Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

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jose21crisis
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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby jose21crisis » Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:44 pm

Col. Trautman wrote:Ugh that is a tough call as the FI mod uses the Madden NFL 11 ps2 gamedata.dat file. When completed I would think that the team here would want to add your great playbook work to the mod. Regardless the gamedata dat file will have to be modified be it the vanilla or the ps2 version so I really don't see how the playbooks used to create them to begin with can have an affect on AI performance when the new books are assigned after the fact to the dat file.

TL:DR I think that the work can be done as conveniently as possible then dropped into the vanilla gamedata.dat or the ps2 version without serious AI ramifications.


Well, my evidence comes from this old post by ex-member Littleware (not sure if I should ask why he got banned) and some testing I did that shows the AI being a better competition when using the vanilla Gamedata.dat. I thimk it is a combination of wrong playtags and the playbook designed for Madden NFL 11 that, while using a similar engine, maybe operates differently than Madden 08 PS2 or Madden 08 PC. I'm going to for the safe route and re-do the playbooks using the vanilla Gamedata.dat playbooks ... this might take a while. I'll quietly update the playbooks before going back to Sean McVay and the Rams.
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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby jose21crisis » Sun Feb 18, 2018 6:46 pm

Now I'm in this "Should I or should I not?" state. Like, I think I should do more testing before proceeding with this. Maybe is just me, but maybe the M11 playbooks are actually good, is just me thinking that they PBs are not as good as they could be.

EDIT: You know what? "F" it. I'll continue to do this with the M11 playbooks.

2nd EDIT: And after some more testing, the vanilla M08 playbooks are actually better, so I'll proceed to remake the playbooks I already did using the M08 playbooks.
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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby solarkev » Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:50 pm

Just a note of encouragement for jose21crisis.

Sorry to hear about the setback. I still think this is a highly worthy project.

Best wishes

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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby jose21crisis » Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:25 pm

solarkev wrote:Just a note of encouragement for jose21crisis.

Sorry to hear about the setback. I still think this is a highly worthy project.

Best wishes


Hi, thanks for the encouragement.

I eventually decided (despite the lots of edits I did in the previous posts) to still keep using the playbooks from M11. I've found that both playbooks seem to be equally reliable despite what I initially though. I've not uploaded any other playbooks because I've been somewhat busy. The next one up is the Rams playbook, and maybe update the other playbooks I uploaded due to my research on playbooks on the "Sliders and Adjustments" forum section. I'll try to get on this when I get the time.

Also, I don't think this can work as a replacement for the actual Gamedata.dat. This is more like an additional addon that players can use. I'd guess it is possible to import them to the Gamedata.dat file, but that would cause some problems with the interface, as the audibles, formation shifts and stuff like that won't show on the screen.
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If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Always have a plan. And a backup plan. And backups to the backup.
And be able to improvise.

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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby Col. Trautman » Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:44 pm

Well I know that the creators of this mod were able to have the visible audible menus working, I just don't know how they did it. When you have them all finished maybe one of the inforum experts can help with setting up the working audibles. I would hate for this project to die as it has huge potential!
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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby mike9472 » Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:00 pm

Audibles and formation shifts don't show up on screen if you're simply using a custom playbook out of the "playbook folder". You have to replace the teams playbook in the gamedata.dat file. You also have to actually set up all the audibles and formation subs, shift in the playbook you create. Don't forget to set the AI for each play. It's quite a task, I recreated the Bears playbook but added a Pistol formation (because of Trestman) and the QB sneak to the Singleback 4WR formation. Why is the only QB sneak out of the Goaline? Anyway, it's a massive amount of work if you want it done right. In my opinion, not worth delving into. Good luck

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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby jose21crisis » Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:39 pm

I got a playbooks jackpot.

That zip is from an old project to recreate Madden 13, 25 and 15 playbooks by DSzymborski. There are a lot of playbooks there and are more up-to date than M08 books. They have some problems. The AI probably doesn't know how to use them correctly, doesn't recognize the plays correctly when on defense, it has no sub packages, don't think it has formation shifts either, and the ones that worry me the most, a lot of the play art is broken and some formations and play are broken as well.

So, what I'll do is try to take those playbooks and update them. As in, give each play the correct AI tag based on other playbooks, add the correct subpackages based on the formation, add formation shifts, fix as much of the playart as possible and every single play and formation.

The playbook I checked is (naturally) the Steelers one. It is very interesting, it has the typical Singleback set, I formation and offset I formations. It also has a Power I formation, which is universally known as the "Full House" set with a Fullback and a Tight End in the backfield. From what I read (somewhere) at times, the Steelers used Jesse James (their Tight End) in a Full House backfield, so that's pretty neat. I'll try to do some work with these playbooks, let' you know what I do.
Attachments
Playbooks 9.16.15.zip
(1.43 MiB) Downloaded 134 times
Semper fi
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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby jose21crisis » Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:18 pm

Hi,

I decided to start all of this project again, but with a little twist. I will be doing Defensive Playbooks, and maybe deal with Offensive playbooks later. I researched which would be the most accurate playbooks for each team, and I will employ those recommended playbooks for as a base. Then, I'll alter personnel packages of the playbook to fit more realistically what each team ran in 2017. It should be noted, the personnel packages will be based on Rogerjinx's latest 2017-2018 roster. I will be doing this by division, North-East-South-West, in that order. And I'll post the AFC teams first, followed by the NFC, so basically it will be AFC North, NFC North, AFC East, NFC East and so on and so forth.

So, the first team's I'm working with are the Steelers, Ravens, Bengals and Browns. Followed by the Lions, Packers, Bears and Vikings.
Semper fi
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Always have a plan. And a backup plan. And backups to the backup.
And be able to improvise.

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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby jose21crisis » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:21 pm

All right, the AFC North is done. Remember that the lineups are based on the team's default depth chart in Roger's roster, with no injuries. I renamed the play's names based on their original playbook. So for example, in the Steelers playbook, Engage Eight is called "Steel Crush 3" (One of them anyway), in the Ravens playbook it is called "3 Bird Fire" (One of them as well), in the Bengals playbook it is called "

Pittsburgh Steelers
Base Playbook: Patriots 3-4.

As most know, the Steelers base defense (Yeah, those are still a thing) is the 3-4. That's as simple as it get. 3 Interior Linemen (Cameron Heyward as the Right End, Stephon Tuitt as the Left End. Javon Hargrave as the Nose Tackle), 2 Outside Linebackers acting as Edge Rushers (T.J. Watt as the Right Outside Linebacker, Bud Dupree as the Left Outside Linebacker) and 2 Inside Off the ball Linebackers (Ryan Shazier and Vince Williams). 2 Cornerbacks (Joe Haden and Artie Burns), a Free Safety deep (Mike Mitchell) and a Strong safety (Sean Davis) round out the formation.

Now the interesting stuff, sub-packages. The Steelers use 3 Nickel packages. The first one is the Nickel 2-4-5, and is the package the Steelers used the most. Most teams remove their Nose Tackle and place their Nickelback (Mike Hilton). In the Steelers case, they remove Nose Tackle Javon Hargrave and leave Defensive Ends Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt as the 2 Interior Linemen. The rest of the formation remains similar to the 3-4. 2 Outside Linebackers serve as Edge Rushers. 2 Inside Off the ball Linebackers provide versatility. 3 Corners provide adequate pass coverage. The Free Safety and Strong Safety round out the formation.

The next package is the Nickel 1-5-5. This one has Right End Cameron Heyward lined up in a 3 point stance. T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree are still the Edge Rushers. 2 Middle Linebackers and the #2 Right Outside Linebacker (Keion Adams) line up as the 3 Off the ball Linebackers. 3 Corners line up against the receivers. The Free Safety is lined up deep and the Strong Safety comes up into the box.

Finally, there is the Nickel 1-5-5 Prowl. The one linemen present (Cam Heyward) is a stand up rusher. The #2 Left Outside Linebacker (Arthur Moats) lines up at the LOS, as a stand up rusher. T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree still serve as the Edge Rushers. #2 Right Ouside Linebacker (Keion Adams) and #1 Middle Linebacker (Ryan Shazier) serve as the off the ball Linebackers. The secondary is similar to the 2-4-5. 3 Corners lined up against the receivers, a Free Safety deep and a Strong Safety round out the formation.

Now, we have the Dime package. Specifically, the Dime 2-3-6. A Linebacker is removed from the lineup to add the Dimeback (William Gay). Both D. Ends serve as the Interior Linemen. Both Outside Linebackers serve as the Edge Rushers (Little problem here. I have not seen, or rather have not played attention, to the Steelers running their Dime set. So I'm not sure if T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree line up in a 2 point stance or a 3 point stance. I went safe and left them in a 3 point stance). Ryan Shazier serves as the lone Off the ball Linebacker. 4 Cornerbacks, 2 starters, the Nickelback and the Dime back, provide coverage. A Free Safety and a Strong Safety round out the formation.

Next up is the Dollar set. This formation has many names, is labeled in Madden as a "Dime" package. In modern Maddens is called a "Dollar". It would technically be a "Big Dime". I'll just call it Dollar and move on. So, we have Dollar 1-4-6. Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree are lined up on the line in a 3 point stance. Both starting Middle Linebackers are the Off the ball Linebackers. 3 Corners and the backup Free Safety (J.J. Wilcox. The reason why this would be a Big Dime) line up against the receivers. Both safeties are lined up deep.

Finally, you have the Quarter. In the standard 1-4-7, Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree are lined up on the line in a 3 point stance. Ryan Shazier is the only Linebacker present. 5 Defensive Backs, 2 Starters, the Nickelback, the Dimeback and the backup Free Safety, line up against the receivers. Both safeties are lined up deep. There is also the 1-4-7 3 Deep. The only difference is that the back up Free Safety is lined up deep coverting the middle of the field along with the Free Safety and Strong Safety.

Note: I kind of wanted to use the base 3-4 playbook. Reason is that after the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier, they started to show some 3-3-5 looks. 3-3-5 is not that effective in the NFL and they really didn't use the 3-3-5 a lot in general, Which is why I used the Pats 3-4 book, which doesn't have the 3-3-5.

Baltimore Ravens
Base Playbook: Ravens Hybrid.

The Ravens are interesting. They run a hybrid 3-4/4-3 set. While this hears complex (And it is), as I understand it, it depends on a single man if they show 3-4 or 4-3. Terrell Suggs can line up in a 2 point stance, making the Ravens show 3-4. They can show 3-4 in the Normal, Solid and Over sets. Suggs can also line up in a 3 point stance, allowing the Ravens to show a 4-3 Under front. Additionally, this playbook also has the 46 set, which is basically a 4-4 set with 4-3 personnel. Suggs has his hand in the dirt, and the Strong Safety (Tony Jefferson) comes into the box.

Now the interesting stuff, sub-packages. The Ravens use 3 Nickel packages. But they are also a team that like to go all Nickel, giving offenses Dime and Quarter looks with Nickel personnel. In the case of Nickel, they run the 4-2-5, 3-3-5 and 1-5-5.

Now, we have the Nickel "Dime look". That's the way I named them. First is the 2-4-5. With Terrell Suggs and Matt Judon as 3 point rushers. Za'Darious Smith occupies what should be the #4 Cornerback position and serves as a rusher. The alternate 2-4-5 "Flat" is similar, but as oppossed to the standard 2-4-5, which lines up both D. Ends on the line, this one lines up a D. End and a Defensive Tackle. Finally, you have the 3-3-5 "Dime Look" set. 3 Down linemen, 3 Off the ball linebackers, 1 of them lined up as a corner and used as a rusher.

Finally, you have the Nickel "Quarter look". 1 Down linemen, 2 Pass Rushing OLBs, 3 Off the ball Linebackers which serve as pass rushers. Finally, the 3-1-7 3 Deep set was left unchanged, to represent more deep coverage on the waning moments of a game.

Cincinnati Bengals
Base Playbook: Vikings 4-3

Something that Head Coach Marvin Lewis likes is continuity and longevity in his schemes. You might remember that back in the day, Mike Zimmer was the Bengals' Defensive Coordinator. Fast forward to 2017-2018, the Bengals run an extremely similar scheme to the Vikings. Which is good for me since I can replicate both teams' schemes with the same base playbook. So, Mike Zimmer's scheme was an All Nickel set. Their base defense is a 4-3 set.

Now the interesting stuff, sub-packages. The Ravens use 3 Nickel packages. Their standard looks are 4-2-5, Strong 4-2-5 and 3-3-5.

Now, we have the Nickel "Dime look". That's the way I named them. First is the 4-2-5. MLB #2 plays as a rusher and coverage linebacker/Force player. Then comes the 4-2-5 Stand Up. The defense has 3 down linemen, plus the RE#2 as a stand up rushing linemen, and a Force/Contain player.

Finally, you have the Nickel "Quarter look". 3 Down linemen, 1 Stand Up Rushing Linemen (Who can serve as a Force player), 2 Linebackers (One serves as a Force Contain player if necessary), 5 Defensive backs. The 3-1-7 3 Deep set was left unaffected.

Cleveland Browns
Base Playbook: Redskins 4-3

Off all the schemes, Cleveland had the simplest one. Basically a 4-3 set with no big changes to be done.

Now the interesting stuff, sub-packages. The Browns run the 4-2-5, Strong 4-2-5 and 3-3-5

Next, we have the Dime 4-2-5 and the Dollar (Or Big Dime) 3-2-6

Finally, you have the Quarter. Both 3-1-7 and 3-1-7 3 Deep.

Remember, if you think there is any change that is wrong or some change that could be done, post it here so I can correct it. Next up is the NFC North. Lions, Vikings, Packers and Bears.
Attachments
AFC North.rar
(111.08 KiB) Downloaded 162 times
Semper fi
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Always have a plan. And a backup plan. And backups to the backup.
And be able to improvise.

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Re: Possible Project: Overhauling every playbook in the Gamedata.dat file

Postby RevanFan » Wed Apr 11, 2018 2:22 pm

I have a question. How do you gather all the information you need to recreate each team's playbook?
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