Can't we all just get along?

[Ian_Cummings]

I was writing a response to this thread and it got deleted before I could respond to this guy. Typically I don't humor posts like this, and I'm glad it got deleted since it is pretty ridiculous, but I figured you all + the BackBreaker community should get a look at where I'm coming from. I think people may want me to have some sort of vendetta against BackBreaker, but unfortunately I do not. I've stated it before - I've met a bunch of those guys and I respect the hell out of what they do. Torsten is a hell of a good dude.

Anyway - response below.

Quote: Originally Posted by nm1043

way back when, EA specifically stated one of the reasons Madden opted not to go with a euphoria driven game was because it was simply not possible to animate all 22 players on the field.

I don't think I ever said this. We never "opted to not go with a Euphoria driven game" as far as I know, and definitely the reason wouldn't be for it running on 22 people. Anyone have a link for proof?

Quote:

and yet every time Backbreaker is brought up to you, Ian, you make some smart remark about something... or if the devs post a short vid, you make a crack at it, and post another short vid of madden doing the same thing...

I have a very unique position of actually knowing quite a bit about animation technology (been working directly with football game animation, motion capture, and various animation technologies for 6+ years) so I just assume that members of the community would like to see the positives and negatives of both technologies. I'm not sitting on a high horse...I respect everything those guys are doing. Also, we need to have more fun in the gaming industry...we're not bankers for god's sakes. i.e. me putting an image of a gang tackle in a Game Gear

If I am wrong with anything, I'd like to know about it so I don't say false stuff (hence why I asked Torsten via Twitter to correct anything I've said). But working in the industry this long I live and die by the facts - I still haven't seen a player get-up, still haven't seen a "real" wrap tackle (only big hits and pile-on gang tackles), still haven't seen an unedited gameplay video.

I've said this many times - I want nothing but the best for Backbreaker. If you actually read my posts carefully you can see I'm not bashing them in the slightest - I just have my doubts and I've already stated my reasons why. That's honesty - it's not me trying to spin them in some negative light. Euphoria does plenty of stuff that Madden's physics & animation systems can't do - no question about it. I just am anxious to see how reliably and consistently Euphoria can handle simulation football.

Any time a company pushes the envelope, it's always a good thing. As much as some folks may want to paint me in a negative light, I actually want them to succeed to better the sports gaming industry as a whole.

Regardless, I can't wait to see the great posts on BB's forums here shortly that just say "wow what an idiot".

[Obelysk]

wow what an idiot.

[RyanMoody21]

Ian, tone is usually impossible to judge via text. I can tell you personally, every time BB was brought up, it seemed to me you had a smart or even arrogant remark ready to go. At nothing else it gave me the impression that you didn't respect your soon to be competition.

Respectfully, if I was a lead designer (which I'm not) I would have my own product flawless before I started questioning others in the same field. Even if my motive was to be helpful, people often take things out of context and things get blown out of proportion.

[T9R]

I think a lot of the tension comes not from the animosity between developers between football games, but the fact that the only NFL football game we can buy as consumers is from you guys at EA/Tiburon.

We as consumers want to see several different approaches to creating an NFL sim, and for reasons that outside of your guys' control that isn't possible.

I think people tend to unfairly equivocate corporate/"higher up" animosities between football dev teams that don't really exist between the actual devs themselves.

[Tecahl]

Ian, can I simply ask if it's impossible to simply apply the last-gen engine to the next-gen games?

[turfguy23]

Man, if only William Clay Ford Sr. had this type of interaction with his devoted fans maybe HE could put a better product on the field. The Madden franchise is setting the bar with fan interaction. I've been a fan for 20 years and this type of stuff only strengthens my faith in this game and where it is going.

[doctorhay53]

You are in the unfortunate position of being a Madden developer.....therefore your opinions about other games are under more scrutiny. People don't want you to have a vendetta against BB, they simply expect it from you because they think that is how they would feel. To many people on the other end of the gaming industry, 'competitive products' = 'competitive attitude'. People are simply filling in your comments about BB with their own expectations for your attitude towards it.

[PGaither84]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

[Ian said some solid stuff] [...]I just am anxious to see how reliably and consistently Euphoria can handle simulation football. [more solid stuff]

I just am anxious to see how reliably and consistently Madden [and your ANT animation softwear] can handle simulation football.









Just to show a few.

Also E3 footage shows lots of examples of terrible Offensive line play. However, your "fix" about the weapons curve may fix this, as of today I can't recall seeing any evidence that these problems don't exist anymore or are at the very least, uncommon or rare.