Would like to see Trades in the news

Bears5122 · 03-04-2003, 07:31 PM

You know the main news that shows No-Hitters, major injuries, big performances? Well I would like it to show major trades and other information. Like maybe if any player who has a 5 star rating or something gets traded, it gets put up there. Also if a team takes over the division lead or something they'd put up an article on that. It's a small little thing, but I think it'd be great for online leagues and such.

Lets Go Mets · 03-04-2003, 07:42 PM

It wont be a huge thing for an online league since the people can just write it out...but for solo play im 100% with you! Ive been asking for it since ootp2

Ragin Cajun · 03-04-2003, 07:43 PM

Would be an interesting addon for online leagues but mainly for solo where you don't see all trades posted on a forum or in news articles on the website anyway.

Bears5122 · 03-04-2003, 09:16 PM

I just thought about it when I was playing the Brewers today and they had Roger Clements. I mean something like that would be front page news I'd think, not something halfway down the transaction page.

ziimalan · 03-04-2003, 09:36 PM

Yeah the news needs work!

Bears5122 · 03-04-2003, 09:39 PM

News, like most of the game, is the same as last years.

bigphesta · 03-04-2003, 09:43 PM

Yeah, I agree totally Bears. I'm starting to feel like I paid $35 for an HTML update, some useless sound, a new 'pretty' design, and, unfortunately, a lesser game in some reguards. This is no where the jump from 4 to 5 as was from 3 to 4.

TigersFan23 · 03-04-2003, 09:57 PM

I don't see where OOTP5 is the same or less than OOTP4. Did you download the correct install program?

OOTP5 offers (besides the new visuals) numerous new features (power rankings, minor league rankings, etc.) in the almanac section, team sections (like the ability to set individual strategies for individual players), sound effects, "manager mode" (which is excellent) and several other things that OOTP5 has that OOTP4 does not.

Henry · 03-04-2003, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bigphesta
Yeah, I agree totally Bears. I'm starting to feel like I paid $35 for an HTML update, some useless sound, a new 'pretty' design, and, unfortunately, a lesser game in some reguards. This is no where the jump from 4 to 5 as was from 3 to 4.

Interesting on how we can differ on viewpoint. I think the v4 to v5 jump is lightyears beyond v3 to v4. Maybe the things added don't interest you ?

Henry

Bears5122 · 03-04-2003, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TigersFan23
I don't see where OOTP5 is the same or less than OOTP4. Did you download the correct install program?

OOTP5 offers (besides the new visuals) numerous new features (power rankings, minor league rankings, etc.) in the almanac section, team sections (like the ability to set individual strategies for individual players), sound effects, "manager mode" (which is excellent) and several other things that OOTP5 has that OOTP4 does not.

That's fine, I just figured for $35 I would get more then some new reports and sounds that only work on a few computers. The manager mode is a nice tough, but it's really primitive right now.

bigphesta · 03-04-2003, 10:08 PM

Tigers, of the things you mentioned, only the ability to set individual strategies for individual players and the manager mode come CLOSE to warrenting a new game, but they even fall short. The couple extra HTML pages you mentioned could have just as easily been an update to v4. The fact that it takes me 20 minutes to sim a month with v5 (instead of 5 with v4) is a MAJOR step in the oppisite direction. And my system is FINE (1.3ghz t-bird, 512 meg DDR). The sound is nice, if you like that, but as it stands now, the game may have been released early. ANd let's not even mention the faulty (AT BEST) contract issues with arbitration.

The future additions (specifically spring training) are what's going to determine if v5 was 'worth' it. I'm willing to hold off my final judgement till then, but I'm far from a fanboy here.

TigersFan23 · 03-04-2003, 10:36 PM

I totally disagree.

OOTP5 clearly offers more new features than OOT4.

When OOTP3 and OOTP4 came out, there were folks who said that the leap wasn't so great, the new features weren't compelling, it was buggy, it was released too early, they were unhappy and disappointed. Every year this happens.

Did Markus release the game early? No. Is the game perfect? No. Will the game have issues that need to be resolved? Yes. Are some people going to be disappointed? Yes.

With annual releases there are not "light year" jumps in features because of the limited development window. Doing a sports game is different than doing Unreal Tournament 2003. You can take 2+ years to develop Unreal Tournament 2003 or Unreal 2- but with sports titles you can't take 2-3 years off between editions so the feature jump isn't as large in comparision. Markus probably started work on OOTP5 after OOTP4 was released- which is what Tiburon does with the Madden Football series (and look at the feature leap of that product over the past 3 years).

Every PC game has teething issues upon release it is the nature of the beast. Markus does not have the QA capacity of Microsoft to test compatability on every conceivable combination of memory/video card/sound card/CPU/motherboard (and associated drivers)- and even Microsoft can't get it right right out of the box (see Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 3)! Markus, unlike other software publishers/developers, works tirelessly to quickly resolve any initial issues quickly. When it does come to QA, Markus does a lot with what he does have.

As far as the width and breadth of new features, there is more new in OOTP5 than in NASCAR Racing 2003 from NASCAR Racing 2002 (and even NASCAR 4 as well), any EA sports title from the past 3 years, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 from Rollercoaster Tycoon, Diablo 2 from Diablo.... and the list goes on. And most of those titles go for $40 or $50 and have significant compatability issues.

OOTP5 currently is the benchmark for baseball management sims and will only get better within the next couple of weeks thanks to Markus' commitment. OOTP4, while good, doesn't come close IMHO.

I'm running OOTP5 on a PIII 866, 512MB of RAM, DirectX 9.0 with a GeForce3 video card and can sim through a season in roughly the same amount of time as OOTP4. I notice very little in the way of slower performance.

bigphesta · 03-04-2003, 10:41 PM

tigers fan... funny you brought EA up... the last game I bought of theirs for the pc was Madden 2k2 and I vowed never to buy another EA game for my PC again... and I won't.

Queensryche · 03-04-2003, 11:06 PM

On the subject of V5 not being a big upgrade as V3 to V4 was...

I strongly disagree. I think OOTP3 and OOTP4 were VERY similar...I remember staying up that whole night and just waiting for that OOTP4 file to say "DOWNLOAD NOW!" and when I finally downloaded it at like 4am....and started playing it...I remember being disapointed slightly...I still played the hell out of it...but I remember thinking..."Man this is almost just like OOTP3"

When I downloaded V5 the other day...I was stunned at all the enhancements. I mean...the game engine and such remains the same...but lets be honest...its pretty damn good already...some things need to be worked on..but every game has that.

I think 35 bucks is a hell of a bargain for the amount of Replayability that you get in this game. I mean lets think about this...I bought C&C Generals the other day for 50 bucks...I played it for the first week...and now I'm tired of it. Yet here I pay 35 bucks for a game that will be on my hard drive till March 2004.

What more could you ask for! I'd be willing to pay 80-100 dollars for the OOTP games.

Also,to think that all of the improvements made in V5 were all coded by ONE person?!? Thats a damn good thing and I salute Markus for not just re-shelling out the same game every year ala EA.

So really...sit back and take a look at all the new improvements...and then realize that all of the improvements were all coded by one person working his ass off (while coding patches for OOTP4 mind you) just so you can enjoy a good baseball sim....and then offering it for LESS than the regular full price of most games.

I'm really not trying to kiss ass here...I have expressed my frustrations with the Trading AI and the Free Agent system...but these are all things that can be FIXED in the future...and I can't wait to see the future editions of OOTP.

TigersFan23 · 03-05-2003, 12:11 AM

bigphesta,

Don't mean to come across as a butthead at all- and I hope you don't take it that way.

Since I work in the industry know other folks at other companies it is frustrating to here people criticize product with little or no knowledge on what goes into making them. Anyone in the industry with any dedication works tirelessly to put together the best game possible within the schedule and budget allowed. Markus and .400 are some of the most dedicated folks I've ever worked with (as I did on the Season Ticket Baseball series). I wish every developer I worked with had thier passion and dedication.

Sports games are very time sensitive. Vendors want them on the shelves before opening day- as to the fans. Software publishers and developers are aware of this and do what they can to meet those deadlines. If you miss opening day/week, then the game gets dropped by vendors and fans pass it over. Notice that everyone who is doing a baseball game on any platform is releasing thier games over the next couple of weeks- because now is the time to maximize sales impact. You do the best you can to catch the big bugs, squeeze in as much new stuff as possible and hand it off (then work on fixing the issues you know about and the ones that show up after store release). You can't do 2-3 years of feature upgrades in less than 12 months time.

Markus is under the same restrictions- but in a different way. While he doesn't have to worry about vendors, he does have to worry about the hard-core fans (who want the game yesterday) and having the game available prior to opening day. Where as we do games with development teams (12-20 people generally), Markus does almost everything himself and relies on a group of dedicated fans (who he trust) to assist in doing QA.

Releasing general open beta test builds is a calculated risk IMHO. I wouldn't do it personally since you only get usable feedback from 1%-2% of the folks who downloaded the build and you let everyone know what you are up to. I've found that 10-12 dedicated gamers who are passionate for a game will do the work of 20-24 testers- they give you the best feedback you could imagine and do it quickly. These kind of testers give the product the attention it needs (as opposed to a group of "corporate" testers who view the game and just another product).

Putting sports games together is not easy and is almost a thankless job. Very rarely do you hear about what the game does well, but you always hear about all the flaws (real or imagined). Unlike some companies, Markus and .400 do listen to thier user base and work to resolve any issues in a timely manner.

03-04-2003, 07:31 PM	#1
Bears5122 All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 850	Would like to see Trades in the news You know the main news that shows No-Hitters, major injuries, big performances? Well I would like it to show major trades and other information. Like maybe if any player who has a 5 star rating or something gets traded, it gets put up there. Also if a team takes over the division lead or something they'd put up an article on that. It's a small little thing, but I think it'd be great for online leagues and such.

03-04-2003, 07:42 PM	#2
Lets Go Mets Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NY NY Posts: 235	It wont be a huge thing for an online league since the people can just write it out...but for solo play im 100% with you! Ive been asking for it since ootp2 __________________ “He likes the ball out over the plate. He could be dangerous. He swings hard. He dives over the plate. He’s strong. You definitely don’t want to make any mistakes out over the plate.”--Bobby Valentine on Roger Clemens -------------------------------------------------- We got determination,Bass and Highs White Castle Fries only come in one size --Beastie boys

03-04-2003, 07:43 PM	#3
Ragin Cajun All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Atascosita, TX Posts: 1,173	Would be an interesting addon for online leagues but mainly for solo where you don't see all trades posted on a forum or in news articles on the website anyway. __________________ Former NBSL Commissioner: 16 years Former Online League Owner; six time champion

03-04-2003, 09:36 PM	#5
ziimalan Major Leagues Join Date: May 2002 Location: new jeru Posts: 392	Yeah the news needs work! __________________ hmmmmm...

03-04-2003, 10:08 PM	#11
bigphesta Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Des Moines, Iowa Posts: 1,366	Tigers, of the things you mentioned, only the ability to set individual strategies for individual players and the manager mode come CLOSE to warrenting a new game, but they even fall short. The couple extra HTML pages you mentioned could have just as easily been an update to v4. The fact that it takes me 20 minutes to sim a month with v5 (instead of 5 with v4) is a MAJOR step in the oppisite direction. And my system is FINE (1.3ghz t-bird, 512 meg DDR). The sound is nice, if you like that, but as it stands now, the game may have been released early. ANd let's not even mention the faulty (AT BEST) contract issues with arbitration. The future additions (specifically spring training) are what's going to determine if v5 was 'worth' it. I'm willing to hold off my final judgement till then, but I'm far from a fanboy here. Last edited by bigphesta; 03-04-2003 at 10:10 PM.

03-04-2003, 09:16 PM	#4
Bears5122 All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 850	I just thought about it when I was playing the Brewers today and they had Roger Clements. I mean something like that would be front page news I'd think, not something halfway down the transaction page.

03-04-2003, 09:39 PM	#6
Bears5122 All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 850	News, like most of the game, is the same as last years.

03-04-2003, 09:43 PM	#7
bigphesta Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Des Moines, Iowa Posts: 1,366	Yeah, I agree totally Bears. I'm starting to feel like I paid $35 for an HTML update, some useless sound, a new 'pretty' design, and, unfortunately, a lesser game in some reguards. This is no where the jump from 4 to 5 as was from 3 to 4.

03-04-2003, 09:57 PM	#8
TigersFan23 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 156	I don't see where OOTP5 is the same or less than OOTP4. Did you download the correct install program? OOTP5 offers (besides the new visuals) numerous new features (power rankings, minor league rankings, etc.) in the almanac section, team sections (like the ability to set individual strategies for individual players), sound effects, "manager mode" (which is excellent) and several other things that OOTP5 has that OOTP4 does not.

03-04-2003, 10:36 PM	#12
TigersFan23 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 156	I totally disagree. OOTP5 clearly offers more new features than OOT4. When OOTP3 and OOTP4 came out, there were folks who said that the leap wasn't so great, the new features weren't compelling, it was buggy, it was released too early, they were unhappy and disappointed. Every year this happens. Did Markus release the game early? No. Is the game perfect? No. Will the game have issues that need to be resolved? Yes. Are some people going to be disappointed? Yes. With annual releases there are not "light year" jumps in features because of the limited development window. Doing a sports game is different than doing Unreal Tournament 2003. You can take 2+ years to develop Unreal Tournament 2003 or Unreal 2- but with sports titles you can't take 2-3 years off between editions so the feature jump isn't as large in comparision. Markus probably started work on OOTP5 after OOTP4 was released- which is what Tiburon does with the Madden Football series (and look at the feature leap of that product over the past 3 years). Every PC game has teething issues upon release it is the nature of the beast. Markus does not have the QA capacity of Microsoft to test compatability on every conceivable combination of memory/video card/sound card/CPU/motherboard (and associated drivers)- and even Microsoft can't get it right right out of the box (see Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 3)! Markus, unlike other software publishers/developers, works tirelessly to quickly resolve any initial issues quickly. When it does come to QA, Markus does a lot with what he does have. As far as the width and breadth of new features, there is more new in OOTP5 than in NASCAR Racing 2003 from NASCAR Racing 2002 (and even NASCAR 4 as well), any EA sports title from the past 3 years, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 from Rollercoaster Tycoon, Diablo 2 from Diablo.... and the list goes on. And most of those titles go for $40 or $50 and have significant compatability issues. OOTP5 currently is the benchmark for baseball management sims and will only get better within the next couple of weeks thanks to Markus' commitment. OOTP4, while good, doesn't come close IMHO. I'm running OOTP5 on a PIII 866, 512MB of RAM, DirectX 9.0 with a GeForce3 video card and can sim through a season in roughly the same amount of time as OOTP4. I notice very little in the way of slower performance. Last edited by TigersFan23; 03-04-2003 at 10:39 PM.

03-04-2003, 10:41 PM	#13
bigphesta Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Des Moines, Iowa Posts: 1,366	tigers fan... funny you brought EA up... the last game I bought of theirs for the pc was Madden 2k2 and I vowed never to buy another EA game for my PC again... and I won't.

03-04-2003, 11:06 PM	#14
Queensryche Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 453	On the subject of V5 not being a big upgrade as V3 to V4 was... I strongly disagree. I think OOTP3 and OOTP4 were VERY similar...I remember staying up that whole night and just waiting for that OOTP4 file to say "DOWNLOAD NOW!" and when I finally downloaded it at like 4am....and started playing it...I remember being disapointed slightly...I still played the hell out of it...but I remember thinking..."Man this is almost just like OOTP3" When I downloaded V5 the other day...I was stunned at all the enhancements. I mean...the game engine and such remains the same...but lets be honest...its pretty damn good already...some things need to be worked on..but every game has that. I think 35 bucks is a hell of a bargain for the amount of Replayability that you get in this game. I mean lets think about this...I bought C&C Generals the other day for 50 bucks...I played it for the first week...and now I'm tired of it. Yet here I pay 35 bucks for a game that will be on my hard drive till March 2004. What more could you ask for! I'd be willing to pay 80-100 dollars for the OOTP games. Also,to think that all of the improvements made in V5 were all coded by ONE person?!? Thats a damn good thing and I salute Markus for not just re-shelling out the same game every year ala EA. So really...sit back and take a look at all the new improvements...and then realize that all of the improvements were all coded by one person working his ass off (while coding patches for OOTP4 mind you) just so you can enjoy a good baseball sim....and then offering it for LESS than the regular full price of most games. I'm really not trying to kiss ass here...I have expressed my frustrations with the Trading AI and the Free Agent system...but these are all things that can be FIXED in the future...and I can't wait to see the future editions of OOTP.

03-05-2003, 12:11 AM	#15
TigersFan23 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 156	bigphesta, Don't mean to come across as a butthead at all- and I hope you don't take it that way. Since I work in the industry know other folks at other companies it is frustrating to here people criticize product with little or no knowledge on what goes into making them. Anyone in the industry with any dedication works tirelessly to put together the best game possible within the schedule and budget allowed. Markus and .400 are some of the most dedicated folks I've ever worked with (as I did on the Season Ticket Baseball series). I wish every developer I worked with had thier passion and dedication. Sports games are very time sensitive. Vendors want them on the shelves before opening day- as to the fans. Software publishers and developers are aware of this and do what they can to meet those deadlines. If you miss opening day/week, then the game gets dropped by vendors and fans pass it over. Notice that everyone who is doing a baseball game on any platform is releasing thier games over the next couple of weeks- because now is the time to maximize sales impact. You do the best you can to catch the big bugs, squeeze in as much new stuff as possible and hand it off (then work on fixing the issues you know about and the ones that show up after store release). You can't do 2-3 years of feature upgrades in less than 12 months time. Markus is under the same restrictions- but in a different way. While he doesn't have to worry about vendors, he does have to worry about the hard-core fans (who want the game yesterday) and having the game available prior to opening day. Where as we do games with development teams (12-20 people generally), Markus does almost everything himself and relies on a group of dedicated fans (who he trust) to assist in doing QA. Releasing general open beta test builds is a calculated risk IMHO. I wouldn't do it personally since you only get usable feedback from 1%-2% of the folks who downloaded the build and you let everyone know what you are up to. I've found that 10-12 dedicated gamers who are passionate for a game will do the work of 20-24 testers- they give you the best feedback you could imagine and do it quickly. These kind of testers give the product the attention it needs (as opposed to a group of "corporate" testers who view the game and just another product). Putting sports games together is not easy and is almost a thankless job. Very rarely do you hear about what the game does well, but you always hear about all the flaws (real or imagined). Unlike some companies, Markus and .400 do listen to thier user base and work to resolve any issues in a timely manner. Last edited by TigersFan23; 03-05-2003 at 12:16 AM.