Madden NFL 11 Hints From EA (IGN)

[north dallas]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

Well said CreatineKasey - there is no AI that will probably happen in our lifetimes that will equal the human intelligence in both logic, skill and unpredictability. That's not EA's fault, that's simply the fact across the board for all video games today. And if you think it's EA's game AI then simply peek into a FPS thread sometime and read how people complain about the computer controlled enemies and squad mates vs. those of playing with their buddies.

I couldn't disagree more. Please don't let EA off the hook that quickly. There is decent to good AI in several sports games. By example, check out MLB the show or College Hoops 2k8. I am not intending to bash EA, but the truth of the matter is that they continue to fall behind the curve on AI and almost all other aspects of the game. Frankly, Madden has barely developed in the past five or six years.

[randers]

Quote: Originally Posted by BezO

Just in case, let me reiterate how I want it tiered. We should be able to call a front, then call a stunt/blitz package(either seperately or together, then call the coverage. This would allow for almost unlimited combinations. So instead of searching for what you want and likely not finding it, you put it together. You want a 4-3, weakside DE/DT loop, WOLB blitz, cover 1? Just put it together. My experience has been that I have defensive ideas in my head, but can never find the "play" in the playbook. Depending on what I'm trying to stop that play, the coverage or the stunts/blitzes may be more important. So I pick a play with something close and settle for whatever else EA packaged with it. I shouldn't have to use EA's blitz/stunt package just because I want to play cover 1 free. And I shouldn't have to use a certain coverage because it's packaged with the blitz I want. IRL, defensive coordinators are not limited by a set of plays. They have fronts, stunts, blitzes & coverages that they can combine in any way they want. That's what we should have. Now, no disrespect to you, nor anyone that may have learned this way, but many folks learned about football through Madden. Many of those folks may not know how it should work. But they do know it's limiting, so they use the position audibles(forget what they're called) to get the defense they really want not realizing there's a tried and true way the NFL, college, HS & little leagues have been using since the beginning of (football)time.

they implemented defensive hot routes. It's a pretty cool tool that allows you to create your D.

It takes time to get efficient at using it effectively, but once you do it is very rewarding.

[Rashad19]

Quote: Originally Posted by BezO

Just in case, let me reiterate how I want it tiered. We should be able to call a front, then call a stunt/blitz package(either separately or together, then call the coverage. This would allow for almost unlimited combinations. So instead of searching for what you want and likely not finding it, you put it together. You want a 4-3, weakside DE/DT loop, WOLB blitz, cover 1? Just put it together. My experience has been that I have defensive ideas in my head, but can never find the "play" in the playbook. Depending on what I'm trying to stop that play, the coverage or the stunts/blitzes may be more important. So I pick a play with something close and settle for whatever else EA packaged with it. I shouldn't have to use EA's blitz/stunt package just because I want to play cover 1 free. And I shouldn't have to use a certain coverage because it's packaged with the blitz I want. IRL, defensive coordinators are not limited by a set of plays. They have fronts, stunts, blitzes & coverages that they can combine in any way they want. That's what we should have. Now, no disrespect to you, nor anyone that may have learned this way, but many folks learned about football through Madden. Many of those folks may not know how it should work. But they do know it's limiting, so they use the position audibles(forget what they're called) to get the defense they really want not realizing there's a tried and true way the NFL, college, HS & little leagues have been using since the beginning of (football)time.

No disrespect taken Bezo...I played college ball except on the offensive side of the ball. I'm familiar with tiered play calling but assumed that position audibles was basically the same thing with more work involved. Thus everyone requesting tiered play calling was mostly looking to save time. Anyway, thanks for the quick knowledge session.

I would love to have tiered play calling in Madden 11 but if there is no gap control, stunts/delayed blitzes are not functional, and players don't defend their zones then we are back to square one with respect to people only using a handful of plays. As things stand right now there are too many game-play issues that hinder our play calls. I don't call certain plays because I know no matter what the circumstances are they will not work ever.

I'm not for the Tecmo Bowl style of countering your opponent. But I am for your defense or offense recognizing a play that has been ran 10 times and beating/stuffing it!

[Critical Kills]

I'm not letting anyone off the hook, just saying that AI even approaching human intelligence is not even close at hand, yet some of act as if it is. Yes the AI in some games are better than others but bottom line is playing a human is always your best bet for an intelligent opponent. That's why I'd like to see more folks get online and play. Right now there's too large of a chunk of the online crowd that are not exactly a desirable demographic, if you know what I mean.

[CardsFan52]

Yeah its always painful to get on offense first and you see the same sight, which is someone playing quarters all game or running that d that has ten people back in coverage. Painful.

[CreatineKasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by CardsFan52

Yeah its always painful to get on offense first and you see the same sight, which is someone playing quarters all game or running that d that has ten people back in coverage. Painful.

Yep. Real teams would run a dive for 10 yards and laugh as they score in 4 plays. Also, real defenses couldn't afford to play that way and never would anyway. Real defenses read pass or run and react accordingly. Players in Madden backpedal into their zone regardless if it's a pass or a run. This is weird to me. Isn't the pass and run two separate facets of defense?

Pass D has space (zone) or man responsibilities. Run D has pursuit and gap responsibilities. It's two different things I think? Those aren't effectively represented in Madden at this time.

[ANDROMADA 1]

Quote: Originally Posted by CreatineKasey

Yep. Real teams would run a dive for 10 yards and laugh as they score in 4 plays. Also, real defenses couldn't afford to play that way and never would anyway. Real defenses read pass or run and react accordingly. Players in Madden backpedal into their zone regardless if it's a pass or a run. This is weird to me. Isn't the pass and run two separate facets of defense? Pass D has space (zone) or man responsibilities. Run D has pursuit and gap responsibilities. It's two different things I think? Those aren't effectively represented in Madden at this time.

I hope that is addressed as well CK. Its as if there is no difference between a pass defense play and a run defense play.(in General)

[Joeyland]

While hear arguments re: play selection, defensive ai, marketing, presentation, all I can think of is this game is out performed by an old x-box 1 game, (APF 08)
This was basically an original x-box game, just slicked up for the new platform.
Yet, it has better psysics, better ai, better defensive adjustments, more/better playbooks, better offense line play, better receiver animations, more general animations, (at least they don;t repeat as often), better hot reads, routes and blitzes, and generally way more difficult to exploit, (although not impossible)
What you should be telling us is that this "current" build is not up to the standards we, as die-hard gamers come to expect, 5 years into the next gen consoles. Then tell us the truth, that we will next see a new, vastly improved version of Madden when the next console is finally released.
What we don't want to hear is how your concerned about average number plays being run. The small number of plays being run is a direct result the inferior gameplay, and prevalence of "money" in this game.
Improving presentation does'nt help sell a game with poor gameplay
So voice the assist. coaches, work on the play selection screen, then get ready for more negative noise from the community.