oh ok, thats helpful, thanks! that sort of rings a bell, are most of the good players signed in period 1, or else are being battled for and potentially pretty difficult to start on so late? assuming d1 i guess

also, whats the human population like these days?

Coming in on the second period is somewhat frustrating because you have to unlock them before you can offer a scholarship, and D2 teams can sign D1 talent in the second period, so sometimes you'll unlock a player only to have him sign the same period with D2. It's frustrating, but you can usually pick up some decent players. I'd plan on the second session that you start with not being all that productive though. You do get all the resources though, so if the previous coach or SIM AI had some action on a player, you can build on that. But there is a new coach reduction too.

I think the human population depends on the world. I have not been keeping track of it all that much, but someone will know that answer.

I have cut down to two teams - been super busy, so I have UK in Smith and UCLA in Crum.

well, i would be totally clueless, i never tried the new recruiting except for the beta, and there i was trying to find bugs because i was pretty sure i was retiring anyway. it sounds like maybe someone great could come in for the second session and do something decent, but yeah, i totally expect a disaster. would be nice to get that 'first time' disaster out of the way in the first year instead of the second though! pretty easy to take one wrecked class in stride (unless its huge), but two is like, yikes.

on the population, i just was kind of wondering like, if the game still has enough people to be fun. if the tournament is half sims, i don't think i could get into it. anyone in d1 tark able to comment on if its still fairly competitive?

No, the tournament would probably be 90% Humans, at least. In Smith, as we approach the tourney, on the projection report, only 2 of the top 64 teams are sims. I do feel like the talent level is more evenly spread out, and recruiting is more challenging than it was in 2.0. For example, I have UK in Smith A+ right now and am battling Georgia (A Prestige) and Xavier (B Prestige) for Mr. basketball of Kentucky. I am Very High and they are High. I should win, based on that, but it's not a sure thing, and with two other teams in there, my odds may be less than 50% - like maybe 50% for me and 25% for either of the other schools. That's what I like and hate about the system. It is more realistic, but it's harder to dominate, although there are some coaches that have found great success, and I am sure you would probably be right up there again in a couple of seasons.

Posted by chapelhillne on 2/28/2019 11:15:00 PM (view original):
No, the tournament would probably be 90% Humans, at least. In Smith, as we approach the tourney, on the projection report, only 2 of the top 64 teams are sims. I do feel like the talent level is more evenly spread out, and recruiting is more challenging than it was in 2.0. For example, I have UK in Smith A+ right now and am battling Georgia (A Prestige) and Xavier (B Prestige) for Mr. basketball of Kentucky. I am Very High and they are High. I should win, based on that, but it's not a sure thing, and with two other teams in there, my odds may be less than 50% - like maybe 50% for me and 25% for either of the other schools. That's what I like and hate about the system. It is more realistic, but it's harder to dominate, although there are some coaches that have found great success, and I am sure you would probably be right up there again in a couple of seasons.

wow, i totally forgot about the random nature of signings! that is crazy and so different than what i was used to (i guess the press is not so magic now huh?). it actually makes me want to play, back when i played each team was so similar to teams i had coached recently, it really got tedious. not knowing if your top recruit is going to come or if you will lose that 70/30 dice roll, that actually sounds like it would make the coaching and team building part a lot less predictable and repetitive! i mean, i absolutely HATED the idea of this when it was announced. but now it sounds kind of awesome...

Come to Phelan gillispie, I need another elite team to play UCLA every season in non-con.

Tark D1 (Pepperdine) here. I'd guess there were <6 sims in the current NT. I was in the First Four out, and I played humans all three rounds of the PT. My mid-major conference has 5 humans, seems like all the B6 conferences have at least 10.

RS2 recruiting is difficult, but there are players available. When I took over Pepperdine 4 seasons ago, John Mika (#68 C) was my first signing. In his senior year he was an Honorable Mention AA. Not bad for a team that ran slowdown all the time.

Yeah - It makes. it more challenging, and I do think it is more realistic. I just sent you a site mail. It is possible to win titles with non Big 6 teams. Not often, but check out joeykw18 and what he did at Vermont - 3 Titles in 4 years.

You'll still do really well because you have the coaching skills, but the recruiting is definitely more challenging, as teams will not necessarily roll over and let the powerhouse teams dominate like they used to. That being said, it is still definitely possible to put together dominant classes and teams.

One more thing about recruiting. Gone are the days when coaches tried to avoid battles with conference mates at all costs. There may still be a little of that, but this is also much more realistic and an accepted part of recruiting in 3.0. There's no monetary advantage to sending schools to the NT like there was in 2.0

Posted by chapelhillne on 2/28/2019 11:43:00 PM (view original):
One more thing about recruiting. Gone are the days when coaches tried to avoid battles with conference mates at all costs. There may still be a little of that, but this is also much more realistic and an accepted part of recruiting in 3.0. There's no monetary advantage to sending schools to the NT like there was in 2.0

I always thought this strategy was absurd, although it did make sense in someway, but never at the expense of hurting your own team.

In the end, it's about what's best for your team. No such thing as winning a national conference title, although you can have the best conference RPI.

Posted by gillispie1 on 2/28/2019 11:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by chapelhillne on 2/28/2019 11:15:00 PM (view original):
No, the tournament would probably be 90% Humans, at least. In Smith, as we approach the tourney, on the projection report, only 2 of the top 64 teams are sims. I do feel like the talent level is more evenly spread out, and recruiting is more challenging than it was in 2.0. For example, I have UK in Smith A+ right now and am battling Georgia (A Prestige) and Xavier (B Prestige) for Mr. basketball of Kentucky. I am Very High and they are High. I should win, based on that, but it's not a sure thing, and with two other teams in there, my odds may be less than 50% - like maybe 50% for me and 25% for either of the other schools. That's what I like and hate about the system. It is more realistic, but it's harder to dominate, although there are some coaches that have found great success, and I am sure you would probably be right up there again in a couple of seasons.

wow, i totally forgot about the random nature of signings! that is crazy and so different than what i was used to (i guess the press is not so magic now huh?). it actually makes me want to play, back when i played each team was so similar to teams i had coached recently, it really got tedious. not knowing if your top recruit is going to come or if you will lose that 70/30 dice roll, that actually sounds like it would make the coaching and team building part a lot less predictable and repetitive! i mean, i absolutely HATED the idea of this when it was announced. but now it sounds kind of awesome...

Congrats on the comeback gillispie1. I have 2 teams and a gridiron dynasty maybe looking to add a third.

Welcome back, gillispie! I remember you from before. Hope you stick around.

Posted by gillispie1 on 2/28/2019 10:55:00 PM (view original):
also, whats the human population like these days?

If you have half a brain - it's terrible. If you're delusional or willfully ignorant - it's great!

I'll bump the most recent thread.