OOTP X Catch-All

This is my first OOTP since 11, so for me the UI is a revelation. Much, much improved. I started a standard MLB game and have mucked around a bit, but most of my time so far has been spent on an historical 1988 replay. Need to get the Mets the ring they deserved that year.

I'll probably wait a few more weeks to see if there are any major bugs before starting on a fictional universe with all the fixings.

Yeah, with the lack of baseball on the Xbox, I will probably dive back into this.

Jayhawker wrote:

Yeah, with the lack of baseball on the Xbox, I will probably dive back into this.

Oh yeah? Time to point this out, again.

I've 'Quick Start' with 2014 rosters for about 20 games. Simmed and play-by-play. Imported my 2014 fictional game. Downloaded 2014 all in one mod. Everything seems to be working well. I'm not hardcore for anything beyond this. Seem's pretty clean and some getting use to where things are now from previous versions. But once familiarized, definitely cleaner, 'easier' UI. Some reports from hardcore folks about bugs when you get really down and dirty with things. But that is the usual deal in new release and Markus and team are usually on them quickly (already a patch within a few days of release). But 'basic' game seems rock solid to me and my needs.

I just realized if someone new read my above text it's way too cryptic.

'Quick Start' is the way to play MLB with current rosters

All-in-One mod is one you can get from in the game in the 'mod central' (among others). This particular one put's correct MLB emblems etc. on player's and team pages.

If you want more information on the game you can go to the OOTP website for the forum on OOTP 15 (newest release):

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/

Or click the link Garion gives below to read the last few pages on some new aspects of the new version (pizzaaddict mentioned some nice ones), or to just enjoy reading GWJ'er's with their adventure's in league play. Fun!

garion333 wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Yeah, with the lack of baseball on the Xbox, I will probably dive back into this.

Oh yeah? Time to point this out, again. ;)

I was reading that thread earlier today and felt tempted to ask to join, but the week of a new OOTP release is always a bad time for me to do that. My commitment level to the league I'm already in comes in fits and starts, so probably not wise to add another one until I really decide I'm all in OOTP15. (I assume you're all upgrading to it at some point?)

ubrakto wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Yeah, with the lack of baseball on the Xbox, I will probably dive back into this.

Oh yeah? Time to point this out, again. ;)

I was reading that thread earlier today and felt tempted to ask to join, but the week of a new OOTP release is always a bad time for me to do that. My commitment level to the league I'm already in comes in fits and starts, so probably not wise to add another one until I really decide I'm all in OOTP15. (I assume you're all upgrading to it at some point?)

We upgrade sometime after the real All Star break. So, whenever a season ends after the game goes on sale for the first time.

garion333 wrote:
ubrakto wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Yeah, with the lack of baseball on the Xbox, I will probably dive back into this.

Oh yeah? Time to point this out, again. ;)

I was reading that thread earlier today and felt tempted to ask to join, but the week of a new OOTP release is always a bad time for me to do that. My commitment level to the league I'm already in comes in fits and starts, so probably not wise to add another one until I really decide I'm all in OOTP15. (I assume you're all upgrading to it at some point?)

We upgrade sometime after the real All Star break. So, whenever a season ends after the game goes on sale for the first time.

And that was really a rule I came up with based on some... erm... slightly unrealistic ideas of what the response would be to the league. As far as I'm concerned, if you're not "just signed up to the site" new, you can hop on in to our league whenever you'd like, if you're okay with it.

Prederick wrote:
garion333 wrote:
ubrakto wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

Yeah, with the lack of baseball on the Xbox, I will probably dive back into this.

Oh yeah? Time to point this out, again. ;)

I was reading that thread earlier today and felt tempted to ask to join, but the week of a new OOTP release is always a bad time for me to do that. My commitment level to the league I'm already in comes in fits and starts, so probably not wise to add another one until I really decide I'm all in OOTP15. (I assume you're all upgrading to it at some point?)

We upgrade sometime after the real All Star break. So, whenever a season ends after the game goes on sale for the first time.

And that was really a rule I came up with based on some... erm... slightly unrealistic ideas of what the response would be to the league. As far as I'm concerned, if you're not "just signed up to the site" new, you can hop on in to our league whenever you'd like, if you're okay with it.

You're misunderstanding, Pred. We were talking about upgrading to OOTP15.

What Pred is talking about is the rule for joining he used to have, which is no longer true. Basically, if you want to join, PM him and you're pretty much in whenever (outside of taking over a team during the playoffs and that sort of nonsense ;)).

I picked up 2014 through the humble bundle. Is anyone active with that or will I have to stick with Single player?

fogrob wrote:

I picked up 2014 through the humble bundle. Is anyone active with that or will I have to stick with Single player?

The GWJ league has moved on to OOTP 15, but you can probably find some multi-player leagues by heading over to the OOTP forums.

I just finished up my OOTP 20 solo league where I managed the 1978 Yankees. The Yankees were a big part of my life from around 1976 to 1987. I’d get so stressed watching a game that on some big at bats I’d have to change the channel right before the pitch and turn it back after to see what happened - strange I know.

I played with actual rosters and transactions, so I wasn’t performing trades or anything, but I did manage each game. Ron Guidry won 21 games and had a sub 2.00 ERA and was the AL triple crown winner. After jumping ahead 2-0 in the AL playoffs vs the Royals I dropped 3 in a row to end the season.

I think for my next league I will again take control of the 1978 Yankees, but I will play with player development on - so player ratings will start off based on their actual stats and then the OOTP player development model will take over and develop players based on their potential. Also, I will turn off actual ratings and just play with potential ratings on. I keep the scale low (2-8) and will probably play with scouting on so I don’t get 100% accuracy to keep some mystery.

Also, I will have players start on their historical teams as they enter the minors - but then I will allow trades. I’m mostly doing that do I can keep my favorite rookies on the team, like Don Mattingly.

This time I’m not going to play out my games, or if I do I will only be in control of substitutions, focusing more on the GM duties.

Any OOTP fans around? i have loved baseball sims since the days of Micro League Baseball and Earl Weaver. And this is one of the best. I used to play in online leagues, but it’s been several years. With my Astros in the playoffs, I got the itch again and downloaded the on sale OOTP XX for $10. And it’s still great.

However, I’ve also just experienced the Perfect Team mode for the first time and I’m pretty addicted. I loved collecting baseball cards when I was young and pitting them against each other in made up teams. And this combines that beloved nostalgia with an OOTP sin experience. I’m loving it and I usually hate timed loot box games. I’ll never spend $1 on this, although they’d love me to. I’m about to finish my entry pool league. Anyone one else play this mode and have opinions?

I was thinking of picking up the game now that it's $10, but I've been a bit disillusioned with the direction they've taken the game.

Perfect Team mode reminds me so much of Ultimate Team from FIFA. I'm super cautious about multiplayer, time-sensitive games designed for "addictiveness" and generally shy away from them. From just a sampling of online discussions about the game, everyone engages with Perfect Team to the point that I rarely see discussion on the more traditional side of the game.

I realize there is nothing stopping me from buying the game and ignoring Perfect Team, but I'm a little nervous that I might get sucked into Perfect Team mode.

I also wonder what this bodes for the direction of the more traditional side of the franchise. I can see Perfect Team being so much more lucrative for them.

I played PT for awhile, and it can definitely be a lot of fun. I spent more on it than I should have, though I also had 'free' teams going, that felt like they were just as much fun as the teams I spent money on.

I think its somewhat easy to ignore the PT mode; it is essentially a separate client, so you choose to either login to PT or the regular game. Once in the regular game, you can occasionally earn free packs, but typically there isn't any other mention of it while playing (and you have to log out and switch over to PT to actually open the packs). The simulation for PT is supposedly identical to that used in the main game, so despite the likelihood that PT brings in a lot more money, there is an incentive for the developers to not completely abandon the main game. But it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that client side improvements of the main game may slow down.

I was also disappointed with the developers general reaction to concerns over the skinner box nature of PT, and the potential for harm to their players. The last time I saw anyone from the company comment on it, they seemed to be saying that they didn't really think it was a problem. Even the most rabid fans didn't buy into that, but their response instead was that dealing with gambling addiction and other such problems that the game can easily feed into was the sole responsibility of the players (usually couched within the expected bit of moral condescension).

The promotion/relegation system is perhaps not as interesting as it could or should be. I had fun while climbing up, but I had an early user advantage; while I don't actively play anymore, I do check in on occasion for both PT 'universes' (each version of the game has its own universe), and I'm still in the top league in both. I probably would have paid longer, but the collections and tournaments ended up taking too long to come out, and I had decided I needed to stop putting money in by the time they did. I was fairly certain if I continued to play I would continue to put in money, so I stopped playing.

TL;DR: I think buying the game on sale is worth it for the main game, and PT and the normal game are separate enough interface wise that its fairly easy to ignore PT. Which is good, because PT is fun and all of your concerns about the mode are valid.

OOTP21 has some dope new features. That Perfect Team money has them adding in lots of new stuff for the base game.

Good, and welcome, changes.

OOTP really does such an amazing job with offering exactly the right kind of incremental changes in their annual releases that I always want to give their games a shot.

I don't even play OOTP that much anymore, i'll usually just answer questions like "what if modern-day Barry Bonds played in 1952?" or "What is baseball had a salary cap" and see how it turns out, but I always get enough mileage out of it that I feel like it's a good purchase.

Just a brilliant series, all-around. They literally have no competition and haven't slacked off in their ambition to get better every year at all.

I think last year was a major dud for the base game's changes, so folks started grumbling about Perfect Team this and Perfect Team that. I get it, but they came back this year and have made the thing super customizable and finally have K% and BB% easy to find.

Prederick wrote:

I don't even play OOTP that much anymore, i'll usually just answer questions like "what if modern-day Barry Bonds played in 1952?" or "What is baseball had a salary cap" and see how it turns out, but I always get enough mileage out of it that I feel like it's a good purchase.

Honestly, this is the only way I really got into sim gaming. I used to play StratoMatic in the '70s and '80s by making All-Star teams out of each division and then running a league based on that. And online, I much prefer redraft leagues than ones sticking to the real rosters. And playing through seasons or stretches of a season with the Cardinals, but with a trade or FAs I wanted them to do.

But the sim community these days seems so laser-focused on replicating real life that much of it has lost what makes sports great, It's why I refer to what a lot of sim gamers do today as paint-by-numbers. They adjust everything so that they get the exact results they planned on getting. And if they are off, they readjust so that is exactly right.

Jayhawker wrote:
Prederick wrote:

I don't even play OOTP that much anymore, i'll usually just answer questions like "what if modern-day Barry Bonds played in 1952?" or "What is baseball had a salary cap" and see how it turns out, but I always get enough mileage out of it that I feel like it's a good purchase.

Honestly, this is the only way I really got into sim gaming. I used to play StratoMatic in the '70s and '80s by making All-Star teams out of each division and then running a league based on that. And online, I much prefer redraft leagues than ones sticking to the real rosters. And playing through seasons or stretches of a season with the Cardinals, but with a trade or FAs I wanted them to do.

But the sim community these days seems so laser-focused on replicating real life that much of it has lost what makes sports great, It's why I refer to what a lot of sim gamers do today as paint-by-numbers. They adjust everything so that they get the exact results they planned on getting. And if they are off, they readjust so that is exactly right.

Sounds like you're talking about Madden sliders more than the sim community. Or at least the parts of the sim community I frequent, which is OOTP and FOF. (Others, like Baseball Mogul, might be vastly different.)

I absolutely loathe real players in my online leagues and most leagues aren't real players because they outpace reality. In one of my leagues we're in 2113 after starting in 2007. Granted it's a fast sim league, but we're well past real player names.

FOF's engine is meant to replicate the stats of current NFL seasons, but most of the folks don't care about replicating reality. There's practically no conversations about that because the dev has made it so whenever you fire up the latest real NFL season the player attributes are somewhat randomized so you get a different experience each time.

I think OOTP's engine has long got the point people stop Female Doggoing about wanting real life crap. Folks who want that get that by playing through a season or even the live season stuff, but the boards are littered with posts about your own customized settings to slow down aging or development. I find there's a huge mix of folks looking for an "authentic" experience and others who want to keep stud players longer than reality dictates.

Again, maybe the Stratomatic folks are more about replicating reality to such a degree they've sucked the fun out of the sport, but I don't find OOTP to be that way.

Oh totally, I almost always run fictional leagues where starters can actually regularly throw 10+ CGs a year and the hit-and-run is back, but combined with tying it with the numerical output of baseball circa 1992.

What I love most about OOTP, is that you can say you want, broadly, it to replicate the numbers of offense/pitching/defense of say, 1974, but that it's not insanely slaved to it, some seasons will come out above, some below, and there will always be the occasional outlier players who stand tall above everyone else. In one fictional historical sim, I had a Willie Mays type appear in 1955 and absolutely obliterate the career homerun record at the time, nearly tripling it (also inadvertently outlining how monumentally unique Babe Ruth was).

FWIW I didn’t think 20s changes were a dud. The live services were great for the “let’s predict the future starting from today” type sims. That’s not generally my bag though so I didn’t give me them much of of my time to see if they really worked well. But between the animation updates for when I’m in the the mood for playing games out and the much needed flexibility around setting up backup players in the roster for when I’m only simming I was pretty happy (not to mention all of the normal roster accuracy and other yearly updates). I was excited at first about the ‘next’ button being configurable, as I have a cycle of things I always want to do between each sim or game played. But it looks more like it might automate doing certain things instead of being a better way of bouncing between screens.

The player list updates look awesome. I would have really appreciated them back when I spent more time trying to thoroughly analyze players. I tend not to have the time to do that now, so I’m not sure I’ll get as much mileage out of those updates as I’d like too, but they still look great.

Yes, it has more to do with how the death of action sims on PC, and how that led to gamers expecting console sports games to fill that void. Text sims avoid that entire trap.

One big thing between Strat and Diamond Mind, which are the two main baseball text sims I have played, and OOTP was that Dtrat and DMB are replay games. Using stats and rosters from last season. A lot of those guys considered OOTP to be sacrilege, add career play to a sim. I don’t agree, but it does make a big difference in the games.

DMB prided itself on being the absolute most realistic baseball sim. They would put out a Projection file that used all Sabermetric stuff to project players. They would then run 50 sims of the upcoming season based purely on the projected stats of each player.

The results were stunningly accurate. They would compare results with all of the major writers and magazines, and beat almost all of them. It was pretty crazy.

But the effect of projecting on projected results just lays waste to the accuracy. So OOTP was considered lesser.

It’s obviously a fantastic game, and it has continuously improved. And gamers massively prefer career games instead of replays.

Diamond Mind is def the best sim out there, or so I know from reputation, but lawd knows their product is too narrow for my tastes. I'm waaaaaay more interested in building my own team, much like I used to with baseball cards.

I played in one DMB league that made it all of two seasons, but it was still pretty cool. Basically, we played in real-time. We not only drafted out teams, but we also drafted "minor league" guys so that we could use those players. But then, we added a minor league draft. In this, we drafted anyone that is not in the game yet. I got Albert Pujols in the 3rd round of our draft, and he had still not played an inning in MLB.

The Commish ran one days worth of games each day. We could go in and adjust lineups, rotations, and make roster moves every day. But that is a long time to wait for prospects. Pujols never played for me, either.

But it was a cool way to use the game to play like real life, including having to scout real minor league guys to build a team.

I also really enjoyed 20, but that's probably because I hadn't purchased a copy since 17. My most played version is probably still 6/6.5, or the one for which I was part of the beta test group (I dunno... OOTP 8 maybe?).

I like starting with real players in a modern or near-modern league. I don't lose any enjoyment once they're gone and the league is all fictional players, but I like knowing the history of the league and being able to compare the fictional players who come into the league to actual historical players. I'm sure I could get the same thing if I stuck with a fictional league long enough to build some history, but I've never been able to.

What is the difference between the two, because you can do all of that in OOTP. You can run a historical baseball league with your friends with all the real players and snatch Reggie Jackson early in the draft and hang onto him thanks to the Reserve Clause, if you want to leave it in. And it's not like OOTP churns out insanely unrealistic numbers (unless you put in a perfect player who bats .478 for an entire season, as I may or may not have tried in order to avenge the goddamn 2004 ALCS).

WTH are you guys talking about:) LOL while this all is interesting, sometimes I really don't have a clue what it all means. *chuckle* As I have mentioned in other places, OOTP is like gazing at a beautiful painting, enjoy it's overall wonder, but I have no clue about all the brush strokes that made up the painting that would help me enjoy painting myself. I love baseball, but about the play on the field and the beauty of the parks.

FWIW, OOTP's a pretty easy game to pick up and has layers of depth that will reveal themselves as you go on. But if what you're looking for is a Madden/The Show-type experience, then I can definitely see how it can come across as impenetrable.

I think it also probably depends on how well you know baseball. I've tried to get into Football Manager a few times and bounced off after a few hours because I just don't know enough about the sport.

Something I love about real-player leagues -- the constant 'oh man, I remember that guy's baseball card' sensation when I see people pop up in news stories. This is especially common in late-80s/early-90s leagues, prior to interleague play and regional sports networks that televise every game (in Seattle at least -- places where baseball was more popular probably had more games available to watch every season). Back then, unless the player was an all-star or played for a team that the Mariners played a lot, the only way I knew what they looked like was their baseball card.

billt721 wrote:

I think it also probably depends on how well you know baseball. I've tried to get into Football Manager a few times and bounced off after a few hours because I just don't know enough about the sport.

True. I'm a quite casual F1 fan, and while I've thought quite a bit about getting Motorsport Manager, I just don't know enough about the sport to really give the game 100%.

I felt similarly about FM, but by the time I jumped in on it, I'd been begun watching the game and playing so much FIFA that I wasn't coming at it from the cold. It still look at lot of learning though (ah, Championship Manager 01/02. Glory days).