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

[dawgfan]

Dunno if you've done so already or not castorius, but I encourage you to post this over on the Mogul forums as well. We can't count on Clay coming by this thread regularly to get our impressions.

Squeaky wheels will get the grease...

[castorius]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Dunno if you've done so already or not castorius, but I encourage you to post this over on the Mogul forums as well. We can't count on Clay coming by this thread regularly to get our impressions.

Squeaky wheels will get the grease...

Ya I posted it on the Beta Discussion forum a couple of days back, but it went to deaf ears.

I imagine Clay might've been busy with the upcoming release. Maybe I'll post it over in the main discussion forum sometime.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Anybody know when the demo will be released ?

The Mogul site says march 17th, but it hasn't been released yet...

I just couldn't get into OOTP6 and Puresim so I'm ready to get a new baseball game, but want to try it out before. I have very fond memories of the game but want to try it first because i've been burned before...

[Bee]

There's a patch coming out Monday, so I'd guess the demo would come out a few days after that. I believe Clay said somewhere to expect the demo around a week or so after release.

[MizzouRah]

I just might get it after the new patch comes out.


Todd

[Galaril]

Anyone who thinks trades are screwed up go over to the board and vote there is a poll. If we get enough on this I am sure we can get an improvement in this aspect.

[jetpunk2000]

I can't post over at the BBM forums yet, so I'll post this here first. Couple of wacky bugs have come up. First, one of the draftees I was looking at had insane HS stats. For each of the 4 years he played in over 1500 games, had about 700 HR's and 1500 RBI each year. Second, I've seen some HS/College pitchers have negative win totals. A bug I remember from a couple of versions ago; some teams play 163 games. And this isn't tied for a playoff spot extra games. I lost out on the second pick because a team had lost one more game than I did because they played 163.

[Galaril]

I just played a season with 8.00v and had some odd results. I played with the Red Sox and the Devil Rays in 6 games won 6 games but check out the scores: 8-2, 8-0,26-1, 24-2,36-0,19-3
Wow they had 68 and 57, and 49 hits in a couple of those games.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I just played a season with 8.00v and had some odd results. I played with the Red Sox and the Devil Rays in 6 games won 6 games but check out the scores: 8-2, 8-0,26-1, 24-2,36-0,19-3
Wow they had 68 and 57, and 49 hits in a couple of those games.

I hope that's fixed in the patch. Thanks to all you guys who are picking through the bugs and making this a better game for everybody. I think I'll wait for the demo...

[jetpunk2000]

Does anyone know how long the approval process for the BM boards takes? It's been a couple of hours now and I haven't gotten anything in my mailbox.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by jetpunk2000

Does anyone know how long the approval process for the BM boards takes? It's been a couple of hours now and I haven't gotten anything in my mailbox.

Sounds like the same issue we're having over here with vbulletin. Some spam filters are apparently blocking the confirmation e-mails. Check your spam folder. The confirmation e-mail should be sent pretty much instantly.

For more info: http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/f...ad.php?t=36885

[MizzouRah]

Any news on the patch?


Todd

[castorius]

The unofficial patch can be found here:

http://www.sportsmogul.com/vbulletin...threadid=70895

[FBPro]

Thanks

[MizzouRah]

Those of you who have the game, can you check it out this patch and post some thoughts?

Much appreciated..

Thanks,

Todd

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Those of you who have the game, can you check it out this patch and post some thoughts?

Much appreciated..

Thanks,

Todd

check sports mogul forum too.

People are posting there opinion and problems they see there.

[Dreslough]

Originally Posted by jetpunk2000

I can't post over at the BBM forums yet, so I'll post this here first. Couple of wacky bugs have come up. First, one of the draftees I was looking at had insane HS stats. For each of the 4 years he played in over 1500 games, had about 700 HR's and 1500 RBI each year. Second, I've seen some HS/College pitchers have negative win totals. A bug I remember from a couple of versions ago; some teams play 163 games. And this isn't tied for a playoff spot extra games. I lost out on the second pick because a team had lost one more game than I did because they played 163.

I've fixed both these bugs in Version 8.01 (posted in our forums today -- we'll be posting 8.02 in the next day or so which will auto-extract).

The high school stat bug was funny. It created some 700-pound rookies on occasion too.

And our 2005 schedule had an extra game between Cincinnati and Washington that I removed.

Clay

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Those of you who have the game, can you check it out this patch and post some thoughts?

Much appreciated..

Thanks,

Todd

Trades haven't been touched and to be honest I not very confident they will be at all since clay has never acknowledged he even realizes there is an issue.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Trades haven't been touched and to be honest I not very confident they will be at all since clay has never acknowledged he even realizes there is an issue.

Ack...well, how's the rest of the game?


Todd

[MizzouRah]

dola,

So I'm taking it this game is not doing much for anyone since the lastest patch? I thought I would see more impressions from people here.


Todd

[Galaril]

Basically it isa great game very immersive I would recommend it especailly at the pric eof 19.99. However, having said that I am holding off starting an universe until tehy patch the shitty trade AI. Clay, has said he will be addressing the trade AI it sounds like soon. He mentioned some kind of red, yellow ,green designation where palyers are designated by you so the CPU AI knows who you will trade for . That is agreat idea but I hope he cuts the 9 players for 1 crap too. It appears thta he was trying to make the trade AI so stringy he succeeded but now the AI trys to screw you every time. I had a the Yankees offer me Jon Leiber for ...get this D.Ortiz, 3 AAA rated in the 80's, J.Damon and M.Timlin. It is a very fun game just need some more work.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

dola,

So I'm taking it this game is not doing much for anyone since the lastest patch? I thought I would see more impressions from people here.


Todd

there more impression at sportsmogul forum too

[MizzouRah]

Thanks guys.


Todd

[Ben E Lou]

Fascinating. I'm really ready to dive in and play with however this is supposed to work. It has *huge* potential. I believe I read that the help file is supposed to be updated some time this week. Looking forward to that. As I've said before, the trade thing really doesn't bother me, since I rarely/never accept AI trades in any text sim anyway. I just turn 'em off in Mogul, and am not bothered. Trades that I offer the AI have seemed good enough, so the following is the main thnig I'm waiting for before starting a "serious" career:

SkyDog
Mogul
Registered: Jun 2001
Location: Tucker, GA
Posts: 131

quote:

---

Originally posted by Clay Dreslough
Silly is actually one of many personality traits that applies to guys like Manny Ramirez -- loose, relaxed, jovial, silly.

He's not going to fit perfectly on a team with strait-laced and solemn players...

---

OK. I'm *really* wanting to see a help file for more understanding of all of this. It sounds quite nice, but still is difficult to test without an understanding of how it is supposed to work.



__________________
"the media don't understand the kind of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!"

FOFC

[Bee]

I've been busy and haven't had a chance to look at the new patch. Like SD, the trade thing doesn't bother me too much since I also seldom accept trade offers and the trade AI seems reasonable in trade offers I've generated.

The big market/small market disparity is still there though and I hope either this patch or the next one addresses that.

[Ben E Lou]

A few posts of interest from Clay in the past couple of days...

quote:

---

Originally posted by galaril
Wow! Trades weren't even addressed in the patch. I wonder if Clay even cares about this?

---

With just a few days to work with, we're focussing on easier fixed for 8.01 and 8.02.

I'm thinking that we need a feedback system, similar to the red/yellow/green Trading Block lights in BMO, so that the computer knows which players you want to unload. Some teams might think Barry Bonds is the core of their team while others will unload him for anything they can get. The CPU doesn't know which way you are thinking unless you tell it...

Clay



__________________
Clay Dreslough
Sports Mogul Inc.

FYI, in the spirit of keeping it simple, there's no immediate penalty for not putting a guy on the DL. For example, he won't demand a trade or anything.

But BB2K6 does nudge player development depending on what level a guy is at, and this includes the DL to an extent. In other words, an injured player may be penalized a bit for sitting in AA, but he won't be if you drag him to the bottom of the list (the DL).

Clay

Both of these issues {building new stadiums and a stat bug} are fixed in 8.02 coming out this week (sorry for the delay).

Clay

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

As I've said before, the trade thing really doesn't bother me, since I rarely/never accept AI trades in any text sim anyway. I just turn 'em off in Mogul, and am not bothered. Trades that I offer the AI have seemed good enough...

Fair enough. However, that still leaves the question of the trades conducted between the AI teams - are they realistic, or does this area need work?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Fair enough. However, that still leaves the question of the trades conducted between the AI teams - are they realistic, or does this area need work?

They're pretty good. These could use work in just about every text sim. I don't see this as an "immediate need" thing to be addressed by any means. It could probably stand to be tightened up a bit, but even the multi-player deals that I've looked at between AI teams at least make SOME sense.

[MizzouRah]

I hate answers like, just turn trades off. C'mon Ben!


Todd

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I hate answers like, just turn trades off. C'mon Ben!


Todd

You can turn just trade OFFERS off. When you do that, AI teams still will trade with one another, but they'll no longer offer YOU any trades. As best as I can tell, the problem is that the AI tries to completely cheat the human player in AI-offered trades. It isn't able to cheat another AI player, though, apparently.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

You can turn just trade OFFERS off. When you do that, AI teams still will trade with one another, but they'll no longer offer YOU any trades. As best as I can tell, the problem is that the AI tries to completely cheat the human player in AI-offered trades. It isn't able to cheat another AI player, though, apparently.

I understood what you originally said, but I'm hoping that still gets fixed as I like the idea of the computer offering me trades.. several versions ago - it did an adequate job of offering players and didn't offer you a trade every day.

If I purchase bbmgl, I'll turn it off for now.. I am glad cpu teams do trade with eachother though.


When is your run with the game.. complete with posts? I'm looking foward to it.


Todd

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I understood what you originally said, but I'm hoping that still gets fixed as I like the idea of the computer offering me trades.. several versions ago - it did an adequate job of offering players and didn't offer you a trade every day.

Gotcha. I guess it is a personal pref thing. Yeah, it made pretty good ofers back then, but I still virtually never accepted 'em, as it would throw my roster out of balance. I was glad when they came out with the version that allowed you to turn 'em off.

When is your run with the game.. complete with posts? I'm looking foward to it.

I've got lots of free time this weekend. I get Good Friday off, and don't have much going on over the weekend. Assuming 8.02 comes out by the end of the week, I'd imagine I'll start a semi-serious career. Failing that, I've got a crazy summer, and will be struggling to find enough weeks to use all of my vacation time. I'm going to take next the week after next off, which is spring break here. I'm not going out of town, though, so I expect I'll get lots of text simming in that week.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Gotcha. I guess it is a personal pref thing. Yeah, it made pretty good ofers back then, but I still virtually never accepted 'em, as it would throw my roster out of balance. I was glad when they came out with the version that allowed you to turn 'em off.

I've got lots of free time this weekend. I get Good Friday off, and don't have much going on over the weekend. Assuming 8.02 comes out by the end of the week, I'd imagine I'll start a semi-serious career. Failing that, I've got a crazy summer, and will be struggling to find enough weeks to use all of my vacation time. I'm going to take next the week after next off, which is spring break here. I'm not going out of town, though, so I expect I'll get lots of text simming in that week.

Excellent! I look foward to reading...


Todd

[Ben E Lou]

8.02 is available.

[Ben E Lou]

Help File Updated....key part...

CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

This dialog box lets you negotiate:

• a contract with a Free Agent OR
• a contract extension with one of your current players

Contract Negotiation takes the form of setting the contract parameters and clicking 'Submit Offer'. (The player's current demands are shown on the right side of the screen).

If the player turns down your offer, the player will usually adjust their demands. So, always check the player's side of the negotiation to see what terms he wants in the deal.

Younger players will generally want a higher salary for longer contracts, while older players will be willing to accept a lower salary in exchange for a longer commitment.

The Negotiation Process

Negotiating a contract with a player can be a tricky proposition. You don't want to pay too much, but if you offer too little you can alienate the player you are talking with.

Every offer you make has an impact on the player you are negotiating with. The first offer has the greatest chance to get the player to lower his asking price.

After the first offer, the basic window of negotiation has been established. If you don't continue to move toward the middle ground, you risk angering the player.

After a couple of offers, most players will get impatient and actually begin to raise their asking price. If you can't get the player to accept your first or 2nd offer, you may have to accept their demands if you really want to keep them.

Player Personality

Players with personality descriptions such as "egotistical", "boastful", "gluttonous","greedy" or "self-centered" will be the most offended by low contract offers. With these players, you will get the best response if your first offer is within 5% of their asking price.

Players with personality descriptions such as "charitable", "generous" and "modest" will be much more patient during contract negotiations. You can often start with an offer up to 20% below their asking price and skill keep them interested.

Player Mood [img]face-border1.bmp[/img] [img]face-border3.bmp[/img] [img]face-border5.bmp[/img] [img]face-border7.bmp[/img] [img]face-border9.bmp[/img]

A player's mood is indicated by the "happy face" next to the word "Rumors" in the Contract Negotiation screen (this icon can also be seen in the upper right section of the Scouting Report). Every player has their price, but happier players will sign contract extensions with their current team for somewhat less than their market price, while unhappy players will demand more.

Accepting a player's demands is generally the easiest way to improve the player's mood, but you might end up paying more than you needed to. Submitting an offer that the player rejects may worsen his mood (and increase his asking price).

Other than Contract Negotiations, the biggest determinants of a player's mood are:

• Playing Time
• Friends
• Clubhouse Atmosphere
• Ambition

Playing Time

Major League Players care if they are filling a role that they feel is commensurate with their talent level. An MVP-caliber player will get frustrated sitting on the bench, while a marginal utility player will be ecstatic to be put in the starting lineup.

• It takes time for a player's role to affect his mood. For example, if you promote a player from the bullpen to the rotation, it could take a season or more for the player to fully feel happy and comfortable with his new level of responsibility.

Minor League Players also care about their role in an organization. Talented players stuck in the low minors will get frustrated. Moving players up to AAA can improve their mood, but if they are in over their head, they may not develop as well. Click here for more information on managing your minor league rosters.

Friends

The Biography Tab of the Scouting Report shows every player's list of friends. This list is affected by which players in the league share similar personality traits with the player. It is also determined by which players have played together and become friends. At time progresses, players make new friends. So, a player that is lonely this year will probably develop new friends on his team as the seasons progress. Players prefer to be with their friends, but will sign with another team if given a large enough contract.

Clubhouse Atmosphere

In addition to specific friends, major league players are also affected by whether they share personality traits with other players in his clubhouse. Honorable players like being around other morally upstanding players. Laid-back players like a loose clubhouse. And private players prefer teammates that also keep to themselves.

Strategy Note: Don't continually shake up your team just to make your players happy. It's more important to have talented players than to have happy players. However, all things being equal, a happy organization will develop better and win more games than an unhappy group of players.

Ambition

Some players will only play their best on teams that are in the playoffs every year. Other players are willing to spend their entire career putting up great numbers on a mediocre team. If a star player would like to be with a team that has a better chance of winning, you will often see a rumor in the player's Scouting Report.

[dawgfan]

OK, I'm about ready to pull the trigger on this one. I'm hoping SkyDog gets a chance to do a thorough test-drive and report on the latest patch to confirm the game is pretty close to where it should be.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

OK, I'm about ready to pull the trigger on this one. I'm hoping SkyDog gets a chance to do a thorough test-drive and report on the latest patch to confirm the game is pretty close to where it should be.

If Clay would include a #*&%#%$^ fix list with his patches, I'd at least be able to tell you what is purported to, and is, improved.

[Cap Ologist]

I think I'm going to wait for SkyDog's future Braves dynasty with this before I pull the trigger as well. No pressure, though Ben!

[MizzouRah]

I'm just about there.

Todd

[MizzouRah]

dola,

Make that 8.03.


Todd

[Swaggs]

Can someone give me the link for the patch?

I can't seem to find it on the messageboard or on the technical support page.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Can someone give me the link for the patch?

I can't seem to find it on the messageboard or on the technical support page.

Doesn't it have an auto updater?


Todd

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Doesn't it have an auto updater?


Todd

I'll be damned!

Brilliant!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Can someone give me the link for the patch?

I can't seem to find it on the messageboard or on the technical support page.

Help-->Check For New Version.

or just load up the game.

[21C]

I'm guessing that SkyDog has the inside running for this. From the Sports Mogul newsletter:

2. BASEBALL MOGUL 2006 PUBLICITY CONTEST

There are thousands of sports-related web sites and forums -- but I don't have time to visit all of them and let people know about the new version of Baseball Mogul. Moreover, actual Baseball Mogul fans are the best advocates for the game. In recognition of this, we're sponsoring a contest to encourage you to spread the word about Baseball Mogul 2006 (and Baseball Mogul Online). And we're awarding the following prizes:

First prize: $150.00

Second prize: $75.00

Runners up (5): A free download of Baseball Mogul 2006 (or CD-ROM if you already bought the download version)

If you have a sports-related web site, post your thoughts about Baseball Mogul and link to www.sportsmogul.com. If you frequent an online forum or chat-room, start a discussion about Baseball Mogul and send sports fans to our site.

Then drop me an e-mail ([email protected]) to let me know where you are plugging Baseball Mogul. The contest will run from now until April 30. At the end of April, we will check our web logs and find the most popular sites that sent unique visitors to www.sportsmogul.com (or www.baseballmogul.com, or our online forums). The top sites will win the prizes listed above.

I'm reserving the right to change the rules if needed, and to disqualify anyone who tries to circumvent the spirit of the rules. In the event that multiple people plug us on the same site (e.g. Google Groups), I'll decide how to award the prizes fairly.

In any case, the contest starts now, so please help us spread the word about Baseball Mogul 2006!

[Ben E Lou]

Yeah...I saw that a couple of days ago and thought, "Hmmmm...I wonder if I actually linked to Sportsmogul in the thread..."


Maybe I should edit the first post...

[Ben E Lou]

Oh...and somewhere, Senator is weeping, hoping to be comforted by Debra Lafavre.

[MizzouRah]

If someone has posted this over at ootp, they might have a shot as well.


Todd

[Swaggs]

This game is getting better. I've began a career in 2005 with the Pirates and am slowly making progress. After three seasons I have gotten them to a point where they are financially secure and we finished at .500. The upper levels of difficulty are pretty damn hard. So far, I'm thinking I won't need any house rules.

My one beef remains injuries. Maybe the numbers are realistic, but it is the only thing that hinders me from having a truly great gaming experience. I put the injury setting to -30% and they still seemed a little too frequent.

My other complaints (that I had posted) are diminishing or gone. The draft wasn't too fun for me before when I was playing a historical league, but I think that was more because the names were too familiar. When I get to choose between Roberto Alomar, Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza, Juan Gonzalez, or Sammy Sosa, it just didn't seem too fun. With a fictional universe or post-2004, the combination of scouting variance and choosing between developed-lower potential or undeveloped-higher potential guys is more fun. I guess my one remaining (minor) complaint/tweak with the draft is that too many of the players can become impact players in the majors too quickly.

My other complaint was with the depth chart and auto-sort feature. I'm used to OOTP format and think it is superior, but BBM is a "lite" baseball sim and, after not having played it in years, its depth chart system is coming back to me and become more familiar.

The opposing teams' AI on signing FAs needs some work. Too many major stars are still holding out for huge deals on opening day. Being able to sign impact players a month into the season is sort of cheap. If a player is unsigned a few weeks before the season starts, he should be looking for the best 1-year deal he can find.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

This game is getting better. I've began a career in 2005 with the Pirates and am slowly making progress. After three seasons I have gotten them to a point where they are financially secure and we finished at .500. The upper levels of difficulty are pretty damn hard. So far, I'm thinking I won't need any house rules.

My one beef remains injuries. Maybe the numbers are realistic, but it is the only thing that hinders me from having a truly great gaming experience. I put the injury setting to -30% and they still seemed a little too frequent.

My other complaints (that I had posted) are diminishing or gone. The draft wasn't too fun for me before when I was playing a historical league, but I think that was more because the names were too familiar. When I get to choose between Roberto Alomar, Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza, Juan Gonzalez, or Sammy Sosa, it just didn't seem too fun. With a fictional universe or post-2004, the combination of scouting variance and choosing between developed-lower potential or undeveloped-higher potential guys is more fun. I guess my one remaining (minor) complaint/tweak with the draft is that too many of the players can become impact players in the majors too quickly.

My other complaint was with the depth chart and auto-sort feature. I'm used to OOTP format and think it is superior, but BBM is a "lite" baseball sim and, after not having played it in years, its depth chart system is coming back to me and become more familiar.

The opposing teams' AI on signing FAs needs some work. Too many major stars are still holding out for huge deals on opening day. Being able to sign impact players a month into the season is sort of cheap. If a player is unsigned a few weeks before the season starts, he should be looking for the best 1-year deal he can find.

Promising.

Thanks,

Todd