The Untouchables League

knockahoma · 03-10-2009, 08:03 AM

I remember in a previous version of OOTP where Hank Aaron was traded from the Braves with 713 home runs (the beginning of the 74 season). Those kinds of trades killed the deal for me. I guess realism is in the eye of the beholder, but I imagine all those Braves fans using the hatchet to chop up the GM on the eve of the Babe's record being broken.

I wished outloud at that time we had a feature to control such things. A while back I noticed that in OOTP9, Commish mode, it appears that kind of control exists with the Untouchable block.

I started a 74 league, my first ever APBA season, which I know extremely well, and so, I know who belongs where at a glance. For each team in God Mode, I placed anywhere from 3 to 12 players on untouchable. These were players I imagined were building blocks for each team. How would that affect the AI trading? Sure enough, the pre-season trades exploded, per usual, but it appeared all the untouchables remained that way. I've written about this previously and someone suggested it was just chance. I've run a total of about 4 years and it seems to be the real deal. In God-mode, untouchables are untouchable. I guess I could be on an incredible streak of luck. Maybe Marcus could verify or deny.

I monitored the first half of the 74 season, comfortable in the fact that Johnny Bench, hitting .300 and a fan-fav/future hall of famer, would be wearing a Reds cap in MY Universe, that slick fielding SS Mark Belanger would be a Bird, that Hammerin Hank would be a Brave until the Babe's record was extinguished.

Well, this was pretty darn cool. I could keep teams pretty recognizable (draft off) and yet have a lot of trade activity.

The first season was a blast. Totally enjoyable. The new crop of players were added after the World Series to their original teams and it was time for the Winter Meetings.

I re-evaluated each untouchable. By the way, I decided to let these players grow as fictional players, rather than having their next seasons stats fed into their ratings. So, Nolan Ryan still had his fastball, but he'd lost any semblence of control he once had.

The Angels management (God-mode Me) kicked Ryan off the Untouchables list. Hasn't been traded yet, but he might be. And should he regain form and starts the next season off 5-0, he can be placed right back on the Protect list.

Then I simmed a few months of 75. By going to the Transaction screen, I could quickly see the stats of each player summed up. Did Jack Billingham still deserve to be protected from a trade? The Cincy hurler was into his 2nd mediocre season. Off he comes. Meanwhile, the young Pat Darcy was 7-1, 2.44 for the Reds. Such a hot young pitcher would be protected and so he was.

If a team like the Cubs languished at the bottom of the heap by June, I'd take their star OF Rick Monday off the protection list. Now, he's trade bait. I also consider whether a player had been traded in real life (free agency is off). Rick Monday hadn't remained a Cubbie much longer in real life. I removed Monday from the Untouchable List and left it up to the AI whether fiction would follow fact by moving Monday to another team.

It's been a heckuva lot of fun playing this way. The trades seem pretty darn good and since I'm over-seeing the whole operation, there's no 8-2 young pitcher getting traded for a .232 reserve OF in the middle of a hot pennant race.

Just thought I'd pass this along, as I haven't seen anyone playing in this manner. It seems certain this is how the Untouchable List works in God-mode (I've read that Team Stategies work the same way, which is what got me thinking about the Untouchable list in the first place). But, it would be nice to hear from Marcus on this.

TribeFanInNC · 03-10-2009, 08:16 AM

Good idea knockahoma. I like to keep my teams recognizable too.

knockahoma · 03-10-2009, 11:01 AM

Thanks, Tribe

It works well for me. I've always been a God-mode player. You know that old philosopher saw, " a life unexamined is not worth living"? I don't know if many do this, but I get a kick out of writing the pre-season prognostications and post-season summations, as much as anything.

One thing that makes the Untouchables League work for me is allowing the players to follow fictional paths. So, leaving a player on or off the Untouchable list could have repercussions I don't expect. Holding onto a big name that busts, or letting go of a young pitcher that blossoms into a star, gives it more of a goose.

I sure haven't seen anyone snatched off that Untouchable List in God mode, but I'd still like verification from one of the OOTP staff if they read this.

03-10-2009, 08:03 AM	#1
knockahoma All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 792	The Untouchables League I remember in a previous version of OOTP where Hank Aaron was traded from the Braves with 713 home runs (the beginning of the 74 season). Those kinds of trades killed the deal for me. I guess realism is in the eye of the beholder, but I imagine all those Braves fans using the hatchet to chop up the GM on the eve of the Babe's record being broken. I wished outloud at that time we had a feature to control such things. A while back I noticed that in OOTP9, Commish mode, it appears that kind of control exists with the Untouchable block. I started a 74 league, my first ever APBA season, which I know extremely well, and so, I know who belongs where at a glance. For each team in God Mode, I placed anywhere from 3 to 12 players on untouchable. These were players I imagined were building blocks for each team. How would that affect the AI trading? Sure enough, the pre-season trades exploded, per usual, but it appeared all the untouchables remained that way. I've written about this previously and someone suggested it was just chance. I've run a total of about 4 years and it seems to be the real deal. In God-mode, untouchables are untouchable. I guess I could be on an incredible streak of luck. Maybe Marcus could verify or deny. I monitored the first half of the 74 season, comfortable in the fact that Johnny Bench, hitting .300 and a fan-fav/future hall of famer, would be wearing a Reds cap in MY Universe, that slick fielding SS Mark Belanger would be a Bird, that Hammerin Hank would be a Brave until the Babe's record was extinguished. Well, this was pretty darn cool. I could keep teams pretty recognizable (draft off) and yet have a lot of trade activity. The first season was a blast. Totally enjoyable. The new crop of players were added after the World Series to their original teams and it was time for the Winter Meetings. I re-evaluated each untouchable. By the way, I decided to let these players grow as fictional players, rather than having their next seasons stats fed into their ratings. So, Nolan Ryan still had his fastball, but he'd lost any semblence of control he once had. The Angels management (God-mode Me) kicked Ryan off the Untouchables list. Hasn't been traded yet, but he might be. And should he regain form and starts the next season off 5-0, he can be placed right back on the Protect list. Then I simmed a few months of 75. By going to the Transaction screen, I could quickly see the stats of each player summed up. Did Jack Billingham still deserve to be protected from a trade? The Cincy hurler was into his 2nd mediocre season. Off he comes. Meanwhile, the young Pat Darcy was 7-1, 2.44 for the Reds. Such a hot young pitcher would be protected and so he was. If a team like the Cubs languished at the bottom of the heap by June, I'd take their star OF Rick Monday off the protection list. Now, he's trade bait. I also consider whether a player had been traded in real life (free agency is off). Rick Monday hadn't remained a Cubbie much longer in real life. I removed Monday from the Untouchable List and left it up to the AI whether fiction would follow fact by moving Monday to another team. It's been a heckuva lot of fun playing this way. The trades seem pretty darn good and since I'm over-seeing the whole operation, there's no 8-2 young pitcher getting traded for a .232 reserve OF in the middle of a hot pennant race. Just thought I'd pass this along, as I haven't seen anyone playing in this manner. It seems certain this is how the Untouchable List works in God-mode (I've read that Team Stategies work the same way, which is what got me thinking about the Untouchable list in the first place). But, it would be nice to hear from Marcus on this. Last edited by knockahoma; 03-10-2009 at 09:05 AM.

03-10-2009, 11:01 AM	#3
knockahoma All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 792	Thanks, Tribe It works well for me. I've always been a God-mode player. You know that old philosopher saw, " a life unexamined is not worth living"? I don't know if many do this, but I get a kick out of writing the pre-season prognostications and post-season summations, as much as anything. One thing that makes the Untouchables League work for me is allowing the players to follow fictional paths. So, leaving a player on or off the Untouchable list could have repercussions I don't expect. Holding onto a big name that busts, or letting go of a young pitcher that blossoms into a star, gives it more of a goose. I sure haven't seen anyone snatched off that Untouchable List in God mode, but I'd still like verification from one of the OOTP staff if they read this. Last edited by knockahoma; 03-10-2009 at 11:03 AM.

03-10-2009, 08:16 AM	#2
TribeFanInNC Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 4,019	Good idea knockahoma. I like to keep my teams recognizable too.