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

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by DLaren

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

Not this year. To answer that question from earlier, that would be one of the top features I would have liked to have added this year.

[Ninjoid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

1. Players do indeed return to the lineup after recovering. 2. We actually found a cool little way to create a portrait based on what their generic face looks like. So no more silhouettes, for players or coaches. 3. No waivers this year. 4. Depends on how you start it. Do you mean overall rating or approval? If you mean approval, it is always the same if you start as the current coach and if you start as a created coach, we default you to 50.

1 - great news.

2 - brilliant, at least that will give a little personality to a created player/coach...impressive.

4 - I meant approval.

Thanks for that, really impressed with the portrait stuff...what happens with the 2008 rookie crop...when the game ships will they have 'proper' player portraits?

Cheers
Mark

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by 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.

1. yes, to any length you want.

2. Not at all. We felt like a feature that took 20 years in the game to accomplish was wasting people's time.

3. We have the same core player ratings. What we changed was how the overall rating was calculated. Several grades (like real NFL scouts use) now make up the overall rating. They are Athletic (physical skills like speed), Intangibles (mental skills like awareness), Durability (how healthy a player is), Learning (how quickly a player learns and retains information), Potential (how good the player can get if everything works out in his career) and Size (does the player fit the classic mold at the position). We also use a different system to determine a player's value to the team, which in conjunction with their overall grade, determines how valuable they are in free agency or trades. Value is determined by overall, upside (remaining potential), contract value (is he overpaid, paid just right or underpaid) and playbook knowledge (how much does he know of your playbook).

4. Oh yes. Our draft is like a mine field. You could take a player 1st overall who has a potential of 75 or you could draft a QB in the 7th round who has the potential of 96. We set each draft up so that you need to do some serious scouting to find out who the busts and gems are.

5. Great idea but we only let you look back on the previous season's results.

6. Let's just say it's very vital in finding out those busts and gems. I worked on franchise mode for 4 years on current gen and when this project started, it was the team's mission to make sure that scouting was fun, interactive and much more robust than anything we'd seen before.

7. Yes.

8. No.

9. Not in the traditional sense that you're used to. We actually created a new type of sub called quick subs. On any play, you can sub any player out at any position very quickly in play call. Want Reggie Bush in the slot for this particular pass play? You can set it up in seconds.

10. We probably won't be at 60 because of everything we added to the in-game environment, including the sideline. Honestly, it's hard for me to tell the difference without controlling the players. and personally, I like the cool presentation more.

11. Yes

12. Yes

13. I think it works great. Players can progress while sitting on the bench (like carson Palmer) if they get practice reps. We also tuned it so that WRs and QBs tend to break out in their 3rd years. And potential changes progression forever. If you draft Ryan Leaf, nothing you do will change the fact that he'll be a backup at best his entire career. It really makes the draft meaningful now in our eyes.

And if you liked the first one, I hope you will love this one. 1000% better game in our eyes.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by 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?

There is no limit on formations. You can have up to 200 total plays in each of the playbooks (offense and defense).

[x1Blumpkin1x]

When you create a new coach, do you have any skills? Or are you given some skill points that you can apply to different areas right from the start?

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by adembroski

My turn! (yay) Was the possibility of spawning games to be played in Madden ever discussed? I realize this would be a massive feature, but I think it would create the Holy Grail of franchise modes for me and a lot of other people. Are Madden and Head Coach to be released simultaneously?

We discussed that so it might be a feature we could look at in the future. Don't discount the Head Coach in-game though. A lot of us actually like the experience more. Especially those of us (like me) that aren't that great on the sticks anymore. But as I said before, I'm biased.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Spin

Will headcoach offer the same uniform fixes and alternates as in madden 09? I'm asking because I saw a screen of the Steelers and Browns and the Browns were wearing those hideous Brown pants on the road.

We tried to fix any bugs that came up. I'll take a look at this.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by x1Blumpkin1x

When you create a new coach, do you have any skills? Or are you given some skill points that you can apply to different areas right from the start?

Yes. You are given 50,000 points to spend at the start.

[Ninjoid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

Don't discount the Head Coach in-game though. A lot of us actually like the experience more. Especially those of us (like me) that aren't that great on the sticks anymore. But as I said before, I'm biased.

Josh - a cpu v cpu player at heart lol....that's how I like to enjoy my games, just like watching tv....only in HC you make the decisons on the plays...might sound odd but there's a lot of us cpu v cpu guys around...we used to spend ages tweaking sliders for Madden! I always find that's the true test of the game logic - having the AI play itself.

That's why I'm looking forward to this game so much.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Step2001

Special Teams! Special Team players? Position players who offer a little bit at their listed position, but thrive on special teams. Does Head Coach have those specialty players who play special teams? Not every player can play nor do they really want to play special teams. ---------------------- Long Snappers? Does Head Coach make this a specialty area for each team? Or is it the same where anyone can be placed in as the long snapper & it does not make a difference either way? ----------------------- Same for holders, do players carry the special trait to being a holder? Teams usually want the #2 QB to handle the job. The Punters sometimes hold. Is holding for a kick something of a specialty in Head Coach?

1. We have returners, but we don't really designate special teams guys.

2. We have depth chart spots for long snappers but it's probably not as advanced as what you're asking for.

3. We didn't have time to do anything special with holders. Sorry.