I'd like to solicit ideas/opinions on how to really improve HD. My hope would be that with enough input, I can generate a relatively meaningful consensus on certain issues that I could then present to seble.

This could be anything from big picture ideas (early entries, sim issues, hiring/firing logic, promoting the game, keeping new coaches, recruit generation/recruiting, etc.) to small tweaks (more individual lineup choices, ability to see two seasons of recruits, new recruits getting added to the roster right away, etc.)

The only thing that I ask is that you sitemail me w. your thoughts/ideas rather than post them, which I'll then compile in this thread. What I don't want is for this thread to get taken over and become a place where people endlessly debate why their sg isn't playing better.

So fire away w. the sitemails, and I'll try to keep the thread updated w. user thoughts/ideas.

And if you see something posted that you think is a good or bad idea, you can sitemail me and share your input, that will help us build more of a consensus on certain ideas. I will italicize the comments/suggestions that I start to hear frequently.

Improving the health of HD:

-Restore rewards points at lower levels.

-Install a "mentoring" program that pairs up new coaches with vet coaches who can help them. (If possible, allow vets to have access to the newbie's world, or match up a newbie w. a vet who has a team in his world.)

-No FreeHD.

-More frequent, better communication from WIS management.

-A well-prepared guide for new coaches straight from WIS.

Sim engine:

-Results need to match up better with ratings. (So far this is the runaway leader ... sometimes it's game-to-game w. a 99/99 senior pg turning it over 8 times vs. a crappy freshman, but more often over a whole season, i.e. a player with fantastic ratings playing like a bum over 30 games.)

-Engine is way too rigid by position (i.e. the same pf with good pe will shoot MUCH differently from 3p at sf than he would at center, etc. etc.)

-Individual matchups needs to matter a lot more.

-Outliers are far too frequent (i.e. one team shooting 35 ft's and another 0; a team scoring 10 pts in an entire game; etc. etc.)

-Def rating needs to matter more.

-More differentiation between the offenses.

Early entries:

-Ratings worth even more than they are (relative to team success).

-Incorporate conference prestige.

-Less likely to lose more than one player; exponentially less likely to lose more than two.

Players/player improvement:

-Not so front-loaded at beginning of a player's career. More reflective of real life where some players develop quickly right away, and others may not really make a big jump until a season or two later. (Could be when they hit X minutes played, etc.)

(This could also make scouting trips more important/interesting, as they can provide further clarification on when a player is more likely to develop.)

-Ability to change a player's position.

-More varied offseason improvements/regression.

-Allow ft to improve more.

-Should be harder for players to hit ratings caps.

-Being able to see potential grid at all times.

-Ability to have an influence/say in players' offseason improvements.

Prestige:

-Less value placed on baseline prestige (DI).

-Some value placed on seasons 5-8 (or 5-10) rather than just the last four seasons.

-Ability for baseline prestige to morph over time and incorporate a team's long-term resume in a given world (20 seasons or so).

-A different prestige for the jobs process that is closer to the program's baseline. (This would allow low/mid schools that have been built up not to always fall to the sim when the coach leaves.)

Recruiting:

-A "targeted" eval that would reveal potential for 1-2 specific categories, vs. 3-4 random ones.

-A player's HS off/def revealed when you scout his state.

-Ability to see two seasons' worth of recruits; great impact on strategy and planning.

-Increased variation in recruit iq's (i.e. there are freshmen that simply get it more than any upperclassman will).

-Recruit appears on your active roster as soon as he signs; can set practice plan/depth chart.

-Allow coaches to "pre-load" their first recruiting cycle so they don't have to be at their computer.

-Make it so that the messages we get actually mean something (as opposed to now, where the consensus is that only schollie emails matter).

-Being able to save recruit search filters.

-More national (DI) recruiting (costs no longer based on distance, but rather higher-ranked players cost more; scout players by position).

In-game strategy options:

-End-of-game lineups for best ft shooting team, 3pt shooting team, defensive team.

-More ability to effectively use multiple defenses (potentially including the addition of more defenses such as 1-3-1, etc).

-Ability to match up defenders without specifically aligning them by position.

-More ability to adjust in-game strategy (i.e. in real life, if a team is playing vs. equivalent of a +3, they're not going to keep jacking 3pters, or to throw in a half-court press at some point in the game, etc.)

-Additional DT options (i.e. "DT if losing")

-Notion that fullcourt press doesn't make sense and simply isn't realistic as a core defense.

Miscellaneous:

-More stats/history kept (stat-based history searching, different stats available, different team records, conference stats, etc.)

-Make each OT a separate window within the play-by-play section. Each successive OT link would be only at the end of the 2nd half or OT. (This way, one won't be able to know an OT is coming by seeing the length of available scroll remaining in the 2nd half or OT.)

-Improve logic for all-conference and All-America teams.

-Ability to gameplan for more than one game at a time.

-More historical info/stats for players and teams.

-Improving the recruit interface (i.e. be able to save options on the search rather than have to start from scratch; ability to export results to Excel;

Reserved.

Reserved.

I only have one suggestion.....

GET A LIFE!

Quote: Originally posted by diablo11 on 2/19/2010I only have one suggestion.....GET A LIFE!

Physician, heal thyself.

Great thread, daalter. Concise and well organized.

Sorry guys, I've been swamped at work/travelling for the last week, I'll get to updating/responding over the next couple days.