Pro/rel world

4maddux_cy's · 04-29-2016, 02:02 PM

I am thinking about creating a world with the real MLB but also having two lower divisions sort of like European football with promotion and relegation. I haven't bought this game in a couple of years so I wanted to get some feedback from the forum on how the best way to set this up. Obviously I would need to create teams for division 2 and division 3 as well as find a way to make it so the salaries for the lower divisions are lesser. I also would not want free agents leaving MLB for lower divisions either. Any suggestions on the best way to set this up? Has anyone else tried this?

cavebutter · 04-29-2016, 02:22 PM

I haven't tried pro/rel for the last several versions; I am too attached to the concept of farm systems to make a go of it. However, some thoughts from the last time I tried it:

First, you have to use a reserve roster rather than a farm system.

Second, all the tiers of your pro/rel system should be set up as major leagues. You distinguish between them (and influence players to reach for the top) by adjusting the league reputation. 10 should be your premier league. 7 and 5 would be my suggestions for the lower leagues.

You'd adjust the base financials for each league either by importing financials from different years or, what I did, by setting the lower leagues as a percentage of the premier league. Say, 70% and 50%.

The tricky part is that when a premier team is relegated, its contractual obligations will stay the same, but national and local media shares will decrease. For me, this resulted in relegated teams running in the red and unable to compete for quality free agents. My experience was that if a relegated team did not bounce back after one or two seasons, they would stay relegated for a long time.

Similarly, if you wanted to be really accurate, you'd adjust the ticket prices for relegated teams down. This would further the difficulties of getting promoted.

Another thing to consider is associating all of your leagues, ensuring they use the same rules and have a common draft and FA pool.

Finally, and perhaps the most common complaint I've heard among people here who've tried it is that the AI has no concept of playing to avoid relegation. In the real world, a team out of contention but in danger of relegation would play their remaining games as if they are playoffs. In OOTP pro/rel leagues, they don't.

It's such a great concept, and one that I really want to work for me in this game, but so far I just haven't been able to make it. Hope that helps.

4maddux_cy's · 04-29-2016, 02:37 PM

Thanks that is very helpful. I don't mind if a team stays relegated as that can happen in real life. One question for you though is did your lower divisions have a playoff? I wish there was a way to make it where teams finishing 3-6 had a playoff to determine the third promotion team.

I do hate the fact that you brought up about how those teams at the bottom play down the stretch.

stl jason · 04-29-2016, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4maddux_cy's

Thanks that is very helpful. I don't mind if a team stays relegated as that can happen in real life. One question for you though is did your lower divisions have a playoff? I wish there was a way to make it where teams finishing 3-6 had a playoff to determine the third promotion team.

I do hate the fact that you brought up about how those teams at the bottom play down the stretch.

you can setup a custom playoff tree with 3 v 6 / 4 v 5 to determine the last promotion spot. (though in the league history, the winner of that will probably be labeled the league champion, instead of the 1st place team; if that matters to you)

tried a pro/rel league myself for awhile where only the top two/bottom two teams were promoted/relegated. For a playoff, I included the 1st place team in the mix, but just gave them a bye to the finals. Whichever team won out between 2nd-5th got promoted, but still played a 'championship' series against the 1st place team, just for fun.

4maddux_cy's · 04-29-2016, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stl jason

you can setup a custom playoff tree with 3 v 6 / 4 v 5 to determine the last promotion spot. (though in the league history, the winner of that will probably be labeled the league champion, instead of the 1st place team; if that matters to you)

tried a pro/rel league myself for awhile where only the top two/bottom two teams were promoted/relegated. For a playoff, I included the 1st place team in the mix, but just gave them a bye to the finals. Whichever team won out between 2nd-5th got promoted, but still played a 'championship' series against the 1st place team, just for fun.

Excellent idea. Thanks for that. I'm gonna give it a go.

4maddux_cy's · 04-29-2016, 08:41 PM

Any suggestions on how to make MLB use a reserve roster instead of a minor league system?

Nevermind, I think I figured it out.

04-29-2016, 02:02 PM	#1
4maddux_cy's All Star Starter Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 1,166	Pro/rel world I am thinking about creating a world with the real MLB but also having two lower divisions sort of like European football with promotion and relegation. I haven't bought this game in a couple of years so I wanted to get some feedback from the forum on how the best way to set this up. Obviously I would need to create teams for division 2 and division 3 as well as find a way to make it so the salaries for the lower divisions are lesser. I also would not want free agents leaving MLB for lower divisions either. Any suggestions on the best way to set this up? Has anyone else tried this?

04-29-2016, 02:22 PM	#2
cavebutter All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,158	I haven't tried pro/rel for the last several versions; I am too attached to the concept of farm systems to make a go of it. However, some thoughts from the last time I tried it: First, you have to use a reserve roster rather than a farm system. Second, all the tiers of your pro/rel system should be set up as major leagues. You distinguish between them (and influence players to reach for the top) by adjusting the league reputation. 10 should be your premier league. 7 and 5 would be my suggestions for the lower leagues. You'd adjust the base financials for each league either by importing financials from different years or, what I did, by setting the lower leagues as a percentage of the premier league. Say, 70% and 50%. The tricky part is that when a premier team is relegated, its contractual obligations will stay the same, but national and local media shares will decrease. For me, this resulted in relegated teams running in the red and unable to compete for quality free agents. My experience was that if a relegated team did not bounce back after one or two seasons, they would stay relegated for a long time. Similarly, if you wanted to be really accurate, you'd adjust the ticket prices for relegated teams down. This would further the difficulties of getting promoted. Another thing to consider is associating all of your leagues, ensuring they use the same rules and have a common draft and FA pool. Finally, and perhaps the most common complaint I've heard among people here who've tried it is that the AI has no concept of playing to avoid relegation. In the real world, a team out of contention but in danger of relegation would play their remaining games as if they are playoffs. In OOTP pro/rel leagues, they don't. It's such a great concept, and one that I really want to work for me in this game, but so far I just haven't been able to make it. Hope that helps. __________________ MySQL, MyStruggle - A self-indulgent blog about my attempts to roll my own MySQL Database with OOTP Logo Gallery

04-29-2016, 08:41 PM	#6
4maddux_cy's All Star Starter Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 1,166	Any suggestions on how to make MLB use a reserve roster instead of a minor league system? Nevermind, I think I figured it out. Last edited by 4maddux_cy's; 04-30-2016 at 02:21 AM.

04-29-2016, 02:37 PM	#3
4maddux_cy's All Star Starter Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 1,166	Thanks that is very helpful. I don't mind if a team stays relegated as that can happen in real life. One question for you though is did your lower divisions have a playoff? I wish there was a way to make it where teams finishing 3-6 had a playoff to determine the third promotion team. I do hate the fact that you brought up about how those teams at the bottom play down the stretch.