Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Coach Graham Sims: A Pennsylvania Story (FBCB)

MoonlightGraham · 01-04-2024, 12:07 PM

I'm going to step outside of the narrative of Coach Sims' career to write about a project I've been working on. If you don't think it will be fun to read my ramblings about it, you won't miss a thing if you simply skip this post.

The idea started taking shape as I was creating Coach Sims' basketball-playing son, Duncan. I had never used the editor much, other than to add some private schools to my game's database or change the spelling of a player's name ("Mcdonald" to "McDonald," for example.) I decided it might be fun to create some high school players and add them to the pool of Future Recruits.

I didn't want to simply start typing numbers into the boxes for their ratings. I decided it would be fun to make a "game" of it instead. I love rolling dice, and I envisioned myself rolling and looking at a table to determine what kinds of players my creations would be.

My first attempt didn't turn out as well as I hoped. I created a table for each of the five positions, against which I'd reference a roll of a d12. Even though I thought I created realistic ranges for each position--guards would be better perimeter defenders, bigs would be better shot blockers--I still ended up with players who had some funky skill sets. They didn't feel like real players to me.

So, back to the drawing board I went. I came up with something that (1) is simpler and (2) seems to be more realistic.

When I look at a player's ratings in FBCB, I can often visualize what kind of player he will be. He might remind me of a real college basketball player I've watched. I decided to use this principle in creating my recruits.

I came up with four simple archetypes for each position.

PG: Facilitator, Perimeter Defender, Scoring Point, and Complete Guard
SG: Sharpshooter, Secondary Creator, Perimeter Defender, and Complete Guard/Wing
SF: Three-Level Scorer, Wing Defender, Point Forward, and Complete Wing
PF: Stretch Four, Blue Collar Man, Scoring Post, and Complete Post
C: Athletic Big, Blue Collar Man, Scoring Post, and Complete Post

I roll a d12 and use the result to assign an archetype to the player.

The Complete archetypes are what the name implies: they're well-balanced, all-around basketball players who can do things many players at their position can't do. They are rare and special.

The Blue Collar Man is a strong inside player who excels at rebounding, playing post defense, and blocking shots. I've used that term to refer to several players in my dynasty, such as Samuel Davis.

I had a hard time coming up with unique archetypes for PF and C. They seem almost interchangeable in FBCB, especially the way I coach. The Stretch Four is a good outside shooter, and the Athletic Big is quick and likes to attack the rim.

I then created a table that assigns potential ratings to each archetype, based on a die roll. For example, a Facilitator PG gets a potential Passing rating of 70+d20. If I roll a natural 20, I roll the d20 again and add that total to reach his final score. He'll probably reach 100 if that's the case. And if I roll a 1, he'll still be able to develop into a very good distributor, with a rating of 71. The Facilitator will have lower ratings for skills that aren't essential to his role, such as Shot Blocking, Post Defense, and Strength.

After I get his potential ratings, I fill in his actual ratings. I do that more randomly; some players are more developed than others.

It's worked fairly well so far. I just rolled up a center who's a Blue Collar Man. His key potentials are very good: Offensive Rebounding is 93, Defensive Rebounding is 74, Shot Blocking is 81. He ends up being a three-star player. I also created a Complete Wing who is a five-star player, and a Secondary Creator who had a few unlucky, low rolls and earned two stars.

I'm probably going to tweak it a bit more, but I'm pleased with how it's turned out so far.

01-04-2024, 12:07 PM	#452
MoonlightGraham High School Varsity Join Date: Sep 2022	I'm going to step outside of the narrative of Coach Sims' career to write about a project I've been working on. If you don't think it will be fun to read my ramblings about it, you won't miss a thing if you simply skip this post. The idea started taking shape as I was creating Coach Sims' basketball-playing son, Duncan. I had never used the editor much, other than to add some private schools to my game's database or change the spelling of a player's name ("Mcdonald" to "McDonald," for example.) I decided it might be fun to create some high school players and add them to the pool of Future Recruits. I didn't want to simply start typing numbers into the boxes for their ratings. I decided it would be fun to make a "game" of it instead. I love rolling dice, and I envisioned myself rolling and looking at a table to determine what kinds of players my creations would be. My first attempt didn't turn out as well as I hoped. I created a table for each of the five positions, against which I'd reference a roll of a d12. Even though I thought I created realistic ranges for each position--guards would be better perimeter defenders, bigs would be better shot blockers--I still ended up with players who had some funky skill sets. They didn't feel like real players to me. So, back to the drawing board I went. I came up with something that (1) is simpler and (2) seems to be more realistic. When I look at a player's ratings in FBCB, I can often visualize what kind of player he will be. He might remind me of a real college basketball player I've watched. I decided to use this principle in creating my recruits. I came up with four simple archetypes for each position. PG: Facilitator, Perimeter Defender, Scoring Point, and Complete Guard SG: Sharpshooter, Secondary Creator, Perimeter Defender, and Complete Guard/Wing SF: Three-Level Scorer, Wing Defender, Point Forward, and Complete Wing PF: Stretch Four, Blue Collar Man, Scoring Post, and Complete Post C: Athletic Big, Blue Collar Man, Scoring Post, and Complete Post I roll a d12 and use the result to assign an archetype to the player. The Complete archetypes are what the name implies: they're well-balanced, all-around basketball players who can do things many players at their position can't do. They are rare and special. The Blue Collar Man is a strong inside player who excels at rebounding, playing post defense, and blocking shots. I've used that term to refer to several players in my dynasty, such as Samuel Davis. I had a hard time coming up with unique archetypes for PF and C. They seem almost interchangeable in FBCB, especially the way I coach. The Stretch Four is a good outside shooter, and the Athletic Big is quick and likes to attack the rim. I then created a table that assigns potential ratings to each archetype, based on a die roll. For example, a Facilitator PG gets a potential Passing rating of 70+d20. If I roll a natural 20, I roll the d20 again and add that total to reach his final score. He'll probably reach 100 if that's the case. And if I roll a 1, he'll still be able to develop into a very good distributor, with a rating of 71. The Facilitator will have lower ratings for skills that aren't essential to his role, such as Shot Blocking, Post Defense, and Strength. After I get his potential ratings, I fill in his actual ratings. I do that more randomly; some players are more developed than others. It's worked fairly well so far. I just rolled up a center who's a Blue Collar Man. His key potentials are very good: Offensive Rebounding is 93, Defensive Rebounding is 74, Shot Blocking is 81. He ends up being a three-star player. I also created a Complete Wing who is a five-star player, and a Secondary Creator who had a few unlucky, low rolls and earned two stars. I'm probably going to tweak it a bit more, but I'm pleased with how it's turned out so far.