Contract Negotiations [Almost certainly for future versions]

[steev42]

TL;DR: Update contract negotiations window to use a Road Agent Note-style interface, and some new ideas for possible contract clauses.

 

I'm pretty sure I've brought up similar ideas in the past, but I had a sudden brainstorm today, and have spent a bit of time mocking up the idea to see if I thought it would work. And hey, this is a BIG change so I don't think it would happen in 2020, but gotta get the brainstorms out where they can be seen.

 

The basis of the idea is that I would love to have a lot more options for contract negotiations. Basically because I think it would add variety. Right now it feels like contracts are basically "offer as little money as they'll accept" with very little differences, and there's almost no reason to use any of the other options for any reason. I had a couple of ideas (for instance, a limited hiring veto where the company can give the worker a specified bonus to override their veto) that could spice things up a bit in that regard; in particular I'd really like the non-compete options much more robust.

 

I started out trying to mock up some of these options, but the window quickly outgrew the current resolution of TEW2020 as I added these options. I was getting a little frustrated until I realized there's already something similar in TEW. Road agent notes.

 

So allow me to present the mockup; it uses base windows forms and colors, but the idea is sound.

 

http://steev.fatcow.com/TEW/contract-mockup.png

 

A quick rundown of the ideas presented here. First, the top box moves from "you'll probably want to offer X" to an actual conversation from the worker with his contract demands, and would include any other offers the worker is considering. I don't know about you guys, but I've never gotten a job where part of the hiring process wasn't "what kind of pay are you looking for", and this simulates that fairly well.

 

Next would be Patience/Tolerance. I'll readily (and somewhat ashamedly) admit I pondered these terms for like 2 or 3 hours while I was working today. I'm still not sure I like them, but the base idea is this. Patience is how willing the worker is to negotiate with ANYONE at this time. It should go down over time as he comes closer to a decision, or as he gets overwhelmed with offers. Tolerance is how willing he is to negotiate with you. In theory, this should always be at or below the Patience level. If it reaches 0, he cuts off negotiations with you entirely. Every time you make an offer, it would reduce slightly ("why don't you make your best offer first?"), and it would reduce more as he gets better offers from other companies, or if he decides he doesn't like certain terms of the contract.

 

Then, the clauses themselves. This uses the Road Agent Notes paradigm. A list of clauses on the left that can be added to the contract. A list of clauses on the right that are currently in the contract offer. When something is selected (hey, pretend I selected "Area Allowance" on the left in that picture), the options for that clause are shown in the middle. Select your options, and click "Add Clause".

 

More details about some of the clauses you might see:

[Actually not in the image, because I thought about it as I was writing this -- an automatic wage increase should be included; increase by $1000 every 12 months or something similar.]

Added additional bonus types; bonuses if you fight a match, if you are in a main event match specifically, and splitting appearance/tv/event bonuses into separate categories.

Added termination clauses (these are basically hard-coded now as far as I can determine). Allow the worker to buy out their contract if they want to. Added "free termination" clauses if the worker violates (if we catch you using hard drugs again, we can fire you without paying you anything more).

Added limited-compete clauses. A few options here (and the options in the middle show how this works). You can work for companies of a size range in a certain region (Sure, you can work in Hawaii if you want, so long as the company doesn't get too big). You can work for companies of a size range in a certain area (Go ahead and work in Japan. Might do you some good.) You can work for a specific company (You don't want to give up working for BHOTWG? Ok, fine, we'll let you work with them.) And no more guessing which company they'll chose to work for unless you want to. It can be contractually obligated to make your company the priority, to let the other company be priority (to accommodate pre-existing contracts), or to let the worker decide.

I added medical reimbursements...this is kind of a bonus suggestion. Make medical procedures cost money. And let the company decide whether or not to pay for these, or some percentage of them.

Similarly, I expanded travel costs to be a percentage paid by company.

I put in an option to require the worker to relocate (to an Area or specific Region), and for the company to pay some or all of the relocation cost.

I expanded the Hiring Veto/Creative Control/Wage Matching. The first two would have limited versions where the company can pay to overrule the worker's veto. The last I added a limited version as well where the worker would be guaranteed to be the Xth biggest salary in the company. I'd also say that you can choose between Xth highest worker in general, or wrestler/referee/announcer/road agent/etc. specifically.

 

Once you choose all your clauses, the worker considers it for a day or two as he currently would, except there are more options to consider. When he comes back, it would come right back to this same screen, except the top text would be updated to something like:

Andrews: "Your offer was decent, but USPW has improved their offer. They have offered $12,000 a month for 48 months, and will let me work for any company in Japan. They have also offered to pay 50% of any medical costs, and have agreed to automatically extend my contract if I am unable to work due to injury."

 

 

An additional sub-benefit of this contract style would be that if additional ideas for clauses were found, they could be added to the GUI without having to redesign it all.

[Levinux]

I love this option. Especially the contract clauses. Having various clauses that can lead to termination or additional bonuses would be neat. Something else that would be neat would be a clause advising their contract would require them to put over someone within X recognition levels below them. If I'm WCW and I'm booking Goldberg (Star) vs Hogan (Major Star), Hogan is about to complain or even refuse if he has creative control. With a contract clause, this could be 1 of say 2-3 matches he's required to put someone over without complaining or affecting moral.

[thadian]

I love all of this. Personally, I would NEVER give creative control or wage matching. I would rather offer the largest size offer available then edit it in the editor. I would do anything to avoid paying that. I would extend the length in the editor to never have to renegotiate again if the game's biases tried to force me to include them. Not my kind of fun.

 

As for Hogan, he pulled shenanigans almost every time - but there were a few times where he agreed to put over someone like Kidman. But when he came back, according to Eric Bischoff, they had to rewrite the main event and title scene several times and scrap all ongoing storylines to inject him into the picture, get him the belt, and persuade him to drop it on his way out before they could breathe again. I don't think he ever did put over Flair.

 

One of my favorite aspects of TEW is "Promises", and I would like to see Promises have some value in contract - X days as champion, X main event victories on important shows.

 

This is by far my favorite suggestion. While I would never offer a worker the ability to essentially ruin the fun of my game, I would love to offer a worker "Fine, you can work in X company/region", but I would love to say "Work for companies except" then either list Companies and Products.

 

"May not work for Wrestling Nerd Nirvana companies" or "May not work for SWF, USPW, or TCW".

 

I also like the idea of giving workers a limited buy-out creative control. If I really need someone to drop a title or put someone over, I would be happy to pay them - I normally pay them a big bonus before (or two) to keep their own moral up, hoping the job doesn't make them entirely hate me and destroy the locker room.

 

I also like the idea to pay for medical bills. How about pay relocation costs too?

 

The more ways we can pay them, the better. We all know we have too much money and better than nerfing everything, I would rather re-look at the ways we pay, the things we pay for, and roll with it. If I want someone difficult to job, I have to pay them or they won't consent.

 

I also wonder if paying someone to take a job should add to negative locker room morale. At what point does everyone say "Hey, booker bro, I learned you're paying people to job now and I heard you want me to lose to this guy...", so I could see consequences for how we spend our money.

 

Maybe a "company image" and the ability to donate to charity to improve it, hire/use toxic workers and using dirty tricks/screwjobs lowers it, etc.

 

Anything that lets us have more ways to spend a money that's not a nerf in disguise is good. And the proposed contract revamp would really add a new depth to things. It would make planning easier - "I know that I am using Aaron Andrews for an 8 month title run with 3 main event victories. I also know he will remain available to TCW so I had better book around their workrate to get good matches and avoid injury and fatigue penalties. So that would be real fun.

 

Heck, I would let my whole roster "work for anyone but SWF, USPW, TCW" and "may not work for Hardcore Products"

 

I lastly wonder - could there be "May work X dates for Y company over Z period of time?" - I love the idea of specializing number of appearances, and this would give it a lot of value.

 

I like that your tolerance system gives you a clue about how close a worker is to making a decision and gives you harder limits on wasting their time with skinchy offers.

[Questlove]

This is the perfect contract system and should be the standard for any booking sim.