Alright Boyz, Here We Go!!! Front Office Football 9 Impressions

[MarkRidings]

After some more time with the game, I'm really liking it, and will like it more once it's patched a couple times.

As far as the UI goes, I still like it better than FOF8 (and remember we are always grading the UI for this series on a pretty low bar). Once I figured where everything was, it's pretty easy for me to get the info I want.

My one real complaint, and it's not a big one I guess, but I want more information. The strength of this game has never been the UI, but the simulation engine and the stats it generates. So I WANT ALL THE STATS!

It's better this iteration. I really like the Game Book. But as an example, we have the drive charts in the Game Book, but I'd like to see that in the team stats page, where I can see how teams rank in points per drive, % of drives scoring (and inverse, defense of this), avg starting point etc.

I love the air yds stats on receivers, but I'd like to see more detail. Like YAC, in the individual stats we can't see YAC/reception.

It's nitpicking, but if the strength of this game is the stats, and its appeal to stats junkies (like most of us are), then don't hold anything back on this front.

As an aside on this, let us export csv again (or help us decode the .dat files). This give Jim the advantage of not having to come up with everything, and the community could develop tools to view advanced stats. Though I would want more than just basic stats in the csv. I'd want drive/play-by-play/formation information as well

Just my 2cents. Either way, I'm enjoying the games quite a bit.

[Yossarian]

first day back since 2014, excited to see if I can get back into this.

But I have to laugh seeing "Height (in eights of an inch)" (i'm sure there's a reason!)

[Dales]

Originally Posted by Olsson

The 10-0 Jacksonville Jaguars travels to Houston to take on the 1-9 Texans.

Incredible finish!

Life imitates art.

[Ben E Lou]

Here's a little immersion thing that doesn't affect gameplay, but always bugged me a little in past versions that has been addressed in this one: home towns and colleges. Sure, some players (especially top-tier ones) go to colleges across the country, but most stay relatively near home. In past versions, it was clear that the colleges and home towns were not linked. Home towns were just random. There has definitely been some attention paid to this in this version. Most players are from a home town that "makes sense" to where they went to school, and I'm WITH that. (And yeah, I admit that I get a nonsensical rush out of seeing that the Dawgs went right into the USC Chickens' Den and stole HOF QB Argelan! )


Dropbox - colleghometowns.png - Simplify your life

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Do you think that's actually the league scout view, or just an incorrect item in the display? (My best guess is the latter.)

This was clarified in 9.0a. Now the mouseover does say that it's "your staff's scouting report of player attributes."

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

This was clarified in 9.0a. Now the mouseover does say that it's "your staff's scouting report of player attributes."

Interesting. How does that relate to the "overrated/properly rated/underrated" commentary on the next column? When it said "league scout's view" I assumed the next column was your scout saying "yeah they are overrating this guy", but now I don't really know what to make of it.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Interesting. How does that relate to the "overrated/properly rated/underrated" commentary on the next column? When it said "league scout's view" I assumed the next column was your scout saying "yeah they are overrating this guy", but now I don't really know what to make of it.

I'm open to the possibility that it has changed, but so far the mechanisms at work here appear to be unchanged from FOF7 and FOF8.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Dales

Life imitates art.

Ugh…speaking of which, the other day Carson Wentz (31/31) led the 2025 8-9 Rams over my 12-5 Bucs in the playoffs…the Rams proceeded all the way to the Super Bowl (they lost the game). FOF just knows…

[Ben E Lou]

Here's a big "PRO" on the interface: filling out depth charts is wayyyyyyyy easier with all the ratings being on that screen. Really loving that.

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Here's a big "PRO" on the interface: filling out depth charts is wayyyyyyyy easier with all the ratings being on that screen. Really loving that.

This. I am enjoying that insight as it gives you a clearer picture of capabilities.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

I'm open to the possibility that it has changed, but so far the mechanisms at work here appear to be unchanged from FOF7 and FOF8.

Do you know how that worked or I link to the docs around it? I don't believe I ever played 7 or 8 and I can't find documentation pages/wikis for those versions on the solecismic site.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Cole

They looked pretty graphically jarring to me in the screenshots. So since game was announced I’ve been working on a fictional facepack made with the ZenGM faces.js program. The faces are a touch cartoony, sure, but for me will be more immersive than flags or nothing.

I’ve also got the photos grouped by ethnicity/player size too … so pictures you select for 320 lbs + lineman will look visually different than say a 180 lbs punter.

I’ve got over 2,000 player faces ready… I want to get a couple hundred more coach /staff photos ready before I release it. But just as a heads up for folks… I’ll have it released before week’s end.

As soon as I opened a payer card is was my first impression too.

Imsee there are facepacks now, but is it possible to have the team logo appear in that slot?

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by AlexB

As soon as I opened a payer card is was my first impression too.

Imsee there are facepacks now, but is it possible to have the team logo appear in that slot?

Team logos, right now, no. Many hope that Jim can/wil change this in the future. I think one issue is having it track the player when they move from team to team or retire.

I know some have just replaced it with the league logo which is easier but still not desired.

[brandonray99]

Please move or allow us to move the draft pop up window away from the middle or better yet, change it to a clickable pop up box where we can just arrow down through the prospects quicker.

Also maybe give us the option to bring back the coach draft where you had to make a profit to increase chances to get a better coach.

Would also like to see the next years cap hit like before somewhere

[Unimaginative]

I love the Milestones page--super fun to see! A small thing that I don't think would be too tough to add to it, but would be a really fun toy, is the number of games played to reach a career milestone.

[AlexB]

Would be really good to be able to cllick on a player on the depth chart to remove them from that slot when trying to work out playing time v. tiredness - rearranging them at the moment is a PITA TBH

Also be good to have a pop up over the X, Z, R, S & V receiver positions to remind whether it is flanker, split end or slot

In fact it would also be really great to have a preference system for depth charts:
List your players in order of preference (WR1, WR2, Slot 1, Slot 2, LT1, LT2 etc)
When selecting "Ask Co-Ordinators for Depth Chart" they take those listings into account, match it with their endurance and then autofill

That should then mean less overall tweaking initially, and when a player is injured, the Autofill depth charts would be updated according to active personnel, but as crucially, when any injured/suspended players return, autofilling should be very close if not identical to the original depth chart

[AlexB]

On the game screen, it makes more sense to me to swap the play diagram with the PBP text box

At the moment when watching rather than coaching the game the field position, game clock, down & distance, etc are a long way from the PBP text: swapping the PBP box with the play diagram would move them closer to each other making it easier to glance between the two rather than darting between top centre & bottom centre

Edit - or have the game clock, field position, down & distance as the first line of every PBP - that would work just as well

[Marmel]

I don't know if this is possible to add to the game, but in my current universe, I ran into an AI vs AI playoff game that would rival any NFL comeback I've ever seen. It got me thinking about the real NFL and part of the 'lore' are those legendary games that we all know. Ice bowl, 28-3, Music City Miracle, etc

I think it would be awesome to be able to somehow tag a game as legendary, maybe even give it a nickname and have some kind of archive of these tagged games.

Anyway, I'll try to post a screen shot of this game later.

[Unimaginative]

Originally Posted by Marmel

I don't know if this is possible to add to the game, but in my current universe, I ran into an AI vs AI playoff game that would rival any NFL comeback I've ever seen. It got me thinking about the real NFL and part of the 'lore' are those legendary games that we all know. Ice bowl, 28-3, Music City Miracle, etc

I think it would be awesome to be able to somehow tag a game as legendary, maybe even give it a nickname and have some kind of archive of these tagged games.

Anyway, I'll try to post a screen shot of this game later.

Love that idea. A "bookmarks/favorites" page would be a really nice addition as a whole; let us flag players, coaches, and games and save them all on one page so that we can revisit them really easily.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by Unimaginative

Love that idea. A "bookmarks/favorites" page would be a really nice addition as a whole; let us flag players, coaches, and games and save them all on one page so that we can revisit them really easily.

Great idea!

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Unimaginative

Love that idea. A "bookmarks/favorites" page would be a really nice addition as a whole; let us flag players, coaches, and games and save them all on one page so that we can revisit them really easily.

Love how you expanded on this with players, coaches, etc...
The HOF is nice, but ends up way to full after a while.

Milestones page would seem a good place for this spin off idea.

[AlexB]

MIght be just because it was preseason, but looking through play percentages...

I have 3 DE on the roster, and all packages have two of the 3 DEs on the depth chart - no LBs or DTs taking up DE positions at all

My two main DEs played 49% of snaps and 28% of snaps, and my backup play 3% - that is a lot of snaps not played by my DEs!

If it's to do with substitutions, it's not the same on offense:
The O-swapped about as i would like to see in pre-season, but RB didn't - my best skilled RB (but with endurance 2) played 84% of plays
QB3 didn't get a look in
One rookie WR I had in most packages (56/65 endurance) to get game time played 13% of plays

A little confused TBH, but hoping it may just be pre-season

[AlexB]

Dola, have to say that once one or two kinks are worked out (which either Jim has logged or others have raised) this looks like it will be the best FOF yet.

Excited for the new patch which will hopefully fix the firesale releases so can get to grips with a career game

[Ben E Lou]

Heh. Cutdown to 60 day in my FOF8 MP league and I'm finding myself having to think twice about roster requirements. The two vs three QBs thing is messin' with my mind.

[AlexB]

There's a few QoL improvements I would like to see (which I have suggested to Solecismic), but now playing out a league, I think the game is nmissing a trick by underutilising the News section...

There is a lot of blank space on the Manage screen, and i think there is easily enough room for more news lines:

I'm liking the Milestones section, but why not add this to the News stream: it would add a bit of life to the universe, probably encourage me to click on player records to see the careers of the players reaching this milestone (as I often feel my franchise is a bubble within the NFL, and i don't really know what's going on outside of that bubble

Similarly maybe winning/losing steaks over a certain length could be noted in the news, and when they come to an end (would have to be a decent so as to be newsworthy, but would add to the involvement in the league)

Injuries to players in the top 10 reated players in each position, or top 3 statistical leaders, starting QBs etc that mean they will miss time could be added as news lines

Players being put on IR could be in the news, bring back weekly awards (even if it is only Offensive & Defensive Players & Rookies of the week) and have that as a news item would just help bring the universe to life a little more

Shock underdog victories, team/individual/game records being broken; all of these being added as line items in the news section on the Manage Screen, with the empty space reduced would all make a massive difference IMHO...

What do others think?

[Eagle1967]

AWEFUL!-- Sorry loved version 8, was looking forward to better trading, better contracts, updated rules and schedules. I have no Idea what this is, but refund has been requested, this is aweful. There is no fun factor in this. and it cant be said well this is all about statistics, as they are not realistic either. Instead of taking a game with a few problems and fixing it and updating this was created. Hey maybe at least you cant trade a 32nd pick for a number 1 pick straight up now. But i didnt have 3 days to find where that might be. Refund was requested.

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Eagle1967

AWEFUL!-- Sorry loved version 8, was looking forward to better trading, better contracts, updated rules and schedules. I have no Idea what this is, but refund has been requested, this is aweful. There is no fun factor in this. and it cant be said well this is all about statistics, as they are not realistic either. Instead of taking a game with a few problems and fixing it and updating this was created. Hey maybe at least you cant trade a 32nd pick for a number 1 pick straight up now. But i didnt have 3 days to find where that might be. Refund was requested.

What was the name of that song... oh yeah, "Bye, Bye, Bye!"

[korme]

I haven't really fooled around since release week. Simple question, is it easy to navigate and figure out which page to be on every day, or do you simply have to kind of just remember which page to quickly go to each sim day? It felt so clunky navigating day by day, I gave up, which is sad, because I skew young for this demographic.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by korme

I haven't really fooled around since release week. Simple question, is it easy to navigate and figure out which page to be on every day, or do you simply have to kind of just remember which page to quickly go to each sim day? It felt so clunky navigating day by day, I gave up, which is sad, because I skew young for this demographic.

Just head for the Manage page (pencil shortcut), and that will get you through.

I think the tick shortcut also sims a day at a time

[mikemarra82]

Would like more input for gameplanning, feel a lot is left to the coordinators. Also feels gameplanning the O and the D are two totally different animals.

[Danny]

I havent played a sports sim in several years but purchased this tonight and will check it out sometime in the next couple weeks.

[Dewguru]

As a former Front Office Football 7 and 8 owner, I have to say I like the new UI. It took a little getting used to, however, now I can navigate around a lot quicker.

I do use Gordonzolar's face pack, as the flags are an ugly player pic solution. Would have preferred a generic helmet wearing silhouette.

I do wish the wiki/manual was better, but these forums help cover a lot of the gaps from folks willing to answer questions.

I am one who won't be going back to an older version.

[Ben E Lou]

So, the AI *definitely* knows what to do with a running QB. This is a completely AI-generated game plan from a completely AI-generated playbook. VERY impressive. Loving all those option and RPO calls!


Dropbox - runningqbplan.png - Simplify your life



(QB has elite running skills--90 speed, 99 hole recognition, 76 good decisions.)

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

(QB has elite running skills--90 speed, 99 hole recognition, 76 good decisions.)

thats cool... how do you see QB run ratings?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by markdub2

thats cool... how do you see QB run ratings?

Roster—>Skill Positions

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

So, the AI *definitely* knows what to do with a running QB. This is a completely AI-generated game plan from a completely AI-generated playbook. VERY impressive. Loving all those option and RPO calls!


Dropbox - runningqbplan.png - Simplify your life



(QB has elite running skills--90 speed, 99 hole recognition, 76 good decisions.)

Agreed, sometimes maybe a bit too much. I have a QB that is on the lower limits of what I would think is worthy of considering trying some RPO's but the AI seems to think he is more capable. A few games in and they are sure as hell calling a fair share of RPO's with marginal results. Time to get better at tweaking these plans.

[james17]

Loving the new game. I play out all my team's games and call the plays. It's seems to be quite realistic and challenging.


Two areas of improvement i'd like to see are more negotiating in the trading process and a restoration of the printing options that FOF8 had.

[Mike Lowe]

Does anyone else see their AI- generated gameplans calling for a ton of screen passes?

Playing as the Raiders, and I'm constantly seeing completions of 5 yards where the receiver gained 10 yards after the catch or something similar to that.

[cupofjoe]

The only thing preventing me from starting my first serious save is the salary cap situation/releasing of players from the cpu teams. Once that's fixed, I'm good to go.


But I also understand that it may take awhile to rework that situation.

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Does anyone else see their AI- generated gameplans calling for a ton of screen passes?

Playing as the Raiders, and I'm constantly seeing completions of 5 yards where the receiver gained 10 yards after the catch or something similar to that.

i noticed this in FOF8 as well. Can u see on the play calling screen if the screen pass is the primary target or an outlet? I think the AI will generate a lot of plays where it uses the "screen" as a checkdown route, where IRL it would be something like an arrow/flat route or just a check-release over the ball type route as the checkdown

[Ben E Lou]

After a few weeks, there are things I like about the new interface, things I dislike, and things that are neutral. But far and away my favorite new thing is the ability to scroll through player cards on the "Contract" view and see their requested contract for FAs or renegotiation for my own players on the same screen. Hugely helpful and streamlines those processes. Way better than filtering by a specific contract amount, because sometimes a guy who wants just a little more than what I'm thinking I want to pay for that slot just looks like he's "worth it."

[nilodor]

I've been away from watching the NFL for a while, but does it seem like QB's run for a lot of yards in this game? I'm seeing multiple QB's with over 1000 yards in a season. That seems a bit excessive?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by nilodor

I've been away from watching the NFL for a while, but does it seem like QB's run for a lot of yards in this game? I'm seeing multiple QB's with over 1000 yards in a season. That seems a bit excessive?

Last year 5 QBs ran for 700+, and Justin Fields ran for 1100+. 14 QBs had 50+ rushes last year, and it's looking like it'll be around that number this year as well. QBs are running a lot more. We could quibble over how many high-yardage outliers there should be, but there has definitely been a marked increase overall in QBs running in the NFL. (I just pulled up a random season--2010--and only five QBs had 50+ carries then.)

[MizzouRah]

While I'm finally starting to enjoy FOF9 as I figure out the various screens, I still prefer FOF8's layout. I'm sure as time goes by FOF9 will grow on me, but it's making me really appreciate what a great UI FOF8 is/was.

[Haiku]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

While I'm finally starting to enjoy FOF9 as I figure out the various screens, I still prefer FOF8's layout. I'm sure as time goes by FOF9 will grow on me, but it's making me really appreciate what a great UI FOF8 is/was.

I haven't played FOF8, but it looks weird and vastly outdated. I watched a few playthroughs on YouTube and felt lost. The guy opens new windows, moves them around and stacks them one over another. It looks so unintuitive and disorganized at first glance. It resembles a financial application rather than an actual game. I would never buy it if FOF9 didn't have updated UI.

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Haiku

I haven't played FOF8, but it looks weird and vastly outdated. I watched a few playthroughs on YouTube and felt lost. The guy opens new windows, moves them around and stacks them one over another. It looks so unintuitive and disorganized at first glance. It resembles a financial application rather than an actual game. I would never buy it if FOF9 didn't have updated UI.

On the flip side many of the legacy players were just as lost initially with 9 as you feel you would be with 8 until the play it for awhile. Both foundations are strong, just different methods of presenting the information.

[Jops]

Was really enjoying FOF9, spent the last 2 hours building out my playbook, dominating the league with Kyle Allen, most fun i've had with the game in ages.

I'll just check my mail, nope, thats the "create a new universe button" 3 hours of time down the drain. Love it.

[Jops]

Update: Whilst still devastated and not in the mood to recreate the 50plays I did today, I rolled with a worse version of that gameplan.

Kyle Allen threw for 6300 yards, 51 TDs, 46 INTs, my FB had 800 yards receiving and we won the bowl.

5*

Mainly sad as on the previous playbook Allen threw about half the interceptions he did this time

[Mike Lowe]

I'm enjoying the game. I like the day-to-day concept (inspired by OOTP I'm guessing) even though I don't do much those days playing as just a GM.

I've been using the default 100 for injuries and while my Saints (GM only) are 6-2, we've lost Carr (who hadn't thrown an interception through 5 games) and a handful of knee ligament injuries. I "had a meeting" with my trainer, meaning I just took a closer look at his profile lol. He seems fine, so my only guess is that the surface in New Orleans Superdome (or whatever it's called now) is just rough.

I simmed these 8 games while on an 11-hour flight last night from London to San Diego. It was fun!

This game could be wildly popular with an interface upgrade. I know that's been talked to death, but it's a clear miss, unfortunately. It's like building a beautiful house frame with the plumbing and electrical, but never painting, putting in flooring, windows, etc. So much of the hard work is done. Outsource the rest if needed? I know it's not this easy, and I've read the replies, but I simply don't find it as an excuse.

I say this because I want Jim to reap the reward of his labor. It's frustrating because I cannot even fathom how difficult this game (and others) have been for him to write. But there are solutions to this, no matter how hard.

[markdub2]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

This game could be wildly popular with an interface upgrade. I know that's been talked to death, but it's a clear miss, unfortunately.

I really dont think the new FOF9 interface is much more difficult than OOTPs. I dont understand where all the complaints for FOF9 come from when OOTPs UI is just as dense and click-demanding but its praised as a shining example of good sports sim UI...