Natural Motion Football: "Backbreaker"

RobertR1 said:
You might struggle to find other people to play against also. I really doubt this will sell well. Football/sports fans are too conditioned to Madden for their fix and the poor reviews certainly won't help sales.
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Agreed. I have been considering this my "support a Developer" fund for this generation, essentially buy a game that I want to support as a tip of the hat for the willingness to push the envelope in the gameplay department. I can live without the license. I can live without a ton of extras in v.1. What I cannot live without is the action on the field (from play calling to balance to AI) being bad.
 
Euphoria is the company? They apparently tried to sell the engine to EA which declined. So their only hope is to get some kind of traction.

Remember back to the last '90s. GameDay went polygons while EA said polygons couldn't be done on the PS1 for football games at least.

But EA apparently felt the shame of being upstaged by GD and NFL2K on the DreamCast and they set up a skunkworks team to develop the PS2 3D engine while the regular team worked on the last 1 or 2 versions of the sprite-based Madden games for the PS1.

Without competitive pressures though, it seems there would be too much inertia and laziness to implement a physics engine in Madden for the next generation, either using middleware or internal tools.

Our only hope for progress in football games is that this kind of gambit succeeds enough to get EA's attention. Probably not likely. EA doesn't seem to be in a mood to innovate like they did back in the '90s. Their games still exhibit the same crappy behavior like suction blocking, which existed in the Genesis days.
 
EA has a new physics engine for NHL. Maybe it'll find its way to Madden, but we'll see. I doubt it's really amazing. The Euphoria guys will hopefully make enough money elsewhere.
 
OP sports impressions .... of course many haters (I think the revolutionary camera is getting to most people but the AI is troublesome obviously) but some people are really diggin it, some like Joshua might, bought it to support the tech and others are online and loving it.

Evidently it's a good PvP experience though and more arcade than preferred.

I think it's unfair to write it off as tripe based on mainstream reviews when there are people (video footballers) who have really given it a chance and have come to enjoy it. or portions of it. ;)
 
This is pretty cool, kind of a knock off of All Pro.
When you create a team you get to choose 1 of 3 offensive specialties.
(Balanced/passing/rushing) and 1 of 3 defensive specialties(balanced/blitzing/coverage) You also get to pick a "Team Bias"
(focus/agility/speed/strength) You then can choose how many gold level players you want on offense and defense(up to 11 on each side of the ball)
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You get up to 11 Gold Players. If you select fewer are they "better" Gold players (i.e. get more of the points from the pool?)

Does the game have Clock Acceleration?

Sadly the reviews are brutal. The play book seems spartan, basic rules are violated (not just facemasks, which is fine if OFF in a game), AI has issue, limited player editing, etc. Kind of sounds like they should have aimed smaller (like Tackle Ally XBLA game, then maybe a simpler game that really emphasized the engine) and gone from there. Football fans can tolerate a lot, but the game's core needs to be really solid.

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mX_yHAVVtg&feature=player_embedded#!

Nice sack avoidance, but he waited to long to throw which shows off an epic failure by the receivers. Nice.
 
Joshua Luna said:
EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mX_yHAVVtg&feature=player_embedded#!

Nice sack avoidance, but he waited to long to throw which shows off an epic failure by the receivers. Nice.
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I had to give myself room to set my feet before the throw :D

check this one out.....it was crazier....and you get a good look at my 60th Anniversary 2006 49er uniforms.


imo, the game has a deep learning curve, especially if you are used to traditional football videogames....but it feels soooo rewarding when you break a big run, after following your blockers and squeezing through a hole.....or completing a deep pass, after avoiding a strong pass rush.
 
Looks very good, although the final tackle doesn't seem quite right in that I'd have expected the guy in white to fall backwards a little more.
 
Arwin said:
Looks very good, although the final tackle doesn't seem quite right in that I'd have expected the guy in white to fall backwards a little more.
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Depends on the size of the players. With some WR clocking in at 6'5" 230lbs and a lot of DBs in the 5'8"-5'10" range @ 175-185lbs if the DB was moving the same speed and failed to drive low then what was seen is what happens.
 
http://kotaku.com/5573883/major-patch-is-on-the-way-for-backbreaker

Patch coming. And after playing BB the NCAA 2011 demo was horrible. I know BB is broken, quite broken to be frank, but in terms of motion and control there is no real competition. EA Football has become more and more what I disliked about 2K (arcade over realism). BB's problem is it lacks refinement and has some flaws and bugs that obscure the realism.
 
NFL2K couldn't get traction against Madden until they dropped the price to $20.

And they had the licenses.

For BB2, they're going to have to be more aggressive.

But guess what, EA Sports is using a physics engine after all, on NHL 11 and NBA Elite (rebranded NBA Live?). So maybe they may modernize Madden yet. It's EA Vancouver though, which isn't as lazy as EA Tiburon.

Turns out it's the Fight Night engine, which they demo'd at the E3 where the PS3 was announced. What was that, 5 years ago?
 
Yeah, the NHL guys brought in the person who did the physics for Fight Night Round 4. I'm absolutely PUMPED to play it. NHL and NBA tend to be the places they try new things, since they are the lesser franchises. Fifa and Madden will get it after, when they know it works. So I'd look for new physics in Madden next year. I really think Back Breaker had something to do with this. I think they saw the light, and decided they needed to stay with the curve or they were in danger of falling behind. NHL is just the testing ground.

 
patch details (WOW :D) and awesome video of physics

Over the past few months, the team at NaturalMotion Games has been talking with the community and listening to all of their ideas for Backbreaker. We’ve taken it all on board and, as you know, we’ve been working hard on an update. As a tribute to the Backbreaker forums’ favourite player, we’re naming this update “Greathouse” and it does a whole lot more than simply tweak a few things here and there. We’re very nearly done and now we want to share with you exactly what “Greathouse” will bring to Backbreaker.

One final thing. We take great delight from seeing all your videos and we’re humbled by your support and enthusiasm. If you’ve seen something uniquely amazing in Backbreaker that made you smile, laugh, point, call a friend or rub your eyes in amazement, then you ‘get’ Backbreaker… and we’ve made this game, and “Greathouse”, for you.

Key Additions

Brand new replay camera suite

• New free-flight camera
• Sideline and Endzone cameras including ball lock, pan and tele-zoom function
• A player-centric camera including zoom and rotation function. Track any player on either team.
• Ball camera including zoom and rotate
• Complete replay suite functionality added to Tackle Alley
• Added pause/play to all replay cameras for greater footage control
• Added ability to remove OSD for clean footage capture

Offensive Gameplay Camera

• The Quarterback camera has been pulled back and raised a little. This still keeps the feeling of being down in the action, but provides a slightly wider view and vision over the line
• Added a ‘glance’ button which allows you to instantly check your blind-side

Expanded Playbook

An Extra 59 Offensive plays consisting of these formations:
• Ace – Double Tight End
• Spread – 4 Wide
• Bunch – Bunch right
• Empty – 5 WR!!
• T-form – Old fashioned power football, 3 running backs in the backfield

An Extra 51 Defensive plays have been included consisting of these formations:
• 44 – 4 Defensive linemen, 4 linebackers.
• 46 – Traditional old school defense born of Buddy Ryan
• 33 – Nickel package with 3 defensive linemen and 3 linebackers
• 3 Deep – 7 defensive backs package with 3 deep across the back.

Gameplay Enhancements

Improved Passing Game & Reduced Interception Frequency

Following valuable feedback from reviews and Backbreaker forums, we rewrote elements of the AI that will help make passing a more effective way to gain yards.

Here is a summary of the changes:

• We’ve improved the O-Line for teams throughout the game. This will give you longer in the pocket to make your reads correctly and go through your progression
• We’ve increased the passing animation speed and increased the minimum distance where a long windup will be required. You will now be able to execute the pass more quickly and hit your target more effectively
• There were too many dropped passes to the flats. We’ve introduced a new pass classification for these simple passes and have ramped up the accuracy of the QB when performing this type of pass
• The accuracy of QBs has been increased across the board
• Defensive Backs now fully respect their visibility cone, only seeing interception opportunities when appropriate. The DBs will continue with the assigned role until the either “see” the need to change, or “hear” the need to change, which is typically about 1-2 seconds after the snap
• We’ve tweaked the amount your QB will lead a receiver when activated
• Moved pump fake to shoulder button to make lob passes easier to execute
• Improved mechanism for Quarterback scanning the field
• Reduced penalty applied for throwing out of focus mode

User Interceptions and User Controlled Catching

• Following community feedback, the user is now given full control over interception attempts when controlling a defensive player. Interception attempts are made by holding the left trigger (focus mode), ie. by actively looking towards the ball as it comes in
• Wide Receiver catching in now also uses this mechanic (i.e. hold left trigger when ball is approaching)
• To signal an incoming ball, the user-controlled WR will be highlighted red when targeted by the QB

QB AI Logic

The QB AI has received a major overhaul. Firstly, the opposition QB will now recognise double coverage better. He is also more likely to throw the ball away rather than risk a throw / take a sack. This results in fewer AI interceptions and sacks. We’ve also reworked the QB receiver selection logic and increased prioritisation of throwing to the primary.

Improved Pocket Protection

Following numerous tweaks, the pocket is more solid. Pocket time now averages around 5 seconds and is all linked to the players’ attributes.

Show and Hide Blitz

New ability to show and hide blitz, pre-snap , by pressing the shoulder button.

Jukes and spins

The animation speed of these has been increased and better linked to a player’s agility attribute.

Improved AI Time Management, Audibles and Play-calling

Sophistication of play selection, audibles and timeouts has been improved. Additionally, the AI is more likely to flip their selected play depending on the situation.

Opposition AI

This has been given an overhaul and you should find your opponent much more of a threat. We’ve also rebalanced Easy, Medium and Hard settings to be more challenging and linked almost all AI decisions/speeds to their attributes. Also, you should be aware that all of the notes relating to AI, animation and behaviours above will apply to your opponent as well. These are game-wide changes.

New RB Focus Mode

When holding the left trigger, the camera will turn upfield when the RB is heading towards the sidelines. This is NOT automatic – you need to press the hold the trigger to manually glance upfield.

Stumble Mechanic

We have added a stumble recovery mechanic for when your player has been knocked off course. To recover from a stumble, just press the Action button as quickly as possible.

Fumbles

• Fumbles are now more likely to happen for non-QB players.
• Passes backwards are now classified as fumbles (respecting QB arm movement direction)
• Catches bobbled / dropped within 2 steps as a result of a tackle are marked as incomplete passes rather than fumbles (player deemed not in control of ball)
Bug Fixes & Other High Priority Issues

Friendly Fire!

Your players occasionally reacted too strongly to friendly physical impact. This happened especially when controlling a RB/FB and clashing with your line. We’ve dialled that back, which should make your running game more effective. Players will still react to the collision but will be less likely to be knocked down

Penalties

Users have been reporting a multitude of penalty issues. We have done a comprehensive review of all penalty complaints and bugs (including the infamous roughing-the-kicker) and have been able to resolve them. We believe you will find this drastically improves the quality of the game.

Online Gameplay

• Reduced online lag slightly
• Built in a new protection system against people hacking the game to create a “super team” and taking it online
• Removed the Cancel Stats Posting option as reported by the forum. People were abusing this to avoid losses showing up in their profile
• Fixed a number of other stat posting related issues

D-Line

• Users playing as part of the D-Line were experiencing a slower-than-desired speed in getting off the mark due to a delay in input control. This has been solved
• Users playing D-line can now bat the ball (pull down on the right-stick)
• Spins, rips and swims are now more effective to help you get that sack

Too much Boom!

Stopped “Boom” playing every kickoff. It now only occurs at the start of each half. Yay!

Team Ratings

Offense, Defensive and Overall ratings for teams have been recalculated and now more accurately reflect the quality of the team if all the best players are on the field.

Play Exploits

Thanks to feedback from the forums we have put tweaks in place to prevent exploits on the following:
• RB spinning through the line
• QB sneak
• FG block
• Punt block
• Nanoblitz

Rule Fixes

• Players must take 2 steps before they gain possession of a caught ball
• Tipped punts and kick-offs that touch receiving team players and subsequently go out the back of the endzone no longer cause safeties (just touchbacks).
• Intentional Grounding penalty now causes a loss of down.
• Scrimmage kicks (punts/field goals) can only be returned by the kicking team if blocked before the line of scrimmage
• Two Minute Warning will only stop the game clock after the play has ended.
• Defensive/Offensive Pass interference rules are turned off when the ball touches a player.
• Pre-snap penalties (Encroachment, Delay of Game, False Start) no longer stop the game clock.
• Touchbacks and Safeties are determined by whoever intentionally touched the ball last, instead of whoever physically touched it last.
• Failed field goals restart at the 20 yard line or the point the ball was kicked from (used to be from the 20 yard line or the previous LoS).
• Improved Pass Interference detection.
• Defensive Holding rule now active during punts.
• Game clock is only stopped by a penalty if it is within the last 2 minutes of the first half, or the last 5 minutes of the second half.
• No longer declaring a pass as incomplete if a player catches it in the air with their feet out of bounds (the feet must be grounded).
• Fumbles on a 4th down, or within the Two Minute Warning, can only be advanced by the Defense or by the player who fumbled the ball.
• Improved the "ball carrier" logic.
• Now awarding a touchback when the punting team catches a non-live ball in the opponent’s endzone
• A ball is only considered blocked/batted if it changes the impetus of the ball.
• Intercepting the ball before your own endzone but being carried into the endzone with momentum will now give a touchback instead of a safety.
• If a QB fumbles a ball while in the motion of throwing (i.e. hands moving forwards), then this is now considered a forward pass.
• Ineligible receiver downfield during a pass down penalty now excludes tight ends.
Click to expand...

 
Wow, that's an amazing list of improvements. I wonder if they made their money back on the game, since they aren't leaving it dead in the water? Will there be a backbreaker football 2?


And that highlight video is AWESOME. I already can't get into Madden, but after playing a bit of Backbreaker, Madden feels dated.
 
It seems like the 3rd rounder isn't happy about his position no the depth chart. Instead of waiting for next season he hit the HGH in season :devilish:
 
you have to love the tech in this game....

here is an interview awhile back about the rendering with various videos showcasing the effects on compared to off.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/847/847497p2.html

with this and the animations.....basically when it all comes together, there are certain instances where it just looks Real.

like from my video here.....when I switch to the other camera view (from the endzone at 00:12)....that sequence right there just looks Real, imo.....mainly when compared to other football games.

don't mind the music though, mute it if you will.

 
Joshua, I'd be careful with this... I picked up the game and the patch and even did the 360 NFL roster thing and the patch has issues. while the replay camera is excellent, the QB camera (a bit higher and pulled back is welcomed) and the passing game better, you can no longer RUN the ball. You get swamped at the line 8-10 plays for no gain. receiving is hit or miss now too because you need to do a manual catch and then cover ball or you get it knocked out of possession nearly every time (previously these would have been interceptions so that is actually improved).

As much as I wanted to like it (and I love the feel) I could not PLAY GAMES with it.

Madden 11 OTOH, to me plays like a real football game for the first time ever (within reason). Of course the sensation of 3D physics is not there like BB but everything else is. BB is fun as heck to execute (running and passing) on EASY mode but you destroy the cpu. Medium and hard levels are an exercise in frustration.

Still hoping NM can fix it.
 
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