Not sure if there's a suggestions thread ( I couldn't locate one ), so I'm posting this here. If it needs to be moved elsewhere, just let me know and I'll gladly do it.
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I've been deeply frustrated with some particular issues about the scouting system for a while now, particularly two facets of it:
1) Not knowing player heights
I assume the reason that this information isn't available to us is to prevent cross-referencing of players within leagues, and subsequently the prevention of draft monopolization by teams that would collaborate and exploit this information if it were available. However, since player height is far more important in training than the listed position of a player, I think not having this information is a big reason why I have been frustrated with my draft picks over the years. I would much rather know what the height of a player is than his supposed position. I realize the abilities of players play a role in their listed positions, but if for example I draft a guy listed as a power forward instead of a guy listed as a shooting guard because I'm training big men, only to find out the PF I drafted is 6'1", and the SG was 6'9" ... I tend to get a bit angry at all the money I wasted scouting over the course of a season. Especially when height is something I should be able to read in a media guide or get a good sense of just by looking at a guy.
2) Not being able to tell my scouts what I'm looking for
As much as it would be nice to tell my scouts to look for specific traits in players, or more importantly to stop scouting a player they have discovered is a 1 star player with 2 star potential, I do realize being able to be this picky would take some of the guesswork and simulated randomness out of drafting players thus making it less realistic. That being said, I grow increasingly frustrated with my scouts spending a great deal of time scouting the types of players I have no use for on my team in lieu of players whose games and size I have a much higher demand for. I really don't want to pay scouts a couple hundred thousand dollars to tell me all about the great point guards in the draft when all I care about is getting one trainable big man.
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Suggestions:
1) Potential is not something we should have a great deal of insight into. This should be at least semi-hidden from us and revealed as we train players and learn their limitations. Perhaps potential should even be on a skill by skill basis. Some guys just can't play defense no matter how much you try to teach them, but they can excel in other areas (for example).
2) Height should not only be something we know without even scouting a player, but we should be able to set our scouts to look at players within certain height ranges. Said ranges could be as big or small as you see fit.
3) Add scouts to the staff list. The higher level your scout is, the more accurate the info he gives you regarding scouted players will be. With the tweaking that has been done to the economy of late, and possibly a simple increase elsewhere, paying a 4th salary wouldn't be unreasonable.
4) Assuming that this isn't already the case, make the box scores shown for scouted players random from team to team or take them out altogether. Assuming that the game shown for a scouted player appears the same for each team that's scouted him, this is what makes cross referencing players possible. Besides, it's a pretty worthless bit of information if you really think about it. It tells you nothing about the type of offense/defense he played in, what type of team they played against, etc. Just because my point guard scored 43 points in 28 mins last night, doesn't mean I should expect him to do that consistently. Box scores tell me nothing.
I'm loving a lot of the improvements the staff has made in the game over the past few seasons. Keep up the good work, and I hope my two cents is helpful.
Ice-T