Is this league viable?

[ezpkns34]

Getting bored with OOTP & have tried numerous different types of leagues the past 2 weeks to try to cure that boredom (fictional, historical, current), but to no avail

So, looking to give OOTP a last try before taking a break from it

In this last try, I want to cobble together the numerous things I like about OOTP (building a team and having customization options) while minimizing the parts I find less than entertaining (handling 100+ minor league players). However, I want to make sure that what I'm wanting to do is possible first before going through trial & error multiple times...


1) Pure capitalism league. After the inaugural draft, there will be no team control or amatuer drafts. I want incoming rookies to be treated as free agents. Set Amatuer draft to 0 rounds w/ ~5 rounds of players generated?


2) Much shorter season (sorry purists, but 162 is too long for me). Looking at something closer to the NBA schedule (~80 games w/ more playoff teams & all 7 game series in the postseason). Yeh, will likely see more underdogs winning it all, but I'd be fine with that. However, will having a season half as long mean I should set salaries & stuff to half of what they'd normally be?


3) I want to have a 3 tier promotion/relegation system. I'm fine doing this manually. Obviously making the 3 tiers to be divisions instead of associations would be easiest. But, if I had 3 different associations could all the free agents (& thus incoming rookies) be available to all 3 associations? Could the teams from the 3 different associations play each other in the same playoff system? If no to either, I'd have to roll with the 3 tiers being 3 divisions in the same subleague


4) I want to have 1 or maybe 2 minor league affiliates per team. However, last time I made a league w/ just 1 minor league level, it kept telling me to promote players to a minor league level that didn't exist in that league (is that just a cosmetic issue or is 1 minor league level actually hurting development?)

Is it possible to just have a 40 man roster w/ no minor leagues at all? Would that lead to poor or weird player development for younger/unready players riding the MLB bench for a few years? Obviously I'd have injury numbers toned down a touch


5) I assume I'd need some kind of salary cap in place. Ironic in a "pure capitalist league," but the way OOTP handles budgets (they seem to be based on team payrolls instead of team market sizes) makes me think a salary cap would be a good idea



Thanks for help guys (or any other suggestions you may have that have personally led to you finding more fun/enjoyment in OOTP)

[olivertheorem]

Originally Posted by ezpkns34

1) Pure capitalism league. After the inaugural draft, there will be no team control or amatuer drafts. I want incoming rookies to be treated as free agents. Set Amatuer draft to 0 rounds w/ ~5 rounds of players generated?

You can accomplish this by just disabling the draft (there's a checkbox for that). The game will generate FA's of the appropriate age to keep the league staffed.

2) Much shorter season (sorry purists, but 162 is too long for me). Looking at something closer to the NBA schedule (~80 games w/ more playoff teams & all 7 game series in the postseason). Yeh, will likely see more underdogs winning it all, but I'd be fine with that. However, will having a season half as long mean I should set salaries & stuff to half of what they'd normally be?

I don't believe so. With a shorter season, the salaries will just prorate faster, with regard to the cap hit from an in-season trade for example.

3) I want to have a 3 tier promotion/relegation system. I'm fine doing this manually. Obviously making the 3 tiers to be divisions instead of associations would be easiest. But, if I had 3 different associations could all the free agents (& thus incoming rookies) be available to all 3 associations? Could the teams from the 3 different associations play each other in the same playoff system? If no to either, I'd have to roll with the 3 tiers being 3 divisions in the same subleague

All 3 leagues could share a single draft (or set of amateurs, in this case) and free agency in an association. I think you mean to set up the 3 tiers as leagues instead of divisions, since the hierarchy goes division>subleague>league>association.

4) I want to have 1 or maybe 2 minor league affiliates per team. However, last time I made a league w/ just 1 minor league level, it kept telling me to promote players to a minor league level that didn't exist in that league (is that just a cosmetic issue or is 1 minor league level actually hurting development?)

It's a cosmetic issue, I think, though having a player performing poorly in the minors can hurt development, I believe.

Is it possible to just have a 40 man roster w/ no minor leagues at all? Would that lead to poor or weird player development for younger/unready players riding the MLB bench for a few years? Obviously I'd have injury numbers toned down a touch

You can use a reserve roster of 15 players, I think. The lowest may be 25, but I think you can use 15. The players on it would have average development (plus any effect from the player development budget, I think).

5) I assume I'd need some kind of salary cap in place. Ironic in a "pure capitalist league," but the way OOTP handles budgets (they seem to be based on team payrolls instead of team market sizes) makes me think a salary cap would be a good idea

You can try a salary cap, but without a salary floor some teams just won't spend up to it. At least, based on a thread in the "new to the game" forum in which I was posting.

[24Rocks]

Im going to awnser the question I know I have dealt with before or know how to handle, most of what I am saying I have tried my self or somebody has tried it.

Originally Posted by ezpkns34

1) Pure capitalism league. After the inaugural draft, there will be no team control or amatuer drafts. I want incoming rookies to be treated as free agents. Set Amatuer draft to 0 rounds w/ ~5 rounds of players generated?
2) Much shorter season (sorry purists, but 162 is too long for me). Looking at something closer to the NBA schedule (~80 games w/ more playoff teams & all 7 game series in the postseason). Yeh, will likely see more underdogs winning it all, but I'd be fine with that. However, will having a season half as long mean I should set salaries & stuff to half of what they'd normally be?
3) I want to have a 3 tier promotion/relegation system. I'm fine doing this manually. Obviously making the 3 tiers to be divisions instead of associations would be easiest. But, if I had 3 different associations could all the free agents (& thus incoming rookies) be available to all 3 associations? Could the teams from the 3 different associations play each other in the same playoff system? If no to either, I'd have to roll with the 3 tiers being 3 divisions in the same subleague
4) I want to have 1 or maybe 2 minor league affiliates per team. However, last time I made a league w/ just 1 minor league level, it kept telling me to promote players to a minor league level that didn't exist in that league (is that just a cosmetic issue or is 1 minor league level actually hurting development?)
Is it possible to just have a 40 man roster w/ no minor leagues at all? Would that lead to poor or weird player development for younger/unready players riding the MLB bench for a few years? Obviously I'd have injury numbers toned down a touch
5) I assume I'd need some kind of salary cap in place. Ironic in a "pure capitalist league," but the way OOTP handles budgets (they seem to be based on team payrolls instead of team market sizes) makes me think a salary cap would be a good idea
Thanks for help guys (or any other suggestions you may have that have personally led to you finding more fun/enjoyment in OOTP)

4. You can have a 40 man roster with no minors but it all depends on how many players you have on active roster and on reserve roster if you have a 30 man reserve roster then it could be useful, I have it in my independent league but I make it a 32 man roster. 1 Minor league could work I have used that system and still do, but I find that 2 makes better players for the league which makes it more competitive.

3. I use a 4 league association system and you can set up a playoff using the association so they can play every league in the playoffs. You have to go to each leagues settings and set that FA can go to other leagues and come to this league. I dont know how the draft works but yes you can link up the drafts using the association setup page but for 3 leagues you would need more then 5 rounds. Make sure ghost players are turned off and if you had moved a team from being a team with out a minor team to being one some times players get hidden on reserve rosters.

2. The money is up to you but do the NFL NBA NHL not pay players lots of money for less games so you dont have to change but you can edit to any any type you want.

1/5. In my league the team gets payed money for TV contracts based on market size and owner decides on budget, I might be missing something but I have seen a owner change and give more money out and the team got better players and won a world series. I would say if your doing 3 league draft more then 10 rounds at least. What would your FA start at like would they be with team for 7 years or 3 years is there even FA and to make it a bit more competitive I would include some independent FA and/or International but that's for you to decide later.

I hope I have answered your questions.

[Poweshow]

Originally Posted by 24Rocks

You have to to to each leagues settings and set FA can go to other leagues and come to this league.

[injury log]

There are some issues with how the game handles abbreviated seasons, which are a bit annoying. I'll likely file a bug report about it, but the things to be aware of:

* the game won't automatically reduce the length of minor league seasons to match your choice for your Major League

* the game will not automatically lower the 'days of service for one year' to match your season length

* the game will still calculate, when generating your league's original player pool, service time as if you were using a 162-game schedule. Service time is assigned in days, not in years, so if the game generates a 30 year old guy who is supposed to have 10 years of service (1720 days), and you change the service time to 86 days/season instead of the default 172, this guy will have 20 years of service instead, and will appear to have begun his career at age 10. That's the most annoying issue, since it makes guys hit free agency and arbitration way sooner than you want. Erasing all service time to start your league might help, or simming forward two decades before you start GMing would help.

* the game won't automatically correct H of Fame standards

There may be other issues I'm forgetting about too.

[ezpkns34]

Originally Posted by injury log

There are some issues with how the game handles abbreviated seasons, which are a bit annoying. I'll likely file a bug report about it, but the things to be aware of:

* the game won't automatically reduce the length of minor league seasons to match your choice for your Major League

* the game will not automatically lower the 'days of service for one year' to match your season length

* the game will still calculate, when generating your league's original player pool, service time as if you were using a 162-game schedule. Service time is assigned in days, not in years, so if the game generates a 30 year old guy who is supposed to have 10 years of service (1720 days), and you change the service time to 86 days/season instead of the default 172, this guy will have 20 years of service instead, and will appear to have begun his career at age 10. That's the most annoying issue, since it makes guys hit free agency and arbitration way sooner than you want. Erasing all service time to start your league might help, or simming forward two decades before you start GMing would help.

* the game won't automatically correct H of Fame standards

There may be other issues I'm forgetting about too.

Thanks & I had already planned to edit those (along with stuff like trade deadline date)

Originally Posted by 24Rocks

for 3 leagues you would need more then 5 rounds

I would say if your doing 3 league draft more then 10 rounds at least

If I went the 3 separate leagues/associations route, there would only be like 10 teams in each. So I assume about 5 rounds worth of players is about right for 30 total teams w/ either reserve rosters or 1 minor league team each

Originally Posted by olivertheorem

You can try a salary cap, but without a salary floor some teams just won't spend up to it. At least, based on a thread in the "new to the game" forum in which I was posting.

Is there a link to the thread you mentioned?

[24Rocks]

Originally Posted by ezpkns34

If I went the 3 separate leagues/associations route, there would only be like 10 teams in each. So I assume about 5 rounds worth of players is about right for 30 total teams w/ either reserve rosters or 1 minor league team each

Yes that and FA should be fine, I thought you were going to do 3 big leagues.

[olivertheorem]

Originally Posted by ezpkns34

Is there a link to the thread you mentioned?

Here.

[ezpkns34]

Appreciate the responses so far guys

Started a fictional league w/ 1 subleague of 10 teams. After I got that league started up, I then added 2 more leagues (both with 1 subleague of 10 teams)

Added all 3 leagues to an association so they can share the inaugural draft & have a playoff against each other. However, I'm not seeing where all the teams from the separate leagues are drafting together. Each league still has its own inaugural draft screen with only the teams in that league listed

Do I need to wait to schedule an inaugural draft until after I set up the assocation?




Also, on the getting teams to spend at the cap problem, here's what I tried in a test run:
- Set the salary cap & draft budget for the inaugural draft to $100M

- Set entire budget available with each team getting a $33M national media deal ($33M local media & $10M merch deal as well for anyone curious)

- Set every salary level to $3M (even league minimum)

- Set for a 30 round draft (25 spots on the active roster & 5 of the reserve spots)

- Hit recalculate player demands on the inaugural draft screen & had all the players rated better than 1 star making between $3.2-$4.4M. About 10 players rated 1.5-2 stars were on minor league deals as were about all the 1 star players

- This led to all teams spending either a little over the cap or close to it


Will probably run another test with slightly lower demands, slightly higher cap & 35 rounds instead, but looks promising on the budget front (so far)

[Questdog]

Only thing I alter for short leagues financially is to set the ticket price higher.....81 game season would get double the ticket prices.....54 game season would have them tripled...etc.....

[olivertheorem]

I don't think associated leagues will share an inaugural draft, but I've never tried so I could be wrong.

[Questdog]

Originally Posted by olivertheorem

I don't think associated leagues will share an inaugural draft, but I've never tried so I could be wrong.

they can, if you want...

[olivertheorem]

See, I'm wrong. :P

[ezpkns34]

Yeh, it says they're sharing an inaugural draft, but still not seeing where/how they're sharing it?