Baseball Mogul 2006 Preview Thread (Yes, Virginia, there ARE lefties and righties!)
 

Alrighty, I'm going to do this similarly to the way I did the OOTP preview, just sort of "dynasty-style." Feel free to post questions/comments.


STARTUP
First off, the game can be started in any year from 1901-2005. Past seasons are compatible with the Lahman database. You can also use a custom roster set, created by yourself or other users. Then, when picking a team, the following options are available (as per the BM2K6 Help File):
I don't see the option that I'd best want to start with: fictional players. Here's hoping that Clay will add a fictional universe creator before release. I'll definitely make that suggestion. With no fictional option, I decide to start with the 2005 Atlanta Braves. (Surprise, surprise)


In the next post, I'll take a look at the drop-down menus and see what's new there.

Is there a release date for the game yet?

Ben,

Not sure the last time you played BBM, but so far all these paramaters were in the last version I tried (last year). Just a heads-up that there's nothing new here (thus far, anyway).

I liked the version that had the vowels switched out in players' names to avoid legalities.

Berry Bends ruled.

I bet he used both the croam and the claur.

For some reason Jein Uncerncuen never lived up to his hype.

(OK. I'd been holding this post pending permission to post screen shots from Clay. Just received it, so here goes...)

The first obvious big change is in the Team-->Rosters screen. Check it out:




Yup, a *FULL* roster, including rookie leaguers. We'll see how well the AI manages the roster and all of that, but it is good to see this. Documentation isn't in yet for this screen, but based on the numbers to the right, it would appear that 70 batters and 55 pitchers can be in your organization. Considering that the major league roster is set to 14 batters and 11 pitchers, I'm going to assume that all five rosters have identical limits, as it makes the math work out.

I'll give Clay props once again on interface. Players can be moved *very* easily from one level to the other with a simple "move to" command from the Team--Pitcher and Team--Hitter screens. They've simply been expanded to accomodate the larger rosters. I've always been very happy with the Mogul interface. Good to see that it wasn't overhauled for the new system.

Since that screenie took up so much room, I'll move on to other new stuff in the next post...

Last version I played a decent amount was BM2K4, although I purchased 2K5, if I recall correctly.

Will the game come with an updated manual or do I have to use one from the previous release for awhile and then have no idea what has been updated/changed before becoming turned off to playing the game? Purely a hypothetical situation, nothing like that has ever happened. Seriously.

We are still expecting the download version to be available on March 15th, with the CD-ROM shipping before March 30th.

And there will be a new manual with the game this year.

Clay

OK, that one actually took me a minute to decipher. Good one...

Unfortunately the Beta doesn't have updated help files yet.

BB2K6 also has the ability to start in any season from 1901 to 2005. For 2005, we've put a lot more work into the opening day rosters than in previous years, including almost 70 players per team.

The biggest new option is the "Historical Rookies" check box, which automatically puts historical players into the Amateur Draft every year at the age when they would have turned 18 (or 19, depending on their birthday).

I realize OOTP already has this option, but we've put a lot of effort into getting the stats and ratings to feel right for every player and team.

Perhaps just as importantly, when you start in any historical season, the game finds all players that debuted with that team EVEN if they haven't played a day in the majors. So, for example, I just started a game with the 1992 Blue Jays and Shawn Green was a 19-year-old rookie on my Single-A team projected by my scouts to probably be a star player.

Cloy Druslough

That's his BBM name. His licensing rights were too expensive.

This time stamp error thing is really, REALLY pissing me off.

Huh?

We've also added Drag-and-Drop (Ian gets credit for that one). And you can open the same dialog multiple times. Frex, you can open the Lineup Dialog for the Red Sox and Diamondbacks, and offer trades by dragging players from one dialog to the other (or just move players around if you are already in Commissioner Mode).

The Team-->Roster screen shown also lets you choose from over 100 columns of stats to display and sort by, including new features like which players have No Trade Clauses or are Eligible for Arbitration.

Clay

I quick-simmed 6 seasons. (This is an option added around 2K2 or 2K3, I think) FYI, from Jan 1, 2006 to Jan 1, 2007 took 2 minutes and 53 seconds, so those great sim speeds are still around. I wanted to get some stats and info on player cards to look at.

TRANSACTIONS are now listed on the player card. (I think added in 2K4).



As in OOTP, the transactions aren't divided by type, but there do appear to be a few more things listed.

SUMMARY SCREEN

I like this screen. I didn't notice it in 2K5, if it was there.



What is wonderful about it is that every player listed is clickable. I can go straight to Langerhans's player card to renegotiate with him if I want to...which I'll do in the next post...

That, sir, qualifies as more importantly. It's a feature that I've manually implemented in OOTP by editing the Lahman database with varying success.

It would be really nice is the type of transaction could be a sortable tab button, or there was some way to toggle the milestones by type and/or date.

Still, this is far easier to look at than OOTP.

Question - in that transactions screen, are the listed columns sortable? I love the stuff it's tracking - milestones, contract stuff, injuries - very cool.

Yeah, you're going to HAVE to resign Ryan "Islets of" Langerhans!

I see one piece that I wasn't a big fan of before - you see the guys rating, and it tells you exactly how good your scouting is (i.e. I know Jim Edmonds is anywhere from a 61 to 63). You therefore know what to expect from each and every player with no surprises.

Hey Clay, I see you're still reading, so I won't wait for the beta board access for this one: Atlanta isn't in the AL. :p

Also, noting that Jim Edmonds card - it would be worth keeping an eye out for how many aging former star players consent to being in AAA. I don't know if Clay has modeled this or not, but it would be more realistic to see most players in that position opt to retire if they aren't on a major league roster.

Yep, this looks like OOTP4 and earlier-type issues.

Agreed. I would imagine that the technology is in the current game structure to make that happen, because you CAN do something similar on the general Transaction screen:



Note the three buttons at the upper right.

For the first one, you can choose any of the following transaction types: milestones, trades, draft picks, contracts, injuries, awards, all types. The other two can pick any year, and any team (or all teams). Every player reaching a milestone (or in the other "transactions" types) can be clicked on and his player card comes up. Pretty nice.

Agreed. I'll check on it, but Edmonds shouldn't be sticking around to hit 31 homers in AAA ball. It would be one thing if he played half a season down there in 2009 (like Rickey, hoping to get called up). However, he played the full year at AAA, then played half of the next in AA. Dude needs to hang 'em up.

A screenie of the overhauled renegotiation process:




Here's the help for this screen: Ok. That last sentence MAY be Kleenex material, if it works right. More on personality types later...



At any rate, just to run a little "mini-test," he accepted the contract he wanted with a $1.95M team option for one season. He would not accept $1.75M team option. Not bad there, I'd say. It'll take some time to see how well the player personalties and team and player options interact with regard to renegotations. Right now, as I'm just in the "overview" phase of this preview, I'm not going to dig that deeply. I'll try to look at that tomorrow morning, which is when I'll probably be able to start actually playing this game.

That's what has always been wrong with the OOTP negotiations - my least favorite part of the game. You get no info on what the guy wants, and it's usually 2 or 3 strikes and you're out. I've always hated the way OOTP does that. At least here, we get an idea of what he wants and can adjust accordingly, with a little warning when we're about to lose him completely (it appears, anyway).

This is good stuff. Any idea if the player mood is something limited to just negotiations, or whether the mood will actually affect performance as well?

wow i like that team option, player option and contract clauses on the negotiation screen.

probally not something Skydog can answer but any word on how the PBP is?

Do you have any control being a manager?

Hmm... interest cautiously raised...

More on extensions....

Looking at other players to negotiate with, I see the following messages under "rumors":

• Mike Hessman cares about more than money.
• Money isn't Matt's number one priority.
• Pendenault is happy to be in Atlanta. He might not be able to develop as well on another team. (Pretty promising commentary. This guy sucks, but because I auto-ran my team through half this season without signing FA's, he's a starter. Dang right he wouldn't be able to develop as well on another team, 'cause his butt would be on the BENCH!)
• DeWayne Wise is willing to compromise to stay with the Braves.
• McCarthy likes Atlanta. He doesn't want to leave.

I'm going to sim forward to free agency, to see what other "rumors" will be out there. I only have five guys, and they have five different messages. That's pretty promising, I'd say.

I'll be danged....arbitration!

Any idea from the help file if player mood extends to affecting on-field performance, or is it just a part of the negotiating process?

I'm in an offseason at the moment, so I can't look at PBP. I'll let you know when I move back into a regular season. I'm still just looking around at this point.

Arbitration amounts can be raised/lowered in $50K increments. I offered Holt $350K, and got the message, "The Atlanta Braves win arbitration. J.C. Holt is signed to a one-year deal at $350,000."

The next arbitration-eligible guy wanted $368K. Just to test severe lowballing, I offered him $50K. He won arbitration and got the $368K.

This is a pretty cool feature. I am also interested in seeing how Mogul does. It was the original sports sim and I've tried out each version since.

Ditto. I've been jonesing to play a baseball sim, and OOTP and Puresim just haven't done it for me. It may be time to go back and try the old standby...

Free agency rumors....

• Carlos Beltran is adamant about getting every penny that the free agent market will bear.
• Albert Pujols will get every dollar that he can get from a team.
• It you don't meet Hank's demands, it's unlikely you'll sign him.
• Bradley would probably settle into Free Agent very well. (Sure that'll be fixed for release. Reported it to Clay.)
• Carlos is looking for a more ambitious organization that the Braves.
• Troy Glaus cares about more than money.
• Infante is trying to work out a deal with the Marlins.
• Money isn't Rob's number one priority.
• Martinez would like to sign with a team that is more focussed on winning that {sic} the Braves. (also reported)
• Hernandez would be more inclined to sign with the Braves is Tagg Bozied were on the team. (Bozied is listed as one of Hernandez's friends, and both of their personality types are "charismatic.")
• Corey Patterson has very little wiggle room in his asking price.
• Aubrey would be most comfortable with the Twins. (One of his friends is with the Twins.)
• Gabe would be most comfortable with the Diamondbacks. (Again, a friend is in Arizona.)
• Jeff wouldn't like Atlanta. He'd rather live somewhere warmer. (What is this guy, a freakin' jungle-dweller? OK, the game gets the benefit of the doubt on this one. The only FA contract he signed before was a four-year extension with the Marlins. I'll be curious to track where Jeff Duncan signs this year.)
• Zeringue doesn't think the Braves are committed to fielding a competitive team.
• Gerald Laird is willing to give a little in negotiations to be with the right team.
• Rajai would like to sign with the Cardinals so he can be with Brent Clevlen.

I'll stop there. 16 different messages, at least, even though some seem to be saying similar things. Next, on to player personalties...

Personality types...

• coy
• self-conscious but humble
• self-conscious
• egotistical and media-friendly
• boastful
• modest but media-friendly
• private
• humble but outgoing
• violent and silly
• aloof
• charistmatic and peaceful
• media-friendly but gregarious
• down-to-earth but sincere
• media-friendly
• egotistical
• peaceful but generous
• humble but gregarious
• introverted and practical
• charismatic but outgoing
• aggressive
• coy
• friendly and peaceful
• modest but friendly
• silly
• fan-friendly but gregarious
• media-friendly and charitable
• modest and fan-friendly

20+ characteristics, but some can be double up for literally hundreds of combinations. I have NO clue how they work yet, though.

This sounds insteresting, i haven't ever played any mogul game and this could be the first one. The first thing that catched my atention was the players personalities, that i think is a must for all sport sims. I really hope they affect also team chemistry and even game perfomances and not just renegotiations. Any info on that?

Here's another nice new screen.



You can view all-time leaders in 80 different statistical categories from this screen, either single-season leaders or career leaders. Also, by clicking on those little window screens, each category can be expanded to view the top 21 all-time in that category.

Here's the expanded leader screen. Shows a little more info about each player.

There's nothing in the help file about personalties yet, so I don't know. To be honest, I haven't been following development of this game closely at all; I just noticed that Clay seemed to show a new commitment to the game lately. He may have addressed it on his boards (www.sportsmogul.com) at some point, and I just didn't see it. I'm pretty sure he'll be reading this thread, so I'd imagine he'll chime in at some point.

I see some new scouting report text, too.

The draft is now a full 6-round draft. Length of draft doesn't appear to be changeable.

Speaking of customization, here is the league editor screen.



The "league revenue" and "salary demands" boxes would seem to indicate that inflation is an option in this game, or at least a mogul version of a "financial coefficient." Neither is mentioned in the current help file, so I'd assume they're new features for this version that will be documented by the time of release.

This is exciting. I've been wanting a new baseball game to play for a while now, as for some reason, OOTP hasn't caught my attention since my last good dynasty last year sometime.

Here's the biggest question:

Has Lefty/Righty been implemented in this, BBM's seventh iteration?