Madden NFL 17 News Post

Madden NFL 17 Has Ball Physics, New Ways to Eliminate Money Plays & Much More

07:40 PM - May 18, 2016 by jpdavis82

Game Informer has posted a new Madden NFL 17 article, going over 27 key details that are coming this year. Below are a few notes, but make sure you read the entire article here.

Quote:


	For years the ball would snap to a player's hand in a catch even though in the process the ball might be pulled through a defender. Now it will collide with body parts and be knocked out when appropriate. Since there is no scripting for the path of the ball, it bounces differently after tips. EA made new animations for reacting to tips, attempted and successful fumble recoveries, and knee/ankle/sliding catches. Also, the player models can move their arms better to track the ball. Here's an example of the new zones in action: The Slant Drag Combo (the TE comes across the middle, and the slot receiver slants over the top) vs. a Cover 3 Sky. This year the linebackers in the Cover 3 Match track the receivers as they come through the defenders' zones. So what looks like a zone defense before the snap shifts to man-to-man as the play develops. Similarly, defensive pattern matching plays set the rules and responsibilities for defenders. For instance, In a match defense, if you're a linebacker and the number one receiver crosses your face on a slant or drag route, your responsibility is to match him instead of letting him run by. But if the number three receiver goes vertical on that same play, you follow him down the field instead. "It's not the same reads you've been making for the last 25 years, because things play out a lot differently now," Dickson says. The new kicking meter works like the traditional three-click golf swing. First button press starts the kick, second one sets the power, third one determines accuracy. Through this new meter, ratings for kickers and punters will matter more. Kick block formations, like overloading one side or clogging the middle, have been added. New kick types inlcude sky punts, backspin punts, and the return of onside aiming and squib kicks.

Game: Madden NFL 17Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 17 - View All

Member Comments

# 61 Ampking101 @ 05/19/16 01:57 AM

Alright I'm still not drinking the kool-aid until I see all this stuff actually in action and see how dynamic these things play in game. All of this stuff sounds amazing but until I see the implementation, I have a hard time buying into the hype completely.

With that said...wow...even if they are only telling half truths, I am so in, it isn't even funny. Year after year, suffering through Madden getting more and more arcade like and getting less and less authentic, it felt more like a battle of attrition than fun. Madden 16 was a really good step forward but it was built on the foundation of a game that just didn't feel like football. It now seems as if they are going all in on true to life football concepts and I couldn't be more pleased to hear it.

Now I'm not 100% pleased with the concept of some of the things that I won't go into because many others have already addressed them (like the new tackle battle system). That said I love about 90% of what I'm hearing and I seriously hope they deliver.

If Franchise at least touches on a handful of the things I've been wanting and they keep building on ideals like this, I may have a hard time complaining about Madden anymore when it seems like they are taking steps towards what we have been wanting, I can only respect that.

# 62 Trick13 @ 05/19/16 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	There's a new swat coming, Rex is going to talk about it in one of the blogs

But will it work on special teams, and will it function, on any play, even when the CPU "decides" I "miss timed" the button press or am "not in position"???

Lots of reasons to be excited about M17 - I am geeking out right now, a little worried (as someone else mentioned) that they may be too quick to patch out some positives. For instance, I felt they jumped the gun on Aggressive catch tuning a little bit. I still feel like last years' patch/tuning should have been on safeties being more aggressive playing the ball and/or underneath defenders being more willing as CPU defenders and able as user defenders to get a swat attempt in...

One of the things I really miss from way back in the "legacy gen" is the poor user timing on the controller resulting is obvious "human errors". Some of which even created amazing plays that were kind of random - EX I dove way early for a pass with a WR, my opponent swatted the ball in a dive swat animation that sent the ball high the air, I then tapped the catch button as the WR got to his feet resulting in him catching the ball and being all alone to run in for a TD - A play that we watched on replay about a hundred times and saved and shared via memory card with just about everyone we knew.

I am excited by 99 percent of what we have heard, but one phrase would really get me over the top;

The "training wheels" are off!!! You press the INT button early, whoops you just got burnt, like rye toast over open flames. Hit the INT button with your back turned - you player throws his hands up and plows into the WR, yellow hanky, or worse his hands go up and he completely whiffs and the WR gets an easy catch.

I am glad they added the different catch types last year - hope the new swat is maybe two different buttons and styles ( in addition to INT attempts) but what I really want to hear in that regard is that user timing can be as important and the, IMO, dumb as rocks ball hawk- holding a button down thing- is gone from All-Madden entirely, and can be turned off in All-Pro so that the timing matters as much in pass catching/defending as it does in ball carrier moves.

Would love to see a CFM lockout menu, where the commissioner can lockout certain features - ie ball carrier move cone, ball hawk, heat seeker, kick arc display and so on...

# 63 ShaiLeGran @ 05/19/16 08:00 AM

Off topic and of course gameplay is leading, but let's hope for NBA2K-like presentation

# 64 Mattanite @ 05/19/16 08:04 AM

I am assuming that as there are no bobbled or "bad" snaps on special teams that they probably are not going to introduce a Long Snapping attribute? If so, 32 tight ends will be cut in week one of Franchise mode...

# 65 Mattanite @ 05/19/16 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cowboy008


	Really interested in the new kick meter as it seems that your kicker/punter's ratings will play a big role in it.

Does no one else remember that this style of kick meter has been done in previous Maddens?? It was my favourite type of kick meter as it was slightly less automatic but it's not new...

I liked the kick meter on Backbreaker, it was like the kickmeter on M16 but you had to keep aiming through the power up (which rattled more), so if you lost concentration you could still miss.

# 66 Blazzen @ 05/19/16 09:15 AM

Really excited about the ball physics and the new kicking meter. Great additions!

# 67 4thQtrStre5S @ 05/19/16 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trick13


	But will it work on special teams, and will it function, on any play, even when the CPU "decides" I "miss timed" the button press or am "not in position"??? Lots of reasons to be excited about M17 - I am geeking out right now, a little worried (as someone else mentioned) that they may be too quick to patch out some positives. For instance, I felt they jumped the gun on Aggressive catch tuning a little bit. I still feel like last years' patch/tuning should have been on safeties being more aggressive playing the ball and/or underneath defenders being more willing as CPU defenders and able as user defenders to get a swat attempt in... One of the things I really miss from way back in the "legacy gen" is the poor user timing on the controller resulting is obvious "human errors". Some of which even created amazing plays that were kind of random - EX I dove way early for a pass with a WR, my opponent swatted the ball in a dive swat animation that sent the ball high the air, I then tapped the catch button as the WR got to his feet resulting in him catching the ball and being all alone to run in for a TD - A play that we watched on replay about a hundred times and saved and shared via memory card with just about everyone we knew. I am excited by 99 percent of what we have heard, but one phrase would really get me over the top; The "training wheels" are off!!! You press the INT button early, whoops you just got burnt, like rye toast over open flames. Hit the INT button with your back turned - you player throws his hands up and plows into the WR, yellow hanky, or worse his hands go up and he completely whiffs and the WR gets an easy catch. I am glad they added the different catch types last year - hope the new swat is maybe two different buttons and styles ( in addition to INT attempts) but what I really want to hear in that regard is that user timing can be as important and the, IMO, dumb as rocks ball hawk- holding a button down thing- is gone from All-Madden entirely, and can be turned off in All-Pro so that the timing matters as much in pass catching/defending as it does in ball carrier moves. Would love to see a CFM lockout menu, where the commissioner can lockout certain features - ie ball carrier move cone, ball hawk, heat seeker, kick arc display and so on...

Sounding like you are wanting user control and timing to over-ride player ratings?

The aggressive catch and possession catch and RAC, for example, are just indicating what type of catch the user wants the player to try, and then ratings determine the outcome..

To make user timing when pressing an action button a dominant action, would remove the effects of attributes, at least in the way you appear to be describing the INT scenario above; that would make the game more arcade than sim.

Tackle Battle may seem like an arcade mechanic, on the surface, but I am reading into the description, as it being a "tie" breaker between 2 relatively equal players; which makes it more simulation based than a simple button mashing mode.

# 68 brandon27 @ 05/19/16 10:43 AM

This is awesome. Lots of goodies in there.

Does the non scripting of the ball also mean that wind conditions could affect passes, similar to how it affects kicks and punts?

Speaking of kicks and punts, the ability to have backspin punts is really cool and long overdue instead of the ball hitting the turn and just bouncing miles down the field, or sputtering to a stop.

So many good things going on in Madden this year.

# 69 Reed1417 @ 05/19/16 10:52 AM

This article was amazing to read. Rex and the guys are bringing it this year in terms of gameplay! Gotta say, I'm excited to see this stuff in action....and if the Franchise improvements are as big as touted.....give me two claps and a Ric Flair! Woooooo!

Reed is comin' atcha!!

# 70 mrprice33 @ 05/19/16 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brandon27


	This is awesome. Lots of goodies in there. Does the non scripting of the ball also mean that wind conditions could affect passes, similar to how it affects kicks and punts? Speaking of kicks and punts, the ability to have backspin punts is really cool and long overdue instead of the ball hitting the turn and just bouncing miles down the field, or sputtering to a stop. So many good things going on in Madden this year.

No. The ball is still moving on its pre-determined path as it always has. The physics come into play when it makes contact with something.

# 71 CarolinaBlue02 @ 05/19/16 11:15 AM

No bobbled or fumbled snaps. WHY NOT???

# 72 therealsmallville @ 05/19/16 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolinaBlue02


	No bobbled or fumbled snaps. WHY NOT???

Tournament players, I believe.

# 73 bxphenom7 @ 05/19/16 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator Palmer


	If this stuff works as advertised, I can see a lot of hate coming from a large segment of the online crowd. I can just hear the crying now when those pattern-matched zones eat up all those routes that used to be gimmes. In that scenario I hope they stand their ground and don't tune the greatness out of the game. They're on the right track dragging everyone into the realm of real football.

THIS IS KEY

# 74 RandallB21 @ 05/19/16 11:44 AM

This is great. Love all the additions madden is making. So all we need now from special teams is bad snaps and a greater ability to at least come close to blocking kicks and we will be set on special teams.

# 75 mrprice33 @ 05/19/16 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallB21


	This is great. Love all the additions madden is making. So all we need now from special teams is bad snaps and a greater ability to at least come close to blocking kicks and we will be set on special teams.

You won't get bad snaps, but about blocking kicks...

# 76 Trick13 @ 05/19/16 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	Sounding like you are wanting user control and timing to over-ride player ratings? The aggressive catch and possession catch and RAC, for example, are just indicating what type of catch the user wants the player to try, and then ratings determine the outcome.. To make user timing when pressing an action button a dominant action, would remove the effects of attributes, at least in the way you appear to be describing the INT scenario above; that would make the game more arcade than sim. Tackle Battle may seem like an arcade mechanic, on the surface, but I am reading into the description, as it being a "tie" breaker between 2 relatively equal players; which makes it more simulation based than a simple button mashing mode.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

Ball carrier controls is doing exactly what I want out of ball in the air interactions - ratings control what you can do, timing and user input controls when you do it and what tier the action is (within that player's ratings).

The idea that you just hit a button somewhere, sometime before intended action is to take place and the cpu will decide when the action is to be done is, in a word, ridiculous. Can you imagine playing a FPS and just holding down the trigger only to have the cpu determine when you have a clear shot??? Doesn't sound like a very good mechanic for a football game either!!!

And yet, that is what some knuckle heads seem to think Madden should be. The user suggests an action and the CPU determines if you are in position to even attempt such an action. It is BS, the user (particularly at higher difficulties) should determine not only the type of action attempted but the precise timing of said action.

Let's take swat for an example.

You like holding a button the entire time after the ball is thrown, meaning the CPU steers your player, determines what arm he uses, and the timing of the attempt - just play coach mode.

I want a running swat button or type of input - let's say tap the button - the defender doesn't leave his feet and reaches out his hand (left or right depending on the button used LB/RB) the timing determined by the user, the effectiveness determined by position relative to the ball flight, and the players ratings - cth/awr and how long does he have to locate the ball. In other words, if the defender (even user controlled) is running along side the receiver but has not gotten his head around the then his attempt should be negatively impacted by that factor with AWR playing a big part of whether or not he can read the receiver's eyes, arm reach or what have you to get his arm in the right area to "maybe" swat that pass, where as if he his looking at the ball and the timing is correct he should have (within his ratings) a better chance of deflecting the pass.

Next I want a jumping swat, meaning the player leaps in the air and attempts to swat the ball away. The timing of the input (how long you hold the button) should determine how much of the player's vertical he utilizes (and for that matter how much the action slows his momentum as he must "gather" his feet to achieve the leap) and the timing within the context of the action should determine when the attempt is made. The success of such attempts will be then determined by the player's ratings - low cth/awr means a higher window for failure - ie the player's hand/arm and the ball don't meet. Jump rating would determine still how high the player can go.

With this kind of system you can have situations where I can completely whiff and take myself out of a play - poor timing - button hit early, or worng type of input (tapped when I should have held or vice versa or even using the wrong hand).

The system we have now sucks, period. You can hit buttons and get zero reaction out of a controlled player and that is unacceptable. If I dive 3 seconds too early, well tough. If I miss time a swat attempt well darn. This is no different than running the ball and waiting too long to juke, or hurdling way too early or even trucking at thin air.

There is no reason what so ever for the cpu to not allow me to attempt anything, anywhere at any time. It is absolutely dumb as heck to have ball carrier controls based on ratings and timing and not have all other actions based on ratings and timing...

# 77 4thQtrStre5S @ 05/19/16 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trick13


	Wrong, wrong, wrong!!! Ball carrier controls is doing exactly what I want out of ball in the air interactions - ratings control what you can do, timing and user input controls when you do it and what tier the action is (within that player's ratings). The idea that you just hit a button somewhere, sometime before intended action is to take place and the cpu will decide when the action is to be done is, in a word, ridiculous. Can you imagine playing a FPS and just holding down the trigger only to have the cpu determine when you have a clear shot??? Doesn't sound like a very good mechanic for a football game either!!! And yet, that is what some knuckle heads seem to think Madden should be. The user suggests an action and the CPU determines if you are in position to even attempt such an action. It is BS, the user (particularly at higher difficulties) should determine not only the type of action attempted but the precise timing of said action. Let's take swat for an example. You like holding a button the entire time after the ball is thrown, meaning the CPU steers your player, determines what arm he uses, and the timing of the attempt - just play coach mode. I want a running swat button or type of input - let's say tap the button - the defender doesn't leave his feet and reaches out his hand (left or right depending on the button used LB/RB) the timing determined by the user, the effectiveness determined by position relative to the ball flight, and the players ratings - cth/awr and how long does he have to locate the ball. In other words, if the defender (even user controlled) is running along side the receiver but has not gotten his head around the then his attempt should be negatively impacted by that factor with AWR playing a big part of whether or not he can read the receiver's eyes, arm reach or what have you to get his arm in the right area to "maybe" swat that pass, where as if he his looking at the ball and the timing is correct he should have (within his ratings) a better chance of deflecting the pass. Next I want a jumping swat, meaning the player leaps in the air and attempts to swat the ball away. The timing of the input (how long you hold the button) should determine how much of the player's vertical he utilizes (and for that matter how much the action slows his momentum as he must "gather" his feet to achieve the leap) and the timing within the context of the action should determine when the attempt is made. The success of such attempts will be then determined by the player's ratings - low cth/awr means a higher window for failure - ie the player's hand/arm and the ball don't meet. Jump rating would determine still how high the player can go. With this kind of system you can have situations where I can completely whiff and take myself out of a play - poor timing - button hit early, or worng type of input (tapped when I should have held or vice versa or even using the wrong hand). The system we have now sucks, period. You can hit buttons and get zero reaction out of a controlled player and that is unacceptable. If I dive 3 seconds too early, well tough. If I miss time a swat attempt well darn. This is no different than running the ball and waiting too long to juke, or hurdling way too early or even trucking at thin air. There is no reason what so ever for the cpu to not allow me to attempt anything, anywhere at any time. It is absolutely dumb as heck to have ball carrier controls based on ratings and timing and not have all other actions based on ratings and timing...

FPS's don't have ratings..Sounds like you misinterpret the current system..Madden is ratings based, not input based. Hitting Aggressive catch for example, merely tells the system which ratings to use; at least that is how it plays.

As you are stating it, you want the user to time everything, which removes ratings in many situations. Tiers of what a player can do are determined by ratings..User input shouldn't take over that system.

You are describing an arcade game; such as a FPS..

You do realize that the icon over a player, such as he "A" for aggressive catch, will be played out whether you hit "A" or not, correct? What you do have, is the option to select another catch action, RAC or Possession.

# 78 z.arthur23 @ 05/19/16 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	FPS's don't have ratings..Sounds like you misinterpret the current system..Madden is ratings based, not input based. Hitting Aggressive catch for example, merely tells the system which ratings to use; at least that is how it plays. As you are stating it, you want the user to time everything, which removes ratings in many situations. Tiers of what a player can do are determined by ratings..User input shouldn't take over that system. You are describing an arcade game; such as a FPS.. You do realize that the icon over a player, such as he "A" for aggressive catch, will be played out whether you hit "A" or not, correct? What you do have, is the option to select another catch action, RAC or Possession.

I don't believe that's what he's saying at all. He's simply saying that the most sim thing to do would be to have it both ways. Where if you timed the "user input" correctly, then the "rating system" would go into effect.

If you didn't time it correctly, then why should a rating system matter? I personally love the idea as it adds more skill to the game. For your example, if hitting Aggressive Catch merely tells the game which ratings to use, then there should also be a timing based component to let the game know when the player attempts to make the catch. Once he's in the air going for it, the rating system goes into effect and the catch is determined at that point.

If anything, I think Trick13 is wanting ratings to play an even bigger role. Such as having a person's jumping and awareness rating matter more, etc.

# 79 mrprice33 @ 05/19/16 12:40 PM

I think that's all fine and dandy but control fidelity isn't even close to being able to provide that level of precision. We need new controllers to pull that kind of stuff off.

# 80 z.arthur23 @ 05/19/16 12:43 PM

I think the holding the jump button timing to determine how high someone jumps would certainly require a new controller. That's a bit much to be honest. But simply saying your receiver goes for the ball when you hit a catch button doesn't require anything new. It used to be that way in the ps2 and xbox days.

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