One "year" in review

rudoggy · 05-15-2012, 08:21 AM

So, i have played out one year, and am pretty happy with the game over all.
I have not tried historical, nor will I, not my thing.
I have played out a quickstart games, and played out every game on my season, while micromanaging all the minor leagues, except for one single A league which i always remove.
I play with no coaches(too easy to get the best ones at every level) and no scouts(as they just can not be trusted, and I like to have correct info on ratings to keep track of ratings changes)
This is the first time, in any version i have owned that I won the championship on the first run through. I took the Jays to the end, really only making a few trades.
I didnt adjust any modifiers as I dont like to have to tinker, I want to start and play.
Things i noticed were:
wild pitches, too many with guys on ANY base. This didnt seem to matter if I had my defensive catcher in or not. Or whether my pitchers was known for them or not.

Even though I have small ball set in my game strategy, the AI didnt seem to bunt when I thought it should. I have taken over and forced the bunt many times when it was apparent the games wasnt going to.

The pbp isnt synced with the coordinates yet. Very often I see a ball hit straight back as being hit down the line to either field, just foul with the fielder chasing it. Yet the picture, showed it being hit fouled straight back.

I saw a lot of talent changes, a staggering amount. That said, i know i can play around with modifiers, I just dont want to get into that, i want to just play.
The AI still seems bad when it comes to trades. While it is improved, it would be too easy to fleece the AI. So you have to be set on crazy hard, in which you have to lose every trade by a large amount to even make a trade.

The game sorely needs a button to "watch" your team play, which will instantly take any adjustments you made, set the controls to the bench coach, and go to the game. What it doesnt need is, if you make adjustments to the line up or whatever, and set the game to control by coach, it undoing your changes and advancing to the game.

Attendance does seem to be changed. I would have a hard time filling the stadium and making money. And if I adjusted the price up a buck, there would be a noticeable drop. I didnt see such things in this version.

Two BIG free agent notes.
The AI doesnt pay attention to the free agent list. When I dump an entire league, there are bound to be nice prospects in the mix. I can wait 3 months and the AI wont sign these guys to the minor league contracts they will take.
Would be very easy for me to sign them all up. The AI needs to check the FA list once in a while, even if it doesnt need to fill space.
Of those great prospects released. Once cut lose, some start demanding big major league contracts, at 19 and 20 years old, even though they are a 4 years away from being MLB ready.
To correct this, we need to get a signing bonus, or cash payment added to this without a contract set up.

Once the tool bar was moved to the bottom, my outlook on the GUI changed dramatically. Even as a constant Lightroom/shop user, i couldnt get over that small detail.

LOVED the return of the old promotion/demotion arrows.

Even with storylines on, I saw very few, if any. Which may just be bad luck.

While this may all seem like bitching, it isnt. I enjoyed the game, more so than my last few versions. I think what i stated here were details, things that can be worked out, hopefully, in an upcoming patch. I am picky when it comes to details.

Forgot to mention. Omar Vizquel, at 45. Had signed a modest deal with me to stay, but decided to retire after they won the championship. This was not due to him not playing. He had played the entire year due to injuries, and ended up batting around 280. Very nice end to a great career, and VERY believable.

Nice jobs guys. Fantastic waste of my time for very little money.

pstrickert · 05-15-2012, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudoggy

Even though I have small ball set in my game strategy, the AI didnt seem to bunt when I thought it should. I have taken over and forced the bunt many times when it was apparent the games wasnt going to.

The pbp isnt synced with the coordinates yet. Very often I see a ball hit straight back as being hit down the line to either field, just foul with the fielder chasing it. Yet the picture, showed it being hit fouled straight back.

The AI still seems bad when it comes to trades. While it is improved, it would be too easy to fleece the AI. So you have to be set on crazy hard, in which you have to lose every trade by a large amount to even make a trade.

Thanks for taking the time to summarize your thoughts. I'll respond to a few items:

1. It takes trial and error to know how much to adjust the strategy settings. For some settings, you will see immediate results after making just a small tweak. For others, you have to go to extremes to notice a difference. IIRC, SteveP enumerated his observations a couple of versions back. MLHFFYP also knows a lot about the settings.

2. All foul balls are assigned the "2F" ball location. I'm guessing it would cost Markus too much time to code all the possible foul ball locations. Think about all the places to which a foul ball can be hit. I asked Markus about it once; he prefers the simple "2F" solution.

3. The beta team worked extensively with Markus to eliminate some of the trade exploits and loopholes. I'm not surprised that some still exist. What specifically have you seen? Maybe we can address the issues in the next patch.

rudoggy · 05-15-2012, 01:27 PM

Thanks for reply, it was just that, a summary, not so much a criticism.

The settings thing? I get it, play it your way, which means you can open the engine and tinker away. I figure to get every year of ball to "work" you need to tweak it. Thats fine by me. I just think, out of the box, to play a straight game/season of ball, that it should be ready to go without any tinkering. If you want specialized stuff, and you want to, then you can root around in the guts.

The trade AI.
One resent example. Oswalt starts 2011 as a FA. Looked good, figured he had a few years left, signed him to around 3 years, and an avg of 10 a year. He wanted more, I wanted less so we settled. During the year, he crashed. After the year end, i was able to dump him, Litch and a scrub for a decent majors ready prospect. So garbage, plus a 3 year deal on a dud, and i get a controllable very decent prospect. I completed the deal as upon review of the team, they needed pitchers, but they shouldn't have bit. I also ponied up 1/2 of Roy's next year salary. They could have gotten twice the pitcher on FA market.
I set my trading hard, and use no scouts. So maybe it could be that other teams are bad judge of talent?

84Hammy · 05-15-2012, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudoggy

The trade AI.
One resent example. Oswalt starts 2011 as a FA. Looked good, figured he had a few years left, signed him to around 3 years, and an avg of 10 a year. He wanted more, I wanted less so we settled. During the year, he crashed. After the year end, i was able to dump him, Litch and a scrub for a decent majors ready prospect. So garbage, plus a 3 year deal on a dud, and i get a controllable very decent prospect. I completed the deal as upon review of the team, they needed pitchers, but they shouldn't have bit. I also ponied up 1/2 of Roy's next year salary. They could have gotten twice the pitcher on FA market.
I set my trading hard, and use no scouts. So maybe it could be that other teams are bad judge of talent?

I have been able to do this at times as well; maybe not so bad as this example, but in a 1992 historical league I was able to, as Tigers manager, dump two players who were going to be free agents after the season and had sizable contracts. Tony Phillips, Rob Deer, (and MR John Doherty) to Atlanta for SP Tom Glavine. Of course I felt like an exploiter, but the Atlanta AI must figure that it has enough really good starting pitching and can afford to move one guy. 120 games in and the Braves are in contention for the pennant (so am I). They did, however, DFA Deer and he was picked up by Cleveland off the waiver wire. Phillips has had a terrible year, playing 2B, but Doherty has a 1.67 ERA in 22 games. Deer didn't do much in Cleveland. So, yeah, the AI still makes errors, but let's face it, there are a lot of instances in real life where management gives up too much for too little.

DrSatan · 05-15-2012, 08:41 PM

I've notice draft pick trading is pretty easy. I've been able to snag the #1 pick for a mid level prospect and my first or second round pick (usually the last pick). It's hard to get it by stacking the deck with bum prospects, but as soon as you throw a draft pick in the mix they go from "are you kidding me?" to "that's a great deal".

05-15-2012, 08:21 AM	#1
rudoggy Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In my own little world Posts: 430	One "year" in review So, i have played out one year, and am pretty happy with the game over all. I have not tried historical, nor will I, not my thing. I have played out a quickstart games, and played out every game on my season, while micromanaging all the minor leagues, except for one single A league which i always remove. I play with no coaches(too easy to get the best ones at every level) and no scouts(as they just can not be trusted, and I like to have correct info on ratings to keep track of ratings changes) This is the first time, in any version i have owned that I won the championship on the first run through. I took the Jays to the end, really only making a few trades. I didnt adjust any modifiers as I dont like to have to tinker, I want to start and play. Things i noticed were: wild pitches, too many with guys on ANY base. This didnt seem to matter if I had my defensive catcher in or not. Or whether my pitchers was known for them or not. Even though I have small ball set in my game strategy, the AI didnt seem to bunt when I thought it should. I have taken over and forced the bunt many times when it was apparent the games wasnt going to. The pbp isnt synced with the coordinates yet. Very often I see a ball hit straight back as being hit down the line to either field, just foul with the fielder chasing it. Yet the picture, showed it being hit fouled straight back. I saw a lot of talent changes, a staggering amount. That said, i know i can play around with modifiers, I just dont want to get into that, i want to just play. The AI still seems bad when it comes to trades. While it is improved, it would be too easy to fleece the AI. So you have to be set on crazy hard, in which you have to lose every trade by a large amount to even make a trade. The game sorely needs a button to "watch" your team play, which will instantly take any adjustments you made, set the controls to the bench coach, and go to the game. What it doesnt need is, if you make adjustments to the line up or whatever, and set the game to control by coach, it undoing your changes and advancing to the game. Attendance does seem to be changed. I would have a hard time filling the stadium and making money. And if I adjusted the price up a buck, there would be a noticeable drop. I didnt see such things in this version. Two BIG free agent notes. The AI doesnt pay attention to the free agent list. When I dump an entire league, there are bound to be nice prospects in the mix. I can wait 3 months and the AI wont sign these guys to the minor league contracts they will take. Would be very easy for me to sign them all up. The AI needs to check the FA list once in a while, even if it doesnt need to fill space. Of those great prospects released. Once cut lose, some start demanding big major league contracts, at 19 and 20 years old, even though they are a 4 years away from being MLB ready. To correct this, we need to get a signing bonus, or cash payment added to this without a contract set up. Once the tool bar was moved to the bottom, my outlook on the GUI changed dramatically. Even as a constant Lightroom/shop user, i couldnt get over that small detail. LOVED the return of the old promotion/demotion arrows. Even with storylines on, I saw very few, if any. Which may just be bad luck. While this may all seem like bitching, it isnt. I enjoyed the game, more so than my last few versions. I think what i stated here were details, things that can be worked out, hopefully, in an upcoming patch. I am picky when it comes to details. Forgot to mention. Omar Vizquel, at 45. Had signed a modest deal with me to stay, but decided to retire after they won the championship. This was not due to him not playing. He had played the entire year due to injuries, and ended up batting around 280. Very nice end to a great career, and VERY believable. Nice jobs guys. Fantastic waste of my time for very little money. Last edited by rudoggy; 05-15-2012 at 08:25 AM.

05-15-2012, 01:27 PM	#3
rudoggy Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In my own little world Posts: 430	Thanks for reply, it was just that, a summary, not so much a criticism. The settings thing? I get it, play it your way, which means you can open the engine and tinker away. I figure to get every year of ball to "work" you need to tweak it. Thats fine by me. I just think, out of the box, to play a straight game/season of ball, that it should be ready to go without any tinkering. If you want specialized stuff, and you want to, then you can root around in the guts. The trade AI. One resent example. Oswalt starts 2011 as a FA. Looked good, figured he had a few years left, signed him to around 3 years, and an avg of 10 a year. He wanted more, I wanted less so we settled. During the year, he crashed. After the year end, i was able to dump him, Litch and a scrub for a decent majors ready prospect. So garbage, plus a 3 year deal on a dud, and i get a controllable very decent prospect. I completed the deal as upon review of the team, they needed pitchers, but they shouldn't have bit. I also ponied up 1/2 of Roy's next year salary. They could have gotten twice the pitcher on FA market. I set my trading hard, and use no scouts. So maybe it could be that other teams are bad judge of talent?

05-15-2012, 08:41 PM	#5
DrSatan All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Parts Unknown Posts: 627	I've notice draft pick trading is pretty easy. I've been able to snag the #1 pick for a mid level prospect and my first or second round pick (usually the last pick). It's hard to get it by stacking the deck with bum prospects, but as soon as you throw a draft pick in the mix they go from "are you kidding me?" to "that's a great deal".