The discussion session will be tomorrow night at 6 pm Pacific time - not all the Admins are going to be there but I'll definitely be there lol. Here are the lucky flex winners - I'll be transferring the flex right after I make this post.
Winners
20K Flex
El_Windex
1K Flex
Drukman
D-WareMVP
The Avenger
boomer82
Boxwrench
jamz
Lilmikey
AdmWmsn
vin521
Samuel17
Vortus
Octowned
Knope
BlueWave
spartan822
CowboysAmerica
Epark88
Arvay7
jo0267
tragula
Several Admins took the time to answer these questions including DD and Bort:
#1 - Will we ever see expanded stats? For example, pancakes for TE's on their main page or return yards allowed for special teams units.
Yes. We want to expand on stats and record keeping, hall of fame, etc.
#2 - In the current environment, there are few opportunities to add personal value to the game via flex points. Do you plan on implementing additional options for flex purchases?
ib4cashgrabgreedyadminposts We keep our options open and may add more things to spend flex on in the future, but we haven't really discussed this much.
#3 - Seeing the current state of GLB is there any consideration to going back to the old league format and getting rid of the World League and Clouds?
Yes. We are open to changing league structure in order to keep competition and parity at a good level.
Since the World League was just recently launched and the leagues restructured, we would like to take more time to allow teams to play and see how the system goes. We are not against changing league structure if we feel it isn't working out as intended.
I do not think we will ever go back to the original league format fully, because it has its own set of problems, especially at the lowest tiers. If we find something that works way better, though, I am not opposed to exploring it.
#4 - Why is there an option to decline going to the WL with no penalty when there isn't one for any other uncapped leagues?
Mainly because it is structured as the top league in the game, and some people like staying in their Regional Pro.
We want to make sure WL has the best of the best who are actually going to try. If a team is not going to be up to the task, we would rather they stay where they are and let somebody else take the spot. However, for teams who are just trying to be jerks, and if there are no other real decent options, we will still promote them even if they say they don't want to.
#5 - Will we ever be able to select our own intense training combinations or will new ones be added?
Yes, we may change training options/layout/structure in the future.
The player build structure will be getting an overhaul somewhat; this is one of the major projects currently being worked on. Training may be addressed as well at some point.
#6 - Will forum search ever be fixed? It would help players to be able to search on specific words or phrases.
I believe the forum is going to be opened up to Google search, as doing a search feature through GLB is just too much for the servers to handle.
No, but one of my higher-on-the-list projects is making the forum public, open to Google. I figure Google can index the forum better than I ever could.
#7 - Will injuries ever be added to the game?
Still possible, just on the backburner.
#8 - Is there a way now, or something that may be visited later down the line, that enables teams from a current league to advance together when they advance next season?
I plan to start tracking rivalry points between teams, which will be a great way to sort teams who play each other frequently together. Thanks to user drifter for the suggestion!
#9 - Why was the Iron Man league idea shot down?
Technical limitations, more than the idea itself. The sim has a minimum of 20 players on the team at sim time to ensure all positions can be filled in any given play.
#10 - What is GLB proactively doing to make the game more accessible, simple and easier to learn for new agents?
We held the tutorial video contest and are planning on expanding our knowledge base (FAQ/Guides). New, expanded info boxes are looking to be added to initial player creation pages, so new agents can get a better idea of how to set up a player, train, join a team, etc.
We are launching a new tutorial and help section for GLB beginners, it should help Agents start off on the right foot and will be a great reference point for even the veteran Agents
You should be seeing some video tutorials soon. Also, some of our admins have been working on a project to identify areas where some more mouseovers would be helpful.
#11 - How exactly does weight and height affect players?
Weight makes players move more slowly, but makes them more powerful blockers, tacklers, and rushers. Tall players are more likely to bat down or catch high passes, but shorter players have a lower center of gravity and are harder to knock over.
#12 - Why do teams that decide to start over get to keep their full stadiums and money? That's unfair for the teams that start from scratch.
I am starting to agree with this sentiment. We are looking at possibly changing those rules.
#13 - Are there any plans to implement plays, packages, or playbooks from real NFA/NCAA teams?
I do not believe this is something being considered at this time.
Not in any way that would identify them as related to a particular team. There would be licensing issues with that, and I'm not sure we want to try and deal with the NFL in that regard (nor would we likely have much success).
#14 - Will GLB ever have trick plays?
Maybe, but not any time soon.
#15 - Do you have a plan that will encourage everyone to be competitive at every level instead of the last 3-4 levels of their career?
I have been thinking we need to look at some training structure changes to encourage people to get on teams and play in games. Most notably making training impossible unless on a team, and making players receive some XP just for being on a team when a game is played. Also, I am working on a better method of rating players, where we can display their "effective level" and overall build value. This is less variable than the current level system, and should be a better measure of a player's ability, no matter what method they used to build the player. Rating players on their build progress makes it less of an advantage to try and be better "for your level," thereby making those strategies less important.
#16 - Will the offensive and defensive line interactions ever not have problems?
I have a feeling there will always be "problems" somewhere. Even a game like Madden that has been in production for over 20 years and had millions of dollars thrown at it still has problems. Football has got to be one of the most difficult sports to simulate. Not to say that we won't keep trying, just as EA has, but to expect 100% realism in all facets is just not realistic.
#17 - There are players with less than 25 stamina being able to play more than 40 plays per game and still be effective at the Pro level. Should stamina's effect or the effect of low energy be increased?
I have not spent a lot of time looking at it, but maybe it does. Energy used to affect things more in the past, but it changed somewhere around season 6.
#18 - I have a question about auto adjust. If I have a package with two plays in it: a deep post route and a run up the middle, both set at 50%. Let's say I run up the middle four times and get five yards every time I run it. But the deep post pattern is run four times, one of which results in an 80-yard TD and the other three are incomplete passes. After 8 plays, in which each has been run 4 times, which play does the AI auto-adjust consider is more successful?
At that point, it would consider the run more successful, due to the incompletes. If the pass had just been a TD, the pass would probably take priority. It depends on your "auto adjust speed" setting though. Set to very slow, the run would still probably be chosen more.
#19 - How does low morale affect players?
It affects all the players attributes downward, just like energy does. Being very tired and having very low morale can result in a pretty decent hit to attributes.
#20 - Are there any plans to make money relevant and worth having because with farm teams it has become almost worthless?
Yes, we definitely want to add depth to the in-game economy. Player Cars/Houses, etc. Having some items tied to fame and giving small boosts to morale or at least something like that I could see us doing.
I think perhaps changing the way money is handled by players might make a difference. If teams could not just gift money to players, it would be more important overall. Perhaps visiting an idea like a team equipment room or free/team-funded training would be a good idea. I have been discussing those ideas recently.
#21 - Who would win a footrace, Bort or DD?
Bort would probably use stargate atlantis to step to the finish line. DD would start out strong though. So it just depends on how much they are both willing to invest in such technology.
They wouldn't have one, they are too sophisticated for a neanderthal contest like this, better question is who would win at Risk - a strategic game of World domination? and that my friends I do not know but it would be an epic battle.
Probably DD, though he has a bum knee, so it might be close
This would result in a tie, with neither one crossing the finish line. With DD, his knee would prevent him from finishing the race. With bort, he'd be try to run the race, while working on his laptop. By the time he took a break, he'd be hundreds of miles from the finish line.
#22 - Who would win a hot dog eating contest, Bort or DD?
Thorn.
They'd both lose to Thorn.
Definitely DD.
I have to go with bort on this one. When the contest started, bort would start eating the hot dogs. DD, however, would see the number of hot dogs, decide that it was insufficient, and start grilling more. By the time he was done, the contest would be over, and there would be 50 packs of perfectly cooked hot dogs.
Winners
20K Flex
El_Windex
1K Flex
Drukman
D-WareMVP
The Avenger
boomer82
Boxwrench
jamz
Lilmikey
AdmWmsn
vin521
Samuel17
Vortus
Octowned
Knope
BlueWave
spartan822
CowboysAmerica
Epark88
Arvay7
jo0267
tragula
Several Admins took the time to answer these questions including DD and Bort:
#1 - Will we ever see expanded stats? For example, pancakes for TE's on their main page or return yards allowed for special teams units.
Yes. We want to expand on stats and record keeping, hall of fame, etc.
#2 - In the current environment, there are few opportunities to add personal value to the game via flex points. Do you plan on implementing additional options for flex purchases?
ib4cashgrabgreedyadminposts We keep our options open and may add more things to spend flex on in the future, but we haven't really discussed this much.
#3 - Seeing the current state of GLB is there any consideration to going back to the old league format and getting rid of the World League and Clouds?
Yes. We are open to changing league structure in order to keep competition and parity at a good level.
Since the World League was just recently launched and the leagues restructured, we would like to take more time to allow teams to play and see how the system goes. We are not against changing league structure if we feel it isn't working out as intended.
I do not think we will ever go back to the original league format fully, because it has its own set of problems, especially at the lowest tiers. If we find something that works way better, though, I am not opposed to exploring it.
#4 - Why is there an option to decline going to the WL with no penalty when there isn't one for any other uncapped leagues?
Mainly because it is structured as the top league in the game, and some people like staying in their Regional Pro.
We want to make sure WL has the best of the best who are actually going to try. If a team is not going to be up to the task, we would rather they stay where they are and let somebody else take the spot. However, for teams who are just trying to be jerks, and if there are no other real decent options, we will still promote them even if they say they don't want to.
#5 - Will we ever be able to select our own intense training combinations or will new ones be added?
Yes, we may change training options/layout/structure in the future.
The player build structure will be getting an overhaul somewhat; this is one of the major projects currently being worked on. Training may be addressed as well at some point.
#6 - Will forum search ever be fixed? It would help players to be able to search on specific words or phrases.
I believe the forum is going to be opened up to Google search, as doing a search feature through GLB is just too much for the servers to handle.
No, but one of my higher-on-the-list projects is making the forum public, open to Google. I figure Google can index the forum better than I ever could.
#7 - Will injuries ever be added to the game?
Still possible, just on the backburner.
#8 - Is there a way now, or something that may be visited later down the line, that enables teams from a current league to advance together when they advance next season?
I plan to start tracking rivalry points between teams, which will be a great way to sort teams who play each other frequently together. Thanks to user drifter for the suggestion!
#9 - Why was the Iron Man league idea shot down?
Technical limitations, more than the idea itself. The sim has a minimum of 20 players on the team at sim time to ensure all positions can be filled in any given play.
#10 - What is GLB proactively doing to make the game more accessible, simple and easier to learn for new agents?
We held the tutorial video contest and are planning on expanding our knowledge base (FAQ/Guides). New, expanded info boxes are looking to be added to initial player creation pages, so new agents can get a better idea of how to set up a player, train, join a team, etc.
We are launching a new tutorial and help section for GLB beginners, it should help Agents start off on the right foot and will be a great reference point for even the veteran Agents
You should be seeing some video tutorials soon. Also, some of our admins have been working on a project to identify areas where some more mouseovers would be helpful.
#11 - How exactly does weight and height affect players?
Weight makes players move more slowly, but makes them more powerful blockers, tacklers, and rushers. Tall players are more likely to bat down or catch high passes, but shorter players have a lower center of gravity and are harder to knock over.
#12 - Why do teams that decide to start over get to keep their full stadiums and money? That's unfair for the teams that start from scratch.
I am starting to agree with this sentiment. We are looking at possibly changing those rules.
#13 - Are there any plans to implement plays, packages, or playbooks from real NFA/NCAA teams?
I do not believe this is something being considered at this time.
Not in any way that would identify them as related to a particular team. There would be licensing issues with that, and I'm not sure we want to try and deal with the NFL in that regard (nor would we likely have much success).
#14 - Will GLB ever have trick plays?
Maybe, but not any time soon.
#15 - Do you have a plan that will encourage everyone to be competitive at every level instead of the last 3-4 levels of their career?
I have been thinking we need to look at some training structure changes to encourage people to get on teams and play in games. Most notably making training impossible unless on a team, and making players receive some XP just for being on a team when a game is played. Also, I am working on a better method of rating players, where we can display their "effective level" and overall build value. This is less variable than the current level system, and should be a better measure of a player's ability, no matter what method they used to build the player. Rating players on their build progress makes it less of an advantage to try and be better "for your level," thereby making those strategies less important.
#16 - Will the offensive and defensive line interactions ever not have problems?
I have a feeling there will always be "problems" somewhere. Even a game like Madden that has been in production for over 20 years and had millions of dollars thrown at it still has problems. Football has got to be one of the most difficult sports to simulate. Not to say that we won't keep trying, just as EA has, but to expect 100% realism in all facets is just not realistic.
#17 - There are players with less than 25 stamina being able to play more than 40 plays per game and still be effective at the Pro level. Should stamina's effect or the effect of low energy be increased?
I have not spent a lot of time looking at it, but maybe it does. Energy used to affect things more in the past, but it changed somewhere around season 6.
#18 - I have a question about auto adjust. If I have a package with two plays in it: a deep post route and a run up the middle, both set at 50%. Let's say I run up the middle four times and get five yards every time I run it. But the deep post pattern is run four times, one of which results in an 80-yard TD and the other three are incomplete passes. After 8 plays, in which each has been run 4 times, which play does the AI auto-adjust consider is more successful?
At that point, it would consider the run more successful, due to the incompletes. If the pass had just been a TD, the pass would probably take priority. It depends on your "auto adjust speed" setting though. Set to very slow, the run would still probably be chosen more.
#19 - How does low morale affect players?
It affects all the players attributes downward, just like energy does. Being very tired and having very low morale can result in a pretty decent hit to attributes.
#20 - Are there any plans to make money relevant and worth having because with farm teams it has become almost worthless?
Yes, we definitely want to add depth to the in-game economy. Player Cars/Houses, etc. Having some items tied to fame and giving small boosts to morale or at least something like that I could see us doing.
I think perhaps changing the way money is handled by players might make a difference. If teams could not just gift money to players, it would be more important overall. Perhaps visiting an idea like a team equipment room or free/team-funded training would be a good idea. I have been discussing those ideas recently.
#21 - Who would win a footrace, Bort or DD?
Bort would probably use stargate atlantis to step to the finish line. DD would start out strong though. So it just depends on how much they are both willing to invest in such technology.
They wouldn't have one, they are too sophisticated for a neanderthal contest like this, better question is who would win at Risk - a strategic game of World domination? and that my friends I do not know but it would be an epic battle.
Probably DD, though he has a bum knee, so it might be close
This would result in a tie, with neither one crossing the finish line. With DD, his knee would prevent him from finishing the race. With bort, he'd be try to run the race, while working on his laptop. By the time he took a break, he'd be hundreds of miles from the finish line.
#22 - Who would win a hot dog eating contest, Bort or DD?
Thorn.
They'd both lose to Thorn.
Definitely DD.
I have to go with bort on this one. When the contest started, bort would start eating the hot dogs. DD, however, would see the number of hot dogs, decide that it was insufficient, and start grilling more. By the time he was done, the contest would be over, and there would be 50 packs of perfectly cooked hot dogs.
