Question re: OOTP Baseball vs. Fantasy Baseball

[esmeet7]

I'm in a group of about 12-18 friends who have been playing ESPN Fantasy Baseball for the past 11 years. With the recent format change and deleting of league trophies (i.e., history of team performance and achievements) by ESPN, we're looking for something new.

Some have suggested that OOTP Baseball (and, perhaps the Perfect Team mode) would allow us to replace our fantasy baseball league with something similar, but with simulated results.

I've never played OOTP, and I'm curious to know if it's possible to do a couple of possible leagues to replace a traditional fantasy baseball league.


(1) Can you create a 12-person league and hold a "fantasy draft" with today's MLB players (with all other MLB players in a free agent pool) and then simulate a season of games? (In essence, this would be like a regular fantasy baseball league, but with simmed results.)

(2) Can you create a 12- to 20-person league with Perfect Team and create a franchise-type mode where teams can use current, former, and future players to build their "perfect team" and compete in multi-season leagues with one another? (In essence, can you run the Perfect Team mode with a private, invite-only league consisting of N teams?)

If there are any other ideas for using OOTP to replace traditional fantasy baseball (in terms of engagement and interest of owners), please share ideas.

TIA.

[KBLover]

Re: Question re: OOTP Baseball vs. Fantasy Baseball

(1) Can you create a 12-person league and hold a "fantasy draft" with today's MLB players (with all other MLB players in a free agent pool) and then simulate a season of games? (In essence, this would be like a regular fantasy baseball league, but with simmed results.)

Yep. Make a custom league or use a standard game as a template and then edit the league's structure. There's also a "dump all players and hold a draft" league function.

You'd like need at least a full pitching staff - or perhaps tinker with the stamina, but then you'd get unrealistic IP numbers.

So maybe in whatever scoring you use - only count SP and CL or such.

I don't know much about how Perfect Team works so I can't give any ideas there.

[esmeet7]

Re: Question re: OOTP Baseball vs. Fantasy Baseball

You'd like need at least a full pitching staff - or perhaps tinker with the stamina, but then you'd get unrealistic IP numbers.

So maybe in whatever scoring you use - only count SP and CL or such.

Thanks for the reply. Two follow-up questions:

(1) Do you know if it's possible to have the CPU control the other teams in a full league with this fantasy-draft beginning? In other words, we'd have all 30 teams with 12-18 being controlled by humans and the rest by the CPU. Rather than counting score by fantasy numbers, we could compete to win in a traditional sense (i.e., playoffs, World Series). Biggest question here is whether my friends could control X number of teams while the CPU controls the rest in a fantasy-draft origin league.

(2) In fantasy baseball, you essentially play the role of GM, not Manager (i.e., controlling in-game decisions). In OOTP, is there an option to just be the GM, or do you always have to be the Manager? (I'd assume you could automate Manager decisions if you wanted.)

Thanks again for your reply.

[KBLover]

Re: Question re: OOTP Baseball vs. Fantasy Baseball

Thanks for the reply. Two follow-up questions:

(1) Do you know if it's possible to have the CPU control the other teams in a full league with this fantasy-draft beginning? In other words, we'd have all 30 teams with 12-18 being controlled by humans and the rest by the CPU. Rather than counting score by fantasy numbers, we could compete to win in a traditional sense (i.e., playoffs, World Series). Biggest question here is whether my friends could control X number of teams while the CPU controls the rest in a fantasy-draft origin league.

(2) In fantasy baseball, you essentially play the role of GM, not Manager (i.e., controlling in-game decisions). In OOTP, is there an option to just be the GM, or do you always have to be the Manager? (I'd assume you could automate Manager decisions if you wanted.)

Thanks again for your reply.

1) Very possible. You can create other human managers (what they are called in the game) that would be your friends and then put them as GM of the teams they want to control.

The CPU will control the rest of the teams by default.

Then, you set up what their in-game persona has control over (GM's can delegate anything in the organization to their personnel, basically giving CPU control based on that person's traits).

For example, maybe you'd allow delegating managing minors lineups but not organization promotions/demotions through the system. In fact, you could forbid direct influence over lineups, team strategy, and pitching staff (that must be delegated) to play truly GM only.

The only things they could touch would be drafting, finances, organizational moves of players and personnel, and player movement (signings, extensions, trades, waivers, etc.)

I played in an online league once that forbid changing strategy. To change strategy, you had to "hire a new manager" (this was way back before OOTP was as fleshed out as it is now).

OOTP would now organically allow such a restriction.



2) You can be GM only (that's how I play the game). Each human manager has a role setting. You can set it to GM, manager, or both.

[humairashah]

Re: Question re: OOTP Baseball vs. Fantasy Baseball

Nice work buddy...