Guide to playing OOTPB at work with an exposed monitor

[Déjà Bru]

Here's what to do when you want to play OOTPB at work, your monitor faces the doorway, and you CANNOT rearrange your office furniture for one reason or another. Also, of course, you cannot just close your door (if you have one) because as soon as you do, people who are curious as to what you are doing in there will begin knocking immediately.

Here are the steps that I have taken.*

Go to C:\Program Files\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\data and delete (or move or rename) these files:

• loading_text.png
• logo.png
• ootpdev_pisd_logo.png

Do not delete background.jpg or loading.png! The game must use these upon startup. However, to be extra cautious, create a new 1900x1200 image with an all black foreground and save it in that folder as background.jpg. Loading.png is the spinning baseball (an animation file); do the same thing only make that image 960x32 and save it as loading.png. Now you have just a black screen while the game boots up!

Now for the Start Screen. Beautiful, eh? But you better be quick with your selection thanks to that huge logo and the baseball/ballfield grass background, dead giveaways! Really, the thing to do here is to go to the images folder of the skin that you are using (you have to download and install the skin files and folders from Add-Ons Central or else you are stuck with the default interface) such as C:\Program Files\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\data\skins\ootp 14\image. Find these bad boys and delete them: bg_startscreen.png and bg_startscreen_background.png. Then go up one level and delete skin.bin. The game will create another one when you restart it.

Go after these guys too (need to delete skin.bin afterward):

• background_top_right.png in C:\Program Files\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\data\skins\ootp 14\style_sets\dialog_background
• entry_screen_baseball.png in C:\Program Files\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\data\skins\ootp 14\style_sets\entry_screen_new
• background.png in C:\Program Files\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\data\skins\ootp 14\style_sets\fullscreen_dialog

Now you have the start screen as seen below (first screen print). You really cannot delete anything else and still have full functionality, but at least it looks more business-like, eh? Still, you want to be quick with your selection, as people can read the text over your shoulder.

Other images to delete in C:\Program Files\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\data\skins\ootp 14\images (need to delete skin.bin afterward):

• ootp_logo.png and ootp_logo_round.png (forgive me, Andreas and Markus)
• a_bronze.png, a_gold.png, a_silver.png, icon_bronze.png, icon_gold.png, icon_locked.png, icon_silver.png (these are the achievement awards, giant images that pop up suddenly, whereupon you hear from the doorway "Say, what's that? D'ja win somethin'?")
• trophy.png (get over yourself - you don't need no stinking trophy, just the satisfaction of having won it all!)
• top_background.png and top_background_left.png (this is important, as some white text like "Game Setup" will conveniently fade into a white background - see second screen print)

Logos. Ah, logos. The heart of OOTPB after statistics. Nevertheless, they gotta go! Consider uploading a blank white picture (150x150) for each team. If you really want to get fancy, upload your company's logo. That will throw people off the scent!

No player pics! Instead of "What's that?" you get "Who's that?" with those grinning faces. The best thing to do is to turn FaceGen off in Preferences, as the "No Fictional Pictures" and other options in Player & Picture Options cannot seem to stop FaceGen from making new pics in an established league. Still, set picture options to NO coach or player pictures. Uncheck all of the loading and enabling pictures options. If you need to because you have already started your league, delete the images from these folders in My Documents:

• \Documents\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\saved_games\Federal Baseball League.lg\news\html\players
• \Documents\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\saved_games\Federal Baseball League.lg\news\html\images\person_pictures
• \Documents\Out of the Park Developments\OOTP Baseball 14\saved_games\Federal Baseball League.lg\news\html\images\profile_pictures

Keep the game in windowed mode. This is a must! Have something related to business running on the task bar that you can quickly click (or use Alt-Tab).

Play in as small a window as you can tolerate (1000x680 is the minimum), and have something like a document or a spreadsheet displayed in the background. Also, open enough windows so that the OOTP14 button in the taskbar is scrunched down to just "14 Out..." or something that cannot be entirely read.

Unfortunately, get used to not playing out your games. The broadcast and webcast screens are too distinctive-looking, drawing immediate questions like "What's that? Is that Disneyland?" (A true story.) Also, any American sports enthusiast is going to recognize that diamond shape right away. "What's that, fantasy baseball?" You could substitute a blank screen image for the ballpark picture but that looks like crap and it detracts from the enjoyment, IMO.

Don't use star ratings! They are eye-catching. Do you want your neighbor coming around the corner and saying "Oooh, stars. How pretty!" Also, go into Game, Preferences and in the Interface tab, change Player Rating Bars to Numbers Only. Another set of attractive bright colors gone! Finally, show the icon bar at the bottom of the screen where it is less noticeable.

Now see the third and the fourth screen prints for the total effect. Here we have an unobtrusive player profile that practically blends into the background of business stuff! The game is beautifully camouflaged and ready for minimizing to allow active work documents to come to the fore!

EDIT: Version 2.0 of this guide now includes advice to use White on white team and league text! Conveniently, the text can still be read due to the font's 3D effect but is practically invisible from the doorway.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a league to run, er, on my coffee break!

* Disclaimer: You may be able to tell that much of this was written with tongue-in-cheek, although I did do everything as described. However, I have only tested things in a preliminary fashion. So far, no problems. Now the legal part - DO NOT DO THESE THINGS TO YOUR GAME UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RISKS, AND/OR DON'T MIND REINSTALLING YOUR GAME IF THINGS GO WRONG. This has been a public service announcement.

[Matt Arnold]

Along with "Classic", "Dark", and "Retro" skins, Markus should provide us with an "Excel" skin. Ditch all the fancy graphics, just give us all the raw numbers in csv format. Especially since OOTP isn't a game that 100% of the time requires constant attention, would be great for those slow days where you know you're not getting any work done anyways.

[The Wolf]

I am really glad that you two guys don't work for me.

[cody8200]

Déjà Bru, this is awesome stuff!! Hilarious and well worth the read (and worth trying)

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

I am really glad that you two guys don't work for me.

Are you sure they don't?

[playball335]

Hope your company doesn't use screen monitoring software.

[Winnipeg59]

Originally Posted by playball335

Hope your company doesn't use screen monitoring software.

Or the boss plays OOTP...
Or the boss frequents these forums...

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by lukasberger

Are you sure they don't?

How could you tell, anyway?

Originally Posted by playball335

Hope your company doesn't use screen monitoring software.

Heh. It just so happens that I would be in charge of that. Quite convenient.

Originally Posted by Winnipeg59

Or the boss plays OOTP...
Or the boss frequents these forums...

Now, THIS is a scary thought!

[Orcin]

I have two things to say about this:

1. This is just really sick.
2. Thanks for the tips! I'll be doing this right away.

[The Wolf]

One of the outfits that I once worked with had a guy who played EverQuest for hours at work every day for years and never got caught. This was because he was their IT guy. Finally an audit got him.

[Cryomaniac]

Originally Posted by playball335

Hope your company doesn't use screen monitoring software.

Where I used to work the IT dept. used to check that occasionally, but they weren't that bothered with what people were doing unless they'd had complaints. If someone didn't lock their computer when they went for a break though the IT guys would use remote desktoping to leave snarky messages to them...

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

One of the outfits that I once worked with had a guy who played EverQuest for hours at work every day for years and never got caught. This was because he was their IT guy. Finally an audit got him.

Fortunately, I would be in charge of the audit as well, heh.

No, my problem is three-fold:

1. Nosy co-workers who have nothing else to do than walk around to see "what's up"? [Thought: Maybe I SHOULD expose them to, and get them addicted to, OOTPB so they don't come around snooping so much!]
2. A big monitor that faces the doorway for various logistical reasons (no, not that feng shui crap).
3. A craving to play OOTPB during ALL waking hours (and someday, in sleep/dream mode . . . OOTPB 38 perhaps?).

[Puckett guy]

[rudel.dietrich]

Thanks a lot Bru

I work in air traffic control
Or I guess I should say, I worked in air traffic control

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Thanks a lot Bru

I work in air traffic control
Or I guess I should say, I worked in air traffic control

You lost your job as a result of my Guide to playing OOTPB at work with an exposed monitor (patent pending)?

Hmmm. Maybe my bad . . . Could be for omitting one last action to take in my original version! Version 2 has been edited to include this:

White on white team and league text!

I had omitted it above. LOOK how the text stands out in those screen prints!

One of my teams is the New York Skyliners from Cody's FBL. [Bold and font size provided for demonstration purposes.]

Now, imagine somebody sneaking up and looking over your shoulder. "Say, isn't that a team from the Women's Lingerie Football League?!?" Followed by a quick window minimizing and an inane conversation about hot babes in helmets, pads, bras, and panties!

[All right, maybe that would be such a bad interruption. ]

Yes, I omitted selecting white font on white backgrounds throughout the game. Conveniently, the text can still be read due to the font's 3D effect but is practically invisible from the doorway. See below.

Well, better luck next time, Rudel. I hope you find employment soon. I'd offer to pay your living expenses until then but I'm saving up for OOTP 15!

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Fortunately, I would be in charge of the audit as well, heh.

And right there, everyone, is why you should always hire EXTERNAL auditors.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I work in air traffic control
Or I guess I should say, I worked in air traffic control

That happened to a good friend of mine. Now he runs a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

That happened to a good friend of mine. Now he runs a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere.

Well, send him a link to my Guide to playing OOTPB at work with an exposed monitor (patent pending) to make him feel better!

DISCLAIMER: Again, much of this thread is tongue-in-cheek. I actually do NOT recommend playing OOTPB while engaged in occupations in which people's health and safety are concerned. Among these are air traffic controllers, brain surgeons, and... and... HECK, I can't think of any others right now!

[Biggio509]

I should work in IT. I can't even get to the site to download must less play the game on my work computer. It is blocked. Even if I put it on a thumb drive I don't have privileges to install anything.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Well, send him a link to my Guide to playing OOTPB at work with an exposed monitor (patent pending) to make him feel better!

DISCLAIMER: Again, much of this thread is tongue-in-cheek. I actually do NOT recommend playing OOTPB while engaged in occupations in which people's health and safety are concerned. Among these are air traffic controllers, brain surgeons, and... and... HECK, I can't think of any others right now!

He lost his job for reasons other than gaming.