OOTP review on the Hardball Times website could use some comments from us

[The Wolf]

Out of the Park ?14: a review

[pgjocki]

Interesting take on his comments, I didn't agree with everything he said but overall it's better than a negative review.

The depth and immersion is hard to capture in a review, I find myself more involved a month after I started as the more I learn the more eager I am to try new things and experience new events.

I wish they were coming out with NFL instead of Hockey this month, but we shall see if I can get interested in the rink.

[The Wolf]

Go over and say that in a response.

A lot of serious baseball people read that website.

[mpejkrm]

Originally Posted by pgjocki

Interesting take on his comments, I didn't agree with everything he said but overall it's better than a negative review.

The depth and immersion is hard to capture in a review, I find myself more involved a month after I started as the more I learn the more eager I am to try new things and experience new events.

I wish they were coming out with NFL instead of Hockey this month, but we shall see if I can get interested in the rink.

Nuh uh! We need a college game first! College baseball and/or basketball! Would make my life complete!

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by pgjocki

Interesting take on his comments, I didn't agree with everything he said but overall it's better than a negative review.

I didn't agree with everything either but thought it was actually a very positive review. I think he doesn't really quite understand just how deep and flexible OOTP actually is.

Though he mentions the customization options he doesn't quite seem to understand just how easy it is to change some stuff, notably trading difficulty. But other than that and some (justified, imo) complaints about the UI, he's actually very, very positive and accurate in his comments.

Really nice to see this.

[Raidergoo]

He wrote that it's the best fun you can have on a computer outside of watching MLB.tv. I would consider that to be a glowing review.

[jldante56]

Thanks for the heads-up. Just went on and left a review.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by jldante56

Thanks for the heads-up. Just went on and left a review.

Thank you for leaving a review.

[pgjocki]

I did leave a review, not quite word for word here though.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

He wrote that it's the best fun you can have on a computer outside of watching MLB.tv. I would consider that to be a glowing review.

That's why I was confused as to what we should comment on.

Now the review on High Heat Stats was completely botched, not deliberately but just amateur hour stuff. I left a comment there.

[BradC]

Thanks for leaving comments, folks. For some reason, the guys at High Heat Stats were confused and thought OOTP 13 was the new version of the game and OOTP 14 is next year's and is now available for pre-order. Unfortunately, since a lot of people are used to the year in the names of sports games, many of them think it's OOTP '13 and OOTP '14 - abbreviations for the years rather than version numbers.

I correct that whenever I can, but the HHS guys just wanted to do a review on their podcast (I offered to come on for an interview), and when I pointed out the mistake, it was too late for them to add anything to the front of the review. They posted something on the page for the podcast explaining the mistake, and they also posted something on that page when I sent an explanation about a few things.

Ah well.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by BradC

Thanks for leaving comments, folks. For some reason, the guys at High Heat Stats were confused and thought OOTP 13 was the new version of the game and OOTP 14 is next year's and is now available for pre-order. Unfortunately, since a lot of people are used to the year in the names of sports games, many of them think it's OOTP '13 and OOTP '14 - abbreviations for the years rather than version numbers.

I correct that whenever I can ....

If you can't beat them, join them? That is to say, maybe OOTP should circumvent that issue by coming up with a new numbering system for next year's game (OOTP 15 under the old numbering system). Adobe did this with their flagship software. After getting Photoshop up to version 7, they then reset it by calling the next version CS (Creative Suite) and restarting the numbering over at one. (It's up to CS6 now.)

Maybe OOTP Quindecennial?

[The Game]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

If you can't beat them, join them? That is to say, maybe OOTP should circumvent that issue by coming up with a new numbering system for next year's game (OOTP 15 under the old numbering system). Adobe did this with their flagship software. After getting Photoshop up to version 7, they then reset it by calling the next version CS (Creative Suite) and restarting the numbering over at one. (It's up to CS6 now.)

Maybe OOTP Quindecennial?

Madden was always one year in front of the actual year as was High Heat. I know High Heat 2004 came out in 2003 I did not buy it because it did not have manager only mode so I played High Heat 2003 from 2002 until 2010? when I bought OOTP 11.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by RchW

That's why I was confused as to what we should comment on.

Yeah, they did give it an A-. That's pretty good.

[MarkInCincy]

Even Tango is mentioning the review, wonder if he plays it?

http://tangotiger.com/index.php/site.../ootp14-review

[Cras]

What is so wrong with this review? It pretty much is spot on.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by MarkInCincy

Even Tango is mentioning the review, wonder if he plays it?

http://tangotiger.com/index.php/site.../ootp14-review

Tom has posted on these forums occasionally.

[D-BacksJosh]

Originally Posted by Cras

What is so wrong with this review? It pretty much is spot on.

I agree. From the review: "The ability to customize the game to your own playing ethos is incredible and adds to the enjoyment of OOTP. However, it does come at a cost— the interface is complex and the game has a reasonably steep learning curve." and it doesn't help that the online manual is out of date and incomplete! I have entered into fictional league setup madness several times, expending many hours in deep concentration only to find out I missed something that I can't change because I started the season already. I don't see the review as being negative or nitpicking. It points out OOTP's strengths and weaknesses accurately and fairly.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by RchW

Tom has posted on these forums occasionally.

They just need to whip FHM into shape so that Tango enjoys the game.

[Déjà Bru]

That's a pretty cool review. And somebody said Hardball Times is a very popular site? Ultra cool.

I am just a bit troubled by this suggestion, however:

The ability to customize the game to your own playing ethos is incredible and adds to the enjoyment of OOTP. However, it does come at a cost— the interface is complex and the game has a reasonably steep learning curve. I am not an expert in user interface design but after playing the game for a month I am convinced it is possible to make it simpler.

Nah. Don't make it simpler and don't make an OOTPB Lite, because that will eat into future development time and resources. This game is so flexible that a "lite" version is simply to load a pre-packaged league, press the sim button, and watch what happens. Then, as one learns his or her way around, go ahead and start taking over by stages.

People think that, to play this game, they must know what every option and setting does and they must tinker with them immediately. Heck, I've been playing OOTPB since 2005 and there are settings that I've NEVER touched, and never will.