Out of the Park 13 Review

[DustinT]

The best baseball game available gets better, thanks to some smart improvements.

I’ll skip the typical introductions and get right to the point: If you’ve played Out of the Park in prior years, you should buy OOTP 13. If you like text sims, you should by OOTP 13. If you’ve never heard of OOTP, but love baseball (and own a PC), you should really consider buying OOTP 13.

It’s really that simple. OOTP 13 represents the current pinnacle of text and baseball sims, and is a game nearly all baseball fans will enjoy.

Read More - OOTP 13 Review

[ey215]

Nice review!

I have to say, OOTP 13 is a huge jump from 12 and I just can't seem to put it down. I've been playing OOTP way too long (I honestly don't remember which was my first version) and this is by far the best version ever. I've never been able to get into historical leagues, but the random debut feature has me hooked.

I have to agree with the reviewer if you love baseball and have a PC you really should try this one out.

[Tolstoy]

Man I wish there was a college football game like this.

[CPRoark]

Just to clarify somethIng from the review... I was unable to force any of the new interactive storylines. They are presimably random, and in three years of simming I didn't hit one. They look interesting, I just didn't have the chance to see them in action.

[Vechi8]

Who needs to play fantasy baseball when you have OOTP!! Tha game is a beast and if you love numbers and stats and contracts and scouting, and coaching and general management (you get the idea) this is for you!! Some of you may have played, I think it was by Avalon Hill??, on the Commodore 64 baseball Sim and how awesome that was. This game finally matches the fun factor that I had with that game.

[ey215]

Quote: Originally Posted by CPRoark

Just to clarify somethIng from the review... I was unable to force any of the new interactive storylines. They are presimably random, and in three years of simming I didn't hit one. They look interesting, I just didn't have the chance to see them in action.

From what I've read over at the OOTP boards they are meant to be pretty rare.

[thevaliantx]

Let's be honest here. Anyone that's played more than of the OOTP series in the past knows that this edition was more about changing the way things look in the interface. I hear some say that the player development model has gotten better, but if you hit the OOTP forums you find that not to be the case.

I'm glad the reviewer mentioned the possibility of having more animations than the ball moving. The reality is that it's not going to happen. I disagree with the reviewer's notion that any added animations would be a bonus and not a necessity. Markus WAS going to have someone code 2D animations into OOTP 13, but it didn't happen. Why? Because too many folks on the OOTP forums trashed the idea and suggested that OOTP 13 would be nothing more than another console game if it it had any more animations. OOTP players, in general, hate the idea of having animations in OOTP. How did Markus manage to avoid the issue of not having animations in this version? By claiming that his ... uh ... other programmer had other obligations and didn't have the time to make the 2D engine.

[orion523]

I've been playing OOTP since OOTP 8, and it is without a doubt the finest baseball game on the market. Yes even better than The Show. What it lacks in graphical prowess, it more than makes up for in depth, realism, and immersion. There is not another baseball sim like it.

[ey215]

Quote: Originally Posted by thevaliantx

Let's be honest here. Anyone that's played more than of the OOTP series in the past knows that this edition was more about changing the way things look in the interface. I hear some say that the player development model has gotten better, but if you hit the OOTP forums you find that not to be the case. I'm glad the reviewer mentioned the possibility of having more animations than the ball moving. The reality is that it's not going to happen. I disagree with the reviewer's notion that any added animations would be a bonus and not a necessity. Markus WAS going to have someone code 2D animations into OOTP 13, but it didn't happen. Why? Because too many folks on the OOTP forums trashed the idea and suggested that OOTP 13 would be nothing more than another console game if it it had any more animations. OOTP players, in general, hate the idea of having animations in OOTP. How did Markus manage to avoid the issue of not having animations in this version? By claiming that his ... uh ... other programmer had other obligations and didn't have the time to make the 2D engine.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be arguing that 2D animations are a necessity. I completely disagree. I've been playing text based sports games since MicroLeague baseball back on my Apple IIgs and have messed around in most of the genres (even pro wrestling).

I wasn't crazy about the idea of an animation engine when they put it into FM, but it has worked out well. I just don't think it would add enormously to the OOTP experience. The difference between the two games essentially is that in a game like soccer it's good to get a visual representation of where your players are on the pitch and how various tactics interact with the opposing team. Baseball is not a sport that really needs that.

Would I take a 2D engine? Sure. Is it a necessity? Not at all, and I'd rather the OOTP team spends valuable time and resources on other things.

[Jukeman]

Quote: Originally Posted by ey215

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be arguing that 2D animations are a necessity. I completely disagree. I've been playing text based sports games since MicroLeague baseball back on my Apple IIgs and have messed around in most of the genres (even pro wrestling). I wasn't crazy about the idea of an animation engine when they put it into FM, but it has worked out well. I just don't think it would add enormously to the OOTP experience. The difference between the two games essentially is that in a game like soccer it's good to get a visual representation of where your players are on the pitch and how various tactics interact with the opposing team. Baseball is not a sport that really needs that. Would I take a 2D engine? Sure. Is it a necessity? Not at all, and I'd rather the OOTP team spends valuable time and resources on other things.

Its def not a necessity but it will be a big bonus even if it was just 2d models running the bases and fielders moving towards the ball (ball animated better)

Graphics could be a plus, look at what facegens bring.

But I love the play by play text and it so detailed compare to other pbp text I've seen, it sucks me in with suspense so It really doesn't matter if they add some kind of graphics.

I was marking out when my team was in a 10th inning battle at home against the D'Backs.

Our lead off hitter for the inning gets a base hit, which was then followed by another base hit as our guy on 1st gambled his way to 3rd on a fly ball that dropped in for a single.

Next at-bats was a fly out followed by a strike out.

Pitcher up, so I called for a pinch hitter. Pinch hitter down on the count 0-2 with two foul balls.

But the 3rd pitch was a wild pitch that hit the backdrop which ended up bringing in the winning run for a 5-4 victory!