I am currently an out of work programmer and machinist. In between picking my next career to destroy and send overseas, I have been playing with this game replay output. I've written a perl program to analyze player movements in a replay, and I've been able to draw some conclusions.
First everyone needs to realize every attribute has diminishing returns. I have come to believe every game check is composed of multiple attributes and SAs. A primary stat will be weighed the highest, but it is also offset by the other attributes factoring in. So one extremely high stat will be washed out when averaged across weaker stats.
This doesn't mean all attributes should be at the same level. You still want to have a primary focus, but there needs to be a general rule applied. You want to take that stat to the brink of madness.
If you look the player with the highest attribute value in the game, that is full blown insanity. Use this as a bench mark. Anyone with a 120 in a stat qualifies. So if you think that player went mad at 90, then you want to be at 85. Even with everyone's precious speed, they should realize that the difference between 90 and 120 isn't very evident. Neither of these two players will ever reach their max velocity on any given play. If you don't believe me, check it yourself. Look at the page source of the replay, and compare the (x, y) change associate with your players ID between frames.
If people focused on a more realistic cap, they would be able to distribute a ton of points across secondary attributes. These secondary attributes should be viewed rationally too. Agility is of great importance, but it will only be part of the equation as well. On a single play, it is unlikely you will change directions that often. So your agility needs to be high enough to change directions efficiently, but there is a point where it won't make as big of a difference, if the other stats factoring in are too low.
So if you want to build a great receiving TE, give some thought to what you are really asking. Your TE isn't going to be running 30 yard routes. So they will need enough speed to hit max velocity by 15 yards. That is well below 100. Agility is going to be very useful, as it allows them to change direction quickly on routes. Plus it will make them a better blocker. Jumping and Catching are also useful, but remember who is covering them. They are less likely to have a lot of coverage. As long as they are fast enough to reach max speed, say 70 speed, and more agile than the LB's covering them say 75, they will get open. A 60 in jumping and catching , will make them dangerous over the middle.
Because the caps were kept within reason, you will have points left over to make them a good enough blocker for running plays.
I know most of you will laugh at this post, but I have looked at the numbers, and you are dumping way too many points into attributes that aren't being fully utilized. If your blocker is being beat by agility, more strength won't solve this problem. If your 100 speed WR isn't getting open against an 80 speed CB, more speed isn't going to change this problem.
For less skill points, you can get the same result by distributing points across the area your player is choosing to specialize in. I'm not saying you shouldn't focus on a style of player. You will be better if you pick a type of build, but even within that type there are going to be multiple attributes factoring in to any algorithm the game uses. Take your primary stat to a reasonable level, and take the other key factors to a factor roughly below that level.
First everyone needs to realize every attribute has diminishing returns. I have come to believe every game check is composed of multiple attributes and SAs. A primary stat will be weighed the highest, but it is also offset by the other attributes factoring in. So one extremely high stat will be washed out when averaged across weaker stats.
This doesn't mean all attributes should be at the same level. You still want to have a primary focus, but there needs to be a general rule applied. You want to take that stat to the brink of madness.
If you look the player with the highest attribute value in the game, that is full blown insanity. Use this as a bench mark. Anyone with a 120 in a stat qualifies. So if you think that player went mad at 90, then you want to be at 85. Even with everyone's precious speed, they should realize that the difference between 90 and 120 isn't very evident. Neither of these two players will ever reach their max velocity on any given play. If you don't believe me, check it yourself. Look at the page source of the replay, and compare the (x, y) change associate with your players ID between frames.
If people focused on a more realistic cap, they would be able to distribute a ton of points across secondary attributes. These secondary attributes should be viewed rationally too. Agility is of great importance, but it will only be part of the equation as well. On a single play, it is unlikely you will change directions that often. So your agility needs to be high enough to change directions efficiently, but there is a point where it won't make as big of a difference, if the other stats factoring in are too low.
So if you want to build a great receiving TE, give some thought to what you are really asking. Your TE isn't going to be running 30 yard routes. So they will need enough speed to hit max velocity by 15 yards. That is well below 100. Agility is going to be very useful, as it allows them to change direction quickly on routes. Plus it will make them a better blocker. Jumping and Catching are also useful, but remember who is covering them. They are less likely to have a lot of coverage. As long as they are fast enough to reach max speed, say 70 speed, and more agile than the LB's covering them say 75, they will get open. A 60 in jumping and catching , will make them dangerous over the middle.
Because the caps were kept within reason, you will have points left over to make them a good enough blocker for running plays.
I know most of you will laugh at this post, but I have looked at the numbers, and you are dumping way too many points into attributes that aren't being fully utilized. If your blocker is being beat by agility, more strength won't solve this problem. If your 100 speed WR isn't getting open against an 80 speed CB, more speed isn't going to change this problem.
For less skill points, you can get the same result by distributing points across the area your player is choosing to specialize in. I'm not saying you shouldn't focus on a style of player. You will be better if you pick a type of build, but even within that type there are going to be multiple attributes factoring in to any algorithm the game uses. Take your primary stat to a reasonable level, and take the other key factors to a factor roughly below that level.
Edited by steellithium on Jun 19, 2009 01:23:25
