How to go about making own roster set?

[dannyheck]

Ok, I have been thinking this for a long time now, but I want to take action. I would thoroughly enjoy making an updated roster set, keeping it updated, and share with all if I only knew where to start.

I mean, is this something you have to create spreadsheets and then somehow create computer code to work with the game? Dumb I know, but what really does it take? I mean, do you take the generic rosters that come with the game, change names and data from there?

I would soooooo love to give all my time to creating such a file, but have no file making experience or knowledge to even know where to begin. Any ideas or help here?

Dan in Kansas City

[Vris]

There are many ways to do it, all tedious and time consuming.

Create a new league, create fictional players and edit them. Or, as you said, just edit all the players in the custom league.

It's hard.

[halofan26]

patience and the ability to repeat yourself without losing it

my roster set began as an empty shell with no teams or players at the start of the 2002 season. i created each and every player/team from scratch and it was released just about 2 years after i began.

if you have a short fuse, no patience, and hate repeating yourself, dont even try it lol......i have 2 kids that i have to repeat myself with 20 times a day so i hate it, but it has to be done. you will be grilled about your ratings and at times, you will even be insulted, but the one thing that will keep you going (at least for me anyway) is when i get a "thank you" as i earn no money for anything i do and all my sites and leagues that i run are paid out of my own pocket as i dont have paid ads on my site cause i think they look sloppy and i dont have popups because not many people like them.

[dannyheck]

Thanks for the tip. I'm not saying it sounds easy, but I'm dedicating myself to learning about it and trying this. Heck, by the time I learn, OOTP7 will be out and from the sounds of it, the real players will all be included anyway.

Thanks again.

[RyDogg66]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, either in this thread or elsewhere, but How can I create a roster set of say, all the players who ever played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Braves, and then "send it" to someone else for use on their computer? I am not talking about making it public like you rosters Halofan, but how can I, say, email it to friends who would like to use it once it is created - assuming I edit the all the fictional players in a custom league?

[halofan26]

Originally Posted by RyDogg66

Forgive me if this has been asked before, either in this thread or elsewhere, but How can I create a roster set of say, all the players who ever played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Braves, and then "send it" to someone else for use on their computer? I am not talking about making it public like you rosters Halofan, but how can I, say, email it to friends who would like to use it once it is created - assuming I edit the all the fictional players in a custom league?

well you might wanna make sure your friends can accept large files on their email accounts because if not then it would serve no purpose to make the set and not be able to email it

[truthserum]

....or upload the file to http://www.yousendit.com and then send him the link to download it. The file will stay up for a week or 25 downloads and is free.

[halofan26]

Originally Posted by truthserum

....or upload the file to http://www.yousendit.com and then send him the link to download it. The file will stay up for a week or 25 downloads and is free.

forgot about them

[GForce]

Originally Posted by dannyheck

Ok, I have been thinking this for a long time now, but I want to take action. I would thoroughly enjoy making an updated roster set, keeping it updated, and share with all if I only knew where to start.

I mean, is this something you have to create spreadsheets and then somehow create computer code to work with the game? Dumb I know, but what really does it take? I mean, do you take the generic rosters that come with the game, change names and data from there?

I would soooooo love to give all my time to creating such a file, but have no file making experience or knowledge to even know where to begin. Any ideas or help here?

Dan in Kansas City

Dan,

Be prepared for a long haul. When I developed the TotalMinors rosters for several years, it a LOT of hours. The biggest reason I don't do it anymore is because time constraints (job, 3 kids, including an infant) made it impossible for me to do it in the detail I had been able to for so long. I researched every major leaguer, and full minors for all teams, ran them through spreadsheets I developed to predict the futures of those prospects and assign ratings...a time consuming process to say the least, but I was very well rewarded with response from the gaming community, which regarded my work highly.

Aside from time commitment, the best thing I can tell you is establish how you are going to put it together, how you are going to rate guys, and then do it. I'm a big believer in a systemic development. At the end, you'll find your outliers, guys who stand out as having been overrated/underrated, and you can adjust accordingly. But I developed my formulas, ran them by folks here, and consensus was that they worked.

Run your work by people here in progress. Explain your process, how you're doing things. You'll get some silly responses, some baseless criticisms from guys just looking to stir trouble, but you'll also get a lot of excellent feedback both good and bad.

TotalMinors got better every year, and users counted on that. I was glad they were satisfied, because their feedback is why it did get better.

Your best resources are right here. Use them, however you decide to go about it.

Good luck.

GH

[dougaiton]

For creating a historical league, IMO, you need the will to stick to the idea, Ankit's database and the time to provide. If you have enthusiasm, then that, and the rest of the community, will pull you through.

Other great things for historical leagues - retrosheet. How the world existed before this I do not know.

GF is spot on - once I had worked out a formula for defence, L/R splits and park-adjustment, I stuck hard and fast to it. That made it more number-juggling than actual invention, if you like, but it made it so much easier as well.

Set yourself a manageable target - I only edited hitters ratings because of the confusion surrounding the new pitchers' ratings at the time and what they did. Remember that any new roster is better than no roster at all. Most importantly, develop it for yourself first of all - what do you want to see in a roster set? I wanted players with proper splits, but was prepared to pass on other important stuff. If you like it enough, others will like it too.

[bp_]

how about some technical details for creating your own roster set? Is it as simple as downloading to excel and then making adjustments and uploading back into the game - minus all the hard work in the middle changing names, ratings etc?

[GForce]

Originally Posted by bp_

how about some technical details for creating your own roster set? Is it as simple as downloading to excel and then making adjustments and uploading back into the game - minus all the hard work in the middle changing names, ratings etc?

I'm the one who pushed for Markus to add the csv export/import for exactly this reason...it makes things infinitely easier. Save whatever you do as different versions, though.

I would usually change names in the game itself and then do all the ratings and such outside of the game in excel.

GH