BBPF developer diary

[Arlie Rahn]

Hey guys, I've decided to start a developer diary to give people a chance to check in on the progress of the game as well as answer some design/strategy questions I have in the process.

 

Now, I am not going to spell out every feature in the game as there will still be a few surprises, but I do think this diary could be very useful. I am now at the point in the development where I have to go in certain directions with the game. When I look back on BBCF, there were certain items that I made "50-50" type decisions on that I now wished I would have gotten more feedback on during the development. I toyed with the idea of setting up a Beta team for this, but I think that leads towards "game fatigue" if there is nothing to test. So, I will try this diary (Adam seemed to really enjoy it for his games).

 

When I need some feedback, I will post a topic on the forum for you guys to check into in addition to commenting on it in the diary. Often, I will make a poll with the item. However, I will not always go 100% with the results of a poll, it's more to get a general handle on the interest/feelings on a certain issue. All that said, your feedback is greatly appreciated and will have a large impact on the final product.

 

Finally, I want to thank everyone for their interest in the game and willingness to spend their free time interacting with me on this game. As a developer, there are few things that are more humbling than seeing a set of fans willing to take their time (that could be spent working/with family/doing other things) and helping you with your game.

 

I will shoot for atleast weekly update, but I may go through periods of daily topics when I get into certain stretches in development.

[Arlie Rahn]

The first issue is going to be on the setup of the offseason leading up to the draft. I'd like to let you guys what I am currently doing and see if you like the order or feel that maybe I am missing something. I am trying to keep multiplayer leagues in mind, but I think you lose some realism if you separate the RFA/UFA/draft into three distinct stages. So, I am going to have some overlap with these areas, but I don't want it to be a bear to manage. I'll go through more of the particulars this weekend, but I wanted to give everyone a primer to start thinking about what they would like here.

[Arlie Rahn]

Here's the general setup for the coaches phase the offseason:

 

Week1:

- GM gets an email for each potential new job opening with offers (can be turned off in MP)

- If user accepts, he switches teams

Week 2:

- Job expectation email: Email includes things like expectations, salary cap info, latest record, top players, …

- Update college stats (or import from BBCF) and setup draft cards without combine or full scouting reports.

- Initially set season budget: Salary is Set in Stone by league, but signing bonus money, FA budget, scouting money, coaches money, training staff and others set by owner. Coach can then move money around as they seem fit.

 

[Question 1]What do you guys think about allowing an increased budget for increasing expectations? IE, owner expects a .500 record. You change the expectations to "Make the playoffs" and he gives you an additional bump to signing bonus money and staff salaries. But, if you fall short, you get a bigger negative for your performance (maybe even get fired). I don't think this would be something used in MP, but it might be fun for SP.

 

[Question 2]What's your thoughts on using a slider to focus on players for scouting? I don't like the idea of hiring a ton of scouts as I think it gets exploited in SP and is a nuisance in MP. Instead, it would be a system similar to BBCF where you set your positional focus on draft scouting.

 

Weeks 3-5:

- Offer positions to assistants. They accept or reject based on preference.

- Final week, if you have no coach, you will get 2-3 emails from different coaches to fill the spot. They will want a little over market, but offer a wide set of options for your system. This will prevent users from being stuck with a bad coach. It's also grouped in with the same week as setting the final budget, so it won't be an extra week for MP.

- Like said above, the final week will be where users set their final budget.

[Arlie Rahn]

Guys, I'm getting my floors replaced this week so my CPU access is spotty. I have an update nearly ready for the forums and will post it a little later in the week.

[Arlie Rahn]

I wanted to give an update tonight. I've been working a great deal on the engine and personal trait issues of late. My goal is really differentiate "3.5/5.0" type players. I'm implementing a new process that will put gamers in situations where there will be real decisions made between a 2.5 and 3.0 receiver (again, using BBCF ratings for this update). Let's say that the 2.5 guy has advantages in running routes and beating jam coverage and the 3.0 guy is a little more inconsistent, but has good speed. There are many situations where the right call would be to use the 2.5-rated guy over the 3.0 guy.

 

These type of decisions are where my efforts are right now. This has involved numerous adjustment to engine logic and a new way of showing this type of information to you guys in a user-friendly manner. Here's an outline on what I am working on:

 

Sim engine work involving some additional features

Offseason interface work and logic adjustments

draft screen adjustments and some changes based on testing

 

I still haven't gotten much new to the beta team so I want to be sure that no one is expecting the game in the next month or so. As I get through September, I should have a better idea on possible release dates. I won't give an actual date until I feel real good with that commitment, but I also don't want people thinking this game is vaporware or that it's going to be done in two weeks. So, I will do more to let you guys see how things are going and keep you as up to date as possible.