iOOTP 12 - Tips & Tricks Thread

[BKarchitect]

I know this community is still at a rather fledging stage but as somebody who has never played the full version of OOTP (for fear of complete and total addiction) - I thought it would be nice to start a comprehensive thread with tips, techniques, tricks, etc for people new to the game that will make their experience more enjoyable. I'll kick it off with a few of my own. Keep in mind I approaching this as somebody new, so this stuff may be common knowledge but oh well

Look at a player's history page for complete prospect ranking info.
At the beginning of every season you'll see a league news story that says Baseball America has just come out with its Top 100 prospects list and then it goes on to list the Top 10 in the article. I always wondered..."where do I find the complete list?" Well, I've never seen a complete list but if you go to a player's history page, it will tell you what the player's ranking is (for any given year) if they make the list. For example, my Royals don't have a Top 10 prospect but sifting through the minors I found 5 guys ranked in the top 50.

Star ratings will change for a player if you change their position.
This is kind of common sense, if a player is a 15 defensively in RF and a 10 defensively in LF, they main gain additional stars if their profile lists them as a RF. Often, players are listed for positions for which they are not the best defensively. I haven't actually researched this, but I figure it may be worth considering switching them to their best defensive position to maximize their trade value.

Don't put too much stock or blind faith in the star system.
This is what I LOVE about this game. The star system completely fluxtuates, mimicking the terribly difficult real job of forecasting a player's ability or prospect's talent from year to year. I've had 2 star guys that also supposedly have only 2 star potential suddenly explode into 4 star guys over the course of a season. I've had a 5 star stud sign a huge new contract and suddenly turn into a run of the mill 3 star player. I've had a 28 year-old 1 star minor leaguer turn into a 3.5 star contributer while slumming it the entire year in the minors.

I think for the most part, yeah, I like to see guys with high stars because they are going to perform well and even if they do slip, they'll still be good. But the game, unlike many sports sims, does not seem to follow some linear path of progression to some predetermined level. And I enjoy this. Here's another example...you may draft a kid who is 18 and has 5 star potential but if his current ratings are all super low and say he's a half-star guy right now - well getting him to live up to his 5 star potential could be quite a journey. Sometimes it bears fruit and sometimes it doesn't.

Set your line-ups carefully versus LH and RH pitching.
Don't just look at a player's overall ratings and think they should be a surefire lock against all pitchers. Some guys have very disparate split ratings. Maximize your bench players and target players in trades that are going to fine tune your line-up in specific situations. I had a guy with definite starter hitting ratings overall but he was terrible versus lefties. I kept him out of the line-ups versus lefties and his stats went through the roof (even those his AB's were somewhat stifled). As his stats exploded, all of his ratings went up, eventually to the point where he was no longer a liability versus lefties and now he is an everyday star.

Use custom logos.
I can't tell you how much more enjoyable the game is with actual logos. I create my own sets, but whether you do that or use some of the fine sets available on these forums, I highly encourage you to spend a little time setting things up before getting into the simming of the games to make it feel as real as possible. One of my fantasy leagues I setup as a new, 24 league independent league based on a a bunch of AA & AAA teams. I renamed all the teams, re-did all the team colors and used all real logos...and the experience now playing it is beautiful even if it took me a couple of hours to setup. Totally worth it.

[BKarchitect]

Here's another:

When trading, make use of the "Make this work now option".
This is a powerful way of being able to complete a trade for a player you want without having to give up what you absolutely don't want to have to give up. Start off with a low-ball offer, then use this button to decipher how you should approach another offer. If the other team says a deal is not possible, simply start out with a better first offer on your side and keep trying. You may find that you can get a star in a trade by offering 3 pieces you are willing to give up from your side.

by the same token...

Don't take too much advantage of this button.
What I mean by this is that although the trade engine is fairly smart, you can still get a star player for basically less than he should be worth by finding a 3-for-1 swap that works using the "Make it work" option. So a general rule I follow when playing is I don't allow myself to do any 3-for-1 deals (unless somehow proposed to me by the CPU, which I've never seen). Basically, if I can't get a single guy for any two players on my roster (that I'm willing to give up) - I leave it alone. Keeps the trade aspect of the game more challenging.

[Gators]

Great post. I use most of these practices but it's a good reminder. Thanks. It's also a great place to put future tips and strategies.

Nice post
~Rich