I'm now convinced...A.I. is broken

[coyote22]

I don't know if its a matter of AI being smart enough or not. I think AI CAN be coded in a different way. True, all EA games have some sort of come back code implemented and sad enough EA has become the standard in sports games nowadays..

Last week I played Winning Eleven 7. What a great soccer game! I didnt play it enough to see if any catch up logic was there but I don't think so.
I don't own a console so I'm not sure how the ESPN games measure up in this respect. All I know is that we PC gamers are screwed if we want to play some realistic football, hockey or basketball (yes NBA Live seems to suffer from the same problem...).

Maybe there will be a time we look back on this and say.. Glad we don't have any more comeback AI, things have changed. Now when I go into the final stretch I know my players will be able to keep the lead 75-80% of the time. Comebacks may occur but are rare.

But when will this be?
For now we have to accept the Holcombs and Dilfers throwing for 200 the fourth quarter and see a 21-7 lead evaporate in the final minute..

[stench96]

Yeah Coyote22,as soon as Winning Eleven 8 arrives in Australia,Madden is off to e-bay.I hope that the boys at E.A. are reading the posts here and at Maddenmania and the other madden sites,they've still gota lot of work to do.Cheers stench

[guinness22]

Quote: Originally Posted by stench96

O.K.,this debate has been raging for years,here's my 2 cents worth- It's not about winning or losing,it's about keeping it real. If I line my 91 rated D.E. up against a 57 rated R.T. Should he get max pressure and be able to get past him. If the cpu has a L.T. at 5th wide reciever[yes this happened,the Rams had 3 w.r.'s out injured]should he be able to make 3 catches downfield,one on 3rd down and 2 on 4th? Should a 64 rated rookie w.r. make 5 catches in a row,no drops,and score a game winning T.D. in the last 2 mins? Why do I have to fumble a punt return after a couple of 3 and outs on the cpu,nearly every game,I ended up with 9 punt fumbles last season. Should a back up Q.B.,with 20 overall points less than the starter,come into the game and lite me up? Why would the Rams only use Faulk 9 times to run the ball,with 3 of their starting w.r.'s out,and instead have Bulger throw to F.B.'s and Tackles in 5 reciever sets?I was only ever in front by 10 points. Does Trent Dilfer really have the agility of Vick when he's in the pocket? I could go on,but all these things seem to happen when the cpu's behind,the o-line becomes a brick wall-regardless of who you line up against,the w.r.'s all become Torry Holt,the Q.B.'s become Elway,and the T.E.'s Gonzales. "The momentums changing"you'll hear Al say,but why?What has happened that would reverse my players[or the cpu's] form so much?The cpu stops me at the goal-line and I kick a field goal,I'm now up by 21 points,there's 4 mins to go,why should my D self destruct????The games in the bag,I've been on top of the offense all day,but because I didn't score a T.D. on my last drive my whole team falls apart???? I played soccer semi-pro for 15 years,and when your down by 3 goals with 5 minutes to go,nothing apart from a huge line of cocaine is gunna get your head up,regardless of who's on your team. I'm playing the Browns,I'm up 35-3,Thomlinson is having a ball,3 mins to go and Al says that they have to score quickly now????Why,the game's over!!!So I put my controller down and watch as Holcomb[Garcia's injured in the 1st] goes balistic and racks up 160 + yards in 2 mins-there goes my passing stats for the game. I watched with a wry smile yesterday as Green Bay bought in their rookie Q.B. to replace Fauvre late in the 4th,why,because the game was over,47-21!!!But if that was Madden,Fauvre would have gone into 2min drill mode,and soured what would have been a great victory. I think that this is the greatest dissopointment with Madden,it doesn't know when to give up and it doesn't play to the depth charts.Sure there are stand out rookies each season,or players who play above their ratings,but why is it every team I play against???? I quote the great John Madden from a Monday Nite game a while ago-"Well they've lost this one,so they're gunna bring in the back-ups for a few snaps,the last thing they wanna do is have one of their starters injured when theyve got no chance of coming back."If only E.A. practised what he preached,cheers Stench

I agree 100%. I won't rehash all the details because I did that in another thread, but just to add to your tackle playing WR, I was playing against Atl and they had K Jay Feely at RG because they had 3 linemen injured. Feely obviously suffered no penalty - he routinely shut my D-linemen down.

[coyote22]

Quote: Originally Posted by stench96

I hope that the boys at E.A. are reading the posts here and at Maddenmania and the other madden sites

Yes, or some other company that comes along and decides to step in. Ive given up on EA changing crucial things long ago. (Still makes me mad though )

I know one thing.. that new company will have my money, and Im sure many other people tired of this lame old fashioned comeback AI will switch as well.
It's just such a shame. All EA games have a lot going for them. Great graphics, dynasty features etc. But forget about the bells and whistles, this is what it's all about. The core of sports gaming.

[Brando70]

I have played Madden every year since it came out for the Genesis, and I think I detect less comeback scripting than in any version since Madden 2002.

I am getting a huge variety of scores, which is why I don't think there is comeback code. I had a game the other night in my Bears franchise, All-Pro with sliders to bump up the running game, and beat the Niners 35-10. I dominated the entire game, and only gave up a TD when the Niners picked up my blitz and hit Rashaun Woods for a long TD.

I also endured a serious comeback in the Eagles game, where I was up 24-3 at the half and lost 32-27. It felt like a real comeback. It wasn't turnovers galore, I simply couldn't contain Owens and McNabb got hot. I had a drive at the end but threw an INT right to Jeremiah Trotter. Those kinds of games happen.

I have had close games and blowouts on both sides. I just am not seeing anything that looks like regular comback AI, which I have sensed in other versions.

There is still some "cheating", such as the way the CPU tends to sense run or pass from you, regardless of your personnel on the field. The DB speed boost is also annoying, but at least it happens to both teams.

Not saying you guys are wrong, my experience has just been different, that's all.

[Graphik]

**Waits for Graphik to confirm the EA comeback code**













....and waits....

[ComfortablyLomb]

Honestly, I see some comebacks by the AI against me, but not often enough to believe in any sort of comeback AI conspiracy. It's a game, tweak it so that it plays a decent game of ball for you and enjoy what you've got.

[ODogg]

Plus I think people tend to play alot more conservative (differently) with a lead and thus end up with more 3 and outs, meaning cpu has the ball more and can tend to score more. It's not comeback AI.