Finances Question

[OldFatGuy]

I posted this in 15, but no answer so thought I'd try here.

Can anyone explain to me what the column "coefficient" means in the financials.txt file??? Specifically, if we edit the other columns to our liking, is there some reason we would also need to know how edit the coefficient column as well??

The only thing I can think of that it impacts are financial numbers in game that don't have corresponding column in the financials.txt file. But testing doesn't seem to confirm that, as testing seems to indicate that such numbers are somehow calculated from other numbers present in the file, and not the "coefficient" number. So I can't figure out what it's purpose is, and if it's nothing, why it's still there.

What I mean by figures that don't have a specific column in the financials.txt file are things like slot bonus numbers, average scouting expenses, and the media numbers in the financials.txt file don't seem to (but I haven't done enough analysis yet to confirm, just going by "feel") be where the game is getting it's national/local media numbers from.

Can anyone out there better explain this file to me???

I do not like "real life" financials, and made a financials.txt file of my own that I liked way better way back in OOTP 2007. Then I simply copied that one forward to each new version, but as more stuff has been added as versions have come along, the financials.txt file still appears to have the same basic columns it had back in OOTP 2007/OOTP 8 and before I make another home made one I would just like to try and understand how all the financials.txt file relates to all of these new features.

[Déjà Bru]

OFG, financial coefficient is nothing more than a multiplier. The use that comes to mind is, say you are playing historically and you get up to 2015 and the historical financial settings in financials.txt have run out. Then say you want to show 5% inflation the following year or some future year (otherwise, you will forever be dealing in terms of 2015 dollars). You would set the financial coefficient to 1.050 and it would bump up everything 5%. In most cases, you are going to want to leave it set at 1.000, however.

Here's what the online manual says about financial coefficient:

[OldFatGuy]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

snip...

But that explanation doesn't make sense considering the values in the financials.txt file.

Here are some of the values from the OOTP 15 financials.txt file, the first number after the year is the coefficient number and then comes some financial numbers.

1996,0.6575,"$768,769 ","$131,500 ","$172,594 ","$6,045,162 "
1997,0.6831,"$798,702 ","$136,620 ","$179,314 ","$6,737,333 "
1998,0.7087,"$828,634 ","$141,740 ","$186,034 ","$7,511,640 "
1999,0.7537,"$881,288 ","$150,747 ","$197,855 ","$8,557,630 "
2000,0.8054,"$941,698 ","$161,080 ","$211,418 ","$9,758,664 "
2001,0.8637,"$1,000,000","$172,740 ","$226,721 ","$11,133,592 "
2002,0.9092,"$2,000,000","$181,840 ","$238,665 ","$12,434,210 "
2003,0.9547,"$3,000,000","$190,940 ","$250,609 ","$13,822,211 "
2004,1,"$4,000,000","$200,000","$262,553 ","$14,299,323 "
2005,1,"$5,000,000","$200,000","$274,496 ","$14,858,506 "
2006,1,"$6,000,000","$200,000","$300,000 ","$15,510,816 "
2007,1,"$7,000,000","$200,000","$350,000 ","$16,257,788 "
2008,1,"$8,000,000","$200,000","$380,000 ","$17,000,000 "
2009,1,"$9,000,000","$200,000","$400,000 ","$17,000,000 "
2010,1,"$10,000,000","$200,000","$430,000 ","$17,000,000 "
2011,1,"$10,000,000","$200,000","$450,000 ","$17,000,000 "
2012,1,"$10,000,000","$200,000","$480,000 ","$17,000,000 "
2013,1,"$10,000,000","$200,000","$490,000 ","$18,000,000 "
2014,1,"$10,000,000","$200,000","$500,000 ","$18,000,000 "

So, for example, why does a coefficient of 1 equal $7,000,000 cash maximum in 2007 but it equals $10,000,000 in 2014?

And if the coefficient is merely a ratio based on current values (i.e. in 2007 a coefficient of 1 means $7M so a coefficient of .5 would equal $3.5M where is 2014 a coefficient of one means $10M and a coefficient of .5 would equal $5.M) then why would the "default" number ever be anything but 1, as we see in all corresponding years prior to 2004???

I mean, if one looks at 2003 as an example, is it saying that $3M is the baseline cash maximum, but since there is a coefficient of 0.9547 the effective cash maximum in the game using the existing financials.txt file in 2003 is $3M X 0.9547=$2,864,100?

I don't think so, I think the cash maximum in game in 2003 with the default financials.txt file is $3M.

I'm just not understanding that explanation with the given values in the financials.txt file.
ADDED: Oh, and could you tell me where you found that?? I even did a search in the online manual using "Financial coefficient" and couldn't find it???? Yeah, I'm an idiot.

[ToTheBackstop]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

ADDED: Oh, and could you tell me where you found that?? I even did a search in the online manual using "Financial coefficient" and couldn't find it???? Yeah, I'm an idiot.

It's at this link under "Financial Settings"

[Déjà Bru]

Yes, I can certainly see where you got confused, OFG. The answer may be, you are over-thinking about it but through no fault of your own.

I believe that this column in the financials.txt file is non-operative and may have been inserted just for information purposes up to a certain point (2004, it looks like) and then after that it was just ignored and left at 1.000.

For, I also think that the other financial data is imported into your game, automatically if you have historical progression set, in absolute numbers and the financial coefficient is ignored in the process. The financial coefficient in the game is independent of the other financial data in this regard.

Take a look at the screen prints from my game, below. I am in 1928 and have the appropriate financial settings from that year in my game. Yet, my financial coefficient is set at 1.000 where it always is; I don't touch that AND AT THE SAME TIME, the coefficient in the financials.txt file is 0.0084. That is why I think that column in the file is actually inactive and ignored.

As I said, I believe financial coefficient in the game is used to multiply (for inflation or some other adjustment) the financial settings that have been either previously imported from financials.txt or entered manually. Again, what comes to mind is when the financials.txt file runs out in 2015 and you want to show inflation in future years by bumping everything up 5% or so once in a while.

[OldFatGuy]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I believe that this column in the financials.txt file is non-operative and may have been inserted just for information purposes up to a certain point (2004, it looks like) and then after that it was just ignored and left at 1.000.

That's kind of what I was thinking too, but was wondering if others also had any ideas. But it does beg the question as to why it's there, or, for that matter, why it's ever been there.

I'm hoping that's the answer, because as there have been more and more financial numbers appear in the game with no corresponding column in the financials.txt file, I was faced with trying to figure out proper coefficient numbers if that was how those other numbers were being calculated.

As an example, looking at your first screen shot, the following numbers have columns in the financials.txt file.

Attendance Baseline
Ticket Price Baseline
Cash Maximum
Coach Salary Baseline
Minimum Player Salary
Superstar Quality Player typical Salary
Star Quality Player typical Salary
Good Quality Player typical Salary
Above Average Quality Player typical Salary
Average Quality Player typical Salary
Below Average Quality Player typical Salary
Fair Quality Player typical Salary
Poor Quality Player typical Salary

But, there are no columns in the financials.txt file for the following values:
National Media Contract Baseline*
Local Media Contract Baseline*
Merchandising Revenue Baseline
Player Dev. Budget Baseline
Scouting Budget Baseline

and on another screen:
Slot Bonus Baseline.

*There is a "media" column in the financials.txt file but that number never (or rarely, I haven't seen one) shows up in either of these two boxes, nor does adding them up give you that number. In fact, usually the numbers in the boxes in game are several multitudes HIGHER than the number that appears in the financials.txt file for "media."


So I was afraid that perhaps the coefficient was maybe being used to come up with those numbers. But it doesn't appear so, and I think you're right, the coefficient column in the financials.txt file is not used anymore. So one wonders why it's still in the financials.txt file and whether any of the other columns in the file are no longer being used.

I'm going to try and make a homemade financials.txt file again and just ignore the coefficient this time and hope those numbers that don't appear in the financials.txt file somehow adjust correctly year to year.

But the 2015 thing you mentioned is why I made up my own before. You can extend the financials.txt to any year you want. In my last home made one (that I made for OOTP8 and just kept copying to newer versions) I extended it out to the year 2250 with the kind of growth that I personally like, not some preset percentage or something.

Anyway, that file worked great through about OOTP 12 or 13 (IIRC) and since then I haven't used a home made one, and just manually typed in the numbers I wanted every year. But I would like to go back to having a functioning financials.txt file that I can rely on no matter what league I choose to play with and without having to do the data entry every offseason.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

So one wonders why it's still in the financials.txt file and whether any of the other columns in the file are no longer being used.

The word "vestigial" comes to mind. Yes, I am weird.

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

I'm going to try and make a homemade financials.txt file again and just ignore the coefficient this time and hope those numbers that don't appear in the financials.txt file somehow adjust correctly year to year.

Try putting 1.000 in for every year. I bet it does nothing. Make a bunch of test leagues to see which of the other columns are still effective. I am guessing that the other parameters that you list as not in the financials.txt file (media, merchandising, etc.) are calculated by formula using the data that are contained in that file.

[Matt Arnold]

We do ignore that column on import. It was most likely there for legacy reasons (ie. we used to have it, and then one version we stopped importing it, but didn't want everyone to have messed up financials.txt files).

Yes, the effect in-game is essentially a full multiplier for all other financial figures in the game. It's not exactly inflation, per se, as if you change the value then existing player contracts will also get multiplied by it, but it can be used to essentially shift all financial figures in the game at once.