Suggestions: Human Manager Model

battists · 07-03-2007, 09:24 PM

This suggestion thread is designed to collect suggestions for the next version of OOTP, on the following topic:

Human Manager Model

Includes
- Things related to a human manager's career

Excludes
- Stuff related to non-human personnel

Instructions
We will use this thread to collect suggestions on the above topic. Later on, we hope to present this information back to the community in a way that would allow you to vote and prioritize certain features.

If you would like to participate, here are the rules!

Only 1 suggestion per post.
Suggestions must be on-topic for the thread.
Constructive, non-inflammatory suggestions only.
No comments on others' suggestions are necessary. That means, we don't need 15 posts in the thread saying "Great idea!" or "I agree!"
Please don't link to other forum threads as your way of making suggestions. ("My suggestion can be found HERE.") If it's important enough to you that you want it in this thread, then it should be important enough to put it in the format I've asked for here!
You can certainly post suggestions that conflict with or build upon earlier suggestions.
Mockups are welcomed, they really help Markus see what you're interested in accomplishing.

Format for Suggestions

Suggestion
What is your suggestion? Be as specific as possible; include the screen you're talking about, if applicable.

Reason
Why do you think this is important? If this is to correct what you perceive as a problem in OOTP 2007, what is that problem? Be as specific as possible.

Priority
In your opinion, how important is this suggestion?
High (MUST have), Medium (should have), Low (nice to have))

Handy Cut-and-Paste Suggestion Form:

Suggestion

Reason

Priority

Thanks for participating!

Steve

battists · 07-03-2007, 09:26 PM

Suggestion
Implement a contract/salary model for human managers.

Reason
Right now the human manager model lacks immersiveness. While you can control the team, you just don't get that "I'm really in this world" feeling. Having teams offer you contracts, extensions, and salaries makes for some difficult choices that make you more involved in the game. Do I accept the extension for AAA Batavia, or do I take the head coaching job for more money, but for a perennial losing major league team with a cheapskate owner?

I don't think we have to go back to the "you have a girlfriend" The Sims sort of thing, but I think this would fit in nicely with the scope of the game.

Priority
Medium

battists · 07-03-2007, 09:28 PM

Suggestion
Redesign the "add new manager" screen.

Reason
Markus knows how I feel about this, but this screen drives me completely bonkers. When you add a manager, you should get an entirely blank set of fields, and not have to edit the last values that were entered. On top of that, when you finish entering your name, there's a new entry in the list on the right, with the old manager's name.

It's not critical to the core of the game, but it certainly adds to the impression that OOTP can be too complicated for its' own good.

Priority
High

battists · 07-03-2007, 09:30 PM

Suggestion
Give owners more personality and more interaction with the human managers.

Reason
Right now, the interaction with the owner is limited to "I expect you to be .500" and "You're fired."

The XML text engine gives us a lot of opportunities to spice up the lives of human managers. The owners could send messages every now and then that say things like "Good win against Batavia yesterday. The team looks like it's coming together," or "I know it's only May, but 5-22 isn't going to cut it. You'd better pull this thing together or you're going to be cleaning jocks before the season's over!"

Priority
Low

Muzamba · 07-03-2007, 10:35 PM

Suggestion
Give a human manager the option to "shadow" someone. That is, allow the option to take over the identity of an existing Commissioner, Owner, GM, or Field Manager. Explanation: Currently, if you want to take over a certain job, you will have your own identity (regardless of whether you use your own name or give yourself the name of a real-life baseball person.) So let's say you want to take over as manager of the Yankees. In OOTP '07, you can give yourself the name "Joe Torre", but your record/history begins and ends with you. In other words, you ARE Joe Torre. However, in Shadow Mode, you could select Joe Torre within the game and assume his identity. Thus, you pick up his record/history where it is and add to it while you are "playing" him. Later, you could exit Shadow Mode and the Computer Joe Torre takes over again with the record you accumulated while you were him. (Hope this isn't too terribly confusing

)

Reason
While some of us may like the idea of seeing ourselves as Commissioner or a GM within our baseball universe, others may want to give their universe a more realistic, "undisturbed" feel.

Priority
LOW to LOW-MEDIUM. I hate to give any of my suggestions a low priority, but I realize this isn't absolutely imperative to my enjoyment of the game, so... meh

injury log · 07-03-2007, 10:35 PM

Suggestion

Building on Battists' suggestion above (post 4), I'd like Owners to have priorities (some might want to win immediately, others might care more about turning a profit, etc). The occasionally mystifying 'season score' could be replaced by an Owner's 'Report Card', which informs the Human Manager about how the Owner feels the Manager performed with finances, W/L record, drafting, and transactions. Interfering Owners could also demand that a player be traded (perhaps because he is bad for PR) or that a particular free agent be signed, with a non-compliant GM running the risk of incurring the Owner's wrath and losing his job. Owner personalities should be optional if implemented.

Reason

It would make it easier to know when firing is imminent, and what areas one could improve on in order to keep a job. The game could become more interesting and challenging with a meddlesome owner whose priorities conflict with the human GM's. Owner personalities would add realism, and could add incentive to jump jobs, and to chart a more eventful career path.

Priority

Low, but I think it would be fun.

injury log · 07-03-2007, 10:40 PM

Suggestion

Have the option to play in 'can't-be-fired' mode.

Reason

Now, the only way to avoid being fired is by playing in Commissioner Mode, (which is not recommended, and allows too many workarounds, like overbudget contracts, that I'd prefer were not available). It is awkward to take on a rebuilding project with a team, because inevitably one will be fired several times in the process.

Priority

Medium.

Nutlaw · 07-07-2007, 07:23 PM

Suggestion

Expand Managerial/GM and Team performance record keeping. More detailed playoff reporting - actual records, exact information on how far the team progressed, etc. Other specific displays that could be of interest include longest winning and losing streaks, longest number of years with consecutive playoff appearances, number of players on the team to win PoW and PoM awards over a season/career, number of MVPs/Cy Youngs/RoY players on the team over a career, etc. I'm sure that there are plenty more. This information could be tied either to an organization, a GM/manager, or both.

Reason

As baseball fans, most of us enjoy numbers and stats, and I don't believe that the current manager history makes good use of them. The current data only includes which seasons one coaches, for which teams, how many games played, win-loss record, divisional finish, and post-season success (made playoffs, won championship, or a null value). Clearly this could be better fleshed out to give GMs (especially on-line GMs) more information to compare their performances.

Priority

Low

Mattymo · 07-09-2007, 01:03 PM

Suggestion
redefine the differences between General Manager and Manager

Reason
These two "titles" are completely different, but it makes NO sense going from being a AAA manager to a major league GENERAL Manager. I think you should have the option of being a manager OR a GM (in GM mode you would never be in the minors unless they were independent, which would mean that team HAS a GM).

Priority
to me, high.

Mattymo · 07-09-2007, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by battists

Suggestion
Implement a contract/salary model for human managers.

Reason
Right now the human manager model lacks immersiveness. While you can control the team, you just don't get that "I'm really in this world" feeling. Having teams offer you contracts, extensions, and salaries makes for some difficult choices that make you more involved in the game. Do I accept the extension for AAA Batavia, or do I take the head coaching job for more money, but for a perennial losing major league team with a cheapskate owner?

I don't think we have to go back to the "you have a girlfriend" The Sims sort of thing, but I think this would fit in nicely with the scope of the game.

Priority
Medium

No, this is HIGH priority. In the older versions this was one of my favorite parts of the game...the goal of any manager/GM is to make money, be in a good situation, and be there a long time. Adding on, it would be great to have more "off-the-field" stuff involved for a manager/GM, perhaps a family who doesn't want to live in a certain city, I don't know. I don't really have any ideas for it.

lt2cents · 07-15-2007, 04:27 PM

Suggestion

Provide financials for all minor teams--
Note: this also suggested under Front Office Finances for additional reasons.

Reason

Because there are now major weaknesses in following your suggestion to 'try managing a minor league team'. Some reasons do not fit this thread but one reason for here is, if you want to GM/manage an independent minor team and handle financials the team must be in a completely independent league. If it is in a league that includes teams linked to a major team there are no financials available.

If you want to sim a manager career, and start out in the minors, this is one of several features that are needed.

Priority

MOD NOTE:
NO priority was listed. I have entered it as MEDIUM.

Raidergoo · 08-11-2007, 04:28 PM

That's a wrap, folks.

lt2cents · 08-15-2007, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattymo

Suggestion
redefine the differences between General Manager and Manager

Reason
These two "titles" are completely different, but it makes NO sense going from being a AAA manager to a major league GENERAL Manager. I think you should have the option of being a manager OR a GM (in GM mode you would never be in the minors unless they were independent, which would mean that team HAS a GM).

Priority
to me, high.

Appending to this Suggestion--

Allow role to be GM and/or manager in general, but also allow assignment of several specific jobs to either role-- signing coachs, scouts ,minor league personnel, responsibility for budget, trading, draft, player signings, lineup decisions etc.

Reason--
Now it is not clear if I want to just play role of manager, who hires the other personnel, etc, or, if I want to be solely GM, should manager select his coaches. And for either, who controls scouts, e.g. should the manager get a scout for up coming games, should the GM get scouting for the draft, etc.

This is another part of strengthening the game for manager career players.

Priority--

Raidergoo · 08-16-2007, 02:52 PM

Processed.

Cornroe Wallace · 09-04-2007, 08:57 PM

Create an assistant manager. Use the assistant if you want the AI to handle trades or signings, rather than assigning them to the manager. If want to manage only, and let the AI handle trades and signings, it should be by the GM or assistant GM, not by the manager.

I should have an option to assign trades and signings to "AI GM" or "assistant GM", not the manager.

Also, have strategy settings for them as well so I can look at what strategies the front office has, or allow the commish to change them to play Moneyball, etc.

Raidergoo · 09-24-2007, 02:24 PM

Processed

TribefanBob · 09-28-2007, 10:11 AM

I'd suggest a slight edit. I like the ability to pick All-Star Teams, but would like the ability to actually manage the All-Star Game. T least the year after I manage to win the W.S. <G>. Love this game!

Raidergoo · 09-28-2007, 11:45 PM

All suggestions in this thread have been collected.

07-03-2007, 09:24 PM	#1
battists Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 18,506	Suggestions: Human Manager Model This suggestion thread is designed to collect suggestions for the next version of OOTP, on the following topic: Human Manager Model Includes - Things related to a human manager's career Excludes - Stuff related to non-human personnel Instructions We will use this thread to collect suggestions on the above topic. Later on, we hope to present this information back to the community in a way that would allow you to vote and prioritize certain features. If you would like to participate, here are the rules! Only 1 suggestion per post. Suggestions must be on-topic for the thread. Constructive, non-inflammatory suggestions only. No comments on others' suggestions are necessary. That means, we don't need 15 posts in the thread saying "Great idea!" or "I agree!" Please don't link to other forum threads as your way of making suggestions. ("My suggestion can be found HERE.") If it's important enough to you that you want it in this thread, then it should be important enough to put it in the format I've asked for here! You can certainly post suggestions that conflict with or build upon earlier suggestions. Mockups are welcomed, they really help Markus see what you're interested in accomplishing. Format for Suggestions Suggestion What is your suggestion? Be as specific as possible; include the screen you're talking about, if applicable. Reason Why do you think this is important? If this is to correct what you perceive as a problem in OOTP 2007, what is that problem? Be as specific as possible. Priority In your opinion, how important is this suggestion? High (MUST have), Medium (should have), Low (nice to have)) Handy Cut-and-Paste Suggestion Form: Suggestion Reason Priority Thanks for participating! Steve

07-03-2007, 10:35 PM	#5
Muzamba Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 2,325	"Shadow Mode" Suggestion Give a human manager the option to "shadow" someone. That is, allow the option to take over the identity of an existing Commissioner, Owner, GM, or Field Manager. Explanation: Currently, if you want to take over a certain job, you will have your own identity (regardless of whether you use your own name or give yourself the name of a real-life baseball person.) So let's say you want to take over as manager of the Yankees. In OOTP '07, you can give yourself the name "Joe Torre", but your record/history begins and ends with you. In other words, you ARE Joe Torre. However, in Shadow Mode, you could select Joe Torre within the game and assume his identity. Thus, you pick up his record/history where it is and add to it while you are "playing" him. Later, you could exit Shadow Mode and the Computer Joe Torre takes over again with the record you accumulated while you were him. (Hope this isn't too terribly confusing ) Reason While some of us may like the idea of seeing ourselves as Commissioner or a GM within our baseball universe, others may want to give their universe a more realistic, "undisturbed" feel. Priority LOW to LOW-MEDIUM. I hate to give any of my suggestions a low priority, but I realize this isn't absolutely imperative to my enjoyment of the game, so... meh Last edited by Muzamba; 07-03-2007 at 10:40 PM.

07-15-2007, 04:27 PM	#11
lt2cents Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 212	Suggestion Provide financials for all minor teams-- Note: this also suggested under Front Office Finances for additional reasons. Reason Because there are now major weaknesses in following your suggestion to 'try managing a minor league team'. Some reasons do not fit this thread but one reason for here is, if you want to GM/manage an independent minor team and handle financials the team must be in a completely independent league. If it is in a league that includes teams linked to a major team there are no financials available. If you want to sim a manager career, and start out in the minors, this is one of several features that are needed. Priority MOD NOTE: NO priority was listed. I have entered it as MEDIUM. Last edited by Raidergoo; 08-11-2007 at 04:27 PM.

09-28-2007, 10:11 AM	#17
TribefanBob Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1	All_Star Game I'd suggest a slight edit. I like the ability to pick All-Star Teams, but would like the ability to actually manage the All-Star Game. T least the year after I manage to win the W.S. <G>. Love this game!

09-28-2007, 11:45 PM	#18
Raidergoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,005	All suggestions in this thread have been collected. Last edited by Raidergoo; 10-08-2007 at 12:33 PM.

07-03-2007, 09:26 PM	#2
battists Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 18,506	Suggestion Implement a contract/salary model for human managers. Reason Right now the human manager model lacks immersiveness. While you can control the team, you just don't get that "I'm really in this world" feeling. Having teams offer you contracts, extensions, and salaries makes for some difficult choices that make you more involved in the game. Do I accept the extension for AAA Batavia, or do I take the head coaching job for more money, but for a perennial losing major league team with a cheapskate owner? I don't think we have to go back to the "you have a girlfriend" The Sims sort of thing, but I think this would fit in nicely with the scope of the game. Priority Medium

07-03-2007, 09:28 PM	#3
battists Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 18,506	Suggestion Redesign the "add new manager" screen. Reason Markus knows how I feel about this, but this screen drives me completely bonkers. When you add a manager, you should get an entirely blank set of fields, and not have to edit the last values that were entered. On top of that, when you finish entering your name, there's a new entry in the list on the right, with the old manager's name. It's not critical to the core of the game, but it certainly adds to the impression that OOTP can be too complicated for its' own good. Priority High

07-03-2007, 09:30 PM	#4
battists Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 18,506	Suggestion Give owners more personality and more interaction with the human managers. Reason Right now, the interaction with the owner is limited to "I expect you to be .500" and "You're fired." The XML text engine gives us a lot of opportunities to spice up the lives of human managers. The owners could send messages every now and then that say things like "Good win against Batavia yesterday. The team looks like it's coming together," or "I know it's only May, but 5-22 isn't going to cut it. You'd better pull this thing together or you're going to be cleaning jocks before the season's over!" Priority Low

07-03-2007, 10:35 PM	#6
injury log Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,162	Suggestion Building on Battists' suggestion above (post 4), I'd like Owners to have priorities (some might want to win immediately, others might care more about turning a profit, etc). The occasionally mystifying 'season score' could be replaced by an Owner's 'Report Card', which informs the Human Manager about how the Owner feels the Manager performed with finances, W/L record, drafting, and transactions. Interfering Owners could also demand that a player be traded (perhaps because he is bad for PR) or that a particular free agent be signed, with a non-compliant GM running the risk of incurring the Owner's wrath and losing his job. Owner personalities should be optional if implemented. Reason It would make it easier to know when firing is imminent, and what areas one could improve on in order to keep a job. The game could become more interesting and challenging with a meddlesome owner whose priorities conflict with the human GM's. Owner personalities would add realism, and could add incentive to jump jobs, and to chart a more eventful career path. Priority Low, but I think it would be fun.

07-03-2007, 10:40 PM	#7
injury log Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,162	Suggestion Have the option to play in 'can't-be-fired' mode. Reason Now, the only way to avoid being fired is by playing in Commissioner Mode, (which is not recommended, and allows too many workarounds, like overbudget contracts, that I'd prefer were not available). It is awkward to take on a rebuilding project with a team, because inevitably one will be fired several times in the process. Priority Medium.

07-07-2007, 07:23 PM	#8
Nutlaw Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 9,538	Suggestion Expand Managerial/GM and Team performance record keeping. More detailed playoff reporting - actual records, exact information on how far the team progressed, etc. Other specific displays that could be of interest include longest winning and losing streaks, longest number of years with consecutive playoff appearances, number of players on the team to win PoW and PoM awards over a season/career, number of MVPs/Cy Youngs/RoY players on the team over a career, etc. I'm sure that there are plenty more. This information could be tied either to an organization, a GM/manager, or both. Reason As baseball fans, most of us enjoy numbers and stats, and I don't believe that the current manager history makes good use of them. The current data only includes which seasons one coaches, for which teams, how many games played, win-loss record, divisional finish, and post-season success (made playoffs, won championship, or a null value). Clearly this could be better fleshed out to give GMs (especially on-line GMs) more information to compare their performances. Priority Low

07-09-2007, 01:03 PM	#9
Mattymo All Star Starter Join Date: May 2002 Location: Colchester, CT Posts: 1,448	Suggestion redefine the differences between General Manager and Manager Reason These two "titles" are completely different, but it makes NO sense going from being a AAA manager to a major league GENERAL Manager. I think you should have the option of being a manager OR a GM (in GM mode you would never be in the minors unless they were independent, which would mean that team HAS a GM). Priority to me, high.

08-11-2007, 04:28 PM	#12
Raidergoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,005	That's a wrap, folks.

08-16-2007, 02:52 PM	#14
Raidergoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,005	Processed.

09-04-2007, 08:57 PM	#15
Cornroe Wallace Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 29	Create an assistant manager. Use the assistant if you want the AI to handle trades or signings, rather than assigning them to the manager. If want to manage only, and let the AI handle trades and signings, it should be by the GM or assistant GM, not by the manager. I should have an option to assign trades and signings to "AI GM" or "assistant GM", not the manager. Also, have strategy settings for them as well so I can look at what strategies the front office has, or allow the commish to change them to play Moneyball, etc.

09-24-2007, 02:24 PM	#16
Raidergoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 9,005	Processed