Franchise Improvements for 2006

[Coach Stag]

:eek: I've noticed we all have some complaints about some franchise issues. Figured it might be a good idea to start a new thread on what to improve in FRANCHISE mode. Not overall gameplay etc., God knows they need to improve the graphics!!!!! Wish ESPN had better 'chise mode or I'd play it, soooo beautiful on Xbox, and the commentary is great!

My big request for 2006 is that they overhaul the rookie generation system...

1. Have a rule in the code that players have realistic core attributes (ex: HB, at least 80 SPD/ACC/AGI, WR, at least 75 CTH, 80 SPD, ACC)

2. Players in the top 5 need to be impact players, ready to start, meaning OVR of mid-80's. Sprinkle 3-4 throughout the 1st round. Make sure all players pegged as 1st/2nd rounders are AT LEAST mid-high 70's OVR...NO players in a draft should be below 65. You couldn't play in f-ing college if you were less than 65.

3. More names, accurate names. There's soemthing weird about drafting a guy named Tyrone Jones and finding out afterwards he's WHITE. Also, Michaels and Madden need to record more samples of names. I HATE hearing "#89 with the catch!".

4. More choices and better choices for uniform's and logos. Also some pregenerated mascot names with Michaels/Madden recording. HATE hearing, "The home team!".

5. Better trading AI...some players need to be UNTOUCHABLE unless the user really sells out. It should be HARD to get a team to give up on a player with 90+OVR unless there's a backup with high 80's, etc.

What else fella's? :mad:

[mightypharaoh]

http://www.vgsportsinc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11430

this is for the game as a whole. Kobra looks at this and is going 2 put together a list of ideas 2 take 2 EA. All of the stuff I suggested already has 2 do with chise.

1. Make trades harder ( I can still have 10 picks every year and get the #1 every year)

2. Better progression - I have taken a QB every year with 80+SPD and made him a 90+ OVR with minimal passing attempts.

3. more options in the coaching strategy (coach options). For offense u should be able 2 select a play style (WCO, run-n-gun, run heavy etc). Defensively there should be a 46 defense and cover 2 options. U should also have a passing strategy with %'s for WR1, WR2 and TE.

4. bidding on the SB.


this is good, keep a track and then forward the list 2 kobra.

[mickgreen58]

1. Allow the user to glance back over past seasons in the Franchise. Sometimes I would like to go back and glance over my roster from previous years and stats as well.

2. Would like to see some type of Hall of Fame or Ring of Honor presentation for those exceptional players that eventually retire.

3. Back in the old PS1 days, the intros and mini-movies before big games were fabulous. Now, when you play in the conference final or Super Bowl, there is no cool intro to get you really hyped up.

4. I think one of the biggest things that should be put in madden in general is crowd noise similar to NCAA Football 05. I would love to have stadiums have rankings for crowd noise and see the crowd get really hype (loud noise and analog vibrations) when a key play is about to be exectuted.

- Mike G.

[realhawker]

1. Allow the user to glance back over past seasons in the Franchise. Sometimes I would like to go back and glance over my roster from previous years and stats as well.

2. Would like to see some type of Hall of Fame or Ring of Honor presentation for those exceptional players that eventually retire.

3. Back in the old PS1 days, the intros and mini-movies before big games were fabulous. Now, when you play in the conference final or Super Bowl, there is no cool intro to get you really hyped up.

4. I think one of the biggest things that should be put in madden in general is crowd noise similar to NCAA Football 05. I would love to have stadiums have rankings for crowd noise and see the crowd get really hype (loud noise and analog vibrations) when a key play is about to be exectuted.

- Mike G.


I like the idea about the hall of fame thing, great idea, I really miss my guys when they get old, love to give them a fitting tribute

[realhawker]

http://www.vgsportsinc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11430

this is for the game as a whole. Kobra looks at this and is going 2 put together a list of ideas 2 take 2 EA. All of the stuff I suggested already has 2 do with chise.

1. Make trades harder ( I can still have 10 picks every year and get the #1 every year)

2. Better progression - I have taken a QB every year with 80+SPD and made him a 90+ OVR with minimal passing attempts.

3. more options in the coaching strategy (coach options). For offense u should be able 2 select a play style (WCO, run-n-gun, run heavy etc). Defensively there should be a 46 defense and cover 2 options. U should also have a passing strategy with %'s for WR1, WR2 and TE.

4. bidding on the SB.


this is good, keep a track and then forward the list 2 kobra.

what do you mean by bidding on the SB?

[realhawker]

:eek: I've noticed we all have some complaints about some franchise issues. Figured it might be a good idea to start a new thread on what to improve in FRANCHISE mode. Not overall gameplay etc., God knows they need to improve the graphics!!!!! Wish ESPN had better 'chise mode or I'd play it, soooo beautiful on Xbox, and the commentary is great!

My big request for 2006 is that they overhaul the rookie generation system...

1. Have a rule in the code that players have realistic core attributes (ex: HB, at least 80 SPD/ACC/AGI, WR, at least 75 CTH, 80 SPD, ACC)

2. Players in the top 5 need to be impact players, ready to start, meaning OVR of mid-80's. Sprinkle 3-4 throughout the 1st round. Make sure all players pegged as 1st/2nd rounders are AT LEAST mid-high 70's OVR...NO players in a draft should be below 65. You couldn't play in f-ing college if you were less than 65.

3. More names, accurate names. There's soemthing weird about drafting a guy named Tyrone Jones and finding out afterwards he's WHITE. Also, Michaels and Madden need to record more samples of names. I HATE hearing "#89 with the catch!".

4. More choices and better choices for uniform's and logos. Also some pregenerated mascot names with Michaels/Madden recording. HATE hearing, "The home team!".

5. Better trading AI...some players need to be UNTOUCHABLE unless the user really sells out. It should be HARD to get a team to give up on a player with 90+OVR unless there's a backup with high 80's, etc.

What else fella's? :mad:


1- they deff have to fix that, I get some goofy 95+ speed guy with no acc or agi, and he is a klutz, defeats the point.

2- Agree again, top 10 pick shouldnt be 71, look at someone like roy williams or Ben Rothelisberger, even EA has updated him to 88 OVR in the last patch

3- I think the naming is ok, maybe in 2030 well be more diversified., I find they have tons of names in the PC version, better than last year

5- I agree again, do you think atlanta would give up michael vick for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick from the giants this year?
--------------------------------------------

*I would like to see 100 ratings, for just the top player at each position and 100 for the single top rating at that attribute.

ex. only the very fastest player in NFL would be 100 SPD.
the QB with the best arm (say brett favre?) would have 100 THP
the strongest DT in the game would have 100 STR

also... the best WR in the game would be 100 ovr, (say terrell owens?)
the best LB in the game would be 100 OVR (say Ray Lewis?)
the best QB would be 100 OVR (peyton manning?)

this could change year to year.

[mightypharaoh]

what do you mean by bidding on the SB?

it makes no sense year after year 2 add upgrades 2 your stadium and not be able 2 get any extra revenue from hosting a SuperBowl.

[R-ILLA]

1. I agree with mickgreen because I like the old Madden, when I could look at past Super Bowl winners

2. I wish they would bring back the old school players (madden cards)

3. SB and Playoff Atmoshpere needs to be completely different than the Regular season.

4. Implement some sort of Home Field advantage (Not like NCAA)

5. More human injuries or less CPU injuries. They need to balance it.

[McMadden]

Alot of this could be done by having HDD support, ya think? HDD on ESPN 2K5 is a blast! No memory card required, half time highlites with FMV, etc. HDD support should open up chise mode.

[djwill13]

Alot of this could be done by having HDD support, ya think? HDD on ESPN 2K5 is a blast! No memory card required, half time highlites with FMV, etc. HDD support should open up chise mode.
in all honesty, how many games acutally use the HDD for the ps2, i can think of 5. it was a waste of money basically (if you bought it). in order for EA to use it, they would have to completely reprogram the game (in order to utilize it's features). while in theory, it would be nice if they could use it, they probably won't. all these changes we're askin for won't happen until the ps3 comes out.

[realhawker]

in all honesty, how many games acutally use the HDD for the ps2, i can think of 5. it was a waste of money basically (if you bought it). in order for EA to use it, they would have to completely reprogram the game (in order to utilize it's features). while in theory, it would be nice if they could use it, they probably won't. all these changes we're askin for won't happen until the ps3 comes out.

CMON PEOPLE, ive played madden (ESPECIALLY FRANCHISE!) on the PC, PS2, and xbox, It had way better gameplay and graphics on the PC, and the chise is easier to manipulate, if anyhting the problem is the lack of being able to change somones position.

I refuse to play it with my friends on the xbox, too arcady feel.

dell has a 599 computer with a 17" lcd for sale, that can run madden fine., so dont say you cant afford a PC

[Fishboot]

The IMP system needs to be seriously overhauled. A good start would be for CPU teams not to care how about how important a player is to your team when they trade with you. As it is if you make a cupcake team any 70+ OVR QB will have a 99 IMP right off the bat and you can trade them away as Bs - you can sign and trade off half the starting FA QBs to CPU teams for a stud rookie and a mid round draft pick. I like getting Tommie Harris for an FA-five-minutes-ago Chris Redman as much as the next guy but the CPU trading the family cow for your magic beans needs to stop. :p

An option to disable same-season-as-aquired FA trading would be welcome as well.

[djwill13]

CMON PEOPLE, ive played madden (ESPECIALLY FRANCHISE!) on the PC, PS2, and xbox, It had way better gameplay and graphics on the PC, and the chise is easier to manipulate, if anyhting the problem is the lack of being able to change somones position.

I refuse to play it with my friends on the xbox, too arcady feel.

dell has a 599 computer with a 17" lcd for sale, that can run madden fine., so dont say you cant afford a PC
i was just talkin about the usuage of the hdd with the ps2. on top of that, you're getting into a discussion about consoles or pc's. personally, i'd rather play on a console than a pc. on top of that, it's easier to lug a controller over to a friends house than to have to carry my laptop.

[realhawker]

i was just talkin about the usuage of the hdd with the ps2. on top of that, you're getting into a discussion about consoles or pc's. personally, i'd rather play on a console than a pc. on top of that, it's easier to lug a controller over to a friends house than to have to carry my laptop.


no harm meant.....I play my friends over the internet....

[djwill13]

oh i know, just sayin why i said what i did

[D-Wiz]

Someone touched on this somewhat:
*I want to be able to Retire a players Jersey when they call it quits.
*Agree with all in that progression needs to be "nerfed" and draft classes more homogeneous.
*Add a training camp drill for O-linemen.
*The medical staff should not prevent injuries altogether. I've played 2 seasons with no significant injuries at all.

*Finally, more of a gameplay suggestion, have a quick way that after you pick your play, have a Snap count. This would make it a lot more realistic, that if you snap before you told your line your O-line has a better chance of getting pushed back, of if you go over the count, O-linemen have a beiiger likelihood to do a false-start.

[R-ILLA]

Someone touched on this somewhat:

*The medical staff should not prevent injuries altogether. I've played 2 seasons with no significant injuries at all.

.
So are you saying, that if I pick a sorry medical staff, then I will recieve more injuries.

[mickgreen58]

One other thing....

It would be really cool if there was a way for your franchise team to play the historical teams from the past.

1985 Bears vs 2017 Cowboys :D

- Mike G.

[D-Wiz]

So are you saying, that if I pick a sorry medical staff, then I will recieve more injuries.
Yes. The "PRV" rating is the prevention rating, if that is low your players are more likely to get hurt.

[maddenbowl62]

- free agency should be before the draft

- teams should be able sign players that were franchised on other teams.

- teams shouldn't draft two 90+ qb's in a fantasy draft

[realhawker]

now whos going to take these suggestions to EA/tiburon?

BTW- heres another one

say you run a HB counter play to the weak side, you can run it 50 times in a row, the defense doesn't "learn" to shift if LB's over to the weak side.?????!!?!??



CMON!!!!!

[mickgreen58]

- free agency should be before the draft


Forgot about that one...

Either that are at least let the user know who is going to be available during FA. Alot of teams base their drafts on what is going to be available in FA.

- Mike G.

[Leanne]

:eek:
3. More names, accurate names. There's soemthing weird about drafting a guy named Tyrone Jones and finding out afterwards he's WHITE. Also, Michaels and Madden need to record more samples of names. I HATE hearing "#89 with the catch!".:

With all due respect I couldn’t care less what a player’s skin color is, let alone try and match it with a race appropriate name.
Height and weight are important appearance factors but what a player looks like without a helmet or jersey is irrelevant to me.

I agree with everything else you said.

[Leanne]

1. Allow the user to glance back over past seasons in the Franchise. Sometimes I would like to go back and glance over my roster from previous years and stats as well.

2. Would like to see some type of Hall of Fame or Ring of Honor presentation for those exceptional players that eventually retire.

3. Back in the old PS1 days, the intros and mini-movies before big games were fabulous. Now, when you play in the conference final or Super Bowl, there is no cool intro to get you really hyped up.

4. I think one of the biggest things that should be put in madden in general is crowd noise similar to NCAA Football 05. I would love to have stadiums have rankings for crowd noise and see the crowd get really hype (loud noise and analog vibrations) when a key play is about to be exectuted.

- Mike G.

I’m big on this as well, maybe it’s motherly instinct but if I draft a guy, develop him, make him a superstar for 10-15 years I’d like to see him retire with some ceremony and be seen in a ring of fame and/or hall of fame.

The PC platform has Hall of Fame but I understand others don’t. I know a lot of people don’t understand why this is important. Let me try to shed some light on it from my point of view.

Without the final capsilization of a player’s career in a ring of fame or hall of fame what’s the point of keeping your players?

Why not shed a long-time veteran for yearly mercenaries? If you can go to a menu screen and see how your guys fare against current and historic players it gives you incentive to keep an aging player that may be a couple of points below the best available FA.

I know a lot of people play a few seasons then get the next version of Madden and start over again but for those of us that play instead of sim games and go 10+ years deep into a franchise adding a Hall of Fame provides incentive to continue.

It would also be worthwhile for Madden 06 and future games to allow people like me to import our franchise so we don’t have to start over every year.

If we can import draft classes from NCAA it seems the technology is there to import a franchise and then adapt it to the current year’s game.

I didn’t buy Madden 2005 after buying 2001-2004 for two reasons.

The PC version lacks some key upgrades that make the difference between 05 and 04 negligible. However the deciding factor is I’m in year 13 of my 04 franchise. If I get Madden 05 I lose everything I’ve invested in 04 for very little return. If I were able to import my franchise I’d due it in a heart-beat.

There’s a built-in disincentive to get people like me to switch to the new version and none of the factors involve money which should be the only issue.

If Madden 05 were handed out like the AOL disks I still wouldn’t switch. It’s not worth it.

[TheShadow7478]

"Either that are at least let the user know who is going to be available during FA. Alot of teams base their drafts on what is going to be available in FA."

You already can do this. Go to rosters, view rosters, and keep cycling through the teams until u get to free agents.

[tommo148]

I'd like to see the OC and DC be more relevant to the game and have more of an impact, this could be done by allowing them to create a dynamic playbook that changes for each opponent (with some core plays that never change).

for example your next opponent has a poor DL so your OC will put lots of run up the gut plays in your dynamic playbook.

a Similar technique could be used for your DC on defence too. And these guys could create some radio traffic back and forth on the sidelines with the HC so we have some new sounds to listen to. Anyone want to hear Grudens "you like that?" rant in madden?

Andy

[dh94]

1) computer initiated trades
2) better draft... as everyone said
3) inseason progression or highs/lows... I think if a player is off an amazing game... his attributes should be temp. boosted.... like 140yards rec. 2 tds for an OR 82 WR.... should be like 93 next game~

[RavensD88]

Computer needs to trade within it self and needs to offfer us some trades....but not like ESPN where they make stupid trade (ex. Carolina traded Jake Delhome to Saints for Darren HOward) i dont think they would do this in real....if its like ESPN just keep it out...

more players in the nfl draft....and we should really have like a trainging camp or some sort of thing soo we can use the players we are scouting.....just get the hang of them...but there should be a limit.. like 7

and like everyone said trades need to be harder...

Playoffs shoulld feel like playofffss and not just a regualr game.....

teams should try to go after our restricted free agent.....

Teams should not locate too much......

The last thing would be that they should have like an expansion team (ex. Texans) and they can take some players from u...i mean it would be cool after like 10 years there are like 35 teams....i think

[Fishboot]

On progressions being too big in 2005, I somewhat disagree. I like the fact that guys are able to reach close to their peak after a couple of seasons rather than slowly crawling to their top performance right before aging regressions begin (the former being how I think the real NFL works at most positions... look at most famous WRs, the usually pop up to their best work in a season or two then stay at about that level for several years before they start getting old and slow).

However, I don't like how AWR is the OVR mule position since it grows so much faster than the other stats. A good starting AWR should actually be a good thing! I'd like to see something like having a high AWR cause your progressions in stats that aren't purely physical (like CAR, BTK, THA, PBK/RBK, CTH, etc. and AWR itself) to be bigger, which would make high starting AWR guys develop faster, which I think is a reasonable interpretation of the AWR stat.

Also, several positions need a more varied progression. As it is, most defensive positions only gain in AWR and TAK, and DBs don't even get TAK (aside from a rare point for safeties). I think it might be a good idea to add stuff like a swatting stat or a pass rush stat to give defensive players more variety.

And another thing on the progression front, don't make us do all four levels of difficulty in the Training Camp mini-games. It just becomes irritating at a certain point, and the way the TC games work now, where you need a certain level of development in a guy to medal at a given mini-game (think 80 SPD guys trying to do the All-Madden catch drill), the lower levels of difficulty are just what you do with guys that can't hack it on the higher ones and not an interesting challenge for guys beyond that level.

[realhawker]

On progressions being too big in 2005, I somewhat disagree. I like the fact that guys are able to reach close to their peak after a couple of seasons rather than slowly crawling to their top performance right before aging regressions begin (the former being how I think the real NFL works at most positions... look at most famous WRs, the usually pop up to their best work in a season or two then stay at about that level for several years before they start getting old and slow).

However, I don't like how AWR is the OVR mule position since it grows so much faster than the other stats. A good starting AWR should actually be a good thing! I'd like to see something like having a high AWR cause your progressions in stats that aren't purely physical (like CAR, BTK, THA, PBK/RBK, CTH, etc. and AWR itself) to be bigger, which would make high starting AWR guys develop faster, which I think is a reasonable interpretation of the AWR stat.

Also, several positions need a more varied progression. As it is, most defensive positions only gain in AWR and TAK, and DBs don't even get TAK (aside from a rare point for safeties). I think it might be a good idea to add stuff like a swatting stat or a pass rush stat to give defensive players more variety.

And another thing on the progression front, don't make us do all four levels of difficulty in the Training Camp mini-games. It just becomes irritating at a certain point, and the way the TC games work now, where you need a certain level of development in a guy to medal at a given mini-game (think 80 SPD guys trying to do the All-Madden catch drill), the lower levels of difficulty are just what you do with guys that can't hack it on the higher ones and not an interesting challenge for guys beyond that level.


awareness does need to be fixed......any QB that you use all the time can get 99 AWR.

only ultra smart QB's like Manning should be 99, just cause you play well doesnt mean your smarter and seeing the field. I dont want to see arron brooks or vick with a 99 awr.

[Leanne]

I'd like to see the OC and DC be more relevant to the game and have more of an impact, this could be done by allowing them to create a dynamic playbook that changes for each opponent (with some core plays that never change).

for example your next opponent has a poor DL so your OC will put lots of run up the gut plays in your dynamic playbook.

a Similar technique could be used for your DC on defence too. And these guys could create some radio traffic back and forth on the sidelines with the HC so we have some new sounds to listen to. Anyone want to hear Grudens "you like that?" rant in madden?

Andy

This might be asking a bit much but I’d like 10 coaches per team.
Head coach,
OC
DC
ST
QB
RB/FB/TE
OL
DL
LB
DB

If you think about it the last six are in there but automated and if you choose you could continue to let the computer select them.

Maybe you can get a fan boost and a morale boost from the team by hiring your own as coaches. Rod Smith is beloved in the community and by the team and would be a great WR coach. It’s unrealistic that he’d start his coaching career as an offensive coordinator or a special teams coach.

How about being able to hire/fire coaches in season? Maybe a temporary fan boost. Maybe tweak the chemistry factor of an abrasive coach vs. a player friendly coach.
Higher motivational ratings but if you lose a few games the players turn on you quickly.

If Derrick Brooks is available to coach and Tampa is having a bad season you could hire him for a boost.

I doubt they’d want to go that deep in franchise mode but some of us would appreciate it and those that don’t can let the CPU decide for them as it does now.

[djwill13]

On progressions being too big in 2005, I somewhat disagree. I like the fact that guys are able to reach close to their peak after a couple of seasons rather than slowly crawling to their top performance right before aging regressions begin (the former being how I think the real NFL works at most positions... look at most famous WRs, the usually pop up to their best work in a season or two then stay at about that level for several years before they start getting old and slow).

However, I don't like how AWR is the OVR mule position since it grows so much faster than the other stats. A good starting AWR should actually be a good thing! I'd like to see something like having a high AWR cause your progressions in stats that aren't purely physical (like CAR, BTK, THA, PBK/RBK, CTH, etc. and AWR itself) to be bigger, which would make high starting AWR guys develop faster, which I think is a reasonable interpretation of the AWR stat.

Also, several positions need a more varied progression. As it is, most defensive positions only gain in AWR and TAK, and DBs don't even get TAK (aside from a rare point for safeties). I think it might be a good idea to add stuff like a swatting stat or a pass rush stat to give defensive players more variety.

And another thing on the progression front, don't make us do all four levels of difficulty in the Training Camp mini-games. It just becomes irritating at a certain point, and the way the TC games work now, where you need a certain level of development in a guy to medal at a given mini-game (think 80 SPD guys trying to do the All-Madden catch drill), the lower levels of difficulty are just what you do with guys that can't hack it on the higher ones and not an interesting challenge for guys beyond that level.
the biggest problem with awareness is the difference between AI and HI. once you control a player, you can basically throw his AWR out the window. that's a major problem facing the producers right now. how do they seperate the two, or hinder HI?

if you ask me, the whole scale that they use to evaluate OVR needs to be rehauled. i've gone back and done my research. they've been using the same scale since 98. that's 8 years of the same scale. even the console has recieved an update since then. it's time to change the scale and add some new ratings. as far as the d side of the ball is concerned. offenses tend not to throw to your best corner, thus he doesn't get stats, thus he regresses. that's gotta be fixed. or they run away from your best dlineman.

[realhawker]

read this article, has great things about what should be in 2005

http://www.madden04.com/maddenplanet/newsdata/files/EEpFyFVuyAuiGzXhNh.shtml

[DuelingKid91]

the biggest problem with awareness is the difference between AI and HI. once you control a player, you can basically throw his AWR out the window. that's a major problem facing the producers right now. how do they seperate the two, or hinder HI?

if you ask me, the whole scale that they use to evaluate OVR needs to be rehauled. i've gone back and done my research. they've been using the same scale since 98. that's 8 years of the same scale. even the console has recieved an update since then. it's time to change the scale and add some new ratings. as far as the d side of the ball is concerned. offenses tend not to throw to your best corner, thus he doesn't get stats, thus he regresses. that's gotta be fixed. or they run away from your best dlineman.


Djwill13 would u mind sharing with us the formula or scale they use to judge ovr stat

[CowboyFanInCA]

My 2 cents:

1) Kill the Multiple stage rookie camp improvement.
1A) Build a new player improvement program individual to each player. Each player will get a specific amount of points to spend each year on improving. As the player gets better in a category it costs more points to improve that stat. As the player gets older he typically would receive less and less total points each year. The possibilities are great you could vary the max points a player receives each season based on your coaching staff, player morale, veteran mentoring, injuries received, etc.

2) Create an automatic GM mode. This would AI the "business" side of the Franchise and let you focus on player needs and development.

3) Make trading more realistic. I see improvements but I bet EA can do better.

4) Does EA set unknown caps on how good a player can become at a given Stat? If not, they should.

5) In response to an earlier post about making a baseline for player talent, for example no RBs with speed under 80. I think this would be really bad. The current talent pools are adequate. Most players drafted have a short career in the NFL and it is the rare few who succeed. Most real teams have to go to Free Agency to fill vital positions, because the rookies suck when you draft them. If you need to have a team with faster backs only draft the quick ones, if they are gone draft someone else and hit the FA market or phones for a trade.

[vglegs]

The current talent pools are adequate.


As I've discussed in a few places around here, the Madden Generated Drafts are horrible. I have literally seen only a handful of players that are randomly generated that would legitimately fit in with the real life rookies as EA makes them; this is after having played approximately 100 seasons of 2004 and approximately 50 seasons of 2005 (I am fairly sure that they both use the same engine to create player attributes).

In short, the ranges, averages, and correlation between related attributes is atrocious in MGDs.

[BrentD22]

- Need to be able to change a players position.
- QB's need to be allowed to throw ball while being hit. Even if it's a bad pass.
- It would be nice to have more route options for hot routes.
- Probably can't be fixed, but there are parts of the game i.e. training camp, off-season stuff that has way too much load time between screens.
- I know it's sappose to be a challenging game, but it seems that no matter what formation I'm in if I chose a run play the computer shifts the line to that sign for some reason. It's no conicendience!
- More customizing abilities. Deactivate cheerleader stuff and other "story line kind of stuff".
- More owner mode stuff. It's fun after 4 hours of gaming to change gears and work on something other than player development.

[RaidersAreGirls]

- I know it's sappose to be a challenging game, but it seems that no matter what formation I'm in if I chose a run play the computer shifts the line to that sign for some reason. It's no conicendience!

Call the police, there's been a murder... The victim is the English language.

[vglegs]

- Need to be able to change a players position.


This is in the console version; I'm confident us PCers will get it.



- QB's need to be allowed to throw ball while being hit. Even if it's a bad pass.


Um... this does happen... But I think I know what you're talking about; there are definitely times when the QBs arm has moved WAY too far for him to stop his throw and tuck the ball, but it definitely happens quite a bit.



- It would be nice to have more route options for hot routes.


You can customize your hot routes; it's under profile settings. Of course, you are still limited by the total number you can have active it one time...



- I know it's sappose to be a challenging game, but it seems that no matter what formation I'm in if I chose a run play the computer shifts the line to that sign for some reason. It's no conicendience!


The cpu does quite often shift its D-line and linebackers, but I have played all-pro and all-madden since Madden 2001, and I can assure you that the computer does not always shift to the side of the run... If they shift on you and cover where you wanted to go, you can hot route to the other side, or put on of your WRs in motion; this often causes the cpu to alter it's shifts...

[raiderzrule]

I think that player progression should be slowed down a bit like ive seen some ppl say they have gotten craig krenzel to a 99 in 2 years, it shouldn't happen at all. Not a drastic change just a bit.

Also like everyone has said 1st round draft picks (I'd say the top 10) need to be
impact players right away, i drafted a guy 3rd overall who was like a 58 at WR.

also raise injuries for your team slightly, while taking off some of the computers injuries. i got the best medical staff after the 1st year and have been injury free pretty much, I've had a few 1-2 weekers and alot of PRB QST DBT but thats it, and the computer has like 9 guys out for the season.

And trades need to be more difficult, everyone knows why.

[Leanne]

Also like everyone has said 1st round draft picks (I'd say the top 10) need to be
impact players right away, i drafted a guy 3rd overall who was like a 58 at WR.

A few years back the Raiders MGD drafted a kicker in the first round. This is a horrible flaw.
The scouting report made mention of numerous arrests, bribing cops, date-raping himself and they still used their first pick on him.
And if I’m not mistaken one of their high picks #1 or 2 died suddenly. This needs to be fixed.
Oh wait, that was real. Never mind.

Maybe Al Davis should use MGD’s in the future.

[raiderzrule]

actually oakland got janikowski in the first round a few years back and he's one of the better kickers in the league.

[Leanne]

Yes, they wasted a 1st round pick on a guy that’s comparable to Matt Stover, Shayne Graham, Doug Brien, Ryan Longwell and Josh Brown.
If you put Vinatieri, Elam, Jeff Reed, Vanderjaqt, David Akers and John Carney on a list with Sebastian Date-rape-akowski and the first five kickers I mentioned and the twelve teams had to pick a name out of a hat they’re basically interchangeable and I’d be willing to bet most of those teams would be happy with someone other than GHB boy.

So a 1st round pick for an above average kicker when you can get these guys as interchangeable free agents. Thanks but I’ll pass.

Oh darn, I hope Cole Ford doesn’t come after me.

Sincerely,

Siegfried and Roy

PS: Willie Middlebrooks was one of the better special team players and scrub CB’s in the league but he wasn’t worth a 1st round pick either. Just because you’re a fan of the team doesn’t mean they can do no wrong.

Yours truly,

Darrell Russell
Rickey Dudley
and
Todd Marinovich

[TooCoolXtremeX]

I think that player progression should be slowed down a bit like ive seen some ppl say they have gotten craig krenzel to a 99 in 2 years, it shouldn't happen at all. Not a drastic change just a bit.

If they get Krenzel up to 99 in two years they are probably playing on Rookie with 5 minutes quarters and beating teams 200 - 0. This will make him go up about 3 or more every time and then with the playoffs and Training Camp it isn't too hard.

[battists]

I loved CowboyFanInCA's suggestion for an individual training program. One of the best player development systems I have seen was back on Football Pro '96 for the PC. That let you assign %s to different training for each position. So, if you spent 50% of your time working on your CB's hands (catching), you only had 50% to divide between other skills. That's a great idea.

Also, it would be cool if you wanted to do it on a per-position basis or individual. So, if you weren't as anal as CowboyFanInCA and I are, you could just say "do all of the D-line like this".

IMP should be impacted more closely by the actual use of the player. Even if you have a OVR 75 DE, his IMP should be high if he's your best DE, and has played 90% of the defensive snaps for the season.

I'm totally in favor of the draft and progression-related suggestions here, that's the biggest thing for me.

The biggest thing I haven't seen posted here is the idea of a "upside" or "potential" hidden stat. Each player should have a certain potential that limits their progression. For example, you might have an OVR 80 DE that just can't get over that hump, and you shouldn't be able to make him into a 90+ just by running him through training camp, or by manually controlling him to get lots of tackles. At the same time, you should be able to draft players that start out weak overall, but who turn into solid long-term performers, if not stars (a la Wayne Chrebet, for example).

While scouting, you should be able to scout a player's potential, and have your scouts come back and say something to give you a hint about their potential. Something like, "Raw, but great upside." Low potential lines could be something like "Great physique, but questionable work ethic." Of course, depending on how good your scouts are, they might be wrong!

Scouting should be tied to franchise $$. It's ridiculous to think that an organization like the Philadelphia can only scout 15 players a year. If you're willing to spend more, you should be able to scout more.

There should be more free agent rookies. Right now you look at the free agent list on any given week and there's only 5 or 6 rookies available. You're telling me there aren't hundreds of players who are dying for a shot? Sometimes, I want to pick up a body to fill a spot, sort of like promoting someone from the practice squad.

Have an option for starting a new franchise entirely with rookies. There's nothing I like better than starting from scratch.

Anyway, those are just a few of my thoughts.

I might offer to put these together in a concise list. But, is there any point, with Madden going away? I haven't heard the details about that...

Steve

[realhawker]

I loved CowboyFanInCA's suggestion for an individual training program. One of the best player development systems I have seen was back on Football Pro '96 for the PC. That let you assign %s to different training for each position. So, if you spent 50% of your time working on your CB's hands (catching), you only had 50% to divide between other skills. That's a great idea.

Also, it would be cool if you wanted to do it on a per-position basis or individual. So, if you weren't as anal as CowboyFanInCA and I are, you could just say "do all of the D-line like this".

IMP should be impacted more closely by the actual use of the player. Even if you have a OVR 75 DE, his IMP should be high if he's your best DE, and has played 90% of the defensive snaps for the season.

I'm totally in favor of the draft and progression-related suggestions here, that's the biggest thing for me.

The biggest thing I haven't seen posted here is the idea of a "upside" or "potential" hidden stat. Each player should have a certain potential that limits their progression. For example, you might have an OVR 80 DE that just can't get over that hump, and you shouldn't be able to make him into a 90+ just by running him through training camp, or by manually controlling him to get lots of tackles. At the same time, you should be able to draft players that start out weak overall, but who turn into solid long-term performers, if not stars (a la Wayne Chrebet, for example).

While scouting, you should be able to scout a player's potential, and have your scouts come back and say something to give you a hint about their potential. Something like, "Raw, but great upside." Low potential lines could be something like "Great physique, but questionable work ethic." Of course, depending on how good your scouts are, they might be wrong!

Scouting should be tied to franchise $$. It's ridiculous to think that an organization like the Philadelphia can only scout 15 players a year. If you're willing to spend more, you should be able to scout more.

There should be more free agent rookies. Right now you look at the free agent list on any given week and there's only 5 or 6 rookies available. You're telling me there aren't hundreds of players who are dying for a shot? Sometimes, I want to pick up a body to fill a spot, sort of like promoting someone from the practice squad.

Have an option for starting a new franchise entirely with rookies. There's nothing I like better than starting from scratch.

Anyway, those are just a few of my thoughts.

I might offer to put these together in a concise list. But, is there any point, with Madden going away? I haven't heard the details about that...

Steve


what is this end of madden rumor???

We should make a nice list of all the good suggestions, and then find a way to get them to Tiburon/EA

[battists]

I can probably make a list of this thread, but my recommendation would be to focus this list on franchise suggestions, not gameplay.

I thought I read somewhere that EA was getting rid of the Madden franchise? Or is it just the Madden name? Don't worry, I'm not really up to speed on such things, so it's probably my bad.

Steve

[battists]

FYI, I am compiling a list, so keep the suggestions coming. Since I'm compiling, I reserve the right to edit it to suit my tastes. ;)

[TooCoolXtremeX]

There's a glitch after the training camp. Once you beat the stage and Keep Points and Quit it says WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW at the top, I don't know if it's just my game, my PS2, or a glitch. But it should definitely be fixed, it's annoying.

As far as improvements going there should be more ways to look at your coaches stats, including Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams Coaches. I can never get to them, and you can't resign them. So I like to keep the same staff for the most part and try to progress them but you have to search through the coaches and see which coach was with you last year by clicking select on each and everyone of them and it gets annoying. So they need to add more Coaching Options into the Franchise.

[battists]

Here's a summary of the requests to date. Like I said, I reserved the right to edit out ones that seemed marginal or caused massive racism flame wars. ;)

Franchise Mode Requests for Improvement

Draft/Rookie Generation
• More variety in player names. It would also be nice to have the occasional Hawaiian/islander names like "Palomalu".
• More audio samples of names to reduce play calls like "#89 with the catch".
• More consistency in rookie statistics (ex. No players with a SPD 85 and ACC 35).
• Top 5 or 10 picks should be impact players – not OVR 70.
• While scouting, you should be able to scout a player's potential, and have your scouts come back and say something to give you a hint about their potential. Something like, "Raw, but great upside." Low potential lines could be something like "Great physique, but questionable work ethic." Of course, depending on how good your scouts are, they might be wrong!
• Scouting should be tied to franchise $$. It's ridiculous to think that an organization like the Philadelphia can only scout 15 players a year. If you're willing to spend more, you should be able to scout more.

Player Progression / Training Camp
• The biggest thing I haven't seen posted here is the idea of an "upside" or "potential" hidden stat. Each player should have a certain potential that limits their progression. For example, you might have an OVR 80 DE that just can't get over that hump, and you shouldn't be able to make him into a 90+ just by running him through training camp, or by manually controlling him to get lots of tackles. At the same time, you should be able to draft players that start out weak overall, but who turn into solid long-term performers, if not stars (a la Wayne Chrebet, for example).
• Build a new player improvement program individual to each player. Each player will get a specific amount of points to spend each year on improving. As the player gets better in a category it costs more points to improve that stat. As the player gets older he typically would receive less and less total points each year. The possibilities are great you could vary the max points a player receives each season based on your coaching staff, player morale, veteran mentoring, injuries received, etc.
• Add a training camp drill for offensive linemen.
• Player progression should be slowed down a bit. Some people have gotten Craig Krenzel to a 99 OVR in 2 years, it shouldn't happen at all.
• IMP should be impacted more closely by the actual use of the player. Even if you have a OVR 75 DE, his IMP should be high if he's your best DE, and has played 90% of the defensive snaps for the season.
• In-season, include player hot/cold streaks, so that if your OVR 80 WR has 12 catches for 200 yards and 4 TDs, perhaps for the next week they perform at OVR 85 level.
• Adjust AWR so that it is not the "OVR mule" statistic since it grows so much faster than other stats. A good starting AWR should actually be a good thing! A high AWR should cause faster progression in stats that aren't purely physical (like CAR, BTK, THA, PBK/RBK, CTH, etc. and AWR itself). This would make high starting AWR guys develop faster, which is a reasonable interpretation of the AWR stat. Also, any QB that you use regularly can get a 99 AWR. 99 AWR should really only be for very intelligent superstar QBs like Peyton Manning.
• Several positions need a more varied progression. As it is, most defensive positions only gain in AWR and TAK, and DBs don't even get TAK (aside from a rare point for safeties). I think it might be a good idea to add stuff like a swatting stat or a pass rush stat to give defensive players more variety.
• Don't make us do all four levels of difficulty in the Training Camp mini-games. It just becomes irritating at a certain point, and the way the TC games work now, where you need a certain level of development in a guy to medal at a given mini-game (think 80 SPD guys trying to do the All-Madden catch drill), the lower levels of difficulty are just what you do with guys that can't hack it on the higher ones and not an interesting challenge for guys beyond that level.
• Offenses tend not to throw to your best corner, thus he doesn't get stats, thus he regresses. That needs to be fixed.
• Injuries and playing time should impact player development.

Trading
• Should be close to impossible to get teams to part with OVR 90+ players, unless they have a backup in the high 80s, or unless they are receiving a very strong package in return.
• Serious revision of the IMP statistic should be considered. A good start would be for CPU teams not to care how about how important a player is to your team when they trade with you. As it is if you make a cupcake team, any 70+ OVR QB will have a 99 IMP. You can then trade him as a B - you can sign and trade off half the starting FA QBs to CPU teams for a stud rookie and a mid round draft pick.
• Examples of the types of trades that are problematic:
o CPU trades Michael Vick for the Giants' 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks
o Signing a free agent, then immediately trading them for draft picks
• Possibly an option to disable/prevent trading of free agents that you just acquired.
• More CPU-initiated trades.

Free Agency / Player Signings• More free agent rookies available at any given time. There should be plenty of undrafted free agents trying to make teams.
• Free agency should be before the draft.
• Teams should be able sign players that were franchised on other teams.
• Better AI drafting - teams shouldn't draft two 90+ QB's in a fantasy draft.

Coaching Strategy
• For offense you should be able to select a play style (WCO, run-n-gun, run heavy, etc.)
• Defensively there should be 46 and cover 2 options.
• Passing strategy with %s for WR1, WR2, TE, etc.
• Find a way to make the offensive and defensive coordinators more relevant to the game. For example have dynamic playbooks where if your next opponent has a weak defensive line, your offensive coordinator will put lots of run up the gut plays in for the week. Similarly, if you're facing the Vikings, your defensive coordinator might include a lot of plays where WR1 gets doubled over the top.

Business / GM
• The ability to bid for the Super Bowl
• Create an automatic GM mode. This would AI the "business" side of the Franchise and let you focus on player needs and development.
• Ability to turn off the cap in a franchise

Other Franchise Game-play
• Ability to review past seasons in the franchise
• Hall of Fame / Ring of Honor / retiring numbers; some way of honoring stars over the life of your franchise
• Better cut-scenes or intros to key games like playoffs or Super Bowl
• Stadium noise levels that are impacted by your franchise's success, the importance of the game (playoffs, divisional rivals, etc.), and the score (your home crowd shouldn't be roaring when you're down 24-3 in the 4th. Noise levels should also greatly increase the chance of penalties on visiting offenses, particularly for players with low awareness or not much experience.
• Better balance of injuries – injuries almost never occur in human games, and regularly occur in simulated games. The medical staff should not prevent injuries altogether.
• Allow franchise teams to play the historical teams.
• Support import/conversion of 2005 franchises so we don't all have to start over every year.
• Have an option for starting a new franchise entirely with rookies.

[CowboyFanInCA]

Battist you have hit the highlights. If you are serious about sending it to EA, it should happen soon. I am sure development on their next football game is already in the works.

Thanks for a vote of confidence on the individual player progression idea. I think I mentioned the idea of artificial caps on player development, but it may have been on another thread. Either way, it is a must have for the future and another great idea.

[battists]

CowboyFan,

Check out this thread:

http://www.vgsportsinc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17911

Seems like this would be up your alley.

[Kobra]

I am going to gather the Wish List that Battists has created (nice job by the way). I will be sending it out today. I can not promise any of this will be added in 2006, because it depends on how far along EA is already in the build, but there is a good chance some of it will be looked at and implemented in 2007.

Kobra

[Fishboot]

I'd like to see some more personality in the development of individual players - for example, I'd like to see a scouting blurb on a guy going pro from a small 1-AA school saying something like, "This guy has never been in a sophisticated workout program." that indicates that the guy's stats are natural talent rather than his physical peak and that he's going to get some stat bumps even if he just rides the bench and goes to workouts. Or have those "This guy gets into a lot of trouble." mean more than just a low AWR, that kind of thing. Include lots of quirky scripts in player development that make the players more than their current numbers.

[CowboyFanInCA]

2007...maybe the Cowboys will be good by then...hehe.

[TooCoolXtremeX]

• Add a training camp drill for offensive linemen.


The current training camp drill for the OL is Trench Fight. DL would be Chase and Tackle, and then Swat Ball would be DB's.

Great list, but the whole part of slowing down progression doesn't seem like a good idea. I mean if your player does good, he progresses. It's as simple as that. Krenzel going up 3 in the preseason, 72, week 5, 75, week 11, 78, week 17, 81, 1st round, 84, 2nd round, 87, 3rd round, 90, Super Bowl, 93. See it's not really that hard, and that's saying that they don't go up more than 3 each time or they maintain that kind of pace. But it is relatively easy if you are playing on rookie and tossing six TD's a game. And if you are in the playoffs it gives you tons of help progressing players. Maybe the system should become a little more complicated, maybe it shouldn't be done at such a fast rate but to me it seems like it is fine as it is.

[battists]

Great list, but the whole part of slowing down progression doesn't seem like a good idea. I mean if your player does good, he progresses. It's as simple as that. Krenzel going up 3 in the preseason, 72, week 5, 75, week 11, 78, week 17, 81, 1st round, 84, 2nd round, 87, 3rd round, 90, Super Bowl, 93. See it's not really that hard

I think the complaint here (and I was just summarizing other people's opinions) is that the progression is far too fast. I mean, you're saying that Krenzel, a free agent pickup for most clubs, goes from being on the free agent list at an OVR of 72 to being a 93 in the course of one year, just because of gaudy numbers for that season. Plus, in Madden, you don't see the precipitous drop-offs that happen in real life.

Where are you now, Kurt Warner? Well, if you were a Madden football player circa 2000, you'd still be a 99 QB rating.

Anyway, just trying to explain that rationale.

[Shingo]

First post! Hello everyone @ VG Sports!

My franchise recommendations would go like this:

- Clutch attribute: something to measure the playoff ability of a player, to show the guys who perform when it counts, i.e. Vinatieri and his huge kicks, Montana and his moxy, as well as players who routinely, or just in a major way, fail, like Norwood missing the kick, and the Packers secondary player who failed on last year's "4th and 26." It should probably also apply to "defining moments" in a game, like a late kick in a game when a field goal could tie or win the game, or for a late comeback drive when trailing in the 4th quarter.

Oh, and the starters on the SB winning team automatically get theirs bumped up by 5 after the SB.
--->One problem: It's way too ambiguous. How would the computer gain it in simulated games? Does it gain in regular games or only the playoffs? Does it gain more in the bigger games? Does it coincide with the AWR attribute? Meh, I think it's a cool idea though.

- Defining moments in a game, like mentioned before. The game is like a story, and as such there is a climax in a game, and these should be somehow incorporated into Madden NFL 06.
--->Con: Also tough to realize. How to make it matter is the problem.

- Storylines. Every game is important, and there should be a story behind a game. Maybe not all games, but rivalry and playoff games are a must. Maybe don't make it matter except as part of the feel of the game, but I think making it somehow manifest itself in the game would be cool.
--->Con: Don't know how it would show other than in the papers. Just aesthetic in that sense.

- Training camp drills available for more than one guy a drill. (Maybe three or four per) That's annoying.
--->Con: Dunno.

- All time career records as well as HoF honors. I like single game and season records, but I have yet to see career records given. This plus Hall of Fame equals a meaningful career for very deserving players.
--->Con: Too much fun?

[battists]

Shingo, great comments!

They made me think of something else. I'd like to see more franchise data incorporated into the game announcing. It would be nice to hear Madden or Michaels say things like "Well, the Eagles' season is just about done. At 1-10, they should think about getting some playing time for some younger players." Or something like, "Nice run by Bailey there. This guy is only a rookie, and he's already rushed for over 800 yards this season."

Programmatically, these shouldn't be too difficult (unlike Shingo's ideas! ;) ).

Even cooler would be historical information like "At this time last year, the Eagles were 10-1, and this year they're 1-10. What a difference a year makes!"

As everyone has mentioned before, just more commentary would be cool. I'm so tired of "This guy had a great college career, so they expect big things of him."

Also, at first I thought the newspapers and e-mails were cool, but in my first franchise season, all the e-mail I ever get is of three varieties:

GM is happy/mad
Someone wants to tell you something you already knew (we signed a FA, our rankings are X)
Coach wants to beat these guys

OK, so perhaps this is close to real life. ;)

[phatkarp]

I just want some more "personality" in the AI's gameplan. I love how playing against Payton Manning is such a pain because of the play action and audibles. Why does nobody else do this?

I just can't really tell the style difference from one team to the next. If I'm playing the Steelers or if I'm playing the Rams, it feels pretty much the same.

[Shingo]

Shingo, great comments!

They made me think of something else. I'd like to see more franchise data incorporated into the game announcing. It would be nice to hear Madden or Michaels say things like "Well, the Eagles' season is just about done. At 1-10, they should think about getting some playing time for some younger players." Or something like, "Nice run by Bailey there. This guy is only a rookie, and he's already rushed for over 800 yards this season."

Programmatically, these shouldn't be too difficult (unlike Shingo's ideas! ;) ).

Even cooler would be historical information like "At this time last year, the Eagles were 10-1, and this year they're 1-10. What a difference a year makes!"

As everyone has mentioned before, just more commentary would be cool. I'm so tired of "This guy had a great college career, so they expect big things of him."

Also, at first I thought the newspapers and e-mails were cool, but in my first franchise season, all the e-mail I ever get is of three varieties:

GM is happy/mad
Someone wants to tell you something you already knew (we signed a FA, our rankings are X)
Coach wants to beat these guys

OK, so perhaps this is close to real life. ;)

Hehe, thanks for agreeing with me that my ideas were a bit farfetched... :D

I don't know, I'm thinking that's a LOT of programming the system/PC would have to do on the fly, either the game would slow down when trying to find which conditions are true (you'd need a lot) and to find one to do over others. (you'd have a lot of true and a lot of false) It should work, I just wonder if such a thing would be too constraining on the system.

[GobbleDog]

I don't know if somebody already said this, but the contract negotiating in 2005 takes forever. After sliding the signing bonus all the way up, it takes literally MINUTES sometimes to slide the salery back down. It's rediculous. Unless I'm missing something and there's another button that scrolls down quicker, but I ain't found it.

[Zman04]

I think players should have ratings based on how they performed in rain, snow, etc. Say that one holds down the speed burst around to the outside instead of laying off, the running back should be able to slip and fall because of the sloppy conditions. Something like that. Also when signing a player, if my star running back is demanding more money based on his previous season and pro bowl section, (Say he asks for 7 million a year) you should be able to sign him for less, say 5 million, but with bonuses, like reaching 2,000 yds in a season that will bring him to his the salary he is asking. Also this would give him movation to go out there and want to get those yards. So maybe EA can have a rating for the players movation based on your coach, contract, mentoring a rookie. Basically what drives you to play the game. This is just some ideas. Let me know what you guys think.

[BleedGreen]

For offense you should be able to select a play style (WCO, run-n-gun, run heavy, etc.)

You can do this already, I actually figured it out.

It is based on how you adjust the slider.

Two I go back and forth with...
Ball Control is over 51% run with lower aggression (<55).
WCO is over 51% passing with lower aggression (<60).

There is also a vertical passing (Raiders have it, look at their starting settings)and another one the Colts start out with initially (I forget the name) which is 60% passing and 60% aggression.

I have not found an easy way to look at it, you set it under philosphies then have to exit out to game plan and flip though with the L and R buttons til it comes up.

[Zman04]

To add what i said before, as for ratings, players that play in sloppy conditions should have lower speed ratings for that game for example. If they are on turf their speed should be increased because it is like a indoor track. I still feel that weather should effect the outcome of a game. Stay its snowing and that affects your wide recievers ability to catch the ball. You would then have to change your game plan to a running style even if your whole offense is geared for the five wide. I think teams have to adjust to the conditions and the atmosphere around them in order to win games. Not just going with the same gameplan for each game. Just dont make the weather something to look at make it affect the gameplay! Also it would be cool if to see home field advanage as some people have said. If the crowds roaring make audibles almost impossible to call unless you call a timeout to talk it over to get it right. Maybe something where a WR runs the wrong route or running back going the wrong on a hand off because he couldnt hear the audible. But that would give the home team to much power. So lets say the away team makes a huge fourth and goal stand or pick, some kind of big play it takes the crowd out of the mix. Thats just a suggestion. Player boosts for a drive or series for making huge plays like a sack or 20+ pass.

[GobbleDog]

IMO the FIRST thing they have to change is contract negotiations. If I offer a 7 year deal with a max signing bonus, it literally takes MINUTES to pull the salary down. That's absolutely rediculous. It takes even longer during free agent signing (due to the clock I suppose). That must be changed.

AI trading skills could be better, that's obvious.

Coaching strategies should be easier to access since it makes such a big difference in every game when you simulate. I have to switch back and forth from "Gameplan" to "Stats" to "Coaching strategies" before every single game. And I know I'm not the only one who accidently opens "Madden Cards" every once in a while when I'm really trying to open coaching strategy. I then have wait about 45 seconds for it to save while it backs out of Madden Cards. :rolleyes:

[CowboyFanInCA]

Not sure if this has been suggested.

Why not have random stat changes from year to year?

Example, a lineman with a personality with a weak work ethic may get overweight in the off-season. Not only will his weight increase, but his speed, agility, and acceleration will take a hit as well.

On the flip side, another guy works his butt off and gains two strength points just showing up to camp...

[Homer Simpson]

Well they could have a "League Manger" mode in Franchise. You could determin were the SuperBowl is every year have a say on who makes the probowl. Also yu could add expansion teams. That would be 100% awsome just to be able to do that and have new teams out instde of just moveing exsiting ones.

[yungcazm22]

[I]
- free agency should be before the draft


- teams shouldn't draft two 90+ qb's in a fantasy draft


I agree wit these two

[yungcazm22]

Here's a summary of the requests to date. Like I said, I reserved the right to edit out ones that seemed marginal or caused massive racism flame wars. ;)

Franchise Mode Requests for Improvement

Draft/Rookie Generation
• More variety in player names. It would also be nice to have the occasional Hawaiian/islander names like "Palomalu".
• More audio samples of names to reduce play calls like "#89 with the catch".
• More consistency in rookie statistics (ex. No players with a SPD 85 and ACC 35).
• Top 5 or 10 picks should be impact players – not OVR 70.
• While scouting, you should be able to scout a player's potential, and have your scouts come back and say something to give you a hint about their potential. Something like, "Raw, but great upside." Low potential lines could be something like "Great physique, but questionable work ethic." Of course, depending on how good your scouts are, they might be wrong!
• Scouting should be tied to franchise $$. It's ridiculous to think that an organization like the Philadelphia can only scout 15 players a year. If you're willing to spend more, you should be able to scout more.

Player Progression / Training Camp
• The biggest thing I haven't seen posted here is the idea of an "upside" or "potential" hidden stat. Each player should have a certain potential that limits their progression. For example, you might have an OVR 80 DE that just can't get over that hump, and you shouldn't be able to make him into a 90+ just by running him through training camp, or by manually controlling him to get lots of tackles. At the same time, you should be able to draft players that start out weak overall, but who turn into solid long-term performers, if not stars (a la Wayne Chrebet, for example).
• Build a new player improvement program individual to each player. Each player will get a specific amount of points to spend each year on improving. As the player gets better in a category it costs more points to improve that stat. As the player gets older he typically would receive less and less total points each year. The possibilities are great you could vary the max points a player receives each season based on your coaching staff, player morale, veteran mentoring, injuries received, etc.
• Add a training camp drill for offensive linemen.
• Player progression should be slowed down a bit. Some people have gotten Craig Krenzel to a 99 OVR in 2 years, it shouldn't happen at all.
• IMP should be impacted more closely by the actual use of the player. Even if you have a OVR 75 DE, his IMP should be high if he's your best DE, and has played 90% of the defensive snaps for the season.
• In-season, include player hot/cold streaks, so that if your OVR 80 WR has 12 catches for 200 yards and 4 TDs, perhaps for the next week they perform at OVR 85 level.
• Adjust AWR so that it is not the "OVR mule" statistic since it grows so much faster than other stats. A good starting AWR should actually be a good thing! A high AWR should cause faster progression in stats that aren't purely physical (like CAR, BTK, THA, PBK/RBK, CTH, etc. and AWR itself). This would make high starting AWR guys develop faster, which is a reasonable interpretation of the AWR stat. Also, any QB that you use regularly can get a 99 AWR. 99 AWR should really only be for very intelligent superstar QBs like Peyton Manning.
• Several positions need a more varied progression. As it is, most defensive positions only gain in AWR and TAK, and DBs don't even get TAK (aside from a rare point for safeties). I think it might be a good idea to add stuff like a swatting stat or a pass rush stat to give defensive players more variety.
• Don't make us do all four levels of difficulty in the Training Camp mini-games. It just becomes irritating at a certain point, and the way the TC games work now, where you need a certain level of development in a guy to medal at a given mini-game (think 80 SPD guys trying to do the All-Madden catch drill), the lower levels of difficulty are just what you do with guys that can't hack it on the higher ones and not an interesting challenge for guys beyond that level.
• Offenses tend not to throw to your best corner, thus he doesn't get stats, thus he regresses. That needs to be fixed.
• Injuries and playing time should impact player development.

Trading
• Should be close to impossible to get teams to part with OVR 90+ players, unless they have a backup in the high 80s, or unless they are receiving a very strong package in return.
• Serious revision of the IMP statistic should be considered. A good start would be for CPU teams not to care how about how important a player is to your team when they trade with you. As it is if you make a cupcake team, any 70+ OVR QB will have a 99 IMP. You can then trade him as a B - you can sign and trade off half the starting FA QBs to CPU teams for a stud rookie and a mid round draft pick.
• Examples of the types of trades that are problematic:
o CPU trades Michael Vick for the Giants' 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks
o Signing a free agent, then immediately trading them for draft picks
• Possibly an option to disable/prevent trading of free agents that you just acquired.
• More CPU-initiated trades.

Free Agency / Player Signings• More free agent rookies available at any given time. There should be plenty of undrafted free agents trying to make teams.
• Free agency should be before the draft.
• Teams should be able sign players that were franchised on other teams.
• Better AI drafting - teams shouldn't draft two 90+ QB's in a fantasy draft.

Coaching Strategy
• For offense you should be able to select a play style (WCO, run-n-gun, run heavy, etc.)
• Defensively there should be 46 and cover 2 options.
• Passing strategy with %s for WR1, WR2, TE, etc.
• Find a way to make the offensive and defensive coordinators more relevant to the game. For example have dynamic playbooks where if your next opponent has a weak defensive line, your offensive coordinator will put lots of run up the gut plays in for the week. Similarly, if you're facing the Vikings, your defensive coordinator might include a lot of plays where WR1 gets doubled over the top.

Business / GM
• The ability to bid for the Super Bowl
• Create an automatic GM mode. This would AI the "business" side of the Franchise and let you focus on player needs and development.
• Ability to turn off the cap in a franchise

Other Franchise Game-play
• Ability to review past seasons in the franchise
• Hall of Fame / Ring of Honor / retiring numbers; some way of honoring stars over the life of your franchise
• Better cut-scenes or intros to key games like playoffs or Super Bowl
• Stadium noise levels that are impacted by your franchise's success, the importance of the game (playoffs, divisional rivals, etc.), and the score (your home crowd shouldn't be roaring when you're down 24-3 in the 4th. Noise levels should also greatly increase the chance of penalties on visiting offenses, particularly for players with low awareness or not much experience.
• Better balance of injuries – injuries almost never occur in human games, and regularly occur in simulated games. The medical staff should not prevent injuries altogether.
• Allow franchise teams to play the historical teams.
• Support import/conversion of 2005 franchises so we don't all have to start over every year.
• Have an option for starting a new franchise entirely with rookies.
send dat in, looks good

[GoCOLTS]

The generated draft needs more power. I drafted a top 5 speed WR that had a 4.28 40 time and his speed rating was 75! Something is wrong.

Also it would be cool if there were multiple forms of franchise - including expansion and regular.

[Mrgolf363]

You need to let us use created teams in a franchise season for the PC. 2005 Madden does not have this, I find that sad.

[moegame3000]

A lot of those wishes are great. I wish that they would bring back the player intros and when u get so many madden cards u can get an historic player. I just didnt like gettin those madden cards. I used to love playing so i can get barry sanders, mike singletary or joe morris. It made it fun and interesting. Plus more interaction. The commenators on ESPN 2K5 were very animated. I enjoy hearing them talk bout the game. Hell even my created players got a shout-out. Also someway to draft and if u want send them to NFL Europe, then the next off season u can bring them back to the NFL. THAT WOULD BE TIGHT! Thats all i have 4 now.


P.S. Play "Devil May Cry 3: Dantes Awakening". U wont be disappointed.

[Aftermatho7]

League has str8 players who's been in leagues together since Madden 2003 online, we currently are looking for new owners, to join we need only str8 players, peoples that are commited to getting their games in and committed to posting on the boards on the site. this league is FREE, and guys here are str8 and commited, so please if your interested and you want to be part of a stable, cheat free, Nfl style league please contact Canibus718@aol.com or instant message him through aol-aim @ Canibus718
This league is currently active now and going strong hurry for this opportunity to join this fantastic league.

[DuckFan]

One of the things I haven't seen mentioned yet is a change in how the system evaluates height and weight, especially as related to position changes, but in general as well.

You can't tell me that a 5'6" CB with 90 SPD, 90 ACC, 90 AGI, 90 JMP, etc is exactly as good as a 6'1" CB with the same stats. It's ridiculous.

You ever play with the height-weight numbers? Try changing Champ Bailey to where he is 7 feet tall and weighs 400lbs. Then play the game and tell me those ratings don't matter. Change Larry Allen's weight to 180 and then try to tell me that his weight isn't important at his position.

The game takes it into account in the gameplay. A 180lb Allen gets pushed around all day by the DL. But his ratings stay exactly the same. Shouldn't work that way.

And you see the results of that when you change positions. We have talked the LB to DE change to death, the fact that you can take most any fast LB and switch him to DE and see his ratings soar. It's ludicrous. A 215lb LB that moves to DE should drop 10-15pts because he is too damn light to play that position. A 400lb CB should have an OVR of 40, because there is no way he can make the cuts he needs to in the secondary.

If the game adjusted OVR to reflect the "ideal" height and weight by position, then the position change glitch would go away all on its own. And you would more accurately reflect the real NFL, where some guys can play at multiple positions and some guys just can't.

[Nevada_Ballin]

this has been needed for years... they need to fix the damn stat compiler.. i mean seriously.

i went through the career stats for my fran. not too long ago and it has some DL leading in career interceptions with 60. Another category had a TE leading in career fumble recovereries with 106. Neither players were even starters...

in 2004 and 2003, during a season, the compiler for Sacks would "roll over" at 75 back to zero and it also had compiler issues with palyer's career stats.

they really need to fix this.

[Wadsteckel]

First post here.....let's see how it goes. ;)

The biggest peeve I have with Madden 05 franchise mode is customization. Personally, I do *NOT* want to use the NFL teams. Too much hype/demands/expectations on how your favorite player/team should play. Let me create my own league. Let me assign player numbers as I see fit (when I did use the NFL, playing the Redskins, the first RB I drafted in year 2 was assigned #44. Sorry....t'ain't happening). Let me edit the unis as the franchise moves along. Other things already mentioned, like historical data, assigning the 'championship game' to the city of my choosing, should be there, too.

Madden 04 was the first Madden game I ever tried, much less owned. I was an avid Front Page Sports fan back in the '90's and always felt the the FPS series had much more to offer than the eye candy of Madden. Since Madden is the only choice on PC nowadays, I'll take what I can get to show my son what gaming is about. He has time to learn....he's only 19 months right now. :D

Regards,
Ed S.

[Fernshield]

Wish that CPU controlled teams could 'assess the value' of its own players
better.

I was 'scouting' a rookie on another team and wanted to see if he would be 'better' playing at another postion. I changed his position to all of its possibilities and didnt return him to where the team had him playing. I decided to trade for him and wondered why the cpu was willing to let an obviously high draft pick go for a song. Was only after I made the trade that I realized I had left him playing a position he was poor at and the CPU didnt have the sense to change him back.

Wasnt any problem to restart to a time before the trade occured and redo it in a realistic fashion.

Seems like a minor wish that could easily be granted with just the slightest bit of effort......unless I am to believe that telling the opposition that the promising young player they drafted #1 overall wasnt REALLY a running back at all but a tight end, and a lousy one at that! But listen fellas, I will take him off your hands for a late round draft pick next year, heck, I will even throw in my aging running back so you aren't paddless on the proverbial creek....of course, you WILL have to absorb his rather large contract while I on the other hand get the young ne'er do well you drafted mistakingly for a cheap price...which incidentally offsets the penalty I got for giving you mr bigbucks out of the kindness of my heart. ;)

Although I do believe many owners are less then sharpwitted, I doubt even the dullest tool in the NFL shed fell of the truck that recently. :cool:

<removes tongue from cheek>

Sorry for the rant Great board btw :)