Muthead

Gridiron Notes: Madden NFL 21 Next Gen Stats Deep Dive

Today, EA released a trailer and Gridiron Notes previewing Next Gen Stats and how they will influence Madden on next gen consoles. If you would like to watch the trailer, hit play on the video above. Continue reading for an overview of Next Gen Stats:

To view the Gridiron Notes used for today's article, CLICK HERE.

What is “Next Gen Stats”?

NFL player tracking, also known as Next Gen Stats, is the capture of real-time location data, speed and acceleration for every player, every play on every inch of the field. Sensors throughout the stadium track RFID tags placed on players' shoulder pads, charting individual movements within inches in every NFL stadium.

Next Gen Stats = Next Gen Player Movement

Leveraging the power of NFL Next Gen Stats, Next Gen Player Movement is fueled by real athlete-data, route paths, and acceleration rates, allowing the next generation of Madden NFL to deliver the most realistic, authentic, and fluid player movement in franchise history. Feel the most elite NFL athletes at every position move on the virtual field like they do in the real world.

Expanding on the player archetypes introduced in Madden NFL 21 on the current generation, we’ve added more animation content and nuance to each unique archetype on next generation tech so that they will move and feel even more differently on the sticks. For example, a big, bruising ball carrier will run with a heavier weight and produce more tackle outcomes where he gains extra yards, while a small, agile ball carrier will change direction efficiently and avoid tackles rather than power through them. 

Unique player movement per archetype, with each captured across multiple body types:

  • Ball Carrier: Agile, Agile Small, Agile Tall, Bruiser, Bruiser Quick, Bruiser Heavy
  • Route Runners: WR, RB, TE split up between Agile, Agile Small, Agile Tall, Bruiser, Bruiser Quick, Bruiser Heavy
  • Pass Block movement for OL’s

NextGenStats.jpg

Next Gen Stats and Route Running

With Next Gen Stats innovation, route-running in Madden NFL 21 has been completely overhauled. Receivers will run actual routes logged by Next Gen Stats’ real NFL game data. In addition to speed and acceleration rates, our animation engine is also leveraging player-specific route paths from Next Gen Stats for individual receivers. For example, the path that Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams takes on a deep crossing route on a Sunday afternoon will be the same deep crossing route reflected by Adams in Madden NFL gameplay. The result is natural-feeling, fluid routes with more rounded turns, athletic nuance and player differentiation.

Before: On previous gen, our receivers ran from one specific point to another specific point at top speed all the time and made very similar cuts, with very little difference between unique players.

After: On next gen, player ratings and archetypes will heavily impact the quality and speed of each route and they will be run as an entire route from start to finish rather than each individual portion of a route on previous gen.

NextGenRoute.jpg

Next Gen Stats and Defense

Next Gen Player Movement doesn’t just benefit the offense. We also analyzed the Next Gen Stats data for defensive players in terms of speed, facing direction, and acceleration. This data has allowed our animation engine to provide the appropriate content to make defenders who are backpedaling and strafing much more natural looking and athletic. In coverage, players will react and break on plays more consistently and predictably. And Next Gen Stats also brought improvements to AI pursuit, so that when AI-controlled defenders are pursuing a ball-carrier, they will now get in better position to make a play or be in a better position for a timely click-on for the user to make the play.

Lastly, but just as important for the defensive side of the ball was next level tech for tackling. We’ve built a new tackle prediction and anticipation technology we call ‘Rally.’ With Rally, not only will you be able to start tackle interactions easier, but you’ll see more variety in tackles, improved visual quality in terms of tackle prep and anticipation, and more authentic interactions during impact moments.

NextGenDefense.png

Next Gen Stats Powered Replays

To surface some of this data to our players, we’ve also added presentation elements to our instant replays, so players can relive the thrill of game-changing plays, all backed by Next Gen Stats. Next Gen Stats-powered replays can be triggered by certain statistical moments and then they are presented in beautifully rendered cinematics throughout the gameplay experience.  

With the increased power provided by next gen consoles, Madden NFL is able to replicate the real-time positional RFID (radio-frequency identification) data collection system used by the NFL to calculate Next Gen Stats data on the virtual gridiron. This data is then used to create these new and dynamic replays to highlight the biggest plays by the best players in the game, all shown through the lens of Next Gen Stats, just like you would commonly see on any NFL broadcast in today’s NFL.

So, the next time you flatten a left tackle and sack the quarterback in under two seconds, put a couple of defenders on skates for a 40-yard rush, or rocket the ball 60 yards downfield for a game-winning touchdown, you’ll get the recognition you deserve and it will all be backed by hard data.

Primary Next Gen Stats Replay Triggers:

  • Completed Air Distance
  • Rushing Distance
  • Ball Carrier Speed
  • Tackle Length
  • Time To Sack

Secondary Next Gen Stats Replay Triggers:

  • Yards After Catch
  • Time To Throw
  • Time Behind LOS (for rushing plays)
  • Broken Tackles
  • Yards After Contact
  • Run After Catch
  • Completed Air Distance
  • Air Yards To Sticks
  • QB Speed at time of throw
  • Carry Distance
  • Distance To Endzone
  • Distance From Own Endzone
  • Carrying Speed

NextGenReplays.png

Next Gen Play Calling

To provide a solid foundation for the player movement system, we’ve also made a significant update to our play-call system, giving players more control to call the best plays for the right players on every down, via ‘By Player’ play-calling. And you can now keep all of your preferred plays on speed-dial with the new favorite play marker and playbook tab, which provides an intuitive way to save your favorites and easily find them later. An easily accessible go-to play feature is something our fans have requested for a long time and we’re excited to deliver it on next gen.

We’ve made the play-call screen more intuitive and user-friendly, while still having the depth and power our core fans love. In addition to the enhancements described above, you’ll also be able to see your Superstar X-Factor abilities and their stats for the current game, all right inside the play-call screen.

NextGenPlaycall.png

Additional Gameplay Improvements

Because Next Gen Player Movement has had such a significant impact on the pace of play in Madden NFL 21, here’s some other gameplay improvements that come along with the new gameplay system:

Pass Lead

Next Gen Stats and player movement opened up the ability to lead receivers on deep routes more effectively.

Run Game

It’s easier to read running lanes and find those satisfying cutback lanes.

QB Movement

Movement in and out of the pocket is smooth and athletic. You’ll also feel the differentiation in movement all over the field when comparing pocket passers to mobile QBs.

Head Tracking

Head movement is more realistic for receivers when running routes and for ball carriers in terms of when and where they are looking, making them look more aware of the on-field action.

Tackling

We’ve already talked about our new Rally tech, but we’ve also improved gang tackles. Gang tackles will trigger more often with much more variety. We’ve also made improvements to tackle momentum and it’s now much more realistic with direction, weight, and speed of the players involved taken into account for tackle selection and post-tackle follow through. And even defensive users can now interact with gang tackles.

Improved Pass Rush Timing

With the passing game moving at a more realistic speed, the pass rush has more of an impact relative to the timing relationship between the QB dropback, the depth of the route and the speed of the incoming pass rushers.

Blazing Fast Load Times

Faster load times powered by next generation tech get you in the game quicker than ever. Never lose focus as stadium environments will load with unprecedented speed, letting you get to the kick-off in seconds.

Redesigned loading systems on next gen tech allowed us to maximize I/O bandwidth and processing by utilizing the high speed SSD and integrated I/O of the next generation consoles. Stadiums and environments will load almost instantly. The front-end experience and in-game are more connected than ever providing you more time of actual gaming and less time waiting.

What's your first impression of the Next Gen gameplay and features? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Comments

rebellious_rhino

Sounds good on paper but EA will find a way to make it bad. Just like they ruined ball carrier skill moves from 20 to 21, this gen to next gen there will be something that gets screwed up for sure.

mubby33

I started laughing when they said Madden is "the most realistic football simulation ever"

joyflyer49

I found a way to get your MUT rewards level up. When you get your food packs to upgrade your Autum Blast player choose the ingrediants in the wrong order and keep opening the packs and your packs opened will go up.

Kidtnt27

Who cares about a next gen update when basic things do not work or crash the game. We STILL have menu crashes for comparing cards in the binder or the AH. House Rules crashed the game when you doubled teamed someone...I mean really....

hairyknucklesx

You ain't lying. The laggy gameplay, constant glitches, menu crashes, and clearly exploitable loopholes makes H2H competition unbearable. But hey, at least now I'll know time-to-release during a replay I'll never watch. Way to prioritize user requirements EA. Perhaps its time to move your product management team out of marketing and into a function that listens to actual customers.

Br2nc0

I don't really want to be negative here, but all of this stuff isn't really impressive to me.

the play calling I really like tho ngl

the graphics kinda like a slight upgrade

new replays ea? really? they always focus on flashy stuff rather than the core gameplay

gameplay better be better however, my bar is low bc this is ea we are talking about

who knows, maybe ea finally makes madden gameplay bearable again, who knows? it kinda looks like it

these are my two cents however y'all are entitled to your own opinion

mutman420

I don't hate the gameplay this year, though. It's honestly some of the better gameplay in recent years. It's just the fucking content. The dragged out releases, shitty cards, etc. I'm happy with wat they've done for next gen tbh.

jwc24

Here's my stance on Madden 21. This is the most fun and balanced gameplay we've had in a little while, but that's only when everything works. There's so many bugs that it just makes it unbearable sometimes, which is sad because the game is really fun when it works how it's supposed to.

mog03

I agree honestly, so will I still be able to play mut online without buying a next gen console right?

jwc24

Yes. Idk if they'll be releasing Madden 22 for Xbox Ones though.

mog03

Alright I appreciate it. I was just boutta be ticked if I couldt play against other people when it released. Guess itll just not look as updated but we'll still get the same content and sutff?

EliRG310

Looking forward to it!

Edited by EliRG310

rmeintel

Lol still seeing the same canned animations from the last 4 years. So glad I didn’t buy it

crazygamercaden

Almost as if next-gen and last-gen are separate games. What are you talking about lol

JPHRZ

Would you really want them spending their developer hours on something superficial that doesn't improve direct gameplay? I'd rather they fix the physics engine.

rmeintel

That’s the point. The engine SUCKS. Frostbite was an absolute disaster and EA knows it, but refuses to use their money and resources to get a new gameplay engine

JPHRZ

mYa, I get that they're trying to maximize the value they get for buying DICE, but sports really need their own engine. This article had a solid review, summary: FPS engines are for FPS. https://www.usgamer.net/articles/ea-frostbite-engine-history-bioware-ea-sports

Br2nc0

I think EA is trying to not start over again with frostbite, like they did with our previous engine.

maybe they are moving on? who knows? They can be building up another engine as we speak.

haisamx

What a bunch of ignorant cry babies in here. This game is by far the most advanced football game there is. Your expectations are unrealistic and probably based on your lack of skill. Making a game of this caliber extremely complex and expensive. The reason it hasn't changed a whole lot each year is because there isn't a whole lot they can add, the game has pretty much everything already.

hairyknucklesx

You know what they COULD upgrade every season? Servers and supporting infrastructure. If, as you say, "there isn't a whole lot they can add", then they should have plenty of operational capacity to invest the time in improving gameplay consistency. Instead, they see this as an opportunity to cut cost because they have exclusive rights to the NFL and zero incentive to spend money to improve the experience. You cry of ignorance, yet put yours on full display. For instance, you question our comments today after complaining about the exact same thing 2 months ago... "I'm glad they fixed so many of these ridiculous exploits. It was feeling like every other game was against someone using one glitch or another and if you manage to counter it, they quit instantly."

Edited by hairyknucklesx

SirInge

Forgive me, but given the amount of money that EA makes off madden sales alone, ignoring the pack purchases, the development team is slacking. The content over the summer was inexcusably bad, only for us to receive a content dry buggy mess that took no less than 3-4 patches to fix. What the hell were they doing over the summer? Clearly not working on 20. Clearly not working on 21, which was in many ways a copy paste of 20 with a few additional features, but hardly enough to justify calling it a new game. Making a game of this caliber is something take two could do in their sleep if they had the rights to it. There's a damn good reason nobody gives a crap about EA's NBA Live and it's all 2k. Its because EA slacked, and the competition outstripped them due to their lack of an exclusive license. Believe it or not, NBA live used to be the biggest selling NBA game title. Then EA did EA things, and in all fields where they have competition, they got outdone into irrelevancy.

arion875

Erm? "the most advanced football game there is"?? Don't you mean the ONLY football game there is?

Agile-CMC. Agile Small- Clyde E-H. Agile Tall- Arian Foster. Bruiser-AP? Bruiser Quick-Joe mixon? Bruiser Heavy-derrick henry. Did I get that right?

lllllllce

Have to hold EA accountable! This is COMPLETE BS! No ACTUAL GAMEPLAY footage??? WHY IS THAT??? Because it's not much better than what we already have now on ps4/xbox one????? Remember people, these guys are EXTREMELY SHADY. And they also LIE CONSTANTLY. Patch notes are almost always filled with LIES. Have to keep things in perspective. If you guys (EA) wanna write us a novel on how next-gen is SUPER-REAL or whatever you said, then fine. BUT SHOW US SOME GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE. I literally stopped reading when I saw how in-to-detail it started to get about gameplay, then I realized WHO I WAS READING FROM. You guys lie as good the best of the best crooked politicians! Keep things in perspective people.

Remember, they said they patched the "no-control" over your ballcarrier after an INT, well, maybe I missed how to do it, maybe there's some special way, but when I get an interception, my player runs in a straight path for about 10 yards before I can take control of him. I believe that was in the 2nd patch this year. That was 2 months ago. EA just (STRAIGHT-UP) LIES IN YOUR FACE.

SHOW US SOME GAMEPLAY!!!!!

lethalskyhawk74

"save your favorite plays". That is not how football works and they said it was "the most realistic football simulation ever"

jerryrice085

Spider 2 Y Banana

Br2nc0

this is the problem with EA, they always focus on the flashy stuff rather than the stuff that actually can make the game a lot more better

themockingjay38

Will it be free? Or do you have to pay for it?

Br2nc0

it will be free I think if you brought it on current gen

jrjone42

Is this just for next gen or will XBOX one and PS4 also get it

Edited by jrjone42

themockingjay38

I'm wondering the same thing...

jerryrice085

The “next gen” update will only be on next gen consoles bro...

Stride

Very little of this requires a ~next gen~ console to implement. Honestly this is probably why the game is such a flaming hunk of garbage on the current consoles; EA is spending all their time catering to people that will immediately own new consoles which is almost certainly highly correlated with pack whales.

jgeick06

Just really weird how they are going to run two of the same game simultaneously. So can next gen players even play xbox one players? If all these improvements are just on one system then they can't interact right? I mean your system crashes when both players don't have the same update for the current game.

Stride

Unless they're actually going to update the prior generation there's really no way to have them play together just because they won't be running even remotely similar program versions.

jgeick06

Yeah my thoughts exactly. So you are going to split an already split community because there are players on PS, XBox and computer and I assume it will be harder to find online games. Not to mention I'm sure competition is going to get tougher on Next Gen consoles and worse on current consoles

Edited by jgeick06

Relentless_C

Let's keep it real, it's the same animations with slightly better graphics. EA loves lying to us. This wasn't even a gameplay trailer, it was just another cinematic trailer.

Markey47

Anyone know how to open rewards where you pick Pumkin pie. And other things. Every time I pick it takes me around in a circle. And doesn’t open.

Relentless_C

You got to follow the recipe on the card and pick the ingredients in order.

bladedtester82

thanks i was abt to say its glitched

lv_raiders_69

Will this update be on ps4 too? Sounds a little interesting

joyflyer49

No it will not, only next gen conseles

Cmozart

what about pc master race?

lv_raiders_69

F*ck you EA

buccaneers724

its not possible on ps4 probably

jerryrice085

“Next gen” lol....

jwc24

You mean to tell me that you can only play the next gen version of the game on the NEXT GEN consoles?!?! How do some of these kids even make it past elementary school man😂

dank0815

next gen stats are pretty much useless in real life but lets hope its not as useless in madden

krawstika

Next Gen Glitch!