Gamestop Madden Monday: ActionCam
May 12, 2008 by pastapadre
Another week brings a look at one of the new features or improvements to Madden 09 in the Gamestop Madden Monday blog. This week the focus is on the “ActionCam” which is the new camera angle that adjusts to display all of the players on the field.
Madden NFL 09 will feature a camera system that dynamically adjusts to keep all of your players in view, eliminating the need to blindly pass off of the edge of your screen and hope for the best. When you run a pass play, the ActionCam automatically pans out, zooms in, and adjust angles to keep all of your receivers on the screen.
Once you complete that pass, if the ball carrier happens to break away from his defenders, the ActionCam will rock back and forth, zoom in and follow the ball carrier, giving you that intense feeling that you’re sprinting alongside him. And if a defender happens to really lay into the ball carrier, the Big Hit Camera will rattle the screen with the force of the crunch. It’s like having a tiny producer in your console that constantly assigns the best camera angles.
A camera changed has been needed for a long time. I know personally I’ve tended to shy away from throwing to receivers on the outside, or gone to plays that had them coming into the middle of the field, because I couldn’t see them and it was too risky otherwise. From the videos that have been released and the two new screenshots it doesn’t seem to be a drastic change so it shouldn’t take long to get comfortable with it. The classic camera will remain in as an option however I doubt many will prefer that over this new camera.
As long as tranisition is seamless this is a Very welcome addition (the new camera angle)… dammit, I might need to buy this game
I could live without the Gears of Madden style shaky cam, tho’ in his later years Madden has started to look a bit like one of the Locust Horde
Hey pasta do you know if we are gonna see more gameplay videos soon with the announcing in place just curious thanks bro.
I doubt it happens but would LOVE to see this show up in NCAA 09 as a late addition.
Cool, this was very needed and it should help alot. …”he said Madden looked like a Horde!” -awesome
Hey pasta do you think you can make a suggestion to EA to sell this game way cheaper than 60 bucks cuz it really isn’t worth it.
Why can’t they just make this game feel alive…Im sure it wouldn’t take much with the power of the next gen consoles…they put so much effort into things that really doesn’t matter when they forget that its the small things that actually takes place in football games that really matters.
Question for people with widescreen TV’s….on the standard camera view on Madden are you able to see the whole field if you have a widescreen TV? Just curious if this new feature is needed for all or just people without a nice TV?
gudda101 wrote:
I think this is a good feature. But I see your point.
I hope that two CPU controlled teams can execute trades. To me it is one of the biggest problems with previous Maddens. Trades are a big way some teams fill in the needed holes either through acquiring a good player or moving up the draft boards.
MJ wrote:
I just feel like its something that should already be in the game already without them labeling it as a new feature.
Instead f ’shaky cam’ why not just put refs on the field. Its bs features like this that make me shake my head. EA focuses on the most trivial Bs stuff to add instead of adding the stuff that shold be there isn teh 1st place to begin with.
I can see it next year. EA introduces the new ‘hotdog cam’. This cam zooms in on the hotdog as concessions adds mustard, relish, and other toppings in full cam splender, that almost makes you think you could eat the hotdog.
askEARL360 sucks wrote:
lol thats exactly the kind of bs that EA does.
always fun to see the haters come out to deflect attention away from a good feature. happens every time. this has been pleaded for over the years and they get it in, and of course that means time to complain about something else. i wish those people would just take things for what they are and here we got a good change for 09.
Pasta i see that when people start bashing EA you don’t respond but can you please answer one question for me…is EA working on new tackling animations and just overall animations or do we have to wait next year to see realistic animations
askEARL360 sucks wrote:
I agree (of course), but the new camera system is a nice improvement.
Madden 09 seems to be making solid strides forward. I predict refs will be back in the game next year. The decision to take refs out in the first place was lazy, strange, and asinine.
That said, the ActionCam seems to be a solid, relevant innovation that directly affects the gameplay experience for the better.
Pasta:
Will this feature work on defense? I mean, many team I’m following an RB blindly all over the field just to see that he stayed in the flat and got a 1st down, thanks.
Pasta, Do you know if this Action Cam will be adjustable it self? For example would there be a slider, that would let me choose what angle is shows? or is it just fixed in so that each it fits every reciever exactly, if you can understand what I’m asking.
In answer to the widescreen TV question:
yeah I have a 52″ widescreen and I can see the whole field (side to side) no problems.
urlm3 wrote:
This has nothing to do with hate. I mean how many freakin years are we going to go without a single ref on the damn field. They add freakin glowing boxes for you to go into the endzone and dance/celebrate in like is was a disco floor. Next is rumble cam to make you feel like youre running with a player (not saying its not an improvement), but no refs or chaingangs which is apart of the game.
Not only that, EA has these Q&A sessions where they dont even bother to answer the questions asked. How could you not shake your head at this?
Its not like they dont have the money or time to invest in refs. They spent all this money on ESPN, and NFL licenses, but dont have the money or time for refs on the field. Then the excuse they give is ‘its too hard to code for a ref, but they can sit there and code a new shakey cam, and disco floor in a box endzone celebrations?
JB wrote:
I have a 32″ Widescreen and I still have problems with seeing the sidelines from time to time. The new camera should help whether you have a nice TV or not.
freeg4 wrote:
sheesh… don’t you guys think Pasta might have, oh i don’t know.. a JOB! he can’t sit around and comment and give out info all the time.. bills do need paying ya know
and on track with the feature.. i think it sounds nice.. i do wish that the “panning” portion was separate from the “shaking” portion though. i like that the camera will adjust to show all the receivers but i dont really care for the shaking camera once you’re receiver has the ball
askEARL360 sucks wrote:
I am not sold on the shaky cam either but to substitute it with referees is even more of a waste. I have no idea why so many people are hung up on referees. Do people have a zebra fetish or something?
To me, refs are pointless. Whenever they are in a game I never noticed them. I guess to each their own….
What is with the graphics and AI in these screenshots??? Did anyone else notice that three offensive linemen are faced to the left not blocking anyone in the first screen? In the second screen both offensive tackles aren’t blocking anyone either. I mean the camera idea sounds cool but maybe it’s not what EA should focus on. Plus all of the offensive linemen that I have seen so far don’t have a gut or anything. They are all skinny compared to real life, I mean they look like a bunch of tall fullbacks. I dont know, judging by these two screens this game is not going to live up to the hype.
Wow… OK.. I can see maybe getting upset about dancing in the endzone and no referees on the field. But here is a dynamic innovation (if it works well) that will change the entire experience to make it more visceral and people are still whining about refs? Really?
I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be in there or that it would be hard to put them in… but they don’t effect the gameplay at all (well… unless you had to run them over). If I remember correctly, even in earlier versions of Madden they were simply cosmetic (in the 2K games you could run into them and be slowed down somewhat).
I’d much rather have a new feature like this announced than “refs are on the field… meh”. Those of us who will still have SD TVs for while should really welcome this. The endzone dancing… now that’s another story.
JB wrote:
I play on a 50″ w/s and I had no problems with the camera angle in either Madden or NCAA. However, I have heard others with w/s setups voice some complaints.
Eski wrote:
Having refs and chaingangs is something small but it adds to the realism of actually playing an NFL game…and like i said once before my biggest gripe is EA not bringing any life to the game…the crowd and sidelines should really be involved…it also adds emotion to the game.
Sounds Great.
Looks Great 2.
Eski wrote:
Pointless?
Then why not take out the crowd watching the game? Why not remove the sideline players? While you’re at it, why not remove the entire stadium?
REFS EXIST. They’re on the field. With the players.
How can you not grasp that? EA is simulating a football game. It’s not “to each his own.” Players running around the field with no refs doesn’t look right. EA can improve the snow all it wants. Without refs, the game is incomplete.
Watch a football game sometime. See how the refs are there? Crazy concept, isn’t it? Taking them out shouldn’t be an option.
I think this adjustment should have been made a long time ago.
speaking of refs, Details needs to get flagged for being a dumbass!
r00tabaga wrote:
How in the world is Details a dumbass if anything he’s right…all yall do is talk about how refs aren’t important and it has nothing to do with gameplay…imo madden gameplay been lacking as well as everything if not worst…they can’t even make a pocket.
Like I said having refs just brings the game alive and makes it feel like a real football…sometimes i think most of you don’t even watch football.
then they add refs and you fawgs complain that there aren’t f15’s doing fly-bys before games…and that there aren’t any helmets flying off for every play. Waahhhh!
Gudda… you make a good point… but they don’t have anything to do with gameplay.
yes… i’d much rather them work on important things like O-Line AI.
If refs are there, eh… whatever. But if the game can simulate football itself… that’s where they’ll sell me.
Pasta said that EA has takin into consideration things like FG nets and chain gangs and yes, REFEREES, for next year’s iteration of Madden. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it…wait til next year.
i guess better late than never. i can’t believe it took this long to make sure you could actually see all your receivers.
Finally you will be able to know if you can throw the fade to a WR who has a good 5 inches on the the CB.
deltroy wrote:
No indications as of yet.
freeg4 wrote:
I’m sure they have, there will likely be a bunch of new animations. That being said I wouldn’t expect a revolutionary change. It’ll probably be similar to the incremental improvements in the area that have been seen year over year.
BlackJack wrote:
Not sure but I’ll try and find out some more specifics on how it works.
lol r00tabaga its just funny that EA has such faithful fans as yourself lol…you really love madden and you really find nothing wrong with the things they pull lol i just think thats hilarious.
Darkheath wrote:
Im all for improving Madden, cuz Madden has been sheit the last few years. But things such as bad O-Line AI is still there in these picts:
Look at #’s 77 and 65, they still haven’t changed the OL/DL interaction/blocking.
Fix this stuff then add all teh camera angles and whats not..
We are not haters, we are FOOTBALL FANS who happen to own a gaming console. We saw APF 2K5 and were blown away and were so excited for the “next gen” consoles but EA just keeps giving us mediocre, over-hyped arcade game, NOT A FOOTBALL GAME SIMULATOR and we have no alternative because they own all the licenses and have no competition…so sad…
urlm3 wrote:
you call it hating..I call it telling the truth..EA puts in all this extra stuff. but yet there happens to be no refs on the field whatsoever..however when mlb 2k8 came out people like you jumped directly out and just bombarded the ship..hypocrites o hypocrites.
Yeah! Now everybody who has a next gen console who paid big money for a 360 or ps3 can see the whole field on there sdtv!
Great news pasta!
Actually on those picts, with only a 3 and 4 man rush… I think that’s what they should be doing. Making sure an LB doesn’t decide a late blitz. It actually looks like the QB has a pocket that he’s standing in. I’d be interested to see how they react with more players rushing, though.
What I think is funny is WR “X” in pict #2. He’s just standing there.
“they” in the previous post was refering to Tackles # 77 & 65.
man the hell with refs they need to work on presentation and making each game differnt from the other i dont want the same presentation i get for regular season in the playoffs or super bowl. the presentation should be much different in rival games, playoffs, and especially super bowl. anyone with me on that.
lets get some pre-game hype, halftime analysis, and post game show or something. when someone gets hurt seriously lets see the stretcher come out the team doctor or trainer i mean someone to help carry the player off the field. how about different qb releases, tony romo, phillip river with his awkward release,byron leftwich (slow release). peyton manning (fast release). i would to see all this in the game
$5 foot long wrote:
terrible framerate is not the same as missing refs, as much as some people seem to want them. not having the refs doesn’t affect gameplay. it affects immersiveness though which i understand. acting as though people hated mlb 2k8 because of something as minor as what is being picked on here is laughable
id also like to know how a better camera angle is termed “extra stuff” instead of an actual improvement to the game.
I too think refs should be there. But, like others have said, if I didn’t come to the internet and read about them not being there, I wouldn’t have even noticed.
lets also get different styles of running for the backs. the upright style of adrian peterson and chris brown. lets get back to uniforms getting filthy in bad weather games. snow and rain flying in the air when tackled. how about fumbles with the center and qb exchange i mean dont that happen in football games. dont bad snaps happen in football games on field goal att. and punts. i guess holder dont fumble snaps either in football games.(tony Romo). lets get this in the game and then we can talk refs and chain gangs.
I know having referees on the field would give the game more realism, but come on people, take a look a APF and see if you even notice the referees when you PLAY. I sure did not. And, it looks like EA will implement referees next year anyway, they have much more importnant work to do on actually improving most aspects of Madden 09 before worrying about having referees on the field.
BosnianFan wrote:
i agree bosnian
I think it’s funny how only 10% of these comments have anything to do w/the new “Action Cam”. I’ve been waiting 4 a new angle 4ever…yes,refs would be nice,chains would be nice,FG nets would be nice,better ESPN integration would be REALLY nice & overdue, but c’mon don’t tell me that some of these new features don’t get U pumped! Can’t wait to play in a Buffalo snowstorm…hopefully online-
Gotta have it just by what I’ve seen so far I just hope it doesn’t dissapoint me like 08 has done.
I love how every madden post gets turned into a discussion about refs on the field. Every one. I’m glad they aren’t there b/c they just get in the way but I understand people wanting realism - if they can implement them without them getting in the way too much (a few times is realistic but shouldn’t happen in most games) that would be fine with me.
Pasta, will this camera be in NCAA? I hope that it is - it seems it would go along well with the “wide-open gameplay.”
Oz wrote:
Thats a great question because NCAA 09 has some features that I wished were in Madden.
Back on topic. ActionCam is definitely an exciting improvement. EA should release a few video clips showing off the feature.
We all want Madden 09 to be an amazing game. I hope it’s the greatest football game ever. If we didn’t care about the product, we wouldn’t be posting on Pasta’s site.
Details wrote:
Yea, I come here because its very informative and we can give our thoughts and opinions on the new games before they are released
This is an offering that has real potential. I hope that this feature along with the new play call screen are available to online gamers.
While this is not more important that fixing the precision passing and the offensive line blocking, this is a **very** good feature upgrade by EA.
I am not a madden hater but did any one else notice that on the camera it doesnt show all the recivers like in the top one look all the way to the right it shows a shadow of the reciver i dont know if it just wasnt zoomed out all the way yet or what but other wise it looks good.
cavball wrote:
Wasn’t zoomed all the way notice on the secod pic how it changed/ BTW if you looked close at the times ant the quarter you know they are the same game just that the camra is angling itself to compensate for the pass.
you guys keep talking about no refs and chaingangs, but in Madden 08 PS2 i distinctly remember there being at least chain gangs and refs, i would try to hide a linebacker behind the ref because i thought it was funny
Seth wrote:
sorry bud, but they’re all referring to the current/next-gen consoles… the old gen (ps2, xbox) models are pretty much maxed out so they don’t get much attention anymore
Thanks Dre.
who gives a F@#k about refs on the field stop crying.The main focus this year should be things to improve the game play this year.If they put them on the field people will complain about there player running into or its not real cuz they run through them.I know if they was on the field i would run crossing routes and use the ref as a pick.People would complain and say thats a glitch so stop b*&chin about that and focus on the real problems
Dre wrote:
not sure if you guys noticed but if you go and watch the debut video in action u see the new camera angles in effect i new something was different but didn’t catch on till just now with the story from gamestop. if you watch eli and tom dropping back you can see the whole field and its a lot easier to find an open reciever. i wish i could have this right now in 08 i would be killin db’s. lets hope they put this in ncaa also keep our fingers crossed
back to the topic this feature should be a great edition no more blind passes or trying to defend blind passes.Its hard to check a back out the backfield when the QB roll out to the other side of the field.
Griffa02 wrote:
yeah i just looked at the video again and it does show that feature.Its so smooth that people didnt even notice it off first glance
what if i throw a quick wr screen. how does this camera know to wich side and can it react thay quickly???????
kc10785 wrote:
I believe you’re right. I would like to see refs on the field just to hear it get bashed. Stuff like R