[Suggestion] Add these 3 rules to Editor to solve that pesky dynamic (regional division) relegation forever, and solve unforeseen game balance consequences

[Guest]

Hi!
Dynamic relegation with regional divisions is a common problem in the editor and the game itself that affects not only the realism of the league structures, but also game balance (finances).
Let's say the league structure is something fairly common like this:

1. League 1 (4 relegation spots)

2. League 2 consists of 4 regional divisions:

• League 2 East (1 promotion 3 relegation spots)
• League 2 West (1 promotion 3 relegation spots)
• League 2 North (1 promotion 3 relegation spots)
• League 2 South (1 promotion 3 relegation spots)

3. League 3 (inactive, 12 promotion spots)

The way Editor works is, that all clubs have (or should have) a Regional division designated to them, to kinda sort them into divisions as they move up and down the pyramid. Currently it doesn't work correctly, plus the rules that govern one same thing are scattered across several seemingly unrelated menus that are confusing to deal with.
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The problem?
Let's say 3 out of 4 relegated clubs from League 1 geographically belong in League 2 East, 1 belongs to League 2 North, and 0 relegated belong in League 2 South and West. It happens often, it is not ideal. The way it is currently handled in-game is that it would sort the teams in the divisions they don't belong to in real life, ending with teams from the East playing in the North or West, etc. also meaning the teams now need to travel farther.
That leads not only to the lack of immersion, but to unrealistic travel expenses leading to further, deeper game balance issues.

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The rules for the solution:
Rule 1:
Relegate extra team(s) from the regional division if more than default number of teams that belong in it have been relegated from the higher division

In the example above, League 2 East would need to have 2 extra teams relegated in order to accommodate the extra relegated teams from the league above. This is how it works even in some real life leagues that want to keep the structure intact.

Rule 2:
Promote extra team(s) from a lower division if less than default number of teams have been relegated from the higher division

In the example above, League 2 South and League 2 West have 0 teams relegated from League 1, but 1 promoted and 3 relegated each. Both now lack 1 team that would be added from the league below (extra promoted team with this regional division assigned to it), from their respective lower regional divisions or inactive League 3 in this example.

Rule 3 - Fallback:
Version1: If there are no inactive lower divisions (no relegation from the lowest playable league), or not enough extra teams from lower divisions with the designated regional division to be promoted, ignore rules 1 and 2, and let the game do what it does currently, which is the worst case scenario. Yes, how the game sorts teams into regional divisions currently is the worst case scenario, let that sink in.

Version 2: Trim the league size. If there are no inactive lower divisions (no relegation from the lowest playable league), or in the unlikely scenario that, let's say, League 3 runs out of teams to promote with the East division designated as their Regional division, this could be the fallback. Trim the League 2 East. This rule exists in the editor, but since sorting teams into regional divisions doesn't work, this rule currently doesn't work in a logical way either. Why? I don't know, you should look into it.


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What else is necessary for this to work?

• The game would need to check for the number of teams with the said designated regional division, and compare them with the total required number of teams in the league, teams being relegated and teams being promoted, including those from possible playoffs if they exist.
• This would need to be checked after playoffs.
• Lower divisions (let's say level 3, 4, etc.) would need to be calculated AFTER the higher divisions (1 and 2) sequentially in order to have the correct final numbers based on the extra teams promoted and relegated from the leagues above, if leagues below also have dynamic relegation - meaning, the promotion/relegation decision in these cases would need to be decided a fraction later for each lower division. It is necessary to accommodate the top of the pyramid and keep the structure intact.
• Whoever edits league structures, creates new teams, etc. would need to make sure that all teams created have a regional division designated to them for each active level of competition.
• The rules could be applied to the parent competition the regional divisions belong to in order to keep it consistent across all regions for that level.
• Alternative option is to make this a national rule and apply it to the entire pyramid at once, where you'd set the sequential season end (or fate decision) dates for each lower division for calculating the number of teams to be promoted.
• Rules in the Editor are scattered across many menus that are similar, exactly the same or completely different, and are hard to find and figure out which are correlated. It would really help if the editor interface was streamlined and rules were sorted in a way that's easier to read and find - similar rules and categories close to each other and governing other similar rules, rather than being scattered across 5 unrelated menus elsewhere. More powerful simple rules without delving into the convoluted Advanced rules. One or two people should be able to sort that for you in a few weeks of work and shorten the workload significantly for all developers and modders cutting the costs forever, and increasing the interest in modding the game in the first place, leading to more fun content and more profits for SI and SEGA.

 

Another way to make editing of league structures easier: Drag and drop
Some kind of a drag and drop menu interface akin to this, where you would be able to sort leagues and clubs with ease while keeping track of and snapping them to regional divisions from the top to the bottom of the pyramid.
(I have also posted this as a standalone suggestion since it is essentially a separate one, but will leave it here as well as it is very relevant to this specific issue)

Edited May 24 by Guest
*typos

[affe1802]

Pictures say more than words

[affe1802]

Dynamic Relegation rule tab png Suggestion  Fixed Promotion place

 

 

 

Edited May 27 by affe1802

[affe1802]

Dynamic Relegation More Case because Promotion Relegation 

With number of team´s increased  example

Edited May 27 by affe1802