Ben E Lou
07-23-2013, 10:10 AM
Our Q&A with Solecismic Software founder Jim Gindin regarding his pending project, Front Office Football 7, will take place on Tuesday, July 30th at 7:30pm EDT via live online chat. Jim will give a high-level overview of the new game, answer pre-submitted questions, and then take live questions. Please use this thread to post your questions. A few "rules" for this thread and the chat.
1. Please no discussion whatsoever in this thread, just questions.
2. Jim is taking time out of a busy development cycle to do this, so please understand that he may not be able to answer every single question. If we get too many in this thread, I will limit the number that I submit to him. I'm sure we all want to make sure that we have time to ask clarifying questions about new information that he gives us at the beginning of the session.
3. Please post your question in the format below, with a "Q: " preceding it. That will help with ease of reading the chat transcript for those who can't attend.
QUESTION LIST
REQUIREMENTS/DISTRIBUTION/RELEASE/ETC
Q: What are the system requirements for FOF7?
Q: Will the new version be available for MAC?
Q: A number of users have reported significant problems with getting Viatech licenses restored in a timely fashion. Are you planning to use a different type of licensing?
Q: If there are upgrades or add-ons to the game in the future, will these be in the form of download/extract patches?
Q: Is there anything we as a community can do to help you get the game on Steam?
Q: Can I pre-order this game?
GENERAL JIM QUESTIONS
Q: You've resisted giving even projected/hoped release dates in the past. Why the change this year?
Q: Do you consider FOF7 more of a "one-off" type of development project, or do you feel that this may be part of a new cycle of FOF/TCY development?
Q: As a developer, what change or enhancement are you most excited about in the latest iteration of your game?
Q: What feature that you couldnt get into fof2k7 are you most excited about including in fof7?
Q: It's been 6 years since a new release, and at times there were doubts you'd ever make another FOF game. what brought you back?
GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS
Q: Will there be any new options for game startups, such as the option popular in many text sims to simulate multiple seasons with one click to pre-sim for "history" before taking over a team?
Q: Will TCY imports still be supported, and if so, will there be any changes to those algorithms?
Q: Will the current CSV files be used to create rosters, or has a new system been put in place? Will the current historical rosters and draft classes be usable for FOF7?
Q: Will there be any customization options with regard to league structure, such as conference/division setup, number of teams, season length, playoff format, expansion?
Q: Will AI changes are planned that might make the single player experience more challenging?
Q: The NFL has changed a lot since the last FoF release. Amongst others, passing has become more important relative to rushing. Tight Ends are more important in the passing game than before. Scrambling/rushing ability is now far more important for QBs. The distinction between Defensive Ends and Outside Linebackers has been somewhat blurred. Do you intend to capture any or all of these modern developments in the new version?
Q: Will you work on AI's drafting logic and will we see a improved draft day?
Q: Are you making design decisions in this version to give the user more information, less information, or about the same amount, perhaps in a different way? As an example, will the interview process be tweaked to give more specific information on a player, eliminated entirely, or maintained at the general "underrated/overrated/hard to tell" level of detail?
Q: Will it be possible to save and export the championship teams from your MP leagues for "tournament of champions" style tournaments?
Q: Are there any changes/enhancements to end of half/end of game logic?
Q: Will there be a sandbox mode for SP, to control all teams and actions ect?
Q: Will injured players sub back into games eventually in some occasions, or will they always be done for the game as they are now?
Q: Will the AI bench players underperforming at positions other than QB?
Q: Will inactive players on championship teams now be credited with rings?
Q: Will the league playing style evolve with time or is it more set to mimic the current state of the NFL? (For more clarity, will we see things like teams or the league as a whole moving from being heavy rushing, deep pass oriented to short, quick passes instead of runs, to option based attacks, etc.)
Q: Will Canadian cities be included in the data so we can select Canadian teams to include in leagues?
GAME MECHANISMS
Q: Will there be any changes to the chemistry system?
Q: Will there be any change or additional transparency to the "red flag" player concept, e.g., making it variable over time, feedback to the gamer to tell him when the red flag is having an impact?
Q: Will there be any changes that attempt to fight "tanking" for high draft picks, especially in MP? If so, will this be accomplished via tweaking the financial system, tweaking players' attitudes and demands, etc.?
Q: Do you envision any changes to the training camp aspect of the game, either in timing, UI or impact on players/teams?
Q: Do you anticipate more or fewer later-round "booms?" More or fewer high pick busts? Will more players "boom" later in their career?
Q: What changes have been made to the staff system?
Q: Will there be any changes to the playing time algorithm and/or interface; e.g., will starters be pulled in a blowout; will each player have their own playing time setting?
GAME PLANNING
Q: You mentioned that the football board game you designed will have an impact on game-planning in FOF. Can you elaborate on what this means, and how game-planning will change (even if the changes aren't related to the board game?)
Q: Any thought about aligning the pass distances screen for gameplanning with the ratings/ranges for QBs? Are they different intentionally?
Q: Will there be a way to control which players are used in particular fashions; e.g., use FB for routes in the flat around the goal line; use that fast TE I have for more long routes than the possession-oriented TE; run behind this particular OL (or this side of the OL) more around the goal line or in short yardage; use this particular LB when we go to zone coverage but sub in another one for man; etc.
Q: Any changes to the way the 3-4 defense currently works?
MULTI-PLAYER
Q: How will conversions of MP leagues work, and will SP leagues have a conversion option?
Q: Many dedicated users have gotten added value by playing in multiplayer FOF leagues featuring various house rules and adjustments. Might we see a commissioner dashboard where things like cap adjustments, contract limitations, and so forth could be created and enforced within the game itself?
Q. Will all player-visible game data be exportable? Stats, attributes, contracts, combine numbers, etc, for league web sites? If not, what data is being left out and why?
Q. What other enhancements to streamline the MP Commish experience are being added?
Q: Will it be easier for players to be in multiple leagues?
PLAYER GENERATION/TALENT POOL/POSITIONAL BALANCE
Q: You've mentioned here at FOFC that you agree with the assessment of many that WRs are too overvalued in the current version of FOF. For FOF7, is it safe to assume that this will be addressed?
Q: You've done a lot of writing at Football Frontier about research you've done on Quarterback performance. How has that data influenced your design of the new game?
Q: What changes (if any) will you be making to the player generation for the draft?
Q: Have you changed the aging and/or development curve for any positions in this version? How?
Q: Will there be any changes to the talent distribution in the player talent pool?
FINANCES/CONTRACTS/FREE AGENCY
Q: Will there be any changes to contracts such as incentives, clauses, and such?
Q: Will there be any changes to the free agency bidding process and/or what factors go into their acceptance of contracts?
Q: What changes are being made to the financial system?
Q: now that the new cba has basically standardized signing draft picks, will contracts be automatically assigned to rookies based on when they were drafted? or will all rookie deals still need to be negotiated? (and will the new 4 year deal, 5th year team option for 1st round picks be in the game?)
Q: Will there be any additional NFL roster rules implemented in the new version? I'm thinking specifically of waivers, the PUP and a modified restricted free agent model that includes tender offers, offer sheets and draft pick compensation.
INTERFACE/REPORTING
Q: Any major interface changes?
Q. What new stats or reports will be added to help us evaluate how well players are performing?
Q: In the past you have experimented with displaying player career development and ratings in different ways, are you planning to re-attack that with FOF7 or should we expect the traditional Red Bars/Green Bars and blue draft bars from previous versions?
Q: Will there be any new searching capabilities for players; e.g., search by stats (most hurries, highest passing YPA, etc.), search by chemistry, search by requested salary, etc.?
Q: Will I be able to mark players for an interview without having to click into their card? If so, will I be able to mark multiple players at a time for interviews?
Q: Will there be new player attributes? Will some existing attributes be replaced or removed?
Q: Will there be any tracking of ratings history on the player cards?
Q: Will there be any streamlining of the process of doing weight training?
1. Please no discussion whatsoever in this thread, just questions.
2. Jim is taking time out of a busy development cycle to do this, so please understand that he may not be able to answer every single question. If we get too many in this thread, I will limit the number that I submit to him. I'm sure we all want to make sure that we have time to ask clarifying questions about new information that he gives us at the beginning of the session.
3. Please post your question in the format below, with a "Q: " preceding it. That will help with ease of reading the chat transcript for those who can't attend.
QUESTION LIST
REQUIREMENTS/DISTRIBUTION/RELEASE/ETC
Q: What are the system requirements for FOF7?
Q: Will the new version be available for MAC?
Q: A number of users have reported significant problems with getting Viatech licenses restored in a timely fashion. Are you planning to use a different type of licensing?
Q: If there are upgrades or add-ons to the game in the future, will these be in the form of download/extract patches?
Q: Is there anything we as a community can do to help you get the game on Steam?
Q: Can I pre-order this game?
GENERAL JIM QUESTIONS
Q: You've resisted giving even projected/hoped release dates in the past. Why the change this year?
Q: Do you consider FOF7 more of a "one-off" type of development project, or do you feel that this may be part of a new cycle of FOF/TCY development?
Q: As a developer, what change or enhancement are you most excited about in the latest iteration of your game?
Q: What feature that you couldnt get into fof2k7 are you most excited about including in fof7?
Q: It's been 6 years since a new release, and at times there were doubts you'd ever make another FOF game. what brought you back?
GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS
Q: Will there be any new options for game startups, such as the option popular in many text sims to simulate multiple seasons with one click to pre-sim for "history" before taking over a team?
Q: Will TCY imports still be supported, and if so, will there be any changes to those algorithms?
Q: Will the current CSV files be used to create rosters, or has a new system been put in place? Will the current historical rosters and draft classes be usable for FOF7?
Q: Will there be any customization options with regard to league structure, such as conference/division setup, number of teams, season length, playoff format, expansion?
Q: Will AI changes are planned that might make the single player experience more challenging?
Q: The NFL has changed a lot since the last FoF release. Amongst others, passing has become more important relative to rushing. Tight Ends are more important in the passing game than before. Scrambling/rushing ability is now far more important for QBs. The distinction between Defensive Ends and Outside Linebackers has been somewhat blurred. Do you intend to capture any or all of these modern developments in the new version?
Q: Will you work on AI's drafting logic and will we see a improved draft day?
Q: Are you making design decisions in this version to give the user more information, less information, or about the same amount, perhaps in a different way? As an example, will the interview process be tweaked to give more specific information on a player, eliminated entirely, or maintained at the general "underrated/overrated/hard to tell" level of detail?
Q: Will it be possible to save and export the championship teams from your MP leagues for "tournament of champions" style tournaments?
Q: Are there any changes/enhancements to end of half/end of game logic?
Q: Will there be a sandbox mode for SP, to control all teams and actions ect?
Q: Will injured players sub back into games eventually in some occasions, or will they always be done for the game as they are now?
Q: Will the AI bench players underperforming at positions other than QB?
Q: Will inactive players on championship teams now be credited with rings?
Q: Will the league playing style evolve with time or is it more set to mimic the current state of the NFL? (For more clarity, will we see things like teams or the league as a whole moving from being heavy rushing, deep pass oriented to short, quick passes instead of runs, to option based attacks, etc.)
Q: Will Canadian cities be included in the data so we can select Canadian teams to include in leagues?
GAME MECHANISMS
Q: Will there be any changes to the chemistry system?
Q: Will there be any change or additional transparency to the "red flag" player concept, e.g., making it variable over time, feedback to the gamer to tell him when the red flag is having an impact?
Q: Will there be any changes that attempt to fight "tanking" for high draft picks, especially in MP? If so, will this be accomplished via tweaking the financial system, tweaking players' attitudes and demands, etc.?
Q: Do you envision any changes to the training camp aspect of the game, either in timing, UI or impact on players/teams?
Q: Do you anticipate more or fewer later-round "booms?" More or fewer high pick busts? Will more players "boom" later in their career?
Q: What changes have been made to the staff system?
Q: Will there be any changes to the playing time algorithm and/or interface; e.g., will starters be pulled in a blowout; will each player have their own playing time setting?
GAME PLANNING
Q: You mentioned that the football board game you designed will have an impact on game-planning in FOF. Can you elaborate on what this means, and how game-planning will change (even if the changes aren't related to the board game?)
Q: Any thought about aligning the pass distances screen for gameplanning with the ratings/ranges for QBs? Are they different intentionally?
Q: Will there be a way to control which players are used in particular fashions; e.g., use FB for routes in the flat around the goal line; use that fast TE I have for more long routes than the possession-oriented TE; run behind this particular OL (or this side of the OL) more around the goal line or in short yardage; use this particular LB when we go to zone coverage but sub in another one for man; etc.
Q: Any changes to the way the 3-4 defense currently works?
MULTI-PLAYER
Q: How will conversions of MP leagues work, and will SP leagues have a conversion option?
Q: Many dedicated users have gotten added value by playing in multiplayer FOF leagues featuring various house rules and adjustments. Might we see a commissioner dashboard where things like cap adjustments, contract limitations, and so forth could be created and enforced within the game itself?
Q. Will all player-visible game data be exportable? Stats, attributes, contracts, combine numbers, etc, for league web sites? If not, what data is being left out and why?
Q. What other enhancements to streamline the MP Commish experience are being added?
Q: Will it be easier for players to be in multiple leagues?
PLAYER GENERATION/TALENT POOL/POSITIONAL BALANCE
Q: You've mentioned here at FOFC that you agree with the assessment of many that WRs are too overvalued in the current version of FOF. For FOF7, is it safe to assume that this will be addressed?
Q: You've done a lot of writing at Football Frontier about research you've done on Quarterback performance. How has that data influenced your design of the new game?
Q: What changes (if any) will you be making to the player generation for the draft?
Q: Have you changed the aging and/or development curve for any positions in this version? How?
Q: Will there be any changes to the talent distribution in the player talent pool?
FINANCES/CONTRACTS/FREE AGENCY
Q: Will there be any changes to contracts such as incentives, clauses, and such?
Q: Will there be any changes to the free agency bidding process and/or what factors go into their acceptance of contracts?
Q: What changes are being made to the financial system?
Q: now that the new cba has basically standardized signing draft picks, will contracts be automatically assigned to rookies based on when they were drafted? or will all rookie deals still need to be negotiated? (and will the new 4 year deal, 5th year team option for 1st round picks be in the game?)
Q: Will there be any additional NFL roster rules implemented in the new version? I'm thinking specifically of waivers, the PUP and a modified restricted free agent model that includes tender offers, offer sheets and draft pick compensation.
INTERFACE/REPORTING
Q: Any major interface changes?
Q. What new stats or reports will be added to help us evaluate how well players are performing?
Q: In the past you have experimented with displaying player career development and ratings in different ways, are you planning to re-attack that with FOF7 or should we expect the traditional Red Bars/Green Bars and blue draft bars from previous versions?
Q: Will there be any new searching capabilities for players; e.g., search by stats (most hurries, highest passing YPA, etc.), search by chemistry, search by requested salary, etc.?
Q: Will I be able to mark players for an interview without having to click into their card? If so, will I be able to mark multiple players at a time for interviews?
Q: Will there be new player attributes? Will some existing attributes be replaced or removed?
Q: Will there be any tracking of ratings history on the player cards?
Q: Will there be any streamlining of the process of doing weight training?