Bigpapa42's SWF Tips

[Bigpapa42]

The point of this isn't to promote my SWF diary. Nor is it really to try to show the "right" way to run the SWF. One of the beautiful things about TEW is that there really is no "right" way to run any promotion. This is simply to share some of the things I have learned through my SWF diary game and the test games I ran prior to that. While many of these might apply to other promotions to some extent, they have worked very well for me for Supreme.

 

For those who haven't followed the diary, a bit of background. I am currently in September of 2008. I hit Global in February. Due to a huge roster, I have a brand split with one "A" show for each brand. There is also a "B" show. Both "A" shows consistently get B+ to A grades, while the monthly pay per views (with both brands) were getting B+ to A, with the last two both getting A*. I've managed to book two A* matches so far, both of which were TV matches that surprised me to grade out that well. The product I use is the default SWF product. Changing Supreme TV to 120 minutes is one of the first move I made.

 

These tips here are basically the guidelines I've used to consistently get good grades. Most can be found somewhere here on the board, such as the Tip Thread, but I figured I'd consolate them for the SWF. Now, a lot of these "rules" have a relatively small effect on the game and the show grades. However, the idea is here is that we are looking to maximize the show grades for each and every show (B shows excluded). So even if the

positive effect is minimal, its still a positive effect. And that wee little bit it adds can be the difference between a show that grades B+ and one that grades A.

 

TV Show and General Tips

1. Feature Your Main Eventers
    
   This is one that makes a lot of sense yet it is easy to overlook or forget. Your main eventers are your most popular workers, in a promotion where everything revolves around popularity. In other words, they are the workers the fans want to see. So give your fans what they want and feature those main eventers! Whether they are wrestling, in an angle, or even just showing up on the show to interfere in the match of someone they are feuding with, my rule of thumb is that I try to get every main eventer on every show. It doesn't always happen, obviously, but its what I shoot for. That can be tough at the start of the game with just 90 minutes of TV time, which is why you might want to look at adjusting the length of Supreme TV.
   
2. Protect Your Main Eventers
    
   This one doesn't mean that all your main eventers should be on undefeated streaks. It just means don't job them out needlessly. With the size of roster I have at the moment, I've got a lot of guys who auto-push to main event. The group of protected is only about 8 guys, and pretty much all of them have A* overness and maintain very high momentum. None of them are undefeated, but they lose pretty rarely and its usually with good reason. That high overness and momentum is very useful, both in terms of strong match ratings and great segments.
   
3. Angles
    
   It obviously doesn't take a genius to realize that angles are of vital importance in the SWF. Make sure you make use of your 30% of every show for angles, and a bit more won't hurt if the angles are strong. And that's the key making sure that the angles you use are as strong as possible. I have written a ton of custom angles to make sure that every worker in that angle is maximized.
    
   If a manager being used in an angle has B+ Entertainment skills but A* Sex Appeal, having her rated on Sex Appeal is going to obviously work better. While making your own angles may taker a little longer, it can often make a difference in the grade. A couple of angles grading out to A instead of B+ or B+ instead of B could be the difference between a B and B+ show. Nearly every angle I use is a custom-made one and I almost always make sure the angle best suits every worker involved. That often means creating an angle that might only be used once, but it ensures the best possible grade.
    
   I also try to minimize the number of angles on each show that are not going to grade out as strong. Its usually not too hard to figure out which ones are not going to be as strong, simply by who is involved that given segment. One C to B- segment isn't going to harm the overall grade of the show much, but three of them sure could.
   
4. Storylines
    
   Much like angles, using storylines should be pretty obvious. I prefer to use unchained storylines, but its whatever you prefer. Most of my upper midcarders and main eventers are involved in storylines of some type. A hot storyline helps keep momentum up. I do involved midcard and lower guys in storylines on occasion, but I pick and choose. Too many storylines running at once can get difficult to juggle, and since they start to drop if you don't do anything with them for a couple of shows, it can be tough to keep a whole host of them hot. So beyond the major ones, pick and choose the minor storylines you want to use.The simple reality is that you can't push everyone. Accept it and things are easier. There is nothing wrong with having some guys who float through for awhile. Once you get a B show, you can have some midcard storylines and use the B show to feature it. Leading into the next point...
   
5. Get a B Show
    
   This should be a number one priority in most games. Its far more helpful early in the game than having a second A show, which can actually be harmful. The only time this would be unnecessary and/or unhelpful would be if you aren't worried about developing the younger guys on the roster at the start or adding new talent. It seems that most people like to develop the younger talent, and will look to sign some promising younger workers. You might be like me and sign far too many. Even if its just a couple talents like Devine and Parker that you add to the young talent that SWF already has, the B show will be useful.
    
   The B show allows you to feature your midcard and lower workers, and even have them featured in storylines, without hurting your grades on your main show. At the start, or even two months in, its unlikely that a storyline feud between Marc DuBois and Robbie Retro is going to be generating strong angle grades. If your storylines with your main events continually get B+ or better grades and this storyline only produces C or lower grades, then having that storyline featured consistently on your "A" show can be relatively harmful. Such storylines can be perfect fare for the "B" show, however. Getting exposure for those enhancement talents and openers, plus regular wins for those midcarders, is perfect use for your "B" show. Since promotion popularity isn't affected, putting a couple of openers in an angle that you know is only going to get a D grade doesn't hurt anything. One thing I will often do is off-set those lower-rated angles with a couple of overness-rated videos of my top feuds, which grade out well but keep both the storyline and the workers with good momentum. Its kinda cheap but its realistic.
   
6. Plan Ahead
    
   This is particularly important due to the repetitive booking penalty. Planning things out well in advance – title changes, major storylines, major feuds - allows you to be much more careful with how you book everything. So you don't set up a major feud only to realize that you've already had two matches between the two workers or teams in the past six months, meaning you have to rearrange everything. The stability that booking SWF gives you, compared to running a smaller promotion, makes such long-term planning possible.
    
   In my diary game, I went from having a "clear idea" of things in my head to keeping a notebook of things to having about two dozen Word documents of information. That might be overkill for a non-diary game, but it definitely helps you keep things straight and planned. Of course, not everything will work they way to plan, so you do need to maintain a degree of flexibility. Injuries happen, and sometimes guys won't get over like you expect. Or guys you don't expect to get over will.
   
7. Pre Book
    
   This can be almost impossible to do if you don't plan ahead, but if you have your next show planned out even a couple of days before the show in the game, then pre-book a match or two. Preferably the main events. This seems to result in stronger match grades as the fans are anticipating it. Even if the extra it adds to a match is small, every little bit helps - maybe its only 0.5% or something, but that could be the difference between a B+ and an A match in some cases. You can even use the "B" show to hype that match-up to generate more heat. Its also a time-saver when it comes to actually booking the show.
   
8. Manage Your Midcard
    
   The midcard is vitally important, I think, in just about any promotion. If you use it correctly, it can immensely helpful, and used incorrectly, it can be actually harmful. If your midcard is decently talented, they should be able to put on some pretty good matches against your more popular (talented or not) main eventers.
    
   I've had matches of main eventers beating pure midcard guys (C- to C+ overness) get A grades, and such matches rarely get below a B, with the occasional B-. A midcard versus midcard match is rarely going to grade strongly, with anything from C- to B- being possible. That's not bad for a mid-show match for TV, if you later card is strong. It's pretty key to keep your midcarders strong with regular wins over the guys below them.
   The only problem with that is if you put a midcarder against an opener or enhancement talent, the grade can be downright ugly. Its important to give your midcarders those wins, and its also not a bad idea to have some of the lower guys on TV sometimes, but you don't want a card half-filled with matches that are going to lucky to get a C- and could hit D-.
    
   So what I mean by managing your midcard is give the midcarders those wins, but do so carefully. Maybe only have one match per show that's a midcard guy against an opnener, and make it pretty short. Maybe one other match of midcard versus midcard. If one of those does bomb for some reason, one crap match is less likely to drag down the show grade as a whole than 3 or 4 of those matches. When using those matches, make the match carefully so that its less likely to bomb - be careful of things like Consistency and very careful of chemistry. I've still managed an A show that had a match that bombed badly (D-) but it took a strong end to the show. Your "B" show is where you want to regularly feature your midcarders, because if they do drag down the show, it really does no harm.
   
9. Use Your Match Options
    
   The SWF product allows you to feature three-way, four-way, multi-tag teams, and so much else. Take advantage of that. It can be an effective way to avoid the match repetition penalties but still move feuds forward. Using tag team matches can be very effective, especially when it's something like a stable feud. Since tag experience helps any tag match, make sure to set up the tag team so they can acquire experience - especially effective around a stable, alliance, or even friendship that will continue for awhile in the game. Plus, even just building up a bit of experience between a duo can provide something for them to do if you run out of uses for both for a short time. Don't forget that the SWF doesn't require clean finishes, either. The two A* matches I've booked so far both had disqualification finishes, if my memory is correct.
   
10. Find a Use
     
    This a personal opinion, but no one is useless on the opening SWF roster. There are a few guys who are less useful, but no one is a "must cut" in my eyes. Runaway Train is plenty useful for his overness and his Menace. Enygma is useful for his overness and pretty decent Performance skills. Both Big Smack Scott and Kurt Laramee have pretty solid Entertainment skills and Menace (if memory serves). Death Row aren't the best workers individually, but have pretty solid tag team experience which can make up for it. Enforcer Roberts is very useful for his Performance skills. I don't know how anyone could overlook him but apparently people have done it - Christian Faith has been the single most consistent wrestler on my roster and is a strong candidate for Wrestler of the Year.
     
    My point is simply that everyone has their uses. Sure, someone like Train could be "useful" if you just job him out to steal his overness until his contract ends. But then you are wasting one of the most menacing guys in the game. He's basically become a bodyguard in my game, with his A* Meance helping out segments quite a bit, while I did job him out to help some other here and there, but he gets enough wins to stay strong and happy. Big Smack Scott is a menace (not in the good way) in the ring, but he can be plenty useful as a personality - NoNeck used him that way, if memory serves. And you can use dark matches of the B show to put him in matches to try to make him less of a menace in the ring. The same can be done with Eric Eisen, Kurt Laramee, and a few others. Whether its an Authority Figure, bodyguard, manager, or whatever, they can be plenty useful if you use them in angles to their strengths. Even if they are wrestling very rarely, being on TV frequently usually keeps them happy. Plus, you can put them on the "B" show where their lesser matches won't hurt anything... or hopefully anyone.
    
11. Manage Overness
     
    Popularity - aka overness - is your greatest resource in the SWF. Like any other resource, it requires careful management. Its not a finite resource, as you can use angles or wins to bring it back up, but you want to do so in the most efficient possible manner. It isn't necessarily the easiest thing to get back. If you are doing overness bleeds from some established workers, its best to do with ones who can bring that overness back through angles - so someone with Entertainment skills, Menace, etc. For example, Runaway Train and his A* Menace is probably going to have an easier time building back bled overness than Enforcer Roberts, who doesn't really have anything to use angles around (though you can always through in as Not Rated in angles that will score strong, which is near cheating but not).
     
    Those guys should also be kept strong with regular wins over lower card guys. When it comes to those overness bleeds, do it carefully. Though it might be tempting to take that promising youngster and get him up the card quickly, that can be more harmful than helpful. Let's say you have a veteran midcard with C+ overness and a youngster with E- overness, and in hopes of building that youngster up quickly, you job said veteran clean to the youngster. The veteran now has C- overness and the young guy E+. Are you really further ahead? Sure, the youngster is more useful than he would have been, but he's still not that useful. And the veteran is significantly less useful. The harm done to the more popular worker is often more than the benefit to the youngster. So, again, do it carefully.
    
12. Use the Formula
     
    Using the "peak and valley" system of booking is obviously not the only way to go, but it definitely seems to work. So you don't have to start every show with a strong angle and a solid (B- or better) match, but it seems quite effective. I strive for a B+ or better main event, with the a strong angle in front and often one behind. A B main event is the minimum I look for, and a B- main event can drop a show grade pretty quickly. A fairly strong second main event is a good idea as well, but you really don't want to outshine the main event.
    
13. Strong Main Event
     
    Is it necessary to put together top-caliber, PPV-quality main events every week? Not really. When you consider factors like repetitive booking penalties and wanting to protect your main eventers, its not even always a good idea. A match between a main eventer and a midcarder can get you an A grade sometimes... and a main eventer and an uppper midcarder can get a B- or even C+. You want to look at obvious factors like overness and momentum, but don't overlook the skills. If you have a one-on-one match between two guys who can't sell, don't be surprised when a Lack of Selling note. Or two guys with B- psychology resulting in an issue, espcially in a longer match. Watch for those notes about worker preferences on the news page - if Runaway Train doesn't like working with guys smaller than he is, you are probably going to find that be an issue in a lot of his matches. Pay attention to all these factors when putting together those main events. When it doubt, relegate it to secondary main event status, or even that strong opener match. If it works, you can always use it as a main event
    match two months down the road.
     
    This is where a big roster can certainly help. Having more upper midcarders and main eventers makes putting on really good main events easier.
    
14. Sign Carefully
     
    A great thing about SWF is that you can sign almost anyone not already on a written contract. A dangerous thing about SWF is that you can sign almost anyone not already on a written contract. It is very easy to end up with a bloated roster, which does have its upsides. But to avoid bloating the roster to the point where a second A show and possibly a brand split becomes necessary - as it did for me - you want to sign workers very carefully. A bloated roster can kill the fun of game. Then again, it can become one of the bigger challenges in running what is otherwise probably amongst the least-challenging promotions to run in TEW.
     
    Its more than just having an idea of what role a new signing will play immediately. What about six months down the road? A year? If they really just going to end up as a solid midcarder... and are they talented enough to be a good fit for that role? While its not absolutely necessary to do major long-term planning for every signing or potential signing, doing so will ensure you maximize your roster. And that's key to maximize your ratings.
    
15. Push Carefully
     
    I mentioned previously that you can't push everyone. Some guys have to job and some guys have to float. Chances are you've looked at some of the great young talent already in the SWF, plus the guys you've signed, and you envision them as the faces of the company. Nothing wrong with that, but does it have to be right away? There is nothing wrong with a gradual push. Some with great Star Quality, like Champagne Lover and Darryl Devine, will usually move up the card almost by default simply by being on TV. You can hasten the process by giving the wins over guys above them, but its not really that necessary.
     
    There are obvious pitfalls to giving a young guy a hard push. It can alter the worker's personality, turning a great kid into a jerk. Its also harmful to those you job to the youngster, as their overness and momentum takes big hits. Some guys can get that back quite easily and some can't. So is it worth making one star by having six or seven other workers get pushed down the card in the process? Especially when you consider that it likely would happen without the negative consequences if you simply do it on a longer timescale?
     
    The SWF doesn't really lack for stars, or talented ones. Especially once you get the popularity of guys like Brandon James, Lobster Warrior, and Angry Gilmore up a bit. So push those youngsters carefully, slowly, and without the potential negative consequences.
    
16. Test Chemistry
     
    Bad chemistry is less harmful in the SWF than a more performance-based promotion. I've had matches with weak chemistry still get an A grade. However, its still something best avoided. Perhaps that A match with weak chemistry would have been A* with good or even neutral chemistry? Regardless, I highly recommend using house shows to test chemistry constantly and keep track. A B-show is another good way to test chemistry, though you may want to use that primarily for tag team and manager chemistry, rather than opponent chemistry – repetitive booking penalty! Whether you keep a notebook, Word document, or database of tested chemistry, its something you should reference constantly when booking. Remember, even though the penalties for bad chemistry will mean a less severe hit the match grade, its still a negative. That's something to keep in mind when you are trying to maximize match grades.
    
17. Use RIPW
     
    No reason not to use RIPW - unless you have no desire to develop young workers into future stars. Using RIPW to maximum effect means getting a couple of good trainers - Steve Flash, Larry Wood, Luis Montero Figo, and the like make good trainers and will take the assignment to be a trainer willingly. You also want to Entertainment trainers - Katie Cameron and Adrian Garcia seem to work quite well.
     
    A stint in development can help a lot of workers, even some currently on the roster. I've had guys Big Smack Scott, Brett Biggz, and Kurt Laramee go to RIPW willingly and while it doesn't always help, sometimes even a bit of improvement helps. When it comes to deciding whether a younger worker will benefit, you need to realize that since RIPW isn't on TV - at least off the start - they won't really improve in popularity. Keeping them on the roster and having them work with talented wrestlers - on the B show, perhaps - will help in that regard, but they usually improve slower. Figure out which is more important, and do consider how often they will actually get on TV.
     
    RIPW is good for planning ahead. For example, both monster heels in the SWF - Runaway Train and Vengeance - are getting up there in age. Neither are truly fantastic workers. So you think you might need a new monster heel within a couple years (and don't want to use Remo or Brandon James in that role), so you sign a couple of the younger possibilities and assign them to RIPW. Give them a long while to develop. You could end up with a very good young worker who is actually a better worker than either Train or Vengeance.
    
18. Use Managers, Valets, and Bodyguards
     
    Using a manager - whether its an actual manager, a valet, or a bodyguard - can add to each match, so long as there is no negative chemistry. The add more if there is good chemistry, but they still add something with neural chemistry. They can also help out in angles - usually with Entertainment skills, Sex Appeal, or Menace. Use your B show to test out a bunch chemistry and find some that work. Its a good way help out younger workers, especially those who don't have great Entertainment skill just yet. Having a whole bunch of managers, valets, and bodyguards on your roster can be expensive, but really, money is rarely a major concern with Supreme.
    
19. Maximize Non-Wrestling Talent
     
    In addition to the above, you want to have the best possible Announcers, Color Commentators, Referees, and Road Agents. Other than Jerry Eisen being a bit lacking, SWF is already pretty good in this regard. If you have to add more, add the best you possibly can. These elements don't add a great deal to a match, but they add enough.
    
20. Talent Matters
     
    This point should be higher. It seems an obvious point, but some people may forget it at times. Yes, the product of Supreme means you can literally get anyone over. But a crap worker with high popularity is still going to put on a lot of crap matches. So be wary. The pure entertainment value of getting Dusty Bin up to A* popularity might make it worthwhile, but what do you do with the lug once he's there and putting on C+ matches for the most part?
     
    I've found that guys with very good Performance skills tend to be the most reliable workers in the ring even for the Supreme Wrestling Federation. Of course, good Entertainment skills to go along with that helps, but don't overlook actual wrestling talent.

Pay Per View Tips

1. Pre Book + Build Towards
    
   If you plan in advance, you can easily have your next pay per view laid out a month in advance, if not longer. If you do, pre-book some of the matches. If you can, pre-book them all. Then use the shows leading up to it to build towards it. You want to sell your PPV to the fans who are going to buy it, right? Its so simple, but it definitely makes a difference. Well, it does if you book matches the fans want to see and then manage to keep the heat up. Which leads into the next point...
   
2. Storylines
    
   The PPV having matches around the storylines you are running isn't necessary, in a basic sense. But it makes keeping the heat up for a pre-booked match much easier. It also makes building towards the pay per view much easier. It really just makes logic sense. I personally prefer a storyline to cover several months, for the most part, but you can have them run just one month and culminate in the PPV.
   
3. Choose Workers Carefully
    
   I used to suffer from the idea that I wanted to get as much of my roster as possible on a given pay per view. You can imagine that the PPV suffered for it as well. At this point, I try to make sure the majority of my main eventers get involved (though not always wrestling), and a good portion of my upper midcarders. But the midcarders and below are mostly not involved, with usually one a couple of exceptions. Quite simply, the matches they put on are going to grade lower for the most part and thereby dragging the show grade down. Think of being on pay per view as a reward for being in the upper portion of the card. And if you have a main eventer who doesn't have the skills to work consistently solid matches, then book them carefully on a PPV - early in the show where the damage is minimal, against top quality opponents, or even just leave them off entirely.
   
4. Strong Angles
    
   Without adjusting the SWF product, you must have angles on the PPV. And not just one or two. So make sure they are strong. As strong as possible. Use your most over workers. If you want to keep it realistic, then keep them simple. Title celebrations, a couple of interviews, maybe a staredown or attack. If you aren't sure the angle is going to grade strong (B+ or better), then you might want to leave it off.
   
5. Length
    
   If you are planning the PPV out in advance, as suggested, then its relatively easy enough to figure out how much time you will need. The pay per views for the SWF default to 2 1/2 hours, except for the The Supreme Challenge at 4 hours. Since you don't have a ton of upper midcarders and main eventers at the start of the game, that will probably be plenty of time. As you go along and probably get a bigger roster, you might want to increase the length of the PPVs as required. But laying out the show ahead of time - match lengths and angles - will allow you to make sure the length is correct. That way, you don't end up having to drop off a match that could do well, or add a last moment match which could bomb because you didn't plan things carefully.

[Comradebot]

Use RIPW

 

No reason not to use RIPW - unless you have no desire to develop young workers into future stars. Using RIPW to maximum effect means getting a couple of good trainers - Steve Flash, Larry Wood, Luis Montero Figo, and the like make good trainers and will take the assignment to be a trainer willingly. You also want to Entertainment trainers - Katie Cameron and Adrian Garcia seem to work quite well.

 

 

Louis Figo Manico

 

You sir, have butchered the name of the man who put EWA on the map. Tsk, tsk.

 

But definetly all good tips. Makes me want to play my SWF game again. Both of the Biggz's have recently exploded in popularity, so I'd very much like to one day (when the current massive storyline that made them popular ends) send Brett down to develop for a couple months. With some higher consistency, he could be a legitimate star in my SWF.

[Bigpapa42]

Louis Figo Manico

 

You sir, have butchered the name of the man who put EWA on the map. Tsk, tsk.

 

But definetly all good tips. Makes me want to play my SWF game again. Both of the Biggz's have recently exploded in popularity, so I'd very much like to one day (when the current massive storyline that made them popular ends) send Brett down to develop for a couple months. With some higher consistency, he could be a legitimate star in my SWF.

 

Crap. I pretty much knew that I was getting the name wrong, too. Firing up the TEW demo I have on this backup laptop just to check the name would put the thing at serious risk of overheating and shutting down. Again. So I decide to wing it with the name and hope nobody noticed...

[Comradebot]

Crap. I pretty much knew that I was getting the name wrong, too. Firing up the TEW demo I have on this backup laptop just to check the name would put the thing at serious risk of overheating and shutting down. Again. So I decide to wing it with the name and hope nobody noticed...

 

Well, then you shouldn't have advertised this thread in your diary which lead me here, and then I discovered your ultimate fail. For shame

[Phantom Stranger]

One other note as regards your non-wrestling talent:

 

Got someone who you want to be better on the microphone?

 

You have a third seat on the announce table. Sure, you don't wanna damage your core show - but once you've got a B-show, watch those skills rise fast.

[BHK1978]

My question (and I have always been wanting to ask it) is what the heck do you do with the Shooting Star Title? I have no real use for it because the moment you give it to an undercard guy they skyrocket in overness due to wins and they become to popular to hold that title.

[Bull]

My question (and I have always been wanting to ask it) is what the heck do you do with the Shooting Star Title? I have no real use for it because the moment you give it to an undercard guy they skyrocket in overness due to wins and they become to popular to hold that title.

 

i only give whoevers holding wins of the guys lower down the card, like openers and enhancements so they dont gain as much if any popularity.

[pepper2008]

I suggest either maintain the title with Marc Du Bois or give it to someone capable of a better match. My goal is to increase its prestige to maximum which is D- then make the owner lost to a proper level guy. (just protect your former champ)

[lazorbeak]

Great list. I'm a big SWF fan and there's a few points I want to make.

 

 

1. You don't need to change the length of Supreme TV- sure, you can. But do you really need to? You have a strong base of talent, and a crowd that demands at least 54 minutes of wrestling a show. Personally, I'd rather book 54 to 72 minutes a show rather than 72 to 96 minutes every week. I guess you could cut back on the match ratio, but Eisen is really controlling with the product unless you use the editor (closer to cheating than angles rated on nothing). You can tell 2-3 main stories with 4-6 minor stories with 90 minutes a week (that's 360 minutes a month between pay per views).

2. You don't need to have a B show if you don't want to deal with one. A mistake I made in early SWF and TCW games was getting a B show and then discovering that I hate actually booking them. It killed my excitement for the game knowing I was spending almost half my time dealing with a meaningless show.

3. You don't need to sign a huge roster because you can. You don't need Darryl Devine. You don't need Swoop McCarthy or Champagne Lover or whoever. You need a couple of guys to fill out the roster- you can use some developmental garbage like Bear Bekowski, or you can bring in a guy with solid overness and performance skills like Chris Caulfield (probably the most over free agent available from the start).

 

 

Some tips that haven't been made yet.

 

1. Steal talent from the best! I said you don't need guys, but you should always jump at the opportunity to steal away guys like Dan Stone Jr., Sean McFly, or any number of guys from TCW (especially those that fit the SWF product. Brent Hill is nice, but Rick Law is far more valuable to SWF). When hiring a guy, consider: are they over? Do they have the means to get over on their own (star quality, menace or charisma)? Can they work a decent match? These questions are obviously in descending order of importance.

 

2. Use match notes other than "all out" every once in awhile. You need to push in your main event, and unless you're booking Vengeance vs. Big Smack Scott, going all out isn't going to have a downside. "Work the Crowd" is an extremely powerful tool in SWF. I've had Robbie Retro work matches with guys like Roger Dodger and John Greed and pull B and B- matches off with a work the crowd note while Robbie was at a C and his opponent was D- or lower in overness. I've also seen success with the occasional "overbook" note in matches with talent but little overness (the Bumfholes have pulled B and B+ ratings out of overbooked matches with High Concept while their popularity was in the C-/D+ range).

 

3. Ring Generals- one of the problems with SWF early game is that Jack Bruce has a chronic "lack of chemistry" note thanks to his B- psychology. If you want to pull off 20 minute main events without penalty, recognize that a guy like Rich Money, Angry Gilmore or Christian Faith need to be there. McFly and Stone are also great for this reason.

 

4. Charisma Matters- a guy with bad charisma is going to struggle in SWF. His matches will be surprisingly disappointing, and unless he's already over, he'll have trouble gaining overness without beating somebody. On the other hand, a guy like Joe Sexy is one great angle (hm, maybe a break up with Angry Gilmore?) from being a huge star, despite mediocre wrestling skills.

 

5. Star Quality Matters- I know you want to put your title on Angry Gilmore, rename Supreme TV "The Angry Gilmore Show," and generally do whatever you can to make sure the charismatic, world-class wrestler finally gets the breaks he deserves. But wait... why are your buyrates down from that Steve Frehley/Runaway Train main event that got an awful rating? Why is Jack Bruce rocketing back up to A* overness without pinning a main event superstar every week? Star Quality matters. A guy with an A in star quality gets over faster, he gets over easier, and seems to have some effect on buyrates (A main event featuring Christian Faith vs. Angry Gilmore was my lowest SWF buyrate ever, while Jack Bruce vs. Steve Frehley has my best non-Supreme Challenge buyrate). Sure, Faith vs. Gilmore got an A, while Bruce and Frehley managed to pull out a B+ with some strong booking around them and both guys at A* overness, but wrestling's a business.

 

The shooting star title is easy- a worker in that division eventually loses the belt back to someone in the division, preventing his overness from ever getting higher than about C. Don't let people go on epic, never-ending title reigns, and don't let them pick up wins against guys outside of the division. You also might want to consider separating the SS division from the tag division: I usually cut or send one Biggz to develop and leave the other in the Shooting Star division. Steven Parker, Roger Dodger, John Greed, and others are great choices for including in the division. Keep High Concept out of the SS division until both guys lose some overness, since they're practically upper midcarders in the early game. Also, any Super Junior or cruiserweight faces a significant penalty that keeps them in the midcard until they're extremely over.

[Bigpapa42]

Good points Lazorbreak. As for not needing to get a B show, expand the roster, etc - very true. I don't want people reading the tips I've posted as "here's how you should run the SWF". Its how I ran it. But there are endless options. And you are correct that adding a B show and lengthening Supreme TV does make the booking a bit more tedious each week.

 

As for the other points, agree all around as well.

 

-stealing talent is fun. It helps you and can hurt the competition. NOTBPW has never been quite the same since I signed Johnny Bloodstone away from them, and he's now at A overness in the US for me. Stealing away TCW talent has been endlessly fun, as trying to ruin Total has been a main goal in my goal (ironic, since I really like TCW otherwise).

 

If you want to include stolen talent in your long-term booking plans, go through the workers on written contract and figure out who you really would like to sign, then check their contract lengths in the editor. That allows you to know about where you can sign them, assuming you can. You may not want to formulate major plans around them, just in case you can't get them.

 

-ring generals are very important. Which is why you should want to keep Enforcer Roberts around as long as possible. And while the point about charisma is true, that's more of a concern if you intend to try to push a given worker. For example, I signed Bryan Holmes when the opportunity came up, despite the utter lack of Entertainment skills. I figured he would never be a world champion in SWF, even with a manager. But his skills would make him endlessly useful, which is the case so far. Same logic applied to Bloodstone, who has done pretty well for himself.

 

-Star Quality very much matters. Rocky Golden hit A* overness way faster than I expected, and without much in the way of wins. Why? A* overness and solid Entertainment skills.

 

Also, good point, Phantom Stranger, about using the Commentator position on your B show for workers to deveop Charisma. Something I do frequently. I knew there would be tips I forgot or just plain missed. Thanks guys!

[Scorpio3060]

Set up Working Relationships - Talent Trades are great for improving you Upper Midcarders & Midcarders without hurting your own roster. Just trade for someone with the same popularity as the person you want to raise and they will normally do the job. If not, give your Main Eventers some solid wins.

[ampulator]

I want to add something: this is based on Hyde Hill's test. I don't have the link with me right now, but you should take a look. Anyway...

 

Here's how I rated it. "Low" and "Very Low" don't affect pushes. Basically, any features rated Medium or higher had an effect on pushes. I arbitarily rated Medium as 1, Heavy as 2, and Key Feature as 3 (because I have no idea what the exacty formula was). Then, according to Hyde Hills test, I would multiply his number against the feature, depending on strong it was. Here's my (extremely rough) numbers.

 

Key Feature: x3

Heavy: x2

Medium: x1

 

SWF

 

Mainstream: Key Feature

Traditional: Heavy

Comedy: Heavy

Cut: Heavy

Risque: Heavy

 

 

Mainstream: Entertainer(3)

Traditional: Entertainer(0)

Comedy: Entertainer(6)

Cult: Entertainer(6)

Risque: Entertainer(5)

 

3x3 + 2x0 + 2x6 + 2x6 + 2x5 = 43

 

Mainstream: Regular(4)

Traditional: Regular(3)

Comedy: Regular(0)

Cult: Regular(6)

Risque: Regular(5)

 

3x4 + 2x3 + 2x0 + 2x6 + 2x5 = 40

 

Mainstream: Brawler(6)

Traditional: Brawler(4)

Comedy: Brawler(1)

Cult: Brawler (-4)

Risque: Brawler(6)

 

3x6 + 2x4 + 2x1 + 2x-4 + 2x6 = 32

 

Mainstream: Techician (1)

Traditional: Technician (3)

Comedy: Technician(6)

Cult: Technician (0)

Risque: Technician(3)

 

3x1 + 2x2 + 2x6 + 2x0 + 2x3 = 25

 

Mainstream: MMA (1)

Traditional: MMA(0)

Comedy: MMA(3)

Cult: MMA(-3)

Risque: MMA(2)

 

3x1 + 2x0 + 2x3+ 2x-3 + 2x2 = 7

 

Mainstream: Puroresu(-3)

Traditional: Puroresu(1)

Comedy: Puroresu(0)

Cult: Puroresu(4)

Risque: Puroresu(0)

 

3x-3 + 2x1 + 2x0 + 2x4 + 2x0 = 1

 

Mainstream: Cruiserweight(6)

Traditional: Cruiserweight(-6)

Comedy: Cruiserweight(-2)

Cult: Cruserweight(0)

Risque: Cruiserweight(-1)

 

3x6 + 2x-6 + 2x-2 + 2x0 + 2x-1 = 0

 

Mainstream: Psychopatch (-1)

Traditional: Psychopath(4)

Comedy: Psychopath(1)

Cult: Psychopath(-7)

Risque: Psycho(-1)

 

3x-1 + 2x4 + 2x1 + 2x-7 + 2x-1 = -9

 

Mainstream: Super Junior(-1)

Traditional: Super Junior(-4)

Comedy: Super Junior(2)

Cult: Super Junior(0)

Risque: Super Junior(-1)

 

3x-1 + 2x-4 + 2x2 + 2x0 + 2x-1 = -9

 

Mainstream: Spot Monkey(-3)

Traditional: Spot Monkey(-4)

Comedy: Spot Monkey (-4

Cult: Spot Monkey(3)

Risque: Spot Monkey(-4)

 

3x-3 + 2x-4 + 2x-4 + 2x3 + 2x-4 = -27

 

Mainstream: Luchador(-6)

Traditional: Luchador(6)

Comedy: Luchador (-6)

Cult: Luchador(2)

Risque: Luchador(-7)

 

3x-6 + 2x 6 + 2x-6 + 2x2 + 2x-7 = -28

 

It might seem shocking that Brawlers doing worst than Regular Wrestlers. This shocked me too. I can't seem to confirm or deny whether which does better than the other in SWF. I CAN say that, if you changed a wrestler's style manually from "Regular Wrestler" to "Entertainer" or from "Brawler" to "Entertainer" that it affects their push.

 

For example, on Day 1, I changed Joe Sexy's style, "Brawler" to "Entertainer". He shot up the Main Event when I auto-pushed. I also changed Rich Money's style, "Regular Wrestler" to "Entertainer". He shot up to Main Event too. Who got pushed down to Upper Midcard? Well, Eric Eisen and Enygma.

 

I can also say, most of the time (but not all the time), when wrestlers change their style, they tend to change their style to suit the company they are working for, while also accomodating for their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, Kurt Laramee went from being a Brawler to being an Entertainer, and Bart Biggz went from being a Cruiserweight to a Regular Wrestler.

 

Does the style change affect match quality? As far as I noticed... yes. Joe Sexy to do a lot better as an Entertainer than as a Brawler. He managed to get more B- ratings. His Brawling isn't good, but he has great Entertainment skills. Same for Enforcer Roberts, though to a lesser degree. When I tested whether he would do better as a Regular Wrestler or a Technician in SWF, he seemed to pull off better ratings as a Regular Wrestler.

 

As for Regular Wrestlers doing so well... I think it was stated that Regular Wrestlers are supposed to do well in most promotions, so it shouldn't be so surprising. But it is.

 

In any case, this is also why SWF shouldn't have a lot of high fliers, are at least, high fliers that are Luchadors, Spot Monkeys, or Super Juniors. You better hope they change their style to something more suitable.

[Bigpapa42]

Interesting that luchadores should do quite well but super juniors wouldn't.

[ampulator]

Interesting that luchadores should do quite well but super juniors wouldn't.

 

No they don't. They do even WORSE than Super Juniors in the SWF. It's -9 vs. -28 score.

[Bigpapa42]

No they don't. They do even WORSE than Super Juniors in the SWF. It's -9 vs. -28 score.

 

Ah, that makes more sense. I missed the - part. It really didn't fit with what I've seen so far, which is what made it jump out.

[Comradebot]

I want to add something: this is based on Hyde Hill's test. I don't have the link with me right now, but you should take a look. Anyway...

 

Here's how I rated it. "Low" and "Very Low" don't affect pushes. Basically, any features rated Medium or higher had an effect on pushes. I arbitarily rated Medium as 1, Heavy as 2, and Key Feature as 3 (because I have no idea what the exacty formula was). Then, according to Hyde Hills test, I would multiply his number against the feature, depending on strong it was. Here's my (extremely rough) numbers.

 

Key Feature: x3

Heavy: x2

Medium: x1

 

SWF

 

Mainstream: Key Feature

Traditional: Heavy

Comedy: Heavy

Cut: Heavy

Risque: Heavy

 

 

Mainstream: Entertainer(3)

Traditional: Entertainer(0)

Comedy: Entertainer(6)

Cult: Entertainer(6)

Risque: Entertainer(5)

 

3x3 + 2x0 + 2x6 + 2x6 + 2x5 = 43

 

Mainstream: Regular(4)

Traditional: Regular(3)

Comedy: Regular(0)

Cult: Regular(6)

Risque: Regular(5)

 

3x4 + 2x3 + 2x0 + 2x6 + 2x5 = 40

 

Mainstream: Brawler(6)

Traditional: Brawler(4)

Comedy: Brawler(1)

Cult: Brawler (-4)

Risque: Brawler(6)

 

3x6 + 2x4 + 2x1 + 2x-4 + 2x6 = 32

 

Mainstream: Techician (1)

Traditional: Technician (3)

Comedy: Technician(6)

Cult: Technician (0)

Risque: Technician(3)

 

3x1 + 2x2 + 2x6 + 2x0 + 2x3 = 25

 

Mainstream: MMA (1)

Traditional: MMA(0)

Comedy: MMA(3)

Cult: MMA(-3)

Risque: MMA(2)

 

3x1 + 2x0 + 2x3+ 2x-3 + 2x2 = 7

 

Mainstream: Puroresu(-3)

Traditional: Puroresu(1)

Comedy: Puroresu(0)

Cult: Puroresu(4)

Risque: Puroresu(0)

 

3x-3 + 2x1 + 2x0 + 2x4 + 2x0 = 1

 

Mainstream: Cruiserweight(6)

Traditional: Cruiserweight(-6)

Comedy: Cruiserweight(-2)

Cult: Cruserweight(0)

Risque: Cruiserweight(-1)

 

3x6 + 2x-6 + 2x-2 + 2x0 + 2x-1 = 0

 

Mainstream: Psychopatch (-1)

Traditional: Psychopath(4)

Comedy: Psychopath(1)

Cult: Psychopath(-7)

Risque: Psycho(-1)

 

3x-1 + 2x4 + 2x1 + 2x-7 + 2x-1 = -9

 

Mainstream: Super Junior(-1)

Traditional: Super Junior(-4)

Comedy: Super Junior(2)

Cult: Super Junior(0)

Risque: Super Junior(-1)

 

3x-1 + 2x-4 + 2x2 + 2x0 + 2x-1 = -9

 

Mainstream: Spot Monkey(-3)

Traditional: Spot Monkey(-4)

Comedy: Spot Monkey (-4

Cult: Spot Monkey(3)

Risque: Spot Monkey(-4)

 

3x-3 + 2x-4 + 2x-4 + 2x3 + 2x-4 = -27

 

Mainstream: Luchador(-6)

Traditional: Luchador(6)

Comedy: Luchador (-6)

Cult: Luchador(2)

Risque: Luchador(-7)

 

3x-6 + 2x 6 + 2x-6 + 2x2 + 2x-7 = -28

 

It might seem shocking that Brawlers doing worst than Regular Wrestlers. This shocked me too. I can't seem to confirm or deny whether which does better than the other in SWF. I CAN say that, if you changed a wrestler's style manually from "Regular Wrestler" to "Entertainer" or from "Brawler" to "Entertainer" that it affects their push.

 

For example, on Day 1, I changed Joe Sexy's style, "Brawler" to "Entertainer". He shot up the Main Event when I auto-pushed. I also changed Rich Money's style, "Regular Wrestler" to "Entertainer". He shot up to Main Event too. Who got pushed down to Upper Midcard? Well, Eric Eisen and Enygma.

 

I can also say, most of the time (but not all the time), when wrestlers change their style, they tend to change their style to suit the company they are working for, while also accomodating for their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, Kurt Laramee went from being a Brawler to being an Entertainer, and Bart Biggz went from being a Cruiserweight to a Regular Wrestler.

 

Does the style change affect match quality? As far as I noticed... yes. Joe Sexy to do a lot better as an Entertainer than as a Brawler. He managed to get more B- ratings. His Brawling isn't good, but he has great Entertainment skills. Same for Enforcer Roberts, though to a lesser degree. When I tested whether he would do better as a Regular Wrestler or a Technician in SWF, he seemed to pull off better ratings as a Regular Wrestler.

 

As for Regular Wrestlers doing so well... I think it was stated that Regular Wrestlers are supposed to do well in most promotions, so it shouldn't be so surprising. But it is.

 

In any case, this is also why SWF shouldn't have a lot of high fliers, are at least, high fliers that are Luchadors, Spot Monkeys, or Super Juniors. You better hope they change their style to something more suitable.

 

 

Wooooah, what what what?

 

Since when was there math you could do to determine how good certain styles performed in a product?!

[lazorbeak]

Wooooah, what what what?

 

Since when was there math you could do to determine how good certain styles performed in a product?!

 

Personally, I prefer science. Enforcer Roberts starts the game just as over as Enygma, but Enygma (entertainer) is a main eventer, and Roberts (technician) is a midcarder. Joe Sexy (brawler) also has the same overness and he's an upper midcarder, so doesn't get the bonus Enygma does but also doesn't get the penalty Roberts does. Also, the Biggz are both punished for their style, as are Groucho and Elmo once they switch over to super juniors. So without any use of the editor, it was pretty clear that entertainers get a bonus over regular wrestlers, while brawlers had a slight penalty, and everything else (especially super juniors) gets a significant penalty.

[ampulator]

I don't think Brawlers or Technicians have much of a penalty. It's just that, SWF is loaded with Entertainers they overshadow Brawlers and Technicians. They do fine, but if they want a push without having to do much, they need to become Entertainers or Regular Wrestlers.

 

That said, I think the rule of thumb is more popularity and/or better skills is more important than what kind of style they have, but if popularity and skills are equal, style matters.

[lazorbeak]

I don't think Brawlers or Technicians have much of a penalty. It's just that, SWF is loaded with Entertainers they overshadow Brawlers and Technicians. They do fine, but if they want a push without having to do much, they need to become Entertainers or Regular Wrestlers.

 

That said, I think the rule of thumb is more popularity and/or better skills is more important than what kind of style they have, but if popularity and skills are equal, style matters.

 

No, it's that entertainers get a natural bonus as far as where the auto push locates them, and everyone that's not a regular worker has some level of penalty. Enforcer Roberts could be A* overness everywhere, he wouldn't be a main eventer in SWF outside of freakish circumstances (like Christian Faith being struck by lightning). Which means certain workers with bad attitudes will refuse to job to him because they're a main eventer and he's "just" a midcarder or upper midcarder. It's an uphill battle for somebody like Roberts, but it's almost impossible for super juniors. Let me know the next time somebody gets Acid to autopush into SWF or TCW's main event. I watched a game where Acid became a 15 time All Action champion because he could never be located higher than the midcard.

[ampulator]

I can agree about Acid. As for Enforcer Roberts, the prolem isn't his style, it's his Star Quality. My general feeling is that Star Quality is the minimum popularity cap. Popularity can higher than it, but generally it isn't. I'm not sure Enforcer Roberts will in a main eventer in any promotion that favors popularity over performance. He has good wrestling, but only C+ star quality.

 

In any case, thanks for the info. I might try these numbers out for other promotions soon.

[praguepride]

Here's Hyde Hill's test thread

 

http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=37419

[Comradebot]

Here's Hyde Hill's test thread

 

http://67.19.230.90/~arles/forum/showthread.php?t=37419

 

So I just ran EWA's product through this, and I'm really not all that shocked by the results. Here they are from highest to lowest:

 

Brawler: 31

Regular: 25

Entertainer: 21

Technician: 20

Cruiserweight: 18

MMA Crossover: 10

Super Junior: 3

Psychopath: -5

Puroresu: -6

Spot Monkey: -23

Luchador: -43

 

Not shocked in the least to see everything on that list from Cruiserweights up where they are, as everything except Regular Wrestlers (which I don't have many of to begin with) are the representatives in my Upper Midcard and Main Event. And with Brawlers and Entertainers also up top, it proves to me that EWA really was designed for big hulking brutes.

 

The only surprises to me is that Psychopaths are so low, and the fact that apparently the EWA fans truly despise Mexico.

 

Edit: Also, this tells me that if Ruud Van Anger and Frank De Pain never switch to being Cruiserweights, they'll never have a great deal of success with EWA despite how much I like those little guys.

[Sigilistic]

Because a thread this useful should not be allowed to sink into obscurity. Bump!

[King Kirby]

Sorry to bitch about this in two separate threads on the same day, but again, people are applying Hyde's awesome statistical analysis improperly.

 

Yes, style affects autopush, but people claiming that it affects success in a user-controlled promotion are not backing it up with any evidence. The style preferences ensure that AI promotions hire and push people a little more traditionally, but there's nothing to say a player-controlled fed can't make a star out of any style worker as long as they are talented and/or have exploitable menace/entertainment. Obviously, (if immeasurably), star quality helps a lot.

 

Besides ampulator's interesting experiment (which I'd like to see more rigorously controlled, maybe turn off autosave and run a series of "first" matches between two neutral-chemistried workers switching their styles around but not their push), I've seen no compelling evidence to suggest that style effects actual match ratings, or ability to get over independent of position. Within six months I can get consistent "A" matches and overness-based angles out of technician Enforcer Roberts without resorting to a jesus push, and within nine I can do the same with psychopath Larry Wood, by playing to his strengths. Super Junior American Elemental took a little longer because he starts with little overness, entertainment, or star quality, but it barely took a year to get him to main-event level popularity, only putting him over a worker even a half-grade higher than him twice. Does he autopush to M.E., even with B+ overness? Of course not, but who's running the show, me or the autopush? Set your own main eventers, lazy turds!

[ampulator]

Kirby, I agree with you. Mr. Ryland has said a worker's good stats are more important than his style. For example, Ultimate Phoenix can be a main eventer easily in CZCW, even though he's a luchador, and Luchadors aren't exactly suited to be in CZCW (shocking, but I did the numbers). However, I do notice that a change in style that works with, rather than against, the promotion's preferences tend to raise match quality a bit. This isn't important for good workers, but above average workers, my theory is that it's a difference between a C+ or B-.

 

Besides, I noticed that Enforcer Roberts is set as technician, which isn't the best style for SWF. However, if he changes his style to that of a regular wrestler (which he can - his performance stats are top notch), he rises up in the card, and his matches get better ratings (though not always noticeable, and most of time, only from a C+ or B-, or just tad up like similarily, respectively).

 

But I want to make a final point, King Kirby. You are more right than I am. But I"m still right.