Madden 12

[RoXer]

You're not going to reel me in this time, EA. Not gunna happen. I am going to goozex this game and you are not going to stop me. No matter how many previews you send out claiming to fix the things that the community has been asking you to fix. I'm not falling for it.

Please someone remind me in August not to fall for it.

[RoXer]

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No Madden. Fuck you. A couple of aerial shots of stadiums to add to the background camera as I'm selecting my play does not mean you improved the presentation.

...the team specific intros are pretty bad ass though. But I bet you screwed that up somehow too, Madden. I just know it. You're not going to get me. I won't let you.

[RoXer]

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Love the rocket step by Revis at 45 seconds. I also love how "ball physics" is a point of emphasis now.

[D Mac]

I'll probably fall for it. Presentation seems to be the name of the game. And that's what I'm looking for.

[DrA]

The name of the game is Madden. They seemed to have added some high fives and some pasty cheerleaders along with a Denver bronco. It's a step up from Madden 07 I suppose.

[RP]

So Roxer is in!

[D Mac]

The name of the game is Madden.
Well no fucking shit Sherlock. I was talking about what their focus seems to be on this year.

[Ermaximus]

Peyton Hillis, meet the Madden curse.

[IC Champion]

I could care less about presentation, so long as the gameplay is great.

[DrA]

Well no fucking shit Sherlock. I was talking about what their focus seems to be on this year.

Ok, I must have misread your post.

[D Mac]

IGN:

Madden NFL 12 is looking to be the most robust offering the series has had this generation. Major improvements to the presentation, Superstar mode, Franchise mode, and online are expected this year. Here's what you need to know about the big changes.

What is Madden NFL 12's Release Date?
Madden NFL 12 arrives in stores later than usual -- August 30. Let's hope it's lead-in to the start of the NFL season.

What's new this year?
There's quite a lot, actually. Five Madden NFL 12 additions you'll notice right off the bat: Authentic presentation (both in pre-game and during the game), the addition of custom playbooks, improvements to Gameflow (AI-controlled play-calling), collision technology for better tackling, and improved defensive AI.

What's the biggest gameplay change?
That's something EA has not revealed yet. We're hoping that's the focus of Madden NFL 12 at E3 2011.

What's new in Superstar mode?
The two biggest changes -- you now earn skill points which you can spend however you like to upgrade your player and practices have actual value in improving your superstar.

What's new in Franchise mode?
A whole lot. No, really -- Tiburon claims 90% of all Madden players try out Franchise mode. The team finally invested some time into greatly improving things. Here's a cheat sheet:

Dynamic Player Performance: Player ratings fluctuate based on consistency and confidence.

Player Roles: More than 20 roles (Playoff Performer, Trench Warrior) affect player and team stats throughout the season.

The Pre-Season Matters: Start with 75-player roster and need to make cuts each week. Playing pre-season games reveals player ratings.

Scouting Reworked: Tiered scouting system reveals ratings tied to different events (college season, combine, pro day, individual workout).

Draft Class Improvements: Robust set of draftees built for 30 seasons of franchise. Teams draft based on their real tendencies.

Free Agent Bidding Wars: eBay style bidding against other GMs creates intense, rapid-fire free agent period that takes only a few minutes to complete.

Smarter General Managers: Better re-sign and cut logic. GMs make trades and sign free agents who fit their needs, with player roles factored in.

Coaches Matter: Coaches have small positive and negative impact on how players perform on the field based on their style.

Edit Any Player: Alter the ratings of any player -- rookie, created player, or established veteran.

Change Teams: In any offseason, change control of which teams you run in Franchise mode.

Numerous Tweaks: Many other small tuning and additions are coming, including retirement logic, a more accurate salary system, fixes to the injured reserve system, better simulation stats, and more.

How has Madden online changed?
EA hasn't revealed this yet, but we're told a big addition is in the works.

Is this for real?
The additions listed are for real. What we don't know is how well they'll play. Until we invest 10 hours into Franchise mode, there's no telling if all the new features work well together. But it sounds very, very promising.

Madden has done some good things with gameplay in the past couple of years, but has done a very poor job with adding and improving its features. Looks that that's changing with Madden NFL 12.

[G]

roxer will be getting this day 1.

[D Mac]

Yeah but you'll be on PS3 and We'll be on Xbox.

[IC Champion]

roxer will be getting this day 1.

As will I.

[FearedSanctity]

So it looks like Franchise will just have a lot of NFL Head Coach added to it then. I like

[G]

Yeah but you'll be on PS3 and We'll be on Xbox.

I don't play madden. Nice try tho

[RoXer]

Still goozexing this

[RoXer]

What's new this year?
There's quite a lot, actually. Five Madden NFL 12 additions you'll notice right off the bat: Authentic presentation

Can't wait to see this. It better be more than just an aerial shot of the stadium

[FearedSanctity]

What's the biggest gameplay change?
That's something EA has not revealed yet. We're hoping that's the focus of Madden NFL 12 at E3 2011.

Most curious about this

[CSL]

http://web-vassets.ea.com/Assets/Richmedia/Image/NewsArticle/franchiseheader_656x369.jpg?cb=1305556077

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Hey Madden fans-
I'm Josh Looman, senior designer on Madden NFL 12, in charge of everything new in Franchise mode this year. First, let me explain how much I care about Franchise mode to give you some insight into how excited I am about this year’s features.
I was the sole designer on Franchise mode for Xbox and PS2 in Madden NFL 04, 05, 06 and 07. A lot of the features we added back then are some of my all-time favorites. I left Madden to be the lead designer on NFL Head Coach 09 and with my team, we created the most in-depth career mode game ever (as far as I’m concerned). I came back to Madden with the goal to provide the fans with an experience similar to Head Coach 09…tons of features and depth within the Franchise and Superstar modes.
This year, after talking to Phil Frazier (Executive Producer), we agreed that it was imperative we get our depth modes back to where you expected them to be. That’s why writing this blog is so important to me. I feel like it’s my responsibility to give you as much as I can in these modes…and that includes tons of community-requested features.
I honestly hope that what you read in this blog floors you! Ready? Here we go…and remember, this year is for you…the fans!


Franchise Mode Dynamic Player Performance
“The biggest thing to happen to Franchise mode since you started playing it”
That’s not an exaggeration. This IS the biggest change we’ve made to Franchise mode in years and it’s the feature I’m the most excited about.
I play every sports game on the market and I’ve always been frustrated by the fact that when I play a career or season mode, every game I play feels exactly the same. The players always play exactly like their ratings and there’s no such thing as having a good or bad day. It’s the one thing that has always ruined the immersion factor for me.
In the NFL, when you go to a game or turn on the TV, you never know what’s going to happen. Is Michael Vick going to have the game of his life or struggle the entire game? We don’t know…and that’s why we love sports. They’re unpredictable.
In Franchise mode this year, we’ve captured that unpredictable feeling and it makes each game feel different every time you start it.
Here’s how it works…
Each week, every player’s ratings will be different from the week before and will vary based on specific traits tied to our all-new Dynamic Player Performance feature, which we’ll discuss at E3.
Think of it in the old adage of “Any Given Sunday” – there are a multitude of factors that impact how a player performs each week, and this is now replicated in Franchise mode.
If a player is inconsistent, you could see pretty significant rating swings from week-to-week.
One week you might get the 90 overall Michael Vick and the next week you might get the 70 overall Michael Vick. Or you could just get the 80 overall Michael Vick.
If a player is very consistent, their ratings will only change slightly each week and you’ll typically always know what you’re getting (example: Peyton Manning or Tom Brady).
Building around these players (and finding them in free agency and the draft) provides an entirely new layer of strategy to the game.
A player that is coming off of a terrible game is “on a cold streak”. That streak ensures that they’ll go into their next game with ratings lower than normal.
The opposite is true for a player on a hot streak.
Players on streaks can only continue those streaks for a maximum of three games before they are re-set to original ratings.
We’ve also added tendency and trait progression to the game this year, so players actually change throughout your franchise. Some players stay the same (since that’s what defines them), while others will grow.
If a player is inconsistent as a rookie, they can become more consistent as they get older and mature (example: a QB sensing pressure better as they age).
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc1.jpg

Expanded Rosters and Cut Days
“The feature you’ve requested the most”
This is definitely the most requested Franchise mode feature in at least the last five years.
Every day on Twitter or the forums, I read at least one comment where someone asks if the game is ever going to get expanded rosters.
Well, you’ve got it. We allow 75 players per team in the preseason now.
Here’s how it works…
In year one, the shipped rosters will probably be pretty full. I’m guessing each team will have around 70 real players on the roster.
In future years, we’ll add training camp invites to the rosters to expand them up to 75.
All of those invitees and any rookies on the team will have their ratings locked at the start of the preseason. Each week that those players stay on the roster, we’ll unlock a few ratings for them. Their overall rating will evolve as we release those ratings, giving you a better idea of how good they really are. Just because a training camp invitee’s overall rating says it’s a 99 in week one doesn’t mean that his real overall is that high.
By the end of the preseason, if you keep a rookie or training camp invite on the roster for all four weeks, his ratings will be completely unlocked and you’ll know his true overall rating. At that point, you’ll know if you made a mistake by keeping him or if you found a diamond in the rough.
As we unlock those ratings, we also ask you to cut the roster down each week.
In week one, we may only ask you to cut three players but by the end of the preseason, you’ll need to cut eight or more.
The balancing act is determining whether you should cut a veteran to keep one of these camp invitees or rookies.
We also do an interesting thing with rookies you draft beyond year one in franchise mode.
Let’s say that you went through the scouting process and never scouted a QB who was projected to go in the top 10. You get to the offseason and head into the draft. That QB falls to you at pick #15 and you pull the trigger and draft him. When you sign him to a contract, his ratings will not be immediately unlocked. He’ll have to go through the rating unlock process in the preseason just like the training camp invites. If you scouted a player fully and then drafted him, his ratings will be unlocked going into the preseason.
This really makes you focus on scouting some of those late round picks instead of just blindly drafting them.
And one more thing…in the game, we swap out depth charts to match what teams typically do in real life in the preseason (let the backups play the entire fourth game or take the starters out at halftime of the third preseason game).
This allows you to get a really good look at the players you’re thinking about cutting every week.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc2.jpg

New Rookie Scouting System
“A much needed upgrade to the scouting system”
When we were sitting down and talking about what new features we wanted in Franchise mode this year, a new scouting system was pretty high on the list.
Last year’s system was neither fun or challenging…it made the draft ridiculously easy since it gave away a player’s potential before you even started scouted them.
All you needed to do was keep an eye on that potential rating during the draft and you’d draft every late round sleeper in the game.
That’s gone and it’s been replaced by a much more simple, yet challenging system.
There are now several scouting stages, including the regular season, Pro Days, NFL Combine and individual workouts.
At the start of the regular season, every draft rookie’s ratings are locked.
During each stage, you’re allowed to select a limited number of players to scout and the stage itself determines which ratings will be unlocked.
If you scout a player during the Combine stage, you will unlock his physical ratings like speed, agility and strength. If you scout them in Pro Days, you’ll unlock some of his intangibles.
If you choose to scout him during individual workouts, you’ll unlock everything…including his potential and traits. The catch is that you can only scout a small amount of players during individual workouts…so you’ll need to unlock as much information as you can before you get there.
Trust me…this makes the entire process much more challenging and rewarding this year. I’ve gone through a draft and because I scouted poorly, I ended up with a class full of busts. I’ve also found my future Hall of Fame QB in my 49ers franchise by scouting the right players.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc3.jpg
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc4.jpg

New Free Agent Bidding Feature
“Offseason Free Agency is now fast paced and interactive!”
Another feature that had become a little stale was offseason free agency.
We knew from the first planning stages that we needed a new take on the process and since I was a big fan of the free agent bidding feature from NFL Head Coach 09, we re-created it inMadden NFL 12 this year.
When you enter free agency, you’ll need to be ready to go. This year’s feature is very fast paced and it’s designed to be hectic. You need to make decisions quickly as you target players since the other teams are not waiting for you.
You’ll face off against the other 31 teams in an interactive bidding environment as you try to win the rights to sign the player to a contract of your choosing.
If another team outbids you, just press a button to increase the bid and become the leader.
Keep an eye on your cap room. We’ve made the cap a lot more challenging this year, so you can’t just sign every free agent. You’ll still need to save room to sign your draft rookies. The screenshot below was taken before we started tuning cap room. You’re not going to have $100 million to play with this year.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc5.jpg

Player Roles
“One of the favorite features from the last generation is back!”
One of the most requested community features from the PS2 and Xbox days is back and since it’s also one of my favorites, I was excited to include it in Franchise mode this year.
I know a lot of people like it because it adds a bit of an RPG element to the game.
There are more than 20 different roles that players can earn in Franchise mode, including “QB of the Future”, “Mentor” and “Fumble Prone”.
We’ve even added a handful of new roles like ‘Playoff Performer’, ‘Trench Warrior’ and ‘Iron Man’.
Most of the roles will have an in-game impact. Shutdown Corner, for instance, impacts the ratings of the player that has it AND the QB on the opposing team.
The roles are earned or lost based on defined criteria every offseason so players will not keep them forever. Most of the roles come with logic that changes how teams approach the draft and free agency. If a team has a ‘QB of the Future’ on the roster, they will not draft a QB in the first round of the draft.
If you have a mentor on your roster, he makes the young players better as long as he’s on the team.
Bringing this feature back is just a great way to adding depth to the mode and making individual players stand out a little more.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc6.jpg

Change Teams
This is another one of those features that has been a community request for years.
Right before the offseason starts, you can change the team you’re controlling to any other team.
You can even choose to control all 32 teams at that point if you want to.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc7.jpg

Future Draft Picks
I can’t mention community requested features without talking about Future Draft Picks, which we’ve also added this year.
It’s pretty simple…when making a trade, you can trade away the current year draft picks or next year’s picks.
This allows you to mortgage the future for a player you want to trade up to get in this year’s draft.
Or pretend you are the Patriots and trade down throughout the NFL Draft for next year’s picks.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc8.jpg

Edit Players
This is one we talked to you about on Twitter and the forums.
After some discussion, we agreed that Franchise mode is yours to control and that we needed to give you the ability to edit the ratings of any player in Franchise mode, whether they are veterans or the rookies you just imported from NCAA Football.
If you want some QB you imported to be an 85 overall because you won the Heisman with him, you’re welcome to edit him to be that high. It’s all up to you.
http://ll-100.ea.com/cem/u/f/GPO/easports.com/madden/madden12/fc9.jpg

Practice Mode
This may seem like a small addition but, to me, it’s big. Being able to practice with your Franchise mode team at any point in the preseason, regular season or playoffs without having to export them allows you to get a look at your team at any time.

Increased Injury Chances and Injured Reserve Fixed
If expanded rosters is the most requested community feature, fixing injured reserve is a close second.
It’s great that adding expanded rosters actually allowed us to fix IR since the game can now handle having more than 55 players on a team.
This year, players are automatically placed on IR and that opens up a roster spot for the team to sign a replacement for him.
CPU controlled teams now place players on injured reserve and sign a replacement if they need to.

Franchise Mode Dynamic Gameplans
We’ve also added a pretty cool new feature that makes teams re-evaluate their game plan based on their starting QB in future years.
Take the Colts for instance. In year one, if you control them or face them as an opponent, they will naturally throw the ball more based on their real life tendencies and because they have Peyton Manning on the roster.
In Franchise mode, if Manning gets hurt or retires, the team will adjust their play calling so that they run the ball more if they have a lower rated QB at the helm until he progresses enough to be able to throw the ball 30-40 times a game.

Revamped Import Draft Class Tuning
This year, AJ Dembroski (our newest rookie designer who some of you may know as one of the biggest Madden fans in the forums) worked a lot on getting players imported from NCAA Football to be more consistent.
Last year, if you imported someone who in your mind was a sure top 5 pick, he could enter your franchise as an 85 or a 65 overall player. There was just too much randomness in the system.
Now he enters the game every time you import him between an 80-87 overall if he’s one of the best players in the import class.

30 Brand New Draft Classes featuring Realistic Player Profiles
We created 30 brand new draft classes from scratch and added a new twist this year.
We’ve created player profiles (scrambling QB, 3-4 DE, power HB, speed WR) that are mixed in with the random guys so that you’ll find players that fit your offensive/defensive scheme and provide a more realistic experience.
Teams in the draft have a preference toward those players and will lean towards drafting them if they have the chance. That means the Raiders will draft a Speed WR if given the choice between him and a possession WR.
We’ve also randomized names and numbers this year so that you won’t recognize individual players each time you start a new franchise.

Progression Tuning
Another one of AJ’s tasks was focusing on progression and making it more realistic this year.
Last year, players would go up automatically regardless of their season stats. This year’s tuning is much more predictable. Players will go up or down based on their performance and age.
One thing to remember is that players are judged against players around their same age when deciding who should progress or not. So, if a rookie running back rushes for 500 yards and that is the best among his peers, he will progress the most in his age group.
Most players who are 32+ will decline every year unless they had the best years vs. their peers. If they did, they will typically stay the same or go down slightly.
Players in the prime of their careers can go up or down, but they can’t go up as much as young players or down as much as old players. And…yes, you guessed it. They are also judged only against the players around their age.

Revamped Team Re-Sign and New Cut Dead Weight Logic
This is another one of my favorite changes/features this year.
Last year, a team like the 49ers would always re-sign a player like Alex Smith because they had no other alternative on the team at his position. They would never take his potential into account and keep him on the roster for years.
This year they’ll make decisions more intelligently, getting rid of Smith and addressing the QB position in free agency or the draft.
They’ll also try to keep a young player with lots of potential under contract as long as it makes sense.
Along with rewriting the re-sign logic, we’ve also added some new team management logic in the offseason that forces teams to make realistic decisions.
In last year’s game, the Redskins would have signed Donovan McNabb to a 7 year deal and kept him on the roster until 2017 until the deal expired.
This year, they take a look at the roster every offseason and evaluate every player individually. If they feel like McNabb is over the hill, they cut him and move on. This leads to plenty of player movement in the offseason and makes the FA Bidding feature a lot more realistic.
We’ve been careful about teams cutting stars and we discussed this in length with the group of Franchise fans that have joined our Facebook Franchise Discussion Group.
We all agreed that we should make sure someone like Peyton Manning never gets cut, but if a 88-91 overall HB gets cut or not re-signed every now and then, that’s pretty realistic ala LaDainian Tomlinson with the Chargers.

New Salary System
After hearing complaints about how the old salary system was hard to deal with last year, we added a new salary system for players, which apply to veterans and draft rookies.
Last year, rookies would sign contracts based on their positions and ratings…so if you took a 70 overall HB #1 in the draft, he would ask for a 3 year/15 million dollar deal as the 1<SUP>st</SUP> pick (which is extremely unrealistic).
Rookies now sign contracts based solely on their position and their draft pick. If you take a QB with the first overall pick, expect to pay him a lot.
As far as the re-sign stage goes, players now sign contracts based on their age, overall rating and potential. Older players will always sign shorter deals for less money as their careers wind down while teams may try to lock up a young player with lots of potential with an expensive deal.

Re-Tuned Simulation Stats
We’re working on fixing OLB sacks, rushing yards and all of the other small issues we had last year.
As always, trying to replicate what 32 teams and 1800+ human players accomplish over a five month period in the NFL is tricky…but we’ll get it as perfect as we can.
This work isn’t done yet…it’s always one of the last things we fix before we ship the game.

Weather Tuning
Last year we had lots of issues with weather. It would never snow in Green Bay in January, etc.
I put AJ on this task to make sure that you’ll see more weather changes in climates where inclement weather is common.

Revamped Player Retirements
Last year, very few players retired each year in our game. We’ve addressed that by making sure that older players retire at a slightly quicker rate, allowing for young players to take over and get a chance to contribute.

Revamped Player Award Logic
This is a small change but the tuning makes the players that win yearly awards more realistic. We’ve tuned Pro Bowl logic, MVP Logic and all of the logic used for the other awards.

New Player Portraits for Draft Rookies
Rookies now look just like the real NFL players with a new portrait system that removes the cartoony look in Franchise screens.
We tried to add as many portraits as we could so that the way the rookies look in the menus no longer ruins that immersion factor for you.

New Depth Chart Logic
We also changed the depth chart logic this year to be more realistic.
Last year, teams would start a FS at the nickel corner spot if his ratings were good enough.
This year, that player would stay at FS while the real nickel corner would take the correct place in the depth chart.

New Coach Impacts
This is a small feature, but it brings some strategy to signing a coach.
Coaches now impact players on the field positively AND negatively by a small amount.
This is meant to emulate the strengths and weaknesses that each coach has.
The gameplay mechanic is deciding which positive/negative impact you are willing to take on.
Do you want to make your QBs better while your Defensive Line suffers a bit or make your corners better while making your O-Line drop a bit?

So those are the major changes to Franchise mode this year. Excited yet? I am!
I know it’s a lot to digest at first, but I bet you’re much more interested in reading a really long Franchise mode blog than a short one, huh?
As you can see, we’re committed to improving our depth modes going forward and this year’s Franchise mode is just the start.
When the game is released, I’ll be glad to discuss any of the features we added or just talk about Franchise mode in general on my Twitter account at http://twitter.com/josh_looman (http://twitter.com/josh_looman).
Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy all of the new additions for Franchise Mode inMadden NFL 12.

[CSL]

I buy Madden pretty much strictly to play Franchise mode and 11 is probably the least I've played a Madden game ever. That lot probably just made sure I get this first day again :-\

[Team Sheep]

Glad to see they're revamping Franchise mode. It's pretty much all I play over and over and it's about time for a big change. Won't be buying it however as I can't take my PS3 to Tennessee :( Unless one of my flat mates has a console :cool:

[CSL]

why can't you take it with?

[Team Sheep]

Well I could but I don't really want to lug it across the Atlantic. I'll live.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Yeah those franchise additions sound fantastic. So glad they went the Head Coach route. Especially with IR...fucking hated having a million injuries and playing severly shorthanded.

Only thing they didn't mention that I hope they add (that was also in Head Coach) is inactive lists. Needing to inactive 8 people, playing with strictly 45 on the roster every week. Not a huge deal if it's not in though.</font>

[D Mac]

Hopefully presentation is better in franchise too, like a better "Extra Point" to highlight the weeks games. Hell, they need to bring back Sportscenter like in NFL2K5.

[Gonzo]

Those mother fuckers. After buying the game last year, after saying I wouldn't, I thought I was committed to not purchasing it this year. They've shined the game up with such bullshit every year. Those additions to franchise mode, albeit late in the game, pretty much make this a buy for me. I play single player franchise exclusively so all of that stuff completely appeals to me. Son of a bitch. Here's to hoping that the on the field game play is tweaked to match the franchise improvements.

[Nicky Fives]

This might be the first Madden game I actually buy.....

[RP]

Whos in?

[Dark-Slicer Diago]

I'm considering it, it'll be the first Football game I've gotten in 10 years if I do.

[RoXer]

http://www.tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=112847

[G]

roxer will be getting this day 1.

[Battlekat]

I'm sure I'll cave and buy this. Then NHL 12 will be out and this game will become irrelevant and traded in by the start of October. Business as usual.

[D Mac]

Played the demo. Fucking graphics are awesome. The best I've ever seen in a football game. Game is fun. Buying.

[Evil Vito]

Need to try the demo when I get home.

[D Mac]

Anyone else played the demo? I can't stop playing. Hope I don't get burnt out before the actual game comes out.

[CSL]

been playing semi-regularly, the dynamic player performance is great, you can actually see it affect the performances of guys on the field and in turn affect the game. For example was playing as GB last night and started to lay a bit of a beating on Jay Cutler with hurries and sacks and he started to visibly panic under pressure, rush/miss open throws, take off on his feet a lot more and didn't get any rhythm back and I wound up winning like 34-3 pretty much strictly off the back of the beating Cutler took and "Rogers to Jennings" bombs. The franchise stuff when that info was first released meant I was probably always going to get this and the gameplay/presentation improvements/dynamic player performance are the proverbial icing on the cake.

[CSL]

Aaron Rodgers doing the title celebration was tidy as well.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

How's the player collision physics? The new engine is being used in FIFA (and PES has it's own one) so curious about it.

[CSL]

in very un-technical terms, it's a lot more "sudden", nowhere near the amount of magnetic/warping type stuff that was quite common before and noticeably new animations to go with. Tackling is improved also, previous "locked in" animations can be disrupted/broken, players "roll over" each other on the ground as opposed to a foot going through a head etc

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Just went ahead and reserved my copy at Best Buy. Essentially free since I had a gift card from my old job. :cool:

Looking at the Giants' ratings - I'm not one to tweak ratings too often but some of them are just balls. Of course, the game ships with pre-lockout rosters, but EA says the first roster update will be available the day the game ships. Hopefully those rosters are loaded just like the default ones are (73 of 75 spots filled for the Giants) so that I can actually play through pre-season/make cuts.

Also with the roster rules in place, I hope they've done away with needing to have a "minimum" number of guys at each position. Hated always having to carry 10 OL.</font>

[Emperor Smeat]

Was the new change to the roster minimum from the new CBA because if it is then it won't be in Madden 12 because EA already stated the game is using the old CBA for rules and structure.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Nah, you have to cut your roster to 53 - that's the same in both CBAs.

But Madden always had roster minimums at certain positions...and for the O-Line I believe you needed to have 4 tackles, 4 guards, and 2 centers. They may have eventually edited it so that you only needed 3 tackles and 3 guards, but I don't remember. For a few years I only got around that by having the Giants' long snapper being listed as the backup center.

I remember at one point years ago, my fullback got injured before the playoffs. You NEEDED to have one, and putting a player on IR didn't free up a roster spot. So I needed to edit Brandon Jacobs into a fullback to get around the minimum rule.

I wonder if inactives lists will come into play here. Would love that as well.</font>

[RP]

Downloading this ish right now. Don't know why. Im buying regardless.

[D Mac]

So I'm dumb. I wasted 25 bucks and got the EA season pass just so I can play this early. It's a great game but I should have waited.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol:

The only real benefit to the season pass would be the discount on DLC but only if you bought all the DLC for a game otherwise $25 for 15 days of early access (5 games total) is a bad idea.

[CSL]

Madden was pushed back a few weeks this year. If it's back to its normal date next year, you'll get to do the same gimmick with next years.

[Mister Sinister]

If there is a online Franchise this year, someone sign me up as Miami

[D Mac]

Hopefully I can get discounts on Ultimate Madden Team cards. I wanna get into that and build a good team.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Seriously pumped for this. Gonna be rather gutted if power is still out on Tuesday.</font>

[RP]

My local gamestop is releasing this at midnight. But from 4 pm to midnight they are having a madden tourney for those who pre ordered it. I think im gunna get drunk and walk up in there like " Shawne Merriman Motha Fuckas!", but I'm sort of afraid to lose to a 10 year old.

[RP]

Shawne Merriman is in reference to the time I destroyed NERF in a game of Madden. I sacked him like 27 times. He was all crying and shit and I kept telling him the ways I would fuck his mother. I think he was 11 years old back then. I don't remember.

[RP]

A lot if black people up here at Gamestop, getting Madden. Feel like I'm at the source awards.

[RP]

I feel like I'm in the Candlestick Park parking lot

[RP]

Police are here. Not sure if they're getting madden or if they just smelled the gin and juice

[RP]

Madden 12 is in my hands. Word is, there's a 30 minute download to update rosters. The fuck?

[D Mac]

I bought the pass for the early release, but now I can't afford to get the retail game until Friday. :shifty:

[RoXer]

Finally hit the Goozex lottery and got 4th in line for this. So I should have it in... 2 weeks? Maybe.

[D Mac]

It'll be obsolete by then.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>30 minutes for a roster update? Balls.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Jesus, reading reviews of people who have been playing since midnight. Never expected to see this much negativity. A lot of "nothing has changed" and "franchise has glitches and doesn't live up to the hype" posts.

Gonna be trying it out for myself today. If they drop the ball though I might skip yet another year after this.</font>

[RP]

People bitch too much
Its a good game.

[FearedSanctity]

Gonna have to enjoy it regardless. My little brother busted my Madden 11 so I was in need of a new one anyway. Got it off Amazon with release day delivery for $60.98. .98 for shipping, no tax and a $20 credit for my next purchase? SOLD. The fuck you at UPS?

[RoXer]

I'm paying about $4 for this.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Jesus Christ, it's impossible to pass in the rain. Went 5-15 for 97 yards with Eli on Opening Day. The receivers either drop the pass or slip while running the route.

Also, stats that are simmed for the CPU teams seem to be based on 15 minute quarters. So if you play 5 minute quarters like me you can pretty much forget about ever having an MVP contender.</font>

[FearedSanctity]

Yeah, the stat thing blows, but it's always been like that

[Emperor Smeat]

Kotaku was able to confirm it is possible to hit the Jerrytron on Cowboys stadium during punts and kickoffs but only on rare occasions.

[RP]

<font color=goldenrod>Jesus Christ, it's impossible to pass in the rain. Went 5-15 for 97 yards with Eli on Opening Day. The receivers either drop the pass or slip while running the route.

Also, stats that are simmed for the CPU teams seem to be based on 15 minute quarters. So if you play 5 minute quarters like me you can pretty much forget about ever having an MVP contender.</font>

It's suppose to be hard to pass in the rain you numb dick.

[RP]

<font color=goldenrod>Jesus Christ, it's impossible to pass in the rain. Went 5-15 for 97 yards with Eli on Opening Day. The receivers either drop the pass or slip while running the route.

Also, stats that are simmed for the CPU teams seem to be based on 15 minute quarters. So if you play 5 minute quarters like me you can pretty much forget about ever having an MVP contender.</font>

It's suppose to be hard to pass in the rain you numb dick.

[D Mac]

Fucking graphics are the best thing about this. Probably the best they'll ever get on the current gen consoles.

[Evil Vito]

It's suppose to be hard to pass in the rain you numb dick.

No shit. Simply pointing out that it's very difficult, which is frustrating but a good bit of realism. Would only be a bad thing if it rained every game for some reason.

My safeties have been beasting it through 2 games thus far. Rolle and Phillips with 2 picks each.

[DaveWadding]

This game is much harder than it was last year. Took me 3 tries to win a game on All-Pro with the Cardinals against great teams such as the Panthers, Vikings and Dolphins. and I only won the game cause of a long TD in OT. I didn't have any problem winning games last year.

[Triple Naitch]

Might pick this up today and take Tim Tebow to the promise land.

[Triple Naitch]

This is my first Madden game since Shaun Alexander was on the cover. The Ultimate Team thing is pretty cool.

Hit me up on PSN: Kyle19338

[RP]

What's PSN?

[Triple Naitch]

PlayStation Network

[G]

the dark side

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Scored a TD and XP to go up by 8. Force DeSean Jackson to fumble. Philly challenges, the replays show he fumbled but it gets inexplicably overturned. I'm pissed, but manage to force Philly to punt and then bring in Da'Rel Scott for a 76 yard TD run. Glorious.</font>

[RP]

I love Ultimate Team.

[RP]

Has anyone gotten a legend yet?

[Emperor Smeat]

It looks like the Wii version this year wasn't a half-ass effort because EA actually included all the non-online stuff from the other consoles to the Wii version. Online has less stuff than the others but does get automatic roster updates.

:lol: at IGN having a "sizzle" video of all the new features and under new celebrations a high-five was shown as being a new TD taunt.

The game was rumored to have Tecmo Bowl like controls and gameplay but it looks like EA was lying because it doesn't unless its only in 5v5 mode or somehow they are considering the new power-ups as "Tecmo Bowl" style.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>I need to try out Ultimate Team. Looks like a fun concept.</font>

[Champion of Europa]

<font color=goldenrod>Jesus Christ, it's impossible to pass in the rain. Went 5-15 for 97 yards with Eli on Opening Day. The receivers either drop the pass or slip while running the route.

Also, stats that are simmed for the CPU teams seem to be based on 15 minute quarters. So if you play 5 minute quarters like me you can pretty much forget about ever having an MVP contender.</font>

In other sports games I've played you can adjust the CPU sim length so you can even the score and have MVP candidates. It was like this in NBA2k11 where the first season I played I was winning but no where near MVP. Changed that shit and won scoring titles, mvp, and all that shit.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Glad to see I'm not the only one having issues with this......but the weather is bugged to fuck. It seems like each home stadium has a weather pattern tied to it no matter what depending on time of day. As such, EVERY Giants home game during the day is played in pouring rain.

Ditto for teams like Cleveland and Kansas City. Rains no matter what. How something like this got through development is beyond me.</font>

[#BROKEN Hasney]

It looks like the Wii version this year wasn't a half-ass effort because EA actually included all the non-online stuff from the other consoles to the Wii version. Online has less stuff than the others but does get automatic roster updates.

Looks like they took that effort out of the PS3 version. I have no idea what the fuck happened there, it looks awful :|

[D Mac]

Bought a Legendary pack for Ultimate Team and got both Dan Marino AND Barry Sanders. :cool:

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Only just now realizing that you only have to cut your roster to 55 players, the same roster limit as every other Madden. Not a huge deal but I don't get why they don't just make it 53 as it should be. Also they should pull a Head Coach and eliminate the stupid positional minimums...you could field a team of 53 speedy running backs and wide receivers if you wanted to (Al Davis?).

Hate having to keep 10 offensive linemen on my roster when most of them will never sniff the field. I actually edited long snapper Zak DeOssie into a center from a LB (they programmed him to be the only LB in the game that can long snap - 0 OVR which means nothing since bad snaps don't exist in Madden) so I could get around it and keep an extra player a a different position that I didn't want to lose. Probably wouldn't have even kept Zak if not for the fact that he's probably going to be a Giants lifer in real life.

Kept my 1st-4th and 7th round picks, plus two undrafted rookies. The top 3 might be the only ones that stick around for more than a yearmassuming I do a better job scouting next season.</font>

[RoXer]

should have this this week, maybe next

[D Mac]

WHO WANTS SOME tomorrow.

[D Mac]

I played 2 online games. Lost the first, won the second. After the second game I noticed there was a madden coin penalty for COMPLETING 2 games. WTF?

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Wish I had some decent, remotely challenging sliders for Pro. Everytime I switch to All Pro I find it impossible to complete a pass as every single receiver is blanketed perfectly on every play. I'm talking like...lucky if I get a 25% completion percentage.</font>

[CSL]

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football-sliders

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Well, had the most exciting Madden game I've ever had the CPU last night. I left the difficulty at All-Pro for the remainder of the 2012 season...actually managed to make it to the Super Bowl against the Browns of all teams...they went 9-7 in the regular season and knocked off the heavily favored Colts in the AFC Title game.

Early on I didn't know how the hell they managed to make it that far, Colt McCoy looked awful and I was managing to stuff Peyton Hillis. Had a 21-6 lead midway through the 4th. That's when Colt went into "no fucking way you're winning this" mode, drove down the field with ease and spammed Cribbs. They have all 3 timeouts and they stuff Bradshaw on the next drive. Drive down the field AGAIN and they score a TD with the 2 point conversion after my D had been great all day.

My last ditch attempts to get in FG range fall short with a Manningham catch reviewed and ruled out of bounds even though he clearly was in (the review system appears to be totally random). Overtime, I get the ball, get a nice drive going. But I get stopped in that iffy area of the field where it's too close to punt. Rather than go for it and have SOME chance, I stupidly send out Tynes for a 55 yard attempt figuring we're in the Superdome with no wind. It's well short. Browns drive down the field again with ease and a Dawson field goal ends it. Browns are Super Bowl 47 champions.

Ordinarily I'd be pissed off that the game did a 180 on me...and if it was against a team I disliked that might have been the case. But man that was exciting. I looked and Tynes only has an 85 kick power rating, that's terrible. Signed Josh Scobee who has like 96.</font>

[Innovator]

The seam go route with Jennings from Rodgers is damn near unstoppable.

[Nicky Fives]

I have watched at least 1 football game every week of the season for the past 5 years, and I have never bought a Madden game..... I am a terrible person.....

[RoXer]

I have to have an online pass to merely update the rosters?

Fucking retarded

[LoDownM]

There is ways around it if you have your profile on a USB drive. However, since I don't have Live, I don't know if you can get banned for it or not.

[D Mac]

That's what you get for being a cheapskate.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Avenged my upsetting loss in Super Bowl 47 to the Browns (who went 6-10 in the worst division in football in their failure to defend their title) by winning Super Bowl 48...more like the Manning Bowl as it was the Giants vs. the Colts. Even cooler was that it was outdoors in the cold in my home stadium, and I was the home team for it. Did a remarkably good job of containing Peyton, who threw for just under 5,000 yards during the season.

And that completes my first full All-Pro season. The games I won were generally close. I know I'd get slaughtered on All Madden, so I might try to tweak the settings to be somewhere in the middle.</font>

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Anybody interested in forming a TPWW-only online Franchise?

[RoXer]

Getting rid of this. Played 3 games, can't play anymore. It's just more of the same. Can't be bothered to put in the time for franchise.

[D Mac]

I wanna shot at that ass first. Unless you don't have online then you suck.

[RoXer]

Yeah, let's do it right now

[D Mac]

right

[D Mac]

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[RoXer]

In like an hour?

[D Mac]

Gonna be busy then, tomorrow sometime.

[Nark Order]

Trading in franchise mode is ridiculously difficult this time around.

[DaveBrawl]

Not to hard when you edit whoever you're after. :shifty:

[Skippord]

I traded my first round draft pick like 5 times so now I have 6 first round picks in the next year of my franchise

[Team Sheep]

Reunited with my PS3 for a month so I'm finally able to play this. I love the difficulty difference this year, very refreshing. I was starting to get pretty bored with how easy All-Pro was before but now I'm struggling which is great. Currently 3-4 in my first season of Franchise with the Jets, just about starting to improve. Hopefully a strong second half of the season beckons.

If anyone fancies a game add me on PSN (TeamSheep).

[Team Sheep]

I just realised the play off seedings are fucked in franchise. I made the playoffs as the number 6 seed, beat the Patriots in the wild card round and now I'm playing the #2 seeded Raiders in the divisional round instead of the #1 Steelers. I've been playing Madden for 7 years and never noticed this, has it always been this way?

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>That's weird. The playoff seedings have never been wrong for me and I'm 4 years deep in my franchise.

I've steadily increased the difficulty and I've still won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years (very nearly a four-peat were it not for the miracle the Browns pulled out as I had posted about earlier). Might have to finally go all the way to All-Madden, or close to it.

The contracts are a bit fucked though. I've re-signed plenty of guys to extremely team-friendly contracts. Eli Manning's contract was up and despite 4 straight Super Bowl appearances and a respectable 86 OVR rating at age 34 he was content with getting a 3 year deal for like $3 million a year. I bumped up his annual salary to not feel like I was completely fleecing the CPU, but I have an absurd amount of cap space.

Drafted a QB in the 2nd round who starts at like an 82 OVR and has A potential. Probably gonna be my personal Aaron Rodgers.</font>

[Team Sheep]

After a google search, apparently it's always been messed up on every Madden game. They get the wild card round seedings correct, but then the divisional round is messed up as they seed the teams then based on record and not on divisional champions first and then the 2 wild card teams, like it should be. So I was #6 with a 9-7 record, but the Texans won their division at 7-9 and then won their wild card game, and so they went on to play #1 because of their worse record. Can't believe EA haven't fixed this.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Turning CPU QB Accuracy anywhere over 50 makes it pretty much impossible for them to miss a pass</font> :-\