Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

[patsen29]

I know we like complaining about how bad franchise mode has gotten, but when did they get it right? Trying to see what we can learn from earlier editions.


Seems a lot of people like the PS3 era of '08 to '13, but '17 and '19 also have great reviews in the PS4 era.


What are people's favourites, and what were the best features of those years?

[patsen29]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

Seems I found an old thread, and 12-15 seems to be the peak in this community at least. Let's hope that means best franchise/RTTS modes as well.

[countryboy]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

The best is 24 hands down easily for me. It takes what previous years did right and expanded upon them.

Adding the PPI list, adding that free agents signed can’t be traded until June 15th, the Rule 5 fix, improved draft, individual awards on player cards.

A lot on “not back of the box” additions to franchise mode this year that improved it’s quality of life tremendously


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

19 was my last favorite, one, because I't doesn't have the 3 batter faced minimum rule and two, I can call up fifteen players to the majors in September and not limited to callip up just two players in September.

[patsen29]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

These are good points! The complaints about franchise modes being worse than "before" have been going on the entire time, but I couldn't find anything special the old versions did that were lost. That combined with the QOL and sim to highlight features really do make the new ones strong.


The main issues I was finding was how there's a weird disconnect between struggling MLB players, and the spread of minor leaguers. You'd often see MLB players on the 40-man roster with overalls under 50, which unfairly made them easy cut candidates, as they'd often have D Pot as well.


There was a change when they went from generated minor leaguers to real minor leaguers, which clumped the minors way too close together. I did want to see how they were lined up in earlier versions, and there's a much wider swing in the 14 version, which I used for my study. One thing I noticed is that minor league fielding got put on the same level as MLB in 24, where it was lower in 14. Maybe that accounts for the Ovr differences.


Regression has always been complained about, but the newer depth chart features gives an idea of how Ovr is meant to grow or decline with time. There are some differences from the traditional aging curves, but the decline phase doesn't seem that out of line. I'd have to do multi-year sims to confirm those still hold, as Pot also varies over time.


Thanks for the input!

[tessl]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

I don't own 24 but for me 23 is the best franchise mode using manage only mode.

Not perfect but the best.

[tessl]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

The best is 24 hands down easily for me. It takes what previous years did right and expanded upon them.

Adding the PPI list, adding that free agents signed can’t be traded until June 15th, the Rule 5 fix, improved draft, individual awards on player cards.

A lot on “not back of the box” additions to franchise mode this year that improved it’s quality of life tremendously


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It would take a lot for me to throw away my '23 franchise but I'm curious what improvements to the draft are in 24 vs 23. Also I saw complaints about foul balls - has that been toned down? What improvements to gameplay are there?

[PhlliesPhan6]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

I mean, the meat and potatoes of Franchise has been the same for a while now with some improvements every year. So I would argue that the most recent version is going to have the best Franchise Mode.

[jcar0725]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

I mean, the meat and potatoes of Franchise has been the same for a while now with some improvements every year. So I would argue that the most recent version is going to have the best Franchise Mode.

I'm a franchise junkie its all I've played in this franchise for years and years. 24 is the best franchise mode of the series. But its not leaps and bounds better, just incrementally better.

[ChaseB]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

I'd take the franchise mode now over what it ever was, but I'd rather have the carryover saves and rosters than what we have now if I have to choose between the two options.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

I'd take the franchise mode now over what it ever was, but I'd rather have the carryover saves and rosters than what we have now if I have to choose between the two options.

This X’s 100.

[kinsmen7]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

I'm a franchise junkie its all I've played in this franchise for years and years. 24 is the best franchise mode of the series. But its not leaps and bounds better, just incrementally better.

This is it. If they wanted to go leaps and bounds, there are SO many great things that could be added, but if we're going year-over-year in comparison, '24 is easily the best.

I spent wayyyyy too many years being able to absolutely game/cheat the draft through excessive scouting, and while it's only 1 day out of a season (Plus the signings), it's definitely game-changing when it comes to the mode as a whole. I switched to auto-scouting, and the fact that with that feature on, the drafting just seems so much more realistic. I tried manual in a little test-franchise that I started with, but kept missing the scouting days. I'm sure that if you were to manually scout, things would be easier, but going full auto on it makes me feel more like a GM.

I've said it on other threads, but for what it's worth, and as horrible a series as NHL has become, they still do really well on putting together a reasonably deep franchise mode (Though it still has many warts!). I wish the minors were as deep as they are in that game (They essentially auto-generate stats for leagues that aren't part of the actual franchise mode).

Simply growing the roster size would be game-changing for this mode, especially with the right roster. I understand the difficulties with this, especially when it comes to how it affects the trade engine (Though it still sucks...), but, I will forever dream of an OOTP/Show collab, because it would kill! Unfortunately I also understand that the number of people that would rather grind for cards and stubs is significantly higher that those of us who want to do a many-season franchise. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Imagine adding an International free agency period/budget? Going full-on A ball?

But yes, short story long, '24 is easily the most in-depth franchise mode that this series has had, even though it could be much better.

@Jcar-Nice to see you back!

[jcar0725]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

This is it. If they wanted to go leaps and bounds, there are SO many great things that could be added, but if we're going year-over-year in comparison, '24 is easily the best.

I spent wayyyyy too many years being able to absolutely game/cheat the draft through excessive scouting, and while it's only 1 day out of a season (Plus the signings), it's definitely game-changing when it comes to the mode as a whole. I switched to auto-scouting, and the fact that with that feature on, the drafting just seems so much more realistic. I tried manual in a little test-franchise that I started with, but kept missing the scouting days. I'm sure that if you were to manually scout, things would be easier, but going full auto on it makes me feel more like a GM.

I've said it on other threads, but for what it's worth, and as horrible a series as NHL has become, they still do really well on putting together a reasonably deep franchise mode (Though it still has many warts!). I wish the minors were as deep as they are in that game (They essentially auto-generate stats for leagues that aren't part of the actual franchise mode).

Simply growing the roster size would be game-changing for this mode, especially with the right roster. I understand the difficulties with this, especially when it comes to how it affects the trade engine (Though it still sucks...), but, I will forever dream of an OOTP/Show collab, because it would kill! Unfortunately I also understand that the number of people that would rather grind for cards and stubs is significantly higher that those of us who want to do a many-season franchise. It sucks, but it is what it is.

Imagine adding an International free agency period/budget? Going full-on A ball?

But yes, short story long, '24 is easily the most in-depth franchise mode that this series has had, even though it could be much better.

@Jcar-Nice to see you back!

Thank you! As Costanza would say, "i'm back baby !"

I auto scout and auto draft, not that I think the feature is bad, but I just like the level playing field against the cpu.

Speaking of that, I know not everyone here uses 30 team control, but I don't know what I would do without it. The fact that I can counteract some crazy stuff the cpu does is a game changer for this game. I can step in to each teams roster and make sure they are operating at full strength, I definitely don't like winning easy lol.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

Thank you! As Costanza would say, "i'm back baby !"

I auto scout and auto draft, not that I think the feature is bad, but I just like the level playing field against the cpu.

Speaking of that, I know not everyone here uses 30 team control, but I don't know what I would do without it. The fact that I can counteract some crazy stuff the cpu does is a game changer for this game. I can step in to each teams roster and make sure they are operating at full strength, I definitely don't like winning easy lol.

30 team control is the bees knees on The Show. That is standard operating procedure for me when I franchise or even do classic season replays. It’s a must if only for the one ability to make sure lineups and rotations are properly set up.

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: Which Year Had Best Franchise Mode?

Thank you! As Costanza would say, "I'm back baby !"

Another Festivus miracle! I didnt expect to see you back until around January. Figured we wouldnt have you here for this Festivus.