Madden NFL 18 Patch 1.04 Available Now, Patch Notes Included

[cbnj06]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

I don't see anything about Rex Burkhead on the list. Did they correct his skin color?

[OhMrHanky]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

Ok, this is ****ing ridiculous.

Since release, this forum has been flooded with posts about the QB AI and its issues. It was very clear that it was the most necessary fix when it came to gameplay. People have been talking about this since the Gamechangers released videos a week before release.....

.....and it looks like NOTHING was done.

I see fix after fix that addresses competitive mode or MUT but only one that directly addresses sim mode gameplay and even that isnt the right fix. Clipping/Block in the back penalties are manageable by just lowering the sliders. If you were going to fix the penalties, how about fixing Defensive Holding which is non-existent no matter what the slider setting is?

There is no excuse for this anymore. Longshot is complete. NBA Live has been released. There is no reason that some members of that dev team couldnt have focused on the QB AI issue during the last 2 mos and at least attempted a fix.

Lol. I know, right. I have awkward timing with madden, apparently. I stopped playing for the past few weeks to a month, maybe, mainly because of CPU QB play. I was messing around with sliders and whatnot without much luck.

Anyways, I decided to play some games and start a new franchise from week 1 with the Falcons and see if the game felt any different due to the last patch and I wanted to play with default all-pro, again, just to get a baseline. This is yesterday, just to clarify, BEFORE this patch dropped. I played 3 games. I actually lost to the bears in the first game. I was throwing stupid picks, though, so mostly on me. But, trubisky moved around in the pocket and played well enough. Then, I beat aaron Rodgers in a close game. He made some solid throws and also moved around in the pocket. So, for having not played madden in about a month, I was actually surprised at the QB AI. I was also some missed throws at the feet of players and just out of bounds.

Then, I played against Tyrod Taylor. Holy [emoji90]! This dude was running all over the place!!! Lol. I couldn't believe how much he was moving in the pocket. He scrambled once on a 4th and 5 and got the 1st down. He scrambled another time for a TD. He totally looked like Tyrod. I was amazed. He ended up throwing for 600 yds, lol, with 4 picks. 3 of my ints were in the end zone, so that's why I beat them. But, he was scrambling and throwing, scrambling and running, and looked like a real QB.

I play 15 mins with 16 acc clock as for the stats. But, honestly, when I left this game, the QBs did NOT look like that. And, now we get a patch, today? I'm curious if it breaks everything. Lol. [emoji6].

But, it's just so weird how the game can play 1 way for a few games, and then suddenly change it up. Again, all I did was restart a CFM from week 1. That shouldn't have anything to do with how the game plays. But, I'm actually quite pleased after a long gameday with 3 quality games where the QB didn't just sit there all day, he actually scrambled some.

Now, that being said, I had like 11 sacks on trubisky, lol, and around 10 on Rodgers, I believe. I only had 3 on Taylor.

Now, I'm playing my first game post patch. We'll see how it goes. [emoji41]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

Sad, but true, Aholbert.

It's a sad day in Maddenville when you understand you aren't the target audience.

Twitter people are happy about the update.

I honestly did not expect any type of CPU QB AI fix.

I had zero expectations of core code being patched. This is core coding issues. I am not a game designer. But if I were using my common sense it is quite apparent to me the AI code must be rebuilt or heavily re-worked to get CPU teams (let alone QB's in particular) to play like their real life counterparts.

The big issue I have is other sports games (The Show and NBA 2K18 in particular) give you just about all the tools your need to customize your offline franchise experience and the ability to "share" these things with the simulation community. YOu can greatly improve gameplay with sliders on The Show (with minimal adjustments) and 2K is simply incredible with the amount of customization options and tools you have at your disposal.

You have to jump through 6000 hoops to do that with Madden because of the flawed CFM model and the way it is designed. Want to use formations subs for CPU teams? Ok then you can't use custom playbooks. I mean really?

I am actually quite pleased with the patch otherwise. Want to know why? They left Simulation gameplay alone for the most part. Don't break what is not broken if you can't truly fix it via a patch.

I personally have the CPU playing as well as I can with the minimal slider adjustments I have done and I am immersed in my little offline CFM. The game for me is Madden 17 in HDR/4K with some key enhancements in terms of Off-Ball injuries, a draft board, a new engine, better running game, better WR/DB interactions, coaching adjustments and a few other tidbits.


As I have said many many times this cycle......if the core AI is not completely overhauled.....this is my last Madden purchase for the foreseeable future.

I have totally come to grips that we are not the target audience anymore. I will continue to support the other 2 games as long as they keep their commitment to offline franchise players and authenticity to their respective sport.

My advice is......check out 2K18 or MLB The Show 17. They are vastly superior offline franchise games and also vastly superior in replicating the sport they represent.

You would never know it by reading the general forum's for them. But head into the roster and sliders forums for sanity and objective thoughts from long time veteran sports gamers who have seen and played them all and can appreciate the incredible stuff we have today in console sports games.

As far as final thoughts on Madden 18:


I think the game is probably the best playing Madden (as was 16 and 17) to date (of course it is all debatable). But the progress for offline enjoyment was halted after 16. M17 & M18 did very little to improve offline game-play in terms of AI and a deep franchise mode. It's a shame because the trajectory was looking great on M25, M15 and M16. M17 is a heck of a game too, but went a little backwards with CPU QB AI. This year we have gone nowhere with QB AI and teams really representing their real life counterparts. Playbooks are rated all the same (in terms of plays etc). I don't understand why Tiburon does not just assigning one person to go into the playbooks for every team and seriously rate every play for every down and distance properly so teams can at least behave like their real life counterparts?

RB's and WR's with the new engine.....yeah I am seeing player differentiation finally. Big backs feel weighty and lumbering while speed backs are shifty and agile. Same with WR's. So progress is being made that regard and maybe this Frostbite engine can really take off.

But unless Tiburon has a change of heart (more importantly focus) in developing CPU AI to be top quality we are where we are. This is the game we got.

So as always.....since I love to play Madden (as yeah I do enjoy the game in my twisted NFL universe) I will continue to look for ways to enjoy the game as much as I can. But the day's of purchasing the game yearly are over for the foreseeable future.

My final rating for this title is 7 out of 10 - It plays a fun game of console football, visually it is a stunning game, and I will be able to play multiple years in franchise (typically 5 seasons before I start again with another team) as well as use the 1987 classic roster to have a lot of fun with the game as well.

And being totally candid and honest here. If not for the fact that this game has off-ball injuries and PS4 PRO 4K support, I would have probably traded it in a while a go for a decent haul towards something else. But off-ball injuries actually make roster management and team depth really matter....FINALLY! And yes...visually it is stunning and Madden 17 looks blurry compared to this LOL.

[JayD]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

I honestly did not expect any type of CPU QB AI fix.

I had zero expectations of core code being patched. This is core coding issues. I am not a game designer. But if I were using my common sense it is quite apparent to me the AI code must be rebuilt or heavily re-worked to get CPU teams (let alone QB's in particular) to play like their real life counterparts.

The big issue I have is other sports games (The Show and NBA 2K18 in particular) give you just about all the tools your need to customize your offline franchise experience and the ability to "share" these things with the simulation community. YOu can greatly improve gameplay with sliders on The Show (with minimal adjustments) and 2K is simply incredible with the amount of customization options and tools you have at your disposal.

You have to jump through 6000 hoops to do that with Madden because of the flawed CFM model and the way it is designed. Want to use formations subs for CPU teams? Ok then you can't use custom playbooks. I mean really?

I am actually quite pleased with the patch otherwise. Want to know why? They left Simulation gameplay alone for the most part. Don't break what is not broken if you can't truly fix it via a patch.

I personally have the CPU playing as well as I can with the minimal slider adjustments I have done and I am immersed in my little offline CFM. The game for me is Madden 17 in HDR/4K with some key enhancements in terms of Off-Ball injuries, a draft board, a new engine, better running game, better WR/DB interactions, coaching adjustments and a few other tidbits.


As I have said many many times this cycle......if the core AI is not completely overhauled.....this is my last Madden purchase for the foreseeable future.

I have totally come to grips that we are not the target audience anymore. I will continue to support the other 2 games as long as they keep their commitment to offline franchise players and authenticity to their respective sport.

My advice is......check out 2K18 or MLB The Show 17. They are vastly superior offline franchise games and also vastly superior in replicating the sport they represent.

You would never know it by reading the general forum's for them. But head into the roster and sliders forums for sanity and objective thoughts from long time veteran sports gamers who have seen and played them all and can appreciate the incredible stuff we have today in console sports games.

As far as final thoughts on Madden 18:


I think the game is probably the best playing Madden (as was 16 and 17) to date (of course it is all debatable). But the progress for offline enjoyment was halted after 16. M17 & M18 did very little to improve offline game-play in terms of AI and a deep franchise mode. It's a shame because the trajectory was looking great on M25, M15 and M16. M17 is a heck of a game too, but went a little backwards with CPU QB AI. This year we have gone nowhere with QB AI and teams really representing their real life counterparts. Playbooks are rated all the same (in terms of plays etc). I don't understand why Tiburon does not just assigning one person to go into the playbooks for every team and seriously rate every play for every down and distance properly so teams can at least behave like their real life counterparts?

RB's and WR's with the new engine.....yeah I am seeing player differentiation finally. Big backs feel weighty and lumbering while speed backs are shifty and agile. Same with WR's. So progress is being made that regard and maybe this Frostbite engine can really take off.

But unless Tiburon has a change of heart (more importantly focus) in developing CPU AI to be top quality we are where we are. This is the game we got.

So as always.....since I love to play Madden (as yeah I do enjoy the game in my twisted NFL universe) I will continue to look for ways to enjoy the game as much as I can. But the day's of purchasing the game yearly are over for the foreseeable future.

My final rating for this title is 7 out of 10 - It plays a fun game of console football, visually it is a stunning game, and I will be able to play multiple years in franchise (typically 5 seasons before I start again with another team) as well as use the 1987 classic roster to have a lot of fun with the game as well.

And being totally candid and honest here. If not for the fact that this game has off-ball injuries and PS4 PRO 4K support, I would have probably traded it in a while a go for a decent haul towards something else. But off-ball injuries actually make roster management and team depth really matter....FINALLY! And yes...visually it is stunning and Madden 17 looks blurry compared to this LOL.

I respectfully disagree about leaving sim mode alone. In order to get it to play properly you have to lower quarter length, not use a higher fatigue rating, leave penalties alone which yield zero penalties, etc. Sim mode should be Sim mode right out of the box without having to do all these workarounds in order to get it playing remotely close to sim.

[cthurt]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

Well outside of my main issues with EA ignoring the offline gamers in this patch I was going to give them some props with the addition of some new cleats, UNTIL I see that they took out my favorite cleats in the game in the process the Nike Untouchable cleats, what a fail of a patch smh.

[roadman]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

And I make a motion to disagree too.lol

Seriously, there isn't a sports game out there that I have used out of box sliders, personally.

The only big ticket item I was waiting for the was the CPU AI QB, but I agree with A & S, it must be a deep seeded coding issue.

[timhere1970]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

We are never getting better cpu qb ai unless it accidentally occurs when they tweak something else. It is obvious they have no interest or the ability to fix it and do not take how other changes mess it up into consideration when making those changes. Likewise, having realistic punting in the game is not something they care about. That is just a big fu to solo franchise players.

The good thing about this patch is that all of those changes to competitive were not put into simulation mode. Many complain about the attention competitive got but in recent past versions we would have those changes made to our mode without any considerration of how much it messed up the game we play. So, the seperation of modes comes out as a win to me.

[xSABOx]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

If they would jsut tell us what causes the CPU QB to behave the way it does, I bet you as a community we could fix the issue before tehy could.. What triggers an inaccurate throw? What triggers the QB to scramble? Is it purely combination of ratings of all player involved? Traits? The plays being called?

The reason tehy havent told us is simply because they dont know... and THATs the biggest problem...


Madden has always had 3 issues

Playcallling
QB AI
Realistic pocket

I feel like I fixed playcalling with gameplans, the pocket forms better with the new animtions, but the QB AI is all that holds it back...

[stephenk24]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

Currently downloading the patch. Has it solved the issue on PS4 (standard) where replays in games have an awful frame-rate and stutter?

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

I respectfully disagree about leaving sim mode alone. In order to get it to play properly you have to lower quarter length, not use a higher fatigue rating, leave penalties alone which yield zero penalties, etc. Sim mode should be Sim mode right out of the box without having to do all these workarounds in order to get it playing remotely close to sim.

Again.......I don't think any amount of patching is going to fix core coding.

It needs an overhaul. So leave this title alone. Don't break it.

I guess I am in a far different place of how I am approaching the game. I accept that this is what it is and we are not getting any groundbreaking improvements via patch.

Everything we want can't be patched. It must be developed through core coding.

I don't think this game is properly coded for CPU QB AI which is the number one complaint bar none about the game.

The game is developed on 6 minute quarters. The developers were very candid about this in blogs this year.

So we need a new game.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

Currently downloading the patch. Has it solved the issue on PS4 (standard) where replays in games have an awful frame-rate and stutter?

#1 ) I don't know yet as I have not played it yet with the latest patch.

#2) It is also a problem on PS4 Pro.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

And I make a motion to disagree too.lol

Seriously, there isn't a sports game out there that I have used out of box sliders, personally.

The only big ticket item I was waiting for the was the CPU AI QB, but I agree with A & S, it must be a deep seeded coding issue.

Yeah same here. Ever since sliders became an option, I utilized them to the fullest.

And no doubt....it is a deep rooted coding issue.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

We are never getting better cpu qb ai unless it accidentally occurs when they tweak something else. It is obvious they have no interest or the ability to fix it and do not take how other changes mess it up into consideration when making those changes. Likewise, having realistic punting in the game is not something they care about. That is just a big fu to solo franchise players.

The good thing about this patch is that all of those changes to competitive were not put into simulation mode. Many complain about the attention competitive got but in recent past versions we would have those changes made to our mode without any considerration of how much it messed up the game we play. So, the seperation of modes comes out as a win to me.

Bingo. I am glad they barely if at all touched Simulation mode. Because if anything IMO if they try to patch it, they will probably break something else.

I have come to accept this game for what it is. And it's pretty damn good. I am enjoying it. Wish it was better.....no doubt. But like I said...it's Madden 17 with a 4K HDR and off ball injury patch. Pretty expensive patch I must say LOL!!

[Devaster]

Re: Madden NFL 18 Patch Available Now, Patch Notes Included

I'm glad the fumble recovery stat issue was fixed with CFM. It was one of the major glaring issues for me. I skipped M16 and M17 and last played M15. M15's CFM was broken on many levels and completely unrealistic, so I was waiting for some fixes to be applied. And after seeing the M17 CFM game-play I was real excited to pick up M18. It is a big improvement on M15 and as long as they don't break anything further I'm fine with it. Of course I would love a more immersive CFM, but as long as the current version is playable without any glaring issues and it looks beautiful I am content.

[mdiggitydawg]

To me, there are two glaring offline franchise issues, which we all have voiced and shown time and time again..QB AI and Zone Coverage not working. Neither addressed for offline Franchise, neither spoken about by devs which to me means neither will be touched until possibly next year, if at all since it has become depressingly clear Franchise is not a focus. Seems EA is big enough they can forgo the money and following of the offline franchise player to focus solely on the Millenials and their wishes.
I too have been playing MLB 17 for its realism. Have enjoyed F1 racing for its realism. Used to play NBA2K for the same reasons although at 50 I have come to realize I just can't remember all the button combos to be truly successful. Between NCAA and Madden, my video game world used to be complete...now when looking to take a break from the stress of RL, one can no longer turn to either... It is a shame and shameful of EA to promise during pre-sell and then not deliver time and time again upon release.
Without the help of this community and their slider experimentation, these games would be completely worthless instead of frustratingly bad.

I implore OS editors and higher ups to go to bat for their community...loyal followers... demand some truth from EA or whatever development team/game is in question. A website truly aimed at informing and looking out for its followers, which I believe OS to be, can only attempt to do so in the very least. Ultimately, purchasing these titles year in and year out, and falling for the same pre release marketing falls on each and every one of us who blindly jump in with both feet upon release.