Good news for online leagues!

[clarnzz]

Great news on the online enhancements.

I would love for a way to customize your bullpen to take advantage of an A duration releiver that you wanna have close games. Make him eligible for 2 inning saves or what have you. Always feel like Im wasting him if hes put at closer.

Put it with the rest.

[dougk62]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned yet or not, but posting all of a teams emails at the bottom of their team pages is really not completely fair, especially during free agency. I think the only person with access to a teams emails should be that team.

[Shorty]

Originally posted by Carlton
How about ability to change uniform numbers and nicknames Markus...and allow them to be FTP'd as well, it causes my commishes work when I am become uber-realistic boy and change guys that have 60-80 numbers, or put a nickname for a kid that's tearing it up and was supposed to be a bum.

Just adds more personality to OOTP, but a headache for commishes to make these changes when it could easily be done by Online GMs then exported

this would please all the micro-managers

good idea carlton

:thumbs up:

[sox9418]

While not necessarily specific for online leagues, I'd like to see the list of free agents at the end of the year return to the roster screen, or be displayed in somewhere other than an HTML report - it'd be nice to be able to right click on the list and offer extensions - now you have to know who's a free agent when you're viewing the roster, etc.

Maybe including a waiver system in the game would alleviate some of the concerns people have about releasing players? I think allowing owners to release players is a good thing, as it's the major issue I've seen that invalidates team exports. Once a team's file fails to import, they're basically in trouble for the sim, and if you sim more than a few days, it can have a big impact.

[sox9418]

Just a thought for online leagues - if there were preset managers in the game that could be hired, online leagues could play more of the GM if they wanted. Might not be for everyone, but an option might be interesting.

[Treches]

Originally posted by sox9418
While not necessarily specific for online leagues, I'd like to see the list of free agents at the end of the year return to the roster screen, or be displayed in somewhere other than an HTML report - it'd be nice to be able to right click on the list and offer extensions - now you have to know who's a free agent when you're viewing the roster, etc

Actually, you can do that on the roster screen (drop down, sort players by salary), albeit it isn't as user-friendly as it was in V4. Would be nice to have it back, sending the hot/cold thing to both the lineup screen (for batters) and pitching staff screen. All those screens should be re-designed, IMO.

[Sudy Nym]

1) The ability to delete team emails

Small, but very helpful. There's no point in keeping free agency e-mails around after the start of the season, and up until now, I've had to ask my commissioner to delete them for me. This appears to be the same type of hassle as "releasing". In fact, I would guess that there are even fewer strings attached, and that it would be just as easy to implement.

* * *

As for the MR -> SP debate, take into consideration that it's never a sure shot. If you try to convert a guy for two or three years in spring training, but he never makes it, then there are likely going to be some visible ratings penalties. Additionally, if he does make it, he's likely going to have an endurance of only "E"- and it will take some luck (and time) to get it any higher than that. So it's not all "fun and games," so to speak. You can't turn "insert random star prospect closer" into Randy Johnson in a fortnight- it just doesn't work like that.

But I think the issue here is that it may be a little bit too easy to convert ace relievers to starters. Not that we shouldn't be able to convert them at all. I reiterate what others have said- there aren't very many pitchers drafted who are MRs to begin with. But for the sake of balance, I understand the distinction in OOTP5.

Perhaps it would be better if there were significantly less of a success rate in spring training, but that, somehow, there wasn't as great a chance for a decay of ratings in other areas? It's not that the conversion should be a no-risk gamble, just that it doesn't strike me that a pitcher's going to be "neglecting" his skills while trying to more-or-less just "improve" his starter's stamina.

Regardless, if we are eventually going to a no-classification pitching system, I think you'll see this "problem" disappear. In fact, then it will be a lot like real life.

[Sudy Nym]

Originally posted by Treches
Actually, you can do that on the roster screen (drop down, sort players by salary), albeit it isn't as user-friendly as it was in V4. Would be nice to have it back, sending the hot/cold thing to both the lineup screen (for batters) and pitching staff screen. All those screens should be re-designed, IMO.

Personally, I think there should just be a functional "contracts" screen added. Have all demands be listed in a modified roster browser window, and run salary reports from that screen instead of the Front Office screen. In fact, it would sort of be exactly like the salary report, only an actual window instead of a report.

I think that that would make everyone happy. But I agree that working with contracts from the main roster screen is just too cluttered a process.

[ClassicMLB]

Originally posted by Markus Heinsohn
OK, now with more time I decided that I'd finally spend some time with my team in the OOL.

When I made roster moves, it struck me that you cannot release players on your own. That sucked. So, I changed it, and the next patch will allow owners to release players. When importing the teams into the master files, these moves will be correnctly read and executed.

While we're on topic, what would in your opinion increase the fun in online leagues and reduce the hassle?

As a league Commish that idea would be nice BUT it also will allow a player to trash a team by dropping all his stars. This could happen if an owner gets angry and decides to trash his team prior to leaving OR if someone like Kevin who is known for just randomly downloading league files and trying to send in exports gets a hold of a team that isn't password protected.

I think you really need to make that option toggled ON/OFF or something because if someone decided to release all their guys and trash their team that would be a NIGHTMARE to fix for a Commish.

Sorry to go negative but this the reality of the world we live in today. Lots of losers out there...

[Sudy Nym]

...if someone like Kevin who is known for just randomly downloading league files and trying to send in exports gets a hold of a team that isn't password protected.

Hahaha- what's this? Who has this happened to?


Anyway- I know it's already more than enough work being a commissioner- but I think you'd notice if someone had released all their big players, or something, before you made a sim final. It might still cause a little bit of a hassle on your end, but it's hardly any reason not to implement owner releases. Of course, it's already been stated that it will be an option, anyway.

But I don't think that it creates as big of an opportunity for mischief as you might think. I mean, in the current client, an angry owner could make a real mess of their team by assigning stars to A-ball and by playing 18 year-old scrubs at the ML level. Especially if options are turned off. But how often do you hear of it? And do you really think that it would take that long for someone in the league to notice? Either way, it's still no argument to not allow FTP roster changes.

Admittedly, releasing players isn't as "reversible" as promoting and demoting the right guys. But with adequate screening, I don't think you're really going to find a significant number of such "nutbars" who would attempt such a thing. The "what ifs" really ruin the addition of much needed features. If someone really wanted to mess up a league, there are far better ways to do it.

[blmeanie]

How about it goes to a file for commish "approval". Commish clicks on a button for each player to process the release and voila, everything is ok.

If an owner went to tank the team before leaving the league, the commish would likely recognize it and deny the drops and ask what is up?

[Sudy Nym]

Good thinking. I wonder how easy that would be to facilitate.

[blmeanie]

not sure, might require another temp file to go along with the export or at least a field.

Totally takes the threat of "vandalism" out of the picture IMO.

[WLight]

Originally posted by Deft
It's definitely not cheating, its a problem with the game and how it models pitchers. I hope the in the future (ootp6+) the line between MR and SP will become less defined and the GM will have to determine pitcher's roles based on stamina, talent and maybe other intangibles

I'm totally with you on this one. The same thing needs to be done with primary positions in the field, too (as you mentioned).... eventually.

[Treches]

Another thing that might have some interest would be a HTML page stating the rookies per league with the basic stats. Would come handy for those leagues that choose their own ROY's.

[Bluenoser]

Better yet, how about just make it an option. Then those leagues that want to use it can, and those that don't can turn it off.

[DMN]

Everyone has made some very good suggestions for online leagues in free-agency etc. etc.

IMHO the absolute best thing Markus can add to his game is:

1. The ability to play online games vs others in the league!

2. The ability to Import and Export stats of games played by managers and to have those files compiled in one computer and then sent to everyone in the league to update the league files.

Markus I know you first played games like DMB so you know exactly what I am talking about. Your game has SO MUCH depth, but without the ability to play online vs other s and have the stats compiled and distributed your game is missing a large part of what makes all this so much fun.

Thanks for listening ...Again)

DMN

[Rainey]

Here is a little something to think about.

Allowing online owners to vote for the all-stars in the all-star game.

Another note related to the All-Star game... allow commishes to set the size of the roster.

[ClassicMLB]

Originally posted by Rainey
Here is a little something to think about.

Allowing online owners to vote for the all-stars in the all-star game.

Another note related to the All-Star game... allow commishes to set the size of the roster.

There is already an editor out that allows you to assign which players are on the All Star team. Of course you are still limited to the 25 man roster.

[Sudy Nym]

But it would be great if it were actually part of the game. And I hear that using the editor hasn't exactly been a cakewalk for everyone.

Though, quite frankly, I can live with the current All-Star system. Until the next version of the game, anyway.