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Madden 09 News Post

Well as I post this it’s officially been exactly two weeks since Madden officially launched, and wow it sure has been a busy time for us. I truly hope everyone is enjoying the game, and I wanted to drop an update on some things we’ve been working on for our 2nd patch. We feel that without a doubt this encapsulates the top issues we’re hearing from the forums and community leaders, and hope that this list truly makes Madden NFL 09 the ultimate sports game for you.
  1. Kicking play disconnect: If two opponents play a game with two different camera angles, in any situation where a game winning or tying kick was to be made, a disconnect could occur. “ActionCam” forces the game to go into slow-motion to add drama to these late kicks, but unfortunately the Classic camera does not, thus forcing the “disconnect”. This has been fixed…and FYI all cameras will still be able to be used after the patch.
    Workaround until the patch: If possible, ensure that you and your opponent have the same camera type chosen before starting an online game.
  2. Stability issues in the play call / halftime highlights / postgame highlights screens (especially in Franchise mode after training games): This was a hard one to track down as not everyone was seeing it , we did find the issue however with some Instant Replay / cache corruption, and have a fix ready for patch 2.
    Workaround until the patch: Save and re-boot after any point where you have entered the game. We learned that the likelihood of this issue appearing is magnified after multiple loads into and out of the game engine. From what we’ve seen so far, people that have tried playing only one game at a time (or even one Franchise training session at a time), and saving/rebooting afterwards, have had zero crashes.
  3. Stability issues with Madden IQ end of game popup: This has been fixed.
    Workaround until the patch: Always choose “No” at the Madden IQ end of game popup.
  4. “WR direct snap” exploit: Cheesers found an exploit to direct snap to a WR for easy short yardage gain. Not only are we fixing this play (i.e. we aren’t removing it), we are also going to be re-setting records for anyone with a winning record that has been found to be using this play.
  5. Franchise Progression / Regression (or lack thereof): The lack of higher numbers was a tuning value that I think everyone agreed was just too low. This has been juiced up so you should see more realistic progression now.
  6. Edited players don’t progress: Players were not progressing after their jersey number (or pretty much any other attribute) was edited. This has been fixed.
  7. Stability issue when exiting Madden ’93 in CE version: This has been fixed.
  8. Deep ball glitch: Some enterprising gamers found a way to throw a deep ball while crossing the LOS and hit a receiver wide open at a decent rate. We addressed this by making sure the DB will no longer break on the ball when the QB crosses the line while throwing.
  9. CPU running out of bounds: This bug appears when the CPU tries to switch hands while running to the sidelines. This is fixed for patch 2.
  10. Penalty sliders ineffective: A common complaint from the hardcore community was the lack of effect from the penalty sliders. We increased these substantially for patch 2.
  11. Field degradation: Another common complaint was the lack of field degradation. Our effect was very subtle, which was also getting overshadowed by our lighting and post effects, so we increased this effect for the patch.
  12. Stability issue with the Eagles and a full ring meter: We found and fixed a rare issue where the gamer could run into stability issues while using the Eagles in mini-games with a ring meter that was completely full.
  13. Play call screen hitch: We found and fixed a bug that was causing a noticeable hitch when exiting the play call screen
  14. Prevent Defense issue: We found and fixed an issue where defenders sharing a deep zone/prevent assignment would loosen their coverage (because they thought the other guy was covering for them), which allowed the receiver to get behind them even though they were in Prevent.
  15. Brett Favre stats: With the late addition of Brett Favre, we were not able to get his Career and Season statistics into the game for the roster update. This has now been added for patch 2.
  16. Defensive Preplay Mis-cue: We found and fixed an issue where defenders would leave their man wide open in a Cover 3.
  17. CPU quick-snap: A very common complaint on the forums was the speed at which the CPU snapped the ball. We added a random length of time (no less than 5 seconds) for the CPU to wait and even make pre-play adjustments.
  18. Online playbook switch: We fixed a small annoying little issue where playbooks were re-setting to the defaults after the playbook select popup was closed.
I hope this makes everyone quite happy. :-)

The patch is being tested as I write this and will be sent off for verification in the morning, so we are targeting less than a 3 week turnaround from today for this to hit the general public. (Woohoo!) We will also make sure to provide updates as the patch progresses through the 3rd party approval process. As a side note, as of this moment there have been no changes to database schema, so you won’t have to re-start your Franchise or delete any files.

It makes us very stoked to be able to make this many changes for a patch, and do them based directly on community feedback. There are always going to be folks that are upset if what they felt was a top issue wasn’t addressed, but I’ll state again (as I have before) that we have to keep balancing this work against Madden NFL 2010. The longer we keep going on patches, the less we can add to the following year’s product. On a side note, there is also a Franchise stability issue that we have been investigating, and we are working feverishly to get this figured out. We will update on that issue as soon as we can. As for the items above, I personally feel that we have hit a very good balance of top items because many of these issues can actually detract from an enjoyable experience, which is obviously the last thing we want.

And now that this patch is nearly out the door, I figured I’d drop some more good news… We have officially started building the TOTALLY FREE “Sim Madden Gamer” DLC pack, which includes Accelerated Clock, a “Classic” Controller Configuration, CPU Sliders, and Community Gamerpics for 360. I’ll state again that there’s no promise that this goes through, but we have nearly every one of these features actually ‘done’ internally, so now we have to figure out how to get Microsoft and Sony to allow us to release them.

Thanks everyone – keep the feedback coming, and let's keep this train a-rollin'!

Ian Cummings
Senior Designer, Madden NFL 2010

Game: Madden NFL 09Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: NDS / PS2 / PS3 / PSP / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 88 - View All
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Member Comments
# 141 Pared @ 08/26/08 02:33 PM
No, it's always through your console and while connected to the respective company's online service.
 
# 142 ChicagoChris @ 08/26/08 02:39 PM
Good Lord. Some people are never happy!

Look at the list...it's damn impressive. Think of when you have ever had support like that from EA. Remember, last year with the fumbles, they denied it and then sent out a crappy patch. The year before, no fatigue and they waited until December to fix.

This year, 2 patches that fix alot and all within a month! The game is great right now and is going to be a classic after this next patch and (fingers crossed) DLC.

Thanks Ian and crew!
 
# 143 Hammer67 @ 08/26/08 02:44 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamehead
I appreciate Ian's and the team's work on the patch. I do find the following wording curious, however:

"Penalty sliders ineffective: A common complaint from the hardcore community was the lack of effect from the penalty sliders. We increased these substantially for patch 2."

So does expecting an effect from the penalty sliders = hardcore? Aren't penalties a basic part of football?

If casual/arcade players are turned off by penalties such that they don't have much effect by default (by design, perhaps?), isn't that what the sliders are supposed to be there for--so they can turn them DOWN?

But the patch as a whole? I think it will please many people. At least they are tweaking a lot of things.
I see your point, but what I think Ian is referring to is the fact that only Hardcore gamers really even tinker with the sliders. Most of my friends, whom I would consider casual, don't mess with any of the settings beyond changing the difficulty options (all Madden, etc.) Penalties add to the realism but aren't much fun if you just want to pick up and play. (I am "hardcore" as they define it, in that I like the penalty sliders and max them out)
 
# 144 ShaneFu @ 08/26/08 02:51 PM
Will customizable controller configs be a part of the DLC or are we just screwed?
 
# 145 ab2c4 @ 08/26/08 02:51 PM
A big part of the problem is this right here:

http://www.pastapadre.com/2690/madde...-clarification

That tells us that if it went Gold back in June that they knew they were releasing an untested game and yet they just figured they would release it anyway and patch whatever issues surfaced (or as many as they could) after it released.

Could you imagine what would happen to the video gaming industry if EA had an exclusive deal with the military? Can you imagine if EA's first person shooters were the only ones on the market?
 
# 146 ShaneFu @ 08/26/08 02:56 PM
nevermind, I didn't skim the article well enough. Hope there is more than one "classic" configuration though.
 
# 147 Blue_Monkey @ 08/26/08 03:00 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ab2c4
Could you imagine what would happen to the video gaming industry if EA had an exclusive deal with the military? Can you imagine if EA's first person shooters were the only ones on the market?
Yeah, it'd be horrible since there's only one military in the world. Get an exclusive deal with that and we'd be playing really bad shooters for the rest of eternity.

It's a real high stress job leading that military, though. You gotta plan all these wars (military vs random bad guys with beards) AND worry about EA destroying our FPS games.

Hope no deal is coming!
 
# 148 Likwidkewl @ 08/26/08 03:09 PM
About sliders in general and specifically the upcoming CPU sliders... If a scale of 0 to 100 is used shouldn't 50 be where the players play exactly to their attributes then as the slider is lowered they play a bit worse or if it is raised the play a bit above their abilities?
 
# 149 boooey @ 08/26/08 03:17 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by stux
I agree with most of what you are saying here. I think they should still release the same date but get more people invlovled in the testing at a earlier date.

I also think it is sad that even after the 2nd patch franchise mode won't work right for the people who are crashing. I am not sure with the crashing if that is related to modified rosters or NCAA draft classes. I hope a "work around" if available soon for that if the patch won't be.

I know those of you that only play online or with friend do not care about the franchise patch but there are a lot of us that buy the game only to play franchise mode vs CPU. I do not think it is fair of you to say we can't speak out minds.
I also agree, and its not just about fixing Madden 09.. its also about identifying how this can happen in the first place, and making sure it does not happen again.

There are some tough questions we should be able to ask Ian, and EA needs to be accountable for the product they put out.

That is all I am saying.. I am not trying to start any trouble here.
 
# 150 Blue_Monkey @ 08/26/08 03:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by stux
TJ,

I have seen you post about being upset about your franchise freezing. I believe everyone should be able to say what they think should have been and what was addressed in the patch. That is the topic of this post.

Furthermore, I do not think the tone of everyone's post were pissing and moaning. I think some people are trying to say hey good job on this patch but we still need to fix a few more things and a major issue in the franchise mode. Also, it really would have been nice to have everything working on the CD and if not we kind of expect it to be fixed before moving on to 2010.

Lastly, we need to discuss the problems if we are going to get them fixed. The squeeky wheel gets the greese.

I do agree with you that some people may post in a rather immature manner but sometimes you just loose your cool.

We need to discuss the good and the bad if the game and EA are going to progress. And if we can't discuss the bad then all you will have is a long post, way to go!, that a boy!, etc.

Just my thoughts man.
All that is fairly obvious and just about everyone knows the point of your post and agrees with it.

But the point of TJ's post was that this thread isn't a patch wishlist or the basic "EA does this and this wrong" thread. I'm sure Ian won't be taking any of these posts into consideration since the patch content is already announced and if we get the DLC too, that'll be 3 patches.

I'd like several things to be in that won't be but having said that, this is the first time Madden has ever seen actual real patching so at the momemt, I'm grateful.
 
# 151 stoncold32 @ 08/26/08 03:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Klocker
yea man... I hope you cranked it up as we want to see that ish.
Crank that Field Degradation!
 
# 152 JayD @ 08/26/08 03:29 PM
Wow! I cant belive that you guys fixed as much as you did and fit it all into one patch!!! Very excited for the game post patch!!!
 
# 153 swanlee @ 08/26/08 03:46 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue_Monkey
All that is fairly obvious and just about everyone knows the point of your post and agrees with it.

But the point of TJ's post was that this thread isn't a patch wishlist or the basic "EA does this and this wrong" thread. I'm sure Ian won't be taking any of these posts into consideration since the patch content is already announced and if we get the DLC too, that'll be 3 patches.

I'd like several things to be in that won't be but having said that, this is the first time Madden has ever seen actual real patching so at the momemt, I'm grateful.

Well if Ian and the mods here did NOT expect some discussion on some other issues that need to be fixed in a thread like this then they just should have posted Ian's comments and locked the thread.

The logical course of discussion in a thread like this is to cover some of the bug\feautres that are still missing or not addressed.

Otherwise lock the thread or just have one comment of "Thanks Ian From the OS forum" and then lock the thread.
 
# 154 Likwidkewl @ 08/26/08 03:53 PM
OR tone down the post processing effects...


Quote:
Originally Posted by stoncold32
Crank that Field Degradation!
 
# 155 Gizmo777 @ 08/26/08 04:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoChris
Good Lord. Some people are never happy!

Look at the list...it's damn impressive. Think of when you have ever had support like that from EA. Remember, last year with the fumbles, they denied it and then sent out a crappy patch. The year before, no fatigue and they waited until December to fix.

This year, 2 patches that fix alot and all within a month! The game is great right now and is going to be a classic after this next patch and (fingers crossed) DLC.

Thanks Ian and crew!
Can someone explain to me why there are so many people thanking Ian and EA for fixing things that shouldn't have been broken to begin with.

Don't get me wrong. I do thank them for addressing the issues, but I am left with the feeling that the good will is misplaced.

It's like buying a new car and finding out it only comes with three wheels, then going back to the dealer two weeks later to get the fourth wheel and saying, "Man, you are so great for giving me that fourth wheel. Thanks. It's awesome."

The truth is, whether you want to admit it or not, the game should have never been released. All the things fixed in Patch #2 should have happened in pre-release, not in post release.

That is a fact.
 
# 156 Blazelore @ 08/26/08 04:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizmo777
Can someone explain to me why there are so many people thanking Ian and EA for fixing things that shouldn't have been broken to begin with.

Don't get me wrong. I do thank them for addressing the issues, but I am left with the feeling that the good will is misplaced.

It's like buying a new car and finding out it only comes with three wheels, then going back to the dealer two weeks later to get the fourth wheel and saying, "Man, you are so great for giving me that fourth wheel. Thanks. It's awesome."

The truth is, whether you want to admit it or not, the game should have never been released. All the things fixed in Patch #2 should have happened in pre-release, not in post release.

That is a fact.

QFT Cosigns Couldn't have said it better myself!
 
# 157 ab2c4 @ 08/26/08 04:16 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizmo777
Can someone explain to me why there are so many people thanking Ian and EA for fixing things that shouldn't have been broken to begin with.

Don't get me wrong. I do thank them for addressing the issues, but I am left with the feeling that the good will is misplaced.

It's like buying a new car and finding out it only comes with three wheels, then going back to the dealer two weeks later to get the fourth wheel and saying, "Man, you are so great for giving me that fourth wheel. Thanks. It's awesome."

The truth is, whether you want to admit it or not, the game should have never been released. All the things fixed in Patch #2 should have happened in pre-release, not in post release.

That is a fact.
Very well said and I totally agree. Part of the problem is that the game went Gold way back in June. They should have been using the extra time to test and fix as much as possible before it went Gold. They could have waited until August 1st before the game went Gold.
 
# 158 aholbert32 @ 08/26/08 04:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gizmo777
Can someone explain to me why there are so many people thanking Ian and EA for fixing things that shouldn't have been broken to begin with.

Don't get me wrong. I do thank them for addressing the issues, but I am left with the feeling that the good will is misplaced.

It's like buying a new car and finding out it only comes with three wheels, then going back to the dealer two weeks later to get the fourth wheel and saying, "Man, you are so great for giving me that fourth wheel. Thanks. It's awesome."

The truth is, whether you want to admit it or not, the game should have never been released. All the things fixed in Patch #2 should have happened in pre-release, not in post release.

That is a fact.
Because they didnt have to fix all of the things they did. They didnt have to add features like Accelerated Clock or CPU sliders. Plenty of people (including myself) are fine with the game post patch 1. Ive found workarounds for my major issues like Robo QB and CPU subbing and the game is pretty good for me. They could have just taken the money and started adding these features for 2010. And if they did that a large majority of you would still buy this game in 2010.

Also your car analogy is pretty weak. You cant drive a car w/ three wheels but this game is still playbale even with this bug
 
# 159 Blazelore @ 08/26/08 04:25 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by aholbert32
Because they didnt have to fix all of the things they did. They didnt have to add features like Accelerated Clock or CPU sliders. Plenty of people (including myself) are fine with the game post patch 1. Ive found workarounds for my major issues like Robo QB and CPU subbing and the game is pretty good for me. They could have just taken the money and started adding these features for 2010. And if they did that a large majority of you would still buy this game in 2010.

Also your car analogy is pretty weak. You cant drive a car w/ three wheels but this game is still playbale even with this bug
You are right! They didn't have to fix anything but nothing should have been broken in the first place!
 
# 160 ab2c4 @ 08/26/08 04:27 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by aholbert32
Because they didnt have to fix all of the things they did. They didnt have to add features like Accelerated Clock or CPU sliders. Plenty of people (including myself) are fine with the game post patch 1. Ive found workarounds for my major issues like Robo QB and CPU subbing and the game is pretty good for me. They could have just taken the money and started adding these features for 2010. And if they did that a large majority of you would still buy this game in 2010.

Also your car analogy is pretty weak. You cant drive a car w/ three wheels but this game is still playbale even with this bug
To me having the game missing the cpu sliders really is the same as having a car that is missing the 4th tire: the game is not playable offline vs cpu and the car can't be driven. I know my copy of Madden has been collecting dust while it waits for the cpu sliders being added back in.

I think it comes down to this: the hardcore sim players need all the features and we need them to work properly. If you are a casual arcade video football gamer then the game probably does seem fine to you with the work arounds that somewhat fix the problems.
 


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