What are ideal settings or ways to make solo leagues more challenging

Sin44 · 01-09-2021, 12:48 AM

Interested to hear the things that some of the OOTP vets do to make things more dynamic and challenging.

Do you:

Hide injury rating? (forcing you to do your homework and look at injury history)

Hide player personality ratings?

Do you recommend playing in challenge mode?

quillenl · 01-09-2021, 07:48 AM

1) Don't play challenge mode in an effort to increase difficulty. There is nothing it offers you regarding that which you can't adjust yourself. Worse... you handicap your ability to adjust something later to fix errors or increase difficulty... meaning a complete restart of your league for even small changes (like a league realignment following expansion).

2) I don't bother hiding injury rating myself, to me it's just increasing the time I have to spend on some mundane tasks during trades... not necessarily making the AI more competitive.

3) I don't personally hide personality ratings and think you could get bigger bang for your buck elsewhere.

Opinions:
1) House Rules: This isn't engine related, but probably the #1 way solo players are keeping things competitive. Everyone who uses them will have their own personal ones they use... but my biggie is placing personal limits on how I trade (never trade 1 for many where other team has the many. do not retain salary, turn off trade draft picks, etc). House rules not for everyone, but adding it first as it's the biggest bang for the buck if you can stomach it.

2) I equalize finances. Not turn them off, just equalize them. Virtually all income is via the National Media Contract in my leagues. Giving your self a small market team is the biggest financial advantage you can give the AI... but equalizing it is next in line if you don't want to be playing some version of moneyball 100% of the time.

Calvert98 · 01-09-2021, 09:08 AM

I use the following:

*80/20 Scale.
*No stars (don't use the stars).
*Trade difficulty on Very Hard, favor prospects.

Then:
1. Take a rebuilding team.
2. Play-out all of your games at bat (the space bar....).

-Cal

eldur00 · 01-09-2021, 02:25 PM

Honestly, after spending years devising house rules, hiding ratings, stats only, limiting myself in 74 different ways, it became more tedious than anything and found that the biggest challenge the game has to offer is to play as Manager only and let the AI handle the GM aspect of it.
There is no greater challenge than to have zero control over your own roster, aside from setting lineups and pitching personnel.
I understand that is not for everyone though. But if you want to be challenged...try that.

Argonaut · 01-09-2021, 05:33 PM

House rules that are thematic or fun is the way to go for me. One of my next franchises will be to see if I can win with a team of terrible defenders. At least 5 or 6 Gary Sheffields in the field. Usually it's so automatic for me to build up an elite defense, so that'll be a nice change of pace.

Brad K · 01-09-2021, 07:17 PM

You can reduce the effect of terrible defense by signing pitchers who allow a lot of HRs.

Brad K · 01-09-2021, 07:23 PM

I use historical rookies which means I can't cherry pick a draft based on advance knowledge. Also I try to have my payroll at about the league midpoint, maybe a bit more. Not strict though. Some years above, some below, they even out.

I don't see I should have to get rid of players when several I want to keep hit year seven at the same time and are asking reasonable amounts. In my current league of 28 teams I ran 10th to 12th for a few years when that happened and the last few have been in the high teens.

smythejd · 01-09-2021, 08:37 PM

I have been able to keep OOTP challenging in my fictional league with these settings:

In Game settings:

Scouting Accuracy = Very Low
Player rating scales = 1 to 5
Trade AI settings = Very Hard and Neutral
No draft pick trading
Fictional Player settings = 17 and 18

These setting have made the game very challenging (but not impossible) with few to no house rules. The very low scouting accuracy (with 1 - 5 ratings) create a large fog of war. Having the young age (17-18) makes for all players having a long development period. Nothing like having multiple years of first round picks become wasted picks. Makes you want to pull your hair out, but it also keeps you on your toes with how your players are doing.

Calvert98 · 01-09-2021, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smythejd

Trade AI settings = Very Hard and Neutral

Do you think that Neutral is better than *Favor prospects*?

Was wondering if by favoring prospects, the AI might be overvaluing them, resulting in my team unintentionally getting advantages in situations where prospects are being traded for players who for example are still under club control, or undervalued vets.

Be interested to hear what you think.

-Cal

fuzzy_patters · 01-10-2021, 12:57 PM

Pick your favorite team and pick a year in their history when they weren’t very good. Turn on historical transactions and injuries and see if you can manage them better than the real managers did. It’s fun and frustrating at the same time.

smythejd · 01-10-2021, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calvert98

Do you think that Neutral is better than *Favor prospects*?

Was wondering if by favoring prospects, the AI might be overvaluing them, resulting in my team unintentionally getting advantages in situations where prospects are being traded for players who for example are still under club control, or undervalued vets.

Be interested to hear what you think.

-Cal

I have been playing my fictional league for many OOTP versions now - the fictional league has over 200 seasons. I used to have "Favor Prospects" but it became impossible in recent versions to trade for prospects so I changed it to "Neutral". Now it is just near impossible to get a good prospect in trade but it can, and does sometimes happen.

kidd_05_u2 · 01-10-2021, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calvert98

Do you think that Neutral is better than *Favor prospects*?

Was wondering if by favoring prospects, the AI might be overvaluing them, resulting in my team unintentionally getting advantages in situations where prospects are being traded for players who for example are still under club control, or undervalued vets.

Be interested to hear what you think.

-Cal

Strongly favor prospects is definetely bad because you can get starts under team control for guys who are not even top 100 prospects. I use neutral myself, but maybe it would be nice for a challenge to toggle between 'neutral' and 'favor prospects' depending on whether you are rebuilding or contending.

Hrycaj · 01-10-2021, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sin44

Interested to hear the things that some of the OOTP vets do to make things more dynamic and challenging.

Do you:

Hide injury rating? (forcing you to do your homework and look at injury history)

Hide player personality ratings?

Do you recommend playing in challenge mode?

No challenge mode. Fictional universe. Stats only. Put in a house rule where you can’t squeeze the ai for additional prospects once your initial deal is agreed upon by both sides.

ryanivr · 01-10-2021, 02:44 PM

Allow yourself to offer one FA per week. Use random.org to get a number from 2-8. Roll a 5? You can only offer someone rated 50 or less. You'll lose out on top FA this way which seems to not happen when I play without this rule.

Roll two number between 1-4 at the start of the offseason. First number is how many 50+ free agents you can sign, second number is how many trades you can make all year. Forces you to make some tricky decisions.

I've boiled things down to this and it has made it super exciting.

Calvert98 · 01-10-2021, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smythejd

I have been playing my fictional league for many OOTP versions now - the fictional league has over 200 seasons. I used to have "Favor Prospects" but it became impossible in recent versions to trade for prospects so I changed it to "Neutral". Now it is just near impossible to get a good prospect in trade but it can, and does sometimes happen.

I see.

I usually only use just *Favor* (not heavily), just to give a nudge, which I kind of feel is more in-line with how top prospects might be valued in real-life, and I have found it difficult.

One of my last big trades - I had to let-go of my 1st round SP draft pick who already had two decent, but injury prone seasons (85 & 89 innings pitched), in order to garner a 3B prospect to fill an immediate need on the roster.

It was a really tough decision.

-Cal

RchW · 01-10-2021, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smythejd

I have been able to keep OOTP challenging in my fictional league with these settings:

In Game settings:

Scouting Accuracy = Very Low
Player rating scales = 1 to 5
Trade AI settings = Very Hard and Neutral
No draft pick trading
Fictional Player settings = 17 and 18

These setting have made the game very challenging (but not impossible) with few to no house rules. The very low scouting accuracy (with 1 - 5 ratings) create a large fog of war. Having the young age (17-18) makes for all players having a long development period. Nothing like having multiple years of first round picks become wasted picks. Makes you want to pull your hair out, but it also keeps you on your toes with how your players are doing.

This is similar to my settings. However I have no idea what the bold above means.Fictional player settings????

smythejd · 01-11-2021, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RchW

This is similar to my settings. However I have no idea what the bold above means.Fictional player settings????

Game Settings
League Settings
Players

All players are created with lots of potential growth - Lots of development which can or can not happen.

SirSaab · 01-11-2021, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hrycaj

No challenge mode. Fictional universe. Stats only. Put in a house rule where you can’t squeeze the ai for additional prospects once your initial deal is agreed upon by both sides.

Wait. So having 73/100 of MLB’s top prospects is BAD? Whoops 😛

RchW · 01-11-2021, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smythejd

Game Settings
League Settings
Players

All players are created with lots of potential growth - Lots of development which can or can not happen.

This is what I see. Where does the 17 and 18 go?

smythejd · 01-11-2021, 08:54 PM

This is where I put them

01-09-2021, 07:48 AM	#2
quillenl All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 581	1) Don't play challenge mode in an effort to increase difficulty. There is nothing it offers you regarding that which you can't adjust yourself. Worse... you handicap your ability to adjust something later to fix errors or increase difficulty... meaning a complete restart of your league for even small changes (like a league realignment following expansion). 2) I don't bother hiding injury rating myself, to me it's just increasing the time I have to spend on some mundane tasks during trades... not necessarily making the AI more competitive. 3) I don't personally hide personality ratings and think you could get bigger bang for your buck elsewhere. Opinions: 1) House Rules: This isn't engine related, but probably the #1 way solo players are keeping things competitive. Everyone who uses them will have their own personal ones they use... but my biggie is placing personal limits on how I trade (never trade 1 for many where other team has the many. do not retain salary, turn off trade draft picks, etc). House rules not for everyone, but adding it first as it's the biggest bang for the buck if you can stomach it. 2) I equalize finances. Not turn them off, just equalize them. Virtually all income is via the National Media Contract in my leagues. Giving your self a small market team is the biggest financial advantage you can give the AI... but equalizing it is next in line if you don't want to be playing some version of moneyball 100% of the time. __________________

01-09-2021, 05:33 PM	#5
Argonaut All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 1,085	House rules that are thematic or fun is the way to go for me. One of my next franchises will be to see if I can win with a team of terrible defenders. At least 5 or 6 Gary Sheffields in the field. Usually it's so automatic for me to build up an elite defense, so that'll be a nice change of pace. __________________ Texas Rangers Dynasty (Est. 1972) Hartford Whalers Dynasty: Brass Bonanza

01-11-2021, 08:54 PM	#20
smythejd All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,024	This is where I put them Attached Images

01-09-2021, 12:48 AM	#1
Sin44 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 101	What are ideal settings or ways to make solo leagues more challenging Interested to hear the things that some of the OOTP vets do to make things more dynamic and challenging. Do you: Hide injury rating? (forcing you to do your homework and look at injury history) Hide player personality ratings? Do you recommend playing in challenge mode?

01-09-2021, 09:08 AM	#3
Calvert98 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 579	I use the following: 80/20 Scale. No stars (don't use the stars). *Trade difficulty on Very Hard, favor prospects. Then: 1. Take a rebuilding team. 2. Play-out all of your games at bat (the space bar....). -Cal

01-09-2021, 02:25 PM	#4
eldur00 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 506	Honestly, after spending years devising house rules, hiding ratings, stats only, limiting myself in 74 different ways, it became more tedious than anything and found that the biggest challenge the game has to offer is to play as Manager only and let the AI handle the GM aspect of it. There is no greater challenge than to have zero control over your own roster, aside from setting lineups and pitching personnel. I understand that is not for everyone though. But if you want to be challenged...try that.

01-09-2021, 07:17 PM	#6
Brad K Banned Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 6,693 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	You can reduce the effect of terrible defense by signing pitchers who allow a lot of HRs.

01-09-2021, 07:23 PM	#7
Brad K Banned Join Date: May 2016 Location: St Petersburg Florida USA Posts: 6,693 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	I use historical rookies which means I can't cherry pick a draft based on advance knowledge. Also I try to have my payroll at about the league midpoint, maybe a bit more. Not strict though. Some years above, some below, they even out. I don't see I should have to get rid of players when several I want to keep hit year seven at the same time and are asking reasonable amounts. In my current league of 28 teams I ran 10th to 12th for a few years when that happened and the last few have been in the high teens.

01-09-2021, 08:37 PM	#8
smythejd All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,024	I have been able to keep OOTP challenging in my fictional league with these settings: In Game settings: Scouting Accuracy = Very Low Player rating scales = 1 to 5 Trade AI settings = Very Hard and Neutral No draft pick trading Fictional Player settings = 17 and 18 These setting have made the game very challenging (but not impossible) with few to no house rules. The very low scouting accuracy (with 1 - 5 ratings) create a large fog of war. Having the young age (17-18) makes for all players having a long development period. Nothing like having multiple years of first round picks become wasted picks. Makes you want to pull your hair out, but it also keeps you on your toes with how your players are doing.

01-10-2021, 12:57 PM	#10
fuzzy_patters All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 1,806	Pick your favorite team and pick a year in their history when they weren’t very good. Turn on historical transactions and injuries and see if you can manage them better than the real managers did. It’s fun and frustrating at the same time.

01-10-2021, 02:44 PM	#14
ryanivr All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 907	Allow yourself to offer one FA per week. Use random.org to get a number from 2-8. Roll a 5? You can only offer someone rated 50 or less. You'll lose out on top FA this way which seems to not happen when I play without this rule. Roll two number between 1-4 at the start of the offseason. First number is how many 50+ free agents you can sign, second number is how many trades you can make all year. Forces you to make some tricky decisions. I've boiled things down to this and it has made it super exciting.