How do you play?

submute · 07-08-2006, 02:55 PM

Hey guys, new to the game here, poking around in it.

How do you play? Do you do every round of your draft? Do you play every game, or do you sim each day and make adjustments, etc?

Just curious.

AirmenSmith · 07-08-2006, 03:40 PM

For me I first only play with real people. I only play the part of the GM and let my manager and managers in the minors work things out. I sim every month then take a look and see what I can do with demotions and promotions, signing people, or firing coaches. For me the big thing is finding the right managers. I like most GM's focus on the off season and watch how it turns out in the season. As for the draft I just do the first few rounds and then sim it. Even in the first few rounds I usually let my head scout pick. But I keep track of the people he drafts with the first pick to see how he is doing.

Comedian2004 · 07-08-2006, 04:11 PM

Depends on my mood.

I like to start a draft in a year, like 1957 using real players. I usually draft the starting pitchers and the starting hitters and most of the top 25 picks and then let the computer fill in the blanks.

I then manage the team, day to day. Usually playing out the games, but at times, I may let the computer manage it for a week or a day.

Other times I just like simming 10-100 years or so and spending some time just reviewing the results. Often finding a rookie and just following his career.

The is the sweetness of the game, so many ways to play it.

tcblcommish · 07-10-2006, 12:13 AM

Personally for me, I use a fictional Canadian league and I play every game in it's entirety. I love it.

You can get fully attached to a guy in your league that no one has ever heard of. I hate being bogged down with guys like Pujols who could have an off year and you'll quickly say, man that's not right.

With the fictional leagues, you never know. you can only go by ratings and stats... not names.

Comedian2004 · 07-13-2006, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcblcommish

Personally for me, I use a fictional Canadian league and I play every game in it's entirety. I love it.

You can get fully attached to a guy in your league that no one has ever heard of. I hate being bogged down with guys like Pujols who could have an off year and you'll quickly say, man that's not right.

With the fictional leagues, you never know. you can only go by ratings and stats... not names.

And sometimes you get a bonus fake player with a real name, like Joe Carter in my fake league.

cbbl · 07-18-2006, 09:07 AM

I haven't played OOTP enough to develop a pattern yet. I'm still trying to figure out all the necessary stuff to make a league realistic and the strategy to be successful.

I do have a preference for fictional leagues versus real players. It's harder to intially get attached to fictional players and teams, but the reward is that you have no bias (as someone said earlier) about what a player is "supposed" to do. I suppose if you're looking for historical accuracy then you'd play a historical league anyway.

Fictional leagues seem to be the most work, though, because of the set-up, and I've not yet mastered all of the parameters necessary to have a successful fictional league, but I'll get there. I think given the vast number of options in this game, being the GM, Director of Player Development, and field Manager is too much for one person, but it's hard to decide which to play ...

Thus I guess my short answer is I don't know yet!

chaerulez · 07-18-2006, 09:03 PM

I usually have two single player leagues going on at once, one where I sim every game, and one where I play every game.

widmerj1 · 07-19-2006, 11:24 AM

I have had this game since the release date and I have become frustrated with my inability to decide what to do with this game.

Here is how I started and why I am frustrated.

I started with the real structure provided and selected the Yankees as the team I would GM. A went through the amatuer draft (250 rounds) where I picked some of the players myself (5-8 rounds worth) and most were picked by the computer.

Once I explored my situation I came up with the following problems. Any suggestions on how to improve my experience with the game are welcome.

1. The computer drafted mainly guys in their early 20's for my major league roster. I ended up with one of the lowest payrolls, a "non-exisistent" market size and a really poor team. The poor team is OK as that is a challenge but many of the guys on my ML roster are more suited for A or AA at best. The guys that were assigned to the minor leagues are primarily guys that have little chance of ever making it. While that is realistic - very few ever make it - what am I doing with a 37 year-old guy in Single A whose ceiling is that he will stink in Single A?

2. The inclusion of winter leagues that use unique players - not players trying to hone their skills from existing teams in the off season - is ridiculous. One of those teams offered me a trade within a couple of days. For this problem I realize that I can play without those leagues but thought their inclusion in the wrong format was ill-advised.

3. The stadiums provided with the game had no correlation to real life. I know that users have worked hard on making this better including the minor league stadiums as well but going through the process of assigning the stadiums and pictures and all that is a burden.

4. You seem to have to create a league first and then make modifications or use another user's quick start (thank goodness for the devoted people out there willing to put in all that time). My problem with this is that I really did not like to allocation of names that came with the game and I found a better version created by a user and then tweaked it so that we'd get a few Italian names in the American name creation process. Way too many hispanic names of American decent and way too many guys like Joey Martin hailing from Mazatlan, Mexico. Come on, how many Mexican guys do you know are named Joey Martin? However, I think the only way to utilize a new name file is to create a new game. You should be able to set everything up the way you like it, save it as a quick-start and then be able to restart or modify that quick-start as you see fit. I currently see the quick-start as just a means of starting the same configuration again - unmodified. So if I wanted to eliminate the Japanese league I basically have to start a new game and rename all of the teams and do all of the stadium modifications, etc, etc. Am I right with this?

5. The financial system having New York with a non-existent market just does not make sense. I thought the "world" file would help determine the market size. I know that it does in terms of randomizing cities and picking appropriate cities for different level leagues. However, I can't see how the NY is 'non-existent' should have ever gotten past the developers. This market size may have been related to the composition of my roster or may have contributed to the type of guys picked by the computer. Not sure whether the chicken or the egg came first.

6. The whole scounting system needs to be re-done. The bland numerical reports that the scouts come back with make this feature boring and tedious. I think you should be able to decide your level of scouting activity at a cost against your budget and then give general guidelines where you want you scouts to focus their attention and off they go. You would then get periodic reports from the director of scouting giving you a list of 16-19 year-olds from Venezuela that are worthy of signing contracts. You would then make offers and other computer teams would as well and you'd sign your non-draft minor leaguers in that way. You'd also get a pre-draft analysis for the amatuer draft and based on those recommendations you'd be armed for the amatuer draft. The ability of your scouts and the financial committment you make to scouting would both contribute to the organization's ability to draft future stars.

7. It seems like there are way too many players in their early 20's who are the best starting pitchers created by the game.

The bottom line is that I think the openess of the structure that allows users to create their own universe with purely fictional teams and players and with logos and pictures the like is great but I also think there should have been a cohesion in game setup that would allow players to use real market sizes, to easily assign a logo, stadium info and stadium pictures to teams.

I think the developers have a really great framework that underlies this game but that in their zeal to allow for customization, they went too far and were correctly betting on the community-at-large doing most of the dirty work (setting up correct financials, stadiums, team names and logos, etc.) that should have been provided with the game. I realize that licensing issues are a problem but I know that I'd have paid at least $15 more for a product that would allow me to be playing 10 minutes after install rather than spending weeks setting it up and then not really enjoying the experience anyway. It really bugs me that I went through so much work and then still got a team in NY with a poor financial setup and I don't really want to start everything over with someone else's quick-start.

I really want to like this game but I am not sure what to do with the game. I feel like there are so many steps involved to get it the way I want it that starting over is just too much of a time commitment.

Does anyone have a step-by-step list of the things they do to get started with proper leagues, teams, logos, stadiums, financials, good player name creation, etc.?

Thanks for listening.

07-08-2006, 02:55 PM	#1
submute Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1	How do you play? Hey guys, new to the game here, poking around in it. How do you play? Do you do every round of your draft? Do you play every game, or do you sim each day and make adjustments, etc? Just curious.

07-08-2006, 04:11 PM	#3
Comedian2004 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: In a house in Saint Cloud, Florida. Posts: 7,085	Depends on my mood. I like to start a draft in a year, like 1957 using real players. I usually draft the starting pitchers and the starting hitters and most of the top 25 picks and then let the computer fill in the blanks. I then manage the team, day to day. Usually playing out the games, but at times, I may let the computer manage it for a week or a day. Other times I just like simming 10-100 years or so and spending some time just reviewing the results. Often finding a rookie and just following his career. The is the sweetness of the game, so many ways to play it. __________________ Like BLUES? Visit www.smokestacklightnin.com, you will LOVE it! New show every Monday!! New Blues HOF![/COLOR][/FONT]

07-08-2006, 03:40 PM	#2
AirmenSmith Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Kalispell, MT Posts: 2,094	For me I first only play with real people. I only play the part of the GM and let my manager and managers in the minors work things out. I sim every month then take a look and see what I can do with demotions and promotions, signing people, or firing coaches. For me the big thing is finding the right managers. I like most GM's focus on the off season and watch how it turns out in the season. As for the draft I just do the first few rounds and then sim it. Even in the first few rounds I usually let my head scout pick. But I keep track of the people he drafts with the first pick to see how he is doing.

07-10-2006, 12:13 AM	#4
tcblcommish Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 3,440	Personally for me, I use a fictional Canadian league and I play every game in it's entirety. I love it. You can get fully attached to a guy in your league that no one has ever heard of. I hate being bogged down with guys like Pujols who could have an off year and you'll quickly say, man that's not right. With the fictional leagues, you never know. you can only go by ratings and stats... not names.

07-18-2006, 09:07 AM	#6
cbbl All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,179	I haven't played OOTP enough to develop a pattern yet. I'm still trying to figure out all the necessary stuff to make a league realistic and the strategy to be successful. I do have a preference for fictional leagues versus real players. It's harder to intially get attached to fictional players and teams, but the reward is that you have no bias (as someone said earlier) about what a player is "supposed" to do. I suppose if you're looking for historical accuracy then you'd play a historical league anyway. Fictional leagues seem to be the most work, though, because of the set-up, and I've not yet mastered all of the parameters necessary to have a successful fictional league, but I'll get there. I think given the vast number of options in this game, being the GM, Director of Player Development, and field Manager is too much for one person, but it's hard to decide which to play ... Thus I guess my short answer is I don't know yet!

07-18-2006, 09:03 PM	#7
chaerulez Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 32	I usually have two single player leagues going on at once, one where I sim every game, and one where I play every game.

07-19-2006, 11:24 AM	#8
widmerj1 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 7	I have had this game since the release date and I have become frustrated with my inability to decide what to do with this game. Here is how I started and why I am frustrated. I started with the real structure provided and selected the Yankees as the team I would GM. A went through the amatuer draft (250 rounds) where I picked some of the players myself (5-8 rounds worth) and most were picked by the computer. Once I explored my situation I came up with the following problems. Any suggestions on how to improve my experience with the game are welcome. 1. The computer drafted mainly guys in their early 20's for my major league roster. I ended up with one of the lowest payrolls, a "non-exisistent" market size and a really poor team. The poor team is OK as that is a challenge but many of the guys on my ML roster are more suited for A or AA at best. The guys that were assigned to the minor leagues are primarily guys that have little chance of ever making it. While that is realistic - very few ever make it - what am I doing with a 37 year-old guy in Single A whose ceiling is that he will stink in Single A? 2. The inclusion of winter leagues that use unique players - not players trying to hone their skills from existing teams in the off season - is ridiculous. One of those teams offered me a trade within a couple of days. For this problem I realize that I can play without those leagues but thought their inclusion in the wrong format was ill-advised. 3. The stadiums provided with the game had no correlation to real life. I know that users have worked hard on making this better including the minor league stadiums as well but going through the process of assigning the stadiums and pictures and all that is a burden. 4. You seem to have to create a league first and then make modifications or use another user's quick start (thank goodness for the devoted people out there willing to put in all that time). My problem with this is that I really did not like to allocation of names that came with the game and I found a better version created by a user and then tweaked it so that we'd get a few Italian names in the American name creation process. Way too many hispanic names of American decent and way too many guys like Joey Martin hailing from Mazatlan, Mexico. Come on, how many Mexican guys do you know are named Joey Martin? However, I think the only way to utilize a new name file is to create a new game. You should be able to set everything up the way you like it, save it as a quick-start and then be able to restart or modify that quick-start as you see fit. I currently see the quick-start as just a means of starting the same configuration again - unmodified. So if I wanted to eliminate the Japanese league I basically have to start a new game and rename all of the teams and do all of the stadium modifications, etc, etc. Am I right with this? 5. The financial system having New York with a non-existent market just does not make sense. I thought the "world" file would help determine the market size. I know that it does in terms of randomizing cities and picking appropriate cities for different level leagues. However, I can't see how the NY is 'non-existent' should have ever gotten past the developers. This market size may have been related to the composition of my roster or may have contributed to the type of guys picked by the computer. Not sure whether the chicken or the egg came first. 6. The whole scounting system needs to be re-done. The bland numerical reports that the scouts come back with make this feature boring and tedious. I think you should be able to decide your level of scouting activity at a cost against your budget and then give general guidelines where you want you scouts to focus their attention and off they go. You would then get periodic reports from the director of scouting giving you a list of 16-19 year-olds from Venezuela that are worthy of signing contracts. You would then make offers and other computer teams would as well and you'd sign your non-draft minor leaguers in that way. You'd also get a pre-draft analysis for the amatuer draft and based on those recommendations you'd be armed for the amatuer draft. The ability of your scouts and the financial committment you make to scouting would both contribute to the organization's ability to draft future stars. 7. It seems like there are way too many players in their early 20's who are the best starting pitchers created by the game. The bottom line is that I think the openess of the structure that allows users to create their own universe with purely fictional teams and players and with logos and pictures the like is great but I also think there should have been a cohesion in game setup that would allow players to use real market sizes, to easily assign a logo, stadium info and stadium pictures to teams. I think the developers have a really great framework that underlies this game but that in their zeal to allow for customization, they went too far and were correctly betting on the community-at-large doing most of the dirty work (setting up correct financials, stadiums, team names and logos, etc.) that should have been provided with the game. I realize that licensing issues are a problem but I know that I'd have paid at least $15 more for a product that would allow me to be playing 10 minutes after install rather than spending weeks setting it up and then not really enjoying the experience anyway. It really bugs me that I went through so much work and then still got a team in NY with a poor financial setup and I don't really want to start everything over with someone else's quick-start. I really want to like this game but I am not sure what to do with the game. I feel like there are so many steps involved to get it the way I want it that starting over is just too much of a time commitment. Does anyone have a step-by-step list of the things they do to get started with proper leagues, teams, logos, stadiums, financials, good player name creation, etc.? Thanks for listening.