Madden 17 Gameplay Wishlist – Part 2

Last week we gave you a gameplay wishlist for madden. Truth be told, we can all go on for al long time for gameplay improvements. But for this week, we are going to expand that list into gameplay improvements part 2. Without further ado, here is the second part of the gameplay improvements:

Route Running

Route running is a fundamental part of NFL, and it is also a big part of madden. But really, all it is in madden is the separation you gain. I’ve seen in NFL players like Antonio Brown run an out route and he barely changes speed. In madden though, no matter the player they really run the routes pretty similarly. It’s more determined by the way that the CB or DB reacts to the ball, and this should not be how it is.

Let me get further into what I’m talking about with a route that I think is a pretty important NFL route, but is 100% obsolete in Madden: sluggos. Now we all know what the sluggo route is. More than likely it is the route you hot route if you ever have a play with that route on it. It looks like a slant off the line of scrimmage and then the receiver cuts back upfield for a streak. Watching actual NFL games you almost never see a guy run just a straight fly route. They almost always utilize some form of this sluggo. Off the snap you take a quick cut in to make the defender think you are going across the middle and then cut it back upfield for the fly route. This is not utilized in madden at all. This is what route running should be used for. Why wouldn’t the receivers try to fake out the defenders while running the route, and have success with it with high route running? We’ve all seen NFL. Remember the plays where someone like Dez is just sitting uncovered 40-50 yards downfield? That’s usually because of a situation like this where he fakes the defender out and just has no one to cover him.

Team Play

Team play was a pretty popular and fun mode. It never really got the love it deserved though. Personally I loved it, and I know a lot of others did as well. But the main downfall of it was the lag. The connection never was really as flawless as a normal head to head game. This is a mode I would like to see be brought back. Even make if a part of franchise for those that wish to do so. Instead of having a 32 man CFM, make it a 64. Allow 2 players to control a team and play in the game. It’s not something for everybody, but it’s a cool feature that a lot of people would enjoy and have fun with. Playing on someone’s team in Madden is fun, but playing on someone’s team and also progressing through an actual season is even better.

Challenge System

This was briefly mentioned before but I really want to put some time into this time. The challenge system really needs an overhaul. In NFL it is big, it can completely change the momentum of the game. In madden it really isn’t the same. I might challenge one play for an entire length of a season in madden. For starters, simply make more controversial calls. We know this is a video game so it IS PERFECT as far as being able to make calls, but put slight error into the game. Allow there to be opportunities where you can really challenge the spot of the ball or if it was a catch. Also, scrap the “LT or L2” that pops up to challenge plays occasionally, because those are always wrong.

Next, the system itself needs some love. I want to be able to choose exactly what I am challenging. Even if it is irrelevant to the play, the option should be there. I don’t want the game to tell me what I am challenging. I want to specifically challenge the spot of the ball or specifically challenge if it was a catch or not.

Vision Cone

This is of course not something that appeals to everyone. But a lot of people who play sim franchises would like this option. Make it optional. It was in the game before, why is it not now? It can be defaulted to off for online games, but allow CFMs the ability to turn it on and make for a more realistic experience.

Catching System

The catching system received HUGE changes for Madden 16 and there really is only a few tweaks that need to be done to it mostly with the aggressive catch. Playing with Odell specifically, I notice way too many times, almost once a game that he is trying to catch passes one handed. And this is fine, but it consistently happens when there is no reason he can’t put two hands on the ball. I know this happens to other receivers as well. There is no reason why someone should try and have this amazing spectacular catch when they can easily use two hands.

Coin Toss

Bring it back. It’s cool not having to wait the 5 seconds or whatever it is that is skipped, but I think most people prefer this to come back for CFM. I like to see who actually wins and if they pick to receive or kick. Picking which side of the field to defend with wind is important too, it’s strategy. You want to have the wind at your back in the 4th quarter when you need to make that field goal.

Broadcast Presentation

Madden has had the same broadcast style for quite a long time. But the truth is that NFL games are broadcasted through several different channels. Make good use of the exclusive NFL rights and have games broadcasted from ESPN on Monday nights as well as the other stations that have games. It makes it feel more immersive.

Please leave comments on what you think should or shouldn’t be in the game, and any additional gameplay improvements you think should be in Madden 17.

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Madden 17 Gameplay Wishlist – Part 2

Madden 17 Gameplay Wishlist - Part 1

With Madden 17 approaching we wanted to list features that we want to see introduced or make a return in Madden 17. Of course we want everything that Madden 16 currently offers to return, but this article is going to focus mainly on the gameplay side of madden and what we would like to be improved upon. Although CFM is the driving force behind the sim community, it is really nothing without quality gameplay.

Physics Engine Improvements

When the physics engine was announced in Madden, we were ecstatic as it was long awaited. The loss of the canned animations was something needed for a long time. But the physics system is not perfect and has some issues. One of these is weight detection. Why is it that a 230 lb HB running at full speed can be knocked back by a much smaller DB? The system needs to be improved so not only attributes matter but the weight of the players as well.

In Madden 16 the WR/DB interactions was a great addition but they must build upon this to account for ANY interaction that a WR makes with the corner, underneath linebackers or defenders over the top. Too often a WR or TE runs downfield and runs into or gets “stuck” on a defender as he is running causing it to throw him off his route. If the QB throws it when this occurs it leads it as if he was running the route normally. Anyone who has played madden extensively knows exactly what it is we are talking about. The receiver should run into or bump into the defender and get thrown off, or run around the defender he sees standing in front of him.

Realistic Injuries

This is a feature we have always been super excited for and anticipating. The physics engine was a milestone step in the right direction, but now imagine that physics engine truly being put to use to allow realistic injuries! It would move Madden to a new level. You see some nasty hits in madden, some hits that would no matter who it was leave them at the very least shaken up and sidelined for a few plays. We have all seen some dirty hits that take out players knees. These should cause realistic injuries. How awesome would it be in madden to see these big hits have consequences? It would make players really think more about when to run out of bounds or when to have these skimpy little 5’8 backs of pure speed running head on into a 250lb Middle Linebacker.

Permanent Formation Subs

Although there are packages and subs in the game we would like to bring back the old Formation Subs to add more strategy to the game by being able to use certain players in a specific set. Want you best run blocking linemen in a big set? Your 3rd down back in ALL shotgun formations? Cornerbacks at safety in a set you blitz out of frequently. Formations subs would allow users the flexibility to do this. To have the right D-lineman and Linebackers in when you switch out of a 4-3 into a 3-4, or have your tallest and best spectacular catch WRs in during a Hail Mary. This level of specialization would make the game more realistic, as well as add an additional layer of depth to roster-building.

Assigned Coverages

Now we all know this is a thing in NFL. You have heard it many times.  Josh Norman guards the offensives best WR all game. Aqib Talib was assigned Rob Gronkowski all game long to limit his big plays. This is a real NFL strategy. It is too easy to offensively manually switch your #1 WR to go inside and play the slot. Now he is facing off against a #3 CB or sometimes even a LB! This would never happen in the NFL. Quite a while ago in madden we could do this, but no longer is this an option at the hands of madden gamers. It needs to come back. All those issues would be gone with assigned coverages. Let us choose to assign our top CB to the top WR all game long, regardless of where he moves on the field. And if that WR is not on the field, then it simply defaults back to normal.

Player Ratings Improvements

There needs to be a better distinction between players who are great, good, average,

and bad. Time and time again you see people start players who are a low overall with high physical attributes, but absolutely no awareness or play recognition. These players rarely see a real an NFL field, so there needs to be some type of distinction between these players and more well rounded starters. Someone like Aaron Rodgers is on a completely different level than Eli Manning or Matt Ryan, but nothing other than a missed pass every once in awhile shows that. You rarely see the elite QBs drop an absolute dime on a pass that the just good QBs could not make as well.

Penalty Overhaul

The frequency and variation of penalties were improved in Madden 16 but it still fall short of a realistic NFL game. Basically the only penalties we consistently see are offensive holding, false start, encroachment, and holding on defense, but only in man defense. We have yet to see a holding on the defense in zone and we rarely see offensive or defensive pass interference. As stated earlier, the receiver too often is “stuck” while running a route past the 5 yards downfield and should result in a Pass interference or defensive holding penalty, but it is never called. Penalties are a delicate balancing act for developers so we are not saying increase the frequency per se but the variety in situations in which they are called.

Passing Variety

We were so happy when the days of every QB throwing passes right on the money were gone. But now are the days of QBs making some of the worst passes you have ever seen in your life. Now don’t get us wrong, we WANT bad passes. But some passes aren’t even within 20 yards of the guy you throw to. We want to see a greater variety of pass types. Balls thrown to the shoelaces of WRs, thrown literally a step in front of him on a crossing route where it hits his fingertips, thrown a step behind him where he only can get a hand on it. Not only would this make the QB passing more realistic, but it also would add much more variety to the way that WRs are able to interact with the ball.

Madden 17 has the potential to be one of the best games in the series as Madden 16 has some greating building blocks to set up what could be amazing features. If EA can capitalize on this Madden 17 can truly go down as one of the best Madden games to date.

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Madden 17 Gameplay Wishlist - Part 1