EA Sports has released the December Title Update for Madden NFL 18 today. The latest update includes several gameplay fixes including a fix for Franchise Play Call Screen lag, online stability improvements and also added a new Audibles on the Fly feature. Checkout the full notes below.
Top Updates
- Audibles on the Fly
- Franchise Play Call screen lag fix
- Online stability improvements
What is Audibles on the Fly?
Audibles on the Fly is a feature that allows users to change any formation audible from the Play Call screen at any point in the game.
This feature will bring a level of strategy to Madden that you see from the best players and coaches in the NFL by allowing users to change up their scheme or game plan mid-game to make “on the fly” adjustments to counter your opponent’s scheme. This feature also introduces custom audibles in modes like Madden Ultimate Team for the first time ever.
How It Works
To access the audibles on the fly feature, you need to be selecting plays by formation when at the Play Call screen.
- Pro Tip: Any play that is tagged as an audible in the selected formation will have a yellow corner. This helps the user know which audibles they have at a glance while browsing plays.
Once you have selected a formation and are at the Play Call screen, simply press LT/L2 to bring up the Replace Audible menu. The replace audible menu shows the list of audibles that are currently set for the selected formation. It’s easy to use:
- While at the replace audible menu, select what play in the audibles list you want to replace
- Once a play is selected from the Replace Audible menu, you will then be taken to the replace play level of the Play Call screen where you can select the play you want to add to the active list of audibles for that set to replace your previous selection.
- Once audibles have been selected, users will return to the primary Play Call screen to select the next huddle play. After breaking the huddle, users will have access to all of the new audibles via the audibles menu at the line of scrimmage for the current set.
Quick Audibles on the Fly FAQ
What audibles can I change and how many times can I use the feature in a single game?
- Users have the option to change any of the four audibles within the formation they have selected
- Audibles on the Fly can be used as many times as the user wants in a single game
- Audibles on the Fly does not work with formations that naturally do not allow users to audible, such as Wildcat
Does the feature work for both offense and defense?
- The Audibles on the Fly mechanic works for both offense and defense
Which game modes does Audibles on the Fly work in?
- The Audibles on the Fly feature works in all game modes including Connected Franchise, Madden Ultimate Team, MUT Draft, and MUT Squads and is also accessible in both online and offline play
Can I save my audible changes?
- Changes to audibles are saved for the entirety of the game. Once the game has ended, audibles will reset to their default values. Unfortunately, the Madden Development Team did not have the bandwidth to do the work to allow users to permanently save their audibles on a game by game basis. This is a functionality we on the dev team would love to see, and hopefully we can get that built sometime in the future. For now, the most important thing to us was getting the foundation of this new system built and released to the public so the community can begin to enjoy it.
Other Audible Notes
- Users can use the Audibles on the Fly feature with a custom playbook as long as there are four or more plays in the set
- If the user has four or more plays in the set, but doesn’t populate all of the audible slots with plays when creating the custom playbook, only the audible slots that are populated with plays can be replaced with the Audibles on the Fly feature
- Audibles on the Fly works for play call by Formation only – Madden Devs are evaluating the possibility to expand this to other play call options like by Personnel
Full Title Update Notes
Gameplay Updates
- Added additional performance penalties when using defensive players on offense
- Tuned so that defenders with the Disciplined penalty trait will not jump offsides when Pass Rush Coach Adjustment is set to Balanced
- Addressed an issue around facemask penalties triggering when the Strip Ball Coach Adjustment was set to Conservative
Franchise Updates
- Addressed Play Call screen lag issue
- Added logic for Franchise leagues to turn Injuries ON via settings when using the Competitive Game Style
- Addressed issue making player skills appear locked after spending XP to unlock them when scouting for the Draft
- Addressed issue causing players’ stats and ratings to occasionally change when scrolling down on the menu during a Fantasy Draft
Online Stability Improvements
Deployed new technology that will help mitigate some of the disconnect issues. If you or your opponent are experiencing a network issue, you will see messaging in the UI letting you know of the problem and will attempt to reconnect you.
