The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

[FlyingFinn]

Just playing random games and the catch-up logic is horrible. For example, up by 2 with 5 minutes left and my CPU teammates take 5 penalties, giving my opponent 2 5 on 3's on which they score on both. I just don't understand why devs continue to use this programming technique to make games harder.

[Devildog Frank]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

I'm playing in Season Mode, controlling all teams, and play whatever games on the schedule that I choose, for any teams. I haven't experienced this at all.

[mrCPUgeek]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

Can't say I've had this happen either.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DeconstruKt]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

Haven't posted here in years, but at the last 2 comments.. I don't know how you guys have never experienced this.

This is something that has happened to me in EA NHL games since around NHL 11.

the CPU goes godmode a lot of the time near the end of the 3rd, they become "unhittable" and I've had shots go in from near center ice, it's absolutely mind boggling.

There's a reason many people talk about the "ice tilt" and many claim it's a myth, but there is def some wonky programming.

I wish EA would fix this, it never happened with the 2k games.

[Roscosuper]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

What game style is everyone playing on? (competitive, full sim etc.) That might give us some indication.

[MizzouRah]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

I have times where I think this happens, but EA swears it's not programmed into the game. I don't think there is.. I just had a game where I won and the way the CPU team was hammering me at the end of a 3-2 win, I thought for sure a goofy goal would happen, but we escaped with the W.

I believe the CPU teams adjust their strategies more often, so I have human strategy setting on 3/6 like the CPU and the games seem much more even keel to me.

[Fiddy]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

I believe the CPU teams adjust their strategies more often, so I have human strategy setting on 3/6 like the CPU and the games seem much more even keel to me.

THIS.

Ever since I have adjusted my HUM strategy slider to match the CPU's (2 or 3, cant remember) the games have been more even.

If you have HUM strat set to 0 and you do not adjust to the CPU's when they are behind you will feel the pressure.

[Millennium]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

THIS.

Ever since I have adjusted my HUM strategy slider to match the CPU's (2 or 3, cant remember) the games have been more even.

If you have HUM strat set to 0 and you do not adjust to the CPU's when they are behind you will feel the pressure.

This is a MUST if you don't control strategies yourself. Human Strategy is set to 0 (meaning the CPU won't alter your pressures) by default and you NEED to change strats yourself to match game situation.

[MizzouRah]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

I will say though.. I can beat the good teams like Chicago, Dallas, etc.. but I cannot beat the lower teams. Buffalo owns me.. they are the worst team in my franchise and just skate circles around me. I cannot figure out how I can dominate Chicago and then get completely destroyed by a team like Buffalo.

[JayhawkerStL]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

Yeah, I used to be obsessive about changing up my strategy during games, and would mostly do it on the fly using the D-pad. If the CPU was blasting from long distance, I'd go Tight Point, if it was coming in and trying to score on rebounds, I'd go Collapsing. I'd switch up my forecheck and breakout based on the score and time left.

But the last couple of years, NHL has been more of my pick up and play game, while Madden is more of my deep dive into strategy game. So I made sure to adjust HUM strategy slider.

I saw some people thought that changing the CPU strategy slider to 0 was a fix for the "comeback AI." I mean, I guess it is. But it is like preventing football team from using the 2 minute offense when down by a score late in the game.

I do like that this year the box pops up and shows you when it is switching strategies. I don't think that was in place before.

[Splitter77]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

I will say though.. I can beat the good teams like Chicago, Dallas, etc.. but I cannot beat the lower teams. Buffalo owns me.. they are the worst team in my franchise and just skate circles around me. I cannot figure out how I can dominate Chicago and then get completely destroyed by a team like Buffalo.

same here. some games you have no chance at all

[ChubbyD]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

Haven't posted here in years, but at the last 2 comments.. I don't know how you guys have never experienced this.

This is something that has happened to me in EA NHL games since around NHL 11.

the CPU goes godmode a lot of the time near the end of the 3rd, they become "unhittable" and I've had shots go in from near center ice, it's absolutely mind boggling.

There's a reason many people talk about the "ice tilt" and many claim it's a myth, but there is def some wonky programming.

I wish EA would fix this, it never happened with the 2k games.

Watch a real-life Red Wings game. You'll swear there's an ice tilt if the Wings are up 2 with 10 to go. Over the last year, I've become accustomed to turning the game off in such a case because they usually get outshot 25-0 in those last ten minutes.

Very similar to what I used to do and rage-quit the game. But I realized that the CPU was upping their intensity and I was doing either nothing or doing the wrong thing to oppose it - just like the real-life Wings (Abdelkader and Glendening on the ice in the last 5 minutes of every damn game?! Really?! You can't find players with actual talent to throw out there?). There is no comeback code per se, but the CPU is going to change their strategy to try and score as much as possible at the expense of giving up a few chances as well. See what they're doing and oppose it. Burn them. It works.

[JayhawkerStL]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

The Blues have been that way this year. Not only surrendering late goals, but twice letting teams score in the last minute. The ice tilt when the game reaches do or die is real. If you you are leading by one or two and you don't feel like the CPU has tilted the ice, then the game is broken.

Instead of lamenting the "comeback code," revel in the thrill of trying to hang on. That moment, late in the game when you do need to turtle is intense. And if you aren't turtling, well, then that's the problem.

[actionhank]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

The Blues have been that way this year. Not only surrendering late goals, but twice letting teams score in the last minute. The ice tilt when the game reaches do or die is real. If you you are leading by one or two and you don't feel like the CPU has tilted the ice, then the game is broken.

Instead of lamenting the "comeback code," revel in the thrill of trying to hang on. That moment, late in the game when you do need to turtle is intense. And if you aren't turtling, well, then that's the problem.

That's something I've always mentioned.

There's a difference between a programmed "The player is leading so make X shot more likely to go in" and "The player is leading, take more shots". A lot of people think that because they've dominated all game the AI can't come back, but even in real life you see that sometimes a team just suddenly starts to click and dominate play and possession.

It would be comeback code if the game purposely made a shot that has a 10% chance of scoring suddenly jump to an 80% chance of scoring just because the CPU was losing the game, but if the CPU simply applies more pressure and tries to generate more scoring and take more risks, that's not comeback logic, that's real life logic.

[Steven547]

Re: The Catch-up logic in this game is as bad as it has ever been.

That's something I've always mentioned.

There's a difference between a programmed "The player is leading so make X shot more likely to go in" and "The player is leading, take more shots". A lot of people think that because they've dominated all game the AI can't come back, but even in real life you see that sometimes a team just suddenly starts to click and dominate play and possession.

It would be comeback code if the game purposely made a shot that has a 10% chance of scoring suddenly jump to an 80% chance of scoring just because the CPU was losing the game, but if the CPU simply applies more pressure and tries to generate more scoring and take more risks, that's not comeback logic, that's real life logic.

I haven't seen it too much this year. When I do experience it, it seems to happen in the last 5 minutes of a game. Like one post said, I can skate circles around the "good" teams, but if I play a "weak" team, they turn into superstars. This could be that EA thing "let's make the game even" so lesser teams can still win.

Is it programmed? We'll never know. They tell us it isn't, but many see different. Someone recently dug into the FIFA files of the PC version and found a file that adjusts the game based on what's happening. Can't remember what thread, but it was something like if a team is doing this, reduce their shot accuracy by .01 or something.

The problem I have is that I don't feel there is a "balanced" game style. I want the game to play according to the player ratings, not the sliders or what the CPU wants to do. On PRO, you dominate and there is no "catch-up logic". On All-Star, the CPU seems to dominate no matter what team you're playing. You play Toronto and it feels like you're playing Montreal. Play Montreal and you feel like you're playing Team Japan.

And maybe that difficulty balance is what everyone thinks is the "catch-up" logic. There shouldn't be sliders such a goalie reaction. That should solely be based on the ratings of the individual player. Give him a rating of 80, adjust the slider, and that 80 is no longer a "true" rating.

Chalk this up to another season of seeing one thing but being told another! Mystery continues!