ESPN Too Easy!!!

[MartinDihigo]

try legend

dont exploit money plays

if still to easy adjust the individual sliders - you might want to make some things back to allpro , and others impossibly difficult.

you may want to try fast game speed - less time to read holes, find recievers. quick decision making is amplified

use a team that is a challenge vs a challenging team.

[TheBandit]

What's so hard to believe about that? All pro IS easy once you get the hang of it. I'm a first year ESPN guy and it took me about a week before I was laying poundings on the CPU-- and that's without any "Madden cheese" so don't start that BS. When you have to turn the CPU slider all the way up and the human coverage slider all the way down just to get the CPU's completion % over 50, then default all pro is a bit easy to say the least.

Quote: Originally Posted by sportsgeist

Are you sure you're playing on All Pro with no slider adjustments because I find that hard to believe. What does your modifier say when you save your V.I.P. at the end of all your games? 1.00, 1.25, 1.50 or 1.75? If you really are playing on All Pro then you need to bump it up to Legend and I doubt you'll get the same results. If you check the sliders on the Legend setting all the sliders are heavily in the CPU's favor.

[HoracioJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chill

Ok, I'm playing in Franchise mode on All Pro difficulty with no slider adjustments. I'm using my Chicago Bears, and I just finished my first season with a record of 15 wins and 1 loss. I cruised through the playoffs and beat the Chiefs in the Superbowl by a score of 70-24. Oh, and I play with 5 minute quarters. I just think that there is no challenge to this game whatsoever. I lead the league in rushing with Thomas Jones, and I had over 300 yards rushing in the Superbowl. Is anybody else having this kind of lack of challenge when they play?

I've been crushing the CPU too, with the Bears as well. I am going to bump up the difficulty level though.

Won't be disappointed at all if the higher difficulty levels add more challenge to the game. I think the main reason I'm winning so much is that the CPU offense seems to be very inefficient at completing passes when I put pressure on. I wish they would adjust to my pressure and call screens and anti-blitz plays. Instead they kind of just continue with their usual plays.

Maybe on the higher levels they will do this.

[Chill]

Yeah, I did notice that the AI does not do a good job of adjusting. On offense, I could read blitzes and man-to-man coverage all day. All it takes is a hot route slant pattern to Marty Booker to beat the man-to-man coverage.

I'm by no means a "ESPN 2K5 God" as one poster put it, but I do feel that the All Pro challenge just isn't there. I may start messing around with sliders and I may even bump up the difficulty, but I could have sworn that I had a much deeper challenge from last year's offering on All Pro with no slider adjustments.

[Sark]

Of course it's easy on All-Pro when the CPU can't run the ball. Up the CPU running, blocking and some other stuff, just like everyone else said. Or just play on Legend.

I'm still tweaking, and having some really good games. Now I just need some decent penalty sliders.

Good luck.

[Shamrock_11]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chill

Yeah, I did notice that the AI does not do a good job of adjusting. On offense, I could read blitzes and man-to-man coverage all day. All it takes is a hot route slant pattern to Marty Booker to beat the man-to-man coverage. I'm by no means a "ESPN 2K5 God" as one poster put it, but I do feel that the All Pro challenge just isn't there. I may start messing around with sliders and I may even bump up the difficulty, but I could have sworn that I had a much deeper challenge from last year's offering on All Pro with no slider adjustments.

Give these sliders a try. They are Bill Harris's. Plug them in and play a few games...I promise they will change your opinion.

Quote:

Here's a slider revision to make the game more challenging. By more challenging I mean stout, so be ready to play if you use these. First value is Human setting, second value is CPU setting: Blocking: 16,40 Passing: 0,40 Running: 16,40 Catching: 40,40 Coverage: 8,24 Pursuit: 8,16 Tackling: 8,8 Kicking: 0,0 Fatigue: 4,4 Injury: 20 Fumbles: 32 Interceptions: 0 Penalties--all at max except the following: Offensive holding: 32 Clipping: 24 Roughing the Kicker: 32 Ineligible Receiver Downfield: 32 In the Gameplan option during the game, you can set substitution in/out thresholds. Using out 60%, in 85% provides with a good substitution pattern in conjunction with the fatigue settings. These are tough but fair settings. And I have really, really enjoyed the games I've played with these.

[MojoX]

Quote: Originally Posted by Shamrock_11

Give these sliders a try. They are Bill Harris's. Plug them in and play a few games...I promise they will change your opinion.

These are some very good sliders. I quickly learned to back off the blitzing a bit and mix up my playcalling more. Against a good team, even when I speed rush a LB, the HB shoots in with a chop block. The CPU will even try to pound the ball with the run. And my 3-4 inside linebackers are now my team's leading tacklers.

I just find it interesting how effective these sliders have been. They just didn't up the difficulty, they really impacted statistical results.

[inkcil]

for you guys who feel the cpu isn't adjusting to pressure:

i was feeling the same way. i fel tlike anytime i had the cpu on 3rd down that was it for them b/c i would send 2 or 3 LB to blitz and they would hardly get the play off.

but then i started saving and using the VIP.

i don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but about my third game into using the vip i was playing the Lions and doing my 3rd down blitzes as usual.

well, what do you know, Harrington starts these quick dump offs into the flats. The next time i blitz he gets like crazy blocking support. Then i try to switch it up and send 2 LB blitz on the outside on a second down and he scrambles up the middle!!

The next game, I played the bears. And, i don't know if they have good blockers to start with or what. But every blitz, no matter what the formation or down, they would pick it up. Even when I sent the db. I only got to grossman one time!

Moral of the story is MAKE SURE TO USE THE VIP...b/c the cpu learns what you do and counters effectively.