Player Progression and Rookies, just some notes

[Kccitystar]

I'm surprised there was never a thread regarding how MVP does player progression/rookie generating. 

 

A lot of what I've tried to search is just in the abstract and in documentation from player progression mods but they don't talk much in detail on how it actually works, so I decided to figure it out myself.
 

So, my first key realization: Rookie generation is the true starting point of the league.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that progression alone controls league quality over time. In reality, rookie generation defines the entire ecosystem.

The stock version of the rookie.big file contains CSVs that decide:

- how many players enter the league,

- what star tiers they belong to

- how complete they are at birth

- and how talent is distributed across positions.
 

In stock MVP, the rookie classes are too strong and too uniform. Too many players enter already close to MLB-ready, and too many belong to higher star tiers.

Over time, this causes talent inflation, even if progression itself is flattened or randomized.

 

This explains why some progression mods reduce growth but still end up with stacked leagues after 8–10 seasons. The inflow never slowed.

Second key realization: Progression tables give careers shape, but only if rookies are raw enough

EA kinda did intend players to have arcs.
The stock progress.big file that contains CSVs for player progression clearly showed me:

- early growth windows

- peak years

- decline phases

- different behavior by star level

- different logic for hitters vs pitchers
 

The problem isn’t that those ideas don’t exist, it’s that they’re drowned out by overly complete rookies, and contracts that allow players to survive well past their decline risk. When rookies come in too polished, progression becomes a cosmetic effect instead of the main driver of development.

Third key realization: Contracts are not progression, but they decide who survives

So as you know, contracts don’t change ratings, but they determine whether a player stays in the league long enough for player progression to matter.
 

EA’s default contract tables are extremely permissive:

- young players ask for too much too early

- older players ask for too many years

- long contracts routinely extend deep into decline phases
 

So, this causes leagues to calcify. Stars linger, middle-tier players vanish, and rebuilds stop working correctly. From a design standpoint, contracts are the gatekeeper between progression and league health, and EA unfortunately under-tuned that gate.

 

Last realization: Retirement tables finish the pipeline

So, retirements aren’t random either. It’s table-driven and star-sensitive.
 

In stock MVP, the retirement odds often spike too aggressively in the late 30s, which can conflict with contracts/progression and cause players to disappear before their decline arc fully plays out.

EA clearly intended late-career legends to exist, but the surrounding systems don’t always support that cleanly.
 

Why “flattening” progression alone doesn’t work

A lot of player progression mods try to fix progression by:

- equalizing up/down probabilities,

- reducing growth magnitude,

- increasing randomness.

This can slow inflation short-term, but it replaces career arcs with coin flips. Players don’t peak, they just drift.

The deeper fix is alignment, honestly: rookies must enter rawer, progression must have direction, contracts must end before decline, and retirement must allow rare late-career survivability. When those systems agree, MVP’s math-based approach actually holds up shockingly well for a 2004 engine. 

 

I’ll also point out that these are observations based on extreme long-horizon play, which isn’t really a normal use case for most players, as we all know.

If you look at MVP’s default rookie generation and player progression holistically, the game actually behaves best roughly 5–8 seasons into Owner Mode or Dynasty. Rookie classes are immediately useful, stars emerge quickly, overall league talent rises (which feels great in the short term), and teams haven't collapsed under contract or roster pressure.
 

In that context, the default systems aren’t bad, they’re just over-optimized for short-term play (which makes a lot of sense given expectations for sports games in 2004–2005).

[Jim825]

Very nice analysis of this feature of the game. 

[Yankee4Life]

5 hours ago, Jim825 said:

Very nice analysis of this feature of the game. 

 

He's really something isn't he?