Please help, will pay.

[OldFatGuy]

Okay I just give up. I just can't do what I want to with this game.

Would be willing to pay someone to either tell me the correct way or set it up for me. I don't have a paypal account so we'd have to figure out how to do that, but I'm just fed up with trying this over and over and over again and it NEVER turns out the way I want to.

Here's what I want. It certainly seems simple enough, but I can't do it.

I have a current, fictional league with 24 teams, set up with real MLB teams. I want to add a new league, with 16 teams, two divisions of 8. Now here's where it never works. I want the new league's players to be on average about 70% as good as the MLB players. AND, I want the new league's finances to be about 40% of what my MLB league is. And finally, while I want the new league to have it's own draft, I want BOTH leagues to be able to sign free agents from each other's free agent pool, preferably having them combined into just one free agent pool.

What I'm hoping is that this new league will be a magnet for MLB players on the free agent list not quite good enough for MLB but will be pretty decent in this new league.

Follow???

Can this be done???

It sure isn't as easy as just adding a new fictional league and going through the create league wizard. Cause I've tried that so many times I've memorized every friggin screen of the wizard.

Please, can anyone help me?

[John Madden]

No game at work, but I'll take some stabs at this tonight. No guarantees, but then again, I won't charge you money either.

[JohnHoward]

I made a similar set-up with a main Japanese League, with an inferior Korean League through the wizard and it worked fine, but I started both leagues at the same time. Good luck, I hope you get it worked out!

[RchW]

I can fix it for $34.99 but it will take 3 months.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

Okay I just give up. I just can't do what I want to with this game.

Would be willing to pay someone to either tell me the correct way or set it up for me. I don't have a paypal account so we'd have to figure out how to do that, but I'm just fed up with trying this over and over and over again and it NEVER turns out the way I want to.

Here's what I want. It certainly seems simple enough, but I can't do it.

I have a current, fictional league with 24 teams, set up with real MLB teams. I want to add a new league, with 16 teams, two divisions of 8. Now here's where it never works. I want the new league's players to be on average about 70% as good as the MLB players. AND, I want the new league's finances to be about 40% of what my MLB league is. And finally, while I want the new league to have it's own draft, I want BOTH leagues to be able to sign free agents from each other's free agent pool, preferably having them combined into just one free agent pool.

What I'm hoping is that this new league will be a magnet for MLB players on the free agent list not quite good enough for MLB but will be pretty decent in this new league.

Follow???

Can this be done???

It sure isn't as easy as just adding a new fictional league and going through the create league wizard. Cause I've tried that so many times I've memorized every friggin screen of the wizard.

Please, can anyone help me?

That part can't be done in 12, not if they're seperate leagues. I'm not positive but I believe this may be possible with the "League Associations" feature coming in 13.

[Biggio509]

I don't know it will work but this may give it a shot.

1. delete all players in the new league.
2. Set PCMs to 70% of the old league.
3. Set financials to 70% of the old league.
4. Fill all new league teams with fictional players.
5. assign fictional contracts to players and coaches
6. Assgin fictional finances to all teams.

The PCMs will make sure the players created for the new league are 70% as good as the original league. There is no guarantee the original league won't poach these players for their minors though.

Dr. Park III posted sometime back is that the only way the game differentiates between major leagues is financials. So it will take some tweaking to make sure league 2 doesn't poach league 1 players. He suggest 10% financials for indies. Granted that was for rookie to AAA. What you are going after is more like A level indie league. You could download his world of baseball 11 for some ideas on financials. He has done a lot of work to make indie leagues operate at such.

Sadly this is more art than formula. Finances and PCMs are important. Even if the finances are right the league will generate players at league 1 level inflating your quality if you don't lower the PCMs (traditional not SABR).

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

That part can't be done in 12, not if they're seperate leagues. I'm not positive but I believe this may be possible with the "League Associations" feature coming in 13.

I said that already.

[OldFatGuy]

Originally Posted by John Madden

No game at work, but I'll take some stabs at this tonight. No guarantees, but then again, I won't charge you money either.

Thanks, but please don't spend too much time on it. If it's not readily apparent, then just forget it. Or you'll end up like me and have every screen of the Add League wizard hard copied in your brain.

[OldFatGuy]

Thanks for all of the replies, but I am now even more confused.

Leagues can't share free agent pools??? Wow, I thought that was done long ago. No wonder it won't work.

So, if you have a real world set up with MLB and the Japanese League (can't remember the name, is it Nikon League???) the Japanese League can't sign free agents that aren't on the MLB rosters??? Wow. Like I said, I thought that was a given.

And I don't see where it lets you set the PCM when you add a league. So perhaps Biggio above is correct in that you must create an "equal" league, then delete the players, THEN set the PCM's.

Again, WOW. OOTP is way, way more limited than what I thought it could do.

So for those that have a real world set up like above, an MLB and a Japanese league, and perhaps one of the independant leagues, all of those leagues have equal players OR they went through the trouble Biggio described above??? Wow, I thought this was easy stuff for OOTP. No wonder I keep failing.

I understand the financials can get challenging, and I don't mind that. In fact, I don't mind if the new independant league I create does pick off a few MLBers, but I'm confused as to how that would happen when other posters pointed out they wouldn't be able to share free agent pools. I was thinking if I set up the financials of the independant league to be less than half of MLB (which is why I chose 40%), that this would result in them being less likely to siphon off MLB players.

But now I don't even understand why any of it is an issue. I had no clue OOTP couldn't share free agents, or that OOTP couldn't just create a league that's not as good as a major league. I mean, I wouldn't even need to worry about the new league grabbing MLB players even if the new league had financials exactly the same, right?? I mean, either they can share free agent pools or they can't. And it appears to me that I'm reading they can't.

I am so friggin lost. I thought all of this was just normal stuff for OOTPers and that lots of folks had set up major leagues with independant leagues that were less talented and could share free agents.

Oh well, live and learn. THANK YOU all very much for the responses. Perhaps I'll just stick with one league after all. I dunno, I kinda think Biggio's advice above would work, but what's the point if they can't ever pick up MLB free agents that aren't quite good enough for MLB. As I said above, THAT was my whole point for adding this league. Having somewhere for my more than 600 free agents to go play baseball.

Thanks again.

[olivertheorem]

OldFatGuy, I am pretty sure what you want to do will work. When I get home from work tonight, I was going to fire up my game anyway so I'll test it out. I'll use one of my MLB games which I don't play anymore and add a new league like you were and see if I can get the gist down for you.

And I won't even charge. :P

[Biggio509]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

Thanks for all of the replies, but I am now even more confused.

Leagues can't share free agent pools??? Wow, I thought that was done long ago. No wonder it won't work.

They most certainly can. The problem is when you don't want them to share them. There is an option for letting free agents leave the league and allowing free from other leagues. Check both and there will be one free agent pool. The problem is say when you uncheck let free agents leave league for japan sometimes cut players show up in the US FA pool.

I wish there was an easier way but the reason for all the steps is when you use the wizzard you get a canned set of financials that are equal to the league you won't to be the big league. Keeping those means league 1 and league 2 have the same amounts of money. To keep league 2 inferior to league 1 you really have to give them less money so they get the leftovers from league 1 and only sometimes can compete for a top FA or even second tier. If both leagues have the same money to spend you get the all out war of the AL vs. the NL in 1901. League 2 has to have significantly less money so they are mostly priced out of the big FAs.

With them having less money they also should have less average salaries to make it work you really have to redo the financials. If you just redo the financials it might work in year 2 but year 1 will have canned budgets, if you don't draft and have all out competition.

The PCMs are to make sure you don't inflate league talent. If you leave them standard then the game will generate more major league talent. So changing the PCMs means newly created players on average will 70% of the ML. Then they will get contracts according to league 2 salary when you fill with fictional and assign fictional player contracts. Then when you assign fictional coach contracts and assign fictional financials the new budgets are based on the salary.

I suppose this would be a much easier solution.
1. Create league and delete players.
2. Set financials and PCMs.
3. Hold inaugural draft with or with out budgets. Be sure to recalc player demands just to make sure.

In the end you should have the financials you want applied from year 1. I have been trying this with 19th century so the idea of a draft which was not really the norm back then did not first occur to me.

[Chicagofan76]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

That part can't be done in 12, not if they're seperate leagues. I'm not positive but I believe this may be possible with the "League Associations" feature coming in 13.

I have that, works for me. I have 4 leagues that all share the same FA pool. If someone plays for the White Sox in 2011, might play for the Endor City Capitals in 2012, the Imperial Center Empire on Coruscant in 2013 and the Tokyo Giants in 2014. When the MLB FA's hit the market which is abut 2 weeks after the EBL & CBF it shows all FA's in the game. My Endor League is as good as 2006 MLB, but since my finances are set up for 1976 the only players that sign are over the hill players but I have traded for some good players like Cesar Izturis. The CBF is set to 1996 and signed 18 former MLB players 35 or younger. Nippon is set up as close to actual rules and I have undone some trades with them.
What I am hoping for in 13 is that MLB, CBF & MLB will all share the same draft pool after 2012 and play in a Universal Series

[Chicagofan76]

here are some SS's I am glad I checked this I just noticed that I have All Free Agents From Other Leagues unchecked for MLB, that would be a good reason why there are so many CBF FA's with 40+ HR available. I also didn;t notice that there actually is a Allow Trades With Other Leagues Options although I do wish I could select which leagues Nippon could trade with.
Theres 738 FA for EBL since FA's cannot leave league 732 for CBF.
Just for reference
MLB 2006 normal
EBL 1976 PCM's & Finances.
CBF 2006 PCM's 1996 Finances.
Nippon is also 2006 for both.

[Bluenoser]

Ok, guess I was mistaken. I knew about the "allow FA's to leave and allow FA's from other leagues, but I didn't think it was possible for seperate leagues to share the exact same FA Pool.

So do they both have to have the same FA period? What happens if one league finishes in say Aug and the other in Oct? Wouldn't they have different FA periods, thus different players?

[Chicagofan76]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

So do they both have to have the same FA period? What happens if one league finishes in say Aug and the other in Oct? Wouldn't they have different FA periods, thus different players?

In that regard then in a way they do I suppose have different FA's. Although the World Series for 3 of my leagues is at the end of the October, Nippon's last regular season game is at the end of August, so their FA's hit the market 1st (they are usually signed by teams who are not in postseaon for the other 3 leagues) EBL FA's are Dec 5th? MLB Dec 17th? forgot when CBF FA's hit the market. So the teams that jump into the FA market 1st are not guaranteed to get the best players available.
Since the EBL has less money then the CBF and MLB they tend to get lesser quality players. The Highest paid FA's in the EBL are the 2 players I just signed to a 1 yr deal, a SS and a LF who played in the CBF in 2005 both make $2 million. Since I didn't realize that I didn't have Allow FA's from other leagues checked for MLB I have been maually signing CBF players to MLB teams.

[OldFatGuy]

Thanks for those screen shots Chicagofan76. But when you set up those other leagues, did it let you set the PCM's and finances BEFORE you created them or did you have to create them, delete all the created players, then set the PCM's, then have it create new players reflecting the new PCM's???

See, I just always assumed this was simple stuff for OOTP. Yet I can't figure out how to do it at creation. Seems to me that would be the really simple way to do it, and I'm frankly shocked to learn that OOTP can't/won't do that. Or, as is probably more likely the case, I'm doing something wrong.

But every time I try to create a new ML, it always makes the new league with current finances and PCMs.

[OldFatGuy]

Originally Posted by Biggio509

They most certainly can. The problem is when you don't want them to share them. There is an option for letting free agents leave the league and allowing free from other leagues. Check both and there will be one free agent pool. The problem is say when you uncheck let free agents leave league for japan sometimes cut players show up in the US FA pool.

I wish there was an easier way but the reason for all the steps is when you use the wizzard you get a canned set of financials that are equal to the league you won't to be the big league. Keeping those means league 1 and league 2 have the same amounts of money. To keep league 2 inferior to league 1 you really have to give them less money so they get the leftovers from league 1 and only sometimes can compete for a top FA or even second tier. If both leagues have the same money to spend you get the all out war of the AL vs. the NL in 1901. League 2 has to have significantly less money so they are mostly priced out of the big FAs.

With them having less money they also should have less average salaries to make it work you really have to redo the financials. If you just redo the financials it might work in year 2 but year 1 will have canned budgets, if you don't draft and have all out competition.

The PCMs are to make sure you don't inflate league talent. If you leave them standard then the game will generate more major league talent. So changing the PCMs means newly created players on average will 70% of the ML. Then they will get contracts according to league 2 salary when you fill with fictional and assign fictional player contracts. Then when you assign fictional coach contracts and assign fictional financials the new budgets are based on the salary.

I suppose this would be a much easier solution.
1. Create league and delete players.
2. Set financials and PCMs.
3. Hold inaugural draft with or with out budgets. Be sure to recalc player demands just to make sure.

In the end you should have the financials you want applied from year 1. I have been trying this with 19th century so the idea of a draft which was not really the norm back then did not first occur to me.

Well, here's another question. I made up my own financials.txt file because I wanted to have salaries and attendences grow differently from real life. And it's worked wonderfully for me, exactly what I was hoping for as it ended up making attendance a much more important factor regarding budgets than media contracts. Teams can move from last in payroll up to first simply by putting a winning field on the team and filling up the stands. It's worked EXACTLY like I wanted it to for over 50 years now. And for it to work, it of course changes each year.

So, with that in mind, will I have to go in to this new league EVERY YEAR and redo financials since it won't just figure 40% of the base line league's financials??? Again, wow. I sooo thought OOTP was better than this. I thought this kind of stuff was what it was made for. I've been planning my "dream universe" for several years and several versions now because I thought OOTP could handle this. If I have to go in and change financials EVERY YEAR for every other non-MLB independant league, then my "dream universe" will have to remain just that, a dream. Cause no way I'm doing all that every year.

Has this been discussed as a possible addition to future versions??? I never brought it up because I thought it already did this.

You should be able to define one leage as the baseline league, then be able to add new leagues and simply type in a percentage in two boxes, financials and players, and have that new league operate off of those percentages of the base line league every year. That way the base line league can change with the text files every year, and every other league will adjust accordingly as well, maintaining the ratios.

I'm no programmer, but it sure seems like that wouldn't really be that difficult to do. Just add in a routine that checks the base line league and the percentages in those two boxes each year and then fill out the league pages accordingly. Can't believe it doesn't do that already.

[Chicagofan76]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

Thanks for those screen shots Chicagofan76. But when you set up those other leagues, did it let you set the PCM's and finances BEFORE you created them or did you have to create them, delete all the created players, then set the PCM's, then have it create new players reflecting the new PCM's???

See, I just always assumed this was simple stuff for OOTP. Yet I can't figure out how to do it at creation. Seems to me that would be the really simple way to do it, and I'm frankly shocked to learn that OOTP can't/won't do that. Or, as is probably more likely the case, I'm doing something wrong.

But every time I try to create a new ML, it always makes the new league with current finances and PCMs.

I never deleted any players. For the 3 non mlb leagues i would create a few misc players/coaches. I believe i was able to set up the finances and PCM's when i created each league. I might have some players that have say 2004 PCM's while 2005 draft would be set to 1975 or 1995 depending on the league but most of those players didnt do much.
If you want you can email chicagofan_76@yahoo.com the team names and what setup you are trying to achieve and I can create a quickstart, the more complex the later it will be before i can get to it. I have facegens and BETA stuff to do this week. but if it's simple i can knock it out in 30 mins.

[Biggio509]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Ok, guess I was mistaken. I knew about the "allow FA's to leave and allow FA's from other leagues, but I didn't think it was possible for seperate leagues to share the exact same FA Pool.

So do they both have to have the same FA period? What happens if one league finishes in say Aug and the other in Oct? Wouldn't they have different FA periods, thus different players?

Not really you can sign FAs at any time. The disadvantage of being human is you might miss out of the other league's best FA because you forgot to check the FA pool when the other league ended.

As long as a guy is a FA anyone can sign him at any time. I am pretty sure the AI doesn't miss things like this but a human could easily.

[Biggio509]

Originally Posted by OldFatGuy

So, with that in mind, will I have to go in to this new league EVERY YEAR and redo financials since it won't just figure 40% of the base line league's financials???

I think so. There is a financial coefficient but the problem is it applies to all leagues not just one since it is in global options. Maybe it would be a good suggestion for Markus to have the financial coefficient apply to each league rather than all leagues. The financial coefficient does just that if you set it to .5 it will cut imported finances in half but I think it does it for each league.