look at how it seems like the QB's feet are actually moving so If he wants to throw to the left when facing the right he is ready Now that I look at the video with the Qb again I really would like to know if the qb is going to actually square is shoulder to throw to his target I hope it's not just stand there see your target then throw he should have to scare up to be accurate

SOMETHING has to be don about the QB PA. Just think about it.
We as user can see the whole field which is a disadvantage for the defense. People would be looking right and throwing left. There has to be some sort of look before passing mechanism for QB PA to work effectively.

Think about it. Bring back the vision cone, same system, No flashligh or visual aid. The great thing about it is that there is not need for a flashlight because defense can now actually read the Qb's head

[Juggernaut XX]

Now, Ian and the Madden staff have the potential to change the culture of sports gaming. If you guys implement the head tracking/PA correctly, it will be the biggest Madden upgrade in it’s 20 (+) year history. I don't think that some people realize just how important head tracking is. The key is if they can merge the head-tracking with the attributes. The two most important foundations that you can have in a football game are:

1) Head-Tracking
2) Foot-Planting

Everything stems from head-tracking. Once a player decides where he wants to go, then he plants his foot. Keep in mind that head tracking on offense can be used to manipulate the defense to think your going somewhere that you are not. So, if you have an elusive running back, that is where head-tracking and foot-planting will be a deadly combination. Or if you have a WR with good speed and a great route running attribute. Also having the QB look at one receiver, and have him turn his head and set before throwing to another receiver will add another level of realism to the game (and give the D a split second to adjust).

NBA live did a good job at head-tracking and I was very impressed with their foot-planting as well. If Madden is able to improve upon what NBA Live introduced last year in terms of foot-planting, and head-tracking, Madden could be the game we have been waiting for. Oh yeah, now that you are trying to implement the new head-tracking/PA system, you will need some form of a vision cone (line of vision). I personally would like to see a vision cone for quarter backs and running backs.

[bgizle]

I'm getting excited with PA, but I just have the feeling that we'll be let down and it'll be another 'Cone vision' innovation that never panned out. Maybe I'm a downer.

[Juggernaut XX]

Quote: Originally Posted by cedwebb

The more I think about this feature the more excited I get because of what it could mean to gameplay. I was just talking with my bro and I was running this concept by him to get some feedback. He gave me a very interesting idea as far as the tracking of the ball goes. There have been some suggestions about how this will affect the user controlled players and such. Well some have suggested hitting certain buttons to get the players head to turn and look at the ball which at first I thought would be a great idea. Now my bro is a long time Madden player (all of them) but he just has never had the mad stick skills. So we were talking about players AWR and what that would mean to this new PA feature. We came up with this idea and to me it makes all the sense in the world and would translate easily to Madden players with not so good stick skills to the very best. Why not make the PA feature directly tied into the AWR rating? With this you don't have to ever worry about turning your players head to find the ball as it is all based soley on the player you are controlling AWR level. The example is this, QB scans the field and throws toward the reciever, now you are controlling the DB but he will start tracking the ball and it will happen based on his AWR. Now once you see the DB turn his head, that is your cue to try and go for the swat or pick. When you hit the swat button before his head turns is where you will get burned or cause PI, or just make a terrible attempt. So you now are just running with the DB and waiting for that right time (head turning) to make the play. Here is the deal, every DB will have a different level of AWR so they will all react at different times during the play to the ball when in there area. Champ Bailey and his AWR combined all his other attributes should be able to run with WRs and look into the ball for a lot longer than DBs that are rated in the 80's with lower AWR levels. Hope your still following! Now on the offensive side of the ball the same should be applied to WRs of course. A WR running his route has a ball thrown his direction and depending on his AWR is when he will start to track the ball. So some WRs with low AWR levels will turn there head to track the ball alot later than Vets with great AWR, and that will def make a differnce in him making the catch or not. If the ball is thrown too soon the WR may not even get his head around if he has low AWR and thats when you see a ball go sailing over his head or off by 10 yards. The whole concept is that players will turn the head toward the ball to make a play based on their AWR level and that is what will make the AWR level acutally mean something. Hope this all made sense.

Good post. I agree that attributes should be the driving force behind the head tracking. AWR, fatigue, man coverage, zone coverage, speed, acceleration, and jumping attributes all need to play an important role in coverage this year. They should also allow ratings to fluctuate during a game.

[thudias]

Did we get any type of heads up as to when the next announcement will be?

[jeetaa6]

This does look very cool, but I would kindly ask Ian and Team to make sure to address the various issues we've all listed out over the past couple/few years regarding next gen Madden or these new features will simply not matter.
Examples off the top of my head:
Provide multiple camera angle choices
We need an Auto Replay Frequency choice ie. None, Some, Frequent (like 2K5 had-perfect). Presentation aspect here.
Franchise-the CPU teams don't do squat during the year. Have them make actual trades, put guys on IR, release guys, add more FA's, etc... They stick the same guys on the trade block for the entire year. Shake it up a bit. Maybe a slider we can adjust for "CPU Roster Moves"-something like that.
Keep the play going a bit after the whistle so we can get in some late hits (APF has this and it's a blast).
Better gang tackling-instead of the 2 on 1 "upright and over" move every time.
Refs on field
More cut scenes for Presentation-better injury cuts, coach cuts, perhaps a cheerleader randomly falling out of her top...stuff like that.
Provide Sliders for each aspect of the CPU team and the Human team-like the old days. We want to fine tune exactly how our game is played.
Please don't bring back Marshall Faulk.

Good for now. Your predecessors have taken so much out of next gen Madden and it's a shame. Even the Madden cards and cheats! My sons and I used to enjoy that stuff. Anyway, here's to hoping things change back for the better this year.

Thanks Ian/Team.