NOTES:
I have been a classic team junkie for years now. For Madden, High Heat, MVP, ESPN...the list goes on and on. I changed the
ratings on the players for a few reasons:
1) want to better represent on the field realism - a player on the 56 Giants, for instance, is smaller, lighter, and slower than the
player in the 70's -90's. Their ratings should represent that to a certain degree. So that if you pit the 56 Giants against the 89
49ers, it is going to be a real challenge for the Giants to stay competitive. Not impossible, but your gameplan and play calling will
need to be creative.
2) I tend to play coach mode only and the defense has a real unfair advantage this year in the game. QBs throw too many INTS is
the main problem, but there are others. So I adjust plaers across the board to allow the offense to be a bit more successful.
There is an Excel xls spreadsheet included here which details how I edit the various positions for better on the field realism.
_______________________________________________________________________
Changing the ratings is not such a big deal with the historic teams because you can't use them in franchise mode. So you don't
have to worry about rookies coming in the next year with ratings that are out of whack in comparison to the rest of the league.
Here is just a little insight into what I changed and why:
* For the QBs, I raised all the Passing attributes into the 90's and 100's using the large attribute in Finn's editor. Remember,
these are classic teams and most of them have been in or won Superbowls/Championships. So you are dealing with the cream
of the crop here. I am striving for completion % above 50% and QB ratings higher as well as fewer INTs (1-3 per game in total for
both teams).
* WRs need their catch ratings raised too. NFL players should all have catch ratings from 85 - 110 for WRs and RBs. Thier Run
Route and Hold Ball ratings should be upped about 10-20 points as well. This helps the QB completion issue.
* Adjusting the DBs means lowering Agility (how fast they close in on the receiver) to a max of 45 points, and make their Catch
rating 0, make their Aggressiveness rating 0, and lower their Coverage rating to a max of 55. This helps open up some space
between receivers and DBs, and believe me, you will still see INTs in the game! I truly believe there is some "hard coding" in the
game as far as momentum shifts and INTs go. It may have to do with playing with EQ ON.
Linebackers should have their Catch rating 0 and Jump rating 40. Their Coverage rating should be lowered 10-20 points too.
This also helps open up some passing lanes between the receiver and defense and lowers (not eliminates) their ability to pick
off passes.
All of these changes go hand in hand with whatever sliders and playbooks you are using as well. I use a set of sliders that I have
also included here which emphasize the offense. Sliders are a personal thing and all based on your skill level of playing the
game. I tend to play Coach mode only so these kinds of settings work for me. But they may not be right if you control the players,
so you have to experiment a bit. I included a runheavy playbook with alot of passes removed, especially those plays that almost
never worked and only tended to increase INTs and turnovers in the game. Try it out. It may or may not be for you, but it will help
the cpu play more realistically, in my opinion.
You will also notice I included a bunch of teams not included in the original game such as the 62 Packers, 63 Giants (YA Tittle),
65 Browns (Jim Brown), 65 Bears (Sayers and Butkus), 66 Chiefs (SB I losers), 67 Cowboys (Ice Bowl), 67 Rams (Fearsome
Foursome), 68 Colts (SB III losers), 70 49ers (Brodie), 70 Cowboys (SB V), 70 Lions (Lem Barney, Altie Taylor), 71 Dolphins (SB
VI), 72 Browns (Leroy Kelly), 72 Redskins (Kilmer, Hanburger, Brown), 73 Dolphins (SB VIII), 74 Steelers (SB IX), 74 Vikings (SB
IX), 77 Colts (Bert Jones), 93 Oilers (Thanks Puja - he did this team!), 03 Eagles.
_______________________________________________________________________
* The individual team files are zip files inside the main zip file I posted. Here is what you need to do *
1) unzip all the team files from the main file I sent to a folder (do not unzip the team files themselves, just extract all files to a
folder on your harddrive)
2) you must have ActionReplay to get the files off your pc and onto the XBOX hard drive. It is about $20 and you can find it at
almost any store that sells XBOX games. There may be alternative ways to get files from your pc to XBOX, but AR is what I use, as
do most people.
3) Once the files are copied to the AR memory card, you insert that card into your XBOX controller, and from the main startup
screen for the XBOX (not ESPN), you select Memory, and you can copy all the files (one by one) down to your XBOX hard drive.
4) once this is complete, you go into the game and go to OPTIONS --> LOAD. You can only select 2 historic teams at a time to
load. Also load the alloff settings file as well.
5) Back out of the menu selections to the main menu and select Play Now. Select the 2 historic teams you just loaded and off you
go!
I have been a classic team junkie for years now. For Madden, High Heat, MVP, ESPN...the list goes on and on. I changed the
ratings on the players for a few reasons:
1) want to better represent on the field realism - a player on the 56 Giants, for instance, is smaller, lighter, and slower than the
player in the 70's -90's. Their ratings should represent that to a certain degree. So that if you pit the 56 Giants against the 89
49ers, it is going to be a real challenge for the Giants to stay competitive. Not impossible, but your gameplan and play calling will
need to be creative.
2) I tend to play coach mode only and the defense has a real unfair advantage this year in the game. QBs throw too many INTS is
the main problem, but there are others. So I adjust plaers across the board to allow the offense to be a bit more successful.
There is an Excel xls spreadsheet included here which details how I edit the various positions for better on the field realism.
_______________________________________________________________________
Changing the ratings is not such a big deal with the historic teams because you can't use them in franchise mode. So you don't
have to worry about rookies coming in the next year with ratings that are out of whack in comparison to the rest of the league.
Here is just a little insight into what I changed and why:
* For the QBs, I raised all the Passing attributes into the 90's and 100's using the large attribute in Finn's editor. Remember,
these are classic teams and most of them have been in or won Superbowls/Championships. So you are dealing with the cream
of the crop here. I am striving for completion % above 50% and QB ratings higher as well as fewer INTs (1-3 per game in total for
both teams).
* WRs need their catch ratings raised too. NFL players should all have catch ratings from 85 - 110 for WRs and RBs. Thier Run
Route and Hold Ball ratings should be upped about 10-20 points as well. This helps the QB completion issue.
* Adjusting the DBs means lowering Agility (how fast they close in on the receiver) to a max of 45 points, and make their Catch
rating 0, make their Aggressiveness rating 0, and lower their Coverage rating to a max of 55. This helps open up some space
between receivers and DBs, and believe me, you will still see INTs in the game! I truly believe there is some "hard coding" in the
game as far as momentum shifts and INTs go. It may have to do with playing with EQ ON.
Linebackers should have their Catch rating 0 and Jump rating 40. Their Coverage rating should be lowered 10-20 points too.
This also helps open up some passing lanes between the receiver and defense and lowers (not eliminates) their ability to pick
off passes.
All of these changes go hand in hand with whatever sliders and playbooks you are using as well. I use a set of sliders that I have
also included here which emphasize the offense. Sliders are a personal thing and all based on your skill level of playing the
game. I tend to play Coach mode only so these kinds of settings work for me. But they may not be right if you control the players,
so you have to experiment a bit. I included a runheavy playbook with alot of passes removed, especially those plays that almost
never worked and only tended to increase INTs and turnovers in the game. Try it out. It may or may not be for you, but it will help
the cpu play more realistically, in my opinion.
You will also notice I included a bunch of teams not included in the original game such as the 62 Packers, 63 Giants (YA Tittle),
65 Browns (Jim Brown), 65 Bears (Sayers and Butkus), 66 Chiefs (SB I losers), 67 Cowboys (Ice Bowl), 67 Rams (Fearsome
Foursome), 68 Colts (SB III losers), 70 49ers (Brodie), 70 Cowboys (SB V), 70 Lions (Lem Barney, Altie Taylor), 71 Dolphins (SB
VI), 72 Browns (Leroy Kelly), 72 Redskins (Kilmer, Hanburger, Brown), 73 Dolphins (SB VIII), 74 Steelers (SB IX), 74 Vikings (SB
IX), 77 Colts (Bert Jones), 93 Oilers (Thanks Puja - he did this team!), 03 Eagles.
_______________________________________________________________________
* The individual team files are zip files inside the main zip file I posted. Here is what you need to do *
1) unzip all the team files from the main file I sent to a folder (do not unzip the team files themselves, just extract all files to a
folder on your harddrive)
2) you must have ActionReplay to get the files off your pc and onto the XBOX hard drive. It is about $20 and you can find it at
almost any store that sells XBOX games. There may be alternative ways to get files from your pc to XBOX, but AR is what I use, as
do most people.
3) Once the files are copied to the AR memory card, you insert that card into your XBOX controller, and from the main startup
screen for the XBOX (not ESPN), you select Memory, and you can copy all the files (one by one) down to your XBOX hard drive.
4) once this is complete, you go into the game and go to OPTIONS --> LOAD. You can only select 2 historic teams at a time to
load. Also load the alloff settings file as well.
5) Back out of the menu selections to the main menu and select Play Now. Select the 2 historic teams you just loaded and off you
go!
NOTES ON DOWNLOADING:
The red link above will download
ALL of the classic team files
from Capa.
If you wish to download only a few,
you may do so below. Capa's notes
are listed below the teams.
One addition: Some of the teams
will freeze in the game's roster
manager. Edit them in Finn's editor
if needed. They all play correctly.
The red link above will download
ALL of the classic team files
from Capa.
If you wish to download only a few,
you may do so below. Capa's notes
are listed below the teams.
One addition: Some of the teams
will freeze in the game's roster
manager. Edit them in Finn's editor
if needed. They all play correctly.
