dev diary #10 Kickoffs And The Coming Month

[Rocketcan]

Hello Coaches!

 

Welcome to another Dev Diary for NewSim on SimFBA!

 

We have just finished implementation of kickoffs! Once again, I don't have any screenshots this time since I haven't really had the time to take any, but you can check out the dev general channel in the discord if you'd like to see these plays in action.

 

Kickoffs are a bit simpler that Punts. This made it simpler to code and test (thank God). Note: this does not include onside kicks. Those will be implemented later.

1. Kicker kicks the ball
   
2. If the ball goes out the back of the endzone it is a touchback. If the ball lands in the endzone, the fielder kneels for a touchback or returns the kick. If the ball lands outside the endzone, the ball is always returned.
   
3. Return blocks evaluated based on if the return is to the left or right.
   
4. Yards Gained before first contact is calculated.
   
5. Then Tackle loop.
   

As you can see, it is much simpler than punts. The biggest set of logic is to determine whether or not the returner takes the ball out of the endzone. We based this on a discipline calculation. The less disciplined a player, the closer it is to a 50% chance they take the ball out. The more disciplined they are, it falls down to around 16%.

 

Here is a breakdown of what kind of skills are taken into account on this play:

1. Return blockers (including the upback) use speed, agility and a little bit of strength to secure their blocks. It's not like blocking along the line of scrimmage. Special Teams blocks are much more about positioning.
   
2. Coverage players also need to take into account speed, agility and a little bit of strength to defeat their blocks. But they also need to be able to tackle the returner once they get a chance.
   
3. Returners' speed determines how far they can go before they hit first contact (along with how well his blockers set him up). They also need to have high discipline if you don't want them to take out too many potential touchbacks. They also need skills like most players that carry the ball (carrying, agility, strength, etc.). As of right now, there are no chances for muffs, but there is a chance of fumbling.
   
4. Kickers need to worry about one thing: distance. Since kicking the ball out of bounds is a penalty and penalties are not ready to be implemented yet, accuracy is not going to be an issue. Kickers with more power will do better with kickoffs.
   

So when you guys are setting your depth charts, you can use this information to help you make some decisions.

 

Speaking of those decisions, when will you be able to start making those? Soon! (Hopefully). With the completion of Kickoffs, the only type of play left to implement is Field Goals. I will also do some more minor work to add in a few more run plays out of 11 personnel. At that point, then I need to write the Game Manager (the part that actually calls these plays and runs them while keeping track of the score, down, distance, etc.) and then a tool for depthcharts and gameplanning.

 

So here is the basic plan: We are hoping to have an alpha ready by the end of the month. We have been pushing really hard and making a ton of progress, but we have to keep kicking ass if we want to have fun and play some football. The staff has a meeting this Thursday, August 6th at 7pm ET where will be setting deadlines given the tasks we need to still complete. If anyone would like to participate, please DM me on Discord if you do not already have access to the discord meeting voice chat. After then, we will present you guys with a roadmap of what to expect in the coming weeks. We are really excited to get to playing football, and hope you guys are too.

 

Until next time,

 

Rocketcan

[subsequent]

ALL PRAISE ROCKETCAN. Dude has built this thing from the GROUND UP, and we are on the verge of seeing all of his hard work!

[Rocketcan]

I just hope I can make it live up to the hype

[Kirby]

I AM SO FUCKING EXCITED. Whoa

[caesari]

LET'S FUCKING GO.

[Qupax]

Great work, really exciting to see.