More OOTP10 suggestions

[Cryomaniac]

My previous thread on this subject got mired in a pointless discussion (I would appreciate it if that sh- stays out of this thread, bump this if you want to carry on the discussion...)

Anywhere, here are my suggestions, some from the other thread (minus the one that caused the consternation, for now) and a couple of new ones.

I have been thinking of these over the past few weeks, and just wondered what everyone has to say about them. These will be re-posted when the suggestions forums re-open, but I just thought I'd see what people think now.

1. Allow us to use byes in playoffs.
-Pretty self explanatory, and I'm sure LGO will be including this in his suggestions as well, but allowing byes in playoffs would lets us do just about any type of playoffs we like

2. Allow us to customize end of season tie-breaking scenarios.
-Let us choose how the game decides what happens when teams are tied at the end of the season. At the very least, the game should do what happens in real life.

2a. Allow us to customize end of game tie-breaking scenarios
-i.e let us have it like in Japan, or let us have games be tied after nine innings (eg, have a drop down that says "play to a finish; play 15 innings; play 12 innings; play 9 innings).

3. Allow switch pitching (Or allow us to edit players during a game as a work around.)
-I'm tempted to annotate this solely with the words "Pat Venditte" lol. Anyway, I don't see any reason at all why this can't be done, the AI is pretty similar to switch hitters. Also let us choose what happens when a switch pitcher faces a switch hitter (i.e, who declares first)

4. Not used...

4a. Let us use different names.txt and english.xml files for each league in a universe.
Also, try to remove as much hard-coded play-by-play as possible.

5. Make the interactions between Feeder leagues and the majors as realistic as possible.
-How it should work is that a high school player should do one of 3 things: Go to college, Turn pro, retire from baseball. For college leagues, instead of a min / max age there should be a "years of eligibility" option, from 3 to say 7. One thing ot add to this, let us choose if high school players can turn pro or not, or if they have to go to college. Or maybe let us have a "three years out of highschool" rule. Hell, just improve feeder leagues...

6. Allow us to edit the average lengths of suspensions in the league rules.
-Anything that gives us more customization can only be a good thing. We should be able to have really strict rules or pretty lenient disipline rules, but harsh drug suspensions. I suppose to go with this, more player personality, with certain players more likely to argue balls & strikes / fight / use drugs.

7. Add a Minor league DL
-Everyone (well, ok a lot) have been asking for this.

Also, open the suggestion forum already lol.

[DrSatan]

I like your ideas, especially #7. A lot of guys like to manage in the minors and work their way up, but it makes it hard when key players get hurt and you can't put them on the DL. It should also be setup so that when you do put a player on the DL the GM will promote/demote a player to take his place.

[AirmenSmith]

Heres one I want. Let me promote my minor league coach to another minor league team not just to the majors or his own team.

[AirmenSmith]

Oh and also I would like the option to have championship teams, from different associations, be able to play each other in a playoff or something like that.

[Tony M]

Originally Posted by AirmenSmith

Oh and also I would like the option to have championship teams, from different associations, be able to play each other in a playoff or something like that.

I'm hoping Markus takes this onboard along with LGO's associations suggestion and removes the millstone effect of having lots of things tied up with league ids. I can understand it for things such as standings and divisional structure but beyond that forcing games / draft pools / etc to be keyed partially on league id makes such things impossible.

[DodgerFan2]

I would add - a more realistic financial system for the good ol' days. Different for each era as needed.

[mmartin68]

I would like play by play that would mention how a player did against the batter/pitcher he is going up against. Also mention previous games the player had against the team , how he is doing in the series, etc. I guess in general I would like to see upgrades in the PBP.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

1. Allow us to use byes in playoffs.

2. Allow us to customize end of season tie-breaking scenarios.

3. Allow switch pitching (Or allow us to edit players during a game as a work around.)

5. Make the interactions between Feeder leagues and the majors as realistic as possible.

7. Add a Minor league DL

Also, open the suggestion forum already lol.

I'm in favor of all of those, though some would be low priorities. For example, number three: As far as I've ever heard there have been exactly two switch pitchers in professional baseball history, while there were close to a thousand women players.

Wasn't the order of who decides which hand to use finally ruled as the pitcher must decide first? If I recall correctly the rationalization was that it would follow the rule that the team at bat has the chance to pinch hit after a relief pitcher is called in, even if the current announced hitter hasn't come to the plate, while the team in the field has no chance to bring in a reliever following a pinch hitter being announced unless the current pitcher has already faced one batter. As far as I know the rules committee never overruled that on-field decision by the umpires.

[dim13]

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

2a. Allow us to customize end of game tie-breaking scenarios
-i.e let us have it like in Japan, or let us have games be tied after nine innings (eg, have a drop down that says "play to a finish; play 15 innings; play 12 innings; play 9 innings).

I would also to have the option used in 2008 summer olympics:

Starting in the 12th inning, the team at bat begins with runners on 1st and 2nd, no outs, and can start the inning anywhere in the batting order.

[phillosopherp]

Originally Posted by Curtis

I'm in favor of all of those, though some would be low priorities. For example, number three: As far as I've ever heard there have been exactly two switch pitchers in professional baseball history, while there were close to a thousand women players.

Wasn't the order of who decides which hand to use finally ruled as the pitcher must decide first? If I recall correctly the rationalization was that it would follow the rule that the team at bat has the chance to pinch hit after a relief pitcher is called in, even if the current announced hitter hasn't come to the plate, while the team in the field has no chance to bring in a reliever following a pinch hitter being announced unless the current pitcher has already faced one batter. As far as I know the rules committee never overruled that on-field decision by the umpires.

Yes that is correct AFAIK too. The one on-field decision made the rule. I bet that Ump feels like a stud, probably wants a position on the court now...lol

[Mattymo]

I think the end of season tie-breaker scenarios would be nice...none of the other stuff I care about.

One thing I would love to see: In-game, have one of the splits be "vs. current pitcher". Yes I know that you can see this in the player screen, but it can be a pain looking that up for every batter. I'd love to be able to compare them all in the one screen.

And I still think "rivalry" games is a great suggestion I had from last year. Allow the owner/GM/manager set an importance rating for each (or specific) games so that the players/fans know how big of a deal it is.

A one-game playoff like this year is much more important than a game in May, yet I don't know if the game recognizes that. A one-game playoff would feature an "all hands on deck" where most pitchers would be availble, players would play hurt/tired (and not feel the effects as much because of the adrenaline).

I just played the World Series a few weeks ago where the opponent started their #4 starter in Game 1 even though their #1 and #2 were 100% rested. That would NEVER happen. I've also seen where the ace started the final game of the season when they had already clinched the pennant, and then couldn't pitch Game 1 of the WS. If the "importance rating" had been at zero, perhaps the manager would have opted for a spot starter or rookie to save his ace for the post-season.

[Cryomaniac]

I also just thought of another one:

8. Allow us to edit the Accomplishments, so if we use short seasons (I'm using 128 games at the moment), or long seasons (I have used 312) then we get sensible accomplishment lists. Or if you don't want it to be editable, base it on the number of games in a season.

[Cryomaniac]

Originally Posted by Mattymo

I think the end of season tie-breaker scenarios would be nice...none of the other stuff I care about.

One thing I would love to see: In-game, have one of the splits be "vs. current pitcher". Yes I know that you can see this in the player screen, but it can be a pain looking that up for every batter. I'd love to be able to compare them all in the one screen.

And I still think "rivalry" games is a great suggestion I had from last year. Allow the owner/GM/manager set an importance rating for each (or specific) games so that the players/fans know how big of a deal it is.

A one-game playoff like this year is much more important than a game in May, yet I don't know if the game recognizes that. A one-game playoff would feature an "all hands on deck" where most pitchers would be availble, players would play hurt/tired (and not feel the effects as much because of the adrenaline).

I just played the World Series a few weeks ago where the opponent started their #4 starter in Game 1 even though their #1 and #2 were 100% rested. That would NEVER happen. I've also seen where the ace started the final game of the season when they had already clinched the pennant, and then couldn't pitch Game 1 of the WS. If the "importance rating" had been at zero, perhaps the manager would have opted for a spot starter or rookie to save his ace for the post-season.

This is a good idea. I think I've mentioned elsewhere that we should be able to designate rivalries at league creation.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

I also just thought of another one:

8. Allow us to edit the Accomplishments, so if we use short seasons (I'm using 128 games at the moment), or long seasons (I have used 312) then we get sensible accomplishment lists. Or if you don't want it to be editable, base it on the number of games in a season.

Already suggested - http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...uggestion.html


Also, for minor league DL, Markus has stated in the past it's too difficult to code.

[phillosopherp]

I think that the biggest thing that should be the focus is just the minors in general. Everything about them should be looked at and made to be better.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

1. Allow us to use byes in playoffs. Pretty self explanatory, and I'm sure LGO will be including this in his suggestions as well, but allowing byes in playoffs would lets us do just about any type of playoffs we like[/B]

I've got ideas on how to revamp the current way the customizable playoffs are displayed onscreen which will hopefully allow for (a) a more visually pleasing interface; (b) more specialty playoff options; and (c) the addition of a simple-to-use scheduling screen which would allow the user to quickly set up the schedules for their playoff setup.

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

2. Allow us to customize end of season tie-breaking scenarios. Let us choose how the game decides what happens when teams are tied at the end of the season. At the very least, the game should do what happens in real life.

This one is actually rather important now that customizable playoffs are in the game. I believe I've made a detailed suggestion as to how to handle this in the past.

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

2a. Allow us to customize end of game tie-breaking scenarios i.e let us have it like in Japan, or let us have games be tied after nine innings (eg, have a drop down that says "play to a finish; play 15 innings; play 12 innings; play 9 innings).

I've suggested this in the past as well. It'd be a nice option, but I wouldn't rank it as high as some other suggestions.

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

5. Make the interactions between Feeder leagues and the majors as realistic as possible.

7. Add a Minor league DL

I would say these two things are actually related.

The reason a minor league DL isn't in the game is because Markus has said it would be quite difficult to code. But a DL for the top-level league (and a customizable DL at that) exists in the game currently. This suggests to me the real issue is the way the game works with leagues. More specifically, the problem is the way the game treats minor leagues as mere appendages of the top-level league. I think this is a vitally important area in need of overhaul.

One of the most fundamental changes the game could make is to treat all leagues as fully separate, unique leagues, each with their own rules, options, league totals, and financial settings. In other words, no more artificial distinction between major and minor leagues. There'd just be leagues, that's it. To look at it in another way, every league would be treated by the game the way a top-level league is now in terms of what it can do. OOTP already has a rudimentary form of this. Top-level leagues can, for example, interact with each other in a limited way, and have their own individual settings. This concept should be expanded and developed to its logical conclusion. And if done correctly, it need never be changed again.

The advantages of such an approach are twofold: 1) it allows for much more accurate historical recreations; and 2) it allows for much more fictional flexibility.

The AL and NL could now, for example, be created as entirely separate leagues with their own rules and league totals thus making historical leagues more accurate than the current AL-NL averaging that has to take place. Or you could set up a 1950s style inspired fictional league where there are many leagues and the major league level clubs have varying numbers of affiliates based on their financial resources. "Minor" leagues could easily have their own DL. The possibilities are endless... and more realistic too.

Now, there is much to this that needs to be considered. The ways different leagues interact, for example, especially in major-minor type of situations. The finances of lower status leagues, for another. I've spent considerable time lately researching real-world data to support this concept, and plan on writing up a (too) detailed proposal which will encompass all these areas.

I do feel very strongly, however, that the way leagues interact is holding the game back. Rework this item correctly, and OOTP could make a huge leap forward.

Originally Posted by Tony M

I'm hoping Markus takes this onboard along with LGO's associations suggestion and removes the millstone effect of having lots of things tied up with league ids. I can understand it for things such as standings and divisional structure but beyond that forcing games / draft pools / etc to be keyed partially on league id makes such things impossible.

You've summarized the issue neatly. The game too often breaks up the baseball universe the OOTP player can create into separate parts which really can't interact that well. It's time to bring the player's baseball world under one cohesive roof.

Originally Posted by DodgerFan2

I would add - a more realistic financial system for the good ol' days. Different for each era as needed.

The changes I'm proposing would incorporate this. In fact, it has to be there, since it is a part of how leagues interact and have interacted in the past.

[Afino]

Originally Posted by phillosopherp

I think that the biggest thing that should be the focus is just the minors in general. Everything about them should be looked at and made to be better.

I can deal with the lack of a minor league DL if they can figure a way to do winter leagues right.

I usually use 15 man rosters in my minor leagues using ghost players for the rest.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Afino

I can deal with the lack of a minor league DL if they can figure a way to do winter leagues right.

Winter leagues are another area which get "fixed" under my proposal. They'd just be another set of leagues, and then you'd set up exactly how they interact with other leagues, e.g. no interaction, trading and selling players between them, allow affiliations with clubs in other leagues, and so forth.

[StyxNCa]

Don't add squat, unless it's stuff removed since 6.5. Just fix the broken stuff that has been broken all along.

[mikev]

Fix the Rule 5 draft and fix financials.

Both of these apply very, very heavily for online leagues.