I wondered how many people are playing out their games..

[TheObsceneKorean]

How many of you call the plays and how many of you just sim? For those of you who call the shots how often do you use the suggest button? and for both players... How much effort do you put into scouting the team you are against that week and tweak your game plan or depth chart? I am loving this game. I'm not sure if there are other college football sim games like this. but this is incredible. my only complaint would be that I would like to be able to design plays. Which I'm guessing will be a feature in the future and make this game truely elite. I guess that sort of answers my first question. I like to play out my games and call the plays. I use the suggest button quite frequently, especially on 1st and 10+ on the 30-50 (providing it doesn't recommend some crazy long pass) or in the opposite position on defense. though I like to play them hard inside their own 20 and try to maximize the field position. I find that suggest often picks not the best play but the most logical play. unfortunately logic only works if the opposite team is worse than you or losing. I find that often I can find the exact right play and be rewarded for the analytical effort. perhaps this isn't at all true and me just pretending that it matters to give me one more reason to love the game. but analytic effort in this game more than any simulation game I have ever played, years and years of game play.. hah, anyone remember dolphin simulation games 95-98? I wasn't even a college football fan before I started this game. I have played a couple other college football games and honestly wasn't impressed by the lack of depth. Having said this, I find the computer can pretty much meet the predicted conference finnish if you just use the suggest button. So, it isn't that those people who aren't interested in the weekly grind of analyzing opponents won't be rewarded, especially if they put a lot of effort into the offseason. I actually almost wonder if the amount of energy I am putting into playing out each week and analyzing my opponents and that intellectual reward of keep a great team off the scoreboard to go into the half tied 3-3. and who says that isn't how it wouldn't have played out anyways? Who thinks I am wasting my energy? I find the weakness in my opponents and try to exploit it by making up individual gameplans for every team, though I try to follow them myself in my own play calling. This takes up about half a page to one page of lined paper for every team until here a few days later I have an entire journal of the things. here 4 seasons in, I have to hide the journal from my family scared of the judgement. nothing good can come of this but really awkward silence and a bunch of name calling. all these notes, all this mental energy, taking my breaks at work to play instead of work. all these things make the fantasy that much more real... but when I come back to reality am I just a loser? just an obsessive sports simulation gamer? well.. I'll let you all be the judge of that.

[wareagle]

I also like the complete immersion into the realm of unreality. It takes me quite a long time to complete a season which in turn means that I feel like I am getting my money's worth out of the purchase. The beuaty is season after season it is always changing and not duplicated. Great enjoyment and money well spent :D

[eskimo38]

I play the games out, which has resulted in a very satisfying 3-0 start with West Virginia, and though Virginia, La Tech, and Syracuse aren't exactly marquee wins, holding them to 23, 20, and 22 points respectively with the mediocre defense I inherited has made them sweet. I use suggest a fair bit, and think of it as my coordinators, who I only overrule if I think their suggestions are bad ones (which does happen a fair bit). My OC in particular does not run over center enough, even though the guy is my one monster and the clear anchor of an otherwise so-so line. Anyway, the time and analytical effort aren't wasted if you enjoy the resulting wins (and suffer the resulting losses) more because they were yours, regardless of what might've happened with the computer sim. :)

[mauboy]

I, too am playing out each and every game. And most of the time I'm doing the playcalling. If I am getting blown out, I usually start to go with fast forward and just get the game over with ASAP because I don't want to see my joke of a team get blown out any more. I don't touch the gameplanning stuff though as I play out each of my games. I wonder if it matters if I change it if I am playing out my games? It shouldn't.

[diamonddave35]

I also play out my games..and I'll admit Im 4-0 with a #1 ranking with Tennessee at the moment (#2 Florida is on the schedule next..man am I nervous!!!) I have never used the suggest button. Sure the season may take longer, but thats what makes it great!! Arlie, you have done one heck of a job on this one!!..Lets just see if Gary can deliver as well. (Im sure he will)

[Guest Nukester]

I play out all of my games. I never use the suggest button, and really dont scout much. With all of the injuries before the latest patch, I pretty much just worried about fielding a complete team. I basically just look to see if my opponent seems to run or throw more, and who their good defensive players are (so I can stay away from them). I am 5-5 with Army, with just a season ender against Navy left to go. With the PbP set to fast, it really doesnt take long to play out a game. The only time I sim is when I reach one of my house rules: Losing or winning by 28....Simulate (as long as its at least in the 3rd quarter, and I use my descretion)

[mh2365]

I will generally play out my games until I feel I am no longer in the running for the playoffs (which is usually 2 conference losses in the Big Ten), then I sim and play my bowl game.

[C-Bailey24]

[QUOTE=mauboy]I, too am playing out each and every game. And most of the time I'm doing the playcalling. If I am getting blown out, I usually start to go with fast forward and just get the game over with ASAP because I don't want to see my joke of a team get blown out any more. I don't touch the gameplanning stuff though as I play out each of my games. I wonder if it matters if I change it if I am playing out my games? It shouldn't.[/QUOTE] Took a whole post right out of my mouth :)

[Runtheball]

I play out all my games too. I don't call many plays, but in critical situations I tend to do the playcalling. I've found that since I know which of my plays tend to be more successful, and I can see the matchups that tend to be occurring on the field, I can direct some pretty successful plays when it matters most. Like if my OL is best on the left side, and their DL is weak on my left, I'll pick a run going to that side of the ball. I only do it when it matters most, as it does delay an already long game. Also, by [B]not[/B] calling my plays I can get a better feel for how well my OC and DC are doing their jobs, and that helps my off-season decisions about staffing.

[raf105]

I haven't been playing them out. I just wanted to run through a season or two to get a feel for the game. I'll probably start, now that the new patch is out.

[Miral]

There are people who like to blitz through a strategy game, and those who like to make it an experience. I'm sort of like you in taking my time with things. In Hearts of Iron it took me a full three days of just planning an invasion without a single minute of actually playing the game:D I keep a lot of notes myself based on the team, and upcoming recruiting and coaches. Of course 3 win seasons haven't borne the fruits of my labors yet...

[CapnPitt]

I call my own plays. I'm pretty sure I'd get bored with just simming. The play-calling is the most fun for me.

[MizzouRah]

I move players in and out, but I let my OC and DC call the plays.

[Roll Tide]

The past two seasons I'll play & sim depending on the oppostion. After game 5 of each season, I will review the play results on the def and off playbook and review them to see which plays have been the big gainers or time wasters. I'll customize the playbook to reflect the better plays and drop the loosers. After I've have done that it seems that I pick up about a 10-15% increase in YPC/YPA. If there are plays that generate a high percentage of losses, fumbles or Int's, I'll drop those too. It will make a difference of about 20% reduction over the same period of lost yards/fumbles/INT's. Not much, but worth it as you get down to to your toughest part of the season and bowl games. I haven't customized the def playbook yet, as up until the new patch reducing the injuries, my def was just shreaded with injuries and I let the computer pick and choose.

[bkchollywood]

observations with my play calling I've noticed that the cpu has much better results than me on calling defensive plays. Maybe it's just me, but they seem to have a better idea of what my opponent will be trying to do. I let the computer call almost every defensive play, except obvious situations like the end of the half or game when you want a dime or quarters def to prevent a crazy td. Offensively, I have much more success calling all the plays on my own, but i find it really isn't necessary. If i just call plays in important situations, or when i think their suggestion is stupid, the computer does a good enough job calling the rest of the plays. Also, i find screens are good, especially to explosive players. when you need 3-6 yards, screens often get the job done. Sometimes i notice the computer will choose to throw a deep pass with a minute to go and up by 7 or a similar situation to that. you know, obvious running situations. I also notice some passes on 3rd or 4th and 1, and sometimes long passes in those situations. Also some runs on 3rd and 7 or 8 quite often are called. I think this expains why the computer defends better than me, they know when these crazy calls are likely to be made, and i would never choose to defend that type of thing. Maybe i'm just too predictable, but i win a helluva lot more than i lose, even with crappy teams. Force the run, shorten the game, convert 3rd downs, and play field position. Works with anybody.

[Dave Hansen]

I call each of my team's plays all the time. I set all starter's playing time to 100% which then allows me to watch endurance levels and substitute exactly when and with who. I never use the suggest button and leave CPU sub off. With v1.03 I play with academic suspensions on, NORMAL injuries, declare early and with the exception of allocating tudor hours( AI handles) I handle all other coaching functions myself. I do my own advance scouting of my team's next opponent to ascertain strenghts/weaknesses and posible match ups. I enjoy playing with all the features of the game enabled. I enjoy micro-managing and the immersion in the game that it brings. With v1.1 on the horizon, it will be hard to believe (IMHO) that this is still a first generation game only. Issues still exist, but still a FUN experience overall.

[Old Boiler]

I began by using the Suggest button and occasionally overruling it, but i've found that close inspection of opponents' game logs allows me to improve my defensive play-calling especially. I use the Word find-and-replace to format the logs, paste them into Excel, and then compile a table of tendencies based on formation and down & distance. My defense has been far stronger since i started this. On offense, i scan through the Playbook to see what my history is with each offensive play and make a note of those that are especially reliable and those that are poison. The improvement here has been less dramatic, but still noticable.

[Twincitiesfan]

Old Boiler - The offense study is a good idea, I am trying right now. Could you explain this further? "I use the Word find-and-replace to format the logs, paste them into Excel, and then compile a table of tendencies based on formation and down & distance" I am trying to improve a below average defense, it would be nice to win a few extra games.

[Old Boiler]

Twincities, i don't want to get into a lot of detail, just because this is a pretty crude way to go about it (I'm not a real programmer, by any means). But paste the game log into Word and make the following series of replacements: .Text = "^p^p" .Replacement.Text = "^m" .Text = "^p" .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = ", " .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = "Offense:" ' .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = "Defense:" ' .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = "Set:" ' .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = "Play:" ' .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = "^m" ' .Replacement.Text = "^p" .Text = "3-3-5" 'avoid separation for down and distance .Replacement.Text = "335" .Text = "4-2-5" 'avoid separation for down and distance .Replacement.Text = "425" .Text = "^#-^#^#-" 'separate down and distance .Replacement.Text = "^&^t" .Text = "^#-^#-" 'separate down and distance .Replacement.Text = "^&^t" .Text = "-^t" 'separate down and distance .Replacement.Text = "^t" .Text = "^t^t" 'separate down and distance .Replacement.Text = "^t" You can record a macro to do this, or write it in the VBA editor. At the end, you get a the game log with each play listed in a single line, with Formation, Play, etc, all separated by tabs. Then you copy and paste-values into a spreadsheet; the tabs function as markers to keep the text from dropping into a single cell. The end result isn't entirely clean, mainly due to penalties, returns, etc., but you can you can work with the result. I have no doubt that a few of the tech-ier folks here will find this a bit clumsy and comic, but it works for me and beat heck out of pencil and paper. You can use the Autofilter feature in Excel to look at all the opponent's Proformation plays, or their 1st & 10 plays, etc. The deeper into the season, the easier time I've had anticipating pass v. run, inside v. outside, and such.

[Twincitiesfan]

Very cool, thanks for the help. Last game I played my defense was much better, the only problem is my players are so crappy they could'nt a top 30 offense. So I lost. I am hoping for better luck on some of the weaker teams. Thanks again!

[Old Boiler]

Yeah, i started looking at game logs after losing to some mediocre teams; the next time out, we took a top 10 team into OT -- but lost. Still, it was improvement. Hope the W's starting piling up for you!