Re: What are your three biggest issues with the on-field AI?
I'll reply to my own post here instead of having my initial post be even longer(me typing up a book? noooo).
It was hard for me to pick a final 3, but the easiest one for me to pick was the AI's inability to use all of the pre-snap tools like the user. I know that they can audible, but I really wish the AI could shift their defense around, disguise a blitz, fake a blitz, press on non-press plays like the user can, put guys in motion when it isn't designed into the play, and everything else the user can do.
Having the AI have the ability to use those tools, and to know when to properly use them would make playing the AI finally feel organic and like you are playing an actual opponent. This is one thing I absolutely love in 2k8. The CPU will shift their coverage shells, they will shift their linebackers, they will audible, they will move the linebackers, they will disguise a blitz, they'll show blitz and drop back in coverage, they will move their DB's up to press or back to play off. These types of adjustments keep the vs CPU gameplay from being stale.
Even the earlier EA football games like NCAA 06 saw the CPU have more pre-snap abilities than they do now. That's what makes that game a classic and if you can get over the graphics, that game still plays a very solid game of football f15 years later because the AI in that game might have been smarter than it is now.
My second pick was the AI's lack of awareness and not knowing to throw to the sidelines, not knowing to step out of bounds, etc. This one kills me as my modded gameplay has resulted in my games coming down to the last second more often than the vanilla gameplay. This has led to me seeing plenty of drives where the AI is in prime position to score late and potentially win, but the QB throws down the middle of the field 3 straight times, or does throw to the sideline, but the WR runs upfield, never steps out of bounds, and before I know it the game is over after 4 plays because they only had 1 timeout and the wasted 44 seconds hurrying up to the line after plays they could have simply take one step to their left or right to stop the clock, but instead stayed in bounds and got tackled.
This lacking awareness from the AI takes away from the experience and grants the user such a gigantic advantage in late-game situations because the user knows the CPU won't throw towards the sidelines, they won't step out to avoid a tackle and to stop the clock. When the user has the ball they will know to do these things, they know to catch a ball and run completely horizontal to the LOS to get out of bounds, even if they need to angle themselves in a manner that even loses a yard or two after the catch because it is more important to stop the clock than pick up an extra 3 yards while the clock runs out.
I struggled to narrow it down for my third pick, but I went with the fact that the CPU play calling is influenced RNG. It uses run/pass ratios to act like it is calling an organic game, but the CPU does not actually call plays and craft a gameplan like an organic user.
The CPU doesn't recognize that their run blocking is so much better than your DL's run stopping ability. They don't realize they should continually run the ball and set up the PA. Instead, they run the ball as much as the ratio tells them too, they use PA as much as the gameplan play ratings tell them to, and they just call a random game with a few ratios that influence what they call.
I want to see the AI know they can shut my WR's down so they play man and don't feel as scared to blitz more. I want to see the AI fear my DL and they call more plays with only 3 routes so they can buy time. I want to see the CPU fear my DE and use backs and TE's to chip him with a purpose. I want to see the CPU recognize my left side of my OL is weak so they call blitzes to take advantage of that. I want the CPU to recognize my defense is slow so they take more deep shots than normal because they actually have knowledge to make decisions with a purpose.
If the CPU had the ability to actually call plays with knowledge of the matchups and with a purpose, combining that with the ability to use pre-snap tools, then playing vs CPU games would be organic, dynamic, and fresh each and every single week of franchise mode. It would add so much to franchise mode without any franchise-specific additions being added to the game. It would offer some of the best on field gameplay in a football game ever.
Madden is a solid H2H game, but the CPU/AI is so bad and dumb and lacks the ability to do so much that it is not a strong offline vs CPU game. Playing against the CPU is so static because of the issues I've mentioned and it is an area of the game that needs a ton of love.
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