Madden 12 News Post

Madden NFL 12 Super Bowl Halftime Blog: Tuner Sets and Surprise Onside Kicks

09:00 PM - February 6, 2011 by Steve_OS

The Madden NFL 12 Super Bowl Halftime blog is online. Tuner sets and surprise onside kicks are in.

Quote:


	""Tuner Sets", introduced in the NHL series and brought into NCAA Football last year, are hugely important to the development of sports games in that they allow us to tune and tweak many existing parts of game code without the major delay that comes from a full title update requiring 1st party console manufacturer approvals. A quick addition to my hacked surprise onside kick code made this feature easily tunable post-ship, and thus much safer against any exploits that may crop up. This isn't the only thing in the tuner sets obviously...we are in the process of moving as many items into these as possible, from gameplay tuning to franchise data to even presentation aspects. We are excited to the possibilities this will open up to our fans in being able to provide live feedback and having us act on it in near real-time. The days of shipping a disc in a box and forgetting about it are long gone, and we want to be at the forefront of blazing new trails in reacting to our audience and improving the game quickly."

Read the entire blog right here, along with a short video showing off the new surprise onside kick, in action.

UPDATE: The podcast is now on iTunes, for those that couldn't listen to it, via the blog.

EDIT: Per Ian Cummings

Quote:


	"RE: surprise onside, you pick a normal kickoff, then hit the B (or Circle) button as the last press on the meter. Your opponent has no clue!"

UPDATE #2: Via Ian

Quote:


	"Since so many people have asked...surprise onside as of today is only allowed 2x per team per game. That value is also in the tuner set."

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Member Comments

# 101 adembroski @ 02/07/11 08:56 AM

I agree with Ryno... the tuner sets are the real news here.

I'm going to take myself out of my current job for just a moment and comment as if I don't know what else is coming down the pike... Ian addressed something that the community had been asking for but he had been resisting because he felt there were bigger fish to fry. I think it was a smart blog to do, it was the right blog to do, because it's something that's already in the game, already working, and thus it isn't gonna get cut, and he can let the community who's been demanding it know "hey, we are listening, we're doing what we can."

Again, back to the tuner sets... I think we all expected them, but it's confirmed now, and that can't be anything but a good thing. It isn't huge news, anybody who's been here the past two seasons knows it's not gonna be huge news (year 1 was head tracking, I don't remember what it was last year, but I know there was a similar "where's the real news" kinda thing).

Anyways, there's a long ways to go to August, and plenty more news coming. I'm sure it'll start to flow like a river around the draft, so sit down, chill, wait it out.

# 102 Meast21Forever @ 02/07/11 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adembroski


	I'm going to take myself out of my current job for just a moment and comment as if I don't know what else is coming down the pike...

i hate you...

# 103 roadman @ 02/07/11 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adembroski


	Again, back to the tuner sets... I think we all expected them, but it's confirmed now, and that can't be anything but a good thing. It isn't huge news, anybody who's been here the past two seasons knows it's not gonna be huge news (year 1 was head tracking, I don't remember what it was last year, but I know there was a similar "where's the real news" kinda thing).

AJ, it was the goose egg hunt on the white board. The Go Pack Go chant, Pycho D, the Jets Chant, Tom Hammond's name crossed out, etc...... The backlash was the people didn't look perky enough. lol.

# 104 Hova57 @ 02/07/11 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator Palmer


	I agree with you there. There are nuances and subtle innovations in both NCAA and Madden that don't cross over. This could be a very good thing

yea not only that but they borrowed an animation from Fifa team for the onside kick. Pretty Cool. As it stands now Ncaa and Madden only games in EaSports Division with no added physics to the game so we could be in for a good surprise eventually

# 105 DickDalewood @ 02/07/11 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meast21Forever


	- still a bunch of individual players out there. each one is kinda wandering around doing his own thing. after playing nba 2k11 for so long, it'd be nice to see a player or two come together and hit helmets or high five or something. they recovered an onside kick, a few guys celebrated to themselves, and then it's off the field at the exact same rate of speed lol. a bit robotic almost. 2k11 spoiled me i guess

Yes, one of my largest gripes as well, and it would go a LONG way in improving the feel and presentation.

# 106 mm boost @ 02/07/11 10:38 AM

Ian, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to make us a blog to get the hype train rolling for 2012. A lot of times, everyone over looks small things like this that you do for this community, only to moan and complain about zomg there wuz no franchiz newz!?!/11!11 Wtf!!??11 off with EA's HEADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The true immature children come out in these threads when news is released, and allows the moderators to do their jobs more diligently. Regardless, again, thank you for making this blog. I am about to go listen to the podcast now, and get even more excited. Personally, I loved this blog. The tuner sets is a MAJOR thing for me. I'm still playing my NCAA 11, and the tuner sets, IMO, was one of their best additions. I think it truly allows you guys to listen to our feedback, and fix certain parts of the game. And honestly, I feel like this will keep frustrating problems from staying around for a while.

Prime example. I just finished my 2nd season in Madden 2011 with my Cowboys this weekend, played in the Superbowl against the Chargers. Had a really awesome game with some AWESOME highlight plays from it, get to the superbowl presentation and I am enjoying the trophy presentation and the dialogue from Gus, and then BOOM, the game freezes and I lost everything. Want to talk about being upset? Yes I was, no doubt about it. So much so, that I quit my franchise, and I am starting a new one tonight. It completely sucked the life out of my franchise. My sense of accomplishment was completely gone, so I have no desire to continue that 'chise. So I am downloading the latest roster update tonight, and starting a fresh one.

Regardless, my point is, with a tuner set, this would fix this type of problem right? I have seen numerous threads on the superbowl glitch, so I know it is not me and that it is a widespread problem. With tuner sets, you guys would be able to address this, correct?

Another COMMON issue, was the issue with the pre-game presentation tidbits, where Gus Johnson said the same intro over and over and over and over about the quarterback comparisons. No defense comparisons, no other star players, only the two quarterbacks. And if they are not familiar quarterbacks, we get the same standard intro which gets old very quickly. This is another area I am assuming the tuner sets could address, which would make the tuner set feature one of the best additions in a long time for Madden.

I am looking forward to the Franchise news, which will be my major selling point. I hope you guys knock it out of the park with presentation and overall depth in the franchise mode (which I have faith, and I am feeling optimistic that you will). I love Madden and I purchase it every year, but I would love for a few of the areas that bother me to be fully addressed so I no-longer have to ignore and chalk up to difficulty of delivering a perfect game.

# 107 Rebel10 @ 02/07/11 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator Palmer


	Just curious, what was wrong with the NCAA tuner? I thought they worked great. It's just the NCAA team tuned to the point of screwing up what was so great about the game, then went radio silent.

NCAA Tuners were a disaster when coupled with patches & EA Online Pass, because the tuners were released simultaneously with patches and they were meant to work in tandem... The problem was for people without EA Online Pass, because the two things worked together, it legitimately broke the game for anybody who didn't have EA Online Pass... the only way to make the game playable was to disconnect from XBL / PSN, and delete all updates whenever you wanted to play NCAA.

As far as I know, EA never rectified this ridiculous issue, nor even recognized it.

# 108 huskerwr38 @ 02/07/11 11:44 AM

This blog was a very nice surprise compared to last year as they actually talked about new features. Anyways, for people talking about presentation and stuff (or lack thereof) I would just relax right now. The game is about 6 and a half months away from shipping right now. I'm sure they do not have that stuff installed yet.

# 109 econoodle @ 02/07/11 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayman


	I approve of the new scoring bug. I like it a lot. I was sick of looking at the current one, since they've had it for 2 years. The new one's smaller, which is excellent, because the current one was huge.

i did notice that the scorebug is off center.
this could mean a few things:

1- that its 6 months from release and its just a placeholder position [likely]

2- that its set off to the left to be more like tv broadcasts, which oare usually off to one side [tho tv network bugs are smaller i think].

3-that its set where it is so stat info can slide out from the right side [hopefully].

In any event, I've fallen for it. Much more classy.

# 110 Palo20 @ 02/07/11 11:52 AM

I like the blog.

Surprise onsides will be really cool as long as the risk/reward is implemented properly. The problem with it being abused is that many users simply become bored and want more control, so they will definitely overuse it. It's like stealing and bunting in a baseball video game, even if it's not a great strategy, the user wants to make decisions.

The tuner sets should be a nice addition as well, the problem with NCAA this year is that they drastically altered the game every few weeks. Slight adjustments and fixes are ideal.

# 111 RGiles36 @ 02/07/11 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meast21Forever


	After playing nba 2k11 for so long, it'd be nice to see a player or two come together and hit helmets or high five or something. they recovered an onside kick, a few guys celebrated to themselves, *and then it's off the field at the exact same rate of speed lol. a bit robotic almost.* 2k11 spoiled me i guess

Quote:

Originally Posted by DickDalewood


	*Yes, one of my largest gripes as well, and it would go a LONG way in improving the feel and presentation.*

I wasn't going to touch on this as the video wasn't created to show off anything other than the new feature. And we're obliged to acknowledge that it's still very early, and it is.

But post-play has lacked fluidity pretty much all of this generation, at least the real-time sequences anyway. At this juncture, with the exception of maybe some new cutscenes, I'm still expecting the zombie-fied post play look of past Maddens in M12.

I think it would be a time-consuming project to really add some life and fluidity in this area; in lieu of other aspects of the game that need improvement, it would be understandable if it takes a back seat.

# 112 kingkilla56 @ 02/07/11 12:00 PM

Nothing too exciting in this blog. But thats no surprise. I just want the first pic of NCAA 12 now!

# 113 moose1619 @ 02/07/11 12:22 PM

Good Blog, I hope to be back in the Madden Series this year after not buying last year. For me the real deal breaker will be Franchise mode. I know they made huge strides last, but I chose NCAA over Madden. The tuner news is a great addition and the suprise onside kicks stays within the vision of everything you see on Sundays. I am sure the blogs down the road will continue to reveal nice details about this years game.

# 114 1_two_3_forte @ 02/07/11 12:57 PM

Surprise Onside-- Well, I'm not a fan...Just my opinion. If it's in, make it extremely hard to recover which I think Ian said they would.

How about Throwback Playbooks(99Rams/90's Cowboys/90's Oilers/80's Chargers/Holmgren West Coast/Gibbs Skins/ How about watching film of the the throwback teams and giving us their playbooks as well as current books)

If you wont give us custom books.
In 2 man coverage...why don't corners play inside trail technique.
Why can't I shade my db's.
Why can't I disguise my coverage, and then with a press of a button have my defense rotate into the actual look pre-snap. If I rotate too late, they can be out of position and I can get burned...but rotating at the right time throws off the read of my opponent on what coverage I'm running.
Why not get an offensive lineman in the building to school you guys up on half man...4 man...full man slides along with B.O.B/Check releases by backs and etc which will alleviate some of the nano problems

Etc guys....

# 115 PantherBeast_OS @ 02/07/11 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlastX21


	Understandable, but the play is only a real as the user calling it. Irl you may see three or four surprise onside kicks in a season. But I guarantee you, there will be guys online using it every single kickoff. Then there will be another group who use it at least once a game. Thats contradictory to this "reality" that we both want. The only way they should implement it, at least in my opinion, is if they give the receiving team an additional option to do a normal return while still looking for the onside kick. It would lessen the return game slighty but protect against the onside.

That's where my idea comes in at for online use. Instead of Ian and company allowing unlimited uses of surprise online kicks. Limit it to 1 use per person per game. That is the best solution to go with so people will not abuse it online. Once you use it once then you have no more chances. That's the best way to keep people from abusing it on every kickoff.

# 116 Joborule @ 02/07/11 01:01 PM

The only suggestion I have for the score bug is to include the city abbreviation names. Aside from FOX, every broadcast has the city name abbreviated in 3 characters. Would mostly be benifical for those games where the same teams are playing each other and you can differate from who's home and away.

# 117 kjcheezhead @ 02/07/11 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebel10


	NCAA Tuners were a disaster when coupled with patches & EA Online Pass, because the tuners were released simultaneously with patches and they were meant to work in tandem... The problem was for people without EA Online Pass, because the two things worked together, it legitimately broke the game for anybody who didn't have EA Online Pass... the only way to make the game playable was to disconnect from XBL / PSN, and delete all updates whenever you wanted to play NCAA. As far as I know, EA never rectified this ridiculous issue, nor even recognized it.

I don't think they see it as an issue at all. Correct me if I'm wrong but the only people without Online Pass are people who bought the game used and didn't buy the pass. As long as you purchase a new game or purchase the pass, your good to go.

# 118 Senator Palmer @ 02/07/11 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1_two_3_forte


	How about Throwback Playbooks(99Rams/90's Cowboys/90's Oilers/80's Chargers/Holmgren West Coast/Gibbs Skins/ How about watching film of the the throwback teams and giving us their playbooks as well as current books)

Mmm, this has me salivating. I'm starting to feel we need one HUGE universal playbook and let us build our system from there, because some playbooks aren't touched year-to-year. But I'd love to fire up an old team and see the Gibbs counter trey or the Cowboys sprint draw. Even though both playbooks came from same Coryell tree -- it would be so cool to see a playbook based off of a number system then a West Coast one that was all terminology.

# 119 DocHolliday @ 02/07/11 02:28 PM

The most disappointing thing in that whole blog video is how the players react after a play LIKE THEYY HAVE FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS! No life, just get up and walk around the field. No congratulating other players, no helping up teamates, no running to the side line with the ball. It feels the same as every other Madden, and these guys just refuse to grasp the idea.

# 120 bcruise @ 02/07/11 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Segagendude


	Be prepared for the "It's a Beta video. Relax" comments.....

.....Beta? In February?

(For the record, I don't think that will change much either in the final - I'd be surprised if it did. So don't count me as validating your point.

)

Really glad to hear Tuner Sets are in. "Meh" on Surprise Onsides, even though they are a part of the game.

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