tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59840350180778055632024-03-13T02:06:38.677-07:00MyFootballNow.comTutorials and information about the online sports management simulation game, MyFootballNow.comJ David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-9274126779299993262020-07-11T12:44:00.002-07:002020-07-11T12:44:38.582-07:00Weather DataOne aspect of creating a football simulation that is easy to take for granted but quickly becomes challenging is how to create realistic weather patterns for your games. Especially if you have a league where cities are close together, if you have a major snow storm during a home game in Denver but have a beautiful sunny day in Colorado Springs, that just feels unlikely. (Actually, growing up in Denver, I do realize it's probably more likely than I am giving it credit) Actually, it's entirely possible to build an entire league within a single city, and if that is the case, you should expect every game to have similar weather as theoretically they would be being played within a few miles of each other.<br />
<br />
So with those restrictions in mind, I didn't want to just randomly generate weather for each game based on typical weather patterns for that location. No, I needed something more robust than that. I decided to map each league season to a real, historical year, and pull weather data for the actual day in that year. For example, year 2046 for League 1 might be mapped to 1995, so a game on September 23 in Denver should look up September 23, 1995, resulting in a cloudy day at 56 degrees with 8mph winds. Precipitation is taken from the precipitation probability for that day, and then a dice roll is performed to determine whether there is precipitation. Then, if there is precipitation, the type of precipitation (rain or snow) is determined by the temperature.<br />
<br />
MyFootballNow uses the <a href="https://www.visualcrossing.com/" target="_blank">Visual Crossing</a> API to look up the historical weather data for the selected date, which is fantastic because they provide historical weather data from around the world, instead of just the United States (which many services are limited to). This enables us to produce realistic weather for any city in the world.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-29935622365399765672015-03-21T11:41:00.000-07:002020-07-11T12:45:18.091-07:00Random MFN Trivia<h3>
Did you know...?</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Player and coach names are generated from US Census data, driven by probabilities of each name actually appearing in the United States population.</li>
<li>When testing the random name generator, the 5th name generated was "James Bond."</li>
<li>Weather data is not randomly generated, but is using actual historical weather conditions for the location. So if you notice all the teams in the same region experiencing similar inclement weather, it's not a coincidence. Each season is mapped to a specific year in history and weather data for that location is looked up via <a href="https://www.visualcrossing.com/" target="_blank">Visual Crossing</a>. Each league will use a different year-to-year mapping.</li>
<li>League championship game locations are chosen randomly based on the average weather conditions for games played in each city in the league during the months of December and January. A league championship venue will not be repeated for 7 seasons.</li>
<li>While many football text simulations generate the overall result of each play by using probabilities based on the players on the field, in MyFootballNow each player in the simulation is autonomous, meaning that they make independent decisions based on information that only they are aware of.</li>
<li>A secret "development" simulation environment runs through a full season every two days. This is used to test the long-term effects of changes to the game engine. Because of the complexity of the simulations, simming a whole season nonstop takes about 13 hours.</li>
<li>Each season of each league contains about 1GB of data, including all of the game playback information and the player historical attributes.</li>
<li>Early in development, an idea was floated out where the players would not be rated numerically, but the users would be required to actually study game film to make personnel decisions. This clearly would have been too time consuming to play.</li>
<li>Another idea in the early development was to simulate the referees on the field in addition to the players. The plan was to only call penalties if the referees saw it, and also to add the possibility for referees to impact the play. Referees were going to be assigned attributes like players and would be more or less likely to call various penalties based on those attributes. There would have been bad refs and good refs, and they would have moved up and down the chain like players and coaches do.</li>
<li>If those scrapped ideas were not enough, one idea was to simulate every second of the real time game and allow watching the players run to and from the sidelines, into huddles, etc. This was dropped when it became apparent that the time it would take and the playback data it would require would be prohibitive.</li>
<li>The game engine alone took a full calendar year to bring to a point where it would be acceptable for testing. Early testing with human testers saw games with scores in the three digits, which obviously meant that there was much to be done.</li>
</ul>
</div>
J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-69867109751661050612015-03-02T17:30:00.000-08:002015-03-02T17:30:01.823-08:00Short, Medium, and Long - what do they really mean?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnr6OIF0MyciR_FG78J_cIvqZksjSEr2HxUhikP0hqevxNdbFsW2haLYBmk62wYOpDkD7CbsCWPY6Zh9E9Mn7ep3l4pqW_f7wJGJmwS6UKktG-1Dt20uhX4ga5MWOB3-ftFVd7VvonMU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-02+at+12.54.43+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnr6OIF0MyciR_FG78J_cIvqZksjSEr2HxUhikP0hqevxNdbFsW2haLYBmk62wYOpDkD7CbsCWPY6Zh9E9Mn7ep3l4pqW_f7wJGJmwS6UKktG-1Dt20uhX4ga5MWOB3-ftFVd7VvonMU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-02+at+12.54.43+PM.JPG" /></a></div>
The offensive and defensive game plan screens have a seemingly subjective value that you will use to define the conditions for your play calling: Short, Medium, and Long. You may have seen this and wondered why you don't have the ability to specify specific distances ranges (you can, by the way, by setting up game plan rules). I wanted to take this opportunity to explain how this works and the ways you can control it.<br />
<br />
The basis for this categorization is the idea that your team is going to adjust its play calling during the game based on how successful you are. The very generic description is that a "Medium" distance play is the distance that you would expect to achieve a first down if you used all downs available. So if you are expect to gain 4 yards per play, first and 12 would be classified as first and medium; second and 8 would be medium; and third and 4 would be medium as well. Short and long are used on the other sides of this logic.<br />
<br />
The game begins where first and 5-15 is medium, second and 4-11 is medium, 3rd and 3-9 is medium, and 4th and 2-7 is medium. So, for example, 3rd and long would be 3rd and more than 9 yards to go. But, as the game progresses, if you are averaging more than 5 yards per play, your "short" distance will be lengthened, pushing your "medium"distance to a longer placement, as well as the "long" distance. Conversely, if you are averaging fewer than 5 yards per play it goes in the other direction.<br />
<br />
Now, once you have played your first play you obviously don't want to consider that your average; if you throw an 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the game, you don't want the rest of the game to be stuck in the "short" distance category because it takes so long for that average to come back down. Instead of doing a pure average, your coaches will make the adjustment slowly. This is based on the "GP Distance Adjustment Speed" in your Misc Gameplan settings. The default is 5 - and we recommend you leave it there. You may set it to 0, which will completely disable any changes - leaving short, medium, and long constant throughout your entire game - which will give you more of the predictability you would expect from being able to specifically define these ranges. If you set it to 100, well, you'll get some craziness in your play calling. Using the default of 5, however, allows you to very slowly adjust your short, medium, and long ranges. Let's talk briefly about what this number actually means.<br />
<br />
When the game begins, your "average" play distance starts at 5 yards, which as stated above, sets your very first play as a first and medium. Let's also assume that you have your adjustment speed set to the default of 5. If you immediately have a 10-yard gain, the new "average" play distance is 5% of the most recent play plus 95% of the previous "average" - 0.5 + 4.75 = 5.25. As you see, the "average" grows a small amount toward the most recent play without moving it significantly. If on the next play you gain another 10 yards, you'll grow a little more - 0.5 + 4.98 = 5.48. If you then take a sack for 20 yards, the "average" adjusts to 5.206 - 1 = 4.206. So, if you are moving the ball down the field well you will begin to use more short distance plays, and if you can't get the ball moving at all you'll start to inch into the long distance plays.<br />
<br />
The defensive side of the ball reacts to the offense's decision for distance. So when your opponent calls a "short" distance play, your defense will also call a "short" distance play. So your defense technically is using your opponent's GP Distance Adjustment Speed, only because that is necessary to keep the tables even between the teams.<br />
<br />
Hopefully this has cleared up some of the confusion regarding the gameplan distance and what the GP Distance Adjustment Speed means. As always, feel free to ask any questions in the comments here or in the help area of the community forums.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-68919466996827990642014-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:002014-09-01T08:20:12.422-07:00The Nuts and Bolts of Game PlanningOne of the great things about the online football management simulation <a href="http://www.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">MyFootballNow</a> is the level of control you can have over the decisions your team makes. You can choose to focus just on roster management - signing players, drafting rookies, renegotiating contracts - and let the AI do things like manage your depth chart and game plan. Or, if you want to get more involved with the day-to-day decisions, you can choose to take on more of the responsibilities - and be rewarded by seeing your creation come to life on game day!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DPRLwt_3iVFO9TalssAWnshMekXet-wSEnU8O7iJSVnj43jyAGQABQgdBGyx4ovo2IOhVd_wQk4gGvPild5IDrtGCFAMA8I-22Nj3UjECvEwnxExeCNYg7KcDGtcGyTV_UU7bSHVTD4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-02+at+12.23.16+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7DPRLwt_3iVFO9TalssAWnshMekXet-wSEnU8O7iJSVnj43jyAGQABQgdBGyx4ovo2IOhVd_wQk4gGvPild5IDrtGCFAMA8I-22Nj3UjECvEwnxExeCNYg7KcDGtcGyTV_UU7bSHVTD4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-02+at+12.23.16+PM.JPG" height="163" width="320" /></a></div>
Perhaps the most daunting task in managing your team is the weekly game planning. While you can set your game plan once and forget it, you should at least jump in and tell the AI to update your game plan between each game. Under the menu "My Team->Gameplanning" you will be presented with the game plan control panel. In the upper right corner you'll see a button that says "Load Recommended" - if you click this button you'll get a popup dialog where you can determine what aspects of the game plan you want the AI to set for you. If you leave everything checked, it may take a minute for the processing to complete - but once it's done, you'll have a game plan that is tailored to your strengths vs. your opponent's weaknesses. But you might want to go a bit further and adjust the game plan yourself; this post will detail what the various options mean, and how to use them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS31FUCLUTGJqIWCrsoZAytVwSHDk24cakKhUAIoP7QKtSfy_Pk2G_aTKxIcAiZQToW1qSccpfnUSaevNxQJHBvs_3GtRpfhXVSGdIgyn7UKFbXK1m3fvygUztP7CvC0qngWo_yTd-v5g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-02+at+12.25.22+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS31FUCLUTGJqIWCrsoZAytVwSHDk24cakKhUAIoP7QKtSfy_Pk2G_aTKxIcAiZQToW1qSccpfnUSaevNxQJHBvs_3GtRpfhXVSGdIgyn7UKFbXK1m3fvygUztP7CvC0qngWo_yTd-v5g/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-02+at+12.25.22+PM.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
The first two tabs in the game planning control panel are the offensive and defensive game plan. This section determines what plays are called by your team in any situation during the game. They are broken down into types of plays.<br />
<br />
The top row of buttons define the situation - down and distance. The field graphic below illustrates what quadrant of the field the line of scrimmage is located at. The direction of the offense goes from left to right. The graphical view here illustrates what weight each decision has in the final decision; if you have half of the graph filled with run plays and the other half with pass plays, then you should run 50% of the time. If your inside run takes up 20% and your outside run takes up 30%, those plays will be called in that frequency. So, each control element determines the probability that you will call a play with that decision based on the down, distance, and field quadrant.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Graphical View vs. Text View</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_ez4VNOUg5SUVDHyqXrROzAtBvs_-s-9B912r_ZjNPoyIafwypF4f-ZF6O0J302J2vMNfR71RaW_sRO8A6AtUGWCMZDlBtDaM6Iix3mEfyE_fwMl7xhyDyFrPBjI2cHBk-nl3vdiFHk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-02+at+12.33.51+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_ez4VNOUg5SUVDHyqXrROzAtBvs_-s-9B912r_ZjNPoyIafwypF4f-ZF6O0J302J2vMNfR71RaW_sRO8A6AtUGWCMZDlBtDaM6Iix3mEfyE_fwMl7xhyDyFrPBjI2cHBk-nl3vdiFHk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-02+at+12.33.51+PM.JPG" height="165" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
You can switch between the graphical view and the text view; the text view gives you sliders that you can move to adjust the weights of each decision. It is entirely up to you which method you use. You don't have to worry about the sliders summing up to 100%, the game will automatically normalize everything for you. Just move the sliders so that you get an acceptable balance for what you are wanting to do. In either case, there is a button beneath each quadrant that allow you to copy a set of decisions to another quadrant and situation, and also a button to view the plays in your active playbook that apply and what each play's probability for being called is.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Offensive Decisions</h3>
<div>
Your offensive decisions are made up of "Gameplan" and "Personnel." The Gameplan is broken up into 5 options: Inside Run, Outside Run, Short Pass, Medium Pass, and Long Pass.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Personnel decision decides what offensive personnel you will have on the field. Of the eleven players on offense, five are on the offensive line and are not eligible to catch a pass. Five players are considered eligible receivers, meaning that they are allowed to run downfield to catch a pass. The eleventh player is the quarterback (who is technically eligible to catch a pass, although at this time there are no plays in the MyFootballNow playbook where a quarterback will receive a pass). The five eligible receivers are the players that will get subbed in and out depending on the play. They are made up of the Wide Receivers, Tight Ends, and Running Backs (which include the Halfback and Fullback). Your personnel determines what combination of players make up your eligible receiver package. So you might have 5 Wide Receivers as a high option when it's third and long, or have two Tight Ends and two Running Backs in a short yardage situation. Note that Personnel is not the same as Formation - a Formation is where a player lines up on the field, and while each Formation consists of a single Personnel package, each Personnel package will have many available Formations. You don't control the Formation for each play, it is automatically assigned via the play.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Defensive Decisions</h3>
<div>
On the defensive side of the ball, the decisions are a bit more complicated. Because the defense is somewhat reactionary to what the offense does, the first decision is made for you - the defense will deploy personnel to match what the offense sends on the field. So if the offense has extra Wide Receivers, the defense will choose a play that has extra Defensive Backs to match. Or, if the offense has extra Tight Ends and fewer Wide Receivers, the defense will deploy extra Defensive Linemen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What you do have control over is the play of the Secondary and the play of the Linebackers. There are multiple combinations of options here, but the general choices are whether the play is primarily a Zone, Man-to-Man, or Blitz.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Zone vs. Man-to-Man vs. Blitz</h4>
<div>
Zone coverage means that the player is responsible for an area on the field. If an eligible receiver enters that area, they will cover him until he leaves his area. Against a pass play this can be effective as the receiver will not outrun a defender; but it leaves areas of the field open where the receiver can catch the ball between two zones, or if one zone is flooded with two receivers. A zone defense is good against a running play because the defense shouldn't get drawn out of their area to cover a receiver, leaving it open for the running back to go to.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a man-to-man defense, the players are assigned an offensive receiver to cover. They're responsible for this receiver for the entire play. If they are fast and have good man-to-man coverage skills, they will make it difficult to complete a pass to their man, and may even be successful at intercepting the pass if it's tried.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a blitz call, a player who is normally in coverage will rush the quarterback, with the idea being that even though a receiver might be left open, the rusher won't be met by an offensive blocker. Calling a blitz can result in a big loss for the offense if successful, but can also result in a big gain if the quarterback is able to throw the ball to the uncovered receiver. The more familiar an offense is with a blitz, the more likely it will fail, so you will want to use blitzes with caution.</div>
J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-89989976209846215692014-08-07T18:48:00.000-07:002014-08-07T18:48:54.711-07:00MyFootballNow Version 0.2 Released!It's hard to believe that it's been a full year since we publicly released our online pro football management simulator, MyFootballNow. As we enter the 2014 football season, we are also excited to announce the release of Version 0.2! As existing leagues complete their current seasons, they will be rolled into the new version after the End of Season stage.<br />
<br />
Version 0.2 features a handful of bug fixes, including some game rendering errors. But the most exciting new feature we are announcing is the ability to create game plan rules!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Game Plan Rules: Amazing control over the plays that are called</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_u_P8cTlKIh3sSXvnfgDAWjKYeTjVjvU3rkwfmjFWQsIDuS989sbQxkDaYNxx7RTNefY6Wz0zLpb6rkFSedGRhuYou5F58KJimiUKZtMgZbLdtxdBczCiBBl3DaTXvKbEkd2ykgidqM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-07+at+12.29.22+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_u_P8cTlKIh3sSXvnfgDAWjKYeTjVjvU3rkwfmjFWQsIDuS989sbQxkDaYNxx7RTNefY6Wz0zLpb6rkFSedGRhuYou5F58KJimiUKZtMgZbLdtxdBczCiBBl3DaTXvKbEkd2ykgidqM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-07+at+12.29.22+PM.JPG" height="271" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_u_P8cTlKIh3sSXvnfgDAWjKYeTjVjvU3rkwfmjFWQsIDuS989sbQxkDaYNxx7RTNefY6Wz0zLpb6rkFSedGRhuYou5F58KJimiUKZtMgZbLdtxdBczCiBBl3DaTXvKbEkd2ykgidqM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-07+at+12.29.22+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div>
So, what can you do with a game plan rule? When you set a rule, it will be considered before your regular game planning options are looked at. If a play is selected from your rules, that will be the play that you run.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You set conditions based on the down, distance, location on the field, quarter, and score. If you are setting a rule on defense, you can also set a condition based on the offensive personnel. Then you choose the weight of each play parameter, much the same way that you do in the regular game planning screen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
One of the most obvious uses for game plan rules is going for it on 4th down - until now, the only time your team would go for a 4th down conversion was if they were in hurry up at the end of the game. Now, you can set specific conditions where you want to go for it instead of punting or kicking a field goal.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once you've created a rule, you can save it (to use in another league), deactivate it (which will prevent it from being used, but retain it in your list), as well as view the plays in your playbook and the probability of each play being chosen based on the rule.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We're excited about this new addition and hope you have fun with it!</div>
J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-23177511183294057712014-06-16T07:11:00.000-07:002016-06-14T09:34:25.922-07:00Creepers and Busts: Don't throw away your late round picks!At first glance, draft picks selected beyond the 3rd round or so appear to be serviceable backups at best. It might be tempting to throw these picks away in a trade, or cut any players selected during the later rounds because they don't look like they'll be any kind of an impact with your team. With this post I hope to give you a few tools to find possible gems in these later rounds so that you can get more value out of them.<br />
<br />
When you look at a player's attributes, you will see their current and future values. The future values are not static, in fact they can vary considerably, until the current value catches up to it. The further away the future value is from the current value, the less certain a player's future value is. So when you draft a player with a rating of 30/90, they most likely will not arrive at 90/90 in the peak of their career. This is no where near certain, however; built into each player is an average rate at which their future value will adjust. For most, this value is very small, for others, this value may be very large in either direction.<br />
<br />
The early round picks will obviously go to players with a high future value. You're hedging your bets well by doing that, and while it's still possible that a first round player will completely bust, you're doing well to minimize the effects of that bust by giving him further to fall before his current value catches his future value. Later round picks are always cheaper, and as such are a much lower risk if they bust - many don't even have a signing bonus that you'll have to deal with if you end up cutting them. But if you don't pay attention, you may end up cutting a player that could boom into a great player.<br />
<br />
Here's the strategy I use to decide what to do with my late round picks. First, unless I just have too many players on my roster, I bring everyone into training camp (you can bring up to 60 players into camp). The training camp stage is a very important stage to reveal how your new rookies will end up looking. After training camp, I go into each of my rookies pages and select the "Progress" tab. There, I look at the red bar and see what it did. If there was a significant jump, the odds are in your favor that this player will boom - I'll put a note on his page (select the "Notes" tab to write notes about any player) and will make a point to keep him around and see what happens. If the red bar has a sharp decline, then he's probably going to bust out - unless he's an early pick, he'll probably be a roster casualty.<br />
<br />
This isn't a sure thing, because it is possible for a rookie to have a great camp but still have a downward trend. Over time, you'll be able to monitor his progress and see whether he maintains that upward trend. If he does, you may have just gotten a steal in a late round pick.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDhNIEOYxKgX-N39hdpVe9CIIohbzkpEfu8pgYD9gYSvA6EpWs0rN_ThURDBzMWaLZl3Pkn5vBJdBMUclU5yWdULgZZ6EHjeQ1735-yb8laLvCgA6uOn8k7FAtvnHLgF0HGmB2Whg6OE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-16+at+9.00.59+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDhNIEOYxKgX-N39hdpVe9CIIohbzkpEfu8pgYD9gYSvA6EpWs0rN_ThURDBzMWaLZl3Pkn5vBJdBMUclU5yWdULgZZ6EHjeQ1735-yb8laLvCgA6uOn8k7FAtvnHLgF0HGmB2Whg6OE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-16+at+9.00.59+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Here is an example of a player that I selected in MFN-2 in the 6th round. He landed to me at 33/46. At first glance, this rating wouldn't even be considered for the final roster. It was a simple "best player available" pick, nothing more. After training camp, his rating was 37/49. Not a huge jump, but enough of a positive movement that I decided to keep him around and see what happened over the season. By the end of the season he was rated 42/54. At the end of his second season, his rating was 55/61 - clearly, his future rating is growing almost as fast as his current rating. At the time of this blog post (the end of his third season), he is at 59/66. Already he's 10 points higher than his predicted max when I drafted him - not bad for a 6th round pick - and it appears that he will continue to improve, because he gap between his current and future values hasn't hardly reduced at all. If you want to look at his page for yourself, <a href="http://mfn2.myfootballnow.com/player/2846" target="_blank">here it is</a>.<br />
<br />
Is this typical? No, it's not. Most late round picks will be just what you thought they were. But even if your 6th or 7th round pick grows into the 60's and stops, you could have someone that could be in the second position in your depth chart if not a lower-value starter. And the more of these picks you have, the greater your chance of finding a hidden gem. So before you cut those low-rated rookies, check out their trending - you may just have a diamond in the rough.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-60521257522272318172014-05-23T07:01:00.000-07:002014-05-23T07:01:06.179-07:00New game engine features in Version 0.1.2Version 0.1.2 of <a href="http://www.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">MyFootballNow</a> has been released, featuring a number of game engine improvements that make the game sims even more realistic with their results. As leagues conclude their current seasons using the 0.1.1 game engine, they will switch to version 0.1.2 after the End of Season game stage. I wanted to take a moment to detail a little bit about the changes and what they mean.<br />
<br />
If you ever wonder what version of the game engine a league uses, simply look at the bottom of the page while you are in the league. You'll see the game engine version right there. With the exception of MFN-1 - which is the official beta league where players get to use new features as they are built and are able give input on those features - leagues will remain in their current game engine until the end of the season. (If you're interested in being on the cutting edge of the game engine, <a href="http://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">click here to take over a team in MFN-1</a> now!)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Smaller Tweaks</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First I'll briefly discuss a few minor adjustments have been made to some of the game engine logic:<br />
<br />
<h4>
Tipped Ball Action</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When a ball is tipped, its flight path is altered based on the proximity to the player and the various directions both are headed. The logic for this has been revamped to deliver more realistic tipped balls.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Field Goals</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Long field goals were far too accurate. This has been dialed back. I have written a separate entry about field goals and how they are simulated - <a href="http://blog.myfootballnow.com/2014/05/passing-bar-how-field-goal-logic-works.html" target="_blank">click here</a> to read it. I"ll wait.</div>
<div>
<br />
<h4>
Punting</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Punters are now better at aiming the ball to drop inside the 10 yard line, especially as they are kicking from deeper in their opponent's territory. There is also a greater range of hang time which is helping the coverage team get into position more easily and increase the number of fair catches, as well as more frequency of punters outkicking their coverage. The punter's accuracy attribute drives these actions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Penalty Frequency</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The frequency of penalties has been increased in this release. Penalties are almost primarily driven by a player's discipline, with a smaller weight applied to their fatigue and experience. Whenever a penalty event opportunity occurs, a calculation is made to determine whether the player will commit the penalty.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Prior to 0.1.2, the average penalties per game were half or less of what occurs in real life. This has been increased to more better mimic a real football game.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Contract Negotiation</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We have increased the values used by players when making contract requests. This should make it a little harder to retain a full roster of really good players without being forced to let some of them go to free agency, which should also in turn make early free agency a little bit more interesting.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
</ul>
<h3>
Passing Game Updates</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With version 0.1.2, the passing game has received a complete overhaul. The way that defensive coverage works and the way the quarterback throws the ball has been updated to have more realism.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
Quarterback Progression Updates</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The quarterback will now favor his #1 WR above the rest of his receiving options. This will result in wide receivers getting a greater share of targets. The #2 WR will be next in line, followed by the TE and RB, and so on. There is a good deal of randomness still in the progression order, but the changes should eliminate the Tight Ends being the leading receivers as they were in version 0.1.1.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Man-to-man Coverage</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A significant improvement has been made to the coverage logic for defensive backs. When a player is covering a receiver using man-to-man, the game now considers their man-to-man skill against the receiver's route running skill. If the receiver has a better route running skill than the defender's man-to-man attribute, the defender will have a hard time staying with the player. On the other hand, if the scales tilt in favor of the defender, the receiver will have a difficult time getting open.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Currently the #1 CB always plays on the same side as the #1 WR. It might seem like a good idea to place your #1 WR lower in the depth chart to get your #1 WR to go against your opponent's #2 CB, but keep in mind that by doing that you will reduce the number of targets to your best WR, even though he may get more open than he would otherwise.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Quarterback Passing</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The last significant update to the passing game happens when the quarterback actually throws the ball. Previously, every pass was aimed at the optimal location for the receiver to make the catch, with the only consideration of the coverage influencing whether or not to throw the ball. In version 0.1.2, the quarterback will now choose a location to throw the ball to that he considers to be the safest location based on the surrounding coverage while still considering placing it in a catchable location, which may reduce the ability for the receiver to catch the ball or even have the quarterback intentionally throw the ball to an uncatchable location. A quarterback with less experience will have a higher probability of not taking a certain defender into consideration when making this decision as well. Also, once the aim spot is chosen, the quarterback's accuracy attribute will influence how far away from that spot the ball actually travels.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Running Game Updates</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We've been working hard to find a good balance to get rushing yardage more in keeping with real life. We've made it more difficult to keep your #1 running back on the field - if you overwork him, he will become more fatigued and even more injury prone. Keeping the default values for fatigue should see your #2 running back with more snaps than he had previously.</div>
<br />
<h3>
Defensive Game Plan Updates</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcfWErLn1vA33gDmw8X033-1wKt9j0qQhyhIzn8G4z93YmVPDKxtScnviJ3ZYxLE7uBUipjxtEwz1WD-Z0Rb25mK_Vl6aZcxy-M8QF3PN3HY8Nba4slTZXiH-L7OMvUrVhvMcqRbvlOk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-12+at+3.37.50+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcfWErLn1vA33gDmw8X033-1wKt9j0qQhyhIzn8G4z93YmVPDKxtScnviJ3ZYxLE7uBUipjxtEwz1WD-Z0Rb25mK_Vl6aZcxy-M8QF3PN3HY8Nba4slTZXiH-L7OMvUrVhvMcqRbvlOk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-12+at+3.37.50+PM.JPG" height="206" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Another major update to the game engine falls on the defensive side of the ball. We have added a new game planning feature to key on the run, key on the pass, or play a neutral defense. The neutral defense will be the default if you don't make any adjustments to your game plan, and operates identically to the previous game engine version.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You will find the Run/Pass button next to the Linebacker's button on the Defensive Gameplan screen. It operates in the same manner as all the other game plan screens, with both a graphical interface as well as a slider interface. At the bottom of each quadrant is your opponent's tendencies over the current and previous season.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When your defense calls a play, the run/pass/neutral emphasis is appended to the regular play call, so it does not affect the actual play that you choose. The recommendation will always choose a neutral value plus either a run or a pass value, but not both; you can certainly have both settings for a particular situation if you would prefer, however.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Run-Focused Defense</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When your defense plays in run-focused mode, players in zone coverage will cheat up toward the line of scrimmage, and players heading into the backfield will head directly toward the running back. If the quarterback performs a play action fake, your defense will always bite on the fake. Your defensive backs in man-to-man coverage will not cover their receivers as effectively.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Pass-Focused Defense</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In a pass-focused defense, the players in zone coverage will do the opposite as in a run-focused defense: they will play further away from the line of scrimmage. The focus in this defense is more to prevent the long pass as opposed to stopping shorter plays; your defense will probably give up more short pass plays in this defense, but should be better at stopping the long pass. Players in man-to-man coverage will perform better in this situation than they will in a neutral or run defense. The defensive line and blitzers will not bite on a play action fake.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Keep the feedback coming!</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks to everyone who has been playing and especially to those of you who have provided invaluable feedback as we have been working on the game over the last several months. We value your feedback, so please continue to offer your suggestions, areas of confusion or frustration, and general feedback on the forums.</div>
J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-24747446702074689542014-05-06T10:18:00.000-07:002014-05-06T10:18:24.834-07:00Passing the Bar: How field goal logic worksIn <a href="http://www.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">MyFootballNow</a>, each game is simulated using a complex 2-D game engine. Each player in the game is what is called an "autonomous user agent" - which basically means that they make completely independent decisions based only on what they know about their place in the game, without any sort of overview that we as the viewer might have. There are several games that use this type of logic - Madden NFL is the most obvious one - and it is contrasted with games that might use probability calculations to derive an approximate result based on the attributes of players on the field.<br />
<br />
While the players are simulated in 2-D, any time the ball is in flight it is simulated in all three dimensions. The height of the players it passes determines whether or not they are able to touch and consequently influence the flight path of the ball. This is illustrated in the game center by the size of the football as it rises and descends in altitude. I wanted to write a short blog entry detailing how something like a field goal is simulated to illustrate how it's not just a "72% chance for success," but instead the chance of success is determined by far more complex math as the actual physics of the ball are simulated in the game engine. A gentle warning, there is math in the following description; but hopefully I'll be able to explain it in such a way that makes sense even to the greatest mathophobic.<br />
<br />
When a field goal is attempted, the direction that the ball needs to travel to arrive at the center of the goal posts is calculated. Then, using the kicker's accuracy attribute, a value is arrived at that is the standard deviation for the launch angle. The lower the accuracy attribute, the larger the standard deviation. Then the launch angle error is calculated using a normal distribution, and the flight path of the ball is adjusted to go in that direction.<br />
<br />
That last sentence may have flown over the head of most casual text sim gamers. What in the world is a standard deviation? There is a principle in statistics that states that if you have enough samples of data for what is known as a "normal population," that most of the data will be close to the "mean," or average value. 68% of all samples will be within one standard deviation of this mean, and 95% will be within two standard deviations, with 99% being within 3 standard deviations. The graph looks like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruEaZhUIuZAy9IjjGAlbfk2t8S62Wngt-9aMBOM_kuH7SzmE7nddgCZYDs4LO-C_J9k9VW-veHN993CeyZCtC8vp94n45t-SUwJFhbGvPx8VWRws3jlvS4mhdy1QGFS8_Vzj-2QCzHOM/s1600/normal_dist.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruEaZhUIuZAy9IjjGAlbfk2t8S62Wngt-9aMBOM_kuH7SzmE7nddgCZYDs4LO-C_J9k9VW-veHN993CeyZCtC8vp94n45t-SUwJFhbGvPx8VWRws3jlvS4mhdy1QGFS8_Vzj-2QCzHOM/s1600/normal_dist.gif" height="161" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Note the hump in this graph, where the middle line indicates the mean. As you go further and further away from the mean, the number of times that value exists becomes less and less, indicated by the graph getting lower and lower. Each vertical line indicates one standard deviation. The larger the standard deviation, the greater the range of the resulting values. There are lots of random numbers generated in MyFootballNow, and most use some form of the normal distribution. By choosing a mean and a standard deviation, we are able to generate random numbers that will be distributed with a range that matches the graph above.<br />
<br />
So, we decide the amount of error based on a normal distribution, with the standard deviation being dependent on the kicker's accuracy attribute. The strength attribute applies in the same manner, except instead of the standard deviation being calculated from the attribute, the mean value is used. A strength value of 100 will be able to kick a 70-yard field goal if the random value is 3 standard deviations away from his mean. As mentioned above, 99% of all values will be within three standard deviations of the mean, and the remaining 1% will be split between the high and low side; so if a kicker has a 100 strength score and his launch angle error is 0, he will have a 0.5% chance that a 70-yard field goal will be good.<br />
<br />
One more comment about standard deviations. I said that 68% of all values will fall within one standard deviation of the mean, which is where the 70% accuracy value comes from on your misc. game planning screen. Yes, I took a little liberty and rounded the amount to the nearest 10%. This it is the distance where your kicker is within one standard deviation of making the field goal, using the shortest distance when considering his accuracy and strength.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-22931431369021730452014-02-18T10:20:00.000-08:002014-02-18T10:20:50.238-08:00ScoutingI've received a lot of questions about how scouting works. The real-world analogy is that the plays you scout are the plays that your team practices against during the week. To understand how the game engine simulates this, we need to go into a bit more depth about a player's familiarity with a play and what that does in the engine.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Play Familiarity</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvOHT64R9ms02JniKCW0Mt0DxzgmyuPQf-vskejv-dq8jXym_teoCZpc8-V7qcSrcv0jaDsifv2MOLPdTdwUmNGkRihtzaoYeTYR2iEcCnAc4Wq8WbC1sBYNW5bTxMWpTwD3t8eU-QJo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-18+at+11.45.29+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvOHT64R9ms02JniKCW0Mt0DxzgmyuPQf-vskejv-dq8jXym_teoCZpc8-V7qcSrcv0jaDsifv2MOLPdTdwUmNGkRihtzaoYeTYR2iEcCnAc4Wq8WbC1sBYNW5bTxMWpTwD3t8eU-QJo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-18+at+11.45.29+AM.JPG" height="279" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Each player in the league has a setting for how familiar he is with every play that exists in the game. If you go to a player's page, under the "Off Plays" and "Def Plays" you will see his familiarity with each play in your playbook. The size of the red bar indicates how familiar he is with each play.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There are several events that increase a player's familiarity with each play. The most significant happens during the Training Camp stage. It is in this stage that each player on your team increases in his familiarity with each play in your head coach's playbook - the offensive players learn the offensive plays, and the defensive players learn the defensive plays. During the season, as you install plays into your game plan, the players will increase in their familiarity with those plays. Then, throughout the course of a game, each player grows in familiarity with each play that occurs while they are on the field.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, what impact does play familiarity have on the play? As the game engine sims each play, the players are all autonomous user agents that make decisions independently of each other. Most of the rules that govern this logic are tied to their attribute values. Attributes are reduced by fatigue and injury, but not by play familiarity. Being more familiar with a play does not make you stronger or faster. What familiarity does influence is reaction time and decision making.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A very obvious example of this is a quarterback's familiarity with a defensive play. Let's take as an example the defense is blitzing the cornerback, with the deep safety taking the coverage of the outside receiver. As the quarterback's familiarity with the defensive play and his own offensive play increases, the probability increases that he will audible to a hot read which often will result in a large gain as the safety doesn't have time to get to the receiver that the blitzing cornerback has abandoned.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another example of the impact of familiarity is a player's reaction time to an event. For example, a defense that is highly familiar with a particular outside run will close on the hole faster than a defense that is less familiar with the same play. This is taken on a per-player basis - so if you have a young, inexperienced linebacker playing next to a wily veteran, the veteran will have a faster reaction time than the rookie.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In addition to the play familiarity, a player's positional experience, crowd noise, and fatigue are taken into the equation.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
So, about scouting</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJUCNVOf8c2VZDMr6CHytwyAW4W-aXga8bLEj-3YCfBhyPCLhCbe_6vhQfuNGHhUSOv2vPwkJ1M0LSiJhyRxxJmkqk9S-HolnUvt_kCIW0IVVWE36lxhg5RcZRdBM62qI0Qu4qsZKyaU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-18+at+12.01.02+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrJUCNVOf8c2VZDMr6CHytwyAW4W-aXga8bLEj-3YCfBhyPCLhCbe_6vhQfuNGHhUSOv2vPwkJ1M0LSiJhyRxxJmkqk9S-HolnUvt_kCIW0IVVWE36lxhg5RcZRdBM62qI0Qu4qsZKyaU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-18+at+12.01.02+PM.JPG" height="269" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Now back to the scouting page. Under your game planning screens, you have a tab for scouting the offense and scouting the defense of your upcoming opponent. While your offensive and defensive game plan screens show your head coach's playbook, the scouting screens show your opponent's playbook, as well as information about how often your opponent uses each play and how successful they have been. The list is sorted by the plays that your upcoming opponent has used most over the current and previous seasons, as well as an indicator of the composite familiarity of your team. Here, offensive plays show your defense's composite familiarity, and defensive plays show your offense's composite familiarity. You can choose up to five offensive and defensive plays to scout. If you load your coach's recommended game plan for scouting, he will select the 5 most used offensive and defensive plays for your opponent.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is where there is a little cat and mouse game, because in order to gain a good familiarity with your own playbook you need to use the plays in games. But, the more you use certain plays in your playbook, the more likely your opponent will scout those plays.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I usually will scout the top 5 plays for my opponent unless my team is highly familiar with the play, in which case I might choose one further down the list. You might also try to include a play that you struggle against and have poor familiarity - as long as the play is in your upcoming opponent's playbook.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
One more word on plays</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll conclude this topic with a comment that is loosely linked to scouting, and that's pointing out the play card. On the game log and on the game planning pages, you can open a card that displays information about the play.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-FzWgktsPu3o1ehEU_jrqeuyj5_4Z3ce_yslkZb44lRgdlTsQrRp_-lF1zal8uE_4KGMGwiIpGQxQwV3z8AWaIKd7QgguF-iO9C3_eXQuIx8gWVlynzTQmdNezPkIMLz1lZVKY-21rA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-18+at+12.09.54+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-FzWgktsPu3o1ehEU_jrqeuyj5_4Z3ce_yslkZb44lRgdlTsQrRp_-lF1zal8uE_4KGMGwiIpGQxQwV3z8AWaIKd7QgguF-iO9C3_eXQuIx8gWVlynzTQmdNezPkIMLz1lZVKY-21rA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-18+at+12.09.54+PM.JPG" height="320" width="283" /></a></div>
<div>
As you can see in the example here, it details information about the play - the formation, play type, your team's composite familiarity, how often you have used the play in various situations and how successful the play has been in those situations. There is also a tab for a large diagram, as well as a list of each position in the formation and their assignment. As it says in the fine print, the times used and the success values reflect how your team has performed using this play in the current and previous regular season.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Successful scouting can have a positive impact on your team's performance, so don't neglect coming in and setting up your scout plan before each game.</div>
J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-21251054364300395402014-02-12T19:01:00.000-08:002014-02-12T19:01:01.137-08:00Hats off to Salary Cap ManagementIn previous posts, we've discussed how to <a href="http://blog.myfootballnow.com/2013/11/how-to-evaluate-your-players.html" target="_blank">evaluate your players</a> and <a href="http://blog.myfootballnow.com/2013/12/managing-your-depth-chart.html" target="_blank">manage your depth chart</a>. In today's post, I'm going to talk about how you get those players on your roster in the first place, and how to keep them there.<br />
<br />
When a league is created, the teams are all pre-populated with 53 players. After that, each season there is a 7-round player draft, where teams choose from the rookie pool in reverse order of their previous season's standings. A drafted player will automatically receive a contract, which you can choose to void if you'd like. This topic is not going to discuss the draft, but instead signing players from free agency, and keeping the players that you have.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Making a contract offer</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
Let's start by taking a look at the player contract offer screen. If you are able to make an offer on a player, his player card and payer page will have a "contract" button that will load up a form with which you can make an offer:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgud-qj3RM7gXTstxUp-nbcNxK05QDsGPJP7l_RtdB7oD_IUinqaMH_jasjDTp-BjeHf0gyy3Ao40W2jhEhHUQg2uepKbTojbLiaFXvZ14-s3oTnD00uafhPFxOkqWMzbkg2ZZ4W2ielDk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-11+at+12.51.49+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgud-qj3RM7gXTstxUp-nbcNxK05QDsGPJP7l_RtdB7oD_IUinqaMH_jasjDTp-BjeHf0gyy3Ao40W2jhEhHUQg2uepKbTojbLiaFXvZ14-s3oTnD00uafhPFxOkqWMzbkg2ZZ4W2ielDk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-11+at+12.51.49+PM.JPG" height="273" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The bar across the top is a display of your current salary cap and the implications this contract offer will have on it. The color coding is as follows:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Current Contracts</b> - this is the sum of the base salary for all players currently on your team. Cutting players will remove their base salary from your cap.</li>
<li><b>Current Bonuses</b> - this is the sum of the bonuses being paid for the current season. Cutting a player will move their bonus into dead cap. I'll detail a bit more about how that works below.</li>
<li><b>Pending Contracts</b> - If you have any pending contracts, they are represented by the blue bar. This will help you be aware of the sum total of all your contract offers as you are working through them.</li>
<li><b>Dead Cap</b> - Cap room you have given up by cutting players with bonuses.</li>
<li><b>Min for Remaining Players</b> - The amount you should reserve to be able to fill your roster with minimum-salaried players. If the draft has not yet happened, this will also include the amount of money your draft picks will consume from your cap.</li>
</ul>
<div>
The next section is a quick way to build an offer. It will default with the player's current request, or if you have a pending offer on this player, it will default with your existing offer and give you a checkbox to withdraw it. The values are:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>First Year Base + Bonus</b> - this is the total amount that this contract will count against your cap for the current year.</li>
<li><b>Years</b> - The length of the contract.</li>
<li><b>Bonus</b> - What percentage of the First Year Base + Bonus is the bonus.</li>
</ul>
You must offer a bonus to a player if you are signing him for longer than a 1-year contract, and the minimum bonus is based on the salary cap for the season. You will get a warning if you attempt to sign a player without the minimum required bonus.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Below the sliders is a section where you can manually enter numbers to get a finer level of control over your offer. You can enter the total bonus as well as the base salary for each year. The only requirements are that the bonus meets the minimum amount required (if you are signing a multi-year contract), and that the base salary increases 5% or more per year.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The chart shows you the year, the base salary, the bonus, and the total offer for each year. The final column displays the difference in the year's cap impact, if the player is on your team. You will be using this quite a bit when trying to free up cap room by renegotiating with your players; when you are signing a new player, his salary difference will be N/A.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
How the bonus impacts the salary cap</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When you offer a player a contract that contains a signing bonus, he gets that money when he signs with you. However, the cost of that signing bonus is spread out equally across the duration of his contract. If you ever renegotiate his contract, his previous signing bonus stays on the books, and the new contract's signing bonus will be added to any existing cap impact. If a player is cut, is traded, or retires while he still has bonus money impacting the cap, the current year's bonus goes into the dead cap space for the current year, and any future year's bonus is accelerated into the following season's dead cap space.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's an example:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Jg87nynHvjWMTQSTgQ7R6oAXg68DLZalfZlcSkCnE-ZyG2S-fQIQe0IS9Za8nfQhfOV8eXP2dfTq8otMYwOKSg_A98gYHyao06i1RWBJ3bfgyLKX3RWrGQYhmzXwDRHzdp7JHaUPTyE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-12+at+7.43.59+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Jg87nynHvjWMTQSTgQ7R6oAXg68DLZalfZlcSkCnE-ZyG2S-fQIQe0IS9Za8nfQhfOV8eXP2dfTq8otMYwOKSg_A98gYHyao06i1RWBJ3bfgyLKX3RWrGQYhmzXwDRHzdp7JHaUPTyE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-12+at+7.43.59+AM.JPG" height="400" width="240" /></a></div>
This player currently has 4 years left on his contract, with a bonus of $852,899 being applied to our cap for each year. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If we were to cut or trade this player in 2017, his $852,899 bonus would continue to apply to the 2017 salary cap, but his base salary of $3,846,145 would not. (Actually, depending on how far into the season he is cut, his base salary will be pro-rated into the salary cap.) Further, the remaining balance of his bonus will be accelerated into the 2018 season - meaning you will incur a dead cap penalty of $2,558,697. When you click on the "Cut" button, you will be presented with the actual numbers that the transaction will have.</div>
<div>
<br />
If you renegotiate his salary, the $852,899 per year will continue to apply to his bonus, in addition to the new bonus. So, let's click on the "contract" button and see what we are presented with:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSjMBTaOOAmxohy6-YUhWxoupruyOgJk-2tT15DCAdCwajBudOhQAAAmOuNpdlIoy9afw61-IwT4WPnozaiAWdO47APRPNtpCFiMsfeLXhihS45Er_OfrIDbJQxBIPcAtvAlWLUmDbdA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-12+at+3.58.53+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSjMBTaOOAmxohy6-YUhWxoupruyOgJk-2tT15DCAdCwajBudOhQAAAmOuNpdlIoy9afw61-IwT4WPnozaiAWdO47APRPNtpCFiMsfeLXhihS45Er_OfrIDbJQxBIPcAtvAlWLUmDbdA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-12+at+3.58.53+PM.JPG" height="314" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Notice that his offer request is for $2,885,284 for the first year, with 16% of that being his bonus, for a total of 5 years. In the contract details below, we can see that the $462,842/year distribution of the bonus money has been added to the $852,899 per year for 2017-2020, and then in 2021 the new bonus only applies. We can also see that we can save a significant amount by offering this contract.<br />
<br />
Players will look at other similar players in the league to determine their offer requests. Many times you can free up cap room by renegotiating with your higher paid players. Other times, you may have to offer a raise to keep a player around. When renegotiating with a player, note that he will not accept an offer below what he is asking.<br />
<br />
This last sentence bears some explanation. A free agent will always accept the best offer available when he signs with a team. If you are renegotiating a contract, however, the player has his minimum that he will accept, or else you will have to let him become a free agent. But you do have room to move the values around a little bit. How a player evaluates an offer is first and foremost by the total amount of bonus money in the offer. That money they get to keep, even if you cut them in the next sim; of course that is worth the most to him. Then, the base salary has some weight, with later years being less important than early years. The bonus cannot exceed 75% of the first year base plus bonus, and each year's base salary must increase by at least 5%.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Your Pending Contracts</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you have contracts pending for players or coaches, there is a submenu item in the "Team" menu that lists your pending offers. If it is during one of the free agency stages and there are other offers for the player, you will see the best offer from the previous stage listed as well. In addition to this, if a player has pending offers from the previous stage, they will be listed on his player card. Note that the other teams' offers are listed with just the total number of years and the total amount of the offer. You are not privy to the details of how much of each offer is base and how much is bonus.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Expiring Contracts</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When a player is in the last year of his contract, you must either renegotiate his contract before the end of the season, or let him become a free agent the following year. You also cannot renegotiate a contract of a player who was signed in the current year - meaning that if you ever offer a 1-year contract to a player, he will enter the free agency pool the following year, there is no way to guarantee that you can keep him.<br />
<br />
The last stage that you can re-sign players is the End of Season stage, which is the stage immediately following the league championship game.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When contracts expire, the player will be available for all teams starting with the first Early Free Agency sim. He is still listed on your roster until the draft, though. If you want to see a picture of your current contract situation, click on the "Filter" button above your roster on your team page, and choose either "No Current or Pending Contract" - which will list any players on your roster who are free agents and whom you have not offered a contract to - or "Only Under Contract" - which will show a list of all players on your roster who are secured with a contract. Those two options are only available during the early free agency stages. Once the draft hits, the free agents on your roster are removed if they have not signed a contract.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Signing players during the season</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Prior to Training Camp, you can have as many players on your roster as you wish; your salary cap and roster limit are not enforced until Training Camp. You must cut your roster down to 60 players by the training camp stage, otherwise the game engine will do it for you. And you must be under the salary cap by the first pre-season game, or again, the game engine will do it for you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
During the season, you may need to make a roster move. Perhaps a player is injured and you need to sign another player at that position to give you enough depth. Or perhaps you are placing a player on injured reserve, and need to add another player to your roster. The best time to do these sorts of moves is during the midweek sim. When you make an offer to a player, he will be added to your roster as an inactive player. The midweek sim gives you a chance to place that player into your depth chart, and cut another player to get you under the roster limit. If you need to make the move on a game stage (because you missed the midweek stage), you will want to cut the player you intend to cut, and ensure that you have 46 players active. If your team has fewer than 45 players active on a game stage, the game engine will reset your depth chart to make sure you have 45 active players. Note that the game engine uses 45 and not 46 as the magic number, this is designed to give you a one-player grace in case something happens that you were not expecting.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
How the game engine "fixes" your roster</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When the game engine must make a change to your roster because you are over the limit or over the salary cap, it will take the following steps:<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
If you are over the roster count limit...</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
...the game engine will auto-update your depth chart, and then cut players based on where they land in the depth chart. Positions that have an excess of players will have the lowest rated players cut first, until you are under the roster count limit.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
If you are over the salary cap...</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
...the game engine will cut players to get you under the roster limit, starting with the player with the highest base salary. The implications of having each player cut apply as if you cut them yourself.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
If you have fewer than 45 players...</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
...then the game engine will sign players to your roster until you have 45 players. If you don't have the cap room for this, the game engine will make more roster moves to cut players to free up enough cap space to handle a 45-player roster.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
If you have fewer than 45 players active...</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
...the game engine will reset your depth chart, giving you 45 active players.</div>
J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-79725374351233216672013-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:002013-12-14T09:48:57.715-08:00Managing your Depth ChartWelcome to today's installment of <a href="http://myfootballnow.com/">MyFootballNow.com</a> tips. In this entry, I will discuss setting up your depth chart, some tips about it, and how to keep the AI from resetting it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNvH3ZMe8DF710kii_dIAA6fKZaJex1WF0w2HgvLi78Ml30Ir7WHLBJtWcgEdEHvZVMvQvAH-WNzpT1ui4EsXVaGQ8BwKjunf52jiVgNW87gFWAnHIoGKIQC8kgf0uTB-H272fBDPGiA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.16.26+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNvH3ZMe8DF710kii_dIAA6fKZaJex1WF0w2HgvLi78Ml30Ir7WHLBJtWcgEdEHvZVMvQvAH-WNzpT1ui4EsXVaGQ8BwKjunf52jiVgNW87gFWAnHIoGKIQC8kgf0uTB-H272fBDPGiA/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.16.26+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Let's first take a look at the depth chart screen. On the top right you will se a bar that indicates how many players you have on your roster, and how many of those players are active vs. inactive. During the pre-season you are allowed to have up to 60 players under contract; once the pre-season is over, you must cut your roster to 53 max. This total includes all players you have under contract with the exception of any players you have on injured reserve. If you enter a game stage with more than the maximum roster, the AI will cut players to bring you down to the limit.<br />
<br />
At any game stage, you must have at least 45 and no more than 46 players active. Again, if you have fewer than 45 players, active, the AI will take over and make sure you have enough players to field a team for that week. This may also reset your depth chart to balance out the active players. Note that when you sign a player, he will be added to your roster as an inactive player. If you cut a player, he actually won't be cut until the next sim - so he will remain in your depth chart, giving you the chance to change your mind. He will be automatically marked inactive, though, and you won't be able to activate him without canceling the scheduled cut.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lWVK8bt4x-Cv4NHV3vwwuNBVNl27SZEK8RIK2xh3T64i6c0HFt-Aung9EiOOx4bvWkq3KrCun5wdbkmVIA0YJuX5H08YBjSWUWVr_V2inGVFzJw9AUfhnBlv8SRcdBK-GFRfXK0hoQU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.23.23+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lWVK8bt4x-Cv4NHV3vwwuNBVNl27SZEK8RIK2xh3T64i6c0HFt-Aung9EiOOx4bvWkq3KrCun5wdbkmVIA0YJuX5H08YBjSWUWVr_V2inGVFzJw9AUfhnBlv8SRcdBK-GFRfXK0hoQU/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.23.23+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Below the top bar is your roster. You can view your entire roster, or filter by a position group. The boxes display each player's name, their current rating at their position, and their experience. To assign a player to a position in the depth chart, drag him from the top section into the position below. The player on the top of a position is the first string, the second position is second string, and so forth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvbCYDJzVyQwzrpExRt_6n-TKrHDUiYAKC3756L3nFHPs0F0Viq6ETz29FPApV60OUhwdyeZrVRNAIKrR0rj_Q79Ys1nBb2OuQfQX_H31Km5aWLK5i0XE2IjHrJyB2P-kFSevVJtA_aA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.26.53+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvbCYDJzVyQwzrpExRt_6n-TKrHDUiYAKC3756L3nFHPs0F0Viq6ETz29FPApV60OUhwdyeZrVRNAIKrR0rj_Q79Ys1nBb2OuQfQX_H31Km5aWLK5i0XE2IjHrJyB2P-kFSevVJtA_aA/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.26.53+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The bottom section shows your offense, defense, and special teams depth charts. Again, the same information is displayed for each player. One difference, however, is the rating - in this section, the rating displayed is the rating that this player has at this position in his depth chart.<br />
<br />
To remove a player from the depth chart, you can drag him back into the top section, or click on him to select him (a red box will display around him), and hit the "delete" key.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgba467XX-JQ7-NwjSGEy6dOgM_qDTLmtWjVs2JkSyoKHJxvn18kJspEWLpyVnEhqYwi2Vt0apGZwffU5HGsDLIa8Dm7P1BAyUrNAUeZjHkdTXqEXvHfbGc6sZbDKjKdbOfaaxJ7h7OjXI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.31.06+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgba467XX-JQ7-NwjSGEy6dOgM_qDTLmtWjVs2JkSyoKHJxvn18kJspEWLpyVnEhqYwi2Vt0apGZwffU5HGsDLIa8Dm7P1BAyUrNAUeZjHkdTXqEXvHfbGc6sZbDKjKdbOfaaxJ7h7OjXI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-14+at+11.31.06+AM.JPG" /></a></div>
Let's talk just a bit more about the player boxes. If a player is inactive, his box will be shaded to indicate this. In the upper left corner is a plus or minus button; use this to activate or deactivate the player. The bar at the top of the page will update to reflect your current count. You can open the player card with the (i) button in the upper right corner. Note, also, in my example, that J Hyatt has a green triangle in the upper right corner. This indicates that he is on the injury list, and green means that he is probable. You can look at his player card to see exactly what his injury status is. You can deactivate a player here without having to remove him from the depth chart; the player below him will automatically be promoted into his spot. Once your player is healthy, you can re-activate him, and the depth chart will return to how it was.<br />
<br />
During the game, it is possible that your depth chart may run out of players. For example, you may have two running backs in your depth chart. If your starting running back becomes injured, and then your second string running back becomes too fatigued to continue, the AI will automatically select the most appropriate player to fill the spot, using your player position weights. For more information about setting these weights, check out the entry on <a href="http://blog.myfootballnow.com/2013/11/how-to-evaluate-your-players.html" target="_blank">How To Evaluate your Players</a>.<br />
<br />
I wanted to mention here some ideas about managing your depth chart. The player's card will indicate where he is in your depth chart. I try to make sure all my players are in the depth chart - even if they are inactive - so that I can keep tabs on who is improving and might need to be moved up, or who I might cut. I will also do my pre-season cuts using the depth chart screen, which helps me see each player relative to the other players in his position more easily. During the draft, I will usually plug my player into the depth chart immediately upon drafting him. This helps me quickly see how he stands up against the current roster. And, if I find that a player has a better future rating at another position that I am in need of, I will put him into that spot and then go into his page and change his position so that he will grow in that position appropriately. Between each game, I use the depth chart screen to evaluate my team's injuries, and quickly deactivate players that are too injured to play, and see if I need to plug in some other players in the depth chart beneath them. Technically, you could deactivate all the players in a given position, and the AI will not adjust your depth chart - it will just choose the best player available during the game. I don't like giving up that control, however, so I'll usually make sure that I have an appropriate number of active players at each position.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-20163972248389252252013-11-25T18:28:00.003-08:002013-11-25T18:29:41.308-08:00First Class Coach ManagementWelcome to the latest installment of the <a href="http://myfootballnow.com/">MyFootballNow.com</a> tutorials! Today we're going to discuss your coaching staff. What do coaches do in MyFootballNow? What should you look for? And how do you best pursue them?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8Bxl4vXsHeEmI_PQSv-Z2U_CkHHbj-uhyphenhyphenjgS3vraeuryE3YO0SCSjEqXfVU9O04-W33YF8cBvC3yuB-zzfvu8Q_Z3FSiRiHv3_xat21N1_xcm9R4Bowb9jiLDgUZorE7fMLHvjXry9M/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+7.46.48+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8Bxl4vXsHeEmI_PQSv-Z2U_CkHHbj-uhyphenhyphenjgS3vraeuryE3YO0SCSjEqXfVU9O04-W33YF8cBvC3yuB-zzfvu8Q_Z3FSiRiHv3_xat21N1_xcm9R4Bowb9jiLDgUZorE7fMLHvjXry9M/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+7.46.48+PM.JPG" width="255" /></a></div>
On your team's home page, you will see your coaching staff listed in the right column. Notice that you have a head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and 9 position coaches. Each coach will display his rating for his given position. The higher the rating, the more desirable the coach will be for his position.<br />
<br />
Let's discuss the coach ratings. Each coach has a value for each attribute that your players have. Unlike players, your coach's attributes have a single number - no current/future split exists. Like players, those numbers will move throughout a coach's career. When coaches are introduced into the system, they will tend to average near 50 at all the attributes; as a coach ages, he will diverge from those values. In the same way that players boom and bust, some coaches will increase, others will decrease and most will hover around their original values.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkz6UVqUZOs1aCJ3ScSsbAAPJKvRJzs_78Yt2GxNe2uH1cqTYCSiuY6QPTcyt8cl8BYELeLH1X3WYDb6tuL5cvvOsSCIKwSums9xEWl184qinnAv5Z7Bn86UK_Fm079oVNAupFSZVBhws/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+7.51.12+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkz6UVqUZOs1aCJ3ScSsbAAPJKvRJzs_78Yt2GxNe2uH1cqTYCSiuY6QPTcyt8cl8BYELeLH1X3WYDb6tuL5cvvOsSCIKwSums9xEWl184qinnAv5Z7Bn86UK_Fm079oVNAupFSZVBhws/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+7.51.12+PM.JPG" width="196" /></a></div>
When you open a coach's card and look at his ratings, you will see some ratings in blue and some in red. The red ratings are the ratings that are applicable to his current position; a head coach will have all red ratings, while your kickers coach will only have ratings relative to kicking.<br />
<br />
During training camp and each game stage, your players will improve in their attributes. This is tied directly to their coaching staff hierarchy above them. The influence of his position coach is 20%, his coordinator's influence is 30%, and his head coach's influence is 50%. Kickers have a 50/50 split between head coach and kicker's coach. The more influence a player has from his coaching staff, the faster his current value will approach his future value.<br />
<br />
Your head coach has one other very important part to play - he brings your playbook to your team. Each coach has an offensive style and defensive style. When searching for a replacement head coach, you will want to consider his coaching style and whether you want to bring that playbook into your team. By hiring a new coach with the same coaching style as your existing one, you will retain the advantage of your players knowing the playbook. On the other hand, if you don't like your head coach's style, you can replace him and let your team learn the new playbook.<br />
<br />
So, that's what coaches do in a nutshell; not terribly complicated. How do you go about managing your coach's contracts? Since there is no salary cap for coaches, your funds for your coaches will come from your team's available cash flow, which is influenced by your previous season's attendance. To further aid you in managing your coaching staff, you will always be able to extend your existing coach's contracts at the salary they currently receive. But you may not want to keep the coaching staff you have, which means you will need to search for and hire coaches.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASKOyY1bvj8eP5pAfghDCpwxTYPGE2ngY3JiGKuKT7R9EXbLqSCaX-wdgwJMEUzke9caKJdez18S9TDgabxNrRAGU_5bCm3ZsmUwkXl4kafu31I66jqnAwv4UceVjWDrErXqsHEg1c0E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+8.04.03+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASKOyY1bvj8eP5pAfghDCpwxTYPGE2ngY3JiGKuKT7R9EXbLqSCaX-wdgwJMEUzke9caKJdez18S9TDgabxNrRAGU_5bCm3ZsmUwkXl4kafu31I66jqnAwv4UceVjWDrErXqsHEg1c0E/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+8.04.03+PM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The coach search screen gives you the ability to search for coaches with several filters. If you choose an attribute or position score, you will see that value in the search results. If you choose a coaching style or team, you will only see coaches that match those options.<br />
<br />
Coaches can be hired at any time that you can sign a player. If you hire a coach in place of an existing coach, the existing coach will be fired. You cannot enter a game stage without a full coaching staff - if you don't have a full coaching staff, the game engine will hire a coaching staff for you. There is no penalty for firing a coach like there is if you cut a player. And, you can promote your own coaches within your ranks at any time.<br />
<br />
During early free agency, you can also hire coaches that are employed by other teams as long as you offer that coach a promotion. So, you can hire a position coach into a coordinator or head coach, or your can hire a coordinator from another team as your head coach. As long as you keep your head coach under contract, no one can hire him from you, but your other coaches are all fair game during this time. Once the draft starts, you can only hire coaches who are unemployed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtyrw15ySoLYEBnDa2VdhUt55Xs3HtAJZOX2eVAF2cycfyFcyAZhwikr9FQDuhod09EINPDV7wZEdDmtxvdSbgRP3Db_7e-aX4a3WWEYr0e1HPX54-W8oBHlfq8hnCCifK395OXkOG9o/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+8.11.34+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtyrw15ySoLYEBnDa2VdhUt55Xs3HtAJZOX2eVAF2cycfyFcyAZhwikr9FQDuhod09EINPDV7wZEdDmtxvdSbgRP3Db_7e-aX4a3WWEYr0e1HPX54-W8oBHlfq8hnCCifK395OXkOG9o/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+8.11.34+PM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
When you offer a coach a contract, you will open up the contract calculator screen. You can choose the coach's first year salary, the position you are signing him for, and the number of years his contract will be. At the top you will see your cash flow. The green bar indicates how much of your cash flow is used, the blue bar indicates how much is pending, including the contract you are currently working on. Unlike players, you cannot make offers that will exceed your cash flow. At the very bottom you can see each coach position and what the average salary for those positions are. If you're not in a potential bidding war with other teams, there is no reason to pay more for your coach than the minimum salary. Note, however, that while players may take a few stages to decide who they will sign with, a coach will always sign for the best offer at his first opportunity.<br />
<br />
If a coach is currently employed, he will not sign for less than he is currently making. This includes coaches on your staff. To extend or promote a coach, you must at least offer him his current salary.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OlzLybEG3h3gf7KymMB87Ym_8fDopgas_zTRYfHoB8RAjy7Vfl1efYk39Mm8BQzNgr0EC5jWDPmLhIibWx2RcwenqvLy0BxC34_1moQ3B-uxwbnzuhOnOwtIa2r3gwPz9U7GJMaLQZY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+8.24.50+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OlzLybEG3h3gf7KymMB87Ym_8fDopgas_zTRYfHoB8RAjy7Vfl1efYk39Mm8BQzNgr0EC5jWDPmLhIibWx2RcwenqvLy0BxC34_1moQ3B-uxwbnzuhOnOwtIa2r3gwPz9U7GJMaLQZY/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-25+at+8.24.50+PM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Lastly, I want to point out a few things on the coach's page. First, if you want to see a coach's trending, like the players you can view his progress chart. Another neat feature is the history of the coach - in the right column (and in the coach's card, for that matter) you can see the entire career of the coach - where he coached in what years and his record while he was there.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading this installment of <a href="http://myfootballnow.com/">MyFootballNow.com</a> tutorials! As always, let me know if this has been helpful, if you have any questions, or if there is a topic you'd like to see discussed. If you haven't yet joined a team, come on over! We'll see you at MyFootballNow!J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-42944604851248717252013-11-11T10:19:00.000-08:002013-11-11T10:19:20.049-08:00How to deal with player injuriesInjuries are a part of life when you play football. In <a href="http://www.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">MyFootballNow</a>, you won't be playing for long before you have to deal with injuries on your team. This entry will detail some information on how those injuries occur, what they mean for your team, and how best to handle injured players.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23LDL-ML7RThtc4gYbiOG6c2n2gQGU0aNTp1nS8i_-YmHXneNTi3uYsASUGdeNFhpHUqHn0pcD4o05ksvdpe4DARsEoeKEq-3s9djiFSvlykT2zdpYg_i245YTbJSvhj6KYj75dv0dL4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-09+at+4.10.24+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23LDL-ML7RThtc4gYbiOG6c2n2gQGU0aNTp1nS8i_-YmHXneNTi3uYsASUGdeNFhpHUqHn0pcD4o05ksvdpe4DARsEoeKEq-3s9djiFSvlykT2zdpYg_i245YTbJSvhj6KYj75dv0dL4/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-09+at+4.10.24+PM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The first place you might notice a player injury is on your team roster page. There is a column that shows each player's health status. This can range from Healthy to Probable to Questionable to Doubtful to Out. Players that are "Out" are unable to play; if you leave them in your depth chart, they will not take the field. All other statuses are able to play.<br />
<br />
Injuries are calculated in the game engine on nearly every event that could cause an injury. Each event will have a base level chance for injury, and there are few factors that will increase the probability that a player will be injured. The factors that increase the injury probability are:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Conditioning: </b>The lower the conditioning bar, the more likely a player will be injured. This is kind of a catch-22, because in order to get the conditioning bar high, your player must play in the games. During the pre-season, you will want to play your starters enough to get their conditioning bar up without too much of an injury risk. The option of when to pull your starters in pre-season is in the miscellaneous game plan options.</li>
<li><b>Age:</b> As players age, they are going to be more likely to be injured. So don't be surprised when your older veterans tend to have more injuries than the younger players.</li>
<li><b>Current Injury Status:</b> If a player is already nursing an injury, he has a higher likelihood of incurring another injury. A player with a Probable injury status is far less likely to suffer an additional injury than a player with Doubtful injury status.</li>
<li><b>Fatigue:</b> The more fatigued a player is, the more likely he is going to suffer an injury. This plays hand-in-hand with the conditioning attribute, because a player with low conditioning will fatigue faster and recover more slowly. You can define how fatigued you will allow your players to become and still remain on the field in your miscellaneous game plan options.</li>
</ul>
Once an injury occurs, the player will have to leave the field for at least one play. If his injury is serious enough, he will not return to the game.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jZ_Tr6gHnbGlvoV3i55UatB1VUnlL6kwhTjxwQzkpsLFae_1u3kRVir06RhEPmu-hm4sOj4A6Qs74uJIwV3uC6oGbRi5npI21vpRKT01jXLcNDXyxcvwhT3nNuVmsnAHTGmhp9hKemM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-09+at+4.21.47+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jZ_Tr6gHnbGlvoV3i55UatB1VUnlL6kwhTjxwQzkpsLFae_1u3kRVir06RhEPmu-hm4sOj4A6Qs74uJIwV3uC6oGbRi5npI21vpRKT01jXLcNDXyxcvwhT3nNuVmsnAHTGmhp9hKemM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-09+at+4.21.47+PM.JPG" /></a></div>
To find out more about a player's injury, open his player card by clicking on his name and then choose the "Health" tab. You will see the condition of the areas of his body, where 100 is fully healthy.<br />
<br />
These values will affect appropriate attributes while this player is on the field. Leg injuries, for example, will cause the player to run more slowly, while hand injuries will make it harder for the player to catch or otherwise hold on to the ball.<br />
<br />
In this example, you see that Roger Wood is marked as having a neck injury with a 4-week recovery time. Looking at his health bars, you see that he actually also has a leg injury. The injury status display shows the worst injury that the player has. Notice that his leg health is 69 but his neck health is only 48. The 4-week timeline is the expected time for this player to return to 100% - that means all his health bars should get to 100 in about 4 weeks if he doesn't suffer any more injuries. I will also point out that the factor used to determine the injury probability during the game is not cumulative; in this example, Roger Wood's leg injury has no effect on his probability for incurring an additional injury, only his neck injury is used in the calculation. (Unless his leg gets further injured during the game and it drops below 48, making it the more severe of the two)<br />
<br />
You can play a player as long as his injury status is not "Out." The status is designed to be a bit of a guide to help you decide whether to deactivate the player and let him recover, or go ahead and play him. If a player is "Probable," his injury status is probably not going to significantly decrease his skills or have a large impact on his re-injury probability. Unless you really don't need the player in the lineup, you will probably be ok playing a player with probable status. Questionable is a little bit more severe, and you should exercise caution when activating a player with questionable injury status. The very term "questionable" implies that you need to evaluate the risk of playing him. "Doubtful" players probably shouldn't be played - unless you decide that playing him is worth the risk of additional injury.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgs1eLXzoZhwn6dJZJja4nAoNj29R3qsf89nk8UOEdcW9M2BhXYxOA3qX8_pbx7bjO4DZTNtD2pKhxqFLenj21IZEKrdwSPFNRRG44XNEmwkWv3hKB27gYp9hskmmwAsuDQ3Rf7MeDtk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-09+at+4.33.46+PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgs1eLXzoZhwn6dJZJja4nAoNj29R3qsf89nk8UOEdcW9M2BhXYxOA3qX8_pbx7bjO4DZTNtD2pKhxqFLenj21IZEKrdwSPFNRRG44XNEmwkWv3hKB27gYp9hskmmwAsuDQ3Rf7MeDtk/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-09+at+4.33.46+PM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
On the depth chart page, each player's injury status is represented by a small triangle in the upper right corner. The scale goes from green to red, with green indicating that the player is probable, to red indicating that the player is out. You can quickly look over your team's depth chart and deactivate players that you feel are too injured to play without having to remove them from your depth chart. If you want to see more details about the player's injury, click on the (i) button to open the player's card.<br />
<br />
If a player's status is "Out," that means that his injury is serious. If you have a player with an "out" injury status and his recovery timeline looks like it will be most or all of the season, you can place the player on injured reserve. Next to his injury status on the player card is a button to do this. Once you place a player on injured reserve, he cannot be activated for the remainder of the season. His roster spot will open up, and you can sign an additional player to fill that roster spot. His salary, however, will continue to count against your salary cap. You will only want to place a player on injured reserve as a last resort; most players will return to Questionable and Probable status well before the indicated time line for returning to 100%.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984035018077805563.post-52446326836122635242013-11-08T07:06:00.000-08:002013-11-08T07:06:17.369-08:00How to evaluate your players<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHO7x0LJ0k-CSn07WJmO4qF5NY4d7s9H5ca0F6GyyBEqAndGBYPWUQAoZINSGguoi4IQX-8tF0Jdwy9ISWsF1hiUopZXpGXrIIoMSaKAg4D1na8ZDtlFquIg_LNwxGrIw-_ZYTn76EIyc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.39.16+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHO7x0LJ0k-CSn07WJmO4qF5NY4d7s9H5ca0F6GyyBEqAndGBYPWUQAoZINSGguoi4IQX-8tF0Jdwy9ISWsF1hiUopZXpGXrIIoMSaKAg4D1na8ZDtlFquIg_LNwxGrIw-_ZYTn76EIyc/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.39.16+AM.JPG" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">MyFootballNow</a> is an exciting online game that gives you the opportunity to build a virtual professional football team, developing it from year to year in the pursuit of the league championship. It is essentially a "franchise mode" football game, where you control all aspects of your team. The main difference between MyFootballNow and an arcade style game like Madden is that the games themselves are simulated without interaction. In MyFootballNow, you set up rules that your coaches will use to call plays during the game, and then you can watch the game in real time.<br />
<br />
So, there are two significant things to do as you play the game: game planning, and roster management. In this installment, I'm going to talk a little bit about player management, and how to best evaluate your players as you build your roster.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkdbMmXakHB7AuPnMp33B9SCzJAxx_p6FheY3EJx-GcUNRai_j6T5L-9stmPVl_NLZc9vCh4Qg0iaVQ0iRK_vl4x7vLWsp6QTd5-P__oq4EoVsGhHg2PcBHdWsVy1fFG5q02Y869jfA4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.42.49+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkdbMmXakHB7AuPnMp33B9SCzJAxx_p6FheY3EJx-GcUNRai_j6T5L-9stmPVl_NLZc9vCh4Qg0iaVQ0iRK_vl4x7vLWsp6QTd5-P__oq4EoVsGhHg2PcBHdWsVy1fFG5q02Y869jfA4/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.42.49+AM.JPG" /></a></div>
Once you take over a team, you can view your existing roster on your team page. (Click on your team pretty much anywhere it's mentioned on the site and you will be taken to your team page). The default view shows your player details, which is sorted by position. Each position has a color to help identify it - this is not really so you know that the slightly-greenish-yellow color means WR, but really just to help your eye discern the different positions represented on your team.<br />
<br />
The "Edit Filter" button on the upper right will allow you to see different columns on your roster. Most of the time, there is one other view - your contract view - that you will want to look at as you made decisions regarding contracts. We'll get into how to evaluate your player's contracts and stay under the salary cap in another entry; for now, we're going to talk about how to decide what to do to improve your roster.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhxC_96C76Iw7CR-AhNzoxXnGkFuuLnsQwYwDjYRAZyegiF647lJ-UB8pJfVfTmmNSnzAhpiBbhXpoPJeAMl840RGCV8llYbvrO_uk1RqmXmm50O5abuDlLcK2xBnU799sGk0bUlRNuU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.48.42+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhxC_96C76Iw7CR-AhNzoxXnGkFuuLnsQwYwDjYRAZyegiF647lJ-UB8pJfVfTmmNSnzAhpiBbhXpoPJeAMl840RGCV8llYbvrO_uk1RqmXmm50O5abuDlLcK2xBnU799sGk0bUlRNuU/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.48.42+AM.JPG" width="294" /></a></div>
Under the "My Team" menu item there is an option called "Position Distribution." This shows you how many players you have on your team at each position, how many of those players are active, what the suggested count for that position is, how many contract offers you have for a player at that position, and how many players you have at that position that will be cut at the next sim. You will want to check this as you work on your roster to make sure you have a well-rounded roster.<br />
<br />
You can have up to 53 players on your roster during the regular season (60 players during the pre-season). You will want to make sure that you stay under this limit, because if you don't, the game engine will automatically release players for you, which you probably don't want. You also have to have a minimum of 45 players on your roster, if you don't then the game engine will sign players for you - which may mean cutting players if necessary to get your salary cap into a position where 45 players can be signed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierwZ-Z658-IhA4lLOHjH2aIOqPL_QQFCIMrFanXH99lBIvh4wFKSPx6cdtgotb1ICHrAjgK87ntIQTbo0N92hNfi-zWDsot_k-Mz5qFbW53A_LfWysskzi37nMYFEr8zSyio-hbE4GhI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.53.09+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEierwZ-Z658-IhA4lLOHjH2aIOqPL_QQFCIMrFanXH99lBIvh4wFKSPx6cdtgotb1ICHrAjgK87ntIQTbo0N92hNfi-zWDsot_k-Mz5qFbW53A_LfWysskzi37nMYFEr8zSyio-hbE4GhI/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.53.09+AM.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
When you click on a player's name, his player card will be displayed. Here you will see bars for his attributes. Each player is assigned a total of 40 attributes, but only a handful are shown on the player card. To see all of the player's attributes, click on the "View" button to see his full page. On the right column is an option to see his ratings - this shows all the player's attributes.<br />
<br />
On younger players, you will see a red bar followed by a blue bar. Above, you might see two numbers such as 45/70. This means that, at the current time, this player's skill at this attribute is 45, but he is expected to develop to 70. We reference this as his "Current" value and his "Future" value.<br />
<br />
It is important to note that a player's future value is not set in stone. In fact, you will find that there will be some players whose future value drops steadily until his current value catches up to it. You will also find that there will be some players whose future value increases steadily, until the current value finally catches up to it. All players' future values will change over time until they have "maxed out" with their ratings. On average, the future value will be a good indicator of where they will land.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG90bkh6SxNddf7FBqwGm_2PdeP-qQ14JBR1J6h_fQCumrDPD4JcjT1yOjXEgn2IUR-JTlrEfb3iEWpg8xr_3hQ06FhyP5aMRZRIvI9r1gtq2ZldK9bi4ijCE5Th_6FcQZiON3Qgv6pkE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.34.25+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG90bkh6SxNddf7FBqwGm_2PdeP-qQ14JBR1J6h_fQCumrDPD4JcjT1yOjXEgn2IUR-JTlrEfb3iEWpg8xr_3hQ06FhyP5aMRZRIvI9r1gtq2ZldK9bi4ijCE5Th_6FcQZiON3Qgv6pkE/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.34.25+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
On the player page, there is a tab labeled "Progress." Here you can see the entire history of the player's composite attribute values. The red line indicates his future value at the time, and the blue line indicates his current value at the time. Notice in the example image here that this player had a significant jump in his current value during each of his two training camps, but his future value has been steadily declining. You will probably see similar activity with the current values of all players, but the future activity could be very volatile. When evaluating free agents and potential trades with players that have not yet reached their potential, it is a good idea to look at a player's progress chart to see the direction he appears to be headed. Of course, just because a player's future value drops in his first year doesn't mean that it will continue to drop, but it's a good indication that it might.<br />
<br />
So how is the composite rating calculated, and how are the attributes chosen that display on the player card? When you first join a league, these values are determined by your head coach. Each coach has an offensive and defensive coaching style, which primarily determines your team's playbook. We'll get into more detail about coaches in a future entry, but for now I'll just mention that different coaches will evaluate players slightly differently. For example, a "Smash Mouth" coach will not be as concerned about the quarterback's passing skills as a "West Coast Offense" coach. The good news is that you can change these values and evaluate all players using whatever criteria you choose.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOhelRsXoa_jmIuxWtsI-m2c0zIN90fW6sCXID4QzoutpMdzHdCN5nTG31zhyphenhyphenXTHxE5aNnPmKYgghDdXnCVNInEiaimLAzt5OAgSs09Ucikubxj4QABfdckDeEdxwbBPLNB3CZ9t3Gb4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.41.52+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOhelRsXoa_jmIuxWtsI-m2c0zIN90fW6sCXID4QzoutpMdzHdCN5nTG31zhyphenhyphenXTHxE5aNnPmKYgghDdXnCVNInEiaimLAzt5OAgSs09Ucikubxj4QABfdckDeEdxwbBPLNB3CZ9t3Gb4/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.41.52+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Under the "My Team" menu is an option called "Edit Player Attribute Weights." When you choose this, you will be presented with an interface to assign the weight of each available attribute to each position. The composite rating for players will be calculated using the values you have selected here. This gives you complete control over determining what the current and future values mean for each player in the league. You can also save your settings and load them in any other league, or go back and forth between various groups of settings.<br />
<br />
Any attribute that you have a non-zero value will be displayed on the player card. So, if you want to see your quarterback's kick holding attribute, but don't want it to have an impact on his composite value, set his kick holding attribute to a small value. If the game engine is forced to make roster moves on your behalf, it will use your player attribute weights to make decisions.<br />
<br />
Your players' attributes improve independently during training camp and each game stage. If an attribute as applicable to his assigned position, he will improve at that attribute until it reaches the future value. If an attribute is not applicable to his assigned position, he will lose skill in that attribute, both in his current and future values. It is important to note that you do not have control over what attributes are applicable to each position for this calculation - editing the player attribute weights only effects how the composite rating is displayed to you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEEkpAUsaVwwXDafbThZib0OUkW30r0dE2sb1OwXqZBSeyNODtrLN7bHUqtvlq-6cTUpGcvRDKxVv-MsHntY0u-1-F2zhvXjDPZwD1sWmK3sXKDd-SkRudUEtltPrrKreqb2Vdnduum0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.53.22+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEEkpAUsaVwwXDafbThZib0OUkW30r0dE2sb1OwXqZBSeyNODtrLN7bHUqtvlq-6cTUpGcvRDKxVv-MsHntY0u-1-F2zhvXjDPZwD1sWmK3sXKDd-SkRudUEtltPrrKreqb2Vdnduum0/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.53.22+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
If you have a need at a position, you can find available players through the player search screen. Choose the position you need to fill, and choose "Free Agents" for the team. You will be presented a result set that shows all players in the league that are available free agents, and what their rating at the requested position is. You can then make an offer to the best player, even if he is not currently assigned to the position you need him at. You can then change his position once he is on your team, and you already know how his ratings will be. Note that the composite ratings do not take into consideration the player's weight - so be wary of the 140 pound kicker that scores well as an offensive lineman.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57nN0fWYgKb8HYciRg85pWNl0Py2YmwKzzn0oBaqfaiBuyGKD3YwCSnG3rrAVKmIWzi03u6Q-CPWT95l_fJWX4thI4fT7fDmPYwB3vcT8EBE6X3XoLsYc6d9FGRBVyn0cjhhthcqQmX0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.47.37+AM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57nN0fWYgKb8HYciRg85pWNl0Py2YmwKzzn0oBaqfaiBuyGKD3YwCSnG3rrAVKmIWzi03u6Q-CPWT95l_fJWX4thI4fT7fDmPYwB3vcT8EBE6X3XoLsYc6d9FGRBVyn0cjhhthcqQmX0/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+8.47.37+AM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Once a player is on your roster, you will see on his player page a "Change Position/Number" button. Opening this dialog will give you the opportunity to change the player's position. You will be presented with the composite rating for each position. As mentioned above, the player will improve best if you assign him to the position you intend to play him at.<br />
<br />
I hope this has been a helpful view at player evaluation in <a href="http://www.myfootballnow.com/" target="_blank">MyFootballNow</a>. If you have any topics you'd like to see discussed in this blog, please feel free to drop me a line here or over in the forums at the game.J David Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11528227073992488999noreply@blogger.com0