I'm not trying to dodge the question. The problem is I can't give you a complete answer. Yes, the system needs to change and it is something that we are looking at.
I have considered using the "not real players" statement here, but one of the first things Ian told me before I was unleashed on OS was that you guys would see right through that kind of stuff. I'm not going to say they aren't real players, but I'm not going to say they ARE real players either. I just can't do that. I like to think they are eerily similar
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Some things you need to factor in here. I saw it mentioned early in the thread (I skipped to the end after page 3 to post this BTW), is the sheer number of players. Between 8100 and 8200. And we have a ton of ratings, as you are aware. In addition to that, the roster file also includes all the equipment options on them.
So now we move to the issue of timing. Work on rosters has to start early sure, but it is also one of the last things dropped into game as we want them up to date as possible, and the task takes a LONG time. You can drop all these numbers into a spreadsheet, but there are various calculations that are done to come up with the final rating of the player. Anyone putting together a roster from outside of the edit player interface will not see the overall rating dynamically updating (and this is one of the first things that needs to change).
Once all this goes into game, TONS of changes have to be made. And since this goes in so late, we gotta get the changes right the first time. We can't iterate on this over and over. I've seen threads on these message boards where you guys go over and over Fairdales rosters pointing out changes, and he keeps releasing updates. We don't have this luxury, plus it is much earlier in the year so not all the info is out.
What I'm really not understanding though is why this is a big deal to you guys. This is the reason we put in roster sharing. Sure we want to get the rosters as close as possible for the people who won't take advantage of the feature, but this is the kind of stuff we put in for the hardcore fans. For you guys. How many of you won't be using it?
So as I said, we understand it isn't ideal how rosters were implemented on NCAA 09. The question now is do we fix the holes or do we overhaul it as been suggested. The problem with overhauling is that new holes will show themselves on NCAA 2010. It is also a sensitive issue to discuss because real people did put a LOT of work into the rosters, and in our capacity it is not something we will be discussing publicly.
I hope this clears things up better. I'm trying not to dodge the question, but I have to be careful with how I respond. I can't really answer specific questions because the only input I had on the rosters was getting UCF's quarterback to be a scrambler instead of a pocket passer like they used last season.