Madden 21

[RaidersAreOne]

3 hours ago, JBURGE said:

The scouting and progression needs an overhaul. Unfortunately they just did progression. I would rather they adopt a NBA 2k style progression where there are developments, and the players just develop over time. I don't want to choose what to upgrade, let the game do that. 

Scouting is a mess. I don't even have any suggestions, but showing that a 4th round pick has 1st round talent is stupid. Just have the projections and the combine stuff, and then let us figure out the rest by scouting the skills. I don't want to know if they are a 1st round pick talent, that makes it cheap. 

Interesting points. I agree that something needs to be done but I have no clue what. I find if you auto upgrade players, the CPU will just do one thing over and over ie speed rusher, deep threat, etc. They never make them balanced. So if they do just develop overtime naturally I'd hope they do so evenly. 

[JBURGE]

2 hours ago, RaidersAreOne said:

Interesting points. I agree that something needs to be done but I have no clue what. I find if you auto upgrade players, the CPU will just do one thing over and over ie speed rusher, deep threat, etc. They never make them balanced. So if they do just develop overtime naturally I'd hope they do so evenly. 

Yes I think the CPu will upgrade based on your scheme fit. What I want is something similar to NBA 2k where the players just progress naturally. Or, you could set your position coach/OC to coach up a certain area at the start of the year any maybe that progresses more than the rest. But I am bored of allocating the points. It's much better now with the archtypes than it was when you were spending individual XP on 1 speed point for example, but it still could be more automated and realistic. 

[scar988]

6 hours ago, JBURGE said:

The scouting and progression needs an overhaul. Unfortunately they just did progression. I would rather they adopt a NBA 2k style progression where there are developments, and the players just develop over time. I don't want to choose what to upgrade, let the game do that. 

Scouting is a mess. I don't even have any suggestions, but showing that a 4th round pick has 1st round talent is stupid. Just have the projections and the combine stuff, and then let us figure out the rest by scouting the skills. I don't want to know if they are a 1st round pick talent, that makes it cheap. 

Maybe, the talent should be subjective to team. Like truly a 4th round guy, but his talent in your scheme would make him a 1st round fit. So grabbing him in the third may seem like a reach. Like when Atlanta selected Deion Jones second round when everyone else thought he was a third or fourth round guy. Atlanta loved the scheme fit so when they took him, he was a first round talent in their eyes. 

[43M]

There are too many things that account for a players success that arent account for in Madden.    Granted, some players just end up not good enough to play at this NFL level, but in some cases, it comes down to the right coaching and right situation for the right players.

Coaches and schemes should have a HUGE effect on a players progression. 

They need to make coaches matter so much more.      Give them unique traits, strengths and weakness for all aspects of the team, including player progression.       I do think some special players should be able to progress and be stars no matter what, and I think some players just need to be throwaways that arent really reflected well in the game.   But beyond that, coaches should play a large role.  For instance....

Lets say there is a QB with mid first round talent that needs the proper development to succeed....

Scenario A:    He is drafted to a team where a) he fits the scheme, b) the HC and OC both have good Quarterback development skills and c) he has a quality vet QB to learn from (another feature I think should get more love).    

Scenario B:    He is drafted to a team where a) he has a questionable fit in the scheme, b) none of the coaches are good at developing QBs and c)  there isnt a good vet QB to learn from.

 

In scenario A,  I think the QB should have a higher potential within said scheme and develop at a faster rate, whereas in scenario B, the QB struggles to develop and even regresses because they arent being used or developed the way they need to be.

So much in Madden needs overhauled, but coaches are the one thing Ive said for YEARS that are done soooooo poorly.    The current coaching system meanings nothing.   The coaching skills have no real impact on the the game or the teams the coach.       Its just disingenuous window dressing to make it seem deeper than it is.      Its beyond sad that coaches mattered more back in Madden 2008 than they do now.      Even then they werent done that well, but it was more understandable.      Not they mean NOTHING.

It does look like they are adding expanded coaching staffs, but as I said, unless its done properly....which I doubt it will be, it doesnt matter.    Each coach needs to have their own unique characteristics:

Type of Coach:    A players coach might have good relationship with his players and have special advantages in resigning players, but might struggle to keep their focus when times get tough.     A disciplinarian might rub some players the wrong way, but they might be able to get more out of certain players.     A Xs and O's coach might be a great playcaller, but might struggle developing players.    The possibilities are endless.

Coach Potnetial  Much like players, coaches should have a potential.    Some coaches should just be busts no matter what.    Most coaches should be able to advance anywhere between below average to great.    Have a handful of elite potential coaches that can pretty much accomplish anything.

Negotiation Skills:    For this to work right, players need to have more driving factors than just money.      They also need to be unwilling to negotiate with teams who low ball them.      A coach who is a good negotiator should be able to perhaps talk players into coming/staying on a team that might not otherwise.   For instance, say a free agent, beyond money, wants to win, but youre coaching a pretty poor team.     A coach who can negotiate might be able to talk the player into joining a poor team....whereas a coach who cant might not have a chance at getting certain players

Free Agent Philosophy:  Some coaches prioritize free agents and are willing to overspend to get them.    Some coaches prefer to build through the draft.  

Trade Philosophy:  Certain coaches will be aggressive in making trades and are more willing to give up picks and players to get what they want.    Some coaches will be hesitant to even trade a late round pick. 

Draft Philosophy:  Some coaches prioritize offense over defense, or vice versa.    Some are more willing to take gambles on high risk players.     

    

There are a ton of different things they could do to make coaches matter and make them feel like different coaches.

Unfortunately, I doubt we ever get anything close to this in depth....which is pathetic, because it wouldnt really be that hard to implement.  

[SteelKing728]

On 3/9/2021 at 1:31 AM, RaidersAreOne said:

Stoked they are finally taking franchise more seriously.

So they say. Just adding old features that were taken out would be enough.

They can't even do that though.

[Dome]

On 3/13/2021 at 6:05 AM, 43M said:

There are too many things that account for a players success that arent account for in Madden.    Granted, some players just end up not good enough to play at this NFL level, but in some cases, it comes down to the right coaching and right situation for the right players.

Coaches and schemes should have a HUGE effect on a players progression. 

They need to make coaches matter so much more.      Give them unique traits, strengths and weakness for all aspects of the team, including player progression.       I do think some special players should be able to progress and be stars no matter what, and I think some players just need to be throwaways that arent really reflected well in the game.   But beyond that, coaches should play a large role.  For instance....

Lets say there is a QB with mid first round talent that needs the proper development to succeed....

Scenario A:    He is drafted to a team where a) he fits the scheme, b) the HC and OC both have good Quarterback development skills and c) he has a quality vet QB to learn from (another feature I think should get more love).    

Scenario B:    He is drafted to a team where a) he has a questionable fit in the scheme, b) none of the coaches are good at developing QBs and c)  there isnt a good vet QB to learn from.

 

In scenario A,  I think the QB should have a higher potential within said scheme and develop at a faster rate, whereas in scenario B, the QB struggles to develop and even regresses because they arent being used or developed the way they need to be.

So much in Madden needs overhauled, but coaches are the one thing Ive said for YEARS that are done soooooo poorly.    The current coaching system meanings nothing.   The coaching skills have no real impact on the the game or the teams the coach.       Its just disingenuous window dressing to make it seem deeper than it is.      Its beyond sad that coaches mattered more back in Madden 2008 than they do now.      Even then they werent done that well, but it was more understandable.      Not they mean NOTHING.

It does look like they are adding expanded coaching staffs, but as I said, unless its done properly....which I doubt it will be, it doesnt matter.    Each coach needs to have their own unique characteristics:

Type of Coach:    A players coach might have good relationship with his players and have special advantages in resigning players, but might struggle to keep their focus when times get tough.     A disciplinarian might rub some players the wrong way, but they might be able to get more out of certain players.     A Xs and O's coach might be a great playcaller, but might struggle developing players.    The possibilities are endless.

Coach Potnetial  Much like players, coaches should have a potential.    Some coaches should just be busts no matter what.    Most coaches should be able to advance anywhere between below average to great.    Have a handful of elite potential coaches that can pretty much accomplish anything.

Negotiation Skills:    For this to work right, players need to have more driving factors than just money.      They also need to be unwilling to negotiate with teams who low ball them.      A coach who is a good negotiator should be able to perhaps talk players into coming/staying on a team that might not otherwise.   For instance, say a free agent, beyond money, wants to win, but youre coaching a pretty poor team.     A coach who can negotiate might be able to talk the player into joining a poor team....whereas a coach who cant might not have a chance at getting certain players

Free Agent Philosophy:  Some coaches prioritize free agents and are willing to overspend to get them.    Some coaches prefer to build through the draft.  

Trade Philosophy:  Certain coaches will be aggressive in making trades and are more willing to give up picks and players to get what they want.    Some coaches will be hesitant to even trade a late round pick. 

Draft Philosophy:  Some coaches prioritize offense over defense, or vice versa.    Some are more willing to take gambles on high risk players.     

    

There are a ton of different things they could do to make coaches matter and make them feel like different coaches.

Unfortunately, I doubt we ever get anything close to this in depth....which is pathetic, because it wouldnt really be that hard to implement.  

Good stuff. A few more things I'd like to see (but never will, unless someone remakes a game like NFL Head Coach) that aren't necessarily related to progression:

Holdouts: If you signed a 77 OVR with strong dev traits to a lengthy cheap deal he may hold out around the 86+ OVR mark (this is just an example) if he's progressing quickly and knows he's underpaid. You could enter a negotiation screen to re-sign the player much like Madden has now, or you could refuse to budge and get bonuses for your other players when you win without him or you might lose leverage in negotiations if you lose in his absence. 

Suspensions: The NFLPA would never sign off on a "character" rating for real NFL players, so I know this will never happen. But having a rating for a players character much like an injury rating would be a neat dynamic. The higher the rating, the more likely the player is to be suspended, it would be random like injuries. You wouldn't want to overdo it, but one or two suspensions a season would do a lot for immersion.

Realistic CPU Franchises: I'd like to see CPU teams approach me about players they'd like to trade for even if they aren't on my trade block. I'd like to see star players demanding trades or releases if they're stuck on an awful team.

NFL News: Integrating the three suggestions above into a custom news feed (they've had this before, but the execution wasn't great) to keep tabs on what's going on around the league would make things much more immersive. If the CPU had a player holding out or demanding a trade you would get a notification, and that player would temporarily become easier to trade for or something.

Create A Play: Madden 08 on PC allowed you to design youe own plays. You could tell linemen who specifically to block and how to block them, you could draw custom routes for your receivers and IIRC you could tell your HB which gap to prioritize when blocking starts to develop. Being able to draw up custom defensive formations and play-calls would be cool too, but offense is the big picture here.

Player Drills: Run drills with specific players in practice. You have to control the player through the drills, if you do poorly you can actually regress or lose morale/confidence. This could be an opportunity that presents itself once in a while, like the Dev Trait upgrade system in Madden 21, rather than a weekly minigame like training currently in the game.

College Player Interviews: Like reverse recruiting in the NCAA games, it would be cool to have an interview minigame for NFL draft prospects. The interview would give you insight on their football IQ (awareness and play recognition), work ethic (development and fitness), and character concerns. Bad coaches can't ask the best questions, or don't get as much useful information out of the answers.

Immersive Draft Format: Give me a player summary pop-up for each selection in the draft. It can easily be skipped like Super Simming the draft to your pick, but the standard pacing should come with more information as players are picked. During the draft it's much harder than it needs to be to keep track of which players are being selected where and how they stacked up to your big board rating of them. The representation of the NFL Draft by Madden is one of the biggest travesties in the franchise. So lackluster. 

[TENINCH]

I picked up Madden20 and NHL21 for $20 at Target. I wanted to get back into playing some games but I got bored within a day on Madden. NHL is still pretty good and I enjoy playing that game. 

[Ty21]

On 3/23/2021 at 11:51 AM, Dome said:

Immersive Draft Format: Give me a player summary pop-up for each selection in the draft. It can easily be skipped like Super Simming the draft to your pick, but the standard pacing should come with more information as players are picked. During the draft it's much harder than it needs to be to keep track of which players are being selected where and how they stacked up to your big board rating of them. The representation of the NFL Draft by Madden is one of the biggest travesties in the franchise. So lackluster. 

It would be cool if they made it like the real draft and have a little moment where they talk about the hardships the athletes have been through and how many of them have a dead mom 

[Lions017]

I've been giving this game another chance. Started a franchise with Washington, drafted a solid QB. I made it through the first two years before I just realized that it all just feels the same...maybe I need to really adjust the sliders or something, but I went from having an OK offensive line to a pretty dominant one in terms of ratings, and I'm not seeing any difference on the field. I've had receivers like Curtis Samuel (86 overall) go down with injuries and their replacements (72 overall rookie) are just as productive. I had a few injuries on the line and went from having an 82 overall at center to a guy who's a 67 and yup...no major difference. The ratings just don't seem to matter all that much. 

[BayRaider]

4 hours ago, Lions017 said:

I've been giving this game another chance. Started a franchise with Washington, drafted a solid QB. I made it through the first two years before I just realized that it all just feels the same...maybe I need to really adjust the sliders or something, but I went from having an OK offensive line to a pretty dominant one in terms of ratings, and I'm not seeing any difference on the field. I've had receivers like Curtis Samuel (86 overall) go down with injuries and their replacements (72 overall rookie) are just as productive. I had a few injuries on the line and went from having an 82 overall at center to a guy who's a 67 and yup...no major difference. The ratings just don't seem to matter all that much. 

OL ratings have never mattered much, especially for Pass Protection. EA’s OL/DL mechanics have always been glitchy, fake, and horrendous. A 16 year old game in NFL 2K5 actually had very realistic OL/DL engine/realism. 

[MacReady]

6 hours ago, Lions017 said:

I've been giving this game another chance. Started a franchise with Washington, drafted a solid QB. I made it through the first two years before I just realized that it all just feels the same...maybe I need to really adjust the sliders or something, but I went from having an OK offensive line to a pretty dominant one in terms of ratings, and I'm not seeing any difference on the field. I've had receivers like Curtis Samuel (86 overall) go down with injuries and their replacements (72 overall rookie) are just as productive. I had a few injuries on the line and went from having an 82 overall at center to a guy who's a 67 and yup...no major difference. The ratings just don't seem to matter all that much. 

Jamesfrancofirsttime.gif

Edited April 13, 2021 by Outpost31

[EaglesPeteC]

Has a game of Madden ever made you so angry that you just want to watch the world burn? 

[43M]

On 4/12/2021 at 8:41 PM, EaglesPeteC said:

Has a game of Madden ever made you so angry that you just want to watch the world burn? 

Madden as a whole makes me feel that way.

[SteelKing728]

Have they announced Madden 22 as just a roster update yet or are they already letting us know that Madden 23 will *also* be a roster update?

[43M]

2 hours ago, SteelKing728 said:

Have they announced Madden 22 as just a roster update yet or are they already letting us know that Madden 23 will *also* be a roster update?

Apparently there are supposed to be major franchise updates, and they already showed a screenshot of expanded coaching staffs.   

I dont have any faith that expanded coaching staffs will be much more than window dressing, but its still sadly more progress than we have seen in a decade.