BuzzerBeater Forums

Let us add rules to prevent x, y and z because "I don't like it".

1) It is a game. There are no "fans" actually being conned here.

2) As for whether it is against the spirit of running a business, of course not. As a business model it is hard to fault.

I can't see who he harms, yet people are on his back anyway, and want to prevent him doing what he does, all because of some dubious "spirit of the game".

Let us talk about the game then. It isn't basketball. That is just a cover. It could be American Football or Kabaddi. It doesn't really matter. This is a management simulation, and that is just another way to manage your team. This game is all about who manages their franchise best within the limitations given.

The solution is so, so simple.

If a team dresses too few players for a game, they're fined at least 100% of their revenue through attendance as well as their portion of the TV contract for that week. And if the percentage were higher than 100%, so much the better. It could even be progressive: 100% for the first offense, an increase for the second, and so forth.

And did I see that teams have to have at least three players dressed for the game? Why not five, at the very least?

Your post is wrong on so many counts but I'll try to dissect. First of all, whether "virtual fans" are the ones being conned is moot. By reducing his expenses, he's earning more money, which he can turn around and use to purchase better players, which affects everyone in his league and the general market for that matter. That, in and of itself, is not the issue. The issue is circumventing a flaw in the match engine that allows him to have no players and still play games. That, my friend, is an exploit in the very sense of the word.




Last edited by Foto at 5/23/2010 7:44:53 AM

the thing is though the player isnt cheating at all, his actually being quite smart as prices for players are gradually coming down so his 35 mil in todays market may get him alot more in tomorrows market.

his playing within the rules of the governing body of this basketball management game , which is clearly not cheating, its pretty stupid that u are allowed to do this how eva .
personally i think it shouldnt be allowed but at this point in time it is so good play to the lad, smart move to build for the future (aslong as prices continue to drop)

Exploits exist because of some oversight by the game designers. It needs to be "doable" for the exploit to be possible. To say he's not "cheating" because the game lets him do what he's doing is a poor excuse. Let's use some common sense here. Like that other poster said, this is a "management" game first and foremost. Does it make any realistic sense to continue to hold games when you have no players?

Anyway, all this back and forth about this topic is pretty pointless if we don't have any official word from the developers if their intention was that you could fire or sell all your players and still function as a team.

My opinion - what is allowed is legal. such problems are the fault of game designers and not the players. if he had a roaster of 5 or even 10 $1K salary players doing the same, nobody should even mention it. Exploiting "holes" in the mechanism is a part of the real world. it happens everywhere, not just in this game. So our job is to suggest BB-ers how not let such things happen.

Forbidding to have a roaster below X players will not help because one may just buy 10-15 players with 1K$ salary each. What can be done is that the TV contract money plus merchandise will not exceed the summary of player salaries, otherwise the difference will be reduced first from merchandise and then (if there is still a difference) - from TV contract.

The attendance should depend much more on the results, not only W/L, but also the difference. For example losing by more than 100 at home will lead to no attendance at all. losing by 50 means that only half of attendees that should be in this game (according to today`s rules) will actually attend, and so on. Technical forefits will also lead to no attenders of course.

In this case, this guy should have ZERO income!

regardless its still not cheating

Agree it isnt cheating but it is stupid. While you can't force a team to play a decent team - have a look at NJ or WAS this season, you can force them to play some sort of team. If a team dresses less than 5 players for a game they should be "fined" their weekly TV money and gate money. Easily solved. While playing a bunch of "b" team scrubs isn't the best it does make more sense than playing no-one at all.

A more difficult fix would be doing something about their season ticket holders that could have a long term impact that would put people off doing this. I think this should also apply to people who tank a season and I am in this situation right now where I could do that but I am still trying.

i think this is it really - im sure the designers never thought this would be appropriate and/or correctly rewarded given there seems to be little negative impact on total revenues.

5 reasons for restricting zero-rostering or changing the financial consequences of doing so, are in bold below:

From the BB front page:

"Have you got what it takes to be the best?

BuzzerBeater is an online basketball simulation game that pits you against other managers across the planet. Play head-to-head against other challengers, employing strategic game play and statistical analysis. Go beyond fantasy basketball and run your own franchise.

Take your team to the top of your league. Then continue up the BuzzerBeater ranks to beat out managers from around the world. No excuses. No retreat. Just you and 59254 opponents who would like nothing better than to run you out of the gym.

Realistic basketball action. Play the most advanced basketball simulation and coaching AI ever released. Watch games live on a state-of-the-art viewer.
You're the manager. You pick the players, you train them, and you tell them how to play. Want a bigger arena? Build it. Want to draft a superstar? It's all about scouting. You make the decisions and you’re in charge!

BuzzerBeater never sleeps, so why should you? Sign up now to play against the greatest basketball managers in the world. And hey... it’s free!"

I think the last reason says it all!

Last edited by Fluff at 5/23/2010 7:10:57 AM

You're the manager. You pick the players, you train them, and you tell them how to play. Want a bigger arena? Build it. Want to draft a superstar? It's all about scouting. You make the decisions and you’re in charge!

That supports the argument that he has the right to not have any players at all and still receive a lot of income.

Although I think that if you forfeit a game, there should simply be no attendance money. No need to affect tv income of fine people etc. No attendance money is more than enough of a deterrant.

Agreed.