OOTP Baseball 22

[Solecismic]

I got into PT with '20, projecting performance from ratings (because the overall rating is misleading - I think I ended up concluding that power was actually a negative when it came to the ratings), working tournaments to generate packs, that kind of thing. I didn't move on to '21.

Not sure I would get back into it, though some day it would fun to create something along those lines for baseball, but with a subscription model rather than a pay-to-win-now model (you can certainly win without paying, but not when the game is new).

The part I liked the most was helping create the missions. Baseball was my favorite sport growing up, so I'd like to think I had some positive impact with the group. It was quite a kick earning reward cards I had helped put into the game, though the set I was the most proud of turned out to be very unpopular - I learned a lot about the concept through that experience.

With football, I focus on the team-building and strategy aspects. The individuals, aside from quarterbacks, aren't as interesting to follow. With baseball, team-building bores me because there's no salary cap. An "engine" isn't very complex.

I haven't done a baseball game because of the additional graphics requirement, but who knows? It's all about the individual players, and I would definitely want to create something that focuses on the history of the game rather than launch angles and the mess that's been made of today's game. I read the other day that every organization now teaches its pitchers to throw the "sweeper," and that changes everything. I'd rather pretend the last 20 years doesn't exist.

(If you can't tell by now, this post may be illustrative of why I'll never be very wealthy).

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I got into PT with '20, projecting performance from ratings (because the overall rating is misleading - I think I ended up concluding that power was actually a negative when it came to the ratings), working tournaments to generate packs, that kind of thing. I didn't move on to '21.

Not sure I would get back into it, though some day it would fun to create something along those lines for baseball, but with a subscription model rather than a pay-to-win-now model (you can certainly win without paying, but not when the game is new).

The part I liked the most was helping create the missions. Baseball was my favorite sport growing up, so I'd like to think I had some positive impact with the group. It was quite a kick earning reward cards I had helped put into the game, though the set I was the most proud of turned out to be very unpopular - I learned a lot about the concept through that experience.

With football, I focus on the team-building and strategy aspects. The individuals, aside from quarterbacks, aren't as interesting to follow. With baseball, team-building bores me because there's no salary cap. An "engine" isn't very complex.

I haven't done a baseball game because of the additional graphics requirement, but who knows? It's all about the individual players, and I would definitely want to create something that focuses on the history of the game rather than launch angles and the mess that's been made of today's game. I read the other day that every organization now teaches its pitchers to throw the "sweeper," and that changes everything. I'd rather pretend the last 20 years doesn't exist.

(If you can't tell by now, this post may be illustrative of why I'll never be very wealthy).

I can say that power was a negative through PT22 but seems to be fixed for this version. Maybe too fixed but it's hard to say because it's so early.

If you had a hand in the mission creation I'll let you know it's one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. They way they've used them to intruduce different themes or eras into the game has been fantastic. Future legends, negro leagues, franchise heroes, build a player. Kris Jardine did an outstanding job as director of content services and I'm hoping him leaving the position doesn't turn out to be too much of a negative.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I can say that power was a negative through PT22 but seems to be fixed for this version. Maybe too fixed but it's hard to say because it's so early.

If you had a hand in the mission creation I'll let you know it's one of the most enjoyable parts of the game. They way they've used them to intruduce different themes or eras into the game has been fantastic. Future legends, negro leagues, franchise heroes, build a player. Kris Jardine did an outstanding job as director of content services and I'm hoping him leaving the position doesn't turn out to be too much of a negative.

It's great if they fixed that. I get that there's considerable evidence that pitchers don't affect BABIP much, but when you have a world where ordinary players never meet, then you have to play to this perception that pitchers *can* control what they otherwise would not (you can't be low-walk and low-HR, face Babe Ruth, and maintain that tendency). So the best pitchers were only vulnerable to BABIP. There were some meta cards out there, and obviously the Team of the Decade was designed to break the model, but for a long time, the only card you absolutely had to have was the 100 Ozzie Smith. Those missions were tough, though - getting any historical platinum Cardinal in a pack was a nice gift.

My perception was Kris was more presentation than content, but I could be wrong. His weekly show was quite popular - generated a lot of enthusiasm for the new card drops. Markus himself did all the cards - we could ask him for ratings changes with the reward cards to make them worth earning, but he made all those calls. The Negro League set was amazing - both the art and because it was at the beginning of people recognizing the need to learn about and include some of the players. The cards were fun to have, though they didn't play very well except in tournaments where their position flexibility allowed you to keep more pitchers (or more irons on 99-day rest orders in the cap tournaments).

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

(If you can't tell by now, this post may be illustrative of why I'll never be very wealthy).

i chuckled

[dubb93]

I mean 100% right now in PT if you want to win tournaments the only thing you really care about IS power. They say they are going to "fix" it with an engine adjustment. No idea what that really means. This is the first year I've played PT but it's obvious what works. LHP and Power.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

I have no idea why you guys like perfect team so much??? Doesn’t anyone use the core simulation anymore?

I'm currently playing the 6th season of my custom Canadian Baseball League that I've had since 2019. I've also taken the daunting task of taking over the Orioles in 2022. That team SUCKS. Two quick promotions to help make it better (Adley and Grayson Rodriguez), but beyond that there doesn't seem to be much in the cupboard.
And then finally, I'm doing a historic replay of the Blue Jays since their expansion, using as-played lineups. Started in 1977, and I'm in 1981 right now. Just starting to see some of the players that I grew up watching, so it's starting to get interesting.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I haven't done a baseball game because of the additional graphics requirement, but who knows? It's all about the individual players, and I would definitely want to create something that focuses on the history of the game rather than launch angles and the mess that's been made of today's game. I read the other day that every organization now teaches its pitchers to throw the "sweeper," and that changes everything. I'd rather pretend the last 20 years doesn't exist.

I do agree with you about some of the "advancements" within the game. They're taking the fun out of it for sure.

A few weeks ago, I was watching the Apple TV game of the week, and the announcers were talking about XFIP and launch angles, and it was a complete turnoff. I like to read about that stuff on websites, but when I'm watching the game, I want to hear the STORY of the game. I can imagine the average fan tuning out pretty quickly.

[Lathum]

The apple TV broadcasts have been an absolute abortion.

[Lathum]

Anyone wants a chuckle do a search for the Howard Johnson 71 silver card in the auction house.

[RainMaker]

I understand not liking the direction of the game and the 3-true outcome approach. It is much more boring in my opinion.

The stats stuff doesn't bother me though. xFIP is just a better version of ERA. Just like OPS is better for hitters than AVG. The goal is to determine how good a player truly is.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by fortheglory

I have no idea why you guys like perfect team so much??? Doesn’t anyone use the core simulation anymore?

I've been considering firing up a historical sim but haven't gotten around to it. Maybe on vacation. There's just so much to set up that, even as a 20 year vet, it's still daunting. Not because I don't know my way around the game by now, but because there's a lot to do to set it up the way I want and because I usually forget something, screw up a setting, and have to start over. And because I skipped last year's version, it's been a couple of years so now I have to find all the pics and logos and stuff and remember what to do with them to get them into the game. It's a huge pain.

[fortheglory]

In all honesty, I think I am about done with OOTP. The AI is just too terrible to take. The amount of settings and how they interact is too much to fathom...and they keep rolling out the same old tired half-done management features each year.

OOTP is unfortunately like a box of legos you have to assemble to finally play with. Some people may find the building process fun...I do not. I want a simulation of modern MLB, Indy & International baseball, with a lot of strategy and management.

FM may not be baseball, but it's still a great sport...and the management aspects of it are far superior. It also doesn't take all day and night to assemble to benefit from all of it's aspects.

[Lathum]

I agree. It is why I only play Perfect Team. The stand alone game has way to many moving parts for me.

[korme]

There's a new browser game from the maker of basketball-gm.com

ZenGM Baseball

He used the core code of his excellent basketball-gm sim to create baseball gm. It's only been live for under a week, but pretty fun to rip through seasons.

[RainMaker]

I think when it came to the simulation stuff, they should have stuck with real MLB and the historical eras of it. Maybe some light customization to playoffs or whatever.

Catering to the extremely small minority of people who want to play something that is not baseball in a baseball simulator has always seemed odd. But I guess they found another area for growth with the microtransaction mode.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I think when it came to the simulation stuff, they should have stuck with real MLB and the historical eras of it. Maybe some light customization to playoffs or whatever.

Catering to the extremely small minority of people who want to play something that is not baseball in a baseball simulator has always seemed odd. But I guess they found another area for growth with the microtransaction mode.

They have done this though. You can play vanilla OOTP out of the box and play like normal baseball without any issues, even with a MLB license now. The game is still highly customizable, but the onboarding into the game now is so focused on people who would prefer to play normal baseball that our old-school gripes about it only being for nerds who sit up all night editing XML files so they can play in fictional countries (it me) isn't really the core experience anymore.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

They have done this though. You can play vanilla OOTP out of the box and play like normal baseball without any issues, even with a MLB license now. The game is still highly customizable, but the onboarding into the game now is so focused on people who would prefer to play normal baseball that our old-school gripes about it only being for nerds who sit up all night editing XML files so they can play in fictional countries (it me) isn't really the core experience anymore.

But the AI sucks. And I think part of that is because the AI not only has to work for a standard MLB setup, but also the person who wants a 60 team league with every team having 20 minor league affiliates and a 48-team round robin playoff tournament to determine the winner. And all the teams play at parks with 100 foot fences.

You have a choice of making a great AI for one specific setup, or a bad AI that sort of works for every possible scenario.

[GrantDawg]

And there are no beer tents.