Madden 09 tackling blog and video
by 
A new Madden 09 producer blog and corresponding video have been posted, this one going over the new tackling engine and animations. You can read the full blog posting here.
With this brand new system (created in a collaborative effort between NCAA Football and Madden NFL), you will see unprecedented fluidity in multi-character interaction, which generates much better results across the board: improved blocking, improved chucks, better handoffs, interactive celebrations with teammates, and even friendly player avoidance and help-ups in post-play. In NCAA you will see pursuit physics specific to wide open gameplay and interactive celebrating with mascots. In Madden you will be manually breaking tackles, adding far better response and control as well as more depth to tackling, which is quite fun. None of this could be possible without this new engine.
Click here to watch the video on the official Madden website.
May 14, 2008 at 8:11 pm
looks good. much better than 08 where you got stuck in the animations.
May 14, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Its amazing how realistic this years Madden looks; Aug. 12 couldnt get here any sooner
May 14, 2008 at 8:22 pm
im liking what i am seeing people can’t say they not putting in effort this year.New brain behind the work and he is showing improvement.They say every madden is nothing but a roster update.Well they can’t say that this year.There trying this year and thats all im asking for.
May 14, 2008 at 8:27 pm
i dont mean to nitpick here. and i have confidence this game will be good but…. i only saw maybe 5 new tackle animations in the video. and saw in the video alone alot of the same tackles repeated many many times. also i didnt notice any gang tackling.. maybe i just missed them. i dont know.. it was an alright video but i think it left more questions then answers as to what they were trying to do.
May 14, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Pasta any idea if you can create a team in head coach?
I’d be really cool to start your own franchise.
May 14, 2008 at 8:30 pm
[quote comment="21221"]i dont mean to nitpick here. and i have confidence this game will be good but…. i only saw maybe 5 new tackle animations in the video. and saw in the video alone alot of the same tackles repeated many many times. also i didnt notice any gang tackling.. maybe i just missed them. i dont know.. it was an alright video but i think it left more questions then answers as to what they were trying to do.[/quote]
I know what you’re saying. I saw some of the tackles and thought back to how they were already common in the game. In a way I thought the video was too flashy to really be able to focus on what was being talked about in the blog, unlike last year where the blog videos were just the raw footage. Graphics look great, player interaction much better, and player control as you can see some of those RB moves that felt really good in NCAA 09.
May 14, 2008 at 8:31 pm
[quote comment="21222"]Pasta any idea if you can create a team in head coach?
I’d be really cool to start your own franchise.[/quote]
Not sure on that at the moment.
May 14, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I think their actually stepping up ya now manual tackle breaks not automated cpu choice with the flick of the highlight stick
May 14, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I didn’t see any refs on the field during those video’s. What gives? Why the hell can’t EA figure out that all that really matters is to have REFS ON THE FIELD???!!!
May 14, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I didn’t see any gang tackling all the tackles was one guy typical ea.
May 14, 2008 at 9:36 pm
[quote comment="21220"]im liking what i am seeing people can’t say they not putting in effort this year.New brain behind the work and he is showing improvement.They say every madden is nothing but a roster update.Well they can’t say that this year.There trying this year and thats all im asking for.[/quote]
I agree, they are definately trying to make a real effort this year. It’s just a shame it took so long – I mean, it took what, 3 next-gen releases until they begun to care?
It’s definately a positive sign though, and it looks like it’s come from higher up than just Madden, because even the Live and March Maddness teams were being more vocal to the community and asking for opinions last year.
May 14, 2008 at 9:36 pm
You watch that entire video and all you care about is the fact that there are no refs on the field. I would much rather them get the gameplay right and then go back and add all the little things. Refs won’t bring anything special to madden unlike this new break tackle system which i would much rather they work on to make sure its balanced and works right.
May 14, 2008 at 9:36 pm
[quote comment="21229"]I didn’t see any refs on the field during those video’s. What gives? Why the hell can’t EA figure out that all that really matters is to have REFS ON THE FIELD???!!![/quote]
Don’t quit your day job.
May 14, 2008 at 9:37 pm
[quote comment="21232"]You watch that entire video and all you care about is the fact that there are no refs on the field. I would much rather them get the gameplay right and then go back and add all the little things. Refs won’t bring anything special to madden unlike this new break tackle system which i would much rather they work on to make sure its balanced and works right.[/quote]
I think you’ll find that post was an attempt at humour.
May 14, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Kinda ironic that a video about the new and improved tackling in Madden 09 would include so many missed tackles. Maybe I’m the only one, but I don’t like seeing that many missed tackles.
May 14, 2008 at 9:42 pm
[quote comment="21234"][quote comment="21232"]You watch that entire video and all you care about is the fact that there are no refs on the field. I would much rather them get the gameplay right and then go back and add all the little things. Refs won’t bring anything special to madden unlike this new break tackle system which i would much rather they work on to make sure its balanced and works right.[/quote]
I think you’ll find that post was an attempt at humour.[/quote]
I figured that one was a sarcastic take on the situation of the last few weeks. It amused me as I was wondering how long it would take for someone to bring it up in a totally unrelated topic discussion such as this one.
May 14, 2008 at 9:46 pm
madden is looking sweet this year
May 14, 2008 at 9:53 pm
[quote comment="21235"]Kinda ironic that a video about the new and improved tackling in Madden 09 would include so many missed tackles. Maybe I’m the only one, but I don’t like seeing that many missed tackles.[/quote]
all i have to say is difficult level and sliders thats not a issue
May 14, 2008 at 9:57 pm
The producer seems to have a genuine passion for the game. That’s refreshing. You have to care about the product in order to go the extra mile. It shouldn’t just be a job. More often than not, the passion will show in the results.
The video looks great, but we definitely need to see how it translates to gameplay. I’m sure it will be an obvious improvement, as long as digging for extra yards doesn’t spike the chances for a fumble too much.
May 14, 2008 at 9:58 pm
damn man stop with the damn refs already ok. just accept the fact that refs are out this year, i mean everytime ea introduce something to us here comes someone talking about refs, its getting old people move on.THERE WONT BE REFS THIS YEAR OK.
May 14, 2008 at 9:59 pm
by the way glad you can now break tackles manually, thats whats up. i like that
May 14, 2008 at 10:24 pm
[quote comment="21235"]Kinda ironic that a video about the new and improved tackling in Madden 09 would include so many missed tackles. Maybe I’m the only one, but I don’t like seeing that many missed tackles.[/quote]
i think they were demonstrating the ability to move in and out of tackles with ease as the animations just branch together…its not like the “i’m going to use the hit stick now…my player will slow down and stutter step…allowing the other defenders to catch up and make the play” philosophy that they had previously…
May 14, 2008 at 10:26 pm
[quote comment="21241"]damn man stop with the damn refs already ok. just accept the fact that refs are out this year, i mean everytime ea introduce something to us here comes someone talking about refs, its getting old people move on.THERE WONT BE REFS THIS YEAR OK.[/quote]
I didnt see REFS either
May 15, 2008 at 12:47 am
[quote comment="21230"]I didn’t see any gang tackling all the tackles was one guy typical ea.[/quote]
You didn’t look hard enough, there were definetely a few gang tackles in that video.
May 15, 2008 at 12:48 am
They are doing a great job with the upgrades so far. It wont be perfect but they will never please everyone. I agree with what someone said earlier that it looks like they are trying. I think that new producer got a fire under some a@@es and maybe that new CEO that looks like he used to work for M$ made a few threats too. Last year was an embarassment for these guys and I hope they took it personally. Again, maybe I keep this for more than a week. But I will never wait in line at midnight for this game like last year.
May 15, 2008 at 1:18 am
[quote comment="21229"]I didn’t see any refs on the field during those video’s. What gives? Why the hell can’t EA figure out that all that really matters is to have REFS ON THE FIELD???!!![/quote]
If somebody else whines about refs on the field, I’mma do a John Wayne Gacy & bury ya bodies in the crawlspace under a shotgun house
May 15, 2008 at 1:37 am
Looks like the FACEMASK!!!! problem still exist. For once I would love to see a Facemask called. The tackle animation is there. It’s just mindboggling how no one ever ask the Producers about it when they have these previews about the game. Pasta if the oppotunity presents itself canyou please try and get an honest answer. Why put the slider there and it not even work?
May 15, 2008 at 1:44 am
[quote comment="21255"]Looks like the FACEMASK!!!! problem still exist. For once I would love to see a Facemask called. The tackle animation is there. It’s just mindboggling how no one ever ask the Producers about it when they have these previews about the game. Pasta if the oppotunity presents itself canyou please try and get an honest answer. Why put the slider there and it not even work?[/quote]
they’ve already commented on the fact that some penalties are not being called correctly…
May 15, 2008 at 1:49 am
_uckin SWEET!
May 15, 2008 at 1:54 am
Hey EA, NFL blitz called the want there tackling engine back.
Seriously come on not every tackle needs to be a “highlight”. I hate how in ALL EA games you rarely see a basic wrap up tackle. Ever since the stupid “HIT STICK” every tackle is like its nfl blitz. With that said the game looked very smooth.
May 15, 2008 at 4:27 am
looks good and you know what i really like hated in madden 08 u could be running the ball and then for example a line backer wraps you up but before he tackles you a safety comes in for a hit and its a glitch and it auomatically turned into a gang tackle. This one i did not see and im very happy
May 15, 2008 at 5:13 am
You are almost there EA, not quite but you are at the cusp of having something great. I hope that EA can just keep moving forward and don’t keep adding and subtracting features and then say they are groundbreaking new features implimented in the game. That being said I still think the tackling needs more work, the running style is aslo a little stiff and like some of the other people stated where are all the gang tackling EA has been promising us unless they are refering to the two people who latch onto the ball carrier and take him down.
May 15, 2008 at 5:50 am
pasta why do the ravens still have do not have black shoes? i thought this game was gonna be accurate with uniforms..?
May 15, 2008 at 5:51 am
lol and the redskins socks are still the same crapy away all red? no purchase here…goodbye
May 15, 2008 at 5:52 am
Looks good.
May 15, 2008 at 6:14 am
Hey Pasta, Was the tackling something that stuck out to you as improved or very different when you played NCAA?
May 15, 2008 at 6:39 am
[quote comment="21266"]Hey Pasta, Was the tackling something that stuck out to you as improved or very different when you played NCAA?[/quote]
There were several instances where I wish I was able to record what I saw. Overall it had a somewhat similar feel, saw many tackles from the past, but there was more variety and more potential for animations never seen before. I remember one where my RB lept over a guy on the ground and got up-ended while he was in mid-air by another defender which looked awesome.
May 15, 2008 at 6:52 am
“You will see more variety because we no longer have tackles that play more often because certain scenarios occur more frequently.”
Maybe I’m not understanding this new system’s concept, but if certain scenarios occur more frequently wouldn’t we see the same tackles play more often because the physics in those scenarios would be the same? Or am I overanalyzing this?
May 15, 2008 at 6:53 am
[quote comment="21263"]pasta why do the ravens still have do not have black shoes? i thought this game was gonna be accurate with uniforms..?[/quote]
Lmao is that all you care about for the game
May 15, 2008 at 7:09 am
I want to see more players get hurt and for them to get carted off of the field instead of limping off even if its a very bad injury. Everybody say it with me now, “WE WANT REALISM, BRING ON THE INJURies”. And all the other things that makes the game into a real Sim game.
May 15, 2008 at 7:37 am
i wonder if they have the back pads?
May 15, 2008 at 7:43 am
[quote comment="21271"]I want to see more players get hurt and for them to get carted off of the field instead of limping off even if its a very bad injury. Everybody say it with me now, “WE WANT REALISM, BRING ON THE INJURies”. And all the other things that makes the game into a real Sim game.[/quote]
here are the two problems with injuries…
-whenever you play online and your opponent loses a top player, they quit the game or blame their loss on their injured players…
-whenever people play their franchise, they reset the game everytime a top player gets injured…
i for one believe that injuries are MUCH more common in the new madden’s than in the past versions…i know everyone remembers going entire season without a single player on the injury list, meanwhile other teams are averaging 4-5 players…
if people don’t reset their games…they will find that injuries can be pretty common in their games…though i would like to see more injuries on the offensive line…because that is one of the most brutal positions to play and i would argue one of the most commonly injured positions along with RB…
i think their should be more players playing with minor injuries that wouldn’t cost them any plays or games, but would decrease their abilities until they are 100%…i also think that players as a whole should be more banged up and fatigued near the season’s end than they are at the beginning…which not only means in game fatigue and injuries, but also progressive fatigue and injury throughout the season…
the game should remember previous injuries to various body parts which would increase the likelyhood of reinjury to that particular area and the player would also be limited physically depending on the injury…for example…a few years ago Kurt Warner either broke his hand or tore some ligaments in it, and he has had a mad case of fumblitis ever since…
May 15, 2008 at 7:44 am
I like how the guy that was writing the blog makes it seem like he just cut the video while working at his desk. That is so clearly a typical EA produced hype trailer.
I still see the EXACT same tackles and EXACT same animations that I’ve seen in Madden for the last 8 years since Madden 2001 on PS2. Same tackles. Same CANNED (regardless of what he blabbers about) tackle/missed tackle/juke animations.
No gang tackles in the video and I HATE how as soon as a guy is wrapped up, the rest of the CPU players immediately stopped and just stood there. You can tell right away, if you are going to break the tackle or not based on if the CPU stops playing or not.
EA writes this same thing every year. Go look at the blog on tackling for last year. It reads the same. They can talk about physics all they want, but everything in Madden is based off motion capture. In fact, most of it is based off the same motion captures from Madden 2001. They are all animation routines that are run and programmed to either execute a tackle or break tackle. There isn’t anything truly dynamic about it.
I thought about it last night and that is the real problem with Madden now. It is the same game as Madden 2001 was for the most part. Madden made a big change when it went to PS2/Xbox from PS1. Madden didn’t change from PS2 to 360/PS3.
All we got were prettier graphics but less gameplay and features. The fact that Madden still plays basically the same but has less to it is waht makes people so angry. It just feels like the made it look nice, but took away most of the features we had on the PS2.
I think that is why you see people constantly complaining about refs and FG nets. The game feels so similar to what we had on the PS2 no one understands why we are lacking the simple things we had on the PS2 version, when nothing major has really changed with the gameplay for 8 years.
There is a definite feeling of a lack of innovation in Madden, which is why I think people are so disappointed. It is the same game we have been playing for 8 years now, with the same bugs and less features than we had 4 years ago. It just looks nicer, which I think hurts the game to a degree, as it shows of some of the flaws easier.
Anyone else feel this way?
May 15, 2008 at 8:03 am
some jukes looked like they were performed way too late to work, yet they magically made the diving tacklers missed.
The rest looked very good…but once you zoom out to that traditional madden camera is where things look very dull.
I hope the new camera option changes the gameplay experience, and that it’s showcased in the demo…because I’m beyond even bothering to rent this game anymore since for me it stinks until proven otherwise.
May 15, 2008 at 8:15 am
[quote comment="21274"]I like how the guy that was writing the blog makes it seem like he just cut the video while working at his desk. That is so clearly a typical EA produced hype trailer.
I still see the EXACT same tackles and EXACT same animations that I’ve seen in Madden for the last 8 years since Madden 2001 on PS2. Same tackles. Same CANNED (regardless of what he blabbers about) tackle/missed tackle/juke animations.
No gang tackles in the video and I HATE how as soon as a guy is wrapped up, the rest of the CPU players immediately stopped and just stood there. You can tell right away, if you are going to break the tackle or not based on if the CPU stops playing or not.
EA writes this same thing every year. Go look at the blog on tackling for last year. It reads the same. They can talk about physics all they want, but everything in Madden is based off motion capture. In fact, most of it is based off the same motion captures from Madden 2001. They are all animation routines that are run and programmed to either execute a tackle or break tackle. There isn’t anything truly dynamic about it.
I thought about it last night and that is the real problem with Madden now. It is the same game as Madden 2001 was for the most part. Madden made a big change when it went to PS2/Xbox from PS1. Madden didn’t change from PS2 to 360/PS3.
All we got were prettier graphics but less gameplay and features. The fact that Madden still plays basically the same but has less to it is waht makes people so angry. It just feels like the made it look nice, but took away most of the features we had on the PS2.
I think that is why you see people constantly complaining about refs and FG nets. The game feels so similar to what we had on the PS2 no one understands why we are lacking the simple things we had on the PS2 version, when nothing major has really changed with the gameplay for 8 years.
There is a definite feeling of a lack of innovation in Madden, which is why I think people are so disappointed. It is the same game we have been playing for 8 years now, with the same bugs and less features than we had 4 years ago. It just looks nicer, which I think hurts the game to a degree, as it shows of some of the flaws easier.
Anyone else feel this way?[/quote]
I actually enjoy madden. Things like fg nets and ref really don’t matter to me. I’ve been playing madden forever and I definatley think it has evolved since then. I will say tho that I did think 07 next gen and 08 were pretty much the same game. But I think for 09 there are alot of great changes being made. Moreso then past few years. I really don’t complain much because I love madden and really I don’t expect a totally different game every year like some guys. They do need to add every feaure ps2 madden had and build on it. Well except that stupid flashlight. Hopefully that experiment is done for 09.
May 15, 2008 at 8:21 am
[quote comment="21273"][quote comment="21271"]I want to see more players get hurt and for them to get carted off of the field instead of limping off even if its a very bad injury. Everybody say it with me now, “WE WANT REALISM, BRING ON THE INJURies”. And all the other things that makes the game into a real Sim game.[/quote]
here are the two problems with injuries…
-whenever you play online and your opponent loses a top player, they quit the game or blame their loss on their injured players…
-whenever people play their franchise, they reset the game everytime a top player gets injured…
i for one believe that injuries are MUCH more common in the new madden’s than in the past versions…i know everyone remembers going entire season without a single player on the injury list, meanwhile other teams are averaging 4-5 players…
if people don’t reset their games…they will find that injuries can be pretty common in their games…though i would like to see more injuries on the offensive line…because that is one of the most brutal positions to play and i would argue one of the most commonly injured positions along with RB…
i think their should be more players playing with minor injuries that wouldn’t cost them any plays or games, but would decrease their abilities until they are 100%…i also think that players as a whole should be more banged up and fatigued near the season’s end than they are at the beginning…which not only means in game fatigue and injuries, but also progressive fatigue and injury throughout the season…
the game should remember previous injuries to various body parts which would increase the likelyhood of reinjury to that particular area and the player would also be limited physically depending on the injury…for example…a few years ago Kurt Warner either broke his hand or tore some ligaments in it, and he has had a mad case of fumblitis ever since…[/quote]
I’ve never done that when one of my players got hurt. I always had to adapt to the situation and hope that he isn’t out for too long. It needs to be a way to prevent players from reseting when their top player gets hurt and have them play the game out.
May 15, 2008 at 8:29 am
Will all the people who can’t stand refs not on the field, just not buy the game, shut up, and give up on this year, instead of posting everywhere about how much i bothers them.
It’s NOT HAPPENING and GO AWAY!
May 15, 2008 at 8:34 am
it better be better than madden 08 & different because all the madden games are the same
May 15, 2008 at 8:42 am
[quote comment="21280"]
I actually enjoy madden. Things like fg nets and ref really don’t matter to me. I’ve been playing madden forever and I definatley think it has evolved since then. I will say tho that I did think 07 next gen and 08 were pretty much the same game. But I think for 09 there are alot of great changes being made. Moreso then past few years. I really don’t complain much because I love madden and really I don’t expect a totally different game every year like some guys. They do need to add every feaure ps2 madden had and build on it. Well except that stupid flashlight. Hopefully that experiment is done for 09.[/quote]
I must respectfully disagree….2007 to 2008 was a huge change in the mechanics of the game.
Just look at what happened in 2007 with the Truck Stick and players getting stuck in non-interruptible animations. You could easily truck a CPU controlled defender and then the manually controlled player behind him would morph through the tackle because of the persistant animations. In 2008, with rudimentary gang tackling and interruptible animations, that was actually fixed.
I agree to the extent that the core gameplay of Madden has largely remained unchanged since 2002 (passing is STILL handled almost identically with only the failed attempt to bring in the vision cone as an attempt to change the core mechanic of passing in the last 8 years and even THAT was largely removed when it was made optional) – it has been consistently refined in an evolutionary way, but it has certainly lacked that revolutionary change we all expected for the PS3/360 era.
May 15, 2008 at 9:22 am
“$5 foot long said: lol and the redskins socks are still the same crapy away all red? no purchase here…goodbye”
Do you mean the all-red socks the Skins actually wore last season?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/themosleyvault/2156686242/
Your act is growing really tiresome. If you’re going to troll, will you at least check your facts first?