#88 NewSim v0.4.0 Changelog

[Rocketcan]

Hello coaches!

 

Here is the changelog for NewSim v0.4.0.

Bug Fixes:

• Games should no longer end on a defensive penalty.
• Teams should no longer kick extra points after a walk-off touchdown.
• Teams should no longer kick field goals when down by more than 3 late in the game or in OT.
• Fixed how punts and punting stats are reported.
• Teams should no longer go for it on 4th down when the following conditions are true:
  • It is the 2nd Quarter
  • There are fewer than 2 minutes left on the clock
  • The ball is on their own side of the 50 yard line.
• There should no longer be any plays after a kickoff that should be the last play of a game.

New Features:

• Weather. All games will have weather generated for them based on historical average data for that location. If the game is played in a non-protected stadium, the elements will have an effect on the games. All effects will max out at about 10%, but can stack based on things like very windy and rainy or snowy games. These effects will consist of the following:
  • Indoor games will have things like field goals, punting, throwing, etc. receive a very slight boost.
  • Windy (10+ mph) games will poorly affect things like field goals, punting, throwing, etc. Maluses increase with the severity of the wind.
  • Hot games will reduce the stamina of all players. Maluses increase with the severity of the heat.
  • Cold games will reduce attributes like throwing, catching, and carrying. Maluses increase with the severity of the cold.
  • Wet (rain, snow, icy mix, etc.) games will have maluses to things like throwing, catching, carrying, etc. Maluses increase with the severity of the precipitation.
• Weather Forecasts. These will be released the Tuesday before games are run so that coaches will have time to adjust their gameplans based on the forecast. Reports will NOT be 100% accurate and will likely deviate slightly from the true numbers (temperature or amount of precipitation), but will always be in the ballpark. A Weather Forecast will contain the following information:
  • Which game the weather report is for, including the week.
  • Where the game is located.
  • High temperature (games played during the day and late afternoon will likely be around this temperature)
  • Low temperature (games played at night will likely be around this temperature)
  • Precipitation (light rain, heavy snow, etc.)
  • Cloudiness (mostly clear, overcast, etc.)
  • Windiness (breezy, calm, etc.)
• NFL Players will now retire as they get older and cannot compete on the same level that they used to.
• Scheme Change Penalties. Teams are now free to adjust their schemes at will and without telling their opponents. However, doing so will result in severe penalties to the team's execution. These penalties start at 25% the first week and drop over the next few weeks. BYE weeks are counted in this, so changing your scheme during a BYE week can greatly reduce the penalties your team receives. See Dev Diary #84.
• Player Injuries. Players can now get hurt during games. These can range from injuries that only last a quarter and the player can return that same game all the way to season-ending ACL tears. The types of injuries are based on length of time out and position the player was playing when they were hurt. See Dev Diary #86.
• Blowout Substitutions. If your team is leading big in the 3rd or 4th quarter, the engine will put in your backups. The threshold in the 3rd quarter is 40 point lead, and the 4th quarter is 24 point lead. In addition, for NCAA games, your 3rd string QB will be put in if the lead is 60 points in the 3rd quarter or 35 points in the 4th. The following positions will have their backups put in if the backup threshold is met:
  • QB1
  • RB1
  • WR1
  • TE1
  • Top 3 OL by overall
  • LE1
  • DT1
  • RE1
  • LOLB1
  • MLB1
  • ROLB1
  • CB1
  • FS1
  • SS1

Balance Changes:

• Homefield Advantage has been tweaked. v0.3.x would have over 73% win rates for home teams. This has been reduced to ~55-61% which is much closer to the real-life values of ~60%. See Dev Diary #78.
• Adjusted punting values.
• Improved field goal and extra point rolls. There should be a higher percentage of extra points and field goals being made this season.
• Scramblers have had all penalties for passing removed. This results in a slightly better completion percentage and more TDs and fewer INTs. They are still the worst archetype for a pure passing offense, but should be somewhat more usable now. Their best attribute is still their ability to run the ball, however.

Misc:

• Several under-the-hood optimizations and changes to simplify my terrible code.
• Added a way for the engine to re-arrange depth charts in the middle of a game if a player is injured.

 

Feel free to ask any questions on these changes here.