Mana Games

[Zorromorph]

For those of who think you are experts at the game, here's a chance to show your talents. The rules of the challenge are as follows:

1. No reloading to improve results. This is on the honor system of course, but this is in the spirit of friendly competition. Once you've lost a match or been injured or fail a contract, it is what it is. Don't rewrite history.

2. Incredible difficulty is mandatory.

3. The all-powerful startup character cannot be used in any way. Ignore it.

4. Your score is equal to the Race Points that each of your recruited players achieve while you are coaching them. Report your roster and score here at the end of each year(or more often if you prefer). For example, if you take over a player with 28 Race Points and they end the year with 75, your score for that player is 47 points(75-28), not the entire amount. Money is merely a means to an end, and does not affect your score.

5. The 'winner' of the challenge is the person with the highest total score at the end of their career.

6. Davis Cup is mandatory for players who qualify.

7. Using experience boost in matches is not allowed.

No further restrictions other than the rules above. To join, post your coach's name and players at the end of the first year. Also note if you are doing it from the men's or women's side as the differences in points will require seperate point totals for each.

All comments/suggestions on this challenge are welcomed!

MEN

1. Zorromorph(1958) -- 3 years
2. Bigfootlewis(615) -- 2 years

[Zorromorph]

Completed first year(Men's Tour, 2000), with the following results:

Irakli Labadze(0-25 Race Points, 25 Net)
Gaston Gaudio(1-147 Race Points, 146 Net)
Xavier Malisse(15-31 Race Points, 16 Net)

Total: 177 Race Points, Career Score 56

[Curtis]

This is a good idea, and I would like to see more of this kind of community involvement on this board (TEM seems tailor-made for it), but it is a little too restrictive for me.

I understand thinking the default character is too powerful, but since everyone starts with the default, that would seem like a good equalizer.

Why wouldn't we be able to use experience boosts? I don't for the first year, since I dedicate all of those points to improving the character, but once the mental skills have reached their potential, it would be a waste not to use them for 'buying' matches.

And why are doubles race points not counted?

Those are mostly rhetorical questions to show why I will not be taking part, but I hope you do get some participants. A 'real' question is, how did you arrive at a career score of 56 from a race total of 177? I would have guessed that might give you a career score of 59 (177 divided by the three players).

[Zorromorph]

That's fine, perhaps we can discuss it(particularly if others are interested) and devise a better one.

I'll tackle the objections one at a time.

-- The default character isn't just overpowered, it also has no strengths and no weaknesses. You can make him/her do whatever you want. They will never fire you no matter how badly you coach them. There's just a bunch of problems with it in my opinion.

-- Experience boosts: simply because, to my understanding, the AI players don't use them, and you give yourself an unfair advantadge in matches by doing it yourself.

-- Doubles points: it's too easy to rack them up by pairing with another powerful character.

I'm open to discussion, but this is the why.

On the career score, it is simply the career score the game lists and had no relationship to the race points I had for the first year.

[Zorromorph]

Another thought: might perhaps using ONLY the default player be a better challenge(would limit trainers that way and everybody would have the same player abilities)?

[Bigfootlewis]

Ok, here is my effort at the ultimate challenge!
End of 1st Season 2007
Arnaud Di Pasquale 0 - 32 race points.
Net 32 - Season Highlight, 3rd round of US Open and 2nd Round of Wimbledon!
Paradorn Srichaphan 25 - 97 race points.
Net 72 - Season Highlight, beating James Blake to reach 3rd round of US Open!
Mikhail Youzhny 80 - 176 race points.
Net 96 - Reaching Miami Masters QF!

So in total I have made exactly 200 points!

Coach Score - Just 33!?

I am enjoying the challenge. Hopefully some other people will take it up!

[Zorromorph]

Well done! First post was edited to include current totals.

[Zorromorph]

My second year(2001) is in the books. I replaced Irakli Labadze and Xavier Malisse with Roger Federer and Jonas Bjorkman, but I made some mistakes(learned a lot about managing the players better this year) so I expect both of them to fire me. Improved ranking on Federer from 33 to 24 and Bjorkman from 32 to 30, but that was below the target for both players.

Roger Federer(0-231 Race Points)

Had some tough draws, losing a lot of tight matches to top players. Guillermo Canas in R1 of the Australian, then consecutive first round losses in Monte Carlo(Gustavo Kuerten), Rome(Yevgeny Kafelnikov), and Hamburg(Sebastian Grosjean). A solid French but a tough R3 loss to Marat Safin(6-4 in the 5th set). Finally got it going late in the season, beating Sampras in the SF at Palermo(only title of the year) and also a win against Juan Carlos Ferrero at Paris, where I made the QF.

Gaston Gaudio(0-220 Race Points)

I'm fairly close to maxing out Gaudio I think, who finishes the year at #26. He was consistent, making the round of 16 in four Masters events, and the third round in three of the Slams. Toughest loss was to year-end world #2 Patrick Rafter at the UK Open, 8-6 in the 5th set. Won Valencia for the only title of the year.

Jonas Bjorkman(66-193 Race Points)

Bucharest SF was the year's best result: a couple of third-round finishes in the Slams(Henman at UK Open, Rafter at US Open, both in four sets). Bad ending to the year with a first-round loss at Paris Masters to Andrei Pavel.

Xavier Malisse(11 Race Points before contract was not renewed)

2001 Total: 655 Race Points, 129 Career Score(+73 this year)

[Bigfootlewis]

My season two was far weaker than yours sadly, thanks to a gamble that didn't pay off.

Arnaud Di Pasquale 0 - 2 (Ended very early)

Paradorn Srichaphan 0 - 27 (Cancelled )
Highlight - SF of Kitzbuchel

Mikhail Youzhany 0 - 39 (Cancelled also )
Highlight - Beating world no.1 Rafael Nadal in the Dubai 2nd round.

Juan Martin Del Potro 0 - 201 (My only strong performer)
Highlights :-
Beating World no.3 Nikolay Davydenko in the 2nd round of Dubai.
Reaching QF of Cincinati and Paris.
L16 of the US Open.

Mardy Fish 55 - 132
Very poor season. Lost in the first two rounds of nearly all tournements.
Highlights :-
Beating Baghdatis
Beating Youzinhy!!!

Stephen Huss 7 - 68

Took a big risk on a low ranked, 28 year old serve and vollyer on the basis of his wicked serve consistancy and volleying.

He was rubbish.
Highlights - Beating Grosjean to reach QF of Nottingham
Beating Bob Bryan in round 2 of the US Open.

Rochus 121 - 129 (One Tournement)

Net Points - 415 Coach score +33 only (again)

[Zorromorph]

2002(3rd Year)


Was fired by Roger Federer as expected(he proceeded to reach #7 by year's end ). Narrowed it down to two players and chose James Blake, the wrong choice as it ended up since the other option, Fernando Gonzalez, had a better year. By the time the clay court season rolled around I had Blake playing fairly well though with some consistent results, and he had a great run at the UK Open, making the semis(l. to #1 Hewitt). Made the fourth round at the US Open(losing to Gonzalez, thanks a ton), and got his only title at Palermo before a poor finish. 320 Race Points in all, a good season.

Jonas Bjorkman didn't fire me, because he put together the best tournament of his career at the Australian Open. Beating an ill-prepared Sampras in the 3rd round, and later Carlos Moya and Albert Costa, Bjorkman made it all the way to the final and nearly won it, losing a tough five-set match to Guillermo Canas. Up to #18 in the world, all of a sudden his mood on my coaching changed . No titles, made the Vienna final though(l. Hewitt), and a first-round exit at the U.S. Open hurt. 325 Race Points, a great start and then pretty solid overall the rest of it.

Gaston Gaudio had a final in Valencia, but other than that a poor start to the season -- until the French, where he became my first player to win a Slam, taking advantadge of some key upsets and beating Tommy Haas in four sets for the title. He won Stuttgart as well, and made the SF at the Cincinatti Masters(l. Moya). Gaudio also became the first of my players to qualify for Shanghai, where he was summarily swept. 481 Race Points.

1126 Race Points in total for the year. I forgot to note the Career Score.

[JenerationJ]

sounds like fun...gotta get my registration info again though...can u help me out Manutoo??


thanks

[JenerationJ]

so to make sure I get it right...if I create a character named Bobo Jenkins I can't use him at all right?? Which is cool cause I get to use pro's

I'd probably use the women's tour...got some prospective players to use...

[JenerationJ]

First season done on Women's tour
Year 1998
Kim Clijsters - 845 pts (35r in The Race)
**Season Highlights: Qualified for UK Open at r254, L 1R to (14) P. Schnyder - eventual finalist; Reached US Open 3R, beat 22r C. Rubin in R2.
3 Tier III/IV Titles: Portoroz def 7r M. Pierce R1, Bangkok, Quebec City

Meghann Shaughnessy - 562 pts (51r in The Race)
**Season Highlights: Reached UK Open 3R, def 22r Serena Williams R2

Elena Bovina - 324 pts (89r in The Race)

That gives a total of 1731 for my first season on the women's side.

[JenerationJ]

Career score 73 lol

[Guest]

Thanks for posting, but your point total is incorrect. The race total is what matters, so your first-year total is 175 minus whatever Race points they had at the point you hired them.