Custom AI - Game has become fun?

[Clipse79]

I forgot who it was but someone mentioned the custom AI tweaks in a thread I was in and I did so the last two games. And....Wow, actually games!

In the first I got out shot bad and lost because I had full out attack, second I won and out did everything. I also changed some camera angles which makes passing way easier dependent on cam.

And guess what?! I turned Penalties down to about half and noticed the CPU gets a lot more now all of a sudden and more than me! This is 1.02 tuner btw.

I changed my D to Pinch a heck of a lot and made some lines full out dump and chase or full out carry. It seems like they have brains all of a sudden.

Maybe it was just me and two games but who knows. I suggest if you have not played with the Custom AI go do it and see what happens. Oh course you do need to do some slider tweaks and I can tell you mine are a bit crazy but it seems that is the way.

[Steven547]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

But doesn't the CPU change their strategies anyway once the game starts?

[Clipse79]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

I have found that the shots are better, passing % is getting close to even, the cheeser goals are still there but very few. You really get punished for a dumb mistake. Something I noticed and maybe I just do not know enough but I have gone into practice mode slammed it to rookie and jacked up accuracy and goalie speed down. Still cannot score? What is it that makes this game really change or stick when going from level to level? I mean play on rookie everything goes in. Practice on rookie, not so much?

[bwiggy33]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

That was probably me. I just wasn't seeing the CPU go into the zone and actually forecheck, same with your teammates AI. That's why I put the the bar more towards the forecheck side rather than leaving it in the middle. I think it makes a huge difference. You finally get to see some attacking from both your teammates and the CPU when they dump the puck in. Glad it's making the game better for you.

Its till appalls me how bad EA did with attacking the zone. There isn't one team in the NHL who dumps the puck in and just lets their team set up in the neutral zone so their opponent can easily break out of their zone. I don't care what situation in the game it is, that doesn't happen in real hockey and that's how it plays in NHL without the adjustments IMO.

What I really want to do is change all of the strategies for teams so they are correct to how the team plays in real life. I don't care how long it takes but I will change any of those AI settings as long as it provides me a better offline gameplay experience that helps separate teams/players.

[bwiggy33]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

But doesn't the CPU change their strategies anyway once the game starts?

It doesn't seem like they do with the forecheck unless they are down late in the game. By raising that slider so every team starts with a more aggressive forecheck it makes it more consistent IMO. Often times the team will just dump the puck in and keep their players at the neutral zone to wait for the other team to break out with no pressure being applied. It's truly pathetic.

[jonapaloma]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

I wonder why there isnt a custom AI thread yet.

[Cletus]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

I wonder if you turned ai learning and cpu strategy adjustment to zero then loaded up AI for them if they would never change?

[savoie2006]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

I wonder why there isnt a custom AI thread yet.

I don't know, but at this point it's easily the second best new feature in the game, with GM Connected having so many issues.

[jonapaloma]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

I don't know, but at this point it's easily the second best new feature in the game, with GM Connected having so many issues.

It sounds like a good feature yet no one has written anything about it. Have you changed them for some teams?

[savoie2006]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

It sounds like a good feature yet no one has written anything about it. Have you changed them for some teams?

No, I'm not that much of a hockey buff, despite the fact I love the sport so much. I have just made one for my team so that they'll behave somewhat how I want. I move each line to cycle, as your AI teammates seem to try to get open for passes more. I put my D to hold the blue line and I usually would rather have my team clog the neutral zone than forecheck.

[bwiggy33]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

No, I'm not that much of a hockey buff, despite the fact I love the sport so much. I have just made one for my team so that they'll behave somewhat how I want. I move each line to cycle, as your AI teammates seem to try to get open for passes more. I put my D to hold the blue line and I usually would rather have my team clog the neutral zone than forecheck.

Questions for you Savoie. What is your offensive strategy set at (ie: aggressive, conservative, etc.)? Also are your teammates putting pressure on when you forecheck? I've just seen that my teammates nor the CPU AI pressures hard enough when forechecking, especially when dumping the puck in. Therefore you get the end to end game that me and you have talked about. With some of the changes I've made it's still end to end but the CPU seems to pressure more and develop a forecheck.

My changes seem to have taken out the what I call "pre-determined" offensive pressure that the CPU puts on where they constantly fling passes around the zone without missing and I'd say about 90% of the time it ends up in the net.

One thing I really wish that EA would do is tune the AI so they move the puck around more when they get in the zone. Most of the game it's the same thing back and forth. AI shoots, I gather rebound and break out, I go shoot/cycle, and it just repeats. There needs to be more puck movement. EA just has never gotten the correct balance of passes and shots. It's either too many passes when shots could have been taken, or its way too many shots which is what I think is a problem right now. I want more puck movement and play creation from the AI.

[savoie2006]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

Questions for you Savoie. What is your offensive strategy set at (ie: aggressive, conservative, etc.)? Also are your teammates putting pressure on when you forecheck? I've just seen that my teammates nor the CPU AI pressures hard enough when forechecking, especially when dumping the puck in. Therefore you get the end to end game that me and you have talked about. With some of the changes I've made it's still end to end but the CPU seems to pressure more and develop a forecheck.

My changes seem to have taken out the what I call "pre-determined" offensive pressure that the CPU puts on where they constantly fling passes around the zone without missing and I'd say about 90% of the time it ends up in the net.

One thing I really wish that EA would do is tune the AI so they move the puck around more when they get in the zone. Most of the game it's the same thing back and forth. AI shoots, I gather rebound and break out, I go shoot/cycle, and it just repeats. There needs to be more puck movement. EA just has never gotten the correct balance of passes and shots. It's either too many passes when shots could have been taken, or its way too many shots which is what I think is a problem right now. I want more puck movement and play creation from the AI.

I set my Offense to aggressive. The forecheck pressure isn't what I would like it to be either. Sadly the whole north/south style of gameplay seems hard coded into the game. I really wish EA would change this, but that's not likely as they want the game to appeal to the masses. You may be able to find that sweet spot for passes/shots using the Customize AI. You can edit each team's AI Bias, so maybe we can find that sweet spot or at least a more suitable setting and apply it to all teams.

[bwiggy33]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

I set my Offense to aggressive. The forecheck pressure isn't what I would like it to be either. Sadly the whole north/south style of gameplay seems hard coded into the game. I really wish EA would change this, but that's not likely as they want the game to appeal to the masses. You may be able to find that sweet spot for passes/shots using the Customize AI. You can edit each team's AI Bias, so maybe we can find that sweet spot or at least a more suitable setting and apply it to all teams.

Ya I've pretty much just come to grips with north/south hockey. There's just not a whole lot we can do. I'm actually going to pop in 2k10 at some point and see how the two compare gameplay wise. Obviously 13 blows 2k away in skating and movement but I want to refresh my memory with the style of hockey that is played in 2k. I just need to find a hockey game that has a mix of slowed down play with offsides, penalties, etc. and transition play (which 13 has absolutely nailed haha). I just don't know how much longer I can play 13 if all it's going to be is back and forth back and forth trading chances. I should have expected this considering basically every NHL game since 07 has been this style.

[bwiggy33]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

Alright I've got a report! I'm currently in a test game with Caps (me) vs. Ducks. Before the game started I kept my NZ/FC slider to one click away from FC max. Then I went to each ANA line and put the Cycle/Shoot slider on two clicks away from empty, or 2 clicks away from full cycle whichever way you want to look at it. Well I can definitely say it's working. ANA is having considerable more TOA because of moving the puck around. Before the changes the D men were shooting without event thinking. Now they are actually looking for players to pass to and forwards will swing low in the zone and play like actual hockey players. It's only one period but I can definitely say I notice a difference already. I'll report back after the game. If this happens to be the way to fix the AI I will be ecstatic. Hopefully it can also help others create how they want the game to look and feel.

[GravesFan9]

Re: Custom AI - Game has become fun?

Questions for you Savoie. What is your offensive strategy set at (ie: aggressive, conservative, etc.)? Also are your teammates putting pressure on when you forecheck? I've just seen that my teammates nor the CPU AI pressures hard enough when forechecking, especially when dumping the puck in. Therefore you get the end to end game that me and you have talked about. With some of the changes I've made it's still end to end but the CPU seems to pressure more and develop a forecheck.

My changes seem to have taken out the what I call "pre-determined" offensive pressure that the CPU puts on where they constantly fling passes around the zone without missing and I'd say about 90% of the time it ends up in the net.

One thing I really wish that EA would do is tune the AI so they move the puck around more when they get in the zone. Most of the game it's the same thing back and forth. AI shoots, I gather rebound and break out, I go shoot/cycle, and it just repeats. There needs to be more puck movement. EA just has never gotten the correct balance of passes and shots. It's either too many passes when shots could have been taken, or its way too many shots which is what I think is a problem right now. I want more puck movement and play creation from the AI.

Good luck with that.

EA isn't interested in giving us realistic, simulation-style hockey, no matter what they say when they promote these new features. That can't be doubted, because they obviously do not understand that the most important feature of world-class pro hockey (not to mention the most fun, most interesting, most complex, and biggest indicator of world-class standard) is passing.

This is like house league hockey, and if you ever play online, it's unfortunate to see that this is also the perception of NHL hockey that the VAST majority of people who play this game (at least online) have.

What sets the NHL apart from lower level leagues, and what sets the best NHL teams apart from the worst in most cases, is passing, set plays, cycling, and the resulting creative and spontaneous play development you get when defensive units are forced to move around their zone and get caught out of position.That's why the best and most valuable players in NHL history are, by and large, playmakers.

This game does not and has never provided that. When I play Pittsburgh, Detroit, or Tampa Bay in this game, I should be challenged by great passers and creators like Datsyuk, St. Louis, Crosby and Malkin forcing me to think on my feet. They should be making defense a difficult task for me by quickly moving the puck (and as a result, the other players on the ice) around the offensive zone and forcing me to scramble. But that rarely happens in this game.

More often than not, like you said, every team simply takes one of several predictable shots. Occasionally they move the puck around the zone, but they'll usually settle on the first available shot, regardless of the quality scoring chance it gives them. Great players and great teams have patience, and they look to create high quality scoring chances by opening up passing lanes and getting defenders out of position. They don't whip the puck on the net every chance they get like they are fourth liners or desperate to score at the end of a game in which they are down.