So what MIGHT OOTPBB22 have to offer ?

[Calvert98]

Originally Posted by Brad K

I hope all the requests for cosmetic improvements are prioritized after the requests for accuracy improvements.

I disagree to an extent.

I think we are seeing a lot of requests for cosmetic improvements, likely because that is an area that needs focus and improvement at this point.

I agree with you Brad that most of us, including myself, play OOTP for the simulation first, but it is still a PC game, and I have to admit, I think we are at an inflection point where the game needs to take another step forward in this area; especially given the potential for new customers through things like OOTP Go and PT: in many ways, the cosmetics are the front-porch of OOTP. And I play-out all of games, and although the UI looks better overall, and the 3D has been cleaned-up in some areas, we did not see that step-forward in 21 or 20.

There is always work being done on the game engine /AI, and that will continue despite wherever the focus might be in a given year, but I am rather sure we are over-due for a significant upgrade of the in-game experience.

-Cal

[Bobfather]

Add these to my list,
Open multiple windows. IE compare players in trade offers.
Hit & Run ratings.
An Organization page, one page to see all your minor league info. Records stats schedule hot cold etc.
Emails with minor league news.
Add minor league teams a season ahead of expansion, for expansion teams.

[smiller]

A minor improvement, but how about a button you can click so all games start in the daytime. This would be especially helpful for historical replays. Right now I have to go through about five extra clicks to effect this.

[David Watts]

Still would love to see a page in the history section that recognizes things like batting champions, home run king, strikeout leader for pitchers etc. Could be very similar to the awards page.

I play a lot of random debut and like to pick a season to use for my league modifiers. For example, my currant league is using 1982. But, what I would love even more is to be able to pick certain period say 1979-1986 and have OOTP randomly select from those years each season for my new modifiers. I can do this now using a random number generator, but it would be so much easier if the game simply did this for me. I imagine a feature like this being popular for fictional leagues as well.

When playing historical, give us the option to have pitching staffs minus rotations and bullpens. That way we can simply have 7 or 8 man staffs using start the highest rested and the game behave accordingly.

Please listen to Garlon in regards to historical fielding.

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by smiller

A minor improvement, but how about a button you can click so all games start in the daytime. This would be especially helpful for historical replays. Right now I have to go through about five extra clicks to effect this.

I play 2D classic. I would love a button like this. I would even start all my games at 9am if it meant I could never ever experience an earthquake shake ever again.

[Calvert98]

Originally Posted by David Watts

Still would love to see a page in the history section that recognizes things like batting champions, home run king, strikeout leader for pitchers etc. Could be very similar to the awards page.
.

I like this idea - that would be pretty cool.

-Cal

[Bobbyraz49]

I'd like to be able to hover the mouse over a player and see something like:

4 for last 17 AB 1 HR 5K 0/1 SB

And....I'd like to see who is warming up in my opposition's bullpen.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by Bobbyraz49

I'd like to be able to hover the mouse over a player and see something like:

4 for last 17 AB 1 HR 5K 0/1 SB

And....I'd like to see who is warming up in my opposition's bullpen.

AI doesn't warm up relievers.

[Harry Hibbs]

Originally Posted by Brad K

AI doesn't warm up relievers.

...but it would be nice if it did

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by Harry Hibbs

...but it would be nice if it did

No, AI needs some help. This is one of the easy ways to give it some help.

[Dorfmann]

I just want to be able to permanently turn off challenge mode for my existing save.

[Harry Hibbs]

Originally Posted by Brad K

No, AI needs some help. This is one of the easy ways to give it some help.

Well, AI bullpen management overall needs better logic, as opposed to relying on the current 'fog of war' situation to make the AI more competitive.

[Syd Thrift]

Part of the issue is that there are no statistics available for warming guys up in the bullpen that the team can adhere to when figuring out strategy. Also, I think the idea of warming up the pen requires a level of looking ahead by the AI that’s not so easy to code. Do you warm up your lefty because there are a couple of left handed batters coming up in the lineup? What are the chances the opponent switches one of those guys out and makes your lefty redundant? What if the guy on the mound right now settles down and gets through the inning? Do you sit your guy or keep him warm with the idea that he’ll come in some time in the next inning?

I’m sure the team *could* spend time coding in warmup logic, which of course would have to be tweaked in beta and again when it comes into contact with the public at large, but do they *really* need or want to spend extra time on this? It kind of seems like a minor “plus” to me but I guess YMMV. And of course it’s one more “pain point” where people will be able to outwit the AI, not to mention one more point where there will be some bizarre outcomes not predicted that the dev team will have to work their way around... again, YMMV but especially given all the other things they could work on and improve, adding AI warming up seems like a deal where the effort isn’t really worth the added playability.

[Ace1234NY]

Speaking of warming up receivers, I'd really like a slightly bigger window between "warming up" and "tired". It seems to take them so long to warm up, and then they quickly move to tired. This gets to be a difficult guessing game if my team is batting, especially with 2 out rallies. And if I already pinch hit for my pitcher, there's no margin for error if I get it wrong. Also, a break between half innings should really be enough to get warm. There are times where while my team is batting, my plans change and I warm up someone new. Then I may only have 1 or 2 more at bats before the inning is over and my reliever is still stuck at "warming up" when we start the next inning. I dont want to turn warming up off because thats an important part of being a manager. But it's way more difficult than it really needs to be.

[MaeNekoChan]

I would love to see some more in-depth data on players and prospects. Specifically I'm thinking of 'raw power' and exit velocities and launch angels and spin rates and body types etc which are obviously kinda represented in game but are typically abstracted or more cosmetic.

For example, players like Marcell Ozuna or Nomar Mazara are pretty well known for having elite exit velocities, but these didn't always correlate to batted ball success or power. See this data from baseball savant on Mazara and you'll notice the high EV and hard hit% is paired with just average barrel% and atrocious xBA:




As it stands now, there's no real trait that seems to simulate disparities like that. At most you might give a player high gap power but low BABIP in the editor, but that's still not effectively the same thing.


Additionally, if you read prospect scouting reports, they'll often talk about how so and so has some of the highest exit velocities in the system but aren't necessarily projected for plus power. Take this example from MLB's report on Pavin Smith, who they project with 45 power:

A potential plus hitter, he drives the ball to all fields well from the left side of the plate and generates some of the better high-end and more consistent exit velocities in the entire organization.

You'll often read about how certain pitchers' builds give them a better chance to have sound and repeatable mechanics, thus improving their control potential. Take this example from MLB's report on Jay Groome:

Though he battled his control before he got hurt, Groome has the athleticism and clean delivery to provide consistent strikes. He uses his 6-foot-6 frame to create angle and plane on his pitches, helping keep them off barrels.

You'll likewise notice how certain prospects' frame projections likely means they'll 'grow out of' the CF or SS positions, as is the case with Marco Luciano:

He's already a fringy runner and could slow down further as he adds strength, which could necessitate a move to third base or right field.

Another great example of physical profiles impacting scouting projections would be how young players who are 'already filled out' don't always have favorable projections despite having high development. Exhibit A for this would be Blaze Jordan, who at 17 displayed massive power, but doesn't project to mature as much. Per Fangraphs' Eric Longenhagen at 18 years old he's already reached 55/60 raw power:

I’m not inclined to project on his raw power very much, even though he’s only 17, because Jordan’s frame is already relatively maxed out. He’s a good version of a profile that I don’t like very much.

The point is, it would be really cool if some of these scoutable measurables were really integrated into the game (reports and in the editor) so that scouting is more than just glancing at abstract potential ratings for contact, power, etc.

I think even finding a way to add some of this stuff would dramatically increase the quality of the gm game and also go a long way to educate baseball fans on the kind of things scouts use to evaluate prospects


Edit: Related, it would be cool if you could hire coaches and assign them special tasks like 'raise so and so's launch angel' a la Christian Yellich in order to change their batted ball profile and develop them. The Giants' new hitting coaches did this a lot this year by adjusting the batting stances and emphasizing the positive elements of the approaches of guys like Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford and both saw major rebounds after really bad seasons under a pretty stagnant (and in Belt's case unencouraging) hitting staff in 2019. Pitching coaches could have tasks like 'teach new change grip' to a veteran pitcher with high intelligence who needs to retool their repertoire or 'increase spin rate' a la the Astros and Gerrit Cole. It would obviously be limited (say 1 task per month or season or whatever) and dependent on player personality and coach ratings and preferences, but it could be a really fun way to more directly guide player development. This combined with the aforementioned data could also make 'reclamation projects' of, say, failed prospects more tangible, since there'd be real raw potential and options to work with ^_^

[Boomcoach]

I mentioned this waaaay back in the thread, so I thought I would drop it in again. More than anything else, I would love to be able to create a fictional league and easily fill it with historical players from a specific year. It can be done manually, but that is a REAL pain the whatzit!

[PocketsAintFull]

Originally Posted by MaeNekoChan

I would love to see some more in-depth data on players and prospects....

Enjoyed reading that, thanks

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by MaeNekoChan

I would love to see some more in-depth data on players and prospects. Specifically I'm thinking of 'raw power' and exit velocities and launch angels and spin rates and body types etc which are obviously kinda represented in game but are typically abstracted or more cosmetic.

For example, players like Marcell Ozuna or Nomar Mazara are pretty well known for having elite exit velocities, but these didn't always correlate to batted ball success or power. See this data from baseball savant on Mazara and you'll notice the high EV and hard hit% is paired with just average barrel% and atrocious xBA:




As it stands now, there's no real trait that seems to simulate disparities like that. At most you might give a player high gap power but low BABIP in the editor, but that's still not effectively the same thing.


Additionally, if you read prospect scouting reports, they'll often talk about how so and so has some of the highest exit velocities in the system but aren't necessarily projected for plus power. Take this example from MLB's report on Pavin Smith, who they project with 45 power:

A potential plus hitter, he drives the ball to all fields well from the left side of the plate and generates some of the better high-end and more consistent exit velocities in the entire organization.

You'll often read about how certain pitchers' builds give them a better chance to have sound and repeatable mechanics, thus improving their control potential. Take this example from MLB's report on Jay Groome:

Though he battled his control before he got hurt, Groome has the athleticism and clean delivery to provide consistent strikes. He uses his 6-foot-6 frame to create angle and plane on his pitches, helping keep them off barrels.

You'll likewise notice how certain prospects' frame projections likely means they'll 'grow out of' the CF or SS positions, as is the case with Marco Luciano:

He's already a fringy runner and could slow down further as he adds strength, which could necessitate a move to third base or right field.

Another great example of physical profiles impacting scouting projections would be how young players who are 'already filled out' don't always have favorable projections despite having high development. Exhibit A for this would be Blaze Jordan, who at 17 displayed massive power, but doesn't project to mature as much. Per Fangraphs' Eric Longenhagen at 18 years old he's already reached 55/60 raw power:

I’m not inclined to project on his raw power very much, even though he’s only 17, because Jordan’s frame is already relatively maxed out. He’s a good version of a profile that I don’t like very much.

The point is, it would be really cool if some of these scoutable measurables were really integrated into the game (reports and in the editor) so that scouting is more than just glancing at abstract potential ratings for contact, power, etc.

I think even finding a way to add some of this stuff would dramatically increase the quality of the gm game and also go a long way to educate baseball fans on the kind of things scouts use to evaluate prospects


Edit: Related, it would be cool if you could hire coaches and assign them special tasks like 'raise so and so's launch angel' a la Christian Yellich in order to change their batted ball profile and develop them. The Giants' new hitting coaches did this a lot this year by adjusting the batting stances and emphasizing the positive elements of the approaches of guys like Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford and both saw major rebounds after really bad seasons under a pretty stagnant (and in Belt's case unencouraging) hitting staff in 2019. Pitching coaches could have tasks like 'teach new change grip' to a veteran pitcher with high intelligence who needs to retool their repertoire or 'increase spin rate' a la the Astros and Gerrit Cole. It would obviously be limited (say 1 task per month or season or whatever) and dependent on player personality and coach ratings and preferences, but it could be a really fun way to more directly guide player development. This combined with the aforementioned data could also make 'reclamation projects' of, say, failed prospects more tangible, since there'd be real raw potential and options to work with ^_^

In lieu of a thanks button, consider this that.
These are the kinds of ideas that make my brain tingle. In a good way.

[igor7111]

I know it would require a major re-work, but since we're dreaming here.....
I'd like to see more emphasis on the pitcher-batter battle. Maybe choose between throwing a fastball or offspeed pitches, have the hitter try to go the other way, etc.

[MaeNekoChan]

Originally Posted by igor7111

I know it would require a major re-work, but since we're dreaming here.....
I'd like to see more emphasis on the pitcher-batter battle. Maybe choose between throwing a fastball or offspeed pitches, have the hitter try to go the other way, etc.

I think this would be cool too! Especially if there's a way to more generally integrate certain philosophies (ie, prioritizing pitch tunneling, or high fastballs, or low sinkers, or heavy breaking ball usage for relievers etc)