I almost feel overwhelmed!

Garrett67 · 06-25-2008, 10:14 AM

I'm not really sure what to do. I have started the game about 5 or 6 times but each time I do, I feel like I'm lost or missing something, or doing something wrong. Its hard to explain really. I get started and I dont' know what I should be doing, do I sim until ST or do I look for players? Find a team? Act as Commish? There are SO many options that I can't even get to a game to manage/watch. I'm not sure when I should play a game or sim a game.

It isn't that I can't find my way around the menus , I do ok for not being all too familiar with everything . I just feel like I'm not doing something I'm supposed to be or something. I have started a 2008 league, a fictional league, a 2006 Tigers game... etc.

Perhaps going straight fictional is the best way to do it. That way I can't compare it to real life and get caught up in the this vs that battle.

Do you understand where I'm coming from? How do you guys do it?

Neags23 · 06-25-2008, 10:28 AM

I think one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the notion that you have to create your perfect universe the first time you play.

It takes several tries to figure out what you like and don't like. I've created around 20-30 different leagues over the past year and a half, and I've ended up trashing them all. With version 9, I just created one that I think will stick around for a while, but who knows?

The point is, start slow. Ignore all the options for the first time. Just experiment. Sim for a while, maybe. Check on the players. Do you feel like you aren't involved enough? Try playing out a couple of games. Do the salaries feel like what you want them to be? If not, next time you create a league (or with the league you have now), adjust them.

Start slow and adjust. No need to figure everything out at once. Tweak as you go. Experiment. See what you like best.

texasmame · 06-25-2008, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neags23

I think one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the notion that you have to create your perfect universe the first time you play.

It takes several tries to figure out what you like and don't like. I've created around 20-30 different leagues over the past year and a half, and I've ended up trashing them all. With version 9, I just created one that I think will stick around for a while, but who knows?

The point is, start slow. Ignore all the options for the first time. Just experiment. Sim for a while, maybe. Check on the players. Do you feel like you aren't involved enough? Try playing out a couple of games. Do the salaries feel like what you want them to be? If not, next time you create a league (or with the league you have now), adjust them.

Start slow and adjust. No need to figure everything out at once. Tweak as you go. Experiment. See what you like best.

Yes - what he said.

OOTP is VERY likely to overwhelm a newbie - just SOOO much you can do, in so many ways.

I've found what works for me - I "ignore" or turn off several things that I don't like.

Tinker and find what YOU like - chances are, you can come up with something that best suits you.

rowech · 06-25-2008, 11:13 AM

I'm going my first go around and have started two different historical projects, both of which had things I didn't like so I'm looking to start, yet another league. I just assume it's part of the learning process of a game with this many options.

SittingDuck · 06-25-2008, 11:29 AM

You got some sound advice from Neags & crew. What I'd suggest is start a tiny fictional league of like 10 teams, 2 divisions of 5 teams each. Don't do an inaugural draft. Just take a team and run it a bit. Get used to the way things like waivers and such work - all the little menus and all of that (navigation in OOTP has always been a big learning curve).

Then once you feel comfy with that, do a larger league with an inaugural draft.

You see, the tendency we all have (and its understandable) is to have the full baseball universe we've all wanted for so long, and we see OOTP - more or less - as the vehicle to that. So we jump in and shoot for the moon. It quickly becomes overwhelming.

I actually owned 2-3 versions before ootp8 and never played them past opening up the game and trying half-heartedly to figure it out. The tutorial video helped me overcome my ignorance of the menu navigation.

And I built and destroyed a thousand leagues.

Do NOT get attached to any player or any league for quite some time. Consider yourself a scientist inspecting and analyzing everything for a bit. And really, before you know it, you'll be ready to build what you want.

skunkle333 · 06-25-2008, 11:43 AM

I'm having a blast with OOTP9 Rowech...

Getting ready to setup 1959 with all the perks.

Have fun!

ootpFox07 · 06-25-2008, 01:49 PM

I've been building my OOTP experience since 5.0/2005. I played with versions 5 & 6, but built probably 3-4 of my first leagues in OOTp 6.5. I did my first pass of my long time solo league starting in 1968 in 6.5 and learned quite a bit.

When I moved to OOTP2007, I continued that solo league (which i've since chosen to abadon) and built another 3-4 other types of leagues again, including independent and foreign leagues. I experiented with all kinds of different settings and types of leagues and built a good core of knowledge of what I like and don't like.

I started my newest solo project, the UABL, in Dec and thus far have been really happy with the results. But it took a lot of experiementing to get here.

So as others said. Start small. Start simple. Start a new ABA league, pick a team (preferably the Giants) and just play out a season or two. Don't sweat the small stuff, just get a feel for things. Then dive into your first (small) custom league (or use one of the quick starts) and have fun. as you get more familiar, branch out. make leagues with minors, initernational leagues, etc. Happy playing.

Garrett67 · 06-25-2008, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SittingDuck

Do NOT get attached to any player or any league for quite some time. Consider yourself a scientist inspecting and analyzing everything for a bit. And really, before you know it, you'll be ready to build what you want.

Yeah, I discovered that about getting attached. In fact, right after I created this thread, I started a fictitional league and accepted a manager position with a split season team. I managed to set my line-ups and such , played my first game (was almost no hit, lost 7-0). Upon playing my 2nd game, I got an error and the game crashed. I lost my progress because I forget to set the auto save, my fault there. So, now I'm back to January and have to start over.

I'll keep playing around with it. I'm sure I'll learn more about it and perhaps I will watch those videos, just in case I missed something.

Thanks guys for your responses and future responses.

Leatherfut · 06-25-2008, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SittingDuck

You got some sound advice from Neags & crew. What I'd suggest is start a tiny fictional league of like 10 teams, 2 divisions of 5 teams each. Don't do an inaugural draft. Just take a team and run it a bit. Get used to the way things like waivers and such work - all the little menus and all of that (navigation in OOTP has always been a big learning curve).

.....

Do NOT get attached to any player or any league for quite some time. Consider yourself a scientist inspecting and analyzing everything for a bit. And really, before you know it, you'll be ready to build what you want.

Hi,
I'm new to OOTP also and I was feeling a little lost at first, so I did almost the opposite of SittingDuck's advice and I'm very happy with my results.

this is what I did:
-Started a small league, two divisions of four teams each
-based the league on 1940
-shut off coaches and scouting
-I did an inaugural draft. This helped me get familiar with the players and pick the kind of team I wanted. Previously, when I took over a team with existing players, this added to my lost feeling.
-Downloaded all the team logo mods I could find and gave my teams uniforms and logos.
-first season is only 105 games.
-I Definitely got Attached to my players. This helped anchor me in the game.

So now I can add teams, make a full schedule add scouting when I'm a little more comfortable. And now that I'm feeling less overwhelmed, I'm more inclined to start other leagues in order to experiment.
Nothing against your advice, SittingDuck. I can totally see where you're coming from. Just my perspective.

Happy Gaming,
Frank

SittingDuck · 06-25-2008, 05:09 PM

That's ok - I think there are plenty of ways to go. It's mainly about not doing everything at once. Some of what you're laying out has its virtues, too. IT comes down to what a GM wants to experience first, and what can come later.

So in that vein, one might decide to skip financials at first.

There is also the concept of taking over a minor league team and 'proving your worth'.

Pick and choose what is important to you. The only thing is that to try to do it all at first can be quite discouraging.

discodude5 · 06-25-2008, 09:53 PM

Garrett you did the best thing you could have done if feeling overwhelmed by the game, post here and guys will give you lots of good advice.

We have all been unsure of what to do at some point and sometimes getting a couple ideas thrown at you can really kick start what you want to do with the game.

Like others have said, the smaller the league the better to start with.

Garrett67 · 06-25-2008, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by discodude5

Garrett you did the best thing you could have done if feeling overwhelmed by the game, post here and guys will give you lots of good advice.

We have all been unsure of what to do at some point and sometimes getting a couple ideas thrown at you can really kick start what you want to do with the game.

Like others have said, the smaller the league the better to start with.

I agree with you. I started a fictional league and I'm the manager of a split season A team, so I only have to worry about 56 (or is it 54?) games.

The probably I had before was I kept playing without committing to a team as a manager. So I was just bouncing around as commish and just getting confused as to what to do.

The only problem I face now is remember my players names. I can't tell what team is at bat LOL

On a good note, my team has started 3-0 and my expectations are to play .500 ball, so hopefully I'll be able to fulfill that goal in my first year.

professor ape · 06-25-2008, 10:19 PM

I knew exactly what I want to do going into the new version and I am still overwhelmed.

I have the Major League, AAA, AA and A set up. Now I just need to finish short A, Rookie League, feeders and international leagues. That will take me another week or so before I throw my first pitch.

CRTsports.com · 06-25-2008, 10:24 PM

I can say I felt the exact same way when I started with v2007. I had been using v5/v6 for so many years I would start the game up and just be lost.

It took a few good months of tinkering around everything to become familiar with everything and now I feel even better about the game than I did about the previous versions.

Don't give up because once you figure it all out, you will be in sucked in!!!!

bleachercreature · 06-25-2008, 10:34 PM

[QUOTE=Neags23;2517122]I think one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the notion that you have to create your perfect universe the first time you play.

Ding...ding...ding! We have ourselves a winner!

I think this is my problem. I know how I want to play and I'm not very flexable with it.

That said, there is no "right or wrong" way to play this game. you play it the way you wnat to.

I like playing with real players, real coaches and starting from scratch.

So I reset, release all and set up an inagural draft.

Then I go through an edit leagues. I thin 30 teams is too many. My latest incarnation of my universe is a 20 team league. If I think its too small, then I might use the expansion draft.

I like using real players, because I have an expectation of what they're supposed to do. Other users like fictional players and digging through the stats and ratings to find out what theres guys are going to do.

Other people like to pick a year and recreate/rewrite history.

STEELCITY637 · 06-25-2008, 10:34 PM

I was having same problem and it just takes time and somtimes the help from the community. After countless hours that spand over several days Ive finally got my 40 team lg. right where I want it. It is worth the work as im having a great time now.

DaddyO · 06-25-2008, 10:48 PM

I tried OOTP6 and 7, never got into it. Tried various kinds of leagues, but always got bogged down.

After tinkering for a few days with OOTP9 and starting to have the same feelings, I decided I didn't have to do all the up front work. And starting a historical league with all the trimmings was too much. So I created a universe with one league, two divisions, four teams each, total of just eight teams, populated with fictional players rating 1 to 5.

To make it easier I also used existing MLB franchises in the Western United States, created a north division with Seattle, Denver, Oakland, and San Francisco, then a south division with Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Diego and Arizona. Used real MLB logos, jerseys, nicknames and stadiums. Even then, I'm just going one day at a time getting the unis and stadiums set up.

I've turned off financials, scouts, coaches. Made trades rare. And I just dug in a started doing what I love, which is to play out games. By doing that, I'm starting to get to know the players on MY team a little bit, forget about the others for now. And I've made myself not poke around too much, just enjoy the games.

But what really is beginning to get my juices flowing for the first time ever in OOTP is writing recaps, both headlines and game stories, and using them to tell the story of what's going on with my team. It helped that a mediocre player hit a key home run to win the opening day game. But taking it slow, one game at the time, and developing story lines for the season is getting me hooked, just like I feel about my DMB 1974 replay.

So hang in there. Make what you're doing smaller, limit it as far as possible, and even then do just enough to enjoy what you DO do. Just my thoughts, it's working for me.

franco74 · 06-25-2008, 10:59 PM

Great thread - really helping me

lahoward · 06-25-2008, 11:13 PM

Seems everyone has a style of their own so any suggestion here can't be wrong. I like to use High School feeder leagues when creating a new league.

i sim 10 seasons to let the new draft picks and players have some history then i come in as a manager to the current worst team. Makes it somewhat more realistic because no team is going to hire a greenhorn if the franchise is doing well.

can't stand starting in the minors though if they'd fix the injured players staying on your roster forever i may start that way. i dont want to venture into commish mode to fix what a real mgr would in real life.

Garrett67 · 06-25-2008, 11:29 PM

Right now I'm simming games one by one, studying stats and such after each game. I just want to get a little history behind the team and log some stats before I start swinging my managerial stick.

This thread has helped me though because I see I'm not alone and its interesting to see how other players approach the game.

06-25-2008, 10:14 AM	#1
Garrett67 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Union City, Michigan Posts: 282	I almost feel overwhelmed! I'm not really sure what to do. I have started the game about 5 or 6 times but each time I do, I feel like I'm lost or missing something, or doing something wrong. Its hard to explain really. I get started and I dont' know what I should be doing, do I sim until ST or do I look for players? Find a team? Act as Commish? There are SO many options that I can't even get to a game to manage/watch. I'm not sure when I should play a game or sim a game. It isn't that I can't find my way around the menus , I do ok for not being all too familiar with everything . I just feel like I'm not doing something I'm supposed to be or something. I have started a 2008 league, a fictional league, a 2006 Tigers game... etc. Perhaps going straight fictional is the best way to do it. That way I can't compare it to real life and get caught up in the this vs that battle. Do you understand where I'm coming from? How do you guys do it?

06-25-2008, 10:28 AM	#2
Neags23 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1,577	I think one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the notion that you have to create your perfect universe the first time you play. It takes several tries to figure out what you like and don't like. I've created around 20-30 different leagues over the past year and a half, and I've ended up trashing them all. With version 9, I just created one that I think will stick around for a while, but who knows? The point is, start slow. Ignore all the options for the first time. Just experiment. Sim for a while, maybe. Check on the players. Do you feel like you aren't involved enough? Try playing out a couple of games. Do the salaries feel like what you want them to be? If not, next time you create a league (or with the league you have now), adjust them. Start slow and adjust. No need to figure everything out at once. Tweak as you go. Experiment. See what you like best. __________________ GM Havana Sugar Kings, World Baseball League - 2000, 2003, 2005 WBL Champions Former GM Washburn Sea Wolves Dog Days Baseball - 1981 & 1986 Kennel Cup Champions

06-25-2008, 10:24 PM	#14
CRTsports.com Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 400	I can say I felt the exact same way when I started with v2007. I had been using v5/v6 for so many years I would start the game up and just be lost. It took a few good months of tinkering around everything to become familiar with everything and now I feel even better about the game than I did about the previous versions. Don't give up because once you figure it all out, you will be in sucked in!!!! __________________ Offline Solo League Kansas City Royals - (713-744)(1-3) -- READ ABOUT IT HERE!!! -- 2004 81-81----2012 83-79 -- 2005 64-98----2013 -- 2006 54-108 -- 2007 72-90 -- 2008 76-85 -- 2009 89-73 -- 2010 86-76 -- 2011 108-54 (1-3) Central Division Champs

06-25-2008, 10:48 PM	#17
DaddyO Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 244	I tried OOTP6 and 7, never got into it. Tried various kinds of leagues, but always got bogged down. After tinkering for a few days with OOTP9 and starting to have the same feelings, I decided I didn't have to do all the up front work. And starting a historical league with all the trimmings was too much. So I created a universe with one league, two divisions, four teams each, total of just eight teams, populated with fictional players rating 1 to 5. To make it easier I also used existing MLB franchises in the Western United States, created a north division with Seattle, Denver, Oakland, and San Francisco, then a south division with Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Diego and Arizona. Used real MLB logos, jerseys, nicknames and stadiums. Even then, I'm just going one day at a time getting the unis and stadiums set up. I've turned off financials, scouts, coaches. Made trades rare. And I just dug in a started doing what I love, which is to play out games. By doing that, I'm starting to get to know the players on MY team a little bit, forget about the others for now. And I've made myself not poke around too much, just enjoy the games. But what really is beginning to get my juices flowing for the first time ever in OOTP is writing recaps, both headlines and game stories, and using them to tell the story of what's going on with my team. It helped that a mediocre player hit a key home run to win the opening day game. But taking it slow, one game at the time, and developing story lines for the season is getting me hooked, just like I feel about my DMB 1974 replay. So hang in there. Make what you're doing smaller, limit it as far as possible, and even then do just enough to enjoy what you DO do. Just my thoughts, it's working for me. __________________ Signature? I don't need no stinkin' signature!

06-25-2008, 11:13 AM	#4
rowech Minors (Double A) Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 116	I'm going my first go around and have started two different historical projects, both of which had things I didn't like so I'm looking to start, yet another league. I just assume it's part of the learning process of a game with this many options.

06-25-2008, 11:29 AM	#5
SittingDuck All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,834	You got some sound advice from Neags & crew. What I'd suggest is start a tiny fictional league of like 10 teams, 2 divisions of 5 teams each. Don't do an inaugural draft. Just take a team and run it a bit. Get used to the way things like waivers and such work - all the little menus and all of that (navigation in OOTP has always been a big learning curve). Then once you feel comfy with that, do a larger league with an inaugural draft. You see, the tendency we all have (and its understandable) is to have the full baseball universe we've all wanted for so long, and we see OOTP - more or less - as the vehicle to that. So we jump in and shoot for the moon. It quickly becomes overwhelming. I actually owned 2-3 versions before ootp8 and never played them past opening up the game and trying half-heartedly to figure it out. The tutorial video helped me overcome my ignorance of the menu navigation. And I built and destroyed a thousand leagues. Do NOT get attached to any player or any league for quite some time. Consider yourself a scientist inspecting and analyzing everything for a bit. And really, before you know it, you'll be ready to build what you want.

06-25-2008, 11:43 AM	#6
skunkle333 All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2006 Location: St. Louis metro area...IL side. Posts: 643	I'm having a blast with OOTP9 Rowech... Getting ready to setup 1959 with all the perks. Have fun!

06-25-2008, 01:49 PM	#7
ootpFox07 All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,694	I've been building my OOTP experience since 5.0/2005. I played with versions 5 & 6, but built probably 3-4 of my first leagues in OOTp 6.5. I did my first pass of my long time solo league starting in 1968 in 6.5 and learned quite a bit. When I moved to OOTP2007, I continued that solo league (which i've since chosen to abadon) and built another 3-4 other types of leagues again, including independent and foreign leagues. I experiented with all kinds of different settings and types of leagues and built a good core of knowledge of what I like and don't like. I started my newest solo project, the UABL, in Dec and thus far have been really happy with the results. But it took a lot of experiementing to get here. So as others said. Start small. Start simple. Start a new ABA league, pick a team (preferably the Giants) and just play out a season or two. Don't sweat the small stuff, just get a feel for things. Then dive into your first (small) custom league (or use one of the quick starts) and have fun. as you get more familiar, branch out. make leagues with minors, initernational leagues, etc. Happy playing.

06-25-2008, 05:09 PM	#10
SittingDuck All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,834	That's ok - I think there are plenty of ways to go. It's mainly about not doing everything at once. Some of what you're laying out has its virtues, too. IT comes down to what a GM wants to experience first, and what can come later. So in that vein, one might decide to skip financials at first. There is also the concept of taking over a minor league team and 'proving your worth'. Pick and choose what is important to you. The only thing is that to try to do it all at first can be quite discouraging.

06-25-2008, 09:53 PM	#11
discodude5 Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 371	Garrett you did the best thing you could have done if feeling overwhelmed by the game, post here and guys will give you lots of good advice. We have all been unsure of what to do at some point and sometimes getting a couple ideas thrown at you can really kick start what you want to do with the game. Like others have said, the smaller the league the better to start with.

06-25-2008, 10:19 PM	#13
professor ape All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: The belly of the beast Posts: 1,498	I knew exactly what I want to do going into the new version and I am still overwhelmed. I have the Major League, AAA, AA and A set up. Now I just need to finish short A, Rookie League, feeders and international leagues. That will take me another week or so before I throw my first pitch.

06-25-2008, 10:34 PM	#15
bleachercreature Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: New Jersey Posts: 403	[QUOTE=Neags23;2517122]I think one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the notion that you have to create your perfect universe the first time you play. Ding...ding...ding! We have ourselves a winner! I think this is my problem. I know how I want to play and I'm not very flexable with it. That said, there is no "right or wrong" way to play this game. you play it the way you wnat to. I like playing with real players, real coaches and starting from scratch. So I reset, release all and set up an inagural draft. Then I go through an edit leagues. I thin 30 teams is too many. My latest incarnation of my universe is a 20 team league. If I think its too small, then I might use the expansion draft. I like using real players, because I have an expectation of what they're supposed to do. Other users like fictional players and digging through the stats and ratings to find out what theres guys are going to do. Other people like to pick a year and recreate/rewrite history.

06-25-2008, 10:34 PM	#16
STEELCITY637 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 33	I was having same problem and it just takes time and somtimes the help from the community. After countless hours that spand over several days Ive finally got my 40 team lg. right where I want it. It is worth the work as im having a great time now.

06-25-2008, 10:59 PM	#18
franco74 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: california Posts: 117	Great thread - really helping me

06-25-2008, 11:13 PM	#19
lahoward Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 86	Seems everyone has a style of their own so any suggestion here can't be wrong. I like to use High School feeder leagues when creating a new league. i sim 10 seasons to let the new draft picks and players have some history then i come in as a manager to the current worst team. Makes it somewhat more realistic because no team is going to hire a greenhorn if the franchise is doing well. can't stand starting in the minors though if they'd fix the injured players staying on your roster forever i may start that way. i dont want to venture into commish mode to fix what a real mgr would in real life.

06-25-2008, 11:29 PM	#20
Garrett67 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Union City, Michigan Posts: 282	Right now I'm simming games one by one, studying stats and such after each game. I just want to get a little history behind the team and log some stats before I start swinging my managerial stick. This thread has helped me though because I see I'm not alone and its interesting to see how other players approach the game.