There are a number of things in FOF that are realistic to the modern NFL that just aren't my cup of tea. I'd prefer more offensive variety than the product that the NFL is putting on the field these days. I'm sure that some of what I'm looking for would be provided in the historical files, but I have little/no interest in playing that way. I've been playing text sims long enough to know what I like: fictional player pools. Period. Thus the creation of this utility. It currently just runs on my local machine's php server, but if enough people would want to use it AND I can find time to create an interface for some key user inputs, it's something that I could potentially put on a web server for others to use. At any rate, this utility creates an initial player pool of 3300ish players, and can spit out 100 years worth of draft classes a well that you don't have to import in one at a time. They're just in the csv and the game reads them. Here are the changes that I've made to player creation, and why:
OVERALL CHANGES
- Less overall talent, which reduces offensive output a bit.
- Dice roll upon generation of QBs to potentially reduce accuracy and good decisions a bit (decreases completion percentage, increases interceptions)
- Players are a little more likely to have attended a college closer to home than FOF9's baseline (which, to be fair, is the best FOF has ever done at this by far.)
- Draftees are a bit younger than FOF standards, making careers last a bit longer. (Nothing huge here. You're not going to see 18-year-olds in the draft pool or anything, just a bit more bias toward ages 20-22 than you see in FOF.)
- Endurance and speed more closely correlated with weight/height ratio. (Players whose ratio is higher for their position are more likely to have lower endurance, lower speed, more strength. Vice versa for those with lower ratios.)
- Overall, endurance is higher for non-DL guys, particularly for players who are otherwise crappy. (If a guy is good enough to make an NFL roster as a backup WR, he shouldn't be doomed to 25 endurance just because overall he's not very good. Replacement-level player != out of shape.)
POSITION-SPECIFIC CHANGES
So here is where I'm taking a bit more license. First off, I grew up on Larry Csonka and Eugene "Mercury" Morris, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, William Andrews and Lynn Cain. Teams that had a great running back AND a great fullback. Of course, the fullback is a dying/dead breed in modern football, and this is reflected in FOF9: you'll almost never see a FB rated above 60ish overall. Well, I've removed that cap in these files. You'll see total stud FBs in these files from time to time.
Next, while most players are built the standard FOF way with just an overall rating and letting FOF fill in the details, I've implemented--especially for modestly-talented players--some "player types." Basically, these are designed to reflect skill sets that "go together." Maybe a RB is a "1" overall rating (serviceable backup,) but he's a "3rd down specialist" player type with poor running skills, but pretty solid receiving skills. (An overall "1" isn't going to be a stud or even above-average receiver, but he might have 45-55s across the board in route running, hands, adjust to ball, etc., making him worth a possible roster spot.) Here are all of the "player types" that I have:
QB
- Short Passer--As the name suggests, these guys get a boost to timing/accuracy/touch, but they'll likely be low in arm strength/confidence and therefore will keep it short.
- Gunslinger--Exact opposite of the above. Strong-arm guys who like to air it out.
- Runner--By default, often stud QBs in FOF9 have mad running skills and can go for 1000 yards scrambling. But that's not what I'm talking about here. These guys are "what if Jamelle Holieway had been allowed to do his thang in the NFL???" types. (And FOF9 will game plan a LOT of read option runs for these guys. Good times!)
- Field General--"Game manager" types. They don't make a lot of mistakes, but they don't have especially good physical skills.
RB
- Third-Down Back--As mentioned earlier, some guys will have upgraded receiving skills and downgraded running skills.
- Workhorse--Modern NFL RBs don't tote the rock like they used to, and FOF reflects that in their endurance ratings. There's a small chance that any starting-quality RB will be a workhorse back with very high endurance, capable of 300-350 carries per season.
FB
- As mentioned earlier, the guardrails are taken off of these guys, so they can be studs overall. But also...
- Receiver--Like third down backs above, some FBs will be good at pass-catching, but not as good at other aspects of their craft.
- Blocker--Minimal running/receiving skills, but solid blocking backs.
TE
- Receiver--Pretty obvious here. Good at receiving, bad at blocking.
- Blocker--Vice versa
A 100-year sample league is finishing up now, and I'm heading to bed. Screen shots in the morning, and I'll also provide some files then most likely. Let me know if there's interest in testing/playing with this setup.