how to get league files loaded in online league?

[yajeflow]

i am the commish. i have the web site up and active. i have successfully uploaded the leagues files to our site using the in-game FTP.

now what?

the manual states on page 442:
"Human managers need to download the file so that they can get into the
updated game and make their next set of changes.
OOTPB provides an automated process for this. When online league mode is enabled, managers will see an additional option in the Game menu, entitled Load Online League File"

but this is not the case, at least initially.

an owner cannot even get to the "load online league file" screen without already being in a league of some sort, as this option is not available from the 'OOTP main screen', nor is it available in the 'OOTP preferences'.
the only way to get this option is to have a league already up and running.

this seems like a chicken/egg situation to me.

how can i get my owners to this screen? i cannot see what they are seeing, but i had one owner try to access this stuff from a dummy league he setup. he could then at least see the 'Load Online League File' selection, but this doesn't do anything at all, as he could not access 'game setup' to click the 'online league' box and, i assume, enter the web site host, port, etc.

i would prefer to have owners retrieve the league files from within the game. if this does not work, then i am guessing that there is another method.

for example, on our new site, owners can click and download the archived league file i sent up. it is downloaded as a compressed *.lg.tar.gz file. huh?! how would someone 'unzip' this type of archive? or do they just put the archive somewhere on their system and import it from within the game itself?

these allegedly basic questions are the last step towards getting our league up and running the way it should be, and any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

summary:
for a brand new league, how are owners supposed to get the league files into their game if they have never had a league running in their game?

thank you

[sporr]

tar.gz files can be unzipped with 7.zip or a number of other unzipping utilities. You are correct that owners will have to manually download/unzip the first file in order to be able to update the league file in-game in the future.

[yajeflow]

thank you very much. this is the kind of thing that should be address in the manual rather than simple stuff like 'there is where you name your team'.

even with your help, it was still not easy. for example, you have to run an unzip TWICE to get it to work correctly.

here is a complete rundown of how to do this task. i hope others will be able to make use of these instructions in the future.


please keep in mind that this is a one-time thing to get the league onto your computer. after this initial loading of the league files, all that needs to be done from here on out is to hit 'Load Online League File' from the 'game' menu (after saving the league web site info into your system).


before you get started, make sure that you have the latest version of the game. under 'game', there is a "check for updates" button.

how to get the files loaded initially:

1A. Download 7-zip program and install

1. download the league file from the league web site

2. it is called: (your league).lg.tar.gz

3. save it to: Sports Interactive/OOTP Baseball 2007/data/saved_games

*this is a archived file that needs to be unzipped

4. Find your "sports Interactive" folder on your hard drive. This is the main game folder. Open folder "OOTP Baseball"...open folder "data"...open folder "saved_games"...and in that folder you should now see a file named " (your league).lg.tar.gz"

5. right-click and use 7-zip to 'extract here' on the archived league file ((your league).lg.tar.gz)

6. after doing this, it will create a folder called: (your league).lg.tar

7. right click this folder. click "rename". Rename the folder (your league).lg

8. Open this folder now named (your league).lg

9. In this folder you will 7 folders..."ballcaps," "import_export," "jerseys," "messages," "news," setting," and "temp." The only other thing you will see is a file named "(your league).lg.tar"

10. Right click on that file ((your league).lg.tar), use 7-Zip to "Extract Here"

11. When you do this you will now have various *.dat files in the folder, ie "coaches.dat," "human managers.dat, "messages.dat," etc.

12. NOW you should be able to load the game

13. Open OOTP Baseball 2007

14. Click LOAD GAME from the left tool bar. Here a window should open and in it you should see "(your league)". Click that and you are in.


from this point forward, you won't have to go through this at all. you will just hit "Load Online League File" and it will do it all automatically for you. whew.

[cochrane]

I know this is an old thread (sort of), but I want to bump for any new commishes out there. Helpful stuff.

-- ZC

[john1974]

yes nice work

[robster1225]

This should be stickied.