Most frustrating aspect of the game

[Valdarez]

Rice and Maynard not catching? I don't think that's possible!

[Gunner969]

For me is when the computer decides that you are going to lose no matter what. just gets on my nerves.

My WRs can't catch a cold (I use Rice and Maynard). My DBs are in perfect position to knock the ball down (forget about INTs) and at the last second decide to run away or circle around the WR (I use all legend DBs). My Oline are like turnstiles (I admit they are generic set to balanced). Meanwhile the other guy's team can do no wrong (including kick-off returns for TDs).

The bias of the "luck factor" is just too much sometimes.... I've had games where Rice has had 5 drops with no DB in sight!

[SouthShallRise]

no he is right...there are games where no matter what you do, you will lose...players drop everything and move like they're in quicksand...when you've played this game enough you can tell when it's happening.

[Johnny_Mangera]

It's all about momentum, that is why people win/lose in this game.

In over 600+ games online and playing this game since July, that's how it is.

You Throw an interception,incomplete a pass, mess up that route, your teams momentum goes down. Go for it on 4th and don't succeed, the same thing happens.
I remember one team I was playing with was based on the run, once I got stoppped on a couple of plays I started passing ,threw some picks and then my team played so horrible I could'nt even run with Silver and gold offensive lineman.

Point is I'm making, the games based on Momentum. This is ONE of the main reasons I like getting the ball first, because if I score on the first drive and then stop my opponent on his, then more than likely (not always) I will win the game.


,peace

[nyknicks33]

It's all about momentum, that is why people win/lose in this game.

In over 600+ games online and playing this game since July, that's how it is.

You Throw an interception,incomplete a pass, mess up that route, your teams momentum goes down. Go for it on 4th and don't succeed, the same thing happens.
I remember one team I was playing with was based on the run, once I got stoppped on a couple of plays I started passing ,threw some picks and then my team played so horrible I could'nt even run with Silver and gold offensive lineman.

Point is I'm making, the games based on Momentum. This is ONE of the main reasons I like getting the ball first, because if I score on the first drive and then stop my opponent on his, then more than likely (not always) I will win the game.


,peace


I agree..It is especially noticeable with the pass rush and the oline blocking. If you force some incompletions in a row or call effective coverages..your pass rush starts going bananas in a good way.

On the other side..get a few sacks or stuffed on a series of runs, and watch your oline turn into matadors. Ive had games where I could not block a thing...even with max protection.

[GhostRider]

Playing against the CPU while it is being controlled by a VIP profile is a lot more fun and natural than the stock CPU logic....Unfortunately you can only do this in Exhibition mode, not season.....

[ElGreazy78]

The momentum of the defensive players still kills me to this day.

[ToyDingo]

The momentum of the defensive players still kills me to this day.

My god I can't agree more. The momentum on defense makes this game so frustrating. I have missed so many tackles simply because I was trying to make a slight adjustment to my players position only to have him make some wild cut to the left and run about five yards behind the ball carrier...

Insane...

[ElGreazy78]

Yep, if I had better control of my guys on defense, I bet I wouldn't need as many Legends on that side. I've alwasy been really good at manually pursuing the ball, but this game gives me fits which is why I'm relegated to only using the d-line.

[GoodSense]

For me is when the computer decides that you are going to lose no matter what. just gets on my nerves.

My WRs can't catch a cold (I use Rice and Maynard). My DBs are in perfect position to knock the ball down (forget about INTs) and at the last second decide to run away or circle around the WR (I use all legend DBs). My Oline are like turnstiles (I admit they are generic set to balanced). Meanwhile the other guy's team can do no wrong (including kick-off returns for TDs).

The bias of the "luck factor" is just too much sometimes.... I've had games where Rice has had 5 drops with no DB in sight!

I've been running an experiement offline. It is ugly.
No Rice, Sanders, Campbell, Ditka on offense.

I played this out with really strick sim guidelines.
Similar to what most of you have seen, but I toss in a few extra restrictions.
NO HOT ROUTE AUDIBLES!
NO RECEIVER TWITCH TO DETERMINE COVERAGE!
1 SCREEN PER HALF AND WHAT I DON'T USE I DON'T CARRY OVER!

I've played about 40+ this way against..... THE LEGENDS!!!
Here is what I found.
If THE LEGENDS won the toss the game was much more difficult.
If I played perfect defense and stopped it from scoring somehow. Most of the time after I cross midfield. Suddenly my offense totally shutdown with drops and coverages by generics become unreal: running the pattern ahead of my receiver the first time I run the play all game.
Then it scores and I have to play catch up.

Because I will be getting the ball back the 2nd half it keeps itself ahead by more than 7 points. If this is the case I know the outcome of the game by half time.

Like someone said it will break open on a play where the DB just didn't play his route or does one of those funky jumps or ring around the rosey runs. The game is usually close though. But in the the plays can't be made. A run or pass will be made to seal the game. Usually the game is around 21+ for the cpu and I'm usually down by guess what? 4 points. You see the trick here? I have to score a TD on the final drive. Flip the script and the cpu is usually down by 3 and can tie the game to send it into overtime.

If I win the toss I win the game.
Usually, I will score first and can maintain a lead of 10 or more points.
The key here it to get outside of 17 points. Anytime I hold on to a 17 point lead I've seen crazy things happen. Outside of 17 points usually ends up as a blowout.

Now here is a trick and makes me wonder if the game is at fault for some of the 4th and 1 plays. I don't know how many times I ended up in that position tossing a pass that should have been caught beyond the 1st down marker, but the receiver runs back just enough, no matter the route, to get behind the marker to make the catch and get tackled.
Playing sim I kick the ball. Then the funky play comes up that turns a 4 point game into an 11 point game. And there is no sense getting all happy about a KR for a TD because it happens too often and makes me wonder if it is a tease. :lol:

Because it will get the ball back and make its first downs.

I've been doing this experiment since September, so I'm not making this up and I've played plenty of games like this where I can predict the outcome of the game.

It is funny because I'll rematch it and until it loses the toss I would lose playing under these conditions.

So I said the next time I'm going for it on 4th and 1. Guess what? I won.
Each time it took a 4th and 1 play for me to beat it when it won the toss and scored first.

I can also tell if Sanders is doing his turbo spin a lot which direction the game is headed.
The same with Woodson on KRs.

I'm sure if I toss in the hot routes and mini motions things would turn out different, but as frustrating as it can be sometimes I prefer the challenge. If I motion a guy it is normally a full motion from one spot to another for a purpose of running my play not to see your coverage. Unless I've chosen the wrong guy.

Anyway, I'm convinced something is built it.
Now if players found themselves in the same situation this makes them do the same online not recognizing it is a different experience.

Oh... and watch the coverage of the LBs where they bat down balls they have no business getting to from where they are. That is a hint too.

[GoodSense]

no he is right...there are games where no matter what you do, you will lose...players drop everything and move like they're in quicksand...when you've played this game enough you can tell when it's happening.

Exactly. And the cpu will move much faster and ahead of your routes.
I ran a post corner and a generic was ahead of the route and I hadn't run this all game.
I set it up running post routes to get him to bite.

And you can see the DL oozing through your line with a little more ease and quicker.

[GoodSense]

Playing against the CPU while it is being controlled by a VIP profile is a lot more fun and natural than the stock CPU logic....Unfortunately you can only do this in Exhibition mode, not season.....


I definitely agree with you on this. I've had some interesting games and I only 1 or 2 VIP profiles. The thing I like is it moves the players around too on the defense side like a player does with his manual controlled player.

[LSUTIGERSPHXSUNS]

The momentum, both kinds, should be turned down a bit.
The physics momentum is slightly too much sometimes, as a slight nudge of the stick will sometimes cause your player to move waaay too much.

The other momentum swings could also be turned down a little, because, if you make a couple of big plays, you its like you win automattically.

For example, I just played a game against a really good player, but I went for it on two 4th downs on the first drive, and after that I was pretty much unstoppable for the rest of the game.

Thats why I always receive the kick, because I know that if I make a big play or convert a 4th down on the first drive, I usually win.

[Darkheath]

Wow... I felt like I was on an X-Files forum there for a second. Conspiracy theories zinging around all over the place!

The game "decides" to kick your a.ss? The game doesn't "want" you to win? The game "thinks your sister is ugly"?

Really people... let me put this in theological perspective. Some guy in Dallas probably "prayed" to have the Cowboys win this weekend. You know it's true... many people probably did. So this guy looks up Sunday night and says, "Lord... how could you let me down"? To which the great diety replies, "Oh... someone in the Meadowlands prayed before you... and I like him better".

You guys are making a "diety" out of the game AI.

This game, behind all the pretty helmets and stadiums, is just a bunch of numbers flying through processors. That's it. I'm sure the programmers simply input, "if this and this happen, then one of these outcomes will result... consult random generator".

If there is game momentum... it's never stated anywhere in the manual. But even if it's so, it's still probably number generated. (ie: get 4th and 1, "ratings" slightly higher/5 completions in a row, "ratings" slightly higher, etc.)

As far as the physics momentum. I think they did a great job. Really... I mean go out on a practice field with a 250 lb linebacker and watch him start and stop in different directions. The time it takes for him to move will also be drastically affected by how tired he is. Sure.. a 185 lb DB will be faster, but I think they represent that in the game, too.

Just remember... the game is NOT against you. The guy on the other end is playing with the exact same system, processors and software. Randomness is necessarily programed into the game. Some days you'll get the good bounces, fumbles, INTs... and somedays the other guy will. That's that and that's football.

[Darkheath]

PS... playing VIPs IS pretty interesting. I need to remember to DL a few more.

[Gunner969]

It's all about momentum, that is why people win/lose in this game.

In over 600+ games online and playing this game since July, that's how it is.

You Throw an interception,incomplete a pass, mess up that route, your teams momentum goes down. Go for it on 4th and don't succeed, the same thing happens.
I remember one team I was playing with was based on the run, once I got stoppped on a couple of plays I started passing ,threw some picks and then my team played so horrible I could'nt even run with Silver and gold offensive lineman.

Point is I'm making, the games based on Momentum. This is ONE of the main reasons I like getting the ball first, because if I score on the first drive and then stop my opponent on his, then more than likely (not always) I will win the game.


,peace

Ya, momentum plays a huge part in this game. Unfortunately, when Rice drops the first pass, Maynard the 2nd and you get sacked on the 3rd play cause the Oline decided to hug each other, there ain't much you can do gain momentum.

That exact scenario happened to me last night... then I manage to tie the game 14-14 with 45 seconds left but all the effort got wasted cause the guy returned the kickoff for a TD.

Did I mention that the other guy got 3 tipped INTs off Maynard drops?