OOTP Developments Newsletter (More info on OOTP6...)

[Ben E Lou]

I'd imagine that many of you got this a few seconds ago, but just in case...

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Welcome to the first official OOTP 6 newsletter; and what better way to launch this publication than to present the first screenshots of the game, and to offer you an incredible pre-ordering opportunity. Out of the Park 6 is rapidly approaching beta testing and should be ready for release around Opening Day! OOTP 6 Screenshots OOTP 6 main screen, using the default OOTP 6 skin Basic league setup screen League financial and roster rules setup screen Game engine setup screen Team transaction screen, with enabled 40 man roster and waivers Player viewer main screen, with ratings displayed Player viewer main screen, with contract/roster status displayed Player ratings screen Waiver wire screen Creating a custom league Preorder OOTP 6 now and save an incredible 25% off the regular price! Yes, that's right! We have looked hard for a way to reward long time OOTP customers with an update price, but due to technical reasons, finding a way to do so has not been easy. The only solution was to create a temporary cutback in price, so we've decided to start a specially limited time preorder period, where the price of the game has been reduced from $34.99 to just $25.99! Preorder now and you get OOTP 6 almost 25% cheaper than the normal price. Remember, the special pricing will only last until the product's official release. After that, OOTP 6 will revert to it's regular price of $34.99. And with the $9.00 you save, you can buy a beer and a hot dog to savor while you play the best baseball simulation on the market! PREORDER OOTP 6 NOW FOR JUST $25.99 OOTP 6 isn't Just the Same Game in a New Wrapper! Too often companies change the year on their game and call it a new version. Well, not us. Out of the Part 6 boasts numerous new or improved features. This year, for example, we have focused heavily on overhauling the financial system, implementing realistic roster rules, improving the computer AI and installing a brand new game engine. Read on for the full story: Player Ratings Players now have the ability to customize the ratings scales used when viewing player attributes. You can even choose different scales for "abilities", "talent" and "other" ratings. The different scales are 1 to 5, 2 to 8 (like the MLB's scouting bureau), 1 to 10, 1 to 20 and 1 to 100. Perhaps best of all, you can choose to "turn off" any or all of these to increase the difficulty level of the game. Financial Engine and Roster Rules New advanced options have been added to increase the realism and present the general manager with the same issues a real life general manager would face. The standard active roster limit of 25 is in place, but you can customize it up to 50 to accommodate those late September call-ups. Standard 40-man rosters have been implemented as well, thereby adding an additional dimension to GM strategy. No longer will players be allowed to horde good players in the minor league system. The Rule 5 draft, option years and minor league free agency will all be balls the GM will need to learn to juggle to keep his roster finely tuned and adequately flexible. In addition, arbitration has been fine-tuned and is now based on ML service. Thus, call-ups late in the season to check out your top prospects do not artificially hit you in the pocket book like they used to. Need to make a trade after the trading deadline? You can do that as well by having the players to be traded clear waivers. Just like in real life, make sure that division rival below you doesn't claim the player(s) you're trading for first. Customization has always been a key feature of the OOTP series, and it remains present in OOTP 6 as well. Don't want to play with option years? Want to change the length of time it takes to clear waivers, or to change the number of days required to qualify as one year of major league service? No problem. OOTP6 allows you to make those changes and literally dozens more, putting YOU in control of the game rather then letting the game control you. Game/Ratings Engine OOTP has completely embraced DIPS theory and the new game engine reflects that. This greatly enhances the statistical accuracy of the game on a micro and macro level. Because of the new engine, scouting of players is more true-to-life and causes the general manager to look at the individual player's skills as it relates to real baseball. The general and field management AI has changed as well. No longer will the AI just look at a player's ratings when making decisions. Now, the game will also take his performance into account - not just the current year, but his past performance as well. What kind of weight will the AI give to performance? As always, that's up to you - you can literally make it the ONLY thing the AI looks at, or turn it off completely. Want to simulate different eras of baseball with a fictional league? You can now modify the player creation routine to make the players perform the way you want. Want to decrease the amount of homeruns? Decrease the power ratings across the board. Want to see more steals? Increase the stealing ratings. The possibilities are endless. Think that it takes too long to groom a pitcher in the minor leagues? Well now you have the option to not only increase/decrease development speed league-wide, but also modify the aging routines. Again, play the way YOU want to play. Other new features - Head to Head online play. This enables online league members to play their games head to head. The game results will be automatically uploaded to the league FTP server, so the league commissioner can easily import them and bring the league files up to date. - Better amateur draft, with college/high school stats and signing bonuses. - Completely rebuilt, adjustable player development algorithms result in more realistic player models with a bigger variety than ever before! - Adjustable player evaluation AI. OOTP 6 now has the option to use statistics in the process of evaluation player value. - Stealing tendencies have been added to the league era settings. - Historical league imports have been improved, and the system is now fully compatible with the latest Lahman Database (www.baseball1.com). - The recoded fielding system in the game engine now ensures that the effect of defense is as close to real life as possible. - Better in-game AI for pinch hitting, pitcher changes, substitutions and game strategy makes for even more realistic and more challenging solo play. And these are only the highlights of the new features and improved mechanics of the game recently nominated as "Sports Game of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (www.interactive.org). OOTP Online Survey Help us so that we can help you by producing even better products. Please take a minute and fill out our online survey; by doing so, you'll not only provide us with the valuable information that we need, you can also win your choice of games from one of 5 OOTP Developments products! All the information received will be saved in a database for our internal use only, and will never be given to others. Please only click the Submit button once. Providing your email address is optional, but is needed if you want to take part in our contest: We will randomly choose 5 participants who provided their email address to receive a license for an OOTP product of their choice. Submissions will be accepted until April 25th! Click here to open the Online Survey! Welcome Our new OOTP Developments Team member! We are pleased to announce that we have been able to add a valuable contributor to our baseball development team, Craig Scarborough. Craig has been designing sports games since he was 11 years old. Motivated by his love of sports game design, Craig became interested in mathematics and programming. An avid reader and programmer, he began writing his own baseball simulation based on available statistics and his own research. In 2004, Craig and Markus began a dialogue on how OOTP could further increase its statistical accuracy by introducing some of Craig's suggested changes to the game engine. Craig, his wife and two children currently reside in Delaware. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, we hope you enjoyed it! Bye, and see you on Opening Day :-)
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/imag...ner_bottom.jpg); BACKGROUND-REPEAT: no-repeat" vAlign=bottom align=middle height="1%"> Copyright © 2004 by Out of the Park Developments. All Rights Reserved - Privacy Policy and Copyright Information - Impressum

[Ksyrup]

Wow. I'm almost wondering if there's too much customization. I hope the defaults will provide a realistic simulation. For example, I have no clue what percentage a player's stats vs. ratings should count. I might want to tinker with the percentages, but probably, I'll want the game to have a default accuracy that would only need to be adjusted for personal preference, not to make it "more accurate."

Still, I can't wait for this game to be released.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I might want to tinker with the percentages, but probably, I'll want the game to have a default accuracy that would only need to be adjusted for personal preference, not to make it "more accurate."

Bingo. Markus, Craig, etc., PLEASE don't make this a game like Madden or something where the community has to spend weeks figuring out "slider settings" to make the game accurate.

[Ksyrup]

With a $9 price break, and the CD version costing $10, you can essentially buy the download version AND the CD version for what would be the regular price. I might just do that.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

With a $9 price break, and the CD version costing $10, you can essentially buy the download version AND the CD version for what would be the regular price. I might just do that.

That's great. I find it amazing that FOF and OOTP have found a way to discount their games to loyal customers while the competitors say there is no possible way to do this for their current batch of games.

[amdaily]

The sole factor that made me not purchase OOTP5, and return OOTP 6 is sim speed time. Even on a 2GHZ Athlon with 256RAM, it crawls. Has the new engine changed sim speed time at all?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by amdaily

The sole factor that made me not purchase OOTP5, and return OOTP 6 is sim speed time. Even on a 2GHZ Athlon with 256RAM, it crawls. Has the new engine changed sim speed time at all?

Did you try turning off anti-virus? I found that the sim speed was pretty decent once AV software was disabled.

[ScottVib]

Originally Posted by Antmeister71

That's great. I find it amazing that FOF and OOTP have found a way to discount their games to loyal customers while the competitors say there is no possible way to do this for their current batch of games.

Keep in mind this reduced price is for ALL customers, not just the existing fan base. So it's not so much a reward of loyal customers, as it is a reward for pre-ordering the game. Now of course chances are the most loyal customers will be the first to take advantage of it, and that's a good thing.

As Markus said himself:

We have been trying to figure out a fair and easy upgrade option for OOTP owners, but because of the eLicense system this is really a hassle and is close to impossible. Anyway, this year we will start a preordering period (starts next week, after the newsletter), where you can preorder OOTP 6 for just $25.99, instead of the $34.99 it will cost once the game is released. This applies no matter if you already own a previous version of OOTP or not. We want to do this because we feel it's finally the time to give all you longtime customers a chance to finally get some sort of an upgrade price

With elicense it really is close to impossible to do an upgrade price.

[Neuqua]

Head to head online play? Did I read that right?

That could be huge for all the online leagues. I can't tell you how many times I look at the game logs of crucial World Series games and flinch when I see my manager leave my SP in too long or pinch-run too early. I'd like to hear more about this feature.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Did you try turning off anti-virus? I found that the sim speed was pretty decent once AV software was disabled.

I also get great sim times, with sim-minors enabled, and I'm on a P4-1.7.

I think it takes less than 5 minutes to sim an entire season.

A couple of thoughts


1. The customization is just too much. Why not just make the game simulate as close to real baseball out of the gate? What is with all of this stuff? And i'm not talking about adjustments that affect era play, but rather financials and GM type features.

2. I see from the above roster transaction screen that the minors again do not require or limit 25 men at each level. Also, the fill minors option remains. Why do I get the feeling this portion of the game has not been addressed? Please don't tell me "ghost players" are part of OOTP once agian. I mean, it so childish. It reminds me of when I was a kid playing sandlot baseball and we would usse "ghost runners" because we couldn't round up enough people to play. It doesn't remind me of what a Major League Baseball simulation should be- that's for sure. Also has the A.I. for calling up and sending down minor leaguers been adjusted. I sure hope so. I don't see what is so difficult about making each minor league roster just like the major league one- with the exception that the players aren't as good.

3. I really hope a realistic draft model has been implemented. And that means if I want 50 rounds, then I want it to work correctly.


There, that's my rant for the day.

[Huckleberry]

50 rounds doesn't make sense with only one single A team. Perhaps you want them to implement a High A, Low A, and rookie league team in addition to AAA and AA in the future.

Without that, 50 rounds seems pointless to me.

well then yes, that's what i want. I want a dead on simulation of MLB.

[ISiddiqui]

Wow... all sorts of great additions. I just pre-ordered it .

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel1

well then yes, that's what i want. I want a dead on simulation of MLB.

And you are not alone.

[Subby]

As long as I can still schedule promotional days, I will pre-order this puppy!!!

[Neuqua]

I wonder if it's possible for Markus and OOTPdev to get in touch with Jeff Cato and include Cato's utility into the game.

That alone would be enough for me to purchase the game. Anyone have any ideas?

[Maple Leafs]

I have to admit, I'm disappointed that the changes to the "financial engine" are all really just more roster management choices.

I would have liked to have seen features like:

- Improved contract negotiations. Player demands will change over the season based on player and team performance. Wait too long to negotiate and players may get upset. Players also may perform differently based on their contract status and their happiness on the team.

- Players can now demand no-trade clauses.

- You will never, ever again find out that a player won't tell you how much money the want to sign a contract! "Make an offer" is dead! Dead!

- We fixed that damned merchandising bug!

have to admit, I'm disappointed that the changes to the "financial engine" are all really just more roster management choices.

I would have liked to have seen features like:

- Improved contract negotiations. Player demands will change over the season based on player and team performance. Wait too long to negotiate and players may get upset. Players also may perform differently based on their contract status and their happiness on the team.

- Players can now demand no-trade clauses.

- You will never, ever again find out that a player won't tell you how much money the want to sign a contract! "Make an offer" is dead! Dead!

- We fixed that damned merchandising bug!
__________________

Ageed.


"As long as I can still schedule promotional days, I will pre-order this puppy!!!"

I really hope that is sarcasim.

[Easy Mac]

Does anyone else think waivers may take a few tries before it works correctly? There just seem to be a lot of variables that need to be accounted for that go beyond the normal transaction model.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

I wonder if it's possible for Markus and OOTPdev to get in touch with Jeff Cato and include Cato's utility into the game.

That alone would be enough for me to purchase the game. Anyone have any ideas?

Looks like they're going to talk about it.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel1

A couple of thoughts


1. The customization is just too much. Why not just make the game simulate as close to real baseball out of the gate? What is with all of this stuff? And i'm not talking about adjustments that affect era play, but rather financials and GM type features.

2. I see from the above roster transaction screen that the minors again do not require or limit 25 men at each level. Also, the fill minors option remains. Why do I get the feeling this portion of the game has not been addressed? Please don't tell me "ghost players" are part of OOTP once agian. I mean, it so childish. It reminds me of when I was a kid playing sandlot baseball and we would usse "ghost runners" because we couldn't round up enough people to play. It doesn't remind me of what a Major League Baseball simulation should be- that's for sure. Also has the A.I. for calling up and sending down minor leaguers been adjusted. I sure hope so. I don't see what is so difficult about making each minor league roster just like the major league one- with the exception that the players aren't as good.

3. I really hope a realistic draft model has been implemented. And that means if I want 50 rounds, then I want it to work correctly.


There, that's my rant for the day.

When I was making FB1/2, my goal was to make a "dead-on" sim of MLB. To hell with customization - play the way it's really played. However, you'd be surprised how people play OOTP. People want no financials at all, people want a salary cap, people want 40-man rosters, people want 5 round drafts, people want an amateur draft that could almost go on forever (as in RL), people want to create a league based on the Federal League of the early 1900's. Markus a long time ago went down the road where customization became the hallmark of OOTP. Heck, when we were talking about adding the additions to OOTP6, I mentioned nothing about turning individual features off and on - he added that himself. But, you'd be amazed (or at least I am) how important this stuff is for the customer base.

-Craig

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Markus a long time ago went down the road where customization became the hallmark of OOTP.

I hear what you're saying Craig, but I hope you don't mind if some of us periodically lament the fact that one of the "custom options" wasn't "play the way it's really played."

Kinda seems to me that would have been the most obvious customization of all.

[Buccaneer]

Jon: wouldn't that be the default settings?

It seems to me that most of the customization deal with "bells and whistles", like rating scale, league size, etc. I would think the default era settings would still produce decent stats and developments.

I like what Craig said. I do not and never plan to play modern baseball (fictional or real) in solo play. I'm in OOTP only for the Lahman database and historical teams/leagues. To me, that is the most fundamental aspect of a baseball sim.

By the way, I tend to skip over many of the arguments that folks here present on AI and other critical issues. It is my perception that playing with the Lahman produces a different game (and competitiveness) than using OOTP's modern fictional rosters. The main difference I have experienced is the draft in which the AI can easily grab really good players and thus, remain (or become) a harder team to beat. Same thing is true for the free agency where self-imposed team cap really makes it hard to compete in the FA market.

As always, I am looking for improvements in the GM game: keep improving the trading algorithm, AI roster management and AI financials. About the only major house rules I still play with is no cap for the AI teams and a lower cap for my team. I would like that to be improved to no matter what cap I play with, I will have to work at fielding a competitive team.

As far as personal customization, all of the ones that I need have been there since v.4. I don't really look for anymore. This would include Reduced Talent, custom league sizes/team names, stadiums and start date/schedule. The rest (like the era baselines) I don't want to mess with.

[sabotai]

Preordered...because I know I'll eventually grab it like I did the last version. Might as well jump on the the price decrease.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Preordered...because I know I'll eventually grab it like I did the last version. Might as well jump on the the price decrease.

Word. Did the same thing myself.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel1

A couple of thoughts


1. The customization is just too much. Why not just make the game simulate as close to real baseball out of the gate? What is with all of this stuff? And i'm not talking about adjustments that affect era play, but rather financials and GM type features.

BEcause not all of OOTP audience plays with real major league rules, or major league scenarios- in fact, I venture most graduate to fictional players and fictional environments in the long run. Why is meeting their needs in any way a downside ?

2. I see from the above roster transaction screen that the minors again do not require or limit 25 men at each level. Also, the fill minors option remains. Why do I get the feeling this portion of the game has not been addressed? Please don't tell me "ghost players" are part of OOTP once agian. I mean, it so childish. It reminds me of when I was a kid playing sandlot baseball and we would usse "ghost runners" because we couldn't round up enough people to play. It doesn't remind me of what a Major League Baseball simulation should be- that's for sure. Also has the A.I. for calling up and sending down minor leaguers been adjusted. I sure hope so. I don't see what is so difficult about making each minor league roster just like the major league one- with the exception that the players aren't as good.


3. I really hope a realistic draft model has been implemented. And that means if I want 50 rounds, then I want it to work correctly.

Once again, its more than a MLB simulation- and for the vast majority of the audience, that holds true. I'd like to see a more fun draft as well- and I think working on the talent distribution in there is a priority. As for the 50 round draft, no game out there can fully simulate that at the time being- I like that idea, but its very hard to do.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Preordered...because I know I'll eventually grab it like I did the last version. Might as well jump on the the price decrease.

Ditto.

[FBPro]

Want "MLB" grab Diamond Mind or Strat-O-Matic.

small problem- no career play.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Jon: wouldn't that be the default settings?

Considering that the original context about "the way it's played" began from a post that talked about the absence of realistic minor league roster & such, I believe the answer to your question would not only be "no", but "Hell no".

[Bad-example]

I will wait for release and see what the buzz is for this game. Unless the interface is getting some major improvement over previous versions I doubt I will buy at all.

[kingnebwsu]

How long will the discount last? Just til the game comes out? Just a week? I'm just wondering, because no release date will probably ever be announced.

[yabanci]

Originally Posted by kingnebwsu

How long will the discount last? Just til the game comes out? Just a week? I'm just wondering, because no release date will probably ever be announced.

It says the price will go back up upon release.

By the way, I thought this was a really good marketing email. I have so little interest in real-life baseball anymore that the thought of OOTP doesn't even appeal to me right now. But after reading the email I was reminded why I like simulated baseball better than real baseball and got excited about the game.

[kingnebwsu]

It was a very good marketing E-mail. It focuses on all the new&exciting features, and none of the stuff that always pisses me off As for how long the special will go, it's not irrelevant to me, as I just preordered it. There's no way I could not get OOTP until the actual price-drop.

Lousy manipulative dogs

[yabanci]

yeah, I was going to say that after I got excited about the game, I came here and was reminded about its frustrating limitations. Neverthertheless, I've always had fun playing OOTP and in some ways being detached from the actual game makes it much easier to accept the flaws in the simulation.