Newbie with some questions

[Fluzao]

Hey everybody!

Just bought the game after considering it for quite awhile. I was always sure I'd like it, and that was the big problem! Its not like I needed another addiction, but what the hell, right!? Anyway, I'm one of these bloody foreigners who knows basically nothing about the sport (more than I've seen on films...) but I'm sure I'll pick up the basics quickly and I just love sports managements games in general. But, that does leave me with some questions. I'm sorry if these have already been explained a million times, I tried to find the answers on the boards...

I understand the basic stats, but some of other stats, mostly the defensive ones (PPly, SPct...), are a total mystery for me. Is there any good site that explains the stats used in the game?

While reading the forums I've come to understand that "getting" a mentor for your young QB is important, do you just have to leave the mentor in the roster or do you have to designate/activate him anyway? Is it just for QBs, or is it good to have mentors for the other positions aswell?

One thing that attracted me to the game was that it seemed to be great for MP leagues (low numbers of games and a limited number of teams) which is really the only thing I lack in FM (other then getting a libero of the Beckenbauer to work in a tactic...), generally how "fast" are the online leagues? 1 game a week? 2?

Many Thanks!

[Coder]

Welcome to a great community for a great game... bloody foreigner ;-)

I learned a lot by checking wikipedia, though I did have a basic understanding of the game of football before that.

MP leagues are definately what makes this a fun game. I've hardly played more than a few seasons of SP FOF, though that's not the game's fault. It's the same reason as I hardly play FM anymore.. I just don't think it's fun to play games "solo" anymore.

MP leagues have different "intervals", the one I'm in, IFL, plays once a week (Sundays), though I believe that makes us a minority here, since from what I understand, most leagues sim at least twice a week. The IFL schedule suits me just fine though, and makes Sundays quite enjoyable because you know it's gameday :).

As one Swede to another, don't hesitate to PM me if you have any specific questions, but as far as FOF goes, you will most likely get better answers in this thread by experienced FOF-users.

[JetsIn06]

Welcome!

If you go to a player's card and see some stats you don't know, press the F1 key. The help file will come up and if you scroll down a bit it will show what all of those mean.

Mentors help out young players develop at their position group. It says on their card who they mentor. For example, a strong side inside linebacker (SILB) or weak side inside linebacker (WILB) will mentor young inside linebackers. A strong safety or free safety will mentor safeties. The mentor does not need to be active to get the effects.

I think a big reason you hear a lot about quarterbacks is simply because they're arguably the most important position for a team.

As far as multi-player goes, it's a TON of fun, and I would suggest joining one. Maybe you should play a few seasons of single-player to get the hang of the game, but once you learn the ropes multi-player is great. The league I am in (www.fof-woof.com) sims twice a week before the trading deadline and three times a week after the deadline. But, like Coder said, there are lots of different leagues that use different intervals. Also, just FYI, in multi-player there are usually two sims per game week. More simply, we run a "mid-week stage," which lets us make roster moves, like replacing an injured player with a free agent. Then, there is a "game" stage, which runs the actual games.

I know a lot of this can be overwhelming, especially since your new to the sport, but stick around and ask any questions you have and we'll all be glad to help.

Again, welcome!

[perez24]

Welcome to the game.

I've been playing this game since the 1st version and I still don't understand all of the stats either!!!

I strongly recommend signing mentors for any position where you have younger players with high potential but low actual scores, but you have to let the new guys play.

[MalcPow]

I understand the basic stats, but some of other stats, mostly the defensive ones (PPly, SPct...), are a total mystery for me. Is there any good site that explains the stats used in the game?

"PPly" is the number of passing plays that the defender (or any player) was on the field for. "SPct" is a blocking stat that indicates the percentage of passing plays that player was involved in where he allowed a sack. If he allowed one sack in 100 passing plays, his SPct would be 1.0. If you have others just post them, it can be a little tough to figure even for someone that knows football.

[Fluzao]

Thanks for the replies!

I've run a few seasons now on SP, and discovered that mentors makes almost all the diference in developing players! I can't say that my team have had great sucess, but maybe starting with Houston doesnt give the best chance for winning. Drafting is an art that I've not mastered so far, in reality the more time I seem to spend on planning and scouting the draft, the worse it goes...

Anyway, now I'll try to find a MP league to embarrass myself in!

[Coder]

Thanks for the replies!

I've run a few seasons now on SP, and discovered that mentors makes almost all the diference in developing players! I can't say that my team have had great sucess, but maybe starting with Houston doesnt give the best chance for winning. Drafting is an art that I've not mastered so far, in reality the more time I seem to spend on planning and scouting the draft, the worse it goes...

Anyway, now I'll try to find a MP league to embarrass myself in!

Go ahead.. I joined my first MP-league back in 2005 and when that folded I was invited to the IFL and since then I've had a great time there.

I even managed to embarass myself all the way to the 2010 title!!!!

http://vermont.paneng.com/testBanner2010.gif

(Please disregard my 2-2 start of the 2011 regular season *cough*)