Details on the first post-release patch for Madden NFL 19

While the day-one patch for Madden NFL 19 addressed feedback coming out of the series’ first ever beta, today’s update to Madden NFL 19 includes changes that respond to data collected since the game has been in the hands of consumers.

There are some major improvements and fixes made, including a significant change to the Hit Stick, a reduction to dropped passes with possession catches, a fix to game speed in MUT Solo Battles, and the addition of a notification regarding what player has been injured off-ball (something that had been missing and was noted in my review). Likenesses have also been updated for at least 29 players. 

New Hit Stick Formula

The latest title update for Madden NFL 19 includes some tweaks to the Hit Stick feature that Madden gamers will notice. The player ratings used to determine Hit Stick results have been changed. The formula now uses only the defender’s Hit Power rating (POW) vs. the ball carrier’s Break Tackle rating (BTK) to determine the outcome of the Hit Stick, while Strength (STR) has been removed from the formula.

The idea behind the change is balance. All players in Madden are on the same Strength scale, so typically, linemen are in the 90s in Strength while other positions are much lower. By default, it happened that all defensive lineman would be fairly successful at Hit Sticks, even though their real-life counterparts might not be known to be skilled in that regard. On that same note, a defensive back that is a big hitter would need their Strength bumped up, which could become unbalanced in other situations, like blocking.

Not only does this balance Strength, but this also makes it simpler for the gamer to see who can really deliver the boom on their roster. As a result, Madden gamers are going to see more broken Hit Stick tackles thanks to this new formula.

Gameplay

Catching

♦Tuning to decrease the frequency of defensive knockouts vs. catches, especially vs. possession catches

♦Fixed an issue causing defensive knockouts to occur on receivers after they have already gone to the ground, resulting in incorrect incomplete pass rulings

♦Tuning to remove defensive knockouts on sideline catches resulting in incorrect catch rulings

♦Tuning to decrease the frequency of defenders jumping to swat or catch passes intended for receivers who are behind them

♦Fixed an issue causing defenders to sometimes hurdle over balls on the ground that had been fumbled

♦Fixed a rare issue causing players to disappear from a catch interaction

♦Added functionality for users to break receivers and defenders out of Catch-drop animations so they can get back into the play quicker

♦Fixed an issue causing HBs to run backwards after making a short catch when facing the QB

Real Player Motion

♦Fixed an issue causing QBs to use hot route animations when sending a receiver in motion

♦Fixed an issue causing QBs to sometimes use hot route animations when using Fake Snap

♦Fixed a rare issue where the play would not be blown dead when the ball carrier used the Give-Up mechanic, including QB slides

♦Added functionality to break out of play-action pass rollouts early, after the fake handoff. NOTE: This can be used by giving input on the Left Stick towards any direction and/or pressing RT/R2

♦Fixed an issue in Singleback Ace HB Slam Mtn that caused the QB to hand the ball off with the wrong hand

♦Fixed an issue causing the HB to miss the toss when using Pistol Weak I Flex Power Option and Gun Open Flex HB Toss

♦Fixed an issue causing left-handed QBs to sometimes turn around and look behind them when inside the pocket

Blocking

♦Upgraded block targeting and behavior for Play-Action pass blocking

♦Tuning to slightly decrease early block sheds vs. the run game on only All-Madden difficulty in Simulation and Competitive Game Styles. DEV NOTE: Because Rushing Yards Per Carry is currently below our target range on All-Madden, we have slightly decreased the frequency of early block sheds on All-

♦Madden by tuning them a little bit more towards the values used on All-Pro, where Rushing Yards Per Carry is within our target range.

♦Fixed issues causing TEs to remain frozen at the line when they had no defender to block when in a pass blocking assignment

♦Tuning to increase the effectiveness of the Ultimate Team Ability Secure Pass Blocker. NOTE: This will now be an additive timer the defender must wait before attempting a shed move. It will be added onto the base wait time, which is determined by the defender’s pass rush rating currently being used (PMV or FMV)

Post-Play

♦Fixed some cases of players remaining frozen on the ground when trying to get up after the play is over

♦Fixed some issues causing the ball to get stuck to players’ forearms after getting up off the ground

♦Fixed an issue causing defenders to continue playing a tackle animation after the ball carrier had branched out of the interaction

♦Fixed an issue causing receivers to run off the field and into the edge wall before celebrating when the user has not taken control of them during a TD catch

♦Fixed some issues causing players to run off the field after getting up when the play is over

♦Tuning to decrease the frequency of small moment celebrations after the play is over, which will also improve post-play player avoidance

Pre-Play

♦Fixed an issue causing WR icons to flip when using an audible to a new formation or from a run to a pass within the same formation

♦Fixed an issue causing HBs and TEs to not show Receiver Icons after hot routing them to pass block and then back to a route

♦Fixed various cases of defenders lining up on top of each other in pre-snap

♦Tuning to make defender movement after breaking the huddle smoother

♦Fixed an issue causing offensive and/or defensive linemen to align incorrectly when using no huddle

♦Tuning to speed up defenders when covering a receiver in motion in pre-play

♦Fixed an issue causing a broken play when using an audible from Fake Punt Pass to Fake Punt FB Off Tackle

Commentary

♦Added new content from the commentary team of Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis

♦Fixed an issue where our commentators reference kicking off from San Diego, when we’re actually in Carson

Updated Likenesses

Chiefs HB Kareem Hunt
Broncos OLB Bradley Chubb
Browns HB Nick Chubb
49ers LB Reuben Foster
Giants HB Wayne Gallman
Lions WR Kenny Golladay
Redskins HB Derrius Guice
Panthers WR DJ Moore
Seahawks HB Rashaad Penny
49ers QB C.J. Beathard
Buccaneers LB Kendell Beckwith
Chiefs K Harrison Butker
Jaguars WR D.J. Chark
Eagles HB Corey Clement
Saints DE Marcus Davenport
Lions LB Jarrad Davis
Titans QB Luke Falk
Dolphins FS Minkah Fitzpatrick
Broncos HB Royce Freeman
Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert
Broncos WR DaeSean Hamilton
Dolphins DE Charles Harris
Vikings CB Mike Hughes
Chargers SS Derwin James
Cardinals WR Christian Kirk
Giants QB Kyle Lauletta
Steelers FB Jaylen Samuels
Cowboys HB Bo Scarbrough

PC-Specific Updates

♦Fixed an issue that would cause some resolutions to display the uniform preview model in the wrong location

♦Fixed an issue that sometimes caused audio to cut off during gameplay

♦Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the pause menu from being opened when both peripheral types were connected

♦Fixed an issue that sometimes caused keyboard and mouse inputs to display even when the primary input was a controller

♦Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the keyboard icon to display within team select when using a controller

♦Fixed an issue in Online Head to Head that sometimes caused users to get kicked back to the Main Menu after selecting Quick Match

♦Fixed an issue in Franchise that would cause positions to be hidden until a user scrolls through the entire list

♦Fixed an issue that sometimes disabled mouse click functionality after exiting exhibition mode

♦Fixed an issue that sometimes caused mouse clicks to not function in the pause menu

♦Fixed an issue that prevented mouse clicks from functioning properly on some grid-based menus

♦Fixed an issue that prevented the hyphen and apostrophe keys from functioning when editing a player’s name

♦Fixed an issue that prevented the MUT card reveal sequence from playing when using the mouse

♦Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause MUT Solo Challenge goals from displaying properly