Offensive Holding might play better at 55 in Play Now, so keep that in mind as well...

The 56 setting works in consort with the 45 setting in the Main Menu, which you'd don't have access to...

A more "predictable" result should come from returning to as close to the "All 55" concept the sliders were built off of:

Offside: 55
False Start: 55
Offensive Holding: 55
Defensive Holding: 55
Face Mask: 55
Illegal Block In The Back: 52
Roughing Passer: 53
Defensive Pass Interference: 55 (or 60)

You're going to get a few fewer calls, and some less varied and dynamic animations, but the "House Won't Rock"...

With either set of penalty options, the key will still be fatigue...

Once again, 65 then 60, possibly as low as 55...

That's the biggest difference / modifier between Play Now and CFM...

Oh boy...

Didn't realise this was an "increments of five" deal...

I'd try:

Offside: 55
False Start: 55
Offensive Holding: 55
Defensive Holding: 55
Face Mask: 55
Illegal Block In The Back: 55
Roughing Passer: 55
Defensive Pass Interference: 60

You're going to have to live with extra RTP (which can be thought of as a replacement for the "unnecessary roughness" calls that don't exist) and will mitigate the extra IBITB calls that will be high...

DPI should stay at 60 if you're comp percentages are that high...

Once again, you're stuck with a major limitation in penalty value, so turn that fatigue down as far as you need to...

Fatigue triggers penalties as well as some gameplay...

But in this case, it's a "have to" to get those calls in line...

Okay the penalties are exactly what I have it now, so I will lower fatigue to 60 and give it a try. I'll let you know.
Any other idea why comp percentages are so high for CPU? The Viking's backup QB (Bridgewater was injured after 2 minutes on the field) just tore me apart with 75%, 3 TD passes, 0 INTs and 300 yards... I don't think this is related to play now, at least I have no idea how. Meanwhile my receivers drop half of my short passes...
I mean I can improve on the passing game, but if the CPU QBs are literally perfect, don't make any wrong decisions, don't get their timing wrong, no matter how awful they are ratings-wise...
Could this have to do with the INT slider? An advantage of 10 slider points on the CPU side is a lot, especially as it influences a lot of things connected to passing.

Alright it's getting ridiculous now. I usually don't whine on sports games, but I played another game with the Cards against the Chargers, finished with 34% completion and 7 interceptions. My receivers dropped almost every pass, especially short passes when they were wide open with no one around! And every one on one medium pass got intercepted... CPU QBs had 80%, of course...
I have no idea why this is the case. I deleted the tuner, deleted my profile, did a fresh start before trying these sliders. I even use the roster you use. I have had normal results with other slider sets, which were not that much different to yours (QBA at 40/40, INTs for CPU at <40, the rest was pretty much the same). So there must be something fundamentally wrong somewhere on play now (I suppose on CFM you get normal CPU QBs, not gods), but I have no idea why this is the case. Again, if it was only me I would say I am not used to the speed or whatever, but if the CPU QBs completes 80% they score on almost every drive... nothing I can do. When I blitz, he waits just until one player gets through to him and throws perfectly to any open man. Not even borderline impressed by having 6-8 men blitzing.
I am a patient man, but this is just frustration in its purest form. I will start a CFM now and see if things are different, otherwise I'll have to let these sliders go

Yeah, I realised that the penalty values are just cycling back to what you had, so the "fix" is going to have to come from lowering fatigue...

60 is a great place to start...

I haven't seen those kind of QB stats (and TM and I have racked up a sample of over 100 CFM games) except on rare occasion, so I'm going to have to assume the gameplay is different on Play Now...

You are correct in assuming that raising the HUM INT will mitigate CPU Comp %, BUT it will also affect the CPU's ability to run the ball...

It acts as a "Universal Modifier of Ball Awareness" in all phases...

In this game, incompletions come from pressure...I suspect that not having the O Holding value at 45 in the Main Menu is making your "55" play stronger than than mine...

You could try to drop O Holding to 50 to get the pass rush going on both sides, but you may end up having to bump the HUM PBK / RBK and CPU RBK blocking sliders up by 5 in the long run, to compensate...

Based on past experience, dropping CPU PBK to 40 makes a mess, so that's not a preferable option...

You could also simply raise HUM TAK to 50...

That has pursuit and block shed tied to it, so that may solve the % problem...

It will cut down on the BTK and overall success of the CPU Rush, however...

All that being said:

Madden has a glitch in in that has existed for years...

Backup QBs tend to go Robo...

I tend to think you should drop fatigue, manually rush the passer / break the pocket and let it ride for 4 games or so...

There's so many scripts that modify all the settings available that you need to find out how they hold up for you across that variance...

There's everything from "Defensive Battle" to "Shootout" (among MANY other scripts and the multiple branches off of them), that it's tough to tell what's going to hold up without a larger sample...

Wish I could be more definitive, but Play Now is a different beast and I've never actually spent any time with it...

Alright just played the first CFM game, it is another world. Completions are like they are supposed to be etc.
I just don't get it why PlayNow plays like such a b****. Btw fatigue wasn't the factor, that 33%/80% game was with fatigue at 60. There must be some error in the code or something that influences the settings on PlayNow, because I can't belive offensive holding has that much of an impact (even less so on my receivers not catching the easiest of all passes).
Just for the sake of it I will play exactly the same game I played on CFM on PlayNow with off. hold on 50 and HUM PBK / RBK +5. Knowing Madden it is entirely possible that PlayNow will play different now just because I started a CFM game...

I passed your concerns along to Trojan Man and he's familiar with the Play Now mode...

Apparently it IS a completely different animal...

His take is that Play Now is fine at or VERY near default, whereas CFM needs more extreme settings, which is why the set here is as it is...

King,


In conjuction with using these sliders, do you optimize yours and CPU teams players position priority/coaching schemes as discussed in the "Coaching Schemes/Priority Affects Player Ratings" thread?


If so, do you have any tips/tricks on how to efficently (time-wise) do that? It seemed to take me upwards of an hour to do my team and the opponent I was playing that week. I'm assuming I'll get a bit more proficient at it the more I do it, but it still seems like it will be time consuming.


Thanks!

Yeah, I set my team but rarely change it over the course of the season...only when a starter is out for a long term injury...I rarely change as a result of "game planning" against a specific opponent...

I then create a coach for the CPU and then buff up their depth chart and adjust their player priorities, etc...

Since I've been doing this for years, it takes me about ten minutes...

What I do is simply go to the CPU's Player Progression screen and jot down the starters styles on a legal pad and then plug them into schemes...

I then back out and look at the visual depth chart for positions or position groups that are rated "C" or below...

Overall, it's just time and experience...

By this point, I have what works and what I've tried in the past pretty much committed to memory...

I'd consider keeping a record of what you've done (esp. against divisional opponents that you play often) to make it as expedient as possible...

Takes some time in the short run, less time in the long run...but it WELL worth the gameplay all this engenders...

Thanks for the response King,


I assume that when you back out and see position groups rated "C" or below you try to individually adjust that positions scheme to get a higher OVR or conf boost?


I see that some groups I can't get above a C. Or some groups multiple schemes result in a peak of the same OVR. For these would you recommend just matching the scheme to what is listed on the players card?


Thanks again.

Yeah, since many of the players are mislabeled this year, when I see a "C" or below, I'll spend a little extra time messing with setting to see if I can bump up the grade...

Works about half the time, at best...

I start with the Player Card / Progression Menu options, but branch out to memory / feel / past experience form there...

Sometimes, it's just a poor player position group and it's not going up no matter what you do...

The key here is:

ANYTHING you do with this interface is WAAAAAAAY better then doing nothing...

I don't obsess over it much, because even when it's not the "ideal" option, it's almost always better than what's in the default scheme...

These are playing great so far after a handful of games! I am playing coach only so I don't control anybody. My FS by far has the most tackles on the team. Just wondering if this is normal with these sliders or just how it's going for me so far. I also have had several injuries that are multiple week ones over the 8 games I have played. Just curious if injuries like this are normal with the sliders or maybe I am having a dose of bad luck.

Thanks again these sliders are awesome!

Great, glad you're enjoying the set!

I play with an early version of Mizzou / Rovert's roster and my injuries are always a little lower than I'd like...

Could be "bad luck" or a different roster, but it won't hurt to lower INJ to 75 or 70 if it's getting out of context for you...

I'd compare my injuries to the other teams every 4 games or so before adjusting...

The FS / SS issue is coding...

It's been discussed in great detail and there's no slider adjustment or workaround that will minimise it...

They just made them "over react" this year...

The only thing you CAN do is set their Player Priorities in the Scheme Menu to Balanced, Zone or possibly Prototype...

They already have the Playmaker / Run Support "boosts" hard coded into them...

I hope this helps...

Enjoy!

King,


I wanted to share some feedback on the games I’ve played with your slider set. I’m currently running two offline CFMs (Texans and SF) and have played about 9 games total with your set. Apologies if this is a bit long:

Gameplay
The game play has been fantastic in my opinion. I’ve tried a bunch of slider sets with this year’s iteration, and these 9 games have by far produced the most realistic gameplay. I’m 2-1 with the Texans, and 1-1 with SF (2-2 Preseason). The variety is amazing. A few of the games have been close, and a few have been decided by the middle of the third. Every game has been challenging. On the All-Madden sets I’ve tried things were just too hard for me. The CPU was just too good, and things just didn’t feel realistic. I’m not seeing that with this set. I can move the ball, the CPU can move the ball, and we are both capable of putting up defensive stands and forcing punts.

The passing game has been playing good. CPU QB’s are completing about 60% of their passes, and the TD-INT ratio is about right. I’m been able to get some pressure on the CPU QBs and force bad throws, and other times I get no pressure and they have time to complete the pass, just like on Sunday’s. My QBs (Hoyer and Gabbert) are far from perfect. I’ve thrown a few bad INTs when I wasn’t set in the pocket, overthrown Rcvrs on occasion, but also made some tough completions when given time. The CPU QBs are playing true to form also. Brees and Alex Smith were have a good bit of success against me, but both went down with injuries. Their backups (Daniels, Mark Sanchez) came in and played like backup QBs. They had marginal success and made some bad throws.

Running has been a challenge. I’ve had a back go over 100 in maybe 4 out of 9 games. A few games, the running lanes just weren’t there, so I had to adjust my game plan and rely more on passing. A few other games lanes were there and I had success in the running game. I’m breaking tackles, fighting my way through the first level, but also getting stuffed in the backfield and getting popped after a yard or two. My power backs (Hyde and Alfred Blue) are breaking tackles and just seem like tougher runners to bring down. Just tons of variety and unpredictability in the running game. It’s been great.

The most important thing is the CPU has success running against me. I’m so used to being dominate in run defense. But this is refreshing. Big name backs are playing true to form. Jamal Charles was being held by my defense, but then broke a 60-yarder on me to finish well over 100 yards. Freeman was a tough tackle and went over a 100 on me. But then the Saints had to play a relative unknown due to injury, and that back was just not as explosive. And the CPU is sticking to the run game. A few times I’ve been up by 10+ points in the second, and they continue to mix it up and run the ball. I haven’t seen the CPU completely abandon the run yet.

Penalties
I was a bit worried when I first took a look at your Penalty sliders. But I gave it a shot and these are the results I’m seeing:

Total Penalties thru 9 games: 99 (11 per game avg)
Def Holding: 2 (0.2)
Illegal Block in Back: 14 (1.5)
Off Holding: 18 (2)
False Start: 19 (2.1)
Rough the Passer: (1.7)
Def Pass Int: 14 (1.5)
Facemask: 14 (1.5)
Offsides: 2 (0.2)
Encroachment: 1 (0.1)

These penalty sliders are working great. My per-game average (11) is pretty close to the 2015 NFL Average (13). The best part about it is the variety of penalties. My game high for penalties (19) was followed up the next week by my game low (6). I’m seeing different types of penalties in all different situations. I’ve had good drives derailed by a hold. I’ve had a Punt Return TD called back for a block in the back. I’ve had the CPU draw me offsides and take a shot down the field.

The only penalty that concerns me at all is Roughing the Passer. I initially dropped your original setting from 54 to 53, and I’m still seeing one or two per game. And they are cheesy too, the kind where the D-Lineman walks into the QB and he flops. I’m thinking RTP is either an on or off type thing. I may drop it to 52 just to see how it plays out. I’m not touching any of the others though, they are playing great.

FATIGUE/AUTO-SUBS/INJURIES
Using your Auto-Sub settings I’m seeing some pretty good rotations at most positions. My skilled position players are subbing when I would expect them too, and my defenders are subbing when the CPU sustains a long drive on me. I have seen a few O-Lineman sub, but it was only once or twice I noticed it in 9 games. A good trade-off IMO.

Injuries are happening, maybe at a slower pace, but they are happening. I’ve seen at least one player per game get injured and he can’t return. I’ve had three players in my SF chise go down with 5-7 week injuries. No season ending in either chise yet, but there are a good amount of teams that don’t have one either. I don’t think I’m touching this slider for now till maybe a season of data.

Overall these sliders are great. I think you’ve done a fantastic job with them. I really appreciate the analytical approach you’ve taken with this set. I will definitely stick with this set for the duration of this title. I’ll more feedback if there is anything I see that might interest you.

Once again thanks for the hard work.

@bjb2445:

Thanks so much for the detailed breakdown...

Glad you're enjoying the set...

Although it's impossible to get the penalties "perfect" (Block in the Back has to be high, because Holding is low, etc.) they do balance out fairly well...

Keep an eye on that proposed RTP @ 55 / 52 adjustment...

I took your advice and cycled back to 55 / 53 and was pleasantly surprised...

Having RTP set to 55 in the Main Menu affords much more flexibility and accuracy of result that we would see if we tried to use 53 (or 52) without that outer value...

I only have played one game at 55 / 53 so far, but there was one call total...

Manning was the CPU QB and the range of behavior "he" exhibited was quite realistic...

Anyway, thanks for the detail and:

Enjoy!