KeVbK wrote:I'm not sure if it has been noted previously, but I do hope that early declarations for the draft are reevaluated in the next version of the game. I went through and compared the most recent declarations in the CBGM online save with the latest NBA draft and the contrast is pretty significant.

CBGM 2029

24 players declared
0/24 players were ranked outside of the top 30 recruits in their class
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8/24 were low contribution players, averaging <20 minutes/game.

NBA Draft 2022

40 underclassmen drafted
19/40 were ranked outside of the top 30, including two top 5 picks in Jaden Ivey (89) and Keegan Murray (334), and a guy like Jake LaRavia, who was unranked going into college.
3/40 players played <20 minutes/game in their last year in college.

It feels like recruiting rank is the primary, if not the only factor in a player declaring early. I dont think i've ever seen a recruit ranked outside of the top 40 in his class declare early for the draft. I know there is a slider to increase the number of players declaring early, but that slider doesn't seem to allow for the type of variance we see in real life.

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I know it is probably too late for the next game but while watching an exhibition basketball game I was thinking that it would be nice to have a few D2 teams that we could use for an exhibition game. Also within the last couple of weeks before the season starts it would be nice to be able to ask another team if they would be willing to do a preseason scrimmage like some teams do. Neither of these games would count of course but they would be good tune ups for how players are performing especially since practices are so hands off for us. Sometimes you don't know for sure how the players work together until after the season starts since we don't really get much information on the practices.

Jacemeister: If you want to do an exhibition game as a way of seeing how your team's players do before the season begins, just set up your own exhibition game by clicking on "Exhibition Game" from the Main Menu when you load the game. Be sure to set your team to "Human Control" when choosing the two teams that will play in the game. That way you can run different players in and out of the game to see how they do.

I'd like to present a counter-argument to achievements. I think they are a bane on 'thinking' games. My reasons:

- In terms of tracking specific goals, they are un-necessary. Players can do that on their own, and I hope dev time is spent on things the player can't do on their own, or which impact the core game experience.
- When you present a list of achievements, you are inherently de-valuing anything that isn't listed. I.e. you are telling the player what goals are worth pursuing, and telling them anything not on that list isn't worth pursuing. Or to put it another way, you're pushing the player towards a specific type of experience.
- I think these kinds of games are far better off by encouraging players to set their own goals for what is fun, as opposed to the achievements concept which is the game telling the player what is fun.
- I would definitely oppose putting them in the QoL category as described. I think achievements inherently lower the QoL value in a game, but even beyond that QoL is about making a game easier/more intuitive to play. I.e. 'how many clicks do I need to make to recruit' is a QoL issue. 'Can I easily find the information I need to make decisions about my team' is a QoL issue. 'Do information displays work properly and the arrangement of buttons/icons make sense' is a QoL issue. Achievements aren't that kind of feature.

Bryan, I agree with you...what you say fits with how I play the game. But I realize that there are those for whom having the game generate "achievement" is important and valuable. I'll add your comments to the suggestions list as a counter-argument and leave it to Gary to decide if he wants "achievements" to be a part of the game..

As to Bryan's point I am a big fan of choice. Maybe Gary could provide the option of playing one way or the other, as he does in some other game areas. I play the game as its own universe, having nothing to do with the "real world," whatever that is.

Good point!

A tab for recruiting classes in the almanac. list the players from each recruiting class and year signed

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Re: Wayne and choice:

I used to think that way, but my experience with a number of games in different genres (including this one) has taught me that such options don't exist for most users. Most people play whatever way is default out of the box so to speak, so whatever 'opt-in' options you have need to be really important because most people who play the game are not going to interact with them.