Franchise - AI bug; CPU in no huddle lets time run out before attempting timeout

[MuthaFknZeus]

Product: Madden NFL 21
Platform:Steam-PC
Which console generation do you have?
What is your gamertag/PSN ID? Your Debt Collector
Date/time issue occurred 8:30
What type of issue do you have? Gameplay
Which mode has this happened in? Franchise Mode
Which part of the mode? Cloud
What is your Franchise League Name? MuthaFknZeus-1
Summarize your bug AI calls timeout incorrectly after the playclock runs down in no huddle, sometimes ending the game with the CPU losing in scoring position with timeouts to stop the clock
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Give the CPU the ball with under 1 minutes to go with timeouts and in field goal range.
What happens when the bug occurs? They will run a no huddle and time out will occur after the automatic playclock run off possibly ending the half
What do you expect to see? I expect the CPU to call a timeout after a play ends in bounds and the clock is about to run out, not wait for the playclock to run off and end the game before trying to call a timeout.
PS4 Crash Reporting: Please copy the text you put in the crash report here.
What is the AMD or Nvidia Model Number of your graphics card? 5600XT
Enter RAM memory size in GB 16GB

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(before end of 2nd quarter; AI lets time run out instead of calling timeout to kick a FG)

[MuthaFknZeus]

Reported this bug a month ago and it was deleted. Would like a response as this is incredibly easy to replicate the bug.

[Neo_Novalis]

I've also seen this pattern in MUT Solo Challenges and MUT Solo Battles. The AI calls a play, the clock winds down and only after that the AI calls timeout. 

This bug does not always appear but occasionally. but it is pretty weird to call the timeout after waiting/losing 15 seconds...

[Neo_Novalis]

just happened again in the MUT Solo Challenge 'Legends Showdown #20'.

4th quarter and the AI calls 2 timeouts after getting sacked twice. after the 3rd down resulting in a sack again, the AI choses a play, the game clock goes down to 3 seconds. after the timeout the AI choses to punt the ball. it did not matter at all for the result of the game (the score was 29:0), but it's very strange to let the clock run down first, then call a timeout only to punt the ball afterwards (from inside the own endzone) ....

[Neo_Novalis]

I guess I identified at least one reason why the AI calls a timeout in no-huddle offense but only after the clock ran down (for calling no-huddle).

1. in the last 2 minutes of the half, the AI calls no-huddle offense (in the 4th quarter only if it still has a chance to win...).
2. in the last minute of the half, the AI calls timeout (in the 2nd quarter only if it still has timeouts and has a change to score; in the 4th quarter only if it still has a chance to win the game) 
3. if the game clock is close to (but still more than) one minute left in the 2nd or 1m30sec in the 4th quarter, the AI does not call timeout but no-huddle-offense resulting in a lose of time. if the play clock is below 1 minute (2nd quarter) or 90 seconds (4th) after the loss of time (due to no-huddle) it calls timeout.

as I said, that is only one reason why the AI calls timeout only after wasting some time. there seems to be a second issue very close to the end of the half. I did not exactly identify the mispecified logic here but I'd guess it is somehow similar to what I've written above. there might be a rule that says 'no-huddle!' if about x seconds are left on the clock and call timeout if y seconds are left on the clock. if the time runoff of the no-huddle call (within the timeframe x but outside y) results in entering the 'call timeout' timeframe y, the same pattern might occur (as above).

in addition, there seems to be a third mispecified logic related to the issue above: the AI seems to go for it on 4th down, if more than z seconds are left on the clock after the 3rd down play (and the offense is not too far away from the endzone in the 2nd quarter) the AI calls no-huddle. if the clock is within the timeframe (x) to call timeout after the loss of time, it will call timeout. but if the remaining time below z seconds, the AI will decide to punt. this pattern might explain why the AI calls 1) no-huddle, 2) timeout after wasting time, and 3) punting the ball afterwards.

by the way: the AI punts the ball 3 seconds before the half ends although it could easily end the quarter without executing the punt (because the time is running). this results in a final opportunity to score on the punt return (if the punt does not go out of bounds) or by blocking the punt. this should be changed: the AI should just end the half.

I'd guess the solution would be to take the time (after the no-huddle) into account for the AI rules. if the no-huddle will result in entering the next 'stage' of clock management 1) no-huddle 2) timeout, 3) punt, the AI should either call the timeout before the no-huddle call or not calling timeout afterwards.

@EA_Blueberry: may I ask you to forward my hypotheses to the dev team? I would be interested if it is correct. thank you!

[Neo_Novalis]

just observed a similar/related bug: AI does not call timeout at the end of a half to kick a field goal - Answer HQ (ea.com)