Madden NFL 25 News Post

Will People Adjust to the Pocket in Next-Gen Madden?

11:33 AM - November 7, 2013 by RaychelSnr

RGIII is dangerous running the ball, but only because he is a rare talent.

One of the Madden franchises' most glaring issues in past versions of the game has been with its offensive and defensive line interaction.

The gamer never got a realistic representation of an incredibly important part of football in the line play. We ended up seeing the same two or three animations that didn�t portray any kind of realism.

Madden 25 on next generation systems is touting a new �War in the Trenches� feature which promises to not only give overhauled offensive/defensive line play, but more importantly, it promises to change the way we play the game.

Read More - Will People Adjust to the Pocket in Next-Gen Madden?

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# 1 soonermagic88 @ 11/07/13 11:38 AM

You hit the nail on the head. The sim guys will love it. Those who like arcade style probably won't.
I'm a sim guy and former lineman so this is something i've been wanting for a LONG time.
I just hope the non sim community doesn't cry about it and cause EA to fix (break) it.

# 2 NDAlum @ 11/07/13 11:47 AM

I highly doubt they will put an end to guys rolling out and abusing the poor Madden AI

If they do kudos to the Madden team

However I won't hold my breath

# 3 kjcheezhead @ 11/07/13 11:51 AM

Let's hope so. The last time they tried this was Madden 10 and Ian mentioned in some interviews his fear people would keep dropping back and getting sacked. I don't think the pocket was the problem, but 10s sales weren't great and EA responded by going with more arcade style in 11.

I have my complaints with Madden, but the new pocket isn't one of them (at least what they shown so far). I just want to see it complimented with a more realistic route based passing game.

# 4 sactown_13 @ 11/07/13 11:53 AM

WR/DB interaction is huge in this sense. love that they touched the line but it will be for none if they dont fix the megatron vs random d back

# 5 tfctillidie @ 11/07/13 12:10 PM

I assume the sim crowd will appreciate it....but it's really hard to evaluate when we've seen so little.

# 6 roadman @ 11/07/13 12:12 PM

Casuals should be able to adjust to a real pocket.

# 7 maddenps2 @ 11/07/13 12:22 PM

Lets see how it works before passing judgement on how people will react, we have seen similar boasts of new technology by the madden development team before, such as advanced tackling systems, and advanced step mechanics that never panned out or made the gameplay that much more realistic or sim like.

# 8 wordtobigbird @ 11/07/13 12:23 PM

People WILL complain heavily.

"I can't even drop back without getting sacked!"

"Why can't I scramble anymore?!"

"madden ruined the passing! i use to be able to throw for 300 yards easily!"

A lot of people don't like difficulty or change, but if it's implemented realistically and explained properly with a skills trainer it would help the transition.

# 9 therealsmallville @ 11/07/13 12:48 PM

I'm a sim player, but I hope the tourney guys adjust quickly to it. I think Rex said something about "no more back of the box features that will disappear the following year", or words to that effect. If the tournament players don't like it, it'll be interesting to see if it stays because it seems like they get catered to more than us.

# 10 SageInfinite @ 11/07/13 12:50 PM

Cheesers will always find a way to cheese. Just keep making the game as realistic as possible. The jury is still out on whether the pocket even makes a real difference. The game hasn't been displayed to us outside of a controlled environment. Roll and chuck and super drop backs could still work.

# 11 Only1LT @ 11/07/13 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMChrisS


	RGIII is dangerous running the ball, but only because he is a rare talent. One of the Madden franchises' most glaring issues in past versions of the game has been with its offensive and defensive line interaction. The gamer never got a realistic representation of an incredibly important part of football in the line play. We ended up seeing the same two or three animations that didn�t portray any kind of realism. Madden 25 on next generation systems is touting a new �War in the Trenches� feature which promises to not only give overhauled offensive/defensive line play, but more importantly, it promises to change the way we play the game. Read More - Will People Adust to the Pocket in Next-Gen Madden?

What game is that picture from...?

# 12 TeeDogg @ 11/07/13 01:02 PM

If they make it totally realistic I think both casual and so called sim guys will not like it. There will be insane numbers of both sacks and picks. Thumb jockeys will take DE's and become wrecking forces. But it will all depend on its implementation. As said above just because they are attempting this doesn't mean it won't have exploits or A.I. holes on both sides of the ball. I look forward to the challenge, I loose many games now because of bad throws by Rothlesberger (me) usually because of a bad read. So I can imagine how it will be with an intensified pass rush.

In fact I think even us simmers are so spoiled by just waiting till someone comes open, reading the coverage and making a throw in 2-3 secs will be culture shock lol

# 13 josef @ 11/07/13 01:09 PM

I think when you boot up the game, it should ask something like: "Are you a casual gamer? Or hardcore football simulation guy?" It would then be set for "Arcade" or "Sim." (obviously, you could change this setting at any time). And then the game should play VERY differently on the different settings. Arcade would have less penalties, be easier to pick up and play (default to Gameflow play calling), have a faster game speed, all players would have crazy end zone celebrations, there would be less injuries, etc, etc. "Sim" would have realistic # and occurrences of penalties and injuries, slower game speed, realistic pocket, more realistic stats, etc. etc. There is no reason they couldn't get the game to work for both audiences.

They may even have this setting already (I haven't played Madden in a few years), but the difference b/w an "Arcade" type mode and "Sim" should be very noticeable.. so they could cater to both crowds.. that is my point.

All that being said, I'm very excited for this year's Madden. I like some of the steps they've taken to try to improve the gameplay.

[EDIT: Big FN Deal is right on. Beat me to it.]

# 14 unfriendlyghst @ 11/07/13 01:18 PM

IMO, This is just a graphical update and not a mechanical one. I think the pocket is being formed artificially and that it has no bearing on the gameplay.

# 15 wordtobigbird @ 11/07/13 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by josef


	I think when you boot up the game, it should ask something like: "Are you a casual gamer? Or hardcore football simulation guy?" It would then be set for "Arcade" or "Sim." (obviously, you could change this setting at any time). And then the game should play VERY differently on the different settings. Arcade would have less penalties, be easier to pick up and play (default to Gameflow play calling), have a faster game speed, all players would have crazy end zone celebrations, there would be less injuries, etc, etc. "Sim" would have realistic # and occurrences of penalties and injuries, slower game speed, realistic pocket, more realistic stats, etc. etc. There is no reason they couldn't get the game to work for both audiences. They may even have this setting already (I haven't played Madden in a few years), but the difference b/w an "Arcade" type mode and "Sim" should be very noticeable.. so they could cater to both crowds.. that is my point. All that being said, I'm very excited for this year's Madden. I like some of the steps they've taken to try to improve the gameplay. [EDIT: Big FN Deal is right on. Beat me to it.]

This would be great IF Ea could even get the aspects of football down right in the first place, if penalties actually worked in the first place. They have no foundation built to focus on attention to details imo.

Most guys looking for a sim experience already try to do this with sliders and its damn near impossible.

# 16 wordtobigbird @ 11/07/13 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeDogg


	If they make it totally realistic I think both casual and so called sim guys will not like it. There will be insane numbers of both sacks and picks. Thumb jockeys will take DE's and become wrecking forces. But it will all depend on its implementation. As said above just because they are attempting this doesn't mean it won't have exploits or A.I. holes on both sides of the ball. I look forward to the challenge, I loose many games now because of bad throws by Rothlesberger (me) usually because of a bad read. So I can imagine how it will be with an intensified pass rush. In fact I think even us simmers are so spoiled by just waiting till someone comes open, reading the coverage and making a throw in 2-3 secs will be culture shock lol

I disagree.

I play Madden like it's football. I try to make my throws as soon as he finishes his drop. I try to throw the ball before the WR makes his break. I step up in the pocket. I have my sliders set so I dont get more than 3-4 seconds to throw. I can't stand playing against no pass rush. Passing is already too easy with the total control passing.

Why would realism lead to insane number of picks and sacks? If they make a realistic game then there should be plenty of ways to counter the pressure. If you know you have a bad oline call shorter drops, check down to the WRs, call screens against heavy blitzers, slide your oline to the dangerous DE, keep a RB/TE in to block.

# 17 jpdavis82 @ 11/07/13 01:27 PM

I think some people will complain, but some people have always complained. If what Kolbe has in mind for this game gets implemented, I've been told some people (casuals) are going to HATE Madden in the future. They have been talking about making some drastic changes towards simulation with Kolbe. He's all about simulation, so if he has much to say about it, I would expect a lot of casuals to be very upset with the direction this game is heading.

From what I've been told by people who have played next gen Madden 25, is that you will have a 2-3 second window to throw the ball and make your reads, due to the realistic pocket forming now. The pocket is not going to be forming artificially at all, Clint Oldenburg has been working day and night on this line play stuff and I think people need to be more appreciative of what he's doing. If everyone over there worked as hard as he has, this game would be something very special.

The last thing we want to do is start bashing him and push him away, instead of encourage what he's trying to do, especially before we have ever even played the game.

# 18 wordtobigbird @ 11/07/13 01:34 PM

In all the videos EA as shown they had more than 2-3 seconds to throw.. They highlighted the Olines ability to pick up blitzes with the 48192843921 calculations per second. They showed the DE getting pushed down pass Vick and he had an EXTRA 2-3 seconds after that. I hope what youre saying is true because that is realistic. You should only get a couple of seconds. You are suppose to make PRE snap reads. You should know where are you going before you even snap the ball. Once the ball is snapped you are only using those 2 seconds to confirm your read and if anything is wrong you throw the check down. Unless you're a bad QB, then you take sacks and throw INTs.

Just for reference.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blo...time-to-throw/

# 19 wech @ 11/07/13 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wordtobigbird


	I disagree. I play Madden like it's football. I try to make my throws as soon as he finishes his drop. I try to throw the ball before the WR makes his break. I step up in the pocket. I have my sliders set so I dont get more than 3-4 seconds to throw. I can't stand playing against no pass rush. Passing is already too easy with the total control passing. Why would realism lead to insane number of picks and sacks? If they make a realistic game then there should be plenty of ways to counter the pressure. If you know you have a bad oline call shorter drops, check down to the WRs, call screens against heavy blitzers, slide your oline to the dangerous DE, keep a RB/TE in to block.

Do you care to share your sliders? I'd be interested in seeing them. Thanks.

# 20 TeeDogg @ 11/07/13 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wordtobigbird


	I disagree. I play Madden like it's football. I try to make my throws as soon as he finishes his drop. I try to throw the ball before the WR makes his break. I step up in the pocket. I have my sliders set so I dont get more than 3-4 seconds to throw. I can't stand playing against no pass rush. Passing is already too easy with the total control passing. Why would realism lead to insane number of picks and sacks? If they make a realistic game then there should be plenty of ways to counter the pressure. If you know you have a bad oline call shorter drops, check down to the WRs, call screens against heavy blitzers, slide your oline to the dangerous DE, keep a RB/TE in to block.

I think we are actually on the same page. I play my game exactly like you described. What I was getting at is with life like pressure from the DEs forcing quick reads and panic throws by "Gamers" should lead to a lot of picks. Until you learn to read cvgs go through progressions quickly, make sound desicions in split seconds. That's going to cause the things I mentioned. And if you hold the ball too long you get sacked. People will have to adjust if they implement it right or deal with high picks and sacks.
IF its implemented right.

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