Deep Route is an American football sim for hard-core football enthusiasts. The game features an intricate and in-depth simulation of NFL-style football from a general manager and offensive/defensive coordinator POV. If you have always wanted to get your hands on building a roster of players you believe in, and scheming how they play their games, are not afraid of hard work analyzing the details, and are willing to be in it for the long haul (a full one-season cycle takes at least a month to complete), then Deep Route is very likely *exactly* what you’ve been looking for.
The game revolves around a once-a-day “spin” cycle (most leagues, some as few as once to three times a week) in which a “spin” simulates successive regular season weeks, plus key points of the off-season (free agency, draft, roster cuts from off-season maxes to regular season maxes). Most leagues feature both player management by physical/mental attributes, and salary cap management. (“Lighter” leagues are available that don’t require salary cap management). “Default” offensive and defensive playbooks are available for use, and work very well (I and many other players have won multiple league championships using the defaults PBs). However, if you fancy yourself as a whiz at game-planning, a detailed approach to custom offensive and defensive game-planning is available for use via “Advanced Playbooks”, which you tailor to your team as you see fit.
Each day’s “spin” during regular season yields the results of your league’s “weekly” games. There is a “box score” that gives standard football statistic details at a glance, and a log is also available for each game that shows you everything you need to know about each play of the game, in order as the plays occur.
Use of spreadsheets is key for most Deep Route team owners. The game makes *.csv files (comma-delimited text) available for import into your favorite spreadsheet program, With the *.csv files, you can see all players’ attributes (yours and the rest of the league), the attributes of each draft class (to allow you to evaluate and set a draft board) and a detailed analysis of each game’s play-by-play results.
This is not an instant-action, hands-on-the-controls-as-games-play game, and has no video of gameplay. It is a game that will give you a very deep immersion into how a football general manager and/or coach must work to analyze, understand, and plan. Its hard work to be successful in Deep Route, but for those of us who aspire to greatness in ways we’ll never be able to experience unless we work for an NFL team, it can be a true labor of love.
Deep Route is a game owned by an individual (in-game ID “Q”) who has a personal passion for it. It is his hobby, and clearly a labor of love for him. It is in a perpetual “beta” state, because Q is never satisfied with how it works. He spends his time tinkering with it to make it more realistic. The results he achieves are remarkable. Players may expect scores to be realistic when team matchups and gameplans are considered. Looking at Deep Route game stats is very similar to looking at NFL game stats, and the same sorts of player analysis and strategy that works in the NFL works the same in Deep Route.
Some players may be put off from time to time because of the evolving nature of Deep Route, especially since Q’s available time is often constrained by real life – thus, adjustments and attention to individuals’ problems may be somewhat spotty. However, as a Deep Route player for many years, I can attest to the fact that sooner or later, Q always comes through, even if not as quickly as some folks’ patience may dictate. He has a passion to make things right, and can be depended on to work until he gets things right.
The price of playing Deep Route is *exactly* right – free. There are some “extras” available for small, very reasonable fees (such as advanced playbooks and custom game scrimmages) but you don’t have to spend any money at all to play Deep Route with 95% of its features active, and you can definitely be a champion for free (I’ve done so many times).
The player community in Deep Route is its best feature. We all like competition, and we know that comes from real people, so “noobs” are welcomed. The chat room and message forums are places where new players are mentored by experienced players. If you jump into Deep Route, you may be assured that any questions you have will be promptly answered, and if you need help getting up to speed you will find lots of good players eager to help you get there. They can’t have any fun kicking your ass if you don’t know how to play, after all 🙂
So, if you have a passion for football, and think you know how to make a team work, come swim with the sharks.
www.deeproute.com
Kelly Myers – awculero (culero/AWAR Kelly from Air Warrior, for you flight sim nuts)