example_players.

csv

Information about the players and draftable players in your custom player files.
The xxxx is the identifier you give your custom player files. It can be anything.
In the custom_example folder off of the installation, the identifier for the sample
set is example.

This file should be named with the same identifier as the xxxx_info.csv file. All
files must be stored in the custom_example folder off of your game installation.
You might need to change this folder's file permissions in order to create files
for it.

If there is no xxxx_players files or it doesn't have enough players for the league,
new players will be created. This file is not required.

Be careful when editing or creating a new matching player file. Not all values are
thoroughly checked when starting a new universe, and a mistake could result in an
unstable universe.

If player ratings deviate from the distribution of ratings provided here, the
universe could easily produce statistical performances that are very different from
the default player file.

If player birthdates deviate much from the years you see in a player file for a
particular year, players may retire earlier or later than players should, given
their experience.

In the example file, the 2023 player file included with the game is divided into
six groups: a core group consisting of 12 rosters, players potentially assigned to
teams. The rest of the players are divided into draftable groups. The league is set
to begin in 1998, and draftable players assigned from 1999-2003. You do not have to
have draftable players for every year your league runs.

If the total number of draftable players created through this method exceeds about
10% of the draft pool in a year, draftable players created randomly will not
generally have starter potential. For a draft, the game tries to generate about 27-
28 players per team.

The game generates about 100 players per team for a new universe. About two thirds
of those players are distributed with Overall Ratings from 0-9. The rest are
roster-filler. When using a user-created player file, the game will fill out the
initial player group if it needs to. It will not assess ratings before doing this.
If, for example, the user provides about 50 players per team. The game will then
create 16-18 players per team with randomly distributed ratings, then about 32-34
per team with roster-filler ratings.

Fields

PLAYERID - The interal identifier given this player in the initial universe. This
must be unique within the universe and must be 1 or greater. When creating new
players after the initial universe is created, they will be assigned unique IDs
sequentially, beginning with one more than the highest ID in this file. Players
should have player IDs of at least 1000, and entries should be sorted, lowest to
highest ID. This field is ignored for draftable players.
LASTNAME - The last name of the player. This should be no longer than 18
characters.
FIRSTNAME - The first name of the player. This should be no longer than 16
characters.
TEAM - The team the player is originally assigned to when there's no initial draft
in the game. Use the ID for the team as found for the year of the player file in
team_info.csv. Use 0 if the player was a free agent at the start of that year.
POSITION_KEY - The player's primary position, a value from 2 to 28. Values outside
of this range could cause instability in a universe. Values are as follows:
1 Quarterback (do not include quarterbacks in this file)
2 Running Back
3 Fullback
4 Tight End
5 Flanker
6 Split End
7 Left Tackle
8 Left Guard
9 Center
10 Right Guard
11 Right Tackle
12 Punter
13 Kicker
14 Defensive Left End
15 Defensive Left Tackle
16 Defensive Nose Tackle
17 Defensive Right Tackle
18 Defensive Right End
19 Strong-Side Linebacker
20 Strong Inside Linebacker
21 Middle Linebacker
22 Weak Inside Linebacker
23 Weak-Side Linebacker
24 Left Cornerback
25 Right Cornerback
26 Strong Safety
27 Free Safety
28 Long Snapper
UNIFORM - The player's uniform number with his initial team, when there's no
initial draft. This should range from 0-99. A uniform number should be unique on
this team, as no checking is done when starting a new league.
HEIGHT - The player's height. This can be the number of inches (72 is six feet
tall). Or, if the value is more than 99, it can be the number of inches, with the
last digit indicating eighths of an inch (745 would be 6' 2 5/8"). You can mix
these ranges in one player file.
HANDSIZE - The player's hand size, in inches and eighths of an inch (93 is 9 3/8").
If this is a 0, which it is in the default Front Office Football player file, the
game chooses an appropriate hand size.
ARMLENGTH - The player's arm length, in inches and eighths of an inch. If this is a
0, which it is in the default Front Office Football player file, the game chooses
an appropriate arm length.
WEIGHT - The player's weight, in pounds.
BIRTHMONTH - The month of the player's birthdate, a value from 1 to 12.
BIRTHDAY - The day of the player's birthdate, a value from 1 to 31.
BIRTHYEAR - The year of the player's birthdate. This should be consistent with the
year of the player file. For instance, a player with four years of experience
should probably have a birth year about 26-28 years earlier than the year of the
player file.
BIRTHCITY - This is a text field not read by the game, but helps when working with
a player file.
CITYID - The ID of the city of the player's birth. This must match an ID of a city
in cities.csv.
COLLEGE - This is a text field not read by the game, but helps when working with a
player file.
COLLEGEID - The ID of the college the player attended. This must match an ID of a
college in colleges.csv (0 for No College).
YEARENTRY - The year a player would have been part of a draft class, even if he
wasn't drafted. Unusual values in this field could cause instabilty in areas where
past draft results can be viewed. This field is ignored for draftable players.
ROUNDDRAFTED - The round of the draft when a player was selected. This should be 0
if a player was undrafted. This field is ignored for draftable players.
SELECTIONDRAFTED - The overall selection of the draft when a player was selected.
This should be 0 if a player was undrafted. This field is ignored for draftable
players.
SUPPLEMENTAL - This should be 0 if a player was selected (or went undrafted) in the
amateur draft. It should be 1 if he was selected during the league's supplemental
draft. Front Office Football Nine does not include a supplemental draft of its own.
This field is ignored for draftable players.
ORIGINALTEAM - Either the team that drafted the player, or, if the player was
undrafted, the team that first signed him (even if he never played for that team).
Use the ID for the team as found for the year of the player file in team_info.csv.
Use 0 if the player was not drafted or signed to any team within a year of first
being available. This field is ignored for draftable players.
EXPERIENCE - The player's accrued experience, in years, before the first season
begins. This should be a value from 0 to 23. This field is ignored for draftable
players.
YEARSIGNED - The year that the player's current team, if starting without an
initial draft, signed or drafted this player. This field is ignored for draftable
players.
PLAYPERCENTAGE - The percentage of snaps on offense, defense or special teams the
player played, for his team, during the previous season. This should range from 0-
100. This field is ignored for draftable players.
HALLOFFAMEPOINTS - This field is used when calculating whether a player might reach
the Hall of Fame when he retires. It ranges from 0 to 9999. Each season, a player's
performances add to this value. The threshold for Hall entry varies by position.
This field is ignored for draftable players.
SALARYYEARS - The number of years remaining on a player's contract. This must range
from 0-5. This field is ignored for draftable players.
SALARYYEAR1 - The player's salary in the first year of this contract (in units of
$10,000, so 452 would indicate a value of $4,520,000). Use 0 if the player is not
under contract that season. Salaries and bonuses must be below 10,000 ($1 billion)
in a player file.
BONUSYEAR1 - The player's accrued bonus in the first year of this contract (in
units of $10,000).
SALARYYEAR2 - The player's salary in the second year of this contract (in units of
$10,000).
BONUSYEAR2 - The player's accrued bonus in the second year of this contract (in
units of $10,000).
SALARYYEAR3 - The player's salary in the third year of this contract (in units of
$10,000).
BONUSYEAR3 - The player's accrued bonus in the third year of this contract (in
units of $10,000).
SALARYYEAR4 - The player's salary in the fourth year of this contract (in units of
$10,000).
BONUSYEAR4 - The player's accrued bonus in the fourth year of this contract (in
units of $10,000).
SALARYYEAR5 - The player's salary in the fifth year of this contract (in units of
$10,000).
BONUSYEAR5 - The player's accrued bonus in the fifth year of this contract (in
units of $10,000).
OVERALLRATING - A value from 0-10, indicating the overall potential ability of this
player. The game uses this value to create ratings. The ratings may differ
significantly from universe to universe. There is a random element to new player
ratings. The "X-Factor" in the new universe wizard determines the range of that
random element. This is the most critical value in the player file. If you change
how this value is distributed among players, it will considerably change the
statistical performances you'll see in games and AI-controlled teams will struggle
to manage rosters properly.
0 - The player is of replacement quality for his position. Expect low ratings
across the board.
1 - The player is of backup quality. Ratings are generally low.
2 - The player is of starting quality. Ratings can vary. For lower-value positions
(FB/P/K/LS), this is the top value that can be assigned.
3 - The player is usually one of the better starters in the league for his
position.
4-7 - Increasingly rare - players are often All-Star level.
8 - The player is often the best in the league at his position.
9 - The player is a generational talent at his position.
10 - The player is below replacement quality for his position, and will only be
placed on a team at the start of a new universe if he's needed to fill a roster.

Player Attributes

The remaining fields offer the ability to give each player in a new universe
specific ratings. Use -1 if you want a player to have his ability in that category
determined by using the overall rating. The default player file in Front Office
Football Nine has all -1s here. If not -1, this field should range from 0-250. Be
careful, as the distribution of player ratings can change how the game plays,
considerably. The highest values should be reserved only for the very best players
in the league. Most players should range from 0-100 in most categories.

SKILL_SPEED - Player's raw speed in pads, resulting in more breakaway runs and
receptions.
SKILL_POWER - Player's raw strength in pads, resulting in more effective blocking
and dealing with block attempts.
HOLE_RECOGNITION - Ball carrier's ability to find the best possible path for
gaining rushing yardage.
ELUSIVENESS - Ball carrier's ability to avoid tackles, though this might result in
moving backward.
BLITZ_PICKUP - While in the backfield, a player's ability to detect and block an
opposing blitzer.
CATCH_HANDS - Receiver's ability to secure a catch.
ADJUST_TO_BALL - Receiver's ability to make adjustments to his route in order to
catch the ball.
ROUTE_RUNNING - Receiver's ability to effectively run his assigned route.
CATCH_IN_TRAFFIC - Receiver's ability to make a catch while navigating the middle
of the field.
DEFEAT_BLOCKERS - Receiver's ability to get past a defensive player in the five-
yard contact zone.
SECURE_HANDLING - Ball carrier's ability to hold on to the ball after contact.
RUN_BLOCK_TECHNIQUE - Blocker's ability to effectively maintain a block while
clearing a path for a runner.
PASS_BLOCK_TECHNIQUE - Blocker's ability to effectively maintain a block while
protecting the quarterback.
BLOCKING_STRENGTH - Blocker's ability to effectively counter a pass rusher's
strength.
SCHEME_ACQUISITION - Offensive lineman's ability to adapt to a new team's blocking
scheme.
PUNT_DISTANCE - Punter's ability to kick the ball down the field.
PUNT_HANG_TIME - Punter's ability to kick the ball higher, giving his team time to
cover the punt.
PUNT_DIRECTIONAL - Punter's ability to effectively kick the ball to the sidelines.
KICKOFF_HANG_TIME - Kicker's ability to kick the ball closer to the goal line,
giving his team time to cover kickoffs.
FIELD_GOAL_ACCURACY - Kicker's accuracy in attempting field goals and extra points.
FIELD_GOAL_DISTANCE - Kicker's ability to attempt and kick longer field goals.
RUN_DEFENSE - Defensive player's ability to effectively defend running plays.
PASS_RUSH_TECHNIQUE - Defensive player's ability to avoid blockers when rushing the
quarterback.
PASS_RUSH_STRENGTH - Defensive player's ability to overpower blockers when rushing
the quarterback.
PASS_DEFENSE_MAN - Defensive player's ability to defend passes while assigned to
cover a specific receiver.
PASS_DEFENSE_PHYSICAL - Defensive player's ability to defend passes while assigned
to cover a receiver and engage in the five-yard contact zone.
PASS_DEFENSE_ZONE - Defensive player's ability to identify and defend passes while
assigned to a zone.
PASS_DEFENSE_HANDS - Defensive player's ability to intercept a pass when
effectively defending a pass attempt.
DEFENSIVE_DIAGNOSIS - Defensive player's ability to correctly identify runs and
passes, as well as his assigned role in each case.
SPECIAL_TEAMS - Player's ability to effectively participate on special teams,
particularly important when in the role of gunner.
PUNT_RETURNS - Player's ability to effectively return punts.
KICK_RETURNS - Player's ability to effectively return kickoffs.
LONG_SNAPPING - Lineman's ability to accurately and quickly snap the ball to a kick
holder or punter.
KICK_HOLDING - Player's ability to catch a long snap and get it into the proper
spot for a kicker.
ENDURANCE - Player's ability to maintain top performance, play after play,
particularly important for defensive players, receivers and running backs.

BASE_YEAR - If this field matches the BASE_YEAR in xxxx_info.csv, the player will
be part of the initial player database for this universe. Otherwise, the game
checks this file each season when draftable players are created, matching BASE_YEAR
to the current year to bring in new players. If none, or not enough players are
found, the game will create new fictional players.