Exploring a Potential Two-Week Season: Division Supremacy & Cross-Division Skirmish
Hey Managers!
We've been listening to your feedback and exploring ways to evolve our season structure. One of the most frequent requests we've heard is for longer seasons, offering more games and more strategic depth. While our current one-week seasons provide a fast-paced, exciting experience in our competitive baseball sim, we're also brainstorming what a move to a two-week season format could look like.
This post outlines a hypothetical two-week season design. This is not an announcement of an upcoming change, but rather a way to illustrate the possibilities and gather your thoughts on a potential future direction for our online multiplayer game.
The Concept: A Two-Week Journey
This hypothetical format aims to provide a more extended and strategic experience, while maintaining the excitement and competition you love. Here's a breakdown of how it could work:
The Core: In-Division Dominance (30 Games)
The foundation of this two-week season would be a robust in-division competition. Each 16-team division would participate in a double round-robin, meaning you'd face every other team in your division twice.
- Weekdays (Monday - Friday, Both Weeks): Three games per day, at our standard times (12 PM EST, 5 PM EST, and 10 PM EST). These are all in-division games.
This provides a consistent, fair, and strategically demanding core experience.
Week 1: All-Star Aspirations & Cross-Division Preview
The first week would be a build-up to a special All-Star event and a taste of cross-division action:
Saturday: All-Star Celebration! A hypothetical All-Star Saturday would feature the classic All-Star Game, Skills Challenges, and the Home Run Derby. All-Star selection would be based on player performance in the Week 1 in-division games.
Sunday: Cross-Division Skirmish! We'd introduce a "Cross-Division Skirmish" – a double-header (two games) against a team from a different division. Your opponent would be the team that finished in the same position as you in your division's standings. This would be a separate competition for bragging rights and unique rewards, not affecting in-division standings.
Week 2: Playoff Pressure and Final Determination
The second week would intensify the competition, leading to a climactic playoff weekend:
Monday - Friday: Continue the in-division double round-robin, fighting for playoff seeding.
Saturday: Playoffs Day 1! The top 8 teams from each division would enter a Championship Bracket (best-of-three series for Rounds 1 and 2). The bottom 8 would enter a Relegation Bracket (also best-of-three).
Sunday: Playoffs Day 2! The Championship Bracket would continue with the Semi-Finals and Finals (best-of-three or best-of-five). The Relegation Bracket would conclude with a "Relegation Final" to determine which teams are relegated.
Total Games (Hypothetical):
- In-Division: 30
- Cross-Division (Skirmish): 2
- Total Regular Season: 32 + Playoff Games
Potential Benefits of a Two-Week Format:
- More Games: Increased opportunities to manage your team and see your strategies play out.
- Deeper Strategy: More time to develop players, adjust lineups, and adapt to opponents.
- Greater Reward for Consistency: A longer season rewards teams that perform consistently well over time.
- Expanded Competition: The Cross-Division Skirmish adds a unique element of inter-division rivalry.
This is Just an Idea!
We want to emphasize that this is a hypothetical design exploration. We're sharing it to:
- Showcase potential future directions.
- Gather your feedback on the concept of a two-week season.
- Spark discussion about what you'd like to see in future season formats.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Would you be interested in a two-week season? What aspects of this hypothetical format do you like or dislike? Your feedback is invaluable as we continue to improve the game! We are always thinking of ways to improve our competitive multiplayer game!
– The Tiny Teams Baseball Team ⚾