Update v0.25.0: New play game page, keyboard shortcuts, and sim balance

New Play Game page:

The most noticeable change in this update is the new Play Game page. Now, you can see which plays were just run, along with the result. I've added 3 sizes for the play field as well, which should adapt to more screen sizes better. This, along with keyboard shortcuts to suggest & sim a play, make playing games a lot more fun. I've even added simple special teams play cards which were sorely needed.

Revamped balance, and play effectiveness decay:

This update has a ton of changes with regards to the simulation engine. These are aimed at increasing the realism of the game, changing certain outcomes so they match more what we expect. You can read the full list of changes here:

• Blitz plays now have more risk/reward, by giving slightly more sacks but allowing more completions
• Certain routes near the sideline will tend to give less YAC (deep corners etc)
• Certain routes will have higher completion chance but less YAC (curl routes)
• QBs will dump off to RB slightly less, will throw deep a bit more
• Rushing play balance has been changed to reward good offense and defense more; really good rushing teams will have less negative plays, but really good rush defenses will be able to stop the run better
• Screen passes are generally nerfed, less free yards for high evasion receivers
• Hail mary completion chance reduced
• Offensive gameplans will throw short slightly more
• Defensive gameplans will blitz slightly more

Along with these changes is a new system, which should help prevent OP playcalls from being abused. Now, when calling the same offensive play repeatedly, its effectiveness will gradually be reduced. I call this 'Play Effectiveness Decay'. This effectiveness will then regenerate if you call other plays, with more regeneration if you call a different play from the same formation. This penalty exists for play categories as well, but should be less noticeable. The UI will display an indicator if a play has a penalty, and why. This system shouldn't penalize balanced game plans, but any that was predicated on two or three plays being spammed repeatedly will need some adjustment!

Keyboard shortcuts, sim to specific week, and tutorial banners:

There are three other features worth calling out. First, as mentioned previously, is the addition of keyboard shortcuts. These have been added in recruiting and in the Play Game page, which include 'Space' to sim a play, 'C' to get a coach suggestion, and 'Z' to open the choose play dialog. Inside that dialog, there are now keyboard shortcuts to change pages and select plays from the list. You can effectively play through a whole game using just your keyboard!

Additionally, I've added the ability to sim to a specific week when skipping through the season, which is nice so you don't have to babysit the 'Stop advancing' button. And finally, I've added simple tutorials when starting the game and when starting recruiting, along with more tutorial banners during other preseason/offseason phases. These are fairly unintrusive, but should help new players navigate through those initial seasons easier.

You can see the full list of changes below.

Features:

• Simulation balance improved in many ways (see above)
• Calling the same offensive play repeatedly will now reduce its effectiveness (this penalty is increased on higher difficulties)
• Revamped Play Game page UI, now includes previous play drawings
• Add keyboard shortcuts to playcalling and recruiting dialogs
• Add tutorial dialogs and banners to various pages

Minor improvements:

• Change play summary to read '10yd pass' instead of 'Pass completion', making it easier to see the flow of a drive
• Add simple play cards for Special Teams plays
• Adjust ranking logic slightly (slightly punish lower tier conferences, give less votes to 5+ loss teams)
• Add dialog to sim to a specific week when skipping multiple weeks

Thanks for playing!