[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by marc5477

I think you misunderstood... it was too easy due to how badly the AI handles stats only. By broken, I mean my team was so overwhelming that the game was no longer worth playing. It was like the All American Basketball Team at the Olympics. It was just a funny joke.

I just loaded the save to grab the numbers. I actually played 5 seasons in that game and simmed 3 at the end without even bothering with any transactions and automating the draft and minors. In that last 4 seasons my team had between 100-130 wins and won 2 pennants. No big deal right? Well the payroll was about $14m... The league average is about $30m (just eyeballing it) and the top team (Yanks) had a payroll of $54m. Still, all this would be ok until you see my farm and that was the death knell for the AI. Their farms stunk while mine had a AAA team that could have probably won a pennant or 2 at the major league level.

I can discuss the strategy (upon request) but I really dont want to spoil the game for those enjoying it. Bottom line though, it was too easy. The AI need to use ratings in its valuation else it will make really bad decisions. Right now I have it set to 30/25/25/20 and I still have a few problems with the AI overpaying some player but its not nearly as bad. Most salaries are definitely in line with performance. The only problem now is the common issue with the AI not signing superstar FA's even when the teams are flush with cash. I dont know how to fix this but luckily it is not happening that often any more. I did have a few strange seasons where Ruth and Hornsby went to spring training unsigned but it looks like the problem has sorted itself out since then and I am going into the mid 30's now.

Side note: Willie is just an example of how bad the AI is when you use stats only. Granted, the AI always does something stupid no matter what setting you use, but in this case, Willie had back to back good seasons with over 45 steals and near .290/.390. Of course, after that, he fell off the face of the planet but the AI had him contracted on an escalating contract for 6 years with a player option. He was making an average of about $7m a year which is near top dollar in that league (super star typical set to $6.0m). No offense to Willie fans (he was a good player) but he is not top dollar worthy. My guess is that if the AI were using ratings then Willies salary would probably be around $2.5m-$4m like most good to star players.

Sorry, this whole topic went right over your head. You don't use stats only with historical or current leagues, you use it with fictional leagues. It didn't work because you did it wrong.