OOTP 18 Discussion: Head-to-Head / Online Gaming

[stevem810]

Not much interest in #1 and none in #3.

#2 has some upside for post-season games, yet at the same time it requires coordinating schedules. One of the components of OOTP on-line leagues that I love is that I can manage around my schedule so I doubt that I'd use it much.

Re: the A.I. I actually think the A.I., while not perfect, does a very nice job in allowing me to manage my team.

One final point is that adding new features is a bit of a double edged sword...yes, you appeal to new users in new ways but the question must be asked whether or not support/innovation for the core mission of the game will be diluted.

Thanks for asking.

[Buane]

Live HTH sims would be cool, albeit only really possible/realistic/useful for a small piece of an online league's season.

I've seen some others in this thread give an elevator pitch for some alternate online league features, if online leagues are going to get some extra love in the upcoming version(s), so here's mine:

Completely automated simming. A feature where I could set OOTP to sim one day's worth of games every X hours, or maybe set a schedule like "sim one day's worth of games at 8 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM." It follows whatever simple schedule I created, and goes through all steps of the process - i.e., importing all teams prior to simming, demoting/releasing DFA players, running the games, uploading the file to my server, uploading the reports, sending an email to the GMs...and then waiting there for the next sim timer to kick off.

The best part is that OOTP can do all these things now! The Commissioner Automator has all these features, and if I tell OOTP to it will execute all of them in the proper order. All that's missing is a way for OOTP to kick the process off itself on a timer or a schedule.

This feature would allow for, among other things, online league members to make game-to-game exports & changes when needed/wanted. Two players suffer injuries in a Monday game? Now you can export with changes before Tuesday's game runs, instead of playing shorthanded all week. Are you facing that killer lefty having a Cy Young season on Thursday? Totally re-do your lineup just for him after Wednesday's game.

Plus the game-by-game results give the online league a more realistic feel, game-to-game narratives develop, players can get back to a bit more micromanagement if that's their thing instead of being forced to view things from a macro perspective all the time.

Anyway, just wanted to weigh in with a change I feel (hope) would be less work and more useful than a new HTH game module would be to online leagues (though again, to be clear, I do think the HTH game module would have a useful place as well!).

[RaUni]

#2 but only for playoffs.

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[Giants44]

head to head in online and even solo leagues would be great

no interest at all in exhibition and god forbid the micro transaction revenue generting nonsense of ultimate team which has been the death of quality sports simulations on consoles IMO

[xtaylordx]

Play for online leagues is a must. It's hard to enjoy playoff live sims when your AI manager continuously makes ridiculous pitching decisions.

I don't understand why there would be any apprehension to it. It would be something your league could have the option to do. If schedules don't work out then you don't have to do it. Or it would be nice if there was a way where a league could set a live head to head sim time for a playoff game/series and if a GM could not make it then then the other GM could still go head to head against AI.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Originally Posted by RaUni

#2 but only for playoffs.

I agree, that is where it would be most effective, and #2 is the only option I have any interest in. I'm not convinced that any of the three options really move the needle on sales though, and interest here has been lukewarm at best.

[PSUColonel]

I am really hoping development time is no wasted with this feature...especially with the lackluster responses.

[discodude5]

Suggestion:
An online ranking system.

Teams are based on the server as mentioned, if possible. So no custom teams to prevent edits and cheating.
Both teams must be from the same league or league level. So both single A but no Majors vs rookie etc.
You play the game and the game counts towards your online record like other online games. We would need to submit games for the records.

What is needed to make this work is some reward for playing, something to keep players coming back. I suggest the winner or top 3 if enough players receive a copy of the next years OOTP game.
It would be better to break the seasons up by months or games played or something like that so a new player getting the game in July can join in.
So the player that had the best record in a month would win, whether it was May or October.

Doing something like this accomplishes a few things.
Every game can mean something.
You get to play with all the teams/leagues so every game is going to be different.
Don't need to commit to a league, can try it once and if you don't like it you can go back to your regular leagues.
A different type of experience from the sometimes dry and tedious offline solo leagues.
By breaking the leader board up by month/games you can play online for one month to try to win the free copy or what ever other prize is available.
This could also be used to build towards the #3 idea

I'm not sure if this is possible or would be something people would play. Thought I would throw it out there and it could be the start of another option to build upon depending on what is possible to be programmed in.

[rylinus]

I have absolutely no interest in this at all. I too hope that not too much time is devoted to developing this feature at the cost of improvements for the current game.

The only major items that needs fixing right now IMHO is the coaching system, which is so bad that I have finally decided to shut it off. It would be great to see some action taken on that feature in the next version.

[Dukesilver]

please focus on improving other features

[strzepeksc]

It is time to add head to head on line league play. I am even willing to pay an additional fee for the feature.

[daves]

Definitely #1!

#2 as well.

With all the network online ability these days I'd like to challenge family and friends on my wifi at home.

Tournament leagues would be great for head to head!

[gmans5]

An ultimate team would be great

[Reggie]

Originally Posted by JimboGM

My OOTP time is almost exclusively devoted to one online league, and therefore, I am 100% in favor of option 2. It would greatly enhance the online league experience.

I too think that would be really cool. As long as there was still a way for people to sim. Meaning if one owner wasn't able to play at the time he could set up his team and let the other guy play it h2h. Not sure if that makes sense or not. Would eliminate the problem of having to meet up ALL the time.

[JeffTitansBaseball]

I fear that head to head play in an online league would somehow allow cheating to get much worse than what I'm seeing right now in online leagues. It's already bad enough that commissioners can view true ratings of players and coaches to gain an advantage in drafting, making trades, and building an organization not to mention editing players, scouts, and coaches. Not all commissioners cheat, but I suspect that at least half or more commissioners in the leagues I'm in do cheat in some form.

[dime]

many yrs ago, was in a league that used PCAnywhere for "head to head play" on an APBA baseball game. had to organize play times and fuss with emailing the .dat files to the commissioner, etc....but there was nothing like managing head-to-head.

I still recall how much fun it was when I pinch-hit a RHB late in a playoff game, hoping the other mgr would take the bait and pull his starter for a righty. He did, which let me then pinch-hit my aging slugger hitting from the left side. He homered, and afterwards we talked on the phone about the sequence. "...I knew you would do that, but I had to take the chance!" Lot more fun than tricking the CPU.

[ihatenames]

For what it's worth I wouldn't play any of these proposed modes.

I'm strictly a solo gamer who likes to immerse himself in his own universe. I tried and have never stuck with any of the ultimate team modes in console games. I don't see that changing here.

[WyattGOAT]

One seems awesome... just a friendly mode and if it gets popular then you guys can take the next step as far as leagues go... been looking forward to an online game mode, easier to connect with other friends who play and grow the community

[connerman]

No real interest here.

[Sox2013]

Definitely #2. I'd like to have #1 as well, but #2 is sorely needed.