Question About BTS and the Draft
 

Is BTS going to allow for trading draft picks? Will we be able to trade future draft picks to move up in the draft order?

Reading so much about the draft lately his gotten me really fired up in looking forward to this game!

Yes, that's the plan. I think from next year on there is also the possibility to trade compensatory picks, so this will be in the game, too. Trading picks is quite important since most teams no longer want to pick a player who is not a the top of their board when it's their turn to pick. So they need to trade down to where the player fits in order to get the maximum value out of their pick.

Great and thanks for answering! You're right. Next year compensatory picks are able to be traded.

Really looking forward to BTS!:)

Hi Michael, another question for you on this one - will the game generate mock drafts so we get a feel for where a player's expected draft stock sits? Obviously as a coach/GM, we will have our own opinions of where players will likely be drafted, but to know roughly where players are expected to get taken might help us decide whether to trade up, down or stay in place during the draft.

I can see where that could be a cool feature. But wouldn't the draft picks we see be based more on our scout's views?

There won't be any mock drafts in the first version of the game. I think mock drafts are purely for entertainment purposes and I am very sure no GM pays any attention to them at all. In reality, drafting always includes some elements of a poker game. You simply cannot know what the draft board of another team looks like.


Decisions of trading up or down are usually based on making sure you don't reach for a player. Let's say you want to draft a player and it is your turn. According to your own draft board this player would fit about 10 spots later. So you want to make sure to trade down to a spot where need meets value.


Trading up usually happens when a player is still available who according to your draft board should have been taken way earlier. Eventually it makes sense to spend some additional picks on him, so you may decide to trade up.

Good explanation. I know that's how most successful teams do it. Relying on your scouting should be the consideration when a player sets up their own board.

As a GM you will have to set up your own draft board prior to the draft. Then you have to manage the draft in such a way that you get the players you want at a reasonable price. I always consider draft picks to be vouchers and the draft is basically a shopping center where customers take turns. If you spend a $100 voucher on a player who according to your draft board is only worth $50, then you basically waste the other 50 bucks. So trading up and down is necessary to make sure that you get maximum value out of your picks, at least according to your own draft board. Teams still draft for need but nowadays they try really hard not to waste part of the value of their picks. From next year on they can even trade compensatory picks. I kind of wonder what this is going to do to free agency, since these compensatory picks will be of increased value.

Being a GM in the game will be a blast when the draft is coming up. Also, free agency.

Thanks for all the feedback Michael.

One thing about mock drafts though: they're a great way of understanding the general consensus on where a player will probably be drafted. I can set up my own board, but when it comes down to it I might choose guys based on whether I think they'll go soon or might go later. For example, if I have a highly rated guy on my board that's available in the 4th round but most mocks put him in the 6th, I might choose someone else this round and snag him in the 5th.

Does that make sense? It's certainly not a deal breaker, but I think it adds some interest and strategy to the draft and can make for some interesting emergent stories like Aaron Rodgers (or Laremy Tunsil, haha).

I think mock drafts could be a fun feature but they are not a priority right now. It would certainly add to the overall atmosphere within the game, but they really wouldn't serve any other purpose. Real GMs wouldn't ever tell you how they approach the draft, but they certainly don't care for what the journalists have to say. This is purely for the fans. The fans love that kind of stuff, so they keep getting more of it every year. As a GM you need to make up your own mind where players actually fit.


We are playing around with the idea to add some real "fog of war" to the game. For the draft this would mean that you wouldn't know anything more than the combine results, the college stats, the health status and the trouble a player got into. I believe that character is a huge issue in football, so interviews at the combine and having players coming over for a visit would be very important in order to make sure you don't draft someone with poor work ethics or with little social competence. We probably won't be able to put all of that into the first version of the game, but this certainly is the long term plan.

This would be a good feature. I think adding what the college's competition was would go along with this.

That would be so cool. I would love that "fog of war" being present all over the game even with your own players, so setting the depth charth is not just comparing numbers but you would have to dig into 2D engine to see how they do, practice reports (Even 2D practices so you can see your guys compete for the position), trust your coaches and scouts or not, etc. I think this would add another dimension to the game and certainly would increase the playing time between games because NFL seasons are very short.

I am obviously talking about the long term, it is just that I got so excited by that "fog of war" term that I wanted to let you know haha.

I have a suggestion on the draft and player potential for BTS. I have played a lot of manager games over the years and there is one thing that i always miss in the games. I know roughly how the ability and potential works on "newgens" .Often a value between 0-200 for both potential and (current)ability is generated, and that a youngster whit 190 potential don't always reach 190 in ability depending on a lot of things and all that. But as far as i know a guy whit lets say 135 in potential can never exceed that value only reach lower ability. And that sucks, i would love to get lucky and maybe draft a hall of fame guy in the 7th round (Brady).

So my suggestion is: is it possible to make a random event (script) to lets say 30 guys in every draft class that if these guys stay in a roster for maybe 1-3 years his potential could rise 5-20%. That way nobody knows which those players are neither humans or AI before it happens. It would make the draft and players more dynamic and a bit "fog of wary". 30 players out of a draft class of 400? is not much and it wouldn't affect the most of them too much. so every now and then a late round star emerges in the game. Its more realistic because this would make the pro bowl rosters to not only consist of 1th rounders like its in OOTP and FHM. I could be wrong whit that potential never can get higher but its a thought.

Sorry for the language i am a international NFL fan really looking forward for this game!

'Long Term' is the word to use but I'd love it if those features eventually get added.

We haven't really thought much about player development yet. Obviously this is a very important issue, but also quite a difficult one. My basic thoughts are those:


A player's physical tools are pretty much fixed once he comes out of college. Players might be able to get somewhat more athletic by spending more time in the weight room, but apart from that there is not a whole lot that is going to change. So the combine results pretty much tell the story about a player's athleticism. Physical abilities can then only change for the worse due to age, injuries, or being overused (just think bell-cow running backs).


So what it really comes down to is a player's ability to learn his position (role) at the NFL level and his ability/willingness to improve/refine his technical abilities, e.g. QBs being able to correct their throwing motion. Work ethics and intelligence factor a lot into the equation here and in reality, it is a big challenge to get to know these thing prior to drafting a player.So what this boils down to is that there probably won't be any scripts as suggested. Instead, players with high potential are those who have enough physical ability to play their position and display good work ethics, a high level of intelligence and are willing to listen to their coaches. The challenge for human users and the AI will be to identify these players and then draft them according to their draft board.

If you're playing as a G/M and coach, will we be able to hire personnel for assistants and scouting? Oh, and trainers?

Personnel will be in the game and they will affect player development and recovery from injuries. Scouting of course will be in the game too, but we currently still don't know how this is exactly going to work. There will be an option for the user to have access to all underlying attributes which would basically be cheating, but the plan is to make sure that the AI and the user must do some real scouting without simply knowing everything about a player.

Sounds good, Michael. And, like OOTP baseball, being able to edit everything does help to even out the game when it's used sparingly. I do still like the 'fog of war' you're doing.

Thanks for the replies Michael, I'm from England and you can charge what you like for the game as far as Im concerned if, as already stated, its half as good as OOTP, keep up the excellent work.