(S27) PT1 - First Impressions

[Memento Mori]

I have very mixed feelings about the new sim. I was excited for the switch to DDSPF21, but it's not lived up to the expectations I had. It's just as broken as 16, but in different ways. To start with the streams itself, streams are now a lot longer due to the way games are presented in DDSPF21 and the long waits after certain plays (such as sacks). I used to watch every game, as streams tended to be around 35-40 minutes long. Now, with streams lasting over an hour, it's hard to commit to watching more than just the Orange County games. It doesn't help that the streams air at 1am in my timezone, and so I have to make a decision based on where Orange County is in the running order as to whether I stay up to watch OCO, or get up earlier the next morning to watch. I think the sim itself is pretty broken, as I mentioned above, and this is impacting my enjoyment of the streams. For context, S26's top passer (by yards) Mike Boss Jr. finished the season with 4898 passing yards and the top receiver finished with 1622 yards. These are realistic totals compared with the NFL. In the first season with the new sim, we're on pace for a 5,692 yard passer and a 2,332 yard receiver. That's not a typo.

Five receivers are on pace to break into the top 10 individual receiving seasons ever, and the over-the-top Madden-on-arcade-mode nature of the games we've seen so far is killing the immersion for me and making me enjoy watching streams less than I have done. (274 words)