Front Office Football Central  

Go Back   Front Office Football Central > Archives > FOFC Archive
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read Statistics

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 11-28-2005, 07:52 PM   #451
cody8200
High School Varsity
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Having played out 50 continous years (I'm on the beta team) I can say that the game doesnt get too much slower over that time span. The player cards still open fairly quickly even though the game keeps track of every single player in league history (something that is very very cool and that no other game has done in college sports).
cody8200 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2005, 11:09 PM   #452
Galaril
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonesz
One issue that is kind of getting at me right now is the lack of plays to choose from. More plays would definitely be beneficial as I get bored calling the same plays all of the time. It seems that, at the very least, every play should have a right and left option. Anyone know if more plays will be introduced as part of the final game?


Arlie stated that he would add 5-6 plays mostly for balance issues related to options going to the left and palys for wingbacks to run.
Galaril is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 07:16 AM   #453
Arles
Grey Dog Software
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL
Quote:
Originally Posted by MizzouRah
I haven't played the demo yet, but I assume you can let your coach call the plays and let the pbp roll by, ala FOF and TCY?
Sure, just start the game and uncheck the "call plays" option. You can also watch other games play where you are not the coach.
Arles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 07:20 AM   #454
Arles
Grey Dog Software
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfc22
I'm sure this has been mentioned, but it would be nice to see awards listed on the player's card.
They are listed on the HTML player card.
Arles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 07:28 AM   #455
Arles
Grey Dog Software
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL
From a performance standpoint, the access database is trivial. Over 75% of the simming time inseason is spent on calling plays and adjusting the opponent in game - none of which involves any hits to the database. If your weekly sim takes 2 minutes, I would state that 90 seconds is taken up on plays, gameplans and in-game adjustments, 10 seconds on updating depth charts, 5 on text outputs for gamelogs and maybe 15 for storing stats (all that is stored) in the access DB.

I'm sure I am doing something silly that accounts for the slow-down on playcalling, I just haven't had the time to really investigate. But I've done sims where I call the same play for the AI on offense and defense every time - as well as do no in-game adjustments - and the sim goes from 80+ seconds to under 30 seconds. I'll try and look at it when I get a chance.

Last edited by Arles : 11-29-2005 at 07:29 AM.
Arles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 09:44 AM   #456
Arles
Grey Dog Software
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL
To expand, I did a test on a recent game. It took 1.25 seconds to sim the game, store the stats and update the screen. Out of that 1.25 seconds, here are the breakdowns:

0.28 seconds for database access in storing week and season stats
0.2 seconds for the setting of both depth charts, gameplans and strategies
0.3 seconds for all play calls
0.07 for text outputs
0.4 seconds for all other engine logic

So, the database access takes about 22% of the total sim time. The engine and playcalling take about 56% - and I will see if I can reduce that a little. We're dealing with fractions of seconds though, so it may also be a little dependent upon outside processes (ie Virus scanners and other apps) as well.
Arles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 09:52 AM   #457
spleen1015
Coordinator
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Quote:
Originally Posted by CraigSca
What I'm saying is, have all the data in RAM (yeah, there's a longer load up time and save time) rather than making every write incrementally to disk. I think people can tolerate longer loads and saves moreso than having the sim time and actual "play" time slow down.

I understand what you were saying. That's why I posed my second series of questions.
spleen1015 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 10:17 AM   #458
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arles
so it may also be a little dependent upon outside processes (ie Virus scanners and other apps) as well.
FWIW, right before I left the house this morning, I started the latest build running with my machine stripped-down and unplugged. I disabled everything I could think of: antivirus, firewall, Windows Update, etc., unplugged from the internet, and started a long-term sim. I know that OOTP had a huge increase in sim time with everything disabled like this. I'm curious what will happen with BBCF. I'll be going by the house around 4:30 or so this afternoon. I'll update then, and then re-start it with everything enabled to see what difference it might make.
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 03:11 PM   #459
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Guys, I must say that I just had an IM conversation with Arlie about performances of younger players that dang near had me reaching for the Kleenex. I'll let him reveal to the public what he wants, but suffice it to say that there's some good stuff going on under the hood, assuming it is all working properly (and it appears that it is). He explained some things going on with my dynasty team that looked to be concerning, but actually make perfect sense.
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 03:44 PM   #460
gstelmack
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cary, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
Guys, I must say that I just had an IM conversation with Arlie about performances of younger players that dang near had me reaching for the Kleenex. I'll let him reveal to the public what he wants, but suffice it to say that there's some good stuff going on under the hood, assuming it is all working properly (and it appears that it is). He explained some things going on with my dynasty team that looked to be concerning, but actually make perfect sense.

Ah yes, the dilemma of game design: doing really cool stuff under the hood, but having no easy way to tell the player what is going on without exposing too much and ruining the experience. Especially when all that cool stuff makes the user THINK there's a bug occurring, and potentially drops the game (as a beta tester, you reported the bug, but how would an end user feel if they found an issue with their dynasty that "concerned" them?), when in reality it's because something really cool is going on.

If there is cool player development happening that looks unusual, I hope he's got a way to communicate that to the player. E-mail reports, newspaper clippings, something that lets you know what's happening with the players.
__________________
-- Greg
-- Author of various FOF utilities
gstelmack is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 03:56 PM   #461
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by gstelmack
Ah yes, the dilemma of game design: doing really cool stuff under the hood, but having no easy way to tell the player what is going on without exposing too much and ruining the experience. Especially when all that cool stuff makes the user THINK there's a bug occurring, and potentially drops the game (as a beta tester, you reported the bug, but how would an end user feel if they found an issue with their dynasty that "concerned" them?), when in reality it's because something really cool is going on.

If there is cool player development happening that looks unusual, I hope he's got a way to communicate that to the player. E-mail reports, newspaper clippings, something that lets you know what's happening with the players.
Well, this is info that should *probably* be in the game manual, as it doesn't just impact some players, but pretty much every younger player.

Specifically, I was worried that the performance of my true freshman QB was a little too good. It turns out that there were some strong indicators that it should have been the case. I'm leaving the office right now and dropping by the house. I'm really curious to check and see if what Arlie predicted about the RB's on his team (that their performance would suffer) is the case. Painted with a broad brush and not getting into the intimate details, it turns out that (if player creation is working properly) I've got what should be a very rare player at QB....
  • has athleticism that normally only RB/CB/WR have
  • weighs over 220 pounds
  • should make bad decisions on keeping/pitching (I'll be checking to see if my RB's performed less-than-expected...)
  • but he's so big, strong and athletic that he makes plays on his own when he should have pitched the ball
I was worried that his stats were too good, but it turns out that he averaged .7 LESS ypc than did Vince Young as a true freshman.
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 04:01 PM   #462
Balldog
Pro Rookie
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Macomb, MI
I'm not going to read 460 posts to see if this has been posted but....here is a bug!

Akron goes for two, but sets up for FG and is awarded 3-points for the 2-point conversion. A 9-point TD! Doh!


Akron ball, Q4, 1-8-OHST8 (00:20) 9-31
Offense: Medium Pass, Set: SingleBack, Play: SB-SE-slants (med pass)
Defense: Stop Pass, Set: Nickel, Play: Nickel-pass-Man-B5,6 (target pass)
QB D. Mularkey completes a 8 yard cross to WR R. Demaree ****Touchdown!*****

Akron ball, Q4, 1-0-OHST0 (00:14) 15-31
Dante McCormack converts the 21 yard field goal.

Akron ball, Q4, 1-10-AKR35 (00:07) 18-31
Dante McCormack Lines up for the onside kick! The opponent has their hands team out there.
The kick goes 18 yards and bounces around...[b] The Return Team Holds on to it. Trey Seurer ends up with it on the Ohio State 47.
Balldog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 04:02 PM   #463
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Balldog
I'm not going to read 460 posts to see if this has been posted but....here is a bug!

Akron goes for two, but sets up for FG and is awarded 3-points for the 2-point conversion. A 9-point TD! Doh!


Akron ball, Q4, 1-8-OHST8 (00:20) 9-31
Offense: Medium Pass, Set: SingleBack, Play: SB-SE-slants (med pass)
Defense: Stop Pass, Set: Nickel, Play: Nickel-pass-Man-B5,6 (target pass)
QB D. Mularkey completes a 8 yard cross to WR R. Demaree ****Touchdown!*****

Akron ball, Q4, 1-0-OHST0 (00:14) 15-31
Dante McCormack converts the 21 yard field goal.

Akron ball, Q4, 1-10-AKR35 (00:07) 18-31
Dante McCormack Lines up for the onside kick! The opponent has their hands team out there.
The kick goes 18 yards and bounces around...[b] The Return Team Holds on to it. Trey Seurer ends up with it on the Ohio State 47.
Well-documented, and purported to be fixed in the latest build.
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 05:39 PM   #464
MizzouRah
Hall Of Famer
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Troy, Mo
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
Well, this is info that should *probably* be in the game manual, as it doesn't just impact some players, but pretty much every younger player.

Specifically, I was worried that the performance of my true freshman QB was a little too good. It turns out that there were some strong indicators that it should have been the case. I'm leaving the office right now and dropping by the house. I'm really curious to check and see if what Arlie predicted about the RB's on his team (that their performance would suffer) is the case. Painted with a broad brush and not getting into the intimate details, it turns out that (if player creation is working properly) I've got what should be a very rare player at QB....
  • has athleticism that normally only RB/CB/WR have
  • weighs over 220 pounds
  • should make bad decisions on keeping/pitching (I'll be checking to see if my RB's performed less-than-expected...)
  • but he's so big, strong and athletic that he makes plays on his own when he should have pitched the ball
I was worried that his stats were too good, but it turns out that he averaged .7 LESS ypc than did Vince Young as a true freshman.

Posts like these can sell games. Damn you!!


MizzouRah is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 05:57 PM   #465
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by MizzouRah
Posts like these can sell games. Damn you!!


Well, the key to this is if this guy truly is a rare find, and it was just a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut on his first try. He was the first QB I recruited to run the option (I signed an off-the-charts o-coordinator who specialized in it, and had 2 good RB's, so I HAD to give it a shot), and he had such a monster year in his first season that it made me worried.
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 08:02 PM   #466
nilodor
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
I don't know if this has been mentioned or I'm blind but I'd like to see injuries represented on the depth chart instead of having to goto the roster screen and see who is injured, go to the depth chart and try and remember who is injured.
nilodor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 10:03 PM   #467
Balldog
Pro Rookie
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Macomb, MI
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
Well-documented, and purported to be fixed in the latest build.

Great! Especially since I just lost to Purdue 38-34 after they converted 2 9-point TDs earlier in the game.
Balldog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 10:53 PM   #468
dubb93
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by Balldog
Great! Especially since I just lost to Purdue 38-34 after they converted 2 9-point TDs earlier in the game.

Just wait untill someone scores a td on you, instead of going for 2 decide they need another TD and then kick a field goal resulting in one big 15 point TD.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by McSweeny
Because you know it takes sound strategy to get killed repeatedly on day one right?
dubb93 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 11:03 PM   #469
Anthony
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Astoria, NY, USA
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
Well, the key to this is if this guy truly is a rare find, and it was just a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut on his first try. He was the first QB I recruited to run the option (I signed an off-the-charts o-coordinator who specialized in it, and had 2 good RB's, so I HAD to give it a shot), and he had such a monster year in his first season that it made me worried.

i'm already getting this game, but this sounds very encouraging nonetheless. can you specify as to what exactly you thought the issues were or what you thought the potential bug might have been?
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2005, 11:37 PM   #470
st.cronin
General Manager
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: New Mexico
I've been doodling with the database, and I've run into the following issues:

If you set up teams from different conferences as rivals (Colorado and Colorado State, for example) you HAVE to set the week to 15 - or else the game doesn't get scheduled.

On the other hand, if the rivals are from the same conference, you have to set the week to 0 or 15 - any other week and the game doesn't get scheduled.

I'm wondering if this is a bug, or something that could get fixed for the retail version.

One feature that would be neat would be if in the default schedule, you could move the game to a different date before adding new games. Or, if two teams are highly ranked preseason, perhaps the game could somehow 'move' the game to week 1 or 2 (for 'tv' purposes).
st.cronin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:50 AM   #471
Arles
Grey Dog Software
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
Guys, I must say that I just had an IM conversation with Arlie about performances of younger players that dang near had me reaching for the Kleenex. I'll let him reveal to the public what he wants, but suffice it to say that there's some good stuff going on under the hood, assuming it is all working properly (and it appears that it is). He explained some things going on with my dynasty team that looked to be concerning, but actually make perfect sense.
To follow up a little with what SD is talking about here - underclassmen sometimes perform above (or below) their "actual" level during the season. The odds are they will play better at home then on the road and that players with a high potential can have pretty drastic swings their freshman/soph seasons. So, a true freshman QB with potential could go out and throw for 4 TDs and 1 INT in one game and 0 TDs and 2 INTs in the next one.

Another item is that instincts play a role in option QBs. SD's young stud QB had very poor instincts, yet extremely high running ability and athletic skills. Combine that with a very high durability (partly because he's 6-4, 220) and you had a QB that probably preferred to keep it over pitching (because of his instincts). I told Ben this would probably end up with him having games with nice rushing numbers but a lot of 3-and-outs and a team slightly better than .500. It turned out that he ended up having well over 1,000 yards rushing but that the team finished around 7-4 with some of his RBs not getting the total carries they may have liked.

The goal here is to try and have many different "decision points" for coaches. Should you go with the young (and erradic) kid and maybe sacrifice a win or two but help his development? Should you adjust your gameplan/strategy with the idea that your young option QB may not make the best decisions and run more sweeps/tosses/keepers?

Again, I will be interested to get everyone's feedback on this once the game is released and you can build your own team over a few seasons, but I think things like these should really help the immersion level.
Arles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:54 AM   #472
Arles
Grey Dog Software
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Phoenix, AZ by way of Belleville, IL
Quote:
Originally Posted by st.cronin
I've been doodling with the database, and I've run into the following issues:

If you set up teams from different conferences as rivals (Colorado and Colorado State, for example) you HAVE to set the week to 15 - or else the game doesn't get scheduled.
That is true. It's done this way to make sure the game doesn't get tossed out by the conference games.

Quote:
On the other hand, if the rivals are from the same conference, you have to set the week to 0 or 15 - any other week and the game doesn't get scheduled.
0 and 15 are the only valid entries here. Again, I think the stock rivals and setup the game will have are very realistic. Still, I wanted to let people tinker a bit but I have to have some protections on the scheduling or all chaos could break out. If you just follow the "week 15 for non-conf" and "week 0 or 15 for conf" and you will be OK.

Quote:
One feature that would be neat would be if in the default schedule, you could move the game to a different date before adding new games. Or, if two teams are highly ranked preseason, perhaps the game could somehow 'move' the game to week 1 or 2 (for 'tv' purposes).
Not bad ideas, but something that would probably be prudent to wait on for future versions.
Arles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 03:27 AM   #473
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic
i'm already getting this game, but this sounds very encouraging nonetheless. can you specify as to what exactly you thought the issues were or what you thought the potential bug might have been?
He was a 3-star player who I easily landed, and he goes out and wins Conference Offensive Player Of The Year in the SEC as a true freshman, and was a 2nd-Team All-American. I was worried that his performance was too good and that maybe there was a bug or imbalance issue that was causing running QB's to be too good. Turns out that I just stumbled on a big, strong, fast, athletic, selfish S.O.B. who puts up great individual numbers but it remains to be seen if he can make a team great. Sounds pretty fun to me.
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!

Last edited by Ben E Lou : 11-30-2005 at 03:28 AM.
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 03:31 AM   #474
Young Drachma
Dark Cloud
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Time for me to check this out.
__________________
Current Dynasty:The Zenith of Professional Basketball Careers (FBPB/FBCB)
FBCB / FPB3 Mods
Young Drachma is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 03:42 AM   #475
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
He was a 3-star player who I easily landed, and he goes out and wins Conference Offensive Player Of The Year in the SEC as a true freshman, and was a 2nd-Team All-American. I was worried that his performance was too good and that maybe there was a bug or imbalance issue that was causing running QB's to be too good. Turns out that I just stumbled on a big, strong, fast, athletic, selfish S.O.B. who puts up great individual numbers but it remains to be seen if he can make a team great. Sounds pretty fun to me.

Wasn't Michael Vick a player like that in real life?
Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 03:47 AM   #476
Ben E Lou
Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Greensboro, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icy
Wasn't Michael Vick a player like that in real life?
He wasn't exactly big. One of the biggest lies in sports is that "215" next to his name. Also, I don't think Va. Tech ran he option very much. I know in Atlanta he's been just the opposite: lots of wins, but not-so-great numbers. My QB put up great numbers, but we dropped to 7-5. {shrug}
__________________
The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!
Ben E Lou is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 04:41 AM   #477
kingnebwsu
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Ohio
Here's a few observations from my limited time with the demo...

On the depth chart, it'd be great to double click and see a player's card.

On the player's card, the player's year should be prominently featured (maybe up top with his number). This is a hugely important thing and shouldn't be hidden like it currently is.

On the weekly postgame E-mails detailing the film results...anything that's a zero shouldn't be included. Things that the player did do would stick out a lot more without all the unnecessary "0 mental errors" and things like that. I want to know what a player did, not what he didn't do. An example is:

TE Ahmed Denny - 0 key run block(s), 0 pancake block(s), 0 sack(s), 0 false start(s), 1 missed block(s), 0 holding call(s).

It's like, get rid of everything except the "1 missed block(s)" and it would clean up that screen nicely.

Is there a way for the game to run in a windowed format? Currently my taskbar is covering the very bottom of the game screen. Just wondering if this is just a demo thing. I'm running 1024x768.

As #18 Ohio State I opened up the season vs #9 USC. USC pasted OSU 31-10 but OSU dropped from the polls down to #35. I don't think they'd drop this much in real life. The next week, OSU blasted #4 Texas 38-0 and only moved up to #30. Texas dropped to #15. No way OSU (or any other BCS school) is unranked being 1-1 vs two top-10 teams. I think I read where Arlie will be checking out the poll evaluations. Just thought I'd throw this out there.

When simming games and looking at the box scores...how about putting a "-" instead of "0" for the OT score if the game ends in regulation. That way the OT games stick out more.
---

Take my comments for what they're worth. I'm sure I'll post more inane chatter after I get more PT with it. Good luck Arlie, this game has great potential.
kingnebwsu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 05:21 AM   #478
GrantDawg
World Champion Mis-speller
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Covington, Ga.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingnebwsu
Here's a few observations from my limited time with the demo...

On the depth chart, it'd be great to double click and see a player's card.

On the player's card, the player's year should be prominently featured (maybe up top with his number). This is a hugely important thing and shouldn't be hidden like it currently is.

On the weekly postgame E-mails detailing the film results...anything that's a zero shouldn't be included. Things that the player did do would stick out a lot more without all the unnecessary "0 mental errors" and things like that. I want to know what a player did, not what he didn't do. An example is:

TE Ahmed Denny - 0 key run block(s), 0 pancake block(s), 0 sack(s), 0 false start(s), 1 missed block(s), 0 holding call(s).

It's like, get rid of everything except the "1 missed block(s)" and it would clean up that screen nicely.

Is there a way for the game to run in a windowed format? Currently my taskbar is covering the very bottom of the game screen. Just wondering if this is just a demo thing. I'm running 1024x768.

As #18 Ohio State I opened up the season vs #9 USC. USC pasted OSU 31-10 but OSU dropped from the polls down to #35. I don't think they'd drop this much in real life. The next week, OSU blasted #4 Texas 38-0 and only moved up to #30. Texas dropped to #15. No way OSU (or any other BCS school) is unranked being 1-1 vs two top-10 teams. I think I read where Arlie will be checking out the poll evaluations. Just thought I'd throw this out there.

When simming games and looking at the box scores...how about putting a "-" instead of "0" for the OT score if the game ends in regulation. That way the OT games stick out more.
---

Take my comments for what they're worth. I'm sure I'll post more inane chatter after I get more PT with it. Good luck Arlie, this game has great potential.


Good stuff there.

I've got a question, Arles. Do players progress during the season? Pre-season?
GrantDawg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 07:48 AM   #479
gstelmack
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cary, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingnebwsu
On the weekly postgame E-mails detailing the film results...anything that's a zero shouldn't be included. Things that the player did do would stick out a lot more without all the unnecessary "0 mental errors" and things like that. I want to know what a player did, not what he didn't do. An example is:

TE Ahmed Denny - 0 key run block(s), 0 pancake block(s), 0 sack(s), 0 false start(s), 1 missed block(s), 0 holding call(s).

I am officially buying this game when it comes out. I mean, I was probably going to buy it anyway, but this is the kind of stat detail that is crucial to figuring out how good a player really is. Telling me false starts, missed blocks, and holding calls helps a LOT with O-Linemen and blocking TEs, and similar bits would help bigtime with defenders. One of my FOF frustrations is that while we all know that a reason a mediocre CB may get lots of INTs is because QBs throw away from your great CB, you don't KNOW how often this happens and so can't tell for sure. Sounds like BBCF is taking a step in that direction.
__________________
-- Greg
-- Author of various FOF utilities
gstelmack is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 08:31 AM   #480
dubb93
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by GrantDawg
Good stuff there.

I've got a question, Arles. Do players progress during the season? Pre-season?

I had that same question and remember reading somewhere on the greydog forums they only progress during the off-season. That led me to believe that there is no point in playing young players, although from what Arlie said today that probably isn't true.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by McSweeny
Because you know it takes sound strategy to get killed repeatedly on day one right?
dubb93 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 09:46 AM   #481
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Quote:
Originally Posted by dubb93
I had that same question and remember reading somewhere on the greydog forums they only progress during the off-season. That led me to believe that there is no point in playing young players, although from what Arlie said today that probably isn't true.

One of the big factors is past season playing time, so there is a point on playing young players so they will develop faster. It is this way on FBCB too for example and i think in other text sims too.
Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 09:57 AM   #482
gstelmack
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cary, NC
Quote:
Originally Posted by dubb93
I had that same question and remember reading somewhere on the greydog forums they only progress during the off-season. That led me to believe that there is no point in playing young players, although from what Arlie said today that probably isn't true.

That would suck. Players should get better during the season, no question about it, especially young guys just learning the game. FOF gets this right, why don't the other sports sims?
__________________
-- Greg
-- Author of various FOF utilities
gstelmack is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 09:58 AM   #483
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Now some good news and a bit of teasing.

During the thanks giving days, i wrote a list in the beta forums with most of the suggestions compiled from this board and GDS one (interface, recruiting, academics, deep chart, scheduling, play calling, board expectations, etc). I tried to add all the more demanded ones even knowing that it was too late to add most of them...

He just answered...."All the above are in the last beta".

WOW, now we are going to test it, but never thought as many bug fixes and suggestions could be done as fast, you guys are going to love it, i'm really really impressed.
Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:16 AM   #484
vex
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Tulsa
I also really wished that players progressed during the season.
vex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:21 AM   #485
John Galt
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The Internets
A few more things I've noticed:

1) The PBP has too much "gotcha" and "surprise" language. In the game, I know that a perfect pass by more QB is bound to end in an incompletion. I know if it looks like its going to be a big play, it isn't. There aren't that many surprises in real football.

2) The PBP lacks diversity to reflect real outcomes. A receiver does not look upfield before catching the ball that many times a game. Most incompletions are just bad passes or drops.

3) Screen passes seem to have the same completion rate as all other short and medium passes. In fact, in my experience, I usually complete only 30% of the screens. I think screen passes should have a much higher completion rate.

4) Players make tackles on places they wouldn't be on the field. My DT should not be tackling WR 30 yards down field. And my blitzing LB shouldn't often tackle after a 5 yd gain.

5) The PBP and outcome of the play don't match consistently. It often says things like a "gain of a few yards" when the result is a 0 yard gain.

6) As others have noted, but seems especially true for option players, there aren't enough plays. And the number of runs to the left is especially limited.

7) There are no real hail mary plays.

8) Playcalling AI late in the half and game is poor. There is way too much running for a team trying to play catchup.

9) Playcalling suggestions are often bizarre. Playing a run defense on 2nd and 19 seems odd to me.

10) Decisions to decline penalties are often bad. I've had a 15yd penalty declined because I lost 2 yards on 1st down. I've had a 10yd penalty declined because I lost 1 yard on 2nd down.

11) Penalty computations for half the distance to goal line are wrong. I've had a 15 yard penalty marked off for the full yardage when I was on my own 17 yard line.

12) Clock usage is weird with taking timeouts. Late in the game, before you call your first time out, a play make take 30 seconds before you are able to stop the clock. Is the clock supposed to be the beginning of the play, the end of the play, or some random number in between?

13) The training screens show the coach quality of my old offensive coordinator and not my new one.

14) Recruiting is too late breaking. I was playing New Mexico. And I had way too many 3 star players deciding on the last day. That may be realistic, but the computer then offers a bunch of scholarships to putzes that I'm stuck with. The problem is that my recruiting service tells me I should go for all the players I did. To end up with only 4 of the remaining 12 is a little frustrating if I'm going to be stuck with garbage scholarship players.

15) I had a player tell me how it was his dream to play at New Mexico, but he didn't end up coming to my school. I recruited him fully and offered him a scholarship right away. He was a 3 star player. He ended up going to a comparable quality school. That seems to defeat the purpose of wanting to go to your dream school. I was also confused why a player from Florida had a dream to go to New Mexico.

16) Recruits seem to know I'm looking for some positions, but not others. I had several OG's interested in my team because I was short at that position. However, I had no ILB depth and play a 3-4, yet had no recruits really interested in me at that position.

17) Am I missing something, or is there no point in recruiting athletes? Don't they just become their default position anyway?

18) I've yet to have a DE record a lot of sacks. My DT always do better. This may be due to small sample sizes, but I thought it was worth noting.

19) The game randomly "pauses" so that I have to hit resume while playing a game. It isn't a big deal, but it seems weird.

20) The preview screen should include what type of offense and defense the other team runs. I can often figure out the offense, but it would be better if that info was easily found on the preview screen.

21) Am I wrong or shouldn't conference rematches in bowls not occur? I played in the Poinsetta Bowl with New Mexico against TCU. That kind of sucked.

22) It seems very hard to recruit mobile QB's to option teams. Instead they seem just as likely to choose teams running the west coast offense or other style that doesn't fit them.

That's it for now. There will probably be more later.
__________________
I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man. - The Dude

Last edited by John Galt : 11-30-2005 at 10:23 AM.
John Galt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:22 AM   #486
John Galt
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The Internets
dola,

1 more thing. I want to be able to set my own alma matter, age, and experience. That was something I always liked about FBCB. The letter from your alma matter school trying to hire you was an especially nice touch.
__________________
I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man. - The Dude
John Galt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:25 AM   #487
vex
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Tulsa
Wow, John
vex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:34 AM   #488
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Good stuff John. Some of that points are already fixed in the last beta but Arlie will read this for sure.
Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:48 AM   #489
Anthony
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Astoria, NY, USA
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog
Turns out that I just stumbled on a big, strong, fast, athletic, selfish S.O.B. who puts up great individual numbers but it remains to be seen if he can make a team great. Sounds pretty fun to me.

you recruited Michael Vick?









Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:51 AM   #490
Anthony
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Astoria, NY, USA
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Galt
15) I was also confused why a player from Florida had a dream to go to New Mexico.

tired of hurricanes
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 10:57 AM   #491
dubb93
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Has anyone else noticed that all the LB's at the start(never got to recruiting) seemed to be blitzing linebackers? And if so has that been fixed in the latest build?
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by McSweeny
Because you know it takes sound strategy to get killed repeatedly on day one right?
dubb93 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 11:01 AM   #492
MizzouRah
Hall Of Famer
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Troy, Mo
This is why FOFC is such a great community. Great feedback and although I still haven't played the game, I can tell most of what irks me in a text sim has been addressed by someone on here, including Arlie.

Feedback like this is extremely valuable and like Jim, Arlie has been great with FOFC dissecting his demo.
MizzouRah is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 11:06 AM   #493
GrantDawg
World Champion Mis-speller
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Covington, Ga.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vexroid
I also really wished that players progressed during the season.


Me, too. Especially in college you can see players maturing during the season. I would hope there were periodic "bumps" after spring-fall training, after 4 weeks, after 8 weeks, after regular season and after bowls (I also hope that bowls increase progression like in real life).
GrantDawg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 11:58 AM   #494
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Two HOF QB's in South Florida, we must win this year! (btw, you can notice the recently added lock players box in the deep chart)

Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:01 PM   #495
John Galt
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The Internets
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icy
Good stuff John. Some of that points are already fixed in the last beta but Arlie will read this for sure.

Is there any chance the newer beta builds will be turned into a demo build? Playing without some of the glaring demo problems (3 pt XP, etc.) would be nice.
__________________
I do mind, the Dude minds. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man. - The Dude
John Galt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:03 PM   #496
rexallllsc
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2003
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingnebwsu
On the depth chart, it'd be great to double click and see a player's card.

On the player's card, the player's year should be prominently featured (maybe up top with his number). This is a hugely important thing and shouldn't be hidden like it currently is.

Agree with both of those!
rexallllsc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:03 PM   #497
Anthony
Banned
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Astoria, NY, USA
Icy:what does "3/-" or "4/-" mean? does that mean the player has reached their max potential?
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:04 PM   #498
GrantDawg
World Champion Mis-speller
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Covington, Ga.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic
Icy:what does "3/-" or "4/-" mean? does that mean the player has reached their max potential?

Not Icy, but yes.
GrantDawg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:05 PM   #499
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Galt
Is there any chance the newer beta builds will be turned into a demo build? Playing without some of the glaring demo problems (3 pt XP, etc.) would be nice.

Arlie answered to that question in GDS forums that he would try to setup a new demo after the big issues are fixed, but i'm not sure as he is bussy developing the multiplayer part now.

Last edited by Icy : 11-30-2005 at 12:05 PM.
Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2005, 12:07 PM   #500
Icy
Pro Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic
Icy:what does "3/-" or "4/-" mean? does that mean the player has reached their max potential?

Yes, i'm using the 10/10 scale now to see if i enjoy that one more than the 5/5. I dont' like alot the 100/100 or 100/5 ones, too much info (i'm used to play with stats only in OOTP and i like it).
Icy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:39 PM.



Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.