Does anyone do sim only franchises?

[pistolpete]

How do you keep these fresh or at least schedule to not plow through seasons too quickly. I got a fun little 29-game season mode going, and wish to supplement it with an in-depth 162-game franchise. I'm not huge on the micro-managing part of the game, but I am curious to see how the sport changes.

[lloyditos]

I never used to be big on the micro-management part with the Triple A and Double A parts of the franchise. I played a 162 game season (not franchise) and I just wanted more. So after I finished that season, I'm doing sim-only. I sim half a month, and then check all my lineups, scouting reports, etc. I move players up and down, deal with injuries, and make trades especially near the deadline, etc. Then, when I get close to the end of the season, if there is a tight race for the playoffs, I will play games to try and get some control. I'm on my first season playing like this and I was 4.5 games up in my division and made a huge trade to acquire Zack Grienke to shore up my rotation and I won my division by 7.5 games. I am now down 0-1 in the ALDS.



It is FREAKIN AWESOME playing like this since I have no time to physically play 162 games. It's especially fun seeing if prospects are playing well, etc.

[yankeesandre]

EDIT:OOps this is awckward I typed it in the wrong thread, I'm sorry

If anyone is able to delete this please do I'm sorry wrong thread

[Hollywoods_Finest]

I usually like to simulate a full 162 game season then if I make the playoffs, play all the playoff games then repeat. I just dont have time to play 162 game seasons I might try for the first time though if I get the show11.

[Kearnzo]

Me and my buddy did one yesterday in fact. I traded in the Show a while ago, but borrowed it from my father for a couple days.

What we do is do a fantasy draft franchise, then simulate for up to 10 years and see how we do. We limit ourselves to 150 million each. It's always easy the first few years if you draft young studs with cheap contracts, but once they are up for free agency, you have to spend an arm and a leg to keep them, and that's where the fun starts, as you have to make deals to retool the farm system, and pick which core guys you want to sign long term.

My first overall pick was Felix Hernandez, and after two years, I wound up having to deal him at the deadline with my team out of the playoff race. He was going to be owed like 15 million the next year, so I wanted to save some money. I had a bad mix of rookies that had to be called up early thanks to my other guys needing bigger contracts and leaving for free agency. I didn't want to trade Felix, as he was great for me, but I wound up with a package including Mike Stanton and Brian Matusz, who were both under control for a few more years. Matusz wound up being great the following year, with 20 wins and a 2.89 ERA, along with over 200 K's. Stanton took a couple more years to develop, but wound up having two straight 50+ HR seasons. I wound up winning one World Series, and while my buddy consistently won his division, he never made it out of the Divisional round .

Only issue we ran into was the 2013 (or 14?) free agency issue with noone resigning. If this is fixed in the 11 version, we'll definitely be continuing playing franchise like this.

[Chrisksaint]

I actually do these a lot in different sport games, usually I play the 1st game get bored and just decide to see what I can do from a general manager standpoint.

[pistolpete]

I tried this thing yesterday, and was bored to tears.

[tabarnes19_SDS]

Quote: Originally Posted by pistolpete

I tried this thing yesterday, and was bored to tears.

I used to play every game of every sports game I had ever owned. I would make the exact same roster moves as real life etc.

Then about 11 years ago my college room mate showed me how he would sim and play GM. I fell in love with that style. No longer did my "skill" alone come into play.

Now I sim until important series, milestone etc. and let my GM ability rule. I get about 10 seasons deep and end up restarting. Best part is each time I do it I have a new outcome.

The beauty of the Show is that it appeals to a large crowd. RTTS bores me but others love it.