First fictional league questions

[Hockey13Playa]

Hey all, I am finally going to create my first full fictional league after many somewhat attempts and then never following through. I know there are a ton of threads on this but so much data scattered throughout I wanted to create my own thread to reference back to whenever I need some guidance.

I want to start a league in 1980 with 20 teams, expanding multiple times to either 30 or 32 over the course of 30 years. I will be using a Majors, AAA, AA, and A leagues. For the most part I will be mimicking the MLB with a few adjustments for my own fun and interest. With that being said I have some questions as I don't know what certain things "will do".

I am just going to list all my questions out below. I appreciate anyone that can help assist in any matter. (I am using the advanced creation by the way.)

Can I add divisions when I expand with more teams in the future?

When and where do I install custom ballparks? I added all my logos, jerseys, and caps to the main folders prior to starting so they are recognized. I am not sure about ball parks though (I know there's a folder but I don't know what I need exactly, as I downloaded a bunch of fictional parks).

What is/what does "allow major league deals for draft picks"?
I did turn on allow draft pick trading as I want this league to be able to trade draft picks, does this option have any relation or ties to that?

Would I/do I need any feeder leagues for a setup containing Majors, AAA, AA, and A?

Leaving the drafts as is would I need to do any tweaking to rounds or talent or should I be ok?

What is enable reserve clause for eras? Its currently unchecked.

For compensation for free agents, I checked none. Will this cause any major issues down the line? Baseball is the only sport that does this, not a fan.

Max 1 career qualifying offer is checked, what does this do?

I selected the starting year for 1980, I would like the financials to follow what the MLB was from 1980 up to present day. What options or modifications do I need to adjust change to make sure my league financials evolve over the years?

Can I change the names of awards at any time? I would like to name them after the league builds history. Same with playoff format? I may like to change the amount of teams and rounds when I expand in the future.

What is "automatic adjust the league strategy"? Its currently checked.

Created players age minimum and maximum are set to "0", what does this do?

Player and draft pool origins I Have not touched, they are what ever the default is for new fictional game. I would like them to be similar to what the MLB is, is this ok to leave alone?

What is lock league total stats?

After all said and done I then need to add AAA, AA, and A and affiliate them. Is it most common to just use the same settings across all leagues?

Any other questions I think of as I go along I will add a new post! Any other suggestions or comments or important things to modify or change please feel free to suggest. Again I am mainly looking to produce similar results and a similar simulation to the MLB and the real minors.

[kryakyu12]

I'll try answering a few of your questions

Originally Posted by Hockey13Playa

Can I add divisions when I expand with more teams in the future?

Yes. You can do this in the "Edit League Structure" on the options page. Just be sure to re-generate the league schedule after you make your changes

When and where do I install custom ballparks? I added all my logos, jerseys, and caps to the main folders prior to starting so they are recognized. I am not sure about ball parks though (I know there's a folder but I don't know what I need exactly, as I downloaded a bunch of fictional parks).

Not sure, but there is a "ballparks" folder in the data directory. Probably there.

What is/what does "allow major league deals for draft picks"?
I did turn on allow draft pick trading as I want this league to be able to trade draft picks, does this option have any relation or ties to that?

Not sure, but I would guess that it is to allow the ability to offer a major league contract to draftees, thus starting the clock on their road to free agency sooner.

Would I/do I need any feeder leagues for a setup containing Majors, AAA, AA, and A?

Feeder leagues are optional. I do not use them, as they are a lot of work to set up and maintain. My understanding is they improve draft picking (better data on players)

Leaving the drafts as is would I need to do any tweaking to rounds or talent or should I be ok?

You might want to increase or decrease the number of rounds from time to time, if you are running out of young players in the AI teams.

What is enable reserve clause for eras? Its currently unchecked.

The financial system that existed in the MLB prior to the implementation of free agency. In game terms, it probably makes it a bit easier to keep players that you like, and boot the non-performers (since you don't need to sign them to 50-year contracts)

For compensation for free agents, I checked none. Will this cause any major issues down the line? Baseball is the only sport that does this, not a fan.

I don't think so. It just makes choosing which free agents you want to sign a bit more/less difficult, since you need to consider what draft picks you are giving up.

Max 1 career qualifying offer is checked, what does this do?

No idea, sorry

I selected the starting year for 1980, I would like the financials to follow what the MLB was from 1980 up to present day. What options or modifications do I need to adjust change to make sure my league financials evolve over the years?

So, no reserve clause. Other options I am not sure what/when, but maybe you can check one of the older online manuals to see what the 2012 CBA did, and figure out most of it from there?

Can I change the names of awards at any time? I would like to name them after the league builds history. Same with playoff format? I may like to change the amount of teams and rounds when I expand in the future.

Yes. For playoff format, you should make your changes in the off-season or pre-season at the latest. Also remember to change the playoff format when you add teams and divisions.

What is "automatic adjust the league strategy"? Its currently checked.

Update the global strategy and roster settings the AI uses, such as how often to bunt, size of the rotation, etc.

Created players age minimum and maximum are set to "0", what does this do?

I think sets the min/max age of random free agents that show up. 0 means no minimum or maximum. So you set the min age to 25 to ensure that only older players show up (from non-simmed international leagues).

Player and draft pool origins I Have not touched, they are what ever the default is for new fictional game. I would like them to be similar to what the MLB is, is this ok to leave alone?

It should be fine to leave it as-is, since I think by default it will match the modern MLB (more or less). If you do open it up you should see in the functions drop-down that you can set it to modern MLB, in case you need to set (or reset) it.

What is lock league total stats?

sorry, don't know

After all said and done I then need to add AAA, AA, and A and affiliate them. Is it most common to just use the same settings across all leagues?

You may want to adjust the maximum age, roster size, and possibly the DH rule. I also make sure that the "Adjust League Strategy" check box is enabled as well.

Any other questions I think of as I go along I will add a new post! Any other suggestions or comments or important things to modify or change please feel free to suggest. Again I am mainly looking to produce similar results and a similar simulation to the MLB and the real minors.

Good luck!
-kr-

[Hockey13Playa]

Originally Posted by kryakyu12

I'll try answering a few of your questions

Good luck!
-kr-

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciate it! Maybe a few others can chime in on some of the points you were unsure about!

[Ktulu]

Might want to check out the manual: http://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com/...stomizing_ootp http://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com/...e=game_options

[Hockey13Playa]

Also, is there somewhere in the settings where you can set age restrictions for the awards? I have 30 year old international players from Korea and the like signing contracts with major league teams and end up winning rookie of the year. Not a big fan of that...