Madden NFL 17 Gameplay Deep Dive: Run Fits, Defensive Gaps, Ball Carrier Moves

Now we provide the Madden NFL 17 gameplay deep divess details.

Ball Carrier Special Moves

Based on the special-move ratings (and body weight in some cases), ball carriers will use an animation that ranges all the way from "Elite" to "Lumbering"

Also noteworthy is the impact fatigue can have on the special moves. When the ball carrier is completely out of stamina, the moves he will use will go down one level from his default – when an elite player runs out of gas, he'll perform moves as if he's rated in the 80's instead of the 90's – so make sure not to overuse that Acceleration Burst!

Fakeout Interaction System

When timing the special moves correctly, users can see and feel the power of new multi-player fakeout animations, with nearly a thousand possible outcomes.

What is a multi-player fakeout? It's a dynamic animation that includes multiple players all at once based on their location. These can be 2 player interactions up to 6- player interactions

Ball Carrier Mechanics

Using modifiers, there are now four unique tactics available to customize the running game. In combination with the Fakeout Interactions, all carry their own risks and rewards. The four special-move types are: Standard, Speed (RT/R2), Precision (LT/L2) & Steerable (RT/R2 + LT/L2).

There's also a new mechanic in the run game that can be used on both offense and defense – Tackle Battles. This is a twitch mechanic that gives uers the ball the ability to influence the outcome of tackles as both the ball carrier or the defender making the tackle.

Whenever a defender and ball carrier get locked up in a standing tackle, a random face-button will appear on screen – the first player in the tackle battle to hit that button, wins the tackle battle.

Defensive gaps and run fits

ALIGNMENT

The first step in upgrading the AI is ensuring that defenders are aligned in the correct place to give them the best chance at executing their jobs, thus the first piece of the run fits system is the new Defensive Auto-Flip feature. 

PRE-SNAP

The individual gap assignments come from the intent of each play and is completely dynamic, both before and after the snap, and even includes gap responsibilities for each defender for plays going in either direction.  You can see the desired gaps before the play via Coach Cam Art by using the RS right/left to see the Run-Fit art for either direction.  

POST-SNAP

After the snap is where the new gap logic really separates itself from previous Madden iterations. Just because a defender is assigned to a gap pre-snap doesn't mean he's locked to that gap for the remainder of the play. Each defender has AI that allows him to update his gap and react to the war in the trenches to fill the open lanes created by the blockers as the play develops. This AI relies heavily on the Play Recognition Rating.

Force

The Force Defender is something Madden fans have been wanting for a long time and Madden 17 delivers. The Force player is essentially the outside contain defender to the playside – his job is to "force" the run back to the inside where his teammates are to make the tackle.

Blocking

To provide the proper balance for the ground war, many blocking improvements have been made as part of the run-fits feature, with an emphasis on zone blocking AI and animations.

With defenders now working to fill gaps created by the blockers, outside zone and stretch-type plays look and feel more like their real-world counterparts, with the defense getting stretched laterally. This creates lanes for the ball carrier to read and gaps for the run-fit defenders to fill.  With the new ball carrier mechanics, finding the cutback lane that has not been accounted for by the defense has never felt more rewarding.

You will also see new laterally moving blocks, such as zone steps, reach blocks, double teams, cut blocks and force blocks that will make you feel ground war just like you see on Sundays. Blockers also have a job to do to execute the intent of the play, so you'll see the blockers performing their blocking assignments to meet that expectation.