Schedules and Time Zones

[Terpripken]

I have a sort of silly question, that I should probably know the answer to.

When generating a schedule all of the times and time zones need to be consistent right?

So if a game is scheduled for 1:05 PM on the west coast, I would enter into the league schedule as 4:05 PM ET?

Also...is the Eastern time zone considered to be the "official" time zone for scheduling? It seems like every newspaper and website I look at this is the case.

[joefromchicago]

You can specify a time zone for a specific game on the schedule? Given that the game assigns teams randomly, I didn't know there was a way to determine where any of the games on the schedule would be played.

My recommendation would be to use local time for all games, rather than trying to set all the games to a single time zone.

[Terpripken]

Originally Posted by joefromchicago

You can specify a time zone for a specific game on the schedule? Given that the game assigns teams randomly, I didn't know there was a way to determine where any of the games on the schedule would be played.

My recommendation would be to use local time for all games, rather than trying to set all the games to a single time zone.

Well you can't specify a time zone, but you can edit the scheduled start time of a game. Under Game Setup>League Functions>Edit Schedule. Even after the season has started you can change the time of an already scheduled game.

[joefromchicago]

Going to the "Edit Schedule" page and changing the start times sounds like an awful lot of work for very little reward. If it means that much to you, go ahead and change them. Personally, I'd stick with the local times.

[Muzamba]

This is an issue that may be addressed in v13, if Markus can figure out a way to implement it. I've already compiled the necessary time zone data into next year's prototype db, so keep your fingers crossed.

[Terpripken]

Well it isn't something I would do for an entire schedule. The only time I do it now is for a tournament that I have set up. I just don't want every team playing their games at 7:05 PM, which seems to be the default time for playoff games.

I just go in and make some of them day games, or later start times.

I was just curious if when doing that if I should make the times local or Eastern time. I guess it is really just a matter of preference.

The only reason I was asking is because if you go to Yahoo or ESPN and look at each days schedule it is listed in Eastern time.

However...when you look at old box scores from World Series games and the like on Baseball Reference the start time of the game is always local time.

Since the start time on the OOTP schedule is what is listed on the box score in OOTP, I was just wondering which time is more standard.

It probably really isn't a huge deal to anybody on these forums but me. I'm just getting ready to start a dynasty in the Dynasty Forum where I'll be posting tons of box scores, and I just want to have some uniformity to go along with my written game reports.

I know...I'm a little obsessive.

[Terpripken]

Originally Posted by Muzamba

This is an issue that may be addressed in v13, if Markus can figure out a way to implement it. I've already compiled the necessary time zone data into next year's prototype db, so keep your fingers crossed.

Very cool. Good to know.

[joefromchicago]

Originally Posted by Terpripken

Since the start time on the OOTP schedule is what is listed on the box score in OOTP, I was just wondering which time is more standard.

Local times. About the only time you see start times listed according to a single time zone is in media listings for upcoming games -- that's so people on the east coast, for instance, will know that the broadcast of the Dodgers-Padres game on ESPN starts at 10:00 EDT, not at 7:00 EDT. If you're reporting on the game, though, it doesn't make much sense to say "the game started right on time at 10:05 p.m." if it's a west coast game that actually started at 7:05 local time.

[Terpripken]

Thanks! That makes sense, and is exactly what I wanted to know.

[Layton is my Homeboy]

Originally Posted by Muzamba

This is an issue that may be addressed in v13, if Markus can figure out a way to implement it. I've already compiled the necessary time zone data into next year's prototype db, so keep your fingers crossed.

Any word on whether this has been implemented?

[bwburke94]

Originally Posted by Layton is my Homeboy

Any word on whether this has been implemented?

It has. It is now based off the home team's time zone. So games listed as 7:05 in the schedule file will be played at 7:05 local time instead of 7:05 Eastern time.

[Layton is my Homeboy]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

It has. It is now based off the home team's time zone. So games listed as 7:05 in the schedule file will be played at 7:05 local time instead of 7:05 Eastern time.

Fantastic! Thank you for the update.

I think that this is a huge step up in terms of schedule support, because it means that schedule makers don't have to worry about timezones when creating schedules (something that was never quite possible anyway, since the team assignments rotate).

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Layton is my Homeboy

I think that this is a huge step up in terms of schedule support, because it means that schedule makers don't have to worry about timezones when creating schedules (something that was never quite possible anyway, since the team assignments rotate).

This was precisely what I have been wanting for some time and made sure Markus understood when time zones were implemented as part of this year's release.