What exactly do we all want in a GREAT FRANCHISE MODE?

[trufootball]

I've never been a franchise guy but i love football gaming and played a few seasons on last gen consoles but never really understood what all the talk about this great franchise mode that everyone is dreaming about really intails...

So what really is a great franchise mode? What all do we want to be in it? Thanks! This would help to better understand the love that everyone has for this mode and possible help me to embrace it more in the future...

[JohnDoe8865]

Go play NFL Head Coach 09. Made by EA Sports. If THAT entire game could be ported in place of the current franchise mode, we would be set for many, many years to come...

[buckeye02]

-No glitches
-Better AI team logic when it comes to every aspect of an offseason
-Better and more dynamic progression and degression
-More in depth draft
-Expanded free agents list
-Ability to carry an 85 man roster during the preseason
-Practice squads
-Better presentation that just the repetitive Extra Point
-Remove overalls from players
-Team Specific Pro Bowl Helmets
-Training camps
-Ability to play the senior bowl or some kind of combine
-Better ratings and improved imported draft classes
-Bring back player attitudes where holdouts will happen again, only dont overdo it
-Restricted free agent signings
-More in depth control of the front office and finances
-Ability to create coaches and add them to the free agent coaching pool, for example, top college coaches

Prob forgetting a few

[kalimmortal]

off season .. you got scouting, the combine, the draft, free agency, contract renegotiations, ota's, mini camps

in the off season ... i want to see a combine ... with all the drills 40s, Bench Press, Shuttle, Cone Drill, Player Specific Drills...

how about in the offseason ... we not only have a combine ... where we can workout with certain players we are interested in ... do the shuttle and cone drills with them ... but have some of the better players in the draft .. hold pro days ... where you can workout with them individually ..

cut scenes for the nfl draft at radio city music hall or wherever they hold it with the top 4-5 players sittin' in the audience and may be a few cut scenes of other good players via satellite from home ...

and may be for the first couple of draft picks ... go up and shake goddell's hand and pose for pictures with a jersey ... with their new team's baseball cap on their head ...

have a cut scene of a kid who decided not to attend the draft ... but instead is at home with his family and is live via satellite ... and show his reaction to bein' drafted 3rd or whatever ...

pre season ... you got training camp, team cuts, holdouts and ongoing contract renegotiations..

i would like mini camps and training camps .. where the teams wear their practice gear .. not their game uniforms .. and the quarterback wears a red, yellow or green jersey .. dependin' on the team ...

training camps with drills you can play to make your players better ... like pushin' the sled to make your o-line better run blockers ... pass rushin' drills to make your d-line better pass rushers ..

full contact scrimmages... with the ability to invite other teams around the league for a scrimmage ..

i also would like 80-man rosters for the pre-season .. which we can cut down over 4 pre-season games to 53 men ... and create a practice squad we can use durin' the regular season ...

and let us decide before each preseason game .. how long to play our starters ..how long to play our 2nd string and how long to play our 3rd string ...

formation subs for every position on offense, defense and special teams...

have a few players holdout for more money if they outperformed their current contract ... and conversely let management be able to renegotiate a player's contract down if he underperformed or be able to waive him if he doesn't want to renegotiate ..

and when negotiatin' with a free agent .. if he doesn't like my offer .. his agent should make a counter offer ... so i can tell how far apart we are ... i.e. i offer $10 Million for 5 years .. and the agent counters with $15 Mill for 6 years ...

and have restricted free agents and franchise tags...

regular season .. you got games, practice, player morale, player chemistry, injuries and rehab..

i also would like a practice mode ..durin' the regular season with drills and scrimmages .. with players in practice gear ...and i want to decide if its gonna be full contact or not ..and injuries should sometimes occur durin' practice if its full contact...

if i place someone on injured reserve ... i want the ability to sign another player in his absence ...

during contract negotiations ... if a player doesn't like my offer .. i want his agent to make a counter offer .. so we can compromise ... and if we can't reach an agreement .. let him holdout..

trade logic ...have the cpu trade with one another as well as offer trades to me ...and be able to trade future draft picks ...

and i would like a franchise calender with any important dates highlighted ...

in the regular season ... every game should have a pre-game show .. a halftime show with scores and highlights from my game and maybe games around the league ... and post game show with highlights from my game ...

during the regular season and playoffs .. i would like to see a weekly wrap-up show with highlights of all the games for the week, key injuries, who threw for 300 yards, who rushed for 100 yards and who had 100 yards or more receiving .. and upcomin' big match-ups, any big trades or trade rumors, and around week 10.. a look at the play-off picture... maybe have those mathematical scenarios for teams on the bubble ... where the sports anchors talk about team X will get into the playoffs .. if Team Y beats Team Z and Team A loses to Team B ... or all Team C needs is one more win to clinch the division..

and i should be able to get scouting reports ..in offline franchise.. for free .. about my upcomin' opponent ...

during the regular season ... placin' a player on IR .. should free up a roster spot as others have mentioned .. and add a practice squad...

and in the regular season .. player morale should come into play ... based on the player's satisfaction with playin' time, number of touches per game, how well he feels he's fittin' into the offensive/defensive scheme, his contract and team performance ...

and durin' games ... i should be able to pick what i want to challenge .. when i pause the game and go into the challenge screen ... there should be a list like this ..

The NFL replay system currently only covers the following situations:

* Scoring plays
* Pass complete/incomplete/intercepted
* Runner/receiver out of bounds
* Recovery of a loose ball in or out of bounds
* Touching of a forward pass, either by an ineligible receiver or a defensive player
* Quarterback pass or fumble
* Illegal forward pass
* Forward or backward pass
* Runner ruled not down by contact
* Forward progress in regard to a first down
* Touching of a kick
* Other plays involving placement of the football
* Whether a legal number of players is on the field at the time of the snap

and the fact that i accessed the instant replay menu should NOT hinder my option to challenge a play as many coordinators signal down to the head coach to challenge a play after seein' the replay

and during the actual games on the sidelines if you could make the players look more realistic and have realistic reactions to what happens on the field .. and add a coach pacin' up and down the sidelines during the game ... not just during the cut scene ...

and have crowds that boo when the opposin' team scores ... and let out a collective "AAWWW" when the receiver on the home team drops the ball ... and there should be a few different reactions for each scenario .. so you can mix it up ...

and i want to be able to design my own plays ... and playbook ...

pro football nowadays is a year round business .. so madden the game ... should feel like a year round experience ...

and keep addin' to the created player faces every year ... and make sure to share those faces with ncaa football ... that way players keep the same faces as they are imported into madden and they don't have much overlap .. meanin' i don't want my QB, my RB, and my free safety to have the same face ...

have a hall of fame feature .. with a cut scene showin' who was inducted into the hall of fame this year ... the 5 year wait won't be necessary ... and have some of the retired players become coaches in the game after their playin' career is over ...

in the preseason have the hall of fame game for the pre-season opener and make mention of it in the broadcaster's commentary .. and cut to some of the hall-of-famers watchin' from the sidelines throughout the game ...

add some cheerleaders ... and make them as close to their real life counterparts as possible ...

and for the Super Bowl ... add the mother of all Pre Game Shows, Half Time Shows, and Post Game shows ...

after the game ..show fans back home in the local bar celebratin' ... show fans runnin' out into the streets celebratin' ..etc ..

[happymadison]

everything "kalimmortal" said in post 4 sounds good to me, if i had a football game like that i wouldn't have time to be on this site and I WANT A FOOTBALL GAME LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!

[Flamehead]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnDoe8865

Go play NFL Head Coach 09. Made by EA Sports. If THAT entire game could be ported in place of the current franchise mode, we would be set for many, many years to come...

I agree. The offseason from Head Coach '09 would be a decent start.

[JWurm7]

Quote: Originally Posted by JohnDoe8865

Go play NFL Head Coach 09. Made by EA Sports. If THAT entire game could be ported in place of the current franchise mode, we would be set for many, many years to come...

That would make a really good franchise.

[Viktor von Vikingkil]

Quote: Originally Posted by Block-O

-No glitches -Better AI team logic when it comes to every aspect of an offseason -Better and more dynamic progression and degression -More in depth draft

Would love these, especially the last two. I could put up with some bugs for excellent AI and player behavior.

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-Expanded free agents list

Not sure what you mean by this.

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-Ability to carry an 85 man roster during the preseason

Honestly I've thought about this and at first I thought it would be good but...what the hell purpose would it serve? I honestly can't think of a reason I'd want to cut down my roster from 85 players. When you start worrying about which 62 overall HB to have 4th on the depth chart, it might be time to rethink your priorities.

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-Practice squads

Now this would be nice. Automatic call-ups when you get an injury, etc.

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-Better presentation that just the repetitive Extra Point

This would be very nice. I want newspapers back.

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-Remove overalls from players

Why? You shouldn't judge a player entirely on overall but that just makes it more inconvenient. What I want to see is attributes to be ordered based on position (when looking through all the players at one position, at least), so if I'm looking guards pass blocking and run blocking ratings would be first, etc.

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-Team Specific Pro Bowl Helmets

I really couldn't care less about this. I wish the Pro Bowl would just go away, in all honesty.

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-Training camps -Ability to play the senior bowl or some kind of combine

I miss the ability to play the College All Star game and participate in drills for my players to help them before the season. I'd like a new kind of training camp that helps with progression (could tie it into a new progression system) as opposed to "+1 Throw Power".

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-Better ratings and improved imported draft classes

I want randomly generated classes back so scouting actually has a purpose, and there's more potential for hilarious names and player types.

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-Bring back player attitudes where holdouts will happen again, only dont overdo it -Restricted free agent signings -More in depth control of the front office and finances

These would all be great. In all honesty they should just port over last-gen Madden franchise features into this one.

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-Ability to create coaches and add them to the free agent coaching pool, for example, top college coaches

Meh.

Quote: Originally Posted by kalimmortal

cut scenes for the nfl draft at radio city music hall or wherever they hold it with the top 4-5 players sittin' in the audience and may be a few cut scenes of other good players via satellite from home ... and may be for the first couple of draft picks ... go up and shake goddell's hand and pose for pictures with a jersey ... with their new team's baseball cap on their head ... have a cut scene of a kid who decided not to attend the draft ... but instead is at home with his family and is live via satellite ... and show his reaction to bein' drafted 3rd or whatever ...

i'd liek improved draft presentation......but..... i dunno about all kinds of.... this ..... you know? ... i don't wan....t them to go overboard.... ... .. or anytihng.. .. . . .................................................. ......

You have some nice ideas but go way overboard on them. I'd rather have them make franchise mode functional and fun and keep on improving gameplay and features as opposed to what kind of jersey the QB wears. Remember, real training camp is ****ing awful, and I don't want to have it turn into a major part of every franchise.

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and when negotiatin' with a free agent .. if he doesn't like my offer .. his agent should make a counter offer ... so i can tell how far apart we are ... i.e. i offer $10 Million for 5 years .. and the agent counters with $15 Mill for 6 years ... regular season .. you got games, practice, player morale, player chemistry, injuries and rehab..

Like I said above, improved free agency would be great. I'd love to see counter-offers and the like.

I'd also love chemistry and morale and all that to return. But rehab? Why not just fix the IR bull**** and just keep it straight and simple?

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i also would like a practice mode ..durin' the regular season with drills and scrimmages .. with players in practice gear ...and i want to decide if its gonna be full contact or not ..and injuries should sometimes occur durin' practice if its full contact...

So why would anyone ever practice in full contact? And what benefits would practice mode hold? If it's just to be able to use the team and practice, everyone would just choose non-contact. Even if there was a meager performance boost for playing full-contact, nobody would do it at risk of a major injury. I would like to be able to practice with my team, though.

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during the regular season and playoffs .. i would like to see a weekly wrap-up show with highlights of all the games for the week, key injuries, who threw for 300 yards, who rushed for 100 yards and who had 100 yards or more receiving .. and upcomin' big match-ups, any big trades or trade rumors, and around week 10.. a look at the play-off picture... maybe have those mathematical scenarios for teams on the bubble ... where the sports anchors talk about team X will get into the playoffs .. if Team Y beats Team Z and Team A loses to Team B ... or all Team C needs is one more win to clinch the division..

Madden has that, it's called The Extra Point. The problem is that it sucks. They need to improve it.

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and during the actual games on the sidelines if you could make the players look more realistic and have realistic reactions to what happens on the field .. and add a coach pacin' up and down the sidelines during the game ... not just during the cut scene ...

I think that would negatively impact performance. I mean, think about it: a football game has to render 22 players on a field in a stadium with thousands of fans. It'd different from a hockey game where you have to render less fans, players and playing surface. I'd just like improved cut-scenes.

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and i want to be able to design my own plays ... and playbook ...

Eh. I don't really care for designing my own plays. Putting together a playbook with no restrictions could be good, though.

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have a hall of fame feature .. with a cut scene showin' who was inducted into the hall of fame this year ... the 5 year wait won't be necessary ... and have some of the retired players become coaches in the game after their playin' career is over ...

There is a hall of fame feature. After each season you can see who was inducted, with no 5 year wait. No cut scene, but eh.

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in the preseason have the hall of fame game for the pre-season opener and make mention of it in the broadcaster's commentary .. and cut to some of the hall-of-famers watchin' from the sidelines throughout the game ...

I care about the Pre-Season in Madden even less than I do in real life.

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add some cheerleaders ... and make them as close to their real life counterparts as possible ...

:/

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and for the Super Bowl ... add the mother of all Pre Game Shows, Half Time Shows, and Post Game shows ...

I haven't been to the Super Bowl yet, but didn't they improve presentation for it this year?

A lot of people worry about presentation. While presentation is nice, remember, it's not the whole game. I want more features for the off-season and more depth in actually running the team, as well as the return of certain perks (like training camp). Presentation should be the icing on top, not the entire cake.