The Ratings Matter Slider Project

[MassChaos]

Watts_FB2324-GM08-USC-3524-1-e1697739374794.jpg

The “Ratings Matter” Slider Project

A Slider Set Focused on Making Ratings Matter While Achieving Realistic Gameplay

College Football is my favorite sport. A large part of what makes the sport great to me is the variety in skill levels that are on the field at the same time. That is the basis for which this slider set was created. I was tired of playing as Akron and having a consistent opportunity to beat teams like Ohio State and vice versa. (that’s not to say those upsets are impossible, but they are significantly more unlikely to happen.)

Another great part of college football is that the athletes are college kids. Meaning, they make mistakes! Penalties, drops, misthrown passes, missed tackles and blown assignments are all on display in each and every game on Saturdays. Why shouldn’t they happen in CFB 25?

Before you read the set, here is an explanation for a few of the settings. If anyone wants anything else explained, ask, and I’ll add it to this section.

Classic Passing - I love the new Revamped Passing, however for me, the “bad throws” using it are less bad, and overall I can be a little too accurate with it. (For NBA2K players, think of it as the shot stick, while Classic Passing is Real FG%.) Using Classic Passing, the user has no input on the accuracy of the ball, allowing the ratings to fully take over. You can try out the different throwing modes if you’d like, but I’d expect completion %s to go up a few ticks.

Speed Threshold 57 - Since the launch of the game I’ve gone pretty much all over this scale. With that experience, I subscribe to the theory that’s been said on here in other threads that the Threshold impacts the zone around two players that allows/forces them to interact. Raising the Threshold above 50 is necessary to make "Home Run" runs to happen, but having it 57 allows the game to still feel "open" and not congested like a higher setting causes.

All-American over Heisman - Speaking of the CPU Run game, on default settings All American feels a lot more “realistic” to me in just about every other way. The CPU run game was just not nearly aggressive enough. Which is why this set started out as a Heisman set. I felt like the first half of every game with the Heisman set was perfect, but there’s undoubtedly some sort of rubber banding happening in the second half to keep games competitive. (It can be overcome, but it’s there) So I switched back to AA, and focused on improving the cpu run game. This combination of the RBK, Tackling, and threshold settings have the run game feeling great.

Fatigue 85 - I keep Auto Subs at default, because things can get a little weird, so having fatigue at 85 forces a rotation at running back, wide receiver, and on the defensive line, which are the majority of subs anyways. This rotation is important, because depth is one of the bigger differences between the great and bad schools. I’d love a few more reps for the backups, but it’s good enough for me. This setting used to be at 90, but the increased Wear and Tear in one of the updates has caused that to cause disappearing RBs in rare instances. Knocking it down to 85, eliminates that, while still providing a rotation at the key positions.

The Penalty settings - Unfortunately, the penalty sliders do have a fairly significant impact on gameplay, so the sliders are not at the ideal setting in terms of number of specific penalties called. Also DPI is still broken. You will likely get called for a few too many holdings. The only tip I have is to not Sprint until you're at the line of scrimmage, it helps reduce the likelihood, but again, it’s not perfect, but increasing Holding, makes the Line interaction better so it’s a necessary issue.

CPU QB Accuracy - 40 I want to see the QBS throw misthrows, but going any lower seems to really impact the CPU’s willingness to throw downfield. I wish I could go to around 20-25 to see a few more misthrows, but it just makes their offense super vanilla. (If you're seeing QB play that seems too good, you can lower this as low as 36.)

User Tackling - 20 - This is the secret sauce for this set. This value causes the CPU's RB AI to behave in an aggressive, competitive way, like you'd see on Heisman. The broken tackles aren't excessive, and if anything promote gang tackling. But it's enough to make a one on one situation occasionally end in a big play for offense, whereas on default, the defense has a clear advantage.

House Rules

This is kind of an unknown for me, because I only know how the sliders work with the way that I play the game, so let me know if you think something should be added here.

The only thing I can think of is to say that I mainly User a pass rusher. So if you’re talented in playing pass coverage, you might have to make some tweaks.

Also, I’ve taken bits and pieces of information from a variety of slider makers on here, as well as reddit, to help in the creation of the set. I, by no means, take credit for all of the discoveries that have helped shape the set into its current form. Credit to, in no particular order: Playmakers, Matt10, canes 21, and jkits.

With all that said, here is the set,
if something isn’t mentioned, its User Preference.

Major Update 11/2
Legitimately the best feeling video game football I've ever experienced.
Game Settings

Difficulty - All-American

Passing Type - Classic Passing

Pass Lead Increase - Small

Reticle Speed - 10

Ball Hawk - OFF

Injuries - 52

Fatigue - 85

Min Player Speed Threshold - 57

Penalties

Offside - 65

False Start - 65

Holding -53

Face Mask - 85

DPI - 65

Illegal Block in the Back - 55

Intentional Grounding - OFF

Roughing Kicker - OFF

Running into the Kicker - OFF

Illegal Contact - OFF (If you're importing the sliders from the Main Menu, you have to set this to OFF again inside of Dynasty.)

Sliders
User
QB Accuracy - 10

Spoiler

Should have realistic percentages with a number of misthrows, based on the skill of the qb.

Pass Blocking - 70

Spoiler

Increased to help give each side a more appropriate time to throw.

WR Catching -38

Spoiler

any higher and the unrealistic "contact catches" start to happen.

Run Blocking - 1

Spoiler

User Run block is overpowered, with the fatigue setting, the run game will open up as the game goes on.

Fumbles - 40

Spoiler

Want fumbles by players that aren't the QB.

Pass Defense Reaction Time - 32

Spoiler

reduced reaction time to cut down on no look swats. seems to slightly improve run game for opposing team as well

Interceptions - 20

Spoiler

had to decrease significantly to reduce Interceptions. DBs wil have some drops now, but picks are still present.

Pass Coverage - 65

Spoiler

The patch changed coverage pretty substantially. Coverage is much looser overall than pre patch, at the same value.

Tackling - 20

Spoiler

20 Tackling has a crazy effect on the CPU RBs (and scrambling QBs) decision making. I also don't feel like the broken tackles are crazy high, this might actually go lower.

CPU

QB Accuracy - 40

Spoiler

Lowered to introduce misthrows, but not enough to negatively impact their AI decision making.

Pass Blocking - 70

Spoiler

Same as User

WR Catching - 38

Spoiler

Same as User, Can't go higher.

Run Blocking - 66

Spoiler

Patch helped CPU Run blocking, but it is still slightly underpowered. Great defenses can still shut down bad run offenses, but this allows the cpu to have some running game in even matchups.

Fumbles - 40

Spoiler

Same as User

Pass Defense Reaction Time - 32

Spoiler

Same as User

Interceptions - 20

Spoiler

Same as User

Pass Coverage - 65

Spoiler

Same as User

Tackling - 44

Spoiler

Slightly lower than default to allow more broken tackles, but higher than the 20 default. The CPU needs help stopping the run, this does that.

Special Teams
All Default
After testing FGS, and Punts and kickoffs from a variety of matchups both in games and in practice, i'm convinced that the Special Team Sliders only impact the user teams. So to keep things fair, my recommendation is to SuperSim all Special Teams plays.


Also here are the XP settings I created to help keep ratings consistent throughout a dynasty. I highly recommend using these if you want the gameplay to stay the same as a dynasty goes on.. The thread for these is located here https://forums.operationsports.com/f...post2050991957

QB - 170

HB - 52

TE - 124

WR - 80

FB - 0

OT - 0

OG - 0

C - 38

DE - 14

DT - 152

MLB - 66

OLB - 58

CB - 116

FS - 282

SS - 300

K - 240

P - 240

Currently Testing
Special Teams
I want more feedback/data before making any more changes

This was the version 2 set, from before the 10/27 patch.

Spoiler

Game Settings

Difficulty - All-American

Passing Type - Classic Passing

Pass Lead Increase - Small

Reticle Speed - 10

Ball Hawk - OFF

Injuries - 55 this is currently being tested.

Fatigue - 85

Min Player Speed Threshold - 57

Penalties

Offside - 70

False Start - 70

Holding -55

Face Mask - 85

DPI - 70

Illegal Block in the Back - 55

Intentional Grounding - OFF

Roughing Kicker - OFF

Running into the Kicker - OFF

Illegal Contact - OFF

Sliders V2
User
QB Accuracy - 10

Spoiler

Should have realistic percentages with a number of misthrows, based on the skill of the qb.

Pass Blocking - 50 (v1 value -48)

Spoiler

slight bump to allow for more time for good lines to protect

WR Catching -37

Spoiler

any higher and the unrealistic "contact catches" start to happen.

Run Blocking - 3

Spoiler

User Run block is overpowered, with the fatigue setting, the run game will open up as the game goes on.

Fumbles - 35

Spoiler

Want fumbles by players that aren't the QB.

Pass Defense Reaction Time - 40

Spoiler

reduced reaction time to cut down on no look swats. seems to slightly improve run blocking for opposing team as well

Interceptions - 25

Spoiler

with Ball Hawk off, the INTs shouldn't be crazy with this value

Pass Coverage - 65

Spoiler

I'm not sure what this setting actually does, but I know in practice, 0 and 100 are too easy and 50 is a little too tight. (Maybe it's a bell curve with Man to man and zone on each side/)

Tackling - 20

Spoiler

20 Tackling has a crazy effect on the CPU RBs (and scrambling QBs) decision making. I also don't feel like the broken tackles are crazy high, this might actually go lower.

CPU

QB Accuracy - 40

Spoiler

Lowered to introduce misthrows, but not enough to negatively impact their AI decision making.

Pass Blocking - 50 v1 value 48

Spoiler

Same as User

WR Catching - 37

Spoiler

Same as User, Can't go higher.

Run Blocking - 90

Spoiler

Opposite problem as the USER, CPU Run blocking is extremely under powered. This setting gets them closer to a realistic feel. They'll have the opportunity to reach the second level against bad defenses.

Fumbles - 35

Spoiler

Same as User

Pass Defense Reaction Time - 40

Spoiler

Same as User

Interceptions - 25

Spoiler

Same as User

Pass Coverage - 65

Spoiler

Same as User

Tackling - 20

Spoiler

Same as User

Special Teams (complete wip)

FG Power - 20 v1 value - 30

FG Accuracy - 45

Punt Power - 80 v1 value - 65

Punt Accuracy - 80

Kickoff Power - 80

This was the original set for posterity. The gameplay is a little more punishing to the offenses.

Spoiler

Min Player Speed Threshold - 45

Player Skill

QB Accuracy -7

Pass Blocking - 46

WR Catching - 35

Run Blocking - 3

Fumbles - 40

Pass Defense Reaction Time - 50

Interceptions - 23

Pass Coverage - 50

Tackling - 38

Punt Power -55

Kickoff Power - 57

CPU Skill

QB Accuracy - 36

Pass Blocking - 48

WR Catching - 35

Run Blocking - 93

Fumbles - 40

Pass Defense Reaction Time - 50

Interceptions - 23

Pass Coverage - 50

Tackling - 38

Punt Power -55

Kickoff Power - 55
Penalties are the same as the base set

Thanks for taking the time to read through these. Please leave some feedback if you decide to try them out. I’d love to see how they work out for you.

[Fiddy]

Quote: Originally Posted by MassChaos

Classic Passing - I love the new Revamped Passing, however for me, the “bad throws” using it are less bad, and overall I can be a little too accurate with it. (For NBA2K players, think of it as the shot stick, while Classic Passing is Real FG%.) Using Classic Passing, the user has no input on the accuracy of the ball, allowing the ratings to fully take over. You can try out the different throwing modes if you’d like, but I’d expect completion %s to go up a few ticks.

This is a fantastic comparison and spot on IMO..

I'll get these added to the OS Averaged Out Slider set.

Thanks for sharing and Go Irish!

Edit -

I know if it's not listed, it's user preference but what do you use for quarter length and accelerated clock?

[MassChaos]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fiddy

This is a fantastic comparison and spot on IMO.. I'll get these added to the OS Averaged Out Slider set. Thanks for sharing and Go Irish! Edit - I know if it's not listed, it's user preference but what do you use for quarter length and accelerated clock?

I’m using 10 mins with 20 sec accelerated clock. But it’s up to you.

[Von Dozier]

Enjoying the feel of these after 2 full games, but WR Catch is going to have to go up for me. Maybe it's because I'm Ball State and played 2 other lower ranked teams, but had 10 drops in my first game, 12 in my second as User. CPU had 6 or 7 each game as well. And not bang-bang drops, but those wide open drops (which I don't mind those wide open drops, but I do mind when 9 out of the 12 are the wide open drops). Turned the games into field goal fests, and had my User QB at 30% completion and the CPU 40% completion for both games. I'll put WR Catch for both at 35 and I'm sure that'll fix it.

Besides that, every other facet of the gameplay feels good.

[MassChaos]

Quote: Originally Posted by Von Dozier

Enjoying the feel of these after 2 full games, but WR Catch is going to have to go up for me. Maybe it's because I'm Ball State and played 2 other lower ranked teams, but had 10 drops in my first game, 12 in my second as User. CPU had 6 or 7 each game as well. And not bang-bang drops, but those wide open drops (which I don't mind those wide open drops, but I do mind when 9 out of the 12 are the wide open drops). Turned the games into field goal fests, and had my User QB at 30% completion and the CPU 40% completion for both games. I'll put WR Catch for both at 35 and I'm sure that'll fix it. Besides that, every other facet of the gameplay feels good.

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah that setting is a bit of balance of a few things A) Top teams/players have drops, so I have punish bad players a little more than I’d like for them to show up for the better guys. And B) the miss throws aren’t quite where I’d like them to be so I’m using drops as a way to circumvent that. It also means you’re rewarded for throwing into truly open receivers.

There’s also a pretty big variation sometimes. Some games I’m seeing 4 or 5, other times they’re pretty high.

But ultimately, that change shouldn’t impact the rest of the set all that much!

[bDoddleS]

Quote: Originally Posted by MassChaos

Speed Threshold - Since the launch of the game I’ve gone pretty much all over this scale. With that experience, I subscribe to the theory that’s been said on here in other threads that the Threshold impacts the zone around two players that allows/forces them to interact. Lowering it 45 opens up the running game through the line of scrimmage, which was needed for the CPU running game. All-American over Heisman - Speaking of the CPU Run game, on default settings All American feels a lot more “realistic” to me in just about every other way. The CPU run game was just not nearly aggressive enough. Which is why this set started out as a Heisman set. I felt like the first half of every game with the Heisman set was perfect, but there’s undoubtedly some sort of rubber banding happening in the second half to keep games competitive. (It can be overcome, but it’s there) So I switched back to AA, and focused on improving the cpu run game. It’s not quite as good as the Heisman run game, but it’s good. (The Heisman sets final numbers weren’t super far off what they are on AA, mainly dropping CPU Passing down to match the User number and some other small tweaks) Fatigue 90 - I keep Auto Subs at default, because things can get a little weird, so having fatigue at 90 forces a rotation at running back, wide receiver, and on the defensive line, which are the majority of subs anyways. This rotation is important, because depth is one of the bigger differences between the great and bad schools. I’d love a few more reps for the backups, but it’s good enough for me. CPU QB Accuracy - 36 I want to see the QBS throw misthrows, but going any lower seems to really impact the CPU’s willingness to throw downfield. I wish I could go to around 20-25 to see a few more misthrows, but it just makes their offense super vanilla.

I wanna try these out for these 4 points. I've tried a lot of the sets here and they all are great but when I factor in giving me a competitive competition, I've seen too many players run into or stick to each other at higher thresholds that I'm not happy with it.

Seen too many DB's turning and picking off passes at the perfect time, or DL or LB sliding into the perfect spot in the running game to hurt my immersion on Heisman.

The CPU QB Acc issue is something I've tried to address by trying and/or tweaking this to get more missed throws and haven't found the balance so looking forward to testing this 36 theory for myself.

One question on the fatigue, in the past even at lower fatigue I've seen players go missing for quarters with one long run, do you see much of this in your testing? I've always wanted to use higher fatigue but when I dabble in raising this players start to go missing for quarters or even the rest of the game.

[MassChaos]

Quote: Originally Posted by bDoddleS

I wanna try these out for these 4 points. I've tried a lot of the sets here and they all are great but when I factor in giving me a competitive competition, I've seen too many players run into or stick to each other at higher thresholds that I'm not happy with it. Seen too many DB's turning and picking off passes at the perfect time, or DL or LB sliding into the perfect spot in the running game to hurt my immersion on Heisman. The CPU QB Acc issue is something I've tried to address by trying and/or tweaking this to get more missed throws and haven't found the balance so looking forward to testing this 36 theory for myself. One question on the fatigue, in the past even at lower fatigue I've seen players go missing for quarters with one long run, do you see much of this in your testing? I've always wanted to use higher fatigue but when I dabble in raising this players start to go missing for quarters or even the rest of the game.

As long as I keep Auto Subs at default, I’ve never experienced players going missing, that’s why I avoid messing with them. Your starting rb will sub more often in the second half, but it’s usually only for a 2-3 plays.

Try them and see if they work for you.

[TacBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by MassChaos

As long as I keep Auto Subs at default, I’ve never experienced players going missing, that’s why I avoid messing with them. Your starting rb will sub more often in the second half, but it’s usually only for a 2-3 plays. Try them and see if they work for you.

I agree with the CPU accuracy being too low. Anytime I’ve tried to go 25 they just don’t play normally, and sometimes will run the ball 12 times in a row. I thought I was the only one who noticed this lol. Run game is good too, but I did bump up user catching to 35, because we were dropping way too many easy passes.

Anyway these over all, been getting some really good games with these sliders, but I’ve noticed a problem with db’s. It’s like they freeze (like they hitch and go motionless instead of reacting to the play as it’s happening) in their coverages and don’t react to the ball, which obviously allows a lot of big plays. Ive a had a few instances of them pausing, and I’ve had them just watch passes go over their heads or right by them, when they could have easily knocked it down. Or at least tried. It doesn’t seem to happen to the CPU.

I am playing with Navy, so I’m sure the ratings have something to do with it, but it doesn’t seem natural. Do you think this caused by the reaction time slider being lower or maybe the dpi slider being higher? I’d like to figure this out because I really like this set.