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Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
This is a discussion on Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders within the Madden NFL Football Sliders forums.
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08-06-2018, 10:21 PM | #1 |
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Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Background: I love sliders because they present the option to make the game your own, and overcome some flawed logic that ends up out of the box. I worked on NCAA community here on the sliders thread, the FIFA sliders thread and gave a go at Madden 18s sliders last year with good success. Im an old MaddenMania guy, primarily doing franchise reporting for a number of years before going into more of my YouTube channel. I focus on realism in sports gaming, so naturally this thread will be geared towards achieving that. Focus of the Sliders: The first priority is to get the tackling on point. Currently, the game is designed a very forceful and perfect tackling mechanic. I am not trying to rid this by any means, but I am wanting to see more wrap up tackling than WWE hits. The second priority is to establish the CPU run game a bit more. I think there is a combination in there that can make this happen, but it is not without its compensations. I have detailed the reason for the changes in each slider value listed. I will continue to focus on improving the game, but there will be a time in which the franchise must start and go on. I am known to get into slideritis, and I know Ill get sucked into wanting to modify something. My goal is not to do so and leave Madden as a Happy place because I know in a couple weeks time, my dedication will switch primarily to FIFA sliders for the community and PES. So at least for those who are interested in playing these, you know there will be an end in sight. I will always provide suggestions based on my testing. I am by no means considering myself an expert ever, just more so knowing that the amount of time and experience I have had modifying slider values can contribute to a realistic experience. For those that followed my Madden 18 Sliders , you may see some similar theories applied. I always say I am not going to adjust the threshold by much, and this may be the year that is true because of how much better the OL/DL interaction is by default. It's not perfect, but it's a good start. As a good practice, please make sure the values in the CFM are the same as they are in the Main Menu. Since CFM and Main Menu penalty values are different, I will include the Play Now values in parentheses. Slider Update Log 3/24/19 - This has been a bit more frustrating patch update than ones before. The pass coverage got looser, the warping appeared even more, especially on lower thresholds. Some values didn't make a difference at certain thresholds, it's just all over the place. As much as I'd like to continue to build upon the previous set, my hand was forced to move some values in different directions, in particular the threshold to a much higher value than I had ever thought I'd get to. The key with this set is establishing better logic and awareness to the football, but not so much that it's robotic and sticky. I thought by lowering threshold this could work instantly, but was sadly mistaken. I tested values from 50 and under, and re-established some really nice physics, especially in tackling, but it was imbalanced due to the wide open passing game that comes with the territory of lower threshold. In a way, I was a bit relieved that modifying the Pass Coverage slider with a lower threshold didn't have any impact To my surprise, a last gasp in raising the threshold actually produced what I was looking for, which was better coverage, but still maintaining good animations + physics. It's by no means perfect, but it shouldn't be. I stopped overanalyzing every single play, and allowed the set to breathe a bit more. This allowed me to gameplan better, and find true mismatches to let the speed disparity + fatigue + sliders to do its work. Overall, I'm happier than where I started. Personal adjustments can still be made as this threshold is much easier to work with, and it seems that the values like QBA, PBL and PCV are more adhered to than they were in the 50 & under thresholds. Here is Version 25. I've posted it as a complete set versus identifying changes: ********************* Slider Log Update - Archive VERSION 24
Spoiler
2/16/19 - It's been a long time coming, and has taken a long time to get this game where I want it post-patch. The focus was really the pass coverage animations and logic. This patch update basically reduced the good animations version 23 had for some reason, and I couldn't quite pinpoint why. From defenders dropping further back on routes intentionally, then to completely be warp-connected the second the ball is in the air. It was very clunky, and looked terrible. So, some very slight modifications, but have proven to be a big difference. Here are the changes for Version 24: *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 No changes. Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 52 (from 50) No changes. As mentioned above, I had been working on this set, but forgot that I had fatigue modified. It is a significant value to consider because it controls the players movement and behavior throughout the pitch. I feel like there is just more control from the players. Meaning, they are sharper and more precise with movement, but there is also that outside element such as mental fatigue. I like that there are more penalties this way as well. Lastly, fatigue in general brings in a host of possibilities from a QB under-throwing passes because they had been sacked before, or had to scramble for a first down, etc. This is a real nice addition to the sets. Min Player Threshold: 52 (from 45) Version 24: I want to avoid the warping at all costs. I've accepted it will happen at some of the OL/DL interactions, but wanted much less of it in the pass coverage. Sure, it will pop up from time-to-time, but the adjustment to Threshold here is to keep players connected, so those types of animations are lessened. In addition, I like the value of 52 because it compliments the fatigue at 52. The fatigue at 52 has proven to be an "equalizer" of calming down the game "off the ball" which really has brought in a sense of more dynamic bursts - especially on lower thresholds. So, using the threshold bump to 52 balances out the fatigue that will occur, but doesn't make the game as wide open, or striving off poor animations to gain an advantage in each sequence. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V23" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V23" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 45/45 (from 40/40) Version 24: Decent adjustment here but it's straight-forward. I want the QB behavior and passing touch to be improved slightly. Where previously a CPU QB would think of not throwing a ball into a tight space, now they will take that chance and hope their receiver makes a play. Little things like that will bring in more of a challenge and prevent more lop-sided scorelines, but still put ownership on facing/playing a good rated QB. Pass Blocking: 25/25 (from 30/30) Version 24: I wanted to get the timing back on this one. Paired with the higher QBA, the lower the PBL works because now it's a good focus of drop back and pass, or make something happen with your feet. My indicator with this being a good value is the return of successful screen passes again. Also seeing more of the pocket collapsing because the QB is holding onto the ball for just over 3 seconds versus standing in the pocket, behind a wall, for 6-8 seconds. Playaction passes are definitely a risk/reward, it's not an instant sack but it's definitely not always a walk/turn in the park. WR Catch: 42/42 (from 40/40) Version 24: Bumped this up just slightly as well to allow the above modifications to be fully integrated. I like the higher WRC in this adjustment because the fight for the ball is a bit better, without every catch being a dive - or a successful one at that. Reliable receivers will maintain possession longer, while those who take risks in traffic will make or break drives. Really like how the QB-WR and DB interaction has improved now. Run Blocking: 25/25 (from 50/50) No changes. I wanted to get the OL/DL interaction on the runs to be less "sticky", and the only way to do that, without modifying penalty values, is to lower the run block. Thankfully lowering this value significant does not hurt too much, it actually lets the defensive line shed their blocks a tad sooner, but not so automatic that it looks completely in-sync as in all 3/4 defensive lineman shed their blocks instantly. Seeing some great animations like desperate tackles, tackle avoidance from the runner, pancakes and blindsided blocks, etc. Fumbles: 50/50 No changes. Cannot seem to find the best value here, so better just to keep it at 50 and let the game play out. With the fatigue there should be a lot less of the random spins as well, however it is not completely gone. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 55/55 No changes. With the increase in WRC, this needed to be adjusted because the QB has some added zip to their passes. The completion chances are higher, but the reaction to the ball in the air needed to be a priority. Seen some great animations and still a good amount of realistic drops and catches. Interceptions: 20/20 (from 35/35) Version 24: One of the last values I modified as it was about good coverage, but not always punishable by random interceptions. Defenders are defenders for a reason, they can't catch the ball as well. I wanted to make sure that poorly thrown passes will not always be punished, or being hit in the DB's hands can be the make/break for momentum that is fairly common. It was important, though, to maintain the pass deflections animations, so could not go too low with the interception values as I do want both animations to appear in balance. Pass Coverage: 45/45 (from 50/50) Version 24: One of the first values I adjusted because I started to see the dropback and freezing on routes by the defenders on 50. Paring this up with the threshold-fatigue and it started to come together. This isn't to say that the dropback/freeze are elimination, it's just that now they are in sequence with what is happening. So when a LB is freezing, they react just in-time to make a play on the ball. It happens fast, so in motion looks great, but when seen in slow-motion it can be off-putting. Thankfully we do not play the game in slow-motion. Tackling: 41/41 No changes. A big contributor to big plays was the missed tackles, and random, unrealistic, broken tackles. I wanted the balance of realistic wrap up tackling and gang tackling, without so much of the WWE hits. As threshold was increased, the chance of those WWE tackles increased. I liked the value of 42 a lot, but saw a bit too many big hits from small corners on tight-ends, etc, so dropped this down just a notch. Aesthetically, I like 40, but a bit too many broken tackles for my liking. Special Teams *note separate values from User/CPU can be changed in Main Menu, however there is no proof that the values import as separate in a franchise* FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 44/44 No changes. Dropped this one a tad more because way too much perfect punts by both user and CPU. Have to force myself to make a bad punt sometimes. The amount of back bouncing is crazy. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON No changes. I reviewed the penalty values in particular DPI and defensive holding to establish a lot more tighter play, but these values seem to really affect the reaction of defensive players. It had too many variables, and jumbled up the animations and logic for me. I leave this up to those who want to modify, however please do not report back on irregularities without mentioning the penalty sliders you've modified. That would be skewed data to the set I presented, so I would appreciate that to be acknowledged. VERSION 23
Spoiler
2/16/19 - Finally got it sorted out, will post Version 24 today. Thanks! 2/14/19 -Small update on where I'm at. For the last couple days I've just been tuning the pass coverage. Trying to get some sense of understanding on what they've done this most recent patch update. Seeing A LOT of db/lb stop on routes. Meaning they just freeze as the WR/TE makes their cut. Then, when they are not stopping, they animate ahead of the play, then somehow drop further back. I'm going to do more of a deep dive on some things I haven't looked at yet. This is being worked on every day for a couple hours. Too much footage to count of just animations going whack. some examples here: https://streamable.com/nyy7v https://streamable.com/hjdmr https://streamable.com/67b0g https://streamable.com/v8off As you can see there is just this sense of "disconnect to warp reconnect", it's like the players are two separate entities to start, then all of a sudden they are connected, then right away disconnected. The animation sequence is probably the worse it's been in a long time for M19. I'm confident I'll figure it out, but just wanted to give a brief update. Sorry for the promises of ETA, but I can't settle for this. 2/5/19 - Just a brief update, I've been working fairly cautiously here going back and forth between changes and Version 23. The thing is, this update has made a lot of games inconsistent, so I am trying to find the consistent issue overall. The consistent issue I'm seeing is the OL/DL interaction back to very sticky, no sense of a pocket being created. The QB has all day to throw. I'm also seeing more canned animations in coverage/playing on the ball. A DB could be covering fine, but once the ball is in the air, both the DB and WR go into a preset/canned animation to interact with the ball. This leads me to believe something may be acting up with the threshold + PCV/INT/PDR values. Still working through it. Sorry it's taken a bit of time. Thanks! 12/26/18 - Good amount of feedback in a short time, so I do appreciate it. I was wondering why my games were playing different than most, and it made sense, I had forgotten an essential value that I did not include in the OP. The adjustment that I forgot was I raised fatigue from 50 to 52. In addition to that value, I decided to build off of Version 22, so going to call this one Version 23. It should address the need for some push at the DL on passing plays, and also help with the pass coverage issues. Started to see the receiver catching way too easily on 50, so that was a mistake, that has been dropped down to 40 because the fatigue allows a lot more "control" from players. *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 No changes. Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 52 (from 50) Version 23: As mentioned above, I had been working on this set, but forgot that I had fatigue modified. It is a significant value to consider because it controls the players movement and behavior throughout the pitch. I feel like there is just more control from the players. Meaning, they are sharper and more precise with movement, but there is also that outside element such as mental fatigue. I like that there are more penalties this way as well. Lastly, fatigue in general brings in a host of possibilities from a QB under-throwing passes because they had been sacked before, or had to scramble for a first down, etc. This is a real nice addition to the sets. Min Player Threshold: 45 (From 15) No changes. Spent so much time in threshold land. I must have logged about 5 8 hours just scaling from 0 to 100 in 10 point increments. Very frustrating in some cases, but good to know what to look for even more. I pretty much had an idea, but now I know the feel and how the animations will produce. The real key was to get the entire game tighter and less like a college football game. I love lower thresholds for the concept of separating each individual player, but the game's design in threshold is true to the value - which cannot be overcome with gameplay sliders alone. My goal is not to use penalty sliders to compensate, so working with what I have here, the best balance of animations to logic was going to a threshold that accomplished that in 45. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V23" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V23" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro & All-Madden No changes. Reviewed this value to ensure that 40 is still good, and relative to the WRC increase, it brings in that extra zip to a usually "floaty" 40. This value on its own can affect how the QB moves in the pocket as well, so I wanted to ensure it did not go lower. Pass Blocking: 30/30 (from 48/48) Version 23: I got a bit tired of not being able to get any sort of push from the DL, so enough was enough, dropped this value as low as 15, then scaled it back up to 30 to help playaction plays. Much better now, and timing is still solid. WR Catch: 40/40 (from 50/50) Version 23: As I mentioned above, it was not the right play to increase the WRC to 50. This resulted in the ball being found in the hands of the receiver way too easily, and deflections/swat attempts become futile. The QB also seemed to have a 10% increase in their accuracy as a result, made every down seem like a conversion no matter who was throwing or catching the ball. Run Blocking: 25/25 (from 50/50) No changes. I wanted to get the OL/DL interaction on the runs to be less "sticky", and the only way to do that, without modifying penalty values, is to lower the run block. Thankfully lowering this value significant does not hurt too much, it actually lets the defensive line shed their blocks a tad sooner, but not so automatic that it looks completely in-sync as in all 3/4 defensive lineman shed their blocks instantly. Seeing some great animations like desperate tackles, tackle avoidance from the runner, pancakes and blindsided blocks, etc. Fumbles: 50/50 (from 52/52) Version 23: Cannot seem to find the best value here, so better just to keep it at 50 and let the game play out. With the fatigue there should be a lot less of the random spins as well, however it is not completely gone. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 55/55 (from 48/48) No changes. With the increase in WRC, this needed to be adjusted because the QB has some added zip to their passes. The completion chances are higher, but the reaction to the ball in the air needed to be a priority. Seen some great animations and still a good amount of realistic drops and catches. Interceptions: 35/35 No changes. Reviewed this value significantly as well. I wanted to see how the QB and DBs would play, but the main emphasis was the QB zipping the ball in more when a lower WRC was chosen. The issue here was the defensive coverage was not any better, and the animation that dominated was the interception attempts versus swats. Pass Coverage: 50/50 No changes. Next to threshold, this is the value that took the longest. I scaled this from 1 to 100 in 10 point scales as well. I found that 1 is the best man coverage, and determined this by how soon the defender's feet stop shuffling as they prepare for the receiver's change of direction at the LOS. The issue with 1 was that the zone coverage suffered. So, kept it simple and modified the other slider values to allow 50 to work. Tackling: 41/41 (from 38/38) No changes. A big contributor to big plays was the missed tackles, and random, unrealistic, broken tackles. I wanted the balance of realistic wrap up tackling and gang tackling, without so much of the WWE hits. As threshold was increased, the chance of those WWE tackles increased. I liked the value of 42 a lot, but saw a bit too many big hits from small corners on tight-ends, etc, so dropped this down just a notch. Aesthetically, I like 40, but a bit too many broken tackles for my liking. Special Teams *note separate values from User/CPU can be changed in Main Menu, however there is no proof that the values import as separate in a franchise* FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 44/44 Version 20 Dropped this one a tad more because way too much perfect punts by both user and CPU. Have to force myself to make a bad punt sometimes. The amount of back bouncing is crazy. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON No changes. I reviewed the penalty values in particular DPI and defensive holding to establish a lot more tighter play, but these values seem to really affect the reaction of defensive players. It had too many variables, and jumbled up the animations and logic for me. I leave this up to those who want to modify, however please do not report back on irregularities without mentioning the penalty sliders you've modified. That would be skewed data to the set I presented, so I would appreciate that to be acknowledged. VERSION 22
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 12/25/18 - Merry Christmas, everyone. Here is Version 22. I spent a lot of time with this set after it was done. Tested in All-Madden to start, then last bit was in All-Pro. The overall goal was to tighten things up, but maintain "clean" animations. I did not want to perform a complete overhaul, but adjusting threshold significantly did result in some values to be looked at much more in-depth than intended. With that said here are the changes. Since I spent a lot of time reviewing the entire set, I made comments to the values that did not get changed as well: *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 No changes. Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 No changes. The stamina gauge doesn't deplete with the slow down animation anymore, so I'm much happier with seeing this to come back up. Min Player Threshold: 45 (From 15) Version 22: Spent so much time in threshold land. I must have logged about 5 8 hours just scaling from 0 to 100 in 10 point increments. Very frustrating in some cases, but good to know what to look for even more. I pretty much had an idea, but now I know the feel and how the animations will produce. The real key was to get the entire game tighter and less like a college football game. I love lower thresholds for the concept of separating each individual player, but the game's design in threshold is true to the value - which cannot be overcome with gameplay sliders alone. My goal is not to use penalty sliders to compensate, so working with what I have here, the best balance of animations to logic was going to a threshold that accomplished that in 45. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V22" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V22" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro & All-Madden No changes. Reviewed this value to ensure that 40 is still good, and relative to the WRC increase, it brings in that extra zip to a usually "floaty" 40. This value on its own can affect how the QB moves in the pocket as well, so I wanted to ensure it did not go lower. Pass Blocking: 48/48 No changes. Modified this one quite a bit, and in the end, the value at 48 was the best for what the threshold needed. This is why as stock version 21 with a threshold of 45 worked fine for the passing game and defending it. WR Catch: 50/50 (from 38/38) Version 22: Was trying to figure out why the coverage just wasn't tight enough, even after changing threshold to be higher, or pass coverage, the defender just couldn't make play on the ball. They seemed indifferent, as if the mentality was that the receiver wasn't going to make the catch anyways, why defend them? Raising this value was absolutely key in getting some decent reaction and positioning. Run Blocking: 25/25 (from 50/50) Version 22: I wanted to get the OL/DL interaction on the runs to be less "sticky", and the only way to do that, without modifying penalty values, is to lower the run block. Thankfully lowering this value significant does not hurt too much, it actually lets the defensive line shed their blocks a tad sooner, but not so automatic that it looks completely in-sync as in all 3/4 defensive lineman shed their blocks instantly. Seeing some great animations like desperate tackles, tackle avoidance from the runner, pancakes and blindsided blocks, etc. Fumbles: 52/52 (from 49/49) Version 22: Too many spin moves by not only the running back, but also receivers. It had to be lessened, and the main way to do that is increase the Fumbles value. I like 52 because you still see a good variety of runs, and the chance of fumbles is not completely eliminated. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 55/55 (from 48/48) Version 22: With the increase in WRC, this needed to be adjusted because the QB has some added zip to their passes. The completion chances are higher, but the reaction to the ball in the air needed to be a priority. Seen some great animations and still a good amount of realistic drops and catches. Interceptions: 35/35 No changes. Reviewed this value significantly as well. I wanted to see how the QB and DBs would play, but the main emphasis was the QB zipping the ball in more when a lower WRC was chosen. The issue here was the defensive coverage was not any better, and the animation that dominated was the interception attempts versus swats. Pass Coverage: 50/50 No changes. Next to threshold, this is the value that took the longest. I scaled this from 1 to 100 in 10 point scales as well. I found that 1 is the best man coverage, and determined this by how soon the defender's feet stop shuffling as they prepare for the receiver's change of direction at the LOS. The issue with 1 was that the zone coverage suffered. So, kept it simple and modified the other slider values to allow 50 to work. Tackling: 41/41 (from 38/38) Version 22: A big contributor to big plays was the missed tackles, and random, unrealistic, broken tackles. I wanted the balance of realistic wrap up tackling and gang tackling, without so much of the WWE hits. As threshold was increased, the chance of those WWE tackles increased. I liked the value of 42 a lot, but saw a bit too many big hits from small corners on tight-ends, etc, so dropped this down just a notch. Aesthetically, I like 40, but a bit too many broken tackles for my liking. Special Teams *note separate values from User/CPU can be changed in Main Menu, however there is no proof that the values import as separate in a franchise* FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 44/44 Version 20 Dropped this one a tad more because way too much perfect punts by both user and CPU. Have to force myself to make a bad punt sometimes. The amount of back bouncing is crazy. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON No changes. I reviewed the penalty values in particular DPI and defensive holding to establish a lot more tighter play, but these values seem to really affect the reaction of defensive players. It had too many variables, and jumbled up the animations and logic for me. I leave this up to those who want to modify, however please do not report back on irregularities without mentioning the penalty sliders you've modified. That would be skewed data to the set I presented, so I would appreciate that to be acknowledged. VERSION 21
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 12/15/18 - Here is Version 21. Spent a bit of time combing through feedback, and validating the concerns. Thankfully not many, but just a couple adjustments needed to really calm Version 20 down. I think I've done this now by not having to modify penalty sliders and not modifying threshold. Yet, the coverage is tighter, the run game less explosive and the animations are good, if not better, than before. With that said here are the changes: Pass Blocking: 48/48 (from 52/52)*Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 No changes. Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 No changes. The stamina gauge doesn't deplete with the slow down animation anymore, so I'm much happier with seeing this to come back up. Min Player Threshold: 15 No changes. Dropped this down further from 30, and found a nice spot with 15. Paired up with the PBL value and PCV, this really made a big difference in separating players further, and releasing them of their forcefield chains. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V21" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V21" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro & All-Madden No changes. I've kept the 40 for both AP and AM here. The reason being is that I want more risks being taken by the QB in the harder difficulty. The QBA value is just enough that not every pass is a floater to the sideline, and has enough zip onto it when there is a sure pass. From there it is a matter of whether the QB is being pressured and how they deal with it paired with their ratings. Pass Blocking: 48/48 Version 21: The issue with PBL is that it not only affects the pass game, but it also affects the run game. I was trying to figure out why the run game still felt sticky and a bit easy on both sides. Tackle value was a possibility, but that didn't help the disengagement of the OL/DL. Dropping this value down is absolutely key to this set, and it has now allowed the proper amount of disengage for both the passing and run game. WR Catch: 38/38 Version 21: I was needing to find a way to re-sync the pass coverage due to the lowering of PBL. So, adjusting the WRC was one of the last things I had thought about as a solution. Pleasantly surprised with how much better the interaction is between a DB/WR now. Rarely stopping on routes except for the occasional poor match-up in a playaction. The best part is the drop counts have not changed, and catches in traffic can still happen, not to mention the occasional diving catch. Quite content here. Run Blocking: 50/50 No changes. The CPU no longer needs an advantage here. They do quite well to find gaps, and stick to their game. I found it interesting how post patch it is much harder to defend the run in some situations, but lowering RBL was not an option as that creates poor angles taken by the pulling guards, etc versus actually legit being beaten across the line. Fumbles: 49/49 No changes. Actually had to drop this down because the running backs would cut aross the grain unnecessarily at times. They are not avoiding the gap by any means, but they were also trying to get to an OL blocking for them versus going north/south when necesary with it at 50 for some reason. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 48/48 Version 21: The good thing is this value plays true to its number, but is still based on what the INT and PCV values are, not to mention the PBL + WRC. Good mix of attempts at picks and also swats. Found myself in replay quite a lot to see the defender's reactions. Interceptions: 35/35 No changes. Dropped this one a bit from 40 because defenders were choosing the intercept animation instead of deflecting passes. Pass Coverage: 50/50 No changes. This is the normalized value. I had kept it at 40 and lower for a while, but the lower threshold needs to have a little love to it, but not so much that it is mirroring the routes. I found it interesting that in previous patches this value was reversed, but am finding that it fairly true, but it also does not have as big of an impact this patch update compared to ones before. I believe this is because the zone improvement helps an overall coverage standpoint, but when paired with a higher, sticky, threshold, it makes animations too uniform, which causes the logic of the play to fall by the wayside. Tackling: 38/38 No changes. Still good. The higher tackles brought in solid tackle animations, but it became easily 1v1 drills, and the defender won each time. The under 40 tackle value brings in such better animations from missed tackles, to wrap up tackles, to gangtackling, momentum forward/backward tackles. Special Teams *note separate values from User/CPU can be changed in Main Menu, however there is no proof that the values import as separate in a franchise* FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 44/44 Version 20 Dropped this one a tad more because way too much perfect punts by both user and CPU. Have to force myself to make a bad punt sometimes. The amount of back bouncing is crazy. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 20
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 12/7/18 - Here is Version 20. It feels like I was just here. Right before the update, I was preparing my update, but the update threw off so much for the intended set. In particular, the pass coverage, while better in Zone, was completely out of sync overall. I spent a good amount of time on default and eventually headed back to similar settings as Version 19. Some values remained, and some values had to go. I would say the biggest change is the threshold being lowered instead of raised. I had tested quite a bit on raised thresholds, and could not quite get everything in-sync. Very frustrating. One play would have the coverage played well, but the defender would not react to the ball. Or another would be terribly covered, and the receiver would warp into some weird animation, preventing themselves from catching the ball. What I take away from the threshold testing is that higher threshold is extra "sticky" and lower threshold is more free. Considering the fact that the animation are out of sync, one would assume higher threshold would be the answer, or higher values in general, this was not the case unfortunately. When I would adjust the threshold, I would see so many animations depending on other ones. Such as the jogging animation by a DB was caused by the receiver jogging clear across the other side of the field. Or another would be where the DL sheds the OL instantly, and right away my DB stops on a dime, allowing the QB to make the completed pass with ease. So, to make a long story short, I forced a lower threshold again, but paired it with a mix of triggers such as a higher PBL, a "normalized" Pass Coverage, and a lower reaction, but over Interceptions. I also raised QBA for the CPU to make more risky throws, while still maintaining the good ball physics from a 35 on AM. The lower threshold was not only to address the passing game, but it was to free up my stickied defenders from being bulldozed by the weakest of O-Lines, especially in the run. The CPU would have acres of space before a linebacker would meet them. Once I lowered that threshold, now the defenders were "freed" from their shackles, and left to their own devices to make a play. This is why there are more gang-tackles as well because truly every player is free, and not dependant on other animations around them. Safe to say this is the longest I've really worked without modifying the penalties as a shortcut. I think I would have had it done much sooner if it weren't for the patch. I did continue to test, and was so desperate that even jumped into Play Now and Practice modes...which I never...ever...do. Rightfully so, because the purpose for that was just to see animations play out, then to see if the values carried over into a Franchise. They didn't. I am certain that some specific values are reversed between franchise and play now/practice modes - and not trusting what I've known for years put a bit of hiccup in the testing. Still, it was good to rule that out - and good that I found a resolution. Overall, thanks for your patience on these. I know the threshold doesn't quite make sense, but pleaes give it an honest go. You will see separation, but it will be much better than seeing forcefields of indecision and players being glued to canned animations. Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get it all down on paper because it's been in my head all week! Enjoy Version 20! *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 No changes. Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 No changes. The stamina gauge doesn't deplete with the slow down animation anymore, so I'm much happier with seeing this to come back up. Min Player Threshold: 15 Version 20: Dropped this down further from 30, and found a nice spot with 15. Paired up with the PBL value and PCV, this really made a big difference in separating players further, and releasing them of their forcefield chains. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V20" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V20" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro & All-Madden Version 20: I've kept the 40 for both AP and AM here. The reason being is that I want more risks being taken by the QB in the harder difficulty. The QBA value is just enough that not every pass is a floater to the sideline, and has enough zip onto it when there is a sure pass. From there it is a matter of whether the QB is being pressured and how they deal with it paired with their ratings. Pass Blocking: 52/52 Version 20: A significant raise here. The reason this goes up is because with it at 38, 48 or even 50, it was completely throwing the timing off for not only the receivers' route, but also the defenders. This is why we would see defenders not turn around, or not react to the ball - they simply would not be ready. They do have eyes in the back of their head, yes, but it's not for the ball, it's for a trigger in which the perception that the DL has breached the OL. With it here at 52 it has normalized the pocket to break due to pressure, and there are very rare cases where the CPU QB will just stand there completely safe. The lower threshold will not allow it. The only time I have seen this is when they decide not to run despite perfect coverage downfield. A big difference maker for me. WR Catch: 42/42 Version 20: I've kept this the same value because relative to the adjusted threshold I am seeing less one handed catches and less unbelievable catches in traffic. Run Blocking: 50/50 Version 20 The CPU no longer needs an advantage here. They do quite well to find gaps, and stick to their game. I found it interesting how post patch it is much harder to defend the run in some situations, but lowering RBL was not an option as that creates poor angles taken by the pulling guards, etc versus actually legit being beaten across the line. Fumbles: 49/49 Version 20: Actually had to drop this down because the running backs would cut aross the grain unecessarily at times. They are not avoiding the gap by any means, but they were also trying to get to an OL blocking for them versus going north/south when necesary with it at 50 for some reason. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 40/40 Version 20: No change here, but I did play around with it A LOT. The most important value with a lower threshold is ensuring that the reaction time is above the interception. This way the first animation triggered is not an interception attemp all the time. It will still happen, but it's much more lessened, and this also allows adequate deflection animations to return. Interceptions: 35/35 No change. Dropped this one a bit from 40 because defenders were choosing the intercept animation instead of deflecting passes. Pass Coverage: 50/50 Version 20: This is the normalized value. I had kept it at 40 and lower for a while, but the lower threshold needs to have a little love to it, but not so much that it is mirroring the routes. I found it interesting that in previous patches this value was reversed, but am finding that it fairly true, but it also does not have as big of an impact this patch update compared to ones before. I believe this is because the zone improvement helps an overall coverage standpoint, but when paired with a higher, sticky, threshold, it makes animations too uniform, which causes the logic of the play to fall by the wayside. Tackling: 38/38 Version 20: No changes. Still good. The higher tackles brought in solid tackle animations, but it became easily 1v1 drills, and the defender won each time. The under 40 tackle value brings in such better animations from missed tackles, to wrap up tackles, to gangtackling, momentum forward/backward tackles. Special Teams *note separate values from User/CPU can be changed in Main Menu, however there is no proof that the values import as separate in a franchise* FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 44/44 Version 20 Dropped this one a tad more because way too much perfect punts by both user and CPU. Have to force myself to make a bad punt sometimes. The amount of back bouncing is crazy. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 19
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 12/5/18 - Working on Version 20, so far I've got about 5 more things to try on the lower threshold, but to solve the user PCV and animations, it's looking more likely to raise threshold alone. Still need to test though, just wanted to provide a brief update. Shouldn't be too much longer. Thanks. 12/1/18 - I forgot one value had actually changed which was CPU RBL from 50 to 52. Apologies for missing that! 11/30/18 - Here is Version 19. Think I jumped the gun a bit on Version 18. I normalized the values, but that did not necessarily mean a balance was brought to the table as I had initially thought. Animations and logic went completely out of sync. The game became too wide open, and it made it a bit boring to be honest. I've spent quite a while on Version 19 though, bringing in some values and concepts that have served well for this thread, and the sets, then taking advantage of some of the strong suits of this most recent patch update. I think it is a strong set up, but of course you may have to adjust where you see fit. Here is what I wanted to address: - Tackling - animations need to be less body slamming and more wrap up, with gang tackling. - DB/WR interaction needed to return, and needed the DB/LB to react to the player catching the ball or the ball itself in the air. - Needed to lessen the effectiveness of slant and drag routes. - Ensure that the running game is still direct for the CPU, and challenging for both user/cpu. - Ensure there is still a strong sense of pressure, if adequate to match up, on the quarterback. Playactions need not be a sack every time. Hope you guys enjoy. Here's Version 19. *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 With the patch update, the 50 fatigue is perfect now. The stamina gauge doesn't deplete with the slow down animation anymore, so I'm much happier with seeing this to come back up. Min Player Threshold: 30 Version 19: Where I thought normalizing this value higher and using 50, it turns out it made the game looser. I feel this is because players on the field "feel" that their zone/area is covered, so defending is not the highest priority. This is why there are more stop on routes, less reaction to the ball, even some jogging animations. Dropped this back down to "separate" the players and ensure they are responsible for their job. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V19" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V19" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro (40/35 All Madden) The lowest QBA I've had it this entire thread, and simply I wanted better ball physics and variety from the QBs. I think NFL QBs take less chances down field, so check downs need to be contextual, and when they do take shots deep, it's not inch-perfect from a sub 80 deep throw QB. I also want their decision making in the pocket to be important because post patch the pass blocking values are going to make a big difference. *The CPU QB is a bit too automatic on All-Madden, which is why this was lowered. If you go under 35, it seems the QBs start to instantly try to get out of the pocket, and also noticed some weird animations where the QB is looking to the sidelines as they're being pressured, instead of staying downfield or looking to extend the play.* Pass Blocking: 38/38 Version 19: Had bump this up a bit because the playaction passes were auto sacks, and so were the longer routes which affected QB awareness. Much better here with an emphasis to play out to the ratings still. WR Catch: 42/42 Version 19: Dropped this further because as it is lowered the tighter the coverage also gets it seems. Paired up with the changes to the Pass Coverage and Reaction time, this is looking exactly where I want it. You will see drops more often in traffic, or sometimes when players run before catching it, and lastly it lessens one-handed spectacular catches unless the ratings allow it. Run Blocking: 50/52 Version 19 Bumped up for the CPU just slightly to get their OL not getting upfield as quickly before making sure the DL crashing is blocked. Helps a bit with the insta-sheds as well. Fumbles: 50/50 Dropped this value down again to ensure there are no unecessary jukes/spins, etc, that are not contextual to the play. I did play around with this under 50, but the fumbles are too automatic when sacking the QB or a hard WWE style hit. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 40/40 Version 19: Slight bump on this value because the threshold is lower, but I also metered out both reaction and pass coverage relative to the threshold. I had it at 50 for a while, before seeing way too many indifferent animations to react to the ball or receiver. Going too high in this value will result in the defender opting to intercept vs bat the ball down. Interceptions: 35/35 Dropped this one a bit from 40 because defenders were choosing the intercept animation instead of deflecting passes. Pass Coverage: 40/40 Version 19: See reaction time value change. I metered this one as well to ensure that there were less stopping on routes, less staring at where the receiver was, versus where they are in the present. In addition this helps with zonal coverage in handing off players due to the threshold value is lower, thus separated out. Tackling: 38/38 Version 19: The higher tackles brought in solid tackle animations, but it became easily 1v1 drills, and the defender won each time. The under 40 tackle value brings in such better animations from missed tackles, to wrap up tackles, to gangtackling, momentum forward/backward tackles. Special Teams *note separate values from User/CPU can be changed in Main Menu, however there is no proof that the values import as separate in a franchise* FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 46/46 Dropped this one down a bit, too many perfect bouncing punts that just stop dead or bounce sideways inside the 10. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 18
Spoiler
11/25/18 - Here is Version 18. It's been a solid month since the last update on the sliders, and that's mainly because the patch updates have not resulted in needing to modify anything on my end. Have to give EA credit for this as the game has continued to improve. Of course, there are just a couple things that needed to be addressed, in particular to the following: - User run game - a bit too easy post patch - CPU receivers - hardly ever dropped the ball - CPU running backs - hitting holes, but too many spins at times Seeing how most of the values were changed from Version 17 to 18, I will go ahead and just post the slider set in full, and indicate what has, or hasn't, been changed from the previous version. Hope you guys enjoy. Here's Version 18. *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 With the patch update, the 50 fatigue is perfect now. The stamina gauge doesn't deplete with the slow down animation anymore, so I'm much happier with seeing this to come back up. Min Player Threshold: 50 Version 18: Needed to tighten things up just a tad in the run game. Thought I could lower it to "loosen" the players from eachother, but that was too much of a sacrifice to the passing game, making it too wide open. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V18" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V18" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro (40/35 All Madden) The lowest QBA I've had it this entire thread, and simply I wanted better ball physics and variety from the QBs. I think NFL QBs take less chances down field, so check downs need to be contextual, and when they do take shots deep, it's not inch-perfect from a sub 80 deep throw QB. I also want their decision making in the pocket to be important because post patch the pass blocking values are going to make a big difference. *The CPU QB is a bit too automatic on All-Madden, which is why this was lowered. If you go under 35, it seems the QBs start to instantly try to get out of the pocket, and also noticed some weird animations where the QB is looking to the sidelines as they're being pressured, instead of staying downfield or looking to extend the play.* Pass Blocking: 32/32 Version 18: The passing needed some disruption because the QB decision making was just too good sometimes, regardless of ratings. Needed to force them to be at the mercy of their offensive line, and feel this drop has significantly helped. Playaction passes are naturally difficult to pull off as they should be, but can be rewarding when the defenders bite - which seems to be pretty common in Madden, albeit a bit robotic sometimes. WR Catch: 45/45 Version 18: Dropped this to ensure that there are more realistic looking drops, not just from hits, but also from a receiver trying to run before securing the pass. With coverage fairly tight, I wanted there to be some significant risk/reward for the QB throwing into tight windows. Run Blocking: 50/50 Version 18: Dropped this one because the running has been much improved post-patch. No need for any advantages to the CPU any longer. Fumbles: 50/50 Version 18: Dropped this value down again to ensure there are no unecessary jukes/spins, etc, that are not contextual to the play. I did play around with this under 50, but the fumbles are too automatic when sacking the QB or a hard WWE style hit. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 30/30 Version 18: Needed to drop this down to get a quicker reaction from the defenders. Saw a tad bit of stopping first before breaking to get the ball. Don't want it to go too low though as that can create the psychic DB play. Interceptions: 35/35 Dropped this one a bit from 40 because defenders were choosing the intercept animation instead of deflecting passes. Pass Coverage: 30/30 Version 18: Dropped this one just a tad to allow less stop on routes by the DBs/LBs. Had this even lower (20) at one point, but that hurt the CPU QB's decision making. Tackling: 48/48 Version 18: Too many broken tackles and poor pursuit angles with it under 40...unfortunately, as I love that value so much more. However, this update has less WWE hits, and more wrap up tackles, so I'm okay with this adjustment. It will also help the user's run game, as the LBs take better angles throughout. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/50 Version 18: Bumped this up for the CPU because seen 90+ kpw kickers come up well short and bar level, just wasn't realistic. Kept the FG power because still need that oomph. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 46/46 Version 18: Dropped this one down a bit, too many perfect bouncing punts that just stop dead or bounce sideways inside the 10. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 17
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 10/7/18 - Here is Version 17. First off, what a great patch update we had for October. It solidified a lot of the issues the original sliders were aiming to accomplish. Very happy with it. With that said, it did put a wrinkle in some of the areas that I was focused on, in particular the passing and running defense. I started to see a lot of "disconnect" with Version 16 on this patch update. Not necessarily a bad thing, because that means just a threshold change needs to be done. The problem with threshold adjustments is you now have to compensate for it, which can take A LOT of games, most of them being the same ones over and over again. Hope you guys enjoy. Here's Version 17. *Note, there are no changes to Special Teams or Penalty slider values.* Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Rosters: EA Default (Active or Preseason) Auto-subs: Default Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 With the patch update, the 50 fatigue is perfect now. The stamina gauge doesn't deplete with the slow down animation anymore, so I'm much happier with seeing this to come back up. Min Player Threshold: 40 Big bump from 30 because the game needed to get tighter, and the animations needed to be more contextual. I didn't want to have to increase tackling from under 40, so in accepting that, the threshold had to go up a bit more. In addition, the pass coverage started to get too open, and too many stopping on the routes that didn't make sense. Happy with where it's at finally. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V17" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V17" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 40/40 All-Pro (40/35 All Madden) The lowest QBA I've had it this entire thread, and simply I wanted better ball physics and variety from the QBs. I think NFL QBs take less chances down field, so check downs need to be contextual, and when they do take shots deep, it's not inch-perfect from a sub 80 deep throw QB. I also want their decision making in the pocket to be important because post patch the pass blocking values are going to make a big difference. *The CPU QB is a bit too automatic on All-Madden, which is why this was lowered. If you go under 35, it seems the QBs start to instantly try to get out of the pocket, and also noticed some weird animations where the QB is looking to the sidelines as they're being pressured, instead of staying downfield or looking to extend the play.* Pass Blocking: 40/35 I really want pressure on the QB on All-Pro and All-Madden respectively. I didn't want every PA pass to become an instant sack either. As everyone knows, pass blocking is so critical to the QB completion percentages, so like I said I want this to make a big difference where necessary. WR Catch: 48/48 Wanted this higher than 45, but not so high that every catch is a diving animation and one handed catch. Instant hits should be drops, relevant to the catch in traffic ratings. Run Blocking: 50/52 User stays where it's at, but CPU gets a significant drop because post patch is fantastic running now. Goodness, it's a thing of beauty to see the CPU run the ball. Yes, sometimes you will see the questionable hole hit, but at least they're much more direct. This RBL value increase is just enough to make the user not feel bad for calling blitz every down (your choice) and stuffing the CPU run, but also putting the emphasis back on not having to hope the CPU puts up respectable numbers. Fumbles: 52/52 Found that this is a good value, relevant to the tackle, RBL and threshold values. It's enough to make the RB hit the hole, but not spin unnecessarily when confronted. Receivers need to be threatening after the catch as well. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 35/35 I tested this value the most post-patch. I assumed keeping it at 50 would be perfect because of how good the patch has been. Unfortunately, relevant to the other values, it didn't work, so stuck with what I know, and started to see much better reactions as soon as the ball is in the air - but not to the point where the defenders are psychic and making a move to the ball as soon as it is released. Interceptions: 35/35 Dropped this one a bit from 40 because defenders were choosing the intercept animation instead of deflecting passes. Pass Coverage: 35/35 Another value I looked at for quite a bit because it just wasn't tight enough on 50 ad higher. Back to what I know, and the lower values seem to really bring reel it back in. What I like the most is that the QBs are smarter, and they try to extend the play as much as possible when no receivers are open. Tackling: 38/38 I love this value, which is why it hasn't changed. Like I said above, the main focus of this set was to get the threshold higher so the animations are contextual. I got tired of seeing warping tackling animations on the lower thresholds. As much as it was very smooth when it was good, it just wasn't staying that way consistently. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/48 As mentioned above, this value can be lowered to create that random chance of a miss by the guys with the most pressure on their shoulders. As a former kicker myself, I had to give some realistic "love" to them. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 If they're going to lose a little bit of power, let's make them a tad accurate on their punts so they're going for the coffin corner punts a bit more - or at least trying to. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 16
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 9/11/18 - Here is Version 16. The main focus here was to get everything back in sync. The most recent update was fantastic for the game overall, not great for my Version 15's. That's okay, I will gladly take something that I can "normalize" versus go too extreme. Some values get extra attention, some do not necessarily change, and some changed for the better. I wanted to make sure that the smoothness of the game stayed on point, so it can also take advantage of the improved animations that this title update brought out. Since this is a new title update, all values are considered "new" even though they may be the same values of previous versions. Hope you guys enjoy. Here's Version 16: Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off No need to keep this set to "On" any longer. The user defenders find the ball well again, but if they struggle with the high lobs, you can turn this on to help. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 49 At 49 the CPU is able to recover from fatigue while still running. So they do not slow down dramatically, and if they start to slow down, they can recover realistically. Min Player Threshold: 30 Significant bump here. I mentioned it in the thread, but this title update seemed to have spread out the threshold even more, so a 20 threshold is really a 15, and so forth. I found the smoothest was at 30, which reminds me of NCAA where 25 is the best, so by that logic, I settled on 30. This was tested in multiple ways from trying to get tackling, running backs, and DB/WR back on point. Coverage was very important to make sure it was tight, but not too tight. Also wanted to ensure breakaways still happened when they were relevant. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V16" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V16" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 49/49 Back to 50 for both here was a bit too high, especially on All-Madden. I wanted the physics of the ball to return to be completely based on the player's ratings. So not every pass is going to be a tight spiral like it tends to be on 50+. I also did not want to go too low though because CPU kill factor decrease unfortunately as you decrease QBA. In addition, this also affects the timing of the routes to the pass, so again, keeping this safe. If there starts to become a trend that CPU QB is going Robo on us, then first I'm going to need to know the How even more than ever, because the coverage has been really good. Pass Blocking: 48/35 As I said, the threshold is playing a lot lower, so the blocks being shed are more significant than before. The value here needed to be adjusted for the sake of PA passes as well. You will still get pressure on the CPU QB, but if you do need more, be careful adjusting and test the PA passes to validate. WR Catch: 45/45 Pressure to perform here for the receivers. Seen good two-handed catches and some terrible drops under pressure. Run Blocking: 50/55 Adjusted the CPU's run blocking to go down actually. The reason for this is because when it was too high, the RB would rely too much on their block and not be decisive with hitting the holes. In addition it affected down the field blocking so the RAC's I was seeing were not very realistic at all. You would see blocks warp down the field, and be held in this stuck animation, even when the ball carrier is well past the blockers. I know going low for the CPU is usually a killer for any set, but it is really important they make a strong decision when the ball is handed to them. Fumbles: 48/48 This was the last of the changes I worked on. I needed to make sure that when the QB is sacked, it doesn't result in a fumble each time. In addition, I wanted the CPU RB to also reach second levels without needing to make another adjustment/juke/spin just because that hurts a lot obviously, but I figured out that the 48 for fumbles was really key in getting smarter play in the open field, and acceleration. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 40/40 Had to focus on getting these reactions back on point when combined with the solid title update that brough the deflections by all defenders back. Interceptions: 40/40 Bumped this back up and it's been solid again, good mix of interceptions and deflections or brick hands. Pass Coverage: 42/42 Too low and it was super tight again, which is fine, but it resulted in too many coverage sacks, and CPU QB holding onto the ball too long. So a slight bump to 45, and that was too loose, found a nice middle ground with 42. Tackling: 38/38 Pains me to go under 40 because I am afraid of warping, but thankfully, on 10 threshold it doesn't happen as much because there is not as much gap to overcome as it was on zero. So, this results in some really nice physics in the tackles, great wrap up tackles, flying bodies, the works. Yes, there are broken tackles, but it's nothing too outrageous. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/48 As mentioned above, this value can be lowered to create that random chance of a miss by the guys with the most pressure on their shoulders. As a former kicker myself, I had to give some realistic "love" to them. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 If they're going to lose a little bit of power, let's make them a tad accurate on their punts so they're going for the coffin corner punts a bit more - or at least trying to. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 15
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 9/10/18 - Typical EA. Right when Version 15 is getting good. However, a lot of positive with the title update. Just needs more time to adjust to. Stay tuned. Thanks! 9/8/18 - Here's Version 15, really it's just a couple of adjustments - ones which I think are welcomed to improve the pass coverage and CPU QB behavior. I think it also brings a sense of smoothness to the animations as well. Here they are: Threshold: From 10 to 15 Coverage is helped here by increasing the threshold. In addition, the animations have been completely smoothed out. It feels like playing on slow speed at times - which really syncs the animations and logic - especially the running game by the CPU. I don't want to go too high here though as that will make animations appear sooner, and out of sync. QB Accuracy: From 50/50 to 50/48 This slight bump down allows the CPU to still be decisive with the ball, but introduces a bit more time for the coverage to react. Oddly enough the slow pass velocity seems to put more pressure on the receiver to make a catch, so the 45 catch really comes into play. CPU will use more of the sides versus the middle of the field so adjust your gameplan accordingly. Pass Coverage: From 40/40 to 10/40 Lowering the coverage for the user here is going to make things tighter. I was trying to think how best to explain this value, and the best way I can describe it is that this is the threshold for coverage. Lower = tighter, higher = looser. If you go too high, you get the stop on routes. I was seeing this with the Version 14 set up a bit, then paired with the threshold, it became a bit too free. So there we go. Let me know your thoughts, guys. I'm seeing good variety in this version on both All-Pro and All-Madden. Enjoy! Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: On Post patch this MUST BE ON. Since the deflections were patched out, as were the WR jarred hits, this value is even more important for both the User and CPU. This is similar to my Madden 18 values, in which Josh recommended it. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 49 At 49 the CPU is able to recover from fatigue while still running. So they do not slow down dramatically, and if they start to slow down, they can recover realistically. Min Player Threshold: from 10 to 15 Version 15: Coverage is helped here by increasing the threshold. In addition, the animations have been completely smoothed out. It feels like playing on slow speed at times - which really syncs the animations and logic - especially the running game by the CPU. I don't want to go too high here though as that will make animations appear sooner, and out of sync. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V15" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V15" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: From 50/50 to 50/48 Version 15: This slight bump down allows the CPU to still be decisive with the ball, but introduces a bit more time for the coverage to react. Oddly enough the slow pass velocity seems to put more pressure on the receiver to make a catch, so the 45 catch really comes into play. CPU will use more of the sides versus the middle of the field so adjust your gameplan accordingly. Pass Blocking: 48/10 Signifcant value difference here, but honestly the pressure needs to be there. I've seen great variety in the OL/DL, no insta-shedding except when matchups are heavily outweighed in DL's favor, such as a 90ovr DT vs a 70 ovr C. This definitely brings in the CPU to pass under pressure though. Play actions will still be a sensitive area to pay attention to. WR Catch: 45/45 Pressure to perform here for the receivers. Seen good two-handed catches and some terrible drops under pressure. Run Blocking: 50/75 Kept it simple for the user, but the CPU needs love as always. Too high of RBL and the RB starts eyeing the safety too much, and chooses to avoid him at all costs by running backwards, so 75 is a good spot here. Fumbles:50/50 Keeping this one as it is. Too many theories in my head on what does what, but in the end, the idea of the RB or QB fumbling constantly is a bit tiresome. I do not believe it affects run directness in this post-patch version as much as it did pre-patch though. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 80/65 As I've said on the previous version, the slider is reversed relative to what that entire set created. This is a testament to how sensitive penalty values are. So, with no adjustments to penalties, now the values are true and adjusting is more straight forward. User gets a higher value to compensate for those who do not choose to use Ballhawk on. I've advised to use it, but if it's personal preference, then 80 is the max value. Interceptions: 38/35 This value also plays a role in coverage and chosen interception animation vs deflection. If you have ball hawk off, and keep this as it is, you then must control the defender and then choose an input to intercept. Frustrating, but this is the design currently. Pass Coverage: From 40/40 to 10/40 Version 15: Lowering the coverage for the user here is going to make things tighter. I was trying to think how best to explain this value, and the best way I can describe it is that this is the threshold for coverage. Lower = tighter, higher = looser. If you go too high, you get the stop on routes. I was seeing this with the Version 14 set up a bit, then paired with the threshold, it became a bit too free. Tackling: 38/38 Pains me to go under 40 because I am afraid of warping, but thankfully, on 10 threshold it doesn't happen as much because there is not as much gap to overcome as it was on zero. So, this results in some really nice physics in the tackles, great wrap up tackles, flying bodies, the works. Yes, there are broken tackles, but it's nothing too outrageous. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/48 As mentioned above, this value can be lowered to create that random chance of a miss by the guys with the most pressure on their shoulders. As a former kicker myself, I had to give some realistic "love" to them. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 If they're going to lose a little bit of power, let's make them a tad accurate on their punts so they're going for the coffin corner punts a bit more - or at least trying to. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 14
Spoiler
Game Settings If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Also, please include if you are providing feedback on All-Madden or All-Pro. Thank you! Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: On Post patch this MUST BE ON. Since the deflections were patched out, as were the WR jarred hits, this value is even more important for both the User and CPU. This is similar to my Madden 18 values, in which Josh recommended it. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 49 At 49 the CPU is able to recover from fatigue while still running. So they do not slow down dramatically, and if they start to slow down, they can recover realistically. Min Player Threshold: 10 I've been working on raising this up gradually. At zero it was working great but there were many times in which the game was trying to catch up to the threshold via warping and collision mismatches of animations. It became a bit wonky, and no matter what I tried, there were too many issues with these animations. I understand to tread carefully with low values like zero, but M19 is a bit of a sensitive beast, so it is now a much better move to up the threshold to a value I've always liked, which is 10, as that is still low enough for separation's sake, and just enough to allow the other values to stand out to have some nice physics in play. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V14" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V14" (pending, hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 50/50 This is a value that I've gone all over with. Under 50, and with the pressure of PBL, the CPU just goes safe, and doesn't try to threaten downfield unless it's a 100% certainty to be caught. This leads to RoboQB effect. I also wanted to incorporate the throw under pressure rating of players to stand out, so when they do feel pressure, they will follow that rating accordingly. Pass Blocking: 48/10 Signifcant value difference here, but honestly the pressure needs to be there. I've seen great variety in the OL/DL, no insta-shedding except when matchups are heavily outweighed in DL's favor, such as a 90ovr DT vs a 70 ovr C. This definitely brings in the CPU to pass under pressure though. Play actions will still be a sensitive area to pay attention to. WR Catch: 45/45 Pressure to perform here for the receivers. Seen good two-handed catches and some terrible drops under pressure. Run Blocking: 50/75 Kept it simple for the user, but the CPU needs love as always. Too high of RBL and the RB starts eyeing the safety too much, and chooses to avoid him at all costs by running backwards, so 75 is a good spot here. Fumbles:50/50 Keeping this one as it is. Too many theories in my head on what does what, but in the end, the idea of the RB or QB fumbling constantly is a bit tiresome. I do not believe it affects run directness in this post-patch version as much as it did pre-patch though. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 80/65 As I've said on the previous version, the slider is reversed relative to what that entire set created. This is a testament to how sensitive penalty values are. So, with no adjustments to penalties, now the values are true and adjusting is more straight forward. User gets a higher value to compensate for those who do not choose to use Ballhawk on. I've advised to use it, but if it's personal preference, then 80 is the max value. Interceptions: 38/35 This value also plays a role in coverage and chosen interception animation vs deflection. If you have ball hawk off, and keep this as it is, you then must control the defender and then choose an input to intercept. Frustrating, but this is the design currently. Pass Coverage: 40/40 Same as Pass Reaction value, this is one that gradually goes back near 50, but not so much that it's mirroring the routes. Tackling: 38/38 Pains me to go under 40 because I am afraid of warping, but thankfully, on 10 threshold it doesn't happen as much because there is not as much gap to overcome as it was on zero. So, this results in some really nice physics in the tackles, great wrap up tackles, flying bodies, the works. Yes, there are broken tackles, but it's nothing too outrageous. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/48 As mentioned above, this value can be lowered to create that random chance of a miss by the guys with the most pressure on their shoulders. As a former kicker myself, I had to give some realistic "love" to them. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 If they're going to lose a little bit of power, let's make them a tad accurate on their punts so they're going for the coffin corner punts a bit more - or at least trying to. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties All Penalties Set to Default 50 or ON As I said, I have enjoyed modifying the gameplay by using the power of the penalty sliders with a zero threshold, but that became a bit of a balancing act that got a bit over my head and patience. It skewed feedback because not only was I relying on feedback of the gameplay sliders, I also needed to receive confirmation that the penalty values were also adhered to. This became a sense of second guessing and inconsistency as a result. I believe having these as default are good for the set, but definitely adjust them as you see fit. VERSION 13 (Post-Patch, the short-lived monstrosity)
Spoiler
8/26/18 - Thanks again everyone for the feedback. Think I'm quite happy with this version, which supports Version 12 as a base. Enjoy! Game Settings Note: Please input the sliders EXACTLY as posted. I cannot stress this enough. Sliders in Madden 19 are very sensitive this year. Sliders are relative to eachother in most cases, but this game sets the standard of absolutes. They are not my own personal preferences at all, they are simply done by necessity. I focus on animations + logic, and if a value essentially toggles these "on" or "off", then that is the value I stay with. If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Thank you! Game Mode: Franchise only. Play Now results could be different in comparison. I believe there are also multiple values that are reversed in Play Now vs Franchise mode. Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: On Post patch this MUST BE ON. Since the deflections were patched out, as were the WR jarred hits, this value is even more important for both the User and CPU. This is similar to my Madden 18 values, in which Josh recommended it. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: from 50 to 49 Version 13: Really important to bump this down. Just saw too many irregular plays in open field where players could easily run, but chose to jog instead. Just a note, I used 48 as well and it opens the game up a bit too much. Too many compensations will be needed that way, so we're sticking with 49. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) For the first time this year I thought about moving this up, and tested as so. I went all over the map, and never found it to be as good as ZERO. However, Zero requires a lot of love and attention. It can cause separation between a DB/WR to look like acres of space at times. However, the NFL, or football in general, is about closing down that space and reacting to make up for it. With threshold at Zero, that space is not just about speed, but it is about maintaining the players relevance to the forcefield that the game puts on you at 50. This is why there is warping and collisions that are illogical. This is why when creating a Zero threshold set, it is so much about outside of the box thinking because it is so far off game's design. Based on the history of this game's direction via patches, etc, one would not be hesitant to address a different path of the game's design - threshold at zero is my way of bringing that to the table. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V11" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V12" (hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: from 50 to 40 Version 13: Going to accept that the values inputted above is going to make the CPU QB make more risk/reward plays versus just dumping passes off constantly. They will use them though, and that is fine for me. From a physics standpoint, I like how the ball moves through the air here compared to every pass being a bullet. This has also allowed better reactions to deflection animations. Pass Blocking: 48/30 As mentioned above for QBA, this pass blocking value also needs to get attention; in particular for the CPU. The PBL for the user is also going to be addressed, but not directly through this value. Same goes for the CPU, but it needed a bit extra "nudge" in the right direction. These values will bring pressure, but keep in mind that will force the QB to make a decision, and not many QBs want to take a sack, so this can end up improving passing, so tread carefully with your playcalling. WR Catching: from 48 to 45 Version 13: Big thing here is getting more two handed catches versus a one handed catch that turns into two hands. Seeing some really nice animations here as well, and yes there are some contextual drops which is nice to see. Run Blocking: from 55/65 to 55/55 Version 13: CPU gets a drop here because I wanted to see a more organic blocking show up versus this suction blocking downfield just to get an extra 20 yards. Like I said, I am big on animations, and stats can be skewed, so this blend works quite nicely and the CPU RB reacts relative to the gaps to hit. This isn't college ball, so the space between OL/DL should not be as significant as puttin g a high RBL value would do. Fumbles: from 50/50 to 55/55 Version 13: Bump up on fumbles here. Seems to help with the tackle animations as well. Also should help with the random QB fumbles, and random fumbles from non fumble producing hits, etc. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 1/1 Yes, strange value I know. This value is reversed. 1 is tighter and more reactive, while 100 is looser and slower to react. This is what is relative to this entire set's composition though, so I by no means am isolating that it is reversed for those who play default at 50 thresh, or anything like that, I can only speak to my set. If I wanted to come up with theories on every single set out there, Madden21 will be out by the time I've reached the QBA value. So, trust me on this one, this is like part 1 out of the crazy values that make up some semblance of a pass defense post-patch. Interceptions: 38/35 This value also plays a role in coverage and chosen interception animation vs deflection. If you have ball hawk off, and keep this as it is, you then must control the defender and then choose an input to intercept. Frustrating, but this is the design currently. Pass Coverage: 1/1 Probably the biggest find for me. Took way too long to find the right combination, but once discovered, this had to play a role in the coverage. I've shown video on this thread, and it is so important to have this value where it is so there is much less (not completely removed) stopping on routes by the defender. They will still get beat if there is a mismatch, or if the run into a teammate/opponent, so definitely watch the playcalling. CPU will not be afraid to go long if they see a mismatch. Some of the best DB/WR animations I have seen to date though. Tackling: from 45 to 42 Version 13: Just a notch down here to get a bit better physics in terms of gang tackling and less one-on-one perfect form WWE hits. It's a tough balance, and once they may have to be accepted as it's part of this year's title. I've seen some good tackle animations with this set up though, and not as many broken tackles as I initially thought. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/48 As mentioned above, this value can be lowered to create that random chance of a miss by the guys with the most pressure on their shoulders. As a former kicker myself, I had to give some realistic "love" to them. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 If they're going to lose a little bit of power, let's make them a tad accurate on their punts so they're going for the coffin corner punts a bit more - or at least trying to. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties Offside: from 55 to 50 Dropping this down a bit will help the run game a bit, because I am also bringing in more natural looking blocks in the trenches versus the way down the field blocks that noone can disengage from. False Start: 55 Always good to have this go hand-in-hand with offside. They work together to create that OL/DL interaction. The OL is controlled by False-Start, and the DL is controlled by Offside. Offensive Holding: 55 Holding will be called, especially because there is more emphasis to pressure the quarterback and react to second level blocking when applicable. Defensive Holding: 50 I like this animation to appear more, so if it's higher it tends to not ever appear. It is basically the animation in which the WR/TE runs into the middle of the field and are pushed off balance or even pushed into completing their route. Face Mask: 80 Relative to the tackle value, this brings in more wrap up style versus WWE. You will see big hits by big hitters, but with the post-patch update of hit-stick tackling, there will be a lot of risk/reward here. Defensive Pass Interference: 55 I absolutely love that this value can be placed here. It shows up in many situations, especially in one on one instances. I have tried it at lower levels, and it's just not football if there isn't a tangling of players that are fighting for position. Offensive Pass Interference: On As mentioned earlier, this value needs to be turned back on. There was a disadvantage in the receivers fighting for the ball in the air pre-patch, but post-patch they have the priority. Turning this back on so there are no additional priorities given over defenders who get in good position. Kick Catch Interference: On Has to be on. It affects the read/react of the defenders. With it off, you will see more start/stop on routes, and also some bonehead looks at the ball versus trying to make a play. Illegal Block in the Back: 0 (ZERO) I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: from Off to On Version 13: Better QB presence here because the coverage is quite tight. I want to give them some strength in the pocket because their QBA value is lessened. Roughing the Passer: from 5 to 0 (ZERO) Dropping this down to really allow the aggression of the DL come through. This should also help the push by the front four, relative to what OL/DL match up is there of course. Roughing the Kicker: Off Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On Still no reason to adjust this. I tried this off for a bit, and the animation of jogging DBs and LBs was very evident in weird situations. From coverage to chasing down a runner, this value is best to stay on because it just brings in strange, illogical, animations. This is one of the reasons I had thought fatigue had to go down initially. VERSION 12 (Post-Patch)
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 8/25/18 - Great feedback everyone. It's always a good sign to a slider creator when there is a good variety, because that means it's all contextual. This is another reason why I build my sliders off of animations that are triggered versus just stats/ratings. The goal is to trigger animations, which then should allow the ratings to show up, followed by the stats. On the agenda tonight is to get Version 13 finalized. I'm addressing the following: Fatigue - saw a couple instances from streamers on the CPU primarily not able to remain at top speed after too many [contextual] jukes or spins. Should also help the overall balance of games.8/23/18 - It's been a long day of testing. I thought I had it much earlier in the day, but like any slider set, it is only as good as its base - and if there is a little crack in that base, it's going to fall apart. So, I had to take this apart from the previous versions, and kind of build it new. I focused on trying to interchange both All-Pro and All-Madden. I think the core of the set are there to allow this to happen. I approach slider sets this way so I can use All-Pro for home games and All-Madden for away games. This is what I do for FIFA, and have done for NCAA and Madden for years. Of course, we're all different, and skillsets vary, so you will have to modify where you see fit - or simply ask and I can give insight on my thinking. It's a bit crazy at times, and I apologize. I hope this Version 12 makes sense as the games unfold. Since this is pretty much a brand new set, I am going to just post it as is below. Game Settings Note: Please input the sliders EXACTLY as posted. I cannot stress this enough. Sliders in Madden 19 are very sensitive this year. Sliders are relative to eachother in most cases, but this game sets the standard of absolutes. They are not my own personal preferences at all, they are simply done by necessity. I focus on animations + logic, and if a value essentially toggles these "on" or "off", then that is the value I stay with. If you provide feedback, please advise of any modifications you have done from this OP set. Thank you! Game Mode: Franchise only. Play Now results could be different in comparison. I believe there are also multiple values that are reversed in Play Now vs Franchise mode. Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: On Post patch this MUST BE ON. Since the deflections were patched out, as were the WR jarred hits, this value is even more important for both the User and CPU. This is similar to my Madden 18 values, in which Josh recommended it. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 13 Kudos to Tommy again for these as it allows such a nice balance of entire game injuries, temporary injuries, different severity, just good overall mixture. Fatigue: 50 Initially thought this would need to be modified back to 49 or even 48, but what I realized here was that it was other slider values causing the issue and not the fatigue as a base. Keeping at 50 allows good rotation and also affects stamina of players to perform. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) For the first time this year I thought about moving this up, and tested as so. I went all over the map, and never found it to be as good as ZERO. However, Zero requires a lot of love and attention. It can cause separation between a DB/WR to look like acres of space at times. However, the NFL, or football in general, is about closing down that space and reacting to make up for it. With threshold at Zero, that space is not just about speed, but it is about maintaining the players relevance to the forcefield that the game puts on you at 50. This is why there is warping and collisions that are illogical. This is why when creating a Zero threshold set, it is so much about outside of the box thinking because it is so far off game's design. Based on the history of this game's direction via patches, etc, one would not be hesitant to address a different path of the game's design - threshold at zero is my way of bringing that to the table. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V11" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V12" (hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 50/50 I've had multiple thoughts about this value. Post-patch, it's one of those that sticks out to being the culprit to a lot of issues, such as Robo QB and dink/dunk passes, etc. To me, this value serves as a form of aggression, but also a "true" value to the ratings of the player under pressure. The key word here is "pressure" as any quarterback can be Joe Montana without pressure, or facing proper coverage, so that is why I have left the value at 50 for both All-Pro and All-Madden. If you go too low on this value, you get those "safe" passes, or no pass at all. I want this to play true to ratings, and I feel QBA at 50 does the job. Pass Blocking: 48/30 As mentioned above for QBA, this pass blocking value also needs to get attention; in particular for the CPU. The PBL for the user is also going to be addressed, but not directly through this value. Same goes for the CPU, but it needed a bit extra "nudge" in the right direction. These values will bring pressure, but keep in mind that will force the QB to make a decision, and not many QBs want to take a sack, so this can end up improving passing, so tread carefully with your playcalling. WR Catch: 48/48 Slight adjustment here as the receivers have a bit more power being given to them in holding onto the football, not to mention priority to the football. This is why another value in offensive pass interference (OPI) was turned back on because it had previously allows the receiver to fight for the ball in the air. Now, not so much, they are doing that on their own. Run Blocking: 55/65 One of those values that always needs attention, and this is not different. There is a specific penalty value that is going to make that 55 look like a 45, so be ready for it. The CPU reacts very well to this aggression and get on their horse from the get go. Yes, there are still some questionable jukes at times, but they are much more direct that pre-patch. Fumbles:50/50 Keeping this one as it is. Too many theories in my head on what does what, but in the end, the idea of the RB or QB fumbling constantly is a bit tiresome. I do not believe it affects run directness in this post-patch version as much as it did pre-patch though. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 1/1 Yes, strange value I know. This value is reversed. 1 is tighter and more reactive, while 100 is looser and slower to react. This is what is relative to this entire set's composition though, so I by no means am isolating that it is reversed for those who play default at 50 thresh, or anything like that, I can only speak to my set. If I wanted to come up with theories on every single set out there, Madden21 will be out by the time I've reached the QBA value. So, trust me on this one, this is like part 1 out of the crazy values that make up some semblance of a pass defense post-patch. Interceptions: 38/35 This value also plays a role in coverage and chosen interception animation vs deflection. If you have ball hawk off, and keep this as it is, you then must control the defender and then choose an input to intercept. Frustrating, but this is the design currently. Pass Coverage: 1/1 Probably the biggest find for me. Took way too long to find the right combination, but once discovered, this had to play a role in the coverage. I've shown video on this thread, and it is so important to have this value where it is so there is much less (not completely removed) stopping on routes by the defender. They will still get beat if there is a mismatch, or if the run into a teammate/opponent, so definitely watch the playcalling. CPU will not be afraid to go long if they see a mismatch. Some of the best DB/WR animations I have seen to date though. Tackling: 45/45 I really wanted to get a low value for tackling to take advantage of the physics in this game. I am quite hesitant of lowering tackle as well though because it creates a lot of warping if it is not paired with either a threshold change (higher) or a penalty change (facemask). I chose the penalty route since, for one, facemask is rarely called in this game, and it focuses on a more wrap up type tackle when paired up with low tackle value. I did not want an abundance of broken tackles either though. Special Teams FG Power: 55/55 I've said it before, but I like that "oomph!" in the kick. This not only allows that to happen, but it allows the accuracy value to be modified under 50 as well so there are no random driven soccer kicks into the crossbar. FG Accuracy: 48/48 As mentioned above, this value can be lowered to create that random chance of a miss by the guys with the most pressure on their shoulders. As a former kicker myself, I had to give some realistic "love" to them. Punt Power: 48/48 May have mentioned it before, but this value is super sensitive. There is a 10-yard glitch though that happens when punting into the wind, so just be on the lookout with those. However, I did want less powered punts into the endzone that would get the punter fired on the spot if he did once in a game, let alone the multiple times this game allows it. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 If they're going to lose a little bit of power, let's make them a tad accurate on their punts so they're going for the coffin corner punts a bit more - or at least trying to. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Good value here to get the ball struck perfectly through the endzone, or come up short of the goal-line. Penalties Offside: 55 This is the value that determines how quick of a jump the DL gets (shedding blocks), and also how quick of a jump the DB/LB react to a draw play. I like 55 because it brings it in play to be called as a penalty, but it also plays a role in defending variety in the trenches. False Start: 55 Always good to have this go hand-in-hand with offside. They work together to create that OL/DL interaction. The OL is controlled by False-Start, and the DL is controlled by Offside. Offensive Holding: 55 Holding will be called, especially because there is more emphasis to pressure the quarterback and react to second level blocking when applicable. Defensive Holding: 50 I like this animation to appear more, so if it's higher it tends to not ever appear. It is basically the animation in which the WR/TE runs into the middle of the field and are pushed off balance or even pushed into completing their route. Face Mask: 80 Relative to the tackle value, this brings in more wrap up style versus WWE. You will see big hits by big hitters, but with the post-patch update of hit-stick tackling, there will be a lot of risk/reward here. Defensive Pass Interference: 55 I absolutely love that this value can be placed here. It shows up in many situations, especially in one on one instances. I have tried it at lower levels, and it's just not football if there isn't a tangling of players that are fighting for position. Offensive Pass Interference: On As mentioned earlier, this value needs to be turned back on. There was a disadvantage in the receivers fighting for the ball in the air pre-patch, but post-patch they have the priority. Turning this back on so there are no additional priorities given over defenders who get in good position. Kick Catch Interference: On Has to be on. It affects the read/react of the defenders. With it off, you will see more start/stop on routes, and also some bonehead looks at the ball versus trying to make a play. Illegal Block in the Back: 0 (ZERO) I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: Off This penalty does not get called anyways. However since turning it off, I've seen much smarter CPU QB play and extending plays properly. Roughing the Passer: 5 This is the value that makes all the difference in the world. Not only does it affect the passing plays, it affects the running plays. Without it, the LB/DL are left to play patty-cake with the OL, and never get to blow up anything in the backfield. 100% essential to this set. Lower the value, the more aggressive, higher more subtle. Roughing the Kicker: Off Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On Still no reason to adjust this. I tried this off for a bit, and the animation of jogging DBs and LBs was very evident in weird situations. From coverage to chasing down a runner, this value is best to stay on because it just brings in strange, illogical, animations. This is one of the reasons I had thought fatigue had to go down initially. VERSION 11 (Post-Patch)
Spoiler
8/23/18 - Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the feedback. I feel like I got somewhere last night, but unfortunately, ran out of time. I worked exclusively on All-Madden since it is a bit more volatile than All-Pro. It's like the realism that All-Madden had pre-patch just became the All-Madden of old. It's back to nerfing your own players to improve the % of an occurrence. Whether that be completion, missed tackle, missed interception, etc. The main culprit is the RoboQB, but that is just a byproduct of the separation between defender and receiver, and the lack of pressure on the QB. Initially, I thought a threshold change would be in order, but I modified multiple values including threshold, and there was no difference. I then imported V10.5 values and it seemed to return back to an acceptable level. The value that seemed to make the most difference here was Fatigue. Where I thought that it was on that the fatigue at 50 was going to allow the game to be more about gradual fatigue, it started to show that it was more so about fatigue during the actual play at hand. This is why the linebackers, the defensive backs, they started jogging in covering routes and/or chasing down the ball carrier. The defensive line would try all the swim moves in the world, but stop very quickly, leaving the outside LBs (if blitzing) to take on the OL. With all this time for the QB, the receiver just had to make one cut in a route and be gone. So, my initial thoughts are, for Version12, I'm going to address: So, got some work to do. Don't want to rush it as Version 11 feedback has been important, but at the same time, I do not want to keep playing the game in this state. Will be back at it later this afternoon. Thanks again, everyone. 8/21/18: Got to stream quite a bit today, so that was enjoyable. Apologies, no mic, as I've got three boys under the age of 5, who really don't care about my Madden gaming. With that said, the big patch came out today and it has brought in really good things, with some interesting issues such as the RoboQB. I cannot guarantee the below adjustments are going to accomplish defeating the RoboQB, but it has shown some promise. I will continue to monitor it, and your feedback is definitely invaluable. So here are the adjustments for Version 11: Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: from On to Off Realized that this was causing the players not to react to the ball in time. For some reason it only reacts when you switch and attempt a swat or another input. Safe to say to keep these helpers off. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: From 16 to 13. Version 11: Kudos to Tommy on this one as he suggested using 13 from 16. Tried it out tonight and saw less game ending injuries. More temporary, and good variety of injuries as well. Fatigue: From 49 to 50. Version 11: The biggest and one of the most important values to consider for this version. It allows the CPU QB on All-Madden to be humanized just a bit, while also providing good rotation overall. It also has helped the pass coverage for the user and CPU to react much better. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V11" (pending, tbd) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V11" (hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: 50/50 Determined that had an inaccurate value with the higher QBA + WRC. Having them too high affected CPU playcalling and also made skewed separation between the DB and WR/TE, not to mention the perfect catching and Robo QB. While the QB may not be as aggressive as it was on 62, it would be much better to see less Robo QB and lack of a human touch. Pass Blocking: From 48/40 to 48/50. Version 11: With the new update, the CPU QB was releasing the ball fast, and this made some really easy completions. Bumping PBL back to 50 allows them to execute a bit more reading of the coverage and reacting. This bit of time holding onto the ball allows the defense to also get in position. Good QBs will release faster, but if your defense is stout, it can result in some good defensive play from coverage sacks or contribute to lower conversion rates. WR Catch: From 55/55 to 50/50 Goes hand in hand with the QBA change. Contributed greatly to the Robo QB and not to mention the spacing between the DB and WR which seemed to result in the WR getting wide open multiple times. Run Blocking: From 40/75 to 40/50 Version 11: Feels good to be able to drop the CPU's RBL back to an acceptable level at 50. Seeing great runs from the CPU on both All-Madden and All-Pro. RBL lower for the User is also still working well for both sides. Keep an eye out for the All-Madden CPU defense though against the run as it definitely takes some good running skills and practice with RPM. Fumbles: From 48/48 to 40/40 Version 11: Felt that the game still lacked a bit of random play, in particular to RB fumbles. This should help that just a tad, and also result in more covering up versus constantly juking. Pass Defense Reaction Time: From 58/59 to 60/60. Version 11: Very slight bump here, but this brings back the deflections and overall "reaction" to what is happening on the field. The update made things a bit looser in coverage and it was important to raise the reaction to compensate. Interceptions: 30/30 Dropped this down more and now it's in good spot between "brick hands" and skilled catches depending on the defender. Pass Coverage: 65/62 Focus here is to get the middle of the field as a secondary option and can result in being pressured more to dump off etc when making those split decisions. Often times before the user was able to wait for the route to be completed without being hurried at all. Also want the game much tighter, and that can only be accomplished with a mix of the values provided, but PCV plays a big role when you have the threshold at this zero level. Tackling: From 32/32 to 50/50. Version 11: The update stated it would have less WWE tackles, so naturally going to raise this value back up. I am still seeing some questionable tackles, but not enough to validate keeping this lower where runners and quarterbacks and break tackles so easily. May compensate the big hits with increasing the Facemask penalty for more wrap ups in next version(s). Special Teams FG Power: 52/52 Yes, giving them a bit more pump here as MVP brought up to me the CPU tends to kick the ball in the 59-65 yard range or so. Let's give them a chance, and a chance to miss with the field goal accuracy. FG Accuracy: 50/50 Have done a number on this one, and it's safe to say it needs to be at 50. Super sensitive slider. Kickers were missing badly on occasion, they'd be cut from semi-pro, let alone NFL. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. Penalties Offside: From 60 to 50. Version 11: No need to have this at a higher level anymore since the shedding of blocks is well executed with balance in this most recent update. Same will go for the False Start value as they go hand-in-hand. False Start: From 55 to 50. Version 11: No need to have this at a higher level anymore since the shedding of blocks is well executed with balance in this most recent update. Same will go for the Offside value as they go hand-in-hand. Offensive Holding: 50 Another slight bump to allow this to blend with the defensive holding, but also force some defensive line play animations and fight to get to the quarterback. Thanks to wideout123 for recognizing the lack of this animation previously. Defensive Holding: 55 Version 9: As mentioned above, we're going a bit more subtle here to allow the animation to occur, but also to free up the runs as coverage is much tighter than before. Good DB/WR interaction as well. Face Mask: 50 Always a good bump to make afer we've established the tackling at 29 is still in a good spot. Should see more soft wrap up tackles as well which will be a nice change of pace. It should result in less broken tackles, but will have to keep an eye out. Defensive Pass Interference: 55 Same in regards to the defensive holding as the two should go hand in hand, but there is still that element of offensive pass interference being off to allow a bit of separation from the tighter coverage in this version. Offensive Pass Interference: Off This value gets a change to enhance the WR behavior in their routes, and also the defender's behavior to those routes. I know 50 PCV is going to be tighter, so any advantage we can give the receiver the better. Now, it's so important to be in-sync and hit those targets by making the right reads. Kick Catch Interference: On This value needed to be turned back on as it was affecting how the DBs reacted to to the receivers. Also it affects their reaction to the runs where often times they would be almost psychic on where the RB was going to go before he even received the hand off. CPU likes to PA, and having this Off kind of negated the effectiveness of the playcalling. Illegal Block in the Back: 0 (ZERO) This change was pretty significant and I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: Off This penalty does not get called anyways. However since turning it off, I've seen much smarter CPU QB play and extending plays properly. Roughing the Passer: 40 This is one of the values that definitely shows up when you raise it, but rare when you keep it at 50 or lower it. So, why not drop it without sacrificing Pass Block gameplay slider. This brings in that extra bit of pressure, and puts the emphasis back on your pre-snap reads and depth of O-Line, and QB rating under pressure. Roughing the Kicker: Off Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On No need to adjust. VERSION 10.5 (Pre-patch)
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 8/19/18: Morning all, just realized I messed up on the QBA at 51/52 and WRC 55/55. For those that might have played Version 10 already are most likely experiencing A LOT of Robo QB and more passing chosen over running. These are incorrect as the two values changes the playcalling and outcome. Both these values should be 50/50 (All Pro and All Madden). I've fixed this with and update to Version 10, which I will just call Version 10.5. My apologies, but I wanted to make sure to address that right away. So here are the adjustments: Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: from On to Off Realized that this was causing the players not to react to the ball in time. For some reason it only reacts when you switch and attempt a swat or another input. Safe to say to keep these helpers off. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: from 19 to 16 Version 8: Lots of injuries throughout half a season for me here, and I've received feedback about the game by game ones. Dropping this value a tad to lessen that number a bit. Fatigue: from 48 to 49 Version 8: Subtle change, but it makes a big difference when players are not on full tilt the entire game. I also felt like the RB rotation was a bit gone in the early parts of the game, so it was important to reestablish that. I think it can create some good mismatches throughout the game as a result. In addition, the feel of the game is tighter this way, and animations play out to support that. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V105" (uploaded 8/19/18) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V105" (hosted by Escobar) QB Accuracy: From 51/52 (All Pro) | 51/55 (All Madden) to 50/50 (All Pro and All Madden) Version 10.5: Determined that had an inaccurate value with the higher QBA + WRC. Having them too high affected CPU playcalling and also made skewed separation between the DB and WR/TE, not to mention the perfect catching and Robo QB. While the QB may not be as aggressive as it was on 62, it would be much better to see less Robo QB and lack of a human touch. Pass Blocking: from 48/48 to 48/40 Version 10: CPU gets a bit of a bump down here because they are just not releasing their blocks at all. It' still pretty tricky, but very rewarding to put any kind of pressure on the QB. My big thing was getting their PA passes working where it didn't result in an instant sack. WR Catch: From 55/55 to 50/50 Version 10.5: Goes hand in hand with the QBA change. Contributed greatly to the Robo QB and not to mention the spacing between the DB and WR which seemed to result in the WR getting wide open multiple times. Run Blocking: from 52/75 to 40/75 Version 10: Let me explain this one a bit. It's a developing theory, but I believe the User's RBL is actually the CPU's directness value. For slider guys who understand the value that has determined CPU's RB directness in the pass will agree it was the fumble value, which is what I believe parts of that value reside here in the user's RBL. I have seen the CPU hit better gaps, less juking and spinning than ever before. Now, this could be all coincidental, and will most likely be debunked - but at least it attempts to kill two birds with one stone, which was to get the user's run game a bit more maintained to realistic levels, not to mention make you as the user really feel rewarded in gaining positive yards. I am not going to be so bold that it fixes anything about the CPU run game, but the games I've played sure make a convincing argument. Fumbles: from 48/48 to 48/50 Version 10: With the above change to RBL, I figured let's not let any other influence come into play and let the 50 be the value that the CPU holds onto. This is one of those values that may, or may not, mean anything, but it's easier for peace of mind to put it at default 50. Pass Defense Reaction Time: from 55/55 to 58/59 Version 10: Couple notches for this value as started to see the defenders just stare at the receiver, versus attempt to swat or try to intercept. At 60 the linebackers started popping up in the air too often, so toned that down to a nice 58/59 value since the user can still control the defender manually. Interceptions: 30/30 Dropped this down more and now it's in good spot between "brick hands" and skilled catches depending on the defender. Pass Coverage: from 50/50 to 65/62 Version 10: Focus here is to get the middle of the field as a secondary option and can result in being pressured more to dump off etc when making those split decisions. Often times before the user was able to wait for the route to be completed without being hurried at all. Also want the game much tighter, and that can only be accomplished with a mix of the values provided, but PCV plays a big role when you have the threshold at this zero level. Tackling: from 29/29 to 32/32 Such a sensitive value. Under 30 and you get great physics, at or above 30 and you get WWE at times. Think somehow this is working though, and seeing less WWE, and really nice physics + much less broken tackles. Could make running the ball a bit harder for both sides, but hopefully the values above can be more rewarding that frustrating. Special Teams FG Power: 52/52 Yes, giving them a bit more pump here as MVP brought up to me the CPU tends to kick the ball in the 59-65 yard range or so. Let's give them a chance, and a chance to miss with the field goal accuracy. FG Accuracy: 50/50 Have done a number on this one, and it's safe to say it needs to be at 50. Super sensitive slider. Kickers were missing badly on occasion, they'd be cut from semi-pro, let alone NFL. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. Penalties Offside: from 20 to 60 Version 9: The theory of lower offside/false start got put through the ringer and it didn't seem to create the effect to the run game as intended. It still operated exactly as it is designed where offsides higher will result in more push from the DL, but in respect to the run game it did not alter the CPU RB's decision making as I wanted. False Start: from 40 to 55 Version 9: Just a bit below offsides to allow the offsides to take a priority in animation, which can create the response of the player being a priority to block versus the OL just going further upfield and leaving the DL unblocked. Offensive Holding: from 45 to 50 Version 9: Another slight bump to allow this to blend with the defensive holding, but also force some defensive line play animations and fight to get to the quarterback. Thanks to wideout123 for recognizing the lack of this animation previously. Defensive Holding: from 99 to 55 Version 9: As mentioned above, we're going a bit more subtle here to allow the animation to occur, but also to free up the runs as coverage is much tighter than before. Good DB/WR interaction as well. Face Mask: from 40 to 50 Version 9: Always a good bump to make afer we've established the tackling at 29 is still in a good spot. Should see more soft wrap up tackles as well which will be a nice change of pace. It should result in less broken tackles, but will have to keep an eye out. Defensive Pass Interference: from 99 to 55 Version 9: Same in regards to the defensive holding as the two should go hand in hand, but there is still that element of offensive pass interference being off to allow a bit of separation from the tighter coverage in this version. Offensive Pass Interference: Off This value gets a change to enhance the WR behavior in their routes, and also the defender's behavior to those routes. I know 50 PCV is going to be tighter, so any advantage we can give the receiver the better. Now, it's so important to be in-sync and hit those targets by making the right reads. Kick Catch Interference: From Off to On Version 10.5: This value needed to be turned back on as it was affecting how the DBs reacted to to the receivers. Also it affects their reaction to the runs where often times they would be almost psychic on where the RB was going to go before he even received the hand off. CPU likes to PA, and having this Off kind of negated the effectiveness of the playcalling. Illegal Block in the Back: 0 (ZERO) This change was pretty significant and I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: From On to Off Version 10: This penalty does not get called anyways. However since turning it off, I've seen much smarter CPU QB play and extending plays properly. Roughing the Passer: 40 This is one of the values that definitely shows up when you raise it, but rare when you keep it at 50 or lower it. So, why not drop it without sacrificing Pass Block gameplay slider. This brings in that extra bit of pressure, and puts the emphasis back on your pre-snap reads and depth of O-Line, and QB rating under pressure. Roughing the Kicker: Off Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On No need to adjust. VERSION 10
Spoiler
8/18/18: Taking in all feedback, and reviewing my own gameplay, it's important here to really get the pressure on both QBs. I think the User already has pressure, but the CPU doesn't really - and as a result, they are just standing behind a wall of perfect OL. I wanted to keep the good things of Version 9 (thanks again for positive reception) while clean up certain areas as follows: - Pressure on CPU QB - Passing physics improved - Ease of User Running - Better Pass Defense and Reaction - CPU Running...as always Here are the adjustments Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: from On to Off Realized that this was causing the players not to react to the ball in time. For some reason it only reacts when you switch and attempt a swat or another input. Safe to say to keep these helpers off. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: from 19 to 16 Version 8: Lots of injuries throughout half a season for me here, and I've received feedback about the game by game ones. Dropping this value a tad to lessen that number a bit. Fatigue: from 48 to 49 Version 8: Subtle change, but it makes a big difference when players are not on full tilt the entire game. I also felt like the RB rotation was a bit gone in the early parts of the game, so it was important to reestablish that. I think it can create some good mismatches throughout the game as a result. In addition, the feel of the game is tighter this way, and animations play out to support that. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V10" (uploaded 8/18/18) *Community PS4 file: "Matt10V10" (hosted by Escobar) [indent] QB Accuracy: From 51/52 (All Pro) | 51/55 (All Madden) to 50/50 (All Pro and All Madden) Version 10.5: Determined that had an inaccurate value with the higher QBA + WRC. Having them too high affected CPU playcalling and also made skewed separation between the DB and WR/TE, not to mention the perfect catching and Robo QB. While the QB may not be as aggressive as it was on 62, it would be much better to see less Robo QB and lack of a human touch. Pass Blocking: from 48/48 to 48/40 Version 10: CPU gets a bit of a bump down here because they are just not releasing their blocks at all. It' still pretty tricky, but very rewarding to put any kind of pressure on the QB. My big thing was getting their PA passes working where it didn't result in an instant sack. WR Catch: From 55/55 to 50/50 Version 10.5: Goes hand in hand with the QBA change. Contributed greatly to the Robo QB and not to mention the spacing between the DB and WR which seemed to result in the WR getting wide open multiple times. Run Blocking: from 52/75 to 40/75 Version 10: Let me explain this one a bit. It's a developing theory, but I believe the User's RBL is actually the CPU's directness value. For slider guys who understand the value that has determined CPU's RB directness in the pass will agree it was the fumble value, which is what I believe parts of that value reside here in the user's RBL. I have seen the CPU hit better gaps, less juking and spinning than ever before. Now, this could be all coincidental, and will most likely be debunked - but at least it attempts to kill two birds with one stone, which was to get the user's run game a bit more maintained to realistic levels, not to mention make you as the user really feel rewarded in gaining positive yards. I am not going to be so bold that it fixes anything about the CPU run game, but the games I've played sure make a convincing argument. Fumbles: from 48/48 to 48/50 Version 10: With the above change to RBL, I figured let's not let any other influence come into play and let the 50 be the value that the CPU holds onto. This is one of those values that may, or may not, mean anything, but it's easier for peace of mind to put it at default 50. Pass Defense Reaction Time: from 52/52 to 55/55 Version 9: Slight bump to allow a bit sooner reaction to the ball in the air. The 62 QBA for the CPU can have some power on it, and I think the defenders weren't reacting as a result. Pass Defense Reaction Time: from 55/55 to 58/59 Version 10: Couple notches for this value as started to see the defenders just stare at the receiver, versus attempt to swat or try to intercept. At 60 the linebackers started popping up in the air too often, so toned that down to a nice 58/59 value since the user can still control the defender manually. Interceptions: 30/30 Dropped this down more and now it's in good spot between "brick hands" and skilled catches depending on the defender. Pass Coverage: from 50/50 to 65/62 Version 10: Focus here is to get the middle of the field as a secondary option and can result in being pressured more to dump off etc when making those split decisions. Often times before the user was able to wait for the route to be completed without being hurried at all. Also want the game much tighter, and that can only be accomplished with a mix of the values provided, but PCV plays a big role when you have the threshold at this zero level. Tackling: from 29/29 to 32/32 Such a sensitive value. Under 30 and you get great physics, at or above 30 and you get WWE at times. Think somehow this is working though, and seeing less WWE, and really nice physics + much less broken tackles. Could make running the ball a bit harder for both sides, but hopefully the values above can be more rewarding that frustrating. Special Teams FG Power: 52/52 Yes, giving them a bit more pump here as MVP brought up to me the CPU tends to kick the ball in the 59-65 yard range or so. Let's give them a chance, and a chance to miss with the field goal accuracy. FG Accuracy: 50/50 Have done a number on this one, and it's safe to say it needs to be at 50. Super sensitive slider. Kickers were missing badly on occasion, they'd be cut from semi-pro, let alone NFL. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. Penalties Offside: from 20 to 60 Version 9: The theory of lower offside/false start got put through the ringer and it didn't seem to create the effect to the run game as intended. It still operated exactly as it is designed where offsides higher will result in more push from the DL, but in respect to the run game it did not alter the CPU RB's decision making as I wanted. False Start: from 40 to 55 Version 9: Just a bit below offsides to allow the offsides to take a priority in animation, which can create the response of the player being a priority to block versus the OL just going further upfield and leaving the DL unblocked. Offensive Holding: from 45 to 50 Version 9: Another slight bump to allow this to blend with the defensive holding, but also force some defensive line play animations and fight to get to the quarterback. Thanks to wideout123 for recognizing the lack of this animation previously. Defensive Holding: from 99 to 55 Version 9: As mentioned above, we're going a bit more subtle here to allow the animation to occur, but also to free up the runs as coverage is much tighter than before. Good DB/WR interaction as well. Face Mask: from 40 to 50 Version 9: Always a good bump to make afer we've established the tackling at 29 is still in a good spot. Should see more soft wrap up tackles as well which will be a nice change of pace. It should result in less broken tackles, but will have to keep an eye out. Defensive Pass Interference: from 99 to 55 Version 9: Same in regards to the defensive holding as the two should go hand in hand, but there is still that element of offensive pass interference being off to allow a bit of separation from the tighter coverage in this version. Offensive Pass Interference: Off This value gets a change to enhance the WR behavior in their routes, and also the defender's behavior to those routes. I know 50 PCV is going to be tighter, so any advantage we can give the receiver the better. Now, it's so important to be in-sync and hit those targets by making the right reads. Kick Catch Interference: From Off to On Version 10.5: This value needed to be turned back on as it was affecting how the DBs reacted to to the receivers. Also it affects their reaction to the runs where often times they would be almost psychic on where the RB was going to go before he even received the hand off. CPU likes to PA, and having this Off kind of negated the effectiveness of the playcalling. Illegal Block in the Back: 0 (ZERO) This change was pretty significant and I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: From On to Off Version 10: This penalty does not get called anyways. However since turning it off, I've seen much smarter CPU QB play and extending plays properly. Roughing the Passer: 40 This is one of the values that definitely shows up when you raise it, but rare when you keep it at 50 or lower it. So, why not drop it without sacrificing Pass Block gameplay slider. This brings in that extra bit of pressure, and puts the emphasis back on your pre-snap reads and depth of O-Line, and QB rating under pressure. Roughing the Kicker: Off Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On No need to adjust. VERSION 9
Spoiler
Slider Update Log 8/15/18: Late update to make this Version 9, but it's been on my mind to at least get the passing game in check. The middle of the field is less open, the pass blocking is varied with chances to pressure. I feel good about it, but to be honest, I am in full on one-track mode to figure out the CPU RB, so that testing will dominate here. Full transparency, the last couple of updates were intended to be the base, but unfortunately they did not pan out as I had hoped. As a result, some original values have been modified. Here are the adjustments Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: from On to Off Realized that this was causing the players not to react to the ball in time. For some reason it only reacts when you switch and attempt a swat or another input. Safe to say to keep these helpers off. Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: from 19 to 16 Version 8: Lots of injuries throughout half a season for me here, and I've received feedback about the game by game ones. Dropping this value a tad to lessen that number a bit. Fatigue: from 48 to 49 Version 8: Subtle change, but it makes a big difference when players are not on full tilt the entire game. I also felt like the RB rotation was a bit gone in the early parts of the game, so it was important to reestablish that. I think it can create some good mismatches throughout the game as a result. In addition, the feel of the game is tighter this way, and animations play out to support that. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V8" (uploaded 8/15/18) QB Accuracy: 51/62 (All Pro) | 51/55 (All Madden) We determined today that the QBA value for the CPU seems to be a blend between tendency and aggression, not necessarily only accuracy. With that said, I raised higher and felt great about it at 62 in All Pro, and 55 in All-Madden really shows some variety, and even some bad QB plays for once. Overall, this allows the QB to be decisive and not wait forever for the routes to be perfect before he makes a decision. I tested this on 0/0 Pass Block and it held up. Try it, 0/0 PBL actually plays quite well, with the only fault being Play Action passes. Pass Blocking: from 45/44 to 48/48 Version 9: With some of these penalty adjustments, it will be important to maintain the good blocking by the pass rush, but also not make it impossible to get sacked when deserved. WR Catching: 52/52 Still pushing for the receiver to hold onto the ball despite being hit. The tackles are too on point to break up these catches, so this is a gradual rise. Currently main receivers are averaging about 3 drops a game, so I'd like to take that down to 1 or 2. Run Blocking: 52/75 Lowered for the user so there is a bit less push, but not so low that players are still getting caught in the backfield. Raising for CPU because the RB has been juking and spinning too often. Noticed in replay that the RB still looked at the blocks on his sides, versus focusing on the open grass in front of him. This adjustment gives them that much needed "confidence" to plow ahead. Fumbles: 48/48 Wanted more risk and reward for hit sticks or big hits in general. There needs to be a chance of fumbles, and this adjustment has allowed that to happen. Have to remember to wrap up and mix up the plays. Pass Defense Reaction Time: from 52/52 to 55/55 Version 9: Slight bump to allow a bit sooner reaction to the ball in the air. The 62 QBA for the CPU can have some power on it, and I think the defenders weren't reacting as a result. Interceptions: 30/30 Dropped this down more and now it's in good spot between "brick hands" and skilled catches depending on the defender. Pass Coverage: 50/50 Found a good balance here with adjusting some values, which allowed me to move this slider back to 50. I am not a fan of route mirroring, so 50 PCV was one that had to have a bit more attention for me. The reason I wanted to get to 50 is because the lower PCV values were resulting in a bit more stopping and starting, especially on the drag routes. I want the LB to at least engage on the crossing routes as well. There are a lot of values that combine to make this PCV playable now. Tackling: 29/29 I've determined that under 30 and we start to see much better animations. To the naked eye 29 is a bit arbitrary (again), but it is the closest I would want to go without overdoing broken tackles and having contextual tackle animations. Such a delicate balance here, and it has to be finished off with the facemask penalty value to solidify the change. Special Teams FG Power: 52/52 Yes, giving them a bit more pump here as MVP brought up to me the CPU tends to kick the ball in the 59-65 yard range or so. Let's give them a chance, and a chance to miss with the field goal accuracy. FG Accuracy: 50/50 Have done a number on this one, and it's safe to say it needs to be at 50. Super sensitive slider. Kickers were missing badly on occasion, they'd be cut from semi-pro, let alone NFL. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. Penalties Offside: from 20 to 60 Version 9: The theory of lower offside/false start got put through the ringer and it didn't seem to create the effect to the run game as intended. It still operated exactly as it is designed where offsides higher will result in more push from the DL, but in respect to the run game it did not alter the CPU RB's decision making as I wanted. False Start: from 40 to 55 Version 9: Just a bit below offsides to allow the offsides to take a priority in animation, which can create the response of the player being a priority to block versus the OL just going further upfield and leaving the DL unblocked. Offensive Holding: from 45 to 50 Version 9: Another slight bump to allow this to blend with the defensive holding, but also force some defensive line play animations and fight to get to the quarterback. Thanks to wideout123 for recognizing the lack of this animation previously. Defensive Holding: from 99 to 55 Version 9: As mentioned above, we're going a bit more subtle here to allow the animation to occur, but also to free up the runs as coverage is much tighter than before. Good DB/WR interaction as well. Face Mask: from 40 to 50 Version 9: Always a good bump to make afer we've established the tackling at 29 is still in a good spot. Should see more soft wrap up tackles as well which will be a nice change of pace. It should result in less broken tackles, but will have to keep an eye out. Defensive Pass Interference: from 99 to 55 Version 9: Same in regards to the defensive holding as the two should go hand in hand, but there is still that element of offensive pass interference being off to allow a bit of separation from the tighter coverage in this version. Offensive Pass Interference: Off This value gets a change to enhance the WR behavior in their routes, and also the defender's behavior to those routes. I know 50 PCV is going to be tighter, so any advantage we can give the receiver the better. Now, it's so important to be in-sync and hit those targets by making the right reads. Kick Catch Interference: Off This is the penalty value that controls behavior of the defense by misdirections, PA passes, etc. Found that with it on, and combination of the other penalty sliders, the defenders were not staying in tune with who they were marking, which is why some users would see the occasional stop then run towards the LOS instead of staying with the man. Illegal Block in the Back: 0 (ZERO) This change was pretty significant and I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: On Roughing the Passer: 40 This is one of the values that definitely shows up when you raise it, but rare when you keep it at 50 or lower it. So, why not drop it without sacrificing Pass Block gameplay slider. This brings in that extra bit of pressure, and puts the emphasis back on your pre-snap reads and depth of O-Line, and QB rating under pressure. Roughing the Kicker: Off Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On No need to adjust. VERSION 8
Spoiler
8/15/18: Version 8 continues with clean up duty. Very subtle changes that should make a decent difference in gameplay and feel. Now that the base is built, it's much easier to go back to validate some of the earlier versions values. This update in particular is to address the feel of perfect play and often times a bit of a looseness felt as the game goes on. Note: I am always looking at the RB behavior by the CPU. This update does not directly (no pun intended) address that, but I imagine it will help a tiny bit. I think overall it is in a much better position than it was before. Here are the adjustments Injuries: from 19 to 16 VERSION 7
Spoiler
8/14/18: Version 7 is what I call the clean up version. It is where I go in and test some values to ensure they are still on point. Basically a QC if you will. I've reviewed feedback as well, so this version should address some areas regarding: - QB pressure - Defender reaction to ball in the air - Penalties Here are the adjustments
VERSION 6
Spoiler
8/13/18: Okay, finally ready for Version 6. Yes, I am moving a bit fast through these versions, but it definitely does not feel that way when testing. I just put in a lot of hours and discover things that help what I'm looking to accomplish. Like a lot of slider guys, I obsess over one or two things, and just go all in. Naturally, the version updates will occur faster as a result. Overall, I really wanted to focus on NFL type of football, and less like NCAA, which is what I had felt like the previous versions had mirrored closer to. That may be just me, but it's important that I bring that up. As much as I would like to keep rooting on the CPU to do good, I also want to face a significant challenge, and no longer want to wish them to convert 3rd downs in the name of slideritis. With that said, here is the focus on Version 6. - Improvement to CPU RB logic. Version 5 still had a lot of the unnecessary juke and spin animations, and not as much north-south running that I would like. I can say now Version 6 has less of this, and more direct running than ever. - Improvement to QB pressure. I felt that there were times in which the QB could stand in the pocket all day. I want the pocket to collapse, which should result in the QB releasing the ball quicker. This should mean more forced passes and/or safer passes depending on the situation and QB. - Tackling animations. As I've said on Version 5, I am not a fan of some tackling animations, especially when it results in warping. So, there had to be a focus here to get the tackling to be contextual and logical depending on where the tackler is going to be relative to the ball carrier. If a linebacker is running side by side the carrier, there shouldn't be a way that he can instantly bulldoze the player sideways. There needs to be a bit give and take in the animation, more of a tackle that can be still be forceful, but also showing that the linebacker leverages their weight against the ball carrier. Also still want to see the gang tackling that has been missing for a while. There is a good balance here of bad tackles, bad pursuit angles, and really good defenses showing up to do the job overall. - Focus on penalties being called. Pretty straight forward, but you will see below that values I've chosen are ones that are impactful to gameplay and have a chance to be called. Now, there are some penalties that do not occur, and won't ever occur in this current version of Madden, but I'd rather use that absence as a way to improve other areas of the game - which of course is gameplay. Here are the adjustments: Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: On Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 19 Maybe a bit arbitrary but I started to see too many injures and severity of injuries stack up. I would say about every drive there would be an injury. This needed to change, so 19 is right in a good sweet spot so far. Fatigue: 48 There were times in which I'd try to sprint and somehow my player would act tired after a couple bursts. This was the sign that Fatigue needed to go down another notch. Also, I think it was one of the reasons some drives stalled by the CPU. Putting in the backup RB too soon, and they get blown up in the backfield, etc, was too common and ruined momentum. Still seeing adequate subs here as well. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V6" (uploaded 8/13/18) QB Accuracy: 51/62 (All Pro) | 51/55 (All Madden) We determined today that the QBA value for the CPU seems to be a blend between tendency and aggression, not necessarily only accuracy. With that said, I raised higher and felt great about it at 62 in All Pro, and 55 in All-Madden really shows some variety, and even some bad QB plays for once. Overall, this allows the QB to be decisive and not wait forever for the routes to be perfect before he makes a decision. I tested this on 0/0 Pass Block and it held up. Try it, 0/0 PBL actually plays quite well, with the only fault being Play Action passes. Pass Blocking: 48/49 Dropping the CPU's pass blocking just a tad to allow the user to get more natural pressure on them. As it stands, the only sacks occur when it's a blowup in the backfield (PA), or the CPU QB self causes the infliction by running around into the defenders. Lowering it should make them more decisive, but need to pay attention to the play-actions. WR Catching: from 51/51 to 52/52 Version 6: Still pushing for the receiver to hold onto the ball despite being hit. The tackles are too on point to break up these catches, so this is a gradual rise. Currently main receivers are averaging about 3 drops a game, so I'd like to take that down to 1 or 2. Run Blocking: from 58/65 to 52/75 Lowered for the user so there is a bit less push, but not so low that players are still getting caught in the backfield. Raising for CPU because the RB has been juking and spinning too often. Noticed in replay that the RB still looked at the blocks on his sides, versus focusing on the open grass in front of him. This adjustment gives them that much needed "confidence" to plow ahead. Fumbles: from 52/53 to 48/48 Wanted more risk and reward for hit sticks or big hits in general. There needs to be a chance of fumbles, and this adjustment has allowed that to happen. Have to remember to wrap up and mix up the plays. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 42/42 Yeah, this was a bunk and hopeful theory. Hoping the run game would be a run defense reaction, but it was not. Now, why 42 here? 50 seemed to have cause some issues with start/stopping by the defenders, but at times the defense was way too tight, causing a lot of interceptions, etc. Lowering it under 50 has allowed a nice balance of Interceptions: from 40/40 to 30/30 Dropped this down more and now it's in good spot between "brick hands" and skilled catches depending on the defender. Pass Coverage: from 20/20 to 50/50 Version 6: Found a good balance here with adjusting some values, which allowed me to move this slider back to 50. I am not a fan of route mirroring, so 50 PCV was one that had to have a bit more attention for me. The reason I wanted to get to 50 is because the lower PCV values were resulting in a bit more stopping and starting, especially on the drag routes. I want the LB to at least engage on the crossing routes as well. There are a lot of values that combine to make this PCV playable now. Tackling: from 32/32 to 29/29 Version 6: I've determined that under 30 and we start to see much better animations. To the naked eye 29 is a bit arbitrary (again), but it is the closest I would want to go without overdoing broken tackles and having contextual tackle animations. Such a delicate balance here, and it has to be finished off with the facemask penalty value to solidify the change. Special Teams FG Power: from 51/51 to 52/52 Yes, giving them a bit more pump here as MVP brought up to me the CPU tends to kick the ball in the 59-65 yard range or so. Let's give them a chance, and a chance to miss with the field goal accuracy. FG Accuracy: from 48/48 to 49/49 I did bump this up just a tad because I started to see these terrible form kicks, definitely not NFL style. It looked like they were kicking in the snow, and the ball would be drilled low and through the posts. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. Penalties Offside: 20 So I am going in with this assuming that the instant shed of the DL is caused by the Offsides value is actually being in the high 80s under the hood. This is how I was able to create that effect for NCAA and last years Madden. The insta-shed animations look exactly like this, as do the OL/DL interactions and second level blocking. I loved this when it was in NCAA and Madden 18, but of course here in 19, its posing a big problem for user and CPU. So, to combat this, Ive lowered the value significantly. Where if the default is 50, which is really 80, dropping it down to 20 means it is now at a true 50. False Start: 20 Same as above for Offside. Only difference is you will see false starts still. Holding: 45 If you wanted to play default, but get the CPUs run game going, simply drop the offensive holding here to 45. Right away, the CPUs run game will improve. The idea of penalties are that the adjustments to them affect what the referee cares about or not. If you lower holding, that means its going to be called less, therefore players are going to hold their blocks longer - even if it is a legitimate holding call. This does not necessarily apply to many other penalty values though. Defensive Holding: from 50 to 99 Version 6: The first significant change to a previous untouched penalty value. I spent a lot of time testing this value independently, then together with another value (Illegal block in the back) and it really triggered some interesting decision making by the CPU RB. In addition to the RB, the DB/WR interaction is quite a joy to watch to see arms being pulled, slight hands on the back, etc. Does this get called? I haven't seen one - so hopefully... Face Mask: from 45 to 40 Version 6: Another bump down for face mask to compensate for the lowering in tackle value. This is going to be make some sure tackles but not quite WWE level. So it is the portion in which we can solidify the contextual tackling animations without sacrificing good tackling performance. Defensive Pass Interference: from 55 to 99 Version 6: Had to raise this one to work with the defensive holding, but again it seemed like this played a part in the RB behavior, especially on screen plays or dump offs. Something about how they interact with the 1) their own blockers and 2) the defenders coming after them. This is a penalty that I have seen once or twice, so there's no harm in raising it regardless. Offensive Pass Interference: from On to Off Version 6: This value gets a change to enhance the WR behavior in their routes, and also the defender's behavior to those routes. I know 50 PCV is going to be tighter, so any advantage we can give the receiver the better. Now, it's so important to be in-sync and hit those targets by making the right reads. Kick Catch Interference: On Illegal Block in the Back: from 50 to 0 (ZERO) Version 6: This change was pretty significant and I believe the combination of the penalties here are what really allow the runners to be much more direct. I still see them looking at blocks and defenders that are not directly engaged in the play, but they look at it much later in the run, and by then they've already attempted to go towards the endzone. Do not be surprised to see the players juke and spin in certain situations though - this by no means a substitute to player trait editing. Again though, this was a penalty I never saw. I was hoping to see the animation show up, but it never did. Interestingly enough, this has allowed the KR/PR game to have a better chance of breaking open in some cases - but also some values below play a part in the formula. Intentional Grounding: On Roughing the Passer: from 50 to 40 Version 6: This is one of the values that definitely shows up when you raise it, but rare when you keep it at 50 or lower it. So, why not drop it without sacrificing Pass Block gameplay slider. This brings in that extra bit of pressure, and puts the emphasis back on your pre-snap reads and depth of O-Line, and QB rating under pressure. Roughing the Kicker: from On to Off Version 6: Make sure and do not confuse this with Running into the Kicker. Roughing the kicker is the value that, to me, increases the aggression of the defense. This results in a honing in on the ball carrier, but also increases the chance of a bad pursuit angle at times and relative to the player's rating, etc. This again is all about your pre-snap reads, and audibling when you see a safety come up at the LOS, etc. Running into the Kicker: On No need to adjust. VERSION 5
Spoiler
Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: On Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 19 Maybe a bit arbitrary but I started to see too many injures and severity of injuries stack up. I would say about every drive there would be an injury. This needed to change, so 19 is right in a good sweet spot so far. Fatigue: 48 There were times in which I'd try to sprint and somehow my player would act tired after a couple bursts. This was the sign that Fatigue needed to go down another notch. Also, I think it was one of the reasons some drives stalled by the CPU. Putting in the backup RB too soon, and they get blown up in the backfield, etc, was too common and ruined momentum. Still seeing adequate subs here as well. Min Player Threshold: 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10V5" (uploaded 8/12/18) QB Accuracy: 51/62 (All Pro) | 51/55 (All Madden) We determined today that the QBA value for the CPU seems to be a blend between tendency and aggression, not necessarily only accuracy. With that said, I raised higher and felt great about it at 62 in All Pro, and 55 in All-Madden really shows some variety, and even some bad QB plays for once. Overall, this allows the QB to be decisive and not wait forever for the routes to be perfect before he makes a decision. I tested this on 0/0 Pass Block and it held up. Try it, 0/0 PBL actually plays quite well, with the only fault being Play Action passes. Pass Blocking: 48/49 Dropping the CPU's pass blocking just a tad to allow the user to get more natural pressure on them. As it stands, the only sacks occur when it's a blowup in the backfield (PA), or the CPU QB self causes the infliction by running around into the defenders. Lowering it should make them more decisive, but need to pay attention to the play-actions. WR Catching: 51/51 Want to see the receivers hold onto the ball longer after theyve caught it. Instant tackles are jarring the ball loose too soon, and a bit unrealistically. Run Blocking: from 58/65 to 52/75 Lowered for the user so there is a bit less push, but not so low that players are still getting caught in the backfield. Raising for CPU because the RB has been juking and spinning too often. Noticed in replay that the RB still looked at the blocks on his sides, versus focusing on the open grass in front of him. This adjustment gives them that much needed "confidence" to plow ahead. Fumbles: from 52/53 to 48/48 Wanted more risk and reward for hit sticks or big hits in general. There needs to be a chance of fumbles, and this adjustment has allowed that to happen. Have to remember to wrap up and mix up the plays. Pass Defense Reaction Time: 42/42 Yeah, this was a bunk and hopeful theory. Hoping the run game would be a run defense reaction, but it was not. Now, why 42 here? 50 seemed to have cause some issues with start/stopping by the defenders, but at times the defense was way too tight, causing a lot of interceptions, etc. Lowering it under 50 has allowed a nice balance of Interceptions: from 40/40 to 30/30 Dropped this down more and now it's in good spot between "brick hands" and skilled catches depending on the defender. Pass Coverage: 20/20 With the lower threshold, you would think there would be less change of mirroring, this is not the case. At 50 PCV the routes are mirrored quite well, so this had to go down. At 20, there are times when the DBs do stop, or hesitate, but they recover very nicely. The more we can see realistic completions, and less CPU drives (especially red zone) getting destroyed, the better. Tackling: from 30/30 to 32/32 Very slight bump here to help the tackling effectiveness and less breaking of blocks each run. Special Teams FG Power: from 51/51 to 52/52 Yes, giving them a bit more pump here as MVP brought up to me the CPU tends to kick the ball in the 59-65 yard range or so. Let's give them a chance, and a chance to miss with the field goal accuracy. FG Accuracy: from 48/48 to 49/49 I did bump this up just a tad because I started to see these terrible form kicks, definitely not NFL style. It looked like they were kicking in the snow, and the ball would be drilled low and through the posts. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. Penalties Offside: 20 So I am going in with this assuming that the instant shed of the DL is caused by the Offsides value is actually being in the high 80s under the hood. This is how I was able to create that effect for NCAA and last years Madden. The insta-shed animations look exactly like this, as do the OL/DL interactions and second level blocking. I loved this when it was in NCAA and Madden 18, but of course here in 19, its posing a big problem for user and CPU. So, to combat this, Ive lowered the value significantly. Where if the default is 50, which is really 80, dropping it down to 20 means it is now at a true 50. False Start: 20 Same as above for Offside. Only difference is you will see false starts still. Holding: 45 If you wanted to play default, but get the CPUs run game going, simply drop the offensive holding here to 45. Right away, the CPUs run game will improve. The idea of penalties are that the adjustments to them affect what the referee cares about or not. If you lower holding, that means its going to be called less, therefore players are going to hold their blocks longer - even if it is a legitimate holding call. This does not necessarily apply to many other penalty values though. Defensive Holding: 50 Do not want to adjust this one as it gets called, but also it affects the CPU QB decision making. Will explore it though in next versions of the sliders. Face Mask: from 50 to 45 Slight bump down to allow a bit more sure tackling as going higher results in more attempt at wrapping up, which can cause broken tackles. Defensive Pass Interference: 55 Wanted to give the receivers even more chance to catch the ball, and not be draped as instantly as they've been which results in that jarring ball loose tackle every other down. Also, who knows, a DPI may show up... Offensive Pass Interference: On No need to adjust. Kick Catch Interference: On Illegal Block in the Back: 50 No need to adjust. Intentional Grounding: On Roughing the Passer: 50 No need to adjust. Roughing the Kicker: On No need to adjust. Running into the Kicker: On No need to adjust. --- 8/13/18:Someone said it in here best, it takes a bit of time to iron things out with sliders. I believe in sample size. So that is why it takes me a bit to update. Considering this is on Version 5 already would suggest I move quite fast, but in all honesty, I just put in A LOT of hours because I need a good sample size of about 5-6 games before determining a value should stay/go or be adjusted. I'm happy with where it's at, and that usually means one of two things...going to be close to finalizing...or...EA is going to release a patch to fix everything and make me start all over Thankfully I love doing this, and all my attention is on it until FIFA comes out end of next month. Hopefully by then this will be all ironed out and we'll be deep in our franchises. Stay tuned for Version 6! 8/12/18: Version 5: Hoping this will be the last of it. Have really enjoyed Version 4, so not many significant changes for Version 5, just some values that I needed to address as previously posted. 8/13/18:Someone said it in here best, it takes a bit of time to iron things out with sliders. I believe in sample size. So that is why it takes me a bit to update. Considering this is on Version 5 already would suggest I move quite fast, but in all honesty, I just put in A LOT of hours because I need a good sample size of about 5-6 games before determining a value should stay/go or be adjusted. I'm happy with where it's at, and that usually means one of two things...going to be close to finalizing...or...EA is going to release a patch to fix everything and make me start all over Thankfully I love doing this, and all my attention is on it until FIFA comes out end of next month. Hopefully by then this will be all ironed out and we'll be deep in our franchises. Stay tuned for Version 6! 8/12/18: Version 5: Hoping this will be the last of it. Have really enjoyed Version 4, so not many significant changes for Version 5, just some values that I needed to address as previously posted.
VERSION 4
Spoiler
8/11/18: FYI, there will be a Version 5 update tonight to shore up some areas as I feel we're closer to the final version here: - CPU running directness - User running ease - Interceptions amount - Slight bump in tackling Quite happy to even have these areas as it confirms it is just enhancing the base. 8/11/18: Version 4 - This is probably the best I will ever get the game in its current state. Some significant changes, in particular threshold. The idea here is to completely separate players as much as possible. A big credit to Madden at default of how players interact, but they are way too close to their magnetic fields if you will. As most of you know, I am geared towards producing animations in the game, and that has had to take a backseat in trying to get this game to be competitive on All Pro and not overly unrealistic on All-Madden. Lots of testing done today. I mean lots. Kudos to UGA and MVP, and Phillyfan, for jumping in and testing the many values I sent them and the many theories I tried to validate. Took an honest look at it all, and I just decided to go with my gut on what I know EA sports games, in particular their football titles, have always needed. Like I said in this OP, I am geared to have an endpoint of slider testing here, so this may be the final version honestly - that's how good I feel about it, and I just hope you guys do too. Defensive Ball Hawk: from Off to On Referencing back to my good friend Josh on this as he advised this in M18, and I've kept it off in M19 because of how good default was playing originally. Turned it back on throughout all testing, and haven't looked back. With the changes it definitely helps to have some assistance in finding the ball, even though the game by default does a great job at it. Injuries: from 20 to 19 Maybe a bit arbitrary but I started to see too many injures and severity of injuries stack up. I would say about every drive there would be an injury. This needed to change, so 19 is right in a good sweet spot so far. Fatigue: from 49 to 48 There were times in which I'd try to sprint and somehow my player would act tired after a couple bursts. This was the sign that Fatigue needed to go down another notch. Also, I think it was one of the reasons some drives stalled by the CPU. Putting in the backup RB too soon, and they get blown up in the backfield, etc, was too common and ruined momentum. Still seeing adequate subs here as well. Min Player Threshold: from 42 to 0 (ZERO) The big one. If there is anything that I'm defined by in football sliders it's my tendency to reduce threshold as much as possible. I will be honest, I felt default Madden played adequate, and the threshold seemed to hold up. That was until many animations did not make sense at all. OL and FB making terrible decisions in blocking, trying to get far upfield because forcefield is calling them - it just wasn't working. Like last year, I decided to just zero this thing out, and let the animations stand out naturally and organically as possible. This is accomplished with a ZERO threshold. Also, and I am in this same position, there will be a natural fear of too open of a game. Good luck. This year's Madden has the best coverage I have seen in a very long time. I think using a threshold (and this coming from someone who was on testing 70 thru 95 threshold today) severely handicaps the potential this game has. QB Accuracy: from 51/52 to 51/62 (All Pro) and 51/55 (All Madden) We determined today that the QBA value for the CPU seems to be a blend between tendency and aggression, not necessarily only accuracy. With that said, I raised higher and felt great about it at 62 in All Pro, and 55 in All-Madden really shows some variety, and even some bad QB plays for once. Overall, this allows the QB to be decisive and not wait forever for the routes to be perfect before he makes a decision. I tested this on 0/0 Pass Block and it held up. Try it, 0/0 PBL actually plays quite well, with the only fault being Play Action passes. Pass Coverage: from 50/50 to 20/20 With the lower threshold, you would think there would be less change of mirroring, this is not the case. At 50 PCV the routes are mirrored quite well, so this had to go down. At 20, there are times when the DBs do stop, or hesitate, but they recover very nicely. The more we can see realistic completions, and less CPU drives (especially red zone) getting destroyed, the better. Tackling: from 40/40 to 30/30 Continuing to bite this bullet, and feel really good with it at 30 now. Pursuit angles are not 100% perfect, which is good, but the fact that thresh is at ZERO really isolates players from their preset destinations. It's very organic, and the tackling reflects that in animation and logic. Defensive Pass Interference: from 50 to 55 Wanted to give the receivers even more chance to catch the ball, and not be draped as instantly as they've been which results in that jarring ball loose tackle every other down. Also, who knows, a DPI may show up... FG Accuracy: from 49/49 to 48/48 Need to see more missed kicks as distances increase. Punt Accuracy: from 51/51 to 50/50 Punting is too good right now. Less of a return game as a result, or just in general no pressure to perform. Kickoff Power: from 49/49 to 48/48 Another drop for this value as need to see more variety in the kickoffs versus just bombing it out of the stadium each time. VERSION 2 & 3
Spoiler
8/9/18: Version 3 - Improving upon Version 2, and biting the bullet, or rather, giving into the obvious values. Too much to test and not as much time as I used to have. Want to get these sorted asap and get the franchises started just as fast. Here are the changes. Pass Blocking: from 48/50 to 48/49 Dropping the CPU's pass blocking just a tad to allow the user to get more natural pressure on them. As it stands, the only sacks occur when it's a blowup in the backfield (PA), or the CPU QB self causes the infliction by running around into the defenders. Lowering it should make them more decisive, but need to pay attention to the play-actions. Run Blocking: from 51/52 to 58/65 Raised this one up significantly. Enough is enough in trying to test other slider values to modify the obvious. Been all over different slider values to get this, from threshold, game speed, game type (simulation, competitive, etc) and no such luck. CPU gets a big bump here for obvious reasons, and the user gets slight bump down because we're more direct than the CPU's choice of too many cuts/jukes/etc. Fumbles: from 50/50 to 52/53 Bumping this up just a bit to get more direct running by the CPU. More purposeful yards gained and extending plays. CPU doesn't seem to cover up as much, so they get a slight bump compared to the user. Fumbles still occur. Pass Defense Reaction Time: from 0/0 to 42/42 Yeah, this was a bunk and hopeful theory. Hoping the run game would be a run defense reaction, but it was not. Now, why 42 here? 50 seemed to have cause some issues with start/stopping by the defenders, but at times the defense was way too tight, causing a lot of interceptions, etc. Lowering it under 50 has allowed a nice balance of Tackling: from 50/50 to 40/40 Just biting the bullet and accepting this value needs to go down. Yes more "on your back" tackles, but at least they aren't as super hard and solid. Those still occur, especially when the OL pushes defenders into the running back's path. 8/7/18: Version 2 Some significant updates to balance things today. Big thanks to @hunkerdown and @MvPeterson2828 for getting involved to test as well. QB Accuracy: from 51/51 to 51/52 Wanted to see more QB play by dominant QBs for the CPU. Pretty simple, but not as easy to execute without enough sample size. Think it's great where it's at now. Run Blocking: from 50/51 to 51/52 CPU got another bump here, and that alone wasn't the answer, so there was an adjustment made below to further enhance. Seeing great running awareness by the CPU RB now, and also there is a bit more (even though slight) time to get some momentum through the line. Pass Defense Reaction Time:from 50/50 to 0/0 Typical Madden, had to find a slider that seemed to be broken and this one was significant. It does not affect the pass reaction at all, but it does affect the reaction of the DL's reaction and reduces that insta-shed just a bit. That little bit of holding the blocks by the OL makes a big difference. Try it out. Interceptions: from 45/45 to 40/40 Dropped this one down just a tad to allow less leaping interceptions, but not so much that there are brick hands in obvious catching situations. Fumbles: from 0/0 to 50/50 Originally, the main goal here was to help the tackling mechanic but that didn't seem to be the case once more games were played by myself and others. Tackling seems to stem mainly from the TAK value, and modifying that value, at this stage, has been tested and seems to hurt more than help. It seems to adjust a lot more than just tackling on its own. This will continue to be reviewed though. VERSION 1
Spoiler
Game Settings Skill Level: All-Pro or All-Madden Game Speed: Normal Game Style: Simulation Quarter Length: 9 minutes Accelerated Clock: Off Gameplay Helpers Ball Carrier Special Move: Manual Defensive Auto Strafe: Off Defensive Ball Hawk: Off Defensive Heat Seeker Assist: Off Defensive Switch Assist: Off Game Options Injuries: 20 I think 10 was too low, and 25 too high. Found a nice balance of an average of 2 injuries a game. The severity of injuries vary, but I have seen 6 weeks to 8 weeks as the longest ones so far. Fatigue: 49 Felt that the starting RB was subbed too early at times, and also the QB would make some tired looking passes too early into drives. That kill factor we want gets pushed back a bit, which is discouraging. The stamina value here is extremely sensitive like last year, so I have started as low as 48, eventually moving only 1 notch to 49. Min Player Threshold: 42 As Ive said the slider values are so true that a 0 plays truly like a 0, and a 99 plays truly like a 99. The disparity of speed is noticeable, but because the coverage and defending in general is so in-tune, it makes it quite enjoyable to test the threshold here. Have gone all over the map here to test, and found closer to default of 50 is best. The lowering of threshold helps so many areas, including the CPUs run game, but overall interaction with players on the field. Player/CPU Skill Settings *Community PC file: "Matt10v1" (uploaded 8/6/18) QB Accuracy: 51/51 The increase in QBA should allow both sides to have less tired feeling passes in early parts of a drive. Its not necessarily just fatigue here, but more so just indecision. Since we do not have the Intentional Grounding penalty slider scale any longer, that was used in NCAA and previous Maddens, it reduces the control of how the QB will behave. I think a lot of control is obviously in the QBA value, but also in the PBL and WRC areas. Pass Blocking:48/50 Out of context it doesnt make sense to lower any PBL values, but you will see that the Penalties play a huge role in these sliders. I feel the user already has a bit of an advantage in the offensive line here compared to the CPU. WR Catching: 51/51 Want to see the receivers hold onto the ball longer after theyve caught it. Instant tackles are jarring the ball loose too soon, and a bit unrealistically. Run Blocking: 50/51 Gave the CPU a slight bump here, like I said the values are sensitive, to allow the compensation of the penalty values that will be listed below. Fumbles: 0/0 (Play Now: 50/50) The main goal with this is to establish the tackling technique. Currently its all about the WWE type tackles. Perfect form and angle. With this combination of the fumble value, plus others, it now brings in more of a error prone (depending on ratings) position to tackle. Big players stand out, and those who are not quite up on the ratings, but still try to be something theyre not, stand out in another way. Pass Defense Reaction Time:50/50 No issues with this as the reactions are fantastic out of the box. Interceptions: 45/45 I just wanted to drop this a tad as the interceptions were happening everywhere. Think 45 is a good starting spot. Pass Coverage: 50/50 Again, if there is a mismatch, it will be found, and the pass coverage value plays true as it ever as. Love how the CPU QB recognizes this too, so definitely prepare yourself accordingly. Tackling: 50/50 I like tackling at 50. I think it not only affects the angle of the tackle, but also the success to contact the ball carrier. I am personally not a fan of lowering tackling because that results in too many recorded broken tackles, and not to mention every other tackle prompts the jump on your back or fight for yardage standstill animations. That is exhausting, and far from an enjoyable experience to me. That is not to say that this set will not have that, afterall Im not a programmer, but it will try to focus on the animations that are triggered by logical positioning. Yes, there will still be warping. You either lower threshold a whole bunch (0 to 20) and make other compensations, or you deal with the occasional warping tackle. Special Teams FG Power: 51/51 I like that pop! on the kick, and the field goal power increased accomplishes that. In addition, it creates more chance for the error value to pop up. FG Accuracy: 49/49 I want more risk and reward here as always. Punt Power: 50/50 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Punt Accuracy: 51/51 Super sensitive value. Prefer to leave these in favor of their values versus going under. Have seen the CPU kick 10-15 yarders consistently instead of the 40-50 yard goal. Kickoff Power: 49/49 Just a tad dropped here to allow more return game. Still can bomb it into the uprights though. Penalties Offside: 20 So I am going in with this assuming that the instant shed of the DL is caused by the Offsides value is actually being in the high 80s under the hood. This is how I was able to create that effect for NCAA and last years Madden. The insta-shed animations look exactly like this, as do the OL/DL interactions and second level blocking. I loved this when it was in NCAA and Madden 18, but of course here in 19, its posing a big problem for user and CPU. So, to combat this, Ive lowered the value significantly. Where if the default is 50, which is really 80, dropping it down to 20 means it is now at a true 50. False Start: 20/20 Same as above for Offside. Only difference is you will see false starts still.
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08-06-2018, 10:28 PM | #2 |
MVP
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Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Good stuff Matt! Im going to fire these up tonight. My plan will be to play at least a game each on All-Pro and All-Madden. But with AM when I was playing default, I noticed right away QB accuracy probably need some tweaks but Ill give it a shot.
To answer your question in your PM, it was roster edits. Im not a fan of it and would be glad to not do it, but it took me at least 10 minutes so. Wasnt too much of a big deal. Plus such a small sample size, it might not really make a difference. Ill get back to you with results when I play tonight! Appreciate your work as always. Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports
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08-06-2018, 11:16 PM | #3 |
Rookie
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Re: Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
These sliders are LEGIT, thank you so much. I am noticing a better feeling game in the 1st quarter I have played. The CPU running game is way better now.
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08-07-2018, 12:54 AM | #4 |
Rookie
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Re: Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Hey first I just wanna say thank you for posting some sliders can’t wait to try them! I have a question can I play this with 15 min quarters? Or are they designed for 9 min? Thanks a lot! Also how are the penalties? Those are the two things the most off for me are there are close to none, and the run game is bad, but you seemed to have fixed that thanks again!
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08-07-2018, 01:57 AM | #5 |
Rookie
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Re: Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Just played a few games on all madden and I'm loving these. Passing and Rushing numbers are realistic and I find that the CPU is running more. It seems like they will still get tackled in the backfield but at a realistic rate. Also, I've seen a few fumbles but far less. Drop and Pass Defense is great too. I strongly recommend these so far! Thank you!
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08-07-2018, 02:07 AM | #6 |
MVP
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Re: Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
I tried these on all-pro and everything feels pretty good but I'm still holding the CPU to under 40 yards rushing on 13-18 attempts.
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08-07-2018, 02:49 AM | #7 |
MVP
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Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Just played a game on All-Pro. I made a slight adjustment for me. I moved CPU run block up a click to 52.
Played 49ers vs Vikings (Me of course) I won 20-24. I really enjoyed the game. Cpu run game was on point! McKinnon rushed for 19 Carries 93 yards. He was killing me in the first half but I adjusted to it and shut him down in the second. Running felt much smoother, tackling was very well done. My concern is fumbles. I have no idea if this was a fluke or its because my Vikings defense is just that good haha. One game is way too small of a sample so just take this lightly. I forced 4 fumbles. 2 recovered, 2 not. 2 were fumbled by the RB, McKinnon, and Jimmy G fumbling when he was scrambling. I fumbled once and that was Cousins getting blind sided for a sack. Take away all these fumbles, totally different game. All and all, I had a blast! It was challenging and fun! Realistic as well. Im debating to start my real franchise or not. Overall, happy. Ill get more games in tomorrow and let you know Matt! Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports |
08-07-2018, 08:14 AM | #8 |
Hall Of Fame
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Re: Matt10's Madden 19 Sliders
Thanks, guys. I need a bit more sample size with the run blocking. Keep an eye out for the OL/DL match up. I want to make sure the blocks aren't being shed by a 60ovr DT vs a 90 ovr OL. Played a lot yesterday and one area that may get a bump could be RBL, but I want to tread carefully here as any increase can result in warping, and in Madden terms that means suction blocking.
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