(S26) - PT 5 - Fortune Teller

[Memento Mori]

2021 will be a really important year for the league in a historical context. The new sim (and any potential teething issues) could help or hinder the league in a number of ways, but the one I'd like to focus on is league records. Many league records are currently unattainable. My player is a defensive back, so I'll start by looking at the DB-related records. Of the top 10 in career interceptions, four began their careers in Season 1, and one each began their careers in S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6. Just one player entered the league after S6, Lennox Garnett in S11. It's a similar story when you look at the career leaders in sacks, as six of the top 10 began their careers in S1 and a further one did in S2.

The move to sixteen games has meant that two single-season records have been broken, but a total of just five of the 21 statistical categories tracked on the wiki have had the annual record broken since S10. They have better statisticians and more analysts than we do, but it feels like records constantly fall or are under threat in the NFL, and tracking them is fun. This is of course aided by rule changes that have made certain aspects of the game easier, as until the move to 16 games all the ISFL rule changes actually made records harder to break.

With the new sim, I'm looking forward to us (hopefully) being on record-watch more often and seeing some of the league's more outdated records be challenged and fall. This should lead to some fun articles and discussions as well as hopefully give us something to look out for when watching the streams besides fantasy and weekly predictions. (293 words)

[Pat]

2021 will be a hallmark year for the ISFL. The league has entered young adulthood, nearing the end of its twenty-sixth season (still hard to believe sometimes!), and by this point there seem to be two things that everyone can agree on - the best strategies have already been figured out, and DDSPF16 needs to be sunsetted. As the prompt mentioned, the migration to the new sim is a massive change for the league. Now, full disclosure, being one of the members of the Sim Migration Team, I have a little more insight into the coming changes and am a little biased, but whatever it's a point task submission so it doesn't matter, right?

What we are going to see with the new sim is a complete shake-up of the status quo. The top teams will most likely still perform near the top as TPE is still very relevant, but what we will see is the entire hive mind of the league melting away. No longer will the quote unquote "best" anything continue to be so. Even as someone who has been intimately involved I can't even begin to say what's good or bad (correction - nothing is bad in this new system). All of the new changes with players and strategies will lead to much more diversity in the league which, I believe, will lead to an overall better user experience. 

Teams won't all have exactly the same strategies when it comes to building a team, which I think will make Free Agency and the Draft much more enjoyable and unpredictable. With this new system we are implementing you can finally build a strategy to match the team you have, instead of making your team fit the "best" strategy. Sim testing will be going away, but in its place we are going to see team scouting and a lot more emphasis on your opponents and not just yourself. We also won't have perceived win rates, so it will be hard to say who is actually a heavy favorite any more. I think this will DEFINITELY lead to a much better experience for everyone, as there are few things as deflating as having an 80% win chance and then being upset (which happens all the time in real life).

In closing, 2021 will be one of the best years in the league's existence.

[JKortesi81]

SHL PT

[Blasoon]

When looking towards 2021, there is only thing about the sim that is clear is that it will be a wild west like situation for every team. As an upcoming general manager, the one thing I can try to hazard a guess about is that depth will be key. With the new, more open play calling, I truly believe that those teams who can take advantage of the full depths of their playbooks will be those who strike out early with team success. If you are looking for a really hot take, then I think I could picture three seasons of absolute rigidity with the veteran recreates refusing to switch position and archetypes and this subsequently influencing newer members of the league to remain steadfast in their positions and archetypes. However, I do think that after about three or four seasons of analysis, we might see a shift away from the spread of archetypes towards likely the two or three that have performed the best.

And of course, selfishly, if you are going to ask which players I think will have a great 2021 then I have to put out a hope that the new sim will let Suleiman Ramza take the next step and become an elite quarterback in the league.

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[Alucas]

The new season is fast approaching with this new fandangled sim engine and game that we are all awaiting to see in action. I think this is a great step forward for the league and will help keep it fresh. I think the year of 2021 will have this league grow at a faster rate as we are able to bring in new people with flashy graphics and the sim engine being abit more appealing to the eyes on youtube. This season will definitely be a rollercoaster as players all change dramatically and there is an uncertanty about traits and their effectiveness. I think we will see a year of upsets and potential for any team to snag the Ultimus. It will be an interesting year as people try to figure out what works best and what combination they like for their team. With the new builds and competitiveness the overall TPE required to be good has been increased, it should be interesting to see what attributes are valued in the stream and if we can actually see a great change in archetype outcomes. I am looking forward to the change and will likely be riding out the storm down in the DSFL, ready to pounce on the changes the next season.

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[caltroit_red_flames]

SHL PT

[Birdman]

SHL Affiliate - LordBirdman

[TheRocheLimit]

I'm very curious to see what happens after this season when the league moves to the new sim. I created after a reddit draft for Season 22 and have already gone through two expansions, but this will be on a whole different level as far as league-altering changes go. We've already seen a bunch of league veterans recreate, and it will be interesting to follow their careers with the new sim.

The thing I am most intrigued/curious/worried about though is the effect of the new sim on my S22 class. We will have a small window to adjust to the new sim before regression creeps up on us. How will the combination of a new sim, a large draft class, and regression affect my class? Will it be better for us to opt for traits or pure stats knowing that it won't be long before our TPE numbers start to dip? Who among us will weather the storm of regression AND the learning curve of a new simulation and who among us will get left behind? We will have a relatively short time with the new sim before we need to decide what to do with our current players and/or our new players. Will we have the time to learn all the things we need to in the new sim in order to make the right decision?

Only time will tell, I guess.

[dogwoodmaple]

I may seem biased here, but I think the new sim will really benefit my New York Silverbacks. We have a bevy of young players and top earners so we can cater each of our skills to what most benefits our team. Unlike some franchises who may only have some elite TPEers, we can afford to be strategic in our new allotments. I especially see a big difference on the defensive side of the ball. We have perhaps the best group of young defenders in the league, especially in the secondary. We'll be able to bring a hard-hitting, shutdown defense to New York which will be a requirement if we want to win an Ultimus. As an expansion franchise, we're perfectly positioned for this new sim rollout and I think the 2021 IRL year will be a fantastic one for all of us in New York and all our fans. If I had to pick one position that will have the biggest transformation, it'd be the defensive line. I foresee a major shift there with an abundance of tackles for loss and sacks from the front four on defense. Luckily, we're stacked at that position with more help on the way. All in all, this really sets up nicely for us in both the short term and long term. Offensively, it might take us a while to get things exactly how we want it, especially with some regressions ensuing, but I have full faith in our staff to get the best updates in for all of our players.

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[Evok]

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid2964591