Franchise Q&A Part 3

[adembroski]

Not really... Over on OS someone posted this...

I was just thinking about how in the thread about Josh asking for us to give him Offline Franchise questions, Adem said he'd be able to answer most of the questions already stated.

I was wondering if he, or any other CD members, are allowed to answer offline franchise questions, since in Josh's blog, he left many questions unanswered and we are still very much in the dark about what has changed about offline franchise.

To which Phil Frazier replied as thus...

When the CD guys left, we gave them some advice. Don't assume stuff that's broken in their builds (which was a lot), will remain broken in the final game. On the flip side, don't assume stuff that was working great, will continue to work that way. They came so early in the process they got to see some really nasty bugs in the build. It's probably pretty hard for them to give too much feedback given the early state of the build. I promise MUCH has been fixed.

The game goes through so many changes in the last two months it's amazing.

There is one CD guy (who I won't name but he knows who he is) who managed to get some quality time with Looman and Franchise. If that individual would like to share his thoughts on the mode, feel free. We obviously can't get to everything and his take on the mode may be interesting.

Phil

Which in turn lead to this...

Coaching/GM Questions

- Do team finances matter? - Maybe a tad more since Josh did some work with the stadium approval logic, but i doubt you're going to see much of a difference here.

- Do CPU teams value their Draft Picks more than before? - As Josh said, yes, I actually found it a bit too difficult to trade at times, while at other times, I pulled some stuff off. This was hard to judge with such little time.

- Can we leave one franchise and take over another?? (i.e. be fired, quit, etc.) - I've answered this many times; I think so, not sure, is what it comes down too.

- Can you fire/replace/promote a coach in mid-season?- No, only during the Staffing period of the off-season

- Will the game allow more then 52 players on the roster in preseason, thus forcing you to make cuts?-No expanded rosters in the off-season


- Will there be position coaches in the game, that effect players performance - ie, Running Back coaches, Line Coaches, etc?- Head Coach, OC, DC, and Special teams coach


- Will there be customizable sub package similar to PS-2 version of the game?- No


- Have you removed the logic that forces you to have set number of players per position? Do I really need to have FB if I can use another RB or TE to fulfill multiple positions/roles?- Minimums still exist.


- Has trade logic been improved? Will I still be able to trade for Matthew Stafford even though the lions just drafted him 1st overall and made him their franchise player?- Trade logic has improved, and teams are stingy with their young QBs.

- Does placing a player on Injured Reserve free up that player's roster spot- Don't think so


- Will team chemistry play a role?- no


- Will players be able to become coaches after their retirement?- Yes


- Can we Create-A-Coach?- no


- Will CPU teams trade with each other?- I... don't remember... I think they do, but only during the draft.

Contracts/Free Agency Questions

- Has the restricted free agent period been added back this year?- No


- Has there been more focus put on players wants to determine where he will sign?- Yes Yes Yes! A player's personality plays a much greater role in negotiations than before, and is much more like Last-Gen in that regard.


- Will players not sign in order to test free agency?- The functionality is there for this, but I'm not sure if it actually takes effect while the player is on your team, I'll have to check with Josh on this.


- Since two-back systems are in vogue, will running backs split carries a la Carolina, Tennessee, etc.?- Stat gen games- yes, played games, I think it depends on the playbook.


- Am i able to low-ball every free agent i want to sign and get him for the cheapest dollar amount? In past versions, you could start with a 5 year deal at 500k total, and just up it by 10k until they accepted. I want players to tell me to get the heck out of here if i low ball them, not allow me to find the cheapest way to sign them- you can low ball them, but there's no longer an interest bar, and if you miss too low, they'll break off negotiations.


- Can you front/back load contracts?- Contracts are the same. I should point out that almost all of the frontloaded and other optional contract types in NFL 2k5 were illegal by NFL standards. The CBA does not permit "front loaded" contracts... the base salary cannot go down from one year to the next. Madden's system was far more true to life than 2k5s.


- Can you add incentives on contracts?- No.

Progression Questions

- Can a DE be converted to OLB to play in the 3-4 or will he drop exponentially?- Something I totally neglected to check.

- Is there any type of training camp or mini camp during franchise?- No


- How often does progression take place and will season performance effect it? (yearly, quarterly, every game, etc.)- Annually, and the factors are a combination of age, potential, and performance.


- Will a team's momentum or success play any part into progression, especially if it is game to game? For example, if a team is playing well and has won 10 games in a row, will everyone get some sort of boost?- Indirectly... if a team has won 10 game in a row, clearly the majority of them are playing well, and thus their progression will be good.


- How much does potential matter vs. production for progressing players?- It's about equal, age plays a role as well.

Here's a rough breakdown of how progression works...

Each player has a potential rating. This is a hard number, but all we see is a letter grade. That potential is the highest the player is capable of achieving. There is a cap on how much a player can progress based on his age... there are three periods during a player's career, Incline, Plateau, and Decline.

During the Incline period, a player can gain 6 points per season and cannot decline except due to major injury. During the Plateau period, he can increase or decrease 2 points per season. During the decline, he can decline up to 6 points per season and cannot go up.

How long these periods are and when they occur is dependent on the position of the player.

- Has anything been done to the logic to stop players from retiring too early?- Players generally retire at more realistic ages now, but it was my experience that it's still a little early.

- How do injuries affect a players ratings,future, etc-Injuries affect ratings in a realistic way. This is a difficult question to answer... umm... a concussion isn't going to make a QB unable to throw a pass, but it will affect his awareness, for example.

Draft Questions

- Can we trade future draft picks?- no

- How has draft presentation been updated?- Presentation, not really.

- How many different draft classes are there?- 32. I'm in one under a fake name

- Will the skill of the GM/scouting team affect the accuracy of unlocked information?- No, it's affected by the amount of time you put into a given player.

- In these draft classes, how many extra undrafted players will there be on average?- 30


- I know the order of draft classes will be random, but will the player's information also be random (i.e. name and college, possibly even height, weight, skin color, etc)?- no

- Will we be able to edit draft classes before the draft actual starts?- No

Scouting

- How will the scouting process work for rookies pre-draft and how is it different from the last few iterations of Madden or similar to HC? It's the same as past iterations, but it works. You start with basic info like 40 time, bench press. As you scout, you narrow down given ratings and unlock others.

- For scouting players for the draft will there be information for us about what scheme or type of player the player is.(example DT is he more of a 1 gap or 2 gap DT. DE is he better for the 3-4 end or pass rusher?- No, but this type of thing can be gleamed based on the ratings.

General

- Has anything been removed from Franchise Mode?- Yes, there was a random odd screen that didn't work regarding the draft.

- Dynamic attendance - is it in or out?- I don't think it's in, but I didn't play many games within franchise mode.

- Is there a noticeable difference between regular season and playoff games?- Yes, presentation is different for playoff games. Opening week games have a sort of playoff feel as well.

- Can we start our franchise before the draft?- no

Stadium Questions

- Will we be able to renovate or rebuild a team's stadium without having to relocate?- Yes

- When upgrading your stadium in franchise mode, will you be able to SEE (new Jumbotron, extractable roof, etc.) or feel the effects of your additions???- no

Scheduling Questions

- Has anything been done to fix the scheduling logic? Will we still see teams with 4 straight Monday night games or open the season with a 6-game road trip?- I think Josh addressed this. Scheduling was better in regards to home/road games, but I didn't noticed Monday Night games.


- Has the ability the select our preseason opponents made it back in. If not, will I still see the situation where divisional opponents play each other in the preseason?- No custom preseason games, not sure on the other.

- Is the annual International Game depicted in the game or will New England simply play a road game in Tampa in year 1?- I never thought to check Sorry

And this...

Yes, you can use coach mode in offline franchise.

1. 
   [*]Will players have past awards accurate; pro bowl appearance, rookie of the year, MVP, DPoY, and OPoY
   
   Within the player's profile I'm pretty sure it lists there awards, but there is no list of all-time MVP winners.
   
   [*]Will players still appear under career stats after they retire
   
   There is an All time list for major stat categories and they do appear in these.
   
   [*]Will that bug that puts a retired player's stats on another active player after they retire still be in the game? This bug was in Head Coach 09 as well. Having a rookie with Brett Farve's career stats stats is rather annoying.
   
   I don't think so, but this was something that could have hid from me.
   
   [*]Are Player stats and college/draft information going to stay accurate after editing and not have any other bugs. One thing that drove me crazy about Head Coach 09 was the fact I couldn't see when a player was drafted. In Madden 09 player information got really messed up after player's retired and if you edited the roster.
   
   I think the roster editing bug was fixed, not sure otherwise.
   
   [*]If there is a combine will it actually mean something? Head Coach 09 like half the player's had the same information for every position, obviously a bug. In Madden 09 sometimes a player would have a great a combine that would usually lead to a player being pretty fast in the NFL. Now I agree that it shouldn't be an equation like 4.22 40's equal 99 speed but it be that a 4.22 40 is in the 90's for speed not low 80's.
   
   No combine
   
   
   
   [*]I believe you said the upcoming draft class's viewing of the roster was redone. Can you get into more detail on this? Hopefully, it is something more like viewing the existing rosters.
   
   Incoming draft class view is a list of players which isn't unlike the free agent list, except that it includes a bar rather than ratings indicating potential.
   
   
   [*]A list of known bugs that have been fixed would be nice. The community might be aware of some that you are not and could bring some new ones to your attention.
   
   I didn't play much 09 and don't know the bugs, if you could list the ones you're referring to, I could address them individually.
   
   [*]A list of all changes or deletions would also be very nice. This might bring up more questions/ideas from everyone.- I've pretty much done that. I don't think anything but a useless broken screen I can't remember the name of was removed.
   
   
   [*]Can we move any player to any position? If drives me crazy that I can't move certain RBs or WRs that were QBs in college to that position.- Once again, I unfortunately never changed a player's position I saw the CPU move a guy from LE to RE though!

Figured I'd pass it all on.

 

[killgod]

i understand what's gone on with franchise.......basically starting from scratch.


but man is there SO much missing from what I had hoped.


the Tib team gave SCEA a big old cock slurp over how great their product was and that they wanted to accomplish the same thing with Madden.


but boy do they certainly have a long ass way to go. MLB's chise mode has all the little details where as Madden simply has a bunch of when it comes to seeing if it has those details.

oh well.

i get it and all, but at least the game seems to have finally turned a corner.

 

[krulmichael]

Nice, pretty much what we already knew, but still some new info in there. I REALLY hope that editing roster glitch that would mess up players stats/info is fixed, especially with me being a roster guy and all.

 

[adembroski]

i understand what's gone on with franchise.......basically starting from scratch.


but man is there SO much missing from what I had hoped.


the Tib team gave SCEA a big old cock slurp over how great their product was and that they wanted to accomplish the same thing with Madden.


but boy do they certainly have a long ass way to go. MLB's chise mode has all the little details where as Madden simply has a bunch of when it comes to seeing if it has those details.

oh well.

i get it and all, but at least the game seems to have finally turned a corner.

Hey, I expected them to basically port NFL Head Coach into franchise mode, and that didn't happen.

I was really disappointed, I was hoping for a while lot more. Still, it's functional, and that's a start.

 

[killgod]

Hey, I expected them to basically port NFL Head Coach into franchise mode, and that didn't happen.

I was really disappointed, I was hoping for a while lot more. Still, it's functional, and that's a start.

definitely what's most important.

it feels like forever since i've truly enjoyed a chise

 

[Prodigal Son]

Did Phil Frazier really do those smiley faces?

I saw the CPU move a guy from LE to RE though!

Really? That deserved an exclamation point? That shit's been done for years.

 

[adembroski]

Did Phil Frazier really do those smiley faces?



Really? That deserved an exclamation point? That shit's been done for years.

Umm, no, the computer didn't do position changes before. They'd just chill with 3 90 rated REs and leave some 75 scrube at LE and be happy.

 

[Rayman]

Great to see that I can't develop my young backups anymore.

Madden always seems to find a way to piss me off.

 

[Sven Draconian]

WHY THE FUCK DON'T THEY USE A RANDOM NAME GENERATOR.

If you browse the forum, you will learn the draft classes. Period. You'll catch sleepers. You'll catch busts. Are you going to catch them all, no. However, scrambling their names would make it impossible.

Let alone if you run multiple franchises (or read people's chise). Lets not forget online franchise. Want to cheat? Sim 30 years and write down the rookies names.

I really like the idea of hand crafted classes because the game generated ones usually stink. But scramble their freakin names and info.

 

[killgod]

well i dunno why you'd choose to cheat yourself out of the experience

but it is rather dumb to have done it that way.

i'm pretty much avoiding all chises......not that i really read them anyways.

 

[1ke]

for the past two years, madden franchise mode has only lasted 3 years. Hopefully with this one being re-done of sorts ill make it past that crappy number.

 

[Rayman]

Wait why do you say this? Didn't they improve the progession glitches? Wouldn't that fix this problem?

How could it progress guys that don't play based on the logic they're using?

For instance, I want Doug Free to eventually take oever for Flozell Adams by my 3rd year in franchise.

Does that mean I have to stick a 70 OVR player on Tony Romo's blind side repeatedly before then in order to insure that he won't be 70 OVR by that third year?

 

[adembroski]

Wait why do you say this? Didn't they improve the progession glitches? Wouldn't that fix this problem?

I think his point is that progression is based on performance, and thus lesser backups wont progress, which isn't entirely true.

As long as they play, they'll progress... you just aren't going to get a guy from a 70 to an elite level with limited playing time. The vast majority of young players progress some at least.

 

[Sportsbuck]

WHY THE FUCK DON'T THEY USE A RANDOM NAME GENERATOR.

If you browse the forum, you will learn the draft classes. Period. You'll catch sleepers. You'll catch busts. Are you going to catch them all, no. However, scrambling their names would make it impossible.

Let alone if you run multiple franchises (or read people's chise). Lets not forget online franchise. Want to cheat? Sim 30 years and write down the rookies names.

I really like the idea of hand crafted classes because the game generated ones usually stink. But scramble their freakin names and info.

Spoiler tags need to be mandatory when discussing draftees or anything close once the game drops.

 

[Kia Kaha]

now i know why Josh only answered 15 question in the blog, he only answered the ones wit a positve answer

Im pissed we cant start in the offseason like in HC 09

 

[Kia Kaha]

and im dissapointed VSN lol, Adem answers all these question about franchise mode and only one other besides me thank him for it.

 

[Maestro]

I wonder if the logic while the cpu is drafting has been fixed. Even on last years game i saw the Vikings picking RB's in the first round.

 

[Sven Draconian]

Spoiler tags need to be mandatory when discussing draftees or anything close once the game drops.

Yea but you know how that will work. Everybody is cautious the first month, but then the info starts popping up in non-related threads.

For example, in Head Coach, everyone knows Jack English is a super stud QB even if you never saw that class in the game. There were several others I knew at the time (and would know on sight of the name), and I was really trying to avoid knowing that info. It just comes out during non-related threads.

The only way to not learn the draft classes is to avoid the forums as much as possible. Avoid reading anybodies franchise (which stinks for those of us who read them). Avoid reading any franchise related topics (Such as, how's your franchise progress). You also need to avoid anything about your best player, check out this player, stat lines ect ect.

It's not the end of the world, but it is pointless to have it this way.

 

[killgod]

I wonder if the logic while the cpu is drafting has been fixed. Even on last years game i saw the Vikings picking RB's in the first round.

They've mentioned this was fixed.

 

[adembroski]

Just to throw this out there... most CPU teams for some reason only carry 2 QBs. Kinda weird.