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As we head into the Finals Sunday, I think it's a good idea to reflect on TWDT 2014 and see what worked and what didn't while the league is still fresh in our minds.
I'm not sure who will be running it, but some things I would probably do differently or at least consider:
1) 35-Star per game cap system for javs/wbs, 60-Star cap for base, using ratings per league.
2011 used an overall star cap system that wasn't league specific (and cumulative), 2013 used a 5-Star rule, and 2014 used a 5/6-Star rule. I think this year was an improvement over last, but that an overall league-specific star cap system would be better.
It leaves squads scrambling less to find 5-Stars who are in short supply, and it has a less negative impact on a few 7-Star players who got caught between all-stars and 5/6s and struggled for playtime. At 35-Star cap allows for a ton of flexibility -- you can play a 7/7/7/7/7 line or a 10/9/8/5/3 or an 8/8/7/6/6.
2) Day-of Live Draft
There has never been a live draft, and it would generate excitement and reduce crying.
3) Captain's have to draft themselves
This used to be the case wayyyyyy back in the early TWDT. I think Zidane getting to 1st pick Ease this year and Ease 3rd picking Turban in 2013 is tough to compete with, even if it implodes sometimes (Zidane first-picking Mythril in 2013 and finishing last). More Captain's have won with the 8th pick recently than #1 pick has, but nevertheless.
I wouldn't deny captain's a first round pick though, I would down-rate it 2 or 3 rounds. So if Ease is captain, and he would go in the first round, I'd make him pick himself in the 3rd round. If Menelvagor would go in the 3rd round, I'd make him take himself in the 5th Round.
4) A return to Free Agency
A hybrid FA, where you
a) get 30-Stars total to bid for the season
b) can bid on a maximum of 1 player per week
c) can bid a maximum of 10-Stars on one player
d) offer up a player as a tiebreak. whoever is worth more stars overall, wins the FA but loses the player they offered up to the person they tied with.
e) Anyone undrafted in FA after Week 2 will be drafted in a single FA draft (so the top players will be bid on and won, everyone else gets drafted in an FA draft)
This would be done so there aren't 30 people stuck rotting on FA like in 2011/2012/2013.
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Things I thought worked well this season and I would keep:
5) Drafting 5-Star and 6-Star packages
I really liked this idea (minus it deciding who goes first in the FA Draft.) It made selecting a package strategic and interesting, and it turns something really boring (drafting low-star players) into a quest to find the best package, and saves everyone a ton of time and keeps the draft from becoming longer than the Oscars.
6) Borrowing package players
This was the only TWDT season in history without a single forfeiture all season. It kept people active and interested and didn't waste their time. It gave people who were benched playtime on other teams. The bots are already set up to add anyone. Yes, it's a bit of extra effort for captains and staff, but I think it's well worth the effort and worked rather well.
7) Not allowing roster drops
The only purpose of dropping someone from your roster is to draft other people in FA (or vengeance), and it diminishes the amount of people involved in the league. All 292 people who signed up for TWDT, and all 172 who played, had a team to either play or root for, and none were subjected to the ignominy of being dropped. It also increases forfeitures due to having less players. Most TWDT rosters in the past had 25 players on them -- this season we had an average of 37 per roster.
The average of active players per team who participated was 22, and the average amount of weeks showed was 3. This means 9.42 players showed every week, and you need 8 to base. The true showing is probably slightly over 10, since some players benched. This is a narrow margin, and squads sometimes struggled to find enough players, even with huge 37-man rosters and borrowing.
So I think having an FA draft, borrowing package players, and not allowing drops is essential to maintaining an engaged player base.
8) Bumping up games to 3pm EST from 2pm EST, and eliminating the rotating schedule so basing is always last
This also helped avoid forfeitures, and were a huge improvement over the 2pm start and rotating schedule of 2013.
=========================================
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head in terms of how TWDT could be improved for 2015.
Big thanks to TWDT mods Undercut, M_M God, Reckful, and especially Turban, who was an absolute monster for me all season in getting things done. He was a huge boon to the league. Also wanna thank all the hosts who donated their time and helped make the league possible: bwp, Markmrw, Lena, 9th, lilwade, KATC, field, Spawnisen, Tsunami, yeh, Slick, Paradise, zreqdf, fis, and Willby -- really appreciate it!
If you have thoughts on the season, and what could be done to improve TWDT 2015, please post it!
I'm not sure who will be running it, but some things I would probably do differently or at least consider:
1) 35-Star per game cap system for javs/wbs, 60-Star cap for base, using ratings per league.
2011 used an overall star cap system that wasn't league specific (and cumulative), 2013 used a 5-Star rule, and 2014 used a 5/6-Star rule. I think this year was an improvement over last, but that an overall league-specific star cap system would be better.
It leaves squads scrambling less to find 5-Stars who are in short supply, and it has a less negative impact on a few 7-Star players who got caught between all-stars and 5/6s and struggled for playtime. At 35-Star cap allows for a ton of flexibility -- you can play a 7/7/7/7/7 line or a 10/9/8/5/3 or an 8/8/7/6/6.
2) Day-of Live Draft
There has never been a live draft, and it would generate excitement and reduce crying.
3) Captain's have to draft themselves
This used to be the case wayyyyyy back in the early TWDT. I think Zidane getting to 1st pick Ease this year and Ease 3rd picking Turban in 2013 is tough to compete with, even if it implodes sometimes (Zidane first-picking Mythril in 2013 and finishing last). More Captain's have won with the 8th pick recently than #1 pick has, but nevertheless.
I wouldn't deny captain's a first round pick though, I would down-rate it 2 or 3 rounds. So if Ease is captain, and he would go in the first round, I'd make him pick himself in the 3rd round. If Menelvagor would go in the 3rd round, I'd make him take himself in the 5th Round.
4) A return to Free Agency
A hybrid FA, where you
a) get 30-Stars total to bid for the season
b) can bid on a maximum of 1 player per week
c) can bid a maximum of 10-Stars on one player
d) offer up a player as a tiebreak. whoever is worth more stars overall, wins the FA but loses the player they offered up to the person they tied with.
e) Anyone undrafted in FA after Week 2 will be drafted in a single FA draft (so the top players will be bid on and won, everyone else gets drafted in an FA draft)
This would be done so there aren't 30 people stuck rotting on FA like in 2011/2012/2013.
=========================================
Things I thought worked well this season and I would keep:
5) Drafting 5-Star and 6-Star packages
I really liked this idea (minus it deciding who goes first in the FA Draft.) It made selecting a package strategic and interesting, and it turns something really boring (drafting low-star players) into a quest to find the best package, and saves everyone a ton of time and keeps the draft from becoming longer than the Oscars.
6) Borrowing package players
This was the only TWDT season in history without a single forfeiture all season. It kept people active and interested and didn't waste their time. It gave people who were benched playtime on other teams. The bots are already set up to add anyone. Yes, it's a bit of extra effort for captains and staff, but I think it's well worth the effort and worked rather well.
7) Not allowing roster drops
The only purpose of dropping someone from your roster is to draft other people in FA (or vengeance), and it diminishes the amount of people involved in the league. All 292 people who signed up for TWDT, and all 172 who played, had a team to either play or root for, and none were subjected to the ignominy of being dropped. It also increases forfeitures due to having less players. Most TWDT rosters in the past had 25 players on them -- this season we had an average of 37 per roster.
The average of active players per team who participated was 22, and the average amount of weeks showed was 3. This means 9.42 players showed every week, and you need 8 to base. The true showing is probably slightly over 10, since some players benched. This is a narrow margin, and squads sometimes struggled to find enough players, even with huge 37-man rosters and borrowing.
So I think having an FA draft, borrowing package players, and not allowing drops is essential to maintaining an engaged player base.
8) Bumping up games to 3pm EST from 2pm EST, and eliminating the rotating schedule so basing is always last
This also helped avoid forfeitures, and were a huge improvement over the 2pm start and rotating schedule of 2013.
=========================================
That's about all I can think of off the top of my head in terms of how TWDT could be improved for 2015.
Big thanks to TWDT mods Undercut, M_M God, Reckful, and especially Turban, who was an absolute monster for me all season in getting things done. He was a huge boon to the league. Also wanna thank all the hosts who donated their time and helped make the league possible: bwp, Markmrw, Lena, 9th, lilwade, KATC, field, Spawnisen, Tsunami, yeh, Slick, Paradise, zreqdf, fis, and Willby -- really appreciate it!
If you have thoughts on the season, and what could be done to improve TWDT 2015, please post it!
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