(OOTP 25) Daniel Saline's USBL Quickstart

[willboat75]

OOTP 25 Download Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wmm...usp=drive_link

Hello again,

Last year I recreated Daniel Saline's excellent USBL series in OOTP 24. I played nearly 20 years with the Indiana Tribe and ended the save as the definitive team of the 2020's. Shoutout Bobby Skeens, Cameron Miller, and Mike Koenigsberg.

Now, in OOTP 25, I am craving a similar experience. However, I don't think that last year's version was as close to what was outlined by Saline as I would have liked, so I've resolved to remedy that issue.

I have restarted the creation of this quickstart nearly a dozen times to make sure that all division, playoff and league structures are correct. All expansion, relocation, and even stadium implementation track with Saline's initial descriptions.

What also comes in this USBL quickstart are four levels of minor leagues, three draft leagues, a development league, and one independent league, all having some history.

The USBL was founded in 1930. Four of the six original teams predate the league, so I tried my best to replicate that in-game. Similarly to last year's sim, the early seasons were dominated by Boston, Chicago, and New York.

There was a short time of parity during the late 40's and early 50's during the league's first expansions, but USBL ownership returned to the big markets until the late 70's. Since the reserve clause was abolished and playoffs were expanded in the 80's, championships are more evenly spread.

The last dynasty were the four-times consecutive champion St. Louis Archers from 1991-94. Though the New Mexico Suns of the 2000's had a San Antonio Spurs-type run, winning titles in '03, '06, '11, '12.

Terry "The Mississippi Mudcat" Gay and Willie "The Man" Ortiz, are the league's greatest hitter and pitcher, and the namesakes for the MVP and Pitcher of the Year Awards, respectively.

The league's home run king is Jonathan Whitaker (pictured below), who had the four best power outputs in league history from 1993-1997 while playing in a hitter's park in Tucson. He played a final two seasons in Pittsburgh to barely beat out New York's Derek Federspiel's career mark of 667 homers by three.

There a million fun things to discover nearly 100 years of simulated history. There will never be a DH in this league, so see how bad pitchers have been at hitting. Check out the precursor leagues in the 1920's. Of course, you can also forge your own path with one of these franchises.

The quickstart begins in the 2015 offseason as four new teams are about to enter the league. I have attached the 2015 league table. Colorado beat New Mexico 4-2 in the most recent Branson Cup Series.

Here are two options for your save:

The Traditional Rebuild: Jacksonville Gators

Since entering the league in 1996, the Gators have never won more than 88 games, which they've done twice, representing their only postseason appearances. A decent young core has yet to scratch out more than 63 over each of the last four seasons.

The Longest Drought: Boston Masons

The Masons have won eight Branson Cups since their inception in 1930. They haven't won it since 1967, though. It's been so long that a second concurrent Boston franchise has come and gone. Fourteen trips to the playoffs since have only yielded more heartbreak.

Whatever direction you choose to go, I hope you enjoy. Feel free to loop me in on what you do in this quickstart.

Thank you to Golem64 for creating all of the kits in OOTP and eriqjaffe for creating each team's stadium. Obviously, a huge thank you goes out to Daniel Saline for his excellent concept work.

Original Sportslogos.net post: https://boards.sportslogos.net/topic...s-posted-2424/

My OOTP 24 Quickstart post: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...46#post5118546

[Hokie05]

Thanks, going to give this one a go.

[Hokie05]

So, I hopped into a save and had a look at the free agent list. Many good young 18 year old prospects are available, including one guy who was a 2nd round pick, signed a $1.3 million signing bonus, and then was released one day later. Didn't play one single game in his first year in the game, and now he's a free agent 4 months later.

Here's an example of another player...

June 1: Drafted in the 5th round
July 27: Signed a contract with a $480k signing bonus
July 28: Released
August 5: Signed a minor league contract
August 5: Released (yes, on the same day)
August 5: Signed another minor league contract with a different team
August 8: Released
August 10: Signed another minor league deal
August 11: Released
August 11: Signed another minor league deal

And so on and so forth. August 5 must have been a whirlwind for him, haha.

Is that normal? It's been a few years since I played OOTP.

[Hokie05]

Originally Posted by Hokie05

So, I hopped into a save and had a look at the free agent list. Many good young 18 year old prospects are available, including one guy who was a 2nd round pick, signed a $1.3 million signing bonus, and then was released one day later. Didn't play one single game in his first year in the game, and now he's a free agent 4 months later.

Here's an example of another player...

June 1: Drafted in the 5th round
July 27: Signed a contract with a $480k signing bonus
July 28: Released
August 5: Signed a minor league contract
August 5: Released (yes, on the same day)
August 5: Signed another minor league contract with a different team
August 8: Released
August 10: Signed another minor league deal
August 11: Released
August 11: Signed another minor league deal

And so on and so forth. August 5 must have been a whirlwind for him, haha.

Is that normal? It's been a few years since I played OOTP.

Actually, now that I've thought about it for awhile, I'm pretty sure this has always been an issue in OOTP.

[willboat75]

yeah I've noted that the AI has been waiving and releasing a bunch of players, especially those that they drafted. I don't think I'm going to update this particular save, but my ideas for a solution would be to get rid of minor league roster restrictions

I'm cooking up a V2 of sorts, and I realize I jumped the gun on this post.

[bigsmooth]

Looks great! Can you possibly provide the steps for downloading and installing this Quickstart? Also, what is the playoff process for this league?
I may give this a shot!

[Déjà Bru]

willboat75, you base your work on and bestow "a huge thank you ... to Daniel Saline for his excellent concept work." The link above to Sportslogos.net does not work but I followed the one in your last year's thread:

https://boards.sportslogos.net/topic...s-posted-2424/

He did great work on logos and uniforms, I see, and your replicating his efforts for this very promising quickstart are much appreciated.

A question remains in my mind, though. What was he designing that stuff for? That is, I don't see any indication of what game he played the USBL on, if any. Sportslogos.net is not a gaming website.

[jksander]

Downloading this, will definitely let you know if I get anything off the ground