Can someone please explain Wrestler's Popularity Caps?

[HowToBook]

Why on earth are my wrestlers being capped at certain popularities for seemingly no reason, for example, I am doing a WWE save, and Ricochet cannot get past 72 popularity, Cesaro cannot get past 75 and guys like McIntyre cannot get past 88. It does make it difficult to want to continue running a save when you want to push guys like the Viking Raiders but they cannot get to a level where they can be at the top. If there isn't a way to turn off the popularity caps is there a means to at least understand them? For example, if Charisma is the stat that controls it I can alter it so that they can gain popularity?

 

I understand if the company pop is what is controlling it but, if as WWE with 90 Pop Worldwide, shouldn't I at least be able to get guys like Ricochet who have good wrestling skills past 72 populairty.

 

Thank you ever so much for reading, please can someone explain this to me

[rufas2000]

Best I understand its based on a worker's stats and destiny roll. The destiny roll represents those variables that make the difference between a superstar and a could have been. When a worker's stats change so does the popularity cap but a bad destiny roll is what it is.

 

I've seen a couple of workers hit their cap then go up 1 on pop as their stats increase. This was after a year of them being effective stars.

 

One thing I've heard (but haven't checked) is that using the in game editor you can edit a worker's popularity to 100 then lower it to its prior level (or not lol) and that will eliminate the cap. I haven't tried it but I will to see if it works.

 

(Edit: there is another thread that states this option won't work. I still will try it.)

 

If you try this I would suggest waiting until a worker hits the cap as one of the signs of reaching the cap is that all areas of a region are at the same level. Therefore it's easier to roll back the next day to its prior level. (It's hard to remember it was 80 in the Midwest, 78 in the Southeast, 81 in the Tri-State etc.).

 

Other than that potential "cheat" there is no way to get rid of or get around the cap. It's actually a popular feature among many users as it ensures that skilled players running major feds don't have a roster of 95-100 pop workers.

 

FWIW: Adam altered the most severe level of the cap so it isn't as damaging.

[Kosmos412]

I'm running into that myself. I'm 5 years into a 2013 Stardom save, and while Kana is running in the high 80s and Io in the low 90s, poor Kairi is capped at 76 despite being the 42nd best wrestler in the world (and comparable in skills to the other two)

 

I've tried the old way of 'breaking' the cap (I don't think that works any longer) but I've artificially edited her pop to 85 because it was driving me crazy and killing my drive to continue to save lol. Just a bad destiny roll, because between her stats and results and push I was giving her, there was seemingly no reason for her pop to be capped so low compared to others. Stardom has pop in the 80s in Japan and a medium sized broadcaster, so I just ascribed it to a unlucky destiny roll.

 

Normally I didn't mind this feature until this occurrence with Kairi, her average match rating in this particular game year is 85, but I cant get her pop over 76.

[Historian]

The popularity cap is directly related to their star quality and their destiny roll. Workers with higher star quality tend to have higher popularity caps.

 

They are in place to keep the game world balanced. Without caps and anybody being able to continue to go up in popularity you end up in a situation where you have too many guys at the high end of the popularity scale which conflates the finances and causes all sorts of issues.

 

Once the save has been started, there really isn't a way around the popularity cap. You can artificially edit someone's popularity but it will go back down to their cap. You can try starting over and going into the editor before the game and raising their star quality.

 

Their overall popularity is only partially important to how they're perceived on your roster though. Someone can have lower popularity but if they are booked well enough they can rise in perception with your audience. I've regularly had guys who by sheer popularity wouldn't be considered a 'major star' be perceived that way because I book them to win and their momentum is fantastic, so it raises how they're perceived and essentially elevates them into main event status.

 

I hope this helps.

[d12345]

To add another answer to your question - You can pay attention to whoever is listed as the "next big thing" in your creative section of your office. Those are generally the people with the highest pop caps. Read the blurbs and if someone has a 'sky's the limit' or whatever it says to denot unlimited potential, then you can make them likely push them to the top.

 

For your McIntyre example - 88 pop is a top guy number, so not sure that cap would be an issue. Above 88 you start getting into most over of all time territory and that's not something that every worker can or should become (even if they get pushed hard).

[Tew101]

To add another answer to your question - You can pay attention to whoever is listed as the "next big thing" in your creative section of your office. Those are generally the people with the highest pop caps. Read the blurbs and if someone has a 'sky's the limit' or whatever it says to denot unlimited potential, then you can make them likely push them to the top.

 

For your McIntyre example - 88 pop is a top guy number, so not sure that cap would be an issue. Above 88 you start getting into most over of all time territory and that's not something that every worker can or should become (even if they get pushed hard).

 

What about Hot Prospects? Is that people who are just going to be good workers?

[BrokenCycle]

It's very strange-- I have been playing this game forever, and I can't recall a single time where I actively tried pushing someone to the main event that didn't end up working out.

[de knegt]

What about Hot Prospects? Is that people who are just going to be good workers?

 

Hot prospects are workers that have a high difference between current attributes and potential attributes. (I.e. can grow a significant amount: either naturally, through development, or via match experience)

[Adam Ryland]

Why on earth are my wrestlers being capped at certain popularities for seemingly no reason, for example, I am doing a WWE save, and Ricochet cannot get past 72 popularity, Cesaro cannot get past 75 and guys like McIntyre cannot get past 88.

 

I'd recommend you read the handbook, there is a section that lays out how it function in the Workers section.

 

As others have said, the popularity caps are never "for no reason", they're always calculated via the worker's skills, their destiny roll, and the size and broadcast capabilities of the company in question. Sometimes a worker will get a 'bad' destiny roll and their cap will be slightly lower than you'd expect from their skills, but it'll never be that much lower. Part of the game is dealing with it and occasionally trying to push

someone and have it fail, just like in reality.

 

You can't turn off the caps. If you're really determined that the Viking Raiders must be the next megastars of wrestling then you'd have to 'cheat' by raising some of their stats - such as Star Quality and / or Charisma - to appropriately megastar levels.

 

One thing I've heard (but haven't checked) is that using the in game editor you can edit a worker's popularity to 100 then lower it to its prior level (or not lol) and that will eliminate the cap. I haven't tried it but I will to see if it works.

 

That does not work. Again, I'd recommend reading the handbook, as if you understand how the feature functions it should be clear why this technique can't possibly be effective in TEW2020.

[Dave E Mac]

Isn't this basically in place to essentially stop us pushing whoever we want to the moon and succeeding? I just see it as a different way of throwing a spanner in the works and stop the game from being too easy.

[Koholos]

I'm running into that myself. I'm 5 years into a 2013 Stardom save, and while Kana is running in the high 80s and Io in the low 90s, poor Kairi is capped at 76 despite being the 42nd best wrestler in the world (and comparable in skills to the other two)

 

I've tried the old way of 'breaking' the cap (I don't think that works any longer) but I've artificially edited her pop to 85 because it was driving me crazy and killing my drive to continue to save lol. Just a bad destiny roll, because between her stats and results and push I was giving her, there was seemingly no reason for her pop to be capped so low compared to others. Stardom has pop in the 80s in Japan and a medium sized broadcaster, so I just ascribed it to a unlucky destiny roll.

 

Normally I didn't mind this feature until this occurrence with Kairi, her average match rating in this particular game year is 85, but I cant get her pop over 76.

That doesn’t seem that surprising to me. I like Kairi Hojo and Stardom is worse without her, but she’s not on the same level, esp in terms of charisma and star quality as Kana - Kairi is a likable/lovable person who you want to see succeed as a wrestler. Kana is electric and dynamic. You could easily convince me that she will someday be looked back on as one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all time. Kairi will be looked back on as a good women’s wrestler. In my mind, Io is between those two - more star power than Kairi but about the same charisma, so that’s probably where destiny rolls factor in.

[d12345]

It's very strange-- I have been playing this game forever, and I can't recall a single time where I actively tried pushing someone to the main event that didn't end up working out.

 

Same, but I think that's just becase I'm always pushing guys who have "the look". Those High SQ / High charisma people who could potentially become my figurehead.

[djthefunkchris]

I haven't played around with doing it this way, but what about the saving your game as a new database? From what I understand the caps are made at the beginning of a game, so maybe this would make it feel more natural?

 

Save your game as a database, go in and maybe change the stats Adam suggested, and start a new game, see what happens from that point on?

 

Of course, just cheating would probably end your problem the easiest.

 

http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2323967#post2323967

[Jaysin]

I haven't played around with doing it this way, but what about the saving your game as a new database? From what I understand the caps are made at the beginning of a game, so maybe this would make it feel more natural?

 

Save your game as a database, go in and maybe change the stats Adam suggested, and start a new game, see what happens from that point on?

 

Of course, just cheating would probably end your problem the easiest.

 

http://www.greydogsoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2323967#post2323967

 

There's no reason to do this. Popularity caps aren't calculated just at the beginning of the game like in previous entries. The caps are calculated on the fly based on the worker's skills, their destiny roll, and the size and broadcast capabilities of the company in question. As Adam said, you could adjust their star quality and/or charisma and their cap will change the next day.