Since JConte destroyed Gridiron Dynasty, will someone summarize the state of HD now?

I've played a few seasons, found it a little boring, but naturally my interest is piqued right now due to March Madness.

Strengths/weaknesses of the current game?  Does the development team actually improve the game or do they give it the JConte treatment?

Thanks in advance

It's a fantastically addicting game. seble has made a few mistakes in the past, but he gets them fixed and works hard to improve the game.

Dude, just look at the forums. I'm a GD player who is getting into HD. Seble actually talks and tells people what is going on and listens to suggestions. Jconte has never even tried to do that.

I've only been totally immersed in HD since about last October or so, and I've found it to be incredibly addictive.  I informed my wife that we WOULD be home from a family gathering Saturday before recruiting begins for one of my teams or else!  (I never elaborated on what "else" meant).  And I'm now worried that if we take a vacation next fall like we've talked, I might miss something important.

Add the cost of a good laptop to my vacation expenses, I guess.

Seriously, I think it takes a while to get the hang of this simulation's fine points.  I started out on the wrong foot and I'm still trying to make up for my early mistakes.  The good news is that you always get another season to recruit better players and win more games.

I'm going to be driving about 12-14 hours a day for much of Knight recruiting.  Oh well...  Only 2 openings, so I should be ok.

Its incredibly addictive in the beginning, but the problems begin to nag at you and eventually drove me out. Im back right now but I will never be as into HD as I was for those first few years.   

Years is pretty long...  I still think SLB is the most rewarding, continuously interesting game on the site, but HD is pretty fun.

I've played for quite awhile, and I took a couple short-lived hiatuses, but just like any great product, even when I start to grow bored of it, I just have this sudden urge to return to it.  HD is incredibly addicting, and though some changes are simply cosmetic or even damaging to the game at times, seble always seems to get things fixed.  Sometimes he overcorrects or changes things at awkward times (like adjusting the engine in the middle of an ongoing season), but he definitely communicates with the HD community and does his best to keep things rolling.

CS can be a ***** sometimes, but still, I've grown to love this game.  It's terribly addicting, equally frustrating at times, but still, I always come back for more.  It's kind of a love to hate to love relationship. 

Posted by ethan66 on 3/17/2011 11:50:00 PM (view original):
I've only been totally immersed in HD since about last October or so, and I've found it to be incredibly addictive.  I informed my wife that we WOULD be home from a family gathering Saturday before recruiting begins for one of my teams or else!  (I never elaborated on what "else" meant).  And I'm now worried that if we take a vacation next fall like we've talked, I might miss something important.

Add the cost of a good laptop to my vacation expenses, I guess.

Seriously, I think it takes a while to get the hang of this simulation's fine points.  I started out on the wrong foot and I'm still trying to make up for my early mistakes.  The good news is that you always get another season to recruit better players and win more games.

ethan, you can always get someone to help out for you in recruiting if you're not going to be around.

Any thoughts on the strengths/weaknesses of the engine?

Very addictive game. The engine is flawed, but Seble is always tweaking (and usually improving) it.

I find DII to be the only division that I really enjoy playing in......being an low-mid major D1 team is sometimes unbearable with the way that recruiting and baseline prestige is set up.

I find that individual matchups and gameplanning have more of an effect in the new engine (though some might disagree) - it just takes a good amount of time to see what works and what doesn't.

This is a great game....not perfect, but a lot of fun.

Posted by bbunch on 3/18/2011 1:08:00 PM (view original):
Very addictive game. The engine is flawed, but Seble is always tweaking (and usually improving) it.

I find DII to be the only division that I really enjoy playing in......being an low-mid major D1 team is sometimes unbearable with the way that recruiting and baseline prestige is set up.

I find that individual matchups and gameplanning have more of an effect in the new engine (though some might disagree) - it just takes a good amount of time to see what works and what doesn't.

This is a great game....not perfect, but a lot of fun.

Could you elaborate on the mid-major D1 recruiting being unbearable?

the D1 recruiting is somewhat like real life in that the top programs usually get the top recruits.
About a year ago there was a change made to the recruits, whereas the talent level dropped extremely after those top level recruits.

So it appears the lower level D1 teams will have a very difficult time competing on the court with the top programs.  That's what made HD enjoyable for many coaches.  Tha ability to raise a program from the Horizon or Ivy League and often compete on a level paying field as the more prestigious programs.

The built-in baseline prestige can also make it more difficult for teams within the same conference of maintaining the same prestige levels.   Rutgers may be able to string a few very good seasons together and gain equal footing with a UConn.  But one bad season by Rutgers and they fall back closer to their baseline level. 

Is there a listing of baseline prestige?  Sounds like elites in GD.

Also, do top players in D1 go pro after a year or two?

I agree with what they're saying. When I originally started playing HD a year ago, I wanted to work my way up to Creighton and try to make them competitive. But shortly after, I found out that's not really possible anymore, so I've been hanging out in D2. It's still a lot of fun, but I think D1 should be the most fun, which it isn't (from what I hear).