Super Bowl LIV is so close now, but Madden fans are already talking about how EA Sports can improve the next version of Madden, and the latest update gave a great glimpse of how they could.
With this being the game that will be played when the next-gen consoles launch, there is a lot of focus on new gameplay that will leverage the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
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Sometimes though, it's the simplest changes that can have the biggest improvements. And if a recent tweet from an EA Sports producer is anything to go by, Madden 21 could make Franchise fans very happy with the simplest of new features.
Playcall Cooldown and Limits
In a tweet recently, Jake Stein a Producer working on Madden for EA Sports repeated the introduction to playcall cooldowns and limits to the House Rules on MUT this week.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: Franchise players want this functionality
Playcall cooldown means that once a play has been used a certain number of times, a number of other plays need to be called until it is available again.
Playcall limits mean that you can only call the same play a certain number of times in a game.
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This enforces a variety of playcalls and prevents the overuse and spamming of certain plays, especially those magical money plays.
This is likely to divide opinion in the Madden fanbase as the community seems to either love or hate the presence of these killer plays. That said, the introduction of the functionality would be welcomed as another option in the settings.
CFM Leagues will love it
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Whilst this will be implemented in MUT this week, it seems entirely obvious to introduce this to the options within the Franchise game mode.
CFM leagues where there are many user teams battling it out for bragging rights and a Lombardi trophy will absolutely love the ability to implement this solution.
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CFM leagues often want to balance realism with fun, which means ensuring playcalling is fair and not repetitive is a hugely time-consuming task.
Currently, most leagues rely on generic rules that state "just don't be silly" by picking the same play over and over again.
This solution should allow them to adjust the cooldown and limits to ensure that all players will have to learn a proper playbook and beat their opposition using the full extent of the game and not repeating one play over and over again.
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Some of the other ideas for similar limits would be;
- Lock play action when 3rd and long
- Prevent using the same player on defense more than 3 plays in a row and then have a cooldown period
- Hurry up only allowed in the 2 min warning of each half
- Chew clock only allowed in the 2 min warning of each half
- A limit to the number of 4th down and 2pt conversion attempts
- Autosub out players that have unrealistic stats (ie. 20 receptions in a half)
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These are more difficult to implement and slightly more controversial but the playcall cooldown is an obvious addition that would do wonders for improving gameplay - and it only needs to be an option in the settings.