OOTP10 Suggestions: New Features / Grab Bag

[injury log]

Suggestion

Overhaul the injury model.

Reason

This is one of the most discussed issues on the forums. I think we should pick the most important issues, and focus on getting them right -- that is, from the following, pick a few areas to focus on:

• getting frequency of short term injuries right (far too low right now, particularly 1-3 day injuries)
• changing the way users are informed of CEIs (should rarely be instantaneous)
• changing the exactness of injury diagnosis: very often in real life, a pitcher will leave a game with a sore elbow, and it is only a few days later that he discovers he needs Tommy John surgery
• implementing injury setbacks; a Mike Hampton or Mark Prior situation doesn't happen in OOTP
• adjusting the performance of players returning from injury; some players should be affected long term, and dtd injuries are currently only short term
• separating pitching and batting injuries; the injuries an OOTP batter sustains 'while throwing' are the same as those a pitcher sustains 'while pitching', and in real life, hitters and pitchers are often affected very differently by the same injuries
• further to that, this would help get the frequency of long term injuries right by position; batters suffer too many long injuries in OOTP, and pitchers suffer too few
• for pitchers especially, reworking how ratings are affected by different injuries; elbow injuries should affect control, while shoulder injuries should affect velocity and stuff, for example
• rehab assignments
• frequency of individual injuries (there should be a lot more hamstring strains than inguinal hernias)
• implementing the most common off-field 'injuries': bereavement leave, family illness, having a child, etc
• getting the full spectrum of modern injuries into injuries.txt (oblique strains, for example, aren't in there, and they are among the most common diagnoses in contemporary baseball)

There's probably more.

Priority

As you can guess from my tag, I'd say High.

[Raidergoo]

Suggestion
Gambling

Reason
Historical realism. For most of the history of baseball, there have been issues with players and professional gambling. The 1919 Black Sox was one sordid blot on the game, as well as Pete Rose, and dozens more. Unhappy players with high greed ought to have a chance at being bribed to throw games.

Priority
Low

[southsidefan]

Suggestion:
Have Teams have their own Hall of Fame. Where individual teams can induct certain team leaders in batting ,pitching, managerial catagories.Maybe, Retire players' number.


Reason:
Teams can be influenced to to hire their own Team HOF members for personel positions.


Priority:
medium

[southsidefan]

Suggestion:
"Death or lifespan" option for fictional leagues.Every little fictional character has his own birthdate and now he should also have a deathdate.Have lifespan range from 80-90 years. News items can relay the story of a popular player or a hall of famer who quietly see the fictional Grim Reaper.Hall of famers who died and that are linked to a certain team can give that team a little "bump" in their homefield advantage for a certain period( i.e. next homestand).FaceGen can have some sort of black banding on the team players picture. Only fictional leagues can have this option, as it can be a little Creepy to have a "living real player' in a historical league with a future deathdate. Retired players history can be updated to show deathdate.


Reason:
Dealing with greats who have passed is part of any sport. adds realism in the "human" element.


Priority
Medium

[Overkill]

Suggestion:
Players with favourite/hated teams/kinds of teams.

Reason:
This could affect various aspects of the game such as how happy a player is with a certain team or his willingness to sign a free agent contract with another team. Real-life examples would be Paul Molitor signing with his hometown Twins late in his career, players such as Erik Bedard and Jason Bay claiming that they would one day like to play for the Blue Jays, players such as Jake Peavy preferring to stay in the National League.

This could also add to the realism in real-life leagues by being able to edit the favourite team of a player within the editor. NHL Eastside Hockey Manager had it, and although that franchise is no longer in development, why not take good ideas from other similar games?

Priority:
Low to Medium

[Bagpipes5]

Suggestion

Purchase of minor league affiliates to developmental contracts.

Reason

Minor league affiliates change year to year IRL. One example of this is the Salem Avalanche becoming an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox next season after being aligned with the Houston Astros the last few years. In return the Astros signed the Red Sox old Advanced A affiliate, the Lancaster JetHawks, to replace Salem.

Priority

Medium-Low

[professor ape]

Originally Posted by t-bone shuffle

Suggestion

- In the Webcast screen, I'd really like to see "Last Years Stats" for both the hitter and the pitcher. In fact, I'd like to see the first three lines for each be current season, last season and career, in that order, with potentially a line prior to the career numbers separating it from the two previous seasons.


Reason

- For me it's an immersion issue. Now, when I look at a players current season stats, my only comparison point is his career stats, which may or may not tell me a thing about what the player is accomplishing currently. Is he trending up, or down? For me to get to know the players on teams other than mine, this is what comes to mind. Plus in the early parts of a new season, a players performance from the previous season may carry much more relevance than his career numbers.

Priority

- For the game as a whole, I'd say it's a moderate priority. For me personally, it's a high one.

SUGGESTION - As an addition to the above, find a way to add the player pictures to the Webcast screen.

REASON - I like the info on the Webcast screen but I can't get to know my players' faces unless I am on Broadcast which has much less info.

PRIORITY - Not high (but I would really like this)

[benallen002]

SUGGESTION:

Alllow the option to send the human player a message when a player hits the waiver wire (or trade block?). I know the AI doesn't use the trade block alot (if at all), but it does use the waiver wire regularly.

EXAMPLE: The San Diego Padres have just placed SP Harry McBean on the waiver wire. You have three days to issue a claim.

REASON:

I would like to not have to check the waiver wire EVERY day to see if there is someone I'm interested in; a message in my inbox whenever someone hits the wire would be great.

PRIORITY:

Low (even though I think it would be REALLY helpful)

[Bobbuttons]

Originally Posted by benallen002

SUGGESTION:

Alllow the option to send the human player a message when a player hits the waiver wire (or trade block?). I know the AI doesn't use the trade block alot (if at all), but it does use the waiver wire regularly.

EXAMPLE: The San Diego Padres have just placed SP Harry McBean on the waiver wire. You have three days to issue a claim.

REASON:

I would like to not have to check the waiver wire EVERY day to see if there is someone I'm interested in; a message in my inbox whenever someone hits the wire would be great.

PRIORITY:

Low (even though I think it would be REALLY helpful)

How about making a filter for your emails about the waiver wire, or for stopping the sim when that player hits the waiver wire? We can do a filter for pretty much everything else, why not this? The game will either message you and stop a sim if a) the player name shows up on waivers b) any player with certain ratings criteria or statistical criteria are waived.

[KGAGE]

Suggestion
While playing out games, an ESPN type ticker should give you updates of other action occuring while you play out your game. Scoring updates, milestone updates. How cool would it be if you had a player somewhere in the league approaching the HR record and the ticker comes up with "Barry Bonds coming to bat in the 5th - Currently 5 HR's behind Hank Arron's HR Record" with a link for you to click on so you could temporarily leave your game and watch the action of the other game.

Reason
Immersion. The more the game seems to "know" about the world that has been created, the more realistic it will seem.

Priority
Low but would be very cool

[Raidergoo]

Suggestion:
Have .rpl files power a simple Flash-animated web page so a game could be watched in a web browser. Here's a link to a similar concept using Bowl Bound College Football.

Reason:
It's cool!

Priority:
Medium

[dave1927p]

Suggestion:
As League Commissioner, you recieve "bids" from people who are interested in purchasing a baseball team through either Expansion and Relocation. They say what city they want it, what stadium etc. You chose to approve or reject the bid or owners transaction.

go here for example (i made the example for hockey, but it will work well in ootp.
New Idea for Commissioner Mode (Owners & Expansion) - Wolverine Studios

Reason:
Add depth and realism to Commish mode.

Priority:
Medium Low

[mgom27]

In the Postseason lets say the Reds replace Mill Marks with Joey Votto because of Injured meaning Marks can't be put back on the Reds Post season Roster intill the next round if they make it to it.
OPening the season like in Japan or so on.
Unsigned Prospects and Team Organation Page from Eastside Hockey Manager and setting Opening Day before Opening Day and also Futures Games,Home Run Derby.
All High.

[Afino]

Originally Posted by KGAGE

Suggestion
While playing out games, an ESPN type ticker should give you updates of other action occuring while you play out your game. Scoring updates, milestone updates. How cool would it be if you had a player somewhere in the league approaching the HR record and the ticker comes up with "Barry Bonds coming to bat in the 5th - Currently 5 HR's behind Hank Arron's HR Record" with a link for you to click on so you could temporarily leave your game and watch the action of the other game.

Reason
Immersion. The more the game seems to "know" about the world that has been created, the more realistic it will seem.

Priority
Low but would be very cool

Or...

Suggestion

- Being able to select one or more "Games to Watch" from the Network screen that will either show up on a ticker or given periodic updates during your own game

Reason

- In the middle of a pennant race, I don't like having to switch to the Network tab every time I want to check the score.

Priority

Low

[StyxNCa]

Suggestion
Allow us to make base running decisions when we are playing out a game.

Reason
I'm really getting fed up with having rally opportunities end because a runner of mine gets thrown out trying to score from second on a single to an OF with a very strong arm, especially late in a game in which we are several runs behind.

Priority
Very High (to me)

[KGAGE]

Suggestion: A modual which allows you to design a stadium. Dimensions, attendance, graphics. The dimensions should effect play. If your fences are 500ft out, there shouldn't be any home runs in that place but lots of triples. For established teams, they would have to pay for that new fancy stadium (along with offered tax dollars) with team fees. I would see this feature in the same vein as the face gen feature and it would replace (if so desired) the current stadium pictures.

Reason: More commissioner/owner type fun, immersion.

Priority: Low

[professor ape]

Suggestion: FIX THE TIE-BREAKER LOGIC!!!!!

Reason: It becomes a serious issue at the end of seasons. As example, I have a 28 team league, 2SL with two divisions of seven teams each. My playoffs are set up to have the division winners plus two wildcards with the next best records.

At the end of the regular season in one league I had two clear division winners. One wildcard team came from the East and had a 91-71 record. There was a close race for the other wild card spot but one team, also East, separated themselves on the last day to take the last spot with 87 wins. There was a three way tie for second in the other division, all finishing one game back with 86 wins. Regular season over? Nope, the game spent two days breaking the three way tie. My first thought was that I screwed up my settings and had the playoffs set for the top two teams from each division making the playoffs. Nope. Once the tie was broken the playoff schedule showed the correct teams. The tie-breaker games were meaningless, altered league leaders and were generally annoying. I have had similar issues.

Priority: Very High - I don't feel like I can run leagues with wild cards until this is fixed.

[drowtfs]

Suggestion
General reports from the GM's own staff. Having a Chief of Staff to define the accuracy or quality of these reports. Periodically, we should be given a report recognizing statistical (baseball, financial or whatever) trends about our organization, even perhaps providing GM decision recommendations such as raising ticket prices.

Reason
I don't manage only an OOTP baseball team, I also manage a youth hostel in real life. The workload from my imaginary baseball club rivals that of the hostel. Granted, that may be my own fault. Anyway, I wonder if OOTP managers do as much or maybe even more work than real life GMs. I know real life GMs have staffers under them to give them this kind of info. I think it can add a great deal to the experience. Something like "Bobby Something, from your triple-A club has raised his GB/FB ratio by 0.6 from last season. (or since the all-star break)" In real baseball, most of the time a pitcher's or hitter's change in fortunes can be traced to one or more statistical trends. Average pitches per at-bat, K/BB ratio, GB/FB ratio, a ballpark change, or throwing more or less of a certain pitch. I can see that it is the same in OOTP. But I don't want to have to do all this analysis by myself all the time. I don't get paid to play OOTP, in fact I pay for it. So cut me some slack, please.

Priority
Highest

[ootpFox07]

Suggestion
Allow players coming off 15 day and 60 day DL to perform up to 5 rehab starts.

My suggestion would be when a player comes off "injured" status, they switch to a "rehab" status. Rehab status would mimic "day-today" in that you could assign a % performance loss since they've been on the DL. Depending on the injury and DL time, this % loss can be minimal or substantial. To build their performance level back up, they would make rehab starts.

Players with rehab status can be assigned to any minor league level regardless of their option years and without having to be placed on waivers. Once their performance level is back in the blue, they are considered healthy and can rejoin the active roster. I'd suggest a rehab start limit of five games and then their automatically off rehab status as well just so a player doesn't get stuck in rehabbing a whole season.

Reason
Would add a more realistic edge to player injuries. A player in real life who has misses 6 months with a groin injury wont be 100% his first game back off the DL. This adds that element.

Priority
High

[Here24]

Suggestion:
Let human players honor past greats of the franchise by inducting them into a local hall of fame (wall of fame, whatever)
Reason:
Build history and realism
Priority:
Low