iOOTP 2013: initial thoughts

ricealum · 10-25-2013, 04:30 PM

World Series special! iOOTP 2013 for just $0.99! I wasn't sure I really wanted to upgrade from 2012 to 2013, but at 99 cents, why not give it a shot? So I did. After one season (best record in the majors, but my young team was swept in the first round by a wild card team who went on to win it all) I thought I would post a few thoughts.

Bugs. I was hoping to see some 2012 bugs (most were reported here) squashed, but I've seen several already that were not. Clicking the baseball at the top for the main menu occasionally takes me to some random player screen by mistake. Clicking Main Menu > Main Screen takes you to the splash screen with "Continue Game" on it, rather than to the manager home, as you might expect. When a player is injured, you are still taken to the active roster, even if the injured player is in your minor league roster. It would make more sense to be shown the player's overview screen instead. And for some reason my 30-team league has 16 teams in one league and only 14 in the other.

Missing features. There is still no way to edit your league once you have set it up, so a typo or mixing up "LCS" and "World Series" in naming the rounds is forever. There is still no advanced search, so if you are looking for a shortshop, there's no way to specify Range>15 and Arm>13. You're stuck getting a list of everyone with a 1+ for shortstop in the defense ratings screen. And of course there's still no way to edit or create players, so no way to put yourself in the game ..... hint, hint!!

Trades. These are definitely "more realistic." It's harder to pry loose a top prospect or a starting pitcher. However, I did manage to turn a pretty middling team following the dispersal draft into the best team in the majors with good trades, so it's possible. I was unable to find any fool GMs willing to take trash for treasure in real lopsided deals yet, though. (Update after season two: trades are very hard to do. GMs have gone from undervaluing their prospects to overvaluing them. More realism? Less fun.)

Player generation. This is also supposed to be "more realistic," and it may be. There are fewer great players around, but OTOH the marginal players are having inflated stats because they are playing against a bunch of other marginal players. In other words, it's much harder to predict how players will do based on their ratings. The other thing I noticed in two straight drafts is that there are almost no middle relievers. I assume this is because some people believe middle relievers to be failed starters, so large numbers of them are listed as starters instead, even though they are clearly labeled as "Bullpen only" in the pitching ratings screen. This may be more realistic, but it makes game play (finding players) harder.

Game play. I don't see any obvious change, but it's supposed to be "more realistic." Season one I did fine, but my gut tells me my season two team should be doing a lot better than it is, based on the way we're hitting and pitching. After about 180 seasons (two 2011 leagues plus one 2012 league) I've learned to judge teams pretty well. My team is good and I'm not seeing the results as I should, so I suspect "more realistic" just means I won't win as much no matter how good my team is.

Speed. It seems slower than iOOTP 2012. A couple of times during the season I had to quit the game and restart it to keep it playable, after "Finish this week" would start taking 40+ seconds instead of 10.

Interface / UI. I see no improvements here and things may be a little worse. Basically everything is the same, but the text and controls seem bigger and clumsier. Moving players around in the lineups or depth charts feels more difficult. The big red X to remove a player seems overly large and garish. Looking at a list of players in Pitching Potential view still only shows potential stars and not current stars, so there's no way to tell if you're looking at a top player or a top prospect, and the headings are inconsistent -- one says "Stuff Potential" while another says "MOV P," e.g. Just not well thought out. (By comparison, "Batting Potential" view shows both current and potential stars.) Overall, though, the interface is essentially the same as in 2012, except for .....

The "assistant coach." What's up with this guy???? I've just started and I'm already tired of seeing him!!!

ricealum · 10-28-2013, 10:45 AM

A couple of further thoughts about time and dates. These were also true in iOOTP 2012.

1. The inaugural draft is held on March 31, and the start of the season is April 1. This gives you less than 36 hours (OOTP time) to make trades, assemble your team, etc., and start the season. Sometimes it's not even enough time to sign an undrafted free agent before the first game. There is no training camp and no preseason. IMHO the start of season one should be some time in January.

2. The game isn't saved and the manager history is not updated until January 1. IMHO a better date would be right after what is traditionally considered the end of the season -- either the end of the playoffs or the announcement of season awards.

And while we're at it ... at the end of the playoffs you are told your season score, but only if you lose. If you win, you get a congratulations, but you have to go searching for your season score (if you care). Why not both?

10-25-2013, 04:30 PM	#1
ricealum Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 129	iOOTP 2013: initial thoughts World Series special! iOOTP 2013 for just $0.99! I wasn't sure I really wanted to upgrade from 2012 to 2013, but at 99 cents, why not give it a shot? So I did. After one season (best record in the majors, but my young team was swept in the first round by a wild card team who went on to win it all) I thought I would post a few thoughts. Bugs. I was hoping to see some 2012 bugs (most were reported here) squashed, but I've seen several already that were not. Clicking the baseball at the top for the main menu occasionally takes me to some random player screen by mistake. Clicking Main Menu > Main Screen takes you to the splash screen with "Continue Game" on it, rather than to the manager home, as you might expect. When a player is injured, you are still taken to the active roster, even if the injured player is in your minor league roster. It would make more sense to be shown the player's overview screen instead. And for some reason my 30-team league has 16 teams in one league and only 14 in the other. Missing features. There is still no way to edit your league once you have set it up, so a typo or mixing up "LCS" and "World Series" in naming the rounds is forever. There is still no advanced search, so if you are looking for a shortshop, there's no way to specify Range>15 and Arm>13. You're stuck getting a list of everyone with a 1+ for shortstop in the defense ratings screen. And of course there's still no way to edit or create players, so no way to put yourself in the game ..... hint, hint!! Trades. These are definitely "more realistic." It's harder to pry loose a top prospect or a starting pitcher. However, I did manage to turn a pretty middling team following the dispersal draft into the best team in the majors with good trades, so it's possible. I was unable to find any fool GMs willing to take trash for treasure in real lopsided deals yet, though. (Update after season two: trades are very hard to do. GMs have gone from undervaluing their prospects to overvaluing them. More realism? Less fun.) Player generation. This is also supposed to be "more realistic," and it may be. There are fewer great players around, but OTOH the marginal players are having inflated stats because they are playing against a bunch of other marginal players. In other words, it's much harder to predict how players will do based on their ratings. The other thing I noticed in two straight drafts is that there are almost no middle relievers. I assume this is because some people believe middle relievers to be failed starters, so large numbers of them are listed as starters instead, even though they are clearly labeled as "Bullpen only" in the pitching ratings screen. This may be more realistic, but it makes game play (finding players) harder. Game play. I don't see any obvious change, but it's supposed to be "more realistic." Season one I did fine, but my gut tells me my season two team should be doing a lot better than it is, based on the way we're hitting and pitching. After about 180 seasons (two 2011 leagues plus one 2012 league) I've learned to judge teams pretty well. My team is good and I'm not seeing the results as I should, so I suspect "more realistic" just means I won't win as much no matter how good my team is. Speed. It seems slower than iOOTP 2012. A couple of times during the season I had to quit the game and restart it to keep it playable, after "Finish this week" would start taking 40+ seconds instead of 10. Interface / UI. I see no improvements here and things may be a little worse. Basically everything is the same, but the text and controls seem bigger and clumsier. Moving players around in the lineups or depth charts feels more difficult. The big red X to remove a player seems overly large and garish. Looking at a list of players in Pitching Potential view still only shows potential stars and not current stars, so there's no way to tell if you're looking at a top player or a top prospect, and the headings are inconsistent -- one says "Stuff Potential" while another says "MOV P," e.g. Just not well thought out. (By comparison, "Batting Potential" view shows both current and potential stars.) Overall, though, the interface is essentially the same as in 2012, except for ..... The "assistant coach." What's up with this guy???? I've just started and I'm already tired of seeing him!!! Last edited by ricealum; 10-28-2013 at 09:18 AM.

10-28-2013, 10:45 AM	#2
ricealum Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 129	A couple of further thoughts about time and dates. These were also true in iOOTP 2012. 1. The inaugural draft is held on March 31, and the start of the season is April 1. This gives you less than 36 hours (OOTP time) to make trades, assemble your team, etc., and start the season. Sometimes it's not even enough time to sign an undrafted free agent before the first game. There is no training camp and no preseason. IMHO the start of season one should be some time in January. 2. The game isn't saved and the manager history is not updated until January 1. IMHO a better date would be right after what is traditionally considered the end of the season -- either the end of the playoffs or the announcement of season awards. And while we're at it ... at the end of the playoffs you are told your season score, but only if you lose. If you win, you get a congratulations, but you have to go searching for your season score (if you care). Why not both?