Rusty's Madden Lair

Passer rating ruminations (from a football-freaks.com post I've made)

2010-12-04T12:58:00.002-05:00

I've played some more exhibition games using Redwolf's v. 10 sliders. I must say I am warming up to them after some initial gameplay-related "objections." With my edited custom team, I am playing much more competitive games versus the CPU in coach mode.

The reduction in overall QB passer rating as translated by these sliders is noticeable. It levels the playing field between offenses and defences more than any reasonable pre-Madden 2005 slider set I have ever used on the PC. The upshot of all this is that I've had to become more conservative in my playcalling approach to keep the chains moving and my team "on schedule."

That got me to thinking about the historical context of QB passer ratings...

If 70.5 is the average QB rating that his 50-game average sample came up with, then it's interesting to note those QBs with a career passer rating that would be comparable to that. I've taken all the QBs with 1500 or more career pass attempts listed at 72.21 or under from a Pro Football Hall of Fame list and posted them here (their individual rank on the overall list is indicated):

104 Sammy Baugh*
72.21
105 Billy Wade
72.19
106 Jay Schroeder
71.68
107 Billy Kilmer
71.56
108 Bill Munson
71.49
109 Lynn Dickey
70.94
110 Terry Bradshaw*
70.92
111 Kordell Stewart
70.69
112 Bill Nelsen
70.25
113 Trent Dilfer
70.18
114 Vince Ferragamo
70.08
115 Steve Grogan
69.61
116 Doug Williams
69.39
117 Joey Harrington
69.38
118 Charley Johnson
69.21
119 Mike Tomczak
68.91
120 Eric Hipple
68.68
121 Joe Ferguson
68.45
122 Charlie Conerly
68.25
123 Dave Brown
67.89
124 Billy Joe Tolliver
67.74
125 Marc Wilson
67.70
126 Tom Flores
67.58
127 Richard Todd
67.57
128 Jim Plunkett
67.45
129 John Hadl
67.41
130 Jim Zorn
67.28
131 Archie Manning
67.10
132 Jim Hart
66.56
133 Norm Snead
65.54
134 Joe Namath*
65.46
135 Rick Mirer
63.53
136 Bobby Layne*
63.38
137 Jack Trudeau
63.32
138 Mike Livingston
63.27
139 Mike Pagel
63.26
140 Ed Brown
62.77
141 Mark Malone
61.89
142 Bob Waterfield
61.58
143 Eddie LeBaron
61.43
144 George Blanda*
60.65
145 Babe Parilli
59.59
146 Dan Pastorini
59.06
147 Jack Kemp
57.35
148 Tobin Rote
56.79
149 Cotton Davidson
54.88
150 Mike Phipps
52.63
151 Frank Tripucka
52.18

* - Hall of Famer

Source: Elias Sports Bureau

http://www.profootballhof.com/history/story.aspx?story_id=3131

Baugh, Bradshaw, Namath, Layne, and Blanda fall at or under 72.21 as a career rating. I would like to christen this segment of the QB parade the "Trent Dilfer Memorial Game Manager List," but I digress. LOL

The dynamic I sense playing with this slider set is that you DO find yourself calling plays versus the CPU to "manage" the game quite a bit. Going bombs away does seem to be counter-productive against most opposition, all things considered.

Russ

IT'S BAAAAAAAAACK!

2010-11-21T12:31:00.002-05:00

I have acquired a copy of Madden 2004. It's great to get back into that game, even after all these years since its initial release!

I played some games in coach mode using Redwolf's v.10 sliders. Although they are unquestionably superior re simming in franchise and in general keeping yardage totals down to NFL-like averages than any other slider set I've seen, I was almost in hair-ripping-out mode re the number of INTs happening in games against the CPU in coach mode. I've adjusted the QB Accuracy setting to 43 and Interceptions to 7 as an experiment, those ratings are a compromise between Redwolf's last two published slider sets (7a and 10).

My early take is that 90+ rated QBs do hit 60%+ in completion percentage in games I've played. Maybe it's the CFL-part of my football brain that likes more offense, but I think that it does mirror the increase in completion percentage league-wide in the NFL since 2002. Even so, the adjustments certainly do lead to more punting in games as compared to franchises I've had in previous iterations with Redwolf's v.7 sliders despite that uptick.

As readers of this blog know, I created a Hamilton Tiger-Cat all-time team in 2004 based on my online research and an all-time team project headed by user Zuger9 on www.ticats.ca. I juiced up the ratings to play all-time NFL teams. For franchise though, it became a case of Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals too often! LOL

I have edited that team's ratings using Madden Amp. Using the 1972 Dolphins as a roster template (only the best for a Raiders/Bills fan LOL), I substituted the subjective skill ratings where I had some rationale to do so. The result is that my team still keeps its multiple Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer production, but the overall depth of the team is more varied and in keeping with a team usable in franchise mode.

I will keep readers informed of how this experiment goes in subsequent posts.

Russ

More Madden magic -- old screen caps

2010-11-05T08:07:00.009-04:00

Here are some old screen caps of my Ticat Madden 2004 team. Many of these were taken in previous versions of that team which I made before having access to Madden Amp. Since then I've been able to edit body shapes, uniform numbering, etc.

Here goes:

My custom Civic Stadium

Cats vs. Steelers

Cats vs. Broncos

Cats vs. Raiders (my two favourite football franchises)

A custom Tiger-Cat endzone.

My favourite player when I was a boy: Garney Henley

This gives you a taste of what can be done through Madden 2004 (PC) customizations. ;)

Russ

Madden 2005 (PS2) screenshot

2010-11-02T14:38:00.002-04:00

This is a screenshot of my PS2 version of Madden captured via my TV card. I'm going to see how I can improve the resolution if possible for future posts.

Russ

Two-point conversion chart

2010-11-02T14:16:00.004-04:00

For your reference, I've posted a two-point conversion chart like the ones coaches use to decide when to go for two. As a rule of thumb in my Madden games, I don't go for two until I absolutely need to in the fourth quarter.

Russ

New ratings for my Tiger-Cats custom team!

2010-11-02T08:45:00.002-04:00

Coming back to the PC version of Madden 2004, I decided to make edits to the ratings of my custom team to try to bring more realism to the results in a Madden franchise cycle while maintaining a strong title contender status for seasons to come.

I was not going to delve into as much minutiae as others have done to calibrate each player based on exhaustive statistic analysis. I decided to base my team upon a historical team template that was already made and then adjust the individual player ratings based on a subjective assessment of factors like speed, agility, acceleration, etc.

I went "for the fences" on this: I chose to use the undefeated 1972 Dolphins as a basis for my team. LMAO ;) Not that I am a Dolphins fan, but I felt that the "no-name" kind of team strength that team exuded was a good start in building a framework for my custom team as I re-rated players.

I am pretty much done doing this via Madden Amp's player editor. The result is my overall team speed, awareness, etc. has been decreased for added realism and the overall depth chart of my Cats team is less "juiced" ratings-wise.

I am looking forward to testing these edits and finalizing them shortly.

Russ

My "RussDream" roster mod for Madden 2004

2010-11-02T08:33:00.003-04:00

The roster file I plan to use is a blended one that I created using the Madden Amp roster editing software. First, I took all 85+ rated players from a 1976 franchise roster by Muscle_Mike and imported them as free agents into a 2006 roster. So I have Roger Staubach available at QB in the 21st century...LOL

I then did the same with USFL and WFL rosters -- taking the cream of the crop and importing them into the FA pool of that 2006 roster.

Subsequently, I took a Canton Bulldogs all-time all-pro custom team made by Muscle_Mike as I recall and imported those players as free agents.

After that, I added my all-time Hamilton Tiger-Cats custom team to that roster file, making it available for a franchise. With Madden Amp, I released all the Buffalo Bills players in the default roster file into the free agent pool.

The result? A loaded free agent pool exists that allows all the CPU-controlled NFL teams my Cats team competes with to significantly upgrade their rosters.

Ought to be fun to see how this roster file interacts with the new Redwolf sliders discussed below!

Russ

Competitive Balance Limits (a salary cap replacement)

2010-11-02T08:23:00.004-04:00

A few years ago, I decided to write down some self-imposed controls that I would abide by in lieu of a salary cap in my Madden 2004. Specifically, I wanted to limit how many free agents I would acquire during a given season since I did not want to have a cap amount that would compromise my ability to keep my team intact in Years 5-7 and later of a franchise cycle.

Here is what I came up with (revised December 2010):

Competitive Balance Limits (non-cap rules for Madden 2004) 12.4.10

SECTION 1

A) The non-capped team must play with weighted slider settings to ensure a reasonable competitive level. Once these settings are concretized (by the first regular season game of the first season, those sliders will remain at those settings for at least the full first season including playoffs). These sliders will be revisited at the conclusion of every year.

SECTION 2

A) The non-capped team will be limited to a total of five (5) free agent signings from other teams during the off-season free agent period.

B) No free agent can be signed whose rating falls in the top five of all rated free agents or is the top-rated in a given position for that particular FA pool. If the non-capped team has the two highest-paid players in the league at that point of the off-season, this number of signees from other teams will be reduced to three (3). None of those free agents in the latter scenario can play the positions of either of the two highest-paid players.

SECTION 3

A) The CBL is in effect in consecutive five-year cycles. The rules in Section Two apply for the first four years of each CBL cycle. The fifth year of this cycle will be exempted from point two, allowing the non-capped team to sign up to ten (10) free agents at any position in that exempted year's off-season, regardless of salary considerations or rating. The subsequent year will restart another four years of a new CBL cycle where point two will be in force.

SECTION 4

A) FA signings during the season are limited to one (1) player other than replacements for players put on IR. Regarding the CBL cycle, these are in addition to the off-season signings dealt with in points 1-3. These in-season signees can be of any rating.

SECTION 5

A) The non-capped team will be able to maintain a payroll with no fixed limit to maintain its current roster. This includes the right to re-sign all of its free agents every year regardless of the stipulations of points one through three. Those free agents fall outside of the intended effects of the CBL.

SECTION 6

A) The following breakdown identifies the years in each CBL franchise cycle:

CBL CYCLE 1: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 – 2007 is exempted

CBL CYCLE 2: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 – 2012 is exempted

CBL CYCLE 3: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 – 2017 is exempted

CBL CYCLE 4: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 – 2022 is exempted

CBL CYCLE 5: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 – 2027 is exempted

CBL CYCLE 6: 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031 – 2032 is exempted

Try these rules out if you are using Madden 2004 or earlier for franchises in a non-capped enviroment. ;)

Russ

Sliders update (Redwolf ver. 10)

2010-11-02T08:12:00.004-04:00

Skill Level: All Pro
Quarter Length: 12 minute(s)

Slider Human / CPU
QB Accuracy 36 / 36
Pass Blocking 3 / 3
Receiver Catching 48 / 48
Running Ability 66 / 66
Offensive line Run Blocking 42 / 42
Defensive Awareness 25 / 25
Defensive line Knockdowns 4 / 4
Interceptions 2 / 2
Defensive Break Blocks 3 / 3
Tackling 50 / 50
Fieldgoal Length 49 / 49
Fieldgoal Accuracy 25 / 25
Punt Length 78 / 78
Punt Accuracy 60 / 60
Kickoff Length 62 / 62

*12 minute accelerated clock, All-Pro
Sub-Out 88, Sub-In 95.
Penalties:
Holding 55, Clipping 70, Face Mask 60, everything else 99.

http://football-freaks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32582

This is a new set of Madden 2004 coach mode sliders from Redwolf at http://football-freaks.com . When I get my "new" used copy of Madden 2004, I will begin using these. He has sacrificed in the areas of completion % and QB rating to achieve realistic simulation totals re points scored per team per game, pass yard per team per game, and average rush yards per team per game. Since I'm using an "all-star" Tiger-Cats team in franchise, any slider set that "errs" on the low side of actual NFL point and yardage totals is not a big deal.

I look forward to trying these out. I will share my thoughts once I've ran them for a while!

Russ

Hiatus is ending....

2010-10-26T23:15:00.002-04:00

C'est vrai!

I am back. I am in the process of getting a new old copy of Madden 2004 and getting back to gaming on my PC with the Madden series. I have been playing with Madden 2005 for PS2 in the interim.

More soon!

Russ

Some Madden gaming links (August 2009)

2009-08-24T17:24:00.001-04:00

http://www.rpsoft2000.com/madden.htm
http://www.maddenplanet.com/
http://www.maddentips.com/
http://www.maddenguides.com/
http://www.football-freaks.com/

Football-Freaks is definitely the best site IMHO for custom art and rosters for Madden PC gaming!

There's a start. Unfortunately, since the move to console-only Madden versions recently, the PC-modding sites have slowly but surely contracted in number. Hopefully EA Sports will move to putting Madden back on the PC platform shortly!

Russ

My all-time Ticat team (Madden 2004)

2009-08-24T17:00:00.000-04:00

RUSS'S ALL-TIME HAMILTON TIGER-CAT TEAM 2.0 (MADDEN 2K4) -- TEAM ROSTER

This information reflects the team that I use in Madden 2004. I provide this to help Hamilton fans if they want to create a team with basic information on certain players.

Numbering assignments reflect the reality that a number can only be represented by one player on a team at a time, so some players wear different numbers than they did in their careers to avoid duplication.

** -- University -- N/A = University is not listed by Madden 2K4 PC version or Madden Amp 2.3.2 editor or not known

# NAME POS HT / WT AGE UNIVERSITY

1 Earl Winfield WR/KR 5.10 / 190 North Carolina
2 Mark Streeter CB 5.11 / 193 Arizona
3 Paul Osbaldiston K 6.03 / 225 N/A
7 Hal Patterson WR 6.02 / 205 Kansas
9 Joe Zuger P 6.00 / 200 Arizona State
10 Bernie Faloney QB 6.00 / 193 Maryland
14 Danny McManus QB 6.00 / 206 Florida State
15 Less Browne CB 5.11 / 162 Colorado State
16 Chuck Ealey QB 5.11 / 185 Toledo
17 Willie Bethea FB 6.02 / 211 N/A
18 Howard Fields FS 5.10 / 190 Baylor
19 Johnny Shepherd HB 5.10 / 185 Liberty
20 Jimmy Edwards HB/KR/PR 5.08 / 183 UL Monroe
21 Rufus Crawford HB 5.10 / 189 N/A
22 Don Sutherin FS 5.10 / 193 Ohio State
23 Rocky DiPietro TE 6.04 / 210 N/A
24 Lewis Porter CB 5.10 / 189 Southern
25 Dave Buchanan HB 5.11 / 205 Arizona State
26 Garney Henley SS 6.00 / 180 N/A
28 Lance Shields CB 6.01 / 177 Drake
31 Ben Zambiasi MLB 6.00 / 215 Georgia
37 David Shaw CB 6.00 / 180 California
41 Bob Krouse LOLB 6.02 / 230 N/A
42 Rob Hitchcock FS 6.01 / 210 Weber State
43 Frank Robinson ROLB 6.02 / 223 Tulane
46 Chet Miksza C 6.02 / 248 Washington State
49 Tim Cheatwood LE 6.04 / 258 Ohio State
50 Henry Waszczuk C 6.02 / 258 Kent State
51 Eddie Bevan RG 6.02 / 244 N/A
52 John Motton ROLB 6.01 / 225 Akron
53 Joe Montford LE 6.01 / 235 South Carolina State
54 Ellison Kelly LG 6.01 / 231 Michigan State
55 Bill Danychuk LT 6.03 / 249 Tennessee
56 Vince Scott DT 5.08 / 230 Notre Dame
58 Jason Riley LG 6.04 / 258 N/A
60 Bronko Nagurski RT 6.01 / 252 28 Notre Dame
61 John Barrow DT 6.02 / 250 Florida
63 Vince Mazza LT 6.03 / 233 No College
65 Paul Dekker TE 6.05 / 220 Michigan State
66 Miles Gorrell RT 6.06 / 280 N/A
68 Angelo Mosca DT 6.04 / 270 Notre Dame
71 Mike Walker DT 6.02 / 245 Washington State
73 Calvin Tiggle MLB 6.01 / 235 Georgia Tech
74 Pete Neumann RE 6.02 / 245 N/A
75 Tommy Joe Coffey WR 6.02 / 230 West Texas A&M
76 Tony Gabriel TE 6.04 / 230 Syracuse
77 Grover Covington DE 6.02 / 255 N/A
78 Larry Butler RG 6.03 / 255 N/A
80 Steve Stapler WR 5.11 / 165 San Diego State
82 Darren Flutie WR 5.10 / 184 Boston College
85 Zeno Karcz LOLB 5.11 / 200 Michigan
87 Tony Champion WR 6.01 / 175 Tennessee
90 Billy Ray Locklin RE 6.02 / 248 New Mexico State
95 Cookie Gilchrist FB 6.03 / 249 N/A

Madden Amp -- an excellent modding program for custom rosters on the PC

2009-08-24T16:53:00.000-04:00

These changes were made with Madden Amp 2.3.2. It allowed me to bypass the numbering restrictions that Madden 2004's PC version imposes re create-a-player and create-a-team functions. It enhances the realism of the game as a result. I highly recommend Madden Amp as a franchise editor!

Madden Amp is available as a download from football-freaks.com -- it is supposed to work with Madden 2K4, 2K5, and 2K5. I've only used it for the 2K4 PC version. Backup your original files and give it a try...

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT EDIT THE NUMBERS USING THE EDIT FUNCTION IN "PLAYER MANAGEMENT." YOU WILL OFTEN FIND A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE NUMBER MADDEN 2004 DEFAULTS TO FOR THAT PLAYER AND THE EXISTING NUMBER THE PLAYER THAT YOU CAN ASSIGN USING THE MADDEN AMP PROGRAM.

Russ

Sliders that I use for my Madden 2K4 game

2009-08-24T16:50:00.000-04:00

Redwolf's 2K4 All-Pro Sliders and my slight adaptations re penalty settings
These are the sliders I now use -- the AI settings are from Redwolf's All Pro GM/Coach Mode Sliders, Madden 2K4, Version 7.0a.

The Penalty settings are my own.

Skill Level: All Pro
Quarter Length: 12 minute(s)

Slider
(Human/CPU)
QB Accuracy 50/50
Pass Blocking 3/3
Receiver Catching 50/50
Running Ability 65/65
Offensive line Run Blocking 42/42
Defensive Awareness 25/25
Defensive line Knockdowns 4/4
Interceptions 12/12
Defensive Break Blocks 3/3
Tackling 50/50
Fieldgoal Length 49/49
Fieldgoal Accuracy 25/25
Punt Length 78/78
Punt Accuracy 60/60
Kickoff Length 62/62

Redwolf actually posted these on one of the Madden user sites. If I track the posts down, I will pass it along.

Penalties:

False Start 99
Holding 61
Facemask 60
Clipping 55
Intentional Grounding 99
Roughing The Passer 99
Roughing The Kicker 75
Offensive / Defensive Pass Interference: 99/99
KR/PR Catch Interference: 50/50

If I adjust these, I will give you a head's up.Thanks again to Redwolf for his settings and to those who helped him develop them.

Russ

Zuger9's All-time Ticat Depth Chart

2009-08-24T16:40:00.000-04:00

Here is a copy of Zuger9's All-time Ticat Depth Chart. Zuger9 was a member of ticats.ca in its early days and his depth chart project was a great contribution to the forums there. I include it here in the assumption that Zuger9 would like this to be shared as it was on ticats.ca at that time.

My Ticat all-star team deviates from the selections above somewhat due to my personal preferences.

Russ

My Madden "Ticat" HOWTO document

2009-08-24T16:34:00.000-04:00

Note: This document covers my Madden 2004 modding experience on the PC, but it may have application for other versions and/or platforms.

Russ’s All-Time Tiger-Cat Roster for Madden 2004 – A “Howto” Document

The lack of a significant football simulation game for the Canadian Football League has often left fans here in Canada frustrated that 3-down rules are not present for use on their consoles or personal computers. I have used the Madden football series for the last few years as one of my favourite diversions. Madden football, of course, uses the NFL 4-down system, which CFL Traditions writer Jim Taylor has persuasively argued "is the work of the Devil." LOL

Perhaps I have had to make a deal with the Devil to get my favourite football team represented n a four-down context, but I have been able over the last couple of years to create a meaningful facsimile of a real Tiger-Cat all-star team for Madden football. The Hamilton Tiger-Cat team I use in Madden is created and edited by me. It is a reasonable facsimile of the real-life all-stars who have played for our team over many decades. It is not meant to be an exact replica.

Please note that all of the comments in this document are directed to users of the PC version of Madden 2004. Users of other platform versions (X-box, Playstation 1 & 2, Nintendo, etc.) should adapt my comments to the peculiarities of their version. Not all Maddens are the same… J I will refer to particular page numbers in the Madden 2004 PC Manual for people to consult as they work through this paper.

This is not meant to replace the Madden manual! LMAO Use at one’s own risk/enjoyment.

And without further ado…

Initial Considerations: The Team Itself

1) Player Selection

Madden 2004 provides 55 roster slots per team. Considering the sheer number of superb players I could have included, it became a labour of love deciding who to include and who to exclude from the final roster.

My first impulse was to write down the names of all the Ticats I could recall whom I admired from the period I could most relate to as a fan – the seventies and eighties. In this group, the names included Ben Zambiasi (LB), Grover Covington (DE), Jimmy Edwards (HB), Rufus Crawford (SB/HB), Chuck Ealey (QB),Mike Kerrigan (QB), and Earl Winfield (WR).

After that, I noted some contemporary players from recent years whom I have liked, such as Danny McManus (QB), Darren Flutie (WR), and Joe Montford (DE).

Finally, I brainstormed about the greats of the fifties and sixties, writing down every name I could think of at that time – names like Bernie Faloney (QB), Joe Zuger (QB), Garney Henley (DB/WR), Tommy Joe Coffey (OE), Angelo Mosca (DT), and John Barrow (DT).

From these three groupings, I was able to come up with a sizeable list to consider as candidates for the final roster. I quickly realized that some of the positions of the players would have to be adapted: a) if I really liked that player and there were too many players at that position to fit him in at his real position, b) if that position wasn’t present in American football (or in its Madden incarnation) such as slotback or rover (our free safety), or c) if I wasn’t exactly sure of the precise placement of the player (left side or right side of the line for linemen, linebackers, etc.).

As a result of these considerations, I boiled my preliminary selection list to this:

Preliminary Hamilton Tiger-Cat Roster list for Madden

QB
Bernie Faloney
Danny McManus
Mike Kerrigan
Chuck Ealey
Ken Hobart
Dave Marler
Frank Cosentino
Tom Porras
Joe Zuger (P)
Tom Clements
Dieter Brock

HB
Jimmy Edwards
Rufus Crawford (also WR)
Johnny Shepherd
Dave Fleming
Dave Buchanan
Obie Graves
Troy Davis
Derrick Peels
Andy Hopkins
Tommy Grant

FB
Willie Bethea (also HB)
Neil Lumsden
Mark Bragagnolo
Gerry McDougall

WR (including slotbacks)
Earl Winfield
Tony Champion
Steve Stapler
Darren Flutie
Hal Patterson
Keith Baker
Archie Amerson
Andrew Grigg
Terry Evanshen
Tony Akins
Rocky DiPietro

TE (including offensive ends and wingbacks)
Tommy Joe Coffey
Tony Gabriel
Paul Dekker
Lawrie Skolrood

LT
Vince Mazza
Bill Danychuk

LG
Jason Riley
Larry Butler

C
Henry Waszczuk
Chet Miksza
Carl Coulter

RG
Ellison Kelly
Eddie Bevan

RT
Miles Gorrell
Bronko Nagurski

LE
Grover Covington
Tim Cheatwood
Pete Neumann

RE
Joe Montford
Billy Ray Locklin

DT
Angelo Mosca
Mike Walker
John Barrow
Vince Scott

LOLB
Calvin Tiggle
Zeno Karcz

MLB
Ben Zambiasi
John Motton
Pete Giftopoulos

ROLB
Bob Krouse
Frank Robinson

CB
David Shaw
Lewis Porter
Less Browne
Don Sutherin
Gerald Bess
Mark Streeter

FS
Garney Henley
Howard Fields
Harold Woods

SS
Rob Hitchcock
Paul Bennett

K
Bernie Ruoff
Paul Osbaldiston

P
Joe Zuger
Cam Fraser
Ken Clark

Many great names to choose from….

A lot of examination of statistical sources online and offline (most notably the 2000 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Media Guide) gave me further insight into who I should keep and who not to. A final player list for my Madden team, including jersey numbers, will be provided at the end of this document.

I made the evaluations based on a combination of statistical merit and personal preference. My admiration level was crucial in this where the possible candidates were very close. Obviously someone else may make different choices than I have made. To each their own. J

2) Player Sizes and Appearances (page 31 of Madden 2004 PC Manual (to be referred in the following as “MPCM”))

Regarding player sizes and appearances, I have relied on three sources: a) the 2000 Tiger-Cat Media Guide; b) scans of CFL football cards hosted on http://www.ticatfans.ca ; and c) my reasonable best guesses from recollections I had of players I grew up watching whenever hard facts were not available. When Madden 2004 creates a template for a created team, you get editable players re their height, weight, and build. I changed these figures to reasonably match players with their real-life appearance and size. With some players, I kept the look Madden created (like my Vince Mazza at LT looks positively biker-ish as opposed to the clean-cut Mazza of the fifties) – your results and preferences may vary.

I tried to choose both facial and playing equipment characteristics from whatever visual material I could find on that player. I think I came up with reasonable versions of the real players as a result. The important thing for me was not to delve into it too much: absolute authenticity is 1) impossible and 2) really impossible with Madden in practical terms because of how inflexible the player editor function is.

Case in point: to create my version of the Cats, I selected the “All-Madden” setting in the “Create-A-Team” section of the program. All-Madden is the equivalent to a super all-star team. Once a team is created by the program from these templates, some things AREN’T editable. The player’s university is not changeable. As an example, Rob Hitchcock in my game was created by the program and was listed as being from Canisius University (a NY state university), while Rob is actually from Weber State University. I chose to keep the players’ listed universities as Madden had created them because going through the “Create-A-Player” function just for that level of correction would take weeks. So I said to myself, live and let live.

One thing I did to make my team very competitive in the 2000s is make them physically powerful: they all look like they hit the weights a lot LOL. Give you a concrete example: Vince Scott at DT. Vince was an unbelievable middle guard in the fifties and early sixties – very powerful – but he was only 5 foot 8 (my height, ironically) and 230 pounds. Considering that 2003 NFL teams offensive centres average roughly 6 foot 4 and 290 lbs., I made my Madden version of Vince look positively WWE-material in terms of physique to compensate for the size difference.

2) Jersey numbering (page 31, MPCM)

One of the challenges of adding realism to the team is player jersey numbering. Obviously, not every player on an all-time, all-star team can wear the same number they wore in real life. Cases in point: Hal Patterson, Tony Gabriel, and Grover Covington each wore #77 during their careers in Hamilton, while Chuck Ealey , Willie Bethea, and Howard Fields were all number 16…you get the picture LOL…. For #77, I had to choose one of these players to wear the number in the game, so I chose Grover (having identified with him the most growing up as a Ticat fan in the 70s and 80s). Where I have changed numbers, I have tried to renumber them in a way that evokes their real-life number for me – hence Patterson is #88 (for #77) and Gabriel is #67 (his number ends in 7). The same process of elimination for #16: I gave Ealey the number and re-numbered Bethea and Fields.

In addition, the Madden 2004 PC software has some challenges as it restricts what you can number certain position players. For other platforms (e.g. apparently with the X-Box version), you can give a WR the number #1 – I can’t in the PC version. So Earl Winfield - jersey number #1 - cannot be numbered as he was in real life. I chose #11 for him instead. The problem is both a software programming issue and that the NFL has different position numbering practices than the CFL. Another case in point: Ben Zambiasi at LB was numbered #31 in real life. Since I can’t get his number to work in the PC version of Madden, I made him #91 since LBs are often numbered in the 90s in the NFL. Joe Montford’s #53 also doesn’t work at DE, so he’s #63 instead, etc.

For some people viewing an early version of my gallery here on ticats.ca, this was a point to critique. I hope my explanation makes my reasoning clearer about numbering decisions. Besides, it’s my #%^&%$ team, anyway! LOL

3) Skill Ratings (page 31, MPCM)

As stated earlier, my team was created using the All-Madden setting in the Create-A-Team feature. I began to edit the size, appearance, numbering, playing equipment, etc. This was a fairly methodical process taking a lot of hours spread out over months. Then the fun really started.

Player ratings. What to do, what to do? LOL Considering that many of the players I selected were in their heyday before I was able to really follow a game (read 1972), I had a fair amount of pondering to do about how to rate them in the areas of strength, awareness, catching, tackling, etc. At first, I left their ratings to what Madden’s Create-A-Team feature had assigned them. Needless to say, at All-Madden level, they slaughtered most of the competition, merely crushing the others. The best example of this was a massacre I quite enjoyed, 145-10 over a Toronto Argonaut team I had imported using some artwork I download from the Net. LMAO

145-10 may be good once in a blue moon in PC football simulations; especially if your team is pulverizing the team you despise the most on this planet. J However, it quickly becomes stale in terms of your enjoyment level.

The big thing is to examine the player ratings before you enter the roster into franchise mode (page 16, MPCM). The most important area to consider is the speed factor. I found Madden’s settings needed some tweaking to get a level of authenticity in that area. For other factors, I went through each player’s editing page and adjusted their settings to match: 1) any authentic qualities I felt they had by observation or statistical backup and 2) personal preferences. Each area to be rated is done so on a scale from 0-99. These are judgement calls, after all. Here again, your preferences may vary.

Artwork: Acquisition, Adaptation, Authenticity (Create-A-Team section, pages 27-31, MPCM)

There are plenty of places to acquire CFL artwork that can be used for Madden 2004. Most notably, a number of people have spent a long number of hours producing helmet, endzone, and midfield logos that can be directly imported into Madden. Sites which carry these files include http://www.pcfootball.net and http://football-gaming.com . Other logos can be found at http://www.cfl.ca and through image searches through Google and Yahoo.

For my purposes, I have only used Ticat logos that were available on the Web and a few helmet designs I have downloaded from the two sites mentioned above. As I am partial to the gold helmet designs the team wore pre-1986, some of the efforts that others have made were adapted by me to match the specific gold colour I wanted my Cats team to have.

You can use any graphics manipulation program to work with artwork you find on the Net. I use Microsoft Paint (with Windows 98) and The GIMP (“The Graphic Image Manipulation Program” with SUSE Linux). Photoshop is another good bet here. Using The GIMP, I took two pictures I had of Garney Henley and Jimmy Edwards and was able to identify the gold colour used by the Cats of that era. I used what is known as a “colour picker,” a menu item that can usually be identified as an eyedropper on a clickable button. By moving the colour picker onto the pictures in question and left-clicking my mouse, I found the specific gold colour settings to duplicate it. My findings:

Index 38
Red 192
Green 128
Blue 0

I have used these R-G-B settings above in any colour palette I have used since – whether creating an endzone or touching up a yellow helmet to make it the kind of “caramel gold” I remember seeing the Cats wear when I was a kid. This gold setting is the primary colour that I have for my Madden team. Black and White are the two secondary colours (shades J) I use along with that particular gold.

I will now outline the different types of artwork to import into Madden: Main Logo, Sliver Logo, Helmet Logo, Midfield Logo, and Endzone Logo. Most of my instructions are repetitive, but hey, this is a more painstaking business than one would think. LOL My specific instructions are for MS Paint users. Your program’s menu system may vary. Adapt as necessary.

Note that templates for each individual logo are provided in the Madden 2004 directories in “My Documents” that I mention below. They are made with a transparent colour with the exception of the helmet logo. You basically take your logo and place them in the centre of the logo field the template provides.

The tricky one is the helmet logo because it involves some dexterity with the mouse. I would recommend that one check out the sites I have listed above for CFL artwork (especially http://www.pcfootball.net and check out the art that is there – Glenn Sheppard from out west has made some great CFL artwork for use with Madden 2003 – check that under Downloads in the Artwork section of the Madden 2003 listing. That 2003 artwork is applicable to Madden 2004.

A good rule of thumb: get all your artwork together before you enter Create-A-Team mode. It will save you some headaches later if you can place everything in the proper directory.

And now, the fun stuff:

Main Logo (page 28, MPCM)

The main team logo is used for the Play Call Screen during gameplay and in certain team listings in Franchise Mode. For a main team logo, it must conform to a size of 128 X 128 pixels and have a colour depth of 256 colours (8-bits).

For your main logo, take any logo from the Net for the Cats that you wish. An image search on Google or Yahoo will give you plenty to choose from. Download the logo.

You then open MS Paint or a similar graphics manipulation program (Photoshop is also good). Resize the logo to a size of 128 X 128 pixels. Reduce the colour depth to 256 colours. Save the logo in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\Custom Art\mainlogo directory.

Recheck to see that the logo is saved at 256 colours - this is crucial. In MS Paint, click Image>>Attributes. Reset the logo to 256 colours if necessary. If it is at another colour setting, it won't work.

Sliver Logo (page 28, MPCM)

The sliver logo is used for the on-screen scoreboards and menus during the game. For a sliver logo, it must conform to a size of 64 X 32 pixels and have a colour depth of 256 colours (8-bits).

For your sliver logo, take any logo from the Net for the Cats that you wish. An image search on Google or Yahoo will give you plenty to choose from. Download the logo. Alternately, you may decide to reduce the size of the logo that you downloaded as the main logo. Make sure you have completed the steps outlined above for the main logo and have a saved copy.

You then open MS Paint or a similar graphics manipulation program (Photoshop is also good). Resize the logo to a size of 64 X 32 pixels. Reduce the colour depth to 256 colours. Resave the logo in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\Custom Art\sliver directory.

Recheck to see that the logo is saved at 256 colours - this is crucial. In MS Paint, click Image>>Attributes. Reset the logo to 256 colours if necessary. If it is at another colour setting, it won't work.

Helmet Logo (page 29, MPCM)

The helmet logo is worn by the players during gameplay and is present in certain team listings in Franchise Mode. For a helmet logo, it must conform to a size of 256 X 128 pixels and have a colour depth of 256 colours (8-bits).

Take my advice and find a helmet logo that has already been done for you if you’re not that dextrous with paint programs. For the intrepid, you can follow this advice:

For your helmet logo, take any logo from the Net for the Cats that you wish. An image search on Google or Yahoo will give you plenty to choose from. Download the logo.

You then open MS Paint or a similar graphics manipulation program (Photoshop is also good). Resize the logo to fit on the helmet template – a good bet is to use the sliver logo you’ve already saved as above. Reduce that logo and manipulate it onto the helmet so that it resides in the centre of each side of the helmet. Use the program’s rotation/flip function and rotate/flip the logo appropriately (e.g. 90 degrees) to get the logo placed correctly.

Here, you can use the colour you have already on the helmet, change it by using the colour picker and selecting a colour from the logo you placed, or use the colour palette of your program and manually select a colour that’s right for you. For the Cats, an RGB value of 192-128-0 will give you the caramel gold colour, while a value of 0-0-0 will give you a black colour. 256-256-256 is white.

Having chosen the colour you want, use the bucket paint or various paintbrushes in your program and style accordingly.

The helmet logo must be a size of 256 X 128 pixels. Reduce the colour depth to 256 colours. Save the logo in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\Custom Art\helmet directory.

Recheck to see that the logo is saved at 256 colours - this is crucial. In MS Paint, click Image>>Attributes. Reset the logo to 256 colours if necessary. If it is at another colour setting, it won't work.

Midfield Logo (page 29, MPCM)

This is the logo which appears on the field during gameplay in the middle of the playing field. For your midfield logo, take any logo from the Net for the Cats that you wish. An image search on Google or Yahoo will give you plenty to choose from. Download the logo.

You then open MS Paint or a similar graphics manipulation program (Photoshop is also good). Resize the logo to a size of 256 X 256 pixels. Reduce the colour depth to 256 colours. Save the logo in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\Custom Art\midfield directory.

If you want to write something next to the logo and have it appear in the game, go through the menus or menu buttons listed with the program. Find the program's text writing function (in MS Paint, it is the button marked "A." Enlarge the view of the logo (View>>Zoom in MS Paint) until you have a view that is comfortable for you. Outline an empty rectangular box area using your mouse and pointer. Click on the text writing function button. Choose a font and size that you want. Type "Steeltown," “Linuxtown,” J “Eat ‘Em Raw,” or any other slogan that you wish. Save the changed logo.

Recheck to see that the logo is saved at 256 colours - this is crucial. In MS Paint, click Image>>Attributes. Reset the logo to 256 colours if necessary. If it is at another colour setting, it won't work.

Endzone Logo (page 29, MPCM)

The endzone logo will appear on both sides of the field at the opposing endzones. Unfortunately, Madden 2004’s editor does not allow for alternating endzones, e.g. having “Hamilton” in one endzone and “Tiger-Cats” in the other.

For your endzone, you take any logo from the Net for the Cats that you wish, or write text that you feel is appropriate with your preferences. An image search on Google or Yahoo will give you plenty of logos to choose from. Download the logo.

With a logo (like the “Leaping Tiger”), you open MS Paint or a similar graphics manipulation program (Photoshop is also good). Resize the logo to a size of 1024 X 256 pixels. Reduce the colour depth to 256 colours. Save the logo in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\Custom Art\endzone directory.

To write some text instead, go through the menus or menu buttons listed with the program. Find the program's text writing function (in MS Paint, it is the button marked "A." Enlarge the view of the logo (View>>Zoom in MS Paint) until you have a view that is comfortable for you. Outline a rectangular box area using your mouse and pointer. Click on the text function button. Choose a font and size that you want. Type "Steeltown," “Tiger-Cats,” “Hamilton,” or any other slogan that you wish. Save the changed logo.

Recheck to see that the logo is saved at 256 colours - this is crucial. In MS Paint, click Image>>Attributes. Reset the logo to 256 colours if necessary. If it is at another colour setting, it won't work.

Whew. If I have to repeat that again, I want double time-and-a-half! J J J

Uniform

This is part of the Features >> Create-A-Team screen. When you enter this area, you’ll be able to create your team’s four uniforms: Home, Away, Home Alternate, and Road Alternate. Make sure you have the primary and secondary colours established clearly because it will also affect how your stadium is coloured.

For my version of the Ticats, I make sure the primary colour in the colour palette is the caramel gold I mentioned above. Black and white are my secondary colours. This is particularly nice when you see the gameplay TV menus came up in distinctive Ticat colours! It also makes my stadium gold and black throughout.

You have many design possibilities, so experiment.

Stadiummmmmmmmmmmmmmm J J J

Stadium Info. My favourite part. This section of Create-A-Team places you in charge of building your own stadium. Here’s my story:

If you check out my gallery at ticats.ca, you’ll notice that I have been experimenting with a version of Civic Stadium. I was inspired by old photos of Civic Stadium in the 1960s (yes, it was decrepit, but it had character! LOL) and decided to model a stadium based on some of the unique characteristics I noted. At just under 60,000 seats, it is at the low end of possibilities attendance-wise since I thought that capturing the “charms” of a 23,800 seat Civic Stadium would best be served by reducing possible capacity to a near minimum in Madden.

While others will choose artificial turf or grassy turf (Field Turf) for their surface, I chose grass. I cannot give you a scientific answer here, but I believe after playing the game for a good while that a grass field definitely cuts down on devastating injuries (especially severe concussions and knee injuries) as opposed to artificial surfaces. Given my desire to have a stadium reminiscent in some way with the old Civic Stadium, I chose to be a purist…besides with grass, you get to see clumps of grass stick to the players’ facemasks LOL. In addition, grass fields in Madden are neat since with some high-end Radeon and ATI cards, you get to see player uniforms get dirtier as the game progresses.

As far as seating configurations, do whatever you wish. J

Franchise Mode vs. Owner Mode (pages 16-22, MPCM)

Okay, you’ve got your roster and artwork ready…you’ve created and saved your team…now what?

You only have one mode to choose if you intend to play a Hamilton Tiger-Cat team or whatever team you’ve made instead. That would be Franchise Mode. Owner Mode in Madden (good if you want the business angle of running a team to consider while you play) only works with the 32 existing NFL teams.

I prefer Franchise Mode because I am strictly interested in coaching my team (playcalling, making substitutions, etc). I also played it using Madden 2003, so I more familiar with that aspect. For this reason, I will confine my following observations to Franchise Mode.

From the Game Menu of the main screen, you click Franchise. Choose “New” and then type in the filename of the franchise you wish to use. You will then have a number of sub-items to consider:

Owner Mode: you must switch this off with a created team. L
Coaching Changes: On or Off, as you wish. I keep it on, because I enjoy the pressure somehow LOL.
Trade Deadline: On or Off – having it on means no trades after week 6 of the regular season, off means you can trade anytime. I keep it on.
Salary Cap: On or Off. If you create an All-Madden team like mine, there is NO WAY you can keep a cap LOL. Besides, in the CFL, the cap is only a guideline! ;) I keep it off, but some may want to be purists here and play within a cap structure. To each their own.
Cap Penalties: On or Off. With it on, one can lose cash, players, and draft picks for violating the cap. I have no cap, so it’s off.
Fantasy Draft: On or Off. If you want to choose a team from all NFL players, choose On. I choose off, because it defeats the purpose of all the roster-building work for making an All-Time Ticat team. Besides, would I want to see Angelo Mosca as an Arizona Cardinal? LOL

Then you will have to choose the conference and division where your team will play. Choose whichever conference and division you prefer. In the Madden 2004 universe, that means a 32-team league, no exceptions. I choose the AFC North and replace the Cincinnati Bengals with my Ticat team. I like the chance to play the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns (yes, and even the Baltimore Ravens). It also keeps the AFC East intact, allowing for the occasional Ticat-Bills game.

In Franchise Mode, you can have a team compete for 30 years. Since I have often tinkered with my team’s settings to get them right, I have yet to get past year five. LOL I expect that with the changes I have come up with that this version of the team will go the full 30 years in say, 5 years LOL.

Playing Modes – My Preferences

Many people choose to learn all the gamepad commands to play the game as the QB or as a different player on the field. I stick to coaching (coach mode). I love calling plays, making substitutions, and have tinkered with play design in the Create-A-Playbook feature (page 31-32). For my purposes though, I have basically developed a way of approaching gameplay.

As a coach, I use the West Coast offensive playbook. Bill Walsh all the way, even for this Raiders fan! LOL I suppose it due to the fact that a ball control passing playbook like the West Coast is more akin to what I like about the CFL game.

Defensively, I choose the Balanced-D playbook. It has multiple sets (14?) and allows you to substitute role players well.

As for as style goes, attack, attack, attack! LOL In the coach section of team management under “gameplay,” I have set the sliders to maximum aggression both offensively and defensively. There is lots of blitzing on the defence because the defence is fast.

As far as playing a season, I never play the preseason – I let Madden simulate it. When you do this, you’ll notice that you will get some player injuries, some severe and even career-ending once in a while. It makes the season faster to do this. It also adds some authenticity because you can have entire seasons with only one or two minor injuries in Coach Mode. I will simulate the preseason and a few regular season games to get the season done faster as well as to add a little adversity to my team. You’ll find the injury levels are more realistic doing it this way, and it makes you a better GM in having to engineer a trade or pick up a free agent during the season to fill any holes.

Conclusion

That’s it for now – if anyone wants to leave me some feedback, you can often reach me on the ticats.ca website at http://www.ticats.ca or drop me a line at stain_ca@yahoo.com . I will probably do a followup to this “howto” to address other concerns people may have about their Madden 2004 gaming experience.

Best wishes – and happy gaming!

Russ

And the piece de resistance! My All-Time Hamilton Tiger Cats Team for 2004 (please remember: as I explained above, not all players can be numbered as in real life – it is an all-star team with NFL numbering restrictions, duplicate numbers, etc.):

No. Name Position

3 Paul Osbaldiston K
9 Joe Zuger P/QB
10 Bernie Faloney QB
11 Earl Winfield WR
14 Danny McManus QB
15 Less Browne CB
16 Chuck Ealey QB
19 Johnny Shepherd HB
20 Jimmy Edwards HB
21 Rufus Crawford HB
22 Don Sutherin CB
23 Dave Buchanan HB
26 Garney Henley SS
27 Paul Bennett FS
32 Willie Bethea FB
34 Lewis Porter CB
36 Howard Fields SS
37 David Shaw CB
40 Mark Streeter CB
42 Rob Hitchcock FS
50 Henry Waszczuk C
51 Eddie Bevan OG
53 Calvin Tiggle LB
54 Ellison Kelly OG
58 Jason Riley OG
60 Bronko Nagurski OT
61 John Barrow DT
62 Bill Danychuk OT
63 Joe Montford DE
65 Paul Dekker TE
66 Miles Gorrell OT
67 Tony Gabriel TE
68 Angelo Mosca DT
71 Mike Walker DT
73 Vince Mazza OT
74 Pete Neumann DE
75 Tommy Joe Coffey TE
76 Chet Miksa C
77 Grover Covington DE
78 Larry Butler OG
79 Tim Cheatwood DE
80 Steve Stapler WR
82 Darren Flutie WR
83 Rocky DiPietro WR
85 Cookie Gilchrist FB
87 Tony Champion WR
88 Hal Patterson WR
90 Billy Ray Locklin DE
91 Ben Zambiasi LB
92 John Motton LB
93 Frank Robinson LB
94 Bob Krouse LB
95 Zeno Karcz LB
96 Vince Scott DT

What a team! ;)

Some screenshots for starters...

2009-08-24T16:08:00.000-04:00

These are just some of the screenshots I've taken during my Madden PC experience, using Madden 2004 primarily. This blog is the second incarnation of a Madden blog for me. I hope you enjoy it!

Russ