"Team Needs" in trading interface

[Ashbury]

When I shop a player, it seems like I am mostly offered only decrepit veterans, rarely prospects (even so much as a scrubini). I have tried using the "Team Needs" feature in the trading interface, to suggest I want players under age-24 etc. It doesn't do what I want:

1. I still see only old players when I shop someone.
2. I get deluged with trade offers of random players that meet my stated criterion.

I state my criterion loosely so that when I shop someone I might get a nibble.

If I simply want to trade for someone under-24, say, I would use the search feature, and test the market for a few specific guys that look good to me.

Does the Team Needs feature fit anyone else's purposes better? What am I missing?

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Ashbury

When I shop a player, it seems like I am mostly offered only decrepit veterans, rarely prospects (even so much as a scrubini). I have tried using the "Team Needs" feature in the trading interface, to suggest I want players under age-24 etc. It doesn't do what I want:

1. I still see only old players when I shop someone.
2. I get deluged with trade offers of random players that meet my stated criterion.

I state my criterion loosely so that when I shop someone I might get a nibble.

If I simply want to trade for someone under-24, say, I would use the search feature, and test the market for a few specific guys that look good to me.

Does the Team Needs feature fit anyone else's purposes better? What am I missing?

The Team Needs feature is not linked to the Shop Player feature at all. It is only intended to generate mail from other teams about a "player that might meet a need that you have expressed". These mails aren't offers at all. You have to go to the trade screen to start negotiations. If you are getting specific offers without this phrase (I paraphrase the actual language), then they are coming from AI for its own reasons without regard to your team needs.

I have two outstanding team needs that never draw offers, because no team wants to trade what I want: good prospects at SP and CF. I will get a lot of offers if I post a team need that everyone has, such as fair quality major league outfielders with no other preferences and any salary.

[Matt Arnold]

Originally Posted by Orcin

The Team Needs feature is not linked to the Shop Player feature at all. It is only intended to generate mail from other teams about a "player that might meet a need that you have expressed". These mails aren't offers at all. You have to go to the trade screen to start negotiations. If you are getting specific offers without this phrase (I paraphrase the actual language), then they are coming from AI for its own reasons without regard to your team needs.

I have two outstanding team needs that never draw offers, because no team wants to trade what I want: good prospects at SP and CF. I will get a lot of offers if I post a team need that everyone has, such as fair quality major league outfielders with no other preferences and any salary.

It actually is linked to shopping. Anyone who matches your needs will be "tested" in the shop player mode, so if you have needs listed, you may notice that shopping a player might be a tad slower.

As to why you're not getting those offers, it's more likely just that the AI isn't as interested in parting with those players. The shop player also will not tell you every valid offer - to get the best offer you likely need to do some work yourself. We do have a few options coming out in the next patch for the shop player to give you a little more control over things which should help.

[Ashbury]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

It actually is linked to shopping. Anyone who matches your needs will be "tested" in the shop player mode, so if you have needs listed, you may notice that shopping a player might be a tad slower.

As to why you're not getting those offers, it's more likely just that the AI isn't as interested in parting with those players. The shop player also will not tell you every valid offer - to get the best offer you likely need to do some work yourself. We do have a few options coming out in the next patch for the shop player to give you a little more control over things which should help.

Great response. What I hope for from the game, more than anything, is some sense of realism, so I'm certainly more than willing to do additional "work" to flesh out a trade - that's a lot of the fun!


I hope I got across why the current implementation isn't doing anything for me, so I'll look forward to seeing what tweaks you make. Basically, anything the Team Needs feature does in terms of soliciting offers from the AI general managers, I can do better on my own via Search. But I do want to apply it to shopping my own player.



On a related note, when I shop multiple players, I tend to get the same batch of overpriced veterans each time, despite my having marked them as "Not Interested" in the trading interface. I'd prefer if shopping a player results in simply no offers, because I've ruled out everyone the other GMs are willing to part with, rather than looking through the list and saying "oh, him again." Maybe IRL the other GMs will keep trying to palm off those same guys, but consider it a service rendered by my assistant GM to weed those offers out for my attention.

[Critical Mass]

Originally Posted by Orcin

The Team Needs feature is not linked to the Shop Player feature at all.

Not true. Acutally, when you shop a player, if one of the offera matches one of your Team Needs, he appears at the top of the list with the text: "Offers Matching Team Needs"

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Critical Mass

Not true. Acutally, when you shop a player, if one of the offera matches one of your Team Needs, he appears at the top of the list with the text: "Offers Matching Team Needs"

Ok, never saw this before.

[Dyzalot]

Originally Posted by Critical Mass

Not true. Acutally, when you shop a player, if one of the offera matches one of your Team Needs, he appears at the top of the list with the text: "Offers Matching Team Needs"

Yup. I get this all the time. As far as trying to get the AI to offer you prospects, I usually designate the team need as no older than 23 and a potential of at least "good". I don't always get offers matching my needs because sometimes the AI just doesn't value the guy I'm offering enough. But when I offer a valuable guy then I almost always get at least a few offers matching my defined needs.