How do I create tiers of teams?

naterg1 · 04-16-2020, 02:38 AM

The league I want to create is based off of something called Drum Corps International, or DCI. It’s sort of like a major league marching band type thing. I competed in DCI when I was younger, and I want to try to do something in OOTP that sort of captures the spirit of the way DCI runs, even if it’s a completely different type of thing. There are definitely things I’m not going to try to copy from DCI (like the fact that you “age out” around the time you turn 22.) But there are a few I’d like to try to use. (12 teams in the playoffs (DCI has a top 12 Finals that is seen as an achievement to be part of), the ability for players to move from team to team every year or return to their previous team as they see fit (In DCI, members actually pay to be part of the group, and have to audition every year for whichever group the want to join. In OOTP, I’m setting Free Agency after 1 year, and limiting max contract lengths to 3 years to create more movement than usual, but allow some ability for teams and players to stay together for a while. It’s not perfect but it seems to help me kind of get what I’m looking for in some tests I’ve run so far.

One of the things from DCI that I want to incorporate, but I’m not sure how, is this.

There are definite tiers of groups in DCI. There’s basically a top 4 that are always in Finals, and just about always battling for the top spot. (A combined 46 championships have been won by 4 groups since DCI started in the 70’s.) Then there’s a group of about 4 that are pretty much always in Finals, though rarely in the top 2 or 3 spots. Then there is a larger group of Corps that all compete to make it into the group that gets to say they were finalists for that season. There are other tiers as well, Semifinalists, Open Class (basically the smaller group division), etc.
I want to be able to create about 7 or 8 tiers of teams within the league. I want it to be possible, but very difficult, for groups in lower tiers to move up and compete with the next tier, or maybe two tiers up. There are Corps that have changed from being a 9-15 type Corps to being a 4-8 type Corps that has an outside chance at a championship.

Is there a way to set something like this up? I haven’t had a ton of success with messing around with finances in the past but I’m open to working with those if that’s what it takes.

Would it be easier to just start the league several years before I want it to debut, see which teams are dominating, erase history, and rename teams to kind of fit with what they’ve done in the past? (So the Yankees of the pre-sim would be named after the 19 time DCI champion, etc.)

I’m open to suggestions if anyone has them.

tlowe77 · 04-16-2020, 04:53 AM

Only way I have successfully found to help teams dominate/be as good as you want them too is through the ballpark size.

I play a pro/rel system over 5 leagues and at the moment the "bigger cities" have stadiums that are 3-4 times the size of the smaller cities in the lowest league.

I had a big city drop to the 4th league and noticed I had missed making their ballpark bigger, it only took them 4 years to reach the 1st division, then they won it all 2 years later.

Seems to be working.

Market size doesn't.

04-16-2020, 02:38 AM	#1
naterg1 Major Leagues Join Date: May 2009 Location: Peoria, AZ Posts: 381	How do I create tiers of teams? The league I want to create is based off of something called Drum Corps International, or DCI. It’s sort of like a major league marching band type thing. I competed in DCI when I was younger, and I want to try to do something in OOTP that sort of captures the spirit of the way DCI runs, even if it’s a completely different type of thing. There are definitely things I’m not going to try to copy from DCI (like the fact that you “age out” around the time you turn 22.) But there are a few I’d like to try to use. (12 teams in the playoffs (DCI has a top 12 Finals that is seen as an achievement to be part of), the ability for players to move from team to team every year or return to their previous team as they see fit (In DCI, members actually pay to be part of the group, and have to audition every year for whichever group the want to join. In OOTP, I’m setting Free Agency after 1 year, and limiting max contract lengths to 3 years to create more movement than usual, but allow some ability for teams and players to stay together for a while. It’s not perfect but it seems to help me kind of get what I’m looking for in some tests I’ve run so far. One of the things from DCI that I want to incorporate, but I’m not sure how, is this. There are definite tiers of groups in DCI. There’s basically a top 4 that are always in Finals, and just about always battling for the top spot. (A combined 46 championships have been won by 4 groups since DCI started in the 70’s.) Then there’s a group of about 4 that are pretty much always in Finals, though rarely in the top 2 or 3 spots. Then there is a larger group of Corps that all compete to make it into the group that gets to say they were finalists for that season. There are other tiers as well, Semifinalists, Open Class (basically the smaller group division), etc. I want to be able to create about 7 or 8 tiers of teams within the league. I want it to be possible, but very difficult, for groups in lower tiers to move up and compete with the next tier, or maybe two tiers up. There are Corps that have changed from being a 9-15 type Corps to being a 4-8 type Corps that has an outside chance at a championship. Is there a way to set something like this up? I haven’t had a ton of success with messing around with finances in the past but I’m open to working with those if that’s what it takes. Would it be easier to just start the league several years before I want it to debut, see which teams are dominating, erase history, and rename teams to kind of fit with what they’ve done in the past? (So the Yankees of the pre-sim would be named after the 19 time DCI champion, etc.) I’m open to suggestions if anyone has them.

04-16-2020, 04:53 AM	#2
tlowe77 Major Leagues Join Date: May 2015 Location: Geelong, Australia Posts: 473	Only way I have successfully found to help teams dominate/be as good as you want them too is through the ballpark size. I play a pro/rel system over 5 leagues and at the moment the "bigger cities" have stadiums that are 3-4 times the size of the smaller cities in the lowest league. I had a big city drop to the 4th league and noticed I had missed making their ballpark bigger, it only took them 4 years to reach the 1st division, then they won it all 2 years later. Seems to be working. Market size doesn't.