OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Online League Free Agency: Let's Improve It

Isryion · 08-22-2012, 11:30 PM

A couple things.

One, I realize not everyone here has been exactly sympathetic, but some of us are legitimately trying to help and we have very little to go on, so it's good that you put the details up of one example.

However, the original problem was listed, in bold, as "unrealistic demands." This doesn't look like a case of that. IMO, this example does not at all match most of what Buane as pointed out ("I just want Free Agents in my league to be able to sign at the price that the GMs are willing to pay for them. I don't think this is unreasonable.")

He also mentioned that he'd like FA to take the best offer they get, and maybe that's what you're getting at here, but this may be a game mechanic issue. I'll try and explain why I don't see what Neef did as that unreasonable or out of whack.

Your best offer to Neef was $6M for 4 years and he took 250K p/year less than that. Yours was the best offer, you're right, but he came back early in negotiations saying that wasn't enough. This (in-game) essentially cancels the offer as far as I understand, and you need to make a new one. At this point, and I'll assume it was weeks or even months later, he never received another offer from you if I'm reading correctly. Had you made your offer again, he very likely would have accepted it, though it's also possible he wanted more from you because he had a completely different attitude toward your team (due to the trade).

Maybe the game should implement something where Neef would have come back to you, though I've no idea how tough this would be to program, considering a lot of other offers he may have received and then seen withdrawn.

And I'll still go back to the idea that the reason free agents aren't signing earlier is because of the amount of cash available. Had there been less money in the league, Neef might not have taken so long or set outrageous demands in the first place. When they reject or demand more money, negotiations are essentially broken off from their side and they need to be re-offered again. They're more likely to do this with a lot of money floating around in my experience. I'm not blaming your commish or your GMs, but the game takes all that money into account, as Markus pointed out. If it didn't finances would be even more out of whack and FA signings you'd likely see the opposite problem with other leagues. It's essentially meant to evolve to your league world, while GMs often expect it to continue to mimick real life salaries.

People from your league want to be able to offer the most money and get the free agent. As I eluded to, this game engine isn't programmed to work that way every time (as that's not how it works IRL). Just like draft picks have differing desires to sign with different teams, so do players. If you want the system to work that way, without the hassle of negotiations, you'll need, as someone else suggested to take it offline.

That said, I'm not saying FA is perfect -- I'd love to see a feature where you can offer three similar players contracts (like with MR) and then end negotiations with the other two when one agrees to sign so that it doesn't tie up all that money.

08-22-2012, 11:30 PM	#74
Isryion Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 337	A couple things. One, I realize not everyone here has been exactly sympathetic, but some of us are legitimately trying to help and we have very little to go on, so it's good that you put the details up of one example. However, the original problem was listed, in bold, as "unrealistic demands." This doesn't look like a case of that. IMO, this example does not at all match most of what Buane as pointed out ("I just want Free Agents in my league to be able to sign at the price that the GMs are willing to pay for them. I don't think this is unreasonable.") He also mentioned that he'd like FA to take the best offer they get, and maybe that's what you're getting at here, but this may be a game mechanic issue. I'll try and explain why I don't see what Neef did as that unreasonable or out of whack. Your best offer to Neef was $6M for 4 years and he took 250K p/year less than that. Yours was the best offer, you're right, but he came back early in negotiations saying that wasn't enough. This (in-game) essentially cancels the offer as far as I understand, and you need to make a new one. At this point, and I'll assume it was weeks or even months later, he never received another offer from you if I'm reading correctly. Had you made your offer again, he very likely would have accepted it, though it's also possible he wanted more from you because he had a completely different attitude toward your team (due to the trade). Maybe the game should implement something where Neef would have come back to you, though I've no idea how tough this would be to program, considering a lot of other offers he may have received and then seen withdrawn. And I'll still go back to the idea that the reason free agents aren't signing earlier is because of the amount of cash available. Had there been less money in the league, Neef might not have taken so long or set outrageous demands in the first place. When they reject or demand more money, negotiations are essentially broken off from their side and they need to be re-offered again. They're more likely to do this with a lot of money floating around in my experience. I'm not blaming your commish or your GMs, but the game takes all that money into account, as Markus pointed out. If it didn't finances would be even more out of whack and FA signings you'd likely see the opposite problem with other leagues. It's essentially meant to evolve to your league world, while GMs often expect it to continue to mimick real life salaries. People from your league want to be able to offer the most money and get the free agent. As I eluded to, this game engine isn't programmed to work that way every time (as that's not how it works IRL). Just like draft picks have differing desires to sign with different teams, so do players. If you want the system to work that way, without the hassle of negotiations, you'll need, as someone else suggested to take it offline. That said, I'm not saying FA is perfect -- I'd love to see a feature where you can offer three similar players contracts (like with MR) and then end negotiations with the other two when one agrees to sign so that it doesn't tie up all that money.