Guide and Walkthrough for New Users

[yabanci]

*** Guide and Walkthrough for New Users of Front Office Football 2004 ***

This short guide is designed to tell people who are new to the game or are considering buying it what to expect. If you want more detailed information, read the help file in the game or the demo and read the “All Inclusive Reference Thread” at the Front Office Football Central forums (this is where you can find the NFL player file and other enhancements and information).

The best way to learn the game is to read this overview and start playing, clicking on everything and pressing F1 (help) to get the details where needed. You can have your coaching staff handle things like depth charts, game plans, minor roster decisions, making draft picks and rookie contracts, etc., or do it all yourself; it’s up to you how much you want to control.

These are the basic stages (in order) with the basic things you can do in each stage.

1. New game – set your new game options based on the information at the bottom of the screen. To use the NFL player file, choose yes on the alternate player file option. You can start with teams intact or place all players in a pool for a fantasy draft (then draft players yourself one-by-one or have the computer automatically do it based on your general preferences).

2. Preseason – this is where you begin the game, preseason 2003.
* decide what your coaches should handle (global options).
* always check your in-game email for important information.
* sign and release players – rosters can have 60 players (46 active) during preseason and 53 (46 active) during the regular season.
* trade players and draft picks.
* renegotiate contracts.
* sign rookies and veterans who are holding out.
* set depth charts, formations, and game plans.
* simulate preseason games.

3. Regular season.
* sign and release players.
* renegotiate contracts up to the superbowl.
* make trades up to week six.
* put players on injured reserve.
* set depth charts, formations, and game plans.
* review pregame scouting reports, head-to-head matchup reports, and point spreads.
* simulate games – call plays yourself or have your head coach call plays based on your game plans (watch scoreboard or quicksim).
* track standings, statistics, league leaders, power rankings, and records.
* have full playoffs and superbowl.
* track year-end awards and all-pro teams.

4. End season – get year-end score based on team’s on-field and financial performance.

5. Post-superbowl choices.
* check email for salary cap changes
* fire/hire coaching staff and scouts – punish them for making you lose. It’s all their fault.
* propose a new stadium/renovation – if stingy taxpayers won’t pay, you can move the team next year.
* chose a new team to control – if they will hire you.

6. Prior to free agency.
* designate a franchise player (select player from roster and click “Designation” under his name).
* set ticket prices.
* import draft (from the “FOF: The College Years” game, purchased separately).

7. Free agency – 20 stages.
* view draft preview - see who’s available in the draft pool before you start signing free agents. The draft will commence after you sign free agents.
* continue free agency - make contract offers to free agents. At the end of each stage, the player will accept your offer, reject it and sign with another team, or do nothing and wait for more/better offers.

8. The college draft.
* review scouting reports with combine scores and bureau rankings.
* draft fictional players from real colleges for seven rounds.
* make draft day trades for players and draft picks.
* get graded on your draft performance.

9. Post-draft free agency – 8 stages, conducted the same as before.

10. Before training camp. Now is when you sign your draft picks – hope they don’t hold out. If they do, keep negotiating with them after training camp.

11. Training camp – choose how much time to focus on offense, defense, avoiding injuries, etc. Click run training camp, then check your players’ ratings to see where they’re at compared to last season.

12. Preseason – start all over and try to do better this year, or it might be YOU that gets fired.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Excellent post.

[Ben E Lou]

Yabanci's just trying to get a shout-out in the reference thread.


Just teasin'...GREAT post. Linking to it right now. Thanks!