My new way to play

Russ · 12-05-2007, 11:12 AM

I'm so excited about this that I want to share it with everyone. OOTP can get stale to me after a while and I'll need to start something anew.

I've never been a historical guy, always preferring the uncertainty of fictional leagues. But I decided to take a step in not controlling a team and strictly playing as commisioner in a historical game. Gone are the advantages of already knowing what a player was going to do for the year, no more 120-win powerhouses. Strictly observing the day to day events, looking for storylines, and playing more of a what if game has rescued me from my dreaded habit of playing a month day by day and then just simming to the offseason.

I have found my OOTP calling.

silvam14 · 12-05-2007, 11:25 AM

I hear ya there. I do the same thing. It is a lot fun not having a biased look at your league through one team. Do you watch each game? or sim through them?

How big is your league?

Russ · 12-05-2007, 11:28 AM

I sim through each day and take a look at the day as a whole. My league I started with was 1983 MLB. It's really refreshing not having to play with house rules or constantly looking for new challenges. If I don't like a trade the AI made or depth charts, I change them. If I think a player is rated incorrectly, I can change it and not feel guilty about it.

Dagrims · 12-05-2007, 11:30 AM

When I've played historical solo leagues, I've always played as commissioner. I love reading box scores and statistics. I generally sim a day at a time and click on any game summaries that look interesting to see the detailed box score. Over the course of a few seasons I find myself rooting for different teams and for certain players. This is definitely the most fun way for me to play (aside from on-line leagues, which I haven't had time for in a couple of years).

Eugene Church · 12-05-2007, 03:55 PM

I love to just play in the commissioner mode and follow the whole league as a fan.

I don't use financials. I am not interested in the money part of baseball.

I have never played a historical league. I think I would be disappointed when players do not play according to history, but to the OOTPB history.

So I stick to fictionals.

I have found that covering your league on the Dynasty Forum really helps the immersion and interest.

silvam14 · 12-05-2007, 04:18 PM

I play fictional mostly, but I am toying with the idea of creating my own world. (City/Region names all fictional) This would rule out any favoritism toward my local region and so forth.

Bluenoser · 12-05-2007, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I have never played a historical league. I think I would be disappointed when players do not play according to history, but to the OOTPB history.

So I stick to fictionals.

You could always play historical with fictional players. No preconceived expectations of what a certain player should do but still able to enjoy the various eras of baseball.

Elendil · 12-05-2007, 04:33 PM

I like playing fictional in Commissioner mode but taking over the worst team every year or two. That way, I still get an overview of the whole league and don't get stuck with the same team for very long. My team also never has time to dominate. But as opposed to pure Commissioner mode, I do have a rooting interest to keep things fun, and play out most of the games for my team. The only downside is that I almost never get to win a championship, because you can't turn around a team from worst to first in one year, usually.

ctorg · 12-06-2007, 07:47 AM

My standard lately has been that I usually play from 1901 to modern times in commissioner mode and then take over a team. I love the commissioner mode thing. Sometimes I'll speed through a year and look at it retrospectively, other times I'll get more immersed and pay attention to the details.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I have found that covering your league on the Dynasty Forum really helps the immersion and interest.

I have found that even just writing up a dynasty report that you don't post does a lot. I do this often with leagues. Since I have a tendency to abandon leagues, I don't usually post my dynasty reports because I don't want to lead people on and then drop it (I did that twice, although the first time was due to data loss). But I do it for myself. I'm currently running a 90-team world league that has been much more challenging than any other league I've done, although it's hard to get to know 90 teams worth of players.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceM

You could always play historical with fictional players. No preconceived expectations of what a certain player should do but still able to enjoy the various eras of baseball.

I've done this before. The only thing that sometimes gets to me is seeing the Yankees not be the Yankees. I will sometimes tweak things to make them do very well. I mean, I'm not a Yankees fan, but the Yankees doing well just feels like too important a part of baseball history for it not to happen.

jg2977 · 12-06-2007, 08:44 AM

I like to simulate to the last month of the reular season, and then take it day-by-day to watch the pennant races play out. Then, I'll "watch" every game of the playoffs. I like to simulate quickly to see what dynasties develop, and what teams can't win squat. I have a few teams in my league who make the Cubs' winless drought look like nothing.

12-05-2007, 11:12 AM	#1
Russ All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Essex HON! Posts: 1,923 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	My new way to play I'm so excited about this that I want to share it with everyone. OOTP can get stale to me after a while and I'll need to start something anew. I've never been a historical guy, always preferring the uncertainty of fictional leagues. But I decided to take a step in not controlling a team and strictly playing as commisioner in a historical game. Gone are the advantages of already knowing what a player was going to do for the year, no more 120-win powerhouses. Strictly observing the day to day events, looking for storylines, and playing more of a what if game has rescued me from my dreaded habit of playing a month day by day and then just simming to the offseason. I have found my OOTP calling. __________________ If you don't love Russ, you don't love America. This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

12-05-2007, 11:25 AM	#2
silvam14 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dedham, MA Posts: 10,163	I hear ya there. I do the same thing. It is a lot fun not having a biased look at your league through one team. Do you watch each game? or sim through them? How big is your league? __________________ Senior "Nancy Boy" of the OOTP Boards _______________________________________________

12-05-2007, 11:28 AM	#3
Russ All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Essex HON! Posts: 1,923 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	I sim through each day and take a look at the day as a whole. My league I started with was 1983 MLB. It's really refreshing not having to play with house rules or constantly looking for new challenges. If I don't like a trade the AI made or depth charts, I change them. If I think a player is rated incorrectly, I can change it and not feel guilty about it. __________________ If you don't love Russ, you don't love America. This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

12-05-2007, 11:30 AM	#4
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	When I've played historical solo leagues, I've always played as commissioner. I love reading box scores and statistics. I generally sim a day at a time and click on any game summaries that look interesting to see the detailed box score. Over the course of a few seasons I find myself rooting for different teams and for certain players. This is definitely the most fun way for me to play (aside from on-line leagues, which I haven't had time for in a couple of years). __________________ "Read books, get brain."

12-05-2007, 04:18 PM	#6
silvam14 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dedham, MA Posts: 10,163	I play fictional mostly, but I am toying with the idea of creating my own world. (City/Region names all fictional) This would rule out any favoritism toward my local region and so forth. __________________ Senior "Nancy Boy" of the OOTP Boards _______________________________________________

12-05-2007, 03:55 PM	#5
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,239	I love to just play in the commissioner mode and follow the whole league as a fan. I don't use financials. I am not interested in the money part of baseball. I have never played a historical league. I think I would be disappointed when players do not play according to history, but to the OOTPB history. So I stick to fictionals. I have found that covering your league on the Dynasty Forum really helps the immersion and interest.

12-05-2007, 04:33 PM	#8
Elendil Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the dynasty forum Posts: 2,318	I like playing fictional in Commissioner mode but taking over the worst team every year or two. That way, I still get an overview of the whole league and don't get stuck with the same team for very long. My team also never has time to dominate. But as opposed to pure Commissioner mode, I do have a rooting interest to keep things fun, and play out most of the games for my team. The only downside is that I almost never get to win a championship, because you can't turn around a team from worst to first in one year, usually. __________________ Heaven is kicking back with a double Talisker and a churchwarden stuffed with latakia.

12-06-2007, 08:44 AM	#10
jg2977 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 26,149	I like to simulate to the last month of the reular season, and then take it day-by-day to watch the pennant races play out. Then, I'll "watch" every game of the playoffs. I like to simulate quickly to see what dynasties develop, and what teams can't win squat. I have a few teams in my league who make the Cubs' winless drought look like nothing.