SPECIAL NOTE: Madden, NCAA, and Head Coach 2009 are still in various stages of pre-release development. The videos reflect that.
To view the videos posted here in high resolution, download them from FileFront or Vimeo respectively or click on the links under each video.
06.22.08 EA FOOTBALL COMMUNITY EVENT NCAA TOURNAMENT Footage from the annual NCAA 09 tournament held during Community Day, May 2008. Download the high-rez version from the link below.
06.16.08 RHOMBIC'S COWBOYS VS MAD'S BROWNS: MADDEN 09 *ALPHA This is footage from Rhombic's and my game in the EA Football Community Madden Tournament. Download the high rez version from the links beneath each video.
06.13.08 PRACTICE MODE WORKOUT: NCAA 09 In this video segment, I go into Practice Mode and pull off a couple run moves with Penn State just to show you some of the new run animations and controls. I also had a special request to take a look at TE Pass Delay Release. Enjoy. More videos to come. Notice if you string too many moves together, occasionally, you will lose your ballance.
pennstate1a.wmv 06.12.08 FULL GAME: NCAA 09
Yes, I still have more video to post!
Florida vs Florida State - Part 1
FULL GAME - OREGON VS ILLINIOS - PART 7 of 7
NCAA Football 2009
ncaa-oregon-vs-illinois7.wmv 06.06.08 NCAA 2009 LAB SESSION I: PAT WHITE & THE OPTION
I went into practice mode with NCAA 09 and ran 20 or so option plays with West Virginia's Pat White and lined them up against a very tough Penn State's defense. This to show the progress EA has made with the option late pitch and overplay by the defense. The option play was one of the biggest sore spots in 2008, but with 09, It's close to perfect!
06.05.08
DAONE LEAGUE SEASON 08 INTERVIEW
I interviewed top seed Boza SFMB and second seed MaddenWars' Moostache and got their feelings on the Season 08 playoofs and who they plan to run with in DaONE League in NCAA 09. Special special guest appearance from EA's Phil Frazier.
06.04.08 NEW VIDS
NCAA Football 09: Oregon Duck WR Catch Animations - WR #4!
In this video, you will see a couple new catching animations, the retooled, multi-directional pump fake, and what some call the dreaded Strafe Catch.
Madden 2009 Steelers Franchise: Part 1
I ran the first season of a Steelers franchise during Community Day. In the three part video, you will see me start a Steelers franchise, go through week 1 training with the three Steelers QBs (Ben Rothlisberger, Charlie Batch, and my man Dennis Dixon), sim to the Superbowl, play part of it, then I show the post-game Superbowl celebration. Check em out!
06.01.08
EA FOOTBALL COMMUNITY EVENT: IMPRESSIONS - Part 1 First off: Special thanks to Electronic Arts and Will Kinsler especially, for inviting me to attend EA’s Community Football Event, May 28-31, 2008. Thanks for all the EA staff who stopped by and spent time with us during this critical time of year in terms of Madden, NCAA, and Head Coach development. Thanks to the guys at Donruss Trading Card Company for the tight NFL player cards.
Picture this: What does every hardcore video gamer dream? They dream, one day, they will be able to visit EA headquarters, get a tour, talk to producers, artists, and designers, ask questions, play their favorite football titles before they get released. Eat, drink, and be merry. In my dream, EA invites me down to EA Tiburon to play Madden NFL, NCAA Football, and Head Coach 2009, uninterrupted, all day, 12-14 hours, two days-in-a row, along with a couple other hard core community guys. The food is ordered in. Pizza, wings, soda, and other assorted man food. You couldn’t write a better script! They picked up the tab for just about everything: Airfare, 5-star hotel, and all meals. Throw in some serious swag to add icing on the cake! Seriously though--what else could you ask for? No, this is NOT a dream!
THE VERDICT Let’s get right to it: Both Madden and NCAA Football 09 are tremendous advancements from their 2008 versions. Head Coach 09 is a quantum leap from the current version—the sleeper of the year. There weren’t too many things to be hugely disappointed about in all three. My philosophy is that no video game will ever be perfect, and, this year, we are getting a number of highly-anticipated features the community has lobbied for and dreamed of, for years.
NCAA Football 09 Online Dynasty: After finding out about online dynasties for NCAA 09, I really didn’t care about any other feature that didn’t make this year’s version. This, by far, has the potential to breathe new life into the title in terms of replay ability. You already know that the online dynasty is pretty much an offline dynasty played online. The great thing about this is you get the same stat support and offline features, including things like the Heisman race and bowl games.
Note: The Depth Chart will be honored online, which is another great feature. No more setting the depth chart before each game when you play in an online dynasty.
Online Dynasty Weather: I had to ask this five times just to make sure I heard it correctly. There is variable weather and time in online dynasties. Online weather is another highly-anticipated feature the community has asked for. In fact, online weather works in ranked and unranked games as well. When playing online games, I believe the Weather Channel is used. This will give you live weather and time-of-day from the home stadium. When it comes to online dynasty, things are a little different, as there is variable weather, but, from my understanding, the weather is generated, not from real-time, but from the day and time the weather should be based on where you are in your dynasty. So, if you are playing on Christmas day, 2025, in your dynasty, you’ll get generated “typical” weather from that day, time, and stadium location, based on estimated weather patterns as gleaned from a popular weather service. This is my understanding of how things will work.
Online Dynasty Management: Up to twelve users can play in one online dynasty. Each user is limited to a number of dynasties he/she can be a member of. I’m not sure of the exact reason. This could be due to some technical limitation, or EA was just worried about users stretching themselves out too thin. If it is the latter, I can see where EA is coming from, as, I believe people will be so excited about the online dynasties, that they join too many to manage properly—games still have to be played and recruiting takes time. The commissioner manages the league AND has to be the coach of one of the teams. This will prove difficult for any league that currently runs with more than twelve teams or hoped to manage, and not play, multiple dynasties at one time. This would be common for leagues of more than 12.
The Commissioner is able to set sliders and injuries and even add names and edit ratings. He/she can also create a number of created player prospects (approximately 25). Prospects need to be added before the dynasty is uploaded.
The twelve user limit may be perfect for friends, but it will somewhat of a problem for any leagues that run with more than that amount. A quick search of public NCAA Football leagues at LeagueDaddy.com, the number 1 league stat support site, it is clear to see that the average online NCAA Football League exceeds 12 users and is closer to 24 or more with even some 117 team leagues as well. I was able to voice my concerns with the Ben Haumiller, Jeff Luhr, and just about every EA person I talked too. One work-around this year, for leagues who have more than 12 members, is to run a number of dynasties (e.g. ACC, SEC), and to have members of the league manage their conferences within the league. The commissioner could also create more than one Xbox 360 GamerTag and manage each small dynasty with a different Tag.
More to come…stay tuned!
Last notes on Online Dynasty!
06.02.08
EA FOOTBALL COMMUNITY EVENT: IMPRESSIONS - Part 2
Last Word on Online Dynasty
EA’s goal this year was to start simple and build on the feature set in subsequent years. It's pretty much a do not bite off more than you can chew philosophy. The possibility to add more teams in the future is being discussed. At the moment, the dynasty is pretty much self-contained. Members of the dynasty can view league information, but folks outside cannot. I made sure I explained how critical it is to export data to a Website and/or display content on EA SportsWorld (which they are currently examining, but prospects sounded iffy--there are some technical issues to be resolved). I mentioned a couple things I’d like to see, including RSS feeds and exportable content (weekly news posts, Heisman race, player images, etc).
NCAA Football 2009
I know my fellow Community Leaders have been posting heavy, so I’ll stick to the basics. I was very impressed with everything about the game, from player models to stadiums to weather to cheerleaders. I really liked the run game, although, I have to admit, none of us really looked at the manual, we just jumped into playing, so, I’m not sure you will see a mastery of the new controls, which should add even more excitement to the run game. What is the biggest change to me? You can literally launch the hell out of the ball. I mean lob it up with some serious height on it and chuck it deep. Second biggest change? I did NOT see a one-handed catch the entire two days of balling. I saw a couple holding calls, one facemask, two jump catches, and no pass interference. Strafe catching, although removed from the new Hardcore level of Madden, it can still be done on NCAA.
What's missing? There are no formation subs in NCAA. You can formation sub on the fly in Madden, but not in NCAA. No field goal nets. Madden has them, NCAA does not. Coolest thing you may not notice? In real life, the visiting team can only bring a certain amount of players (the traveling squad). So, you will see more players on the home team sidelines than the visiting team’s side. This is one of the many little changes you may easily overlook. Second coolest? You can hot route your players starting right after they break the huddle. You can also select a WR in the middle of changing sides when you swap the play, and you can stop him and change his direction.
PDurbin’s question? My man PDiddy wanted EA to know that Texas A&M didn’t have any cheerleaders. When talking to the guy who did the cheerleaders, he added that although Texas A&M doesn’t have female cheerleaders, they do have male ones. Luckily, you will not see either on the sidelines for Texas A&M. The motion capture studio had to be remodeled to add more height so that they could bring in professional cheerleaders and do the stacked motion capture animations. They also brought in a professional mascot to do the motion capture for mascots.
Biggest Fix?The Option. You can no longer pitch the ball when in the grasp. In addition, players on defense no longer over react to the option fake. In fact, the new logic will have one player take the QB and another take the pitch man. Now, you can still get jiggy with the option, but do not expect to disorient the defense like could be done in the 2008 version. You can still break a long one and the defense will blow the coverage on occasion. We were all very impressed at how the option was retooled.
What’s up With Spectacular Catch? Well, it’s still in the game. I was told that SPC of 90 or better will allow your WR to do the special SPC animations. Campus Legend? The cameras have been retooled so that there is less panning off the screen. Refs and Chain Gang? Nope. Not as easy to add as you may think. Will return one day. Random plays in Practice Mode? Yes sir!
Exploitable plays? Plays like the HB Pass and Double Pass type plays have been retooled. The problem, as was described to me, is that the defense treated the passer like he was a QB. The fix?Whoever gets the ball to pass it will be forced into a passing stance. They are assuming if you run a play like this that you are intending to PASS the ball, not run it, hence the reason you are forced into a passing stance. This should cut down some tomfoolery. The defense also reacts much better. Post Game Highlights?Video highlight montage of the key plays of the game. Passing on the Run? Really not as effective as the last two years.
Madden next up. Stay tuned... NEW VIDS
Florida vs Geogia: One quarter of NCAA Football 09 Action
Head Coach 09: GamePlay. Head Coach turned out to be better than we expected. In fact, I think everyone was impressed. It is, by far, the DEEPEST video game you will play this year. The 09 version does not even compare to previous versions. It should, in fact, have been given a different name entirely. Head Coach has arrived and let me be the first to say I am a believer! Anyone who loves Coach Mode in Madden, will love Head Coach. Most of us were skeptical, but the game won us over. Check out some highlights. There are a number of features here that Madden needs to take note of and incorporate into Madden 2010. One of the coolest things to do is create a play on the fly. In this video, my man Russell05 gets his Head Coach on.
05.31.08
BACK IN TOWN
I'm back in Maryland and have over 4GBs of videos to post. This is going to take some time. I'll be posting my impressions tomorrow along with more videos. Here's a quick one for you. AndyP had one of the best runs of the day.
05.31.08
FIRST SCREENSHOTS POSTED
I just posted the first batch of screenshots, which includes selected individual player ratings and some shots of Head Coach and NCAA 09 for the PS2.
05.25.08
Ladies and gentleman, strap your helmets on, May 28-May 31, 2008, EA Sports will be holding its Football Community Event to showcase its upcoming Football titles (Madden NFL 09, Head Coach 09, and NCAA Football 09). A group of a few lucky hardcore football community contributors have been invited down to attend the event.
This year differs from past years, as it will focus on three titles instead of one. Previously, this even has been called Community Day, but actually, the event spans more than one day, hence the change in title I suspect.
Your boy MadScientist has his invitation and reservation in hand (hell yeah) and will be reporting back with screenshots, videos, and impressions. You can expect the same level of field reporting as you have seen from me during E3 events and Community Days in the past.
To give you an idea of how things will probably run: Day one, we fly in, do a little meet and greet, get some dinner, and rest up for the two days ahead. Day two and three begins with breakfast, then a quick shuttle bus drive to EA Tiburon, maybe a tour, and then all day on the sticks and time with producers. We may, reluctantly, take a quick lunch break, and get out on the town a bit. Day four, we check out of the hotel and head back home. We normally play a tournament, run by Bobby Storm of GameTimePhilly, to finish up the event, so, look out for it.
Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to SHOW TIME!
Visit our DAONE LEAGUE FORUMS to post questions you’d like to me to ask EA producers or even if you’d like to try to get some player ratings or check if your favorite player has his gold tooth in the game! I’ll do my best to get you the info you need. Man, this is gonna be hella-fun. I wish you all could fit in my suitcase and come along, but since you can’t, roll with me in spirit. I got you covered.
REGISTERING FOR THE FORUM
When you register, just add your username, e-mail, and password. Adding anything else (signature, etc) will prevent you from gaining access to the site. You can add anything else once you login for the first time.
INTERESTED IN RUNNING IN AN ONLINE MADDEN OR NCAA LEAGUE?
Playing in a GOOD online league can be a lot of fun. We have been running online leagues for five years with great success. Visit our LEAGUE FORUMS and join our waitlist for either NCAA or Madden 09. We'd love to have you if you are dedicated and play str8, realistic, ball.
NEW INFO!!!
05.22.08 by MadScientist, Owner & Executive Editor
Todd Zuniga, 1Up.com, Missouri DJ Rhude, Vetzballin.com, Syracuse
Shanker Srinivasan, SportsGamer.com, Washington
Brian Ekberg, Gamespot,com, Auburn
Dale Nardozzi, TeamXBOX.com, West Virginia
Aaron Boulding, ESPNVideoGames.com, Cal
Jeff Haynes, IGN.com, LSU
Steve Noah, OperationSports.com, Florida State
Jon Robinson, Gametap.com, Notre Dame
Matt Bertz, Game Informer Magazine, Illinois
Matthew Kato, Game Informer Magazine, Minnesota
Will "Raczilla" Kinsler, EA SPORTS, UCF
DAONE LEAGUE SEASON 08 PLAYOFF UPDATE !!! 05.11.08 by MadScientist, Owner & Executive Editor
MADDENWARS' MOOSTACHE EARNS A TICKET TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP!
Community Leader and MaddenWars' Moostache is the first to make it to DaONE League Championship Game for Season 0h8. Now he waits for the rest of the bracket to catch up to him and deliver his opponent (MadScientist, The Legend 3000, ShowTyme, or Boza SFMB). Follow along.
Check out the Season 08 Playoff Selection Show! The Final Ten Revealed! If the 65 MB file is too big for you, check out the show on DaONE Leauge Network on YouTube.
