Meanwhile i would fine practice plan dynasty completely unattractive.

Posted by bistiza on 9/21/2012 2:54:00 PM (view original):

If there are major issues with any player on a team I presently have, most of them probably have little to do with me, as I haven't been with any of my present teams for more than two seasons. I know that because I haven't been playing HD (recently) for very long.

I actually don't like the idea of potential. While realistic, it limits things too much in my opinion. I remember when I used to be able to recruit whoever based soley on starting ratings and then adapt them however I wanted by practicing whatever I wanted, and they'd improve without limitation simply based upon minutes practiced in a given area. Now that was nice.

Then again, that meant everyone just went after the highest rated recruits, or those who already had established high ratings in certain areas. Still, it was nice to be able to make your players improve the way you wanted instead of worrying about potentials, FSS, etc.

I'll start using FSS more than I have and we shall see if it helps.

you pretty much nail the major change of potential here. early in potential, i had my greatest success, and it was largely a function of focusing extensively on making sure the projection of the players i recruited worked together very well, to make a great team. having a lot of talent is nice and all, but it doesnt win you championships unless its arrayed properly - you see so many teams with 4 seniors, all bigs, that kind of thing - it just doesn't help. it really holds you back.

so, in the old game, you could basically just recruit, look at your weaknesses, and practice accordingly. now, you have to think ahead 2, 3, 4 seasons - and make sure the players your recruits will become mesh ideally. its not easy, but it reaps MASSIVE dividends. i actually quite enjoy it. instead of just needing to know what it takes to build great synergy into a team, recruiting talent, and then molding it - you have to recruit strategically to make it happen. its a major challenge, and it definitely takes a while to get used to. that was my primary focus early in potential and the difference between using the projections and recruiting strategically, and doing things the "old" way or just recruiting talent, is an unovercomable advantage. i would go as far as to say, recruiting (in the traditional sense, finding talent, recruiting mechanics, etc) is no longer the most important part of the game. its team planning - putting together a group of guys who works well together. it can easily be a 10 point per game difference, easily. you can take a pretty talented team, poorly crafted, put it up against an equally talented team, expertly crafted, and win a whopping 5% of the time. its THAT important. 

so, yeah, its different. and if you like the old way, maybe that sucks. but all in all, i think it really adds to the game, and it has become (outside of forums and BSing), by a large margin, my favorite part of the game. i was against it early, just like you - but take my advice on this one - give it a real shot, there is a good chance you will really like it. some coaches didnt, plenty quit over it. but i think most coaches today appreciate the changes. the initial implementation of potential was horrible, disasterous, and i believe that is what made so many coaches quit. but the current implementation really is quite enjoyable! :)

Posted by a_in_the_b on 9/21/2012 11:48:00 AM (view original):
Ok - put it this way. I see you havea team in vermont. A scouting trip costs, say, 150 to 160 locally. By the time you have sent two scoutin reports, you have already paid for fssing all of Vermont.

This.

And bistiza, the old, linear way of improvement was ridiculous. Every player in every category improving the same way (assuming other variables are adjusted for). Having potential brings significantly more strategy into the equation.

For every player you sign without using FSS you will be at a disadvantage over nearly everyone else.

Not using FSS in D2/D3 is a recipe for disaster.  You may get lucky every once in awhile, but long term, the coaches who use FSS are going to recruit much, MUCH better than those who don't.

Totally off topic here, but since it appears this thread is going to be popular and stay near the top of the page, could you please change the title to the correct spelling of "naive".  Don't want to sound like the grammar police but it's killing me to see the word spelled "naieve".  Thanks Bistiza.

Sure. Funny, I made a typo and didn't already correct it - just kept overlooking it like it wasn't there for some reason LOL.

And yes, I'm going to be using FSS all the time now. You guys have got me convinced its worth it.

It really is worth it, especially at the lower levels.