A discussion about 25/50s vs DC 150s

[TomAndGregBigFan]

I've been playing DC 150s since 2011, and have followed the best ball format through it's changes on the site. The format is the best part about this site, in my opinion.

25/50s were introduced to bring a lower price point, not for any other format difference purposes. Still, some features were left out from what is in the 150 DCs - no 3RR, no KDR, no team kickers, 30 rounds instead of 35, less admin support. Personally, I've been fine with all of it.

Then, some players in both 150s and 25/50s complained (and always have) about people using their timers. 8 hour timers went down to 4, and then leagues started being offered with 4, 2, or 1 hour timers. This is fine - it leaves the option on the table for those who want it faster, or those who need the 4 hour timers because of how their day is structured.

In my first NFFC25 4 hour/pick draft this year, I find that the timers automatically drop to 2 hours after the 21st round. This is a problem. Beyond the fact that it wasn't clear this was a change, it just makes no sense. It seems to continue to pander to the crowd that doesn't like timers being used, even though they have options for drafts with shorter timers. Personally, I can't do 1-2 hour timers - I have chunks of my day that don't allow for it. And we all know the queue is not sufficient in some cases, especially depending on where your draft slot is situated. Sometimes people just need the timer, and most don't make a habit out of it.

Why did this change happen? Do the 2 hour and 1 hour 25s also halve their timers at round 21? Are these same people complaining also signing up for the shorter drafts?

I've seen plenty here say it - "I won't be drafting here as much/I'm going to leave/blahblahblah" - I'm not leaving yet, and frankly it's just because I don't see a service yet that provides 30-35 rounds deep of this format - this is a major selling point. Eventually someone will though, and I don't want to leave over this. I hope you all reconsider the timer change.

[TomAndGregBigFan]

I love the concept of team kickers in general, by the way. I hope this stays, and I would love to see it extended to 25/50s.

[Greg Ambrosius]

So we introduced the $25/$50 DC leagues as a way to bring in new customers. We believe that if we can attract new users at this price point then if they like the site, if they like the format, if they like the quick payouts, they will stick around and hopefully move up into other contests. We chose no KDS/no 3RR and only 30 rounds because this is an introductory product and we didn't want to get too complicated or go too deep into the player pool.

That format has done well and we won't be changing it.

In today's world where everyone has access to a smart phone or some type of computer, we just didn't feel the need for an 8 hour clock anymore. The Best Ball 10s still use 8 hour clocks, but even there more people play the 4 hour format. At our price points, people have enough time and smarts to make a pick in under 4 hours. We added the 2 hour and 1 hour formats because demand warranted it. What we are seeing this year is 35-round Draft Champions leagues getting done in 7-10 days, which is good for everyone. Nothing wrong with getting through 3+ rounds a day.

The reason we moved the last 15 rounds to half the clock time was that we saw that the last 15 rounds often dragged longer than the first 20 rounds. People weren't as interested in their 26th round pick and didn't mind waiting the full 4 hours or getting auto-picked. It was frustrating. These last 15 rounds are now getting done at a quicker pace.

The queue works for every single round and you can select the rounds you want to use auto-pick as well. So if you are on the clock and you're Team 12, you can set up separate queues for Rounds 26 and 27 and auto-pick each of those rounds or just one and you'll get the top player in each of your queues. The software works well for this.

Now if we hear enough from owners that shortening the final rounds was more trouble than it was worth, we will adjust. I will say that in baseball we didn't have a single complaint about the time change and it also sped up those DC drafts. But again, we are open to feedback, so let us know what you think and give the special features in the software a try. I think you'll like them. Thanks.

[TomAndGregBigFan]

Thanks for the reply

[Coltsfan]

Greg,

We made a comment in another thread that you might have missed. Can the 2 hour clock be changed slightly so that you don't time out during the night? I've timed out more than once where I wasn't anywhere near being on the clock but a bunch of guys picked and then the next morining I end up with someone on my team that may be the wrong position. In the early 20's you are watching for the last defenses and the last kickers and you need to see how the draft is flowing before making a pick that may be 6-10 picks out. Later it doesn't matter as much. But I hate going to bed and timing out during the night.


Wayne

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg,

We made a comment in another thread that you might have missed. Can the 2 hour clock be changed slightly so that you don't time out during the night? I've timed out more than once where I wasn't anywhere near being on the clock but a bunch of guys picked and then the next morining I end up with someone on my team that may be the wrong position. In the early 20's you are watching for the last defenses and the last kickers and you need to see how the draft is flowing before making a pick that may be 6-10 picks out. Later it doesn't matter as much. But I hate going to bed and timing out during the night.


Wayne

We can certainly make adjustments where needed so that getting auto-picked at night doesn't happen. We currently have the pause from 2 am ET to 8 am ET. We can also discuss cutting the time in half for the last 15 rounds. Maybe that's something we do just for the 4-hour drafts and not the 2-hour drafts. We are open to discussion on all of this to make things still move along at a good pace without having people too stressed at night.

In the past we had 8 hour clocks without any pause. Right now we have a 6 hour pause and a 1 or 2 hour clock for the later rounds. Again, maybe we look at not cutting the 2 hour drafts in half as a first option. Or if adding in one more hour to the pause makes sense, let's discuss.

We look for your feedback and will do what's right for the contest and our customers. Thanks for the feedback.

[Coltsfan]

I go to bed 4 hours before the pause so that's probably why I"m going to auto pick on me. I always check to make sure and if I"m within 5-6 picks then I set up auto but I guess I'm getting hit coming back around or else it's just further out than 5-6 picks and it makes it to me. Instead of auto I guess I could just let it time out on me so that I don't have to worry about it coming around the second time.

I'm getting used to the 2 hour clock the last few rounds and it's working out fine. I do like finishing drafts in a week. That's so much better than the 2-2.5 weeks it took last year.

wayne