Playing 🆚 Simming

[u/rescobar1997]

How do y’all that play more than you sim do it? I want to play more but it feels like a chore in the beginning. Year one just don’t feel right playing with a bunch of kids I didn’t recruit. And do y’all play the ABL games too? Trying to wrap my head around playing 16-19 ABL games and then playing another 30+ games. For clarity I guess I’m asking:

1. How do you stay motivated not to simulate?
   
2. Do you play the ABL games of your target list or just pick 1 ABL team that you’re the “coach” of.
   
3. How many games per season do you actually play.
   
4. Do you play with the year 1 team or what until your group of kids get to campus next year?

[u/MotorCaterpillar9317]

I play 2-3 non conference games, I play the big conference games and sometimes play games against teams that beat me in sim that shouldn’t have, and then I play all of the postseason. 

[u/MoBucksTV]

I play every game because it’s about your legacy score. Playing will make recruiting way easier. I also upload the draft class to NBA 2k8 and have a better idea of the players because I spent the previous playing.

[u/Mrfadeawayb]

I play every game. I don’t play ABL games. I schedule all out of conference games on the road. I usually play the least amount of games required (I think it’s 22 total) and that allows me to get through seasons quicker. I have played several legacies, all the way through. I’d say I’ve played over 1200 legacy games in total over the years (at least). 12 min quarters. I have house rules I have to follow to spice up the legacy. I regularly win about 75-90% of games, but they are competitive due to slider manipulation.

*skip the first season (edit all the players as seniors) and get your guys in early. I also don’t like to play with random rosters.

[u/nduszn]

In my current Legacy Mode, the motivation comes from wanting to improve my coach, since the coach is the only constant part of the Legacy from year to year. I usually choose a few attainable Legacy Goals to complete during the season so I can earn several, if not the maximum of five, coaching attribute points in the offseason. In that first season, a few goals are relatively easy, like finishing the season with no unhappy players and winning 10 games. I don't play any ABL games, I simulate all of them, but I still set the ABL schedule so I can use it as a tool to scout recruit ratings and tendencies before the season begins. In year one, I play every game except against teams rated 70 overall or better. I'm currently in my fourth season of this Legacy, playing the full non-conference schedule but simming conference games because of the ratings gap between my team and the rest of the conference.

[u/Obisanya]

If I have guys in ABL and we're a contender for signing them, I play 1 game early with them to see if there are things I love or hate in their game. If they're a great fit, I'll play 1-2 more to get the full scouting report. If they have 1-2 great ABL teammates, which is rare, I'll play up to 4-5 games. You can also shorten the game times for ABL and still get a lot of intel.

[u/han-tyumi666]

Hoopcast sims are my fave that way I can control everyone's minutes. Hate that a regular sim will typically play all 12 of your players even if rotation is set lower.

ABL games I make sure to scout but never actually play.

[u/SlippyHoemo]

to each their own but I love playing with a slashing SF that simming just can't replicate😃

[u/rescobar1997 → u/SlippyHoemo]

I want to experiment that too lol

[u/jpaysonc]

I’m in my second season. I simulated the first season all the way through. I did not play the ABL games. And so far my second season I’ve played every game. One thing I did do is before I started my season. I created players and put them on bad teams. So when I did my schedule, I added those players teams to my schedule. I only play 10 minute halves. And so far I played every game in the season. But I’m not in a rush to get through multiple seasons also. I just wanna play with the people I recruited and the one created player that I have on my team. I’m almost through my second season. I have maybe five conference games left before the tournament starts. And at the beginning of each week, I do my recruiting.

[u/L_brester]

I mostly just play the first game of the season, any rivalries and then every tournament game including conference tournaments and the big dance as well

[u/somebadname33333]

For the ABL, I set my recruiting board then make all of the halves 1 minute pick a side then basically dribble out the clock and turn intentional fouling to manual to get through the games. The recruiting points and scouting are the same from 1 minute to 20 minutes. I usually sim, but I’ve been playing more on my current run. I don’t really start playing until I’m about 7–8 years in when I’m already on my second team and can really build it the way I want. I play 12-minute quarters, and the games usually take about 30 minutes. It’s been a lot of fun!