Patch 5.0d--10 days later. Where are we?

[Ben E Lou]

Jim indicated that he wanted to give 5.0d a week or so to see how it played out, so being as we're 10 days past the release of that version, I thought the time might be right to start a new thread. After giving this some time, running both a real career and a couple of long-term test ones, here are the issues as I see them:

1. 5-8 AI teams per year do not participate at all in the 20 or 8-step FA processes, despite having the cap room, and some of them having had recent financial successes.

2. In 35-year test career, only 3 QB's have gone #1 overall.

3. "Recommend" button does screwy things when used on the o-line screen, even with positional bias maxed out. It almost never recommends a C to be the backup C. I usually recommends the backup C to be the backup LG.

4. Now that FB carries can't go above 40, it has become difficult/impossible to get the FB much more than 4 carries per game (and this is with everything I can to get him the ball, including formation settings, 40 on all screens, etc.) My FB led the league, by far, with 68 carries last season. The next-highest was as studly FB with maxed-out ratings. He only got 47 carries, and has a career high of 68. His team doesn't have a good RB, either.

5. Not as sure about this one, but it seems that too many players are asking for *huge* salaries in relation to the cap.

6. Early in careers, too many good players are not being signed by the end of the 8-step process.

Any other thoughts on patch-related issues?

IMPORTANT EDIT ADDITION: It is becoming more and more universally accepted that the game is set up for best results as follows:

1. Injuries=200
2. Inflation=Default (2.8/8.0)
3. Default Roster set

[rjolley]

#2. Is it possible there haven't been many good QB's in those 3 years and/or no teams have needed a QB that bad that had the #1 pick? Might be just a coincidence that only 3 were picked in 35 years. Just playing devil's advocate here...

(edited for poor grammar)

[cthomer5000]

3. "Recommend" button does screwy things when used on the o-line screen, even with positional bias maxed out. It almost never recommends a C to be the backup C. I usually recommends the backup C to be the backup LG.
Didn't Jim change the way the O-line was displayed at one point? I thought someone made a suggestion and he changed it from something else to the "as they appear on the field look (T G C G T)."

Do I remember this correctly? I'm starting to wonder if maybe not everyone was correctly changed then, and that's why the backup suggestions always seem screwey.

[Ben E Lou]

#2. Is it possible there haven't been many good QB's in those 3 years and/or no teams have needed a QB that bad that had the #1 pick? Might be just a coincidence that only 3 were picked in 35 years. Just playing devil's advocate here...

(edited for poor grammar)It is possible. I'd like to see others' results here.

[hukarez]

With injuries set at 200, my QBs in my 20 years of simming having been in the 82-86 ratings, with a few in the low 90s.Then again, this is the same league I've used throughout all patch builds, and I've personally never had a QB play and start in all 16 games.

I'm happy about the HOF stuff though, and I think it was implemented in an earlier patch to include a variety of positions. Haven't seen a distinguished Kicker or Punter though. :)

Anyone adjusted inflation ratings? If so...what's a good number for such?

EDIT: Ack, just noticed the inflation ratings you posted SkyDog. Sorry about that. As for the 'Recommended' stuff...I still have a G set as a backup C. :mad:

I've grown into the habit of setting the backups manually, and locking them into place. As far as free agency goes - I haven't really taken a good look at such.

One thing I'm not fond of - and I'm sure it's because I don't have much depth with backups under 'Special Teams' , is having my highly rated starters play kick/punt returners. Guess I'm just used to seeing devoted second/third stringers play those positions.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Do I remember this correctly? I'm starting to wonder if maybe not everyone was correctly changed then, and that's why the backup suggestions always seem screwey.
Now that's a scary thought ... or at least it led me to have a scary thought --
If that's the case (and I know neither of us are remotely sure right now) then which is actually correct: what we're seeing? Or where they're playing?

In other words, what if the C we see as backing up the left guard was actually backing up the Center? (meaning that the starting LG is actually playing C?) Not likely, maybe even incredibly farfetched in this case, but it was kinda frightening when I considered the possibility (in any game) that was being written off as a display error was actually a correct display and it was the game mechanism that was in error.

{Not sure I explained that real well, hope so though.}

[JonInMiddleGA]

J

1. 5-8 AI teams per year do not participate at all in the 20 or 8-step FA processes, despite having the cap room, and some of them having had recent financial successes.

4. Now that FB carries can't go above 40, it has become difficult/impossible to get the FB much more than 4 carries per game (and this is with everything I can to get him the ball, including formation settings, 40 on all screens, etc.)

5. Not as sure about this one, but it seems that too many players are asking for *huge* salaries in relation to the cap.

6. Early in careers, too many good players are not being signed by the end of the 8-step process.

Any other thoughts on patch-related issues?
Given those things, I've got one overwhelming thought --
why on earth would I want to install this patch?

[Peregrine]

2. In 35-year test career, only 3 QB's have gone #1 overall.

I've played about 15 seasons since the patch, and have not yet seen a QB go #1 overall.

[hukarez]

I've played about 15 seasons since the patch, and have not yet seen a QB go #1 overall.
I've seen QBs go in the 1st round, no doubt about that. In my league, the #1 overall pick have been other position players, that's for sure. Wish I had FOF2K4 installed on my work machine, so I can double-check..!

[cthomer5000]

Now that's a scary thought ... or at least it led me to have a scary thought --
If that's the case (and I know neither of us are remotely sure right now) then which is actually correct: what we're seeing? Or where they're playing?

In other words, what if the C we see as backing up the left guard was actually backing up the Center? (meaning that the starting LG is actually playing C?) Not likely, maybe even incredibly farfetched in this case, but it was kinda frightening when I considered the possibility (in any game) that was being written off as a display error was actually a correct display and it was the game mechanism that was in error.

{Not sure I explained that real well, hope so though.}
I know exactly what you're trying to say, and I was wondering the same thing as I posted that. It's tough to know if what we see is really what's happening on the field.

[cthomer5000]

Given those things, I've got one overwhelming thought --
why on earth would I want to install this patch?
because everything listed there is a pre-exisiting problem, and this patch did fix a number of other things.

[hukarez]

Not quite sure if anyone suggested this - or would probably care, for that matter...but when it comes to the 'Coin Toss' (and your team wins), could there possibly be an option for us to decline to receive and kickoff, as opposed to a regular kick-off return and onside kick-return decision?

In any case, I play out all my games...but I never call my defensive plays. I've been atrocious at it. :( Maybe I should give it a shot sometime soon, and play to my defense's strengths...

[gstelmack]

There only 2 things in 5.0d bothering me (as a primarily multiplayer player) are:

The missing information in the game log. If you watch a game, you get to see formation choices and the like. None of that is in the game log, and this hurts gameplan evaluation in multiplayer leagues where gameplanning has become a very big part of the game.

Not enough warning / information about scout changes to your roster. Even with all AI control of the teams off, there are still cases where the AI will mess with your roster / depth chart. I've had one (not reproduced yet) case of the AI switching two teams between 3-4/4-3 post training camp and in turn moving DTs and ILBs to different positions. And it's still very easy to submit an illegal roster without warning (there are some warnings for having too many men on your roster, but this doesn't cover all the cases). When this happens, you'll only know about it by looking at your roster / depth chart screen, there is no e-mail notification.

There are other minor issues, but these are the only two that cause frustration for me while playing.

[Ben E Lou]

Thoughts on degree of difficulty with this version?

[hukarez]

Thoughts on degree of difficulty with this version?
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied. I've made the playoffs once...and my team's finished a little under .500, if not taking 2nd place in my division. The injuries setting really made a difference for me, as plans that I originally had have been shelved due to injuries to my starters. I guess the doting thing I've kept in mind was the FA issue - which I wasn't aware about, until it was brought up in that other thread. Other than the ones you've mentioned (especially the O-Lineman recommendations), I would say I'm satiated.

I don't recall seeing a QB go as the #1 overall pick, though I've seen QBs selected in the 1st round, as per my previous post. The HOF variance and all (I'm guessing it was addressed in an earlier revision) is a nice touch. My primary concern, I'd say, would be the FA thing. Especially, since chinaski brought it under the light with his concerns in the other thread. Bravo, chinaski! Bravo.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2. In 35-year test career, only 3 QB's have gone #1 overall.
Question: Could you take a look at what your distribution of scout abilities are?

I've recently noticed a strong correlation between my scouts highest ability areas & his tendency to draft at those positions.

If that relationship really exists (I can only claim anecdotal evidence at this point) and there was a lower than expected number of scouts who are excellent at judging QB's, then there's a possible explanation. Or at least a contributing factor.

If, on the other hand, you find scouts with "Exc" ratings at QB who are bypassing QB's when they get a shot at the #1 pick, well, that'd probably blow my theory right out of the water PDQ.

[Yossarian]

A comment about the AI messing..

With my two man league (!) the other guy put an offer in to a FA strong safety. He then sent in his file. I imported both his and my files, played a week, and exported.

When we imported back into 'participant mode' we noticed that the SS that he bid on had not only signed during the process (which we'd expect) but had STARTED the game, - wasn't bad, he took a pick to the house but still, Mabuzzer hadn't even been told the guy was ON the roster nevermind starting.

[gstelmack]

A comment about the AI messing..

With my two man league (!) the other guy put an offer in to a FA strong safety. He then sent in his file. I imported both his and my files, played a week, and exported.

When we imported back into 'participant mode' we noticed that the SS that he bid on had not only signed during the process (which we'd expect) but had STARTED the game, - wasn't bad, he took a pick to the house but still, Mabuzzer hadn't even been told the guy was ON the roster nevermind starting.
Known issue with multiplayer leagues, related to one of my points above. If you want to sign people during the season, you need to run an extra import without simulating a week. You can just import, save, and export, and the signings will have happened. You can then edit your roster, resubmit, and run the actual simulation turn.

[amdaily]

Just confirming many of the things SkyDog has said -

1. To many teams not participating in FA and/or renegioations of their own player’s contracts.

2. QB's are not being drafted #1 overall enough.

5. "too many players are asking for *huge* salaries in relation to the cap."

This one is completely true and needs to be addressed. I can't find the nice study I posted a few weeks back, but the bottom line was 21-26 FOF players are making over $10 million per year, while only 2 NFL players make that much. Salaries of elite players need to be reduced.

6. "Early in careers, too many good players are not being signed by the end of the 8-step process."

I would also argue even late in a career this is the case. We never looked at 40-49 rated players in the studies conducted, but there are alot that remain after the 8 stage free agent process. Given that none were left at this point with 5.0b, it needs to be fixed. Having teams sign 20 players (half of them undrafted FA's) to 1 year deals after training camp is too unrealistic.

[Ben E Lou]

Given that none were left at this point with 5.0bThat simply isn't true. I have a career in 2031 that I played with 5.0b that is saved just prior to training camp. There are plenty of players rated in the 40's in the FA pool at this point, and a TE, C, QB and FL in the low 50's. Further, I disagree that all the players in the 40's and low 50's *should* be snapped up by that point. It seems more realistic (and helps the AI teams fill holes for a better challenge) if mediocre players sign cheap one-year contracts.

[chinaski]

Heres an extension of what Skydog started in this post here (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showpost.php?p=390488&postcount=5). Im using slightly different settings, my injury rating is at 100, everything else is the same. I am not including p/k's or injured players in this data. This league originated from the default player file shipped with FOF.

This is a 45 year 'current ratings' log of all the free agents left at the end of the 8 step process.


>80 70-79 60-69 50-59
2035 0 2 9 13
2036 1 0 2 12
2037 0 0 1 7
2038 0 1 0 8
2039 1 1 0 13
2040 2 2 1 14
2041 2 2 0 12
2042 1 1 4 9
2043 0 1 7 8
2044 1 0 9 11
2045 1 6 0 13
2046 3* 0 3 15
2047 0 1 1 7
2048 0 1 4 13
2049 0 3 7 15
2050 0 1 4 10
2051 0 2 6 15
2052 1 2 8 20
2053 2 2 1 10
2054 1 5 5 12
2055 5* 3 4 16
2056 1 7 5 14
2057 1 10 10 15
2058 2 3 3 16
2059 1 2 7 27
2060 0 5 7 18
2061 2 2 7 19
2062 3 4 9 25
2063 1 5 2 15
2064 4 5 8 12
2065 6** 4 8 18
2066 5 6 7 24
2067 2 11 10 19
2068 2 5 6 14
2069 2 2 3 19
2070 2 8 9 24
2071 2 9 11 25
2072 0 3 10 15
2073 1 5 5 10
2074 1 9 9 21
2075 0 0 15 13
2076 2* 3 8 21
2077 2 6 12 21
2078 0 2 4 17
2079 1 1 9 16
2080 4* 2 6 22

The * indicates the number of 90+ rated players. 90+'ers are almost always around 6-9 years in experience.

there are a few things ive noticed in regards to the players that are left at the end of the 8 step process.. 1. Some (maybe 30-40%?) appear to have suffered an injury of some sort the previous season (i see a big need to change the "Honors" section on the players screen to "History" and include injuries, super bowl rings and trade history). it also seems like players that end up getting signed for the league minimums are more apt for injury..i could be wrong on this but its my impression. could be a reason why teams didnt bid on them in the first place, an unseen injury proneness?

2. The bigger talents were asking a crazy amount of money during free agency and also had contract offers retracted from teams due to no cap room. so that could mean teams are over extending themselves during the bidding phases or making too many contract bids. That could easily keep other teams from getting an early shot at marquee big money players. If 3 teams all bid on a player for over/on the asking price, that could force other teams to look for other talent early on. Then, if those 3 teams then retract their offers in step 12, the chances of other teams being able to afford that players contract go way down.

3. A decent amount of these numbers represent players who have over 10 years experience.
2. QB's are not being drafted #1 overall enough. Of the 73 seasons i played out with this league, only 9 QB's were taken by the AI. I chose 2 on my own for a total of 11. Initially i say that number is way too low. But, it seems too me there are too many stand out QB's in the league at any given time, so i dont mind them not going #1 more often. It seems like QB's ratings accelerate faster than any other position, thus creating a fatter talent pool. that lowers teams from needing to go out and grab a 30/80 rookie QB, when they have many 60/70's too choose from.



6. "Early in careers, too many good players are not being signed by the end of the 8-step process."
the majority of those players listed above are are coming into their 5 or 6 the year in the league. all too often im seeing guys who spend 4-5 years with a team, then go on a team safari the next 8 years.


In this 73 year career ive done, ive never once signed a free agent. I skipped all FA stages and let the comp fill out my roster after training camp. We went 645-599-4, with 6 bowls and 4 championships. Sometimes we'd wind up with 3 8 year QBs all rated 75+, wed get the leading rusher from last season, the top reciever, all for the league minimum. This team has been constantly well below the cap. Salary cap is around 500 million right now, payroll has been around 200 million and theyve gone 129-66 the past 10 seasons.

Early in careers, like 2004 thru 2010, this isnt really a problem. But in the latter stages, its really bad.

[Ryche]

Out of curiousity, have people had many receivers inducted into their Halls of Fame? My longest running career has 0 WR inducted in 2030. The top receiver (who happened to play for me) finished with 1,037 receptions for 13,278 yards and 69 TDs, along with 4 1st team all pros and 4 second team all pros and a couple Super Bowl rings to boot. I guess it's not totally unrealistic that he's not in considering his numbers are similar to Art Monk.

I think I have noticed a slight drop in passing yards as well with nobody eclipsing 4000 yards in the past half dozen seasons. That may just be because an excellent group of QBs retired though.

Oh, and it's been 25 years since a QB was drafted number one.

[Tryfan]

I have seen quarterbacks drafted first overall, but its very rare.

The AI seemed to love defensive and offensive linemen. There was one stretch where a DT or DE was drafted first overall in something like thirteen of fifteen years and one of the two exceptions was *me* (both exceptions were RB).

However this doesn't seem to always be the trend. There are also some stretches where other positions get the nod.

"i see a big need to change the "Honors" section on the players screen to "History" and include injuries, super bowl rings and trade history"

Boy do I ever agree with that. At least the injuries (only including 'Out' injuries) and superbowl rings, anyways.

[Ben E Lou]

Boy do I ever agree with that. At least the injuries (only including 'Out' injuries) and superbowl rings, anyways.I agree as well, but I'd imagine that's something for 6.0.

[hukarez]

I'm curious about one aspect of HOF though. Say, you've got some folks who've retired in 2015. I'm guessing it's about what...5+ more seasons until some folks who've retired in that year are voted in? Well, say some very accomplished folks who retired that year don't get nominated to the HOF after so many years. Do they still stay in the 'queue' for nomination in future HOFs? :confused:


I hope I phrased my inquiry correctly. I'm sure there's a better way of explaining what I'm trying to ask, but it's been a long day. :(

[cthomer5000]

I'm curious about one aspect of HOF though. Say, you've got some folks who've retired in 2015. I'm guessing it's about what...5+ more seasons until some folks who've retired in that year are voted in? Well, say some very accomplished folks who retired that year don't get nominated to the HOF after so many years. Do they still stay in the 'queue' for nomination in future HOFs? :confused:


I hope I phrased my inquiry correctly. I'm sure there's a better way of explaining what I'm trying to ask, but it's been a long day. :(
No. In every version of FOF I've seen, all players are either first ballot hall of famers, or do not make it at all. There basically is no eligibility period, just a yes/no decision the second it's been 5 years.

[hukarez]

No. In every version of FOF I've seen, all players are either first ballot hall of famers, or do not make it at all. There basically is no eligibility period, just a yes/no decision the second it's been 5 years.
Ah! I see. Curiousity: Satisfied! :)

[Barkeep49]

Where has there been discussion on the different inflation rates? I've been playing at 0/0 very happily in my career, but would change rates if it made the game better.

[Ben E Lou]

Where has there been discussion on the different inflation rates? I've been playing at 0/0 very happily in my career, but would change rates if it made the game better.Also, if you eliminate inflation, it makes cap management tougher on the AI because contracts have a certain level of inflation built in. The inflation controls are meant either for leagues or for people who really hate inflation, and don't mind that the NFL salary structure would probably collapse without it.

That was from a thread discussing patch 5.0d.

[Peregrine]

Thoughts on degree of difficulty with this version?

Well I started a new game on Wall Street and took Jacksonville to the Super Bowl in 2004, with minimal lineup changes (I signed maybe 2-3 free agents, mostly backups.)

That was a really freaky couple of seasons.

[Tium]

1. 5-8 AI teams per year do not participate at all in the 20 or 8-step FA processes, despite having the cap room, and some of them having had recent financial successes.

2. In 35-year test career, only 3 QB's have gone #1 overall.

3. "Recommend" button does screwy things when used on the o-line screen, even with positional bias maxed out. It almost never recommends a C to be the backup C. I usually recommends the backup C to be the backup LG.

4. Now that FB carries can't go above 40, it has become difficult/impossible to get the FB much more than 4 carries per game (and this is with everything I can to get him the ball, including formation settings, 40 on all screens, etc.) My FB led the league, by far, with 68 carries last season. The next-highest was as studly FB with maxed-out ratings. He only got 47 carries, and has a career high of 68. His team doesn't have a good RB, either.

5. Not as sure about this one, but it seems that too many players are asking for *huge* salaries in relation to the cap.

6. Early in careers, too many good players are not being signed by the end of the 8-step process.


I don't usually check FA moves, so I don't know about (1.) and (6.), but I can confirm (3.)

I'd like to point out that in the data analys (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showpost.php?p=396725&postcount=56) I've done, the QB have the lowest max rating (6.7) and the second lowest standard variation (0.855). Both of these values are significanlty lower that the ones related to the other high drafted position (RB: 9 - 1.113, WR:8.1 - 0.922, OT: 8.1 - 1.108, DE:8.3 - 0.993, DT: 8.7 - 1.057) except fot the CB (7.5 - 0.986). I've noticed that it's not difficult for me to find great CB in middle or low 1st rd, probably due to the low grade they have (7.5, not as low as the QB but still < 8). I guess that the low (max) rate for QB, leading to a low adjusted rate, may explain why they are not chosen high, as stated by SD in (2.). This is true for CB too, just less evident.
I'll try to add more draft the the data so that I can have more meaningful statistical base.

About (4.) and (5.) I tend to agree but I don't have data supporting this theory.

I hope this helps.

And :)

EDIT: I play under default rules, highest difficulty.

EDIT2:
Removed a note about Safeties and INTs.

[Ramzavail]

I am not sure if this has ever been mentioned - I'm sure it has, you guys are pretty keen.

On timeouts, end of quarters, 2 minute warnings - there is always a little delay for them to show up when you call your own plays. It is not until you choose your next play - the timeout, the end of the quarter, the 2 minute warning pops up, then you have to choose your play again.

Is there anyways to eliminate that?

[Ben E Lou]

One other thing I've noticed: Some (all?) players on AI teams who have "Out" injuries come back and play when they are Questionable or Probable, and often get re-injured. It could help with degree of difficulty (especially when injuries are set relatively high) if injured players didn't return until fully healed.

[PSUColonel1]

One other thing I've noticed: Some (all?) players on AI teams who have "Out" injuries come back and play when they are Questionable or Probable, and often get re-injured. It could help with degree of difficulty (especially when injuries are set relatively high) if injured players didn't return until fully healed


I agree with this. Or at least they don't come back if it was a more serious injury. Nagging injuries where a player is listed as probable wouldn't be so bad where a player is in the lineup.

[AgPete]

Well, one thing is that the computer is still dumb as a brick with playcalling. Divisional Playoffs, 2:12 left, 4th and 1 on his 1 yard line. I'm losing 23-28. I have one of the league's best running backs (Ladainian Tomlinson), two of the league's best guards (Alan Faneca and LeCharles Bentley) and a pretty decent offensive line altogether. My defense is better than average but not one of the league's best. The computer elects to kick a field goal. :rolleyes:

What's even worse is my team doesn't try an onsides kick. Of course, the other team makes a first down, I lose all my timeouts, game over and the other team goes to the conference finals. :mad:

[AgPete]

dola

And another thing, is it just my game or do linebackers still win most of the Defensive Player & Rookie of the year awards?

[Toddzilla]

I'm coming out of lurker mode to post a few observations

- An awful lot of teams now seem to be caught in Cap-Hell(c). I'll usually shop some of my free-agents-to-be before the draft, and whereas I'd usually see 2 or 3 teams with an asterisk indicating they don't have the cap room, I now see 7-8. When I check out the draft board, usually 12-15 teams have lost their #3 pick due to a cap violation. I know the patch was supposed to increase the chances a team would re-sign/renegotiate its own players, but to what end?

- Many more very good players (60+) are skating through both FA periods with no offers. To point: a QB taken 1(1) with 85+ ratings across the board was let loose by the Bears after 5 years. He initially demanded a contract averaging about $16M in years 2-5. After both FA periods were over an no offers, I snapped him up after he lowered his demand to $7M in Y2 (going to $10M in Y5). Certainly SOMEONE out there could have used the #1 QB in the league, dontcha think?

[Ben E Lou]

Just noticed that the best kicker in my league sat out an entire season with several teams having the cap room to afford him. Someone should have cut their kicker and picked him up at some point.

[Ben E Lou]

PBP Bug:


4-15-ORL25 (04:11) ORL 16 Brown punted and it was blocked by TUC 57 Dye.

TUC 96 Morrill recovered the ball at the ORL09 and returned the ball 24 yards for a touchdown!

Extra point by TUC 10 Waters was good.

[Ben E Lou]

Just noticed something that I wonder about being a contributing factor to unsigned FA's. I had a solid CB from my team who became a FA. He had several offers, but the top offer withdrew due to lack of cap room, when they signed the top QB in the league. All of a sudden, this guy has no offers, rather than the other offers. I checked, and this isn't happening to every one of them, but it is happening to some of the players who get an offer withdrawn.

[Tium]

EDIT: I'm running further tests but it looks like that setting injuries to 0 really screw up the starter playing time. I'm sorry for the previous and apparently incorrect info.

And :)

[mtolson]

Not sure if this is a result of the latest patch, but its the first time I have noticed this happening.

In my league, Carson Palmer was up for a new contract after 6 years. He was requesting a 5 year deal worth 93 million. He ended up hanging around until after the second free agency process and then was signed to a 1 year deal for 700 thousand.

Anyone else had problem like that.

[hukarez]

Yep - there's a 'Free Agency Bug' thread going around relating to FOF2K4 5.0D...might be a page or two below.

[mtolson]

Yep - there's a 'Free Agency Bug' thread going around relating to FOF2K4 5.0D...might be a page or two below.

Thanks, I will look for it. Just noticed it happening again with Vick. It appears to happen right after training camp.

[amdaily]

61 days later I'm just wondering where we're at :)? Any updates from Solecismic I missed?

[hukarez]

61 days later I'm just wondering where we're at :)? Any updates from Solecismic I missed?
I'm curious about this as well. I haven't played FOF2K4 in about a week and a half. I submitted a couple of PbP / Penalty - Scoring issues, and was told that Jim would take a look at it when he jumps into the code and stuff.

[chinaski]

I hope Jim is ok, its a little weird he would leave the game in this state.

[hukarez]

From what I understand, he's still looking into the code to resolve issues. At least, that's what I heard from Ethan in my e-mails. I'm sure something will turn up sometime in the future. :cool:

EDIT: Plus, that FA engine thing has to be a rather large segment of code. A major change to it would be quite time consuming. If anything, one can only hope that it's addressed in this version of FOF2K4.

[cthomer5000]

there's also the coach expenses issue we cracked here:
http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=23916

[hukarez]

There is one thing I've never quite figured out, and that's relating to the Stadium data info. I can't recall where the stadium data info comes from...perhaps, the Real Player File? :confused:

But in any case, I find it increasingly difficult to 'renovate', due to excessive 'seats'. Trying to reduce the amount of seats wasn't possible - I forget the message I got, and I end up having to 'cancel' out of stadium renovations.

Did anyone else have this problem? :(

[Surtt]

This is not related to game play and is some what trivial
but, it is annoying.

My screens seem to flicker allot since the last patch.
Every time I click on a column to set an order the screen refreshes 3 or 4 times.

[amdaily]

After playing around with it for a month I don’t find the FA problem to be as bad as originally thought.

Most pressing are the astronomical salaries elite players (particularly QB's and T's) demand and receive, the high number of good centers, and the undervaluation of QB's in the draft.

[Ben E Lou]

After playing around with it for a month I don’t find the FA problem to bad as bad as originally though.

Most pressing are the astronomical salaries elite players (particularly QB's and T's demand and receive), the high number of good centers, and the undervaluation of QB's in the draft.I pretty much agree 100% with this post.

[gstelmack]

Unless you're in a multiplayer league, where pressing issues include the limited play-by-play info available in the game logs (need formations and other info that's in the scoreboard) for proper gameplanning, more warnings on export about roster issues that will cause the scout to sign/release players and mess up your depth chart (it's way too easy to think you have a valid chart, and you don't get told after the fact why the scout thought it needed to fix your roster), missing important informational e-mails that you get in a single player game, and the like.