Minor League MisManagement

rhydymwyn · 07-10-2011, 09:11 AM

I absolutely love the OOTP franchise aside from one (growing) annoyance...

When playing in the minor leagues, in my case for the Ogden Raptors, a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Pioneer League, I never have a set roster. Every day or two, I receive a friendly notification from my GM that he has made a roster change. Sometimes it is simply one reliever for another, but often he exchanges ten or more players at a time. Most of these transactions simply shuttle players between LA's two rookie league teams, while others involve the A Level team, too. These aren't necessarily struggling or high-achieving players, nor particularly more highly- or poorly-rated than their peers, either, and most of the time I can't make out rhyme nor reason for the moves. Making matters even more frustrating, my depth charts, lineups, and rotation are often reset by the AI when the GM makes his moves.

Roster changes are an integral part of the game, especially in the minor leagues, so I don't want to get rid of them altogether. That said, it is unrealistic to change the roster on a near-daily basis. 81 different players have appeared for my team this season, and that doesn't include the handful that have been moved out before I could play them in any of our 37 games to date. Is there a setting I can change to improve the realism, or is this something that will be improved in updates or future editions?

Thanks!

GrantDawg · 07-10-2011, 09:39 AM

I agree, and it has always been the case. My guess into what is happening is that the AI manager when dealing with an injury at any level is set to use that time to decide who needs promotion/demotion. It probably also has set times in the season (once a month, every 15 days, something like that) to do a check as well. Many players in the AI's "eyes" are borderline to each level, so every check the AI shuffles them back and forth. And with 6-8 levels of minors, there is always someone getting hurt, so the reshuffling comes way too often (especially at the lowest levels).

It would probably be better if the AI was programmed to just handle injured players as limited as possible (one player injured, move one to replace). And the demotion/promotion checks were every month to two months, with a proclivity to keep the players at the level they start the season unless there has been more growth/degradation.

awick · 07-10-2011, 01:00 PM

My experience has been that this thrashing is too frequent at the rookie and short A levels to allow me to enjoy the game, with hundreds of transactions over a season, occuring almost daily and often involving the same players repeatedly. It was annoying but manageable at the full-season A level and continued to decline at AA and AAA. I really did enjoy managing in the higher minors.

Looking at the detailed transaction logs for an AI franchise, I sometimes see a set of promotion/demotion moves involving the same players a half dozen times in a single day. (Note I am still playing 11 and so I am hoping I'll see less of this when I move to 12 soon.)

07-10-2011, 09:11 AM	#1
rhydymwyn Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 75	Minor League MisManagement I absolutely love the OOTP franchise aside from one (growing) annoyance... When playing in the minor leagues, in my case for the Ogden Raptors, a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Pioneer League, I never have a set roster. Every day or two, I receive a friendly notification from my GM that he has made a roster change. Sometimes it is simply one reliever for another, but often he exchanges ten or more players at a time. Most of these transactions simply shuttle players between LA's two rookie league teams, while others involve the A Level team, too. These aren't necessarily struggling or high-achieving players, nor particularly more highly- or poorly-rated than their peers, either, and most of the time I can't make out rhyme nor reason for the moves. Making matters even more frustrating, my depth charts, lineups, and rotation are often reset by the AI when the GM makes his moves. Roster changes are an integral part of the game, especially in the minor leagues, so I don't want to get rid of them altogether. That said, it is unrealistic to change the roster on a near-daily basis. 81 different players have appeared for my team this season, and that doesn't include the handful that have been moved out before I could play them in any of our 37 games to date. Is there a setting I can change to improve the realism, or is this something that will be improved in updates or future editions? Thanks! Last edited by rhydymwyn; 07-10-2011 at 09:14 AM. Reason: expand detail

07-10-2011, 09:39 AM	#2
GrantDawg All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Covington, Ga. Posts: 519	I agree, and it has always been the case. My guess into what is happening is that the AI manager when dealing with an injury at any level is set to use that time to decide who needs promotion/demotion. It probably also has set times in the season (once a month, every 15 days, something like that) to do a check as well. Many players in the AI's "eyes" are borderline to each level, so every check the AI shuffles them back and forth. And with 6-8 levels of minors, there is always someone getting hurt, so the reshuffling comes way too often (especially at the lowest levels). It would probably be better if the AI was programmed to just handle injured players as limited as possible (one player injured, move one to replace). And the demotion/promotion checks were every month to two months, with a proclivity to keep the players at the level they start the season unless there has been more growth/degradation.

07-10-2011, 01:00 PM	#3
awick Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Lansing, NY Posts: 313	My experience has been that this thrashing is too frequent at the rookie and short A levels to allow me to enjoy the game, with hundreds of transactions over a season, occuring almost daily and often involving the same players repeatedly. It was annoying but manageable at the full-season A level and continued to decline at AA and AAA. I really did enjoy managing in the higher minors. Looking at the detailed transaction logs for an AI franchise, I sometimes see a set of promotion/demotion moves involving the same players a half dozen times in a single day. (Note I am still playing 11 and so I am hoping I'll see less of this when I move to 12 soon.)