Madden NFL 15 News Post

Madden NFL 15 Connected Franchise Details, Trailer and Screenshots

11:49 AM - August 6, 2014 by CM Hooe

EA Sports released a plethora fresh new details of connected franchise today, with big changes coming to the mode and how it will work this year. You can check out the full details here.

Here are some highlights:

Confidence is new this year, and replaces hot and cold streaks. Really high or really low confidence is going to affect player ratings, all players start at a neutral 50 confidence level.
Game prep will allow you to earn XP or increase player confidence from week to week, allowing you to practically choose whether you are a rah-rah coach or a down to business type of coach.
CPU teams have extensive logic that determines what they work on every week. Bad teams will focus mostly on developing their players, while contenders will focus on confidence first and then earn XP if confidence isn�t an issue.
Free agents now take much more than money into account when deciding to sign with you or not. Playing time, scheme, your coaching prestige and more will be factors.
Draft classes are now random.
Owner Mode is now much more challenging when it comes to making a profit, and teams with older stadiums in smaller markets may be better off building new stadiums or relocating altogether.
You can now sim to points in the season, with an option to actually sim 10 years into the future.
New screen to see how players progress/regress.
Relocations are tuned way down and can be turned off.
You can now fire your head coach during the season.
The simulation engine now includes things like consistency, confidence and development. In Madden 15, young players with great development traits will have slightly better �simmed� stats than normal. This allows great young players to progress quickly and become stars in the league.

What do you think of the additions to the mode this year?

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Member Comments

# 221 GoToledo @ 08/06/14 07:45 PM

I like what I see so far, even though my in-game ticker doesn't seem to be in. They have sold me!

One question, though. Has there been any word on playoff tiebreakers? As someone who was burned by this in the past, I very much hope that it isn't determined by alphabetical order anymore.

# 222 CT Pitbull @ 08/06/14 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therealsmallville


	I'll admit that I perhaps misinterpreted what you were saying, but to the bolded part above...what am I not getting? You want season mode? When season mode existed on Madden games (again, prior to 06), once the season was over you were done. So I don't understand what you mean by this. Do you mean to say that you would, if given the option, replay season mode over & over? If so, why? And if not, then...what else is there to do but sell it? Or gamefly it, play a season, send it back. Or are you here just to complain? It's ok if you are, about half of OS is here for the same reason so you're in good company.

It wasn't just season mode that you could EASILY control all the things im talking about. You keep saying 06 but the old school franchise also let you do it, after 06. Yea I would replay the season over and over with different teams or play all the games on a schedule that I felt like. And it was easy. Ever since CFM/CCM came along it has restricted everything a lot of us used to enjoy in playing a season/seasons. NCAA 14 added a beautiful season mode last year that a lot of people enjoyed. Maybe Madden needs to do the same. Im just not interested in a football RPG. To me with out having the opportunity to edit draft classes and draft real rookies there is no point in playing past one year. Kinda kills the immersion to draft a white cornerback named Artrelle Patterson. Kinda kills the realism when you let the cpu control a team and they release one of their better players after training camp.

I also said I was happy for those who were happy for the CFM info so I have no idea why you have such an issue with what I was saying. Asking to be able to turn off the off the field fluff isn't really complaining IMO just a request. Seems to me like your trying to pick an OS fight with your wise *** comments..and that's funny

# 223 mestevo @ 08/06/14 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT Pittbull


	It wasn't just season mode that you could EASILY control all the things im talking about. You keep saying 06 but the old school franchise also let you do it, after 06. Yea I would replay the season over and over with different teams or play all the games on a schedule that I felt like. And it was easy. Ever since CFM/CCM came along it has restricted everything a lot of us used to enjoy in playing a season/seasons. NCAA 14 added a beautiful season mode last year that a lot of people enjoyed. Maybe Madden needs to do the same. Im just not interested in a football RPG. To me with out having the opportunity to edit draft classes and draft real rookies there is no point in playing past one year. Kinda kills the immersion to draft a white cornerback named Artrelle Patterson. Kinda kills the realism when you let the cpu control a team and they release one of their better players after training camp. I also said I was happy for those who were happy for the CFM info so I have no idea why you have such an issue with what I was saying. Asking to be able to turn off the off the field fluff isn't really complaining IMO just a request. Seems to me like your trying to pick an OS fight with your wise *** comments..and that's funny

Only wants to play a single season mode... complains about draft problems. I got nothing.

This game will never satisfy you.

# 224 MajorSupreme @ 08/06/14 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT Pittbull


	It wasn't just season mode that you could EASILY control all the things im talking about. You keep saying 06 but the old school franchise also let you do it, after 06. Yea I would replay the season over and over with different teams or play all the games on a schedule that I felt like. And it was easy. Ever since CFM/CCM came along it has restricted everything a lot of us used to enjoy in playing a season/seasons. NCAA 14 added a beautiful season mode last year that a lot of people enjoyed. Maybe Madden needs to do the same. Im just not interested in a football RPG. To me with out having the opportunity to edit draft classes and draft real rookies there is no point in playing past one year. Kinda kills the immersion to draft a white cornerback named Artrelle Patterson. Kinda kills the realism when you let the cpu control a team and they release one of their better players after training camp. I also said I was happy for those who were happy for the CFM info so I have no idea why you have such an issue with what I was saying. Asking to be able to turn off the off the field fluff isn't really complaining IMO just a request. Seems to me like your trying to pick an OS fight with your wise *** comments..and that's funny

So, you want the old season mode where you just play one season, no draft, no FA, no offseason? Correct? Can you not just start a CFM save file, end it after the super bowl and start a new one? And if you want to control all 32 teams but you don't want the tedious effort to do it, just do it once and save the file there and use it as a base. It's still there, you just gotta use the game's resources.

# 225 ggsimmonds @ 08/06/14 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PainTrain43


	All these changes are nice, but still arent enough to get me excited...mainly because it continues to ignore (or at least SEEMINGLY ignore) alot of the biggest issues... - You can fire coaches during the season....but does it matter? I still have yet to see a Madden game where coaches even make a real difference. Coaches need to affect how fast certain positions progress, how they draft, sign free agents, respond to adversity, etc... The coach prestige thing is a step in the right direction, but not enough. - Ability to create REAL draft classes needs to be here. Sorry, but this is a HUGE deal, and until they get it in the game, they are going to lose out on alot of customers. - Teambuilder feature for Madden. Stop making us use your crappy pre determined uniforms and locations. - Ability to adjust players fully. Ratings, equiment, height, weight, skin color...everything!!!! - Simmed stats....are they any better? My guess is no, and the unrealistic stats kill immersion. - Presentation seems better, but still far behind a certain 10 year old game on the PS2/XBox...sad. - Graphics look nice, but animations and physics still leave too much to be desired. Look, I dont need a perfect game, but I also want a game that doesnt feel outdated the moment it comes out like most Madden's in recent memory. These are all things that Ive wanted to see for the last 7 or 8 years and still its no where close. Stats, draft classes and lack of customization options are the reason I will be skipping again this year. Even with some nice new features, it simply isnt there yet.

The blog mentioned that with some coaches (John Harbough and Andy Reid) QBs will progress quicker. Schemes dictate how teams acquire players. And I think scheme is tied to coach and not the team.

Though I am one of the biggest champions of custom draft classes, you are fooling yourself if you think its absence will cause EA to lose a lot of customers.

# 226 movethechains11 @ 08/06/14 08:06 PM

Couldn't be more disappointed. Can't stand drafting guys like "Leon Sandcastle" I want real rookies I want my franchise to last longer than 1 year. 2k has it and still has a ridiculous amount of success even with NBA live competing with them.

Don't see why the IR isn't correct and the practice squad is still a no go. Obviously there are a lot of good things that Madden has included but still some of this stuff just doesn't make sense. What sucks is that no matter how mad we are, there are no other football games and we will buy this game anyway. Oh well, maybe one day.

# 227 CT Pitbull @ 08/06/14 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MajorSupreme


	So, you want the old season mode where you just play one season, no draft, no FA, no offseason? Correct? Can you not just start a CFM save file, end it after the super bowl and start a new one? And if you want to control all 32 teams but you don't want the tedious effort to do it, just do it once and save the file there and use it as a base. It's still there, you just gotta use the game's resources.

do you know how long that takes to do? I do I have done it. It sucks. and after the real NFL season gets going there are always players that come out of no where that weren't on the roster at the time you make that base saved file so really it just not worth the time and effort to do this. Why cant it be made easier? Why did NCAA 14, made by the same company, put a "quick season" mode in the game when they already have dynasty? They did it for guys like me that don't wanna sift through all the off field stuff. Why do you need to create 32 separate profiles to control all 32 in offline CFM? Is there a reason or just bad design?

# 228 CM Hooe @ 08/06/14 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoToledo


	I like what I see so far, even though my in-game ticker doesn't seem to be in. They have sold me! One question, though. Has there been any word on playoff tiebreakers? As someone who was burned by this in the past, I very much hope that it isn't determined by alphabetical order anymore.

There's an article on Tradition Sports Online that says playoff tiebreakers have been "officially fixed".

Quote:


	Tiebreakers are officially fixed in Madden 15. While each cycle they have gotten better, the tiebreakers have not mimicked how the NFL utilizes them. This is a big factor in creating a more "friendly" CFM. Being on the wrong end of the spectrum, I know for a fact it is not pleasant feeling "jipped" from the playoffs.

# 229 CM Hooe @ 08/06/14 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PainTrain43


	- You can fire coaches during the season....but does it matter? I still have yet to see a Madden game where coaches even make a real difference. Coaches need to affect how fast certain positions progress, how they draft, sign free agents, respond to adversity, etc... The coach prestige thing is a step in the right direction, but not enough.

Starting with Madden NFL 13 and continuing in Madden NFL 25, head coaches do affect, per-position, player XP rewards for weekly goals (i.e. player progression), likelihood of player retirement, and likelihood of signing a free agent player during offseason free agency. Presumably, all of those abilities remain in Madden NFL 15.

These effects were all simple in the previous two Madden games; whether a positive effect was present was dependent upon the coach having purchased with XP a modifier which enabled the trait. For example, a user-controlled head coach could buy a QB Development modifier which increased XP gains for all QBs on his team who achieve weekly progression goals, or a RB retirement modifier which made RBs less likely to retire in the offseason, and so on.

# 230 MajorSupreme @ 08/06/14 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT Pittbull


	do you know how long that takes to do? I do I have done it. It sucks. and after the real NFL season gets going there are always players that come out of no where that weren't on the roster at the time you make that base saved file so really it just not worth the time and effort to do this. Why cant it be made easier? Why did NCAA 14, made by the same company, put a "quick season" mode in the game when they already have dynasty? They did it for guys like me that don't wanna sift through all the off field stuff. Why do you need to create 32 separate profiles to control all 32 in offline CFM? Is there a reason or just bad design?

There is a reason, it's CONNECTED franchise. The mode is supposed to be for both offline and online, and some things are sacfriced. That's my reasoning and what I've heard thrown around.

# 231 CT Pitbull @ 08/06/14 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mestevo


	Only wants to play a single season mode... complains about draft problems. I got nothing. This game will never satisfy you.

Not true bud. I would love to play through a season and draft the real rookies like we USED to be able to. An edited draft class would work just as well. If this wasn't possible with CCM/CFM then maybe CFM/CCM is a failure. I say this because its looking like the "logic" with CCM/CFM supposedly wouldn't work.

Why wasn't this thought of when CFM/CCM was born/created/designed?? This should have been possible from day 1 imo along with editing ratings inan offline CFM.

# 232 therealsmallville @ 08/06/14 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT Pittbull


	It wasn't just season mode that you could EASILY control all the things im talking about. You keep saying 06 but the old school franchise also let you do it, after 06. Yea I would replay the season over and over with different teams or play all the games on a schedule that I felt like. And it was easy. Ever since CFM/CCM came along it has restricted everything a lot of us used to enjoy in playing a season/seasons. NCAA 14 added a beautiful season mode last year that a lot of people enjoyed. Maybe Madden needs to do the same. Im just not interested in a football RPG. To me with out having the opportunity to edit draft classes and draft real rookies there is no point in playing past one year. Kinda kills the immersion to draft a white cornerback named Artrelle Patterson. Kinda kills the realism when you let the cpu control a team and they release one of their better players after training camp. I also said I was happy for those who were happy for the CFM info so I have no idea why you have such an issue with what I was saying. Asking to be able to turn off the off the field fluff isn't really complaining IMO just a request. Seems to me like your trying to pick an OS fight with your wise *** comments..and that's funny

Nah man, not trying to pick a fight. Just trying to understand where you were coming from, and I didn't play Madden on Xbox or PS2 after 06 so I'm not familiar with features that continued on.

My point about complaining was meant in jest (see the bit about "half of OS"), but obviously was worded poorly. My fault. Hope you find what you're looking for in Madden eventually.

# 233 callmetaternuts @ 08/06/14 08:24 PM

Any word on auto subs?

# 234 Mckinley Cash @ 08/06/14 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CM Hooe


	Starting with Madden NFL 13 and continuing in Madden NFL 25, head coaches do affect, per-position, player XP rewards for weekly goals (i.e. player progression), likelihood of player retirement, and likelihood of signing a free agent player during offseason free agency. Presumably, all of those abilities remain in Madden NFL 15. These effects were all simple in the previous two Madden games; whether a positive effect was present was dependent upon the coach having purchased with XP a modifier which enabled the trait. For example, a user-controlled head coach could buy a QB Development modifier which increased XP gains for all QBs on his team who achieve weekly progression goals, or a RB retirement modifier which made RBs less likely to retire in the offseason, and so on.

Coaches this year also affect your player's confidence.

# 235 ctdaprince @ 08/06/14 08:31 PM

Yea Madden 15 will most likely be a pass for me. I mainly play franchise mode and without having real players in the draft classes is a deal breaker for me. Hopefully they fix this in Madden 16 or at least give us the ability to edit the randomly generated draft class if they won't give us a create a draft class like 2k.

# 236 therealsmallville @ 08/06/14 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by checkwreck


	Couldn't be more disappointed. Can't stand drafting guys like "Leon Sandcastle" I want real rookies I want my franchise to last longer than 1 year. 2k has it and still has a ridiculous amount of success even with NBA live competing with them. Don't see why the IR isn't correct and the practice squad is still a no go. Obviously there are a lot of good things that Madden has included but still some of this stuff just doesn't make sense. What sucks is that no matter how mad we are, there are no other football games and we will buy this game anyway. Oh well, maybe one day.

The only reason I can fathom as to why there is still no practice squad, or proper weekly wrapup show, or heck, even Pro Bowl with actual team helmets, is for parity among consoles.

The X1 & PS4, I'm sure, are powerful enough to render individual team helmets in the Pro Bowl (the original Xbox could do it, although the textures were toned down). They have the disc space for the extra UI & coding for practice squads, and "sportscenter-esque" shows. But since they still have to make these games for last-gen consoles (much larger user base), it's my opinion that some of these things are held back. The lions share of Madden money will still come from last-gen consoles, I think, and while they try to entice people to upgrade (better graphics, CFM uogrades, Madden/X1 bundle) they still need to sell as much of the old stuff as they can.

Or it could all be Samsonite, and I'm way off :P

# 237 Jakeness23 @ 08/06/14 08:36 PM

Definitely needs more tackling animations. I've seen that same one where the defender stands him up, they chop their feet, and then they go down, every year for like the last 6 or more. It's about time for dynamic tackling like backbreaker.

# 238 Bull_Dozer @ 08/06/14 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apollon42


	Do random draft classes mean that we'll have guys named LaDarias Williams being a white guy from BYU?

Are you implying that a white guy couldn't be named LaDarias?

# 239 Godgers12 @ 08/06/14 08:43 PM

I'm concerned that this confidence system will cater to only the very good players. If you're just an average player, you will struggle to compete, with the likes of those that make it deep into the playoffs every season. While the good players will have juggernaut teams by year 2 or 3. I absolutely loath the fact that your players get a ton of XP for making it to and winning the Super Bowl, or just making the post season. There was a player in my franchise that had 3 95+ spd LB's by year 3, he had Dontay Moch up to 97 speed for crying out loud. I'm not the greatest of players, I win between 8 and 11 games every season, and I find it hard to compete with the likes of those who make it deep into the playoffs every year. Even when I outplay them, their teams are just so OP that it doesn't even matter.

# 240 Aggies7 @ 08/06/14 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bull_Dozer


	Are you implying that a white guy couldn't be named LaDarias?

Before someone says something and gets banned for a TOS violation. No more race talk. Only warning. Not picking on you, but this is post I immediately saw and am quoting. This applies to everyone.

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