FOF 9 Q & A thread

[Haiku]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Do heights show up weird on the roster screen for anyone else? I get things like 6040, 6010, and 6032 instead of 6'4", 6'1", 6'3 2/8" as they show up on the player cards.

On the roster screen it says height measurements are in 1/8 of an inch, whatever that means. I'm from Europe and have no clue. I guess the table could not sort height in inches properly so Jim left it that way. IDK.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Has anyone checked when the last time you can extend contracts? Both saved careers I have aren't in-season, but I'm thinking you might not have to do it before Week 1 now. Can anyoone verify?

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

I just simmed forward to test. You can now extend players all the way up to the bowl. Woot!

I'm trying this now -- it's right before the bowl, and I'm seeing who I can extend contracts for. I'm already over the cap, but I thought there may be guys I can extend who will ask for less in current year that's about to end, and I can keep them under contract for next year. A couple things:

1. The game seems to be letting me extend players who are asking for MORE of a cap hit in the current year. It feels like I shouldn't be allowed to do that. In previous versions I'm sure you couldn't.

2. The game never seems to care that I'm over the cap. I have the staff set to make minor decisions, and I'm usually just under the cap when the season starts, then as players get put on IR, the staff signs players who put me over the cap. I keep checking the event logs to see if I ever get a penalty, but it never happens. Does anyone know if it's okay to be over the cap at this point, if IR is involved (maybe this is some way to simulate a practice squad)? I think previous versions only calculated the cap hit of your top 53 players. Is that what should be happening here, and if so, should the roster screen not indicate that I'm over the cap?

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Haiku

On the roster screen it says height measurements are in 1/8 of an inch, whatever that means. I'm from Europe and have no clue. I guess the table could not sort height in inches properly so Jim left it that way. IDK.

Yeah, I'm cool with 1/8 of an inch (which if you're curious is about 3 millimeters). It just looks wonky to see "6036" instead of 6' 3 6/8" -- I don't particularly care, since I've never concerned myself with the height of a player in all the FOF I've played, but it just doesn't seem like that's how this is intended to be displayed.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I'm trying this now -- it's right before the bowl, and I'm seeing who I can extend contracts for. I'm already over the cap, but I thought there may be guys I can extend who will ask for less in current year that's about to end, and I can keep them under contract for next year. A couple things:

1. The game seems to be letting me extend players who are asking for MORE of a cap hit in the current year. It feels like I shouldn't be allowed to do that. In previous versions I'm sure you couldn't.

2. The game never seems to care that I'm over the cap. I have the staff set to make minor decisions, and I'm usually just under the cap when the season starts, then as players get put on IR, the staff signs players who put me over the cap. I keep checking the event logs to see if I ever get a penalty, but it never happens. Does anyone know if it's okay to be over the cap at this point, if IR is involved (maybe this is some way to simulate a practice squad)? I think previous versions only calculated the cap hit of your top 53 players. Is that what should be happening here, and if so, should the roster screen not indicate that I'm over the cap?

If you are over the cap, you lose a draft pick, usually third. Although I've seen other rounds for AI teams.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

If you are over the cap, you lose a draft pick, usually third. Although I've seen other rounds for AI teams.

I remember losing 3rd round picks in previous versions, and seeing that happen to the AI. But not here. Is that something that shows up in the transaction log? I don't see it there, and I don't seem to have lost any picks, despite being over the cap every season. I'm really surprised you've seen it happen to the AI, since I've never seen them go over the cap, and are often well under it.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I remember losing 3rd round picks in previous versions, and seeing that happen to the AI. But not here. Is that something that shows up in the transaction log? I don't see it there, and I don't seem to have lost any picks, despite being over the cap every season. I'm really surprised you've seen it happen to the AI, since I've never seen them go over the cap, and are often well under it.

there was no notification. I did not see it the third round came up and it said something like "forfeited pick". It didn't appear in the trade screen either.

I see this happen often to AI teams. there is simply a note on the draft screen that they forfeited the pick. Buffalo has to deal with Allen's big contract and they don't do that well every time. I remember looking to see what his current contract calls for, and the game has it exactly right. Lots of speculative writing in sports land about how they will renegotiate him this year--for real.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by AlexB

As players seemingly don’t get subbed in/out when tired, instead being forced onto the field play after play just because they are in that formation in the depth charts, do you think it is better:

1. To have your best players in as much as possible, regardless of whether they are listed in red on the depth charts
   
2. To work your depth charts so players are not highlighted in red to ensure you always have fresh players on the field, even if it means your best players aren’t always in every formation?

I really can't get my head around the depth charts: it seems like the AI just sticks the best players in all formations on offense, tiredness be damned, and the AI coaches never seem to think to pull a player for a couple of plays to catch their breath like they do IRL: they just push the tired player out play after play

If the AI doesn't care about putting players in every formation, what's the point of the whole tiredness system? FOF7's backups and playing time percentages made so much more sense to me

I really want to like FOF9, and the scouting of draftees is so much better, compensatory picks are great. But with this, not being able to see the draft board updating in real time, zero flexibility in trading, and a near-complete lack of feeling like there is a football league happening around you, I'm struggling TBH

[james17]

I have a player who is holding out in camp. I’d like to trade him but it appears FOF9 won’t allow that like FOF8 would. Am I understanding that correctly?

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I remember losing 3rd round picks in previous versions, and seeing that happen to the AI. But not here. Is that something that shows up in the transaction log? I don't see it there, and I don't seem to have lost any picks, despite being over the cap every season. I'm really surprised you've seen it happen to the AI, since I've never seen them go over the cap, and are often well under it.

Originally Posted by OldGiants

there was no notification. I did not see it the third round came up and it said something like "forfeited pick". It didn't appear in the trade screen either.

I see this happen often to AI teams. there is simply a note on the draft screen that they forfeited the pick. Buffalo has to deal with Allen's big contract and they don't do that well every time. I remember looking to see what his current contract calls for, and the game has it exactly right. Lots of speculative writing in sports land about how they will renegotiate him this year--for real.

I can confirm now that I have seen this happen, and there's a record of it in the transaction log. It looks like if you're over the cap right before the draft, you lose a 3rd round pick in that draft. And if you're over the cap a couple weeks after the draft (probably right before summer vacation?) you lose a 3rd round pick in the next draft.

[OldGiants]

SCHEME ACQUISITION

I can read the tool tip--but what does it do? In games terms what things change? If I acqure an OL, do some of his ratings turn green? I'm at a loss to make sense of this.

If I'm right about the green, looking for FA's with high SA would seem to be indicated as a good strategy.

[james17]

I can't figure out why the sim won't let me trade a guy who is holding out that I can't afford. Anybody have an idea?

[garion333]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

SCHEME ACQUISITION

I can read the tool tip--but what does it do? In games terms what things change? If I acqure an OL, do some of his ratings turn green? I'm at a loss to make sense of this.

If I'm right about the green, looking for FA's with high SA would seem to be indicated as a good strategy.

We don't exactly know how its working, but I can tell you I've seen a lot of low Scheme Acquisition players be horribly slow at developing as players. After four seasons they'll be 13/50.

If I had to guess about how it works in-game, when an OL joins a new squad they have a negative effect on OL dice rolls. This could be contained in the Cohesion of the line or some other variable in the algorithm. Regardless, over time the effect is lessened until the player reaches full experience with the scheme.

[canuxrok]

Is there any way to pause the draft when it isn't your pick? I want to be able to stop and try to trade before my guy is gone but I want to wait a few picks first.


Nvm I am dumb. lol. There is a big button right there to pause it. I just somehow was missing it and panicking.

[canuxrok]

Okay, I do have an actual question though. I like how some screens (depth chart, draft, top free agents, etc.) show you the player's "Fit" which is basically which position is actually ideal for him (this is mainly for defensive front positions) but some screens don't have this and I was wondering if there was any other way to see that, like is there somewhere in the player profile that I'm not noticing? It's kind of a difference if a guy is a 34 DE and more of an interior lineman type compared to if he's a 43 DE who is more of an edge rusher but I can't see that, for instance when I'm signing free agents that are in the top 250. It would be cool if the game eventually was able to group defensive front players the way they usually are categorized now (IDL, EDGE, LB) but for now I just want to know if there's any way to see their fit if you aren't in a screen that already shows it.

[cupofjoe]

Has anybody else run into the issue of the game automatically re-signing holdouts? It has happened to me a couple of times. Thankfully both times they sign with extremely low guarantees. I’ve also found it to be a bit annoying we can’t trade people holding out.

*I don’t have minor decisions box checked

[Passacaglia]

Pretty sure that happened to me, too.

[wonkkk]

I feel monstrously stupid... how do I actually get to see the game live / call the plays?

[KingZal]

Originally Posted by wonkkk

I feel monstrously stupid... how do I actually get to see the game live / call the plays?

There's a checkbox on the Schedule screen labeled Show/Control Your Team's Games, once that's checked off you can simulate to/past the day the game is actually played.