We have finished reading through the survey responses (some may still come in later) and we wanted to thank everyone who took the time to fill it out. At this point, 1002 people have at least answered one section of the survey and 929 have completed the entire thing. There were a number of good suggestions both large and small that we'll consider in the short term and long term.
To share the results of a few of the multiple choice questions:
Do you think the $42 million cap is right for open leagues?56% Yes
42% No -- It is too restrictive and prevents me from using the players I want.
2% No -- It is too high and not enough of a challenge.
Would you rather draft 15 real players (with 12 active for each game) or draft 12 real players and have 3 fictional/Rookie players assigned to your team?54% Draft 15 real players.
46% Draft 12 real players and have 3 fictional/Rookie players generated.
Would you like to be able to play zone defense?58% Sure, this sounds good.
20% I really want this.
16% I don't really care.
4% I'm not sure this is a good idea.
3% I absolutely do not want this.
Would you like to be able to set defensive focus (perimeter/paint)?53% Sure, this sounds good.
31% I really want this.
13% I don't really care.
2% I'm not sure this is a good idea.
1% I absolutely do not want this.
Would like more advanced double team settings?44% Sure, this sounds good.
28% I really want this.
22% I don't really care.
5% I'm not sure this is a good idea.
1% I absolutely do not want this.
Would you like to be able to set up multiple lineups based on game situation?44% Sure, this sounds good.
40% I really want this.
11% I don't really care.
4% I'm not sure this is a good idea.
1% I absolutely do not want this.
Also, we want to clarify a few things that popped up on a number of responses throughout the surveys.
- On the player search screen in the Draft Center, there are check boxes at the top of the screen that allow you to hide/show advanced search criteria. There is a section for setting criteria by averages and one by totals. Since they are hidden by default, it seems that a lot of people did not realize they existed.
- A lot of responses indicated a frustration with losing in the playoffs to teams abusing low minute players. As an update, we recently released a fix to address these issues.
- There seems to be some concern that double-teaming does not have any effect, but the effect actually depends on the offensive player. Here is the explanation directly from the Knowledge base:
"Double teaming can affect a player's FG%, but at the same time, you are leaving someone open which increases the other players' FG%.
The effect of a double team on a particular player depends on the player. For example, a star player who was likely double teamed in real life (e.g. Michael Jordan) may still perform close to his real life numbers even when double teamed. But if you choose not to double team him, he may perform even better than his real life numbers.
On the other hand, a player who was likely not double teamed in real life would probably produce less than his real life numbers if he were double teamed, but probably wouldn't much exceed his real life numbers even if not double teamed."
- Some respondents indicated frustration that players did not reproduce real-life numbers in their SimLeague. That of course depends largely on the team composition in the SimLeague as compared to their real life team.
If you take a Jordan on your SimLeague team, and team him with Iverson, Bird, etc., he won't score as much as he did in real life because he has to share shots with those other guys more than he had to share in real life. That's a pretty extreme example, but it applies to some degree for most SimLeague teams in most stat categories because SimLeague teams generally will have more production in each area than a real life team.
- There were a number of complaints about the fatigue system, which probably stems from us not indicating very well that teams must be comprised of a certain number of minutes to avoid fatigue. This value should be no lower than the total minutes played by a team in 82 games which is 19,680. Teams often play some overtime games and some injuries can occur, so please keep this in mind as well. Here is the full explanation of fatigue from the knowledge base:
"The Coach's Office displays each player's condition from 0% to 100% where 100% is no fatigue and 0% is completely exhausted.
If a player is fatigued you may want to rest him for a few games. The amount of rest needed depends on the player and what condition he is in.
A player's condition is calculated by comparing total real life minutes to the total SimLeague minutes based on the current minutes per game projected to 82 games.
Make sure to take total minutes into account when drafting. For seasons where teams played fewer than 82 games, players are given credit for total minutes prorated to 82 games. So a player who played 20 minutes every game in an 82 game season is equal to a player who played 20 minutes every game in a 50 game season."
The
Knowledge Base is always a good source for information or you can submit a support ticket with questions.
Look for many of the smaller suggestions to be implemented as soon we have time. The bigger ones may be a little further off, but our focus for the forseeable future will be on adding some new coaching settings and improving some of the existing settings.
Thanks again to everyone who participated.