OOTP 14 The Road to Release Part 3: Rosters Overflowing With Real Players

BradC · 04-06-2013, 01:13 PM

Written by Brad Cook, OOTP Developments PR and Marketing Manager

We recently gave pro wrestler Steve Corino a chance to play the OOTP 14 Beta, and he had this to say: "Loved the new game. Made me feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!"

All of us know that feeling, don't we? As we count down the days to April 12, let's continue the Road to Release with a look at this year's rosters set.

Every time you click the New Major League Game button, we generate a baseball universe that more closely mimics reality than any other sim on the market. Last year, OOTP 13 saw an extensive ratings overhaul, with all players' ratings touched, more complete minor league rosters, more comprehensive historical stats at the minor league level, full histories for minor and major league players, and much more.

Our roster team never takes a year off, though, and this time around they've based major league player ratings on Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projection system, the most accurate player stats projection system on the market. As a result, you can expect even more realistic results when simming what's expected to be an exciting season.

What do Stephen Strasburg's dominating pitching performance and Bryce Harper's pair of home runs on Opening Day say about the Nationals' chances to repeat as NL East champs? Was the Reds' decision to keep Aroldis Chapman as closer the right one? (And do you want to reverse it?) Can Mike Trout pick up where his amazing rookie season left off and provide the spark for what could be baseball's best lineup?

You'll be able to answer all those questions and more in OOTP 14 as you take the helm of your favorite major league club and try to continue its winning ways or rebuild for the future.

Don't forget about the minor leagues

Every year we improve on our minor league rosters too, and this year was no exception. OOTP 14 features not only thousands of individually-rated minor league players but also hundreds of real players from the 2013 first-year player draft class. In fact, the game has many more real prospects for the June draft than it has ever had, which means you can more closely align your favorite OOTP team with the real world one and see if you do a better job negotiating the franchise's future.

You'll even find plenty of real prospects in the minor leagues when playing historical sims too. For example, someone asked us on Twitter if former big league first baseman Calvin Pickering was in the Orioles' 1998 farm system, and sure enough, you'll find him there when you start an historical game in that year.

Tracking player development

Finally, don't forget about the new player development screen that we mentioned in The Road to Release Part 1: A New World of Talent to Discover. It offers an easy way to keep tabs on your real prospects' development after you draft them and they begin working their way through your farm system. It's also a handy reference point when comparing those players' OOTP fortunes with their real world performance.

OOTP 14 puts under your control thousands of real major and minor league players, along with hundreds of real draft prospects, so you can mold your mega-million-dollar major league franchise or small market independent start-up to its maximum potential.

The game is truly yours for the taking, so play it your way!

Out of the Park Baseball 14 - The Grand Slam of Baseball Sims! Pre-order your copy today and download it on April 12, 2013, three days before the official release on April 15!

Doc_Brown · 04-06-2013, 01:40 PM

Looking good.

Just one thing, in the last screenshot it has Cervelli has backup DH. Do AL teams still use their backup catcher as backup DH? Just a pet peeve of mine.

OBSL Commish · 04-06-2013, 01:40 PM

I am really looking forward to playing version 14! The interface looks awesome and the new features all sound like they will just give a more immersive feel to playing the game!

One question for the beta testers: Have any of you imported a game, like the MLB quickstart or a verison of it, from version 13 into version 14 to check and see if the ratings update correctly? I had a few problems last season when I imported my online league from version 12 into version 13. None of the ratings imported correctly, and I ended up making templates of the MLB quickstart, importing those, and deleting the outdated players and their ratings.

NYY #23 · 04-06-2013, 02:05 PM

I know the Yankees are an old team this year, but I didn't think they were that old.

Westheim · 04-06-2013, 02:22 PM

Maybe it's the 3219 MLB season. Vernon Wells still goin' strong and the Angels still paying his salary.

Tyler87898 · 04-06-2013, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYY #23

I know the Yankees are an old team this year, but I didn't think they were that old.

Haha, I can't believe I didn't even notice that at first.

CanadaCajanek21 · 04-06-2013, 04:47 PM

Were the ratings downgraded this year? Honestly, seeing the triple crown winner with no batting ratings higher than 17 confuses me. If Miggy can't get anything near a 20 (even an 18 or 19) despite hitting .330 and slugging above .600, then why do they go to 20 (or higher if you turn off the cutoff)? If this is intentional, then I'm going to be very sad because as a Rays fan, it will mean that most of our batters will be in the yellow now....

mgom27 · 04-06-2013, 07:02 PM

Minor League Team E. Options want to know if they made it in the Game and so on to.

OmahaBaseball · 04-06-2013, 11:26 PM

On the batter's info (see Miggy), would love to see WAR listed rather than VORP. Also, it would seem that the previous year stats now are descending (2012, 2011, 2010) rather than ascending as they have in the past. That will take some getting use to.

The Game · 04-07-2013, 02:13 AM

Did 14 switch the way it displays years? I thought it went from oldest to newest. In the 1st 2 SS's it went from newest to oldest.

Mister_G · 04-07-2013, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHOWDERHEAD

On the batter's info (see Miggy), would love to see WAR listed rather than VORP. Also, it would seem that the previous year stats now are descending (2012, 2011, 2010) rather than ascending as they have in the past. That will take some getting use to.

The descending order is a positive IMO. Found it slightly annoying to have to scroll down to see recent stats, especially when the player just recently made it to the bigs, meaning you might have to go through like 4-5 different minor league stints before getting to big league play. Small aesthetic change, but I like it.

OmahaBaseball · 04-07-2013, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister_G

The descending order is a positive IMO. Found it slightly annoying to have to scroll down to see recent stats, especially when the player just recently made it to the bigs, meaning you might have to go through like 4-5 different minor league stints before getting to big league play. Small aesthetic change, but I like it.

Agreed, I think it will be a good change - just a change that may take me a little getting accustomed to. Been playing so long seeing it the other way.

ShaneCarson · 04-07-2013, 01:22 PM

Not to get into a ratings argument but if this roster is the same as iOOTP, Verlander is a 75 overall. Kind of strange to see the near consensus best pitcher in baseball not rated an 80.

Honorable_Pawn · 04-07-2013, 01:25 PM

Consensus? Negative. Price is the best pitcher in baseball--hands down.

Markus Heinsohn · 04-07-2013, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaneCarson

Not to get into a ratings argument but if this roster is the same as iOOTP, Verlander is a 75 overall. Kind of strange to see the near consensus best pitcher in baseball not rated an 80.

The overall rating is relative and influenced by the quality in the league... so, nothing worth arguing about. Arguing about MLB veterans doesn't make much sense either, the ratings are based on PECOTA projections and hence not a matter of personal opinion.

Markus Heinsohn · 04-07-2013, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHOWDERHEAD

On the batter's info (see Miggy), would love to see WAR listed rather than VORP. Also, it would seem that the previous year stats now are descending (2012, 2011, 2010) rather than ascending as they have in the past. That will take some getting use to.

Done.

Pacoheadley · 04-07-2013, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaneCarson

Not to get into a ratings argument but if this roster is the same as iOOTP, Verlander is a 75 overall. Kind of strange to see the near consensus best pitcher in baseball not rated an 80.

Does everyone forget about Kershaw?

OBSL Commish · 04-07-2013, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacoheadley

Does everyone forget about Kershaw?

Best pitcher in baseball period!

The Game · 04-07-2013, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

Consensus? Negative. Price is the best pitcher in baseball--hands down.

Chris Sale.

Cras · 04-07-2013, 04:12 PM

Heh, everyone on the Yankees is over 1,000 years old.

I know they play like a bag of bones....but this is ridiculous :P

04-06-2013, 01:13 PM	#1
BradC All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: northern CA Posts: 1,889	OOTP 14 The Road to Release Part 3: Rosters Overflowing With Real Players Written by Brad Cook, OOTP Developments PR and Marketing Manager We recently gave pro wrestler Steve Corino a chance to play the OOTP 14 Beta, and he had this to say: "Loved the new game. Made me feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!" All of us know that feeling, don't we? As we count down the days to April 12, let's continue the Road to Release with a look at this year's rosters set. Every time you click the New Major League Game button, we generate a baseball universe that more closely mimics reality than any other sim on the market. Last year, OOTP 13 saw an extensive ratings overhaul, with all players' ratings touched, more complete minor league rosters, more comprehensive historical stats at the minor league level, full histories for minor and major league players, and much more. Our roster team never takes a year off, though, and this time around they've based major league player ratings on Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projection system, the most accurate player stats projection system on the market. As a result, you can expect even more realistic results when simming what's expected to be an exciting season. What do Stephen Strasburg's dominating pitching performance and Bryce Harper's pair of home runs on Opening Day say about the Nationals' chances to repeat as NL East champs? Was the Reds' decision to keep Aroldis Chapman as closer the right one? (And do you want to reverse it?) Can Mike Trout pick up where his amazing rookie season left off and provide the spark for what could be baseball's best lineup? You'll be able to answer all those questions and more in OOTP 14 as you take the helm of your favorite major league club and try to continue its winning ways or rebuild for the future. Don't forget about the minor leagues Every year we improve on our minor league rosters too, and this year was no exception. OOTP 14 features not only thousands of individually-rated minor league players but also hundreds of real players from the 2013 first-year player draft class. In fact, the game has many more real prospects for the June draft than it has ever had, which means you can more closely align your favorite OOTP team with the real world one and see if you do a better job negotiating the franchise's future. You'll even find plenty of real prospects in the minor leagues when playing historical sims too. For example, someone asked us on Twitter if former big league first baseman Calvin Pickering was in the Orioles' 1998 farm system, and sure enough, you'll find him there when you start an historical game in that year. Tracking player development Finally, don't forget about the new player development screen that we mentioned in The Road to Release Part 1: A New World of Talent to Discover. It offers an easy way to keep tabs on your real prospects' development after you draft them and they begin working their way through your farm system. It's also a handy reference point when comparing those players' OOTP fortunes with their real world performance. OOTP 14 puts under your control thousands of real major and minor league players, along with hundreds of real draft prospects, so you can mold your mega-million-dollar major league franchise or small market independent start-up to its maximum potential. The game is truly yours for the taking, so play it your way! Out of the Park Baseball 14 - The Grand Slam of Baseball Sims! Pre-order your copy today and download it on April 12, 2013, three days before the official release on April 15!

04-06-2013, 02:22 PM	#5
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 14,131	Maybe it's the 3219 MLB season. Vernon Wells still goin' strong and the Angels still paying his salary. __________________ Portland Raccoons, 96 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 * 2071 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

04-06-2013, 07:02 PM	#8
mgom27 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3,536	Minor League Team E. Options want to know if they made it in the Game and so on to. __________________ Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

04-06-2013, 11:26 PM	#9
OmahaBaseball Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Home of the College World Series! Posts: 3,957	On the batter's info (see Miggy), would love to see WAR listed rather than VORP. Also, it would seem that the previous year stats now are descending (2012, 2011, 2010) rather than ascending as they have in the past. That will take some getting use to. __________________ Life is Good!

04-07-2013, 04:12 PM	#20
Cras Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: LEO Posts: 3,789	Heh, everyone on the Yankees is over 1,000 years old. I know they play like a bag of bones....but this is ridiculous :P __________________ The Chicago White Sox 1906, 1917, 2005 World Series Champions 1900, 1901, 1906, 1917, 1919, 1959, 2005 American League Champions 2000, 2005, 2008 American League Central Division Champions 1983, 1993 American League West Division Champions OOTP \| Orbiter \| SSMS \| FSX \| LoL \| MLP:FIM!

04-06-2013, 01:40 PM	#2
Doc_Brown All Star Starter Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1,326	Looking good. Just one thing, in the last screenshot it has Cervelli has backup DH. Do AL teams still use their backup catcher as backup DH? Just a pet peeve of mine. Last edited by Doc_Brown; 04-06-2013 at 07:51 PM.

04-06-2013, 01:40 PM	#3
OBSL Commish All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 945	I am really looking forward to playing version 14! The interface looks awesome and the new features all sound like they will just give a more immersive feel to playing the game! One question for the beta testers: Have any of you imported a game, like the MLB quickstart or a verison of it, from version 13 into version 14 to check and see if the ratings update correctly? I had a few problems last season when I imported my online league from version 12 into version 13. None of the ratings imported correctly, and I ended up making templates of the MLB quickstart, importing those, and deleting the outdated players and their ratings.

04-06-2013, 02:05 PM	#4
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	I know the Yankees are an old team this year, but I didn't think they were that old.

04-06-2013, 04:47 PM	#7
CanadaCajanek21 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 110	Were the ratings downgraded this year? Honestly, seeing the triple crown winner with no batting ratings higher than 17 confuses me. If Miggy can't get anything near a 20 (even an 18 or 19) despite hitting .330 and slugging above .600, then why do they go to 20 (or higher if you turn off the cutoff)? If this is intentional, then I'm going to be very sad because as a Rays fan, it will mean that most of our batters will be in the yellow now....

04-07-2013, 02:13 AM	#10
The Game Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Inside The Game Posts: 30,937	Did 14 switch the way it displays years? I thought it went from oldest to newest. In the 1st 2 SS's it went from newest to oldest.

04-07-2013, 01:22 PM	#13
ShaneCarson All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 728	Not to get into a ratings argument but if this roster is the same as iOOTP, Verlander is a 75 overall. Kind of strange to see the near consensus best pitcher in baseball not rated an 80.

04-07-2013, 01:25 PM	#14
Honorable_Pawn Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 6,407	Consensus? Negative. Price is the best pitcher in baseball--hands down.