New Player Checking In

OldVern · 07-28-2021, 04:32 AM

Despite being a veteran of several football (as in soccer football), cricket and rugby management games, I’ve never got round to trying baseball. Thought I would start with OOTP 21, see how I get on then probably graduate to the latest version.

Anyhow as someone who’s knowledge of baseball is pretty basic and largely arrived at via watching various movies, please indulge a few newbish questions. I understand the basic principles of the actual game and how its played, but specifically as regards OOTP:

Can someone recommend a good tutorial to get up and running with a team, in particular recruitment. I always like to play as the underdog so picked a very minor league team, but they only have 8 players on the roster so can’t even field a full complement. I assume “trading” is the equivalent of the soccer transfer system and I manage to grab a couple of free agents to bring the complement up to 10, when the Chairman told me there was no more money. How can I grab the youth players who will (presumably) play for peanuts or the glory and I can at least then put a few reserves in the bullpen.

I like to watch the match animation even though my team is singularly useless and hasn’t got a single run in two games! However ball by ball is a bit slow, it isn’t obvious on the match screen menu how I can speed this up a bit but still enjoy watching and keep control.

Anyway I really like what I see so far and enjoying dabbling in something that isn’t cricket or soccer!

OldVern · 07-29-2021, 01:56 PM

Okay some more initial thoughts...

I bought the OOTP 21 version rather than the latest 22. Must admit originally I got completely floundered in the myriad of different screens which make Championship Manager look nice and straightforward. I actually refunded it, but then relented and bought it again.

Part of the challenge seems to me is that baseball is a relatively simple game surrounded by a very complex management and player trading system, doesn't really compare to how soccer or even cricket works.

Rather than take on a MLB team straight off, I plumped for one in the Minors and used the historical game to start back in 1993 - using 2020 seems a bit mashed up due to Covid presumably affecting the real season.

Trying to understand the mechanics of the team structure is one of the biggest challenges. Unlike cricket where everyone takes their turn at bat, it's almost like there are two separate teams with a group of batsman (9 I think) who also act as fielders and your pitchers who sit in the bullpen and wait their turn. The pitchers seem to tire very easily and as one game follows another with very little rest in between. I am literally fielding players who are totally knackered!

The other thing I haven't figured yet is how the heck do you set up training? Although I have a couple of coaches there is nowhere in the menus I can see to set up training, although TBH with matches following thick and fast on consecutive days it would be hard to schedule anything anyway. I also see no options to give talks, either to the team or individual players, nor is there any options for "shouts" from the dugout during a game.

I like the matchplay, particularly the ball by ball mode though it can be frustrating when your batsman actually manages to hit the ball, it drifts towards first base and automatic out (I presume they have to run once they get a hit). Stealing bases is one of the more gratifying elements of the gameplay, though doesn't always work out.

At least the game is making me think though and learning something about a sport where most of my knowledge has come from watching movies about it!

Colorado · 11-10-2021, 06:42 PM

Guessing you're British too - for me the sheer complexity of understanding contracts, roster eligibility has put me off from getting into what seems to be an incredible game. I get the basis of baseball but the other stuff is incredibly confusing.

There are some good YouTube videos which break down different aspects, but if you're like me, unless you have pen and paper it's too much to take in.

MikeS369 · 11-11-2021, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colorado

Guessing you're British too - for me the sheer complexity of understanding contracts, roster eligibility has put me off from getting into what seems to be an incredible game. I get the basis of baseball but the other stuff is incredibly confusing.

There are some good YouTube videos which break down different aspects, but if you're like me, unless you have pen and paper it's too much to take in.

You are right this game can be daunting. But there are a lot of options you can choose to disable at game set up that can make things much easier.

What I recommend:

Start with a fictional league.

Enable "Disable right to refuse minor league assignment."

Disable "10/5 Rule", "Rule 5 Draft", "Super 2" and "Contract opt outs".

I like to set my free agent compensation to "No Compensation".

There may also be an option on setup that allows you to disable options. I'm not sure about that though since I play with options. But if it is there you could disable that also.

For your minors you can set rules for each level. League Settings>Rule tab. You can set roster size limits, service time limits ect. Trust me, you don't want to use unlimited roster sizes. You can even set the amount of minor league levels to use or even use the "Reserve Clause" setup.

Give it a try. The game is definitely worth the effort.

And if there is any way I can help you out let me know. I'm no expert but I have been at it for several years.

Colorado · 11-20-2021, 04:49 PM

Sorry only now replying, thanks for sharing this. I'll take a look and give it a go.

07-28-2021, 04:32 AM	#1
OldVern Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2021 Location: Swindon UK Posts: 8	New Player Checking In Despite being a veteran of several football (as in soccer football), cricket and rugby management games, I’ve never got round to trying baseball. Thought I would start with OOTP 21, see how I get on then probably graduate to the latest version. Anyhow as someone who’s knowledge of baseball is pretty basic and largely arrived at via watching various movies, please indulge a few newbish questions. I understand the basic principles of the actual game and how its played, but specifically as regards OOTP: Can someone recommend a good tutorial to get up and running with a team, in particular recruitment. I always like to play as the underdog so picked a very minor league team, but they only have 8 players on the roster so can’t even field a full complement. I assume “trading” is the equivalent of the soccer transfer system and I manage to grab a couple of free agents to bring the complement up to 10, when the Chairman told me there was no more money. How can I grab the youth players who will (presumably) play for peanuts or the glory and I can at least then put a few reserves in the bullpen. I like to watch the match animation even though my team is singularly useless and hasn’t got a single run in two games! However ball by ball is a bit slow, it isn’t obvious on the match screen menu how I can speed this up a bit but still enjoy watching and keep control. Anyway I really like what I see so far and enjoying dabbling in something that isn’t cricket or soccer!

07-29-2021, 01:56 PM	#2
OldVern Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2021 Location: Swindon UK Posts: 8	Okay some more initial thoughts... I bought the OOTP 21 version rather than the latest 22. Must admit originally I got completely floundered in the myriad of different screens which make Championship Manager look nice and straightforward. I actually refunded it, but then relented and bought it again. Part of the challenge seems to me is that baseball is a relatively simple game surrounded by a very complex management and player trading system, doesn't really compare to how soccer or even cricket works. Rather than take on a MLB team straight off, I plumped for one in the Minors and used the historical game to start back in 1993 - using 2020 seems a bit mashed up due to Covid presumably affecting the real season. Trying to understand the mechanics of the team structure is one of the biggest challenges. Unlike cricket where everyone takes their turn at bat, it's almost like there are two separate teams with a group of batsman (9 I think) who also act as fielders and your pitchers who sit in the bullpen and wait their turn. The pitchers seem to tire very easily and as one game follows another with very little rest in between. I am literally fielding players who are totally knackered! The other thing I haven't figured yet is how the heck do you set up training? Although I have a couple of coaches there is nowhere in the menus I can see to set up training, although TBH with matches following thick and fast on consecutive days it would be hard to schedule anything anyway. I also see no options to give talks, either to the team or individual players, nor is there any options for "shouts" from the dugout during a game. I like the matchplay, particularly the ball by ball mode though it can be frustrating when your batsman actually manages to hit the ball, it drifts towards first base and automatic out (I presume they have to run once they get a hit). Stealing bases is one of the more gratifying elements of the gameplay, though doesn't always work out. At least the game is making me think though and learning something about a sport where most of my knowledge has come from watching movies about it! Last edited by OldVern; 07-29-2021 at 01:58 PM.

11-10-2021, 06:42 PM	#3
Colorado Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 370	Guessing you're British too - for me the sheer complexity of understanding contracts, roster eligibility has put me off from getting into what seems to be an incredible game. I get the basis of baseball but the other stuff is incredibly confusing. There are some good YouTube videos which break down different aspects, but if you're like me, unless you have pen and paper it's too much to take in.

11-20-2021, 04:49 PM	#5
Colorado Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 370	Sorry only now replying, thanks for sharing this. I'll take a look and give it a go.