(S27) PT1 - First Impressions

[Ry_]

PBE PT

[TheRealMazatt]

My first impression of the sim is... meh? Without being involved in the main reasons behind the switch it is difficult gauge how successful it has been so far. Im not involved in the tactical side of things, or the math on what strats work, or even what builds are effective or not. I'd have to assume those have been acknowledged and accounted for in the back rooms of the sim teams efforts. I don't have any reason to assume there are problems so that's good. Looking towards what DOES impact me and what I can draw conclusions, it's a bit more muddled. 

The visual aspect of the sim is much easier to understand than before. It feels like every play is broadcast live and there is a better understanding of the flow of the game through the 2-D dot sim compared to when there were some plays that you just got told "incomplete" and that was it. It just feels a lot more cohesive that you can see every play. On that note, however, one flaw with the new sim is apparent in the display. While watching the game live is easy to understand and follow, stats are nearly impossible to track down. In the old sim it was easy to see the progress of you and your teams players by looking along the right hand side of the screen to get a breakdown of sacks, tackles, pancakes, rushing yards, etc. In the new sim I haven't found a way to consistently see that information. The sim is displaying different sets of information and it cycles between that and the statistics, but it feels the statistics are gone too soon to gain any information before it's back to the playcall. I'm sure I'll get better at finding that information as the sim moves along but that has stood out to me the most about the new sim.

Aside from the issues tracking data, I just want to say that the fields are all beautiful so far. Being able to actually see the entire field and get an idea of where the ball is without looking at yardage or downs is nice. Just feels a lot cleaner, especially with the new UI. Overall I enjoy the new sim for how clean it looks but I wish it was easier to see stats on a per game basis while the sim is on.

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[The_Kidd]

I feel like in a year, we should do this point task again and juxtapose the contrast of trending answers. DDPSF 21 definitely has that new sim smell and I expect to see a majority positive reviews at the moment. For one, that's not to say the sim deserves a witch hunt on its flaws, but the sim is not perfect and is not above criticism either. Obviously, we cannot perfectly replicate a game as we cannot have in-game adjustments, but I wish there were additional features to help sim up the sim such as an aggressiveness meter which determines ow often teams play risky(4th downs, long field goals, exotic blitzes) and a coaching scale that lets teams choose to be methodical(stick to the script, set up the big play, bend don't break) or gamblers(trick plays, fakes, onside kicks, 2pt conversions, chasing yards in chunks).

But that's for a different time, in the meantime, two glaring issues stick out to me. First is the logic behind penalties. It seems that if a penalty occurs, it must be accepted at all costs, even at a detriment to the offense. When Austin played New Orleans, they gained approximately 50 yards on a 4th quarter pass play, but because New Orleans committed a defensive pass interference, the sim made Austin accept the penalty and gain 15 yards instead of at least 50. Austin proceeded to punt instead of at least getting a field goal attempt in a game they lost by 3. The other issue is the lack of hot hand fallacy, when a player is so in the zone, the playbook should be prioritized almost entirely to allowing them to make big plays. The most infamous example so far is Tychondrius Hood having a George Kittle moment where he ended the first half within 30 yards of the single game receiing yards record and of course did not see the ball after halftime.

But the new sim is great! I love the extra detail in the game action, the new fields look good. I wish each team had a unique sideline design and more teams went with a unique color on their field. I'm enjoying the effects the sim team predicted with the archetypes. There are more boom or bust players, RB's run like the old max QB's used to, and my player, a CB, has been phenomenal so far. I am not max TPE levels yet but my player is more involved than ever. I have the same amount of interceptions as I did the last two years COMBINED, I'm one tackle off the league lead, I finally got another sack(and playing from the OUTSIDE this time). I'm sure other less stat heavy players are witnessing similar joy as I am. And this is all after 4 games!

[huck24]

I'm really digging the new sim so far this season. It's my players rookie season, so that makes it even more special. Watching the thrown balls on screen makes this game of little dots even more entertaining. The thing I'm liking the best though it that I feel the numbers on the dots are much more legible.

The index is a nice upgrade as well, even though I have to scroll way too far down on the stats list to be able to see my players numbers! 

The one thing that I don't quite love about the new sim, is the text colour if the play by play commentary. If the text was a tad bit darker it would be much easier to read.

As for how the season is going for my team, the New Orleans Second Line, I feel we've been a little unlucky. Sitting at 2-3 after a big win on Friday, we are still right of the mix of things, but if a couple plays or penalties went the other way, we'd be much closer to the top of the table. 

There is still a lot of football to play and I can't wait to see how this season shakes out. The New Orleans Second Line is hungry to make it back to the Ultimus finals and do what they came up a bit short on last season, to win it all and raise that trophy!

[Modern_Duke]

I was very excited by the transition to the new sim, especially as it coincided with the making of my new player, Manhattan Project. After a brief showing at my initial create position of defensive end in the prospect bowl, I had some concerns about the streaming of games. For one, the games moved very slowly (taking as much as 15 minutes per game), and without the play by play side screen we had in DDSPF 16, the action was hard to follow. However, as the regular season has progressed, my concerns have mostly been addressed. The game streams have been slightly sped up, to roughly 12 minutes per game (still longer than old streams), and my eyes have been trained to look for the play descriptions in the box under the scoreboard, not trying to speed read the white boxes that pop up on the field. One item that I have been pleasantly surprised by has been the difference in home and away uniforms. White uniforms for away team means no more Colorado vs Chicago red-on-red games that are difficult to follow. One item that I am still ambivalent towards is the ability to use custom fields. I am something of a traditionalist in football field design preferences, so seeing probably half of the teams use different color fields and unusual designs is something that I will have to learn to love.

[Voltaqe]

My first impressions of the new sim have been almost all positive. My player is actually putting up some pretty crazy numbers so how could I not be happy. I do have a few criticisms though. Firstly it still feels like speed is the “god stat” even in the new sim. Looking at how games have been played usually more speed has lead to a greater advantage from what I have seen. The second criticism I have is that they have not implemented a way for people to step out of bounds when the situation dictates they should. Many games could have been a lot more exciting if a player was able to kill the clock by stepping out of bounds instead of getting tackled in play and the clock running out. On the same train of thought as that time management in general is quite bad in the new sim. A few times already I have seen timeouts where it makes no sense and also no timeouts when it does make sense. For instance calling a time out right before you punt the ball away before half which could give the other team just extra time to get down the field and score on you. Also it doesn’t only have to do with timeouts. I also saw a spike at the end to end the game. Like why spike it and not run a play. I know that it may be hard for a sim to fix these problems but just some things that I saw so far.

[Cody]

I’m enjoying the new sim immensely. The games feel much more fluid with the new sim. There isn’t the same “What is going on right now?” question you’d have when the sim wouldn’t do anything for ten plays straight. The fact that you see the ball moving on field and have pauses for touchdowns, sacks and interception is fantastic. 

Philadelphia is having a decent season we’re currently 2-3 through 5 games with 2 of the 3 losses being by one score against two very good teams in Chicago and Sarasota. The new sim seems to be treating us fairly this season as we’re pretty even in PF-PA.

Gary Goodman is having a solid season through the first third of the year. He has 3 sacks already which is halfway to his best year. He was also voted Defensive Player of the Week after Week 4’s game against Baltimore. It’s a big honor to receive an award like that.

As for field designs there are a number of good ones. I like a clean look on the field. I’d have to say I really like the one we have in Philadelphia, but I don’t want to be too bias. If I had to pick a team outside of my own, I would say New York. It kept a normal-ish grass color and has very bold endzones.

[Legally_Blind_Gamer]

PBE Affiliate Cross Post

[toivo]

We are off to a new season. Things are unfolding quickly but we still have some first impressions to get into. The new sim is a bit different. Change can be a great thing. When things are stale, they tend to get a little boring so the new index is a bit of a shake up and keeps things fresh. The Second line are not performing as well as we ought to be. The staff know it, the players too, and most importantly the fans. It’s not great to start the first five games of the season off with a losing record. One of my first impressions looking at the sim is the new index. The index is a lot more navigable than the old one and so it seems like we genuinely gained some great value out of updating engines. These first games have been entertaining. Invested in my player’s stats and the team’s performance, I have been engaged in all the games that the Second Line have played. If the team’s first few games tell us anything, it’s that this season will be a tough one that will force the Second Line to pull out everything and the kitchen sink. It will be a long and tough road to the playoffs, but I believe this team is resilient enough to make it.

[Tylus]

What a season it has been so far for Tychondrius Hood and the San Jose Sabercats in the first five games of season twenty seven. Week one was a strong showing for the Sabercats on all fronts at a dangerous Arizona Outlaws home stadium. The offense did what it needed to to score 23 points, and the defense held their ground to limit the outlaws to 20 points. Hood would have a great first game with 110 yards and a touchdown. The sabercats would win their second away game in a row week two, with a high scoring shootout in Baltimore. Hood would absolutely have his best game of his career with nearly 200 yards and 3 touchdowns. While week three would be a devastating beatdown from the New Orleans Second Line, Hood would continue a promising season on a high note with 9 receptions for 129 yards and a long of 45. Week four would be another painful loss for San Jose, with the offense unable to move and Hood limited to 27 yards on three catches. Week five would be an upward swing for the Sabercats. The Sabercats defense would allow an amazing 0 points and multiple forced turnovers. Hood would have another down game though, only netting 25 yards. The new simulation has been fun to watch, and while Hood has been up and down, he hopes to redeem himself during the remainder of the season.