Madden NFL 18
Off-Ball Injuries Are in Madden NFL 18, Changes to Hit Stick Functionality
Madden gamers, CFM fans, and people who have awaited this day for a long time: REJOICE!
Rex Dickson confirmed on Twitter that off-ball injuries are officially in this year.
Off Ball Injuries are in. Shout out to @ClintOldenburg who fought like hell to get this in for the SIM community. https://t.co/rBNI35BIFy
— Rex Dickson (@RexDEAFootball) June 11, 2017
Also, Rex confirmed some changes to how the hit stick will function in Madden NFL 18:
18 changes: Hit stick moved off of X, has no heat seeker, is all on RS and has high/low hit/cut stick options. Must be lined up by user.
— Rex Dickson (@RexDEAFootball) June 11, 2017
This one is a pretty big change for sure — and definitely seemingly aimed at increasing ‘user skill’ as part of the formula for how successful one is at Madden.
Update: Rex chimed in on Twitter with a bit more info on how hit stick will function when it comes to blockers and breaking blocks:
Hit stick controls work when controlling blockers RS up impact block. RS down cut. On defense RS up blow up blocker. RS down submarine.
— Rex Dickson (@RexDEAFootball) June 11, 2017
What do you think of the inclusion of off-ball injuries as well as the changes to the hit stick in Madden NFL 18?

Wasn't the hit stick always on the RS, with a low and high option? The only difference I see is removing it from the button (good choice).
I am pleased it's in the game and now we will see how it functins.
The coverage assignments announcement was nice, but this is huge imo. First time I've been happily surprised by EA in a while.
Shaping up to be a dang good football year.
In Clint's interview he specifically states that OL and DL can get injured with this.
I am pleased it's in the game and now we will see how it functins.
Has the sim bar really been dropped this low?
I am happy to have this back in the game, but this is a difficult one to really give them too much credit for.
I am happy to have this back in the game, but this is a difficult one to really give them too much credit for.
Depends on your take.
Here is another cool addition to CFM, this one I personally love and I really don't care if others join in on this one or not:
Per Clint on Twitter:
Play Now Live & live content/commentary updates weekly for Franchise.
Off ball injuries does mean linemen can get injured.
I do not think we will be seeing non-contact injuries anytime soon.
The lack of oline injuries was not a bug, just a feature that wasn't present. In previous Maddens injuries would only trigger during tackle animations, so only the ballcarrier or tackler could get injured.
Here is another cool addition to CFM, this one I personally love and I really don't care if others join in on this one or not:
Per Clint on Twitter:
Play Now Live & live content/commentary updates weekly for Franchise.
Depends on the nature of the commentary. Commentary that is specific to players and current events in the NFL doesn't do much for franchise
Here is another cool addition to CFM, this one I personally love and I really don't care if others join in on this one or not:
Per Clint on Twitter:
Play Now Live & live content/commentary updates weekly for Franchise.
That's one of the things that bugged me last year. Franchise never got the live updates that Play Now did. Now we will. I'm stoked for that.
I do not think we will be seeing non-contact injuries anytime soon.
The lack of oline injuries was not a bug, just a feature that wasn't present. In previous Maddens injuries would only trigger during tackle animations, so only the ballcarrier or tackler could get injured.
Depends on the nature of the commentary. Commentary that is specific to players and current events in the NFL doesn't do much for franchise
To each their own, whatever, does for me, as I get tired of hearing the same commentary over and over again that is repeated ad nauseam throughout the season.
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What about injuries to offensive lineman?
@ClintOldenburg
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Replying to @MasPiroli @RexDEAFootball
That's exactly what 'off-ball' means my friend.
Per Clint on Twitter
I can understand that.
Hell I don't even know what the commentary updates consisted of last year.
I was under the impression that they referenced the NFL season.
I'd rather have no updates then hear something that not only doesn't apply to my franchise but also doesn't even make sense (e.g. if they reference that Joe Flacco threw 3 ints in his last real life game, but in my franchise he just returned from injury)
Hell I don't even know what the commentary updates consisted of last year.
I was under the impression that they referenced the NFL season.
I'd rather have no updates then hear something that not only doesn't apply to my franchise but also doesn't even make sense (e.g. if they reference that Joe Flacco threw 3 ints in his last real life game, but in my franchise he just returned from injury)
The updated commentary was only in Play Now exclusively, not CFM at all.
Yeah, but I think what they're saying, and what I believe as well, is that this was the case last year. The commentary updates were also added to CFM, but they were not CFM specific. Lol, this is another one of those things that we need clear cut answers, and as much as I appreciate Clint, in general, I think he's sarcastic enough to enjoy giving half answers. Lol.
So, the real question is, imo, 'will the commentary inside CFM be updated per season within CFM?' I would like for them to add CFM draft players' names, honestly. That would be huge. But, overall, to clarify, in my CFM, will I hear, 'Matt Ryan just won his 3rd super bowl in a row and Julio Jones is this year's super bowl MVP' inside CFM. Will that commentary be dynamic, maybe, is another way to look at it.
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I have to say, though, I know the first time my LT gets injured, I'm going to be pi$$ed!!!! . But, I wanted it, as well, so it'll be a nice addition for CFM, specifically.
Edit: and yes, low/high used to be in madden. I know. Just glad to see it return.
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So, the real question is, imo, 'will the commentary inside CFM be updated per season within CFM?' I would like for them to add CFM draft players' names, honestly. That would be huge. But, overall, to clarify, in my CFM, will I hear, 'Matt Ryan just won his 3rd super bowl in a row and Julio Jones is this year's super bowl MVP' inside CFM. Will that commentary be dynamic, maybe, is another way to look at it.
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The commentary updates were exclusive only to Play Now, not CFM. The updated commentary did not appear inside the game, in play by play.
Of course, we will need to tune in later to find out more specifics.
I know that, it is why I never heard any of it.
But what I am saying is that before I celebrate this change, I want to know what the nature of the commentary update will be.
Same type of stuff as last year only now it plays in CFM? Don't think I will like that.
give me an example of the commentary update from last year.
But what I am saying is that before I celebrate this change, I want to know what the nature of the commentary update will be.
Same type of stuff as last year only now it plays in CFM? Don't think I will like that.
give me an example of the commentary update from last year.
Go play a Play Now game from 17lol, heck, I don't know.
Stay tuned, but for me, it's an added change.
YMMV.
Of course, we will need to tune in later to find out more specifics.
U sure, man? I thought that 'some' of the updated commentary was added to all modes. Like, 'Julio Jones just had a 300 yard game last week vs the panthers.' That only goes to play now. But, I was under the impression they also added general stuff. U know how gaudin always says some joke about u skipping the halftime? Lol. I thought those were updated during the year. I thought I heard new ones. And/or, I believe they added general commentary like, 'u know, as a DB, I covered some tough WRs, but that guy is tough.' U know? I think they added some player specific and some general. They added all that to play now, but only general to CFM.
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Definitely a positive direction to take, Madden.
Now I'm intrigued on how these injuries are going to emerge. Is it going to be:
a). Other guys that are making contact beside the tackling?
(e.g. DBs and WRs battling it out, OL/DL men wrestling at the Line of Scrimmage)
-or-
b). When an injury is to happen on a certain play, a random "dice roll" on a random player of all 22 on the field?
Whichever the case, I just hope the injuries make logical sense; I really wouldn't enjoy seeing one of my players - who is miles away from the action, by himself UNTOUCHED - all of a sudden go down to the turf clutching a random body part in agony.
Also, as rare as it happens, it is possible for multiple guys to get hurt on a play. I know that's probably not here now - but I hope it becomes a thing in future Maddens.
Regardless, GOOD shout EA!!
:appl:
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Like a previous poster stated, maybe there was one or 2 added lines per game, but the majority went to Play Now.
My take on this, it's a needed improvement from Madden 17, on my end.
Stay tuned, but for me, it's an added change.
YMMV.
Yeah it is one of those I have to take a wait and see approach. But if it is one of those where in year 3 of my franchise the commentator says something about what happened in week 3 of the real NFL that will take away from the experience and be a bad change.
Definitely a positive direction to take, Madden.
Now I'm intrigued on how these injuries are going to emerge. Is it going to be:
a). Other guys that are making contact beside the tackling?
(e.g. DBs and WRs battling it out, OL/DL men wrestling at the Line of Scrimmage)
-or-
b). When an injury is to happen on a certain play, a random "dice roll" on a random player of all 22 on the field?
Whichever the case, I just hope the injuries make logical sense; I really wouldn't enjoy seeing one of my players - who is miles away from the action, by himself UNTOUCHED - all of a sudden go down to the turf clutching a random body part in agony.
Also, as rare as it happens, it is possible for multiple guys to get hurt on a play. I know that's probably not here now - but I hope it becomes a thing in future Maddens.
Regardless, GOOD shout EA!!
:appl:
Regarding the bolded, not only would that make logical sense, it happens in the NFL dude.
That said, I would be surprised if non-contact injuries ever make it into Madden though.
Definitely a positive direction to take, Madden.
Now I'm intrigued on how these injuries are going to emerge. Is it going to be:
a). Other guys that are making contact beside the tackling?
(e.g. DBs and WRs battling it out, OL/DL men wrestling at the Line of Scrimmage)
-or-
b). When an injury is to happen on a certain play, a random "dice roll" on a random player of all 22 on the field?
Whichever the case, I just hope the injuries make logical sense; I really wouldn't enjoy seeing one of my players - who is miles away from the action, by himself UNTOUCHED - all of a sudden go down to the turf clutching a random body part in agony.
Also, as rare as it happens, it is possible for multiple guys to get hurt on a play. I know that's probably not here now - but I hope it becomes a thing in future Maddens.
Regardless, GOOD shout EA!!
:appl:
From the interview with Clint I'm going to guess it will be A.
Since we will be getting commentary updates for CFM I hope they are generic lines so the commentary team doesn't talk about what happened to a certain player in 2017 when I'm playing in 2020.
Regarding the bolded, not only would that make logical sense, it happens in the NFL dude.
That said, I would be surprised if non-contact injuries ever make it into Madden though.
That's a logical injury because he likely tore his ACL off of that cut he tried to make.
What I'm saying is:
I don't want my Free Safety playing back in a Zone - while a running play is stuffed in the back field - and he all of a sudden goes down out of nowhere and is out with an Arm Fracture or Bruised Sternum.
I just don't want the engine to treat the injuries like "Throwing Darts Blindfolded at a Mannequin" and whichever body part the dart strikes, that's the injury we're rolling with. :lol::lol:
What I'm saying is:
I don't want my Free Safety playing back in a Zone - while a running play is stuffed in the back field - and he all of a sudden goes down out of nowhere and is out with an Arm Fracture or Bruised Sternum.
I just don't want the engine to treat the injuries like "Throwing Darts Blindfolded at a Mannequin" and whichever body part the dart strikes, that's the injury we're rolling with. :lol::lol:
Yeah I think we can all agree that we don't want sniped by Chuck Norris injuries in the game lol
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I am happy to have this back in the game, but this is a difficult one to really give them too much credit for.
Okay, enough with this mentality: would you rather have off-ball injuries in Madden NFL 18, or not have off-ball injuries in Madden NFL for another year?
The bottom line is that the feature didn't exist before, it took man-hours and money spent to build the feature, and now the feature exists. Tiburon did real actual work to give us the "sim" community something we actually wanted to see in the game and something we asked for very loudly. On that account the Tiburon team absolutely deserves credit for doing that work and crossing an item off the community's wishlist.
The alternative mindset is that we can keep moving the goal posts, we can keep discrediting any sim-minded addition which Tiburon can budget into the game, because all the things we want "should already be there", as if we are the only audience Madden has and we're so important. Personally speaking, I'd rather enjoy whatever game they are able to make every year.
Hell I don't even know what the commentary updates consisted of last year.
I was under the impression that they referenced the NFL season.
I'd rather have no updates then hear something that not only doesn't apply to my franchise but also doesn't even make sense (e.g. if they reference that Joe Flacco threw 3 ints in his last real life game, but in my franchise he just returned from injury)
Yeah this has the potential to be immersion breaking. Say I'm in year two and in the real NFL the 49ers trade for Kirk Cousins, but in my franchise he's still on Washington, and I'm playing against them. Hearing how the 49ers just traded for Cousins while he's still wearing a Redskins uniform is going to be pretty stupid.
So, what we DON'T need is real NFL updates for Franchise. What we DO need is just additional commentary.
The bottom line is that the feature didn't exist before, it took man-hours and money spent to build the feature, and now the feature exists. Tiburon did real actual work to give us the "sim" community something we actually wanted to see in the game and something we asked for very loudly. On that account the Tiburon team absolutely deserves credit for doing that work and crossing an item off the community's wishlist.
The alternative mindset is that we can keep moving the goal posts, we can keep discrediting any sim-minded addition which Tiburon can budget into the game, because all the things we want "should already be there", as if we are the only audience Madden has and we're so important. Personally speaking, I'd rather enjoy whatever game they are able to make every year.
I agree. The mindset is kinda like having your cake and eating it to. We ask for a feature, and then when they listen we complain about having to ask.
...We are sorta acting like nagging wives aren't we? lol
Definitely a positive direction to take, Madden.
Now I'm intrigued on how these injuries are going to emerge. Is it going to be:
a). Other guys that are making contact beside the tackling?
(e.g. DBs and WRs battling it out, OL/DL men wrestling at the Line of Scrimmage)
-or-
b). When an injury is to happen on a certain play, a random "dice roll" on a random player of all 22 on the field?
Whichever the case, I just hope the injuries make logical sense; I really wouldn't enjoy seeing one of my players - who is miles away from the action, by himself UNTOUCHED - all of a sudden go down to the turf clutching a random body part in agony.
Also, as rare as it happens, it is possible for multiple guys to get hurt on a play. I know that's probably not here now - but I hope it becomes a thing in future Maddens.
Regardless, GOOD shout EA!!
:appl:
Yes, that's very true.
To use your example though:
Commentator: "It appears we have a man leaving the field on what looks likely to be an injury. Let's hope it's nothing too serious." Random guy turns out to be my Nickel Back or Safety.
....then I go back to the replay of that particular down, and it turns out that all the injured party did was drop back into covering a zone without being touched by any other player.
I just don't want to see things like that turn out to be actually devastating injuries, like the good old Broken Collarbone, Upper Arm Fracture, Broken Finger, etc.....from just merely dropping back into coverage.
That's why I said I hope they make "logical sense" if a guy who received no contact on a play was to end up sustaining an injury.
The bottom line is that the feature didn't exist before, it took man-hours and money spent to build the feature, and now the feature exists. Tiburon did real actual work to give us the "sim" community something we actually wanted to see in the game and something we asked for very loudly. On that account the Tiburon team absolutely deserves credit for doing that work and crossing an item off the community's wishlist.
The alternative mindset is that we can keep moving the goal posts, we can keep discrediting any sim-minded addition which Tiburon can budget into the game, because all the things we want "should already be there", as if we are the only audience Madden has and we're so important. Personally speaking, I'd rather enjoy whatever game they are able to make every year.
Nope. I have purchased Madden for 17 years in a row so I get to have the position that "yes I'm happy to have this back" but "no not having this basic element was not acceptable and having it back now is necessary but nearly sufficient to getting cfm where it needs to be"
No moving goal posts, no discrediting, no whining.
I'm not particularlynegative or positive on the game. I suppose I'm very positive on gameplay and disappointed with cfm. I call it like I see it. I.e. I have consistently said the commentary was an innovation and a true home run and I'm excited to have that in cfm.
Stay tuned, but for me, it's an added change.
YMMV.
>Be in franchise mode playing against the Falcons
>Be 2020 season
>Russell Wilson just won the MVP in my franchise
>Commentary says "reigning MVP Matt Ryan" because it's a new update
>Immersion = gone.
Hopefully you can see the problem with updated commentary based on the real NFL season in Franchise mode...
>Be 2020 season
>Russell Wilson just won the MVP in my franchise
>Commentary says "reigning MVP Matt Ryan" because it's a new update
>Immersion = gone.
Hopefully you can see the problem with updated commentary based on the real NFL season in Franchise mode...
Yup, I'm at the end of my 2020 season with Raiders and the commentators still bring up the whole "cam newton v broncos" thing - even though my RB has rushed for 1650+ yards for 4 straight seasons, they never seem to remember that. I have no idea how they will add this to CFM without being forced to keep it massively generic - which is probably a good thing
>Be 2020 season
>Russell Wilson just won the MVP in my franchise
>Commentary says "reigning MVP Matt Ryan" because it's a new update
>Immersion = gone.
Hopefully you can see the problem with updated commentary based on the real NFL season in Franchise mode...
I didn't say anything to the contrary, I said it's improvement for me over what we had previously. I didn't enjoy the repeated commentary in season 1.
Did anyone play out a season in Madden 17? The commentary was boring and drab when you knew what lines were coming and when. Hoping you can see where I am coming from as well.
I say sorta because in Madden 17 at multiple points, on multiple different CFM's Id have 4 to 6 guys out with "Torn Shoulders" or "Broken Collarbones" for 4 to 6 weeks.
I never once saw a knee injury, or foot, or concussion.
Basically whats "In the game", is not "In the game" as far as madden goes.
Wasn't ever a big NFL 2k fan, but I liked when you were running the ball & the player would slow down & limp. I know that's not away from field of play, but it was going in the correct direction. Surly EA ( by now ) is finally attempting to make it happen in some form.
: Peace
I say sorta because in Madden 17 at multiple points, on multiple different CFM's Id have 4 to 6 guys out with "Torn Shoulders" or "Broken Collarbones" for 4 to 6 weeks.
I never once saw a knee injury, or foot, or concussion.
Basically whats "In the game", is not "In the game" as far as madden goes.
ACL tears, MCL Tears, Broken Foot are all in game and I have seen them in our CFM. Concussions aren't in game, and will never again be in the game, due to the NFL's oversight on the game.
It does mean non-contact, but a former OL now Developer for EA fought to put these into the game because it was a hot request on Twitter.
It was also a hot request on Twitter to have updated commentary in CFM.
It was also a hot request on Twitter to have updated commentary in CFM.
It has been confirmed by Clint that the "Off Ball" Injuries are injuries to O lineman and defensive lineman that are engaged in interactions that don't involve the ball carrier.
even though i knew about the oline not being injured ive always had 9-10 oline on roster (normal is 8?), im guessing people will use ps to bolster oline subs as the only ps steals i see are cb/olb/wr
Clint's response wasnt nice imo. off ball to me means everyone, the sarcasm wasnt warranted given ea's history of saying something that is open to intepretation
the HS doesnt bother me as i play coach mode
here is a question though: traits, are they needed if you play coach mode? as sopme players exhibit those traits before its bought for them
Did anyone play out a season in Madden 17? The commentary was boring and drab when you knew what lines were coming and when. Hoping you can see where I am coming from as well.
Lol. Oh yeah. 'Ooohhh. A little tap-estry. I like it.'
. I heard that one quite a bit when making a possession catch on the sidelines. They had 3-4 variants, but I got this one quite a bit.
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...We are sorta acting like nagging wives aren't we? lol
No sir, it's not nagging at all, OL injuries during gameplay isn't a feature, it's a fix to an issue within the injury system. There is an entire thread about this from last year, in that thread is this same MO of defending this fix not being added, by devs and others, as a feature that isn't priority, doesn't matter much to most gamers, etc, just completely downplayed. Now that's it claimed to be done, it's supposed to be praised as the greatest thing since the stove, according to some of those same "others". Imo, that's far more exemplary of trying to have their cake and eat it too.
Everything doesn't have to be lumped into praise or criticism, the lack of OL injuries during gameplay deserved criticism but that doesn't mean the inclusion of it now, deserves praise. OL being able to be injured during gameplay is a good thing, that should be acknowledged and I'm glad to see it fixed..
That said, I'm unclear on what "offball injuries" actual entail and will be interested to learn how this impacts the overall injury system.
I saw OTHER teams get them during the season, broken feet. MCL and ACL tears.
But to not have concussions? Which is a HUGE thing in the NFL these days? Just sad.
But yeah, what Im saying is that during gameplay, which I did with every game of my season. Id see two injuries. That was it.
The rest of the injury list was definitely full of other injuries though.
But to not have concussions? Which is a HUGE thing in the NFL these days? Just sad.
They get no say in that. The directive comes down from the NFL and they have to follow it per their licensing agreement.
Oh I completely understand that. Its just sad is what Im saying.
Everything doesn't have to be lumped into praise or criticism, the lack of OL injuries during gameplay deserved criticism but that doesn't mean the inclusion of it now, deserves praise. OL being able to be injured during gameplay is a good thing, that should be acknowledged and I'm glad to see it fixed..
That said, I'm unclear on what "offball injuries" actual entail and will be interested to learn how this impacts the overall injury system.
It might have been down played on here, but there was a strong backing for it to Clint on Twitter, including yours truly. There were big long discussions about it on Twitter.
That's the only thing I wished to add.
Offball, based on what Tverts mentioned from an interview from Clint, is player interaction injuries away from the ball with the OL/DL
My question beyond that would be if a S is tangled with a LG away from the ball, could an injury occur during that.
That's the only thing I wished to add.
Offball, based on what Tverts mentioned from an interview from Clint, is player interaction injuries away from the ball with the OL/DL
My question beyond that would be if a S is tangled with a LG away from the ball, could an injury occur during that.
Exactly what I'm referring to, I'm not clear on what offball injuries entails, the only thing I've seen stated by devs is it means OL can be injured from engagement/blocking with the DL. I try not to presume much with regard to how Madden additions perform in game, offball injuries sounds like an inclusion of all player to player interactions/engagements other than the ball carrier but guess we'll just have to wait for more details to be sure.
be invulnerable since the A.I. of those players isn't good enough to keep themselves out of harms way.
Speaking from an engineer's persoect, you are 100% wrong. This absolutely is a new feature and not a bug fix.
It is absolutely not a bug fix because the functionality never existed in the first place. Clint Oldenburg flat-out said last year that off-ball injuries don't happen because injury checks are only calculated for collisions involving the ballcarrier.
It might be a returning feature if you can remember any Madden game which had OL injuries. I literally have only seen one OL injury in Madden ever and that was following a fumble recovery by the lineman, so between that and Oldenburg's first-party insight as to how the game works, I doubt the functionality has ever existed in Madden. At worst this is a change request, a modification or extension of existing functionality. A change request is also not a bug fix, it is building on top of an already-working feature.
If that functionality did exist but never triggered - if off-ball injuries were supposed to happen and they didn't (which was not the case, but let's pretend for a moment) - then it's bug. However, non-existent code can't possibly produce a bug because non-existent code never runs.
Stop putting words in my mouth, I never even used the word "praise" in my post. Literally what I said was that we should enjoy the new feature and more importantly recognize that the developers listened to the wishes of the most vocal fans of their game and we should credit them - not praise, credit, there's a difference - for responding to something the sim community requested.
It might be a returning feature if you can remember any Madden game which had OL injuries. I literally have only seen one OL injury in Madden ever and that was following a fumble recovery by the lineman, so between that and Oldenburg's first-party insight as to how the game works, I doubt the functionality has ever existed in Madden.
Madden last gen definitely offensive line injuries in the game. So much so kickers and punters would be put on the line in place of them and perform just as well.......
Yeah. As someone who played a few seasons of Madden 06 (Xbox/PS2) I can definitely confirm that OL injuries were very much possible without a fumble recovery or tackle being required. On my current franchise I have a 90 OVR LG that I drafted that is currently out and I also remember seeing Willie Roaf get injured a number of times. They're rare, likely because the only thing that I believe triggers them is the pancake animation, but they're there.
Everything doesn't have to be lumped into praise or criticism, the lack of OL injuries during gameplay deserved criticism but that doesn't mean the inclusion of it now, deserves praise. OL being able to be injured during gameplay is a good thing, that should be acknowledged and I'm glad to see it fixed..
That said, I'm unclear on what "offball injuries" actual entail and will be interested to learn how this impacts the overall injury system.
On the feature/fix debate, it is semantics. Off ball injuries were not present in the game, they are now; so I call it a feature. A bug would indicate it was intended to be there but didn't work. Think of it like buying a used car that doesn't have AC. Are you going to call the mechanic and tell them your AC is not working? Could we both agree that AC should be a standard feature on all contemporary cars?
Like CM said, we are not praising them for putting this in the game. Truth be told I think it was one of the minimum expectations going into this year. But no comment that I've read justifies your use of hyperbole here. No one is even coming close to warrant the stove comment.
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This wasn't a bug fix. But the injury system was very poorly designed and implemented. It left a very important feature of NFL football missing from the game.
Like CM said, we are not praising them for putting this in the game. Truth be told I think it was one of the minimum expectations going into this year. But no comment that I've read justifies your use of hyperbole here. No one is even coming close to warrant the stove comment.
I meant to add to my post that even though I quoted your post, I wasn't referring to you with "others" and I wasn't directly referring to any individual but all who took that POV in the thread I referenced, which I'm not even sure you even posted in.
Now, I didn't say anything about a "bug" fix, nor was I talking about offball injuries when referring to fixing an issue, I specifically stated OL injuries in gameplay. I can't stand "playing semantics" and that's not what I was doing, there is a distinct difference in offball injuries and OL injuries during gameplay with regard to Madden. I'm not making that up, feel free to check my post history on this topic last year, I've consistently tried to make that distinction to avoid any misunderstanding. Reason being, last year when it was revealed that OL couldn't be injured during game play, people asking about that in tweets, often got inflated to a request for offball injuries. Depending on what offball injuries entail, I'd probably agree with that being a feature but like I stated in my post, I don't know what all offball injuries entail and I was specifically referring to OL injuries in game play.
With that distinction hopefully being clear, having OL being hurt in game play, like all the other positions is NOT a feature, it's a fix to an issue that has existed for awhile. As others have stated, there was a time in Madden, prior to CCM, when OL could be injured in game play.
Finally, of course the stove comment was hyperbole, you'd be hard pressed to find many general inventions as good as the stove, much less anything done in a video game. The point was to emphasize how extreme some POVs had shifted about OL injuries from last year when they weren't in game to now that they are.