I am making a new thread since the original comment was at the tail end of a post that had nothing to do with this issue. JDB had commented that he would be open to ideas on how best to fix the problems surrounding AI-controlled teams leading up to and during the offseason, specifically with regard to free agency, salary cap management, and the draft. We all know that the CPU currently destroys teams without human owners, whether its by letting superstars walk, handing out outrageous contracts to players and coaches, or drafting a bunch of worthless players with high picks. This issue has already massacred pretty much every MFN league already, and is becoming a problem in custom leagues, even ones tightly managed. I have some ideas for fixing this problem that JDB would of course have to work into the code, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to put in their opinions as well. I'd like everyone to stay on topic as much as possible, and let's be polite. There are no stupid questions, and as long as everyone is trying to work toward fixing the issue at hand, there are no stupid suggestions. I look forward to a healthy discussion (as I'm sure JDB is), and below you will find my outline for fixing the issues surrounding AI-controlled teams.
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As far as the AI goes involving team management, I don't know how to fix that. I would say that if the team has the cap room/cash flow to re-sign all of the players/coaches at season's end based on their minimum salary demands then the AI will do so.
IE, if John Doe won't negotiate for a contract with less than a 5 million signing bonus, the computer re-signs him at the lowest contract price with a 5 million dollar signing bonus.
And if the team DOESN'T have the cap room to re-sign everyone, the AI would prioritize based on highest rated players (per default ratings) to lowest. So if the team in question had a 93 rated player and a 72 rated player, but only the money to re-sign the 93, that player would get re-signed and the 72 would be left to free agency.
I don't know what kind of coding cost it would require, or if its possible, to have the AI make decisions based on age (Don't re-sign Year 11 players to 6 year contracts), but I think an age based system on top of a salary cap triage system would be ideal, because the dead money caused by early retirements is a big reason behind AI team cap issues, although admittedly, a lot of actual players deal with this issue as well.
Coach hiring would just be whoever the AI could afford to hire to stay under cash flow cap, maybe based on average salaries league wide, or just sign whoever is available before training camp. I honestly don't have much of an opinion on coaches, other than to have the AI not hire a QB Coach for 99% of cash flow.
BUT, as far as the draft goes, my idea would be that the AI drafts the best player available based on position of need (PON). It already handles PON pretty well, it just really craps its pants when it comes to actual talent. So if a team has 13 OL and 2 WR, the AI should be designed to draft the best WR before it drafts the best OL. And so on. And, just to make it easier (I'm guessing), just write drafting punters and kickers out of the AI code altogether. If it's an AI controlled team, the K and P positions can be filled with the 34545432 free agents. That way, if a real person comes to take over a team that the AI drafted for a few years, there's a better chance of that player contending if the AI was at least trying to take players based on value. Volatility really shouldn't factor in, just to make it simpler. If they bust, they bust, but there's no chance of success if the AI drafts 3 RBs rated 37 overall with 40 speed.
So, to wrap up, this is my ideal AI position:
1. Re-sign players to contracts as small as possible based on player demands.
2. Prioritize re-signing players with higher default rankings.
3. Prioritize re-signing younger players over older players.
4. Be as frugal as possible with both player and coach contracts. Saving money should be the biggest priority for AI controlled teams.
5. No drafting K or P.
6. Prioritize drafting based on best player available (according to default ratings, disregarding volatility).
7. Secondary drafting priority is PON.
If any of this isn't possible, or if anyone thinks any of this is stupid, feel free to let me know. But if these concepts are reasonable then I think MFN in general will be a much healthier community with them in place.
Thanks again for everything JDB.
Last edited at 9/11/2019 3:29 pm