I now have 2 teams. My first team i signed up with was my first season in forever, and in RS2 where i began, i was terrible. And every time i went after a guy, he would get signed by someone else immediately as i unlocked the scholarship and was set to offer it. That season, i never even got a chance to spend a penny of my recruiting money cuz i was constantly a step behind. I ended up signing two leftovers that were back up recruits from another successful coach that ran my same sets, at the very last cycle (one guy actually turned out well).

Since then, I've learned a lot, I'm recruiting better, things look up. So i just got a second team.... Started in RS2 again. Aware of my mistakes the first time around, i was prepared for the difficulty ahead. Today is the last day of RS2 and guess who still has $9k left and scholarships to fill???? ME! I don't get it. I'm comfortable and (in my opinion) successful now when i have the team already, and recruit all season. But when i have to start in RS2, I'm HORRIBLE.....

Anybody out there willing to discuss things with me thru sitemail on some tips for that situation, for future purposes? It may get long and detailed. Because i assure you i approach it with intelligence, and i observe LOTS of things that go on with other teams and coaches. I just can't get caught up and I'm always one step behind.

Feel free to sitemail me, but you should expect RS2 to be worthless if you are coming in with a new team.

The desireable players that are available at the beginning of RS2 have been recruited by other teams in RS1, so you already behind the 8-ball in getting them. You aren't going to get those guys -- exactly what you described is what will happen. You will put in enough effort to unlock (taking 1-2 cycles) and by that time, the player is ready to sign.

If you are starting fresh in RS2 as a new coach, you have to spend your scouting money far and wide to find players who slipped through the cracks and went largely unrecruited by humans. Find guys with high potential. Accept that you are not going to land any studs, but might find a guy or two who will be a useful backup. And when choosing a new team, don't pick a team with a ton of scholarships that need to be filled in RS2.

Your freshmen at Slippery Rock are really good.

Thank you both. And I'd say i was aiming to high then. Cuz i aimed for the same caliber players with my new team as i have with my freshman and sophomore class at slippery rock. I just thought it was me approaching something wrong. Also.... I had enough scouting budget to FSS the entire country and internationals (well, everyone still available after RS1). So i had a good pool. Just a step behind every single recruit

RS2 is an awful user experience. I've come around on a lot of things about 3.0, but RS2 doesn't seem to be fun for anyone.

Too add to this also, i think it says somewhere in the rules that on the last cycle of RS2, all scholarship offers are unlocked. Is that correct? And if so, what does that accomplish? Cuz you have to get to high or very high to sign a player. So it's not like i can wait for the last cycle, offer a scholarship, and a guy signs that easy

How you deal with RS2, whether coming in as a new coach, or dealing with EEs, or whatever, is all about expectations. You’re not going to get All-American prospects starting from scratch in RS2. You’re just not. And it’s unreasonable to expect that, IMO. I think it would make the game better to program late recruits to sign in the last 7 or 8 cycles, rather than the last 10, but realistically you’re still going to have to manage expectations if you’re switching jobs. Switching jobs, like everything in this game, is a choice, and the choice has consequences. It’s hard to hit the ground running in 3.0. And the game developers need to balance the game experience for players who have chosen to change jobs with that of players who have been recruiting those guys all year.

You can find some usable guys, but they’re generally going to be replacement level, not all conference level (usually). Using the big scouting budget you have on scouring for some overlooked, marginal INTL players and jucos are good choices, especially late signees that might only have some high level D3 teams on them (sorry D3 coaches). But you never want a lot of those kinds of guys clogging up your roster, so I generally recommend only looking at filling 2 or 3, unless you have something stupid like 10 scholarships to fill that first season.

Posted by topdogggbm on 11/28/2017 3:58:00 PM (view original):
Too add to this also, i think it says somewhere in the rules that on the last cycle of RS2, all scholarship offers are unlocked. Is that correct? And if so, what does that accomplish? Cuz you have to get to high or very high to sign a player. So it's not like i can wait for the last cycle, offer a scholarship, and a guy signs that easy

All scholarships for players at your level. If you’re D2 and recruiting projected D1 players, you still need to unlock.

Posted by topdogggbm on 11/28/2017 3:00:00 PM (view original):
Thank you both. And I'd say i was aiming to high then. Cuz i aimed for the same caliber players with my new team as i have with my freshman and sophomore class at slippery rock. I just thought it was me approaching something wrong. Also.... I had enough scouting budget to FSS the entire country and internationals (well, everyone still available after RS1). So i had a good pool. Just a step behind every single recruit

One thing that I didn't realize until the "cutting EEs" fiasco came out -- if you FSS a state and then a transfer appears from that state later, they don't automatically show up on your radar. In RS2, one of your best chances to get a useable player is a transfer from a higher division. Unless that transfer emails a coach, there is a decent chance that he falls through the cracks. So have your assistant scout new players a few times during RS2 to see if he can find some transfers for you.

I understand better now. I just assumed that other coaches had success with recruiting like normal, and that i was just having problems for some reason. And about the unlocking on the last cycle..... I still don't see what that accomplishes. Cuz you can't just sign a player with no effort. You have to get to high and very high. And if there has been effort put in, the scholarship is probably unlocked already.

Posted by shoe3 on 11/28/2017 4:00:00 PM (view original):
How you deal with RS2, whether coming in as a new coach, or dealing with EEs, or whatever, is all about expectations. You’re not going to get All-American prospects starting from scratch in RS2. You’re just not. And it’s unreasonable to expect that, IMO. I think it would make the game better to program late recruits to sign in the last 7 or 8 cycles, rather than the last 10, but realistically you’re still going to have to manage expectations if you’re switching jobs. Switching jobs, like everything in this game, is a choice, and the choice has consequences. It’s hard to hit the ground running in 3.0. And the game developers need to balance the game experience for players who have chosen to change jobs with that of players who have been recruiting those guys all year.

You can find some usable guys, but they’re generally going to be replacement level, not all conference level (usually). Using the big scouting budget you have on scouring for some overlooked, marginal INTL players and jucos are good choices, especially late signees that might only have some high level D3 teams on them (sorry D3 coaches). But you never want a lot of those kinds of guys clogging up your roster, so I generally recommend only looking at filling 2 or 3, unless you have something stupid like 10 scholarships to fill that first season.

You're factually correct. But if you're trying to convince someone to play a game, and they find the core component of it less than fun, I'm not sure "adjust your expectations" is the most inspiring response. It doesn't work as a hall pass for the slog of RS2.

Moving jobs sucks unless you're taking over from a human and it's not a rebuild. No idea why a game that was built around the idea of working your way up the ladder would discourage movement but that's what we got.

Well all this adds up to a big ol thank you and understanding things better. The team i took over was a human controlled team that i can win with now. I've just always been a person that fills my rosters. Sometimes i have one too many at a position. But with this team. I'm now short handed and will have to use a 3 man rotation with my bigs at the 4 and 5 spot. That's what i was mainly trying to avoid.

And i agree that the way things are, do not help make the game appealing. In some ways, new users have to just completely accept that "this game is "ok". But at EARLIEST it won't be cool, or really cool, for a good two months or so". I'm not "new" I just had a long vacation. But new guys have it rough for sure.

Posted by topdogggbm on 11/28/2017 5:22:00 PM (view original):
I understand better now. I just assumed that other coaches had success with recruiting like normal, and that i was just having problems for some reason. And about the unlocking on the last cycle..... I still don't see what that accomplishes. Cuz you can't just sign a player with no effort. You have to get to high and very high. And if there has been effort put in, the scholarship is probably unlocked already.

If absolutely no one else has been on a player, he unlocks in the last cycle and you throw some attention points his way, you can sign him. I mean, he's probably only marginally more useful than a walk-on, but the unlocking does help.

Posted by kcsundevil on 11/28/2017 5:55:00 PM (view original):

Posted by shoe3 on 11/28/2017 4:00:00 PM (view original):
How you deal with RS2, whether coming in as a new coach, or dealing with EEs, or whatever, is all about expectations. You’re not going to get All-American prospects starting from scratch in RS2. You’re just not. And it’s unreasonable to expect that, IMO. I think it would make the game better to program late recruits to sign in the last 7 or 8 cycles, rather than the last 10, but realistically you’re still going to have to manage expectations if you’re switching jobs. Switching jobs, like everything in this game, is a choice, and the choice has consequences. It’s hard to hit the ground running in 3.0. And the game developers need to balance the game experience for players who have chosen to change jobs with that of players who have been recruiting those guys all year.

You can find some usable guys, but they’re generally going to be replacement level, not all conference level (usually). Using the big scouting budget you have on scouring for some overlooked, marginal INTL players and jucos are good choices, especially late signees that might only have some high level D3 teams on them (sorry D3 coaches). But you never want a lot of those kinds of guys clogging up your roster, so I generally recommend only looking at filling 2 or 3, unless you have something stupid like 10 scholarships to fill that first season.

You're factually correct. But if you're trying to convince someone to play a game, and they find the core component of it less than fun, I'm not sure "adjust your expectations" is the most inspiring response. It doesn't work as a hall pass for the slog of RS2.

It’s not the game I would design, but I play the game that exists, not the game I wish it was. And the game that exists is better with reasonable expectations. More people might play if there was an easy mode, and you could get all the talent you wanted in your first season at a school, if you knew the right tricks and formulas. Maybe. But it wouldn’t be a very good game. There is no easy mode, and you’re playing against competitive people who also want to win. Again, the developers need to balance the game experience of people who switch jobs with the people who aren’t switching jobs.

RS2 isn’t nearly as bad as some make it out to be. I’m in the 4th year at Oregon, and the guys I got in RS2 my first season there are seniors. We’re not a title contender, but they’re certainly playable, and this team could win a couple NT games with the right breaks, and should keep getting better next year.