Sim Code Tips for Tecmo Super Bowl:
I decided to put together a breakdown of how I worked the sim code for accurate player and team performances. Just a note, the players physical abilities are edited but I tried to steer clear of blowing up the players stats in my Tecmo Super Bowl 2001 game so what I did was take the attributes from the players in the original game and apply them to players in my edited version. The only players in the game that do not have a sim code to edit are the offensive linemen. So without further adieu he is my breakdown by position:
Quarterbacks:
The QB is the player who dictates the flow of the offense. Have a good QB and you will be successful in Tecmo, have a bad one and expect to struggle when the defenses stack up vs. the RB. But the QB needs the targets to go to as well, and the sim code of other players impacts the QB’s performance as well. A good example is the Rams, where Bruce is the 1st option for Kurt Warner (Bruce has an 11 receiving rating) then Torry Holt (10 rating) then Conwell (9 rating) then Faulk (3 rating). So that is how Warner reads his progressions, Bruce, Holt, Conwell and then Faulk. To force the game to make the Rams pass more I gave Kurt Warner the following code:
Kurt Warner - Stl
Rushing ability: 5
Passing ability: 14
Pocket: 1
Warner has a high passing ability for two reasons. One is so he throws alot and gets the huge numbers he ends up with year in and year out and two it makes the Rams throw more than run like they did before in the 1991 version. So now the Rams have over 3,500 yards passing and a RB with close to or over 1,300 yards. Now you get to the part of QB’s who are not good. Here are a couple examples of what I did to adjust the codes of some mediocre players:
Tim Couch- Cle.
Rushing ability: 6
Passing ability: 2
Pocket: 0
Tony Banks-Was
Running ability: 2
Passing ability: 4
Pocket: 0
Charlie Batch-Det.
Running ability: 5
Passing ability: 2
Pocket: 1
Both Charlie Batch and Tim Couch play in very weak offenses that do not have a RB that is a superstar who can offset a bad passing attack. Tony Banks on the other hand has Stephen Davis and he is a workhorse who normally ends up around 1,400-1,500 yards. These QB's will not put up great #'s and will never crack the top 15 in the QB rating stats.
Running Backs:
The thing to remember is that Tecmo tends to be a RB dominated game. The RB’s seem to get many touches in the game if there are enough plays that they are involved in. Give the RB's high totals in their sim code and they will hog the ball. When I began editing I used to give great RB's with great receiving and rushing ability high numbers on both categories. Well, I found out when you do this you end up with a RB who finishes the year with over 1,000 yards receiving and almost 2,000 yards rushing and some ridiculous total of about 50 TD's. Obviously something had to be adjusted. So I tinkered with the sim code week after week, adjusting it trying to get the desired results. And here is what I came up with:
I realized first the players’ stats are definitely affected by the playbook. If you have your team running "Play action Z in" and your RB had decent receiving totals, expect him to get over 1,000 yards. So I limited this play to just teams that did not have strong receiving RB's. Obviously the number of rushing plays affect the totals. The final thing I did after that was adjust the sim code accordingly. Here are some examples of RB's and their codes:
Priest Holmes-KC (3 rushing plays out of 4)
Rushing Ability: 10
Receiving Ability: 2
Punt Return Ability: 6
Kick Return Ability: 2
Marshall Faulk-Stl. (3 out of 4 rushing plays)
Rushing Ability: 8
Receiving Ability: 3
Punt Return Ability: 5
Kick Return Ability: 3
Faulk might be the better athlete out of the two, but Holmes did have the bigger numbers running the ball. Faulk is the bigger threat as a receiver but in the Rams pass happy offense I had to adjust his Receiving and Kick Return ability (they both go hand in hand with receiving totals). That way he still gets his touches but does not end up with over 1,500 yards in the air.
Receivers and TE’s:
My version of Tecmo has receivers putting up big seasons like David Boston, Terrell Owens, Rod Smith and others. I learned that the receiving ability property is not the only one that affects the receivers season totals. Take for example my sim code entry for David Boston:
David Boston – Arz.
Rushing Ability: 6
Receiving Ability: 13
Punt Return Ability: 12
Kick Return Ability: 12
With these totals Boston regularly gets about 1,300-1,400 yards receiving with about 50-60 catches per season. 50-60 catches in Tecmo are usually about 80-90 in an actual NFL season.
Basically what I learned is that the receiver total alone does not dictate the receivers performance. The kick return ability seems to go hand in hand with the receiving ability and the punt return ability goes hand in hand with the rushing ability. Receiving ability dictates how many touches the player gets. Kick return ability seems to affect the players ability to get YAC yards (Yards after catch) and the punt return ability seems to affect the players ability to be shifty in the open field.
Offensive Linemen:
Now offensive linemen do not have sim codes that can be adjusted, so all you have to go on is their physical abilities. To make the teams offensive lines play similar to how they did in the actual 2001 season. Here is how I did it. I first looked up the sacks allowed by the teams in 2001. This usually is the best way to determine the strength of an offensive line. From there I edited the offensive line player stats then used loaded the ROM into Tecmo Manager 2000. The great thing about Tecmo Manager 2000 is it has a scale that lists the teams’ positions by strength. Using this tool I began adjusting the OL’s until I had it in order of the sacks allowed in 2001. The Bears had the best offensive line in 2001 while the Falcons had the weakest. Here are some examples of a great OL and a mediocre OL:
Top ranked OL:
Jonathan Ogden – Bal.
Rushing speed: 44
Rushing power: 81
Maximum speed: 56
Hitting power: 88
Body balance: 25
Agility: 50
Last ranked OL:
Corey Hulsey – Buf.
Rushing speed: 13
Rushing power: 38
Maximum speed: 19
Hitting power: 31
Body balance: 25
Agility: 50
Defensive Linemen & Linebackers:
The most frustrating thing about the 1991 version of Tecmo is Tecmo Inc. decided in giving every team a 3-4 defensive alignment. The 3-4 alignment did not fit over half of the teams at the time and now in 2001 only one team runs the 3-4 exclusively. So what I did was change the ROLB position to a DE. The reason I did this was because when the original game was around, I was a huge Houston Oilers fan and used Ray Childress to rush the passer (see how F’ed up Tecmo is? They have Ray Childress; a DT lined up as a linebacker! What is wrong with that picture?) T
Then when I began running simulated seasons I noticed something. The ROLB hardly picks up any sacks in the game and it does not matter what value you give that players pass rush ability in the Sim editor, he will not pick up many sacks. So I switched the DE spot to the LOLB position, the same one Lawrence Taylor played in the original game.
Well now that I got the alignment out of the way I had to adjust the sim code. I once saw somewhere in a message board that the highest total you can give a defensive player is 115. Well I was looking at how the sim code was set up in the original game and Derrick Thomas had a 137 Pass rush rating! So I began tinkering with the sim code. First thing I did was give Michael Strahan the highest pass rushing totals:
Michael Strahan – Nyg.
Pass rush: 137
Pass coverage: 5
This way he is the best pass rusher in the game. Now I began setting the pass rush code to around 90-100 for the top pass rushers in the game (Jason Taylor of Mia, Jevon Kearse of Ten, Marcellus Wiley of SD to name a few). Then I noticed I had to set it a bit lower for the DT’s (the RDE and NT in the original Tecmo). Players like La’Roi Glover, Trevor Pryce and Sam Adams were dominating the sack race. They were ending up with over 20 sacks regularly. So for DT’s I set the pass rush code a bit lower, around 50-70 for top notch DT’s. Here are a few:
Trevor Pryce – Den.
Pass Rush: 69
Pass coverage: 8
La’Roi Glover – N.O.
Pass rush: 58
Pass coverage: 8
This way the DT’s get their numbers but do not rack up 20 or more sacks every year.
Now the linebackers in the game who are obviously different than the defensive linemen. Obviously with the linebackers they have to cover more than defensive linemen do so their pass coverage code will be set higher. As for the pass rush code, I set it according to the players’ stats. Players like Peter Boulware of the Ravens has a higher pass rush code than Derrick Brooks of the Bucs.
Peter Boulware – Bal.
Pass Rush: 88
Pass coverage: 8
Derrick Brooks – T.B.
Pass rush: 78
Pass coverage: 20
Now notice the pass coverage stats. Boulware is a pass rush specialist who is not that strong in his pass defense. Derrick Brooks might be the most complete LB around, and his pass coverage stats are higher. It’s not up there like a DB’s but it is set at a good level for a LB. I try not to set the LB’s with too high a pass rush ability so you don’t end up with a MLB with 15 or more sacks. One position that is especially frustrating is the LILB position. If you have ever played a entire season and call a lot of the pass plays you will more than likely end up with the player in this position with many sacks. He seems to always be the first one who can shoot that gap and get there the fastest out of all the blitzers. So what I have done is make sure this spot’s player is NOT the pass rush specialist. People are used to rushing the passer with the ROLB like Lawrence Taylor and Derrick Thomas (you get a great angle on the OT with this spot). The player in the RILB spot usually has a pass rush code that is lower than usual.
Defensive backs:
Defensive backs are not too hard to figure out. They don’t pass the rusher much so their pass rush code does not have to be set too high. This stat seems to affect their run support more so I set it usually around 12-17 for top notch run stuffers. Now if you have a talented DB I set his pass coverage ability around 70-80. A DB who is a great defender gets his ability set at 80-90 and a DB who gets many Int’s is around 90-115. I did not go over 115 much so as to avoid having a DB end up with a crazy amount on Int’s for a season.
Take a look at some good examples like Ronde Barber of the Bucs (10 Int’s in 2001), Lawyer Milloy of N.E. (one of the top run stuffing safeties around) and Charles Woodson of Oak. (Probably the premiere cover corner)
Ronde Barber – T.B.
Pass rush: 13
Pass coverage: 116
Lawyer Milloy – N.E.
Pass rush: 18
Pass coverage: 105
Charles Woodson – Oak.
Pass rush: 14
Pass coverage: 84
Woodson is a great cover corner but he did not get many Int’s because he was rarely thrown to. Milloy’s pass rush ability is set higher than others to show his prowess in the run defense. And Barber has a 116 rating since he was one the NFL leader in Int’s.
Kickers & Punters:
These players sim code is just one digit for his kicking ability. Basically the better the kicker the higher the code. Top kickers like Jason Elam of Den. (10 rating) and Matt Stover of Bal. (11 rating) have higher sim codes than struggling kickers like Rian Lindell of Sea. (6 rating) and Kris Brown (5 rating). Same goes for punters. The better the player the higher the code. Pretty simple.
Return men:
Try this. Edit and save your return men in the Tecmo Manager program, then open up your game with whichever emulator you use. Reset the rosters and the correct return men will be set. Just a note, I noticed that unless you single out one player as the return specialist, Tecmo Manager will pick the 1st string RB as a return man for either one or both positions. A good example would be like Jermaine Lewis and Tiki Barber. In my version Jermaine Lewis is set as the punt and kickoff return man for the Ravens while Tiki Barber is set as the punt returner while Ron Dixon is the kick returner for the Giants. I recommend having one player as a return specialist. Here are some examples of some of the dangerous return men’s sim codes:
Jermaine Lewis – Bal.
Rushing ability: 2
Receiving ability: 6
Punt return ability: 14
Kick return ability: 14
Desmond Howard – Det.
Rushing ability: 2
Receiving ability: 4
Punt return ability: 15
Kick return ability: 13
Overall Team Rankings:
I wanted to make a game that was as accurate as possible when the season ended and the playoffs came around. I didn’t want a game that would make the Bills or Giants division champs in 2001 even though they were good teams in 1991. If you open up my version with the Tecmo Sim Editor, you will see there is a big gap between the good teams and bad teams. Really bad teams like the Bills and Lions have 0’s for both offense and defense. The top teams in my Tecmo 2001 have a sim code adjusted so they consistently make the playoffs. Now there are some fringe teams that did not make the playoffs but a win here and a loss there by a playoff bound team would have put them in. So teams like Denver, Seattle and Arizona might sneak into the postseason. The highest rating a team can get either on offense or defense is 15. Teams with a 15 rating on either spot are:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Offense: 11
Defense: 15
Philadelphia Eagles
Offense: 9
Defense: 15
Chicago Bears
Offense: 7
Defense: 15
St. Louis Rams
Offense: 15
Defense: 15
Now I know people are going to say that the Rams should not be the top ranked team in the game since they did not win the SB. Well here is the Super Bowl winners code:
New England Patriots
Offense: 14
Defense: 14
The reason I did this was because all throught the year the Rams were the best team in the NFL. They dominated with an offense that seemed unstoppable and a defense that was very stout. When they lost the Super Bowl many experts put this upset up with the Colts losing to the Jets in Super Bowl III as the biggest upset in NFL history. So by making the Rams the top team, anyone that plays a season and meets them in the playoffs either in the Super Bowl as an AFC team or in the NFC playoffs will have to put on a great game to beat them as did the Patriots.
Now on player talent alone I used the Tecmo Manager 2000 to adjust the teams until it was in order from the best to the worst. And here is the list:
1- St. Louis Rams: 46.6
Sim Code- Off: 15 Def:15
2- Philadelphia Eagles: 44.0
Sim Code- Off: 9 Def:15
3- (t) New England Pats: 41.8
Sim Code- Off: 14 Def: 14
3- (t) Pittsburgh Steelers:41.8
Sim Code- Off: 11 Def: 11
5- San Francisco 49ers: 41.4
Sim Code- Off:12 Def:7
6- (t) Chicago Bears:41.0
Sim Code- Off: 7 Def: 15
6- (t) Oakland Raiders:41.0
Sim Code- Off:10 Def: 5
8- Green Bay Packers: 40.2
Sim Code- Off:11 Def: 8
9- Miami Dolphins:39.3
Sim Code- Off: 8 Def: 14
10- (t) New York Jets:39.2
Sim Code- Off: 5 Def: 7
10- (t) Tampa Bay Bucs:39.2
Sim Code- Off: 5 Def: 11
12- Seattle Seahawks:38.0
Sim Code- Off: 3 Def: 3
13- Baltimore Ravens: 37.9
Sim Code- Off: 7 Def: 14
14- Arizona Cardinals: 36.9
Sim Code- Off: 1 Def: 0
15- New Orleans Saints:36.7
Sim Code- Off: 1 Def: 3
16- Denver Broncos: 36.4
Sim Code- Off: 2 Def: 0
17- Tennessee Titans:35.9
Sim Code- Off: 5 Def: 1
18- (t) Indianapolis Colts: 35.7
Sim Code- Off: 3 Def: 0
18- (t) New York Giants: 35.7
Sim Code- Off: 2 Def: 4
20- Wash. Redskins: 35.6
Sim Code- Off: 2 Def: 4
21- Atlanta Falcons: 35.3
Sim Code- Off: 3 Def: 3
22- Dallas Cowboys: 35.1
Sim Code- Off: 0 Def: 2
23- San Diego Chargers: 34.8
Sim Code- Off: 1 Def: 2
24- Cleveland Browns: 34.2
Sim Code- Off: 1 Def: 8
25- Minnesota Vikings: 33.8
Sim Code- Off: 1 Def: 0
26- Kansas City Chiefs:33.5
Sim Code- Off: 1 Def: 0
27- Detroit Lions: 30.4
Sim Code- Off: 0 Def: 0
28- Buffalo Bills:28.9
Sim Code- Off: 0 Def: 0
Notice the talent rating from Tecmo Manager 2001 goes in order from team to team. The talented teams are in order according to the teams 2001 performance. The sim code is a little different though. There are a couple factors to a team’s win-loss record in Tecmo. One is their head to head match ups. Another is their rankings compared to other teams in their own division. And finally injuries affect a team’s performance. Since there is no way to fix the injuries, what I did was adjust the sim code, then I ran about 12 simulated seasons on NESten. I took every team win-loss records and averaged them out for the 12 seasons. Then when I got the average I adjusted the teams’ sim code accordingly and re-did the same process until I got consistent results. You may notice some teams that have a higher talent rating are behind other teams as far as the sim code. The Raiders (41.0) talentwise is ranked higher than the Packers (40.2) but the Packers sim totals are higher than the Raiders. The Packers finished 12-4 this year while the Raiders held on to the division title with a 10-6 mark as they slipped in the end. So the Raiders might have better talent on the field, but the Packers will usually win more games because they accomplished more as a team.
Conclusion:
I recommend adjusting the sim code with what you think are good values. Then you can run a couple simulated seasons (you can use NESten to fly through a season in minutes) and then adjusting the sim code, playbooks and the teammates ratings until you get the balance you are looking for. It's some work but in the end you'll get the game you want. If you have any more questions feel free to email me at
sblueman22@aol.com
Feel free to visit my site. Here is a link:
Tecmo Super Bowl 2001:
http://www.geocities.com/tecmosuperbowl2001/
by SBlueman on Wed May 08, 2002 2:14 am 
