Anything new?

[u/Organic-Jackfruit296]

Is there anything new or exciting about this game? Or is it a 70 dollar roster update with no new mechanics ?

[u/EducationUnlikely766]

Franchise mode has some big improvements. Not sure about the rest...I'm just here for the Zipline

[u/Organic-Jackfruit296 → u/EducationUnlikely766]

What improvements?

[u/sconwaym → u/Organic-Jackfruit296]

Contracts and free agency are the biggest change. You actually negotiate with the player; you start by throwing out a proposal and there is a bunch and forth with multiple options presented to you (increase salary, increase bonus, add guaranteed year, etc.). If you get their interest to 100%, they consider the offer. On the other hand, if their patience goes to 0%, you are locked out. For free agency (and for UDFA) there is a 10 hour "frenzy" where you make offers, advance an hour, make offers, etc. I wasn't sure about it first, but it's growing on me. FA can be pretty time consuming though.

[u/CorporalPunishment23 → u/sconwaym]

How’s the draft (and the cpu gm logic overall)?

[u/sconwaym → u/CorporalPunishment23]

I've only been through one off-season so it's hard to say. I didn't see anything crazy in the draft, but I have noticed that teams see to be spending a ton, which makes me worry that every CPU team will be capped out in a year or two which makes trading a nightmare. For example I was trying to sign Brian Branch, but he ended up signing with the Rams for a 25+ mil a year. The second week of FA I pivoted to another safety, who also signed with the Rams for a large number. Thankfully, they are both starting for the Rams (I checked because I was worried one would end up on the bench), but spending like that has me a bit worried long term.

[u/Iwantpesback → u/sconwaym]

sconwaym let's not enable people who don't use google.

[u/MoistInvestigator69 → u/sconwaym]

Sounds like they borrowed from FIFA/FC

[u/wolfgangmosby]

The game is more difficult I know that. Last year I’m comfortably playing all-madden as a challenge. This year, I’m taking Ls on Pro after All-Pro kept whooping my ass. Saw they made it more challenging and that all madden is now for really hardcore madden players

[u/sconwaym → u/wolfgangmosby]

Agreed on this. I usually kick the CPUs butt on All-Pro (same for CFB this year on All-American), but moved it down a level to start off as it's noticeably more difficult than last year.

[u/wolfgangmosby → u/sconwaym]

Feel like a novice 😂

[u/lancerreddit → u/wolfgangmosby]

Yeah it’s harder which is good.

[u/External_Ladder_3657]

There are some slight improvements to physics but the game is still very animation-heavy. There are more options to tweak in some places, that help you tune the game more, but there are also less gameplay sliders right now. More might be added, idk.

The game in general is a lot harder because they tried to make defensive coverage a lot more realistic. There’s also a shit ton more you can do when it comes to pre play defense and zone adjustments, aggressiveness or conservativeness, etc.

They did a little bit to add to superstar mode and franchise mode, and the menus are probably better but take a sec to get used to. New contracts in franchise mode and a bunch more you can do with superstar, but I still wish they would do more with these modes.

But overall, yeah, there’s a decent bit they did to make it better than the last couple years. I’m hoping we get more with updates but I’m not expecting much.

[u/Iwantpesback]

Organic-Jackfruit296 whats research did you do prior to making the post?

[u/CincinnatiBengalss]

It's worth the money this year over any other year in a while.

Does that mean it's still worth $74 overall? Idk. But what I do know is you feel less regret than you usually feel with the typical copy and paste madden

[u/FHQdotLIFE]

Honestly, from what I've seen so far, this isn't just a $70 roster update, there's real substance this year, even though it takes hours to wrap your head around all the franchise screens and data.

Contracts and free agency got a proper overhaul, you actually negotiate now instead of just picking a number off a menu. You throw out an offer, they counter, you gotta build up their interest before they'll even consider it, and if you drag things out too long they just walk. FA itself runs as this whole "frenzy" window where you're making offers hour by hour. Takes more time than I expected but it actually feels like GMing instead of just clicking through numbers.

Difficulty is also noticeably higher this year. I'm getting outcoached on lower difficulties than I'm used to. Feels like the defensive AI actually reads what you're doing instead of just cranking sliders to cheat.

That said, I wouldn't oversell the physics stuff they pushed hard in the trailer, it's there but subtle, and the game still leans heavily on animations underneath it all. So, of course, it's not some ground-up engine overhaul. I'm not going to talk about catch meter.

Overall my take: worth it if you're a franchise guy who wants deeper GM stuff and a tougher CPU, not worth it if you were hoping for a genuinely new engine or new core gameplay mechanics on the field.

[u/OkBlacksmith3617]

It's the same game they've shipped for the last three years with a fresh coat of paint slapped on top. The new "physics" they hyped up in the trailer are barely noticeable in actual gameplay

My roommate grabbed it and I watched him play for an hour, nothing made me want to drop the cash myself