Planning a fictional solo league

[tylertoo]

Is there any sort of walkthrough or checklist for planning out a fictional league? I don't mean how to use the in-game league set-up. I'm talking about what should come before that -- sitting down, putting pencil to paper and planning out what could become a dynasty league... before I begin the actual in-game set up?

I guess the short of it is I get overwhelmed by all the choices during in-game set up, and need to make decisions before hand, and a guide of some sort laying out the full range of decisions would help.

Thanks.

[TribeFanInNC]

The best advice I can give you is to save your setup as a template, then do some test sims to see if you get what you want. Sim 10 or 20 years to see if the league still looks like you want, especially if you want different stat output than modern day (i.e. if you want to simulate 60's era baseball or deadball era). If you mess up, you can revert back to the template, change a couple things, and try again.

The things you have to get right from the start are the stat outputs and any changes you want to make to the cities/nations/ethnicities (if it is your first time, you may not want to play with these yet). Then plot out the league structure and cities/nicknames you want to use. Then get the league rules right. Usually at this point I get antsy and set it up and test. Then I work in logos, unis, and ballcaps to round out the immersion. But you can add these as you go after you start.

It can be very intimidating at first. There are a million things that can be set. You can spend 2 hours or 2 months doing it. I would suggest spending a day or two plotting it out, then just giving it a try. You'll probably find a couple things you should have done differently, but don't sweat it. Just enjoy it and fix those things next time.

Good Luck!

[SMFXR01]

You could even use one of the quickstarts that come with the game.
Tweak things a bit and see how it affects your "universe".
Even going as far as to change logos,strcture etc.
I found this the easiest way to experiment before starting my own league.

[Gern44]

No matter how much advance planning you do, there will always be something that you arent completely satisfied with.

Thats my biggest problem with having the ability to customize so many things.

[jmknpk2]

The way I got comfortable with all the overwhelming game options is by trial and error.

I made my best guess at all the options and then started a league and played it out while it was interesting and fun for me. Then eventually I'd run into a situation that I was unhappy with. So it would be back to the drawing board to start a new league...and play that out until I found something I didn't like.

I don't think there's any cookie-cutter template or instructions on how to design your league ahead of time. Because everyone has their own personal preferences and pet peeves. Some don't mind a-historical statistics, some can't live without realistic stats. Some like real-life players some like fictional players.

I experimented with quick start, real major league leagues, historical leagues, fictional leagues until I settled in on the kind of game I like to play. I make the customizations that suit me and ignore the rest.

I think the best way to learn the options is to dive in and give it a try. It's kind of like a dog chasing his own tail, because you can't know the setup of the universe you like to play until you know the options, but the best way to learn and understand the options is to try to set up a league and see how it turns out.

I would recommend not getting your heart set on setting up the perfect league from the outset.

And one other important piece of advice others have mentioned is to backup/save often during the setup process. If you make a mistake you can go back that way without losing all of your work.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by tylertoo

Is there any sort of walkthrough or checklist for planning out a fictional league? I don't mean how to use the in-game league set-up. I'm talking about what should come before that -- sitting down, putting pencil to paper and planning out what could become a dynasty league... before I begin the actual in-game set up?

I guess the short of it is I get overwhelmed by all the choices during in-game set up, and need to make decisions before hand, and a guide of some sort laying out the full range of decisions would help.

Thanks.

A lot of that is going to depend on what type of setup you want. Just a few things off the top of my head. How many levels of minors do you want? Do you want feeder leagues? Do you want finances on or off? Do you want to allow draft pick trading? The list goes on and on. There really isn't a walk through because you have so many choices. Every solo league is unique in some way.

[tylertoo]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I think my use of 'guide' or 'walkthrough' was incorrect. It was prompted by this thread in the historical forum; I was thinking of something similar for a fictional league.

But really all I would need is an out-of-game checklist along the lines of...

Originally Posted by BruceM

How many levels of minors do you want? Do you want feeder leagues? Do you want finances on or off? Do you want to allow draft pick trading? The list goes on and on.

I will just create my own list on a legal pad going through the set up. I find I can think better with pen and pad. And yes, I will expect to make changes and have restarts.

So, again, thanks!

[Athletics17]

I just finished setting a fictional league up for myself. Saving the template is the best way to go because I restarted at least four times. Oh, backup your league alot.