Madden 10 NFL Simulation Sliders 1.0 from Valdarez (tuned for Slow Gameplay) - Valdarez's Blog

Valdarez's Blog

Madden 10 NFL Simulation Sliders 1.0 from Valdarez (tuned for Slow Gameplay)

Posted on October 31, 2009 at 07:13 PM.

After trying out various sets of sliders on the forums and finding problems with them in one area or another, I decided to put together a set that was tuned for the hardcore football strategist whose looking for a realistic yet challenging game in Madden.

If you plan on using these sliders, then there are a couple of things you should keep in mind.

1. Play 15 minute Quarters, accelerated quarters with 25 second runoff.

This results in roughly 105 to 125 plays per game. Teams that pass more than run will see higher numbers. If you run roughly 50/50 pass/run, then you are going to see roughly 110 on average. If you need more time to make hot routes and line adjustments, then reduce the runoff time. This shouldn't affect the number of plays as long as you let the clock run down to 5 to 8 seconds each play when you are on offense.

However, if you run a pass heavy team, don't be afraid to cut your 15 minute Quarters down to 14, 13, or 12, basically whatever you need to hit around 110 to 120 plays per game.

2. Remove Money Plays

Lets face it, there are problems with the AI that we simply can't fix with sliders. When you find a play that the AI can't cover, then take it out of the playbook. Do not call the play. Money plays ruin any semblance of realism. You can't have realistic games using plays that AI can't defend.

3. Tuned for Manual Play on Defense

The sliders are tuned for manual play. Players who typically play online, are going to find these sliders challenging and highly realistic (as long as they follow step #2).

On defense, this means players who play a Safety, CornerBack, or LineBacker are going to find the play very realistic from a tackle, coverage, and sack perspective.

4. Players Must Secure the Ball (RB on XBox 360)

On offense, as the halfback or receiver, when you are running with the ball and tackled, you must use the RB button to cover up the football to help reduce the number of tackles. If you don't want to use the RB button, then bump the human Fumble slider up to 50.

5. Realistic Time in Pocket

The sliders provide a realistic time in the pocket, typically around 3 to 5 seconds with a normal rush, and less when there is a blitz. Be prepared to throw the ball away (right click on analog stick on XBox 360), or dump it off to the flats / hot route.

6. Players Drop Passes in Traffic

If you have a player who is a little scared in traffic (Crayton for Cowboys for example) then they are going to drop the ball most of the time. When passing, be aware of how close the coverage is on these guys whose hands are quite as sure, as well as other players that may be able to make the hit.

7. Realistic Number of Sacks

This is a big one, and something that can't quite be solved with sliders due to the QB always throwing while in the grasp. The sliders definitely limit the problem, but until the Madden team addresses the number of passes thrown while in the grasp, this can't truly be 100% realistic. With the slider settings, you'll see 1 to 6 sacks per game. So far, with the Cowboys I have averaged about 2 per game, with Ware almost always getting 1, which is fairly realistic.

8. Halfbacks Make Realistic Runs

There will be few breakaway runs (if you follow step #2 again) with these settings on both sides of the ball. They will still occur, but they will be few and far between. In addition, players will tackle, on both sides of the ball (your team and the AIs). Halfbacks will have more realistic YPC, fumbls, and big runs.

9. Realistic Interceptions

These settings are going to provide more realistic interceptions. There will be far fewer interceptions and a lot more balls that are simply knocked down, which is more in line with what you see on Sunday. Passing will not be more easy, but it will be fairly rare to see a defensive player making that wildly outlandish acceleration to make an unrealistic play on the ball AND make the interception. Now, you only get the ball knocked down. Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about the laws of physics being broken. That's a gameplay bug that EA Sports and the Madden team must address.

10. More Accurate Penalties

You'll see penalties called a bit more often, and in more realistic situations, espcially on kick and punt returns. If players dislike penalties, then feel free to leave them at their current settings. The default settings typically only result in 1 to 3 penalties a game. The NFL Simulation Sliders are going to result in 2 to 10 penalties a game (depending on teams / situation).

Manual / Simulation Gameplay Rules

1. Let the CPU return Kicks/Punts
2. Punt / FG in all realistic situations (never go for it just because you 'can'. I punted from 32 earlier today as Folk can't make a 50 in this game for some reason)
3. Found Money Plays? Good! DO NOT USE THEM!!! They are money because the AI can't cover them properly. Forget the plays and never use them again. That's the only way the game will be challenging. The only way.
4. Do Not Play Lineman on defense (you can do to many funky things with them). Instead play LBs, Safeties, or CBs on defense
5. Manually switch on all pass plays and attempt to make the catch. Don't let the AI play for you.
6. Manually switch on all pass defense plays and attempt to knock the ball down and/or make the interception, again, don't let the AI play for you.
7. Do Not Throw Fade Routes (deep straight passes) unless in Hail Mary type of situations.

The Madden Challenge

For a game that is based off his name, Madden sure does a good job of making John Madden look like one of the worst play callers ever to play the game. If you want a real challenge, then use 'Ask Madden' on every play, every down, no matter what the situation. John is sure to give you some pretty poor play choices in some very key situations. If you want to make it even harder, then select a button to choose on each and every situation such as 'A', for example. This limits you to only one play, instead of a choice from six. If you want to make it harder still, then don't make any adjustments on offense or defense. No press / off coverage, DLine / LB adjustments, hot routes, motioning to catch defense off balance, or keeping the HB to the flats back for an extra blocker in long yardage situations.

'Ask Madden' is the real 'All Madden' difficulty settings. Try it out. You'll have an extremely realistic / challenging game, though it won't be the most strategic for the strategy enthusiasts.

NFL SIMULATION SLIDERS 1.0

Game Options
Quarter Length: 15 Minutes
Accelerated Clock: On
Runnoff Time: 25 Seconds
Fatigue: 55
Game Speed: Slow
Player Min Speed Threshold: 50
Fight for the Fumble: Off
NOTE: Special Team Sliders can only be modified from main menu > My Madden > Settings > Special Teams. Changes here are applied to ALL games, even franchises that are currently in progress.

Special Team Sliders
FG Power: 50
FG Accuracy: 15
Punt Power: 55
PUnt Accuracy: 70
Kickoff Power: 50

Penalties Slider Settings
Offside: 100
Fall Start: 100
Holding: 50
Facemask: 50
Defensive Pass Interference: 90
Offensive Pass Interference: 90
KR/PR Interference: 72
Clipping: 75
Int Grounding: 75
Roughing the Passer: 80
Roughing the Kicker: 80

Human Slider Settings
PASSING
QB Accuracy: 25
Pass Blocking: 5
WR Catching: 35

RUSHING
Broken Tackles: 30 (35 if not using R Analog stick for power moves)
Run Blocking: 30
Fumbles: 65

PASS DEFENSE
Reaction Time: 50
Interceptions: 0
Pass Rushing: 75

RUSH DEFENSE
Reaction Time: 0
Block Shedding: 0
Tackling: 50

CPU Slider Settings
PASSING
QB Accuracy: 70
Pass Blocking: 5
WR Catching: 30

RUSHING
Broken Tackles: 50
Run Blocking: 70
Fumbles: 65 (60 if you do not use Hit Stick)

PASS DEFENSE
Reaction Time: 65
Interceptions: 0
Pass Rushing: 85

RUSH DEFENSE
Reaction Time: 65
Block Shedding: 18
Tackling: 75

LAST GAME STATISTICS

Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins

GAME STATS
Score: 27 / 20
Total Offense: 261 / 366
Rushing: 106 / 96
Passing: 155 / 270
Turnovers: 2 / 0 (INTs on Cowboys)
3rd Down Conversions: 5-11(45%) / 7-16(43%)
Possession Time: 25:50 / 34:10

QUARTERBACK
Campbell - 18/34(52%) for 289 yards 1 INT and 4 Sacks
Romo - 17/28(60%) for 163 yards1 INT and 1 Sack

RUSHING
Portis - 25 attempts for 104 yards and 0 TDs
Barber - 24 attempts for 106 yards and 0 TDs
Jones - 2 attempts for 2 yards and 0 TDs
Betts - 1 attempt for 1 yard and 1 TD
Campbell - 1 attempt for -9 yards
Romo - 1 attempt for 02 yards

RECEIVING
Redskins threw to 8 receivers with TE (Cooley) getting highest receptions at 5
Cowboys threw to 7 receivers with WR (Austin) getting highest receptions at 7

DEFENSE
Redskins Highest solo Tackles was 5
Cowboys Highest solo Tackles was 6
Demarcus Ware recorded 2 Sacks (making it 4 for the season)

NOTE: Special Team Sliders can only be modified from main menu > My Madden > Settings > Special Teams. Changes here are applied to ALL games, even franchises that are currently in progress.

About Valdarez
I'm a hardcore gamer who typically played RTS games until APF2K8 came out. The strategy element of APF2K8 drew me into Football, so much that I created www.2kfootballstrategy.com website where we ran many tournaments for cash and prizes and I ran a NFL Simulation league for several seasons (actually had a 32 team league, which was VERY hard to run. heh). I've contributed several good ideas prior to Madden 10's release (see my Problem with Madden's Running Animation Blog which thanks to Ian's participation on this site resulted in new running animation) and more recently provided new control suggestion for Fight for the Fumble (read my blog Better Fight for Fumble Controls for Madden 10).