Logic and Team Management Lead Programmer Q&A Session

[Jistic]

Dan, is there any way of knowing approximately how much cash you need to keep in reserve during the F/A period so that you can sign your draft picks? Is there some kind of average salary chart for draft position ala Front Office Football?

Thanks.

[JRod]

You talk about coaches never losing points/skills. Does that mean coaches all become too good. Kind of like the 99 overall problem in madden except for coaches?

Do you see coaches leaving teams even if they are winning? Are there any harsh firings. Going 8-8 not making the playoffs and getting the pink slip?

[Dan_Bekins]

Quote: Originally Posted by DLaren

Hey Dan, thanks for stopping by and welcome to OS. I plan to use the Raiders and lets say I make a move to acquire B.Favre. Generally speaking, how long would it take for a QB (young or old) to learn every play in a new system/offense well enough to be ready for week 1? Would it take a full season or two before a guy like Favre would know %100 of the new plays or can it be done in one full month of training camp?

First off, I'll say that Favre's situation is pretty tricky. If he's on a team in the August 12 roster update (including the Packers), it will probably be difficult to trade for him assuming he has a high overall grade.

If you are able to sign him early in camp, you should be able to get to a pretty good state by the end of the preseason. I'm sure he'll have a high learning ability, so that will make things easier. I suspect he will be able to learn a play in 3-5 reps.

If you focus on the offense during training camp, and focus on learning plays in your preseason games, he should be able to learn a good chunk of the playbook. He probably will not reach mastery until a good bit into the season, though.

[Dan_Bekins]

Quote: Originally Posted by michigan54

This game sounds truly amazing. Its everything Ive been waiting for in a sports video game. It would be even better if all this was in Madden but this is way better than a straight txt sim like front office football. Ive heard you can fire youre gm and as a lifelong lions slappy I cant wait to get my hands on this game. Will there be suitable gms to hire right off the bat or will I be better served waiting till the offseason hiring period? And thank you for all the interactivity, the hard work and this amazing game!

You actually must wait until the end of your season to begin the hiring/firing period. During this time, you can hire anyone who has left another team, and there will be a few new GMs that enter the mix. This is the time when college coaches with slick new playbooks start entering the league as well.

So, unfortunately you'll be stuck with "Mack Miller" for at least one season.

[Dan_Bekins]

Quote: Originally Posted by jaguar8311

sorry if this has been answered already... Will a team have a philosphy such as a "Rebuild, Win Now" etc. like the team might overpay in a trade to get the star player to they want. Its great how this game is giving the user back control. I can't wait to run a Hawaii Offense and see if that works out!

That's a pretty solid idea, but I don't think we have a philosophy that is related to "win now" vs. "plan ahead". It would be kind of sweet if a coach or GM who was on the hot seat started spending like crazy and ruined his team for a few years.

We do have a ton of philosophies related to team building, though. A few examples are "build through draft" vs. "build through free agency", trade frequency, spending philosophy (spend on top need vs. distribute evenly). I think it's a pretty representative set.

[Dan_Bekins]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jistic

Dan, is there any way of knowing approximately how much cash you need to keep in reserve during the F/A period so that you can sign your draft picks? Is there some kind of average salary chart for draft position ala Front Office Football? Thanks.

Unfortunately we don't have this chart in the game, but the salaries should match the real NFL pretty closely. What matters most is how high your first round pick is. I'm sure someone can post a pretty accurate chart once the game is released.

Now that we're talking about salary cap, I really wish we would have included the reserve amount somewhere. The game calculates it behind the scenes, we just don't have a screen that displays this.

[VoodooChil]

Hey Dan,
Thanks for taking time to answer questions. I understand that coaches can bring a playbook with them, but do coaches have a learning curve for certain systems. If I bring in a coach who previously coached a Tampa two defence and expect him to run a 46, or Zone Blitz scheme will he have trouble with it. Also could you explain how the teams draft board works, is it like what you see when you watch the draft and the teams war room has a blackboard with names boxed off.

[Dan_Bekins]

Quote: Originally Posted by JRod

You talk about coaches never losing points/skills. Does that mean coaches all become too good. Kind of like the 99 overall problem in madden except for coaches? Do you see coaches leaving teams even if they are winning? Are there any harsh firings. Going 8-8 not making the playoffs and getting the pink slip?

1. The coach ratings start as low as single digits, so some guys will have trouble maxing out. Highly skilled coordinators and position coaches will be promoted, at which point they will essentially start over again because they will have to obtain all the skills for their new position.

Some head coaches will max out. However, you will be progressing along with them, so it is up to you to keep up by using your skill points wisely.

2. Whether a coach gets fired is based on his approval (we track it for CPU coaches as well). The media and fans in some cities are much tougher than in others, so I believe it is possible that a coach could get fired after a .500 season, especially if he started the season with low approval.