Newbie FOF questions

[Cole]

Hi all,

I bought FOF7 back in 2014 and dabbled a bit but never really got into it. But I want to give it another shot and have a few questions.

1) I don’t have the time or the knowledge to get in depth into the gameplanning or head coaching type duties of the game… But, it is possible to just play this game as GM only (drafting, signing, trading, etc.) and to hire an AI head coach? While only playing as GM, am I allowed to override the AI coach if I want at any point for a decision whether it's depth chart, or playcalling, etc?

2) On that note, do various AI head coaches you hire have different tendencies and personalities so it’s important to get one who is the right fit for your team? Or vice versa, get players who fit into the type of coach you hire?

3) Do coaches and staff age and eventually retire, or do they just continue on in the game in perpetuity as long as people keep hiring them?

4) I am interested in fictional play… I know the game doesn’t have Facegen or anything unfortunately, but are there any fictional photopacks floating around anywhere that can be used for player photos?

5) I’ve heard a lot of talk on the forums about the number where people should put the combine accuracy… I haven’t played this game long and I don’t know the previous exploits of thresholds, nor will I go seek them out … I understand this change of putting combine accuracy under 40 was to combat that… Overall, what is the best number to put that accuracy number at for someone like myself, who isn’t aware of the exploits and thus didn’t necessarily need that fix, but who still wants to play the game in a way in which the draft is as realistic as possible? What’s the best number?



Thanks all.

[Cole]

Oh and also.. is it possible to have teams based in somewhere outside of the United States? I don't believe it's possible in the game as it ships, but is there any way to edit the database to add say Canadian or international cities?

And is it possible to modify the start year of a league?

[corbes]

1. Yes, for now, select the single-player option to allow coaches to recommend depth charts and game plans.

If at any point you desire more control, you can turn that off. Each of the individual depth-chart and play-call screens has their own "recommend" button that you can use from time to time, and then feel free to make minor adjustments thereafter.

2. Coaches don't have 'styles' as such. If you stick with it, you'll develop your own preferences over time.

3. Coaches and staff age and eventually retire.

4. There are no photos.

5. 50.

[Cole]

4. There are no photos.



Thanks for your answers. Re: this one. I know each player's profile page just has his team's logo as the photo.. There's no way to replace that with a picture of the player if a facepack of sorts was used?

[corbes]

those logo files apply to everyone on the team; they're not individualized by player.

[Cole]

Gotcha, thanks.

Do you know the answers to my last two Q's (for now):

Is it possible to have teams based in somewhere outside of the United States? I don't believe it's possible in the game as it ships, but is there any way to edit the database to add say Canadian or international cities?

And is it possible to modify the start year of a league?

[corbes]

"Edit city names" is an option on the game options screen.

I have never tried to modify the start year, don't know.

[bdubbs]

So I saw the thread here, I'm basically in the same situation where I bought the game and never got into it for a long time and I have a ton of more basic questions

The most frustrating of which is how do I interview potential draft candidates? Is that the only way to scout prospects? Do I do the interview during staff retention, draft, free agency, or pre draft? I've been looking through all these menus and the help section, and google but the only info I can find is that you CAN interview players, nothing about how/where to actually do it.

More of a curiosity question, but how much can I trust my own scouted ratings of my own roster? It seems like the point is that you're never supposed to know the "true" rating of your player, but if I have 10 active players on my roster that are all scouted at lets say 50/50 current/future how big might the variance of the "true" ratings of these players be? Could one of them actually be 25/25 while another is a 75/75 all star player? Or is that variance really a matter of the scouting level of your coaching staff?

Does staff intelligence have any impact? The help section makes it sound like currently it does nothing.

Do players only develop through playing experience? For example if I want to add a rookie QB behind Ben Roethlisberger who is 17/55 is the only way to develop them and increase their ratings by having them on the field?

The big one is really about draft interviews though, I want to do a Pittsburgh Dynasty but I feel like I'm drafting blind and its impossible to keep the Roster together as is. Oh and one last random one, any advice as to how to value players in terms of dollar value, or anything else involved with getting my cap number down? For right now I've just been trying to compare what my players ask for to what players rated similarly around the league get paid

[wthomp]

You can start by creating a player file with one player. Give him a proper birthday for the year you want to start and fill in the rest of the numbers.
Use a spread sheet to fill in the proper columns. Save it as a .csv file and generate an player file using that csv file. The game will generate all of the rest of the players. I started one in 1901 using this method. The only problem i see is that all the players were born in 1878 so I don't know what will happen as they age.

[Pyser]

bdubbs, while doing free agency stages 1-12, go into draft preview, and on the players cards you like, hit the interview button at the top.

you cant interview once the draft starts.

[Cole]

bdubbs, while doing free agency stages 1-12, go into draft preview, and on the players cards you like, hit the interview button at the top.

you cant interview once the draft starts.

It's too bad you can't do it at the conclusion of free agency so you better know what holes you have to fill. I had assumed I could do it in "pre draft" stage but found out the hard way that wasn't the case.

Also, with only 12 interviews, what's the best way to determine who you should use them on? Obviously you shouldn't be scouting top 5 type guys if you're picking say 30th, but I'm wondering if people have any strategies for how they use their interviews.

[aston217]

Do it at FA 1-12 before ending early free agency.

I use the interviews on players where I think a little more information might make a big difference in how I perceive them. A lot of times it's on no-combine guys who show promise.