Update on feedback from yesterday's franchise blog...

[Josh_Looman]

Wanted to check in with you guys and clarify some points from yesterday's blog.

First...Potential and Progression.

Lots of good feedback from you guys on the potential rating being visible vs. hidden.

Would you rather see something like a letter grade? A lot of other sports games that show potential show a letter grade (like MLB the Show) instead of a hard number. That would still give you an clue about why a player is not progressing but not give too much away. I'm not promising that I can do this, but if that's an acceptable alternative, I'll see if I can get it in there.

Another thing to think about that I didn't mention in the blog was that we also set a minimum overall rating for each player. That will be HIDDEN. What this allows us to do is ensure that players like Fred Taylor and a Tiki Barber type back never drop below a certain overall rating. For example...Peyton Manning's minimum overall rating is currently a 92. That means he'll still play at a high level even when he gets a little bit older. Some players will have a much lower minimum overall rating and they'll drop once they get older and less productive.

Second...Premade Rookies.

Premade rookies have had a huge impact on franchise mode so far and it's mainly for one reason...game balancing.

When players are randomly generated, it's impossible to know what you're going to get. You could get 40 players with 99 potential or no players with potential greater than 75. In the case of the latter, that many players with huge contracts would have a devestating effect on the salary cap in future years. Using Premade draft classes solves all of those issues.

There's also massive problems with ratings (remember when you'd draft a WR who had 99 speed and 65 acceleration? ) and you get some weird stuff with how players look on the field. Strange facemask/gear combinations, etc. Creating these guys by hand makes them like just like their NFL teammates, which makes the game much more realistic and authentic.

We're very aware of the possibility of repetitiveness, also. To combat that, we're not using the Head Coach system of predetermined draft class order. We're randomly grabbing one class when you start your franchise and you'll get a random draft class every year after that. We built in logic to make sure that you never get the same draft class twice in the same franchise. The chance that you'll see that one player that some guy is talking about on the message board is slim to none. I've started franchise after franchise while testing and I never get the same classes. Hopefully that helps clear up some of the confusion.

The premade draft classes also finally make scouting worthwhile. In the past, the randomly generated players were ordered by overall rating prior to the Draft. That meant that you never got sleepers in the later rounds or busts in the first round. No matter what, you always drafted a player in the top 10 with an overall rating somewhere around 85. This year is all about realism and authenticity and the changes we've made to the draft make it as close as it can be to what happens in real life. Sometimes you'll draft Ryan Leaf if you haven't done your homework. Other times you'll find that diamond in the rough that can turn your team around. That's the beauty of the NFL and I think it's going to make a world of difference in franchise mode this year.

Guys...I love the feedback. Keep it coming. It's great to see passion like this from the fans that love franchise mode as much as I do!

One more thing...let me know if you'd rather see a number for potential or something more ambiguous like a letter. I like how that works in games like MLB: The Show and I'm curious to see what you guys think.

[lgxjames]

Thanx Josh, Loved the blog and this update

I like the Grade idea better, but I think the main arguement is knowing what the potential rating is period.

Also if u can discuss this yet how will all this scouting stuff be affected by importing a draft class?? Because I'm debating whether to use draft classes or use ur premade rookies

[thudias]

A letter grade for potential would be pretty cool..Allowing some info but not an exact..I think it's a solid compromise..

[Boucher]

Do what goes down when you upload draft classes from NCAA? Are they random or predetermined

[XtremeDunkz]

i for one would LOVE if you could change the potential to a letter grade if if all possible.

[seveb]

Thanks, Josh.

I think that the minimum rating is a terrific idea if it's done well.

And as long as their are enough draft classes, pre-made is definitely the way to go.

[adembroski]

A- Pro Bowlers
B- Good Starter
C- Average Player
D- Backup
F- Temporary filler

I could see that. Thanks, Josh. Nice to see you back on the forums.

Better if you could use a full scale

A+: Hall of Famer
A: Pro Bowler
A-: Great Starter
B+: Solid Starter
B: Average Starter
B-: Poor Starter
C+: Good Backup
C: Average Backup
C-: Poor Backup
D+: Borderline NFL talent
D: Stop-Gap/Filler/Temporary solution
D-: Training Camp Warrior
F: Not NFL Talent

[SHO]

Will NCAA rookies be handled similarly to the pre-made guys?

Yes for letters for potential.