Madden NFL 15: Five Tips To Be Better This Fall

[OhMrHanky]

Lol. I remember a friend of mine hadn't played madden since 08, I think. He only played on PC, and they stopped making it for the PC. He finally bought a 360 for madden 13. He thought, 'eh, while I'm buying madden, I'll buy this Prima strategy guide to get me caught up on madden stuff.' The first thing he reads in the 'official' madden strategy guide is something like, 'if u play with a team with a strong receiving TE, go ahead and make him your 2nd string WR.' Lol. This kid is a serious football fan, a serious sim type guy, and he instantly threw that guide in the trash. Lol.


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[juduking]

He sent me a YouTube message asking me what my problem was with him and how he plays the game. I guess I'll just send him a link to this thread and suggest he read through the comments.

[BezO]

Quote: Originally Posted by moylan

Those are the same 5 tips I'd send EA on making a better football game, might slide #4 up to #1 tho

Ha! Genius!

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

One of the best features that people rarely mention when they bring up 2K's football games was the limit they had for just one offensive hot route per snap. The defense, however, could make unlimited pre-play adjustments. That system helped to make games like 2K8 and 2K5 much more balanced, instead of the unstoppable offensive highlight reel that Madden games have become.

2 things made those games more balanced. The ability to call your front/stunts/blitzes separate from your coverage, and the locomotion.

The plays folks create by multiple hot routes should already be in the game. And the defenses doesn't know what the offense called any way.

IMO, limiting the offense is not the answer. Allowing gamers to scheme on defense like you could in 2K8 is. Because so few people complain about the pre-schemed defenses in Madden, I don't think folks realize how limiting it is. You have to pick the stunts & blitzes you want and live with the available coverage/shell, or pick the coverage/shell you want and live with the available stunts/blitzes. It's nonesense.

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by BezO

Ha! Genius! 2 things made those games more balanced. The ability to call your front/stunts/blitzes separate from your coverage, and the locomotion. The plays folks create by multiple hot routes should already be in the game. And the defenses doesn't know what the offense called any way. IMO, limiting the offense is not the answer. Allowing gamers to scheme on defense like you could in 2K8 is. Because so few people complain about the pre-schemed defenses in Madden, I don't think folks realize how limiting it is. You have to pick the stunts & blitzes you want and live with the available coverage/shell, or pick the coverage/shell you want and live with the available stunts/blitzes. It's nonesense.

You could make that point all day and you have, to your credit, you are technically right, the best kind. However, in the context of Madden, to do it "right" would mean rewriting/rebuilding things from scratch, which is apparently not an option, for whatever reason. I know that you have mentioned in the past the problem with requesting bandaids and place holders instead of core fixes but when the landlord refuses to replace the old rusty pipes you need a plan B or move.

[NDAlum]

An exchange on that video page:

Commenter: what will you do when you cant hot route 14 times before the snap each time anymore?

Video maker/cballard: "find something else that works man, but right now hot routing a lot is how I play there's nothing wrong with that man EA didn't put hot routes in the game for me to not use them so I don't understand why you're so frustrated with the fact that I make pre-snap adjustments."

In his defense he clearly states he is a TOURNEY STYLE player. He doesn't claim to play the game with any type of respect or integrity for football, so I don't think it's fair to hold him to that standard when he doesn't even think about it when he plays. He "labs" in practice to find exploits just like the prima gamer guys and whoever else he mentioned.

I actually don't mind these guys because their videos are useful for making rules in SOS Crew.

[NicVirtue]

It's not the fact that he plays that way. More power to him for it. It's the fact that this style of play is advertised and featured more prominently than simulation football, the supposed direction of this franchise.

[TTD71]

The video does not make me sad as much as the knowledge that the EXACT SAME DISCUSSIONS have been going on for over a decade now...its not the things that guys do online that bother me at all, its the fact that they do them only because they work against a broken AI, a feckless system of penalties and useless fatigue system that makes me frustrated.

EA has made a game where unless I am playing against a known sim-style opponent, there is no chance a punt will occur at any time in the game, there is a 90% chance that the opponent with run no huddle with the 49er's or Seahawks (which makes me laugh constantly when you think of how both teams actually play), and almost zero chance of seeing a play run without 5-6 changes minimum at the LOS.

Field position, time of possession, play-calling, rotating players on specific assignments to avoid fatigue...ALL mean NOTHING...ball possession and, most importantly, who can get the last possession means EVERYTHING!!!

I have been advocating for implementing realistic penalties just about every year since Madden NFL 2004. No huddle offense without realistic fatigue effects, coupled with an infinite ability to make 12 changes, and still quick snap the defense without them being able to adequately respond, is why most online Madden games played against competent opponents are 45-42 score fests even with 5 minute game clock quarters.

Constant no-huddle should result in much higher frequency of false starts, ineligible men down-field, holding, illegal formations and a variety of other penalties that ALWAYS kill sub-par teams in real life. If you keep sending a WR on a steady diet of streaks OR crossing routes that have them running 35-40 yards on every play...by the 3rd quarter they should be noticeably missing from the line-up for long stretches of time as they are gassed and sucking O2 on the bench!! (Of course, since the back-ups at WR, TE and RB alll seem to catch like Jerry Rice in his prime, it may not really matter too much!)

The same thing with O-linemen having to run (well in the game they seem to just morph to the LOS) a steady diet of no-huddle - they would get tired, which would get them to suffer on their foot work, which in turn leads to grasping and grabbing and a HUGE increase in holding penalties or free runs at the QB!

I have seen more drives end in football games because of holding calls, mental errors and false starts that get a team behind the chains than I have from INTs or sacks...its the defining issue for separating "good" NFL teams from "bad" ones.

The ability to execute the way Madden allows - added to the atrocious deficiencies in the on screen AI and animations to execute fundamentals make any talk about schemes and concepts and levels all a bunch of hog wash. I would agree with everyone who has pointed out the thread is appropriately named...this is a blueprint for how to be better at "Madden" and has nothing to do with football.

[hanzsomehanz]

I appreciate his list.

I appreciate the tourney gamers and their tips and strategy guides.

I have always held tight to the belief that "you shall hate the game but not the gamer": every gamer needs their tricks in any contest and so: to each their own - play and let play.

"Dominate me - pummel me into the ground" said no one.

Thanks to these tourney guys who offer their tips: I am able to overcome a lot of the very cheese a sim gamer complains about or even overcome the very AI deficiencies that EA implements - it is not the Sim Community sharing these breakthroughs nor is it EA.

The tourney gamers are in rage about the OP run game too but they spend time in the lab to concoct systems that counter the very cheese that EA designed and delivered.

I can receive tips from a toruney gamer and still remain autonomous and authentic, regardless of what I see demonstrated and taught against my standards: I can still extract the lesson, the concept, and that is esentially what is important in a Football contest.

In fairness, tourney gamers are conditioned for tight, competitive, high-stakes affairs (Pro Gaming), so much so that they are naturally inclined to concoct strategies of the unorthodox because their competition is so high on Madden IQ that stock strategies will fail them.

The stock strategies that Madden offers us as stock will fail because they are poorly designed and on top of that the CPU will execute them poorly or not at all.

The Tourney community is not my target for complaints or retribution: god forbid the NFL and Roger Goddell dictate when it is acceptable to go for it on 4th down or how often a play be recycled - any team and coach will run his designs if he feels the chances to succeed favor him.

EA, by design, creates these chance outcomes for all of us.

It would be hypocritical of me to make crude comments towards CNB (author and editor of the article) or unsub him based on this article.

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