2.2 changes to playbooks / profiles

[hack153]

david,

what, if any, changes will there be to the profiles? i am in the process of creating new profiles and want to ensure my work is not for nothing.

if there are changes, will it have an effect on past created profiles?

thanks again!

[David Winter]

There are 3 major changes.

- Situations can be made half specific.
- A specific situation takes precident over a situation that includes 'ANY'.
- The Distance To Goal paramater has more options.

(note: ANY Down has no impact on the last down. If you want a last down specific group, you need to supply the specific down)

[hack153]

what will be the effect on past profile groups?

is there an expected date on 2.2 as of yet? looking forward to seeing it!

thanks!

[David Winter]

Previously made groups will need to be updated to use the new breakdown in distances. They'll work in that the game will still function, but they won't take advantage of the new setup, and you may get some unexpected results in game because the distance settings no longer match.

[garysorrell]

- A specific situation takes precident over a situation that includes 'ANY'.

Yeehaw!

[hack153]

david, the "yards to go" has changed from ">1" to "2-5" and so on...will this have any impact on past made situations?  are they still the same thing just worded differently?

[Marauders]

... the "yards to go" has changed from ">1" to "2-5" and so on...will this have any impact on past made situations?  are they still the same thing just worded differently?

 
Just worded differently.
 
Technically, >1 means it is inclusive of the other groups.  It was agreed it would just be better to spell it out to be less confusing.

[Marauders]

On a side note, I would like to thank David for doing his best to make the few changes in this areas before 2.x is locked down for the duration.  I believe these changes will give Maximum Football the most detailed gameplan available in any PC football game.

These are changes that community members and beta team have asked for.  I hope most of us will use them well.
 

[David Winter]

The final (shipping) design for the playbook group dialog is below.

Addtional changes from the previous post;

- <:30 seconds has been added to the time options.

These changes for 2.2 may require some changes to your play groups, but my hope is that those changes will be minimal, and the end result will be worth the time spent to make the changes.

BTW, the image below is from one of my Canadian Rules playbooks. As you can see, I have it set up so that on 3rd down (which is the last down in Canadian rules) and there's a yard or less to go and I'm between the 25 and 50 yardline, the team will automatically go for it on last down. I have two other playgroups that are the same as this, but with different distance to goal settings. These play groups allow the team to always go for it on short yardage. It works very well.... well.. until my team is stuffed on 3rd anyway...[:)]


thanks
David

[DreamTeams]

ORIGINAL: David Winter

The final (shipping) design for the playbook group dialog is below.

Addtional changes from the previous post;

- <:30 seconds has been added to the time options.

Excellent! Thanks.

[hack153]

thanks.&nbsp; looks good.&nbsp; good to see the :<30 sec added.&nbsp; all these changes will make a the gameplay better!

[Marauders]

note: ANY Down has no impact on the last down. If you want a last down specific group, you need to supply the specific down

&nbsp;
David, could you explain this just a bit more in depth.
&nbsp;
I am sure that community members may not be clear on what you mean by last down specific groups.

[David Winter]

By Last Down I mean the maximum down you have in the game. US Football that's the 4th down. Canadian football, that's the 3rd. So when you're designing a Canadian playbook, you need to keep in mind that the 3rd Down is your Last Down.
&nbsp;
Overall, Last Down specific groups are no different than any other specific group, with the exception that the play type changes if there is no play group found on Last Down. What that means is that if the game situation is 3rd down in Canadian football, and there is no 3rd down specific group, the AI will look at the field goal distance settings and either kick a field goal or punt. If there is a 3rd down specific group (and the rest of the situation matches as well) then it will use that group rather than kick a field goal or punt.
&nbsp;
Okay, so back to the original question &nbsp; ANY down is the exception to all that I've written above. If you're in US football and the game situation is 4th down, the game ignores the ANY setting for downs. You must have explicitly set a 4th down situation. You can't create a situation with ANY down and expect it to work on last down. Last down situations are explicit.
&nbsp;
Make sense?
&nbsp;
thanks
David
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

[BigSmooth]

I'm hoping the testers have playbooks to upload to FBMax that take advantage of the new features&nbsp;that PDS&nbsp;addled players&nbsp;like myself can use.

[hack153]

just confirming....a defensive group with "any" in every category will work...and a more specific group will take precident over the "any" group.&nbsp; (ex. "any" in all vs. 3rb, 2te, 0wr)

[Marauders]

just confirming....a defensive group with "any" in every category will work...

&nbsp;
It is designed to work that way with 2.2.
&nbsp;
One must remember that defenses must be set up against specific offensive personnel.&nbsp; If there are no plays against personnel, the AI will select from the whole playbook.
&nbsp;

... and a more specific group will take precident over the "any" group.&nbsp; (ex. "any" in all vs. 3rb, 2te, 0wr)

&nbsp;
A specific group that matches will, but if the specific match is not found, the AI will grab the first valid group it finds that uses the ANY variable.&nbsp; At least, that's how I believe it is set to work at this time.&nbsp; Because of this, it is a good idea to plan out the situations that one wants specific defenses (end of game prevent the win ...) and how far up the tree one wants to use the&nbsp;ANY variable.
&nbsp;
Note that this is similar to FBPro, except FBPro did not have the ANY variable.&nbsp; The ANY variable was added to cover situations that the gameplanner does not need or want to use specific plays.&nbsp; If it is used as intended, it is a great aid.&nbsp; If it is abused, it will frustrate the gameplanner, because the play calls may not be what one thought they would be.
&nbsp;
Maximum Football&nbsp;will have the most advanced and detailed gameplan creator of any graphics based football game on the market when 2.2 is released.&nbsp; What one makes of it is really up to the game owner.
&nbsp;

[Marauders]

Okay, so back to the original question   ANY down is the exception to all that I've written above. If you're in US football and the game situation is 4th down, the game ignores the ANY setting for downs. You must have explicitly set a 4th down situation. You can't create a situation with ANY down and expect it to work on last down. Last down situations are explicit.

I wanted to make that point clear to game owners, as it is a significant point.

Under American rules, as an example, if one wants to use the whole playbook for downs 1-3, or subsets for differing situations, one can do so without having to worry about it affecting the fourth down gameplan, as the fourth down will not use the part of the gameplan with ANY as a down variable.  This allows the gameplan to be more general in downs 1-3 and more specific on fourth down.  Of course, it also allows a player to set up a regular gameplan that does not override punts.

[22sec]

Here's a question, if you set up a Offensive situation and don't include specific plays, will it just look at the run/pass % and choose a play from the entire playbook?

[Marauders]

... if you set up a Offensive situation and don't include specific plays, will it just look at the run/pass % and choose a play from the entire playbook?

&nbsp;
The AI will now check any run/pass % set for a situation even if no plays are given.&nbsp; It will use the entire playbook.
&nbsp;
This is a new feature for 2.2 that was added based on community feedback.
&nbsp;

[hack153]

thanks for answering my questions...
&nbsp;
damn, you guys are really adding the features that i have really wanted and asked for!&nbsp; thanks for listening to our suggestions!!!