What would get you to get OOTP9?

[Modern Relic]

Originally Posted by mauboy

H2H.

Agreed. Big time. H2H adds tremendous value to the game for me. In fact, I know several friends who don't currently own OOTP that would RUN to buy it, if H2H were an option.

And I also agree with the interface redesign crowd.

Now, if we could get graphics added too, well, that would just be the icing on the cake!

[Lousghost]

I wish we had access to the simulation screen (ML standings, latest news, AL and NL leaders) in the 4 column format instead of only having that screen while simulating.

[Jestor]

Originally Posted by Solonor

It was waaaaaay easier to manage your rosters from the single screen in 6.5.

""""""""""""""""""""""

In terms of transactions, lineup management, and pitching staff setup. It really needs to go back to that.

[Melo]

I want OOTP9 to come out with a complete and fully functional Hobbit League. There shouldn't be any reason why I have to spend months creating my own or waiting for someone else to create one. Markus, I want a Hobbit League, oh yes my precious, a Hobbit League.

[Solonor]

Originally Posted by Melo

I want OOTP9 to come out with a complete and fully functional Hobbit League. There shouldn't be any reason why I have to spend months creating my own or waiting for someone else to create one. Markus, I want a Hobbit League, oh yes my precious, a Hobbit League.

Why wait? We have spots open.

[chimanbj]

As much as we all complain about things, I'm not feeling a strong need to move to OOTP9 (or OOTP8, for that matter). OOTP2007 is stable (for the most part), and recovers from crashes quite nicely. Sure, there are pie in the sky type things that we could all wish for, but realistically, the only thing that could really make me move is something that probably won't happen - a historical roster set that has full minors from 1900-2007.

OK, it would also be interesting to see minor league financials...yes, they do generate revenue....

[rem]

Originally Posted by chimanbj

a historical roster set that has full minors from 1900-2007.

What happens when '08 rolls around?

[mikev]

Originally Posted by Solonor

I don't get all this griping about file sizes (not just you, mikev). But GUBA's got like 36 major league teams with 5 levels of minors and box scores and game logs for every level, plus everyone has photos! What do you expect? You can't have all this stuff and expect it magically not to take up any room!

I understand that.

Updating facegen caused the incremental file to go from around 40mb to nearly triple that size, and it caused the HTML reports (which I upload in .tar.gz and extract myself on the server) to blow up to 600mb. All I did was check the box to include pictures. Now, granted, the GUBA only does facegen updates 3 times per OOTP year (opening day, all star break, offseason after free agency), but still it's a little bit of a stretch to have commishes uploading over half a gig, no?

[Solonor]

Originally Posted by mikev

I understand that.

Updating facegen caused the incremental file to go from around 40mb to nearly triple that size, and it caused the HTML reports (which I upload in .tar.gz and extract myself on the server) to blow up to 600mb. All I did was check the box to include pictures. Now, granted, the GUBA only does facegen updates 3 times per OOTP year (opening day, all star break, offseason after free agency), but still it's a little bit of a stretch to have commishes uploading over half a gig, no?

First of all, you don't have to have pictures at all (much less for every single player in every single level of the universe). But, if you want them, how do you expect them to be any smaller? Yes, JPG is more compressed than PNG, but it's not legal to use. Other than that, there is no option to make the files smaller that I know of.

[rem]

Originally Posted by Solonor

Yes, JPG is more compressed than PNG, but it's not legal to use.

Really? I had no idea.

[Solonor]

Sort of. I haven't been following the story since Forgent filed its patent claim on JPG, which is what caused a lot of people to switch to PNG. Apparently, that claim was voided last November. Now, another company is claiming patent rights, so it's back in the courts again.

So, technically, I guess the game could risk it and go to JPG.

[The Wolf]

Forgent claimed the overall rights to the format, but the courts tossed their claim, citing prior examples. Now Global Patent Holdings is claiming that they have a patent on "the downloading of JPEG images on either a website or through e-mail." I doubt if it will fly, but we'll see.

[Cooleyvol]

Originally Posted by MorseMoose

The interface is absolutely horrid. Haven't been able to play it since OOTP5 (didn't get 6 or 6.5). 2006 and the 2007 demo is way to menu-ey. Complete interface overhaul for me. I probably won't be buying 2008, as I'm guessing it is going to be the same P.O.S. interface.

Sucks, cause I really enjoyed playing 4 and 5.

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

You're just overly conservative and will resist change for change's sake.

Why change what works (worked)?

IMO, the size of the community around this game was possibly 2X the size it is now back in OOTP's heyday (my opinion) of v4-6.

Now, to answer the question of this post:

Make the interface more user-friendly as it was during the 4-6 days.

NO ONE was a bigger OOTP fan than me back during the 'pre' SI interface days. Now, I won't even bring myself to open 2007 and have tossed around the idea of uninstalling it. I don't use it, so I probably should.

The new interface killed my last online league and I'd NEVER attempt to run an online league with this setup.

Revert (or make the interface user selected) and I buy it. No change in interface and I've bought my last OOTP.

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Cooleyvol

Why change what works (worked)?

...


Revert (or make the interface user selected) and I buy it. No change in interface and I've bought my last OOTP.

Well, first, I want to mention that I talk to MorseMoose quite a lot, and what I said does not apply to all 6.5 nostalgics, but strictly to him...he really is conservative and does not want to change a situation that works for a better one in general. His ideas are very inertiatic!

I think the reason for the change was that a whole lot of new features that needed a more comprehensive interface, that the old one was just not ready to accomodate all the new stuff.

I must say that to this day, I do not understand the whole interface debate. To me, an interface is not much more than a tool, and I think that it serves it purpose well, because while I concede that there are screens that are harder to reach, the vast majority of the interface runs seamlessly as far as I have observed. I do not like the new interface better than the old, which is robably why I have such trouble believing that it could be a major selling point for others. It is not like the new interface is impossible to deal with or has major flaws.

Reverting to the old interface would mean that a lot of features would have to be thrown away, because if they were all to be added to the 6.5 interface, the interface would become cluttered and complicated. The 6.5 interface was much more simle, of course, and only the fewer features allowed that to happen. To put it bluntly, I think the old interface could not support all the new features.

Basically, if the old interface came back, I would not care. I would gladly deal with it. But, if the choice is between the old interface and a simple game or the new interface and a deep game, I choose the latter, hands down. Even if I liked the old one better, I have a hard time believing I would put its importance above all the added functions of the new game. And, of course, we are not even talking about the time allocated to bringing back the old interface that could otherwise be sent on new features, bettering current features, fixing bugs and what not.

[Cooleyvol]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

Reverting to the old interface would mean that a lot of features would have to be thrown away, because if they were all to be added to the 6.5 interface, the interface would become cluttered and complicated.

That strikes me as comical. It would BECOME cluttered and complicated? Dude, we're there.

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Cooleyvol

That strikes me as comical. It would BECOME cluttered and complicated? Dude, we're there.

I have to disagree with you on that. I will use a metaphor to compare v5 and v8. Let us pretend that our Windows Desktop is Ootp. In v5, let us say we had... 40 features. We could easily put all these features on the desktop, organized in columns, and it would look pretty clear. Everything would be easy to find. Now, let us go to v8, which has, say, 120 features. Sure, we could put them all on the desktop, but organizing them would be a major pain. The desktop would look all cluttered, and columns would not be big enough, and finding everything would take a long time. What the developers did was add folders to the desktop. That way, it looks uncluttered, and with just one click on a folder, you can access detailed information about a topic in particular that otherwise would have been scattered all over your desktop.

Complicated? If you mean complex and detailed, sure, but if you mean hard to figure out, I disagree. Cluttered? That, I really disagree. V8 is organized, menus are simple to use and divide information well as to avoid clutter, from my experience.

[Long_Long_Name]

My wishlist would be this.

1. Revamped pitching system. Endurance not being the main criterion for separating starters and relievers, but instead more realistic reasons. More strategic options for relievers, such as being able to bring in your relievers based on leverage, situations or run differences and not strictly save opportunities and traditional roles.
2. Endurance, for pitchers, should be an OTHER skill, so that talent only leagues could see pitcher endurance.
3. History editor... I have a few awards that were misallowed and need cleaning up, I suppose others would also have a use for it. Related, a way to remove `pollution` out of history and leaderboards for imported leagues that did not support, for example, OAVG and Vorp. OAVG leaderboards are useless, and old players get 0 Vorp, which hides negative ones.

That is really all I can think of. I have wanted the first for a long time, the second has become an issue since v2007 and the 3rd, well, would just be nice.

[Cooleyvol]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

I have to disagree with you on that. I will use a metaphor to compare v5 and v8. Let us pretend that our Windows Desktop is Ootp. In v5, let us say we had... 40 features. We could easily put all these features on the desktop, organized in columns, and it would look pretty clear. Everything would be easy to find. Now, let us go to v8, which has, say, 120 features. Sure, we could put them all on the desktop, but organizing them would be a major pain. The desktop would look all cluttered, and columns would not be big enough, and finding everything would take a long time. What the developers did was add folders to the desktop. That way, it looks uncluttered, and with just one click on a folder, you can access detailed information about a topic in particular that otherwise would have been scattered all over your desktop.

Complicated? If you mean complex and detailed, sure, but if you mean hard to figure out, I disagree. Cluttered? That, I really disagree. V8 is organized, menus are simple to use and divide information well as to avoid clutter, from my experience.

Your last sentence said it all--basically its your opinion and my opinion that's been expressed, so you can cease trying to convince me (and others) of yours.

We either agree with you or we don't.

I like the old setup and still believe that all features presently in the game could be incorporated into an easier presentation.

Until then, my money's staying in my pocket.

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Cooleyvol

Your last sentence said it all--basically its your opinion and my opinion that's been expressed, so you can cease trying to convince me (and others) of yours.

We either agree with you or we don't.

I like the old setup and still believe that all features presently in the game could be incorporated into an easier presentation.

Until then, my money's staying in my pocket.

I do not think I was trying to be any more convincing than you. Your post to which I replied with this was stating something as a fact, not an opinion, which made me more inclined to reason about it. But, I will go with my opinion again and say this... In my opinion, all the current features could not very easily be included with the old setup. And, if it did, super, I am all for choice... however, I would hate for that to take away time from adding new features, bettering old ones or fixing bugs because to me the interface is secondary and the current one is functional.

You have the right to prefer the old versions, and you have the right not to buy the new one if it does not do anything for you. You also have the right to want the old interface back, and you have the right to lobby for it. But, you quoted my reply to an individual who brought up invalid arguments against the new versions of the game, and then claimed it was unplayable and did not work well. It was not his basic opinion I was questioning, it was his actions and arguments. I did the same thing with your last post, in which you claimed something I disagreed with. I find it odd that you would ask me to cease trying to convince that the new interface is adapted to the new features, while you try to convince the developers that going back to the old interface would be better. I think it is a decent debate, arguments can certainly be made for both, but I do not see how we can have a debate without bringing forth arguments supporting our opinion, which you seem to want me to stop doing... even though you do the same.

We will not solve this here. I would be happy to settle for this... we both want the game to be better, but for you, better means reverting to the old interface, and to me better means a better pitching model. To others, it can mean something else.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

we both want the game to be better, but for you, better means reverting to the old interface, and to me better means a better pitching model. To others, it can mean something else.

To me it would mean both, plus better player generation and the return of all those features that the 6.5-2007 transition took away from us.