If it's truly about just running a team, you shouldn't be able to set the initial line-up and setup the training regime. That would be the coach/trainer job as well.
It seems pretty fair to me. It only applies to the teams that are participating in that match and only them. Other teams have no influence on that match whatsoever, with or without the changes made during the Quarters. If both teams are allowed to change during each Q than both teams have the same chance. But i can see where you are coming from that some people might feel that some have more control than others due to this.
Any other unfairness factors i can't think of at the moment.
Conceptually, you can always give the coach instructions about what to do with the squad, and how strictly to enforce your guidelines -- but it's him who makes the decision from the bench, not you.
As for fairness, look at it this way: 'managing your own team' will either be superior to simulating the game automatically, or it would be inferior. If it is inferior, it's useless. If it is superior, then everyone who's willing to waste the time is given an advantage over everyone else in their group who don't have the time to waste.
In all likelihood, it will be the latter case, and not the former. It does not affect just your chances in any given game, it affects your chances in the whole league over the course of a whole season.
And all in all, it is just not the way games like this one are designed to work, and work. Not having to spend an exorbitant amount of time on the game is what is going to let us widen the userbase -- otherwise you might as well play NBA Live with the AI.
Last edited by GM-kozlodoev at 9/20/2008 8:08:29 PM
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."