Proposal for Online Career Mode

[adembroski]

The career mode as it exists now could not be brought online with any degree of success. Time issues, the real-time nature of it do not work well. But I think there is a way to do it that would work very well.

A lot of the legwork and decisions would come from the league commissioner. He would set a lot of a parameters.

Here are a few adjustments that would need to be made.

First off, there's a set timescale, adjustable by the commissioner. He can go 7-1 if he wants a full week to play out in a given day... meaning that all of the week's games would play out at the end of every day. This might be a bit fast for most leagues, but it's an example.

Leave the live events up much longer... probably a full day (real time) rather than just part of a simulated day. The bidding would be made E-Bay style, where you input your maximum bid, but it only raises your bid if someone outbids what's currently the highest. In other words, you bid as high as you are willing to go, but you only pay as much as is necessary to secure negotiation rights.

Games are played out on-field in real time on a set schedule. If you are online, you can enter the game and make the calls on the field normally. Otherwise, everything is delegated to staff according to parameters you set. It would be nice to have a gameplay sheet so you can effectively call the game even if you're not online. There's no attempting to contact your opponent and work out a time to play... the game plays on at a set time in concordance with when the Commissioner sets as gameday (ie. 7pm every other day, or 6 am every 3rd day, whatever. All games are played out simultaneously, in order to eliminate confusion created by Monday night and Thursday games).

Practices are scheduled ahead of time. As soon as you finish a game, you set the things you wish to do in each practice during the week. These plans can be adjusted at any time before the practice occurs, of course. You can also schedule scouting assignments ahead of time.

Live-events still occur for players on your own team normally, but you can call on them at any time during the week. For example, you log in, you get the message, "Three players have requested renegotiation", and you can enter negotiation or ignore as you see fit. Once you enter the live event, it works exactly as it does in the game now.

The draft will work off your draft board, taking the player at the top of the list unless you set a positional limit and you've already reached it for the top player, then it'll take the next down. If you are present for the live draft (which proceeds in real time), you can make the decisions normally. Anybody not present for their drafts can either elect to bar all trades, or to use their team philosophies and GM to decide trades.

Anyways, just a few thoughts on how to make career mode work for an online, multiplayer franchise, which I think would be absolutely awesome if it could be done right.

[SloeyEZ]

interesting...

[adembroski]

Quote: Originally Posted by SloeyEZ

interesting...

Isn't it?

[claystone]

Quote: Originally Posted by adembroski

Isn't it?

If you guys can get it to work, i'm in.

Some issues.

1. How will a draft be done?
2. How would FA be done?
3. Would you have a league site online?

This would be able to work if we were allowed to control all the teams. Then whatever player is taken in a draft or FA we can apply it to our career game mode.

There is a lot of smart guys in here. I'm sure someone would come up with it.

[claystone]

Here some suggestions:

1. Create a league site. (Like "League Pulse" for Madden). All players would have to be inputed into the site.

2. Scheduling would be done through the site. With access to stats / trades / FA pick-ups. / etc.

I'm at a block of how to get FA and Draftee on each team. If this was cpu we could use Nza editor for Madden and global edit all teams, but we are on console.

[YankeeFan2525]

I think turn based would be the easiest, like NCAA does it. You log in and you can do everything right there like practices, games, etc. and then the comish can advance to the next week at anytime. I agree with you on the ebay style FA bidding and just submitting your top bid. I guess forhe draft you just could set a time and then everyone has to be there.

I also hope that we would have control ovhow many users there are because, for instance, I like to have an NCAA dynasty with just my friend and I.

[TCF]

yes i would be so into this.

[adembroski]

Quote: Originally Posted by YankeeFan2525

I think turn based would be the easiest, like NCAA does it. You log in and you can do everything right there like practices, games, etc. and then the comish can advance to the next week at anytime. I agree with you on the ebay style FA bidding and just submitting your top bid. I guess forhe draft you just could set a time and then everyone has to be there. I also hope that we would have control ovhow many users there are because, for instance, I like to have an NCAA dynasty with just my friend and I.

Easier doesn't equal better.

The real time aspect of Head Coach is part of the immersion of it, which is Head Coach's huge strength. Turn based, to me, makes it no better than Madden or NCAA.

I've been pissed about Head Coach's on the field stuff, but for career mode, it's better than anything I've ever played, and real-time is a big part of that.