My introduction to the league has been…a roller-coaster to say the least. When I commit to a sim league and want to enjoy everything it has to offer, I really, truly do so. What most people do not know, at least a lot of you in the NSFL, is that I have been a sim league veteran since the young age of 13. I helped establish the SHL to a degree (was not a main founder, but helped with a lot), and have been in numerous leagues for over a decade. When people told me about the NSFL, I was very intrigued, I love the other football league I am in and this one had a different curve.
Some people found out about who I am, I mean it is quite easy for anyone in one of the various other sim leagues I am in to find out who I am, seeing as discord is a thing and you cannot really hide your persona on that application, so yeah, kudos to you for finding out who I am.
Before I go in-depth on my experience with this league, as well as some suggestions that may, or may not fall on deaf ears, let’s talk about who I am, and my past experiences, so you know what you are working with.
My typical username is InstantRockstar, most people may know me as IR, vintagerockstar, Megatron, I’ve gone by a few names here or there, but mostly some form of Rockstar/InstantRockstar. I’ve been a sim league vet as I mentioned on and off since the young age of 13. Since that age, I’ve been in and out of the leagues for over a decade and I’ve loved every minute of it. From the time I joined leagues, I really enjoyed the atmospheres and the communities and the sense of happiness I truly always got when being in leagues and making friends, even some rivalries and such. I will admit in my younger years, I was a bit of a brat, I was very, very different then I am today, I am much more composed nowadays, out of rehab and out of the dark places that had consumed my life for many years, it was a great feeling. I am also now a dad of 3 beautiful kids, a proud husband and just happier than I’ve ever been.
So now that we are done with the mushy stuff, let’s go ahead and get down to the nitty gritty, the reason you all have chosen to read this article, my true introduction to the league with all the bells and whistles, the steps and the process and more, I apologize if this is dragged on or something you may not enjoy, but let’s make a piece we can talk about.
PHASE ONE: TRUE INTRODUCTION TO THE LEAGUE
When you first join, you’re given a plethora of things to do. Like any league, you’re given the task of making a player and selecting your position, etc. What I do enjoy is there is a guide that can truly help you with this through and through, and with discord being a thing, you can really get help with any questions you have pretty much immediately, as the community is a very active and engaging community, so this was nice!
Once your player is created, you’re basically unleased into the wide variety of things to do on the site, the how-to guides were also super helpful and for anyone who is new to sim leagues or needs some kind of guidance or direction, this is huge for them, and honestly, a big relief even for me who has no idea what they are doing in a brand new league, so kudos to you guys for that as well.
The most fun experience of my first phase had to have been the rookie task, simply because it engages you and commits you to tasks that not only help you learn about the league and where things are, but truly engage with the site and focus on your player and the betterment of the league. I felt like the tasks were fun to do, enjoyable for the most part and again quite easy, because if I ever got stuck, it was really as simple as asking in the discord, and you got an answer almost immediately.
PHASE TWO: TEAM SELECTION PROCESS
What really put me back a little bit from the whole ‘experience’ is how hidden and secluded this process truly is. With every other league I’ve been a part of (SHL, VHL, EFL, etc) you name it, there has always been some kind of distinguishing factor that really gets a player involved in this process, whereas here, it was kind of lack-luster, nerve-wracking and if I am honest, a very boring part of my time spent here.
Why was it so boring you may ask? Well, I knew absolutely nothing going on behind the scenes, in every other league I am in, GM’s usually come to you with an offer and the player is to decide where they go. In some other leagues, they at least make the “bidding/waiver” process a little more transparent and available to the user, to allow them to see who is getting in on the action, and so-on.
Was it hurting my interest in the league? Not one bit, but I think the lackluster GM interaction really did make it a little more…tedious of a process and also like I mentioned previously, a bit boring. I had asked several times for updates to which I couldn’t really be provided one because all of this stuff was going on in secret, but at least if GM’s made it an effort to reach out and like…interact with the newbies, then it would really peak their interest I am sure, but that could just be my mentality…
PHASE THREE: CONTRACTS AND POINT TASKS
Once I was finally put on a team, the fun kind of began even more. I got my deposit of my contract for $5,000,000 which helped me sustain some weeks of training, a huge thing when you really come into a league with no bank account, and bank accounts are so key to really being able to earn that extra little bit of TPE. With this money in mind, we turned our attention to the point tasks and all of the way to make some true earnings, and I have to say, I was quite impressed with this process.
Not only is there a point task that is done each time it is posted, but there is also predictions which can earn you TPE as well as trivia that can earn you even more TPE. There is also the option to make a wiki about your player which is not only creative and fun, but really quite extensive. Using the script in excel, it made it quite easy of a process and awards a whole lot of TPE to boot, so I truly do recommend this task to any rookie who is joining because it was fun, cool to see that it was MY own player page and it was available to anyone for viewing purposes.
Finally, we get to the twitter which is really neat and interactive. I had never done twitter before for a fictional player but roleplaying was kind of a neat concept and I think being able to again bring your player to life in a fun, constructive and just easy-going way is great. I’ve had a lot of fun with it, tweeting about various things, getting a few likes, keeping up to date with everything and I also think it’s extremely enjoyable to read the tweets from teams and the league that are posted in discord, it just all really ties everything together, so kudos to whoever brought twitter into the mix, you’ve made this fun.
PHASE FOUR: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, OH WHERE ARE YOU? I GOTTA EARN IT…
My biggest ‘phase’ at this point has to be the money option. Money is how you function in this league and stay ahead of the curve. It allows you to do your training, do off-season/season tasks like buying equipment and so on, and one thing I have noticed more than anything else, is that money is sparse and how you earn money can vary depending on what you like to do. Now, I am used to doing weekly tasks for TPE which can be either of the writing or graphic variety, but never for earning money, so this for me was kind of an easy decision if any of you have seen my work, you know how much I love graphics, and I’ve been making them for your enjoyment now for a few weeks.
Now, my team has been my biggest ear piece when I feel like I joined at the wrong time as the graphics head had changed, the structure was changing, just the whole area was changing and while I can absolutely respect that, I feel like earning being such a “must” to be able to succeed in this league and just grow in this league fully, there isn’t enough being done for graphic members right now to truly allow them to earn as much money as possible, compared to media.
Two things which I’ve brought up, is the lack of grading being done, the amount of grading being done, and of course the rubric. Now, for me, I’ve been told that each grader is expected to grade 3 people’s graphics per week, for a total of 15 threads per week. Obviously, they understand they are behind, I’ve noticed some people have been putting in true efforts to grade, and get things done, but one thing still remains, going on almost 3 ½ weeks now, and my first set hasn’t even been graded. A couple of things hurt me here, but the biggest thing being that I will be out of money soon, and I won’t be able to afford training, and I won’t be able to continue to earn the most TPE possible which is always my goal when joining a sim league, because of this.
My other issue is how limiting the structure is on grading, which I know has been mentioned privately but I’d like to bring it up publicly, more to know what other people think then cause some kind of an uproar, because I am absolutely not here to start a fight, but I want to know what everyone thinks about the new grading structure. From what I’ve been told, it actually increased the possibility of a better grade then what used to be possible in the past. While I totally respect this, what concerns me is the limitations it puts on people’s work to obtain those grades, and the sometimes-lackluster ability to actually earn them. I’ve noticed people being docked for changing jersey colors and hiding logos, which to me is more than enough to “personalize” a graphic, but they are not achieve full marks. Now as a graphic major, and someone who has been designing graphics both for a living and in sim leagues for years, this seems very concerning to me. Personally, I believe limitations should be less strict, creative freedom should be much more in favor of the designer. At the end of the day, I make them because I enjoy them and I make them because others enjoy them, but the enjoyment is taken out when I am told it’s still not good enough to hit criteria I believe, I’ve hit. Especially when media people can make huge articles just rambling, and get paid for it. But enough about me rambling, lets move on to the final phase.
FINAL PHASE (5): PLAYING WITH THE TEAM
When I joined Norfolk, I literally knew no one, which actually brought more enjoyment to the league for me because I got to meet a lot of cool new people who really had my best interest in mind when bringing me in. They taught me what I needed to know, they were fans of my gfx work, we just seem to have a great time in the locker room, and that has translated to the sim as well, actually seeing my player out there with the team.
The whole youtube viewing is wicked, I really enjoy seeing that everyone can just sit there together and watch the games progress In a lot of sim leagues you usually have someone presenting the games or just posting box scores so this brings a real fun interactive element to the league that I thoroughly enjoy. My team has made the experience very fun and I’d absolutely recommend anyone to join them if you get the chance, you will not be disappointed.
------------------------------------
So, what is the short of all this? Well, let’s recap:
Phase 1:
- Great guides for rookies
- Rookie task is interactive and enjoyable
- Learn a lot about the league
- Rookie task helps navigate the board/forum
Phase 2:
- Non-interactive team selection/waiver process
- Quite a very odd transitional time
- Didn’t really like the experience of being in the dark
- Would’ve loved to be more involved
Phase 3:
- A lot of point tasks you keep you occupied
- Plenty of ways to earn TPE
- Relatively easy tasks, nothing too time consuming
- Enjoyable and relatable tasks (wiki, twitter)
Phase 4:
- Two main ways to earn money, along with Twitter
- Not a fan of the procedure for graphics
- Feel graphics rubric is too strict/restrictive for creativity
- Grading has been painful waiting to earn money
Phase 5:
- Super enjoyable interactive sim engine
- Love the presentation/scoreboard vibe
- Team has been really enjoyable to be a part of
- Go Norfolk! <3
With all of this in mind, please keep in mind this is one person’s opinion and not even a negative point for me in any way possible. I love giving my opinion and perspective especially being new to the league without any prior interactions. You guys are 22 seasons deep right now so I mean obviously something is being done right, however hopefully the concerns I brought up at the very least will be a bit of an eye-opener or a discussion piece down the road, as again I do not mean any harm or ill-will towards anyone when I speak my mind on certain topics.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you agree and disagree with about what I have said!
Some people found out about who I am, I mean it is quite easy for anyone in one of the various other sim leagues I am in to find out who I am, seeing as discord is a thing and you cannot really hide your persona on that application, so yeah, kudos to you for finding out who I am.
Before I go in-depth on my experience with this league, as well as some suggestions that may, or may not fall on deaf ears, let’s talk about who I am, and my past experiences, so you know what you are working with.
My typical username is InstantRockstar, most people may know me as IR, vintagerockstar, Megatron, I’ve gone by a few names here or there, but mostly some form of Rockstar/InstantRockstar. I’ve been a sim league vet as I mentioned on and off since the young age of 13. Since that age, I’ve been in and out of the leagues for over a decade and I’ve loved every minute of it. From the time I joined leagues, I really enjoyed the atmospheres and the communities and the sense of happiness I truly always got when being in leagues and making friends, even some rivalries and such. I will admit in my younger years, I was a bit of a brat, I was very, very different then I am today, I am much more composed nowadays, out of rehab and out of the dark places that had consumed my life for many years, it was a great feeling. I am also now a dad of 3 beautiful kids, a proud husband and just happier than I’ve ever been.
So now that we are done with the mushy stuff, let’s go ahead and get down to the nitty gritty, the reason you all have chosen to read this article, my true introduction to the league with all the bells and whistles, the steps and the process and more, I apologize if this is dragged on or something you may not enjoy, but let’s make a piece we can talk about.
PHASE ONE: TRUE INTRODUCTION TO THE LEAGUE
When you first join, you’re given a plethora of things to do. Like any league, you’re given the task of making a player and selecting your position, etc. What I do enjoy is there is a guide that can truly help you with this through and through, and with discord being a thing, you can really get help with any questions you have pretty much immediately, as the community is a very active and engaging community, so this was nice!
Once your player is created, you’re basically unleased into the wide variety of things to do on the site, the how-to guides were also super helpful and for anyone who is new to sim leagues or needs some kind of guidance or direction, this is huge for them, and honestly, a big relief even for me who has no idea what they are doing in a brand new league, so kudos to you guys for that as well.
The most fun experience of my first phase had to have been the rookie task, simply because it engages you and commits you to tasks that not only help you learn about the league and where things are, but truly engage with the site and focus on your player and the betterment of the league. I felt like the tasks were fun to do, enjoyable for the most part and again quite easy, because if I ever got stuck, it was really as simple as asking in the discord, and you got an answer almost immediately.
PHASE TWO: TEAM SELECTION PROCESS
What really put me back a little bit from the whole ‘experience’ is how hidden and secluded this process truly is. With every other league I’ve been a part of (SHL, VHL, EFL, etc) you name it, there has always been some kind of distinguishing factor that really gets a player involved in this process, whereas here, it was kind of lack-luster, nerve-wracking and if I am honest, a very boring part of my time spent here.
Why was it so boring you may ask? Well, I knew absolutely nothing going on behind the scenes, in every other league I am in, GM’s usually come to you with an offer and the player is to decide where they go. In some other leagues, they at least make the “bidding/waiver” process a little more transparent and available to the user, to allow them to see who is getting in on the action, and so-on.
Was it hurting my interest in the league? Not one bit, but I think the lackluster GM interaction really did make it a little more…tedious of a process and also like I mentioned previously, a bit boring. I had asked several times for updates to which I couldn’t really be provided one because all of this stuff was going on in secret, but at least if GM’s made it an effort to reach out and like…interact with the newbies, then it would really peak their interest I am sure, but that could just be my mentality…
PHASE THREE: CONTRACTS AND POINT TASKS
Once I was finally put on a team, the fun kind of began even more. I got my deposit of my contract for $5,000,000 which helped me sustain some weeks of training, a huge thing when you really come into a league with no bank account, and bank accounts are so key to really being able to earn that extra little bit of TPE. With this money in mind, we turned our attention to the point tasks and all of the way to make some true earnings, and I have to say, I was quite impressed with this process.
Not only is there a point task that is done each time it is posted, but there is also predictions which can earn you TPE as well as trivia that can earn you even more TPE. There is also the option to make a wiki about your player which is not only creative and fun, but really quite extensive. Using the script in excel, it made it quite easy of a process and awards a whole lot of TPE to boot, so I truly do recommend this task to any rookie who is joining because it was fun, cool to see that it was MY own player page and it was available to anyone for viewing purposes.
Finally, we get to the twitter which is really neat and interactive. I had never done twitter before for a fictional player but roleplaying was kind of a neat concept and I think being able to again bring your player to life in a fun, constructive and just easy-going way is great. I’ve had a lot of fun with it, tweeting about various things, getting a few likes, keeping up to date with everything and I also think it’s extremely enjoyable to read the tweets from teams and the league that are posted in discord, it just all really ties everything together, so kudos to whoever brought twitter into the mix, you’ve made this fun.
PHASE FOUR: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, OH WHERE ARE YOU? I GOTTA EARN IT…
My biggest ‘phase’ at this point has to be the money option. Money is how you function in this league and stay ahead of the curve. It allows you to do your training, do off-season/season tasks like buying equipment and so on, and one thing I have noticed more than anything else, is that money is sparse and how you earn money can vary depending on what you like to do. Now, I am used to doing weekly tasks for TPE which can be either of the writing or graphic variety, but never for earning money, so this for me was kind of an easy decision if any of you have seen my work, you know how much I love graphics, and I’ve been making them for your enjoyment now for a few weeks.
Now, my team has been my biggest ear piece when I feel like I joined at the wrong time as the graphics head had changed, the structure was changing, just the whole area was changing and while I can absolutely respect that, I feel like earning being such a “must” to be able to succeed in this league and just grow in this league fully, there isn’t enough being done for graphic members right now to truly allow them to earn as much money as possible, compared to media.
Two things which I’ve brought up, is the lack of grading being done, the amount of grading being done, and of course the rubric. Now, for me, I’ve been told that each grader is expected to grade 3 people’s graphics per week, for a total of 15 threads per week. Obviously, they understand they are behind, I’ve noticed some people have been putting in true efforts to grade, and get things done, but one thing still remains, going on almost 3 ½ weeks now, and my first set hasn’t even been graded. A couple of things hurt me here, but the biggest thing being that I will be out of money soon, and I won’t be able to afford training, and I won’t be able to continue to earn the most TPE possible which is always my goal when joining a sim league, because of this.
My other issue is how limiting the structure is on grading, which I know has been mentioned privately but I’d like to bring it up publicly, more to know what other people think then cause some kind of an uproar, because I am absolutely not here to start a fight, but I want to know what everyone thinks about the new grading structure. From what I’ve been told, it actually increased the possibility of a better grade then what used to be possible in the past. While I totally respect this, what concerns me is the limitations it puts on people’s work to obtain those grades, and the sometimes-lackluster ability to actually earn them. I’ve noticed people being docked for changing jersey colors and hiding logos, which to me is more than enough to “personalize” a graphic, but they are not achieve full marks. Now as a graphic major, and someone who has been designing graphics both for a living and in sim leagues for years, this seems very concerning to me. Personally, I believe limitations should be less strict, creative freedom should be much more in favor of the designer. At the end of the day, I make them because I enjoy them and I make them because others enjoy them, but the enjoyment is taken out when I am told it’s still not good enough to hit criteria I believe, I’ve hit. Especially when media people can make huge articles just rambling, and get paid for it. But enough about me rambling, lets move on to the final phase.
FINAL PHASE (5): PLAYING WITH THE TEAM
When I joined Norfolk, I literally knew no one, which actually brought more enjoyment to the league for me because I got to meet a lot of cool new people who really had my best interest in mind when bringing me in. They taught me what I needed to know, they were fans of my gfx work, we just seem to have a great time in the locker room, and that has translated to the sim as well, actually seeing my player out there with the team.
The whole youtube viewing is wicked, I really enjoy seeing that everyone can just sit there together and watch the games progress In a lot of sim leagues you usually have someone presenting the games or just posting box scores so this brings a real fun interactive element to the league that I thoroughly enjoy. My team has made the experience very fun and I’d absolutely recommend anyone to join them if you get the chance, you will not be disappointed.
------------------------------------
So, what is the short of all this? Well, let’s recap:
Phase 1:
- Great guides for rookies
- Rookie task is interactive and enjoyable
- Learn a lot about the league
- Rookie task helps navigate the board/forum
Phase 2:
- Non-interactive team selection/waiver process
- Quite a very odd transitional time
- Didn’t really like the experience of being in the dark
- Would’ve loved to be more involved
Phase 3:
- A lot of point tasks you keep you occupied
- Plenty of ways to earn TPE
- Relatively easy tasks, nothing too time consuming
- Enjoyable and relatable tasks (wiki, twitter)
Phase 4:
- Two main ways to earn money, along with Twitter
- Not a fan of the procedure for graphics
- Feel graphics rubric is too strict/restrictive for creativity
- Grading has been painful waiting to earn money
Phase 5:
- Super enjoyable interactive sim engine
- Love the presentation/scoreboard vibe
- Team has been really enjoyable to be a part of
- Go Norfolk! <3
With all of this in mind, please keep in mind this is one person’s opinion and not even a negative point for me in any way possible. I love giving my opinion and perspective especially being new to the league without any prior interactions. You guys are 22 seasons deep right now so I mean obviously something is being done right, however hopefully the concerns I brought up at the very least will be a bit of an eye-opener or a discussion piece down the road, as again I do not mean any harm or ill-will towards anyone when I speak my mind on certain topics.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you agree and disagree with about what I have said!
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