Madden NFL 11 News Post

Madden NFL 11 Blog: Run Blocking Improvements

02:29 PM - May 12, 2010 by Cvhsalumni

EA Sports has just posted another Madden NFL 11 blog. This one was written by Mike Scantlebury and features run blocking improvements, with a few video examples included.

Quote:


	"As we started planning out the changes to make to run blocking In Madden NFL 11, we just focused on creating the true run blocking schemes exactly as they are drawn up in real life. No reason to try and make a video-gamey version of it - it needed to be the real thing. It definitely took a lot of tuning to get the matchups right versus the many defensive fronts in football, but we have done it. The very first thing we had to do was really lay down the law. What I mean by this is that blockers had to be given realistic rules for who they are going to target depending on what type of run it is. We had to devise rules for each run blocker individually, starting from the play-side Tight End to the back-side Tight End, and all the Linemen in between. These rules also had to work in the situations where there was no Tight End, had to affect blockers in the backfield, and had to work whether you had a fullback to lead block or if you were running out of a Singleback formation. These realistic blocking matchup rules have stood the test of time in football at every level of play, from Pee Wee to professional. So we set out to implement these timeless rules into our football game. Daniel White (who from here forward I will refer to as the greatest software engineer of all time) was able to take the rules that I laid out and actually code them into the game. The result? Better overall run blocking, bigger holes for ball carriers to run through, and more realistic running lanes created by smarter offensive players. Let's look at specific improvement made to the different runs in our game."

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Member Comments

# 181 moneal2001 @ 05/17/10 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Only1LT


	Interesting theory (not really), except for the fact that there are MANY games that have only one difficulty level.

What games are they. Probably games where what you do doesn't effect the outcome of the game (you can play the same mission over and over again until you get it right), like GTA.

No two gamers have the same skills. I may be a better at the running game than you, just an example. I can average 250 yards rushing on the default sliders. You average 90 yards on default sliders. The sliders allow both of us to tweak our games so that we get more realistic stats. Same with the passing game or any other part of the game with a slider.

# 182 Only1LT @ 05/17/10 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moneal2001


	What games are they. Probably games where what you do doesn't effect the outcome of the game (you can play the same mission over and over again until you get it right), like GTA. No two gamers have the same skills. I may be a better at the running game than you, just an example. I can average 250 yards rushing on the default sliders. You average 90 yards on default sliders. The sliders allow both of us to tweak our games so that we get more realistic stats. Same with the passing game or any other part of the game with a slider.

You may be better at completing a Gay Tony mission than me too. You might be better at beating Sephiroth than I am. And on and on. There are varying levels of ability for anything under the sun, yet the fact remains that there ARE games that have only one difficulty. I was merely pointing that out to the poster who seems to think that this can not possibly work, when it has been going on since games have been in existence, that's all.

I am not even saying that there shouldn't be sliders in the game. The fact that you need to adjust them to get "sim" results is a clear sign to me that the default settings are flawed though. I don't see how this is not obvious to everyone, but I digress.

My whole point is that I don't think that having the AI behave in an unrealistic manner is the way to tune difficulty. Whether they are moronic to the point that they watch runners run past them, or psychic to the point that they break for balls before your receiver does without even looking back. I am of the opinion that the focus should be on one realistic difficulty level, where things happen as close to real life as they can possibly code it. For anyone that disagrees with this, again, I submit that the devs DO have in mind, one difficulty that they think should be the default, most realistic gameplay. How could they call their game a sim if they believed that none of the difficulties behave in a sim like manner (marketing maybe), so it stands to reason that THEY feel one of them does. I think that they have not done a good job in this regard.

Number two, even if they do have multiple difficulty levels in the game, you will never make me believe that the way it is done now, is the best and only way to do it. That's just my opinion. If you think that this is the best and only way to do it, then we have to just agree to disagree.

# 183 moneal2001 @ 05/17/10 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Only1LT


	You may be better at completing a Gay Tony mission than me too. You might be better at beating Sephiroth than I am. And on and on. There are varying levels of ability for anything under the sun, yet the fact remains that there ARE games that have only one difficulty. I was merely pointing that out to the poster who seems to think that this can not possibly work, when it has been going on since games have been in existence, that's all.

The point that I was making is that I may be better at completing the Gay Tony mission than you but the game doesn't hurt you for not being able to do it, you just start it again. Madden does hurt you for being worse at running or passing or even defense, unless you like to restart a game every time you have a bad play. That is the reason for different difficulties and sliders.

# 184 Only1LT @ 05/17/10 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moneal2001


	The point that I was making is that I may be better at completing the Gay Tony mission than you but the game doesn't hurt you for not being able to do it, you just start it again. Madden does hurt you for being worse at running or passing or even defense, unless you like to restart a game every time you have a bad play. That is the reason for different difficulties and sliders.

There is no difference. If you are not good at GTA you will die until you get good enough to complete the mission. If you are not good enough at Madden, you will.... lose, (OMG, how terrible) until you are good enough to win. You know, kind of how it is now. Believe it or not, there are people that have to work their way up to be able to beat rookie. Should they have a super rookie mode to accommodate them?

The bottom line is that there is no difference between this and any other game. You play until you attain a level of proficiency that allows you to pass a level, or win a game. Absolutely the same.

This is off topic though, so I'm done. You can try and make a special case for Madden, or for sports games in general, but there really is none. Trying to do so is, to borrow from a previous poster, "over thinking".

# 185 BezO @ 05/17/10 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s38s38s


	Nice try but the sole purpose of the "Rookie" difficulty is to make it easier for the user. Simply put the sliders are in the user's favor and severely handi-cap the CPU A.I.. If you want the sliders even where both sides react equally I suggest you request a vid done on All-Pro.

IMO, difficulty should not effect CPU AI. I think difficulty should effect the effectiveness of user stick moves, being more lenient with the timing. I think it should help the user perform up to player ratings.

For example, help the user break tackles even if they don't use the controls. Same with shedding blocks. Make throws, jukes, ect effective even when the user's timing is off with the controls.

With the new play calling feature, maybe call a better game for users on the lower levels.

# 186 Obelysk @ 05/17/10 04:10 PM

My question is, will the Elite NT demand to "keep" the double teams? In other words in the video I see the guard and center double the DT but then one of them disengages and goes after the LB. So will a guy like Vince wilfork demand to "keep" both lineman occupied because he is an elite NT/space eater?

# 187 shttymcgee @ 05/17/10 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obelysk


	My question is, will the Elite NT demand to "keep" the double teams? In other words in the video I see the guard and center double the DT but then one of them disengages and goes after the LB. So will a guy like Vince wilfork demand to "keep" both lineman occupied because he is an elite NT/space eater?

I know that this is something that alot of people have been harping on, but in all honesty, that's not really the way it works. Yes, some noseguards are better than others, and some certainly do demand extra attention, but if you guys watch some film, you would see that even these players do not get doubled all the time, nor do they make combination blocks up to the next level impossible. The whole idea behind zone plays is predicated on combo'ing blocks up to LB's and secondary people, teams don't scrap the schemes, most adjustments require the center to chip on the shade, instead of going to the three if the nose is in some sort of 1-gap alignment. The main reason that these guys are effective in the run game is that you can't get them moving laterally, but it is my belief that the edge players and the 3 technique tackles play a much greater role in stopping the run. To each his own, I guess.

# 188 shttymcgee @ 05/17/10 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BezO


	IMO, difficulty should not effect CPU AI. I think difficulty should effect the effectiveness of user stick moves, being more lenient with the timing. I think it should help the user perform up to player ratings. For example, help the user break tackles even if they don't use the controls. Same with shedding blocks. Make throws, jukes, ect effective even when the user's timing is off with the controls. With the new play calling feature, maybe call a better game for users on the lower levels.

I kind of feel that the player should have more time to react at the lower levels, in effect, slowing down the reactions of the CPU. However, you are obviously entitled to your opinion.

One of the cd guys (i think) responed to me in a different thread and alluded to the fact that this delayed reaction isn't present at the higher levels. Remember, the video was chosed to highlight the blocking assignments, not defensive reaction. I thought the video did a pretty good job of showing that, but it would have been nice to see the same play ran against more than just one defense.

# 189 Only1LT @ 05/20/10 05:32 PM

Madden NFL Dev Team:
I captured the videos myself during normal gameplay. I ball on All-Pro but you can successfully run any of those plays just as illustrated in the blog on any skill level. But of course the frequency plays developing just as they are drawn up on the board will be different on the different skill levels.

Not sure what to think then. Was it on Rookie or All-Pro? If that was All-Pro, someone got some 'splainin to do lol.

# 190 roadman @ 05/20/10 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Only1LT

It was a pretty popular belief that the run blocking vids were on the Rookie difficulty level. I think that Ian might have tweeted to that same effect.

In the Live Chat today though, it was... insinuated, for lack of a better word, that the game was on All-Pro. Here is the quote:

Madden NFL Dev Team:
I captured the videos myself during normal gameplay. I ball on All-Pro but you can successfully run any of those plays just as illustrated in the blog on any skill level. But of course the frequency plays developing just as they are drawn up on the board will be different on the different skill levels.

Not sure what to think then. Was it on Rookie or All-Pro? If that was All-Pro, someone got some 'splainin to do lol.

Wasn't there some positives about defense being addressed in that live chat as well?

# 191 CardsFan52 @ 05/20/10 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadman


	Wasn't there some positives about defense being addressed in that live chat as well?

Yes, they briefly spoke about DT s pushing lineman into the backfield to disrupt runs.

# 192 huskerwr38 @ 05/20/10 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Only1LT

Yea, he really answered that in a real round about way. But, I gotta go with what Ian said how it was recorded on rookie.

# 193 Playmakers @ 05/20/10 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coogrfan


	Umm...because the majority of Madden* fans probably don't give a hoot about NCAA? To those folks this is brand new stuff.*

I'm not sure why especially since NCAA prior to this year has been better than Madden IMO

But hey both games are shapping up really good this year and the AI improved blocking logic will be a welcome addition for both.

# 194 splff3000 @ 05/20/10 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by huskerwr38


	Yea, he really answered that in a real round about way. But, I gotta go with what Ian said how it was recorded on rookie.

Yeah, but why do it in a round about way? Why not just say it was on rookie or just say it was on all pro? **sigh** I just don't understand EA sometimes. SMH

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