Wiz Slider Observations

[MarketingWiz]

SLIDERS NOW POSTED 9/23/2017!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Issues that NO SLIDERS can address:

1) CPU QB AI that causes the CPU QB to throw the ball away, is INCONSISTENT and needs to be fixed by EA

2) Playbooks suck and directly affects CPU play calling.

3) There is a "clock/timing" glitch in the code that causes the CPU QB AI to dumb down, especially when you play D-Line or Linebacker, and smash on the BLK SHED or SWIM MOVE buttons continuously, and also when you set the pass rush trait in "COACH ADJUSTMENTS" in the in game slider, to aggressive.

4) The Brew was built to deal with making the CPU QB get rid of the ball faster, especially when you follow the HOUSE/CFM rules.





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SLIDER SET UP BELOW.... MUST READ BEFORE SETTING UP THE BREW.....





Some "House Rules" I use to enhance the Madden experience and play a SIM experience:

1. I employ a strict "No Switch Rule" on offense and defense. Player ratings influence outcome.

If I play as the SAFETY (which I do often) on a given play I stay as the SAFETY all the way through to the whistle is blown. What that does is put a focus on player ratings, causes a “TEAM EFFORT” whereby you rely on your teammates to make plays you are not involved in or away from. It is a challenge to play defense this way and can lead to some interesting games if your defense is tired or having an off day. Timely sub packages like bringing in a fresh DL or CB is recommended. If your defense has been on the field a lot, pay attention to their fatigue levels and sub accordingly!!

2. In every game, I never call the same OFFENSIVE CALL twice. NEVER. PERIOD. Only exception is the dive plays by the QB, kneel plays by the QB and pressing the “circle” button (on PS4) when rushing the offense to the line to spike the ball. I use the entire playbook and prefer calling plays out of the CONCEPTS option on offense.

3. Don't go for it every time on 4^th. Follow the strategies of a true NFL coach. And on those occasions where it dictates going for it on 4^th and short, do not abuse the FB dive or QB sneak. In other words, NO CHEESE. Keep it real.

4. On defense I call all my own plays and NEVER SWITCH. Also, I get to know what my defensive coordinator in real life likes to do regarding calling blitzes (this is available via Google.) and follow those guidelines. For example, if my DC dials up blitzes 25% of the time (you are going to call roughly 60 plays on defense) then I would only blitz 15 times in the entire game, at most.

Also, when you change the “PASS RUSH - COACHING ADJUSTMENT” in game slider to “aggressive”, DO NOT PLAY as a Defensive Lineman or Linebacker!!!!! There is a glitch/bug that causes the CPU QB’s clock to throw the ball and AI logic, to dumb down causing a PARADE of sacks.

Play as a SAFETY instead and as soon as the play starts PRESS and HOLD the L1 button (on PS4). This house rule is PART OF THE SOLUTION to dealing with the sack issue!!!!!!!!!!!

5. If you decide to play DL or LINEBACKER with “PASS RUSH - COACHING ADJUSTMENT” in game slider set to “aggressive” then DO NOT CONTINUOUSLY SMASH the BLK SHED or SWIM MOVE buttons repeatedly because this is what triggers the CPU QB clock and AI to dumb down. Hit the BLK SHED or SWIM MOVE button once, rattle off a “one-Mississippi”, and then, and only then, press it again for a final time (2 times ONLY!!). If you are NOT ABLE to disengage from the block then simply continue to push on the directional stick toward the CPU QB, to collapse his pocket, but DO NOT smash on the BLK SHED or SWIM MOVE button again!!!

Curiously, when you leave the "COACH ADJUSTMENT" pass rush slider on default (BALANCED), the game tolerates smashing the BLK SHED and SWIM MOVE button a lot better.... This is why I suggest that you judiciously use the "aggressive" pass rush trait on "COACH ADJUSTMENT".

6. On defense, I use a base defense depending on the down and yardage for first down. I NEVER peek at what offensive formation the CPU is calling. NEVER! Often times I will call a 3-4 and the CPU calls a 3 WR set, so I have to put a LB on a slot receiver, or bring in a safety and leave the top of my defense vulnerable. OH WELL, this is real SIM football, not CHEESE let me peek and choose a dime set to match a 3 WR set. Also, if it is an obvious passing down, I choose a nickel package defense. If it is an obvious run situation, I SELL OUT to stop the run. The sliders are tuned so that if the CPU calls a run and you are in a Cover 3 Zone as an example, the run will have a much better chance to gain 3+ yards and maybe pop! That’s real football.

I use exotic Dime sets only if it is 2^nd or 3^rd and 15+ yards or more, or if it is Hail Mary situation, or I am up on the CPU by 13 or more points and it’s the 4^th quarter and I am playing Prevent defense defending against long pass plays.

Bottom line, NO PEEKING at the CPU offensive formation this is the key to truly have challenging games EVERY single game you play!!

7. On offense I will control whomever has the ball. I will use moves, jukes etc. What I will not do however is take control of a potential receiver of the football NOR use the TURBO button (R2 on PS4) after a WR has caught the ball. Also, I do not user catch at all. I let the ratings determine the catch type always. Once the ball is caught I will take control of the ball carrier and do my thing.

8. I play with all visual aids turned off.


CFM HOUSE rules borrowed from “Armor and Sword” – They are on point and are the cherry on top that deliver a TRUE SIM experience.

1) Game planning - Use JoshC1977’s game planning method. Please refer to his 2017 slider thread to see how to do this. It is easy and works fantastic for CPU play calling

2) Player XP - I set progress players to "Every 4 Weeks" for the CPU so therefore I also follow that rule. Please read below as I have included TDawgs XP house rules in conjunction to use with his brilliant XP sliders!

3) Coach XP - I spend it whenever I want during the season and I don't limit what packages I buy. Have fun with it. It's your coach and your legacy rating.

4) Contracts during in season resign period and off-season free agency:

Contracts must never be more than 4 yrs. unless player requests more

You must let one player rated 80 or higher test free agency


For all Contracts that meet these parameters below:

All contracts longer than 2 years (3 years or more)
All Contracts 2MM total or higher

Must receive a bonus at 30% of the contract amount so for example you have a WR who signs for 60MM over 4 years his bonus should be 18MM of that 60MM total.

QB Contracts are a different animal:

Minimum contract amounts for QB's (even if they want much less) in free agency:

4MM for QB rated below 70

8MM For QB rated 70-79

14MM for QB rated 80-89

17MM for QB rated 90+


When signing your own QB's these rules apply to your 1st and second stringers only.

Also, a small caveat. Your starting QB must be paid a minimum of 14MM regardless of rating once his contract comes up for extension. So, let's say you have Big Ben retire on you and now you want Landry Jones to step in...and his contract is up to be redone. Well...if he is going to be your starter...he must get starters money. It makes you really think about QB's and their worth to you.


5) Trading - So we all know we can fleece the CPU....DON’T DO IT!!!! If you want a realistic franchise don't blatantly fleece them. Sometimes you can get a good deal that ends up looking one sided. But don't go and trade a 1st and 3rd and some 75 rated RB for Aaron Rodgers. You know that just would never happen. Here are some guidelines for trading:

If trading for a CB you must send back a CB of no lesser value than +/- 10 rating points plus a 2nd round pick. Or you must send at least a 1st and 3rd rounder for any CB rated above 83.

Any blockbuster trade must include a 1st this year a 1st next year, and either a 2nd this year or a really solid young 3rd year or higher player rated 80 or above at either RT, LT, DT, DE, CB, WR, HB.

If you’re going to trade for a starting QB rated 83 or higher you really should be giving up the moon for them. 1st, 2nd this year, 1st next year, plus a very serviceable young player rated 80 or higher at the positions I mentioned above.

Also, one trade is allowed per season. No trading of or for any rookies or players in the first year of a new contract.

In the draft trade, as much as you want. It is a lot of fun.


Scouting - I have no house rules on scouting at all. knock yourself out and enjoy the hunt!!!


Regarding “TDawgs XP House Rules”

Rules

Rule 1 - These sliders are not intended for 32 team human control leagues. These sliders are intended for a 1-4-person league with the rest being CPU controlled.

Rule 2 - These sliders are intended for sim play style. If you constantly lead the league in everything or break records nonstop the amount of “XP” you earn will be skewed in your favor.

Rule 3 - These sliders are intended for 4-week progression only. Every Week and End of Season progression will not work with these. Human controlled teams may progress as you please but I still suggest 4 Week for you as well.


Guidelines (How I Play… Borrowed from Armor and Sword)

Guideline 1 - Use JoshC1977’s game prep method!!!

Guideline 2 - All starters on my teams must have at least an 80 rating in AWR before I upgrade another attribute. All backups must have at least a 70 rating in AWR before I upgrade another attribute. This does two things. First it makes me have to spend on brains instead of jacking up their other ratings and using my stick skills to beat teams. Second it keeps it in line with how the CPU progresses players. They most definitely spend on AWR so again I don't want to cheat them.

Guideline 3 - I will pretty much never spend any XP on Spd, Acc, and Agi.
I feel guys come in at their peak in those areas so no need to make them better and I don't think the CPU goes for those either.

Guideline 4 - This is something I just started doing. At each progression phase, after I've got my players to the AWR level they need to be at, I auto progress any unused “XP” they may have left. I believe that the auto progress not only coincides with the CPU progression but also will progress players based off of your scheme. Plus, I like having only some control over progression. A little random variety is nice. It gives me the feeling of being a Head Coach. I've trained them on their AWR (smarts), they train their bodies, and position specific stuff falls on their imaginary position coaches lol.


Did you get all of that? OK then, LET’S ROOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL BOYS……





WIZ’S WICKED BREW ALL-PRO SLIDER SETUP

1) Delete your profile from the SAVED FILES folder on PS hard drive
2) Upon reboot, choose the SIMULATION mode option on setup screen
3) Choose EXPERT mode on set up screen

Once game is fully booted up, go to the CUSTOMIZE screen in the Main Menu and choose the “SETTINGS” sub menu option. Once in the “SETTINGS” sub menu, choose the “SETTINGS “sub menu option. Once in the “SETTINGS” sub menu, choose the “GAME OPTIONS” sub menu option.


MAIN MENU, “SETTINGS”, “GAME OPTIONS”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Difficulty: ALL-MADDEN (Don’t worry, these are ALL-PRO sliders, just follow the instructions)
Game Style: SIMULATION
Quarter Length: DEFAULT (6 minutes)
Play Clock: ON
Accelerated Clock: ON
Minimum Play Clock Time: DEFAULT (20 seconds)
Game Speed: NORMAL (Testing SLOW in lab... See some interesting dynamics, not ready to recommend yet)
Auto-Flip Defensive Play Call: OFF
Ball Carrier Special Move: MANUAL
Defensive Auto Strafe: OFF
Defensive Ball Hawk: ON
Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: OFF
Defensive Switch Assist: OFF
Coach Mode: OFF
Injuries: DEFAULT (10)
Fatigue: DEFAULT (50)
Player Speed Parity Scale: DEFAULT (50)


MAIN MENU, “SETTINGS”, “PENALTIES”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Offside: DEFAULT (50)
False Start: DEFAULT (50)
Offensive Holding: DEFAULT (50)
Defensive Holding: DEFAULT (50)
Facemask: DEFAULT (50)
Illegal Block in the Back: DEFAULT (50)
Roughing the Passer: DEFAULT (50)
Defensive Pass Interference: DEFAULT (50)
Offensive Pass Interference: DEFAULT (ON)
Kick Catch Interference: DEFAULT (ON)
Intentional grounding: DEFAULT (ON)
Roughing the Kicker: DEFAULT (ON)
Running into the Kicker: DEFAULT (ON)



MAIN MENU, “SETTINGS”, “PLAYER SKILL”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Do not touch sliders in this sub-menu. DO NOT EVEN OPEN this sub menu.



MAIN MENU, “SETTINGS”, “CPU SKILL”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Do not touch sliders in this sub-menu. DO NOT EVEN OPEN this sub menu.



MAIN MENU, “SETTINGS”, “VISUAL FEEDBACK”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

On field visual feedback: OFF
Defensive Pass Coverage Visual Assist: OFF
Receiver Visual Assist: OFF
Drive Goals & XP Feedback: OFF
Franchise Bottom Line Ticker: SCORES ONLY
Franchise Game plan boost notification: OFF
Coaching Tips: OFF
Pre-snap menu: ON
Player Names: ALWAYS ON
Camera toggle: ON
Passing Cam: OFF
Offense camera settings: WIDE
Defense camera settings: WIDE
Franchise Player Role Camera Settings DEFAULT (Player Lock)
MUT squads camera settings: DEFAULT (Player focus)



MAIN MENU, “SETTINGS”, “ASSIGN SUBS”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Do not touch sliders in this sub-menu. Leave them all at DEFAULT setting of 60 Sub Out and 80 sub in.



On our way! Now go and start your franchise.
1) I choose OFFLINE franchise mode
2) Choose start a new franchise
3) Regarding rosters, use EA default rating rosters (I do some customizations IN the CFM mode)
4) Pick your team
5) Pick the PRE-SEASON starting point option within the “STARTING POINT” tile
6) Pick either COACH or OWNER mode (I choose OWNER mode)
7) Go to the “League Settings” tile. DO NOT START OR ADVANCE INTO CFM mode yet until setting below are dialed in!!!!!!


“LEAGUE SETTINGS”, MENU SETTINGS (BEFORE YOU ADVANCE/START CFM):

1) Skill Level: ALL-MADDEN (Do not stress, follow instructions!)

2) Game speed: Normal (Testing SLOW in lab, interesting results, not ready to recommend yet)
3) Game style: Simulation
4) League type: All
5) Instant starter: OFF
6) All the rest of the sliders at DEFAULT
7) Injury: ON
8) Pre-existing injury: ON (your preference, but make sure you choose this exact setting once you START your CFM)
9) Practice squad stealing: ON
10)Player progression frequency: Every 4 weeks
11)Quarter length: DEFAULT (6 minutes)
12)Accelerated Clock: ON
13)Minimum play clock time: DEFAULT (20 sec)
14)Season experience: FULL CONTROL
15)Weekly Training: MANUAL
16)Trades and Free Agency: MANUAL
17)Offseason Free Agent Bidding MANUAL
18)Injury Management: MANUAL
19)Preseason cut days: MANUAL
20)Contract negotiations: MANUAL
21)Scout College players: MANUAL
22)League advancement: MANUAL
23)Tutorial Pop-Ups: OFF
24)Progress Players: OFF
25)Fill Roster: OFF

NOW you can EXIT the “LEAGUE SETTINGS” tile and go and start your franchise. Once inside the CFM franchise mode, consider the following settings:

Go to the “OPTIONS” menu and identify the “LEAGUE SETTINGS” sub menu.

CFM “LEAGUE SETTINGS”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Other than “Skill Level” and “Quarter Length” the rest of the sliders should be exact to your Main Menu settings and your pre Franchise/CFM launch settings.

1) Skill Level: ALL-PRO (Ta-Da.... Told you, do not stress!!)

2) Game Speed: Normal (Testing SLOW in lab, interesting results, not ready to recommend yet)
3) Game Style: Simulation
4) League Type: All
5) Instant Starter: OFF
6) Trade deadline: ON
7) Trade type: ENABLE ALL
8) Coach firing: CPU ONLY
9) Salary cap: ON
10)Relocation settings: NORMAL
11)Injury: ON
12)Pre-existing injury: ON (make sure this matches what you chose in league settings, PRE-CFM LAUNCH)
13)Practice squad stealing: ON
14)Player progression Frequency: Every 4 weeks
15)Quarter Length: 11 minutes (this qtr. length consistently delivers the proper amount of total plays between 120-135 plays per game)
16)Accelerated clock: ON
17)Minimum play clock time: 20
18)Weekly Training: MANUAL
19)Trades and Free Agency: MANUAL
20)Offseason Free Agent Bidding MANUAL
21)Injury Management: MANUAL
22)Preseason cut days: MANUAL
23)Contract negotiations: MANUAL
24)Scout College players: MANUAL
25)League advancement: MANUAL
26)Tutorial Pop-Ups: OFF
27)Progress Players: OFF
28)Fill Roster: OFF


CFM “TEAM SETTINGS”, “GAME OPTIONS”, SUB MENU SETTINGS:

Make sure these settings match exactly to your Main Menu settings and your pre Franchise/CFM launch settings.



CFM “TEAM SETTINGS”, “VISUAL FEEDBACK” SUB-MENU SETTINGS:

Make sure these settings match exactly to your Main Menu settings and your pre Franchise/CFM launch settings.



CFM “XP SLIDER” SETTINGS:

At present, with these slider mods, TDawg’s XP Slider brew (mad shout out to my dog, TDawg) DO NOT demonstrate a discernible negative impact on the game, and would recommend using them since they do provide an agreeable progression mix of ratings on future draft classes.



CFM “GAMEPLAY SLIDER” SETTINGS (Damn Wiz, what took your @!$#%! so long?!?!?!!?):

What I do, is hit the “triangle” button to import “custom sliders”. After doing this, ALL OF YOUR SLIDER SETTINGS should be at default setting. Your injury setting must be at “10”, your fatigue setting must be at “50” and your minimum player speed threshold must be at “50” as well.

If this is not the case, you screwed up and opened up the “Player Skill” and/or “CPU Skill” sub menu’s in Main Menu “SETTINGS” screen and futzed with them. If you did this, you are going to have to go and DELETE the customized sliders you entered from the SAVED FILES folder on PS hard drive, the same location that you deleted your PROFILE from.

Okay, NOW we can FINALLY enter Wiz’s wicked slider brew…


UPDATE ON 9/24/2017:
(NEGLECTED TO INDICATE THAT ONCE IN CFM MODE, YOU MUST EDIT THE CPU QB YOU ARE FACING TO MAKE SURE THAT HIS QB TRAIT FOR "THROW THE BALL AWAY" OPTION IS ON, "YES"!!!!!

IT'S OK TO LEAVE ON "YES" MOVING FORWARD. THIS IS CRITICAL!!!!




PLAYER SKILL

QB ACC: 40
PASS BLK: 49
WR CATCH: 53
RUN BLK: 50
FUMBLES: 47 (if too many QB fumbles, slide to 46)
PASS DEF REAC TIME: 51
INTERCEPTIONS: 37 (Do not throw silly passes!!! In the NFL, silly = picks! IF too many picks, move to 36 or 35)
PASS COVERAGE: 50
TACKLING: 47

CPU SKILL

QB ACC: 52
PASS BLK: 53
WR CATCH: 49
RUN BLK: 50
FUMBLES: 47 (If too many QB fumbles, slide to 46)
PASS DEF REAC TIME: 51
INTERCEPTIONS: 37 (If too many picks, move to 36 or 35)
PASS COVERAGE: 50
TACKLING: 53


SPECIAL TEAMS

FG POWER: 50
FG ACC: 49
PUNT PWR: 50
PUNT ACC: 50
KICKOFF PWR: 50


GAME OPTIONS

INJ: 30
FATIGUE: 60
MIN PLAYER SPEED THRESHOLD: 48


PENALTIES

OFFSIDE: 52
FALSE START: 52
HOLDING: 51
DEFENSIVE HOLDING: 51
FACE MASK: 51
DEF. PASS INTERFERENCE: 63
OFFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE: ON
KICK CATCH INTERFERENCE: ON
ILLEGAL BLOCK IN THE BACK: 51
INTENTIONAL GROUNDING: ON
ROUGHING THE PASSER: 47
ROUGHING THE KICKER: ON
RUNNING INTO THE KICKER: ON



CFM AUTO SUB SETTINGS:

QB SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
HB SUB IN/ SUB OUT: 99/94
WR SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
FB/TE SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
OL SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60

DT SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
DE SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
LB SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
CB SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60
S SUB IN/SUB OUT: 80/60


COACH ADJUSTMENTS (IN-GAME SLIDERS):

With this wicked slider brew, consider “COACH ADJUSTMENT” in game sliders as follows:

The lab indicates that these sliders do impact play and act as either a “STEROID BOOST” when changed to an aggressive trait and/or, as a “CHILL PILL” when put on a conservative trait. Leaving the sliders all on BALANCED allows the natural ratings of the players and your thumb and stick skills to bear out.

I play the following way:

When I absolutely need to put pressure on the QB, I go into “COACHING ADJUSTMENTS” and on the PASS RUSH option; I change it to “AGGRESSIVE”. Now the way the sliders are set up, the risk of a penalty goes up for your D-Line (neutral zone infraction), not always, but usually in bunches killing your, killing your mojo. In the NFL, this happens as well. When the defense want’s to crank up the pressure on the QB, they get real aggressive and are more PRONE to an offside penalty. Now this change to aggressive can also trigger a false start for the offense.

I use this adjustment on pass rush, sparingly, and ONLY when I absolutely want to DIAL UP the pressure on the QB (i.e. Red Zone situations, I need a sack in the 4^th quarter, etc.) I DO NOT leave this trait on aggressive all game, I consider that CHEESE and cheating and NOT SIM FOOTBALL.

On the “BALL IN AIR DEFENSE”, I am changing it all game, depending on situation. On 3^rd and longs, and Hail Mary situations, I go for the SWAT trait. In the Red Zone, I play the receiver, and on 1^st and long, 2^nd and long/medium and 3^rd and mediums/short, I play the ball.

On the “CORNERBACK MATCHUPS” I am changing the way the cornerback plays, depending on the situation. If I think that the upcoming play is going to be a slant, I would change trait to “route running”. If I think that the upcoming play is going to be a long fly route, I will choose the “by speed” option.

If I need to force a turnover, I will change the “STRIP BALL” and/or the, “TACKLING” traits on “COACHING ADJUSTMENTS” to the aggressive trait. Be careful however, because by going “aggressive” trait, you are more prone to a face-mask penalty.

On the OFFENSE “COACHING ADJUSTMENTS” the only one I mess with is the blocking. Sooo, when I need more time in the pocket (let’s say I have 2^nd or 3^rd and long), or when I dial up a sweep/toss and NEED TO GET the first down on that play or am trying to score a touchdown, I change this trait to aggressive.

On the OFFENSE, all other “COACHING ADJUSTMENT” sliders I leave alone in the balanced trait.


Play Ball!!!!!


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It's been a while since I have posted but I may have some extra time this year to sporadically share my observations from my labs testing.

For newbies, I am a veteran Madden geek going ALLLLLLLLL the way back to MS-DOS version of Madden in 1988 and then played the Nintendo and Genesis platforms as well. Yes, I have played my share of Madden and am probably older than 95% of those who post on this board.

I know that I probably do not have the "stick skills" that a lot of you millennial's have, but I make up for it with exhaustive testing of all slider angles, theories, conspiracies and anything in between with the help of a few peeps who are also Madden video game geeks.

I set up a lab in my man cave with five consoles and typically try to put in 15 hours of testing per console every week. All testing is tracked and all consoles are set to the exact same settings. After several rounds of testing a theory, my peeps and I discuss subjective and objective observations before drawing conclusions on the specific tuning slider modified and its impact.

We strive to have the visual on the screen look like the visual on Thursday's, Sunday's and Monday's, within reason, since Madden has always been glitched up in one way or another. We are slightly biased toward getting accurate in-game stats for Player vs CPU games, but not to the extent of "cheesing" the game play on the screen. Typically we focus on avoiding "cheese" events regarding interceptions, fumbles, penalties and "Robo-QB" events and do pay heed to the ratings of a player and the situation of a particular play before categorizing what we see in the game as "cheese". Certainly my preference of play can be considered SIM oriented.

That having been said, this thread is less about "my sliders" as much as it is about providing some constructive opinions toward achieving the "holy grail"; ideal sliders that make the game play like the real deal, and some respect to the proper ratio's of sacks, interceptions, fumbles, penalties.

In closing, there are a great amount of "slider guru's" already posting great suggestions, so this thread will not provide yet another "please try mine" set (DUE TO UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND, I HAVE DECIDED TO POST THE WICKED BREW, ENJOY). Instead I will try to provide unbiased, lab tested guidance that may help you bring out the best of Madden 18.

Please note that I will try to provide feedback as much as I can, but often my career gets in the way of Madden .... sigh :-( Also, I will not be posting any slider set. Again, the goal of the thread is to provide observations on tested theories that typically get other guru's threads off track and deter from their hard work to create a great slider set.


Let's roll...


INITIAL GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:

1) All-Pro is the ideal setting that will bring you closest to a SIM experience

2) All--Pro will not challenge you if you cheese, take advantage of glitches inherent to the Madden series, constantly use the "money plays"... And this makes sense because last time I checked, the NFL does not run the same "money plays" repeatedly against their opponents

3) All-Pro is not a cakewalk as some Madden veterans believe, IF you implement typical NFL coach game strategies and ratios. This includes, when to blitz, when to aggressively block that could risk a hold call, running down the clock with the run, etc, etc, etc. The lab does support that the CPU AI does make subtle adjustments to your play calling on defense although the playbooks do need a much needed overhaul by EA. Bottom line, play the game as would a true NFL coach, and the game will reward you with solid play. Is it fun to see John Ross burn a CB ten times a game for 50+ yard bombs? Of course. But would a defensive coordinator allow this to happen in the real game? No. So don't cheese.


3) The EA rosters are whacked! Fun but whacked. QB traits are inflated for a lot of the non-elite QB's and does impact the game play and stats to some degree. This is also true for a percentage of players on both the offense and defense side of the ball.

I also play MLB the Show. And for those of you who play with customized rosters, you will understand that there is a difference in play and stats when you get player ratings/traits to better mirror what they actually do on the field. Roster editing is not a perfect science in Madden, as it is in the Show, but lab testing does support that some roster tweaking does objectively improve the experience. Not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but does provide for more realistic, team WIN results as an example, at the end of a season.

4) On All-Pro, slider sets that steer toward "out-of-the-box" settings, do deliver more balanced and SIM game play than those that do not. On other settings (PRO/ALL-MADDEN), YOU HAVE TO futz with the sliders to get balanced SIM game play and player ratings take a back seat, to some degree, to the slider settings plugged in.

4) XP Sliders settings are not demonstrating a discernible difference in SIM game play on All-Pro with a slant toward "out-of-the-box" settings

5) QB trait edits do work, but DO NOT address the "statue QB" issue that has been a concern in the early get go

6) The INJ/FATIGUE ratio's do impact this years game. At present, IT IS RECOMMENDED to keep the ratio's below ninety in total (ie 35/55 or 40/50, etc.) because some cheesy stuff tends to crop up when you go ABOVE the ninety in total threshold.

7) The lab is supporting that there seems to be some BUG involving the game clock setting and the CPU QB AI.

8) Still under review in lab are the impact of ACC setting, AUTO-SUB setting modifications away from the default, and PENALTY SETTING's away from the default, among other items.

9) On All-Pro setting, the INT ratio's over the course of a game/season are too high. Lab is testing for a sweet spot tuning range/number that does not make other parts of game fall apart.

10) Presently, what the lab has found for the All-PRO setting, that may be a GAME CHANGER until next patch, is setting the game clock at NO MORE than 9 min quarters. I know, go figure. Lab data is supporting that the CPU QB AI plays a lot smarter at this setting. Ironically, this is also the setting that delivers the appropriate ratio of plays for the game if you play fluidly and snap the ball relatively soon after you choose your play.


Gotta go, the wifey just realized that I wasn't balancing the check book like I told her I would be doing.

In closing, prayers and well wishes to all victims of Harvey and soon to be Irma. Getting your life turned upside down is never something anybody should have to go through. Be well.


Wiz, out.

[therizing02]

oh boy....here we go again

[Prilosec]

Indeed, THOU ART A WIZ !!!!

Bless us any time with thy bounty of wisdom.

[Miguelaveli]

Dang it I'm a stickler for 15min quarters ! Mainly because I want the tackle stats to show up.

I wonder if the stats will be there at 9 min quarters since it gives the avg nfl plays per team.

What's "the lab" say about this ?


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[MarketingWiz]

Don't pack it in just yet....

The clock setting and its relationship to the QB AI is still in lab....

Always remember that there are literally over a dozen different variables that have to be worked out in lab to get a true sense for cause-effect relationships.

Typically my approach is to begin with all settings "as-is" out of the box and play the game until fingers are sore. At that point make observations of what VISUALLY does not feel/look/play correctly including line interactions, CB/WR line play, etc. and then plot out slider or MM/CFM adjustments to address the visual aspects of play. If stuff goes sideways or see "cheese" I error towards the side of VISUALLY correct representation of the game.

After the game is VISUALLY playing correctly, I consider this the baseline and work from there. Then and only then do I begin to move sliders up and down (often to the extremes, 0 to 100), isolating one slider at a time while keeping everything default to get a feel for how extremes affect game play that way I know what I can reasonably expect each slider to handle and if any sliders are reversed.

After this exercise then I start doing COMBO slides (ie FATIGUE and CLOCK as an example). This is an extremely tedious and lengthy process, especially when the lab screws up and forgets to reset sliders back to default before moving forward to other combo or isolated slider tuning. A lot of trial and error, A TON. But typically, every year I have followed my recipe, I have been able to find recipes (yes... there is more than one way to skin Madden) that are agreeable to my goals.

After I have the game tuned VISUALLY, then and only then do I start working on proper STAT RATIO's (penalties, interceptions, fumbles, etc.) results. However, if mods to get STAT RATIO's accurate, go squirrely on the game, I prefer to forego ideal STAT RATIO's and error on the side of VISUAL semblance to what gets played on NFL fields every week.

This year I am really going to make a concerted effort to focus on actually looking at roster edits for ratings and traits (where appropriate) and get a sense how much impact that has in the game played. I have found that this year's Madden, roster editing actually DOES translate on All-Pro, and it is reflected in the game (sans the statue QB/Poor QB AI glitch).

Soooo, hold your horses, on accepting 9 min clock setting as the GOLD STANDARD for Madden 18 and the QB AI improvements.

Wiz, out.

[MarketingWiz]

FOOD FOR THOUGHT RE: SACK ISSUE

It is important to keep in mind how "sacks" "pressures" work in the real NFL. The "blitz" is typically defined as 5 rushers or more in a 4-3 defense and 4 rushers or more in a 3-4 defense.

In the lab, I tend to follow this guideline, but with the caveat that a blitz be defined as someone pass rushing that the offense wouldn’t expect. So it's possible that you call 3-4 defense where the nose tackle and end cover a zone, and have a CB and the ILB come in at the QB... Although there are only three rushers per se, I would categorize this as a blitz in my stat count.

Why is knowing what a blitz is important, you may ask? Good question...

Chew on this:

• 2/3's of NFL defenses call on the blitz LESS THAN 30% of the time on average
• Of those defenses that DO BLITZ more than 30% of the time, they are successful in putting pressure on average over 33% of the time for a sack, hurry or hit on the QB
• For all NFL teams, when they DO NOT BLITZ, their success to put pressure on the QB drops SIGNIFICANTLY and on average are only able to produce a 25% amount of pressure on the QB (measured by either a sack, hurry or hit on QB)

In Madden, typically you are calling about 50 or so defensive plays. If on EVERY single 3 WR set you call a BLITZ package, you are not playing SIM football. The range for all of NFL defenses is from approximately, 45%-15% times, a blitz is called. For context, the Pats typically call a blitz 20% of the time and the Steelers/Cardinals/Colts typically in the high 30's, close to 40%, obviously depending on the style of head coach and defensive coordinator on the period of time you are tracking.

So getting back to SIM experience, if you blitz the CPU QB on every obvious pass play (Let's assume 27 average pass plays per game for the CPU QB) and we assume that you have a similar success rate to the NFL, which is approx. 33%, then you achieve a combo of at least 9 pressures. Now assuming some of you stick jockey's play a DL player, and start jamming on the button that triggers a power or finesse BLKSHED move, is it any surprise that you are seeing 6 sacks plus a game?!?!?! And keep in mind that we all know that Madden's coding has legacy issues to contend with.

In lab what I have found is closest to a SIM representation is to UNDERSTAND what your teams defensive coordinator's tendency is toward the blitz. Hell, the Pat's blitz approx. 20% of the time for Christ sake so if you are playing as the Pats and you are blitzing all pass plays and getting 7+ sacks, well noooo duuuuuh!!

Remember that on average NFL defenses have a 33% success rate for pressure on the QB. So if Madden coders are trying to match those ratio's and you are blitzing on every pass down and you are controlling a DL as well as jamming the button to create a power or finesse move for a BLKSHED trigger, then you are stacking the odds in your favor and you will get the statistical outcome you have stacked in your favor.

Breathe, breathe and reeeeelax. I would suggest that before you start a game, actually scout the team you are playing, understand the WR's traits and strengths. Know which one's are clutch, which drop open passes, which one's are good in traffic, etc., etc.. Know your DC tendencies and try to follow them. In a typical Madden game, there is approx 27-30 passes in the game. If you have a talented DL (or linebackers in a 3-4 formation) you should only achieve 25% pressure on pass plays which will translate to about 7 pressures. Let's assume you have a perennial All-Star (ie JJ Watt, Bosa, Aaron Donald, etc.) then don't be surprised if you NEVER blitz the entire game that you finish with at least 1-3 sacks. Now if you up the ante, and now bring a blitz that's in line with what your D-squad does in real life, then you should not be surprised that a line with a stud or two and a blitz will provide you with at least 3 sacks, if not more.

Personally, IF I control a D-Lineman, I do not MASH the pwr or finesse move button to trigger a BLKSHED move. What I do, is press L1 (on ps 4) and allow the player's own ratings to take over, without switching players. I also keep track of who my defensive coordinator is and what his tendency is regarding the blitz packages.

Bottom line, the Madden player has a lot of inherent ADVANTAGES against the CPU (biggest one being what formation package they are in prior to having to select a defensive call) making a SIM experience difficult if you are not willing to adopt some HOUSE RULES as I have briefly mentioned in this discourse.

SUMMARY:

1) Know your D-Coordinator
2) Adhere to his blitz ratio's and do not abuse them unless the game situation warrants it (ie 4th QTR, you are protecting a 6 point lead against Brady, Brees, Rothlisberger, etc.) and you are bringing the heat to prevent the QB/WR from having time to get behind your defense
3) IF you do play DL, avoid mashing the pwr or finesse move button
4) IF you do play DL, consider using the L1 button (on PS 4, not sure what it is on X-Box)
5) Consider playing coverage defensive player, using L1 button (for PS4, not sure what it is for X-Box) initially and then taking over control of your player, no switching to another defensive player after ball is hiked.
7) Know the other teams offensive stars and what playbook they use. Take away/neutralize their big weapons, consider lining up against their stud player especially one with an "ON", CLUTCH rating, and take him away as an option for the CPU QB

SIM is doable, but it takes some discipline on your part as well.


Wiz, out.

[htown5933]

Won't quote the whole quote, Wiz... but yes, SIM is doable.

However, the sack issue does rear it's ugly head occasionally.

Two of the last three games I've played (only play now) I've had a total of 3 and 5 sacks between the two teams. I play a lot of cover 3 and while I used to play as a d-lineman often, I don't 99% of the time anymore - just to help cut down on the sacks.

Still the one game of the last three that wasn't a "sim" experience where sacks are concerned? How about FOURTEEN sacks between the two teams lol. I think I had 9 or 10 of them.

Also, to be clear, two of the three games were Dallas (me) at Denver. One of the games saw FOURTEEN sacks between the two teams (and I quit midway through the 4th qtr) and one saw THREE. I played the same way, same style in both games.

Not trying to disagree - just saying that there are occasions where the game almost "makes a decision" as to what type of game it'll be - offensive, defensive, lot of turnovers, no turnovers, lot of sacks, few sacks, etc.

Just wanted to share.

Forgot to mention - I think I have CPU pass blocking at 65 and user pass coverage at 65... can't remember as I've been messing with sliders since the game released - watching the Astros or I could tell you for sure where the sliders are at.

(P.S. I might be in that 5% that post that's older than you lol)

[MarketingWiz]

htown -

what's going on my brudda from annudda mutha? Long time since we last shared thoughts.... Glad to see that Harvey didn't turn your world upside down bud. Your Astros looking real this year and like that Verlander deal a lot. Hope my Dodgers have what it takes this year.

But I digress.... Yes, agreed on your sack issue, but I am curious.... I have seen a handful of such games in lab and was wondering the following when you have a chance to check bud:

1) What is your clock for game set at?

2) Do you have CLOCK ACCEL on? If so, at what second count?

3) What is your SPEED THRESH set at?

4) I noticed that you said you were on "PLAY NOW" mode, yes? If so, you are aware that a lot of the tuning done to the game in this slider forum, for some reason or another in the "PLAY NOW" mode does not hold or apply as much as it does in "CFM MODE"

5) I also noticed that you are moving those sliders like the old Europeans used to move the beads on an abacus back in the day, even before you and I were a thought.... Keep in mind that straying from the neutral balance, out-of-the-box settings really makes the game play go south fast.


Glad to hear from you, stay dry bud, see you in October!

Wiz, out.