i think he does have the goahead to work on this, and has been for a while. i think he probably has clearance to work through the recruiting changes he has proposed, so we probably all need to buckle our seat belts... my biggest concern is post-rollout. the initial release is going to have significant problems, pretty much guaranteed, thats more true here than other places but its often true of software in general. in the past, admins have rolled out something big, then left for a couple years, and then came back and fixed it. if seble had time to adjust whatever it is he is working on, after say 3-6 months, thats when i'd really be on board with some big changes.

Posted by emy1013 on 9/10/2015 6:35:00 AM (view original):
To answer your question in the second to last paragraph, it tends to happen with alarming regularity that any time there is a "minor change" implemented there are so many glitches and bugs that pop up that it turns into a major haul.  Without fail Possum, every time.  I can't remember the last time there was a change that didn't involve simply changing a color scheme that was implemented with 100% success and that is no exaggeration.  Here, minor changes ALWAYS turn into major overhauls.  Always.  Hey, sometimes the truth stings a little.  The programmers here are big boys and girls, their feelings might get a little hurt but they'll get over it.

i dont know... i mean yeah the worlds keep hanging up, the testing is bad, but a small change doesnt always turn into a big one. it rarely does. there's always some pain associated with their changes, ill give you that, but its often fairly minimal and brief. nothing they've done for years comes close to a major overhaul, and they've done a handful of minor changes.

the reason i chose WIS HD was that it wasn't like all the other sims out there. now, it appears they are purposely re-making this game (because the game IS recruiting) to mimic all the other sim games i bypassed in favor of HD. have any of you actually read Seble's 'ideas' for recruiting changes?
call me chicken little, but i do not like the vast majority of the proposed changes - and probably will cause me to re-think my monthly investment in my entertainment budget...if they are implemented, as suggested.

I am happy that effort really is being put into the game.  I feel like addressing some of the goals, rather than the ideas on implementation.

1. Elite schools have too much advantage, with the combination of prestige and extra recruiting money.  This isn't a problem if #2 is fixed.
2. There is not enough battling going on for the top recruits, most likely due to the belief that elite schools can't be beaten and the fear of losing that money.  Right.  The highest level schools can figure out who will win with some certainty and avoid taking a loss that they cannot afford anyhow.  This is the most serious issue.  
3. The status of your school related to a recruit can be confusing and hard to track due to vague messages.  Not a serious issue.
4. Some battles last until the end of recruiting, leaving the losing schools in a bad position.   My dad described an early VW bug that did not have a fuel guage.   It had 2 tanks. The main one and a backup 1 gallon tank.  When you ran out of gas, you pulled the lever to switch to the backup.  Apply the same principle to recruiting and this issue is fixed.  Just have a late panic $ amount that the AD releases to allow you to fill a few spots.
5. There are not enough schools willing and able to recruit outside of their region.   This is only a problem for Top 25 - 50 recruits.   The idea of taking the Top 100 recruits and making the costs NOT scaled to distance is an easy fix.
6. Scouting players is rudimentary and frustrating.  Yup.  I pretty much agree that FSS gives too much information and Scouting Trips too little.
7. Player decisions come down mostly to money spent (assuming other factors are fairly equal), making it a glorified auction system.   This sounds bad until you consider the alternatives.  Promised start and minutes values could be scaled to prestige & conference prestige to boost their value (or make it a multiplier of other effort).  This is a game.  It had better come down to my putting in more resources and effort than you.  
8. Recruiting takes place at the beginning of the season, which is tough for new coaches, who haven't had a chance to learn the game.   HUGE PROBLEM!  The converse of this is that the first season anywhere is spent coaching kids you didn't recruit!  That doesn't even happen in real life.  Colleges hire coaches at an appropriate time to allow them to recruit and sign a few players for their first season.   
9. Due to the benefits of postseason money, there is way too much cooperation between teams in the same conference.   This runs hand in hand with #2.  It will be fairly easy to overshoot the mark correcting this one.
10. SimAI teams are pretty terrible at recruiting, leaving many undesirable rosters.   See #8.  I don't think this is a big issue until you force me to take 12 guys that were sim recruited through a season.

Piggy backing on Rogelio's post:

Some battles last until the end of recruiting, leaving the losing schools in a bad position. This can be addressed by adding a sliding scale to recruits and how much effort it takes to get them. After the signing period had begun, a recruit that is not considering anyone should be easier to get (fewer HV). In real life, an unrecruited player is going to get antsy at the end of a recruiting period and is probably going to be less picky about where they go. So if you lose a recruiting war, it should be easier to target a backup (but good coaches will know to be put feelers out to the backup in the middle of the recruiting battle!). The same way that a low D2 player will dropdown to D3, an unrecruited D3 player will take less effort to recruit than a guy who has been targeted from the first cycle.

SimAI teams are pretty terrible at recruiting, leaving many undesirable rosters. Not only does this make a SIM team an unattractive option for coaches (unless you want to take on a complete rebuild as a challenge), it also makes SIMs too easy to beat.  A few tweaks: A SIM team should never take a walkon. There should be enough recruits generated that every SIM team should be filled. Also, every SIM team runs an offense/defense that doesn't change (unless a human takes over). SIM teams should target recruits who fit their off/def profile (i.e. a fastbreak/press SIM team should favor recruits with speed, a motion team should favor passing, etc.).  The goal is not to make SIM teams into powerhouses, but to keep them generally competitive. 

The first recruiting cycle is too short. Absolutely agreed. The first cycle should last 12 hours -- 8 AM EST to 8 PM EST. Let everyone get a chance to get their first recruiting efforts in. 

Posted by grimacedance on 9/10/2015 6:41:00 PM (view original):
Piggy backing on Rogelio's post:

Some battles last until the end of recruiting, leaving the losing schools in a bad position. This can be addressed by adding a sliding scale to recruits and how much effort it takes to get them. After the signing period had begun, a recruit that is not considering anyone should be easier to get (fewer HV). In real life, an unrecruited player is going to get antsy at the end of a recruiting period and is probably going to be less picky about where they go. So if you lose a recruiting war, it should be easier to target a backup (but good coaches will know to be put feelers out to the backup in the middle of the recruiting battle!). The same way that a low D2 player will dropdown to D3, an unrecruited D3 player will take less effort to recruit than a guy who has been targeted from the first cycle.

SimAI teams are pretty terrible at recruiting, leaving many undesirable rosters. Not only does this make a SIM team an unattractive option for coaches (unless you want to take on a complete rebuild as a challenge), it also makes SIMs too easy to beat.  A few tweaks: A SIM team should never take a walkon. There should be enough recruits generated that every SIM team should be filled. Also, every SIM team runs an offense/defense that doesn't change (unless a human takes over). SIM teams should target recruits who fit their off/def profile (i.e. a fastbreak/press SIM team should favor recruits with speed, a motion team should favor passing, etc.).  The goal is not to make SIM teams into powerhouses, but to keep them generally competitive. 

The first recruiting cycle is too short. Absolutely agreed. The first cycle should last 12 hours -- 8 AM EST to 8 PM EST. Let everyone get a chance to get their first recruiting efforts in. 

That sliding scale is already there I'm pretty sure. 

Just have the first cycle be "pre-loadable" so once the world cycles to the next season allow coaches to pre-load actions for the 8pm cycle

Also get rid of the 5-6pm cycle just make it the 5-8pm cycle with the pre-loadable actions.

This is assume recruiting time does not change into season long which I am adamantly against.

In terms of sim teams I like the idea that no sim team should have to take a walkon, walkons if any should consist of the leftover players in the database. and should not be brand new complete crap players.  So there should always be enough players for each team in every world to have 12 players, however people would still need walkons if they dont recruit well and the recruits come from the leftover players in the database no one recruited.

I would also like to point out that making recruiting season long and not getting your own recruits until season 2 it would not only make it longer to rebuild it would also take longer to move up in divisions as going to d2 to rebuild it now takes another season and unless you take over a winning program thats 1 season thats a total bust and the longer it takes to move up to D1, and once you get to D1 its another added season(assuming you go D-) until you finish rebuilding and are able to move up to a Cish mid-major or big 6 and then there its again another added season that you waste since you dont get your own recruits until season 2 of being there.  Again that is the only thing I am 100% fully against so far that has been announced, I see the point of where it comes from but I think it actually makes it worse overall for new players and for the more experienced as well.

SIMS with walk-ons benefit the users doesn't it?I I mean if I'm taking over a new team I'd rather take over a team with less crappy players not more.

Posted by kevodaphenom on 9/10/2015 8:52:00 PM (view original):
SIMS with walk-ons benefit the users doesn't it?I I mean if I'm taking over a new team I'd rather take over a team with less crappy players not more.

It also makes gameplay against SIMs less competitive. I was once in a conference with teams that routinely had 3+ walkons. You couldn't lose to them unless you threw the game.

And if the SIMs recruited better/smarter, you would take over a team with fewer crappy players. It would also help new coaches break in with semi competitive teams.

1..Elite schools have too much advantage, with the combination of prestige and extra recruiting money.
Yes, it's a problem. But it's only a problem at D1. No need to change anything at DII and DIII IMO. It's the problem with Big Six conférences. And I would not change the prestige thing which is really important IMO. When you have success, you work to build a program, you need to be rewarded. The problem is the NT money... Cut it in half or a bit more and the problem is fixed.

2.There is not enough battling going on for the top recruits, most likely due to the belief that elite schools can't be beaten and the fear of losing that money.
Again, it's D1. In DII, we battle D1 SIMS, we battle each others and sometimes, we even battle DIII teams. So it's all good there. In DIII also, it's all good. Heck, I think we battle more in DIII than anywhere else since the talent is scarse. To make elite schools work harder, you need to put value into a starting spot offer and minutes offer. As of now, you can sit a player 6 games without having any repercussion. There is something to work with to make sure talent don't sit on elite teams bench. Players should ask for playing time, starting gigs etc.

3.The status of your school related to a recruit can be confusing and hard to track due to vague messages.
I disagree. You could add more messages but if you follow closely, it's not that bad. I always know where to stand. I'd like more messages so it's not always the same thing.

4.Some battles last until the end of recruiting, leaving the losing schools in a bad position.
Yep. It can be a problem. But you still have to have battles last until the last day of the signing period...

5.There are not enough schools willing and able to recruit outside of their region.
The distance can be a problem. But so is the FSS price. I am not sure it's an issue for D1 though. It's more an issue at DIII and DII but I find it logical. Not sure you have to do anything for this.

6.Scouting players is rudimentary and frustrating.
Disagree. You just need to put some sort of décisions your ad makes while sending a scouting trip. You could be able to choose two stats to scout on one player. Example : I want to know what's a player ath and def potentials... I just have an option on my first ST.

7.Player decisions come down mostly to money spent (assuming other factors are fairly equal), making it a glorified auction system.
Exactly.

8.Recruiting takes place at the beginning of the season, which is tough for new coaches, who haven't had a chance to learn the game.
Learn the game. It should not change.

9.Due to the benefits of postseason money, there is way too much cooperation between teams in the same conference.
If they do it's collusion! I hope nobody does that. I never give my conference friends a win or a recruit. They have to battle all the time. I don't think it's an issue. I haven't seen that many owners do that... Heck, not sure If I saw one.

10.SimAI teams are pretty terrible at recruiting, leaving many undesirable rosters.
Yeah. But It's not an issue. It's part of the game. Some SIM teams actually do a good job randomly. I think it's the walk-on thing that needs to be fixed. Why can't we pick up walk-ons at the end of the recruiting time?

Posted by jaymc2007 on 9/9/2015 11:28:00 PM (view original):
I feel HD would be better looked after if they just took time to advertise. NFL week 1 is coming up, why not throw in a commercial? They advertise, a ton more coaches come, this game gets better... Simple.

Sure seems to be working for Clash of Clans and Game of War.  Advertising budgets are big because advertising works.