Operation Sports Forums - SM27's All Pro PLAYER LOCK Sliders, Methodology, and why I am just freaking insane!..

Hi Guys,
This is a continuation in to that deep dark place known as Steve's mind.
I hope you are at least entertained, and hopefully maybe I can enlighten a few of you guys into, what for me, is a whole new game.

(If You don't want to read the whole thread, my slider setup is way down at the bottom)

I utilize Player Lock on every play, Offense and Defense.
The only thing is, which player am I going to use on any given play?
It varies, (part of what makes playing in this mode so much fun!).

Picking your plays, the beauty and function of the ENHANCED Playbook View.:
I use the ENHANCED Playbook view.
The reason for this is that I want to limit myself to only plays in the "STRATEGY" category. This keeps me in more of a "player" mindset then a "coach" mindset in that, even though I am calling the plays, I will stay within the tendencies of my coach's "SCHEME" and "STYLE". If I don't like his scheme or style, then I now have an incentive to change coaches later on in my Franchise, other than the usual reason which is just boredom. Now the incentive is STRATEGIC!. From this ENHANCED Playbook view, using the STRATEGY viewing filter, I scroll through the pages of STRATEGY plays that are available and pick one. I don't just pick the first play that comes up. There are 3 plays available per scrollable page in this filtered view, with multiple pages of 3. So I scroll through them, paying attention to the notes next to each play on the right side about the frequency that I have used this particular play.

Camera View / Getting Started using PLAYER LOCK.
I start with an "all 22" camera view pre-snap.
This view makes scrolling to any available user controlled player fast and easy before the snap. It also affords you a cool view to see the whole field of play, and make a decision on which player you want to use. You may have already selected your play with a certain player position in mind that you wanted to use, but now that you see the whole field, eh, maybe you changed your mind!

Pre Snap in the ALL 22 Camera View, you simply:
1.) Hold down the "O" button on PS4, and use the D-pad to scroll to the player you want to control.

2.) Once you have selected your player, you now "click" (press straight down until it clicks) the L-Stick (L3).

3.) The Camera will now zoom down in a very dramatic way from the ALL 22 view down to a "WIRE" cam view that is zoomed down to where your selected player is now in between the camera and the ball. If you are playing CB, this is absolutely killer.

On Defense:
1.) Before the snap, hold down the R2 (right trigger). This will display the play art just like any other mode so you can refresh your memory on your assignment. You can display the play art both before you zoom down when you are still in ALL 22, or after you have clicked L3 (left stick) and have zoomed down to the WIRE cam. You can also audible to change your individual assignment as well, just don't get caught in the midst of changing your Defensive Assignment when the CPU Offense snaps the ball!

2.) Run the play. Execute your assignment. If the play was away from you, and you need to get to the play, quickly hold down the L1 (left button/bumper). This is the little known or talked about "DEFENSIVE ASSIST" function that you see in the listed control functions in the manual, but never use. I have seen this button / function displayed for years and years of playing Madden, but I have never had a reason to use it because I would always just "switch off" of players on Defense to make the tackle. This DEFENSIVE ASSIST was MADE for playing in the PLAYER LOCK mode.
What this function does is "point" you in the right direction to put you on a proper trajectory/ path / angle to the ball. If you are engaged with a blocker, you still have to disengage by using the "SQUARE" (power move) button, or the "X" (finesse move) button just to get off of the block in the first place and get in to the play.

3.) If you are a DB / LB in Pass Coverage, and the ball is in the air coming to the guy you are covering, you have to make the play on the ball. Whether that be to try to pick it, or swat it, or just tackle your man, it's up to you. If you are the digital re-incarnation of Lem Barney, then instead of going into slider purgatory, just turn off the "BALL HAWK" function in the TEAM SETTINGS.

4.) If you are a D-Lineman, play as you normally would. Here's the thing, If you get blocked out of the play, you suck. If you get a roughing the passer because you FINALLY got a shot at GD Aaron Rodgers, you suck. If you were a DE that was supposed to drop off into short zone and you decided to rush the passer and the play goes to the zone you were supposed to be occupying, you suck.

5.) If you are a LB, and you are supposed to blitz, then blitz. Watch the HB invariably run away from you, or the QB will drop an "OH SHIZZ" pass over the line. Once again...you suck. If you are the Madden Version of Chris Spielman, and you are a tackling MACHINE, then before you go into the black hole of slider hell, turn off HEAT SEEKER and AUTO STRAFE.

6.) If you are a DB (my favorite POS is CB) then do your job. If it is PRESS coverage, then press the WR. You will LOVE the "Hand Fighting" animations as he is trying to get off the line. Oh, and guess what. Defensive Holding get's CALLED, so be careful after 5 yards. If you got juked out of your jock, and the WR is now running away from you as open as Randy Moss, then quickly squeeze L1 (Defensive Assist) to get going in the right direction and try to catch him / the ball before he hangs 6 on you.

On Offense:
1.) You have selected your play, and now the playbook drops off of the screen, leaving you in an "ALL 22" camera view, with your QB highlighted by default. Select your player that you want to lock on to as listed above (click on L3).

2.) Once you have selected your player by clicking L3 on Offense, you will be in the "WIDE" camera view. After you are already locked onto an offensive player, you still have the option to squeeze down a little tighter before the snap by momentarily squeezing R2 (right trigger). This is helpful especially if you are using another position on Offense such as TE or FB, and you want to execute a blocking assignment. Coming down to the WIRE view pre-snap allows you to focus a little more on your job.

QB
If you want to run the play as the QB, simply "LOCK" onto the QB by clicking L3. I sometimes lock onto the QB on RUNNING PLAYS just because the Camera View is so cool, and I can follow the play by running towards the hole that the HB just went through.
On Passing plays, it is almost the same as regular playing except for the fact that once you release the ball, it's up to the ratings and your QB skills as to what happens next, and the Camera is just awesome as it follows the ball. If you are a really good passer (and by now you certainly SHOULD BE because this has been your position on offense in Madden for YEARS) then don't play as a QB on Passing plays. See? Suddenly it really does make a difference what your QB's ratings are. You can't just take a 57 rated rookie and play like Johnny Unitas because if you aren't controlling him, and you are running as a WR, TE, or HB, then your ability to get open and to wave your hand to call for the ball MATTERS. If he has low "AWARENESS" then he might not see you, and throw yet ANOTHER pick or eat the ground by getting sacked because his "POCKET PRESENCE TRAIT" is OBLIVIOUS. You now have an incentive to take him into Weekly Prep to put together enough XP to eventually raise his AWR rating so that you can trust him not to lose the game for you.

HB
Select HB and try to run / pass protect / or catch a pass. pretty self explanatory. Try to run a screen play by controlling the HB, catch the pass on time, and get the hell outta the backfield without getting tackled.

FB
BLOCK! It's a lot harder than you think...
*Hint*..It takes some practice to just fly into a guy at full speed and try to block him. If you use L1 (stutter / decelerate ) while running into a smelly knuckle dragging LB / DL to block him, it is much easier to engage your block under control and not just whiff on the block. I swear to god, I will give up on a series of downs on 3rd and long on purpose just to try and pick up the 1st down with a "Power 0" play, just so I can have an excuse to try and block. Flaring out to catch a pass is sweet too.

WR
Run the route, get pissed off and pull a Dez Bryant on the sideline when the QB keeps ignoring you when you are wide open....dropping passes?.. You suck. Can't get off the line?..You suck. Can't crack back on the sweep?...you suck.
The other WR just got picked off? Now you have to disengage from the DB because he is now blocking you to try and chase down the LB that just picked off the pass that was intended for the other guy.

TE
Self explanatory...use him the same as a FB / WR depending on his skill set.

SM27'S ALL PRO "PLAYER LOCK" SLIDERS
Yep, it is pretty much all default.
I think this is the right way to go at least for the time being. Let me explain a couple of things....

Why is the CPU side all at Default?
A couple of really good reasons...
This is a completely different way of playing the game than 99% of the guys on here play it against the CPU. I am concentrating on being part of a team rather than being god on every play. The individual battles are highly rewarding, especially if it's your block that creates the hole on a successful running play. If I am adjusting sliders on the CPU side, it is because some aspect of the game is unsatisfying, or "unrealistic"... Dude, it's a freaking video game, not the NFL. I can testify personally, and I think I have credibility on the subject, that for me, chasing sliders is a never ending task. As soon as I get one thing that I like (for example the illusion of weight and kinetic action that is displayed more frequently between a LB and a HB with a TKL slider set at 35 or 37) then I get 9 other things that are worse. The guys at EA did a fantastic job of balancing the gameplay, for the most part, with everything at default. Of course their are some things I wish were better, but "better" is a subjective term. What's "better" for me isn't always even close to what is "better" for someone else, especially if you are not playing "no switch" or Player Lock. I have much love for all of the great work that the slider guru's like Playmakers, A&S, Charter, and the many other guys do. But I have been doing this long enough that I am going to approach it a different way.
I have found that as soon as I take control of one player by simply engaging "PLAYER LOCK" that EVERYTHING on the field just gets better. Guys miss tackles, bodies are flying all over the field, and I have the ILLUSION of being ON THE FIELD. That, for me, is a lot more fun. I realize that this way of playing isn't for everybody, and I don't even know if you can play online this way, but I would sure like to find out.

There are more ways to be challenged
As you can see by looking at my settings in the panel below, all of the "assists" are turned on. As I get better at playing the various positions that are helped by those assists (Heat Seeker, Ball Hawk, Auto Strafe) I will turn them off.
There is a lot to do to "get better" before I start moving sliders around too much. I have to be a better blocker, I have to be a better route runner, I have to be a better defender when the ball is in the air, I have to be a better runner with the ball, I have to read defenses and tendencies better so I can call the right plays, I have to make adjustments. By calling the plays from the "STRATEGY" filter in the enhanced play book, the computer challenges me to EXECUTE, not to just simply run "what works here", but part of a game plan.

Fatigue / Speed Parity / Injuries / Penalties all at Default?..WTF?
I know, I know, you are thinking "EVERYBODY is adjusting these settings, why aren't you? It's because just like the "gameplay" sliders, these all affect the animation engine as well. Just like in years past, turning up certain Penalty Sliders has an affect on the gameplay. In years past, we wouldn't get anymore penalties, (because basically, they weren't called in the game), by turning up DPI or OPI, yet they WOULD make the game "play" differently. Same with the "Roughing The Kicker" penalty slider in past versions of Madden. By turning that all the way up before, every defender on the field would completely, and I mean COMPLETELY sell out on every play. Well, I am interested, really interested, to give this game a chance, and see how it really plays out with penalty frequency and variety playing this way (Player Lock). I HAVE seen some things I have never seen before...Hello?, ILLEGAL TOUCHING? WOW. That was on Default. The game has only been out a couple of weeks, and they are still tuning it at EA. I am going to differ and leave these sliders alone for a while. They CLAIM that the game will call penalties in relationship to the number of the real NFL. I want to see that happen. It seems to me that in "PLAYER LOCK" mode I have the best chance of that happening because EVERYONE on the field (except for the one guy I am controlling) is interacting from snap to whistle based on their ratings, and how they work vs each other. The CPU doesn't have to worry about me taking over from one player to another mid-play, so whatever is SUPPOSED to happen with penalty frequency SHOULD happen based on the players various penalty "traits".

If you WERE going to adjust sliders, which ones and why would you do it?
I have my own opinions on slider philosophy. Number one, I feel that soup to nuts, the game just RUNS better when everything is as close to default as possible. The one thing I WILL say though is this. At least with THIS years version of the game, When I adjust sliders (after the "starter" set I have below) I will make it more difficult by turning ALL of the HUM Gameplay Sliders down at the same time, by one click each.

What can I expect if I play exclusively on Player Lock with Your Settings?
1.) Fatigue / Long Drives...
If you go with the sub in out settings I have, you can expect to see subbing on offense AND defense.
You ask, "How can that be when you have Fatigue set at Default?".
For one thing, the fact that there are more long drives means that guys are on the field longer. They tend to get tired faster. Because all of the players have varying STA ratings, they get tired at different rates, depending on what or how much they are being used.

2.) Over-throws / Under-throws from the CPU / Penalties / Injuries.
I know it doesn't make any sense, but when everything is at default, the coding in the game works properly the way the boys in the lab at EA intended it to. All of these things I have listed, the frequency of their occurrence, the degree to which they happen, it's all in percentages in the coding as to when, and if, and how often they happen. When you change sliders from default, you are telling the base coding to ignore the pre-coded percentages. It throws the whole freaking system out of whack. Settle in to Default on everything and watch what happens. The variations of all of the things that we want to occur, occur.
One of the main reasons I got into this whole Player Lock thing was that I wanted to be able to keep the sliders at default and not set records overtime I hit the field. This has accomplished that.

IN CLOSING
I would be interested to hear that some other guys are playing Madden, what is for me, a new way of doing things. And if there was a way to utilize player lock online in a "Head to Head" matchup, I would be interested in trying it out with one of you blokes.

Cheers, and Happy Maddening!
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