'default' all-star

[Steady Eddie]

after reading this post in another thread -

Quote: Originally Posted by rangersfan30

My players watch the puck drift past them, all though we are both on 0 puck control the puck sticks to the cpu's stick like glue, the cpu players are faster at everything while mine no matter how fresh are wearing concrete skates. stick lift is both at 0 yet the cpu stick lifts and wins the puck i stick lift and the cpu doesn't even break stride. Poke check doesn't do anything either where as the cpu always seperates my man from the puck. I thought all star was a even playing field.

and having much the same feeling and coming to the same conclusion since I've been dicking around with my own supposed 'balanced' all-star hardcore or normal sliders I quite by accident stumbled upon some remarkable observations in 'default'

since the latest patch and V2.0 tuner I've got nothing like balanced games in any way , shape or form despite doing the usual assumed stuff like blitzing puck control , pass accuracy & pass reception to 0 for both myself and the CPU AI - much as the post above suggests all I've seen is the CPU AI continue as if totally non-affected whilst I struggle to string 3 passes together or even begin to compete - something just aint balancing out here somewhere ...

the CPU AI bangs in 3 goals on 4 lame shots in period 1 - strolls on thro' periods 2 & 3 passing like Gretzky and then for good measure at the end of period 3 bangs in a couple more goals on lame shots just for good measure ! ... it's happening too frequent (like almost every game) to suggest to me something's gone mighty wide of the mark in assuming the all-star sliders are balanced out.

going back to basics in the vain search of looking for clues and a starting point I kicked the game up , set all sliders back to all-star default and observed what happened

first thing of note is that the CPU AI passing loosens up - and loosens up a lot more than what you're used to seeing on 'hardcore' everything set at 0 ... hard to believe I know , but with puck control at 3 , pass accuracy at 3 , pass reception at 3 there's a whole lot more balance taking place in the game - don't ask me why as I don't know ? (other than the fact the human sliders for pass accuracy and pass reception default higher) but within the game it all balances out as you'll miss passes and turn the puck over in the same way the CPU AI apparently now does.

the puck is not ultra loose but it does spin out more in equal terms of who can grab it and bobbles around more than what can be seen in 'harcore' set all the passing to 0 ... all this seems to affect is the humans efforts to control the puck.

likewise stick lifting & poke checking balance out better , shooting takes on a more believable quality (the CPU AI actually miss shots) and generally overall games balance out for the better - it plays closer , it's still a challenge , but you feel like you're in with a shout till the end.

whether it's a foundation to re-look at some of the sliders is hard to say as some people will see moving from hardcore/normal with sliders at 0 as going against the grain somewhat - but without doubt something's taking place on 'default' all-star as regards the passing I've yet to witness in any of my previous attempts of 'hardcore' let's balance the passing at 0 efforts .....

[Al_Tito13]

I see 2 reasons as possible explications.

I think this may have to do with the game speed slider. On Default, game speed is set at 1. I noticed during my tests that the CPU may have a harder time to complete passes and that the puck is looser with game speed at 1 compared to when it's at 2, even playing on Hardcore level. I am actually thinking about setting the speed to 1 for that reason, but still not sure because of the slower pace.

And another slider that I think is important and impacts players puck control and pass receptions is the agression. With it lower, the puck is looser, but players obviously don't put as much pressure. I see that it's set at 2 for the CPU on Default, while it's at 5 on Hardcore.

[BlackXEyes]

so you mean on All-Star Deflault it's more balanced o.O if puck control and passing and pass reception Ease at 3o.o? me i love All-Star Deflault =p it makes you go faster =p

[Steady Eddie]

I've just looked in the game at what I saved the default sliders at (as I did make some changes in red)

All-Star, 10:00 min periods, Tuner 2.00, CPU Aid-Default , Shot Aim-Manual
Broken Stick-1 ... 2 down from default
Penalties-6
Penalty Time Scaling-3
Game Speed-1
Attribute Effect-3
Fatigue Effect-6/6 ... 4 up from default
Fatigue Recovery-2/2 ... 2 down from default
Injuries-3/3
Puck Control-3/3
Player Acceleration-1/1 ... 1 down from default
AI Learning-3 ... 3 down from default
CPU Difficulty-0
CPU Strategy Adjustment-2
User Strategy Adjustment-2 ... 2 up from default
Faceoff Difficulty-5 ... 1 up from default
CPU Penalties-6
CPU Teammate Penalties-6
Pass Assist-3 ... 3 down from default
Manual Passing-on
Pass Speed-2 ... 1 up from default
Saucer Pass Speed-3
Pass Accuracy-5/3
Pass Reception-5/3
Pass Interceptions-3/3

Shot Accuracy-3/3
Shot Power-4/3 ... 1 up from default
Slapshot Accuracy-2/2 ... 1 down from default
Slapshot Power-3/3
Onetimer Accuracy-2/2 ... 1 down from default
Hit Assistance-3 ... 2 down from default
Aggression-4/4 ... 1 up from default
Hit Power-3/3 ... 1 down from default
Stick Lift-3/3
Poke Check-3/3

Goalie Passing-2
Goalie Cover Puck-6
Screen Effect-3/3
Goalie Reaction-3/3

at the minute it's some kind of foundation for me to work on - I'm not saying by any means this plays wonderful (although I do see more balance acting out) but it was the passing that caught my eye more than anything ... yes the passing is still high at 70% each team but it's more balanced in a strange kind of way ? - despite the passing sliders suggesting otherwise I see more missed passes and loose pucks - the poke checks are sending the puck into open ice - you can compete on stick lifts at last - shooting's a lot more random - positional sense of players appears better .....

have a play around if only to observe what's going as regards the passing - this is what it should be like (IMO) only looser still at 'hardcore' pass settings at 0

[Al_Tito13]

I just printed your sliders, I will give them a try for sure.

[mikeymayhem]

interesting stuff i wonder if this apply for superstar

[Steady Eddie]

Quote: Originally Posted by Al_Tito13

I just printed your sliders, I will give them a try for sure.

yes give it a shot ....

as I say keep an eye on the passing more than anything else , it's really just an observation exercise ....

when the CPU AI has the puck square up to their player and force him to pass (you don't particularly have to check him in any way) - quite often if hurried they'll sling a wide pass or send one out that one of your own AI will intercept (likewise you should see the same happen to yourself)

good hard passes get through and (dependant on player attributes) are controlled which is fair enough - many though kick off the sticks before full control is gained.

[Al_Tito13]

After trying your sliders, it helped me to confirm things. I stayed with my old hardcore sliders, but I lowered the game speed from 2 to 1 and the agression from 5 to 4 in my sliders. It changed my game in a lot of ways. More loose pucks and more difficult pass receptions. Thanks again for the good observation.