EA is Definitely More Serious About Franchise in Madden (Analysis)

I think having to wait to find out rookie superstar traits is wonderful, much more realistic.

Some good stuff in the stream. Better hope in franchise then the last 10 years thats for sure. The stuff I don't see talked about though worries me. Like contracts, salary, trades.
Normally you say they didn't talk about it but common sense said they touched on it. With EA if they don't talk about something and give it some marketing name it didn't change or get touched on.
So what I got from the stream is. There is no changes for contracts, salary, trades. You won't know who won the SB in 2020 in your 2021 season. If a player gets traded you won't know what team he previously played for. You can't offer contract extensions. No good players will hit FA, nobody will ever be available for trade.

Contract Updates
We’ve taken a meticulous pass on existing player contracts to ensure they match the NFL. This will not only be more authentic, but it will also make managing your roster’s cap space more realistic.
The greatest thing that I have read in a very, very long time. Literally the only thing I wanted from this game.

All to be ruined in 2 seasons if the auto backloaded contracts continue to be all you can offer in game. If we cannot offer extensions, restructure deals etc their accurate contracts on base rosters don't really change much in terms of franchise.

So that's exactly what i was afraid of. All of their efforts are completely useless if they didn't redo the entire structure of the game.

At least hopefully whoever did the contract fixing realized that in game "bonus" means guaranteed money not the actual signing bonus. They've been rather hit or miss on that in the past

Interesting that the defense scheme is blocked out????

Excellent read. I am super optimistic that I will at the very least finish a season for the 1st time since Madden 25. Sounds intriguing and immersive.

It's probably one of the new schemes they've been working on that they didn't want to reveal the name of for whatever reason.
It's still crap that you can't set multiple archetypes in schemes for positions like WR & DT.
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^^^^^ THIS......

I will never take them serious until they bring in a PROPER 32 team control for franchise. not a 32 profiles spend all day starting one franchise. to use workarounds.

Yeah that would be nice. I still like what I'm seeing so far with more to come. Best time of the yr besides football season.

Seeing is believing.

I'm pretty sure we see a piece similar to this pop up every year.

I know some might be disappointed or wanted a lot more from Franchise mode. But I'm trying to be optimistic. I think they are stepping into the right direction. I think this is a year where the devs were finally able to take a step back and work on legacy issues with gameplay and Franchise. I rather them get core gameplay and franchise to a solid level before adding more to it. That would be adding layers onto a bad foundation. I would love to see Coach Carousel, but it wouldn't be as satisfying if we are dealing with ton of bugs.
So if they get the core franchise to a solid level this year, I can see Franchise getting a big upgrade next year. Like they said, this isn't a one year plan. This might take 2-3 more years before we get a very in-depth Franchise. My only concern is the transition to next generation of consoles. These last two generations, Madden has taken a step back in Franchise.

THIS. SAYS. IT. ALL.

I just want to get out a thank you for anyone that played a role in all the new franchise stuff for M20. I am so happy. :appl:
M20 and Borderlands 3 just blew me away the last week. I didn't expect much from both.

I'm hopeful that there seems to be a draft experience after seeing the player in QB1 holding up his jersey at the draft. It's something I've been calling for probably over 10 years now. The draft is one of the highest rated events that the NFL puts on. It just seems criminal that it hasn't been a priority in the franchise mode after all these years. My hope is though that the draft experience applies for at least your top pick if you're playing in coach mode as well. Would seem like a huge waste for the draft not to be comprehensive in both modes.
P.S.
EA, the guy should be displaying the back of his jersey with his name, not the front.

I'm fine with the development traits being hidden until the season begins BUT 1) it should be determined by snap counts (both in-game and practice) instead of games; and 2) can we at least get an indication of what it might be (i.e. college GPA and major). Give me their GPA instead of any development traits and I'd be fine.
Hopefully they work on scouting. Why do I not know how fast a player is until he runs the 40 at the combine. There should be an estimated 40 time beginning in Week 5 based on college game scouting. You can watch tape on a player and at least guess how fast a player is. Better scouts mean more accurate estimates. I find myself spending all of my scouting points in the offseason based on 40 times because a guy was labeled a Red Zone Threat but ran a 4.42.

I completely disagree. with this idea of their  re-commitment to franchise. This is a paint job and a bad one so far...You don't come out this underwhelming with a recommitment to a mode. 
- Face of franchise - Longshot repurposed with a link to franchise mode. Reusing franchise screenshots? Text messages? the most boring execution possible, even the player in the screenshot looks bored. 
- The scenario engine feels  like the news section that we end up with bad data and bored with it and ignoring it after game 5. Maybe it helps make things more immersive, but you don't communicate with players via text messages all the time...thats not coaching thats Minimal viable product.  Hold outs, are they in the game or no? 
- X factor traits -  "Boss battles" have no place in football. thats arcade style gaming. Double teaming and scheming does. They just keep changing the dev traits names, no more slow , now its  quick, wait no more quick, now its Factor, it all feels like change for change sake.
-Probowl - When they lead with the probowl you know we're in trouble. This is a MUT Game with helmets. Its all they know.
- Ratings fix? new draft names? - two things you can get from a download in the community and how long will the draft rating last anyway? How about fixing custom draft class issues, not everyone is the best player in the draft. How about a real investment into the draft experience
- Smoother UI - What??  1990s graphics and an uglier UI pulled from MUT. thats a benefit? that screen shot looks like Microsoft paint design
- Contracts - Thank the lord but will it make sense after a few years , you need extensions and 5th year options and restricted FA, or its just lipstick on a pig
- Schemes - Hey they didnt work last year so we made them less of an impact...so what are they there for then? Still not how nfl teams are built. I dont need 5 of the same WR
- Coach mode - nothing, just nothing.of note other than scenario engine which seems like just annoying addons, nothing for team building. Im tired of reading tweets and texts from trey wingo. now just more texts. Like answering questions in owner mode,.. no one cares
- The Draft - How about more than " the giants are on the clock" damn man HeadCoach was the gold standard back in 2009!
I'm just completely underwhelmed and see through the "Recommitment" smokescreen. This is the difference between what companies say and what they do. All of these features are like Longshot and MUT code investments going into franchise. They aren't fixing code on this gen,  it's too late for that investment. Our only hope may just be that they recommit for next gen.

That is a heckuva long articulate hot take. Following.

Yup, except for last year, this in reality is really no more than in years past done for franchise.So i guess they can call it a "recommitment" since last year they just basically gave tunings.

Yes, i agree here. Did they do something? Sure, but was it something big built from scratch in a year, not at all, this is just what they added onto Longshot. So Longshot 3.0

Honestly, ive never bothered reading the stories in our league. They have always bored me . My question is, how many people are going to be "holding out" or demanding trades? While sure its great they added it, but only if it seems realistic. In real life there has been about 4 people maybe in the last two years to do this sorta thing in the NFL? So is it going to result in 10-15 players per season or more doing this ? If so thats way outside the realm of realistic and is overkill. As an online commish, i could see that causing me and our admins a ton of headaches IF its not done correctly. Guess we will have to see, but based on their history of new stuff working right..... ehhhhh i have my doubts.

Agreed. I am not playing Madden to have a boss battle.Changing dev trait names really is not that big of a change , nor is simply tying different animations and ratings boosts to guys with X factor . Sorry , thats not like they did a ton of work there imo. Do i think the real superstars should play different? Sure do. Will this really make them feel like stars, or will it make them feel OP ? Again , have to wait n see.

This is another one. They took something they already had built ( h2h game) and slapped the helmets and unis in and added the option to play it. Its not a brand new whole thing made. However, i am willing to gladly say i was wrong that it would not be playable in online leagues . I was surprised by that addition and will galdly give them props for it :appl: where props is due imo. Eventhough i still may not play it, it was cool they found a way to make it so most in an online league could give it a go if they wanted.So depsite what some may think, i have no issue giving them props where i believe its due.

I for one do like to sounds of them changing players overalls ratings to give a bigger difference feel from average players and stars. I think many here have asked for this for years now. My only two questions on it are:
- Are they going to revert back to the old system of overalls if people start crying their fav player is 60 overall or if the players themselves cry about it?
- I still do not get why this change in and of itself would not be enough to differentiate the feeling of playing with a star player over an average player without the whole X factor stuff? Seems like all that could have just been done in this one step instead of spending time on this and changing the dev trait stuff again too.

Yes, unless they are actually working on adding real options to contracts.... its just makeup or basically a tuning. They dont give a ton of details really in the blog so hard to know , but i have strong doubts about things like your talking about since they clearly didnt mention them.So its kinda a mehhhh addition imo.

Here my first thought was, if your going to make it so people who dont fit a shceme progress faster than last year, what really is the point in schemes at all? It was supposed to be put in so you were trying to find players who fit your scheme to help them and your team improve faster and better. i also agree , you shouldnt need 5 of the same type wrs , but instead of working on a real system to include say 2 deep threat, 1 possesion and 1 route runner. They just took the easy and simple route of , well we wont really penalize you much if you have a guy who dont fit the 1 scheme "fit" we originally put in. So in other words, instead of actually working on what needs to be added and fixed, they just take the shortcut and make it almost pointless to even have in the game at all.

I have to agree. Are there a few things there i like the sounds of ? Sure. But then im quickly hit with the realization of how often EA impliments something well. Im not saying they didnt do anything for franchise, that would be foolish but for some slow people now in days you gotta specifically spell that out or they claim thats what your saying when clearly its not.
They did some things for franchise , i hope they work well and i hope they do NOT revert back on the overalls because of whinny little ..... However, this really is not any more done than in past years for Franchise ( except for last year) . The difference i see is, somehow people are jumping up and down for them this year like they really went all out. But in past years when they did this amount, people were let down and disappointed thats all they bothered to do . The difference? Last year we got mostly tunings. So now all the sudden people feel like, "yeah they really do care alot about franchise mode." The reality is , its no more than they were doing in past years ( again outside of last year). Sure good to see a couple things added. But im not letting these cats off a hook all the sudden like they really done alot .
Jury still out on gameplay as well. If i still cant pass over the lbs and under the safetys, or my high rated olinemen refuse to block people right in front of their face , my player im usering refuses to even attempt to go for a ball when i clearly hit the button, the one of these- spin/juke/cut move/RPOs are OP, can still cover half the field with an MLB ..... then its all really for nothing then isnt it?
Not gonna hold my breathe, but i hope they prove me wrong , like they did with the probowl . I really hope they do but i seriously doubt it.

Since Madden's inception, there hasn't been many overhauls to any part of the game and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I will say that I'm intrigued by the changes, including the spreading out of the ratings.
That is a huge win win for user vs cpu sim players, huge.

I'm on the sceptical side of the fence. I was expecting to see slick, brand new menus and screens with new features front and centre but it looks like much of the same. When you're the only game with the NFL license, how do you not have the commissioner on stage at the draft alongside the player? How do you not have NFL Network stuff like they did for NFL Head Coach was on PS2.
https://youtu.be/Gk3istcFRSw?t=41
I'm sceptical like I said.

Will remain skeptical, but at least the thought of things improving has brought me back to the OS boards to see what people think

Basically as for scheme's, they got rid of their point. If you're not going to be penalized at all for not using guys in their proper scheme or rewarded for having them in the proper scheme, what the heck is the point of schemes at all? It's just a gimmick then.
I loved Madden 17 and Madden 18. I even thought '19 was starting to get there with moving us towards a better Franchise.
I'm not an "EA *****" by any means. I buy almost every EA sports game annually. Gameplay and presentation can still save face. But, WOW does Franchise sound like a hot flaming garbage heap infusion of MUT and Longshot 3.0 into the mode.
Also, the scenario engine was something that could have revolutionized immersion in Madden. Instead of cut scenes with NFL analysts discussing storylines or revamping the news feed, or giving us a weekly recap show, they give us the stupid text messages from NBA Live, which is a failing video game franchise that will not exist in 2 years.
I've never been so infuriated by the seeming lack of connection with what the community actually desires in a franchise mode.
There's no longer any excuse for not performing on EA's end. NBA 2k, The Show, and NHL all have pretty deep franchise modes. FIFA even has weekly recaps (albeit limited) in its version of Franchise mode.
This is just awful. Mike Young is an amazingly creative guy and I think the right ideas are there. But, WE NEED DEPTH. Quit making the game broad and then not developing that feature further the next year. Once again, Madden could fall flat like a pancake as it has done on past occasions
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Just to hit on this because I've seen it a few different places now. The whole "recommitment to franchise" came from the GameInformer article and (AFAIK) not from EA themselves so I would take that whole statement with a huge grain of salt.

For the most part, more of the same nonsense. Very little of it is what I care about, aside from contracts. Some of it isn't even franchise mode, but they crammed it in this article to make it look like there's more than there is.
Still waiting to get back to where we were in 2006, when progress was halted.
Still waiting for Madden to be an awesome, immersive NFL GM simulator.

Agreed. Coach Carousel Is on my wishlist but it’s more important to fix the gameplay and get franchise up to a level where we can really enjoy a feature like Coach Carousel

In my opinion schemes were handled terribly from the beginning, it never should of been an xp reward for a scheme fit. It should of been an on the field bonus from the start. As an example if you run a 3-4 and your OLB is a scheme fit he gets a +3 boost to finesse moves in game. Or in a vertical passing scheme if you have a scheme fit WR a +3 or +4 boost to deep route running. In real life if a guy plays in a familiar scheme he's not going to progress faster, but rather play better on the field because he knows the scheme and is a good fit for it.
If it would of been an on the field boost rather than xp bonus that would of better replicated what you see in real life where players play above their actual talent level because of the scheme that they play in and how it is tailored for a player like them.
As far as the depth of franchise modes, I wouldn't say NHL's is deep. Other than the new scouting system and fog of war feature I prefer maddens franchise mode to NHL. MLB the shows franchise mode hasn't seen any significant improvement in years, this year they really just added new contracts. I would say it's a toss up as far as depth in franchise mode but to be fair the solid gameplay is what keeps me coming back to the Show. I can't speak on FIFA because I don't play it. The one I will give you is NBA 2K, that game while not without it's own set of issues is WORLDS ahead of Madden for depth of franchise mode. If we got even half of the features they've been adding in to 2K in Maddens franchise I would be happy.
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The way they've got it is actually the correct way it's done in real life. There aren't any names on the jerseys because no team knows exactly which guys they will end up with so they just end up with a blank jersey and #1.

Not really. If the player is at the draft, they have people in the back applying name plates as the picks come in.

NBA Live and NHL hockey need the same type of love and dedication. It's been lacking for years and this needs to change. Glad to hear Madden is taking their franchise mode seriously. This is what their fans want. Another game developer we know that makes a baseball game should take note as well. This is how you do it.*

Since they have it in the game now it would be nice in franchise mode if the first round picks would come out and hold a jersey of that team up.

Not sure where you're getting that from. They've literally been doing it over 20 years now.

Show some other ones now. The first pick is a little bit different. Everyone and their momma knew the Cardinals were gonna pick Murray. I don't recall this routinely being the case.

Again, that's a number #1 overall pick. They even had Peyton's number on that one. So me someone else like a trade up that no one saw coming. Show me that they have a jersey with the player's name on it and I'll conceed the point.

https://compote.slate.com/images/889b7e59-10f1-49e2-84c4-cf845ad6f05a.jpeg?width=780&height=520&rect=3635x2423&offset=0x0
Ok, I'm wrong.

Yes i totally agree and to say they are even committed to Franchise is nothing short of a joke. Why do i say this? Simple. Take one quick look at the huge difference between what little EA is adding when they are "recommitted to franchise" compared to what 2K added to its franchise mode last year.
2k19 Franchise Blog
Both have the same amount of dev time, so thats no reasonable excuse. Both have a ton of money to spend , so thats no excuse. So until EA turns this amount of stuff out for franchise mode, dont try to sell me on some BS that they really care about franchise mode, because their actions prove they dont really.They clearly CAN do this amount because they clearly have the amount of money to be able to , they just refuse to. Tired of all the excuses people make for them and their slackness. Even more tired of people trying to praise them just because they did alittle something. That only tells them , why bother doing more when people love us for doing alittle.....

Agree with this, Deuce posted in another thread yesterday that CFM has just taken baby steps and slanted more toward the casual crowd. EA rarely will overhaul anything, so, people should know by now how the game is produced.
I will say I'm interested in finding more about the Scenero Engine, Superstar/X Factors and the ratings and how some of those interact with morale/FA, Franchise Tag, etc.... A big IF here, but IF these are implemented properly, along with the highly requested return of the Pro Bowl, CFM will have some good additions.
All depends on how everything is implemented, could be good, could turn out not good.

2K19 is one of if not the best franchise mode experience I’ve had by far. It absolutely dwarfs Madden 20.

Agreed. 2k could sit on their thumbs for the next 5 years, add nothing to the game, and NBA 2k24 would still have a deeper franchise experience than Madden 24. I don't even care for the NBA and I play it just for the experience.

Yeah i get all that , but people basically running around praise EA like they really doing something , only helps them feel like , "see we have no reason to try to do more" ( not saying your doing this, but i see numerous people on social media and here doing so) .
I fully expected nothing less or nothing more from them this year after doing practically nothing last year. It how they try to spin it like they really care that ticks me off. Actions > words . Thier actions show they dont really care.Maybe some devs do sure, but the company does not ( and yes save me the "it isnt the money maker" whomever was about to type that ignorant statement, we are all well aware how business works, does not mean we like it or agree with it).
2K disproves the whole "they have limited dev time" excuse. What little EA produces ( including this year) is a shame. And giving them praise for doing otherwise only enables them more to feel like thats enough.

Thats is what I want for Madden. To have a deep offline Franchise Mode that is up to par to other Sports games.
The thing is with NBA2k is that in the last 3-4 years they haven't really haven't added anything new to MyLeague. This year was MyLeague Online and Mentorship, Last year focus was on MyGM. But you haven't hard any complaints from hardcore crowd because MyLeague has vast depth. Where 2k put a heavy focus to add as much of core depth into thay mode. Its not perfect, but it pretty much hits the important aspects of a basketball season.
That is what Madden should strive for. They need to spend the next couple years putting a major focus into Franchise. Not just a new feature here and there. So that by Madden 22, Madden should be heading into new generation of consoles with a very deep Franchise mode. Then after that they could just focus on adding depth to the mode each year. So we wouldn't complain that they are trying to implement back of box features because Franchise has the depth it deserves

For me I don’t even truly need all that 2K has done. It would be great but honestly I just want Madden to focus on the main pillars of the NFL.
Coaching Changes
Scouting (season, off season should have different features)
Free Agency
Draft Experience
Training Camp
Game Day Prep in Season
Post Season
Super Bowl Experience
In 2K19 you get to play a game in the offseason prior to the draft to get a feel for some of the draft prospects. This could be the Senior Bowl in Madden. Or let us play with 5-10 prospects running drills at the Combine. Or both!
Free Agency should feel like it matters. In 2K you literally can bring LeBron James into your office and ask him questions about how he feels on the market of the city, the team, etc. Then you can make him an offer and even pitch him.
Draft day has higher ratings than some big NBA games and other events. It’s a huge part of the NFL. 47.5 million TV viewers over the three day draft in 2019 according to Neilson. We should see the first three picks walk out on stage. I don’t care if it has the nameplate, but to get some presentation and extra analysis on those picks will also give players the incentive to hold one of those picks at some point during the draft. The graphics should be just as good at the draft as they are during the games you play. The draft stage and fans they have in attendance for Madden 19 looks offensive compared to what you see during pregame and on the field.
The Super Bowl should be the biggest event in your Franchise Mode. There should be a lot of different presentation elements that are different from any game you’ll play in the season or the other playoff rounds. If you only make this stuff accessible during the SB it gives players more incentives to get there. Maybe a full pregame show and post game show, coach/player interviews, etc etc

I discussed this last year and some people agreed with me. I really feel marketing and the suits all feel if they dumped everything into either CFM or game play, what would be the reason for consumers to purchase again the following year?
I think that is why we see incremental improvements every year.
Honestly, if game play was perfect in Madden, if I can download updated rosters, I'm not sure if I would make a purchase the following year.
Two different companies going in different directions on how they produce a video game.

Keeping a history of the past seasons like Madden 2008 PC would be nice, for a start on the PC and not just pushing out another console remake.

I dont have any faith or expectation that Maddens franchise will ever rival 2Ks. I dont have any expectation it will ever rival EAs own Head Coach. And its not because of dev time; we see what 2K does annually with the same window. It's not the suits; 2Ks president or CEO mentioned wanting to monetize more. Still, MyLeague is as robust as ever. These things are not mutually exclusive. The Show has a relatively small dev team, their franchise is really deep and fun and I play it year around.
What it comes down to with Madden, IMO, is that a deep robust franchise that "we" (OS types) want isn't their vision. It hasn't been since CFM became a thing. DeuceDouglas made a magnificent post that we know has reached EA. Yet here we are. I'm cool with that. I accept that as the reality. I wouldn't have flinched if they had not added a single thing to CFM.
The CFM stuff that has been revealed so far, even if it's an old feature reskinned, has me intrigued. I like it. I support it. I'm going to preorder. I hope theres more, but I dont expect it. I'm willing to sit back and see what their vision of a deeper franchise looks like. I guess for me when you expect nothing and get something, even a little, that's a positive development. I dont think we should be singing the praises yet, but I also dont see what good constant negativity or comparisons do. If it's a dud, I move on as usual. If it works, hey, I have a new game for the rotation. Worst case scenario, I get to play a morsel of college football on these new systems. That's worth 65$ to me alone.
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I can see that. But I still don't think it would put a dent in sales if they got to 2k's level of depth in Franchise and got gameplay to a great level. I think it could actually help them. They're not going to lose out on competitve or casual crowd because they are always going to want the newest edition. I'm sure the sim/hardcore aren't going to pay full amount for a roster update if CFM and gameplay was great. It would force EA to add depth and features that appease to all crowds. For me, I would take PS2 era Franchise and Superstar mode and great gameplay. Felt like they took a step back since then.
That leads me to a bigger question, does it feel like Madden has peaked for the current gen? I don't believe it has. Where last gen, you could feel it peaked due to the limitations of consoles. But I don't think it has peaked. I think we're at this point due to the direction Madden was forced in. Madden went the whole simplistic online route. Where it kind of has me waiting for next gen. But at the same time, Madden has it to set it self up for future. Madden needs to have a smooth transition into next gen. You can't have another generation of consoles where Madden takes a step back and takes them several iterations before they start progressing

I agree with you, but I've reached a different conclusion. EA only listens when consumers talk with their wallets. People shell out a ton of money for MUT and EA spends a lot of time on that mode. That's fine.
EA takes for granted that franchise die-hards will buy the game, no matter how much they want CFM to be something more. That won't change until the numbers tell EA differently.
I'll read the reviews and maybe even play the demo, but if it's not a substantial improvement, I'm just not buying the game. I hope others end up doing the same and show EA that their bottom line will take a hit if we're marginalized.

exactly ^^

Whilst undoubtedly MUT does make a ton of money I doubt it consumes vast resources to do so , it's a golden goose not a money pit , indeed it probably funds most of the development we do see
Secondly I believe it has been stated here by an ex EA employee that , as disc prices have remained virtually unchanged for many years , disc sales make little profit in themselves ( downloads make more as costs are less )
Thus , unless you habitually spend on MUT , losing your purchase , or even that of thousands like you will barely touch if effect at all " the bottom line"
In my mind the best hope we have of EA ever giving us the franchise mode we ask for is for somebody like Axis football to introduce features we want and thus "shame" EA into doing likewise to avoid the criticism they would undoubtedly receive in the media given the disparity in resources available

The 4 majors (Madden Classic, Club Championship, Madden Challenge and Madden Bowl) plus the Last Chance Qualifier (for the final major) pay out a combined 1.225 million dollars in cash prizes. Also in the cost for MUT you have include the likeness fees for all the legends ranging from Terrell Owens all the way down to Willie Roaf. Those could range anywhere from a couple thousand up to 100's of thousands depending on the player. And there are usually around 30-50 different legends in each game. So for the cost to actually develop the mode, it's probably real small but the non-development costs are huge. And that's not even factoring how much they spend producing each tournament live for ESPN/Twitch.

Which is obviously comparative chicken feed compared to the revenue it brings in , or else they wouldn't do it , how much do you think it costs to develop , pay staff , manufacture discs , pay licences , transport and package each game ?

Axis Football is garbage, they can't even get the change of position correct on the field, bad example.

To be totally frank , I dont care how good or bad any other game may be , I'm hoping they succeed and thrive , add franchise features we have been requesting from Madden for years and hopefully shame the EA brass into a response , any more than that would be a total bonus
By the way many people refer to madden in the same language , despite one being the product of a multinational corporation with 30 years of experience in football gaming and the other being basically made by 2 men in a shed by comparison

Let’s hope we have the option to control all 32 teams without the switching between profiles BS workaround. That is a hassle.
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Brian Mazique writes articles for Forbes with an emphasis on sports gaming titles. The writer has visited with EA and let them know what he would like to see for CFM. I will be opening a new thread for that, but here is his Twitter Account and someone already tried the ole standby, and oldie but a goodie, Madden 20 Franchise looks the same.
Brian's response, that's actually not true, but cool.
So, for those that have already played the game and said, underwhelming, lacking effort, looks the same, cool story.
By the way, this writer has stated in the past how under performing Madden has been in both gameplay and franchise.
https://twitter.com/UniqueMazique/status/1125842816200998913

Don’t release a game in that condition, stealing people money, they stole mine.
Madden is nowhere near garbage, improvements needed but nowhere near garbage.

I agree, and I understand that. But people are speaking with their wallets. Madden is still around the top 5 games sold every year. That's not even factoring in the additional MUT stuff. CFM has been uninspired, stale and restrictive since its inception but it hasn't hurt them.
Gaming has changed. I dont think its necessarily taking the franchise gamer for granted. I think franchise modes are analogous to campaign mode in shooter games. It's something to get your feet wet or a value add for later. It doesn't move the needle like it did in the early 2000s. They want you online. I say this as a franchise gamer. That's where my 60$ is earned. I'd argue that harcore franchise players have already dropped off Madden. The last few years I haven't even finished the EA Access trial, and I picked the game up during the holidays for 20ish bucks.
2K puts effort into the mode, but I see that as more of them wanting to soak up every possible sale. If you have the slightest interest in basketball, theres something for you in their game. I think it has paid dividends by how well the game sells now.
EAs philosophy seems different. Madden is a product that is good, even if not great. It sells and makes money. The end. Its COD. I dont think it's any deeper than that.
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It’s a one man team. And I think he has another guy who helps him sometime. It’s pretty impressive for what it is.
Compared to other sports games, madden isn’t very good. I mean when football games from 10-15 years ago have better animations and way more features something is wrong.
I don’t think you can really compare axis and madden. One is a indie game and the other is made by one of the biggest game company’s ever.

I agree, it shouldn’t be compared to anything at this point.
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I disagree with this. EA is already looked upon negativity by the gaming community. I think its better to work with them when they do put features into franchise and hope that over the years it evolves into more of what we want.
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Front Office Football would be a better Franchise intergration.

What irritates me the most about Madden's franchise mode is how it pales in comparison to the NHL series franchise mode. Both are EA games so what gives? How can EA put out 2 dramatically different sports games? I realize we're talking about different developers for each game but still. Everything about the NHL series blows away Madden. The create-a-team and create-a-player. The depthness of the franchise mode. Did you know that on the NHL series they've got 7 full years of draft picks to play with? That means you can make trades using draft picks for 7 years into the future!! That's incredible!! All in that the NHL series has the real life NBCSN TV package and announcers and it's ridiculous that Madden is so stuck where it's been for a decade now.

That's said every single year along with how this upcoming Madden is going to be great. It's the same old song and dance. I'm going to go take a look at what this writer has to say.

Seems like he is portraying this years CFM to a different song and dance.
I'm sure many are hoping he is right.
Another oldie but a goodie, we shall see.

I'd absolutely agree with the idea of working with them telling them what we want etc , that does imply they want to listen though . How better to show them what is required than to be able to point to features we want , currently missing from madden , that have been or are being added by a developer with a fraction of their resources

He listed things he wanted in CFM (or back in CFM). That was most of his article. Not much on why this years CFM is so great.

Sure
10 char

Well, he has one short paragraph on what he likes in CFM. He briefly mentions the Scenario Engine which is really a repackaging of XP/goals and twitter news. He mentions player differentiation with ratings span and X-Factor. Ratings spans have been talked about many times by EA in previous maddens as some kind of feature. And X-Factor is repackaging XP/Goals, traits, and and XP development. He briefly mentions updates to draft classes, which is another thing that gets talked about by EA every year.
Then he has 5 big sections on what he wants in CFM.
The part I agree with the most in his article are his 5 big things CFM needs added.

I appreciate you pointing that out, thanks.

I'm sure they see the 2K ML blog and how deep it is and has been. 2K has even taken shots at how "other" devs dont care about franchise mode. We all know about Deuces post. OS, twitter and Facebook posts have spoken at length about franchise. It's clear that EA is married to whatever CFM is, for better or worse.
At this point, I think it's more realistic to try to "sim" up the stuff they do add. Take that scenario engine conversation about the owner wanting the QB cut in preseason if he didn't light it up. That was brutal and nonsensical. But, replace owner with head coach, and the head coach with offensive coordinator (I know...) and we may have something. I'd love to play the preseason game and have Brandon or Charles comment about how the coaches want to see something from QB X, or he may be cut.
Like you said, though, it requires a receptive ear on EAs part. But the infrastructure is there already, you know? I think theres a better chance of that happening than there is of CFM modeling ML or NFL Head Coach. I could be wrong. EA could scrap all this next year and be on to some other stuff.
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Actually the scenario engine thing seems like a whole new thing. When in years past have your decisions on who to cut or who to trade impacted the performance of the team on the field? It hasn't. If this aspect works correctly it would go a long way towards making CFM fresh and exciting, but most of all unpredictable. It would be great to know that if I cut a player that is popular in the locker room then my team's morale will decline and their play on the field will suffer. On the same token the fan support will go down with the release or trade of a popular player. I have my doubts about it working correctly but if it does then I'm excited for it.

OK, but morale isn't a new feature, it a feature that's being re-introduced. Morale is a nice re-introduction, but not a major addition.
This seems like a continuation of recycling features and repackaging features.
I do like his 5 CFM wants. If you take the M20 CFM smallish steps plus his 5 CFM wants and you may have a franchise re-dedication that EA is marketing as this year.

It can only be called a "re-dedication" "focus" whatever hype word they want to sling because last year it was simply tunings . But it in no way is more so than past years before last year.

And hopefully it's not going to display a jersey with the "NFL 100" logo every year after the first season LOL
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So you scream at the devs over the years to “fix” what’s there and stop adding things.
They make an attempt to fix what’s already there, then you scream it’s wasted time and resources on a “repackaged/renamed” aspect.
Geez, reminds me of getting spanked extra for not responding after being told don’t talk back!!! lol

I'm excited for the additions this year, but I feel like a broken record here: Build upon and refine the system and all of it's parts every year!
Madden, and NHL's biggest issues over the years has been recylcing and abandoning features and aspects of the game repeatedly.
A lot of the features this year are repackaging whay they've done before. X-Factor is just the Weapons system for Superstar players. Scenarios is the news and twitter feed system with a fresh coat of paint and added impact.
As others have said, the changes to scheme seem to be a step back instead of refining what was there.
Ratings be wider is certainly a welcome change, but we've already done this once have we not? There was a time when 70s wouldn't be starters. This new spread seems like a bigger leap, but again, what is the purpose of 1-55? How many players will truly be in the 55-75 range that actually start?
Contracts being more accurate is good, but does that mean we get to make real life offers by being able to front load contracts and what not? And if so are we going to get a proper view of our team budget when making those offers?
What about the areas that currently cause issues in Franchise? What's being done with the simulation engine? How will it work with the new ratings? Will teams do a better job of drafting? Signing? Planning better to keep key players?
In the field will teams actually play like the teams on Sunday? Will the CPU abandon the run game and all play a similar offense? Will CPU QBs be immune to preassure and still complete 80%+ of their passes unless they throw a few picks? Will the CPU be able to actually run the football? Will we still get block shedding instantly upon hitting turbo like we're still playing on the GameCube and PS2? Will blocking commit and not wiff past obvious blocks on plays to the outside and with pushing or pulling linemen? Will WRs and TEs ever drop balls for the CPU upon instantly being crushed when trying to make a catch? Will defensive players stop being so brain dead and allowing easy completions to guys in their zone or approaching it? Will the battles between the defense and offense be more dynamic rather than just winning or losing the same animation at the snap? Will QBs still be picked off over the middle by LBers close to the LOS while tossing deep and medium balls?
Madden isn't a bad game if you take each one as if there has never been another. They each stand to be a solid foundation on a Franchise.
The problem for Maddden us that it is a Franchise released each year. However, instead of treating it as such and building upon what's there, making additions, and continually refining the product, they are constantly recycling old ideas and making new additions to add "popc to "the back if the box." So instead of feeling like your playing a continually improving series, it feels like you're playing the same game with a different combinations of gameplay year in and year out. The worst part is dealing with issues that have plagued the series for years if not decades. It feels like the deck chairs are being shuffled around, but at the end of every year not much seems to have changed.

^This is my approach.^

Yeah, I remember on Madden 16 that the Falcons always had their 50th year patch on the uniforms and it was annoying to see after the first season of CFM. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to program it to only happen the first year and then go back to normal afterwards.

Hopefully it'll be different for a league-wide thing. IIRC, Tiburon was able to make sure the gold 50 yard lines would revert to normal after the 2015 season in M16.

What? I think when it comes to franchise mode, and even more so in the last several years, the last thing I've ever seen the franchise community do is asking, let alone screaming, for less things to be added.
There's even some psycho here on OS who posted a dissertation on everything that franchise mode needs/should have.
Tuning and fixing what's there is great and it helps the mode but it doesn't create a new experience or really do much to provide much of a fresh experience either. And IMO, people are desperate for that "fresh" experience and something that feels new or adds a new dynamic to playing through franchise. Even last year where I was in favor of just about every addition made to franchise, the core experience was still almost exactly the same as the year prior. There are plenty of things that would accomplish that which have been high-tier requests for years (coaching staffs, new scouting, etc.)

I don't know if this has been said previously... but the hiding of Superstar and X-Factor dev traits is REALLY DUMB unless you're also hiding the Normal and Star traits too!
All I have to see is that the dev trait is hidden and then I think "well I'm definitely not cutting that player!!!!". There's no intrigue, no suspense. Well done, you've hidden whether he's a really really good draft pick or a really really really good draft pick.
Hide ALL dev until midseason for ALL rookies and then you've actually implemented a decent system that reflects the unknown potential of NFL rookies.

I forgot what madden it was but few years ago iirc you couldn't even see rookie ratings till the end of preseason. They would be gradually revealed throughout, added intrigue.
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Madden 12 had that.

I'll believe it when I see it. IMO EA still is going to put the majority of their attention to online and MUT because that generates the money. Sadly I think the offline franchise experience isn't something they know sells the game or makes extra money.
I wish they would go all in and revamp franchise mode but I will not hold my breath. Everything is going online now I think.

I agree, they should hide the dev trait and space out the reveal. Like normal gets listed right away maybe preseason, where as the others show up as you play. I don't know why they are going to only hide two of them, it makes no sense to me.

It amazes me that last gen had a better Franchise mode than this gen. And two generations previous even had a better Franchise mode than the last generation. When can we just get back to what we had in 2007?? That's all we're asking. It's amazing to me that this is not comprehended in Orlando.
Just look to the YouTube streamers. Quite a few are playing Madden 07 or Madden 12 right now.
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How hard is it to look over at NBA2K and say, let's do that but with football?
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Not sure if you heard the interview from Rex, but it's not run like that at Madden. Marketing and the people above the developers have the final word on Madden.
Two different companies with two different approaches.

2k is on the same boat with Esports/Online. But with them, they took the time to devote a lot of resources to MyLeague. They barely touched it in years, but there hasn't been complaints because of how deep it is.
Madden issue is the whole one and done era. Constantly implementing features and either scrapping it in a year or two or stop touching it

Can someone explain to me what the problem is with contracts? I’m not sure I’m following the issue that apparently exists.
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From what I understand from a user CFM perspective highly rated guys will sign "cheap" 7 year deals which allows you to keep anyone you want.
Its very basic and without some house rules free agency is pretty dull
High rated guys get paid to little and IMO backups and such get too much

I've been playing Madden 05 on my PS2 lately. And it's more immersive than Madden 19.
I just don't get it. Even the scouting system is beyond dumb. 3 traits that don't really tell you anything? Could that be any more vague?
They could have a way more robust scouting system, similar to FIFA you could assign scouts to different NCAA conferences (or if the license is revoked for that, you could do different regions of the US, that mimics that). Draft class editors could place players in the appropiate region to keep it realistic.
It just seems so much better and they have the tech to do it from the FIFA franchise.
It just makes me mad. We all know the reason they don't do it is becuase it costs money to invest. Why invest when people are going ot buy your game anyway?

I always felt the PS2/XBox era was the Golden Age of games. It was before Online gaming took off. So, the resources was dedicated to offline depth. Now, the whole shift is towards Esports/Online and microtransactions. A lot of games were way more in depth, like Campaign modes. Unless you had tons of free time, you couldn't just beat a story mode in a couple days. Now, most Campaigns are 3-8 hours total. Thats why I honestly stopped playing certain games. I'm a offline gamer, so most games aren't for me.
I'm sure a lot of people would take that era's Franchise and Superstar mode over what we have now.

Completely agree. It's frustrating.
But from EA's perspective, why would they change anything? They're making their money and it's a business. A lot of us complain, but how many end up buying the game anyway?
I typically buy every 3 years.

I wish I liked basketball more....

This is exactly how I'm starting to feel. I love football more than any other sport. In fact, even in Madden 17 and 18 I was able to play almost a decade worth of seasons in Franchise. In 19, it's been almost half this. I will say, custom draft classes and Coachman's halftime show have kept my interest a lot better than the past. Maybe it's just gameplay or just comparative disappointment relative to what we had in Madden 10-12 on PS3 or Madden 07 on PS2....but hearing what is present in modes like MyLeague has me contemplating purchasing NBA 2k for the first time in 3 years even though the season is almost over.
I love football. I have a lot of fun with Madden in certain moments. In fact, even just "play now live" games can be really fun during the regular season. I just really need immersion. I'm hoping the scenario engine is everything they're hyping it to be and that presentation at least got touched. But, for the first time in a few years (as someone who is usually pretty satisfied with Madden), I'm actually really worried about what kind of product we're getting.
These so called "deep dives" have seemed to talk about features that would have been mere bullet points in blogs from even a couple years ago. RPO's and playbook updates? Tuning to contract logics? Better throwing motion? Tweaked pass speed? All appreciated. But, you can't call that a "deep dive."
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You should seriously give 2K a try. Growing up I was a huge basketball fan, both college and NBA. Then after the going to work Pistons era I kind of lost my interest in the NBA for a few years. After getting excited about the unreal depth of features in myleague in 2k I decided to pick it up again in I think 16. Going back to playing 2k has also sparked my interest in NBA basketball again. Even though my Pistons are not on a good path I enjoy watching the league again.
Football will always be by a long shot my favorite sport, but I just don't know how much longer I can hang on with Madden. I really hope that new features like the scenario engine are done well because they could bring a huge fun factor to franchise mode again.
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Football is my 2nd favorite sport and haven't bought Madden since Madden 11. I love basketball and soccer as well so obviously have fun with FIFA and 2K but I'm casual fan of NHL and have way more fun playing NHL games than Madden. You don't need to be a big fan of sport to enjoy the game

True but not being a fan of Baseketball or Soccer ,I've no desire to buy those games.

NBA2k17 made me a fan of Basketball... I was looking for a GM mode with more depth and my brother showed it me. Now I actually follow the NBA a bit.

This is definitely the year to vote with my wallet

hopefully 1 day the NFL will open back up the licence to 2k microsoft and sony just for the comp
just think about the possablies
2K nfl couild give them the retired players licence where they can add players from 1920-2018 and over 60 classic teams and 50 classic stadiums
microsoft nfl could give them a arcade licence to make a nfl street game
sony wouild come back as nfl stars kinda like a stand alone my player think 2k meets long shot
this way madden gets the sim market 2K gets the retired market xbox gets arcade and sony gets myplayer market and the 2k one wouild release on both xbox5 ps5

See this is the problem... we get articles like" EA is more serious about franchise" from the gaming community but after hearing the info since EA play and the beta... there really is NOTHING NEW in franchise.
What do we have so far...
Scenario engine is weak and the lied about it in marketing.. its Not at all depending or impactful and won't be regardless of what they try to tell us.
Nothing new to draft, contracts, offseason, team managament, reg season, Nada... other than "Bug fixes" to things like draft and contracts that should have worked right in the first place. Couldn't even fit their broken scheme system from 19.
X-Factors are for MUT guys... makes them more $$$ so people pay for Xfactor cards ...they can just "have them in franchise"
This "recommitment to franchise" messaging is a lie and a joke.
wait... oh we get a pro-bowl?.. yay!! something people don't even watch in real life
Sorry EA stinks.

There is nothing new in framchise mode. The scenario engine had promise, thought it woupd bring more life to the roster building side, but its just repurposed coach goals every week.

Sorry but CFM is basically 19 with a new shine put on it. You do the same things as 19..........very disappointing.
CFM is all I play, thats it.
Cant pay $60 for another Madden 2019.

I just gotta say this due to the title of this thread. Just because EA announced Franchise stuff first , does not mean they really are more serious about it. I said it before and after playing the beta it is clear they really do not care that much about it.
Scenerio engine was the biggest thing they changed ( x factors are gameplay changes not specific to franchise so that does not count). Changed some UI. Added a few new schemes. Changes to rosters are roster changes also , not franchise additions. So much lacking here its rather sad .

If this is how EA is showing it is more serious about Franchise Mode then Madden 20 confirms they don’t really care about Franchise Mode.
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When the franchise additions page leads with the probowl, you know its a problem... They aren't doing CFM to make it better they are doing it to get the community off their backs. That's why the host these top franchises wishlists... "oh probowl"... we can do that one. Thats not how you build software...any software!
Ea Sports either just doesn't get it with it comes to CFM or don't have the power or interest in changing it... but they love our CFM player's money $$$... so they mislead and they hope that it gets past the majority and we buy it again.
Only way to get them to stop its to vote with our wallets. I am 100% out for Madden 20.

Franchise died after Madden PC 2008, it was a standalone game from the Console.
This is sad/bad news, I would rather they not make another PC version and just let the modders update teams, stadiums and players like we did for Madden PC 2008 every year, before this New PC version came out. This way you don’t have to create a whole new set of sliders for a version where nothing changed in Franchise. Ridiculous
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Fortunately, the reviews from the Beta confirmed what I think what most expected. No real changes to an extremely bland mode. I am just happy that I found the news out now, so I can place my $ into a different game.

So, everything from the beta is finalized for the game on the street date?
We just heard confirmation from a different beta thread that the scenero engine is more robust than the beta version.
I agree the beta version didn't show much change CFM, but I'm hoping for a few other nuggets besides the robust scenero engine.
Let's not call things a lie before the game hit's the street and I'm referring to the scenero engine specifically.

The problem is that we are still asking for features/depth that were already in the game up to 2 generations ago. I get the whole Esports and Madden bowl direction they have focused on this gen. But they still need to give love to Offline Franchise, then have all those offline features available for online franchise as well. I don't know about others, but I would surely take the PS2/Xbox era Franchise and Superstar mode over what we have seen these past 2 generations. There were so much more depth then compared to now
The main 2 additions this year is Scenario Engine and Pro bowl. Pro Bowl was a removed feature, so it is good that it is back, but that doesn't push the needle. As others have said, Scenario Engine seems to be glorified weekly goals/big decisions. It doesn't really seem to add more emotion to the mode. Don't know if we will hear commentary or even see it on news section regarding the scenarios. For those who played it, does morale have an impact on games. If not, then you can easily just disregard everything.
This does make me wonder about future/next gen. Devs recognize that Coach Carousel is a top community want and I feel that is something they will wait until next gen to implement. But we are still at the point where coaches don't have an impact on games or franchise. Next years game depends on the approach they take on next gen. They can take either a past approach or overhaul approach. They won't do the Ps3/360 transition because it took them years to get that game to a decent state. So they could take this past gen approach where first game of current gen was essentially just a graphical upgrade while last gen still gets new features Or take the 2k overhaul approach where the launch next gen game gets the bulk of development and last gen game is essentially just a roster update. I rather take the latter. I don't have plans on buying next gen console at launch, but I rather see them take full advantage of next gen power and get a good transition to next gen.

Roadman, I get that you always try to view things on the bright side, but come on with this. There is not going to be anything else groundbreaking in CFM, and I think most expect any changes to the scenario generator to be half-baked at best. Until the Madden team shows that they are actually committed to Franchise, there is no reason to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Man, I guess you don't see all my postings either, but whatever; you choose to see what you only want to see.
Did I mention anything groundbreaking? Didn't I say a few nuggets? Since when is nuggets groundbreaking?
My whole point was the scenero engine they added more vs the beta which has been already confirmed.
And looking over my post, I did specifically state the scenero engine. I will admit I used the wrong action word robust, when the poster stated they added more to the scenero engine. And QB1 wasn't added, either.
Let me know if you feel EA undersold us on CFM this year based on the blog:
https://www.operationsports.com/more-madden-nfl-20-details-revealed-for-face-of-the-franchise-qb1-franchise-mode/

If the scenario engine wasn't fully ready for the beta, then it shouldn't have been in the beta at all.

If people choose not to believe me, I have no problem with that: (not saying you specifically and I get your point, but the beta already was 58GB)
As someone that played the beta for an extended period of time (had a code weeks back) I can confirm from that build to this one a lot changed.
Can you confirm for the better?
Yes infinitely more polished and a whole hell of a lot smoother. They added a lot of things just recently (scenarios etc).
https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/madden-nfl-football/954004-madden-20-beta-impressions-thread-no-pictures-videos-41.html

I haven’t played the beta. I heard they updated draft prospect faces and body types in CFM. Long overdue. Do you know the details on how contracts were adjusted?

Not saying I dont believe you, but they didnt turn on the beta servers until Friday. So i'm confused as to how you played for an extended period.

I don't know the minute details, no, but I did think contracts seemed to be more in line of what the players were making in the pros.

The "alpha" beta if you will has been going on , just not something that was open to anyones real knowledge outside of ea and their peoples. But people have been helping them test this well before friday.

I need more than nuggets.. This is actually getting crazy they hadn't updated to meet anyones expectations yet again. :splat:

i was ( when people was being all hyped like they cared about franchise this year) really surprised anyone believed they were really going to do much for franchise and still am surprised if anyone believes they are really going to add that much in their "live service" thruout the year. It will be tiny things at best.
Pretty sad i dont know how people keep getting fooled by them hyping up their care for franchise. Actions speak louder than words.Their actions for the past 10 years says they dont care , i could care less what they say .

Ah, ok, I'm just a messenger on that front.
That poster at OS must have a insider at EA, which they confirm they do, and they have been playing for a longer time than we have and a new version obviously.
So, yes, the general public knew they turned on the servers on Friday, but behind the scenes before any of that happened, there were things happening prior to Friday.
Hope that makes sense.
Edit-howdaboutthat explained simpler and better than I did, thank you.

Faces, I don't think so. There may be more but it's not something I paid too much attention to or heard anything about. Body types have been updated in the sense that it's now based on the players archetype. So a speed rushing DE/OLB will look different than a Power Rushing DE/OLB.

Basically it's set up so that each players cap hit for the year is accurate to what it is in real-life. So the contracts might not be an exact replica of what you see in real-life but it's about as close as possible based on how much players are counting towards the cap for the given year.
One problem with this, and I don't know if anyone else played a franchise as the Jaguars, is that certain contracts like Marcel Dareus' ($22.5m Cap Hit) where there's no way he's going to be on the team next year end up severely hamstringing teams. So if you're playing as the Jaguars, you literally can't re-sign any of your pending free agents because they don't have any cap room next season. As a user, if you know what you're doing, you can figure it out and make it work. But as the CPU, they will just let go of every one of their pending free agents and still keep Marcel Dareus even though it would save them $20m in cap space to just cut him because that logic isn't really there yet.

No Road, I saw your other posts. I just choose to make EA back up their actions and modes. I think they use the the Mushroom Method as good as anyone.
I respect your takes, and I know that you want a great game like I do. Nothing personal either way.
I hope that the scenario generator is more robust, because it sounds like the franchise consumers will need it to be on point to have any significant change to the mode.

I hear you, I just cringe when I see, Roadman, I know you like to see the positive side of things.
And the scenero engine being robust was wrong verbiage from the poster, he mentioned they added more, but I agree, I hope it's robust too.
I know a lot of stuff that we've asked for is still MIA, just hope one day in the near future it's added so gameplay and CFM are what most people are looking for. They made a big leap with game play, one can hope they can do the same for CFM.

Let’s hope man! And BTW, me saying that was not a dig, or was not meant to be one. I tend to be more pessimistic about things as you can tell!

Well, you can definitely write it for Madden at least.

I agree it sounds like they finally worked on gameplay and got it better which has been one of our complaints for years. It just seems like they never take the time to fix things quickly enough. Maybe the next step is franchise but it seems like every time we get close to getting the game we DESERVE a console cycle has ended and we revert back to square 1 with the new consoles. With the announcement that new consoles are hitting in H2 2020 we are doomed for now IMO. One more game on this cycle and they will more than likely be diverting some resources to next console dev so M20 was our last hope IMO. Unfortunately a sad day for franchise players.

Sometimes gameplay enhancement is kind of Franchise enhancement by extension. Maybe with the better passrush you have to pay better attention to their defensive line when forming a pregame gameplan. While that’s not a feature of Franchise, it can still add to the experience.
I remember when they added off the ball injuries. That is a gameplay change that definitely served as a Franchise improvement, too.
Of course, we all hope they don’t nerf the good things they added.

“More Serious” about CFM isnt exactly saying much seeing as how the mode has been largely left alone for the past 5+ years. They could add two or three small things to it and that makes the title of the post valid.
Consensus is the mode is still largely untouched. “Updated contracts” doesn’t even mean that we can make somewhat realistic deals with players like 2K has. Hell, I’d settle for the 5th year options being added for 1st round picks. But here we are, 2019 and we still can’t do that or make somewhat realistic deals.
I’m glad the gameplay is improving, but CFM being left on the back burner again and again, waiting for next year again and again for what ends up being nothing, is unacceptable.

I can say this about it. Some rookies in this Beta did not seem to get their likeness but one I was surprised about was the Chargers 4th rounder Drew Tranquill. I was shocked about that one since he was a 4th rounder and saw others that didn't get their likeness. Like their first rounder Jerry Tillery.
I did not notice any NEW face from previous Maddens.

lol this aged well

The only hope I have left for CFM this cycle is that the scenario engine was incredibly limited in the beta and the actual thing will create narratives not only for your team, but all around the league. While it will be a step in the right direction if the game creates stories for your team only, it will be bad and not balanced if I have star players demanding trades because I don't use them as much and then they go to another team who doesn't use them anymore, but since they are on an AI team their morale is fine.
CFM lacks depth, but what makes sports special in real life is that there are stories everywhere. New stories are made weekly. If this engine is what they said it could be in the GameInformer articles and it starts to create stories around the league then that is going to breathe a ton of life into this otherwise shallow mode.

There was a post somewhere on this forum that read...
"EAs long term goal with Madden is to go full online RPG"
And therein lies the problem. They aren't talking a Skyrim RPG-style with depth and strategy. That's what we want, something you can sink 200 hours into and not blink. But 200+ offline hours makes them nothing, even if they charge for a DLC.
No the "new online RPG" targets kids to maximize "pay-to-play" like candy crush and fortnight. Quick, wide levels of skills, in and out games with power ups, boss battles, pavlovian sound effects and gimmicks to keep them "Playin'-n-Payin'
They talk innovation but they aren't innovating at all, they are just copying.This whole thing reeks of some C-Level executives saying stuff like "my kid plays Fortnight all day and that game makes serious $$$, why cant we do the same thing in Madden?"
Hell, all of this "arcady" stuff they are putting in the game now, the way they are promoting the X-Factor players, might as well be Fortnight NFL Season 1
And yes... If EA could figure out how to do a "Football Battle Royale" they would...bet on that.

It won’t be that, not this year anyway. The sad part about modern Madden (and any madden since the PS2 days, really) is that all those important immersive aspects you’re talking about are left solely to the player’s imagination. Because it sure as **** isn’t “in the game”

Agree.
For some people this happened, for others it did not trigger. I do wish they dropped more scenarios, but if this happens, this will be good, at least for me:
Unless you played at least played a full season it would be hard to know. My scenario engine didn't start until the 5th week into the season. WR Josh Doctson started complaining that he is not getting thrown the ball enough.

Why don't they bring back NFL Street for this aspect and leave madden for the "true" fans? They already have the code all they would have to do is add in some pay to play aspect.

Easy, the cost of 2 different games, they just laid people off this past spring or winter. Companies don't hire when they lay people off.

I just really don't get it.
A lot of the stuff people want they have on the shelf from past games.
Madden 05 is deeper with franchise mode. Scouting in the NCAA series is deeper (would need to be amended, but the architecture is there).
I guess I just don't understand. I know it's money and EA just isn't investing in Franchise Mode, but how can you justify that when you have things on the shelf?
I really try not to be overly negative everytime the news comes out. I think ti's obvious they've addressed gameplay and that's fantastic, but I'm a franchise guy so the long term play viability just isn't there for me.
I'm sure I'll pick up a used copy, but I won't be buying new. I am just really disappointed.

Really wish i could get back into old sports games, but graphics are huge to me. I just can't handle going back to old school graphics and choppy framerates. The M20 beta was insanely smooth and Road posted a message from someone saying that the updated version of the game is even more smooth and polished. That makes the new game worth it for me. I can't even go back to 19 after playing the beta.

I understand and respect that.
One of the former developers mentioned last year that the old technology just doesn't go will with the new technology, that is one of the reasons why the old tech just doesn't cross over from the shelf and into the game.

I'm not a tech guy, so I'm sure it's more complex than copying and pasting code.
I was encouraged to see EA hiring developers to prep for the switch to next gen this time around. Hopefully that allows them to carry the progress made for gameplay and allow them to focus on other big ticket items, such as franchise mode.

That is my struggle at this point as well.
Does their licensing agreement only allow them to make 1 NFL game?
I think they could EASILY sell 3.
1. Football, strait out of the box, plain and simple
2. NFL Franchise
3. Online content only
This is the ONLY answer, IMO. The 1-stop-shop model broke after the PS2.

The gameplay is a gamechanger. It really did feel better. I'm a Ravens fan so I'm going to love doing the RPO's with Lamar.
I just plan on speaking with my wallet this year and getting a used copy. I'm just one guy, but I hope others follow. it isn't to stick it to EA and buying a used copy is kind of hypocritical (but I'm also realistic lol),
I just want an overhauled Franchise Mode. Hell I'll buy 2 copies if they do it.

Mahomes has a new scan and so does Bills QB Josh Allen I believe. The new coaches have scans, I saw LaFleur, Kingsbury, Fangio, Kitchens.
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They do in construction lol. It's a different animal in that industry

I'm in the same boat here. No way can I go back to the tube style tv from like 2000 just to play 2k lol. Everything is all fuzzy & jaggy. Players look like ink blobs running around. Plus I invested in the latest & greatest, so there's that as well. Can't wait to play M20 on my PC and if ppl are saying it plays smoother than the beta...wow...can't wait. M19 seems like a hot mess compared to 20, even though I enjoyed 19. Still looking forward to M20 franchise mode however some aren't

I canceled my pre-order because of this thread. That's sad that Franchise mode is still suffering. Maybe I'll get a used copy. I'm done giving EA my money!
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I used to be this way until last year’s madden game. I started playing NCAA again, and it was hard at first, but after a short period of time everything looked ok. Sure I would like to have the best graphics possible, but a game with life is key for me. Madden just does not have any life to it. I feel like I play a series of 16 games, followed by a playoff, and then Rinse and repeat.

While almost certainly better from the fan's perspective there's absolutely no way that splitting the existing player base in thirds would be financially viable.
Even if all three of those games were amazing I guarantee at least one would fail financially.

NHL franchise mode isn't deep?!?! Let me know when madden allows to you to expand/relocate, design your own stadium, design your own uniforms, heck even design your own mascot. Let me know when madden actually has real prospects in the draft pool. Let me know when madden visually shows you correct stats for every players career as well as track award winners and past champions.
If you honestly can sit here and say that madden has a more immersive franchise experience then NHL 19, you must not have touched NHL at all this year.

The graphics are great but it dont matter to me how great they are if the game dont play good. 2019 had many bugs and still does but its been fun. I still smh when i see a gaff happening that never got fixed.
Loved the way 2020 played though so its very promising. Just hope franchise gets some updated some. Its got to, right? :crazy:
If not its 2021 for me, if so this will be the first time in many years that i bought it two years in a row.

As a consumer this isnt my problem... only had 10 tears to figure it out

Please dont change the discussion to Gameplay.. we are talking about franchise features reguardless of gameplay.. Your point is taken.

Uhh...

Loved the way 2020 played though so its very promising. Just hope franchise gets some updated some. Its got to, right? :crazy:

Did i try and change the subject? I didnt think 2020 was very serious about franchise in that beta.

EA, I get it you’re money hungry and franchise doesn’t drive additional revenue. I’ll pay for new franchise features al la carte at this point. Please just give me the Paradox version of franchise mode.
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NHL may have a deeper franchise mode than Madden, but overall it is still a very very shallow franchise mode and I wouldn't consider it deep at all. Outside of the expansion and relocation options it offers there isn't much else that it does well. It does nothing to make the world feel real and it still feels like a glorified list of Play Now games just like Madden's CFM.

Well i dont care about Hockey but yes, i would like to have all that in Madden.
And that is an EA game? Why the hec would they allow that in NHL but not Madden?

NHL is definitely deeper. Regional scouts and organizing your scouts would go a long way in making it more immersive.
Scouting, the draft and progression is probably my biggest gripe.
Contracts too, but admittedly, contracts in the NHL are just way easier. Most are flat (i.e. 6 year 36M = 6/year).

Different studios. Madden is produced by EA tiburon in Orlando, and NHL is produced by EA Vancouver I believe. So same publisher different studios. I think EA Vancouver honestly is one of the most underrated dev teams. Every game they have done has gotten slightly better since moving over to the PS4. I will say though that madden 19 was my favorite madden in the last 5-7 years, but anyone who says that NHL 19 franchise mode isn't light years better than CFM honestly does not know what they are talking about

It has nothing to do with EA allowing it in one game and not the other.
For one game, the NHL doesn’t care what EA does.
The NFL unfortunately isn’t so open to things like that.

I dont know why the NFL cares to be honest. Its a video game for cris sakes. Sure i get dont have concussions in the game which they used to but uniform editing, stadium design, etc?
Certainly a No Fun League.

The NFL is very protective of their image and intellectual property. Anything that can be changed to make the NFL look bad or different from the image they want to present, they're against. I think this is a big part why we get limited features in cfm like suspensions, customized relocation, robust injuries.
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I remember when their selling point for CFM was how much easier it would be to add things to franchise. Oh how disappointing CFM has been. The ones I could see having benefited would be the ONLINE CFM leagues. But that's about it. I'm only talking about CFM and not other modes outside of CFM.

Honestly that is a complete cop out. Why would the NFL care if you relocated a team to a certain city, and got to choose your own colors and god forbid but a lion decal on your helmet. Or for that mater design a stadium.
You got ex players raping old ladies like Kellen Winslow, and or assualting people and even committing murders. Yet they are worried I might change the Tennessee titans to the Orlando wildcats?!?! I don't buy that for a second.
How is it anymore ridiclous if I could actually choose my team name and colors when relocating, but not anymore ridiclous to become a set number of pre-arranged team names like the Portland dreadnaughts for god sake? Relocation is relocation. If your that concerned that I am going to create a team called "the gay town butt pirates" and hurt your already diminishing image, Then at least give us a choice between like 30 pre determined names and logos. Because the pre-determined teams they have in the game suck and make relocation absolutely pointless. Sorry if it feels like I am ranting on you, but the whole protecting their image thing is stupid when relocation is already a part of the game

Let's keep the thread clean please, so it can stay open. I don't think it needs to be taken to that extreme.

NBA2K has filters that handle bad words in team names. It wouldn't let me save my team setup as the Wisconsin Badgers because they have what NBA2K considers bad words. I had to make everything Wi ers to get around this. Then I could import my saved team setup into an offline MyLeague franchise and change things back to Wisconsin Badgers. There is no reason Madden couldn't do something similar.
NBA2K franchise just destroys Madden Franchise.

I wasn't trying to be extreme for the sake of being extreme. I was trying to give an example where if they were afraid of someone creating some really vulgar names, then give us some generic options in their stead. I get that the theoretical team name was immature and gross, but I was more so using it as an example.
Plus when the show 19 and out this year, the first couple of the weeks the number one downloaded custom logo was exyrenely inappropriate. My point being if the NFL is so worried about these kings give us a good amount of preset options

I partially believe it since the NFL is strict on a lot of things but at the same i'm leaning more on it's just EA being lazy. NBA Live doesn't give you the ability to upload your own logos either meanwhile NBA 2k does, what's NBA Live's excuse as to why they don't have it while 2k does? surely cause the NBA doesn't people messing with their image either right? Yeah, just sounds like a cop out to me.

:lol: :lol: :lol:
My word when are tryouts for this team?

And this is why we don't make ridiculous examples.
Let's let that one die please....

To offer more legitimate reasons as to why EA might not go this route: 2K actively moderates the servers for NBA 2K and WWE 2K for copyrighted content and has a history of removing infringing marks (Link). Perhaps EA doesn't want to actively moderate user-submitted content.
We also know EA in recent times has been litigation-averse, having been sued for all sorts of things ranging from tattoos, historic player likenesses, collegiate player likenesses, and whatever else. If their corporate policy is to not open themselves up to legal action, then yeah it's perfectly understandable why they wouldn't implement a graphic upload function.
It sucks for us end users, absolutely, but I get it.

Anyway, part of it has to be resource allocation. The fact is, twenty-two guys playing football is much more complicated than hockey and probably sucks a bunch of time/resources out what’s available. So expecting another sport’s level of franchise mode is asking a lot.
That said, Madden sells more, doesn’t it? If so they ought to be investing in more people so latger teams can specialize on this sort of thing.

Just posted today that in this very thread that EA Tibs laid off people in the spring. Normally, businesses don't lay off people and rehire 3 months later rehire or make larger teams.

For me, I just want Franchise to blow presentation out of the water. I get building up a roster and earning XP and all that but I'd be content with just absolutely amazing presentation that links games and seasons together. The scenario engine would be great if it delivers as promised (not as reported in the beta). I want them to keep building upon things like that, with news stories and media outlets, talk shows, etc. Completely blow out the presentation to make everything feel immersed as a mode.

And why would they be laying people off with the money they are making? Of course I know why and it’s a shame that quality takes so far a back seat to profit margin. Fortunately the team members themselves care about the product.

Online leagues arent any happier than anyone else.
Complete lack of commish options
Terrible and easy scouting
Outdated contract system
Terrible XP progression and regression system
removal of the editable draft timer
These are all things that big time leagues have been asking for that lay on deaf ears year in and year out. Its a joke.

EA killing a part of my childhood year by year. This will possibly be the first year I don't purchase Madden and I never dreamed that would be a reality. Didn't get a beta code but just reading all the impressions is heartbreaking, knowing it's 2019 and we can't get a true simulation football game.
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I'm not sold on the NFL being as anal as EA wants us to believe. The NFL apparently is ok with some of the God awful relocation uni's/team names. And they've allowed fancy new uni's in MUT. Why would CFM be any different?
I dont understand why can't CFM have access to those uniforms, and why they can't make it an option to pick between all uni's/team names when relocating? When a name/uni is used, it can't be selected again.
It's disappointing that this gen we are still hoping/waiting for features from older games on less powerful systems.
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Have not had this since Madden 2007 on PS2.
They don’t even and never had true broadcast network presentation. I mean.....it's crazy at this point. So disappointing. I thought for sure when the PS4 came out we would have NFL Network or ESPN type network broadcast quality presentation to immerse ourselves in our franchise.
It has been anything but.
Half baked, with even the broadcast team referencing the game to the fact it is a video game (which yes I know it is but jeez already). There are some good things.....but not nearly what we have been pining for in terms of true broadcast presentation. There are other sports games blowing them out of the water in the presentation department.
And the NFL is a weekly soap opera....and Madden can’t even make you feel that with their presentation.
I am just at the point of.....it is never going to happen.
And the pre-season hype about Madden 20 and this re commitment to franchise mode is a farce. Seriously insulting after playing the beta. I don’t buy they are holding a lot back. I don’t buy that at all. To hype franchise mode....when you really did almost nothing.....damn the nerve.

A & S, you have brought some heat today. I agree with your posts regarding Franchise mode. It is just unbelievable that EA has failed this mode, and the gamers who built the game into what it is today in terms of sales, to such an embarrassing level.

A & S, I may have enjoyed the gameplay in the beta and thought it did feel the game was heading in the right direction there and we will disagree on that, but I cannot deny anything you are saying about CFM and presentation right now. You are hitting the nail on the head and then some. I played so much 2k football that I basically conditioned myself to absolutely love presentation and franchise modes. I can often overlook animation issues, gameplay bugs, etc. but I cannot overlook shallow presentation and franchise modes. Madden has been a failure since moving to the 360 in both areas. Madden never had amazing presentation really at all, but it did have some good offline modes that were deep back in the day and ever since we left the PS2 era we have never had a franchise mode that really matched those games and it is just sad. This is why no matter how much I enjoyed M19 after mods and how much I enjoyed the gameplay in the beta I cannot even rate the game more than a 6 out of 10 because the modes and presentation are so incredibly lacking.
I need to feel immersed in my games to enjoy them. Atmosphere and having worlds that feel alive are huge to me and Madden does nothing to make my CFM feel alive. No EA game does anything to make my franchise feel alive. NHL and Madden both feel like I am playing a setlist of Play Now games and it is why I can play like 3 games one day and have fun setting some goals for myself, but then not play it for 3 weeks because it gets so stale from the lifeless feeling.
I just want a game that creates stories every week that last varying lengths. I want a story that lasts one week, one that lasts all year, one that bleeds into multiple seasons. I want player personalities, front office personalities, breakout stars, busts, etc. that create narratives all the time in the franchise mode. I had hoped the scenario engine was a start to that, but I don't have a lot of faith. I want presentation that gives me as much detail as a real TV production. I want stat banners constantly shoved in my face. I want remarks that go back to games 3 weeks ago, games 2 years ago. I want my QB to be nearing a career high and the game to note he hasn't thrown for 400 yards since October 23, 2024. I just want my Madden to feel alive and it doesn't and no matter how good the gameplay is I cannot enjoy it as much as I should because of the emptiness surrounding CFM and presentation.

I really enjoyed the beta gameplay and the feel of the game. But cfm is severely lacking. However, I am willing to bet that the scenario engine wasn't fully functional during the beta. This of course won't magically make cfm equal to what 2k offers but it will help extend the longevity of some people's cfm's. I am hopeful that cfm will get live content updates and that the mode will be improved. Maybe I am overly optimistic but unfortunately there isn't another NFL game to choose from.
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I can picture so many scenarios that would make me love Madden if they were possible. Full front office and coaching staffs that also have profiles that have personalities and tendencies. Players that have personalities as well. Imagine the Jets draft a QB as the #1 overall pick in your franchise down the road. Their front off and coaching staff profiles come together and the logic has them either sign a veteran onto the team to have the rookie learn from or they already had one that was nearing the end of his career. After maybe 8 weeks the team is obviously not making the playoffs. They have their profiles with tendencies and values that have them contemplating playing the rookie to get experience. The game has storylines saying is this the week, this is what the coaches said, this is what both QB's said, etc. It's all generated with the scenario engine or something similar and the comments and everything around the story has context to it and is believable. Finally in week 13 they announce he will make his first start. You kept up with that story the last 5 weeks and now in the 2nd quarter of your game the commentators bring up his start and say he has gone 4 for 9 and had 38 yards through the first half of his start and then talk about the story for a few lines.
That kind of immersion in a franchise mode is what would really take CFM to the next level. Some of that may be a bit far fetched, but we are nearing a time where it is all possible. The staffs and players having personalities is possible. Him progressing enough to be close enough overall to the starter to allow him to start is doable with proper profile ratings that value skills, age, etc. The storylines can be generated off of the game realizing he is nearing the right rating to start. The in game commentary is already something the game is attempting to do. They can implement these systems into the game and have it tie together like that and create stories all around the league and really create a living breathing franchise mode.

Already proof it wasn't fully functional during beta, someone played a later version and said there were more scenarios.
Face of the Franchise wasn't even a glimpse of it in the beta.

This is the best news I've heard today. I figured there had to be more to it but with new features, you just never know.

EA Access will give me 10 hours to really dig into CFM and the Scenario Engine.
I really hope and want it to be a CFM game changer.
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Again people are overracting with a beta, its a beta & not a demo of the full fleshed out game. I understand not a lot of ppl on the boards seem to of been involved in game Beta's before.The demo is during EA access. Im not saying EA is holding everything back, but to draw a conclusion off a beta on presentation (which normally is added in last) & everything in Franchise seems to not be all in. I wouldn't expect EA to throw the whole kitchen sink at the beta. They definitely didn't do it last yr either. If your on the fence at this point, I would just wait till EA Access to see more of the finished product.

Honestly, the gameplay in the beta sold me on this years madden. I can't lie, going into the beta I was pretty much on the fence about buy the game at launch. I was planning on waiting a month or two and buying it discounted. But, the beta changed that for me. Am I disappointed there isn't all of the bells and whistles we wall want in franchise more? Yeah I am but I think the scenario engine is really going to help add some depth to the mode.

Best post advice in here.
They aren't going to all of a sudden have major changes to CFM, but there are 3 things we do know:
1) There will be more scenarios thrown in at launch and during the season.
2) We haven't seen a lick of Face of the Franchise, yet. Longshot 3.0, who knows? but something similar to Superstar people been asking for several years.
3) Presentation elements were kept out of the beta again.
Some people are basing their opinions on what they haven't seen, yet.

I don’t think many are confusing this to be honest. I think most people see the track record and understand that EA will do the least amount they can with CFM year on in and year out, and they will have the nerve to say that they have focused on the mode.
The team has had a ton of cheap talk over the years regarding CFM, and I just do not think that anybody really expects anything more than what they saw. They had one stream with Franchise as a co-heading and it was spent talking about QB1. That speaks volumes.
If you played the beta last year, can you name a few things that were not in the beta, for franchise, that made it into the final game?

Yeah, For a beta I thought it was well done gameplay wise and hopefully it's even better at launch. I understand the disappointment with Franchise & I think EA has some work to do with the scenarios. Going to be interesting how it pans out & how fresh it stays. I do think EA is in a lose lose situation with CFM in general. Once I lost my grinding axe (not saying u have one) with EA yrs ago, my football gaming enjoyment is at an all time high.

I'm in wait and see mode with the scenario engine. I don't expect anything else in CFM besides additions to the scenarios. I don't expect much if anything at all to be done to presentation. EA is never shy to talk about anything they ever add to the game and we've heard nothing regarding presentation.

I don't think presentation is going to be anything major if it was, it would of been on a back of the box feature. EA isn't going to spend a lot of resources every yr on something that 8/10 ppl skip anyways. Is what it is. I thought I saw new aerial shots in the beta, but I could be wrong.

I don't think EA oversold anything on their website regarding CFM. Maybe in one of the hyped up interviews from Game Informer, but if people go by what's on their website vs the hyped up interviews, EA could deliver what's in black and white.
https://www.ea.com/games/madden-nfl/madden-nfl-20/news/face-of-franchise
It seems like people are brushing aside add ins that this place has been asking for over the past decade, pro bowl and a superstar mode.
I agree with Canes, it's wait and see mode for the Scenario Engine, but more provided in CFM and Coach mode has the potential to make CFM a bit more immersive instead of developing your own storylines.
I get and respect people who know that the PS2 days was more immersive vs what we have today. AJ told us last year that the old technology didn't jive with that new tech that they were building.
Someone asked what they didn't bring to the table in the beta for CFM vs the retail game. I don't think the halftime show was introduced, the draft class creator or the draft, if memory serves me right.
It all depends if EA delivers on what is on that link above.