Should We Be Worried About Perfect Team...

[chargerrich]

... becoming the MUT like feature that ruined a once proud Madden franchise mode?

To this day the Madden product is a far worse product (for franchise/GM players) than the PS2 era Madden 06/07... I do not want this to happen to the best baseball sim on the market.

But it seems to me like 23 continues to chase the perfect team money to the detriment of what this game has always been about and that makes me both nervous and sad after seeing what Madden has become (not that EA cares as it rakes in money which makes me think OOTPD wont care either).

In any event, I am voting with my wallet and still playing 22 after refunding 23 as it seemed to be a far less step forward in the franchise than in years past. This will be the FIRST version I have not purchased annually since 2004.

Perhaps I am wrong here and I am not trying to speak as factual but I am getting a sour vibe from 23... am I alone here?

[andyhdz]

Originally Posted by chargerrich

... becoming the MUT like feature that ruined a once proud Madden franchise mode?

To this day the Madden product is a far worse product (for franchise/GM players) than the PS2 era Madden 06/07... I do not want this to happen to the best baseball sim on the market.

But it seems to me like 23 continues to chase the perfect team money to the detriment of what this game has always been about and that makes me both nervous and sad after seeing what Madden has become (not that EA cares as it rakes in money which makes me think OOTPD wont care either).

In any event, I am voting with my wallet and still playing 22 after refunding 23 as it seemed to be a far less step forward in the franchise than in years past. This will be the FIRST version I have not purchased annually since 2004.

Perhaps I am wrong here and I am not trying to speak as factual but I am getting a sour vibe from 23... am I alone here?

I think the 23 angst is a little overblown. I have some little annoying issues with it but it's the easiest $40 I've spent. And remember franchise mode in Madden was always a throwaway even from the beginning. I don't think that will ever happen with OOTP.

[BBGiovanni]

Originally Posted by andyhdz

I think the 23 angst is a little overblown. I have some little annoying issues with it but it's the easiest $40 I've spent. And remember franchise mode in Madden was always a throwaway even from the beginning. I don't think that will ever happen with OOTP.

Haha, I turn off league development in OOTP becase to this day I'm still mad at the Madden game where Washington moved to become the Los Angeles Rhinos

Seems like other versions have been buggy to this time ov year, and this one came out late.

[Syd Thrift]

Ultimate Team didn’t drive Madden into the ground. It was stale loooooong before that came out. If anything it drove a few new fans to the franchise and maybe slightly encouraged them to make improvements to the base game (which, granted, they still didn’t do). But this is a game that was inferior to the Visual Concepts title back in the mid 2000s which hasn’t had real, tangible improvements to the game itself since the mid to late 2000s.

A better example might be MLB The Show’s card collector game, although I haven’t heard as much from people that that has wrecked the title…

[chargerrich]

Originally Posted by andyhdz

And remember franchise mode in Madden was always a throwaway even from the beginning. I don't think that will ever happen with OOTP.

I disagree with this completely... Madden 05, 06 and 07 on the PS2 (with all its limitations) was (still is) the best franchise mode in a American football game and certainly the best in the Madden series.

[DJ_Jak_32]

Originally Posted by chargerrich

I disagree with this completely... Madden 05, 06 and 07 on the PS2 (with all its limitations) was (still is) the best franchise mode in a American football game and certainly the best in the Madden series.

Seeing the lack of American Football games on the market not named Madden, this isn't saying much

[bwiese3908]

Originally Posted by DJ_Jak_32

Seeing the lack of American Football games on the market not named Madden, this isn't saying much

That's because EA signed an exclusive agreement with the NFL that effectively killed all competition. EA put 2 good years in after to build up their base and haven't done squat since.



With no competition why improve? When you can create card games and rake in the cash.

[andyhdz]

Originally Posted by chargerrich

I disagree with this completely... Madden 05, 06 and 07 on the PS2 (with all its limitations) was (still is) the best franchise mode in a American football game and certainly the best in the Madden series.

I never played those versions but are you saying those versions had an actual simulation engine that gave you realistic results? I'm not talking about the fluff that surrounds franchise mode but the actual simulation of games.

[chargerrich]

They certainly were not perfect... and i agree they had no competition but they were and STILL ARE better than anything EA has put out in - literally - 15 years.

I just do not want OOTP to regress and I - personally - despise perfect team. Every dev hour used on that feature is a waste IMO and 23 does not feel like much of an upgrade from 22.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

A better example might be MLB The Show’s card collector game, although I haven’t heard as much from people that that has wrecked the title…

I've never played Madden's MUT mode, so I don't know how it compares, but Diamond Dynasty is immensely fun in The Show. I think it's because the card collecting is directly tied to playing the actual game. Sure, you can spend your money to buy cards, but you can also play game after game and rack up coins to buy cards or earn cards through achievements in the different programs. Modes like Conquest and Showdown are crazy fun. And the gameplay in The Show is fantastic.

[Dr Naysay]

Can someone please ELI 5 what Perfect Team is, I'm trying to wrap my head around it but I can't quite grasp it.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

I've never played Madden's MUT mode, so I don't know how it compares, but Diamond Dynasty is immensely fun in The Show. I think it's because the card collecting is directly tied to playing the actual game. Sure, you can spend your money to buy cards, but you can also play game after game and rack up coins to buy cards or earn cards through achievements in the different programs. Modes like Conquest and Showdown are crazy fun. And the gameplay in The Show is fantastic.

I don’t play it but have watched LPs of it and yeah, it looks OK. I also like the other things you can add in the game and think PT would be aided by, for instance, having manager and park cards instead of just being able to manually assign park factors and strategy. I’m ok with PT being completely unhooked from the game otherwise.

[Pelican]

I'm not the one to answer on PT, except that I understand it to be head-to-head competition or some version of that. I play in a fantasy league with life-long buddies, so don't feel any need to convert my OOTP experience into a shared interactive version (except of course, in these discussions).

[Sweed]

I'm not worried as long as Markus is still leading the team. I don't play PT and have never opened it, just no interest in it at all. OOTP has been improving incrementally as it always has from what I see. I thought v23 put out a nice list of features and improvements. The new engine has caused some hiccups that, I think, would be expected when changing things under the hood. They've ironed out some of those in patches already and now, IMHO, have a good base to continue to build on.


I've been around this game for 20 years. Probably 18 of those we've had posts that talk about how "it's all coming to an end" because of x,y, or z. More of the same this year with v23.

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by Sweed

I'm not worried as long as Markus is still leading the team. I don't play PT and have never opened it, just no interest in it at all. OOTP has been improving incrementally as it always has from what I see. I thought v23 put out a nice list of features and improvements. The new engine has caused some hiccups that, I think, would be expected when changing things under the hood. They've ironed out some of those in patches already and now, IMHO, have a good base to continue to build on.


I've been around this game for 20 years. Probably 18 of those we've had posts that talk about how "it's all coming to an end" because of x,y, or z. More of the same this year with v23.

I think this is true, however I think a lot of the concern is that OOTP isn’t progressing as fast or as well as it could/should due to a lot of resources either being outright diverted to PT, or that the type of improvements will have to benefit both, as to maximize productivity. In the surface, it probably sounds like there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I think the fear is that the core game will only get small improvements benefitting both, and therefore “vision” may not be as bold as it could be.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

I think this is true, however I think a lot of the concern is that OOTP isn’t progressing as fast or as well as it could/should due to a lot of resources either being outright diverted to PT, or that the type of improvements will have to benefit both, as to maximize productivity. In the surface, it probably sounds like there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I think the fear is that the core game will only get small improvements benefitting both, and therefore “vision” may not be as bold as it could be.

I can only look at the feature list of v23 and from that list I see no difference from before PT. IMHO v23's list is really quite impressive.

When v24 comes out I can revisit the issue. Until then I can only go by what I see now and have seen over the last few years. In the end I won't worry until I see something that gives me a reason to worry.

[Marinersfan51]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

I think this is true, however I think a lot of the concern is that OOTP isn’t progressing as fast or as well as it could/should due to a lot of resources either being outright diverted to PT, or that the type of improvements will have to benefit both, as to maximize productivity. In the surface, it probably sounds like there isn’t anything wrong with that, but I think the fear is that the core game will only get small improvements benefitting both, and therefore “vision” may not be as bold as it could be.

I'm pretty sure Markus has said that PT is almost entirely a different team and there isn't any change in the resources being placed towards the base game due to PT. Of course some people will just choose not to believe him, but it certainly seems like there hasn't been a change in how the base game is progressing. As long as it keeps getting better and they are constantly releasing patches fixing any issues, I couldn't care less if there is another game mode that I rarely play.

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by Marinersfan51

I'm pretty sure Markus has said that PT is almost entirely a different team and there isn't any change in the resources being placed towards the base game due to PT. Of course some people will just choose not to believe him, but it certainly seems like there hasn't been a change in how the base game is progressing. As long as it keeps getting better and they are constantly releasing patches fixing any issues, I couldn't care less if there is another game mode that I rarely play.

I hear ya…it’s just that this community lost a lot of big names in the year or so after the announcement of PT. I’m talking about real contributors to the game. I’m not sure this is the reason they left or not…and I would prefer to not mention their names/handles, but I’m sure many of you would recognize them, and wonder…yeah, whatever happened to so and so.

I don’t know for sure, but I strongly suspect some of these people left over the direction of OOTPD. This was even before it was sold to Com2Us.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

I hear ya…it’s just that this community lost a lot of big names in the year or so after the announcement of PT. I’m talking about real contributors to the game. I’m not sure this is the reason they left or not…and I would prefer to not mention their names/handles, but I’m sure many of you would recognize them, and wonder…yeah, whatever happened to so and so.

I don’t know for sure, but I strongly suspect some of these people left over the direction of OOTPD. This was even before it was sold to Com2Us.

Ugh, now you have me scratching my knee trying to figure out the big names that exited when PT was announced.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

I don’t know for sure, but I strongly suspect some of these people left over the direction of OOTPD. This was even before it was sold to Com2Us.

I don't think you or anyone else here is in any position to speculate why someone isn't an active member of these message boards anymore.