FOF2007 Suggestions Thread

[wade moore]

Figured I'd keep this seperate from everything else.

I'm looking here for suggestions of minor changes to existing features, not major features to be added to the game that you wish would have been implemented in this version.

[wade moore]

Solevision:

I love Solevision, but I already foresee something I'd like to be able to do:

On the stats screen on the bottom right, I'd love to be able to:

A) "Jump" to a stat category at any time to see the stats for that category
B) In addition to "Hide Out of Town", a different button that allows to "Hide Out of Town Stats". The goal being to only show the stats summaries for the current game, but still show the scores from other games and still be able to see stats from the current game.
C) If you do A, then an option for a summary of current game stats for individuals. So maybe it would have an offense and a defense and show the top 2 or 3 in each of the categories, something like that.

[MrKordell]

SOLEVISION --
I'd like to have the games on the right flash red when that game is in the red zone.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I didn't see this covered in the other thread...but could have missed it.

Anything on being able to use the old roster editor for new files?
Along with that, I wonder how long until we see an NFL roster for 2007.

[wade moore]

I didn't see this covered in the other thread...but could have missed it.

Anything on being able to use the old roster editor for new files?
Along with that, I wonder how long until we see an NFL roster for 2007.

Apparently you haven't d/l'ed the game ;).

To your first question, based on the notes about what it would take for converting an MP File and that Solecismic will be doing it for us, that makes me believe it's not going to be realistic for the old roster editor to work on new files.

As for your second point, FOF2007 has real player names. There nearly needs to be a city file, etc for the team names which are not NFL teams.

[dubb93]

I didn't see this covered in the other thread...but could have missed it.

Anything on being able to use the old roster editor for new files?
Along with that, I wonder how long until we see an NFL roster for 2007.

If u played the demo u would know it atleast came with real players ;). Not sure how hard it would be to rip that and use it with the real game in the event it doesn't ship with them.

IE probably not that hard.

[wade moore]

SOLEVISION --
I'd like to have the games on the right flash red when that game is in the red zone.

Ah, yes, like Sportsline's GameCenter.

I think this would be VERY nice.

[dubb93]

I wonder how long until we see an NFL roster for 2007.

But to answer your question as you asked it. Assuming the game ships with fake players it would probably take me 5 seconds to copy and paste the players file from the demo to the actual game. So I'd say 5 seconds after you get the game if it ships with fake players is when you would a real player file.

[albionmoonlight]

I'd still like a way to let the game sim a history for some number of years and then be able to take over a team in a mature universe.

Certainly not a deal breaker, but probably the #1 feature for which I was hoping that is not in the game.

(Although almost everything else on my "A" Wish List made it in the game, so I almost feel bad mentioning the one thing that did not)

[Ben E Lou]

Certainly not a deal breaker, but probably the #1 feature for which I was hoping that is not in the game.

(Although almost everything else on my "A" Wish List made it in the game, so I almost feel bad mentioning the one thing that did not)My feelings exactly.

[mrsimperless]

I'm still holding out hope that the full version will have have historical stats for the current players since it seems to have real players.

[wade moore]

Another couple of Solevision Suggestions:

A) Maybe a place to give/get injury updates for players injured during the game? I'm not sure when this function is even run (to determine the exact injury) to know if it is even possible.
B) On the stats again - similar to the filter - it could highlight players in the stats list that are on one of the two teams currently playing - similar to how various recommendation, etc. screens do.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm still holding out hope that the full version will have have historical stats for the current players since it seems to have real players.Based on what was in [this thread] (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=51748), I'd say that it sounds pretty doubtful.

The question is actually ownership of the stats. FOF tracks much more than is easily obtained from newspapers and other sources that can be considered part of the public domain.

I would have to pay a service to use their information. Most likely much more than the value of those statistics to the customers.

[wade moore]

Based on what was in [this thread] (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=51748), I'd say that it sounds pretty doubtful.


For people that are lazy like me...

The question is actually ownership of the stats. FOF tracks much more than is easily obtained from newspapers and other sources that can be considered part of the public domain.

I would have to pay a service to use their information. Most likely much more than the value of those statistics to the customers.

[JPhillips]

I would love some options for recommended lineups, at least favor veterans or favor young players. That would be great for preseason so I don't have to manually change all the positions.

[gstelmack]

On Solevision, I'd like to see the sim speed move to something more similar to what I use in my viewers: a slider for the time (5 or 6 speeds isn't enough to cover everyone out there, and a slider gives more control over the timer intervals), and the ability to single-step the play-by-play with a button instead of the sliders. I've grown to love that ability, since each play line takes a different amount of time to read. With the single-step ability in my game viewer, I can follow an FOF2k4 game and get a really nice feel for what went right or wrong in about 10-15 mintues.

[gstelmack]

Need more data output options. There is still no way to get a list of all the staff with their attributes for easy browsing, for example (a simple "Print" button on the staff screen that grabs data in the detailed view would work). And I still hope the Draft screen lets me print all the data for the draftees for offline analysis. Unless the HTML output has all of this. Basically, I'm scared that I need to update Extractor and Interrogator and Extender for 2k7 and would rather not ;-)

[cuervo72]

Need more data output options.

A thousand times yes.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Apparently you haven't d/l'ed the game ;).

To your first question, based on the notes about what it would take for converting an MP File and that Solecismic will be doing it for us, that makes me believe it's not going to be realistic for the old roster editor to work on new files.

As for your second point, FOF2007 has real player names. There nearly needs to be a city file, etc for the team names which are not NFL teams.
I guess this is what I get for leaving work @ 5:00 and not logging on last night! :(

[jonesz]

Solevision - I feel a nice small change as well would be to show who has posession for the other games in Solevision. A nice little football logo next to the team that currently has the ball or a < or > icon as is used in the game you are currently "watching".

[Coder]

Solevision -

I'd like for the Solevision to be accessed from somewhere other than the "Simulation Screen"..

Why?

When I'm in a multiplayer league, I want to watch the game BEFORE seeing the final score of the game. However, since I access the Solevision from the same screen as the results for the last week of games is posted, I have a hard time avoid seeing the results first.

[Johnny Slick]

Adjustable league sizes and schedules. I won't be buying this version because that's not in there and probably won't buy another copy of FOF until that's put in. I give FM a pass on this because it's so immersive in so many other aspects of European football, but that's pretty much where I draw the line. I don't want to play around with 32 teams. 16 would be great. 12 would be even greater. And this would also be a boon for online leagues since it's hard as hell to find 32 owners who are willing to stay on year after year.

Oh well. It's too bad Jim Gindin continues to overlook this vital aspect of text-based sports simulation. I guess I'll be waiting for Arlie Rahn's title.

[Ksyrup]

I understand your frustration...but that's what Maximum Football is for.

[gstelmack]

Solevision -

I'd like for the Solevision to be accessed from somewhere other than the "Simulation Screen"..

Why?

When I'm in a multiplayer league, I want to watch the game BEFORE seeing the final score of the game. However, since I access the Solevision from the same screen as the results for the last week of games is posted, I have a hard time avoid seeing the results first.

There's an option in the Global Options to do this. There's a bug with it not working right away (change it right after starting the demo but before starting a new game), but it works.

[Johnny Slick]

I understand your frustration...but that's what Maximum Football is for.Ha. I think I'll just wait for whatever Grey Dog puts out, thanks.

[Coder]

There's an option in the Global Options to do this. There's a bug with it not working right away (change it right after starting the demo but before starting a new game), but it works.

Thanks :)

[Leonidas]

Something I've always wanted and know this game can't be changed to have, coaching styles. You could have a West Coast OC or a DC be a 2-deep zone guy, and when you do gameplan recommendations it gives you a gameplan based on the scheme of the coordinator.

[wade moore]

I appreciate all of the suggestions.

FWIW, Johnny Slick and Leonidas's suggestions sound more like discussion for future versions. I am really looking more for things with this version that could potentially be addressed in patches along with bug fixes.

[CraigSca]

Ha. I think I'll just wait for whatever Grey Dog puts out, thanks.

Along these same lines, the out and out most important thing for me is to have an accurate football simulation that KNOWS that you need to have new player skills come in at the same ratios as the outgoing players. Thus, you have a stable simulation.

I'll take a spread-sheety accurate sim over pretty interfaces, expansion, etc., any day.

[Gallifrey]

I haven't played the demo enough to see this, but do we have individual player cards in html? This is a great feature with BBCF.

[14ers]

One of my biggest complaints about FOF2004 was that coaches never really seemed to develop their skills. I would like to see coaches develop their skills like NFL players. A bad coach on a great team is going to become a better coach. A great coach on a bad team is going to become a good coach.



I am still a little new to this game and was wondering if there is anyway to create more coaching skills movement.

[wade moore]

I haven't played the demo enough to see this, but do we have individual player cards in html? This is a great feature with BBCF.

There do not appear to be any print options within the Player Card.

However, we have not seen any screenies or anything of what the "HTML Export" outputs look like. So, I think the jury is still out.

[Gallifrey]

There do not appear to be any print options within the Player Card.

However, we have not seen any screenies or anything of what the "HTML Export" outputs look like. So, I think the jury is still out.

Thanks for taking a look there.

I did see where the game logs report to HTML now, color coded for teams. That is a good feature.

[JeffW]

I'd still like a way to let the game sim a history for some number of years and then be able to take over a team in a mature universe.

This has always been on my wishlist.

Also:

Conference and division editing--if I wanted I could have two conferences with one division of 8 teams each for example. Expansion teams would go right along with this of course.

I'd like to see changes made to LB Sacks and RB Carries. It seems to me like LBs are not effective enough as pass rushers and RBs get too many carries(multiplayer record is over 600 carries in a single season).

Those are probably too major to implement at this point, though.

[wade moore]

I'd like to see changes made to LB Sacks and RB Carries. It seems to me like LBs are not effective enough as pass rushers and RBs get too many carries(multiplayer record is over 600 carries in a single season).

I'm just curious.

How do you know these haven't been addressed?

[Franklinnoble]

Expansion and custom league sizes/configurations.

I can't believe this feature didn't make it into the game by now. It's not that difficult.

[Deattribution]

Some longshots -

Editing coach names (could be useless though since there doesn't seem to be a file for coaches to pass along)

Coach extensions (it could be in but didn't see it in the demo)

New yearly honor 2 players selected. Worst teammate - offensive and defensive. (could be named something fancier obviously)

Reiterate earlier suggestion, some way to sim through a certain amount of seasons to build a history.

Nothing *must* have really, but they'd be nice to see.

[Deattribution]

Expansion and custom league sizes/configurations.

I can't believe this feature didn't make it into the game by now. It's not that difficult.

It isn't?

I guess we should expect you to add it or create a game with it pretty soon then?

I liked expansion when it was in, but I never seen a huge need for custom leagues. Nice to have but not something I'd be overly excited about.

[gstelmack]

I'm just curious.

How do you know these haven't been addressed?

Maybe he missed that it's already been released and was hoping to get in suggestions based on 2k4?

[wade moore]

Maybe he missed that it's already been released and was hoping to get in suggestions based on 2k4?

:D

[JeffW]

I'm just curious.

How do you know these haven't been addressed?

I don't yet. If they are, that's great.

[JeffW]

I liked expansion when it was in, but I never seen a huge need for custom leagues. Nice to have but not something I'd be overly excited about.

The nice thing about custom leagues for multiplayer is that you don't have to deal with such a large playerbase. If you have a new or niche league, it'd be a lot easier to fill 16 slots than 32 and keep them filled.

[nilodor]

I'd like to see yards allowed or yards allowed per catch for defensive backs. I think this is important because you don't know if the guy who allowed 40 catches is giving up a lot of 5 - 7 yard route and the guy who allowed 20 catches is giving up a lot of 20 - 30 yard plays.

Other than that I really like the changes that have been made and look forward to testing them out.

[jonesz]

Expansion and custom league sizes/configurations.

I can't believe this feature didn't make it into the game by now. It's not that difficult.

FYI... From the Front Office Football 2007 thread..

Every architecture has its strengths and weaknesses. The way I designed FOF, I could either do a new version of the game that had custom league sizes, or I could do a version that had 100 other new features. If I had started with that feature in mind, it wouldn't be so major. But that's just the way it is. Football works well with 32 teams..

[A-Husker-4-Life]

In the playtime screen, you can't right click on the player and see his ratings. This would help if you could click it because then you would know his endurance rating and you could setup the correct playing time.

[jamesUMD]

"Editing coach names (could be useless though since there doesn't seem to be a file for coaches to pass along)

Coach extensions (it could be in but didn't see it in the demo)"

This would also be my request. I have always wanted this and was really hoping for it this time around.

[JeffW]

One last, incredibly small, suggestion is Season awards for special teams players if they aren't in there.

[jbmagic]

Make exhibition games played keep track of players stat.

[wade moore]

Make exhibition games played keep track of players stat.

I'm not sure why you want this, to me this is a feature I don't want.

[Passacaglia]

So the games themselves are supposed to keep track of the players...as soon as possible?

[molson]

I'm not sure why you want this, to me this is a feature I don't want.

It would probably be helpful to see cummulative or even game-by-game stats for guys in the current preseason, to more easily compare guys that might be competing for a job. (Especially now that scouts and player ratings are less accurate). Of course, there wouldn't be any reason to keep preseason stats from previous years. This might be too much info for the player card, but a seperate "preseason player stats" section might be helpful.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Make exhibition games played keep track of players stat.

Yes, this way a player can judge how good his players will be in the regular season. Just couldn't resist.:)

[Solecismic]

Yes, this way a player can judge how good his players will be in the regular season. Just couldn't resist.:)

Ouch. This is just a space issue. I got playoff stats in there, this would be a similar cost in terms of data file space, so I don't want to do that.

Maybe in the next version, I'll do a separate screen, outside of the player cards, that puts up a subset of the pre-season numbers, kind of like the big team summary screen.

Obviously it's not a problem how to track it because the engine doesn't know whether it's a playoff game, a pre-season game or a regular season game. It's just a matter of how much space it uses in the data files.

[Hoya1]

I'd like to see Canadian cities available. As one of, I'm assuming, many Canadian subscribers I'd like to have a team at some Canadain city. Even if it's just 4 cities, I don't care. As a Canadian, I don't understand why these markets are being omitted.

[SunDevil]

Have player attributes match up to the game plan options. For example the QB has ratings based on different yardage of his passes, those ratings do not match up when making a gameplan in terms of the type yardage you want your QB to throw.

[Caratacus]

Have player attributes match up to the game plan options. For example the QB has ratings based on different yardage of his passes, those ratings do not match up when making a gameplan in terms of the type yardage you want your QB to throw.

They do sort of...

QB Ratings Possible Passes Play Calling
Screen Pass Screen Pass Screen Pass
0-10 yards 2 & 7 yards 0-4 & 5-8 yards
11-20 yards 11 & 15 yards 9-12 & 13-18
21-30 yards 25 yards 19-26
31+ yards 35 yards and Deep 27-39 & 40+

[JeffW]

One of my biggest complaints about FOF2004 was that coaches never really seemed to develop their skills.

Coaching cohesion would be cool too.

[nilodor]

I'd like to see Canadian cities available. As one of, I'm assuming, many Canadian subscribers I'd like to have a team at some Canadain city. Even if it's just 4 cities, I don't care. As a Canadian, I don't understand why these markets are being omitted.

I agree, I'd also like to see canadian cities added to the cities file used in the draft and player files instead of a generic outside the US

[Johnny Slick]

FYI... From the Front Office Football 2007 thread..He chose... poorly. Oh well. Kind of sucks, but I guess I won't be giving Jim any of my money until 2010 when the next version comes out.

Edited to add: I'm actually glad that I gave money to Matrix for Maximum FB just so I can say that I supported it more than I did FOF2k7.

[amdaily]

Mock draft.

[SunDevil]

Customize Draft Order.

[larrymcg421]

He chose... poorly. Oh well. Kind of sucks, but I guess I won't be giving Jim any of my money until 2010 when the next version comes out.

Edited to add: I'm actually glad that I gave money to Matrix for Maximum FB just so I can say that I supported it more than I did FOF2k7.

We. Get. It. How many times do you need to post this?

Seriously, it's one thing to say you're disappointed with a feature not being added, but there's a point where it stops being criticism and becomes trolling. You're approaching that right now.

[Tasan]

He chose... poorly. Oh well. Kind of sucks, but I guess I won't be giving Jim any of my money until 2010 when the next version comes out.

Edited to add: I'm actually glad that I gave money to Matrix for Maximum FB just so I can say that I supported it more than I did FOF2k7.


Thats one heck of a statement to be proud of there, buddy.

Anyway, what I would love is some simple way to change the overall run or pass tendancy for your gameplans. Something like big fat buttons that say Run More, Run Less or something like that. Filling in 902838928340894 little boxes to do this is tedious at best.

[Tasan]

And a dola. Definately need editable names for coaches, and some way to easily output their ratings. I HATE making the little excel sheets every year to figure out who I want to go after.

[watravaler]

Built in fantasy football game...probably not going to happen, but it would add to the experience if you like FF

[Johnny Slick]

FYI... From the Front Office Football 2007 thread..

We. Get. It. How many times do you need to post this?

Seriously, it's one thing to say you're disappointed with a feature not being added, but there's a point where it stops being criticism and becomes trolling. You're approaching that right now.No, it's "response." Somebody reponded to me and I responded to them. And now I am responding to you. I'm not making my opinion out to be anything greater than it is. I'm just some schlub who, apparently, gets something different out of his sports sims than most people on this board.

As for the Maximum Football comment, absolutely. It was a terrible game, one of the worst I have ever seen. My first impression of FOF2k7 is that it looks like the latest Madden or the last Front Page Sports: Football... a game that makes lots of little changes but ignores the elephant in the room. I would much rather spend money on an ambitious failure than an unambitious mediocrity. Again, that is my opinion. I'm not going to call you names or say that you're trolling if you disagree with me. I will say that I know of several OOTP fans who won't be buying the game for the exact same reason I am.

[amdaily]

When you click on a players game by game stat breakdown, all 16 games should be listed so you can tell if he has played recently or if his last game played was 12 weeks ago.

Just puts 0's in the games he didn't play.

[larrymcg421]

No, it's "response." Somebody reponded to me and I responded to them.

Well, either you're Franklinnoble and have multiple accounts or I have no clue what you're talking about. Jonesz was responding to Franklin, not you. I don't even see a previous post from you in this thread.

[Tasan]

I would love the ability to choose where I save my game.

[Tasan]

Um, will someone PLEASE tell Jim to save where I put my little windows, and maybe even the last size of my overall screen? This is getting annoying EVERY YEAR......

[Galaril]

Player photos or at least a way to add them onto the players cards and it would be great if the game flashed a players picture when he makes a good play durin gin game. That might be asking for too much but there is next version. This would add alittle to the immersion I think.

[JeffW]

Um, will someone PLEASE tell Jim to save where I put my little windows, and maybe even the last size of my overall screen? This is getting annoying EVERY YEAR......

Yeah, you're right, that should have been fixed if it's not in 2007. How hard can that be?

[SackAttack]

I'd still like to see a 'next screen' button on the gameplan screens. Or even just arrow buttons pointing left and right that do the same thing.

It's easy to lose track of which gameplan screen you've just visited without that ability.

[Solecismic]

Yeah, you're right, that should have been fixed if it's not in 2007. How hard can that be?

You have no idea how hard I tried to do that a couple of years ago. MFC reports window positions very differently than one would expect, and it varies by operating system. I had it working for Windows Me, but it was a mess in Windows 2000. I bet I could do it for XP since things are more stable now, but people on older operating systems would see weird things like one-pixel sized windows that can't be moved and no access to the commands.

I made a nicer default layout, though, since the minimum screen resolution is larger.

Sometimes things that seem simple prove not to be. That's definitely an example.

[amdaily]

I'd still like to see WR stats sorted by yards.

[JeffW]

You have no idea how hard I tried to do that a couple of years ago.

My bad Jim, didn't mean to besmirch you efforts--I'm sure it's a pesky bug or it would've been fixed long ago.

[Tasan]

You have no idea how hard I tried to do that a couple of years ago. MFC reports window positions very differently than one would expect, and it varies by operating system. I had it working for Windows Me, but it was a mess in Windows 2000. I bet I could do it for XP since things are more stable now, but people on older operating systems would see weird things like one-pixel sized windows that can't be moved and no access to the commands.

I made a nicer default layout, though, since the minimum screen resolution is larger.

Sometimes things that seem simple prove not to be. That's definitely an example.

Well dammit, aren't you a miracle worker??? I mean, I could do this at work in COBOL (yes, I actually am a COBOL programmer)!!!

Okay seriously, I gotcha. It just drives me crazy, thats all.

[VPI97]

yes, I actually am a COBOL programmer
Dude...you need to go ahead and join the 80's. :)

(and yes, I did COBOL for three years before coming to my senses)

[SunDevil]

Another suggestion, when you start a new league and hold a draft, would it be possible to remove all coaches and scouts from the teams and hold a staff signing period and then hold the player draft ala OOTP?

[CraigSca]

This is probably a space issue, but I'm not a big fan of how Solevision shows the other scores on teh 16 channels. Having everything on one line makes it hard for me to see, at a glance, who is winning while I'm watching my game.

Just a suggestion, could we move from:

(0-0) Carolina 0, (0-0) Washington 0, 1Q 9:07

to:

(0-0) Carolina 0 1Q 9:07
(0-0) Washington 0

With the above aligned correctly, of course. You could also put an asterisk (or a football) to show which team has the ball.

Edit: or if space IS the issue (which it looks like it is), maybe you could have the team that's winning use a different font color (though I can see that could be an issue due to the different color schemes)?

[Johnny Slick]

Well, either you're Franklinnoble and have multiple accounts or I have no clue what you're talking about. Jonesz was responding to Franklin, not you. I don't even see a previous post from you in this thread.Yeah, my bad... it was still a response to my suggestion, though, which Franklinnoble repeated. FWIW, I don't think that adding customization is "easy"; however, when you take 3 years off between versions one generally expects a little more than a new coat of paint, a scoreboard, and a free agent watch list. At this point, FOF is pretty much the only game out there that won't allow you to play your own game; FM and EHM may not allow you to make up your own custom leagues, but there are so many to choose from in the game that you still get choice.

Jim's been making the title for geez, a decade now. I can understand how it could get boring to make the same game over and over again. That being said, I think that FOF2000 was actually a more playable title in that you could, if you wanted, jump ship from your current team and control the new expansion club in LA or Toledo or wherever the game decided to put it. That may seem kind of minor, but I for one like to have different options.

[IMetLyleAlzado]

The green for future Potential, I hate it.

I have some Red/Green color vision deficiency and that shade of green is just a blur.

Blue may be?
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/663/redbluetv9.th.png (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=redbluetv9.png)

[Leonidas]

When filling out the depth chart, could we have the window back that shows player ratings?

[dbd1963]

Is it possible to save the team summary reports for each year? I used to print them off and gaze at them lovingly as the seasons went on. It looks like the information is saved now, just not all in one place like that (or is it and I've missed it?)

[Coder]

When filling out the depth chart, could we have the window back that shows player ratings?


right-click the player

[Leonidas]

right-click the playerI know, but it's alot easier to be able to quickly scroll back and forth when comparing between two guys than having to go through that extra step.

[henry296]

Open the Roster Attribute Screen and select the depth chart from the bottom and slide the window out of the way. Will that help?

[Passacaglia]

When you click on a players game by game stat breakdown, all 16 games should be listed so you can tell if he has played recently or if his last game played was 12 weeks ago.

Just puts 0's in the games he didn't play.

This would be nice. Or at least say what week the game was played in.

[SunDevil]

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=19831&highlight=reshacker

Here are some thoughts on how to improve immersion in FOF2004, borrowing from all the 3rd-party utitlies I've used and sports sims I've played. Add your thoughts and hopefully Jim can take a look at some of these for a future version.

1) City Editting. This is the most important for me. The fact that I was able to use ResHacker to input my city and other cities not included in the game, including data regarding weather, income, etc., increased the fun factor in a big way. Without this, I would have given TPF a much longer tryout.

2) Division and Bowl Names. Again, this wouldn't be possible without ResHacker. This may not be a huge thing for many, but I spent the time changing AFL to AFC and Solecismic Bowl to SuperBowl and Solecismic to NFL. Just adds a bit of polish to the game.

3) Custom Graphics. Again, thanks to ResHacker. Wheels' graphics have improved the image of FOF2004 from the background screen on loading to the awesome scoreboard. I didn't think the helmets/logos would make much of a difference, but that hasn't hurt immersion either and I've been able to input my own for the first time in the series.

4) Customized League Sizes. Immersion is greatly enhanced for me when the size of the player pool is reduced. Ideally, I'd like to create a 10-16 team league.

5) Coaching Personalities. TPF did a good job here. It would be nice to see offensive coordinators that favour West Coast offenses or Smash Mouth football. Likewise, defensive coordinators that have a heavy blitz defense. In this way, some of us who prefer to play as a GM could hire the "right" coach and coordinator and "trust" his gameplanning when clicking recommend and then evaluate the results.

6) Editting Stadiums. ResHacker can't do this and there are no 3rd-party utilities that enable this. I know you can build new stadiums, but upon starting a career I'd like to change the stadiums to existing reality, including names, as much as possible. Teams not in the NFL have stadiums not in the NFL. May just be my thing as I like to create a completely fictional universe.

7) Owner Profiles. CM does the best here, outlining the expectations of the board or owner for the upcoming season. Just makes our decision-making have a purpose, knowing someone is "watching".

8) Player Roles. TPF made a good start here, CM is probably the best. Whenever contracts are offered or renegotiated, it would be nice to be able to tell the player that he's a backup, starter, key player, etc. I just signed a "starting" MLB (who had backup ratings) in free agency who started 16 games with Miami but will end up being a backup to my stud MLB. In real life, he'd know he'd be behind my #1 guy on the depth chart and may have refused my offer. For agents or players to "read" depth charts and forecast playing time would probably be impossible to program. The alternative is for us to give him a role and for him to become upset if that role isn't fulfilled or refuse signing with our team.

9) Draft. The TPF draft is impressive. The commentary influences your selection. If you're seen as drafting someone "off the board" you wonder. The comments about "high character risk" really puts on the pressure. The scouting reports in the player profile are well conceived and written, and give you lots to think about beyond the player's size and ratings. All-in-all, very nicely done. If it only included FOF2004's draft-day trading.

10) Media. Jim has mentioned on a couple of occasions (paraphrased) that Marc (CM) has done such a good job in this area, that the amount of effort required to approach that level for a solo developer may not make the feature worthwhile. This may be true and I'm not how much can be done in this area.

11) Fido's Reporter. That thing is impressive, especially the latest development of tracking the success of every draft pick. If you check out <a href="http://www.hockeydb.com">Internet Hockey Database</a>, that is exactly what they do. It's really cool to see how every player in every draft turned out at the click of a button.

[Surtt]

It would be really nice if you could edit the free agent screen colors (at least tone it down).
I have a drab color screen and it hurts my eyes when that bright yellow pops up.

[cthomer5000]

When filling out the depth chart, could we have the window back that shows player ratings?

Yes, please. Not having this is greatly slowing down filling out the depth chart for me. With the size of most other screens in the game, i cant see how it would hurt to put room for the player skill view off to one side.

[KevinNU7]

I have noticed that when you click on a column it will sort the column but it's like to be able to click on the column again to sort it the other way.

For example when looking at contracts and years ending it sorts from longest contract to shortest. It would be nice to flip that list with anohter click to see the last year guys at the top.

This is important not only to look for some contract extensions but all to see what you are going to lose compared to who will be available next season from other teams.

[cuervo72]

Yes, please. Not having this is greatly slowing down filling out the depth chart for me. With the size of most other screens in the game, i cant see how it would hurt to put room for the player skill view off to one side.

I'll add my .02 for bringing that back too.

[DaddyTorgo]

rarrr. i'll reiterate my wish for a better trading system. I want the AI to come back and say "no i won't give you 1 (2) for Demetrius Williams but I would give you 2 (2) and 3 (2) instead of me having to beat my head against the desk trying to figure out what's acceptable.

i don't think this would be horribly unrealistic either. maybe a lot more work for Jim though?

[DaddyTorgo]

dola


a corollary to this: can we PLEASE PLEASE get rid of the stupid "well you asked me once and i accepted and then you canceled to try to see if that was the best offer so now you have to make your offer a tiny bit better" algorithm. fuckin pisses me off when I'm basically having to shoot in the dark to try to find out trade terms and then *I* get penalized for trying to make sure the computer is giving me the best deal.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Yes, please. Not having this is greatly slowing down filling out the depth chart for me. With the size of most other screens in the game, i cant see how it would hurt to put room for the player skill view off to one side.

It's there. Just right click on the players' names.

[T-Storm]

A couple of interface and design things that irk me:
1) I totally dislike the colour scheme changing in accordance to team a player is on. I really really want an option to turn that off and have it like in 2k4.
2) I also don't like that all the windows have gained as much size as they have. It's not as clear as it has been. As a matter of fact I think it's quite the opposite of clear. There's just way too much going on and way too much information per page.
I understand the thinking of not having to click a lot, but in this case it really hurts clarity. And it definitely takes a lot of fun out of it for me, because I just can't, as easy as I'm used to, find the information I'm looking for.
That goes for statistics as well as game plan screens and player cards.
3) Again, too much information, I dislike the expanded season statistics window. I really don't need to see 50 players or however many there are shown per screen. It was pretty much the optimum amount in 2k4 imo. Now it's just not as concise as it used to be.
4) It would be nice if all the abbrevations used in the game plan settings were explained at the bottom.
5) Depth Charts: I dislike that I now all of a sudden have to right click a name to view the player. That was much better in 2k4, when there was the player-ability windows all the time visible. Again, clarity has taken a turn for the worse, at least for me.
6) Multi Player Controls window: I dislike that the window is between the general options and game commands windows. As a non-multi player, it leaves an ugly empty spot in between.
7) That's probably just taking a bit of time, but right now I dislike the depth chart and player window expansion in width. It totally messes up my reaching-the-stats-of-the-week-window-without-actually-looking. Besides it also means, that the email window is now right above the almanac, and I really have to move it out of the way to access all of the almanac options.


In general I think more is less and less is more, and sadly right now, there is just too much going on and it has totally destroyed the usability, clarity and maneuverability thorugh the game for me.

[cthomer5000]

It's there. Just right click on the players' names.

Yes, and my point is that is MUCH, MUCH slower than the old way of being able to scroll through 5-6 guys immediately and have their skills appear off to the right.

I basically either have to memorize a guys skill set right now or simply spend about 5 times as much time as I used to setting a depth chart.

[Buccaneer]

In general I think more is less and less is more

That should be tattooed on every text sim developer's hands. Unfortunately, nearly everyone is doing just the opposite. :(

[Ben E Lou]

No. No. A thousand times no. I am LOVING the extra information included, particularly the stats, and in most places, wish more were given. I'm with Corey on the depth chart screen. We need more there.

[molson]

It was mentioned somewhere else, but I'd love it the game shipped with some pre-made game plans. I realize that the community could conceivably do this - but it just has never happened in the previous version.

Nobody's arguing that we need less stats in the game. But as a sim gets more complicated, it becomes more tedious unless steps are taking to make the whole thing more intuitive. Filling in percentages into a series of spreadsheets in order to gameplan feels like something the program should do on the back-end - after I tell it what kind of offense I want to run in human terms

[Buccaneer]

No. No. A thousand times no. I am LOVING the extra information included, particularly the stats, and in most places, wish more were given. I'm with Corey on the depth chart screen. We need more there.

No, not more but better presented (as evidence in the screenshots). There appears to be enough information to make critical decisions (would less information cause you to make the wrong decision?) but the key information should be presented clearly and concisely with the ability to dig deeper if needed. If you are talking about "immersion", then that would be another thing.

[wishbone]

After playing for 4 hours, I am enjoying the game but am frustrated by the rosters screen. If I open a player card and then close it, the team field is selected. If I use my scroll wheel to go down the roster list, I switch teams. I would like the default field coming out of a player card to the roster to be something besides the team field.

[Leonidas]

Here's one that drove me nuts in 2004. On the miscellaneous offensive settings screen, could we please, please have lockbox options. I like using the coaching recommendations on pass distances, but would really like my run directions protected when I make that switch, and vice versa.

[yabanci]

strange that the honors tracks player of the game, player of the week mentions, but not actual winning of player of the week. Seems like POWs is something that should be added to tracking (probably already been mentioned).

[cthomer5000]

AfIf I use my scroll wheel to go down the roster list, I switch teams. I would like the default field coming out of a player card to the roster to be something besides the team field.

Im 100% with you here, this appears to have changed from the 2004 version, because I used to use my scroll wheel all the time in the roster screen, now like you i keep accidentally changing teams.

[cthomer5000]

strange that the honors tracks player of the game, player of the week mentions, but not actual winning of player of the week. Seems like POWs is something that should be added to tracking (probably already been mentioned).

yes.

[cthomer5000]

That should be tattooed on every text sim developer's hands. Unfortunately, nearly everyone is doing just the opposite. :(

I can't even imagine waht Bucc's FOF would look like, or how it would function logically.

[cthomer5000]

We really need some emails at the beginning of each new period explaining what can be done at that stage. Stuff like the rookie interviews, getting players to bulk up/slim down, sending a player to the summer league, etc.

[T-Storm]

I'd like an option to turn the saving of box scores and game logs off.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

We really need some emails at the beginning of each new period explaining what can be done at that stage. Stuff like the rookie interviews, getting players to bulk up/slim down, sending a player to the summer league, etc.

Absolutely. I thought the email was supposed to be for those kinds of things anyways.

[VPI97]

Boxscores -
It looks like the only way a lineman gets on the boxscore for Blocking Statistics is if they have at least one Key Block Opportunity or one Sack Allowed...IMO, a more complete picture would be to include all linemen who were on the field for at least one play.

[molson]

Here's one that drove me nuts in 2004. On the miscellaneous offensive settings screen, could we please, please have lockbox options. I like using the coaching recommendations on pass distances, but would really like my run directions protected when I make that switch, and vice versa.

I've always wanted this too. It would save a ton of time on game planning.

[cthomer5000]

If I'm going to get any use out of Greta, her settings need to be retained after each use (or just located somewhere in the global settings). If I want it muted and moving at the "faster" setting, I shouldn't have to make that change every time I open it up. Having to change those settings every time makes Greta frustrating, and that makes me not even want to bother.

[cthomer5000]

I know this seems nit-picky, but I figure this is the thread for this stuff. I like the increased size of the roster screen, but now it's too big. I had customized my 2004 view in res-hacker. You can't see all 53 guys in one shot, we all know that. But setting it up to see 30 guys is a bit unnecessary. I'd suggest slimming it down a bit to the size that i'd settled on for FOF2004, enough to see 22 guys (the starting lineup). It makes for a nice, neat view when you sort by the "starter" tab. It will probably help reduce the overwhelming feeling of the roster screen now, and it's a very logical size to limit the view to.

A screenshot of my customized 2004 view, for reference:

http://www.somethingwithanh.com/fofc/roster_view.png

[Ajaxab]

It would be great to select multiple players to interview before the draft. Maybe I'm missing something, but I haven't found a way to interview the top 10 running backs without going to each and every one of their player cards. I'm sure many people will pick and choose precisely who they want to interview, but it would be good to be able to select multiple numbers of players and have them interviewed with one click.

[Leonidas]

It would be nice to be able to see player ratings on the playing time screen. You have no idea from that screen what their endurance is.

[henry296]

1. Exhibition Statistics. Been requesting it for years, but with more scout error and more lower rated players making decisions on exhibition performance is critical but nearly impossible.

2. I know this will never happen, but I can't stand coaches with Avoid Injury ratings. It makes no logical sense. If someone can show me a study that coaches impact injuries especially over time, I might re-consider.

[Raiders Army]

I know this seems nit-picky, but I figure this is the thread for this stuff. I like the increased size of the roster screen, but now it's too big. I had customized my 2004 view in res-hacker. You can't see all 53 guys in one shot, we all know that. But setting it up to see 30 guys is a bit unnecessary. I'd suggest slimming it down a bit to the size that i'd settled on for FOF2004, enough to see 22 guys (the starting lineup). It makes for a nice, neat view when you sort by the "starter" tab. It will probably help reduce the overwhelming feeling of the roster screen now, and it's a very logical size to limit the view to.

A screenshot of my customized 2004 view, for reference:

http://www.somethingwithanh.com/fofc/roster_view.png
Isn't Jim limited to the fact that everyone's screen resolution is different so it wouldn't display 22 guys on my screen; it might display 15 or 31?

[Buccaneer]

I can't even imagine waht Bucc's FOF would look like, or how it would function logically.

If you have read through my posts the past few days, esp. the discussions with wade, you would know. Simply put, many of the details would be under the hood with the option of opening that hood. That way one can play this game smoothly, at a quicker pace, as a GM would. There would also be complete faith in that what goes on under the hood is good, really good. Problem is, too many are so focused on micromanaging each game (before and after) that they can't see the forest for the trees (i.e., that this game can be designed in other ways). It would similar wanting to run a multi-year OOTP career and having to coach (pbp) many of the games. You wouldn't have enough interest to continue on to season 2.

For one that desires to do a 25-50 year career in a text sim in SP and do it the best way possible (i.e., without giving up too much control), one cannot afford to play the game in SP is if it were a MP league - 2-3 days between games with the luxury to take the time to look at everything.

FOF has clearly become the domain of MP to where you are forced to run SP as if it were MP - if you want to play it right.

[-Mojo Jojo-]

After playing for 4 hours, I am enjoying the game but am frustrated by the rosters screen. If I open a player card and then close it, the team field is selected. If I use my scroll wheel to go down the roster list, I switch teams. I would like the default field coming out of a player card to the roster to be something besides the team field.

Yes!


Here's one that drove me nuts in 2004. On the miscellaneous offensive settings screen, could we please, please have lockbox options. I like using the coaching recommendations on pass distances, but would really like my run directions protected when I make that switch, and vice versa.

I vote for that as well.


If I'm going to get any use out of Greta, her settings need to be retained after each use (or just located somewhere in the global settings). If I want it muted and moving at the "faster" setting, I shouldn't have to make that change every time I open it up. Having to change those settings every time makes Greta frustrating, and that makes me not even want to bother.

Agreed.


Also in addition to the requests for preseason stats it would be nice to have expanded preseason active lists. Particularly now that starters have to play in preseason to remove the rust (which I love, BTW) it's harder to get your young prospects in the lineup with only 46 active slots. And now that scouting is less accurate it seems even more important to see them perform on the field before you have to make the roster cut-down decisions.

[Leonidas]

1. Exhibition Statistics. Been requesting it for years, but with more scout error and more lower rated players making decisions on exhibition performance is critical but nearly impossible.

2. I know this will never happen, but I can't stand coaches with Avoid Injury ratings. It makes no logical sense. If someone can show me a study that coaches impact injuries especially over time, I might re-consider." on the first and as for the second they should have a separate trainer for injury ratings.

[MizzouRah]

1. Exhibition Statistics. Been requesting it for years, but with more scout error and more lower rated players making decisions on exhibition performance is critical but nearly impossible.

2. I know this will never happen, but I can't stand coaches with Avoid Injury ratings. It makes no logical sense. If someone can show me a study that coaches impact injuries especially over time, I might re-consider.

Agree with #1 - at least have a chance to see them right before the real season begins, then they can be erased.

#2 I don't think that rating really matters that much, maybe just a tad as a factor overall in the coaching staff. Meaning, instead of adding a medical staff, Jim lumps that in the coaching staff. I could be wrong, but I really don't notice more injuries with lower ratings and vice-versa.

[cuervo72]

Boxscores -
It looks like the only way a lineman gets on the boxscore for Blocking Statistics is if they have at least one Key Block Opportunity or one Sack Allowed...IMO, a more complete picture would be to include all linemen who were on the field for at least one play.

Hrm. I'd like to see all plays too, to see how subbing is going, get a quick check on who may have been injured, etc. I'm hoping in the data we still get games played and run plays/pass plays for calculations (I'd assume the game would have to track that for the same reason).

[Icy]

" on the first and as for the second they should have a separate trainer for injury ratings.

I vouch for this too, we need a Physio to take care of that instead of the head coach.

[henry296]

I'm not even sure trainers would help avoid injuries. They should help players return quicker perhaps.

[Deattribution]

When you interview a player it'd be nice to see where the original blue bars were vs where your scouts bars are. I can never remember everytime, so I don't know if I'm seeing a significant jump or not.

[-Mojo Jojo-]

When you interview a player it'd be nice to see where the original blue bars were vs where your scouts bars are. I can never remember everytime, so I don't know if I'm seeing a significant jump or not.

That's a good point. I'm also curious whether the "overrated" and "underrated" note is taken into account by the new bars that appear (i.e. that the new bars accurately reflect the scout's opinion), or do they serve as a further modification to the new bars (i.e. an "overrated" player has ratings below the new bars).

[PineTar]

When filling out the depth chart, could we have the window back that shows player ratings?

Agree, having to right click the player to get the ratings view is an unhappy take-away from the FOF2k4 days. Runs counter to the theme of reducing clicks.

[rdomico]

I'd still like a way to let the game sim a history for some number of years and then be able to take over a team in a mature universe.

Certainly not a deal breaker, but probably the #1 feature for which I was hoping that is not in the game.

(Although almost everything else on my "A" Wish List made it in the game, so I almost feel bad mentioning the one thing that did not)



I agree. Sometimes I just like to be a fan and just watch the league without controlling a team. I do this with OOTP. Seems like it would an easy thing to code, but maybe not.

[Deattribution]

In the draft, having the option to view only interviewed players would be nice.

[yabanci]

Does anybody know if the html boxscore output can be edited, maybe by changing the template or something? This is an ignorant question because I don't know anything about html, but I find the boxscres annoying with their clashing colors and some of the stats lines in a screwy order (for example, a typical QB stat line reads, cmp-att, yds, td-ints, sks, lng, rating, but in the new box scores it reads, att-cmp, yds, sks, td, lng, int, rating). Maybe it's just a peculiarity with me and how I'm used to seeing stat lines. In any event, the question is whether the boxscore html outpout is/will customizable?

[-Mojo Jojo-]

This is probably a space issue, but I'm not a big fan of how Solevision shows the other scores on teh 16 channels. Having everything on one line makes it hard for me to see, at a glance, who is winning while I'm watching my game.

Just a suggestion, could we move from:

(0-0) Carolina 0, (0-0) Washington 0, 1Q 9:07

to:

(0-0) Carolina 0 1Q 9:07
(0-0) Washington 0

With the above aligned correctly, of course. You could also put an asterisk (or a football) to show which team has the ball.

Edit: or if space IS the issue (which it looks like it is), maybe you could have the team that's winning use a different font color (though I can see that could be an issue due to the different color schemes)?


This is another good suggestion. I think solevision is a wonderful idea, but the implementation is pretty messy. The channel select/scoreboard in the upper right is, as Craig noted, very difficult to parse. Too much data presented in unformatted and unstructured text. One solution to this that would satisfy me would be to add game scores to the scoring updates in the top left box (i.e.: Touchdown: CLE - Melvin Banks 3 run. Miami 10, Cleveland 20). That would save me from having to try to locate the game to see the new score. It would also be nice if the scoring updates persisted for more than a single play, since I'm not always watching the top left box that closely.

[gstelmack]

Especially with the expanded interface size, I'd like to see the Scout and Coach tables look more like this (minus the rating bits at the right I added, they are nice but not really important):

http://www.gstelmack.com/CoachScreen.png

http://www.gstelmack.com/ScoutScreen.png

[amdaily]

After playing for 4 hours, I am enjoying the game but am frustrated by the rosters screen. If I open a player card and then close it, the team field is selected. If I use my scroll wheel to go down the roster list, I switch teams. I would like the default field coming out of a player card to the roster to be something besides the team field.

Been a HUGE problem for me.

[Deattribution]

I'd like to see a Total added to the defense tab for tackles. it's not hard to combine the total and assist together, but it'd be way more convient to just be able to look at how many plays he was involved in total.

[yabanci]

The option to hide game results to avoid spoilers is great. But the injury email updates as soon as you sim the week, which can give you an injury spoiler and a preview of the game (e.g., you see your quarterback went out with an injury). It would be nice if the emails were reordered to prevent this from happening and avoid spoilers altogether.

[pbot]

While/after interviewing draftees it would be nice to be able to flag them right on the player card. Exiting the player card and right clicking from the main draft window to mark for future reference is annoying.

[-Mojo Jojo-]

It would be nice to be able to do more with 4th downs and field goal ranges. It's nice to be able to limit field goal range when you have a weak kicker, but it results in your team doing stupid things instead. There is nothing more galling than punting from the 32 yard line on 4th and 3 (an inevitable touchback and a 12 yard net). I'd like to set my game plan to always go for it in a situation like that, but there's no way to do so. Maybe a minimum punt range would work (i.e. never punt from inside the opponent's 40 yard line).

[AZSpeechCoach]

I would like to see variable screen resolutions. My laptop screen is cutting off bottoms of the windows, even with a minimized toolbar. The window sizes can't be changed. Also, in the Game Simulation PBP screen, the fastest setting is way too fast to read, but the second highest setting seems to take forever with the expanded PBP. A 1.5 setting would be the best of both worlds, see the results of the play, but not take 10 minutes to simulate a game.

[cthomer5000]

It would be nice to be able to do more with 4th downs and field goal ranges. It's nice to be able to limit field goal range when you have a weak kicker, but it results in your team doing stupid things instead. There is nothing more galling than punting from the 32 yard line on 4th and 3 (an inevitable touchback and a 12 yard net). I'd like to set my game plan to always go for it in a situation like that, but there's no way to do so. Maybe a minimum punt range would work (i.e. never punt from inside the opponent's 40 yard line).

If this is possible, I'm with you. There are some tricky punt vs. field goal vs. go for it decisions in real life, pretty much all taking place inside the opponents 30-40 yard line. Sometimes if it's 4th and 2 on the opponents 32, the best option is really to go for it, but I don't think we can really replicate that in FOF right now.

[gottimd]

Ability to filter on league leaders by "All Rookies".

[-Mojo Jojo-]

How about a button on the game sim window: 'Sim week and view in Solevision'. For one it cuts out some extra button pushing, but more importantly it would allow people to view their playoff games in Solevision without seeing the results broadcast in the standings window, where it's perfectly obvious that if I have another game scheduled I won, and if I don't then I lost. Additionally it would obviate the need for hiding scores and standings in single player, since you wouldn't see those other screens until after you left Solevision...

[yabanci]

How about a button on the game sim window: 'Sim week and view in Solevision'. For one it cuts out some extra button pushing, but more importantly it would allow people to view their playoff games in Solevision without seeing the results broadcast in the standings window, where it's perfectly obvious that if I have another game scheduled I won, and if I don't then I lost. Additionally it would obviate the need for hiding scores and standings in single player, since you wouldn't see those other screens until after you left Solevision...

Good call. Much better than the post-it on the monitor.

[gottimd]

Player Card HTML output. I know it would probably take alot of space, but make a folder like LeagueHTML or a sub directory of that called "PlayerCardHTML". On FOF 2007, you have the option with the box scores and game logs not to export, so have the same option for the player cards.

[Ksyrup]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but on the playing time screen, it would be great if we could get a "lock" check box similar to what's on the depth chart screens. I'm tired of having to manually override certain recommendations every week, yet want the AI to set this for pretty much all of my guys but 1 or 2 (especially QB; I favor leaving a QB in far more than the AI does).

[Cringer]

I would like to send atleast two players to the Summer League, instead of just one. NFL team's can send more then one, I wish to be able to do the same. And maybe make it so 2nd and 3rd year guys can go over there.

Also, as for the Solevision, my main wish here is to atleast darken the text of the teams, and maybe give the team points a blue color or something. That way I can look over there and pick those things out real quick.

[Cringer]

Keep tweaking that computer team draft AI.

My first draft has Atlanta taking a 60ish(top rated though) QB with the #1 overall pick. They already had Matt Leinart, going into his second year and rated 20 points better for future.

There top 3 needs were T, CB, and RB. All three of those spots and very good players to take, especially tackle.

edit: #2 was an OLB, and then the next three picks were all QB's. I support these picks though, as all three teams needed QBs.

[Narcizo]

Don't know if it is possible but it would be nice if you could filter all the individual stat screens by general position. (particularly the defence and receiving screens - ILB, OLB, DE, DT, WR, TE etc etc).

[Leonidas]

When you go back to a saved game it always has the AI gameplans loaded, not the gameplan you had previously loaded. I'd like to be able to have the gameplan loaded saved in there as part of the overall saved file. Instead everytime I fire the game up I have to reload the gameplans all over again.

[Caratacus]

It is keeping my gameplans in place when I reload.

[Leonidas]

It is keeping my gameplans in place when I reload.Interesting. It most definitely is not doing it for me. I've been doing this 20 season cycles of gameplan testing and have not been able to get my intial file to keep the gameplans in them for testing. I check it every time and every time it's defaulted back to the AI gameplan. Really tedious to have to reload them every time I run a new sample.

[Caratacus]

I've been doing the same thing but it seems to be holding mine, do you load up the gameplan and then save game?

[O'Falls]

I'm not that good at remembering all players by name and usually renumber my players so I can identiry starters and backups. While I very much like the new text when siming, players numbers no longer show. It may spoil the dialogue but I really wish I could see player numbers.

[Galaxy]

Keep tweaking that computer team draft AI.

My first draft has Atlanta taking a 60ish(top rated though) QB with the #1 overall pick. They already had Matt Leinart, going into his second year and rated 20 points better for future.

There top 3 needs were T, CB, and RB. All three of those spots and very good players to take, especially tackle.

edit: #2 was an OLB, and then the next three picks were all QB's. I support these picks though, as all three teams needed QBs.

I sometimes think the top three needs can be misguiding. I haven't played too close attention, but does the AI take "future" players? Will they take a player to groom to replace an older guy in a year or two? Do they take players for guys who are free agents in a year or two? Also, does the need list take into account the team's emphasis on particular positions?

To add, two things:
1) Fix the Trade AI where trading up and down in the first round should require at least the highest pick they are dealing from. For example, a team trading up to the sixth slot should always include it's own first rounder. If you are moving into the first round, the highest pick in the second round they have should be included. Picks in a year should be valued a round lower than the current draft, picks in two years should be valued 2 rounds lower (with the exception of maybe first round picks)

2) Have the computer offer you draft day trades. I never understood why this was never included.

3) Some type of mock draft.

4) Make the sizes more realistic and matter.

[amdaily]

Houston had the top pick in 2007 and 2008 in my league. Took a QB each time even though the 1st one is rated extremely well.

[Galaxy]

Is Jim looking at these at all?

[MizzouRah]

I would love to see a "mock draft" report. I think it would help to save time researching what a team should do. I know we can look at "team needs", but I know Jim could come up with something witty on a mock draft report.

[Icy]

Please add a print button in the draft screen so we can print all the draftees with their combine numbers. We could use Greg extractor before but it's not working anymore because the ratings changes.

[gstelmack]

Please add a print button in the draft screen so we can print all the draftees with their combine numbers. We could use Greg extractor before but it's not working anymore because the ratings changes.

And Greg's Extractor really needs a "Grade" entry when you click the player to open their report window. Without that "Grade" entry, I'd be missing a key piece in the Extractor data. A roster player has their scouted rating on the screen (a nice addition that was missing before), but the draft candidates are now missing their grade.

[bselig]

One thing I'd like to see is the Greta's House topics randomized, instead of apparently being assigned the same week every year. I basically only see Best QBs and Best Leaders with the way I play.

Also, is there a way for Football Outsiders to display stats other then Adjusted Line Yards?

[MizzouRah]

Ouch. This is just a space issue. I got playoff stats in there, this would be a similar cost in terms of data file space, so I don't want to do that.

Maybe in the next version, I'll do a separate screen, outside of the player cards, that puts up a subset of the pre-season numbers, kind of like the big team summary screen.

Obviously it's not a problem how to track it because the engine doesn't know whether it's a playoff game, a pre-season game or a regular season game. It's just a matter of how much space it uses in the data files.

I would really like to see this as for now, I have to write down players who are close ratings wise, thereforre competing for a starting job. I compare stats as the exhibition season goes by - maybe alternating them in starting positions as well. (btw, Microsoft office one note works well)

It could be a step before the regular season, maybe a box would pop up and let you know that exhibition statistics will be erased when you select, "begin season" or something to that affect.

On the player card there could be a temporary line that says, "Exhibition" and the stats would accumilate there. Once the season begins, that line could be erased along with the stats.

I would definitly start someone who performed much better in exhibition (obviously a rookie or fairly young player), but had worse ratings.

[JeffW]

There is too much TE talent in the dispersal draft, check out this screenshot from WAFL:

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7652/tedepthji2.jpg

Every team in the league has a quality starter at TE and most have one or two starter calibre backups as well. This is not just a fluke either, it shows up in other preference drafts.

Not a major issue I guess. I'm just annoyed that I took a TE in the 4th round when I probably could have had gotten a very good starter in round 30. :D

[AlexB]

What would be really useful would be a 'replay' button on Solevision - sometimes I miss a line, and it would be nice to have the facility to go back to the last play and re-read it.

[KWhit]

Agree. I do that all the time.

[Subby]

multiplayer administration

1. in game ftp - don't have to exit game to upload files to server or import files into game as commish

2. separate folder for each league, removing the need to set up batch files if you are in multiple leagues because of different city and nickname files, logos, etc..

3. csv dump feature for all information you can see in game

[perez24]

Things I'd like to see, none of which are very original.

1. Mock Draft

2. Requirement to tell potential free agents what role you project for them if they sign, e.g. starter, possible starter, back-up/mentor to young player, etc.

3. Ability to see on one screen which players need to are over/underweight and determine who needs to bulk up/trim down.

[cuervo72]

No more Norberts (http://www.thefofl.com/players/search.php?text=norbert)!


(Or at least an increase in the variety of names used by the generator, or a way to add names yourself. Also would help in not having as many instances of multiple players with the same name (http://www.thefofl.com/players/search.php?text=o.j.+becker). Heck, even logic that prevents the same name from being used twice, if possible. Assuming none of this changed from 2004, that is.)