Budget transfer penalties are one of the worst features built into HBD. Completely unrealistic. More likely to penalize people new to HBD, and thus drive them away from the game after 1-2 seasons. The penalty reduces strategy, as we set budget when we have the least possible information. Game would have more strategy and be more fun if we could alter our plans when we have more info. For example, if all the FAs I like are crazy expensive, I should be able to move that money to another area that season without losing 1/2 of it. Just like it works in the real world with real budgets and real money.

I would be in favor of having all money in one pot. With the system saving money for the minimum it would take to sign your draft picks based on your draft slots. Otherwise you have option where to use your money as long as you have enough money to field a full team at every level.

I also would like to see coaches sign for three year periods and have the ability to fire a coach but still have to pay the remainder of his contract if any years are left on it. Also have a salary structure for coaches where the system caps certain coaching spots.

I would also like to hire scouts for regions instead of just college, high school or international. And also have a head scout. A system where if you have a great scout in one of five regions then you can spend less on scouting but also draft players from a top scout knowing he will be most accurate of the scouts you have. Or if you choose to spend more on scouting and hire four or five really good scouts then you have that option. Also the head scout would factor in with boosting your overall scouting by 25% or something. Scouts would also sign for three years. Scouting regions could be north, south, east, west and international or something. Different regions could be set up to naturally produce more prospects than other regions.

Note the date:

Date	User
7/25/2007 4:19 PM	MikeT23
This is just a "wish" item. I stumbled upon the idea in a thread griping about coach hiring when someone sarcastically mentioned "scout hiring". Anyway, I'm not sure if it's practical to program but I think it would be pretty nice and add a handful of options/strategy to scouting(which is pretty much hands off except for budgeting). Thanks in advance for taking the time to read the following. The concept: Each 1m you allot "buys" you one scout. This applies to Int'l, HS and college. Scouts are of equal ability(for the most part). Each country will be a seperate entity for international scouts. The US will be split up into regions(15 is what I'm thinking. Probably by state). The regions will not be equal nor will they produce the same quality/quantity of players. The same applies to countries. The owner assigns a scout to a region(for HS or college) or a country(for internationals). Domestically, a scout in a region will find the top 5 players and 25(or whatever) other players of varying ability. If two scouts are placed in the same region, the numbers will double. Obviously college scouts will only report on college players. Internationally, each scout will find up to 8 players(or whatever # is chosen). These will be random and there will be no guarantee that you see the best 8. You will simply see the first 8 he finds. Doubling up scouting will double the number of prospect found. Regions/Countries: At the beginning of the season, before scouts are assigned, the owners will be sent a report giving the number of colleges in each region, the number of high school seniors playing ball in each region and the number of international prospects in each country. Again, the only constant from season to season would be the number of colleges playing baseball from each region. I'd recommend varying the number of colleges per region during set-up as opposed to making each region the same "size" to add to strategy. During the arbitration process, the owner will assign scouts based upon these reports/personal strategy. If an owner fails to assign scouts, they will default to previous season settings and/or one scout to the most populated region on down until scouting budget runs out. Overall scouting For each 2m spent domestically, the owner will see the top overall player regardless of region. This will not "add" a player to scouted regions but simply ensures he sees the top player(s).
7/25/2007 4:58 PM	Customer Support
Mike, We have some ideas and we are currently discussing how to expand the role of Scouts in HBD. We will take these thoughts into consideration when we cross that bridge. Thanks!.