I have to say, this thread has been an awesome way to pass the dead period between the NT and recruiting in Iba D2!

To put it bluntly- for me -: I wouldn't want to play at a level where I lost consistently either for any length of time. However, it would equally lose my interest if I just finished 35-0 and won the nt every year as well.

Posted by bistiza on 3/13/2015 6:33:00 PM (view original):

Posted by a_in_the_b on 3/13/2015 4:53:00 PM (view original):
Seems like what you are doing is more accurately described as enjoying the LACK of competition, just to be honest?

Competition is going against an opponent and trying your best to get the win. It's not any less or more competitive whether your opponent is the world's best at whatever you're playing or the world's worst or anywhere between - your goal is simply to get the W. That's competition to me.


When I play games, I want them to be fun. When I'm angry and frustrated, that's not having fun, and I'm angry and frustrated when I lose.

Who among us wants to be angry and frustrated? Not many people, I'd imagine. So if you can find a way to be less angry and frustrated, why would you not want to do it?

THAT is why when I play video games, I make sure I never lose. It's also why I wish WIS would put out a version of HD where you can play in your own world against only SimAI opponents. It probably won't happen, but I'd be thrilled if it did.

I happen to be the exact opposite when I'm playing a game between just the computer and I Bistiza.  What I do is handicap myself as much as the game will possibly allow me to, then I attempt to take an extremely weak team and overcome those challenges.  I play a lot of Football Manager besides this game and when I take over a new franchise, I almost always make it in the shittiest level possible for whatever country I've chosen to use.

Why?  Because I enjoy the challenge.  Is it frustrating?  At times yes, very much so.  But to me, the satisfaction I get from overcoming all the obstacles and handicaps I've set out against myself and being able to promote my team to the next higher league, to win that nation's domestic cup, to try to qualify for the Champions League (if I'm using a European country, for instance) is much more satisfying to me then just crushing the computer teams 8-0 or 10-0 every time. 

I think that's what most people commenting here are saying and what most people commenting here are equating to "competition".  The challenge.  One of the reasons that most people don't like playing in a conference full of Sim teams.

To each their own though, neither way is any more "right" than the other, it just comes down to personal choice.  My choice is to challenge myself, yours appears to be domination of the game.  Nothing wrong with either I suppose.

Posted by a_in_the_b on 3/13/2015 11:52:00 PM (view original):
To put it bluntly- for me -: I wouldn't want to play at a level where I lost consistently either for any length of time. However, it would equally lose my interest if I just finished 35-0 and won the nt every year as well.

Yeah, it especially sucks when you've always been told how good you are at something and you've become accustomed to performing well and winning most of the time and all of a sudden you go straight from that to struggling to do as well as you did before and losing almost all the time.

It's different though in bowling than, say, basketball. Not only are your opponents MUCH better than before, but the lane conditions you have to adjust to are much more difficult. If it was basketball, I think it would be like being a great college player going to the NBA - and in the NBA, not only are you not one of the most talented anymore, but the baskets now move when you shoot.

Yes, it's a thrill when you go against someone who is clearly better than you and pull off an upset - no question, that feels great. Still, it sucks to lose that much, especially when you're not used to that idea.

Posted by emy1013 on 3/14/2015 2:04:00 AM (view original):

Posted by bistiza on 3/13/2015 6:33:00 PM (view original):

Posted by a_in_the_b on 3/13/2015 4:53:00 PM (view original):
Seems like what you are doing is more accurately described as enjoying the LACK of competition, just to be honest?

Competition is going against an opponent and trying your best to get the win. It's not any less or more competitive whether your opponent is the world's best at whatever you're playing or the world's worst or anywhere between - your goal is simply to get the W. That's competition to me.


When I play games, I want them to be fun. When I'm angry and frustrated, that's not having fun, and I'm angry and frustrated when I lose.

Who among us wants to be angry and frustrated? Not many people, I'd imagine. So if you can find a way to be less angry and frustrated, why would you not want to do it?

THAT is why when I play video games, I make sure I never lose. It's also why I wish WIS would put out a version of HD where you can play in your own world against only SimAI opponents. It probably won't happen, but I'd be thrilled if it did.

I happen to be the exact opposite when I'm playing a game between just the computer and I Bistiza.  What I do is handicap myself as much as the game will possibly allow me to, then I attempt to take an extremely weak team and overcome those challenges.  I play a lot of Football Manager besides this game and when I take over a new franchise, I almost always make it in the shittiest level possible for whatever country I've chosen to use.

Why?  Because I enjoy the challenge.  Is it frustrating?  At times yes, very much so.  But to me, the satisfaction I get from overcoming all the obstacles and handicaps I've set out against myself and being able to promote my team to the next higher league, to win that nation's domestic cup, to try to qualify for the Champions League (if I'm using a European country, for instance) is much more satisfying to me then just crushing the computer teams 8-0 or 10-0 every time. 

I think that's what most people commenting here are saying and what most people commenting here are equating to "competition".  The challenge.  One of the reasons that most people don't like playing in a conference full of Sim teams.

To each their own though, neither way is any more "right" than the other, it just comes down to personal choice.  My choice is to challenge myself, yours appears to be domination of the game.  Nothing wrong with either I suppose.

I appreciate that you can see things from my perspective and aren't just hammering me for not having fun the same way you do.

I'm being honest when I say I would prefer to play in my own world with just me on one team and only SimAI on all the others. I would love to have that as an option, and I suppose theoretically they could get it done (if they were willing to work on it). 

Then those of you who enjoy going against each other could keep playing the existing worlds, while I (and others like me - in the words of the Sam Smith song, I know I'm not the only one) have fun playing the sims. Win-win for everyone.

I also want to APOLOGIZE for, well, the way I realize I came across in much of the thread. I'm sorry; I was just frustrated and ranting.

I really do appreciate the attempts to help me or explain things, and I'm sorry if I sounded like a ****.

Meh. Everyone has those days.

Posted by bistiza on 3/14/2015 11:50:00 AM (view original):
I also want to APOLOGIZE for, well, the way I realize I came across in much of the thread. I'm sorry; I was just frustrated and ranting.

I really do appreciate the attempts to help me or explain things, and I'm sorry if I sounded like a ****.

I may just be piping up for no reason (as usual) and I haven't read much of this thread at all, but I do remember the good old days when you first joined HD, and I wanted to compliment you on this post and your current mindset about folks trying to help explain our collective understanding of the game engine...kudos

Actually, I first joined HD when it first began, back in 2004 I believe. I re-joined in 2012, and I think that's the time you're referring to.

Posted by bistiza on 3/14/2015 2:19:00 PM (view original):
Actually, I first joined HD when it first began, back in 2004 I believe. I re-joined in 2012, and I think that's the time you're referring to.

I don't think I knew that, or I''d forgotten. But yes :)  Was it really that long ago already? man...

Posted by bistiza on 3/14/2015 11:50:00 AM (view original):
I also want to APOLOGIZE for, well, the way I realize I came across in much of the thread. I'm sorry; I was just frustrated and ranting.

I really do appreciate the attempts to help me or explain things, and I'm sorry if I sounded like a ****.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't feel like you need to apologize to anyone.  We all have those kind of days, it's part of being human.

Ranting is good sometimes.  My fellow conference coaches in the CACC in Rupp tell me they always look forward to my next rant, but I don't do it to be funny or humorous or anything like that.  I just do it to let off steam.  Now that I think about it though, I always end up apologizing for my rants too.  Huh.


P.S.  That would be one of my suggestions for an "upgrade", make the conference message board bigger.  When I let loose with an epic ***** session, it can end up stretching over two, three, and sometimes more pages (those are the all-timers there and almost always go well beyond HD).  It stinks having to hit the go back to previous page thing, just make it so we can read it all on one page.  This is, of course, mostly in jest but every once in awhile I do need an extra page or three.

You guys are awesome for not thinking less of me for ranting like a little *****, and it makes me feel a bit better to know that you guys sometimes do it too. So thanks for that.

I bet EA Sports has a game.  You could set it on the easiest mode and knock yourself out.  It's true - it's more fun to win than lose.

Posted by bistiza on 3/14/2015 11:20:00 AM (view original):

Posted by a_in_the_b on 3/13/2015 11:52:00 PM (view original):
To put it bluntly- for me -: I wouldn't want to play at a level where I lost consistently either for any length of time. However, it would equally lose my interest if I just finished 35-0 and won the nt every year as well.

Yeah, it especially sucks when you've always been told how good you are at something and you've become accustomed to performing well and winning most of the time and all of a sudden you go straight from that to struggling to do as well as you did before and losing almost all the time.

It's different though in bowling than, say, basketball. Not only are your opponents MUCH better than before, but the lane conditions you have to adjust to are much more difficult. If it was basketball, I think it would be like being a great college player going to the NBA - and in the NBA, not only are you not one of the most talented anymore, but the baskets now move when you shoot.

Yes, it's a thrill when you go against someone who is clearly better than you and pull off an upset - no question, that feels great. Still, it sucks to lose that much, especially when you're not used to that idea.

Haha. Ok, the lane conditions change by place, but you can't compare that to the NCAA to NBA jump. Sure, the baskets don't move. But not every arena is the same, courts react differently, different sight lines for shooting, even light placement matters. Same ideas as bowling lane conditions, plus the obvious talent/athleticism difference (whereas in bowling your opponents can't elbow you in the face, or push you around).

I don't doubt that professional bowling is very, very difficult. Regular Joe bowling is difficult. But let's not get carried away and compare it to the NBA.

Posted by getbedarded on 3/15/2015 4:20:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bistiza on 3/14/2015 11:20:00 AM (view original):

Posted by a_in_the_b on 3/13/2015 11:52:00 PM (view original):
To put it bluntly- for me -: I wouldn't want to play at a level where I lost consistently either for any length of time. However, it would equally lose my interest if I just finished 35-0 and won the nt every year as well.

Yeah, it especially sucks when you've always been told how good you are at something and you've become accustomed to performing well and winning most of the time and all of a sudden you go straight from that to struggling to do as well as you did before and losing almost all the time.

It's different though in bowling than, say, basketball. Not only are your opponents MUCH better than before, but the lane conditions you have to adjust to are much more difficult. If it was basketball, I think it would be like being a great college player going to the NBA - and in the NBA, not only are you not one of the most talented anymore, but the baskets now move when you shoot.

Yes, it's a thrill when you go against someone who is clearly better than you and pull off an upset - no question, that feels great. Still, it sucks to lose that much, especially when you're not used to that idea.

Haha. Ok, the lane conditions change by place, but you can't compare that to the NCAA to NBA jump. Sure, the baskets don't move. But not every arena is the same, courts react differently, different sight lines for shooting, even light placement matters. Same ideas as bowling lane conditions, plus the obvious talent/athleticism difference (whereas in bowling your opponents can't elbow you in the face, or push you around).

I don't doubt that professional bowling is very, very difficult. Regular Joe bowling is difficult. But let's not get carried away and compare it to the NBA.

While I've never played NCAA and NBA basketball, going from being among the best bowlers in a really good amateur league to being one of the worst going up against tour pros has to be just as bad as being dominant in college basketball and being an also-ran in the NBA. But like I said, the court conditions themselves don't change in the NBA.

For my sake, please don't insult bowling. I hate it when people act like bowling isn't just as much a sport as anything else. It may require different muscles and sets of athletic skills, but it's still a sport. 

It's interesting to note while every single serious bowler I know - most in leagues, and a few others - thought it was amazing that I got that opportunity, even if I lost a great deal, yet non-bowlers (or those who don't take the game seriously at all) are the ONLY ones who ever questioned whether it's a "real" sport.

Some people think because bowling is casual recreation to them that no one should be considered a pro at it. Well, many people play in casual rec leagues and pickup basketball games all the time - no one ever questions if the NBA is really pro basketball.

Anyway, take it from someone who has bowled both against very good amateur competition and against very good pro competition - the gulf between the two is probably similar to the gulf between very good amateurs and very good pros in ANY sport.