(S23) - PT 5 - A New Leaf

[sakrosankt]

It‘s going to be very interesting to see where the ISFL heads in the following weeks or months. I‘m already very curious on what the future has in store for us. It‘s still a bit weird to talk about the ISFL, after the abrupt name change, but it feels like the right move. I‘m already excited for a new forum and other stuff that will follow. My next player will already be created with the help of a tool, that‘s just exciting.

There are still many things we can change for the better, but one thing stands out obviously. If possible, we should try to switch to another sim engine. DDSPF 16 is a good base and did us many good deeds, but the hilariousness it maintains is nothing we should overlook. I‘m not sure what the solution for this problem could be, but we should keep looking for alternatives. It‘s funny that this game has that much variety in it, and it comes close to reality in how unpredictable a game is. There are favorites, there are outsiders but in the end a football game is more than just that. It‘s a pity that Wolverine Studios isn‘t cooperating more with the league and listens a bit to what we have to tell them, it could be a wonderful experience for both sides that way. Hopefully something comes up on the horizon and let‘s us increase the amazing experience of the ISFL.

[s4ndr0p]

The change of our league name is a huge step into the right direction. Let's get one thing straight though, ever since I first heard about the league I have been amazed that something like these sim leagues are even possible, with that being it should be clear that i think it's a ridiculous amount of work for everyone involved with running the league. Therefore it is very hard to put changes to work.
The new website design is huge, I think it there is a lot of potential to make it easier for rookies to understand the whole processing they will have to do. We should get rid of one "master" (rookie guide) topic, since I think it confuses rookies even more to jump (via hyperlink) from thread to thread instead of finding the places that they'd need to know.
Plus, I am not sure what I think about DDSPF 16. The software is great and it's, obviously, made for exactly our use but there are things in the sim that are just no nos. It would be amazing to have an alternative, maybe even a hybrid-model (e.g. using DDSPF still for stat tracking) but to use a software with smarter AI, more options for GM Playcalling or something just generally more exciting than dots.
Like I said, unfortunately something like that might not be possible. The only hope would be fit modders in a good football sim game.

240words

[TomHanks]

Clearly the problem with HO both at the NSFL and DSFL level is the rampant corruption and obvious attempts by our reptilian overlords to seize control of the league and make decisions that exclusively make the league worse with no thought behind them at all. The only solution is a full-scale revolution as the shape shifting lizard people will not respond to reason or discussion. We must start at a 10/10 screaming as loud as we can, and if need be move on to bringing out the guillotines. Remember folks, HO aren’t people, they’re blood drinking reptiles in skin suits. Maybe they don’t even have skin suits. Has anyone ever seen a picture or even a likeness of DSFL Commissioner TomHanks? I think not! Coincidence? Not a chance. Clearly, he hasn’t perfected shape shifting like some of the other members of head office who have dared to show glimpses of themselves when they’re not in lizard form. We must identify freedom fighters from around the league and tactically eliminate each and every member of this elitist cult until the rivers have run red with blue! (Human-reptile hybrid blood is blue if you’re unfamiliar.) If we can’t stop them physically, then we must break their spirit. Tear them to shreds as best you can citizens, it is our only way to see any change from the heinous acts of HO to make the league a worse place.

[JKortesi81]

PBE CW

[BenDover]

PBE CW Affiliate

[bigbluex02]

PBE PT

[howsour]

I have read some articles recently that have given thought to the idea of changing the way free agency operates. I agree that there isn’t enough excitement during the limited free agency window. One way it could be improved is to alter the rules regarding tampering. Trust me, I understand that strict rules need to be in place to make sure that there are no backroom deals and people screwing other users over on purpose. But, the past few weeks I have noticed some very weak tampering that has resulting in punishments. Perhaps we need to allow for preliminary talks with potential free agents and GMs of rival teams.

Besides that, I think that is it extremely obvious that the simulation itself needs to be fixed and improved. To be honest, the first time I saw the simulation I was extremely disheartened. The league had been built up to feel like you were creating a professional athlete, I put time into creating a player and earning and allocating TPE and all to just watch some dots move around a screen at a pace that is hard to see. Other sim leagues have far better systems. And honestly, I can get over the fact that the sim is just dots moving around the screen, but the logic utilized by the sim engine is terrible and baffling. It’s like the creators of the sim have never watched a game of football in their life. Play calling, time out logic, and other issues make the league a lot less enjoyable for me.

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[Nhamlet]

One of the major issues I was immediately turned off by, is the entire banking system as it currently exists. The overly cumbersome google sheets is a killer for mobile devices and even desktops struggle to load all of the excessive and overly unnecessary data. Since much of it is based on user input from players themselves to bankers with the numerous transactions that happen over a week, trying to find relevant data for ourselves feels almost impossible. For one, trying to find our balance is already a longer chore than needs to be because we have to load up the entire document just to see our specific number. A teammate of mine did write a script for a bot to pull this information and it in itself has saved so many users so much time cumulatively because of how quickly it can pull that. Another rough bit is trying to figure out when and how much a media piece has been paid. There is a bit of lag time between media grading and then another when the payout is recorded in the user’s bank account. These are natural but without any quick means to access this information, having to repeatedly access the bank account simply forces individuals even more burdensome waiting. The fact that media pay as well as general transaction logs are separate is a pain for users to try and figure out where their money has gone, if they’ve missed a week or twitter or training.

Ultimately this was a lot of words just to say that the banking google sheets document is too big for its own good and a new system, ideally one that has more automation needs to be a priority for the league as the userbase continues to grow.

[BRNXB0MBERS]

I want to start by saying I have no idea what NSFL has to do with Nazis. A couple of quick google searches did not give me the answer, and I’m not willing to dig deeper than that to figure it out. After all, I don’t want my ads or suggestions to be based on those searches.

Anyway, I liked the NSFL name. Of course, it has the “Not Safe For Life” connection, but I think the positive parallel to the NFL made up for it. Leagues like the SHL (Simulation Hockey League) and MLR (Major League Redditball) have clear connections to their professional sports leagues.

So, my suggestion is to change the name to something that incorporates NFL. Simulation National Football league sounds a little clunky, but SNFL rolls off the tongue pretty well. I think INFL for Imitation National Football League or MNFL for Mock National Football League are good options too. I also like the sound of Fake, Faux, and Artificial sound nice as well.

Even Simulation Football League somewhat maintains the connection, although we’d reintroduce the “Safe For Life” confusion. At least it wouldn’t have a connection to Nazis (I hope).

Overall, I think regaining the simple connection to the NFL is something worth considering.

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[toivo]

I’m not sure what changes would be appropriate for the league. As I understand it, the league has not intention on moving to a different sim engine. The layout of the site is fine, and I like the manner for updating. I don’t want it to get too automated, the SHL is fine right now, but it is not all that much more convenient to update over there. I think both sites take me the same amount of time to update. That said, I don’t really think jcink is all that great. There will be problems with any host we use, but I think if there was something to change, I would explore hosting options. It just stinks when jcink is down and you cannot get on either here or PBE. But overall, I think the league and site are in good shape. I am not super active on the discords, but I check the site daily to see if there is something to take care of. I enjoy both New Orleans and Myrtle Beach alert me for tpe opportunities. The double notifications really helps makes it so I can carry out all my point tasks. Another area to explore is the creating a player process. I think the current guides are a little clunky and could be streamlined. But this is only an issue I run into every year and half or so when it is time to recreate.