OOTP vs STRAT-O-MATIC

[bama1959]

I am curious as to what players for OOTP compare there game with S-O-M, this is for those who have played both. I have been playing strat since 1969 and truly find no faults in it. I don't care about graphics I just want close NOT exact statistical accuracy. I only play tournaments and have played the same couple of projects every year. I never play full seasons but I have replaced pitching staffs from former teams like the 86 Mets staff on the 62 Mets. I love the way strat plays and the ease of creating any league you can come up with. But for fun I was wondering what OOTP was like. I have played Action PC and do not like the baseball but love there football.

[david limbaugh]

Originally Posted by bama1959

I am curious as to what players for OOTP compare there game with S-O-M, this is for those who have played both. I have been playing strat since 1969 and truly find no faults in it. I don't care about graphics I just want close NOT exact statistical accuracy. I only play tournaments and have played the same couple of projects every year. I never play full seasons but I have replaced pitching staffs from former teams like the 86 Mets staff on the 62 Mets. I love the way strat plays and the ease of creating any league you can come up with. But for fun I was wondering what OOTP was like. I have played Action PC and do not like the baseball but love there football.

Roll Tide! :-) I have played both, OOTP since OOTP4 and Strato-O-matic since... A long Time ago with dice ;-)

To me, a big difference is the 'career' mode of OOTP, players get better, then get old before your eyes.... 'Season card' of Strato does not replicate this....

[Dyzalot]

I played Strat since I was like 8 when my father let me start playing with his 1970 set. I got my own game for the first time when the 1980 set was released. Strat doesn't even come close to the accuracy of OOTP. Maybe it has changed but I used to hate how things like the hit & run were handled in Strat. I also hated how it was impossible to play out a whole season yourself. You also couldn't have wet fields or windy days in Strat. Overall, even with whatever faults OOTP has, Strat doesn't even come close. It is like comparing an abacus to a computer.

[USF]

Originally Posted by bama1959

I am curious as to what players for OOTP compare there game with S-O-M, this is for those who have played both. I have been playing strat since 1969 and truly find no faults in it. I don't care about graphics I just want close NOT exact statistical accuracy. I only play tournaments and have played the same couple of projects every year. I never play full seasons but I have replaced pitching staffs from former teams like the 86 Mets staff on the 62 Mets. I love the way strat plays and the ease of creating any league you can come up with. But for fun I was wondering what OOTP was like. I have played Action PC and do not like the baseball but love there football.

Played Strat C&D since late 70s' and OOTP since Version 12. Two different games (one you understand where the results come from through understanding the board game) vs. OOTP where you don't really see the engine visible. OOTP value is 100 x more than Strat in terms of what you get for your money$. You can buy the OOTP17 game for less than the price of a season roster from Strat. Other benefits of OOTP is the fictional play and the depth of the universe involved in terms of feeder leagues, ind leagues. You just can't compare the games. This is not even taking into account the visuals & finances.

In my books, Strat would be best for replays - actual transactions. OOTP for pretty much everything else.

[Sweed]

My first Strat game was the 1969 season. I continued playing into the mid-80's and loved the game playing out the full season for my favorite team and compiling stats. I dreamed of having a game that would play a full season, with standings and stats, though I never thought it would happen.

Around 1990 I found Lance Haffner games and Full Count Baseball (is that the correct name?). Season replays with standings and leaders, I was in heaven

2002 I read of a game called OOTP and bought version 4. Similar to Haffner's game except it was a baseball world that "lived". Standings, stats, leaders, and players aged, had a career arch, and eventually retired. Whoa

I loved Strat, I really did! Having said that I'd never go back to it, OOTP is the ultimate baseball game without a doubt.

[JaBurns]

I agree whole heartily with the above; I played SOM from the mid '60's up to the PC game. I discovered OOTP last year and cannot see myself ever going back to SOM. The depth, options, and the statistical accuracy (though not exact) of OOTP continue to amaze me; I think I am just scratching the surface because I learn new things almost every day!

SOM is good but in my opinion OOTP is far superior.

[mr-cpu-geek]

I have played both. I still love both. Strat is still good to me as a board game of baseball i play some with my son. However OOTP is by far the way to go if you are into continuous franchise modes.

I also play MLB the show and dream of the day when the two become one. But that is a different subject. LOL!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[USF]

Another thing that is way different is the community. If I had posted this topic on the SOM Forum it would have been banned LOL

[drksd4848]

Strat-o-matic (assuming you are talking about Computer Baseball)

Pros:

- A very robust play-by-play engine. Really, it's one of the best - if that matters to you

- Up until recently, the 3D model for play outcomes was better.

- You understand more of how the game works because you can peak inside the game engine. No debate on whether or not "the game is fixed! WAH WAH WAH" etc.

- User interface is straight forward, very short learning curve.

- Very accurate stat keeping

Cons:

- game is expensive. And they price gouge you for extra features like color stadium backdrops, past seasons, etc.

- You can only sim past seasons. That's pretty much it. No fictional, no customization, you can only play the game one way.

In short, once you go OOTP, you don't go back. There's a steep learning curve going from Strat to OOTP and you may get frustrated with the with the way OOTP works at first, but there's so many ways to play OOTP and features that keep OOTP entertaining, you can be amused forever.

Once you finish a season in SOM, it's kind of like, "meh... I'm done."

That said, there are some things SOM does really well that I'd wish OOPT would do. But those are small trade offs.

[JcBoscan]

I played Strat-o-Matic a lot (PC and card/dice version) before I found OOTP, which immediately blew me away.

Here are the perks of each one:

In a lot of ways Strat is still the way to go if you want to do a single-season replay and have the players perform accurately. One thing I enjoy about Strat (especially card/dice) is there's no secret to the game coding - the cards are right there for you to see so you know the probabilities. And in the computer game, there's a 'Delete last play' option that I'd really like OOTP to copy. It would be handy when you make a mistake and hit '1' one too many times and the pitcher bats or something like that...

But in every other facet OOTP is far superior. The ability to play historical over several seasons is awesome. The modern-day setup is unmatched. The ability to create fictional leagues is great. You've got to trust the coding a little more because there's no way to see how things are calculated, but I've played way, way, way more OOTP than I care to admit and the game engine is second to none.

Anyway, I still like Strat. It's just much more limited than OOTP.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by drksd4848

That said, there are some things SOM does really well that I'd wish OOPT would do. But those are small trade offs.

We should provide detail to Matt and Markus. Who knows what could happen.

This is not a shot at SOM or other games, but a question of pure curiosity. Whenever I engage a person who plays Diamond Mine, Action PC Baseball, SOM or other similar game, the minute I say I'm playing OOTP they cease communications. The most recent occurrence was my cousins son a huge baseball fan. We reconnected on Facebook and he flooded me with SOM posts. I told him about OOTP and that was the last baseball post we've had. Other connections have been similar.

What are people afraid of?

[swampdragon]

It's just a different type of game. I don't think the people who play the replay games such as SOM consider OOTP to be a direct competitor. I think OOTP is pretty good for replaying seasons, considering that you don't have to pay $20 or more for every season you replay. The replay games are probably still a little better if accuracy is the goal, and may always be simply due to the limitations of the database. But the days when there was a huge gap in accuracy are long gone.

I have four baseball games on my hard drive right now. If I want to play an open engine game, I play Replay. It also seems to simulate pitching and defense a little better than the others. If I want detailed PBP, I'll probably play Diamond Mind. And if I want to look at careers, I'll boot up OOTP. I play out games with the career line for every player on the screen. None of the others can do that. Action is the fourth game, and it's kind of a compromise with decent graphics, good accuracy, and just OK play by play. But it has season disks going back farther than my other replay games, and it gets some time as well. All four have unique qualities that make them fun to play

Of course, if you're not into straight replays, the others aren't even trying to compete, and OOTP is going to win every time.

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

Kind of an apples and oranges comparison, IMO. At least with the card version of Strat. Fun game, been playing on and off since 1985, but stats keeping and career progression are way easier with OOTP.

I've never played computer Strat, so I can't vouch for it, but I'd most likely say mods = edge to OOTP, even if all else is equal.

[pstrickert]

Originally Posted by swampdragon

It's just a different type of game. I don't think the people who play the replay games such as SOM consider OOTP to be a direct competitor. I think OOTP is pretty good for replaying seasons, considering that you don't have to pay $20 or more for every season you replay. The replay games are probably still a little better if accuracy is the goal, and may always be simply due to the limitations of the database. But the days when there was a huge gap in accuracy are long gone.

I have four baseball games on my hard drive right now. If I want to play an open engine game, I play Replay. It also seems to simulate pitching and defense a little better than the others. If I want detailed PBP, I'll probably play Diamond Mind. And if I want to look at careers, I'll boot up OOTP. I play out games with the career line for every player on the screen. None of the others can do that. Action is the fourth game, and it's kind of a compromise with decent graphics, good accuracy, and just OK play by play. But it has season disks going back farther than my other replay games, and it gets some time as well. All four have unique qualities that make them fun to play

Of course, if you're not into straight replays, the others aren't even trying to compete, and OOTP is going to win every time.

Tell me what you like about Diamond Mind's PbP. I know you'll see something cute every now and then, but the last time I played DMB, I remember how quickly the PbP became repetitive. Markus has not really added anything significant to the PbP in at least a few years. I'd like him to hear suggestions from others, not just myself. (It might be better to create a separate thread, I suppose.)

[swampdragon]

I saw stuff on Diamond Mind today that I don't believe I have ever seen before, and I've played literally thousands of DMB games out. There's just so much of it my mind can't hold it all, and it has this trick of holding back pbp until you start a different season. There's player specific and park specific pbp hidden in there. Nicknames as well, something OOTP could do in its pbp but doesn't.

Believe me, I'm not criticizing OOTP's pbp. It's so much better than SOM and Action that there's no comparison. I think it's the second best in the business. But DMB has spent years adding more and more and more. OOTP needs to do the same on an annual basis. It's a matter of quantity. The more you have, the less repetitive it will be.

[pstrickert]

Nicknames - check
Player-specific pbp - check
Park-specific pbp - check

All of these suggestions -- and more -- have been made multiple times. After a while, it seems pointless to keep asking.

[USF]

Originally Posted by RchW

We should provide detail to Matt and Markus. Who knows what could happen.

This is not a shot at SOM or other games, but a question of pure curiosity. Whenever I engage a person who plays Diamond Mine, Action PC Baseball, SOM or other similar game, the minute I say I'm playing OOTP they cease communications. The most recent occurrence was my cousins son a huge baseball fan. We reconnected on Facebook and he flooded me with SOM posts. I told him about OOTP and that was the last baseball post we've had. Other connections have been similar.

What are people afraid of?

1. Bullpen Management is by far superior. You can set up your bullpen based on the game situation and rank your RPs in what order you want them to appear.

2. Just being able to back track each and every play to understand how it was derived. I don't see that ever being an option in OOTP.

[pstrickert]

One thing to remember. Games like SOM and DMB are limited in scope, so developers can concentrate their attention on a smaller feature set. OOTP is massive in scope. The developers cannot possibly enhance all parts of the game equally each iteration. It takes more time. But the number of features, OOTP vs the other games, must be 10:1 in ratio.

[T-Bone]

I haven't seen anyone discuss lefty/right splits. Strat-O-Matic if far superior there - otherwise OOTP is much better bang for the buck.

[USF]

Originally Posted by T-Bone

I haven't seen anyone discuss lefty/right splits. Strat-O-Matic if far superior there - otherwise OOTP is much better bang for the buck.

Also is widely abused in league play. So the + is also a negative