I know this is a highly debatable point, so let me try to explain why this happened and why we are fixing it the way we are.

The current design is that everyone starts with 20 players. Those starting players are supposed to be at a certain skill level and its set up to allow you to work with those 20 during the first season and concentrate on small improvements over the first couple seasons versus having to stock up on players when you are first thrown into a league. The initial league cash and player salaries are balanced to allow you to sign 1-2 players to help you from the start and learn the scouting and negotiation features. I've checked the teams with 20 players in production and everything looks good for this.

Originally in beta, we started with 23 players and the player skill levels were a little more varied. When we place teams in leagues, we recalculate ratings and salaries based on the latest formulas to make sure everyone is on an even playing field. The clubs I had checked for this looked like all the salaries would be okay with the $850K model. There were obviously some clubs whose players were a little higher rated and whose payrolls did not fit under the $850K.

We decided to allow people to keep their beta teams as their FC Dynasty clubs, and in hindsight that might not have been the best decision. Although that would have been an unpopular move as well.

If you are with negative cash, you will not be able to perform scouting or signing players during that first transfer window. You can, however, try to get people to make bids for your players for transfers, which will be a way to get yourself into positive cashflow. We will be adding more features in the future for transfers to allow a little better mechanism to shop out your players, but right now it is pretty crude and you have to rely on people scouting your players and making bids. After the transfer window, we will correct any clubs that are negative and drop players from their clubs as I have described above. As you continue on, you will get cash from game revenue which will allow you to scout during the season, upgrade your stadium, and sign more players.

The only things you suffer are not being able to sign players during the transfer window and potentially losing a couple players, but even with losing a couple players, you are generally going to have a better team than the guy that has money to sign players. All of your club payrolls' are going to be under $850K.

I'm going to back norbert on this. My record in 128 ex games is 62-41-25. Other owners have suggested that I may have one of the best ex teams. I am not in a world yet so I don't know, but I suspect I must be in the negative. So I must be looking at losing players.

In many of those ex games I played my "second team". Two starters plus nine backups. That version of my team went .500. It was competitive.

When I was invited to the closed test, I got an entirely different team. Opening up the players, I immediately saw that the team, as a whole, had a lower skill level than my Beta team. And indeed, it performed poorly no matter how I configured it.

My point... I believe, and I think norbert has tried to stress... your team's performance depends on its overall balance of levels. One or two stars won't make a difference by themselves. So I don't think we should assume (and I promise not to, on my behalf) that just because you lose one or two of your top players it will automatically mean your team goes in the dumper. We don't know that yet.

And don't forget, there are transfers and renegotiation after the first season. You might end up losing those players long term anyway.

I intend to keep playing no matter what...alls I'm saying is that I'd rather lose three guys rated in the 20s than one guy in the high 40s who will either score goals or attract some cash on the transfer market.

I'm sure it will turn out as best as possible.

I have to agree with norbert and damag. I won't repeat it all, just say that I agree.

And I particularly agree that some players should not get to pick and choose how their club is modified if other players, whose clubs are not very skilled and therefore not very high-salaried, do not get that opportunity. Letting computer code address it seems as impartial a soluton as would be possible under the circumstances, and I think norbert has the right idea.

Yes, as expected, World 63 is up and I am $69,500 in the red.

..so I am to beg that someone take one of my "stud" players off my hands so that I may meet an arbitrary number. Yea, I understand that a true resolution would be very complicated, and truth be told it's hard to get upset about a game that is free. However, I have followed this random team I was assigned for over three months, and while my "football" knowledge is limited (what the bleep is zonal marking???), I do know from other WIS games that there is a tremendious difference in overall rankings and that all 55 overall players are not equal. So, please, make me an offer, any offer, for my "stud" goaltender. Of course, that would be foolish on your part as it would assure me of keeping my "stud" forward, but hey, it's only my recreation time that was wasted.

... oh yeah, I cant scout because I have no money and have no idea what it is about or what to expect even if I cant sign anyone, but it is free so...f'it, I got in one of the first worlds, so it's all good.

fish88, after a few games you'll build up some bankroll so you can scout a little. Should be easy. You won't be able to sign anyone, but the game keeps a tab on all your scouted players for future reference. So you can work ahead a little. In the meantime your team shouldn't really need immediate help.

I don't understand why we can't just cut players loose? I would think this would be something we want in the future anyways. Clubs can cut players. I am not understanding why that would be a one time use thing.

My team is in the black but by only approx $2500. But what is interesting is that during the beta Ex season one of my lowest rated forwards is now the highest rated player and highest paid on the team.

Since the sim won't cut my players until week 10 what is the suggestion for dealing with my player contracts? Hard to plan a budget without knowing who may get cut after i offer them a muti-year (Sabathia type) contract.

Quote: Originally Posted By philo on 12/10/2008 Since the sim won't cut my players until week 10 what is the suggestion for dealing with my player contracts? Hard to plan a budget without knowing who may get cut after i offer them a muti-year (Sabathia type) contract

My advice is to wait until after week 10. At that point, you will be able to see your roster and plan who you want to give multiseason contracts to. After that, it will mostly be about gaining money from matches, scouting for players for next season, and deciding on whether or not to expand your stadium.

Quote: Originally Posted By drarcher on 12/06/2008I don't understand why we can't just cut players loose? I would think this would be something we want in the future anyways. Clubs can cut players. I am not understanding why that would be a one time use thing

Clubs can not cut players. You can not drop contracts.

Allowing someone that goes in the red to choose players to cut when someone that does not can not cut players would be unfair, especially since the person going in the red is the one that did not plan well.

The exception is this first season for early beta clubs. I know it's not their fault they went in the red, but this will work out after the start of the first season. Hence, it is a one time thing.

How about the idea of trading players? I'd gladly trade players with someone that has money to spend just to reduce it down. As I see it, I'm disadvantaged from the start in my world as not only will players have 23 players and I will have 20, but they can improve their teams with the players I lose.

I'd like to see trading players built in, as well as incentives.

I've mentioned it before - Worldwide Soccer Manager has some great ideas about management that can be "borrowed," because it's based on the real thing. Player exchanges, performance bonuses included in transfers, future buy-back clauses, relegation/promotion clauses, % annual increases... It would be a nice addition.