PS2 Slider Hell

[cleanheart]

Well, I posted some sliders that were giving me great games, and then I go to New England and stomp them 55-14. I contemplated going back to the drawing board, but ultimately decided that I didn't want to get trapped in what I call "Slider Hell."

I basically kept the same settings I have listed in my original PS2 sliders post, with the exception of the AI. I left it at All Pro default. Usually this setting is pretty easy for me to win at, so I changed my approach a little.

1. I let Madden call all of my plays, but if my opponent's formation looks too strong for my play, I then use the audibles. I keep the audibles at default, also.
2. I turned QB Vision ON, because it just makes sense from a realism standpoint. In real life, the QB will look over the defense and identify his primary receiver, and then work through his progressions. Obviously, if I'm rolling right, I'm not going to see a RB in the flats to my left and be accurate with a quick throw. This approach really made me step back and read defenses, which I never did as often before.
3. I turned all assists OFF. This makes a difference when I'm taking control of a WR or a DB to play the ball. Timing of the catch is everything.

My first game of the season against Pittsburgh saw me win 27-21 in OT, with Derek Anderson leading a game-tying drive with less than 2 minutes remaining, and Josh Cribbs returning the opening OT kickoff all the way for a TD.

At the end of the regular season, I'll address the sliders and commit to only moving 1 click at a time at the end of every year. For example, my first season will be default. If I see that the CPU punting accuracy is horrible, I'll move it up 1 click for year 2. If it's still bad, I'll move it up another click for year 3, etc.

I don't know about anyone else, but I can get obsessed with this "perfection seeking" mentality for the game. I had an absolute blast playing my first game with default AI, and it was a lot of fun using QB vision. I've never used it before.

This is just a suggestion for those who wish to avoid Slider Hell and just have fun without worrying about the sliders and analyzing gameplay when you're supposed to just have fun and compete.

[sl8b]

Good luck man, I can definately empathize with you. But it's tough to not change things around when their is a glaring weakness in the A.I. It can make for a long season if you know you need to make a change........but on the other hand, having 16 games of testing is alot better than noticing something in one game or even a few plays.