Planned Update - Later this Year Topic

I won't be working on the update quite yet, but I wanted to get the discussion started.  We've basically been cleared for a few months of development for GD and it is going to focus on the Simulation Engine and Game Plans.  For the engine, I'd like to concentrate on adding more cause and effect as well as adding to the output of the game.  For game plans, I'd like to add more control on setting how your team plays and remove as much of the random play selection as possible, even if it means rebuilding how we set game plans altogether.

When it gets closer to the time when I can work on these things, I'll post with more info.  I'd really like to hear more ideas on game plans.  I know #1 add passing distribution, #2 add passing distribution, so let's start on #3 on down.  There are a couple things I'd like to shoot for with game plans.  They shouldn't require a billion options to set, and there should be simple settings that everyone can set quickly and advanced settings that people can tweak a little more only if they choose.

One avenue of game plan setting on offense I've been throwing around is a way to focus on plays and setting up options on each play and the conditions in which they are used, rather than looking at each situation (down and distance) and setting random formation and style selections.  How this would work without violating the "don't set a billion options" rules, I don't know.  Which is why I'm tossing the discussion out here.

I also think we can separate how you play the game from the plays you use.  For instance, I'd like to be able to set something that says I want to be a passing team, or a rushing team, or open the game with passing and then work on rushing when passing starts being less successful.  I think this would allow the coaches to really set up passing or rushing playbooks without hoping it just randomly comes out that way.

So please feel free to express any ideas you have or provide any concerns you have about setting up your game plans.  Don't try to confine ideas to the current settings.  At this point, work will probably begin around March with a few months of development and I'm planning on having around a month of beta testing on the update.

I realize this could lead to some big posts, so please try to keep them on topic.
1/25/2012 11:14 AM
You must put in a gameplan option for inside own 20 or 10 or whatever.  This would help eliminate the excess safeties.
1/25/2012 11:42 AM
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Formation specific depth charts
1/25/2012 12:26 PM
separate offensive and defensive gameplans -- rather than 1 integrated gameplan
1/25/2012 1:06 PM
I like the "basic settings" and "advanced settings" idea for gameplanning. And with the advanced settings, the more control the better. Possibly the ability to substitute in a "running QB" for certain situations. Also control over the pace of our offense with no huddle/milk the clock type options.
1/25/2012 1:06 PM
Posted by andrew5975 on 1/25/2012 1:06:00 PM (view original):
I like the "basic settings" and "advanced settings" idea for gameplanning. And with the advanced settings, the more control the better. Possibly the ability to substitute in a "running QB" for certain situations. Also control over the pace of our offense with no huddle/milk the clock type options.
What he said.

Also, I would like to see some sort of defensive game plan fine detail. Being able to set a corner blitz as opposed to just "aggressive" would be entertaining.
1/25/2012 2:30 PM
Posted by glaity on 1/25/2012 1:06:00 PM (view original):
separate offensive and defensive gameplans -- rather than 1 integrated gameplan
This. 

Change the logic settings to "If my offense has scored less than..." or "If my total offensive yards are less than...".  Currently, there's no way to differentiate between the change in strategy necessary when losing 14-0 versus 28-14.
1/25/2012 2:31 PM
separate practice settings for different individual positions. especially for defensive positions
1/25/2012 3:40 PM

I'm on my phone, so please forgive grammar and spelling errors.

Smarter individual practice settings - If I have a pure fullback, I may want to work on his blocking strength and hands, more than I do his speed and elusiveness. Same for a receiving TE, or if I have  QB with 90 tech, I don't want to work him on "Passing" but the back-up I have with a 60 tech, I certainly DO want to work on tech

Smarter team practice settings/formation - An OL doesn't care if its a pro set, trips or shotgun. they care, Pass or Run.  DL don't care if its nickle, dime, etc, they care if its 4 technique or 3 technique, are they playing DE or DT.  (you get the point)

For folks who don’t want that much detail, you can have a “Basic” and “Advance” practice setting.

Offensive and defensive game plans.


Give us different formation options (this can be done within what we have):  I-formation - Power I (right and left), I-Big (2TE).  Pro set - 2 RB no FB, 1 TE, 2 TE. Trips w/ 2 TE or 0 TE, bunch or spread.  Shotgun with 1 RB, etc.

Mix in some new formations – Offense: Single Back (1 TE, 2TE, 0TE), Pistol. Defense 6-1, 4-6 (Bears), 3-3 Stack, 3-5-3 nickel (for those teams running 3 technique)

Allow us Man or Zone coverage preferences on Defense, so IF we have a fantastic "Revis" style CB, we can put him on an "island" and maybe be a little better against the run or pass.

play calls - simple ones like Run - Off tackle, dive, sweep, trap.  Left or right.  Pass - Slant, post, hook, button, fade, wheel.
Defense - Nickel cover 2, 4-3 read (balance), dime - quarters. etc.

Audible - if there were anyway where I could tell my QB "If we have a dive play called out of I-form and the defense is in a 5-2 - audible to a sweep or a slant"

For the love of all that is holy if nothing else - make the defensive tendencies and style, make more sense.   

1/25/2012 3:43 PM
For defensive settings, I think it makes more sense to key on personnel match ups rather than just flat out formations.  It would be nice to see different defensive sets and coverage.  It would take some research into defensive coverages which I kind of know but will admit I'm not that knowledgeable about.  It will be a big change in the engine, but that's kind of the point of the update.  If I can get the players set up on how they influence the play based on their position, I should be able to allow quite a few combinations on defense.  Should also allow more plays on offense.  The key to making this worthwhile is making the engine account for player ability more. It would mean very little to have a Revis CB if he didn't affect the play.  But if you are facing a Revis CB, you should also have options on offense on how you want to handle that.  I think if player ability matters more, and there are options to focus on players on offense and defense, then game planning by default will matter more.

But let me add a disclaimer - I don't think I'll have enough time to totally rewrite the engine, so when I start mucking around in the guys of it and find that it would take more time than I have to totally get to where we want, I might have to compromise on some of the features we would like.  What I won't do is leave it in an in between state where part of it works and part of it doesn't.  But it's better to have a goal of where we would like the game to be and head down that road than to just tweak it here and there with no clear idea of where we are going.

On the topic of separate defensive game plan settings - I think we will be putting out a minor update before we start working on the major update and I'd like to split out the Offensive and Defensive game plan drop downs.  This would basically add another drop down to the game plan setting with the same game plans in the list as in the offensive drop down, but everything else is the same. How you build the game plans would remain the same with each playbook having settings for offense and defense, but you could pick separate playbooks for offense and defense for each situation.
1/25/2012 5:02 PM
There is another sim football game out their that a lot of GD players are also playing. The game is inferior to GD but the best part of that game is the gameplanning element. It might be worth your while to just look at the functionality of that gameplanning.
1/25/2012 5:52 PM
Thanks for the hard work Norbert. You give us hope for the future.
1/25/2012 5:55 PM
Goal line formations would be appreciated as well, piggy backing off the excessive safeties post by stingray. Maybe just adding in, game plan changes inside your own 20 would suffice.
1/25/2012 7:11 PM
I would like to see in game planning a way where I would have control of which players go in and in what formation.  Right now I set up my starters but lets say I have a 2nd string RB that I want to start in the game too, instead of picking the 50/50 option I should be able to say my 1st RB goes in under I-Formation and Wishbone but my 2nd RB goes in when I use Pro-Set and ND Box, this will allow a coach to have more control of which players they put in the game and at what time;  I am want to say thank you Norbert for all the hard work it has been notice.
1/25/2012 7:21 PM
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