Tag: Madden

Building a Franchise In Madden – NFL Draft Week Edition

There are many reasons to be excited about the end of April.

The end of the school year, warmer spring weather, baseball season in full swing, etc.

However, for me there are few times of the year I cherish more than NFL Draft Week.  As a Cleveland Browns fan I always have some sort of broken sense of faith that makes me believe we have a chance to make the playoffs… or at least finish .500.

In the first season of my Browns Franchise Peyton Hillis ran for 2213 yards and broke the single season rushing record as the Browns beat the Cowboys for their first Super Bowl!

By the time September comes along it is usually a long foregone conclusion that the Browns will be terrible.  This is where Madden’s Franchise Mode can be one of the more enjoyable parts of the NFL season for a fan of a terrible franchise much like my Browns.

The trick to having a franchise last longer than one or two seasons is what most people look for and today we will give you a few different ways to get some longevity out of your Madden Franchise.

First – Make sure you pick a team you either cheer for or want to build in the long-term.  In my case, I chose the Browns and luckily they are both my favorite team and a team that is a long-term project.

Second – Have a set of challenging sliders and house rules going into your Franchise.  This is vital because nothing can derail a Franchise Mode faster than having your difficulty too high or too low.  In my case, it was way too easy in my first two seasons with the Browns as we won two straight Super Bowls in 2011 and 2012.

*Note* If you have  something similar occur and can’t bear the idea of starting your Franchise from scratch you might have to invent a story.  In my case – I came up with a story that the Pat Shurmur (Cleveland’s Coach) was caught up in a scandal to pretty much buy and cheat his way to Super Bowls in order to assure his position as Cleveland’s coach, he was then fired and kicked out of the league for a season (this is all months before the now famous ‘Bounty’ situation with Sean Payton, mind you!).

Third – Get to know your players and their abilities… Madden is more than just  OVR (Overall) ratings.  While Speed is still king in this game, make it your mission to build a team based on player skills or maybe even some sort of desire to take low OVR players and build them into budding superstars that came out of nowhere.

Fourth – This is actually the most important part, but it is last on the list because it won’t take shape until at least 2 seasons into your franchise mode. Develop and create a storyline and share it with the gaming community!  If you are one of those people that lose interest because there is no one to talk to about your team and you feel annoyed telling your significant other that you just drafted an A Potential QB in the 5th Round of the Draft and all they do is shrug… Tell the sports gaming community about it!  Make a thread, develop some talent for Photoshop and story telling and make it your mission to be the best Coach/Team President and Reporter for your own enjoyment!

Don’t get upset if you don’t get a lot of comments either.  You must post the story for yourself and invest in your franchise mode for your own enjoyment first.  As your talent and devotion grow you will have a greater audience. As an example, we will be starting a new Franchise Story on our Forums as well as posting updates and videos on Youtube as the story progresses.

If you are getting that football itch like many others are it might be time to start a new franchise mode that will take you into early September for the next Madden and the beginning of a new football season!

An example of one of my past franchises is here

Finishing the 2017 Regular Season

As we get closer to the NFL Draft and the height of Free Agency picks up steam many gamers will find a second wind for Madden NFL 12.  We are currently showing the future seasons of the Cleveland Browns in Franchise Mode.  As we finish the 2017 season there are many other things on tap here at NoobTubeTV.

As always, feel free to ask questions and post comments.  We enjoy hearing from you.

1000 Views And Counting!

It has been only a few months since we started up NoobTubeTV.  In that time we have already had over 1000 visits to our webpage and over 4000 video views on our YouTube Channel.  With our rising popularity and so much positive feedback it has been decided to ask all of you what your favorite part of NoobTubeTV is so far.  Please vote in the poll below.

Thanks for all the visits and support!

Please leave comments below!

Get Every Pick In The Draft In Madden 12

I noticed during my 5th season in Franchise Mode with the Browns that I could move down in the draft one spot and gain a first round pick in the next draft.  While I don’t really enjoy making videos or posting blogs about Madden and some of the flaws therein, I must admit that the more I play this game and pay close attention to the trades and what I can do from a front office perspective in Franchise Mode – the more I notice exploits and flaws like this.

Madden 12 – (Ab)Using The Trade Logic

You want to build your team through the draft but you can’t get that coveted 1st round pick from another team for the coming draft?  Happens all the time…  If you want to stock up on your picks this video will show you how.  Even if it is based on bad trade logic.  Hopefully EA fixes this in Madden 13.

Temple of Dooming The Ball – Madden 12 and Bad Ball Physics

If you have played Madden football on the 360 or PS3 over the past few years there is one thing that you may have scratched your head about… or maybe thrown a controller over.

The Ball.

Somehow the ball goes through hands, legs, heads and chests.  This is one of the problems that faces all sports games, not just Madden.  Madden suffers from two big problems outside of the game itself.

Problem 1 – The hardcore audience (like myself) are/is such big football fans and play the game so much that we pick this game apart like a wine connoisseur picks apart a glass of wine.  The problem that EA Tiburon faces with this is that instead of one drink that lasts a few moments, their game is something that people play 365 days a year.  Not only that, but it costs $60+ and comes out every year.  EA has made a lot of improvements over the years but the ball is the one part of this game that suffers from more graphical clipping and ‘magnetism’ than any other aspect every single year.

Problem 2 -Exclusive Rights have killed this game on the current generation of consoles.  While this discussion would get you banned from certain websites and forums it is truly one of the biggest problems facing sports games.  Pay attention to what has happened to Madden since they got exclusive rights.  The last truly great Madden game was Madden 2005.  Since that game, their focus has changed to jerseys and how to pick the guy on the cover.

Please focus on the most important part of the game first and move on from there.

This game focuses on the ball.  In real life and in the video games – it is all about the ball.  Naturally, if the focus is in one spot for the majority of the game you are going to notice these things.  If EA were to focus less on where the ball is and more on what the ball is and how it moves this game would improve drastically.

Ask yourself how many times you have punted in Madden and the ball bounced backwards?  I bet you have seen the ball bounce 25 yards downfield or a few yards sideways, but you haven’t seen it go backwards.  The ball is a living creature on the field and it has a mind of its own.  The ball is a solid part of the game that you can’t put your hand through.  One finger on the ball can change the outcome of a pass play in real life.

I realize that I am not in developer’s studio and they put a lot of work into the miniscule details of this game, but from an outside perspective – I don’t think that matters.  Neither do the 5-7 million people that buy Madden every year… and that includes the few hardcore guys that get upset about the wrong chinstrap on the backup punter for the Patriots.  Focus on the name of the game… football.  I don’t care about what dance someone does, what color shoelaces they have or how they come out onto the field if the football itself doesn’t matter.

This isn’t a rant as much as it is a plea for gamers to notice and demand a better game from the most simple existence of the game – the football itself.

Gamer Etiquette and the Tragedy of Assumed Anonymity

In a world full of wonderful people that are pleasant and well-meaning there is always that one jerk that seems to poke his/her/its head out and ruin what might have been a great day.  The problem is that while this is a mere possibility in the everyday existence of humanity outside in what some people think of as the ‘real world’ it is a more than common occurrence in the world of online gaming.

Don't Go On A Rampage - Just Mute, Avoid and Report

The problem with this starts with the assumption that many people have once they go online – the assumption of anonymity.

You aren’t anonymous online and in the world of online gaming, you are surrounding yourself with a lot of socially maladjusted kids that have grown up on Sponge Bob and Crack (Mountain Dew).  So, when you start hearing that kid on your headset say something about your gamertag being gay or stupid just do the smart thing.  Mute, avoid and report the rugrat.

This also goes for any of the typical punks you come across – Mute, Avoid and Report. (Think Wash, Rinse, Repeat)

I will be posting some videos to show exactly how to do this as the week progresses.

Share your favorite interactions in our comments section!

My personal favorite so far was when I was teamed up with my friend Wonky Britches <—- Real Gamer Tag!!!!

and some guy’s (I am assuming a minority) trash talk was – “You’re just some white guys with good credit!!!!”

I am still trying to figure out if this was meant to offend us or simply imply that he admired our credit scores.  Either way, keep your language clean when you are online because all it takes to find out your name or other stuff is a simple google search of your gamertag.

The Best Time To Be A Noob = Quarter #1

For those that are new to gaming it is vital that you learn a few things about how the schedule of a hardcore gamer works.  This will allow you to understand much more in gaming than simply how to play a certain game, but when to play a certain game.

The first quarter of a new year is usually the most dead time of the year for any game to be released.  It is easily observed that most of the biggest titles to be released come some time in the months leading up to the celebration of commerce we commonly know as Christmas.  Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Arkham City…the list goes on.  However, there is a nice part about this for people that are casual gamers or maybe even what we (super-nerdy, ‘hardcore’ gamers) call Christmas Noobs (people that just got the game for Commerce Day and still don’t fully know some of the important factors of the game —– aka, NoobTubeTV’s Target Audience)

With the lacking amount of top-tier (popular) titles being released during the worst retail months of the year (January-April) you will have a lot of time to learn how to fine-tune your skills in games like Call of Duty.  Not to mention the fact that these are typically the worst weather months of the year as well and you may have some other reasons to hang out in the recliner, couch or sticky bean bag chair in your dorm room.

Just remember, it isn’t a crime to be a noob and like Will Hunting – it’s not your fault… it’s not your fault… it’s not your fault.

Attention Noobs - Its Not Your Fault

If you aren’t crying like Matt Damon right now, please keep your attention on NoobTubeTV.com for more updates on games and what we are referring to as Gamer Etiquette – the one thing lacking so much online that it is a pandemic that has infected 85% of online gamers.

Happy Hunting

Making It Through Tough Gaming Days – Lamentations of an Occasional Rage-Quitter

Admit it, you have done it before.

Rage quitters are everywhere online.  Sometimes they are sitting next to you playing split-screen Modern Warfare 3 or Madden and that can sometimes make for an awkward night around some Hot-N-Ready and Crazy Bread from Little Caeser’s.  It is ok to admit it – you know who you are.

Why do I bring this up?

As a teacher I have some fortunate scheduling during the year; and it is with that that I have had plenty of time to devote to this website and all the videos/updates/random issues.  In the past I used to rage quite a lot.  Now I am somewhat more patient (those of you that know me know that this is only slightly true) and haven’t rage quit nearly as much as I did in Modern Warfare 2 or Halo.  That was until the last couple of days anyway.

[rant]

Whether it was the fact that I have been gaming entirely too much (which you will rarely get me to admit) or some gamers just don’t understand how to WIN a match of Domination in Modern Warfare 3… or something else entirely.  By the way – to WIN at Domination you simply have to control at least two of three flag points on the map in order to gain points every few seconds and get those points to 200.  It doesn’t mean you run around and blindly get kills or camp away from the actual goals of the match. [/rant]

As you can tell, I am easily annoyed when it comes to losing – especially when it is because of incompetent people kids that shouldn’t have the game anyway. [/rant(really)]

Today I come to you a humbled gamer that rage quit three times in Modern Warfare 3 and once in Battlefield 3 in 24 hours.

I have made it through the darkness and found the light in the fact that I belong in Team Deathmatch where there is no teamwork and you are left to carry your team like Michael Jordan every match.  That is where the true rage quitters migrate to anyway.

There will be more videos in the coming weeks.  If you have suggestions please send us an email, join our forums or comment on here as well.
Happy Hunting!