Challenge Mode

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by mmarra82

This is why I'm staying away from Challenge Mode...I absolutely loved the idea when I saw it, however, I think I would grow frustrated at those who manipulate the system. I play the game for fun, not to get aggravated.

We really don't know that he is manipulating the system. He just plays really fast and wins every time for decades.

[Orcin]

What is required to get the "First Series Sweep" achievement? Presumably, that is different from "How Sweep It Is", which requires a playoff sweep, so I am guessing that it is a regular season sweep. If so, I have done it while managing (more than once) and simming (more than once) without receiving credit for it. I ALWAYS check to be sure that I am connected to the server, so that's not it.

By the way, I would be more annoyed by not getting credit for achievements that I have legitimately earned than I would be by others manipulating the system.

[Orcin]

"Season Over - Not Bad" and "Season Over - Good Job"... wouldn't you automatically achieve these after getting "Season Over - Well Done"?

If not, I must tank a season to get these???

[Orcin]

"Touch The Plate" requires 4 runs scored in a game... again, if you have "Score At Will" requiring 5 runs scored in a game, wouldn't you have scored four to get to five? My math skills are not great, but they are at least that good.

[Orcin]

"Slugfest" = 15 runs in a game... "Rout" = 20 runs in a game. No way that you can have Rout without Slugfest. Are we seeing a pattern here? Do I need to go on?

[Orcin]

The "True Living Legend" achievement is 3,000 career wins. NCBeachBum doesn't have it, but he does have 1,500 career wins. I can only find one other player (Scoman) with 30 seasons played. It would take 100 wins per year for 30 seasons to get 3,000 wins. I am willing to bet that Scoman doesn't have it because he has several seasons with less than 100 wins.

So if those two don't have it, and the rest of the players with massive achievement scores don't have enough seasons played, how is it possible that 2.0% of the player base has accomplished this achievement? According to the badge for True Living Legend... players achieved 2%.

I don't know how many players are in the database, but there are at least 1,200 players with one achievement point according to the leaderboard. If 1,200 players is the correct number, then 24 players (2%) have accomplished 3,000 career wins. I call BS on that one.

I am beginning to wonder about the integrity of these numbers. Maybe we need an audit.

[NCBeachBum]

FWIW, you'll see me drop like a rock once 1920 or so comes around. I'm a strict 19th c. player, and suck once I'm out of that comfort zone after the game changes.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by NCBeachBum

FWIW, you'll see me drop like a rock once 1920 or so comes around. I'm a strict 19th c. player, and suck once I'm out of that comfort zone after the game changes.

Hats off to you for some staggering numbers!

So I gotta know... how can you play 5 seasons in 2 hours, winning 5 championships in a row? Did you keep all of the same players? Reserve clause? You had a draft because you have the achievement. I don't know how you would have time for much negotiation or trading.

[NCBeachBum]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Hats off to you for some staggering numbers!

So I gotta know... how can you play 5 seasons in 2 hours, winning 5 championships in a row? Did you keep all of the same players? Reserve clause? You had a draft because you have the achievement. I don't know how you would have time for much negotiation or trading.

No draft, rookies as free agents. No respec (I don't recall if that was an option challenge allows or not, but either way I'm letting the devel engine do its thing). I focus on a.) good defense, 2.) contact/gap players, and iii.) staying young. Put the ball in play more often than the other guy with more authority while letting his fielders make more errors. Which stops working as soon as walks and homers jump and errors drop.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by NCBeachBum

No respec (I don't recall if that was an option challenge allows or not, but either way I'm letting the devel engine do its thing).

Challenge Mode doesn't allow respec.

Well, it's an amazing run. I will keep checking your progress.

[NCBeachBum]

Oh, yeah, I remember now how I got that draft achievement. I screwed around with the modern league for 2 or 3 seasons at one point, but my Bravos were just too damned depressing for me to stick with it. Owner had hacked us down to something like a $60 million payroll by year three, and I was having to package top prospects with guys like Freeman and Markakis just to trade them and their contracts for 1/2 star 28-year-old career minor leaguers still in single-A.

[NCBeachBum]

Just for the fun of it, in the spirit of enjoying it while one can: gone to the World Series 34 times in 36 seasons, winning 27 of them.

Once a couple more patches are in and I stop screwing around, go back to my usual method of play (commissioner, keeps things close to actual history, don't run a team at all, just watch it all play out), I'll disappear again. Until then, I really want to see how long this silliness can last.

[JasonC23]

Originally Posted by NCBeachBum

Just for the fun of it, in the spirit of enjoying it while one can: gone to the World Series 34 times in 36 seasons, winning 27 of them.

Once a couple more patches are in and I stop screwing around, go back to my usual method of play (commissioner, keeps things close to actual history, don't run a team at all, just watch it all play out), I'll disappear again. Until then, I really want to see how long this silliness can last.

Man, you're lucky you didn't get canned after 1885!

[NCBeachBum]

Originally Posted by JasonC23

Man, you're lucky you didn't get canned after 1885!

My owner keeps telling me if I keep it up the fans are going to erect a statue of me in front of South End Grounds... At this point, I'm starting to think I'm never getting that carrot. I mean, come on!

[NCBeachBum]

Quite possible the end is already nigh. From '08-'13, we made the Series all 6 years but won only two of them. The owner is unhappy and making threats.

Now I'll never get that bleeding statue.

[Orcin]

Your owner is spoiled rotten.

[Wayllander]

My only beef with challenge mode so far is the inability to recalc on real stats. I guess this negates a human's advantage of knowing the past but some of my favorite players have been duds.

Carlton Fisk 1977/1978: Batted .222 and .236 (4.5 stars to boot)

Gary Maddox - 1.5 star scrub.

George Foster - 2 stars - batted .244 with 14Hr in 78 versus .281 and 40 homers in real life.

George Brett turned out ok, but has been injured the majority of 2 out of 4 years.

I had Keith Hernandez win the batting championship in the year before the expansion draft. Screwed up, forgot to set my protection list and restored to the previous season. Sure enough he got injured for the season on the second game.

Injuries seem out of whack - I routinely have 2 out of starting my 8 out. Some stretches of the season had 5 of my starting out with DTD injuries that took weeks to go away. Play them and they get injured for multiple weeks - sit them and that swollen ankle takes a month to go away. (Guys with normal injury ratings.)

All that said, challenge mode is my favorite part of OOTP 2018.

[SFGiantsFan]

Originally Posted by Orcin

"Slugfest" = 15 runs in a game... "Rout" = 20 runs in a game. No way that you can have Rout without Slugfest. Are we seeing a pattern here? Do I need to go on?

I'm just quoting one of your things here, but it applies to all of them. I discovered that if you reach the next tier of the achievement, say you score 20 runs, then you will only get credit for the best achievement you can get. In this case, you would unlock Rout, but you would not unlock Slugfest. You can throw a perfect game, but you would not unlock the achievement of throwing a no-hitter. This goes on for each of those types of achievements.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by SFGiantsFan

I'm just quoting one of your things here, but it applies to all of them. I discovered that if you reach the next tier of the achievement, say you score 20 runs, then you will only get credit for the best achievement you can get. In this case, you would unlock Rout, but you would not unlock Slugfest. You can throw a perfect game, but you would not unlock the achievement of throwing a no-hitter. This goes on for each of those types of achievements.

I know that is how it works currently. I am questioning whether it should work that way. A perfect game is a no-hitter, but a no-hitter is not necessarily a perfect game. So there is a circumstance for the no-hitter achievement. But if you get a no-hitter, you should be credited for it, regardless of walks and errors or the lack of same.

[Levistus]

Originally Posted by Wayllander

My only beef with challenge mode so far is the inability to recalc on real stats. I guess this negates a human's advantage of knowing the past but some of my favorite players have been duds.

Tell me about it, I have Joe Tinker and Smokey Joe Wood in my reserve rotting away. Tinker was decent for 2 seasons then became a .220 hitter and bouncing between 1 and 2 stars, Wood never made the roster.

In general though, I like not having the recalc, it lends some randomness and mystery. You know who's a HoF prospect when you look at the draft board, you already got a leg up on a possible bad scouting report.

Just got Herb Pennock in the second round.