Probably Done with Development Lab

ovccsteve · Yesterday, 01:45 PM

I'm completing my second offseason in 26 (fictional league) and I think I'm going to just ignore the Development Lab from now on. I loved it in 25, but now it seems that the only likely outcomes are frustrated players or injuries. Defensive improvement, even working with a great lineup of coaches, is nearly impossible, and players won't even learn positions they could pick up in two weeks of assigned play. Positive outcomes are so rare they make the national news feed. Not worth the risk of injury or negative outcomes for the Powerball-lottery odds of getting even a modest improvement. I'm willing to be told I'm wrong, but I currently have four players the AI assigned to the lab. One is frustrated, two are on track, and one is excelling, but I'm willing to bet money by the time the programs are completed that maybe one will show minor improvement.

Rain King · Yesterday, 01:50 PM

There is a setting where you can adjust the difficulty of the lab if you would like.

League Settings --> Players & Team --> Player Development Settings

Setting is called "Overall Program Difficulty". Options are "Less Difficult", "Default", "More Difficult".

ovccsteve · Yesterday, 01:59 PM

Thanks. I didn't know I could adjust it. Unfortunately, it was already on Default and any time I change a setting to Less Difficult (or Easy) I feel like I'm cheating. I'll probably just turn it off.

Klitch · Yesterday, 02:24 PM

I would agree that, purely anecdotally, the success rates in the Development Lab seem lower in my first playthrough than they were in 25.

I had already planned on setting the difficulty down for it in my second playthrough. I don't quite understand how it feels like cheating if you're asking the devs to boost the success rate and they give you the tools to do so yourself. From what I understand, it reduces the Development Lab difficulty for both you and the AI teams, so there is no unfair advantage being given.

Will Beh · Today, 12:25 PM

Just wanted to mention, while you can now adjust the settings to change the overall odds, the default odds of success/failure this year are calculated exactly the same as last year.
With a small sample size it might feel a lot different, but the numbers and calculations are exactly the same

Yesterday, 01:45 PM	#1
ovccsteve All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sanford, NC Posts: 565	Probably Done with Development Lab I'm completing my second offseason in 26 (fictional league) and I think I'm going to just ignore the Development Lab from now on. I loved it in 25, but now it seems that the only likely outcomes are frustrated players or injuries. Defensive improvement, even working with a great lineup of coaches, is nearly impossible, and players won't even learn positions they could pick up in two weeks of assigned play. Positive outcomes are so rare they make the national news feed. Not worth the risk of injury or negative outcomes for the Powerball-lottery odds of getting even a modest improvement. I'm willing to be told I'm wrong, but I currently have four players the AI assigned to the lab. One is frustrated, two are on track, and one is excelling, but I'm willing to bet money by the time the programs are completed that maybe one will show minor improvement.

Yesterday, 01:50 PM	#2
Rain King Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 2,868	There is a setting where you can adjust the difficulty of the lab if you would like. League Settings --> Players & Team --> Player Development Settings Setting is called "Overall Program Difficulty". Options are "Less Difficult", "Default", "More Difficult".

Yesterday, 01:59 PM	#3
ovccsteve All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sanford, NC Posts: 565	Thanks. I didn't know I could adjust it. Unfortunately, it was already on Default and any time I change a setting to Less Difficult (or Easy) I feel like I'm cheating. I'll probably just turn it off.

Yesterday, 02:24 PM	#4
Klitch Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2025 Posts: 6	I would agree that, purely anecdotally, the success rates in the Development Lab seem lower in my first playthrough than they were in 25. I had already planned on setting the difficulty down for it in my second playthrough. I don't quite understand how it feels like cheating if you're asking the devs to boost the success rate and they give you the tools to do so yourself. From what I understand, it reduces the Development Lab difficulty for both you and the AI teams, so there is no unfair advantage being given.

Today, 12:25 PM	#5
Will Beh OOTP Developments Join Date: May 2020 Location: Canada Posts: 1,200	Just wanted to mention, while you can now adjust the settings to change the overall odds, the default odds of success/failure this year are calculated exactly the same as last year. With a small sample size it might feel a lot different, but the numbers and calculations are exactly the same