Update to Newspaper concept...

BigCity · 03-01-2014, 03:03 PM

Let me get this out of the way... I'm aware some of you have no interest in the Newspaper possibilities of OOTP. Since I do not post arguments why your primary wishes for OOTP should play second fiddle to my wishes, how about letting this stand on its own and let those of us that DO want a better newspaper chat about how that may be done?

This is my latest attempt at a period newspaper - 1901 to be exact - for a fantasy league of 12 teams.

On the 1st page, I've used a very simialr layout as the OOTP standings page. The Leader List, however is not available in HTML format so I had to do a screen capture. It would look a lot better if it could be copied to the newspaper in text. (Need this in HTML).

The 2nd page is a season summary written by me. I understand the effort to write one through code would be a huge undertaking, but a Newspaper "wizard" could leave this page open for us to write in and/or add pictures.

Page 3 and 4 contain "simplified" versions of the boxscores from the playoff games. I focused on the basics here to save room. To fill in space on Page 4, I pulled the playoff story from OOTP as well as the manager awards.

Page 5-6-7 contain the Major Awards from the season - both the OOTP stories and the baseball cards.

Page 8 is a "catch all" to grab the rest of the awards including GOld Glove winners.

Page 9 is a team photo of the season Champions.

----

I did this in Powerpoint and it took about 4 hours - it's pretty much labor intensive, and that's with some awesome tools I have to make it even possible. The old newspaper background could be replaced with a more modern newsprint, and the Masthead (The Old Post) could easily be replaced as well.

This represents a seasonal sample, but if the "wizard" was within OOTP grabbing most of this for you, there's no reason it couldn't be monthly or even weekly if you wanted.

Printing or saving such a document would give us a "narrative" of our leagues with the Almanac giving us all the finer details. In fact, the Almanac would prove invaluable as a resource as we write the season summaries which could refer back to previous seasons or players.

I really think this concept would be an asset to OOTP. What kinds of improvements would you suggest?

http://www.citygate.net/ootp/gdbl.pdf

Bluenoser · 03-01-2014, 03:20 PM

Excellent stuff BigCity. I do think the images (especially the baseball cards) are too big and kind of "take over" the page they are on. Maybe a smaller version for the newspaper.

I love the paper background, and ideally that would be something optional for the user. Maybe a few different style backgrounds as you mentioned. The one you have here is excellent for older historical, maybe a cleaner more modern look for a more modern day league.

Along with that, if the colour in the baseball cards could be faded to match the background more would be a really nice touch.

The data you included is great, especially the season summary.

I'd also add a section for any Accomplishments achieved. Such as Player X hit his 300th career home run, or Player Y recorded his 500th save. Also to add to the top performances things like no-hitters, 5 & 6 hit games, etc.

Very nice model.

dave1927p · 03-01-2014, 03:34 PM

I like everything except for the color of the paging. If it was 1901 it would be freshly printed

silvam14 · 03-01-2014, 04:46 PM

I support this idea wholeheartedly ! Great work

Sweed · 03-01-2014, 05:06 PM

I actually like the way the paper looks in the current OOTP. I wouldn't need the "paper" to look like real paper. Simple white background, to me, blends better with the available facegen photos of OOTP. With different options of style it may grow on me if it looked like a real paper so I wouldn't argue against it being put in, just not high on my list. My biggest gripe, well only gripe really, with the current in-game paper is the lack of "big event" stories ala clinching divisions or playoff spots, outstanding performances, and the many things that have been talked about on the boards.

Are you wanting the game to produce a .pdf like your example? Or is this just a mockup of what OOTP could produce with backgrounds included (and maybe moddable) in the game? How would this affect the current paper that I can check everyday in game? I like the simplicity of checking the current paper daily and only having to peruse a few articles and not have to dig into several pages. I see this is a "season recap" paper so maybe in your vision the current daily paper won't be several pages but stay as is?

I like the stories, awards, and team photos. The team photo, while good, with the white background really sticks out. Maybe backgrounds could be added to the team photo like for the individual player photos. Would look nice having a team photo in front of the Ivy!

I don't like using the baseball cards for photos in the stories especially the back of the cards, doesn't look like a newspaper to me. I much prefer a simple photo as it would appear in a newspaper.

Don't get me wrong it is excellent work you have produced and appreciated. It will be interesting to see where the discussion goes.

Honorable_Pawn · 03-01-2014, 05:41 PM

Delicious.

BigCity · 03-01-2014, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweed

Are you wanting the game to produce a .pdf like your example? Or is this just a mockup of what OOTP could produce with backgrounds included (and maybe moddable) in the game? How would this affect the current paper that I can check everyday in game? I like the simplicity of checking the current paper daily and only having to peruse a few articles and not have to dig into several pages. I see this is a "season recap" paper so maybe in your vision the current daily paper won't be several pages but stay as is?

I see this as an additional feature beyond the existing "newspaper". I'm not proposing the existing one be replaced. The current news stories are presented in such a way as to follow them online with the rest of the game data. I'm looking more for a "document" that can capture the league progress weekly, monthly, or by season - in a newspaper format.

DreamTeams · 03-01-2014, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCity

I see this as an additional feature beyond the existing "newspaper". I'm not proposing the existing one be replaced. The current news stories are presented in such a way as to follow them online with the rest of the game data. I'm looking more for a "document" that can capture the league progress weekly, monthly, or by season - in a newspaper format.

That would be an interesting addition. Quite useful, as well.

naaga · 03-01-2014, 10:37 PM

This is for 1901 but it doesn't read like it. If you read actual 1901 articles, the prose is very different from today. If improvements are to be made to the newspaper, one of the first things should be for it to read like the era in which it appears.

Kobeck · 03-02-2014, 01:30 AM

hit the 'recap' button for TWIB notes

awsome

Markus Heinsohn · 03-02-2014, 07:23 AM

Cool I like it a lot!

God, I wish the day had 36 hours...

silvam14 · 03-02-2014, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

Cool I like it a lot!

God, I wish the day had 36 hours...

Well, another programmer would make the day have 48 hours!

BigCity · 03-03-2014, 02:01 PM

I've incorporated some of your suggestions into the 1902 Newspaper. Please continue to comment/suggest...

http://www.citygate.net/ootp/glbl2.pdf

eriqjaffe · 03-03-2014, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave1927p

I like everything except for the color of the paging. If it was 1901 it would be freshly printed

The paper could yellow over time, just like the FaceGens age!

Carlton · 03-03-2014, 04:44 PM

Love this so much

Now if only OOTP would throw in what it thinks are insignificant records for the newspaper but shows them in the boxscore

Assists/putouts/errors/double plays in a game
Any offensive record per team
Any career position record "Joe Smith becomes the all time leader in putouts/runs/Sacrifice hits at 2b"

Manger Ted Crilly wins his 100th game, becomes all time managerial wins leader; Wins his 3rd postseason/World Series ...series.

Single game records: Yes, these may get tedious...but I'd like to see them
2B Dougle McGuire becomes the record holder with 4 runs in a game also held by "John Smith/3 other players/5 other players"

Habsfan18 · 03-03-2014, 05:57 PM

Awesome!!

dave1927p · 03-03-2014, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eriqjaffe

The paper could yellow over time, just like the FaceGens age!

But if the current year in the game is 1901 and i'm reading this paper the day it came out it would not have aged. It would only be aged if i'm looking at it through the archives.

silvam14 · 03-03-2014, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave1927p

But if the current year in the game is 1901 and i'm reading this paper the day it came out it would not have aged. It would only be aged if i'm looking at it through the archives.

Yeah , but I'm willing to bet that even though it is 1901 in game, he still wears current era clothing while playing it. Haha

BigCity · 03-03-2014, 09:16 PM

Just for the sake of arguement, here's the 1902 paper without the aging process....

http://www.citygate.net/ootp/glbl2a.pdf

johneh · 03-03-2014, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCity

This is my latest attempt at a period newspaper - 1901 to be exact - for a fantasy league of 12 teams.

On the 1st page, I've used a very simialr layout as the OOTP standings page. The Leader List, however is not available in HTML format so I had to do a screen capture. It would look a lot better if it could be copied to the newspaper in text. (Need this in HTML).

You do realize if you want a true period newspaper for your 1901 season it CANNOT be in HTML format. Sorry, you got to find yourself an old printing press.

03-01-2014, 03:03 PM	#1
BigCity All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: South Shore, Great Lakes Posts: 1,386	Update to Newspaper concept... Let me get this out of the way... I'm aware some of you have no interest in the Newspaper possibilities of OOTP. Since I do not post arguments why your primary wishes for OOTP should play second fiddle to my wishes, how about letting this stand on its own and let those of us that DO want a better newspaper chat about how that may be done? This is my latest attempt at a period newspaper - 1901 to be exact - for a fantasy league of 12 teams. On the 1st page, I've used a very simialr layout as the OOTP standings page. The Leader List, however is not available in HTML format so I had to do a screen capture. It would look a lot better if it could be copied to the newspaper in text. (Need this in HTML). The 2nd page is a season summary written by me. I understand the effort to write one through code would be a huge undertaking, but a Newspaper "wizard" could leave this page open for us to write in and/or add pictures. Page 3 and 4 contain "simplified" versions of the boxscores from the playoff games. I focused on the basics here to save room. To fill in space on Page 4, I pulled the playoff story from OOTP as well as the manager awards. Page 5-6-7 contain the Major Awards from the season - both the OOTP stories and the baseball cards. Page 8 is a "catch all" to grab the rest of the awards including GOld Glove winners. Page 9 is a team photo of the season Champions. ---- I did this in Powerpoint and it took about 4 hours - it's pretty much labor intensive, and that's with some awesome tools I have to make it even possible. The old newspaper background could be replaced with a more modern newsprint, and the Masthead (The Old Post) could easily be replaced as well. This represents a seasonal sample, but if the "wizard" was within OOTP grabbing most of this for you, there's no reason it couldn't be monthly or even weekly if you wanted. Printing or saving such a document would give us a "narrative" of our leagues with the Almanac giving us all the finer details. In fact, the Almanac would prove invaluable as a resource as we write the season summaries which could refer back to previous seasons or players. I really think this concept would be an asset to OOTP. What kinds of improvements would you suggest? http://www.citygate.net/ootp/gdbl.pdf Last edited by BigCity; 03-01-2014 at 03:10 PM.

03-01-2014, 03:20 PM	#2
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 14,147	Excellent stuff BigCity. I do think the images (especially the baseball cards) are too big and kind of "take over" the page they are on. Maybe a smaller version for the newspaper. I love the paper background, and ideally that would be something optional for the user. Maybe a few different style backgrounds as you mentioned. The one you have here is excellent for older historical, maybe a cleaner more modern look for a more modern day league. Along with that, if the colour in the baseball cards could be faded to match the background more would be a really nice touch. The data you included is great, especially the season summary. I'd also add a section for any Accomplishments achieved. Such as Player X hit his 300th career home run, or Player Y recorded his 500th save. Also to add to the top performances things like no-hitters, 5 & 6 hit games, etc. Very nice model. Last edited by Bluenoser; 03-01-2014 at 03:23 PM.

03-01-2014, 03:34 PM	#3
dave1927p FHM Moderator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Brantford, ON Posts: 2,904	I like everything except for the color of the paging. If it was 1901 it would be freshly printed __________________ IN 1964 THE LEAFS WON THE STANLEY CUP :: IT'S ALSO THE YEAR THE CANADIAN FLAG WAS DESIGNED...coincidence?

03-01-2014, 04:46 PM	#4
silvam14 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dedham, MA Posts: 9,891	I support this idea wholeheartedly ! Great work __________________ Senior "Nancy Boy" of the OOTP Boards _______________________________________________

03-01-2014, 05:41 PM	#6
Honorable_Pawn Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 6,407	Delicious. __________________ PBA Quickstart for OOTP Background Images Collection All PBA games broadcast live on Steam.

03-01-2014, 05:06 PM	#5
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,608	I actually like the way the paper looks in the current OOTP. I wouldn't need the "paper" to look like real paper. Simple white background, to me, blends better with the available facegen photos of OOTP. With different options of style it may grow on me if it looked like a real paper so I wouldn't argue against it being put in, just not high on my list. My biggest gripe, well only gripe really, with the current in-game paper is the lack of "big event" stories ala clinching divisions or playoff spots, outstanding performances, and the many things that have been talked about on the boards. Are you wanting the game to produce a .pdf like your example? Or is this just a mockup of what OOTP could produce with backgrounds included (and maybe moddable) in the game? How would this affect the current paper that I can check everyday in game? I like the simplicity of checking the current paper daily and only having to peruse a few articles and not have to dig into several pages. I see this is a "season recap" paper so maybe in your vision the current daily paper won't be several pages but stay as is? I like the stories, awards, and team photos. The team photo, while good, with the white background really sticks out. Maybe backgrounds could be added to the team photo like for the individual player photos. Would look nice having a team photo in front of the Ivy! I don't like using the baseball cards for photos in the stories especially the back of the cards, doesn't look like a newspaper to me. I much prefer a simple photo as it would appear in a newspaper. Don't get me wrong it is excellent work you have produced and appreciated. It will be interesting to see where the discussion goes.

03-01-2014, 10:37 PM	#9
naaga Banned Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 21 Infractions: 0/1 (4)	This is for 1901 but it doesn't read like it. If you read actual 1901 articles, the prose is very different from today. If improvements are to be made to the newspaper, one of the first things should be for it to read like the era in which it appears.

03-02-2014, 01:30 AM	#10
Kobeck Major Leagues Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 491	hit the 'recap' button for TWIB notes awsome

03-02-2014, 07:23 AM	#11
Markus Heinsohn Developer OOTP Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 24,805	Cool I like it a lot! God, I wish the day had 36 hours... __________________ Buy Out of the Park Baseball 25 now! Download OOTP Go 25 for iOS Download OOTP Go 25 for Android

03-03-2014, 02:01 PM	#13
BigCity All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: South Shore, Great Lakes Posts: 1,386	I've incorporated some of your suggestions into the 1902 Newspaper. Please continue to comment/suggest... http://www.citygate.net/ootp/glbl2.pdf

03-03-2014, 04:44 PM	#15
Carlton Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 3,765	Love this so much Now if only OOTP would throw in what it thinks are insignificant records for the newspaper but shows them in the boxscore Assists/putouts/errors/double plays in a game Any offensive record per team Any career position record "Joe Smith becomes the all time leader in putouts/runs/Sacrifice hits at 2b" Manger Ted Crilly wins his 100th game, becomes all time managerial wins leader; Wins his 3rd postseason/World Series ...series. Single game records: Yes, these may get tedious...but I'd like to see them 2B Dougle McGuire becomes the record holder with 4 runs in a game also held by "John Smith/3 other players/5 other players" __________________ "I am at that stage of my life where I keep myself out of arguments. I am 100% self sufficient spiritually, emotionally & financially. Even if you say 1+1=5, you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. Enjoy!" Last edited by Carlton; 03-03-2014 at 04:46 PM.

03-03-2014, 05:57 PM	#16
Habsfan18 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 2,245	Awesome!!

03-03-2014, 09:16 PM	#19
BigCity All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: South Shore, Great Lakes Posts: 1,386	Just for the sake of arguement, here's the 1902 paper without the aging process.... http://www.citygate.net/ootp/glbl2a.pdf