GAME BREAKING BUG - Madden 10 and NCAA 10

[jhawkmike]

This bug is related to press coverage. I discovered this in NCAA 10 and confirmed that it also exists in the Madden 10 demo. This bug did not exist in NCAA 2009 or Madden 2009.

I noticed that, when up against man to man press coverage, receivers seemed to have a lot easier time getting open if they lined up on the left side of the line of scrimmage than if they lined up on the right. It didn't make any sense. An average receiver going against a good defender on the left side of the line would have a better chance of getting open than a good receiver going against an average defender on the right side of the line.

The cause is this: When a receiver is pressed at the line of scrimmage, he will ALWAYS release to his right side. By release I mean he gets by the receiver by making a move to his right. So if he lines up on the left side of the line and runs a slant/cross/post/In against press coverage, he'll create a little bit of separation from the defender and get open. If he runs the same pattern from the right of the line, he won't get open. The defender will actually be a step ahead of the receiver instead of a step behind. The exception is when the receiver completely burns the defender and blows by him at the line of scrimmage; then it doesn't make much difference which side he lined up on.

To me, this is a game breaker. I won't play NCAA10 again until/unless this gets fixed, and I also won't buy Madden10. There's just no point; I'd rather play the 2009 versions. If you mostly play against the CPU, then it might not be that apparent because the CPU doesn't play press coverage that often.

Edited to add this video: I took a video to illustrate my point. I made some changes to the depth charts to show how dramatically this glitch affects gameplay. On the right side of the line, Texas's best 2 WRs are going up against OU players who aren't even real cornerbacks. I subbed in backup halfbacks Madu and Calhoun. Their CB rating is 40. On the left side, I put in defensive players at Wide Receiver. They are going up against Oklahoma's 2 best corners. As you can see from the video, which side of the line of scrimmage he lines up on has a much greater impact on a WR's ability to get open against man to man press coverage than how good he is or how good the defender covering him is.

[splff3000]

Quote: Originally Posted by jhawkmike

This bug is related to press coverage. I discovered this in NCAA 10 and confirmed that it also exists in the Madden 10 demo. This bug did not exist in NCAA 2009 or Madden 2009. I noticed that, when up against press coverage, receivers seemed to have a lot easier time getting open if they lined up on the left side of the line of scrimmage than if they lined up on the right. It didn't make any sense. An average receiver going against a good defender on the left side of the line would have a better chance of getting open than a good receiver going against an average defender on the right side of the line. The cause is this: When a receiver is pressed at the line of scrimmage, he will ALWAYS release to his right side. By release I mean he gets by the receiver by making a move to his right. So if he lines up on the left side of the line and runs a slant/cross/post/In against press coverage, he'll create a little bit of separation from the defender and get open. If he runs the same pattern from the right of the line, he won't get open. The defender will actually be a step ahead of the receiver instead of a step behind. The exception is when the receiver completely burns the defender and blows by him at the line of scrimmage; then it doesn't make much difference which side he lined up on. To me, this is a game breaker. I won't play NCAA10 again until/unless this gets fixed, and I also won't buy Madden10. There's just no point; I'd rather play the 2009 versions. If you mostly play against the CPU, then it might not be that apparent because the CPU doesn't play press coverage that often.

You must haven't played NCAA 10 too much. The CPU presses alot and is good at it too. That's an interesting theory you have though. In NCAA, I've noticed that when I get pressed at the line, I tend to throw to the left WR more even though he's the second WR. Maybe subconsciously, I see the same thing that you're saying or it could just be that I'm more comfortable throwing to the left than the right in those situations. I don't know. Anyway, I'm gonna have to check on this. BTW - I don't think this is a game killer by any means.

[WildFireXXI]

Uh, I've had my CB push both to the outside AND inside and I get pressed to hell and back against the Steelers and it sounds like you're just complaining to complain so....

/thread

[jhawkmike]

I challenge anyone to produce a video that shows a WR breaking away from man to man press coverage by making a move to his left. I suppose it could be different against zone press; I haven't tested this out yet.

Quote:

Uh, I've had my CB push both to the outside AND inside

If your receiver is lined up on the left side of the line, then he'll release to the inside. If he's lined up on the right side of the line, then he'll release to the outside.

Quote:

You must haven't played NCAA 10 too much. The CPU presses alot and is good at it too.

But not nearly as much as humans do. I know that when I play man defense, I almost always press. And if I remember correctly, the man to man press coverage plays out of the Dime formation only press the outside receivers. The Dime and Nickel back won't press their receiver unless you do a coverage adjustment, and I think the CPU only applies press through its play selection and not through coverage audibles.

[thudias]

Quote: Originally Posted by WildFireXXI

Uh, I've had my CB push both to the outside AND inside and I get pressed to hell and back against the Steelers and it sounds like you're just complaining to complain so.... /thread

Yes..i agree..OP needs to clarify that this is not 100% of the time.

[jhawkmike]

Quote: Originally Posted by thudias

Yes..i agree..OP needs to clarify that this is not 100% of the time.

If it's not 100%, then it's at least 99%. I went into practice mode and ran the same play over and over again: Shotgun Spread-Slants. It has 4 WRs all running slant routes. I ran it 20 times against Dime-Cover 2 man (Y+down to press). Each play, all 4 receivers broke away from the press coverage by making a move to their right. That's 80 out of a possible 80.

I did the same thing in NCAA 2009, and each time the receivers broke away to the inside whether they were on the right or left side of the line.

[wdctaylor]

I feel like, personally, that this has been going on for a long time. I always seem to throw more to my left than right since like Madden 07.

[DirtyJerz32]

This seems a little odd but, I will say this. Slants, crossing patterns, and post are still to easy to execute IMO. If the CB could actually play the inside and cut that off it would make it harder for a WR or TE to break to inside thus cutting off a slant etc...

I wish they would add this a coverage aud. They already have the option to have safties play in or outside, why not the DB's.