Franchise Football Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Game Play
1. If my primary offensive formation is the I-Form, and my secondary is Shotgun: will the game generally pick Shotgun for passing plays and I-Form for running plays?
2. If my quarterback comes off an injury the same day as a game, could he start in that game if he was designated to do so?
3. I received ticket revenue, even though my team played an away game, do home teams share money with the visitors?
4. Is there any disadvantage in placing your regular season starters on the bench during the exhibition season to avoid injuries?
5. How do you take advantage of a great fullback?
6. Is pre-season attendance calculated the same as regular season?
7. In some places in the game and game discussion the term 'gameday' is referred to. What is the 'gameday'?
8. Is there a specific side that the TE is assumed to line up on?
9. How do I play games?
10. Is there a hidden part to the game that gives subscribers a little bit of an extra kick?
Players
1. What effect do signing bonus' have on offering players (and them accepting) long term contracts?
2. Can players retire while they're still under contract?
3. Why are teams not allowed to sign free agents near the end of the season?
4. Several of my 0-season players will not negotiate with me. The message I receive is "player has already negotiated a contract this year". Will I lose these players?
5. I am training players with High Potential. I am not seeing any improvements in the ratings of my players. Why?
6. Why do I see teams with a bunch of players on the disabled list when those players aren't injured?
7. How are salaries determined for players who are drafted?
8. If a player is injured and plays in a game how is their performance effected by the injury?
9. When I trade a player to another team and his contract length is over 1 year remaining am I on the hook for the contract?
10. If there is 1 year remaining on a players contract, does that mean there is 1 more year to go or does it mean that current season is the last year of their current contract?
11. Is it possible for players to gain footballs throughout the season with out training?
12. When bidding on several free agents, how does the game decide who gets picked first?
13. The game tells you how much a player will want for a one season salary, if I want to offer a multi-season deal, how much additional should I offer him?
14. If a player is on holdout and gets traded while being a holdout will he renegotiate his deal with his new team?
15. If I release a player who has more than 1 year remaining on his salary and is a holdout, will I be responsible for the liability that would be incurred?
16. Can a young player (ie. 25 year old) lose vitals during the offseason?
Front Office
1. What does league shared revenue represent? And can I effect my share?
2. What is the best way to go about increasing revenue when you are just starting out?
3. Should you advertise everyday or only twice a week?
4. What is the difference between the league salary cap and salary violation? When do I get penalized for being over the cap?
5. When does one buy promotions?
6. I have been spending money on advertising everyday but my fame score stays the same or goes down. What am I doing wrong?
7. When do I pay these players?
Subscriptions
1. Is there some place that lists all of the upgrades one gets for subscribing?
2. How do you re-subscribe?
3. If I re-subscribe before my subscription is over do I lose all those days until the end of the first subscription?
4. If your subscribed and you buy a new contract mid-season do you get that contract for 1 1/2 seasons? Or more?
5. If you have a subscribed team in one league can you have any unsubscribed teams in other leagues? If so what is the limit?
User Interface / Login / Displays
1. Every now and then the screen comes up without the menu bar on the left side (News, Frontpage, locker room, bench, ETC...) What is happening? Why is that?
2. When I try to login, I don't get an error message and the game returns me to the login page. What is the problem?
3. When I try to accept a trade, I am booted back to the main news screen and a second menu appears in the main frame of the game. I also get the "you have trades" popup again. What is happening?
4. How does the GNN-Galaxy Gazette Coaches Poll work? and what does it achieve?
5. Why do some of the sidelines settings only include certain options or go up to certain percentages?
6. Is the price of scouting the same for every game?
Game Play
If my primary offensive formation is the I-Form, and my secondary is Shotgun: will the game generally pick Shotgun for passing plays and I-Form for running plays?
No, the game picks a set depending on the slot which you have it listed in (primary, secondary, etc.) not by what type of set it is. Picking the passing formation for passing plays would tip your intentions to the defense. Passing out of running formations can be effective.
If my quarterback comes off an injury the same day as a game, could he start in that game if he was designated to do so?
Yes. Players may actually start injured in Franchise Football. If a player's injury has less than 4 days left, he may start. Players with injuries greater than 4 days can't be put back in the starting lineup but they may play, that depends on the player. Some players won't come back from injury as quickly as others will.
I received ticket revenue, even though my team played an away game, do home teams share money with the visitors?
Yes. There is a league specific breakdown of home, away, and league shared revenue percentages listed on the League Info page in the game. A portion of ticket sales goes to the home team, a portion goes to the away team, a slice goes into the league shared revenue pot, and the remaining goes to administrative costs to run the stadium.
Is there any disadvantage in placing your regular season starters on the bench during the exhibition season to avoid injuries?
No. In fact many owners choose to do that very thing. Exhibition games are intended to lengthen the season for financial reasons as well as allow teams to test out various new players and combos. Sitting starters is a definite strategy.
How do you take advantage of a great fullback?
You can target him as one of your primary receivers. Also make sure that you always run two back formations when you run. A single back formation will place the half back in the game.
Is pre-season attendance calculated the same as regular season?
Yes. Although in real life preseason games are a little underattended, in Franchise Football, the preseason is there to add financial opportunities for teams.
In some places in the game and game discussion the term 'gameday' is referred to. What is the 'gameday'?
The term 'gameday' refers to the period of time between when events from the night before run until the time that your game is played. So, for example, let us say events run at 8 AM. Your league plays games on Thursday. The 'gameday' would be from after events run at 8 AM on Wednesday until your game (and events) run again at 8 AM on Thursday. So, any advertising purchased in that period of time would be 'gameday' advertising.
Is there a specific side that the TE is assumed to line up on?
In short, no. It may be assumed that your team sufficiently mixes up strong and weak side runs and TE alignment so as not to fall into a rut. That is given your setup for run direction. There are many game time variations on sets and plays that the game simply assumes are mixed, this is one of those.
Games are not played by users. Games are scheduled and played unattended on game mornings (during the regular season). The results of the games will be posted after they are done playing. You can check what days your league plays by clicking on News -> League Info and looking for the 'Game Days' field.
Is there a hidden part to the game that gives subscribers a little bit of an extra kick?
There are many obvious advantages to being a subscriber (as listed in help). There is not, however, anything coded into games that gives subscribers an on field advantage beyond what the players can do.
Players
What effect do signing bonus' have on offering players (and them accepting) long term contracts?
Bonus' have the same effect on a long term contract as they do on short term contracts. A bonus will cause a player to settle for less money than he otherwise would. The amount of money that a player will settle for is not a one to one ratio, though. For example, if you have a player asking for $1,000,000 per season and you offer him a $1,000,000 bonus he won't play for nothing.
Can players retire while they're still under contract?
Yes. Older players can retire at the end of any season, even if they have a contract with your team. If they do retire, however, you face no penalties, other than having to find a replacement.
Why are teams not allowed to sign free agents near the end of the season?
Free agent signings are frozen at a certain day so that teams can't drastically change their lineups during the playoffs. In the past, non playoff teams would release players to the free agent pool where playoff teams would pick them up. So, you would have mediocre teams from the regular season rolling through the playoffs because they either picked up free agents or traded players with their friends. This way you know what you are getting when you play a team in the playoffs.
Several of my 0-season players will not negotiate with me. The message I receive is "player has already negotiated a contract this year". Will I lose these players?
Teams may sign free agents to 0 year deals. In an effort to stop computer controlled teams from losing all their players to free agency at the end of the season, the system will try to renegotiate with players who have 0 years left on their contracts at the end of the season. So, it is likely that players with 0 years left will not leave your team at the end of the season.
I am training players with High Potential. I am not seeing any improvements in the ratings of my players.Why?
There could be a number of reasons for this. It is best to read through the potential and training section of help. Since players are on a 100 point scale and half a football represents 10 points, it is possible that you will have to do several trainings in one attribute before you see a graphical change in the player's rating. Also, there are caps on each of the attributes, you may be at the cap for this season. The caps change each season, so, someone who isn't getting better this season may be able to get better next one. It is important not only to note the overall player potential, but also the (Low, Mid, High) ratings that they have as those tell you how much difference there is between their current skill and the overall and individual skill caps.
Why do I see teams with a bunch of players on the disabled list when those players aren't injured?
Once a player gets to the Disabled List (being injured) he stays there until the team reactivates him. Many teams don't reactivate a player the day he becomes healthy but rather leave him on the DL for a while. All players are returned from the disabled list and bench at the start of a new season.
How are salaries determined for players who are drafted?
Player salaries are determined by
the system based on a player's skill and position. It is possible for a 5th
overall pick to make more money than the #1 pick to start.
If a player is injured and plays in a game how is their performance effected by the injury?
A player who plays injured will likely fatigue quicker and have his performance effected by the injury. Often times star players who are injured, however, still play better than a backup. An injured player also has a chance to make the injury worse by playing.
When I trade a player to another team and his contract length is over 1 year remaining am I on the hook for the contract?
No. Releasing players will incur the penalty on guaranteed contracts, trading players will not. The destination team accepts all terms of the player's contract when traded.
If there is 1 year remaining on a players contract, does that mean there is 1 more year to go or does it mean that current season is the last year of their current contract?
A player's contract will show as something like $5,000,000 [1 year(s)]. This means that the player has 1 full season remaining on his contract AFTER the end of this season. A player that has a contract that will expire at the end of this season will show as [0 year(s)].
Is it possible for players to gain footballs throughout the season with out training?
No. The only gains that players will see without training would be in the off-season. Teams are in full control of gains during the season.
When bidding on several free agents, how does the game decide who gets picked first?
Free agents decide in the same order in which they are listed on the free agent screen, so, if you put in a bid on the 1st, 3rd and 5th guys on the screen, they will sign in that order. You may not get all of the players due to exceeding the salary limits or other team restrictions after signing some of them.
The game tells you how much a player will want for a one season salary, if I want to offer a multi-season deal, how much additional should I offer him?
That varies. You can roughly estimate an asking price of +10% for each year over 1. So, a four year deal for a guy asking for $1 Million per season might be something like $1.4-1.5 million.
If a player is on holdout and gets traded while being a holdout will he renegotiate his deal with his new team?
Yes. A player who is a holdout will negotiate as long as he is a holdout. This does not depend on what team he is playing for or if he is traded. It should be noted that a holdout who is traded will still be a holdout on the other team.
If I release a player who has more than 1 year remaining on his salary and is a holdout, will I be responsible for the liability that would be incurred?
No. The salary of a player who is a holdout will not be counted against your team if he is released.
Can a young player (ie. 25 year old) lose vitals during the offseason?
Yes. Any player (no matter what their potential) may lose skill in the off-season. It is more or less likely depending on their potential. A Below Average player would be more likely to lose vitals during the off-season than would an Above Average player.
Front Office
What does league shared revenue represent? And can I effect my share?
League shared revenue is a little like "free parking" in Monopoly. A lot of the fees and ticket revenues go in there. Two of the big things that are placed in shared revenue are a portion of each game's ticket sales and any cap penalties incurred by teams in the league. Unfortunately, all teams can do in impact if they get shared revenue or not. There is no way to get a larger share. If a team is in violation of the salary cap, they do not get a share of league shared revenue.
What is the best way to go about increasing revenue when you are just starting out?
In football, it is probably merchandise contracts. They yield money each night unlike concessions and ticket sales which make money only when you are playing games. Since your fame (raw fame) impacts many of the calculations in the game, it is probably smart to dedicate yourself to consistent purchase of advertising as well.
Should you advertise everyday or only twice a week?
Although advertising on game days does help you fill your stadium and allow you to charge more for tickets, every single advertising effort (on any day) adds to your fame score. So, there is no such thing as a bad time to advertise. You may want to think about advertising a little on off days and then adding a couple of campaigns on game days.
What is the difference between the league salary cap and salary violation? When do I get penalized for being over the cap?
The salary cap is the total salary (not including the Disabled List) which your team may not exceed without repercussions. The salary violation is an area (in excess of the cap) which a team may go into (in total salary) to perform some roster moves. In essence, the violation level is a level which a team may temporarily go up to in order to make roster moves. Teams are penalized for being over the salary cap. That includes teams that are in that area between the salary cap and the violation level. A team that is over the salary cap at the time of a game will be charged the difference between the salary cap and their current salary level. For example, if the salary cap is $80 Million and a team has $82 million in salary at the time games are played, that team will be charged $2 million.
You can buy a promotion at any time. It will not be used, however, until the next time your team plays at home. You can also only purchase one promotional event per home game. So, if you buy a promotion and then are on the road for 3 games, it will not be used until your team returns home.
I have been spending money on advertising everyday but my fame score stays the same or goes down. What am I doing wrong?
You aren't doing anything wrong. The only score that an owner can see is your fame rank. Which is basically where your team ranks among all the other teams in the league. When you buy advertising it adds to your raw fame. When your raw fame score passes another team's raw fame, your fame rank will go up. For example, lets say you have a fame rank of 28 and a raw fame score of 510. You don't see the 510, but that is what is behind the scenes.
Now, the 27th ranked team has a raw fame of 520, and the 29th ranked team has a raw fame of 500. Let's say you buy a bunch of advertising one night and the 27th team doesn't. Your raw fame goes up to 522 as a result. That puts you in the 27th rank position and the other owner drops to 28. Let's say that the 29th team spends a LOT more money on advertising than you that day. That team goes up to 524 in raw fame. That would mean that they would go from 29th to 27th, you would stay at 28, and the 27th team would drop to 29th.
As far as the game is concerned, the raw fame is what is important. Most calculations rely on that, so, there is no such thing as wasting money on buying advertising because it all adds to your raw fame. The rank is just a measure so that you know where you stand in relation to other owners. Often it takes a LONG time to go up in rank, and requires the dedicated purchase of advertising each night. You just need to remember that it is dynamic. Other owners are advertising, too. Typically, the top fame rank teams are the ones that have been playing the longest.
Reward points may be spent on various items that give you a little better idea HOW far behind other teams your are. As it stands, the team in front of you could have 1 more raw fame point than you or 10,000 more.
Actually, you don't. Franchise Baseball pays players, but, Football and Basketball do not. It is assumed to be 'taken care of'. Player salaries are meant to level the talent that is on each team. So, you do have to manage player salaries, but, the object is not to pay less out of your pocket, but, to get the most talent on your squad for the lowest amount of money.
Subscriptions
Is there some place that lists all of the upgrades one gets for subscribing?
Yes. The Simgalaxy Subscription Help Page.
Re-subscribing is done the exact same way as when you initially subscribed. You can click on any of the game links to subscribe (the most common would be the yellow buttons under the main menu in all games). Select the duration of the subscription, the tender and input each username you wish to subscribe under the correct game.
If I re-subscribe before my subscription is over do I lose all those days until the end of the first subscription?
No. Re-Subscriptions may be done at any time. They are just added to the end of your current subscription, so, if you expire in season 2005, day 4, and it is 2003 day 34 when you re-subscribe for 4 seasons, your subscription will automatically be changed to expire in season 2009, day 4. Likewise if your subscription expires and you are in your 30 day renewal period when you resubscribe, your subscription will be retroactive to the day the last one expired. So, there is no advantage to waiting to resubscribe.
If your subscribed and you buy a new contract mid-season do you get that contract for 1 1/2 seasons? Or more?
All concession and merchandise contracts expire at the start of a season, so, those purchased mid-season last until the end of that season (for non-subscribed teams) or to the end of the next season (subscribed teams) so, it would be 1 ½ seasons. Although you won't get as much return on your investment over the 1 ½ seasons as opposed to 2 full seasons, your return will typically still surpass what you invested in the concession or merchandise.
If you have a subscribed team in one league can you have any unsubscribed teams in other leagues? If so what is the limit?
The simgalaxy site depends on the support of owners to keep the site running. Owners who have one or more subscribed teams may have one non-subscribed team to see if you would like to join that league as a subscriber. You may not continue to grab non-subscribed teams. This trial period is essentially for the owner to play the team and see if they like the league, the team, etc. If you wish to keep the team (or stay in the league), you must subscribe it as well. If you would like to obtain and subscribe multiple new teams, please email support and we can work something out.
User Interface / Login / Displays
Every now and then the screen comes up without the menu bar on the left side (News, Frontpage, locker room, bench, ETC...) What is happening? Why is that?
We have tracked this down to what seems to be some sort of problem with Internet Explorer. For some reason, every once in a while, the frames don't show correctly. Some users have said that closing all instances of IE and reopening solves the problem.
When I try to login, I don't get an error message and the game returns me to the login page. What is the problem?
It seems as though there is an obscure problem with the site and Internet Explorer. For no apparent reason, users cannot login to their team(s). This is a very infrequent situation. We have yet to discover a work around. It seems as though waiting a few days clears up the problem. The Firefox web browser does not have this issue. You can download a copy of Firefox from www.mozilla.org. Using a different computer should also work. The problem is typically isolated to one specific system.
When I try to accept a trade, I am booted back to the main news screen and a second menu appears in the main frame of the game. I also get the "you have trades" popup again. What is happening?
Usernames are case sensitive. This problem will occur if you do not have the capitalization for your username correct. For example, if you signup for a team and use the username "Simgalaxy" with a capital "S", then login to your team and type "simgalaxy". If you logout of your account, then log back in with the correct capitalization, this should fix the problem. You can always retrieve your username and password (with the correct capitalization) by using the "forgot username and password" link from the login screen.
How does the GNN-Sim Sentinal Coaches Poll work? and what does it achieve?
The poll is just like the top 25 poll in NCAA basketball. Each coach gets a ballot once per week. They can fill out the ballot with the top 10 teams (as they feel they should be ordered). At the end of that week, the system tallies all the votes and publishes a top 10 list. Only teams with winning records (.500 and above) will appear as selections in the poll. Really all the poll achieves is a league wide opinion of who are the best teams. We have found that often it is a subject of debate.
Why do some of the sidelines settings only include certain options or go up to certain percentages?
This is to insure that teams cannot exceed 100% and also insure that they maintain some sort of balanced attack. In the case of players identified as primary secondary and tertiary receivers, it is so that a team may not define the same position in multiple slots.
Is the price of scouting the same for every game?
No. The price of scouting depends on the economic status of the team that is scouting the game, so, the price may increase as your team becomes more successful.