canes21 College Football 25 Sliders

[StorminNormannn]

Weigman finished 80% completion and over 340 yards. They also averaged 7.2 a carry.

FWIW I had 659 yards and still lost. Seems like it’s kinda just broken on offense in general.

[offensive_junkie]

Holding penalties gotta go down. Sheesh I had like 12 in one game

[canes21]

10 games are in. All 10 were vs P4 teams + Notre Dame. Overall, a great variety of games that were all fun and felt unique. The games all had ebbs and flows to them that felt realistic. Momentum would switch sides. I'd be unstoppable one quarter and dead the next. Real time coaching kicked my *** multiple times over.

It was honestly fun to get this sample in. Normally it can feel like a grind when trying to hone the sliders in, but this game is done so well and v1.0 was solid enough to where it was never an issue to get these 10 games in.

Going to spoiler below because it's going to get a bit lengthy as we look at the numbers.

Spoiler

I was Miami in all 10 games and all 10 are in the order they were played.

@ WVU 17-24 L
@ Louisville 34 -23 W
vs VA Tech 31-35 L
vs Wake Forest 20-15 W
@ GA Tech 41-24 W
@ Notre Dame 24-23 W
@ Wisconsin 17-24 L
vs Arizona St 49-10 W
@ Syracuse 35-28 W
vs FSU 24-16 W

I went 7-3 in this sample. You can see some games the offense was flowing, others not so much.

Game recaps

Spoiler

WVU was game where neither team was consistent all 1st half then they started to slow me down in the 2nd half and were gaining 3-4 yards a play and had multiple 10+ play drives where they drained the clock. Felt like the entire 2nd half was spent watching them go 3 yards and a cloud of dust.

Louisville was a fun offensive game where they couldn't keep up down the stretch.

VA Tech was Real Time Coaching kicking my *** in the 2nd half and allowing them to come back after being down multiple scores.

Wake Forest was an ugly game where neither team could do much but I had a couple explosive plays and that was just enough to win.

GA Tech was close through the early parts of the game before I pulled away.

Notre Dame I started off hot before they shut me out the entire 2nd half until my very last possession. I then blocked their game winning FG to end the game. Instant classic.

Wisconsin I was up 14-0 in the 1st and looking like I'd rout them. Then they adjusted, were jumping my RPO's and my OL couldn't block well enough in the run or pass to do much. Complete 180 after quarter 1.

Arizona State is just bad and couldn't do anything right.

Syracuse I was winning comfortable before they had a 21 point 4th quarter to make it look close. The last 2 TD's were garbage time TD's. As comfortable a 7-point win can be, honestly.

FSU was what you'd expect out of the rivalry. I took a 14-3 lead into the half after scoring late in the 2nd quarter. Lots of defense in this game. They were inside the red zone down 14-9 when we forced a fumble on DJU and were able to house it and that was it for FSU. They did get a final score in in the final minute, but I was able to recover the onside kick and the game allowed me to kneel despite being Miami. Was honestly a very fun game that felt like I was part of a real Miami-FSU game with how it played out.

So much variety in all these games. Each felt unique and it was truly a blast to play each of them. Arizona St got boring towards the end. God, they're terrible.

Now, for the data.

Spoiler

We will start with my offensive stats.

30.6 pts/game - that would have ranked right around the top 25 last year

285 yards/game passing - would have been around top 20 last year

8.35 yards/attempt - would have been around top 20 last year

1.8 drops/game - this needs to be higher

1.56 sacks allowed/game - I think just a tad high given Miami's OL and the average DL I faced, but nothing crazy here - I may look at slightly bumping pass blocking up, like only 2-3 points, nothing more

146 yards rushing/game - that'd be around top 50 last year

4.69 yards/carry - would have been top 30 last year - very close to where I think it needs to be, may lower it by 2-3 points and I think that will potentially get it right on the money

0.5 fumbles per game with 0.25 lost per game - this definitely needs to be higher than that, should be closer to 1 fumble a game

0.75 interceptions/game - this one is harder to gauge since I am the one making all the decisions - I think the Int slider needs to be raised for both sides as the drop rate was too high - I definitely lowered it too much initially and will need to work to correct it and get it in a better spot

6.45 yards/play - would have been top 15 - it's in a great spot and we'll keep an eye on this most definitely after making adjustments for v1.1

Overall, not bad at all, especially for a 1.0. Now, onto the defense.

22 pts/game allowed - would have been top 20 - given the schedule I played and the pace Miami plays at, this isn't bad at all, we'll get into macro changes later on below in a sumamry

252 yards passing/game allowed - this would have been around 80th in the nation last year - slightly higher than you'd imagine, but Miami is missing several players in the secondary on the launch rosters, so the secondary is average at best - that in combination with how often the CPU passed at times given the leads I held in some games - this one doesn't feel that off

7.27 yards/attempt - would have been around top 50 which is close to where it likely should be given the secondary ratings - the DL being so good helps the secondary out here

3.1 drops/game - this is close but needs to be a tad bit higher, closer to 5ish drops, so we'll be lowering WR catching for both the User and CPU for v1.1

2.67 sacks/game - is too high - Miami has a good DL in the game, but the DT's aren't the best pass rushing threats, they're more run stoppers, and the edges were having too much success even if Bain is a 90 overall

2.88 yards/carry allowed - would have been top 15 last year - it's too low, will be working to adjust it

0.25 fumbles/game with 0.25 lost - way too low, needs to be around 1 like I stated before, will be adjusting for sure

0.75 interceptions/game - strange it is the same as the user interception total - like I said for that, drop rate for secondary is too low, need to make coverage react a little slower, but overall coverage wasn't in a terrible spot

5.27 yards/play allowed - would have been top 25 last year - very close to where it needs to be, will keep an eye on with some of the changes we'll be making

Overall, like the offensive side, not bad. All stats are very well within range of where you'd expect a team like how Miami is rated relative to the rest of the country to rank. It's not perfect.

What I gather from the numbers and feel of the game is a number of things:

- both OL's need to be buffed in pass protection
- user OL is just slightly too good in the run game
- tackling is too good on both sides, college football is sloppy and far too often the first man to the ball was getting the ball carrier down in my games, this should also aid with the CPU ground attack, and, with me lowering User run blocking, this shouldn't make the User run game too strong
- drops need to decrease for both secondaries while increasing for both receiving coprs
- fumbles have to happen significantly more often
- punt power needs a slight increase, it's just a few yards shy of where it should be, but we'll have to keep an eye on this to make sure it doesn't lead to such long kicks the return yardages get screwed up and lead to imbalances in gameplay
- kickoffs need to be adjusted for gameplay balance purposes above all else, why does the AI not have the brains to call for a fair catch or let the ball go if it is going to land anywhere in the end zone?
- pass game for both sides doesn't feel too bad, but I still feel both sides are too accurate and the coverage is a tad too sticky and definitely is reacting too fast, with the boosts to pass blocking and the lowering of the catch sliders, lowering coverage slightly, lowering reaction time a little more, and increasing interception values should keep gameplay balance in a similar area while increasing authenticity and the lowering of the tackle slider will also lead to more passes having a chance to rack up more yards after the catch which will make it more true to real life

1.0 was extremely fun to play with, so I am excited to see how 1.1 plays. I will likely aim for a similar sample size for 1.1, but given we have 1.0 to look back on, it will be easier to see how each area of the game is impacted by the slider adjustments I will be making. We will have a baseline to work with, so if something is off with 1.1 from the start, we can adjust it and not have to wait for 10 games to be up.

I'll be posting 1.1 soon. I will make another post for that and update the first post in the thread. I can't wait to see how it plays.

[canes21]

I forgot to include a few stats.

6.5 penalties a game for Miami for 59 yards on average
4.5 a game for the opponents at 38 yards on average

Both very close to real life numbers. Only issue is the penalty variety, but that has more to do with how EA has built the game. DPI doesn't really occur, defensive holding isn't even in the game, targeting and hands to the face aren't in the game. I would like to see a roughing the passer called each game to be more realistic, but simply going to 55 makes that penalty go crazy. Facemasks need to happen more, I saw 2 the entire 10 games, so that will get raised.

User FG accuracy 57%
CPU FG accuracy 81%

It was nice to see the CPU finally miss, but they were nailing a few too many 40+ yard FG's in this sample and not all the kickers I faced were exactly high tier. Likely will be lowering their FG accuracy and increasing their punt accuracy in 1.1 along with the kickoff and punt power changes.

[D Tom]

I've had to quit two games today because my RB is just missing for the whole 4th quarter. It was not a blowout in either direction and he was only on 18 and 20 carries in the games. What is causing that? It's very annoying.

[canes21]

Quote: Originally Posted by D Tom

I've had to quit two games today because my RB is just missing for the whole 4th quarter. It was not a blowout in either direction and he was only on 18 and 20 carries in the games. What is causing that? It's very annoying.

I haven't seen this. You're positive he's not hurt?

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[slocomb15]

I think the only thing I'm going to go ahead and adjust is removing roughing the kicker. I've played two games so far, and there's been 3 roughing the kicker. Madden was horrible about it too, the AI just can't help themselves. Lol

Seem pretty dang solid overall though. Thanks for the work here!

[canes21]

v1.1 is here. A lot of changes, many small, some big. v1.0 was playing well, so we have a great base we're working from. The stats showed we were pretty close, but not quite there. I am hopeful v1.1 can get us there, but I have a few key areas I really want to focus on.

I lowered the coverage for both sides as well as the reaction time. Coverage did feel too sticky, but the numbers weren't terrible before. College is a bit sloppier of a game, so coverage shouldn't feel very sticky unless you have an elite defense. I am hoping these minor reductions will open up coverage a bit to get it to be more authentic and that in combination with the lower QB accuracy values will lead to more throws that aren't perfectly on target, so it will be more true to life. If I am seeing passing is too easy for either side, we'll be quick to raise the coverage sliders back up to where it was since it was solid, and we'll focus more on getting accuracy where it needs to be.

Tackling is being lowered quite a bit, but that is because neither side was really missing tackles in the open field and that's not close to being true to life. I'm keeping an eye on this because I don't want it to turn into every other play being an explosive play. Tackles need to be broken more than they were, so it's going to be a fine line in this area, imo.

Special teams have been broken out because punts and kickoffs were simply too short compared to real life numbers, and kickoffs need to be deeper just for gameplay purposes as the CPU is wanting to return everything and they aren't good at it. I'd rather see touchbacks all the time vs the CPU constantly starting around their own 15. The CPU also needs help with coffin corners, so their punt accuracy is getting a significant raise in hopes of that happening.

Fumbles and interceptions were changed by significant amounts. Defensive players essentially had no hands at all, drop rates were far too high, and fumbles weren't close to realistic rates. Same can be said for WR drops. Everyone had glue on their hands and weren't dropping a thing. This is college, passes get dropped quite often, especially in traffic, so we're just trying to get this area of the game closer to real life.

Unlike my other sliders sets in the past, this time I am putting a number next to each slider value to show how much it changed from the prior version. I also have a little note explaining why the change was made.

I am excited to try v1.1 and see how it does over a sample, but I'm also a bit nervous because so much changed and v1.0 was honestly one of the best base slider sets I've ever made at a game's release. v1.0 wasn't perfect but was playing so well it feels like it will be hard to top, but these changes I've made feel like the right moves based off what the data said, so we can only try them out and see.

v1.1

Spoiler

Game Settings
Difficulty: Heisman
Quarter Length: 12 Minutes
Accelerated Clock: On
Minimum Play Clock Time: 20 Seconds
Defensive Ball Hawk: Off
Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off
Injuries: 42
Fatigue: 72
Player Speed parity Scale: 95

Penalties
Offside: 60
False State: 75(+10) - Not seeing enough on old value
Offensive Holding: 65
Facemask: 75(+10) - Not seeing enough on old value
Illegal Block in the Back: 65
Roughing the Passer: 50
Defensive Pass Interference: 95

*I'm assuming like Madden that once we're in Dynasty mode we can change these values by 1-point increments. We're stuck with 5-point increments in the main menu for whatever reason.

Player Skill
QB Accuracy: 29(-7) - Wasn't seeing errant throws unless hit while throwing
Pass Blocking: 48(+6) - Pocket was degrading far too quickly vs 4 man rush
WR Catching: 40(-9) - Drops were nearly non-existent which is a no-no for a collegiate game

Run Blocking: 26(-4) - Run blocking was simply too strong
Ball Security: 21(-24) - Need the fumble rate to double essentially

Reaction Time: 69(-7) - Defense was reacting far too fast to throwing motion
Interceptions: 21(+8) - DB's didn't have working hands before
Pass Coverage: 69(-3) - Coverage was a tad too sticky for the college game

Tackling: 39(-10) - College football is sloppy, tackles were nearly a guarantee even in the open field which is not accurate at all

FG Power: 50
FG Accuracy: 50 - Keeping an eye on this the more I get used to the new mechanic
Punt Power: 58(+8) - Was 5+ yards less per punt than real life
Punt Accuracy: 36(-14) - Simply was far too easy to coffin corner
Kickoff Power: 54(+4) - These days most P4 kickers kick touchbacks more than 50% of the time and the CPU also has terrible return logic, so this is to aid in gameplay balance

CPU Skill
QB Accuracy: 14(-7) - Same reason as user
Pass Blocking: 28(+18) - Same reason as user
WR Catching: 42(-7) - Same reason as user

Run Blocking: 100 - Can I raise this to 200 somehow?
Ball Security: 21(-24) - Wasn't close to real life rate

Reaction Time: 69(-7) - Same reason as user
Interceptions: 21(+8) - Same reason as user
Pass Coverage: 69(-3) - Same reason as user, definitely keeping an eye on this for the CPU, it's college but don't want passing too easy

Tackling: 42(-9) - Same reason as user

FG Power: 50
FG Accuracy: 44(-6) - CPU finally missed, but was still kicking 85% overall and was far too accurate at range
Punt Power: 58 - Same reason as user
Punt Accuracy: 69(+19) - CPU wasn't good at all with coffin corners, hoping we can finally fix that
Kickoff Power: 54 - Same reason as user, kicks need to reach the end zone more consistently from good kickers