FBCB Revisited

[EagleFan]

I know that this game has been talked about quite a bit but I wanted to send out some more kudos to Brian for such a great game. It had been 'collecting virtual dust' for some time and I decicded to fire it back up tonight (after gettnig a little burnt out on playing March Madness--a fun game but I wanted to just handle simming more than playnig for a while so FBCB is the obvious choice).

I had forgotten just how fun the game can be. Fired up a new career taking over Binghamton this time and was on the edge of my seat in our season opening nail biting loss to Air Force (in what shuold be a long season). Time for some fun attemptnig to increase the team's prestige and maybe even turn them into a competetive team in their conference.


Thanks again HR (Brian), great job.

[Icy]

This is without doubt one of my favorite sims. The match engine is really great, you can notice fast all the startegies changes you make. the coaches history and movement are great features also that help a lot the inmersion factor.

I only miss a bit more of depts on the recruiting part (like in TCY where academics are also something to look at) and players transfers (related to happniess and playing time)to avoid the massive redshirting strategies, as for what i have read, redshirting in basketball is not as usual unless injuries. I would like also players personalities to be added, like a player being a bad team mate and affecting the others, morale changes depending on the results (like a morale boost when winning a high prestige team or reaching the postseason tournaments, etc)

Btw, where is HeavyReign lately? He hasn't posted at his own forum for months, i hope nothing bad happened to him and that he will keep developing FBCB and making it even better.

[ThunderingHERD]

I've only played the three day trial version of this game (just last week, actually). Things that stuck with me:

The high school statistics are insanely out of whack. Assistants switch jobs far too often. Props for the draft projection emails, but the projections quite often seem so screwy as to undermine the whole thing. Conferences moves is a good feature in theory, but after playing 8 years with it enabled, something like 30-40% of the teams had a new conference. The most compromising thing though has got to be that redshirting of major talent is far too prominent and top players stick around too long--it often doesn't feel like real college ball. Oh, and the interface is damn ugly.

It's a good effort overall though.

[oykib]

I totally disagree about everything except the redshirting thing.

I've have had bunches of guys leave early who barely had a snowball's chance in hell of getting drafted. Also, you can turn off conference moves or set them to limited status, ehich greatly cuts down on the number of moves.

[ThunderingHERD]

I've have had bunches of guys leave early who barely had a snowball's chance in hell of getting drafted

Like I said, <i>top</i> players stick around too long. I only played through about a dozen years, but it seemed like every year both All-American teams were made up almost exclusively of 4th and 5th year players.

[EagleFan]

Btw, where is HeavyReign lately? He hasn't posted at his own forum for months, i hope nothing bad happened to him and that he will keep developing FBCB and making it even better.

Speculation time? FBCB 2? FBB 2005?

[oykib]

Like I said, <i>top</i> players stick around too long. I only played through about a dozen years, but it seemed like every year both All-American teams were made up almost exclusively of 4th and 5th year players.


I should have said even guys who've barely had a chance to get drafted.

The ALL-America teams are made up of seniors because guys leave based on potential-- not production.

Not that it's a perfect game. But it's much better than everything I've played except for FOF and CM.

[Buccaneer]

I, too, add my kudos. I spent over half of last year playing this game - my favorite sports sim of all time. It has the perfect level of complexity and simplicity for me - and combined with my elaborate spreadsheets, makes the game very obsessive to play and to keep playing (even though I am a fast "week" simmer). Even now, I can't go more than a few weeks without wanting to get back into my career (35 years now).

I don't have any real complains about the game - because of the way I play (e.g., I don't coach each game). Minor quibbles would include assistants leaving far too frequently. In the last 10 years of my career, I had been playing with Colgate - with full conf. movement on. I took them from a prestige 1 to a prestige 5 conference but it seems in each of the last 6-7 years, I had to change my whole contingent of coaches. Perhaps it is for play balance but it does become frustrating to see during the Asst Coach stage your coaches leaving one by one and then I have to scramble to get the leftovers.

As far as potential draftees, it's funny. During the middle 15 years of my career, I coached SU and had some great teams with 4- and 5-star recruits. Even lately with Colgate, I had managed to grab a 4-star recruit every so often. I end up with some All-Americans but more frequently, Conf Players of the Year and quite a number of 1st Teamers. BUT - in 35 years, I think I had 2, maybe 3 players that were even projected to be drafted. This is no big deal because I don't play FBB but I do find it funny at the rarity of anyone I have making it to the pros.

I chalk it up to having my teams built on fundamentals. I guess the pros do not appreciate that much. Lol.

As far as conf movement, the first 25 years of my carreer I didn't have this on. Then for a new challenge, I turned it on to Full when I took over Colgate - just to see how far I could take them. I love playing both ways. The stability of the conferences (and perhaps the oft chance the a conf goes up or down in prestige) is fun. Conversely in the last 10 years, I closely study all of the conf. movements each year and it's fascinating to see what was traditionally a prestige 5 conf fall hard (or vice versa). That's a lot of fun too.

I don't know if it's that rather simplicistic nature of basketball (esp. college) that makes this perfect for me. I would love to see a baseball and football game made in this same manner - simple but elegant and deep.

[gstelmack]

Speculation time? FBCB 2? FBB 2005?
I thought he said a while ago that he was working on an update to the pro game? But I just got into FBCB so I have not been paying close attention.

[LloydLungs]

Speculation time? FBCB 2? FBB 2005?

I'm a bit concerned myself... technical/support questions on the FBCB forum have gone unanswered by HR for over a month. It seems like people are getting frustrated over there. Dunno what, but something seems to be up.

[Neuqua]

Last time he and I talked he was at work on the next version of the pro game.

I also know that he has lost a lot of his free time due to a new job that he had gotten, and I have not been able to talk to him nearly as often as we used to.

[Icy]

I don't think we will see FBCB2 for a long time. He has been working on FBB2 since past year at least, but seems he is bussy with some other work not games related as Neuqua said. Too bad he has to look for another work, i whish he could live from his games exclusively as he has proven to be one of the most brillant minds on the text sims industry, are you reading this Marc Vaughan? :)