Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Free Agency in a Multi-Player Environment

albionmoonlight · 12-03-2008, 12:21 PM

I agree with a lot of what has been said here. So, in order to provide balance, let me try to pick some of it apart--particularly Ben's points.

Basically, Ben's suggestions all hover around the idea that the game should make it harder for gamers who know how to game things to have a financial advantage over gamers who don't. I generally agree with that. I particularly agree with that when it comes to making the AI players smarter/more like real life (having teammates get upset if you sign a guy for $40,000,000 at their position; having players understand their value better).

But, I could see a game going too far in that direction and taking a lot of the fun and decision making out of it. If, however it is achieved, every starting caliber QB demands X% of the cap. And every decent WR demands Y% of the cap . . . etc., then I think that a lot of the point of free agency is lost. It just becomes a matter of filling up cap space.

Basically, FA that allows for the occasional bargain player and the occassional overpaid player will make it easier on the gamers who understand how to find those deals and harder on the gamers who don't. But FA that does not do that at all does not strike me as very fun.

I think that the best approach may be to see the exploits that people use and ask yourself "why does that not happen in real life?" Then try to code that answer into the game. For example, the reason that players don't renegotiate for under market contracts in real life is because they understand their value and understand how much cap is out there. FOF player/agent AI is just not there yet.

Finally, while I would LOVE it is things like "play for winner" meant more, I agree that, in real life, it does not mean much. For every guy who signs for minsal with a Super Bowl contender, you have 20 guys who just follow the dollars/starting spots. Also, I think that it would be very hard to the AI to really know which teams do have the best chance of winning. If people could game "play for winner" by slotting depth charts or game "prefered playing style" by changing gameplans, then you have just created a bigger problem than the one you tried to solve.

12-03-2008, 12:21 PM	#10
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	I agree with a lot of what has been said here. So, in order to provide balance, let me try to pick some of it apart--particularly Ben's points. Basically, Ben's suggestions all hover around the idea that the game should make it harder for gamers who know how to game things to have a financial advantage over gamers who don't. I generally agree with that. I particularly agree with that when it comes to making the AI players smarter/more like real life (having teammates get upset if you sign a guy for $40,000,000 at their position; having players understand their value better). But, I could see a game going too far in that direction and taking a lot of the fun and decision making out of it. If, however it is achieved, every starting caliber QB demands X% of the cap. And every decent WR demands Y% of the cap . . . etc., then I think that a lot of the point of free agency is lost. It just becomes a matter of filling up cap space. Basically, FA that allows for the occasional bargain player and the occassional overpaid player will make it easier on the gamers who understand how to find those deals and harder on the gamers who don't. But FA that does not do that at all does not strike me as very fun. I think that the best approach may be to see the exploits that people use and ask yourself "why does that not happen in real life?" Then try to code that answer into the game. For example, the reason that players don't renegotiate for under market contracts in real life is because they understand their value and understand how much cap is out there. FOF player/agent AI is just not there yet. Finally, while I would LOVE it is things like "play for winner" meant more, I agree that, in real life, it does not mean much. For every guy who signs for minsal with a Super Bowl contender, you have 20 guys who just follow the dollars/starting spots. Also, I think that it would be very hard to the AI to really know which teams do have the best chance of winning. If people could game "play for winner" by slotting depth charts or game "prefered playing style" by changing gameplans, then you have just created a bigger problem than the one you tried to solve.