I purchased this game by accident.....

[Bluegrazz]

Yes, the title of this post is correct. I purchased this game on accident. To be honest, I actually do not even like baseball (or sports at all for that matter) and, being a strategy and strategic role playing game player, had actually thought that sports games were on par with First Person Shooters so far as providing intellectual challenge and stimulation.

So, I had heard from a friend about Inside he Park Baseball (a pseudo RPG with strategic elements in a "baseball setting") and being "in between" games at the moment decided to give it a shot. I wasn't expecting much, just something to waste some time with and so I haphazardly downloaded and paid for (what I thought was) Inside the Park Baseball.

Well, apparently I had downloaded OOTP Baseball 9 on accident and I paid for the wrong game. Like I said- I dont even like Baseball and was just wanting to see how they had adapted an RPG to work in a Baseball Universe (an intriging idea) and here I am with a "stupid" Baseball Sim that I dont even want.

Well, I began to check it out (I mean, I might as well see what I paid for right? Then I can Uninstall it and be more careful next time-) and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of menus and statistics and apparent depth. In fact, I found myself looking up what certain stats represent and what certain terms mean (and yes, I admit. I had to spend some time researching the rules of Baseball- I am a Nerd, not a Jock) the more I looked at the strategic possibilities in conjunction with the depth of options in this program I was hooked.

Its been like four days now that I have evaluated OOTP 9 and I am still getting the hang of it but DAMN I am impressed. For someone like myself who dosent like Sports but loves Strategy (generally Strategic Wargames and such) to find such fun and entertainment in a "sports" game really speaks volumes. I am having a blast and even find myself at the edge of my seat at the final innings when things are close. Good job on making a really deep game.

Anyhow, I do have a couple questions....

In an online league, how do they play a season a week? (some Leagues play 1 season per week, some play 2 from what I have seen) Is it entirely "simmed" or do you actually get to "manage" games against others?

In an Online League is there always a draft to fill the teams or do the teams come filled already (like for instance if you picked the Detroit Tigers you would get the actual detroit Tigers players) and is the money and such equal across all teams at the start? That seems fair because everyone starting equal and having to draft players would keep the game balanced IMO.

Also, any suggestions for a noob friendly league? I realize theres a Forum for Leagues but im just curious if anyone has any opinions as to where someone like myself could find a good league of Human competitors who are helpful with both this program and maybe some of the more arcane rules of Baseball in general.

Thanks a Million,

[kq76]

I'm glad to hear you like it after only accidentally buying it. I came from mainly playing strategy games too (as I think a lot of us have) although I've also liked baseball as far back as I can remember. There is a lot of strategy in baseball and OOTP, unlike a lot of other baseball games, does a great job of letting you play through a lot of it.

As far as your online league questions, there are dozens and dozens of leagues out there and they all do things differently. You can quickly check out a lot of them by browsing their profiles in the IOLD (link in my sig).

The vast majority of leagues you don't manage individual games against another opponent. Most leagues have you set up your roster how you want for the week, which can involve a little to a lot depending on how involved you want to get, and then a commish runs the sim for the week and you start the process again until you get to a point in the season where you do something different like bid on FAs, draft or whatever.

If you join a league at its start you may get to draft your team, but some leagues they'll just have you start with pre-drafted teams or in the case of modern leagues you'll often just take on the team's current roster. Things can vary or be equal regarding finances too.

While I won't recommend any league in particular to you (it's not yet clear exactly what you'd prefer the most), there are plenty of good leagues out there. I'd recommend browsing through the online leagues board to see what people there have to say then try one or two out for yourself and from there you'll start to see what types of leagues you like.

(If this turns into more of an online league thread like I think it will, I'll move it over there.)

[Bluegrazz]

TYVM- I may have actually found a league that is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks again for a great game that has been an absolute surprise.

[satchel]

Bluegrazz, it's great to hear all this. Thanks for sharing your story.