Maybe the game has gone as far as it can (and that's ok)

[Kobeck]

Originally Posted by mtlcash

Have financials been changed at all? Like spending money on certain things to improve attendance, working on securing tv contracts/advertising, stadium improvements, different scouting, international development has stayed the same for a bit, there's so much that can be added with the money part of this game. There hasn't been much in terms of improvements in that area in many years.

I would love to be able to have way stupid detailed financials and a ballpark 'builder' for lack of a better term.

Of course I know others would not want to micromanage the financials so like everything else - set it to default.



Financials I would like to see would include EVERYTHING. If it is in RL then I would like to control it.

The ballpark builder I would like to see would be 2D and be one of those things where you see the fancy new giant scoreboard in center field to replace your old one. Or the foul territory decreased when you move the bullpen in front of the right field line. That sort of thing.


I know neither has hords of purchasers at the gates of OOTP with pitchforks, but I would like to see them eventually. Especially the super detailed financials

[r0nster]

I think this game can keep going forward and I doubt we even reached 20% of what its capable of .... in reality we are only limited by our own limitations. and unfortunately hard drive space of which I know many of us would love to max it out and have a PC dedicated to this game. I am one of those people who wouldn't mind that at all

[frangipard]

Originally Posted by Lukas Berger

What kind of improvements to the record book would you like to see?

I would love it if it was sortable by era: i.e. best ERA after 1920 (to get rid of all the deadball era types) or best since I took over the franchise.

[ra24mpa]

Originally Posted by Lukas Berger

What kind of improvements to the record book would you like to see?

As for stats league-wide, the way things look to me now, once you get past the current season, the only real way you can see previous years stats is to go to individual team history pages, and that can be quite cumbersome and time consuming when you want to see stats for the entire league.

Edit: Currently, the way to see past years stats league-wide is to go to league history index, click on a league for a specific year, and then click on batter/pitcher register. This is probably more convoluted than it needs to be, which is probably why I didn't realize it until just a few moments ago. There should probably be a simpler way to get to this point, maybe a direct link to previous years stats under one of the main tabs.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by ra24mpa

Unless I'm missing something, when you go to the historical records area, you can only see the individual leaders of the categories. I, for one, would like to be able to have the categories expanded and sortable to some extent. I mean, it's nice to see the leader in a historical category, but who's 2nd-10th, etc. .

You can already to this. Leaderboards then at the top of a table is a column called "board". Simply click on "season" or "career" and you'll get a table up to a 100 deep.

[swampdragon]

Until the game can do a proper historical replay back to 1871, it can still go forward.

[waltwa]

the real strength of this game is that it is so much better than any other baseball game. I always wonder why som has never introduced the future concept that ootp has profited by.

how many times can u replay the 1964 season and enjoy it!!!

there is no question that improvements can be made but it is probably more like fine tuning except in 1 area. here are some thoughts on what may happen -not all of it good.

1. graphics has certainly improved solo play but is behind even a disaster like baseball mogul however I expect there will be improvements.

2. everytime I see posts or interest in tournament play and promotion-relegation topics it harkens back to ootp 6 when the game started to go soccer and almost destroyed the product. the point is don't waste time on improving the soccer aspects of the game if it takes away from fine tuning the baseball aspects.

3. worrying about the names of players around the world being correct. tune into a political channel if this is important.

4. be sure to make cheating in online play very difficult or better yet impossible. it certainly did exist but maybe those security issues have been resolved.

5. keep improving the product with fine tuning. baseball is a sport that has retained its popularity w/o much change to the game. look at the sports that have disappeared like boxing and the next to disappear- football for a variety of reasons. baseball has a beauty to it that will exist as long as the country does so don't spend time on projects that make baseball a different game.

[Caporegime]

Originally Posted by waltwa

2. everytime I see posts or interest in tournament play and promotion-relegation topics it harkens back to ootp 6 when the game started to go soccer and almost destroyed the product. the point is don't waste time on improving the soccer aspects of the game if it takes away from fine tuning the baseball aspects.

Soccer aspects? Whether some people care to accept it or not, tournament play is now a part of the baseball universe in the real world. This isn't 1937. Baseball has gone global, and since OOTP is the most realistic baseball game on the market, as even you concede above, it should as well.

Providing players with the *option* (Remember, no one is forced to utilize this feature) to add tournaments like the WBC to the game isn't "soccerizing" OOTP. Quite the contrary. It's merely giving players the ability to re-create in their OOTP universes what commissioner Manfred himself recently asserted is now a permanent part of the baseball landscape. Some people may not like that, or accept it, but, as an old baseball saying goes, there's always next year.

If nothing else, the OOTP dev team over the years have proven themselves to be remarkably malleable and open to new ideas and suggestions. Therefore, rather than denigrating the new features they don't like, or making baseless accusations about how the dev team is turning OOTP into some kind of cross-dressing, trans-soccer bathroom hog, those who want the features they want to see added to OOTP should go to the request forum, just as the people who wanted graphics and tournament play did year after year, and make their requests/feelings known. Fair enough?

Originally Posted by waltwa

3. worrying about the names of players around the world being correct. tune into a political channel if this is important.

Sorry, but this is a ridiculous statement. Wanting the ethno-name sets for nations that produce major league ballplayers to accurately reflect what we see in the real world is not motivated by politics, but by a desire to see game be as realistic and immersive as it can possibly be....something that, ironically enough, you actually claim to want above.

Thank goodness the dev doesn't share some this same mentality. OOTP never would've progressed past V.2.

[jaa36]

Originally Posted by Lukas Berger

What kind of improvements to the record book would you like to see?

Redesigning it a la Baseball Reference would be good. You can view any stat by "scapy" (e.g. season, career, active, postseason, yearly), which seems to be as comprehensive and flexible a way as any I can think of. Ability to select leaders between specific points in time, as another poster suggested, would also be helpful. And being able to view leaders in ALL tracked stats from the leaderboard would be very nice.

[waltwa]

I don't think we see eye to eye and that's ok. I think my point is to focus on the true baseball aspects of the game and not get off track with focus on aspects that are not the true game. again I focus on ootp 6 when the game went in a world view direction and almost killed itself.

its absolutely ok to broaden the game as long as it does not take away from the time to make the basic game as thoroughly developed as possible- that's my basic point.

as long as I can play the game and simply avoid the aspects I don't like I will be a happy player

[Honorable_Pawn]

I think without a financial "tycoon" element I have purchased my last version.

After 10 years I'm finally bored.

[Mntwins]

I totally agree. I've bought every version but last years was just ok and I still haven't pre ordered 18 yet. I will buy it but I'm in no hurry. The thing is I could care less about 3D graphics because I just sim week to week. I remember back around 11 or 12 I was thinking the game couldn't get any better but was pleasantly surprised. Now I'm not so sure.....

[AirmenSmith]

I'm like a few of you where the "Big" features haven't been anything special for me. This years "Big" features don't really affect how I play, which is real modern rosters.

Most of the time the new features that matter to me are the lesser ones that go in the "Much More" section of the newsletters. If something is added that relates to being a GM only, then that is what gets me excited.

I have 2 features that I would love to see added to the game. An ITP model added in and an Owner mode with actual options. ITP would just be great because you can start in HS and work your way up. Go through the majors, have all the rpg elements, then retire. Go into managing maybe ownership!!

To me ITP like mode would open up you to be able to experience almost all features of the game. Start yourself in the 90's on your favorite team. Work your way up and play with the current rosters. Manage in the future and own in the way future. So you have some historical, modern and future sim in there. Oh I could dream!!!

But the game is great and I get my moneys worth every time I buy the game. As long as I have a computer I will buy the game.

[CMH]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack

Been buying this game for about 15 years, every year like clockwork. Will continue to buy every year for as long as they keep making it. Because some things are so good they just deserve it. But the new features the last couple of years are a little underwhelming. Maybe there's just not much room to improve at this point in the games development. If that's the case, so be it. I'll still be here, drinking adequate bourbon and looking for the next fictional triple crown winner.

15 years is a long time. I've been buying since OOTP 4 and one thing I try to keep perspective on is everything the game is today didn't happen in one or two versions. It's a combination of the 15 years of programming and development put into the game.

When I think of the year OOTP changed its interface (for the better, though at the time many many people hated it), I wonder, how much has the game really done since then?

But when I review my online leagues, the new rules we've implemented because of additions / changes to the game, the new activities I have access to (i.e., international free agents, player opt outs, even something as little as rehab assignments), I realize how much has happened over the years.

Year to year it looks insignificant. In combination it's enormous.

[Painmantle]

until the AI is capable of using Players like Babe Ruth as both a Pitcher and a Hitter it still has work to be done!

[Padreman]

Originally Posted by Honorable_Pawn

I think without a financial "tycoon" element I have purchased my last version.

After 10 years I'm finally bored.

Please elaborate? Im not bored I love the game but I'm just frustrated the promotions and regulation for example that's great for the few that were used it but there's so many things that are in real Major League Baseball they're not Incorporated in the game a full coaching staff for example, certain pitches that have been used buy real players they're not in the game for example the spitball which was legal at a point Shuuto, palmball ECT., and I totally agree the record books need to be better I'm frustrated that I can't track all time pinch hit records. Which is why I just decided to go designated hitter and all my leagues because it's better than not being able to look at the record books and seeing who are the top all time pinch hitters. Pinch hitting is an art and gets no love. I'm frustrated that you can have a Caribbean series type playoff which is round robin or real working winter leagues. Again I enjoy the game very much I'm totally not bored with it I'm just frustrated with some of the things

[Mr. Marlin]

I've been on board since OOTP 8 and I will admit it's been a long time since a new OOTP introduced a feature that blew me away.

The 3D game engine is a big step. Markus and Co, are proud of it and they should be. But for me, I don't use it and don't care. I still prefer the static screen and play by play. I like seeing the stats, the out of town scoreboard, all the other things you can display while the game is on.

I don't care about soccer or the "tournament" style rules. I don't care about promotion or relegation. I'll never use it. But a lot of folks have been asking for it and I'm glad they finally got it.

I am in awe of the effort that went into creating the historical minors. That is a real accomplishment not just by the OOTP guys but all the research from Spritze & co. But I don't play it myself. I prefer fictional play because then there are no preconceived notions and the sight of Babe Ruth in an Indians uniform is something I can't get past.

Ditto for adding Negro leagues. Some of these teams didn't even keep complete rosters so piecing all that together is no small feat and a worthy tribute to those players who are now in a video game some 80 year later and more. But it's not something I'll use.

So why do I come back? Because even if all the big features don't matter every version is better. The AI is better, the code gets tighter, the play by play is bigger and better. Playing the game, playing out the games is still fun. That is something the guys at FHM have not nailed down yet. Actually playing out their schedule games is not enjoyable. It's buggy, it's slow, you feel disconnected from it. That has never been that way in OOTP. Even if the only improvements I look foreword to are the small ones I still remember that small doors sometimes open into large rooms. Playing OOTP is still fun. It's still a wonderful distraction and as long as it continues to be that Markus and Co. can count on me next January.

[Basebrah]

Originally Posted by Padreman

Please elaborate? Im not bored I love the game but I'm just frustrated the promotions and regulation for example that's great for the few that were used it but there's so many things that are in real Major League Baseball they're not Incorporated in the game a full coaching staff for example, certain pitches that have been used buy real players they're not in the game for example the spitball which was legal at a point Shuuto, palmball ECT., and I totally agree the record books need to be better I'm frustrated that I can't track all time pinch hit records. Which is why I just decided to go designated hitter and all my leagues because it's better than not being able to look at the record books and seeing who are the top all time pinch hitters. Pinch hitting is an art and gets no love. I'm frustrated that you can have a Caribbean series type playoff which is round robin or real working winter leagues. Again I enjoy the game very much I'm totally not bored with it I'm just frustrated with some of the things

I agree with you. This is the first time in over 10 years I haven't pre- ordered. There are so many aspects of the game that could be improved before adding promotion and regulation such as coaching, scouting, the amateur draft, record books and even adding a tycoon takeover.
Scouting could be so much fun and I dread it in this game. Coaching, meh.The draft is boring and it shouldn't be. There is so much more to expand in this game and I hope they go in that direction.
I'm sure I'll buy the game at some point but I'm just not as excited about it anymore.

[ZXLT]

Originally Posted by Mr. Marlin

I've been on board since OOTP 8 and I will admit it's been a long time since a new OOTP introduced a feature that blew me away.

The 3D game engine is a big step. Markus and Co, are proud of it and they should be. But for me, I don't use it and don't care. I still prefer the static screen and play by play. I like seeing the stats, the out of town scoreboard, all the other things you can display while the game is on.

I don't care about soccer or the "tournament" style rules. I don't care about promotion or relegation. I'll never use it. But a lot of folks have been asking for it and I'm glad they finally got it.

I am in awe of the effort that went into creating the historical minors. That is a real accomplishment not just by the OOTP guys but all the research from Spritze & co. But I don't play it myself. I prefer fictional play because then there are no preconceived notions and the sight of Babe Ruth in an Indians uniform is something I can't get past.

Ditto for adding Negro leagues. Some of these teams didn't even keep complete rosters so piecing all that together is no small feat and a worthy tribute to those players who are now in a video game some 80 year later and more. But it's not something I'll use.

So why do I come back? Because even if all the big features don't matter every version is better. The AI is better, the code gets tighter, the play by play is bigger and better. Playing the game, playing out the games is still fun. That is something the guys at FHM have not nailed down yet. Actually playing out their schedule games is not enjoyable. It's buggy, it's slow, you feel disconnected from it. That has never been that way in OOTP. Even if the only improvements I look foreword to are the small ones I still remember that small doors sometimes open into large rooms. Playing OOTP is still fun. It's still a wonderful distraction and as long as it continues to be that Markus and Co. can count on me next January.

I feel the same way. I've been playing since OOTP 4 and a member (and now co-commissioner) of a long-running OOTP league since 2006 (with CMH, who posted above).

Few of the new features do much for me. But every game gets better nevertheless. There are plenty of important, less-advertised improvements to each game that make them worthwhile upgrades.

[philthepat]

Originally Posted by Basebrah

There are so many aspects of the game that could be improved before adding promotion and regulation such as coaching, scouting, the amateur draft, record books and even adding a tycoon takeover.

Exactly this, especially scouting and the draft.

Of course I've still pre-ordered, and would pre-order OOTP19 right now if the option was there. But we need some love for these aspects for sure.