"storyline engine"

[Candide]

With this addition and the other great features (evolving fictional leagues, revamped draft, etc.) this is truly looking like a massive step up from last years game. Can't wait. Even convinced me to preorder the thing..

[Cras]

This feature is going to rock. Nice job Markus and Co.

[Daern]

Damn, a reason to not start a league right away...Dx

But a pretty damn GOOD reason to wait. xD

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by Cras

This feature sounds so cool, how come it never got any love in RTTR?

It's one of the last things to come together.

There's a tremendous amount of potential here, with lots of room for growth.

[Mattymo]

This is really exciting.

Just the other day I was thinking about how, in Spring Training every year, there are a ton of stories about how so and so showed up in great shape, lost a ton of weight, changed habits, etc. It'd be great if this is included somehow eventually. Even if a lot of it is bunk-and-hooey.

[ashantewarrier]

Sounds great!!!! I really can't wait to get to play with this. Baseball soap operas!

[Bluenoser]

Building on what KQ said, it would be awesome to have a Roy Hobbs type event occur where he gets shot as a rookie and comes back many years later and has a career year.

Or have a player late for ST because of Visa problems.

Heck, if this gets really good we might even be able to have a "Black Sox" scandal.



Now that would be some serious immersion, at least for me it would.


Funny thing is, I was on Beta and wasn't a big fan at first. I thought it would be a distraction from playing baseball. Just go to show how, if given time, some things can grow on you.

[ctorg]

Wow, this is a really great idea. What's weird is I don't recall hearing anyone clamor for it around here. It is just showing up. I never even would have thought to want something like this, but now that it's coming I can't wait.

[Kelric]

Originally Posted by BruceM

Building on what KQ said, it would be awesome to have a Roy Hobbs type event occur where he gets shot as a rookie and comes back many years later and has a career year.

Or have a player late for ST because of Visa problems.

Heck, if this gets really good we might even be able to have a "Black Sox" scandal.

Players getting serious health issues and retiring (Gehrig) or coming back (Jon Lester, among others), players receiving Lasik and seeing a slight improvement in plate discipline, players not getting along with their managers, etc., etc., etc.

[Afino]

Originally Posted by BruceM

Building on what KQ said, it would be awesome to have a Roy Hobbs type event occur where he gets shot as a rookie and comes back many years later and has a career year.

Or have a player late for ST because of Visa problems.

Heck, if this gets really good we might even be able to have a "Black Sox" scandal.



Now that would be some serious immersion, at least for me it would.


Funny thing is, I was on Beta and wasn't a big fan at first. I thought it would be a distraction from playing baseball. Just go to show how, if given time, some things can grow on you.

One of the ones already in the release version is a Latin prospect's age being disputed, as well as the Lasik idea above

That bolded is another good one that we should add.

[injury log]

Originally Posted by Afino

That bolded is another good one that we should add.

It was suggested on beta, but there were so many suggestions on beta it'll probably take a while to get through them all.

[Afino]

Oh yeah - that's definitely the focus now, sifting through the pile of suggestions and putting the ones that are plausible/possible into OOTP

[Pineapple]

I'm excited to see this feature added and its potential in years to come. It kinda reminds me of Total Extreme Warfare's (wrestling sim) storyline system.

Since this storylines can be modded by the community, the potential is immense. I can already see some of the storylines:

• Player hits home run on his birthday
• Player faces off against his former team
• Beanball war storyline
• Retiring player signing a 1-day contract to retire with his original team
• Two brothers playing against one another or playing on the same team
• Breaking a prestigious record
• Improved storylines for winning the World Series
• Player coming back as a coach
• Trading or signing for a local hero (hometown hero; local college or HS hero)
• Fight between teammates (BTW, I would love to see a volatility/hot-head rating added to the personality ratings)
• Suspension - Corked bat, PEDs, etc.
• Tommy John surgery possibly improving velocity rating
• Premature retirement - Priesthood, joining the Army, etc.
• HS draftee holds out on the bonus money and goes to college
• Baseball team for sale or moving cities
• New stadium stories
• Rookie debut (like the media covering Jason Heyward's debut)
• International star debut (the media covering Ichero's debut)
• Long winning streaks

For the storylines, I hope to see more improvements in the front page news article as well. Winning the World Series should get top coverage in the news page.

Or how about Baseball America's #1 prospect making his debut? I want to see how he did in his debut on the front page. When Jason Heyward hit that home run in his debut at bat, it was all over the news everywhere.

If a team wins 20 wins in a row, I want to see that mentioned in the news page.

I think that would help tremendously with the immersion of OOTP. Right now, league wide news is rather bare. Right now, you may hear stuff about a pitcher throwing a no-hitter or a batter getting 3 home runs in a game. But I want to see more news.

Put it in the news if someone just broke a league record. Put it in the news if a game featured a rare triple play.

Maybe for future games, the news page can be further expanded. Right now, the news consist of the main home page and a "news" link that looks more like a transaction page rather than news articles.

[Faroo6]

Originally Posted by Mattymo

This is really exciting.

Just the other day I was thinking about how, in Spring Training every year, there are a ton of stories about how so and so showed up in great shape, lost a ton of weight, changed habits, etc. It'd be great if this is included somehow eventually. Even if a lot of it is bunk-and-hooey.

I think it'd be great to have this and not be bunk and hooey. Things like a guy showing up out of shape and having his ratings suffer. Guys changing their delivery from over the top to sidearm and being more effective. These kinds of things would actually make a difference in the game and not just be cosmetic.

[AZTarHeel]

this has the potential to be a grand slam of an idea... nice job, markus and company...

[Muzamba]

I suppose I could offer a little more insight, since I've been working on this feature almost exclusively for the past few weeks.

The fact is, it's almost overwhelming how involved this thing is. Talk about possibilities! Try brainstorming for a little bit and see what kinds of possible scenarios you can come up with. Chances are, they're possible with this feature. It's just that complex! And we haven't even finished adding all the triggers and conditions yet! Honestly, this feature has the potential to completely revolutionize OOTP, in terms of connecting players with the 'outside world'. This may sound like hyperbole, but storylines may be the best thing to happen to OOTP in years!

Okay, now that I've sung the praises of storylines, I'll give you some more details...

As Afino said, we're working on re-configuring the off-field injuries file so that each of them will become storylines. Part of the problem with the OFIs in the past was that, while they occur infrequently, you're just as likely to see an article about a player getting injured from throwing his shoe at a meowing cat as you would an article about a player getting injured doing something routine like working out. In this new system, frequency is customizable, meaning we can now control how often certain events take place. There can even be stories that only happen once during the entire life of your league!

Also, as was mentioned before, the storylines play out over time. So one day you might see an article that says a player was involved in a minor traffic accident and given a DUI. Then, maybe a week later, you find out the player is in counseling for alcohol addiction.

And unlike before, when players would simply miss a specified amount of time, there may now be a variety of different results. For instance, they are now susceptible to increases or decreases in talent and morale. So if a member of a player's immediate family passes away, his morale might take a hit. On the other hand, if he misses a game to celebrate the birth of a child, his morale may shoot up.

Plus, injuries are now more dynamic. So let's say a player suffers an injury. The immediate diagnosis may be that he will miss 7 days. However, you might end up seeing an article a week later that says he has suffered a setback and will miss an additional 10 days. This can theoretically go on for an indefinite amount ot time... just like in real life. Ultimately, a player who keeps suffering setbacks may be diagnosed as having a career-ending injury or he may simply decide to retire.

Storylines also open up many more possibilities for suspensions. If a player gets into a bar fight, you may read an article about it one day, and three days later, another article may inform you that the player has been suspended for 5 games. Then maybe a few days later, yet another article will tell you that his suspension has been appealed and he'll only be benched for 3 games! (Like I said, the possibilities are nearly endless!)

Oh, and no more instances of nice guys inexplicably punching out news cameramen. That's because storylines can now be tied to personality. Now, only those with low personality ratings will be the ones acting up and getting into trouble. Conversely, don't expect to see a Milton Bradley taking time off to donate a kidney.

And don't worry about seeing a player falling overboard while on a cruise in the middle of the season. Certain events may only happen during the offseason, while others may only happen during the season or even spring training.

Of course, just like in past versions, certain events will only happen after a specific year. However, unlike before, events may also stop after a certain year. So you won't have stories about players falling off their horse on the way to a game in 2010. Plus, events may now be era-specific. So if you're playing during the early 40's, you'll likely see stories about players going off to fight in the war, or if you're playing in the 20's, you might read about a player being arrested for bootlegging!

Still other storylines may be determined by a player's age or even their physical condition. (Older or more out-of-shape players will be more likely to suffer certain illnesses.) Other stories may pertain to a player's nationality. (A player takes personal leave to help with relief efforts after his homeland is struck by a hurricane.)

I've already explained that players' morale may rise and fall as a consequence of certain events. But it may also be a cause for certain events, as well. So a player with extremely high morale might decide to go out for a night on the town, but his excessive partying might result in him missing the next day's game with a bad hangover.

Furthermore, a team's success on the field (or lack thereof) may determine whether specific storylines occur. So if a team is in the midst of a prolonged losing streak, the manager might go ballistic during a post-game press conference or a player might injure his hand from punching his locker in the clubhouse.

Additionally, storylines may only involve players who are in a contract year, are currently free agents, are on the active roster, or are in the minors. Don't wanna read about Joe Nobody in the low minors missing a game because he overslept? You can even eliminate storylines regarding insignificant players altogether by attaching at-bat or innings-pitched conditions.

And these examples are based on what's already been coded. There will be even more triggers, conditions, and results, not to mention a multitude of new complete storylines, added over the coming months! But remember, what's truly great about storylines is that you have the power to customize them to your liking. Yes, there will be a finite number of triggers, conditions, and results, but as many as there are and will be soon, I seriously doubt many people will feel limited by what's available.

So yeah, as you can see, this is gonna be a HUGE addition to the game, as far as the immersion factor is concerned. I truly believe this will go down in history as a transformative moment in the development of OOTP!

[Muzamba]

And incidentally, for those of you who think this is all fluff (And I'm sure some of you do!) please keep this mind...

If you don't want storylines in your universe, you can always turn them off! Or, if you only want certain types of storylines, all you have to do is open up the xml file and delete those you don't want. It's that simple!

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I think this really might be my favorite new feature. I've always longed for more cohesion when it comes to news stories and the way their presented in OOTP, and it sounds like this will be a big first step towards achieving that. The fact that it will be open to modifications, and that there will continue to be new ones developed, just gets me even more amped up. I can't wait to see how much further this can be taken in the future.

[megamanmatt]

@Muzamba: You're going to make my brain explode.

[Pineapple]

Very nice info Muzamba! I like how OOTP ties the stories together with stuff like morale, player ratings, personalities, and other factors.

With this new feature, I hope OOTP will better implement its news feature by making it more accessible and info friendly.

I also hope to see in future OOTP editions, that player personality attributes get expanded on to further tie in the storyline feature. In OOTP, there's no "Manny Ramirez" or "Milton Bradley" factor. Teams and GMs may be wary of signing a player with volatile personalities as those. In OOTP, there's not much of a repercussion for signing an eccentric player.

All of OOTP's current personality attributes affect in-game related matters. Work ethic, intelligence, and leadership affect in-game performance. Loyalty, greed and desire for winning affects contract talks.

Anyway sorry to get off track, I look forward to this new feature. It possibly is the one feature that has the most impact on how OOTP moves forward in the future.

I would love to see other personality attributes added to affect story lines and on/off the field stuff.