How good is the AI?

casperthegm · 11-07-2012, 09:57 PM

I'm checking this game out and my first impression is positive. I may eventually join an online league. In the meantime, when I start out, I'd like to play in my own solo lg. Will I find the AI challenging? Will it initiate trades, be receptive to offers I make to other teams, be active and smart in free agent bidding, etc?

Thanks in advance.

Justin

thetunicate · 11-09-2012, 02:15 AM

The AI is a worthy opponent in most ways. If you are playing each game and every at-bat I find it up to the task.
On a grander scale, it does initiate trades and will not hand over quality players easily. The constraints of contracts and budgets mean you can't build a super-team while the AI teams watch helplessly. In my limited experience I would even say the AI has a slight financial advantage, although I have no data to support that. It just feels like the AI has an easier time getting players under contract.
Weaknesses: it will pull some bizarre roster moves on occasion, to put it mildly. I find it's weak in managing farm systems, and I don't know if that's because it puts less weight on coaches or on developing prospects.
As a solo game it's a good challenge, and any time you feel like you have the system beat you can tweak some settings and make it more difficult on yourself. It's definitely not an arcade game that you can just with practice consistently beat.

casperthegm · 11-09-2012, 09:18 AM

That's good to hear. I may join a league once I get used to the game but initially I want to play in my own custom league and wanted to be sure it would be challenging. I think I am sold. Thanks for the feedback.

game05 · 11-15-2012, 12:53 AM

the computer will note you are weak at a particular position and then send you a barrage of trade offers to fill it. most all of the time the offers are junk, but every once in a great while the offer will be very reasonable and make you think.

i have the computer do my minor league moves because i don't want to be bothered to do it myself. but it can mean a 4-star player doesn't get bumped up to AAA because it insists a 1/2-star player should have the spot.

one big thing i have to check on every so often is the Transactions page, because sometimes it'll give a kid 10 AB at Rookie League and then cut them for whatever reason. also it doesn't care if you just drafted the kid; i've had a couple first-rounders get cut after only a month in the system.

but in general the AI can still be challenging. beauty is there are plenty of difficulty controls, so if you think you're too able to steal prospects from other teams, you can bump up that difficulty.

as with everything in this game, you're better off if you do it yourself. it just depends how much you want to delve into the minutiae of being a GM.

11-07-2012, 09:57 PM	#1
casperthegm Bat Boy Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 6	How good is the AI? I'm checking this game out and my first impression is positive. I may eventually join an online league. In the meantime, when I start out, I'd like to play in my own solo lg. Will I find the AI challenging? Will it initiate trades, be receptive to offers I make to other teams, be active and smart in free agent bidding, etc? Thanks in advance. Justin

11-09-2012, 02:15 AM	#2
thetunicate Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 28	The AI is a worthy opponent in most ways. If you are playing each game and every at-bat I find it up to the task. On a grander scale, it does initiate trades and will not hand over quality players easily. The constraints of contracts and budgets mean you can't build a super-team while the AI teams watch helplessly. In my limited experience I would even say the AI has a slight financial advantage, although I have no data to support that. It just feels like the AI has an easier time getting players under contract. Weaknesses: it will pull some bizarre roster moves on occasion, to put it mildly. I find it's weak in managing farm systems, and I don't know if that's because it puts less weight on coaches or on developing prospects. As a solo game it's a good challenge, and any time you feel like you have the system beat you can tweak some settings and make it more difficult on yourself. It's definitely not an arcade game that you can just with practice consistently beat.

11-09-2012, 09:18 AM	#3
casperthegm Bat Boy Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 6	That's good to hear. I may join a league once I get used to the game but initially I want to play in my own custom league and wanted to be sure it would be challenging. I think I am sold. Thanks for the feedback.

11-15-2012, 12:53 AM	#4
game05 Bat Boy Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 8	the computer will note you are weak at a particular position and then send you a barrage of trade offers to fill it. most all of the time the offers are junk, but every once in a great while the offer will be very reasonable and make you think. i have the computer do my minor league moves because i don't want to be bothered to do it myself. but it can mean a 4-star player doesn't get bumped up to AAA because it insists a 1/2-star player should have the spot. one big thing i have to check on every so often is the Transactions page, because sometimes it'll give a kid 10 AB at Rookie League and then cut them for whatever reason. also it doesn't care if you just drafted the kid; i've had a couple first-rounders get cut after only a month in the system. but in general the AI can still be challenging. beauty is there are plenty of difficulty controls, so if you think you're too able to steal prospects from other teams, you can bump up that difficulty. as with everything in this game, you're better off if you do it yourself. it just depends how much you want to delve into the minutiae of being a GM.