Want a *radically* different FOF MP experience???

[Ben E Lou]

FOWL is making some big changes. It will be the most unique FOF MP league you've ever been a part of should you join. Here's how it's going to work, moving forward:

COACH/STAFF/STADIUM: One day. Finances will matter (you'll see why later), so we need to do the stadium stage.

FRANCHISE/SUMMER/TICKET: One day. No franchising anyone any time. This will help free agency.

FA1: All contracts to FAs must be for at least three years. This doesn't include your own RFAs.

DRAFT: Starting in 2024 (the upcoming season is 2023), there will be no more true amateur draft. It has been a royal pain already, and I can't imagine having only 10 days between drafts. So we're going back to how we started, but with a slightly different twist due to some code I've written. This is delayed until 2024 so that people who have traded for 2023 draft picks will get to use them.
I will generate a list of the worst 224 (by adjusted rating) players in the draft. Using Greg's Draft Recorder, they will all be drafted. You don't have to sign them. (I would advise against it in 99.99% of cases. ;))
Therefore, the top players will be available during FA2 to be signed on the open market. This also creates the need for a rule adjustment...FA2: The good draftees will be available in FA2. All contracts offered in FA2:1-FA2:3 must be for at least three years. All players with contract offers will sign in FA2:3, so anyone left over after then has to be considered pretty much unwanted, and therefore available for a one-year deal the rest of the way through.

We will sim through the entire preseason and regular season in one shot, with injuries off. Set your depth chart. Plug in your game plans, and see how you did in the offseason.

The league web site has tons of statistical reports and whatnot, and at the speed we'll be moving, your guys will quickly get nice stats to see: FOWL HOME (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/home.php)


Here's a list of teams/owners:

http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/ownerlist.php

PM ME (not IM, not email, not posting in this thread), to claim a team. (HINT: If you go to a team and click on the ROSTER section, you can see ratings for the players they have. It's a nice quick way to evaluate the team.)

[Ben E Lou]

Oh...two things:

1. The current season (2022) is in the playoffs and will end next week. We'll start the new season (2023) on the following Monday. (March 30th.)

2. Here's what a typical schedule will look like:

2024 and onward Schedule Model
DAY 1: Stadium/Staff Hiring.
DAY 2: Summer/Ticket/FA1:1
DAY 3: FA1:2-3
DAY 4: FA1:4-5
DAY 5: FA1:6-7
DAY 6: FA1:8-12
DAY 7: FA2:1
DAY 8: FA2:2
DAY 9: FA2:3
DAY 10: FA2:4-5
DAY 11: TC
DAY 12: Midweek (last chance to fill out roster after camp)
DAY 13: Preseason, Regular Season Weeks 1-17
DAY 14: Postseason

[Ben E Lou]

Oh...and if you have questions, post them here please. Just PM me to claim a team.

[Ben E Lou]

<---dummy.


I added the owner list to the first post.

[Draft Dodger]

oops, sorry, I thought someone came up with a patch to make the game more user-friendly

[panerd]

How good are you guys? I notice a lot of the names on the owner list are posters who have had to create house rules because FOF was too easy to beat. On the other hand I am encouraged because of the same names that this league won't fold any time soon. If my only experience with FOF has been single player (which I still find somewhat challenging) should I find an easier league to join before jumping headfirst into this?

[Ben E Lou]

Great question, panerd. And I could argue it either way, really. On the one hand, someone used to SP might find this sort of pace better than even the "normal-fast" MP leagues. They take around 2 months to do a season. On the other, this league does skip over some parts of FOF that you might find interesting. It skips them because I and others have found them either boring, or of little importance in MP.

As far as FOF knowledge goes, I'd say the league runs the gamut. It definitely has the spirit of an "experimental" league, and therefore veterans may be a little more willing to help out with game knowledge stuff. You also will probably want to read through this thread: The FOF2K7 "Hundred Little Things" Thread. - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=63135)

[Ben E Lou]

Someone else pointed out another unique aspect of this league that's worth knowing: we nerf the draft classes so that no QBs or WRs with an adjusted rating greater than 6.5 show up. This helps keep the crazy offensive numbers down that nearly all MP leagues are seeing.

[SFL Cat]

Really like some of your ideas, but I'm just not seeing the allure of an entire season-per-one sim league.

Also, why do finances matter? I'm not seeing that part.

[MizzouRah]

Damn.. I would love for Jim to incorporate that web design into FOF.. freaking website looks spectacular.

Would love to hit a button and something like that is automatically created html style within the game.. wow!

[Ben E Lou]

Really like some of your ideas, but I'm just not seeing the allure of an entire season-per-one sim league.It works for some, not for others. I get bored during the season since I rarely do anything at all with my game plan or depth chart other than the mindless shifting for injuries.

Also, why do finances matter? I'm not seeing that part.I'm thinking that some clear 1(1) type players will get offered maxbonus. Maxbonus is different from team to team, based on how you did financially in the previous season.

[Subby]

Immersionists may not agree, but there is really no point in gameplanning your opponent. The mistakes you make in your settings will even out any tiny advantage you may get. Either your gameplans sucks are it doesn't. It's opponent-independent.

Might as well sim them all at once.

[Ben E Lou]

Available team list has changed. Some people have dropped with the new rules, but several have added. As of now, it's a net gain of two owners. Five teams are available as of this writing:

FOWL: Minnesota Vikings (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=15)

FOWL: New York Giants (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=18)

FOWL: San Francisco 49ers (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=25)

FOWL: Seattle Seahawks (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=24)

FOWL: Tampa Bay Buccanneers (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=27)

[Ben E Lou]

Bump. Taking a short break, and then the new season starts on Monday. Get yer team now. ;)

[rjolley]

Ben, I'm really interested, as I think the fast pace will hold my interest, but I'm an MP league newbie. If you guys can stand to have a newbie in the fold, I'd love to join.

[Ben E Lou]

Pick a team.

Also, just saw your zip code. Do you live in Smokerise?

[rjolley]

Ok, will do.

No. Had to look it up, as I'm rather new to the area (2 years). I'm guessing you mean close to Smoke Rise Elementary and the golf course. We're on the other side of Stone Mountain Park, near Wynbrooke Elementary and Stephenson High.

[Ben E Lou]

"Last call," sort of. Only two teams are left, and free agency begins tomorrow, so you can still shape your team for the current season:

FOWL: Seattle Seahawks (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=24)

FOWL: Tampa Bay Buccanneers (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=27)

[mrsimperless]

PM Sent.

I'm a MP newbie as well, as the only time I really put a lot of time and effort into a league it folded me. (RIP Super League) This "fast play" definitely seems more up my alley.

[Ben E Lou]

PM Sent.

I'm a MP newbie as well, as the only time I really put a lot of time and effort into a league it folded me. (RIP Super League) This "fast play" definitely seems more up my alley.Response sent.

[Ben E Lou]

New season starting on Monday. We're taking a break until then. Four teams are open.

FOWL Owner/Team List (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/ownerlist.php)

PM Tasan if you're interested.

[Ben E Lou]

New season about to start. We've really hit a very nice stride on the schedule. Here are the openings:

FOWL Owner/Team List (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/ownerlist.php)



Here's what the schedule looked like last season:

<table class="calendar"><tbody><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Fri</td><td class="day_num">08</td><td>Staff Hiring 1-3 (Skip Summer/Ticket) (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=351) (7) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/351/20090508_2025%20Staff%20Hiring.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=351)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Sat</td><td class="day_num">09</td><td>FA1:1-12 (Renegs and RFAs only) (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=352) (17) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/352/2025%20FA1%20and%20Draft.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=352)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Mon</td><td class="day_num">11</td><td>FA2:1 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=342) (20) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/342/20090511_2025%20FA1%20Stage%202.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=342)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Tue</td><td class="day_num">12</td><td>FA2:2 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=343) (18) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/343/20090512_export.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=343)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Wed</td><td class="day_num">13</td><td>FA2:3 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=344) (19) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/344/20090513_export.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=344)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Thu</td><td class="day_num">14</td><td>FA2:4-5 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=345) (15) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/345/20090514_2025%20FA2%20Stages%204%20and%205.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=345)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Fri</td><td class="day_num">15</td><td>Training Camp (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=346) (21) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/346/20090515_2025%20Postcamp.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=346)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Sat</td><td class="day_num">16</td><td>Preseason (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=347) (15) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/347/20090516_2025%20Preseason.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=347)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Mon</td><td class="day_num">18</td><td>Week 1-17 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=348) (20) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/348/20090518_2025%20Regular%20Season.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=348)</td></tr><tr class="uploaded"><td class="day_of_week">Tue</td><td class="day_num">19</td><td>Postseason (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2025&stage=349) (9) Download League File (http://textsports.net/files/fowl/2025/349/20090519_2025%20Season%20End.zip) Re-upload league file (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload?stage=349)</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Ben E Lou]

2026 Schedule is up now...

<table class="calendar"><tbody><tr><th colspan="4">May 2009</th></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Wed</td><td class="day_num">20</td><td>Staff Hiring 1-3 (Skip Summer/Ticket) (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=448) (0) Upload (http://textsports.net/fowl/files/upload)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Thu</td><td class="day_num">21</td><td>FA1:1-12 (Renegs and RFAs only) (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=449)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Fri</td><td class="day_num">22</td><td>FA2:1 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=450)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Sat</td><td class="day_num">23</td><td>FA2:2 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=451)</td></tr><tr class="holiday"><td class="day_of_week">Mon</td><td class="day_num">25</td><td>Memorial Day</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Tue</td><td class="day_num">26</td><td>FA2:3 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=467)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Wed</td><td class="day_num">27</td><td>FA2:4-5 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=468)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Thu</td><td class="day_num">28</td><td>Training Camp (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=469)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Fri</td><td class="day_num">29</td><td>Preseason (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=470)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="4">June 2009</th></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Mon</td><td class="day_num">01</td><td>Week 1-17 (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=471)</td></tr><tr><td class="day_of_week">Tue</td><td class="day_num">02</td><td>Postseason (http://textsports.net/fowl/files?year=2026&stage=472)</td></tr></tbody></table>

[wade moore]

and in THIS league ben doesn't have a superstud QB/WR combo - so OTHER people have a chance to win!

[Ben E Lou]

and in THIS league ben doesn't have a superstud QB/WR combo - so OTHER people have a chance to win!Miss one freaking Super Bowl, and we suck, eh???

FOWL: Atlanta Falcons (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=1)

(We *are* getting terribly old at WR...)

[wade moore]

Miss one freaking Super Bowl, and we suck, eh???

FOWL: Atlanta Falcons (http://www.younglifenorthdekalb.com/fowl/ben/teampageroster.php?teamid=1)

(We *are* getting terribly old at WR...)


You hear that kids, STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT!

In all seriousness though - I'm finding this league to be fun and different enough from my other leagues that I really have to think about my strategy rather than go into "auto-pilot". The pace is brisk, but at the same time you don't do as much micro-level nitpicking, so the time kind of balances out.

We're at the pace of something like a season every 10-14 days - it's awesome.