One season ago, I let my loaded UCR team in DI Naimsmith go sim for a season.   I wanted to see if coaching mattered anymore.   The short answer is, it does not matter.   The team went to the NT final- losing 3 games all year.   I long thought this was an issue, but I only confirmed it by letting them go sim to see how they would perform.

How the game has been made worse:
     1) Variablity.  You never see complaints about odd results anymore.   If you think that is a good thing, you have no idea about how slot machines work- or how to build an addiction.
     1a)  Game Strategy doesn't matter.   +5 doesn't work, -5 doesn't work.  These strategies should have an opportunity to be sucessful when the opponent has a strategically flawed gameplan.   Likewise, you should be able to capitalize on a sims predictability.   There is limited ability to do that.
      1b) Shooting is not a completely independent event.    What a magnificent way to kill any chance for an upset.   This has been a game killer- despite more normal looking box scores
      1c) Too few high level recruits in DI.     This wouldn't be so bad if there was any coaching strategy left in the game.   But since there is not, and since low prestiges have no ability to find diamonds in the rough, or to land a top 20 recruit, it is particularly problematic.


There is a fine line between creating variable results based on game strategy and variable results based on random events.   It is my belief that the former is a very serious problem and the later a mild to moderate one.     I honestly can't remember the last time I've been upset by an obviously inferior team.   Who would sign up to play a game where they know the results before the game is played?

My suggestions:
     1) Fix the above items, beginning with 1a
      2) Make the game lines an actual  prediction of expected results, so that you can see the extent to which your game differed from the expected result.

Posted by mccabemi on 1/21/2011 6:14:00 PM (view original):
I'd rather play a game where it actually mattered how I played the game.

Posted by mccabemi on 1/21/2011 6:14:00 PM (view original):
I'd rather play a game where it actually mattered how I played the game.

Posted by girt25 on 1/21/2011 10:08:00 PM (view original):
mcc, I 100% disagree that game strategy doesn't matter. I see games won and lost every single night because of good or bad game strategy. What you said there just isn't true, by a longshot.

The point about DI recruits needing to be tweaked I definitely agree with. I don't think they need more truly high-level recruits, but I think they clearly need more in the echelon or two or three behind the really high-level guys, and fewer low potentials in general. By far the biggest problem at DI right now, and there's not a close second.

Posted by uglyskunk3 on 1/21/2011 8:30:00 PM (view original):
coaching matters. setting up a game plan matters. mccabemi set your team on -5 and put your distro at zero for the rest of your games lets see how well your team does. 

how did coach after coach fail to put up a winning gameplan when your team was in sim mode?  that is the problem, not the game.

I don't think -4 or -5 are viable options anymore.    I'd rather that they were.

Posted by mccabemi on 1/22/2011 8:02:00 PM (view original):

Posted by uglyskunk3 on 1/21/2011 8:30:00 PM (view original):
coaching matters. setting up a game plan matters. mccabemi set your team on -5 and put your distro at zero for the rest of your games lets see how well your team does. 

how did coach after coach fail to put up a winning gameplan when your team was in sim mode?  that is the problem, not the game.

I don't think -4 or -5 are viable options anymore.    I'd rather that they were.