Why aren't there "Dissasters" in sports sims?

[Taur]

Sports sims are always great for the first 15 days, but really go down hill once you become familiar with the game. So, I then start playing with the dreaded "House Rules" options that take away many of the features that caused me to by the game in the first place.

In empire building games the level setting alone can really make it a challenge. But, they don't stop there. Turn on the "Natural Dissater" option and watch as one of your biggest cities/planets just blinks out. Random, unexplained, unpredictable evants that just turn your day into a nightmare.

EX: last years QB contraversies Warner/Bulger Stewart/Maddox. Starting QBs with rankings in the 90s that have just STOPPED producing. Being replaced by QBs with ranking in the 30s that are on fire.

When was the last time you set your starting lineup by stats alone.(the simulated sports world could use a lot more booms and busts)

[Marc Vaughan]

CM contains a lot of mental attributes which are hidden behind the scenes and can indeed cause natural 'goal gluts' or 'barren spells' for players ....

Woe betide the team who have a striker who's great but lacking in the ability to handle pressure .... they'll be good until the media recognises them/the team start doing really well and then they'll fall apart somewhat.

IRL (with soccer at least) most coaches & managers reckon that there is only a small difference in technical ability between a Division 1 player and a Premiership player, the main difference is in the mental approach of the player and how he handles pressure.

This is something I try and actively simulate in the game, you'll find potentially great players in CM who can't break out of the lower leagues because they don't like being in the spotlight or are naturally lazy, in contrast you'll occassionally find a technically lacking player who makes it at a high level simply because of his professionalism and commitment to the game.

[Karim]

Exactly. This is what puts CM ahead of the others.

I'm in the Conference (the lowest available level of English football in CM4). I have a midfielder who has attributes warranting a higher playing level. There is no obvious indication that there is anything wrong. Yet, he simply doesn't show up all the time. He does produce in big games, but not every big game. Meanwhile, I have two players behind him, a physically stacked youngster and a young player who isn't especially gifted physically or technically but has good mental attributes.

I'm finding that deciding who plays is one of the toughest decisions I face every game and am thinking about selling the player off to give both youngsters adequate playing time.

On bigger clubs, there are plenty of controversies over playing time, manager promises, the way players are treated, etc. CM4 provides attributes for easy immersion, but you learn quickly not to judge everything by them.

[ice4277]

Originally posted by Marc Vaughan
CM contains a lot of mental attributes which are hidden behind the scenes and can indeed cause natural 'goal gluts' or 'barren spells' for players ....

Woe betide the team who have a striker who's great but lacking in the ability to handle pressure .... they'll be good until the media recognises them/the team start doing really well and then they'll fall apart somewhat.

IRL (with soccer at least) most coaches & managers reckon that there is only a small difference in technical ability between a Division 1 player and a Premiership player, the main difference is in the mental approach of the player and how he handles pressure.

This is something I try and actively simulate in the game, you'll find potentially great players in CM who can't break out of the lower leagues because they don't like being in the spotlight or are naturally lazy, in contrast you'll occassionally find a technically lacking player who makes it at a high level simply because of his professionalism and commitment to the game.

I have a central defender in my current game, Kevin Dawson, who in no way has the stats to be playing at Premiership level; only one techincal stat, tackling, that's in double digits (although it is a 20). But he's got great mental ratings and always seems to be in the right position. He's got a rating of a little over a 7, which i think is pretty damn good for somebody who I picked up for $50k.

[sterlingice]

I want to see a blimp attack delay a game and injure a starting QB

SI

[Axxon]

Originally posted by sterlingice
I want to see a blimp attack delay a game and injure a starting QB

SI

Just watch Black Sunday. Close enough anyway.

[Taur]

I just can't get into a soccer sim. I bought 00/01 and tried it for off and on for about a month, but finally had to give it the boot. It is after all soccer. Loved the deepness of the game, but hate the sport.

As for the FOF crowd out there, What is the best 6th round draft choice you have ever drafted? Unlike the real Hall of Fame where you find many 6+ round draft picks, in FOF they are all on the unemployment line before they qualify for the NFL pension at year 5.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally posted by Taur
I just can't get into a soccer sim. I bought 00/01 and tried it for off and on for about a month, but finally had to give it the boot. It is after all soccer. Loved the deepness of the game, but hate the sport.

Fair enough - I know a few people who have that problem and I can well understand it (my father loved Cricket and I couldn't get into that ...).

How about Hockey? - EHM:FE is in production and should be available this winter at some stage.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by Marc Vaughan
How about Hockey? - EHM:FE is in production and should be available this winter at some stage.

What a salesman!

[Swaggs]

Quite a smooth transition....

[Taur]

Why didn't FOF4 have TCY's Stokes system?

Player development linked to actual game performance what an idea.

[Sharpieman]

The underdog factor really attracts me to CM, but I am still debating whether or not to upgrade from 00/01 to CM4....

[ice4277]

Originally posted by Sharpieman
The underdog factor really attracts me to CM, but I am still debating whether or not to upgrade from 00/01 to CM4....

Frankly, there is no reason not to; to game engine is light-years ahead of the one in 01/02, much less 00/01 (although at the time 01/02 came out, I seem to recall some people saying 00/01 was a much better product than 01/02). I've encountered, at least with EP4, no major bugs or glitches, and am having a really great time playing the game. The only problem for me is that I will have to start dividing my time between CM, NCAA 2004, and Madden 2004.

[Mac Howard]

I introduced financial disasters into SaaP a few months ago that can bring about the sort of problem experienced by Leeds in the real world - ie large debts forcing player sales bringing looming relegation. You can get into a downward financial spiral, plummetting morale through the squad leading to diminishing performance, loss of support, more financial problems and so on down unless you can arrest it

Whether this hits you is just a random thing though, it isn't brought in deliberately when you're having success just to prolong the game. Ageing/fading players, a continuity factor that delays the effectiveness of new players and falling confidence when matches start to go wrong produce the sort of roller coaster performance of your club without the above.