The Sandbox Suggestion Box ("Sandgestion Box")

[DJ's left nut]

Clay's concerns about sniping were also warranted.

I've seen too many people fly under the radar for a day, only to have multiple bids rocket them up to believe otherwise.

I still think getting rid of the damn clock takes care of this. You can just sort by the clock time and know everyone that's rec'd a bid. You can even wait until there's an hour or so left and then toss another bid in.

Nobody knows when/how a FA is going to make up their minds, it makes no sense to me at all to have a running clock that tells everyone exactly who's getting offers and when.

I know the goal was 'complete transparency', but there's entirely too much of it. There's really no incentive at all to have done your homework here.

EDIT: Even if CD wants to make sure that there's 3 days after each bid before it closes (which is way way too much time, IMO), there's still no reason at all to make it obvious when that three days expires. You can have your consistent time periods without also having a running clock alongside for everyone to sit there and stare at.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Clay's concerns about sniping were also warranted.

I've seen too many people fly under the radar for a day, only to have multiple bids rocket them up to believe otherwise.

I still think getting rid of the damn clock takes care of this. You can just sort by the clock time and know everyone that's rec'd a bid. You can even wait until there's an hour or so left and then toss another bid in.

Nobody knows when/how a FA is going to make up their minds, it makes no sense to me at all to have a running clock that tells everyone exactly who's getting offers and when.

I know the goal was 'complete transparency', but there's entirely too much of it. There's really no incentive at all to have done your homework here.

EDIT: Even if CD wants to make sure that there's 3 days after each bid before it closes (which is way way too much time, IMO), there's still no reason at all to make it obvious when that three days expires. You can have your consistent time periods without also having a running clock alongside for everyone to sit there and stare at.

I agree 100% with this as well.

[rageeumr]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Clay's concerns about sniping were also warranted.

I've seen too many people fly under the radar for a day, only to have multiple bids rocket them up to believe otherwise.

I still think getting rid of the damn clock takes care of this. You can just sort by the clock time and know everyone that's rec'd a bid. You can even wait until there's an hour or so left and then toss another bid in.

Nobody knows when/how a FA is going to make up their minds, it makes no sense to me at all to have a running clock that tells everyone exactly who's getting offers and when.

I know the goal was 'complete transparency', but there's entirely too much of it. There's really no incentive at all to have done your homework here.

EDIT: Even if CD wants to make sure that there's 3 days after each bid before it closes (which is way way too much time, IMO), there's still no reason at all to make it obvious when that three days expires. You can have your consistent time periods without also having a running clock alongside for everyone to sit there and stare at.

All of this.

I feel like the hours I spent researching were a pretty big waste of time. I'm not bitter, I knew the rules going in. But I don't think the system as it stands today is optimum.

I think every player (or at least MOST players) should have an immediate signing threshold. If you bid over $300 for Sherman he's yours. The actual number shouldn't be public knowledge.

Or perhaps an algorithm that assigns a percentage chance for an immediate signing that increases in probability as the bids get higher (a guy has a .0001% chance of immediately signing for $1, but a 75% chance of signing immediately for $250).

There needs to be an incentive to bid early and often. Otherwise the snipers have all the leverage.

I also think the whole system is a bit too transparent. To best illustrate what really happens in the NFL, the waters need to be muddied a bit, IMO. An NFL GM has an agent and other GMs for sources, neither of which may be telling them the whole story. I'm not sure how you implement that into the game, but I think it would be an improvement.

[Old Dog]

Originally Posted by rageeumr

All of this.

I feel like the hours I spent researching were a pretty big waste of time. I'm not bitter, I knew the rules going in. But I don't think the system as it stands today is optimum.

I think every player (or at least MOST players) should have an immediate signing threshold. If you bid over $300 for Sherman he's yours. That shouldn't be public knowledge.

Or perhaps an algorithm that assigns a percentage chance for an immediate signing that increases in probability as the bids get higher (a guy has a .0001% chance of immediately signing for $1, but a 75% chance of signing immediately for $250).

I like this idea.

I deleted the rest of his post since I don't see how the snipers have any leverage whatsoever as the clock doesn't end, it just restarts with each new bid.

[rageeumr]

Originally Posted by Old Dog

I like this idea.

I deleted the rest of his post since I don't see how the snipers have any leverage whatsoever as the clock doesn't end, it just restarts with each new bid.

Leverage might have been a bad choice of words. But there is no incentive to do any research and there is no incentive to bid until the last minute.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by rageeumr

All of this.

I feel like the hours I spent researching were a pretty big waste of time. I'm not bitter, I knew the rules going in. But I don't think the system as it stands today is optimum.

I think every player (or at least MOST players) should have an immediate signing threshold. If you bid over $300 for Sherman he's yours. The actual number shouldn't be public knowledge.

Or perhaps an algorithm that assigns a percentage chance for an immediate signing that increases in probability as the bids get higher (a guy has a .0001% chance of immediately signing for $1, but a 75% chance of signing immediately for $250).

There needs to be an incentive to bid early and often. Otherwise the snipers have all the leverage.

I also think the whole system is a bit too transparent. To best illustrate what really happens in the NFL, the waters need to be muddied a bit, IMO. An NFL GM has an agent and other GMs for sources, neither of which may be telling them the whole story. I'm not sure how you implement that into the game, but I think it would be an improvement.

I don't like the immediate signing. it caters to the person that clicks the button first.

Here's a thought though. Instead of having the nickel and dime micro-transactions that go back and forth. Make it a 3-bid limit per player... meaning you can only bid 3 times for that player. Once you've bid that third time You've submitted your highest. Will make people actually bid closer to what they'd be willing to pay rather than just doing $1 over the most recent, repeatedly. This only works if the bid owner is private though.

[Rain Man]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

As background for people, recognize that we're running a compressed process right now, so this is probably not really how it's going to run in future seasons. In future seasons the free agent signing period is going to occur during the NFL season, and you're gong to be pursuing free agents on a staggered basis rather than seeing the whole league at once (based on our current plans). This means that a longer window may be required on the bidding.

Linked to that is, quite frankly, our business goal of keeping people involved in the league so our paying customers don't wander off and start playing Tetris or something during the offseason. We want their involvement to be year-round at a low intensity with a big burst during the Sandbox season in February and March. So we need a system that is strategic in nature and keeps people active at a low but sustainable level over a 16 to 20 week "Sandbox offseason". So as you're providing feedback, please keep that in mind.

We'll keep improving it and appreciate the feedback. But the real test is going to come in the next free agent period after this when we enter the real-time league calendar.