Madden NFL 15 replaces practice and streaks with Game Prep and Confidence

As we've learned over the course of the past few months, EA Sports is making big changes to virtually every aspect of its Madden franchise. Today, the developer shed some light on what players can expect when they boot up Connected Franchise in Madden NFL 15.

The biggest change to the mode, according to EA, are the additions of Game Prep and Confidence. These systems will replace practice and hot/cold streaks from Madden NFL 25.

Confidence is a dynamic rating that can temporarily increase or decrease a player's key ratings, and will change based on what happens to the player and his team on a week to week basis. If a player's confidence is high, key ratings get a temporary boost. If too low, the key ratings drop. Confidence is affected by things like losses, poor performance, and trades; but, how much it is affected by is determined on a few things including whether the player is a starter or backup, their consistency rating and how big the game was. Every player starts Connected Franchise with a "normal" confidence rating of 50, and will start to see a decrease once it drops to below 25-30 and an increase when above 75-80.

Confidence actually works in tandem with Game Prep allowing for more strategic planning throughout the game week. Game Prep replaces practice and is designed "to allow you to make the ultimate choices in developing your team." Each week, you are given a set amount of time to prepare for the week. You'll have activities to choose from with a specific time cost associated with each one. There are two types of activities in Game Prep — one to increase players' confidence and another to earn XP. If you are in a win-now state, it might be better to go for the temporary ratings boost in confidence. However, if you are a younger team in rebuilding mode, getting that extra XP might help in the long run.

In addition to these key features, Connect Franchise's free agency has also been redesigned. Free agents will no longer take only money into account when evaluating whether they want to sign with you. Now they evaluate your team's needs, scheme, coaching ability, and more. 

Additionally, for the first time, Madden NFL 15's CFM will have entirely random draft classes. According to EA, every name, rating, trait, face, etc. is randomly generated every season, so no two classes are alike or predictable. "This is something we’ve wanted to do for the past few years. Our fans have been very passionate about random draft classes, and this addition adds unlimited replayability to Connected Franchise," senior designer Josh Looman said. Rookie Branching Storylines are also completely random, allowing for more player change throughout the season and more commentary during the NFL draft.

Other changes in Connected Franchise include a redesigned buy packages screen, simplified player overall for your scheme, completely redesigned relocation uniforms, a progression/regression recap, redesigned weekly goals, multiple commissioners, autopilot control, Injured Reserve changes, and much more. You can read all about these changes over on the Madden NFL 15 blog.