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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Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 101 badluck22 @ 08/06/14 02:28 PM

Looks interesting and im definitely excited, couple of small things

Not so much editing draft classes but i would like to be able to edit the players AFTER they've been drafted or at least be able to look at them before hand. There are some instances where the skin color of the player doesnt match up with the random generated face. Or we see a guy who doesnt have dreads in his picture but his player model does, so at the very least able to edit their Face/Skin.

The redesigned uniforms have me intrigued, i wonder while relocating if we have the ability to choose any team we want or if its still restricted by location. For example i may like the Brooklyn Bulls Logo,Uniform but i may want to use them in San Antonio, id like to be able to do that more options is always better. i may want to move a team to London but if i dont like any of the logos or uniforms then i probably wont.

And speaking of relocation i wonder if they fixed it where if i move the Jacksonville Jaguars to LA or any team to any other city if the field art still keeps "Jacksonville" or it just says Jaguars.

Maybe this is just me but random draft classes scare me, i know Looman mentioned his team put a lot of work into them and i believe it but i havent seen random draft classes work in any game. NBA2k has them and they are pretty bad but thankfully there are some people out there that create their own custom ones and we can use those.

Also no mention of CPU draft logic? I just had the Giant take 2 qbs in the 1st round in my 1st offseason.

I would have liked to hear something about Elite older QBs, with both Brady and Brees talking about playing into their mid 40s (however unlikely) its a little disheartening seeing both guys gone in CFM after a year. Maybe let them get to 40-43. And speaking of old players i hope i dont see ray Lewis coming out of retirement at 50 like before.

# 102 Toupal @ 08/06/14 02:31 PM

CUSTOMMMMMMM DRAFTTTTTT CLASSESSSSSSSSSS

# 103 Jarbeez @ 08/06/14 02:34 PM

One thing I didn't see that is the most important for me....can I run an offline franchise with me, my son, and my nephew playing in the same league with different teams from one PS4? This was brutal to not be there last year.

# 104 Deflo_ @ 08/06/14 02:35 PM

I'm a harsh critic but they really did address most of the things that killed the game for me last year. The assistance coaches are a welcome addition.

# 105 bcruise @ 08/06/14 02:36 PM

RIP Draft Guides. Finally.

You guys who don't play online CFM's may not realize how big of a deal that is. It's HUGE.

# 106 DeuceDouglas @ 08/06/14 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charter04


	IR already worked as far as having a roster spot open in online CFM. I thought it didn't but, I put a couple of guys on IR in the online CFM and I was able to sign a guy. I always had 53 players so it wasn't that I had 52. I'm not sure about offline CFM

I'm pretty sure it didn't work in Offline but I may have just been going under the assumption that it didn't work and it actually did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trojan Man


	I see your point, but I think having a hit to confidence for players who get traded is a really good starting point, as it seems to reward roster stability. That will be especially important for online leagues, where trades can go crazy.

Exactly. It would be good for online leagues and great for offline as well if there was some sort of logic for the CPU to stay the path instead of immediately cutting and signing players of free agents just because their overall is higher. Teams. don't turn over their entire roster during the season. Most changes come from injuries and most guys added to replace those guys are in-house type players.

# 107 jeremym480 @ 08/06/14 02:39 PM

After reading this again I have a few questions

1) I see that Dave Searles (aka RedZone25, aka WTFitsDaveyJ) is shown as the RB coach of the Browns. Does that mean he was the user and was playing as the RB Coach or are Game Changers thrown into the game as assistant coaches?

2) Do Assistant Coaches even matter? Do they have any effect on the field or on progression (XP/Game Prep)? Can you hire/fire them?

3) Does a players confidence change while they are injured? For example: If like happen in real life last year happened the game game would someone like Aaron Rodgers (who missed a big chunk of the year due to injury) loss confidence because of his subpar backups?

4) Can a players confidence be negatively effected by what happens in skill drills?

5) Can we change anything about a player from the draft classes? Name, age, skin tone, college, rating, anything?

6) Can we create players inside of CFM (similar to NCAA)?

7) Can you play the Pro Bowl?

8) Assuming throwback uniforms are in.... Will the CPU also occasionally choose throwback uniforms or if not, if I select a throwback uniform will my CPU oppenent change their uniform accordingly?

# 108 Aiq xDoDx @ 08/06/14 02:40 PM

I really like what I have seen/read so far. Can't wait to get my hands on it and see how everything plays out.

Two quick questions:

Has anything been done to change the way scouting for the draft works? Just curious if anything has been said about this elsewhere? I can't stand the way it is currently and actually miss the old days of the 'hexagon' and the 40times, bench press, etc stats.

Secondly, I know that all of the names, ratings, schools etc are random now for the draft classes. However, there are still generated storylines. Will people be able to tell generally what the ratings for said players are based on the storylines attached to them?

# 109 Toupal @ 08/06/14 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StL_RamZ


	sheesh can sim up to 10 years

So does this mean that you can actually go back and keep track of stats from the previous 10 years? Because I have wanted to see upgraded stat tracking for awhile.

# 110 Sheba2011 @ 08/06/14 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeuceDouglas


	I'm just talking about guys acquired during the season. Any guys acquired in the off-season should be fine. I'm just talking about going out and signing a QB (or any player) off the street prior to your week whatever game. If you just go and sign guys during the season there should be some sort of penalty that comes along with it so you can't just plug guys in immediately off the street and immediately get their full potential.

I understand what you are saying but how realistic is that? If a guy is sitting at home in week 8 of the NFL season and the Patriots call him and say we need you to come play WR for us, his confidence is going to be either very high or neutral. He isn't going to walk into the locker room depressed and unsure of himself.

# 111 RocketTMac1 @ 08/06/14 02:43 PM

1. I like the detail in weekly practices actually mattering for back up QB's or guys with potential. Teams like my Panthers will be tricky to handle with this new system. They can be a contender so confidence is going to matter but we are young enough to need XP every week especially for our new crop of rooks and the wide outs, secondary and O-line

2. Can assistant coaches get interim positions if I fire the head coach during the season? And what about "college coaches"?

3. Will players getting traded to teams on the cusp be effected dramatically from the confidence meter? Like Andre Johnson getting traded to a team on the same level as the Texans?

# 112 mestevo @ 08/06/14 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheba2011


	I understand what you are saying but how realistic is that? If a guy is sitting at home in week 8 of the NFL season and the Patriots call him and say we need you to come play WR for us, his confidence is going to be either very high or neutral. He isn't going to walk into the locker room depressed and unsure of himself.

Agreed, a free agent typically isn't going to have 'wants to cut himself' levels of confidence for making it to a team.

# 113 xx13cloud @ 08/06/14 02:46 PM

So is there still no way for friends to play on the same team?.. im glad people are more excited for teams wearing random jerseys instead of madden having great features

# 114 Toupal @ 08/06/14 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremym480


	I wasn't even expecting Custom Draft Classes, honestly. I just want to edit the random draft picks so I can get just like Jamies Winston, TJ Yeldon, etc into future seasons of M15. Random draft classes are definitely a welcomed addition, especially for online leagues, but it would be nice to (at the very least) have the ability to rename drafted players.

This is all I have ever wanted out of this game. But I guess the online community and randomized draft classes are more important.

# 115 Sheba2011 @ 08/06/14 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketTMac1


	1. I like the detail in weekly practices actually mattering for back up QB's or guys with potential. Teams like my Panthers will be tricky to handle with this new system. They can be a contender so confidence is going to matter but we are young enough to need XP every week especially for our new crop of rooks and the wide outs, secondary and O-line

With their WR's (or lack there of) and offensive line the Panthers will not be contenders this year...

# 116 Sheba2011 @ 08/06/14 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toupal


	This is all I have ever wanted out of this game. But I guess the online community and randomized draft classes are more important.

EA not getting sued is what is most important. After the Sam Keller lawsuit in which they were sued for allowing users to edit the names and likeness of players I wouldn't be surprised if we never see editable draft classes again.

# 117 bcruise @ 08/06/14 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MossMan84


	In-Game Overall Ratings Another big change in Madden NFL 15 is seeing the same overall (OVR) ratings in game as the depth chart. If a QB is an 85 overall in your scheme in the front end, they�ll be an 85 OVR in game as well. Can someone please explain this to me?

In previous years the player's overall rating in-game was their "true" rating, un-influenced by the coach's scheme. Often times, that made it appear differently than their front-end overall rating, which is influenced by a head coach's scheme choice.

They're saying that whatever a player's rating appears as in the front-end will carry into the in-game depth chart screen now.

# 118 charter04 @ 08/06/14 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MossMan84


	In-Game Overall Ratings Another big change in Madden NFL 15 is seeing the same overall (OVR) ratings in game as the depth chart. If a QB is an 85 overall in your scheme in the front end, they�ll be an 85 OVR in game as well. Can someone please explain this to me?

Before in CFM if you looked at your team they would be rated a certain overall based on scheme. In the game you could pause the game and go into the depth chart and the overall would be totally different. It's because in game it showed the overall without taking schemes into account. It was like the play now overall.

Now both numbers will be the same

# 119 Sheba2011 @ 08/06/14 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcruise


	In previous years the player's overall rating in-game was their "true" rating, un-influenced by the coach's scheme. Often times, that made it appear differently than their front-end overall rating, which is influenced by a head coach's scheme choice. They're saying that whatever a player's rating appears as in the front-end will carry into the in-game depth chart screen now.

Which should make schemes finally matter.

# 120 CM Hooe @ 08/06/14 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MossMan84


	In-Game Overall Ratings Another big change in Madden NFL 15 is seeing the same overall (OVR) ratings in game as the depth chart. If a QB is an 85 overall in your scheme in the front end, they�ll be an 85 OVR in game as well. Can someone please explain this to me?

Sure.

In Madden NFL 13 and Madden NFL 25, each head coach has various player "scheme settings" in which he sets up what sort of player he values at each position. For example, pocket passer QB vs scrambling QB. Changing this setting affects the OVR rating calculation for that position group for that team. For user head coaches, that change in calculation resulted in new OVR ratings for players in that position group based on the desired player type. For CPU teams, the changed OVR rating would change what sort of players they targeted in the draft and free agency.

The issue the older games had - and what was corrected - is that this OVR rating calculation change did not carry over into played games. Within a game in progress, if a user paused and went to the Depth Chart screen, he would see the OVR rating calculation as if the scheme setting was not applied; i.e. the default OVR rating calculation that is used in the game's frontend outside of Connected Franchise mode. This has been fixed, the calculation is now the same in both places.

This inconsistency was a bit of a sticking point for a lot of people and IMO has resulted in a lot of confusion about what the scheme settings are actually supposed to do. It's a small fix, but a necessary and good one.

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