OOTP 2007

[Marc Duffy]

Announced today and dated for 23rd March 2007

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=3683

Key Features and improvements

Improved interface and usability

OOTP Baseball 2007 features some great user interface improvements that make the game easier and more enjoyable, including: a league creation wizard, a simplified navigation model with intuitive icons, a detailed in-game help system, improved in-game screens, and manager and online league commissioner “portals” that centralize the most commonly-used tasks.

The ultimate control over your baseball universe

OOTP Baseball 2007’s flexibility in configuring a baseball universe is unparalleled. Players have complete control over the structure, rules, and finances of their world, including the new abilities to add or delete leagues at any time, to have leagues “feed” players into other leagues and many other new league options. No simulation game has ever been this flexible.

Huge advances in the historical league experience

Historical leagues now feature an automatic expansion mode, including protection lists and expansion drafts. OOTP Baseball 2007 can also now import the history of a league prior to the selected year, giving players complete historical data and record books! Other new historical features include automatic adjustment of league financials, league strategies and rules (i.e. playoff format, schedule length). Sports Interactive re-introduce the concept of ghost players and the new option to block fictional players from reaching the major leagues. Combined with vastly improved statistical accuracy in historical leagues, the end result is the best possible way to replay the history of baseball starting in 1901, but yet with OOTP Baseball 2007 characteristic flexibility. A historical fan’s dream.

Fictional

Fictional leagues come to life like never before, thanks to the help of a wider variety of league news & stories, a player morale and popularity system and the ability to create fictional player portraits using the FaceGen technology.

Online

The online league mode of OOTP Baseball 2007 has never been more user-friendly and functional than in this year’s edition. The new commissioner portal will greatly reduce the administrative burden of running a league. Online GMs benefit from new features as well, such as an automatic waiver pullback option and an adjustable draft pool date that will give online leagues much more flexibility in processing amateur drafts. Commissioners can also now add and edit league news items and write game recaps, which will display both in-game and on league HTML reports. Commissioners can also send messages to all users and manually select all-star team members and award winners, including a new custom award of player’s choice! These features are available in solo play as well!

League expansion wizard

The new league expansion wizard helps you expand your league much more smoothly by scheduling an expansion draft and handling the submission of protection lists.

Trading

The trading model in OOTP Baseball 2007 has been vastly improved. GMs can now mark players as “untouchable” or “on the block,” with a corresponding effect on that player’s morale! The “shop player” feature allows you to quickly identify desirable trading partners and new trade-related reports put all of the information you need right at your fingertips. A “make this work now” button asks player’s trading partners to tell them exactly what is needed to make a deal under negotiation to happen immediately!

In-game experience

The experience for those players who enjoy playing out each game has improved greatly in OOTP Baseball 2007, including: strategic one-pitch mode, more natural play-by-play text, a “short PbP” option that displays just the outcome of the play and many other improvements to the in-game screens. Additionally, players can now write their own recap of the game that will appear in a game news article and will be saved along with the history of their game!

Improved AI and player development

The AI does a better job of managing its team than ever before and extensive statistical analysis and testing results in the most realistic player development system in any baseball simulation game.

Returning “fan favorite” features

Based on popular demand, a number of “fan favorite” features from previous versions of OOTP will return in OOTP Baseball 2007, including: an optional star-based rating system, adjustable AI player evaluation based on statistics/ratings, weather, ghost players, bullpen warm-up, and team focus.

[KWhit]

Some really nice features there, Marc.

[RedKingGold]

Definitely looks like some improvements were made, however, I'm probably going to save my cold, hard "cashe" for DDS Pro Basketball and play that and FOF2K7 until about summer. Maybe then, I'll come back to OOTP and really look at getting this game.

[JPhillips]

I hope it delivers. I've been pretty hard on OOTP2006, but I'll buy again if reviews are good. I'm also interested in how they'll price it.

[Marc Duffy]

$34.99, €29.99.

Screenshots etc on www.ootpbaseball.net (might be a little slow right now!)

[Ksyrup]

I really want to give this game a fresh try this year, and if the historical sim improvements deliver, it looks like this game will be well-worth my money.

[Markus Heinsohn]

I really want to give this game a fresh try this year, and if the historical sim improvements deliver, it looks like this game will be well-worth my money.

You won't regret it :)

[Pumpy Tudors]

baseball mongrel the better game this year

[Ksyrup]

You won't regret it :)

*opens can of worms*

Is that a money-back guarantee? ;)

[spleen1015]

The new features have me intrigued. I'll keep an eye on it.

[Bee]

Definitely buying. The historic sim improvements have me pretty excited if they can deliver. Also looks like many of the complaints from the last version have been addressed.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Here is the full feature list:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=137884

As you can see, we've added tons of stuff, brought back missing features from 6.5, and tweaked existing features. I am confident that this game will be the best baseball magagement sim ever. :)

[Swaggs]

Man.... This:

- Added 2 new leagues levels: College & High School

and expansion will make this a must-buy. Hopefully they make it in.

[lighthousekeeper]

I really want to give this game a fresh try this year, and if the historical sim improvements deliver, it looks like this game will be well-worth my money.

As a beta tester, I don't think I can say too much, but I will say one thing regarding Historical simming. I was never a historical simmer before, always preferring to just sim fictional leagues. But the new historical features in ootp07 are so cool (in particular the 'import complete history' feature and "ability to view real career stats" feature) that I've now found myself doing historical sims. I'll shut up now.

[edit] Actually...1 more thing: those on the beta team who are historical freaks seem to be very pleased with the statistical accuracy in historical simming.

[Ksyrup]

That's what really has caught my eye. IIRC, Cato or someone had devised a way to set up league records for particular points in history to accomplish roughly the same thing, but it was all manual. Same with the expansion draft, which I remember giving some advice on in this forum about how I did my own manual draft. To see these options in the game automatically - assuming they work, of course - has me frothing at the mouth, to be honest.

Football and other sports have always been different for me, which is why I have given Jim a pass on the historical/customizable league thing, but with baseball, I tend to start at a particular point in history and either play a real team years later, or sim up to the present and take over a real team with a league that now has an alternate history. This has really got me excited, so I hope it comes through reasonably well.

[Bee]

I'm really hoping you can take over an expansion team to start off a historic sim, so you can recreate the expansion draft and everything.

[Markus Heinsohn]

That's what really has caught my eye. IIRC, Cato or someone had devised a way to set up league records for particular points in history to accomplish roughly the same thing, but it was all manual. Same with the expansion draft, which I remember giving some advice on in this forum about how I did my own manual draft. To see these options in the game automatically - assuming they work, of course - has me frothing at the mouth, to be honest.

Football and other sports have always been different for me, which is why I have given Jim a pass on the historical/customizable league thing, but with baseball, I tend to start at a particular point in history and either play a real team years later, or sim up to the present and take over a real team with a league that now has an alternate history. This has really got me excited, so I hope it comes through reasonably well.

Oh, they already work perfectly. For example, when you import 1962, you'll have the complete history up to that point. Think baseball-reference.com 45 years ago ;) For example, Maris holds the single season HR record, Ruth the all-time record, Cy Young is the W leader etc. All the other historical reports work with this as well, so you can check who the positional starters were on the 1924 Yankees, or who won the MVP in 1955. All there. :)

[Markus Heinsohn]

I'm really hoping you can take over an expansion team to start off a historic sim, so you can recreate the expansion draft and everything.

Sure :) Expansion is held after the season ends, for example in November 1992 the game will automatically add the Rockies & Marlins. So you can take control of them, and work through the expansion draft. And then try to win the WS in 1997 ;)

[Ksyrup]

Awesome. Cato did a fantastic job manually setting that kind of stuff up for the previous version (I guess it was 6.5 I last played), and it really added a lot to the experience. Before that, I always forced myself to start in the early 1900s so I wouldn't have that "black hole" of history. Now I can start in 1980, say, and have it all there.

How do you deal with the Babe Ruth pitcher/OF thing - is he (and lesser players like him) still going to be an anomaly that is hard to deal with (i.e., pick one or the other), or have you found some way to resolve this that would allow him to be a pitcher and then switch to OF a few years later.

[Markus Heinsohn]

How do you deal with the Babe Ruth pitcher/OF thing - is he (and lesser players like him) still going to be an anomaly that is hard to deal with (i.e., pick one or the other), or have you found some way to resolve this that would allow him to be a pitcher and then switch to OF a few years later.

We have added an optional historical mode to recalculate player ratings after each year, based on a time frame of 1, 3 or 5 years. If used, this will basically turn Ruth into a RF in the same year he did in real life.

We call this mode the "Hall of Fame Mode", as it creates careers which are pretty close to real life, so players who had HOF careers are a good bet to get in there in OOTP as well. :)

[Ksyrup]

That sounds like a decent way to do it. Is this an option that can be turned on and off throughout a career? For instance, let's say I want to play with more of an "unknown" experience where guys might not develop as they did IRL, so I turn this off, but around 1918-19 I want Ruth to become a hitter, so I could switch this on at the end of the preceding year, have him (and everyone else in the league, I guess) recalculated, then switch it off?

If not, that's just something I would deal with. Since the history gets imported anyway, and he's clearly the most significant player this impacts, I'd probably just start after 1920 or so to avoid the issue altogether.

[Markus Heinsohn]

That sounds like a decent way to do it. Is this an option that can be turned on and off throughout a career? For instance, let's say I want to play with more of an "unknown" experience where guys might not develop as they did IRL, so I turn this off, but around 1918-19 I want Ruth to become a hitter, so I could switch this on at the end of the preceding year, have him (and everyone else in the league, I guess) recalculated, then switch it off?

Yes, you can turn this on or off at any time :)

[JPhillips]

Markus: I really want to believe that this game is going to be great. A little advice though, after some of the problems OOTP has had I'd stay away from making blanket claims like "best ever" and "works perfectly". You're just setting yourself up for a future beating.

[Icy]

So we can come out of the closet! :D

The game is greatly improved from 2006, most of the 6.5 requested features are back in 2007 after being missing in 2006, like the stars, shop player around, minors ghost players (optional) for those running historical leagues, etc. And even better, all them are optional.

We have also the great baseball statistician RonCo in the beta team that is pushing Markus all the time with his suggestions to improve the engine to make it 99% realistic. So far I'm impressed with the historical leagues stats, some of the divisions mirror perfectly real life even with the teams having the same amount of wins/loses and stuff like that. I'm learning a lot only from reading RonCo's threads full of stats analysis for every beta build.

Now the built-in facegen... this alone is amazing for the immersion factor. Every player/coach/scout/gm has an auto generated picture of his face, and for the players, the uniform changes automatically when they switch teams. Of course it can be turned off too and/or you can use real pics alone or mixed with the fictional ones.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Markus: I really want to believe that this game is going to be great. A little advice though, after some of the problems OOTP has had I'd stay away from making blanket claims like "best ever" and "works perfectly". You're just setting yourself up for a future beating.

Maybe you're right. But I am really excited about this game. It won't be perfect in every area, of course. But I never had this much fun playing my own game before. And that says something :)

[lighthousekeeper]

So we can come out of the closet! :D

The game is greatly improved from 2006, most of the 6.5 requested features are back in 2007 after being missing in 2006, like the stars, shop player around, minors ghost players (optional) for those running historical leagues, etc. And even better, all them are optional.

We have also the great baseball statistician RonCo in the beta team that is pushing Markus all the time with his suggestions to improve the engine to make it 99% realistic. So far I'm impressed with the historical leagues stats, some of the perfectly divisions mirror real life even with the teams having the same amount of wins/loses and stuff like that. I'm learning a lot only from reading RonCo's threads full of stats analysis for every beta build.

Now the built-in facegen... this alone is amazing for the immersion factor. Every player/coach/scout/gm has an auto generated picture of his face, and for the players, the uniform changes automatically when they switch teams. Of course it can be turned off too and/or you can use real pics alone or mixed with the fictional ones.

I echo Icy's comments. As someone who played ootp 6.5 extensively, then hated ootp06, i have to say some of the best features are the non-glamorous ones. My favorite improvements are:

- strategic one-pitch. Now when playing out games you can toggle between pich-by-pitch or strategic 1-pitch
- instant play-by-play . Sometimes playing out games could be tedious - but now you can set the pbp speed to instant and there is no delay. it really makes playing out games more enjoyable
- ghost players: this is important not only for historical simmers, but for those that sim fictional that don't want to spend their entire lifetime managing all 150 players in their organization - so it's got back that nice v6.5 simplicity
- shop player: yes!
- stats-based AI: it's back and it is actually implemented better than it was in 6.5
- little things like: custom award (let's me finally have Rollaids Relief Man in the game), edit player history, 'match offer' makes contract negotiations easier, lineup/depth chart is easier to use

[Tyrith]

I really hope this improves on 06. I've wanted a new solid baseball sim for a couple of years, but the UI of OOTP 06 was just too bad. However, it seems like good progress, and I must say I'm really excited now.

[Senator]

I am very willing to support this game. Sounds like the new stuff is great. Looking forward to it.

[CraigSca]

You'll have my $34.95. Looks great!

[Young Drachma]

I enjoyed 2006 quite a bit, even if there were some problems with it that I knew they needed to fix. I generally get more enjoyment out of text sims than I ever do console games that I spend more for, so..I figure that if the game improves dramatically, I'm in.

I hope this one doesn't make us wait as long as last year, but..so long as it gets here and there aren't major showstopping bugs, I'm looking forward to seeing the new version. Almost makes me want to stop my dynasties until the game comes out.

[Icy]

I hope this one doesn't make us wait as long as last year, but..so long as it gets here and there aren't major showstopping bugs, I'm looking forward to seeing the new version. Almost makes me want to stop my dynasties until the game comes out.

You won't wait a lot, as marc wrote: dated for 23rd March 2007

And about your 2006 dynasties, they can be played in 2007 (also the 6.5 ones), so you don't need to stop them now.

[Young Drachma]

You won't wait a lot, as marc wrote: dated for 23rd March 2007

And about your 2006 dynasties, they can be played in 2007 (also the 6.5 ones), so you don't need to stop them now.

It's usually easier to start over though, with all of the new features and stuff, it's not as fun to try to continue over. But I'll play it by ear.

[lungs]

Do managers and coaches accumulate history?

[Markus Heinsohn]

Do managers and coaches accumulate history?

Yes, GM's and manager now feature a history... and in the history report you can see for example the leaders in wins, winning% etc.

[lungs]

Yes, GM's and manager now feature a history... and in the history report you can see for example the leaders in wins, winning% etc.

Awesome. That'll definitely get me more into the coach/GM aspect.

So with the ability to have high school leagues will that also in essence mean we can create youth leagues in countries like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic but instead of feeding into the draft they would simply become free agents at age 16?

[MizzouRah]

"Sounds" like baseball nirvana. I *hope* it delivers. Definitly will purchase if the FOFC clan gives its approval. Would LOVE to see what my new pc can do with this game.

[CraigSca]

Other PCs AI better, Todd.

[MizzouRah]

Other PCs AI better, Todd.

fix ai markus or puresim get my vote

[Maple Leafs]

A “make this work now” button asks player’s trading partners to tell them exactly what is needed to make a deal under negotiation to happen immediately!
Will this result in a deal that's tilted in the CPU's favor (but could have been better with a little more human work), or will it be a sort of "reveal the answer" shortcut to negotiations?

[Markus Heinsohn]

Will this result in a deal that's tilted in the CPU's favor (but could have been better with a little more human work),

Just that :)

[Cringer]

I skipped 2006 and went with PureSim for the first time and enjoyed it. Maybe I will give OOTP another chance once reviews start coming in. Sounds good.

[dervack]

As someone who hated 2006 and said so many times on these boards, I think this year's OOTP is miles above last year's. I've too never been a big historical guy, but I find myself creating leagues to replay the past few years to see if I can make the Cubs a WS contender. Unfortunately, much like real life, it doesn't work.

[Ksyrup]

OOTP imports Bartman too?

[Izulde]

Expansion? With a draft built in? High school and college ball?

Man oh man, I'm positively giddy.

That still leaves two questions:

1. Ratings able to be universally 1-100? With 100+ ratings available for those superlative types?
2. Sim speeds?

[Ksyrup]

Have contract negotiations progressed from the way they were handled in the older versions of the game? I hated the '3 strikes and your out' guessing game-style of negotiating.

[Maple Leafs]

Just that :)
In that case... cool feature.

[Icy]

Expansion? With a draft built in? High school and college ball?

Man oh man, I'm positively giddy.

That still leaves two questions:

1. Ratings able to be universally 1-100? With 100+ ratings available for those superlative types?
2. Sim speeds?

Ratings can be set to none, 1-5, 2-8, 1-10, 1-20 and 1-100. Internaly are stored from 1 to 250 (you can see them from 1 to 250 in the editor). I would say from 200 to 250 are for those superlative guys 100+. I think this has not changed from 2006.

[King of New York]

I enjoyed OOTP 6.51, passed on OOTP 2K6, but if the historical simming lives up to expectations, I'll certainly buy OOTP 2k7

I want mad numbers of deadball-era fielding errors.

[Coder]

As someone who hated 2006 and said so many times on these boards, I think this year's OOTP is miles above last year's. I've too never been a big historical guy, but I find myself creating leagues to replay the past few years to see if I can make the Cubs a WS contender. Unfortunately, much like real life, it doesn't work.

This comment made me impressed. Not because of how you feel of the game (well that too), but rather the fact that Markus and SI had the guts to hire someone who's previously stated he really didn't like 2006 as a beta-tester for 2007(I'm not mistaken here am I?).

I think this shows a great commitment to the users from the developers to not "only" listen to the die-hard fans, but also the ones who have negative opinions (which were probably constructive none the less).

[Markus Heinsohn]

This comment made me impressed. Not because of how you feel of the game (well that too), but rather the fact that Markus and SI had the guts to hire someone who's previously stated he really didn't like 2006 as a beta-tester for 2007(I'm not mistaken here am I?).

I think this shows a great commitment to the users from the developers to not "only" listen to the die-hard fans, but also the ones who have negative opinions (which were probably constructive none the less).

We have several beta testers who didn't enjoy OOTP 2006, but showed the interest to improve the game. I think the only way to improve a game is to listen to its critics :)

[Schmidty]

OOTP2006 was the biggest disappointment in my gaming life.

I've always supported OOTP, so even though I got burned before, I'll be giving 2007 a shot (a few weeks after release).

[JPhillips]

Can we take Markus' smiley privileges away?

[DanGarion]

We have several beta testers who didn't enjoy OOTP 2006, but showed the interest to improve the game. I think the only way to improve a game is to listen to its critics :)

I'm very happy you guys took this approach. I loved 2006 just for being able to view so many stats but I haven't ever really played single player with it, I just let the game sim out for fun. I've always enjoyed the break out the box option to do this with OOTP, and I wish other developers would understand that some us just want to do this and not actually GM a specific team. (FOF...)

[Markus Heinsohn]

Can we take Markus' smiley privileges away?

Nooooo. I'm a happy person, I smile a lot! *insertsmileyhere*

[Galaril]

Marcus,
Sounds good. One question about foreign players. Will we see a little more realistic depiction of players from outside of the traditonally strong countries in baseball. So will we still see alot of players coming from Rwanda or is it going to depend what countries we allow at setup. Also, will foreign contracts be more realistic?

[Eaglesfan27]

I really want to give this game a fresh try this year, and if the historical sim improvements deliver, it looks like this game will be well-worth my money.


Ditto. I'm not going to buy until I see many good reviews on here or am able to play the demo a good length of time, but I'm hoping this game delivers.

[Fouts]

Expansion? OMG. Instant buy for me.

I didn't see anything regarding computer GM/Manager records (similar to WWSM). Is that going to make it in?

[FBPro]

Pretty sure Markus said this in this thread.

[Fouts]

Here is the full feature list:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=137884

As you can see, we've added tons of stuff, brought back missing features from 6.5, and tweaked existing features. I am confident that this game will be the best baseball magagement sim ever. :)

Holy crap, what a list. What are the % chances this will be out by MLB opening day?

[Fouts]

Pretty sure Markus said this in this thread.

Yep, I read further. It is in there. Looking forward to this.

[Toddzilla]

Maybe you're right. But I am really excited about this game. It won't be perfect in every area, of course. But I never had this much fun playing my own game before. And that says something :)That's a big stretch - comparing how well the creator of the game likes playing it to how your average slob like me will enjoy playing it. Or more accurately, as was my experience with last years version, *try* to play it for weeks before giving up in a frustrated heap.

Unless the learning curve on this new version is shortened (significantly?), all the bells and whistles ain't gonna make a bit of difference.

[Marc Duffy]

It was key to get people on board who didn't like the game last year. We did it in part with the patches but from day 1 we wanted to hear the issues in full from people who felt strongly about them.

In addition, the guys in the beta team are free to say how they feel about the game publically - so if they don't like it they are free to say whatever they like here (as long as they've told us the problems first so we can at least try to address)

[dervack]

Holy crap, what a list. What are the % chances this will be out by MLB opening day?
Well, they already announced a release date of 3/23, so I would say 99.99% chance of being before opening day. Now, will there be a real MLB roster set out by then, who knows.

[MizzouRah]

Can't they use a REAL roster now? Jim has in his latest relase and now Gary has... would think Markus would now too.

[DaddyTorgo]

Can't they use a REAL roster now? Jim has in his latest relase and now Gary has... would think Markus would now too.

aaah. but the MLBPA is the strongest PA of all of them.

[cougarfreak]

Can't they use a REAL roster now? Jim has in his latest relase and now Gary has... would think Markus would now too.

Not sure if it matters. All those guys do is implement the lahman db in the game itself, with ootp, you just have to download it and import it.

[SteveMax58]

Not sure if it matters. All those guys do is implement the lahman db in the game itself, with ootp, you just have to download it and import it.

Yeah...I'm certainly not the authority on the subject...but I think the issue is more that OOTP has been built to import a "Lahman-Format" DB for importing players, which Sean Lahman requires to be licensed if you are going to distribute with your commercial product. I believe PS did have it licensed to use last year.

But he provides it as a download regardless, so I think it's more of a technicality...as SI/Markus "could" include their own version, wink, wink...but it would be a little obvious that it was "lifted" from Lahman's DB. And why do that when it's reasonably easy for customers to download.

Thats at least what I "think" the situation is.

[FBPro]

OOTP2006 was the biggest disappointment in my gaming life.

I've always supported OOTP, so even though I got burned before, I'll be giving 2007 a shot (a few weeks after release).

Whoa, if that's the case you must not have played many games.....:eek:

[BYU 14]

I am really excited about the early feedback on historical play....last years version took a big step back here IMO. And as it is the main style I play left me feeling very dissappointed.

I like the approach Markus is taking though, bringing some of the most critical players onto the Beta Team, kudos for that guys.

[Buccaneer]

It does sound like OOTP2007 will be a better release than 2006, and that's a good thing. For me, I don't know, I am stuck in my old ways and have a real comfort level in playing a long historical career in OOTP5 - and will do so again starting this spring. With the lahman db and having complete control in how I move through the historical seasons (e.g., expansion, movements), I have that wired since I've done it enough times.

I recall trying out one of the other baseball sims where it did everything for me and it just didn't feel right. I also found that it didn't have enough variance from expectations regarding historical players. I found the historical variance each time I play OOTP5 to have just enough believable unpredicatableness to make each career (covering mostly the Golden Age) fun and exciting.

Good luck with this release. I'll reading along with great interest.

[MizzouRah]

Not sure if it matters. All those guys do is implement the lahman db in the game itself, with ootp, you just have to download it and import it.

I didn't think the Lahman database was up to date, meaning you could import last seaons rosters?

[Icy]

I didn't think the Lahman database was up to date, meaning you could import last seaons rosters?

Lahman has been recently updated to the end of the past season and does it every year.

[Fouts]

I preordered OOTP 2k7 last night. I just couldn't help myself. Anybody else preordering?

[Ksyrup]

Is there a discount? I don't recall any info in this thread about preordering.

[Fouts]

Is there a discount? I don't recall any info in this thread about preordering.

If you bought the last version, you received an email with the 20% discount code.

[Ksyrup]

Guess I'll be waiting to order then. If they wanted to give a discount for early orders, I might be persuaded. *hint, hint*

[Icy]

Is there a discount? I don't recall any info in this thread about preordering.

It was anounced today at OOTP forums, a 20% discount on preorders if you purchased OOTP2k6. You should receive an email about it.

[KWhit]

If you bought the last version, you received an email with the 20% discount code.

Hmmm....

That makes it 27.99. Not bad at all. I told myself I wouldn't pre-order this year, but....

[Drake]

I pre-ordered this morning.

[MizzouRah]

Damn discounts! :) Haven't pulled the trigger yet.... would love to hear more from the beta testers.

What's going on with the high school - college leagues? Anyone care to expand on that?

[spleen1015]

Damn discounts! :) Haven't pulled the trigger yet.... would love to hear more from the beta testers.

What's going on with the high school - college leagues? Anyone care to expand on that?

Don't assume they are going to be like real life HS and college leagues. They won't come anything close. They are just leagues that will be used as feeder leagues for the majors. As of right now, undrafted HS players don't even go into the college league. Markus is looking at that option.

I've been wondering about this as well, so I asked some questions over on the OOTP board.

[MizzouRah]

Don't assume they are going to be like real life HS and college leagues. They won't come anything close. They are just leagues that will be used as feeder leagues for the majors. As of right now, undrafted HS players don't even go into the college league. Markus is looking at that option.

I've been wondering about this as well, so I asked some questions over on the OOTP board.

I figured as such, just wondered how it was going to work.

[Icy]

Mizzou, I wouldn't want you having too high expectations about it. High School and College leagues are not mirroring life 100%. For example, there are no redshirts, no elegibillity years, no graduations, etc. Let's say they are just leagues with a maximum age set and that act as feeders for the pool of draft players, but the rest of real HS or College features are not there yet.

The feeder leagues are cool for having real stats from your draftees and to follow them in their youth career, but don't base your purchase on the believe that you will have a full HS or College system because it's not there for this version. In the beta team we have suggested it to Markus, but maybe for 2k8 as the game new features are more or less closed now to only test bugs and functionality and i think it's a better approach than to keep adding stuff until the last day.

[Marc Duffy]

If you didn't order last year but you are on the ootp mailing list - a mail should eventually get to you with a discount code (although not as tasty as 20%)

[spleen1015]

They should have just called them feeder leagues and left HS/College out of it. It is sure to confuse folks.

[Eaglesfan27]

They should have just called them feeder leagues and left HS/College out of it. It is sure to confuse folks.

Agreed. Also, I'm wondering how tasty that discount will be for mailing list people.

[Bee]

I usually don't preorder anything, but I think I'll go ahead and use the 20% discount code and get this one. The historic sim improvements just look too good to me not to go ahead and grab it.

[Icy]

I usually don't preorder anything, but I think I'll go ahead and use the 20% discount code and get this one. The historic sim improvements just look too good to me not to go ahead and grab it.

I'm really trying to not help the over hype ball to grow as it can damage every game release, but about historical leagues i'm just going to tell you that as non American who has grown surrounded by soccer instead of baseball, i never had any interest on historical leagues. I don't know a lot of the players before 1990.

However in the 2k7 beta, even not being my assignment, I'm playing a lot of historical, learning the history of baseball and enjoying it a ton comparing my simmed stats with the real historical ones. The main reason is that it's so easy to do now and the simmed stats and players development are really close to real ones thanks to the new built in modifiers, that every season re-set the players ratings to the "real" ones based on that season historical stats (this is optional).

Another cool thing is to import for example the 19XX NY team in your fictional universe, or to create an universe with the great teams from the past, imported from Lahman (I have not tried this yet myself so I can't provide a lot of details, just read about other beta members doing it).

[Ksyrup]

However in the 2k7 beta, even not being my assignment, I'm playing a lot of historical, learning the history of baseball and enjoying it a ton comparing my simmed stats with the real historical ones. The main reason is that it's so easy to do now and the simmed stats and players development are really close to real ones thanks to the new built in modifiers, that every season re-set the players ratings to the "real" ones based on that season historical stats (this is optional).


As Bucc mentioned above (I think), I don't want the game to too closely mirror real life, so I'm hoping that "X-Factor" (sorry to borrow a term from FOF) is still there, where great/HoF guys might not have that exact type of career, or journeymen sometimes turn into all-star/HoF types.

Sounds like if I don't reset the ratings every year, the game should play like it has in previous versions, as far as uncertainty of development. Is that a fair assessment?

[Icy]

As Bucc mentioned above (I think), I don't want the game to too closely mirror real life, so I'm hoping that "X-Factor" (sorry to borrow a term from FOF) is still there, where great/HoF guys might not have that exact type of career, or journeymen sometimes turn into all-star/HoF types.

Sounds like if I don't reset the ratings every year, the game should play like it has in previous versions, as far as uncertainty of development. Is that a fair assessment?

Yes, that is why i said it's optional.

[MizzouRah]

Mizzou, I wouldn't want you having too high expectations about it. High School and College leagues are not mirroring life 100%. For example, there are no redshirts, no elegibillity years, no graduations, etc. Let's say they are just leagues with a maximum age set and that act as feeders for the pool of draft players, but the rest of real HS or College features are not there yet.

The feeder leagues are cool for having real stats from your draftees and to follow them in their youth career, but don't base your purchase on the believe that you will have a full HS or College system because it's not there for this version. In the beta team we have suggested it to Markus, but maybe for 2k8 as the game new features are more or less closed now to only test bugs and functionality and i think it's a better approach than to keep adding stuff until the last day.

Thanks for the information.. does seem confusing.

[John Galt]

OOTP, like the Washington Redskins, always looks its best during the off-season. This is a definite wait-and-see for me.

[MizzouRah]

Mizzou, I wouldn't want you having too high expectations about it. High School and College leagues are not mirroring life 100%. For example, there are no redshirts, no elegibillity years, no graduations, etc. Let's say they are just leagues with a maximum age set and that act as feeders for the pool of draft players, but the rest of real HS or College features are not there yet.

The feeder leagues are cool for having real stats from your draftees and to follow them in their youth career, but don't base your purchase on the believe that you will have a full HS or College system because it's not there for this version. In the beta team we have suggested it to Markus, but maybe for 2k8 as the game new features are more or less closed now to only test bugs and functionality and i think it's a better approach than to keep adding stuff until the last day.

Actually after thinking about this more, I still like the feature. I assume stats correlate to ratings once getting drafted?

[Icy]

Actually after thinking about this more, I still like the feature. I assume stats correlate to ratings once getting drafted?

Yes they do as in any other league in the game.

[dj_morton]

I can't wait! Been buying since v4!

[JPhillips]

Marc: I own OOTP2006, but I didn't get a discount email. What can I do to get the discount? Thanks.

[Terps]

In historical leagues do the teams relocate when they're supposed to also? And move into the correct stadiums? (Or move into a new stadium when they got one in real life.)

[Brillig]

For marketing research purposes:

I was going to pass on the 2007 version, until I got the email about the 20% discount. Pre-ordered this morning. Bastards :)

[TigerFan1]

In historical leagues do the teams relocate when they're supposed to also? And move into the correct stadiums? (Or move into a new stadium when they got one in real life.)


If you choose to enable that option, yes they do (to both the relocation and new stadium questions)

[Senator]

I bought the first version up until OOTP6. The historical relocations and expansions done for me, as well as the LDB in the game itself will have me buying this game this time.

[RichW]

Marc: I own OOTP2006, but I didn't get a discount email. What can I do to get the discount? Thanks.

Go to the site http://www.ootpbaseball.net/index.php#home and attempt to register. If it tells you that your E-mail is already registered then you will eventually get the E-mail. Apparently it is taking some time.:)

If that doesn't work, contact Marc. I'm sure he will take care of you.

FWIW as someone who was mildly disappointed in v2006, in Beta this time I am excited by the historical league accuracy and ease of use. The entire package has improved.

[Marc Duffy]

Marc: I own OOTP2006, but I didn't get a discount email. What can I do to get the discount? Thanks.
PM me your order ID for 2006

[Marc Duffy]

Go to the site http://www.ootpbaseball.net/index.php#home and attempt to register. If it tells you that your E-mail is already registered then you will eventually get the E-mail. Apparently it is taking some time.:)

If that doesn't work, contact Marc. I'm sure he will take care of you.

FWIW as someone who was mildly disappointed in v2006, in Beta this time I am excited by the historical league accuracy and ease of use. The entire package has improved.
We're targetting (and mailing out) to our user base in stages.

[Marc Duffy]

Surely it wasn't that easy to tempt you ;)

[lynchjm24]

I honestly can not believe how many people are falling allover themselves to pre-order for an $8 savings.

[CraigSca]

I order it every year. Why not save $8?

[JPhillips]

I haven't decided whether or not I will purchase, but if I do I want the discount.

[lynchjm24]

I order it every year. Why not save $8?

Those people sure, but there are so many that complained about 2006 that said they were going to need to see actual improvement in 2007 before they purchased. Many of them seem to be buying. Based on what? $8? You have to pay 7 weeks ahead to save $8?

Nothing has changed, great screenshots, beta testers telling us how great it is. It was pretty far away from great last year, I'm just suprised how many of my fellow skeptics will jump at $8.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Those people sure, but there are so many that complained about 2006 that said they were going to need to see actual improvement in 2007 before they purchased. Many of them seem to be buying. Based on what? $8? You have to pay 7 weeks ahead to save $8?

Nothing has changed, great screenshots, beta testers telling us how great it is. It was pretty far away from great last year, I'm just suprised how many of my fellow skeptics will jump at $8.

The difference is that we have many people who disliked OOTP 2006 in our beta team, and the positive response from them probably makes the difference for some.

And for $8 you can buy some soda that will help you through the sleepless nights because you can´t stop playing. ;)

[andy m]

please offer people who's currency is neither the euro nor the dollar the option to pay using either.

it works out cheaper for me to order in dollars than euros, yet i would be forced to pay using the latter. i don't understand why.

[Coder]

please offer people who's currency is neither the euro nor the dollar the option to pay using either.

it works out cheaper for me to order in dollars than euros, yet i would be forced to pay using the latter. i don't understand why.

Same here, and I've stressed this before. Marc did say though that they've at least reviewed and adjusted their pricing policy (i.e. €29 and $34.95 instead of €1 = $1 which was just atrocious). I don't think it's real fair, but at least it's better.

[Galaril]

We're targetting (and mailing out) to our user base in stages.

So I got mine but WTF, it only mentions 10% off which is the same as every year! I have purchased every version of OOTP 4,5,6, 6.5 and spent alot of time discussing OOTP 2006 on here and wasted more than enough time with the demos from last year as well waiting for this game to get playable which didn't happen until october, 5 months before the next release. Anyways, I guess the 25% dicount is only for those who bought, 2006? So, it has nothing to do with being a preorder:(

[Eaglesfan27]

It's only 20% for those who bought 2006, but apparently it's 10% for the rest of us (got my 10% email today too.) I'll wait and see, which is what I was leaning towards anyway.

[Swaggs]

A savings of $3.50 doesn't do much for me.

I'll hold out and see some reviews before deciding this year. Prior to last year, I had bought all versions of Marcus's games since OOTP2, but I did a wait and see last year and it ended up saving me $35 bucks, I suppose.

[MizzouRah]

I haven't decided whether or not I will purchase, but if I do I want the discount.

I'm with you, $8 is well.. $8.

I waited a LONG time to finally get v2006 and I didn't even play it much at all - but that doesn't mean I won't continue to support Markus and OOTP.

The only way I would get this game site unseen is with a discount and with all the crap about last year's version, I believe this beta testing crew.

The historical simplicity REALLY makes me want this game - I hope FOF can go in this direction at some point.

[dime]

I hate to beat a dead horse, but head to head play is what really interested me and apparently it's an impossibility. That feature would excuse the poor bullpen/lineup AI that makes online leagues hard for me to stick with.

[Fouts]

So, it has nothing to do with being a preorder:(

Are you sure? My email said the deadline for my discount was Feb 14.

[Galaril]

Are you sure? My email said the deadline for my discount was Feb 14.

My point is the 20% discount is to give something back after last years train wreck of a release , for those who purchased it and the 10% is the usual 105 preorder like always. So what I meant is the 20% discount isn't a preorder reward as SI tried to make it sound. But, I ould be wrong and it doesn't matter if people HERE give the game thumbs up and I like the demo I will buy if it is like last year I will pass on it.

[lynchjm24]

The difference is that we have many people who disliked OOTP 2006 in our beta team, and the positive response from them probably makes the difference for some.

And for $8 you can buy some soda that will help you through the sleepless nights because you can´t stop playing. ;)

It's hard to believe that people have already forgotten the road to release from OOTP 2006.

Never has a game so invoked Yogi: "I will believe it when I believe it".

[AgustusM]

I honestly can not believe how many people are falling allover themselves to pre-order for an $8 savings.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

now the game itself is worth every penny and more but you would be hard pressed to get me to so much as stand up for 8 bucks - what is that one trip to Starbucks with the wife?

[AgustusM]

the proof is in the pudding and I understand the naysayers being a little gun shy after last year

However, I have played every just about every card, board, computer, dart, coin, slot machine what have you baseball simulation game produced in the last 40 years and OOTP 2007 is the best one.

[Bee]

I got a question about the historic sim thing...

So if I understand correctly, you can have the game adjust a player's ratings each season based on their actual historic performance. For guys who had their careers cut short, will it just automatically retire them after their last "real" season?

[lynchjm24]

the proof is in the pudding and I understand the naysayers being a little gun shy after last year

However, I have played every just about every card, board, computer, dart, coin, slot machine what have you baseball simulation game produced in the last 40 years and OOTP 2007 is the best one.

No offense to you, but there were beta testers who said the same thing about OOTP 2006.

I hope y'all are correct, but I'm going to be strong and make sure they deliver this time.

[Drake]

I enjoyed OOTP2k6 and more than got my money's worth out of it. *shurg*

[AgustusM]

No offense to you, but there were beta testers who said the same thing about OOTP 2006.

I hope y'all are correct, but I'm going to be strong and make sure they deliver this time.

for the record - I was not a beta tester in 2006 and I HATED 2006 at release - I was extremely critical of it on that board. I thought it got better with patches, but I still think 2007 is light years better.

I also am very surprised at how critical the beta testers have actually been - there isn't a whole lot of fanboy stuff going on in the beta forums - things that don't work are being called out and corrected.

also for the record I have not been involved in the testing for on-line leagues and as an original member of the UBL I do think that piece is very important. the guys that are testing online say it is much improved, but I honestly haven't even looked at that portion - so I can't really say one way or another how much that part has improved.

having said all that, wait for the demo, try it out, I would be very surprised if the majority of the people who give it a chance are not pleasantly surprised.

[miked]

for the record - I was not a beta tester in 2006 and I HATED 2006 at release - I was extremely critical of it on that board. I thought it got better with patches, but I still think 2007 is light years better.

I also am very surprised at how critical the beta testers have actually been - there isn't a whole lot of fanboy stuff going on in the beta forums - things that don't work are being called out and corrected.

also for the record I have not been involved in the testing for on-line leagues and as an original member of the UBL I do think that piece is very important. the guys that are testing online say it is much improved, but I honestly haven't even looked at that portion - so I can't really say one way or another how much that part has improved.

having said all that, wait for the demo, try it out, I would be very surprised if the majority of the people who give it a chance are not pleasantly surprised.

That was the thing that drove me nuts about the previous 2 versions, the testing for online leagues. I know lots of people who just play online, and it seems every version, huge bugs squirt through. Still, even in 6.5 and earlier, there are tons of bugs (I've even posted some, but the support section is defunct). I wish I wish for a commish override button, would be tremendous!

[AgustusM]

what would you want a commis override button to do?

there is a new "comish - what do you want to do today" but to be completely honest I haven't checked into that part yet.

[miked]

what would you want a commis override button to do?

there is a new "comish - what do you want to do today" but to be completely honest I haven't checked into that part yet.

Well, for example, when I try and do post-deadline trades, it won't let me. Even if I place both players on waivers and they clear, it continually tells me that the players have to clear waivers. So I have to edit their contracts, release them, re-sign them with the new team, then edit the league transactions (for CATO). I would love just an override button to force the trade. There are probably 20 other things like this that don't work correctly that I would love to override.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Well, for example, when I try and do post-deadline trades, it won't let me. Even if I place both players on waivers and they clear, it continually tells me that the players have to clear waivers. So I have to edit their contracts, release them, re-sign them with the new team, then edit the league transactions (for CATO). I would love just an override button to force the trade. There are probably 20 other things like this that don't work correctly that I would love to override.

There is a "force trade" button in OOTP 2006. Isn't it? :confused:

[evil homer]

miked's UBL still runs 6.5, so there is no force trade button.

oh, by the way: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=138387
:D

[Capital]

Will you be able to sim a week or a month like 6.5? I'm not a huge fan of FM continue 1/3 day feature. I'm more of a play multiple seasons as opposed to play out every game.

Also, love the expansion feature. One question, can we expand using current day rosters?

[FBPro]

Will you be able to sim a week or a month like 6.5? I'm not a huge fan of FM continue 1/3 day feature. I'm more of a play multiple seasons as opposed to play out every game.

Yep

[SackAttack]

I've got a preliminary preview of the game up, just something that sort of collates the new features and talks about them a little bit.

We're having some temporary server issues (site's running a little bit slow), but it's there. I'm going to attempt to go more in-depth with a second preview later in the week.

[SunDevil]

thanks for the preview.

[MizzouRah]

I've got a preliminary preview of the game up, just something that sort of collates the new features and talks about them a little bit.

We're having some temporary server issues (site's running a little bit slow), but it's there. I'm going to attempt to go more in-depth with a second preview later in the week.

Nicely done!

In fact, reading your preview made me realize I'm going to wait until after release before picking this one up - yet again. Nothing in particular that was made to look bad, but I'm starting to wonder if OOTP isn't getting to deep for me.

I love the simplicity of Jim's games and ootp is starting to sound to me like there's just too much to mess with for my liking (yes I know they have a built in league creation wizzard). Plus, I miss my High Heat days and I'm hoping MLB 2k7 is a playable game on the 360.

I'm not going to use my 20% off, so if someone would like it, by all means send me a PM and I'll send you the code. (I assume that's ok?)

[Markus Heinsohn]

Nicely done!

In fact, reading your preview made me realize I'm going to wait until after release before picking this one up - yet again. Nothing in particular that was made to look bad, but I'm starting to wonder if OOTP isn't getting to deep for me.

I love the simplicity of Jim's games and ootp is starting to sound to me like there's just too much to mess with for my liking (yes I know they have a built in league creation wizzard). Plus, I miss my High Heat days and I'm hoping MLB 2k7 is a playable game on the 360.

I'm not going to use my 20% off, so if someone would like it, by all means send me a PM and I'll send you the code. (I assume that's ok?)

Really, the game is only as deep as you want it to be. I for example like playing 16-team leagues with the default set of options. It is easy to do, I get to know the players fast and it is lots of fun. And I don't have to worry about lots of other leagues in my universe.

Of course, there are people who prefer having 20 leagues in their universe, nut I am not one of them.

Historicals is a snap to set up too. Just import a season and start playing. The default options work very well, there is no need to tweak anything reallyJust my .02 :)

[Capital]

Markus,

What about scouting...in most of SI games, you are required to send scouts all over the universe to find info about players for signing and drafting purposes. This is oftentimes a weekly occurrance. Will the player be required to do that or is the information (mostly for the draft) be given based upon the scout you sign?

That part of it became too micro for my tastes in SI previous games (even though I bought most of them).

[Markus Heinsohn]

Markus,

What about scouting...in most of SI games, you are required to send scouts all over the universe to find info about players for signing and drafting purposes. This is oftentimes a weekly occurrance. Will the player be required to do that or is the information (mostly for the draft) be given based upon the scout you sign?

That part of it became too micro for my tastes in SI previous games (even though I bought most of them).

You can assign task lists to scouts, which makes this pretty easy. However, you can also turn scouts off which is not possible in FM...

[MizzouRah]

Really, the game is only as deep as you want it to be. I for example like playing 16-team leagues with the default set of options. It is easy to do, I get to know the players fast and it is lots of fun. And I don't have to worry about lots of other leagues in my universe.

Of course, there are people who prefer having 20 leagues in their universe, nut I am not one of them.

Historicals is a snap to set up too. Just import a season and start playing. The default options work very well, there is no need to tweak anything reallyJust my .02 :)

I appreciate your thoughts and I'll definitly be reading both sites to see if it's indeed a purchase from me. Thanks Markus!

I wish the 20% off lasted till at least a month after release, but since it's it expires in 8 days, someone else that is going to buy could use it.

[Markus Heinsohn]

I've got a preliminary preview of the game up, just something that sort of collates the new features and talks about them a little bit.

We're having some temporary server issues (site's running a little bit slow), but it's there. I'm going to attempt to go more in-depth with a second preview later in the week.

From your preview:
"You set a few key metrics, and every time you start a new career, you can use your previously created manager to jump right in. For a diehard Dodger fan like myself, the ability to do something like that in baseball game would be greatly appreciated. Alas, no such luck. Maybe next year."

You have luck. I just coded this :) When you create a manager, the selections you make (name etc.) are saved as the default and come up next time you create a new game.

[SackAttack]

Thanks for the kind words, all. I intend to do a few more of these before launch, so I can really delve into some of the new features.

And Markus, does that mean that other thing I've been pestering you about will get coded if I just mention it in my next preview? :)

[Galaril]

Thanks for the kind words, all. I intend to do a few more of these before launch, so I can really delve into some of the new features.

And Markus, does that mean that other thing I've been pestering you about will get coded if I just mention it in my next preview? :)


Sack,

Nice preview especially on the MP side of the game. But, don't forget about all us single player fans;). I think alot of us are very interested to here about some of the ways the foreign non-major league leagues/feeder leagues are implemented and playout. So, seeing something like a major league universe with feeder leagues in south america , asia and the carribean.

[SackAttack]

Sack,

Nice preview especially on the MP side of the game. But, don't forget about all us single player fans;). I think alot of us are very interested to here about some of the ways the foreign non-major league leagues/feeder leagues are implemented and playout. So, seeing something like a major league universe with feeder leagues in south america , asia and the carribean.

Honestly, I'm more a SP player than an MP player to begin with, so I don't mean to ignore y'all, but I just find myself seriously excited about some of the MP features that are truly NEW to the experience, like the news articles.

My next preview will definitely focus more on the other side of the coin.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Thanks for the kind words, all. I intend to do a few more of these before launch, so I can really delve into some of the new features.

And Markus, does that mean that other thing I've been pestering you about will get coded if I just mention it in my next preview? :)

Maybe :p

[SackAttack]

Maybe :p

Oh, it's comin', then.

Let's see if you can get it addressed before my next preview. :p

[MizzouRah]

7 Days left to use my 20% code if anyone wants it.

[Marc Duffy]

5 new screenshots up http://www.ootpbaseball.net/screenshots.php?view=all&gid=26&&m=02&y=2007

[Senator]

This looks like it might be a winner.

[Ksyrup]

This looks like it might be a winner.

Speaking of which, you should head over to the Chan Ho Park thread to wish Mets fans well.

[Icy]

The auto faces creator is awesome for fictional leagues, every player has a face now, the face changes with the morale (angry, happy), if the player gets more fat, the face gets fat too, and the caps and uniforms are auto updated when the player changes team etc. This is huge for the immersion factor.

[spleen1015]

The auto faces creator is awesome for fictional leagues, every player has a face now, the face changes with the morale (angry, happy), if the player gets more fat, the face gets fat too, and the caps and uniforms are auto updated when the player changes team etc. This is huge for the immersion factor.

It amayses me how much that really adds. That leaders screen looks very cool with faces for every player.

[Fouts]

In the previous version, I would try and start in 1901 with minor leagues, but the minors would be filled with fictional players. This version looks to allow adding leagues, so in a few years, I could add a minor league system.

Anyone know if adding a minor league system later will generate fictional players?

[CraigSca]

While this whole Facegen reminds me so much of Maximum Football, I do have to say it sounds pretty cool.

[Icy]

In the previous version, I would try and start in 1901 with minor leagues, but the minors would be filled with fictional players. This version looks to allow adding leagues, so in a few years, I could add a minor league system.

Anyone know if adding a minor league system later will generate fictional players?

It will generate fictional players if you chose so, you can chose instead to have the minor teams filled by "ghost" players like in OOTP6.5. Even if you fill them with fictional players, you have the option to allow or disallow them to ever reach the majors or not.

[Icy]

While this whole Facegen reminds me so much of Maximum Football, I do have to say it sounds pretty cool.

The main difference is that this works as advertised :)

[SunDevil]

The main difference is that this works as advertised :)

We shall see..... if there's no beer tent I will not be picking up this game.

[Icy]

Andreas just added this option to the facegen feature, i tried and it works fine. this is really great to give more flavour to historical leagues.

Yeah, added black & white and sepia options to the league options :D You can even edit the brown color used for the sepia effect in the /config/app file


http://www.prodeportes.com/ootp07/sepiafaces.jpg

[MizzouRah]

All of this SOUNDS great, but like jbmagic would say, "How the ai in game?" "How waivers and ai?"

[Icy]

All of this SOUNDS great, but like jbmagic would say, "How the ai in game?" "How waivers and ai?"

Not perfect yet but vastly improved, a lot of troubles with the waivers are fixed as Markus found some bugs and also improved a lot the 40 met roster usage by the AI teams, that caused most of the problems in 2006. anyway it's still beign worked and tested.

Here is some discussion about it... guess who started the thread...

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=138387

[MizzouRah]

:)

Read that, but I'm always concerned when Markus replies, "Fixed!". ;)

[CraigSca]

Yeah, he has a tendency to do that. Instead of just saying "fixed", sometimes I'd like a little background on what was fixed and how it was done. As we all know, with a game as complex as OOTP one "fix" can cause a myriad of other issues.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Yeah, he has a tendency to do that. Instead of just saying "fixed", sometimes I'd like a little background on what was fixed and how it was done. As we all know, with a game as complex as OOTP one "fix" can cause a myriad of other issues.

In this case it was a fix. I just had to remove a '!' in 3 places in the code and the bug was gone :) It's scary what these 3 '!' caused :(

[MizzouRah]

In this case it was a fix. I just had to remove a '!' in 3 places in the code and the bug was gone :) It's scary what these 3 '!' caused :(

Those damn "!". :D

[cartman]

What better for code: !, |, or }?

[MizzouRah]

What better for code: !, |, or }?

:D

[CraigSca]

So it should have been "==" instead of "!="?

[Antmeister]

Wow...I haven't purchased a baseball sim since OOTP 6. After reading about the 2006 debacle, I figured it would take a version or two before the game was going to be to my liking. It is nice to see that the support from Sports Interactive is panning out and I hope this becomes another hit for their company. Looking forward to the demo and the reviews, because this looks like it will be a buy for me.

[Markus Heinsohn]

So it should have been "==" instead of "!="?

Nope, it was far more stupid than that. So stupid that I won't post it :p

[lighthousekeeper]

Nope, it was far more stupid than that. So stupid that I won't post it :p

I got a copy of the code. The problem was:

dim d_hr as int;
dim d_bb as int;
I am so going to get laid for making this game!
dim d_so as int;
dim d_intbb as int;

[Marc Duffy]

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=139122 might be of interest - especially to those of you with an interest in mods.

[JPhillips]

This guy should get MF.

I am never going to play a single game of OOTP.

I'm just going to play with logos and jerseys and FaceGen.

[Icy]

The facegen stuff is going to be great, I'm working on this already:

http://www.prodeportes.com/ootp07/stripes3.jpg

http://www.prodeportes.com/ootp07/stripes4.jpg

[Toddzilla]

The facegen stuff is going to be great, I'm working on this alreadyWay to bust up the MF stereotype, Icy :)

[Icy]

Way to bust up the MF stereotype, Icy :)

Hehe, facegen is just one of the new features, of course not as important as stats accuracy, roster management, etc, but as graphic designer and mods maker, i must admit I'm enjoying it a lot and the options are unlimited.

And don't worry, I'm not in the stats betatesting team but on the tools and customization one so of course this kind of stuff attracts me a lot, but there are other guys way better at baseball stats than me testing that.

That is one of the things that impressed me about the OOTP beta testing, how well organized are the more than 100 betatesters in different groups matching their skills.

[Bee]

The most impressive thing about the FaceGen stuff to me is that a player's appearance changes as they age or gain/lose weight. While for me the game would be fine without any "faces", if you are going to have them in the game it's nice to have them age/change appropriately. Putting a face to a name helps in the immersion as long as it looks relatively accurate. In other games that have used random faces it always bothered me to have a 37 year old vet who had the face of an 18 year old kid or a 250 lb guy who had the picture of some skinny little guy. If it isn't done right, I'd rather just not have a face at all. This looks like it's done right.

There are a lot of other features that have raised my interest in this game more than the FaceGen thing but if this is an indication of the quality of the rest of the game I think it bodes well.

[PilotMan]

I just got an email that the preorder offer was extended until tomarrow (it was supposed to end yesterday.) I did order this, just too many goodies to pass up on. I know, I am a sucker for OOTP. Tried Puresim last year, just didn't do it for me.

[Young Drachma]

Last year's had its issues, but given that I got more use out of it than any version since v.5 when I first went to OOTP from Mogul, I figure that preordering will save me a few bucks, so there isn't really a question for me in regards to if I'll want it or not, it'll be more like "hopefully, it's playable out of the box."

[Markus Heinsohn]

Last year's had its issues, but given that I got more use out of it than any version since v.5 when I first went to OOTP from Mogul, I figure that preordering will save me a few bucks, so there isn't really a question for me in regards to if I'll want it or not, it'll be more like "hopefully, it's playable out of the box."

We're doing the best we can to make sure it is :)

[Galaril]

Honestly, I'm more a SP player than an MP player to begin with, so I don't mean to ignore y'all, but I just find myself seriously excited about some of the MP features that are truly NEW to the experience, like the news articles.

My next preview will definitely focus more on the other side of the coin.

Hey Sack,

Times up where's that single player preview?:p

[SackAttack]

Hey Sack,

Times up where's that single player preview?:p

Coming? I was using it to blackmail Markus into doing something, and I've kind of been waiting until he does it. :D

[Markus Heinsohn]

OK guys, The Road To Release started today :)

Here's our first testers blog:
http://www.ootpbaseball.net/clubhouse.php?view=news&gid=26&id=1276

And here are a few new screenies:
http://www.ootpbaseball.net/screenshots.php?view=all&gid=26&&m=02&y=2007

Enjoy :)

[SunDevil]

Markus,

On the latest screen shot showing in the game view, the whole left side of the screen, is it optional? I personally do not care when playing the game about the minor league game(s). If I am curious about the box score then I should be able to bring it up but I do not like it taking up the its part of the screen for the whole game. And other then when the game first starts, I do not really need the dimensions of the field or the attendance. It would be nice if you could see the stadium with the field layout that we had in 6.51 and in earlier versions. Those stadium images added so much to the atmosphere of the game, that with that screen shot at least just feels sterile and cluttered.

[SunDevil]

dola

It would be really cool if we started with a background image. For example a picture of the playing field from the dugout. Then we as the user can open, close and pin the menus and screens that we want to view, move them into position on the screen that we want and then play our game.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Markus,

On the latest screen shot showing in the game view, the whole left side of the screen, is it optional? I personally do not care when playing the game about the minor league game(s). If I am curious about the box score then I should be able to bring it up but I do not like it taking up the its part of the screen for the whole game. And other then when the game first starts, I do not really need the dimensions of the field or the attendance. It would be nice if you could see the stadium with the field layout that we had in 6.51 and in earlier versions. Those stadium images added so much to the atmosphere of the game, that with that screen shot at least just feels sterile and cluttered.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/graphics//images/1571.jpg

There are 2 game views in OOTP :)

[SunDevil]

Thanks Markus.

[lynchjm24]

OK guys, The Road To Release started today :)



Really not much there. This guy has played a lot of baseball games and thinks this is the best one. I'm pretty sure a different guy said the exact same thing last year. How about something with some substance on day 1?

[jbmagic]

Really not much there. This guy has played a lot of baseball games and thinks this is the best one. I'm pretty sure a different guy said the exact same thing last year. How about something with some substance on day 1?


Seems like not much people at the ootp forums has any concern with the AI for ootp 2007 again. They are more into extra features and facegens.

Last year no one had any concern about the AI before it was release and you saw how most everybody was disappointed with ootp 2006 especially with the AI on release day.

I really hope ootp 2007 is proven to be the best. I will try the demo.

[jbmagic]

Really not much there. This guy has played a lot of baseball games and thinks this is the best one. I'm pretty sure a different guy said the exact same thing last year. How about something with some substance on day 1?

dola

Also are they scare to release the ootp html reports so we can see how the AI is handling waivers, releases and trades, etc.

This report will tell us a lot too.

[cmgdodgers]

Not a big deal but it seems local popularity should be higher than national popularity. I guess it is possible to be the other way, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head.

This is assuming of course that extremely popular > very popular.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/graphics//images/1620.jpg

[markprior22]

Not a big deal but it seems local popularity should be higher than national popularity. I guess it is possible to be the other way, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head.

This is assuming of course that extremely popular > very popular.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/graphics//images/1620.jpg

A-Rod comes to mind right away for me.

[Sweed]

Not a big deal but it seems local popularity should be higher than national popularity. I guess it is possible to be the other way, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head.

This is assuming of course that extremely popular > very popular.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/graphics//images/1620.jpg

A-Rod comes to mind right away for me.

First guy I thought of.

[lynchjm24]

Not a big deal but it seems local popularity should be higher than national popularity. I guess it is possible to be the other way, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head.

This is assuming of course that extremely popular > very popular.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/graphics//images/1620.jpg

If it hasn't been fixed from 6.5 then I don't know why they bothered to add it.

[Markus Heinsohn]

If it hasn't been fixed from 6.5 then I don't know why they bothered to add it.

Because it is intentional! It is rare, but it happens, like in real life.

And if you don't like it, edit it... OOTP 2007 allows popularities to be edited, unlike OOTP 6.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Really not much there. This guy has played a lot of baseball games and thinks this is the best one. I'm pretty sure a different guy said the exact same thing last year. How about something with some substance on day 1?

The difference is that this guy didn't like 2006 at all ;)

[SteveMax58]

Not a big deal but it seems local popularity should be higher than national popularity. I guess it is possible to be the other way, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head.

This is assuming of course that extremely popular > very popular.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/graphics//images/1620.jpg

First off...I agree it should be uncommon to have a higher National than Local popularity...but I wouldnt say rare.

If "Popularity" is defined as "favorability to the (local or national) fanbase", and fluctuates based on performance, years on team, & salary, with a weight to overall team performance(obviously if the team wins 110 games & the WS, nobody local 'hates' the .230 cleanup hitter quite as much)...a few come to mind.

A-Rod
Roger Maris
Sammy Sosa (last year w/ Cubs)
Randy Johnson (w/ Yankees)

But it only works if you think of National as a more 'encompassing career view of the player', which is more common for the unemotionally attached fan...and Local as 'what the fans think right now', which is more common for the emotionally attached fan(i.e. I'm sick of this bum we're paying $10mil to sit on the DL).

I dont know that it works this way for 2007, but that's what would seem to make sense in those cases.

[cmgdodgers]

For me, and I think for many us who love text sims it really comes down to the details that can take a good game, and make it great.

If it is truly a "rare" occurance, then I really like this possibility, it can really add to the immersion level and make players unique.

On the flip side if it is not rare I do think it is a flaw. I'll just learn to ignore it.

[lynchjm24]

Because it is intentional! It is rare, but it happens, like in real life.

And if you don't like it, edit it... OOTP 2007 allows popularities to be edited, unlike OOTP 6.

The popularity ratings in version 6.5 make no sense at all. If you just used the same model because some people of WFAN don't like Alex Rodriguez it makes little sense. That *might* be one example - but if you actually go to Yankee Stadium, A-Rod is the second most popular name you'll see on shirts. He's extremely popular still with a large number of Yankee fans, especially the Spanish Yankee fans. I'm not sure how this validates the scores of players in OOTP 6.5 who have popularity ratings that don't make a damned bit of sense.

[Markus Heinsohn]

The popularity ratings in version 6.5 make no sense at all. If you just used the same model because some people of WFAN don't like Alex Rodriguez it makes little sense. That *might* be one example - but if you actually go to Yankee Stadium, A-Rod is the second most popular name you'll see on shirts. He's extremely popular still with a large number of Yankee fans, especially the Spanish Yankee fans. I'm not sure how this validates the scores of players in OOTP 6.5 who have popularity ratings that don't make a damned bit of sense.

I'm not talking about 6.5...

[lynchjm24]

The difference is that this guy didn't like 2006 at all ;)

I guess. I'm just turned off in general by the beta-testers being an 'official' marketing arm. I'm sure there will be something with more significance later in the process, but for Day 1, it was pretty weak.

[lynchjm24]

I'm not talking about 6.5...

If you changed the process then that is great, my point was that if it works the same as 6.5 it was better left out.

[Marc Duffy]

dola

Also are they scare to release the ootp html reports so we can see how the AI is handling waivers, releases and trades, etc.

This report will tell us a lot too.
No, it's part of TRTR

[Marc Duffy]

What posts on what forum did you base this analysis?

Many people on the OOTP boards care about the AI. Many wont buy the game till they've played the demo. Cannot be any clearer than that in my mind that we've got to get it right.

[Marc Duffy]

I guess. I'm just turned off in general by the beta-testers being an 'official' marketing arm. I'm sure there will be something with more significance later in the process, but for Day 1, it was pretty weak.
Well I figured you guys would rather hear a fellow customers view rather than me or Markus churning stuff out.

No-one on the beta team is forced to write a blog, nor do we tell them what to say. I've been pretty clear that they can come post on any board they like if they are unhappy with the game provided they've posted it in our beta forum first.

[Eaglesfan27]

What posts on what forum did you base this analysis?

Many people on the OOTP boards care about the AI. Many wont buy the game till they've played the demo. Cannot be any clearer than that in my mind that we've got to get it right.


I know it might be a bit early to ask, but any word on when the demo might be out? Also, is it going to be real world time limited or in game time limited? Either way, I'm looking forward to trying the demo out to see if it is worth buying.

[Marc Duffy]

Demo will be out around release time.

Those of you from this forum - who vocally were not best pleased with OOTP 2006 - please PM me if you are up for trying a preview copy of the game.

I'm willing to give you a limited preview version to try and I'm confident it will change your current perception of OOTP 2006

[Galaril]

What posts on what forum did you base this analysis?

Many people on the OOTP boards care about the AI. Many wont buy the game till they've played the demo. Cannot be any clearer than that in my mind that we've got to get it right.

You ain't shitting. I haven't seen anything that tells me the AI issues are corrected and Face gen won't clear that up.

[Oilers9911]

dola

Also are they scare to release the ootp html reports so we can see how the AI is handling waivers, releases and trades, etc.

This report will tell us a lot too.

jb is back!

[Pumpy Tudors]

At this point, I'm really starting to wonder if SI should allow their marketing team to do the talking and keep Markus away from the message boards until release.

[vtbub]

At this point, I'm really starting to wonder if SI should allow their marketing team to do the talking and keep Markus away from the message boards until release.


That's a winner!

[JPhillips]

Amen. Markus is terrible at customer relations. I'd give him a contract with a reverse incentive, minus 500$ for each message board post.

[Fouts]

At this point, I'm really starting to wonder if SI should allow their marketing team to do the talking and keep Markus away from the message boards until release.

What do you mean? I must have missed something. Probably because jb's verb usage made my brain explode.

[dime]

I don't think markus did anything unseemly...his livelihood is getting trashed by edlynch/lynchjim, whatever...and he hasn't sunk to that level.

[MizzouRah]

You might be surprised, but I believe lynchjm24 wants ootp to succeed more than most of us do. He was disappointed by v2006 and so were MANY, MANY, other people.

Markus has a bad habit of replying to issues with, "That's fixed!" and then we're disappointed by his definition of "fixed". It's just frustration from lynchjm24 and I like the way he just comes right out and says what's on his mind concerning ootp.

To each their own I guess.

[Toddiec]

Markus' comments have me very excited about the game and I don't think we should discourage any of the developers that visit this board from posting. I think Markus is legitimately passionate about his game and that is exactly what I would expect from someone who has devoted so much time to developing it over the years. I think this is one of those "be careful what you wish for" instances.

The OOTP franchise is easily one of the top two in my personal computer playing history. I have received many many hours of entertainment for my monetary investment in the games. I have preordered 2007 and chalk it up to fanboyism or being a sucker or whatever, and I am firmly in the 6.5 better than v2006 camp by the way, but I am very excited about the release.

Anyway, I don't usually post but I didn't like where the tenor of this thread was going and I wanted to give an example of someone who doesn't buy into the "Markus posts killing OOTP hype" opinion.

[Cork]

Markus' comments have me very excited about the game and I don't think we should discourage any of the developers that visit this board from posting. I think Markus is legitimately passionate about his game and that is exactly what I would expect from someone who has devoted so much time to developing it over the years. I think this is one of those "be careful what you wish for" instances.

The OOTP franchise is easily one of the top two in my personal computer playing history. I have received many many hours of entertainment for my monetary investment in the games. I have preordered 2007 and chalk it up to fanboyism or being a sucker or whatever, and I am firmly in the 6.5 better than v2006 camp by the way, but I am very excited about the release.

Anyway, I don't usually post but I didn't like where the tenor of this thread was going and I wanted to give an example of someone who doesn't buy into the "Markus posts killing OOTP hype" opinion.

You should be very happy with your OOTP 2007 purchase Toddiec. OOTP 2007 is vastly superior to it's dismal 2006 offering. I am a lifelong DMB player and OOTP 2007 has finally made me forget DMB.

How do I know this? I am a member of the beta team and will only say that the improvements in OOTP 2007 over the 2006 version are quite impressive. Is the game perfect? No. Will it ever be perfect? No, but it should become the standard by which all other text based baseball games are judged by. The game is that good.

For me, the vastly improved PbP, the improved interface and the facegen feature are more than enough to warrant a purchase. If you also take into account all the cool little things that have been improved or added, the decision to purchase becomes a no-brainer.

Hopefully Markus will hit it hard down the stretch and eliminate the few major issues that remain. I also have to say that Andreas also deserves quite a bit of credit for the outstanding work he has done with facegen, logos and other items in his area.

-Cork

[Marc Duffy]

You ain't shitting. I haven't seen anything that tells me the AI issues are corrected and Face gen won't clear that up.

To be fair, you've not actually played the game. My offer stands to you and others in this forum.

if you are willing to try out a preview version - you can test the AI yourself!

[Galaril]

I am going to say after reading the TRTR for Day 3 about the historical features and replay that this could be very good.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/clubhouse.php?view=news&gid=26&id=1278

[lynchjm24]

I don't think markus did anything unseemly...his livelihood is getting trashed by edlynch/lynchjim, whatever...and he hasn't sunk to that level.

I like Markus and everyone else at SI. I didn't like the first day of TRTR, it just seemed like everything else that we saw last year, heavy hype with no substance behind it. Days 2 and 3 have been better with some actual observations and evidence instead of just glowing opinion.

Some of the OOTP fanbase is loath to be negative on any aspect of the game. It's a pretty vocal minority. I understand that some of my criticism of 2006 was over the top. This was intentional, because I got the feeling that many of those that were disappointed just dropped the game and moved on. I feel like there were many that shared my feelings on the game, but don't have the passion for baseball sims that I do. I was only being selfish, hoping that by being vocal, SI might move the game back in a direction that was more enjoyable to me. 2006 has some impressive features, it just never comes together as an enjoyable game to play.

I don't feel like I've ever been negative towards anyone at SI on a personal level, I give them a lot of credit for being patient with people like me for so long. I hope they have a world of success and keep designing games that appeal to text-simmers. They currently are the only company that is designing the type of baseball game that I want to play, so even if I didn't like them, I'd still have a vested interest in their success.

[Senator]

I know this is minor, but I like the one pitch feature. I used to play microleague baseball as a kid, and always liked it.

[Senator]

I like Markus and everyone else at SI. I didn't like the first day of TRTR, it just seemed like everything else that we saw last year, heavy hype with no substance behind it. Days 2 and 3 have been better with some actual observations and evidence instead of just glowing opinion.

Some of the OOTP fanbase is loath to be negative on any aspect of the game. It's a pretty vocal minority. I understand that some of my criticism of 2006 was over the top. This was intentional, because I got the feeling that many of those that were disappointed just dropped the game and moved on. I feel like there were many that shared my feelings on the game, but don't have the passion for baseball sims that I do. I was only being selfish, hoping that by being vocal, SI might move the game back in a direction that was more enjoyable to me. 2006 has some impressive features, it just never comes together as an enjoyable game to play.

I don't feel like I've ever been negative towards anyone at SI on a personal level, I give them a lot of credit for being patient with people like me for so long. I hope they have a world of success and keep designing games that appeal to text-simmers. They currently are the only company that is designing the type of baseball game that I want to play, so even if I didn't like them, I'd still have a vested interest in their success.


I am glad you wrote this. I did not know your history with the game, and just from a casual observation, my first inclination was that you were a troll that just had a personal beef with them. Now that I know the history, I have re-read some of your post with different eyes.

[cougarfreak]

I am going to say after reading the TRTR for Day 3 about the historical features and replay that this could be very good.

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/clubhouse.php?view=news&gid=26&id=1278


I agree...........things are looking on the up and up. It seems as though SI and Markus knew how much was riding on this year's version and they might have stepped up with some impressive features, and more importantly a long, long beta test time.

[Marc Duffy]

Well, the proof is going to be in the pudding - that is for sure.

[astrosfan64]

OOTP is a no brainer purchase for me every year.

[MizzouRah]

I know this is minor, but I like the one pitch feature. I used to play microleague baseball as a kid, and always liked it.

Me too. Really glad Markus brought that back.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I guess I should have said more regarding my comments about Markus. The thing is that SI does have marketing people, and it's their job to get people to buy the game. I haven't followed the OOTP saga for the past few years (as far as which customers he's had problems with, etc.), but there have obviously been problems before, and I just think it might be best to let SI's marketing people do the talking now.

[SirFozzie]

I hope someone takes Marc on the offer and runs a 20 year sim and sees if the "pick up/release" syndrome has been fixed.

I've been one of the more ardent supporters of the game here, so I can't say I would be a good choice to test that. Maybe someone like the Dog or someone similar...

[Eaglesfan27]

I hope someone takes Marc on the offer and runs a 20 year sim and sees if the "pick up/release" syndrome has been fixed.

I've been one of the more ardent supporters of the game here, so I can't say I would be a good choice to test that. Maybe someone like the Dog or someone similar...


I'm figuring the "limited preview" wouldn't be able to do that. If it could, I'd run a 20 year sim (heck, I'd run 100 if I could) on my computer and look at the results.

[Bea-Arthurs Hip]

Minor feature to most but something I really missed last year, will there be any sound in this years version?

[CraigSca]

No or limited sound this year - I heard that's on the table for 2008.

[Marc Duffy]

I'm figuring the "limited preview" wouldn't be able to do that. If it could, I'd run a 20 year sim (heck, I'd run 100 if I could) on my computer and look at the results.

No, it will. By limited I mean that it's going to timeout on you probably after 3-4 days.

[Marc Duffy]

Online League enhancements : http://www.ootpbaseball.net/clubhouse.php?view=news&gid=26&id=1279

[Bee]

The discussion on the OOTP boards about the historic league that TigerFan reported on for the Day 3 TRTR blog is pretty interesting. He's reporting on various players/teams that people are asking about. It's pretty amazing to me how realistic the results were across the board especially considering there's still time for more bug fixes.

[Ksyrup]

Interesting write-up regarding the historical replay feature. I want this game just for that at this point!

Although, as I suspected, the 'recalculate' feature looks like it is the big trade-off - sacrifice the lesser-knowns becoming more than washouts/bit players but gain accuracy for all players' career paths. Honestly, I'd rather have the former than the latter. Part of the fun of the game is not so much the replay per se as it is the surprises that unfold. And it seems like the only surprises that come out of this kind of replay are (1) injuries to great players and (2) trades. Otherwise, players pretty much progress like they did IRL.

The other thing I don't like is forcing changes to how a player is used. WIth the recalulate feature, Smoltz and Eckersley automatically become relievers/closers as they did IRL. IMO, there should be a contextual reason for those moves that is justified within the replay itself, and not just because they did so IRL. Like I said, it's a big trade-off.

I intend to run my historical replay from about the point that Babe Ruth switches over to full-time OF to get beyond the pitcher/hitter issue (although who he plays for is going to seriously alter the history of the game early-on, obviously) without the recalculate feature turned on, but I think I will assign rookies to their original teams to keep at least a little continuity with real life. And unlike TigerFan, I most certainly will turn on free agency about 1975 or so. I can't imagine baseball (or sports in general) without it now.

In fact, if Markus would like me to pick up where TF left off and run some historical tests using alternative game settings, I'd be happy to post my comments about them. :)

[Bee]

It would be interesting to see a historic replay with the "recalculate" turned off.

[Buccaneer]

There would be absolutely no way I would play with recalculate on. I like the variance that OOTP5 gives you with historical players - unpredictable yet within the range of plausibility - even without the effects of trading and injuries.

[Qrusher14242]

So with recalculate off does it still change the league totals over the years? I wouldnt want to have recalculate on if it automatically changes players positions. That would make it more of a replay league.

[TigerFan1]

It would be interesting to see a historic replay with the "recalculate" turned off.


I will post some results with recalculate off in the next day or so. You certainly still have the option to have historical player development be more random like in past versions.

[Bee]

I will post some results with recalculate off in the next day or so. You certainly still have the option to have historical player development be more random like in past versions.

Thanks! It's nice that we'll have the ability to tweak the game like that so everyone can get something close to what they want. I have no idea which way I'll go, but I am curious to see what kinds of numbers you get with "recalculate" turned off.

[Ksyrup]

I will post some results with recalculate off in the next day or so. You certainly still have the option to have historical player development be more random like in past versions.


Hey, back off! I was angling for a preview copy of the game and you're seriously damaging my chances! ;)

[TigerFan1]

So with recalculate off does it still change the league totals over the years? I wouldnt want to have recalculate on if it automatically changes players positions. That would make it more of a replay league.

I think I understand your question. You want to be able to have the league totals automatically adjust each season just like in OOTP2006 without players changing their positions, correct?

If so, the answer is yes if you want to. They are 2 seperate options that can be turned on or off.

Auto adjust league totals can be enabled or disabled. Enabling it will make the overall league stats follow a development curve similiar to real life. It is designed to make sure you get the homerun explosion in the 1990's and very few homers in the deadball era.

Recalculate player ratings is another option that can be turned on or off. If turned on, you can actually choose to have the ratings based on just the current season, a 3 year period or a 5 year period. Regardless if you enable this option or not you can still turn on or off the option to auto adjust league totals.


Think of it this way:
Auto adjust league totals focus is really on the league as a whole with the goal being to get the right number of homeruns (and all other stat categories) without being concerned who hits them.

Recalculate player ratings is more designed to make sure that the right players hit close to the right number of homeruns.

The only time they do not work well together is when you select the option to recalculate ratings based on the current season only and turn on the auto adjust league settings. You get some real weird numbers that way (and there is a warning in game setup telling you not to do this) but any other combination works fine.


Hope that helps clear it up.

[TigerFan1]

To clarify things from my blog a little bit here are some of the new options historical simmers will have with OOTP2007.

There are now two basic modes of play for historical simmers. I am not sure if there will be an official name to each but I have been calling them Classic Mode and Hall of Fame mode.

Classic mode is basically what we have been using all along with the OOTP series. You can import players based on a few different options (whole career, remaining career, peak seasons, etc) but once they are imported their development is no longer based on their real-life careers. They will develop just as a fictional player would in OOTP. The result, as we all know, can give you some careers that pan out similiar to real life but a large number of players develop at a very different pace from their real life careers.

In Classic mode, just as in the past, you can choose to have your league totals recalculated automatically each year. The goal of this is to give the league realistic stats (a lot of work has gone and continues to go into this by the testers). The league leaders may not be the same players they were in real life but the stats will look more or less right for the era. In this mode there will be a homerun explosion in the 90's but it could be Sam Horn instead of Mark McGwire leading the way.

The Hall of Fame mode is the new option a user has. For the past few years there have been a number of people tinkering with modified databases to try and get the players to perform closer to what they did in real life. One of the goals the past few years for Markus and historical beta testers has been to make historical play much easier to use and this Hall of Fame mode is big step in that direction for those who want more of a realistic feel to their league. With the Hall of Fame mode enabled the default player development engine is replaced and players instead change throughout their careers based on their real life stats. The only time I believe the default development kicks in with this mode of play is if a player retired in real life but is still active in the sim.

The result of this Hall of Fame or recalculate ratings mode is player development is so much more accurate. It is this mode of play that my blog was discussing.

Is one mode better than the other? That depends on the user. I expect those who like to sim in 'God Mode' just as commissioners of a solo league will likely prefer the new Hall of Fame mode while online leagues and solo players who like to manage a team may prefer the alternate career paths that result with the Classic Mode. Either way, it is an option and in both cases setting up and playing out a historical league is much easier this time around.

Among the things that make it easier in both modes are the auto expansion draft, automatic team movement and league realignment, auto implementation of the DH at the right time and auto adjustment of the postseason. In Hall of Fame mode you also get the benefit of not having to change Babe Ruth from a pitcher to a hitter, or moving guys like Eckersley to the pen.

The real nice thing in both modes, for those so inclined, is you can start the game up in 1901 and walk away from the cpu. When you come back and it is 2006 in your league you will see that expansion and team movements occurred fine and everything else is how it should be. For someone who does not know when or how to move the Dodgers and Giants west, the game will now do it for you. This, like most other features, is an option so alternate reality buffs can still leave the Dodgers in Brooklyn should they so desire.

Bottom line. Historical simming is much easier and results much more realistic for those that want them to be without sacrificing the randomness that others may prefer.

[Bee]

I have a question. Under the "recalculate" mode, can the AI change a player's position and if it does will it get changed back during the next "recalculation" period?

[rjolley]

Has Markus been able to include players who can pitch and hit, like Ruth did? Instead of switching their position completely, can I, for instance, play Ruth in the field when he's not pitching and he'll still perform? And, more importantly, will the AI be able to take advantage of that type of player?

[cubboyroy1826]

I like what has been said about the historical expansion and teams moving cities. As for the expansion in historical mode is there an actual expansion draft? I like a lot of what i am hearing so far but remain guarded and will probably wait to hear some feeback once it is released.

[TigerFan1]

I have a question. Under the "recalculate" mode, can the AI change a player's position and if it does will it get changed back during the next "recalculation" period?


Initially it is set when recalculating the ratings. However, the AI will set it back the next day if necessary once it has set up its roster.

A good example from my blog sim is Pete Rose. Rose spend virtually all of the 1970's in my sim playing second base for the Reds, despite the fact he was an outfielder and third baseman during that time period in real life. The reason was the Reds did not acquire Joe Morgan from Houston in this sim so there was a need at second base.

[TigerFan1]

Has Markus been able to include players who can pitch and hit, like Ruth did? Instead of switching their position completely, can I, for instance, play Ruth in the field when he's not pitching and he'll still perform? And, more importantly, will the AI be able to take advantage of that type of player?

I don't believe so. I am pretty sure a player will be either a pitcher or a position player, but not both during any given season.

[TigerFan1]

I like what has been said about the historical expansion and teams moving cities. As for the expansion in historical mode is there an actual expansion draft? I like a lot of what i am hearing so far but remain guarded and will probably wait to hear some feeback once it is released.

Yes there is an actual expansion draft. You can customize how many players each of the existing teams can protect and the AI can run the entire draft on it's own.

[TigerFan1]

It would be interesting to see a historic replay with the "recalculate" turned off.


I just simmed from 1901-2006 with recalculate turned off. Here is a little bit of info from the league. If there is anything in particular you want to know about let me know and I will do my best to post it.

The first thing that stands out for me is Jimmie Foxx. He became one of the greatest players I have seen in any historical sim I have ever run. (Note, I did set injuries to low for the entire sim rather than normal so that might have been a factor in Foxx's longevity.

Drafted first overall by the Cubs as a 16 year old in the June 1924 draft, Foxx would go on to lead the majors in virtually every offensive career stat category as he enjoyed a career that spanned 30 years.


Year/Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R AVG
1924 Chicago - ML 16 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167
1925 Chicago - ML 17 130 418 150 21 6 16 111 74 .359
1926 Chicago - ML 18 145 573 178 35 4 17 110 102 .311
1927 Chicago - ML 19 149 595 218 33 4 41 157 122 .366
1928 Chicago - ML 20 149 589 193 30 11 23 122 101 .328
1929 Chicago - ML 21 149 596 192 21 3 47 138 137 .322
1930 Chicago - ML 22 148 558 231 26 4 62 184 168 .414
1931 Chicago - ML 23 147 547 184 26 5 35 117 128 .336
1932 Chicago - ML 24 148 551 196 23 9 46 138 138 .356
1933 Chicago - ML 25 134 486 134 20 6 23 78 84 .276
1934 Chicago - ML 26 122 453 125 17 3 35 101 90 .276
1935 Chicago - ML 27 150 555 171 25 4 50 136 129 .308
1936 Chicago - ML 28 141 526 165 21 8 42 125 121 .314
1937 Chicago - ML 29 131 484 152 21 9 36 111 120 .314
1938 Chicago - ML 30 149 557 187 25 5 50 132 134 .336
1939 Chicago - ML 31 151 556 165 34 3 37 127 122 .297
1940 Chicago - ML 32 151 558 192 29 5 45 121 131 .344
1941 Chicago - ML 33 152 547 175 30 10 44 136 111 .320
1942 Chicago - ML 34 153 549 169 20 9 45 106 127 .308
1943 Chicago - ML 35 152 556 161 21 6 34 98 96 .290
1944 Chicago - ML 36 122 475 140 20 11 33 97 103 .295
1945 Chicago - ML 37 150 572 183 25 15 34 113 103 .320
1946 Chicago - ML 38 142 531 157 15 9 27 69 88 .296
1947 Chicago - ML 39 137 498 130 23 4 28 75 81 .261
1948 Chicago - ML 40 139 511 146 29 8 32 91 82 .286
1949 Chicago - ML 41 72 270 69 13 0 8 41 34 .256
1950 Chicago - ML 42 106 393 101 18 4 13 62 59 .257
1951 Chicago - ML 43 124 372 104 27 5 13 62 64 .280
1952 Chicago - ML 44 108 252 50 5 2 6 34 31 .198
1953 Chicago - ML 45 48 61 10 2 3 0 7 10 .164
Total ML 30 yrs. 3902 14195 4429 655 175 922 2999 2891 .312

A 5 time National League MVP, Foxx's career totals dwarf anyone else to ever play the game.

His 3902 career games played are more than 600 more than anyone else (Jim Breazeale is second with 3275 followed by Willie McCovey with 3271).

His 2891 runs scored are over 500 more than McCovey (2338).

His 4429 hits are more than 600 more than Joe Torre (3772) and Willie McCovey (3715)

Foxx drove in 2999 runs, nearly 600 more than Willie McCovey (2407). Jose Canseco is third with 2095 after just passing Joe Dimaggio (2071) late in the 2006 season.

Foxx hit 922 career homers. Here are the members of the 500 homerun club at the end of 2006.


1 Jimmie Foxx 922 1924-1953
2 Willie McCovey 898 1958-1979
3 Jose Canseco# 770 1984-2006
4 Howard Johnson 681 1981-2001
5 R Palmeiro 665 1985-2005
6 Orlando Cepeda 642 1957-1975
7 Leon Wagner 607 1957-1974
8 Joe DiMaggio 600 1935-1953
9 Frank Thomas# 596 1989-2006
10 Frank Robinson 590 1955-1973
11 Jim Thome# 585 1990-2006
12 Eddie Mathews 582 1951-1970
13 Eddie Murray 577 1976-1994
14 Gil Hodges 561 1944-1962
15 Jim Rice 559 1973-1997
16 Mark McGwire 558 1986-2000
17 Todd Hundley# 556 1990-2006
18 Kal Daniels 535 1985-2003
19 Ken McMullen 534 1962-1985
20 Albert Belle 526 1988-2004
21 Al Rosen 509 1947-1964
22 A Galarraga 508 1984-2000
23 Cecil Fielder 505 1984-2002

#still active

[rjolley]

What happened with Ruth, Bonds, and Sosa?

[SirFozzie]

29 year career? drafted and in the majors at age 16? Um.....