So... guess the new OOTP 16 features!

And I can't understand how the thread about guessing changed into the thread about begging (and complaining).

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by BusterKing

Yep, but they (hardcore fans) are the ones that are pointing out the flaws in the game and made this game what it is today.

Yup. That's why I spend countless hours each year on features I wouldn't otherwise care about. I try to keep everyone happy, though that is an impossible task

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

Only the OOTP people can tell us whether promotion and relegation is permanently off the table for any of the reasons you state. Until they do, we'll continue to ask for it. I hope you don't mind.

Well, in theory it is supported already... however, we'd need to add little things like tiebreakers and team actually playing to win when being close to relegation. This will happen someday as an option, but not for OOTP 16. Unless I can figure out a quick and dirty way to do it.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by Poweshow

It's absolutely painful the amount of lobbying done by people against new ways to play the game. Fictional league players have been asking for new ways to play the game for nearly a decade now. Aside from some work being done to be able to play with multiple nations in a single league, fictional players have simply not had anything significant added (correct me if I'm wrong). Accordingly despite OOTP 15 being the best version of the game to date, it's seen less play time than any other OOTP for me. Simply put, playing the exact same game for over a decade now has begun to get a bit stale.

This is an extremely unfair statement. And if I were Markus or any of the modders in the community, I would be offended.

Originally Posted by Poweshow

Just as painful as all of this though is The Wolf's constant complaining... the guy must be a real pleasure to live with; the living embodiment of a wet owl.

These types of comments are really not welcome around here. You're more than welcome to argue your opinion of OOTP against someone else's opinion of OOTP, but let's leave any personal attacks out of these boards.

Thanks.

[Gai1997]

Can you make it so WAR is like real life? I think I heard how you made your own algorithm for WAR for the game. That's awesome, btw, but can you add the real-life WAR calculation? It makes it better for us picky baseball nerds. Also, can you add WRC+ as a stat? I use it a lot for judging players in real life and a lot of other people do too.

As for the WAR thing, you could even make it an option. Use yours or use the real life one. Just my 2 cents. Thanks.

[smiller]

Wouldn't mind seeing a little more interaction between fans and players. For example, fans getting on a player who is performing below what he should, especially one that gets a big salary. Or fans getting on a manager or general manager. One of my fondest memories of playing Football Manager was winning the league and having the supporters say they wanted to erect a statue to me outside the stadium. The next year I got relegated and they wanted me fired.

Originally Posted by smiller

Wouldn't mind seeing a little more interaction between fans and players. For example, fans getting on a player who is performing below what he should, especially one that gets a big salary. Or fans getting on a manager or general manager. One of my fondest memories of playing Football Manager was winning the league and having the supporters say they wanted to erect a statue to me outside the stadium. The next year I got relegated and they wanted me fired.

Wait a little 'till hardcore fans complain. Although I would like to see a human factor in game. I want to play with flesh and blood players, not with the sets of attributes. But you can surely call me casual.

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by Gai1997

Can you make it so WAR is like real life? I think I heard how you made your own algorithm for WAR for the game. That's awesome, btw, but can you add the real-life WAR calculation? It makes it better for us picky baseball nerds. Also, can you add WRC+ as a stat? I use it a lot for judging players in real life and a lot of other people do too.

As for the WAR thing, you could even make it an option. Use yours or use the real life one. Just my 2 cents. Thanks.

Good suggestion, but there's no single accepted calculation for WAR. The major stats websites (B-R, Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus) all use different formulas.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Good suggestion, but there's no single accepted calculation for WAR. The major stats websites (B-R, Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus) all use different formulas.

Apparently though pitchers do get to much of the available WAR vs batters. There was a thread on it some months ago.

[Poweshow]

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

This is an extremely unfair statement. And if I were Markus or any of the modders in the community, I would be offended.

Like I said, correct me if I'm wrong as it pertains to fictional leagues. Reply to the content, and provide a solution (show where I am mistaken).

[BIG17EASY]

Originally Posted by Poweshow

Like I said, correct me if I'm wrong as it pertains to fictional leagues. Reply to the content, and provide a solution (show where I am mistaken).

There have been countless changes to the game that affect both MLB setups and fictional over the past decade that make the claim of "playing the same game for a decade" entirely false.

I don't have time to list all of them, but the simple changes to depth charts, the pitching staff screen, the implementation of the monthly development reports, the changes in the scouting system, the addition of international leagues. All of these things affect fictional leagues.

Not to mention all the incredible additions by justafan alone that make fictional leagues look incredible when you use his logos and uniforms.

[eMLBCommish]

Oh Markus....another year of hoping this is the year Head to Head will be added....I'm used to disappoint by now, though....

Still love ya, though!

But I wish you'd finally man up on this and kick Mike Cieslinski's ass with his overly-expensive Dynasty League Baseball Online! This is a far superior product than his, but that H2H component is so interesting!

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by eMLBCommish

Oh Markus....another year of hoping this is the year Head to Head will be added....I'm used to disappoint by now, though....

Still love ya, though!

But I wish you'd finally man up on this and kick Mike Cieslinski's ass with his overly-expensive Dynasty League Baseball Online! This is a far superior product than his, but that H2H component is so interesting!

We will one day, no worries. No one's gonna stop us!

[Gai1997]

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

Good suggestion, but there's no single accepted calculation for WAR. The major stats websites (B-R, Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus) all use different formulas.

Right, forgot about that. Maybe add in a feature that allows you to choose which one to see? I don't know if it would too hard, I'm going to say I doubt it since I bet Markus has got the skillset to do it. Just add all the different types of WAR formulas.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by Gai1997

Can you make it so WAR is like real life? I think I heard how you made your own algorithm for WAR for the game. That's awesome, btw, but can you add the real-life WAR calculation? It makes it better for us picky baseball nerds. Also, can you add WRC+ as a stat? I use it a lot for judging players in real life and a lot of other people do too.

As for the WAR thing, you could even make it an option. Use yours or use the real life one. Just my 2 cents. Thanks.

OOTP 16 will switch to the Fangraphs version of WAR for position players. For pitchers we already use their formula in previous versions.

[TomVeal]

Originally Posted by dmytron

And I can't understand how the thread about guessing changed into the thread about begging (and complaining).

When discussions like this get heated, it is well to recall Rudyard Kipling's observation,

There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays,

And every single one of them is right!

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

Well, in theory it is supported already... however, we'd need to add little things like tiebreakers and team actually playing to win when being close to relegation. This will happen someday as an option, but not for OOTP 16. Unless I can figure out a quick and dirty way to do it.

Right, theoretically, promotion/relegation is supported in the sense that there is nothing in the game that prevents us from moving teams from league to league, even if they're on different levels. And as you know I am running a promotion/relegation dynasty within the confines of OOTP14 right now*. It's close enough to pass some muster, but it also comes up lacking in some very basic ways, which you recognize with your comment about the need to add some things to really make p/r work. But the most encouraging thing here is that you say it will happen someday, if not for 16—but even so, it might happen in 16 if you can figure out an easy way to implement it. That's very hopeful.

So, recognizing that p/r is not on the table right now, if it ever gets seriously closer on your radar, I would say that the most important features to include, at minimum, would be these:

• Instruct AI to have teams Win Now! towards the end of a season to both avoid relegation, and to try to earn promotion to the next level. (I've been trying to do manage this manually in season and it is unfortunately not working so well).
• Automatic movement of clubs from division to division immediately after the last game is played, with number of teams going up or down by division selected in game options.

I think if you added these two features to the game, that would create a credible promotion/relegation system that an OOTP gamer would feel extremely comfortable (not to mention grateful) implementing.

As for promotion playoffs, I believe that's already baked into the game: under Association settings, we can already select which places in the table will play in playoffs. So in a situation where three clubs go up and the top two teams are automatically promoted, we can instruct the league to play playoffs involving the four teams from third to sixth place to play for that third spot.

I think the following would be very nice to have, but to my way of thinking would be lower priority:

• Reserve teams and leagues, which would act like affiliated minor league teams and leagues except there would be no limitations on movement between the reserve and the first-team squads.
• Development academy teams and leagues for young players, which would act like the low minor leagues except would include whatever regulations there are re: movement to first-team or reserve clubs that exist today.
• Allow transfers instead of trades.
• Allow player loans.
• Allow ties to be broken by run differential rather than playoff.
• In season cup tournaments with separate records, and player status (injury, etc.) transferable from regular season to cup tourney.

I suspect that in terms of programming, that last one would probably be a big hairy deal!

Anyway, thanks very much for weighing in on the topic, Markus.


* - Actually, given my signature, I'd venture to say that everybody must know by now that I am running a promotion/relegation dynasty.

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

OOTP 16 will switch to the Fangraphs version of WAR for position players. For pitchers we already use their formula in previous versions.

Excellent! Can you also make WAR a stat that shows up in the exportable CSV? Right now we can only get VORP.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

Excellent! Can you also make WAR a stat that shows up in the exportable CSV? Right now we can only get VORP.

Yes please. Can't believe I didn't ask for this earlier.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by chucksabr

As for promotion playoffs, I believe that's already baked into the game: under Association settings, we can already select which places in the table will play in playoffs. So in a situation where three clubs go up and the top two teams are automatically promoted, we can instruct the league to play playoffs involving the four teams from third to sixth place to play for that third spot.

To piggyback on this, one thing that I would love to see for Association playoffs is the same playoff screen that is used for leagues. That would make things much easier when playoffs exist at the association level.