Paul T

I agree with the problem this is trying to solve, but maybe not the proposed solution.  That being said, this topic of inter-league trading has come up a few times in the past and is one that needs active discussion.
 
To answer the initial questions:
 
Picks switching between promoting and demoting teams.  Uhm, whats the logic behind that?
As was already stated above, the logic is to reward the lower league team for promoting to an upper league and penalize the relegating teams.  I think this is a good thing.
 
Except its super abusable? 
100% agree and we need to come up with a solution to make it less abusable.
 
I mean, shouldn't relegated team (when losing his whole team most of the time)  have something to be happy about? And also something to build upon in the future?  This way most people just quit.
If people quit because of being relegated or having a bad team, they are missing the point of the game and it's their loss.  I stated in another thread somewhere that the managers I had the most respect for weren't the teams battling it out for the GHL Cup (sure, those managers are competent and deserve praise as well), but rather the managers who were being relegated and stayed with their teams.  Afterall, it's a manager game.  The main object shouldn't be to just win.  The object should be to make your team better and get them to perform well regardless of your starting point.  If you win in the process, cool.  But if I ever get relegated, I will look at that as a new, exciting challenge.  I'm not sure how long I will play this game, but if/when I decide to retire, it will probably be because of real life getting in the way, not because of having a losing team.
 
Another thing to mention, unrelated to upper league teams from "abusing" it, is that inter-league trading is also unfair to the lower league teams who don't trade with upper league teams.  I would advise all lower league teams to keep their picks as it will pay off greatly upon promotion, but when other teams are getting stacked around you, I can understand why some teams feel it necessary to do so.
 
Now that that is out of the way, what are the possible solutions.
 
1) Picks don't change upon promotion/relegation
 
Pros:  Upper league teams cannot easily secure top picks.
 
Cons:  No reward for recently promoted teams.  Even more difficult for recently promoted teams to compete.
 
 
2) Eliminate trading between leagues (I actually suggested this in the Focus Group).
 
Pros:  Upper league teams cannot easily secure top picks.  Lower league teams cannot easily stack their roster.
 
Cons:  Less communication/interaction between managers (game needs more, not less).  It will be harder for lower league teams to compete with recently relegated upper league teams that prepared for relegation (hence why I also suggested an earlier trade deadline, but that's another topic).
 
 
3) Hear me out on this one.  What if when a player is traded to a lower league, the player's salary was not adjusted?  So if they were in GHL for 500K on a 2-way contract and got traded to SHL, the contract was STILL 500K, not 125K (or whatever it would be).  I suppose this wouldn't totally solve the problem, but it would make it less abusable because lower league teams would think twice about acquiring players for picks.  As it stands, the lower league teams currently benefit in two ways.  First, they get elite talent for their league level, and second, they get that elite talent at a massive discount vs. what they would have had to pay for signing the player themselves.
 
 
4) Roster limits.  Haven't totally thought this through, but it would prevent managers from stacking 2-way contracts for the sole purpose of trading them.  At the very least, it would limit the number of trades.
 
5) Transaction and/or trade limit per season.  I get this would take some of the fun out of the game, but both 4 and 5 would make your moves a little more strategic.  Unlimited trading leads to all sorts of "abuse". 
 
 
Keep the discussion going...

I agree with the problem this is trying to solve, but maybe not the proposed solution.  That being said, this topic of inter-league trading has come up a few times in the past and is one that needs active discussion.
 
To answer the initial questions:
 
Picks switching between promoting and demoting teams.  Uhm, whats the logic behind that?
As was already stated above, the logic is to reward the lower league team for promoting to an upper league and penalize the relegating teams.  I think this is a good thing.
 
Except its super abusable? 
100% agree and we need to come up with a solution to make it less abusable.
 
I mean, shouldn't relegated team (when losing his whole team most of the time)  have something to be happy about? And also something to build upon in the future?  This way most people just quit.
If people quit because of being relegated or having a bad team, they are missing the point of the game and it's their loss.  I stated in another thread somewhere that the managers I had the most respect for weren't the teams battling it out for the GHL Cup (sure, those managers are competent and deserve praise as well), but rather the managers who were being relegated and stayed with their teams.  Afterall, it's a manager game.  The main object shouldn't be to just win.  The object should be to make your team better and get them to perform well regardless of your starting point.  If you win in the process, cool.  But if I ever get relegated, I will look at that as a new, exciting challenge.  I'm not sure how long I will play this game, but if/when I decide to retire, it will probably be because of real life getting in the way, not because of having a losing team.
 
Another thing to mention, unrelated to upper league teams from "abusing" it, is that inter-league trading is also unfair to the lower league teams who don't trade with upper league teams.  I would advise all lower league teams to keep their picks as it will pay off greatly upon promotion, but when other teams are getting stacked around you, I can understand why some teams feel it necessary to do so.
 
Now that that is out of the way, what are the possible solutions.
 
1) Picks don't change upon promotion/relegation
 
Pros:  Upper league teams cannot easily secure top picks.
 
Cons:  No reward for recently promoted teams.  Even more difficult for recently promoted teams to compete.
 
 
2) Eliminate trading between leagues (I actually suggested this in the Focus Group).
 
Pros:  Upper league teams cannot easily secure top picks.  Lower league teams cannot easily stack their roster.
 
Cons:  Less communication/interaction between managers (game needs more, not less).  It will be harder for lower league teams to compete with recently relegated upper league teams that prepared for relegation (hence why I also suggested an earlier trade deadline, but that's another topic).
 
 
3) Hear me out on this one.  What if when a player is traded to a lower league, the player's salary was not adjusted?  So if they were in GHL for 500K on a 2-way contract and got traded to SHL, the contract was STILL 500K, not 125K (or whatever it would be).  I suppose this wouldn't totally solve the problem, but it would make it less abusable because lower league teams would think twice about acquiring players for picks.  As it stands, the lower league teams currently benefit in two ways.  First, they get elite talent for their league level, and second, they get that elite talent at a massive discount vs. what they would have had to pay for signing the player themselves.
 
 
4) Roster limits.  Haven't totally thought this through, but it would prevent managers from stacking 2-way contracts for the sole purpose of trading them.  At the very least, it would limit the number of trades.
 
5) Transaction and/or trade limit per season.  I get this would take some of the fun out of the game, but both 4 and 5 would make your moves a little more strategic.  Unlimited trading leads to all sorts of "abuse". 
 
 
Keep the discussion going...

Yeah, looks like the weakness of the current system is the vulnerability to abuse (which could easily be countered by disabling inter-league trades of picks) and not the switching of the picks itself. The first one to me seems obvious and the latter debatable.

Breaking News!
 
“Welcome to Hockey Night here on channel 684, in Blakely. I’m your Host Billy-Bob Bobbs with co-anchor Tina Bertha. We have some breaking news coming from the Black Flag’s stadium “Pandamanium” - It looks like this season is starting out with a pre-season delay due to a beer shortage!”
 
“This is a tragic scene Bobbs. Concessions stands are being raided and at least 5 servers walking the stairs have already died due to head trauma from ‘accidental falls’.”
 
“It sure is Bertha, how are we supposed to watch a game without some ale?!”
 
“Firefighters are on the scene fighting the blazes on the south end but we have seen some semis from Beerfilder heading North on I-75 towards the stadium.”
 
“Hopefully we can get this delay worked out as there is only 1 ref still alive and we would love to see a game sometime tonight!”
 
“You betcha Tina - let’s get those taps open! Have a great night everyone and remember, ‘when you need hockey news we’re the only ones in the 600s that’s still broadcasting at 3AM!’ Go get em Black Flag!”

I've noticed that when I play 4 forwards on a power play - even if the forward has 90-99 defensive ability - that I give up more SHGs.  Just wondering if there is an out of position penalty.

St. Thomas Stray Cats complete the reverse sweep and take home the inaugural Golden Cup.
 
Congrats, Erzac!

St. Thomas Stray Cats complete the reverse sweep and take home the inaugural Golden Cup.
 
Congrats, Erzac!

St. Thomas Stray Cats complete the reverse sweep and take home the inaugural Golden Cup.
 
Congrats, Erzac!

St. Thomas Stray Cats complete the reverse sweep and take home the inaugural Golden Cup.
 
Congrats, Erzac!

I've noticed that when I play 4 forwards on a power play - even if the forward has 90-99 defensive ability - that I give up more SHGs.  Just wondering if there is an out of position penalty.

And even overspending isn't always enough... wasn't in the old GPHM anyway...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElyPfax4Jt8

I got dibs on Season 20...

If I'm lucky I might make it to IHL by season 10.

I've got dibs on season 5!

Oohhhhhhhh.  Well this is awkward.  We are also planning to win in the next 3-4 seasons.
Of course we first need to figure out what those balls are that you speak of.

The #1 Union sweep the Duhawks and the #4 Red Tide sweep the Nightmares, which sets up a Battle of the Titans in Round 2.  Union currently lead 2-0, but I'd be surprised if the Tide don't make a push in game 3 to extend the series.
 
The other matchup is #7 Bulldogs vs. #2 Stray Cats, where the Bulldogs look to continue their domination over feline teams.  Series currently sits at 1-1.
 
Out West we have the #1 Prairie Stars, who won the President's Trophy facing off against the red hot Wolverines.  The P-Stars just evened the series at 1-1 in an offensive slugfest.
 
And the #2 Hawks (Legends of game world Biscuit) take on the #3 Ricochet.  The Hawks continue their defensive domination and lead the series 2-0.

The #1 Union sweep the Duhawks and the #4 Red Tide sweep the Nightmares, which sets up a Battle of the Titans in Round 2.  Union currently lead 2-0, but I'd be surprised if the Tide don't make a push in game 3 to extend the series.
 
The other matchup is #7 Bulldogs vs. #2 Stray Cats, where the Bulldogs look to continue their domination over feline teams.  Series currently sits at 1-1.
 
Out West we have the #1 Prairie Stars, who won the President's Trophy facing off against the red hot Wolverines.  The P-Stars just evened the series at 1-1 in an offensive slugfest.
 
And the #2 Hawks (Legends of game world Biscuit) take on the #3 Ricochet.  The Hawks continue their defensive domination and lead the series 2-0.

Oohhhhhhhh.  Well this is awkward.  We are also planning to win in the next 3-4 seasons.
Of course we first need to figure out what those balls are that you speak of.

Oohhhhhhhh.  Well this is awkward.  We are also planning to win in the next 3-4 seasons.
Of course we first need to figure out what those balls are that you speak of.

Good luck to the remaining teams in the playoffs.  The Leopards will be watching from the golf course.  Actually, I hate golf. 
 
Just be aware that the 1st round exit has lit a fire under our a$$es are the Leopards are angry heading into Season 2.
You've all been warned.

Oohhhhhhhh.  Well this is awkward.  We are also planning to win in the next 3-4 seasons.
Of course we first need to figure out what those balls are that you speak of.

The #1 Union sweep the Duhawks and the #4 Red Tide sweep the Nightmares, which sets up a Battle of the Titans in Round 2.  Union currently lead 2-0, but I'd be surprised if the Tide don't make a push in game 3 to extend the series.
 
The other matchup is #7 Bulldogs vs. #2 Stray Cats, where the Bulldogs look to continue their domination over feline teams.  Series currently sits at 1-1.
 
Out West we have the #1 Prairie Stars, who won the President's Trophy facing off against the red hot Wolverines.  The P-Stars just evened the series at 1-1 in an offensive slugfest.
 
And the #2 Hawks (Legends of game world Biscuit) take on the #3 Ricochet.  The Hawks continue their defensive domination and lead the series 2-0.

The #1 Union sweep the Duhawks and the #4 Red Tide sweep the Nightmares, which sets up a Battle of the Titans in Round 2.  Union currently lead 2-0, but I'd be surprised if the Tide don't make a push in game 3 to extend the series.
 
The other matchup is #7 Bulldogs vs. #2 Stray Cats, where the Bulldogs look to continue their domination over feline teams.  Series currently sits at 1-1.
 
Out West we have the #1 Prairie Stars, who won the President's Trophy facing off against the red hot Wolverines.  The P-Stars just evened the series at 1-1 in an offensive slugfest.
 
And the #2 Hawks (Legends of game world Biscuit) take on the #3 Ricochet.  The Hawks continue their defensive domination and lead the series 2-0.

The #1 Union sweep the Duhawks and the #4 Red Tide sweep the Nightmares, which sets up a Battle of the Titans in Round 2.  Union currently lead 2-0, but I'd be surprised if the Tide don't make a push in game 3 to extend the series.
 
The other matchup is #7 Bulldogs vs. #2 Stray Cats, where the Bulldogs look to continue their domination over feline teams.  Series currently sits at 1-1.
 
Out West we have the #1 Prairie Stars, who won the President's Trophy facing off against the red hot Wolverines.  The P-Stars just evened the series at 1-1 in an offensive slugfest.
 
And the #2 Hawks (Legends of game world Biscuit) take on the #3 Ricochet.  The Hawks continue their defensive domination and lead the series 2-0.

/\
Well that was odd.  The notification was that the computer team canceled the trade, as if they offered it, not that it was rejected.  Weird.  But I'm glad it's not easy to trade with the com anymore.  Good stuff.