what an old guy wants to see in Madden 11

[billsmetalbooze]

ok, i'm in my late 30s and have been playing Madden for many years now.

issue 1:

i just switched to next-gen last year, hated it. sold it. this year was much improved for me. but i've hit the wall again: it's gotten old and i don't want to play it again.

so, here's my story on the 1/1,000,000 chance EA looks for input.

i've got kids, a career and a life. i can't play full games many nights as my games take over an hour each.

FIX: in-game saves. older people, like me, have other priorities besides gaming (believe or not, young 'uns) and this would help me enjoy 30 minutes of Madden here and there.


issue 2:

i don't play online. tried it years ago, wasn't for me. so, i'm an offline franchise hound. but offline franchises are still fraught with poor CPU team management (free agents and especially drafting). so, further to advice, i started controlling all 32 teams. this does the job but it takes a lot of time. time i could be spending playing instead of fooling around moving rookies to teams that really need that/would've drafted them.

FIX: either really, really fix CPU drafting/free agency and/or allow for rookie editing. editing crappy rookies or rookies with a really deficient attribute that renders them useless (like a corner with 85 speed going in the first round) would really help me in franchise mode.

so, there's my hope/prayer/rant.

i'm old and don't have a lot of time but i have a disposable income and if EA wants more of it, you have to do some little things to help people with not a lot of time to play but who enjoy it.

if not, this may be the last year i give you my money.

thanks,
an old-timer

[Nadal]

Nice post.

I agree about the CPU management aspect. Who ever programmed the franchise logic made the CPU general managers as dull as a pile of bricks.

[maddenmindsocom]

I dont see how you can play offline , don't it get boring? You have a good point though, i used to play franchise offline and i also felt like i was spending more time 'arranging' rather than playing.

[Vikes1]

Welcome to the board Bill.

As far as you being in your 30's...your sure not alone here on OS. Lots of us are near, to over your age here. So you've got lots of us who understand what your saying...and agree completely.

Imo as well, In-game saves should by now, be a given with all sports games. Hopefully soon it will be.

With the several AI issues that Madden has, yep...it'd be great if they focused more time on addressing some of them. Because they do really take away a lot of the possible enjoyment. Like you...I'm just not going to bother with trying to handle all 32 teams in order to make things...well, make sense.

[SA1NT401]

Quote: Originally Posted by maddenmindsocom

I dont see how you can play offline , don't it get boring? You have a good point though, i used to play franchise offline and i also felt like i was spending more time 'arranging' rather than playing.

I find online MUCH more boring actually. I like online play, but not for sports....Here and there with friends occasionally, but for my solo fix...sports games are where i usually go.

[CatMan72]

A-men, I'm a Madden gamer in my late 30's as well with a 60 hour per week career, kids, etc...

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I can't get into online play either... I don't have allot of peers that play Madden and it seems like every other online game I've played has been against a 13 year old with a potty mouth who either runs FB goal line hurry-up plays on every down and/or quits as soon as it's clear I'm going to win. On top of that, I like the "little things" an offline franchise lets you do like draft, sign FA's, etc... it's my own private NFL universe where I can call the shots.

Would LOVE the in-game save option.. would also love a more in-depth franchise mode in general with attention to lots of little details. Online franchise is an interesting idea, but it's plagued with many of the same issues I have with general online play.

I'm sure this idea will be immediatley dismissed by the age-old argument that AI should be fixed first, but I think the visuals in this game - especially the player models - need a major overhaul. I realized the other day while watching a Panthers game on Hulu.com from 1996, that the Player models in Madden 10 are still largely based on how players and uniforms looked in 1996. There have been additions like the ability to make a player "sleeveless" but it's sleeveless circa 1996, not how guys wear pads, uniforms, etc now.

[Spanky]

First off, I strongly object to the reference of late 30s as being "old.''

In-game saves would be near the top of my wish list for 11 as well.

Also:

-- This is important. BRING BACK USER STATS FOR OFF-LINE GAMES. Why they took this out is incomprehensible. I want to know my W-L record, my passing, rushing, defensive, etc., stats. This helps tremendously in adjusting sliders.

You know what, other than in-game saves and user stats, there's not a lot I can think of that I would change/add. I'm really enjoying this game, post-patch 2, after a series of debacles on next-gen. It plays a good game and it looks fantastic.

Just general improvements in all areas. Atmosphere always can be improved: stadium specific sounds, fans (Dawg Pound in Cleveland, Hogs in Washington, etc.), sideline players (not sure if that can be improved).

I like the throwback uniforms options, but there always can be more.

Better commentary from Hammond or whoever replaces him. Collinsworth is tremendous, revolutionary, really. It's amazing how many times I'll be thinking something after a play and lo and behold, Collinsworth will say it.

Game play-wise, I think sliders take care of almost everything, allowing you to adjust the game to your tastes. One big exception is penalties. There doesn't seem to be enough of certain penalties even with the sliders maxed out.

Couple of needed fixes: sideline logic issue (CPU players going OB when they shouldn't, passes being ruled complete or incomplete when the opposite happens). Some replays still get cut short when you try to save them.

[Got2Words4ya]

Love the post man I cant agree with you more.