Long Time Fictional Player - Quick Question

[aslanking]

I've been noodling around OOTP20 all day. It's wonderful. Of course it is. I'm asking this - not in a snarky way - but out of genuine curiosity.

As a fictional player, is there anything new in OOTP20 from 19? I can't find anything...and that may be because OOTP19 was perfect.

If you're not a perfect team player, or a historical player - i don't see anything different from OOTP19 (notwithstanding under the hood changes). Would that be a correct assessment?

Better animations, sure. Crisper graphics...definitely. Openers/Followers (meh). But i'm not seeing any new screens or new records or new ideas.

The two greatest games I've ever played: Front Page Sports Football and Out of the Park Baseball. Nothing else comes close. I really think OOTP may have hit its peak....there may be nothing else that COULD be included for fictional players to make it better.

[Orioles1966]

Same here.

I haven't noticed a thing that's different.

I have One World still playing in OOTP19 and just might leave it there(until there is a problem and then I would import).

I was hoping for changes for the schedule editor but looks the same(empty space is now taken up).


I would like too see a league roster evaluation page which would tell you what teams are carrying three catchers or 14 pitchers(etc) because I have larger leagues and it's next too impossible to make sure every team has plenty of reserve players or are carrying a full roster. A lot of the times I will have teams play quiet a few games while having only one catcher or no catcher in reserve incase of injury.

I would also like too manually rain out games. I make many changes with the schedule and chances are some teams will play more games than needed and some fewer but if I keep an eye on the standings late in the season,I could catch the mistakes but manually raining out games would be a welcome option(or something).

[Orcin]

One new feature that I really like is the ability to have a starter be the backup at another position.

[BirdWatcher]

As someone who plays mostly fictional but also plays out every game for his team, I am always thrilled with improvements in the 3D in-game action. And I'm very happy with the improvements we have seen in that area thus far in 20.

My sense is that a lot of the other improvements are subtle but will be felt, and appreciated, over time.
I only just imported my primary fictional save to 20 last night (and that was unintentional- I thought I was moving over a test version of that save, not the primary save) so I haven't really played with this yet. But my sense is that I am going to really appreciate some of the improvements in terms of lineup settings, as well as improvements to the AI regarding of trading, contracts, player evaluation/scouting, etc.

I suspect that people got a bit spoiled by the big, obvious, changes in the game over the last few iterations and are probably underestimating the steps forward this version has taken. It might be a grower for many people. But I still believe that I will find many new features to love as someone who primarily plays in fictional mode.

(So- rereading your post before I finish this- I realize that you said "(notwithstanding under the hood changes)". But I guess that's my point, it is precisely the under the hood changes that ultimately matter the most. And I think those benefit you no matter what way you play the game.)

[The Yurpman]

Some of the little things, like spray charts for batters and the starters/backups thing, are awesome additions.

[Curve Ball Dave]

Originally Posted by aslanking

The two greatest games I've ever played: Front Page Sports Football and Out of the Park Baseball. Nothing else comes close.

We're on the same page, brother. What both have in common is both could be whatever you want them to be; FPS with the play editor, and OOTP with everything else.



That said, I'm not seeing that much different between 19&20, but I'll still devote a large chunk of my life to playing

[jpeters1734]

i'm definitely not importing my fictional leagues anytime soon as there's tons of risk and zero reward. I'll fiddle with live leagues and the bundesliga for a while but that's about all i'll use 20 for

[Orioles1966]

Originally Posted by jpeters1734

i'm definitely not importing my fictional leagues anytime soon as there's tons of risk and zero reward. I'll fiddle with live leagues and the bundesliga for a while but that's about all i'll use 20 for

I have two fictional leagues still be playing in OOTP19 and the only way I would import them is if I was having problems or if both became unplayable.

[Matt Arnold]

There's a lot of under the hood changes which impact everyone. I think it's still a big upgrade on last year, and still a lot more to come in the next few months too

[BlueSkull]

I'd like to start a fictional game/league in XX this year. Can someone offer a few tips on important things to do in terms of things like simming ahead, problems with players from the initial years of the league? I recall looking into this in the past and there were some things you had to do to work around some anomalous outcomes.

Objective is to basically resemble current MLB just with fictional players.

Thanks! Happy OOTP opening day.

[Chico Guilbault]

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

There's a lot of under the hood changes which impact everyone. I think it's still a big upgrade on last year, and still a lot more to come in the next few months too

It doesn't seem like much at first glance, but all the under the hood stuff makes a huge difference. I'm a fictional player and I'm drastically changing how I play the game. For example, I'm going through a 3D stadium upgrade project right now because I plan to play out many more games. I used to sim everything but the occasional playoff game. The animations are so good combined with the right "view" and stadiums...I can't resist watching them.

My fictional world is much better off for these upgrades.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Originally Posted by aslanking

If you're not a perfect team player, or a historical player - i don't see anything different from OOTP19 (notwithstanding under the hood changes). Would that be a correct assessment?

No, that would not be a correct assumption. TONS of work got into the core game. New AI, new strategy settings, new contract logic, improved player evaluation & development, more stats, better 3D, counless small tweaks and fixes and so much more. On top of that, tens of thousands of hours of work go into the new MLB roster sets, over a dozen people, many of them volunteers, work on that for months.

To state that it is "not anything different from OOTP19" makes me cringe, as it is entirely false.

[Calvert98]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

TONS of work got into the core game. New AI, new strategy settings, new contract logic, improved player evaluation & development, more stats, better 3D, counless small tweaks and fixes and so much more. :

This is exactly the stuff that I am so glad is getting attention. Even if you do not play 3D (I do) the AI, new strategy settings, the contract logic, the player evaluation model etc... are a major part of the core of the game for both fictional players and MLB players like myself; as BirdWatcher above mentioned, it is that stuff that has the long-term impact.

As to the MLB roster sets, OOTPD has raised the bar so high here for such a long time (and it is a ton of work), that I think most of us have come to expect it.

[Calvert98]

And Chico, you have a cool avatar!

[Chico Guilbault]

Originally Posted by Calvert98

And Chico, you have a cool avatar!

Thanks! I just switched to that recently to remind me of the days of my youth when I could only dream of a baseball sim that many of us now take for granted.

[Orioles1966]

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

No, that would not be a correct assumption. TONS of work got into the core game. New AI, new strategy settings, new contract logic, improved player evaluation & development, more stats, better 3D, counless small tweaks and fixes and so much more. On top of that, tens of thousands of hours of work go into the new MLB roster sets, over a dozen people, many of them volunteers, work on that for months.

To state that it is "not anything different from OOTP19" makes me cringe, as it is entirely false.

It all depends on how you play your games.

I am not into 3D and all that other stuff.

a.) game loading
b.) I play(commish mode) either Continental or Federal League first(anywhere from 5 to 10 games each per day per league
c.) I try not too play the same teams over and over
d.)I make player transactions during the game
e.) usually before the games I will change the schedule making sure there are 3 or 4 double headers each day
f.) then after I play the games I want too play then I hit the finish tab
g.) then I hit the save game tab
h.) then its back to square one

There are only a few things I would like too see added:

neutral site option(see MLB this week playing games in Japan)

a third conference(that might be hard too do)


league team roster evaluation page(# pitchers,catchers ,etc per team). I have a lot of teams that only have one catcher or no reserve players

[Germaniac]

The "problem" with these under the hood changes is that they are hard to describe. They mostly are small things, but if the development team would write it all down it would be an endless post nobody would read 'til the end.

Of course, most of these changes are not all that flashy, but each and every one makes the game better and more comfortable.
A lot of us tend to expect huge new features and overlook all these little things.

I already imported two of my fictional leagues (because they're in the off-season) and my other two leagues will follow shortly, as soon as their season has finished.

[DreamTeams]

I've always imported my league immediately no matter where I am in the season. Have had no major issues. Figure if there was I could always jump back to the previous version and import again after the fix is released.

Anyway, I see some nice refinements in 20 especially on the 3D side. Took a while to go all in on 3D, but I'm finally there. Only see it improving over time.

If there is a disappointment for me, I'd say it's not having the customizable pants yet (Optional high socks included). Was really hoping we would get those with this release.

[JaBurns]

I am thinking of converting to at least one fictional league because I get too tied down with what I think are mistakes I have made when I know the players names; hopefully fictional will remove all my bias plus preconceived notions. I will be scourging these to pages for insights, tips, ideas, thank you to all the fictional guys in advance.

[klkitchens]

Originally Posted by Orioles1966

I have two fictional leagues still be playing in OOTP19 and the only way I would import them is if I was having problems or if both became unplayable.

Save it... back it up...

Import it to XX. If you don't like it, go back to XIX.