Subject: I.1

Leggman's team is really the only run away team, previoulsy followed up be Red Wings and maybe Notso (both dead teams now). I really dont know what everyone currently makes in our league but the only time leggman ever shared I should how much more he made than everyone else. As for the rest of us I think the wealth is pretty spread going down the board. It may not be close enough for everyones liking but it shouldn't be to close.

Do I think that I will ever catch leggman, yes! Once he finally has had it with this game and quits, that is. Sometimes you just have to outlast you competition. With alot of teams folding as of late, it has put other teams now in the running to place in the top 8, which will equal out to more money and more wins for them.

I stated playing the game back during the beta run of hockey started in league II, moved up to league I by season and have been a decent team ever since. There have been others like Vowels who stated in league III moved all the way up to leage I and eclipsed me in strength and potential but gave up on the game. I can name a few other but my point is if you don't stick around the game long enough, you will never get better.

If all you want to do is join a game and be the best team within 3 seasons, then this is not a game for you.

When the second best team in the nation quits this game, it tells you a lot how the things stand.

The only way other teams can catch the top dogs, is if they create money feature advantages.

Like pay 10 dollars and you can increase particular player OR by 50 or so.

But than again money bags will run this game.

It's not just the Force. Other teams in other countries are even stronger than Legg's. It's crazy.

Nevertheless, one should have realistic goals. I play this game for fun and don't spend more than 20-30 minutes on it a day. So I really don't mind if I get blown out at league 1.1 or win a tight one against a team I should easily beat. Remember, this is the European model so people are content (in other countries) to battle in their own divisions.

That statement feels a bit idiotic, this is not the European model this just happen to be this game. Conversely you are saying that Americans can't play in a tiered divisional system because that is beneath them somehow... they all have to be in top division? I play another management game and have moved up from the 9th tier division up to second tier below top. That game enables good managers to win games with tactics in the game, it also had mechanisms that made players too expensive it trained too high, thus the highest team would fold economically if they did not manage resources, good managers have stayed competitive for 20-30 seasons. but you could easily compete in a shorter time frame if you knew what you were doing, here tactics a super simple, players are built to the same specs and thus no variation exists.
Most managers want to improve their team and reach the top, many realize they will not be best of tens of thousands of teams, but they will try to reach at least their potential, here it is not my potential I can reach I can only reached a fixed level based on when I started and if previous teams stop playing or stay in the game. I predict changes will come, but they should have been incorporated right away in the game mechanics.

If my statement feels idiotic to you don't read it then. And when did I ever say that Americans can't play in a tiered divisional system? And when did I say that any system is beneath "Americans"?
Dude, relax next time before typing up strong replies like that because it just shows that you don't really know my stance on the issue.

Wouland, your assumptions about J0J0's post aside, your point about the tactics are valid.

I'm not a programmer so I don't know how much work it would be to code all of it, but they already have different styles of play built into the game. They could definitely change the code so that each different style had a player build that suited it better than others.

Please understand that this has nothing to do with my team or my ability to catch the top teams. This is not about what I could do. I'm not complaining about my situation. And this certainly isn't about being able to compete with Leggmann in three seasons.

I want to fix the game so other people feel like they have a chance. That's what makes these games fun. Several competitive divisions full of teams who know they can get to the top if they are good managers. And I want it to be hard to stay on top. That's not even close to the situation we're in.

And this isn't new. opivy was screaming about this from the beginning. And Jackson Jaguars quit in season 4(?) because he knew it too. I think most people knew there was a problem, but like me, kept hoping PPM was right about player salaries, or they would do something to fix it. It's not happening and it's killing the game in the US.

Also, I don't want to divulge exact numbers because it's not my place to do so, but Leggs is making twice as much as the other top teams were a couple of seasons ago. Probably three times as much as several playoff teams in I.1. The game can not work like that. It doesn't matter if it's the Force, or the High Headerz, or the Goldfish, or the Boilermakers. The game is as good as dead when teams can get so far ahead of everyone else.

Leggmann's not even trying anymore. He's got everything maxed and he makes the most money. He's making so much money that he doesn't even need to play the market. Before his recent sell-off, he averaged less than 200M per season from player/staff sales over the last 4-5 seasons.

So even if someone got close to him, he could easily start flipping players to widen the gap again. There is literally no way to catch him unless he quits. Which wouldn't solve anything because the next best team would step into his shoes and start raking in the sponsor money. We might get lucky and have 3-4 teams fighting over his scraps. I'd like to say that that would give other teams a chance to win, but that simply isn't the case in most countries. Most of them are dominated by 1-4 teams because it's too easy to stay on top.

That needs to be fixed. We have to rein in he money given out and we have to penalize the I.1 champs. It should be hard to stay on top, dammit.

I think player salaries should increase 50% every time you win your league. Kind of like when the Chicago Blackhawks won the cup, they had several players who left for more money, 50-100% more than their salary the previous season. I know it isn't exactly the same since there is not a salary cap but it would start making the winners players become much more expensive.

I also think they need to change the length of contracts. Where in the world do contracts expire in the middle of the season? I think they all need to be 112 days, from day 1 of the season to the last day of the season. New contracts come after the season and playoffs are over.

What is a fair number of seasons that you think it should take for someone to be able to compete with a top team?

I understand the fustration of not being able to complete and unfortunatly I look one sided in my arguements since I have decent teams in both sports, but do we want a game where you get punished severly when you put together a winning team? Or give handicaps to lower teams to make them more competitive? Where would be the pride for teams if the only really you succeed is with a handicap!

I guess the question is what will make poeple happy? Putting a cap on how many times some can win a league? You won the last 2 years give someone else a chance! When poeple play video games do you call up the developer and tell them you want you money back because you can't win. Everyone has the same rules to operate undering in this game, it may take 10 years but one day everyone will have maxed out and start to save up money like leggy (sorry to drag you into this leggman). I just think people don't want to play a game that takes that much time.

I see you keep mentioning boilermakers and my soccer team High Headerz, neither or us have turely dominated soccer to even really be included in this discussion. I have only won the league once and I think boliers twice.

As I said before, it comes down to what your goals are in this game. If you came to play a game and form rivials with people within you division or that are close to your current strength, then this game is for you. If you want to be a top team in 3-4 seasons then I recommend finding a new game. This is just a slow moving game!

It is slow moving.. and I am not arguing that I should win all the time or I'm going to take my ball and go home. It's like someone else mentioned... Most managers want to improve their team and reach the top, many realize they will not be best of tens of thousands of teams, but they will try to reach at least their potential, here it is not my potential I can reach I can only reached a fixed level based on when I started and if previous teams stop playing or stay in the game. It's a glass ceiling. There's not much I can do within the game to maybe slightly close the gap and make myself more competitive. Tactically I can't do much, monetarily.... already beat that dead horse.. etc

Bottom line, lower tier teams are basically stuck on a see-saw. Beat up on bot teams, then promote. Get killed in upper division, get relegated. Beat up on bot teams..... and the cycle repeats itself. And that right there is an obvious problem.

Say you keep playing and dont quit, wont you evently max out you stadium & facilities? If they become maxed won't you tem be able to pocket more money? After that then you can slowly aquire some talented players. Players age and eventiually...you know what, nevermind. I see a possilbe end to even some things out about this game but it's more like a 5 year plan than anything else.

I think you are wrong though, this is not a slow moving game as it is not moving at all! you gave the best example yourself, you said you would overtake Leggman only if he quits... that is by definition not overtaking.
And you mention that teams would get handicaps that is a bit odd since you are now getting a handicap to next season if you end high, if everyone made the same money then THAT would be no handicap.... right now there is handicaps where some team gets more money, which I think there should be rightfully so as a reward for performing well. But saying that giving all teams similar money is giving a handicap is a bit off. it is rather a handicap if any team is given another amount then the other teams...

Imagine if sponsor money was more connected to OTR? the gaps would still exist, if you played well you get more money, but the team in 3rd division would still get 1/3 of what a top team gets. That deficit would take years to overcome. BUT it would be much smaller than today's system where I have already increased my sponsor intake by 10-fold! and I am nowhere near a top team.

My bigger gripe is though that there is a lack of mechanics to topple over a team financially.. .the game is just way too easy... if player salaries could go too high top teams training badly would be forced to sell off players to stay afloat. it would offer a challenger rather than today's version where it is a single tactic and no variation.

Like Mmessner9 said there is mechanics in the game, they just haven't made an effort to make tactics, formation choices, financial choices etc matter for individual games or long term team building...
I am not proud to have outlasted anyone, I would be proud to have outplayed an opponent or simply managed my team better, but there is no significant such capability. Of course one can run a team to the brink, and invest badly, or even over pay for players and loose competitiveness, but if you are looking carefully you can see that all those are a case of avoiding bad choices... there are no smart choices to bring you and the team ahead versus less intelligent but still smart/good actions.

damn. not sure if I'm popular or infamous...

personally I'd be happier with the game if it were more competitive between top tier teams and the next tier down too - there isn't too much excitement in the league games anymore (especially with the Fastos and WINGS gone - they were good teams) I've been concentrating more on catching the pretty tits for the past 2-3 years than anything else and haven't gotten close to 'em yet

I haven't done the math in a while, but I don't think a III league team can max their facilities before maintenance uses up all their money and stops progress.