MVP
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Re: OSUPiper's CH2K8 CPUvCPU Experience
PHILOSOPHY AND JUSTIFICATION (or why I do what I do....)
My sliders (etc.) are always designed to conform to the game environment. That is to say, stats may or may not reflect the NCAA IRL. Most of this is the limitation of an imperfect sim engine that simply does not account for the variety in Coach settings and Player tendencies very well. As such, you will see very little difference in FGA p/gm between teams. Instead, you will see huge gaps in PPG and FT% that are artificially created by an equally faulty recruit-generator.
Likewise, I also prioritize global changes using sliders over discrete changes using roster edits. It should be obvious why I do this...there is less down time when you 'fix' a game with sliders vs. roster edits, which means more play time, more fun, and less frustration.
Lastly, my slider sets always begin with 'look and feel' rather than stats. What I hope you will see in your own legacies, and what I love about mine, is that the games are fluid and unpredictable in their outcome, but still explainable. For example, I had a team at Duke where I had 2-3 season with strong post play, but I never could recruit any talent at PF or C and graduation left me empty. After a sluggish start with bad inside play the next season (dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time since Coach K was there!!), I went small. To my surprise, we climbed into the Top 15. Then we hit ACC play and just got beat down by any team with decent post play. In other words, I knew exactly why we lost to inferior teams. (See TESTIMONIALS, below.)
If your 'played' games do not generate stats that match your simulated legacy environment, you will artificially inflate/deflate your own players' representation on AA teams, etc. This subtracts from the fun of the game for me. I want it to mean something when my guy leads the country in scoring or rebounding.
KNOWN ISSUES
I have tried to address every issue I have seen. My players used to always be at the top of rebounding charts, for example, but tweaks to sliders and the game and legacy edits presented above have fixed nearly every issue I have encountered. Some issues linger.
1. FT% - Sim FT% is a little lower than player ratings. This is fine, since there is a correlation we can work with. Unfortunately, FT% in played games is HIGHER than player ratings. The only real workaround is to edit FT ratings for your opponent every game (see above). I do not have the patience for this, so I just give my opponent an advantage of 3-8 points every game. This will not be a big deal to you until it knocks you out of the NCAAs.
2. 3PT attempts - I really like the impact of roster edits on simmed 3PT attempts. I see guys with plenty of attempts per game at high 3PT tendency ratings. The problem is that SFs have more opportunities, so in played games, a SF will average more attempts than a SG over time if both players have the same tendencies. This is not the case in simmed games. Also, in simmed games, 3PT shots are spread out over the roster. Even post players will have a few attempts when they really should not. As a result, your team will either shoot less 3s overall when compared to other teams, or your top shooters will individually average several more attempts per game than other individuals. I have chosen to put my players on a more even stat distribution (rather than team stats). I am still testing this through roster edits.
3. Dead Ball Turnovers - There just are not enough. That being said, I see a travelling call every 2-3 seasons, I see a 5-second closely guarded call at least once per 2 games, I see a 3-second call about once per game. The other dead ball turnovers are accounted for by backcourt and sideline infractions. This is an issue because you will see more FGAs per possession in CH2K8 than IRL. Thus, I use 19 minute halves and other edits. This is a minor issue, but not fixable.
4. Off-ball Fouls - My system will (over time) give you good foul numbers and decent FTAs when compared to sim stats. There will be huge swings. This is because CH2k8 provides more FTAs per foul than IRL. My theory is that CH2K games were always modeled on NBA2K games, and you can see this in subtle aspects of the game (tendencies, offensive flow, etc.). While I have been able to strike a compromise, I believe that you will see guards in foul trouble far more often than post players. You may have a different experience and, so far, it has not been game-breaking.
5. Too much talent and lack of diversity - As has been discussed in other threads, I do not see good role players reflected in ratings in this game. Role players definitely emerge, more as a result of shot tendencies. The problem is the number of teams with 4-6+ players rated B+ or higher. A good role player is a PF with C- ratings across the board, but can rebound like a mofo. Dennis Rodman was not an all-pro ratings guy, but he played like an all-pro and was invaluable to his teammates. You find guys like that in college basketball, but not in CH2k8. I can fix this with a few edits, but I have not found a fair way to implement anything. Suggestions are appreciated.
TESTIMONIALS
Fredrick Abdullah was a HSAA SG, #3 at his position. He ended up being a 'bust' in my system, which gave me a chance to work out some kinks over his career. As a 'bust' his ratings were edited to make him a wildly inconsistent 6'6" shoot-first, think later 2-guard with no inclination to play a lick of defense.
I literally hated Fred in his Freshman year. He bitched about playing time, which I grudgingly gave him because of the hype of his recruitment, and I found my self hoping he would transfer. But in blowouts against bad competition, he would come in at garbage time and score in double-figures.
In Fred's sophomore season, I threw him a bone; 10-14 minutes of pure instant offense. Still inconsistent, Fred would drop 25 on lesser competition and disappear when big boys came to play. That is, until the ACC tournament, when Fred just exploded in a couple of games. He averaged double-figures that season.
There was another guard (Nixon) in Fred's class who is a solid, all-around player that I never worry about having in the game. Nixon is a consistent shooter, good defender, and always got in the game before Fred. We went to the Final Four in Fred's soph season, and the NBA draft wiped us clean out of PGs. So, in Fred's Junior year, to the surprise of our fans, my staff, and myself, I handed the program over to Fred as our PG by default. The result: My favorite season ever of CH2K8.
The drives to the rim, circus shots, impromptu dunks, and relentless attack on the basket almost make the wild turnovers and inexplicable 25' contested shots pass without notice. It's like my own private Russell Westbrook.
Impact Centers do exist. I left Boise State to take over at Duke (many CH2k8 players end up at Duke because of Coach K retiring around the right time in our legacies). My first two seasons ended in the Round of 32 and, frankly, Coach K did not leave me much to work with; however, he did lay the groundwork for me to sign a promising 7' center. In his senior year, after finishing fifth in the ACC. he put our team on his back. Duke won the ACC tourney, then clawed our way into the Final Four and on to my first National Championship. I had some young talent in the frontcourt, but we had no business being in the Final Four outside of his dominant senior campaign.
Small ball is also alive and well in this game. It is easy to find a SF that will dominate in CH2k8. The gameplay engine simply provides more shot attempts at the 3 position. I only bring this up because of my earlier example of a dominant big man. Since my Center graduated, I have had exactly one post player of any note. As discussed somewhere above, I went small, often playing two guards and three SFs. We destroyed teams that lacked athleticism but an average team with a good inside scorer was a real problem for us. Last season, we got eliminated early in a bad matchup in the ACC tourney, but we got a fortunate draw in the NCAAs and made the Elite 8, where we lost to a team with -- guess what -- two good forwards.
Last edited by OSUPiper; 01-03-2016 at 02:09 PM.
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