Madden NFL 11 News Post

Madden NFL 11 Title Update #4 Details

10:52 AM - October 19, 2010 by Steve_OS

First off, we have been aware of a roster de-sync issue that resulted in more disconnects during some online games - primarily affecting Online Franchise and Madden Ultimate Team games. Rest assured we have a fix slated for this upcoming title update, and more details are explained below.

Ultimate Team ‘Rivals Pack'
The biggest delivery for this update is a set of features built around Madden Ultimate Team, and this signifies a few months of development work as we couldn't squeeze these features in by the ship date. The "Rivals Pack" delivers three new features for Ultimate Team, allowing you to make new rivals in Tournaments, face off against old rivals in Play vs. Friends, and renew some rivalries with Refer a Friend.

New Feature #1: Tournaments
You guys have asked for Tournaments in Ultimate Team for a while now, and we're happy to say that they will be available in the next title update. Here are some details about this brand new feature:
1. Each tournament has entrance criteria which can range from specific players to minimum team skill or chemistry.
2. Once you enter the tournament, you'll be matched up against another tournament player and battle it out. The owner who wins the game will move on to the next round while the loser has to start the tournament over.
3. You win coins every time you advance and if you advance to the last round and win, you'll earn even more coins and you might even win a rare player.
4. Tournaments, like Collections, are dynamic and new tournaments can (and will) be added throughout the season.
5. We're also planning on having special promotional tournaments where we release an insert for the weekend and those that find that insert can enter a special tournament.

New Feature #2: Play With Friends
Another feature the community has asked for is the ability to play against your friends in Ultimate Team, and that will finally be available in Title Update #4. You can challenge your friends anytime they are online and play a game of MUT.

New Feature #3: Refer a Friend
One of our favorite new features is Refer a Friend. If you have buddies that play Madden, but they haven't joined Ultimate Team, you can earn coins for getting them to join up. A brand new screen has been added that allows you to keep track of your invites and your rewards from the friends that have accepted the referral.

Uniform Updates

Here's a list of uniform updates that will be rolled out when Title Update #4 releases:
• Added alternate tops for the 3 Vikings jerseys featuring the 50th anniversary patch being worn this season.
• Added the current Redskins Home and Away uniforms. In addition the socks issues are fixed.
• Added the current Chargers powder blue uniform.
• Added a uniform top for the Saints including the Super Bowl Champions patch as seen in their home opener.

Content Updates
Here's a list of some of the other changes we've made to Madden NFL 11 that will be rolled out when Title Update #4 releases:
• Fixed a couple of random Madden Moments stability issues.
• Fixed the user's ability to view play art manually if the opponent on defense holds LT/L2 pre-snap.
• Fixed an exploit where the user could audible when coming out in the Bronco Heavy formation with a HB or WR at QB.
• Fixed an exploit where after pressing the square/X button on defense a user is able to hold down on the L-stick which allows the defender to release off the LOS and go after the QB as soon as the ball is hiked.
• Fixed a hanging issue with onside kicks in Madden Moments Live and offline Madden Moments.
• Fixed an issue causing a high percentage of disconnects in Online Franchise, Madden Ultimate Team, and other online head-to-head games

Well, that's it for the update on Title Update #4. Expect it to arrive at the end of this month or the first week of November with all the features and improvements you see listed above. If you have any questions or comments feel free to hop over to the EA Forums to discuss.
- Madden Team

Source - Madden NFL 11 Blog

Game: Madden NFL 11Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 96 - View All

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Member Comments

# 101 Armor and Sword @ 10/20/10 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falconfansince81


	i cited the wall street journal for my data, which at least proves MY end is clearly NOT the minority as others have said based off what you referred to as the 'he said, she said' scenario. "Those playing Madden NFL 11 have averaged more than 2 million online connected game sessions each day, with nearly a fifth of all online play on a new feature that allows fans to play 3-on-3 with or against friends. EA increasingly has focused on digital platforms and a slimmer portfolio of core games to recover from recent troubles and reposition itself in the gaming industry. As consumers migrated to online and mobile games and the industry shifted from packaged goods to digital interfaces and downloadable content, EA suffered more than its peers because of its traditionally high development costs, leading to job losses and expense cuts" -By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; [email protected] thats a lot more people who are going to see those old spice, kfc, and tocho show ads the sponsors paid big bucks for. regardless of what online figures you subtract off total sales to get your online/offline consumer figures its the online gamers who are the clear focal point, which is why i said offline is being phased out...so i RATHER see the improvements for online franchises over modes like MUT which i will never play.

EA is hemoriging money and has been for years.

This is very accurate. Those of us that are hardcore offline players...get while the getting is good because the next wave of console gaming will probably not have us in mind at all.

# 102 sparkyiii2k @ 10/20/10 06:13 PM

You want to know how the cheesers can be controlled spectator mode. Trust me people only cheese online because no one is watching them and outside of people in your living room or you being in a party on xbox live then its your word against his. Ea should have spectator mode availble online in sim lobbies tournaments and of course online franchies quick play and casual lobbies would be out of luck. It really can be a powerful tool

# 103 DaSmerg @ 10/20/10 07:06 PM

sparkyiii2k, spectator mode would be just plain cool period. Lot's of times over the years, friends have been playing online and I've/we've/they've wished we could be watching other than a stat update in your friends list.

# 104 huskerwr38 @ 10/20/10 07:17 PM

I think that EA has all these data and numbers, however, I don't believe they are interpreting it correctly. They are twisting the facts to fit their belief...I believe.

# 105 bwquinn13 @ 10/21/10 12:25 AM

Is this patch going to help with the freezing? On my offline franchise, I cannot even get through a game without it freezing. Heck I am lucky if it even gets through the opening game stuff. VERY frustrating. NCAA is much better because I can actually play a whole game... Never thought I would say that.

# 106 JaymeeAwesome @ 10/21/10 12:42 AM

I'm gonna sum up exactly what is going on. The madden community as a whole is fairly disappointed with what was update in this title update, but with proper sliders this game plays great with sliders offline. We all wish gameplanning is tweaked too.

When you take this game online you are taking a sim game and turning it into an arcade style because human interaction is involved on both sides. All games that can go online has a disclaimer saying that things may change online and can't be rated the same way.

# 107 havokeff @ 10/21/10 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwquinn13


	Is this patch going to help with the freezing? On my offline franchise, I cannot even get through a game without it freezing. Heck I am lucky if it even gets through the opening game stuff. VERY frustrating. NCAA is much better because I can actually play a whole game... Never thought I would say that.

I have played hundreds of games in offline franchise and it has never frozen on me.

Try loading the game to the hard drive and playing that way.
Also, and I know this is one of those 'duh' things, but make sure the disc is clean or doesn't have any scratches on it.

# 108 falconfansince81 @ 10/21/10 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by St. Chaos


	Do understand one thing about your overwhelming proof... "Online connected game sessions" does not mean games played online in a Vs. situation. It means games played while said console was able to access the internet. With that said, somehow I bet if I went and compared the number of copies of Madden sold to that 2 million GAMES played, it would pale in comparison to how many games are played "offline" (lets refer to this is single player henceforth for the sake of preventing confusion). Seeing as Halo reach averages around 1.2 million actual players per day, and Madden was last pegged nearly out of the top 10 games played while connected to XBox live at 8th... let's try to workout some numbers here. Halo 3 is 3rd, and you know how many people play it on average in a day? Only about 130,000. So it's pretty safe to say that Madden on X360 doesn't even see 50,000 people a day in 8th place. Let's say it sees 20,000 (which, it very well may not...) Madden has sold, surely, at least almost 1,000,000 copies. But let's say it only sold 500,000 (250,000 to the X360) just to be safe. You've got to wonder where those other 230,000 owners are if the total connected online players PERIOD (which doesn't mean they're playing online) is only around 20,000 gamers. The single-player/offline gamer base is actually much larger than some of you people seem to comprehend. Not only are they the majority, they are the majority by a very large margin. Hell, I've had XBox Live just about since it launched, and even I have probably played more single-player/offline games than online ones. Especially in the latter years of my XBL career because quite frankly kids, cheaters, and flat out jackasses have made that a preferable style of play. That goes 10 to the 23rd power for Madden. Nothing but idiots and cheaters running about there for the past few years. Franchise and Play Now gamers outnumber online multi-player gamers 5:1 more than likely, and that's quite possibly an underestimate.

its not overwhelming proof, its proven statistics that people are playing online so of course THATS where ea's focus will be as its going to generate FAR more revenue than offline modes based on trivial assumption statistics. which from a marketing perspective, would be a arbitrary investment.

im not saying i don't miss an in depth offline mode, i still actively play ncaa11's offline dynasty mode and love it. but in relation to patches and updates its just not going to be a concern or priotrity to ea.

i'm trying to make the point that you shouldn't expect fixes to offline features with the company's agenda focused on other modes that will generate more money. they already got your 65, so why invest more resources into something that has no means of measuring games played, whether it be a 5:1 ratio or not? its irrelevant.

do i agree with the direction they take? absolutely not, but i CAN see why there are limited improvements to it as there is no reason to improve a feature that statistically generates no additional income once the product was purchased. the focus now is online, and will continue to be. investors will see online numbers and want to advertise and purchase stock, its a smart marketing decision but i think in the long run is ruining the legacy of the game itself.

# 109 jonmchugh007 @ 10/21/10 04:07 AM

Hey guys I have been unable to download the latest title update in Madden. I just got my 360 a week ago and I am borrowing a friends copy of Madden. I connect to Live just fine. I do get a message saying some XBox Live content is unavailable. When I turn on Madden and try to download the update, it just sits there and gives me the UNABLE TO CONNECT TO NETWORK error.

I popped in 2k11 and download rosters from 2kshare without a problem. Is it because my friend already used his online code or what? I don't plan to play online I just want the updated rosters and the patch.

thanks.

# 110 blklightning @ 10/21/10 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armor & Sword


	Legacy issues can't be patched. Defense was eased in this game it is wired that way and it's not changing. The game plays like it plays. At least they have addressed the Franchise disconnect issue which was huge.

that doesn't seem accurate to me. they have addressed defensive issues in the past. coverage in the flats being an example. and in a previous update, they claimed to have addressed pass coverage awareness. or something to that effect.

# 111 Gordy748 @ 10/21/10 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by huskerwr38


	I think that EA has all these data and numbers, however, I don't believe they are interpreting it correctly. They are twisting the facts to fit their belief...I believe.

Lies, damn lies and statistics!

Numbers are always factually accurate but are designed to disquise the truth. To me, 2 million connected games a day sounds mighty impressive, and to shareholders who don't understand gaming it certainly would. But Halo is the king of online play, and the 130,000 mentioned earlier sounds right. 2 million games is definitely not coming from 2 million players... so many online players really are there?

Of course, EA want to push online, and ultimate team, because they want to earn more money. Frankly I don't see why, from their view, why they should spend resources trying to improve offline franchise if it's not going to earn any money for them.

Of course, my view as an offline franchise player is a little different from theirs.

# 112 Exonerated @ 10/21/10 11:23 AM

online is where its at.

# 113 Armor and Sword @ 10/21/10 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blklightning


	that doesn't seem accurate to me. they have addressed defensive issues in the past. coverage in the flats being an example. and in a previous update, they claimed to have addressed pass coverage awareness. or something to that effect.

Legacy issues in that Players slide, guys complain of the tackle animations, player interactions, those things that are hard wired into the engine itself. The majority of complaints I see about the game are the game itself not tweaks to bugs that can be patched.

That is what I was trying to say.

# 114 K_GUN @ 10/21/10 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exonerated


	online is where its at.

i wouldn't know.......just want to play my friend.....we can't.....buggy issue

sadly...we had no issues when playing madden 10

# 115 huskerwr38 @ 10/21/10 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordy748


	Lies, damn lies and statistics! Numbers are always factually accurate but are designed to disquise the truth. To me, 2 million connected games a day sounds mighty impressive, and to shareholders who don't understand gaming it certainly would. But Halo is the king of online play, and the 130,000 mentioned earlier sounds right. 2 million games is definitely not coming from 2 million players... so many online players really are there? Of course, EA want to push online, and ultimate team, because they want to earn more money. Frankly I don't see why, from their view, why they should spend resources trying to improve offline franchise if it's not going to earn any money for them. Of course, my view as an offline franchise player is a little different from theirs.

I agree with everything else except that bold part. This is where you are wrong because if they improve franchise mode and made even half of what NBA 2k11 has then more people will buy the game. This is where they will make the most of their money.

# 116 falconfansince81 @ 10/21/10 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by St. Chaos


	It is far from a smart business decision to cater to a group of customers that is MICROSCOPIC by comparison to the overwhelming number of gamers you leave out in the cold. The only snowball's chance in hell it has at being a smart decision is if they could guarantee they NEVER lose the NFL license. I assure you, they aren't making an addition $65 per gamer from online multi-player gamers buying content. If anything the smart decision would be ignoring online play entirely, albeit a bit extreme. In fact it was proven a while back by an interview with MS that, as far as XBL is concerned, many online gamers don't buy content for most of their games, if at all. Count me in that group. I've probably only spent around $70 or $75 total on game content in the past 5 years, and ZERO of that was on Madden.

well see the snowball hasn't fallen to hell yet, as they are the only ones with the license which we are ALL in the mercy of. your probably right about them making more money of copies/downloaded content but there is also A LOT of advertising online that brings in a lot of extra money as well.

and again, there is no way to prove (in debate) they would make more money by catering the game to offline players...since they haven't bothered with this approach in years. believe me, i would LOVE for ea to take 2k's approach and not only make a great online experience but an OFFLINE one as well...if they did that i would be wrapped in in an offline franchise myself, but they way it stands now its just not there for a lot of people.

i think since ea realizes they haven't put any resources into it in so long people aren't playing it (statement made by ian) so their focus will be online. again, do i agree with this decision? hell no...but its all we got right now and i'm just trying to make the best of what we have, and for the time being its online sim franchises. we have well over 200+ members in our small sim community called maddengroup who are all concerned about the D/C issue...so thats what i was interested to hear about.

clearly this board is totally opposite from the ea forums, its like the majority here are offline whereas the majority over there are online. despite our different views and opinions (which i don't intend to disrespect yours, although we disagree) i think 2k is setting a great example of catering to BOTH aspects of gamers, both online and off.

# 117 Palo20 @ 10/21/10 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exonerated


	online is where its at.

Every year I try to play a few games online and the lag just kills the game for me. I always miss extra points and the lack of player responsiveness makes it feel like a completely different game.

While I'm an offline gamer first and foremost, I would give Online Franchise a hard look if it was implemented properly. I find it laughable that at this point the priority seems to be MUT over BOTH Online and Offline Franchise.

Josh Looman did such a great job on NFL Head Coach, and now all of his time is dedicated to MUT when 99% of OSers want him overhauling franchise mode.

# 118 Armor and Sword @ 10/21/10 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palo20


	Every year I try to play a few games online and the lag just kills the game for me. I always miss extra points and the lack of player responsiveness makes it feel like a completely different game. While I'm an offline gamer first and foremost, I would give Online Franchise a hard look if it was implemented properly. I find it laughable that at this point the priority seems to be MUT over BOTH Online and Offline Franchise. Josh Looman did such a great job on NFL Head Coach, and now all of his time is dedicated to MUT when 99% of OSers want him overhauling franchise mode.

Yep on all counts. Online is awful. Lag, DC's it is bad. I tried a great sim league and these reasons made the game unplayable online. And lobby games? Bwahhhha ha ha ha ha. Don't get me started.

# 119 jhogan3132 @ 10/21/10 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WinstonWolf


	Wow this is just terrible. I was holding out hope that they would fix the intros and the silly weather, including raining in Cowboys Stadium. What about the messed up Gameplanning? I don't play MUT or online and I really don't care about those modes at all. I know my opinion doesn't matter but I'm completely beaten down by the direction of this game and the lack of improvement in some core areas. It's October 19, I love the NFL, and I'm done with this game. Now I know what being a Cubs fan feels like - wait 'til next year!

Whats silly about it raining in Cowboys Stadium? Don't you remember the game in the snow against the Dolphins? Anyways thank god they are doing something about disconnects in online play. If you guys havent tried it you are missing the best way to play madden. Get into a online franchise

# 120 StormJH1 @ 10/21/10 04:25 PM

This is a 4th title update - I'm not sure people are being realistic if they thought the game was going to be radically redesigned on the 4th update. If you haven't traded it in by now, you might as well just keep it and accept it for what it is.

There is a fair amount of free contact here, and as a Vikings fan, I appreciate the improved jerseys...also, the Ultimate Team modes could be fun.

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