Madden 19 September Title Update and Patch Notes Released by EA

EA Sports has released a new update for Madden 19, that covers the month of September based on player feedback and other things such as a recent NFL rule change regarding the “Point of Emphasis.” The list of changes is huge, so buckle up for a collection of patch notes that Madden diehards will no doubt have plenty to say about. Such is the cycle of fan feedback forums and updates.

Here’s the full list of patch notes:

Key Highlights

Gameplay

Added Signature Celebration by Douglas Veney, the Touchdown Dance Challenge winner from EA Play

Updated formula for defenders’ ability to play the ball in the air

Followed new NFL Rules Point of Emphasis – Dives by the ball carrier will be considered as giving himself up on the play, and will be ruled the same as QB slides

Franchise

Added new To Do items for Weekly and Yearly Awards, Pro Bowl, and Upgrading Players

Added new filter options to the Roster and Draft Recap menus, so you can see the best players in the league at a glance

Change Log

Made general stability improvements

Franchise Updates

NOTE: All changes will be available to existing Cloud and Offline Franchises.

Added a new To Do item to View Weekly Award when someone on your team wins a Weekly Award

Added a new To Do item to Upgrade Players that appears when someone on your team has a Skill Point

Added a new To Do item to View Yearly Awards that appears during the Wild Card week

Added a new To Do item to View Pro Bowl Rosters that appears during the Pro Bowl week

Added XP values to the Skill Point progression bar on the Player Card

Added an All Team filter option in the Draft Recap menu

Added an NFL filter option in the Roster menu

Updated keyboard popup so text is cleared upon typing, so it’s faster to rename players

Updated draft generator so players at the top of the draft projections are younger

Lowered chance to gain a Speed point when upgrading your player

Increased scroll speed for editing contracts and colleges in the player editor

Fixed issue where backup offensive linemen were making the Pro Bowl

Added ability to offer contracts with a salary up to $30 million per year

Added postgame automatic snapshot presentation for cloud Head-to-Head games

Fixed a visual issue that made the Buffalo Bills on coach hats transparent

Added some missing historical season stats for various players, including Todd Gurley II and Odell Beckham Jr.

Fixed issue when backing out of My Coach didn’t return you to proper tile

Fixed alignment issues on Members menu for Cloud Franchises

Fixed issue where character models wouldn’t load in the Franchise hub

Fixed issue where the bottom line ticker showed incorrect starting times for games

Updated bottom line ticker so it doesn’t show Upset Alerts until Week 6

Fixed issue where winning the Super Bowl would award extremely high XP if the XP sliders were adjusted

Added Player Card button to the end of season regression menu for players not on your team

Grouped duplicate skill upgrades on Player Card Progression History so it’s easier to read

Fixed issue where fully-maxed 99 OVR players showed on the upgrade tab on the Player Card, and they were listed in the postgame upgrade screen

Fixed visual menu issues and applied player’s best OVR to Awards screen

Fixed Training Recap menu to use player’s best OVR

Fixed issue where the Drafted filter during the Draft wasn’t showing best OVR

Fixed issue that when starting as a Player the Active Player menu wasn’t showing best OVR

Fixed issue where Pro Bowl Awards screen wasn’t showing best OVR

Increased speed at which Snapshots show on the loading screen

Adjusted spreadsheet column widths on Roster, Depth Chart, Draft Recap, etc. to make them easier to use

Updated draft generator so players come out with varying QB throwing animations

Added ties to the records shown on loading screens

Added color variation when swapping players in the Draft Class Editor

Fixed issue where team needs values weren’t updating during the Draft

Fixed issue where players on IR could sometimes be subbed into game

Added Captains patch to player model in Locker Room environment when playing as a Player

Fixed issue where traits weren’t being shown in full on the Player Card

Added functionality so players with tied Player Types will match a selected Coach Scheme when backing out of the Scheme Menu

Updated selection logic on loading menu so it shows better player comparisons

Removed the incorrect Coach Scheme that was visible on the Owner Goals menu

Added ability to change weight by single digits when editing your player

Fixed exploit where players with stocked up skill points didn’t ask for proper contract amounts

Fixed issue where facemask was not updating when changing the helmet type

Added status message when uploading snapshots in postgame

Tuned passing attempt stats when simulating games

Added Super Bowl teams to the schedule bar even when your team isn’t playing

Fixed message when drafting a player with star or superstar development trait to always be a “Good Pick”

Fixed issue where wrong Super Bowl number was shown

Improved stability when using “slow” super sim

Fixed issue where players featured in draft stories could have unrealistic ratings

Added the Wembley Stadium to the Seahawks vs. Raiders game

Tuned cut logic so rookies drafted in the first four rounds are valued higher

Fixed issue in Cloud leagues where the draft tracker didn’t update with the correct team after a trade occurred

Fixed logic for choosing recommended players to show when cutting

Updated visuals on Team Salaries menu

Visual Updates

Fixed an issue causing the Big Hitter Fumble banner to fire incorrectly on dive tackles from behind the ball carrier that would result in fumbles (specifically QBs)

Fixed issue preventing blue feedback flicker from firing for Ultimate Team Ability Lead the Way

Fixed issues preventing the Highlight Coverage UI from appearing in some cases

Fixed an issue of blank play art in the Play-call Screen for plays Zona Shallow and Zona Slants in the Cardinals playbook, as well as plays Pistol Trips Inside Smash and Pistol Trips HB Draw in the Pistol Playbook

Tuning to make the User Celebration in-game graphic appear more consistently after sacks

Fixed a lighting issue causing the in-game lighting to be overexposed after manually skipping the pre-game runout sequence

Fixed an issue causing the player to dive in the wrong direction when attempting dive tackles while in the Defensive Player lock camera

Updated player likeness for the following players:

Cowboys CB Chidobe Awuzie

Bears HB Tarik Cohen

Seahawks CB Shaquill Griffin

Ravens TE Hayden Hurst

Chargers CB Desmond King

Titans OLB Harold Landry

Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis

Jaguars DE Yannick Ngakoue

Bills QB Nathan Peterman

49ers WR Dante Pettis

Chiefs MLB Reggie Ragland

Falcons WR Calvin Ridley

Cardinals TE Ricky Seals-Jones

Bears MLB Roquan Smith

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton

Buccaneers DT Vita Vea

Cowboys QB Mike White

Gameplay Updates

Tuning

Tuning to decrease the frequency of fumbles when using the Strip Ball mechanic

Tuning to increase the frequency of broken tackles when setting the Strip Ball coach adjustment to Aggressive

Tuning to make the defense more susceptible to running plays when setting the Pass Rush coach adjustment to Aggressive

Defaulted the Auto Strafe option to OFF for all users in MUT Squads to remedy issues of users’ auto-strafe settings changing to the host’s setting without knowing it

Tuning to increase the Out of Position penalty for using defensive players on offense

Tuning to decrease the number of fumbles that occur when the ball carrier is tackled by getting his feet taken out from behind

Pass Coverage

Fixed an issue preventing Cover 3 and Cover 4 zones from covering Fake Screen Wheel plays properly

NOTE: Specific to Cover 3, we are still working on an issue occurring with Curl-Flat zones sometimes leveraging the Wheel route and leaving the flat route uncovered, but this can be mitigated by using hot-routes to put the Curl-Flat player in a Hard Flat or Cloud flat – we are continuing to work in this area and hope to have this completely addressed in a future title update

Fixed an issue causing Cover 4 Palms to overplay out routes from the slot instead of covering streaks behind it

Fixed an issue causing fade routes out of Bunch formations to get open too frequently vs. Cover 4 Palms and Cover 4 Quarters

Fixed an issue causing deep post routes out of Bunch formations to get open too frequently vs. Cover 4 Palms

Fixed an issue causing Cover 4 Quarters to leave the Seam route uncovered with an RB route to the same side

Fixed an issue preventing defenders in match zones from properly covering double-move routes

Fixed an issue that would sometimes prevent the Ultimate Team ability Footsteps from applying the proper catching penalty to nearby receivers

Real Player Motion

Fixed an issue causing the center to sometimes get stuck in the snap animation after the snap when playing on any game speed besides Normal

Tuning to decrease the frequency of AI ball carrier’s usage of the One-Cut mechanic

Fixed an issue causing a player to get stuck while getting up off the ground in post-play

Fixed an issue causing left-footed punters to quickly change their stance during the snap on punting plays

Fixed a rare issue where the QB would get stuck in a physics pose and hover off the ground following a sack

Tuning to improve cases of short delays after handoffs in MUT Squads

NOTE: We still have a few improvements to make here in future updates

Fixed an issue causing a short delay after the handoff when playing on Slow or Very Slow game speeds

Fixed an issue preventing QBs in pistol formations from properly finishing their rollouts on Play-Action plays

Fixed a rare issue causing the ball carrier to warp either forward or backwards while using a Hit the Hole animation

Fixed an issue causing defenders to sometimes warp from a dive tackle off the ground into a standing tackle

Tuning to prevent movement issues with user-controlled defenders when the user would make slight movements with left stick in pre-play

Fixed an issue causing the FB to run into the QB during the play I-Form Wing HB Toss

Fixed an issue causing the QB to delay when trying to set his feet for a pass while scrambling, which would result in an incorrect Throw on the Run accuracy penalty

Fixed an issue causing an incorrect physics interaction when a defender would hit the kicker after attempting a kick block

Fixed an issue that would cause handoff animations to sometimes be misaligned when running hurry-up offense

Pre-Play

Further tuning to improve defensive player movement out of huddle breaks

Fixed an issue causing the auto-motion player to freeze at the snap on plays Singleback Spread 61 X Choice and Singleback Spread 60 Go

Tuning to reduce the time it takes AI-controlled teams to kick or punt when the game clock is stopped

Additional logic for pre-play QB Signature animations to make QBs use only hot-route animations instead of the longer change-play animations when using an audible within the current formation

Fixed an exploit that allowed the user-controlled defender to prevent the offense from snapping the ball while using hurry-up offense

Fixed an exploit that allowed the user to flip routes and offensive alignment without the defense reacting

Fixed an issue with routes not flipping when prompted in No Huddle offense audible plays

Fixed an animation issue causing defender to twitch after using Base Align in Big Nickel > Over G > Cover 3 Match

Fixed an issue causing the AI to always use Four Verticals as the default play when calling an audible out of FG Block to prevent exploits

Catching

Updated the formula used to determine defenders’ ability to play the ball in the air to allow for more opportunities for defenders to use jump catches, specifically user-controlled defenders

NOTE: Instead of using the Spectacular Catch (SPC) rating to determine if a defender can play a jumping catch or a 180-catch when not facing the QB, we are now using a combination of the Jump (JMP) and Agility (AGI) ratings – in order for a defender to have the ability to play a high ball or catch a pass over his shoulder, he must have at least a 75-rating in Jump AND an 80-rating in Agility. This should reduce situations where the defender fails to play the ball in coverage. This change will have no impact on offensive players and will be used across all game styles and difficulty levels.

Fixed an issue preventing a catch animation from playing on user-controlled defenders when holding the Play Ball button before the pass is released

NOTE: When holding any catch or play-receiver button before the pass is in the air, users on defense will now get an animation corresponding to the button input. This should be considered as an Early Ball Hawk penalty that will decrease the catch chance, but we are still adding improvements to that logic for a future title update.

Fixed a rare issue causing kick returners to incorrectly use a catch drop animation after catching the ball, in which case he would stand in place with the ball and not run

Tuning to better balance catch outcomes for mid-air catch interactions (interactions that occur at the catch point with both the defender and the receiver jumping in the air), specifically to reduce the frequency of completed passes when throwing high balls to covered receivers

Fixed a player warping issue on kick returns

Fixed an exploit used on kick returns that resulted in an incorrect Safety ruling when the returner caught the ball near the sidelines and ran out of bounds

Blocking

Made improvements to blocking logic for RBs in pass protection to improve blitz pick-ups dealing with slot CBs in a contain assignment

Tuning to improve pass blocking logic vs. blitz set-ups where the user-controlled defender or a QB Spy defender idles near the line of scrimmage to force blockers to target him

Tuning to improve blockers getting out of run-block double teams and to their secondary target

Tuning to improve blocking logic for Crack blockers on Toss Crack running plays

Fixed an issue causing the center to keep the ball on the Pass Mechanics drill in the Skills Trainer Gauntlet

Fixed an issue causing a specific defensive-win block shed to occur too frequently vs. run block double teams

NFL Rules

Fixed a rare issue on punt blocks where the ball would go out of bounds and the kicking team would incorrectly retain possession of the ball on the opposite side of the field

Added support for new NFL Rules point of emphasis – any ball carrier who dives forward to give himself up on the play will be ruled down at the spot of the ball when the first body part that is not a hand or foot hits the ground, whether he is touched by a defender or not.

Madden Ultimate Team Updates

Made improvement to the Squads Lobby screen that will show the name of the Event that is currently active

Fixed an issue causing the base OVR of the player to appear when placing an upgraded item into a Set

New latency icons have been added to online games so players will now be able to see when they are having connection issues; this is a server feature that we will experiment with and collect feedback from players before making a decision to leave it on permanently.

Addressed an issue causing custom commentary to carry over and repeat itself in other MUT game modes after playing a Solo Challenge

[Source: Official Website]