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Madden NFL 17 patch out on February 14: focus on gameplay changes and bug fixes

NFL 17 Super Bowl has passed. We are still in the excitement of the NFL 17 has predicted the outcome of the Super Bowl LI correctly that the New England Patriots would come from behind and defeat the Atlanta Falcons to win Super Bowl LI. Something more passionate happened: EA Sports has released a new patch for Madden NFL 17. The full notes below:


 
Franchise
Fixed CFM issue where user would receive an Invite Error Popup when trying to invite another user to a Franchise game.
 
Stability
  1. Tuned a variety of issues related to community feedback that lower rated offensive line was too effective against an elite defensive line. This change will also make elite OL more effective against lower rated D-line.
  2. Fixed an issue where user settings would be reset to defaults in a play a friend game. This includes the auto flip setting defaulting to on.
  3. Addressed feedback that various online modes played at different game speeds. All online game speeds now consolidated to run at normal game speed.
  4. Addressed an issue where a user in an online game could disconnect/concede and result in a crash for the opponent.
  5. Addressed an issue where a timeout call on the pause menu could lead to camera settings being switched. This was also used as a grieving tactic to reset opponents camera.
 
Gameplay
  1. Removed the ability to flick the R-Stick to pump fake when the player is outside of the pocket. Right Stick will now always throw ball away in these situations.
  2. Addressed an issue where receivers would have the ball bounce off their arms when attempting RAC catches leading to drops or tip picks.
  3. Removed user drop down banners for user catch, finesse, and power moves due to high frequency being distracting.
  4. Fixed a bug where a safety banner would fire every time a pass was intercepted in the end zone.
  5. Fixed a grieving tactic where offense could trigger infinite offsides penalties to extend the game.
  6. Made some zone coverage adjustments to improve an issue where C Routes were overpowered when run on the wide side of the field with a TE on the line of scrimmage.
  7. Increased frequency of broken tackles that can trigger from hit sticks. This will add more risk to going for hit stick tackles.
  8. Tuned up fumble chances on ‘precision dive over top’ and increased the Tier requirements to perform the elite version of this mechanic.
  9. Fixed issue where free offensive linemen would not react to nearby defender who beat a block.
  10. Fixed CPU punters kicking high into the wind, causing short punts.
  11. Fixed a short delay that could rarely occur when attempting to snap the ball.
  12. Fixed a variety of ‘players freezing’ issues when coming out of blocking interactions.
  13. Fixed issue where QBs could not match tackles after throwing an interception.
  14. Fixed an issue where the user drop down banner was precluding player stat drop downs
  15. Fixed an issue where turning the pass accuracy slider to 0 would have very little impact in game.
  16. Fixed a turbo blitz off the edge that was specific to players in a 4 point stance.
  17. Addressed an issue where a DB in press coverage would not be able to defend a player locked user WR hot routed to a smoke screen.
  18. Fixed a legacy issue where defensive linemen would be called for encroachment when offense was using no huddle.
  19. A variety of pass block targeting issues resolved.
  20. Fixed several encroachment bugs from aligning and sliding the defense in pre-play.
  21. Addressed a rare issue where defenders could get into a state where they could not be blocked.
 
From the above list, we can see that this patch focus on the gameplay changes and bug fixes. Additionally, the new Madden NFL 17 patch addresses how lower-rated offensive lines could be "too effective" against better defensive lines. "This change will also make elite OL more effective against lower rated D-line," EA said. One issue that the patch fixes is where the ball would bounce off a receiver's arms when attempting run-after-catches; this led to drops or interceptions, but that should be less likely now. 
 
Another notable change has to do with hit stick tackles. There is now a greater likelihood of broken tackles after attempting a hit stick tackle. EA said in the patch notes that this may make you think twice, as there will be a greater risk of the runner getting away. One of the bigger gameplay changes is that you can no longer flick the R-stick to pump fake when you're outside of the pocket. With the update applied, using the R-stick will now always throw the ball away after leaving the pocket.