50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

[Ueauvan]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

will do , thanks for prompt response

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Don't know if anyone is still looking at this thread regularly, but I'd like to thank the author and all his collaborators for doing a great job. I've tried many slider sets and this one really plays well for my skill level.

I've read through a bunch of the thread, but with so many variables impacting things I thought I might be best served to just ask. The one thing I'd like to improve is to beef up the pass blocking a bit, both for the user and the cpu opponent. Any suggestions on the best way to do so? After reading everything it seems like bumping up the holding slider might do it, but I don't want to get things so the defenders can't get off blocks to stop the run.

Thanks if anyone is reading and can offer a suggestion.

[JoshC1977]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Don't know if anyone is still looking at this thread regularly, but I'd like to thank the author and all his collaborators for doing a great job. I've tried many slider sets and this one really plays well for my skill level.

I've read through a bunch of the thread, but with so many variables impacting things I thought I might be best served to just ask. The one thing I'd like to improve is to beef up the pass blocking a bit, both for the user and the cpu opponent. Any suggestions on the best way to do so? After reading everything it seems like bumping up the holding slider might do it, but I don't want to get things so the defenders can't get off blocks to stop the run.

Thanks if anyone is reading and can offer a suggestion.

I am subscribed to the thread, so I see any posts that come in. Glad you're enjoying these...

Pass block is tricky as it also affects timing as to when the CPU throws the ball. The higher, the longer they hold onto it. Drop it below 50 and they start dumping it off left and right. I also recommend leaving holding at 80. Drop it and it gets too sticky, even at 79. Raising it increases the block shed.

What I would suggest is trying to raise the user Pbk 5 points. It should help both sides a bit. Bear in mind though that the degree of pass rush is very roster dependant.

I'm taking by the question that you're seeing too many sacks at times. This will happen a lot against scrambling QBs....but shouldn't versus pocket passers unless there is a mismatch.

Also, make sure the autosubs are set to 60/80 across the board. That too is a key factor.

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

I am subscribed to the thread, so I see any posts that come in. Glad you're enjoying these...

Pass block is tricky as it also affects timing as to when the CPU throws the ball. The higher, the longer they hold onto it. Drop it below 50 and they start dumping it off left and right. I also recommend leaving holding at 80. Drop it and it gets too sticky, even at 79. Raising it increases the block shed.

What I would suggest is trying to raise the user Pbk 5 points. It should help both sides a bit. Bear in mind though that the degree of pass rush is very roster dependant.

I'm taking by the question that you're seeing too many sacks at times. This will happen a lot against scrambling QBs....but shouldn't versus pocket passers unless there is a mismatch.

Also, make sure the autosubs are set to 60/80 across the board. That too is a key factor.

Yes, plenty of sacks. The past 2 games my QBs have gone down 14 times total, and that was with teams that run more than they pass. The first game my line was far superior to the defensive line and they still got me six times. The last game, I had 2 pass blocking tackles, 90 and 97 overall, plus an 89 overall right guard give up 6 sacks with the other team rarely blitzing. They sacked me with a 4-man rush 6 of the 8 times I think. I don't think I'm holding the ball that long, it's basically look at first read, look at 2nd read, then down I go if neither of those 2 guys are open. I know I should be at risk of a sack if I'm looking at deeper routes and they blitz, but I'd think superior blockers against a 4-man rush should have enough time to at least get to a third read or run for it.

I've got everything set the way you recommend. All of my subs are 60/80, I'm using the penalty sliders you recommend, etc. So I'll try upping the pass blocking a bit and see how it goes.

Based on what you said above, I'm also considering upping the AI pass blocking by 5 as well. I'd like for their QBs to throw down the field more often. I play quite a bit of zone, but when I blitz and play man the cpu should probably burn me more often than it does.

Thanks for your help and again, great work with this thread.

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Played another game this evening, same thing. I was sacked 9 times, 8 by defensive linemen. Essentially, every 4th pass that isn't a screen pass I get sacked. Most times the D line just uses the instant swim move. Is there something in pass protection I could be doing wrong or better?

I also need to make the AI run defense stronger, as my main backs ran 27 times for 171 yards against a defense that was approximately equal in talent.

At least I had a hard time getting sacks, as I got them just 1 time in 61 pass attempts. Although it should have been 3, bad animations where I hit the QB, then he went into his throwing motion, which the game counts as incompletions.

I know I can just play around with these things for myself, but the other posters in this thread did not seem to be have these issues that I'm having, so again, I'm wondering if I'm just doing something wrong?

[JoshC1977]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Played another game this evening, same thing. I was sacked 9 times, 8 by defensive linemen. Essentially, every 4th pass that isn't a screen pass I get sacked. Most times the D line just uses the instant swim move. Is there something in pass protection I could be doing wrong or better?

I also need to make the AI run defense stronger, as my main backs ran 27 times for 171 yards against a defense that was approximately equal in talent.

At least I had a hard time getting sacks, as I got them just 1 time in 61 pass attempts. Although it should have been 3, bad animations where I hit the QB, then he went into his throwing motion, which the game counts as incompletions.

I know I can just play around with these things for myself, but the other posters in this thread did not seem to be have these issues that I'm having, so again, I'm wondering if I'm just doing something wrong?

A couple of questions:

1. Do you adjust your line blocking at the LOS for deep pass plays (i.e. L1 and then down for PS3...not sure about the buttons for that other system).
2. Have you tried using the coach adjustment for holding blocks? This helps a bit.
3. Do you step up in the pocket or do what I call the 'video game dropback'...which is like 8 or 10 steps back? I have a tendency to do the latter sometimes, and it always gets my QB killed.
4. What roster are you using? This is really key....some rosters hone-in on some aspects more readily than others (like I always have issues with pass protection when I use Buffeyes' 2014 roster as d-linemen are overall better).

I won't say that this isn't an 'issue' as there are times that the pass rush can be overly strong...but I can tell you that everytime I try to tweak one of the sliders, something else 'breaks'. My recommendations will thus center more on your style of play and so on....here to help. Just double-check all of your settings in your dynasty mode (including autosubs), even the smallest change in value can disrupt the balance of the set.

Oh...and 27 for 171 rushing is only 6.3 ypc...just slightly above average based on real life stats. Nothing to worry about there.

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

A couple of questions:

1. Do you adjust your line blocking at the LOS for deep pass plays (i.e. L1 and then down for PS3...not sure about the buttons for that other system).
2. Have you tried using the coach adjustment for holding blocks? This helps a bit.
3. Do you step up in the pocket or do what I call the 'video game dropback'...which is like 8 or 10 steps back? I have a tendency to do the latter sometimes, and it always gets my QB killed.
4. What roster are you using? This is really key....some rosters hone-in on some aspects more readily than others (like I always have issues with pass protection when I use Buffeyes' 2014 roster as d-linemen are overall better).

I won't say that this isn't an 'issue' as there are times that the pass rush can be overly strong...but I can tell you that everytime I try to tweak one of the sliders, something else 'breaks'. My recommendations will thus center more on your style of play and so on....here to help. Just double-check all of your settings in your dynasty mode (including autosubs), even the smallest change in value can disrupt the balance of the set.

Oh...and 27 for 171 rushing is only 6.3 ypc...just slightly above average based on real life stats. Nothing to worry about there.

I guess it never occurred to me you would have to tell your linemen how to pass block for a passing play . . . you'd think it'd be built into the mechanics of the play to begin with . . . I guess I'll have to figure out how this works and see how much difference it makes.

On changing the coach adjustment, I was unsure if this would throw other things out of balance, like in the running game, so I never tried it.

I think my pocket presence is pretty solid. If I'm sacked in the pocket, I usually lose 8 or 9 yards, which is more or less normal.

My rosters are my own creation. I think they started as buffeyes', but I changed and rerated guys so much it is pretty unique now. But the defensive players are overall the same in overall talent as offensive players. I haven't made offensive players more talented to reflect that college football is an offensive game, if that is what you mean.

And 6 ypc just seems too easy to me, even if it is close to reality. I enjoy the realism, but also want to be sure the challenge stays high. I feel like I need to make things tougher on myself in some ways to make up for the fact that people are still smarter than football computer programs, generally speaking. If I do want to make it a little tougher, would you say just raising the cpu tackling a bit would be the way to go?

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. After I figure out the special line blocking controls and I've played more games I'll see how things are working.

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Played another game this afternoon and tried your suggestion about line shift blocking. It did not help. 1 or 2 AI defensive linemen just swam past their man on first contact on nearly every pass play. So same results as before basically, called 35 passes, got sacked 7 and completed 5 or 6 WR screens, so got sacked about every 4th drop back pass play. I think 2 sacks were scrambles where I didn't quite make it back to the LOS. The o line and d line were basically equal in quality, but a little in my favor.

I'm just trying to think what else I can do. I'll try coaching adjustment to hold blocks longer, but again, running is already easy enough (31 carries for 184 yards for my main 2 backs) without that extra help at running. Maybe I can run-pass toggle it, since I don't play no huddle, but that seems an excessive amount of adjusting.

Is there anything else I'm not doing and should be? Do I need to call a bunch of fake snaps at the line to slow down the defense or something?

[JoshC1977]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Played another game this afternoon and tried your suggestion about line shift blocking. It did not help. 1 or 2 AI defensive linemen just swam past their man on first contact on nearly every pass play. So same results as before basically, called 35 passes, got sacked 7 and completed 5 or 6 WR screens, so got sacked about every 4th drop back pass play. I think 2 sacks were scrambles where I didn't quite make it back to the LOS. The o line and d line were basically equal in quality, but a little in my favor.

I'm just trying to think what else I can do. I'll try coaching adjustment to hold blocks longer, but again, running is already easy enough (31 carries for 184 yards for my main 2 backs) without that extra help at running. Maybe I can run-pass toggle it, since I don't play no huddle, but that seems an excessive amount of adjusting.

Is there anything else I'm not doing and should be? Do I need to call a bunch of fake snaps at the line to slow down the defense or something?

It's hard to say without seeing how you play, but my gut says you're holding the ball too long. Sometimes, you just have to 'let it fly' to the primary receiver even if he is blanketed by one DB.

What I'd suggest is each time you get sacked, run a replay and ask yourself "why"....sometimes looking at your plays objectively can help to diagnose your problem. If you really want to take it a step further, keep a checklist handy and divide by "types" of sacks (e.g. coverage sack, route took to long to develop, blitz, 'insta-shed', scramble, etc.). As you categorize, you might pick out some trends.

One possible slider tweak I just thought of is bumping-up the CPU run defense. It is down low to favor pass defense, but it might be also improving the pass rush. If all else fails, try bumping it up and see if that does anything for you. The downside is that it will downgrade DB reactions a bit on passes but it will also improve the run defense (which you were looking for).

My guess is your problem is a bit roster-related and possibly play style related. Consider both, but that run defense fix might be your ticket.

Let me know...I've missed discussing this game

[vtp82]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

So I've been looking for a place to discuss this game for a while. Not many people still play after three years, but it's awesome there's still a ncaa football game community. Once I saw the OP's description for all of the sliders, I knew I had to sign up to discuss them. I'm going to try out the slider set and I'll let you know how it works.

[JoshC1977]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

So I've been looking for a place to discuss this game for a while. Not many people still play after three years, but it's awesome there's still a ncaa football game community. Once I saw the OP's description for all of the sliders, I knew I had to sign up to discuss them. I'm going to try out the slider set and I'll let you know how it works.

Welcome on board. The most active part of the community is in the roster forum and the main board...there is still some in the slider forum, but not as much...most people have settled on what they like. I have too to a degree, but I also work on Madden sliders and a lot of times, my work on Madden sliders yields discoveries that can be applied to NCAA (and vice versa).

Always up for discussing this game....it's easily one of my top 3 favorite sports games of all time.

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

I'm glad you don't mind going through this with me . . . with no future college football game in sight, might as well make this one work as well as possible if you want college football.

Having nothing better going tonight, I just finished another game, and had some better results. I tried sliding the line to the side the defensive line was shading to, and it worked somewhat better. (Maybe that is what you meant all along? Sorry if I didn't get it at first.) Still quite a bit of swimming, but between that and using a back to block 1/2 - 2/3 of the time, I got the sacks down to 4 in 45 pass attempts. (Once again, o line and d line of approximately equal quality.) One was certainly my fault for holding the ball too long. If I can get this ratio consistently, that would seem just about right, as 2-4 sacks per game average seems reasonable depending on how much you throw.

Upping the run defense 5 points did work well, too. Didn't have nearly as much success running the ball this time, 23 carries for 103 for my main backs, as both the mediocrity of the backs on this team and their pro style offense probably contributed to that.

Incidentally, I also had my best punt return game ever, 6 returns for a 23.8 average. Still looking for my first punt return TD, however.

Next thing, can you recommend any adjustments to make the AI offense more potent, especially at passing, but keeping decent balance? I played 2 games against UCF and Bortles, and in neither has he really shredded me the way he probably should have based on the quality of my defenses. One game he did have about 400 yards, but on 60+ attempts and with 5 INTs. The other I basically made him look like a chump, and that was playing with Cincinnati. I've already upped WR catching a bit, would putting the QBA at 15 be too much? I don't mind a little robo QB if that's what it takes for the AI to move the ball consistently and really challenge me with its offense.

I'm still loving everything else about how things play with your sliders. Especially how the receivers get open (sometimes) against man coverage and the DBs don't just mirror the routes. Finding cutback lanes in the running game also seems to play very realistically.

[JoshC1977]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Frank,

What do you have sub frequency set to for the CPU coaches? This is the fatigue slider and has a HUGE bearing on how effective the CPU offense is. Also, the offensive aggression slider is also key. For good offenses, it should be around 65 (or higher for hyper-aggressive teams like Baylor/TCU).

I keep pondering the adjustment to QBA=15 for CPU...you go from getting a few offline throws per game to virtually nil. Not a lot of in-between....you'll be relying on deflections/throwaways/drops for 95% of your incompletions...it's actually quite annoying. If you don't mind not seeing any autosubs at all, many swear by turning fatigue off. I personally can't stand not having subs...but it doesn't bother others as much. It's another tool in the shed.

[vtp82]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

I absolutely love this slider set. I've been playing this game for years and this was the first slider set that seemed to play organically. Thank you so much for all of the effort you put into fixing some of the overpowered aspects of this game. And this is definitely one of my top 3 favorite sports games of all time.

Right now I've started a Dynasty with Idaho. I enjoy building teams. In my first game we won 34-7 over North Texas. It should've been closer, but we got a long TD pass before half and also a pick six at the start of the third that allowed us to run away with it. It was a very fun game as I threw for 270 yards and rushed for almost 100. They threw for a hundred less and also got a little under a hundred rushing yards. Very fun game overall. I did notice that the defenders are still a bit brain-dead when it comes to the read option.

[Frank the Tank]

Re: 50(ish) Threshold-based Slider Set for NCAA 14

Frank,

What do you have sub frequency set to for the CPU coaches? This is the fatigue slider and has a HUGE bearing on how effective the CPU offense is. Also, the offensive aggression slider is also key. For good offenses, it should be around 65 (or higher for hyper-aggressive teams like Baylor/TCU).

I keep pondering the adjustment to QBA=15 for CPU...you go from getting a few offline throws per game to virtually nil. Not a lot of in-between....you'll be relying on deflections/throwaways/drops for 95% of your incompletions...it's actually quite annoying. If you don't mind not seeing any autosubs at all, many swear by turning fatigue off. I personally can't stand not having subs...but it doesn't bother others as much. It's another tool in the shed.

I have the sub frequency set where you advise to set it for each coach, at 50. The aggression level is where you advise in your spreadsheet.

Played a good game this evening between similar teams (me Syracuse, them Duke) and I think things are pretty close now. I was sacked 3 times in 29 called passes, a similar ratio to what I had in the last game, so perhaps that is at a good level now. I actually don't mind being sacked with average to above average frequency, as some negative plays are necessary to make up for virtually no penalties. It's just a sack every 4th pass play is too much. Sliding my line to the strong side of the defense, plus frequently using a back to block, seems to come out about right. I'm okay with it, at least.

Still wish I could get AI passing more downfield. (I kept accuracy at 10.) I think their longest pass play before running with the ball was 13 yards or so. Their coach aggressiveness was on 60 I think. I do play a lot of zone, perhaps that is the reason. Mostly because Duke played 4-wide much of the game, and the dime defense doesn't have too many blitzes I like, but that seems to be the pattern.

Everything else is looking pretty good I think. I actually struggled to run the ball until hitting some nice ones in the 4th quarter. I thought I played a pretty good offensive game overall and still barely won, 34-31, so the challenge level is about right.

Thanks for bearing with me while I figure stuff out. If you come up with any ideas for getting the AI to try more than 1 deep ball per game, that would be icing on the cake.