BuzzerBeater Forums

I'm not sure if my own experiences are clouding my thinking, but I'm wondering if Enthusiasm should be eliminated/reset before the playoffs.

In the NBBA this season, Salisbury was forced to effectively forfeit his championship hopes with a Crunch Time in the semifinals against me. This left him with such a low Enthusiasm for the finals that he never really had a chance to give his best against Demon Hoosiers. I was facing the same dilemma, because if I had CT'd against Salisbury I would have been badly exposed for the finals as well. This just does not seem realistic, which I understand is somewhat important.

I'm not sure what needs to be changed, but it seems like the current system doesn't allow the two best teams in the ENTIRE division to be at their best for the finals. I guess I just think Enthusiasm is silly altogether, because in real life great teams can bring it every night in the playoffs.

I think in the future we are going to see the lower seeded teams winning in the semifinals (like this year) if the system isn't changed. The reason is they have nothing to lose by CT'ing, while the home team (who earned that spot by being superior over a 24 game season) has to think about the next playoff series as well. The away team doesn't necessarily have that luxury, and are forced to be desperate.

Let me be sure to note that this is no slight to Demon Hoosiers - he's put together a fantastic team that fully deserves the title. However, it would have been nice to see Salisbury (or the Bulls hehe) be able to face him at full strength.

Maybe CT is too stong? Maybe Enthu needs to be scrapped for the playoffs? Any thoughts, ideas?

I think the way it happened from my side was fair, and by that I mean that is was predictable within the rules. It was fairly realistic in that I think teams in real sports frequently over expend themselves in the run up to the finals, and suffer because of it. I knew that both I and Nth knew that we were sure to lose in the finals if we CT'd, so I took the gamble that he wouldn't (and from what I can see of the ratings, I was correct). I had to gamble again when I decided to TIE the first game of the finals at Salisbury's place. My reasoning there was that if he tried to win that game by either going out at Normal or CT, then I would surely be able to take him in three games.

To me, what that all means is that the playoff series need a game added at the quarterfinal and semifinal stages so that they are at least home and away with either the possibility of a tiebreaker or aggregate scoring. In addition to making it exponentially more difficult to read opponents, adding those two games would increase the potential gains to be had by making the playoffs, as well as the potential harm of not making them, i.e. teams will probably need a bigger, more expensive roster to have a chance. The higher divisions will be a pressure cooker--either people will have the management skill and gamesmanship to succeed, or they will quickly have to sell off players and go down (or go bankrupt).

These are good points after this round of playoffs. If nothing is changed, I think the SF will become a must to CT since the rewards of 2/3 extra games and a shot at winning the division along with promotion for lower leagues just leaves too much to risk.

Freezing the ability to adjust enthusiasm during the playoffs is an option. Though that seems a bit drastic from the build of the game.

I'd like to see the effect of CT (both in match ratings and decrease to enthusiasm) lowered, maybe so it functions similarly to how it's effected by a TIE. I think this would make it more realistic also.

What was your Enthusiasm for the two games?

I think the main problem this season was the amount of bot teams in the great 8 which allowed demon & myself more TIE games towards the end of the season - that and the fact that neither of us had the latter cup stages to deal with.

If salisbury had have PAN in the semi against the bulls the finals might have been closer. The fact remains that he CT'd to ensure he made the finals which got him the extra 2 matches $$, but didnt deliver the title. Who knows who would've been playing demon if salisbury PAN the semi.

I think the point is that CT has so much of an effect on the ratings (and drop in enthusiasm) it's less about the season, teams, preparation and more about an all or nothing decision to CT. So teams in a weak division or lucky enough to face a bot team get a huge advantage. Also, at some point teams will try to agree to not CT against each other, and that's not something that would be good for the integrity of the game.

If I could vote on this, I'd remove CT as it is now, which is the "nuclear option". To solve this, either get rid of CT or reduce it's effect.

What was your Enthusiasm for the two games?

7 and 8, I think.

Mutual PIC / normal wouldn't really work because you just cant trust the other manager incase they decide to jib you & go harder than agreed - although that would be to their disadvantage long term because of the effects on enthus.

you couldn't plan to do this either way as it wouldn't be avail. I've mutual PIC'd many matches in hattrick. I don't doubt it will happen in BB also.

I was at 2 and 4 for the two games...that's a significant difference but in the end the only numbers that matter are my score and your score.