As always, there are many different slider variations you can find on the forums. With Armor & Sword, I lovingly put him in the category of old-school gamer who designs a lot of house rules and things I used a lot in the early 2000s when options were a little more limited. With his sliders this year, they are in-depth as always with explainers that go beyond just basic sliders for All-Pro difficulty. These are sliders meant just for franchise mode as well.
He also uses Funkycorm’s XP sliders, which I’ve highlighted previously and Mattanite’s Draft Class Strength Generator.
Armor & Sword’s Madden 24 Custom All-Pro Simulation Sliders
I am approaching Madden 24 a tad differently in terms of play calling. We now have commissioner tools available for offline franchise that allows us to limit the amount of times we can call the same play and also employ a cool down rule for both offense and defense before we can call the same play again. This is a huge game changer!!! This will force us to dig deep into our playbook. So have at it. Use whatever method you want because in the end you won’t be able to call the same money plays over and over and over. It really makes you think through your play calling and have a real game plan in place.
Also as far as cameras. I am playing defense from the Broadcast camera on the road. At home we play from the defensive perspective. It adds a layer of difficulty on the road!!!
As far as offense. I have adopted a new method. All 22 for home games. Zoomed for road games. Why? All 22 is advantageous for sure. So home field advantage for my view is All 22. When I am on the road the pressure is on as being on the field as my QB seeing the action unfold at the field level. It makes for a more pressure cooker situation playing on the road. The same goes for the Post Season. If I make it the Super Bowl…..I use whatever I want and toggle at will LOL.
Yes we are still playing a strict no switch on defense. And on offense we will user catch as needed as the CPU does not choose a catch type anymore IMO. So if I need a RAC catch…I will trigger it. If need a possession catch…..I will trigger it. I won’t steer the pass catcher though while the ball is In the air. I am still using Classic Passing.
1. Do not abuse the CPU AI. We know we can exploit it. Don’t do it.
2. Call a diverse playbook!!! I can’t stress this enough and now with these new house rule limits we can employ…..you won’t have a choice!
3. Ratings based gameplay approach. No switch defense is a huge way to make sure your team building is important.
4. Have fun. To me having fun get’s lost so much these days. I just love immersing myself into my team and the league and seeing storylines evolve. I love the fictional draft classes because they provide no expectations. And I love seeing players emerge that I scout, draft and develop.
5. Simulation approach to play calling. You all know what this means!
User Settings
- Game Options
- Coin Toss 1st Choice – User Choice
- Coin Toss 2nd Choice – User Choice
- Passing Type – Classic
Gameplay Helpers
- Auto Flip Defensive Play Call – On
- Defensive Ball Hawk – On
- Defensive Heat Seeker – Off
- Defensive Switch Assist – On
- Controlled Player Art – Off
Visual Feedback
- Dynamic Play Call – Off
- Play Button layout – Users Choice
- Previous Play Information – Off
On Field
Everything is set to off except:
- Franchise Bottom Line Ticker – Scores Only
- Pre-Snap Menu – On
- Player Names – Pre-Snap Only
Cameras
- Camera Toggle – On
- Passing Cam – On
- Offense Camera Settings – Zoom
- Defense Camera Settings – Broadcast
Volume Control
- Master Volume – 100
- Audio Mix – Custom
- In Game Commentary – 50
- Stadium Speakers – 100
- Crowd Volume – 100
- On the Field – 100
- Music – 50
- Menu SFX – 100
League Settings
- Skill Level – All-Pro
- Game Style Simulation
- Quarter length – 15 Minutes
- Accelerated Clock – On
- Minimum Play Clock Time – 15
- Offensive Playcall Cooldown – 10
- Offensive Playcall Limit – 2
- Defensive Playcall Cooldown – 8
- Defensive Playcall Limit – 3
- Dynamic Momentum/Home Field Advantage – Off
Team Settings
- Season Experience – Customized
- Everything set to “Manual”
- Auto Progress Players/Talents – Off
- Tutorial Popups – Off
Commissioner Settings
- Trade Deadline – On
- Trade Type – Enable All
- Trade Difficulty – Very Hard
- Salary Cap – On
- Free Agent Motivation Impact – Very High
- Practice Squard Stealing – On
- Relocation Settings – Everyone
- Staff Talent Cost Modifier – Slowest
- Injury – On
- Practice Injury – On
- Pre Existing Injury – Off
- Progressive Fatigue – On
- Prospect Storylines – On
- Draft Timer – On
- Fantasy Draft Order – Snake
- Free Agent Negotiations Stage 1 – 5
- Stage 2 – 10
- Stage 3 – Unlimited
League Type Settings
- League Type – All
- Coach Firing – On
- Full On Field Control – On
- Instant Starter – On
- Career Clock – On
Dev Trait Management
- Breakout Scenarios – On
- Development Trait Regression – On
- Desired X-Factor Dev Players – 50/75
- Desired Superstar Dev Players – 75/100
- Desired Star Players – 400/500
- Superstar Abilities – on
- Ability Edit Controls – Any Player
Roster Protection
- Minimum Roster Size – 46
- In Season Player Movement Limit – Unlimited
- Player OVR Cut Restrictions – No Restriction
- Offseason Player Cut Limit – Unlimited
- Fill Roster – Off
Human Sliders
- QB Accuracy – 42
- Pass Blocking – 32
- WR Catching – 55
- Run Blocking – 0
- Fumbles – 48
- Pass Defense Reaction Time – 70
- Interceptions – 25 (+7)
- Pass Coverage – 70
- Tackling – 49
CPU Sliders
- QB Accuracy – 45
- Pass Blocking – 32
- WR Catching – 55
- Run Blocking – 90
- Fumbles – 48
- Pass Defense Reaction Time – 70
- Interceptions – 25 (+8)
- Pass Coverage – 70
- Tackling – 49
- FG Power – 55
- FG Accuracy – 34 (-5)
- Punt Power – 52 (-3)
- Punt Accuracy – 50
- Kickoff Power – 50
- Injuries – 50
- Fatigue – 70
- Player Speed Parity Scale – 75
Penalties
- Offside – 51
- False Start – 51
- Holding – 51
- Facemask – 51
- Defensive Pass Interference – 51
- Illegal Block In The Back – 51
- Roughing The Passer – 50
- All other penalties are toggled “On”
- Draft Quality Slider RNG Rules
Draft Quality Slider RNG Rules
So we use random.org to use their random number generator and we have a very simple streamlined dice roll system to set your draft quality sliders every season in Preseason Week 1.
Set the random number generator to 1-10 then roll:
1 – Very Weak
2-3 – Weak
4-6 – Normal
7-9 – Strong
10 – Very Strong
Simple easy and you will variability on your draft classes year to year. We highly suggest using only EA generated fictional draft classes for proper balance and of course really cool storylines you can create as well as the prospect storylines you get in the news feed.
House Rules
I am going with a single team control offline franchise this cycle. I really want to get in as many seasons as I can before next years Madden and College Football game come out. With that being said we have some really basic house rules for setting up formation subs for teams around the league as well as trade and contract house rules.
Formation Subs And Depth Charts:
Starting in Week 1 of the regular season I go through each team and set up a good RB rotation for teams that will employ a true RBBC. For teams with a clear workhorse 3 down back I will set up a few subs to make sure the other back/backs get some carries. For a team with a great 1-2 punch we will set up a nice split. We will also set up some WR formation subs as well for certain guys on teams that need to get some PT.
The method is easy. Simply create a character (just use the existing coach) and then go to the staff settings and choose formation subs and set up your RB rotations. Then retire the coach and boom…..the formation subs will stick on the team the rest of the season. It’s as simple as that.
I am coin flipping scenarios. 1-50 I initiate. 51-100…..I don’t. Simple as that.
I am doing training camps…and in-season weekly drills.
The CPU does do weekly drills…but they don’t use training camp drills. No biggie.
Resigning your own pending FA:
Contracts must never be more than 4 yrs unless player requests more. If you want to negotiate a shorter term deal, by all means please do so.
You must let one player rated 80 or higher test free agency
Bonus Parameters
-All contracts longer than 2 years (3 years or more) and all Contracts 2MM total or higher
-Must receive a bonus at 30% of the contract amount so for example you have a WR who signs for 60MM over 4 years his bonus should be at least 18MM of that 60MM total. So his salary total will be 42MM. If you want to give him more bonus than 30%…by all means do so. Up to you.
-QB Contracts are a different animal. Minimum contract amounts for QB’s (even if they want much less) in free agency:
- At least 5MM for QB rated below 70
- At Least 15MM For QB rated 70-79
- At least 20MM for QB rated 80-89
- 35+MM for QB rated 90+
When signing your own QB’s these rules apply to your 1st and 2nd stringers only. Also a small caveat. Your starting QB must be paid a minimum of 20MM regardless of rating once his contract comes up for extension. So let’s say you have Big Ben retire on you and now your want Dwayne Haskins to step in…and his contract is up. Well…if he is going to be your starter…he must get starters money. It makes you really think about QB’s and their worth to you.
-Trading – So we all know we can fleece the CPU…..don’t do it. If you want a realistic franchise don’t blatantly fleece them. Sometimes you can get a good deal that ends up looking one sided. But don’t go and trade a 1st and 3rd and some 75 rated RB for Aaron Rodgers. You know that just would never happen. Here are some guidelines for trading:
-Any blockbuster trade must include a 1st this year a 1st next year, and either a 2nd this year or a really solid young 3rd year or higher player rated 80 or above at either RT, LT, DT, DE, CB, WR, HB.
-If you’re going to trade for a starting QB rated 85 or higher you really should be giving up the moon for them. 1st, 2nd this year, 1st next year, plus a very serviceable young player rated 80 or higher at the positions I mentioned above. And now with even more trade slots you can really put together blockbuster packages for QB’s, CB’s, WR’s etc. Trades are not common in the NFL…but with the slider control of very hard and these guidelines……your are aiming for believable.
-Also one trade is allowed per season. No trading of or for any rookies or players in the first year of a new contract.
