briax87
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Then came along Madden 2008. Superstar Mode was back. This time i fell in love playing as a free safety. Using the hit stick, I took someone out of the play every single play, no matter pass or run, usually resulting in a pass interference call. Hey, I liked to take people out
. This lasted for a few weeks before it got old. Superstar Mode in 2009 is basically the same as it was in 2008. I haven't noticed much of a change. The bugs and little annoyances from 2008 were still in it, which led me to believe that it was more of an afterthought than a feature.
If Superstar Mode is to return in 2010 it must change. It cannot stay the same AGAIN. It was a great idea, similar to Fifa's Be a Pro Mode. It was, however, an idea that was never fully developed. There are plenty of things that bugged me about this mode. It was addicting, yes, the first time I played it, but it got old.
Play Calling:
Being a mode where the “coach” the plays, you are often left frustrated. Take for example the running back position. It is most noticeable here. The same 3 or 4 running plays get called all game long, and of those 4 plays, 3 of them don't work too well. You get tackled behind the line a lot (assuming you're not playing on rookie or pro difficulty).
The same goes for playing Quarterback. The same 7 or 8 plays get called. Of them, 3 or 4 are play actions passes. Most of the time those play action passes result in a sack, as they will most likely blitz when you run those plays. Play calling needs to adapt to the situation. If one play isn't working, try another. Don't keep recycling the same plays over and over.
AI:
The only position I have an issue with in this mode in terms of AI is the Quarterback position. If your playing any position on Offense besides QB, for example WR, you will notice that your QB just can't help but throw a lot of interceptions. I have seen a QB throw up to 9 picks a game, on custom sliders (between all-pro and all-madden). This makes playing any position on offense besides QB painful, as your QB's stats will always be terrible, and you won't be on the field long enough to get good stats yourself.
Points System:
This was a good idea. The way you can influence your teammates is a great idea in my opinion. The problem with it is that you have to assign points at the start of every drive. This gets so tiring and tedious by the end of the first quarter. I believe that there should be a pre-game window where you see the opponents weaknesses (poor run defense, poor pass defense) and assign your influence points accordingly. This might not be the best idea, but it would work better than the current system.
You should also not lose points if another player makes a mistake. For example, if your playing cornerback, and have your man shut down, and the other cornerback gives up a big play, you should lose as many points as you currently lose for this. The system blames you for that big play, as if somehow it was all your fault. The same should go for an interception.
If your playing running back, and are out in the flat open, and the QB throws a pick trying to hit a deep receiver, you should not be penalized. It wasn't your fault. It should be a simpler points system, not one that pops up at the start of every drive. It should also not pop up after every play, it breaks up the whole game feel.
Watch other side:
Your superstar won't be on the field the entire time. It should be possible to watch the defense (if your offense) play, trying to get you the ball back. This was in Madden 07 Superstar Mode (I think, long time ago
). It adds to the feel that your part of a team and trying to win a game, not just increase influence points.Make practice count:
Practice mode in Superstar Mode needs to be re-done. At the moment, it doesn't end. The off-season training is a good way to improve your star during the off-season. There are 3 or 4 practice sessions a week in Superstar Mode. I skipped them all. Pointless, they mean nothing. They feel like a chore. Personally I wouldn't know how to improve practice mode, but if it stayed the same, it would be skipped over by most.
Emails:
We all know the regular emails you receive as a superstar. Mommy worried about big men hitting you when you've the ball. Your coach telling you your a star. These are all great, but when you start getting the same ones every week it gets a bit obvious no effort was put into it. Also, every off-season you will receive the same email from your mentor regarding the draft, as if your about to be drafted again. More variety is needed here.
Fight for your spot on the depth chart:
Often, you will create a rookie, that is rated lower than the top spot in that category. For example, you create a rookie running back rated 78 overall. He gets drafted by the vikings. Automatically, he replaces Peterson as the number 1 running back on the depth chart. This is where pre-season games should come into effect. Players should fight for their spot on the depth chart in the 4 pre-season games. Otherwise, you could be a quarterback rated 50 overall and replace Brady as the Patriots starter right away. It just doesn't make sense. There should be competition.
Summary:
- Improved AI play calling, not just the same 3 or 4 plays
- Improved Quarterback AI
- Simplify the points system
- Watch the other side of the team play while your on the bench
- Fight for your spot on the depth chart
- Practicing should mean something
Superstar Mode was a great idea. However, it has become stale. Nothing has been added, improved on, or even fixed. Personally, it's not worth playing anymore. 2008 and 2009 are basically the same mode. There are a few things that could be added to improve the experience, perhaps split screen Superstar Mode? You and a friend playing both safety positions, leading a dominant defense? Whatever is done with this mode, is cannot stay the same.
When you first start your franchise, you're in the pre-season. Personally, these 4 games seem completely pointless to me as it is in-game. You play the first half with your first string team, and second half with your second string. The problem with this is that if you simulate through these games, some of the 3rd and 4th string players don't get on the field for one play. This is particularly noticeable in the running back position, and most of the defensive positions.
Another problem with the pre-season is that players do not progress or regress at all, no matter how they play. Yes, I know that they are only practice games, nothing to play for. But look at the New England Patriots pre-season games last August. With Brady out with an injury for them (foot, I think), the Quarterback position was shared between, Cassel, Gutierrez, and O'Connell. They each played, the coach saw how they fared and released Gutierrez, keeping the other two and Brady.
Players should progress and regress in the pre-season. I do not believe that a rookie should shoot up from a 70 to an 80, but perhaps from a 70 to a 72 or 73 overall. His awareness might increase if he played all 4 games, as he gets used to the NFL. If a player has a terrible pre-season, their stats might decrease. For example, if a running back fumbles in each of the 4 games, his carry stat might decrease by 2 or 3. Once again, not a huge decrease, but a decrease nonetheless.
Injuries:
Another problem with Franchise mode, and any other mode, is that when you're playing a game (not simulating), I rarely see a player get injured for more than a quarter. It seems to me that every second injury is a “will return soon” injury. The other injuries I see are “out for game”, and “out for 1 quarter”. I have only seen no more than 3 or 4 injuries through over 40 franchise games that lasted longer than a game. Now, when you simulate through games, you see a lot more “long-term” injuries. It seems as though the frequency of “long-term” in-game injuries should be increased. As it is now, injuries are basically non-existent while playing a game. This makes having depth in your squad pointless, and your starters will be the only ones playing.
Scouting:
The scouting part of franchise mode, well, I hate it. I really hate it. Searching through the database feels tedious, laborious, laggy. Every time you search a different position, it feels like a very long time for it to load. Sorting players by potential “lags” when sorting. Viewing players individually “lags”. It seems as if every time you try view something different in this mode it has to load it back up from scratch. You can't just skim quickly through positions, choosing players to scout. After choosing players to scout, the next week or two it doesn't show anymore important information about the players. It should be faster to search through and select players, and play an important factor on who you choose in the draft.
Off-season:
The off-season in Madden is good, but could still do with some work in my opinion. Player progression and regression seems to work better since it was patched, but could still do with some fine tuning. Older players could see a small decrease in athletic abilities such as speed and strength, i.e. a wide receiver not being as fast as he used to be, or a lineman not being as strong as he used to be. It appears that players do all their progression in their first 2 or 3 years since being drafted, then do not progress or regress that much after. The most I see happen is a change of +1 or -1 in their overall rating after the first few years.
The players retirement window seems fine, it does as it should. The re-signing part does not work as it should however. Often, I only re-sign half of the players in the window, and then press start to “simulate the rest of the signings”, and the players I chose not to sign were signed by the CPU back to my team. There is no option to release them, you only hope that the CPU will not sign them back onto your team. The free agency part, again works as it should. It is however, in my opinion, slow in the way it works. Searching through free agents seem to “lag” when switching from the QB to HB to FB (etc) category. Then when you decide to skip whatever amount of days you like, it takes quite a while to skip these days. I do believe that whatever algorithm used for signing free agents to the CPU teams, skipping days etc, could be optimized to make this little process speed up a bit. It's not a serious issue, but it's just one of those little things that you notice while waiting for it to finish.
Draft:
Next we have the draft. The draft in Madden is the part of the Franchise mode I enjoy the most. There are however, some problems with it. There is the AI Draft Logic. Every year in my franchise I see teams drafting 2 or 3 quarterback's in a row, and ending up with 4 or 5 in their depth chart, while having someone as Brees or Brady as their starter. This means that all the good rookie QB's are gone by the 10th pick.
Also, I believe that there should be some sort of “luck” based element to drafting. Say a QB is drafted first overall in the Draft. Every time in Madden he will progress into the high 80's and reach the 90's. There should be some chance of him becoming a bust, and not progressing at all. This is where scouting should play a part. You should scout your draft choices carefully before drafting. Also, all 5th to 7th round picks I have ever drafted don't reach above a 75 overall rating. You should be able to “get lucky” with a pick and end up picking a Tom Brady.
After you make your picks you are brought to the rookie signings screen. The same problem exists here that exists in the Re-Signings Screen. If you only sign 3 or 4 of your rookies, the CPU will sign the rest of them for you. You have no option to not sign them.
Summary:
- Pre-season games should mean something
- No injuries = no point in squad depth
- Scouting should impact Draft
- Implement some sort of “luck” element into the draft
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