How to Make Fantasy draft Ideal!

ps3maddengroup.com suggestions to make FANTASY DRAFT ideal:

- its an ABSOLUTE MUST that all the players in a fantasy draft be available to draft from pick 1 - the current system where only the top 15 to 20 players at each position being available to draft is a NIGHTMARE - its not to bad in the first couple rounds - but as the draft progresses - different players have different opinions on who they want to draft - and players should have the freedom to select who they want - when they want...

- The ability to increase the speed or slow down the draft timer- 32 player leagues with 55 rounds can take over 10 hours to draft! - thats wayyy to long!!!! Commish should be able to switch the timer from 15 seconds to 1 minute....

- If a player doesn't pick within the designated time - the CPU shouldn't automatically make his pick right away - instead the clock should be passed onto the next player (and this player would be able to draft...) - but the player who didn't get his pick could make his pick for another set time - example 45 more seconds AND AFTER THAT TIME FRAME EXPIRES THE CPU WOULD DRAFT FOR HIM BASED CPU LOGIC.... What this does is allows fantasy drafts to move along the process (so the draft is kept to a reasonable time limit) but players who miss getting their picks under the timer deadline still get the player THEY WANT and not something the CPU selected for them.... In addition this makes 15 second timers more feasible - even the most organized players can be left scrambling to pick a player within 15 seconds but this feature would ELIMINATE THIS ANXIETY - and allows guys to pick who they want - but at the same time penalizes players marginally who dont pick within the timer countdown (because the guy who is picking after them could select the player they wanted if they are not fast enough to make their selection) ultimately this would help strike a proper balance of guys having enough time to pick and for the draft to be finished within a reasonable amount of time!

- There needs to be some kind of player QUEING system that can be used BEFORE and DURING the fantasy draft - A mechanism where you can rank player in a SPECIFIED ODER so that if your pick time limit has expired these players will be selected instead of the CPU deciding what player you would get.... This would allow players to take breaks in a long draft - scout other players - look at details in other leagues etc AND THEY WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT MISSING THEIR PICK AND GETTING A TOTAL SCRUB THAT THE CPU DECIDED TO GIVE THEM! In addition it should be made easy for a player to put there picks on "auto" so that system selects their players as indicated by the QUE without waiting for the timer to countdown - this way guys could take "breaks" as needed and not miss a step and the rest of the guys in the draft dont have to watch his timer tick down needlessly....

This queing system can be used as a way to accommodate player who are absent from any draft.... - the system could be as deep as a player wants to make it - and if he is available to draft sometime in the middle of the process - he simply steps in - turns off the auto select feature - and makes his picks like anyone else... If the player runs out of players in their que, the CPU drafting logic would take over.... - If you were motivate enough - u could easily que enough players to draft all your teams starters - and allow the cpu to draft the rest - having starters that U DRAFTED creates a deeper connection between the owner and the team they have - this in turns make a more happy and loyal player - which ultimately leads to a better league experience for everyone - a que system would be far superior then our CPU draft system that is currently in place....

- an INTERNAL "IN DRAFT" CHAT SYSTEM needs to be included IN A CONVENIENT SPOT - the best ideas are often stolen - and MLB the SHOW has a chat system in its fantasy drafts where u can make your picks, see other players making their picks and scout the various players at different positions - ITS ON THE MAIN PAGE OF THE DRAFT - it takes up about the bottom left corner of the screen - about 20% of the screen size - u can only see 4 or 5 messages before u have to scroll back to read them - but its a way to communicate during the draft - and still be able to scout players that have been selected or have yet to be drafted and do all other basic draft functions... (the old chat system where u had to press R3left a lot to be desired - because thats all u could do on that page - often the chat centers around the players being drafted - guys want to be able to scroll around player rosters and comment on each others picks - they are less likely too chat when they have to flip through various screens to get to that function....

- Have a mechanism in place where you can easily look up what other people have drafted - You need to keep in eye on divisional rivals - if they get a BEAST WR - u may want to get a lockdown CB - the ability to see what other teams have drafted would be great!

- Love the countdown timer being available in all draft screens - - but maybe include 2 other icons - showing who is on deck in the draft and who is in the hole... In addition some sort of way to communicate if those picks coming up are CPU teams or teams on "auto" where the pick will be made instantly and therefore there will be no countdown for selection...

- Have the complete FANTASY DRAFT selections (round by round) - saved somewhere where it can viewed... Its always great to look back on what teams originally looked like or who took what and when - having this info available would be nice!

are these suggestions for ea or a new system we are running ?

BurrInThePaint wrote:are these suggestions for ea or a new system we are running ?

suggestions for EA - i tweeted this to the bigshot - wouldnt hurt if others did the same - I will get his hashtag

Being able to draft via a personal computer and a smart phone (and to be able to switch between these devices...) would make long drafts more feasible for players to stay to the end!

Updated list

List made for CFM website


Note: some of these suggestions could cross over and be valuable for ROOKIE DRAFT as well!



1) Develop a Fantasy Draft Que System



- There needs to be some kind of player QUEING system that can be used BEFORE and DURING the fantasy draft. We need a mechanism where you can rank player in a SPECIFIED ODER so that if your pick time limit has expired these players will be selected instead of the CPU deciding what player you would get. If your draft que is empty, the CPU drafting logic would kick in. The number one complaint about fantasy draft is that it "takes to long" - A player que would allow guys to dedicate as little time they wanted to a fantasy draft or as much as they wanted!

A que system would allow players to take breaks in a long draft - scout other players available to be drafted - look at details in other leagues etc AND PLAYERS WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT MISSING THEIR PICK (which in the past has lead to them getting a scrub player that the CPU decided to draft on their behalf)

In addition it should be made easy for a player to put there picks on "auto" so that the system selects their players as indicated by the QUE without waiting for the timer to countdown. This way owners could take "breaks" as needed without missing a step and the rest of the guys in the draft do not have to watch his timer tick down needlessly....

This queing system can be used as a way to accommodate player who are absent from any draft.... - the system could be as deep as a player wants to make it (he simply adds as many players to his que as he wants) - and if he is available to draft sometime in the middle of the process, he simply steps in - turns off the auto select feature and makes his picks like anyone else... - If you were motivate enough - u could easily que enough players to draft all your teams starters and allow the cpu to draft the rest. This system would create more of connection between the team owner and his roster. It is proven that players who draft their team in fantasy draft leagues are more dedicated to that league. This increased dedication in owners will ultimately lead to a better experience for everyone!



2) Fantasy Draft System Available from Computers and Smart Phones

- 55 round draft can take a while. Having alternative ways to make your selections would instantly make it easier to make your picks!



3) More players must be available to pick from round 1 - pick 1

- its an ABSOLUTE MUST that as many players as possible be available in a fantasy draft from pick 1 - the current system is an improvement over prior years but it still could be improved... - its not to bad in the first couple rounds, but as the draft progresses - different players have different opinions on who they want to draft - and players should have the freedom to select who they want - when they want...



4) Give the commish the Ability to Change Draft Timer Length

A 32 player league with 55 rounds can take over 12 hours to draft! - thats to long!!!! Commish should be able to switch the timer from 15 seconds to 1 minute....

- If a player doesn't pick within the designated time - the CPU should not automatically make his pick right away. Instead the clock should be passed onto the next player (and this player would be able to draft...) - but the player who didn't get his pick could make his pick for another set time - example 45 more seconds AND AFTER THAT TIME FRAME EXPIRES THE DRAFT QUE WOULD MAKE HIS SELECTION (if there are no players in the draft que then the CPU selection logic would make a pick on his behalf)

This change makes a 15 second timers more feasible - even the most organized players can be left scrambling to pick a player within 15 seconds but this feature would ELIMINATE THIS ANXIETY. It will allow owners to pick who they want - but at the same time penalizes players marginally who do not pick within the timer countdown (because the guy who is picking after them could select the player they wanted if they are not fast enough to make their selection) ultimately this would help strike a proper balance of guys having enough time to pick and for the draft to be finished within a reasonable amount of time!



5) in Draft Chat System (voice and text)

- an INTERNAL "IN DRAFT" CHAT SYSTEM needs to be included IN A CONVENIENT SPOT (the old chat system where u had to press R3 left a lot to be desired because thats all u could do on that page) often the chat centers around the players being drafted - guys want to be able to scroll around player rosters and comment on each others picks - they are less likely too chat when they have to flip through various screens to get to that function.... It be great if we could put this functionality all into one page!



6) Be Able to view who Opponents Have Selected During the Draft


- Have a mechanism in place where you can easily look up what other people have drafted - You need to keep in eye on divisional rivals - if they get a BEAST WR - u may want to get a lockdown CB - the ability to see what other teams have drafted would be great!



7) More Base Info on all Draft Screens

- We love the countdown timer being available in all draft screens, but maybe include 2 other icons showing who is on deck in the draft and who is in the hole... In addition some sort of way to communicate if those picks coming up are CPU teams or teams on "auto" where the pick will be made instantly and therefore there will be no countdown for their selection...


Log of all Fantasy Draft Picks

- Have the complete FANTASY DRAFT selections (round by round) - saved somewhere where it can viewed... After a few seasons its great to look back on what teams originally looked like or who took what and when - having this info available would be nice!



Our community (which plays exclusively plays Fantasy Draft CFM) and has ran 32 player - year round leagues for six years has created this list.

Fantasy Draft CFM has had it tough the past three years. We were disbanded three years ago (out of a misguided idea that their was not enough interest in fantasy draft) - EA quickly found out they were mistaken when within 48 hours the "idea of Bringing Back Fantasy Draft" was the number one idea on the GC idea site and there was numerous protest threads started. To EA's credit they quickly realized their mistake and quickly brought in a watered down version of fantasy draft back to the game. This version of fantasy draft has only been marginally improved over the years.



Fantasy Draft is long over due for some attention! The guys who play fantasy draft are hugely dedicated (you have to be to hugely dedicated to give 12 hours to a fantasy draft that sometimes can be run over 3 days!) - Throw this group a bone! Please look at some of the improvements we suggested!