FOF 9 Q & A thread

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Dewguru

Is the higher the rating, the more likely they are to suffer an injury?

yup

[NawlinsFan]

Anyone ever have something like -

Early in a game I had my starting QB hand the ball to himself. At least he didn't block for himself.

[AlexB]

Not sure if this is a bug, or correct salary cap implementation, so checking here before submitting to Solecismic:

I signed a FA December 8th as injury cover, $510k bonus, £2.5m salary

When trying to release him on January 7th, the cap hit will be the full $3.01m - is that how it should be?

[manooly]

Is there a way to show a picture of the team the player is currently on when looking at the player card instead of the state flag picture? It would honestly look so much more appealing to me.

Thanks!

- manooly

[Raiders Army]

Does anyone know what encryption was used on the encrypted_quotes.dat file?

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Not sure if this is a bug, or correct salary cap implementation, so checking here before submitting to Solecismic:

I signed a FA December 8th as injury cover, $510k bonus, £2.5m salary

When trying to release him on January 7th, the cap hit will be the full $3.01m - is that how it should be?

Looks like a bug. It should've been $510k + time accrued against the $2.5m salary. So roughly $510k + $694k (assuming 5 weeks on roster) would be deducted (-$1.2m) and returning ~$1.8m to your cap space available.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Looks like a bug. It should've been $510k + time accrued against the $2.5m salary. So roughly $510k + $694k (assuming 5 weeks on roster) would be deducted (-$1.2m) and returning ~$1.8m to your cap space available.

That’s what I thought, but I’ve sent in quite a few bug reports and suggestions, so wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed something!

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by AlexB

That’s what I thought, but I’ve sent in quite a few bug reports and suggestions, so wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed something!

Wait, upon further review...I may be missing something too. Probably knew this a long time ago, but I'm effectively getting back into FOF when it comes to some of the nuance. I think after review, the player does get all the money.

If this deal was signed at the start of the season for $510k + $2.1m in salary. The prorated portions make sense.

But in this case, you signed him to the same deal with 5 weeks left and cut him after week #18. So the player signed for a 1-year deal but effectively only a 5-game deal (the contract money you are negotiating for always looks like its for a full season...so that might add to the confusion, but I believe it's done for consistency's sake.). And because of that, the player honored his part of the contract, thus it makes sense that he collects all the money. Also, since it's now at year's end, it's irrelevant to the cap for the next year.

The only question then is how do you handle the playoffs, especially if you need to sign another player. I think minimum wage guys were signable no matter what your cap scenario is, but I don't recall that scenario now.

[NawlinsFan]

Can anyone explain the AI when it comes to drafting? I have started a number of universes now and have bounced between preferential and full draft choices. One thing that stands out is that some of the AI choices, especially in the top of round one, are questionable. Example, my latest run had me picking at 16 so for the most part I would assume that there wouold be at least 15 QB's picked before me in order to solidify that position moving forward but thats not the case. In this instance the previous 15 teams picked 6 QB's, 4 T's, 3 DE's and 2 DT's. I grabbed a 1st year QB at 16 that appears to have the makings of a solid HOF career that should never have been passed over. From here there were only 3 other QBs's drafted in this round for a total of 10 out of the 32.

I have played MP off and on for, damn, 14-15 years now and dabbled with SP some and rememebr similar instances in FOF7 and FOF8 and as much as I try I just can't understand or appreciate the reason why the game does what it does when it comes to this.

Someone make me smarter!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by NawlinsFan

Can anyone explain the AI when it comes to drafting? I have started a number of universes now and have bounced between preferential and full draft choices. One thing that stands out is that some of the AI choices, especially in the top of round one, are questionable. Example, my latest run had me picking at 16 so for the most part I would assume that there wouold be at least 15 QB's picked before me in order to solidify that position moving forward but thats not the case. In this instance the previous 15 teams picked 6 QB's, 4 T's, 3 DE's and 2 DT's. I grabbed a 1st year QB at 16 that appears to have the makings of a solid HOF career that should never have been passed over. From here there were only 3 other QBs's drafted in this round for a total of 10 out of the 32.

I have played MP off and on for, damn, 14-15 years now and dabbled with SP some and rememebr similar instances in FOF7 and FOF8 and as much as I try I just can't understand or appreciate the reason why the game does what it does when it comes to this.

Someone make me smarter!

My observation is that it's heavily biased toward the adjusted rating, especially in a full 53-round draft where it perceives that it needs to fill ALL positions. So...I'm looking right now at an 8.8 adjusted rating DT, overall ratings 84/84...vs an 8.7 adjusted rating QB---overall ratings 52/52. (Both happen to be the same age, so good comparison.) I'm thinking in that case, the DT is the better pick, because you can probably pick up a modestly-lower rated QB (like say 44/44) several rounds later...

...and yeah, the DT went #10, and the QB didn't go until the 4th round. I don't have a real problem with that, because, as I suspected, there would be plenty of somewhat-but-not-terribly worse QBs available much later. (A 45/45 year 5 guy went in round 11, for example.) My general observation on this over the years is that it's not something in need of any major change, but I haven't paid TOO close attention to it, either. (I still would argue that I'd love a setting where the AI could have a "perfect" view of all players in the amateur draft, though, so that it is always drafting by real ratings rather than scouted ones for more of a challenge.) Sure, one might argue that the 52/52 QB has more of an impact on the team than the 84/84 DT, which in a vacuum MAY be correct. However, when you consider that this league has 16 QBs with future potential in the 45 to 49 range, the opportunity cost of grabbing that 52 guy early doesn't make sense to me. I suspect that's why it's working as it does. I know for me when *I* am doing an allocation--especially in FOF9 where the avoid interception rating is exposed--once the best QB in a pref draft is below 60ish, I think I probably end up building a better team by just waiting on a 43/43 guy with 60+ "good decisions."

[NawlinsFan]

Makes sense, I guess. I can see it doing that especially during an annual seasonal draft but for a preference or allocation draft it should be tweaked a little differently, IMO.

[NawlinsFan]

Anyone having any isues changing numbers? I just created a new uni with nilidors historical file and - example:

- changed RB from 46 to 28. It took.
- wanted to change WR from 17 to 46 but even though 46 is not listed on the roster it isn't avialable in the drop down.

[OldGiants]

I'm at the head coach hiring stage of 2027. the game won't let advance even though all 5 of my coaches are listed as employed by NYG on every list I can locate. There is no message in the Transactions saying Daboll was hired away. Clicking on his card says he still works for me.

What's up?

[Unimaginative]

I've noticed players disappearing from a couple of the indexes, most specifically "College Report," "Born on this Day," and the player look-up feature. I think this is occurring when the game is updated, so I'm not too worried about it long-term, but I wanted to check and see if anyone has noticed the same thing just in case.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by NawlinsFan

Anyone having any isues changing numbers? I just created a new uni with nilidors historical file and - example:

- changed RB from 46 to 28. It took.
- wanted to change WR from 17 to 46 but even though 46 is not listed on the roster it isn't avialable in the drop down.

Nolan, I haven't played around with this but could it be that 46 isn't a legal number for a WR?

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Nolan, I haven't played around with this but could it be that 46 isn't a legal number for a WR?

JS - haven't had an issue pop up with other numbers on the drop down but it is possible. In this specific case he, Danny Abramowicz, was originally numbered 17 and I needed that for Kilmer. Anyway you sparked my interest again and I will have to dig deeper.

[Gordonzolar]

Has anyone tried to increase the minimum cap increase per year to see if that helps with the issue of AI teams releasing players on expensive contracts too early?

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by Gordonzolar

Has anyone tried to increase the minimum cap increase per year to see if that helps with the issue of AI teams releasing players on expensive contracts too early?

havent, but if i had to guess it could help, cause in previous iterations of FOF Jim just straight up gave AI teams more cap space to help their roster/salary management. But i believe player salary demands increase relative to the cap so it may not address the fundamental issue, whatever that is

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by markdub2

havent, but if i had to guess it could help, cause in previous iterations of FOF Jim just straight up gave AI teams more cap space to help their roster/salary management. But i believe player salary demands increase relative to the cap so it may not address the fundamental issue, whatever that is

Issue depends on what the CAP is for the start of your universe. I know I have tried to reduce the CAP and salaries to reflect the starting year (CAP began as a thing in 94) and for the first season or two the game starts to try to stay within them but some of the elite players are demanding crazy salaries and will not sign and get cut or sit in the FA pool. The only thing I found to counter this is to start with a high CAP to ensure the game can afford to pay the demands. Then you can end up with some that push the upper limit after only a few seasons as well but the cuts are not as deep.

[mozelmanzana]

Hi! FOF7 veteran here, but first time having an account after years of reading along. I think the player ratings are logical for the most part, but I am struggling with one position:

How do linebackers work?

a) Play Diagnosis: Is it applied only on "trick" plays like Play Action or Reverses OR is it really needed in every single snap? So is a linebacker with 100 Run Defense and 0 Pl.Di. actually good at defendig the run?

b) Coverage: Difference between Man and Physical. This is very logical for Secondary players, but for linebackers it is cloudy: "Physical Pass Defense: A player’s ability to stick with a wide receiver in the five-yard area where contact is allowed."
So, when a LB covers someone out of the backfield in man, is physical applied except if the route goes past 5 yards? Or is it just in press on TE situations important. How about Spy? What is the most important attribute here? Run? Play Diagnosis?

So, glad for your opinions

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by mozelmanzana

Hi! FOF7 veteran here, but first time having an account after years of reading along. I think the player ratings are logical for the most part, but I am struggling with one position:

How do linebackers work?

a) Play Diagnosis: Is it applied only on "trick" plays like Play Action or Reverses OR is it really needed in every single snap? So is a linebacker with 100 Run Defense and 0 Pl.Di. actually good at defendig the run?

Play diagnosis is new to FOF9 so idk how much we know about it in terms of data. The description says it lets a player determine run or pass AND their assigned role in each case... so Based solely on that brief description, it would be an important bar for positions with multiple responsibilties to choose between given a particular play. So my pure guess, and I could be totally wrong, is it affects 2 things :

1. Reaction to the Play action
2. Gap responsibility for Dlinemen/Linebackers with 2 gap responsibility

So for example 3/4 DLinemen, Linebackers, and SS im guessing its an important bar for them. 4/3 DLinemen are always going into the same gap so intuitively Id expect it not to be an important bar for them. Id also be surprised if it mattered at all for Cornerbacks or Free Safety who are never really defending the run/in the box. To answer your question, Id be hesitant about signing a 3/4 ILB or True 3/4 DLineman with high Run defense but Low Play Diagnosis because they have 2 gap responsibility they have to choose between them to stop the run effectively. Also a 4/3 MLB which will be on the field the entire game and be both in pass coverage and A/B gap run support so I wouldnt want a 0 Play diagnosis bar.

To get technical about it, some Pro coaches (Gruden for example) dont even like to run play-action against man coverage, because the secondary isnt looking in the backfield the way they would when playing zone and cant bite on the fake even if they wanted to, so maybe in Zone coverage (where secondary is playing more run support as well) Play Diagnosis is factored in for the secondary more than in Man Coverages, but that could be a stretch.

Originally Posted by mozelmanzana

b) Coverage: Difference between Man and Physical. This is very logical for Secondary players, but for linebackers it is cloudy: "Physical Pass Defense: A player’s ability to stick with a wide receiver in the five-yard area where contact is allowed."
So, when a LB covers someone out of the backfield in man, is physical applied except if the route goes past 5 yards? Or is it just in press on TE situations important. How about Spy? What is the most important attribute here? Run? Play Diagnosis?

So, glad for your opinions

For Coverage questions, Jim has some interesting info in the help file. He says "Cornerbacks can be in “press” coverage, meaning they try and impede receivers in the five-yard zone". To me this means ONLY CBs will ever play press, and although thats not really respresentative of real football, I believe its true that Press coverage bar only matters for corners. He says it again later in the Description of Cover 0 Press coverage: "Press means the cornerbacks are close to the line of scrimmage..." and again in Cover 1 Press description: "The cornerbacks line up at the line of scrimmage." So press man bar only factors in when the defense specifically calls one of the press man coverages, and it only matters for corners.

So to sum up, based on Jims description of the Pass coverages in the help file, I believe linebackers never use their Press cover bar. They will use their Man Coverage bar in Cover 0 and Cover 1, and the rest of the time theyll be using zone coverage (Jim writes, in Cover 2, Tampa2, Cover3, Cover4, Cover6 that "Other defenders play zone underneath" which is referring to Linebackers that arent blitzing).

For Spy, Im not sure what bar matters for actually making the tackle, but the help file says that " Quarterbacks who like to scramble will do so much less when there’s a spy watching." So it sound like just assigning a spy will reduce the chance of the QB scrambling regardless of the LBs actual abillity to chase down and tackle the qb.

Disclaimer: this is all based off my intuition of what Jims written descriptions actually mean with respect to the games algorithms. In past iterations of FOF, Bars have behaved very differently than how you might expect them to function just based on intuition/description, so I wouldnt be surprised if this is all wrong, but AFAIK theres no data on how important the Play Diagnosis bar is yet so its the best I can do

[AlexB]

Play diagnosis has been on a defensive player card for as long as I can remember, it’s very much not a new rating.

The help file describes it as:
Play Diagnosis: A player’s ability to deduce the play call quickly after the snap.

Although I can’t immediately find reference to this, I also seem to recall that it relates to tackles for loss? Might be wrong on that though.

FWIW it’s a rating I rate highly, so in your example of a 100 RD 0 PD, it would suggest that player would make the defence more susceptible to play action, but increase the D’s run stuffing in obvious run situations (words chosen carefully)

[Caligari]

Originally Posted by markdub2

So to sum up, based on Jims description of the Pass coverages in the help file, I believe linebackers never use their Press cover bar.

For FOF8, at least, LBs certainly were pulled into using their Bump skill, which I take to be directly related to the Physical one here. Obviously that doesn't prove anything about what's being done in this version (and I have not had a close look, yet, to check what's actually happening in-game), but there were plays in FOF8 where an LB was set to cover a reciever, and it seemed they were involved in press coverage in the same way a CB might be.

- Caligari

[KJPOOTP]

Hey guys, I'm interested in buying this game but before I do, is there any way where I can have complete control of all 32 teams, like how OOTP has it? I prefer to have full control of every team in the league rather than just one

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by KJPOOTP

Hey guys, I'm interested in buying this game but before I do, is there any way where I can have complete control of all 32 teams, like how OOTP has it? I prefer to have full control of every team in the league rather than just one

No sir, only one.

[NawlinsFan]

Ok, question regarding a precedence draft observation. On a number of universe creations I have run this format for the draft and my team, as well as up to half the league, begin with 53 on the roster. Yet there are teams that already have up to 60 and some may already have "dead" money. All of this and I haven't even moved beyond the intial post draft file. I could see it if we were into week 2 or beyond.

Anyone else notice this?

[OldGiants]

The bug i reported above was also reported on Steam.

What is the offical way of reporting bugs? I don't see instructions anymore (if I ever saw them)

[henry296]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

The bug i reported above was also reported on Steam.

What is the offical way of reporting bugs? I don't see instructions anymore (if I ever saw them)

customersupport @ solecismic.com

[Soonerfan09]

Is there anything/anywhere that shows player grades (+ and -) on each play or at least some statistical feedback as to why plays are (or aren't) working, such as missed tackles/blocks, etc.?

[arscola]

How do I fire/hire coaches? I've played this game since day 1 and haven't played it since FOF7 but cannot find where/how to fire and hire coaches. I just played a full season and am currently sitting at the Staff Retention Period but still am mystified as to how to fire the dogs that are running the show. Also where did the ratings for coaches go, as I see where they have individual attributes like Player Development, Intelligence and other attributes but no Overall coach ratings. Thanks in advance.

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by arscola

How do I fire/hire coaches? I've played this game since day 1 and haven't played it since FOF7 but cannot find where/how to fire and hire coaches. I just played a full season and am currently sitting at the Staff Retention Period but still am mystified as to how to fire the dogs that are running the show.

You "Fire" a coach just by Hiring a new coach to fill their role. So if you want to fire your OC, for example, simply hire a new OC on the OC hiring day. The Staff Retention day is for extending the contracts of coaches you want to keep.

Originally Posted by arscola

Also where did the ratings for coaches go, as I see where they have individual attributes like Player Development, Intelligence and other attributes but no Overall coach ratings. Thanks in advance.

I think youre talking about the Suitability rating the game would give to coaches, Im not sure that exists in FOF9 anymore. But if you poke around the forums theres discussion of what ratings matter for which coaching positions. IIRC the basics are that :
HCs: Motivation, Discipline most important (only Head Coaches use these bars AFAIK)
OCs and DCs: Playcalling,scouting, and playerdevelopment/young players

[arscola]

Originally Posted by markdub2

You "Fire" a coach just by Hiring a new coach to fill their role. So if you want to fire your OC, for example, simply hire a new OC on the OC hiring day. The Staff Retention day is for extending the contracts of coaches you want to keep.



I think youre talking about the Suitability rating the game would give to coaches, Im not sure that exists in FOF9 anymore. But if you poke around the forums theres discussion of what ratings matter for which coaching positions. IIRC the basics are that :
HCs: Motivation, Discipline most important (only Head Coaches use these bars AFAIK)
OCs and DCs: Playcalling,scouting, and playerdevelopment/young players

Thanks, that helped a lot. Just not sure why you can only fire/hire coaches once per season?? I guess somebody found a way to use it to their advantage, sort of like when you sign a free agent and then immediately trade them for a late round pick. Also thanks for the heads up about how to find your coaches, it does make a lot of sense to me and I will be using it immediately but will also have to test it out for a few seasons before I start tweaking it and figuring out what each of these attributes do. Not a problem as this happens all the time whenever a new version is available.

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by arscola

not sure why you can only fire/hire coaches once per season?? I guess somebody found a way to use it to their advantage, sort of like when you sign a free agent and then immediately trade them for a late round pick.

I think ur right, based on how Jim talks about the game and his approach to development, making the staffing aspect of the game more "realistic" would just expand the scope of the game so dramatically while also sort of paradoxically not really adding much

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by markdub2

I think ur right, based on how Jim talks about the game and his approach to development, making the staffing aspect of the game more "realistic" would just expand the scope of the game so dramatically while also sort of paradoxically not really adding much

I think it would depend on the approach. Maybe something like if you fire staff there is dead money associated with it that impacts your annual financial review (I don't think the game does this, damn, need to look) AND other "current" head coaches on contract are untouchable but assistants and coordinators can be taken but you give up a draft pick, say a 4th or 5th, for them. In other words there needs to be some pain associated with the change that is enough to make us stop and think for a moment before we pull the trigger and make the deal.

[andyhdz]

The old versions of fof had a screen I think on the trade screen where you could see your team needs and other team needs such as as QB, TE, DL etc is it available in fof9?

[james17]

Apologize if this has been asked before but if it has I couldn't find it. Did version 9 do away with the post draft grading report FOF8 used to have?

[andyhdz]

Originally Posted by james17

Apologize if this has been asked before but if it has I couldn't find it. Did version 9 do away with the post draft grading report FOF8 used to have?

I think so. I also miss the messages when a starter was concerning or a player was disgruntled or demanded a trade. I know you can do the latter by looking at the personality screen but still miss it.

[james17]

Originally Posted by andyhdz

I think so. I also miss the messages when a starter was concerning or a player was disgruntled or demanded a trade. I know you can do the latter by looking at the personality screen but still miss it.

Yeah, I love FOF9, but the lack of messages is a concern and the draft report card was a really neat feature. I also miss the ability to print out certain reports.


But, it's still a great game and maybe those missing features will get added back in a future release such as FOF10.

[Mike Lowe]

Is the general consensus to wait for this next patch because of the AI teams cutting recently signed players in the offseason?

[AlexB]

It’s what I’m doing as it kills SP, but I think it might take a little while

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Is the general consensus to wait for this next patch because of the AI teams cutting recently signed players in the offseason?

This is what I’m doing

[Mbbmets1]

I have run some sims and they were real. I ran some 4 win seasons and havent been fired. Is there firing in this game ?

[mozelmanzana]

Do we have anything for offensive playbooks yet? Anybody who tries to recreate NFL coaching styles?

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by mozelmanzana

Do we have anything for offensive playbooks yet? Anybody who tries to recreate NFL coaching styles?

i have a west coast/spread style offense with real passing concepts i made i can send it to you if you want something to get started. Its not anything special or definitive I just like to do it for fun, but it seems to work pretty well. It has to be an approximation of a lot of concepts/routes, because the game doesnt have crosser/deep crosser routes, hitch routes, sluggos, stick routes (or option routes in general), skinny post v post, check-release and over-the-ball type checkdown routes for backfield/ tight ends, and its qb reads system is a little restrictive. The run game im still working on how to get a west coast type run game to work well in the game engine.

I know some of the multiplayer league guys have great custom playbooks, although I dont know if they try to use real concepts or if theyre more geared towards the engine itself for competitive reasons.

i guess PM if ur interested and Ill find a way to send you the playbook file

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Is the general consensus to wait for this next patch because of the AI teams cutting recently signed players in the offseason?

This patch is taking much longer than I anticipated. It must be a fairly big overhaul

[Cole]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

This patch is taking much longer than I anticipated. It must be a fairly big overhaul

I came here to inquire about the same …

It’s been a month since the last patch and almost 2.5 months since the game was released … for me personally I haven’t been able to get into it yet as I don’t want to play a league where the AI mass releases many of their players each year.

So yeah seems like a big game change. Hope we at least get a status update soon.

[NawlinsFan]

Another observation:

I have been trying to find a happy middle ground with the CAP settings in a universe starting in 1970. I wanted to have teams with limited CAP space after they fill their rosters and to see if they would also limit some of the contracts they provided. An interesting thing happened though year in and year out over a 50 year season. The CAP remaining in this 26 team universe would range from a team having as much as 50%+ CAP available to a low of around 10%. What I am seeing is that this is very consistant. The numbers of players on contract do vary and the teams do float around as far as available CAP but the range seems to always remain close to the same. To add to it I found that reducing the CAP didn't seem to have much of an effect at all. I went from a starting CAP of 1750 and eventually reduced it to 850 and the range was always pretty much the same as noted above.

This just seems really odd to me. As if the AI contract management is doing some strange deals. I mean hell, in 2020 one team is paying Andy Dalton $43M!

[garion333]

Originally Posted by Cole

I came here to inquire about the same …

It’s been a month since the last patch and almost 2.5 months since the game was released … for me personally I haven’t been able to get into it yet as I don’t want to play a league where the AI mass releases many of their players each year.

So yeah seems like a big game change. Hope we at least get a status update soon.

Work is ongoing with 9.0e. There is no release date scheduled, but if 9.0e isn't ready by the end of January, an abridged version of the update will be released.

Sooner rather than later!

[Ruthian23]

Regarding the mass release issue, I wanted to ask people's opinions about how playable the game currently is with this issue. I really want to get the game and start playing, but if long-term saves are totally unfeasible with that issue I am reluctant. If it's more of a mild inconvenience/realism issue that doesn't benefit the player that much, I'm willing to get it and wait for an update. Any views would be appreciated.

[OldGiants]

An update on my coach firing issue is that the problem has been identified and will be in the next patch. So I hope that means one is immanent.