Every year, the cycle repeats: Madden drops, slider sets get posted, and the community begins its ritual testing to drag EA’s numbers closer to something resembling the NFL. Among the names you’ll see in these threads is none other than cdcool. For over two decades, he’s been one of the go-to guys for CPU vs. CPU sliders, and he’s back again with his updated Madden 26 setup!
If you’ve ever wanted to turn Madden into a proper simulator where you sit back, watch every game, and manage all 32 teams in Franchise mode like a commissioner, the cdcool set is one of the best starting points you’ll find.
Also, as an aside, one of the integral parts of this slider set is using Funkycorm’s XP sliders for Madden 25 (we’re still waiting for his XP sliders for Madden 26).
The Core Philosophy – 15 Minute Quarters
Cdcool’s set isn’t about “making the game harder” or anything that you’ll see from traditional slider sets out there. Rather, it’s about replicating NFL-style stats and animations across an entire season. That means games will look like this:
- 15-minute quarters
- CPU vs. CPU only
- Watching every game (with some help from Slow SuperSim)
- 32-team owner control in offline Franchise mode
Yes, it’s time-consuming. But the point isn’t grinding through one team, but rather running the league like a GM. You handle the draft, let the CPU play everything else out, and enjoy a season that feels like Sunday Ticket on steroids.
Most slider makers stop at 7-12-minute quarters. That’s because they’re trying to balance watched stats with the sim engine, which runs on a totally different scale. If you play or simulate part of your season, 15-minute quarters will blow your stats out of proportion.
Cdcool avoids the problem by going all in and watching every game. That means every box score you see is built in the same 3D engine, and end-of-season stats come out looking right across all 32 teams.
If you’re on PC, there is a way to make this process quicker, and that’s by using a speed hack in the Cheat Engine. Unfortunately, if you’re on console, you’re gonna have to just let it play out.
Key Slider Highlights
Here’s what makes cd’s slider set tick in Madden 26:
- Quarter Length: 15 minutes
- Accelerated Clock: On, with 10-second runoff
- Fatigue: 65 (gives you sub rotations and injuries without chaos)
- Injuries: 52 (tuned to feel NFL-like rather than arcade)
- Speed Threshold: 0 (separates burners from big bodies)
Gameplay sliders lean hard into extremes to force the engine to behave:
- QB Accuracy: 7
- Pass Blocking: 100
- Run Blocking: 100
- WR Catching: 35
- INTs: 40
- Tackling: 20
- Pass Defense Reaction / Coverage: 100
On paper, those numbers look pretty wild. But in practice, they should create realistic completion percentages, balanced pass/run splits, and believable yards per carry. Passing yards land in the 200-300 range (with 400+ being rare), rushing numbers feel fair, and completion percentages hover around 60-65% for the season.
Special teams are also tuned to mirror real life, with field goal power and accuracy being dropped to 2, while punt accuracy is maxed at 100. Kickoffs should hit the endzone like Sunday in Buffalo, as well.
How Are Penalties Tuned?
Penalties are maxed out across the board — Offside, False Start, Facemask, DPI — all tuned to 99. Here is the full list:
- Offside: 99
- False Start: 99
- Holding: 90
- Face Mask: 99
- Defensive PI: 99
- OPI: On
- Kick Catch Interference: On
- Illegal Block in Back: 99
- Intentional Grounding: On
- Roughing the Passer: 89
- Roughing the Kicker: On
- Running into the Kicker: On
- Illegal Contact: On
