Team Exchange in Leage Setup is flawed

BleacherBum · 07-31-2002, 12:37 AM

When you use the "exchange" feature for two teams in your league structure, the teams are not swapped completely. And in some cases, other teams not even involved in the transfer can be messed up.

At the root of the problem is the assignment of a team number. When two teams are exchanged, new team numbers are assigned, and these are based on where the teams fit alphabetically in their division. So a move to a new division or league forces a new team #. And this can have a trickle down effect on other teams as well.

Unfortunately, many data items associated with team # are not properly transferred. These include the roster of coaches, fan interest levels, TV contracts, attendance histories, and even logos.

Has anyone found a way to get this feature to work properly? I'm at a point where I want to realign my league but can't do it because of these bugs. The first time I tried it over half the teams in my league ended up with new coaches, and it thrashed all the financial data.

BleacherBum · 08-15-2002, 01:15 AM

The problem lies in the code that updates the teams2.dat file for the team exchange function. I looked at a teams2.dat file before and after an exchange, and it clearly drops the blocks of data (3344 bytes per team) into the wrong positions.

Simple Test Case
1-Alpha Team
2-Beta Team

Do an exchange of 1 and 2. Result after exchange is Alpha is still team #1, and Beta is still team #2 (makes sense, due to alphabetizing). However, in the teams2.dat file, the blocks of bytes starting at 3344 and 6688 have been switched - in other words, Alpha and Beta have swapped information (coaches, and whatever else is in teams2.dat).

More complex test case:

Div1
1-BOS
2-HAR
3-NJ
4-NY
5-PHI

Div2
6-ATL
7-CHT
8-MIA
9-ORL
10-TB

Swap BOS and MIA (#1 and #8). Resulting team # assignments (due to re-alphabetizing mechanism within divisions)

1-HAR
2-MIA
3-NJ
4-NY
5-PHI

6-ATL
7-BOS
8-CHT
9-ORL
10-TB

Studying the teams2.dat blocks again shows that HAR data is properly shifted up to the team #1 slot, but BOS data now shows up in team #2 position (byte 6688). And CHT is correctly shifted from position 7 to 8 (byte 23408 to 26752), but MIA is only moved from 8 to 7. BOS and MIA were never shifted to their proper new slots.

So, in its current form, the exchange function does much more harm than good. Hopefully the program bug is easy to identify and correct.

07-31-2002, 12:37 AM	#1
BleacherBum All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 672	Team Exchange in Leage Setup is flawed When you use the "exchange" feature for two teams in your league structure, the teams are not swapped completely. And in some cases, other teams not even involved in the transfer can be messed up. At the root of the problem is the assignment of a team number. When two teams are exchanged, new team numbers are assigned, and these are based on where the teams fit alphabetically in their division. So a move to a new division or league forces a new team #. And this can have a trickle down effect on other teams as well. Unfortunately, many data items associated with team # are not properly transferred. These include the roster of coaches, fan interest levels, TV contracts, attendance histories, and even logos. Has anyone found a way to get this feature to work properly? I'm at a point where I want to realign my league but can't do it because of these bugs. The first time I tried it over half the teams in my league ended up with new coaches, and it thrashed all the financial data.

08-15-2002, 01:15 AM	#2
BleacherBum All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 672	The problem lies in the code that updates the teams2.dat file for the team exchange function. I looked at a teams2.dat file before and after an exchange, and it clearly drops the blocks of data (3344 bytes per team) into the wrong positions. Simple Test Case 1-Alpha Team 2-Beta Team Do an exchange of 1 and 2. Result after exchange is Alpha is still team #1, and Beta is still team #2 (makes sense, due to alphabetizing). However, in the teams2.dat file, the blocks of bytes starting at 3344 and 6688 have been switched - in other words, Alpha and Beta have swapped information (coaches, and whatever else is in teams2.dat). More complex test case: Div1 1-BOS 2-HAR 3-NJ 4-NY 5-PHI Div2 6-ATL 7-CHT 8-MIA 9-ORL 10-TB Swap BOS and MIA (#1 and #8). Resulting team # assignments (due to re-alphabetizing mechanism within divisions) 1-HAR 2-MIA 3-NJ 4-NY 5-PHI 6-ATL 7-BOS 8-CHT 9-ORL 10-TB Studying the teams2.dat blocks again shows that HAR data is properly shifted up to the team #1 slot, but BOS data now shows up in team #2 position (byte 6688). And CHT is correctly shifted from position 7 to 8 (byte 23408 to 26752), but MIA is only moved from 8 to 7. BOS and MIA were never shifted to their proper new slots. So, in its current form, the exchange function does much more harm than good. Hopefully the program bug is easy to identify and correct.