Playability

[scoobyskyline3]

Do you guys do anything to make the game harder? I have never used any draft paths and as long as i dont foolishly spend money i have rarely fell short of the conference championship game and the team/coaches and your skill only gets better and i lose interest and start a new dynasty... what do you guys do to make it realistic but a challenge at the same time

[Mike3207]

Re: Playability

Most establish house rules and adjust sliders. Me, I do my best to make sure Performance is the last thing I raise. I try and keep Performance in the 2-3 range for all my coaches, and will only raise it when it's the last thing left. I also avoid all GM special skills beyond the 1st rank.

[scoobyskyline3]

Re: Playability

If you adjust the sliders as you get better will you be able to tell the difference? or will you have to just change the entire set

[Pass_The_Cows]

Re: Playability

I Supersim every game to avoid the ridiculous 70-3 kind of games the janky gameplay engine produces so often. I also avoid the Hall of Fame sleepers everyone knows about like Leron James, Bellows, the Bomas etc. If you go for those guys its way way way too easy to build a stacked team in 1-2 seasons.

[Winnipeg59]

Re: Playability

Just curious which teams you start with?
I've tried several, usually the bottomfeeders, and struggle mightily at times (cough - Raiders - cough)...

Still LOVE this game though (and wish even more of it could filter quickly into the next Madden - Or just copy the entire code over).

[Pass_The_Cows]

Re: Playability

Just curious which teams you start with?
I've tried several, usually the bottomfeeders, and struggle mightily at times (cough - Raiders - cough)...

Still LOVE this game though (and wish even more of it could filter quickly into the next Madden - Or just copy the entire code over).

Lately I've just picked a random team and simmed the entire 1st season, then I either get fired or leave and pick one of the teams that offers me a job. I guess that's just cause I've already played careers with all the teams I really wanted to take over from the start. The best team to start as for me in this method is the Bucs cause it typically kills the usual Bucs dynasty in this game. Even as a Bucs fan I hate seeing them win SB after SB.

[picker19]

Re: Playability

Scoobyskyline3, I'm exactly the same boat: love the game but it gets way too easy to build a super team. That's why I started my slider research (see it in sliders section) to see if I could come up with a set that makes the CPU have an advantage. Unfortunately, I verified that the sliders are broken. But I did come up with a set that so far provides me with the best challenge for games. It's now very rare where I have a game where I blow out the other team, even after a few seasons of building up my super roster.

The other house rules I use are:

1) Don't use the gameplans in game
2) Always rest one practice each week
3) Do not raise coach skills until after the season is done
4) Raise Performance skill last; instead focusing on development skills
5) Calls plays for the situation and not based on learning (learning makes a HUGE difference in game success).

Hope this helps...

[picker19]

Re: Playability

Oh, I forgot #6: I avoid the Jack English and Ozzie Jones drafts, because they are loaded with easy-to-find 90+ players. It's way too easy to build a super team by year #2 with those drafts.

[Mike3207]

Re: Playability

Playbooks are key-you have a better chance to lose the games if you go with the weaker playbooks over the strong ones. Next time around I'll pick something other than Michigan Spread and Jim Johnson.Also, be careful of using the positional special skills beyond the 1st rank for your HC and coordinators.

[scoobyskyline3]

Re: Playability

Lately I've just picked a random team and simmed the entire 1st season, then I either get fired or leave and pick one of the teams that offers me a job. I guess that's just cause I've already played careers with all the teams I really wanted to take over from the start. The best team to start as for me in this method is the Bucs cause it typically kills the usual Bucs dynasty in this game. Even as a Bucs fan I hate seeing them win SB after SB.

Exactly what i do,sim and ended up hired by bears,they have alot to work with though

sn-i live in tampa so i hate watching them win repeatedly too

[cutter73]

Re: Playability

Consider the division you play in. Playing in the NFC West is a lot easier than playing in the NFC East for example. I was the Redskins once, went 10-6, and missed the playoffs because I went 0-6 in my division. Try and land in a division with some real talented teams to even you out. the Redskins are better than Rams talent wise, but the competition in the division makes them harder in a lot of ways. With the Bears as your team, you don't really have a lot of stiff competition with the Lions, Vikings and Packers there.

One thing I'll do to keep it realistic and help with challenge is that i basically ignore potential ratings for any of the rookies I draft. By that I mean if I draft a QB in the first round, he's getting 2-3 years to start regardless of his potential. I had one season where I had no real QB on my team and put in a rookie free agent pick up in as QB. He performed pretty well, had some flashes, and I gave him another year rather than just draft a QB the next season. Sure, I could see his potential was only in the mid 70 range, but his perfromance looked enough like a QB with decent potential that I figured a real HC would give him time to develop and get other positions. I also keep any player, regardless of ratings, that wins a yearly award and they keep their starting spot for at least a couple seasons or has a really good year for me. It helps make thing more realistic, and because you wind up sticking with lower potential players longer than just "Oh, he's a 76 potential, cut him", seasons tend to stay more chalenging longer.

Also, as said, don't level up performance or special skills for your coaches too fast. if you use sliders, don't level them up much at all because they really make you godlike.

Don't use money plays all the time. Certain plays tend to always work, so avoid those. Also, play a goaline offense when appropriate. The defense doesn't match up when you spread them out on the goaline, and pretty much you can score 95% of the time with a shotgun/spread set there.

Don't trade to stockpile draft picks. Limit yourself in free Agency, I personally only allow myself either 1 90 overall FA signing OR 2 80 overall signing per year, if that.

And, yes, don;t use the Jack English or Ozzie draft paths. It's like playing the game on easy difficulty. Even if you don't draft all the sleepers, after a couple seasons, there is so much talent many teams have to wind up cutting ridiculously good players and the FA pool gets flooded.

Those are some of the things I do to try and make the game harder, along with not using sliders. For the most part it works for me pretty well.