Some Observations from my time at Toledo

[somapopper]

Here are a few ideas based on my first experiences with this game, coaching a low prestige mid-major team: 1. Hyperlinks. There's too much info in the game, particurally in emails, that requires you to slog back through to some other screen and figure out what on earth is being talked about. Simply allowing the user to click on a player's name in the email to go to the player card would be a big help. 2. The recruiting reccomendation email should be done away with, and that info included in the standard recruiting screen after you have scouted the player (i.e. number of schools recruiting, number of scholarship numbers). 3. More in-game feedback on recruiting in general, specifically what the effect of the different scouting services is, and how your region and position spending are impacting the pool you're getting. 4. List the high school level of competition number next to the stats, as it is the only way to get this info is from the monitor recruits screen, which is impossible to navigate. 5. What's the intention for 4,5, and 6 interest recruits? Are they supposed to be players who can become interested in your program, or players who will sign with you if they don't recieve any other offers? I assumed 1,2, and 3 interest players would never come to your school, but I think I accidentally left a scholarship offer up for a one interest 2-star guy with no other offers and he ended up signing. I've also offered 5 interest 3-star guys scholarships when they had no other offers in the final week, and they chose not to sign. 6. Can a school's academic rating change, does it have any impact on the game? 7. end of season evaluations seem too hard on low prestige programs. It's rough seeing an F for talent an F for recruiting and a D for team preformance after you've won the confrence for the second season in a row while the board expected a bottom of the table finish. Perhaps all of the ratings could be adjusted somewhat based on school prestige or conference? 8. It'd be nice if a team that was dominating a confrence like the wac the mac or the sunbelt over a number of years might get an invite to confrence usa, or the big east, or something. I believe you could just move the team yourself, but that's not nearly as fun. 9. I haven't seen anybody else post about this one, but it's definately frustrating to me: I can't win games simming that I can easily win calling the plays. This wouldn't be quite so frustrating if it wasn't true for teams that I seem to have a good deal more talent than. I spend the max or near it on all the scouting budget items, have coordinators with at least yellow ratings in game plans, and put in the suggested values for strategies and gameplans, yet I still can't beat teams that I'm more talented than, have a 10 point spread on, and I'm playing at home. I like playing games occasionally, but I feel forced to play them when simming gives me consistently horrible results. 10. On that note, the in-game engine feels far too much like a game of rock paper scissors. For instance, teams seem to have more success running out of shotgun and trips type formations than they do out of power I's. The AI seems to try to trick you into a pass defense and then run in pretty silly situations, like 3rd and 18, with far far too much success. I mean, how often do you really see a run for a first down on 3rd and 18? Also, if I call a 4-4 run defense against a run out of the shotgun, that run should almost never get anywhere. And finally, at least for crappy quarterbacks, short passes seem to be too good, and medium and long passes are too weak. I know there are other things about the in-game engine that I can't think of at the moment, my fundamental complaint is that it can fairly often not feel like you're playing a game of football. 11. Training should be explained, specifically are academic and adaptability training important to guys who are going to stay elligible and aren't going to switch positions or play multiple roles. And, if I recruit an athlete and switch his position does he need adaptability training, how much? What about his second year after he's switched, will he degrade if I don't keep putting points towards it? Anyway, thanks for a great game Arlie. Hope you're feeling better.

[johnmcc]

I like the idea #8, that'd be a great addition to the game, although i think you would have to dominate the conference for a little longer than a few seasons.

[johnmcc]

I like the idea #8, that'd be a great addition to the game, although i think you would have to dominate the conference for a little longer than a few seasons.