So what you're saying is that SIM teams should always be automatic wins? I agree it's bad if people leave the game but I fail to see how it's bad that SIM teams can actually be competitive. The only thing I agree on is that they should be held to the same class restrictions, but I fear they may be excepted due to the fact that it would be very difficult to program their intelligence such that they can build competitive teams and still be wary of class restrictions.

Omigod, now the Sim teams are too difficult?  Are you kidding me?

the sim teams are doing better in this new engine. yet, i doubt their AI has actually changed. so, what does that tell us?

1) some human coaches haven't figured out the new engine yet, and/or

2) something or some things the sim does works A LOT better in this new engine

if its #1 in your case, then, try a little harder, pay a little more attention, and i'm sure you will get it. if its #2, then, think a little bit about why that could be, pay a little more attention, and hopefully you will figure out something - which you can use to alleviate potential issues in #1.

the reason there is no, #3, the sim teams are too good, is because there are a large number of coaches who continue to beat the sim teams to a pulp regularly. maybe less so than in the old engine, sure, but still easily regularly enough.

Posted by coach_billyg on 9/24/2010 8:41:00 AM (view original):
the sim teams are doing better in this new engine. yet, i doubt their AI has actually changed. so, what does that tell us?

1) some human coaches haven't figured out the new engine yet, and/or

2) something or some things the sim does works A LOT better in this new engine

if its #1 in your case, then, try a little harder, pay a little more attention, and i'm sure you will get it. if its #2, then, think a little bit about why that could be, pay a little more attention, and hopefully you will figure out something - which you can use to alleviate potential issues in #1.

the reason there is no, #3, the sim teams are too good, is because there are a large number of coaches who continue to beat the sim teams to a pulp regularly. maybe less so than in the old engine, sure, but still easily regularly enough.

While I'm not saying SIMs are too tough to beat now, I think their new competitiveness has  to do with the 3pt shooting frequency and 3FG% that the new SIMs are displaying, despite mediocre shooters/players.  Even human teams are able to exploit this imo.  It's far too easy to shoot 35+% from deep with mediocre players in the new engine, and "+" defenses don't really contain the frequency or accuracy vs. such teams in my experience.  

"and "+" defenses don't really contain the frequency or accuracy vs. such teams in my experience. "

"and "+" defenses don't really contain the frequency or accuracy vs. such teams in my experience.  "

This is not true, maybe if you go +1 there isn't much of a change, but +2 and +3 definitely alter their frequencies and percentages.

Not from what I've seen ...even with +3 and +4

agree with mully, I've played much more +3 defenses lately and haven't noticed much difference

I've noticed fewer 3P attempts against pushed out defenses.

IMO the impact of a + defense has always *by far* been about the number of 3s, not the %

Competitive Sim AI teams are fine, but if Sim AI is going to the NT at the expense of paying customers, you've got a problem.

Posted by coach_billyg on 9/24/2010 10:02:00 PM (view original):
IMO the impact of a + defense has always *by far* been about the number of 3s, not the %

What's more, I have a feeling that when teams "want" to shoot 3s but are not given good looks, they are not as good at finding other options.  Therefore, while 3pt. %s may not go down much against a +3, I bet there are lower 2pt. %s than you would get if the offense was not looking to shoot 3s.  That is, the +3 thwarts the intention of shooting 3s, and forces the offense to look elsewhere.  Meanwhile, against a +3 the offense will still take the highest percentage looks from 3 that they get -- and therefore will shoot a comparable % to when they're playing against a -2.  Those extra 3s they shoot against the -2 are the lower % shots, and so the shooting % doesn't change much, even though the # of made 3s goes up.  

Therefore, the advantage of playing a +3 is to cut down on the # of made 3s, while forcing the offense geared toward shooting 3s to scramble and find a second option when their first (and second, and third) is thwarted.  

My personal feeling is that + defenses are still effective, just maybe not "quite" as effective as before.  I run M2M on all my teams and usually recruit for Speed and Defense in my guards anyway (often at the expense of offense), so that may be why I haven't noticed much of a difference.  Occasionally, I may have a game where I get lit up a little more than I think I should, but doesn't that happen in real life also (just getting that out there before someone else brings it up)?