OOTPs Longest-Running Sim League in Jeopardy

[Lukas Berger]

Originally Posted by Qrashman

Probably my fault for even bringing up my concerns in the first place, but in my head it was so inconsequential to the meaning of the post I didnt think it would get much attention. Stepping back I understand.

Sim leagues rarely last 14 real-time years. That was mostly my intent, to get the attention of any past GMs, current GMs and whatnot and to highlight the longevity of the league. If anything it's a testament to the strength of OOTP. I probably did a disservice by even mentioning my concerns.

I didn't do the "thanks to X, thanks to Y" because I'd be here all day typing. We've had a TON of contributors over 14 years there's just too many to list. In the end the HBL may live on. If it doesn't its just out of laziness and time restriction. When the HBL started I was barely out of college. We have a few owners that have been in for 10+ years. We now have kids and careers. It's crazy to think of the difference where I was then and where I am now.

That's what I should have said, I guess. I was typing from my iPhone so kept it short. Maybe I should go back to my laptop!!!!

I didn't see a problem with anything you said. Seems clear where you're coming from and I sympathize.

I have no idea why everyone decided to jump you. That's on them, not on you.

[Honorable_Pawn]

yep, agreed.

[Honorable_Pawn]

I think my initial reaction was more from a "I hate change...Don't go there" point-of-view. I immediately realized my reaction to what you said was based upon fear of change and not so much what you were really talking about.

[jpeters1734]

No need to kill the league because of gm's dropping out. Contract the teams, let the league evolve. It doesn't have to have the same format forever. If I have been a part of a league for 14 years, I'd rather the league go down to 4 teams than to disband. Unless you are burnt outand that's something else entirely.

[Bagpipes5]

Keep your head up Qrash! Owners come and go but when a league loses a commissioner things can become unstable. My hat goes off to you for serving as the commissioner all these years. It will be hard to replace someone with your experience and familiarity with the league. Hopefully one of your long time owners will step up and grasp the reigns.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Qrashman

The Hickory Baseball League started in March of 2001 (real-time) with OOTP 2 as it's engine (I think OOTP3 was almost out but we started with 2). An offshoot of a High Heat league called the USBL, the HBL started with a handful of these USBL owners and attracted others from message boards and the OOTP website as well as the disbanding XBL run by Joe Winsarske which was one of the first-ever OOTP leagues.

Fast forward almost 14 years later and the HBL is now in the year 2056. 56 seasons have gone by and the record books rival the long history of the real major leagues...or at the very least the modern era of major league baseball.

The HBL has gone from the original 24 teams down to 20 back up to 24 and then down to 20 again. The same teams are turning over again and again. Perhaps its because new owners cannot grasp the fictionality of the league (all players are obviously fictional by now). We just did our customary "Are you coming back next season" thread and 3 owners have said they are not returning. A couple more have not responded.

The end may be near. I myself stepped down as commissioner after 55 seasons last year. The reason? I don't use a laptop or desktop anymore. I'm strictly tablet and iPhone. A couple others, including (edit: some) of the ones that are quitting the league have said the same.

[edit: This paragraph is an afterthought, not the point of this thread.]
I'm genuinely concerned for the future of OOTP if the game stays as an installable game. I have no doubt we could keep owners a lot easier if the game was completely web-based. Or perhaps on iOS but I've been told that iPads just can't handle it yet. It seems odd to me that the game is not web-based. Everything is "in the cloud" now and moving away from installable programs from what I've seen.

So the HBL may be losing 4-6 GMs and I don't think we can recover from that.

Any thoughts from past or present HBL GMs or on-lookers?

Hey Grashman, good to still see you around buddy.

[Elektranaut]

My 11 year old daughter look at me with pity when she sees me on the laptop.She has all the lastest pads and tablets and to her a laptop is something from another era just like cassette tapes and vinyl LP's.The whole PC/windows era is dying a slow death....it'll be a niche market for old timers....that's the way it is.

[ra7c7er]

Originally Posted by Elektranaut

My 11 year old daughter look at me with pity when she sees me on the laptop.She has all the lastest pads and tablets and to her a laptop is something from another era just like cassette tapes and vinyl LP's.The whole PC/windows era is dying a slow death....it'll be a niche market for old timers....that's the way it is.

Hardly true at all. PC's (windows and apple) are still in high demand. They can do much much more than the best tablets. They may not be in every persons house but they still rule commercially and will for a very long time to come.

The technology in a tablet is roughly 8-10 years behind (performance wise, obviously tech wise it's newer) that a of a modern $500 dollar desktop PC. Just because the average person no longer feels they have a need for for a desktop hardly means they won't be out there anymore.

[darkcloud4579]

Agreed on the idea that we probably need web-based games and have for years, but...I do think there will always be a market for these games, it's just not growing. Just like it's 2014 and there are still tabletop game players

[Statsman1]

Originally Posted by Elektranaut

My 11 year old daughter look at me with pity when she sees me on the laptop.She has all the lastest pads and tablets and to her a laptop is something from another era just like cassette tapes and vinyl LP's.The whole PC/windows era is dying a slow death....it'll be a niche market for old timers....that's the way it is.

Maybe...but you can't play Dragon Age: Inquisitions on a tablet!!

Having said that, and thinking about the OP's message - I cannot imagine setting up leagues, doing all the editing and manoeuvring required to get leagues just right, using only a touch screen and a small viewing area.

I love OOTP, and bought iOOTP for my iPod Touch, but I couldn't get into it. It's NOT the same, as much as I might want it to be.

I think those tablet games are too "cute" (if you get what I mean here) to be as immersive as I want OOTP to be. Emphasis always seems to be on pretty graphics and the simplest solution, and then the game bends around limitations dictated by the tablet / screen.

I just don't see tablet games of any sort catching and keeping my interest. That's why I have a PC.

[metsguy234]

Originally Posted by Qrashman

I'm genuinely concerned for the future of OOTP if the game stays as an installable game. I have no doubt we could keep owners a lot easier if the game was completely web-based. Or perhaps on iOS but I've been told that iPads just can't handle it yet. It seems odd to me that the game is not web-based. Everything is "in the cloud" now and moving away from installable programs from what I've seen.

I am not an online player, but I would definitely support a web-based way to play OOTP. That would be fantastic for times when I'm not on my main computer (at work, for example) and I'm looking to pass the time.

[bwburke94]

OOTP will never be a completely web-based game. It's simply not the way the game is designed.

With that being said, contracting to 16-18 teams is probably the best bet for the OP.

[darkcloud4579]

I think having an easier way to export data would be good, though. Right now, you can't even get anyone interested in your universe or share it without bulky uploads that were largely meant for online play anyway. A more lightweight way of exporting player data would be good for the game without the need for web space.

[Elektranaut]

The point I was trying to make is that my daughter and her generation now growing up hardly use use laptops or PC's,they are seen as being something your parents use and thus definitely not cool!

[metsguy234]

Originally Posted by Elektranaut

The point I was trying to make is that my daughter and her generation now growing up hardly use use laptops or PC's,they are seen as being something your parents use and thus definitely not cool!

Just going to step in as a 19 year old and current college student - basically everyone I know still has a laptop. Many of my friends also have tablets but they're sort of additional devices that don't replace their main laptop. In fact, the only people I really know who only use tablets and not computers are older people who like the simplicity of the tablet software.

The wave of the future seems to be laptops with touch screens that can be removed and used as a tablet or attached to the keyboard for use as a laptop. That sort of model shouldn't jeopardize OOTP, IMO.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by metsguy234

Just going to step in as a 19 year old and current college student - basically everyone I know still has a laptop. Many of my friends also have tablets but they're sort of additional devices that don't replace their main laptop. In fact, the only people I really know who only use tablets and not computers are older people who like the simplicity of the tablet software.

The wave of the future seems to be laptops with touch screens that can be removed and used as a tablet or attached to the keyboard for use as a laptop. That sort of model shouldn't jeopardize OOTP, IMO.

My daughter is in first year Nursing at age 19 and she told me her laptop is 100% the only way to survive. The program is set up on the web with texts in PDF format and assignments are done on the laptop. The College has full time IT support for student laptops. She has an iPad but it is not her primary device for school.

I see the possible combination of touch screen enabled laptops and docking stations for office/cubicle use where you need large screen/multiple screen high resolution support. Many people I know have multiple screens at work.

[Statsman1]

Originally Posted by RchW

My daughter is in first year Nursing at age 19 and she told me her laptop is 100% the only way to survive. The program is set up on the web with texts in PDF format and assignments are done on the laptop. The College has full time IT support for student laptops. She has an iPad but it is not her primary device for school.

I see the possible combination of touch screen enabled laptops and docking stations for office/cubicle use where you need large screen/multiple screen high resolution support. Many people I know have multiple screens at work.

My son, in first year university, wouldn't survive without his laptop, period. Along with being able to download and read PDF files and various documents on a reasonably sized screen, he also has the ability to type essays, complete assignments, print them out, store them easily - that's just not iPad-friendly behaviour. A 5,000 word political science essay on a touch-screen? He'd sooner take liberal arts!

The touch-screen / laptop hybrid might take off in the end and be the way of the future, but there's something about a 17" screen (or multiple screens, as RchW says) and actual keyboard that makes life so much easier for almost everything that involves...well, user involvement. Listening to music or yakking on a phone, or even just reading a book - that's fine for portable devices. But for day-to-day business use - the ol' laptop is where it's at, right now.

[canadian content]

Originally Posted by Elektranaut

The point I was trying to make is that my daughter and her generation now growing up hardly use use laptops or PC's,they are seen as being something your parents use and thus definitely not cool!

Someone was said to me that laptops are going out and I just laughed; I'm not a business person but when I'm travelling in the summer, the conference rooms are filled with people with laptops, NOT tablets.

I run Cubase on my laptop, a music studio recording program. I need a fair amount of power to run it, I couldn't do this on a tablet.

It's been pointed out already the number of college/ university students that use laptops; seems to me that in that stage of life they are a necessity.