Hi guys,
Those of you that have the game please post your opinions of it here.
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Hi guys,
Those of you that have the game please post your opinions of it here.
I downloaded the game last night. I've played maybe 8 seasons. This is actually my first FB upgrade since the original 99 version based on previous reviews, but I decided to take the plunge. Here are my findings.
Pros:
1. Trade AI very good. I decided to upgrade my QB in the offseason via trade and really had to pay a heavy price for a top 14 QB in terms of talent and draft picks. I also offered 3 1st round picks for a franchise RB (#2 in draft) and couldn't get the other team to agree. Very pleased with this feature.
2. QB premium very realistic. In the NFL, it is very difficult to either draft or obtain a top 10 QB. I found this very similar in FB 09. You rarely are able to draft or sign a blue-chip QB. The game encourages you to develop your own franchise QB.
3. The game has a Fox Network feel with constant scores scrolling at the bottom of the screen. It is a visually pleasant game.
4. The simulations seem to be realistic. All categories seem feasible.
5. The coaching feature isn't what I bought the game for, but I tried it one game and it was more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I still prefer to simulate all games.
Cons
1. There seems to be a few flaws in the position distribution of the draft. There seems to be a real shortage of decent RB's and T's. During one draft, there were tons of talented FB's to choose from, and hardly any RB's. I found the same with G vs T. In the NFL, there are usually a ton of good RB's to choose from in any given draft with only a few good FB's. Also, there aren't enough players in the draft pool. When I'm drafting in the 7th round, there are generally only a few positions left. Perhaps I haven't played enough seasons yet to get a better feel for this.
2. I wish the simulation speed was a tad faster, similar to BB mogul. There are some advantages to this in that I am able to enjoy the visual features more during the simulations and follow the action more during the season as opposed to just the end of year.
3. I wish the game had a little more flexibility in the offseason. For example, I wish I could still release players even if it temporarily drops me below 53 players before the draft. It makes managing the salary cap more problematic when your trying to sign a Superstar when your walking the tightrope with the salary cap. I have found myself having to sign mininum salary FA's so I could simply release another player.
4. I also wish you could skip signing a player until later during the contract renewal phase so you can fix your salary cap issues before signing key players. I had one scenario in which my star QB was the first contract renewal and I was forced to release him because of the salary cap. I had forgot you need to negotiate these players beforehand otherwise bad things can happen. Not the end of the world, just a feature I would do different.
5. I'd like the option to disregard certain financial parts of the game. Many players enjoy the GM (or coaching) role of only drafting, trading and managing the salary cap. I personally don't get much enjoyment out of setting the price of hot dogs, worrying about cashflow for signing bonuses, setting ticket prices, etc. I realize I'm probably in the minority regarding these issues and I knew this before buying the game.
Overall, I'd have to say so far I'm pretty pleased with the game.
I'd have to say that this is a pretty accurate assessment.
I think the talent distribution is pretty good in the early rounds of the drafts, but there are some positions that are rather sparse in later rounds.
As for skipping a player during the contract renewal phase, you can re-sign players before choosing "Renew Contracts" from the Play Menu -- click 'Negotiate' in the player's Scouting Report. I realize this isn't entirely obvious from the interface, but it's a very good trick for managing your salary cap. The "Renew Contracts" portion of the off-season is really just a last-minute chance to sign players right before their contracts expire.
Lessee:
Pros:
* It's definitely faster than the last version I downloaded (probably the '08 demo)
* Haven't fiddled much with the playbook yet, but it looks neat. Running plays in game is a snap and fairly intuitive.
* Contracts are the old BM style: IE- rather than negotiate and get feedback, you are given a figure and number of years, which you can increase or decrease. I approve of that simplicity.
Cons:
* There's another thread suggesting rosters are off. It DOES seem strange there are so many players with very low ratings. I doubt Matt Cassell, Brady's backup on the Patriots, is a 62 unless the scale here is much different than in BM.
* I'm not finding anything regarding the league's history, aside from win/loss records and the like. I'd like to know what the AI is up to regarding trades, free agency and the like as well as updates on who's injured.
* The lack of a 'let computer set it up' option for tickets and concessions means you're pretty much guessing. Eh.
Grade:
I dunno how I feel. Other than being a little faster this feels a lot like FM 07/08 - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. From a dynasty perspective it's harder to put something together when there's no way of telling what the AI is up to (trades and the like.)
Overall it depends on how you felt about last year's game: If you liked it, go for it. If you didn't, there's not enough change here to warrant the risk. If you've never played, $19.99 isn't that much to risk in the scheme of things and you might enjoy.
In Commissioner Mode, I've got Cassel as a 70. That's better than Kyle Orton, Gus Frerotte or Brian Brohm. Worse than Jason Campbell, Trent Edwards or Matt Leinart. Seems about right.Quote:
Originally Posted by CatKnight
However there probably are some missing players and/or ratings that can be argued about. Sean Lahman didn't have bio data for any rookies so I hand-entered the 1st round, plus some of the remaining rounds (I tried to get anyone else who was starting at the least). That's why, like with baseball, I try to make the editing tools pretty good.
A Transaction Record, like baseball, would be really useful. This game isn't as mature as Baseball Mogul yet. It doesn't have News Stories, Historical Seasons, or a Transaction Record. That's why it's $19.95 and not $29.95. But it's still a really enjoyable game, IMHO. I certainly get hooked on it when I should be "testing" it, and that's my primary goal.Quote:
* I'm not finding anything regarding the league's history, aside from win/loss records and the like. I'd like to know what the AI is up to regarding trades, free agency and the like as well as updates on who's injured.
Even though this is the same system as baseball, this is coming up as a pretty common theme. I'm already working on a checkbox in baseball that lets the computer run the financials. I'll be sure to do the same for football next year.Quote:
* The lack of a 'let computer set it up' option for tickets and concessions means you're pretty much guessing. Eh.
And it's not really a risk since an e-mail to me or Dee will get you a refund.Quote:
If you've never played, $19.99 isn't that much to risk in the scheme of things and you might enjoy.
:cool:
So, for anyone that has messed around with roster editing, I'm curious how easy/difficult that is to deal with. Not just changing ratings, but how easy/hard is it to create a player, for example?
:( No, sir. On my copy at least, Cassell is a 62 IN COMMISSIONER MODE. Specifically:
Acc 66, Dist 67, Ctrl 63, Red Zone 67, Mobility 69.
Anyway, ratings are debatable. That's not a major point to me.
*******
Arctic: Editing players looks pretty easy. There's a copy player function just like in BM. You modify the predicted stats, and there you go.
There are no 'peak' stats to modify though. You have the player's age, peak start, peak end, maturity (how quickly he improves I imagine) and longevity (how he declines). I assume the program updates the stats every year depending on where the player is on their career path.
Overall I'm starting to grow attached to FM. It's missing many (too many...) of the bells and whistles of BM, and I'd really like to see transactions ASAP(!), but I like the clean cut, no nonsense 'feel' of the game so far.
I'm just starting to play this game and have the following questions/comments:
1- A semmingly simple yet annoying detail. After a season is completed, I can't seem to find the rookie draft order anywhere. I spend several minutes looking for it on menus and trade screens and the like. While draft order is mostly irrelevant in Baseball, in Football it is an important detail. I find myself flipping between the AFC and NFC standings and trying to visually guess based on overall records...Not a good thing...Am I missing it somewhere?
2- Guys like Kevin Smith, Matt Forte, and others don't appear in the game. I see where Clay said that he had to hand enter the first round of the draft. Not a huge deal, but something that could be fixed with a roster update.
3- Trading is really hard (as it should be). I had a hard time even trading for draft picks. The AI seems to over-value late rounds (5-7) a tad too much for my liking, however this is reasonable.
4- On the trade screen in BM there is a "Balance Cash" option that will tell you in dollars how far off you are in your trade offers. That would be good to have in FM as well, as when I'm making offers I have no way of knowing the level on interest from the AI. The counter trade button is sort of the same thing, but doesn't seem to operate in the same manner. What is the difference between the two?
Overall I'm pleased with the product and like that its a challenge to manage the cap, team cash for bonuses, etc...
After contract renewal, you can view the upcoming draft order for all 7 rounds by choosing 'Draft' from the News Menu. It also includes any picks that have been traded.Quote:
Originally Posted by HighNTight
Clay.. Hopefully i get answered here.. as you may know.. the game of Football is changing 90% of team are changing to a 1-2 Punch RB system.. i was possibly wondering maybe there could be a slide bar added for HB1/HB2 Strat? for sim leagues? possible? let me know
no you cant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clay Dreslough
after contract renewal, the draft screen says "Use the Play Menu to conduct ... ... this year's college draft."
The speed, accuracy and schedule option is vastly improved.
Can you import rosters from prior football mogul versions?
You should be able to seamlessly load a saved game from Football Mogul 2008. That's been tested pretty thoroughly.Quote:
Originally Posted by daves
You should be able to load saved games from Football Mogul 2007 and earlier, but I haven't tested that much.
Clay
Yeah, this is incorrect. The game does NOT show the upcoming draft order. Simply gives instructions on how to start the draft...Quote:
Originally Posted by Clay Dreslough
I was disappointed with the demo version, the Lack of a Box score or Game logs seems like a huge oversight, often ill get halfway through a game and have no clue how many rushes my HB has.
I was, as a TB fan, confused as to why Carnell Williams isn't in the game.