Bowl Bound College Football Demo is out!

[Icy]

You are now able to download a Demo version of Bowl Bound. Please visit here for download information: http://www.greydogsoftware.com/downloads.php?id=50 (http://www.greydogsoftware.com/downloads.php?id=50)

Please visit http://www.greydogsoftware.com (http://www.greydogsoftware.com/) for the full press release.


Enjoy!!


Tara Clover
Grey Dog Software
[email protected] ([email protected])
As i posted in the other thread, i have been part of the beta team and i also wrote the the camp tutorial so if you guys have any question about the game just ask. Now let's move the thread!

[Anthony]

downloading at work during my lunch break.

let's get a league started.

[Icy]

The first dynasty it out:
http://www.greydogsoftware.com/foru...read.php?t=7930 (http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7930)

[Anthony]

can you edit the pics of the players on their player card?

[Hurst2112]

here's a question...cause im too lazy to look:

how long does the demo go/last?

[Icy]

Keep on mind it's still a beta demo not the final game so take the chance to report bugs if any so they will be fixed before the game final release. Also multiplayer is not into the demo as aren't some html reports. The game is not finished yet, but really close to it.

[Icy]

here's a question...cause im too lazy to look:

how long does the demo go/last?One full season that you can play as many times as you want.

[Hurst2112]

thanks

[Icy]

can you edit the pics of the players on their player card?
The parts that can be edited are not totally defined yet but the game will be fully customizable, including helmets, logos, fields, etc so i guess players pics too but i'm not 100% sure.

[Ben E Lou]

Keep on mind it's still a beta demo not the final game so take the chance to report bugs if any so they will be fixed before the game final release. Also multiplayer is not into the demo as aren't some html reports. The game is not finished yet, but really close to it.That's a very important point. There really needs to be a "demo bugs/issues" thread.

[Hurst2112]

That's a very important point. There really needs to be a "demo bugs/issues" thread.

If you guys do your job right, there shouldn't be a need for a 'demo bugs/issues' thread. ;)

Seriously, I'm one who is gonna play the shit out of the demo and lay down money to buy the game. If you want bug reporting, send me a free game for my efforts. I'm not charitable.

[Anthony]

how does the player pic creation work - is it generated by the game or is there a folder with all of the player faces that will be used. that is, if it's a folder that contains all the player faces in it then i assume one can replace all those game generated faces with edited faces.

[moriarty]

If you guys do your job right, there shouldn't be a need for a 'demo bugs/issues' thread. ;)


:D

[Icy]

how does the player pic creation work - is it generated by the game or is there a folder with all of the player faces that will be used. that is, if it's a folder that contains all the player faces in it then i assume one can replace all those game generated faces with edited faces.
The faces are stored into the game graphics\fac\ folder so yes, you can replace them with other faces as long as you keep the file names and pics height/width.

[Anthony]

The faces are stored into the game graphics\fac\ folder so yes, you can replace them with other faces as long as you keep the file names and pics height/width.

eeeeexcellent. thanks for the info.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm not really a beta tester, though. ;)

Seriously, if anyone thinks that every bug and/or issue can be caught by a beta team, they're sorely mistaken. Think how many people have played FOF5 since it was released, and a pretty major multiplayer issue was first noticed 18ish months after release. :eek:

[Icy]

If you guys do your job right, there shouldn't be a need for a 'demo bugs/issues' thread. ;)

Seriously, I'm one who is gonna play the shit out of the demo and lay down money to buy the game. If you want bug reporting, send me a free game for my efforts. I'm not charitable.
I'm not going to start a discussion as this is a happy day for us who have expent lots of hours on this. But just think on EA and the amount of testers they could hire for real money, then think on how "bug free" have always been their games. Now think on the work it is to test software for a small group of fans that do it for free on their free time...

You are free to report or not the bugs, but i'm sure that a group of 1000 demo players playing hours per day will find bugs that the beta team could have missed, and it doesn't mean that the testers didn't do their work.

[moriarty]

I'm pretty sure he was just kidding. At least that's how I interpreted the ;) thingy.

[Hurst2112]

I'm not really a beta tester, though. ;)

Seriously, if anyone thinks that every bug and/or issue can be caught by a beta team, they're sorely mistaken. Think how many people have played FOF5 since it was released, and a pretty major multiplayer issue was first noticed 18ish months after release. :eek:

I see your point. However...

eh, nevermind. No sense stealin Arilie's thunder on his day. My thoughts have been noted.

[GrantDawg]

First suggestion: Put a color code key somewhere that allows to just look and see the levels from good to bad. It is annoying to try to figure out which color means what, and it doesn't seem to follow a pattern that is natural.

[Anthony]

blue=good
red=bad
black=so bad the player is probably dead.


i looked at a player card in SD's dynasty

[GrantDawg]

blue=good
red=bad
black=so bad the player is probably dead.


i looked at a player card in SD's dynasty
But there are more colors than that, and it is a bit confusing.

[Ben E Lou]

There's also mouseover help for the color coding. Is it not in the demo?

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, I now know it off the top of my head, and I've only had the game a little over a week....

Blue--best
Green
Yellow
Orange
Dark Red--worst

[GrantDawg]

There's also mouseover help for the color coding. Is it not in the demo?
There is, but it is small and time consuming to sit over each one to figure out what each is until you have them memorized. There is much you have to look at as is, anything that makes the learning curve easier is good.

[Ben E Lou]

There is much you have to look at as is, anything that makes the learning curve easier is good.Agreed...it took me several days for it to become intuitive. It is usually faster than that for me.

[GrantDawg]

Another nitpick, is there a way to sort just by position in your roster page? I like to compare just my rb, without having to figure out were my halfbacks end and my fullbacks begin, etc.

[wheels]

This is the color coding used throughout the game:

Blue--Very Good
Green--Good
Yellow--Average
Orange--Below Average
Deep Red--Poor

The logic is that blue is the best; yellow is average; red is worst. Green is a combination of yellow and blue. And orange is a combination of red and yellow.

This scale applies to all the ratings in the game, e.g. player skill levels, scouting service ratings, school prestige ratings, etc.

You can safely assume that if you see something coded blue in the game, it is good, and, similarly, red is bad.

[Arles]

can you edit the pics of the players on their player card?
Here's the process for editing pics:

Create a folder called "players" at the same level as your EXE (if it's not there already). Then, store the player's photo as:

[TeamAbbr]_[FirstName]_[LastName].jpg

So, if you were Southern Cal and had a player named Josh Smith, you put his picture in the players folder called:

USC_Josh_Smith.jpg.

[QuikSand]

Dumb question - but I assume that the "correct" team names and conference names can be entered by someone, saved into a file (or files) and distributed -- thereby saving lazy schlubs like me the trouble. Sound likely?

[Icy]

You can click on any column header and the players will be sorted by that rating. If you click on the position column header the players will be sorted by position.

Anyway there will be a full manual with the final game release so all will be easier to learn.

[Arles]

First suggestion: Put a color code key somewhere that allows to just look and see the levels from good to bad. It is annoying to try to figure out which color means what, and it doesn't seem to follow a pattern that is natural.
Good point. I think that is something that we should have somewhere - atleast in the full game manual. Now, you can mouse over the ovals and you will see a verbal description on the roster, depth chart, recruiting and other screens. And, for the play diagrams, you can mouse over the colored oval to get their name and double-click it to get an HTML player card.

[Icy]

Dumb question - but I assume that the "correct" team names and conference names can be entered by someone, saved into a file (or files) and distributed -- thereby saving lazy schlubs like me the trouble. Sound likely?
We had that for one of the first beta builds made by one of the testers, but as the database was having lots of changes per build, the original one is not longer usable. If anybody has the time, he can open the database (access format) and add the correct nicknames to it and then redistribute it.

[Arles]

Dumb question - but I assume that the "correct" team names and conference names can be entered by someone, saved into a file (or files) and distributed -- thereby saving lazy schlubs like me the trouble. Sound likely?
Certainly, a simple swap of the "pstats.dat" file with another can replace everything from team names, city and info to conference names, bowl names and even bowl/playoff cities. It's an open access database, so I'm sure someone will release different options for people to use.

[GrantDawg]

You can click on any column header and the players will be sorted by that rating. If you click on the position column header the players will be sorted by position.

Anyway there will be a full manual with the final game release so all will be easier to learn.
No, I see that, but when you are looking at abilities at the middle of the column, it is real easy to lose who you are looking at, and if the player is a tackle or a guard or a center. Smaller groups to compare is always better.

[Anthony]

Here's the process for editing pics:

Create a folder called "players" at the same level as your EXE (if it's not there already). Then, store the player's photo as:

[TeamAbbr]_[FirstName]_[LastName].jpg

So, if you were Southern Cal and had a player named Josh Smith, you put his picture in the players folder called:

USC_Josh_Smith.jpg.

perfect. thanks. this, plus the info that Icy gave me in a PM conversation i just had with him gave me all the info i needed. i love customization, so this ability to tweak the graphics made this game a "will-buy" for me.

probably could have figured this info out on my own, but i was unable to download the demo due to my job's firewall.

Icy:
last question re: player pics - how does the game handle player names? does the game randomly generate player names at the start of every career? also, will there be an ability to create a custom roster? i'd like to start working on my own player created face pak.

[Icy]

No, I see that, but when you are looking at abilities at the middle of the column, it is real easy to lose who you are looking at, and if the player is a tackle or a guard or a center. Smaller groups to compare is always better.
I see what you mean now, but you can't just have a group right now, maybe Arlie can add it to the top drop down menu, instead of just offense or defense, the players positions could be added.

[Arles]

I see what you mean now, but you can't just have a group right now, maybe Arlie can add it to the top drop down menu, instead of just offense or defense, the players positions could be added.
That's really not a bad idea. Have offense, defense, ST and individual positions.

[Ben E Lou]

I see what you mean now, but you can't just have a group right now, maybe Arlie can add it to the top drop down menu, instead of just offense or defense, the players positions could be added.That actually would be a nice addition, especially considering that the drop-down is already there.

[Icy]

Icy:
last question re: player pics - how does the game handle player names? does the game randomly generate player names at the start of every career? also, will there be an ability to create a custom roster? i'd like to start working on my own player created face pak.
I think so, players are auto generated but Arlie could explain that better. About the ability to create your own roster, it's not in the game yet but i think Arlie said that the final game will have the option to import a roster set when starting the new game. Again i'm not sure so better let Arlie answer that.

[Anthony]

We had that for one of the first beta builds made by one of the testers, but as the database was having lots of changes per build, the original one is not longer usable. If anybody has the time, he can open the database (access format) and add the correct nicknames to it and then redistribute it.

i'd like to work alongside anyone who does this to create a real player face pak for myself.

i say for myself because outside of the annual Heisman candidates i rarely know many college players, so i don't have the same demands on making sure the 3rd string QB from Central Michigan is the actual guy. if getting faces of all the players isn't hard i wouldn't mind making it more extensive.

so i'd certainly make whatever i created available to the public, but again, my demands for the end-all, be-all for face paks isn't high so this wouldn't be a BBCF "Almanac" of player face paks.

[GrantDawg]

That's really not a bad idea. Have offense, defense, ST and individual positions.
Well, I sent you an email about it with just that suggestion. I hope it wouldn't be too hard.

[Passacaglia]

Wow. I literally gasped when I saw this thread title. I'll have to download it when I get home.

[Passacaglia]

Is there a way to change the font in the game?

[Icy]

Have you guys tried the pbp? it's a really amazing part with the formations and plays drawn with ovals and colored arrows that change colour depending on the play result at the same time than the text pbp is displayed. I really like it.

[Anthony]

outside of checking the site of every football team to get info such as this (http://gotigersgo.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mem-m-footbl-mtt-alph.html), does anyone know of an online resource that has the info (roster, player photos) that team-specific sites would have?

[Icy]

Is there a way to change the font in the game?
Nope, the interface is going to be editable if somebody has the time to design another skin, but not the font i'm afraid.

[Icy]

outside of checking the site of every football team to get info such as this (http://gotigersgo.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/mem-m-footbl-mtt-alph.html), does anyone know of an online resource that has the info (roster, player photos) that team-specific sites would have?You got here all the conferences, teams, rosters, deep charts, stats, season previews, etc.

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/

I bought their guide in .pdf format but it's exactly what they have in their site, just better sorted and more comfortable to read/search.

[Toddzilla]

Demo won't run on my XP laptop, and the uninstaller won't work either. Nice.

[Passacaglia]

Is it possible to start unemployed, like in FM?

[Ben E Lou]

Nope, the interface is going to be editable if somebody has the time to design another skin, but not the font i'm afraid.I've love a dark writing on light background skin. The current one makes my eyes tired after a while.

[dervack]

Demo won't run on my XP laptop, and the uninstaller won't work either. Nice.
The screen size is messed up for me.

[DeToxRox]

I'm having a blast with this demo.

I can't wait for the FOFC league to start

[Icy]

Which problem are you having Toddzilla?

dervack, which screen size do you have setup in your computer?

Please also post your problems in the GDS support forum so they can know about them:

http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=85

[dervack]

1024x768

[Icy]

1024x768
Enought, can you describe or post a screenshoot of your messed view to know exactly the problem you're talking about?

[GrantDawg]

Man, I love that you can set the type of rating format you want. I have to decide if I like 1-20 or 1-100 best. I hate 1-5.

[Ksyrup]

Demo won't run on my XP laptop, and the uninstaller won't work either. Nice.
Apparently you downloaded the Sony Neil Diamond Demo instead.

[dervack]

Enought, can you describe or post a screenshoot of your messed view to know exactly the problem you're talking about?
Well, I can't add attachments here. The game isn't taking up the wntire screen, it leaves space on the left side, and it drops below the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

[sovereignstar]

http://the-dkbl.com/Clipboardbbcf.jpg

[digamma]

It seems starters play all the way through blow-outs if their playing time is set to 100%. I suppose this is how the feature is intended to work, but I'm wondering what happens if you set your QB's playing time to 80%. Does the back-up play 20% of the time? I assume you could only adjust the back-up playing amount in the Winning drop down of the playing time screen, but it seems there might be a need for a universal "when to put in the scrubs" option. Or maybe just an explanation of how the substitution system works--I could be missing something.

[Icy]

Here is the real teams database for the game, just released by a GDS forum member:

I have tested it and the game opens without problems, what i have not reviewed is if all the team nicknames are correct so please guys report any wrong one.

Thanks Grantdawg for taking your time to do it.


UPDATED
pstats.dat 1.1

Ok, i had some free time today and i have edited the pstats file again,

This was already (thanks to Grantdawg who created the first file)
- Real Team nicknames
- Real conference names

This is new (thanks to Scott Vibert and some other players for the info):
- Added all the real Stadium names.
- Added all the real Award names.
- Added all the real Bowl names and Bowl Stadiums.
- Fixed the following bugs:
UTEP name is UTEP now instead of Texas-El Paso
RICE name is RICE now instead of TexasRice
UTEP Rivarly is now with NMSU instead of Hawaii

Please download, unzip and overwrite your pstats.dat and check for errors/suggestions and i'll keep updating it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.1.dat

[Cuckoo]

Anyone else getting an error when trying to download that file?

[ScottVib]

Well, I can't add attachments here. The game isn't taking up the wntire screen, it leaves space on the left side, and it drops below the taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

Check your font size and dpi settings. Make sure they are set to Normal (96 dpi).

For sovereignstar's issue, set the taskbar to autohide and you'll be all set. Arlie is looking into a fix for the final version (this is a beta demo, not a gold demo).

[Icy]

Anyone else getting an error when trying to download that file?
Try again please, i have zipped it.

[sovereignstar]

I really hope GrantDawg didn't try to wing the spelling of the nicknames.

:)

[Buccaneer]

Wow.

[Icy]

I am unable to play the game. When I try to create the leauge it gives me a runtime error 48 "Error in loading DLL"
Did you reboot after installing it?

[Airhog]

I am unable to play the game. When I try to create the leauge it gives me a runtime error 48 "Error in loading DLL"

[Icy]

Dola: I did reboot before trying to play it. Also does not seem to matter what options I select, even if I leave them all at default
I would uninstall, reboot, install again, reboot to see if that fixes it.

[Airhog]

Dola: I did reboot before trying to play it. Also does not seem to matter what options I select, even if I leave them all at default

[st.cronin]

Is there a way to view player cards of recruits during the season?

[Ben E Lou]

Is there a way to view player cards of recruits during the season?No.

[Flasch186]

thank you god, I pray this game is awesome!!!! Oh yeah, when can I buy it outright?

[astrosfan64]

First suggestion: Put a color code key somewhere that allows to just look and see the levels from good to bad. It is annoying to try to figure out which color means what, and it doesn't seem to follow a pattern that is natural.

I asked for that as well.

[st.cronin]

No.

well pfffffffffft

[jbmagic]

penalty error being reported to the wrong team

seems like a similar bug that total pro football has.

reported at grey dog forum


I've got a bug to report. On this punt a penalty was called against Buffalo but charged against West Virginia:

West Virginia ball, Q1, 4-7-WVU36 (07:06) 0-0
Aubrey Standlee Punts 43 yards to the Buffalo 21 yard line, where Ovie Kovac returns it to
Buffalo 38 for a 17 yard return.

Unnecessary Roughness against TE Cookie McMillian on Buffalo. The Penalty is for 15 yards,
and an automatic first down.
The Offense will accept the penalty. It is now First and 10 at the West Virginia 47.


Ok... here's another from the same game... Buffalo scored a touchdown and needed to go for 2 to tie the game up. They opted to just go for 3 and take the lead...yeah.

Buffalo ball, Q4, 2-3-WVU24 (03:53) 16-24
Offense: Medium Pass, Set: Shotgun, Play: SG-FL-curls (med pass)
Defense: Stop Run, Set: 3-4, Play: 34-run-SZ (target run)
QB B. Kooistra completes a 24 yard post to WR O. Kovac ****Touchdown!*****

Buffalo ball, Q4, 1-0-WVU0 (03:27) 22-24
Jashon Reichow converts the 21 yard field goal.

Buffalo ball, Q4, 1-10-BUF35 (03:11) 25-24
Jashon Reichow kicks 47 from Buffalo 35 to West Virginia 18. Whizzer Tiller to West Virginia
26 for a 8 yard return.


As you can see the score went from 24-16 to 25-24, which would be impossible.
Reply With Quote


Am I the only one who has seen this bug? It happened again.

West Virginia ball, Q4, 1-10-BUF21 (01:04) 24-25
Offense: Medium Pass, Set: Shotgun, Play: SG-TE-ins (med pass)
Defense: Stop Pass, Set: Dime, Play: Dime-pass-Man-B6,10 (target pass)
QB C. Joiner completes a 21 yard in to TE L. Hoambrecker ****Touchdown!*****

West Virginia ball, Q4, 1-0-BUF0 (00:49) 30-25
Dimitrius Harrell converts the 21 yard field goal.

West Virginia ball, Q4, 1-10-WVU35 (00:42) 33-25
Dimitrius Harrell kicks 67 from West Virginia 35 to Buffalo -2. Zachary Stoerner to Buffalo
5 for a 7 yard return.

[Icy]

Yeah jbmagic, the game has some bugs, some already known and some new that will appear and will be fixed before the final release. Remember this is a beta demo, not the final one.

[Icy]

still no luck. I rebooted, and uninstalled, then I did it again, and installed, then I rebooted a final time, and same error msg...
Weird, does it say which dll is missing? try also to post at GDS BBCF technical issues forum.

[Airhog]

still no luck. I rebooted, and uninstalled, then I did it again, and installed, then I rebooted a final time, and same error msg...

[Flasch186]

how does one recruit?

[Schmidty]

how does one recruit?

Recruiting is only available in weeks 8-17.

[Easy Mac]

anyone know if the conferences are editable, i.e. the # of conferences, the # of teams in each conference. I know you can edit them a la TC (team/conference names), but it would be cool if we had different sized leagues. A D-1aa, D2 or D3 mod with playoffs would be awesome.

[jbmagic]

thanks ICY

i know it demo and know Arlie will fix it before final release

but here another bug being reported. some are not registered at grey dog forum so i post it here for the others to see.



Here's a way more minor bug. Defensive holding is not an automatic first down in college football.

West Virginia ball, Q1, 2-19-BALL32 (04:14) 3-0
Offense: Medium Pass, Set: I Form, Play: I-SE-slant-FL-str (med pass)
Defense: Stop Pass, Set: Dime, Play: Dime-pass-Man (target pass)
QB C. Joiner throws an incomplete pass to WR A. Ferrario.

Holding against SS Dermontti Demaree on Ball State. The Penalty is for 10 yards, and an automatic
first down.
The Offense will accept the penalty. It is now First and 10 at the Ball State 22.

[Icy]

anyone know if the conferences are editable, i.e. the # of conferences, the # of teams in each conference. I know you can edit them a la TC (team/conference names), but it would be cool if we had different sized leagues. A D-1aa, D2 or D3 mod with playoffs would be awesome.
Arlie said that it's not fully suported, but he tried it as test and it worked.It could lead to some schedulling problems depending on how do you set the conferences. I'll try to find the post where he said it, i think it's here in fofc.

[sovereignstar]

anyone know if the conferences are editable, i.e. the # of conferences, the # of teams in each conference. I know you can edit them a la TC (team/conference names), but it would be cool if we had different sized leagues. A D-1aa, D2 or D3 mod with playoffs would be awesome.

I remember reading awhile back at the GDS boards that stuff like this could (or should) be possible, but that thorough testing hadn't been done on the subject. And yes, it would be very cool.

[Easy Mac]

Well, from the demo I couldn't figure out a way to do it, but maybe we'll get lucky and I just wasn't paying or attention, or they're saving it.

Also, from what I can gather, there is no true editor, correct? It seems to edit the starting information, you'll need to download it or use access. Of course, I'm sure someone could do an editor, but just making sure. Also, anybody know where the schedule files might be located. If someone can get all of that information, we could start hacking around on it, who knows what someone with a lot of free time could do.

[ScottVib]

anyone know if the conferences are editable, i.e. the # of conferences, the # of teams in each conference. I know you can edit them a la TC (team/conference names), but it would be cool if we had different sized leagues. A D-1aa, D2 or D3 mod with playoffs would be awesome.

This hasn't been fully tested, but at least so far you can. The limits on conference realignment is the new configuration must match one of the pre-existing schedule formats within the game. But you can add/remove teams etc. (I have tested this with one or two leagues, but definitely not completely and thoroughly, so its a buyer beware situation)

Arlie is amenable to potentially adding new schedule/league formats.. but these would only be added after release, if at all.

The following schedule formats are presently in the game:

4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 (12 and 14 team conferences must have 2 divisions)

I have provided Arlie with several other schedule formats (needed to allow for "full" compatibility with other league sizes): 5, 6, 13 teams 2 divisions, 13 teams 1 division

As I mentioned he is potentially willing to add the ones I've sent him (and perhaps others) but it will only happen after release, if at all.

[Icy]

Extracted from some posts at GDS:


Disclaimer.... this has not been fully tested or verified... but this is theoretically possible... but this has not been tested at this time.

The Bowl Bids and conference alignments are all store in the database, editing it did allow me to start up a Division 1AA type format league... with one caveat, the size of the conferences has to fit into one of the schedule formats that are in the game. (In the case of 1AA the one Independent caused an issue and had to be dropped (sorry Savannah State), however 1AA is very close to 1A's format.

Something more radical would require testing and I don't want to guarentee that this will work. However in theory....
..................................................................
What I'm saying is I made a 1AA league and got it to start up. 1AA has one extra conference then 1A. I also reduced the number of bowls.

However this needs further testing. Other then starting it up I haven't done much with that league as we focus on getting the "stock" game ready. So the theory is, that it could work, however, I can't and do not guarentee that it will, nor can I guarentee that I'll get much of a chance to test it further to come up with a definite answer.
.........................................................
I just ran a 15 conference 148 team league, simmed one whole season no crashes and even added a Bowl Game, which was played (between champions of two of the newly added conferences). (I also added a 7th autobid conference to the GDCS)

When I said it hasn't been fully tested what I meant is that I haven't gone through each and every thing for each team (meaning I haven't gone to every screen every week yet) to ensure that there is nothing hidden that would crop up. The big stuff like being able to create the league and sim the season does appear to work at present.

Again, this is the plan, but the testing/development time has been spent focusing on the default league to ensure that the game is working properly.

[Easy Mac]

Hell, I'm on board. It doesn't even have to a great game at this point, I'm just ready to screw around with it a bit. Anyone know any free Access alternatives?

[Icy]

Hell, I'm on board. It doesn't even have to a great game at this point, I'm just ready to screw around with it a bit. Anyone know any free Access alternatives?
http://www.openoffice.org/

[Easy Mac]

Ok, wasn't sure if that had a database program in it, haven't screwed around with it since version 1.6 or something.

[Icy]

Ok, wasn't sure if that had a database program in it, haven't screwed around with it since version 1.6 or something.
Yeah it's like the full MS Office pack and totally compatible.

[jbmagic]

ICY

what your opinion on the end of game decisons by the AI so far when you play?

i read at grey forum


Some odd stuff at the end of the game:

With 20 seconds to go in regulation of a tied game, we called a timeout to set up a punt.

There is no message about a coin toss or anything before overtime, which seemed strange. Also the game clock shows some numbers during overtime, I think they might've been the teams' time of possesion.

My team played defense first and forced a turnover, and then took over the ball. We only needed a field goal to win, but still went for it on 4th and goal from the 2.

[Dutch]

Hmmmmm,

My install hangs at

Copying files:
C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\SF Electrotome Bold Oblique.ttf (44%)

And that's all she wrote..."Not Responding"

Here's the WinXP Pro message
szAppName : BBInstalldemo.exe szAppVer : 1.0.0.0 szModName : hungapp
szModVer : 0.0.0.0 offset : 00000000

[Airhog]

well, after tinkering around a bit I am still not able to run the game. Guess I will be sitting this one out until I can run the demo. I was thinking about purchasing, but If the demo does not work, then I cannot be assured the full version will work. Hopefully, its just a small problem with my machine, and I can get it working. I am just too tired tonight to do any more fixing.

[jbmagic]

Hmmmmm,

My install hangs at

Copying files:
C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\SF Electrotome Bold Oblique.ttf (44%)

And that's all she wrote..."Not Responding"


same here and i have window xp

[flounder]

same here and i have window xp

Per this thread (http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7950), try rebooting.

[Dutch]

Yup, after a bit of quick and easy research at greydog, I tried rebooting, then the installer worked properly. Then another reboot and the game loaded fine.

[dervack]

Yup, after a bit of quick and easy research at greydog, I tried rebooting, then the installer worked properly. Then another reboot and the game loaded fine.
Well, after a couple more reboots, you might be able to create your own league.

[jbmagic]

Per this thread (http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7950), try rebooting.


thanks it work

weird only game i have to restart after i download and have IE or Firefox off when installing a game.

but at least it work

[astrosfan64]

same here and i have window xp

If you have a program open that is using that font, then it can't overwrite it because it is in use.

[Anthony]

Here is the real teams database for the game, just released by a GDS forum member:

I have tested it and the game opens without problems, what i have not reviewed is if all the team nicknames are correct so please guys report any wrong one.
Thanks Grantdawg for taking your time to do it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats.zip

Download it, unzip and overwrite the one you have in the demo folder.

this works fine for me, thanks Grantdawg.

graphically, there doesn't seem to be nothing i can't edit. i love this.

[st.cronin]

Bug or typo

Indiana punts, Colorado State returns to their own 39. Penalty on Indiana (illegal use of the hands), the DEFENSE accepts and the ball is moved to the 29.

[Anthony]

Here's the process for editing pics:

Create a folder called "players" at the same level as your EXE (if it's not there already). Then, store the player's photo as:

[TeamAbbr]_[FirstName]_[LastName].jpg

So, if you were Southern Cal and had a player named Josh Smith, you put his picture in the players folder called:

USC_Josh_Smith.jpg.

this doesn't appear to be working. any clues. i have the "players folder" in the same level as the "names", "saves" "graphics" etc level. you sure the players folder doesn't go in the "graphics" folder?

EDIT: i was right - "players" folder goes in the "graphics" folder. this is VERY awesome, i made some neat real player face pics.

[timmynausea]

Bug or typo

Indiana punts, Colorado State returns to their own 39. Penalty on Indiana (illegal use of the hands), the DEFENSE accepts and the ball is moved to the 29.

That is among the bugs I've noticed. On punts all the penalties are enforced against the wrong team. I've seen it several times, and it's not just a typo.

[st.cronin]

Something else I've observed: In the 4th Quarter, if the AI team is losing by any number, they start throwing on virtually every down. I've only played a few games, though.

It's pretty impressive, so far. It's almost tcy2.

[Passacaglia]

So, is this one of these types of games that has a "better interface" than FOF? I started up the demo, and my first run through, I missed the part where I choose what team I want (yeah, that was pretty lame on my part). But even now, I don't know how to get out of camp and into where I can simulate games! Not that interface has ever mattered to me -- I just want a good game. I'm just curious.

Also, I found a possible bug. While in the middle of a game, I clicked on "new league" and it said something like "clearing season" and the progress bar hung at 0% for several minutes.

[Airhog]

can someone do me a favor?

Create a season and save it and send me the file? I wanna make sure that it isn't just the league creation part of the game that is crashing for me..

[JeeberD]

Here is the real teams database for the game, just released by a GDS forum member:

I have tested it and the game opens without problems, what i have not reviewed is if all the team nicknames are correct so please guys report any wrong one.
Thanks Grantdawg for taking your time to do it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats.zip

Download it, unzip and overwrite the one you have in the demo folder.

My only quibble with this is that UTEP should be UTEP, not Texas-El Paso.

Edit: And it looks like I can change it myself. Good stuff. :)

[JeeberD]

Dola-

And UTEP is expected to be eighth in CUSA. Bah!

Come on, Arlie, get with the times!

[DaddyTorgo]

So, is this one of these types of games that has a "better interface" than FOF? I started up the demo, and my first run through, I missed the part where I choose what team I want (yeah, that was pretty lame on my part). But even now, I don't know how to get out of camp and into where I can simulate games! Not that interface has ever mattered to me -- I just want a good game. I'm just curious.

Also, I found a possible bug. While in the middle of a game, I clicked on "new league" and it said something like "clearing season" and the progress bar hung at 0% for several minutes.
once you get the hang of it it's pretty okay Pass. I just closed the game down for the night, but what you want to do always is "advance through week". And if you ever get lost in the screens, on the left of the main screen, beneath the menu that has all the different items, the top button will always bring you back to the screen where you can advance ahead a week. And that screen also has a little timeline for the year.

if i had the game open i'd be more specific, but i don't.

[JeeberD]

My only quibble with this is that UTEP should be UTEP, not Texas-El Paso.

Edit: And it looks like I can change it myself. Good stuff. :)

It also appears that Rice is "Central TexasRice"

Again, an easy fix but just wanted to let you know...

Edit: Actually, how do you go about changing a team name once you've started the league?

Double edit: How in the heck is Hawaii UTEP's rival? :confused:

If you're going to use an out of conference team as our rival NMSU or UNM is a MUCH better choice...

[Anthony]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/HellAtlantic/BBCF-screen2.jpg

question for Arles/beta testers: how do i edit that upper right helmet without having that black background? i want it to be transparent but i can't get it without having some sort of background. :confused:

[jbmagic]

So, is this one of these types of games that has a "better interface" than FOF? I started up the demo, and my first run through, I missed the part where I choose what team I want (yeah, that was pretty lame on my part). But even now, I don't know how to get out of camp and into where I can simulate games! Not that interface has ever mattered to me -- I just want a good game. I'm just curious.



You can advance to the next week by clicking the advance week button in the lower left of the game (looks like play button). You can also advance the week from the Game Status menu.

[FBPro]

I've gotten into week one and so far I like it.

[jbmagic]

i mention this in another thread

does defense position seem reverse???

the demo shows
LDT and LDE are on the right side

and RDT and RDE are on the left.


it should be

RDE RDT LDT LDE

LT LG RG RT

in the NFL and college the LDE and LDE are in front of the RT and RG

that how it is in the NFL, college and FOF.

[cthomer5000]

question for Arles/beta testers: how do i edit that upper right helmet without having that black background? i want it to be transparent but i can't get it without having some sort of background. :confused: My guess would be that the background color has to be an exact match for the color the game is using as transparent in that graphic. That appears to be just white (255, 255, 255). No clue what to tell you if you have it at white and it's still showing up black in-game.

edit: wait, there are the two sets of logos. Interesting that when I try to open the logos in the "black" folder that the backgrounds show as black, while they are white/neutral in my thumbnail view. not sure what the deal is there.

[Antmeister]

i mention this in another thread

does defense position seem reverse???

the demo shows
LDT and LDE are on the right side

and RDT and RDE are on the left.


it should be

RDE RDT LDT LDE

LT LG RG RT

in the NFL and college the LDE and LDE are in front of the RT and RG

that how it is in the NFL, college and FOF.


By the way, yes you are right. Each side is lined up according to the direction they are facing. However I think this won't have too much of an effect on the the game since the players don't seem to have a defined position as they do in the NFL. You will notice that the player cards use the just states they are Defensive Ends and not RDEs or LDEs. Cosmetically it should be fixed, though, so you are correct.

[Antmeister]

Overall, I have to say that I like what I am seeing with just fiddling with it for a few simulated weeks. I am impressed with the amount of detail that is already in the game for its first release. There are a few bugs in the play by play, but overall this feels meatier. There are a number of things that you have to take care of and the flow of the game doesn't bother me.

I would have liked recruiting year round, but I am not terribly disappointed with that right now since there are still a number of actions you must do from week to week. Of course, I only simmed a few weeks and gave some of the control to the other staff.

So I will have to see how it is like when I have total control and comment then, but this still feels like this could be a very solid and deep game once all the kinks are worked out.

[thealmighty]

For Navy, you spelled Sailors, Sailers

[thealmighty]

Dola-

And UTEP is expected to be eighth in CUSA. Bah!

Come on, Arlie, get with the times!Dola...

Along those lines, from another Texan, TCU at 'below average' with recruit at 79 and 7th in Mountain West?

What is the priority in terms of reality of rankings and when this game goes 'gold?' Just wondering.


Or, maybe it is always random with each new start, like TCY can be??

[thealmighty]

Double Dola...

What is the rationale behind the recruiting regions in terms of putting Texas in with the Dakotas and Iowa, etc...? Hardly the same area in terms of athletes, numbers, well, anything at all.

Not bitching, as I do not know how the regions work in terms of if one state has anything to do with another state in its region for overall numbers/quality and so on.

[Darkiller]

downloading the demo now.

[Noop]

One gripe. I want to turn off academic suspensions. This has destroyed my team I am talking about we are wire thin at 3 spots. If it where like TCY then it would great where they would be suspended for the year then I can go ahead and get a few players to replace the lost.

[Ben E Lou]

One gripe. I want to turn off academic suspensions. This has destroyed my team I am talking about we are wire thin at 3 spots. If it where like TCY then it would great where they would be suspended for the year then I can go ahead and get a few players to replace the lost.Funny you should mention that. I'm working on my preview beta dynasty (http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?p=58519#post58519) right now, and also have an e-mail open with a few more issues to send to Arlie. Not two minutes ago I typed out that I think academic suspensions are way too high, and injuries are a bit too low.

[Icy]

Updated to pstats.dat 1.2

Ok, i had some free time today and i have edited the pstats file.

This was already (thanks to Grantdawg who created the first file)
- Real Team nicknames
- Real conference names

This is new (thanks to Scott Vibert and some other players for the info):
- Added all the real Stadium names.
- Added all the real Award names (please check if they are correct).
- Added all the real Bowl names and Bowl Stadiums.
- Fixed the following bugs:
UTEP name is UTEP now instead of Texas-El Paso
RICE name is RICE now instead of TexasRice
UTEP Rivarly is now with NMSU instead of Hawaii
Auburn stadium name set to Jordan Hare
Arkansas stadium name set to Razorbacks
Fixed some rivalries as suggested.
Fixed Penn State nickname that was still listed as the Cougars

Please download, unzip and overwrite your pstats.dat and check for errors/suggestions and i'll keep updating it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.2.zip (http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.2.zip)

[Blade6119]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/HellAtlantic/BBCF-screen2.jpg

question for Arles/beta testers: how do i edit that upper right helmet without having that black background? i want it to be transparent but i can't get it without having some sort of background. :confused:

How did you get real players...or did you just edit the name and number, becuase starting with my Mizzou team i got a horrible set of Qbs(not even average), meaning its not pre-set...??

[CraigSca]

SD - you mention in your first game that it seems like the game did relatively no subbing when you made the PCT 100%. How was it for the other games? Did the players get subbed when they were tired?

[Ben E Lou]

SD - you mention in your first game that it seems like the game did relatively no subbing when you made the PCT 100%. How was it for the other games? Did the players get subbed when they were tired?
At 100% playing time, guys are playing 100% of the time, not even coming out when they're tired. From the gamer's perspective, I think most people would like to set their best guy at most positions at 100%, and assume that he'll get subbed out at times and in blowouts.. The percentages would be used if, for example, you had a #2 sophomore RB who is good and you wanted to get *significant* playing time to keep him happy, and you might set the starter at 65% in such a case.That's what most people would want, correct? I suspect that the logic is working the way that it is intended to work right now, but that isn't good. If I set my QB to 100%, that doesn't mean I want him on the field in the fourth quarter when we're up 42-0. As best as I can tell, the percentages seem to be working for AI teams (or maybe the AI teams are not using 100%?), just not the human team.

[Noop]

Actually that subbing thing should be fixed. Its a great idea but if you keep rotating QB's the team usually struggles on offense. Also I have 3 very good RB's and I would like all three to get carries atleast 5 for the 3rd and 2nd string with the starter getting the rest unless one of the back ups really is balling. Also when I am up 35 nothing in the middle of the 3rd it would behoove(Thats a word I been meaning to use in so long) the AI to sub in my second string and third string.

[wheels]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/HellAtlantic/BBCF-screen2.jpg

question for Arles/beta testers: how do i edit that upper right helmet without having that black background? i want it to be transparent but i can't get it without having some sort of background. :confused:
The helmet in the upper right is best used as a transparent gif with a black matte. If you go to edit the helmet, you need to resave it with transparency in your photo editing software.

[Joe]

So... when you change a player's name, its doesn't change the guys name in the scouting report? Says Matt Leinart at the top, but it says Po in the player card. ?

[Ben E Lou]

Actually that subbing thing should be fixed. Its a great idea but if you keep rotating QB's the team usually struggles on offense. Also I have 3 very good RB's and I would like all three to get carries atleast 5 for the 3rd and 2nd string with the starter getting the rest unless one of the back ups really is balling. Also when I am up 35 nothing in the middle of the 3rd it would behoove(Thats a word I been meaning to use in so long) the AI to sub in my second string and third string.It is simple to get two backs the ball right now with the percentages (just check my dynasty for Suhey and Joppru), but I'm not sure that it is possible for the human player to have a three-back rotation with the way things work right now. I'd prefer that a three-back be possible, but I can live with two being the best IF the #3 guy comes in during blowouts. Right now I'm nine games into my first season, and no other RB's have a single carry, even though we've had several 3-4 TD wins. The good news is that the split between the #1 and #2 backs' carries is very close to the playing time percentages that I set in my gameplan. If Arlie can factor in fatigue and blowouts into playing time, then I think it will be fine.

[wheels]

So, is this one of these types of games that has a "better interface" than FOF? I started up the demo, and my first run through, I missed the part where I choose what team I want (yeah, that was pretty lame on my part). But even now, I don't know how to get out of camp and into where I can simulate games! Not that interface has ever mattered to me -- I just want a good game. I'm just curious.

Also, I found a possible bug. While in the middle of a game, I clicked on "new league" and it said something like "clearing season" and the progress bar hung at 0% for several minutes.
If you ever get a little lost, you should click on the view stage details button, just below the menu listing on the left of the screen. This displays all the options available to you for a given stage and a checklist to make sure you haven't forgotten something.

[Noop]

It is simple to get two backs the ball right now with the percentages (just check my dynasty for Suhey and Joppru), but I'm not sure that it is possible for the human player to have a three-back rotation with the way things work right now. I'd prefer that a three-back be possible, but I can live with two being the best IF the #3 guy comes in during blowouts. Right now I'm nine games into my first season, and no other RB's have a single carry, even though we've had several 3-4 TD wins. The good news is that the split between the #1 and #2 backs' carries is very close to the playing time percentages that I set in my gameplan. If Arlie can factor in fatigue and blowouts into playing time, then I think it will be fine.
Agreed. I like to rotate alot of players on offense and defense(provided that a.players improve during the season b.the more they play the better they should play as the season wears on.) This is why my entire defense rotates regardless of the fact even if we have freshmen who are 1.0-1.5 in current but 4.0-5.0 in future. I figured I should be playing next years starters and key backups this years just so we have depth and experience. I hope Arlie looks into that because what he has right now is a solid foundation for something truely great. Oh and one more thing I have only my LB's blitz which is 33 each with 1 going to my SS why is it that we are getting killed on the short pass. If they all blitz at the same percentage it should make it harder for them to know who is blitz'n that play. I am sure I will have more later when I open it up again.

[Ben E Lou]

Agreed. I like to rotate alot of players on offense and defense(provided that a.players improve during the season b.the more they play the better they should play as the season wears on.) This is why my entire defense rotates regardless of the fact even if we have freshmen who are 1.0-1.5 in current but 4.0-5.0 in future. I figured I should be playing next years starters and key backups this years just so we have depth and experience. I hope Arlie looks into that because what he has right now is a solid foundation for something truely great. Oh and one more thing I have only my LB's blitz which is 33 each with 1 going to my SS why is it that we are getting killed on the short pass. If they all blitz at the same percentage it should make it harder for them to know who is blitz'n that play. I am sure I will have more later when I open it up again.Good thoughts. Here's a suggestion: when you open the game up, keep your e-mail program or a word processor open, too. I just type up bullet points as I go along, and when I get a dozen or so things down, I send the e-mail on to Arlie. For example, here's the current e-mail I have open:


I've got a starting offensive tackle--started all four games so far--who is Frustrated because he isn't getting played more. Now, he just got suspended this week, but there should be a different message if that is why he's frustrated.
Also, overall, I think there are FAR too many suspensions. I put maximum spending on academics, and just got five guys declared academically ineligible for the next 3 weeks. That doesn't happen in real life--not that many guys.
More in this area, I'd say that there are too many academic suspensions, and not enough injuries.
At 100% playing time, guys are playing 100% of the time, not even coming out when they're tired. From the gamer's perspective, I think most people would like to set their best guy at most positions at 100%, and assume that he'll get subbed out at times and in blowouts.. The percentages would be used if, for example, you had a #2 sophomore RB who is good and you wanted to get *significant* playing time to keep him happy, and you might set the starter at 65% in such a case.
Injury type should be on player card, not just injury length.
I just realized something else about academics: it seems that there's a pretty big hole in the study hall time setting, strategically speaking. If everyone returns for the postseason, then there's no reason whatsoever to use any hours in Week 12, is there? Why even have the option to set study hall hours during that week?
I've only had the beta for a little over a week, and I'd say that he's fixed at least 30 issues (both small and large) that I've e-mailed to him. I have no idea how many of those were also seen by others, but any way you look at it, that's pretty impressive.

[albionmoonlight]

FWIW, I agree about academic suspensions.

[Ben E Lou]

One thing that feels like it is missing to me: some sort of "team summary" screen with your team's key stats, schedule, current ranking, etc. like the screen on FOF and TCY.

[GrantDawg]

It also appears that Rice is "Central TexasRice"

Again, an easy fix but just wanted to let you know...

Edit: Actually, how do you go about changing a team name once you've started the league?

Double edit: How in the heck is Hawaii UTEP's rival? :confused:

If you're going to use an out of conference team as our rival NMSU or UNM is a MUCH better choice...

The Texas-El Paso thing was because I didn't think I could add "University" to the front because the name would be too long. I'll change it to UTEP. The Rice one was because I'm an idiot. :D

[QuikSand]

Please download, unzip and overwrite your pstats.dat and check for errors/suggestions and i'll keep updating it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.1.dat

Thanks for your efforts...

but I'm getting an error message on this link.

[Samdari]

That's what most people would want, correct? I suspect that the logic is working the way that it is intended to work right now, but that isn't good. If I set my QB to 100%, that doesn't mean I want him on the field in the fourth quarter when we're up 42-0. As best as I can tell, the percentages seem to be working for AI teams (or maybe the AI teams are not using 100%?), just not the human team.
[/size][/font]

I think at first glance, most people would want what you suggest.

After thinking about it for a while though, I think that figuring out what percentage of playing time keeps each starter fresh and performing well could be a challenge. If it somehow trial and error rather than a direct, automatic correlation to an endurance rating, I could see this as something that keeps the game fresh after a few months of play.

My question is this - during the season, part of the checklist is to check up on recruits performance and interest. Is there really any point in doing this? I don't see any way to make contact with them, or even make a shortlist (which is a MUST have). If at the end of the season, we start with the same information regarding the players ratings, performance (and it would be nice if those were not deterministically tied together) and interest, then the ability to check them during the season feels useless to me.

[Icy]

Thanks for your efforts...

but I'm getting an error message on this link.
My bad sorry, it's .zip not .dat, i have updated the url now in my post.

[CraigSca]

One thing that feels like it is missing to me: some sort of "team summary" screen with your team's key stats, schedule, current ranking, etc. like the screen on FOF and TCY.
Best screen ever!

[Ben E Lou]

I think at first glance, most people would want what you suggest.

After thinking about it for a while though, I think that figuring out what percentage of playing time keeps each starter fresh and performing well could be a challenge. If it somehow trial and error rather than a direct, automatic correlation to an endurance rating, I could see this as something that keeps the game fresh after a few months of play. I hear what you're saying, but for those of us who would continue to play on more of a macro level than that, it would be very nice to have it work a little differently. Perhaps this could be an option? Plus, unless you have a #2 who is solid, I'm not sure how much of a challenge it would truly be. If I leave my #1 in for 35 carries and he gets 5.0 ypc rather than, say, 5.5 at 25 carries, that doesn't really help me much if my #2 is a big dropoff, and only gets 3.5 ypc. I'd rather see the #1 forced to the sideline at times (based on Endurance and Durability ratings). In reality, it is an extremely rare back who would stay in the game for every single carry, or defensive linemen who would stay in for every single snap.

My question is this - during the season, part of the checklist is to check up on recruits performance and interest. Is there really any point in doing this? I don't see any way to make contact with them, or even make a shortlist (which is a MUST have). If at the end of the season, we start with the same information regarding the players ratings, performance (and it would be nice if those were not deterministically tied together) and interest, then the ability to check them during the season feels useless to me.Frankly, I think that was a small bone thrown to the I-want-to-recruit-during-the-season crowd to give us something recruiting-related in-season. However, I agree that it is useless to do without any true action to be taken. As it stands now, I just wait until the end of the season and look at their stats and recruiting ratings then, since that's all that matters anyway as far as I can tell.

[GrantDawg]

pstats.dat 1.1

Ok, i had some free time today and i have edited the pstats file again,

This was already (thanks to Grantdawg who created the first file)
- Real Team nicknames
- Real conference names

This is new (thanks to Scott Vibert and some other players for the info):
- Added all the real Stadium names.
- Added all the real Award names (please check if they are ok).
- Added all the real Bowl names and Bowl Stadiums.
- Fixed the following bugs:
UTEP name is UTEP now instead of Texas-El Paso
RICE name is RICE now instead of TexasRice
UTEP Rivarly is now with NMSU instead of Hawaii

Please download, unzip and overwrite your pstats.dat and check for errors/suggestions and i'll keep updating it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.1.zip

Ack! Didn't notice this until after I sent you my update. Sorry. Thanks for fixing that stuff (plus adding more!).

[Toddzilla]

I'm still suck with a demo that will not run and will not install. I'm all for the spirit of beta software and rolling with the punches as far as bugs go, but this is ridiculous. I don't want to have to spend a hour or so combing through my registry to delete all of the BBCF keys to get the game completely removed from my system so that *maybe* a re-install will fix the problem (which it does not now).

And I hate to point it out, but the Grey Dog tech support site has been somewhat less than helpful.

{end rant}

[KWhit]

Can there please be an option added to let the AI handle the study hall time? I despised the time allocation feature in TCY and I'm already tired of it in this game.

[Mountain]

This has the potential to be a very good game.

A couple of things that I would like to see added.

1) An option to squib kick at the end of games where you have a small lead and about 35 seconds left in the game.

2) In the box scores for games ... some statistics for individuals who played in the game. If its a space issue I would actaully prefer this over the scoring summary.

3) The play-by-play to mention when substitutions are made at positions. This is especially true when a substitution occurs due to injury.

These are what comes to mind so far. This can be a really great game. I'm very excited.

[Ben E Lou]

Note: I had an RTE during the 2nd round of the offseason. Do NOT hit the "Team stats" button during the offseason. It probably should be greyed out. Report sent to Arile, but I just wanted to warn y'all. Also, being that this is a demo of a game that is still in beta, it would make sense to save the game very frequently. I stupidly hadn't done so since Week 2 of the regular season.

[BYU 14]

Agreed. I like to rotate alot of players on offense and defense(provided that a.players improve during the season b.the more they play the better they should play as the season wears on.) This is why my entire defense rotates regardless of the fact even if we have freshmen who are 1.0-1.5 in current but 4.0-5.0 in future. I figured I should be playing next years starters and key backups this years just so we have depth and experience. I hope Arlie looks into that because what he has right now is a solid foundation for something truely great. Oh and one more thing I have only my LB's blitz which is 33 each with 1 going to my SS why is it that we are getting killed on the short pass. If they all blitz at the same percentage it should make it harder for them to know who is blitz'n that play. I am sure I will have more later when I open it up again.

You could probably make an argument for that being fine if the opposing QB is picking up a "hot read" based on a something the Defense is showing pre-snap. I doubt it would be programmed in such a finite way, but pretty cool nonetheless to think a QB with good recognition, could pick that up and get off a pass to the open area, if your Defense did not get to him quick enough.

[Samdari]

Frankly, I think that was a small bone thrown to the I-want-to-recruit-during-the-season crowd to give us something recruiting-related in-season. However, I agree that it is useless to do without any true action to be taken. As it stands now, I just wait until the end of the season and look at their stats and recruiting ratings then

Well, I did not mean to sound so harsh as to call it useless. I was more interested in finding out if I was missing anything.

To clear that point up, Arlie, if you are reading this, congratulations, the game looks great, I am looking forward to buying it. It is a tremendous accomplishment (although not quite on the "You landing Farrah" scale).

As for viewing recruits in season, if he wants to keep recruiting separate from the games, perhaps during the season one could send scouts to get more detailed information about certain recruits chosen by the user? I know, probably a next version kind of feature, but it would keep recruiting offseason and yet give some purpose to the check recruits screen in season.

[Anthony]

edit: wait, there are the two sets of logos. Interesting that when I try to open the logos in the "black" folder that the backgrounds show as black, while they are white/neutral in my thumbnail view. not sure what the deal is there.

exactly...when i go to edit them, they have the black background, then when i save as a gif the background stays black.

[Anthony]

So... when you change a player's name, its doesn't change the guys name in the scouting report? Says Matt Leinart at the top, but it says Po in the player card. ?

i didn't edit the player's name - "Matt Leinart" was photoshopped onto that screen shot for illustrative purposes. i want to create the player faces and the logos for that banner on the bottom, and edit the helmets on the upper right hand side. all those combined is a big project - i'll let someone else have the fun of coming up with a real player name database.

[JeeberD]

pstats.dat 1.1

Ok, i had some free time today and i have edited the pstats file again,

This was already (thanks to Grantdawg who created the first file)
- Real Team nicknames
- Real conference names

This is new (thanks to Scott Vibert and some other players for the info):
- Added all the real Stadium names.
- Added all the real Award names (please check if they are ok).
- Added all the real Bowl names and Bowl Stadiums.
- Fixed the following bugs:
UTEP name is UTEP now instead of Texas-El Paso
RICE name is RICE now instead of TexasRice
UTEP Rivarly is now with NMSU instead of Hawaii

Please download, unzip and overwrite your pstats.dat and check for errors/suggestions and i'll keep updating it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.1.zip

Outstanding, thank you Icy. :)

Oh, and one more thing. Is it just my computer or does the game not load when you try to start it up through the Windows "Start" button menu?

[JeeberD]

Dola-

The Texas-El Paso thing was because I didn't think I could add "University" to the front because the name would be too long. I'll change it to UTEP. The Rice one was because I'm an idiot. :D

And thank you too, GD... :)

[wheels]

One thing that feels like it is missing to me: some sort of "team summary" screen with your team's key stats, schedule, current ranking, etc. like the screen on FOF and TCY.
Obviously, for a quick summary, there is the team summary area at the bottom of the screen that is always visible. There also is an expectations screen available under the roster menu item during the camp stage, and a Team Info screen available also under the roster menu item once the season starts.

I think this is the info you're looking for: it contains the expectations for the year, full schedule and results to date, team strengths and weaknesses, roster breakdown, team overview and a team almanac.

[Ben E Lou]

As for viewing recruits in season, if he wants to keep recruiting separate from the games, perhaps during the season one could send scouts to get more detailed information about certain recruits chosen by the user? I know, probably a next version kind of feature, but it would keep recruiting offseason and yet give some purpose to the check recruits screen in season.My thought on this, if you want to make it realistic AND easy (and fitting into the "resource management" idea of this sort of game) would be to have the following:

1. One-time setting of an in-season target list of no more than 2 players per position (2 QB's, 2 RB's, 2 FB's, 4 WR's, etc.), and make that list static--only set it once at the beginning of the season.

2. Each week, all you'd do would be to set a "coaching staff emphasis" slider. After all, your coaches and assistant coaches ARE your scouts and recruiters. If you're playing Louisiana Somethingoranother, let it simulate your coaches spending more time that week watching film of recruits, visiting players, etc. You wouldn't have to do anything on a week-to-week basis, though, besides setting a 0-10 "recruit focus percentage" slider, with 0 being "our coaches should focus everything on the game this week" and 10 (which you'd only use during your off weeks) being "focus 100% on recruiting this week.

Then, once the recruiting stage rolls around, the more recruit focus you used during the season, the more accurate your scouting of players would be, and the more likely you'd be to be able to land them, and you'd also get a *slight* bonus in accuracy/recruiting for the guys you named to your watch list at the beginning of the year.

Such a system would also set up another decision-making process: "Do I schedule 11 games this year, and have an extra week to focus solely on recruiting, or do I schedule 12 games this year, and develop my players a little more?" As the game stands now (with as few injuries as there are), I can't come up with a reason not to schedule 12 games.

[Ben E Lou]

Obviously, for a quick summary, there is the team summary area at the bottom of the screen that is always visible. There also is an expectations screen available under the roster menu item during the camp stage, and a Team Info screen available also under the roster menu item once the season starts.

I think this is the info you're looking for: it contains the expectations for the year, full schedule and results to date, team strengths and weaknesses, roster breakdown, team overview and a team almanac.No, that's not the information I'm looking for. There's only one player per position group listed at the bottom of the screen. I'm looking for something that I can easily look at to see how all of the key guys are doing, and how we're doing overall, and that I can easily copy to a dynasty thread, like this:

Cut-and-Paste of HTML Output:

<center><table border="1" bordercolor="#d3021e" width="80%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#d3021e"> <td>Passing</td> <td align="center">Att</td> <td align="center">Comp</td> <td align="center">Yards</td> <td align="center">Yd/Att</td> <td align="center">TD</td> <td align="center">Int</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Derek Kirk</td> <td align="center">405</td> <td align="center">255</td> <td align="center">3255</td> <td align="center">8.03</td> <td align="center">14</td> <td align="center">11</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Jamie Ingram</td> <td align="center">51</td> <td align="center">29</td> <td align="center">299</td> <td align="center">5.86</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">4</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Team</td> <td align="center">456</td> <td align="center">284</td> <td align="center">3554</td> <td align="center">7.79</td> <td align="center">16</td> <td align="center">15</td></tr></tbody></table></center>

<center> <table border="1" bordercolor="#d3021e" width="80%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#d3021e"> <td>Rushing</td> <td align="center">Pos</td> <td align="center">Att</td> <td align="center">Yards</td> <td align="center">Yd/Att</td> <td align="center">TD</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Norman Pike</td> <td align="center">RB</td> <td align="center">214</td> <td align="center">922</td> <td align="center">4.30</td> <td align="center">7</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Gabe Gardner</td> <td align="center">RB</td> <td align="center">170</td> <td align="center">698</td> <td align="center">4.10</td> <td align="center">5</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Derek Kirk</td> <td align="center">QB</td> <td align="center">65</td> <td align="center">341</td> <td align="center">5.24</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Barry Compton</td> <td align="center">FB</td> <td align="center">61</td> <td align="center">242</td> <td align="center">3.96</td> <td align="center">4</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Team</td> <td align="center">---</td> <td align="center">534</td> <td align="center">2350</td> <td align="center">4.40</td> <td align="center">16</td></tr></tbody></table></center>

<center> <table border="1" bordercolor="#d3021e" width="80%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#d3021e"> <td>Receiving</td> <td align="center">Pos</td> <td align="center">Target</td> <td align="center">Catch</td> <td align="center">Yards</td> <td align="center">Yd/Ctch</td> <td align="center">YAC</td> <td align="center">TD</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Kyle England</td> <td align="center">SE</td> <td align="center">96</td> <td align="center">58</td> <td align="center">990</td> <td align="center">17.0</td> <td align="center">193</td> <td align="center">2</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Barry Compton</td> <td align="center">FB</td> <td align="center">74</td> <td align="center">53</td> <td align="center">464</td> <td align="center">8.7</td> <td align="center">238</td> <td align="center">4</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Kris Gordon</td> <td align="center">TE</td> <td align="center">73</td> <td align="center">51</td> <td align="center">461</td> <td align="center">9.0</td> <td align="center">61</td> <td align="center">6</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Larry Schultz</td> <td align="center">SE</td> <td align="center">57</td> <td align="center">32</td> <td align="center">518</td> <td align="center">16.1</td> <td align="center">72</td> <td align="center">1</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Brad Littleton</td> <td align="center">FL</td> <td align="center">44</td> <td align="center">27</td> <td align="center">389</td> <td align="center">14.4</td> <td align="center">66</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Mario Claybrooks</td> <td align="center">FL</td> <td align="center">35</td> <td align="center">18</td> <td align="center">310</td> <td align="center">17.2</td> <td align="center">43</td> <td align="center">2</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Xavier Shirey</td> <td align="center">FL</td> <td align="center">32</td> <td align="center">16</td> <td align="center">160</td> <td align="center">10.0</td> <td align="center">15</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Team</td> <td align="center">---</td> <td align="center">455</td> <td align="center">284</td> <td align="center">3554</td> <td align="center">12.5</td> <td align="center">798</td> <td align="center">16</td></tr></tbody></table></center>

<center> <table border="1" bordercolor="#d3021e" width="80%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#d3021e"> <td>Defense</td> <td align="center">Pos</td> <td align="center">Tackle</td> <td align="center">Assist</td> <td align="center">Sack</td> <td align="center">Hurr</td> <td align="center">Ints</td> <td align="center">Dfnsd</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Bruce Falkenberg</td> <td align="center">MLB</td> <td align="center">84</td> <td align="center">31</td> <td align="center">1.0</td> <td align="center">4</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">8</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Russell McDonald</td> <td align="center">RCB</td> <td align="center">79</td> <td align="center">19</td> <td align="center">0.0</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">4</td> <td align="center">18</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Mel Fletcher</td> <td align="center">SLB</td> <td align="center">77</td> <td align="center">35</td> <td align="center">4.0</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">4</td> <td align="center">7</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Preston Armijo</td> <td align="center">SS</td> <td align="center">71</td> <td align="center">20</td> <td align="center">0.0</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">7</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Stan Chandler</td> <td align="center">LCB</td> <td align="center">62</td> <td align="center">25</td> <td align="center">0.0</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">4</td> <td align="center">13</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Bo Shields</td> <td align="center">WLB</td> <td align="center">61</td> <td align="center">21</td> <td align="center">1.0</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">1</td> <td align="center">2</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Carl Caraba</td> <td align="center">FS</td> <td align="center">48</td> <td align="center">21</td> <td align="center">0.0</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">11</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Donovan Rawls</td> <td align="center">RDT</td> <td align="center">43</td> <td align="center">16</td> <td align="center">0.5</td> <td align="center">8</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Leo Herndon</td> <td align="center">RDT</td> <td align="center">39</td> <td align="center">18</td> <td align="center">5.5</td> <td align="center">6</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">1</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Travis Walsh</td> <td align="center">LDE</td> <td align="center">34</td> <td align="center">17</td> <td align="center">5.5</td> <td align="center">12</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Amos Fulcher</td> <td align="center">SS</td> <td align="center">29</td> <td align="center">10</td> <td align="center">0.0</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">5</td> <td align="center">2</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Ted Guthrie</td> <td align="center">LDT</td> <td align="center">29</td> <td align="center">10</td> <td align="center">2.5</td> <td align="center">1</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Alfred Wilcox</td> <td align="center">LCB</td> <td align="center">26</td> <td align="center">15</td> <td align="center">0.5</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">2</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Burt Kletch</td> <td align="center">RDE</td> <td align="center">23</td> <td align="center">7</td> <td align="center">6.0</td> <td align="center">11</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Russell Kapp</td> <td align="center">RDE</td> <td align="center">20</td> <td align="center">9</td> <td align="center">1.0</td> <td align="center">4</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">0</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Team</td> <td align="center">---</td> <td align="center">815</td> <td align="center">289</td> <td align="center">30.0</td> <td align="center">55</td> <td align="center">22</td> <td align="center">71</td></tr></tbody></table></center>

<center> <table border="0" width="90%"> <tbody> <tr> <td>

<center> <table border="1" bordercolor="#d3021e" width="90%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#d3021e"> <td align="center">Atlanta</td> <td align="center">Team</td> <td align="center">Rank</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Rushes</td> <td align="center">534</td> <td align="center">2</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Rushing Yards</td> <td align="center">2350</td> <td align="center">3</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Yards Per Carry</td> <td align="center">4.40</td> <td align="center">8</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Pass Attempts</td> <td align="center">456</td> <td align="center">31</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Completions</td> <td align="center">284</td> <td align="center">28</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Passing Yards</td> <td align="center">3554</td> <td align="center">15</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Yards Per Attempt</td> <td align="center">7.79</td> <td align="center">5</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>3rd Down Conversions</td> <td align="center">47.7</td> <td align="center">7</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Points Per Game</td> <td align="center">20.1</td> <td align="center">10</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Turnovers</td> <td align="center">19</td> <td align="center">8 (T)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Turnover Margin</td> <td align="center">+6</td> <td align="center">4 (T)</td></tr></tbody></table></center></td> <td>

<center> <table border="1" bordercolor="#d3021e" width="90%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#d3021e"> <td align="center">Opponents</td> <td align="center">Team</td> <td align="center">Rank</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Rushes</td> <td align="center">454</td> <td align="center">20</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Rushing Yards</td> <td align="center">1878</td> <td align="center">15</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Yards Per Carry</td> <td align="center">4.13</td> <td align="center">12 (T)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Pass Attempts</td> <td align="center">499</td> <td align="center">7 (T)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Completions</td> <td align="center">276</td> <td align="center">1</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Passing Yards</td> <td align="center">3111</td> <td align="center">1</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Yards Per Attempt</td> <td align="center">6.23</td> <td align="center">6</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>3rd Down Conversions</td> <td align="center">43.4</td> <td align="center">21</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Points Per Game</td> <td align="center">16.6</td> <td align="center">6 (T)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d3d3d3"> <td>Turnovers</td> <td align="center">25</td> <td align="center">16 (T)</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e4e4e4"> <td>Turnover Margin</td> <td align="center">-6</td> <td align="center">26 (T)</td></tr></tbody></table></center></td></tr></tbody></table></center>

In-game screen shot:

http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fofc/summary.jpg

[Flasch186]

It would be nice if when you are sorting stats that it showed the players actual position. Looks like all the stat pages only say the player name, it should also list the position.

TOTALLY agree.

[DanGarion]

It would be nice if when you are sorting stats that it showed the players actual position. Looks like all the stat pages only say the player name, it should also list the position.

[Samdari]

I'd rather see the #1 forced to the sideline at times (based on Endurance and Durability ratings). In reality, it is an extremely rare back who would stay in the game for every single carry, or defensive linemen who would stay in for every single snap.

Well, the way I would prefer this be implemented is the injury probability increase exponentially over 20 carries (or so). Rather than "force" a hard playing limit on the user, allow the user and interesting decision on how high to set playing time, with higher time being a definite risk. IMO, the more interesting decisions the better, although interesting is, of course, in the eye of the beholder.

[DanGarion]

TOTALLY agree.
Wow you agreed so much you knew what I was thinking before I posted it! :eek:

[Ben E Lou]

Well, the way I would prefer this be implemented is the injury probability increase exponentially over 20 carries (or so). Rather than "force" a hard playing limit on the user, allow the user and interesting decision on how high to set playing time, with higher time being a definite risk. IMO, the more interesting decisions the better, although interesting is, of course, in the eye of the beholder.That's not a bad idea either, provided that factoring in durability and endurance would increase or decrease the threshold for number of carries before injury probability started to increase.

[Samdari]

That's not a bad idea either, provided that factoring in durability and endurance would increase or decrease the threshold for number of carries before injury probability started to increase.

I think the decisions would be less interesting if the injury risk for a certain PT level were the same for every player. But, for a "macro-level" player, figuring this out and setting it would probably feel like micromanagement. Thus the interesing in the eye of the beholder comment.

[Arles]

still no luck. I rebooted, and uninstalled, then I did it again, and installed, then I rebooted a final time, and same error msg...
Try going through the steps here and let me know in the GDS forum how it goes:
http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?p=58617#post58617

[Arles]

That's what most people would want, correct? I suspect that the logic is working the way that it is intended to work right now, but that isn't good. If I set my QB to 100%, that doesn't mean I want him on the field in the fourth quarter when we're up 42-0. As best as I can tell, the percentages seem to be working for AI teams (or maybe the AI teams are not using 100%?), just not the human team.
[/size][/font]
The AI uses an algorithm for subbing players to keep them fresh (it's like they set the %s tailored to their team strengths). One thing I will definately be adding is blowout logic for Human and CPU teams. To be honest, I was doing some endurance validation and didn't want that in until I made sure that the endurance checked out. So, I think it's time to add it in now.

[Arles]

I saw a questions about the organization of states in relation to regions. The grouping we used for that is the same most recruiting sites use - including rivals.

[GreenMonster]

I really want to load it up but don't want to start until I can buy the game. I know if I start with the next 2 days off I will blow through the trial season in no time. With no rooting interest other than fantasy football for Thanksgiving, I am itching to hand my $35 bucks to Farrah's Black Friday Fund...

[Arles]

My question is this - during the season, part of the checklist is to check up on recruits performance and interest. Is there really any point in doing this? I don't see any way to make contact with them, or even make a shortlist (which is a MUST have). If at the end of the season, we start with the same information regarding the players ratings, performance (and it would be nice if those were not deterministically tied together) and interest, then the ability to check them during the season feels useless to me.
The interest level of recruits changes every 4 weeks based on your team's performance the recruit's own performance (ie, he has a great season, he may shoot higher) in the fall. You can see the recruit stats update every 4 weeks or so as well. So, if an in-state recruit is after both you and your instate rival and you win that rivalry game, you may notice his interest in your increase.

There is no action you can make to recruit the player during the fall, but you can monitor interest levels (oval on the far right) and watch the stats for recruits you may have interest in throughout the season.

[Arles]

You could probably make an argument for that being fine if the opposing QB is picking up a "hot read" based on a something the Defense is showing pre-snap. I doubt it would be programmed in such a finite way, but pretty cool nonetheless to think a QB with good recognition, could pick that up and get off a pass to the open area, if your Defense did not get to him quick enough.
Again, this isn't a direct answer here but I did want to mention that it is important to look at a QB's "instincts" rating. If he runs the options, that will dictate his decision making in pitches and if he's a drop-back passer, it will help him choose the open guy (if one exists). Instincts are also important for LBs and DBs in being in the correct position or making picks. So, if a QB has good instincts, chancing are blitzing him won't be as effective (providing the play has a "dump-off" route).

[Anthony]

any helpful tips on editing the upper right hand helmets without getting a background to show up?

[Arles]

any helpful tips on editing the upper right hand helmets without getting a background to show up?
You may want to try making it a transparent gif instead of a jpg. That's what we do in the "helmets" folder. That way you don't have to match the matte color for each image.

[Samdari]

There is no action you can make to recruit the player during the fall, but you can monitor interest levels (oval on the far right) and watch the stats for recruits you may have interest in throughout the season.

That's all well and good, but if all I can do is watch, its not that interesting, especially if I have to remember (physically impossible) or write them down (something I have no interest in, and that a gamer should never have to do IMO) for it to mean anything. If there is no way to at least add them to a short list, or somehow mark the ones I find appealing in game, I (and I imagine other old folks with failing memories) will not be seeing them change week to week. It is like seeing an entirely new set of names/ratings/interest levels every week.

I must reiterate, don't let my nitpicking get in the way of the more important message of congratulations. I don't want to seem like I am bitching about a game I have not paid for yet. I like what I see so far, and had a question about that feature.

[JeeberD]

any helpful tips on editing the upper right hand helmets without getting a background to show up?

Not sure if you saw this from the last page or not, HA...

The helmet in the upper right is best used as a transparent gif with a black matte. If you go to edit the helmet, you need to resave it with transparency in your photo editing software.

[Anthony]

Not sure if you saw this from the last page or not, HA...
indeed, missed it. d'oh.

gonna start working on the images tonite.

[Flasch186]

the DL of the Real stuff says the redirection limit has been exceeded. Is anyone else hosting this?

[Ben E Lou]

the DL of the Real stuff says the redirection limit has been exceeded. Is anyone else hosting this?I don't have it, but if someone can send it to me, I can host it.

[Flasch186]

tis workin' now

[John Galt]

Problems I've seen so far:

1) Sometimes XP's turn into FG's and the opponent gets 3 points (9 total for the TD). This happens when playing the game. I've seen it 3 times in 5 games.

2) I've seen a QB of mine run the ball and have the play result be listed as an interception returned for 0 yards. I still kept possession.

3) If you select a defensive formation other than the original one set for the team, the play "suggest" still suggests the old formation plays all the time. I made my team 4-3 before the year, but every play suggestion is a 3-4 play (if not a nickel or dime situation).

4) Play calling AI seems strange to me. I often get the message that the defense was expecting a play even when I'm running a play very unusual for the situation. Most often I call a run on 3rd and really long, the defense plays run defense, and I lose yards on the play.

5) Admittedly this is based on small sample sizes, but I've yet to be able to run the ball effectively when playing the games. This has even been the case when playing really bad teams (with really bad defenses) and a top quality RB. I'm very lucky to average 3 yd per carry.

6) There really should be an option to have your assistants manage study hall time. It isn't as bad as TCY time management, but I have no interest in managing study hall allocations.

7) When simming a whole season, I see too much parity. Admittedly, this is also based on small sample sizes. The last season I simmed had 1 undefeated team after the bowls, no 1 loss teams, only 4 two loss teams, and 3 teams in the top 25 with 5 loses. That feels wrong to me, but I also admit I don't have the normal win distributions in college football data to back me up.

The game has potential, IMO, but it is still a definite wait-and-see for me.

[sovereignstar]

coolroy sure doesn't know much about transparent images.

[Leonidas]

I'm also seeing the defense only offer me nickel and dime packages for play calling. Sorry, but 2nd and 7 I should be able to go with a standard package. Was also wondering if there's a way to let the AI run the game and only selectively butt in to change plays, like FOF does? It gets tiresome having to hit suggest every play. I'd like to just sit back and watch and pick my plays to call.

[Northwood_DK]

Download and install worked fine but when I try to start the game I get an infobox telling me to update Internet Explorer to version 5.5 or higher.

Only problem is my current version is 6.0? (Full name: 6.0.2900.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519).

When I then try to start the game I get a run-time error 70

Can anyone help?

[SnDvls]

Arkansas State ball, Q1, 1-10-ARK35 (15:00) 0-0
Javon Whitehead kicks 55 from Arkansas State 35 to Arizona State 10. Alton Manning to Arizona
State 30 for a 20 yard return.

Arizona State ball, Q1, 1-10-ASU30 (14:41) 0-0
Offense: Short Pass, Set: Shotgun, Play: SG-HB-screen (short pass)
Defense: Stop Pass, Set: Nickel, Play: Nickel-pass-Man-B10 (target pass)
QB A. Divito completes a 6 yard screen to RB P. Robb (OLB Q. Gildon, OLB D. Darden).

Roughing the Passer against DE Aubrayo Newsome on Arkansas State. The Penalty is for 15 yards,
and an automatic first down.
The Offense will accept the penalty. It is now First and 10 at the Arkansas State 49.

Arizona State ball, Q1, 2-10-ARK49 (14:00) 0-0
Offense: Outside Run, Set: Trips, Play: TR-HB-pitch-RE (outside run)
Defense: Stop Pass, Set: Nickel, Play: Nickel-pass-MZ (target pass)
RB P. Robb runs right end for 9 yards (FS G. Rose, CB K. Lassiter).

Arizona State ball, Q1, 3-1-ARK40 (13:27) 0-0
Offense: Medium Pass, Set: Trips, Play: TR-FL-slant-SE-post (med pass)
Defense: Stop Run, Set: Dime, Play: Dime-run-MZ-B8 (target run)
QB A. Divito completes a 40 yard cross to WR M. Ditka ****Touchdown!*****

I don't have an account on GreyDog, but if you notice the roughing the passer results in a first down, but it says it's second down in the next line???? I scored a TD anyhow, but it could have become a factor.

[SnDvls]

dola-

I should point out I've seen several of these. I had a 1st and 5 gained 4 yards on the run and now it's 1st and 10.

Another is there never was a 3rd down. It went 2nd and 24 to 4th and 17 with a punt and the other team started on 3rd down.

[Flasch186]

...annnnnnndddddd

Shelved. Ill wait til the glitches are worked out before I fall in love with a school.

[Icy]

Real DB updated to 1.2

This was already (thanks to Grantdawg who created the first file)
- Real Team nicknames
- Real conference names

This is new (thanks to Scott Vibert and some other players for the info):
- Added all the real Stadium names.
- Added all the real Award names (please check if they are correct).
- Added all the real Bowl names and Bowl Stadiums.
- Fixed the following bugs:
UTEP name is UTEP now instead of Texas-El Paso
RICE name is RICE now instead of TexasRice
UTEP Rivarly is now with NMSU instead of Hawaii
Auburn stadium name set to Jordan Hare
Arkansas stadium name set to Razorbacks
Fixed some rivalries as suggested.
Fixed Penn State nickname that was still listed as the Cougars

Please download, unzip and overwrite your pstats.dat and check for errors/suggestions and i'll keep updating it.

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.2.zip (http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/pstats1.2.zip)

[MJ4H]

Arkansas' stadium is Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Don't know if you want that full name or not, but for what it is worth, that's it.

[Icy]

Real logos pack

Here is my first logo pack, it works with the real names database that i also publised (else some logos wouldn't appear as the teams nicknames are not the same).

The logos are yahoo style, but resized and with the background set to transparent.

Screenshoot (notice the logos at the right top and left bottom):

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/logosdemo.jpg

Download the file and unzip into the \graphics\helmets folder overwritting your current ones. If you want to keep the current ones too, just backup them before overwrite them with this new ones.

Enjoy it!

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/icylogopack.zip

[GrantDawg]

Real logos pack

Here is my first logo pack, it works with the real names database that i also publised (else some logos wouldn't appear as the teams nicknames are not the same).

The logos are yahoo style, but resized and with the background set to transparent.

Screenshoot (notice the logos at the right top and left bottom):

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/logosdemo.jpg

Download the file and unzip into the \graphics\helmets folder overwritting your current ones. If you want to keep the current ones too, just backup them before overwrite them with this new ones.

Enjoy it!

http://www.prodeportes.com/bb/icylogopack.zip



You da man!

[MJ4H]

It appears the arkansas and arkansas state logos are reversed. Yes I used your team name file too.

[Icy]

It appears the arkansas and arkansas state logos are reversed. Yes I used your team name file too.
Could be, you only need to rename them to the correct nickname, anyway i'm goign to fix it now.

[MJ4H]

Here is a pic so you can see what I mean
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/Gorgonian14/bbcf.png

[Schmidty]

I am probably going to get slammed for asking, but is there any type of ETA for the full game? I can wait as long as I have to, but I'm just curious.

If this was asked already in the thread, I'm sorry.

[Icy]

The nicknames were switched in the DB, i have reuploaded the pstats1.2.zip

[Icy]

I am probably going to get slammed for asking, but is there any type of ETA for the full game? I can wait as long as I have to, but I'm just curious.

If this was asked already in the thread, I'm sorry.
No ETA, some bugs need to be fixed, the multiplayer and more html reports added, then more bug fixes, then release. Hoppefully soon.

[Emiliano]

Awesome job! Thanks man.

[rexallllsc]

Is there a <- -> Back-Forward set of buttons? I found myself getting stuck a bit last nite going through a few screens.

[Arles]

If you get lost, you can always click the "View stage details" button on the lower left and go back to the weekly checklist. You can also "check" off task you've completed and the checks will stay even if you switch screens and come back.

[Raiders Army]

No ETA, some bugs need to be fixed, the multiplayer and more html reports added, then more bug fixes, then release. Hoppefully soon.
Argh. Hollywood Mogul is coming out in December (I believe) and now this!

At least I didn't get an Xbox 360 yesterday and have the money to buy both!

[Senator]

anyone know if the conferences are editable, i.e. the # of conferences, the # of teams in each conference. I know you can edit them a la TC (team/conference names), but it would be cool if we had different sized leagues. A D-1aa, D2 or D3 mod with playoffs would be awesome.


NAIA!!! I have become quite the afficianado of this, if anyone has any interest but me.

[sovereignstar]

NAIA kicks ass. Go Mayville State!

[Arles]

Problems I've seen so far:
Thanks for the comments, I'll add them to our working list.

3) If you select a defensive formation other than the original one set for the team, the play "suggest" still suggests the old formation plays all the time. I made my team 4-3 before the year, but every play suggestion is a 3-4 play (if not a nickel or dime situation).
Make sure you click "Save changes" when you make the change in training camp. We've seen a few instances like this where someone switched to 4-3 or 4-2-5, clicked suggest but didn't save. A quick way to check this is go to your def strategy screen inseason and see what is listed for your team.

6) There really should be an option to have your assistants manage study hall time. It isn't as bad as TCY time management, but I have no interest in managing study hall allocations.
This will be in the final version - as will be the ability to turn off academics.

7) When simming a whole season, I see too much parity. Admittedly, this is also based on small sample sizes. The last season I simmed had 1 undefeated team after the bowls, no 1 loss teams, only 4 two loss teams, and 3 teams in the top 25 with 5 loses. That feels wrong to me, but I also admit I don't have the normal win distributions in college football data to back me up.
I'll check into that. But the 2004 season might have been the oddball from that standpoint. In 2003, there were 0 undefeated teams, 3 1-loss and 6 2-loss after the bowls. In 2002, there were 2 undefeated, 2 1-loss and 6 2-loss teams. So, I don't think seeing 5 combined 0-2 teams is that far off. I do, though, think we need to do a little more tweaking with the rankings as SOS may be a little too important when looking at the middle teams in the Top 25 (3-5 losses).

The game has potential, IMO, but it is still a definite wait-and-see for me.
Again, thanks to you and others for the great feedback. We'll see what we can do to get these issues addressed.

[digamma]

One other small one...

It looks like return game stats are being calculated with yardage from inside the end zone being added to it. I believe in college return yardage is maxed at 100, unlike the NFL. See Vasher, Nate.

Someone should correct me if I'm wrong.

[sovereignstar]

I think it'd be cool if we could see potential recruits' e-mail addresses. That way we could filter out the guys who have ridiculous ones.

[Emiliano]

Guys: is anyone else having problems setting the offensive depth chart??? I can't put more than 3 players in the split end spot. If I try to do that, the 4th split end goes into the 1st flanker position. The same happens with flankers and tight ends, but this time I can't put more than 2 flankers.

[Mountain]

I have also seen the nine point TDs problem. It happened to me twice in one game causing me to lose the game. I was winning the game 17-6. The opposition scores and decides to go for two. The game allows me to select a defense to defend against the two point conversion play. Then the kicker comes out for the extra point instead of running a two point play, kicks the ball and gets awarded 3points instead of one point. It also happened the exact same way at the end of the game when I was winning 23-15. Opponent scores gets the three point extra point and beats me 24-23. DOH!!!!!!!

[st.cronin]

Sacks should be counted as rushing yards for qbs. It appears they are not tallied that way in the game.

[Groundhog]

I played the demo last nite for about 45 mins (d/l didn't finish until late last nite), and I must say I was quite impressed. I did notice some bugs, particularily in the PbP (3pt extra point, wrong team with the penalty), but nothing that hasn't been mentioned already. This looks like a game that is going to hold my attention for some time, and from what I've seen so far I'll probably pick it up on release day. It also marks the first GDS release that I haven't had a single RTE in my first play-through :D

[jbmagic]

i dont no how often arlie checks this forum, but if you posted bugs here, you should also post at grey dog forum too.

[Ben E Lou]

Sacks should be counted as rushing yards for qbs. It appears they are not tallied that way in the game.That was a design decision, one that I wholeheartedly agree with. It is much easier to evaluate how good of a runner your QB is without sacks factored in. Sacks are counted in team rushing yardage, but not in individual QB yardage.

[st.cronin]

That was a design decision, one that I wholeheartedly agree with. It is much easier to evaluate how good of a runner your QB is without sacks factored in. Sacks are counted in team rushing yardage, but not in individual QB yardage.

i c

not sure i agree but it's not a big deal

[Emiliano]

i dont no how often arlie checks this forum, but if you posted bugs here, you should also post at grey dog forum too.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm gonna do it.

[digamma]

That was a design decision, one that I wholeheartedly agree with. It is much easier to evaluate how good of a runner your QB is without sacks factored in. Sacks are counted in team rushing yardage, but not in individual QB yardage. Well, there are two sides to that. On the one hand, there are those who value realism, on the other, there are those whose little pea brains apparently can't handle evaluating their qb's rushing ability with sacks factored in, so much so that they would rather have a game that plays like the NFL rather than the way college football really works. The latter crowd won out.http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/images/smilies/wink.gif


And, FWIW, I'm having offensive depth chart issues as well (similar to those described above).

[sovereignstar]

Well, there are two sides to that. On the one hand, there are those who value realism, on the other, there are those whose little pea brains apparently can't handle more evaluating their qb's rushing ability with sacks factored in, so much so that they would rather have a game that plays like the NFL rather than the way college football really works. The latter crowd won out.

zing!

[st.cronin]

/Marv Albert's Voice

And a FACIAL from digamma!

/end Marv Albert's Voice

[John Galt]

A couple other things:

1) My expectations playing Army are not to lose too much to Navy. But Navy isn't even on my schedule. There is no Army/Navy game set.

2) Sticky choices would be good in a few places. One would be the opening create league menu (so I don't have to enter my name, league name, etc.). Another that would be nice is in the game play screen, locking the sim speed to your previous choice (I always go to "very fast"). Generally, IMO, sticky is always better.

[st.cronin]

It seems like there are too many transfers, but I don't really know how common it is in real life.

[GrantDawg]

Well, there are two sides to that. On the one hand, there are those who value realism, on the other, there are those whose little pea brains apparently can't handle evaluating their qb's rushing ability with sacks factored in, so much so that they would rather have a game that plays like the NFL rather than the way college football really works. The latter crowd won out.http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/images/smilies/wink.gif


And, FWIW, I'm having offensive depth chart issues as well (similar to those described above).

No, no. You da man!!!

[GrantDawg]

A couple other things:

1) My expectations playing Army are not to lose too much to Navy. But Navy isn't even on my schedule. There is no Army/Navy game set.

2) Sticky choices would be good in a few places. One would be the opening create league menu (so I don't have to enter my name, league name, etc.). Another that would be nice is in the game play screen, locking the sim speed to your previous choice (I always go to "very fast"). Generally, IMO, sticky is always better.

Who the heck is Army's rival then?

[GrantDawg]

It seems like there are too many transfers, but I don't really know how common it is in real life.

Major teams lose a couple a year. I don't know about lower tier teams.

[Senator]

I am goofing around with the league structures, and I notice you cannot delete teams or divisions. I am trying to create 11 single division conferences with between four and 11 schools in each conference. Where can you remove entire divisions and teams?

[bhlloy]

I absolutely hate the way academics works. IRL it is a big factor (especially with incoming freshmen) but losing between 3 and 5 different guys every 4 weeks is too much IMO.

If it's not toned down for the full version I'm glad there is the option to turn it off

[thealmighty]

Icy, in your team name pack,it should be TCU Horned Frogs, not Horn Frogs.

ANd thanks so much for the effort you put into this. Greatly appreciated.

[st.cronin]

Major teams lose a couple a year. I don't know about lower tier teams.

If that's the case, I take it back.

[st.cronin]

dola

I've just started playing with the recruiting. It's very deep, but a bit non-intuitive in terms of negotiating. This is the first part of the game where I've wanted a manual.

For example, players on my watch list ... I guess if you don't change the recruiting action, it stays the same for each week?

The recruit player cards are a little messy - it's hard to find the information I need. For example, I don't see any way to find out WHICH schools have offered a scholly.

[Buccaneer]

I imagine other old folks with failing memories
Hey.

[digamma]

A few more nits/comments:

1. The poll logic seems off. I was #12 and played #16 Alabama at home. We both had the same record going into the game. They beat us by a touchdown. The next week in the polls, I'm #13 and they are #15.

2. On the polls screen, it makes more sense to me to note the team had a bye the week before, rather than noting the last team they played--but that is probably a preference issue.

3. There seemed to be a significant number of teams finishing their season in week #12. I understand scheduling is a bitch in these games, but just offering it up.

4. I'm also seeing parity similar to what John Galt did.

5. I'm seeing a lot of defensive holding penalties. I haven't slogged through the game logs to see if they're really disproportionate, but it feels like it's called quite frequently.

6. Could the injury status (or just that a player is injured) be noted on the depth chart screen, as a way to eliminate extra clicks of going back to the roster screen or opening the player card?

7. I have also now seen the "going for 3" bug.

[digamma]

dola...
a few more...

8. Also on the poll screen, conference championship games should be listed as the "next" game.

9. I had two teams from the same conference meet in a bowl game (not the national championship game).

10. Is there a screen that lists all bowl games?

[st.cronin]

For recruiting, it would be nice to be able to sort by position group, as well as position. So for example, see all linebackers, see all offensive linemen, all cbs and safeties.

[Ben E Lou]

zing!Nah, there's a big difference. ;)

[General Mike]

Major teams lose a couple a year. I don't know about lower tier teams.

Lower tier teams lose guys too, but they also get guys in. The guys that transfer from places like Rutgers, et al, end up going to 1-AA in alot of cases or just giving up the sport.

[vex]

I seriously need a white background with dark text, this is killing me.

[Ben E Lou]

I seriously need a white background with dark text, this is killing me.Yah. I made the same comment to Arlie within about 30 minutes of getting the beta. It kills my eyes.

[duckman]

I seriously need a white background with dark text, this is killing me.
I had to stop playing it last night because it set off a migraine like headache from the strain caused by it. I may have to hold off buying it until there is an alternate background.

[Ben E Lou]

Yeah...my dynasty is on hold for the rest of the day because of it. I was basically off all day today, and wanted to play all day, but my eyes couldn't take the strain.

[Galaril]

Fist off, great game. One question about gameplans to anyone. Do you have to set up the game plans if you play the games out. I play out my teams games and call the plays or hit the suggest button. Does the AI use the games plans that are set up before the game to help pick a suggestion or is it based on game situation?

[Airhog]

well no takers on the last comment I made. Anyways, can some other people check out their install log found in the main game directory, and let me know if at the bottom of the log they are got any of these errors?

Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\vbajet32.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\stdole2.tlb
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\ovsCombo2D.ocx
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\olepro32.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\oleaut32.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msxbde40.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mswstr10.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mswdat10.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msvcrt40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mstext40.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msrepl40.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msrecr40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msrd3x40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msrd2x40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msrclr40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mspbde40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msltus40.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msjter40.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msjint40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msjet40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msexcl40.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\msexch40.dll
Could not Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\expsrv.dll
Self-Register: C:\WINDOWS\system32\comctl32.ocx

[Buccaneer]

I had to stop playing it last night because it set off a migraine like headache from the strain caused by it. I may have to hold off buying it until there is an alternate background.
Which is why I wonder why people still use the Sideline Green template. I have always used the default blue/gray because black text on a light background works best for these old eyes.

[vex]

Which is why I wonder why people still use the Sideline Green template. I have always used the default blue/gray because black text on a light background works best for these old eyes.
Don't forget classic yellow;)

[duckman]

Which is why I wonder why people still use the Sideline Green template. I have always used the default blue/gray because black text on a light background works best for these old eyes.
I couldn't stand it during the Sideline days because everytime I would go to a "normal" site, I would be overwhelmed with the brightness of the screen and would set off one of those headaches.

[Buccaneer]

Don't forget classic yellow;)
I purposely did not mention that for fear of puking. I would take migraines over hawking loogies.

[vex]

I purposely did not mention that for fear of puking. I would take migraines over hawking loogies.
Don't be hatin on the yellow!:mad:

[Ben E Lou]

Yellow, standard...anything that is a light background with dark lettering ultimately works for me.

[MJ4H]

I'm actually kind of the opposite. I've always vastly preferred light text on a dark background. Seems easier on my eyes.

[vex]

Yellow, standard...anything that is a light background with dark lettering ultimately works for me.
I suppose this is true for me too. Wasn't yellow the standard on our last board? I think that's why I use it, even though back in the day I hated it.

[Danny]

Yellow FTW

[Senator]

This hasn't been fully tested, but at least so far you can. The limits on conference realignment is the new configuration must match one of the pre-existing schedule formats within the game. But you can add/remove teams etc. (I have tested this with one or two leagues, but definitely not completely and thoroughly, so its a buyer beware situation)

Arlie is amenable to potentially adding new schedule/league formats.. but these would only be added after release, if at all.

The following schedule formats are presently in the game:

4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 (12 and 14 team conferences must have 2 divisions)

I have provided Arlie with several other schedule formats (needed to allow for "full" compatibility with other league sizes): 5, 6, 13 teams 2 divisions, 13 teams 1 division

As I mentioned he is potentially willing to add the ones I've sent him (and perhaps others) but it will only happen after release, if at all.


How are these achieved in the context of the game environment? Is this something I need to do in Access or can I make league sizes within the game. I am trying to make a 1 division 11 conference league with 4-11 teams in each. Is this something I can do within the game, or is it something that will require outside tools?

[st.cronin]

There's really going to HAVE to be a schedule set up for 3 independents. Temple will be in the MAC next year, and I would think most people will want to be able to play with 3 independents and Temple in the MAC.

[ScottVib]

How are these achieved in the context of the game environment? Is this something I need to do in Access or can I make league sizes within the game. I am trying to make a 1 division 11 conference league with 4-11 teams in each. Is this something I can do within the game, or is it something that will require outside tools?

You'll need to set it up in Access, in access you'd adjust the conference and team setup tables to fit your league.