edit roster file.

[wishdragon]

I know you do this in the csv file but my question is more of how do you know what the values indicate?

The file I am loking at has a ton of collumns with pretty much no indication of what those values refer to.

is there a guide out there that says what they are or an allready built editor i can load the csv into with better seperation of catagories?

[AgustusM]

Column A: Identification Number. This can be any number 1 or higher, but it MUST be unique within the player file.

Column B: Uniform Number. From 1-99.

Column C: Last Name.

Column D: First Name.

Column E: Position Number. From 1-27. Use the Position List button to view the list of position numbers.

Column F: Height, in inches. A player who is six feet tall is 72 inches tall.

Column G: Weight, in pounds.

Column H: Month of Birth. From 1-12.

Column I: Day of Birth. From 1-31.

Column J: Year of Birth.

Column K: Home Town. Use the City List button to view the list of city numbers. Use 0 if you don't have this information. This will place the player's home town as outside of the United States.

Column L: Years of Experience. Rookies are listed as having 0 years.

Column M: College Attended. Use the College List button to view the list of colleges.

Column N: Team Number. Use the Team List button to view the list of team numbers.

Column O: Year Drafted. Use 0 for players who weren't drafted.

Column P: Round Selected in Draft. Use 0 for players who weren't drafted.

Column Q: Pick Selected within Round. Use 0 for players who weren't drafted, or if you don't know exactly when the player was selected.

Column R: Team making selection. Use the Team List button to view the list of team numbers. Use 0 for players who weren't drafted.

Column S: Year joining team. This is the year the player joined his current team.

Column T: Games played last season.

Column U: Games started last season.

Column V: Hall of Fame Points. Players earn these points every season. This field is used to help existing players eventually reach the Hall of Fame by giving them a starting point. The threshhold varies by position, generally a quarterback requires the most to reach the Hall, about 6,000. Defensive linemen require the least, only about 3,000, but those points are much harder to earn.

Column W - BY: Player Ratings.

Ratings in each category are on a 1-9 basis. These ratings are not exact. When a new career begins, Front Office Football uses the ratings in the player file only as a general guideline. Internal ratings are on a 0-1000 scale, and are partially determined by random chance. This adds to the replay value of the game, as you can not count on a player being a superstar or a dud in each new career.

There is an option, when starting a new game of Front Office Football, to be more exact when importing ratings. What this does is greatly lessen the variability of the ratings selected for individual categories. A "7" in a rating will always be better than a "6". Without that option selected, the "6" could be better than the "7" in some random instances.

Column W: The Overall Player Rating is the most important rating used. Because of the way Front Office Football begins new game, the player file shipped with the game actually rates players in very few categories, letting the Overall ratings carry over. You should be very careful when assigning overall ratings, as too much talent in the league can greatly alter how the game plays on the field, and how salaries are assigned.

Here's a list of the frequency Overall Player Ratings are assigned in the default data file:

9 - Rare Superstar - 0.3%
8 - Superstar - 0.4%
7 - Near Superstar - 0.6%
6 - Elite Starter - 1.1%
5 - Excellent Starter - 1.5%
4 - Very Good-Plus Starter - 2.6%
3 - Very Good Starter - 3.9%
2 - Good Starter - 12.2%
1 - Replacement-Level Starter (decent backup) - 23.9%
0 - Roster Filler - 53.4%

This is based on a file of about 1,750 players. If your file has more players, the percentage of roster filler should be lower.

Column X: The Percentage of Potential Reached rating indicates how fully the player has developed his talent. Generally, a draftable rookie will be about 35 percent developed while a four-year professional starter should be 100 percent developed.

Optionally, you can set ratings in individual categories. The default ratings file only sets the quarterback scramble percentage, quarterback's preferred playing style, running back's breakaway speed, receiver's big-play and defensive player's pass rush strength ratings.

If you set any individual rating to 0, the game will use the Overall Player Rating when creating that player. This does not mean the player will have the same rating across all categories, as all ratings are randomly altered for each new career.

All players are rated for all categories, though these ratings are ignored if not relevant to the player's position.

Column Y: Completing Screen Passes.
Column Z: Completing Short Passes.
Column AA: Completing Medium Passes.
Column AB: Completing Long Passes.
Column AC: Completing Very Long Passes.
Column AD: Completing Third-Down Passes - ability to convert those pressure-packed third- and fourth-down throws.
Column AE: Scramble Frequency - desire to abandon the pass and scramble downfield. Unlike most categories, this rating is not assigned on a logarithmic curve.
Column AF: Avoid Interceptions - ability to avoid throwing interceptions.
Column AG: Passing Accuracy - ability to connect with receivers in full stride, maximizing their ability to gain yardage after the catch.
Column AH: Passing Timing - ability to connect with receivers who deviate from the planned play.
Column AI: Sensing the Pass Rush - ablility to avoid sacks.
Column AJ: Reading the Defense - ability to adjust to effective defensive pass coverages.
Column AK: Two-Minute Offense - ability to pass when the team is running a hurry-up offense.
Column AL: Preferred Play Style - the set of plays a quarterback is most comfortable running. You can choose a roll-out offense (1), which is best for quarterbacks who like to run a lot, or a short-pass offense (2), ideal for what's often called the "West Coast Offense", or a long-pass offense (3), which is a more traditional approach to passing. Use 0 for non-quarterbacks.
Column AM: Breakaway Speed - ability to break free for a long gain.
Column AN: Running Power Inside - ability to break through the line for yardage inside.
Column AO: Third-Down Running - ability to gain yardage in third- and fourth-down and short situations.
Column AP: Hole Recognition - ability to make the most of running paths forged by the offensive line.
Column AQ: Running Elusiveness - the ability to avoid getting caught behind the line of scrimmage.
Column AR: Running Speed to the Outside - ability to "turn the corner" to gain yardage on outside runs.
Column AS: Running Back's Blitz Pickup - the ability to handle a blitzing linebacker.
Column AT: Receiving Hands - ability to catch a thrown ball.
Column AU: Getting Downfield - ability to gain yardage after the catch.
Column AV: Route-Running - ability to shoulder the load as a receiver. Receivers with high ratings in this category can be the target of more frequent pass attempts.
Column AW: Third-Down Receiving - ability to make catches in clutch third- and fourth-down situations.
Column AX: Big-Play Receiving - ability to catch long and very-long passes.
Column AY: Courage over the Middle - ability to hang in there on routes planned across the middle of the field.
Column AZ: Adjusting to Bad Throws - ability to catch poorly thrown balls.
Column BA: Punt Returning - ability to return punts.
Column BB: Kickoff Returning - ability to return kickoffs.
Column BC: Avoid Fumbles - ability to avoid fumbling the football.
Column BD: Run Block Technique - ability to block for running plays.
Column BE: Pass Block Technique - ability to block for passing plays.
Column BF: Blocking Strength - ability to handle physical defenders.
Column BG: Punt Distance.
Column BH: Punt Hang Time.
Column BI: Directional Punting - ability to kick the ball inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Column BJ: Kickoff Distance.
Column BK: Kickoff Hang Time.
Column BL: Field Goal Accuracy.
Column BM: Field Goal Distance.
Column BN: Run defense - ability to stop the run.
Column BO: Pass Rush Technique - ability to rush the passer.
Column BP: Man-to-Man Pass Defense.
Column BQ: Zone Pass Defense.
Column BR: Bump-and-Run Pass Defense.
Column BS: Pass Rush Strength - ability to handle physical linemen.
Column BT: Play Diagnosis - ability to recognize the flow of an offensive play.
Column BU: Hard Hitter - ability to punish the ball carrier.
Column BV: Pass Intercepting
Column BW: Endurance.
Column BX: Special Teams Play.
Column BY: Long Snapping.
Column BZ: Holding for Placekicks.

Column CA: Years remaining on Salary. Use 0 for unsigned players. The maximum contract is seven years.

For salary information, use increments of $10,000. For instance, a salary of $1,400,000 would be written as 140.

For signing bonuses, the amount listed in the player file is the amount remaining under the cap. Signing bonuses were paid to the player when the contract was signed. But under the salary cap, they count an equal amount each year of the contract. Therefore, a bonus of $3,000,000 on a four-year contract counts $750,000 (75) each year of the contract.

Column CB: Salary, Current Season.
Column CC: Bonus, Current Season.
Column CD: Salary, Year Two.
Column CE: Bonus, Year Two.
Column CF: Salary, Year Three.
Column CG: Bonus, Year Three.
Column CH: Salary, Year Four.
Column CI: Bonus, Year Four.
Column CJ: Salary, Year Five.
Column CK: Bonus, Year Five.
Column CL: Salary, Year Six.
Column CM: Bonus, Year Six.
Column CN: Salary, Year Seven.
Column CO: Bonus, Year Seven.

[wishdragon]

Thank you, that will help a lot :)

[AgustusM]

over the years I have gotten in the habit of just changing the W and X columns for overall and % of potential reached. I found that getting into too much detail not only takes to long, but doesn't always seem to actually be reflected in game.

[jimmyb]

Thanks for the layout information. I feel silly it was right there all along.

How would I generate an import file (usually a DAT file) for use when creating a new league once I edit the values? Is is one of Stelmacks utilities?

[DetroitDrillSGT]

Use the player file creator as part of the program. Hope this helps.