V.I.P System to Fix Madden & NCAA CPU AI

[Gotmadskillzson]

For those who are wondering, V.I.P stands for Virtual Identity Profile

In plain English, it was a virtual AI recorder. It recorded the way you played and assigned it to a profile. You could then assign that profile to a CPU controlled team and that team would play EXACTLY the way you played.

From what you did on 1st down, 2nd down, 3rd down, 3rd & long, 3rd & short, goal line, red zone, etc. How often you passed, ran, to what side of the field you did these things as well.

For those of you who had played NFL 2K5, you know what I am talking about because that game had this V.I.P system.

However I want to go a step further with the system. Instead of recording the consumer playing the game, I think EA Developers who know all the X's and O's of every team for both Madden and NCAA should play as every team and let the V.I.P system record them. Then assign that profile for that specific team as the default AI for that team.

That way the teams in Madden and NCAA will have a more natural flow to them. As it stands now, the CPU controlled teams have a robotic flow to them. They don't use their superstars like they should. Hell they don't even run their offense period like they should.

And it is even worse in NCAA. You have teams in the game run the no huddle hurry offense all game long, when in reality that school in real life don't play like that at all. Or you will have a school in real life that throw a lot of screens, but in the game they throw none at all.

This V.I.P system would fix all of that. It would also fix the pass rush, kick off return and punt return for the CPU AI as well. Since the V.I.P system records your play style and your movements.

[TTD71]

I loved this feature on that game...it was revolutionary at the time and really kind of creepy when I used it to play against myself. I set the game to use my own VIP and was able to play against myself right down to the number of times guys went in motion and hot routes.

The fact that this was in a game EIGHT YEARS AGO and has not been brought back in any meaningful way is depressing. I really don't care which company does what feature, I just want the best features to all appear in a single football game by now...

- VIP would be near the top of the list...especially if they were downloadable...it would be awesome to take the top 31 players on the game into a user controlled dynasty/franchise and then assign them all to teams in place of CPU AI (and those top-31 could be defined however the USER chooses...top tourney players, top leader board players, top sim-style players, etc.

There would be other great uses of downloadable VIPs as well:
- you could actually use them for practice in competitive Dynasty/Franchise...practice against either yourself (self-scouting) or against your opponent's tendencies (pseudo-film study)
- instead of playing online and wasting time and having the constant quitting and disconnecting and foul language and hate, you could download someone's VIP, play against it and THEN decide if you wanted to play that person live or not...never wait for a suitable opponent again!
- Unlimited variation in CPU tactics, if you could record VIPs and trade them online, someone could conceivably do exactly what the OP wants - assign real-world stats and style and play calling to each team as the season evolves...if a team loses their starting QB, the VIPs could reflect the change in philosophy and play calling this would engender...

Add to that these other one-time features and now gone or retired modes:

- Training Camp Drills (the ones with the Madden Bus and different challenges for every difficulty and every stop)
- OL/DL animations and interactions that look and play realistically
- DB/WR jostling and interactions that look and play realistically
- QB Vision Cone (or improved mechanic that makes the actual QB being used more important than the God-cam view for finding and hitting open WRs)
- Adjustable USER CAMERAS for online play (that can be assigned based on the type of play being called - run or pass)
- HFA that affects the game in realistic ways (especially for big games and playoff games) - bring back the camera shake!!! (LOL)
- Player Composure that actually works
- Tackling and Hits that utilize the best of NM/Euphoria without the godawful game and player models to ruin the whole experiment!

One of the things I used to really hope for IS being put back in the game now - pass trajectories - so one down and many, many more to go...

[Gotmadskillzson]

Mike Scantlebury and Anthony White could play as every team a few times. Let the recorder record their play style of how the different teams and offenses play in real life. Then assign the AI profile to that specific team. That way when you play against the CPU, instead of it having a robotic feel, it would have more of a natural human feel.

As it stands now, the CPU does a very bad job of running the offenses the way the teams run them in real life. And they also do a very bad job of using the best player on their team in the offense.

[Cryolemon]

This would be a cool idea. I've mentioned a few times that more games should do stuff like this.

An even better idea than getting EA to make the VIPs would be to get the actual coaches to do it. Of course that might not be possible, but it would be a cool idea.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cryolemon

This would be a cool idea. I've mentioned a few times that more games should do stuff like this. An even better idea than getting EA to make the VIPs would be to get the actual coaches to do it. Of course that might not be possible, but it would be a cool idea.

Coaches don't play video games though. And in order to get it recorded, somebody physically would have to play the game the correct way. Which is why I suggested Mike Scantlebury and Anthony White, since they play and make the game for a living.

[Aftershock9958]

Quote: Originally Posted by TTD71

- HFA that affects the game in realistic ways (especially for big games and playoff games) - bring back the camera shake!!! (LOL)

The camera shake is among one of my most missed features. I loved that

VIP was a pretty great idea too. I've always been surprised that the Madden crew never ripped off the other football franchise's best features once they got the exclusive.

[KBLover]

Heck, I'd like something like this if you could just make one from scratch as well as have it record how you play.

That would be a true gameplanning mode, imo, not just ranking plays.

BTW, was this in the PS3 version of the game? I sure don't remember it.

[Aftershock9958]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

Heck, I'd like something like this if you could just make one from scratch as well as have it record how you play. That would be a true gameplanning mode, imo, not just ranking plays. BTW, was this in the PS3 version of the game? I sure don't remember it.

I'm pretty sure this was a PS2/Xbox title.