OCD Newb Question About Expansion

JLYoutzy · 10-30-2019, 12:55 PM

Hello all,

I'm a semi-newb to OOTP having purchased in 2016, but barely playing, and then purchasing 20 and becoming completely obsessed. The issue I'm running into is my OCD regarding the game, and I wanted to see if there are any tips you would recommend.

I want to expand a new league to include the Montreal Expos and Raleigh Reapers teams. I have all my team branding complete and ready to go. I have also already restructured the divisions in a way I'm happy about! You can see my division splits here https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vi...7459224913&z=4.
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Here is where my questions come in. I've been watching countless Youtube videos and reading through the forum but can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

For my new league, I want to know recommendations for having everything set up to play as realistic as possible out of the gate. An issue I'm having, for example:

Do I start a new game and sim an entire season unemployed (without doing anything else) before I expand the league? At what point is best to expand the league - first day of the new offseason, or wait until a certain point? I have seen where starting an expansion out of the gate in first season has led to scheduling issues with minor leagues. Errors like that kill me with my OCD and kind of ruin the game for me. I just want to see if there are any walkthroughs on how to set up a new season, expand an extra 2 teams and have everything as realistic as possible!

Another question, are there any changes I should make to the league out of the box in order to make the gameplay more realistic? Are there general recommendations of the community to change certain settings for a more realistic and enjoyable playthrough?

I've already started 6 new seasons because I caught issues with some of my league decision, and want to avoid the continual restart!

Any advice would be appreciated!

tomnov · 11-20-2019, 05:26 PM

I've never tried your exact scenario, but simming historical leagues using automatic expansion has had expansion drafts occur sometime in December, but I can't remember if it was before the amateur draft or after (I set up amateur draft for the offseason on the recommendation of others in these forums to get players added to the league in their correct years).
I don't think you could do the following using any of the MLB quickstarts, because they start the day before opening day, but if you use a custom league setup, I think you can start the league the first of January and schedule an expansion draft before the beginning of the baseball year, avoiding simming an entire year.

Mat · 11-25-2019, 03:57 AM

It is best to expand in the offseason. I always do mine on January 1.

There are too many different options and permutations to give you an exact answer sometimes experimenting in the best way.

10-30-2019, 12:55 PM	#1
JLYoutzy Bat Boy Join Date: Oct 2019 Posts: 2	OCD Newb Question About Expansion Hello all, I'm a semi-newb to OOTP having purchased in 2016, but barely playing, and then purchasing 20 and becoming completely obsessed. The issue I'm running into is my OCD regarding the game, and I wanted to see if there are any tips you would recommend. I want to expand a new league to include the Montreal Expos and Raleigh Reapers teams. I have all my team branding complete and ready to go. I have also already restructured the divisions in a way I'm happy about! You can see my division splits here https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vi...7459224913&z=4. ----- Here is where my questions come in. I've been watching countless Youtube videos and reading through the forum but can't seem to find what I'm looking for. For my new league, I want to know recommendations for having everything set up to play as realistic as possible out of the gate. An issue I'm having, for example: Do I start a new game and sim an entire season unemployed (without doing anything else) before I expand the league? At what point is best to expand the league - first day of the new offseason, or wait until a certain point? I have seen where starting an expansion out of the gate in first season has led to scheduling issues with minor leagues. Errors like that kill me with my OCD and kind of ruin the game for me. I just want to see if there are any walkthroughs on how to set up a new season, expand an extra 2 teams and have everything as realistic as possible! Another question, are there any changes I should make to the league out of the box in order to make the gameplay more realistic? Are there general recommendations of the community to change certain settings for a more realistic and enjoyable playthrough? I've already started 6 new seasons because I caught issues with some of my league decision, and want to avoid the continual restart! Any advice would be appreciated!

11-20-2019, 05:26 PM	#2
tomnov Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 118	I've never tried your exact scenario, but simming historical leagues using automatic expansion has had expansion drafts occur sometime in December, but I can't remember if it was before the amateur draft or after (I set up amateur draft for the offseason on the recommendation of others in these forums to get players added to the league in their correct years). I don't think you could do the following using any of the MLB quickstarts, because they start the day before opening day, but if you use a custom league setup, I think you can start the league the first of January and schedule an expansion draft before the beginning of the baseball year, avoiding simming an entire year.

11-25-2019, 03:57 AM	#3
Mat All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 651	It is best to expand in the offseason. I always do mine on January 1. There are too many different options and permutations to give you an exact answer sometimes experimenting in the best way.