FBCB2 discussion: Full version now available

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Was this mentioned?

I was looking through the coach records, and I know you can click the coaches with current jobs to view their profiles. It would be nice to be able to see the profiles of coaches that currently do not have jobs. The third winningest coach did not have a position apparently and I was interested in where he coached to get that high, but his profile would not open.

Is he retired? I make sure to have the game save retired coach profiles so I can see them after they retire, because if you don't then they won't be viewable after their careers are over and since I always fast-sim before starting, they're usually always retired when they've won a lot.

[Scoobz0202]

That would be it. I didn't read close enough and saw there were coaches that had "unemployed." And sure enough, I had the save retired coaches to off.

Thanks.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

HR.

Print shows the same thing as the screen. Here is a screenshot. However, since the player card doesn't really track if a player was ever redshirted (feature request ), can't guarantee this person didn't redshirt. This is what I see on all my player cards. The league was fast simmed from 1939.

I think he came in as a JUCO.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

That would be it. I didn't read close enough and saw there were coaches that had "unemployed." And sure enough, I had the save retired coaches to off.

Thanks.

Although HR made a great improvement on the coach's history report where it shows the career leaders -- by adding the current team the coach is on, I think there could be another step to make it even better. If the coach has retired, display "retired" in that column. If the coach is unemployed, then show "unemployed" in that column. Taking this step further reduces the guessing game.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

You'll get an e-mail informing you that you have coaching points to spend. Happens either right at the beginning of the season or shortly thereafter (can't remember exactly). If you keep track, you'll also note that your assistants can and will improve in their ratings after good seasons, especially if they are younger.

Yes, and when your assistants improve, they often ask for a raise, too. So make sure you go to the coach screen and process their salary increases, or they will leave.

OTOH, I've given the requested raise and the bastard still left to take a head coaching job elsewhere.

It is hard to keep a staff in place, which is as it should be.

[Balldog]

Does anyone know where you can get a good history of the conferences in college basketball? I was interested in starting a sim back in the early 1900s and adding teams/conferences as they came into play.

[henry296]

I coach all of my games and I've noticed that the AI doesn't sub their starters back into the game at the start of the second half.

[britrock88]

This is my go-to:

sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/

Wikipedia and the websites of existing conferences are helpful, too.

I have a 1938 mod set up, if you'd like to have a gander. I'm not making great use of it at the moment because I'm waiting to see if HR will add support for small conferences (3-6 teams).

[Bigsmooth]

Originally Posted by henry296

I coach all of my games and I've noticed that the AI doesn't sub their starters back into the game at the start of the second half.

Yeah noticed this as well. Also wanted to say that I'm loving the game. Pretty much the only game I've gotten into offline other then OOTP. Started a game with Seattle U as an Independent. Is it possible to be invited to a conference from the Indy's?

Thanks

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Bigsmooth

Yeah noticed this as well. Also wanted to say that I'm loving the game. Pretty much the only game I've gotten into offline other then OOTP. Started a game with Seattle U as an Independent. Is it possible to be invited to a conference from the Indy's?

Thanks

Yes, indies get invited to conferences so long as you have conference movement on or whatever.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by henry296

I coach all of my games and I've noticed that the AI doesn't sub their starters back into the game at the start of the second half.

Ive noticed this as well. Id love to see it fixed

[Balldog]

HR,

Is there a way to lower the overall talent of players through the FBCB.ini file? I know there is a modifier in there for default players, does this effect recruits? When using my D2 mod, if I don't allow players to go pro teams end up with starting fives with 5 all-american caliber players, sometimes more. Just trying to figure out how to address that.

Thanks!

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

It is funny to see a coach with this history being hired as a head coach I am sure there are examples of this in real life, but kind of funny he seemed to get fired just about every year, but then gets hired.

I'd be curious to see his ratings.

I'm guessing his first four firings came from being on the staff of a head coach that was fired.

I've noticed that when the computer is hiring assistants to move up the ladder to become head coaches, they like targeting guys that have been on successful staffs, so this guy's run on a successful Green Bay staff likely was a big factor.

I'm not super familiar with the coaching paths of most guys in the college game, but my impression of hiring and firing in FBCB is it seems to be more willing to forgive past failures (in terms of win/loss records) if a guy has good ratings and has had a good recent run as an assistant.

In my current career, I lose an assistant pretty much every year to a head coaching gig with a small school. They get two successful years on their resume on my staff, and they have high enough ratings in their area of specialty to appeal to another program. It's kind of fun to look through the history page and see how my various assistants have done on their own.

[OldGiants]

Here's an issue with the recruiting screen. It occurs when I try to look at the players after pushing the 'REC RANKINGS' button.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

I'd be curious to see his ratings.

I'm guessing his first four firings came from being on the staff of a head coach that was fired.

I've noticed that when the computer is hiring assistants to move up the ladder to become head coaches, they like targeting guys that have been on successful staffs, so this guy's run on a successful Green Bay staff likely was a big factor.

I'm not super familiar with the coaching paths of most guys in the college game, but my impression of hiring and firing in FBCB is it seems to be more willing to forgive past failures (in terms of win/loss records) if a guy has good ratings and has had a good recent run as an assistant.

In my current career, I lose an assistant pretty much every year to a head coaching gig with a small school. They get two successful years on their resume on my staff, and they have high enough ratings in their area of specialty to appeal to another program. It's kind of fun to look through the history page and see how my various assistants have done on their own.

Unfortuantely, I did not save that league so can't look back at the ratings. You are probably correct that in his last couple of years, he might have had good ratings. Next time I see this, I'll look deeper into it.

[MizzouRah]

I just had AVG report the FBCB.exe file as a virus and it removed it.. WTF?

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I just had AVG report the FBCB.exe file as a virus and it removed it.. WTF?

That is interesting. Someone over at the official tech forums reported the same thing, unless that was you too I am using Norton along with MalwareBytes and received no warnings or issues.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

That is interesting. Someone over at the official tech forums reported the same thing, unless that was you too I am using Norton along with MalwareBytes and received no warnings or issues.

No that wasn't me, just happened tonight when the scan ran.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

No that wasn't me, just happened tonight when the scan ran.

That stinks...must be some kind of new signature triggering inside of AVG. Defintely not seeing it in Norton.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

That stinks...must be some kind of new signature triggering inside of AVG. Defintely not seeing it in Norton.

I sent the false report to AVG.

[Comey]

Very interesting Final Four in my auto-run league: Stanford (38-1, #1 West) vs UConn (29-7, #2 South) Bradley (26-9, #9 Midwest) vs #17 Missouri State (28-7, #5 East) Two Missouri Valley teams squaring off in one semifinal. I found that extremely interesting. Equally as interesting is that Missouri State beat Missouri in the Elite Eight to get there. In all honesty, I'm enjoying just watching history unfold. BYU has been an absolute force from the start in this league (including a championship in the league's third season); the Big East dominated a stretch where they put in ten of the possible twenty Final Four teams in a five-year run, winning the NCAA title each season (and six of seven). Pitt has three titles in eight seasons, including back-to-back titles; Marquette has become a power, and UNLV has had continual success, including a title the year after BYU won theirs). Good times, there.

[dawgfan]

Yeah, it's fun to see which programs succeed and which fail in various careers. In my first career, North Carolina slid badly, while Michigan State, Ohio State remained very strong, Pitt won a few titles and a variety of Pac-10 teams won titles. In my current career, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech have won multiple titles and Stanford has been the major power from the Pac-10.

Interesting that in both careers, Gonzaga slid back quickly to being just another mid-major.

[muns]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Yeah, it's fun to see which programs succeed and which fail in various careers. In my first career, North Carolina slid badly, while Michigan State, Ohio State remained very strong, Pitt won a few titles and a variety of Pac-10 teams won titles. In my current career, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech have won multiple titles and Stanford has been the major power from the Pac-10.

Interesting that in both careers, Gonzaga slid back quickly to being just another mid-major.

Interesting how that works! I cant remember in any of my test leagues or real leagues Gonzaga being good at all.

[Comey]

Gonzaga's been awful in my league. I started in 1950; they went 31-3 in 1950, fell off to 22-11 by 1952, managed to win 20 games twice more, but went from 20-11 in '55 to 13-19 in '56. They haven't been relevant since.

BYU hasn't missed a single tourney; got to the Elite Eight in 1950 (going 30-7); won the title in '52 (32-5), but may have been better the next season (34-4, 15-1 MWC, RPI 7). They fell in the Final Four that year.

Overall, they've been to nine Sweet Sixteens, five Elite Eights, two Final Fours and one title. Not bad at all. They've never won fewer than 22 games, either. And that's sharing a conference with UNLV, who has been to six Elite Eights, three Final Fours, and one title. They've been to four of the last five Elite Eights...rather impressive.

[muns]

Originally Posted by Comey

Gonzaga's been awful in my league. I started in 1950; they went 31-3 in 1950, fell off to 22-11 by 1952, managed to win 20 games twice more, but went from 20-11 in '55 to 13-19 in '56. They haven't been relevant since.

BYU hasn't missed a single tourney; got to the Elite Eight in 1950 (going 30-7); won the title in '52 (32-5), but may have been better the next season (34-4, 15-1 MWC, RPI 7). They fell in the Final Four that year.

Overall, they've been to nine Sweet Sixteens, five Elite Eights, two Final Fours and one title. Not bad at all. They've never won fewer than 22 games, either. And that's sharing a conference with UNLV, who has been to six Elite Eights, three Final Fours, and one title. They've been to four of the last five Elite Eights...rather impressive.

I love hearing stories like that, just shows how damn neat the game and how immersive it can actually be

[Comey]

1965 season: The Year Things Were Close

The largest margin of victory in the Sweet Sixteen was six points. No #1 seed made it through to the Elite Eight:

West: Stanford fell to 9-seed Pitt, 92-88, in the second round
Midwest: Marquette fell to 5-seed BYU 73-69 in the round of 16
South: Maryland lost to 4-seed Wisconsin 96-95 in the Sweet Sixteen
East: UConn fell to 5-seed NC State 64-63 in the Sweet Sixteen

The only one of those teams who did not reach the Final Four was Pitt, who succumbed to Syracuse in the next round. The Orangemen (screw this Orange crap) are in the Final Four.

This year saw the rise of Belmont as an at-large team; they got to the Sweet Sixteen before bowing out to Kansas, 80-74. The Jayhawks were the only team to get blown out in the Elite Eight, losing by 29 to the surging Badgers.

Three five-seeds and a four-seed in the Final Four. BYU and Syracuse made it to the Championship Game, with BYU, a team not having an especially good year by comparison of their history, beating 'Cuse 77-63 to take it.

Just when it looked like everything was going to chalk, it turned to dust.

[Lathum]

How am I 9-1, RPI of 12, 4-1 against top 100, and won the Coaches Vs Cancer by beating Texas, Ohio state, and Maryland and not ranked in the top 25?

[Comey]

This is true. Can't make this up:

"And now, the starting shooting guard for YOUR Connecticut Huskies! At five feet, eight inches, he's a freshman from Skyview, Idaho...King Beer!"

I smell a poorly-written, badly concocted dynasty coming to chronicle the life and times of King Beer.

[muns]

Originally Posted by Lathum

How am I 9-1, RPI of 12, 4-1 against top 100, and won the Coaches Vs Cancer by beating Texas, Ohio state, and Maryland and not ranked in the top 25?

Ya the beginning of the year polls are always a tad screwey. Ive found that to be in just about every college game ive played though. Im sure it will change next month.

[muns]

Originally Posted by Comey

This is true. Can't make this up:

"And now, the starting shooting guard for YOUR Connecticut Huskies! At five feet, eight inches, he's a freshman from Skyview, Idaho...King Beer!"

I smell a poorly-written, badly concocted dynasty coming to chronicle the life and times of King Beer.

lol, that is pretty good and I hope you do it!!! My next questions is why are you going out to Idaho to recruit while your at UCONN??? The name got ya didnt it

[Comey]

This is more of a glossy sim than anything else. I'm just letting the computer do its thing. I haven't started an in-depth dynasty yet; when I do, I plan to start at Bucknell (smallest school nearest to my hometown of Harrisburg), Penn State, or Fairfield (where I go to grad school).

[Comey]

King Beer's resume includes two NCAA titles through two years of school.

Meanwhile, something I wasn't sure I'd ever see, a 16 over a 1, has happened three times in the last two seasons. Mercer beat Missouri, while Providence fell to Evansville. This year, Yale upset Vanderbilt.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Comey

King Beer's resume includes two NCAA titles through two years of school.

Meanwhile, something I wasn't sure I'd ever see, a 16 over a 1, has happened three times in the last two seasons. Mercer beat Missouri, while Providence fell to Evansville. This year, Yale upset Vanderbilt.

It does seem there is either too much randomness in the games, I've had games against Team A that I've won by 20 at their place then they win by 20 at my place with both games being 90-70 range then in the conference tournament its a 1 point game where neither team breaks 50.

Overall very solid, just a slight tweak is need IMO. I can provide HR more data if needed.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by Balldog

It does seem there is either too much randomness in the games, I've had games against Team A that I've won by 20 at their place then they win by 20 at my place with both games being 90-70 range then in the conference tournament its a 1 point game where neither team breaks 50.

Overall very solid, just a slight tweak is need IMO. I can provide HR more data if needed.

I wasn't criticizing, for the record. It hadn't happened in maybe 75 seasons of simming. I've had it happen four times in five seasons now. I think it's cool.

[Comey]

dola--

If UConn and undersized PG King Beer are going to win four straight NCAA championships, they're going to have to go through the toughest Final Four in league history. For the first time, all four top seeds, UConn (36-2), Texas (34-3), Georgetown (33-6), and Colorado (34-3) have advanced to the Final Four.

UConn has won their first of three consecutive titles as a six-seed in '74, knocking of Auburn 74-56 and finishing the year 26-12, the only team to win the NCAA championship while having double-digit losses. They went 38-3 in 1975, knocking off #2-ranked BYU in a 73-69 epic battle, and outlasted Stanford, also ranked #2 in the final poll, 99-88 to cap a 37-2 season.

The Huskies returned to the Final Four despite replacing three senior starters with three heralded sophomores. It has been the leadership of Beer, whose scoring is up three points per game from a year ago, to 14.8, that has UConn in this spot.

Beer was named Player of the Game in last season's championship, finishing with 23 points and nine assists.

[Comey]

And Beer wins four national titles in his four years at UConn. In his career finale, he went 8-of-12 from the field, and 10-of-12 from the line, scoring 28 to lead the Huskies. He also posterized a Colorado center John Mosher, as the munchkin (he's 5'9) threw down a tremendous dunk, while being fouled. He earned POTG, his second in national title tilts. The Huskies blasted Colorado 79-49, holding the Buffaloes to 18 second-half points.

For his career, Beer averaged 13.8 points a game, 6.3 assists, and a 3.99 A/T ratio. He was a career 45% shooter, 80% FT shooter, and 39% 3-point shooter. He also ended his career as UConn's all-time leading scorer (he broke the record in the Final Four), putting up 2178 points (amazingly, #2 and #3 both ended their UConn careers in 1957). He also owns the career assists record, one that may never be broken; he put up 993 assists, 322 more than second place.

Not a bad career at all. Huzzah for King Beer!

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by Comey

Not a bad career at all. Huzzah for King Beer!

I'm guessing that:
1) His dad enjoyed a few King Beers while watching the Seahawks at the Kingdome. And,
2) So did HR.

I know I had my share of overpriced beers at one of the world's worst sports venues.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Comey

And Beer wins four national titles in his four years at UConn. In his career finale, he went 8-of-12 from the field, and 10-of-12 from the line, scoring 28 to lead the Huskies. He also posterized a Colorado center John Mosher, as the munchkin (he's 5'9) threw down a tremendous dunk, while being fouled. He earned POTG, his second in national title tilts. The Huskies blasted Colorado 79-49, holding the Buffaloes to 18 second-half points.

For his career, Beer averaged 13.8 points a game, 6.3 assists, and a 3.99 A/T ratio. He was a career 45% shooter, 80% FT shooter, and 39% 3-point shooter. He also ended his career as UConn's all-time leading scorer (he broke the record in the Final Four), putting up 2178 points (amazingly, #2 and #3 both ended their UConn careers in 1957). He also owns the career assists record, one that may never be broken; he put up 993 assists, 322 more than second place.

Not a bad career at all. Huzzah for King Beer!

And I thought Newton Richardson was awesome with Montana.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I sent the false report to AVG.

The same thing happened to me, but it also include OOTP9 (not X) and Battle for Wesnoth. On the AVG forum, they said the latest patch caused the issue. Meanwhile, I simply made FBCB an exception so it always runs.

With OOTP and Wesnoth, I think the issue is both had a Win32installer*.exe in the folder. That resembles the virus trigger in AVG.

With FBCB, I reinstalled and that worked fine. But applying the lastest patch caused AVG to go bonkers. No clue why.

[HeavyReign]

I'll get caught up at some point in the next few days. I've got some sort of nasty virus so I've spent most of the week asleep on the couch. No sign of improvement so far. I was in the middle of upgrading my main PC to Windows 7 when I started feeling sick so I don't currently have Visual Studio installed. I'll put up a new build once I get everything up and running.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by HeavyReign

I might be able to set that up as a conference tournament that is only scheduled if there is a tie.

That would be a good solution that could better approximate the Ivy tie-breaker system. Having flexibility to include all teams tied for first would be ideal, because the Ivy rules even have a contingency for an eight-way tie.

As a real-life example, a three-way tie happened in 2002. In that case, a playoff involving all three teams (Yale, Princeton, Penn) was played. Yale and Princeton played first for the right to face Penn, which was given a bye by virtue of having the best head-to-head record.

[Balldog]

Anyway to tie teams to a NCAA Regional similar to what they do in D2 and D3?

[henry296]

Here are some more recent observations:

1. I think there are too many technicals. I had one called one either my team or the opponent in 5 straight games and probably 6 of 7.

2. End game logic. I was down by about 6 with one minute left. I upped my pace to 10 and got a shot clock violation. After fouling, 32 seconds ran off the clock before getting of a shot. I realize defense plays a role, but I'd rather see my team force a bad shot in those situations.

3. Timeouts. We've commented before about not being able to call a TO after a made basket. You can't call one after a turnover either. I do call them late in the game to setup a potential game winning shot. Is there any advantage to doing that?

[flukeshot]

I have a tiny, tiny "feature" request. How about toggles for the head coach and transfer rounds of the offseason? You know, to indicate whether or not I have interest in listening to job offers or fishing for transfers this season, and if not just finishing all that up in one round.

[Comey]

Has anyone ever seen a team go undefeated for an entire season? New Mexico enters the NCAA tournament at 32-0 (and ranked #2 in the polls, amazingly)...first time I've seen a team enter the tournament undefeated.

New Mexico has a rich history in my league, nabbing 31+ wins the last three years (though they lost in the Sweet Sixteen each year). They also have two Final Fours and an Elite Eight appearance in the last ten years. They're a senior-laden team this year (start four seniors, two redshirt seniors, and have six seniors in the rotation overall). I think they have a good shot to run the table.

EDIT: Texas went into the tourney undefeated the season prior; for whatever reason, I missed it. They fell to UConn in the Final Four.

[Comey]

dola--

New Mexico went undefeated, finishing 38-0. They came back from an early 12-point deficit to defeat UConn 62-59. They didn't have a lead until there were two minutes left, and used their defense to secure the win.

In all actuality, I could see this happening; UConn has been a UCLA-esque dynasty, winning seven NCAA titles in eight years, and earning their now-ninth straight Final Four appearance. The dominance the Huskies have shown has been unlike almost anything I've seen in any of these games, regardless of sport. New Mexico has had some great seasons, but this was uncharted territory for them...for anyone, really. Only one team has ever gotten through the entire season with just one loss; the Lobos were playing for immortality. An early 20-8 deficit is entirely possible; the Huskies have the best player in the nation in Kevin Love-esque John Schreiner (averaged a double-double the past two seasons), and an outstanding junior class (all of which will go pro after this season, most likely). They've been there before; they're two-time defending champs.

So, I could easily see New Mexico getting a little intimidated by the situation, before settling down and working their way back into the game. I'm a little surprised they pulled it out, considering all the firepower UConn had on offense (three guys averaging 15+ PPG, whereas New Mexico had only two guys average 14 PPG, and one other in double figures). But defense wins; New Mexico held teams to 52.8 PPG in the season, and that's what won out.

[flukeshot]

Over two separate universes, probably totaling about 95 years of history between them, I've had two national champions finish the season with one loss, and one season Texas had an astounding 40-2 record, but never have seen an undefeated team yet.

At Arizona I personally had a one loss regular season, that loss being a close one at UCLA three quarters into the season. Naturally we ended up losing in the elite eight, but it's still my favorite team and season. We blew up so many ranked teams that year it was pretty hilarious. Ah, memories.

So what's the weirdest team you guys have ever seen win a national title? I don't mean compared to real life, but in the context of your game and that particular season. Most of my national champions have been sane, again within the context of the game, but one year a 15 seed Grambling State went on a run and won it all. Going into the tournament they were 20-13, 10-8 in the SWAC. So I guess 17-13 headed into their own conference tournament. I wish I had saved all their results from that year. Anyway, I was looking at them after the fact, their coach had been a career assistant, Grambling State was his first head job and it was only his second year there, he had pretty mediocre looking ratings if even that, best rating was in scouting. He retired immediately after the season, which made me laugh (he was right though ; it was never going to get any better than that, so might as well hit the motivational speaker circuit). Their prestige jumped from 29 to 46.

[Comey]

Watching these UConn teams, and the Big East in general, has been extremely entertaining. I think UConn's run will end now, as their greatest player (replacing King Beer) graduates and there will be a lot of turnover.

The Huskies made ten straight Final Fours, and lost in the national semi of their tenth straight to Pitt; together they make up two of three Big East teams there. It was an extremely close game the entire way through, though UConn led throughout, they only led by 2-3 points on average. They managed to get an eight point lead early in the second half, but couldn't sustain it. Pitt took their first lead with 2:31 left, and led 80-78 with 22 seconds left, when UConn tied it up.

Pitt brings the ball down, holds for the last shot, gets it to Cortez Smith...who misses. Overtime.

Except...there's a late whistle.

In what will be undoubtedly called The Whistle That Sunk The Huskies, or The Phantom Menace: A Referee's Revenge (it was the 80s, they both suck), a foul was called on C Chris Moore, sending Smith to the line.

Smith averaged 3 points a game in the regular season, and was a 44% free-throw shooter. The first one was an airball. Many there will say he took the second one with his eyes closed.

The line drive hit the back of the iron, and go straight up. It hit the front of the rim, bounced backwards, and proceeded to sit on the back of the net. It just sat there. Nobody knew what to do.

Then...it rolled forward.

Ballgame.

Pitt 81, UConn 80.

John Schreiner, the Big East's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, would be denied a chance at another championship. It was an epic battle that will forever go down as an all-time great game.

[HeavyReign]

Originally Posted by Balldog

HR,

Is there a way to lower the overall talent of players through the FBCB.ini file? I know there is a modifier in there for default players, does this effect recruits? When using my D2 mod, if I don't allow players to go pro teams end up with starting fives with 5 all-american caliber players, sometimes more. Just trying to figure out how to address that.

Thanks!

I'll come up with some way of making it work for you...either modifiers in the FBCB file or a global modifier.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by HeavyReign

I'll come up with some way of making it work for you...either modifiers in the FBCB file or a global modifier.

Can't wait until the next build...any hints what it may contain Game just keeps getting better and better with features.