Madden 09 Patch #2 Released, Impressions Here

[Walker8]

I wish the cpu would adjust their playcalling more... It seems like i can get certain plays all day if i call them right and the cpu never adjusts. This has always been a problem with Madden. I mix up my playcalling because i dont like to cheese, but the ai is so bad, its like why sometimes. why kick this fg when i can get a guarenteed 1st down every time? why call something different when i can call this play and get 10 yards?

nba 2k8 was very much like this at first wehre the defensive ai was so bad you could do the same move every time and score. they patched it and removed a lot of this stuff and made the defense much better and balanced the game pretty well. Madden really needs to work on their defensive ai....... One of these years they are really going to concentrate on defense and improving the cpu running game it will be the best madden ever. those are the two biggest glaring flaws with this game imo and they weren't addressed at all with this patch.

[nickaepi]

Quote: Originally Posted by ps2mike

Played 6 games into my new franchise as the eagles. 6-0 record 725 madden IQ rating. In 6 saves i've had 5 interceptions and 1 fumble forced/recovered. 3 of the ints and the fumble were user done the others was cpu Pros: -CPU no longer runs out of bounds like crazy like they did previously -Man coverage seems improved -Cover 3 was improved -CPU breaks tackles well and runs the ball well -CPU will throw deep but not as often as you'd expect them to -Only had the game freeze on me once -Time of possession for the cpu is improved -My WR's actually drop passes more often now which for me was rare in the last patch -Having better success getting sacks without even bringing the blitz. After 6 games i have 10 sacks which is not bad Cons: -Punt/Kick coverage is still terrible -CPU play calling when down and not much time left is worse then the previous patch -CPU is terrible at field goals/punting -Pancakes are improved but not anywhere close to what the CPU is getting. And there is no such thing as Robo QB. The only people who think there is a Robo QB are the ones who don't want to believe they just suck and can't play defense and need a excuse. Sure, maybe the CPU QB goes crazy in the 4th qtr when down but most the passes i've seen them do have been to open WR's. It's not like they are doing crazy stuff to get these yards.

Do you understand what Robo QB means? It means the QB AI is unrealistic, meaning it does not mimick a human's intelligence accurately.
In Madden's case (and NCAA), the QB AI is uber-intelligent. It can make reads and react faster than any human possibly can.

At higher difficulty levels, which I am sure you play, since you are 6-0 and are very proud of your Madden IQ of 725 , this AI effect is intensified greatly, therefore creating an obvious disadvantage to the human player on Defense, which has caused " just about everybody in the OS community" (except for you) to comment as this being a programming issue with the '09 gameplay engine(for both NCAA and Madden).

To say that "you must just suck at defense if you think their is Robo QB" is inaccurate. I will admit ,the more you play the game, you will eventually find exploits to overcome these issues, which will make you less "sucky", and over time "good" at defense.

But, bottom line, the Uber-AI QB exists, it is widely recognized it exists and clearly does not make a player "sucky" , if they cannot stop those passes being completed.

[Walker8]

Quote: Originally Posted by nickaepi

Do you understand what Robo QB means? It means the QB AI is unrealistic, meaning it does not mimick a human's intelligence accurately. In Madden's case (and NCAA), the QB AI is uber-intelligent. It can make reads and react faster than any human possibly can. At higher difficulty levels, which I am sure you play, since you are 6-0 and are very proud of your Madden IQ of 725 , this AI effect is intensified greatly, therefore creating an obvious disadvantage to the human player on Defense, which has caused " just about everybody in the OS community" (except for you) to comment as this being a programming issue with the '09 gameplay engine(for both NCAA and Madden). To say that "you must just suck at defense if you think their is Robo QB" is inaccurate. I will admit ,the more you play the game, you will eventually find exploits to overcome these issues, which will make you less "sucky", and over time "good" at defense. But, bottom line, the Uber-AI QB exists, it is widely recognized it exists and clearly does not make a player "sucky" , if they cannot stop those passes being completed.

I disagree with this logic. Just because a lot of people think it's so, and widely recognize it as an issue doesn't mean it's the issue you are making it out to be. The world was considered flat at one point because a lot of stupid people thought it was, when the world is not flat.

Like he was saying the cpu isn't doing anything extraordiary to complete these passes. Yes there are problems with coverage in certain defenses and the coverage ai was really poor. Most of the passes i see the cpu complete is because they have too much time in the pocket and there is no pass rush, and the cpu will find the open receiver because there are so many with the coverage ai the way it was. with an improved pass rush and better coverage the cpu will start to throw bad balls and passses into traffic and not make these incredible reads you are describing. I've seen it and its not the way you are describing it. Yes the cpu can be way too accurate at times and rarely throws bad passes. I wouldnt call that robo qb though..... With the patch, better coverage and a better pass rush we have seen it improve for the reasons i'm stating.

the problems with this game really lie on the defensive ai side of things. not with the qb. with the patch robo qb has been toned down a lot because the coverages are much better and as a human i can now make plays on the ball. i stilll am passing at a high percentage myself because the coverages arent good enough and the cpu does not make the plays that a human can on the ball.

[jvaccaro]

Quote: Originally Posted by Walker8

-I'm still able to complete way too high a percentage myself. Im completing between 80/90% of my passes and the coverage ai is still really poor. It may be improved slightly but i can still get those plays where a guy is open 99% of the time.

^^ Hmmmm, I'm willing to bet you could lower your pass block slider and find there's no way you'll have enough time to complete 90% of your passes.

Also, if you're really actually finding the CPU QB plays too poorly, turn your pass reaction sliders down.

There are work-arounds built in to be able to balance the game better to your liking...

[Garrett67]

Quote: Originally Posted by ps2mike

Yep, in my franchise 8 games played now i have a total of 5 penalties. Default penalty settings.

Turn the sliders up. I had mine on 100 and was getting too many penalties.
In one game I had about 3-4 false starts (CPU), 5 holding calls, 3 pass interference, clipping on a kick return and a facemask.

I turned holding down to about 60, I haven't touched the other sliders (yet).

[Walker8]

Quote: Originally Posted by jvaccaro

^^ Hmmmm, I'm willing to bet you could lower your pass block slider and find there's no way you'll have enough time to complete 90% of your passes. Also, if you're really actually finding the CPU QB plays too poorly, turn your pass reaction sliders down. There are work-arounds built in to be able to balance the game better to your liking...

that makes sense. I think its the same for the cpu... the cpu qb ai is abotu right right now. im just completing too many. i have a quick release drop back and know who's going to be open kind of style..... i can get single coverage and do a hitch play for 10 yards if i get single coverage every time. same with crosses from the halfback and several other routes like out patterns. im not sure if i let the cpu get a better rush if that will help but it makes sense, considering that stops the cpu from passing so well.... the coverage is still bad though and the cpu rarely makes a play on the ball on these routes if you have single coverage.. i make very quick reads, and have a very ball control, run the ball, short passing game, then go for the big play kind of offense. I'm better than robo qb lol. you think robo qb is frustrating, play me sometime, i'm like robo qb on roids. i'm not joking either. i can score every time down the field in 4 minutes drives every time calling different plays and a series of plays i use... its the same when i go online and play human opponents as well. i just have a series of progressions and go through my reads and if one guy isnt open the next guy will be and if he isnt the 3rd guy will be.

like i was saying before the problem with this game is that the cpu doesnt make plays on the ball. the robo qb thing has been pretty much fixed because the coverage is good enough now where you can make plays. the problem is the cpu doesnt make those same plays. the cpu defensive coverage ai needs to be improved. Same with the cpu running game. Those are the only two problems i have with this game right now.

[Walker8]

i remember last years madden peopel were upset because the defensive ai was too juiced and would make superhuman plays to cover up the lack of intelligent coverage ai. i didn't mind it so much, although i know it was just a way to cover up a lack of intelligent ai. its almost like they toned it down too much this year to compensate for that and that is why we are seeing the robo qb and completion percentages that we are. you rarely see the cpu make a play on the ball any more. Their programmers cant balance their own game at all, and it just shows how inept ea has become. Or they just do this stuff on purpose to sell more games, and dont balance the game correctly. I know i'm right here and that is what they did. That is the whole reason we were seeing robo qb because of the interception problems from last year.....

[davidandjordan]

Robo QB DOES exist, there's no question about that whatsoever. And it doesn't have anything to do with a human playing against the CPU. There's just something wrong with the whole engine, and player warping just contributes to the problem.
After restarting my franchise, I'm 9 weeks in and the lowest starting QB completion percentage is 59%. There are more than 5 guys over 70% and Phillip Rivers is at 80%! For some reason, it's just very easy for the computer to complete passes. Player warping contributes, especially in man coverage, because if you have a reciever running with a cornerback right on his tail, when you throw a pass and lead the reciever, only the reciever is (usually) in "warp range" and suddenly speeds out of the coverage that is right on his backside and makes a catch. If there wasn't player warping, the CB would many times reach out in front of the reciever and be able to bat down a pass.

There IS Robo QB. Franchise completion percentage is a clear proof of that. Anytime you have only a few guys UNDER 65%, there's something wrong. There should be only a few guys OVER 65%.