Is this game for me???

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [Sports] >> Maximum-Football 2.0 >> Is this game for me???

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Is this game for me??? - 11/25/2006 3:14:06 AM

baseballfan99

Posts: 11
Joined: 10/10/2006
Status: offline

Could someone give me an overview of Maximum Football? I enjoyed the old Front Page game and looking for the following:

1. A graphics-based football game that allows for coaching and calling games
2. A realistic stats model that parallels today's NFL
3. A game that is immersive and not loaded with bugs that are program killers.

I would love to hear people's opinions.

Post #: 1

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/25/2006 3:27:08 AM

Tbird

Posts: 1187
Joined: 12/15/2004
Status: offline

1. yes
2. yes pretty close to it
3. The game had alot of bugs at first but the beta patch fixes most of them and I'm immersed in the game

this is definitely the closest you'll get to fbpro

_____________________________

http://www.thornbird.net/downloads/maximum-football/maximum-football-downloads.htm

(in reply to baseballfan99)

Post #: 2

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/25/2006 8:35:54 PM

Silverbullet

Posts: 114
Joined: 8/20/2005
From: New Jersey,USA
Status: offline

The only way to tell if this game is for you or for anyone for that matter is if there was a Demo to actually check it out.
Other peoples opinions are just that "opinions".

(in reply to Tbird)

Post #: 3

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/25/2006 9:20:30 PM

garysorrell

Posts: 2176
Joined: 1/29/2005
Status: offline

While I am in total agreement with Tbird, I also agree with Silverbullet. A demo is the only real way to know.
But since there isnt one, the best you can do is take all that you read on these boards into account and go from there.

My pitch is below:

1.Create your own teams, leagues and players. Total customization here.
2.Make your own team and field art, uniforms. Or download user made stuff.
3.Schedule editor
4.Playoffs are up to you, seed them as you see fit
5.Create plays from scratch, or download other peoples playbooks
6.Pick up a gamepad and control the action(not on par with Madden, but still fun), or just coach, or let the computer play it out.
7.Career mode. Draft, simple free agency(fbpro type), retirements.. Theres currently no trade AI, but you can move players around manually.
8.Onfield gameplay is good. Its very dependant on the playbooks you use.

I could ramble on, but I wont :-) I like the game. It isnt perfect, but I think it's getting there. Im the kind of player who likes to create leagues and coach. Its perfect for that. There are a few things on the career side that could make it better, like a trade AI. But, even without that, im happy.
I consider it an improvement over the old Sierra Football Pro line.

Statistically, I think the games play fairly close to their parent rulesets, ie, NFL CFL and indoor.

As for immersion, well, I think thats what you make it. I have edited stadiums(thanks to users unpacking them)to match each team, and use different playbooks for each also. I am a roleplayer, so thats how I approach it.

Hope my ramblings helped in some way.

Oh, and despite the grumblings of a couple people on these boards, the developer(David Winter)is very active and interested in making his game better. He interacts with us here on the boards and is generally on top of any bugs that pop up.

(in reply to Silverbullet)

Post #: 4

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/25/2006 11:12:59 PM

football man

Posts: 10
Joined: 2/19/2006
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: garysorrell

While I am in total agreement with Tbird, I also agree with Silverbullet. A demo is the only real way to know.
But since there isnt one, the best you can do is take all that you read on these boards into account and go from there.

My pitch is below:

1.Create your own teams, leagues and players. Total customization here.
2.Make your own team and field art, uniforms. Or download user made stuff.
3.Schedule editor
4.Playoffs are up to you, seed them as you see fit
5.Create plays from scratch, or download other peoples playbooks
6.Pick up a gamepad and control the action(not on par with Madden, but still fun), or just coach, or let the computer play it out.
7.Career mode. Draft, simple free agency(fbpro type), retirements.. Theres currently no trade AI, but you can move players around manually.
8.Onfield gameplay is good. Its very dependant on the playbooks you use.

I could ramble on, but I wont :-) I like the game. It isnt perfect, but I think it's getting there. Im the kind of player who likes to create leagues and coach. Its perfect for that. There are a few things on the career side that could make it better, like a trade AI. But, even without that, im happy.
I consider it an improvement over the old Sierra Football Pro line.

Statistically, I think the games play fairly close to their parent rulesets, ie, NFL CFL and indoor.

As for immersion, well, I think thats what you make it. I have edited stadiums(thanks to users unpacking them)to match each team, and use different playbooks for each also. I am a roleplayer, so thats how I approach it.

Hope my ramblings helped in some way.

Oh, and despite the grumblings of a couple people on these boards, the developer(David Winter)is very active and interested in making his game better. He interacts with us here on the boards and is generally on top of any bugs that pop up.

Thanks for this.

I am also the kind of player who likes to coach my team & sim or watch the computer teams' games in an NFL based league. Awhile back, I saw the completion & release of this game but could not bring myself to commit to a purchase. This is because I get frustrated with football games & drop them entirely if they have bugs that interrupt any of the functions or are just not good simulations of the actual game.

A few questions, if I may:

FBPro was fun until I found out how gamers could take advantage of the AI in numerous different ways. What about MaxFB would you say is an improvememnt over FBPro?

I understand there is an updated version of this game (3.0?). Is it available in disc form with box rather than just by download? Will the next patch (3.5?) be added in only by download? When is the update set for availability?

Can you send players to a common draft pool & draft from scratch?

Is draft order customizable?

Is there a snake draft?

I have noticed with interest the 1972 NFL uniform files on FBMax.com. Are the stadiums you speak of team specific in a similar way and are additions like this simple to include in a custom league?

Is play creation quick & easy if you have a good scheme or do you have to make endless, subtle alterations to get the players to run the play consistently well?

Any information that establishes how the game performs in these areas is much appreciated.

(in reply to garysorrell)

Post #: 5

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/26/2006 1:29:37 AM

Albert18

Posts: 13
Joined: 5/4/2006
Status: offline

I just got the game so I don't know much about it yet. The last football game I played was Football Pro so I am very anxious for this to work. My only football interests are NFL coaching sims with the draft being the highlight of the season.

I'm just now setting up my first NFL league and these are my first impressions:

* The NFL draft is 7 rounds but this game doesn't list that as an option????? The closest I can get is 5 or 10 rounds, I don't know what that is about.

* The NFL roster is 53 but again that isn't an option????? I think you choose 45 and then it allows a few more players on your team but it isn't very clear about that. I believe after 45 the next higher number is 65.

* I'm pretty sure it doesn't follow the NFL guidelines where you play every team in your division twice but I'm not sure about that. I'm still not sure whether you select a 16 game schedule and then it allows playoffs or you select a 20 game schedule with 16 regular games and 4 weeks of playoffs.

* It looks like there is a lot of possibilites for potential but it will take me longer to figure that out. I really think the initial game should have been strictly a CFL/NFL game and then the game could have been more focused. When that game was working smoothly a college/indoor/high school game could have been released. As it is right now it looks like a lot of trial and error to get things going.

(in reply to football man)

Post #: 6

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/26/2006 3:55:06 AM

garysorrell

Posts: 2176
Joined: 1/29/2005
Status: offline

I am also the kind of player who likes to coach my team & sim or watch the computer teams' games in an NFL based league. Awhile back, I saw the completion & release of this game but could not bring myself to commit to a purchase. This is because I get frustrated with football games & drop them entirely if they have bugs that interrupt any of the functions or are just not good simulations of the actual game.

**Well, this all boils down to your personal tolerance level. Every football game for the PC that I have played, had a number of things about it that drove me nuts. I generally accept the weaknesses and enjoy the games for what they offer. That's of course my approach.***

A few questions, if I may:

FBPro was fun until I found out how gamers could take advantage of the AI in numerous different ways. What about MaxFB would you say is an improvememnt over FBPro?

***Im sure, in league play, there would be opportunities to take advantage of the AI. Just as in FBpro. Could also apply to just solo play, 'cheat plays' that take advantage of this or that. I guess it comes down to restraint, similar to using cheats in an rts or other game. I am not all that familiar with the play editor yet, so I cant comment with certainty.***

I understand there is an updated version of this game (3.0?). Is it available in disc form with box rather than just by download? Will the next patch (3.5?) be added in only by download? When is the update set for availability?

***I am only familiar with the download, not the boxed version. I would imagine the download as well as the boxed version will be the original release version, and all updates(patches)are downloads. David or those close to the project could probably let us know on this one***

Can you send players to a common draft pool & draft from scratch?

****Yes, and you can also not have a draft and go with whatever the game generates, although I dont know if this is only an option at the time you start your first season, or is selectable at the start of each season. I havent played a full season yet***

Is draft order customizable?

***Hmm...not sure on this one. Although, if not in game, editing the main database for leagues is not that difficult. Prior to the Schedule Editor being released in the latest patch, I used free Open Office to change the schedule via the main DB.***

Is there a snake draft?

***I dont think so, again, havent noticed this***

I have noticed with interest the 1972 NFL uniform files on FBMax.com. Are the stadiums you speak of team specific in a similar way and are additions like this simple to include in a custom league?

***Well, MaxFB comes with all fictional teams, leagues and stadiums. I think there are 6 or so stadiums, including 1 arena for the 50yd game. Modders have extracted the various stadium files for editing, and some have even started making stadiums from scratch. Until people are actually making Soldier Field or AllTel stadium, the best we can do is dress up the default ones as much as you can. Adding already created stuff is very simple. It is basically unzipping the stuff into the proper folder. If you are handy with Windows Explorer and a zip/unzip program, it's no biggie.*****

Is play creation quick & easy if you have a good scheme or do you have to make endless, subtle alterations to get the players to run the play consistently well?

***This I will leave to someone else. Havent used the PDS all that much***

(in reply to Albert18)

Post #: 7

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/26/2006 4:11:23 AM

garysorrell

Posts: 2176
Joined: 1/29/2005
Status: offline

The length of the season is set prior to week 1, this number doesnt include playoffs. At the end of the regular season, you seed the playoffs manually. Pretty much however you want. This is a feature I have wanted for years.

(in reply to garysorrell)

Post #: 8

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/26/2006 4:14:26 AM

David Winter

Posts: 5158
Joined: 11/24/2004
From: Vancouver, BC
Status: offline

Hi.

See my answers below.

* The NFL draft is 7 rounds but this game doesn't list that as an option????? The closest I can get is 5 or 10 rounds, I don't know what that is about.

7 rounds has been added and will be in a future release.

* The NFL roster is 53 but again that isn't an option????? I think you choose 45 and then it allows a few more players on your team but it isn't very clear about that. I believe after 45 the next higher number is 65.

53 man rosters (with 5 man inactive lists) has been added and will be in a future release. The roster size is the maximum number of players available for a game. There is an additional 5 players on the inactive list, as well as an unlimited number of injured player spots. Players can not be placed on the injured list, only the inactive list.

* I'm pretty sure it doesn't follow the NFL guidelines where you play every team in your division twice but I'm not sure about that. I'm still not sure whether you select a 16 game schedule and then it allows playoffs or you select a 20 game schedule with 16 regular games and 4 weeks of playoffs.

It does not follow this guideline. Because people can create pretty much any league structure they wish, the scheduler is a simple round robin generator that tries to ensure every team plays every other team once at home, and once away. I made no attempt to build something that follows those guidelines as it would be too restrictive to other league structures. The schedule can be edited however the user wishes with the included schedule editor. Playoffs are separate from the regular season (so if you select 16 weeks, that's 16 regular season games) and the play off rounds are determined however the user sees fit. Because there are so many leagues with so many different play off structures, it was deemed best to just let people build whatever structure they wanted.

< Message edited by David Winter -- 11/26/2006 4:20:24 AM >

(in reply to garysorrell)

Post #: 9

RE: Is this game for me??? - 11/26/2006 5:44:34 AM

Tbird

Posts: 1187
Joined: 12/15/2004
Status: offline

I think NFL teams have 7 players on the practice squad so that's 60 right there

Actually I'm not sure I heard somewhere else it's 5 players on the practice squad.

My biggest beef with fbpro was the OL blocking even with the 0.1 second wait DL men would still sneak in rather easily. It's alot better in this game.

So far no AI busters that I know of but no game is AI proof not even Madden but so far everything's good in that department

< Message edited by Tbird -- 11/26/2006 10:26:23 AM >

_____________________________

http://www.thornbird.net/downloads/maximum-football/maximum-football-downloads.htm

(in reply to David Winter)

Post #: 10