14. Expansion Expansion Expansion! Tell us why you think the league should expand / not expand or include any ideas (in words) for team branding ideas you have or team locations. (300 words)
From a logical perspective, the league likely shouldn't expand. And there's a whole host of reasons for that, from there being too much crowding in the divisions to having too much work for the sim team to not having the players to support it. The first thing that would have to happen is the creation of new divisions, probably going to 4 divisions of 4 teams assuming a 2 team expansion window. That means a change-up in scheduling and determining what teams outside their division a given team would play in a season and how many times, since there would be 12 teams to play outside the division but only 10 games to fill. There's also the issue of not enough players to support such an expansion, but that likely will solve itself within another year or so assuming strong results to recruitment campaigns. So, let's say that the league waits to expand until the player base is there to support it. Where do the new teams come from? Right now, South America and Asia are the underrepresented regions between the ISFL and DSFL so ultimately a team from each area would be ideal. From South America, it makes sense to expand a franchise into Brazil. The team colors could be any 2 of the 3 colors on the national flag, but I'd personally vote Green and Yellow. The team would probably play in Rio de Janeiro given the infrastructure and existing stadiums. From Asia, I think Japan makes the most sense as there is a decent American Football following there already, with a Japanese national league in place. Red and White would be the team colors, and the team could be based out of a number of cities, with Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto being the most obvious. But I think locating the team in Hokkaido is an attractive option, given the more moderate climate and greater space to build out a stadium and training facilities.
23. What are your thoughts on the sim engine? What sort of improvements would you make to the sim engine if given the opportunity? (150 words)
The sim is what the sim is, at the end of the day: Football played with dots, coached by AI that makes at times baffling decisions. Obviously the first big improvement would be graphically. As exciting as it is to watch our dots move around on the screen, having 3d grahpics would really make the entire ordeal more exciting. From a game planning perspective, I wish game planning was more granular. Being able to specify what players blitz in what formations, as an example, or being able to create your own play designs and implement a true team playbook. This would also open up individual player choices more, as taking certain attributes or traits becomes more attractive based on the types of plays your GMs/coaches design. Finally, having more control over the in-game decision making for when to punt vs kick a FG vs go for it on 4th down. These types of plays are so often overlooked by casual fans as unimportant when in reality they are often the driving decision behind a game's result.
27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why? (150 words)
I picked Offensive Line primarily because I figured it would be the most available/least competitive position in the league. And ultimately, I was right seeing as most teams are still using OL bots for many of their 5 OL positions. But if for some reason I couldn't have made an OL, there are a handful of positions I'm interested in otherwise. First would probably be K/P, because as a player you can be the most impactful with the least amount of outside influence. You don't have to worry about interceptions or sacks (generally), it's entirely about whether or not you built your player right to nail the kicks. Second would be a Defensive Line role, probably Defensive Tackle, because it's another of the "support" type positions that I love to play, where they aren't as flashy and don't individually rack up statistics but often put their teammates in better positions to succeed, whether it be through run stopping or getting up the middle pressure on the QB.
From a logical perspective, the league likely shouldn't expand. And there's a whole host of reasons for that, from there being too much crowding in the divisions to having too much work for the sim team to not having the players to support it. The first thing that would have to happen is the creation of new divisions, probably going to 4 divisions of 4 teams assuming a 2 team expansion window. That means a change-up in scheduling and determining what teams outside their division a given team would play in a season and how many times, since there would be 12 teams to play outside the division but only 10 games to fill. There's also the issue of not enough players to support such an expansion, but that likely will solve itself within another year or so assuming strong results to recruitment campaigns. So, let's say that the league waits to expand until the player base is there to support it. Where do the new teams come from? Right now, South America and Asia are the underrepresented regions between the ISFL and DSFL so ultimately a team from each area would be ideal. From South America, it makes sense to expand a franchise into Brazil. The team colors could be any 2 of the 3 colors on the national flag, but I'd personally vote Green and Yellow. The team would probably play in Rio de Janeiro given the infrastructure and existing stadiums. From Asia, I think Japan makes the most sense as there is a decent American Football following there already, with a Japanese national league in place. Red and White would be the team colors, and the team could be based out of a number of cities, with Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto being the most obvious. But I think locating the team in Hokkaido is an attractive option, given the more moderate climate and greater space to build out a stadium and training facilities.
23. What are your thoughts on the sim engine? What sort of improvements would you make to the sim engine if given the opportunity? (150 words)
The sim is what the sim is, at the end of the day: Football played with dots, coached by AI that makes at times baffling decisions. Obviously the first big improvement would be graphically. As exciting as it is to watch our dots move around on the screen, having 3d grahpics would really make the entire ordeal more exciting. From a game planning perspective, I wish game planning was more granular. Being able to specify what players blitz in what formations, as an example, or being able to create your own play designs and implement a true team playbook. This would also open up individual player choices more, as taking certain attributes or traits becomes more attractive based on the types of plays your GMs/coaches design. Finally, having more control over the in-game decision making for when to punt vs kick a FG vs go for it on 4th down. These types of plays are so often overlooked by casual fans as unimportant when in reality they are often the driving decision behind a game's result.
27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why? (150 words)
I picked Offensive Line primarily because I figured it would be the most available/least competitive position in the league. And ultimately, I was right seeing as most teams are still using OL bots for many of their 5 OL positions. But if for some reason I couldn't have made an OL, there are a handful of positions I'm interested in otherwise. First would probably be K/P, because as a player you can be the most impactful with the least amount of outside influence. You don't have to worry about interceptions or sacks (generally), it's entirely about whether or not you built your player right to nail the kicks. Second would be a Defensive Line role, probably Defensive Tackle, because it's another of the "support" type positions that I love to play, where they aren't as flashy and don't individually rack up statistics but often put their teammates in better positions to succeed, whether it be through run stopping or getting up the middle pressure on the QB.