Madden 16: Is Connected Franchise Sacrificing Realism? (Roundtable)

[bigeastbumrush]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas

I'm sure most people are completely aware that it's a game. It's not about "ultimate reality", it's about something that actually resembles reality. Could you imagine watching some NFL Films show with a mic'd up coach where he goes up to his running back stretching before a game and says "We need you to run for 100 yards and three touchdowns today or you're not going to get any better".

It's an achievement. Why look at it any other way?

You have random midweek practices that affects a player's development and performance as well, no?

If a player hits an incentive, he has a greater opportunity to develop.
If he doesn't, then he won't.

I've gotten a player up to a 99 rating and it doesn't change the output of the game.

Why over analyze it?

[4thQtrStre5S]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigeastbumrush

It's an achievement. Why look at it any other way? You have random midweek practices that affects a player's development and performance as well, no? If a player hits an incentive, he has a greater opportunity to develop. If he doesn't, then he won't. I've gotten a player up to a 99 rating and it doesn't change the output of the game. Why over analyze it?

I haven't seen too much difference between players and ratings; a player with a 99 overall compared to a player with maybe an 85 overall or so is really only going to have an advantage of maybe a couple plays a game, and then it may be up to the user to take advantage of the few opportunities that come about.

The difference in the NFL between a Pro Bowl player and a backup is really a couple of plays, as far as I have witnessed..

[XtremeDunkz]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayD

MUT and online is ruining CFM.

false. Online CFM players hate xp too

[4thQtrStre5S]

Quote: Originally Posted by XtremeDunkz

false. Online CFM players hate xp too

MUT is actually really fun, and I put off really giving it a chance for some time...Now I am having fun with Walter Payton as my QB, through a special, out of position, card release; then I have Emmitt Smith as my HB; talk about a serious Option threat...

The cards and collecting really add something to the game for me; especially many of the legend cards...

[LorenzoDC]

I agree this announcement shows the CCM mode is not developing with sim player priorities in mind. The goal ticker is intrusive to the sim gamer, and what you see on the screen is the essence of the gamer experience.

I won't name it, but we all know another sports game in the last year that created a fully realized franchise type mode for the sim player, including a long list of wished for features from the sim community over the years. This announcement from the Madden team is nothing like that, and that's telling.

CCM - the frankenstein child of Franchise Mode - is/was the one mode most targeted historically to the sim gamer. Madden has never fully embraced the sim gamer and, in spite of some romantic sounding noises in the last couple of years, EA still gonna EA. Madden, unlike other sports games, is not very big outside of the US, and they think they need to expand sales by getting more casuals. CCM is being steered in that direction, making players like fantasy league players pushing individual stats.

I didn't buy (or even play) the game last year after deciding to wait a couple of weeks for community feedback, ignoring the pre-release hype. Really glad I made that decision. Turns out, after pulling the plug, I'm a gamer who didn't miss the game.

Still, I hoped it might get better this year and be worth checking out. But instead, it looks to me like I won't even have to wait for post release feedback. I think I know what I need to know, and won't buy the game again this year.

[cuttingteeth]

I keep reading how casual gamers are who make up the bulk of the copies sold. I also keep reading how us hardcore/sim gamers don't matter as much. I further keep reading how casual gamers don't really care about franchise or the depth to it so much.

Well......why do they even program a franchise mode (moreover, why do they keep changing how immersive it is), if they think the casual players make up most of the game sales...and yet said casual gamers don't care about franchise mode?

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by cuttingteeth

I keep reading how casual gamers are who make up the bulk of the copies sold. I also keep reading how us hardcore/sim gamers don't matter as much. I further keep reading how casual gamers don't really care about franchise or the depth to it so much. Well......why do they even program a franchise mode (moreover, why do they keep changing how immersive it is), if they think the casual players make up most of the game sales...and yet said casual gamers don't care about franchise mode?

Casual fans care about franchise mode. They just dont care about restricted free agency, formation subs, 5 yr contracts etc.

[jpdavis82]

Like I said before, CFM got the bulk of the resources this year, but that doesn't mean everything they invested in made the cut for 16. The game is NOT taking CFM in a more casual/less realistic direction. Kolbe has some really creative/sim things he wants to do, the goal this year was make it more accessible and fun so more people will play the mode and hopefully like it more. I know there aren't a lot of improvements for the sim/hardcore CFM crowd yet, but there will be in the future, the scouting was redone, combine results, free practice, visual depth chart, tuned confidence & regression, so it's not all just for the casual in M16.