Developer Chat

GD v2.0 has been rolled out and this is the place to discuss the changes, ask questions, and have your suggestions for future changes heard.

In Bryant for example, can you publish an updated schedule for season & recruiting with the actual dates things will be taking place? thx. (kev959 - Hall of Famer - 7:57 AM)

All worlds are being pushed back exactly 1 week. The state of all worlds this past Monday when the game was frozen will be the exact state of the worlds when play resumes. I have moved the dates a couple days already and will continue to move dates every day in order to maintain the same state of the worlds. The end result is that the games originally scheduled for August 28th will now be played on September 4th and all other dates in each world will be moved to coincide with this change.

In GD 1.0, we could edit the URL for a recruit search to change the distance (to a custom distance, other than the default distance) or to increase the number of returned results, or "matches", up to 15,000 so we could see ALL the recruits at once. This functionality does not appear to be there anymore. Could we possibly get that added back? It was a great help to enterprising recruiters who wished to do more in-depth searches than the provided engine gave us. (gt9766b - Hall of Famer - 8:00 AM)

We will definitely not be bringing back a situation where you could modify the URL to manipulate results. However, we could change recruiting further based upon feedback. The bottom line is that we want all aspects of the game to be fun and if further changes are necessary, we'll make them.

It looks like numerous coaches have concerns about the recruiting search. We are going to evaluate the search in place along with the feedback we have received and make some changes --- look for those to come out over the next couple of days. With this in mind, I'm going to hold off on answering any more questions surrounding the recruiting search. ( Moderator - 8:37 AM)

Have there been any changes to the level of practice times that will invoke "law of diminishing returns"? (kev959 - Hall of Famer - 8:38 AM)

No -- the way in which practice effects players/teams has not changed at all with the update.

In game planning. Do the "active 1" and "active 2" settings, when activated, override the "winning" and "losing" game plan or are they both active under those same winning/losing and time settings? (leftovers - Hall of Famer - 8:47 AM)

They do not override --- you can have all 5 game plans active for a game or just the top 3 (Main, Winning, Losing). When the game is played, the sim will use the most restrictive settings that the situation fulfills. For example, if your Winning game plan line is set to by 1 with 15 minutes remaining, the Optional 1 to winning by 7 with 8 minutes remaining, and Optional 2 set to winning by 14 with 5 minutes remaining and you are ahead by 14 with 4 minutes left, the sim will choose the Optional 2 game plan.

From what I've read, the game engine hasn't changed, we just get to see more information from it. Is that true? And a follow up question - The engine hasn't changed the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of "out of position" players, correct? (hlbart - Hall of Famer - 8:50 AM)

The game engine has changed substantially in the areas of game planning (play calling), substitution patterns (fatigue), and general game decision making. (Yes, out of position players have an increased penalty.)

Here are some details about the game plan changes that everyone may not be aware of: There are 5 default game plans and you can create up to 10 custom game plans. When you create a custom plan, you can load settings from any of the default plans or your previously created custom plans (this includes all plans associated with you as a coach across all worlds). Example: If you create plan A with team A and also coach team B in another world, when you go to create a plan with team B you can load plan A as a starting point. When you change jobs, your game plans move with you to your new team. If you become unemployed, your game plans will stick around as well and move to your new team when you get one. You can have 3-5 active plans for each game and determine when each plan will become active during the game based upon score/time remaining. The conditions for when a plan becomes active (score/time remaining) are for the end of the half and the end of the game. Within each game plan, you can now mark a play line as inactive (it will not be used). Also, there is no longer a 2-min. checkbox since you can set an entire game plan for your 2-min. drill and when it kicks in. The sim will never stray from the settings -- increase max. FG setting or adjust for game situation. It will run the game plan exactly as it is listed. Finally, the base offense aggressiveness setting (within each game plan) controls when the team will go for a first down or punt --- details in next post. ( Moderator - 8:54 AM)

How come teams can't play teams in different divisions? (bentschnride - Hall of Famer - 9:03 AM)

You can for exhibition games. As for non-conference games... DIAA teams to sometimes play DIA teams in real life, however, they do so for a big paycheck. In GD, there is no incentive for the DIAA team to play this game and therefore I decided it was not a viable option.

Did you adjust the out-of-position penalty for punters/kickers/defensive backs playing QB? It seems like the game engine was treating GI and tech similarly for all positions. (ddingo - Hall of Famer - 9:03 AM)

Yes, this has been adjusted further.

Did you change boosters (effectiveness and recruit willingness to accept) with 2.0? (ddingo - Hall of Famer - 9:04 AM)

No, this has not changed.

In beta testing, it seemed like players at 85% effectiveness were performing better than they did under the old game engine. Was that a figment of my imagination or is effectiveness viewed differently now? (ddingo - Hall of Famer - 9:05 AM)

I think you were imagining things --- fatigue has been completely redone, but a player at 85% in v2.0 will perform at the same level as a player at 85% previously.

I've noticed some features borrowed from or at least resembling features of the current edition of HD. In HD, there is a tab when I look at an opponent's team that I can see who they are recruiting. On the heels of the fair play guidelines/collusion issue , if this same feature were added to GD, would not all recruit lists be visible to everyone, thus totally wiping out collusion to the point where list-sharing isn't an advantageous option? (pttsbrghkid - Hall of Famer - 9:07 AM)

Simply knowing who a school is recruiting will not eliminate collusion....nor does it consitute collusion. Collusion comes into play when teams make deals for players at the expense of other schools/coaches.

Is there any formation IQ in 2.0 (swamphawk22 - Hall of Famer - 9:08 AM)

Yes, this is unchanged.

Are you planning to incorporate some of the "aftermarket" improvement that the spreadsheet wonks have created (much as you did with the baseball sim a few years back)? (ekatzen - Hall of Famer - 9:09 AM)

We are always open to suggestions and if we feel that something makes the game better and more enjoyable for everyone, we'll incorporate it if possible.

If my automatic winning setting is 4 pts and an optional setting is 9 pts , is the auto setting in play until the 9 pts and the optional then takes over? (philo - Hall of Famer - 9:10 AM)

Yes -- the sim will switch to the most restrictive setting that the game situation matches.

What is the exact status of the Carryover Reform issue (swamphawk22 - Hall of Famer - 9:11 AM)

Assistant coaches will now use more money to fill open scholarships, but other than that, the issue is dead.

In the new gameplanning settings what will overwrite what? If i have winning by 7 for 2 sets but one is with 5 minutes remaining and one is with 2 minutes remaining will the one with 2 minutes remaining overtake the one with 5 minutes remaining once 2 minutes hits during gameplay? (godsize - Hall of Famer - 9:12 AM)

Yes, exactly.

Any plans to allow players to 'pre-set' their first cycle of recruiting actions? (ddingo - Hall of Famer - 9:12 AM)

No.

I know you said you won't be fielding questions about recruiting but can you give us some idea when we can expect an announcement of some sort? (PS, sorry about all my moaning in the forums, I think you guys have done a great job overall...) (ekatzen - Hall of Famer - 9:15 AM)

Like I said, we need to evaluate everything...we'll do this later today if possible and then we have to incorporate any changes. Rough guess, without knowing exactly what we are going to do, is that the earliest you'll see anything is tomorrow.

Based on the prior version, some coaches, like me, have recruited teams with only one player to both kick and punt. Will this create a major disadvantage with the new logic? (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:15 AM)

No...the kicker/punter "relationship" is unchanged.

It sounds like 'pace' is a major feature of 2.0 -- could you explain how it works for non-skill position players? (ddingo - Hall of Famer - 9:20 AM)

For non-skill players, OL for example, pace is not a big issue because they cannot be taken advantage of or overworked like an RB....you could force an RB to carry the ball every play, an OL is supposed to be blocking every play. For non-skill players, they fatigue based upon game participation and their stamina.

Will there be all-time team records? Such as all time leading rusher, most touchdown passes etc.? (godsize - Hall of Famer - 9:21 AM)

Not in this update. It is something that we could add in the future.

Was anything done to gameplay that isnt readily appearent? (swamphawk22 - Hall of Famer - 9:21 AM)

I'm not sure what you mean...hopefully my previous posts have given you all the info.

Now that we have team colors, can we have pictures of the cheerleaders too? In fact, we shouldhave a cheerleader "reputation" rating which could affect recruiting. (ekatzen - Hall of Famer - 9:23 AM)

....be like Ole Miss (I think) and talk about their 3 miss americas in their "media" guide rather than...I don't know...football. Ah, recruiting.

When moving from one school to another, does the arriving coach play the OOC teams the former coach scheduled for that season, or will the engine reschedule the OOC games? (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:24 AM)

He'll have to play the OOC schedule that was made for him by the former coach. We will be adding the next season's OOC schedule (if any games have been scheduled) to the team profiles on the Schedule tab at the bottom so that you know what you are getting into.

Any plans to allow us to look at worlds where we're "unemployed" to allow us to troll for interesting jobs to apply for? (ekatzen - Hall of Famer - 9:29 AM)

You can pull up profiles of all the open schools -- you can get a lot of information from those. Beyond that, there are no plans to open the worlds up to coaches who do not have an active team.

Could you elaborate more on the issue of pace for skill positions (RB)- or point me to the discussion of this? (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:38 AM)

Sure. All RB fatigue is based upon pace (carries + receptions balanced against time) in relationship to stamina. If a player gets a lot of action, then his pace becomes far to high for his stamina (he becomes winded) and his effectiveness drops substantially -- he is forced to sub out (assuming this drops him below your setting, which at high settings it will in most cases). Then he must recover in order to re-enter the game. NOTE: All player fatigue is designed such that a player with 50 stamina can play a game with normal use/rest and end it at 60% effective. Using high effective percent settings (90% and 85%) will cause your players to sub out and potentially miss substantial portions of the game.

Again, this is a recruiting question but why are you only allowed 100 recruits on your search list? If I move to a new school with a lot of scholarships, I need to be able to look at more back-ups in case my top priorities are not worth gunning for. (alphaflight - Hall of Famer - 9:42 AM)

We feel that 100 spots is more than enough to allow you to evaluate your recruiting options. If you lose interest in a player, simply remove him from your list and put another player there. Even if you have 20 scholarships to fill, you could still have 5 recruits per opening listed on your summary page.

Thank you - so does the fatigue logic still require the player to recover five points above the set effectiveness rating in order to return to the game? (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:45 AM)

How quickly a player can return is based upon his stamina and his current level of fatigue/pace. It is not as simple as 5 points above his setting any longer. Players will not bounce in and out of the game every play, but will have to take time to recover.

Are all player ratings essentially on a scale from 1 to 100 (i.e. Athleticism, Work Ethic, etc.)? (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:46 AM)

Yes.

Is yardage gained in a play calculated into the "pace"? (jaybonz - Hall of Famer - 9:46 AM)

No.

Has there been any change to the logic applied to games against SIM coached teams? Today, most Sims seem to run one offensive set (usually the I) and one defensive set - at least after the first game of the season in DIII. (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:52 AM)

Sim coaches teams will use the default game plans which use multiple sets.

Withthe 100 limitation on the watch list, are you going to make it possible to add guys to the watch list after recruiting starts without having to spend money on them? (ekatzen - Hall of Famer - 9:54 AM)

As of right now, no, but like I said previously, we are going to evaluate this later today.

In the previous version, some veteran coaches have indicated that Work Ethic has little to do with growth and performance during the regular season, but has a greater impact on post-season play. What is the impact of WE in the new version? (thereids - Hall of Famer - 9:54 AM)

The impact of WE on player development is unchanged.

Which back is the blocking back? (ekatzen - Hall of Famer - 9:58 AM)

For the fans of this question showing up in every chat, the last one in on the formation being used.

This is the new general logic in place for when to kick a field goal, punt, or go for the first down:

1) If losing by 3 or less with less than 15 seconds left in the game and no TOs or less than 11 seconds left...kick the field goal --- all settings.
2) If less than 15 seconds left in the half and no TOs or less than 11 seconds left....kick the field goal regardless of the score --- all settings.
3) If it is overtime and down 3 or less on 4th down kick the FG --- all settings.
4) In FG range --- check for FG or GO based upon the base offense style for the currently active game plan:
Very Conservative: always kick
Conservative: kick if not in 4th quarter with less than half remaining OR down 3 or less OR more than 1 yard to go OR outside the 5 yard line
Balanced: kick if not in 4th quarter OR down 3 or less OR more than 1 yard to go OR outside the 20
Aggressive: kick the FG if up 8 to down 3 OR more than 3 yards to go OR outside the 40
Very Aggressive: kick the FG if up 8 to down 3 with less than half the 4th quarter remaining OR if more than 4 yards to go
EXCEPTION: If it is in the 4th quarter and 2 minutes or less remaining down by 4 or more, the team will ALWAYS go for the first down regardless of aggressiveness setting and field position.
NOTE: If a team is in FG range and does not kick the FG according to the checks (#4), then it will go for the first down and not punt.
5) NOT in FG range --- check for PUNT or GO based upon the base offense style for the currently active game plan:
Very Conservative: always punt
Conservative: only go for it on 4th and 1 when losing in the second half of the 4th quarter past midfield
Balanced: go for it on 4th and 1 from midfield to FG range AND go on 4th and 1 when losing in the second half of the 4th quarter from 40 to midfield
Aggressive: go for it on 4th and 1 from 30 to FG range AND go for it on 4th and 2 from 40 to FG range AND go for it on 4th and 3 or less from midfield to FG range
Very Aggressive: .... ( Moderator - 9:36 AM)

Very Aggressive: go for it on 4th and 1 from 20 to FG range AND go for it on 4th and 2 or less from 30 to FG range AND go for it on 4th and 3 or less from 40 to FG range AND go for it on 4th and 4 or less from midfield to FG range

Exception: If your team is not in FG range and it is the 4th quarter, inside of 2 minutes to play, and you are losing, the sim will go for the first down regardless of field position and distance remaining to the first. This exception was incorporated into the engine on 9/5. ( Moderator - 9:37 AM)

As always, thanks for taking the time to post your questions, comments and suggestions!