The new Madden NFL is one of those games that has gained a very particular audience, but even in its nieche, the audience itself has grown very fond of the game. This is probably why EA has continously aimed to offer enahcements and new in-game experiences. One of those extra elements that has proven to be attractive to the Madden player is Franchise mode. And today, we will take a dive into this modality, which allows users to live a complete NFL experience from scratch.
Don’t forget to check out the oficial Madden NFL 23 Franchise deep dive here:
WHAT’S NEW IN THE FRANCHISE MODE?
FREE AGENCY
First of all, we’ll take a peek at the Free Agency feature:
This is one of the NFL's most critical aspects of team building. With players and teams constantly negotiating, one move can change the entire landscape of the NFL. In Madden NFL 23, EA focused on developing systems to bring players closer to the excitement and strategy of this period of the NFL season.
A complete visual overhaul to the Offseason Free Agency Hub is coming with Madden NFL 23. Within the new Hub, an emphasis is being made on keeping information accessible and clear and improving the flow quality throughout the experience. The details of the player, how your team aligns with their Motivations, and the Interest from other teams are front and center as you navigate through all players active in Free Agency.
Two additional new features were also added: Active Negotiations and Evaluations. In the NFL, Free Agency is a whirlwind of activity, with players and teams negotiating deals the second they are allowed to start talking.
To create a sense of pressure within Madden NFL 23, EA is introducing the Active Negotiations feature. During the first stage of free agency, each team will only be able to offer up to 5 players a contract during each Eval Period. This will help ensure that a few teams can’t just come in and sign all the top free agents right away. The second feature, Evaluations. Within every week of Free Agency, 3 Eval Offers can be made; when triggered all offers are run allowing players to accept/decline contracts or not make a final decision without the need for the week to be advanced. This will give each team more opportunity to go back and forth with a player during negotiations and/or possibly allow you to change direction if you get feedback that the player is not interested in signing with you. You will need to pay close attention to all of the factors that go into how a player decides on where he will sign.
PLAYER MOTIVATIONS
In previous years, players simply signed with the teams offering the most money. Now, every player has three Motivations describing the type of team they want to play for. These conditions can range from location, coach prestige, team composition, etc. All players will begin with a set of 3 Motivations, but with every year a player continues with a Franchise, these may update to better align with their current situation.
How your team aligns with a player's motivation sets their overall Interest in your team. This Interest factors heavily in contract negotiations. A player with no Interest in your team would require massive financial compensation to consider signing. In contrast, a player who perfectly aligns with your Franchise may take a pay cut to guarantee you bring them aboard.
PLAYER TAGS
Many players have roles on a team that exceeds their direct positions and assignments. Tags add a new layer to how these players fit with their team, bringing unique effects that not only apply to the team but also teammates and the player themselves. Addtionally, Player Tags are dynamic, updating weekly; how the players, teams, and league progress will all impact roles across your Franchise.
NEW CONTRACT NEGOTIATION SCREEN
Crafting the perfect contract is key to building your team during re-signing and Free Agency periods. With our newly introduced Motivations system, EA included a revamped Contract Negotiation screen to highlight important information and make offering deals more manageable than ever.
New information includes: a breakdown of Motivations, including a player’s overall Interest in your team, a yearly research of the offer, depth chart information at that position. In addition to being able to craft a Custom Contract offer, there will be four new preset offers that you can choose: Team Friendly, Neutral, Player Friendly, and Very Player Friendly. This allows an easy way to offer varied contracts without the need to punch in the numbers.
FRANCHISE HUB
As every franchise player knows, you can spend as much time off the field as you spend on the field. For that reason, EA wanted to make the franchise hub feel more connected to your team, and now, whether you’re at the main hub, adjusting your depth chart, or scouring the trade block, the background will feature both your team’s primary color and logo.
SCOUTING
EA completely rehauled Scouting in Madden 22 with a post-launch Title Update. All the Scouting improvements EA's been talking about today are driven by that feedback.
Over 50 scouts have been added in Madden 23, doubling the number of free agent scouts from 50 to 100 and bringing the total number to 260. In addition, EA ensured that every position has at least one scout in each tier with that particular expertise. With a few exceptions, each position grouping is covered by multiple scouts at each level.
Team scouts have also been updated. Each scout assigned to a team now reflects their team needs, with the higher tier scouts reflecting the more significant needs.
In Madden 22, Focus Scouting was limited to particular positions, and the amount of information you would receive in a draft class wasn’t enough to make confident decisions. This year, EA grouped similar positions together, so when you’re Focus Scouting, you’ll get information on all players in that grouping rather than just one. These groupings are:
- RB: Running Backs (Halfbacks and Fullbacks)
- OT: Offensive Tackles (Left Tackles and Right Tackles)
- IOL: Interior Offensive Linemen (Left Guards, Centers, and Right Guards)
- DE: Defensive Ends (Left Ends and Right Ends)
- OLB: Outside Linebackers (Left Outside Linebackers and Right Outside Linebackers)
- S: Safeties (Free Safeties and Strong Safeties.)
IMMERSION AND TUNING
EA is adding new features to Draft and Trade Logic in Madden 23. Significant strides were made. While the edges have been smoothed out, a foundation has also been set, allowing for continued progress in these spaces. With this improved logic and the Player Tags feature, EA focused on solving immersion-breaking situations.
The logic for several awards has been tuned, including Most Valuable Player, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Best Quarterback, Best Offensive Lineman, and Best Kicker. The goal of this tuning pass was to ensure that the most deserving players won each of these awards.
Along with adjusting the logic on several awards, EA also adjusted how awards play into a player's DEV trait progression. If a player has a Normal DEV trait and wins an award, he will now be guaranteed to increase in DEV trait. Additionally, players that win offensive or defensive Rookie of the Year or are first-time winners of the Best OL, and Best K awards will also receive a guaranteed DEV trait increase now as well.
Stay tuned for more Madden NFL 23 news coming soon!
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