Madden 2010 News Post

Madden NFL 10: Online Franchise Q&A with Donny Moore

05:46 PM - June 9, 2009 by Ian_Cummings

Check out the new Madden NFL 10 blog.

Quote:


	"Donny Moore here, designer for Madden NFL 10. If you've been following me on Twitter (donny_moore) you've likely noticed that I have been working on player ratings for the game, but what I've had to remain pretty tight-lipped on so far this year has been my involvement with Online Franchise. EA Sports president Peter Moore just recently announced this feature last week at the E3 press conference, and we knew going in that there would be all kinds of speculation and discussion over the feature among our fans. So this week we wanted to take the opportunity to answer some of the most common questions that we've been seeing from the community and from the gaming media. Not everyone has a 100% clear idea of what all is included in the mode, and we have also noticed that some folks have expressed frustration over missing features. With that being the case, we felt it imperative to explain a.) why we made the decisions that we did and b.) our plan for the future developing on this new platform. This feature is extremely important to me, especially as a die-hard Franchise guy (for those that don't know I worked on NFL Head Coach 09 along with fellow designer Josh Looman), so it has been an incredible experience to be a part of building a brand new Online Franchise experience - something totally new and different for the millions of Madden fans out there."

Game: Madden NFL 10Reader Score: 7.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 76 - View All

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Member Comments

# 41 dano562003 @ 06/09/09 07:36 PM

Awesome Job! Madden Team.

This is a great start to Madden 10.
Online franchise with a fantasy draft, I'm sold.

# 42 DirtyBird @ 06/09/09 07:41 PM

Thanks for the info Ian, theres some good stuff on there.

# 43 Bonee70 @ 06/09/09 07:45 PM

I am commish of a 32 player PS3 league and we plan to finish at least 2 Seasons (maybe 3) with the Madden2010 Online-Franchise. To play 10 seasons with so many guys is impossible as we all have a life outside the Madden-Cosmos.

In Madden09 we use to play one game a week while a game lasts 90-120 Minutes. Actually we play 10 Minute Quarters on Madden09 to have such a long chess-match (including a 5min Halftimeshow).

The options we get with Madden2010 Online-Franchise are fantastic, even without a salary-cap or player contracts (a well organized league can get arround that). When the commish gets the right tools to accomplish a 32 ppl Franchise over a whole season (incl. the offseason) it will be like heaven for us comparing of what we got from EA on Madden09.

One of the tools I am still missing for Online-Franchise is the option to simulate games. For example because there is a disconnect in a league game or a coach isn't able to play for any reason.

# 44 steelernation28 @ 06/09/09 08:12 PM

Sounds fun, but I'm all for the offline portion of franchise and would rather be hearing about those specifics.

# 45 JohnDoe8865 @ 06/09/09 08:17 PM

I'm not trying to jack this thread or be a negative guy, but anytime the community asks about something a lot and it keeps getting pushed to the back, it's never a good sign.

I'm talking about Offline Franchise mode ofcourse. Think last year, when they held out on us about the sliders being taken out until very late in the process. I think us offline guys are going to have to prepare ourselves for some letdowns again.

I'm sure the team made a ton of improvements to the mode this year, so I'm not knocking anybody on the dev team here. What I am saying is that no news is usually bad news. See also: Teambuilder Rosters in NCAA 10.

I believe we'll get a lot of the things we wanted to offline franchise, but not everything and probably not as much as we all expect. They are working off of a horrid foundation to be fair to the franchise team. The mode in next-gen has been appalling. Not even worth playing.

So considering they are trying to work from a worthless foundation, I'll try to give the team the credit they are due when they start talking about offline franchise. I'll try to not let the things that don't make it in not overshadow the improvements.

I'll try.

# 46 HealyMonster @ 06/09/09 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSpezzano


	I submitted similar questions and they didn't make the cut which leads me to believe that nothing is in place for this or the web interface is still being worked out. I can honestly say working in the web site industry with the time they have left all of that could be put in place and it wouldn't even effect the core teams time. It depends how good their web team is and what type or priority it is.

My issue is I have been working on my own site. I dont want to spend the next 2 months building my own thing and have it available via madden.

I am assuming what they will have is essentially useless other than adjusting depth charts and viewing stats, I mean they arent talking about it.

In order to keep the league running, I need dynamic content to keep owners involved.

# 47 xanmank @ 06/09/09 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deegeezy


	Still waiting on that follow-up offline franchise blog that was promised. That's where the bread & butter is at for most folks.

This.

# 48 g2thecore @ 06/09/09 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnDoe8865


	I'm not trying to jack this thread or be a negative guy, but anytime the community asks about something a lot and it keeps getting pushed to the back, it's never a good sign. I'm talking about Offline Franchise mode ofcourse. Think last year, when they held out on us about the sliders being taken out until very late in the process. I think us offline guys are going to have to prepare ourselves for some letdowns again. I'm sure the team made a ton of improvements to the mode this year, so I'm not knocking anybody on the dev team here. What I am saying is that no news is usually bad news. See also: Teambuilder Rosters in NCAA 10. I believe we'll get a lot of the things we wanted to offline franchise, but not everything and probably not as much as we all expect. They are working off of a horrid foundation to be fair to the franchise team. The mode in next-gen has been appalling. Not even worth playing. So considering they are trying to work from a worthless foundation, I'll try to give the team the credit they are due when they start talking about offline franchise. I'll try to not let the things that don't make it in not overshadow the improvements. I'll try.

Great post dude! I'm starting to get that same feeling too. I'm a big offline franchise guy, and the lack of information as of late about the mode is starting to worry me.

I know they are working hard on the BIG feature (Online Franchise) and that's generating a lot of hype, but the lack of info is beginning to remind me a lot of last year as you mentioned. Regardless, the game has made some huge strides, and the improvements made to offline franchise make it significantly better than last year's game. So we'll just have to sit tight, and wait for some more info in the upcoming weeks.

# 49 Matrix-Monkey @ 06/09/09 08:49 PM

Sounds good. Do you guys have any idea how many major updates you'll do to the mode during the year?

Also could someone please just post a screenshot of the OFFLINE draft and scouting screens. Have they changed at all?

Thanks.

P.S. Ignore the haters you've guys have done A LOT this year. While criticisms are fine some people are way too over the top with their self importance.

# 50 g2thecore @ 06/09/09 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProjectSRT


	Im sure this is a dumb question and has prob been answered somewhere, but i noticed we wont be able to edit players in our online franchise, but what about our OFFline franchise? We can still edit players right?

Yes, this has been confirmed by Ian a while back.

# 51 g2thecore @ 06/09/09 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrix-Monkey


	Sounds good. Do you guys have any idea how many major updates you'll do to the mode during the year? Also could someone please just post a screenshot of the OFFLINE draft and scouting screens. Have they changed at all? Thanks. P.S. Ignore the haters you've guys have done A LOT this year. While criticisms are fine some people are way too over the top with their self importance.

I'd like to see those too.

# 52 Joborule @ 06/09/09 09:00 PM

Thanks for the post, gives some more insight onto whats in store for Online Franchise.

However I really hope that you guys are busting your asses to get contracts and salary cap into online franchise by launch, because the feature will lose it's novelty about what franchise mode is all about. How can you go through full 10 years without having to manage the amount of superstars on your team, or ever have to give a big payday to a performing player? Teams are just going to be stacked with a bunch of 80s and 90s OVR players that aren't going anywhere for half of the 10 years. Sure, it would be nice for people that wants a league where each starter is a superstar, but for authentic pursuits, this mode is going to lose a lot of it's flavour because of this necessity. The mode isn't complete until this is done.

Having online franchise around is nice, but I won't be able to fully get into it until I have to deal with player contracts and salary cap. Thats when the whole team managment aspect kicks in.

# 53 Ian_Cummings @ 06/09/09 09:01 PM

To be clear...we're not being secretive on 'offline' franchise. We've just been working hard and haven't had time to talk about it. We will report more in the coming months...but to make sure expectations are clear, our franchise goals were:

1. Fix all the things that have been totally broken (progression, cap room, etc)
2. Make CPU teams actually manage their roster correctly (draft, FA, etc)
3. Make every game feel different through different presentation (and CPU AI)
4. Streamline the interface overall
5. Bring important news forward to the user (instead of burying it 10 layers deep in screens) via the Franchise Hub and via the Extra Point
6. Make scouting worth using
7. Make depth matter via ratings stretching and injuries
8. Make the draft interesting again
9. Do a bunch of other small fixes and additions.
10. Get Franchise mode online!

Donny and Josh are the guys to ask here as they own these modes and are way more qualified than I am to answer. But we really wanted to make this mode fun to play again, and make it a totally different experience while traveling around the league and playing week to week. We do that through a number of different avenues whether it is commentary, stat banners, cut scenes, or whatever. Josh made the statement at the beginning of the year about not building a house on a crumbling foundation - that analogy is 100% true...we definitely spent more time on fixing old broken stuff than adding new features...but there's no way we, in good conscience, could put out another Franchise mode with a few more bells and whistles on top while players didn't progress after a good year (for example).

I don't want to make it seem like we didn't do anything with offline franchise...we did...but I also want to make sure people aren't expecting Head Coach 09 in the game.

Any more questions, direct them to Donny.

# 54 g2thecore @ 06/09/09 09:16 PM

Thanks for the update Ian! Hopefully all those goals were met, and implemented successfully. I'm loving that list, and if everything on that list is in the game, and is working to perfection (or close to it lol) then we're in for a hell of a Madden season!!!

Anyways, thanks again for the quick update..Now for that screenshot of the scouting and draft screens...

# 55 Molarmite @ 06/09/09 09:24 PM

The main thing I want to hear about in offline franchise is how the draft changed. Ian said they wanted to make it more fun, and I'm just curious what that means.

# 56 TyghtWork @ 06/09/09 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joborule


	Thanks for the post, gives some more insight onto whats in store for Online Franchise. However I really hope that you guys are busting your asses to get contracts and salary cap into online franchise by launch, because the feature will lose it's novelty about what franchise mode is all about. How can you go through full 10 years without having to manage the amount of superstars on your team, or ever have to give a big payday to a performing player? Teams are just going to be stacked with a bunch of 80s and 90s OVR players that aren't going anywhere for half of the 10 years. Sure, it would be nice for people that wants a league where each starter is a superstar, but for authentic pursuits, this mode is going to lose a lot of it's flavour because of this necessity. The mode isn't complete until this is done. Having online franchise around is nice, but I won't be able to fully get into it until I have to deal with player contracts and salary cap. Thats when the whole team managment aspect kicks in.

^^ THIS
But im happy with whats in. Played in a pc online franchise,(a long time ago LOL) and loved it. Been waitin for it to come to ps2 now ps3, or xbox360, and now its here. Online leagues are cool, but when you add trades, and a draft. Im loving it!! Wish it had a salary cap, that would have made it 10X better. But, this will work. YES

# 57 lightning_78 @ 06/09/09 09:36 PM

I'm also hoping for offline franchise that the scripted retirements have been removed. I enjoy seeing a Barry Sanders situation happening if team prestige/player morale is low or vice-versa have some Vinny Testaverde's or Junior Seau's. Playing franchise mode and every single time seeing "Ladainian Tomlinson (RB) has retired at the age of 34, after 12 years in the NFL". Especially guys, QBs especially (Manning, Brady), that have 3500 yard and 25 TD seasons but retire because of the game's logic.

# 58 kevster2 @ 06/09/09 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	To be clear...we're not being secretive on 'offline' franchise. We've just been working hard and haven't had time to talk about it. We will report more in the coming months...but to make sure expectations are clear, our franchise goals were: 1. Fix all the things that have been totally broken (progression, cap room, etc) 2. Make CPU teams actually manage their roster correctly (draft, FA, etc) 3. Make every game feel different through different presentation (and CPU AI) 4. Streamline the interface overall 5. Bring important news forward to the user (instead of burying it 10 layers deep in screens) via the Franchise Hub and via the Extra Point 6. Make scouting worth using 7. Make depth matter via ratings stretching and injuries 8. Make the draft interesting again 9. Do a bunch of other small fixes and additions. 10. Get Franchise mode online! Donny and Josh are the guys to ask here as they own these modes and are way more qualified than I am to answer. But we really wanted to make this mode fun to play again, and make it a totally different experience while traveling around the league and playing week to week. We do that through a number of different avenues whether it is commentary, stat banners, cut scenes, or whatever. Josh made the statement at the beginning of the year about not building a house on a crumbling foundation - that analogy is 100% true...we definitely spent more time on fixing old broken stuff than adding new features...but there's no way we, in good conscience, could put out another Franchise mode with a few more bells and whistles on top while players didn't progress after a good year (for example). I don't want to make it seem like we didn't do anything with offline franchise...we did...but I also want to make sure people aren't expecting Head Coach 09 in the game. Any more questions, direct them to Donny.

From what I have seen so far I think you all have done an amazing job. Thanks for all the updates and taking the time to interact with the community.

# 59 jerryrice4949 @ 06/09/09 10:09 PM

I appreciate the direction of the game but agree with the other poster who said this is really only a glorified online league. I understand that you cannot get everything in the 1st year, but contracts are a must. As far as rosters there is going to be very little strategy. Imagine if NCAA did not have recruiting in their online dynasty, this is the equivalent.

Sure there are house rules but to this will get to the point of being tedious.

I will wait until next year and stick with NCAA for this year.

# 60 Obelysk @ 06/09/09 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	To be clear...we're not being secretive on 'offline' franchise. We've just been working hard and haven't had time to talk about it. We will report more in the coming months...but to make sure expectations are clear, our franchise goals were: 1. Fix all the things that have been totally broken (progression, cap room, etc) 2. Make CPU teams actually manage their roster correctly (draft, FA, etc) 3. Make every game feel different through different presentation (and CPU AI) 4. Streamline the interface overall 5. Bring important news forward to the user (instead of burying it 10 layers deep in screens) via the Franchise Hub and via the Extra Point 6. Make scouting worth using 7. Make depth matter via ratings stretching and injuries 8. Make the draft interesting again 9. Do a bunch of other small fixes and additions. 10. Get Franchise mode online! Donny and Josh are the guys to ask here as they own these modes and are way more qualified than I am to answer. But we really wanted to make this mode fun to play again, and make it a totally different experience while traveling around the league and playing week to week. We do that through a number of different avenues whether it is commentary, stat banners, cut scenes, or whatever. Josh made the statement at the beginning of the year about not building a house on a crumbling foundation - that analogy is 100% true...we definitely spent more time on fixing old broken stuff than adding new features...but there's no way we, in good conscience, could put out another Franchise mode with a few more bells and whistles on top while players didn't progress after a good year (for example). I don't want to make it seem like we didn't do anything with offline franchise...we did...but I also want to make sure people aren't expecting Head Coach 09 in the game. Any more questions, direct them to Donny.

Why not?

I have played Head Coach 09 a hell of A LOT more then Madden 09 on my 360! They did a hell of a job with it even though it was broken on many areas. Madden 10 improvements + Head Coach 09 = dream football game. I am still buying Madden 10 but I hope I can see more of the good things of head coach on Madden 11. Tell Josh Looman that he should make another head coach game, if he does I will preorder it in a heart beat.

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