A Possibility for Rules in Online Franchise and Online Community's

[GiantBlue76]

Quote: Originally Posted by TNT713

Don't get me wrong, I understand the reason for the rules. Nothing wrong with individual commissioners setting their own rules, but seeing 'SIM' attached to some rule sets gets me. Players from this league specifically may actually believe these rules are set because of the AI when that's NOT TRUE. Much of these "AI" problems are corrected with nothing more than a different formation, play, or adjustment but any impressionable members of this league may believe the way these rules are presented. I have been studying online football communities for more than 15 years with a focus on Madden's communities for the past 9 years (since Madden 2003). I wrote a paper during the Madden 07 season comparing NFL rules to 5 representative sets of 'Rules' from over 150 different Madden leagues and tournaments. The results clearly show that the term "SIM" has little or nothing to do with the rules, tactics, and strategies of the NFL. "SIM" as it's most often used has more to do with the tolerances, experience, and skill level of the players the organizers want in their Madden league. As an advanced player with intimate knowledge of the game, operating by most SIM rules sets walls off much of the football that makes the game enjoyable for me. The penalty, I must refrain from playing in many leagues. Later

This is because of how you view Madden. It's not just a game to play to have fun, it's more of a job for you. Your entire goal is to win. A lot of us want to win (obviously), but not at all costs. We want to make it realistic. That's fun to many folks. Playing against someone who calls the same play every down, runs to the sideline 20 yards back and launches bombs all day is not fun to play against, even if you win 50-0. You are looking at it like a real sport. Your goal is to win, period. Not everyone shares that same view.

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by tazdevil20

This is because of how you view Madden. It's not just a game to play to have fun, it's more of a job for you. Your entire goal is to win. A lot of us want to win (obviously), but not at all costs. We want to make it realistic. That's fun to many folks. Playing against someone who calls the same play every down, runs to the sideline 20 yards back and launches bombs all day is not fun to play against, even if you win 50-0. You are looking at it like a real sport. Your goal is to win, period. Not everyone shares that same view.

Not sure how to best address this, but I think you may be slightly confused about my original point. When I hear the term SIM I think of a style that comes as close to the mirroring the NFL as possible. I also believe that the rules of the NFL are the starting point for any claim to SIM...

To clarify this a little better. I did a point for point comparison between the NFL and 5 sets (selected to represent more than 150 leagues) of rules on 39 separate points using a PASS/FAIL system that merely compares what's legal in Madden rules sets to what's legal in the NFL. We compared motion, substitutions, alignment, play selection, 4th downs, etc... Only 2 of the 5 sets of rules scored better than 75% while the rules viewed most SIM at the time scored the lowest at 44%.

What I learned is that the NFL is not the basis for determining whether something is SIM or not. If the NFL were the standard we used, there would be far more tactics legal in SIM standards. Since we know the NFL has nothing to do with what we deem SIM... What does? FUN... SIM rules are designed so players can have fun.

Nothing wrong with having a "FUN" set of rules, but I have a problem with rules that are AT BEST only "3/4 SIM" being the widely accepted SIM standards.

We'll should talk about my philosophy and play style separately to avoid further confusing the real issue.

Later

[TNT713]

Quote: Originally Posted by tazdevil20

This is because of how you view Madden. It's not just a game to play to have fun, it's more of a job for you. Your entire goal is to win. A lot of us want to win (obviously), but not at all costs. We want to make it realistic. That's fun to many folks. Playing against someone who calls the same play every down, runs to the sideline 20 yards back and launches bombs all day is not fun to play against, even if you win 50-0. You are looking at it like a real sport. Your goal is to win, period. Not everyone shares that same view.

Now we should discuss my play... You're right, I play to win.


You mentioned that Madden is like a job to me... Not really. But if it's not a job to others, I don't think they can claim SIM as a play style. Guys that coach and play in the NFL treat it like a job. Why shouldn't we?

Your assumption that I try to win at all costs is also correct if by 'cost' you mean the time and effort required to practice, take notes, and improve my performance. Like many, I want a realistic experience and I pay the cost to ensure my experience is realistic by taking a realistic approach to preparation.

That said, there's nothing wrong with playing for fun... But we shouldn't say we want realism unless we also take time before games to prepare.

Later