I have decided a few things for the next step of the draft obfuscation experiment:

1) None of the obfuscation will be in the 0.4.2 release. I want to release 0.4.2 before we'll have enough time to fully flesh it out.
2) For the next draft, I am going to turn off obfuscation for the static attributes, but leave it on for the other attributes.
3) I am going to have a probability to modify the volatility of a player that increases the standard deviation based on the draft round. (So, round 1 will not have any volatility movement to speak of, but round 7 might increase a considerable amount from what is advertised).
4) I am going to have the rookie class have more movement in their first, second, and third training camps.

I know that there is a fairly large push for removing the obfuscation altogether, but I want to give this version a go (that's why I'm pushing this feature into the 0.4.3 release). So for those of you who are opposed to the obfuscation altogether, know I'm still not 100% sold on it either, but want to follow this experiment all the way through.

I'm leaving the second poll open for a little longer in case those of you who have not yet voted still wish to do so.

I THINK I understand #3, but could use a little more clarification.

Basically, volatility is set for a player at, say, 20. If that player is drafted in the 7th round, there is a possibility that it will increase. Maybe it will jump as high as 30 or 40. Or, it may not move at all. If the player is drafted in the first round, he will stay at 20 (or maybe move up to 21) It gives a random volatility boost to those later picks so we will get the occasional boom.

Cool. That sounds like something worth trying.

Is going from 20 to 40 enough for a 7th round player to actually boom enough to be playable?

Also, as long as speed / accel / strength / intelligence / courage are still static, it won't matter how high the other attributes go if those remain below 40. The player will still be worthless, unless it's a kicker/punter.

I honestly don't know - which is why we're playing out the experiment.

I'm still noodling moving the static attributes, but haven't made any firm decisions on that yet.

More rookie movement sounds good to me ,but in their 3rd camp?

Realistically you`d expect lots of movement in camp 1 and a bit less in camp 2,but camp 3 he`s not a sponge soaking up everything anymore,he`s an established member of the roster..

Should just be just camps 1 & 2 in my opinion.

Keep up the good woth JDB.

It's decreasing in each year, so by the 3rd year it's only a small bump over what it is now, whereas the rookie year it's fairly significant.

Can we add some overall player progression speed to this mix? Hopefully the rookie movement will address some of it, but most players don't get close to their full ratings until around year 4. Some players take until seasons 5-6 to get there. With the current system, the majority of players are declining around 9 or 10. Best case right now is an owner has a player at his max ratings for 4-5 seasons, worst case is having a player at max ratings for 2-3 seasons.

A few examples:

I have a year 4 kicker who is at 88/93 (maybe not the best position to pick, but works for the example). An NFL kicker usually has been kicking most of his life, but certainly through college at the least. He didn't move at all this year during TC, so I am least looking at year 5 or 6 before he reaches his max ratings. Maybe a kicker needs some conditioning time for the NFL, but most kicker's attributes should max by year 2 or so.

I also have a year 8 LDE who is at 71/73 and a year 5 WR at 76/78. Neither of their 'current' ratings have dropped, they just haven't peaked. I know we are talking just a few points, but depending on attribute could be important. A year 3-4 NFL player is a savvy vet by then and is a known commodity. They are not still learning how to tackle, catch, or strip a ball at that point. My year 5 MLB is still 4 points away on maxing his tackling rating...year 5.

I think the acceleration will do this - obviously time will tell, but by the end of season 3 a player should be about where he was previously at about season 5 with the update I referenced above.