Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

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  • RaychelSnr
    Executive Editor
    • Jan 2007
    • 4845

    #1

    Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series



    Out of the Park Baseball is one of our favorite series here at Operation Sports. Year...

    Written By: Chris Sanner

    Click here to view the article.
    OS Executive Editor
    Check out my blog here at OS. Add me on Twitter.
  • tfcfan4life
    Rookie
    • Mar 2018
    • 52

    #2
    Best baseball game this year! Love how deep the game is. The UI is nice too. Having the ability to change how the home screen looks is a great feature and that all sports games should have.  Should be in the running for best sports game of the year. Wish more people would give this game a try.

    Comment

    • kamackeris76
      MVP
      • Oct 2012
      • 1651

      #3
      Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

      Agree about the new player... I have the game but I just can't get into it. I'm from the UK and my love of baseball comes from MLB The Show. I just can't seem to get started.. It just seems daunting! How do people play this game? Play out every game or sim the majority?

      Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

      Comment

      • KBLover
        Hall Of Fame
        • Aug 2009
        • 12172

        #4
        Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

        Originally posted by kamackeris76
        Agree about the new player... I have the game but I just can't get into it. I'm from the UK and my love of baseball comes from MLB The Show. I just can't seem to get started.. It just seems daunting! How do people play this game? Play out every game or sim the majority?
        I do a lot of simming, but will play out key games in a series and often during the playoffs.

        I'll also watch some minors games or play games at the ML level when there's a prospect I want to see play. I don't know how faithfully the played out game represents whatever is going on under the hood, but if I see a kid get robbed of hits a lot or a pitcher giving up runs but not getting hit hard, I'd feel better letting them learn in the majors if I can.

        So a lot of times, I watch games to try to see the why of performance the player is getting, especially if they are doing poorly.

        But some play out every game like they would on The Show. Someone just posted they do just that in the franchise thread. It really depends on you.

        I think that's what I love most about OOTP - it really depends on what you want to see and do (be it a purely historical league or purely fantasy off the wall with wild stats and players) and the game will show you the outcome with no bias...or at least with the bias you tell the game to have.
        "Some people call it butterflies, but to him, it probably feels like pterodactyls in his stomach." --Plesac in MLB18

        Comment

        • Sev7vant
          Rookie
          • Nov 2017
          • 6

          #5
          Sony San Diego should look into merging with Out of the park developments and perhaps prep for the next generation of Playstation console and the future of eSports gaming.

          Comment

          • Mike Lowe
            All Star
            • Dec 2006
            • 5286

            #6
            Been playing this game since OOTP 3. I've been saying for years that this is the best baseball game on the market, and that's no different this year. While most console games can outshine their text-sim counterparts, the opposite is true of the OOTP series. That's a remarkable accomplishment.

            Comment

            • Yari
              Rookie
              • May 2013
              • 83

              #7
              Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

              I also agree that we need to find a way to help out the new players. I remember when I first got into OOTP a couple years ago and then set it aside for a few months because it felt very overwhelming. However, I did stick with it and I'm very glad that I did. The same may not be able to be said for every new player though. I wonder if it might be beneficial to have a tutorial game loaded in the spot for "load game" if a user isn't transferring into the newest game that takes the time via prompts to guide the user through the interfaces and nuances in a way that makes sense even if you've never heard of baseball before. Yes, there is always reading the manual, however, this usually isn't the best way to get a new user involved. That said, I feel keeping the manual is always a benefit but it shouldn't be the only way to explain to someone how to play the game.

              From my perspective, OOTP 19 is a very nice game and I've thoroughly enjoyed my latest game of being a manager only and seeing where things go from there. When in-game (actually playing baseball), I usually play either in classic webcast on my surface or on my decently sized laptop I'll go into classic 3-d mode just to see the shifts and little players running around. This isn't a knock on the modern interfaces, I do like them, however I prefer the way the info is presented in the old interfaces just a bit more. I will also add that the modern interfaces in-game are way more touch screen friendly which is a plus. My only complaint is that I wish smaller screen resolutions (1366x768) had been given a bit more love because with that resolution or smaller it begins to get very difficult to navigate menus or to see the information on the interfaces while in-game. Granted I can just customize the in-game widget coordinates but without a way to save that it becomes difficult. Hopefully though the small pitch tracker from the modern interfaces will eventually be available for the classic choices too.

              Comment

              • WaitTilNextYear
                Go Cubs Go
                • Mar 2013
                • 16830

                #8
                Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                No offense to anybody that might have a different opinion (including the author of this article), but I am frankly sick of hearing about how we have to cater to noobs at all times and in all places. Same talk with The Show and same rationalization for why that game has stalled in many ways while making way for alternative modes that hog resources and only superficially resemble simulation-style baseball.

                I miss the old fashioned way where noobs would have to learn how to do things and keep working at it until they either: (a) progressed in their enjoyment of the game or (b) put the game down and picked up something else moire suited to their interests.

                The main problem with catering to noobs is that it runs counter to everything that has made OOTP great (depth, numbers and management features out the yang, and hard won observations through the experience of playing it). How did any of us old timers learn how to play OOTP in the first place? By complaining that it was too hard of a game to learn? Actually, no. It was by trying it out, asking questions, reading/researching, and having some level of agency instead of an opinion that because I can't learn to do this within 5 minutes, then it's broken and needs to be tailored to me.

                Hold on a sec while I climb off this soapbox...
                Chicago Cubs | Chicago Bulls | Green Bay Packers | Michigan Wolverines

                Comment

                • KBLover
                  Hall Of Fame
                  • Aug 2009
                  • 12172

                  #9
                  Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                  I think we're doing well by having the threads people can ask questions in and stuff. Perhaps we need more - one for each major topic or such so it's more organized.
                  "Some people call it butterflies, but to him, it probably feels like pterodactyls in his stomach." --Plesac in MLB18

                  Comment

                  • WaitTilNextYear
                    Go Cubs Go
                    • Mar 2013
                    • 16830

                    #10
                    Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                    Originally posted by KBLover
                    I think we're doing well by having the threads people can ask questions in and stuff. Perhaps we need more - one for each major topic or such so it's more organized.
                    Or just refer them to the OOTP developments board where it's already organized like that. This subforum on OS has such low activity in comparison with The Show's that I doubt it could sustain a higher volume of Q/A--or there'd only be one or two people (probably you, lol) answering all the questions.
                    Chicago Cubs | Chicago Bulls | Green Bay Packers | Michigan Wolverines

                    Comment

                    • kamackeris76
                      MVP
                      • Oct 2012
                      • 1651

                      #11
                      no offence WaitTIlNextYear but this game is very hard to come at from my point of view being a Baseball and management sim fan from the UK. Just some tips like when you hover the mouse over certain stats what they actually mean ...things like that. i WANT to learn it and play it but from someone like me it is very hard to get started. had i been brought up on the sport like i am with Football (soccer) then yes it would be a lot easier to get started. you would probably have a similar experience playing Football Manager 

                      Comment

                      • Yari
                        Rookie
                        • May 2013
                        • 83

                        #12
                        Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                        Originally posted by WaitTilNextYear
                        No offense to anybody that might have a different opinion (including the author of this article), but I am frankly sick of hearing about how we have to cater to noobs at all times and in all places. Same talk with The Show and same rationalization for why that game has stalled in many ways while making way for alternative modes that hog resources and only superficially resemble simulation-style baseball.

                        I miss the old fashioned way where noobs would have to learn how to do things and keep working at it until they either: (a) progressed in their enjoyment of the game or (b) put the game down and picked up something else moire suited to their interests.

                        The main problem with catering to noobs is that it runs counter to everything that has made OOTP great (depth, numbers and management features out the yang, and hard won observations through the experience of playing it). How did any of us old timers learn how to play OOTP in the first place? By complaining that it was too hard of a game to learn? Actually, no. It was by trying it out, asking questions, reading/researching, and having some level of agency instead of an opinion that because I can't learn to do this within 5 minutes, then it's broken and needs to be tailored to me.

                        Hold on a sec while I climb off this soapbox...
                        I agree that what you mentioned is important, however, when the main new user complaint is that it's easy to get lost I feel that it's important to address that in a way that isn't throwing the the literal manual at them. Additionally, not every OOTP user will use the OOTP Dev Forums or the OS Forums so having something in the game that it's less of a sink or swim. This isn't saying to remove features to make them less complex, not at all.

                        It's my opinion that the user should be presented with "here's a tour that lets you know what you can do as you click around and discover things" rather than having to flip through pages of the manual as you go along. Alternatively, maybe it's as simple as a startup prompt that's "new to baseball? click here for a tutorial mode that's an interactive manual" type of thing. This way, it still leaves the door open for what you described.

                        Slightly off-topic:
                        In this day and age where 5,000 (slight exaggeration) things are competing for our attention and mental bandwidth every minute and where software is more user-hostile and development-hostile than ever before I feel that we should return to the software like Hypercard where you can do amazing things but even a child can pick it up. That doesn't mean that it has any less features but instead that anyone can pick it up, not just experts. If any of this sounds familiar it's because I've been thinking about a certain off-site post on this topic for a few days now.

                        Comment

                        • kamackeris76
                          MVP
                          • Oct 2012
                          • 1651

                          #13
                          Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                          I don't want the game to become less sim at all, that's not what I'm wanting!

                          Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

                          Comment

                          • KBLover
                            Hall Of Fame
                            • Aug 2009
                            • 12172

                            #14
                            Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                            Originally posted by WaitTilNextYear
                            Or just refer them to the OOTP developments board where it's already organized like that. This subforum on OS has such low activity in comparison with The Show's that I doubt it could sustain a higher volume of Q/A--or there'd only be one or two people (probably you, lol) answering all the questions.

                            LUL true, good point
                            "Some people call it butterflies, but to him, it probably feels like pterodactyls in his stomach." --Plesac in MLB18

                            Comment

                            • KBLover
                              Hall Of Fame
                              • Aug 2009
                              • 12172

                              #15
                              Re: Out of the Park Baseball 19 Review: Another Achievement for the Series

                              Originally posted by Yari
                              I agree that what you mentioned is important, however, when the main new user complaint is that it's easy to get lost I feel that it's important to address that in a way that isn't throwing the the literal manual at them. Additionally, not every OOTP user will use the OOTP Dev Forums or the OS Forums so having something in the game that it's less of a sink or swim. This isn't saying to remove features to make them less complex, not at all.

                              That's difficult to do when the game is oriented around you finding your way in the situation you find yourself in or put yourself in, depending on how you start your career, etc.

                              It would be difficult to come up with even a write up to explain what to do. There's too many scenarios and situations and a lot of them need or are handled by multiple approaches...because that's the other beauty of the game...no one right answer.

                              Some things are unnecessarily obtuse (coaches, I'm looking at you), and I wouldn't expect a new player to know to look at the development influence as a proxy for the handling/teaching ratings, for example. Heck, I had to think how to explain it myself.

                              The basics of roster management - perhaps. Same for signing contracts (though that's very grey area) and lineups and talent evaluation...there's as many opinions on that as there are users, even when you take scouting out of it by turning it off.

                              I can understand giving new players some sort of guidelines...but what then as they explore the game further when the guidelines aren't as clear? There is a lot of subjectivity as well as objectivity...and the guidelines can, to a degree, help with objective stuff (roster limits are X, this is what DFA means, this is what waivers are) but a lot of questions newer players also ask are very qualitative/subjective, like "how do I know when to promote/demote my prospects?"

                              Should the game tell them to blindly follow the arrows, even when they are suggestions and opinions of the scout? Go by stats alone? Ratings alone? If all of the above...the user is back where they started..."how do I combine these things to know?"

                              I think if the player is familiar with baseball - basically just jump in and test your opinions and see what sticks. That's pretty much OOTP. You think you should promote until the prospect sucks at a level? Try it and see how he responds. You want to bat the pitcher 7th? Try it and see. Not sure what to do? Ask your manager or bench coach and see what they do.

                              I understand the sentiment and don't disagree that it would be nice to have in-game guides to help the players, but it's hard to give them that but not having them be "this is how the game 'should' play"...because OOTP will do stuff that will defy those guides...and it won't take long.
                              "Some people call it butterflies, but to him, it probably feels like pterodactyls in his stomach." --Plesac in MLB18

                              Comment

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