Clint Oldenburg Explains the Strength Rating For Linemen in Madden

[Bad_Intentions]

Would be nice to someone do a side by side by side of 3 players each with a 99 STR rating and a low PBK, Medium PBK, and High PBK rating against the same defensive lineman to see how they all look in relative to each other.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by TreFacTor

That's the thing, in 09 (I think) they implemented ratings on the fly based off of difficulty where the computer would adjust the ratings of the cpu players to make the game more difficult. I doubt the code was taken out so if this is still the case, then the actual ratings still mean nothing when the difficulty settings and sliders intervene.

Considering slider adjustments can bring out ratings changes more significantly, ratings don't "mean nothing".

Also, if it impacted things only on a video gamey level, not impacting the actual event probabilities as determined by ratings, then the difficulty is only impacting the video game portion.

Let's say the player I'm controlling has a 65% likelihood to complete a pass based on his MAC rating.

If I don't have "good enough" timing, that drops to 55%.

If I lower the difficulty to where the timing window is wide enough, I can still get the 65% his ratings say I should have.

If I need to be able to play like Jarodd to get 65%, I might as well not buy the game because I'm not that good, so I'll actually never will get the ratings influence. However, if I can lower the difficulty so that I can get the actual chance based on ratings then I'm not making ratings "mean nothing". If anything, I'm getting to express given my own video game skill.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by IlluminatusUIUC

Is it possible that Run Block and Pass Block ratings affect whether a defender will be pulled into the blocking animation, after which the STR rating takes over?

It also seems to give the player the assignment to block and to "target" the best defender on the play.

For example, my rookie LG with 80 PBK got confused by a blitz. He couldn't "decide" whether to pick up the DT slanting towards the C or the LB coming towards the B-gap. By the time he "saw" that Wisniewski had the DT and knew to "target" the LB, the LB was past him.

Now if the LG had picked out the LB, the LB would have been picked up (pulled into an animation?), and the blitz would have been picked up, at least initially.

[Joobieo]

Nice to see that the stat actually matters .

[Phobia]

Awareness = Player picks this or that

then

Pass/Run block rating = success with block or whiff animation

then

Strength is how long a success block is held

That is how I understand it in a nut shell.

Lastly

Impact block = Drive vs being drove and amount of pancakes

[at23steelers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Phobia

Awareness = Player picks this or that then Pass/Run block rating = success with block or whiff animation then Strength is how long a success block is held That is how I understand it in a nut shell. Lastly Impact block = Drive vs being drove and amount of pancakes

Why is everything based on lineman falling? Holding is rarely a lineman taking down the defensive lineman, yet that's all I see in Madden. Why can't they just make solid blocks, and not be all or nothing? Whether, it is running around the tackles, pancaking the defensive guy, or falling backwards due to holding, etc. Is the pancaking and holding due to pure strength? Is the defensive end running around the tackle due to lack of speed and awareness?

[Phobia]

Quote: Originally Posted by at23steelers

Why is everything based on lineman falling? Holding is rarely a lineman taking down the defensive lineman, yet that's all I see in Madden. Why can't they just make solid blocks, and not be all or nothing? Whether, it is running around the tackles, pancaking the defensive guy, or falling backwards due to holding, etc. Is the pancaking and holding due to pure strength? Is the defensive end running around the tackle due to lack of speed and awareness?

You sound like you didn't read what I wrote. Nothing I said is coinciding with what you wrote.

Strength will determine how long a block is held. Pass/Run block ratings will determine if the block is picked up or if the whiff animation is trigger, just like the tackle rating determines successful tackle or broken tackle, then the awareness will decide if the lineman makes the wrong read and misses blitz pick ups etc.

Now I'm only guessing impact rating will determine if a lineman pushes a defender backwards or if he gets drove backwards plus the higher the impact rating higher the chance of a pancake.

[at23steelers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Phobia

You sound like you didn't read what I wrote. Nothing I said is coinciding with what you wrote. Strength will determine how long a block is held. Pass/Run block ratings will determine if the block is picked up or if the whiff animation is trigger, just like the tackle rating determines successful tackle or broken tackle, then the awareness will decide if the lineman makes the wrong read and misses blitz pick ups etc. Now I'm only guessing impact rating will determine if a lineman pushes a defender backwards or if he gets drove backwards plus the higher the impact rating higher the chance of a pancake.

Sorry, admittedly I was distracted by something else while typing it. So, to get rid of the whiff / pancake all or nothing animation, it's best to decrease impact blocking then? For less DE's running around OT's, we should increase all their awarenesses?