Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2018 Now Available

[Gary Gorski]

Hi guys! Just wanted to pop in quickly and let you know that DDS:CB 2018 is now available.

There's a host of cool new stuff this year - one of my favorites is tweaking an old feature, the coach lineage screen, where you can see where every coach from a school currently is or find out all of the coaches that have come from one current active head coach. There's been a bunch of other improvements to recruiting, rating tracking for players and coaches, the ability to steal assistants from other teams...

The link below will take you to the announcement on our forums where you can find a link for the video trailer, the webstore and the game info page where you can find screens, the free demo and a link to the blog post detailing these and more. Thanks for the continued support as always!

• View topic - Wolverine Studios Releases DDS: College Basketball 2018 (http://www.wolverinestudios.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=28559)

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

This thread needs a bump and some love

This is an amazing basketball game. It has finally surpassed FBCB in terms of fun factor without sacrificing its depth.

Recruiting: Recruiting is deep without becoming monotonous. You are given a fixed budget and have to make choices as to whether to recruit nationally or just locally. You also have to check in with players to see what is most important to them so you can tailor your pitch properly. All of this takes just a couple of clicks and your choices matter!

Coaching: There are several offenses and defenses to choose from. And within those offenses and defenses you have options to tweak in terms of pace and structure when it comes offense and intensity when it comes to defense.

As a coach you set up your practice schedule so players can become more proficient in the offense and defenses you set up. Setting up a practice is super simple. Just a couple of clicks and you can set it and forget it unless your team is struggling! Every player has a card which tracks their progress and proficiency in each offense and defense. This also comes into play with recruiting. You may be high on a player until you see he isn't adept at your offensive system. There are meaningful choices to be made in this game!

Before every game, you are given a scouting report and are told the type of offense and defense the other team runs. Do you adjust your schedule that week to shut down their attack? Or do you stick with what you know?

The stats and talent levels look on point and the game is beautiful to look at. I know people are itching for the new FOF and OOTP but in the meantime give this game a try. There is a demo where you can try out a single season.

I know this sounds like an ad, but damn, it really is a good game and I don't want it to get lost amid all the other announcements.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Here is a screenshot of the scouting reports. I think it is pretty cool.

[Young Drachma]

The real problem for me is the UI. It's hard to find stuff, there's no way to fast-sim and play from afar as a non-coach. I did create a coach, didn't assign him to a team and in trying to find my way around, encountered a crash.

I certainly like a more modern game, and certainly think it's good for people who play slower and actually want to experience the coaching side of things, but FBCB is still good for banging out 100 seasons in an evening and or building a history before you play.

But yes, by comparison, the detail and the graphical depth is refreshing. I'm just not quite sure how to work my way around it relatively speaking.

[Gary Gorski]

Thank you for the kind words LWSFS - the game is made even better by those who spend so much time doing the mods for it. You definitely made some excellent points on the depth and for those who are turned off by depth I just want to mention you can always assign duties to the AI like recruiting and it will do a good job for you. However if you like a game with great depth then recruiting gives you so many options to play with to build exactly the kind of team you want.

Some of my favorite new "depth" additions this year are the lineage option at the top which will track every coach that ever worked at a school so you can find out where they ended up and how their careers went after they left your bench (as well as the option to look up a list by current active coach to see who has the best coaching tree) and the tournament recap "show" that you can play at the awards screen.

YD - "hard to find stuff" is kind of vague. I'm happy to consider changes to the UI but I'm not sure what is so hard to find. There are the direct links at the top of the screen to everything. I would be happy to a) help you find whatever it is you are looking for and b) try to make whatever it is you can't find easier to find.

You are right though - it's not built for simulating 100 seasons for the heck of it. The real world mod provided on the forum I believe has a bunch of history built into it and I also believe there is even a mod that put the real coaches into the game. With things like the selection show and the tournament recap now its really a game that is meant to be experienced for all of the depth and cool features it has and now that importing seasons is possible from the prior game and going forward everyone can certainly enjoy their time building their careers even while upgrading each year.

[Izulde]

:o

Wow, that looks stunning!

As for comparisons, FBCB and DDS:CB have always had polar approaches to game depth and play experience. That hasn't changed. But what has changed is that over the past several versions, Gary's put in a lot of work to enhancing the macro universe of DDS:CB - especially in record keeping (probably because I kept pestering him so much about it lol). I need to get this version and look at how recruiting has evolved, but what used to be a tiebreaker has, IMO, been broken at this point.

[Ramzavail]

Bought both and can't wait to dive in when steam releases CB.

Gary, YD and I are made of similar cloths. He is talking about creating a fictional history and then diving in and immersing yourself, then rinsing and repeating. Good to hear that there is a mod that has the IRL history, but I'm pretty sure he wants/looking to create a fictional history. FWIW, that is one thing FBCB does really well.

[Gary Gorski]

Honestly, if enough people came to me and said the only reason they don't buy DDSCB is because they can't easily sim 50 years and make a fictional history then I would commit the time to doing something that would autorun things for a specified number of years - its just never really been something that a bunch of people wanted. I honestly don't know what FBCB does but a history could be "invented" or the game can actually sim through everything (which would take some time because the game is so deep) but anything is possible and I've always been willing to try and add whatever features people were looking for.

[Ramzavail]

I'm sure YD and I are in the minority, but I think in all the text sims that I play (and there are alot that do this better than others), regardless of sport, if possible, I like to start my solo game with some history before I dive in and take over a team. Even on console, I'll sit there and sim 5-7-10 years in MLB the show before I take over a team to weed out the real players (as much as possible).

It's not a end all be all, and certainly not a reason to avoid a game, but I think it would be a nice option to have. But I could be the only one.

[Carman Bulldog]

Former TCB and DDSPB player here (although never FBCB) and while I enjoy fictional universes, I always hate the lack of history and record books. I don’t need to be able to quick-sim seasons but if there was a way to have X years of history generated prior to starting my career, I think this would be an excellent feature.

It seems almost counter-intuitive that more games don’t do this, particularly in this era of text sims where league and season records are clearly so important to the player.

[tarcone]

Will this be on Steam?

[Young Drachma]

I didn't mean to enter a thread about a competitor game and shit on it about some other game, tbh. And this is a fair point, DDS:CB is a different game with a different focus, as other have said. I was mostly commenting on why it didn't appeal to me. Visually, the game is the superior game and in many other ways -- largely the fact that there's modern iteration -- is good.

I am definitely a sandbox player, and my complaints here really are similar to the reasons I don't like Football Manager at times. I think the main difference there, is there isn't a competitor game that offers the experience I'd want, so I suffer through the things I dislike (or do things like let the game sim on vacation mode).

But as Ramz said, I have no doubt we're anomalies.

[MizzouRah]

I'll be getting this at some point.. looks fantastic Gary!

[Comey]

Former TCB and DDSPB player here (although never FBCB) and while I enjoy fictional universes, I always hate the lack of history and record books. I don’t need to be able to quick-sim seasons but if there was a way to have X years of history generated prior to starting my career, I think this would be an excellent feature.

It seems almost counter-intuitive that more games don’t do this, particularly in this era of text sims where league and season records are clearly so important to the player.

While I play out a history before starting up, so that I can better see things develop as an immersive activity, I wholeheartedly agree with this.

[Groundhog]

FWIW I'm also a big fan of generating history, however if the game had history built into it I would probably be OK with that, although I prefer fictional leagues with generated players. I'm sure I'm in the minority.

[lcjjdnh]

Has anyone made a guide to this game (or is the helpfile sufficiently detailed)? I bought the game last night but was a bit overwhelmed—e.g., how much money should I be spending on recruiting guides and camps so I have money to spend on recruiting.

[Gary Gorski]

Will this be on Steam?

Yes released there on 3/13

[Gary Gorski]

Has anyone made a guide to this game (or is the helpfile sufficiently detailed)? I bought the game last night but was a bit overwhelmed—e.g., how much money should I be spending on recruiting guides and camps so I have money to spend on recruiting.

There is a quick guide from inside the help window in the game but come over and post on our forums - we've got a couple of members there in particular PointGuard, CoachC, Wayne23, bloomington and slybelle that are great resources for new players. They've played the game forever and are very active on the forums.

[Johnny93g]

I tried last years demo a few weeks ago, and i felt lost. In game, i felt like there wasn't enough explanation of what you should be doing right now. Some times buttons were greyed out, some times pressing a button didn't do anything. Screen changes took a few seconds at time. I don't know, i wanted to get into it, but I just couldn't. I might try this one, as i kinda have an itch....

[Gary Gorski]

As for the other comments I will make a note to try and do something about a fast sim mode for those who want to build up some history before jumping into a franchise (will note this for the pro game as well)

[Gary Gorski]

I tried last years demo a few weeks ago, and i felt lost. Some times buttons were greyed out, some times pressing a button didn't do anything. Screen changes took a few seconds at time. I don't know, i wanted to get into it, but I just couldn't. I might try this one, as i kinda have an itch....

If you let me know what you ran into specifically with the UI stuff like buttons being greyed out I can help with helping you find your way around.

[Johnny93g]

If you let me know what you ran into specifically with the UI stuff like buttons being greyed out I can help with helping you find your way around.

This is going from memory, so i can't say how accurate i am at this point. For recruiting, some options were available, and some weren't, and i couldn't figure out when things became available, and when to expect them too.

The game looked good, and thats why i wanted to get into it, but man, feeling confused about a game, at this point in my life(30's) i say to myself, i aint got time or patience to figure this out....

[Gary Gorski]

For recruiting, some options were available, and some weren't, and i couldn't figure out when things became available, and when to expect them too.

Gotcha - at the top of the recruiting screen there is a check box that says enable watch list quick recruiting. Uncheck that for the time being so quick recruiting goes away. Then on the left side of the screen you will see it change and at the bottom there is an icon that says VIEW KEY DATES.

Click on that and you will get a list of each recruiting period and what options are available during each.

[Johnny93g]

Gotcha - at the top of the recruiting screen there is a check box that says enable watch list quick recruiting. Uncheck that for the time being so quick recruiting goes away. Then on the left side of the screen you will see it change and at the bottom there is an icon that says VIEW KEY DATES.

Click on that and you will get a list of each recruiting period and what options are available during each.

I downloaded the demo, and will give it a shot. Thank you

[SlyBelle1]

Just my two cents......this game is very good and represents college basketball very well. I have played many versions of this game, I think everyone that has ever been released. Every year Gary does a great job in making enhancements and continuing to grow the game. At the same time, Gary listens to all feedback and where it makes sense incorporates the ideas into the game.

If you are at all a college basketball fan and like sport simulations, its really a must have in my opinion. Even if there are other games out there, always room for more and this game just continues to grow each year. Bare minimum, grab the demo and give it a try...Gary is that confident about his game that he offers a demo where many companies don't anymore. Worst case, you spend some time with it....best case you end up loving it and you have a new fascination!

With the big tournament coming up, great time to jump in and to see if you can take your team to the title!

[Johnny93g]

anyone know how to install the real coaches mod

• View topic - 2018 Coach File (Used Bloomington's as a base) (http://www.wolverinestudios.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=273&t=28579)

The few lines of instructions aren't really telling how to install it...

[SlyBelle1]

anyone know how to install the real coaches mod

• View topic - 2018 Coach File (Used Bloomington's as a base) (http://www.wolverinestudios.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=273&t=28579)

The few lines of instructions aren't really telling how to install it...

Sorry, I don't use that particular mod myself. Probably best to post in that thread and hopefully the author will be in best position to answer.

[Johnny93g]

I ended up figuring it out.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

The most expensive bribe option in the game is 35k. Sean Miller really overpaid!

I have bribed three players and am currently 15-2 with Arizona with a 7 foot PF and a 7 3 C.

I have seen a handful of teams undergo sanctions and I am living in constant fear I am going to be next! I swear, if I can just get through this season, no more bribing from me.

[Groundhog]

I swear, if I can just get through this season, no more bribing from me.

Said every div 1 coach ever. :D

[Bisbo]

Any chance you'll ever release a Mac version?

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Said every div 1 coach ever. :D

I actually lived up to my word....for once lol

with no bribes, i was able to land the 8th, 11th, 15th and 22nd players!!! There was one player who hung up on me in the first round, i wasnt on his top ten list but i kept on calling and boom one round i went from not even on the top ten list to number one! on the flip side the number one player in the country who was from arizona,i coach at u of a, who i was number one on the whole time blew me off for nc state at the end. hope he enjoys his new car lol

I also had a player who got into a couple of skirmishes earlier in the year. Thought i handled it by calling him because he didnt cause any more issues. However the chemistry with his teammates never really improved and he was lashing out by getting technicals practically every game lol He was a great sixth man for me but between the chemistry issues and playing time he transferred. i was shocked! but it makes sense and is a good game mechanic. i will also be more aware if someone is tweeting wolverine studios instead of paying attention to me on the phone because thats what he did when i recruited him initially. all the signs were there. hmmm... is gary saying tweeting wolverine studios is bad? lol

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Any chance you'll ever release a Mac version?

I was able to play older versions on parallels. Not ideal, but its an option.

[Gary Gorski]

is gary saying tweeting wolverine studios is bad? lol

lol no tweet at us frequently - write a dynasty and tweet at us and we will share it with everyone :)

[tarcone]

Can you edit player? I love to cheat and try and set awesome records.

[Gary Gorski]

Can you edit player? I love to cheat and try and set awesome records.

Yes - if you want to try it in the demo just log into the game, click options, click the button to switch to commissioner mode, click the roster link and right click on a player to edit them. You can also do mass editing from the commissioner office by exporting to a database, editing the database and reimporting. Then just go back to options to switch back to your user when done.

[Gary Gorski]

Just in case anyone's interested in a game but a little short on cash...we're giving top 3 finishers in our bracket contest a free Wolverine Studios game. Doesn't hurt to throw an entry in!

Wolverine Studios Challenge - CBSSports.com (http://wolverinestudios.mayhem.cbssports.com/e/772fa6e892e2cb7864b890cba658881741a3c3bea5c6724b498613988c98c4f6?ttag=BPM18_cpy_invite_new)

[jbergey22]

This game is tremendous Gary! Great work! I've watched through 10+ game and you have gotten the game flow to feel right. I am playing as Northern Iowa and have started out 4-8 but it has the feeling that Im watching a UNI game play out on ESPN gamecast.

A couple minor details you may want to look at is steals seems a bit high especially for the top guys and you may want to replace "----- throws a ball into the stands with, as ----- was fighting for position he picked up an offensive foul" a few times a game. Turnovers seem like they are right but more of them should be of the offensive foul nature. I just had a game where my team shot under 20% at home which might be an extreme outlier but nothing worth noting yet.

I think another thing that might help out a person first trying out your game is perhaps a suggestion button. Its hard to really know which recruiting guide/s to buy when you start out. And if you mess up that first year of recruiting you probably arent going to keep that save long term.

[Gary Gorski]

This game is tremendous Gary! Great work! I've watched through 10+ game and you have gotten the game flow to feel right. I am playing as Northern Iowa and have started out 4-8 but it has the feeling that Im watching a UNI game play out on ESPN gamecast.

A couple minor details you may want to look at is steals seems a bit high especially for the top guys and you may want to replace "----- throws a ball into the stands with, as ----- was fighting for position he picked up an offensive foul" a few times a game. Turnovers seem like they are right but more of them should be of the offensive foul nature. I just had a game where my team shot under 20% at home which might be an extreme outlier but nothing worth noting yet.

I think another thing that might help out a person first trying out your game is perhaps a suggestion button. Its hard to really know which recruiting guide/s to buy when you start out. And if you mess up that first year of recruiting you probably arent going to keep that save long term.


Thanks for the feedback and a suggestion button is a good idea - are there any other forms other than the report buying one that might be useful on?

[jbergey22]

Thanks for the feedback and a suggestion button is a good idea - are there any other forms other than the report buying one that might be useful on?

Id say budget thing is the major one because when you are first starting out you are given a certain budget for recruiting but at that point you really have no idea how much it costs for calls, visits, scouting, etc. A person might also wonder the advantages/disadvantages of attending one or more of the camps. You would basically have to do a couple tests seasons at this point to get your feet wet to know what you are even doing when it comes to recruiting. You have really nailed the key points of a great simulation IMO though in the fact it feels real in all aspects.

I am sure it is a struggle as a programmer to make things fun yet realistic at the same time. Sure, Id love to think I am Calipari and can get a 4/5 star recruit to attend UNI but the bottom line is that is something that just wouldnt happen under normal circumstances. Too often I feel programmers will take away realism to simplify the game for people playing the game. I am happy to see you arent going that direction.

[lcjjdnh]

Id say budget thing is the major one because when you are first starting out you are given a certain budget for recruiting but at that point you really have no idea how much it costs for calls, visits, scouting, etc. A person might also wonder the advantages/disadvantages of attending one or more of the camps. You would basically have to do a couple tests seasons at this point to get your feet wet to know what you are even doing when it comes to recruiting. You have really nailed the key points of a great simulation IMO though in the fact it feels real in all aspects.

I am sure it is a struggle as a programmer to make things fun yet realistic at the same time. Sure, Id love to think I am Calipari and can get a 4/5 star recruit to attend UNI but the bottom line is that is something that just wouldnt happen under normal circumstances. Too often I feel programmers will take away realism to simplify the game for people playing the game. I am happy to see you arent going that direction.

Yes—this was my initial question. Can anyone provide some guidance on how recruiting works?

[MizzouRah]

I assume there is a mod for courts/real schools/logos?

I don't mind fictional players but want the rest of the stuff to mimic RL college basketball.

[Gary Gorski]

I assume there is a mod for courts/real schools/logos?

I don't mind fictional players but want the rest of the stuff to mimic RL college basketball.

Yes big modding community on this game

• View forum - DDS: College Basketball 2018 Mods (http://www.wolverinestudios.com/board/viewforum.php?f=273)

Real schools, logos, courts, extra fictional faces and even a coach and player mod from what I can see there. All work with the demo as well

[Gary Gorski]

Yes—this was my initial question. Can anyone provide some guidance on how recruiting works?

If you have specific questions feel free to ask but here's a quick overview.

You start with purchasing your reports for the season. For each region and then for national and international there is a gold or standard report. If you're a very small school I would recommend just getting the standard report only for your region. At a mid-major you can probably afford the gold report for your region as there's probably not much reason to go outside your region unless you previously coached in another region for a while and then those old states might be pipeline states so maybe you grab a standard report there. If you're a powerhouse you can probably afford to buy all the gold reports if for no other reason to spend your budget as the board most likely won't reply favorably to a request for a budget increase if you don't spend what you have already.

Then comes summer travel plans. Again I would only travel to the camps where I actually might get a player from. Travelling to the camps gets you information on the recruits especially in their notes. For instance it might tell you player X was a top ten player at the camp. The scouting service might not have rated him too highly so then you have a piece of info on him that could tell you he's a diamond in the rough (or possibly just had a fluky good showing at the camp)

Recruiting breaks itself up into different stages. On the recruiting page uncheck that box at the top that says use quick recruiting and then look at the lower left corner. There is a link for the recruiting dates - click that and you will see which weeks you can perform which actions.

The first thing you should do is look over the list and add players to your call and watch list. You can just scroll the entire list and press B (I think) to add them to both lists. That way you will be getting info each week. From there I like to double click on my favorite targets and bring up their recruit card so I can personally call them (they will get a call from your assistant automatically if they are on the call list) but when you call them you can ask specific info like to find out how they feel about the pitch categories. It is important to try and find what they feel strongly about so that when you make a home visit you can pitch the right category.

Its sort of rinse and repeat for the rest of the summer while you gather info and figure out who you want to go after with your scholarships. You still can recruit during the season but I always like to lock my guys up before the season when I play so that during the year I'm focused just on the games.

Glad to answer any specific questions you might have though.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Also a good thread on recruiting over on their forums.

• View topic - Recruiting (http://www.wolverinestudios.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=272&t=28607)

It is one of my favorite parts of the game!

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

some of my favorite screens from this beautiful game

6776

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6771

6772

6774

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[Johnny93g]

whats the mod you used to get real people pictures. I hate the facegens in the game, the real pics like that would add to immersion

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

glad you like it! it is something i put together for myself because i also hate the facegens included in the game. they creep me out lol

basically i selected nba facepacks from the wolverine site and action pc basketball and filtered out the players that were too recognizable to me and all the non white jerseys. gary recently upgraded the amount of pictures that can be randomly assigned to players in the game so my set is very much a work in progress but maybe ill zip up what i have and post it in the wolverine site tomorrow. the key is making sure the pictures are properly numbered , in the right folder and the correct size so the game can use them

[MizzouRah]

Think I'll grab from Steam tonight..

What is quick recruiting?

Also, LWSFS do you coach your games or just recruit? I don't know too much about basketball so I would prefer a coach I hired would do that part and let me focus on getting talent into our program. I play the Pro game because I like to delegate stuff to my coaches.

What mods do you use? I see a couple different all on ones and just want real logos/colors/names/courts/etc

Gary, does the Steam version get updates as quick as the non-Steam version?

Thanks!

[lcjjdnh]

If you have specific questions feel free to ask but here's a quick overview.

You start with purchasing your reports for the season. For each region and then for national and international there is a gold or standard report. If you're a very small school I would recommend just getting the standard report only for your region. At a mid-major you can probably afford the gold report for your region as there's probably not much reason to go outside your region unless you previously coached in another region for a while and then those old states might be pipeline states so maybe you grab a standard report there. If you're a powerhouse you can probably afford to buy all the gold reports if for no other reason to spend your budget as the board most likely won't reply favorably to a request for a budget increase if you don't spend what you have already.

Then comes summer travel plans. Again I would only travel to the camps where I actually might get a player from. Travelling to the camps gets you information on the recruits especially in their notes. For instance it might tell you player X was a top ten player at the camp. The scouting service might not have rated him too highly so then you have a piece of info on him that could tell you he's a diamond in the rough (or possibly just had a fluky good showing at the camp)

Recruiting breaks itself up into different stages. On the recruiting page uncheck that box at the top that says use quick recruiting and then look at the lower left corner. There is a link for the recruiting dates - click that and you will see which weeks you can perform which actions.

The first thing you should do is look over the list and add players to your call and watch list. You can just scroll the entire list and press B (I think) to add them to both lists. That way you will be getting info each week. From there I like to double click on my favorite targets and bring up their recruit card so I can personally call them (they will get a call from your assistant automatically if they are on the call list) but when you call them you can ask specific info like to find out how they feel about the pitch categories. It is important to try and find what they feel strongly about so that when you make a home visit you can pitch the right category.

Its sort of rinse and repeat for the rest of the summer while you gather info and figure out who you want to go after with your scholarships. You still can recruit during the season but I always like to lock my guys up before the season when I play so that during the year I'm focused just on the games.

Glad to answer any specific questions you might have though.

Thanks. Helpful.

Some specific questions:

1) Do players de-commit after verbal, or I am safe not recruit at that point?
2) Does calling personally give any “bonus” in recruiting, or just a way to get more info?
3) Is there anyway to get recommendations for training (or other tasks)? Didn’t want to defer completely but also would appreciate some guidance I could tweak.

[Gary Gorski]

Think I'll grab from Steam tonight..

What is quick recruiting?

Also, LWSFS do you coach your games or just recruit? I don't know too much about basketball so I would prefer a coach I hired would do that part and let me focus on getting talent into our program. I play the Pro game because I like to delegate stuff to my coaches.

What mods do you use? I see a couple different all on ones and just want real logos/colors/names/courts/etc

Gary, does the Steam version get updates as quick as the non-Steam version?

Thanks!

Quick recruiting is just an option you can turn on from the recruiting screen to allow you to setup most of the actions right there rather than going to the individual recruit cards.

The Steam version gets updates at the same time - we just have a beta patch out there right now on our site for one particular issue but I haven't heard any complaints with it so it will probably become an official patch tomorrow.

[MizzouRah]

Quick recruiting is just an option you can turn on from the recruiting screen to allow you to setup most of the actions right there rather than going to the individual recruit cards.

The Steam version gets updates at the same time - we just have a beta patch out there right now on our site for one particular issue but I haven't heard any complaints with it so it will probably become an official patch tomorrow.

Thanks!

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Think I'll grab from Steam tonight..

What is quick recruiting?

Also, LWSFS do you coach your games or just recruit? I don't know too much about basketball so I would prefer a coach I hired would do that part and let me focus on getting talent into our program. I play the Pro game because I like to delegate stuff to my coaches.

What mods do you use? I see a couple different all on ones and just want real logos/colors/names/courts/etc

Gary, does the Steam version get updates as quick as the non-Steam version?

Thanks!

you cant hire a coach per se but you can set up all coaching tasks to be automated so you can focus on recruiting. you can also just sim all your games rather than entering the game screen which allows you to get through a season faster.

i like to enter the game screen put game speed on ten and watch the general flow of the game. if the game is close or a player is in foul trouble then ill slow things down and manage it. generally my games get done in three to five min.

i used the lite mod by slybelle if i remember correctly. it added some historical info, logos and court pictures. i modded the player pictures myself.

i know youll love it, i have yet to see you dislike a game anyway:D

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Thanks. Helpful.

Some specific questions:

1) Do players de-commit after verbal, or I am safe not recruit at that point?
2) Does calling personally give any “bonus” in recruiting, or just a way to get more info?
3) Is there anyway to get recommendations for training (or other tasks)? Didn’t want to defer completely but also would appreciate some guidance I could tweak.

1. this isnt an exact answer but after i had a player verbally commit, i was notified he didnt reach the minimum sat score to come to our school.

2... there is some dispute about this and some say its a placebo effect but i feel like calling personally helps. it also doesnt take long so i figure why not. ive done it to guys who didnt have me in their top five and eventually i wore them down ad got them

3. i think this is more trial and error. im still trying to figure things out as well.

[MizzouRah]

you cant hire a coach per se but you can set up all coaching tasks to be automated so you can focus on recruiting. you can also just sim all your games rather than entering the game screen which allows you to get through a season faster.

i like to enter the game screen put game speed on ten and watch the general flow of the game. if the game is close or a player is in foul trouble then ill slow things down and manage it. generally my games get done in three to five min.

i used the lite mod by slybelle if i remember correctly. it added some historical info, logos and court pictures. i modded the player pictures myself.

i know youll love it, i have yet to see you dislike a game anyway:D

The lite mod is supposed to have no history.. which is what I want, does the one for v17 work for v18 or did you use something different?

Haha.. I just don't buy games I don't think I'll like. If I do, I delete them a few days later and forget about them. :lol:

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

I downloaded a couple of mods...maybe I got mixed up with which one I actually used :cool:

Sent from my Redmi 4 using Tapatalk

[SlyBelle1]

The lite mod is supposed to have no history.. which is what I want, does the one for v17 work for v18 or did you use something different?

Haha.. I just don't buy games I don't think I'll like. If I do, I delete them a few days later and forget about them. :lol:

The LIGHT mod I created (based on Bloomington's FULL mod) does not include any history. Just includes logos and real names, no history, real coaches, etc. My version is just for the 2018 game just released, it is not meant to be used for the older 2017 game (located in the 2018 mod forum section). I originally created as just a temporary placeholder while Bloomington was preparing the FULL mod. But I actually like playing without history myself and others seem to like it based on download count so I likely will keep it out there for others to use.

[MizzouRah]

The LIGHT mod I created (based on Bloomington's FULL mod) does not include any history. Just includes logos and real names, no history, real coaches, etc. My version is just for the 2018 game just released, it is not meant to be used for the older 2017 game (located in the 2018 mod forum section). I originally created as just a temporary placeholder while Bloomington was preparing the FULL mod. But I actually like playing without history myself and others seem to like it based on download count so I likely will keep it out there for others to use.

Thanks! I actually downloaded it last night and will fire up a game later today, this will be perfect for what I'm wanting!!

[MizzouRah]

Get that patch on Steam Gary.. I'm ready to dive in after soccer this afternoon. ;)

[Johnny93g]

glad you like it! it is something i put together for myself because i also hate the facegens included in the game. they creep me out lol

basically i selected nba facepacks from the wolverine site and action pc basketball and filtered out the players that were too recognizable to me and all the non white jerseys. gary recently upgraded the amount of pictures that can be randomly assigned to players in the game so my set is very much a work in progress but maybe ill zip up what i have and post it in the wolverine site tomorrow. the key is making sure the pictures are properly numbered , in the right folder and the correct size so the game can use them

wow, that's pretty easy. Im just gonna do it myself. I went on college sites for 2 conferences and easily mass saved 250 pics in 10 minutes. auto rename and resize, and it should work. Thanks!

[Johnny93g]

Ok, that worked perfectly and looks great in game. I see there is only 540 face gens or so in the game folder. Can I go over that and have a few thousands faces in their that the game will use? It really doesn't seem that hard to collect all these pictures and edit them.

[Gary Gorski]

Get that patch on Steam Gary.. I'm ready to dive in after soccer this afternoon. ;)

ok ok - geesh a guy can't even get a weekend :D :D :D

j/k - 1.2 is on both our site and Steam

[Gary Gorski]

And if anyone is on the fence and wants some other opinions check out the review from ISN Online - they call it "a world-class game that will be enjoyed by the masses, whether you are a hardcore college hoops fan or just someone who enjoys the allure of March Madness"

Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 2018 (Review) – International Soccer Network (http://isnsoccer.com/news/2018/03/16/draft-day-sports-college-basketball-2018/)

And if you want to know what the customers think feel free to check out the customer reviews tab on our DDSCB site page

Draft Day Sports: College Basketball Simulation Game (2018) (http://www.wolverinestudios.com/game/college-basketball-simulation/)

[MizzouRah]

Ok, that worked perfectly and looks great in game. I see there is only 540 face gens or so in the game folder. Can I go over that and have a few thousands faces in their that the game will use? It really doesn't seem that hard to collect all these pictures and edit them.

Do share!

[MizzouRah]

ok ok - geesh a guy can't even get a weekend :D :D :D

j/k - 1.2 is on both our site and Steam

Weekends are for work! :D

Thank you! Got the update!!!

[Johnny93g]

Do share!

gonna get about 1000 faces done, then ya, ill share. Hopefully by tomorrow, it really doesn't take to long!

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

gonna get about 1000 faces done, then ya, ill share. Hopefully by tomorrow, it really doesn't take to long!

sounds great! im too dumb to know how to use an automated program so this will be a big help to me too

[MizzouRah]

gonna get about 1000 faces done, then ya, ill share. Hopefully by tomorrow, it really doesn't take to long!

Awesome! Maybe you could do some coach pictures too?

Make sure to release them over at the Wolverine forums too!

I see there is only 540 face gens or so in the game folder. Can I go over that and have a few thousands faces in their that the game will use? It really doesn't seem that hard to collect all these pictures and edit them.
Yes! Gary fixed that in the last update!!

- changed code to allow for more faces from the mod community

[Johnny93g]

Ok here is the link, it should work, i assume...

MEGA (https://mega.nz/#!L6A23JQY!YFknrY1LD9o24CAxeoAEvwpPZj7wEoL3WsFYBWuMoMU)

its got 1140 player faces. Extract and place in the graphics folder...

if someone wants to put it on the other forum, go ahead, i dont have an account there, and im lazy...

[MizzouRah]

Ok here is the link, it should work, i assume...

MEGA (https://mega.nz/#!L6A23JQY!YFknrY1LD9o24CAxeoAEvwpPZj7wEoL3WsFYBWuMoMU)

its got 1140 player faces. Extract and place in the graphics folder...

if someone wants to put it on the other forum, go ahead, i dont have an account there, and im lazy...

Thanks!

[lcjjdnh]

1. this isnt an exact answer but after i had a player verbally commit, i was notified he didnt reach the minimum sat score to come to our school.

2... there is some dispute about this and some say its a placebo effect but i feel like calling personally helps. it also doesnt take long so i figure why not. ive done it to guys who didnt have me in their top five and eventually i wore them down ad got them

3. i think this is more trial and error. im still trying to figure things out as well.

Thanks!

[lcjjdnh]

Should I assign one coach to each assignment, or am I free to use my recruiter as an extra coach once I've locked up my scholarships?

Am I right to think there is no recommendation button on the strategies page? Is there any guidance I can receive regarding what would be in the acceptable norms?

[lcjjdnh]

Also: do players ever go beyond their potential at a skill?

[lcjjdnh]

Sorry one more: what is "OUT" on the depth chart? Higher means? Lower means?

[lcjjdnh]

Ack, yet another: I just couldn't figure out how to make a sub while coaching. What am I missing? I clicked the table on the right, as instructed, but wouldn't let me sub in for anyone playing.

[lcjjdnh]

OK, really the last one: are there any good threads (or could anyone advise) which sets fits what types of players? Not entirely clear to me what each of the categories translate into in real life, or what I'd want to do to feature those attributes.

[lcjjdnh]

Sorry, this is really, really the last one: do people tend to take full control when playing out games, or just set everything pre-game and use "auto" sets when playing out?

[jbergey22]

Sorry one more: what is "OUT" on the depth chart? Higher means? Lower means?

It is the percentage of stamina they will be at when they get subbed out for if the computer is running the team. Lower means they will play more minutes.

[jbergey22]

Sorry, this is really, really the last one: do people tend to take full control when playing out games, or just set everything pre-game and use "auto" sets when playing out?

It is probably a combination of both. I like to take full control but I know some people like to sim out and play seasons quickly.

[lcjjdnh]

Thanks. Also, I think I discovered a "bug"--or at least something that's not user proof. I inadvertently deleted whatever email relates to the "petition board" function, and now am stuck on April 23.

[Gary Gorski]

That's odd - I will look into it but if you look under help in the game there's instructions to submit your files. Send them in and I will fix them up as soon as possible so you can continue or you can restore the last good save from the main menu

[SlyBelle1]

Am I right to think there is no recommendation button on the strategies page? Is there any guidance I can receive regarding what would be in the acceptable norms?

I don't believe there is a recommend button on the Strategy page....however, if you go to Options at top of screen, you can turn on having the CPU managing both the Strategies and Practices. Not exactly the same as using a recommend button, but will in the end have the CPU make the call.

[Brian Swartz]

do people tend to take full control when playing out games, or just set everything pre-game and use "auto" sets when playing out?

From previous versions, most tend to sim instead of play simply because it gets you through seasons quicker. I think that's a good way to start getting the hang of the big picture, but some like myself eventually will want to drill down and experience the highs and lows of a year more in-depth.

do players ever go beyond their potential at a skill?

No. Potential is just that. However your gauge of that potential is not 100% reliable.

strategies page? Is there any guidance I can receive regarding what would be in the acceptable norms?

Probably would need a more specific question here. People have tried to do all things of crazy things strategically, with varying degrees of success.

Should I assign one coach to each assignment, or am I free to use my recruiter as an extra coach once I've locked up my scholarships?

One to each. I'm not sure what you mean by extra coach.

[lcjjdnh]

Thanks to all those answering my dumb questions. While still learning, enjoying the game so far—the scouting reports and all that stuff really makes the game feel immersive.

A few more:

1) What does scoring attribute represent, as opposed to shooting? The ability to get to basket?
2) If I have good shooters, but low scoring, do I want to use a more structured offense? Or just some particular set?
3) What’s the structured offense vs. transition breakdown? What should I consider when setting this?
4) If I have a great shooting and passing SF, how best to run team around him?

Thanks again for the help! Not necessarily looking to have people do all of my work, just trying to get a better feel for how the strategies actually work in game.

[Brian Swartz]

1. Ability to get your shot off. So high-scoring, low-shooting would be a high-volume, low-efficiency player. Similarly low-scoring, high-shooting player would be someone who needs the table set, pure-shooter type. Essentially scoring determines who is going to shoot the most.

2. I would recommend a structured offense in this case.

3. Proficiency in the various sets is a factor; you won't get consistent quality shots if that isn't reasonably high. Athletic and/or young teams will tend to do better with transition. They can't get quite the same quality of shots that you can get in as well-run set offense, but an inexperienced group might still do better this way as they could lack the requisite knowledge for such execution. This is one factor that encourages establishing a system and recruiting for it; you don't want to jump all over the map from year-to-year based on your talent.

4. Depends on the rest of the roster. I am admittedly not particularly good at this kind of thing and I tend to do better after a few years of establishing things, recruiting to a specific style, etc.

[MizzouRah]

Recruiting at SEMO is a beotch. Although I just learned to click the dropbox to pitch the player.. whoops!

[lcjjdnh]

1. Ability to get your shot off. So high-scoring, low-shooting would be a high-volume, low-efficiency player. Similarly low-scoring, high-shooting player would be someone who needs the table set, pure-shooter type. Essentially scoring determines who is going to shoot the most.

2. I would recommend a structured offense in this case.

3. Proficiency in the various sets is a factor; you won't get consistent quality shots if that isn't reasonably high. Athletic and/or young teams will tend to do better with transition. They can't get quite the same quality of shots that you can get in as well-run set offense, but an inexperienced group might still do better this way as they could lack the requisite knowledge for such execution. This is one factor that encourages establishing a system and recruiting for it; you don't want to jump all over the map from year-to-year based on your talent.

4. Depends on the rest of the roster. I am admittedly not particularly good at this kind of thing and I tend to do better after a few years of establishing things, recruiting to a specific style, etc.

Thanks. And re: structured offense, I’m trying to get a better feel for the next percentages. Is 75/25 too much, or within the realm of reasonableness.

Separetely, I noticed some of my players’ ratings decreased YoY. What causes that and is there anyway to stop it?

[lcjjdnh]

Thanks. And re: structured offense, I’m trying to get a better feel for the next percentages. Is 75/25 too much, or within the realm of reasonableness.

Separetely, I noticed some of my players’ ratings decreased YoY. What causes that and is there anyway to stop it?


And I did hire a new recruiting coach—maybe that has something to do with it if his ratings affect scouting?

[Gary Gorski]

Thanks. And re: structured offense, I’m trying to get a better feel for the next percentages. Is 75/25 too much, or within the realm of reasonableness.

Separetely, I noticed some of my players’ ratings decreased YoY. What causes that and is there anyway to stop it?

Brian gave some pretty good explanations - as for reasonableness this really is all about how you want to run a team. If you're at a big one and done type school it's hard to really get an offense down because players are always coming and going. If you're a small school where you know you will have guys for four years then it to your benefit to really find an offense that you like and recruit players who will fit well in that scheme. For example if you are running the Flex offense you want to have 4's and 5's that are at least decent passers and ball handlers since they will be out away from the basket as part of the offense whereas at a Kentucky or something you might grab the next #1 NBA pick and you pretty much just want to let him do his thing.

Player rating decreases are not necessarily decreases but more of reality setting in that the staff thought too highly of a guy. If its an epidemic you might want to change up the coaching staff if you can. Your assessment of players will also improve as your coach improves his own skill set over time.

[Gary Gorski]

Also wanted to say I appreciate the feedback in the thread here - working on a 1.3 update and it will include a suggest button for report buying and summer travel plans based on the suggestion for one in the thread here.

[MizzouRah]

Can the ai auto select my offsense/defense?

I just want to recruit until I get a better team.

[lcjjdnh]

Can the ai auto select my offsense/defense?

I just want to recruit until I get a better team.

Yes—I think there’s a choice for that in the options menu. (The gear looking thing in the top left of screen.)

And thanks Gary for the top-notch support.

[lcjjdnh]

One suggestion (or let me know if I’m missing something): it seems like there is a limit to the number of players you can have on your call/watch list. If that’s correct, is there any way to track how many you’ve used? Relatedly, is there an easy way to remove all players from list once they’ve commited?

[Gary Gorski]

One suggestion (or let me know if I’m missing something): it seems like there is a limit to the number of players you can have on your call/watch list. If that’s correct, is there any way to track how many you’ve used? Relatedly, is there an easy way to remove all players from list once they’ve commited?

Easiest way is to bring up your watch list, sort by the offered scholarship column, open up the player card and then just scroll through clicking the take off both lists box

[MizzouRah]

Yes—I think there’s a choice for that in the options menu. (The gear looking thing in the top left of screen.)

And thanks Gary for the top-notch support.

Thank you I'll check that.

[lcjjdnh]

Easiest way is to bring up your watch list, sort by the offered scholarship column, open up the player card and then just scroll through clicking the take off both lists box

I was looking for something slightly different--an easy way to remove players who committed to other schools from my lists.

[Gary Gorski]

I was looking for something slightly different--an easy way to remove players who committed to other schools from my lists.

Oh I see - there's nothing right now for that (you can hide them from showing up in the list but not remove them). Let me see if I can think of a way to do that for the next update.

[MizzouRah]

I don't get the phone calls and why interested players typically hang up on you? So you just keep calling them week after week?

I guess I need more recruiting help than what's in the guide lol.

I'm coaching SEMO maybe that's why?

[Brian Swartz]

Are they hanging up immediately or after you talk about a couple of topics?

[lcjjdnh]

One other UI suggestion: While some emails certainly are personalized, I see opportunities for a few more--e.g., highlight your team on the recruiting rankings list so you don't have to look for it, list your seed in email announcing you made tournament, send an email about individual awards you or anyone on your team wins, etc.

[MizzouRah]

Are they hanging up immediately or after you talk about a couple of topics?

Yes and sometimes after my first question.

[MizzouRah]

One other UI suggestion: While some emails certainly are personalized, I see opportunities for a few more--e.g., highlight your team on the recruiting rankings list so you don't have to look for it, list your seed in email announcing you made tournament, send an email about individual awards you or anyone on your team wins, etc.

Love these! Searching for my lowly team kills my eyes, need a different bolded color.

[Gary Gorski]

Yes and sometimes after my first question.

I'm guessing the "goodbye" response is going away too fast but the players hang up when they are done answering questions simply as a mechanism to reflect that all of your time will not be used getting answers - sometimes you get ignored and sometimes you get hung up on :)

[lcjjdnh]

I'm guessing the "goodbye" response is going away too fast but the players hang up when they are done answering questions simply as a mechanism to reflect that all of your time will not be used getting answers - sometimes you get ignored and sometimes you get hung up on :)

Yeah, I think it disappears too quickly on the recruiting screen, as opposed to if you call from the “home” screen (or whatever you call it).

[MizzouRah]

I'm guessing the "goodbye" response is going away too fast but the players hang up when they are done answering questions simply as a mechanism to reflect that all of your time will not be used getting answers - sometimes you get ignored and sometimes you get hung up on :)

Ahhh.. ok!

[Gary Gorski]

Build 1.3 is posted - added the suggest buttons for report buying and camp travel per suggestions here. Thanks for the input!

[korme]

Gary, you're one hell of a developer. Always listening and implementing suggestions.

[bhlloy]

Postseason award teams seem a little jacked up - first team all-american had 4 big men on it, and I don't think I saw a single PG on any of the teams I flicked through (AA or all-conference)

[Gary Gorski]

Postseason award teams seem a little jacked up - first team all-american had 4 big men on it, and I don't think I saw a single PG on any of the teams I flicked through (AA or all-conference)

The All American list is done to mirror the Wooden Award (called the Norton Award in the game). The ten finalists for the award are the All-Americans - the top five in votes the first team, the next five the second team

[Gary Gorski]

Gary, you're one hell of a developer. Always listening and implementing suggestions.

:D many thanks :D