Is OOTP too big a learning curve for someone who doesn't understand baseball?

Colorado · 05-10-2019, 02:26 PM

I'm not from the US so baseball isn't a mainstream sport here but I'm familiar with FHM as I'm a big hockey fan so have a general understanding of the concept behind North American sports such as drafts, trades, play-offs etc ...

I'm quite intrigued by baseball but don't really understand anything about it except for the very, very basics. As a complete novice to the sport, is OOTP too big a learning curve to understand the game or would it accelerate my learning and understanding of the sport?

waittilnextyear · 05-10-2019, 02:33 PM

Hard to say. Everyone is different. But, I'd lean toward "probably" being the correct answer to your question. OOTP is for baseball nerds, not for novices, generally speaking. On the other hand, it is also a sandbox-type game, so you can check/uncheck different options to customize your experience.

Harry Hibbs · 05-10-2019, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado

I'm not from the US so baseball isn't a mainstream sport here but I'm familiar with FHM as I'm a big hockey fan so have a general understanding of the concept behind North American sports such as drafts, trades, play-offs etc ...

I'm quite intrigued by baseball but don't really understand anything about it except for the very, very basics. As a complete novice to the sport, is OOTP too big a learning curve to understand the game or would it accelerate my learning and understanding of the sport?

Potentially it could be a great learning tool, e.g. just let the computer AI run everything and learn by watching it . Pick a team to follow (Rockies?

) and just be a fan for the first season, then take over as manager for season 2 and GM / manager for season 3....and search these forums anytime something happens in-game that totally perplexes you

dbl4868 · 05-10-2019, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado

I'm not from the US so baseball isn't a mainstream sport here but I'm familiar with FHM as I'm a big hockey fan so have a general understanding of the concept behind North American sports such as drafts, trades, play-offs etc ...

I'm quite intrigued by baseball but don't really understand anything about it except for the very, very basics. As a complete novice to the sport, is OOTP too big a learning curve to understand the game or would it accelerate my learning and understanding of the sport?

Yes!

RchW · 05-10-2019, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado

I'm not from the US so baseball isn't a mainstream sport here but I'm familiar with FHM as I'm a big hockey fan so have a general understanding of the concept behind North American sports such as drafts, trades, play-offs etc ...

I'm quite intrigued by baseball but don't really understand anything about it except for the very, very basics. As a complete novice to the sport, is OOTP too big a learning curve to understand the game or would it accelerate my learning and understanding of the sport?

No and yes to the two questions.

Sweed · 05-10-2019, 05:23 PM

There will be a learning curve but no, the learning curve will not be too big. Have patience and ask questions here on the forum.

OOTP will definitely accelerate your understanding of baseball.

I learned about soccer\football playing Football Manager and reading the FM forums. OOTP would be the same type situation for you, I would think.

rudel.dietrich · 05-10-2019, 06:58 PM

I would say you don't need to really understand baseball to play the GM aspect of the game.
If you want to play as manager you do but that can always come later.

And does OOTPD do demos anymore? I was going to suggest trying it but I don't think they offer them anymore.

You could always purchase the game off Steam and try it. If you don't play it more than two hours or own it more than two weeks they will offer a full refund.

panda234 · 05-10-2019, 07:19 PM

I used to follow baseball a lot when the Expos and then the Blue Jays were a thing. Not much since then but still enjoyed the playoffs and the odd regular season game. OOPT has changed all that. I've learned more about baseball playing this game than I did in 40 years watching it on TV, and by a long shot. I understand the game more, I know what is happening behind the scenes, and these and other factors just make the game that much more enjoyable. You'll learn a lot in no time and then you'll be hooked!

I

Eugene Church · 05-10-2019, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Hibbs

Potentially it could be a great learning tool, e.g. just let the computer AI run everything and learn by watching it . Pick a team to follow (Rockies?

) and just be a fan for the first season, then take over as manager for season 2 and GM / manager for season 3....and search these forums anytime something happens in-game that totally perplexes you

Good advice.

And to answer your question... the learning curve just to use the game is tough... even if you know baseball inside and out.

But given time and patience, you could get a decent knowledge of baseball.

Eugene Church · 05-10-2019, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweed

There will be a learning curve but no, the learning curve will not be too big. Have patience and ask questions here on the forum.

OOTP will definitely accelerate your understanding of baseball.

I learned about soccer\football playing Football Manager and reading the FM forums. OOTP would be the same type situation for you, I would think.

Sneed always give good advice about OOTPB.

Pay more attention to him, than me.

Colorado · 05-11-2019, 07:53 AM

Thanks for the responses guys, shame they don't offer a trial.

tklem321 · 05-11-2019, 08:54 AM

You can download the demo for last year's version. As far as learning the game goes, it's 99% the same as this year's. Just scroll waaaay down to the demo section here:

https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/out...ball-download/

damientheomen3 · 05-11-2019, 09:29 AM

Demos always come out a bit after the release. Hoping for the 20 demo soon, I need to check something before I determine if I buy at full price or wait for a sale.

As to the OP's question, I've personally learned every sport I know through video games, in many cases with the in-depth simulator options over the flashy console equivalents. With baseball, I began learning as a lad with MLB The Show, and then got a legitimate grasp on the sport (or at least the administration end of it) through OOTP. My first version (OOTPX) was 10 iterations less complex, so YMMV, but it should still be doable. Just start an out-of-the-box MLB league, and feel free to come here or the 'New to the Game' forum
section with any questions you might have.

micropterus58 · 05-11-2019, 02:24 PM

I too suggest you try a demo first. You can turn off many aspects of the game you may not like or understand like the financials or drafts. You can also let your coaches make many decisions. This way you play as the manager and learn the strategies. You can setup this game to be very complex or as easy as you like. You should also look at the "new to the game" sections for the current version and past versions. Most of your questions have probably been asked before.

jparker2112 · 05-11-2019, 02:31 PM

My two cents...if you REALLY want to learn baseball at YOUR pace the $30 for the full game would be a worth while investment on your part. Become a GM and let the AI run the daily stuff. When something pops up that doesnt make sense to you the game can pause on that day and you can ask on the forums, google the rule/situation, or even consult the OOTP online manual. There are dozens of acronyms for specific stats that will totally overwhelm you. Do not start there...learn the basic ones (ERA, WHIP, etc..) and once you have those running in your brain w/o even having to think about them, then you can get into some more advanced stat tracking. The forums are full of highly knowledgeable baseball people and very very helpful people as well. I say go for it and give it a bit of time and then you can impress your friends over a pint!!

Sharkn20 · 05-12-2019, 06:23 AM

I had no idea of baseball when I bought the first OOTP15 or something like that. I figured that playing an MP league helps with the learning quite a lot as you discuss and read other GMs opinions and facts.

I am now hooked with this Franchise and I love the game, I did learn quite a lot and now I teach or givemy opinions to other people.

Can't wait to see the FOF version of it hopefully quite soon.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

jimmysthebestcop · 05-12-2019, 07:26 AM

Honestly you don't really need to anything about the actual game of baseball. The games themselves can be simmed and turned over to your manager. Take sports out of the equation all together. And look at OOTP like just another video game to learn.

The big aspect of the game is acting as general manager. I would say learning everything that is involved is no different then learning a grand strategy game or a city management game. Any Paradox Title, or Sim City like game or any of the grand campaign war type games have lots of parallels with OOTP.

So it really has to do with what types of other video games you play and how quickly you can adapt to those games.

I would say OOTP can be described as a grand strategy for sports. A USA based OOTP video game player could have played and watched baseball his entire life. But you don't really know anything about the GM aspect of the game. The big picture the grand strategy of the game.

If you watch several Let's Play series on YouTube and read the forums/reddit you will pick up enough to know how to play OOTP at least from the GM perspective.

Could you play out and coach the individual games? It would be harder in the beginning but it can be learned.

BaseballMan · 05-12-2019, 10:59 AM

I would say its no big curve to learn the basics of baseball. Learning the more complex rules of the game or the different game settings in ootp might take some time. You can always adjust the game to what you are comfortable with. You dont have to play with financials and rule 5 on etc.
Don't worry about becoming an expert with the game. Many of us have played for years and are not experts We still learn different things about playing the game. Thats what makes it fun. You can play so many different ways. Play the way it is fun for you.

I would also advice playing both historical and fictional. Historical because
you will come across the great players and it would help you learn the history of the game. What made those players great at that position.
Fictional because the ballpark is all yours. There are no expectations of what a player should do according to history.

Also to help you might pick up some baseball books. Baseball Abstract by Bill James and Total baseball are good.
If you have a question search the forum and more than likely someone has asked the same question. If not just ask. The community may not answer right away but a lot of members will either answer or offer advice.
There may be a time that you have a better answer or solution to a question.
Take your time and enjoy the game in ootp and enjoy learning about the real game of baseball.

tklem321 · 05-12-2019, 12:12 PM

Another thing I would recommend, after learning the most basic rules of baseball, is to simply watch a game or two on YouTube. There are complete games there from several different decades. Also, Zack Hample's book "Watch Baseball Smarter" is good for people just learning the game.

joefromchicago · 05-12-2019, 02:04 PM

I'd say that OOTP has a steep learning curve. There are veteran members on this forum who will occasionally report on discovering something in the game for the first time, even after thousands of hours playing the game's various iterations. And there are some things, like some of the more obscure roster rules, that I doubt a majority of OOTPers could accurately explain.

But compared to some other computer games, I don't think OOTP is particularly bad in this respect. Crusader Kings II and games of its ilk, for instance, are way more complicated than OOTP. Plus there are lots of YouTube videos and other resources available (including this forum) that will guide you through the game's intricacies.

As for knowledge of baseball itself, you certainly have to understand its basics. Like, for instance, that there are three outs in an inning and nine innings in a regulation game, and that there are no ties - you just keep playing until someone wins. But do you need to know the infield-fly rule or the dropped-third-strike rule? No, not really, especially if you're just simming your games (and there are a bunch of videos out there that will teach you the basics). You can be a hands-on manager or a hands-off GM - the game lets you decide how involved you want to be.

In fact, you can rely on OOTP to make a lot of the hard decisions for you. Don't know how to construct your lineup? Ask your manager or your bench coach to do it. Don't know anything about player options? Try demoting a player who is out of options to the minors and the game will let you know that you can't do that without placing him on waivers. Once you get better acquainted with OOTP and the rules of major-league baseball, you'll want to make a lot of those decisions for yourself, but as a beginner the game can help you out a lot.

05-10-2019, 02:26 PM	#1
Colorado Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 322	Is OOTP too big a learning curve for someone who doesn't understand baseball? I'm not from the US so baseball isn't a mainstream sport here but I'm familiar with FHM as I'm a big hockey fan so have a general understanding of the concept behind North American sports such as drafts, trades, play-offs etc ... I'm quite intrigued by baseball but don't really understand anything about it except for the very, very basics. As a complete novice to the sport, is OOTP too big a learning curve to understand the game or would it accelerate my learning and understanding of the sport?

05-10-2019, 02:33 PM	#2
waittilnextyear All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 1,272	Hard to say. Everyone is different. But, I'd lean toward "probably" being the correct answer to your question. OOTP is for baseball nerds, not for novices, generally speaking. On the other hand, it is also a sandbox-type game, so you can check/uncheck different options to customize your experience. __________________

05-12-2019, 02:04 PM	#20
joefromchicago Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 3,630	I'd say that OOTP has a steep learning curve. There are veteran members on this forum who will occasionally report on discovering something in the game for the first time, even after thousands of hours playing the game's various iterations. And there are some things, like some of the more obscure roster rules, that I doubt a majority of OOTPers could accurately explain. But compared to some other computer games, I don't think OOTP is particularly bad in this respect. Crusader Kings II and games of its ilk, for instance, are way more complicated than OOTP. Plus there are lots of YouTube videos and other resources available (including this forum) that will guide you through the game's intricacies. As for knowledge of baseball itself, you certainly have to understand its basics. Like, for instance, that there are three outs in an inning and nine innings in a regulation game, and that there are no ties - you just keep playing until someone wins. But do you need to know the infield-fly rule or the dropped-third-strike rule? No, not really, especially if you're just simming your games (and there are a bunch of videos out there that will teach you the basics). You can be a hands-on manager or a hands-off GM - the game lets you decide how involved you want to be. In fact, you can rely on OOTP to make a lot of the hard decisions for you. Don't know how to construct your lineup? Ask your manager or your bench coach to do it. Don't know anything about player options? Try demoting a player who is out of options to the minors and the game will let you know that you can't do that without placing him on waivers. Once you get better acquainted with OOTP and the rules of major-league baseball, you'll want to make a lot of those decisions for yourself, but as a beginner the game can help you out a lot. __________________ American-Ethnic (and Canadian) Namesets Historical Minor League Schedules 1870s City/Team Nickname Randomizers "It's Usually Sunny in Philadelphia" weather mod Last edited by joefromchicago; 05-12-2019 at 02:24 PM.

05-10-2019, 05:23 PM	#6
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,104 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	There will be a learning curve but no, the learning curve will not be too big. Have patience and ask questions here on the forum. OOTP will definitely accelerate your understanding of baseball. I learned about soccer\football playing Football Manager and reading the FM forums. OOTP would be the same type situation for you, I would think.

05-10-2019, 06:58 PM	#7
rudel.dietrich Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Posts: 8,608 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	I would say you don't need to really understand baseball to play the GM aspect of the game. If you want to play as manager you do but that can always come later. And does OOTPD do demos anymore? I was going to suggest trying it but I don't think they offer them anymore. You could always purchase the game off Steam and try it. If you don't play it more than two hours or own it more than two weeks they will offer a full refund.

05-10-2019, 07:19 PM	#8
panda234 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Oct 2018 Posts: 264	I used to follow baseball a lot when the Expos and then the Blue Jays were a thing. Not much since then but still enjoyed the playoffs and the odd regular season game. OOPT has changed all that. I've learned more about baseball playing this game than I did in 40 years watching it on TV, and by a long shot. I understand the game more, I know what is happening behind the scenes, and these and other factors just make the game that much more enjoyable. You'll learn a lot in no time and then you'll be hooked! I

05-11-2019, 07:53 AM	#11
Colorado Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 322	Thanks for the responses guys, shame they don't offer a trial.

05-11-2019, 08:54 AM	#12
tklem321 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 246	You can download the demo for last year's version. As far as learning the game goes, it's 99% the same as this year's. Just scroll waaaay down to the demo section here: https://www.ootpdevelopments.com/out...ball-download/

05-11-2019, 02:24 PM	#14
micropterus58 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,119	I too suggest you try a demo first. You can turn off many aspects of the game you may not like or understand like the financials or drafts. You can also let your coaches make many decisions. This way you play as the manager and learn the strategies. You can setup this game to be very complex or as easy as you like. You should also look at the "new to the game" sections for the current version and past versions. Most of your questions have probably been asked before.

05-11-2019, 02:31 PM	#15
jparker2112 All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Denver CO Posts: 800 Blog Entries: 1	My two cents...if you REALLY want to learn baseball at YOUR pace the $30 for the full game would be a worth while investment on your part. Become a GM and let the AI run the daily stuff. When something pops up that doesnt make sense to you the game can pause on that day and you can ask on the forums, google the rule/situation, or even consult the OOTP online manual. There are dozens of acronyms for specific stats that will totally overwhelm you. Do not start there...learn the basic ones (ERA, WHIP, etc..) and once you have those running in your brain w/o even having to think about them, then you can get into some more advanced stat tracking. The forums are full of highly knowledgeable baseball people and very very helpful people as well. I say go for it and give it a bit of time and then you can impress your friends over a pint!!

05-12-2019, 06:23 AM	#16
Sharkn20 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 287	I had no idea of baseball when I bought the first OOTP15 or something like that. I figured that playing an MP league helps with the learning quite a lot as you discuss and read other GMs opinions and facts. I am now hooked with this Franchise and I love the game, I did learn quite a lot and now I teach or givemy opinions to other people. Can't wait to see the FOF version of it hopefully quite soon. Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

05-12-2019, 07:26 AM	#17
jimmysthebestcop Banned Join Date: Jun 2018 Posts: 1,728 Infractions: 0/2 (5)	Honestly you don't really need to anything about the actual game of baseball. The games themselves can be simmed and turned over to your manager. Take sports out of the equation all together. And look at OOTP like just another video game to learn. The big aspect of the game is acting as general manager. I would say learning everything that is involved is no different then learning a grand strategy game or a city management game. Any Paradox Title, or Sim City like game or any of the grand campaign war type games have lots of parallels with OOTP. So it really has to do with what types of other video games you play and how quickly you can adapt to those games. I would say OOTP can be described as a grand strategy for sports. A USA based OOTP video game player could have played and watched baseball his entire life. But you don't really know anything about the GM aspect of the game. The big picture the grand strategy of the game. If you watch several Let's Play series on YouTube and read the forums/reddit you will pick up enough to know how to play OOTP at least from the GM perspective. Could you play out and coach the individual games? It would be harder in the beginning but it can be learned.

05-12-2019, 10:59 AM	#18
BaseballMan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 6,272	I would say its no big curve to learn the basics of baseball. Learning the more complex rules of the game or the different game settings in ootp might take some time. You can always adjust the game to what you are comfortable with. You dont have to play with financials and rule 5 on etc. Don't worry about becoming an expert with the game. Many of us have played for years and are not experts We still learn different things about playing the game. Thats what makes it fun. You can play so many different ways. Play the way it is fun for you. I would also advice playing both historical and fictional. Historical because you will come across the great players and it would help you learn the history of the game. What made those players great at that position. Fictional because the ballpark is all yours. There are no expectations of what a player should do according to history. Also to help you might pick up some baseball books. Baseball Abstract by Bill James and Total baseball are good. If you have a question search the forum and more than likely someone has asked the same question. If not just ask. The community may not answer right away but a lot of members will either answer or offer advice. There may be a time that you have a better answer or solution to a question. Take your time and enjoy the game in ootp and enjoy learning about the real game of baseball.

05-12-2019, 12:12 PM	#19
tklem321 Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 246	Another thing I would recommend, after learning the most basic rules of baseball, is to simply watch a game or two on YouTube. There are complete games there from several different decades. Also, Zack Hample's book "Watch Baseball Smarter" is good for people just learning the game.