We are at the halfway point in Madden 16, and with the football season now over
and Madden being our last remaining football experience, the excitement and
desire for the next Madden is upon us. It is around this time that we all start
thinking about what can make next year’s Madden even better than it already is.
After hours of brain storming, Madden Bomber League, MBL, has come up with
several key features that we think would make Madden 17 a Madden to
remember.
The main feature of Madden for us, as well as the sim gaming community, is the
Connected Franchise mode. CFM has been lacking the past several couple of
years due to the improvement and love affair with Madden Ultimate Team. While
Madden Ultimate Team has its time and place, the force that has driven Madden
to the point in which it is at now is the enriched content in CFM. And we feel it is
truly time that the enrichment and true feel of being an NFL owner or coach is
brought into the Madden CFM experience.
Draft Improvements
The Draft
Let’s start with the most fundamental building blocks of any team: The NFL draft.
The NFL Draft is one of the most publicized events after the conclusion of the
NFL season. Nobody knows who will be a boom or bust; just educated guesses
can be taken. It’s the same for Madden. The draft is one of the most fun and
anticipated stages in Madden. Chaos constantly ensues in the war room. No
matter whether you are trying to trade up, down, or trade for picks in the following
season, we all love the draft and more work needs to be put into upgrading the
dynamics of the draft.
Draft Board
The draft board was a simple feature in the early days of online franchise that
has since been removed from the game. While the draft board does not need to
be any sort of elegant feature, it is a fundamental aspect and should be in
Madden every year. In the CFM world and community that Madden and EA have
created, full 32 owner leagues are the lifeblood of an ever growing sim
community. With that being said, a draft board is essential because gamers
aren’t always available. Many folks put a lot of time and dedication into running
CFMs, as well as just being a player in a CFM. If we aren’t available to make the
draft, a draft board would solve all those problems.
College Stats
NCAA, and just college athletes in general, are what make the NFL what it is for
years to come. During a Madden season, there is limited amounts of information
given about the upcoming draft class. We get several stories but not much
substance is given. The once up and coming Peyton Manning who is having a
poor season is briefly touched on as we hear his performance against the top
teams in the nation are suffering, but that’s about all. The ride of watching your
#1 prospect grow or fall in his last college season is part of the thrill and
excitement we want to see in CFM.
Scouting
The scouting system received a huge overhaul in Madden 16, and for that
we are grateful. However, it is still not where it needs to be. When scouting a
player, a scout has access to virtually unlimited knowledge of the player. Stats
and achievements should play a part into who and why you’re scouting a
particular player. The Draft has so many unknowns, and drafting that #1 QB we
see a general guideline of their attributes determined by our scout, but what we
don’t see is what they did. No season stats or career college stats are given.
Bringing in the combine was a good idea, but that’s only half the answer. NFL
scouts have a limitless amount of information on these athletes, so why can’t we?
Character and Injuries
Injuries and character issues are an intricate factor in football. When players are
being scouted, some teams stay away from these players regardless of upside.
This should also be implemented in Madden. This will steer CFM owners in a
different direction. With injuries, it will make owners think twice about drafting a
particular player despite their upside. Will you waste a high pick on a prospect
that has a history of getting hurt like RGIII or Sam Bradford? They had all the
upside in the world, but they haven’t been able to stay on the field. With
character issues, it can destroy your team’s chemistry (which we will get into
later). Johnny Manziel is a perfect example of this. Every coach knew what they
were getting into.
Minor Draft Additions
There is also many smaller additions that can be added into CFM to really
immerse you into the feeling of being an NFL Owner or coach. Mock drafts would
be an awesome feature to add, even just mock drafts of the first round that
periodically will be displayed in the news screen throughout the season. The
ticker that is in the bottom of our screen usually displaying real NFL scores/news
is great, but wouldn’t it be even better to show our CFM scores for that week?
And while we are drafting, show who was picked and at what pick.
Overall CFM Improvements
Let’s move forward now past just “The Draft” and move into the broader scope of
CFM as a whole. If you look at CFM over the past few years and over the last
decade of just the franchise mode in general, it has taken steps forward and also
steps back. I believe CFM right now is not perfect, but it has the building blocks
set up that can make it truly a one of a kind experience.
Team Chemistry
Let’s start off with what we in MBL think is the most fundamental and best
improvement Madden 17 can possibly offer. And that is Team Chemistry. This is
something that is essentially already in the game, but only utilized in the MUT
mode. It would make team building an even deeper strategy than it already is
while you now have the added bonus to attempt to make a team “gel” together as
they play together more and build chemistries and connections between players
who have the same scheme and have played on the same team for multiple
seasons.
Schemes
Schemes are something that you have had in madden for several years now but
essentially has only changed the numerical number value of the players overall.
It’s time to make schemes mean something to the team. Players that play under the same scheme receive bonus chemistry, as they already know the system. We think the confidence system in Madden works well, but we also don’t think it ever really turned out to what you in EA have expected it to be. But the system can be easily implemented to be more dynamic by changing this to team chemistry.
Chemistry Broken Down
Chemistry will be broken down into several specific parts and divided by the
groups on your team. Offensive line will have chemistry with each other, D-line
together, secondary; linebackers, and lastly a QB will have chemistry individually
to each WR.
The idea to have a deeper dive into CFM can be accomplished here. Who is
going to create the next Legion of Boom? Who will create the next Steel Curtain?
All these are possible with the implementation of allowing teams to organically
create and develop players to have chemistry with each other; a team that each
players strengths is his counterparts weaknesses. This creates a true team
building experience in the ultimate team building sport of football.
Personality
Every NFL player has their own personality. It’s time to make this “personality”
trait that has been in Madden more organic and actually mean something
now. Personality has been a feature in madden for several seasons, restricted
primarily to the selling of jerseys and things similar, but that’s really where it
ends.
Morale
Morale is something that was again in previous Madden games had but is no longer
available and we feel goes hand in hand with personality. A team, and a player
more specifically, will have higher morale because of several conditions. Teams
that are performing well, utilizing the player, and a player that is playing under his
scheme will attribute to players morale. Morale will contribute to a player’s happiness towards the team, ultimately linking to our central concept of
team chemistry.
This player now with high morale would have added chemistry with the team
because they are happy to be there, and playing in a scheme they know. Also,
contract negotiating would be slightly easier because they want to be on this
team. On the flip side, a player with low morale would have the opportunity and
possibility to hold out, or decline contract negotiations because they don’t want to
be on the team.
Contract Overhaul
While we are on the topic of contracts, this is a feature that really consistently
gets no love because it is pretty cut and dry. Previously in Madden owners could
decide to front or backload contracts, but unfortunately it is not an option for
owners anymore. Additionally, something we think should be implemented is the
ability to renegotiate contracts. Aging players who have declined in productivity
should be able to renegotiate to take a pay cut to remain on the team. This is
something used in the NFL today and should be able to use in madden as well.
Free Agency Changes and Additions
Over the past few Madden games, FA has seen a few major changes and some not so
major ones. But ultimately there has always been one main thing in common: FA
in Madden has really always been about offering the most money/years and
praying. We’d like to see a deeper dive into FA going forward. NCAA Football
recruiting is a great place to look at for a blueprint. You should be able to give
pitches to FA’s in an attempt to sway their choice. That pitch should be based off
what’s important to the FA (winning, scheme, starting, location, etc.). If you make
a pitch and don’t hold up to the pitch then the penalty can be a decreased
interest from other FA’s in the future, or a holdout (If you incorporate that
previous suggestion).
Also you should be able to queue guys in FA. If I need a LT, I should be able to
offer three guys a contract but only sign one. Some sort of FA planning that says
“LT: Need 3 Order: 1, 2, 3; Number to sign: 1” This would let me offer three guys
and only sign one. Who I sign is based on who are willing to accept, and then my
preference of those who will accept.
Head Coach
Madden has always neglected one of the most important aspect of a NFL team,
the head coach. A coach is the building block and most central part of your team
chemistry. Every coach has their own scheme that should tie directly into the
chemistry of your team. Certain players and coaches simply just don’t work
together. Furthermore, coach challenges should be more in depth and allow for
the user to determine what they are challenging. It doesn’t happen too often, but
there is times in Madden where when I challenge a call, it does not challenge
what I want. The option to choose specifically “Challenge catch” or “Challenge
spot” would be a huge addition that would avoid all challenge problems.
Coordinators
Assistant coaches need to play a bigger role in CFM. What I mean by this is
incorporate offensive and defensive coordinators. They should have some kind of
the effect like the head coaches. When a new offensive or defensive coordinator
comes in, they can completely change the style of offense. Depending on the
success of the offense or defense, coordinators should be able to be promoted to
head coach or test the waters and see if another team is interested in their
services whether it’s as a coordinator or head coach. Take for example the real
life New York Giants and Ben Mcadoo. He came to New York and completely
changed the style of offense. It took a year or two but the offense regained
chemistry under this new system. And now, he is promoted to the head coach.
This could only have boosted morale and chemistry in the locker room as
someone who they have now worked under for two seasons is the head coach of
the team and they will continue to use the same system.
Stayed tuned for our Madden 17 Gameplay Wishlist coming soon! If you have any Madden 17 Connected Franchise improvements you would like to add let us know on social media or in the comments below.
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