Pre Release Fast Break Pro Basketball 3 Discussion

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by yeah826

Is there like a preorder special going out for the game yet??

Yes, order it and you'll feel 'special'.

[Lathum]

don't want to slog through this thread. Is the game out yet or is there an ECD for it?

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Lathum

don't want to slog through this thread. Is the game out yet or is there an ECD for it?

It's not out yet. There's a beta demo linked earlier in the thread. It was nearly ready for release last weekend, so I imagine a good guesstimate would be "any day now".

[yeah826]

I kinda made the post because if he had the game ready but maybe it took a while for the website to set up the game I was just wondering if he would like to set up an ordering system just to get the game early before it shows up on the official website.

[Lathum]

are you able to import seasons from FBCB into the game as draft classes?

[yeah826]

Yeah you can already do that with the demo

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Lathum

are you able to import seasons from FBCB into the game as draft classes?

Absolutely. One of my favourite things is that you can view the achievements for your FBCB draft class players right back through their entire pro and college careers, starting from what ranked recruit they were in the FBCB world. College stats also transfer over and are stored in the FBB database.

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Absolutely. One of my favourite things is that you can view the achievements for your FBCB draft class players right back through their entire pro and college careers, starting from what ranked recruit they were in the FBCB world. College stats also transfer over and are stored in the FBB database.

That is so wonderful. That's where the NBA2k series loses me a little, and what Madden tried to add with Connected Careers, which is a connection to the players being generated by the game. I can't wait to get the full game.

[yeah826]

I wonder if HR was able to clean up the things he needed to from last weekend.

[HeavyReign]

I'd imagine there will be a couple days notice as far as release. Progress isn't stalling or anything...just trying to make things better. Every time I get someone new checking out the full build I end up with a list of stuff that I hadn't considered or hadn't been reported.

[cougarfreak]

I haven't looked, is this Mac compatible?

[HeavyReign]

I'm told it works on parallels and it at least one of the emulators. No direct mac release.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

I play it on parallels. It works well.

[yeah826]

Hey i dont know if anyone else brought this up but when you hit recommend on the depth chart the starters are not given more than one position on the legal position area like they were given on the college game. Seems like that also for the bench players too.

Also like the college game if you were to put a player at a certain position long enough will his position change?

[yeah826]

I just found out that the D-League actually allows trades so is there like a trigger in the game to make sure that players assigned to the D League are not traded?? Also I turned on trading but it seems i am not allowed to trade while GMing a D league team. Also what would stop a D League team from sign another player from another D-League team. I am saying this because they are showing up on the free agency list while they are already on a D League team. Shouldn't they be removed if you are in the D League yourself.(I kinda see they want more money then you could ever offer them but still)

Also when you are a coach on a D League team if you click on your team players card you are sent to their negotiation screen. I think if you are in the same league even if Developmental league you should be sent to the normal screen as if you were part of the parent league.

Are the recommended gameplan generated in relation the league they are playing in or just over all talent just asking??

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by yeah826

Hey i dont know if anyone else brought this up but when you hit recommend on the depth chart the starters are not given more than one position on the legal position area like they were given on the college game. Seems like that also for the bench players too.

Noted although bench players will list under multiple positions.

Also like the college game if you were to put a player at a certain position long enough will his position change?

Not currently. Was debating whether to change it but hadn't gotten to it since it is basically for display only.

I just found out that the D-League actually allows trades so is there like a trigger in the game to make sure that players assigned to the D League are not traded?? Also I turned on trading but it seems i am not allowed to trade while GMing a D league team. Also what would stop a D League team from sign another player from another D-League team. I am saying this because they are showing up on the free agency list while they are already on a D League team. Shouldn't they be removed if you are in the D League yourself.(I kinda see they want more money then you could ever offer them but still)

Trading screen should only show players that are owned by the DLG team. I'll fix the FA thing so they won't show up if they are on another team. The computer teams won't sign them already.

Also when you are a coach on a D League team if you click on your team players card you are sent to their negotiation screen. I think if you are in the same league even if Developmental league you should be sent to the normal screen as if you were part of the parent league.

Will be fixed.

Are the recommended gameplan generated in relation the league they are playing in or just over all talent just asking??

Based on player skills.

[korme]

Just an fyi HR, my birthday is Monday dude.

[korme]

Is there a way to see a main league? So when you click on stats and leaders, for instance, it doesn't automatically sort aphabetically by league, maybe it could default to NBA (if thats your main league).

Or at the very least have a memory of the last league you were looking at.

[HeavyReign]

Right now it should always default to the league of whichever team you are controlling. It was supposed to do that before but some of the screens weren't cooperating.

[korme]

Ok, cool. I haven't toyed around in a few builds.

[Lathum]

can you only plsy one season with the demo?

[HeavyReign]

Yeah its only one season. I once read somewhere that the best way to prevent piracy on a demo is to completely remove sections of code from the demo. The code that changes it to the next season seemed like the best bet there.

[nol]

Yeah, only one season.

One cool thing I've seen in the demo lately is that the generated players and staff tend to come from hometowns that tend to be reasonably close to their alma mater. It seems less random than FBCB. Little touches like that really help with the immersion, and it tends to be the sum of such little improvements that makes this series one of the best.

[yeah826]

Any update on how progress has been going??

[korme]

Any plans to add 5-man unit stats? Chicago Bulls top five man units data from 82games.com

Or even player-pair stats? Harder to describe.. here's a snippet from Zach Lowe:

"[Anthony] Davis's shakiness on defense in space has been a bit of a surprise, and the Davis–Ryan Anderson front line has been a disaster; the Hornets have allowed 113.1 points per 100 possessions when those two share the floor, nearly 4.5 points worse than Sacramento's league-worst defense, and the worst number of any of the 40 or so New Orleans player pairs who have logged at least 275 minutes."

[yeah826]

I wonder if HR took into account of teams that may get high stats yet still cannot win game like say sacramento they may put up good stats which would inflate their ratings yet they are one of the worst defensive teams in the league but in the game they have 3 blue level players and 3 green level players.

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by yeah826

Any update on how progress has been going??

I'm bouncing back and forth between working on the help file and the trade screen (4 teams).

I wonder if HR took into account of teams that may get high stats yet still cannot win game like say sacramento they may put up good stats which would inflate their ratings yet they are one of the worst defensive teams in the league but in the game they have 3 blue level players and 3 green level players.

Some of that might be variation from scouting. Some of that might be the old rating system. I can't remember if I updated the overall ratings before or after the last posted demo. There also wasn't much tweaking done to that player file.

Any plans to add 5-man unit stats?

I made myself a note to take a look at it. It isn't something I'd be able to do before release. I would mainly need to decide both the best way of storing that data.

[OldGiants]

Will it be possible to make our own mods? I looked at the CVS player file from the demo and there are lots of columns without headings. No clue what they mean.

I'd like to make my own teams from the 60's and 70's, create a league mixing in pre-merger ABA teams like the Colonels and Squires. I know how I remember these players and that's how I want them to perform.

Will this project be possible?

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

Will it be possible to make our own mods? I looked at the CVS player file from the demo and there are lots of columns without headings. No clue what they mean.

I'd like to make my own teams from the 60's and 70's, create a league mixing in pre-merger ABA teams like the Colonels and Squires. I know how I remember these players and that's how I want them to perform.

Will this project be possible?

Customization is the name of the game.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Customization is the name of the game.

But how?

[yeah826]

You can edit the player file in game by going to tools and player file editor clicking new that would be a place to start.

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

Will it be possible to make our own mods? I looked at the CVS player file from the demo and there are lots of columns without headings. No clue what they mean.

I'd like to make my own teams from the 60's and 70's, create a league mixing in pre-merger ABA teams like the Colonels and Squires. I know how I remember these players and that's how I want them to perform.

Will this project be possible?

I'll add headers to those columns in the player files so people can edit them manually as well. To do this you'll want to make a league file with the teams you want to include then make the corresponding player file.

[nol]

Originally Posted by yeah826

I wonder if HR took into account of teams that may get high stats yet still cannot win game like say sacramento they may put up good stats which would inflate their ratings yet they are one of the worst defensive teams in the league but in the game they have 3 blue level players and 3 green level players.

From simming repeated seasons with injuries and trades turned off, it seems like the teams are ranked pretty well from a pure talent standpoint e.g. where teams end up seeded for the playoffs is in line with what I'd expect. The Spurs and the Bulls (even with Rose) are probably the two teams that most consistently underperform relative to their regular-season record, but those are probably the two teams that are most often regarded as "greater than the sum of their parts." I don't know if there's even a rating you could give to a Popovich or a Thibodeau that would result in their players outperforming their ratings to such a degree. It also makes coming up with player attributes tougher since you have to assume that someone like Cousins would be a much more effective defender if he played for the Spurs or Bulls.

The other thing I'd say about the standings is that there are more teams in the 30-40 win range than in real life, but that's to be expected since there's no code to make teams tank for a better draft pick.

[Groundhog]

For fun last night I played around with the creation draft to try and put together different styles of teams. I started out with a fast paced, high INS/3PT team with a playmaking PG, max tempo, and no one over 50/100 in either post or perimeter D. I was putting up 108ppg for 3rd in the league – but giving up nearly 120ppg for dead last in the league by a sizeable margin. Lost a lot of games.

I scaled it down a little bit the 2nd time around, opting to put together a slightly more balanced yet still up-tempo Thunder-esque squad. Scoring dropped a little, scoring against dropped a lot, and we were a 6th seed in the playoffs.

Then I put together a defensive-orientated team, with high motion, slow pace, normal 3pt. Again it worked as I expected to, ranking 10th last in PPG, but 2nd in points allowed, and pretty good in the wins column.

So yeah, as in FBCB, I think it’s going to be possible to be successful using a variety of strategies if you build the team correctly, which is great.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by HeavyReign

I'll add headers to those columns in the player files so people can edit them manually as well. To do this you'll want to make a league file with the teams you want to include then make the corresponding player file.

Excellent. That's what I'll need, the column headings.

[Sporkimata]

Is the game in theory coming out soon? I know delays and all sorts of things can happen. They really need a pre order option.

[Marmel]

almost fell to page 3....bump

[HeavyReign]

Final demo coming once I get the html finished.

[korme]

How dare you do this right before I go out of town for the weekend?!!!!

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

WOOOO!!!!

[Sporkimata]

Woot! I have a powerful need for a new game and this seems like the ticket. Can't wait!

[yeah826]

That's great sadly I wont be able to buy till my next paycheck but its a definite for me.

[korme]

bump

[HeavyReign]

Updated demo here:

http://www.fbbgames.com/Fbpb3DemoSetup.exe

[korme]

List of changes/fixes?

[yeah826]

I noticed he added in 4 team trading. Also it seems he updated the ratings.

Only problem I see is that scoring may be a little too high individually fictional and real but this may just be the case of teams not spreading the scoring around more often or maybe the teams best scorer just getting the ball more. Only reason I say individually because in terms of team stats its pretty realistic.

Probably should tone down the injuries though or at least the severity I dont know which.

[korme]

Yeah, in a fictional US universe, there were 16 players who averaged more than 25 PPG. Comparatively, 5 players this year are averaging that many, 4 last year.

10 NBA players are averaging over 20 PPG, in my first sim 41 averaged that mark.

Rebounding seems a little high, too - a bunch of guys were over 10 RPG (11).

APG are a bit weird, too. The league leader averaged 13.9 APG, 2nd was 6.7, 3rd 5.8

Blocks seem low - league leader was 1.7

[yeah826]

I think when in fictional terms the game probably generate alot of great scorers but not any good defenders and probably doesnt generate a lot of good passers.

Also I wonder if HR is going to update the ratings in terms to how players are playing this season since its almost the end of the season im also kinda wondering how long does it normally take him to update the ratings.

[britrock88]

These seem like the kind of leaguewide effects that could be toned down in the ini file.

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by korme

List of changes/fixes?

Fixes:
*Emailed trade offers should be automatically loaded on the trade screen.
*Fixed several more issues that made the trade AI too easy.
*Salary cap report now includes any exceptions being charged to the team salary in the total salary column.
*Fixed a bug on draft lottery screen that showed 2nd round picks being traded if the team's 1st round pick was traded.
*Fixed error 9 when viewing a draft eligible player after the draft lottery but before the draft.
*Fixed a bug that caused the number of games a league plays to be increased just by viewing the edit current league screen.
*League setup screen now shows the correct maximum schedule length of 84 games.
*Team staff history should no longer save the scout in the head coach slot.
*Contract offers made to free agents during the season should be loaded when viewing the free agent again.
*Fixed crash when trying to view trade screen after the trade deadline.
*Playoffs should advance to next round if you coach the last game of the playoff series.
*2nd round picks were valued like 1st round picks on draft day.
*fixed a bug that caused draft picks to have no value in trades and trades to be too easy overall.
*Should no longer be possible to trade one pick for a higher pick on draft day.
*fixed error 9 when clicking a team in the transactions list.
*Fixed a bug that could cause invalid players to appear in the career leaders records.
*Fixed bug that made it impossible to move teams up/down in the creation draft order before starting the draft.
*FBCB import achievements should adjust the year based on the season of import.
*Fixed a bug that caused the secondary defense to not be used.
*All teams will be logged out by default when loading a save.
*Fixed bug with historical leagues playing 2 12 minutes halves instead of 4 quarters after the first season.
*Fixed overflow bug due to attendance.
*Fixed a bug with cohesion that caused away teams to play much worse than home teams.
*Fixed a bug that caused fictional players to almost always have a high free throw rating.
*Players should be properly removed from DLG teams that contract.
*Fixed bug that could cause blank players to get imported when using a player file.
*Fixed a bug that caused draft pick values to be set to 0 on draft day when using multiple leagues.
*Mock draft will reflect any completed picks if viewed during the draft.
*Increased speed of mock draft determination for creation draft.
*Window should be disabled while progress bar is present when leaving the creation draft screen.
*Fixed a freeze that could occur while making sure DLG teams have valid rosters.
*Future arena should show up under arena status on finances screen.
*should no longer get message about invalid draft picks in a trade popping up while fast simming.
*Random debut historical database will base attibutes on actual season played rather than adjusted season played due to random debut.
*Awards menu option should work during free agency.
*Team name will be abbreviated on standings screen if too long.
*Dropdown on player profile should correctly list all leagues a player has played under.
*Season stats text report should not be empty
*Viewing players as a DLG team shouldn't default to the negotiations screen for players that aren't FAs
*Fixed a bug that caused players released by DLG teams to still show that team as their current team the player profile.
*Players on DLG rosters shouldn't appear in the FA list for DLG teams.
*Viewing players as a DLG team shouldn't default to the negotiations screen for players that aren't FAs
*Salary cap should not be displayed for DLG teams.
*Fixed a bug that allowed DLG teams to cut players assigned to them rather than returning them to the parent team.
*Fixed a bug that made it impossible to add players to a trade when using a DLG team.
*DLG teams should only have the option "Sign Player" when viewing free agents.
*DLG cuts shouldn't be made automatically unless you are using CPU roster management.
*Player name will be abbreviated on depth chart screen if too long.
*Fixed overflow error if you click recommend on gameplan with no players on roster.
*Watch list screen should return to previous values if you return after viewing a player on the watch list.
*FBCB imports should only include stats for seasons the player was active.
*Awards should not be saved twice under coach profile achievements.
*Teams should be less likely to rehire someone they have fired.
*Fixed several cases of teams being in the wrong division in specific seasons in the historical league.
*Fixed overflow error in free agency due to too many bids.
*Fixed a bug that could cause bad players to receive large contracts.
*Fixed sorting by starting salary on FA screen when using multiple leagues.
*Fixed a bug that caused players in foul trouble to not be removed from the game.
*Fixed another bug that allowed players assigned to the DLG to appear in games.
*Fixed bug that caused players to not show up in the in season FA list.
*Injury setting under league options shouldn't revert to "yes" if you leave the screen and come back.
*Fixed a bug that caused Bird Years to reset to 0 when a player entered FA.
*Fixed RTE 380 when viewing a staff member with a contract offer.
*Teams should have the correct number of players inactive/dlg.
*Fixed a bug that caused luxury tax to display as $0 on the finances screen.
*Should no longer receive multiple emails for the same award.
*Fixed error 9 that could occur while generating stories about end of season awards.
*Fixed several instances when view player should be available while viewing an email
*Decline option button on player screen no longer has extra text.
*Career stats should be assigned to the correct league when starting a new game with the historical database.
*Season entered when generating a player based on stats should now matter.
*Fixed error 6 that could occur when clearing a spot on a DLG roster.
*Shouldn't be possible for historical leagues to start while set to 0 games.
*Fixed division by zero error on last day of season.
*Added code to detect the date format used by the save and convert it to the one used by the current user if they don't match.
*Players at the lower end of the talent pool should be more willing to sign for less money in multileague setups.
*Should not be possible for DLG teams to sign players to normal contracts.
*Teams should not resign players to contracts for more than their desired salary.
*League average pace should be correct under the team stats screen.
*Added default values for settings not currently set for historical leagues.
*Fixed error 75 when trying to sort messages in the inbox.
*Fixed issue in box score where team name would be lower on the screen if the name was too long.
*Fixed unusual delay when trying to view playoff brackets.
*Playoff MVP should be awarded for developmental leagues.
*Current settings should save when viewing a player/team from the FBB News screen.
*Players imported from FBCB should not all have 0 injury avoidance.
*Fixed a bug that assigned players to the wrong roster for the rookie and all-star games
*Fixed a bug that cancelled Allstar weekend events for Developmental Leagues unnecessarily.
*Fixed error 9 when double-clicking an option on the current league editor screen.
*Fixed several grammar errors in news stories.
*Single Team records should properly save the opponent name.
*Fixed error 381 when saving a new player in the current league editor.
*Editing staff members in the current league editor shouldn't change a team from human to cpu controlled.
*Current league editor should work on scouts.
*Should no longer have stat lines in season stats on player profile with a team but no league listed.
*CPU teams should no longer use players assigned to DLG in their depth chart.
*No longer possible for players imported from a player file to be younger than 16.
*Double clicking on power poll should take you to the correct team.
*Fixed issue with calculating legal salaries in trades when using hard cap.
*Non-Archive screens with options for multiple leagues should default to the league of the currently selected team.
*Injury avoidance shouldn't load rather than always saying 100 when viewing a player in the player file editor.
*Available exceptions should not be negative on salary cap report.
*Menu options for news, players, and stats work again during the FA period.
*Team Budget shouldn't be applied to max FA salary when not using full finances.
*Teams should do a better job of sending players with potential but not in the rotation to the DLG.
*Changes to subleague information weren't saving in the current league editor.
*Starting one league with a creation draft while another league started in free agency was starting all leagues in free agency.
*60 day trade rule enabled under league options.
*PBP for all-star games should work in the current season.
*Developmental leagues should not be in the league list on the draft preview screen.
*Creation draft should work with player files.


Changes:
*Propose arena option should be available anytime besides during the offseason editing period.
*Added indicator of total minutes assigned on depth chart screen.
*Added a history report to the hire staff screen which shows staff career totals for HC/GM Wins,Losses,%,Divsion Titles, and championships.
*Players should be less likely to retire while still near the peak of their talent.
*In-season FA screen will now highlight players you have made contract offers to.
*Added response emails for FA offers outside the FA period.
*Enabled HTML output
*Lowered starting draft pick values for lower prestige leagues
*Added an email to each team list the payment they made/received due to revenue sharing.
*Creation and rookie drafts now list mock draft by your scout in the draft order report during the draft.
*Added a draft file editor and the option to export/import the current draft class under the league editor.
*Updated draft pick values in first year.
*Must click yes on trade accepted dialog before a trade is processed.
*Added more information to the help file.
*If a team has a password then the To Do list will display only the option to Log In.
*Added fog of war for player ratings for teams that have a password but have not logged in.
*Increased playing time assigned by cpu teams to starters.
*Rebalanced the stat based generation for jumping, jumpshot, and inside scoring.
*Updated 2012 player file to match updated player skills
*Added contract option info to 2012 player file.
*Updated stat based skill generation for inside scoring
*added staff extensions to team exports.
*added a help file and help screen - (incomplete).
*Updated trade screen to support up to 4 team trades.
*Updated some of the trade proposal types.
*Added headers to player file columns.
*Enabled approval indicator on the bottom menu.
*Enabled cohesion indicator on the bottom menu.
*Sevare injuries can have permanent affects.
*Increased the rate of busts.
*Historical leagues will default to historical settings.
*Added email images to inbox section of hot seat.
*Added additional color coding to the free agency screen in order to highlight your previous players and those with bird rights.
*Added sim to allstar weekend button to the schedule screen.
*Added rookie game participant achievement.
*Added stop for trade offers setting under team setup.
*Added support for 0 playoff teams.
*Increased the quality of drafts imported from FBCB.
*Enabled option to allow humans to get fired.
*Teams will now fire GMs and Coaches due to poor performance or give extensions for good performance.
*Now possible to fire staff during the season and bid on replacements.
*Now possible to offer staff extensions.
*Increased the amount of detail in the FA contract negotiation emails.
*Added an email when your franchise moves cities.
*Players will give preference contracts offered in their home country or home region.
*CPU teams will try harder to get bargains during FA bidding.
*Elite veterans are less likely to sign extensions as they can sign for more in free agency.
*Playoff standings will show division leaders first.
*Added support for up to 8 divisions
*Added the ability to specifiy another league file as a DLG/Subleague in the League File Editor. This will auto set the relationship if both files are active when starting a new game.
*DLG will already be configured when you start with historical USBL and USDL
*Max games increased to 84 to accomodate past ABA schedules.
*Players whose best hope is a min contract will be more willing to sign for less in other leagues.
*Decreased odds of lesser leagues generating good players.
*Added an email detailing the amount of luxury tax paid by the team.
*Added an email at the start of FA discussing Bird Rights and letting you know which players you have them for each season.
*Finances screen shows projected luxury tax owed during the season.
*Player Contracts report shows projected/actual luxury tax.
*Enabled trade offers from computer teams to human teams.
*Added support for longer email messages.
*Decreased the impact of injury avoidance.
*Decreased base injury rate
*Adjusted trade salary rules involving min salary (counts going out but not coming in)
*Improved the quality of the fictional draft pool.
*Smaller/less prestigious leagues should have a smaller pool of new players each year
*Updated player rating forumlas.
*Increased the value of cap room in trades.
*Increased the value of youth in trades.
*Added an exit button to the tools screen.
*Box score printout now includes quarter scoring and leaders section.
*Increased the number of players willing to resign with their teams.
*Added the option to export the current league players to a player file.
*Unhappy players will be listed under player notes.
*Players still free agents near the end of free agency will lower their demands more.
*Team dropdowns on trade screen should be in alpabetical order.
*Playoff MVP should be clickable on playoff brackets.
*PBP for All-Star and Rookie games should always be generated.
*Added stage menu images.
*Rookie game moved to Friday while 3p shootout and dunk contest are on Saturday during AS weekend
*Improved logic for filling missing spots for the rookie game.
*Updated screen titles.
*Now possible to change a coach to human or cpu in the current league editor.
*Updated icon
*All buttons should now have the same format.
*Updated sidemenu graphics.
*Added a progress bar to the training camps stage.
*Added a progress bar while creating a new game.

Engine Tweaks:
*Increased the affect of defensive skill on whether or not a foul is committed.
*Increased default pace
*Adjusted shot locations by various types of players.
*Balanced steals, blocks, and turnovers to current averages.
*Increaed the effect of height on shot defense.
*Decreased steal rate on drives
*Increased steal rate on passes
*Players gambling for steals will lead to more open shots.
*Increased the affect of defense on the ability to drive.