Your Chance To Participate In A New Football Phenomenon (Sandbox Simulations)

[Rain Man]

I apologize if the mods think this is soliciting, and I guess it is, but at the same time it's beta testing a new product developed by long-time planeteers, and it's free.

cdcox and I have been developing a new football game for the thoughtful fan, where players build franchises and compete against each other. A description is below.

If you're interested, we're offering the game for free in Year 1 to Chiefsplanet members, with the goal of both giving the system a dry run and also hooking you like Phillip Morris. You can go to www.sandboxsimulations.com to sign up, and use the access code 6Lanier3.

Here's the overview:

Build and manage a full 53-player roster over multiple seasons, as an offseason activity to give you year-round football

Select your personnel to match your offensive and defensive scheme. Every position matters – even your blocking tight end.

Realistic and accurate simulations of league games based on head-to-head matchups against other teams in your league.


This is essentially a new concept in fantasy football that attempts to simulate as closely as possible the management of a real NFL franchise over a multi-year period. Unlike regular fantasy football, every position on the offense and defense contributes to your success or failure. On special teams, the punter, kicker, and kick returners matter.

In Sandbox Football you will build a team – an entire 53-man football team – via an initial draft, and will maintain it year after year in annual rookie drafts, trading periods, and free agency. You compete against teams in your league. In the first year of the game, before the start of the NFL season, you will build your roster by drafting veterans and rookies through separate drafts, and through trades with other teams in the league. Your roster is frozen at the beginning of the NFL season. During the real regular NFL season, you can focus on your traditional fantasy games and perhaps keep on eye on your Sandbox roster as our statistical models build the data on player performances. At the end of the regular NFL season, the Sandbox season begins. There will be 16 games in the season. In real time, the season will run about 8 weeks (2 alternate reality games per week).

Game outcomes will be simulated based on the performance of individual players during the just-completed NFL regular season. The simulations, developed by a PhD statistical expert, estimate how individual players will perform in the context of your alternate reality team competing head-to-head against other teams in the league and with the specific team that you have built. The simulations will consider the offensive and defensive schemes that you select. So you can build your roster to support a power running game or a high-flying passing attack. You can run a 3-4 or 4-3 base defense. You can run nickel formations or four-wide receiver sets. You can rotate your DL to keep them fresh.

The game is more about building a team than playing video games. So this isn't Madden, but you will have the ability to tweak your game plan to take the best advantage of your roster and the weaknesses of your opponent. Injuries are a factor in the game. If a player is unavailable during weeks 3 through 6 in the NFL, he is also unavailable during the same weeks in the alternate reality season. So roster depth matters. The game simulations are based on the most advanced statistics and the latest research regarding what matters in winning an NFL game. But, the outcomes of the games have a random component, just like real NFL games.

The calendar for the alternate reality league year will look something like this:
• Jan to Mid March: Alternate Reality regular season and playoffs.
• Mid-March to the beginning of NFL season: Roster building through trades, veteran draft (first year), free agent drafts (2nd year and beyond), and rookie draft.
• Beginning of NFL season to end of regular NFL season: Alternate reality league is dormant, but the NFL players are generating their performance stats for the up-coming AR league.
• Rinse and repeat.

Copyright Sandbox Simulations, all rights reserved.

We're still finalizing the cost structure, but this won't be an expensive game to play at all. It might range from a few bucks a year to $50 per year, depending on a few factors.

Year 1 will require a couple of days of drafting with rather high intensity, but we've got it set up where you can put your draft list together and do customized and automated drafting if you like.

So...go! Now! Time to get ready for the draft!

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by RedTDKisses

This might fall under a question you can't answer, but since I only have 3 wideouts available this week, would I be better off:

A)Only running 3 wides max

B)Running my 4th wide as a street free agent

C)Splitting out my 2nd tight end, Delanie Walker?

The magic of Sandbox football is that you have to make that decision based on your knowledge and years of football talent evaluation.

I'm struggling with a similar issue on one of my teams. I have Tommy Kelly, Terrance Knighton, Stephen Paea, and Terrell McClain at DT, all serviceable, and my only DEs are Will Smith, Matt Shaughnessy, and George Selvie. With Shaughnessy now out for the year, do I put Selvie in there, who doesn't look like he's going to be a high-altitude bomber, or do I move one of my DTs out? And if so, which one?

I finally made the tough decision to put Terrell McClain out there, and then put Selvie in as a 30 to 40 percent substitute on passing downs. We'll see how it works.

[lostcause]

Are all legitimate nfl players better than street free agents at the same position? Or is barry Richardson worse?

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

The magic of Sandbox football is that you have to make that decision based on your knowledge and years of football talent evaluation.

I'm struggling with a similar issue on one of my teams. I have Tommy Kelly, Terrance Knighton, Stephen Paea, and Terrell McClain at DT, all serviceable, and my only DEs are Will Smith, Matt Shaughnessy, and George Selvie. With Shaughnessy now out for the year, do I put Selvie in there, who doesn't look like he's going to be a high-altitude bomber, or do I move one of my DTs out? And if so, which one?

I finally made the tough decision to put Terrell McClain out there, and then put Selvie in as a 30 to 40 percent substitute on passing downs. We'll see how it works.

I'm thinking I might flex out my 2nd TE just to test the system, since my opponent is starting Colt McCoy, who is throwing to a roster that has 2 wide receivers, total.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by lostcause

Are all legitimate nfl players better than street free agents at the same position? Or is barry Richardson worse?

Street free agents join NFL teams every week. Some of them get into games and play. So based on your knowledge of the typical performance of these players and your knowledge of a specific named NFL player, you should be able to make a decision.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Street free agents join NFL teams every week.

[cdcox]

Are you ready for some simulations?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Are you ready for some simulations?

A Wednesday night party....

[Rain Man]

Wait. It's Tuesday.

[Rain Man]

Boy, Duluth really blew a bunch of opportunities in League 1. We threw multiple interceptions, got sacked and lost a fumble on opposing four yard line, and couldn't move the ball on our second drive when we took over on their 39. Bad game.

Oh, and we have several creative spellings of "recovered" on the fumbles. I saw a "recorved" and a "recoved". It's great if these are the biggest problems I can find.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Damn, another close one for Denver against a shitty team.

This is pissing me off. I should be waxing these teams.

HOWEVER

1st Q 14:10 2nd and 9 Denver 21 Reggie Bush rushes for 79 yards. Touchdown, conversion
Portland 0, Denver 7

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Holy crap, look at this. Reggie tried to give the game away.

Denver
4th Q 1:13 1st and 10 Denver 39 Reggie Bush rushes for 1 yards. Fumble, recoved by Portland returned for 41 yards. Touchdown, failed 2-pt conversion

I went up 21-0 in the first 3 drives and then stalled the rest of the game. Weird.

[Rain Man]

In the Richmond game, Richmond should not have declined this penalty. Dammit Herm.


St Joseph 21, Richmond 40
St Joseph
4th Q 4:09 1st and 10 Richmond 22 Andy Dalton passes complete to Robert Meachem for a gain of 17 yards.
4th Q 3:44 1st and goal Richmond 5 Andy Dalton passes incomplete to Jordy Nelson.
4th Q 3:37 2nd and goal Richmond 5 Andy Dalton passes incomplete to Matt Forte.
4th Q 3:30 3rd and goal Richmond 5 Andy Dalton scrambles for 6 yards. PENALTY. Offensive Holding on Jeremy Zuttah. -10 yards. Penalty declined. Touchdown, conversion
St Joseph 28, Richmond 40

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

I'm seeing some weirdness with declined penalties, too.

1st Q 12:54 3rd and 17 Portland 13 Colt McCoy passes complete to Chris D. Johnson for a gain of -3 yards.

PENALTY. Defensive Pass Interference on D'Qwell Jackson. -3 yards.

Penalty declined.

2nd Q 7:04 3rd and 13 Portland 28 Colt McCoy (pressured) passes incomplete to Chris D. Johnson.

PENALTY. Defensive Pass Interference on D'Qwell Jackson. -3 yards.

Penalty declined.

[brorth]

Whew, Corona Lights 21- Los Angeles Knights 17.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by RedTDKisses

I'm seeing some weirdness with declined penalties, too.

Those shouldn't have even been called. I thought I had fixed this once. The problem is that on these random outcomes, there isn't an easy way to test if the code is working as intended.

I really should break each part of the simulator into a stand alone module, test the module for all possible outcomes, and then put everything back together again. This is the non-easy way.