League Structure Whack A Mole

Curve Ball Dave · 07-08-2011, 08:30 PM

I like 36 team leagues. I've always used them. It's a nice symmetry to have 6 6-team divisions.

So I start with the current 30 MLB teams and add 6 more. I like to do this by importing historical teams just so I have don't have to rely on fictional players to start with. The six imported teams get renamed, and everyone gets dumped into the draft pool anyway.

That's when things get fun. After I import a team, one or two teams in that league will start changing divisions. I move them back and get every team where they should be, import another team and again a team in the West jumps to the Central and a team from the East jumps to the West, and on it goes after each import.

When I finally have all 36 teams, I have look long and hard at the divisions to make sure everyone is where they are supposed be so I can generate a schedule. I have ended up make a couple more corrections before the divisions finally have all of the teams they are supposed to have.

Markus I love the game, but maybe something to fix with the next patch buddy?

olivertheorem · 07-08-2011, 09:26 PM

This may or may not be relevant, but I do believe that starting with 12 the game is east/west sensitive when it comes to alignment, so it tries to make everything "correct" geographically.

Again, depending on how much you're changing the added teams, this may or may not be relevant.

RchW · 07-08-2011, 09:45 PM

The OP should be allowed to put teams in any division alignment he wants. I don't think the game should control this except by user choice.

olivertheorem · 07-08-2011, 09:47 PM

I'm just guessing, but I think when he changes the teams, if the cities change then the game tries to rearrange them into east/central/west divisions geographically. I don't know if this is even what's happening. If it is, I don't know if there's an option to disable it (short of renaming the divisions or something).

Curve Ball Dave · 07-08-2011, 09:51 PM

When all is said and done, every team is where they are supposed to be. Playing whack a mole with it was pretty annoying. I never had this problem in earlier versions. It's not a game killer, just a bug that needs fixing.

Curve Ball Dave · 07-08-2011, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olivertheorem

I'm just guessing, but I think when he changes the teams, if the cities change then the game tries to rearrange them into east/central/west divisions geographically. I don't know if this is even what's happening. If it is, I don't know if there's an option to disable it (short of renaming the divisions or something).

That doesn't explain how the Texas Rangers end up the East and the Boston Red Sox in the West. It's just annoying to switch them back only to find two more teams have been moved around.

ry1220 · 07-08-2011, 10:09 PM

This isn't a bug. When editing the league structure, the game automatically realigns the teams based on geographical location into regionally-similar divisions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Questdog

The fix to this is to add the teams and THEN name them in the League Setup Screen, not in the Edit Structure Screen.

EDIT: Or import all of your teams and then realign once.

RchW · 07-08-2011, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ry1220

This isn't a bug. When editing the league structure, the game automatically realigns the teams based on geographical location into regionally-similar divisions.

EDIT: Or import all of your teams and then realign once.

But we users should have the option to stop that automatic realignment.

cblacker · 07-08-2011, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RchW

But we users should have the option to stop that automatic realignment.

I disagree. This new "feature" was supposed to make editing league structure more user-friendly. If, in fact, it doesn't make things easier overall, it simply should be removed. If it does make things easier and more user-friendly overall then it should be kept. Keep it simple.

P.S. I have no opinion whether the new feature is good or bad; I haven't messed around with custom leagues in this version so I wouldn't know. It just seems to me that making it optional is more trouble than it's worth.

ry1220 · 07-08-2011, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RchW

But we users should have the option to stop that automatic realignment.

I disagree. Aside from randomly assigning new names to cities (which ruins my fictional league structure completely), it is the only way I know of that the game automatically realigns by geographical region. Maybe, as a compromise, there should be a 'Realign Teams by Location' function.

BusterKing · 07-08-2011, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

That doesn't explain how the Texas Rangers end up the East and the Boston Red Sox in the West. It's just annoying to switch them back only to find two more teams have been moved around.

Can you upload your template so we don't have to go through all that problem?

Who knows, maybe Markus will even use it and save him some troubles.

Thanks!

Curve Ball Dave · 07-08-2011, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RchW

But we users should have the option to stop that automatic realignment.

Exactly. I know what I wanted to do. If I wanted the Rangers in the East I'd put them there myself. If this an actual "feature" it's case of the developers outsmarting themselves. Editing my league structure on my own was always very quick and easy in the earlier versions.

I LOVE this game, don't get me wrong, but I think they "fixed" something that was not broke.

ry1220 · 07-08-2011, 11:37 PM

And for me, organizing my fictional teams into divisions was always a tedious, time-consuming process, that this feature has made considerably easier.

I will be content with a separation between this feature and the edit league structure, but at the moment adding a "ghost team" through the edit structure screen and then deleting it is the only way I know to rearrange teams and preserve their names. But eliminating this feature... I might as well just be playing 11.

Nugget699 · 07-09-2011, 12:21 AM

If we made every feature optional the game would just become a mess.

Many people are already put off by the complexity of the game and if we start making trivial things like this optional then it'll take us months to start a game.

At the end of the day how often are you starting new games that you are forced through this tedious process? I think the pros far outweigh the cons in this regard as I think more people prefer having the game automatically align the divisions according to location than not.

cblacker · 07-09-2011, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ry1220

I disagree. Aside from randomly assigning new names to cities (which ruins my fictional league structure completely), it is the only way I know of that the game automatically realigns by geographical region. Maybe, as a compromise, there should be a 'Realign Teams by Location' function.

This is a good idea.

Le Grande Orange · 07-09-2011, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cblacker

This new "feature" was supposed to make editing league structure more user-friendly.

No, this feature was intended for leagues initially generated by the game to have reasonably realistic geographic alignments for divisions. Nothing more, nothing less.

If after the initial setup is done and the user is going in to make custom changes, in my opinon the game should not then be doing any geographical repositioning of teams, the idea being that if the user is making changes manually then they presumably already know where they want teams to go.

It may simply be an oversight that the game keeps realigning things even when the user is going in to make manual changes to the initially generated setup.

Qrusher14242 · 07-09-2011, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

Exactly. I know what I wanted to do. If I wanted the Rangers in the East I'd put them there myself. If this an actual "feature" it's case of the developers outsmarting themselves. Editing my league structure on my own was always very quick and easy in the earlier versions.

I LOVE this game, don't get me wrong, but I think they "fixed" something that was not broke.

Exactly. Seems like something that would be better as an option. It was a real pain setting up a league last time i tried it. I would add a team and then it would move them to another division and change the nickname too.

ry1220 · 07-09-2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

No, this feature was intended for leagues initially generated by the game to have reasonably realistic geographic alignments for divisions. Nothing more, nothing less.

This.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

If after the initial setup is done and the user is going in to make custom changes, in my opinon the game should not then be doing any geographical repositioning of teams, the idea being that if the user is making changes manually then they presumably already know where they want teams to go.

Here's how I use this new feature. I create a fictional league and the game automatically aligns the teams, which is pretty awesome. However, the game also has a tendency to create The Bronx Crushers and The Queens Lightning, as well as the Manhattan Highlanders. Now, I dislike naming teams after boroughs, so I will change Manhattan to Milwaukee, et cetera. Now my divisions are no longer aligned by geography. There are two ways I can re-adjust automatically. Randomizing all team names, and adding and then deleting that team in Edit League Structure.

olivertheorem · 07-09-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

That doesn't explain how the Texas Rangers end up the East and the Boston Red Sox in the West. It's just annoying to switch them back only to find two more teams have been moved around.

If that's the case then it might be a bug. There's no geographical reason to swap those teams between divisions. If you haven't already, I'd suggest filing a ticket. Given the issue, careful description of which teams are moving to which divisions would be key, I think.

Le Grande Orange · 07-09-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ry1220

Now, I dislike naming teams after boroughs, so I will change Manhattan to Milwaukee, et cetera.

New York City is in Milwaukee?

07-08-2011, 08:30 PM	#1
Curve Ball Dave Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,397	League Structure Whack A Mole I like 36 team leagues. I've always used them. It's a nice symmetry to have 6 6-team divisions. So I start with the current 30 MLB teams and add 6 more. I like to do this by importing historical teams just so I have don't have to rely on fictional players to start with. The six imported teams get renamed, and everyone gets dumped into the draft pool anyway. That's when things get fun. After I import a team, one or two teams in that league will start changing divisions. I move them back and get every team where they should be, import another team and again a team in the West jumps to the Central and a team from the East jumps to the West, and on it goes after each import. When I finally have all 36 teams, I have look long and hard at the divisions to make sure everyone is where they are supposed be so I can generate a schedule. I have ended up make a couple more corrections before the divisions finally have all of the teams they are supposed to have. Markus I love the game, but maybe something to fix with the next patch buddy? __________________ "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing"-Warren Spahn.

07-08-2011, 09:45 PM	#3
RchW Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Toronto ON by way of Glasgow UK Posts: 15,629	The OP should be allowed to put teams in any division alignment he wants. I don't think the game should control this except by user choice. __________________ Cheers RichW If you’re looking for a good cause to donate money to please consider a Donation to Parkinson’s Canada. It may help me have a better future and if not me, someone else. Thanks. “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” Frank Wilhoit

07-08-2011, 09:51 PM	#5
Curve Ball Dave Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,397	When all is said and done, every team is where they are supposed to be. Playing whack a mole with it was pretty annoying. I never had this problem in earlier versions. It's not a game killer, just a bug that needs fixing. __________________ "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing"-Warren Spahn.

07-08-2011, 09:26 PM	#2
olivertheorem All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,919	This may or may not be relevant, but I do believe that starting with 12 the game is east/west sensitive when it comes to alignment, so it tries to make everything "correct" geographically. Again, depending on how much you're changing the added teams, this may or may not be relevant.

07-08-2011, 09:47 PM	#4
olivertheorem All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,919	I'm just guessing, but I think when he changes the teams, if the cities change then the game tries to rearrange them into east/central/west divisions geographically. I don't know if this is even what's happening. If it is, I don't know if there's an option to disable it (short of renaming the divisions or something).

07-08-2011, 11:37 PM	#13
ry1220 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 818	And for me, organizing my fictional teams into divisions was always a tedious, time-consuming process, that this feature has made considerably easier. I will be content with a separation between this feature and the edit league structure, but at the moment adding a "ghost team" through the edit structure screen and then deleting it is the only way I know to rearrange teams and preserve their names. But eliminating this feature... I might as well just be playing 11.

07-09-2011, 12:21 AM	#14
Nugget699 Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 444	If we made every feature optional the game would just become a mess. Many people are already put off by the complexity of the game and if we start making trivial things like this optional then it'll take us months to start a game. At the end of the day how often are you starting new games that you are forced through this tedious process? I think the pros far outweigh the cons in this regard as I think more people prefer having the game automatically align the divisions according to location than not.