**NFL Head Coach 09 Developer Q&A Thread**

[DLaren]

Are we able to save our progress mid-game incase we don't have time to finish?

[Chris_Staymates]

Quote: Originally Posted by DLaren

will there be any conversations going on in the headset in terms of in-game suggestions or tips on playcalling from my coordinators/players?

Now you're talking my kind of features. I get absolutely crazy excited over the idea of voice iteraction, and feel bad having to report that none of that made it back into NFL Head Coach 09.

The decision was made early on (and rightly so) to focus on making this game the deepest and most authentic sports simulation ever. The work required to achieve that vision unfortunately didn't leave time for any voice interaction. Voice interaction is one of those things that, in my mind, has to be perfect in order for it to succeed or else it comes across as forced and not very well thought out. Despite how much we wanted to do it, the team wasn't confident that we could deliver a high quality voice experience with the amount of work that had to be done.

If I have anything to say about it, look for this to be blown out in a future version of the NFL Head Coach franchise.

[DLaren]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chris_Staymates

Now you're talking my kind of features. I get absolutely crazy excited over the idea of voice iteraction, and feel bad having to report that none of that made it back into NFL Head Coach 09. The decision was made early on (and rightly so) to focus on making this game the deepest and most authentic sports simulation ever. The work required to achieve that vision unfortunately didn't leave time for any voice interaction. Voice interaction is one of those things that, in my mind, has to be perfect in order for it to succeed or else it comes across as forced and not very well thought out. Despite how much we wanted to do it, the team wasn't confident that we could deliver a high quality voice experience with the amount of work that had to be done. If I have anything to say about it, look for this to be blown out in a future version of the NFL Head Coach franchise.

Thanks for the honest answer and I agree with your assessment, if it's not done right it's not worth having in the game because I wouldn't even use the headset if the voice interaction felt tacked-on. In the first HeadCoach I stopped using the headset to call plays because it took multiple tries before the system to respond to my voice commands. Hopefully you guys will have the time/resources to get it into the next iteration of the game

[Chris_Staymates]

Alright everyone, I'm signing off for the day. If I didn't get to your question I'll try to tomorrow. Please don't stop posting!

I'm going to try to get to everyone, whatever can of worms that might be.

[NoleFan]

I'm extremely excited about all of the information you've provided concerning NFL Head Coach 09 as I play coach mode exclusively and it sounds like HC 09 will have all that I could ever want in a coach mode experience (even though I'd prefer NCAA Head Coach ).

My question is...

Am I to understand that the only way to get Head Coach is to purchase Madden 09 or will it be available for purchase on its own? I've never been clear on this.

[DLaren]

Quote: Originally Posted by NoleFan

Am I to understand that the only way to get Head Coach is to purchase Madden 09 or will it be available for purchase on its own? I've never been clear on this.

Pastapadre reported that HC will have a stand-alone release in September if you don't want to buy the collectors edition of Madden:


http://www.pastapadre.com/2544/nfl-h...dalone-release

[georgiafan]

Can you change quarter length ?

In the first game it had the 25 greatest coaches of all time and allowed you to move up the ranks. Is that in in this years game ?

I haven't heard anything about player ratings ranges like was in the first game. Is that still around or is it a flat number.

One of the best things about the first game was all the player ratings (espically at QB). It really allowed me to find a guy that fit my system. Can you tell me if they are any new player ratings? Or they the same as madden 08 ?

Are they draft bust/gems? I know in madden last year they was suppose to be in, but I never saw any. It would be real cool to draft the next ryan leaf even though it would hurt my team.

Will you be able to go back and look at draft results after your several years into the season. This way I could see what mistakes I made.

How doess the scouting work ? In madden scouting players seems useless and in the first HC all the players reset at the end of the year and I lost everything I gained from scouting.

Has the turnovers been turned down? The past few EA games seems to have way to many interceptions

Will it be easy to rip the CPU off in trade like in madden ?

Will they be formation subs ?

Will the PS3 run at 60 FPS ? or will that not matter since you don't control the players

Will the clock run like normal while using supersim ? In NCAA/ madden that wasn't the case.

Can you tell what college your ficitonal player went to school at? In the first game you couldn't.

How is player progression?



Thanks for taking the time to answer questions. I posted this early so if your just running behind I apologize. I was one of the 5 people that enjoyed the first one so you can image how excitied I am about this one.

[georgiafan]

Can you still tell your players diffrent things to focus on during the game (ex. HB to run between the tackles)? If so have any of them been added ?

[Joborule]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

And...CPU teams will download plays that the community creates and use those in their playbooks against you. The first time I saw that in-game was a great feeling. It's almost like a Spore like feature in a sports game.

I don't normally use this word...but thats just bonkers!

[DLaren]

I'm thinking about creating my entire playbook from scratch (filled with only the plays that I've created), how many created offensive/defensive formations and plays can I fit into my playbook?