Announcing OOTP 27

[crazyjoedavola]

I see these as well, I don't know how frequent but I do see them as I play out my games...I actually would like to see a few more drop in for bloopers!

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Bobfather

My 2B and SS make these types of outs regularly. Maybe it has something to do with def ratings? I am just trying to give a different perspective.

Same for me. Both are very good fielders.

[Francoeurstein]

Going into this thinking it's going to be extremely bug-riddled for a few months. That's just the way it goes these days.

[84Cubs]

Excited for another release. Congrats to the team!

[84Cubs]

Will there be a model for the under construction Vegas A’s stadium?

When you compare 2 players will you be able to compare their percentile rankings?

[cojo82]

dynamic weather effects! yes!

[WhiskyTango]

Originally Posted by Lukas Berger

A ton of animation, 3d gameplay and player model improvements, that I imagine we'll get into a little more over the road to release

About the pitch location widget --- my guess is this was always an afterthought. I found the pitch location widget available during gameplay (the widget attached to the webcast is useless). "Normal" appearance according to OOTPD apparently appears to be 4pt font (btw -- tiny fonts are more legible using serif characters and are least legible using sans-serif), the box appears to be perhaps 3/8" x 3/4" and choices used to display pitch information (in a game that generally ranges from delight to utter bafflement) tends towards the utter bafflement end.


For example, no one has ever requested the pitch count when inquiring about the pitch outcome. The two tend to be understood in tandem. So when the pitch reads 0-2 it is assumed that is the outcome. However, OOTPD feels it ought to be the count (which is just repeating the outcome of the previous pitch and therefore at best is redundant), and the outcome is tacked on at the end (though it will be repeated in the next line).

I think there is a far more intuitive method that has been used actually by newspapers etc for generations and across centuries.


Here is a small demonstration. This demonstration is that of an AB:


1. 0-1
2. 1-1
3. 2-1


In this demonstration we have an AB. Three pitches are thrown, indicated by the initial number followed by a period. (eg "1.", "2.", etc)


Following each is the outcome of the pitch. For example, the first pitch (1.) is a strike (0-1). The second pitch (2.) is a ball (1-1) and so on.


NP: the active count upon which the pitch is registered is actually baked into the information even though it is not explicitly listed. This underlined part I wanted to bring attention to because it appears OOTPD is unaware.


Ok, so what do we mean by that previous statement? When the outcome of the pitch creates a 0-1 count, we may assume that, when the pitch left the pitcher's hand and sailed towards the plate, the count was 0-0. And this observation is not restricted to 0-0 counts.

Let's try another example. When the ball is released by the pitcher for the second pitch and the outcome of the previous pitch is 0-1 (please refer to the chart above) then we may be assured that the active pitch count is still 0-1. Therefore, a pitch location line that reads 2. 0-1 ... 1-1 wherein "0-1" represents the pitch count leading up to same pitch's outcome ("1-1" in this example) is somewhat baffling. When the outcome of the previous pitch is 0-1 we don't need to be "reminded" of that in the new line of pitch location activity because that information is simply revealed by referring to the outcome of the previous pitch.




Also please note that, contrary to some claims, what I have described and demonstrated above works only for those sets of outcomes. To the contrary! The information layout I used in those examples has been proven to work as shown with a wide range of datasets. In fact, as of now, there have been no reported failures reported in any peer-reviewed journals on the subject.



Now, I certainly hope that attempts to point to these incongruencies are not seen as simply a silly waste of time though clearly after over a quarter of a century OOTPD was never interested in pitch location and quite likely never will be. And I can sympathize. Afterall, how does visualizing pitch location impact in any way data generation. The answer is -- it simply doesn't. Visualizing pitch location is an essential component to watching the game of baseball, not to mention playing the game of baseball. But it is not at relevant to the project of generating data.


Of course, it is easy for one such as myself to make these comments while not knowing the fuller picture behind the decisions involving the pitch location widget. Perhaps there are simply too many programming and architecting hurdles to increase font size and/or employ a useful font type and the pay-off between helping people enjoy established (even essential aspects of the game) game components pales when compared to the excitement generated by 3D.


There was a time when one felt kinda guilty or bad for commenting on OOTPD decisions when it was apparently a small group of guys pouring their hearts into a labor of passion. But those times are over, aren't they? OOTP is a com2us product. This is a corporate product now.


I hope OOTP the game gets the funding it deserves that can take it over the top and bring to life all the elements the over-worked OOTPD has been unable to bring about despite all best efforts. Until then, I shall get on with the project of playing OOTP the way OOTP wants me to play it.

[ColumbusJets]

Originally Posted by Bobfather

My 2B and SS make these types of outs regularly. Maybe it has something to do with def ratings? I am just trying to give a different perspective.

I see that too.

Defensive ratings are irrelevant to the animation.

[highandoutside]

Excited by the updates and the new release. Thanks team. You've taken this 45-year hobby to places I never could have imagined.

[Salathor]

Originally Posted by tem316

Will anything be done to Ai as to Modeling of Classic or Historic Stadiums? I hate the way OOTP26 always gives "domed Stadiums to every team...even in 1898 or 1926. Please make that part of historic games go away!

I would also like to have the team either create some 3d models of historic stadiums, or at least create a handful of generic fill in "era" stadiums that might not be accurate but at least give early-days feels.

If they could get some good official images for 2d mode for historic stadiums that would be great too. I've tried running some down myself and it's difficult.

[jamesu7777]

When does the 10% discount end? Thanks

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by jamesu7777

When does the 10% discount end? Thanks

For Fastpring it will be available up until release day. I believe on Steam it is available for something like 7 days after release (since you can't pre-order).

[jamesu7777]

Thank you Rain!

[Matt Arnold]

Originally Posted by jamesu7777

When does the 10% discount end? Thanks

Originally Posted by Rain King

For Fastpring it will be available up until release day. I believe on Steam it is available for something like 7 days after release (since you can't pre-order).

The fastpring version sale will last through the first week as well.

[Hanokh1967]

Never mind my question seems to have been fixed already.

[Bears5122]

Originally Posted by garion333

Oh my, it didn't take you too many versions to get this cynical already.

Franchise Mode has long taken a backseat from direct development, but receives knock-on improvements from changes to the bare game. I know, you know this.

Assuming the new stats are on the real end of the spectrum, that's a huge change which trickles down to Franchise. Before that was the dev lab.

While you're spot on the flavor of franchise hasn't changed in a long while, they've long said that most people play the current season and that's all. I think of Franchise as the heart of the game, but it's the ratings and stats that are the real driver of everything in OOTP. And those appear to be getting a lot of love this year. Hopefully it helps Franchise play to feel fresher.

IMHO they're handling too many modes for the size of the company. And they are stuck in the yearly update model. Franchise Mode changes or overhaul fall way too far down on the rankings to get direct love from the dev team. It is what it is. Don't buy every year, I certainly don't.

I think a trailer for a strategy sim is kind of hard to do. I was happy to see that they mentioned huge updates to the AI trade model which was something holding back franchise mode. Also dig the advanced stats and some more options for tweaking the difficulty.

Maybe I have lower expectations but for $45, I'm mostly looking for some general improvements in the game year over year and updated rosters. It's still relatively cheap for something that has official licenses.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Bobfather

My 2B and SS make these types of outs regularly. Maybe it has something to do with def ratings? I am just trying to give a different perspective.

Thanks, it is good to know that the infielders do get into the outfield to catch flyballs.

[omg_pwnasaurus]

Originally Posted by Bears5122

Maybe I have lower expectations but for $45, I'm mostly looking for some general improvements in the game year over year and updated rosters. It's still relatively cheap for something that has official licenses.

I'm with ya. For $45 if they only fixed those CPU->CPU trades such as:

Team A -> Good prospect
Team B -> Good pending FA to be + weirdly an even better prospect

To just stop including a high end prospect with the expiring contract, it would be worth it for me. I'm hopeful the improved trade AI results in more realistic CPU->CPU trade scenarios.

[kmgage]

Still hoping that someday all time team records will be in the game.

Examples:
Most wins/loses by a team in a season
Most runs/hits by a team in a season
Most runs ever in a game/inning
Longest winning/losing streak ever
Biggest comeback in a game
Biggest comeback to win division

[Markakis2014]

Originally Posted by Bears5122

I think a trailer for a strategy sim is kind of hard to do. I was happy to see that they mentioned huge updates to the AI trade model which was something holding back franchise mode. Also dig the advanced stats and some more options for tweaking the difficulty.

Maybe I have lower expectations but for $45, I'm mostly looking for some general improvements in the game year over year and updated rosters. It's still relatively cheap for something that has official licenses.

Yeah at the end of the day, upgrades to the AI and trades is quite possibly the most important thing they can do, and also hardest to quantify. There were some years where I really felt the impact of the upgrades. There were other years when I noticed no difference despite the proclamation of upgrades.