Idea for scouting reports in OOTP5

[jetpunk2000]

I posted this over at FOFC. I think the scouting reports in OOTP4 and judging by the screenshots, OOTP5, are a bit, for lack of a better term, wordy. Not sure if it's too late to implement, but instead of having paragraphs, why not use bullets. Instead of referring to the player by name or as he/she in the report, use something like this:

Scouting Report on (NAME):

-Good at avoiding HR's (unnecessary because it's in the ratings.)
-Shaky control which leads to a lot of BB's
-Hard heater = K's
-Deceptive move to first
-Has trouble with righthanded batters

I think that would be a lot cleaner than run on sentences and non essential words.

[Cole]

I think it might be cool if they were modeled after major league scouting reports..... with the player comparisons and such.

[Killebrew]

The thing is that the more bulleted the scouting report is the less we need it it all, since those short observations would all be very obvious just by looking at the talent and ratings. I could see a shortened/bulletted scouting format working for users that that had the games ratings turned off or were using limited ratings but otherwise it would not be useful. I think the idea of the scouting report is that it is supposed to be like a typical scouting report - a paragraph or 2 describing the player. That includes an opinion whether the player is ready or not and whether the player might have a bright future. I'm sure what is there now could certainly be improved, but I don't think shortening the info into bullet format is the direction to go. The scouting reports in Mogul were similar to OOTP's, but IMO they were generally better at describing a player type without obviously describing one specific player rating.

[potatoman]

maybe we can turn off EVERYTHING in a game mode, like traditional, talent only, reduced, nothing......and there would be a long scouting process and you use your judgement to see whether they are ready or not or smt....

[TheDude]

I wish the scouting reports would be more of what a scout might tell you. Things like, "he has looked really good with his jump from first in the past 3 weeks." Or just things like, "this guy seems to do things that really make differences in games."

I don't know, I'm just throwing something out there.

[jetpunk2000]

Killebrew,

I can see your point, but I think reading your post pointed out one of the main problems with the report. It's basically putting the ratings in paragraph form. There is really nothing in the scouting reports that you can't figure out from the ratings.

[Red Blow]

The scouting is done pretty well, in my opinion. Yes, it could be wordier (or less). Yes, it could be more specific. Yes, it could be more varied. It is what it is, though. A re-telling of the ratings bars, and somewhat repetitive. I still like it. If you are looking for more realism, you could always contact MLB

Seriously, though, it is a minor part of the game. If 5 or 7 people were working on this program then things like this would be fleshed out more. I believe the news stories are one of the hardest things for the developer to code. These scouting reports have to be put together much like those.

[MM13]

Posted this a few weeks ago. Seems appropriate to add in here.

I wonder if it would be possible in v.5 to add more descriptions into the scouting reports. Things such as "quick wrists", "big swing", "streak hitter", and "slider speed bat" among others could add more individual flavor to the hitters. "Moving fastball", "sweeping curve," "tight slider," and "wild inside the strike zone" could be used for pitchers. I feel like now after you read 3-4 scouting reports you pretty much have an idea of what they are going to say. Maybe these more detailed reports could be available in the "Talent only" mode since the ratings would be hidden. Minor, aesthetic suggestion more than anything. The hardest thing for me is feeling connected to my players. I think something like this might help.

- One of my favorite baseball magazines is Lindy's Baseball Scouting Reports. It features players with MLB like scouting repors. Players are graded on a 20-80 scale (20=poor, 80=outstanding, 50=average). Hitters are scouted on Hitting for average, hitting for power, running the bases, fielding, and throwing. Pitchers are rated on stuff, control, changing speeds, mound presence, and competitiveness. Two sample reports from the Braves.

Greg Maddux
50/80/80/80/80 (stuff/control/change speed/mound/competitive)
"He's 86-89 mph. He sinks his fastball, cuts it, four seams it. He shows an occasional breaking ball; he throws his change up anywhere in the count. His stuff isn't overwhelming by any stretch. But he knows how to use it and he throws it where he wants."

- The velocity information could be extracted from the ratings easily to add into the reports.

Chipper Jones
70/80/50/45/60
"He's a tough out from either side. He's aggressive. He hits the fastball up or down. Plus, he's become a better thinker at the plate. He used to outhink himself. He'd look for something or expect something, then take a pitch he could have hammered. Now he has a better idea of how he's being pitched and responds accordingly."

- For flavor, it might be better if bad contact hitters had reports that read something like "has trouble with offspeed pitches" or "can't get around on a good fastball" instead of "needs to improve in this area."

- I think what we are all looking for is something that will give us a better idea of what type of player we have. Is the guy a speedster with gap power or a free-swinging slugger who can hit it out of any part of the park OR air condition the Astrodome?

Just my thoughts, I could be wrong.

[MM13]

Red -

I disagree that this is a minor part of the game. The scouts are used to evaluate talent. The guys you put on the field are based on their talent. The scouting reports should give you some indication (directly or indirectly) as to whether that 5 in hitting HRs is a 5.1 or 5.9. If you're grabbing guys that have Brilliant talent for HRs and they never hit more than 15 a year with 90's era settings, then something is going on. Like Sean Casey for the Reds. Every year, someone says if Casey pulls the ball he'll hit 30+ homers. Fact is, Casey has an inside-out swing that doesn't lend itself to pulling a lot of pitches. He might have Good potential for hitting HRs, but the reality is he'll never realize it. Wouldn't it be nice to know that when you're expecting the guy to hit 35+ bombs for you and he's hovering around 20 in late September.

[MTGian]

Greetings,

I absolutely love Lindy's Scouting Reports too! I think changing from a completely generic scouting system to something based upon what they actually use in major league baseball (namely, the 80 point scale) would be a very cool addition. Also, adjusting the comments accordingly would be the icing on the cake. Mentioning fastball velocity, talking about ability to hit offspeed pitches, discussing batspeed, etc. All sound great.

Sign me up!

Michael T. Gianvecchio

[Jimmy Jack]

I like the idea if the 20-80 point scouting method.

[MM13]

Bump. Anyone else think this might be useful?