Madden NFL 11 News Post

Madden NFL 11 Blog: Catch Tuning

11:44 AM - March 24, 2010 by marktg30

Ian Cummings has just posted his first of many Madden NFL 11 blogs, leading up to the release. In this blog, he talks about catch tuning, with a video from Madden NFL 10, showing catches that will be removed this year.

Quote:


	"Well it�s hard to believe, but Madden NFL 11 will be here before you know it! The development team here at EA Sports Tiburon in sunny Orlando, FL has been hard at work trying to put together the best football game in history (our goal each year). We started off the season with a video blog introducing you to some of the team members, along with their whiteboards. Since then, we have been focusing on many different areas in the game from presentation to franchise to online, but this week we wanted to talk about everyone�s favorite aspect of Madden NFL � Gameplay. More specifically, catching."

FYI: Internet Explorer has issues opening the blog. Opening the link in Firefox seems to be fine.

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Member Comments

# 81 BrianFifaFan @ 03/25/10 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hova57


	my understanding of this is that based on the joint code you could point on any part of the body this would be possible and allowing this to be a contact point that would shift you center of gravity.

In Madden? Or BackBreaker?

# 82 Hova57 @ 03/25/10 11:41 AM

in madden with the use of autodesk.

# 83 kjcheezhead @ 03/25/10 11:56 AM

The info sounds good, but all these screen shots were in Madden 10 supposedly and the video just showed the bad animations. Then again, there were some nice 5 second vids of pass/run blocking released last year too, so even if they showed me visual proof, I still wouldn't buy it at this point.

# 84 BrianFifaFan @ 03/25/10 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hova57


	in madden with the use of autodesk.

The contact point needs to be based on the AI and be done on the fly. I'm sure there an "if-then" set of calculations based on postioning, but it needs to be driven by the Procedural Awareness engine. I'd like to see where a DB on a fly route has as his PA focus on the receiver and his eyes. He doesn't react with the ball coming into his "sphere of awareness," he reacts to the head tracking of the receiver. Then, he shifts his PA target to the ball. There should always be a primary PA target, then a secondary that is based on "reads." I'm not really seeing that yet. That's why blocking is so bad. There doesn't seem to be a multi-layed AI decision chain, that's why the FB becomes confused and double team blocking becomes so jumbled and confused. Each NPC needs to have a strong primary PA focus, based on pre-snap assignments. Then it chains out as the play unfolds.

# 85 Hova57 @ 03/25/10 12:06 PM

i'm really excited to see how this new CDT will work in relation to Cb also they should be able to do this to. and will this lead to better passing because you should be able to direct the ball more into a spot and the player should now play the ball and adjust his body. so throwing low and away you would get more of a leaning catch, or up and away will be more of a hands catch or like the beautiful pass manning threw to clark over his shoulder in the superbowl.

# 86 BrianFifaFan @ 03/25/10 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hova57


	i'm really excited to see how this new CDT will work in relation to Cb also they should be able to do this to. and will this lead to better passing because you should be able to direct the ball more into a spot and the player should now play the ball and adjust his body. so throwing low and away you would get more of a leaning catch, or up and away will be more of a hands catch or like the beautiful pass manning threw to clark over his shoulder in the superbowl.

I hope just hope it's not a "bug-fixer," but a way, like you said, of expanding gmaeplay. They seem to have a really great set of tools, it's just a matter of expanding the gameplay and using the tool to tune it. Mark Turmell is supposed to be "Mr. Gameplay." It would be really cool if he's really added a layer of depth, as opposed to just playing with the exisiting code. Hopefully, that "other" new football game has made the Madden team branch out in some unexplored directions. I'm intrigued to see what comes out post-Draft....

# 87 Hova57 @ 03/25/10 12:37 PM

a implement of better or improved physics will do wonders for this game. along with improved ai logic for all positions which sound like they have to ability to do based on what he said about the CDT.

# 88 HeavySaucer @ 03/25/10 12:59 PM

Good blog, but where in Madden 10 are the sideline and end zone corner catch animations he was talking about? I've played at least 500 games and haven't ever seen any. I must be doing something wrong. Hopefully this year's version will address these things a little better as the author claims. It's little things like this that would make a great game like Madden 10 amazing.

# 89 Pared @ 03/25/10 03:03 PM

They're there, but they play so rarely they might as well not be there.

They happen about as often as that standup animation for RB's.

# 90 Hova57 @ 03/25/10 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pared


	They're there, but they play so rarely they might as well not be there. They happen about as often as that standup animation for RB's.

i saw if for the first time playing with buffalo and fred jackson didn't go down.

# 91 Pared @ 03/25/10 03:29 PM

Yeah I've only seen it twice. It's great. I like it that way. I think one time was with Adrian Peterson.

But for sideline catches and jump balls in the back of the endzone, I would hope it happens with a much higher frequency.

# 92 splff3000 @ 03/25/10 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjcheezhead


	The info sounds good, but all these screen shots were in Madden 10 supposedly and the video just showed the bad animations. Then again, there were some nice 5 second vids of pass/run blocking released last year too, so even if they showed me visual proof, I still wouldn't buy it at this point.

Visual proof would work for me, but it has to be visual proof in game. I don't wanna see any vids of anything unless the vid is in game. If it's not gonna be in game, they might as well not show it because my reaction will be the same as if they didn't. No vids of one WR running a route by himself and getting his feet down before the sideline without a pass or anything coming at him, no vids of one WR and one CB jostling and fighting for possession, no vid comparing the speed of one WR release as opposed to the other, no vids of ........well you get my point. None of that.....unless it's in game. I know we're not the only ones that feel this way. A lot of people now have the "see it to believe it" attitude. I don't think anyone is falling for the banana in the tailpipe this year.

# 93 Gossennator @ 03/25/10 04:25 PM

Quote:

There is nothing more frustrating than calling a 5-yard route on 3rd and 4 and having the receiver catch it moving towards the QB and get tackled for a 2-yard gain.

I am so glad they are fixing this..a nice first blog. The screens did nothing for me though.

# 94 Purple28Pedestrian @ 03/26/10 04:53 AM

hope they can fix some of the receiver decision making, too often when I get lots of time in the pocket the receiver will just run his route and stop with no attempt to get open, especially curls and flats

# 95 Hova57 @ 03/26/10 08:16 AM

if recieves and te can find soft spots in the d and sit down in them that would be awesome

# 96 rdlife @ 03/27/10 11:00 AM

This is all BS from EA. Back in Madden 2008 they said they were going to fix the sideline and endzone catches. It's now 3 1/2 years later and they are introducing it like it's a new feature. I buy Madden every year but I have had enough, they are ripping us off with a bad game. They announce old features that they didn't get right years ago as new features and we fall for it. Check out this link from this site that talk about sideline catches. The video has been removed though, I wonder why ?

http://www.pastapadre.com/2007/06/15/madden-08-...

# 97 splff3000 @ 03/27/10 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdlife


	This is all BS from EA. Back in Madden 2008 they said they were going to fix the sideline and endzone catches. It's now 3 1/2 years later and they are introducing it like it's a new feature. I buy Madden every year but I have had enough, they are ripping us off with a bad game. They announce old features that they didn't get right years ago as new features and we fall for it. Check out this link from this site that talk about sideline catches. The video has been removed though, I wonder why ? http://www.pastapadre.com/2007/06/15/madden-08-...

I want to post this before it disappears lol :

Quote:


	Madden 08 sideline catches video by pastapadre Posted June 15th, 2007 at 11:59 am Last week it was gang tackling that was given the spotlight. This week in his producer blog, Ian Cummings displays some of the sideline catches that are new to Madden 08 this year. Some notes from Cummings: You can see how we actually take awareness into account on these videos – a highly rated player like Gates is consistently getting his feet in, but then you can see a player like Vincent Jackson who’s rated lower than Gates still can play the catch but possibly not get his feet in. The last catch actually has some parameters to make it endzone specific…and we have a number of those as well…This one in particular is also tagged with a minimum spectacular catch rating requirement you can break out of catches early, and you rarely (if ever) will have it happen to you where a good player just runs right out of bounds without getting his feet in or cutting upfield (oh yeah – the ability to cut upfield is ratings-based as well so that’s pretty cool). This is an area that has always been lacking in Madden, so it is very encouraging to see what has been done this year. It adds more of the exciting feeling to the game all the while helping to differentiate the better receivers from the rest. The catch in the endzone has to be the best looking catch I’ve ever seen in a football game. The fluidity of it is amazing, and it just looks incredibly natural.

Wow!! Just wow!! I didn't know it went back as far as 08. I've only been commenting based off of what happened last year. I didn't know it went back that far. Wow!!! Well, do you guys think it actually IS fixed now? lol Man, I had a little hope that it actually was fixed this time, but rdlife, just ruined that for me by posting this. Now I see they've been saying this since Madden 08.

# 98 splff3000 @ 03/27/10 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Segagendude


	Thanks, splff. So glad I'm no longer on board the hype train. Peace.....

I just posted what was in the link that rdlife provided.

# 99 kjcheezhead @ 03/27/10 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by splff3000


	I want to post this before it disappears lol : Wow!! Just wow!! I didn't know it went back as far as 08. I've only been commenting based off of what happened last year. I didn't know it went back that far. Wow!!! Well, do you guys think it actually IS fixed now? lol Man, I had a little hope that it actually was fixed this time, but rdlife, just ruined that for me by posting this. Now I see they've been saying this since Madden 08.

08? It goes back farther than that bro. Here is a preview of Madden 06. http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3140898&p=1

My favorite quote from the preview:

"You'll also see some slight alterations made to the defensive side of the ball. Madden NFL 2006 will include what the developers are calling "adaptive A.I.," meaning if you keep calling the same play over and over again, defenders will begin to recognize this and adjust their schemes. And finally, you'll witness gang tackles."

# 100 splff3000 @ 03/27/10 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjcheezhead


	08? It goes back farther than that bro. Here is a preview of Madden 06. http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3140898&p=1 My favorite quote from the preview: "You'll also see some slight alterations made to the defensive side of the ball. Madden NFL 2006 will include what the developers are calling "adaptive A.I.," meaning if you keep calling the same play over and over again, defenders will begin to recognize this and adjust their schemes. And finally, you'll witness gang tackles."

lol, yeah I know the "gang tackles" and "adaptive AI" promises go all the way back to the PS2 days. To their credit though, they did finally get gang tackles in on 10. The whole next gen section in that article is funny lol. A few of my favorite parts from the next gen section:

Quote:


	First off, you've never seen this kind of detail in a sports game before: shirts wrinkle at the player's stomach region, you can actually see the threads from where they sewed the player's last name onto the jersey. Then zoom onto the face and you'll be treated to scars, beard stubbles, and even blood-shot eyes

Quote:


	Better yet, EA's Jeremy Strauser promises that the final product -- when the stadium is filled with 22 players on the field, coaches, benchwarmers, refs, and fans -- NFL players won't lose any of these itty-bitty yet fantastic-looking details.

Quote:


	Strauser adds that with the XB360 version, crowds will be fully 3D (it's about time!) and react to what's happening on the field, so, say, those sitting near the end zone will jump up from their seat if a touchdown is scored in their section of the stadium.

Looking back on stuff like this, you can't help but lol.

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