Madden 12 Demo out Tuesday

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DT778

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They are going to announce the cover athlete at the end of today's Sports Nation on ESPN2, which is on right now. It's between Peyton Hillis and Micheal Vick. Hopefully Hillis gets it.
 
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[quote name='Hell Monkey']How long until he breaks an ankle or leg now?[/QUOTE]

I'm sure it'll happen soon, but it's the Browns so it's to be expected regardless.
 
[quote name='DT778']Hillis got the cover.[/QUOTE]

Probably better this way. While I had a man crush on Vick last year as he carried my fantasy team to the title (and $360), it's hard to imagine him on the cover. Not so much his checkered past, but for the fact he was already on the cover back in 2004. Although that raises the question if any athlete was ever on more than one cover.

[quote name='theredworm']is that cleveland's first sports game cover ever? just curious[/QUOTE]

Part of me wants to think Lebron had a cover, but I wouldn't know for sure.
 
Lebron was never on a cover and as for multiple covers NBA2K loves to do that. Allen Iverson had a shitload and Shaq had back to back covers.
 
There is no Madden curse. Brees did fine last year. Fitzgerald did fine the year before. Favre was ok before that. Young did fine before them. It's a violent sport where guys get hurt constantly: being on this cover is irrelevant.

That said: fuck yeah, Cleveland!

Redworm: yes, this is the first cover appearance by a Cleveland professional sports team.
 
[quote name='Pirate331']There is no Madden curse. Brees did fine last year. Fitzgerald did fine the year before. Favre was ok before that. Young did fine before them. It's a violent sport where guys get hurt constantly: being on this cover is irrelevant.[/QUOTE]

There was Troy Polamalu though. :razz:
 
[quote name='JStryke']Although that raises the question if any athlete was ever on more than one cover.[/QUOTE]

Derek Jeter has to have more covers than anyone without the game being named after him (ie. Tiger Woods).

Jeter was on:

All-Star Baseball 2000
All-Star Baseball 2001
All-Star Baseball 2002
All-Star Baseball 2003
All-Star Baseball 2004
All-Star Baseball 05
MLB 2K5
MLB 2K6
MLB 2K7
 
I could have sworn one of the Indians was on the cover of some iteration of Triple Play/MVP Baseball. Albert Belle on Triple Play, maybe?
 
Great cover choice. This should give them a good reason to get his jersey number and appearance right this year.

[quote name='theredworm']is that cleveland's first sports game cover ever? just curious[/QUOTE]
Third behind Manny Ramirez (World Series Baseball 96) and Lebron James (NBA 09).
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New screenshots showcasing the new cover athlete and the upgraded bicep engine:

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I like that they've decided to troll Steelers fans and Denver fans with the screenshots. Looks like they've added the 3D grass like NCAA 12. Here's footage of how he looked in Madden 11 from the cover tournament to see the difference.
 
Can't say I wanted Vick on the cover, but Hillis? The guy wasn't even in the top 10 in rushing yards. Rodgers seemed like the no-brainer. Turner, Roddy, Foster. Oh well, I don't really care all that much. I honestly forgot Brees was on the cover of 11 for a second and I probably played that game for 9 straight months.
 
[quote name='ubernes']Can't say I wanted Vick on the cover, but Hillis? The guy wasn't even in the top 10 in rushing yards. Rodgers seemed like the no-brainer. Turner, Roddy, Foster. Oh well, I don't really care all that much. I honestly forgot Brees was on the cover of 11 for a second and I probably played that game for 9 straight months.[/QUOTE]

I could never forget he was on the cover after seeing him and quickly hitting start to skip the New Orleans love fest every time I played Madden11.
 
[quote name='ubernes']Can't say I wanted Vick on the cover, but Hillis? The guy wasn't even in the top 10 in rushing yards. Rodgers seemed like the no-brainer. Turner, Roddy, Foster. Oh well, I don't really care all that much. I honestly forgot Brees was on the cover of 11 for a second and I probably played that game for 9 straight months.[/QUOTE]
Stats don't matter in a popularity contest, especially when only four of the running backs ahead of him were in there. He beat two of them himself along with three playoff quarterbacks due to having a more supportive fanbase voting for him. He won because of the great season he had coming out of nowhere for the average NFL fan and made a huge name for himself as a beast of a running that can run through defenders, run around them, or just jump over them since he's way more athletic than he looks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN919GUWIB8
 
EA's released a bunch of new info, which includes a lot of stuff that was announced for NCAA 12. Also, pylon physics.

More Screenshots

Gameplay:
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/1/playbook-xbooks-and-gameplay
All-new collision system, advanced defensive A.I. enhancements and the #1 most requested feature, Custom Playbooks, come together to provide a more authentic gameplay experience.
  • All-New Collision System: Now maintain full control of players up to the point of impact – from tackling to blocking – providing the most authentic collisions in franchise history. This new system uses a player’s momentum and over 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles, to provide more impactful hits, stolen tackles, and consecutive hit tackling.
  • Advanced Defensive AI: Over 100 defensive A.I. enhancements resulting in the smartest Madden defense ever. Players in zone and man coverage will properly recognize and react to plays, including the ability to break out of assignments when appropriate, resulting in a defensive team that truly works together.
  • Custom Playbooks: The #1 most requested feature by fans in recent years, allows you to build the ultimate game plan by modifying an existing playbook or creating your own by selecting up to 400 offensive or defensive plays from 75 different playbooks. Integrate your custom playbook into a game plan for use with the improved GameFlow system, which executes an authentic, situational game plan for you.
Click to expand...
More details:
http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/vid.../madden-nfl-12-gameplay-qa?readmore=fullstory
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/collision-madden
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/defensive-exploration
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/first-look-gameplay

Presentation:
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/1/playbook-presentation
Experience NFL Sundays like never before with team-specific run-outs featuring mascots and cheerleaders, authentic broadcast cameras, lifelike 3D grass, and dynamic time-of-day.
  • Broadcast Redefined: Experience NFL Sundays like never before with completely overhauled presentation, including 32 team-specific run outs featuring mascots and cheerleaders, over 500 dynamic broadcast cameras authentic to every NFL stadium, innovative “real” on-field cameras shot by expert NFL Films cameramen, and a network inspired new broadcast graphics package.
  • Unprecedented On-Field Authenticity: Hundreds of visual improvements across all areas of the game including: new player equipment, helmet stickers, pylon and ball physics, a player degradation system that affects uniforms and helmets based on weather and field surface, 3D grass, and new player specific animations that showcase the personalities of each NFL player.
Click to expand...
More details:
http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/vid.../id/6440812/madden-12-scores-visual-touchdown
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/first-look-presentation
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/look-of-madden
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/major-presentation-graphical-upgrades

My favorite quote:
the ball is finally authentically scaled to the player bodies and no longer looks like Drew Brees is throwing a loaf of bread 50-yards downfield.
Click to expand...
 
Along with the $20 credit for pre-ordering from Amazon you now also get the Amazon exclusive All Rookies Team and All Sophomores Team.

"All Rookies Team

This Ultimate Team of the Future, features stars from the 2011 NFL Draft class. QB's Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert are here, while stud wide receivers Julio Jones and AJ Green are your weapons on the outside. On defense, the All Rookies have one of the most aggressive and dynamic defensive fronts in all of Madden NFL 12. Nick Fairley and Marcel Dareus start in the middle, Robert Quinn and Da'Quan Dowers rush the passer from defensive end, Von Miller is an absolute beast rushing the QB from the outside linebacker position and Patrick Peterson is locking down receivers on the outside and also returns kicks for the All Rookie team.

All Sophomores Team

This team features the best players from the 2010 NFL Draft class as well as other rookies players last season. Defensive Rookie of the Year Ndamukong Suh is the starting defensive tackle and Offensive Rookie of the Year Sam Bradford starts at QB for the sophomores. If you are looking for a speed/power combo out of your backfield, you have come to the right place. Buccaneers running back LeGarrette Blount brings the power while Lions running back Jahvid Best and Bills CJ Spiller bring the speed. If you want to mix it up a little bit with your offense, bring in Broncos QB Tim Tebow to give the defense a different look. On the defensive side of the ball, Devin McCourty and Joe Haden start at cornerbacks alongside Chiefs 2011 Pro Bowler Eric Berry at strong safety. Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap and outside linebacker Koa Misi from Miami provide the pass rush."
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003O6EAM6/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

It will be fun to play as them every once in a while. And maybe this will lead to them having older draft class teams in future Madden games.
 
Franchise and Superstar Mode features are revealed on Monday, which are what I'm looking forward to since they need to overhaul various aspects of these two modes. They even hint at some of the new stuff:

  • Franchise mode includes more than 100 new features and enhancements, including expanded rosters, an all-new rookie scouting system, a free-agent bidding system, and more.
  • In Superstar mode, fans can now control the growth of their superstar with an all-new progression system that allows you to earn skill points by participating in practice and games. More details on Franchise and Superstar modes will be released on May 16.
Click to expand...
Edit: IGN has an article with some info on the franchise mode enhancements:
Dynamic Player Performance

Players rarely maintain the same level of performance throughout a season. There are good days and bad. In Madden NFL 12's Franchise mode, consistency and confidence are major factors in how a player's performance varies throughout a season.

Michael Vick can be thrilling to watch one week and agonizing to watch the next. His inconsistency can swing his Madden rating by some 20 points, which sounds crazy, but isn't too far-fetched. Peyton Manning, by contrast, remains the most consistent QB in the NFL. When Peyton steps onto the field, you can be fairly certain of the quality of his performance.

Rookies tend to be less consistent, capable of jaw-dropping plays followed by boneheaded ones week in and week out. And as players learn and mature (if they mature), they gain consistency. It matters this year if a player is a rookie – not just because they may have a lower overall rating, but because that rating can fluctuate greatly. Letting a rookie sit and learn is actually a viable strategy in Franchise mode.

The other weekly factor in dynamic player performance is confidence. This comes down to hot and cold streaks. If Antonio Cromartie remembers all his children's names and gets a pair of picks against the Giants, he's going to be riding high into the next week. So much of the game is said to be mental and so a player's mindset factors into their stats on Sunday. Streaks only last a maximum of three weeks before resetting, preventing a player from having an inflated rating the entire season.

Player Roles

Tom Brady is a playoff performer. He's good in the regular season, but something kicks in during the playoffs that boost his ability to win games. Mark Brunell has become a mentor. His role is to support the development of Jets QB Mark Sanchez. Having Brunell as mentor has Sanchez learning and improving at a faster rate. Adrian Peterson is fumble prone. It's in his head now. In big moments, he's more likely to cough up the rock. Sadly, that's his role right now on the Vikings. (EA hasn't revealed if Peterson has the Fumble Prone role; if not, we should riot.)

Roles aren't given, they're earned. In each offseason, every player is analyzed to see if they meet specific criteria for a role. If so, they enter the next season tagged as such. These roles can have a big influence in games. After all, clutch performers can do things they just couldn't ever hope to do the first 55 minutes of a game. A switch turns on and they make good things happen. Some roles can have a positive effect on a player or team and others, like the unfortunate "fumble prone" role, can be negatives that follow a player until they find a way to shake the tag.

​

But roles go beyond game-day performance. The general manager for each computer-controlled team factors roles into his decision on free agents and draft picks. After all, if you have a "quarterback of the future" on the team, there's no reason to draft a QB in the first round. If a team is built on pounding the ball up the middle, they're going to try and sign a running back in free agency who fits the role.

And, of course, roles are going to change the way you build your own franchise. Roles aren't defined at the draft but on the field. So you won't know who is a showboater versus a work horse, but the difference could impact your ability to win games in the long run. And who knows, maybe over time a player will settle down, gain a veteran's mentality, and get serious about winning a championship. When trading or signing free agents, you're going to have to give extra weight to a player's role. All things being equal, I'm taking the playoff performer – heck, he's worth an extra million a year if he can help get us to the Super Bowl.

Here are some of the 20+ roles in Madden NFL 12:
  • Team Mentor
  • Team Leader
  • Injury Prone
  • Run Stopper
  • Franchise Quarterback
  • Defensive Playmaker
  • Offensive Playmaker
  • Playoff Performer
  • Shutdown Corner
  • Pass Rusher
  • Trench Warrior
  • Fumble Prone
  • Underachiever
  • Project Player
  • 1st Round Pick
  • Future Star
  • Iron Man
  • QB of the Future
  • Feature Back
Click to expand...
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1168180p1.html
 
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[quote name='FriskyTanuki']Franchise and Superstar Mode features are revealed on Monday, which are what I'm looking forward to since they need to overhaul various aspects of these two modes. They even hint at some of the new stuff:

Edit: IGN has an article with some info on the franchise mode enhancements:
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1168180p1.html[/QUOTE]


Nice.

Hopefully more reveals about Franchise mode can bump my interest in a purchase, right now I am intrigued.
 
I have heard it all before and have been burned so many times. I pray that they actually do what they announce for once. I would love to get excited about these things but similar things have been mentioned in previous years and never delivered.
 
I wanted to see them greatly enhance and improve the morale system. For one, most of the time it really had no overall effect. For example, a guy could have low morale when his contract is up, but would re-sign with you regardless.

I want morale to effect game performance as well as prevent them from re-signing with you or even sitting out until they trade you.

Also, they can develop friendships, rivalries, and chemistry. If you develop a friendship with someone on your team, you will be more motivated to perform to the best of your ability. If say you trade or release a friend, their morale drops. The same kind of situation goes with a rival. For example Vince Young/Steve Fisher, Fisher doesn't like Young and vice versa. So you have to decide who you value more to create a happier locker room.

And then chemistry is pretty obvious. For example, Matt Ryan and Roddy White might have great chemistry while Ryan and Julio Jones might end up with bad chemistry.
 
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/franchise-mode

New Franchise Details:
Hey Madden fans- I'm Josh Looman, senior designer on Madden NFL 12, in charge of everything new in Franchise mode this year. First, let me explain how much I care about Franchise mode to give you some insight into how excited I am about this year’s features.

I was the sole designer on Franchise mode for Xbox and PS2 in Madden NFL 04, 05, 06 and 07. A lot of the features we added back then are some of my all-time favorites. I left Madden to be the lead designer on NFL Head Coach 09 and with my team, we created the most in-depth career mode game ever (as far as I’m concerned). I came back to Madden with the goal to provide the fans with an experience similar to Head Coach 09…tons of features and depth within the Franchise and Superstar modes.

This year, after talking to Phil Frazier (Executive Producer), we agreed that it was imperative we get our depth modes back to where you expected them to be. That’s why writing this blog is so important to me. I feel like it’s my responsibility to give you as much as I can in these modes…and that includes tons of community-requested features.

I honestly hope that what you read in this blog floors you! Ready? Here we go…and remember, this year is for you…the fans!

Franchise Mode Dynamic Player Performance
“The biggest thing to happen to Franchise mode since you started playing it”

That’s not an exaggeration. This IS the biggest change we’ve made to Franchise mode in years and it’s the feature I’m the most excited about.

I play every sports game on the market and I’ve always been frustrated by the fact that when I play a career or season mode, every game I play feels exactly the same. The players always play exactly like their ratings and there’s no such thing as having a good or bad day. It’s the one thing that has always ruined the immersion factor for me.

In the NFL, when you go to a game or turn on the TV, you never know what’s going to happen. Is Michael Vick going to have the game of his life or struggle the entire game? We don’t know…and that’s why we love sports. They’re unpredictable.

In Franchise mode this year, we’ve captured that unpredictable feeling and it makes each game feel different every time you start it.

Here’s how it works…

Each week, every player’s ratings will be different from the week before and will vary based on specific traits tied to our all-new Dynamic Player Performance feature, which we’ll discuss at E3.

Think of it in the old adage of “Any Given Sunday” – there are a multitude of factors that impact how a player performs each week, and this is now replicated in Franchise mode.

If a player is inconsistent, you could see pretty significant rating swings from week-to-week.

One week you might get the 90 overall Michael Vick and the next week you might get the 70 overall Michael Vick. Or you could just get the 80 overall Michael Vick.

If a player is very consistent, their ratings will only change slightly each week and you’ll typically always know what you’re getting (example: Peyton Manning or Tom Brady).

Building around these players (and finding them in free agency and the draft) provides an entirely new layer of strategy to the game.

A player that is coming off of a terrible game is “on a cold streak”. That streak ensures that they’ll go into their next game with ratings lower than normal.

The opposite is true for a player on a hot streak.

Players on streaks can only continue those streaks for a maximum of three games before they are re-set to original ratings.

We’ve also added tendency and trait progression to the game this year, so players actually change throughout your franchise. Some players stay the same (since that’s what defines them), while others will grow.

If a player is inconsistent as a rookie, they can become more consistent as they get older and mature (example: a QB sensing pressure better as they age).

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Expanded Rosters and Cut Days
“The feature you’ve requested the most”

This is definitely the most requested Franchise mode feature in at least the last five years.

Every day on Twitter or the forums, I read at least one comment where someone asks if the game is ever going to get expanded rosters.

Well, you’ve got it. We allow 75 players per team in the preseason now.

Here’s how it works…

In year one, the shipped rosters will probably be pretty full. I’m guessing each team will have around 70 real players on the roster.

In future years, we’ll add training camp invites to the rosters to expand them up to 75.

All of those invitees and any rookies on the team will have their ratings locked at the start of the preseason. Each week that those players stay on the roster, we’ll unlock a few ratings for them. Their overall rating will evolve as we release those ratings, giving you a better idea of how good they really are. Just because a training camp invitee’s overall rating says it’s a 99 in week one doesn’t mean that his real overall is that high.

By the end of the preseason, if you keep a rookie or training camp invite on the roster for all four weeks, his ratings will be completely unlocked and you’ll know his true overall rating. At that point, you’ll know if you made a mistake by keeping him or if you found a diamond in the rough.

As we unlock those ratings, we also ask you to cut the roster down each week.

In week one, we may only ask you to cut three players but by the end of the preseason, you’ll need to cut eight or more.

The balancing act is determining whether you should cut a veteran to keep one of these camp invitees or rookies.

We also do an interesting thing with rookies you draft beyond year one in franchise mode.

Let’s say that you went through the scouting process and never scouted a QB who was projected to go in the top 10. You get to the offseason and head into the draft. That QB falls to you at pick #15 and you pull the trigger and draft him. When you sign him to a contract, his ratings will not be immediately unlocked. He’ll have to go through the rating unlock process in the preseason just like the training camp invites. If you scouted a player fully and then drafted him, his ratings will be unlocked going into the preseason.

This really makes you focus on scouting some of those late round picks instead of just blindly drafting them.

And one more thing…in the game, we swap out depth charts to match what teams typically do in real life in the preseason (let the backups play the entire fourth game or take the starters out at halftime of the third preseason game).

This allows you to get a really good look at the players you’re thinking about cutting every week.

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New Rookie Scouting System
“A much needed upgrade to the scouting system”

When we were sitting down and talking about what new features we wanted in Franchise mode this year, a new scouting system was pretty high on the list.

Last year’s system was neither fun or challenging…it made the draft ridiculously easy since it gave away a player’s potential before you even started scouted them.

All you needed to do was keep an eye on that potential rating during the draft and you’d draft every late round sleeper in the game.

That’s gone and it’s been replaced by a much more simple, yet challenging system.

There are now several scouting stages, including the regular season, Pro Days, NFL Combine and individual workouts.

At the start of the regular season, every draft rookie’s ratings are locked.

During each stage, you’re allowed to select a limited number of players to scout and the stage itself determines which ratings will be unlocked.

If you scout a player during the Combine stage, you will unlock his physical ratings like speed, agility and strength. If you scout them in Pro Days, you’ll unlock some of his intangibles.

If you choose to scout him during individual workouts, you’ll unlock everything…including his potential and traits. The catch is that you can only scout a small amount of players during individual workouts…so you’ll need to unlock as much information as you can before you get there.

Trust me…this makes the entire process much more challenging and rewarding this year. I’ve gone through a draft and because I scouted poorly, I ended up with a class full of busts. I’ve also found my future Hall of Fame QB in my 49ers franchise by scouting the right players.

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New Free Agent Bidding Feature
“Offseason Free Agency is now fast paced and interactive!”

Another feature that had become a little stale was offseason free agency.

We knew from the first planning stages that we needed a new take on the process and since I was a big fan of the free agent bidding feature from NFL Head Coach 09, we re-created it in Madden NFL 12 this year.

When you enter free agency, you’ll need to be ready to go. This year’s feature is very fast paced and it’s designed to be hectic. You need to make decisions quickly as you target players since the other teams are not waiting for you.

You’ll face off against the other 31 teams in an interactive bidding environment as you try to win the rights to sign the player to a contract of your choosing.

If another team outbids you, just press a button to increase the bid and become the leader.

Keep an eye on your cap room. We’ve made the cap a lot more challenging this year, so you can’t just sign every free agent. You’ll still need to save room to sign your draft rookies. The screenshot below was taken before we started tuning cap room. You’re not going to have $100 million to play with this year.

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Player Roles
“One of the favorite features from the last generation is back!”

One of the most requested community features from the PS2 and Xbox days is back and since it’s also one of my favorites, I was excited to include it in Franchise mode this year.

I know a lot of people like it because it adds a bit of an RPG element to the game.

There are more than 20 different roles that players can earn in Franchise mode, including “QB of the Future”, “Mentor” and “Fumble Prone”.

We’ve even added a handful of new roles like ‘Playoff Performer’, ‘Trench Warrior’ and ‘Iron Man’.

Most of the roles will have an in-game impact. Shutdown Corner, for instance, impacts the ratings of the player that has it AND the QB on the opposing team.

The roles are earned or lost based on defined criteria every offseason so players will not keep them forever. Most of the roles come with logic that changes how teams approach the draft and free agency. If a team has a ‘QB of the Future’ on the roster, they will not draft a QB in the first round of the draft.

If you have a mentor on your roster, he makes the young players better as long as he’s on the team.

Bringing this feature back is just a great way to adding depth to the mode and making individual players stand out a little more.

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Change Teams
This is another one of those features that has been a community request for years.

Right before the offseason starts, you can change the team you’re controlling to any other team.

You can even choose to control all 32 teams at that point if you want to.

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Future Draft Picks
I can’t mention community requested features without talking about Future Draft Picks, which we’ve also added this year.

It’s pretty simple…when making a trade, you can trade away the current year draft picks or next year’s picks.

This allows you to mortgage the future for a player you want to trade up to get in this year’s draft.

Or pretend you are the Patriots and trade down throughout the NFL Draft for next year’s picks.

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Edit Players
This is one we talked to you about on Twitter and the forums.

After some discussion, we agreed that Franchise mode is yours to control and that we needed to give you the ability to edit the ratings of any player in Franchise mode, whether they are veterans or the rookies you just imported from NCAA Football.

If you want some QB you imported to be an 85 overall because you won the Heisman with him, you’re welcome to edit him to be that high. It’s all up to you.

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Practice Mode
This may seem like a small addition but, to me, it’s big. Being able to practice with your Franchise mode team at any point in the preseason, regular season or playoffs without having to export them allows you to get a look at your team at any time.

Increased Injury Chances and Injured Reserve Fixed
If expanded rosters is the most requested community feature, fixing injured reserve is a close second.

It’s great that adding expanded rosters actually allowed us to fix IR since the game can now handle having more than 55 players on a team.

This year, players are automatically placed on IR and that opens up a roster spot for the team to sign a replacement for him.

CPU controlled teams now place players on injured reserve and sign a replacement if they need to.

Franchise Mode Dynamic Gameplans
We’ve also added a pretty cool new feature that makes teams re-evaluate their game plan based on their starting QB in future years.

Take the Colts for instance. In year one, if you control them or face them as an opponent, they will naturally throw the ball more based on their real life tendencies and because they have Peyton Manning on the roster.

In Franchise mode, if Manning gets hurt or retires, the team will adjust their play calling so that they run the ball more if they have a lower rated QB at the helm until he progresses enough to be able to throw the ball 30-40 times a game.

Revamped Import Draft Class Tuning
This year, AJ Dembroski (our newest rookie designer who some of you may know as one of the biggest Madden fans in the forums) worked a lot on getting players imported from NCAA Football to be more consistent.

Last year, if you imported someone who in your mind was a sure top 5 pick, he could enter your franchise as an 85 or a 65 overall player. There was just too much randomness in the system.

Now he enters the game every time you import him between an 80-87 overall if he’s one of the best players in the import class.

30 Brand New Draft Classes featuring Realistic Player Profiles
We created 30 brand new draft classes from scratch and added a new twist this year.

We’ve created player profiles (scrambling QB, 3-4 DE, power HB, speed WR) that are mixed in with the random guys so that you’ll find players that fit your offensive/defensive scheme and provide a more realistic experience.

Teams in the draft have a preference toward those players and will lean towards drafting them if they have the chance. That means the Raiders will draft a Speed WR if given the choice between him and a possession WR.

We’ve also randomized names and numbers this year so that you won’t recognize individual players each time you start a new franchise.

Progression Tuning
Another one of AJ’s tasks was focusing on progression and making it more realistic this year.

Last year, players would go up automatically regardless of their season stats. This year’s tuning is much more predictable. Players will go up or down based on their performance and age.

One thing to remember is that players are judged against players around their same age when deciding who should progress or not. So, if a rookie running back rushes for 500 yards and that is the best among his peers, he will progress the most in his age group.

Most players who are 32+ will decline every year unless they had the best years vs. their peers. If they did, they will typically stay the same or go down slightly.

Players in the prime of their careers can go up or down, but they can’t go up as much as young players or down as much as old players. And…yes, you guessed it. They are also judged only against the players around their age.

Revamped Team Re-Sign and New Cut Dead Weight Logic
This is another one of my favorite changes/features this year.

Last year, a team like the 49ers would always re-sign a player like Alex Smith because they had no other alternative on the team at his position. They would never take his potential into account and keep him on the roster for years.

This year they’ll make decisions more intelligently, getting rid of Smith and addressing the QB position in free agency or the draft.

They’ll also try to keep a young player with lots of potential under contract as long as it makes sense.

Along with rewriting the re-sign logic, we’ve also added some new team management logic in the offseason that forces teams to make realistic decisions.

In last year’s game, the Redskins would have signed Donovan McNabb to a 7 year deal and kept him on the roster until 2017 until the deal expired.

This year, they take a look at the roster every offseason and evaluate every player individually. If they feel like McNabb is over the hill, they cut him and move on. This leads to plenty of player movement in the offseason and makes the FA Bidding feature a lot more realistic.

We’ve been careful about teams cutting stars and we discussed this in length with the group of Franchise fans that have joined our Facebook Franchise Discussion Group.

We all agreed that we should make sure someone like Peyton Manning never gets cut, but if a 88-91 overall HB gets cut or not re-signed every now and then, that’s pretty realistic ala LaDainian Tomlinson with the Chargers.

New Salary System
After hearing complaints about how the old salary system was hard to deal with last year, we added a new salary system for players, which apply to veterans and draft rookies.

Last year, rookies would sign contracts based on their positions and ratings…so if you took a 70 overall HB #1 in the draft, he would ask for a 3 year/15 million dollar deal as the 1st pick (which is extremely unrealistic).

Rookies now sign contracts based solely on their position and their draft pick. If you take a QB with the first overall pick, expect to pay him a lot.

As far as the re-sign stage goes, players now sign contracts based on their age, overall rating and potential. Older players will always sign shorter deals for less money as their careers wind down while teams may try to lock up a young player with lots of potential with an expensive deal.

Re-Tuned Simulation Stats
We’re working on fixing OLB sacks, rushing yards and all of the other small issues we had last year.

As always, trying to replicate what 32 teams and 1800+ human players accomplish over a five month period in the NFL is tricky…but we’ll get it as perfect as we can.

This work isn’t done yet…it’s always one of the last things we fix before we ship the game.

Weather Tuning
Last year we had lots of issues with weather. It would never snow in Green Bay in January, etc.

I put AJ on this task to make sure that you’ll see more weather changes in climates where inclement weather is common.

Revamped Player Retirements
Last year, very few players retired each year in our game. We’ve addressed that by making sure that older players retire at a slightly quicker rate, allowing for young players to take over and get a chance to contribute.

Revamped Player Award Logic
This is a small change but the tuning makes the players that win yearly awards more realistic. We’ve tuned Pro Bowl logic, MVP Logic and all of the logic used for the other awards.

New Player Portraits for Draft Rookies
Rookies now look just like the real NFL players with a new portrait system that removes the cartoony look in Franchise screens.

We tried to add as many portraits as we could so that the way the rookies look in the menus no longer ruins that immersion factor for you.

New Depth Chart Logic
We also changed the depth chart logic this year to be more realistic.

Last year, teams would start a FS at the nickel corner spot if his ratings were good enough.

This year, that player would stay at FS while the real nickel corner would take the correct place in the depth chart.

New Coach Impacts
This is a small feature, but it brings some strategy to signing a coach.

Coaches now impact players on the field positively AND negatively by a small amount.

This is meant to emulate the strengths and weaknesses that each coach has.

The gameplay mechanic is deciding which positive/negative impact you are willing to take on.

Do you want to make your QBs better while your Defensive Line suffers a bit or make your corners better while making your O-Line drop a bit?

So those are the major changes to Franchise mode this year. Excited yet? I am!

I know it’s a lot to digest at first, but I bet you’re much more interested in reading a really long Franchise mode blog than a short one, huh?

As you can see, we’re committed to improving our depth modes going forward and this year’s Franchise mode is just the start.

When the game is released, I’ll be glad to discuss any of the features we added or just talk about Franchise mode in general on my Twitter account at http://twitter.com/josh_looman.

Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy all of the new additions for Franchise Mode in Madden NFL 12.
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http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/superstar-mode


New Superstar Mode Details:
Hey Madden fans, I’m Patrick Bellanca, Assistant Designer here at Tiburon, and I’m really excited to talk about Superstar mode in Madden NFL 12. There’s a lot of really cool stuff to cover so let’s get at it.

The instant you get into Superstar mode, you’ll notice the entire interface has been redesigned to match the visual style of the rest of the game. The main hub has the same menu style as Franchise mode and Online and should already feel familiar. From the hub, you can always see your superstar, dressed however you set him up, as well as his key stats and attributes. From here you can navigate to the depth chart and monitor your progress toward the starting job. You can still choose to play as an NFL rookie from the 2011 NFL Draft, or import your NCAA Football Road to Glory player. I’ve always preferred to create myself to live out those football dreams. Every year we add new equipment to the player creation process and this year is no different. Quarterbacks look more realistic that ever this year because we’ve added flak jackets and back plates which are available to you. The side by side before and after comparison photo of Eli Manning is stunning, which I think Mike Young published in another blog on Presentation and Graphics.

Also new to the creation process are Player Traits. Traits are the behaviors and tendencies that set players apart beyond their physical or mental makeup. Will a player fight for that extra yard, or head out of bounds to protect the football? Will a player make the safe, wrap up tackle, or look to bring the lumber every chance he gets?

ss1.jpg


Another key addition to Madden 12’s Superstar Mode is the skill point system. You will begin as a 60 overall player, and receive an allotment of points to get your player started. Points will be earned through practice and game as your career progresses.

Each of your player’s attributes has a cost that varies based on his position. Also, the cost of that attribute’s rating will increase as you progress. Player’s can choose to spend their skill points differently and combined with player traits, you can re-create a Michael Vick just as easily as you can re-create a Peyton Manning. Throughout your Superstar career, you will be continually earning these valuable skill points for every action in practice sessions, training camp sessions, and all NFL games that you participate in. Your bank of skill points is visible on the Superstar hub, too.

ss2.jpg


If your Superstar is a custom creation, or an imported NCAA player, you are going to need to join an NFL Franchise before you can get to work. Players in the 2011 NFL rookie draft class already have a team for obvious reasons. You can elect to enter the NFL Draft or choose to Walk On to the team of your choice, if they have room for you. Either way, you are immediately greeted by your new team with a message and a look at their current depth chart at your position.

There are many options available on the Superstar hub, categorized logically in the same manner as Franchise mode. The next available event on your calendar is the top item, and the fastest way to proceed to whatever’s next. The Individual Stats screen, Career Stats screen, and Team Standings screen, are all conveniently located on the hub for fast reference. Later in your career as you approach existing NFL records, we’ve redesigned all our visual graphics banners to alert you as you near and then break legendary NFL records. There’s a Manage Superstar hub option that allows you to edit the appearance and equipment anytime, but you can also Request a Trade anytime before the trade deadline. The ability to be traded in Superstar mode was a big request on the forums so we knew we had to get that in there.

ss3.jpg


ss4.jpg


Training camp sessions in the pre-season and practice sessions in the regular season got a considerable amount of attention this year. Most importantly, practice sessions are now a set of 10 play drills that run consecutively, tracking what your superstar is responsible for on each play and how they perform. After each play, an on-screen counter of plays remaining is decremented and a recap of the previous play is displayed with the number of yards gained. This is important because it’s all being used to determine how many skill points to award to you at the end. After practice, there’s a screen the details the skill points earned on each play. Being sacked or throwing an interception can deduct some skill points, but throwing long passes, consecutive passes, even running plays for positive yards will score you skill points as a quarterback.

ss5.jpg


ss6.jpg


In regular season and post season games, we have brand new offensive and defensive coordinator audio to your assignment is for the upcoming play. We recorded hundreds of lines for each position so that no matter what position you choose to play as, there’s somebody explaining what you have to do to succeed. Everything that you do well in games is also accumulating skill points to be spent later on ratings.

Skill points and ratings progression are really the keys to the new Superstar mode. The way you choose to design your Superstar’s tendencies and the ratings that you choose to increase will give you an incredibly robust way to play Superstar mode. Every position will be a new experience and no two Superstars will be alike. Have fun and enjoy Madden NFL 12, available August 30th from EA Sports. Keep on telling us what you think over on the forums too, we love to read your comments.
Click to expand...
 
You're telling me all these features weren't in 11?! Oh well, I'll still buy it like a sucka every year :lol:
 
http://www.ea.com/madden-nfl/blog/final-cover

The Madden 12 cover and Hall of Fame Edition have been revealed:
The Madden NFL 12 cover, featuring Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis, is official! Hillis was chosen by fans as the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete through a five week voting campaign anchored by ESPN SportsNation. The Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote was the most successful fan engagement campaign in EA and ESPN history with more than 12 million votes in total.

For the first time in franchise history, EA SPORTS invited fans and media to take part in the live cover shoot of Madden NFL 12. A staged set was built on Military Island in the heart of Times Square, on Thursday, April 28th, hosting both football fans and media alike.



Today we're also announcing the limited Madden NFL 12 Hall of Fame Edition, featuring former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk on the cover. Available on August 30th for the retail price of $89.99, a limited run of 125,000 copies of the Hall of Fame Edition will be available exclusively in the United States* for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360®.


hof_cover.jpg


Marshall Faulk will be the first Madden NFL cover athlete to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this year. The limited Madden NFL 12 Hall of Fame Edition will include:

• Premium bronze, foil embossed cover featuring Marshall Faulk
• Full version of Madden NFL 12 video game
• Autographed Panini Card – Madden NFL and Panini, the world leader in published collectables, have teamed up to create the ultimate Madden NFL trading card featuring 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Marshall Faulk. Each copy of the Hall of Fame Edition will include one of four exclusive Marshall Faulk trading cards, each hand-signed by Faulk. One solid, 18k gold autographed card will be randomly inserted into one Xbox 360® and one PlayStation®3 copy of the Hall of Fame Edition. The lucky recipients of these two cards will have one of the most valuable cards in Panini history.

cards.jpg


• Exclusive Madden Ultimate Team Platinum Pack –The perfect combination of Madden NFL, fantasy football, and trading cards comes to life in Madden NFL Ultimate Team. The Hall of Fame Edition provides a Madden Ultimate Team experience like never before with the most prestigious Platinum Pack yet, featuring a combination of 13 NFL Hall of Famers and former Madden NFL cover athletes, including: Marshall Faulk, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Rod Woodson, Eddie George, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Ray Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, Larry Fitzgerald, Troy Polamalu and Drew Brees. All cards feature ratings from each player’s most productive season in the NFL and are fully renewable with contract extensions, which is sure to make them some of the most sought after cards in Ultimate Team history.

HoF_MUTPack.jpg
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The HoF edition seems pretty weak, but at least they aren't going to flood stores with it.
 
ESPN is releasing the team rankings over the following days until August 1st. So yeah, this is it unless they get a CBA.

AFC EAST
Bills 73
Jets 87
Dolphins 78
Patriots 88

AFC WEST
Chargers 85
Raiders 76
Broncos 74
Chiefs 84

AFC NORTH
Steelers 90
Browns 74
Bengals 71
Ravens 86

Here's the link to espn that also gives a sentence or two about the teams
http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/blog/_/name/thegamer/id/6786158/afc-east

And if you haven't check out the deals forum, you can preorder Madden from toysrus.com for 44.99 shipped only (no option for instore pickup).
 
So what are all the preorder teams available? These are the ones I know about:

Amazon - All Rookie/All Sophomore
Best Buy - All Speed/Heart & Hustle
Gamestop - AFC/NFC All Stars
Walmart - 1st Rounders/Late Rounders

Any others?
 
I think that's it.

Here are the overall ratings of the top 10 of the 12 rookie QBs

(77) Cam Newton – Panthers RD 1 Pick 1
(75) Blaine Gabbert – Jaguars RD 1 Pick 10
(74) Jake Locker – Titans RD 1 Pick 8
(73) Christian Ponder – Vikings RD 1 Pick 12
(71) Andy Dalton – Bengals RD 2 Pick 3
(70) Colin Kaepernick – 49ers RD 2 Pick 4
(69) Ryan Mallett – Patriots RD 3 Pick 10
(68) Ricky Stanzi – Chiefs RD 5 Pick 4
(66) T.J. Yates – Texans RD 5 Pick 21
(65) Greg McElroy – Jets RD 7 Pick 5
 
All those pics are fine I guess but lets see some video. Talking is very cheap when it comes to madden, they have been saying its the most perfect game for the last 7 years.

The video I saw had Cam Newton skating around like Brian fucking Boitano.
 
One thing i dont like is where they put the stat line during the game, its in the upper left corner now. It just bothers me that its off centered, and it looked way better at the bottom. Anyone know if you can move it to a place where you like it?
 
Hey DT778,

You should switch the title of the thread to,

"Madden 12 Official Discussion Thread. Hit the Gridiron August, 30th."

Not judging, just hoping for more detail in the thread title.
 
Out now, all I have to say is, Holy identical to every other Madden Batman. I played about 8 plays before I turned it off and saw four or five very classic madden problems. I set it to All Madden like I always do and on the first drive Matt Forte probably had a season record with broken tackles you would think he was Mike Alstott. The line play is still piss poor as I still witness lineman who would rather block a DB than the lineman in front of them. Double team still dont trigger correctly which causes to many easy backfield plays and plays at the LOS. Momentum, weight, strength, leverage still seem to play no part as I saw a guy shed a blocker and while still in the animation of shedding the first guy (he was slightly turned and bending over) he was blocked by a FB running full speed....result? Another instant block shedding animation. Its the same madden gameplay that its always been. If you like it, continue to like it. If you didnt then nothing has changed. I will say this though I was able to get a decent amount of sacks on the CPU QB which is a big upgrade to the robo qb of the past. BigAT said he thinks the passing feel good but I just dont see it. It feels about the same to me (maybe I am just jaded) but I saw Brian make a career highlight INT (he can do that he is a great coverage LB) but the very next drive Woodson dropped a lob thrown at him. FDFsjfdsjflsdjlkfjsdfsadjlfsd Punch keyboard....I really wish I could just relax and enjoy the game.
 
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So, if you got a decent amount of QB sacks in 8 plays, that is not good. I consider a decent amount to be like 3-4 sacks. So, 70 offensive snaps would results in about 30 sacks :)
 
Sorry for the wall of text, for some reason I cant get it to save the format when I post......
 
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