Questions for Q&A With Jim On FOF2K4 - Page 2

3ric · 10-18-2003, 02:34 AM

Will each player's playoff stats be saved just as the regular season stats?

Can you go back and look up past year's drafts?

pbot · 10-18-2003, 06:11 AM

How will the FA 20 and 8 step process' function in multiplayer? Will leagues have the ability to run free agency "outside" of FOF and then just sign the players to the winning team at the end? (Ex. FOBL conducts free agency in our own third party program. Once the results of FA have been obtained, the league management then goes into OOTP and manually signs the players to the winning teams).

Or, will each team need to submit a bid file for each week of the FA process?

Balldog · 10-18-2003, 08:10 AM

Didn't see it, may have missed it. Will the CPU be competitive in games vs. Human? Last version I played I could go undefeated with the worst team in the league if I called my own plays.

Thanks!

MizzouRah · 10-18-2003, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Glengoyne
I like the suggestion from someone else that would allow the game to continue without you. Then in perhaps a season or two you can return to the game, and take over for any team that will hire you. Say like Bill Parcells.

I also like the idea about running the game without ownership, at the beginning of a dynasty. This just to build up statistics. I did this with my first FoF4 career, and boy when I came in after 10 years of AI management, I was ALREADY on pretty thin ice. Either of these two things would be wonderful icing on the cake.

I like that as well.

Todd

cthomer5000 · 10-18-2003, 12:57 PM

Will we be able to set our special teams lineups?

JeeberD · 10-18-2003, 01:37 PM

In a players information will it list what number they were drafted at instead of just the round in which they were drafted?

Bonegavel · 10-18-2003, 01:42 PM

Will you be able to allow the AI to run your team, but be able to flag players that you don't want them to trade/release? Because it is tedious to manage your roster 100% to make it "legal" I often let the AI do it, but then they release players that I wanted to keep. It would be nice to be able to "flag" them, forcing the AI to ignore them.

Of course, if the AI runs into problems (I've flagged too many, or the ones flagged are huge money whores) it would email me and I would take over and fix.

Actually, to extend this, it would be nice to have each section of the game allow me to FREEZE settings while allowing the AI to run my team (but not change things I set to FREEZE). This would allow me to make changes that I want, while allowing the AI to handle tasks I deem mundane.

Bonegavel · 10-18-2003, 01:51 PM

It would be nice to see the college stats for draftees. The more information for the draft, the better. Hell, even if the game produces a giant excel file for each draft, I would love to pour over numbers for draft picks. In the past, the draft in FOF was a super YAWNfest.

Give me info like:
a) good/bad kid in college
b) awards garnered
c) team player/ loud mouth egomaniac
d) stats
e) arrest record (goes with -a-)
f) combine-like scores (i see that's in the game)
g) grades/academic achievements

IOW, the more info the better.

samifan24 · 10-18-2003, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cthomer5000
Will we be able to set our special teams lineups?

This would be awesome. I really hope we can do this.

Senator · 10-18-2003, 03:42 PM

Quote:

"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton

My mother in law just got me an autographed copy of Ball Four. I saw the name on your signature and it connected.

GMO · 10-18-2003, 04:29 PM

Currently I can't offer someone a future contract.
For example, in year 2005 a player is in the last year of his contract. I want to offer him a contract starting in the year 2006. Currently I can't do that. If I offer the player a contract I have to revise the current year contract, and pay another bonus for the current year (2005). But I only want to negotiate a contract for the future i.e. starting in year 2006 in this example.

Will this be changed so that I can negotiate a future contract i.e. a contract starting next year without revising the current year contract and paying a bonus for the current year again?

Thanks.

samifan24 · 10-18-2003, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Senator
My mother in law just got me an autographed copy of Ball Four. I saw the name on your signature and it connected.

I've only read portions of Ball Four but I really like the quote.

illinifan999 · 10-18-2003, 07:37 PM

Did expansion make it in? Please let there be expansion.

MizzouRah · 10-18-2003, 09:34 PM

If importing players from TCY, how do the combine numbers interact with the TCY players?

It would be neat if the stats from TCY players carried over to FOF2004, so in the draft you could see the players total stats for years played in college.

If you import players from TCY, do you NOT get the added draft info?

Todd

cthomer5000 · 10-18-2003, 09:54 PM

Will we have the ability to rename the champsionp game?

The conferences?

The divisions?

Bad-example · 10-19-2003, 05:44 AM

Will we have any input as to the length of contract for our draft picks?

On what OS was the game designed?

Will the game be released on a religious holiday?

Sorry, couldn't resist that last one heh.

Ben E Lou · 10-19-2003, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bad-example
Will the game be released on a religious holiday?

Refresh my memory on this joke. It sounds familiar. Was this one of the early indications of mrskippy's high-strung nature? I seem to remember that he (or someone with whom I was unfamiliar at the time) went off that a game was released on a Sunday morning. Can anyone recall the details?

Buccaneer · 10-19-2003, 08:57 AM

It was our old friend, the_classic.

Ben E Lou · 10-19-2003, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Buccaneer
It was our old friend, the_classic.

Dang....good memory for an old curmudgeon.

T-Storm · 10-19-2003, 10:23 AM

About general gameplay:
Will height and weight finally matter?
For that matter, I hop I'm not mistaken, but in the new combine ratings before the draft, there's also a speed rating, will that matter?
As an example: two identically rated cornerbacks, one 6-5, 230 pounds, 4.3 speed (in the 40 yard), another one 5-7, 170 pounds, 5.0 speed. Will the physically better player also be the better player eventhough both players have the very same ratings? Or would it just be, as it has been that size just determines somewhat the probabilty of the player busting/getting injured more or less often/ switching positions more or less succesfully?

Will the computer controlled players be finally able to compete?
To compete they'd have to much more aggressively renew contracts, fire players that don't play up to their contract, fire players that lost their abilities due to busts or injuries etc.?
In fof4 players that are already on my roster can be resigned extremly more cheaply than their demands, by just slightly more signing bonus. but players in fa don't. This is one of the reasons why the cpu struggles so very much competing. so my question is: will players be more strict about their demands? and will fa players also accept an inferior overall offer with more signingbonus over an offer with less signingbonus but a good bit more overall value?
Will players demands finally be a bit more in line in that the salary doesn't escalate as extremly as it has in previous fof versions?

About drafts:
I'd like to just set it up the most rudimentary way like this:
50% roster filler
40% replacement starters
15% good starters
4% very good starters
0.5% elite starters
0.4% near superstars
0.1% absolute superstars
That means, I don't want to have to set up each players ratingand details individually, I just want to set the general player quality of the draft. Will this be possible? Or would it at least be possible to make a 3rd party program that made this possible?

PS:
Will we more regularly see certain TightEnds put up 1000+ yards seasons? As it is, it's very seldom to even see the best TEs with the worst WRs gain more than 700yards. I'd like to occasionally see a Tony Gonzales lookalike, putting up multiple seasons with 1000yards.

Will the quarterback numbers be slightly corrected downwards? there are imo too many qbs having carrers with a 90+ qbr.

Will the hall of fame criteria be changed? there are far too many mediocre quarterbacks, and by far too few defensive players or offensive linemen, tight ends or fullbacks (I don't remember seeing many if any fbs in the hof. special teams are with exception of the occasional kicker almost completly ignored.

Will there finally be return specialists in the draft? and will those at least get a job with cpu teams (meaning players that have almost no ablity anywhere but in returning kicks/punts)?

Will I be able to more directly set up in the game play what we do and not have it in coherence with the rest of the league? (example: I'd like to use a 2 te single back offense as the base offense with the two te heavily involved in the passing game. Or i'd like to almost constantly use the nickelback formation. or I'd like to rush the starting runningback 100% of the time, even after the game's outcome is long decided in my favor. or have the backup running back and 3rd string rb get a certain amount of carries? and have a certain runningback run into certain directiosn more often? like having the 3rd sting running back who jsut has great breakaway speed and great speed to outside almost only rush outside the tackles?

Shepp · 10-19-2003, 10:36 AM

The only thing I would like to see in the next version is to be able to see the career stats of active players when you look at the idividual stats during the off season. It had been in every version before FOF4 and I can't tell you how much I miss it.

cuervo72 · 10-19-2003, 11:28 AM

T-Storm, I think you need to check your addition....

Ben E Lou · 10-19-2003, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cuervo72
T-Storm, I think you need to check your addition....

Bonegavel · 10-19-2003, 11:34 AM

110%. Don't they always tell you to give that?

Taur · 10-19-2003, 12:38 PM

What kind of Difficulty setting will there be?

Yes, I know the standard the harder the level the smarter the AI. But, I am also hoping there is a way to make the game hard enough to not have to enforce House rules. Some way to give your opponent an across the board player advantage.

House rules always have me taking away the very game features I originally bought the game for

Why did you buy this game? ---Contracts, trades, and free-agents
2-Weeks Later.
What house rules do you use? ---Cannot modify contract offers, No user proposed trades, and can't sign star UFAs

Doug5984 · 10-19-2003, 02:07 PM

I have not seen this asked but could have easily missed it...

In previous versions of FOF (before FOF4) when a player was drafted in the first round it would say his draft position on his player card. It would say 1(12) for the 12th pick in the draft. Will this be brought back for this version of FOF? The difference between the # 1 pick and the # 32 pick is a huge difference and it would be nice if this feature was brought back

JeeberD · 10-19-2003, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doug5984
I have not seen this asked but could have easily missed it...

In previous versions of FOF (before FOF4) when a player was drafted in the first round it would say his draft position on his player card. It would say 1(12) for the 12th pick in the draft. Will this be brought back for this version of FOF? The difference between the # 1 pick and the # 32 pick is a huge difference and it would be nice if this feature was brought back

You actually phrased it much better than I did...

Quote:

Originally posted by JeeberD
In a players information will it list what number they were drafted at instead of just the round in which they were drafted?

Vegas Vic · 10-19-2003, 03:23 PM

Any chance of getting the same type of Personnel screens for defensive formations that we now have for offensive formations? I'd love to be able to set up specific personnel packages for nickel and dime situations.

HornedFrog Purple · 10-19-2003, 03:35 PM

Forgot a couple..

Did the team Hall of Fame make it back in?

Was offensive linemen and more defensive players being eligible for the league Hall of Fame tweaked?

MizzouRah · 10-19-2003, 05:36 PM

Making my question a little bit clearer.

Taken from the FOF 2004 features list:

Revised Amateur Draft. Rookies will be tested in a league scouting combine, including the 40-yard dash, an agility drill, a strength test and an intelligence test. Scouts will know a little less about the rookies, so you'll have to learn to read these numbers and separate the workout warriors from the true players

How will this relate to TCY players imported? Will these players still be rated in the combine? Will their career stats be imported as well to look at?

I would REALLY like these two games to be intertwined a little more as far as importing players into FOF 2004. As it stands, importing has been a waste for me with FOF4 and I've gone back to the game generated players.

Todd

T-Storm · 10-19-2003, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BoneGavel
110%. Don't they always tell you to give that?

ahem... right... that was... uhm... just what I... eh... thought... *clearsthroat*

P.S.:
another question: There seems to be a bug with the cpu teams drafting kickers and punters in the 4th draft, after starting a game.
I'm not certain whether this is just a speciality of playing with a rather empty -not quite- one -but not that many more- player universe, or a bug that occures no matter whichever roster one uses to start the game. So, the question would be: has this bug been removed?

cthomer5000 · 10-20-2003, 09:12 AM

Will mid-season signees be payed a prorated portion of their contract, rather than an entire seasons salary?

I believe as is, if you sign a player in week 15, he immediately receives 15 weeks of pay against your salary cap, rather than 1. This one has been bothering me for a while, and could probably qualify as a bug as it is.

QuikSand · 10-20-2003, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cthomer5000
Will mid-season signees be payed a prorated portion of their contract, rather than an entire seasons salary?

I believe as is, if you sign a player in week 15, he immediately receives 15 weeks of pay against your salary cap, rather than 1. This one has been bothering me for a while, and could probably qualify as a bug as it is.

I don't think this is a bug - I think it is absolutely as it should be.

Sign a player to a contract worth the minimum salary of $640,000 million for the whole season - he counts as $640,000 against the salary cap, and makes $40,000 per game week.

If you're halfway through the season, and you sign a minsal player - his salary lists as $640,000. But your expenses really just accumulate at $40,000 per week. (Evidenced by the message you get if/when you cut him - you save a pro-rated portion of his remaining salary)

The mid-season plaer ought to count against the salary cap in exactly the same way as the full-season player - he's making the same amount per week. The translation of the salary terms into a full-year amount is purely cosmetic. If you're paying that guy $40,000 a week to play or you, then your salcap figure for him is a full year worth of that amount - or $640,000.

JAG · 10-20-2003, 09:37 AM

Can coordinators get promoted to head coaches (possibly leaving your team to head another team)?

cthomer5000 · 10-20-2003, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by QuikSand
I don't think this is a bug - I think it is absolutely as it should be.

Sign a player to a contract worth the minimum salary of $640,000 million for the whole season - he counts as $640,000 against the salary cap, and makes $40,000 per game week.

If you're halfway through the season, and you sign a minsal player - his salary lists as $640,000. But your expenses really just accumulate at $40,000 per week. (Evidenced by the message you get if/when you cut him - you save a pro-rated portion of his remaining salary)

The mid-season plaer ought to count against the salary cap in exactly the same way as the full-season player - he's making the same amount per week. The translation of the salary terms into a full-year amount is purely cosmetic. If you're paying that guy $40,000 a week to play or you, then your salcap figure for him is a full year worth of that amount - or $640,000.

I don't believe this is correct though. Assume my roster is at 52 players, and I have 100,000 in cap space remaining. Should I be able to sign a player at $340,000 with 5 weeks remaining?

My belief is that in the NFL, I would be able to sign this player to a 340,000 contract (which is really 20,000 per week of the season). This should bring my salary cap to zero. I'm pretty certain that in FOF, I wouldn't be able to sign this player due to insufficent cap space.

I believe that FOF automactially retroactively pays the player for every week up to the moment he joins your roster. If I sign him with 5 weeks remaining, I can still save 100,000 by cutting him, but he will have already cost 240,000 to sign. Correct me if I'm wrong here. This would be incredibly easy to test.

QuikSand · 10-20-2003, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cthomer5000
My belief is that in the NFL, I would be able to sign this player to a 340,000 contract (which is really 20,000 per week of the season).

I believe you are wrong here.

Bee · 10-20-2003, 09:42 AM

I'm pretty sure Quiksand has it right.

cthomer5000 · 10-20-2003, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by QuikSand
I believe you are wrong here.

So in the NFL, do you think midseason pick-ups are really receiving this retroactive pay? I doubt the Buccaneers would be picking up and dropping players like crazy if this were the case... they'd theoretically be burning up all kinds of cap space doing so.

Dutch · 10-20-2003, 12:44 PM

Will TCY need an update to the college export file in order to work correctly with FOF2004?

Scarecrow · 10-20-2003, 01:01 PM

[list=1][*]How is difficulty level affected in a multi-player environment?[*]Are there things that can be customized that hasn't been in the past (ie: backloaded contracts, the ability to lose money hand over fist, etc...)[*]Are there coaches/scouts in the multi-player environment? If so, do the GM's bid on them as they do now in FOF4?[/list=1]

Bee · 10-20-2003, 01:10 PM

Maybe someone should go through and organize the questions into one post (maybe organized by category) and then allow everyone a chance to add more questions or at least "clarify" some of the questions we already have?

QuikSand · 10-20-2003, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cthomer5000
So in the NFL, do you think midseason pick-ups are really receiving this retroactive pay? I doubt the Buccaneers would be picking up and dropping players like crazy if this were the case... they'd theoretically be burning up all kinds of cap space doing so.

No, of course they are not getting pay for the weeks that they weren't there, but they count against the cap just as much as a player who had been there all along.

All I'm saying is that during week 16 of the season, if you have two guys each making the same $20,000 per week -- one signed before the season started and one signed after week 8 due to an injury -- that those two players count just the same against the salary cap.

TroyF · 10-20-2003, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by QuikSand
No, of course they are not getting pay for the weeks that they weren't there, but they count against the cap just as much as a player who had been there all along.

All I'm saying is that during week 16 of the season, if you have two guys each making the same $20,000 per week -- one signed before the season started and one signed after week 8 due to an injury -- that those two players count just the same against the salary cap.

and you are dead right.

TroyF

Celeval · 10-20-2003, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cthomer5000
So in the NFL, do you think midseason pick-ups are really receiving this retroactive pay? I doubt the Buccaneers would be picking up and dropping players like crazy if this were the case... they'd theoretically be burning up all kinds of cap space doing so.

But the salary cap hit is only in place while there, no? By dropping a player, you can regain some/all of that salary cap space (with no signing bonus), no?

Kevin

albionmoonlight · 10-20-2003, 02:04 PM

Will you get to customize the game plans a bit more with nickel and dime D? In other words, can you choose which linbacker to take out in the nickel? Can you have a blitzing percentage for the nickel back that differs from the setting for the LB who he replaces?

HornedFrog Purple · 10-20-2003, 05:01 PM

General

My question is will you have a chat on irc regarding the game?

What are the system requirements for the game?

On what OS was the game designed?

is the game going to be download only or is there still the possibility of a non-eLicensed CD version?

TCY Compatibility and general setup

Will TCY drafts be compatible with FOF2004?

Will there be league setups available aside from the 32 team league?

Will there be an option to not be the head of any team while simulating seasons? (Effectively just watching the league either before or after heading a team)

Will/should 2k4 careers be compatible with future FOF releases?

Will/Can this version (FOF2004) be compatable with future version of the FOF series? For example, importing of ALL stats, players (even retired ones), teams & team history, league records and history, ect.

If importing players from TCY, how do the combine numbers interact with the TCY players?

If you import players from TCY, do you NOT get the added draft info?

From imported TCY draft files, will the combine scores be interpolated from other ratings, or will they be assigned at random?

Will TCY need an update to the college export file in order to work correctly with FOF2004?

Customization questions

Will there be rudimentary support for logos/helmets?

Will league structure and sizes be customizable for solo and MP?

Wouls it be possible to include a third-party schedule generator for anything other than a 32-team league?

Did expansion make it in?

Will we have the ability to rename the champsionp game? The conferences? The divisions?

Are there things that can be customized that hasn't been in the past (ie: backloaded contracts, the ability to lose money hand over fist, etc...)

Is there a format for the CSV lists to import players?

Financial questions

Will salary cap "growth rate" be adjustable? (For historic leagues, to avoid a low starting salary cap practically doubling the first few years).

Have new incentives been included for contract negotiations?

Will we have any input as to the length of contract for our draft picks?

Multiplayer questions

Will multiplayer play be limited to setting up game plans and having one machine do the simluation, or will head to head playcalling be an option?

How much information is included in the "update" files sent back and forth in multi player games? Is this something that would be practical for people with 56k modems to consider or are the files huge.

What type of multiplayer commisioner functions are available? Can head coaches be removed due to inactivity?

Is the multiplayer a client/server architecture or is it limited to saving a file and sending it in?

Where will the definitive leage data be stored in multi player games? Will there be a risk of players hacking into the game files to modify their teams?

Will there be a waiver system? Or will players that are cut just go back to the FA pool? This would seem to be a fairly important thing in a multi-player game.

Willl gameplans be hidden from opposing coaches (password protected or otherwise) in multiplayer?

In multi-player, is it easy for the commish to participate in the league as a team or could/would the integrity of the universe potentially be ruined.

How much time do you believe a commish would have to dedicate to one season of FOF2004 as a minimum requirement?

How will a multiplayer draft be handled? Real time, or will each pick need to be mailed into the 'commish'?

Any restrictions on number of players?

Can players be added/removed at any point in a season/career?

Can player control be turned on/off at any point in a season/career? I.E. if you have a ten player career going, and one player takes a vacation for a week, can that team's control be automated during that week, and subsequently restored upon their return?

How will the FA 20 and 8 step process' function in multiplayer? Will leagues have the ability to run free agency "outside" of FOF and then just sign the players to the winning team at the end? (Ex. FOBL conducts free agency in our own third party program. Once the results of FA have been obtained, the league management then goes into OOTP and manually signs the players to the winning teams). Or, will each team need to submit a bid file for each week of the FA process?

How is difficulty level affected in a multi-player environment?

Are there coaches/scouts in the multi-player environment? If so, do the GM's bid on them as they do now in FOF4?

Should a GM wish to communicate a trade offer to another human GM, does he leave the offer via email and the other will see this offer when loading the current game file?

Will the commish have a flag of some sort to know when all teams current week game files have been imported?

Should a human GM leave the league for any reason, how difficult is it to replace him? Will the computer fill in should a human not take over right away?

Presentation

Will we have access to a player's college stats when they enter the draft?

Has the game presentation changed at all? I.e. the PbP?

Has HTML exporting made it into this version?

Gameplanning questions

Will the QB not also be the backup FB on a team's depth chart (when there are a couple of FB injuries), making him both the QB and FB on the same play sometimes (yes, I've had this happen)?

Will positions continue to be split (LCB, RDE, etc)?

Any chance of getting the same type of Personnel screens for defensive formations that we now have for offensive formations? I'd love to be able to set up specific personnel packages for nickel and dime situations.

Will you get to customize the game plans a bit more with nickel and dime D? In other words, can you choose which linbacker to take out in the nickel? Can you have a blitzing percentage for the nickel back that differs from the setting for the LB who he replaces?

Is there the ability to have other players in the Depth Chart apart from the normal list (ala Warren Sapp, the Fridge in at TE, FB, TB). Or, in a more normal situation, an O- Tackle is put at TE position.

Gameplay/AI

Will players you have cut ever consider playing for you again?

Will there be practice squads?

Will vested veterans signed for the minimum count less against the cap a la recent changes in the CBA?

Will restricted players, franchise players be able to be signed but at the cost of drat compensation?

Will there be compensatory draft picks?

Transition tags?

Will restricted free agents have three offers that determine their status?

Will there be more contract negotiation clauses? Incentives? Roster bonuses?

Will the compatability continue to be based on something like astrological sign or something more realistic like Myers-Briggs Personalty Types?

Can players that retire be hired as coaches?

Will waiver claims be implemented?

Can a third quarterback on the inactive roster be activated per NFL rules?

Will agents begin to play a bigger role in their client's lives?

Will we be able to peruse a fake draft publication that lists rookies by anticipated draft round (in order to have a jumping off point to begin sorting)?

Can you be fired/ change jobs to other teams like FOF4? If so and you get fired, will there always be a team that wants your services? Some people have been fired and there are no teams that want to rehire, so in essence the game is over. I couldn't imagine having all that history and then, BOOM! you have to start over.

Has the AI end-game logic been tweaked? (Right now, there are consistently unrealistic play calls late in halves and in OT.)

In the current version of FOF4, it appears that teams go through the leftover players after free agency in a randomly determined order. The first team that gets to do this often signs a handful of strong players to one-year, bargain-basement contracts, and subsequently rises in the standings the next season, only to fall again the following year when all those players go back into free agency. Will this problem be addressed in the new version of FOF4?

Will Astrological Signs still be implemented? If so, will we get any additional feedback such as Player X and Player Y got into a fight in spring training or QB X and WR Y did not seem in synch during the game today.

Will Game Experience be factored in to the scouts opinion of a player? I noticed many times when scouts would favor a FB with a rating of 40 and 8 years experience over a FB with a rating of 70 and 1 year of experience. That always confused me. (The rating being a generic average of all it's attributes).

Will injuries still be linked heavily to the coach?

Will training be expanded beyond Spring Training to include weekly regiments of training during the regular and post-season?

Will coach and coordinator profiles be editable like the player files in fof4. Also will coaches and scouts still be randomly created and assigned to teams like in previous versions or will be be able to give each team their starting front office tandem, as we see fit.

Will there be a higher difficulty level, or will the highest difficulty level be made more difficult than FOF?

Will the intelligence test score replace the intelligence rating from previsous versions?

From imported TCY draft files, will the combine scores be interpolated from other ratings, or will they be assigned at random?

Will Long Snapping, Holding, and Gunning each have their own ratings? If so, will they partially or completely replace the current Special Teams rating? Also, from imported TCY draft files, will those ratings be interpolated from other ratings or will they be assigned at random?

Are the overall number ratings for current and potential still available during the amateur draft?

Will the coach (not me) ever be allowed to pick his own coordinators?

Will each player's playoff stats be saved just as the regular season stats?

Can you go back and look up past year's drafts?

Will the CPU be competitive in games vs. Human? Last version I played I could go undefeated with the worst team in the league if I called my own plays.

Will we be able to set our special teams lineups?

Will you be able to allow the AI to run your team, but be able to flag players that you don't want them to trade/release?

What kind of Difficulty setting will there be?

Can coordinators get promoted to head coaches (possibly leaving your team to head another team)?

In previous versions of FOF (before FOF4) when a player was drafted in the first round it would say his draft position on his player card. It would say 1(12) for the 12th pick in the draft. Will this be brought back for this version of FOF? The difference between the # 1 pick and the # 32 pick is a huge difference and it would be nice if this feature was brought back

Gallifrey · 10-20-2003, 05:07 PM

In multi-player mode:

Q1: Should a GM wish to communicate a trade offer to another human GM, does he leave the offer via email and the other will see this offer when loading the current game file?

Q2: Will the commish have a flag of some sort to know when all teams current week game files have been imported?

Q3: Should a human GM leave the league for any reason, how difficult is it to replace him? Will the computer fill in should a human not take over right away?

Gallifrey · 10-20-2003, 05:12 PM

HornedFrog Purple really covered good topics.
Good job!

Dutch · 10-20-2003, 05:32 PM

Alright, thanks HFP!

MizzouRah · 10-20-2003, 09:08 PM

Yes indeed, thanks HFP!!

Todd

10-18-2003, 01:37 PM	#56
JeeberD General Manager Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Town of Flower Mound	In a players information will it list what number they were drafted at instead of just the round in which they were drafted? __________________ UTEP Miners!!! I solemnly swear to never cheer for TO

10-18-2003, 01:42 PM	#57
Bonegavel Awaiting Further Instructions... Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Macungie, PA	Will you be able to allow the AI to run your team, but be able to flag players that you don't want them to trade/release? Because it is tedious to manage your roster 100% to make it "legal" I often let the AI do it, but then they release players that I wanted to keep. It would be nice to be able to "flag" them, forcing the AI to ignore them. Of course, if the AI runs into problems (I've flagged too many, or the ones flagged are huge money whores) it would email me and I would take over and fix. Actually, to extend this, it would be nice to have each section of the game allow me to FREEZE settings while allowing the AI to run my team (but not change things I set to FREEZE). This would allow me to make changes that I want, while allowing the AI to handle tasks I deem mundane. __________________

10-18-2003, 01:51 PM	#58
Bonegavel Awaiting Further Instructions... Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Macungie, PA	It would be nice to see the college stats for draftees. The more information for the draft, the better. Hell, even if the game produces a giant excel file for each draft, I would love to pour over numbers for draft picks. In the past, the draft in FOF was a super YAWNfest. Give me info like: a) good/bad kid in college b) awards garnered c) team player/ loud mouth egomaniac d) stats e) arrest record (goes with -a-) f) combine-like scores (i see that's in the game) g) grades/academic achievements IOW, the more info the better. __________________

10-18-2003, 07:37 PM	#63
illinifan999 Pro Rookie Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: VA	Did expansion make it in? Please let there be expansion. __________________ Chicago Eagles 2 time ZFL champions We're "rebuilding"

10-19-2003, 05:44 AM	#66
Bad-example College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: san jose CA	Will we have any input as to the length of contract for our draft picks? On what OS was the game designed? Will the game be released on a religious holiday? Sorry, couldn't resist that last one heh. __________________ Karaoke Katie drove the crowd wild Every time she'd sing they'd come in for miles Curtain came up, Katie came on Drinking like a lumberjack and singing Delta Dawn

10-18-2003, 06:11 AM	#52
pbot H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Apr 2001	How will the FA 20 and 8 step process' function in multiplayer? Will leagues have the ability to run free agency "outside" of FOF and then just sign the players to the winning team at the end? (Ex. FOBL conducts free agency in our own third party program. Once the results of FA have been obtained, the league management then goes into OOTP and manually signs the players to the winning teams). Or, will each team need to submit a bid file for each week of the FA process?

10-18-2003, 08:10 AM	#53
Balldog Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Macomb, MI	Didn't see it, may have missed it. Will the CPU be competitive in games vs. Human? Last version I played I could go undefeated with the worst team in the league if I called my own plays. Thanks!

10-18-2003, 04:29 PM	#61
GMO Mascot Join Date: May 2003	Currently I can't offer someone a future contract. For example, in year 2005 a player is in the last year of his contract. I want to offer him a contract starting in the year 2006. Currently I can't do that. If I offer the player a contract I have to revise the current year contract, and pay another bonus for the current year (2005). But I only want to negotiate a contract for the future i.e. starting in year 2006 in this example. Will this be changed so that I can negotiate a future contract i.e. a contract starting next year without revising the current year contract and paying a bonus for the current year again? Thanks.

10-18-2003, 09:34 PM	#64
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	If importing players from TCY, how do the combine numbers interact with the TCY players? It would be neat if the stats from TCY players carried over to FOF2004, so in the draft you could see the players total stats for years played in college. If you import players from TCY, do you NOT get the added draft info? Todd

10-19-2003, 08:57 AM	#68
Buccaneer Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Colorado	It was our old friend, the_classic.

10-19-2003, 10:23 AM	#70
T-Storm n00b Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Vienna, Austria	About general gameplay: Will height and weight finally matter? For that matter, I hop I'm not mistaken, but in the new combine ratings before the draft, there's also a speed rating, will that matter? As an example: two identically rated cornerbacks, one 6-5, 230 pounds, 4.3 speed (in the 40 yard), another one 5-7, 170 pounds, 5.0 speed. Will the physically better player also be the better player eventhough both players have the very same ratings? Or would it just be, as it has been that size just determines somewhat the probabilty of the player busting/getting injured more or less often/ switching positions more or less succesfully? Will the computer controlled players be finally able to compete? To compete they'd have to much more aggressively renew contracts, fire players that don't play up to their contract, fire players that lost their abilities due to busts or injuries etc.? In fof4 players that are already on my roster can be resigned extremly more cheaply than their demands, by just slightly more signing bonus. but players in fa don't. This is one of the reasons why the cpu struggles so very much competing. so my question is: will players be more strict about their demands? and will fa players also accept an inferior overall offer with more signingbonus over an offer with less signingbonus but a good bit more overall value? Will players demands finally be a bit more in line in that the salary doesn't escalate as extremly as it has in previous fof versions? About drafts: I'd like to just set it up the most rudimentary way like this: 50% roster filler 40% replacement starters 15% good starters 4% very good starters 0.5% elite starters 0.4% near superstars 0.1% absolute superstars That means, I don't want to have to set up each players ratingand details individually, I just want to set the general player quality of the draft. Will this be possible? Or would it at least be possible to make a 3rd party program that made this possible? PS: Will we more regularly see certain TightEnds put up 1000+ yards seasons? As it is, it's very seldom to even see the best TEs with the worst WRs gain more than 700yards. I'd like to occasionally see a Tony Gonzales lookalike, putting up multiple seasons with 1000yards. Will the quarterback numbers be slightly corrected downwards? there are imo too many qbs having carrers with a 90+ qbr. Will the hall of fame criteria be changed? there are far too many mediocre quarterbacks, and by far too few defensive players or offensive linemen, tight ends or fullbacks (I don't remember seeing many if any fbs in the hof. special teams are with exception of the occasional kicker almost completly ignored. Will there finally be return specialists in the draft? and will those at least get a job with cpu teams (meaning players that have almost no ablity anywhere but in returning kicks/punts)? Will I be able to more directly set up in the game play what we do and not have it in coherence with the rest of the league? (example: I'd like to use a 2 te single back offense as the base offense with the two te heavily involved in the passing game. Or i'd like to almost constantly use the nickelback formation. or I'd like to rush the starting runningback 100% of the time, even after the game's outcome is long decided in my favor. or have the backup running back and 3rd string rb get a certain amount of carries? and have a certain runningback run into certain directiosn more often? like having the 3rd sting running back who jsut has great breakaway speed and great speed to outside almost only rush outside the tackles? Last edited by T-Storm : 10-19-2003 at 10:45 AM.

10-19-2003, 10:36 AM	#71
Shepp High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Atlanta, GA	The only thing I would like to see in the next version is to be able to see the career stats of active players when you look at the idividual stats during the off season. It had been in every version before FOF4 and I can't tell you how much I miss it.

10-19-2003, 11:28 AM	#72
cuervo72 Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maryland	T-Storm, I think you need to check your addition.... __________________ null

10-19-2003, 11:34 AM	#74
Bonegavel Awaiting Further Instructions... Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Macungie, PA	110%. Don't they always tell you to give that? __________________

10-19-2003, 12:38 PM	#75
Taur High School Varsity Join Date: Jan 2002	What kind of Difficulty setting will there be? Yes, I know the standard the harder the level the smarter the AI. But, I am also hoping there is a way to make the game hard enough to not have to enforce House rules. Some way to give your opponent an across the board player advantage. House rules always have me taking away the very game features I originally bought the game for Why did you buy this game? ---Contracts, trades, and free-agents 2-Weeks Later. What house rules do you use? ---Cannot modify contract offers, No user proposed trades, and can't sign star UFAs __________________ END OF LINE.....

10-19-2003, 02:07 PM	#76
Doug5984 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Louisiana	I have not seen this asked but could have easily missed it... In previous versions of FOF (before FOF4) when a player was drafted in the first round it would say his draft position on his player card. It would say 1(12) for the 12th pick in the draft. Will this be brought back for this version of FOF? The difference between the # 1 pick and the # 32 pick is a huge difference and it would be nice if this feature was brought back

10-19-2003, 03:23 PM	#78
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	Any chance of getting the same type of Personnel screens for defensive formations that we now have for offensive formations? I'd love to be able to set up specific personnel packages for nickel and dime situations. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 10-19-2003 at 03:25 PM.

10-19-2003, 03:35 PM	#79
HornedFrog Purple Hattrick Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Fort Worthless, Tx	Forgot a couple.. Did the team Hall of Fame make it back in? Was offensive linemen and more defensive players being eligible for the league Hall of Fame tweaked?

10-19-2003, 05:36 PM	#80
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	Making my question a little bit clearer. Taken from the FOF 2004 features list: Revised Amateur Draft. Rookies will be tested in a league scouting combine, including the 40-yard dash, an agility drill, a strength test and an intelligence test. Scouts will know a little less about the rookies, so you'll have to learn to read these numbers and separate the workout warriors from the true players How will this relate to TCY players imported? Will these players still be rated in the combine? Will their career stats be imported as well to look at? I would REALLY like these two games to be intertwined a little more as far as importing players into FOF 2004. As it stands, importing has been a waste for me with FOF4 and I've gone back to the game generated players. Todd

10-20-2003, 09:42 AM	#87
Bee Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fairfax, VA	I'm pretty sure Quiksand has it right.

10-20-2003, 12:44 PM	#89
Dutch "Dutch" Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Tampa, FL	Will TCY need an update to the college export file in order to work correctly with FOF2004?

10-20-2003, 01:01 PM	#90
Scarecrow College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Flatlands of America	[list=1][]How is difficulty level affected in a multi-player environment?[]Are there things that can be customized that hasn't been in the past (ie: backloaded contracts, the ability to lose money hand over fist, etc...)[]Are there coaches/scouts in the multi-player environment? If so, do the GM's bid on them as they do now in FOF4?[/list=1] __________________ Post Count:* Eleventy Billion - so deal with it! Last edited by Scarecrow : 10-20-2003 at 10:10 PM.

10-20-2003, 01:10 PM	#91
Bee Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Fairfax, VA	Maybe someone should go through and organize the questions into one post (maybe organized by category) and then allow everyone a chance to add more questions or at least "clarify" some of the questions we already have?

10-20-2003, 02:04 PM	#95
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	Will you get to customize the game plans a bit more with nickel and dime D? In other words, can you choose which linbacker to take out in the nickel? Can you have a blitzing percentage for the nickel back that differs from the setting for the LB who he replaces?

10-20-2003, 05:01 PM	#96
HornedFrog Purple Hattrick Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Fort Worthless, Tx	ok i tried.... General My question is will you have a chat on irc regarding the game? What are the system requirements for the game? On what OS was the game designed? is the game going to be download only or is there still the possibility of a non-eLicensed CD version? TCY Compatibility and general setup Will TCY drafts be compatible with FOF2004? Will there be league setups available aside from the 32 team league? Will there be an option to not be the head of any team while simulating seasons? (Effectively just watching the league either before or after heading a team) Will/should 2k4 careers be compatible with future FOF releases? Will/Can this version (FOF2004) be compatable with future version of the FOF series? For example, importing of ALL stats, players (even retired ones), teams & team history, league records and history, ect. If importing players from TCY, how do the combine numbers interact with the TCY players? If you import players from TCY, do you NOT get the added draft info? From imported TCY draft files, will the combine scores be interpolated from other ratings, or will they be assigned at random? Will TCY need an update to the college export file in order to work correctly with FOF2004? Customization questions Will there be rudimentary support for logos/helmets? Will league structure and sizes be customizable for solo and MP? Wouls it be possible to include a third-party schedule generator for anything other than a 32-team league? Did expansion make it in? Will we have the ability to rename the champsionp game? The conferences? The divisions? Are there things that can be customized that hasn't been in the past (ie: backloaded contracts, the ability to lose money hand over fist, etc...) Is there a format for the CSV lists to import players? Financial questions Will salary cap "growth rate" be adjustable? (For historic leagues, to avoid a low starting salary cap practically doubling the first few years). Have new incentives been included for contract negotiations? Will we have any input as to the length of contract for our draft picks? Multiplayer questions Will multiplayer play be limited to setting up game plans and having one machine do the simluation, or will head to head playcalling be an option? How much information is included in the "update" files sent back and forth in multi player games? Is this something that would be practical for people with 56k modems to consider or are the files huge. What type of multiplayer commisioner functions are available? Can head coaches be removed due to inactivity? Is the multiplayer a client/server architecture or is it limited to saving a file and sending it in? Where will the definitive leage data be stored in multi player games? Will there be a risk of players hacking into the game files to modify their teams? Will there be a waiver system? Or will players that are cut just go back to the FA pool? This would seem to be a fairly important thing in a multi-player game. Willl gameplans be hidden from opposing coaches (password protected or otherwise) in multiplayer? In multi-player, is it easy for the commish to participate in the league as a team or could/would the integrity of the universe potentially be ruined. How much time do you believe a commish would have to dedicate to one season of FOF2004 as a minimum requirement? How will a multiplayer draft be handled? Real time, or will each pick need to be mailed into the 'commish'? Any restrictions on number of players? Can players be added/removed at any point in a season/career? Can player control be turned on/off at any point in a season/career? I.E. if you have a ten player career going, and one player takes a vacation for a week, can that team's control be automated during that week, and subsequently restored upon their return? How will the FA 20 and 8 step process' function in multiplayer? Will leagues have the ability to run free agency "outside" of FOF and then just sign the players to the winning team at the end? (Ex. FOBL conducts free agency in our own third party program. Once the results of FA have been obtained, the league management then goes into OOTP and manually signs the players to the winning teams). Or, will each team need to submit a bid file for each week of the FA process? How is difficulty level affected in a multi-player environment? Are there coaches/scouts in the multi-player environment? If so, do the GM's bid on them as they do now in FOF4? Should a GM wish to communicate a trade offer to another human GM, does he leave the offer via email and the other will see this offer when loading the current game file? Will the commish have a flag of some sort to know when all teams current week game files have been imported? Should a human GM leave the league for any reason, how difficult is it to replace him? Will the computer fill in should a human not take over right away? Presentation Will we have access to a player's college stats when they enter the draft? Has the game presentation changed at all? I.e. the PbP? Has HTML exporting made it into this version? Gameplanning questions Will the QB not also be the backup FB on a team's depth chart (when there are a couple of FB injuries), making him both the QB and FB on the same play sometimes (yes, I've had this happen)? Will positions continue to be split (LCB, RDE, etc)? Any chance of getting the same type of Personnel screens for defensive formations that we now have for offensive formations? I'd love to be able to set up specific personnel packages for nickel and dime situations. Will you get to customize the game plans a bit more with nickel and dime D? In other words, can you choose which linbacker to take out in the nickel? Can you have a blitzing percentage for the nickel back that differs from the setting for the LB who he replaces? Is there the ability to have other players in the Depth Chart apart from the normal list (ala Warren Sapp, the Fridge in at TE, FB, TB). Or, in a more normal situation, an O- Tackle is put at TE position. Gameplay/AI Will players you have cut ever consider playing for you again? Will there be practice squads? Will vested veterans signed for the minimum count less against the cap a la recent changes in the CBA? Will restricted players, franchise players be able to be signed but at the cost of drat compensation? Will there be compensatory draft picks? Transition tags? Will restricted free agents have three offers that determine their status? Will there be more contract negotiation clauses? Incentives? Roster bonuses? Will the compatability continue to be based on something like astrological sign or something more realistic like Myers-Briggs Personalty Types? Can players that retire be hired as coaches? Will waiver claims be implemented? Can a third quarterback on the inactive roster be activated per NFL rules? Will agents begin to play a bigger role in their client's lives? Will we be able to peruse a fake draft publication that lists rookies by anticipated draft round (in order to have a jumping off point to begin sorting)? Can you be fired/ change jobs to other teams like FOF4? If so and you get fired, will there always be a team that wants your services? Some people have been fired and there are no teams that want to rehire, so in essence the game is over. I couldn't imagine having all that history and then, BOOM! you have to start over. Has the AI end-game logic been tweaked? (Right now, there are consistently unrealistic play calls late in halves and in OT.) In the current version of FOF4, it appears that teams go through the leftover players after free agency in a randomly determined order. The first team that gets to do this often signs a handful of strong players to one-year, bargain-basement contracts, and subsequently rises in the standings the next season, only to fall again the following year when all those players go back into free agency. Will this problem be addressed in the new version of FOF4? Will Astrological Signs still be implemented? If so, will we get any additional feedback such as Player X and Player Y got into a fight in spring training or QB X and WR Y did not seem in synch during the game today. Will Game Experience be factored in to the scouts opinion of a player? I noticed many times when scouts would favor a FB with a rating of 40 and 8 years experience over a FB with a rating of 70 and 1 year of experience. That always confused me. (The rating being a generic average of all it's attributes). Will injuries still be linked heavily to the coach? Will training be expanded beyond Spring Training to include weekly regiments of training during the regular and post-season? Will coach and coordinator profiles be editable like the player files in fof4. Also will coaches and scouts still be randomly created and assigned to teams like in previous versions or will be be able to give each team their starting front office tandem, as we see fit. Will there be a higher difficulty level, or will the highest difficulty level be made more difficult than FOF? Will the intelligence test score replace the intelligence rating from previsous versions? From imported TCY draft files, will the combine scores be interpolated from other ratings, or will they be assigned at random? Will Long Snapping, Holding, and Gunning each have their own ratings? If so, will they partially or completely replace the current Special Teams rating? Also, from imported TCY draft files, will those ratings be interpolated from other ratings or will they be assigned at random? Are the overall number ratings for current and potential still available during the amateur draft? Will the coach (not me) ever be allowed to pick his own coordinators? Will each player's playoff stats be saved just as the regular season stats? Can you go back and look up past year's drafts? Will the CPU be competitive in games vs. Human? Last version I played I could go undefeated with the worst team in the league if I called my own plays. Will we be able to set our special teams lineups? Will you be able to allow the AI to run your team, but be able to flag players that you don't want them to trade/release? What kind of Difficulty setting will there be? Can coordinators get promoted to head coaches (possibly leaving your team to head another team)? In previous versions of FOF (before FOF4) when a player was drafted in the first round it would say his draft position on his player card. It would say 1(12) for the 12th pick in the draft. Will this be brought back for this version of FOF? The difference between the # 1 pick and the # 32 pick is a huge difference and it would be nice if this feature was brought back Last edited by HornedFrog Purple : 10-21-2003 at 05:05 PM.

10-20-2003, 05:07 PM	#97
Gallifrey High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Seattle, Washington	In multi-player mode: Q1: Should a GM wish to communicate a trade offer to another human GM, does he leave the offer via email and the other will see this offer when loading the current game file? Q2: Will the commish have a flag of some sort to know when all teams current week game files have been imported? Q3: Should a human GM leave the league for any reason, how difficult is it to replace him? Will the computer fill in should a human not take over right away?

10-20-2003, 05:12 PM	#98
Gallifrey High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Seattle, Washington	HornedFrog Purple really covered good topics. Good job!

10-20-2003, 05:32 PM	#99
Dutch "Dutch" Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Tampa, FL	Alright, thanks HFP!

10-20-2003, 09:08 PM	#100
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Troy, Mo	Yes indeed, thanks HFP!! Todd

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