How far ahead do you plan?

[Irish Wolf]

So I've been watching a few of the TEW YouTubers - at least the Cverse one's I don't care about real world - and it looks like they all just book shows as they come up. Like day of the show in the booking screen they decide what to do. And quite frankly it dumbfounds me, I just can't play that way. I have to at the very least plan 1 PPV away for bigger feds. Like I plan the PPV and then plan the shows to lead up to them how I want, and then I book everything in game after the whole month is planned. For small feds that run 1 show a month I plan that show out and have an idea where the next one is going. For touring feds I will plan the the end show and then plan the touring shows leading up to it and then book everything in game. I just can't wrap my head around booking at the date of the show in the show picking as you go.

So I'm wondering how do most people book. A lot of pre-planning? A little pre-planning? Absolutely no pre-planning?

[elmiticomark]

I keep a tight roster (8 stars, 8 workers... usually 4 prospects, 4 midcard guys to lose TV main events) so everything more or less revolves around 2-3 single feuds and 1 tag feud.  therefore, I can go week to week with simply hiring a 1-month job guy rotation for TV (hire say 8, make sure 4 are faces/4 heels, balance it so the card balances w/ squashes) and mixing and matching those feuds for around 1 year. *Every 3 months for monthly show feds.

Edited September 1 by elmiticomark

[Dawn]

Until my planned endgame. Lmao

I make solid plans for 1 year stretches, while anything after that are rough drafts.

[alpha2117]

I like a large sprawling roster and that requires planning to manage properly.  The larger the roster the more you need to keep track of things to avoid leaving people out of the loop too long.  I usually pre-book all the matches immediately after the last show to ensure I keep track of what I've done.  I do the angles on the day based on the matches and any things that may have altered plans and drop the matches in around those to make sure the show/event feels like it flows properly. 

[Shooltra]

A year in advance, somewhat. Usually, what I do is this.

First, I plan the Season Finale, what the matches will be and what the storyline will be.

Then, I book a PPV halfway through the year. That will act as a bridge between the last Season Finale and the next one. Kinda like Summerslam.

Now that I've got this stop, for each month until that PPV, I come up with a goal of what the story needs to advance. I don't do that until the Season Finale as it would be too long.

However, to give myself freedom, I only do the next card and really plan what will happen the next month only after the current month is over. That way, while it is planned, I have the freedom to always come up with something different on the fly.

[FINisher]

One show at the time, especially at very small promotion size. Once I have written contracts and stable finances, I can do more planning.

[TheChef]

I plan a year at a time. I look at my roster and think about what the biggest match I can put on next year will be (my equivalent of the Wrestlemania main event) and everything starts from that. I then plan at least a few other matches for the season finale and then think about how to get everyone in position. Make sure there's some wiggle room for injuries, backstage fights, not getting over like I thought, etc. The actual weekly shows though are mostly booked as I get to them (with some pre-booking done week to week), based of course on getting to where I want to be at the season finale. Then after the season finale, I sit down with my booking team (a pen and paper) and start the process again.

[Goliathus]

Some games I book the way you find "dumbfounded" and some games I plan long term. I consider myself a versatile booker.

[Veenetor]

Really interesting to see everyone's approach at Booking!

I don't really plan yearly but I do have na yearly game plan, if that makes sense? Like I will decide on what I'm hoping will be the storyline for the season finale main event right away, which workers are passing the torch, which workers I'd like to build to be at the top of the card, etc.

I guess I plan "seasonaly"? I'm Booking DSPW right now and they have 4 gimmick PPVs + 1 season finale. I do try to have a narrative centered around those, so I roughly plan out the storylines. This is when I'll figure out who I want working with whom and the general theme of what the storyline will be ( I don't really plan any matches or angles unless they are a key part of the story (e.g., tag team match where a friend betrays the other, or a Making the Save angle which turns a wrestler face).  

When it comes to actually booking the show (matches and angles), I do it on a show by show basis. 

I've ended up falling in this "method" of Booking because I do personally like the freedom of doing it show-by-show, and changing things on the fly. It just feels more organic and fun to me. 

Sometimes plans just don't pan out, e.g. I can not for the life of me keep Kolkata Jai over! He got ripped and heavier so he has 89 menace now, and I want to use him as the Royal Court's muscle, but even if he's winning dominant matches (atribute bonus!), featuring in Intimidation angles and has White hot momentum, he's losing pop monthly! Meanwhile, guys like Murugan and Ravishing Ravi Ray, which I had no plans for, job constantly (cold and chilly momentum respectivly) are still getting over every month! 

On the other hand, I've found that if there isn't an overarching plotline, my shows quickly become erratic and the pacing of the stories will break down, especially if it's a story that will go on for several months. Thinking it out and roughly sketch out what the story should feel like before hand helps me get the best results, imo. 

[Boltinho]

Errrrmmm... I book on a sliding scale.

I know pretty exactly what matches will be on my next monthly PPV event.

I know roughly my big feuds over the next year. With some gaps left in for eventualities.

I know a match or two and a handful of angles on the next TV show. But mostly I'll book it that day

[MikeSc]

Depends on the situation.  Am I using a small company with the constant threat of talent raids?

If I am, I plan 5-6 months of angles, leaving people out of storylines just in case.  If I do have those nifty long-term contracts I like to plan the whole year.

As for the show-to-show booking I try to pre-book the next show (or big event) right after the last.  As I get more familiar with how much things like indirect (i.e. 6-man matches or tags) losses within a story affect who is hot within an angle vs. the direct stuff like an attack during a promo or a loss on a big card I will wwrite stuff out a little more in advance, but now it is week to week on how I fill in the blanks between the big storyline beats on the PPVs with the knowledge of the 5-6 month or year outline I have.

The other thing I do is keep track of wins/losses for everyone to try to make up for any losses they end up taking with squash matches.  If everyone is at least somewhat hot you can get a lot done in a pinch.

[elmiticomark]

13 hours ago, alpha2117 said:

I like a large sprawling roster and that requires planning to manage properly.  The larger the roster the more you need to keep track of things to avoid leaving people out of the loop too long.  I usually pre-book all the matches immediately after the last show to ensure I keep track of what I've done.  I do the angles on the day based on the matches and any things that may have altered plans and drop the matches in around those to make sure the show/event feels like it flows properly. 

 

This is what I'd do if I had any type of *creative* concentration.  I think my strength in this game is solely on the analytic side, I can take 0 pop and get em over... but creatively, my booking is more or less Bill Watts (emphasize strengths, keep it sports/logical) with 1/100th of the rasslin' brain power (Bill did longterm creative stuff that I would just blow, obv)... I really like the idea of a deep roster, the ability to pull guys up a level if there's an injury/etc, but my problem is I'll have people on the roster who don't work a match for 3-6mo's sometimes.

Edited September 1 by elmiticomark
*creative* concentration

[JackNo]

I don't tend to book the shows that much in advance but I book storylines and feuds and plan factions and such. In some cases I'll be putting tag teams together with the idea that two years later I know how I'm going to break them up. Other times I'll scout unemployed and easily available prospects for an idea to see if I can make it happen (this happened in a lucha fed game where PHGW went under and I grabbed 4 of their top guys with enough flash and charisma to come to Mexico as the "Black Shogun and Shadow Army" for ex, it was incredibly successful).

But I'll admit I don't know exact matches and such usually until I start booking the night. I do have some vague ideas, but its rarely concencrete.

[benjirino]

On a weekly level I'll have a vague idea of where I want to go and do it on the fly. On a monthly level I know what my end goal is. On a longer term level, I know what my end goal is but not entirely how I'll get there, because I like to have a vague idea but card is always subject to change due to injuries, failed pushes, surprising pop gains for certain wrestlers and the like.

[alpha2117]

5 hours ago, elmiticomark said:

 

This is what I'd do if I had any type of *creative* concentration.  I think my strength in this game is solely on the analytic side, I can take 0 pop and get em over... but creatively, my booking is more or less Bill Watts (emphasize strengths, keep it sports/logical) with 1/100th of the rasslin' brain power (Bill did longterm creative stuff that I would just blow, obv)... I really like the idea of a deep roster, the ability to pull guys up a level if there's an injury/etc, but my problem is I'll have people on the roster who don't work a match for 3-6mo's sometimes.

It's funny I am doing a Road To Glory thing and the challenge is the antithesis of the way I play because that favours small tight rosters.  Then I decided - No - I am going to play the way I like to play. So a company with $1000 at the start ends up with a bloated roster of nobodies and my Owner Original Luchadora is going to be mortgaging her house to support it.  Or maybe not - the funny thing was - it worked.  I got round the keeping track of things problem by putting everyone in Stables and made the whole fed about Faction Warfare which felt very Lucha Libre.  Booking was easy because If I have a faction of 6 people and another faction of 6 people matching them up in various Lucha matches is pretty easy.  I mean I still bled money at first but stuff clicked pretty quickly.  I think with any way people choose to book it's finding what works for you and the same with just playing in general - it has to be fun for you.  

[Taylor2020]

For saves like WWE (in whatever year), I usually just plan up to the next big seasonal event (usually WrestleMania or SummerSlam), though to be fair my saves usually don't go more than a few in-game months on most occasions.

[VBigB]

I definitely fall into the "I don't really plan". I typically have a few short term goals (like a particular worker I want to push) and then some general rules of thumb. For example if I have a company where face/heal divide is important then I like to have roughly equal numbers of each at every perception level. So if it starts to get lopsided I will select who to push, de-push, or turn and work towards that. Other than that I tend to pre-book my main event and any special match aims after the last show so that basically means I'm pre-booking events a month in advance. This isn't related but I've gotten into the habit of putting an abbreviation at the end of my match titles so I can tell at a glance where they are. For example:

X vs. Y (STS) - is steel the show.

X vs. Z (CC) - is calm the crowd.

You get the idea. Makes it easier to move things around and I can tell at a glance if I have all my products required Match Aims on the card.

[Zero]

Depends.  I know what the major beats will be 1-3 years or more in advance.  I know who I want to be my main champions and I know when/where I want it.

Then I work backwards.  Basically Big Event to Big Event.  

[SanX]

Season finale and working towards it. Weekly/monthly are by the cuff though.

[beemer]

My company is so small (think we just got to a 13 pop in my primary region), that it's almost show-to-show planning.

However, my product needs storylines, so I use the storylines to guide what matchups appear more often on the cards.

[Irish Wolf]

So I keep an exact roster (In this case blue is the highlight of every person in a story line. I have shows booked like this including times, referee and road agents used and after I run it I input the ratings of each segment and it will calculate close to what I should be getting. Hell I even have a whole spread sheet set up to figure out what my merch income will be based my popularity and monthly attendance. This way I can see when it's viable to move up to the next level. I keep Storylines and what's happened in them and plans for the future with them on another sheet so I know what I'm doing if I'm away from the game for a few days. I just cannot play without keeping everything completely organized

[Dawn]

That is awesome. I wish I had the time plus effort to do a sheet of the sort. Kudos.

[alpha2117]

I got around worrying about spreadsheets by having factions (stables) each with 5 people.  It's not hard to book little match blocks for 10 people to keep a storyline flowing for about 6 months.  Then just change some storylines and move the factions to new feuds.  I imagine later on I will need to do the spreadsheet thing as my fed grows and things become more complicated but early on just using the faction storylines is easy enough.

[Doctor Crunch]

18 minutes ago, alpha2117 said:

I got around worrying about spreadsheets by having factions (stables) each with 5 people.  It's not hard to book little match blocks for 10 people to keep a storyline flowing for about 6 months.  Then just change some storylines and move the factions to new feuds.  I imagine later on I will need to do the spreadsheet thing as my fed grows and things become more complicated but early on just using the faction storylines is easy enough.

I use stables pretty heavily and having them feud, or having a stable feud with a tag team can be a good story driver. I tend to know who the next couple of title contenders are for the main belts, but other than that I tend to plan for the monthly after next.

[JD Gans]

I do show to show, if have a storyline might have it planned out for that month.  Other than that really don't plan that much in advance.