PureSim Baseball 2007 Beta comes to a close

[Shaun Sullivan]

Well, we hit our target and I uploaded a rock-solid release candidate to the testers last night. On the programming front I'm done. Thank god, that was quite the push.

I also owe Matrix some manual edits and we have to do some final install testing. After that I want to sit on it for a few days just to let it bake a little with no code changes, just to be sure.

If you are interested, PureSim 2007 should be available *very* soon!

[KWhit]

Congrats Shaun!

[DaddyTorgo]

demo soon?

[DaddyTorgo]

dola

and congrats of course

[Cuckoo]

Let's get to it, Shaun. I'm ready to buy. :)

[Franklinnoble]

I've been beating the heck out of the latest release candidate, and I have found no major bugs. I've made suggestions for minor code tweaks and such - but the game runs very reliably - no crashes, no interruptions. The stuff the beta team is picking on now is really quite minor - and a lot of it can probably be handled via XML tweaks (which is open to the end user community).

I'm sure there will be a demo soon, but for whatever it's worth, this game gets the FranklinNoble seal of approval.

The ability to set up associations of any shape and size, and the ability to run historical leagues out of the box (no additional downloads necessary - the Lahman database is seamlessly integrated, and generates realistic results) makes this game a ton of fun, and very replayable.

I've been playing it intensely during the beta test, and I'm not at all bored with it - in fact, I'm almost ashamed to admit there are features I haven't yet been able to fully explore.

As a text sim gamer, I'm more interested in the GM-level aspects of the game (in any sport), and PureSim satisfies my style of play. For those of you that like in-game management, there's been great additions to those features as well. I'm not raving about them as much, because that's not my cup of tea, but in my opinion, if the underlying sim engine works well, the rest always falls into place, and I've been very happy with the results I've seen both in short-term and long-term sims.

[sovereignstar]

Last version there wasn't a screen where you could measure up all of your players (the key being major AND minor players together). Well, there sort of was, but you could only compare four ratings I believe.

Is there a screen where I can compare more things (like more ratings and stats)? In OOTP you could list all the players in your organization and compare lots of numbers. If not, it's a lot of clicking and/or lots of writing.

[Franklinnoble]

Yes... with the graphical roster view, you can show all your players (minor and major leagues) and toggle between viewing their ratings or their stats (there's really not enough space to do ratings and stats on one page). I can grab a screen shot if you'd like to see it.

[sovereignstar]

Yes... with the graphical roster view, you can show all your players (minor and major leagues) and toggle between viewing their ratings or their stats (there's really not enough space to do ratings and stats on one page). I can grab a screen shot if you'd like to see it.

Sounds like what was in the last version.

[sabotai]

demo soon?

Silly Torgo. Matrix don't do demos.

[Franklinnoble]

dola... you can't view ALL the ratings and stats... at least not from that screen.

I actually think you can see more from the trade screen... but I'm past the trade deadline in my current game at the moment... give me a minute, and I'll check.

[Young Drachma]

This might be the year that I buy PureSim just for a change of pace.

[DaddyTorgo]

Silly Torgo. Matrix don't do demos.

i'm actually just hammering this question in all the matrix threads trying to get shaun's attention to see if that is indeed the case (that there won't be a demo).

[jbmagic]

The stuff the beta team is picking on now is really quite minor - and a lot of it can probably be handled via XML tweaks (which is open to the end user community).



what kind of minor things?

[Franklinnoble]

what kind of minor things?

You know, this is going to sound really lame, but I'm not 100% sure it's OK for me to say at this point. I'd like to get Shaun's OK before I really divulge specifics (because I don't want to feel like I'm basically cutting-and-pasting from the beta forum)... suffice it to say, they're mostly cosmetic, and don't have a huge impact on anything with regards to gameplay or realism.

[Shaun Sullivan]

No worries, paste away. From day one I told the beta testers you are not under any sort of NDA.

[jbmagic]

Shaun

This game looks great and thanks for being honest with us and letting your betatester post away.

I can't wait to try the demo out.

[Franklinnoble]

Ok... since I have Shaun's blessing, here are some of the minor complaints:

* No beer tent.
* No customizeable uniforms
* We're still working on the teleporting defensive backs (imagine a strong safety materializing on the warning track as your left fielder goes back for a deep fly ball - boom goes the dynamite!)

:D

In all seriousness - there's been a lot of career statistical arc tweaking, and I think we might see some more. I'm happy with the results, and I think the illustration I posted for my 25-year career shows that they're not out of line.

There's also some cosmetic fixes to come, such as how the ambient sound loop sounds in-game (I don't spend a lot of time here, so I don't have much comment.)

There's a complaint about pitcher usage by the AI in the dead ball era (not sure how to work around that, honestly). There's also an issue with starting pitchers not being penalized for being used as releivers (the assumption being that a starting pitcher should take longer to warm up, and shouldn't be as effictive in his first inning of work as a regular reliever would).

I've also noted a minor peeve of mine - when you shop a player for a trade, you'll get a list of players that teams are willing to trade you straight-up for your guy. This is great - but many times the straight-up trade doesn't work for the AI team - the trade will put them over their 'cap' of available funds. I'd like to see some sort of highlight when this is the case, so I know to look at the financials before I propose the deal.

[sovereignstar]

dola... you can't view ALL the ratings and stats... at least not from that screen.

I actually think you can see more from the trade screen... but I'm past the trade deadline in my current game at the moment... give me a minute, and I'll check.

Is the trade screen new? The graphical roster view is kind of cool, but it just comes up short for me. I can't see what guys bat/pitch, nor can I see how old they are. I can't sort by anything either and of course, guys are grouped by position. It was a good idea, it just isn't very useful for me. My dream would be for a new screen where every positional player (or all pitchers) is listed and as much useful info as possible is viewable without extra clicks. Things would be sortable as well. Since players would be in different levels I can see how stats might get tricky, but including them wouldn't be as important to me personally.

[Franklinnoble]

I don't know if the trade screen is new or not - I haven't seen any earlier versions of the game.

I am looking at it now, and although you have to do some side-scrolling to see all the data, it basically gives you a spreadsheet view of all current-season statistics and all ratings, including player age and salary. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but it sounds like it might be pretty close.

[MizzouRah]

Nice! As soon as I get done with my latest OOTP season, I'm checking this one out!!

[Marc Duffy]

Good luck Sean, looking forward to seeing the final product.

[SirFozzie]

Shaun really did a great job on this.

[bbor]

Scuse my ignorance...but can someone tell me what the outstanding differences are between this game and OOTP?

[randal7]

I second the above question. Of particular importance to me: does a season sim faster and with less manager involvement? I prefer to play mostly from the "front office" level, and I had to make so many day-to-day decisions to get thru an OOTP season that I lost patience.

[Bee]

I think it's going to be hard to get a comparison between Puresim and OOTP until OOTP is out. I suspect the difference between this year's OOTP and previous versions will be pretty dramatic, so any comparison would be to the old version and probably not very accurate.

[Franklinnoble]

I second the above question. Of particular importance to me: does a season sim faster and with less manager involvement? I prefer to play mostly from the "front office" level, and I had to make so many day-to-day decisions to get thru an OOTP season that I lost patience.

That's exactly how I play most of the time, and PureSim accomodates it pretty well. I can basically manage all the offseason moves (rookies, free agents, etc.) and let the AI do the rest for me in-season. I can even lock certain favorite players at a particular level (majors, minors, etc.) and even lock them in a particular spot in the lineup, if I want.

[jbmagic]

Web Site for Puresim 2007

http://www.puresim.com/

[DaddyTorgo]

29.99?? Not 39.99 or 49.99?? Methinks you've just gained an almost definate buy here with a reasonable price-point Shaun!

[jbmagic]

Will the game have expansion?

Will we be able to add or delete teams in a league?

[jbmagic]

Dola

No expansion.

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1130953

[SirFozzie]

it was talked about adding it in at some point down the line when we have time to hammer at it. Not sure if it'll happen, but the testers and of course Shaun are willing.. :)

[Franklinnoble]

Trust me... at this point, no expansion is a good thing. The expansion feature was just way underpowered as it was, and couldn't have been fixed right before release. Better to let it wait until later - no word on whether it'll be a patch or a future release, but Shaun will be revisiting it in the future.

[jbmagic]

Trust me... at this point, no expansion is a good thing. The expansion feature was just way underpowered as it was, and couldn't have been fixed right before release. Better to let it wait until later - no word on whether it'll be a patch or a future release, but Shaun will be revisiting it in the future.


Hopefully it gets look at on a future patch.


So the ability to do historicals is significantly impacted given that you are stuck with whatever size league you create.

[Galaril]

I support Shaun's decision. I am more concerned with the games basic infrastructural features working first before a feature like expansion is added which I am ceratin he will get done later in the year. Puresim has always been a great fictional league game so historical is still awork in progress. Though it seems to have had a significant boost this year.

[Philliesfan980]

I'm actually not that upset about the lack of expansion. Personally, if I was the commish of the MLB, I would contract 2 teams anyway (KC and TB), so this is perfect.

[Franklinnoble]

The addition of the integrated Lahman's database more than makes up for the temporary removal of the new expansion feature. I'm having a blast re-playing MLB through the 80's.

[MizzouRah]

Yes, BUT it would be great to start in 1901 and go from there with expansion and contraction, just as it happened in real life.

That being said, I'm almost positive I'm getting this one.

[jbmagic]

The addition of the integrated Lahman's database more than makes up for the temporary removal of the new expansion feature. I'm having a blast re-playing MLB through the 80's.


Quick question


Are you stuck with the division setup they use in the 80's?

So the year you start in the lahman's database is the division setting you have to have as you go progress thru the years?

[Franklinnoble]

Quick question


Are you stuck with the division setup they use in the 80's?

So the year you start in the lahman's database is the division setting you have to have as you go progress thru the years?

You're stuck with whatever divisional alignment you create at the beginning of your game. You can use the Lahman's database in any alignment.

[Philliesfan980]

Yes, BUT it would be great to start in 1901 and go from there with expansion and contraction, just as it happened in real life.

That being said, I'm almost positive I'm getting this one.


Yeah, it seems like your going to have to play this game with multiple files : deadball era, 30's through 60's, and then the 70's on. With that being said, I'll still be picking this up! Really wish matrix would release the damn thing already!!!

[DaddyTorgo]

why not just start in the deadball era with a tiny # of teams and that way only the cream of the crop of players will make it into MLB and the rest will wash out. Sure your records will probably suffer some inflation as a result, but if we're talking alternate history it's either that or start with a large # of teams and have fewer stars per team in the beginning (maybe leading to pitching dominating early). either of these really seems workable, probably the 2nd moreso than the first. it won't exactly be "historical' but the Babe Ruth's of the world will still rise to the top, the only difference is that you may have some "non-real" players in there

[Shaun Sullivan]

I think you'll see expansion soon. I pulled the feature because I really want to get it right and felt like the existing implementation was a bit half-assed.

Expansion/Fully customizable league layouts and changes is what I want to focus on for the first PureSim Baseball 2007 update. There are some really nice changes in PS 2007 though!

BTW, it looks like the game will be available for purchase on Tuesday (assuming there are no issues with production/digital download)

Shaun

[DaddyTorgo]

I think you'll see expansion soon. I pulled the feature because I really want to get it right and felt like the existing implementation was a bit half-assed.

Expansion/Fully customizable league layouts and changes is what I want to focus on for the first PureSim Baseball 2007 update. There are some really nice changes in PS 2007 though!

BTW, it looks like the game will be available for purchase on Tuesday (assuming there are no issues with production/digital download)

Shaun

Tuesday? Tuesday is so far awayyyyyyyy. gawd i'm jonesing to spend money right now.

[Shaun Sullivan]

I know, I feel the same way.

Matrix has had the gold code for a few days, but they are doing a lot of install testing, making sure the digital download stuff is ready, getting in the final manual etc. So it takes time :)

That's one thing I miss about being an indie developer, I could just release when ever the heck I wanted :D

That said, I applaud Matrix for doing additional work to be sure the release is smooth, even after a solid beta. Can't really argue with that, though I'm as anxious as you guys! It's ironic that I am the one rushing *them*

[DaddyTorgo]

I know, I feel the same way.

Matrix has had the gold code for a few days, but they are doing a lot of install testing, making sure the digital download stuff is ready, getting in the final manual etc. So it takes time :)

That's one thing I miss about being an indie developer, I could just release when ever the heck I wanted :D

That said, I applaud Matrix for doing additional work to be sure the release is smooth, even after a solid beta. Can't really argue with that, though I'm as anxious as you guys! It's ironic that I am the one rushing *them*

*cough* demo? *cough*

[Easy Mac]

*cough*riverdogs game monday**cough**free ticket and beer**cough*

[MizzouRah]

I think you'll see expansion soon. I pulled the feature because I really want to get it right and felt like the existing implementation was a bit half-assed.

Expansion/Fully customizable league layouts and changes is what I want to focus on for the first PureSim Baseball 2007 update. There are some really nice changes in PS 2007 though!

BTW, it looks like the game will be available for purchase on Tuesday (assuming there are no issues with production/digital download)

Shaun

This is GREAT news Shaun and something I think will be great for Puresim. Thanks to you, I'm really pumped about a historical career.

[Sidhe]

I hate baseball but this game looks pretty enticing.

[dervack]

Shaun,
Want to purchase the game next week, but still have the slight problem of not being able to read the forums at Matrix.

[Icy]

Could you testers comment about the gameplay traying to recreate current MBL? What about financials, do they reflect real MLB or are easy to set that way? Does it have rule 5, waivers, minors FA, etc? That kind of deep is what i like from OOTP to play as GM (even when i know waivers are far from perfect in ootp 6.5). I love to have to take tons of decisions regarding my roster and finances.

[Qrusher14242]

Can you play a league without controlling a team?

[lynchjm24]

Can you play a league without controlling a team?

Yes.

[Galaril]

Shaun, one aspect of the previous versions I have fund alittle time consuming as far as setting up a MLB league is the setting up of stadium for each team. If we want the correct stadium dimensions for each team cam those be saved so if we edit them once in an association it doesn't have to be done again. I might be wrong but I belive there was no way in the past to add each stadium picture and dimensions and have that saved for future use. But, adding Lahman's is a huge addition.

[Shaun Sullivan]

Shaun, one aspect of the previous versions I have fund alittle time consuming as far as setting up a MLB league is the setting up of stadium for each team. If we want the correct stadium dimensions for each team cam those be saved so if we edit them once in an association it doesn't have to be done again. I might be wrong but I belive there was no way in the past to add each stadium picture and dimensions and have that saved for future use. But, adding Lahman's is a huge addition.

You were not alone, that was one of the major issues folks had with previous versions.

This aspect of PureSim got a *huge* overhaul in PS 2007 via a number of features. First there is a new "Save as template" feature, which you can use after you have created an association, assigned/edited parks, finances, regions, named minor leage teams etc.

Then you use the new "Create from Template" feature later on when you want to create a new association based on that template. You'll instanly be ready with an association created exactly to the specifications you saved in the template, parks, finances, everything...

When you create an association based on a saved template you can either a) Generate a brand new pool of players and re-draft or b) Use the players in the template.

I think this will be a huge help to folks that found the game a bit daunting to setup and customize associations and it should lead to a good community of folks building template associations that others can drop in and use in PureSim.

PureSim 2007 actually ships with a few ready made templates including a really nice fictional association that mirrrors the stucture and finances of major league baseball, so you can be managing your first ball game with a fictional association within seconds after installing PureSim 2007.

The template feature might be a nice way for season replay nuts to build highly accurate season disks as well. The game ships with the Lahman database so all players/teams 1900-2005 are available.


BTW, you can also export/import individual ball park definitions (it saves the park dimensions, photo etc. to a file)

[Galaril]

You were not alone, that was one of the major issues folks had with previous versions.

This aspect of PureSim got a *huge* overhaul in PS 2007 via a number of features. First there is a new "Save as template" feature, which you can use after you have created an association, assigned/edited parks, finances, regions, named minor leage teams etc.

Then you use the new "Create from Template" feature later on when you want to create a new association based on that template. You'll instanly be ready with an association created exactly to the specifications you saved in the template, parks, finances, everything...

When you create an association based on a saved template you can either a) Generate a brand new pool of players and re-draft or b) Use the players in the template.

I think this will be a huge help to folks that found the game a bit daunting to setup and customize associations and it should lead to a good community of folks building template associations that others can drop in and use in PureSim.

PureSim 2007 actually ships with a few ready made templates including a really nice fictional association that mirrrors the stucture and finances of major league baseball, so you can be managing your first ball game with a fictional association within seconds after installing PureSim 2007.

The template feature might be a nice way for season replay nuts to build highly accurate season disks as well. The game ships with the Lahman database so all players/teams 1900-2005 are available.


BTW, you can also export/import individual ball park definitions (it saves the park dimensions, photo etc. to a file)


Shaun,

That is absolutely awesome. I will be naming my next born child in honor of you. Well once I clear it with the misses:)

[Shaun Sullivan]

Will the game have expansion?

Will we be able to add or delete teams in a league?

Good news on this front. Expansion has been fully implemented and will be ready in the 1.1 update (which will follow 1.0 soon after release)

Here is some info http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1132585

PureSim Baseball 2007 should be available tomorrow.

[Toddzilla]

PureSim Baseball 2007 should be available tomorrow.w00t

[Toddzilla]

Dola - actual question...

Suppose a guy like me would like to reproduce major league baseball from 1985 going forward, with real teams, players, league set up, rules, and stadiums.

What is the process to set this up, and how long does it take?

Any 3rd party mods, rosters, etc. needed?

[Franklinnoble]

Dola - actual question...

Suppose a guy like me would like to reproduce major league baseball from 1985 going forward, with real teams, players, league set up, rules, and stadiums.

What is the process to set this up, and how long does it take?

Any 3rd party mods, rosters, etc. needed?

Well, I'm not 100% sure, but I think all you *might* need is to tweak the stadiums a bit (I never messed with the stadiums during the beta much, at least not to the level of making them historically accurate) - otherwise, all the other functionality is built in.

[jbmagic]

Good news on this front. Expansion has been fully implemented and will be ready in the 1.1 update (which will follow 1.0 soon after release)

Here is some info http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1132585

PureSim Baseball 2007 should be available tomorrow.


thanks

Thats Awesome news.

I can't wait to try the demo out.

[MizzouRah]

Yes!!!!! Now you can start in 1901 and carry on from there, creating your own baseball history.

Awesome job Shaun! This will be my next gaming purchase.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I was going to purchase tomorrow, but maybe I'll just wait for the 1.1 update. Expansion's not a big deal to me, but I assume that there will be other changes, so maybe it's better to wait for those. Either way, I'm looking forward to playing the new PureSim.

[Cringer]

I may have to try and get this in a month or two when I can afford it. Sounds pretty good.

[AgustusM]

PureSim Baseball 2007 should be available tomorrow.

damn you Shaun!!!! TODAY was the day I had an entire free afternoon!!!!

[Shaun Sullivan]

You never know, it could show up tonight ;)

[Toddzilla]

If I buy, can I install on my PC and laptop?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Wow. The expansion feature sounds great.

I may have missed this, but does the game have different settings (e.g., deadball) for different eras in baseball? Or is this perhaps determined by the player skills?

[Ksyrup]

I would be looking forward to this if I didn't have so much shit going on in my life right now. Based on the early reviews, maybe I'll have to make some time...

[Fouts]

Released!

http://www.matrixgames.com/news/news.asp?nid=310

[TroyF]

Will purchase and play as soon as I get home. yippee.

[SackAttack]

Will purchase and play as soon as I get home. yippee.

Troy, we have Matrix contacts, FWIW.

[DaddyTorgo]

YESSSS!! RELEASE!