NBA Showdown: Gameplay

Back with another (hopefully) weekly NBA Showdown blog post giving the ins and outs of the game, maybe some new players or teams even, this week I am going to discuss some of the games I played this weekend, which was 12 total games, bu this series will highlight a three game series between two distinctive neighboring teams. Now I have my original post on the NBA section for the rues of the game. They have been slightly altered as I no longer use the 6th man rule, but if you would like super high scores, go ahead and keep using it. I have been doing tons of play testing recently and the games have been a lot of fun, with a wide spread of scores. Biggest win was by 19 points, and one game resulted in a tie, I was hopeful to have a buzzer beater, but the offensive didn't get their offense score + dice roll over a 20, so the game went to over time and ended by 2 point differential. All the other games basically fell between those two ranges.

MLB Showdown 2000-2001 Sim League: Eastern Conference

Post #2 in the MLB Showdown 2000-2001 Sim League series! Today I will be introducing the Eastern Conference rosters for the 24 team league. If you need a refresher about the league, check out this post where I introduced the concept behind the league.

The Eastern Conference contains 12 teams, in three divisions. Each division is named after a baseball great: Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron. I tried choosing teams based on cities that do not currently have major league franchises, and grouped them geographically as best as possible. 

Note that when listing teams, the lineups are in position order, not the order that they will bat in-game. 

Leave notes in the comments about who you project to win each division!

Introducing the MLB Showdown 2000-2001 Sim League

My biggest frustration with baseball video games as well as MLB Showdown seasons are how the stats don't match up to real-season stats, unless you play a full 162 games. As a result, you frequently see crazy outlier seasons that can only happen with a short schedule.

In video games it is possible to run 162 game seasons if you sim, but in MLB Showdown it takes a very long time of dice rolls to reach this point. 

I am therefore happy to say that I finally have written Python code to allow me to run a full season for my drafted teams. I will be blogging a series of posts in the next few days to weeks that will follow the course of a simulated 162-game season for a drafted 24-team league. Here is the rough outline for how it will progress:

1. This post: Introducing the League and Rules 
2. Introducing the Eastern Conference teams
3. Introducing the Western Conference teams
4. Results after 40 games
5. Results after 80 games
6. Results after 120 games
7. Full season results
8. Full season awards
9. Playoffs (this may be broken down into several posts)

League Format

There are two conferences, Eastern and Western, each with three divisions of four teams, for a total of 24 teams. The team breakdown is shown below:

MLB SHOWDOWN '15-'19 Set

This is my first post and I hope to bring something of value to those who follow showdown.  I want to thank Peter and Bob for inviting me.  Now, on to the set.

Back in 2016 I had established an accurate baseline formula and began toying with the idea of creating my own cards, but struggled with how long it would take me to create so many seasons throughout history.  I finally settled on making half decade mini sets that would satisfy my need to create cards of players throughout history, without losing my mind.  

My first 2 sets were the late 90's and early 00's which I printed and played with my league.  The set I am releasing here is the 2015-2019 as it has the most up to date custom additions to showdown.  I will release the late 90's and early 00's set once I have updated the pitcher defense, bunt, and catcher framing that I added into this set (more on that later).  

For set creation I make only about 1/3 the size of the original showdown sets (about 200/600 cards) with a focus on offense (Starters and Relievers tend to get repetitive once you get past the stars and outliers). 

NBA Showdown: Team Building

I am trying to get better at this blogging thing, and my hope here is to do a weekly or every other week post highlighting a different aspect of my NBA Showdown game. The first one will be team building. First I will go over the team building rules, and finally I will create my own team and we can criticize my roster decisions. We have to see if one of us can become the next great GM and place the right players around each other to create the best team possible.

(IDK when this list was made, but LeBron should still be on this list, I don't care if he was 40 years old, he gives you at least  a one season chance at a ring)

2019-2020 NBA SHOWDOWN FINAL SET

Hey everyone and Happy Fathers Day!, I know personally for me Father's Day and the NBA go hand and hand as there is usually still the NBA Finals going on, and I remember that fateful game 7 in Oracle Arena on Fathers Day in 2016 as my dad and I watched our Cavs bring home their first NBA Championship in dramatic fashion. After debuting my NBA cards and the game I brought along with it, and I am glad so many of you have given it a chance and played a couple games. As I dove deeper into some of the lower level teams, I noticed how unbalanced some of the offense and defensive ratings were, it is simple, a good defensive team will rate better than a bad team. But once taking the league average and team stats into account before the players stats I have finally been able to settle on how I want these cards to play. So with that I am posting all 30 teams from the 2019-2020 NBA season here in this one blog post. The old posts will be removed and for those that printed I urge you to print these for a more balanced game, and better for drafting purposes, also don't worry the last dance bulls will be updated as well. When looking at players the average offense and defense will fall between an 8 and a 10 for players that are of the 3 quarter or more fatigue. So before the NBA begins again, enjoy these 301 cards and maybe start your own NBA season.

MLB Showdown 2002 (playoff edition)

Hello everyone, long time no post from me. Inspired by Matt's amazing new template and his incredible 2005 set, I thought it'd be fun to surprise everyone with a massive new card dump for you guys too! Below you'll find 8 complete teams from the 2002 playoffs. It's probably due to my childhood nostalgia, but I really believe that between 2001-05 may have been the best stretch of baseball from a pure entertainment standpoint in the postseason -- the upset World Series losses by the Yankees, the Bartman game, the Curse being broken, the White Sox dramatic run through the playoffs... and a TON of 100+ win teams contending for titles. Unfortunately, MLB Showdown switched its formula right before the start of these incredible seasons..... so I'm going back and trying to remake some of those epic teams for y'all to incorporate in your collections, drafts, and general cycle of cards you play with!

Also 2002 had a monster Shawn Green season

I decided to start with 2002 because (a) the Moneyball A's were being talked about a lot in my social sphere; (b) Angels were a fun team; (c) Barry Bonds in the early 2000s and his best shot at the title; (d) the first all Wild Card World Series is super fun and should make replaying the postseason fascinating! Honestly, I'd forgotten that the Twins got to the ALCS or that the DBacks followed up their World Series title with another 90+ wins and NL West title. Also..... the Yankees lineup is fire! This set also gave me a chance to try out a tweaked hitting/pitching formula that Matt and I have been cooking up. I hope y'all enjoy these 150ish new cards!

2000 Super Bash Brothers - Foil Edition

We all know how much homers dominated the late 90’s post-strike. Guys were killing the ball left and right.

In this challenge, you want to allow the most home runs. Not to be confused with runs, you want to give up the most dingers as possible.

Veterans’ Challenge Series - Game of Games (Challenge #4)

In a tribute to these heroes, I present Part 4 of the Veterans’ Challenge Series. The series consists of four parts, and ideally you advance to take on the next challenge. Consider it your time in the service. Challenges will stretch from Memorial Day to the 76^th anniversary of the “Day of Days (June 6^th, D-Day).”

In a tribute to D-Day (the “Day of Days”), this is the fourth and final challenge for your military service. This is where all of the hard work comes to a head and you are tested to the fullest. The Veterans are coming at you with everything they have, fielding a fully loaded squad for the last stand.

Veterans’ Challenge Series - In-Field Simulation (Challenge #3)

In a tribute to these heroes, I present Part 3 of the Veterans’ Challenge Series. The series consists of four parts, and ideally you advance to take on the next challenge. Consider it your time in the service. Challenges will stretch from Memorial Day to the 76^th anniversary of the “Day of Days (June 6^th, D-Day).”