Whew - PRO-TAK is Much Better Now

[The Art Shell Face]

Ian Cummings is the man. He took a heck of a beating on these boards, came back anyways, and is still looking to improve the main issues.



This is Ian's "The Man" trophy between all the people who appreciate his work. Cheers Ian!

[marcoyk]

Thanks a lot. The only thing I'm worried about now is the pass rush. I'm not sure I've seen the QB getting pressured by the defensive ends yet in everything that I've watched. That was my main concern with last year's gameplay. I'd HAVE to blitz or just try to sprint around the O-Line if I wanted to get any pressure on the QB on All-Madden.

[vannwolfhawk]

Ian,

The game looks great! This is my 1st post but I visit all the gaming sites regularly to get ALL the updates on madden! I have played every football game from madden 1 to intellivision, sega, nintendo, handhelds, etc... I am also the commisioner to the NMFL league (ALL SIM league) I have run on league daddy for last few years... BTW, I won it all last year with league full of highly ranked players!!!

Anyways, I have a few suggestions from videos I have seen so far and news that I have heard...

# 1 - I'm nervous about d-line being able to break out of animations when there is a pocket because if they can't then i see qb's running up middle all day once the pocket has formed as there were consistently huge holes up the middle. I think d-line should have power moves, swim moves Left and right along with spin moves in either direction as well to counter act being blocked and being able to do so by using the R analog stick to perform these moves. That way if I am big Albert Hanynesworth I can make my move towards the gap where QB or RB are going and stuff them! D-line play needs to be in the game and a viable player select option. Not sure if this is in this year or if there is time to get this done if it isn't but if not maybe something for next year. Defensive line gap assignments. Defensive ends need be able to get off blocks when the QB leaves the pocket, and they need to push up field. Pass rush effectiveness. I want to see the average pocket hold up for about 3.5 seconds.

#2 - In online franchise mode being able to control 2 teams or more with 1 gamertag. Like I stated earlier I run madden league and sometimes you need to replace a player and best way before replacing someone to keep stats realistic is having a guy fill in for someone else. Also, be able to open up 2 weeks at a time rather then just 1 week at a time in online franchise mode before you are able to move on to the next week.

#3 - I have read from pasta padre and a few other people as well as seen myself in videos posted that the ball speed on passes maybe needs to be tuned a bit faster then what it is set at now?

#4 - I saw alot of runs broken to the outside with rb's flat out beating LB's all day to the sideline once they got around a tackle. Guys like Ray Lewis should be sideline to sideline players who can get there consistently. Are the MLB's just not fast enough in this game to get out there to stop that from being abused online or in the game? Defense wins championships, so defense should be a huge focus from defensive line play shedding blocks, linebacker speeds and shedding blocks, corners with lock down coverage, and smart safeties who read routes. I know your adjusting AI this year as well as DB/WR interaction but I hope I can actually be able to use man to man defense this year without having to audible to it at the last second! Anyone who picks twins to a side and see's man coverage and audibles TE to an out pattern on opposite side was undefendable last game unless you defended it yourself which left whole other side of field open. So, hence the 95% zone coverage play calls you would see online last year which isn't sim.

A. Pass rush effectiveness. I want to see the average pocket hold up for about 3.5 seconds.

B. Man coverage needs to return to CD effectiveness. Asomugha must be a lock down CB.

C. Defensive ends need be able to get off blocks when the QB leaves the pocket, and they need to push up field.

#5 - Players who catch low ball and fall on ground just waited for guy to come and touch them rather then hurry up to get up and try and run. No urgency...

#6 - RB animations with speed burst and cutting like madden 2004 animations...

#7 -Add highlights with play by play commentary during the extra point show in franchise mode through DLC or patch. Play by play commentary during highlights in halftime or at the end of the game show. Be able to save replays from games in online franchise for highlight reels so other owners can see highlights of other games, (madden 11) I'm sure to tough to get that in this year but maybe DLC and seeing that you guys have server side then maybe this is possible?

#8 -What about guys who want to run online league as you see it in NFL? We don't want to draft, salary cap, etc... We want exact injuries, players, etc to be updated weekly in our franchise... Is that an option or feasable to ask for? Will there be downloadable content we can update for online franchise?

#9 - Be able to set WR in motion and have them come back before they reach other side and have to get set up. If it's in the game it's in the game right? WR do this all the time to get a quick read on the defense and see what they are in. It's a waste of time to send them in motion to just send them back and kill 12 seconds of playing just to read a defense.

That's it for now, i'm sure i got more ideas but thats it for now...

Thanks Ian, the Game looks great and I can't wait to get hands on and get this at midnight aug. 14th! Love that it's friday release because I will be locked down that whole weekend! I'm just giving suggestions and not trying to nitpick the game... I love what you guys do and I realize it isn't easy to keep everyone happy! Motto is though, "if it's in the game, it's in the game"!!! All these ideas need to be IN THE GAME cus there in the game!

[dat swag]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

I was a bit concerned with the E3 build (like most of you probably were) that were a lot of times where defenders would just bounce off instead of wrapping up. I am happy to say it is much improved...just played a full game against Donny (I was Vikings, he was Cardinals - he killed me BTW), and it was WAY better ... much more predictable and reliable than the E3 build. I dug deeper to see what happened and found out that before E3 there was some tuning being done to dictate when gang tackles could be triggered, and the primary criteria was the angle of the ballcarrier in relation to the ground. Meaning, if a player was about to fall / touch the ground, he shouldn't be able to be gang tackled (obviously because he would warp back to upright). Apparently there were a few bugs in this calculation though, so often times it would think he was leaned over when in fact he wasn't. Now it has been tuned much more appropriately, and the gang tackles are really looking great. As a side note, the momentum in PRO-TAK is also much more pronounced as well (and also finally doesn't stop when the players engage...it keeps moving throughout the tackle) Both Beanie Wells and Peterson really felt like they were carrying those first 2 defenders when they had a head of steam...which looked and felt great. Unfortunately I don't have vids but I'll try to get some soon. Thought you'd like the update...on to looking at everyone's other favorite issue - the pass rush!

Congratulations on a nice showing at E3...AS a person who often complains about the game I have to give you guys props when you deserve them...The game looks fantastic!...Still some ways to go but the more I break down the video the more I'm feeling like I really will enjoy this game more than the customary 2 mos.

[steelernation28]

I heard some issues about the user run blocking as well

[wohlm]

Thanks for the updates Ian. Great job btw and keep up the good work.

[TreyIM2]

Ian - Glad you're working on it. I meant to comment on the stopping of momentum when gang tackling happens videos ago but I didn't because forgot, quite honestly. Lol. I knew that the E3 demo, just like virtually everyone else's early demos, would be broken and u guys would go back to the drawing board and tweak and tune. Comes with the territory. Yes, pass rush concerned me as well but it was hard to gauge once I started seeing more All Pro setting clips. Yet, in all honesty, I wasn't there to play the demo so it's even harder to guage just by vids. Obviously, it was an issue while u guys were there so I look forward to the fix. Here are a few things I thought about while watching the vids:

*Player reactions - From what I've seen and I've seen A LOT, look great but there was the particular clip of when the fumble pileup was triggered and the players on the team who didn't come up with the fumble, celebrated as if their team did get the ball back. I was also thinking that maybe that they were happy because there was a sack then the fumble and still a big loss of yards but at the same time, it just seemed like the cut scene was out of place. Hope u can fix that.

*Snow deformity - Can u guys get that to realistically reflect when guys feet sweep across the snow and when their bodies hit land in it and slide and such? That may be a tall order at this point but what do I really know of what u guys are capable of? I think that may have to either be patched in or added for Madden 11.

*Refs stiffness - The refs just look stiff and robotic in their movements. Can that be fixed or is that more mo' cap?

*Fumbled snaps - I've seen vids of long snaps going off to the sides of the QBs and up high but do they get fumbled or even completely missed by the QB, sometimes? How bout under center snaps that get fumbled? Are those in the game?

That's all I can think of for now but the game is looking STELLAR!! U said in that Gamespot interview that u guys only had a couple more weeks to finish the game - Do u think u guys can get us a demo the week after NCAA releases instead of early Aug? I am FIENDIN' and I need my Madden 10 fix, NOW *arm scratch, arm scratch, scratch* Lol...

[UtahUtes32]

Quote: Originally Posted by skudplayr

Has anyone else noticed that Ian looks exactly like Tony Romo?

yeah he kinda does, i was gonna say like Todd Mcshay from ESPN Scouts INC.