Few questions about playing Cult

[Tom Bombadil]

-At what point does my worker become "too big" for my promotion? I'm using my current ME's overness in the US as a gauge, but I've had several offers turned down that way, and I find myself losing a LOT of my ME talent once their contracts come up, to the point where I've started assuming they won't be willing to stay with me. Is there a simple cap to figure out, so I can know when to stop pushing people and how to filter searches?

 

-I have an owner goal to hit National about a year and a half from now. We've been gaining a BIT of popularity, but it's slow going, and I don't know if I can make it. I did just land a national TV show, so I expect that to help a bit, but is there anything else I should be doing? Especially once my pop catches up to my show quality? Should I be doing shows outside my home region, or no?

 

-On a related note, am I gonna get fired for missing a Critical goal? I've filled all the others so far, or they've become non-applicable before the deadline.

 

-A while ago, I botched my TV negotiations and found myself without a TV show. I decided to start a weekly PPV in the interim, in addition to my usual monthly PPV's. I generally gained money over this time, and I think most of my shows gave me a pop bonus. Is there some reason to do TV instead of PPV?

[Greg McNeish]

In general, someone becomes "too big" for Cult once they hit B popularity (might be B+, but I think it's B). If they've got strong relationships with roster-mates, you can sometimes get a hair higher. Just be sure to get them down come negotiation time.

 

Failing a Critical goal isn't an auto-firing offense, but it's close. As long as you don't have any other strikes against you, you should probably be okay. Probably....

 

The benefit of TV is that you can run 5 shows per month (4 TV + 1 PPV), instead of 4, without risking over-exposure. You can run TV shows in the same region far more frequently, without burning out the crowd. Besides that, TV is easier to expand into new countries, as TV stations generally have lower expectations and criteria.

 

As for running shows outside you home area, if you're televising nationwide, then it doesn't matter where the show is held, for Popularity growth. In most cases, you'll get better grades in your home area than anywhere else, so staying at home for TV is almost always the better option.

 

Cult is tough. Good luck.

[Comradebot]

In general, someone becomes "too big" for Cult once they hit B popularity (might be B+, but I think it's B). If they've got strong relationships with roster-mates, you can sometimes get a hair higher. Just be sure to get them down come negotiation time.

 

Failing a Critical goal isn't an auto-firing offense, but it's close. As long as you don't have any other strikes against you, you should probably be okay. Probably....

 

The benefit of TV is that you can run 5 shows per month (4 TV + 1 PPV), instead of 4, without risking over-exposure. You can run TV shows in the same region far more frequently, without burning out the crowd. Besides that, TV is easier to expand into new countries, as TV stations generally have lower expectations and criteria.

 

As for running shows outside you home area, if you're televising nationwide, then it doesn't matter where the show is held, for Popularity growth. In most cases, you'll get better grades in your home area than anywhere else, so staying at home for TV is almost always the better option.

 

Cult is tough. Good luck.

 

It can be an auto-firing, if the owner has low patience... and of course if you've signed a few folks your owner objected to. And typically, yeah, once a worker hits about B overness they won't sign with a Cult company. Few exceptions both ways. Seen a few Bs sign before and a few B-s say I wasn't big enough, just depends on personality and the like.

 

Personally, I don't like that. TNA is the definition of a Cult company, and I dare say they've signed a few guys with far more than B- popularity. Kurt Angle was a big star still, and Hulk Hogan is the most popular wrestler of all time. Heck, there's been C-Verse examples, like USPW bringing in Bruce the Giant. It should be very difficult, but possible, to bring in/keep some bigger name guys.

 

But, that's not the point. Keep an eye on your top talents' contracts, and be prepared to start jobbing them down when there's about two months left on said contract. Should be plenty of time to either have less over guys beat them down to a B- or, if you're careful, use the burial note in their matches. Most guys won't mind being buried if they still win, but you should probably find a logical reason WHY they still win (cheating, interference, a rash of insane luck). If they get upset about being buried/losing to guys lower down the card, making sure to throw them a rather large bonus before the match is actually held to keep their happiness up. Don't want them refusing to negotiate. Last, be careful not to hamper the bleeding of their overness. Losing to a midcarder isn't all that bad if you're also in a couple 4+ minute long, A rated angles during the night.

[Remianen]

Personally, I don't like that. TNA is the definition of a Cult company, and I dare say they've signed a few guys with far more than B- popularity. Kurt Angle was a big star still, and Hulk Hogan is the most popular wrestler of all time. Heck, there's been C-Verse examples, like USPW bringing in Bruce the Giant. It should be very difficult, but possible, to bring in/keep some bigger name guys.

 

Couple things:

 

First, Angle was 'damaged goods'. He had had his reputation dragged through the mud ("painkiller addict", "ticking timebomb", etc) which might have put a dent in his marketability on some level.

 

Second, if Hogan wasn't such a fame ho, he would've been surpassed easily by at least two workers who were far more successful (both in and out of the ring. How'd Mr Nanny do? No Holds Barred? How's that Gladiators show comin' along? Compare that to Nash Bridges appearances, the Scorpion King, the Tooth Fairy, etc). It says a lot about a worker's success (overall) when they can leave the business that "made" them behind, and not turn back. Hogan can't do that, which kinda makes his "popularity" pointless, no?

 

Third, Bruce signed with USPW for one reason and one reason only. That reason, is Sam Strong. Don't they have a strong friendship? The game simulates that very well.

[Tom Bombadil]

Hm, not quite what I was WANTING to hear (especially the overness levels, looking at my upcoming contract expirations >_<) but thanks!

[The-619]

Couple things:

 

First, Angle was 'damaged goods'. He had had his reputation dragged through the mud ("painkiller addict", "ticking timebomb", etc) which might have put a dent in his marketability on some level.

 

Second, if Hogan wasn't such a fame ho, he would've been surpassed easily by at least two workers who were far more successful (both in and out of the ring. How'd Mr Nanny do? No Holds Barred? How's that Gladiators show comin' along? Compare that to Nash Bridges appearances, the Scorpion King, the Tooth Fairy, etc). It says a lot about a worker's success (overall) when they can leave the business that "made" them behind, and not turn back. Hogan can't do that, which kinda makes his "popularity" pointless, no?

 

Third, Bruce signed with USPW for one reason and one reason only. That reason, is Sam Strong. Don't they have a strong friendship? The game simulates that very well.

 

I wouldn't call Kurt Angle damaged goods, he was widely known as one of if not the greatest wrestler in America when he made the jump to TNA, at the very least I would put his popularity at a B+ at the time.

 

Who cares about Hogan's success outside of pro wrestling, I thought we were talking about popularity in the wrestling business... Hogan is still the most famous wrestler of all time and his pop would be A/A+ when he signed with TNA.

 

I think it's pretty ridiculous that cult companies can't sign anyone B or above in popularity, I believe that the cut off should be at A.

[Remianen]

I wouldn't call Kurt Angle damaged goods

 

Read the whole sentence. When you are one of the top stars in the top company in the world and that company lets you go amid whispered rumors of addiction and outright statements that it's for your own good ("demons"? "masking it in many ways"?), that tends to give people pause.

 

Agree to disagree on Hogan. After the initial curiosity wore off, his arrival really hasn't done much to elevate the company, has it?

 

A worker at B- popularity is at the high end of upper midcarder in a National company. B almost guarantees main eventer status. What's a Main Eventer in a National promotion want to do with a Cult company, really? That's like an NBA starter or 6th man going to play for a EuroLeague team...without the ridiculous money.

[bassplays]

Agree to disagree on Hogan. After the initial curiosity wore off, his arrival really hasn't done much to elevate the company, has it?

 

I'm not out-and-out argueing, because I don't totally disagree, Remi, but...

 

What was that 'initial curiosity' if now the direct result of Hogan's popularity levels.

 

And Mr. Nanny, 3 Ninjas 3, The Tooth Fairy and The Scorpion King are all terrible on an EQUAL SCALE.

 

Two words though; Suburban Commando.

Tries to carry a bench into a meeting... classic Hogan.

[Stennick]

I think the Scorpion King is one of the top five movies of his I've enjoyed.

 

The Rundown

 

Scorpion King

 

Be Cool

 

The Gameplan

 

and Get Smart are really enjoyable movies.

[shamelessposer]

I think the Scorpion King is one of the top five movies of his I've enjoyed.

 

The Rundown

 

Scorpion King

 

Be Cool

 

The Gameplan

 

and Get Smart are really enjoyable movies.

 

What Remi is trying to get you to do is look at box office success, not how enjoyable the movies were. The Rock has proven to be a modest success in Hollywood. Hulk Hogan appeared in a few failed, low budget star vehicles and then scampered back to wrestling.

[Benrollo]

What Remi is trying to get you to do is look at box office success, not how enjoyable the movies were. The Rock has proven to be a modest success in Hollywood. Hulk Hogan appeared in a few failed, low budget star vehicles and then scampered back to wrestling.

 

....... Rocky III.

[shamelessposer]

....... Rocky III.

 

And Rocky III made him a wrestling star, not a movie star.

[Remianen]

What Remi is trying to get you to do is look at box office success, not how enjoyable the movies were. The Rock has proven to be a modest success in Hollywood. Hulk Hogan appeared in a few failed, low budget star vehicles and then scampered back to wrestling.

 

And Rocky III made him a wrestling star, not a movie star.

 

Precisely. Maybe it's just perspective. To me, "the most popular X of all time" would be a level of popularity that transcends the little burb it was originally created in. Like Michael Jordan being "the most popular basketball player of all time" transcended basketball and led to him being "the greatest corporate pitchman of all time". It got to the point where he was making an order of magnitude more OUTSIDE of basketball than he was IN it. To this day, almost a decade after he played his last (ill-advised) game, he's still pursued as an endorser (his Hanes contract is basically permanent and do I need to mention the Nike partnership?). Rock transcended wrestling, he got so popular. With his gifts and the popularity he earned in wrestling, that made films a natural progression. Remember, the Scorpion King got greenlit in part because of the audience's reaction to who, in The Mummy Returns? How many $60+ million budget films has Hogan had "above the title" billing on? Just doing an eyeball comparison, The Rock has accounted for over 1.5 billion in box office receipts just in films he's been prominently featured or starred in (not including Faster). Hogan hasn't gotten to $100 million (and won't).

 

Again, perspective. Is Hogan the most recognizable wrestler of all time? Probably (at least in the Americas). Most popular, I dunno. To me, being "the most (whatever) of all time" kinda means nil if you can't trade on it. Outside of wrestling, Hogan's largely a sideshow, he's not bankable. And his stint in TNA proves that he's probably not 'guaranteed box office' in wrestling anymore either. Don't think I'm downing Hogan though. He was HUGE in a much different era. There was no instant communication, information overload, or widespread spoilers when he was the biggest thing in the business. There also weren't eleventy billion studios churning out seventy trillion films of varying levels of quality and budgets and appeal either. When Hogan was big, you had a multitude of male action stars on the big screen (Arnold, Stallone, Van Damme, Bronson and Eastwood (at the early part of the period), Seagal (toward the end), etc) and thus, the movie business didn't need another. When the Mummy Returns came out, Hollywood was starving for male action stars not named Will Smith or Jackie Chan, so lots of folks got a shot at being 'the next action star'.

 

Hogan is an icon, no doubt. I just don't know if I'd call him the most popular of all time. I think it really depends on where you live, though I realize my countrymen may think that the way things are here is the way they are (or should be) everywhere else.

[Condors]

back to the topic, sorta

 

Cult sized feds are in a way kinda awsome as it is almost impossible to fall to regional (it has never happened to me but i am sure its possible)

 

What i don't like is when i am close to going national I go into best event possible mode and start spamming best matches possible and even once i hit national if there is a war going on i keep going until I "feel safe". I guess I have "fallen to cult" too many times running the story through my head that didn't work as well in game.

 

I have been trying to break myself of the habbit by main eventing guys with limited talent and seeing if it will work(most of my talented guys have gotten poached anyways)

[djthefunkchris]

Precisely. Maybe it's just perspective. To me, "the most popular X of all time" would be a level of popularity that transcends the little burb it was originally created in. Like Michael Jordan being "the most popular basketball player of all time" transcended basketball and led to him being "the greatest corporate pitchman of all time". It got to the point where he was making an order of magnitude more OUTSIDE of basketball than he was IN it. To this day, almost a decade after he played his last (ill-advised) game, he's still pursued as an endorser (his Hanes contract is basically permanent and do I need to mention the Nike partnership?). Rock transcended wrestling, he got so popular. With his gifts and the popularity he earned in wrestling, that made films a natural progression. Remember, the Scorpion King got greenlit in part because of the audience's reaction to who, in The Mummy Returns? How many $60+ million budget films has Hogan had "above the title" billing on? Just doing an eyeball comparison, The Rock has accounted for over 1.5 billion in box office receipts just in films he's been prominently featured or starred in (not including Faster). Hogan hasn't gotten to $100 million (and won't).

 

Again, perspective. Is Hogan the most recognizable wrestler of all time? Probably (at least in the Americas). Most popular, I dunno. To me, being "the most (whatever) of all time" kinda means nil if you can't trade on it. Outside of wrestling, Hogan's largely a sideshow, he's not bankable. And his stint in TNA proves that he's probably not 'guaranteed box office' in wrestling anymore either. Don't think I'm downing Hogan though. He was HUGE in a much different era. There was no instant communication, information overload, or widespread spoilers when he was the biggest thing in the business. There also weren't eleventy billion studios churning out seventy trillion films of varying levels of quality and budgets and appeal either. When Hogan was big, you had a multitude of male action stars on the big screen (Arnold, Stallone, Van Damme, Bronson and Eastwood (at the early part of the period), Seagal (toward the end), etc) and thus, the movie business didn't need another. When the Mummy Returns came out, Hollywood was starving for male action stars not named Will Smith or Jackie Chan, so lots of folks got a shot at being 'the next action star'.

 

Hogan is an icon, no doubt. I just don't know if I'd call him the most popular of all time. I think it really depends on where you live, though I realize my countrymen may think that the way things are here is the way they are (or should be) everywhere else.

 

Well, your foolling yourself again.

 

I've seen the posts about Rock being as famous as Hogan somehow, but Hogan is a household name worldwide. As much as you travel, you should know Hogan wins hands down... Only person that come close was Andre, far as wrestling.

 

Rock has a much better movie carreer. That's not negotiable. If that's what popularity was about, then Yes, Rock would win that one. Love him or hate him though, Hogan is not just a US Icon, but a worldwide Icon in wrestling. Some countries have Icon's bigger then him inside their country, but they all know who Hulk Hogan is.

 

EDIT: (Was thinking of "all times" not current) CURRENTLY THOUGH: Rock probably is more popular considering the current status of TNA.

[GruntMark]

/shrug

 

The game just fails to simulate that well. Even if you give a guy all of Angle's issues, its not like its smart enough to know he's damage goods.

 

Big Smack Scott sitting at B+ overness would never sign with USPW, no matter if he'd burned every bridge in SWF cause.....doing nothing is better?

 

If Angle had the same opinion, he still probably wouldnt be wrestling.

[Comradebot]

/shrug

 

The game just fails to simulate that well. Even if you give a guy all of Angle's issues, its not like its smart enough to know he's damage goods.

 

Big Smack Scott sitting at B+ overness would never sign with USPW, no matter if he'd burned every bridge in SWF cause.....doing nothing is better?

 

If Angle had the same opinion, he still probably wouldnt be wrestling.

 

Ya know, that's what bugs me. "You're not big enough for me, so I'm gonna go...and not work for anyone, because no one is big enough for me!!!"

[Eidenhoek]

I believe we learned from...I think it's the wiki, that BSS does porn.

 

And porn > wrestling.

 

Yet BSC >= porn.

 

ERGO

 

BSS is going to be the new owner of BSC.

[GruntMark]

I believe we learned from...I think it's the wiki, that BSS does porn.

 

And porn > wrestling.

 

Yet BSC >= porn.

 

ERGO

 

BSS is going to be the new owner of BSC.

 

I would read this diary.

[Eidenhoek]

I would read this diary.

 

...

 

 

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU why did I instead start my boring SWF-no-known-outcome diary?

 

*sigh* Time to start another one...