Automatic CPU Field Goals are gone !!!!!

[Hoos]

I think I may be on to something here guys (360 version)

Somebody else might have already discovered this and went public (on OS) with it, but in case they did'nt I'm here to share

I've just spent the last 3-4 hours testing out a theory about the FG success for the CPU and myself (being way to high out of the box!!!) The slider adjustment for FG accuracy alone just does'nt seem to affect the CPU one iota or myself (even set to zero). I've also felt that the kicking meter was way to forgiving even if the right thumbstick was off center when pushing it back up to complete the kick.

I know that many of you guys have expressed the same dislike for the CPU never missing FG's, even long ones. They almost never miss even at 50+ yards!!!

UNTIL NOW !!!!

Here's what I did:

Went to ESPN website and checked last years results in the area of field goal accuracy for a benchmark to compare my results against. My test results proved to match this fairly closely.........

I used FK's rosters and chose Purdue's Kicker as my guinea pig. I went into the roster and arbitrarily changed his "Kick Accuracy" rating from 85 (default) to 45 and then to 20.

These were the constants for every test that I ran: (Purdue Kicker/No Wind/All American Difficulty/Practice mode/FG accuracy "global slider" at 25)

Now on to the results................ (These all represent the CPU kicking)

Ball on 25 yard line (42 yd FG)

K rating = 85 (default) 19 of 20 for 95% (Left hash mark)
K rating = 45 15 of 20 for 75% (Left hash mark)
K rating = 20 10 of 20 for 50% (Left hash mark)
K rating = 85 (default) 19 of 20 for 95% (Center)
K rating = 45 15 of 20 for 75% (Center)
K rating = 20 11 of 20 for 55% (Center)
K rating = 85 (default) 18 of 20 for 90% (Right hash mark)
K rating = 45 14 of 20 for 70% (Right hash mark)
K rating = 20 11 0f 20 for 55% (Right hash mark)

Ball on 10 yard line (27 yd FG)

K rating = 85 (default) 20 of 20 for 100 % (Left hash mark)
K rating = 45 19 of 20 for 95% (Left hash mark)
K rating = 20 15 of 20 for 75% (Left hash mark)
K rating = 85 20 of 20 for 100% (Center)
K rating = 45 17 of 20 for 85% (Center)
K rating = 20 15 of 20 for 75% (Center)
K rating = 85 19 of 20 for 95% (Right hash mark)
K rating = 45 19 of 20 for 95% (Right hash mark)
K rating = 20 14 of 20 for 70% (Right hash mark)


Overall results

K rating = (85 default) 120 total FG attempts/115 made/96%
K rating = (45) 120 total FG attempts/99 made/82%
K rating = (20) 120 total kicks/76 made/63%

Looks like a setting between 40-45 would be about right. What I plan on doing is editing each teams kicker's accuracy by a uniform reduction of 40 points. So if a kicker is rated 80, his new rating will be 40.

Granted this was all done in practice mode and I have not yet done any actual game testing (which I will start tomorrow) but it is encouraging !! Who knows how the CPU will respond in actual games. There are only a few FG attempts by the CPU in each game (if that) so it may still seem automatic in a game setting. But dropping the Kicker's accuracy rating may be the answer. Something larger than a 40 point reduction for each kicker may yield better results in actual game play.....we'll have to test that out and see.

I'd appreciate if you guys can run some testing on this issue as well and see what happens.

Now onto the human side of it. I'm not going to get into the actual test results but I was very happy with my Kicker's rating at 10 and the FG accuracy global slider set to zero. The kick meter difficulty really gets a shot in the arm here guys!!!! It really forces you to move your stick up straight or else your kick will be offline. It's not overly difficult to hit your FG's but I would say that the human failure rate would closely match the results above on the CPU side. This of course depends on everybody's own skill level with the kicking mechanic in this game.

Try out the human setting above for yourself and give me some feedback.


Thanks guys

[elprez98]

What about in dynasty? Would I have to edit all incoming freshmen every year too?

that is way too hard to do for each team, wut happens when u play as the team with a kicker at 45

[Hoos]

Quote: Originally Posted by elprez98

What about in dynasty? Would I have to edit all incoming freshmen every year too?

That's my biggest question too about this idea. I'm wondering if it makes sense to do that for ALL the teams or just for your upcoming game (your kicker and your opponent's kicker only). Then changing your opponent's kicker's rating back to the default after the game. My goal here is to build some randomness for my CPU controlled opponent and myself.

I really like the way this works for my kicking game. I will actually shank a kick if I don't move the stick back up straight (or centered in the top cone). It's much more sensitive, which is a good thing. As long as I take my time and concentrate on my stick work, I'll still be able to kick FG's just not as automatically as seen at default ratings. The longer kicks will definitely be more of a challenge, much like real life. In my practice sessions, I've noticed that a bad stick movment will actually cause the ball to drift to either side and the more distance on that kick, the more time for a bad kick to drift outside the goal posts. TRUST ME HERE GUYS, IT WORKS!! My FG %'s in my testing sessions were just as high as the AI's using the default kicker accuracy ratings. After changing the rating, I too was hitting less FG's !!!

What I'd be interested in knowng is how the Kicker stats look (FG success %) for "non-human" controlled teams in some dynasties that you guys have played thus far. Do they have incredibly high FG percentages at the default ratings ?? If the CPU controlled dynasty teams have believable stats, then the rating should not be changed across the board. If those percentages are too high, then maybe we do need to change them. That's when it get's tricky, how do you handle incoming Freshman and will the ratings that you have already changed stay intact during the post-season activities ??

Since writing the original post, I have played five "Play Now" games against five random teams. I changed each kicker's rating based on what I originally proposed ( set to 10 for my kicker ). During those five games, the AI attempted 8 total FG's and made only 6 (75%) !!!! One of the missed FG's was about a 25 yarder that the CPU shanked and hit the upright. And the other was about 45 yards from the right hash mark (this one missed wide right). As I recall, one of the successful AI FG's was around 50 yards. So it looks good so far !!! This does'nt severely hamper either team but it does make it more believable. I kicked 5 out 6 FG's myself for 83% but most of mine were under 30 yards.

[the_future420]

I don't think you can edit player ratings in dynasty.

[hawkeyekid]

Quote: Originally Posted by the_future420

I don't think you can edit player ratings in dynasty.

You are right. Unlike a game like NCAA Hoops 2k_, this is a fix mainly for play now or for part of the dynasty.

[Hoos]

Quote: Originally Posted by Powder90

that is way too hard to do for each team, wut happens when u play as the team with a kicker at 45

Heck, they should'nt be allowed to play badminton with a rating like that :y4:

I have'nt checked all of the kickers default accuracy ratings yet, but I don't believe that there are any kickers with a rating that low. From what I recall, the lowest I saw was in the mid to upper 70's. I'll have to check........

See my post above, but I don't think that a global (all team) change would be needed. Provided that the AI controlled dynasty teams are showing believable FG's %'s. Maybe that's not even a stat that shows up ??? I haven't played in a dynasty yet so I dont know that for sure. At the very least, I plan to change the ratings for my kicker and my opponent's kicker for each game and then change it back. That would'nt take much time at all !! The key here is whether or not the AI simulated stats are in line with real life. But, when I was changing this rating last night, it is possible to keep the kicker rating visible on the screen and then switch teams without backing out of multiple menus after each update. I would think that a global change for all teams could be accomplished in under 30 minutes or less.

I had to do something because in some 40 plus "PLay Now" games against the CPU, I don't think I ever saw a missed FG. I had some but only because it was a really long attempt. THAT IS JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE !!!

[Hoos]

Quote: Originally Posted by the_future420

I don't think you can edit player ratings in dynasty.

OUCH

Not good, I did'nt realize that. Maybe there's a work around. I'll have to check into that angle.