As proof that no one give s a sh*t about this game anymore I give you U of Cincinnati (Smith world).
https://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/History.aspx?tid=5248

A decent school in a decent location holding up a decent B+ prestige with back to back tourney trips. Here's how HD goes about runing a program after a decent human coach leaves.

Step 1 - make it so hard that decent coaches who would make a lateral move to UC actually cant because the job process tells them they are not qualified. The only coaches who are actually qualified would consider UC a step down. Worse case example - after UC went 0-27 last season I was considered a long shot to get the job.

Step 2 - ensure SIM AI recruiting is so bad that there is no WORKING process to make sure they dont take on ...lets say .... 6 walkons.

There are some obvious solutions to these problems. There is no secret that they exist. A shame when 3.0 was rolled out, these problems couldnt be addressed.

It is sad. This game is so close to being an incredible game. 3.0 Works as I asked them to do many times with recruiting. I really enjoy the fact that D3 schools can recruit D1 players.... however, the fact that they can't get this game advertised properly to fill the worlds again makes it unrealistic. I honestly feel that if we could get this game filled again like it was in the glory days of WIS (pre-sale to fox).

Since I returned, I really enjoy the recruiting realism and it's no longer who can spend the most on a recruit with the highest prestige to land a player. That said, the hiring process does leave a lot to be desired. I do agree to move up to power conferences and mid-majors you do need to have sustained success, but I think the necessity of deep runs in the tournament do not always provide that "proof" of success. Being in a low level conference... making the NT 3 out of 5 seasons is pretty much sustained success and you should qualify for mid-majors or low level teams in power conferences. You shouldn't need NT wins, just making the tournament should be enough.

As far as Sim AI hiring, the easy solution is to allow Sim AI to have 1 extra recruiting period and have them fill all but 2 scholarships (or fill them all). That way they aren't getting the practice penalty, they are at least somewhat competitive in games and humans taking over the school wouldn't get stuck with a ton of scholarship openings in the 2nd recruiting season and not having many quality players to fill them with.

But I agree, this game has some major flaws which hurts the appeal to new players. Also, another idea to help generate new customers.... why not make your first season free (since you can't recruit your own players anyway) and then make the 2nd season $4.95. After that it becomes full price. That way people can play and learn free of charge and then get their discounted rate while playing with players they recruited so they can see how it really functions before they have to pay full price.

"I really enjoy recruiting d1 players at d3. I really enjoy the recruiting realism."

So which is it?

If the high-prestige jobs weren't recruited so badly by Sim, they'd never drop in prestige.

Yeah, the existing system may seem absurd in the short run, but it makes more and more humans eligible for those jobs over time until someone rakes them.

Jobs process has many flaws. This is not one of them.

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 4:51:00 PM (view original):
"I really enjoy recruiting d1 players at d3. I really enjoy the recruiting realism."

So which is it?

Those were two different statements. However I will clarify further.

I enjoy the fact that you can get D1 level players at D3. However, if the game were filled with humans as in the early days of WIS, D3 teams wouldn't get D1 players because there would be so many players going after them it wouldn't be worth attempting to go after them. What I was saying with the realism, it used to be if you had the cash you could do 100 home visits and 10 campus visits. That's not realistic. Having limited home visits and only 1 campus visit makes it more real.

Posted by kcsundevil on 2/21/2020 5:01:00 PM (view original):
If the high-prestige jobs weren't recruited so badly by Sim, they'd never drop in prestige.

Yeah, the existing system may seem absurd in the short run, but it makes more and more humans eligible for those jobs over time until someone rakes them.

Jobs process has many flaws. This is not one of them.

Just make it easier to be eligible for a job so you don't NEED it to be a dumpster fire before being filled. I think that's his point

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 5:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kcsundevil on 2/21/2020 5:01:00 PM (view original):
If the high-prestige jobs weren't recruited so badly by Sim, they'd never drop in prestige.

Yeah, the existing system may seem absurd in the short run, but it makes more and more humans eligible for those jobs over time until someone rakes them.

Jobs process has many flaws. This is not one of them.

Just make it easier to be eligible for a job so you don't NEED it to be a dumpster fire before being filled. I think that's his point

I used to agree with that, but dominant teams should not necessarily remain dominant when they change coaches.

I think the problem is that when power conference teams go SIM, their recruiting is so atrocious that they bottom out, and it takes a new coach several years to even become competitive. It seems the programming makes it so SIM power conference teams recruit worse than SIM mid-majors.

Posted by kcsundevil on 2/21/2020 5:25:00 PM (view original):

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 5:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kcsundevil on 2/21/2020 5:01:00 PM (view original):
If the high-prestige jobs weren't recruited so badly by Sim, they'd never drop in prestige.

Yeah, the existing system may seem absurd in the short run, but it makes more and more humans eligible for those jobs over time until someone rakes them.

Jobs process has many flaws. This is not one of them.

Just make it easier to be eligible for a job so you don't NEED it to be a dumpster fire before being filled. I think that's his point

I used to agree with that, but dominant teams should not necessarily remain dominant when they change coaches.

B prestige UC doesnt seem dominant to me. Just a decent team.

Of your get stuck having to recruit 8 players in the 2nd recruiting session like I'm having to do right now lol

Posted by johnsensing on 2/21/2020 5:29:00 PM (view original):
I think the problem is that when power conference teams go SIM, their recruiting is so atrocious that they bottom out, and it takes a new coach several years to even become competitive. It seems the programming makes it so SIM power conference teams recruit worse than SIM mid-majors.

Sim teams are programmed to recruit to their prestige. So when A level teams go sim, they are recruiting (and routinely getting beaten for) A level players; they don’t drop low enough to actually land recruits. When the prestige drops, they reach lower, and eventually those teams start filling the roster. They could make sims recruit harder and more intelligently, but I doubt that would increase user satisfaction. Probably the opposite, overall.

The single biggest and best thing HD could do to increase usership is to let folks get to UC level sooner. Folks who pay for a season should be able to start in D2 (at least), and get low level D1 jobs after one D2 national tourney berth. A UC-like job should be available after something like 2 or 3 D1 national tourney games played. I’m fine with holding the A and above baseline teams for longer, but folks should be able to compete at that level basically as soon as they feel like they want to.

Posted by tdowdy3 on 2/21/2020 5:03:00 PM (view original):

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 4:51:00 PM (view original):
"I really enjoy recruiting d1 players at d3. I really enjoy the recruiting realism."

So which is it?

Those were two different statements. However I will clarify further.

I enjoy the fact that you can get D1 level players at D3. However, if the game were filled with humans as in the early days of WIS, D3 teams wouldn't get D1 players because there would be so many players going after them it wouldn't be worth attempting to go after them. What I was saying with the realism, it used to be if you had the cash you could do 100 home visits and 10 campus visits. That's not realistic. Having limited home visits and only 1 campus visit makes it more real.

So if the worlds had more users (which is the goal) then you wouldnt be able to do the thing you really liked anymore?

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 7:45:00 PM (view original):

Posted by tdowdy3 on 2/21/2020 5:03:00 PM (view original):

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 4:51:00 PM (view original):
"I really enjoy recruiting d1 players at d3. I really enjoy the recruiting realism."

So which is it?

Those were two different statements. However I will clarify further.

I enjoy the fact that you can get D1 level players at D3. However, if the game were filled with humans as in the early days of WIS, D3 teams wouldn't get D1 players because there would be so many players going after them it wouldn't be worth attempting to go after them. What I was saying with the realism, it used to be if you had the cash you could do 100 home visits and 10 campus visits. That's not realistic. Having limited home visits and only 1 campus visit makes it more real.

So if the worlds had more users (which is the goal) then you wouldnt be able to do the thing you really liked anymore?

you're misunderstanding me. I like the fact that a D3 team can recruit D1 players. Not necessarily that you have a D3 team full of D1 players. In fact I think it should be fairly rare that a decent D1 player slips to D3. I just like the fact that it is possible. In reality, I think if the game was mostly human, it would be mostly a few ineligible players that fall to D3 because they don't need to sit out a year, the bottom rung D1 players in D3 and then D2 is about 25% D1 recurits and 75% D2 recruits. That would make it pretty realistic as far as how it is in real life.

I've been around a D3 basketball team and there are a few players on those teams with D1 talent. They just either were not exposed enough to be recruited, they had character/grade issues or just had situations where they were unable to attend a school away from home. So even if I couldn't regularly recruit D1 players for a D3 team, I would still enjoy how the game is set up currently for recruiting in that regards.

I gotcha.

But one of the reasons there is the issue that Mully is describing is because d3 and d2 can recruit those d1 projected players. D2/d3 teams are beating d1 sims for players and as a result, those d1 teams available to folks are usually hot garbage.

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 5:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kcsundevil on 2/21/2020 5:25:00 PM (view original):

Posted by Benis on 2/21/2020 5:18:00 PM (view original):

Posted by kcsundevil on 2/21/2020 5:01:00 PM (view original):
If the high-prestige jobs weren't recruited so badly by Sim, they'd never drop in prestige.

Yeah, the existing system may seem absurd in the short run, but it makes more and more humans eligible for those jobs over time until someone rakes them.

Jobs process has many flaws. This is not one of them.

Just make it easier to be eligible for a job so you don't NEED it to be a dumpster fire before being filled. I think that's his point

I used to agree with that, but dominant teams should not necessarily remain dominant when they change coaches.

B prestige UC doesnt seem dominant to me. Just a decent team.

We disagree.

Mully's complaint was about Cincy falling from a B+ perch. B+ prestige gets a pretty hefty recruiting advantage over most of the rest of D1.

In Tark, only 49 of the 324 teams are B+ prestige or above.