Madden Line Play Exposed (Video)

[Lofty]

Hi guys and gals,

Thought I would share a video from a while ago. I have been an avid Madden gamer since my teens and as much as I feel let down every year, I still hold hope for that special something from the last generation.

While playing offline franchise (as I normally do), I came across something I had never seen before, which to me shows the extent of the AI issues from line play.



As you can see, the video clearly shows the OL falling on his back and immediately vaulting back up like he is on a trampoline.

I have not been on the Madden forums for months so please understand I expect this may of been seen before, but if it hasn't I hope its something we can all look at and discuss.

This is a clear indication the line play has a huge fundamental issue. Instead of letting me get a straight sack on the QB, the AI was programmed to stop me for an indefinite time.

What do people think of this? Have you seen this before? Has this always been in Madden but very rarely rears its ugly head?

[Abs0lute]

Woah now that's extremely strange haha. He kind of went matrix on you..But tbh I haven't seen something THAT bad yet. I think the worst I have seen is one of my O-line players randomly leaving his blocking assignment and simply running away (this has actually occurred several times to me)...maybe he was just scared of the D-line though. I will definitely keep an eye on the O-line from now on to see this trampoline issue.
Funnily enough, I did experience an odd glitch today, albeit not in relation to the O-line. It was in an OT game in my offline franchise. I kicked a 38 yard FG hoping to secure the win, yet the ball hit the left post, bounced off it and hit the right post, again bouncing off that and finally falling through the posts. I was so ecstatic to get such a flukey winning FG...only to find out 10 seconds later that Madden held it to be no good. Needless to say I was devastated, having been literally cheated out of an awesome win .

[ghettogeeksta]

Line play and blocking in general is the most glaring deficiency in Madden and NCAA football. Most people don't seem to care though.

[PGaither84]

The game is completely driven by it's animations. It has no real logic. It played out a SUPER WIN for the defensive player and then as he ran by it was told to try and block again. It didn't care that the animation it played out in between had the offensive lineman fall.

I have been messing around with custom playbooks and playing with Tim Tebow recently. One of the plays that just makes me laugh at EA at this point in the "Read Option" from a Shotgun Split Backs formation. At the snap of the ball, you can hold "A" to hand it off to the HB, or otherwise the QB will keep it. Well, regardless of what you do, and especially if you let the QB keep it... all 11 defenders react to the ball carrier. No one gets tricked and you are swarmed. What if it was a play action pass? They wouldn't react this way.

I have said many times before that there are some VERY talented and good people at EA... and I think there are some people who are NOT very good at their jobs. Just good enough. Not great. Not by a long shot.

The art in the game looks great. The playbooks are pretty good. Franchise mode is deep, and while I don't want to get into CCM debate, Josh does great work. People love MUT, and I enjoyed OTP when I played it... but Game Play? What a joke.

[SageInfinite]

This same thing happened to me in NCAA 13 except my O-lineman knocked the LB over so I take my back and start to run in that direction. The LB sprung back up and made the tackle. SMH, lol.

[adfletch71]

OL/DL line play has always been a issue with Madden and NCAA on next-gen. Now that we have so much of social media out there, people are really showing the flaws and errors of there animations and gameplay. Penalties like illegal touching and pass interference are another issue that has plagued NCAA and MADDEN for years now, and being exposed as well. Me personally, Madden or NCAA isn't worth $65 until they fix these fundamental issues. I hope Cam and this team for 2014 make these issues top priority. Right now in the trenches, it's the same game for the last 7 years. With minimal improvement.

[Broncos86]

At this point, I don't think the OL/DL could be any more exposed w/o being illegal.

[adfletch71]

Quote: Originally Posted by Broncos86

At this point, I don't think the OL/DL could be any more exposed w/o being illegal.

So true broncos, but I'm glad it's being exposed and people are really talking about it. Let's hope that EA learn from this and get there act in gear with these issues. When EA finally fix the OL/DL interactions and realistic penalties of the NFL, then MADDEN will be a very solid title in my opinion. It's getting better, but too me it's way too long in getting there. I think 2014 will be that game though, cam and the others have had a spoon full of interaction from the Gamechangers, The sim standard and guys from this site. So they know, let's just hope that they put it in action.