Quick Question about future options...

[Cusefan95]

Subby, you are so twisted and infantile.

[Daimyo]

Actually what would make me really love this game even more than animation is if I could use my old Nintendo Power Glove to control batting and fielding and the Power Pad to control base running...

[andy m]

i tried that first cheat and all that happened was a crude cartoon rendering of the Babe appeared on screen with a speech bubble coming out of his fat mouth that said "ciap!". what did i do wrong? did i mistype a letter? was it because i had the SCROLL-LOCK function lit? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

[Fritz]

If the game becomes animated I would like to suggest an engine like Unreal or Quake.

Then we could mod the game and give players chainsaws instead of bats and have cyborgs battle the lizard people for the intergalatic championship.

[Killebrew]

I agree with that nintendo example - unless the animations were a major part of the game I think the user would soon turn them off anyway. And if they were a major part of the game that would probably mean the game would now be called "EA Sports Out Of The Park Baseball", which would not be a good thing . Another thing about the audio and video options is they would cause a lot more support issues for users (my brain hurts just thinking about it).

[sjshaw]

[quote]Originally posted by Fritz:
<strong>If the game becomes animated I would like to suggest an engine like Unreal or Quake.

Then we could mod the game and give players chainsaws instead of bats and have cyborgs battle the lizard people for the intergalatic championship.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I actually would prefer Half-Life. Then we could make a Counter-Strike multi-player mod and I could beat Cooleyvol over the head with a large trout.

Just kidding cooley. I wouldn't use a trout.

[Dont Mess With Texas]

On the question of animation, I must say that it IS a plus in a game. For anyone out there who has played Strat-O-Matic Baseball, the addition of tiny animations make the games come alive. Most text sims keep me straight faced, watching the words, and when i win, i continue to look at stats. When playing SOM, homeruns get me on my feet, hi-fiving my little brother and celebrating another 3-run shot by Sammy. When the ball is in the air, the suspense builds. Though I've never played OOTP4, I'm sure SOM is the most realistic sim ever (without a doubt). I plan on buying OOTP4 due to the extra features (SOM doesn't even have playoffs or a world series). For anyone who just wants the most realistic stat based game ever (who dont need franchise modes, or even playoffs) SOM is the best. And the animation DOES help the atmosphere.

[Drake]

If animation becomes a priority, I trust Markus will agree to start marketing it as an animation-simulation instead of a text-sim.

[brendanrfoley]

Grrr.

I knew this would be taken as a desire to change the whole thing, but I'm not talking about changing the visual engine, just as somebody suggested, add little players to where the boxes with their names are.

I did play many of the early games on Nintendo(as somebody suggested I did not) that had a little bit of graphics, and I ejoyed them.

I love the Play by Play text window, I wouldn't dream of changing it. I'm not talking about getting rid of something and replacing it, I am talking about adding stuff.

I"ll all for new game play measures first, but if some 3rd party person could take care of it, I'd be all for it.

[Drake]

I think many people's fears, mine included, are that animations and graphics are a slippery slope that ultimately ends in destroying game balance and option innovation. In a small operation, time is as valuable a commodity as talent.

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, I've enjoyed the OOTP series from the beginning. Certainly, it has things that I don't like or feels shallow in places where I'd like to see significantly more depth, but at the end of the day, I trust Markus's developmental vision. I think he has the skills and the insight to continue to improve his product. At the very least, I'm willing to follow along and financially support his efforts as he makes the attempt.

I guess I just don't want to see OOTP go the way of High Heat or even Baseball Mogul. It would be a real pain in the ass to have to wait for someone to catch up to the standard Markus has set.

[bigbuhn]

If anyone has ever checked out Strat-o-matic, you would see a terrific example of how (in my opinion) horrible an added graphic can be. It took me about 2 whole innings to turn off the pitcher and batter art, as well as the path of the ball. It was tough on the eyes.

HOWEVER...I would still love to see some colorful fireworks and the loud booming sound effects added above the scoreboard every time the home team hits a homer! That was definately cool, and never got old. (strat again)

[Killebrew]

Somehwhat on topic: I miss the sound of popping the cap off a beer bottle from BB Mogul 2000 - they removed it in Mogul 2002.

[c-man]

I recognize and agree with many of the practical fears named here as far as OOTP in the short run. But i think the question is interesting to think about for the long run... If i could sit down and watch my team and prospects and minor leagues play with graphics that convey the personality and attributes of a player, I think that would have some interest for me. If i could watch a pitcher's motion, see a player's quickness to first base, watch the range of my shortstop, then I think that would be amazing. If i could watch my newly signed closer come in and strike out the side, I would get some enjoyment out of that. I understand that this is not realistic in the short term, but to me it has value as an idea for the future and shouldn't be dismissed because other games with graphics are so poor...

That being said, I hope that ootp does not add any cheesy, repetitive graphics in the near future...

[SSG Troyer]

Let's not forget this is essentially a one-man operation. Graphics are a whole new ballgame, so to speak. One can program the heck out of text, but to do anything more than rudementary animation requires an entirely different skill set. That's why big-house developers have "teams" working on their games -- some people are good a one thing, others are good at another.

Markus can program the bejeezus out of text, and then he spends a heck of a lot more time supporting his program than, say, 3DO. Then, after multiple updates, it's time to do another version.

I, for one, will be perfectly happy if I never see an 3x5 stick-man run to first.

[Hammer755]

[quote]Originally posted by c-man:
<strong>If i could watch a pitcher's motion, see a player's quickness to first base, watch the range of my shortstop, then I think that would be amazing. If i could watch my newly signed closer come in and strike out the side, I would get some enjoyment out of that.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

The thing is, c-man, is that I can already see all of these things. I know exactly what my lead-off hitter's time to 1B is. I know down to the stitching on the jersey how my dominating closer looks like striking out the side in the ninth. I can see my SS making a diving back-handed play in the hole and firing a pea to the first baseman to nip the runner. I see all of these things vividly in my mind's eye. I think a "thrown-in" animation package could only detract from my vision of OOTP3. OOTP, and any other text-sims, are for those with some imagination, some idea of how they want the games to unfold in front of them. I often think back to J Henry Waugh's vision of his UBA and the minutae that was included in his descriptions of the games, the players, the bar where the players hung out, and know that no animation (think of HH or TP) could capture that atmosphere as well as my brain can.

[ February 18, 2002: Message edited by: Hammer755 ]</p>