Q:Bhall43 - Red Zone Freak - Does this VA apply when the offense isn't in the red zone? Like say for example...the offense is at my 35 yard line, but I have lined my safety in a deep zone 15 yards down field. When he goes back into his zone 20 yards back and inside the 20, does Red Zone Freak have the potential to fire? Or even better yet. When my offense starts at the 21, does the WR get the boost the second he hits the 20 even tho we started outside of the red zone?
A: Bort - No, RZF is based on ball spot.
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Q:Bhall43 - Aura of Intimidation - Does this apply to any opposing player near you at any time or just the ball carrier?
A: Bort - Any player.
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Q:Cmon - What plans are being made to condense the # of CPU teams? Will leagues be removed? My idea was to remove something like Cap 46, Canabalize and force them up to an AA league.
A: Bort - Minor league contract and expand as needed, so the main problem is AA if there aren't enough high level teams. I very well might just nuke 2 leagues in some of the regions, and turn them into some sort of level capped A league. Sorting the CPUs off by themselves has worked somewhat, and that's pretty much the plan as needed, but with all the teams restarting in the last few seasons it has definitely been tough to fill the higher ranks.
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Q: Sven26 - Are you planning on having a level 1 tier in the minor leagues. Currently teams start at level 4, or more commonly, at level 14 and players have to go through the D Leagues or Pee Wee if they want to boost at the end of their first season. A structure that allowed players to spend most of their careers in the minor leagues with one team would be good.
A: Bort - No, level 4 is the lowest we're likely going to have.
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Q:Longhornfan1024 - Do different positions have different base scores for separate roll or are the scores determined entirely by attributes plus SAs? i.e. CBs have a based PD score of 10 and a base catching score of 2, but WRs have a base catching score of 10 and a base PD score of 2.
A: Bort - Same rolls for the most part (a few exceptions) but height and weight can make some differences based on position.
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Q:Shane695 - do you have any plans to help the higher lvl teams with players, alot of slow builds and super slow builds retire before they make lvl 60 many retire before lvl 40 now and with the archtypes coming there will be alot of retiring players, is it possible to get a freeze on new teams until the players are available to support it, or do you have other ideas?
A: Bort - Nothing in particular at the moment. It's sort of yet to be seen what will happen. No clue how many teams are demoting or selling, etc.
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Q: DrJeep - What is happening with Coaches?
A: Catch - We're going to be reevaluating that next season and it will be one of our major projects. Once we have more info on it, we'll let everyone know.
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Q: Goad Gatsby - What's the deal with Casual? Will there be more leagues in the AAA and AA?
A: Bort - When there's enough higher level teams to support them, yes. Don't think those exist yet though. We barely filled the Pro/AAA we did.
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Q: Kendo1 - In a recent Q&A you said you were gonna allow ownership of a 2nd team in the same category. When is this likely to be implemented? And how will it work, will it be through the waiting list or “click to buy”?
A: Bort - It will be "click to buy" (we might go back to that entirely, tbh). I want to get it done soon, but we just have not had the time to get the interface done yet.
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Q:sigepmagicmike - What is being done to put a hard stop to SSB teams?
A: Bort - 99% sure we're going to be making the following changes (still need to write the code):
* 50% of max XP for being on a team on game day
* No training when not on a team
That covers the main methods of SSB pretty well.
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Q: dmfa41 - What about transient free agency?
A: Bort - Get on a team. You don't have training facilities at home. This should encourage some of those wishy-washy agents to make up their mind a bit quicker too.
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Q: Cowtesticles2001 - Will you be able to go through the minor leagues and create separate SSB leagues much like the Elite leagues were created? Please ensure you call it SSB league vs Elite as there is and should be a difference.
A: Bort - SSB teams are no longer going to be able to do their "hey we're only level X, let us promote one tier" thing like they had in the past, which was a major way to "beat up on n00bs," since we added the effective level calculation. Those requests are going to be denied. Therefore, they're going to end up moving up and into the tiers they should be more quickly.
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Q: WalterManning - Are all the improvements going to be ready when next season starts?
A: Catch22 - Everything that has been announced is on track to be ready for next season
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Q: David Stern - Does qb get a bonus to pq when favoring a wr? Is there any boost to anything attribute wise. throwing wise, or anything from a % stand point when having a favorite wr in the qb tactics?. I.E. When players tactics set at hard give 10% to all attributes.
A: Bort – No
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Q: David Stern - Does ff% AEQ apply the exact same % to the KL roll?
A: Bort – Yes
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Q: David Stern - Does CB's tackling tactics increase his % to the pd KL roll?
A: Bort - Yes
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Q: P@anda - With the change-a-thon coming this offseason, how long do you think the offseason will be this time? Are we possibly looking at like Day 54 before rollover?
A: Catch - I don't think the off season will be that long. We're a bit more organized this season and things should progress nicely. I'm shooting for 7 days, but things do have a way of changing so don't hold that to me.
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Q: DrJeep - How with the changes to energy and morale be affected by stamina and confidence next season? Will it be significantly different from the way it is now?
A: Catch - We're still discussing and testing this. Basically we're looking at making secondary attributes (especially those two) have more of an impact. A tired player should not perform as well. A player with low moral should not perform as well so we're trying to find the right balance with those areas to make there be more to a player's build then strength, speed, and agility.
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Q: beenlurken - What do you not like about the idea that has been discussed in 800+ posts (spanning) two threads to shorten the building process and/or extend the plateau?
A: Bort - I'm not sure extending the plateau will accomplish much. It might make for some more higher level players short term, but not sure it adds much long term.
Shortening the lifespan of players would require an entirely different league structure for faster growth, or some fancy maths. We would potentially be fragmenting our user base.
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Q: maddoggy71 - What fakes (if any) help WR's to create separation before the ball is thrown?
A: Bort - Head Fake, Juke, also just having good agility at a cut. We are also adding a new "catch fake" skill with the archetypes.
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Q: liamm1986 - What effect does confidence have for a player WITH morale reducing SA's? Will a player with high confidence have a better chance of the SA firing or will higher confidence increase morale reduction?
A: Bort - None; the morale reducers work on the SA's level.
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Q: 89stepside - With the new Archtypes, I think it makes more sense than ever before to put in custom slots for DE positions. Much like the NFL (I know this isn't the NFL, but it is modeled after American Football) it seems to make sense to allow for putting in Speed DE's for passing situations and Run Stuffers for base situations. This is the only way I can see the Pass Rush Archtype being at all useful to lower levels. These guys would be getting pancaked all over the place, which may result in pass rush DE's to be avoided in Free Agency. I can understand the reasoning behind not creating custom slots for all positions, but I can't see any downside to adding the DE positions. Is there any chance of this happening in the next couple seasons?
A: Bort - Custom slots add an extra layer of complexity in gameplanning, which is something we are trying to avoid at the moment. Maybe once we get to the intermediate tactic idea, we can revisit and make it more intuitive or quicker.
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Q: cwrujosh - Are you really not going to to lower the roster limit from 55? IMHO, this is one of the primary reasons there are so many half-filled and CPU AAA and AA teams. You cannot dilute the talent base this much and expect there not to be a consequence. 50 is even higher than NFL teams, but 55 is overkill for even GLB.
A: Bort - Disagree it would do anything but make a bunch of STOPs retire. People are loyal to their owners, friends, and organizations. The talent is not going to spread out as much as you think.
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Q: waltermanning - Any consideration for capped leagues. Non-boosting type?
A: Catch - I'm not Bort but even as a customer I always thought non-boosting leagues were silly. This is a business, if you create a product that is completely free to play you'll never have any incentive for people to pay.
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Q: Gerr - Will players created before S15 be able to retire at the higher flex point return % as long as their player fits within the age limit?
A: Bort - Yes.
A: Catch - If the player is between 1-80 days old, they can retire and receive a full flex refund. If the player is between 81-120 days old, they can retire and receive a 80% flex refund. All other players will receive the normal 70%.
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Q: Northstar09 - When archetypes get rolled out, current players will have the opportunity to choose an archetype. Will they also be able to choose a new height/weight, since some of the archetypes are height/weight-restricted?
A: Bort - No. The restrictions won't affect the choices for existing players.
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Q:TrevJo - Are you aware that the many people interested in Iron Man football have now agreed that a 20 man minimum is acceptable? (The idea was previously shelved because the original proposal was for 15-man rosters, and code-wise less than 20 was not feasible.) http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=2416697&page=91#33595212
A: Bort - I was not aware of that. If that's acceptable, we could probably move forward fairly easily.
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Q:TrevJo - For anyone, has there been any consideration to re-vamping the logic for blockers and coverage guys on special teams? This behavior hasn't really changed in over a year, but there are a lot of problems with it, especially for higher-level players. http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3820566
A: Bort - Yes, special teams needs some major work in general.
A: Catch - it's on our list of current sim issues but I'm not sure we'll have time to do a whole lot with it this off season, but it is something we're aware of and will keep on our radar.
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Q:TrevJo - The "catch fake" skill with the archetypes that Bort mentions at the top of page 4, is that a reference to Open Field Fake? http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3813224
A: Bort - No, that's a new skill I just added a day or two ago, after Catch made the initial list of new SAs.
A: Catch - Separate SA's. Catch Fake is another one (WR acts like he is catching a ball to create separation)
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Q: Longhornfan1024 - Do the effects of height and weight in the correlate pretty strongly with the bonuses they give upon rolling or is the interaction between height and weight more complex? For example, does a 5'10 olineman that weighs 300 lbs have the same agility as a 5'10 olineman that weighs 270lbs? Does the heavier olineman of the same height have a penalty to agility in addition to speed because of his weight, despite the fact that they are the same? Another example: a 6'3" 210 lbs CB vs. a 6'3" 180lbs CB--does the decrease in weight help overall movement or just speed?
A: Bort - Much more complicated. The bonuses at creation are there to give some choices when choosing ht/wt.
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Q:obfuscate - have seen it mentioned before that there is a "repeat play" penalty if a play is ran twice in a row. How substantial is this penalty and what exactly is it applied to? The players, morale, chemistry, etc? Also is this penalty stacked or reset if a play is ran more then twice in a row... for example the play is ran four times in a row so it is a 4x penalty.
A: Catch - it's not twice in a row, it's if it is ran multiple times in a game (usually well above 10). It affects all players attributes for all players on the offense.
A: Bort - The more you run a play IN TOTAL during the course of a game, the bigger bonus the opponent gets to his stats. It's a small bonus to all stats, and large ones to vision, conf, and tackling.
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Q: raiderday - Will there be any type of custom equipment reset with all the upcoming SA changes?
A: Catch - No. You don't have to choose an archetype if you are over 120 days old.
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Q: ulbkumn - Is there ever going to be practice games against your own players. I love to see if my offense is better than my defense and Visa Versa.
Maybe get rid of the 1st 2 preseason games. And add the 2 practice games. Also add one at the end of the season.
A: Bort - the sim can't handle it properly at the moment, so not without a lot of work.
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Q: maddoggy71 - Must you have a "Fake SA" for Fake % AEQ to do anything?
A: Bort - Yes.
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Q: Kendo1 - I see lots of posts in the forum’s about new league structures mainly aimed at bringing back the rivalry between teams.
Do you have any plans to try and get back some rivalries into the game ?
A: Bort - Rivarly points! I've started setting up the tracking of those, and I'll be using them to sort teams this go around. Should keep some of the same teams together (especially those who played each other closely). I'll be doing more with them in the future to highlight rivals as the rivalry scores get higher over time.
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Q: Bengalduck - Can you expand on the fake process/rolls relative to Power Thru/LTS?
A: Bort - Power Thru/LTS are not fakes. They are applied as bonuses to the tackle breaking roll as a tackle occurs. Better strength/SA level, etc makes them more likely to happen, and makes them give bigger bonuses. Not all that complicated.
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Q: Jeffusn - Has there been any consideration given to allowing GLB Team Forum to be attached to email? I think it would be great to get email alerts when there are forum posting or PMs sent to you
A: Bort - Spam blacklists tend to cause problems with that. We don't want to be sending out that much email. Also, we do not have a "I agree to receive emails from you" box anywhere.
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Q: racingboy20 - If I choose only a lvl 4 cap team, am I just as likely to get a team for next season as if I were to choose 4-14 cap?
A: Bort - Probably more likely with 4-14, simply because the range is larger, making for more possibilities. However, you should choose the level you really want, to make sure you start where you want.
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Q:Fondo the wise - A number of Good quality lvl teams ave gutted there team in order to send there best dots to WL will we set a max limit on how many new dots can be brought in. if so. could it be based on the number of dots signed untill the next season.. for example. if a team has 55 players and only 45 of them are signed till the next season, it would only allow the team to bring in 10 NEW players. some changes could be made for people wishing to leave...
A: Bort - It's quite possible we will look at doing a salary cap of some sort (probably a distributed luxury tax) when we do the rest of our financial updates for eq and stadium upgrades. Super merger teams are not really in the comp
Q. Gerr- What's the status on custom offensive plays or new offensive plays?
A. Catch- Will never be custom offensive plays. We're going to be adding approximately 20-25 new offensive plays for next season. You can check out discussion on that in Test Server Discussions.
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Q. J0501- Does it help or hurt you to pick one or not? [An archetype if you are over 80 days old]
A. Catch- It really depends on the player's build and which archetype you are wanting to choose. For most players, choosing one will have more value than not choosing one because of more efficient ALG's and the bonus SA.
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Q. GmanV2- On the 2nd team ownership, do you have any thoughts already on how that'll work?
IE, own 2 Casual + 2 Regular? 2 PeeWee as well?
As many as you can afford?
Also, any chance of getting it done before the offseason to ensure we can properly staff these teams (Season 14 offseason)
A. Bort- 2 of each type. Not sure if I will have time or not.
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Q. cowtesticles2001- Can you implement an automatic 3 level jump for league champions in minor leagues up until cap 38 instead of an option? (Where a 2 cap jump would be to LVL 46.)
A. Bort- I'd like to maybe see a forced 3 level jump for 20-0 teams. Those guys should really move up.
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Q. Hammertime15- What is the progression for a power back breaking tackles? Does aeq % activate first or do SA's fire first, and as a follow up which SA's give you the best opportunity for success.
A. Bort- total score + % bonuses. The best SAs for you are up to you to discover.
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Q. CMON- This may seem complex, but has Bort ever thought about attaching a reporting engine to GLB that pulls data such as levels, stats, records etc.
A. Bort- We will be having to do something along those lines for our iPhone app to communicate with the site. Maybe it could be adapted for 3rd party apps and such as well.
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Q. cwrujosh- Any thought to allowing us to choose the blocking side for a back staying into block in SB/SG sets? This would help eliminate the effectiveness of some exploit/problematic blitzes.
A. Bort- Hm, decent idea. I will give it some thought. Similar to the TE block side, I guess.
A. Catch- Yea, I like that one fwiw.
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Q. AngryDragon- Will regular teams ever be able move to the casual leagues? If so will the same new promotion/demotion rules apply?
A. Catch- No they will not.
A. Bort- I have gone back and forth with the idea.
There are a couple problems:
- They would lose all their AI, playbooks, etc, since it wouldn't apply to casual. Lost data there might by annoying to many owners.
- The level differences between normal and casual leagues. The casual leagues have kinda built up on their own. Moving other league teams in could cause issues with them having and advantage or disadvantage. Kinda like how Africa tends to be lower level than USA because it was created later.
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Q. DrJeep- Exactly how with purchasing EQ work next season? [s15] Will it be the same as this season? [s14]
A. Catch- It'll be the same after the pre-season. During the off season though players will be able to trade in or convert AEQ +% pieces and get refund tokens (which must be used by the end of the pre-season).
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Q. J0501- When are you going to implement ticket and concession sales for pre-season games?
A. Catch- As far as I know - not going to happen.
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Q. Vortus- What is going to be done with the current SSB teams? On the effective level/player value some outlevel the rest of the league by 10 effective levels and over 100 value points. Will leagues be organized by level like now still or some other method used?
A. Bort- I really think it will sort out better this season, even. The SSB teams won't be sorted together with the teams they beat badly, since their rivalry scores will be low. We'll see if we need to do anything special. Combine it with the fact that they won't be able to request to start artificially low, and we'll see it work better.
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Q. RMiller517- What is happening with SYM? is there no chance of speed getting added to the PB archetype? what measures are being taken to improve rushing between top tier (high level) teams, as it seems that it isn't a very good option in even matches.
A. Catch- We're looking at toning down SYM's effectiveness. Still discussing/testing. Absolutely zero chance of speed getting add to the PB archetype. Rushing works pretty good between all but the very elite teams (read: Valhalla/Blaze) but we're working on some of the issues with DL winning too many of their matchups against the OL on run plays - again see Test Server Discussions... if it's being discussed, it's there.
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Q. reedric- Does the "repeat Play" penalty apply to the defense as well?
A. Catch- No it does not.
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Q. beenlurken- I take it that you have not read those threads that discuss this. One main point is that turning over a team of declining players is just to damn difficult a longer plateau (I am talking "true" plateau) gives teams a longer window to transition from old to new while remaining competitive.
A. Bort- I have not read them in depth 100% of the way. I have seen the ideas in general. Catch and I have briefly talked about it at times. We have not come to a conclusion one way or the other.
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Q. LordEvil- Any chance we can reduce copper pee wee leagues to 8 since now there are level 4 leagues? Less players for pee wees IMO
A. Bort- I'll see how many coppers are full this time around. Was figuring we'd probably convert some of them to level 4 leagues instead anyway.
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Q. LordEvil- Also do SAs work at such low levels like level 8 through level 13? I keep believing they do but you never can really tell. I hate to be wasting points on something that doesn't activate until level 25 or so.
A. Bort- Sure they do. Ones that work better with an attribute being high won't work as well, but ones that work completely off level will work. Those that work better with an attribute will say so in the description.
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Q. DrJeep- How is the MLB blitz exploit in the Wide Five formation being handled?
A. Bort- In discussion on the test server right now. Tough problem, since it's technically just an overload.
A. Catch- Something I think we might need to do is just have special separate blocking logic for 5 WR formation. Will mention on test server though.
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Q. cowtesticles2001- Why can't I roll a good +3 Strength +% or +SA for a NT? [Is it impossible?]
A. Bort- It's not impossible. Some skills are more or less likely depending on position, though. A high level SA like D-Line General is harder to come by.
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Q. P@nda- will there be anymore of the Take this Poll get 100 FP announcements?
A. Catch- We'll likely do a survey at least twice a year. I'm just now about done reading the 20,000 responses from the first one lol.
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Q. P@nda- With the forced signing to be able to train, will the players just not receive TP while off a team? Does this include the offseason
A. Bort- No, they'd collect the points but be unable to use them.
Q. P@nda- Cap 4 Winners get treated like every other league and get mandatory promoted to Cap 18 even with the level disparity?
A. Bort- Not really a level disparity. Lv 18 leagues will have lv 14 sucky teams, lv 18 REALLY sucky teams, and lv 4 winners. It's not all full of lv 18+ players automatically. Most of the teams will be from similar situations.
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Q. Djinnt- Will you ever consider a balanced WR archetype? One that features speed, agility, catching and strength as majors (of course with a fifth)?
A. Catch- Archetypes are done. We're not adding anything new or changing anything unless there is a balance issue (none have been found in testing thus far).
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Q. liamm1986- Do Blitz and Tunnel Vision work in the same way?
A. Bort- No. Blitz is always active when blitzing. Tunnel Vision has to activate and has a bigger bonus.
Q. liamm1986- How do the Big/Monster Hit SA's apply to the force fumble roll? Simlar to Shed Blocks and the break block roll?
A. Bort- Yes. They apply a bonus to the FF score when they work.
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Q. RMiller517- is the world league working, in your opinion? (as opposed to bort's old 'tournament' idea)
A. Catch- My opinion, no. But I've never been a fan of the World League in the first place so I'm biased on that.
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Q. maddoggy71- Bort, please consider us to make some basic custom offensive plays.
1. You must pick from standard formations.
2. With pulldowns, you pick from standard routes, blocking schemes, rushing paths.
It would give us the chance to custom build endless combinations yet nothing the DC can't scout.
A. Bort- Closest you might get at some point is a pick a route type thing. We know it would be rife for exploitation no matter what, though.
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MVP
Q. beenlurken - The MVP system is a joke. It is broken. There is no disputing this.
Why will you guys not accept this and suspend the sweet AEQ pieces that are handed out to undeserving winners until you can make a chance to fix it? Its one thing to recognize a lolMVP winner... its another to give him an overpowered piece of equipment when it should have gone to someone else.
A. Bort - I disagree. I like how it works for the most part.
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EQ FUND
Q. DrJeep - There was talk of EQ being free starting next season. So just to be clear, EQ is still going to cost what it does now and teams will still need to fund EQ through the EQ fund correct?
A. Catch22 - Won't be next season, more likely s16. There is much more detailed info about this in Test Server Discussions in the following thread:
http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3789390
A. Bort - Yes, for the time being.
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CATCHING MECHANICS
Q. Djinnt - Does strength play any role in catching the ball? If so, is it only a bonus that occurs when covered and fighting for the ball or is it a general bonus?
A. Bort - A small part in general. Helps more when fighting a defender.
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ARCHETYPES
Q. RMiller517 - are the new "Archetype SAs" the only new ones being added? shouldn't there be a bigger variety for a specific build type? (for example, what kind of QB doesn't take the new quick read SA)
A. Catch22 - Yes those are the only one's being added. We had two late additions (I need to add them to the OP of the new SA's post). We have added another QB one as well called Look Off - just got added.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Gongadan - I have heard that confidence is more important during the playoffs than during the regular season. Is that true? Are there other differences between the regular season and the playoffs?
A. Bort - Nope, same sim. Same rules. You tend to face better teams overall, though, so confidence can only help!
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OFFSEASON
Q. Gongadan - When will we be able to retire our younger dots for the enhanced refund? Will this happen immediately on day 40/41, or will there be a wait before the enhanced refund is rolled out?
A. Bort - When we make an announcement about it being ready. Should be fine for day 41. It's tested out all good.
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MOD REQUEST
Q. Tim26 - Is there any Mods pos. going to be opening up?
A. Catch22 - Not in the immediate future but you're always welcome to send in an application to applications@goallineblitz.com and the next time Pallow needs someone he will go there.
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FARM TEAMS
Q. Ucross - Since you're going to possibly re-add the A league, and the fact that everyone will be able to own two teams now, is there any chance we might get the old league structure back when BBB was around? (Makes sense since so many teams will be bought)
Also, will you ever ban farm teams? I don't see any harm in farm teams tbh I think it creates friendship and loyalty between agents.
A. Bort - Don't think we need that many high level leagues now. That system also didn't work at the lower levels at all.
No, farm teams will not be banned. We might even add some sort of farm team system to the game.
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ELITE MINORS
Q. AngryDragon - Will elite teams that did not do so well this season be moved out of the elite tiers next season?
A. Bort - Yep.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Toriq - On another note, What is going in in ragerds to addressing/fixing coverage issues? There are so many problems with that facet if the game (IMO).
A. Catch22 - Still in discussion phases but PP is spending a bit of time on it. I'm sure we will look at it. I highly encourage if you have an opinion to offer it in Test Server Discussions in the appropriate thread(s).
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REWARDS PROGRAM
Q. vinman - Bort you mentioned awhile back on a customer rewards program,anything new on that.And when will it be implemented?
A. Catch22 - We're adding Rewards Points this off season - I imagine down the road this will tie in directly to a customer rewards program, so we're getting closer to that.
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TEAM OWNERSHIP
Q. Toriq - Has there been any though to making the team ownership "contract" more binding by putting limits on when a team is allowed to be sold or gutted, etc? Just like you can only buy a team during off-season, why can't something be implemented so that you can only sell back during off-season? Just seems to make sense. Ownership should entail at least a season(al) commitment.
A. Bort - Yeah, I'd like to maybe get rid of refunds when selling a team midseason. Encourage end-of-season only sales.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. morid - Any consideration to having Morale Substitutions?
A. Bort - Considered, not high priority.
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GLB ADMINISTRATION
Q. Longhornfan1024 - Why doesn't DD do more stuff like Catch? What is his role in the trio?
A. Catch22 - He does all the business side for GLB (payroll, accounting, employment stuff) and more. He's a pretty busy dude.
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FUTURE PROJECTS
Q. BDawk - How far in to development is GLB baseball?
A. Catch22 - Hasn't even started. Still have more work to do on GLB first.
A. Bort - Getting the dev team together. Basic planning being worked on.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Djinnt - What stats does the QB consider to be valuable on a WR in his checkdown? Or is this evaluation based on something like level, effective level, etc in comparison to their opponent?
A. Bort - Catching score and speed in comparison to opponent's deflecting score and speed. It's mostly dependent on defender count nearby, though.
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TRAINING
Q. ShowTyme - can intense training be changed to pick whatever 2 you want to train ?
A. Catch22 - Bort wants to do something a bit different with unlocking training combinations rather than just making any 2 possible.
A. Bort - Need to work out our idea on that! I'd like to get it going.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. BengalDuck - Previously, you had written that a Powerback has a chance at a Power Thru roll, and if that fails, he may still get a Lower the Shoulder roll (or perhaps even a Stiff Arm roll).
Is there a similar process for fakes? A Juke attempted, followed by a Head Fake attempt? Can you clarify the rolling process between a ball carrier and a potential tackler in the open field?
A. Bort - Yes, he will try the Juke roll, and if failed a Head Fake roll can happen as well.
Once a tackler reaches a fakeable distance, the options open up for a fake to happen each tick.
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MVP
Q. beenlurken - Care to explain how it works then so that we may attempt to understand how you could possibly think the system is working?
A. Bort - http://goallineblitz.com/fame_faq.html
It's a fairly complicated formula. Just like the BCS or any other ranking system, 100% of people will not be satisfied with it, but it works about how I want. Players who contribute a lot to their team deserve a shot, even if their team doesn't do so well. This isn't the real world; we have to be more fair to give even the mediocre teams a chance.
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AEQ
Q. shane695 - the D-line gets alot higher % of o-line EQ and vice versa
are you aware of this already
A. Bort - It's working like it's supposed to. It's supposed to be harder to come by the best stuff for your position.
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TRAINING
Q. ShowTyme - also does what you train on when getting a shopping token effect what you get when you refresh the store ?
A. Catch22 - No it has no effect.
A. Bort - No.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. maddoggy71 - Can you explain the Avoid Fake process a bit in terms of the best ways to avoid fakes? vision/agility/etc
A. Bort - Guy gets a fake roll (head fake/juke/whatever). Defender rolls his vision and supervision skills (and perhaps agility for some fakes) against them. Higher roll wins. If the defender wins, the fake doesn't happen. If he loses, he gets faked.
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VETERAN ABILITIES
Q. dagwood13 - Does Slot WR work for WR#4 and WR#5
A. Catch22 - No, it only works when you are at WR3.
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LEAGUE STRUCTURE
Q. raiderdav - Can there be an option added for teams that prefer to be promoted to an Elite league if slots are available?
A. Bort - Elite will be based on record only.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Doug_Plank - Does AGI factor into the Pass Qual roll?
A. Bort - Yes.
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GAME CHANGES
Q. Gongadan - Are you really sure about this "no spending trains while not on a team" solution to SSB?
Lotsa stuff about SSB
A. Bort - When we finish the changes to player cash, training will be free but will require a team.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. topdawg88 - Which break tackle SAs work for rushing QBs and which ones do not work for rushing QBs? I'm talking about Spin, Power Through, Stiff Arm, and Lower the Shoulder.
A. Bort - They would all work.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. David Stern - Is the morale/stamina buff set in stone?
Lotsa stuff about conf/stam
A. Bort - We're playing with the settings. Currently it's double on the test server, which is probably too much. Just kinda wanted to see the difference.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. maddoggy71 - Does Scrambler VA work on QB runs?
A. Catch22 - No, it works when passing - it says "get away from Sacks" in the description.
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REPLAY PLAYER IDENTIFICATION
Q: dagwood13- On the replays is there come way to distinguish CB1, CB2, WR1, WR2 instead of them all saying CB or WR, could you use C1, C2, W1, W2
A: Bort- Hm, that's a potentially good idea. Might try to do that or change the display somehow.
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MVP FORMULA
Q: beenlurken- Bort answer me this about the MVP formula please...What is more important? Contribution to team or overall stats leader?
A: Bort- Overall stats slightly more important. There is also comparisons to other players at the same position.
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FLUFF QUESTION
Q: Longhornfan1024- Do you agree that the 40 Year Old Virgin is absolute genius?
A: Bort- It feels like a bag of sand.
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APPLICATION OF FIRST STEP TO ALL POSITIONS
Q: Maddoggy71- Does First Step work for all positions? I dumped 2 pieces on my TE as it didn't seem to do anything for me.
A: Catch22- First Step works for all positions.
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PASS DEFLECTION MECHANICS
Q:w_alloy- I have some questions about pass deflection mechanics in double coverage. There seems to be a bonus for double teaming as was indirectly mentioned in the change log recently.Is "a bonus to PD rolls" a correct way to charchterize all the "extra" benefits of double teaming ("extra" meaning not directly observable or behind the scenes)?Does the bonus depend at all on who the other player is? Is it possible for two players to make a play on the ball but no bonus applied? Is it possible for only one player to make a play on the ball and the bonus be applied? If one player makes a deflection, does this make it easier for the next player to make a deflection (assuming distance to the ball is constant)?
A: Bort- The WR gets a penalty to catching the ball depending on how many defenders are close by. Doesn't matter who they are or what they are doing. This is indirectly a bonus to all involved opposing PD rolls when fighting with him. Defenders off by themselves don't get any bonus from others nearby.
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PASS DISTANCE AEQ
Q: Dragon82- How does pass distance aeq work? Is there a max distance a qb can throw that is increased by the aeq?
or Does it increase the distance a qb can throw before pass quality starts to degrade?
A: Bort- Both!
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CPU CONTRACTS OVER LEVEL 7
Q: Jethroz- Is something still being planned for CPU teams to offer contracts to players above level 7? Otherwise, not being able to train will pretty much end the life of many of the mediocre builds, or less needed position players, out there.
A: Bort- Yes, it is on my list.
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SPEED AND BREAKING TACKLES
Q: RMiller517- When it was said that "Speed plays a role in giving a bonus to breaking tackles", is that a constant bonus that you get for going a certain speed? or, does the bonus vary depending on how fast your going?
A: Bort- Depends on how fast you are going.
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BUMP IN NEW TEAM PURCHASE PRICE
Q: P@nda- With the bump in prices to teams will that effect renewals as well?
A: Bort- No, just purchase price. The main problem with the 400 point price is that people create multis to buy cash farm teams. We have to go through and get rid of a bunch every season. If they were more than 400, they couldn't use the initial points to buy a team.
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SUPER VISION
Q: NibBoris- Super vision has been described as it only applies when playing defense - not offense or special teams. Yet, it's strangely absent from all the exclusion SA lists, unlike things like blitzing SAs that are clearly defense only and only available to defensive positions.
Is this an oversight on the exclusion list, or is it going to do something on offense/STs now? Can it either be added to the exclusion list or can we get a description of how it affects offensive positions?
A: Bort- Special teams tacklers can still use superior vision to avoid fakes.
A: Catch22- It applies on special teams - that is why it is available.
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NEW FIELD TYPES FOR FLASH REPLAYS
Q: darthbrooks- on the flash replays, will there be more options for different types of fields? (baseball, muddy, artificial turf, etc)
A: Bort- Same as there are now. However, we'll probably expand to add more options for flash replays in the future, including perhaps full custom field.
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FIRST STEP VERSUS TUNNEL VISION
Q: timthorn- What gives a greater boost to speed and acceleration following breaking a block, First Step or Tunnel Vision?
A: Bort- Probably Tunnel Vision, since you're likely not stopped to get First Step bonus.
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CATCHING THE BALL IN A CROWD
Q: Toriq- If WRs get a penalty with X defenders near them, I don't know if it's working right as a lot of passes appear to be caught with "crowds" of defenders all around the receiver. Has this been tested thoroughly? Just seems like it has the opposite effect. And QBs seem to ignore a 1 on 1 coverage to throw into 2-3+ man coverage a whole lot too.
A: Bort- We've done a lot of random tests at various times regarding this, bumping it up and down, etc. It applies a penalty. I thinks some WRs just have very high catching scores.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING CATCHING SCORES
Q: djinnt- Sorry for the convoluted question but: What factors are considered in the catching score? Are SAs and VAs that do not alter attributes considered?
A: Bort- Catching, jumping, vision, strength, speed you are traveling, agility, whether the pass is high or low, defenders nearby + SAs like sticky hands or VAs that give bonuses. There can be multiple things that going on during a catch, though, such as bobbles, knocked loose tackles, or deflections.
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FREQUENT FLEX PURCHASE BONUSES
Q: The Avenger- There was talk about "frequent" Flex Point buyer/user bonuses. It was discussed several months ago, so, is there any chance of this happening anytime sooner rather then later?
A: Bort- We now have the functionality to make it happen, so yes it's more likely now. We have been discussing how we want to do it exactly.
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OC/DC PLAYBOOK OWNERSHIP
Q: Brutus Buckeye- Is there ever going to be a way for OC's/DC's to have playbooks that belong to them so it is easier to work from team to team without having to transfer, rebuild AI's all the time? I think if the playbooks belonged to the coordinators and could be loaded to each team it might help to keep more in the game.
A: Catch22- It's on my list of things that I want Bort to implement - I think it's something we should do in the future, just a matter of taking the time to code it by Bort.
A: Bort- I was thinking about this recently based on somebody's suggestion, and the ONLY way I think it could work is if all AI and plays, etc, became owned by the agent account, instead of by the team. That's the only way we can ensure continuity of play ids and other unique ids, and to not have invalid duplicate data. Obviously, that's a big undertaking. Not so much for us as far as programming goes, but for the team owners and OCs and DCs out there to change the way they work and think of things. There are also other obvious disadvantages of the system. Not sure if those are a problem or not.
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NEW FIELD GRAPHICS
Q: Darth Brooks- Would new field graphics be used? Where would I go to volunteer to do some of the textures for the fields?
A: Yes, they would. There's a group of guys who did the field graphics that we are using. Not sure if they are still doing stuff or would want to reorganize, but check out the thread about graphics in epic suggestions. For the custom fields, we were thinking of having some sort of field creator tool where you could type some text at various points, put a logo, choose endzone art, etc, and then it would output an image the replay could use.
A: Bort - No, RZF is based on ball spot.
-------------------------------------
Q:Bhall43 - Aura of Intimidation - Does this apply to any opposing player near you at any time or just the ball carrier?
A: Bort - Any player.
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Q:Cmon - What plans are being made to condense the # of CPU teams? Will leagues be removed? My idea was to remove something like Cap 46, Canabalize and force them up to an AA league.
A: Bort - Minor league contract and expand as needed, so the main problem is AA if there aren't enough high level teams. I very well might just nuke 2 leagues in some of the regions, and turn them into some sort of level capped A league. Sorting the CPUs off by themselves has worked somewhat, and that's pretty much the plan as needed, but with all the teams restarting in the last few seasons it has definitely been tough to fill the higher ranks.
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Q: Sven26 - Are you planning on having a level 1 tier in the minor leagues. Currently teams start at level 4, or more commonly, at level 14 and players have to go through the D Leagues or Pee Wee if they want to boost at the end of their first season. A structure that allowed players to spend most of their careers in the minor leagues with one team would be good.
A: Bort - No, level 4 is the lowest we're likely going to have.
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Q:Longhornfan1024 - Do different positions have different base scores for separate roll or are the scores determined entirely by attributes plus SAs? i.e. CBs have a based PD score of 10 and a base catching score of 2, but WRs have a base catching score of 10 and a base PD score of 2.
A: Bort - Same rolls for the most part (a few exceptions) but height and weight can make some differences based on position.
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Q:Shane695 - do you have any plans to help the higher lvl teams with players, alot of slow builds and super slow builds retire before they make lvl 60 many retire before lvl 40 now and with the archtypes coming there will be alot of retiring players, is it possible to get a freeze on new teams until the players are available to support it, or do you have other ideas?
A: Bort - Nothing in particular at the moment. It's sort of yet to be seen what will happen. No clue how many teams are demoting or selling, etc.
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Q: DrJeep - What is happening with Coaches?
A: Catch - We're going to be reevaluating that next season and it will be one of our major projects. Once we have more info on it, we'll let everyone know.
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Q: Goad Gatsby - What's the deal with Casual? Will there be more leagues in the AAA and AA?
A: Bort - When there's enough higher level teams to support them, yes. Don't think those exist yet though. We barely filled the Pro/AAA we did.
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Q: Kendo1 - In a recent Q&A you said you were gonna allow ownership of a 2nd team in the same category. When is this likely to be implemented? And how will it work, will it be through the waiting list or “click to buy”?
A: Bort - It will be "click to buy" (we might go back to that entirely, tbh). I want to get it done soon, but we just have not had the time to get the interface done yet.
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Q:sigepmagicmike - What is being done to put a hard stop to SSB teams?
A: Bort - 99% sure we're going to be making the following changes (still need to write the code):
* 50% of max XP for being on a team on game day
* No training when not on a team
That covers the main methods of SSB pretty well.
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Q: dmfa41 - What about transient free agency?
A: Bort - Get on a team. You don't have training facilities at home. This should encourage some of those wishy-washy agents to make up their mind a bit quicker too.
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Q: Cowtesticles2001 - Will you be able to go through the minor leagues and create separate SSB leagues much like the Elite leagues were created? Please ensure you call it SSB league vs Elite as there is and should be a difference.
A: Bort - SSB teams are no longer going to be able to do their "hey we're only level X, let us promote one tier" thing like they had in the past, which was a major way to "beat up on n00bs," since we added the effective level calculation. Those requests are going to be denied. Therefore, they're going to end up moving up and into the tiers they should be more quickly.
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Q: WalterManning - Are all the improvements going to be ready when next season starts?
A: Catch22 - Everything that has been announced is on track to be ready for next season
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Q: David Stern - Does qb get a bonus to pq when favoring a wr? Is there any boost to anything attribute wise. throwing wise, or anything from a % stand point when having a favorite wr in the qb tactics?. I.E. When players tactics set at hard give 10% to all attributes.
A: Bort – No
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Q: David Stern - Does ff% AEQ apply the exact same % to the KL roll?
A: Bort – Yes
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Q: David Stern - Does CB's tackling tactics increase his % to the pd KL roll?
A: Bort - Yes
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Q: P@anda - With the change-a-thon coming this offseason, how long do you think the offseason will be this time? Are we possibly looking at like Day 54 before rollover?
A: Catch - I don't think the off season will be that long. We're a bit more organized this season and things should progress nicely. I'm shooting for 7 days, but things do have a way of changing so don't hold that to me.
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Q: DrJeep - How with the changes to energy and morale be affected by stamina and confidence next season? Will it be significantly different from the way it is now?
A: Catch - We're still discussing and testing this. Basically we're looking at making secondary attributes (especially those two) have more of an impact. A tired player should not perform as well. A player with low moral should not perform as well so we're trying to find the right balance with those areas to make there be more to a player's build then strength, speed, and agility.
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Q: beenlurken - What do you not like about the idea that has been discussed in 800+ posts (spanning) two threads to shorten the building process and/or extend the plateau?
A: Bort - I'm not sure extending the plateau will accomplish much. It might make for some more higher level players short term, but not sure it adds much long term.
Shortening the lifespan of players would require an entirely different league structure for faster growth, or some fancy maths. We would potentially be fragmenting our user base.
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Q: maddoggy71 - What fakes (if any) help WR's to create separation before the ball is thrown?
A: Bort - Head Fake, Juke, also just having good agility at a cut. We are also adding a new "catch fake" skill with the archetypes.
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Q: liamm1986 - What effect does confidence have for a player WITH morale reducing SA's? Will a player with high confidence have a better chance of the SA firing or will higher confidence increase morale reduction?
A: Bort - None; the morale reducers work on the SA's level.
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Q: 89stepside - With the new Archtypes, I think it makes more sense than ever before to put in custom slots for DE positions. Much like the NFL (I know this isn't the NFL, but it is modeled after American Football) it seems to make sense to allow for putting in Speed DE's for passing situations and Run Stuffers for base situations. This is the only way I can see the Pass Rush Archtype being at all useful to lower levels. These guys would be getting pancaked all over the place, which may result in pass rush DE's to be avoided in Free Agency. I can understand the reasoning behind not creating custom slots for all positions, but I can't see any downside to adding the DE positions. Is there any chance of this happening in the next couple seasons?
A: Bort - Custom slots add an extra layer of complexity in gameplanning, which is something we are trying to avoid at the moment. Maybe once we get to the intermediate tactic idea, we can revisit and make it more intuitive or quicker.
-------------------------------------
Q: cwrujosh - Are you really not going to to lower the roster limit from 55? IMHO, this is one of the primary reasons there are so many half-filled and CPU AAA and AA teams. You cannot dilute the talent base this much and expect there not to be a consequence. 50 is even higher than NFL teams, but 55 is overkill for even GLB.
A: Bort - Disagree it would do anything but make a bunch of STOPs retire. People are loyal to their owners, friends, and organizations. The talent is not going to spread out as much as you think.
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Q: waltermanning - Any consideration for capped leagues. Non-boosting type?
A: Catch - I'm not Bort but even as a customer I always thought non-boosting leagues were silly. This is a business, if you create a product that is completely free to play you'll never have any incentive for people to pay.
-------------------------------------
Q: Gerr - Will players created before S15 be able to retire at the higher flex point return % as long as their player fits within the age limit?
A: Bort - Yes.
A: Catch - If the player is between 1-80 days old, they can retire and receive a full flex refund. If the player is between 81-120 days old, they can retire and receive a 80% flex refund. All other players will receive the normal 70%.
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Q: Northstar09 - When archetypes get rolled out, current players will have the opportunity to choose an archetype. Will they also be able to choose a new height/weight, since some of the archetypes are height/weight-restricted?
A: Bort - No. The restrictions won't affect the choices for existing players.
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Q:TrevJo - Are you aware that the many people interested in Iron Man football have now agreed that a 20 man minimum is acceptable? (The idea was previously shelved because the original proposal was for 15-man rosters, and code-wise less than 20 was not feasible.) http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=2416697&page=91#33595212
A: Bort - I was not aware of that. If that's acceptable, we could probably move forward fairly easily.
-------------------------------------
Q:TrevJo - For anyone, has there been any consideration to re-vamping the logic for blockers and coverage guys on special teams? This behavior hasn't really changed in over a year, but there are a lot of problems with it, especially for higher-level players. http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3820566
A: Bort - Yes, special teams needs some major work in general.
A: Catch - it's on our list of current sim issues but I'm not sure we'll have time to do a whole lot with it this off season, but it is something we're aware of and will keep on our radar.
-------------------------------------
Q:TrevJo - The "catch fake" skill with the archetypes that Bort mentions at the top of page 4, is that a reference to Open Field Fake? http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3813224
A: Bort - No, that's a new skill I just added a day or two ago, after Catch made the initial list of new SAs.
A: Catch - Separate SA's. Catch Fake is another one (WR acts like he is catching a ball to create separation)
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Q: Longhornfan1024 - Do the effects of height and weight in the correlate pretty strongly with the bonuses they give upon rolling or is the interaction between height and weight more complex? For example, does a 5'10 olineman that weighs 300 lbs have the same agility as a 5'10 olineman that weighs 270lbs? Does the heavier olineman of the same height have a penalty to agility in addition to speed because of his weight, despite the fact that they are the same? Another example: a 6'3" 210 lbs CB vs. a 6'3" 180lbs CB--does the decrease in weight help overall movement or just speed?
A: Bort - Much more complicated. The bonuses at creation are there to give some choices when choosing ht/wt.
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Q:obfuscate - have seen it mentioned before that there is a "repeat play" penalty if a play is ran twice in a row. How substantial is this penalty and what exactly is it applied to? The players, morale, chemistry, etc? Also is this penalty stacked or reset if a play is ran more then twice in a row... for example the play is ran four times in a row so it is a 4x penalty.
A: Catch - it's not twice in a row, it's if it is ran multiple times in a game (usually well above 10). It affects all players attributes for all players on the offense.
A: Bort - The more you run a play IN TOTAL during the course of a game, the bigger bonus the opponent gets to his stats. It's a small bonus to all stats, and large ones to vision, conf, and tackling.
-------------------------------------
Q: raiderday - Will there be any type of custom equipment reset with all the upcoming SA changes?
A: Catch - No. You don't have to choose an archetype if you are over 120 days old.
-------------------------------------
Q: ulbkumn - Is there ever going to be practice games against your own players. I love to see if my offense is better than my defense and Visa Versa.
Maybe get rid of the 1st 2 preseason games. And add the 2 practice games. Also add one at the end of the season.
A: Bort - the sim can't handle it properly at the moment, so not without a lot of work.
-------------------------------------
Q: maddoggy71 - Must you have a "Fake SA" for Fake % AEQ to do anything?
A: Bort - Yes.
-------------------------------------
Q: Kendo1 - I see lots of posts in the forum’s about new league structures mainly aimed at bringing back the rivalry between teams.
Do you have any plans to try and get back some rivalries into the game ?
A: Bort - Rivarly points! I've started setting up the tracking of those, and I'll be using them to sort teams this go around. Should keep some of the same teams together (especially those who played each other closely). I'll be doing more with them in the future to highlight rivals as the rivalry scores get higher over time.
-------------------------------------
Q: Bengalduck - Can you expand on the fake process/rolls relative to Power Thru/LTS?
A: Bort - Power Thru/LTS are not fakes. They are applied as bonuses to the tackle breaking roll as a tackle occurs. Better strength/SA level, etc makes them more likely to happen, and makes them give bigger bonuses. Not all that complicated.
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Q: Jeffusn - Has there been any consideration given to allowing GLB Team Forum to be attached to email? I think it would be great to get email alerts when there are forum posting or PMs sent to you
A: Bort - Spam blacklists tend to cause problems with that. We don't want to be sending out that much email. Also, we do not have a "I agree to receive emails from you" box anywhere.
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Q: racingboy20 - If I choose only a lvl 4 cap team, am I just as likely to get a team for next season as if I were to choose 4-14 cap?
A: Bort - Probably more likely with 4-14, simply because the range is larger, making for more possibilities. However, you should choose the level you really want, to make sure you start where you want.
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Q:Fondo the wise - A number of Good quality lvl teams ave gutted there team in order to send there best dots to WL will we set a max limit on how many new dots can be brought in. if so. could it be based on the number of dots signed untill the next season.. for example. if a team has 55 players and only 45 of them are signed till the next season, it would only allow the team to bring in 10 NEW players. some changes could be made for people wishing to leave...
A: Bort - It's quite possible we will look at doing a salary cap of some sort (probably a distributed luxury tax) when we do the rest of our financial updates for eq and stadium upgrades. Super merger teams are not really in the comp
Q. Gerr- What's the status on custom offensive plays or new offensive plays?
A. Catch- Will never be custom offensive plays. We're going to be adding approximately 20-25 new offensive plays for next season. You can check out discussion on that in Test Server Discussions.
********************
Q. J0501- Does it help or hurt you to pick one or not? [An archetype if you are over 80 days old]
A. Catch- It really depends on the player's build and which archetype you are wanting to choose. For most players, choosing one will have more value than not choosing one because of more efficient ALG's and the bonus SA.
********************
Q. GmanV2- On the 2nd team ownership, do you have any thoughts already on how that'll work?
IE, own 2 Casual + 2 Regular? 2 PeeWee as well?
As many as you can afford?
Also, any chance of getting it done before the offseason to ensure we can properly staff these teams (Season 14 offseason)
A. Bort- 2 of each type. Not sure if I will have time or not.
********************
Q. cowtesticles2001- Can you implement an automatic 3 level jump for league champions in minor leagues up until cap 38 instead of an option? (Where a 2 cap jump would be to LVL 46.)
A. Bort- I'd like to maybe see a forced 3 level jump for 20-0 teams. Those guys should really move up.
********************
Q. Hammertime15- What is the progression for a power back breaking tackles? Does aeq % activate first or do SA's fire first, and as a follow up which SA's give you the best opportunity for success.
A. Bort- total score + % bonuses. The best SAs for you are up to you to discover.
********************
Q. CMON- This may seem complex, but has Bort ever thought about attaching a reporting engine to GLB that pulls data such as levels, stats, records etc.
A. Bort- We will be having to do something along those lines for our iPhone app to communicate with the site. Maybe it could be adapted for 3rd party apps and such as well.
********************
Q. cwrujosh- Any thought to allowing us to choose the blocking side for a back staying into block in SB/SG sets? This would help eliminate the effectiveness of some exploit/problematic blitzes.
A. Bort- Hm, decent idea. I will give it some thought. Similar to the TE block side, I guess.
A. Catch- Yea, I like that one fwiw.
********************
Q. AngryDragon- Will regular teams ever be able move to the casual leagues? If so will the same new promotion/demotion rules apply?
A. Catch- No they will not.
A. Bort- I have gone back and forth with the idea.
There are a couple problems:
- They would lose all their AI, playbooks, etc, since it wouldn't apply to casual. Lost data there might by annoying to many owners.
- The level differences between normal and casual leagues. The casual leagues have kinda built up on their own. Moving other league teams in could cause issues with them having and advantage or disadvantage. Kinda like how Africa tends to be lower level than USA because it was created later.
********************
Q. DrJeep- Exactly how with purchasing EQ work next season? [s15] Will it be the same as this season? [s14]
A. Catch- It'll be the same after the pre-season. During the off season though players will be able to trade in or convert AEQ +% pieces and get refund tokens (which must be used by the end of the pre-season).
********************
Q. J0501- When are you going to implement ticket and concession sales for pre-season games?
A. Catch- As far as I know - not going to happen.
********************
Q. Vortus- What is going to be done with the current SSB teams? On the effective level/player value some outlevel the rest of the league by 10 effective levels and over 100 value points. Will leagues be organized by level like now still or some other method used?
A. Bort- I really think it will sort out better this season, even. The SSB teams won't be sorted together with the teams they beat badly, since their rivalry scores will be low. We'll see if we need to do anything special. Combine it with the fact that they won't be able to request to start artificially low, and we'll see it work better.
********************
Q. RMiller517- What is happening with SYM? is there no chance of speed getting added to the PB archetype? what measures are being taken to improve rushing between top tier (high level) teams, as it seems that it isn't a very good option in even matches.
A. Catch- We're looking at toning down SYM's effectiveness. Still discussing/testing. Absolutely zero chance of speed getting add to the PB archetype. Rushing works pretty good between all but the very elite teams (read: Valhalla/Blaze) but we're working on some of the issues with DL winning too many of their matchups against the OL on run plays - again see Test Server Discussions... if it's being discussed, it's there.
********************
Q. reedric- Does the "repeat Play" penalty apply to the defense as well?
A. Catch- No it does not.
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Q. beenlurken- I take it that you have not read those threads that discuss this. One main point is that turning over a team of declining players is just to damn difficult a longer plateau (I am talking "true" plateau) gives teams a longer window to transition from old to new while remaining competitive.
A. Bort- I have not read them in depth 100% of the way. I have seen the ideas in general. Catch and I have briefly talked about it at times. We have not come to a conclusion one way or the other.
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Q. LordEvil- Any chance we can reduce copper pee wee leagues to 8 since now there are level 4 leagues? Less players for pee wees IMO
A. Bort- I'll see how many coppers are full this time around. Was figuring we'd probably convert some of them to level 4 leagues instead anyway.
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Q. LordEvil- Also do SAs work at such low levels like level 8 through level 13? I keep believing they do but you never can really tell. I hate to be wasting points on something that doesn't activate until level 25 or so.
A. Bort- Sure they do. Ones that work better with an attribute being high won't work as well, but ones that work completely off level will work. Those that work better with an attribute will say so in the description.
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Q. DrJeep- How is the MLB blitz exploit in the Wide Five formation being handled?
A. Bort- In discussion on the test server right now. Tough problem, since it's technically just an overload.
A. Catch- Something I think we might need to do is just have special separate blocking logic for 5 WR formation. Will mention on test server though.
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Q. cowtesticles2001- Why can't I roll a good +3 Strength +% or +SA for a NT? [Is it impossible?]
A. Bort- It's not impossible. Some skills are more or less likely depending on position, though. A high level SA like D-Line General is harder to come by.
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Q. P@nda- will there be anymore of the Take this Poll get 100 FP announcements?
A. Catch- We'll likely do a survey at least twice a year. I'm just now about done reading the 20,000 responses from the first one lol.
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Q. P@nda- With the forced signing to be able to train, will the players just not receive TP while off a team? Does this include the offseason
A. Bort- No, they'd collect the points but be unable to use them.
Q. P@nda- Cap 4 Winners get treated like every other league and get mandatory promoted to Cap 18 even with the level disparity?
A. Bort- Not really a level disparity. Lv 18 leagues will have lv 14 sucky teams, lv 18 REALLY sucky teams, and lv 4 winners. It's not all full of lv 18+ players automatically. Most of the teams will be from similar situations.
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Q. Djinnt- Will you ever consider a balanced WR archetype? One that features speed, agility, catching and strength as majors (of course with a fifth)?
A. Catch- Archetypes are done. We're not adding anything new or changing anything unless there is a balance issue (none have been found in testing thus far).
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Q. liamm1986- Do Blitz and Tunnel Vision work in the same way?
A. Bort- No. Blitz is always active when blitzing. Tunnel Vision has to activate and has a bigger bonus.
Q. liamm1986- How do the Big/Monster Hit SA's apply to the force fumble roll? Simlar to Shed Blocks and the break block roll?
A. Bort- Yes. They apply a bonus to the FF score when they work.
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Q. RMiller517- is the world league working, in your opinion? (as opposed to bort's old 'tournament' idea)
A. Catch- My opinion, no. But I've never been a fan of the World League in the first place so I'm biased on that.
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Q. maddoggy71- Bort, please consider us to make some basic custom offensive plays.
1. You must pick from standard formations.
2. With pulldowns, you pick from standard routes, blocking schemes, rushing paths.
It would give us the chance to custom build endless combinations yet nothing the DC can't scout.
A. Bort- Closest you might get at some point is a pick a route type thing. We know it would be rife for exploitation no matter what, though.
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MVP
Q. beenlurken - The MVP system is a joke. It is broken. There is no disputing this.
Why will you guys not accept this and suspend the sweet AEQ pieces that are handed out to undeserving winners until you can make a chance to fix it? Its one thing to recognize a lolMVP winner... its another to give him an overpowered piece of equipment when it should have gone to someone else.
A. Bort - I disagree. I like how it works for the most part.
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EQ FUND
Q. DrJeep - There was talk of EQ being free starting next season. So just to be clear, EQ is still going to cost what it does now and teams will still need to fund EQ through the EQ fund correct?
A. Catch22 - Won't be next season, more likely s16. There is much more detailed info about this in Test Server Discussions in the following thread:
http://goallineblitz.com/game/forum_thread.pl?thread_id=3789390
A. Bort - Yes, for the time being.
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CATCHING MECHANICS
Q. Djinnt - Does strength play any role in catching the ball? If so, is it only a bonus that occurs when covered and fighting for the ball or is it a general bonus?
A. Bort - A small part in general. Helps more when fighting a defender.
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ARCHETYPES
Q. RMiller517 - are the new "Archetype SAs" the only new ones being added? shouldn't there be a bigger variety for a specific build type? (for example, what kind of QB doesn't take the new quick read SA)
A. Catch22 - Yes those are the only one's being added. We had two late additions (I need to add them to the OP of the new SA's post). We have added another QB one as well called Look Off - just got added.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Gongadan - I have heard that confidence is more important during the playoffs than during the regular season. Is that true? Are there other differences between the regular season and the playoffs?
A. Bort - Nope, same sim. Same rules. You tend to face better teams overall, though, so confidence can only help!
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OFFSEASON
Q. Gongadan - When will we be able to retire our younger dots for the enhanced refund? Will this happen immediately on day 40/41, or will there be a wait before the enhanced refund is rolled out?
A. Bort - When we make an announcement about it being ready. Should be fine for day 41. It's tested out all good.
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MOD REQUEST
Q. Tim26 - Is there any Mods pos. going to be opening up?
A. Catch22 - Not in the immediate future but you're always welcome to send in an application to applications@goallineblitz.com and the next time Pallow needs someone he will go there.
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FARM TEAMS
Q. Ucross - Since you're going to possibly re-add the A league, and the fact that everyone will be able to own two teams now, is there any chance we might get the old league structure back when BBB was around? (Makes sense since so many teams will be bought)
Also, will you ever ban farm teams? I don't see any harm in farm teams tbh I think it creates friendship and loyalty between agents.
A. Bort - Don't think we need that many high level leagues now. That system also didn't work at the lower levels at all.
No, farm teams will not be banned. We might even add some sort of farm team system to the game.
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ELITE MINORS
Q. AngryDragon - Will elite teams that did not do so well this season be moved out of the elite tiers next season?
A. Bort - Yep.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Toriq - On another note, What is going in in ragerds to addressing/fixing coverage issues? There are so many problems with that facet if the game (IMO).
A. Catch22 - Still in discussion phases but PP is spending a bit of time on it. I'm sure we will look at it. I highly encourage if you have an opinion to offer it in Test Server Discussions in the appropriate thread(s).
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REWARDS PROGRAM
Q. vinman - Bort you mentioned awhile back on a customer rewards program,anything new on that.And when will it be implemented?
A. Catch22 - We're adding Rewards Points this off season - I imagine down the road this will tie in directly to a customer rewards program, so we're getting closer to that.
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TEAM OWNERSHIP
Q. Toriq - Has there been any though to making the team ownership "contract" more binding by putting limits on when a team is allowed to be sold or gutted, etc? Just like you can only buy a team during off-season, why can't something be implemented so that you can only sell back during off-season? Just seems to make sense. Ownership should entail at least a season(al) commitment.
A. Bort - Yeah, I'd like to maybe get rid of refunds when selling a team midseason. Encourage end-of-season only sales.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. morid - Any consideration to having Morale Substitutions?
A. Bort - Considered, not high priority.
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GLB ADMINISTRATION
Q. Longhornfan1024 - Why doesn't DD do more stuff like Catch? What is his role in the trio?
A. Catch22 - He does all the business side for GLB (payroll, accounting, employment stuff) and more. He's a pretty busy dude.
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FUTURE PROJECTS
Q. BDawk - How far in to development is GLB baseball?
A. Catch22 - Hasn't even started. Still have more work to do on GLB first.
A. Bort - Getting the dev team together. Basic planning being worked on.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Djinnt - What stats does the QB consider to be valuable on a WR in his checkdown? Or is this evaluation based on something like level, effective level, etc in comparison to their opponent?
A. Bort - Catching score and speed in comparison to opponent's deflecting score and speed. It's mostly dependent on defender count nearby, though.
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TRAINING
Q. ShowTyme - can intense training be changed to pick whatever 2 you want to train ?
A. Catch22 - Bort wants to do something a bit different with unlocking training combinations rather than just making any 2 possible.
A. Bort - Need to work out our idea on that! I'd like to get it going.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. BengalDuck - Previously, you had written that a Powerback has a chance at a Power Thru roll, and if that fails, he may still get a Lower the Shoulder roll (or perhaps even a Stiff Arm roll).
Is there a similar process for fakes? A Juke attempted, followed by a Head Fake attempt? Can you clarify the rolling process between a ball carrier and a potential tackler in the open field?
A. Bort - Yes, he will try the Juke roll, and if failed a Head Fake roll can happen as well.
Once a tackler reaches a fakeable distance, the options open up for a fake to happen each tick.
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MVP
Q. beenlurken - Care to explain how it works then so that we may attempt to understand how you could possibly think the system is working?
A. Bort - http://goallineblitz.com/fame_faq.html
It's a fairly complicated formula. Just like the BCS or any other ranking system, 100% of people will not be satisfied with it, but it works about how I want. Players who contribute a lot to their team deserve a shot, even if their team doesn't do so well. This isn't the real world; we have to be more fair to give even the mediocre teams a chance.
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AEQ
Q. shane695 - the D-line gets alot higher % of o-line EQ and vice versa
are you aware of this already
A. Bort - It's working like it's supposed to. It's supposed to be harder to come by the best stuff for your position.
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TRAINING
Q. ShowTyme - also does what you train on when getting a shopping token effect what you get when you refresh the store ?
A. Catch22 - No it has no effect.
A. Bort - No.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. maddoggy71 - Can you explain the Avoid Fake process a bit in terms of the best ways to avoid fakes? vision/agility/etc
A. Bort - Guy gets a fake roll (head fake/juke/whatever). Defender rolls his vision and supervision skills (and perhaps agility for some fakes) against them. Higher roll wins. If the defender wins, the fake doesn't happen. If he loses, he gets faked.
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VETERAN ABILITIES
Q. dagwood13 - Does Slot WR work for WR#4 and WR#5
A. Catch22 - No, it only works when you are at WR3.
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LEAGUE STRUCTURE
Q. raiderdav - Can there be an option added for teams that prefer to be promoted to an Elite league if slots are available?
A. Bort - Elite will be based on record only.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. Doug_Plank - Does AGI factor into the Pass Qual roll?
A. Bort - Yes.
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GAME CHANGES
Q. Gongadan - Are you really sure about this "no spending trains while not on a team" solution to SSB?
Lotsa stuff about SSB
A. Bort - When we finish the changes to player cash, training will be free but will require a team.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. topdawg88 - Which break tackle SAs work for rushing QBs and which ones do not work for rushing QBs? I'm talking about Spin, Power Through, Stiff Arm, and Lower the Shoulder.
A. Bort - They would all work.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. David Stern - Is the morale/stamina buff set in stone?
Lotsa stuff about conf/stam
A. Bort - We're playing with the settings. Currently it's double on the test server, which is probably too much. Just kinda wanted to see the difference.
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GAME MECHANICS
Q. maddoggy71 - Does Scrambler VA work on QB runs?
A. Catch22 - No, it works when passing - it says "get away from Sacks" in the description.
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REPLAY PLAYER IDENTIFICATION
Q: dagwood13- On the replays is there come way to distinguish CB1, CB2, WR1, WR2 instead of them all saying CB or WR, could you use C1, C2, W1, W2
A: Bort- Hm, that's a potentially good idea. Might try to do that or change the display somehow.
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MVP FORMULA
Q: beenlurken- Bort answer me this about the MVP formula please...What is more important? Contribution to team or overall stats leader?
A: Bort- Overall stats slightly more important. There is also comparisons to other players at the same position.
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FLUFF QUESTION
Q: Longhornfan1024- Do you agree that the 40 Year Old Virgin is absolute genius?
A: Bort- It feels like a bag of sand.
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APPLICATION OF FIRST STEP TO ALL POSITIONS
Q: Maddoggy71- Does First Step work for all positions? I dumped 2 pieces on my TE as it didn't seem to do anything for me.
A: Catch22- First Step works for all positions.
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PASS DEFLECTION MECHANICS
Q:w_alloy- I have some questions about pass deflection mechanics in double coverage. There seems to be a bonus for double teaming as was indirectly mentioned in the change log recently.Is "a bonus to PD rolls" a correct way to charchterize all the "extra" benefits of double teaming ("extra" meaning not directly observable or behind the scenes)?Does the bonus depend at all on who the other player is? Is it possible for two players to make a play on the ball but no bonus applied? Is it possible for only one player to make a play on the ball and the bonus be applied? If one player makes a deflection, does this make it easier for the next player to make a deflection (assuming distance to the ball is constant)?
A: Bort- The WR gets a penalty to catching the ball depending on how many defenders are close by. Doesn't matter who they are or what they are doing. This is indirectly a bonus to all involved opposing PD rolls when fighting with him. Defenders off by themselves don't get any bonus from others nearby.
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PASS DISTANCE AEQ
Q: Dragon82- How does pass distance aeq work? Is there a max distance a qb can throw that is increased by the aeq?
or Does it increase the distance a qb can throw before pass quality starts to degrade?
A: Bort- Both!
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CPU CONTRACTS OVER LEVEL 7
Q: Jethroz- Is something still being planned for CPU teams to offer contracts to players above level 7? Otherwise, not being able to train will pretty much end the life of many of the mediocre builds, or less needed position players, out there.
A: Bort- Yes, it is on my list.
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SPEED AND BREAKING TACKLES
Q: RMiller517- When it was said that "Speed plays a role in giving a bonus to breaking tackles", is that a constant bonus that you get for going a certain speed? or, does the bonus vary depending on how fast your going?
A: Bort- Depends on how fast you are going.
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BUMP IN NEW TEAM PURCHASE PRICE
Q: P@nda- With the bump in prices to teams will that effect renewals as well?
A: Bort- No, just purchase price. The main problem with the 400 point price is that people create multis to buy cash farm teams. We have to go through and get rid of a bunch every season. If they were more than 400, they couldn't use the initial points to buy a team.
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SUPER VISION
Q: NibBoris- Super vision has been described as it only applies when playing defense - not offense or special teams. Yet, it's strangely absent from all the exclusion SA lists, unlike things like blitzing SAs that are clearly defense only and only available to defensive positions.
Is this an oversight on the exclusion list, or is it going to do something on offense/STs now? Can it either be added to the exclusion list or can we get a description of how it affects offensive positions?
A: Bort- Special teams tacklers can still use superior vision to avoid fakes.
A: Catch22- It applies on special teams - that is why it is available.
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NEW FIELD TYPES FOR FLASH REPLAYS
Q: darthbrooks- on the flash replays, will there be more options for different types of fields? (baseball, muddy, artificial turf, etc)
A: Bort- Same as there are now. However, we'll probably expand to add more options for flash replays in the future, including perhaps full custom field.
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FIRST STEP VERSUS TUNNEL VISION
Q: timthorn- What gives a greater boost to speed and acceleration following breaking a block, First Step or Tunnel Vision?
A: Bort- Probably Tunnel Vision, since you're likely not stopped to get First Step bonus.
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CATCHING THE BALL IN A CROWD
Q: Toriq- If WRs get a penalty with X defenders near them, I don't know if it's working right as a lot of passes appear to be caught with "crowds" of defenders all around the receiver. Has this been tested thoroughly? Just seems like it has the opposite effect. And QBs seem to ignore a 1 on 1 coverage to throw into 2-3+ man coverage a whole lot too.
A: Bort- We've done a lot of random tests at various times regarding this, bumping it up and down, etc. It applies a penalty. I thinks some WRs just have very high catching scores.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING CATCHING SCORES
Q: djinnt- Sorry for the convoluted question but: What factors are considered in the catching score? Are SAs and VAs that do not alter attributes considered?
A: Bort- Catching, jumping, vision, strength, speed you are traveling, agility, whether the pass is high or low, defenders nearby + SAs like sticky hands or VAs that give bonuses. There can be multiple things that going on during a catch, though, such as bobbles, knocked loose tackles, or deflections.
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FREQUENT FLEX PURCHASE BONUSES
Q: The Avenger- There was talk about "frequent" Flex Point buyer/user bonuses. It was discussed several months ago, so, is there any chance of this happening anytime sooner rather then later?
A: Bort- We now have the functionality to make it happen, so yes it's more likely now. We have been discussing how we want to do it exactly.
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OC/DC PLAYBOOK OWNERSHIP
Q: Brutus Buckeye- Is there ever going to be a way for OC's/DC's to have playbooks that belong to them so it is easier to work from team to team without having to transfer, rebuild AI's all the time? I think if the playbooks belonged to the coordinators and could be loaded to each team it might help to keep more in the game.
A: Catch22- It's on my list of things that I want Bort to implement - I think it's something we should do in the future, just a matter of taking the time to code it by Bort.
A: Bort- I was thinking about this recently based on somebody's suggestion, and the ONLY way I think it could work is if all AI and plays, etc, became owned by the agent account, instead of by the team. That's the only way we can ensure continuity of play ids and other unique ids, and to not have invalid duplicate data. Obviously, that's a big undertaking. Not so much for us as far as programming goes, but for the team owners and OCs and DCs out there to change the way they work and think of things. There are also other obvious disadvantages of the system. Not sure if those are a problem or not.
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NEW FIELD GRAPHICS
Q: Darth Brooks- Would new field graphics be used? Where would I go to volunteer to do some of the textures for the fields?
A: Yes, they would. There's a group of guys who did the field graphics that we are using. Not sure if they are still doing stuff or would want to reorganize, but check out the thread about graphics in epic suggestions. For the custom fields, we were thinking of having some sort of field creator tool where you could type some text at various points, put a logo, choose endzone art, etc, and then it would output an image the replay could use.
