Google Earth - Nice addition

[SlyBelle]

Although not sure it is a valuable feature, but cool nonetheless you can view your players on a map using google earth....I must have missed that in the features list. Nice.

[brewdog]

not to mention you can use it to map out the teams in a league... really nice if you'll want to do a geographical realignment IMHO

[boshk]

nothing seems to happen when i press the button. do you have to have google earth installed i assume?

[Horks]

I think the long/lat is used to divide leagues into east/west or north/south divisions, without having oddballs (like the Atlanta Braves in the NL West). So while displaying it all might not seem so cool, giving your game a logical ability when making leagues is very cool.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by boshk

nothing seems to happen when i press the button. do you have to have google earth installed i assume?

Yes

[Stinson]

Here's the bit from the manual:

View in Google Earth

Several game screens include a View in Google Earth drop-down. Users that have Google Earth installed can use this drop-down to do a number of cool things, including viewing locations of teams or players in your league.

[1998 Yankees]

Again, it's THIS kind of thing that builds interest and immersion! This and storylines in this new version.

The game has been great for quite a while, of course, but playability was limited. For me, at least, it usually went like this:

1. Spend a ridiculous amount of time setting up a mammoth baseball universe with details down to the level of college uniforms and stadium dimensions.
2. Finally start the league and marvel with satisfaction at my creation.
3. Play out all of my team's games until I realize that, at this pace, I would need to leave my still-young league to my son in my will (and, he's not interested).
4. Begin to sim a day, a week, a month at a time. Then a season. One game is pretty much like the rest after a while. At least I get to see hall of fame careers and baseball dynasties at this pace.
5. Get bored with the 50,000-foot level and clicking "sim"; abandon universe!

More day-to-day immersion, less tendency to want to skip ahead and take shortcuts only to get bored. Remaining problem: What do I do about my longevity?

[DaddyO]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

Again, it's THIS kind of thing that builds interest and immersion! This and storylines in this new version.

The game has been great for quite a while, of course, but playability was limited. For me, at least, it usually went like this:

1. Spend a ridiculous amount of time setting up a mammoth baseball universe with details down to the level of college uniforms and stadium dimensions.
2. Finally start the league and marvel with satisfaction at my creation.
3. Play out all of my team's games until I realize that, at this pace, I would need to leave my still-young league to my son in my will (and, he's not interested).
4. Begin to sim a day, a week, a month at a time. Then a season. One game is pretty much like the rest after a while. At least I get to see hall of fame careers and baseball dynasties at this pace.
5. Get bored with the 50,000-foot level and clicking "sim"; abandon universe!

More day-to-day immersion, less tendency to want to skip ahead and take shortcuts only to get bored. Remaining problem: What do I do about my longevity?

I hear ya, New Yawka.

I'm hoping this version is different for me. This time around I want to get to where I average a sim day for every real-life calendar day. I'm going to try to make my fictional or historical universe unfold like real-world rather than a speed-sim. I'm hoping the in-game play is improved enough for me to want to manage each one of my team's games and write a short game story for it, just like a beat writer would.

I don't want to get to the point where I always have before, the point you describe, where you start simming to see if you can get into it more, then eventually lay it aside.

I am VERY hopeful for this version. I'll find out over the next few weeks.

[GMLoophole]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

Again, it's THIS kind of thing that builds interest and immersion! This and storylines in this new version.

The game has been great for quite a while, of course, but playability was limited. For me, at least, it usually went like this:

Well-said... for me you can also add frequent and frustrating crashes, partially from an older computer and probably from bad choices made when setting up leagues.

I have many more interesting league ideas than I have time to play them!

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by DaddyO

I hear ya, New Yawka.

Originally Posted by GMLoophole

Well-said...

Thanks, guys. Don't get me wrong; I've always loved this game and I keep going back to it over and over again. It's just that I could never get into it for long on a day-to-day level where the real human interest lies. But I see this slowly changing with each new immersive feature. Even something as simple as "This guy is from Podonk, Iowa? Where the heck is that?" Well, click the Google Earth button!

[Mister_G]

Could anyone post a screenshot showing off this feature? I'd appreciate it.

[HerbD]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

Again, it's THIS kind of thing that builds interest and immersion! This and storylines in this new version.

The game has been great for quite a while, of course, but playability was limited. For me, at least, it usually went like this:

1. Spend a ridiculous amount of time setting up a mammoth baseball universe with details down to the level of college uniforms and stadium dimensions.
2. Finally start the league and marvel with satisfaction at my creation.
3. Play out all of my team's games until I realize that, at this pace, I would need to leave my still-young league to my son in my will (and, he's not interested).
4. Begin to sim a day, a week, a month at a time. Then a season. One game is pretty much like the rest after a while. At least I get to see hall of fame careers and baseball dynasties at this pace.
5. Get bored with the 50,000-foot level and clicking "sim"; abandon universe!

More day-to-day immersion, less tendency to want to skip ahead and take shortcuts only to get bored. Remaining problem: What do I do about my longevity?

This is why I mess with it for awhile and then end up playing only in online leagues.