I had this discussion with Shaun at an NCAA Football Community Day this year and wanted to hear what others have to say. This is an excerpt of an entry I had posted on my site: http://mymaddenpad.com/2012/05/08/do-you-really-want-realism-in-madden-nfl-13/
I have thought of this idea many times in the past , and I just think the risk vs reward would not support this idea. Here asre my two reasons why I feel this way, just my thoughts no malice here : 1. Video games have enough dumb , random, unintended crazy shit that happens, no need to program extra in. 2. I have seen too many positive additions to my sports games get totally FUBAR'd with programming and end up with very unwanted results. Not trying to be a negative Nancy but I fear the random bad snap , fumbled placement on FG , etc. could end up broken coming out the gate and totally eff' up a game, again I have no background in programming so what do I know but that thought is scary to me. I feel like MLB Show gets this right in regards to errors & the new ball physics engine in the last effort , plus I may be paranoid but I feel like sometimes EA has "scripted" games that you are not suppose to win. If I felt that way for 3 & 3/4 quarters of football and had the win in hand and got a bad snap to lose the game I may go on a "Falling Down" type rampage, we don't need that.
I've thought of this in the past as well. I don't really want botched snaps or fumbled holds. If it was in the game, I'd prefer it to be tied to a rating.
What happened to the mantra - "If it's in the game, it's in the game"? Fumbled snaps, bad snaps, penalties, blown coverages, bad passes happen in real football. You think that coaches don't get upset that its outside their control? Of course they do, but it's part of the game. Personally, I think if they expanded ratings to include things like the ability to snap the ball effectively it would provide more meaning to having a great C vs a great G who you play at C (as an example).
Agree with all that Dru. Would be neat to see some sort of composure rating too (maybe WR and CB with low composure ratings get into it after an incomplete deep ball or after the WR catches a 20 yard gain on the CB). Whatever the case, I think you have to tie ratings into it otherwise it just randomly occurring could get to be annoying.
As much as I personally want that stuff, you know there is a very large population of gamers out there that would be outraged if EA added fumbled snaps. lol.
I play NCAA and not madden but the question is equally relevent. Guys already get mad when "the AI fucked me over!" events happen. I mean like a qb missing a wide open guy, a DE drops on a zone blitz and picks off a slant, the safety fails to cover.the.guy running a seam route etc. All of these things happen in real football and people act like the cpu cheated them. Cant say how many times i've heard some version of "my 90 ovr guard didnt block the lb because.the AI sucks." Bottom line, while some of us (me included) would welcome that stuff, i think it would be a huge error on EAs part to do it.
Sadly I totally agree with you. Most people want realism as long as they can still win every game against the CPU.
Ah, yes... Another "gimmie" that is readily overlooked by the average Madden player. Any true Maddenolic would definitely say the mis-snaps need to be added to the game. If there were a way to make it an occasional, random mistake versus a frequent occurrence, I think it's almost a necessity in order for the game to gain more authenticity. Whether it be measured by player ratings, pressure situation, or both, I think mis-snaps AND botched hand-off exchanges would be a great addition to the game as long as they were random and an extremely uncommon occurrence - similar to that of a blocked field goal or missed XP (which also needs to be amped up a little I might add). Welcome to TSO, Shop.
A big yes to realism, and I selected Tied with Ratings, but as for something like botched snaps or mis-handoffs, I don't know whether I'd like it to be tied into a rating as much as tied into time spent together. IE: Your second string QB has to come in, maybe he's not used to the handoffs to your #1 RB, or at least not at first.
its a video game..I dont need or want that much realism..and there isnt enough logic in game to make it tolerable or believable..the game already has bullcrap logic that fumbles when you least of all need it/want it to happen..and guys do that stupid player bounce to get them to rush in to block a field goal...and its debatable that cover up the ball to not fumble even really works against a strip...besides,it would just be another thing that cheesers would learn to manipulate in their favor. its a video game..interceptions and dropped passes are enough frustration..I dont need a game blown because of stupid crap like a bad snap LOL
All Pro Football 2k8 had a great Kicking System imo. The quality of the snap was determined by how accurately you pulled back on the right stick to snap the ball... Pull it back too slow, the snap is low, or bonuces. Pull it back too hard, the snap could be high. Pull it back too far to the left or right and the snap was off in that direction. The quality or rating of your holder would factor into him getting the ball down or not. It was really a nice system and created many varied results from my time playing the game.
I think the main issue with madden, is that there are so many "WTF" moments, where you simply can't explain "WHY" something happened. I think those are the moments that people right off and say "the madden gods are against me today". Those are the moments that we need to eliminate. Everything needs to be driven by the player ratings. Even if you have a great user, with great stick skills, he should still struggle if he takes on an average user if that average user has a team that is far superior than his. Example, Packers vs Browns or something like that. The Browns owner should have a hell of a time defeating the Packers user.
I agree with you, but see my above post. Its the randomness of the events that piss people off. Because they simply can't be explained. Your gripe about fumbles is legit but I believe there are factors that play into it. 1. whats the carry rating of your player? 2. whats the hit power rating of the defender? 3. is the ballcarrier tired? 4. did you have the ball in the wrong hand? - if your running up the left sideline, and you have the ball in your right hand (closest to the defenders) you are opening yourself up to a user strip. Things that need to be eliminated from the game are things that completely ignor real life physics and player abilities. 1. a DB should not have the ability to go for an interception, NOT make it, and yet still be able to make a tackle on that player by magically spinning 360 degrees in mid air... Those types of things are completely unrealistic. 2. Dlineman should not simply win / lose vs an Olineman... meaning, there should be some kind of battle, on every possession. The way it is now, they win or lose with no real battle at all... Also, when they win, its always, right as the HB gets the handoff (watch a few replays and you'll see what i mean)
The blocking thing has always been a pet peave of mine. The way the game is now, it seems like the Oline or FB are programed to block 1 specific player. If that specific player is not able to be blocked, then they simply do nothing, unless another player runs into them. This is where the "my guard didn't block anyone" comes from. This also cause those moments where the lead blockers or lineman actually turn the wrong way and run into the ballcarriers. The best example is with Fullbacks. Many times they simply run straight and do nothing if their #1 option is not available to block. a "real" fullback would look for someone else to block in that circumstance. I've also seen fullbacks turn the wrong way and run into my ballcarrier.
