Alright boyz, here we go! OOTP 11 first impressions thread

[spleen1015]

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i225/spleen1015/cal_ripken.png

Cal Ripken from the Historical Facegen Pack.

[CleBrownsfan]

I'm running a 100 year sim from the MLB quickstart to see how the Dynamically Evolving League goes...

So far I'm liking the interface - just getting some use to.

[Markus Heinsohn]

I'm running a 100 year sim from the MLB quickstart to see how the Dynamically Evolving League goes...

So far I'm liking the interface - just getting some use to.

The MLB quickstart does not have the dynamically evolving league options enabled at the moment. I'll have this fixed in the official release version on the 14th, the fix will work on existing leagues as well. Sorry for the hassle!

[Ksyrup]

I downloaded it this morning before I left for work when I saw the email, but I won't get into it until tonight at the earliest, if that. I'm happy for the early release, but a Monday release is, as my dad always says, as useless as tits on a boar hog. If you held off until Friday, it probably wouldn't have made much difference on my ability to really dig ito the game between now and then. But I understand that most of your customers don't have a life...! :D

[MizzouRah]

So far, I'm really liking the interface changes, the speed of the sim in general, the dark skin, and especially the all in one mod!!!

[MizzouRah]

The MLB quickstart does not have the dynamically evolving league options enabled at the moment. I'll have this fixed in the official release version on the 14th, the fix will work on existing leagues as well. Sorry for the hassle!

Glad the fix will work with existing leagues!

[lungs]

Gonna dive into this after the Brewer game.

[korme]

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i225/spleen1015/cal_ripken.png

Cal Ripken from the Historical Facegen Pack.

That looks remarkably like Cal Ripken!

[cougarfreak]

I've played lots of versions of this game, and this is the best release yet. The MLB all in one is very good.

[MizzouRah]

I've played lots of versions of this game, and this is the best release yet. The MLB all in one is very good.

No doubt.. the interface tweaks are great.

I was going to do fictional, but the MLB mod has me drawn in like never before.

I did change the prospects updating to dynamic and changed trading to "hard", that's about it!

[Scoobz0202]

How much is the game if I order it today as opposed the 14th?

[Sweed]

I downloaded it this morning before I left for work when I saw the email, but I won't get into it until tonight at the earliest, if that. I'm happy for the early release, but a Monday release is, as my dad always says, as useless as tits on a boar hog. If you held off until Friday, it probably wouldn't have made much difference on my ability to really dig ito the game between now and then. But I understand that most of your customers don't have a life...! :D

Kind of like the majority of the video industry in the US that thinks Tuesday is just the "perfect" release day. Thursday shipping with Friday in store availability seems like a much better way to me, but what do I know?

That's not saying Markus should have waited for this Friday, but he could have released last Friday:D

As for the game, had it since this morning importing and tweaking my on-going game, and am just getting ready to play out my first game. I'm loving the whole interface. I am surprised though, after seeing screen shots and liking the dark blue skin, that i actually prefer the default "white". The photo under the transparent blue is distracting to me and not as noticeable under the white. Just my opinion, YMMV.

[Terps]

The 'storyline engine' sounds awesome.

"storyline engine" - OOTP Developments Forums (http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/ootp-11-general-discussions/195947-storyline-engine.html)

Seems like it will make the world more immersive.

[lungs]

First thing I'd say that is noticeable is how much faster it is.

[Marc Vaughan]

Congrats on the release Markus :D

[bhlloy]

Didn't there used to be a function for importing historical rookies at a realistic age (18/21) instead of having them import as rookies before the first season they made it to the minors? Did this get taken out or am I just having a hard time finding it?

[Drake]

I have to admit that I was skeptical about the interface tweaks from the Road to Release videos, but it's remarkably intuitive and puts more things at your fingertips that used to be a pain in the butt to get to (for me specifically, things like switching the league focus).

I've only quick-simmed one season so far, but I really like what I've seen so far.

[Qrusher14242]

i cant seem to get the stadiums to show up in the All-in-One mod, i have to go and find them manually. Not too much work i guess, but was hoping not to have to do that.

[kernie]

i purchased the game where is everyone downloading it from on the site it says not available until tommorrow????

[DanGarion]

i purchased the game where is everyone downloading it from on the site it says not available until tommorrow????

That's because only pre-orders got it early, you gotta wait, if you did't get the email you didn't pre-order.

[kernie]

my bad.......I guess.......on the frontpage of the companys site it says

Buy Out of the Park Baseball 11 now!

which I did before reading further

no biggie but slightly misleading one into thinking that they could have an immediate purchase!!!!!!!! uggh

[MizzouRah]

i cant seem to get the stadiums to show up in the All-in-One mod, i have to go and find them manually. Not too much work i guess, but was hoping not to have to do that.

Did you load the mod BEFORE starting the MLB quickstart?

[Ksyrup]

Reading on the OOTP forum, there seems to be an issue (might not be a big deal for some) with the dynamic league settings of teams being relocated or expanding into various NYC-related areas. One guy posted that his league expanded or relocated into The Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. That's in addition to the Yankees and Mets, of course.

[Drake]

I had a team migrate from Vancouver to The Bronx after the one season I simmed.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Reading on the OOTP forum, there seems to be an issue (might not be a big deal for some) with the dynamic league settings of teams being relocated or expanding into various NYC-related areas. One guy posted that his league expanded or relocated into The Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. That's in addition to the Yankees and Mets, of course.

I just improved the code a bit, there won't be relocation/expansions to cities which are 75 miles or less close to a city with an existing franchise. This will be part of the patch tomorrow. :)

[CleBrownsfan]

Reading on the OOTP forum, there seems to be an issue (might not be a big deal for some) with the dynamic league settings of teams being relocated or expanding into various NYC-related areas. One guy posted that his league expanded or relocated into The Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. That's in addition to the Yankees and Mets, of course.

HEY - that one guy was me ;)

[CleBrownsfan]

I just improved the code a bit, there won't be relocation/expansions to cities which are 75 miles or less close to a city with an existing franchise. This will be part of the patch tomorrow. :)

My lord Markus - the quick support you give to your product is amazing. Thanks again for the best sports game on the market - imo

[Drake]

Is it just me, or did they tweak the color palette for auto-generated team colors and logos?

Maybe I just got lucky with the first 144 the game randomly generated (36 teams x 4 levels of minors), but all of the colors actually make sense together and have more visual appeal.

[Qrusher14242]

Did you load the mod BEFORE starting the MLB quickstart?

yes. i downloaded the .tar manually cause it kept coming up with an error. Then i placed it in downloads and then hit install on the Add-on central. Then i went and started a game. Everything else worked great, logos, photos, except the stadiums. I just add them as i play them, not too bad.

[Ksyrup]

That's great, Markus. Thanks!

[MizzouRah]

yes. i downloaded the .tar manually cause it kept coming up with an error. Then i placed it in downloads and then hit install on the Add-on central. Then i went and started a game. Everything else worked great, logos, photos, except the stadiums. I just add them as i play them, not too bad.

Hmm... someone had issues with everything but the logos loading too.

[Jon]

My lord Markus - the quick support you give to your product is amazing. Thanks again for the best sports game on the market - imo

Good to see that you want to maintain the influence of the Yankees and Mets in the NY-NJ market by making it difficult to put a team in N.J. (I say this as a Yankee fan). :)

[Big Fo]

Highly drafted rookies demand a ton of money. I recently drafted an outfielder with the third overall pick and he wanted an $8.5m bonus plus a three year contract worth $9m per year. In total dollars that is 2.5x what Stephen Strasburg recently received, which set a record. He broke off negotiations with me after I met his bonus demand and offered a three year, $5m p/y contract. That is around 50% more than the record setting Strasburg deal. His signablility for my team was listed as normal.

[PadresFan104]

Have any of you tried out the free FaceGen Modeling program to put yourself in the game? The results are pretty cool.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/PadresFanMods/AWW.png

[Young Drachma]

Have any of you tried out the free FaceGen Modeling program to put yourself in the game? The results are pretty cool.

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/PadresFanMods/AWW.png

Where is it, exactly?

[DeToxRox]

So I haven't played an OOTP since 9 but I was intrigued by this one and after spending all night playing 11 I am really happy I bought it.

I have a question though. When it comes to developing players what is the best strategy? Is it purely luck? I will admit I did a lot of quick simming to the drafts but I was spending time scouting guys and I just can't see to find many guys in the first round who pan out.

My scout is rated at good in everything, but I did do auto set organizations and such so perhaps the issue is there?

So anyway, what, if anything, has shown it works? I am thinking perhaps a full season at each level might work best but would like to see if anyone has any ideas.

[miked]

I pay alot of attention to work ethic and make sure the player is getting as much PT as possible. I think it still takes a lot of luck, but anyone over an endurance of 3 (1-10) gets put in the rotation to develop a 3rd pitch.

[lynchjm24]

So I haven't played an OOTP since 9 but I was intrigued by this one and after spending all night playing 11 I am really happy I bought it.

I have a question though. When it comes to developing players what is the best strategy? Is it purely luck? I will admit I did a lot of quick simming to the drafts but I was spending time scouting guys and I just can't see to find many guys in the first round who pan out.

My scout is rated at good in everything, but I did do auto set organizations and such so perhaps the issue is there?

So anyway, what, if anything, has shown it works? I am thinking perhaps a full season at each level might work best but would like to see if anyone has any ideas.

Turn off scouting.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Turn off scouting.
So the problem you've seen isn't fixed?

[Senator]

storylines..... yes yes

Silly question these days but how may licenses do you get?

[MizzouRah]

I started the MLB quickstart and then did a fantasy draft.. erased all the history, and then adjusted the payrolls after the draft.

Getting ready to send Johan Santana to the mound to start the season.

[Young Drachma]

storylines..... yes yes

Silly question these days but how may licenses do you get?

Still two licenses.

[Young Drachma]

Turn off scouting.

So the problem you've seen isn't fixed?

I thought Markus fix it? Still broken?

It's not really broken. It's just....I dunno, I just personally find the way the coaches and scouts are implemented to be...umm...not that useful. Well, coaches are sometimes fun for cosmetic purposes like having an old player come back to coach or manage. But scouting doesn't really offer any redeeming qualities.

Scouting reports and all that are fine, strides have been made. I just personally think it's a far more enjoyable game with them turned off.

[DeToxRox]

Stupid question but where do I turn scouting off?

[MizzouRah]

Widget mania! Oh.. and Santana looks good in a Cardinals uniform!

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4650/ootp11.jpg

[DeToxRox]

Better question - How can I turn scouting off in an MLB game?

[MizzouRah]

Better question - How can I turn scouting off in an MLB game?

OOTP -> game setup -> uncheck "use complete scouting system

[SunDevil]

Widget mania! Oh.. and Santana looks good in a Cardinals uniform!



Ok. I have not bought the game yet. What on the screen is a widget, and where did you download them? I am on verge of buying this game, just based on the screen shot and everyone's feedback so far.

So if I did buy the game what would I have to do to get the in-game screen to look like your screen shot?

Thanks for the help MizzouRah.

[Drake]

I believe those are all default widgets.

I could be wrong, though. I don't play out individual games very often.

[CleBrownsfan]

Ok. I have not bought the game yet. What on the screen is a widget, and where did you download them? I am on verge of buying this game, just based on the screen shot and everyone's feedback so far.

So if I did buy the game what would I have to do to get the in-game screen to look like your screen shot?

Thanks for the help MizzouRah.

Widgets are an option while playing out games where you can take several "information boxes" and place them where you like on your screen. There is nothing to d/l - options are there already. This was an option in v10 as well.

I'm liking that set up a lot MizzouRah - mine looks more messy than that

[Philliesfan980]

Widget mania! Oh.. and Santana looks good in a Cardinals uniform!


I'm curious, you said you did a fantasy draft. Did you find the AI was competent at drafting their own teams? I only ask because I noticed you were able to snag Santana and Pujols. Did you have the #1 overall pick? I would think in a real life situation Santana, although he's not as good as he once was IMO, would still be a first round pick.

[DaddyTorgo]

oooh - good question!!!

[MizzouRah]

I'm curious, you said you did a fantasy draft. Did you find the AI was competent at drafting their own teams? I only ask because I noticed you were able to snag Santana and Pujols. Did you have the #1 overall pick? I would think in a real life situation Santana, although he's not as good as he once was IMO, would still be a first round pick.

Yes I made myself have the #1 pick.. because well, nobody is getting Pujols. :D

I was VERY pleased in what the computer drafted except for middle relievers, it seems like I have an excellent MR staff - although I did lose my first game 5-2 as my bullpen let me down. :(

The computer drafted for the future for the most part, so it will be interesting to see how I do in a few years. Strasburg and Heyward were snatched up very early and as I look at the top minor league systems, I see that I am dead last. :eek:

[MizzouRah]

Ok. I have not bought the game yet. What on the screen is a widget, and where did you download them? I am on verge of buying this game, just based on the screen shot and everyone's feedback so far.

So if I did buy the game what would I have to do to get the in-game screen to look like your screen shot?

Thanks for the help MizzouRah.

What Clebrownsfan said.. you go to the BNN widgets page and then you can do all sorts of things by clicking on "configure screen".

[MizzouRah]

I might flip flop the widgets to opposite sides.. LOL..

[Philliesfan980]

Yes I made myself have the #1 pick.. because well, nobody is getting Pujols. :D

I was VERY pleased in what the computer drafted except for middle relievers, it seems like I have an excellent MR staff - although I did lose my first game 5-2 as my bullpen let me down. :(

The computer drafted for the future for the most part, so it will be interesting to see how I do in a few years. Strasburg and Heyward were snatched up very early and as I look at the top minor league systems, I see that I am dead last. :eek:

That's not that unbelievable then. I'm not sure how Santana is rated in the game, but seeing him go with the first pick in the second round isn't too unbelievable if the CPU is geared toward future performance. Also, does it take contracts into consideration? If so, that would be another reason to drop Santana a little bit in the draft.

I'd be curious to see the players drafted ahead of him.

[MizzouRah]

That's not that unbelievable then. I'm not sure how Santana is rated in the game, but seeing him go with the first pick in the second round isn't too unbelievable if the CPU is geared toward future performance. Also, does it take contracts into consideration? If so, that would be another reason to drop Santana a little bit in the draft.

I'd be curious to see the players drafted ahead of him.

I had that option off (as I used the button to adjust payrolls after the draft took place).

I can give you a list of the first round picks when I get home, but I do know it was laden with future stars.

[CleBrownsfan]

I've had this problem with previous versions but was to lazy to look for an answer. If you don't use scouts/coaching it seems like small market teams (I play with the Indians) have tons of money to spend - their budget is 94 mil. I can pretty much buy any FA on the market without any concerns. I never really "feel" like a small market team. I'm guessing because they take in consideration scout/coaching cost in the budget... any thoughts?

[Young Drachma]

I've had this problem with previous versions but was to lazy to look for an answer. If you don't use scouts/coaching it seems like small market teams (I play with the Indians) have tons of money to spend - their budget is 94 mil. I can pretty much buy any FA on the market without any concerns. I never really "feel" like a small market team. I'm guessing because they take in consideration scout/coaching cost in the budget... any thoughts?

The financial engine isn't that sophisticated and has absolutely nothing to do with coaching/scouting. If you want to limit the spending of a small market team in an uncapped league, you can simply lower their budget and cash on hand through artificial means (ensuring the market size is always set low, limiting the team's media revenues, etc.) but that takes tinkering.

Turning off coaches and scouts just ensures you're not spending fake dollars on things that have nothing to do with player development. Right now, you pay for a coach or a scout and they might assess players better and the coaches might "make them better" so I guess the argument there is it's all about player development, but the way it's implement is faulty and I don't even have the time to reprise all of the old arguments about this, but it's a discussion that's been going on for at least three versions now (especially over in OOTP-land) about the efficacy of scouting in the game.

Some folks like the "fog of war" and having a scout miss on a player to varying degrees because it seems more realistic that way. But it has nothing to do with small market teams being small market, they're not related.

Though, part of why I created GMExcel/MarketCalc was precisely because I wanted to simulate the divisions of small market/medium market/large market teams better than the game allowed in it's native state.

[CleBrownsfan]

Great answer DC - thanks for your insight.

[Big Fo]

I've had this problem with previous versions but was to lazy to look for an answer. If you don't use scouts/coaching it seems like small market teams (I play with the Indians) have tons of money to spend - their budget is 94 mil. I can pretty much buy any FA on the market without any concerns. I never really "feel" like a small market team. I'm guessing because they take in consideration scout/coaching cost in the budget... any thoughts?

On my game (standard MLB setup, now in 2014) Cleveland has a $117m budget, and that ranks 21st out of the 30 teams. Fifteen teams have a budget over $130m and only four teams have less than $100m to spend.

I think I'm going to start a new game and lower average attendances and the average ticket price in the financial rules. In 2009 there were ten MLB teams that averaged over 35,000 fans per game. In 2013 on my OOTP game there were eighteen of them. From reading the financial reports about half of a team's money in OOTP comes from ticket sales so hopefully that will produce more realistic results.

[Philliesfan980]

On my game (standard MLB setup, now in 2014) Cleveland has a $117m budget, and that ranks 21st out of the 30 teams. Fifteen teams have a budget over $130m and only four teams have less than $100m to spend.

I think I'm going to start a new game and lower average attendances and the average ticket price in the financial rules. In 2009 there were ten MLB teams that averaged over 35,000 fans per game. In 2013 on my OOTP game there were eighteen of them. From reading the financial reports about half of a team's money in OOTP comes from ticket sales so hopefully that will produce more realistic results.

As long as you think Cleveland belongs as the 21/30 team in the league in terms of money, why bother lowering the $'s for all teams. At the end of the day, it will have no effect, correct?

[Big Fo]

As long as you think Cleveland belongs as the 21/30 team in the league in terms of money, why bother lowering the $'s for all teams. At the end of the day, it will have no effect, correct?

The budgets are so high that middle/small market teams don't have to make difficult decisions on who to keep or let go nearly as often as middle/small market teams do in real life. It's almost like playing with finances turned off.

[CleBrownsfan]

The budgets are so high that middle/small market teams don't have to make difficult decisions on who to keep or let go nearly as often as middle/small market teams do in real life. It's almost like playing with finances turned off.

Exactly my point

[Philliesfan980]

The budgets are so high that middle/small market teams don't have to make difficult decisions on who to keep or let go nearly as often as middle/small market teams do in real life. It's almost like playing with finances turned off.

Gotcha (Sorry, I haven't played OOTP in years, but thinking about getting back into it this year).

So basically what you're saying is it's not just an inflated $ across the league and salaries are adjusted upward accordingly?

[Big Fo]

Gotcha (Sorry, I haven't played OOTP in years, but thinking about getting back into it this year).

So basically what you're saying is it's not just an inflated $ across the league and salaries are adjusted upward accordingly?

On my game the team payrolls are pretty realistic, maybe $10m more per team on average but a little more even than real life (the teams that spend the least spend a little more in OOTP, and the teams at the top don't outspend the others by as much as they do in real life). So the team salaries are close enough for me, it's just that teams make so much more money than they spend that they can afford to keep almost any potential free agents that are willing to resign with them.

I think it still takes a lot of luck, but anyone over an endurance of 3 (1-10) gets put in the rotation to develop a 3rd pitch.

I'll have to try this. There are usually some two pitch pitchers with high stamina and stuff/movement/control potential available in the draft. I usually let the AI run the minor league lineups and rotation but if I get one of these guys I'll make sure they're not being used as relievers in the minors.

[DaddyTorgo]

how can we get the financials tweaked so that doesn't happen with the money though?

[Pumpy Tudors]

I was about ready to buy the game until I read the stuff about the financials in here. :(

[stevew]

OOTP financials messed up? Lemme get in my wayback machine and go back to 2005 when I had the same complaints as I'm sure are being raised about the 11th version of the game.

[JetsIn06]

Keep in mind though, that part of your budget goes towards signing bonuses in the draft.

Playing as the Rays, I spent all of my budget to keep Crawford, and then had nothing left for signing bonuses and three of my top five picks went unsigned.

I still think some small market teams have too much money, however. Just keep that in mind when you're dishing out contract extensions and free agent contracts.

I definitely think lowering the average attendance is an interesting idea to try.

[lynchjm24]

I thought Markus fix it? Still broken?

I haven't bought 11 yet, I'm waiting on Amazon.com to deliver my new laptop.

The problem is a design flaw with the game, so while he said he 'fixed' something, I doubt it was the problem that I was talking about.

[Young Drachma]

how can we get the financials tweaked so that doesn't happen with the money though?

I was about ready to buy the game until I read the stuff about the financials in here. :(

OOTP financials messed up? Lemme get in my wayback machine and go back to 2005 when I had the same complaints as I'm sure are being raised about the 11th version of the game.

I think the problems are endemic a variety of issues that would probably require too much energy to fix, so they're just ignored or glossed over. They're more than cosmetic ones.

I created this suite of tools (http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/ootp-mods/189311-gmexcel-formerly-marketcalc.html) to deal with the financial issues back in 2007 and it's evolved quite a bit since I started with it. I'm going to work on an update for OOTP 11, but I have no idea when I'll be done, because honestly, the whole thing needs an overhaul.

Alternatives though using it, include setting media money a bit lower across the board and I've found setting it to the same rate for all teams and tinkering with "juggernaut" teams on their own is easier than trying to let the game to it's own devices.

Market sizes fluctuate based on team performance and I guess now owner willingness to spend, etc., so that adds a new wrinkle to things. The good thing is, the game can be tamed to a degree and the bad thing is, it's not setup in such a manner that allows you to really depict real world baseball finances without a heavy dosage of tinkering.

[Young Drachma]

I still think some small market teams have too much money, however. Just keep that in mind when you're dishing out contract extensions and free agent contracts.

I definitely think lowering the average attendance is an interesting idea to try.

Lowering average attendance and lowering ticket prices, as well as lowering the market sizes of small market teams and their cash on hand (and now, their owner's willingness to spend...) would all be ways to simulate the small market experience better in this year's version.

The draft signee thing is actually good, except the way it's implemented isn't really sensible because teams don't pay rookies out of the same "pool" of money they pay major league players and it doesn't count against their real life budgets, because of course...those players take years to reach the majors in most cases, if ever.

But I like that it's added, as it makes the draft more interesting than it's been in years.

[DaddyTorgo]

i don't have the patience to go in and tinker with multiple teams' finances every off-season, nor do i recall to do it with everything else i have to remember in my life.

*shrugs*

[Young Drachma]

I used to think I was the only one that was annoyed about it. One of the things I used to do with GMExcel is just use it to tinker with my team and then let the rest of the league to it's own devices, figuring that it's all evens out in the long run.

I suspect that's why it's never been a real priority to fix it, that it works in a functional way and that people can go above and beyond if they want otherwise.

Shrug.

[Big Fo]

For the budgets two simple tweaks have done a good job of making them more realistic on a new game I started tonight.

Under financial rules in the league menu:

Average attendance per game: Default option is 30,000. Change that to 25,000.

Average ticket price: Default option is $20. Change that to $15.

I'll mess around with it a little more as I play more seasons but this has made a significant difference.

[DaddyTorgo]

cool

[DeToxRox]

I am going to start up a historical league to coincide with the birth of the Rockies/Marlins. If I add all the leagues will the FA market be flooded with a ton of foreign players yearly?

If I don't add these leagues will there be enough players for full minors?

[PadresFan104]

Just a heads up that I posted a set of new ballpark images on my OOTP Mod Website. I captured them from MLB 10: The Show. They provide a better angle than the ones included in the MLB All-In-1 that is available from Add-Ons Central in the game. Here's a sampling:

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/PadresFanMods/OOTP%20Ballparks%20-%20Classics/SportsmansPark_D.jpg

http://i378.photobucket.com/albums/oo228/PadresFanMods/OOTP%20Ballparks%20-%20MLB/FenwayPark_D.jpg

[Icy]

Looking great Padresfan!

About the finances issue, I like Big Fo fixes and i would also edit the GM's of small market teams to be less whiling to expend money (that is probably one of the reasons of why small market teams keep being small in real life).

As a Marlins fan, i'm used to owners who don't want to expend a dime on his team, and it's a nice challenge for me to run the team with such an owner (he has 1 over 10 rating in Owner spending in the MLB quickstart).

[Ksyrup]

I am going to start up a historical league to coincide with the birth of the Rockies/Marlins. If I add all the leagues will the FA market be flooded with a ton of foreign players yearly?

If I don't add these leagues will there be enough players for full minors?

I'm not sure I understand the question. If you do it as a true historical league, there will (should) only be real historical players in your universe (unless you purposely stock teams with fictional players). Each year, the real players who come into the league will be added, either through a draft or you can have them put on the real teams they came up with in that year (if you do a draft, I suggest holding it after the season because otherwise they debut too early). You shouldn't have any foreign players other than the real ones.

For the minor leagues, if you have a bunch of leagues, you'll want to make sure you allow ghost players so that all you'll have in the minors is the real players. So, if you have a bunch of leagues, you may only have a few guys on a minor league team if there are not enough real players to stock every team.

If you are looking to create a hybrid historical/fictional league, then I think yes, for all the leagues you create outside the historical ones, you'll end up with a bunch of fictional players potentially able to flood your MLB leagues (although I think there are settings you can use to keep them separate, but then what's the point?).

I guess I'm not exactly sure what type of universe you are trying to create.

[RainMaker]

OOTP financials messed up? Lemme get in my wayback machine and go back to 2005 when I had the same complaints as I'm sure are being raised about the 11th version of the game.
BUT YOU CAN BUILD A LEAGUE IN SIERRA LEONE

[RainMaker]

I'm really interested in getting back into this series. I was a big fan of 6.5 and playing MLB style leagues. When the game shifted away from that, I sort of lost interest and just never got that involved. It seems like they are trying to bring back the MLB players which has me intrigued.

Couple questions:

1) How are the sims with the current rosters? Somewhat realistic results and do the leagues get bombarded with problems in ratings 10 years down the line. Wasn't a big issue that there were virtually no catchers who could defend years into a league? I have no problem with some oddities in the stats when it comes to who does what, I'm just curious if you're finding that there are guys hitting 100 homers a year 10 years in.

2) Are the financials a gamebreaker? I think financials are an important aspect of the game so I'm a little concerned about what some have been saying. I'm not looking for perfection, but I don't want the Royals to be able to be able to re-sign everyone and pick up big name free agents.

3) Is it a challenge playing against the CPU? Sure there should be house rules, but will I be taking a team like the Orioles to the World Series every year within a couple years? Or will it be tough to improve a small market team.

Not looking for perfection, just something that simulated an MLB style league in a similar way to 6.5.

[Young Drachma]

The game has improved leaps and strides since 6.5 and if anyone tries to say it hasn't, they are being disingenuous. Because for all of my own personal complaints about what the game doesn't do for me, it's the most flexible out of box text-sim experience out there.

So to answer your questions:

1. V. 11 had an entire team dedicated to building a MLB ready roster for this version. So there was no waiting around for rosters.

2. Financials work fine for what they are. They're no gamebreaker, so long as you follow the suggests made by others to keep the financial numbers down in terms of average attendance and maybe even avg. ticket price and revenues, everything would/will be fine. Or even just playing out of the box. The real problem with finances is the game doesn't realize that playing in New York is a bigger market, because the market sizes are dynamic, so over time it'll eventually shift them based on team performance. This is annoying, but easily fixed if you desire a heavy dose of realism.

3. Inevitably it gets easier and easier to predict flaws as you play more. But the game's playoff engine to it's credit has been infused with a great deal of variety, that even the "best" teams often succumb to the this and that and as such, you can't just steamroll. You can obviously outsmart the AI if you try, it's not that hard, but...it's not like you're playing Mogul or something.

Again, the game has come a long way since 6.5 and if you really haven't played since then, I'd suggest that this is certainly a good time to reenter the pool compared to even the previous attempts of recent years.

[Ksyrup]

I just haven't had enough time to play the game since I got it, but I did fire up that all-in-one MLB universe and simmed 2010, and the results came out pretty realistic. Probably too realistic, at least in how they conformed to pre-season expectations/predictions.

I just don't know how I'd keep up with 6 levels of minor leagues they have in that all-in-one package. Usually, the leagues I play I rarely have even 3 levels. Seems like way too much work.

[MizzouRah]

I just have the CPU mess with the minor leagues.

[TroyF]

I just haven't had enough time to play the game since I got it, but I did fire up that all-in-one MLB universe and simmed 2010, and the results came out pretty realistic. Probably too realistic, at least in how they conformed to pre-season expectations/predictions.

I just don't know how I'd keep up with 6 levels of minor leagues they have in that all-in-one package. Usually, the leagues I play I rarely have even 3 levels. Seems like way too much work.


Funny you say that. In my first sim the Royals won the WS. I was worried and simmed the season six more times. The Royals never made the playoffs again. Every other team who won the title was within the realm of possibility.

As for the minors. . . let the minor league managers handle the stuff. Every month to two months, look through the minor league system and see who it says is ready to go up or down. Make a couple of adjustments and you'll be good to go.

I'm having a lot of fun with this version of the game. . . thought it's extremely unusual for me to start with the Rockies and be able to become dominant quick. I don't even have to make a lot of trades in this version. Tons of young guns, all on their rookie deals. You can't win 100 with the Rockies in two years in this game, you either suffered disasterous luck or you don't know how to play baseball sims.

[Big Fo]

Colorado made it to the World Series in 2010, 2011, and 2012 on my current MLB game.

edit: My Braves finally ended the streak with a sweep. Nice to finally win the pennant after getting knocked out of the playoffs the last three years.

[Mota]

2. Financials work fine for what they are. They're no gamebreaker, so long as you follow the suggests made by others to keep the financial numbers down in terms of average attendance and maybe even avg. ticket price and revenues, everything would/will be fine. Or even just playing out of the box. The real problem with finances is the game doesn't realize that playing in New York is a bigger market, because the market sizes are dynamic, so over time it'll eventually shift them based on team performance. This is annoying, but easily fixed if you desire a heavy dose of realism.

As a game I have no problem with that. Markets change. Some small markets have new ballparks and are suddenly mid-markets. Some of the bigger markets have fallen off over time. Cities change, ballparks age and get rebuilt.

In OOTP you get markets changing as well, just that they don't necessarily change just like the real life teams would. In RL New York will always be the #1 market but most other teams have room for variance. It's hard to program something like that into the game.

[Young Drachma]

As a game I have no problem with that. Markets change. Some small markets have new ballparks and are suddenly mid-markets. Some of the bigger markets have fallen off over time. Cities change, ballparks age and get rebuilt.

In OOTP you get markets changing as well, just that they don't necessarily change just like the real life teams would. In RL New York will always be the #1 market but most other teams have room for variance. It's hard to program something like that into the game.

Market size isn't dictated only by media money and small market. It's largely determined by media size. The game allows for it to be factored in, but to have it done dynamically would be very difficult. I'm aware of this and it's why I created a workaround for it. The conditions are there to allow it, but...for people who want things to resemble real life (I'm not one of them, really) that could be frustrating and so, I was just explaining it's limitations more than anything else.

Though, the way the financial system is implemented could be done a lot better...I've always said I prefer a sandbox where I can customize than having it be so rigid that the flaws aren't able to be overcome if you want to bad enough.

[RainMaker]

As a game I have no problem with that. Markets change. Some small markets have new ballparks and are suddenly mid-markets. Some of the bigger markets have fallen off over time. Cities change, ballparks age and get rebuilt.

In OOTP you get markets changing as well, just that they don't necessarily change just like the real life teams would. In RL New York will always be the #1 market but most other teams have room for variance. It's hard to program something like that into the game.
I'd disagree on this. I don't think markets change much. And if they do, it's over the course of decades. Atlanta has turned into a decent sized market over time, as well as the Phoenix area. But Milwaukee will never turn into New York no matter how many World Series titles they bring home. Our cities just don't fluctuate that dramatically and that quickly.

So while I feel market size should remain fixed, I do believe that there should be an element in how well a team utilizes that market. For instance the Cubs and White Sox are both in a huge market. The Cubs utilize that market much more though. So the Cubs may get 100% of the benefits of a large market, the White Sox may only get 70%.

What a fixed market does is essentially put a cap on what a particular team can do based on where they are. Milwaukee can never reach the local TV contracts or merchandising revenue a team in New York can if both are utilizing their markets. They'll never be able to charge the same ticket prices because there won't be as much demand. All teams have a ceiling on what they can accomplish in a particular market.

I would also add that it would be cool if you could steal a little juice from another market. If Washington becomes a great team over the course of a decade while Baltimore flounders, they should "steal" some of Baltimore's juice. For instance:

Washington Nationals Market:
Washington D.C. - 100% Utilization
Baltimore - 5% Utilization

Baltimore Orioles Market:
Baltimore - 65% Utilization

That leaves 30% of Baltimore's market unutilized at the moment. This gives Baltimore room to grow, but ultimately 100% in Baltimore is not the same as 100% in New York. Stealing marketshare from another city would also be really difficult and the numbers would always remain small for the team stealing. It can be primarily based on regions with the closer you are the higher probability. But also national based where a team like the Yankees could steal 1% of Tampa Bay's simply because they are much more prestiguous on a national scale. Only a few teams would be able to do that.

[RainMaker]

The game has improved leaps and strides since 6.5 and if anyone tries to say it hasn't, they are being disingenuous. Because for all of my own personal complaints about what the game doesn't do for me, it's the most flexible out of box text-sim experience out there.
Flexibility doesn't make a better game. In fact, flexibility it what turned me off from OOTP. When the game moved away from what we see as regular baseball leagues and catered to those who wanted leagues in Africa with special rules and such, it hurt the core elements of the game. You could no longer run an MLB style universe that functioned in an accurate way. 6.5 had its warts, but for the most part, it resembled what we see in the world today. I was not able to replicate that in the first few versions following 6.5.

Flexibility is good in some cases, but not when it hurts the core element of the game. And not when it gets too complex that it turns off people who just want to take control of their favorite team and be GM.

[Young Drachma]

Flexibility doesn't make a better game. In fact, flexibility it what turned me off from OOTP. When the game moved away from what we see as regular baseball leagues and catered to those who wanted leagues in Africa with special rules and such, it hurt the core elements of the game. You could no longer run an MLB style universe that functioned in an accurate way. 6.5 had its warts, but for the most part, it resembled what we see in the world today. I was not able to replicate that in the first few versions following 6.5.

Flexibility is good in some cases, but not when it hurts the core element of the game. And not when it gets too complex that it turns off people who just want to take control of their favorite team and be GM.

I like it. It all does seem a bit extraneous, but...it works for me in spite of itself. At least for me it does. Your points are well taken, but...meh. It does what I need/want it to do, so...it's fine. And for all of those criticisms, you don't have to use all of the extra features it's chock full of it. The game is still very able to do a very vanilla gaming experience if someone wants that. So, while I'm a rapid critic of certain aspects of things (namely, financials since it's my pet project) I don't think the whole "you can add players from Namibia" is a fair criticism as if somehow it detracts from other aspects of the game, because well...that functionality hasn't been improved since it was added and all it does is allow someone to add a bit of color to their league if they want it.

And I like that flexibility and clearly others do as well.

[Pumpy Tudors]

...I don't think the whole "you can add players from Namibia" is a fair criticism as if somehow it detracts from other aspects of the game [...] and all it does is allow someone to add a bit of color to their league if they want it.
Orlando Hudson should play OOTP.

[Sweed]

I like it. It all does seem a bit extraneous, but...it works for me in spite of itself. At least for me it does. Your points are well taken, but...meh. It does what I need/want it to do, so...it's fine. And for all of those criticisms, you don't have to use all of the extra features it's chock full of it. The game is still very able to do a very vanilla gaming experience if someone wants that. So, while I'm a rapid critic of certain aspects of things (namely, financials since it's my pet project) I don't think the whole "you can add players from Namibia" is a fair criticism as if somehow it detracts from other aspects of the game, because well...that functionality hasn't been improved since it was added and all it does is allow someone to add a bit of color to their league if they want it.

And I like that flexibility and clearly others do as well.

Well said. I agree with everything except I could care less about the flexibility as I only play a "real" MLB type game. However I would never argue to remove that flexibility as it has absolutely no effect on my MLB game.

[Young Drachma]

I'd disagree on this. I don't think markets change much. And if they do, it's over the course of decades. Atlanta has turned into a decent sized market over time, as well as the Phoenix area. But Milwaukee will never turn into New York no matter how many World Series titles they bring home. Our cities just don't fluctuate that dramatically and that quickly.

So while I feel market size should remain fixed, I do believe that there should be an element in how well a team utilizes that market. For instance the Cubs and White Sox are both in a huge market. The Cubs utilize that market much more though. So the Cubs may get 100% of the benefits of a large market, the White Sox may only get 70%.

What a fixed market does is essentially put a cap on what a particular team can do based on where they are. Milwaukee can never reach the local TV contracts or merchandising revenue a team in New York can if both are utilizing their markets. They'll never be able to charge the same ticket prices because there won't be as much demand. All teams have a ceiling on what they can accomplish in a particular market.

I would also add that it would be cool if you could steal a little juice from another market. If Washington becomes a great team over the course of a decade while Baltimore flounders, they should "steal" some of Baltimore's juice. For instance:

Washington Nationals Market:
Washington D.C. - 100% Utilization
Baltimore - 5% Utilization

Baltimore Orioles Market:
Baltimore - 65% Utilization

That leaves 30% of Baltimore's market unutilized at the moment. This gives Baltimore room to grow, but ultimately 100% in Baltimore is not the same as 100% in New York. Stealing marketshare from another city would also be really difficult and the numbers would always remain small for the team stealing. It can be primarily based on regions with the closer you are the higher probability. But also national based where a team like the Yankees could steal 1% of Tampa Bay's simply because they are much more prestiguous on a national scale. Only a few teams would be able to do that.

I defintely agree with this on the whole. I think market size modeling should be fixed to population a lot more than it is, but my fear would be that it'd have unintended consequences if they didn't understand the economic reasons for what they were doing. Plus, as you've pointed out... all of those foreign examples would then become more of an issue because I don't know how you model market sizes for the Namibian league.

I think the answer would be to not allow market sizes to shift based on team performance. That's the most annoying thing, is you set them based on whatever reality you're using and then they shift over time and could resemble something very different than you intended. And the way it's done now doesn't make much sense or add a whole lot of value other than to annoy IMHO.

[Young Drachma]

Orlando Hudson should play OOTP.

I had a feeling I should've rephrased that when I wrote it, but then, what else would you have posted about. :p

[Mota]

Washington Nationals Market:
Washington D.C. - 100% Utilization
Baltimore - 5% Utilization


I actually think this is a great idea!
You'd have a short term popularity that's based on the team's success
A market size that is pretty much fixed
And a market utilization that can change slightly from year to year, to reflect the long term success of a team at converting their market into paying customers.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I had a feeling I should've rephrased that when I wrote it, but then, what else would you have posted about. :p
Hey, at least I worked a real baseball reference in there. I deserve some credit for that.

[Ksyrup]

With the MLB All in One, are you guys sticking with the 30 round amateur draft? Is that the appropriate number of players to bring into that universe?

[Galaril]

Is there a demo or will there be one?
Is there a simple MLB quick start with just a triple aaa league and the MLBs?

If so I would definitely buy.

[DeToxRox]

With the MLB All in One, are you guys sticking with the 30 round amateur draft? Is that the appropriate number of players to bring into that universe?

Yep. No issues for me.

[DeToxRox]

Is there a demo or will there be one?
Is there a simple MLB quick start with just a triple aaa league and the MLBs?

If so I would definitely buy.

Not sure on the demo but there is an MLB quickstart with all the minors (including Rookie Ball and Short Season A Ball)

[Scoobz0202]

Is there a demo or will there be one?
Is there a simple MLB quick start with just a triple aaa league and the MLBs?

If so I would definitely buy.

I have not purchased yet but from what I have gathered there is still, unfortunately, no way to just have the A,AA, and AAA leagues without some work on your part.

[Drake]

With the MLB All in One, are you guys sticking with the 30 round amateur draft? Is that the appropriate number of players to bring into that universe?

When I play MLB, I usually do 30 rounds for the first 5 seasons and keep an eye on the in-season FA population. When it gets upwards of 1000 players, I drop the rounds down to 20 for a few seasons. When the Rookie level starts to populate with ghost players, I bump it back up.

Generally, I prefer a 24 team fictional quickstart, and I usually aim for 10-15 rounds there (which is below the recommended limit), and that seems to work pretty well.

But then again, I'm a sucker for player stories. I like all of the created players to play for as long as possible and reach their best potential, even if they never reach the majors, so I don't like to see even the marginal guys get bumped out of the league for the "hot new 20th round draft pick".

It's sort of silly given that I don't pay a ton of attention to the career minor leaguers in my system, but it makes me happy to think I'm giving a bunch of fake ball players every opportunity possible to live out their fake dreams.

[Ksyrup]

So I ran about 5 or 6 sims of the 2010 season with the all-in-one last night and for the most part, it played out pretty realistically. I had 2 seasons where KC somehow won the AL Central, though. The biggest realism issue for me was the Nationals - with Strasburg and Wang each pitching 200+ innings, the Nats are consistently good. They pretty much challenge for the NL East title every sim. And that sucks, only because neither of those guys is going to pitch 150 innings this year.

[MizzouRah]

Love the new stadium views PadresFan!

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4650/ootp11.jpg

[PadresFan104]

Thanks Mizzou!!! :)

[GrantDawg]

So, first time in many a moon, I bought OOTP. Advice on settings and such? I played a couple months of a trial season, and had two five star prospect from different teams have career ending injuries. Does injuries need to be turned down from default, or was that random luck? What financial tweaks do I need to do to keep things from getting silly?

[RainMaker]

I like it. It all does seem a bit extraneous, but...it works for me in spite of itself. At least for me it does. Your points are well taken, but...meh. It does what I need/want it to do, so...it's fine. And for all of those criticisms, you don't have to use all of the extra features it's chock full of it. The game is still very able to do a very vanilla gaming experience if someone wants that. So, while I'm a rapid critic of certain aspects of things (namely, financials since it's my pet project) I don't think the whole "you can add players from Namibia" is a fair criticism as if somehow it detracts from other aspects of the game, because well...that functionality hasn't been improved since it was added and all it does is allow someone to add a bit of color to their league if they want it.

And I like that flexibility and clearly others do as well.
I think it is fair criticism when it effects the core gameplay. I don't care about flexibility if I can run something that resembles a MLB setup. Up until maybe last version, that wasn't possible unless you went back to 6.51. I'm just saying that the Namibia Baseball League took precedent over Major League Baseball.

All I'm saying is that if I can run something that resembles the MLB, then they can do whatever the hell they want with the rest of the game and make everything as flexible as it can get. Just don't lose sight on what baseball really is.

[Young Drachma]

I think it is fair criticism when it effects the core gameplay. I don't care about flexibility if I can run something that resembles a MLB setup. Up until maybe last version, that wasn't possible unless you went back to 6.51. I'm just saying that the Namibia Baseball League took precedent over Major League Baseball.

All I'm saying is that if I can run something that resembles the MLB, then they can do whatever the hell they want with the rest of the game and make everything as flexible as it can get. Just don't lose sight on what baseball really is.

You don't care, but lots of other people do. I think that's the point. It seems that there is a great bulk of the audience of that game who seem to prefer flexibility over an MLB text sim. Even if it negates "what baseball really is." There are other options out there that are more traditional in the text sim genre, though I understand where you're coming from.

I just don't think the game is going to be something other than what it is and well, lots of us on the whole like it that way. It offers that MLB experience, it doesn't affect core gameplay -- especially in this new version -- and it still allows for flexibility.

We can criticize the dude all we want and I know I do and have, but he's nothing if responsive and if there's a legit gripe with the gameplay when you play it, he'll hear you out...even if nothing changes.

But I think the criticisms of this game are bordering more on philosophical now than actually applied to people who've played it beyond 6.5. Have you tried this yet? My original point was, the game has grown leaps and bounds since then and even since version 9 it's an entirely different game.

11 is the most engrossing it's been since those early days for me, which is saying a lot.

[Young Drachma]

So, first time in many a moon, I bought OOTP. Advice on settings and such? I played a couple months of a trial season, and had two five star prospect from different teams have career ending injuries. Does injuries need to be turned down from default, or was that random luck? What financial tweaks do I need to do to keep things from getting silly?

Consensus for a while has been to lower injuries to low, fatigue to normal. As for financial tweaks, that's up to you really. Status quo, I think things are okay sans much tinkering. It's just a matter of preference. My suggestion would be to turn off revenue sharing, set a flat media amount for all teams. Playing that way even without a salary cap would at least ensure that things don't get too crazy and it has the added affect of ignoring the game's media markets which can often be a source of frustration since they don't correspond with real life.

But all of that is only if you want it to keep it somewhat constant. Otherwise, it does a pretty good job out of the box on the whole.

[Big Fo]

So, first time in many a moon, I bought OOTP. Advice on settings and such? I played a couple months of a trial season, and had two five star prospect from different teams have career ending injuries. Does injuries need to be turned down from default, or was that random luck? What financial tweaks do I need to do to keep things from getting silly?

Injuries = low
Average attendance = 25,000
Average ticket price = $15

Otherwise the injuries feel excessive and the small/mid market teams have too much money to spend imo.

[DaddyTorgo]

has that looked good going forward big fo?

[Big Fo]

Yeah, I've played around a decade with those settings now and things are a lot more realistic. I also moved some of the smallest market teams down 1-2 in market size but most of the difference comes from the attendance/ticket price changes.

I also play with the advanced rookie signing turned off, I don't like the top players refusing to sign unless they get double what Strasburg got. I don't mind the bonuses but some rookies would ask for $9m a year on top of the bonus when they were not good enough to play in the majors yet.

[RainMaker]

You don't care, but lots of other people do. I think that's the point. It seems that there is a great bulk of the audience of that game who seem to prefer flexibility over an MLB text sim. Even if it negates "what baseball really is." There are other options out there that are more traditional in the text sim genre, though I understand where you're coming from.
Considering they had issues selling the game after the switch, I'd say that there were more people looking for an MLB text sim.

He built the game for the few on the boards who wanted the Female Cambodian Underhand Pitch Baseball League while alienating all those who wanted something that resembled actual baseball. He's fixed that to an extent it seems, but I think it's a fair argument.

[MizzouRah]

I'm having a blast playing out my games.. I bet LaRussa is getting pissed off. :)

He's probably much better than me though.. as I've started 2-5 on the young season and tried to steal 2nd base in a close game with Pujols batting and two outs. Whoops!

[Barkeep49]

I'm having a blast playing out my games.. I bet LaRussa is getting pissed off. :)

He's probably much better than me though.. as I've started 2-5 on the young season and tried to steal 2nd base in a close game with Pujols batting and two outs. Whoops!

Actually this sounds just like him to me.

[JPhillips]

I'm having a blast playing out my games.. I bet LaRussa is getting pissed off. :)

He's probably much better than me though.. as I've started 2-5 on the young season and tried to steal 2nd base in a close game with Pujols batting and two outs. Whoops!

I think you're playing with the Dusty Baker mod.

[MizzouRah]

Actually this sounds just like him to me.

:)

[MizzouRah]

I think you're playing with the Dusty Baker mod.

;)

With a fantasy draft, it's tougher as most of the talent in the league is spread out amoungst the teams.

[Scoobz0202]

Really small sample size, I know, but has anybody noticed an insane amount of strikeouts for pitch hitters?

In the 10 games I've managed so far I have had EVERY SINGLE pitch hitter strike out. Every one.

[Galaril]

Not sure on the demo but there is an MLB quickstart with all the minors (including Rookie Ball and Short Season A Ball)

Not what I asked. Just a simple MLB and triple AAA would be most appreciated. I have no interest in all these short leagues and a leagues running in the background.:banghead:

[Galaril]

Not sure on the demo but there is an MLB quickstart with all the minors (including Rookie Ball and Short Season A Ball)

Considering they had issues selling the game after the switch, I'd say that there were more people looking for an MLB text sim.

He built the game for the few on the boards who wanted the Female Cambodian Underhand Pitch Baseball League while alienating all those who wanted something that resembled actual baseball. He's fixed that to an extent it seems, but I think it's a fair argument.

I totally agree with you. It just goes to show Americans should stick to making the baseball games and let the Brits make the soccer games:)...

On a serious note I have not purchased since the first iteration after the move to SI and won't again until they bring this thing back to a realistic baseball game like being able to run a MLB and triple AAA league only. But yes there are other options and one of them PS is now moving into the top spot from what I have seen with the additions soon to come of real life manager profiles and auto transactions for historical play.Yeah.

[LionsFan10]

Silly question,

I thought I read somewhere up-thread that you could use your own picture and have the facegen tech turn it into one of the "in-game" pictures. Where and how can I accomplish this?

[Alan T]

a realistic baseball game like being able to run a MLB and triple AAA league only.


You are confusing me here. Do you want a realistic baseball game, or want to only run MLB and AAA league (in an unrealistic format)?

If you are looking to play an unrealistic game that is simpler and doesn't require all of the micro-managing of a realistic game, I think you are not alone. I don't know if there are any quick starts that can do that but you should be able to pretty easily dump all of the minor leagues below AAA in one of the existing quick starts. It will throw all of the players that were in those leagues into free agency, but honestly there is no way to fit that many players into just AAA anyways so probably not a huge deal.

If I missed what you are wanting to do, then I apologize. The way I read your previous post was that you were saying just MLB and AAA only was realistic, so i figured that couldn't be right.

[Galaril]

You are confusing me here. Do you want a realistic baseball game, or want to only run MLB and AAA league (in an unrealistic format)?

If you are looking to play an unrealistic game that is simpler and doesn't require all of the micro-managing of a realistic game, I think you are not alone. I don't know if there are any quick starts that can do that but you should be able to pretty easily dump all of the minor leagues below AAA in one of the existing quick starts. It will throw all of the players that were in those leagues into free agency, but honestly there is no way to fit that many players into just AAA anyways so probably not a huge deal.

If I missed what you are wanting to do, then I apologize. The way I read your previous post was that you were saying just MLB and AAA only was realistic, so i figured that couldn't be right.

Yes, ignore the word realistic that was a poor choice. No I was hoping for just a MLB and the Triple AAA or no Triple AAA.

[Galaril]

You are confusing me here. Do you want a realistic baseball game, or want to only run MLB and AAA league (in an unrealistic format)?

If you are looking to play an unrealistic game that is simpler and doesn't require all of the micro-managing of a realistic game, I think you are not alone. I don't know if there are any quick starts that can do that but you should be able to pretty easily dump all of the minor leagues below AAA in one of the existing quick starts. It will throw all of the players that were in those leagues into free agency, but honestly there is no way to fit that many players into just AAA anyways so probably not a huge deal.

If I missed what you are wanting to do, then I apologize. The way I read your previous post was that you were saying just MLB and AAA only was realistic, so i figured that couldn't be right.


This is a problem. I like strict historical which this game I can now see will never be able to deliver. Thanks though Alan for the info.

[Alan T]

Yes, ignore the word realistic that was a poor choice. No I was hoping for just a MLB and the Triple AAA or no Triple AAA.


Yeah, then I think you could use the normal MLB quick start, then just delete the extra minor leagues that you don't want. Only takes 3 seconds to delete each league, so not really a chore.

The only caveat is all of those players in AA, A, Short-A or Rookie ball will end up as free agents.

I saw in the other thread you are waiting on the demo, so whenever that does come out give that a shot.

[DaddyTorgo]

This is a problem. I like strict historical which this game I can now see will never be able to deliver. Thanks though Alan for the info.

Puresim has a nice "strict historical" feel to it IMHO.

[MizzouRah]

I totally agree with you. It just goes to show Americans should stick to making the baseball games and let the Brits make the soccer games:)...

On a serious note I have not purchased since the first iteration after the move to SI and won't again until they bring this thing back to a realistic baseball game like being able to run a MLB and triple AAA league only. But yes there are other options and one of them PS is now moving into the top spot from what I have seen with the additions soon to come of real life manager profiles and auto transactions for historical play.Yeah.

All I ever worry about is my major team and let the CPU pretty much take care of my farm clubs.

You can do what Alan T said though and delete whichever leagues you do not want.

I like a typical MLB setup and have all 3 text sim baseball games, right now OOTP11 is being played non-stop due to the immersion it gives me over the other two - however, BM is great for quick simming!

[Pumpy Tudors]

I don't have the game yet, but I thought the point of all this customization was so people could create the leagues they wanted. So if you only want MLB and AAA, for instance, you can do that. If you only want Japan and Estonia, you can do that, too. As far as league setups go, I'm not understanding how people say something can't be done. I guess I'll find out for myself if/when I buy the game. I would probably just go with the MLB all-in-one myself, but I like that options are available.

[RainMaker]

Is there a quickstart that has the majors and just A, AA, and AAA?

[RainMaker]

I don't have the game yet, but I thought the point of all this customization was so people could create the leagues they wanted. So if you only want MLB and AAA, for instance, you can do that. If you only want Japan and Estonia, you can do that, too. As far as league setups go, I'm not understanding how people say something can't be done. I guess I'll find out for myself if/when I buy the game. I would probably just go with the MLB all-in-one myself, but I like that options are available.
The problem was that the customization made it nearly impossible to build a real MLB setup. The league transactions, development, free agency, and financials never worked out right. Not to mention it took forever to make rosters and by the time they were completed, the baseball season was over.

[Young Drachma]

The problem was that the customization made it nearly impossible to build a real MLB setup. The league transactions, development, free agency, and financials never worked out right. Not to mention it took forever to make rosters and by the time they were completed, the baseball season was over.

Yeah, that was a problem years ago. If you notice, it's not being talked about anymore on this forum because those issues have been resolved for several years now.

:banghead:

[molson]

Baseball is the one text sim genre where I'd never want to run a "real" league. It seems like so much work. There's so much going on. I seem to be in the heavy minority here. Small fictional leagues are pretty awesome in this game. You get a real feel for the league, everything works, total customization, great stuff.

I can understand the frustrations with the MLB setup - the more options, the more levels of reality, the more difficult for everyone who tries this game to have a "realistic experience". I mean, there's thousands and thousands of simmed seasons out there among people playing this game. There's no way any game can make all of those experiences seem realistic or satisfactory.

[Galaril]

Puresim has a nice "strict historical" feel to it IMHO.

Yeah, I recently bought the strat o matic baseball game but to be honest the price is not worth since there is alot of customizing that goes with it. For the price I could buy all three of the big three PC baseball games and still have 50 bucks left over just not worth it. I think the puresim 3 will be about as good as any of the replay games.

[Big Fo]

I don't have the game yet, but I thought the point of all this customization was so people could create the leagues they wanted. So if you only want MLB and AAA, for instance, you can do that.

That can be done very easily if you just delete AA, A, Rookie leagues, etc.

The problem is that if you delete all those, a lot of good prospects become free agents. So to do it right you have to turn on Commissioner Mode and manually move all of the top (and decent if you feel like) prospects onto each MLB team's AAA team. For 30 MLB teams this can take awhile, half an hour or longer.

I made myself a quick start that has my previously mentioned financial fixes and the minor league rosters already pared down to AAA/AA/A (I kept any minor leaguer with 22+ out of 80 potential) but I can understand people not wanting to bother with all that work to play a game.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Baseball is the one text sim genre where I'd never want to run a "real" league. It seems like so much work. There's so much going on. I seem to be in the heavy minority here. Small fictional leagues are pretty awesome in this game. You get a real feel for the league, everything works, total customization, great stuff.
I know I said that I'd probably do the MLB all-in-one setup if I get this game, but I agree with you here. I did this in one of the old FPS baseball games, and it was great. I think my league only had 8 teams in it, but I felt like I knew each and every one of those players after just a few weeks of game time. It was simple and fun. In a way, I'd almost like to do something similar with OOTP, but I'm not sure I'm willing to put in the time to set things up and learn the universe. I guess I feel that with all the customization available, I would want to do more than just set up 8 teams and leave it at that. That's no fault of the game, though. That's just me not knowing what I want. It would be fun to do something like that, though.

[MizzouRah]

My mlb drafted team is off to a horrible 2-9 start to the season. No hitting and no bullpen.. and I'm 0-5 at home to boot!

[Pumpy Tudors]

My mlb drafted team is off to a horrible 2-9 start to the season. No hitting and no bullpen.. and I'm 0-5 at home to boot!
We've secretly replaced the St. Louis Cardinals with the St. Louis Blues. Let's see if MizzouRah notices...

[MizzouRah]

We've secretly replaced the St. Louis Cardinals with the St. Louis Blues. Let's see if MizzouRah notices...

:lol:

Make that 3-13... DOH!

[RainMaker]

Yeah, that was a problem years ago. If you notice, it's not being talked about anymore on this forum because those issues have been resolved for several years now.

Several years? I bought the game two years ago and there was no playable MLB rosters at all until like November. Most of the MLB roster makers constantly bitched about how hard it was to make them as well.

If that's all fixed, then great. I'm just pointing out the reason for the mass exodus from the series.

[Ksyrup]

I know I said that I'd probably do the MLB all-in-one setup if I get this game, but I agree with you here. I did this in one of the old FPS baseball games, and it was great. I think my league only had 8 teams in it, but I felt like I knew each and every one of those players after just a few weeks of game time. It was simple and fun. In a way, I'd almost like to do something similar with OOTP, but I'm not sure I'm willing to put in the time to set things up and learn the universe. I guess I feel that with all the customization available, I would want to do more than just set up 8 teams and leave it at that. That's no fault of the game, though. That's just me not knowing what I want. It would be fun to do something like that, though.

I started to play the all-in-one, and it was just too much. I have no interest in spending so much time trying to go through hundreds of FAs and all of those players in my system. That's one of the reasons I really don't care about having Japanese leagues, feeder leagues, etc. That's the most tedious/boring part of this game, IMO. Instead, I'm creating a 24-team fictional league with 3 levels of minors.

I haven't played this game much yet, but my #1 request in a patch is for some sort of .txt file or something that easily tracks all of the "evolving league" changes that have occurred with a league. I want to sim 40 years of history before I take over a team, and there's virtually no way of figuring out what has changed unless I watch all 40 years sim out. I'd like to be able to go to something as simple as a .txt file to see that X team moved or changed names, they added 10 games to the schedule, the DH was added in both leagues in X year, etc.

Also - and this one has been an issue for me forever - I'd really like to see the game get ALL of the historical settings correct, not just certain ones. Why I'm able to set up a game in 1921 where the AI knows to have a 9-game World Series, no all-star game, no DHs,etc., but still has the free agency default as 6 years with a luxury tax, I don't get. I'd like to see the game set up all of the correct rules for whatever year you choose to begin.

[lighthousekeeper]

Really small sample size, I know, but has anybody noticed an insane amount of strikeouts for pitch hitters?

In the 10 games I've managed so far I have had EVERY SINGLE pitch hitter strike out. Every one.

This was raised on the ootp forum last year and I don't think anything was done to address it.

FWIW, studies have shown that batters tend to have higher strikeout rates when pinch hitting. But I still think it is too high in OOTP (no stats to back that up, just suspicions)

[Drake]

I haven't played this game much yet, but my #1 request in a patch is for some sort of .txt file or something that easily tracks all of the "evolving league" changes that have occurred with a league. I want to sim 40 years of history before I take over a team, and there's virtually no way of figuring out what has changed unless I watch all 40 years sim out. I'd like to be able to go to something as simple as a .txt file to see that X team moved or changed names, they added 10 games to the schedule, the DH was added in both leagues in X year, etc.

Or you could just shut off the evolving league bit before you start your 40 year auto-sim. It's right there in the league setup screen (under Rules or Options, don't remember which).

Then you could turn it on again when you're ready to play.

I usually turn off something like 60% of the evolving league options (longer DL, changes to 40 man rosters, etc...stuff I don't give a shit about).

[Ksyrup]

No - I want the league to evolve during the 40 years I sim the league's history. I only have 6-8 things on that list active, but I want the league to possibly expand during the first 40 years, not wait until I start playing. I just want to know what's happened while I quick-simmed.

[Drake]

Ah, I get you.

[RainMaker]

This was raised on the ootp forum last year and I don't think anything was done to address it.

FWIW, studies have shown that batters tend to have higher strikeout rates when pinch hitting. But I still think it is too high in OOTP (no stats to back that up, just suspicions)
Wouldn't it be easy to see if this was the case? Just find out the strikeout % of all pinch hitting appearances in a sim and then compare to real life MLB.

[lighthousekeeper]

Wouldn't it be easy to see if this was the case? Just find out the strikeout % of all pinch hitting appearances in a sim and then compare to real life MLB.

Yes, unless you have kids and a wife and a job and not much time budgeted for video game QAQC.

[Ksyrup]

Don't mean to start anything by this comment, but... has Ben given up on OOTP? I remember a couple of years ago (maybe even last year?) he was all over creating a fictional template and testing settings, career arcs, etc., and I don't think I've heard a peep out of him about OOTP11.

[SunDevil]

Don't mean to start anything by this comment, but... has Ben given up on OOTP? I remember a couple of years ago (maybe even last year?) he was all over creating a fictional template and testing settings, career arcs, etc., and I don't think I've heard a peep out of him about OOTP11.

To be honest, I am holding off from buying this game until Ben does the 100 year run and comes back with good data for aging and league numbers.

[dcg12]

I don't post here to often, prefering to just lurk and follow the discussions but I was on the beta for OOTP this year for the first time. I have a yellow legal pad with the 3/4 of the pages filled with this exact type of info. First off Markus did find a bug that affected the K ratio and fixed that during beta.

The last three years the National League, which I used for my study because of more pinch hitting, had a pinch hit BA of between .228-.230. K rate was 25.9 % of ab compared to 18.3 for all AB. I have a 20 team fictional league that is 90 games into the season so I just checked my team and we have PH 108 time with 23 hits for a .213 BA and we have 9 doubles,2 HR and 14 Rbi. we have K'd 25 times or 23.1 %The batting avg is a touch low(by 1 1/2 hits) but everything else seems to be in line

[DaddyTorgo]

dcg wins

[molson]

Ya, you have to be careful with sample sizes in this game. 10 straight Ks for pinch-hitters is unusual, but will definiely happen at some point over thousands and thousands of simulations. And when somewhere weird like that happens, it's more likely we'll hear about it on message boards, because it's noteworthy.

[MizzouRah]

I don't see high K's with pinch hitters.

I also don't give a crap about my minor league teams beyond my AAA club, so again.. the CPU can handle that for me.

[Drake]

I just had a player in my 100 year v10 sim (recently migrated to v11, but this happened in v10) go on a 79 game hit streak.

I am not freaking out about it from a statistical standpoint. If I had to guestimate, I've probably simmed upwards of 3,000 years of baseball history since OOTP3. I've never seen anything even close to that. I've seen dozens, maybe more, of .400 seasons in that span, but I think the longest hitting streak I'd seen was somewhere in the mid-40's.

It was kick-ass awesome to watch it unfold, and I have a ton more respect for DiMaggio's 56 game streak having seen it surpassed in "real (fake) life" after all this time. Based on my simulation results over the years, I think I've concluded that DiMaggio's streak may be the single most impressive feat in baseball history.

[Drake]

I don't see high K's with pinch hitters.

I also don't give a crap about my minor league teams beyond my AAA club, so again.. the CPU can handle that for me.

That's what I do, too. I don't even hire personnel for anything below AAA. (I do hire AAA personnel because I like to promote from AAA when coaches at the ML level disappoint me.)

If I had one complaint about OOTP, it would be that I'd like to see personnel hiring/firing broken out from the auto-manage options. I used to hire all levels of personnel, only to find them getting fired after poor seasons right after I'd signed them to an extension. Not sure who was making those decisions, but it was clearly part of the "Let Minor League Managers do x" setting...apparently that includes firing themselves for poor performance...but I don't want to trade having to micromanage the lower levels for control over personnel.

Okay, if I had another complaint, I'd like to see the manager careers be more robust. I'd like to see managers develop from feeder leagues to potential major league coaches/managers. I'd like more news on who these exceptional managers are. I'd like to be able to track when a manager wins both an AA and AAA championship in his career, or across major professional leagues. One of the elements the game is missing from my perspective is great manager characters like Tony LaRussa or Joe Torre.

Those stories are there, you just have to dig them out by spending time with the stats. I don't have a good plan for how this should be implemented, though. I just think a management sim should pay more attention to, you know, the exploits of the managers. ;)

And since I'm compiling a wish list, I'd also like stats kept not only on championships won, but WS appearances, Division Series appearances, League Championship Series appearances, etc (which, I understand, would be a pain in the butt to code given the option to design-your-own playoff scenario).

One more thing: how about separate HoF's for each level of the minors. I don't want to adjust the HoF criteria for AA only to have some lifetime minor leaguer end up in my Major League HoF view because they met the HoF criteria for their level. (It's possible this was fixed at some point in the recent past, but I've never looked into it since being so disappointed with the implementation a few years ago.)

[Scoobz0202]

I just had a player in my 100 year v10 sim (recently migrated to v11, but this happened in v10) go on a 79 game hit streak.

I am not freaking out about it from a statistical standpoint. If I had to guestimate, I've probably simmed upwards of 3,000 years of baseball history since OOTP3. I've never seen anything even close to that. I've seen dozens, maybe more, of .400 seasons in that span, but I think the longest hitting streak I'd seen was somewhere in the mid-40's.

It was kick-ass awesome to watch it unfold, and I have a ton more respect for DiMaggio's 56 game streak having seen it surpassed in "real (fake) life" after all this time. Based on my simulation results over the years, I think I've concluded that DiMaggio's streak may be the single most impressive feat in baseball history.

That's pretty fucking awesome. 79 games?! Wow.

Who is this guy?

[Drake]

LF Kyle "Lippy" Bradshaw of the Colorado Blizzard in my 24-team no-DH 100+ year sim. He's been a monster. I've only seen a handful of players like him in all the years I've played OOTP.

For the record, the Colorado Blizzard are not a Colorado Rockies equivalent (i.e., no location-inflated batting stats).


Team Age G AB Hits D T HR RBI R BB HP SF K SB SBA AVG OBP SLG OPS OPS+ VORP
2076 New Orleans - NABL 22 16 23 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 0 0 .087 .125 .087 .212 -41 -5.5
2077 Colorado - NABL 23 22 58 12 1 0 1 3 5 7 0 0 6 1 0 .207 .292 .276 .568 55 -4.2
2078 Colorado - NABL 24 127 490 140 21 4 32 90 105 42 13 5 24 1 3 .286 .355 .541 .895 134 25.6
2079 Colorado - NABL 25 142 574 217 45 12 55 149 152 51 7 7 15 0 3 .378 .430 .786 1.216 211 117.5
2080 Colorado - NABL 26 156 635 225 39 7 49 164 130 68 9 15 31 1 4 .354 .415 .669 1.085 178 91.9
2081 Colorado - NABL 27 151 614 243 45 4 40 173 146 67 5 16 25 3 4 .396 .449 .678 1.126 189 108.0
2082 Colorado - NABL 28 156 653 248 42 11 47 179 157 65 12 12 24 1 3 .380 .438 .694 1.132 187 110.7
2083 Colorado - NABL 29 156 654 248 38 8 46 147 131 62 5 4 24 1 1 .379 .434 .673 1.107 183 101.9
2084 Colorado - NABL 30 156 656 253 37 14 47 179 149 54 6 12 18 0 1 .386 .430 .700 1.130 190 110.4
2085 Colorado - NABL 31 156 666 262 43 5 52 186 183 57 6 13 16 0 1 .393 .438 .707 1.145 189 114.4
2086 Colorado - NABL 32 156 650 256 48 5 39 149 130 78 10 8 27 1 4 .394 .461 .663 1.124 179 110.0
2087 Colorado - NABL 33 157 624 254 44 7 43 167 150 107 8 10 31 1 1 .407 .493 .707 1.199 202 137.3
2088 Colorado - NABL 34 156 654 271 57 8 44 206 150 71 12 12 36 1 3 .414 .473 .728 1.200 199 140.6
Total NABL 1707 6951 2631 460 85 495 1792 1588 730 93 114 283 11 28 .379 .438 .683 1.121 185 1158.5


* Sorry, I think I fucked up the labels for the stat columns.

ETA: 2085 was the 79-streak season. And, yes, he had 44 HR and 206 RBI's in 2088. Apparently that was a down pitching season in the league (my team was in the other league...which happens to be very pitching rich. Our league BA is almost 15 points lower than the other one over the last three seasons.)

[Big Fo]

Damn, those are some sick batting averages. And so consistent too.

If you have the game open and don't mind looking it up, what is the league batting average in your game like most years?

I'm having weird season on my game, my back to back 95+ win team didn't lose anybody good and nobody declined significantly, yet we are off to an abysmal 9-31 start.

[Drake]

Here are the last 30 years:

AL .264 4.66 Boston Buccaneers 2058 Los Angeles Stars 4.36 .256 NL
AL .263 4.64 Tennessee Mountaineers 2059 St. Louis Redbirds 4.46 .260 NL
AL .262 4.65 Albaquerque Rattlers 2060 St. Louis Redbirds 4.46 .259 NL
AL .260 4.53 Albaquerque Rattlers 2061 St. Louis Redbirds 4.52 .263 NL
AL .258 4.37 Boston Buccaneers 2062 Chicago Riot 4.66 .263 NL
AL .262 4.55 New York Yankees 2063 Oklahoma City Cowboys 4.58 .258 NL
AL .260 4.51 Boston Buccaneers 2064 Phoenix Braves 4.43 .256 NL
AL .266 4.66 Vancouver Grizzlies 2065 Los Angeles Stars 4.52 .255 NL
AL .264 4.52 Tennessee Mountaineers 2066 Colorado Blizzard 4.53 .261 NL
AL .264 4.46 Tennessee Mountaineers 2067 Colorado Blizzard 4.50 .258 NL
AL .261 4.44 Boston Buccaneers 2068 Los Angeles Stars 4.50 .258 NL
AL .264 4.52 Albaquerque Rattlers 2069 Colorado Blizzard 4.36 .259 NL
AL .259 4.49 Albaquerque Rattlers 2070 Colorado Blizzard 4.58 .262 NL
AL .261 4.51 Vancouver Grizzlies 2071 Colorado Blizzard 4.45 .261 NL
AL .260 4.47 Toronto Agronauts 2072 Colorado Blizzard 4.31 .257 NL
AL .261 4.53 Providence Whalers 2073 Colorado Blizzard 4.39 .257 NL
AL .260 4.54 Columbus Crows 2074 Chicago Riot 4.38 .259 NL
AL .258 4.42 Albaquerque Rattlers 2075 Colorado Blizzard 4.49 .259 NL
AL .255 4.28 Albaquerque Rattlers 2076 Colorado Blizzard 4.35 .258 NL
AL .250 4.24 Vancouver Grizzlies 2077 Colorado Blizzard 4.33 .259 NL
AL .255 4.24 Boston Buccaneers 2078 Colorado Blizzard 4.45 .261 NL
AL .260 4.47 Toronto Agronauts 2079 Colorado Blizzard 4.62 .264 NL
AL .259 4.51 Boston Buccaneers 2080 Colorado Blizzard 4.73 .264 NL
AL .256 4.40 Boston Buccaneers 2081 Colorado Blizzard 4.74 .265 NL
AL .260 4.56 Providence Whalers 2082 San Diego Marines 4.83 .267 NL
AL .260 4.37 Boston Buccaneers 2083 Houston Astronauts 4.79 .268 NL
AL .262 4.56 Seattle Swarm 2084 Colorado Blizzard 4.70 .265 NL
AL .259 4.47 Seattle Swarm 2085 Los Angeles Stars 4.83 .270 NL
AL .261 4.40 New York Yankees 2086 Colorado Blizzard 5.13 .276 NL
AL .258 4.43 Indianapolis Indians 2087 Atlanta Rebels 4.90 .272 NL
AL .259 4.42 Vancouver Grizzlies 2088 Colorado Blizzard 5.03 .274 NL

[Big Fo]

.270+ is a little high for a no-DH league compared to today's MLB, but that doesn't take anything away from a guy hitting around .390 for the last eight seasons. Amazing.

[Ksyrup]

I think I've seen only a handle of 45+ game hitting streaks, and I've simmed probably thousands of seasons doing so many historical sims. That's awesome!

[Drake]

It is high (and historically high for this league). FWIW, the big offensive explosion predated the migration to v11 (I'm now in like 2090 or 2091...just migrated this weekend and ripped off a couple of seasons to see how things would convert.)

2088 was my last season in v10.

I don't know how much longer I'll continue this league. Sim speed gets a bit ponderous when you get over 100 years (or at least it does on my rig). Oddly enough, it's not the game/in-season sim speed that slows down, but the offseason that drags.

[MizzouRah]

If I had one complaint about OOTP, it would be that I'd like to see personnel hiring/firing broken out from the auto-manage options. I used to hire all levels of personnel, only to find them getting fired after poor seasons right after I'd signed them to an extension. Not sure who was making those decisions, but it was clearly part of the "Let Minor League Managers do x" setting...apparently that includes firing themselves for poor performance...but I don't want to trade having to micromanage the lower levels for control over personnel.


I didn't know this and personally, I'm glad. I only want to worry about hiring and firing my MLB team managers and scout.

Although I usually manage my games, so it doesn't feel right to fire LaRussa during this losing skid. :)

[Young Drachma]

Playing fast-sim solo (meaning no injuries on, low fatigue, coaches & scouts off) and I have a trade offer:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/Dynasty_DC/Cards/larry_hasenfus_2015_mares_award.png

26-year old southpaw in a walk year, 3-time Pitcher of the Year already, coming off one of the most dominant years in league history (28-3, 1.63 ERA, 330 K)

and they're asking for a 1st round pick and this kid:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/Dynasty_DC/Cards/john_carvalho_2015_rookie.png
20-year old who hasn't made it to the majors yet, probably a year away but could be rushed if you wanted to.

The real situation is, my team is aging and I don't know how many years we're going to contend. Hasenfus would help right now, of course, though it'll cost us and Carvalho could haunt us for a decade. On the flip side, it's possible he'll never develop to be half the pitcher Hasenfus is.

Anyway, deal or no deal?

[Alan T]

26 year old pitcher is pretty much just entering his prime (assuming development is correct). 3 time pitcher of the year says enough there. Trading a first round pick and a prospect neither of which may develop for the sure thing pitcher of the year is a deal every time in my book. (once again assuming that your development isn't in "sure-thing" mode where everyone develops automatically to potential or something silly)

[Swaggs]

Remember -- "There is no such thing as a pitching prospect." :)

Make the deal.

[Mota]

Argh, I had the #1 overall draft pick and got this brilliant prospect, 18/16/20 potential. After one week he tweaked his elbow and was out for a week. He came back and a week later tore his tendon and was out 12 months. About 6 months later I get an update saying that the injury was revised and his career is over. Nooooooo!!! The injury updates is one of the new features of the game that so far I'm not enjoying! :)

[Young Drachma]

Don't mean to start anything by this comment, but... has Ben given up on OOTP? I remember a couple of years ago (maybe even last year?) he was all over creating a fictional template and testing settings, career arcs, etc., and I don't think I've heard a peep out of him about OOTP11.

He was on beta, but I suspect that having a newborn in addition to other responsibilities and all of the FOF stuff, he hasn't gotten around to this yet. He did update his information in late December though for OOTP X (http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/ootp-10-general-discussions/190715-aging-development-modifiers-2.html#post2863141) and that quickstart could be imported into 11.

[Alan T]

Don't mean to start anything by this comment, but... has Ben given up on OOTP? I remember a couple of years ago (maybe even last year?) he was all over creating a fictional template and testing settings, career arcs, etc., and I don't think I've heard a peep out of him about OOTP11.

He was on beta, but I suspect that having a newborn in addition to other responsibilities and all of the FOF stuff, he hasn't gotten around to this yet. He did update his information in late December though for OOTP X (http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/ootp-10-general-discussions/190715-aging-development-modifiers-2.html#post2863141) and that quickstart could be imported into 11.



This was from a FOOL (a fastsim OOTP online league that is in its 105th season) article last September:

VI: You were once famous around the world of "fake"-baseball for your research on league modifiers. Yet after the day you retired from the Charleston Chew, you seemed to retire from baseball for good. Do you still find time to participate in baseball any, or are you 100% dedicated to your true love of football now?

I still play some OOTP SP, but I found that OOTP MP just doesn't work for me. I think the main reason is the time it takes to switch from SP to MP and back. I still enjoy OOTP, though. I've tested my own modifiers for OOTPX that I use now. However, too many people refused to adhere to my one simple request that if you have questions, post them in the thread (as opposed to IM/PM to me directly....posting in thread lets other people help...PM/IM forces it all on me), so I probably won't do that any longer.

You can find this from this old post: The Village Idiot (11.26.2036) - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=2121576)

[Young Drachma]

26 year old pitcher is pretty much just entering his prime (assuming development is correct). 3 time pitcher of the year says enough there. Trading a first round pick and a prospect neither of which may develop for the sure thing pitcher of the year is a deal every time in my book. (once again assuming that your development isn't in "sure-thing" mode where everyone develops automatically to potential or something silly)

Remember -- "There is no such thing as a pitching prospect." :)

Make the deal.

Thanks for the advice guys. :)

[Ksyrup]

This was from a FOOL (a fastsim OOTP online league that is in its 105th season) article last September:



You can find this from this old post: The Village Idiot (11.26.2036) - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=2121576)

Thanks for the info. I guess I'm way out of the loop - I didn't even realize he had a kid!

[MizzouRah]

Playing fast-sim solo (meaning no injuries on, low fatigue, coaches & scouts off) and I have a trade offer:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/Dynasty_DC/Cards/larry_hasenfus_2015_mares_award.png

26-year old southpaw in a walk year, 3-time Pitcher of the Year already, coming off one of the most dominant years in league history (28-3, 1.63 ERA, 330 K)

and they're asking for a 1st round pick and this kid:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc113/Dynasty_DC/Cards/john_carvalho_2015_rookie.png
20-year old who hasn't made it to the majors yet, probably a year away but could be rushed if you wanted to.

The real situation is, my team is aging and I don't know how many years we're going to contend. Hasenfus would help right now, of course, though it'll cost us and Carvalho could haunt us for a decade. On the flip side, it's possible he'll never develop to be half the pitcher Hasenfus is.

Anyway, deal or no deal?

Those baseball cards look awesome!

[MizzouRah]

As much as I question things from the AI when playing against them, I'm getting my ass handed to me in this verison so far with my drafted team.

[Scoobz0202]

I adjusted my financials like some mentioned in this thread to make small market teams feel like small market teams. I've never really had a strong grasp on the financial system but I never realized how before I really wasn't playing with a small market team. Went to the playoffs with the reds my first season and then the next season was looking even better with my team having the same core and some solid prospects that were turning into real stars. Ended up only winning 80 games with my 1-run game record being 10-35. Next thing I know I lost 15 million that season and am having to make some serious cut backs.. HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO WIN NOW!?!?! :p

[DaddyTorgo]

really scoobz? that's actually good to hear (from the standpoint of things working)

[CleBrownsfan]

I adjusted my financials like some mentioned in this thread to make small market teams feel like small market teams. I've never really had a strong grasp on the financial system but I never realized how before I really wasn't playing with a small market team. Went to the playoffs with the reds my first season and then the next season was looking even better with my team having the same core and some solid prospects that were turning into real stars. Ended up only winning 80 games with my 1-run game record being 10-35. Next thing I know I lost 15 million that season and am having to make some serious cut backs.. HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO WIN NOW!?!?! :p

What's the actual adjustments that you made?

[Scoobz0202]

Lowered avg attendance to 25K and avg ticket prices to 15.00. Went in and adjusted a lot of the small market teams market size to one or two values lower then what it was already set at.

One major problem I see though. After I made that post I looked at the league financial report. Only two teams have positive cash right now, the Pirates and the Indians. The Mets lost 61 million last year. The Red Sox lost 78 million.


What would a fix for that be without having to adjust every team?

[DaddyTorgo]

That's the part that annoys me - we shouldn't have to go in every year and adjust every team in order to make finances work right.

Frankly, I don't have the time, nor the desire to do that.

[TroyF]

That's the part that annoys me - we shouldn't have to go in every year and adjust every team in order to make finances work right.

Frankly, I don't have the time, nor the desire to do that.


It's why the first thing I do every year with OOTP is to equalize all markets and cash flow. (equal tv contract, 40% of revenue goes to road team, etc.

Every 5 years (sometimes 10) I need to infuse some teams with cash and readjust the market sizes.

I know that isn't generating playing with a small market feel, but I've found that's nearly impossible to do in OOTP without having to adjust yearly.

[Young Drachma]

It's why the first thing I do every year with OOTP is to equalize all markets and cash flow. (equal tv contract, 40% of revenue goes to road team, etc.

Every 5 years (sometimes 10) I need to infuse some teams with cash and readjust the market sizes.

I know that isn't generating playing with a small market feel, but I've found that's nearly impossible to do in OOTP without having to adjust yearly.

This.

Trying to replicate real life is a very challenging thing to do in the game without a ton of tinkering. My financial mod tool attempts to fix some of this, but...even with that, you need to tinker quite a bit to get it working, so I usually suggest people only tinker with their own team and let the rest to their own devices, but even then...it can be a pain. Standardizing media money is a big help though, because that's really where all of the game's silliness originates since the media markets "change" based on team performance which makes absolutely no sense at all, as implemented.

[lighthousekeeper]

finally installed and played last night. i'm definitely a sucker for the baseball card feature. i don't care if it's just eye candy - it's what i always wanted in a baseball sim (even though i never realized it until yesterday).

the similarity score is another great small addition.

[Big Fo]

I checked my games, I didn't see the cash problem being that bad. The teams averaged around zero (some negative, some positive, almost all within $10m). My adjustments make the budgets more realistic, if they lead to the teams not having enough cash that is a problem I'm not sure how to fix while keeping the budgets where I want them.

When I checked it was in late January so no teams had been selling tickets for months and they were all under budget. So maybe I should check during the middle of the season, or maybe more generous owners are letting their teams spend over what they take in, resulting in negative cash numbers? I might try setting all Owner Spending values to 3-5 but I did like the variation in the current system, where a generous owner of a smaller market team might try and take a loss for a few years to get more support and more money or some owners would just pocket loads of cash year after year, team get new owners every decade or two and that can change how they operate, etc.

[Young Drachma]

I checked my games, I didn't see the cash problem being that bad. The teams averaged around zero (some negative, some positive, almost all within $10m). My adjustments make the budgets more realistic, if they lead to the teams not having enough cash that is a problem I'm not sure how to fix while keeping the budgets where I want them.

When I checked it was in late January so no teams had been selling tickets for months and they were all under budget. So maybe I should check during the middle of the season, or maybe more generous owners are letting their teams spend over what they take in, resulting in negative cash numbers? I might try setting all Owner Spending values to 3-5 but I did like the variation in the current system, where a generous owner of a smaller market team might try and take a loss for a few years to get more support and more money or some owners would just pocket loads of cash year after year, team get new owners every decade or two and that can change how they operate, etc.

All of those features appear to be cosmetic and not really rooted to a financial system that operates accurately, so while it'd be fun to use them in that way, I don't think the financial engine has demonstrated itself to be sophisticated enough to behave in this way.

To answer your question, yes, it'd be wise to check and see how things are going at mid-season and decide from there what needs adjustment. Another thing I always do is let all teams spend everything they earn, rather than having it setup where the owner decides team budgets because the owners in the game -- even with these new owner personality profiles -- are stupid and don't act like rational AI beings.

[MizzouRah]

This is the first version post v6.5 that has made me forget about v6.5.

I'm playing every game, so I'm not sure about the whole package yet.. but I've been staying up way too late playing just one more game.

The interface is finally friendly to me - even though sometimes I have to hunt for something.. the good thing is I can make a book mark.

[Balldog]

This is the first version post v6.5 that has made me forget about v6.5.

I'm playing every game, so I'm not sure about the whole package yet.. but I've been staying up way too late playing just one more game.

The interface is finally friendly to me - even though sometimes I have to hunt for something.. the good thing is I can make a book mark.

Damn you. I've been going back to 6.5 every year because I couldn't deal with the newer interfaces, might have to pull the trigger on this one.

[spleen1015]

I think the interface is better this year as well.

[Ksyrup]

Yikes! I'm simming a 1901 historical universe and have gotten to 1960 so far. I noticed that Duke Snider ended up on Pittsburgh in the 50s, so I was curious how that happened. The Cards had traded Stan Musial in a semi-defensible trade before, so I didn't think much of it. But then I checked Snider's log, and he was claimed off waivers! And yes, he was playing up to the standards you'd expect for Duke Snider - he got claimed in September of 1951 after playing 5 full seasons with Brooklyn with no seas on worse than a 129 OPS+. They finished in 2nd place that year and made money, and he didn't get hurt, so...?!?

[MizzouRah]

why still waiver issue?

[MizzouRah]

Damn you. I've been going back to 6.5 every year because I couldn't deal with the newer interfaces, might have to pull the trigger on this one.

The interface upgrade is probably one of my favorite parts of v11.

[MizzouRah]

Everything is right at your fingertips! Although my owner is pissed off..:lol:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2320/ootpint.jpg

[Big Fo]

All of those features appear to be cosmetic and not really rooted to a financial system that operates accurately, so while it'd be fun to use them in that way, I don't think the financial engine has demonstrated itself to be sophisticated enough to behave in this way.

To answer your question, yes, it'd be wise to check and see how things are going at mid-season and decide from there what needs adjustment. Another thing I always do is let all teams spend everything they earn, rather than having it setup where the owner decides team budgets because the owners in the game -- even with these new owner personality profiles -- are stupid and don't act like rational AI beings.

I think I'm just going to ignore the cash values and stick with the realistic budgets. For example the Red Sox lost $17m last year but were still $40m under their $170m budget. The Yankees lost $50m last year but were still well under their budget. It's too late for this season but maybe next season I'll turn off the owner decides team budgets option and see how that changes things.

But if the budgets are right I think that is what matters. As far as I can tell cash on hand only comes into play when using cash as part of a trade which I don't do and I don't really know if the AI does, or really care all that much.

[DeToxRox]

Just simmed from 1901 - 2008 (I stopped it to check stats) and I am sure this happens to a lot of people but Barry Bonds just absolutely killed everything hit to him.

He just retired with 796 HR, 2449 RBI, 2807 BB, 3336 Hits, 167 OPS+ and 2463 runs. He was a 7 time MVP as well.

He also had the most HR (60) and RBI (174) in a season.

Over the 100 + years done so far, the Giants lead the way with 11 World Series, the Braves have 10 and Dodgers have 9. The Phillies have the longest current streak of futility having only won 1 title and that was in 1912.

[GrantDawg]

He didn't in the seasons I just simmed. He did play into his 40's, but he had several really bad years, and never hit over 40 hrs.


Looking at his numbers. He had 8 seasons he didn't play 100 games. His highest HR total was 39, and his highest average was .312. He did end with exactly 500 hr.

[DaddyTorgo]

i want this game i think, but i want a damn demo

[Ksyrup]

I'm up to 1998 with my sim. Not many HRs until the 90s - only 4 seasons of 50+ HRs. And there are way too many SBs in the modern era. I'm routinely seeing 90+ SBs a year in the late 90s (for instance, I just simmed 1999 and Tom Goodwin had 92 and Deion had 89).

[Scoobz0202]

i want this game i think, but i want a damn demo

I'm sure there's a return policy that you could get some time in and if you don't like it return it.

[MizzouRah]

I'm up to 1998 with my sim. Not many HRs until the 90s - only 4 seasons of 50+ HRs. And there are way too many SBs in the modern era. I'm routinely seeing 90+ SBs a year in the late 90s (for instance, I just simmed 1999 and Tom Goodwin had 92 and Deion had 89).

Tom Goodwin.. brings back memories of FPS Baseball.

[Ksyrup]

I had a couple of guys break 100 SBs in the early 2000s.

[Ksyrup]

I just finished simming through 2008. Talk about futility - the Phillies made the playoffs ONCE since 1901 - in 1969, just in time for divisional playoffs - so they never even made the WS once. This team has been so historically bad, they only finished second 5 times - and 3 of those were from 1904 through 1906!!

[DaddyTorgo]

damn

[Senator]

I just finished simming through 2008. Talk about futility - the Phillies made the playoffs ONCE since 1901 - in 1969, just in time for divisional playoffs - so they never even made the WS once. This team has been so historically bad, they only finished second 5 times - and 3 of those were from 1904 through 1906!!

sounds a little like the Texas Rangers.

[Ksyrup]

The "players miss seasons according to history" feature... does that apply to every player who missed a season, for whatever reason, or just guys like Ted Williams who missed for special reasons? I like the idea of that feature, but I'm not sure I want guys who were injured IRL to miss a season in the sim for no apparent reason.

[Pumpy Tudors]

sounds a little like the Texas Rangers.
Your username makes this comment amazing.

[Ksyrup]

So I'm running a second 1901 historical sim, and I just passed 1986. The Red Sox beat the Mets 4-3 in the World Series!

[korme]

So I'm running a second 1901 historical sim, and I just passed 1986. The Red Sox beat the Mets 4-3 in the World Series!

what was the reasoning behind the re-do? also, do you do amateur draft or let history stay relatively intact?

[Ksyrup]

I just like running multiple sims. I think the only thing I did differently was not import the history from before 1901 (although I don't understand why some records still exist from pre-1901?). I was trying to eliminate all of the pitching records from the 1800s - but it didn't work (unless I don't understand what the import of records means...?).

I don't do a draft, just place the players on the teams they came up with.

In the re-do, I had a couple of monster teams. The 1996 Dodgers won 119 games and were like an all-star team. They had Roberto Alomar, Mondesi, Tony Gwynn, Piazza, and a few other name position players I can't recall right now, plus Greg (and Mike!) Maddux, Smoltz, the Pedros (Martinez and Astacio)... it was ridiculous. There was also a team that won 121 games, but it was late and I don't remember the details.

The Marlins won the WS in their 3rd year - they bought Griffey and Thome in FA and won 103 games.

Oh, and the Philles were even worse than that other sim I did! NO playoff appearances in their history, and only 5 2nd place finishes - 1 of which was 79-83. They had 11 seasons of .500 record or better from 1901 through 2008!!

[TroyF]

Just had my most amazing season by a player ever in my OOTP career. 2029, a guy by the name of Jiro Murata.

He hit .400, 167 runs, 253 hits, 39 doubles, 12 triples, 47 HR, 199 RBI, 91 BB, 59 K, 26 SB, 209 OPS+, 131.5 VORP. The surprising thing? He ended up with 3 intentional walks all year.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I have been wanting to buy this game for weeks now, but all the concerns about finances sort of pushed me away. What is everyone doing about their league finances? If anyone can suggest a setup that doesn't require babysitting (even if it's far from perfect), that would be the only push I need to get me into this game.

Any thoughts?

[Young Drachma]

I have been wanting to buy this game for weeks now, but all the concerns about finances sort of pushed me away. What is everyone doing about their league finances? If anyone can suggest a setup that doesn't require babysitting (even if it's far from perfect), that would be the only push I need to get me into this game.

Any thoughts?

There are some minor things you can do if you notice irregularities in the game and some generally advised things that take a few minutes to setup that are worth doing, too, depending on how you play.

I don't play in a "natural" way, so my YMMV with my suggestions, but..my suggestions are:

- Set media money to the same amount for all teams, rather than letting the game determine it by media market.
- Turn off coaches & scouts
- Set three levels of minors, with the last level having at least 40-man roster, the rest can be 25-man.
- Turn ghost players on.
- Set visiting team share to 40%
- Allow teams to spend all of their budget money, rather than having the owner set the amount.

I play without injuries on and fast-sim seasons, so my results might be weirder since I can make assumptions in my games that other people can't (namely, my guys don't get hurt) but...simming 200+ years allows me to see how the game handles certain things and while I have some gripes about certain things related to contracts and such alike, doing the above things over time has resulted in a financial model that I find tolerable and allows teams to compete well without a lot of intervention from me.

[Scoobz0202]

Quick question:

I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize I didn't have a backup catcher till about August 1st. Brought up one from AAA and put him in cause my starter was totally exhausted. It's been about 2, maybe 3 series, and he is still at 0% and totally exhausted....... ??

[MizzouRah]

Wonder why their forum has been down most of the day?

[CraigSca]

Just noticed that myself...

[Scoobz0202]

I decided to start an MLB dynasty with an inaugural draft. I've never done this in any game before. What's a good strategy to use when drafting a team? Is there one? Are there many? What do you guys like?

I am playing the cincinnati reds and I have thought about it and decided to draft a team with a very good defensive middle infield, and draft pitchers with higher ground ball %. I will look for left handed hitters with a preference for power considering it is GABP.


What are some teams you like to build?

[Scoobz0202]

dola,

is there any draft strategy in baseball that is good to follow? Are there certain positions you try and attack first in the draft? SP? SS?

I noticed there tend to be less 4 1/2 star to 5 star shortstops and with my above strategy in mind I was thinking of drafting Troy Tulowitzki. (I am 10th in the draft so that is if he falls to me) I thought maybe I should attack the SS position first with there being limited stars. I notice there are few all-star closers as well. Would that be a good second pick or should I just forget that and take a good reliever later and turn him into a closer?

Would be interested in hearing what others think. One, to drum up some discussion, and two, because I've truly never thought about this before and realized I am not sure where to even start.

[lighthousekeeper]

dola,

is there any draft strategy in baseball that is good to follow? Are there certain positions you try and attack first in the draft? SP? SS?

I noticed there tend to be less 4 1/2 star to 5 star shortstops and with my above strategy in mind I was thinking of drafting Troy Tulowitzki. (I am 10th in the draft so that is if he falls to me) I thought maybe I should attack the SS position first with there being limited stars. I notice there are few all-star closers as well. Would that be a good second pick or should I just forget that and take a good reliever later and turn him into a closer?

Would be interested in hearing what others think. One, to drum up some discussion, and two, because I've truly never thought about this before and realized I am not sure where to even start.

you should wait until later to draft a closer. ootp tends to undervalue top relief pitchers. even if you don't get a good one in the inaugural draft, you can usually pickup a super stud closer in the subsequent ammy drafts.

[DaddyTorgo]

Need to DL the demo one of these days

[CleBrownsfan]

Started playing my OOTP 11 career with the Indians a few weeks ago. I plan on playing each game out and I'm not doing so well (very realistic I guess). I'm 32-41 and I find myself 8 games out of 1st place Minn.

Any how - here is a blockbuster trade that went wrong:
<a href="http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb269/Broth32/?action=view&current=Braun.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb269/Broth32/Braun.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Could not have happened to a better team - IMO ;)

[Mota]

LOL and a lot of those injuries cause permanent damage too... good luck.

I hate the injuries that ruin your players and you still have 2-3 years on their contracts...

[henry296]

Just downloaded the demo and a couple of questions so far.

1. Do you have to hit space bar after every play or is there an option to remove that? It is annoying and would be difficult for 162 games per season.
2. Noticed that the photo for PNC Park is actually Citizens Bank Park, can I change that?
3. If I want to sim, any advice on simplifying the strategy? Is their a recommend button so that it makes sure my power hitters are set to bunt rarely, etc. I'm a bit overwhelmed by that sections with all of the permutations.
4. When playing a game, can I select hold runners and pitch around? Once I hit old runners, the play is run.

That is all for now, but I'm sure I'll have more as I haven't played OOTP in a long time.

[henry296]

One more question...

Can you import historical rookies into the draft before the make their debut like PureSim so they have some time in the minors?

[bhlloy]

One more question...

Can you import historical rookies into the draft before the make their debut like PureSim so they have some time in the minors?

BUMP - I would love to know the answer to this. I swear this option used to be in the game but I couldn't find it when I was trying to set up historical leagues. Maybe I was just thinking of Puresim all along then?

[cougarfreak]

BUMP - I would love to know the answer to this. I swear this option used to be in the game but I couldn't find it when I was trying to set up historical leagues. Maybe I was just thinking of Puresim all along then?

Using the spritze DB you can, they will be draftable after high school age. You can pick up the DB at padresfans mod site.

[henry296]

It isn't working like I thought. I download the spritze Real Time, All Players High School db, changed the path and imported the 85 season and didn't get Bonds on the pirates.

I also pulled up the csv files and didn't see the corrected info. Am I doing something wrong, or download the wrong one?

[MizzouRah]

Saw this tidbit over at the OOTP forums from Markus...

OOTP 12 will focus on financials, immersion and AI improvements.

But OOTP 13 will feature something which I wanted to do for years, a really cool 2D/3D representation engine (with stadium builder etc, which will be a modders dream). In fact, that thing is already in development...

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but the fact it is already in development maybe means its going to be in iootp (ootp for the ipad)

[JetsIn06]

Saw this tidbit over at the OOTP forums from Markus...

Could not be better news, as those are the the things that need worked on the most.

I'm drooling for 2013.

[MizzouRah]

OOTP 11 has become my favorite text sim, right alongside FOF, and actually probably surpassing it.

Markus and Co. did one hell of a job with v11 and I'm really excited for v12 and will definitely pre-order it once it's available next week.

[SirFozzie]

I'm still waitinhg for the end of '10, start of '11 file with baited breath :)

[BYU 14]

Could not be better news, as those are the the things that need worked on the most.

I'm drooling for 2013.

+1 At last a modern version of Micro-League :)

[SegRat]

Is there logos somewhere for OOTP 8? If so where do you put them? Any tips on getting started? I am trying OOTP 8 to get used to it before the iphone/ipad version is released.