Madden 16 Thread - News, Rumours, Discussion Etc

Paully D

Yeah, I know it's waaaaaay too early for this one, but news has started coming out with regards to this so I thought I'd get a thread created now where we can constantly update it with the bits and pieces that filter out over the next few months.

So to kick things off, EA have the release date as August 25th which means it'll be out on Friday August 28th over here. In addition, the following from Pasta Padre is interesting as to what we might expect in terms of a new feature:

http://www.pastapadre.com/2015/04/17/first-snippet-of-information-related-to-madden-nfl-16-involves-new-controls

Yesterday EA Sports made official the release date for Madden NFL 16 and mentioned that the first news on the game will arrive in May. Now though a vague feature description has appeared via retailers that provides a hint at one feature to expect from the game.

Be the playmaker in Madden NFL 16 with all-new controls that allow you to dominate in the battle for air supremacy.

Last year the developers promised that Madden 16 would have work done to improve the battle between receivers and defenders for the ball. Not being able to exploit single coverage downfield, even with talents like Calvin Johnson, has been one of the biggest flaws with the series in recent years.

Throwing deep even in advantageous situations would too often result in interceptions. The receiver would not go up to fight for the ball or would simply be out of position making no effort to challenge for it while corners and safeties jump them for picks.

New controls to go up for the catch or defend it could be intriguing though no one was necessarily asking for that to be the fix to the problem. It would fit with the design philosophy however considering the defensive line got it’s own special controls in Madden NFL 15.

It looks like we could be getting some control system for receivers/defensive backs like we got for the D-line this year. From having a look around Twitter etc, a lot of people think this will just be a "plaster" type fix and don't seem to happy about it if that indeed is what we get.

This will also be the first season where the vast majority of players on this forum are on next-gen consoles which should make for a much better connected franchise experience for all.

empacher

Think i might miss this one. Being 6 months since ive played the xbox. Im way to into pc gaming atm.

adrian522

Really a 6'10" receiver should come down with the ball against a 6 ft DB 100 times out of 100. This sounds like too much of a lottery along the lines of who presses the button at the right time.

Paully D

empacher wrote: »

Think i might miss this one. Being 6 months since ive played the xbox. Im way to into pc gaming atm.

I always have quite a bit of free time just as the game is being released and think I'll be able to dedicate loads of time to it. Then once the autumn/winter sets in and everything is catching up with me I realise I have hardly any free time at nights and really struggle to get games played. This has happened to me 2 out of the last 4 years of Madden. Though the 2 years I managed to play full connected franchise seasons it was in leagues on here when we had a huge amount of human players which is probably not a coincidence so hopefully that will be the same again for '16.

I'm the same as you in terms of the Xbox. I haven't really played it properly since before Christmas in all honesty. I'll definitely get the game and see how things go.

adrian522 wrote: »

Really a 6'10" receiver should come down with the ball against a 6 ft DB 100 times out of 100. This sounds like too much of a lottery along the lines of who presses the button at the right time.

Completely agree. That seems to be the general comment on social media too. Hopefully it'll be a better than what seems to be suggested.

Knex*

Got myself an XB1 today, so should be around for next season, at least.

PerrinV2

They've changed the cover vote system for next season.
Only 4 players to choose from but you can only vote on madden ultimate team or the madden mobile game.

Knex*

Not OBJ! Don't want the madden curse on him

guns4all

Would we have any interest in running a GM league here next Madden?

tripperman

guns4all wrote: »

Would we have any interest in running a GM league here next Madden?

What way would advance work every day or two days? I'd be up for it if theres one

Paully D

Knex. wrote: »

Not OBJ! Don't want the madden curse on him

It is nailed on to be a WR or Gronkowski with the new focus they seem to be putting on the battle in the air. And hey, Sherman didn't fare to bad this year with the curse! :pac:

guns4all

tripperman wrote: »

What way would advance work every day or two days? I'd be up for it if theres one

Possibly every 2 days to start, and see how people find it.

Longer when it hits off season

PerrinV2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAwuYBu6amo

Just a teaser trailer really,small bit of info here

https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/features?utm_campaign=mad16-social-global-ic-yt-firstlook-features-051315-yt-desc-vid-site-ramp&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&sourceid=mad16-social-global-ic-yt-firstlook-features-051315-yt-desc-vid-site-ramp&cid=38658&ts=1431556975818

Knex*

Already hoping I'll get to be the Giants next year and that they're too crap for anyone else to chance on.

Although I feel so bad at this year's madden since picking it up, that I'll probably be first pick anyway :pac:

giffney1991

Knex. wrote: »

Already hoping I'll get to be the Giants next year and that they're too crap for anyone else to chance on.

Although I feel so bad at this year's madden since picking it up, that I'll probably be first pick anyway :pac:

I think they'd be a good team, the wide receiver group will be elite but I think it's season 2 or 3 before they could actually plug the big holes the have!

Also if had them, I'd trade/release Eli just to free up cap room! I traded Larry Fitzgerald in season 2 and this season I have so much cap space to target big names in free agency!

Knex*

The state of the Giants team I took over just now in year 3. That OL and their D is just awful. Have already signed about 7 players in FA!

Mannings Contract was up this year, but kept him on for a relatively small contract, considering I had 50m+ cap space to spend. They had got rid of JPP though, which made me sad

If Giants don't resign Eli before Madden is out, I'd probably let him walk at the end of Season 1 alright. He dropped from 86 to 78 after he signed his contract, the fecker! :pac:

guns4all

How would we go about selecting draft position in next years version, seeing as we had a limited number of people involved this time around.

Knex*

guns4all wrote: »

How would we go about selecting draft position in next years version, seeing as we had a limited number of people involved this time around.

Think Heli organised it by win ratio before.

helimachoptor

yep, but im not sure if its been recorded.

Its up to perrin/adrian but we could do something like

original members - random draw
new members - first come first served

so we'd have the existing 10/12 picking first and then new members picking from 12 onwards

tripperman

So titans and giants will definitely be human in Madden 16, I'm hoping chargers fall to me, but if not a lot of nice defences to pick from, jets or bills for example will almost certainly be human with there improvements

adrian522

helimachoptor wrote: »

yep, but im not sure if its been recorded.

Its up to perrin/adrian but we could do something like

original members - random draw
new members - first come first served

so we'd have the existing 10/12 picking first and then new members picking from 12 onwards

I think that may be the best solution, but whatever people want to do. I don't think we have kept stats from all the seasons so the worst to best record may be difficult.

We could run a competition or something, like predicting the score in a preseason game and whoever gets closest (among the existing members) gets first pick etc.

Or just randomly pick the order as suggested above.

SFG

how does one go about joining for the next madden

Rock Lesnar

SFG wrote: »

how does one go about joining for the next madden

you must find a golden ticket

tripperman

seen details about next year's Madden 16 looks like good changes in game prep and scouting

PerrinV2

tripperman wrote: »

seen details about next year's Madden 16 looks like good changes in game prep and scouting

Haven't read it yet myself but the link is here for those that want to have a look.

https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/news/2015/madden-16-cfm

Rock Lesnar

Confidence is still in i see, great

PerrinV2

DYNAMIC DRIVE GOALS

Well thats me ruined,this will be my new ask madden

tripperman

Rock Lesnar wrote: »

Confidence is still in i see, great

But ability to improve it in pre season is a plus, and free practice is good also I think, plus combine times for scouting seems handy, plus they changing the screen layout for players stats if I read right be more like on companion app or site thing, didn't say tho for free agency if it will be back for it, plus default season start in season one so no pre season not sure on that,

Paully D

Anyone feel this is getting more "arcadey" by the year as opposed to realistic?

PADRAIC.M

So the commish will be able to decide the winner of a simmed game in the league! God power! Also will be glad to see the practice mode back for franchise teams

guns4all

Bring back create a team and ill be happy.
Also ability to hire real life coordinators and ex players for coaching roles in the team, like it was a few years ago.

Rock Lesnar

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

So the commish will be able to decide the winner of a simmed game in the league! God power! Also will be glad to see the practice mode back for franchise teams

Yeah i expect Heli will be back as commish for this, Titans go undefeated in regular season .

Agree about the practice, its been sorely missed by me in this version.

Paully D

E3 tomorrow. Hopefully we'll see some gameplay.

Paully D

Some improvements for 2016:

Along with everything else today, including the announcement of a new mode called “Draft Champions”, EA Sports today revealed more to do with gameplay. Improvements to AI, new features on defense, and how penalties will be better implemented have been brought into focus.

PENALTIES

Our hardcore simulation fans have been demanding realistic penalties for years. The team finally made this a point of emphasis in Madden NFL 16, and penalties will play a bigger factor than ever before.

In addition to several new penalties being added, we have updated all pre-existing penalties and built a system to control penalty frequency.

Every player is assigned a Penalty trait based on real-world NFL data, which determines how likely they are to commit a penalty; an undisciplined player has a far greater chance of committing a penalty than a disciplined player.

Players’ in-game strategy has an impact on penalties as well. For example, pressing cornerbacks are more likely to commit a defensive holding penalty, while goalline and max protect calls make offensive holding penalties more likely. Mistiming the “Off the Line” mechanic can easily draw a neutral zone infraction or encroachment penalty.

Finally, all penalty sliders have been updated to allow players to fully customize the experience to their liking. The Default slider setting is based on NFL penalty averages over the last five seasons to make both penalty type and frequency as authentic as possible.

Encroachment, False Start, Offensive Holding, Facemask, Defensive Pass Interference, Illegal Block in the Back, Neutral Zone Infraction, Defensive Holding, Illegal Forward Pass, Illegal Touching, Delay of Game, Kick Catch Interference Running into the Kicker, Unnecessary Roughness and Roughing the Passer.

PROCEDURAL AWARENESS HEAD TRACKING
As the Madden NFL franchise moves forward with its “Player Sense” theme, one of the biggest detractors was a lack of true head tracking for all players across all situations.

Madden NFL 16 includes added logic for QBs, RBs, WRs and defenders so that each head and eye track (the ball and players around them) uniquely based on their position.

Quarterbacks will scan the field for open receivers, ball carriers will alternate their gaze between incoming defenders, and players will track other players around them after the play. You may even see players looking up at the scoreboard on a breakaway run.

PRE, POST, AND DURING PLAY MOTION QUALITY

The quality of player motion has been a primary point of emphasis for the Madden NFL team for several years now. This year, we made huge strides in pre, post and during play motion quality. This touches several major systems like huddle break, walk to line, pile get up logic, pile avoidance, post play path finding and more. When it comes to in-game animation quality improvements, the list is endless.

Players can expect a dramatic reduction in pops, warps, slides, and other issues in Madden NFL 16. This will continue to be a focal point for us as we strive towards our goal of animation quality.

LEGACY ISSUES

In addition to all the new features being added, the team continue to address the feedback and concerns of our community.

A number of legacy issues have been addressed in Madden NFL 16, mostly around exploited mechanics or solidifying features meant to counter those exploits. Here are some highlights:

♦QB Spy logic updated (QB swerves the spy exploit)
♦Flip the Play to speed up huddle break issue has been addressed
♦Out of position subs causing exploitable routes has been addressed
♦Rocket Catching / Mossing / DB Glitches have been significantly reduced and/or eliminated
♦A large percentage of the known “nano-blitzes” have been removed
♦The PA End Around exploit play has been addressed.
♦Route swapping exploits have also been resolved.
♦A variety of ‘money plays’ have been revised or altered.
♦Resolved the friendly quit glitch for Madden NFL 16

PLAY BALL (BALL HAWK)

Play Ball (Ball Hawk) is back and has been heavily revised to ensure the most aggressive path possible to the ball. As with past years, the user plays the ball by holding the Y/Triangle button as soon as the pass is released.
Play Ball is the best way to challenge the receiver for the catch, but comes at the risk of triggering a catch animation behind the receiver and giving up a big play.

PLAY RECEIVER (NEW)

New this year is the Play Receiver DB mechanic. Hold the A/X button once the pass is thrown to play the receiver. This drives you towards the receiver as opposed to driving you to a catch point.

Hit receiver can be used to dislodge the ball during the catch, but comes at the expense of not being able to trigger interceptions.

ORGANIC GANG TACKLES

Forget everything you remember about Pro-Tak. Madden NFL 16 delivers the most dramatic tackles in franchise history with a fully organic, physics-based gang tackling system. We now have fully realized momentum-based organic interactions on tackles that support a limitless number of defenders attaching to the ball carrier.

The system is complemented by new dynamic gang tackle animations that can “go organic” based on additional defenders in proximity.

We also worked on the stat-tracking side – Assisted Tackles and Half-sacks are now being tracked appropriately in the stats screen. It all adds up to the most authentic tackles ever seen in Madden NFL. Gang tackling is back!

OTHER TACKLING IMPROVEMENTS

While most players raved about the changes to tackling in Madden NFL 15, some users complained about feeling too much “suction” in the conservative tackle system. The team took this feedback to heart and tuned both the tackle cone and match distance to eliminate warping (or suction) from the tackling system without sacrificing control or responsiveness.

Aggressive tackles were also improved so that defenders always dive towards the ball carrier instead of just at his facing direction.

QUICK ADJUSTMENTS

Defensive quick adjustments give users the ability to adjust any of their defenders on the field without having to manually switch to the defender.

Simply select the group (DL, LB, DB), choose individual adjustment, select the defender and set the assignment.

This addresses a long-standing legacy issue that put the defense at a disadvantage when it came to pre-play adjustments.

ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS

Madden NFL 16 also includes a few key defensive improvements demanded by the community. A few of the highlights include:

♦QB Spy logic has been updated to be more effective at stopping rushing QB’s
♦Contain Defenses and logic have been improved to help counter the new rollout and scramble mechanics
♦New mechanic where users can now make their defenders in spy assignment abandon the spy and chase the QB at any point in the play. This is done by clicking in R3 once he ball has been snapped.
♦Resolved an issue where users would not have time to audible to onside kick recovery when their opponents caught them in normal return vs. onside kick.
♦The offense can no longer use no huddle to consistently cause AI defenders to be called offsides.

And the official trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VbE2yafP5I

Paully D

Some gameplay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXLyYtb_dHQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkhvEr_82UY

Paully D

Pretty cool, DB's can punch the ball out of WR's hands as evidenced in the clip below:

https://twitter.com/Steve_OS/status/612071705666801664

PerrinV2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-el6d4g6h0

Essentially the commiss can reset the team confidence to 50 at any time,although I think it means you can only bring them up to 50,didn't mention anything about dropping players from 99 confidence down.He did mention those about 50 wouldn't be affected though so I guess that answers that.

Knex*

Wish they'd just get rid of the gimmicky confidence thing, tbh.

Knex*

I'm actually worried that they're focusing on the wrong things again for next year, unfortunately. I'll still buy the game, but I'm already a little slighted at paying 60-70 quid for a game that I'm predicting to frustrate and annoy me as much as the last two Maddens.

This year, although late to the party, I just don't like at all.

guns4all

Knex. wrote: »

Wish they'd just get rid of the gimmicky confidence thing, tbh.

If it was done properly it would be excellent. With it tied to the season goals, which tbh were impossible for some players to hit, it doesnt work well.
Takes too long to get it up and seems like one mediocre game plummets it down.

If there was an option to switch it off like the 'cone' and heatseeker/ballhawk option like this year's game would be the best thing

tripperman

Found myself over the last couple of days on Maddenschool .com reading up on Madden 16 from team guides to skill trainer and any other stuff related to it as such, the new skills trainer seems to be a upgrade on Madden 15 from my reading which is good I usually spend a lot of time in there starting out to get a bit of read on different type of plays I could face, team guides I have read some are good some are silly i don't see the redskins being as good as they think,

Paully D

Some ratings announced:

https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/player-ratings

https://twitter.com/pastapadre/status/623559547408375808

https://twitter.com/pastapadre/status/623917794564804608

https://twitter.com/pastapadre/status/624278977918730241

Paully D

Some more ratings:

DT's:

Ndamukong Suh (96)
Gerald McCoy (95)
Marcell Dareus (94)
Kyle Williams (93)
Aaron Donald (92)

DE's:

JJ Watt (99)
Muhammad Wilkerson (96)
Michael Bennett (95)
Calais Campbell (95)
Cameron Wake (94)

Offensive Lineman:

1) Marshal Yanda – 98 Overall
2) Josh Sitton – 97 Overall
3) Jason Peters – 96 Overall
4a) Nick Mangold – 95 Overall
4b) Andrew Whitworth – 95 Overall
4c) Joe Thomas – 95 Overall
4d) Evan Mathis – 95 Overall

Middle Linebackers:

1) Luke Kuechly – 96 Overall
2) Navorro Bowman – 93 Overall
3) Bobby Wagner – 92 Overall
4a) Clay Matthews – 90 Overall
4b) Daryl Smith – 90 Overall
4c) Lawrence Timmons – 90 Overall
4d) Karlos Dansby – 90 Overall

Outside Linebackers:

1a) Justin Houston – 97 Overall
1b) Von Miller – 97 Overall
3a) Terrell Suggs – 93 Overall
3b) Dont’a Hightower – 93 Overall
3c) DeAndre Levy – 93 Overall



Less than 4 weeks to go until release now. I can't remember it being near as quiet for a Madden release as it is for this one. :eek:

Knex*

Think the last two Madden's have largely disappointed the fanbase, so the hype isn't as strong.

Side note though, 95 for Michael Bennett is way too high. It would look less out of place to me if he was 85, even.

tripperman

I'm looking forward to it have it pre ordered all ready,

Reaper KH

i'm not a fan of "look what we have done for you this year" rubbish from EA just give me the game and i'll tell them if i like the new towel animation.

Paully D

First team ratings are in - Patriots 91 OVR, Dolphins 81 OVR, Bills 79 OVR, Jets 76 OVR

PerrinV2

Paully D wrote: »

Some more ratings:

DT's:

Ndamukong Suh (96)
Gerald McCoy (95)
Marcell Dareus (94)
Kyle Williams (93)
Aaron Donald (92)

DE's:

JJ Watt (99)
Muhammad Wilkerson (96)
Michael Bennett (95)
Calais Campbell (95)
Cameron Wake (94)

Offensive Lineman:

1) Marshal Yanda – 98 Overall
2) Josh Sitton – 97 Overall
3) Jason Peters – 96 Overall
4a) Nick Mangold – 95 Overall
4b) Andrew Whitworth – 95 Overall
4c) Joe Thomas – 95 Overall
4d) Evan Mathis – 95 Overall

Middle Linebackers:

1) Luke Kuechly – 96 Overall
2) Navorro Bowman – 93 Overall
3) Bobby Wagner – 92 Overall
4a) Clay Matthews – 90 Overall
4b) Daryl Smith – 90 Overall
4c) Lawrence Timmons – 90 Overall
4d) Karlos Dansby – 90 Overall

Outside Linebackers:

1a) Justin Houston – 97 Overall
1b) Von Miller – 97 Overall
3a) Terrell Suggs – 93 Overall
3b) Dont’a Hightower – 93 Overall
3c) DeAndre Levy – 93 Overall



Less than 4 weeks to go until release now. I can't remember it being near as quiet for a Madden release as it is for this one. :eek:

Wasn't a fan of Madden 15 which has dampened my interest in this one alot.

giffney1991

I was more annoyed with madden 25 than 15, that was so easy to score in. Now the defence got a bit OTT but if they even it out, I could actually enjoy it. We just need less CPU games...

Reaper KH

PerrinV2 wrote: »

Wasn't a fan of Madden 15 which has dampened my interest in this one alot.

i only lose interest in the first few weeks of purchase...then it goes away

Paully D

PerrinV2 wrote: »

Wasn't a fan of Madden 15 which has dampened my interest in this one alot.

Yeah, I thought it was great at first but the more I played the less I enjoyed it to be honest. I think I'll be waiting about 3 or 4 weeks into playing it before I review the game properly this year as first impressions are generally always quite good with Madden I find. You have to dig a bit deeper to find the key issues.

What sort of numbers are we looking at for an Xbox One league this year lads? This really determines the level of enjoyment I get from the game too. The most fun I had with Madden was the year we had a full 32 man league and maintained a high number throughout. The draft build up etc that year was awesome.

tripperman

Paully D wrote: »

Yeah, I thought it was great at first but the more I played the less I enjoyed it to be honest. I think I'll be waiting about 3 or 4 weeks into playing it before I review the game properly this year as first impressions are generally always quite good with Madden I find. You have to dig a bit deeper to find the key issues.

What sort of numbers are we looking at for an Xbox One league this year lads? This really determines the level of enjoyment I get from the game too. The most fun I had with Madden was the year we had a full 32 man league and maintained a high number throughout. The draft build up etc that year was awesome.

It be nice if there was more people in the franchise, I'd say there might be 13-20 players,