NOTE: I've edited this post for some new ideas and concerns that came out in the suggestion both here and in my own suggestions forums. I've added an idea on parity that allows teams to stay together while still spreading the wealth. I'd still love some additional feedback on what to do with high level players or the infamous +1 to the idea.
PURPOSE: The biggest problems currently facing GLB, and why more and more owners and players seem to be quitting or retiring their senior players is not just poor economics. The game design is fun but could use tweaking since after a while it creates two basic problems:
1. Lack of Parity - The league has haves and have nots. More games than not end in blowouts and while their should be some blowouts in an ideal game alot of games should be close. Their is less jeopardy week to week in this game than their should be. Fundamental Problem: The way depth is structed, in order to be competative you need backups who are similar level to your starters - anything else creates huge problems. Which means players of a similar level huddle around the same teams instead of spreading the wealth.
2. Level 30+ The soft caps and slow rate of advancement that occur around level 30 create big problems, this is the mid-point of a players life and he should still have plenty of room to grow. With the soft caps and slow expirence being universal it makes those players less enjoyable for some and encourages slow building as a way to take advantage of automatic leveling.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Two Solutions>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1. THE PARISTY ISSUE: It will be a litte complex to explain but....easy for everyone to abide by as owners would only need to see their leagues average level and their teams median level.
Assign each division a minimum level of players(BORT has already done some of this).
Minimum
Pro: 32
AAA: 25
AA:18
A:10
BBB:1
Teams would ALWAYS be allowed to resign their own players regardless of being under or over the cap. They rub comes in in adding new players, below the pro level (Pro level teams would remain totally uncapped).
Calculate the average level of human players playing in that level and region. I've assumed some basic numbers below(for example), then add 4 (i.e. teams are considered to be generally competative at + or -3 on average levels but obviously some teams are better than others).
To Get your Own Teams Median Level(The Game could do this for you but Im explaining):
You need to use Median level to do this to prevent teams from adding a brand new level 1 and artifically lowering their average, using a median score would prevent this. Find out what the median level is on each team: I.E. 50% + 1
Assumptions on average level, lets us USA for example:
AAA: 36
AA: 32
A: 23
BBB: 24
New Rule: If your median level on YOUR team is more than 4 levels above the league average than you would be restriced to signing a human or cpu player at or 4 levels over the league minimum.
Example: So if your in USA AAA, and your median level is 41 but your league average is 36 you would be restricted to signing new players that are level 25-29. If your median level is below that you would still be free to sign anyone you wanted to.
This would force general FA's to search for teams either in
1. A higher bracket where the average levels will be lower
or
2. Take a job on a team that probably didnt have a great season the year before or was just recently promoted into the division above them
IDEA 2: ITS NO FUN TURNING THIRTY: Well at least in terms of player advancement which slows to a crawl, plus we have to many cookie cutter builds as is and this would help eliminate some of that.
Players advance and level they currently are until the pass level 34. If they obtained level 34(about 4 or 5 seasons for boosters) during the course of a season nothing much will instantly. The season following this the player will become a P-1 or Professional Player 1st Season. Each season thereafter the player would move up, I.E. the second season you would be P-2, third P-3, with each new season would come a new opportunity and way to expand your player.
What does being P-1 mean:
It means that you will be restricted to pro or AAA teams. It also means your player will begin advancing more rapidly again. I could use suggestions on exactly how much progression should be allowed and how to factor the in game expirence but the general idea would be:
P1: 5 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P2: 4 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P3: 3 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P4: 3 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P5 and above: 2 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
Also at this point your players skills would most likely degrade in accordance with Borts plan for season 10 regression.
At P-1 you would choose your player track or course. Each position would have between 3 and 5 tracks to choose from and a player would choose one of these during the off-season or pre-season. If no course is chosen (a default track would be assigned). This track would raise the SOFT CAP (and subsequent 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1) points higher in specific skills. To promote game balance a player could raise a single skill 45 points, 2 skills a total of 50 points, or 3 or 4 skills a total of 55 points based on the track chosen. To Promote balance and make the game more like real football the tracks available would be designated in advance I.E. you want WR's and CB's to be faster than LB's and lineman. Lineman should be stronger than runningbacks, etc...
Two examples of available tracks are below and again I could use some help here to provide variety without throwing off game balance. Also included are NFL Models and a brief description
QBs:
Track A: Drop Back Passer (Throwing Soft Cap +45)
The default and the prototypical drop back NFL QB ex. Drew Brees, Drew Bledsoe, Peyton Manning
Track B: Running QB (Speed +25, Agility +25)
The Scrambler self explanatory but obviously Michael Vick and Vince Young come to mind
Track C: Gunslinger (Strength +25 Confidence +25)
This player has a cannon arm and enjoys the deep ball he loves throwing early and often (ex. Brett Farve, John Elway)
Track D: Understudy (+15 Vision, +15 Throwing, +15 Agility, +10 Confidence)
This player intends to spend time learning the game perhaps as a backup for a season or two(though he's not required to do so) he'll work on footwork and throwing mechanics.
HB
Track A: Bruiser (+25 STR +25 CAR)
This HB looks to run people over he may not be the fastest but he's a load to bring down ex. Jerome Bettis, Brandon Jacobs, Christian Okoye
Track B: Cutback Runner (+25 VIS, +25 AGIL)
This is the protoypical one cut and go back he can see and hit the right hole, he may not be the strongest or fastest but he could be among the best ex. Clinton Portis, Terrell Davis, Emmitt Smith
Track C: 3rd Down Back (+25 SPD, +25 CATCH)
On many teams this guy is the passing specialist on 3rd down though he doesnt need to be in GLB in fact perhaps some of the true multi-talented backs fall into this category ex.. Marshall Faulk,
Track D: Prime Time Back (+15SPD, +15AG, +15 CAR, + 10 Catch) The jack of all trades back pretty good at alot of things but not the fastest, strongest, etc... ex. Matt Forte
Advancment after P1:
P2: Pattened Move - This player selects one SA from the first three SA's on either side of the player's SA tree, the cost of raising this SA is then reduced one tier. I.E. If it would normally cost 2 skill points to increase it 1 level it now only costs 1, 3 kill points to normally increase it 1 it costs only 2, 4 becomes 3 etc...
P3: Mental Jump: The game has slown down for this player he is a true veteran capable of understanding the game in a new way. The Play can choose one of three avenues of mental abilities to increase. He can raise his soft cap level in one of the mental abilities by 15 points.
Work Out Warrior: (STA +15)
This player has lived his pro-career in the gym and is in excellent physical condition
Student of the Game: (VIS +15)
This guy has watched a coach level of game tape he anticipates and reacts to things very quickly
Superstar: (CON +15)
This guy is the man and he knows it
P4: Secondary Move: This will work the same as the moves for P2 except that you will chose one SA (again from either tree) but from SA's listed in colums 4 or 5.
P5: Ultimate: This player is at the pinnacle of his career directly in his prime at this point and for one season only the players soft caps on all abilities are +15 (I'd like something better than this but ran out of good ideas)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Final Point<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<(Though I do have more specifics than this in a private forum if anyones interested)
To allow for the new P1-P5 players to have enough Pro and AAA teams re-organize the current bracketing
Place 1 - Pro team at the Top
Place 4- AAA squads below that Pro team
Place 2- AA teams below each AAA
Place 1 - A team below each AA squad
Someteams will advance and never face the cap casualty but those who do can still recruit younger guys (eliminating the need for a new level 13 cap every season). The plan is self sustaining and encourages life cycle managment of players.
Again I know this is lengthy so I thank everyone who takes the time to read it - (I hope Admin does too) and I do have more specifics in my own forum if you want an invite.
PURPOSE: The biggest problems currently facing GLB, and why more and more owners and players seem to be quitting or retiring their senior players is not just poor economics. The game design is fun but could use tweaking since after a while it creates two basic problems:
1. Lack of Parity - The league has haves and have nots. More games than not end in blowouts and while their should be some blowouts in an ideal game alot of games should be close. Their is less jeopardy week to week in this game than their should be. Fundamental Problem: The way depth is structed, in order to be competative you need backups who are similar level to your starters - anything else creates huge problems. Which means players of a similar level huddle around the same teams instead of spreading the wealth.
2. Level 30+ The soft caps and slow rate of advancement that occur around level 30 create big problems, this is the mid-point of a players life and he should still have plenty of room to grow. With the soft caps and slow expirence being universal it makes those players less enjoyable for some and encourages slow building as a way to take advantage of automatic leveling.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Two Solutions>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1. THE PARISTY ISSUE: It will be a litte complex to explain but....easy for everyone to abide by as owners would only need to see their leagues average level and their teams median level.
Assign each division a minimum level of players(BORT has already done some of this).
Minimum
Pro: 32
AAA: 25
AA:18
A:10
BBB:1
Teams would ALWAYS be allowed to resign their own players regardless of being under or over the cap. They rub comes in in adding new players, below the pro level (Pro level teams would remain totally uncapped).
Calculate the average level of human players playing in that level and region. I've assumed some basic numbers below(for example), then add 4 (i.e. teams are considered to be generally competative at + or -3 on average levels but obviously some teams are better than others).
To Get your Own Teams Median Level(The Game could do this for you but Im explaining):
You need to use Median level to do this to prevent teams from adding a brand new level 1 and artifically lowering their average, using a median score would prevent this. Find out what the median level is on each team: I.E. 50% + 1
Assumptions on average level, lets us USA for example:
AAA: 36
AA: 32
A: 23
BBB: 24
New Rule: If your median level on YOUR team is more than 4 levels above the league average than you would be restriced to signing a human or cpu player at or 4 levels over the league minimum.
Example: So if your in USA AAA, and your median level is 41 but your league average is 36 you would be restricted to signing new players that are level 25-29. If your median level is below that you would still be free to sign anyone you wanted to.
This would force general FA's to search for teams either in
1. A higher bracket where the average levels will be lower
or
2. Take a job on a team that probably didnt have a great season the year before or was just recently promoted into the division above them
IDEA 2: ITS NO FUN TURNING THIRTY: Well at least in terms of player advancement which slows to a crawl, plus we have to many cookie cutter builds as is and this would help eliminate some of that.
Players advance and level they currently are until the pass level 34. If they obtained level 34(about 4 or 5 seasons for boosters) during the course of a season nothing much will instantly. The season following this the player will become a P-1 or Professional Player 1st Season. Each season thereafter the player would move up, I.E. the second season you would be P-2, third P-3, with each new season would come a new opportunity and way to expand your player.
What does being P-1 mean:
It means that you will be restricted to pro or AAA teams. It also means your player will begin advancing more rapidly again. I could use suggestions on exactly how much progression should be allowed and how to factor the in game expirence but the general idea would be:
P1: 5 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P2: 4 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P3: 3 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P4: 3 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
P5 and above: 2 Levels from in game expirence and nightly training
Also at this point your players skills would most likely degrade in accordance with Borts plan for season 10 regression.
At P-1 you would choose your player track or course. Each position would have between 3 and 5 tracks to choose from and a player would choose one of these during the off-season or pre-season. If no course is chosen (a default track would be assigned). This track would raise the SOFT CAP (and subsequent 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1) points higher in specific skills. To promote game balance a player could raise a single skill 45 points, 2 skills a total of 50 points, or 3 or 4 skills a total of 55 points based on the track chosen. To Promote balance and make the game more like real football the tracks available would be designated in advance I.E. you want WR's and CB's to be faster than LB's and lineman. Lineman should be stronger than runningbacks, etc...
Two examples of available tracks are below and again I could use some help here to provide variety without throwing off game balance. Also included are NFL Models and a brief description
QBs:
Track A: Drop Back Passer (Throwing Soft Cap +45)
The default and the prototypical drop back NFL QB ex. Drew Brees, Drew Bledsoe, Peyton Manning
Track B: Running QB (Speed +25, Agility +25)
The Scrambler self explanatory but obviously Michael Vick and Vince Young come to mind
Track C: Gunslinger (Strength +25 Confidence +25)
This player has a cannon arm and enjoys the deep ball he loves throwing early and often (ex. Brett Farve, John Elway)
Track D: Understudy (+15 Vision, +15 Throwing, +15 Agility, +10 Confidence)
This player intends to spend time learning the game perhaps as a backup for a season or two(though he's not required to do so) he'll work on footwork and throwing mechanics.
HB
Track A: Bruiser (+25 STR +25 CAR)
This HB looks to run people over he may not be the fastest but he's a load to bring down ex. Jerome Bettis, Brandon Jacobs, Christian Okoye
Track B: Cutback Runner (+25 VIS, +25 AGIL)
This is the protoypical one cut and go back he can see and hit the right hole, he may not be the strongest or fastest but he could be among the best ex. Clinton Portis, Terrell Davis, Emmitt Smith
Track C: 3rd Down Back (+25 SPD, +25 CATCH)
On many teams this guy is the passing specialist on 3rd down though he doesnt need to be in GLB in fact perhaps some of the true multi-talented backs fall into this category ex.. Marshall Faulk,
Track D: Prime Time Back (+15SPD, +15AG, +15 CAR, + 10 Catch) The jack of all trades back pretty good at alot of things but not the fastest, strongest, etc... ex. Matt Forte
Advancment after P1:
P2: Pattened Move - This player selects one SA from the first three SA's on either side of the player's SA tree, the cost of raising this SA is then reduced one tier. I.E. If it would normally cost 2 skill points to increase it 1 level it now only costs 1, 3 kill points to normally increase it 1 it costs only 2, 4 becomes 3 etc...
P3: Mental Jump: The game has slown down for this player he is a true veteran capable of understanding the game in a new way. The Play can choose one of three avenues of mental abilities to increase. He can raise his soft cap level in one of the mental abilities by 15 points.
Work Out Warrior: (STA +15)
This player has lived his pro-career in the gym and is in excellent physical condition
Student of the Game: (VIS +15)
This guy has watched a coach level of game tape he anticipates and reacts to things very quickly
Superstar: (CON +15)
This guy is the man and he knows it
P4: Secondary Move: This will work the same as the moves for P2 except that you will chose one SA (again from either tree) but from SA's listed in colums 4 or 5.
P5: Ultimate: This player is at the pinnacle of his career directly in his prime at this point and for one season only the players soft caps on all abilities are +15 (I'd like something better than this but ran out of good ideas)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Final Point<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<(Though I do have more specifics than this in a private forum if anyones interested)
To allow for the new P1-P5 players to have enough Pro and AAA teams re-organize the current bracketing
Place 1 - Pro team at the Top
Place 4- AAA squads below that Pro team
Place 2- AA teams below each AAA
Place 1 - A team below each AA squad
Someteams will advance and never face the cap casualty but those who do can still recruit younger guys (eliminating the need for a new level 13 cap every season). The plan is self sustaining and encourages life cycle managment of players.
Again I know this is lengthy so I thank everyone who takes the time to read it - (I hope Admin does too) and I do have more specifics in my own forum if you want an invite.
Last edited Nov 26, 2008 09:38:18