Madden/CFB slider testing.

[Baze]

Mode: Franchise

Cardinals (me) - 36
49ers (CPU) - 41

Team Stats
ARI - 492 yards (288 rushing, 204 passing), 24 1st downs, 6/13 3rd down, 5 penalties, 31:56 possession time
SF - 427 yards (80 rushing, 347 passing), 22 1st downs, 4/11 3rd down, 6 penalties, 28:04 possession time

Player Stats
Desmond Ridder: 22/33, 212 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Brock Purdy: 24/34, 361 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

James Conner: 26 rushes, 230 yards, 3 TD
Christian McCaffrey: 19 att, 58 yards, 3 TD
Desmond Ridder: 5 att, 57 yards

Brandon Aiyuk: 6 rec, 120 yards, TD
George Kittle: 5 rec, 74 yards, TD

Notes:
- User Run Blocking should be lowered - Conner shouldn't be averaging 9 yards per carry against SF's defense. This should help with offensive yardage.
- I like the pass blocking for both User and CPU...I do want to see a bit better play from the CPU when it comes to containing the QB.
- Not sure if there's a way to strike a better balance between CPU pass and run tendency. Half of McCaffrey's carries came in the last 6 minutes of the game. May try increasing CPU run blocking to see if that does anything.

Mode: Franchise

Chargers (me) - 31
Broncos (CPU) - 34

Team Stats
LAC - 459 yards (288 rushing, 171 passing), 25 1st downs, 7/12 3rd down, 2 turnovers, 6 penalties, 31:47 possession time
DEN - 451 yards (324 rushing, 127 passing), 22 1st downs, 6/10 3rd down, 1 turnover, 1 penalty, 28:13 possession time

Player Stats
Justin Herbert: 26/36, 321 yards, TD, 2 INT
Bo Nix: 33/40, 344 yards, 3 TD

Gus Edwards: 17 att, 114 yards, TD
JK Dobbins: 12 att, 41 yards, 2 TD
JaMichael Hasty: 5 att, 83 yards, TD

Courtland Sutton: 8 rec, 85 yards
Marvin Mims Jr: 8 rec, 117 yards, TD
DJ Chark: 8 rec, 74 yards, TD

Notes:
- Turnovers feel very costly (good) - the 2 thrown by Herbert resulted in 10 points.
- Hasty broke off a 73 yard TD run, otherwise the run defense is still pretty strong.
- The pass to run ratio is somewhat better (40 to 18) for the CPU, and this was also aided by the 2 turnovers
- Gave up a 62-yard TD pass while run committing with under 2:30 remaining.

Overall:
Winnable game, turnovers probably the difference. Probably will have to get used to the norm of expecting the CPU to pass the ball much more - at the top of the league average in 2023 was ~37 passes per game (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/p ... s-per-game). Plays ran per game are about 60-70 which falls into the expectation (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/plays-per-game).

Yardage per game is still on the higher end (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/yards-per-game) though I do not see a way to reduce this unless I lower the time per game.

Mode: Franchise

Seahawks (me) - 30
Falcons (CPU) - 21

Team Stats
SEA: 473 total yards (236 rushing, 237 passing), 32 first downs, 15/18 3rd downs, 3 turnovers, 1 penalty, 36:14 possession time
ATL: 345 total yards (305 passing, 40 rushing), 22 first downs, 4/8 3rd downs, 4 turnovers, 2 penalties, 23:46 possession time

Player Stats
Geno Smith: 25/36, 243 yards, TD, INT
Kirk Cousins: 35/48, 312 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT

Kenneth Walker: 24 att, 137 yards, TD
Zach Charbonnet: 16 att, 61 yards, TD, 2 fumbles
Bijan Robinson: 5 att, 23 yards

Kyle Pitts: 12 rec, 94 yards
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 9 rec, 91 yards
Rondale Moore: 8 rec, 79 yards, TD
Drake London: 7 rec, 111 yards, TD

Notes:
- Pass/run ratio for the CPU I'm probably going to give up on here since it seems purely baked into how the game is coded. 5 runs to 48 passes is just ridiculous
- Lot of turnovers (7 overall) - Don't mind this as long as it's not the norm.
- I did convert 15/18 3rd downs, most of them being 3rd and 3 or less.
- Still 200+ rushing yards but the yards per carry are better. Probably going to lower the run blocking even more.

Overall:
It was a matchup between 2 similarly-rated teams that involved a total of 7 turnovers, contributing to more offensive plays (about 77) and yards for me. I really do not like the CPU's constant tendency to throw out of every formation possible - next I'm going to try playing against Ravens which averaged the most rushing yards per game last season and see what their tendencies are.

If offensive yardage remains high I will likely consider dropping the quarter time down to 13 or 14 minutes. As with previous Maddens I've always used 15 minute quarters and a play clock run off of 11 seconds to simulate realistic NFL stats.

[Baze]

Here's the current set that I used for the Cardinals vs 49ers:

User:
QB Accuracy: 15
Pass Blocking: 35
WR Catching: 55
Run Blocking: 35
Ball Security: 60
Pass Defense Reaction: 65
Interceptions: 35
Pass Coverage: 85
Tacking: 45

CPU:
QB Accuracy: 20
Pass Blocking: 60
WR Catching: 65
Run Blocking: 70
Ball Security: 55
Pass Defense Reaction: 70
Interceptions: 35
Pass Coverage: 90
Tacking: 45

FG Power: 55
FG Accuracy: 45
Punt Power: 55
Punt Accuracy: 85

what about threshold, injury, fatigue?

Here's the current set that I used for the most recent game

User:
QB Accuracy: 15
Pass Blocking: 35
WR Catching: 55
Run Blocking: 5
Ball Security: 60
Pass Defense Reaction: 65
Interceptions: 35
Pass Coverage: 85
Tacking: 45

CPU:
QB Accuracy: 20
Pass Blocking: 55
WR Catching: 65
Run Blocking: 85
Ball Security: 55
Pass Defense Reaction: 85
Interceptions: 35
Pass Coverage: 95
Tacking: 45

FG Power: 50
FG Accuracy: 45
Punt Power: 55
Punt Accuracy: 85

----------------------

Skill Level: All Madden
Game Style: Simulation
Quarter Length: 15 minutes
Accelerated Clock: 10 seconds

Progressive Fatigue: On (having this on last year ruined lineups towards the end of the season for the CPU so I'm interested to see what happens this time)

Injuries: 26
Fatigue: 70
Min Player Speed Threshold: 45

Offside: 65
False Start: 60
Holding: 55
Face Mask: 50
DPI: 99 (I've seen at the most 1 DPI in a game)
Block in Back: 50
Roughing the Passer: 50

[Baze]

Another note:

Injuries are occurring more than usual which stops the game clock. In most cases these have been minor injuries with the player being able to return to the game. In that aspect I may lower the injury slider to prevent the clock from stopping because of this.

[Google[Bot]]

i would suggest doing some digging into penalty sliders... check simgamingnetwork on youtube for his madden and cfb sliders. his take is interesting... but apparently penalties heavily influence how players play

for example intentional grounding indicates how quickly the qb is to throw the ball away.. and facemask has to do with the amount of big hits/strips the cpu aims for.. try DPI at like 10 and u will see a big difference in how they DBs and LBs defend passing plays

[Baze]

Thanks brother!

At this point I don't think even the Madden developers know how the sliders affect gameplay.

[Baze]

Mode: Franchise

Cardinals (me) - 36
49ers (CPU) - 41

Team Stats
ARI - 492 yards (288 rushing, 204 passing), 24 1st downs, 6/13 3rd down, 5 penalties, 31:56 possession time
SF - 427 yards (80 rushing, 347 passing), 22 1st downs, 4/11 3rd down, 6 penalties, 28:04 possession time

Player Stats
Desmond Ridder: 22/33, 212 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Brock Purdy: 24/34, 361 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

James Conner: 26 rushes, 230 yards, 3 TD
Christian McCaffrey: 19 att, 58 yards, 3 TD
Desmond Ridder: 5 att, 57 yards

Brandon Aiyuk: 6 rec, 120 yards, TD
George Kittle: 5 rec, 74 yards, TD

Notes:
- User Run Blocking should be lowered - Conner shouldn't be averaging 9 yards per carry against SF's defense. This should help with offensive yardage.
- I like the pass blocking for both User and CPU...I do want to see a bit better play from the CPU when it comes to containing the QB.
- Not sure if there's a way to strike a better balance between CPU pass and run tendency. Half of McCaffrey's carries came in the last 6 minutes of the game. May try increasing CPU run blocking to see if that does anything.

Mode: Franchise

Chargers (me) - 31
Broncos (CPU) - 34

Team Stats
LAC - 459 yards (288 rushing, 171 passing), 25 1st downs, 7/12 3rd down, 2 turnovers, 6 penalties, 31:47 possession time
DEN - 451 yards (324 rushing, 127 passing), 22 1st downs, 6/10 3rd down, 1 turnover, 1 penalty, 28:13 possession time

Player Stats
Justin Herbert: 26/36, 321 yards, TD, 2 INT
Bo Nix: 33/40, 344 yards, 3 TD

Gus Edwards: 17 att, 114 yards, TD
JK Dobbins: 12 att, 41 yards, 2 TD
JaMichael Hasty: 5 att, 83 yards, TD

Courtland Sutton: 8 rec, 85 yards
Marvin Mims Jr: 8 rec, 117 yards, TD
DJ Chark: 8 rec, 74 yards, TD

Notes:
- Turnovers feel very costly (good) - the 2 thrown by Herbert resulted in 10 points.
- Hasty broke off a 73 yard TD run, otherwise the run defense is still pretty strong.
- The pass to run ratio is somewhat better (40 to 18) for the CPU, and this was also aided by the 2 turnovers
- Gave up a 62-yard TD pass while run committing with under 2:30 remaining.

Overall:
Winnable game, turnovers probably the difference. Probably will have to get used to the norm of expecting the CPU to pass the ball much more - at the top of the league average in 2023 was ~37 passes per game (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/p ... s-per-game). Plays ran per game are about 60-70 which falls into the expectation (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/plays-per-game).

Yardage per game is still on the higher end (https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/yards-per-game) though I do not see a way to reduce this unless I lower the time per game.

Mode: Franchise

Seahawks (me) - 30
Falcons (CPU) - 21

Team Stats
SEA: 473 total yards (236 rushing, 237 passing), 32 first downs, 15/18 3rd downs, 3 turnovers, 1 penalty, 36:14 possession time
ATL: 345 total yards (305 passing, 40 rushing), 22 first downs, 4/8 3rd downs, 4 turnovers, 2 penalties, 23:46 possession time

Player Stats
Geno Smith: 25/36, 243 yards, TD, INT
Kirk Cousins: 35/48, 312 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT

Kenneth Walker: 24 att, 137 yards, TD
Zach Charbonnet: 16 att, 61 yards, TD, 2 fumbles
Bijan Robinson: 5 att, 23 yards

Kyle Pitts: 12 rec, 94 yards
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 9 rec, 91 yards
Rondale Moore: 8 rec, 79 yards, TD
Drake London: 7 rec, 111 yards, TD

Notes:
- Pass/run ratio for the CPU I'm probably going to give up on here since it seems purely baked into how the game is coded. 5 runs to 48 passes is just ridiculous
- Lot of turnovers (7 overall) - Don't mind this as long as it's not the norm.
- I did convert 15/18 3rd downs, most of them being 3rd and 3 or less.
- Still 200+ rushing yards but the yards per carry are better. Probably going to lower the run blocking even more.

Overall:
It was a matchup between 2 similarly-rated teams that involved a total of 7 turnovers, contributing to more offensive plays (about 77) and yards for me. I really do not like the CPU's constant tendency to throw out of every formation possible - next I'm going to try playing against Ravens which averaged the most rushing yards per game last season and see what their tendencies are.

If offensive yardage remains high I will likely consider dropping the quarter time down to 13 or 14 minutes. As with previous Maddens I've always used 15 minute quarters and a play clock run off of 11 seconds to simulate realistic NFL stats.

Mode: Franchise

Bengals (me) - 34
Ravens (CPU) - 24

Team Stats
CIN: 415 total yards (241 passing, 174 rushing), 26 first downs, 7/14 3rd downs, 1 turnover, 3 penalties, 37:24 possession time
BAL: 309 total yards (235 passing, 74 rushing), 13 first downs, 1/8 3rd downs, 2 turnovers, 8 penalties, 22:36 possession time

Player Stats
Joe Burrow: 25/34, 250 yards, TD
Lamar Jackson: 23/30, 243 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT

Chase Brown: 18 att, 57 yards, TD
Keaton Mitchell: 12 att, 51 yards
Lamar Jackson, 3 att, 19 yards

Rashod Bateman: 8 rec, 77 yards
Mark Andrews: 6 rec, 122 yards, TD
Ja'Marr Chase: 7 rec, 64 yards

Notes:
- Baltimore ran the ball 16 times versus throwing it 30 times...I think there's some improvement there. I also upped the CPU run blocking but not sure if that had anything to do with more running. Derrick Henry unfortunately was injured
- Burrow felt like Burrow, just a master with the football in his hands. I really liked the way the offense played for the Bengals
- 4.5 yards per carry for the Bengals and 7.1 yards per pass. I will take it but I would like the CPU defense to be more aggressive against the run. Gonna lower the run blocking even more.
- Ravens had 309 yards of total offense. I'd like for myself to be in the ballpark area as well.

Overall:
Probably the best game so far in terms of balance and stats. As mentioned I'm still gaining a lot of yards on offense and I think part of it has to do with the CPU defense not being difficult enough. A possible solution here is to try to increase the rate of defensive penalties to shorten the field and simulate less offensive yardage. All penalties that occur are frequently on offense so if anything that gives me and the CPU more yardage to gain. Note I also lowered the defensive pass interference to 1 like MVP mentioned....I will suppose that the user pass defense seemed a bit better? I really don't know though. I don't mind keeping it at 1 for now.

[Soapy]

Both Human and CPU catching are way too high IMO as well as the threshold being too low. I tested with the Colts, who don't have a good secondary to begin with but any time they actually had good coverage, the WRs were making every contested catch, not a single drop or knockout.

With the threshold, anything below 70 (i personally play at 99) results in receivers getting butt naked open on any crossing route, even if they aren't a fast receiver

[Baze]

Both Human and CPU catching are way too high IMO as well as the threshold being too low. I tested with the Colts, who don't have a good secondary to begin with but any time they actually had good coverage, the WRs were making every contested catch, not a single drop or knockout.

With the threshold, anything below 70 (i personally play at 99) results in receivers getting butt naked open on any crossing route, even if they aren't a fast receiver

Thanks - I'm gonna up the parity to 95 and see how it plays.

Personally the catching feels okay to me for the meantime.

[Baze]

Mode: Franchise

Falcons (me) - 46
Saints (CPU) - 45

Team Stats
ATL: 532 total yards (343 passing, 189 rushing), 36 1st downs, 2 turnovers, 4 penalties
NO: 366 total yards (269 passing, 97 rushing), 17 1st downs, 1 turnover, 5 penalties

Player Stats
Kirk Cousins: 30/39, 351 yards, 4 TD
Derek Carr: 27/36, 296 yards, 3 TD

Bijan Robinson: 25 att, 150 yards, 2 TD
Alvin Kamara: 10 att, 99 yards TD

Drake London: 7 rec, 101 yards, TD
Chris Olave: 7 rec, 94 yards, TD
Kyle Pitts: 8 rec, 80 yards, TD
Juwan Johnson: 4 rec, 80 yards, 2 TD

Notes:
- I'm posting this the day after I played so I don't remember a lot of the finer details
- Bijan Robinson: monster.
- Both of Juwan Johnson's touchdowns were due to some terrible pass coverage by the safeties.
- With parity set to 95 I didn't see any difference in separation on receiving routes.
- Alvin Kamara broke off an impressive 65 yard TD.

Overall:
All-Madden CPU defense is still far too easy in my book. I've already lowered user run blocking to 2 and at this point it might as well go to zero. I'm also just going to go ahead and set CPU pass coverage sliders to max and maybe lower user pass blocking to force myself to make quicker decisions. I'm also going to play around with penalty sliders a bit more.

[Baze]

Mode: Franchise

Ravens (CPU) - 20
Chargers (me) - 23

Overtime Game

Team Stats
BAL: 260 total yards (187 passing, 73 rushing), 2/8 3rd down, 15 1st downs, 6 penalties, 27:03 possession time
LAC: 412 total yards (269 passing, 143 rushing), 10/15 3rd down, 23 1st downs, 6 penalties, 32:57 possession time

Player Stats
Justin Herbert: 21/32, 270 yards, TD, 2 INT
Lamar Jackson: 24/32, 195 yards, INT

JK Dobbins: 18 att, 48 yards, TD
Rasheen Ali: 11 att, 30 yards, TD

Mark Andrews: 7 rec, 65 yards
DJ Chark: 6 rec, 99 yards

Notes:
- Roquan Smith had a pick six
- Lamar Jackson actually attempted to scramble. I then adjust the defense to contain him.
- CPU against the run is now to my liking (40 attempts for 143 yards, which is less than 4 YPC against one of the highest rated defenses in the NFL)

Overall:
The balance in this game felt right with some adjustments to penalty sliders and user pass blocking. With less time to make decisions I find myself having to make better reads pre-snap. This game also went into overtime which inflated my stats a little towards the end. Injuries still feel like they occur too often (Keaton Mitchell and Gus Edwards both got hurt this game and did not return) but it was better compared to previous games.

I may continue to use this set for now and see what the next few games feel like. I will post the current sliders shortly.