TCY 2 wishlist/suggestions

[cthomer5000]

With basically no FOF talk around here, and my re-ignited passion for TCY and my Rutgers dynasty I thought it might be interesting to start a wishlist of features us players would like to see in TCY 2. We don't know when this game will be made, but I think we're all fairly certain it's inevitable.

Off the top of my head, here's what i'd like to see:

• some sort of conference editor tool, allowing you to set up the conferences how you'd like before starting your career
• a bowl matchup editor, allowing you to edit bowl matchups, automatic berths, etc. I think this should be an option before the beginning of each season. This way you could add or remove teams based on the growing or weakening state of individual conferences

A lot of minor things will probably come to me later...

I have to say, after a lot of play with this game it's harder to see room for improvement than in FOF4. I think TCY (post summer patch) is probably the tightest game Jim has made.

[A-Husker-4-Life]

TCY is Jim's best, but it needs an update... here are some idea's;

-Add coaches contracts and extensions...

-Spring ball, have a scrimage at the end and box scores...So you call figure out who the starters are...

-Advanced recruiting, be able to get Juco's and when some recruites don't qualify grade-wise they would be sent to Juco schools...

-Add the media, make so you have to explain your wins or losses to the media...

-have the ability to take to make adjustments in the gameplay/roster at halftime...

-Practices, your team will run one everyday...

-Hall of fame for all the coaches in the league...

-have the ability to see your players high school stats throughout the whole game, not just in recruiting...

-Be able to set a depth chart for special teams(Kickoff team, ect...)

-have your depth-chart change with the offense you choose... Currently when you run the single-back you have a spot for the FB....

that about it, but I will think of more.....

[illinifan999]

-How about a High-School All-American page

-I don't like how sometimes the #1 player in the nation isn't All-Country

-I'd like to maybe win Coach of they Year once

- I'd really like it if when the board is nice enough to build a new stadium after 10 years of sellouts at 44k, they don't drop it to 30k.

[Noop]

1. Scouting reports - I'd like to know everything about the player I'm trying to sign. Example: Joe Blow runs a 4.4 according to his highschool coach we clocked at times of 4.38, 4.43, 4.44 . Coach Noop I believe Joe can be a very good player on the defensive side of the ball. But I feel he a player who needs the ball in his hands in order to make things happen. Also he made sure to tell me he's a huge Florida State fan.

2. Impact players the as incoming freshman they are ready to set the world on fire.

3. I want to vote in coaching polls.

4. If I dont make to a BCS I want to either accept or decline a bowl invation. Example: I've been to the gator bowl 4 years running I want to be able to accept another bowl bid.

5. Not every highschool football player has a 3.5 1300+ grades in school so make it a lil bit more real.

6. The addition of the once in a while two way player who is actually good at both postions.

7. Spring Practice

8. Preseason preview of the conference of your choice(including your own.)



noop

[cthomer5000]

expanding on the thoughts of others and adding some of my own:

Maybe something all the FOF games could use is practice. We could hear reports on how players are looking, who's got a bad attitude, who got injured while practicing, who's out of shape, etc. use your imagination.

I certainly wouldn't mind a special teams depth chart. It would allow me to make sure some starters either definitely were or definitely were not on those units.

Different 'skins' for each type of base offense is a good idea as well. It's annoying staring at that FB spot in my single back offense. I would be better suited to having a 3rd starting WR slot and a larger bench of WR reserves. For that matter, maybe there could be different sets of minimum roster requirements for each type of base offense. Why should I have to carry any FB's in a run-and-shoot offense?

I think just like the base offense in TCY that you should have to choose a base defense. At the very least he should bring in the "level of familiarity" concept from FOF2001. I don't think I should be able to move from a 46 to a 3-4 to a 4-3 in 3 straight weeks without consequence.

coach of the year needs to be fixed.

I think the staidum process needs to be overhauled. Perhaps there should be some sort of proposal involved? I realize that wouldn't really be how things work in college sports, but down sizing a stadium when you're selling out isn't exactly realistic either.

[EagleFan]

Player editor of some sort would be nice.

Contracts for coaches. Another great addition but would require a change to FOF would be the ability for a coach to go pro.

The ability to sim off several season without having to be a coach of a team to be able to generate some history. That way you don't get hammerred for your record when you have it on autopilot.

Possible conference realignment.

Generate a scouting report for the players that go into the pro draft.

Ability to vote in coaches' poll.

Ability to not have the SCE in the league. I don't mind it being there but it would be nice to have the option not to have it there.

Maybe a way to have kids become a part of football. Something that tells if the player's father was a college player of the past. That would be just for atmosphere, but could add quite a bit to it for some. You see that the son of a quarterback who led you to a championship 20 years ago is now a high school senior and playing football, that type of thing.


Just a few things off the top of my head.

[Ben E Lou]

I mentioned this in another thread.

First off, I'd like to see 40 times and bench press added to recruits.

I'd like to see a third rating added to each high school, something like, "accurate information." In other words, each high school coach would have a reputation for how accurate his reporting of 40 times, bench press, etc. is.

Each school would have the option of hosting summer camps for high school players and/or teams, as is done in real life. (Kids I know just got back from 7-on-7 team passing camp at Auburn. Several linemen are going to an individual lineman camp at Furman in a couple of weeks. Etc. etc. etc.) You'd have MUCH more accurate and reliable info on players who attend your school's camp(s). Of course, these camps would cost $$$ to put on (recruiting points perhaps?)

Each recruit (perhaps based on his aspiration rating) should have the ability to significantly improve or decline between signing day and the beginning of the next season. (For example, Jabari Davis gained 20-25 pounds of mostly fat between the time he signed with Tennessee and the time he showed up on campus. On the flip side, Andrew Childers has already gained 10-15 pounds of muscle since he signed with Samford--many of y'all saw his picture from a couple of weeks ago.)

[Anrhydeddu]

SkyDog, your suggestions all assume that if these extra ratings were there, the AI would know what to do with them or that would even make a difference in differentiating players.

[cthomer5000]

I agree on the removal of the option of not having the SOL 8. An option to not have it and instead have maybe 1 or 2 fake teams to fix scheduling issues would be fine with me. Another good idea would be to have a choice of preset conferences for the SOL 8, I remember someone (on the old board) doing the legwork to mak a bunch of options for how you could make the conference out of teams that exist in I-AA in real life. If there were pre-made conferences to select from, it would be a nice option.

I'd imagine the dwindling number of independents will become a real obstacle for Jim in making the next version. There's only going to be 2 or 3 within 3 years. Can anyone correct me on this? There are 4 now, but U-Conn and Troy State are on their way to conferences. Has Temple come up with anything after the end of their Big East run? Anyway, making the independents a pseudo-conference would be much tougher with just Navy and Notre Dame.

Recruiting could probably become more layered. Perhaps you could have some options like:
mass mailing vs. handwritten letter
speaking with their coach
summer camps (as SkyDog suggested)

clearly you would assign dollar or "recruiting point" values to things like this.

JUCO transfers would be nice, but i could see how it might take a ton of work to add them.

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
SkyDog, your suggestions all assume that if these extra ratings were there, the AI would know what to do with them or that would even make a difference in differentiating players.

I think you can assume that's implied. Do we really need to tack on "and the AI would take advantage of and understand this feature" to every suggestion?

[scooper]

SkyDog, speaking of recruiting camps, to your knowledge is Thomas Brown camping at ND? They seem to be beating the bushes in GA pretty hard so far, especially for running backs.

[Anrhydeddu]

cthomer, I think so because as we have clearly seen in FOF, it cannot even be assumed that the AI can adequately manage even the basic ratings and financial information, let alone the more subtle ratings. Now whether this directly applies to TCY (it does to FOF), I don't know, it's been too long.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by scooper
SkyDog, speaking of recruiting camps, to your knowledge is Thomas Brown camping at ND? They seem to be beating the bushes in GA pretty hard so far, especially for running backs.

To my knowledge, no. I think he's going to individual camps at FSU and UGA, and that's about all that is left. Practice starts here in just 3 weeks.

[scooper]

Thanks, hopefully Ty gets him on campus anyway. Good luck to the young man, regardless. It seems there is a lot of talent in Georgia this year.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by scooper
Thanks, hopefully Ty gets him on campus anyway. Good luck to the young man, regardless. It seems there is a lot of talent in Georgia this year.

Well, at times he's said that ND is one of his top 5, and at times he hasn't. (As we've discussed regarding TCY recruiting, we ARE talking about the fickleness of a 17-year-old kid here...) As is the case with most kids, when he goes to a camp and meets a coach, that school's stock increases for a while, but then the next camp/coach looks good as well....

If I had to guess, I'd say he'd end up at Maryland or Georgia....but I sure wouldn't put any $$$ on it.

[scooper]

Originally posted by cthomer5000

I'd imagine the dwindling number of independents will become a real obstacle for Jim in making the next version. There's only going to be 2 or 3 within 3 years. Can anyone correct me on this? There are 4 now, but U-Conn and Troy State are on their way to conferences. Has Temple come up with anything after the end of their Big East run? Anyway, making the independents a pseudo-conference would be much tougher with just Navy and Notre Dame.

Very good point. Scheduling would have to be handled differently. I like the way it's handled now, but there could be improvement. I'm an ND fan, but I don't play with them because I don't like the schedule. It's not a big deal to me, I play with somebody else. I actually enjoy using teams from parts of the country that I'm not geographically as familiar with.

No, by the way, I was not one of the Irish fans that complained to Jim about the independant conferece when the game was released. I understood the limitaions of scheduling in the game and I accepted it. It will be interesting to see how only two independents are treated.

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by scooper
It will be interesting to see how only two independents are treated.

I'm sure Jim will be tempted to just hit 'delete.' it would probably be much easier on him. Instead it might have to be N.D, Navy, and a few fictional teams making up the conference.

[scooper]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
I'm sure Jim will be tempted to just hit 'delete.' it would probably be much easier on him. Instead it might have to be N.D, Navy, and a few fictional teams making up the conference.

Good idea. Those fictional teams would replace the SCE. He's said many times, TCY is his college football world, not a simulation of the real thing.

[condors]

i may have missed it if someone said it earlier but playcalling is an option i would want

[Leonidas]

- I like the idea of adding physical skills to recruiting (40 times, bench press, etc).

- Playcalling

- Change to HOF to allow players who didn't start all 4 years. You could have the greatest player ever, but unless he was one of those rare players to start as a true freshman, no Hall.

- Bowl Matchup editor (I really get sick of going to the same bowl game every year in a dynasty)

- Do something to fix inflated player ratings when they go pro (not sure if this is a FOF problem or TCY). I am sick of drafting 7th round guys who have ratings in the 70-80's.

- There should be a recruiting feature that allows you to take recruits to strip clubs.

[Karim]

I know nothing about college football, nor do I follow it, but TCY was a very enjoyable game. I really enjoy being able to take over a lousy team/organization and try and mold it into a winner. Of all of Solecismic's games, this was the only one I really found a challenge without house rules. The best I managed was to take a Solecismic Eight Spokane College to #19 in the country.

There are only two things I really would want to see in a new version.

1) There really needs to be an elaborate recruit filter. I spent way too much time with pencil and paper. If I want to list all LBs over 6'0, with a 1000+ SAT, a 75+ athletic prep, a 50+ academic prep, a 3.30 GPA+, with at least 30 tackles in their last year in high school, who live in the northwest, I should be able to do this.

2) This may go agains the way it is done in real life, but I really do wish recruiting was not intermingled with games. Taking #1 into consideration, it was a lot of manual work (at least for the way I played) to switch between the two "in-game features". It would have been more pleasant if I could simply concentrate on recruiting in the off-season.

[Noop]

bump!!



noop

[tucker342]

The big thing for me is ability to change conference alinment, ability to edit players, coaching contracts, stadium shouldn't get smaller after selling out a 44,000 seat stadium for 10 straight years, also more info in recruiting.

[cthomer5000]

a few more minor suggestions:

• Pre-season all-american teams
• redshirt freshman being eligible for freshman team awards (it works that way in real life... right?)
• keep the "Joe Blow is concerned that you have a freshman at his position" but also add "playing time" as a full criteria in player's decision making. there's got to be more than academics, distance, and prestige involved.

[Solecismic]

Really good stuff here, thanks guys.

Here's a question for those of you who are still into the game:

I've received many comments that the process of allocating a player's free-time, weight-room time, etc... is rather tedious. Some have advocated a screen where you can set the time for everyone in a position group at once. But the huge differences in free-time requirements for those in academic trouble and those with girlfriends makes that solution somewhat inadequate. Are there any suggestions for how that can be handled gracefully?

No idea what to do with the independents as they disappear. Just the dynamic scheduling of two games for each team is about the most complicated code in the entire game. It's hard to imagine going to three games, let alone a full season.

If there's a TCY2, I think the solution will be to give those teams more permanent opponents and just call them independents without a bowl tie. Hoping the ratings algorithm properly rewards Notre Dame for success against a tougher schedule. I don't think that would be too hard, as there's plenty of room for permanent non-conference games with the smaller conferences like the Big East and the Mountain West.

I am really hating Donna Shalalalala right now. Dynamic conference affiliations would essentially require a completely new and far more complex scheduling algorithm.

[rexallllsc]

I would say just continue to perfect the actual game engine, as well as the recruiting aspect (look at the rosters of teams like UCLA...most of the players are from CA and surrounding states), include playcalling, and make the pbp scroll (ootp) or progress (cm) to build tension.

For example:

Smith back to pass
(.5 second pause)
Smith evades the USC rush and rolls out of the pocket to his right...
(1 second pause)
...he's looking deep for Jackson!...
(1.5 second pause to simulate the ball being in the air)
...He's got it!
(.5 second pause)
He's gonna take it in!
(.5 second pause)
Smith to Jackson for a 52 yard strike! UCLA leads 7-0!

I think that builds awesome immersion...add in some generic crowd noise when the ball is in the air, and a roar when the ball is caught, or a groan when the play is broken up, a run is stuffed, etc...

Just my $.02

[sabotai]

"I've received many comments that the process of allocating a player's free-time, weight-room time, etc... is rather tedious. Some have advocated a screen where you can set the time for everyone in a position group at once. But the huge differences in free-time requirements for those in academic trouble and those with girlfriends makes that solution somewhat inadequate. Are there any suggestions for how that can be handled gracefully?"

A member of the community created a program (TCY Helper?) that would suggest time allocations. Basically, you would set the practice time, the relaxation time for with/without gf and there are two equations that handled study time based on the students academic attributes and the weight room/football study times based on positions.

I'm sure someone can give you a link to the program to take a look at. Something like that would be MUCH prefered to having to do each player individually.

[TUpei]

I have to use notepad to keep track of my recuiting and staff records. It would be nice to have a place in the game to make notes on players, recruits, staff, etc.

I would like to save all the messages that pop up during recuiting. For instance, when you first contacted him did he say he was pleased, surprised, or what.

This is a great game. Keep trying to make it more realistic. Don't screw it up by turning it into a video game.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I for one hope Jim does a different sport such as basketball or even hockey .

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Solecismic
]Here's a question for those of you who are still into the game:

I've received many comments that the process of allocating a player's free-time, weight-room time, etc... is rather tedious. Some have advocated a screen where you can set the time for everyone in a position group at once. But the huge differences in free-time requirements for those in academic trouble and those with girlfriends makes that solution somewhat inadequate. Are there any suggestions for how that can be handled gracefully?

I'll admit I was one of those who initially felt overwhelmed by the time I spent manging players time (the irony!), but realized it isn't all that bad. I make sure I have all the options off for coach involvement so the time settings carry over from year to year. I cruise through the upper-classmen and make changes only where needed (players bordering on failing a class), and then set the time for my new freshman. I'd imagine a lot of the problem is coming from people re-setting the time for every player every year. If you know what you're doing you don't have to adjust more than 20 players from year to year.

As far as coming up with a quick system for mass-management, I don't have any real suggestions. You're absolutely right about the huge differences between players - I personally couldn't fathom having the time settings for a cornerback with a 1500 SAT score vs. a guy who clocked in a 990. I'd either be wasting the smart guys' time in the classroom, or the moron would be failing out of school.

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by TUpei
I would like to save all the messages that pop up during recuiting. For instance, when you first contacted him did he say he was pleased, surprised, or what.

Not a bad idea at all. I honestly tend to forget things like "Joe Blow loved/hated your offensive coordinator" because it isn't marked anywhere. Also, the fact that it isn't recorded anywhere leads me to undervalue the players feelings about my coach.

that leads me to another suggestion: Only have players comment on the relevant coordinator. I've recruited many running backs who couldn't stand my Defensive Coordinator - was this intentional? It just seems to me like a player would probably only meet and be concerned with whoever will end up coaching them personally.

[Runtheball]

(D'oh! Posted this in the wrong thread the first time...)

Here are a few of the ideas I've read on this thread, that I just want to agree with. A few of my own ideas are at the end of this post.

-- have the ability to take to make adjustments in the gameplay/roster at halftime...

-- There should be a recruiting feature that allows you to take recruits to strip clubs. ;-}

-- There really needs to be an elaborate recruit filter. I spent way too much time with pencil and paper. If I want to list all LBs over 6'0, with a 1000+ SAT, a 75+ athletic prep, a 50+ academic prep, a 3.30 GPA+, with at least 30 tackles in their last year in high school, who live in the northwest, I should be able to do this.

-- I would say just continue to perfect the actual game engine, as well as the recruiting aspect (look at the rosters of teams like UCLA...most of the players are from CA and surrounding states), include playcalling, and make the pbp scroll (ootp) or progress (cm) to build tension.

For example:

Smith back to pass
(.5 second pause)
Smith evades the USC rush and rolls out of the pocket to his right...
(1 second pause)
... etc. etc. etc.

(I LOVE this idea, but if it would significantly delay the release of TCY2, I could certainly live without it)


The following are my own comments, from a previous thread...

-- I recall in one of his interviews Jim said that TCY needed a playcalling interface, like the one he put in FOF4. I wonder what TCY fans would say about that. Personally, I like the (FOF4) playcalling interface, but don't think TCY "needs" it. I think the main thing that it "needs" is better AI clock management and playcalling. I'm so sick of my offensive coordinator (with terrific playcalling skills) calling for long passes when we are winning by less than 7 and have the ball with less than two minutes left in the game. (Also hate it when my Def Coord calls time out while we're down by 40 points and opponent has the ball inside our 20 with less than 2 minutes left).

-- I'd also like to see the players that are already on my roster evaluated not by the local scout, but by a consensus of the entire staff (which would rely partly on the local scout's ability, partly on the ability of the scout that was involved in recruiting the player, and partly on the basis of the player's on-field performance). Once the player is on my team and has been in a few games, shouldn't the entire staff have a say in the player's evaluation?

Can't wait to see TCY2, and would be willing to pay for it in advance of completion if that would help bring this project to the top of Jim's "to-do list".

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Solecismic
I've received many comments that the process of allocating a player's free-time, weight-room time, etc... is rather tedious. Some have advocated a screen where you can set the time for everyone in a position group at once. But the huge differences in free-time requirements for those in academic trouble and those with girlfriends makes that solution somewhat inadequate. Are there any suggestions for how that can be handled gracefully?

Hmmmm... how about some kind of "general instructions" that might mesh with handing over these responsibilities to the coaching staff?

Something like "radio buttons" (perish the thought that I suggest sliders) for things like "Extra classroom time for students with poor grades" and "Extra free time for players with girlfriends" and that sort of thing - let me set some sort of overall strategy, and then let me hand over the responsibility to my coaches (with some confidence that they will do okay with it). I guess the list would need to be subtle to make it work - there should be some thought that goes into deciding what to use. Maybe including offsetting options like "Extra strength training" versus "Extra film study" as global options, in this same vein.

Then, perhaps, alow me to go back and edit one player at a time, after my coachign staff has done the general legwork.

[Leonidas]

Just thought of some more stuff, besides the thing about taking recruits to see strippers (popular in Alabama). I always got so sick of how walk-ons were handled. I generally liked how they were rated as players, but it just killed me to get a good walk on who would kill my academic rating because I couldn't change his study time. Either allow us to tweak their personal time numbers in the middle of the season or just give us 20 extra walkons for every team at the start of each season. Teams usually have around 65 players, not enough if you redshirt much of your incoming class.

Another possibility, set rosters in line with college. Give us the same recruting rules too. Instead of only getting 16 recruites, we could have up to 25, roster permitting. Then have 75 total full scholarships. Get real tricky, let us have a split scholarship option. So say you have 70 guys on a full ride, then you could split 5 full scholarships into 10-half scholarships to make some of the walk-ons happy. This is how it's done in the real thing. Get real cute and maybe have a track guy or basketball guy already on a full ride come over and take some snaps.

[scooper]

Originally posted by Leonidas


Another possibility, set rosters in line with college. Give us the same recruting rules too. Instead of only getting 16 recruites, we could have up to 25, roster permitting. Then have 75 total full scholarships.

This was addressed, I believe, when the original came out. True scholarship limit is 85. To have it true to life, you have to consider that is an extra 25 guys multiplied by over 100 teams. Plus the recruit pool would have to be much larger to support it. You would then be dealing with a much larger game and permance issues pop up.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by scooper
This was addressed, I believe, when the original came out. True scholarship limit is 85. To have it true to life, you have to consider that is an extra 25 guys multiplied by over 100 teams. Plus the recruit pool would have to be much larger to support it. You would then be dealing with a much larger game and permance issues pop up.

Counterpoint:

When TCY came out, I was playing it on a P2, 475MHz machine with 128 Megs of RAM. I'm now playing on a P4, 2.4GHz, 512 Meg Ram machine. I wouldn't have wanted my system to handle a larger game back then, but my current system could easily handle a good bit more. I'll bet that is true for a whole lot of folks. Even if TCY2 is Jim's next project and comes out next year, my current 2.4GHz system will be an average-to-low-end setup, and I'd have NO problem running a significantly bigger game on it.

[scooper]

Originally posted by SkyDog
Counterpoint:

When TCY came out, I was playing it on a P2, 475MHz machine with 128 Megs of RAM. I'm now playing on a P4, 2.4GHz, 512 Meg Ram machine. I wouldn't have wanted my system to handle a larger game back then, but my current system could easily handle a good bit more. I'll bet that is true for a whole lot of folks. Even if TCY2 is Jim's next project and comes out next year, my current 2.4GHz system will be an average-to-low-end setup, and I'd have NO problem running a significantly bigger game on it.

Yes, but, I'm still playing on an old system.

Of course it's a good chance that will change by the time TCY2 ever comes about.

[cthomer5000]

A week-to-week "Heisman watch" would be nice, listing players who would be in consideration as of that point in the year.

[cthomer5000]

In my opinion, it would be interesting if the Power Poll (BCS) and computer rankings weren't available until week 9 or 10 of the season. This would be closer to real life where the BCS matchups can only be speculated until the actual rankings are released. One definite positive would be avoiding the crazy polls of the first 3-4 weeks where teams rocket up and down the charts. I think it would add a little drama, but I bet a lot of players would rather have those rankings there all season long.

It's easier to come up with these suggestions as I'm playing the game.

[sjshaw]

Originally posted by TUpei
I would like to save all the messages that pop up during recuiting. For instance, when you first contacted him did he say he was pleased, surprised, or what.

I agree 100% and hope this is someday included.

[33sherman]

No idea what to do with the independents as they disappear. Just the dynamic scheduling of two games for each team is about the most complicated code in the entire game. It's hard to imagine going to three games, let alone a full season.

Maybe if there was a game option that could be set to indicate that you wanted a twelve game season instead of eleven, even if that meant just one more permanent non-conference opponent?

[NYFAN]

Jim, in response to your question. What about a screen that has a check box for every conceivable thing a player might take into account (a check box for every position, for a GPA range, a GF/or not, etc...) and then under it you can allocate their time. This way the user has the ability to allocate time anyway he likes, for any diversity of player. For instance I could check the boxes "WR", "DB", "w/ GF", "GPA 3-3.5" and then allocate time, thus allocating the time for all WRs and DBs with a girlfriend and a gpa between 3.0 and 3.5.

[Runtheball]

Originally posted by Solecismic
Here's a question for those of you who are still into the game:

I've received many comments that the process of allocating a player's free-time, weight-room time, etc... is rather tedious. Some have advocated a screen where you can set the time for everyone in a position group at once. But the huge differences in free-time requirements for those in academic trouble and those with girlfriends makes that solution somewhat inadequate. Are there any suggestions for how that can be handled gracefully?

[/b]

Jim,
I keep trying, but can't think of any way to handle the process that would not involve radically changing the current method. It really isn't that bad right now, and I hope you don't make any dramatic changes to the process itself. Having to spend alot of time allocating time to the players actually seems to add to my enjoyment of the game because it forces me to "get to know" them and I have more of an interest in their individual progress.

It would be nice if you could streamline the process with fewer mouse clicks...maybe try to put all the info needed to make time allocation decisions for all players in one position group on the screen at the same time. So we could still make individual adjustments to each of our TE/WR, but all in the same window without having several mouse clicks to switch from player to player.

[Hijinx]

There's a ton of good suggestions in this thread.

Playcalling interface

enhanced recruiting search filter (I recruit heavily based on good grades)

ability to send out mail to recruits (recruits can respond positively, negatively, or just ignore?)

Summer recruiting camps - maybe a general camp that's an open invite, and an elite-style invite only camp?

Coaching contracts for assistants

Recruits who decommit/ability to recruit commits off of other commit lists (now this would make it a LOT more realistic)

Facilities as a factor in recruiting (weight room, academic support, etc.)

The ability to appeal to the AD for stadium or facilities enhancements

Legacy recruits (little brothers, or sons of ex-players)

.........

Personally the time management isn't much of an issue for me, I have a system.

First I sort by time allocation and search all the 18's (no girlfriends) to see if any of them have found girlfriends.

Then, I adjust the soph time rankings to reflect normal positional times

then, I ajdust the freshman with special hours for the first year players.

takes about 5-10 minutes usually.

[alterra]

I know it's a pain in the balls but I really want more dynamic scheduling.

I don't have any problem with the time management.

[damnMikeBrown]

I always hated the time management. It was a huge stumbling block on the way to enjoying a season. I'd realise I had to do it...just sit there and look at it, sometimes do it, usually not. I'd not look forward to playing again, because I'd know I'd have to tackle it when I started the career up.

How about templates? You could design perhaps 6 templates or so for each position. (w. GF, w/o GF, and high IQ/med IQ/low IQ). You'd assign a template to a player, then adjust it according to their personal needs, or not, depending on how much of a time sink the player wanted the time scheduling to be. This would help initially, because you wouldn't have to do 40 clicks on each guy to get him set up, and it could carry over from season to season.

[A-Husker-4-Life]

Originally posted by Hijinx

Legacy recruits (little brothers, or sons of ex-players)

This is already in the game... I just recruited a players son this last weekend, his name is Harvey Williams Jr... His dad was a HOF Linebacker for my husker dynasty... I found that you have to wait about 20 years after the player's been added to the HOF but it doesn't always happen...

[Ben E Lou]

Jim:

Time management is handled VERY well by the TCY Helper. The user has about 25-30 choices to make one single time, and it spits out time recommendations for every player based on the user's input. Of course, then these must be entered by hand. If a TCY Helper-type module were added to the game that actually had an "Apply" button that entered all the changes, it would be a VERY painless process. Here are the parameters the user inputs:

PRACTICE TIME
Just one input

STUDY HALL
a multiplier for int. and asp., which spits out a simple number: (Int*mult1)+(Int*mult2). This number can be then divided into ranges, and each range assigned an appropriate amount of study hall time. I know this sounds complicated, but it is really simple. The interface is extremely user friendly, and the default multipliers (1) and default ranges (multiples of 10) work out easily. In other words, a player with int 90 and asp 30 would come in as a 120 using the default settings. Such a player is then recommended to use whatever study hall time the user has specified for 120 (20 for me).

WEIGHT ROOM
Pretty straightforward here. The user puts in a desired weight room time for each position group, with the option to add additional weight room time globally by year.

FILM STUDY
Again, pretty straightforward. The user puts in a desired film study time for each position group, with the option to add additional film study time globally by year. (Basically, that last option lets the player recommend additional weight room time early on, then back off on the weights as the player gets older and approaches/reaches his "ideal" weight.

RELAXATION
Two simple settings here: "players with girlfriends" and "players without girlfriends".


This system takes about 5 minutes to set up the first time, and maybe 8 minutes to enter into TCY. (With the weight/film balance changing every year, I end up having to make changes to nearly every single player on the roster.) If a similar module were added to the game itself, you're talking a one-time setup, and then it would merely be a simple matter of checking on GPA's, etc. each year and either adjusting a small handful of players, or adjusting the global settings a bit for the future.

[Bee]

It's really nice to see Jim back on the board occasionally. It's nice to know that comments being made aren't just going into the void and never getting to the man who can actually decide if they are worthwhile or possible.

Concerning the time management. I like the basic idea that QS put forth with setting things up to have the computer AI make general adjustments to the overall roster based on some type of configuration the gamer inputs (i.e., more study time for 2.5 gpa or less, etc). The gamer can then go in and make specific adjustments if necessary to individuals.

[Axxon]

Originally posted by SkyDog
Jim:

Time management is handled VERY well by the TCY Helper.

Do you have the link to this app handy??