The Birth of the Treefrogs (the first Desktop Dynasties dynasty)
 

The first ever dynasty for Desktop Dynasties: Pro Football!

We're kicking off Development Season 1, and the allocation draft pool has been released. (attached in txt and excel format)

The draft order has also been set:

1. Slates
2. Olives
3. Swarm
4. Yellows
5. Silvers
6. Cyans
7. Oranges
8. Avocados
9. Reds
10. Pinks
11. T-Pain
12. Maroons
13. Blues
14. Rainbows
15. Grays
16. Eggshells
17. Browns
18. Purples
19. Treefrogs
20. Twisters

Getting the 19th pick isn't exactly starting the league off on a great foot, but we'll make do. It's going to be interesting to see how the fan favorite teams, the Swarm and the Twisters, manage with their picks at the opposite ends of the draft.

We haven't settled on a draft strategy yet, but there are some clear targets.
There are 3 clear franchise players at the top of the draft, but they are all on the OL/DL. Not sexy for your top-5 pick. There are a few legit WR and RB prospects near the top, too. At #19 I'm going to be at the mercy of whoever falls to us, I guess.

One item of note: Exhibition Season superstar kick returner Kenneth Urquhart makes his regular season entrance at around the 80th rated player overall. He hasn't used the offseason to develop any other skills, and has regressed significantly in everything but KR. (99) His other best positions are RB (38) and S (39).

ouch

That being said, you know I'm going to try and get him in green :)

The Treefrogs are going to be built for power. We intend on dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

On offense, the coach likes to run the Gator package. This starts 4 OL, 1 RB, and 2 WR. Our current Gator playbook is pretty run-heavy with a few designed RB pass plays. There's another one that's more QB run heavy, but we're opting for the more traditional style.

On defense we compliment the offense by running the Golem package. Golem is a 3 DL, 1 LB, 2 CB, 2 S style that relies on the d-line to provide all the pressure. We rarely blitz the LB, but rely on him a lot in zone coverage and to track down RBs out of the backfield. We really need a good LB if this is going to work.

Looking at the draft pool, it's not going to be easy to build an effective roster on both sides of the ball. There's a lot of talent, but also a lot of 1-way players. Offensively, I absolutely need to get a legit OL and a RB I can count on. I can skimp on WR and probably do ok until the next offseason. OL and RB is my top priority for offense.

On defense, I need a couple good DL and a great LB. In the secondary I could either go CB or S, but I don't need to do both right now. If I can find stud CBs, I'll run more man defense. If I fall into some good safeties, I'll play a conservative deep zone defense and load up at the line. I'd prefer to find CBs, though. I can't come out of this draft without DL and LB, though.

For special teams, I'll need a kicker. I can see a lot of FG situations, and I hate leaving points on the field. I'm going to risk not loading up on special teams coverage, and address that in future drafts. If I can find a great KR, I'll take it. I'm not going to prioritize it, though.

Overall priority:
OL
RB
LB
DL
K
Everything else

Overall it's going to be important to get 2-way players early. The CPU teams always grab them and I always end up taking 1-way players and have huge holes in my roster. This time, I'm really going to do it! (for real!)

Draft is just about to start, and the top-20 are waiting in the green room. (Not to be confused with "The Greens' room" :) )

In a dream scenario, I would love to get a shot at OL/DL Westover or Fulks. I really doubt either of them falls to #19, though.

Out of the rest, I'd also be happy with OL/DL Lackey. WR/CB Avila, WR/CB Gilkey, and WR/CB Lively aren't bad options either. I'm not intending to be a passing team, so I'm hoping they get picked and leave more of the linemen to me.

I really don't want to burn our first two picks on players over the age of 30, since this is for the long haul. I have a feeling I might get forced into it.

It's almost go time!

In a bit of a shocker, the Swarm are able to grab #1 overall player WR/CB/K Armbruster!

As expected, every player we wanted out of the top 20 are off the board. :(

Luckily, there a talented 27 year old OL (98)/DL (77) that's a slightly weaker version of Lackey. No special teams skills, but I can always kick the ball out of bound. :)

That's our top pick. OL/DL Lowell Eddy

Twisters go back to back with WR/CB and WR/S. Yikes! But good for me.

On the quick turnaround we go after a raw talent and grab a 20 year old WR (67) / LB (69) Hugh Poston with 93 speed.

Frankly, already finding my long-term starter at LB is a relief. Those guys are hard to come by.

It looks like the Swarm used the next 2 picks to load up on defense. They grab a star LB and a nice WR/S.

There's been kind of a run on speed and RBs, so I better address the position with one of my next couple picks. The problem here is that there aren't any 2-way RBs left. I really can't afford to miss out on the last speedy RB on the board so we take 22 year old RB(70)/WR(73)/KR(92) Tyree Faulkner who is rocking a 92 speed!

That pick might mean that Urquhart doesn't make the roster. :(

I really want to take an OL here in the 4th, but I can't find one worth the pick. They are all 1-way players now. I'm not looking for WR help, but I have to start 2 WRs so I need a little talent there. I'm going to get 2-way talent 21 year old Tristan Buckles WR(73)/S(76) with 84 speed.

The Twisters keep loading up on an explosive passing game. They got another great WR and a top OL. Looks like the defense is starting to fall behind a bit.

We're looking good on offense so far. Got both starting WRs and my starting RB. 1 of my 4 starting OL.
On defense it's not great, but ok. 1 of 3 starting DL, my LB, and 1 of 2 starting S.
I only have my KR on special teams. Nobody else is good enough to be considered a legit player.

Now the Swarm seem to be rounding out their roster. They grab a nice DL and an OL. (not the same guy)

That OL I was looking at is still on the board. I'm not going to risk missing out on having a pair of ELITE tackles. I grab 25 year old Roscoe Mathew OL(98) with 91 strength. He doesn't have a single Def or ST rating above 35 :(

Wouldn't you know it. The only decent 2-way player left is a RB. grrrr.....
My defense looks terrible right now, so I'm going to grab a some position flexibility in 25 year old Genaro Michel LB(58)/CB(85)/S(68) with 86 speed.

Again, he has no special teams ability at all. My kick coverage/blocking is going to be brutal.

I just took a loot at the Twisters to see what they are doing, and their special teams are looking legit! They already have 4 guys I'd call ST stars, and another guy who would also be my #1. yikes.

The Swarm are clearly finding opportunities to get defensive talent. Every player they've picked so far is a stud at a defensive starter slot.

This is a tough pick for the Treefrogs. I really want to start loading up on defense, but I also know that you can't win without a QB in this game. Even though I don't expect to throw a ton, you just can't win without a passing game. I suck it up and take my QB. 22 year old Kory Luna QB(83). And guess what, no special teams. :(

For the 8th rounder, I'm getting antsy about my o-line. I grab 25 year old Sydney Cerda OL(78) with 96 strength....but no special teams.

The Twisters used the last 2 picks on defense. They are looking pretty balanced right now.

We're getting down to slim pickings. Everyone with any talent right now is extremely 1-dimensional.

I need DL desperately, so I grab 25 year old Donnell Keil. Slow as molasses, weak, and no other skills whatsoever, but he's got decent DL skill (84).

For the 10th rounder, it feels like the right time to take a kicker. Luckily, there is a bomber left on the board. He just can't do anything else. K(97) Merlin Clair

Coming back to the 11th rounder, we grab our 4th OL Wilford Russell. He's terrible, but he won't get blown up at the line.

I just noticed that my 2nd starting safety is currently rated (2). :eek: Seriously, that's how my depth chart breaks down right now. I'll use my last pick on a slightly less terrible S. 25 year old Theon Spear S(41) with 51 speed.

I'll do a quick roster analysis and post the media's initial power rankings next!

This just in: Urquhart goes to the Rainbows in the 7th.

The preseason power rankings have been released, and the Yellows take the top spot. The Yellows probably have the best 2 OL and are also going to be dominant on special teams. Outside of that, they seem beatable.

The Treefrogs and Twisters come in next. The Treefrogs have some nice balance on both sides of the ball (if you don't look at special teams). The Twisters have an elite group of WRs, a nice defense, and a truly legit special teams squad.

Looking through the rankings and rosters, the top 15 are all pretty closely bunched. Nobody really stands out between them.

On the other hand, the Maroons are a terribly constructed team. On offense, they totally screwed up and doubled up on star RBs, even though they run a 1-back style. They aren't hopeless, though. On defense they run 2 elite CBs and a star S.

I'm going to keep an eye on them when the trade window opens. They should be the kind of team that is really active in the market.

Ouch - based on your description I was hoping for big things for the Swarm. Hopefully we just loaded up on defense, suck this year and get a high draft pick to run the offense next year!

Trust the process!

The Swarm offense is going to be terrible. There's no other way to describe it. They loaded up heavily on defense and special teams, though.

The defense should be elite. They have the #1 CB and probably the #1 LB. They also have a great DE and high-end starters at CB2, CB3, and S1. Only the S2 position looks to be a weakness.

They also have 99 speed at KR and a top 3 K, so they could make some money on special teams.

Overall, it's the offense that will bring the Swarm down this season. QB and OL are going to be a huge problem. I could see them being active in the trade market, without giving up picks. I could see them putting the CB2 or CB3 on the block to try and get more talent at the QB or OL position. Moving the CB3 for an equal OL or QB would be a huge win for the Swarm.

I'll get a team shot of the Swarm and Twisters up soon so you can see the full roster.

Here are the Swarm. They start off with $212 in salary, so they have some room to deal. (against a cap of $225)

Twisters start off with only $176 in salary. :eek: They are going to be big-time players in trades and FA.

Everyone's favorite Treefrogs start the season over the cap at $231.

According to current salary cap rules, I can't negotiate extensions with anyone or gain salary in any trades until I get below the cap. That's going to be a problem because everyone on my team is on a 1 year contract. (allocation draft players all start with a 1 year contract)

Just looking through the teams a little more, I can see that I need to tighten up the player evaluation AI. I'll make sure that's done before the trade window opens.

Our week 1 opponent are the similar-looking Avocados. It's going to be nice when the Treefrogs or Avocados make the championship so one of us can earn a better uniform... :)

The Avocados run the Shark offense (2RB / 2WR) and the same Golem defense we do (3DE 1LB 2CB 2S). They have an elite WR who is also the KR, a decent OL, but nothing special after that on offense or defense. They just seem to be pretty average, except for the special teams. They should be among the top units on ST.

(Developer note: Seems like the CPU teams overvalues ST when picking players. We'll see how that plays out and let them adjust in the offseasons, if needed.)

Some notable games on the Treefrogs schedule:
Week 3: T-Pain
Week 7: Swarm
Week 10: Twisters

It doesn't look like the Twisters meet the Swarm in the regular season this year.

Congrats on getting the game this far. Following along.

Just squashing a couple last second bugs that popped up when I transferred the build over to my gaming rig. It looks like Week 1 should kick off tomorrow!

I'm anticipating that the trade window opens Week 2. I really hope a few of these teams go shopping for a QB. :eek:

Yeah, the Twisters need a QB. It was nice to see them pick up some offensive talent because I wanted them to be an offense heavy system. However, the lack of QB is a little baffling. Maybe, I'll be proven wrong but I'm really looking forward to this.

Thanks for giving an in-depth update on our teams as well.

As I was bug squashing, I took a tour around the depth charts. As it turn out, only 4 teams don't have a real starting QB. It just happened that 3 of the 4 are the Swarm, Twisters, and T-Pain.

What are the odds??

Week 1 is done! After a ton of annoying little bug squashing, we finally got a full week done with no errors!

I also uploaded the game video for the Treefrogs-Avocados game. I was going to cut it up into highlights, but I think the full video is going to be useful as I get back into refining the player AI. Besides, it's going to be a nice archive to look back on as we start making leaps forward :)

Desktop Dynasties: DevSeason1 Week1 - YouTube

The Treefrogs game was total domination. Our special teams held its own for the most part, but the bad guys got loose for a TD. WR/LB Poston had a pretty nice game on special teams. He got the tackle more often than not.

Our offensive line was playing at a completely different level than the Avocados d-line. In the video you can see the domination pretty clearly on running plays. I could have run it every play and probably run the score up even more, but I'm still testing all the new plays. (there are a few that are totally jacked up!)

In other news, the T-Pain unexpectedly destroyed the blues! :eek: 182 yards rushing for Dillon?? It's also a little funny to see Urquhart lining up at WR. His ratings were pretty bad...

I have a nice list of improvements for week 2, so we're probably looking at Saturday for the next batch of games.

As part of the trade block AI, I wrote some stuff that will compare your team roster value against what a new depth chart would be if you removed a player. The idea is to get a number that represents the loss of a player.

As it turns out, my favorite player on the Treefrogs (franchise RB/KR Faulkner) has the same roster value difference as my #4 OL. :(

ouch.

However, my most valuable players are my two starting tackles. Eddy and Mathew. Nice. :)

Trade block AI is tuned a bit more, and overall player value has been adjusted a bit. Here's what the Swarm trade block looks like. The Swarm are definitely looking to be active in the trade market.

I took a look around the league, and there are at least 4 legit QBs on the block. It looks like there were a few teams that grabbed more than their share of QB talent, because of the players' defensive and ST ability. Those extra QBs are now hitting the trade market.

It's going to be interesting to see if any of the sponsored teams make a play for them.

Here's the Twisters trade block.

I haven't decided what to do with the Treefrogs. I need to drop about $15 in salary before the trade window closes or I'm in big trouble.

It's actually pretty rare for a team to go over the cap in the allocation draft, but the consequences can be devastating. If I can't get down to the cap, I won't be able to negotiate extensions and I'll lose every player to FA because they are all on 1 year contracts!

Just for fun, I ran the trade offer AI before refinements......

The Swarm wanted to make 71 trade offers. :)

The Twisters only 21.

Getting everything ready to kick off week 2, and the trade window is open.

Trade offers are out for review, and there are some interesting ones.

The Swarm have contacted the Treefrogs proposing a Sydney Cerda for Carl Lawless swap. Not a bad offer. The Swarm would grab a OL1 while helping the Treefrogs get a CB2. In fact, the Swarm a really going hard after a top-end OL by sending out several offers to teams. They've probably figured that improves their team more than anything right now. I wonder if they will go after a QB after landing the OL....

The Twisters are also going after some OL help, but they also have an offer out to the Blues for an 83 rated starting QB.... interesting.

Incoming offers for the Treefrogs all seem to revolve around me giving up my OL3 for special teams help. :)

yeah yeah, I get it. My ST sucks.

Trade offers should get reviewed and accepted/declined after week 2 games are played. Then the trade blocks will be updated with the new needs/offers.

Week 2 is in the books (with no errors!!)

The gameplay video is available here: Desktop Dynasties: DevSeason1 Week2 - YouTube

First, the quick developer notes:

• Zone defense still isn't working exactly as intended. It's closer, but not there yet. In the video, you'll see me destroy a CB in zone defense for a TD, and then start experimenting with various zone plays to get some game-tape for later.
• QB accuracy needs some fine tuning. Average-to-Poor QBs need a little boost.

Now on to the results!
When I played the Avocados, I had a feeling they were a below average team, and that's why the Treefrogs were running all over them. The Swarm aren't exactly a run-first offense, but they demolished the Avocados on the ground. Yikes! I think this is a case of the Swarm coach working with what he has right now. In a pass-first offense with no QB, you better shift to the run.

Nice shutout, too!

The Twisters had another tough one. I'm just going to assume Urquhart ran all over them. :) Seriously, though. The Rainbows are legit.

I'm just making sure nothing is broken for trade review right now, and that the game actually tells me what trades were accepted (correctly). I should have the post-Week2 trades processed and posted today.

*crossing fingers for the Swarm and Twisters*

Only 3 completed trades this week:

• The Pinks have traded Bernie Link to the Silvers for Marlon Dejesus
• The Eggshells have traded Donnell Lasalle to the Slates for Everett Alaniz
• The Olives have traded Luigi Chung to the Oranges for Ezequiel Eastwood

It took longer than expected to process trades, because the Swarm coach kept getting ripped off in trades for OL!! :) It was a good thing that we have some sponsored teams, or I wouldn't have noticed it and dug for a pretty horrendous bug in the offer AI.

Looks like the AI is working correctly again.

For week 3, the Swarm have 7 active trade offers to review, and the Twisters have only 1 (for the Swarm) I can't see the Swarm accepting the offer. (Twisters want to flip Rainey for Lawless)

Week 3 is coming up after a few more interface updates.

I think we're going to experiment a bit with the sponsored teams. Let's set the Swarm, Twisters, and T-Pain coaches to completely ignore any positions that don't fit their play style.

I don't know if it's going to make a difference, but it's a good way to see exactly how coach preference is driving player value. I have a sneaky suspicion that coaches are valuing a balanced roster slightly more than running their system.

If I'm right, the sponsored coaches should start looking for specific types of players, and will give up talent they don't need in order to get them. This should lead to better on-field play, and the good guys should start to separate themselves from the rest of the league through the trading period and the offseason.

Well, it happened! The T-Pain and Maroons got together on the first blockbuster deal.

The Maroons sent Botello to the T-Pain for Crabtree. I cut up some screenshots to show the deal. Now the T-Pain have an elite running threat at both RB and QB...just in time to play the Treefrogs. :( I have some roster analysis running on every trade offer now, to make sure nothing weird happens. This is one of those rare trades where both teams got significantly (and equally) better at the same time.

No other trade this week. We're adjusting the trading schedule to make the gameplay feel right. Now it goes like this: Games Played -> Trade Blocks Updated -> Trade Offers Sent Out -> Trades Reviewed -> Next Games

The human player gets to update trade blocks and review/offer trades before the next batch of games, which makes gameplay a lot more fun. It's kind of a pain waiting until after games to accept offers.

18 points scored is not how I viewed my high powered offense lol

Week 3 in the books.

The Treefrogs vs T-Pain was as explosive as advertised. Our special teams coverage was exposed, and my run defense was pretty sad. On the other hand, the T-Pain's defense didn't even show up. (video: Desktop Dynasties: DevSeason1 Week3 - YouTube )


Frankly, the defense in that game was embarrassing. I think it's going to help to have it all on tape when I start adjusting the player AI again.

It's still a week early, but I got a sneak peek at the MVP race. It looks like our RB/WR/KR Faulkner has a slim lead over the T-Pain newest RB Botello and the Olive's WR/CB/KR Dale.

Also, I'm surprised at the Swarm for hanging in there at 2-1. They might be making the case for defensive focused rosters. (I'd previously thought a defense-only team had no chance)

The Twisters fans have to be frustrated. Their roster is stacked with talent and they should be putting up win after win. I think the lack of a functional QB is just killing them. They keep putting offers out to try and land one, it just hasn't worked out yet. Let's hope they stay aggressive on the market.



Developer Notes:
Trade AI is looking pretty good now, so I can start moving on to some other things I have on the list. The interface is really starting to grate on me, so that's pretty high on the list. It's becoming a chore for me to try and manage my team. Way too much clicking.

The trade window doesn't close for quite a few weeks, so I don't need to have the contract extension AI working yet. Maybe this is a good time to tackle that crappy interface. :)

No kidding! The QB position is killing the Twisters. :(

Luckily, they seem to be the most aggressive team in the trade market when it comes to QB offers.

It might seem like Week 4 is taking forever, but it's worth it!

I just couldn't keep posting screens that looked like they were drawn by a drunk toddler with a fat crayon.

Here's the new standings and leaders screen. :)

A big week for the Falkner and Botello put them #1 and #2 for the MVP race. Week 4 is coming soon!

Week 5 done. Here are the results:

Swarm get edged by the T-Pain, but they put up a respectable number of points. I'm impressed with how the offense is doing, considering how little talent they put there.

...

.

Sorry Twisters. :)

Standings and leaders going into Week 5: (I noticed the bug in return yards leaders, too. I'm on it!)

Wow this is looking nice you put a lot of effort into this.

Thanks! I got some inspiration over the last week and had to step my game up.

10 ppg not looking good. #QBNow!

Week 5:

Some good games this week!

The Swarm dominate the Blues for a 21-0 win. Nice to see that defense is still keeping them in the race.

The Twisters pull out their first win by downing the Browns.

The Maroons, Oranges, and Rainbows all keep winning to remain undefeated.

That means the Treefrogs have fallen from the elite tier of teams. :(

We got handled by our old arch nemesis Purples. They run a QB rushing style offense that we had no answer for. Our defense is pretty limited in run stopping, if the d-line can't get it done. Since we only have 1 LB, and our safeties are almost exclusively used in deep coverage, we just couldn't stop anything run to the right. Eventually, that's exclusively where the Purples ran.

On offense, we tried out the Rhino power running playbook. (2 RB with the extra 4th OL) Not bad, but it's hard to come back when you're trailing by running the ball.

We'll have to do some regrouping on defense. That was eye opening.

Now the standings and leaders

It looks like Faulkner isn't going to hold on to the top spot in the MVP race. Our last game exposed him for being just an above-average back, but not elite. I expect him to fade off the the charts in another couple weeks.

Same with QB Luna. I've been so impressed with the running QBs I've played recently that I'm thinking about moving Luna for some defensive help and starting CB Michel at QB. He's not the worst passer in the league (42) but we don't pass much. He fast (86) and has some scrambling ability (63).

Plus, he's the 2nd highest salary I have ($34) and he only plays defense. :mad:

If I can get a little better on defense, a power running QB/RB tandem might work great.

Really liking these new screens!

Twisters, nobody on the stats leaders. This is looking like a rough season for us.

It's going to be a long season for the Twisters. :(

The trade window is almost ready to close, and the contract extension period will open. That means things are getting serious for us teams (only me) that are above the cap. We can't go into the first resigning period over the cap or we'll lose everyone to FA after the season.

It's desperation time.... I need to drop $6 from the roster fast. I have this week's and next week's trade review period to get an AI team to bite on something. Developer note: I might change this next season. It's a little annoying for the player to wait for the review of all trades in a bunch. On the other hand, this format allows for multiplayer. idk....

Things have gotten so desperate, I approached the Twisters with a trade package. :)

We'll see if anyone bites.

I think this is the best offer I could muster up for Luna.

Being a 1-way player, he's not getting much love on the market. The Eggshells are the only other team with reasonable interest. If the Twisters or Eggshells don't bite this week, I may have to ship off someone more valuable in a lopsided deal next week. :(

Trades this week:

• The Swarm have traded Carl Lawless to the Yellows for Otha Moody
• The Treefrogs have traded Kory Luna and Wilford Russell to the Twisters for Aldo Belk and Edgardo Riley
• The Silvers have traded Marty Hanlon to the T-Pain for Weston Charron

It's a huge relief that the Twisters pulled the trigger on our Luna offer. We can officially transition to the "run first - run only" offense. The more important thing is that we get below the cap. Now we are eligible to offer contract extensions when the window opens. I guess the word got out that the Twisters were making a move because both of the other sponsored teams made moves.

The Swarm trade their CB4 for a starting QB(77) Moody. Wow! :eek: That could be big.

The T-Pain swap elite WR talent for elite CB talent.

It's going to be interesting to see who's deadline deal makes the biggest impact over the remaining 9 games.

:popcorn:

That is interesting. I hope we can muster something useful now that we have a legit QB. My luck is that my coach will play him at OL since he is an 81 lol.

Guess who's offense just woke up. :)

In other news, the Treefrogs roll against the Yellows. With a legit option at all 3 DL positions, we can run a pretty conservative zone defense. That made all the difference. Once we got out of man defense, we did a pretty good job holding the opponents to small gains.

Our offense suffered quite a bit with no passing game, but we're still getting use to the grind-it-out offense.

Surprisingly, the Swarm fell to the hated Purples. Now the purples have beaten both the Treefrogs and Swarm in consecutive weeks. Not cool, bro. I haven't look at any stats yet, but I guarantee it was that running QB. :rant:

How about the Blues and Silvers getting into a shootout, but ending in a tie?? Something to fix for next season.

Also, the Oranges finally lose one. Nice job T-Pain!

Standings, leaders, and the last week of trades coming next...

RB Falkner is still hanging in there for the MVP race! He needs to start stepping his return game up if he wants to win this thing. He's been sort of a bummer on kick returns. (probably because of my atrocious special teams blocking)

I can't wait to see if the Twisters keep up the offensive output with Luna. His talent was wasted on my team.

Looking through the latest trade offers, it looks like the Twisters and Swarm are both trying to shore up the d-line by moving players that are currently buried on the depth chart. The Swarm are dangling their CB3 to grab a DL1 while the Twisters are trying to move their OL3 for a DL1. Both moves would be big upgrades. (for all teams involved)

The T-Pain are offering all kinds of crazy trades. I have no idea what they are doing.

The Treefrogs have a few guys at the end of the bench on the block, but I don't see any meaningful offers yet.

That's more like it. Maybe we can turn this season around.

Come on, man!

What the hell happened to our offense???? :eek:

We totally got worked by the Swarm this week. If it weren't for a pass play where QB Michel broke the pocket and scrambled for a long TD, we wouldn't have gained more than 15 yards on any drive. It was painful.

Basically, it came down to the Swarm's CB Armbruster. He was a beast on run containment. All my best runs go to the right (because my 4th OL lines up over there), and he completely dominated that side of the field. I tried to go left, but the Swarm DE1 Glaze lines up on that side and did a pretty good job holding the line. Since I can't really pass with Michel, I was screwed.

Armbruster also housed a punt for a TD, and caught a long TD, to go with his defensive dominance. :banghead:

Twisters pull out another one, with a respectable offensive performance. Leaderboard is coming next, so I'm curious how Luna is doing now.

Also, how about the league dominating Maroons getting held to a 3-3 tie?? wow.

Standings and leaders are in. I guess you could say QB Luna found a nice home in OKC. yikes! :eek:

I'm interested to see how the Oranges have 2 QBs in the top 3 for passing yards... :confused: [NOTE: I just checked and they recently made a move to grab Schubert so they could move Beals to OL)

Faulkner is starting to fade out of the MVP race. :( You can't have games like that last one and claim to be MVP.

I hope we can find some magic around here, because the trade window slammed closed. There are no more chances for me to reinvent our offense this season. We have to make do....

2 game winning streak!

First round of contract extensions come through:

• Slates extended OL/DL/ST Wilton Vines for $44 per year over 3 years.
• Olives extended WR/CB/KR Cyril Dale for $50 per year over 2 years.
• Swarm extended WR/CB/K Reginald Armbruster for $57 per year over 3 years.
• Yellows extended OL/DL/K Eddie Westover for $49 per year over 5 years.
• Silvers extended OL/DL/ST Adan Fulks for $43 per year over 5 years.
• Cyans extended WR/CB/KR Herman Lively for $47 per year over 5 years.
• Oranges extended WR/CB/ST Russell Hancock for $59 per year over 2 years.
• Avocados extended WR/S/ST Jerome Kincaid for $39 per year over 3 years.
• Reds extended WR/CB/K Oren Avila for $47 per year over 5 years.
• Pinks extended WR/CB/KR Darrick Osburn for $38 per year over 5 years.
• T-Pain extended WR/CB/ST Wilfredo Guajardo for $38 per year over 3 years.
• Maroons extended WR/CB/K Alden Gilkey for $37 per year over 5 years.
• Blues extended WR/CB/KR Leslie Counts for $65 per year over 2 years.
• Rainbows extended WR/CB/KR Eldridge Sandy for $39 per year over 5 years.
• Grays extended WR/S/KR Stefan Partin for $41 per year over 2 years.
• Eggshells extended WR/CB/ST Everette Montanez for $33 per year over 5 years.
• Browns extended OL/DL/ST Israel Agnew for $32 per year over 5 years.
• Purples extended QB/LB/KR Garry Huntley for $65 per year over 5 years.
• Treefrogs extended WR/S/KR Tyree Faulkner for $35 per year over 4 years.
• Twisters extended WR/CB/ST Oscar Horowitz for $37 per year over 5 years.

Developer note: I'm a little burned out on screens for right now, but I have everything in place to get all the way through the championship and free agency. I'm going to start working on the on-field AI for a little while. There are a few things that are making me crazy as I play my games.

Crazy stuff:

1. lead blocking
2. zone defense
3. pass accuracy
4. jittery running for low skill players
5. run defense

I think Week 8 is coming this morning, so stay tuned!

Week 8:

That score isn't a bug, we really did beat the Silvers 11-7. We kicked 3 field goals and got a safety! The Silvers were stout against the run, and got some stellar play from the LB. We couldn't do much in the passing game because nobody could get open enough for QB Michel to feel comfortable throwing the ball. He ended up scrambling on most pass plays. That's not going to help on 3rd and 12.

On defense, we're starting to come around. The improved D-line is great, and LB Poston is now able to make some plays. This offseason I think we're going to shift to the Ogre defense to start 3 DL and 2 LB. We have a couple base Ogre plays in the Golem playbook, and I really like the potential to dominate the LOS.

The Twisters keep putting up wins, now that Luna has taken over at QB. Nice!

Unfortunately, the Swarm fall to the Yellows. There are still 6 games left in the regular season, but the Swarm need to start stringing together some wins to make the playoffs.

Standings and Leaders:

Just like that, Faulkner falls out of the rushing leaders. :( I just can't get the running game going anymore. Those long runs for TD are gone, and I'm not consistent enough to grind out long drives. I think I'm really missing that 4th OL I sent out with Luna. Who would have thought?

Probably doesn't help that I can't convert any 3rd down passing situations, either.

I haven't played the Cyans yet, but that Penland with 31 sacks worries me a little. That seems awfully high. That being said, they are terrible so they might be on defense all the time.

How about the Slates having 2 guys with 16 sacks??? Wow. :eek:

I hate that the Purples rolling, too. Grrrr.... :mad:

Week 9:

Good week for the sponsored teams! (With the exception of everyone's favorite Treefrogs :( )

We really got worked over by the division leading Oranges. After fixing a couple things in the deep zone AI, our defense was actually pretty decent. We'd get them to 3rd down often, but couldn't quite close it out. The real problem was that every time I called an aggressive blitz, the Oranges went to a quick read and burned me for a long TD. :(

If we stayed conservative on defense, I bet we could have played them pretty close. I need to start trusting my d-line, and not blitz against good QBs. I just don't have the secondary to handle it.

On offense, I'm starting to get a reasonable passing game going. It's still too unreliable to count on, but I can sometimes catch the defense playing the run. I think the screen pass is going to be a pretty good weapon eventually.

It's a little funny how the swing pass was such a dominant weapon in the first 2 exhibitions seasons. It bordered on unstoppable. Now when I run it, I rarely get more than 2 yards. I've pretty much abandoned it completely. Not sure if it's the players or the defensive AI adjustments. We'll keep an eye on it, though.

Standings and Leaders

We're still in the playoff hunt, but the Swarm and Yellows are right behind us. We really need to stop dropping games. Faulkner had a decent game on the ground, and a pretty good game returning, so he hangs on in the MVP race.

The Twisters continue their assault on the playoffs with another win. They are only a game back of being in the top 4! Also, look at QB Luna climbing into the MVP race. I think he's got a legitimate shot at it.

In other news, the Rainbows have picked up a sponsor and are now going to be known as the "Rainbow Sharks".

What a turnaround for the Twisters. That GM deserves a pay raise.

The highly anticipated week 10 matchup between the Treefrogs and Twisters is finally over, and the players are spent.....

Luna left it all on the field, but did he defeat his former team and end that chapter?

Um.... a tie? wtf bro?

Yeah, we ended in a tie. On defense, I played it about as safe as can be. I only blitzed once, and got burned for a long TD. After that, I played a pretty conservative man defense. Luna still had a big day, but I was able to keep the scoring down to the reasonable amount. In the end, the WR talent was too good for us to shut down.

On offense, we were able to run the ball ok. The Twisters have a great CB that usually lines up on the right, so running right wasn't working very well. On the left side, however, they were pretty weak. About halfway through the game I realized the Twisters are starting a TERRIBLE second safety, and I started exploiting it with swing/out patterns from the RB. That allowed us to climb back into a game we were trailing the whole way, and kick a tying FG with 5 plays to go.

The Twisters made a quick march down the field, but just couldn't get into FG range to try the game winning kick.

overall, great game!

On another note, damn Purples. :mad:

We're barely hanging on to that 4th playoff spot in the West! It's going to be tight. I don't see any chance the Oranges, T-Pain, or Purples fall out of the race, so it comes down to this last spot. The Treefrogs, Swarm, and Yellows seem to the be the teams fighting for 1 spot.

In the East, the Twisters have gotten themselves back into a tie for the 4th spot! :eek: There is more room over there, since only the Maroons and Rainbow Sharks (the newest sponsored team!) called dibs on playoff spots.

The last 4 weeks have meaningful football to be played! Sweet!

Faulkner refuses to fall out of MVP contention. He's not done yet! I doubt we can pull off the win, but I'm glad he's remaining relevant. Luna has climbed into the top 5, which is quite a feat. Of course the Purples are dominating the race. Ugh, I can't stand them.

It looks like some of the defensive AI updates are stating to take hold. I noticed the interception totals are starting to creep up again.

Teams are plowing through contract extensions nicely. When the extension window closes I'll grab some screens of each team's financial situation. It will be a good resource as we move into FA, to see how the coaches are handling their rosters.

Week 11

We pull out a squeaker against the Browns. Yeah, that crappy team. :(

;)

get it?

:lol:

Anyway, they housed 2 kicks for TD. That's really starting to annoy me. This offseason I'm really going to fix up my special teams unit. I hate that every garbage team has a pretty decent chance of running a kick back for a TD against me.

Swarm fell to the Maroons, which isn't all the surprising. The Maroons are awesome. I'm surprised it was that close, though.

The Twisters continue their resurgence by dismantling the Reds. I remember playing the Reds, they were pretty embarrassing. :)

In a battle of sponsored teams, the T-Pain edge the Rainbow Sharks. It won't matter in the playoff chase, but it's good bragging rights.

Standings and Leaders

Pay no attention to the yards/game numbers. This is the first week I have the team stat tracking implemented, and the numbers assume that it's been tracked all season.

We're clinging to the 4th playoff spot in the West, just barely. There are only 3 games left, so time might be running out for the Swarm and Yellows. They are going to need us to drop 2 of the last 3 at least. (which is a real possibility)

The Twisters grab hold of the 4th spot in the East. Wow, what a comeback. Luna turned that team around, and is flying up the MVP boards at the same time. Seriously, he's 2nd place now??? I liked him on the Treefrogs, but I didn't think he was that good. I was sure that picking Faulkner as the face of the franchise was the right idea. now...... :confused:


Developer Notes:
I've chunked out the next phase of development into 7 groups:

• Normal Improvements (list of things to fix between game weeks)
• Free Agency
• Player Progression
• Draft
• Playcalling System Update
• Fast Sim
• Coaches

Aside from the normal improvements group, each one should take about 1 full day. I have a couple vacation days coming up soon, so I want to make sure the season hits FA before Mar 8. Then I can hit the FA chunk with live league data. I'm pretty annoyed with work, so I might take a day off before then to knock out progression or the play update. :)

Luna has been playing insane. He has 500 yards on anyone else in the league. Thanks for letting us have him :)

I should have paid closer attention during the draft, and not went over the cap. I was only $6 away from being able to keep him!!! :banghead:

Week 12:

We pull out a defensive struggle against the Eggshells. They have a legit defense, but that offense is an embarrassment. 3 FGs and a TD run from Faulkner give us the win, and give us a much better path to the playoffs.

Swarm barely edge the Pinks to stay alive, while the Yellows drop one to the Maroons. The Yellows are probably going to be eliminated from contention in the West.

In another battle between sponsored teams, the T-Pain continue to dominate us all by beating the resurgent Twisters.

Standings and Leaders

Now the Swarm need us to drop the last 2 games, to have any chance.
Final 2 for the Treefrogs are Grays and Rainbow Sharks.
Final 2 for the Swarm are the Cyans and Olives.

It's probably going to come down to that Treefrogs-Grays game. I don't think the other 3 games are in doubt. We'll lose to the Rainbow Sharks and the Swarm will beat both their opponents. If we lose to the Grays, we're probably out.

The Twisters are barely hanging on to that 4th spot in the East. They finish up the season against the Blues and the Purples. The first tiebreaker for playoffs is point differential, so the Twisters look pretty good there. I don't see a way they miss the playoffs, assuming they win 1 of the last 2. (probably beat the Blues)

So we're probably going to have 4 sponsored teams in the playoffs! Remember, we're playing for logos and better uniforms this season. The 2 teams in the championship are going to get professionally designed logos with uniforms to match. (and a real team name, if a color team wins)

I really want that Treefrogs logo.

I've been really consumed by work lately and not as able to follow this - but just want to say - I want this. :)

Really like the look and feel and great dynasty reports. You ever want any extra help with testing, let me know - and if I ever get to, it'll still be a guaranteed sale!

It's getting pretty close! I'll definitely let you know when it's ready for some testing. It's skill looking like I'll have something playable in April. Development Season 2 is going to be geared towards getting that playable build ready.

I can get a professional logo? Let's go Luna!

Week 13:

It's official, the Swarm have been eliminated from playoff contention. :(
With the Swarm loss to the Cyans (:confused: ), the Treefrogs didn't have any pressure on them for the game against the Grays. Even so, we still took care of business. It was a really good defensive day for my front 3. The Grays had no time, and couldn't do anything on the ground. I just dropped back into a zone and swatted down any passes.

The Twisters lose to the Blues??

What the heck is going on? Upset week??

Let's see how this affects the standings....

End of regular season:

The final week is done! I'm glad we made the playoffs, but I have a feeling it's going to be a quick exit against the T-Pain. At least it's not the Purples.

The Twisters avoided the tiebreaker and ended up getting the last playoff spot in the East all by themselves. Their reward? A first round matchup against the league's only undefeated team. :(

I have a few things I need to finish up before the playoffs get kicked off. I want to archive all the leaders and award winners, so I can use them later for some sort of league history. Not sure how that's going to play out, but it's probably a good idea to save the info. I also need to do a little more with the schedule screen, so the playoffs schedule looks right.

I'm planning FA to start this Wednesday or Thursday, so there's not a lot of time!

I couldn't let this little detail go by without mentioning it...

The Twisters tied the Purples!

That's a pretty big deal, considering how the Purples have been beating up on everyone lately. Maybe there's hope for them to beat the Maroons!

45-45 tie? Wow!

Let's ride Luna through the playoffs.

Dang it - and not crappy enough for a high draft pick....that's not how The Process is supposed to work!

No awards screen yet, (probably do this next season) but here are the end of season awards:

As expected, Huntley took home the overall MVP award.

MVP = Garry Huntley (Purples)
Offensive MVP = Garry Huntley (Purples)
Defensive MVP = Buck Penland (Cyans)
Special Teams MVP = Reginald Armbruster (Swarm)

I'm hammering through a bunch of stat archival stuff right now so I can get to the playoffs, or I'd make a bigger production out of the awards. :)

I'm not doing anything with this stuff right now, but I want to have it available next season when I start building some league history screens.

The process. lol!

There's a slight twist on player progression and the draft, so I don't think it's going to be as important to have the top pick(s). I want the draft to be more about finding the right players than just having the top pick.

That being said, it's easier to find the best fit if you have the top pick. :)

Every player comes into the league with the exact same "potential". That basically means that there's no real potential rating. Players end up on progression arcs based on a number of factors, but it ends up being fairly random. However, the randomness is controlled in such a way that players should develop a defined progression arc by the time they hit the 3rd or 4th year.

1. Basically in years 1-3 you're going to have pretty wild progression.
2. By year 4-5 it should start settling in to something more predictable, based in part on how years 1-3 turned out
3. After year 4-5, the progression arc really takes hold and some players will start to be real busts while others will continue to grow.
4. Late in the careers, the progression arc will determine how long a player hangs on in the league, or if they wash out early.

It's still in the experimental phase, but it's looking good so far. I'll probably have an analysis of my data posted soon to get some feedback on.

Round 1 of the playoffs:

Since we were playing another sponsored team, I let the AI coach the Treefrogs....and it didn't go too well. :(

I got behind early, and started scoreboard watching the Twisters-Maroons game. 40 plays in (out of a 60 play game) the Twisters were up 6-0! Then the Maroons got a TD and went up 7-6. The Twisters returned the kickoff and went up 13-7! At play 52, the score was still 13-7, and I totally lost track of my Treefrogs game. :)

The Maroons got another TD on play 54, and took back the lead. The Twisters had the ball with 5 plays left.

56: Sack
57: Incomplete
58: Long pass for 1st down!
59: BAD sack.
60: 40+ yard FG try......... GOOD!!!!!!!

:banana:

I can't believe it, the Twisters took down the league-dominating Maroons!!!

That was a fun round. :D

21-21 at play 36 in the Twisters-Rainbow Sharks game!

Rainbow Sharks are grinding down the Twisters defense every drive, but the Twisters are airing it out for HUGE plays.

The Twisters are in love with this spread formation. Luna almost always finds someone who beat their coverage.

Great game so far!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Twisters go down in the final few plays! They hit a late FG and then the Rainbow Sharks ran the kickoff back for a TD!

:(

Also, as if that wasn't bad enough, the Purples beat the T-Pain.

:banghead:

NO!! We almost had the professional logo. The boys had a hell of a year after a rough start. Nothing to be ashamed of.

NOOOO!!!!!!!

The d**n Purples won it all....again. :banghead:

Well, at least this means we can move on to free agency now. Just in time for 2 vacation days, and tons of keyboard time!

:D

Tomorrow I'll get in contact with the artists to start on the Rainbow Sharks logo. I still have to think of a name for the Purples before I can send that one out. I'm thinking...... The Nashville Nemesis? The East Carolina Evil? The Denver Dirtbags? :)

How about the Detroit Dumpsters?

Moving into free agency, I purposely limited the teams to resigning up to 6 players. I want to give FA a really good test, so there's going to be more turnover this offseason than normal.

Twisters pre-FA cap space: $74

The Twisters hang on to Luna and the top 2 WR threats. Smart move! They also start with a relatively strong defense. 2CB, 1LB, and a decent S are already accounted for. On special teams, they have the starting K and a pretty strong ST group.

Frankly, the Twisters have a pretty solid team with only 6 players. If they can beef up the OL and DL, they should be elite.

What to watch: Let's see if the Twisters coach targets line talent for at least 3 of the 4 ope FA spots. (This season I'll force each team to leave 2 spots open for the draft, but that might not be a requirement next season.)

Swarm pre-FA cap space: $58

Armbruster is an absolute cap killer, but he's still the best overall player in the league. At 23, he has room to develop more on offense. If he gets that WR and/or KR rating up even 10 points over his career, he's going to be unstoppable.

The Swarm team speed on defense is impressive. It should only become more imposing as I develop the defensive AI more this season. Should be fun to watch!

What to watch for: I'd like to see the Swarm coach try to round out the offense in FA. They need a QB and at least one legitimate offensive threat. They also need a serious upgrade on the OL.

Treefrogs pre-FA cap space: $77

We only resigned 5 players this season. I wasn't very happy with my team (after we lost Luna :( ) and I need to start fresh. I've got 5 FA spots to fill and I think I want to invest in my defense. I did ok running a zone, but I want to be a lot more aggressive. It got frustrating when I didn't have any defensive options as quality teams rammed the ball down my throat. I'm in desperate need of CBs who can cover, so I can start blitzing Poston.

I'm also abandoning the running QB style offense. It works great the for the Purples, but it's not for me. I want to run more of a power run and screen pass offense. That means I need a QB who can throw the short pass consistently, and OL who can run a little. I'd probably be ok with a 70 rated QB, but athletic OL seem to be hard to find.

Oh yeah, I should probably prioritize ST too. :p

The Twisters start off by going after OL/DL pretty heavily, as expected. Granted, most teams resigned all their skill players, so linemen make up most of the top players in FA.

Right now most teams in FA are focusing on "win now" strategies. That's why you'll see a lot of old players get signed early in FA. Teams use the draft to build future depth.

S Ashley Arana is an interesting target. (s)he would move in as the #1 S on a team that prizes safety play. Not bad for $19.

The Swarm also look to beef up the line, but they are going a lot younger than the Twisters.

I also like the bargain offer for Cooke. It's comforting to see the AI looking for good buys. You never really know how it's going to work out until you get to run it with live data.

Looks like there's going to be a bidding war for Arana!

And now the Treefrogs.

We really need to beef up the defense, so I am going hard after Muse and Crossley. France is a nice 3rd OL, but I could live with not landing him. I give him a lowball offer.

Moody is intriguing at QB. He can't do much else, but he could be a cheap option at QB, with some potential to grow. If I find a 2-way QB in the draft, Moody's quickly going to the trade block. If I don't land him, I won't sweat it either. I could grab a mediocre QB later in FA for a lot less, and then grab one in the deaft.

Twisters FA recap:

There ended up being a pretty aggressive bidding war for most of the top OL prospects. Since every team was flush with cap space, the winners of the bidding wars were determined by:

1. How the player fit into the team
2. How much the coach valued the player's fit
3. How much the coach was willing to spend for the player's skill

There are subtle differences between coaches when it comes to #2 and #3, but for a player that asks for around $15, it can amount to +$8 / -$4 of the player's base ask.

That's enough to make a big difference between coach's FA aggressiveness.

This matters to the Twisters because they don't prize OL above offensive skill positions. (They value QB, WR1, and WR2 the most) This made it hard for them to land the top OL talent. That being said, signing Beals is a good one. Beals was one I went after because of his run-blocking and special teams. I was only willing to go to $24 on him, since I was using my money on defense at the time.

Chung and Keil were nice buy-low options, too. I'm not sure what the Spear signing was about. :confused: There had to be better $1 players out there. Maybe it was age?

Swarm FA recap:

Halliday, Allen, Carillo, and Dagostino

Frankly, I don't love the Swarm FA. I know the Swarm were signing players 3 of the last 4 days of FA, so I guess they lost out on everyone they chased.

I'll have to take a look at the coach and see if there's anything wonky with the financial limits. I do have some financially conservative coaches, so maybe the Swarm coach ended up being one of those. If so, I'll fix that. :)

Even though the skill isn't great, the Swarm are going to DOMINATE the line of scrimmage in the running game. Seriously, 3 OL with strength of 95+??? :eek:

Treefrogs FA recap:

We went into FA with only 5 players on the team. (all other teams had 6) That allowed us to sign one more FA than everyone else. Now, I'm not so sure that dropping CB Michel was worth it. :\

We grabbed a much more legit QB option in Moody. He also has a little ST ability, which I really need. Moody won't light it up in the downfield passing game, and can't do much else, but he'll be good enough for my screen offense.

Cerda and Russo round out my OL. On my offense, OL is the most prized position so I invest a more there than most teams. I lost out on a few bidding wars for 2-way OL players so I got a little desperate for Russo. He was asking for $11 and I ended up paying $20. :( At least I was able to get him down to a 1-year contract. At least $2 of his contract was to convince him to take fewer years. (he wanted 3)

I love the Crossley signing. He doesn't have great speed, but he can play LB or CB. This is going to give me options as I transition to the Ogre package. (3DL/2LB/2CB/1S)

Muse is a pretty good signing too. He's going to be locked in as my #1 CB. (ouch!) He's going to get torched against the other teams' #1 WR. Poor guy. :p

New sponsored team!

The Yellows have been sponsored and renamed the "Golden Alpacas". They remain in the West.

The official draft order has been released! Draft order is strictly based on regular season performance. I don't penalize teams in the draft for having a good playoff run.

I've also made a bit of a reversal on the draft pool. As it turns out, it's not a lot of fun if all the players are close to the same skill level. It was worth a try, but I'm going back to the normal draft pool style where the guys at the top of the draft are significantly better than the guys at the bottom.

I'm still fine-tuning the new player generation system, but it's looking pretty good. Seems like the draft is going to have guys around the $20 mark in value at the top of the draft, and fall off to around $8 at the end of the 1st round. Then it should fall off to about $3 by the end of the draft.

Rookies are all going to come in with 2 year contracts based on their skill level. Initial contracts are visible during the draft, and probably should be used as an input as to who you're going to pick. Normal cap rules still apply, however. If you're over, you can't resign anyone or trade to gain salary.

Stay tuned. The draft pool should be coming soon!

Draft pool: Top 20

The draft pool is set, and here's the top 20. At the top, Dow and Mortenson will make immediate impact. After that, there looks to be a number of players that will start, and probably contribute in their rookie year. There are a number of 2-way QBs that are good development projects, but they are probably going to be snatched up in the first half of the round. I'd really love one of them to fall to us at 16, but I doubt it's going to happen.

Ultimately I need to come out of the 1st round with a 2 or 3-way player. I already have too many specialists on my team, and it's killing me that I need to use every roster spot to hold a starter. It would be nice to have a couple spots on the roster where I can stash and develop players. In a dream scenario, I could get a 50+ QB that also plays something on defense. Almost no chance of that happening. :(

OL/DL Josiah Jamison would be great, if he'd fall. I'm pretty heavy on specialist linemen right now so gathering 2-way linemen would be great for my roster makeup.

Monte Dilley is an interesting, and realistic, possibility. He could be serviceable at S someday, but would step in as a ST star in his rookie year. That speed would be great on my ST squad.

Bret Rush also looks good for my ST team, and could make an interesting OL4 prospect. He's weak as hell, but his speed and OL skill might be perfect for my screen pass game. Actually, now that I think about that more, Alonso Unger seems like an even better fit. He's a better screen OL, and he can fill in at CB. (as long as we play zone. :) )

That's the guy I'm targeting. OL/CB Alonso Unger

Next 20:

Most of these are going to be the 2nd rounders, but I do like Mary Pilkington as a backup 1st round pick is Unger isn't there for us. She's probably going to get developed at a DL instead of a CB, but she'd contribute in our secondary in her rookie year. ;)

Outside of her, I don't see anyone I like in the 2nd as a long-term player. Maybe Hal Pilgrim to play OL/ST? I'll probably end up grabbing a specialist for the short-term, and let them walk away at the end of their contract. Most likely a ST specialist like Mohamed Machado.

I really need to get draft pick trading in the game for next year's draft!

I'm not sure where the Twisters will need to pick up, maybe defense? With Luna at QB and some strong receivers, we are poised for another good season.

Draft AI has been significantly upgraded, and I'm pretty pumped about it.

Besides being much faster and less bug prone, it does a far better job balancing current team needs with overall draft prospect talent.

I ran through a few mock draft to double-check, and I really like how some of the teams are making surprise picks that seem to have the right balance. Much better than how FA worked out. I'll adapt this system to FA next offseason.

That means the official draft is coming soon! (Looks like tomorrow morning)