PureSim Baseball 2007 for $14.99

[Shaun Sullivan]

Hi guys, I have been on vacation all week, so I'm not sure how much this has been discussed, but the guys at Matrix are doing a pretty cool 2 week promotion offering PureSim 2007 for just $14.99. That is a pretty sweet deal -- PureSim for the price of a beer and a pretzel at Fenway :)

Anyway the promo starts at midnight tonight and runs for 2 weeks, so if you have been on the fence with PureSim, this may be the time to pull the trigger.

Sorry for the shameless promotional tone here, but I wanted to be sure to get the word out...

Shaun

[ScottVib]

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=50747

This boards good ;)

[Shaun Sullivan]

Whoops. Sorry, should have seen that.

[DaddyTorgo]

more publicity is never bad though shaun

[Franklinnoble]

http://www.digitalstadium.org/smf/index.php

[rkmsuf]

another scoop for sportsdigs

[DaddyTorgo]

man we should just all be hanging out at sportsdigs!

[stevew]

all hail the digital stadium!@

[moriarty]

man we should just all be hanging out at sportsdigs!

Yeah, who needs threads here. We can just link everything to Sportsdigs.

[jbmagic]

From Shaun

Its tricky to lower the price, there is always a risk of alienating a customer who made a recent purchase. It is for this very reason that we announced the upcoming promotion in advance. There is really no perfect way to do a price break without it miffing someone. I'll talk with the Matrix guys when they get back from the Origins conference and we'll be sure to look at cases where folks purchased right before the announcement. In the past we have addressed these situations on a case by case basis, and the Matrix guys are super customer-focused so I'm sure we'll make good in cases where you feel you got a raw deal. The very fact that Matrix let me give PureSim 2005 Gold edition free to all existing PS 2005 customers was enough to convince me how serious the company is about customer support.

I still feel at $29.99 the game is a good value and at $14.99 I pretty much don't even make any money. The game is not selling anywhere near my goals, so hopefully this promo will get the word out. I'm pretty bummed out about sales right now -- I was really hoping this would be the breakout year for PureSim, but it just hasn't happened. Maybe there is just too much competition in such a niche genre...

If you haven't purchased yet, make sure you do so in the 2 week time window starting at midnight tonight. After 7/14 the price will be going back up to $29.99.

[sovereignstar]

You mean there are people who are whining that they bought the game right before the discout was announced?

Tough shit.

[DanGarion]

Shaun for what it's worth I bought all three games and yours at full price. I'll probably eventually get to it and hopefully enjoy it.

Keep fighting the good fight.

[Marc Duffy]

Keep the faith Shaun, you have a great game there!!

[SirFozzie]

yeah, Shaun. I think once 7/14 has come and go, I'll "lose" my beta serial again and be *gasp* forced to buy the game :)

[CraigSca]

Sorry to hear that sales haven't been up to your expectations. FWIW, I bought at full price...every little bit helps :)

[spleen1015]

Player development during the season and you have my $$$.

[mauchow]

Shaun, keep up the hard work. With OOTP's bump in the road, you'll definitely be getting a good shot at some big sales next year... imo

[wade moore]

One has to wonder how much Matrix's handling of M-F has effected sales...

[MizzouRah]

One has to wonder how much Matrix's handling of M-F has effected sales...

I thought that as well. I wonder how many more games Shaun has sold solo vs signing with Matrix?

[stevew]

One has to wonder how much Matrix's handling of M-F has effected sales...

Yeah, it makes me leary to buy, knowing that at least some of my cash goes to those jack-a-lopes.

[Shaun Sullivan]

I didn't really follow the MF situation closely, but what I can say is the Matrix guys have been super to me. I have 100% creative control, set all deadlines, run all betas etc. They provide me with bandwidth, FTP space, marketing and support.

PureSim 2007 is selling better than any other version -- I think I may have had a little overzealous expectations sales-wise.

[Cringer]

$15?

That's a bargain up the butt I say.

Have had it for a while now and love it. $15 is insane, is Matrix run by a used car salesman with a wacky name and wacky commercials?

[Buccaneer]

Sometimes I just don't get people buying games. Are you telling there's a difference, from a buyer's perspective, between $15 and $30?!?!? That's a $15 difference which is the price of one and half movies, a case of beer or a half to a third a tank of gas. Most of us waste that much in a short amount of time and we quibble over a relatively few dollars for something that potentially give us comparatively much more in return?

[Passacaglia]

Sometimes I just don't get people buying games. Are you telling there's a difference, from a buyer's perspective, between $15 and $30?!?!? That's a $15 difference which is the price of one and half movies, a case of beer or a half to a third a tank of gas. Most of us waste that much in a short amount of time and we quibble over a relatively few dollars for something that potentially give us comparatively much more in return?

Well, it's a 50% savings. And some of us don't go to movies that often, don't drink, and don't drive to work every day. I'm not saying that $15 is going to break my bank, but I can see paying only $15 for a game (50% off) that's had such great reviews, even if I'm not interested in baseball, is pretty tempting.

[heybrad]

I've finished my yard work and been grocery shopping. I've got nothing to do until later tonight, so I've taken the plunge.

[Ben E Lou]

I purchased it as well. I'd been meaning to grab this one for a while. First two thoughts are quite positive:

1. Sim is definitely running faster than the last time I tried it. It is now definitely feasible to play my style (sim for solid history overnight to start the league, then sim a month at a time).

2. Dat HTML output look so good...

Looking forward to diving into the guts of this one at some point in the near future.

Quick question: what league customization abilities are there? Can I tweak stats to my liking, get 10-15 CG's from the best SP's, etc.?

[stevew]

Heybrad update

I've finished my yard work and been grocery shopping. I've got nothing to do until later tonight, so I've taken the plunge.

Sounds like a good idea

[PilotMan]

I have been looking at this for a while as well, and this was the right time to give it a whirl. I really like the integrated Lahman DB.

[SunDevil]

I didn't really follow the MF situation closely, but what I can say is the Matrix guys have been super to me. I have 100% creative control, set all deadlines, run all betas etc. They provide me with bandwidth, FTP space, marketing and support.

PureSim 2007 is selling better than any other version -- I think I may have had a little overzealous expectations sales-wise.


All the more reason why MF failed so bad and why Puresim is a great game. When you put an incompetent person in charge of everything Shaun mentions above (ie. Daivd Winters) you get a disaster. When you give these resources to Shaun he prospers (relative speaking) and puts out a great product.

I mean can anyone imagine the response if Shaun said that if you want to hit more home runs or have men go from 1st to 3rd on a hit to the outfield you need a more powerful computer to boost the frame rates?

Great Game Shaun. I hope you are able to continue to do what you want.

[tanglewood]

I am not a big follower of baseball and don't really know very much about it, but over the last couple of months have been slowly getting ore interested in it, even watching a couple of whole games on TV. I was considering getting OOTP2006, but after he debacle of release I'll wait on that and try out the demo of the patch they relesae before going any firther. I did download OOTP5 though and played a few seasons out and it was pretty fun overall, but a bit unsatisfying in the end. So basically I guess I want to ask a couple of questions:

1. It seems from browsing the website etc. that the big draw for Puresim is historical play. As someone who doesn't know anything about baseball history I'm not interested in that. Is the game still good for playing with fictional players in a modern envioremnt?

2. Is Puresim really so much better than OOTP5 that it's worth buying for a non-baseball guy like myself?

[sabotai]

1. It seems from browsing the website etc. that the big draw for Puresim is historical play. As someone who doesn't know anything about baseball history I'm not interested in that. Is the game still good for playing with fictional players in a modern envioremnt?
I've bought and played several versions of the game and would say that playing a fictional league is its strongest point.

2. Is Puresim really so much better than OOTP5 that it's worth buying for a non-baseball guy like myself?
I would say they are two different playing expierences (about as different as two baseball sims can be, that is). I've bought and played both series and have always had more fun with Puresim when playing fictional leagues. OOTP was always my stop when playing historical replays. So if you are more interested in fictional leagues with fictional players, Puresim will probably be more for you.

[Cringer]

I purchased it as well. I'd been meaning to grab this one for a while. First two thoughts are quite positive:

1. Sim is definitely running faster than the last time I tried it. It is now definitely feasible to play my style (sim for solid history overnight to start the league, then sim a month at a time).

2. Dat HTML output look so good...

Looking forward to diving into the guts of this one at some point in the near future.

Quick question: what league customization abilities are there? Can I tweak stats to my liking, get 10-15 CG's from the best SP's, etc.?

From what I have done with tweaking things, yes it is responsive. I did very little tweaking with homeruns and K's and noticed a difference (went from 50 to 55 for each). It wasn't huge, but that was what I was going for.

Also, I am just now getting out of the deadball era, and started to get a little worried that the engine was not going to adjust (the reason I tweaked homers up above). But with this career the deadball era just lasted a little longer I guess (1927 season the league leader had 25 HRs, and since about the early 20's it has been going up). I am starting to think about running another career and see if the automatic adjustment will differ from game to game. I am doing a fictional league BTW.

I still get 10-15 CGs for the league leaders at this point too. I am not sure what the number will be for a present day game though, and how much to move the sliders.

Also, I recommend that anyone who buys this, get the latest beta patch (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1170905)from the PureSim board. I believe you still get version 1.1 when you buy the game. The next official patch, 1.2 is out soon I think. But the beta patches are pretty stable, I have not had a single problem with 1.8, and they have added/fixed some things that will make the game even better for you.

[Cringer]

Dola- forgot about game customization abilities. What exactly are you looking for? You can pick league size, schedule length, and stuff like that.

[VPI97]

$15?

That's a bargain up the butt I say.
I agree...I bought it when it came out and it hasn't disappointed me. Fine product from Shaun.

[MizzouRah]

Puresim was built FOR fictional play.

[lynchjm24]

Puresim was built FOR fictional play.

I agree that it was, but based on what I read now it seems that more people actually enjoy historical play with it.

[Cringer]

I agree that it was, but based on what I read now it seems that more people actually enjoy historical play with it.

I like fictional play a lot, and my current 30 year long career is fictional, and I think it is great for it. With that said, my first career I started was historical, and I went about 13-15 years with it (the first 5 simmed). I was having just as much fun with that career though and am thinking I may go back to another historical game in a month or so.

[MizzouRah]

I agree that it was, but based on what I read now it seems that more people actually enjoy historical play with it.

No doubt. Shaun's definitly made some major improvements to the historical aspect of his sim.

[aran]

Wow. $15?

Sold.

[ice4277]

Yeah, I picked a copy of it up as well. Played with it for a couple hours this morning, I can see what some folks are saying about the stats, but I think it seems pretty fun. Manager mode is pretty good, especially with the location of the ball being shown, although it does seem a little wonky at times.

I probably also will run a historical league, jumping in to manage a few games every now and again.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Stupid question but ... I've currently got the demo installed, so I'm wondering if I should uninstall it or anything before purchasing from the website link to the online store?

[jbmagic]

Stupid question but ... I've currently got the demo installed, so I'm wondering if I should uninstall it or anything before purchasing from the website link to the online store?


yes

Unistall the demo first.

Then install when you purchase and get the latest beta patch 1.18 too.

[Noop]

Make a football game. While baseball is good football and to a lesser extent basketball appeals to me. My business program would like EWR... release a free version... then improve on that and sale it for 34.99. I wouldn't spend time on graphics as much as I would spend time on making everything play right. Hmm... I think I am griping sorry.

[Flasch186]

well i just bought it and the price drop was definitely the reason if not simply from the unintended marketing on this site letting me know about it, again.

[Capital]

These FOFC threads (and the price drop) and the fact the OOTP2006 appears combursome, by reading various threads on this site and others, will probably lead to me buying this game in the morning.

I assume that there's mods out there that have a 2006 roster? Logos included?

[PadresFan104]

Capital, check out my site.. Lots of good stuff, including a 2006 roster, although it's NOT perfect. I'm better at logos and ballparks than I am at rosters.

Al

http://web.mac.com/sixwilsons/iWeb/PureSimMods/Main.html

These FOFC threads (and the price drop) and the fact the OOTP2006 appears combursome, by reading various threads on this site and others, will probably lead to me buying this game in the morning.

I assume that there's mods out there that have a 2006 roster? Logos included?

[Flasch186]

i signed up for Matrix Games members club to get some of the addons and, while they said they emailed me my password, I did not get it...including my second attempt. hmmmmmm, Shaun?

[Flasch186]

Capital, check out my site.. Lots of good stuff, including a 2006 roster, although it's NOT perfect. I'm better at logos and ballparks than I am at rosters.

Al

http://web.mac.com/sixwilsons/iWeb/PureSimMods/Main.html

awesome....who needs membership!! :)

[Flasch186]

for some reason i remember puresim's financial model being off...is that the case?

[jbmagic]

for some reason i remember puresim's financial model being off...is that the case?


Not for $14.99 :)

[Flasch186]

...LOL

is it better, though, to start a league with the financial models turned off? for career play?

[Franklinnoble]

What's nice is that you can adjust the financials in-game.

For example, if you feel like a particular city has too much money (or not enough), you can easily edit it.

[Flasch186]

where do I extract Wrightwings facepack to, to get the pictures to show up in game?

[Capital]

Can you start PureSim with an expansion team - current day?

For instance, adding 2 teams to make both leagues have equal teams and then I take over 1 of those expansion teams?

[ISiddiqui]

Sometimes I just don't get people buying games. Are you telling there's a difference, from a buyer's perspective, between $15 and $30?!?!? That's a $15 difference which is the price of one and half movies, a case of beer or a half to a third a tank of gas. Most of us waste that much in a short amount of time and we quibble over a relatively few dollars for something that potentially give us comparatively much more in return?

Yes there is. Relative value. Some people may see the game and say, yes its a good game, but to me it's only worth about $20. Others will say, yah it's worth $30 to me, so perfectly priced. Still others will say they are getting a bargain, because it is worth $50 to them. Its not about whether it can be afforded but what the value is for each person of such a game.

And then there are others who really didn't pay attention to PureSim until they saw $14.99.

[Cringer]

Can you start PureSim with an expansion team - current day?

For instance, adding 2 teams to make both leagues have equal teams and then I take over 1 of those expansion teams?

I haven't looked at that, but I don't think so. The expansion in the game is pretty good, but I think that when you get to expanding to more then the current amount of teams you have to take a big jump, something like going to 38 or 40 teams. I could be wrong, I haven't looked at that high in the expansion yet as I am in the 30's in my career.

And when you expand, you can't control the new team until AFTER the expansion draft. Kind of a downer but at the same time I find it a challenge when taking over one of these teams.

[PadresFan104]

where do I extract Wrightwings facepack to, to get the pictures to show up in game?

You extract the folder for each decade into the PureSim Baseball 2007/mods/faces directory.

[PadresFan104]

I haven't looked at that, but I don't think so. The expansion in the game is pretty good, but I think that when you get to expanding to more then the current amount of teams you have to take a big jump, something like going to 38 or 40 teams. I could be wrong, I haven't looked at that high in the expansion yet as I am in the 30's in my career.

And when you expand, you can't control the new team until AFTER the expansion draft. Kind of a downer but at the same time I find it a challenge when taking over one of these teams.

Yep, correct on both accounts. Shaun has had some requests for improving the scope of the expansion feature, but it sounds like it won't be an easy change.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Shaun has had some requests for improving the scope of the expansion feature, but it sounds like it won't be an easy change.

Along with that, I just discovered my first real "I wish" with the game -- I wish that if a team relocates, the league history would retain the name of the team as played rather than as relabeling them with their new identity.

[stevew]

Yes there is. Relative value. Some people may see the game and say, yes its a good game, but to me it's only worth about $20. Others will say, yah it's worth $30 to me, so perfectly priced. Still others will say they are getting a bargain, because it is worth $50 to them. Its not about whether it can be afforded but what the value is for each person of such a game.

And then there are others who really didn't pay attention to PureSim until they saw $14.99.

Some of us are poor, so every penny helps. For me to drop 30 bucks on a game, it had better be good, especially when there are bunches of cheaper options out there in the bargain bin for 20.

[Desmond]

I just picked it up this morning thanks to the price drop. Only problem I have with it so far is runner advancement is a little screwy, im seeing a ton of station to station plays even with 2 outs. And runners being throw out when tagging up, even guys with 90+ speed.

[jbmagic]

I just picked it up this morning thanks to the price drop. Only problem I have with it so far is runner advancement is a little screwy, im seeing a ton of station to station plays even with 2 outs. And runners being throw out when tagging up, even guys with 90+ speed.


Did you install beta patch 1.18?

[Desmond]

No, but I also didn't see anything on the list regarding this issue.

[jbmagic]

No, but I also didn't see anything on the list regarding this issue.

Try it.

No one has complain about it anymore since the latest patch.

[aran]

...Where can i get the official patches?

Matrix's site isn't designed in a particularly intuitive fashion, and there doesn't seem to be a link to anything besides the beta patch in the forums...

EDIT: Nevermind, found it. I had to dig through news items.

[jbmagic]

...Where can i get the official patches?

Matrix's site isn't designed in a particularly intuitive fashion, and there doesn't seem to be a link to anything besides the beta patch in the forums...


Just beta patch 1.18 is the latest that you will need. Shaun said its very sable.

After a few more beta patches, then an official patch release will come out in a couple of weeks.

[Pumpy Tudors]

What's the latest patch out for this game? I haven't played in a couple of weeks, and I just want to make sure I'm up to speed.

[McSweeny]

What's the latest patch out for this game? I haven't played in a couple of weeks, and I just want to make sure I'm up to speed.

please stop causing problems

[jbmagic]

What's the latest patch out for this game? I haven't played in a couple of weeks, and I just want to make sure I'm up to speed.


Look above your post.

Beta patch 1.18

[st.cronin]

I think Pumpy Tudors just got pwned by jbmagic.

[Flasch186]

...Where can i get the official patches?

Matrix's site isn't designed in a particularly intuitive fashion, and there doesn't seem to be a link to anything besides the beta patch in the forums...

EDIT: Nevermind, found it. I had to dig through news items.

jeez, where the heck is it?

[ice4277]

I think Pumpy Tudors just got pwned by jbmagic.

That's pretty rough.

[McSweeny]

I think Pumpy Tudors just got pwned by jbmagic.

i don't think so

jb made like 3 or 4 references to the latest patch in the two puresim threads and then pumpy comes in and asks what the latest patch is

hilarity ensues

[JonInMiddleGA]

jeez, where the heck is it?

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1170905

[jbmagic]

i don't think so

jb made like 3 or 4 references to the latest patch in the two puresim threads and then pumpy comes in and asks what the latest patch is

hilarity ensues


Please stop causing problems.

[Flasch186]

muy gracias!!!

[Desmond]

Try it.

No one has complain about it anymore since the latest patch.

And how long has it been out?

[Cringer]

And how long has it been out?

1.18 came out 10 days ago I believe.

And no, I don't see that specifically listed as a fix/tweak in any of the beta patches since 1.1 came out. I thought it was there too though until I checked. I might have confused it with steal home being fixed...i dunno.

[mgadfly]

Is there a way to adjust the trading difficulty? I started in 1995 as the Seattle Mariners, and now I currently have this roster:

CF Ken Griffey Jr.
SS Alex Rodriquez
LF Barry Bonds
1B Mark McQuire (Signed Free Agent)
RF Jay Buhner
3B Edgar Martinez
DH Tino Martinez
C Dan Wilson
2b Joey Cora

Reserves:
C Casanova
IF Wade Boggs
IF Derek Jeter
OF Daryl Strawberry
IF Luis Sojo
OF Marc Newfield

Boggs and Strawberry are a little over the hill, but they both hit well last season. Strawberry hit .285 with 17 homers and Boggs hit .335. They both still have solid ratings and would start on a lot of teams.

Jeter is young, but hit .268 with 11 hrs last season and would have improved his numbers this year if I wasn't using him as a reserve. Cora is hitting .318, so it is tough to bench him.

Sojo and Newfield are space fillers.

So, I must have traded all my pitching in order to acquire Bonds, Strawberry, Boggs, and Jeter... No, I actually have improved my rotation more than my position players.

SP1 Randy Johnson
SP2 Pedro Martinez
SP3 John Smoltz
SP4 Curt Schilling
SP5 Danny Darwin (41 years old)

CL Bobby Ayala (R)
MR Greg Olson (R)
MR Justin Thompson (L)
MR Eric Gunderson (L)
MR Rafeal Carmona (long relief, starter if injury)

I also have three starters and a closer almost ready in AAA:
Roger Salkeld
Ramon Garcia
Jason Schmidt
Billy Wagner

I have Shawn Estes and Bob Wolcott in AA with Estes struggling but with tons of potential.

In 1995 (my first season after purchasing Puresim) the Mariners won 108 games but didn't have the starting pitchers to beat Cleveland in the playoffs.

I added Big Mac and 4 new starters (only Randy Johnson returns from the 95 season) for 1996. Am I missing a setting that allows trade difficulty to be adjusted?

[CraigSca]

I see no issue with the ability to sign this guy named Mark McQuire.

[mgadfly]

I see no issue with the ability to sign this guy named Mark McQuire.


Oops. I meant Mark Mcgwire.

[CraigSca]

Yeah, sorry to call you on that. My biggest pet peeve is the immortal Cal Ripkin.

[JonInMiddleGA]

re: mgadfly's Seattle roster -- I had already figured out how easily a set of superstars could be collected just from a couple of days with the demo last week. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd be starting to think that PS was basically Mogul with a different name (and perhaps more realistic stat outputs).

[mgadfly]

re: mgadfly's Seattle roster -- I had already figured out how easily a set of superstars could be collected just from a couple of days with the demo last week. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd be starting to think that PS was basically Mogul with a different name (and perhaps more realistic stat outputs).


I'm going to have to go with some major self-imposed limitations. In my second season I'm 25 games ahead of California in the AL West. California is the third best team in the majors behind us and Cleveland.

In August I lost 0-10 to Cleveland, won the next 25 games, and then lost 4-7 to Oakland on the last day of the month. Ohh so close to the perfect month!

[mgadfly]

I don't know how to mess with the xml, but here is my line-up entering September:

CF Ken Griffey Jr. .357 43 hr 128 rbi 53 sb (caught 9 times)
SS Alex Rodriguez .303 43 hr 122 rbi 44 sb (caught 6 times)
LF Barry Bonds .326 56 hr 160 rbi 22 sb
1B Mark Mcgwire .373 81 hr 182 rbi
RF Jay Buhner .340 58 hr 146 rbi
DH Tino Martinez .362 28 hr 63 rbi (only starts against RHP)
3B Edgar Martinez .277 33 hr 93 rbi
C Ivan Rodriguez .251 14 hr 55 rbi (picked up at trading deadline, splits with Dan Wilson)
2B Joey Cora .342 7 hr 52 rbi (having the season of his life) 20 sb

I'm using the Kingdome that came with the game.

My rotation:
Randy Johnson 21-1 4.09 era
John Smoltz 17-2 3.21 era
Curt Schilling 15-4 3.61 era
Pedro Martinez 18-5 3.40 era
Danny Darwin 13-1 3.59 era

The bullpen sucks, but I have a "very slow hook" and am giving 8+ runs per game in support of the pitchers.

On the bench I have:
Jeter .275 5 hr
Wilson .264 7 hr
Strawberry .292 9 hr
Boggs & Nixon haven't had enough at bats this season to really report on.

If Griffey and AROD can have 7 hrs in September/October, I'll probably have 2 guys with 50-50 seasons.

Overall I like this game and am playing it rather than OOTP, but it looks to be way too easy.

[PadresFan104]

mgadfly - any chance you can post the actual trades that you were able to pull off? If there's a problem in the AI trade logic, I'd love for Shaun to be able to tweak it for an upcoming patch. The only way to help him though is to provide some solid examples of bad AI decisions.

Things to note:

- Are you playing with finances on or off?

- What were the ratings and general stats of the players involved?

- If the finances are on, was the AI team in a rebuilding mode, actively looking to drop payroll?

- Did the AI team benefit at all from the trade, or was it really a one sided deal?

Lastly, it worth noting that when playing historical associations the human player has a HUGE advantage as they know the relative career arc that the player will take. The AI just sees the ratings and is handicapped. This is a big reason why it's harder to be as successful in a fictional league on a consistent basis.

[mgadfly]

mgadfly - any chance you can post the actual trades that you were able to pull off? If there's a problem in the AI trade logic, I'd love for Shaun to be able to tweak it for an upcoming patch. The only way to help him though is to provide some solid examples of bad AI decisions.

Things to note:

- Are you playing with finances on or off?

- What were the ratings and general stats of the players involved?

- If the finances are on, was the AI team in a rebuilding mode, actively looking to drop payroll?

- Did the AI team benefit at all from the trade, or was it really a one sided deal?

Lastly, it worth noting that when playing historical associations the human player has a HUGE advantage as they know the relative career arc that the player will take. The AI just sees the ratings and is handicapped. This is a big reason why it's harder to be as successful in a fictional league on a consistent basis.

I'll post the specific trades once I have a chance to go back through them all. I haven't played the playoffs yet, but here are the numbers for my guys after the end of the regular season:

CF Griffey Jr. .355 55 hr 149 rbi 62 sb
SS AROD .322 60 169 52
LF B. Bonds .326 59 166 23 (missed 6 weeks due to injury)
1B Mcgwire .375 104 235 0 (yes, 104 hrs, 235 rbi)
RF Buhner .328 73 174 0
3B Edgar M. .287 39 107 0
DH Tino M. .331 32 74 0
C Pudge .248 18 66 4
2B Cora .319 9 57 21

OF Strawberry .277 15 38 0
IF D. Jeter .286 8 36 9
C D. Wilson .260 7 37 0
OF O. Nixon .235 1 1 4
IF W. Boggs -- -- -- --

SP R. Johnson 26-1 3.79 264 k
SP P. Martinez 22-6 3.66 234
SP J. Smoltz 20-3 3.54 205
SP C. Schilling 20-5 3.72 197
SP B. Darwin 13-1 3.54 95 (missed big chunk of season due to injury)


Here are my trades (what do you think):

OF Marc Newfield 24 years old, 56 contact, 41 power, 50 eye, 37 sp, 27 pot, 1.8 M for 4 years
RHP Rafael Carmona 24 yrs, 76 stuff, 60 velocity, 67 control, 47 end, 2 yrs $3.4M, 38 pot
To Texas For
C Ivan Rodriguez 25 yrs, 77 con, 56 pow, 33 eye, 43 sp, 83 arm, 74 pot, 5.2 M for 3 yrs

The salary exchanged was about equal. However, I received a solid 25 year old catcher with the potential (74) to be a future all-star. Texas received a below average OF without the potential (27) to ever really be a contributor and a long relief guy that isn't bad, but doesn't have the potential to be anything more than MAYBE a 4th or 5th starter. It isn't horrible, but it was a pretty bad move by Texas.


TRADE 2:
LHP John Cummings 27 yrs, 77 stuff, 57 vel, 80 con, 17 end, 30 pot, 4.5 M for 4 yrs
TO YANKEES FOR
SS Derek Jeter 22 yrs, 76 con, 46 pow, 56 eye, 65 spd, 62-70-53 (def skills), 100 pot, $4.4M 4 yrs

Cummings is an okay relief pitcher that has posted a 6.70 era and 5.75 era in his first two seasons. He doesn't have the potential to develop into anything better than a left handed specialist, and probably isn't going to do that great of a job at it. Jeter already has the defense, contact, and speed to start for a number of teams at SS. In addition, he has the potential to be a superstar. The big reason why this is a HORRIBLE trade for the Yanks is that there were comparable middle relief guys available in the free agency pool. I traded for Jeter and then signed a nearly identical replacement to Cummings. (see LHP Eric Gunderson, 30 yrs, 80 stuff, 52 vel, 71 con, 22 pot)

Trade 3:
3B Mike Blowers, 31 yrs, 64-53-62-29 (Con-Pow-Eye-Spd) 1 pot, 3.6 M 2 yrs
RHP Todd Worrell, 37 yrs, 82-77-92-1 (Stuff-Vel-Con-End) 1 pot, 6.9 M 1 yr
LHP Ron Villone, 26 yrs, 87-76-66-17 79 pot, 1.8 M 2 yrs
TO Philadelphia FOR
RHP Curt Schilling 30 yrs, 88-78-92-72, 29 pot 10.7 M 3 yrs

I guess this isn't the worst trade. Blowers is a servicable, but old and declining 3B. I was glad to get rid of him, but he isn't bad. Worrell is solid, but expensive for a pitcher with no endurance and who is already 37 years old. I didn't care to lose either of the first two players. Villone was a tough loss since he is 26 years old, has a ton of potential, and is already a very solid left handed pitcher out of the bull pen. The other plus is that he is relatively cheap for the next 2 seasons. I'm not sure if Philly needed to get rid of salary or not, but they did relieve themselves of being committed to pay Schilling 10.7 million for 3 years. Still, I landed one of the best starters in the league for two players that didn't contribute and aren't much better than back-up quality players and Villone.


Trade 4:
LHP Dave Fleming 27 yrs, 70-43-64-68 34 pot 4.2 M 2 yrs
RHP Jeff Nelson 30 yrs, 86-86-78-14 16 pot 1.1 M 1 yr
To ATLANTA FOR
RHP John Smoltz 29 yrs, 89-77-88-75 10 pot 9.3 M 5 yrs

Atlanta won their division. Nelson is a middle reliever for them that finished with an excellent 3.76 era. Fleming is the teams 4th left-handed reliever and finished with a 6.15 era after being promoted from Atlanta's AAA after posting a 6.19 era there. Atlanta did manage to get rid of Smoltz's large contract, but he is one of the best starting pitchers in the league. Fleming is below average for a starter and will probably not last long in the league. The question here has to be whether Nelson for Smoltz is a fair trade. I don't think so, as Smoltz gives you everything Nelson does except he as a starter rather than a middle reliever.

Trade #5:
RHP Tim Belcher 35 yrs, 79-53-79-75 1 pot, 4.0 M 1 yr
RHP Bill Risley 29 yrs, 89-77-81-14 26 pot, 6.9 M 2 yrs
TO MONTREAL FOR
RHP Pedro Martinez 25 yrs 88-81-87-77 68 pot, 12.9 M 2 yrs

An average starter that is way over the hill and a solid reliever for a staff Ace with the potential to develop into a Cy Young winner. The salary demands for a single player might factor in, but Pedro is one of the best pitchers in the game.


I'm going to skip over a couple trades and get back to the Bonds trade...

C Chris Widger, 25 yrs, 51-55-49-42 35 arm 42 pot 2.5 for 4 yrs
LF Darren Bragg, 27 yrs, 65-44-70-49, 97 pot 4.5 for 3 yrs
RHP Bob Wells, 30 yrs, 79-59-81-31 40 pot 6.2 M 3 yrs
Traded To SAN FRANCISCO FOR
LF Barry Bonds 32 yrs, 72-74-95-73 1 pot 6.8 M for 4 yrs

This might have been the best deal for them because Darren Bragg may turn into an excellent LF. Widger and Wells are both pretty crappy, but Bragg gives them a chance to have a solid young left fielder for a number of seasons. Bonds however, is a legitimate star with great skills. He isn't getting any better, but his on base percentage, power, and speed make him one of the most valuable players in the league.

[henry296]

You will always be able to "rip off" the CPU with multi player trades. The AI will only do 1 for 1 trades, therefore I've limited myself to 1 for 1 trades.

Also were you using the latest patch? Shaun has decreased the value of relief pitching in the trade engine.

[mgadfly]

You will always be able to "rip off" the CPU with multi player trades. The AI will only do 1 for 1 trades, therefore I've limited myself to 1 for 1 trades.

Also were you using the latest patch? Shaun has decreased the value of relief pitching in the trade engine.

Yeah, once I restart a new career that will be the first limitation I put on myself. That still doesn't change the Jeter trade which doesn't make much sense, but it will help.

This was with Beta patch 1.18.

[rowech]

Here's the other part of that....when you know the guys and what they'll become you can play those kinds of trades....the computer doesn't know guy A from guy B other than the numbers. I'd like to see you do fictional league and see if you can get the same deals done.

[rowech]

Here's the other part of that....when you know the guys and what they'll become you can play those kinds of trades....the computer doesn't know guy A from guy B other than the numbers. I'd like to see you do fictional league and see if you can get the same deals done.

[aran]

I'm using the beta patch 1.8 and I got several crashes yesterday while looking at stats and trying to bring up player cards.

Anyone else have such problems?

[mgadfly]

Here's the other part of that....when you know the guys and what they'll become you can play those kinds of trades....the computer doesn't know guy A from guy B other than the numbers. I'd like to see you do fictional league and see if you can get the same deals done.

I agree that doing this in a fictional league would be more difficult since I would not be familiar with the players, but I still would have known that:

LHP John Doe 27 yrs, 77 stuff, 57 vel, 80 con, 17 end, 30 pot, 4.5 M for 4 yrs
TO YANKEES FOR
SS Jonathan Doe 22 yrs, 76 con, 46 pow, 56 eye, 65 spd, 62-70-53 (def skills), 100 pot, $4.4M 4 yrs


would be a good deal. The relief pitcher above is very average and his potential showed that he probably isn't ever going to be better than average (these guys are available as unsigned free agents through most of the season). The SS with his 100 potential and already above average ratings at age 22, regardless of whether his name was Derek Jeter or not, was a steal and the computer should not have gone for it.

[mgadfly]

And has anyone seen someone hit 104 home runs in a season? Is there a fix?

[Cringer]

And has anyone seen someone hit 104 home runs in a season? Is there a fix?

Never seen it. I have not seen any out of control numbers like that. Adjust your sliders I guess.

I'm using the beta patch 1.8 and I got several crashes yesterday while looking at stats and trying to bring up player cards.

Anyone else have such problems?

Do you use IE 7 beta or whatever it is? The game has problems for people who use that browser. I fix is coming in the next patch.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Allright, i bit and bought it. Couldn't beat the price.Mostly a wonderful experience. Easily beating out ootp. Now I have a couple of questions.

I started a league in 1900 with real players. Does this game have expansion?

I also started another league using 2006 as a template with real players. The season ran about 2 hrs. After that I ran off-season. Any Idea why it took 5+hrs to go through the offseason? I have a P41.7 w/512mb ram.

[henry296]

Yes, it does have expansion if you have the 1.1 patch. You must enable it in the options and it prompts you if you want to expand after the free agency period.

[Cringer]

Allright, i bit and bought it. Couldn't beat the price.Mostly a wonderful experience. Easily beating out ootp. Now I have a couple of questions.

I started a league in 1900 with real players. Does this game have expansion?

I also started another league using 2006 as a template with real players. The season ran about 2 hrs. After that I ran off-season. Any Idea why it took 5+hrs to go through the offseason? I have a P41.7 w/512mb ram.

1) Yes there is expansion. It will ask you if you want to expand every year, after the finalize rosters stage.

2) Not sure why it would take so long for you. My computer is poop compared to that and it doesn't take anywhere near that. The almanac building takes a while, but I have a 30 year career too so not much I can do about that.

[Apathetic Lurker]

1) Yes there is expansion. It will ask you if you want to expand every year, after the finalize rosters stage.

2) Not sure why it would take so long for you. My computer is poop compared to that and it doesn't take anywhere near that. The almanac building takes a while, but I have a 30 year career too so not much I can do about that.


thanks, I guess I wont run it seasons at a time so i can play with expansion.

[mgadfly]

I have been playing with a fictional universe and have not had the same amount of poor trades, but I am still a little worried about how easy this game is.

I took over Tampa Bay in 2012. In 2011 they were the worst team in the league losing 109 games. They had one quality player (a veteran CF) and pretty much nothing else (a couple young prospects and one solid starting pitcher).

In 2012 I went 89-73 finishing 1 game behind Seattle for the wild card. It wasn't so much my inability to get talent that prevented me from getting to the playoffs as it was my very modest budget (4th from the bottom) and the fact that a number of computer run teams couldn't make trades they were otherwise willing to make because they were already strapped for cash. The only teams that I was really able to trade with was New York and Boston (each had about $30M in free finances).

Our offense went from 23rd ranked to 1st and our defense went from 30th ranked to 20th. I have six or seven solid starters, but no bullpen at all. If the catcher I traded for hadn't turned out to be a bust (I replaced him with a rookie at the trading deadline) I probably would have won the East.

What I like about Puresim:
* Better than previous versions
* Ability to use varying scales of ratings (I think in the past PS only allowed 1-100 ratings, which I hate)
* the Almanac
* The magazine
* The little ball on games that you coach yourself (I love it compared to pure text)

What I don't like:
* Speed (the free agency is horrible! Each week takes forever on my computer)
* Salaries (the spread seems off to me as mediocre players often times demand more money than I think they do in real life)
* Trading (in order to make it work you must come up with a set of home rules. This reminds me of playing previous versions of OOTP where I would have a ton of rules about when I'm able to make a trade. For me, the fun is building a team, and without trading working right it kind of ruins most of the game)
* No Back Button (at first I didn't like the browser feel to OOTP this year, but I love being able to push "back" instead of having to find that page again.)

[Neuqua]

I'm looking to start a Fictional league with fictional players and teams. Simulate about 50 years of history. and then take over a team and play out each one of their games over the season.

Is this the game for me?

[Icy]

Does it have full minors? What about the economic system?
I tried older versions there were no full minors and no waivers, rule 5 draft, etc (not that are working so good in OOTP anyway, but i like them). Has all that been implemented already? How is the rosters management AI? Depending on that and tomorrow's ootp patch i could be willing to buy puresim for my baseball fix.

[PadresFan104]

I have been playing with a fictional universe and have not had the same amount of poor trades, but I am still a little worried about how easy this game is.

I think this is an excellent review of the games strength's and weaknesses. I've spent countless hours with the game and would say that if Shaun spent some time tweaking salaries (finances) and the trading AI, it would make the game much more challenging.

[mgadfly]

I'm looking to start a Fictional league with fictional players and teams. Simulate about 50 years of history. and then take over a team and play out each one of their games over the season.

Is this the game for me?


I don't want to discourage you from buying this game, I've had fun with it, but it took me several hours to simulate 5 seasons. Lets say it is only 30 minutes per season, I'd have to wait an entire day to start my league.

Maybe there is something I can do (outside of buying a new computer) to improve speed.

[mgadfly]

Does it have full minors? What about the economic system?
I tried older versions there were no full minors and no waivers, rule 5 draft, etc (not that are working so good in OOTP anyway, but i like them). Has all that been implemented already? How is the rosters management AI? Depending on that and tomorrow's ootp patch i could be willing to buy puresim for my baseball fix.


It has minors. I don't do much with them, and I'm not sure they play out like in OOTP, but you can have guys in AAA, AA, and A.

I don't think there are waivers, rule 5 drafts, or any of the nitty gritty details like them.

But I'm not sure as I've only played the game for a few days and haven't really looked into how all of that works (I've basically stuck to what pops up on my screen telling me it has to be done).

[henry296]

There are multiple levels of minors, but if you play with real players, you'll only use AAA and maybe AA especially if you start early in history. Basically with real players you'll want to play with 35 or 50 man rosters so you limit the number of fictional players.

No waivers, options or rule 5 draft, mainly due to the issues with the CPU adjusting to those nuances.

Each team has a budget that rises proportionally each season or you can edit them every year. No need to worry about stadiums or attendance.

[JW]

I bought Puresim for $14.99 and created a fictional league to sim mirroring my fictional OOTP 6.5 league, i.e. same structure, same starting point, 1950. I've invested more than 30 fictional years in my OOTP league and have had great fun with it. I sim only, btw, simming monthly or weekly until the playoffs and then simming daily and if I reach the championship series, simming games by inning. I've done it that way for several OOTP versions. It is just the way I like to play. I use a 24-team fictional league of two 12-team leagues with three four-team divisions in each league.

I tried Puresim at the reduced price and find that although the game is interesting, I don't like it, at least right now, as much as OOTP 6.5 (I don't even want to attempt OOTP 2006 after reading everything about it.) I've played abouut half a season of my Puresim league for comparison. Here are some specific things I found I don't like about Puresim.

1. No league splits for stats. That is a major annoyance for me. In my two-league association, I can't split the stats by league like I can in OOTP and like MLB does. At least it isn't easily done on the stat page and I haven't found a way to do it. If there is, let me know.

2. Slower simming. It just sims slower than OOTP 6.5. I'm going to go back and create a new association and check all my decisions in setting up the association to make sure I set it up for faster simming, and I'm going to look at the way minors are set up. I don't sim minors but I'm wondering if I set up my association the best way to speed up that process. So I want to do the whole setup process again.

3. The layout of the game. I find it easier to manage lineups and my rotation and minors with OOTP. Now honestly it may just be that I'm so used to the OOTP setup that I need to give Puresim more of a chance, but my impression is that the OOTP screens are more user friendly.

Puresim is very interesting. If I didn't have OOTP, I'm sure I would be playing Puresim. But right now I think OOTP 6.5 is better for the way I play. I'm keeping Puresim on my hard drive though and doing the updates and watching how it develops, and I wish the designer a lot of success. I might eventually become a Puresim convert.

I'm interested in any comments regarding simming a fictional association with Puresim.

[lynchjm24]

1. No league splits for stats.

2. Slower simming.

3. The layout of the game.


1. I bet if you bring that up on the boards that can get into a future patch.

2. It doesn't sim as quickly as OOTP 6.5

3. One of the best things about OOTP 6.5 is the ease of moving players between minors and the ability to quickly put together a rotation and lineup. That is one of the things that OOTP06 that ruined. Puresim could use some work in improving the ease of lineup/minor league set-up.

[henry296]

JW,

1. The only way to see League by League splits is using the HTML almanac. I agree it would be nice to have a league filter within the game.
2. It is definitely slower. There aren't any league settings that would speed it up. The only place that I know if is the XML which can tweak how often the teams evaluate players, etc.
3. There are some places where I feel it takes a couple of extra clicks.
For example, if on the Modify Roster and you activate a player he doesn't show up on the roster screen. No quick way to get to the minors. I think some of the screens could show more information as well (modify lineups in particular). However, overall after a couple of seasons, I've found it doesn't take me long to get the information that I need. I would encourage you to give it some time especially since you are used to OOTP. I didn't have that hurdle.

[MizzouRah]

I would agree, ootp 6.51 does ALOT right.

[JW]

[QUOTE=lynchjm24]1. I bet if you bring that up on the boards that can get into a future patch.
QUOTE]

I did, some time ago on the Matrix board, and now I remember correctly Shaun said what henry296 said, that you can only do it in the almanac right now, not on the stat page, but that was a future consideration. I think I'll make that comment again.

As for henry296's comment about adjusting things in the xml, how do you do that, and what would be the disadvantages?

One thing I did today was go back and create an association with 35-man rosters instead of 60, the fictional league default, and I found that sim speed seemed to pick up a lot, even though I don't sim minors. But then I'm not sure if a 35-man fictional roster has enough minor league players to work correctly over several seasons.

[lynchjm24]

QUOTE]


As for henry296's comment about adjusting things in the xml, how do you do that, and what would be the disadvantages?

[/QUOTE]

The game doesn't play out the minors any longer. Every week you see that 'updated statistics' on the screen and it is simulating stats for the minor leaguers.

I do not think there is really anything in the XML that is going to speed up the game for you. That is part of the reason why I play a 10 team league, it's just faster.

[jbmagic]

Today is the last day of the sale.

Anyone else picking it up?

[rkmsuf]

Today is the last day of the sale.

Anyone else picking it up?


no

[Tim Tellean]

yes

[spleen1015]

Today is the last day of the sale.

Anyone else picking it up?

Not until players develop during the season.

[dervack]

Bought and am playing it a lot.

[dbd1963]

I don't even like baseball, but I've enjoyed Puresim. I bought before it went on sale, but I don't regret it. Of the games I've recently bought, it gets the most of my game-time.

[King of New York]

I'm going to buy it right now.

Things like players not developing in season and the lack of league-by-league splits in the game are problems, but the strong support that Shaun Sullivan gives his games, the generally positive vibes that the game has generated, and the low price have convinced me to give PureSim a shot.

[Cuckoo]

I bought before it went on sale as well, and I've enjoyed it. It's not as deep overall as OOTP, but it's solid and doesn't have near the issues the new OOTP has. It looks like I'll skip buying the new OOTP this year, most likely.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Bought it as well.

[Lonnie]

I bought it. I don't like baseball, but I really apprecieate Shaun and the way he represents himself and his product.

[jbmagic]

PureSim Baseball 2007 v1.20 Update Now Available


Get A Taste Of A Baseball Fan’s Fantasy – Batter Up!

Matrix Games, in association with PureSim (www.puresim.com) is pleased to announce that the v1.20 update for the full version of PureSim Baseball 2007 is now also available at the Matrix Games site.

The v1.20 update for the full version of PureSim Baseball 2007 is a major update. In addition to resolving a number of minor issues, this update adds support for Internet Explorer 7, Multi-base throwing errors, improved management AI, and improved time period specific pitcher usage. In addition, there is a new Player Affinity mode, which will make teams highly likely to try and keep their makeup similar to what it was in real life. These changes combine to increase the historical feel of the game. The new update for PureSim Baseball 2007 has over 50 different tweaks and fixes that truly enhance both the game-play and the visual experience. The only thing missing is the random celebrity throwing out the first pitch! “PLAY BALL!”

PureSim Baseball 2007 uses an automatically-generated dream almanac containing thousands of pages of detailed stats on players and team histories. Directly integrated into the game, it uses standard HTML formatting which allows it to be published onto the web. The Lahman database is fully licensed and integrated into PureSim Baseball 2007, making it easier than ever to play with historical players and teams from 1900 to 2005! PureSim Baseball 2007 includes multiple levels of minors (A, AA, AAA), flexibility in allowing players to simulate any Major League season from 1900 to 2005. The game's unique player aging system, completely customizable parks and leagues, and the ability to edit any aspect of any detail found within the game all round out a sharper, quicker, and more intense baseball simulation.

Digital downloads as well as boxed copies of PureSim Baseball 2007 are now available at the Matrix Games Online Store. Download it today and finally feel as close to the action as you can get without actually buying season tickets!

[JonInMiddleGA]

So off I go to grab the patch & install it, decide to grab one of the face packs from one of the third-party sites & install it too.

I install the face pack just fine.
I install the patch just fine.

I hit the "Quick Start" option in my Start Menu & get a message about how there's new images in the mods folder (or something like that) and that the game needs to rebuild the image database file which may take a few seconds.

Well folks, 25 minutes later I stil can't get the fucking game to start. Well, that's not quite true: "PureSim Baseball 2007 is already running" is the message I get when trying to open it. Check my processes & sure enough, there it is, running merrily along at 84,212k Mem Usage ... except that I can't access it or see it anywhere except the Windows Task Mgr.

Don't know which one has screwed it up, the face pack installation or the patch, but it's pretty frustrating right now ... compounded by the fact that I haven't received the "registeration" (sic) email in order to activate an account at the support fourm, so right now all I can do is bitch about it here.

Dammit all to hell & gone, I knew I ought to wait several days before installing the patch, just to make sure there weren't any problems, but I figured "eh, this thing has been tested a bunch, it'll be fine".

When will I ever learn to listen to my good first instincts?

(and even if it's picture-related instead of patch-related, I wouldn't be dealing with this aggravation right now if I hadn't of gone to get the patch).

edit to add: Now 40 minutes later, I've shut down the app, restarted it, etc, etc. still can't get it to do a damned thing except sit there running, albeit "invisibly" for lack of a better word.

[dickysty]

So off I go to grab the patch & install it, decide to grab one of the face packs from one of the third-party sites & install it too.

I install the face pack just fine.
I install the patch just fine.

I hit the "Quick Start" option in my Start Menu & get a message about how there's new images in the mods folder (or something like that) and that the game needs to rebuild the image database file which may take a few seconds.

Well folks, 25 minutes later I stil can't get the fucking game to start. Well, that's not quite true: "PureSim Baseball 2007 is already running" is the message I get when trying to open it. Check my processes & sure enough, there it is, running merrily along at 84,212k Mem Usage ... except that I can't access it or see it anywhere except the Windows Task Mgr.

Don't know which one has screwed it up, the face pack installation or the patch, but it's pretty frustrating right now ... compounded by the fact that I haven't received the "registeration" (sic) email in order to activate an account at the support fourm, so right now all I can do is bitch about it here.

Dammit all to hell & gone, I knew I ought to wait several days before installing the patch, just to make sure there weren't any problems, but I figured "eh, this thing has been tested a bunch, it'll be fine".

When will I ever learn to listen to my good first instincts?

(and even if it's picture-related instead of patch-related, I wouldn't be dealing with this aggravation right now if I hadn't of gone to get the patch).

edit to add: Now 40 minutes later, I've shut down the app, restarted it, etc, etc. still can't get it to do a damned thing except sit there running, albeit "invisibly" for lack of a better word.

I know how you feel. Un-installed 2005 to save some hard drive space, somehow lost a .dll file the game has never worked since. I've tried everything. I hate to give up , but I have. This game will never play on my current notebook. Drives my fricken crazy!!!!!!! :mad:

[JonInMiddleGA]

FYI - it seems as though the patch creates a "running invisible" problem unless you've installed WinXP Service Pack 2.

Or at least the problem was solved for me once that loooong ass update was installed.

[rkmsuf]

Still haven't bought it.