Additions I'd like to see in OOTP16

[LunchBox]

Some of these are suggestions I've already seen posted, I included them because I believe they are good ideas.



1. Adding an expanded staff would give the game more depth and would allow for for you're favorite players to not simply vanish into statistical and historical obscurity. At least adding 1st and 3rd base coaches to help base running, bullpen coaches for catchers and pitchers, assistant GM's to lighten the load of the GM's, Scouting territories with multiple scouts working for the head scout as in real life.

2a. Have an option to send emails, rather than just receiving them... like "need a shortstop" or "Looking to add depth".

2b. Along the same lines as 2a, the ability to answer emails like when a player requests an extension have the ability to say "I will do that" or "not unless you start playing up to your ability"

3. The Ability to build a new stadium or relocate your team (I know you can change your stadium or city at any point) in way similar to ^sigh^ EA's Madden franchise

4. The addition of an MLB comissioner would be nice. As well as, AL and NL Presidents.

5. The ability to veto rule changes in league evolution.

6. Add cover "x" amount of player's contract in trades.

7. Add option for games to end in ties (*** and KBO leagues this is a must have).

8. Graph views for player development and statistics.

9. A page for hall of fame voting. Adds to storyline aspect of the game to see who's still eligible and just missed induction by 0.1%.

10. Unfortunately the addition of player deaths. Not so much a player dying during the season, but moreover New York mourns death of ex-Yankee Mickey Mantle. Shouldn't be too hard owners seem to die without a problem.

11. An owner selling a team or, a-la Frank McCourt recently, an owner being forced to sell a team.

12. Players retiring and immediately turning coach for their team.

13. Increase sim speed and reduce hang... idk, it could just be me, but I have a quickstart with MLB, MiLB, all Int'l Leagues, and Added Indy Leagues and it hangs everyday when I sim.

14. Increased storylines, ie, just plain more storylines.

15. Have the AI offer trades for players on the trade block. It seems anytime I place a player on the block I never receive any offers, however the AI will continue to offer for the best prospect in my system.

16. The Ability to call Clubhouse Meetings (to reward for winning streaks or punish for losing streaks).

17. The addition of player and staff interactions (ie, that a player can control, like player making too many errors - make him take extra fielding practice)

18. The addition of extended spring training as in real major league baseball.

19. The ability to have a player spend time learning. (A new pitch or position or something during the offseason, preseason, and spring training)

20. Adding a "Clutch" rating for batters, as well as pitchers. (Helpful for choosing pinch hitters and who should be your closer)

21. Frankly, I know some will not agree with me but, I believe the removal of the 3-D Stadiums would be better than trying to keep them, after all this is a simulation baseball game, if you want 3-D I hear MLB: The Show has awesome graphics and playability.

Anything said above is just my humble opinion, I'm not looking to start any arguments, it's just how i feel.

22. The addition of new ratings for GM's, such as trade influence, free agent signing influence, and so on.

23a. As we play as staff, I believe the addition of an owner approval rating (better than the current emoticon/one word system) to better know how close to being fired you may be.

23b. Still we're playing as staff, adding in the ability to have/see your own coach ratings and ways to gain points to improve those abilities.

23c. Last but not least, yet again we're "hired" as staff, a contract system for the player would help, especially if you're choosing from the available jobs list. Say you're hired by Rookie League Team "A", you have no idea how long you're going to be there. Basically, what I want the most is to start the game and be offered a contract like any other coach and like any contract there should be goals to be met (not just owner expectations for your final record) have an All-Star player or trade an aging player or cut a fragile player and so on.

[LunchBox]

Allow for a "what you are seeking" option for trades (such as prospects or veterans, infielders or relievers)

The ability to give a player the captaincy and have it affect morale (good for the player and those who support him, bad for players who feel they should have gotten it or have enlarged egos)

The ability to have someone checked for steroids or at least more storylines of a player being tested due to explosion of performance

Minor League affiliate contracts for teams that are not owned by their parent team. (More immersion into the game if you have to decide whether or not to keep you're triple-A team in Las Vegas or pull up stakes and try to sign a deal with another team who's contract lapsed or even to move into a completely new market)

Draft picks should not automatically sign, no matter what round they were drafted.

[rpriske]

I like a lot of this, but please don't add a 'Clutch' rating.

This has been shown over and over to not be a real thing.

It is possible to show 'clutch' results, but they are NOT predictive. As soon as you give them a rating it becomes predictive, which is not a reflection of real life.

[bwburke94]

Any clutch rating would only affect the choice of pinch-hitters / relievers, and not their ratings once they actually enter the game.

[ra7c7er]

#13 had more to do with your computer than the game. That's a huge world and a lot of information flying around. Perhaps the game could use some optimization (I'm if it's still sharing code from 5-10 years ago it could probably use some). but in a world that big most computers will hang trying to process that information. Try playing FM and then complain about OOTP lag.

#2b already happens by either resigning him or not. I don't need extra buttons for that.

#3 you can already adjust stadiums and "move them" if they wanted to go EA style they would have to add a horribly generic set of structures for the stadiums which wouldn't look good (EA has been doing it for 10+ years and it still looks like a kindergartner with building blocks) I highly doubt OOTP could do better in a year. Plus it will just lead to people saying there isn't enough customization. AND it would just lead to more lag since the create a stadium feature would take up a huge file chunk. This is more of a mod thing than a should be in game thing.

#4 What would any of those actually do. If you have dynamic league expansion off. They wouldn't do anything. The league office is just fine being a word on a suspension email or news.

#5 Last I checked team GMs don't vote or veto league rules. The are the general manager of the team. Owners vote on rules. BTW you can turn on or off any of the individual "rules" for expansion when you are setting up your league so basically you can already do this by just turning it off.

#7 they already do as has been discussed (this is the first one that made me think you are just copying what other people have said btw)

You list a lot of stuff but much of it doesn't really do anything. give some explanation as to what adding these things would do. Anybody could make a huge list like this and hit on a bunch of things people would like to see but without telling us what it does it's just a random list.

Also I've noticed you are taking a lot of what has recently been posted by other people and just adding it to your "lists".

[RchW]

As long as I can turn stuff off I'm fine with the suggestions.

[bwburke94]

My reaction to each of these:

1. Adding an expanded staff would give the game more depth and would allow for for you're favorite players to not simply vanish into statistical and historical obscurity. At least adding 1st and 3rd base coaches to help base running, bullpen coaches for catchers and pitchers, assistant GM's to lighten the load of the GM's, Scouting territories with multiple scouts working for the head scout as in real life.
Staff is desperately in need of an upgrade. 1B/3B coaches are the big need, but multiple scouts is another good one.

2a. Have an option to send emails, rather than just receiving them... like "need a shortstop" or "Looking to add depth".
This is already possible online, and coding something like that for offline is infeasible.

2b. Along the same lines as 2a, the ability to answer emails like when a player requests an extension have the ability to say "I will do that" or "not unless you start playing up to your ability"
This isn't Football Manager.

3. The Ability to build a new stadium or relocate your team (I know you can change your stadium or city at any point) in way similar to ^sigh^ EA's Madden franchise
I like this idea, but as this is a text-based game it would play out differently than Madden played out. As long as the funds come out of the owner's pocket and not the GM's, this is a great addition.

4. The addition of an MLB comissioner would be nice. As well as, AL and NL Presidents.
I like the idea of a commish, but what would they do? Probably league evolution-related stuff... see #5 for my response to that. In any case, this needs to be a three-way toggle, either a single commish, two subleague presidents, or neither. If a subleague is deleted from a league with the "presidents" option, it reverts to a single commish.

5. The ability to veto rule changes in league evolution.
Ideally, the league president or commissioner would "propose" a change on Opening Day, and the team owners would vote on it to take effect at the start of the next offseason. Human GMs would control their owner's vote.

6. Add cover "x" amount of player's contract in trades.
This is probably the most-requested thing in the past five years that hasn't been added. The "vastly overpaid veteran" thing needs to be removed ASAP.

7. Add option for games to end in ties (*** and KBO leagues this is a must have).
I see this as a possibility, but the manager AI would need a revamp to handle the bottom of the last inning.

8. Graph views for player development and statistics.
No reason why this shouldn't be in. I like it.

9. A page for hall of fame voting. Adds to storyline aspect of the game to see who's still eligible and just missed induction by 0.1%.
With the revamped HOF rules, this has a good chance of making OOTP16.

10. Unfortunately the addition of player deaths. Not so much a player dying during the season, but moreover New York mourns death of ex-Yankee Mickey Mantle. Shouldn't be too hard owners seem to die without a problem.
As long as they're at least 16 years retired - that way, we don't have to simulate a "death bump" in the HOF voting.

11. An owner selling a team or, a-la Frank McCourt recently, an owner being forced to sell a team.
I like the idea of selling, but forced selling is a different thing entirely. That should be left to storylines.

12. Players retiring and immediately turning coach for their team.
I'd prefer that retired players become free agent coaches after one year, so that someone in Commissioner Mode can unretire them without screwing over the team they would have coached for.

13. Increase sim speed and reduce hang... idk, it could just be me, but I have a quickstart with MLB, MiLB, all Int'l Leagues, and Added Indy Leagues and it hangs everyday when I sim.
Sim speed gets faster with every version. With OOTP16 likely being a 64-bit executable, this should fix the major problems.

14. Increased storylines, ie, just plain more storylines.
There's already an on-off switch for storylines, so people who don't like them can turn them off. This means the added number of storylines doesn't hurt the people who hate them.

15. Have the AI offer trades for players on the trade block. It seems anytime I place a player on the block I never receive any offers, however the AI will continue to offer for the best prospect in my system.
Another good idea. OOTP13 added the "Not interested" option after years of request, so OOTP16 may revamp the trade block.

16. The Ability to call Clubhouse Meetings (to reward for winning streaks or punish for losing streaks).
Not necessary.

17. The addition of player and staff interactions (ie, that a player can control, like player making too many errors - make him take extra fielding practice)
Not necessary.

18. The addition of extended spring training as in real major league baseball.
WE NEED THIS NOW. I don't like seeing my NYPL guys not get any game action until June.

19. The ability to have a player spend time learning. (A new pitch or position or something during the offseason, preseason, and spring training)
Great idea, but how would this be implemented?

20. Adding a "Clutch" rating for batters, as well as pitchers. (Helpful for choosing pinch hitters and who should be your closer)
As long as it's only for managerial purposes and doesn't affect the results of any at bats.

21. Frankly, I know some will not agree with me but, I believe the removal of the 3-D Stadiums would be better than trying to keep them, after all this is a simulation baseball game, if you want 3-D I hear MLB: The Show has awesome graphics and playability.
OOTP and The Show are different kinds of games, so the removal of 3D stadiums from OOTP wouldn't affect The Show in any way. Still, there's no reason to remove the feature unless it actively conflicts with another necessary feature.

22. The addition of new ratings for GM's, such as trade influence, free agent signing influence, and so on.
How would this work for human GMs?

23a. As we play as staff, I believe the addition of an owner approval rating (better than the current emoticon/one word system) to better know how close to being fired you may be.
Great idea, but this doesn't fix the unrealistic owner expectations.

23b. Still we're playing as staff, adding in the ability to have/see your own coach ratings and ways to gain points to improve those abilities.
How is this not in the game yet?

23c. Last but not least, yet again we're "hired" as staff, a contract system for the player would help, especially if you're choosing from the available jobs list. Say you're hired by Rookie League Team "A", you have no idea how long you're going to be there. Basically, what I want the most is to start the game and be offered a contract like any other coach and like any contract there should be goals to be met (not just owner expectations for your final record) have an All-Star player or trade an aging player or cut a fragile player and so on.
The goals idea is absolute crap, but having a contract for a set number of years is great.

[mgom27]

It should be easy to relocate Minor League Teams if their was Minor League evolution.

[LunchBox]

ra7c7er... yes i did add things to "my list" that others posted, but purely because i would like to see them added ( i didn't give credit to the original posters because i didn't want to leave anyone out)

[LunchBox]

bwburke94.... Thank you for your input, anytime i say "clutch rating" i just mean a dynamic rating that sums up how a player has been doing in clutch situations recently, without having to look back at game logs and try to remember the situations he was.... it is purely as a managerial tool.

Having GM/Manager goals would be instead of the unrealistic goals the owner sets, i'd rather see play .500 ball, develop a young pitcher, and trade or cut aging player "X"

and 16 and 17 were suggested for morale issues as was 2b

[LunchBox]

And today proves, yet again, as morbid as it is, players can and do die during their careers, RIP Oscar Taveras, so it needs to be part of the storylines

[jpeters1734]

Originally Posted by rpriske

I like a lot of this, but please don't add a 'Clutch' rating.

This has been shown over and over to not be a real thing.

It is possible to show 'clutch' results, but they are NOT predictive. As soon as you give them a rating it becomes predictive, which is not a reflection of real life.

Shown over and over again? when was this study conducted? There is no way you can tell me that everybody handles pressure with the same level of performance.

The problem is that it cannot be proven. There is simply not enough data for a single player to decide if he's a clutch performer or not.

[LunchBox]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

Shown over and over again? when was this study conducted? There is no way you can tell me that everybody handles pressure with the same level of performance.

The problem is that it cannot be proven. There is simply not enough data for a single player to decide if he's a clutch performer or not.

Valid Point

[ra7c7er]

The problem with expanding scouts is that it won't do anything extra to the game. The scout already is a omnipotent person with the speed and abilities of Superman, Flash, and Santa Claus. The scout can already be anywhere in the world at any given time and in the exact same day also be half way across the world scouting another player plus he's at your AA affiliate looking at the recent #1 draft pick you just inked. The head scout is either one of the aforementioned people or he already has a "staff" under him (which I am guessing is the case. i.e. the head scout is just the one who turns in the paper work his underlings gave to him)

If you expanded the scouting system to include assistants the only way to make it not exactly what we already have just with more characters in the game would be to make it real time. Want to send a scout to Japan. Well that's going to take a day of travel time minimum to get there then the time it takes the scout to watch a few games (perhaps while that is going on he's sending back a partial scouting report) and then more travel time to come back (including a day or so to go home to his family) before finally getting back to the front office and handing in his official report. So a trip to Japan to scout might take 10-15 days before you get a full report. Times that scenario by 2-3 and then I'd be all for multiple scouts. But as it is right now my scout is watching my minor leagues, looking for players in Brazil, scouting that player in Japan, and writing up a scouting report for the next series against our cross state rivals all at the same time.. Oh and wait International FA just started so he's also in The Czech Republic looking at some hockey phenom who decided he wants to play baseball. Their's no need for more scouts unless the way scouts work changes also.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by LunchBox

And today proves, yet again, as morbid as it is, players can and do die during their careers, RIP Oscar Taveras, so it needs to be part of the storylines

Right but storylines should be off by default.

[pjburrage]

Originally Posted by LunchBox

Some of these are suggestions I've already seen posted, I included them because I believe they are good ideas.

3. The Ability to build a new stadium or relocate your team (I know you can change your stadium or city at any point) in way similar to ^sigh^ EA's Madden franchise

Rather than it be like Madden, I'd rather there be an option like the Expand League one in the League settings, where it would process the renaming/relocating and 'building' the new stadium automatically - then post the relevant news entry in the League Evolution/History page.

On a similar note would like in the automatic evolution options to have a tick box to automatically 'evolve' stadiums (specifically in fictional leagues) so that teams will expand/rebuild/build new stadiums automatically based on the average attendance from the financial settings.

[Carlton]

Originally Posted by rpriske

I like a lot of this, but please don't add a 'Clutch' rating.

This has been shown over and over to not be a real thing.

It is possible to show 'clutch' results, but they are NOT predictive. As soon as you give them a rating it becomes predictive, which is not a reflection of real life.

It is actually the opposite, it's just a player's personality where a big situation is treated like any other...consistency as it were. Most players over think like most people in pressure situations.

As for proof? It's numbers on a page not proof. A guy who hits the ball square but it gets caught is much different than a guy that chases a bad curve in the dirt. Since baseball was invented, guys have been known as clutch or pinch

Anyway, just a difference in opinion

I do like the Clutch rating to determine PH and setup/closer roles, not to enhance ratings. Is that a compromise from Saber minded people here?

If Dode Criss has a 95 out of 100 clutch rating, he'll be the #1 PH for the Browns and many old time closer types who didn't have high K totals would actually be used as such...

[rpriske]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

Shown over and over again? when was this study conducted? There is no way you can tell me that everybody handles pressure with the same level of performance.

The problem is that it cannot be proven. There is simply not enough data for a single player to decide if he's a clutch performer or not.

Clutch | FanGraphs Sabermetrics Library

I would specifically point out this paragraph:

Clutch does a good job of describing the past, but it does very little towards predicting the future. Simply because one player was clutch at one point does not mean they will continue to perform well in high-leverage situations (and vice versa). Very few players have the ability to be consistently clutch over the course of their careers, and choking in one season does not beget the same in the future.


If it isn't predictive, it can't have a rating. (And based on the way the poster clarified, isn't that already in the game? The little hot and cold symbols?)


The thing that always amazes me about the talk about 'clutch' players is that nobody seems to realize that it is actually quite an insult to the player. It says that they can play BETTER when it is an important situation, which is also saying they don't play as hard when the timing isn't key. It is equivalent to saying players 'play to the score', which is quite a damning indictment, imo.

[Carlton]

Originally Posted by rpriske

The thing that always amazes me about the talk about 'clutch' players is that nobody seems to realize that it is actually quite an insult to the player. It says that they can play BETTER when it is an important situation, which is also saying they don't play as hard when the timing isn't key. It is equivalent to saying players 'play to the score', which is quite a damning indictment, imo.

In that manner, it is wrong.

However, human nature is that most people overthink,stress when pressure is applied and that goes for ballplayers as well. So "Clutch" would be someone who could keep calm the best during those situations, and usually those people are either very intelligent or very stupid. Both vast minorities

But like OP said, a "Clutch rating would ONLY determine who would be higher up on the reliever/PH depth chart IF all things equal they were similar ratings wise.

Would you be opposed to that? Personally I would love it, as I stated, that would make Moose McCormick and Dode Criss valuable players who are defensively inferior and would allow Marberry, Crandall and Face to be stoppers/closers when now they are usually pushed aside for guys with higher Stuff

and of course...this will be ON/OFF and could probably be thrown in with personality

[dave1927p]

Lunchbox, I love you ideas and would be a happy person if some of them get implemented one day.

Contract systems for GMs and more specifically user GMs is so rewarding in these types of games. Even though you don't use the money on anything, it's a great feeling getting a big raise or jumping ship for more money somewhere else but then come higher expectations. FM does an amazing job at this. Then the ability to compare yourself with what others are making in your league, and compare to all-time money for GMs earned, wins, championships etc etc. Adds alot of fun for me. I really hope this one gets added sooner rather than later.