I am beginning my fourth season and simply wanted to write down (mostly for me!) the things I've learned and verified so far.
First I have played DDS Pro since about 2007 and the last two versions in particular. I had--on an old computer--what I think was the original version of DDS College, which was fun. I've played FBCB over the years and enjoyed that, however it is old and I've grown tired of it.
In no particular order, these are my comments and questions:
1) Compared to DDS Pro, players have higher passing and lower handling skills. In Pro, HANDS are common while PASSING skills are harder to find. I'm not sure what to make of this yet.
2) I'm not sure I understand the Assistant coaches yet. My skills count the most and the SCOUT coaches scout skill counts highly, as does the RECRUITING coach's recruiting skill. However what skill counts the most for the practice coach? It seems like he picks the offensive and defensive sets based on his ratings, in that my team scores much better than it defends and that matches his ratings. So does his--and the other two's--player development skills matter? If I call the shots, do his OFF and DEF ratings not come into play at all?
3) I'm playing as Richmond, and so far buying the Gold Star Atlantic has proven worth it. The first year I took the suggestion for the cheap report and had lots of money left over. The second year I had only two Scholarships available so I thought I'd risk the Gold Star. It paid off. The third season I had four scholarships and decided to risk the Gold Star. It was worth it in two ways. First it landed two 4 star and 2 underrated 3 stars. Secondly, I decided to spend the remaining $6k after the four commitments. As is mentioned elsewhere, ending the year with only $1k left produced a positive response to my MORE MONEY Board request.
4) I don't like that I have to hire coaches before my budget is set. The Board request should happen before the Coach hiring rounds. I did not know I could afford better than I hired.
I'll be adding to this.