The Rising Star League Upgrades to OOTP13

[Buane]

Hello OOTP fans! My name is Greg, and I am the commissioner of the Rising Star League. We have nearly concluded our 20th season of play, and I am here to announce that the RSL will be upgrading to OOTP13 later this month, when we arrive at Opening Day of our 21st season.

One of the primary motivations we had for moving to OOTP13 is that we have some open teams to fill. We are actually currently on OOTP11, having made the decision a while ago to skip the purchase and upgrade to OOTP12.

Alas, it becomes more difficult to attract new blood the farther behind the current version you get. Not to mention there are a number of features in OOTP13 we have been waiting a while for, so we're very excited to jump into the new game and we're very excited to find a few new people to bring along for the ride.


First thing's first! The Rising Star League was founded in April of 2008. It is a fictional, potential-only league, using a 1-10 talent scale. We sim three times per week, 7 days per sim. It's a real fun, competitive league, with a couple unique twists thrown in. I've run the league since it's inception, and I'm dedicated to the league's success and development. Because I don't run a team, I'm free to keep an eye on the league as a whole and make sure things run smooth and competitively as long as I can.

Of course, as we all know, a league is only as good as the people in it. We've got a great group of guys so far, but as time goes by you inevitably need to add more. We're looking for a few more competitive people to fill a few of our current openings.

Do you need to own OOTP11? Like I said earlier, we're finishing up our 20th season. It's currently the Postseason, but following the conclusion of the League Championship it'll be the offseason, and following the offseason it'll be opening day and we'll be converting to 13. I'm not going to demand you have OOTP11 in addition to OOTP13 obviously, and players who only own 13 are absolutely welcome to join up. Just be aware we're not yet on the newest version. I want to have a good buffer of time to talk to those of you who may be interested in joining up, instead of feeling that I need to rush and find new users right at the start of next season.



Anyway, let's find out if you're interested. Here are some useful links for learning more about the league:

RSL Home Page
RSL Forums Page
RSL Rules Page




Some of the features we have in the RSL?

* Arbitration after 2 service years and Free Agency after 5 to make things a little tighter financially so that no team can simply ride a wave of cheap young talent to a dynasty. Always need to be thinking ahead, but you also can't be afraid to seize an opportunity.

* A divisionless conference setup to ensure the best four teams make the playoffs each season.

* A yearly Sponsorship system to feed your inner investor/tactician/gambler.

* Periodic foreign league player postings conducted by closed bidding system to add some international flair and intrigue.

* Full StatsLab utility integration because StatsLab is awesome.

* Reverse draft system where non-playoff teams get a better pick based on how well they did to increase league-wide competitiveness and make sure teams are always trying to win more games. No more years of teams tanking and then turning a 10-year dynasty around with great draft picks. We encourage activity and people who are always working to improve their team any way they can.

* Live In-Game Broadcasts via THE INTERNET for big games because it's awesome and who doesn't love to watch the OOTP AI make dumb double switches in playoff Game 7s in real time?

* Our own IRC chat server/room where a bunch of us hang out and chat baseball/the RSL most of the time for when you really really gotta talk trades and PMs just don't fly fast enough.

* Bodacious future plans to bring your OOTP simulation to you in Real Time by combining the power of the Real Time Simulation engine in OOTP13 and the power of Twitch TV. Our week-long sims will run from 8 AM to 6 PM EST via the OOTP13 Real Time Simulation feature and you can watch the sim unfold on our Twitch.tv channel to make sure you get absolutely no work done at all that day.



These are just some of the things we do in the RSL. I've really tried to put together the best league I can these last four years, and with OOTP13 I'll be looking to make it even better in every way I can think of. I hope you'd like to come be a part of it!



If you're interested, here are the current open teams!


New Orleans Nighthawks - If you like having two of the best pitchers in the league on your team, the Nighthawks are for you. Depth is the issue here - there's certainly some talent, but where there's a lack it's pretty pronounced. The talent is also aging, so New Orleans is in need of a long term plan.

Los Angeles Stars - Same deal as New Orleans, except without the best pitchers in the league. More offensive talent, and relatively young, LA is a waxing team more than the waning Nighthawks. If they had some stable leadership, that is. Sadly, this past year was a tough season that dulled some of their brighter young studs.

San Antonio Angels - How the Angels never put it all together is a mystery to me. They were constantly my pick to win it all, and it never quite happened. Still, a handful of talent remains, if someone could come in and push the right buttons to get them back on track...

Dallas Power - the Dallas were one of the top franchises in the league at one time, but they've fallen on hard times. I'd love to see the Power restored to the glory days, when they had some of the best players in league history on the team. If you took over in Big D you'd not only be the best GM they've had in 5 seasons, but you'd probably be the organization's most talented pitcher by default.

New York Cosmos - Perennially snake-bit New York, actually ended up #1 in home runs this year, so they've got some sticks. But winning games 9-8 won't work for long. Heck, it didn't even work this year. Still, the East changes year to year, so it may not take much for the right man to get New York back in the playoffs.

Miami Cyclones - Raising the hapless Miami Cyclones to any modicum of success would be an OOTP feat worthy of endless celebration and complete admiration from every current league member. With that said, I could never recommend anybody take Miami, and I feel kind of guilty for even including them on this list. Take one of the other teams, seriously.



I should also mention we are NOT some super serious group of baseball elites who'll kick you out of the league if you miss an export or two. I like to think of the league as being competitive, yet in a most laid-back way. We're baseball hippies, sort of. Well, most of us. We love baseball, and we love the competition of the league, and we love watching the new storylines unfold every season. Most of us have been playing in OOTP leagues since version 6 or earlier.

What I'm looking for are new people who can come in and have a real desire to turn their team into a contender. I'd love it if you were someone who could be relied upon to follow the league consistently, and maybe actually respond to PMs! (sorry, it's shocking how many people end up unable to meet this simple qualification)

Other than that, we're here to have fun, living our fantasy of running a fake little baseball team.


I'll wrap up this little sales pitch now. If you're interested in joining the RSL, feel free to send me a PM on these boards, or drop me an email at GMYale@gmail.com

I'd love to answer any questions you might have if you're not quite sure whether you're interested or not. You can even post them right in this thread!

Thanks for reading!


- Greg

[subtle]

Just to second what Buane has posted, I joined the RSL over a decade into its simulation history and have found the core community to be a great bunch of people who are active, competitive (to a point), and always happy to find new managers who are up for a challenge.

You'll find the RSL has a lot of managers who are willing to help people get adjusted to the league and are always up for trading.

[bwhenry]

I'd be interested in joining, send you an e-mail

[csandvik]

Email sent

[gpellis]

I'm going to send you an e-mail as well. I've been looking for a league.

[Tecmo]

I have to say Buane is a ridiculously good commish. I found RSL from these forums back in early 2009 and he has kept the league flowing smoothly the entire time. Very consistent with the sims and if he can't do a sim on time (a pretty rare occurence) he lets everyone know the situation and when the next sim will occur. Great balance with the players in the league too, he really pays attention to keep ratings and stats reasonable and interesting.

[Buane]

I've heard from a number of people so far, and there's still a few emails I need to respond to. Sorry if I haven't responded to you yet!

Originally Posted by Tecmo

I have to say Buane is a ridiculously good commish. I found RSL from these forums back in early 2009 and he has kept the league flowing smoothly the entire time. Very consistent with the sims and if he can't do a sim on time (a pretty rare occurence) he lets everyone know the situation and when the next sim will occur. Great balance with the players in the league too, he really pays attention to keep ratings and stats reasonable and interesting.

Don't listen to this guy, Tecmo only likes me because his team has made the playoffs each of the last 14 seasons.