My letter to Markus and Company

[Joe Canadian]

Originally posted by rwd59
I would and will post something 10,000 times if that is what it takes to get an answer.

Give the man a prize!!! I wish everyone would read this and realize that the issues posted within the last couple of days aren't posted just because people are bored.... they have been posted to get some sort of answer, which we haven't gotten yet.

[SunDevil]

MD,

I agree with everything you said. And just one more thing to add, it feels like this year (so far) there has been a lot less communication from Markus. Maybe its just me.

[DavidWatts]

Everyone keeps saying fix the existing problems before new features are added. If sometime last year Markus made the announcement, OOTP6 will have no new features but I have fixed all the bugs and every single AI issue, the cost for this will be $34.95. What do you think the response would have been? Here is my best guess--I am not going to pay $34.95 for a fricken patch! My point is, this type of game benefits greatly from the tease. If the perfect game is ever actually released the company will lose money. Hell, I was so happy with ootp5 that I would not have purchased OOTP6 if someone hadn't made it known soon after it's release, that it had instant Play-by-play. I play without financials so I had no interest in the Waivers, rule five, 5, v, Sinco etc., and or minor league free agency. Flashy new features are needed in order for this type of game to make money. Perfecting a game that offers unlimited access to a major league database, fictional leagues, and the ability to create and edit players would be financial suicide. The countdown to when everyone calls me a idiot has now started, 10,9,----

All this being said- Mallius Dei (spelling) made some very great points, so did Soxwin, etc. I find it very distressing that a person that is at the convention has enough free time to respond ( and according to his posts with the encouragement of fellow conventioneers) to this board. Hell, where are the hookers?

[Eugene Church]

Originally posted by Cowboys3356


The problem is that Markus does not keep the OOTP community very well updated and people get upset. I think the first post in this thread was well written and explained how alot of us feel. If you enjoy the game that is great and I also enjoy the game. But like alot of people I also think there is plenty of room for improvement and I would just like to see that happen. I don't think bashing each other or Markus is helpful and I do not think that was the point of this thread at all. The point of this thread was to discuss the problems people are having with the game and to hopeful get a little feedback from Markus.

Markus are you out there?!??!!?

Thanks, Cowboy. you stated that very well. I think there are many more like you, MD, myself and others, not too many who feel the way Dale and Eli's Dad do.

And Thanks to Malleus Dei, too. He has on some occasions deserved some criticism for his views...but not today. He is one of the elders who I often see giving very good knowledge and insight about the game to those who need it...both new members and old. He is very helpful...until you bash him, then look out...as Dale and Eli's Dad have possibly discovered.

MD loves the game...wants it improved...likes to help us when we have problems...and is not interested in fame or prestige.

He did not deserve to be bashed. This was a great thread until that point. Often words spoken in anger make us look like fools.

I would prefer we disagree like gentlemen.

[Giants44]

You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of OOTP then myself and like I have said before I can't think of another product that I buy that I get my moneys worth as much as OOTP.

and I have certainly not been a big MD fan in the past, I don’t understand anyone (and they are all over the internet) that feels thier post count, time with a board, etc bestows them with the right to insult, berate, name call, etc.

However I do agree for the most part with this letter (especially the part about the message board problems and lingering bugs) - for whatever reason, whether it was ITP, the .400 fiasco, this new deal with SI, the move to London, a larger customer base - for whatever reason the OOTP team seems less responsive to the community as a whole then they were in years past.

Perhaps that is just the nature of the beast with a more mature product, but I find the general attentiveness to customers and details down from the past.

Having said however, it must be said that this level of attentiveness is relative to the achievements of the past which were quite high. We were spoiled my Markus and the gang in the past and even today this level is far higher then you would ever get from a company like EA or Microsoft.

I can also sympathize with the fact that it seems virtually impossible to get an consensus on an issue these days – for every issue raised there are usually a great deal of posts both for and against – I can see how it would be very difficult to decide what exactly it is we as a community want. And completely impossible to please everyone.

In closing – hopefully something can be done about the board problems, we can see a new patch soon and once the dust settles from the merge and move we will see a return to previous levels of communication and updates.

[Lucas718]

Sooner or later this argument pops up on every message board. Someone posts what he believes are legitimate complaints, someone else tells him to stop complaining. And then it usually degrades into two people shouting "am not", "are too" at each other.

I guess it was finally time for it to happen here.

[Marc Vaughan]

Markus is out and about at the moment and so unable to reply ...

Obviously I'm not in a position to put words in his mouth, but going from past experience of Markus's support for his games I'd expect him to reply honestly and promptly to your queries once he's back at a PC.

I realise the lack of a response can be frustrating to people but please realise that sometimes real-life does get in the way of things ...

Hope this helps,

Marc

(copied from a less popular thread I replied to)

[Lucas718]

Originally posted by Applecorey
Just when you thought OOTP took a giant step forward in the baseball simulation race Puresim has an opening...........

The only problem is that if you want to try it out, you have to pay for it even though it is still a Beta. I haven't paid for a beta since I bought High Heat 2004.

[Eugene Church]

Originally posted by Marc Vaughan
Markus is out and about at the moment and so unable to reply ...

Obviously I'm not in a position to put words in his mouth, but going from past experience of Markus's support for his games I'd expect him to reply honestly and promptly to your queries once he's back at a PC.

I realise the lack of a response can be frustrating to people but please realise that sometimes real-life does get in the way of things ...

Hope this helps,

Marc

(copied from a less popular thread I replied to)

Thanks for the info, Marc.

Look forward to Markus responding to some of the recent threads indicating the community's feelings about OOTP6 and the game's future with SI.

[Mr.Opinion]

Or....Instead of MD posting the thread in the MIDDLE OF THE TOLEDO CONVENTION when nobody is around of authority to discuss it, he could have held the thread until people who can make a difference returned. Mal, if you are the "senior member of the board", you could should a tad bit of maturity and assist in taking care of the boards while those who run it are not present, and reserve your complaints about the game, and at a time when it would truely make a difference, when Markus, Steve, and Henry are around, instead of waiting until they are gone and unable to remark on your comments.

[Chappy]

I don't think Markus is at the convention. Nobody else seems to give definitive answers.

[JAttractive]

Giants 44... Great post. That post could have come straight from me.

[Mr.Opinion]

Well, before anyone else can complain about the boards, please read Andreas' sticky/announcement:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...?s=&forumid=80

The team is obviously taking steps needed to fix some of the communities concerns, no matter how minute they are.

[euphoria13]

Originally posted by cshigh
If you are unhappy with the game, then don't play it, don't buy it, and don't bash those that enjoy the game.

And if you disagree with our government's policies, get the heck out of the country, right? :P

[KurtBevacqua]

Originally posted by Mr.Opinion
Well, before anyone else can complain about the boards, please read Andreas' sticky/announcement:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...?s=&forumid=80

The team is obviously taking steps needed to fix some of the communities concerns, no matter how minute they are.

Somehow I believe the action you linked to in your post is directly related to what Mal is saying. There is a great deal of apprehension around here about the fate of the board in light of the whol SI thing and any dramatic changes to the board have many of us (myself very much included) greatly concerned about the direction this board is going in. If anything, I think Mal could have taken this a step further and asked Markus for a firm committment to keeping this board around.

[Malleus Dei]

Originally posted by Mr.Opinion
Or....Instead of MD posting the thread in the MIDDLE OF THE TOLEDO CONVENTION when nobody is around of authority to discuss it, he could have held the thread until people who can make a difference returned. Mal, if you are the "senior member of the board", you could should a tad bit of maturity and assist in taking care of the boards while those who run it are not present, and reserve your complaints about the game, and at a time when it would truely make a difference, when Markus, Steve, and Henry are around, instead of waiting until they are gone and unable to remark on your comments.

Excuse me? Since when is Markus at the convention?

I posted it when I wrote it. I wrote it because I felt like writing it. If you don't like that, up yours.

[Malleus Dei]

Originally posted by KurtBevacqua
If anything, I think Mal could have taken this a step further and asked Markus for a firm committment to keeping this board around.

I'd like to have him make that committment, and he should make it, but I haven't asked for it yet.

Give me time, though.

[And1pg2]

I ain't even going to complain. All of the people wanted the game out so quick and everything. But now that it's out you are all mad about the game. Maybe next time you should just shut up and wait until the game is out instead of begging for it.

[kingpin1976]

Maybe Markus got bored after 5 years and decided to give another sub genre a try?///

[cknox0723]

Originally posted by And1pg2
I ain't even going to complain. All of the people wanted the game out so quick and everything. But now that it's out you are all mad about the game. Maybe next time you should just shut up and wait until the game is out instead of begging for it.

Nah dont like that.

Craig