Patch 6.0e Released!

[Ben E Lou]

http://www.solecismic.com/support/index.php



The following changes are included in the 6.0e update, along with everything changed through 6.0d:


Screen for in-game box scores is too tall for 1024x768 desktop.
Goal-line formation reverses tight ends.
Cosmetic fixes for a handful of printed screens.
Cosmetic fixes for a handful of information screens.
Playoff records now update properly.
Break down offense and defense for team totals of running plays and passing plays.
Hide Red Zone information in Solevision-generated box scores until the game is final.
Team scouting report shows incorrect overrall scouted rating.
Fix and extend (slightly) achievement list to show more statistical categories.
Change order of placement in dime depth chart - dime back should not be placed before starters.
Ensure stage emails during multi-player game are available at the right time.
Biggest need on trade screen and information screen does not reflect a team's 34/43 choice.
Use of color scheme, when set to change with player cards, isn’t consistent - a little better now..
Make sure a player can not be listed twice at the top of the special teams depth chart.
Make sure the extra defensive lineman in goal-line defense is not starting elsewhere.
Fix problems with phantom offsides call on defense during a punt or kickoff play, which could lead to extra point being kicked for wrong team if return for touchdown.
Slight tweak to the curve where older players are no longer offered long contracts.
Some changes made to time-out calls in two-minute offense.
Tweak in AI rushing percentages to right side.
If a player retires early, he should have up to two seasons of accrued bonus count against the cap, instead of one.
Soften restriction for trading away players at start of fully-drafted career.
Tweak AI for deciding when appropriate to decline a penalty on third down that would result in fourth down if accepted (only when making a field goal tougher).
Timing of play-calling corrected if indication of a two-minute warning if no time out called - Clock stops at 2:00 instead of running to point where next play would have been snapped.
Potential removed for crash when 3rd quarterback is injured, but still in depth chart.
Lower the number of penalties called.
Redefine the concussion injury so that players do not try to play through the injury during a game.
Increase the risk of players getting injured in the summer league.
Take a shot at reducing the problem with the game hanging when it opens. The theory here is that virus checkers do not handle broadcasts from the game properly.
Try and count the salary cap hit properly when a player is cut during the season. At some point, FOF will need to change the rules completely, and just guarantee an entire salary once the season begins.
The pop-up showing cap hits was corrected for the case when a player making the veteran minimum is released.
When dealing with a veteran minimum salary in salary offer screen, bonus was not being calculated correctly.
The play selection algorithm now properly uses the game plan settings for defensive personnel choices.
The play selection algorithm now properly uses the adjustments screens on offense and defense.
More than one teams changing cities could choose Akron.
AI should make sure it is not signing a seriously injured player in mid-season.
In a league starting with a full draft, but the game was saved before the draft was finished, the level economic playing field option should work.
In a league starting with a preference draft, implement a proper snake order for drafting.
Don't show rookie ratings in recommend screen during the start of a league using a full draft.
Rewrite algorithm for how the overrated/underrated assessment is chosen during the rookie interview process.
Eliminate scoreboard screen flashing during play-calling after the play-calling screen exits.
Fix cosmetic error with fumble recovery distance of fumble in end zone resulting in touchdown.
Could not verify, but put in some protection code to try and endure AI could not sign a coach to an undefined salary.
Change algorithm, speeding up team penalty avoidance changes based on staff ratings.
In multi-player fixed problem that could lead to incorrect cap approval/denial of a signing if a team is making offers to more than one player.
Rewrite pieces of the logic for determining how well the staff recognizes play-calling trends during a game.
Give commissioner full access to void contract button on player screen.
Penalty should not be declined at the end of a game if declining the penalty would lead to the end of the game for the trailing team.
When a game is over, the channel button in Solevision should show "Final."
Remove the clumsy attempt to provide city names when opening saved games or joining a new MP league.
List of Solevision weeks now populated properly - a crash could occur when a week was listed and that file wasn't on the computer.

[SackAttack]

I know Jim was going to fix the thing where teams would kneel down near the end of a half and then 'forget' they had done that and take a shot at the end zone, but unless I'm blind, I don't see it here. Am I missing something?

[Ben E Lou]

We have received many questions about how a player's coverage ratings translate into these coverage options. The answer is complex. On each play, a defensive player is assigned a coverage rating based on the chosen coverage, the position he plays and the targetted receiver.

Cornerbacks, even when in zone coverage, need to have man-to-man and/or bump-and-run skills because they are almost always responsible for a wide receiver close to the line of scrimmage. And safeties, especially the free safety, even when in man coverage are often essentially playing a zone. The strong-side linebacker is often assigned to the tight end.

We recommend you try out different lineups, especially in the Nickel and Dime situations, and see which coverages work best for your players. There's a lot of flexibility in this system.

Double Coverage:

You may assign double coverage based on the cornerbacks. One cornerback is always assigned to the flanker, and one to the split end. Your choice affects which side each cornerback covers. If you choose to orient the cornerbacks left and right, then they stay on the left or right side regardless of which sides the flanker and split ends choose. If you choose to orient the cornerbacks based on their abilities, then your top cornerback will always cover the opposing team's best wide receiver.

In double-coverage, a safety (usually the free safety first) automatically joins one of the cornerbacks. This doesn't mean there won't be double coverage elsewhere, just that it's automatic in this case. This is also what the game reports in the play-by-play. When the cornerbacks stay on one side or the other, your choices are to double-cover either the split end or the flanker. When they cover based on ability, your choices are to double-cover either the top or the second-best receiver.

Double-coverage percentages indicate what percentage of all plays a safety is in automatic double coverage.



A good bit more information here.

[Ben E Lou]

Looks like the adjustments screen is going to be much more intuitive now...

If it is First-and-Ten and you have, then, runs set to 45%, short passes to 25% and long passes set to 30%. And your setting on this screen modifies runs by 30% more, short passes by 10% less and long passes are the "same," then the game will make the following calculations. Runs = 45 * 130% = 58%, short passes = 25 * 90% = 22%, long passes = 30%. They are then adjusted to add up to 100%. So you would end up running 54% of the time, short passes 19% and long passes 27% in that situation.

The "Never" setting will reduce the chance of running that offense to 0%. The "Always" setting adds 900% to the modifier, so it's essentialy an "almost always" setting.

[Ben E Lou]

FYI, Version 6.0e is now available via the Downloads spreadsheet under the "game file" link.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Excellent. Faster than I was even hoping for. I like all the changes, of course. However, after reading the new help file on coverages, I'm still not sure what a safety's B&R and M2M ratings are worth. Maybe I'm just dumb. It seems to say that at least as a free safety, zone is by far the most important (if not the only) rating, no?

Thanks, Jim. I am definitely glad to see the reworking of the cap hits for midseason signing, especially for the veteran minimums.

[Northwood_DK]

I don’t see the quarterback playing time bug on the list. Can anyone with the patch take a quick look and see if it has been fixed.

Thanks to Jim for the great work supporting the game.

[Alf]

Lots of fixes in this patch. Good work, and an appreciated one.

[kingfc22]

Sweet. Glad I checked the board before I went to sleep.

[Emiliano]

Great job Jim.

[MIJB#19]

Awesome!

[Ben E Lou]

Lower the number of penalties called.
Increase the risk of players getting injured in the summer league.
The play selection algorithm now properly uses the game plan settings for defensive personnel choices.
The play selection algorithm now properly uses the adjustments screens on offense and defense.
Rewrite algorithm for how the overrated/underrated assessment is chosen during the rookie interview process.
Change algorithm, speeding up team penalty avoidance changes based on staff ratings.
Rewrite pieces of the logic for determining how well the staff recognizes play-calling trends during a game.These are the biggies for me. I believe that these are going to fundamentally change the way I play the game, in a good way.

[Subby]

Thanks Jim. With the risk of sounding a little too highbrow here...you are the balls.

[Subby]

dola

Can MP participants export from 6.0d even if the commish is running 6.0e? Will there be any effect?

[Ben E Lou]

Rewrite algorithm for how the overrated/underrated assessment is chosen during the rookie interview process.
In addition to this, there's a new assessment: "Hard To Read."

[Joe]

no change in RB endurance?

[Subby]

no change in RB endurance?
Was this submitted by anyone? I know I mentioned it to SD (I have a low endurance RB in GEFL that is set to 100% but doesn't even get the first carries of the game) but thought someone else had already submitted it.

[Ben E Lou]

Was this submitted by anyone? I know I mentioned it to SD (I have a low endurance RB in GEFL that is set to 100% but doesn't even get the first carries of the game) but thought someone else had already submitted it.
I mentioned Ellard (set to 100%, very high endurance) not being in the game for the first play of a drive in the first quarter in the bug/issue thread, but it wasn't in the first few plays of a game. I think the tension here is that a few people raised a huge stink about backs getting more carries than in the NFL, so it got a tweak in one of the previous patches. For some, the ability of ANY back to get over around 430ish carries makes the game "unrealistic", while for others (especially in MP), we want to have enough control to be able to run our guy 'til his legs fall off and he ends up getting injured because of playing tired. I don't think there's any way Jim could fully satisfy both camps here. That being said, if your guy is the starter and is coming out that early, there's probably something that could use a look there.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks Jim for the continued excellent support. I'm looking forward to really diving into 6.0e this weekend.

[Fonzie]

Great stuff. Thanks Jim!

[MizzouRah]

Nice! Been playing the heck out of FOF 2k7 and will be the next two days I'm off!

Thanks!!

[Young Drachma]

Sweet. Bought it yesterday, patched today. Good stuff.

[Ben E Lou]

The play selection algorithm now properly uses the game plan settings for defensive personnel choices.
This is worth expounding on. I did a little testing on this a few days ago. It turns out that in 6.0d, the game was only using nickel and dime defense in the following limited situations:

1. when the offense was in hurry-up
2. when the offense was in 4 WR or 5 WR
3. (rare) when the defense was in 1-deep and expecting the pass

This is a huge and important change.

[Antmeister]

Good job Jim. As usual, I am impressed by how much is fixed in one patch. I can't wait to see what kind of effect this is going to have in the MP league.

[Julio Riddols]

Jim, youre the Rich Eisen of my Alicia Layne world.

[Sgran]

Can someone explain briefly what should happen when we run this? First of all, should we replace the existing exe file? It seems to me the patch wants to completely reload the game. Does that jeapordize our league files? It says our saved games won't be affected. Does that mean there will be no effect on saved games or there won't be negative effects? And if there will be no effect, then how will it help MP leagues.

[Julio Riddols]

I just installed it without removing anything or moving any files anywhere, and my MP league files are fine.

[Sgran]

Did you overwrite the existing .exe file? I saved the new download to a new spot and it asked me where i wanted to store all the files.

[Eaglesfan27]

Can anyone else who has patched confirm that they are still seeing 6.0d as the current version on the about FOF screen?

[twothree]

Can anyone else who has patched confirm that they are still seeing 6.0d as the current version on the about FOF screen?

No. I see 6.0e in my uninstalled/new installed version.

[Eaglesfan27]

No. I see 6.0e in my uninstalled/new installed version.


Thanks. Guess, I'll retry the installation later.

[DaddyTorgo]

that's friggin hot. i just fired up the game last night again in anticipation.

[Wolfy]

Thanks. Guess, I'll retry the installation later.

Remember that you typically have to remove the old version prior to running the patch.

[FFL Buffalo Bills]

As in delete it from your computer altogther.. And re-install. Doesn't that take away from how many downloads your allowed per license. Don't ya only get 2 downloads:confused:

[FFL Buffalo Bills]

Can anyone else who has patched confirm that they are still seeing 6.0d as the current version on the about FOF screen?

I still show 6.0d

But I don't think I done it correctly

[kingfc22]

Did draft interviews give "hard to read" result prior to this patch? If not, then this is a neat addition.

[Antmeister]

Did draft interviews give "hard to read" result prior to this patch? If not, then this is a neat addition.

That would be a no. Jim just added it. It also looks like the final orange bars are smaller as well.

[KWhit]

Anybody have any thoughts on the changes to the Under / Overrated tags yet?

[WebEwbank]

-Rewrite algorithm for how the overrated/underrated assessment is chosen during the rookie interview process.

is THE key fix for me, a historical roster/single-player player. I am just about to dive in and see what it means (I never understood before...). Any enlightenment would be most welcome.

Again, thanks Jim for the caring and competent ongoing stewardship you provide for your products !

[Eaglesfan27]

As in delete it from your computer altogther.. And re-install. Doesn't that take away from how many downloads your allowed per license. Don't ya only get 2 downloads:confused:


I haven't had time to uninstall and re-install yet. However, my understanding is the current license will still work with the game even after the uninstall/reinstall process and it won't effect the 2 installation total that you get.

[MizzouRah]

I just installed the patch, which went fine, but I had to re-copy the FOF exe to the desktop (as a shortcut) for some reason the old shortcut wouldn't work anymore.

[Solecismic]

If you are installing 6.0e over 6.0d, you should not have to uninstall first - the installation procedure is designed to do that automatically.

If you have already installed 6.0e, and did something we don't recommend, like taking an altered 6.0d executable and placing it on top of the installation, then you will have to uninstall before reinstalling.

I understand the positional graphics aren't everyone's favorite. I like them myself, but I also keep my monitor brightness very low and realize they look a little rough on a laptop screen. But if you're going to replace them, please use a tool that replaces them directly.

Don't use an executable that someone else has provided with the changes already made. I believe someone making those changes has written a tool that does it properly, though for obvious reasons I can't openly support it or link to it.

[BigDawg]

I had no problems ran patch but 1 thing I noticed I had to delete my old short cut on my desktop and make a new short cut for it to work.

no need to delete anything here

[Dutch]

I understand the positional graphics aren't everyone's favorite. I like them all by myself.


Fixed. :)

[MizzouRah]

Fixed. :)

LOL

[Sgran]

I patched and everything is fine except for one strange thing: in my SP I've lost the team logos (city name) on the player cards. There is just a check (tick) in a box in the corner. In my MP the city name shows up.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Try and count the salary cap hit properly when a player is cut during the season. At some point, FOF will need to change the rules completely, and just guarantee an entire salary once the season begins.

This one seems to be working correctly now. I'm wondering why Jim thinks that the game eventually has to guarantee contracts. Seems pretty unrealistic when the non-guaranteed nature is an integral component to managing the cap in FOF and the NFL.

[Kobeck]

I understand the positional graphics aren't everyone's favorite. I like them myself, but I also keep my monitor brightness very low and realize they look a little rough on a laptop screen. But if you're going to replace them, please use a tool that replaces them directly.

Don't use an executable that someone else has provided with the changes already made. I believe someone making those changes has written a tool that does it properly, though for obvious reasons I can't openly support it or link to it.

First - GREAT game and it just keeps getting better at simulating the NFL.

Second - why not let certain things, positional graphics and splash screens for instance, be easily modified? Some things are already easliy modified, the sounds and Gridiron Girl, why not make more of the purley cosmetic things easily modified because it would free you to continue to improve the simulation aspects of your industry leading product

[MizzouRah]

First - GREAT game and it just keeps getting better at simulating the NFL.

Second - why not let certain things, positional graphics and splash screens for instance, be easily modified? Some things are already easliy modified, the sounds and Gridiron Girl, why not make more of the purley cosmetic things easily modified because it would free you to continue to improve the simulation aspects of your industry leading product

Actually, they are easy to modify whether you use reshacker or gstlemack's utility.

[Kobeck]

I understand that it must be simple for a lot of folks, I am not one of them. I have not changed any splashscreens because I found it intimidating, same for the positional graphics.

I know these things can are are being altered, but I am not one that will be doing it myself. BUT things like changing the banners and such are actually simple and I have no problem with that.

[Bonegavel]

Any word on installing this for an MP league? Seems that it is most important for the Commish to upgrade so these changes take place for the sims.

[johnnyshaka]

EDIT: SKYDOG, I meant to post this in this (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=58500) thread. If you'd like to move this post and the discussion that follows to the bugs thread, by all means, be my guest. Thanks.

Playing time during the pre-season still baffles me...do we have control over it or not?

I set my starting QB's playing time to "7" for our last preseason game and he got pulled in the middle of a drive with 13 minutes left to play in the 2nd quarter. He wasn't injured and was playing well (7/9 for 97 yards and a TD) so I have no idea why he would be yanked so early. Going into the game he had "significant" rust (which baffles me as he had already started another preseason game prior to this one) and after his "quarter-and-change" worth of work his rust factor didn't improve one bit.

Same game, I set my starting SS' playing time to "50%" and after looking at the boxscore it appears that he didn't leave the field once...huh? His backup didn't even show up in the log and he's not injured. Doesn't make sense to me.

For the record, coaching AI settings are set to "NO".

Per the help file, the QB should've, more than likely, played the entire game and the SS should've only played approximately 50% of the time.

Am I missing something?

[twothree]

Playing time during the pre-season still baffles me...do we have control over it or not?

Am I missing something?

Substitution frequency also varies based on the stage of the season. Players will usually substitute more during the exhibition season and much less during the playoffs. Players will also substitute more frequently during blowout games.

Usually players will substitue more during the exhibition season. Maybe the coaches wanted to play that SS.

[johnnyshaka]

Usually players will substitue more during the exhibition season. Maybe the coaches wanted to play that SS.

So, I'll ask again, do we or don't we have control over playing time during the pre-season? If so, I would LOVE to know how.

I like the fact that the "Rust Factor" has been introduced so that pre-season actually has a purpose but if we can't control who and how much playing time our players get, what is the point?

EDIT: Both players mentioned above are 9-year vets who are fully developed.

[twothree]

So, I'll ask again, do we or don't we have control over playing time during the pre-season? If so, I would LOVE to know how.

I like the fact that the "Rust Factor" has been introduced so that pre-season actually has a purpose but if we can't control who and how much playing time our players get, what is the point?

EDIT: Both players mentioned above are 9-year vets who are fully developed.

You have limited control.

You can set for non-QBs a percentage of playing time that you would like to see them play. The game uses it's own logic (programmed functions) to eventually determine who plays each play, and my guess would be that the gameplan and game situation along with time of the season and other factors such as how many active players you have at a position play a part.

Are you having a problem with the "Rust" factor? Usually :D , in my experience, you can clear rust off of anyone if you make them a starter for 2 preseason games.

Edit: Rereading your comments, I guess the "Rust" factor is the problem. Did your QB have the same problem in the previous pre-season? Was he active, and listed as the second backup-QB in his non-starts? If so, I would recommend giving him at least 3 starts and probably all 4 starts every preseason from here on out.

[johnnyshaka]

You have limited control.

So, by "limited" you mean that the AI will chose to listen to the parameters I set some of the time and completely ignore the rest the remainder of the time. Am I close?

You can set for non-QBs a percentage of playing time that you would like to see them play. The game uses it's own logic (programmed functions) to eventually determine who plays each play, and my guess would be that the gameplan and game situation along with time of the season and other factors such as how many active players you have at a position play a part.

So does having the QB, who has "significant" rust, set at 7 being pulled early in the 2nd quarter down by 3 points after converting a third down at mid-field seem like a suitable situation for the AI to completely ignore the playing time setting? As for the SS set at 50% and not leaving the field...I had 4 healthy safeties active.

Are you having a problem with the "Rust" factor? Usually :D , in my experience, you can clear rust off of anyone if you make them a starter for 2 preseason games.

My starting QB started two preseason games, the 2nd and the 4th games, and has "significant" rust.

[gottimd]

Is there an official time frame of when the rust "wears away"? I assume age is a factor as well. It would suck to have to play your starting QB 2-3 preseason games with a decent amount of playing time so you don't enter the season with a rusty QB, or any other star vet, and have them get injured for the season during the preseason.

[twothree]

Is there an official time frame of when the rust "wears away"? I assume age is a factor as well. It would suck to have to play your starting QB 2-3 preseason games with a decent amount of playing time so you don't enter the season with a rusty QB, or any other star vet, and have them get injured for the season during the preseason.

??? Wasn't that the reason rust was put into the game? So, that you would have to weigh the risks of starting your QB during the preseason and risking injury versus not playing them and being rusty at the start of the season. ???

I guess I don't have a problem with injuries to my players, I think of it as a part of football. I do have injuries set at 200 and treat preseason games like regular season games for my starters, except for the fact I use the recommended 50% playing time for all starters during the preseason. So, I don't run into the rust factor as often as I run into the career ending injury to your starter. But that's just the way I play FOF.

[gottimd]

??? Wasn't that the reason rust was put into the game? So, that you would have to weigh the risks of starting your QB during the preseason and risking injury versus not playing them and being rusty at the start of the season. ???

I understand that and completely agree, but at what point though is what I am talking about. Does it make sense to have to play your starting qb all 5 games at 80% playing time so that he has no rust? All I am concerned about is how fast a player loses rust, not that there is rust. If you have to play a starter too much to get rid of rust, I think that should be changed.

[twothree]

I understand that and completely agree, but at what point though is what I am talking about. Does it make sense to have to play your starting qb all 5 games at 80% playing time so that he has no rust? All I am concerned about is how fast a player loses rust, not that there is rust. If you have to play a starter too much to get rid of rust, I think that should be changed.

Sorry, I misread that then. I thought you meant at what point in a player's career he no longer would have to worry about rust when you wrote...

"Is there an official time frame of when the rust "wears away"? I assume age is a factor as well."

I was thinking you meant a vetern should not have to worry about rust. (Practice? Practice? We're talking about practice?)

[gottimd]

Sorry, I misread that then. I thought you meant at what point in a player's career he no longer would have to worry about rust when you wrote...



I was thinking you meant a vetern should not have to worry about rust. (Practice? Practice? We're talking about practice?)

:D No worries. In regards to the veterans, I could see rust taking longer to wear away. But for star players in the prime of their career, it shouldn't take too long to shake the rust.

[johnnyshaka]

Edit: Rereading your comments, I guess the "Rust" factor is the problem. Did your QB have the same problem in the previous pre-season? Was he active, and listed as the second backup-QB in his non-starts? If so, I would recommend giving him at least 3 starts and probably all 4 starts every preseason from here on out.

Yes, why my starting QB has significant rust after starting two games with his playing time set at 7 is a little goofy, IMHO. Sure, two games might not be enough to shed all the rust...but I doubt it should be at significant at this point.

But, my real beef is with the playing time settings. I've heard several guys say that they leave things as recommended and they're happy with the results as their starters don't end up rusty when the season starts. Hey, that's great for thos guys but I'd rather not use the recommended settings because I've got some young guys I'm trying to develop or a couple of position battles or whatever...if the option is there for me to tweak playing time, it should work. Rust aside...if a stater is rusty because he didn't get playing time because I chose not to give him playing time...I'm fine with that. But, when I specifically set playing time for a player and it is completely ignored by the AI, there is definitely something wrong or something we don't know about how pre-season works but should.

EDIT: About the QB, I just acquired (after the first pre-season game) him this pre-season and this is our first season with FOF2K7 so there is no track record for his rust tendancies. He's a mentor, so he was active for the game he didn't play (third game) but I don't know if he was active on his previous team's roster during their first game.