Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

[LegendKillerOne]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

That's a tough one. The changes to scouting and the draft were needed, but they lost their luster very quickly.

Franchise will never be perfect in any game. Players will always want that next thing.

But for me, after some patches, the gameplay took a step back for me and what I like to do.

This was the first year I didn't pre-order and got it on day 1 because the draft changes persuaded me but it is going to be a tough sell for me next year. Yeah I would love to see more improvement to franchise but the mode on 23 (22 and 21) for that matter don't engage me like it once did.

I applaud SDS for changing the draft and scouting, even though it lost its luster, but it's not enough to keep me engaged in the show universe any longer without going back to 20 to a franchise I am attached to.

How many seasons into the 20 franchise are you? And did you control every team or just single team?

[djflock]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

This franchise mode is severely lacking.

I have played every game and almost done with season 2 in my franchise. The gameplay is what keeps this game playable for me.

But it is exhausting having to manage every teams roster/lineup/rotation. The game has zero dynamism. From lineup construction, transactions , waivers, callups, trades, bullpen usage... Almost everything is simply based on overall. Which can work if the overalls had any sort of variance. For example, you have a AAA prospect with a 65 rating. He is 10-0 and has a 0.10 era. This player should get a serious rating boost (kind of like pop up prospects that happen in real life) and be promoted. But I am forced to manually evaluate minor league stats and change ratings based on performance.

All these things minus trades, are still all using the same logic for ps3. Just doesn't work for me at all.

[CgyFlames]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

I like the new draft system a lot. I think it’s now #1 among the major sports titles.

Despite that, I still believe the game is better as a 162-grind in Franchise or multiple MTO campaigns with different teams. It’s way too easy to stack your team through trades and FA that you have to adhere to serious restrictions to slow down your dominance from year 2 and beyond.

The most realistic off-seasons are actually in RTTS because it’s 30 CPU teams so there’s no unfair user advantage. Could do the same with automated control in franchise.


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[Funkycorm]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

How many seasons into the 20 franchise are you? And did you control every team or just single team?

I control 1 team. Cleveland.

I do mass potential editing and draft class editing though to keep balance across the league. It takes time but is worth it.

In 18, I simmed to the start of the 2025 season and played the 2025 season in 18. I played the 2026 season in 19. In 20, it took over 2 years but I played the 2027 season.

I went back to 20 earlier this summer and started the 2028 season. I am not very far as I have been on a NBA 2k23 kick lately.

This Indians franchise has been my favorite franchise ever in any sports game.

[JoeRodgers1175]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

- In some ways, I actually think the new scouting/draft system is a downgrade. I know they wanted to "gamify" the draft, but in real life it is getting exceedingly rare when a top pick does not sign. Also, the proliferation of relievers as top-ranked prospects waters down the classes. Needs to be fixed for next season.

- Ratings also need to be tweaked, where they reflect both the attributes (like now) and also stats. Or perhaps players could have two ratings: skill and production, where you'd have to weigh which to trust more when making moves.

- Player progression/regression needs an overhaul. I know that occasionally guys fall off a cliff, but not as frequently as they do in the game. Meanwhile, in the game it is common for prospects to stagnate until their late 20s before breaking out. Again, this needs to be tweaked.

- I sim most games and I'm way into the future in my franchise, and I've noticed that pitchers don't throw nearly as hard the deeper you get into the mode. Obviously, the trend is going the other way.

- There needs to be more than three slots for trades, and teams should also be able to include cash in deals.

- I'd love to see the game copy EA's NHL trade deadline. That is a lot of fun.

[MiracleMet718]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

If the draft and updated schedule are step one of more improvements to come, then it’s a solid update. But they need to change some of the basic issues that have plagued the mode for the last 3-5 years. Progression/Regression makes no sense, sim stats for pitchers are still broken, training for players, and development of prospects still seems off to me. Also trading is still wildly unbalanced and too easy to acquire top prospects for mid-level MLBers. Shouldn’t be that easy to get a stacked team of young top prospects that are just about or already performing in the MLB.

So we’ll see what they work on next and I do like that they’ve started to make an effort focusing on Franchise, but they need to fix those things next rather than add to the mode if it’s ever going to be truly improved.

[JWDixon120]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

If the draft and updated schedule are step one of more improvements to come, then it’s a solid update. But they need to change some of the basic issues that have plagued the mode for the last 3-5 years. Progression/Regression makes no sense, sim stats for pitchers are still broken, training for players, and development of prospects still seems off to me. Also trading is still wildly unbalanced and too easy to acquire top prospects for mid-level MLBers. Shouldn’t be that easy to get a stacked team of young top prospects that are just about or already performing in the MLB.

So we’ll see what they work on next and I do like that they’ve started to make an effort focusing on Franchise, but they need to fix those things next rather than add to the mode if it’s ever going to be truly improved.

Not to be “that” guy but I don’t think putting the schedule into the game can be considered a feature. That’s the minimum for a Franchise mode imo. I do agree with the rest however!


-Franchise Fidelity to Reality Roster out Now!
-Creator of JWDixon’s Franchise Spreadsheet
-More coming soon!

[millertime98]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

- In some ways, I actually think the new scouting/draft system is a downgrade. I know they wanted to "gamify" the draft, but in real life it is getting exceedingly rare when a top pick does not sign. Also, the proliferation of relievers as top-ranked prospects waters down the classes. Needs to be fixed for next season.

- Ratings also need to be tweaked, where they reflect both the attributes (like now) and also stats. Or perhaps players could have two ratings: skill and production, where you'd have to weigh which to trust more when making moves.

- Player progression/regression needs an overhaul. I know that occasionally guys fall off a cliff, but not as frequently as they do in the game. Meanwhile, in the game it is common for prospects to stagnate until their late 20s before breaking out. Again, this needs to be tweaked.

- I sim most games and I'm way into the future in my franchise, and I've noticed that pitchers don't throw nearly as hard the deeper you get into the mode. Obviously, the trend is going the other way.

- There needs to be more than three slots for trades, and teams should also be able to include cash in deals.

- I'd love to see the game copy EA's NHL trade deadline. That is a lot of fun.

I agree with a lot of this. I'm curious, what makes the NHL trade deadline so good?

I do 30 team control franchises because:
- I got sick of seeing the same teams win
- I hated seeing teams bring up 18 year olds (or even put them on the 40 man roster)
- Free Agents signings of 3 shortstops for 1 team! Or a team with an All Star at a position sign a player for that position.

I know it is a video game based on ratings but it would be nice to see a random person go off every once in a while. Like a 76 rated pitcher have a monster year randomly. Or a C level hitter hit 40 hrs or something like that. I guess I can dream and keep adjusting the ratings.

[MiracleMet718]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

Not to be “that” guy but I don’t think putting the schedule into the game can be considered a feature. That’s the minimum for a Franchise mode imo. I do agree with the rest however!


-Franchise Fidelity to Reality Roster out Now!
-Creator of JWDixon’s Franchise Spreadsheet
-More coming soon!

I only included it because it was wrong for so many years and they updated it to match the new schedule rules in year one rather than waiting to add it in. So to me it shows they are at least putting some effort into franchise updates considering they didn’t put much at all the previous half decade (possibly longer).

[JoeRodgers1175]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

I agree with a lot of this. I'm curious, what makes the NHL trade deadline so good?

I do 30 team control franchises because:
- I got sick of seeing the same teams win
- I hated seeing teams bring up 18 year olds (or even put them on the 40 man roster)
- Free Agents signings of 3 shortstops for 1 team! Or a team with an All Star at a position sign a player for that position.

I know it is a video game based on ratings but it would be nice to see a random person go off every once in a while. Like a 76 rated pitcher have a monster year randomly. Or a C level hitter hit 40 hrs or something like that. I guess I can dream and keep adjusting the ratings.

Instead of it being just another day on the calendar, you get the option of entering the trade deadline. There's a countdown clock until the deadline, a ticker with all of the moves, and each team's available players are listed along with a Top 10 available overall. It really adds immersion, and feels really neat to get a trade in right before the clock runs out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LdLAPjy3WA

I haven't played it in a couple years, but I think FIFA does something similar for the transfer deadlines.

[tessl]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

Honestly, I think the scouting changes made the mode worse, not better (outside of the draft classes themselves). The UI took major steps backwards, the use of "weekly" tasks reduces immersion and in general, I greatly prefer the old approach.

The best part about this game's franchise mode is that they don't ruin it with unnecessary additions (which cannot be said for any of the other franchise modes out there these days). It is such a solid, dynamic mode and many people don't realize how good it is because they are too busy farting with sliders or worrying about minutiae while re-starting constantly. I'm already halfway through season 3 of my Reds franchise I started in April (playing every pitch/game) and haven't touched a slider (outside of injuries) all cycle. Every season has been SO different for us; both at a high-level but also on an individual player basis. There's so many storylines with numerous players that continue to unfold with every AB; it's just an amazing atmosphere where your franchise universe truly feels connected inside of the games themselves (other sports games feel a lot like "Play Now" games that you just access through the franchise menu).

Lack of carry over saves is my biggest complaint. There are a few other minor things but I agree with you it's a great game. Younger people who never played early baseball games like micro league baseball - which I still own - might not appreciate how good this game is.

[CgyFlames]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

I agree with a lot of this. I'm curious, what makes the NHL trade deadline so good?

Hockey isn’t the most popular sport and EA is the most UNpopular developer, but the franchise team at NHL quietly puts out a great product. They’ve added a significant feature just about every year since NHL17 and only NBA 2k has more depth in their mode.

[LegendKillerOne]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

I was thinking looking at some of the deadline deals it would be great if they added in to let trades be made for cash considerations or add paying some of the contract to the deal

[dramachild11]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

Every class feels the same to me:
At least 3 to 6 of the top 10 prospects are closers
Balanced hitters are like big foot cause you want to believe they exist but you'll never see them
There will be a TON of 45 ovr A potential 23 yr Olds who will make the majors at 36yrs old only to retire the next year lol

At this point my favorite part of each draft is looking for the most ridiculous name & birthplace combination I can find, like Hirohito Kazumira from Arkansas or Hidalgo Cortez from Iowa or James Scott from Cuba

In all seriousness I do love this game, the programming just has to match what we are always told is the potential of whatever system we are using whether that be console or otherwise

[tessl]

Re: Did the draft improvements make up for lack of franchise improvements?

I still don't know if there are enough players in the draft pool capable of being respectable MLB level players given the odd and unpredictable progression system.

It seems they have abandoned carry over saves and therefore with EA releasing the long awaited college football game in July 2024 I'll probably take a pass on the show - but I've said that before and caved.