puja21 Franchise: Real college players in draft class

[puja21]

ever since I heard it's possible to import/export draft classes & that MOST franchise offseason freezeups had to do w/ the draft class pool not being default-roster names (thanks flipmo), I had this idea to get some potential 2007 rookies into the draft class for scouting & drafting. well, now that Finn showed me how to do import & export, I have pulled this off. I've tested this franchise through 5 offseasons with no freezing or stat problems whatsoever.

This file is in week 1 of the 2006-2007 schedule with no games played, my own roster loaded (based off OSDCR) and a bunch of current real college players already loaded into the draft pool. It has the following settings:

Franchise Options:
Weekly Prep: On
FPFB: Off
Preseason: On
Trade DL: On
Owner Firing: Off
Edit Rookies: On
Offseason Management: All set to player
Team select: All human
Preseason simulated with injury-level at zero so everyone is healthy to start out
******PS I FORGOT TO TURN INJURIES BACK UP TO DEFAULT so you guys will have to make that change yourselves********
2006-2007 Schedule Loaded

Game Options:
Quarter Length: 6 mins
Play Calling: By Formation
Game Speed: Normal
Challenges: Off
Coach Mode: Off
Performance EQ: Off
Multiple Hot Routes: On

Difficulty:
Legend

Penalties:
Default

Presentation:
Action Replays: Off
Menu Music: Highest
Crib Music: Crib/Menus/Game**
Custom Stadium Music: Off
**I use the Madden NFL Films soundtracks and the NFL Primetime soundtrack I uploaded here to OS playing in the background throughout.




HERE'S THE KICKER:

1) Incoming Draftees have correct ages corresponding to 06-07
Normally, when you load the 2006 schedule, the ensuing draft class is 2 years too old because the game still "thinks" it is 2004. So all your rookies are like 24-26 years old. For this franchise, I DID import a default draft class... However, because I simmed two default-roster-franchise seasons, & THEN exported my draft class, the players are 21-23 years old. It's basically as if 2004 & 2005 never happened. They way it SHOULD be.

2) Incoming Draft Class includes many real college players in the pool
Since I was pretty certain that non-default names were causing the draft freezeup (thanks to flipmo), I decided to try and write over some generated draftees with real college players.... but ONLY when their names were already in the default roster name database. (Occasionally, I had to make concessions though: For example, Cal's Marshawn Lynch becomes Shawn Lynch. LSU's JaMarcus Russell becomes Marcus Russell).

The following players all have their correct height, weight, college, DOB, and appearance and no fake photos. PBP is correct when possible, otherwise number is used. They all wear their college # even if it violates the NFL position-rule. Some guys have correct equipment

Quarterbacks
Brady Quinn, ND
Troy Smith, OSU
Running Backs
Adrian Peterson, Okla
Marshawn Lynch, Cal (*sp used Shawn)
Tony Hunt, PSU
Michael Bush, Louisville
Ken Darby, Alabama
Antonio Pittman, OSU
Mike Hart, Mich
Lorenzo Booker, FSU
Chauncey Washington, USC (*sp used Chaun)
Fullbacks
Brian Leonard, Rutgers
Cory Anderson, Tenn
Deon Anderson, UConn
Jesse Allen VT
Wide Receivers
Calvin Johnson, GT
Dwayne Jarrett, USC
Andre Caldwell, Florida
Tight Ends
Scott Chandler, Iowa
Clark Harris, Rutgers
Centers
Kyle Young, Fresno St
Leroy Harris, NC State
Dan Mozes, WVU (*sp used Moses)
Guards
Manuel Ramirez, Texas Tech
Nathan Bennett, Clemson
Tackles
Joe Thomas, Wisconsin
Levi Brown Penn St
Justin Blalock, Texas (*sp used Blaylock)
Joe Staley, Cen Mich white
Ryan Harris, ND
Jake Long, Mich
DEs
Gaines Adams, Clemson
Quentin Moses, UGA
DTs
Alan Branch, Mich
DeMarcus "Tank" Tyler, NC State
OLBs
Tim Shaw, PSU
Rufus Alexander, Okla
Prescott Burgess, Mich
ILBs
Patrick Willis, Ole Miss
David Harris, Mich
Buster Davis, FSU (*sp used Bubba)
Cornerbacks
Leon Hall, Mich
Daymeion Hughes, Cal (*sp used Damion)
Tarell Brown, Tex (*sp, used Terrell)
Antoine Cason, Ari
Safeties
Josh Gattis, WF (*sp used Gates) sucks but better than nothing
Michael Griffin, Tex

^^^^^^^^ For these above^^^^^^
I got the appearance by copying over w/ a "similar" looking NFL player and then changing personal info and ratings. So for instance, Mike Hart has Kellen Winslow's face & skin tone. I am not saying Mike Hart looks like Winslow at all. However, in the game, their faces and skintones are a close enough match. Plus there's no fake photo.

Also for these players, I have done *some* rating work. It's not supposed to be perfect at all. Basically, I just tried to copy over a similar style player and make talent changes. To use Mike Hart as an example again, Hart was based on Tiki Barber's default ratings- and then lowered accordingly... but at least he is a similar-style back. Michael Bush is based on Jerome Bettis' default ratings, b/c they are both big, power backs, but their success is in their great footwork. Every one of these players just has a template like this for now, so it's not precise at all like last year's rookies in the OSDCR file were. There is no formula. I really just wanted to get some guys in the draft class for another degree of realism.

I couldn't get everyone in I wanted because some names are not part of the default roster name database so these guys (and others) are left out to keep it from freezing (bold is the name I can't use):
Chad Henne, Mich
Ted Ginn Jr., tOSU
Tyler Palko, Pitt
Chris Leak, UF
Erik Ainge, Tenn
Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Steve Slaton, WVU
Ahmad Bradshaw, Marshall
Tony Burks, MSST
Xavier Adibi, VT



OTHER PLAYERS WHO **ARE** IN THIS DRAFT CLASS
These guys below all have the correct height, weight, college, jersey number & skin color. Most have correct DOB and some have correct equipment. NO RATINGS CHANGES yet (so they are completely wrong still). That's up to you for now- Finn's Editor.

Quarterbacks
Colt Brennan, Hawaii (*sp Cole)
Matt Ryan, BC
Reggie Ball, GT
Zac Taylor, NB
Paul Thompson, Okla
Drew Tate, Iowa
Pat White, WVU
Andre’ Woodson, UK
Perry Patterson, SU
Drew Stanton, MSU (*sp Drew Stan) better than nothing i guess
Jordan Palmer, UTEP
Lester Ricard, Tulane
Paul Smith, Tulsa
Rudy Carpenter, ASU
Brandon Cox, Auburn
JaMarcus Russell, LSU (*sp Marcus)
JP Wilson, Alabama
Josh Johnson, USD
Running Backs
Kenny Moore, WF
Ian Johnson, Boise
PJ Hill, Wisc (*sp PK Hill)
James Davis, Clemson
Garrett Wolfe, NIU
Ray Rice, Rutgers
DeAngelo Bryant, WF
Wide Receivers
Chris Williams, NMSU
Mike Walker, UCF
DJ Hall, Alabama
Sidney Rice, SC
Malcolm Kelly, Okla
Earl Bennett, Vandy
Greg Carr, FSU
Kevin Marion, WF



FIXING THE OFFSEASON DRAFT FREEZE
As of now, this file will get through the first offseason no problem. However, before the second offseason draft (the one following '07-'08 in the game), you have to import a default draft class OVER the class generated by the game or it WILL freeze-up when the draft starts. This fix WILL work though. I have tested it a few times.

To make this easier, I also posted some default-draft classes already exported from 2007-2010. Because I exported these from those corresponding seasons, the draft class age problem will be fixed again (example: 2010 rookies will have been born in 1988 so they are about ~22 YO). These are just default-draft classes to keep it from freezing though. So, they don't have any real college players in them like the 2006 class.

To import these draft classes, save your franchise in the 2nd season (07-08) after the preseason but BEFORE any games have been played... at the same time you would import a schedule. You *MIGHT* be able to do this anytime right up until the offseason, but I have only tested it at the beginning of the season, so no promises. Once you've saved it, open the file in Finn's Editor & navigate to the draft class. Right click on the team name (where it says DRAFT CLASS in white letters on black background) and import the appropriate draft class. You have to do this every season BEFORE starting the draft or it will freeze during the draft.

If your draft class has more players than the class being imported (it probably will by anywhere 4 to 7 players), then don't worry- it will still import and function. What will happen when your original class is bigger than the imported class is that the extra couple of players will be like 40+ years old for some reason. Luckily, this bug doesn't matter at all because no one seems to draft those few guys anyway. Don't bother trying to lower their ages with the editor after the import- it doesn't work anyway.

If you take your franchise beyond 2010, you'll have to create your own default draft classes. To do this just start a default franchise and sim it until the year in the game is 2011. Then save the franchise and export the draft class w/ Finn's editor the same way you import them.

So there you go, an updated franchise with some real college players you can draft AND a remedy to keep it from freezing. As Finn always says, backup your files and KEEP your backups so you can go back if something happens.

[Rickster101]

Great job I just DL your rosters and will look over them but I'm wondering why you can't add names to the file as I did previously with names like Samkon Gado it wasn't in there either among quite a few rookies and player names not in there, I'm not certain but I don't think you can actually run out of spaces using created names just a thought but check with Finn, I did quite a few names that weren't in there previously and the result is what now is the OSCDR roster sets I've been doing.

You may not hear/see them in the PBP but you can get a visual sense of seeing them on player jerseys, check with Finn I've done lots of names using the editor and they look just fine just a suggestion I'm not sure how it would effect Franchies but it worked for me!

I stll haven't heard from Flipmo in a long time and have been running the Community thread for sometime now if you hear from him give me a...





Holla Back ya'll
Rickster101 aka "Jack Bauer"

[puja21]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rickster101

I'm wondering why you can't add names to the file as I did previously with names like Samkon Gado it wasn't in there either among quite a few rookies and player names not in there, I'm not certain but I don't think you can actually run out of spaces using created names

I agree, I don't think you can run out of names in the roster itself, but do I think having these new names in a draft class can cause problems. All I know for certain- from seeing it over & over- is when the game generates a draft class out of an update roster like OSDCR, I see offseason draft freezing much more often. When I load a draft class made of default roster names, I don't get freezing.

I probably could slip a few outside names in there, but I don't know how many. I'll check that out w/ backup copy. If it works I'll add more college guys like Henne etc. When I get the player ratings more accurate, I'll post the draft class itself, so it can be loaded into any franchise.

Finn did not know if loading a default-roster draft class would stop freezing (Flipmo actually posted the solution sometime back), but for whatever reason it works. And yeah, flipmo has been MIA for a while... at least he left his solution behind. nice work keeping the community file updated

[Rickster101]

Actually I generated that file sometime ago but didn't know how simple it was to import it to the current Franchise file and let Flipmo handle that, now that I see how simple it is I can import/export just as easily and have to only be sure to check player years and salary cap issues as in years to insure I don't see players leaving after just one year, I'm still checking some things out on that end but it looks promising up to this point, you've really done an impressive job working on the file set-up for Franchises its looks great!




Holla Back ya'll
Rickster101 aka "Jack Bauer"

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call … The Twilight Zone aka "OS...Da Spot".
— Rod Serling

[dan77733]

You can't overwrite the names of the 380 players that are in the Draft Class but you can get around it. I got around it this past March when I created 50 rookies for my 2k6 franchise file. I had Leinart, D'Brickashaw, Hawk, Cutler, Greenway, etc. all named correctly despite not existing in the game disc itself. All 50 players that I created appeared correctly in Finn's editor and in-game.

This is what I did. For example, D'Brickashaw. I used the name list that appears on the right when you click on that little square box next to every player's first and last name.

All the names in the name list (except generated rookies) can be overwritten. I would find a player's name that there was more then one of. For example, Adams. I would then use (for example), 49ers DT Anthony Adams to replace the generated rookie's first name.

I then simply overwrite Adams into D'Brickashaw. I then go to 49ers DT Anthony Adams who would now be named Anthony D'Brickashaw. I use the name list to replace D'Brickashaw with Adams from another player.

For example, Sam Adams. Now, in the name list, you would see both Anthony Adams and Sam Adams linked to the same last name. Just like the generated rookies are. When you look at the generated rookies from the Draft Class in Finn's editor, you'll notice that a lot of them are linked together by their first or last name.

I did with Anthony and Sam Adams what VC did with those generated rookies.

I hope this doesnt sound confusing. If anything, do a member search on me (dan77733) and then find all the topics that I have created. Find my "franchise2k6" topic, download the franchise file and check it out yourself.

[Atrocity]

Nice find, dan. I think if puja could incorporate this with what he has done...we'd have a winner! Because honestly, I don't think I could do a draft without the likes of people like Ted Ginn Jr.

[puja21]

dan- nice job. this is a really great solution, & not confusing at all. makes perfect sense


i've been working on solving this for the past week and it felt like it was on the tip of my tongue. however, after seeing your idea right in in front of me, i know i was miles away from figuring it out.

thanks for posting this

[puja21]

Quote: Originally Posted by Atrocity

I think if puja could incorporate this with what he has done...we'd have a winner!

i'm on it right now fellas. hopefully have something up soon.

Step 1) fix players i fudged names for (Drew "Stan", "Bubba" Davis, etc)

Step 2) add the following:
Brian Brohm, Louisville
Chad Henne, Mich
Ted Ginn Jr., tOSU
Tyler Palko, Pitt
Chris Leak, UF
Erik Ainge, Tenn
Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Steve Slaton, WVU
Ahmad Bradshaw, Marshall
Tony Burks, MSSt

I know I haven't paid much attention to whether a guy is really coming out or not (plenty of underclassman and non-NFL caliber guys for instance), but I figure I can trim the fat & swap in missing prospects as we move toward the draft.


So, considering who I already have plus these ~10 guys or so, who else is a potential big-time prospect that I am missing?