Karim
01-07-2004, 12:52 PM
Here are some thoughts on how to improve immersion in FOF2004, borrowing from all the 3rd-party utitlies I've used and sports sims I've played. Add your thoughts and hopefully Jim can take a look at some of these for a future version.
1) City Editting. This is the most important for me. The fact that I was able to use ResHacker to input my city and other cities not included in the game, including data regarding weather, income, etc., increased the fun factor in a big way. Without this, I would have given TPF a much longer tryout.
2) Division and Bowl Names. Again, this wouldn't be possible without ResHacker. This may not be a huge thing for many, but I spent the time changing AFL to AFC and Solecismic Bowl to SuperBowl and Solecismic to NFL. Just adds a bit of polish to the game.
3) Custom Graphics. Again, thanks to ResHacker. Wheels' graphics have improved the image of FOF2004 from the background screen on loading to the awesome scoreboard. I didn't think the helmets/logos would make much of a difference, but that hasn't hurt immersion either and I've been able to input my own for the first time in the series.
4) Customized League Sizes. Immersion is greatly enhanced for me when the size of the player pool is reduced. Ideally, I'd like to create a 10-16 team league.
5) Coaching Personalities. TPF did a good job here. It would be nice to see offensive coordinators that favour West Coast offenses or Smash Mouth football. Likewise, defensive coordinators that have a heavy blitz defense. In this way, some of us who prefer to play as a GM could hire the "right" coach and coordinator and "trust" his gameplanning when clicking recommend and then evaluate the results.
6) Editting Stadiums. ResHacker can't do this and there are no 3rd-party utilities that enable this. I know you can build new stadiums, but upon starting a career I'd like to change the stadiums to existing reality, including names, as much as possible. Teams not in the NFL have stadiums not in the NFL. May just be my thing as I like to create a completely fictional universe.
7) Owner Profiles. CM does the best here, outlining the expectations of the board or owner for the upcoming season. Just makes our decision-making have a purpose, knowing someone is "watching".
8) Player Roles. TPF made a good start here, CM is probably the best. Whenever contracts are offered or renegotiated, it would be nice to be able to tell the player that he's a backup, starter, key player, etc. I just signed a "starting" MLB (who had backup ratings) in free agency who started 16 games with Miami but will end up being a backup to my stud MLB. In real life, he'd know he'd be behind my #1 guy on the depth chart and may have refused my offer. For agents or players to "read" depth charts and forecast playing time would probably be impossible to program. The alternative is for us to give him a role and for him to become upset if that role isn't fulfilled or refuse signing with our team.
9) Draft. The TPF draft is impressive. The commentary influences your selection. If you're seen as drafting someone "off the board" you wonder. The comments about "high character risk" really puts on the pressure. The scouting reports in the player profile are well conceived and written, and give you lots to think about beyond the player's size and ratings. All-in-all, very nicely done. If it only included FOF2004's draft-day trading.
10) Media. Jim has mentioned on a couple of occasions (paraphrased) that Marc (CM) has done such a good job in this area, that the amount of effort required to approach that level for a solo developer may not make the feature worthwhile. This may be true and I'm not how much can be done in this area.
11) Fido's Reporter. That thing is impressive, especially the latest development of tracking the success of every draft pick. If you check out <a href="http://www.hockeydb.com">Internet Hockey Database</a>, that is exactly what they do. It's really cool to see how every player in every draft turned out at the click of a button.
1) City Editting. This is the most important for me. The fact that I was able to use ResHacker to input my city and other cities not included in the game, including data regarding weather, income, etc., increased the fun factor in a big way. Without this, I would have given TPF a much longer tryout.
2) Division and Bowl Names. Again, this wouldn't be possible without ResHacker. This may not be a huge thing for many, but I spent the time changing AFL to AFC and Solecismic Bowl to SuperBowl and Solecismic to NFL. Just adds a bit of polish to the game.
3) Custom Graphics. Again, thanks to ResHacker. Wheels' graphics have improved the image of FOF2004 from the background screen on loading to the awesome scoreboard. I didn't think the helmets/logos would make much of a difference, but that hasn't hurt immersion either and I've been able to input my own for the first time in the series.
4) Customized League Sizes. Immersion is greatly enhanced for me when the size of the player pool is reduced. Ideally, I'd like to create a 10-16 team league.
5) Coaching Personalities. TPF did a good job here. It would be nice to see offensive coordinators that favour West Coast offenses or Smash Mouth football. Likewise, defensive coordinators that have a heavy blitz defense. In this way, some of us who prefer to play as a GM could hire the "right" coach and coordinator and "trust" his gameplanning when clicking recommend and then evaluate the results.
6) Editting Stadiums. ResHacker can't do this and there are no 3rd-party utilities that enable this. I know you can build new stadiums, but upon starting a career I'd like to change the stadiums to existing reality, including names, as much as possible. Teams not in the NFL have stadiums not in the NFL. May just be my thing as I like to create a completely fictional universe.
7) Owner Profiles. CM does the best here, outlining the expectations of the board or owner for the upcoming season. Just makes our decision-making have a purpose, knowing someone is "watching".
8) Player Roles. TPF made a good start here, CM is probably the best. Whenever contracts are offered or renegotiated, it would be nice to be able to tell the player that he's a backup, starter, key player, etc. I just signed a "starting" MLB (who had backup ratings) in free agency who started 16 games with Miami but will end up being a backup to my stud MLB. In real life, he'd know he'd be behind my #1 guy on the depth chart and may have refused my offer. For agents or players to "read" depth charts and forecast playing time would probably be impossible to program. The alternative is for us to give him a role and for him to become upset if that role isn't fulfilled or refuse signing with our team.
9) Draft. The TPF draft is impressive. The commentary influences your selection. If you're seen as drafting someone "off the board" you wonder. The comments about "high character risk" really puts on the pressure. The scouting reports in the player profile are well conceived and written, and give you lots to think about beyond the player's size and ratings. All-in-all, very nicely done. If it only included FOF2004's draft-day trading.
10) Media. Jim has mentioned on a couple of occasions (paraphrased) that Marc (CM) has done such a good job in this area, that the amount of effort required to approach that level for a solo developer may not make the feature worthwhile. This may be true and I'm not how much can be done in this area.
11) Fido's Reporter. That thing is impressive, especially the latest development of tracking the success of every draft pick. If you check out <a href="http://www.hockeydb.com">Internet Hockey Database</a>, that is exactly what they do. It's really cool to see how every player in every draft turned out at the click of a button.