Many thanks to the Q & A Mods for their work in summarizing the discussion.
FLUFF QUESTION
Q: Timetoshine-Beta - How fast would I have to make my dot for it to teleport?
A: Catch22 - 969 speed 696 agility
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WR FAKES
Q: StinkCheese - which SA's are defined as "fakes" for a WR?
A: Catch22 - Head Fake and Juke
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PERSONAL
Q: CMON - Did you move to Portland for GLB?
A: Catch22 - Yep, just got here yesterday.
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SPEED BOOST FROM BLOCK IN BACK?
Q: alindy - Tautology early on asked about players blocking opposing players in the back giving them greater than normal speed (a speed boost). I had a question of whether there is anything else that occurs to the shoved player or should occur. it would seem to me that getting shoved from behind is going to potentially throw the player off balance. Shouldn't there be some negative effects from it? If not it seems like the players should know better than to reach out and shove someone when it always gives them a speed increase.
Unless this is intended but it seems to me that a player cannot block someone facing away so there could never be a block.
A: Bort - Yes, they are thrown off balance, less likely to make a tackle. Often they are just knocked down, though.
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KNOCKED LOOSE ROLLS
Q: timthorn - Do FF% AEQ, Wrap-Up, Power Tackle, and similar VA's, SA's, and AEQ affect Knocked Loose rolls?
A: Catch22 - I know tackling setting does - the harder the hit the more likely you'll knock loose a pass.
A: Bort - Yep, just like the tactics settings do. Anything that can make you hit harder can pop the ball loose.
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NEW LEAGUE TYPES
Q: Jack Del Rio - There are normal, casual, and pee wee leagues. And this level 4 thing which I have no idea if it's going anywhere or not. But the last new type of league came out in season 8. We're entering season 14. Isn't it about time something's pulled from the suggestions forum? ...Locked leagues would be a hit. Gauntlet leagues would be a hit. Iron man leagues would be a hit.
A: Catch22 - I should probably help out by going through the Suggestions forum. I'll add it to my list and see if I can help Bort out with these.
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FORUMS
Q: The Big House - Are there going to be Forums for D Leaguers and Level 4s?
A: Bort - Of course
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HEIGHT WEIGHT AND BREAKING TACKLES
Q: z0s022 - B]#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. What confuses me is that one of the best powerbacks (if not the best) weighed 181 pounds in Jedi knight. The WPL MVP in season 13 was Project Marcie. Is there some factor that helps these SMALL power backs break tackles? Obviously their size is counter intuitive to what one would project to be a successful powerback. Might it have something to do with their more rapid acceleration due to their small stature? Perhaps they can simply get back up to full speed quicker due to an acceleration boost due to small size.
A: Bort - I think you answered your own question.
A: Catch22 - I think it's answered in Bort's answer. Shorter players have a lower center of gravity and are harder to knock over.
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QUICK EQUIPMENT EDITOR (for upgrading)
Q: For users like Tautology who have a ridiculous amount of players managing EQ for all of them is dreadful, would you consider a quick eq manager like the quick traing editor which was so helpful?
A: I'd need a good plan for the interface. Sounds complicated.
Q: vike fan 4 life - would it be possible to do a pulldown that saids upgrade: head, feat chest, hands, or all, then if when you select the predetermined eq you can choose the upgrade. I know most people use the same attribute for the eq bonuses so going four at a time would be great.
A: Bort - I will think about it.
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WR/CB ROLL SEQUENCE
Q: Longhornfan1024 - Is a CB's INT roll modified by his PD roll, or are they two completely independent rolls?
Sub-question: Do the rolls take place simultaneously or is there a progression? In a previous post you said that it goes INT-->Swat/Anti-swat-->Catch-->Knocked Loose (tackle roll), but recent posts by you seem to imply that it's much more complicated than that.
A: Bort]It is fairly complicated as there are lots of situations, but the general gist is (if I'm the CB):
- I have to see the ball is coming in the first place (vision check)
- I have to get into position near enough the the ball to interact with it (speed/agility etc)
- I have to check if I am even going to get a chance to interact with the ball (Int check? No? Swat check instead?)
- If I'm near the WR, I have to fight with him to see who gets a chance at the ball (my roll vs his roll)
- If I win, I get to intercept or swat the ball. (depends on first roll type that succeeded, and if the WR gives me trouble catching it)
- If I lose, the receiver gets to try and catch the ball. It's all up to him now, though my being close by makes it harder on him.
- If the receiver fails to catch the ball, I get once more chance to try and intercept it if I am close enough.
- If the receiver catches it, now I've got to tackle him. Here's my chance to knock it loose with a good hit.
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ARE ATTRIBUTES BALANCED
Q: tautology - Do you feel that attribute balance is about where you intend it to be?
I ask the question in the following context: Currently, there seems to be a less than linear effect of certain attributes and their effectiveness.
For instance, I have seen players in WL with tackling and strength below 40 who are able to make a surprising amount of tackles. So much so that it seems not very worthwhile to invest much in tackling/strength, in fact...as taking those numbers to 60+ strength and 70+ tackling results in a few less missed tackles over the course of the season, but that doesn't seem like enough payoff for the fairly massive invenstment of SPs required to make the difference.
Is this how you imagined things? Is 40/40 intended to be extremely viable at the top levels of the game? Or is there a scaling issue perhaps that you were unaware of?
A: Bort - I'm fairly happy with how things work scale-wise at the moment, but I guess there's always room for improvement if we are seeing issues. Acceleration kinda bugs me right now (players accelerate too durn fast). I'd have to look at the builds and situations of those tacklers to know for sure, but something doesn't sound quite right there...but then you'd think power backs would have been worthless otherwise, and they weren't. Up for a study?
Q: tautology - I'd be very much up for a study
It seems like a powerback has a good chance to break a tackle on a 60 str 70 tackle guy, and only a slightly better (say 20% better) chance to break a tackle on a 40/40 guy.
So...say a 30% chance to break the 60/70 tackle and a 36-38% chance to break the tackle on the 40/40 guy.
My numbers could be off a bit, but I don't think they are off by that much. And I have to say, the 20% difference leaves a bit to be desired there....considering you are talking about 90 or so SPs (12 levels) worth of difference
A: Catch22]If you give me some numbers to work with, I might be able to run some tests to do this study.
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SEASON 14 RE-SHUFFLE
Q: Jeff_Buckley - What is going to be done about all of the CPU teams in AA and such? Not speculation. What is actually being discussed as a solution?
A: Catch22 - We're going to go through and look at them after all the teams have been handed out and support requests answered.
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AUTO ADJUST CLARIFICATION
Q: Doug_Plank - Auto-adjust question - If the same package (using auto-adjust) is used in two different inputs, will it be treated as two different packages (with two different auto-adjust counters), or will it be treated as one package and have the bias adjustments carry over from input to input
A: Bort - Same package, carries over from input to input.
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CASUAL TEAMS GO FOR IT ON 4TH BOX
Q: Snickerling - Any chance there might be a percentage box added for Casual teams to set a percentage of the time they want to go for it on 4th and short (like 4th and 1 or closer)?
A: Catch22 - Talked about, so it's possible yes.
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TRAINING LEAGUES
Q: The Big House - I like the idea of training leagues for players who are Free Agents. If you request, when you are a Free Agent, you are put in a Training league. Slow build really comes into it's own here. Something has got to be done for Slow building in Training leagues.
A: Catch22 - Not happening… No need for it.
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EQUIPMENT COSTS
Q: vinman - Any chance you could lower the cost of equipment at the higher levels.
A: Catch22 - No - it wasn't meant for every player to be fully equipped at higher levels. It's supposed to be a strategic choice of who to equip and how much to equip.
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FORUM RULES
Q: Jack Del Rio - Could we please get a more structured forum infraction system? Specifically more warnings before suspensions, logged warnings/suspensions, and consistent infraction lengths based on the degree of the offense?
A: Catch22 - Pallow is working on a huge upgrade to Forum Rules and how things are done. It should be done within the next month.
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NEW SCOUT TOOL ADDITIONS
Q: timthorn - What will be the new additions to the Scouting Tool?
A: Bort - Main things are the ability to flag specific plays for review and make notes on a team.
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DOES WEIGHT AFFECT SPIN
Q: lukin83 - Is player weight a factor in Spin rolls?
A: Bort - No
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CB ATTRIBUTE IMPORTANCE
Q: BlueWave - What do you think the 4th most important attribute for a CB is behind Speed, Agility, and Vision? Would it be Jumping or Catching or possibly something else?[
A: Bort - Jumping IMO
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GLB BASEBALL
Q: kalkmanc - When GLB baseball is created, will it be under the same account so users can use flex points purchased for both games? Or will it be completely separate from GLB football?
A: Bort - Same account, shared flex points, friends list, etc.
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FLUFF
Q: Snickerling - Does Administration enjoy these Q&As as much as the general populace does?
A: Catch22 - I do but it was my idea. I'm sure Bort doesn't mind but he is kinda busy lol.
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Q. The Big House- I like the idea of training leagues for players who are Free Agents. If you request, when you are a Free Agent, you are put in a Training league. Slow build really comes into it's own here. Something has got to be done for Slow building in Training leagues. What do you think bort? }
A. Catch22- Not happening. There you go. {No need for it}
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Doug Plank- Will there be any changes to run blocking this upcoming season with respect to facing deeper zone defenses - ie will interior linemen move upfield more?
A. Catch22- That's one of the changes that was being worked on and could be uploaded for this season.
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Q. timthorn- QB's pre-snap reads [for blitz pick-up], are these reads looking at the Defense's previous tendencies during similar plays/downs/etc (like auto-adjust), the actual Defensive Play (as in the DPC) the sim loaded for that play, the defender's position in relationship to the LOS or receiver, or some combination of all of these?
A. Catch22- It's mainly a vision check from the QB to detect if players are blitzing. If he passes the check, he'll audible to keep in the designated players for protection.
A. Bort- QB looks to see who's most covered based on players starting out near a receiver. Receivers with no coverage men can become the "hot read" and get the first look.
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Q. timthorn- How does the QB know if a blitz in coming? 3+ Blitzers may be coming every play, so would the chance to audible for extra protection change if it is just 3 blitzers vs 5 blitzers (when Fearsome kicks in) during a pass rush?
A. Bort- He can count, and he can count overloads.
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Q. Drs- Is a CB's INT roll modified by his PD roll, or are they two completely independent rolls?
Sub-question: Do the rolls take place simultaneously or is there a progression? In a previous post you said that it goes INT-->Swat/Anti-swat-->Catch-->Knocked Loose (tackle roll), but recent posts by you seem to imply that it's much more complicated
A. Bort- It is fairly complicated as there are lots of situations, but the general gist is (if I'm the CB):
- I have to see the ball is coming in the first place (vision check)
- I have to get into position near enough the the ball to interact with it (speed/agility etc)
- I have to check if I am even going to get a chance to interact with the ball (Int check? No? Swat check instead?)
- If I'm near the WR, I have to fight with him to see who gets a chance at the ball (my roll vs his roll)
- If I win, I get to intercept or swat the ball. (depends on first roll type that succeeded, and if the WR gives me trouble catching it)
- If I lose, the receiver gets to try and catch the ball. It's all up to him now, though my being close by makes it harder on him.
- If the receiver fails to catch the ball, I get once more chance to try and intercept it if I am close enough.
- If the receiver catches it, now I've got to tackle him. Here's my chance to knock it loose with a good hit.
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Q. CMON- Will the Laser Beam Vision Reads be on the new PBP Replays?
A. Bort- Yeah, I want them to be part of the replays. I will add a toggle checkbox. On the flash replays (OMG almost done as long as I don't add more stuff like vision lines LOL!!!) it will be a cone instead. [Vision affects how fast you can check down.]
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Q. Jethroz- On the Underdog VA, it states that it applies a penalty to a player who is covering the WR man-to-man. If the play is a run play, does the defender still play man-to-man until he "sees" the run play and reacts? Would the penalty then apply once he recognizes the play and reacts since he would no longer be covering a WR?
A. Catch22- I'm pretty sure Underdog and Awe Inspiring only apply on pass plays.
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Q. pottsman- What are the mechanics involved in the new RB blocking audibles that PP was testing? Are those going live?
A. Catch22- Probably yes [See QB audibles]
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Q. griffin8r- Since [block breaking] is an opposed roll, in a double team situation (as DT's experience constantly) wouldn't the Shed Blocks SA be far more beneficial, since your percentage chance of breaking the block is pretty low against two opponents? Or am I misunderstanding the interaction in a double team?
A. Bort- Yes, Shed Block would probably be more beneficial. Break Thru would be better, but Shed Block would probably work better than a % item for you.
Q. griffin8r- If you have both SB and a % BB item, how do they interact with one another?
A. Bort- [Shed Blocks] on your base value, Add [%] bonus on top.
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Q. Bayemon- Can you address what changes we will see around QBs this season? A lot of QBs seemed to go in the tank with the changes that "hurries" had... it sounds like you made some tweaks. Can you share?
A. Catch22- Mainly three things.
1) Spot and hit open man better
2) OC's can set WR progressions to tell the QB which WR to look at
3) A change in zone reaction times
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Q. The Avenger- 1 - Will Basic Ai see ANY upgrade to % tactics in the near future. I'm not asking for "more" options, that would defeat the purpose of Casual game planning, I'm asking if, for just 1 example, a rush direction can be more defined then left/middle/right, etc. or man on man defense per position rather then man on man as a whole?
A. Catch22- Most likely. Something we've discussed and is on Bort's massive list of "things to do"
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Q. TxSteve- Any comment on the current pass/run/no focus settings for players? [Play Focus and Blocking Focus]
A. Bort- Yeah, it's mainly a reaction time bonus. Pass block focus does help pass blocking scores, and run block does help run blocking scores, though.
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Q. Blue Wave- Did you watch the Jersey Shore?
A. Bort- LOLno
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Q. vike fan 4 life- Why do the vikings have to loose in the worst possible of ways?
A. Bort- Obviously it's the Favre Effect. Clutch
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Q: CMON - Does jumping play directly into the PD score or is it just used to get into a better position?
A; Mat McBriar - It definitely plays directly into the PD score.
A2: Bort - Jumping helps quite a few positions in various things. It won't help you block somebody or something like that doesn't make any sense, but it helps with catching, swatting balls, diving tackles, avoiding those low leg tackles, diving for yards, punting, etc.
Q2 (follow up): Longhornfan1024 I've seen the quote, what I'm concerned about is that it could be interpreted to mean either: (1) jumping plays directly into the swat score, or (2) jumping helps to get the CB into position, thereby causing less of a penalty to the CBs swat score. I'd just like to get it clarified.
A: Bort Directly into the swat score (and determines how much over the player's head he can reach)
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Q: CMON - Does strength only apply to the CB/WR interaction when they are fighting for a jump ball, or does it apply in all CB/WR interactions?
A: Catch22 - It applies when they are engaging against one another on a run play. It applies when figuring out break tackle/make tackle calculations. It has a factor in much more than just fighting for a jump ball.
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Q: Longhornfan1024Is everything going okay with the unlocking and locking?
A: Catch22 Just fine. I lock it when I get a certain number of questions so that I can take the time to answer.
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Q: burn_209 Is play-action ever going to be implemented?
A: Catch22 Not any time in the near future. It could possibly be added well down the road.
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Q: animusmax is there a concern by management that the rules they change so often and drastically to curb cheating/exploiting could alienate those who are not attempting to manipulate the system?
A: Catch22 There are always concerns when you change rules, but sometimes you have to implement a rule for the betterment of the game.
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Q: TehKyou What are the requirements to be a QA Mod? What are their expectations?
A: Catch22 They will be responsible for communicating the Q & A sessions, going through the e-mails, answering the simple questions, and helping record the questions and answers for future GLB users to access. Expectations are to do their job and to do it in a professional manner.
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Q: TyrannyVaunt What can Elusive HB's expect to be different in Season 14? Can you expand or comment on what you are seeing on the test server? Like your interpretation of what the user base should expect to see different from season 13?
A: Catch22 There has been a ton of work on elusive pathing. Mainly the backs are taking better paths, cutting and reacting better, and not running out of bounds as much. PP has an excellent thread showing test results and how it looks:
http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3704762
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Q: Whipsnard At what level do you lose your cash and stadium upgrades when you move down?
A: Bort Right now it's only the new lv 4, but those rules might be changing for next season's end, especially since CPU teams get reset to a specific level (there's now a baseline value). We need to work out some of the potential pitfalls with that concept, but I think it would be best for fair play and the economy in the long run.
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Q: MarkTaylorTSax Are FG blocks and punt blocks likely to be implemented in the next couple of seasons?
A: Catch22 No - not in the near future. Again, maybe well down the line.
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Q: Dub J I don't know much about coding. That being said, has player pathing reached it's limits or can pathing be improved?
A: Catch22 It can be improved, especially in certain areas (blocking pathing and elusive pathing). Much of that is being worked on a continual basis.
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Q: CMON Any news on when Bort will announce Sim changes for S 14 and when the season rollover will be?
A: Catch22 Sometime soon.
A2: BortI'm hoping we can get things going by Thurs. I have a few things to discuss with testers and Catch, but we did make some good progress on several things before offseason started.
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Q: reddogrw http://goallineblitz.com/game/team.pl?team_id=8231 how come this team didn't get moved to level 4 after submitting a support ticket to re-set?
A: Catch22 They submitted a support ticket at midnight. It's been 18 hours. Off season support tickets can take 3-4 days.
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Q: MarkTaylorTSax Any plans for a VA reset this season by any chance?
A: Catch22 There will likely just be a normal 15/10/5 reset (depending on level) and maybe a few VA specific resets if any are changed. No full resets or anything like we did last season.
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Q: tautology Follow up on jumping: I occasionally see O-line seeming to "reach" for blocks (often failing and falling down), and we often see WRs "shooting forward" to make downfield blocks (which usulayy result in just pushing a CB significantly closer to the runner fwiw). So...does jumping play a role *at all* in these sorts of blocks?
A: Bort No, but blocking does.
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Q: Pre-game rolls and "big game" factors: Are there many/any rolls made before the sim begins that represent a player being "up for the game?" Can we influence these rolls through our builds (presumably through confidence?) We have learned that the sim for the playoffs is the same as the sim for regular games...but is there any capacity for the sim to account for "big games" in any way? Does the sim know if the #1 and #2 seeds are facing off, for instance? And does stamina become weighted more heavily towards the end of the season to represent the effect of a long season on players? Are there in fact any macro-scopic effects of league or seasonal play, or is every game simply a one-off sim?
A: Bort No, the sim is the same for every game, and every game is self contained outside of VA's like streaky, or the seasonal morale bar, and of course token boosts. I think there may be some great ideas related to drifter's excellent rivalry points idea that might help push some of those things forward. A big rival may make both teams play better, for instance.
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Q: NFLColin Bort, are you handing out the rest of the lvl 4 teams tonight?
A: Bort Attempting to, yes. I want to make sure I check on some of the support tickets first.
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Q: David Stern Why aren't va resets a continuous +5 for every 10 levels? if level 40 =15, level 60 should = 25, and level 70= 30. Those players have lots of va's, and I think they should be +5 for every 10 levels.
A: Catch22 Because we don't want players resetting their VA's. It's supposed to be a strategic career choice not something you change on a whim. We've been spoiled though because of all the changes and players get used to more than the minimum reset.
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Q: GmanV2 When will the Addicts get some whitelist action?
This is a serious question, and I know you'll say once again, we have all the mods and some admins dropping by...doesn't change the fact that we are an OLD but major group of GLB that deserves at least ONE white list guy amonst one of the originals, and INB4VALIZLOLMODNAO, doesn't count!
A: Catch22If the Addicts have an issue they need to get Bort, they can go through me. If it's important/legitimate, I'll make sure he sees it.
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Q: z0s022 Does carrying help SAs fire? Is it a bonus of sorts to all the other "rushing" related attributes? That is speed/agility/strength, etc. Obviously it helps protect against fumbles...but I wonder how else it factors in the equation.
A: Bort Yes, it helps you make cuts better, and helps improve chances on things like Head Fake & Juke. If you run with the ball a lot (like a HB), it should be a pretty primary concern.
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Q: Longhornfan1024 When will Q&A mod applicants hear back?
A: Catch22 They already have. If you didn't hear back from me, it means you weren't selected. I had a ton of Q & A applicants, not as many Bugs Mod applicants - don't have time to send a personal response to everyone.
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Q: Gronert What new plays will be added towards the playbook for this upcoming season? I heard their will be a pretty major overhall of the playbook stuff.
A: Catch22 Probably not this upcoming season, more likely the following season. None of them have been uploaded or tested yet.
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Q: NFLColin Bort i sent in a tickey about buying one of the AA teams that are CPU, i see there's like 300 of them and a mod told me you werent gonna hand them out but i would like to know if i could buy 1? id be willing to pay extra flex
A: Bort We don't tend to sell them because people get in over their heads with them. Very few new owners are ready for an AA team right off the bat. I'm sure somebody will get to your ticket, though; We're a day or two behind right now.
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Q: The Big House What motivitaved bort for this game?
A: Catch22 This should answer any Bort questions: http://www.glbwiki.com/index.php?title=Bort
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Q: Kirghiz There should be inside and outside QB runs from every formation. Is there any plans to add these in the near future?
A: Bort We had been working with a list of current plays recently to make sure there's at least 1 of each type of play to each side for each formation. So, yes, that would be included.
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Q: Longhornfan1024 Since Bort is on, I'll ask and see if he responds. In a response to a question last week you implied that strength only plays into the PD roll during a jump ball? Did you mean to make that implication, and, if so, does that mean that there are two different PD scores for jump balls and non-jump balls?
A: Bort Yeah, strength really only helps you when you have to fight with the receiver to get the ball. If you're standing all alone, you're not going to need a lot of strength to catch the ball.
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Q: spoons04 with all the teams coming up with farm teams and alliances is there any ideas for a farm team league? Just want the rivals back like it was before the minor system.
A: Bort We do not currently have plans for a direct farm team league. Only way it might happen is if all team owners got one or something. I agree it would be nice to get the rivalries back; I'm hoping we can manage to accomplish that some with the rivalry points idea and some of the other league changes we've made.
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Q: Tdotter I know that teams that win by 70+ in a blowout get max XP, do teams that also lose by 70+ get the max XP for a game also?
A: Catch22 Yes
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Q: The Big House but do you plan a team "Flex point" bank any time soon?
A: Catch22 only for friendlies, but yes, should be uploaded this off season.
A2: BortNot done with it, yet, actually. I'm probably going to end up schlepping it off on Thorn so we can get it done sooner than later.
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Q: Tim26 Any more news on this? http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3648548
A: Bort Progression options should be ready to go for this next season, I think, pending QA approval. I have not had a chance to do much with the other parts.
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Q: David Stern Is bort considering extending the plateaus for players in any facet I.E, longer plateau ? Or is he happy with the way the current leveling/plateau/decline system works.
A: Catch22 Not sure how he feels about it. I've mentioned it but it's not something we've discussed in depth.
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Q: Triple_A In Bort's thread "Sorting promoting teams by record this season?"
He said that he would be sorting teams by last season's record, and then starting at league #1, fill in the best teams, #2 gets the next best, on down the line.
How come their is teams that are on 20-41 game winning streaks, won gold last season and not in league #1?
A: Catch22 Read the following announcement after that where he stated he was doing a modified version to not where all the top teams would be in the same league (they are still very top heavy and competitive though)
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FLUFF QUESTION
Q: Timetoshine-Beta - How fast would I have to make my dot for it to teleport?
A: Catch22 - 969 speed 696 agility
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WR FAKES
Q: StinkCheese - which SA's are defined as "fakes" for a WR?
A: Catch22 - Head Fake and Juke
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PERSONAL
Q: CMON - Did you move to Portland for GLB?
A: Catch22 - Yep, just got here yesterday.
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SPEED BOOST FROM BLOCK IN BACK?
Q: alindy - Tautology early on asked about players blocking opposing players in the back giving them greater than normal speed (a speed boost). I had a question of whether there is anything else that occurs to the shoved player or should occur. it would seem to me that getting shoved from behind is going to potentially throw the player off balance. Shouldn't there be some negative effects from it? If not it seems like the players should know better than to reach out and shove someone when it always gives them a speed increase.
Unless this is intended but it seems to me that a player cannot block someone facing away so there could never be a block.
A: Bort - Yes, they are thrown off balance, less likely to make a tackle. Often they are just knocked down, though.
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KNOCKED LOOSE ROLLS
Q: timthorn - Do FF% AEQ, Wrap-Up, Power Tackle, and similar VA's, SA's, and AEQ affect Knocked Loose rolls?
A: Catch22 - I know tackling setting does - the harder the hit the more likely you'll knock loose a pass.
A: Bort - Yep, just like the tactics settings do. Anything that can make you hit harder can pop the ball loose.
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NEW LEAGUE TYPES
Q: Jack Del Rio - There are normal, casual, and pee wee leagues. And this level 4 thing which I have no idea if it's going anywhere or not. But the last new type of league came out in season 8. We're entering season 14. Isn't it about time something's pulled from the suggestions forum? ...Locked leagues would be a hit. Gauntlet leagues would be a hit. Iron man leagues would be a hit.
A: Catch22 - I should probably help out by going through the Suggestions forum. I'll add it to my list and see if I can help Bort out with these.
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FORUMS
Q: The Big House - Are there going to be Forums for D Leaguers and Level 4s?
A: Bort - Of course
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HEIGHT WEIGHT AND BREAKING TACKLES
Q: z0s022 - B]#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. What confuses me is that one of the best powerbacks (if not the best) weighed 181 pounds in Jedi knight. The WPL MVP in season 13 was Project Marcie. Is there some factor that helps these SMALL power backs break tackles? Obviously their size is counter intuitive to what one would project to be a successful powerback. Might it have something to do with their more rapid acceleration due to their small stature? Perhaps they can simply get back up to full speed quicker due to an acceleration boost due to small size.
A: Bort - I think you answered your own question.
A: Catch22 - I think it's answered in Bort's answer. Shorter players have a lower center of gravity and are harder to knock over.
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QUICK EQUIPMENT EDITOR (for upgrading)
Q: For users like Tautology who have a ridiculous amount of players managing EQ for all of them is dreadful, would you consider a quick eq manager like the quick traing editor which was so helpful?
A: I'd need a good plan for the interface. Sounds complicated.
Q: vike fan 4 life - would it be possible to do a pulldown that saids upgrade: head, feat chest, hands, or all, then if when you select the predetermined eq you can choose the upgrade. I know most people use the same attribute for the eq bonuses so going four at a time would be great.
A: Bort - I will think about it.
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WR/CB ROLL SEQUENCE
Q: Longhornfan1024 - Is a CB's INT roll modified by his PD roll, or are they two completely independent rolls?
Sub-question: Do the rolls take place simultaneously or is there a progression? In a previous post you said that it goes INT-->Swat/Anti-swat-->Catch-->Knocked Loose (tackle roll), but recent posts by you seem to imply that it's much more complicated than that.
A: Bort]It is fairly complicated as there are lots of situations, but the general gist is (if I'm the CB):
- I have to see the ball is coming in the first place (vision check)
- I have to get into position near enough the the ball to interact with it (speed/agility etc)
- I have to check if I am even going to get a chance to interact with the ball (Int check? No? Swat check instead?)
- If I'm near the WR, I have to fight with him to see who gets a chance at the ball (my roll vs his roll)
- If I win, I get to intercept or swat the ball. (depends on first roll type that succeeded, and if the WR gives me trouble catching it)
- If I lose, the receiver gets to try and catch the ball. It's all up to him now, though my being close by makes it harder on him.
- If the receiver fails to catch the ball, I get once more chance to try and intercept it if I am close enough.
- If the receiver catches it, now I've got to tackle him. Here's my chance to knock it loose with a good hit.
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ARE ATTRIBUTES BALANCED
Q: tautology - Do you feel that attribute balance is about where you intend it to be?
I ask the question in the following context: Currently, there seems to be a less than linear effect of certain attributes and their effectiveness.
For instance, I have seen players in WL with tackling and strength below 40 who are able to make a surprising amount of tackles. So much so that it seems not very worthwhile to invest much in tackling/strength, in fact...as taking those numbers to 60+ strength and 70+ tackling results in a few less missed tackles over the course of the season, but that doesn't seem like enough payoff for the fairly massive invenstment of SPs required to make the difference.
Is this how you imagined things? Is 40/40 intended to be extremely viable at the top levels of the game? Or is there a scaling issue perhaps that you were unaware of?
A: Bort - I'm fairly happy with how things work scale-wise at the moment, but I guess there's always room for improvement if we are seeing issues. Acceleration kinda bugs me right now (players accelerate too durn fast). I'd have to look at the builds and situations of those tacklers to know for sure, but something doesn't sound quite right there...but then you'd think power backs would have been worthless otherwise, and they weren't. Up for a study?
Q: tautology - I'd be very much up for a study
It seems like a powerback has a good chance to break a tackle on a 60 str 70 tackle guy, and only a slightly better (say 20% better) chance to break a tackle on a 40/40 guy.
So...say a 30% chance to break the 60/70 tackle and a 36-38% chance to break the tackle on the 40/40 guy.
My numbers could be off a bit, but I don't think they are off by that much. And I have to say, the 20% difference leaves a bit to be desired there....considering you are talking about 90 or so SPs (12 levels) worth of difference
A: Catch22]If you give me some numbers to work with, I might be able to run some tests to do this study.
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SEASON 14 RE-SHUFFLE
Q: Jeff_Buckley - What is going to be done about all of the CPU teams in AA and such? Not speculation. What is actually being discussed as a solution?
A: Catch22 - We're going to go through and look at them after all the teams have been handed out and support requests answered.
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AUTO ADJUST CLARIFICATION
Q: Doug_Plank - Auto-adjust question - If the same package (using auto-adjust) is used in two different inputs, will it be treated as two different packages (with two different auto-adjust counters), or will it be treated as one package and have the bias adjustments carry over from input to input
A: Bort - Same package, carries over from input to input.
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CASUAL TEAMS GO FOR IT ON 4TH BOX
Q: Snickerling - Any chance there might be a percentage box added for Casual teams to set a percentage of the time they want to go for it on 4th and short (like 4th and 1 or closer)?
A: Catch22 - Talked about, so it's possible yes.
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TRAINING LEAGUES
Q: The Big House - I like the idea of training leagues for players who are Free Agents. If you request, when you are a Free Agent, you are put in a Training league. Slow build really comes into it's own here. Something has got to be done for Slow building in Training leagues.
A: Catch22 - Not happening… No need for it.
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EQUIPMENT COSTS
Q: vinman - Any chance you could lower the cost of equipment at the higher levels.
A: Catch22 - No - it wasn't meant for every player to be fully equipped at higher levels. It's supposed to be a strategic choice of who to equip and how much to equip.
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FORUM RULES
Q: Jack Del Rio - Could we please get a more structured forum infraction system? Specifically more warnings before suspensions, logged warnings/suspensions, and consistent infraction lengths based on the degree of the offense?
A: Catch22 - Pallow is working on a huge upgrade to Forum Rules and how things are done. It should be done within the next month.
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NEW SCOUT TOOL ADDITIONS
Q: timthorn - What will be the new additions to the Scouting Tool?
A: Bort - Main things are the ability to flag specific plays for review and make notes on a team.
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DOES WEIGHT AFFECT SPIN
Q: lukin83 - Is player weight a factor in Spin rolls?
A: Bort - No
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CB ATTRIBUTE IMPORTANCE
Q: BlueWave - What do you think the 4th most important attribute for a CB is behind Speed, Agility, and Vision? Would it be Jumping or Catching or possibly something else?[
A: Bort - Jumping IMO
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GLB BASEBALL
Q: kalkmanc - When GLB baseball is created, will it be under the same account so users can use flex points purchased for both games? Or will it be completely separate from GLB football?
A: Bort - Same account, shared flex points, friends list, etc.
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FLUFF
Q: Snickerling - Does Administration enjoy these Q&As as much as the general populace does?
A: Catch22 - I do but it was my idea. I'm sure Bort doesn't mind but he is kinda busy lol.
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Q. The Big House- I like the idea of training leagues for players who are Free Agents. If you request, when you are a Free Agent, you are put in a Training league. Slow build really comes into it's own here. Something has got to be done for Slow building in Training leagues. What do you think bort? }
A. Catch22- Not happening. There you go. {No need for it}
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Doug Plank- Will there be any changes to run blocking this upcoming season with respect to facing deeper zone defenses - ie will interior linemen move upfield more?
A. Catch22- That's one of the changes that was being worked on and could be uploaded for this season.
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Q. timthorn- QB's pre-snap reads [for blitz pick-up], are these reads looking at the Defense's previous tendencies during similar plays/downs/etc (like auto-adjust), the actual Defensive Play (as in the DPC) the sim loaded for that play, the defender's position in relationship to the LOS or receiver, or some combination of all of these?
A. Catch22- It's mainly a vision check from the QB to detect if players are blitzing. If he passes the check, he'll audible to keep in the designated players for protection.
A. Bort- QB looks to see who's most covered based on players starting out near a receiver. Receivers with no coverage men can become the "hot read" and get the first look.
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Q. timthorn- How does the QB know if a blitz in coming? 3+ Blitzers may be coming every play, so would the chance to audible for extra protection change if it is just 3 blitzers vs 5 blitzers (when Fearsome kicks in) during a pass rush?
A. Bort- He can count, and he can count overloads.
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Q. Drs- Is a CB's INT roll modified by his PD roll, or are they two completely independent rolls?
Sub-question: Do the rolls take place simultaneously or is there a progression? In a previous post you said that it goes INT-->Swat/Anti-swat-->Catch-->Knocked Loose (tackle roll), but recent posts by you seem to imply that it's much more complicated
A. Bort- It is fairly complicated as there are lots of situations, but the general gist is (if I'm the CB):
- I have to see the ball is coming in the first place (vision check)
- I have to get into position near enough the the ball to interact with it (speed/agility etc)
- I have to check if I am even going to get a chance to interact with the ball (Int check? No? Swat check instead?)
- If I'm near the WR, I have to fight with him to see who gets a chance at the ball (my roll vs his roll)
- If I win, I get to intercept or swat the ball. (depends on first roll type that succeeded, and if the WR gives me trouble catching it)
- If I lose, the receiver gets to try and catch the ball. It's all up to him now, though my being close by makes it harder on him.
- If the receiver fails to catch the ball, I get once more chance to try and intercept it if I am close enough.
- If the receiver catches it, now I've got to tackle him. Here's my chance to knock it loose with a good hit.
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Q. CMON- Will the Laser Beam Vision Reads be on the new PBP Replays?
A. Bort- Yeah, I want them to be part of the replays. I will add a toggle checkbox. On the flash replays (OMG almost done as long as I don't add more stuff like vision lines LOL!!!
) it will be a cone instead. [Vision affects how fast you can check down.]*************************************************************************
Q. Jethroz- On the Underdog VA, it states that it applies a penalty to a player who is covering the WR man-to-man. If the play is a run play, does the defender still play man-to-man until he "sees" the run play and reacts? Would the penalty then apply once he recognizes the play and reacts since he would no longer be covering a WR?
A. Catch22- I'm pretty sure Underdog and Awe Inspiring only apply on pass plays.
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Q. pottsman- What are the mechanics involved in the new RB blocking audibles that PP was testing? Are those going live?
A. Catch22- Probably yes [See QB audibles]
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Q. griffin8r- Since [block breaking] is an opposed roll, in a double team situation (as DT's experience constantly) wouldn't the Shed Blocks SA be far more beneficial, since your percentage chance of breaking the block is pretty low against two opponents? Or am I misunderstanding the interaction in a double team?
A. Bort- Yes, Shed Block would probably be more beneficial. Break Thru would be better, but Shed Block would probably work better than a % item for you.
Q. griffin8r- If you have both SB and a % BB item, how do they interact with one another?
A. Bort- [Shed Blocks] on your base value, Add [%] bonus on top.
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Q. Bayemon- Can you address what changes we will see around QBs this season? A lot of QBs seemed to go in the tank with the changes that "hurries" had... it sounds like you made some tweaks. Can you share?
A. Catch22- Mainly three things.
1) Spot and hit open man better
2) OC's can set WR progressions to tell the QB which WR to look at
3) A change in zone reaction times
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Q. The Avenger- 1 - Will Basic Ai see ANY upgrade to % tactics in the near future. I'm not asking for "more" options, that would defeat the purpose of Casual game planning, I'm asking if, for just 1 example, a rush direction can be more defined then left/middle/right, etc. or man on man defense per position rather then man on man as a whole?
A. Catch22- Most likely. Something we've discussed and is on Bort's massive list of "things to do"
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Q. TxSteve- Any comment on the current pass/run/no focus settings for players? [Play Focus and Blocking Focus]
A. Bort- Yeah, it's mainly a reaction time bonus. Pass block focus does help pass blocking scores, and run block does help run blocking scores, though.
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Q. Blue Wave- Did you watch the Jersey Shore?
A. Bort- LOLno
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Q. vike fan 4 life- Why do the vikings have to loose in the worst possible of ways?
A. Bort- Obviously it's the Favre Effect. Clutch
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Q: CMON - Does jumping play directly into the PD score or is it just used to get into a better position?
A; Mat McBriar - It definitely plays directly into the PD score.
A2: Bort - Jumping helps quite a few positions in various things. It won't help you block somebody or something like that doesn't make any sense, but it helps with catching, swatting balls, diving tackles, avoiding those low leg tackles, diving for yards, punting, etc.
Q2 (follow up): Longhornfan1024 I've seen the quote, what I'm concerned about is that it could be interpreted to mean either: (1) jumping plays directly into the swat score, or (2) jumping helps to get the CB into position, thereby causing less of a penalty to the CBs swat score. I'd just like to get it clarified.
A: Bort Directly into the swat score (and determines how much over the player's head he can reach)
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Q: CMON - Does strength only apply to the CB/WR interaction when they are fighting for a jump ball, or does it apply in all CB/WR interactions?
A: Catch22 - It applies when they are engaging against one another on a run play. It applies when figuring out break tackle/make tackle calculations. It has a factor in much more than just fighting for a jump ball.
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Q: Longhornfan1024Is everything going okay with the unlocking and locking?
A: Catch22 Just fine. I lock it when I get a certain number of questions so that I can take the time to answer.
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Q: burn_209 Is play-action ever going to be implemented?
A: Catch22 Not any time in the near future. It could possibly be added well down the road.
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Q: animusmax is there a concern by management that the rules they change so often and drastically to curb cheating/exploiting could alienate those who are not attempting to manipulate the system?
A: Catch22 There are always concerns when you change rules, but sometimes you have to implement a rule for the betterment of the game.
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Q: TehKyou What are the requirements to be a QA Mod? What are their expectations?
A: Catch22 They will be responsible for communicating the Q & A sessions, going through the e-mails, answering the simple questions, and helping record the questions and answers for future GLB users to access. Expectations are to do their job and to do it in a professional manner.
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Q: TyrannyVaunt What can Elusive HB's expect to be different in Season 14? Can you expand or comment on what you are seeing on the test server? Like your interpretation of what the user base should expect to see different from season 13?
A: Catch22 There has been a ton of work on elusive pathing. Mainly the backs are taking better paths, cutting and reacting better, and not running out of bounds as much. PP has an excellent thread showing test results and how it looks:
http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3704762
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Q: Whipsnard At what level do you lose your cash and stadium upgrades when you move down?
A: Bort Right now it's only the new lv 4, but those rules might be changing for next season's end, especially since CPU teams get reset to a specific level (there's now a baseline value). We need to work out some of the potential pitfalls with that concept, but I think it would be best for fair play and the economy in the long run.
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Q: MarkTaylorTSax Are FG blocks and punt blocks likely to be implemented in the next couple of seasons?
A: Catch22 No - not in the near future. Again, maybe well down the line.
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Q: Dub J I don't know much about coding. That being said, has player pathing reached it's limits or can pathing be improved?
A: Catch22 It can be improved, especially in certain areas (blocking pathing and elusive pathing). Much of that is being worked on a continual basis.
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Q: CMON Any news on when Bort will announce Sim changes for S 14 and when the season rollover will be?
A: Catch22 Sometime soon.
A2: BortI'm hoping we can get things going by Thurs. I have a few things to discuss with testers and Catch, but we did make some good progress on several things before offseason started.
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Q: reddogrw http://goallineblitz.com/game/team.pl?team_id=8231 how come this team didn't get moved to level 4 after submitting a support ticket to re-set?
A: Catch22 They submitted a support ticket at midnight. It's been 18 hours. Off season support tickets can take 3-4 days.
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Q: MarkTaylorTSax Any plans for a VA reset this season by any chance?
A: Catch22 There will likely just be a normal 15/10/5 reset (depending on level) and maybe a few VA specific resets if any are changed. No full resets or anything like we did last season.
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Q: tautology Follow up on jumping: I occasionally see O-line seeming to "reach" for blocks (often failing and falling down), and we often see WRs "shooting forward" to make downfield blocks (which usulayy result in just pushing a CB significantly closer to the runner fwiw). So...does jumping play a role *at all* in these sorts of blocks?
A: Bort No, but blocking does.
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Q: Pre-game rolls and "big game" factors: Are there many/any rolls made before the sim begins that represent a player being "up for the game?" Can we influence these rolls through our builds (presumably through confidence?) We have learned that the sim for the playoffs is the same as the sim for regular games...but is there any capacity for the sim to account for "big games" in any way? Does the sim know if the #1 and #2 seeds are facing off, for instance? And does stamina become weighted more heavily towards the end of the season to represent the effect of a long season on players? Are there in fact any macro-scopic effects of league or seasonal play, or is every game simply a one-off sim?
A: Bort No, the sim is the same for every game, and every game is self contained outside of VA's like streaky, or the seasonal morale bar, and of course token boosts. I think there may be some great ideas related to drifter's excellent rivalry points idea that might help push some of those things forward. A big rival may make both teams play better, for instance.
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Q: NFLColin Bort, are you handing out the rest of the lvl 4 teams tonight?
A: Bort Attempting to, yes. I want to make sure I check on some of the support tickets first.
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Q: David Stern Why aren't va resets a continuous +5 for every 10 levels? if level 40 =15, level 60 should = 25, and level 70= 30. Those players have lots of va's, and I think they should be +5 for every 10 levels.
A: Catch22 Because we don't want players resetting their VA's. It's supposed to be a strategic career choice not something you change on a whim. We've been spoiled though because of all the changes and players get used to more than the minimum reset.
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Q: GmanV2 When will the Addicts get some whitelist action?
This is a serious question, and I know you'll say once again, we have all the mods and some admins dropping by...doesn't change the fact that we are an OLD but major group of GLB that deserves at least ONE white list guy amonst one of the originals, and INB4VALIZLOLMODNAO, doesn't count!A: Catch22If the Addicts have an issue they need to get Bort, they can go through me. If it's important/legitimate, I'll make sure he sees it.
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Q: z0s022 Does carrying help SAs fire? Is it a bonus of sorts to all the other "rushing" related attributes? That is speed/agility/strength, etc. Obviously it helps protect against fumbles...but I wonder how else it factors in the equation.
A: Bort Yes, it helps you make cuts better, and helps improve chances on things like Head Fake & Juke. If you run with the ball a lot (like a HB), it should be a pretty primary concern.
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Q: Longhornfan1024 When will Q&A mod applicants hear back?
A: Catch22 They already have. If you didn't hear back from me, it means you weren't selected. I had a ton of Q & A applicants, not as many Bugs Mod applicants - don't have time to send a personal response to everyone.
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Q: Gronert What new plays will be added towards the playbook for this upcoming season? I heard their will be a pretty major overhall of the playbook stuff.
A: Catch22 Probably not this upcoming season, more likely the following season. None of them have been uploaded or tested yet.
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Q: NFLColin Bort i sent in a tickey about buying one of the AA teams that are CPU, i see there's like 300 of them and a mod told me you werent gonna hand them out but i would like to know if i could buy 1? id be willing to pay extra flex
A: Bort We don't tend to sell them because people get in over their heads with them. Very few new owners are ready for an AA team right off the bat. I'm sure somebody will get to your ticket, though; We're a day or two behind right now.
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Q: The Big House What motivitaved bort for this game?
A: Catch22 This should answer any Bort questions: http://www.glbwiki.com/index.php?title=Bort
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Q: Kirghiz There should be inside and outside QB runs from every formation. Is there any plans to add these in the near future?
A: Bort We had been working with a list of current plays recently to make sure there's at least 1 of each type of play to each side for each formation. So, yes, that would be included.
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Q: Longhornfan1024 Since Bort is on, I'll ask and see if he responds. In a response to a question last week you implied that strength only plays into the PD roll during a jump ball? Did you mean to make that implication, and, if so, does that mean that there are two different PD scores for jump balls and non-jump balls?
A: Bort Yeah, strength really only helps you when you have to fight with the receiver to get the ball. If you're standing all alone, you're not going to need a lot of strength to catch the ball.
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Q: spoons04 with all the teams coming up with farm teams and alliances is there any ideas for a farm team league? Just want the rivals back like it was before the minor system.
A: Bort We do not currently have plans for a direct farm team league. Only way it might happen is if all team owners got one or something. I agree it would be nice to get the rivalries back; I'm hoping we can manage to accomplish that some with the rivalry points idea and some of the other league changes we've made.
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Q: Tdotter I know that teams that win by 70+ in a blowout get max XP, do teams that also lose by 70+ get the max XP for a game also?
A: Catch22 Yes
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Q: The Big House but do you plan a team "Flex point" bank any time soon?
A: Catch22 only for friendlies, but yes, should be uploaded this off season.
A2: BortNot done with it, yet, actually. I'm probably going to end up schlepping it off on Thorn so we can get it done sooner than later.
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Q: Tim26 Any more news on this? http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3648548
A: Bort Progression options should be ready to go for this next season, I think, pending QA approval. I have not had a chance to do much with the other parts.
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Q: David Stern Is bort considering extending the plateaus for players in any facet I.E, longer plateau ? Or is he happy with the way the current leveling/plateau/decline system works.
A: Catch22 Not sure how he feels about it. I've mentioned it but it's not something we've discussed in depth.
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Q: Triple_A In Bort's thread "Sorting promoting teams by record this season?"
He said that he would be sorting teams by last season's record, and then starting at league #1, fill in the best teams, #2 gets the next best, on down the line.
How come their is teams that are on 20-41 game winning streaks, won gold last season and not in league #1?
A: Catch22 Read the following announcement after that where he stated he was doing a modified version to not where all the top teams would be in the same league (they are still very top heavy and competitive though)
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