Madden NFL 18 News Post

Madden NFL 18 Will Feature the Frostbite Engine, What Does That Mean For The Game?

08:08 AM - February 1, 2017 by Steve_OS

With the recent announcement that Madden NFL 18 will transition to the Frostbite engine, our friends over at GoodGameBro have posted this video answering some questions you might have about it. Make sure to check it out and post your thoughts.

Quote:


	There's been a lot of speculation after FIFA's move to the Frostbite Engine as to if we'd see Madden NFL 18 go that same route, and EA SPORTS has officially confirmed it. Now that we know Madden NFL 18 will feature the Frostbite engine, what does that mean for the game? I'll cover some of the biggest questions I think you'll have, as well as cover some of the big things that could be coming down the pipeline for Madden with the help of the Frostbite engine. Most importantly though, what do you hope to see from Madden NFL 18 now that it has the Frostbite engine? Make sure to leave a comment below & tweet me your ideas!

Game: Madden NFL 18Hype Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / PS4 / Xbox 360 / Xbox OneVotes for game: 9 - View All

Member Comments

# 1 Sparkles @ 02/01/17 10:36 AM

Im hoping graphically, the daytime lighting is greatly improved and there's weather changes throughout a game. Physics wise, I trust they'll make that department better than it is. They've been nailing gameplay down for the past few years so I think it will be greatly improved with the help of frostbite

# 2 underdog13 @ 02/01/17 11:09 AM

Hopefully not a set back like we got when madden 13 changed tackling system.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

# 3 Ruffy @ 02/01/17 11:21 AM

Just for laughs.....

When I think Frostbite engine I think of destructible environments.... I'm dreaming of being able to knock down the goal posts, smash through water tables on the sidelines, knock over camera men and cheer leaders.

But in all seriousness I am always weary of a big change on their short cycle to implement. I have skipped plenty of Maddens in the past and am happy with 17 for the way I play it. I can always skip again.

# 4 Toupal @ 02/01/17 11:42 AM

....You had me at customization.

I really hope that with this tool, EA/ Madden uses frostbite for its' full potential.
For too long I have had to hear excuses as to why something couldn't be added to madden. However, with this engine, I hope I don't have to hear that much longer.

# 5 T4VERTS @ 02/01/17 12:14 PM

I tweeted about it, but let's not make it more than it is. It is an engine, but much like with all tools it is only as good as how it is used. I think for a while people have acted like it was going to be some silver bullet to make Madden amazing. There are still some legacy code issues really hindering some parts of the game. Those code issues have to get worked out in order to make big advances. I think the engine gives an opportunity to do some cool things, the simple fact of having it doesn't mean a bunch of problems are solved next release.

We will see, but I think people give a lot more credit to engines than they really should.

# 6 timhere1970 @ 02/01/17 12:21 PM

I really hope they knew a coupe of years ago they were going to frostbite for 2018 and have used at least a couple of years to build a great madden instead of just trying to stuff the same ole' into a new engine.

# 7 Mattanite @ 02/01/17 01:16 PM

As some people have rightly pointed out, the new engine is just that, a new engine in which to build the game.

It does not mean that Off ball injuries, true step for all players or advanced physics magically appears in the game unless they choose to develop that.

It doesn't magically fix legacy bugs or make CFM more in depth unless they choose to develop that.

Whilst I'm trying hard to be an outright sceptic without good reason I am also not jumping on the hype train. A wait and see approach after the games release is needed.

This will be touted as a "back of box" feature no doubt. I hope there is enough room on that back cover for all the other improvements they are going to make :P

# 8 Big Bankhead @ 02/01/17 02:27 PM

I just feel like they're going to bring all of the same animations and code to frostbite and everyone will have the same issues again. I'm definitely not believing in any pre release hype over an engine change this year.

# 9 combo87 @ 02/01/17 02:35 PM

The direction EA is going is the same direction every other business in entertainment is going: quick entertainment, micro transactions.

CFM players make up roughly 10% of the purchasing market and 0% of the post-purchase market. There is just no reason to improve single player gameplay at this point. And for years they've made minor improvements while taking giant leaps backward.

In my opinion, when you factor in the gains and the losses, Madden CFM remains unchanged with no improvements for the past 6 years.

# 10 Hooe @ 02/01/17 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by combo87


	CFM players make up roughly 10% of the purchasing market and 0% of the post-purchase market.

[citation needed]

Last I was told by people at Tiburon, Franchise is still their most popular mode in Madden with respect to total unique users, while MUT has better user retention. People still want to take their favorite team to the Super Bowl, fear not. However, the people who play MUT play more games of Madden and over longer periods of time than people who prefer Franchise.

In fact, one of the biggest problems Franchise mode currently has, from Tiburon's perspective: according to their analytics, prior to M17, somewhere between a third and a half of all online franchises which were ever started in a given Madden release do not complete Regular Season Week 1 of the first year of the mode. To that end the mode has a severe user retention problem. From a designer's standpoint, what good are development time / money investments in things like the draft, offseason free agency, player progression, etc. etc. if half the users who ever touch Franchise are never even seeing the benefits of those additions?

That retention problem is why you saw for M17 changes in how the mode constantly engages users to perform tasks - Big Decisions, for example - and why you also see features which let users get through games faster - such as Play The Moments.

# 11 fistofrage @ 02/01/17 03:16 PM

A new engine is needed. But I would imagine it will take years to get it fully implemented without bugs and glitches.

The upside is a new engine should facilitate new sliders which have been broken in one way or another for years.

This may lead to a much more customizable user experience.

# 12 Hooe @ 02/01/17 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brightline


	The question i would love answered is what percentage of players which player franchise completed at least 2 seasons in a franchise involving at least 2 human players. I have 0 evidence or proof but my feeling is the number is less than 1%.

That would be an interesting question to know the answer to. Unfortunately, I don't have it. Given how many people drop off before the first season even starts, however, I do think your guess is reasonable.

# 13 l8knight1 @ 02/01/17 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fistofrage


	A new engine is needed. But I would imagine it will take years to get it fully implemented without bugs and glitches. The upside is a new engine should facilitate new sliders which have been broken in one way or another for years. This may lead to a much more customizable user experience.

Speaking of customization, how many teams/uniforms does FIFA have? EA won't listen to us in terms of giving us customization...roster editing (I know I know Jim Brown/NCAA lawsuits), but the franchise roster editing carrot they gave us this year is essentially useless. Also, give us the ability to edit equipment and uniforms. If I want to change a color on a facemask, or use a mouthpiece (I have to go back how many iterations to use a mouthpiece?), or change a color of an NFL jersey in franchise, why can't I? How about an equipment editor?

# 14 Toupal @ 02/01/17 03:54 PM

I think this has been hit on quite a bit, but that fact that a large portion of franchises don't make it that far into the franchise just shows how lame franchise mode really is.

I maybe lasted about a few weeks into Madden 16 until I lost interest. However, the one thing that keeps me coming back to my franchise in Madden 17 is the roster/ post draft roster editing.

I love being able to have to have full control of my franchise, and I think a lot of people are in the same boat. That is why people come to Madden forums and mention games like the Show or 2k.

I think if we see more customizing/ sharing options in franchise mode, we will see more people flock to one of Madden's oldest and most popular game modes.

#MakeFranchiseModeGreatAgain

# 15 therealsmallville @ 02/01/17 04:10 PM

I'll get burned, but I'll say it anyway: I really like how 17 plays on the field this year, even though I can acknowledge the issues with it. I would HAPPILY take the exact same gameplay with the exact same issues if it meant they put 100% of their time into using Frostbite to give us the true Living Worlds. This includes a real weather system, moveable jerseys, flags shown on the field, different crowd noise for different stadiums (Seattle & KC, I'm looking at you), new lighting, more accurate sidelines, etc.

I know a lot of people here would hate it if gameplay was ported while "art" took the lions share of development time, but I would be in football heaven. I know they have seperate teams, yada yada, but I'd like to see more resources go into making me immersed on the field, and gameplay can be spruced up later.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 16 Impetuous65 @ 02/01/17 04:31 PM

People making this out to be a big deal? I'm taking bets...LMAO.

# 17 issaknife @ 02/01/17 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CM Hooe


	[citation needed] Last I was told by people at Tiburon, Franchise is still their most popular mode in Madden with respect to total unique users, while MUT has better user retention. People still want to take their favorite team to the Super Bowl, fear not. However, the people who play MUT play more games of Madden and over longer periods of time than people who prefer Franchise. In fact, one of the biggest problems Franchise mode currently has, from Tiburon's perspective: according to their analytics, prior to M17, somewhere between a third and a half of all online franchises which were ever started in a given Madden release do not complete Regular Season Week 1 of the first year of the mode. To that end the mode has a severe user retention problem. From a designer's standpoint, what good are development time / money investments in things like the draft, offseason free agency, player progression, etc. etc. if half the users who ever touch Franchise are never even seeing the benefits of those additions? That retention problem is why you saw for M17 changes in how the mode constantly engages users to perform tasks - Big Decisions, for example - and why you also see features which let users get through games faster - such as Play The Moments.

But if the mode was better and more in depth, maybe people wouldn't get bored and quit.

Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

# 18 Hooe @ 02/01/17 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issaknife


	But if the mode was better and more in depth, maybe people wouldn't get bored and quit. Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

"Better" - not a useful term in this discussion. It's not specific. There are about a thousand different angles one could take to make Franchise mode "better".

"More in depth" - the users who don't get to Regular Season Week 1 aren't touching college player scouting, in-season contract negotiations, the rookie draft, offseason free agency, any in-season or playoff in-game presentation elements, or Big Decisions (other than cutting players). To that end, how can lack of depth in any of these mechanics possibly be the reason users aren't sticking around? The users aren't even getting to these mechanics to form any sort of opinion about them. They might as well not exist.

The problem I speak about with this particular issue isn't depth or authenticity. Rather, the issues are user engagement and user retention. That's not to say that the issue can't be solved in a manner that is authentic to real life, but blindly adding all the items from this community's wish list isn't going to solve the problem either.

# 19 roadman @ 02/01/17 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issaknife


	But if the mode was better and more in depth, maybe people wouldn't get bored and quit. Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

According to their telemetry, there is a 100% increase in users using CFM for Madden 17. And they do go off their telemetry numbers and base some of their decisions on the telemetry numbers.

# 20 carolinawolf72 @ 02/01/17 09:01 PM

It's Madden, why expect much? It will be half way implemented for the next 4 years or so

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