Player Contracts

[Twins_Fan]

Am on the fence between buying OOTP 9 and BM 2009 for my PC baseball simulator this year after buying Mogul the last couple of years. Am leaning towards OOTP however because of it's larger amount of features/customizing options. Several of the reviews that I have read however have mentioned that player contracts are somewhat distorted and not realistic (I.E. Andruw Jones 2 Year $6.5 million dollar contracts as opposed to 2 yr/36 million). Has this issue been fixed via a game patch since the game has been released or is it still an issue? A couple of other bugs that were mentioned such as roster issues (Bobby Abreu batting leadoff) and the like were also mentioned in a couple reviews, have the patches handeled these problems as well? Thanks very much.

[mattshwink]

Originally Posted by Twins_Fan

Am on the fence between buying OOTP 9 and BM 2009 for my PC baseball simulator this year after buying Mogul the last couple of years. Am leaning towards OOTP however because of it's larger amount of features/customizing options. Several of the reviews that I have read however have mentioned that player contracts are somewhat distorted and not realistic (I.E. Andruw Jones 2 Year $6.5 million dollar contracts as opposed to 2 yr/36 million). Has this issue been fixed via a game patch since the game has been released or is it still an issue? A couple of other bugs that were mentioned such as roster issues (Bobby Abreu batting leadoff) and the like were also mentioned in a couple reviews, have the patches handeled these problems as well? Thanks very much.

Contracts do not copy from MLB because it could be a violation of copyright with MLB(and Markus does not want to get sued). So if you are looking for contracts in OOTP to match MLB contracts.....not going to happen(perhaps someone will release there own roster pack with this, but I have not seen one).

There were some roster issues fixed in a roster update.

As for batting order and such...the AI engine determines that....for the most part it does a pretty good job.

Contracts values change as the sim progresses and free agents are signed...etc. It functions like a market generally should. If teams have a lot of cash there will be bidding wars for FAs and contracts will go up. Players evaluate themselves (and each has a greed factor) to determine what they want. So IMHO it works pretty well.

I don't no any sim (or baseball game, for that matter) that gets everything right. OOTP does the best (and by a good margin) of any of them, in my opinion. That, and its ability to be customized, make it an easy decision to buy (I have been playing since OOTP5, about 5 years). There should be a demo released at some point. If contracts and batting order mean that much to you wait for the demo and try it out.

[TribeFanInNC]

Don't ride the fence - buy OOTP. You won't regret it, unless you regret spending too much time setting up and simming baseball. Then you're in trouble.

[OldFatGuy]

To be fair, it is a difficult game to learn. As BM player myself, I can assure you that the first few days (for me it was weeks) will be "difficult" if you've never played OOTP before.

I remember seeing a screen with information on it, wanting to find that screen again, and it literally taking me hours to find it again. BM is a much easier game to play, and learn. I bought BM last year for the first time also, and was completing my first season within a week or two, and this is playing them all out.

However, if you're willing to take the time to learn it, I would agree it is overall a better baseball game. It's not perfect, I'm still searching for that one, but it's the best overall I've found so far.

You'll find the AI is still weak, but a big improvement over BM 2008 and 2009.

You'll find the customability and depth of OOTP to be, well, there really is no comparison here. Imagine not only having actual minor league teams actually playing out games, but also being to able to set up High School and College real feeder leagues to draft from. Not to mention having a simultaneious Japanese league running as well to "pick off" players from (just like RL).

Also imagine just playing with the major leagues and a reserve roster, no minor league options rules and Rule 5 stuff to worry about or learn. Just manage your major league team. And if you want, you can even turn off financials altogether and make it even easier.

Or anything in between.

Then, when you add in FaceGen, where your relationship with your players takes on a whole new level, seeing them in your uniforms (fictional or real), seeing them age, seeing them even become coaches after retirment if you want. (Or if you want, leave coaching off)

No, there is no real comparison. I now can't imagine how lost I was last year when I first tried OOTP. So, it does get easier, but to be fair, you should be warned that the initial amount of learning is quite large.

I no longer use my OOTP2007 game at all. If it's legal (not breaking the license agreement), I would be willing to unlicense mine, and give you my purchase codes to try 2007 first for free just to learn the game. However, if its a violation of the license agreement, I'm not going there.

Anyway, 2007's interface is almost identical to OOTP9, so it would be a good way to learn the interface.

[TribeFanInNC]

I agree with OFG. It is a bit overwhelming at first, especially compared to BM where you can pretty much hop right in and play right away. Spend the time. As was mentioned, a demo may be around the corner.

[disguyyy]

I thought BM was THE game to have and have played the last two quite frequently. I only heard of OOTP on their board because someone brought up the differences and this was about a week after getting BM '09. I looked into reviews and some differences in the game and thought I really had to give OOTP a shot. Since the day I purchased OOTP, I have not even opened BM. There are some things that I enjoyed more with BM, but to be honest, I couldn't even name them because OOTP is so much more in-depth. I almost quite after the first two days because I couldn't get my head around everything there is to do in OOTP and I felt like it was going too slow. Really, it's just that to do a great job in OOTP, it requires a bit more day-to-day running and that's what makes it so enjoyable. You feel more integral to your own success. Not to mention the fact that there are certain quirks in BM that can just drive you batty. To me, BM is kinda like sex with a fat girl. If it's all you ever know, you think it's the best thing going. Until you sleep with a hottie. Then you realize there's a whole new world out there. Get OOTP - you won't regret it.

[TribeFanInNC]

Wow, that might be the funniest thing I have ever read on the forums.

[Twins_Fan]

thanks for the input everyone. it's appreciated.

[battists]

Originally Posted by Twins_Fan

thanks for the input everyone. it's appreciated.

And we love our customers.

And the community is great at helping out new players.

And online leagues.

[Antonin]

I played BM [an earlier version] briefly before I discovered OOTP. BM was fun, but I found that I quickly outgrew it. I wanted more, and OOTP provided more...lots more.

One way to painlessly enter the OOTP world is to start out with one of the quickstart leagues: Dominican Republic, Mexico, etc. Just start a game and fiddle around. OOTP will grow on you very, very quickly.

Some people describe the game as intimidating, but I don't agree. It's extremely deep, but also very forgiving. You can [and will] have quite a lot of fun while you explore its many layers.

Even people who spend a lot of time with the game find themselves continually discovering new things.

[battists]

As you can see from some other threads here, a large # of OOTP players actually prefer to create fictional worlds, largely because it frees you from having to worry whether the rosters are "right" or not.

Any roster set becomes fictional in year 2, as well.

As someone mentioned, OOTP has a few nice quickstarts. Personally, I love the ABA quickstarts, lets you get into the game without getting too overwhelmed!

Anyway, we OOTP Dev folks hope you buy it and give us a try!

[OldFatGuy]

Originally Posted by Antonin

ISome people describe the game as intimidating, but I don't agree.

I guess I'm guilty of being one of those "some people." I was intimidated, and a bit overwhelmed at first. Even letting completely go for a couple of months before coming back and trying again.

For me, as one who plays out every day in every game I've purchased, that dratted "Finish Today" button became the great intimidator (after learning my way around the menus and screens). That and the fact the game starts on January 1st (BM starts on Openind Day, as do most other games I've purchased). You find yourself new to OOTP, and because you're new, you're unsure whether to hit that darn button.

Is there something I should be doing??? What if I hit the button and miss out (in a competitive sense) on something I should be doing???

Conquering the fear over hitting that darn button was finally the straw that allowed me to further learn and enjoy the game. It might be helpful for totally new OOTPers if the manual included a little guide on the things to do early. Like for me now, when I start a new game, the first thing I do is set up the uniforms, logos, and stadiums. Then, I look at my team and get a feel for its strengths and weaknesses, then I look at the available free agents to fill the weaknesses, and make a couple of offers. I've now started about 5 leagues, and now feel somewhat confident when I hit that button.

[battists]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

Is there something I should be doing??? What if I hit the button and miss out (in a competitive sense) on something I should be doing???

Someone should think about putting that in the manual. They should start some threads about that.

[Twins_Fan]

another little thing that came to mind today. Are the minor league rosters accurate, as in will they have the actual minor leaguers and also how deep are the minor leagues? (Rookie league, A-Ball, AA, AAA, etc). Thanks for your help. This will in no way make or break my decision on getting the game or not. As soon as I get back home I'm buying it!

[battists]

Originally Posted by Twins_Fan

another little thing that came to mind today. Are the minor league rosters accurate, as in will they have the actual minor leaguers and also how deep are the minor leagues? (Rookie league, A-Ball, AA, AAA, etc). Thanks for your help. This will in no way make or break my decision on getting the game or not. As soon as I get back home I'm buying it!

The minor leagues go down to rookie ball, but not all of those are completely populated with real minor leaguers. There will be more updates to the MLB roster set in the next patch (I think), and there are other MLB rosters available for download other than the one that comes with the game. Hop over to the Mods subforums if you want more information on those.

[Tim Tellean]

I guess the best way I can say that OOTP is great is I just looked at the TV screen saw that Jason Bay of the Pirates hit a homer and thinking "wait he's out for the year" and then remembering he's hurt in OOTP.....real and imagined blur......FM does the same thing for me.....thats the true test for me that a game is truly immersive.....

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by battists

The minor leagues go down to rookie ball, but not all of those are completely populated with real minor leaguers.

The small note to add to this is that OOTP doesn't actually recreate all the current minor league classifications. Advanced A (a.k.a. "High A") and A (a.k.a. "Low A") are treated as a single level in the game, and Rookie Advanced and Rookie are also treated as one level.

That may or may not matter depending on how picky one is.

[Goodsox]

Originally Posted by disguyyy

To me, BM is kinda like sex with a fat girl. If it's all you ever know, you think it's the best thing going. Until you sleep with a hottie. Then you realize there's a whole new world out there. Get OOTP - you won't regret it.

That is definitely one of the funniest things I have ever read on these boards However, I do give props to BM since it was my first baseball simulator game ever and helped lead me to OOTP. Once I tried OOTP, there was no turning back

[martini]

Originally Posted by Twins_Fan

Several of the reviews that I have read however have mentioned that player contracts are somewhat distorted and not realistic (I.E. Andruw Jones 2 Year $6.5 million dollar contracts as opposed to 2 yr/36 million). Has this issue been fixed via a game patch since the game has been released or is it still an issue?

The contract issue normally doesn't bother me when playing historical leagues, with the expection of a game I just started in OOTP 9 using the MLB 2008 player set.

As a Mariners fan (yes, our pain is different than Cubs pain, but it is just as real), I decided to play a season with the abysmal 2008 Mariners and see if I can win more games than McLaren/Riggleman have done and are currently trying to do at the helm. I disabled trading, so I am stuck with a team largely full of losers (Felix and Ichiro being two notable exceptions). I'm curious to see how it goes.

One of the major issues in real life with the team is that their payroll is 117 million and they are on pace to tank 100+ games. Rebuilding by unloading guys with inflated multi-year salaries and who have lost market value due to poor play is a challenge. For a GM, it is THE major challenge, as it becomes necessary to free the team of the "dead weight" in order to make room for free agents and prospects.

In the OOTP game, the '08 Mariners salaries were far below what they are in real life (e.g., Richie Sexon is making $724,000 in the game whereas, in real life, the M's are paying him $14 million this year even after dumping him). So yeah, this is something that takes a little of the real-life challenge away, from a GM perspective. But with trading turned off, the managerial challenge will be very much intact. If I left trading on, I would have had several takers for Richie's 700k contract, whereas in real life no one would touch a .200 hitter for 14 mil, which was the situation in real life for the M's.

That said, I love OOTP baseball. It is great in every other way, IMO. The fictional universe is great, the gameplay is great, and the historical sims are a hoot. It is very addictive.