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I played a game using LCD today. I filled my shooting guard depth chart with one player only, intending to play him the entire game. This worked perfectly through three quarters.

At the start of the fourth quarter, with my team more than comfortably ahead, the "coach":

1) Pulled the player I expressly "told" the engine to play all 48 minutes, and
2) Put out a lineup of my five regular starters.

Which is exactly the opposite of what I would have expected. If the option worked properly, I should see the designated player playing with probably the four worst players on my bench, with a large lead in the fourth quarter (or even earlier). This is problematic, not to mention unrealistic.

Further, as a more minor point of contention, even with a sizable lead in the third quarter, and playing "Take it Easy", my coach had not played three of my players at all. It would seem to make sense if rotations shortened with "Crunch Time" and lengthened with "Take it Easy".

I wonder if "Let Coach Decide" should be removed entirely. If the price of lineup flexibility is unrealistic player usage, then I would consider that to not be worth it.

Last edited by Antares23 at 2/16/2013 9:44:12 PM

Let Coach Decide is meant for the Coach to decide he picks anyone for the game and doesn't use any of your knowledge at all (except for who starts where and who backups where)

you were blowing out the team and it went to garbage time, where the coach always takes the starters out for some rest and the bench in for minutes. it's how a typical blowout is supposed to be.

also, you had 12 guys in the game which made it almost impossible for your SG to play all 48, b/c you still would've blown them out and the coach TAKES EVERYONE off the bench and gives the starters rest.

for your SG to play all 48 you have to put the Strictly Follow Depth Chart, and only put 9 players in the game to make it work.

you were blowing out the team and it went to garbage time, where the coach always takes the starters out for some rest and the bench in for minutes. it's how a typical blowout is supposed to be.

Except that the coach, given free reign, didn't and doesn't do that. The coach "always takes the starters out", except when using LCD. Also, this is a regular occurrence with LCD - I constantly see my starters play regular minutes under LCD, even in blowouts. Either this is a "feature, not a bug", or LCD is faulty.

also, you had 12 guys in the game which made it almost impossible for your SG to play all 48, b/c you still would've blown them out and the coach TAKES EVERYONE off the bench and gives the starters rest.

I have in the past used LCD with more than 9 players dressed and still had players play a full game per my own instructions. And, of course, it should not be impossible for a player to play a full game under any circumstances if the manager asks for it. Unless I am underestimating the difficulty of coding this, it seems like it would have been one of the simplest things to make allowances for. "OK, I want such and such players to play the full game unless they get hurt or foul out, period. The rest of the lineup is at your discretion."

for your SG to play all 48 you have to put the Strictly Follow Depth Chart, and only put 9 players in the game to make it work.

This is not the case, since, as I said, I have accomplished it before without doing either of those things. Also, if such things are necessary, they should be documented somewhere.

But let's assume that this is true, then. If I must use SFDC, do I have to then set players at every position in order to not accidentally forfeit? Or will the AI fill in the gaps if I leave anything blank?

Honestly, are you reporting the using "Let the coach decide" the coach did decide "something"? If you say "you make the call" you should really be prepared that he makes the call. If you ask your girlfriend where to go for dinner, don´t expect her to call the same restaurant you were last time - anything can happen.

you were blowing out the team and it went to garbage time, where the coach always takes the starters out for some rest and the bench in for minutes. it's how a typical blowout is supposed to be.

Except that the coach, given free reign, didn't and doesn't do that. The coach "always takes the starters out", except when using LCD. Also, this is a regular occurrence with LCD - I constantly see my starters play regular minutes under LCD, even in blowouts. Either this is a "feature, not a bug", or LCD is faulty.

also, you had 12 guys in the game which made it almost impossible for your SG to play all 48, b/c you still would've blown them out and the coach TAKES EVERYONE off the bench and gives the starters rest.

I have in the past used LCD with more than 9 players dressed and still had players play a full game per my own instructions. And, of course, it should not be impossible for a player to play a full game under any circumstances if the manager asks for it. Unless I am underestimating the difficulty of coding this, it seems like it would have been one of the simplest things to make allowances for. "OK, I want such and such players to play the full game unless they get hurt or foul out, period. The rest of the lineup is at your discretion."

for your SG to play all 48 you have to put the Strictly Follow Depth Chart, and only put 9 players in the game to make it work.

This is not the case, since, as I said, I have accomplished it before without doing either of those things. Also, if such things are necessary, they should be documented somewhere.

But let's assume that this is true, then. If I must use SFDC, do I have to then set players at every position in order to not accidentally forfeit? Or will the AI fill in the gaps if I leave anything blank?

In simplest terms possible: LCD if you are trying to win. SFDC with 9 players, 8 if 2-pos training, and everything filled if you are trying to train. If trying to do both, still SFDC. You are complaining about running out of gas when choosing to not fill up and drive with the gas light on.

You have 15 players and don't use them all so wasting money there. You have an 18 yr old SS potential big man who doesn't even play or train, you have a 21 year old MVP bigman as well so it'd make sense for you to train bigs. But you were trying to get sg 48 mins, also based on his role the minutes he gets and the games ape of your guys whom play, it looks like you train vs anyways. You will ultimately lose first playoff game with your team. You need to figure out what it is you are trying to do with your team and how best to accomplish. Also your arena is quite small. You can't be making money?

Last edited by LBJisaCancer at 2/17/2013 9:37:26 AM

You have an 18 yr old SS potential big man who doesn't even play or train

By all accounts, he has been playing and training said 18 y/o superstar. He doesn't have proficient GS from dumb luck you know. By looking at the game for 5 seconds, you could have seen that the 18 y/o is who he had at SG that game!
Let's stick to the LCD/SFDC issue.

Last edited by Kumiko (CAN U21) at 2/17/2013 10:02:28 AM

In simplest terms possible: LCD if you are trying to win. SFDC with 9 players, 8 if 2-pos training, and everything filled if you are trying to train. If trying to do both, still SFDC. You are complaining about running out of gas when choosing to not fill up and drive with the gas light on.

Sure, the light's on, but the needle is pointing at "F". The machine is contradicting itself. LCD might work the way it was designed, but the design's obviously faulty. Otherwise, all five of my best players wouldn't be starting the fourth quarter with a 45-point lead. No real coach would do that, so the fact that it can happen in this game is problematic (even if this is just a game and not real life). If the engine can recognize a blowout with the other three lineups but can't with LCD, then LCD is the problem.

These things should be documented somewhere. I can't be the first one to have this problem.

you´re riding a false perception here: you EXPECT the coach to act like a REAL coach, but it´s not "let Phil Jackson decide", it´s a "do everything needed to WIN THIS GAME". so why shouldn´t he run his starters in the 4th leading by 45? he has to make sure he wins, not thinking about anything else.

In simplest terms possible: LCD if you are trying to win. SFDC with 9 players, 8 if 2-pos training, and everything filled if you are trying to train. If trying to do both, still SFDC. You are complaining about running out of gas when choosing to not fill up and drive with the gas light on.

Sure, the light's on, but the needle is pointing at "F". The machine is contradicting itself. LCD might work the way it was designed, but the design's obviously faulty. Otherwise, all five of my best players wouldn't be starting the fourth quarter with a 45-point lead. No real coach would do that, so the fact that it can happen in this game is problematic (even if this is just a game and not real life). If the engine can recognize a blowout with the other three lineups but can't with LCD, then that's an issue with LCD.

You need to figure out what it is you are trying to do with your team and how best to accomplish. Also your arena is quite small. You can't be making money?

I'm averaging $53K net income per week, against a league average of $18K. Also, I'm going to make the playoffs (in an easy conference) with one of the lowest player payrolls in the league. Figuring out what to do will be easier as I learn how the game works... y'know, kind of like the learning experience I'm having in this thread.

53 k profit?

Post your economy page please, really curious?