Which is the best way to play OOTP16?

Morrissey321 · 04-01-2015, 12:54 PM

Hey everyone,
I am relatively new into Baseball, let alone OOTP16!
I have played other sports management games; but I am so impressed with the huge scope in this game.
A the moment I am playing as GM\Manager and playing every game.
I am really enjoying it; but I worry how long it will take to finish a season!!
Do some people simulate many games? Is it rare for people to play every game?
I'm sorry if my questions seem stupid; im just new to the game.
Many thanks,
Tom

Questdog · 04-01-2015, 01:12 PM

I play out every game, but some never play out games and sim a year a day.

It's all about what YOU enjoy.....

If you want to get to know individual players and become attached to some and hate others, then playing out games is definitely the way to go.. If you just want to focus on your player acquisition skills and see all the players as mere cattle to be bought and sold, then simming through chunks of time is probably what you want to do.

jakestar17 · 04-01-2015, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morrissey321

Hey everyone,
I am relatively new into Baseball, let alone OOTP16!
I have played other sports management games; but I am so impressed with the huge scope in this game.
A the moment I am playing as GM\Manager and playing every game.
I am really enjoying it; but I worry how long it will take to finish a season!!
Do some people simulate many games? Is it rare for people to play every game?
I'm sorry if my questions seem stupid; im just new to the game.
Many thanks,
Tom

I have been playing OOTP since OOTP13. When i first got the game I played out every single game but now playing OOTP16, I sim almost every game. Pretty much depends on what you prefer!

Painmantle · 04-01-2015, 02:43 PM

It's ok to have more than one league, I keep several around to fit whatever mood I'm in. Have one where you play out all your games, another where you just GM and blast through it....they will both always be there for whatever you fancy on any particular day.

I have a GM only league, a Manager Only League, A Historical, what if Dynasty and 5 Online leagues going right now, I'
m thinking of creating a historical team import league with random entry just to be different. Which one I play any given day (Other than my online leagues) varies depending on my mood

TwinsGuy11 · 04-02-2015, 02:27 PM

First year for me, but I prefer to play most games. I'm in year 2 with the Twins. My first season I played every other game just because it was going to be a long season. This year, the team is really improved and I am playing about 70% of the games.

Ruthian23 · 04-02-2015, 02:57 PM

I'd just like to echo what Painmantle said. You could have one league where you play out every or most games for when you're in the mood for that and another where you sim and focus more on the GM stuff than the day to day bunt/steal/pitching change aspects of the team.

You could also, of course, do some kind of hybrid. For instance, sim every game except for Sunday games or something. You'd get to play out a representative number of games for the season and get a bit of that day to day feel of your team while cutting down on season time dramatically. Some others automatically simulate the first six innings or whatever and play out the rest if the score is close, which in theory should cut down on your play out game time by about 67%, and more if you just sim to the end of the games where it's a blowout. Twinsguy mentioned above that he's been playing out around 50-70% of his games. There's really no wrong way to do it.

For someone who's brand new to the game and the sport in general, I'd recommend trying a bunch of different things and seeing what sticks. As a relatively new baseball fan, you might like trying a historical league as a kind of interactive learning experience about the history of the game, if you're interested in that. The really cool thing about the historical experience in OOTP is that it adjusts things like league statistical totals and salary amounts, expansion teams, etc. automatically as time moves on, so by playing through MLB history you really do get a feel for not only the players, but the shape the league took.

Please don't be afraid to ask questions. I've been playing since OOTP5 and I still feel like I don't know how about 75% of the game works. As jakestar said, though, generally the answer to a "what's the best way..." question will have 200 different answers based on peoples' personal preferences. Have fun.

italyprof · 04-09-2015, 04:49 PM

Good advice from everyone here, and I especially second Painmantle's approach, which is similar to mine. Like others here, I often set up games several times before they are what I really want them to be - it might be the league structure, the "feel" of the historical period, a particular assortment of players or my particular team.

As for simming and playing every game, or combining them (playing a week or so of games, then simming a week to see where stats are to change your strategies, tactics, lineups, bullpen etc.), I would suggest thinking about what kind of league or team you want if you are interesting in playing every game or not.

I sometimes have found that I wanted to play every game but the team I had, while interesting to watch play a season, did not give me enough of something to warrant playing every game.

So I recently, with trial and error worked on building a league and team I wanted to play out every game in - it is early in the season but we will see how it works.

I wanted a certain unfinished feel to it and the late 1940s and early 50s for some reason, as well as very early 60s gives me that sense. So I started the league in 1952 (historical league and players). I ran a fantasy inaugural draft having cleared rosters and took over the Pittsburgh Pirates to manage (I am a Yankees fan, but sometimes the teams I want to run don't fit that mold). I decided to avoid drafting superstars - Mays (I wish they would program the AI to draft superstar prospects, he was still around in round 15 or something, mocking me), Mantle and so on. I did get Warren Spahn to anchor the rotation with two pitchers I wanted Harvey Haddix and Vinegar Bend Mizell, and I made sure to draft Satchel Paige.

I drafted Ted Kluszewski in the first round - wanted him to be the big hitter on the team, and got the under-rated (for a few years) Dale Mitchell, Billy Cox, now aging, Sammy White as the other good power threat, but I overdid it: by the time I got around to the rest of the outfield, it turned out I had to settle for players that did not remotely have full time PA or AB for the season or for several to come, and also had no choice but to bend my plan to avoid superstars and draft Ted Williams (a war year for him, so maybe 100 AB for the next season or so) to use as a back up and elite pinch hitter, and then his later seasons which are very, very good but still give me the opportunity to build or rebuild a team, not have an all-star squad from the start which would be boring to me. But when the season began, except for Mitchell the whole OF was hitting below .100 and I traded Williams for Stan the Man. Okay so the lineup is basically Musial third, Klu fourth and maybe Mitchell for a year or two getting on base.

So far it is fun, but if the first season the team looks too good, I will break the league down and try again, maybe in 1948 or 50, with some of the same players but again trying to give myself a chance to start on something worth building. Ideally I would have a .500 team for the first season and without loading it with future all-stars already. This means that the drafts are interesting, every position is interesting to fill and re-fill and experiment with.

so what kind of team you want and how you want to play a season or many seasons are all connected in my view.

Dr.K · 04-09-2015, 05:42 PM

Just don't take on being the GM of the Phillies in 2015 MLB. By 2019 you'll be throwing your laptop out the window.....It's got to do like Italyprof said. I probably will get fired at the end of 2019 anyway, never have I felt so inept as managing the Phillies. I will do GM starting in the 1936 and do a draft league and go from there as I don't think I've done that before. I'd try anything right now to get the sour taste of the Phillies out of my mouth right now!

fuzzy_patters · 04-09-2015, 06:27 PM

I play out every game, but I do it with short, instant pbp. That way I can get through a game in a few minutes.

Peregrine · 04-09-2015, 06:29 PM

In most games I sim all the games and don't manage a team - just like to follow the league and the players and watch as history develops. In games I do manage a team I usually sim a week at a time as I usually play as GM only.

OOTPSimmer · 04-11-2015, 02:17 PM

Like jakestar17 said, it's all based on how YOU prefer to play the game and what makes it most enjoyable and rewarding to you.

04-01-2015, 12:54 PM	#1
Morrissey321 Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: South West, UK Posts: 1	Which is the best way to play OOTP16? Hey everyone, I am relatively new into Baseball, let alone OOTP16! I have played other sports management games; but I am so impressed with the huge scope in this game. A the moment I am playing as GM\Manager and playing every game. I am really enjoying it; but I worry how long it will take to finish a season!! Do some people simulate many games? Is it rare for people to play every game? I'm sorry if my questions seem stupid; im just new to the game. Many thanks, Tom

04-01-2015, 02:43 PM	#4
Painmantle Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Greenfield ,IN Posts: 3,053	It's ok to have more than one league, I keep several around to fit whatever mood I'm in. Have one where you play out all your games, another where you just GM and blast through it....they will both always be there for whatever you fancy on any particular day. I have a GM only league, a Manager Only League, A Historical, what if Dynasty and 5 Online leagues going right now, I' m thinking of creating a historical team import league with random entry just to be different. Which one I play any given day (Other than my online leagues) varies depending on my mood __________________ “As soon as I got out there I felt a strange relationship with the pitcher's mound. It was as if I'd been born out there. Pitching just felt like the most natural thing in the world. Striking out batters was easy.” -Babe Ruth “Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching. Working once a week, he might have lasted a long time and become a great star.”-Tris Speaker My Dynasties The Beantown Bambino

04-02-2015, 02:57 PM	#6
Ruthian23 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 740	I'd just like to echo what Painmantle said. You could have one league where you play out every or most games for when you're in the mood for that and another where you sim and focus more on the GM stuff than the day to day bunt/steal/pitching change aspects of the team. You could also, of course, do some kind of hybrid. For instance, sim every game except for Sunday games or something. You'd get to play out a representative number of games for the season and get a bit of that day to day feel of your team while cutting down on season time dramatically. Some others automatically simulate the first six innings or whatever and play out the rest if the score is close, which in theory should cut down on your play out game time by about 67%, and more if you just sim to the end of the games where it's a blowout. Twinsguy mentioned above that he's been playing out around 50-70% of his games. There's really no wrong way to do it. For someone who's brand new to the game and the sport in general, I'd recommend trying a bunch of different things and seeing what sticks. As a relatively new baseball fan, you might like trying a historical league as a kind of interactive learning experience about the history of the game, if you're interested in that. The really cool thing about the historical experience in OOTP is that it adjusts things like league statistical totals and salary amounts, expansion teams, etc. automatically as time moves on, so by playing through MLB history you really do get a feel for not only the players, but the shape the league took. Please don't be afraid to ask questions. I've been playing since OOTP5 and I still feel like I don't know how about 75% of the game works. As jakestar said, though, generally the answer to a "what's the best way..." question will have 200 different answers based on peoples' personal preferences. Have fun. Last edited by Ruthian23; 04-02-2015 at 02:58 PM.

04-09-2015, 05:42 PM	#8
Dr.K Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: UK Posts: 367	Just don't take on being the GM of the Phillies in 2015 MLB. By 2019 you'll be throwing your laptop out the window.....It's got to do like Italyprof said. I probably will get fired at the end of 2019 anyway, never have I felt so inept as managing the Phillies. I will do GM starting in the 1936 and do a draft league and go from there as I don't think I've done that before. I'd try anything right now to get the sour taste of the Phillies out of my mouth right now! Last edited by Dr.K; 04-09-2015 at 05:46 PM.

04-01-2015, 01:12 PM	#2
Questdog Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: In a dark, damp cave where I'm training slugs to run the bases...... Posts: 16,142	I play out every game, but some never play out games and sim a year a day. It's all about what YOU enjoy..... If you want to get to know individual players and become attached to some and hate others, then playing out games is definitely the way to go.. If you just want to focus on your player acquisition skills and see all the players as mere cattle to be bought and sold, then simming through chunks of time is probably what you want to do.

04-02-2015, 02:27 PM	#5
TwinsGuy11 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 213	First year for me, but I prefer to play most games. I'm in year 2 with the Twins. My first season I played every other game just because it was going to be a long season. This year, the team is really improved and I am playing about 70% of the games.

04-09-2015, 04:49 PM	#7
italyprof All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 983	Good advice from everyone here, and I especially second Painmantle's approach, which is similar to mine. Like others here, I often set up games several times before they are what I really want them to be - it might be the league structure, the "feel" of the historical period, a particular assortment of players or my particular team. As for simming and playing every game, or combining them (playing a week or so of games, then simming a week to see where stats are to change your strategies, tactics, lineups, bullpen etc.), I would suggest thinking about what kind of league or team you want if you are interesting in playing every game or not. I sometimes have found that I wanted to play every game but the team I had, while interesting to watch play a season, did not give me enough of something to warrant playing every game. So I recently, with trial and error worked on building a league and team I wanted to play out every game in - it is early in the season but we will see how it works. I wanted a certain unfinished feel to it and the late 1940s and early 50s for some reason, as well as very early 60s gives me that sense. So I started the league in 1952 (historical league and players). I ran a fantasy inaugural draft having cleared rosters and took over the Pittsburgh Pirates to manage (I am a Yankees fan, but sometimes the teams I want to run don't fit that mold). I decided to avoid drafting superstars - Mays (I wish they would program the AI to draft superstar prospects, he was still around in round 15 or something, mocking me), Mantle and so on. I did get Warren Spahn to anchor the rotation with two pitchers I wanted Harvey Haddix and Vinegar Bend Mizell, and I made sure to draft Satchel Paige. I drafted Ted Kluszewski in the first round - wanted him to be the big hitter on the team, and got the under-rated (for a few years) Dale Mitchell, Billy Cox, now aging, Sammy White as the other good power threat, but I overdid it: by the time I got around to the rest of the outfield, it turned out I had to settle for players that did not remotely have full time PA or AB for the season or for several to come, and also had no choice but to bend my plan to avoid superstars and draft Ted Williams (a war year for him, so maybe 100 AB for the next season or so) to use as a back up and elite pinch hitter, and then his later seasons which are very, very good but still give me the opportunity to build or rebuild a team, not have an all-star squad from the start which would be boring to me. But when the season began, except for Mitchell the whole OF was hitting below .100 and I traded Williams for Stan the Man. Okay so the lineup is basically Musial third, Klu fourth and maybe Mitchell for a year or two getting on base. So far it is fun, but if the first season the team looks too good, I will break the league down and try again, maybe in 1948 or 50, with some of the same players but again trying to give myself a chance to start on something worth building. Ideally I would have a .500 team for the first season and without loading it with future all-stars already. This means that the drafts are interesting, every position is interesting to fill and re-fill and experiment with. so what kind of team you want and how you want to play a season or many seasons are all connected in my view.

04-09-2015, 06:27 PM	#9
fuzzy_patters All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 1,804	I play out every game, but I do it with short, instant pbp. That way I can get through a game in a few minutes.

04-09-2015, 06:29 PM	#10
Peregrine All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Cary, North Carolina Posts: 635	In most games I sim all the games and don't manage a team - just like to follow the league and the players and watch as history develops. In games I do manage a team I usually sim a week at a time as I usually play as GM only.

04-11-2015, 02:17 PM	#11
OOTPSimmer Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 65	Like jakestar17 said, it's all based on how YOU prefer to play the game and what makes it most enjoyable and rewarding to you.