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Welcome to the start of our developer diary series for our upcoming release of Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016. Today we take a look at new player categories in the game.
One of the most exciting changes in Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016 is new player categories that allow every athlete to have a unique game. Gone are the days where a player was simply either a perimeter or post player, and understanding how these new categories work will be essential to building a championship team.
The first new categories are Floor Range and Ball Actions. Floor Range is distributed among four areas: Post, Midrange, Corner and Above Break. Together, they tell you often a player attempts a shot from a given area on the floor. Let’s take a look at the player card for Russell Westbrook for an example.
Westbrook sports a well balanced offensive attack
Westbrook is a very well rounded player in terms of his floor range. On average, he shoots 26% of the time in the paint, 25% of his shots come from midrange, and the other half of his shots are from three point land. But he also very rarely takes a corner three (The Corner rating) because his role as primary ball handler in the offense leaves him Above The Break much more frequently. Teammate Steven Adams is a completely different type of player, as we see below.
Adams lives in the paint
Adams almost exclusively shoots the ball from the post area, with only the occasional jump shot sprinkled in. Usually the jump shot happens when the shot clock is about to expire, and he has no choice but to shoot.
The Floor Range gives you valuable insight in building your team. If you have a player like Westbrook, who you know wants to get to the paint for at least a quarter of his shots, then you have to decide if a player like Adams actually hurts your team offensively.
If you feel your best strategy is to try and draw opposing big men away from the basket to free up the lane for drives, then a player like Adams will hinder that, and you would want to find a center with much more range. However, if you are running a high number of pick and rolls in your offense, with the goal of getting more inside shots, then Adams may be your man because you know he will pretty much roll every time to the basket – as opposed to another big man who may tend to pick and pop for a jump shot more often.
Floor Range is only half the equation this year. The Ball Actions ratings are what truly distinguish a player’s style, and creates a unique player. For example, let’s take a look at Klay Thompson:
Thompson’s bread and butter is catch and shoot
There are six actions a player can take: Drive and Pass, Drive and Shoot, Catch and Shoot, Dribble and Shoot, Post Up, and Pass. Thompson is clearly a player who prefers to do something with the ball when he has it – over 40% of the time. Thompson’s biggest tendency is to catch and shoot at 21%. You can see that his Drawing Fouls rating is not very good, which would be expected from a player who relies so heavily on working off of cuts and screens to shoot the basketball. Let’s compare him to another shooting guard.
Wade likes to put the rock on the floor
Dwayne Wade, despite playing the same position as Thompson, is a completely different player. Wade is much more willing to pass the ball, and while Thompson only tries to drive about 6% of the time, Wade more than doubles that at 14%. In addition, with 14% of his possessions Wade will attempt pull-up jumpers. So nearly 30% of the time Wade gets the ball, he’s going to put the ball on the floor to make a move. The question then arises – how do you want to construct your team? Do you need a playmaker at shooting guard who can help get the opponent in foul trouble and create open shot looks for teammates with his driving ability, or do you already have a playmaker and need the guy who prefers to knock down jumpers?
These new ratings open up a world of possibilities for you in building a team. You’re not simply just compiling guards that have minor differences. Each player has their own personal basketball makeup, and will impact the rest of the team. That means you’re going to have to dig deep and use your basketball knowledge to build the ultimate roster.
Merely compiling talent isn’t going to be enough anymore. It’s not even going to be enough to understand how the basic shot types work. In previous versions, you could do that – make sure you had a balance of good post, jump, and 3 point shooters – and your offense would be good. Now you need to understand how Floor Range and Ball Actions work together to allow a player to express their basketball style, and how those different play types fit together on the court.
The post DDS: Pro Basketball 2016 Dev Diary – New Player Categories appeared first on Wolverine Studios.
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Welcome to the first walk-through of Franchise Hockey Manager 2. Franchise Hockey Manager 2 is a very deep game, featuring 21 different leagues from across the world, and a historical mode allowing you to play any NHL season from 1931 to the present day! When you first get started, there are a number of different […]
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“For me, OOTP is more than a sim – it’s a role-playing game, probably one of the greatest RPGs ever created,” says Mike Dunn, who used the game to create an elaborate fictional world that became the basis for his novel Lord Bart and the Leagues of SIP and ALE. The book is currently available […]
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One of the most exciting years for the Top Eleven Managers so far is just behind us!It was an amazing start of the year with our Top Eleven 2015 update and we continued improving your experience throughout the year!
Some of the biggest updates were the new live match engine, player ratings during the match, the assistant manager as well as some features that improved the social aspects of the game.
With so many great things accomplished in 2015, we are looking forward to beginning the new year with some long awaited updates coming, starting with a completely redesigned training feature and much more!
Check out the video below to find the Top Eleven’s year in review!
The post Let’s welcome Top Eleven 2016 appeared first on Top Eleven - Be a Football Manager.
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Football season doesn’t have to come to an end just yet! We are giving away FIVE copies of DDS:Pro Football 2016 and winning couldn’t be easier. Here’s what you have to do for a chance to win.
THE GAME
Want to learn more about DDS: Pro Football 2016? Visit our DDS:PF homepage – you can even download the game files as a free demo!FOLLOW
Follow @wolverinestudio on TwitterRETWEET OUR POST
Retweet this tweet by Wolverine Studios – don’t forget to include #DDSPFWIN
Five entrants will be chosen at random to win a free license for DDS: Pro Football 2016.CONTEST DETAILS
One entry per person, winners will be chosen at random on 1/8/16 and notified via Twitter. If a winner already has purchased a copy of DDS:PF 2016 they may substitute another game for their prize.The post Would you like a chance to win a copy of DDS: Pro Football 2016? appeared first on Wolverine Studios.
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Recapping 2015I always feel like I don’t have enough time to focus on Pennant Chase, but when I look back at the accomplishments in 2015, I am amazed at the game-changing enhancements that took place.The year started with the launch of a new mobile app, which has been essential to driving new users to the site. In April we introduced Player Potential, which had been at the top of the wishlist for a long time. And in June we started rolling out Daily Draft leagues, which provided an exciting alternative to the typical auto draft. Once the MLB season ended, 2015 stats were once again uploaded in record time – stats were in the database the day after the season ended!Finally, in December, we had an exciting opportunity to make a radio ad with two passionate users of this website who landed their own weekend radio show on ESPN in New Hampshire.And as always, there were countless glitch fixes and minor enhancements that made the game even more solid than ever. So while I never really get to spend as much time as I want on the site, 2015 was a year full of tremendous improvements. The current state of Pennant ChasePennant Chase is holding steady, so I don’t see any current risk to the site proceeding as it always has. But, the user base is starting to thin out as online gamers continue to be flooded with so many options. The radio ad did not bring any new users to the site, even though it was a worthy attempt and a lot of fun to create.Every year I clean out old users who have not logged on in over five years, and this year over 3,000 accounts were deleted, bringing us down to about 10,500 accounts. If we drop below 10,000 next year, that would be a cause for concern and potentially not enough growth to sustain the website long term. But, the users we do have are incredibly passionate and play on the website often. You guys keep this thing going! Ad revenue continues to take a hit due to the increasing popularity of ad blockers, so in 2016, I will be making regular appeals for people to consider unblocking ads for pennantchase.com. Donations are becoming a more critical stream to keeping this website running. Thank you donors! Pennant Chase will always be free.Overall, the site is in fine condition, but I will be continuing to look at ways to obtain new users in a cost-effective manner. What’s to come in 2016The biggest task on my list for early 2016 is to deal with the plethora of Auto Leagues. We simply have too many leagues and they stall out for much too long, causing a lot of frustration. I have never deleted leagues before, but it’s time to start purging leagues so that we have the right number for the amount of users we have. My goal is to retain any individual awards and trophies even if an Auto League gets deleted. Owners will have warning if a league is going to be shut down. There are still many requests on the wishlist, but I have to say none of them are hugely impactful. It’s going to be a crazy year for me personally and professionally, so I don’t know yet which items I will manage to get to in 2016, but you can be sure the site will always keep improving, as it does year after year.Many of you keep asking about other sports, like football. I never seem to be able to make as much progress as I want, but as crazy as it sounds, I am still hopeful Pennant Chase will grow beyond just baseball – maybe 2016 is the year!Thank you PC fans!You guys have been great this past year, and I thank everyone who continues to make this website the great community it is. Happy new year!
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Professional Football Simulator and BarcodeGames have merged with the team at WolverineStudios. While PFS is still for sale for those wishing to join existing PFS leagues we encourage everyone to head over to WolverineStudios.com to find the latest version of Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2016.
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We are very proud and excited to announce the release of the newest game to the Wolverine Studios stable. Brooks Piggott and his team have put together a remarkable game that will engage players in both a solo and online multiplayer setting.
Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2016 puts you in control of your favorite pro football franchise. You make the calls as you build up your dynasty – build your roster through trades, the draft and free agency while you help your players improve with custom training options. Set your strategies each week to lead your team to victory. Enjoy the wealth of current and historical stats and watch the action unfold each week with 2D gameplay or catch the in-game highlights show to see the best plays from the week. A huge array of options lets you have total control of creating your game world and for an even greater challenge join an online league and put your skills to the ultimate test!
To find screenshots, the game download file including free game demo and information about the game please visit the DDS: Pro Football 2016 page and to purchase the game please visit our webstore.
The post Wolverine Studios Releases Draft Day Sports: Pro Football 2016 appeared first on Wolverine Studios.
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Each annual version of Out of the Park Baseball and MLB Manager brings with it a roster update that’s accurate as of Opening Day, and in the case of OOTP, that includes all Major League Baseball teams and all the MiLB clubs, along with independent minors in the US, major and minor league teams in […]
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Basketball season is underway now and it is shaping up to be a potentially historic one. We’ve received many questions and saw your posts regarding the status of the DDS:PB series and we are proud to announce that a new version is on the horizon!
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016 is nearing the final stages of its development and we’re excited to announce some details finally about the game. There have been many questions regarding the season disks and as of right now season disks will no longer be separate items from the game. DDS:Pro Basketball 2016 will ship with the 2015 season disk incorporated (updated rosters and historical data) for a full experience at no additional charge.
What about historical play? Well instead of the season disk route we’re going to roll out a historical replay feature. You’ll have the option of starting post NBA/ABA merger and playing up from there incorporating new rookies into your league each season with the option to expand the league along the way of course.
That’s not the only new thing for the DDS: Pro Basketball franchise. With the wealth of new stats available game play has been completely overhauled to let players have a more realistic and distinct style of play. Players offensively will now not only feature the areas of the court they prefer to work in but also specific player actions such as a guard who prefers to catch and shoot versus one who likes to shoot his jumpers off the dribble. Instead of knowing a player likes to “drive” a lot to the basket now you will know whether that player likes to drive to create his own shot or prefers driving to the hoop to setup a teammate. This wealth of new information at your disposal will let the players feel even more realistic and help you to build your team just the way you want it.
We’ve got some other new additions too like our new Dynamic Ratings option – you will have the traditional method of seeing the actual player ratings or you can play with this new mode which will show you a “public perception” for the rating while you will have the opportunity to get ever changing individual ratings from your coaching staff giving you an all new “fog of war” type aspect to the game.
Thank you to our DDS:Pro Basketball fans for their patience while we waited to roll out this announcement on the game. Be sure to follow us on social media and here on the blog for more updates soon!
The post Wolverine Studios Announces Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 2016 appeared first on Wolverine Studios.
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Earlier this month IronHorse did an interesting study on progression, which he posted on the boards. I wanted to post it here so others could reference it in the future. Enjoy...Ok I finished my hitter progression analysis. Here are the basics of what I found. Allstar- appears to progress better than the average and with a lower variance than the average. Also gains Fire quicker than any other type. Also regresses at an average rate.Classic- appears to progress at an average rate. Increases HR at a rate well above average. Classic appears to regress faster than the average. Flat- appears to progress at a rate well below average. Flat's progression is flat. Regresses at a rate much slower than the average. Again, flat is flat. Superstar- appears to progress at a rate well above average with an emphasis is HR, OBP and SLG. Regresses at an average rate. Overall, over a 15 year career, Superstar is the only type that ends up in the positive. Unpredictable- appears to have positive progressions that are significantly offset by negative progressions. Regression appears to be at an unpredictable rate (of course it does). https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByEfZO0YEDutQVpQQVFudEQ3UFE/view?usp=sharingI was curious to project a player using my data. Here is Bryce Harper's projected progression using Classic progression. Bryce Harper Age 22 0.330 0.463 0.649 1.112 42HR Bryce Harper Age 23 0.334 0.469 0.672 1.141 45HR Bryce Harper Age 24 0.338 0.475 0.695 1.170 47HR Bryce Harper Age 25 0.342 0.482 0.718 1.200 50HR Bryce Harper Age 26 0.346 0.488 0.741 1.229 53HR Bryce Harper Age 27 0.350 0.494 0.764 1.258 55HR Bryce Harper Age 28 0.354 0.500 0.787 1.287 58HR Bryce Harper Age 29 0.358 0.506 0.810 1.316 61HR Bryce Harper Age 30 0.351 0.498 0.783 1.281 58HR Bryce Harper Age 31 0.344 0.489 0.757 1.246 56HR Bryce Harper Age 32 0.337 0.481 0.730 1.211 53HR Bryce Harper Age 33 0.330 0.473 0.703 1.176 51HR Bryce Harper Age 34 0.324 0.464 0.677 1.141 48HR Bryce Harper Age 35 0.317 0.456 0.650 1.106 46HR Bryce Harper Age 36 0.310 0.448 0.623 1.071 43HR Bryce Harper Age 37 0.303 0.439 0.597 1.036 41HR Bryce Harper Age 38 0.296 0.431 0.570 1.001 38HR Bryce Harper Age 39 0.289 0.422 0.543 0.966 36HR Bryce Harper Age 40 0.282 0.414 0.516 0.931 33HR
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Want to use OOTP in your class or after-school club, or know a teacher who would like to use it? We’re happy to provide free copies of OOTP for use in K-12 and higher education settings. Please get in touch via the OOTP Developments contact page. Could Out of the Park Baseball be a useful […]
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With only 2 goals and 5 assists through 14 games, it has been an exceptionally slow start for Sidney Crosby this year in the NHL. This has led to discussions about whether or not it’s time for the Penguins to look to trade the superstar player, who is arguably the sport’s brightest star. Stan Fischler […]
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Many of you know Sirtommy, long time user of Pennant Chase, is starting his own show this Sunday on ESPN in New Hampshire. Pennant Chase is going to start as a sponsor of the show (check out the radio ad on our Video page).In order to celebrate the launch of Tommy's show, I'm expanding the max leagues per donor to 50! Donors also have the advantage of being able to join unlimited leagues (up to 50 per user) at any given time, rather than waiting to fill up "Baseball Bucks" each day.Good luck to Tommy & Ben on the start of their show - I will post more details here on where and when you can download their podcast once I have the details.
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Yes, OOTP 16 is just $9.99 (75% off!) and MLB Manager is a mere 99 cents through Nov. 4, as part of our annual World Series special. Not only that, but you could win a $100 MLB.com Shop gift certificate just for retweeting and sharing the news: See our Twitter and Facebook accounts for the […]
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All 2015 stats are now available for Custom and Auto leagues. In regards to Auto Leagues, 2015 seasons will start showing up as 2014 seasons end. The first Daily Draft 2015 leagues is scheduled to pop onto the Join League page on 10/25.Also, for those who are commissioners, the Import MLB Schedule feature now includes the 2015 schedule.I'm happy to say stats were in the database the day after the MLB season ended! Thanks to all who helped review, and as always, let me know if you see any other issues with the 2015 import.Thanks!
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This year’s National League Championship Series features two teams that are on the rise again after several down years. The Chicago Cubs haven’t been in the playoffs since 2008 and famously haven’t played in the World Series since 1945, with their only two championships happening in 1907 and 1908. And then there’s that much-talked-about movie […]
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The Toronto Blue Jays are in the American League Championship Series for the first time since 1993, thanks to a Game 5 ALDS victory over the Texas Rangers that featured one of the wildest innings in baseball playoff history. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are in the ALCS for the second straight year and are […]
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Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky is without a doubt one of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates in the National Hockey League. While he came to prominence several years after Gretzky had already established himself as a star, Mario Lemieux is also often in the conversation of greatest of all time. These […]
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While everyone is enjoying the playoffs (we’ve given our predictions for the two AL and two NL Division Series, and will do so for both League Championship Series and the World Series), we thought we’d indulge in a little “What if?” scenario, since this season’s trading deadline saw some big name players switch teams. The Toronto Blue […]
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The Chicago Cubs were seeking the first step toward ending a 100-year-plus championship drought. The Pittsburgh Pirates were hoping to win their first playoff game since 1992, after two Wild Card play-in game losses in 2013 and 2014. Chicago prevailed on the road, shutting down Pittsburgh in a 4-0 win that sent them to the […]
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After running repeated simulations with the opening night NHL rosters, Franchise Hockey Manager 2’s ultra-detailed game engine has made its choice for the 2016 Stanley Cup winner: the New York Rangers. While the Rangers typically finished the regular season in second or third in the Metropolitan Division, their veteran defenders and outstanding goaltending by Henrik […]
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The Houston Astros’ 3-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night punched their ticket to an American League Division Series against reigning AL champs the Kansas City Royals. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays have known since the end of the regular season that they would meet in the other ALDS […]
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Our “sim the games ahead of time” series for the 2015 Major League Baseball playoffs continues with the second Wild Card game. See our post about the Yankees-Astros game to learn how we set it up, including the new “game importance” feature that will be added to the Simulation Module in OOTP 17. (We’re using […]
[OOTP Developments] Bob Feller Adds to His Hall of Fame Credentials With Sims of Missed Seasons
in GM Games News
Posted
World War II was a massive conflict that disrupted millions of lives around the world. In the United States, hundreds of players in Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball served their country in the armed forces, along with many umpires, managers, and others who earned their living through the sport. As a result, the […]
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