The Madden 13 Roster Update 4-14-13 is available now! – Download Here
The time has come to get your fix of updated rosters. There have been some moves around the league lately and those moves have been accounted for (Cleveland’s recent trade for Dion Lewis being one of them). While some of the rookies have been re-rated due to prior creation having them too high for their projections in the original roster file.
Now that off-season free agency has started and many of the stars have realigned throughout the NFL (with plenty of time left for more movement) there are many Madden fans left wondering why they should bother playing the game now that EA’s roster updates have been over for a month.
Your Madden 13 isn’t quite dead yet.
I am happy to announce that there is a simple home remedy that I will be undertaking as we get closer to the draft – updating rosters manually. This is a substantial undertaking as Madden isn’t always the most end-user friendly game for roster editing. I did a similar service for Madden 12. While the XBox 360 is horrible for simple save transfers, here is a link to the NTTV post back in August that should help you out.
The rosters will be updated to the best of my ability to follow along with the busy free agent season. There will need to be some testing for how these might work in CCM. If you would like to assist with any roster moves please leave comments or like us on Facebook and post your suggestions!
If anyone would like these updates to be done for Madden 13 on PS3 you might have to donate a game to the cause as I have a PS3 but do not have Madden 13 for the console.
The majority of traffic to NoobTubeTV over the past year has been for information on all things ‘Madden’. This year will be interesting if you consider the release of the XBox 720 (or whatever they will call it) to be on the top of your anticipation list. Regardless of what you are looking forward to in football gaming this year, Madden is most likely on the top of your list.
Madden 13 is a game that came out of the gates strong with some new direction to Franchise Mode with the new Connected Careers Mode. Some gamers hated this move and the direction of earning XP for players through on field production. Other gamers enjoyed this new move for realism in player growth during CCM. Either way you fall on this argument you will notice that it was always part of the hype machine after the Madden 12 cycle finished with the Super Bowl.
With the Super Bowl (and the new Madden Release Date announcement) only a few weeks away you should be fully prepared for the onslaught of Madden hype from EA Sports.
Some of the hopes for improvement in Madden 14 are –
More customization of playbooks and depth charts/players – CCM cut off a lot of user creativity as it all but removed player editing and roster editing from the mode.
Better OLine and DLine Interaction – This is something that is called for and demanded by the Madden community every year. EA supposedly made this better by using the strength ratings in Madden 13, but given the constant issues with defensive linemen not getting proper sack numbers and the strange ‘Pancake Block’ stat for OLinemen, it is questionable as to whether or not EA knows anything about linemen at all.
Smarter AI Decisions and Gameplanning – Why do CPU QBs get away with clear intentional grounding? Why does the CPU call a HB Draw while down 5 points and 55 yards from the endzone with 17 seconds left? Why does the CPU call a Timeout with 1:01 left in the 4th quarter?
More Realistic Injuries – We have been calling for this for years. The bottom line is that real time physics means nothing if injuries are random.
I bet you think I am joking… and I am to an extent – but…
So many people were clamouring for fantasy drafts and player editing in Madden 13 – and their wishes are slowly being granted. Many people are still playing Black Ops strictly for the zombie mode and are looking forward to Black Ops 2 only for the continuation of it as well. Now we have numerous zombie add-ons for games like ARMA 2 to go with the already growing number of actual zombie-themed games like Left 4 Dead and Dead Island.
Then it crossed my mind.
What would make a football game more accessible for non-sports gamers?
Zombies!
Consider the possibilities of instead of simply getting tackled by other players you were being chased around the field by zombies. Maybe you could actually break ankles with a crazy juke move or use the hit stick to wreck a few zombies carrying the brain…err – ball.
I bet Donny Moore would give them all 99 OVRs in toughness and 25s in Awareness…
What are your thoughts? – Should zombies make their way into sports games?
As it happens, EA Sports is allowing XBox Live and Playstation Network users to play their sports games early. It is in this spirit that we are going to try and help you decide whether or not to buy or pre-order Madden 13. You will still have ample time to make an informed decision before the game is released on August 28.
To call it a review is a misnomer – we will be featuring a series of reviews over the next few days that will cover everything from gameplay to specific modes and even the online experience. If you have any questions or requests please post them in our comments section or hit us up on Twitter – @NoobTubeTV.
Stay tuned to NoobTubeTV for reviews and updates on everything Madden 13 over the next few days.
Do not let my jaded perspective ruin your desire to find a great league. I am always looking for a great group of gamers that want to have a genuinely great time playing the game for the sake of fun and community. There are a few of these almost mythological leagues and dynasties out there. The hard part is finding one that will accept a new member or finding one that is even looking for new members.
I would be remissed and it would be unfair to tell you that every league and online experience is terrible. However, this article is meant to educate you of the downfalls because if you find something great there will be no reason for you to read the rest of this article. However, if you are looking for honesty with objective, personal experiences and opinions – NoobTubeTV.com is always the best place to find it.
Online Connected Careers could be Madden’s saving grace.
Why People Avoid Playing Sports Games Online
There is a fine line between friendly competition and taking a game a bit too seriously. In my early gaming years it was hard for me to take a loss… even to the CPU. Somehow the ‘Reset’ button would always get hit or I would have something come up that I had to do that would make me turn the game off. What I started to learn after awhile was that it gave my season quite a bit more enjoyment to lose a game that I either didn’t play well or was simply outclassed by better opposition.
Something happens when you start playing other people in sports games though. It is as if the stress level increases exponentially and your enjoyment of the game gives way to one thing – winning at all costs. The issue is starting to climb more and more as online competition becomes more ubiquitous with gaming in general. There are two primary reasons why online sports gaming is avoided like the plague by a large percentage of sports gamers.
Online Lobbies Are A Cesspool
If you have played a game of Madden NFL online, the chances are good that you have come across someone that either becomes verbally abusive if you start winning or they do something that is almost more annoying. Cheating or Cheesing (using shortcomings of the game’s AI or a certain play that is almost unstoppable every time) has given gamers a reason to avoid online sports gaming altogether. In these cases, it really just ruins the game for people that either aren’t experienced or prefer to play a more ‘simulation’ style of game (look for our upcoming article on ‘Simple Ways To Be A ‘Sim’ Gamer’).
Online Leagues Are A Crapshoot
Over the last few years many sports games have started allowing online leagues to form so that groups of gamers could find purpose in what had been up until that point trivial leaderboard competitions at best. There had been communities of gamers making their own online leagues for years. It wasn’t until EA Sports gave gamers a chance to run a league with NCAA Football 09 that it became a bit more ‘mainstream’. In Madden 10, it finally came in the form of the sickeningly bare-bones ‘Online Franchise’ mode.
In order to get Madden you should probably pre-order the game from GameStop. Personally, I miss his presence in the game that has made his name even more immortal.
Now that all gamers had a chance to join a league in NCAA or Madden Football it was only a matter of time before the friendly leagues with a lot of promise turned into glorified Lobby Matches. In college football leagues all you need to do is lose a game to effectively end your chances to win a championship and then you start seeing league member quit by the week.
In the pro game, it is a bit more forgiving if you lose a game… or five. The problem with Madden is that for some reason a lot of the people that play it competitively make it seem like it is a requirement to be rude or make every game into some sort of digital war of ‘money plays’. Sure, there are occasions when you will find a decent game but those seem to be as fleeting as the leagues they are a part of.
Who Wants To Wait?
It isn’t a question of whether or not online leagues are a good idea or if there are ‘good’ leagues out there. For most people, it just isn’t as much fun to play in an online league because they have to wait for other people.
On a personal level, it isn’t uncommon for me to play two or three games at a time during my sports gaming sessions. If you are in a league with multiple users you usually have to wait on a scheduled advance before you can play another game. I don’t want to plan my week or my days around other gamers. If I start a game and in the middle of the first quarter I need to leave for an emergency I don’t want to have to explain myself to anyone, let alone some guy in my league. If it is a friend, of course they will understand but when you start getting into leagues and ‘official sites’ it can turn into some sort of elitist club of ‘Uncle Ricos’.
EA Sports’ Victor Lugo was recently interviewed by ESPN. While this interview gives a lot of interesting details, it does leave us to wonder whether or not Madden 13 is going to be nearly as amazing as the developers are pushing us to believe it will or should be.
We are still of the opinion that real-time physics without real-time injuries is a lackluster feature. What is your take?
No two tackles look alike? Sounds like a time to place bets.
Check message boards, tweets or sports gamer chatter from around the Web and all you’ll hear are the same complaints: “Madden” is nothing but a roster update every year, and “NFL 2K5” is still better.
“Everyone loves the underdog, and I think that’s where a lot of it comes from,” “Madden 13” producer Victor Lugo says when confronted with the complaints, admitting that the design team is all too familiar with them (especially the comparisons to “2K”).
But to Lugo, everything is about to change once gamers see the new real-time physics engine he helped develop. In “Madden 13,” no two tackles look alike, and the physics affect everything on the field, from the ability of running backs to roll off of a downed tackler and keep running to the way a receiver gets hit midair and helicopters his way back down to the turf.
“To not have an element that another game has gives people the right to complain, but I think at this point we have a lot of stuff that our competitors have had, and right now, we’re just concentrating on expanding ‘Madden’ and making the best simulation football we can,” Lugo adds. “It doesn’t really bother me too much what other people say, because we have brought a lot of the community guys in, guys who have been notoriously hard on our game for years, and they were really, really enjoying the game and how the Infinity Engine turned out.” ESPN Playbook: Only a select few have gotten their hands on “Madden 13” so far, so for people reading this article, how would you explain the Infinity Engine and how it completely changes the game from “Madden 12” to “Madden 13”?
Lugo: “Madden 12” used a pretty interesting system. The collision system was more of your old-school collision volume around the character, and when the collision volumes intersected, an animation played out. Now, because of the Infinity Engine, you see a lot of variety in our hits because it’s not based around one collision box around a character, it’s based on individual limbs and individual muscle strengths and tensions throughout the whole character. Because of that, you see a lot more variety, and you see a lot more impact. It’s so different from last year’s game that now, when you’re playing, you can no longer recognize the outcome before it happens. The variety of interaction is what people want.
The way tacklers bounce off of running backs like Frank Gore, and the ability to spin receivers in the air with a vicious hit is pretty sweet. What else can gamers expect to see?
Because we factor in momentum and weight and we also factor in tensions based on what they’re doing, you’re going to see so much variety. You’ll see Frank Gore run over a lot of people this year. By the way, we went to college at the exact same time at The U, so I use him all the time to run people over and he’s featured in all of our videos. You’ll also see a lot of great stuff when receivers are up in the air. We set the tensions up so you don’t have a leg to stand on when you’re in the air, so that leads to all of the spins. There are all these immersive interactions that you just wouldn’t see in the past. You may be going to the ground, fall on somebody else and regain your balance and keep going. I can’t even anticipate for people what is going to happen because there is so much going on. It looks awesome, especially when you’re up in the air.
What’s your favorite sequence that you’ve seen in “Madden 13” so far that you’ve never seen in “Madden” before?
My favorite sequence so far was a short goal-line play from about 3 yards out. I ran up the middle, but I get hit and it looks like I’m stopped right at the goal line. But the guy hit me in the direction of the end zone and I end up rolling on an opposing teammate’s helmet, and I roll right into the end zone for the touchdown. In the past, I would’ve just hit the ground and that would’ve been the end of it, but I just rolled right off of this dude’s head to score. It was fantastic.
How about the Kinect controls in “Madden”? I know a lot of time, the hard-core community hears about Kinect being added to a game and they immediately start rolling their eyes. How have you guys made the voice commands an essential part of playing the game this year?
We had a couple of different goals in mind when it came to “Madden” and Kinect, and none of them involved forcing something cheesy or inappropriate to “Madden” in the game. We want to emulate what you see in real life, and that chatter is a big part of football on the field. A lot of our team has played football. I played football growing up and in high school, and chatter is a big part of playing, so we wanted to give people the ability to talk to their team and call out the audibles like you would in an NFL game. As a second goal, we want to make it easy for beginners to use it, so we put UI (user interface) on the screen to guide you toward what you can do and puts you in appropriate situations in context of the play. For hard-core people, we give you the ability to use both the controller and your voice in order to get that extra command in. A lot of the real hard-core players, and a lot of our really good players are taking advantage of the Kinect in order to do some of the commands that in the past have taken a lot of button commands or have been tough to get through before the ball is snapped, especially on defense. Trying to call man coverage on a specific receiver, for instance, takes a lot of steps, and with the buttons, you’re not going to get more than one of those before the ball is snapped. But with the voice commands, they’re able to get a couple of these commands in as well as adjust the line with the controller. People have been really enjoying it, and we’ve had some people who didn’t think they were going to like it at all now telling us they have to go buy a Kinect, so that’s great to hear.
How do the Kinect controls work with two players or with other people in the room? Can I just start shouting out player names and routes to throw my buddy off?
[Laughs.] Yeah, you’re going to need to tell your little brother to shut up, especially if he’s in the background. This year, we support the Kinect with single player, and with head-to-head online. What we decided to do with online is, you can talk and have a conversation all throughout the play and through play call, but then once you line up we mute you out for that 20 seconds before you snap the ball so you don’t hear what the other person is saying, and it also defends against you yelling hike through and having it get picked up through their surround sound speakers. We eliminate all of the trolling that way, but like I said there’s nothing you can do to defend against your brother. You’ll just need to find a way to shut him up.
People talk about the greatest “Madden” games of all time, and “Madden 2004” with Vick and all the offense and “Madden 2005” with the addition of the Hit Stick always seem to come up. With the addition of the Infinity Engine, where do you think “Madden 13” will go down on that list?
I think this is a revolutionary year for “Madden” both in gameplay and on the career side. In both cases, we’ve added something that is going to make the game bigger than it has ever been. With the physics, the Infinity Engine is something that we’re going to use moving forward forever. This is a fundamental change to gameplay that you will see forever, so this is a monumental year. This will go down in history, alongside some of those other games like 2004, because it’s a game that is bringing fundamental changes. You’re not going to forget “Madden 13.”
Over the past couple years we have seen tremendous growth from EA Sports’ Madden Franchise. Some people like to attribute this growing quality to the inclusion of what EA Sports is calling Game Changers from the EA Gaming Community. A few days ago NoobTubeTV covered some of the biggest issues between non-Game Changers and the Game Changers on an interactive level through forums, Twitter, etc.
The Game Changer program is a fantastic idea that seems to have improved EA Sports games.
After scouring message-boards/forums, news and fan sites (many of which are owned by Game Changers) it is evident that they care deeply about the product they have all but devoted their lives to playing. It is impressive to see many of these sites talk about the intricacies and details that are either present or missing from some titles. These dedicated gamers eventually gained such a large audience or member-base that their opinions were held in high regard by EA.
When they first made their trips down to EA to visit the studio and get a first glimpse of the game they were pretty limited in what they got to see. It was all but a finished game and they got to give some feedback but anything else was off the table until at least the next year.
This year, the Game Changers got a few chances to visit EA Sports and watch as the game made it through Alpha and Beta stages. They also got to give input and suggestions. In the process of these visits they aren’t allowed to divulge any information that EA doesn’t give them permission to express to the public.
Power (even a little) can make people change for the worst.
This puts Game Changers into a de-facto position of power. For many of them, it is something they take with humility. For others, it seems to be going to their heads and it is starting to leave a sour taste in the minds of many community members. The issue at hand is that many of these valued members of the community are given a ‘a longer leash’ and sometimes no leash at all (especially on their own personal sites). You will find that some (a minority really) of the ‘premier’ community leaders (aka Game Changers) choose to take things personally and/or respond to commoners in a rather snarky fashion that would often equate to a warning or ban from forums. This is a problem that was really bound to happen as it isn’t dissimilar from people voted into political offices of power. They are given power and then they exploit it with little or no recourse to the people they are supposedly representing.
It is important for all of our readers to remember a few things when it comes to taking an active role in the games and game communities in which you are involved. Below are some pointers for how to better represent yourself and your views when taking an active role in forums.
Be Polite and Professional – many sites have TOS (Terms of Service) that spell out how you should act and which types of interaction and comments are allowed.
When In Doubt, DON’T PRESS SEND – If you value your membership in a forum/community and you get angry or annoyed with a fellow member or even the game in general you need to think before you submit some sort of choice words.
Choose Your Words Carefully – It is vital that a member doesn’t call anyone out or put them on blast by pointing fingers. This is often how digital fights of words begin and you better bet on community leaders getting the benefit of the doubt over a common user such as yourself.
Don’t Be A Troll – If your mission is to go and instigate other members of the community, you might as well refrain from registering from the site to begin with… but who are we kidding?… You are probably getting ready to submit a rude comment here on NoobTubeTV. The real problem you will find is that by doing that (on here, at least) your comment will be approved and then it will be responded to in a polite and professional manner – therefore making you look foolish. Again… don’t be a troll.
In Madden 13 there is no player potential in Connected Careers. However, in Madden 12 it is one of the more limiting parts of Franchise Mode. If you have wanted to know how to change a player’s potential rating from an ‘F’ to an ‘A’ this is how you do it in your Franchise Mode.
It is also important for you to know that the Potential Rating is dependent on the Overall Rating as you edit. It is easy to calculate a player’s potential when it comes to this:
90-99 OVR = A
It has been just over a month sense E3 and there are still people waiting to hear more details about Franchise Mode/Connected Careers in Madden 13. There are a few things we can deduce from details that have either been given to the community straight up or through videos that leave you to draw some conclusions. Not to mention the fact that some of the good people that were invited to Community Day at EA Tiburon have given a lot of great feedback.
This is one of the biggest changes for Madden in years. The issue we are facing is that the details have become rather muddled.
Here is a list of answers and a few thoughts (after the facts) so you can have your questions answered.
Is Franchise Mode dead?
In name, yes. In practice, no. Franchise Mode still exists and it will be under the selection of being a ‘Coach’ – you will still have the same control over your team, etc. Also, you will have the ability to get fired as a coach. Everything you have been able to do in Franchise Mode in the past – you can still do in Madden 13.
What about Superstar Mode?
Superstar Mode is still around. You will ‘Be A Player’ and in the process you will only control yourself. You will get to choose plays as a QB, etc.
Legends, what’s the deal?
Legends (Coaches and Players like John Madden and Barry Sanders) are not coming into Connected Careers as 99 OVR versions of themselves. Their presence in Connected Careers is also up to you as the main user to turn them on or off (off is default as of E3).
How does XP work for Connected Careers?
XP is a two tier process –
1– You have to earn it through performance and milestones. However, you won’t be able to earn more XP if you cheat or run up the score on the CPU. (IE – If your goal is a 300 yard passing game in week three for 1000 XP and you pass for 900 yards, you still only get 1000 XP)
2– Leveling up costs increase as your ratings get higher. You will earn XP as you accomplish certain goals, but as you try to make your player either faster, stronger or simply better all-around you will see ratings cost more as you go. (IE – The cost to go from 85 to 86 SPD as a QB could cost you 6000 XP, but the cost to go from 86 to 87 SPD could cost you 7000 XP, etc.)
Do Coaches Matter?
Not really. Coaches simply get put into one of four levels. You can grow your created coach into a ‘Level 4’ but it really doesn’t mean anything. (Unfortunate)
Do player ratings change depending on a team’s scheme?
Yes, there are finally ratings that dynamically change to reflect the player’s overall value to your team or coach and what type of offense or defense you run. A 6’3″ 349 lb DE won’t be valued highly by a 4-3 Defensive Team, etc. This doesn’t mean his ability ratings ‘change’ but his displayed OVR and value to your team will be.
Can I make existing players retire if I control them?
No, you technically ‘stop’ using them. However, if you have a created player and retire they will be removed from the game.
Can I still control all 32 teams?
No, you can only control one team or player at a time.
Is Connected Careers Online or Offline?
It is both. If you hate playing against people online you don’t have to worry about it.
Can more than one person play a Connected Career on the same console?
No.
Can Commissioners kick people out of the league?
Yes
Is there online Auto-Pilot?
Yes.
Can Online Connected Careers have different roles?
Depending on your settings, you can make it so everyone has to be a QB, Coach RB, etc. It is totally up to the commissioner.
Can I play on the same team as a friend in Online CC?
No.
More to come! Stay tuned to NoobTubeTV as Madden gets closer.
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A few quick thoughts…
Madden 13 is really depending on Connected Careers being a high quality experience. There are a few things that it seems EA still needs to figure out for coaches especially.
In NFL Head Coach you would be able to say one of a few different things to your players at key moments. This added immersion and actually made coaches important. As well, the idea of a player fitting into a team’s scheme… it should be a coach’s scheme, nota team’s scheme. The Browns have switched coaches so many times in the last decade that the players change as often because they don’t fit what the coach wants to do and how his staff prefers to approach the game.
Making people earn XP to increase abilities is a great attempt to make the game a bit more involved and honest. By removing the ‘Potential’ rating you are now pretty much in charge of proving that a player is as good as you think and they will have to earn every bit of that OVR Rating you think they deserve. The nice part is that it is all on you to do this.
The overall closed nature of Connected Careers is a good thing for this year, but next year it needs to be opened up. There is a danger in allowing people to mess with time paradoxes, true simulation and that little thing called the game’s actual coding. This is something that can be improved upon with a more open approach in the future. Let the beta testers gamers mess with all sorts of things so EA can figure out the issues and fix them rather than avoid them because they are scared of problems with freezing and system crashes, etc.
All things said, Connected Careers is starting to look like a great mode for Madden fans that want to have a nice experience in growing a team or a player as they see fit. Even with some limitations that make you scratch your head.
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