Old-timey Baseball Logos and a League, Anyone? (likely ongoing)

tm1681 · 01-05-2022, 10:38 PM

I work from home, and over recent years during remote work downtime I've opened up Illustrator and monkeyed around making logos and uniforms for leagues in OOTP I was basically imagining in my head.

In recent weeks I decided to start what I imagined as a league similar to the old National Association of Base Ball Players, with a northeastern-based league that starts off mostly amateur and see teams split off and become pro later on, as what happened in real life in 1868-1871. The names are a mix of historical names of clubs from that time and ones I made up.

So, with that in mind here's what I've come up with for the National Base Ball Organization after their first ten years. I made primary and secondary logos for each team, as well as uniforms. I didn't take uniform thumbnails because those take longer than making collages in Illustrator, but I can if there's any interest in here...

As things keep progressing, I'll keep adding more stuff. If anyone wants I could also try to pare down my save game and send it to someone or post a template of the league I'm running.

Eugene Church · 01-05-2022, 10:53 PM

Excellent work, tm1681... very impressive... you are very creative and very skilled graphically.

If it is not too much work, I would be interested in seeing a player from each team in his jersey and cap.

But don't do it just for me... only do it if there is sufficient interest from other posters here in this thread.

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Excellent work, tm1681... very impressive... you are very creative and very skilled graphically.

If it is not too much work, I would be interested in seeing a player from each team in his jersey and cap.

But don't do it just for me... only do it if there is sufficient interest from other posters here in this thread.

Thanks! I'll try to get something in that regard whipped up by the weekend. I don't play the game on fullscreen so even something like the Snipping Tool would be easy enough to do it with at a slow and steady pace.

One of the things I do for remote work is that I'm the American Co-Head Researcher on Football Manager, so I'll probably take some OOTP screenshots when I'm doing my daily off-season soccer updates to their DB.

Eugene Church · 01-06-2022, 11:41 AM

If no one else in interested, don't do it just for me.

I'm sure the jerseys and caps would be just as good as your logos.

CS_OOTP · 01-06-2022, 02:12 PM

This is awesome stuff

txranger · 01-06-2022, 04:54 PM

Very nice work here on these... Looking forward to seeing the uniforms...

rocknfire7 · 01-06-2022, 07:09 PM

I like these!

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 11:07 PM

Okay, since there does seem to be larger interest in the things I'm doing I went ahead and got pictures of uniforms/caps tonight while I was doing FM database work. I thought about just exporting pictures of the Photoshop files of the jerseys so you could see 100% of each one, but then I realized that doing the same for the caps doesn't work very well because of the way the textures are mapped out.

I use one of the old downloadable Photoshop jersey templates - can't remember who it's by anymore - for the jerseys, and https://www.ootputilities.com/capmaker/ for the caps. I just made a standard All-Star card for one notable player per team with the FaceGen set too 'Zoomed Out' so you can get as good of a view as possible. I'll post sets by division.

BROOKLYN CHAMPIONSHIP

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 11:09 PM

NEW YORK CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 11:15 PM

UPSTATE NEW YORK CHAMPIONSHIP

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 11:20 PM

You might be noticing the facial hair. I altered the beard settings in-game so that only 10% of players are clean-shaven, and altered them further so that many more players have various types of mustaches instead patchy beards, goatees, and things of that sort. Anyway...

COASTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 11:24 PM

The names aren't what they normally are. I imported a couple of vintage name sets from here in the Mod Forum, including one that uses old U.S. Census data from 1850-1890. I also altered the World Database template so that foreign players or foreign names in the U.S. were more likely to be those of people who were immigrants to the country at the time. Next up...

INLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

tm1681 · 01-06-2022, 11:28 PM

Finally, the division featuring the NBBO's biggest star: Sons of the Ocean's Roland Cameron...

NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

The Game · 01-07-2022, 07:22 AM

cool jerseys & logos. do you have it available to download?

Bottom Of The Sixth · 01-09-2022, 12:13 AM

Great stuff and super creative work, tm1681!

Trebro · 01-09-2022, 03:26 AM

These are really great, and yeah, if you can find a way to save this as a quickstart for people to play with...it would be amazing!

Scott Vibert · 01-09-2022, 06:06 PM

This is excellent stuff

RMc · 01-11-2022, 04:18 PM

Quickstart?

tm1681 · 01-12-2022, 08:53 PM

For those asking for a quickstart....

So, I converted my save into a quickstart on January 1, 1869. However, it's a whopper of a file because I was keeping almanacs and whatnot - a whole 7.49 GB according to Windows Explorer

I'm going to look to see how I can pare that down.

Some other things I was thinking of with regards to playability...

I actually ran a test of this league before creating it. I like running leagues in Commissioner mode and seeing how things unfold - I've been doing it since I think OOTP 3 or 4. I tried having a free agency system in place to simulate the way things were in the pre-MLB days, with most players staying in place and star playing moving teams thanks to under-the-table payments. However, recreating that system - immediate free agency, one-year contract, etc - led to unbridled chaos as there was an enormous amount of roster turnover. So, I switched to Reserve Clause rules.

At the same time, some random digging informed me that the first player trade in baseball wasn't made until the middle of the 1880s (link here) so I turned trades off since it made sense that there wouldn't be trades in a short-season league that has 70 games or so. However, that means there also isn't much in the way of player movement in the league. What to do???

Another thing: The league level is AAA, but renamed. I did this because the pre-professional competitions were made up of teams signing local and regional players. I ran into a weird problem via test when trying to create a MLB-level regional league, with the league region set as "US: Northeast" and every team set as "US: Northeast" or the more restrictive "US: New England"...

Apparently, whenever you create an MLB-level league the game engine will attempt to populate with players from all over the origin country no matter if the league or its teams have region restrictions. This leads to major free agency issues, and also Inaugural Draft issues if your league has one. So, to make a regional league truly regional, while still allowing for some foreign players, I had to make it a level other than MLB.

Another thing I could do is play it out until 1871, create my fictional pro/semi-pro split similar to what happened in real life, and then try to make another quickstart file while seeing what can be pared out so it isn't as big.

hurricanekevin · 01-13-2022, 09:57 PM

Nice work TM! Love the shoutout to the Falls River Marksmen football club!

01-05-2022, 10:38 PM	#1
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	Old-timey Baseball Logos and a League, Anyone? (likely ongoing) I work from home, and over recent years during remote work downtime I've opened up Illustrator and monkeyed around making logos and uniforms for leagues in OOTP I was basically imagining in my head. In recent weeks I decided to start what I imagined as a league similar to the old National Association of Base Ball Players, with a northeastern-based league that starts off mostly amateur and see teams split off and become pro later on, as what happened in real life in 1868-1871. The names are a mix of historical names of clubs from that time and ones I made up. So, with that in mind here's what I've come up with for the National Base Ball Organization after their first ten years. I made primary and secondary logos for each team, as well as uniforms. I didn't take uniform thumbnails because those take longer than making collages in Illustrator, but I can if there's any interest in here... As things keep progressing, I'll keep adding more stuff. If anyone wants I could also try to pare down my save game and send it to someone or post a template of the league I'm running.

01-05-2022, 10:53 PM	#2
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,047	Excellent work, tm1681... very impressive... you are very creative and very skilled graphically. If it is not too much work, I would be interested in seeing a player from each team in his jersey and cap. But don't do it just for me... only do it if there is sufficient interest from other posters here in this thread. Last edited by Eugene Church; 01-05-2022 at 10:57 PM.

01-06-2022, 04:54 PM	#6
txranger Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: "Deep in the Heart Of" Posts: 8,340	Very nice work here on these... Looking forward to seeing the uniforms... __________________

01-06-2022, 11:09 PM	#9
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	NEW YORK CITY CHAMPIONSHIP Last edited by tm1681; 01-06-2022 at 11:11 PM.

01-07-2022, 07:22 AM	#14
The Game Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Inside The Game Posts: 30,937	cool jerseys & logos. do you have it available to download? __________________ Go today don't wait for tomorrow It isn't promised, all the time you get borrowed Don't live your life for other people Don't bottle your emotions till they crack and fill a couple just sorrows Take your mind and refocus go get a paper write your goals out Throw your middle fingers to all your haters "Stay Strong"

01-06-2022, 11:41 AM	#4
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,047	If no one else in interested, don't do it just for me. I'm sure the jerseys and caps would be just as good as your logos.

01-06-2022, 02:12 PM	#5
CS_OOTP Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 119	This is awesome stuff

01-06-2022, 07:09 PM	#7
rocknfire7 Banned Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,907 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	I like these!

01-06-2022, 11:07 PM	#8
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	Okay, since there does seem to be larger interest in the things I'm doing I went ahead and got pictures of uniforms/caps tonight while I was doing FM database work. I thought about just exporting pictures of the Photoshop files of the jerseys so you could see 100% of each one, but then I realized that doing the same for the caps doesn't work very well because of the way the textures are mapped out. I use one of the old downloadable Photoshop jersey templates - can't remember who it's by anymore - for the jerseys, and https://www.ootputilities.com/capmaker/ for the caps. I just made a standard All-Star card for one notable player per team with the FaceGen set too 'Zoomed Out' so you can get as good of a view as possible. I'll post sets by division. BROOKLYN CHAMPIONSHIP

01-06-2022, 11:15 PM	#10
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	UPSTATE NEW YORK CHAMPIONSHIP

01-06-2022, 11:20 PM	#11
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	You might be noticing the facial hair. I altered the beard settings in-game so that only 10% of players are clean-shaven, and altered them further so that many more players have various types of mustaches instead patchy beards, goatees, and things of that sort. Anyway... COASTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

01-06-2022, 11:24 PM	#12
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	The names aren't what they normally are. I imported a couple of vintage name sets from here in the Mod Forum, including one that uses old U.S. Census data from 1850-1890. I also altered the World Database template so that foreign players or foreign names in the U.S. were more likely to be those of people who were immigrants to the country at the time. Next up... INLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

01-06-2022, 11:28 PM	#13
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	Finally, the division featuring the NBBO's biggest star: Sons of the Ocean's Roland Cameron... NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

01-09-2022, 12:13 AM	#15
Bottom Of The Sixth All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of Lincoln Posts: 1,255	Great stuff and super creative work, tm1681!

01-09-2022, 03:26 AM	#16
Trebro All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 753	These are really great, and yeah, if you can find a way to save this as a quickstart for people to play with...it would be amazing! __________________ 2020 2021

01-09-2022, 06:06 PM	#17
Scott Vibert Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: My Computer Posts: 8,209	This is excellent stuff

01-11-2022, 04:18 PM	#18
RMc All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,676	Quickstart? __________________ "We're all behind our baseball team..."

01-12-2022, 08:53 PM	#19
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	For those asking for a quickstart.... So, I converted my save into a quickstart on January 1, 1869. However, it's a whopper of a file because I was keeping almanacs and whatnot - a whole 7.49 GB according to Windows Explorer I'm going to look to see how I can pare that down. Some other things I was thinking of with regards to playability... I actually ran a test of this league before creating it. I like running leagues in Commissioner mode and seeing how things unfold - I've been doing it since I think OOTP 3 or 4. I tried having a free agency system in place to simulate the way things were in the pre-MLB days, with most players staying in place and star playing moving teams thanks to under-the-table payments. However, recreating that system - immediate free agency, one-year contract, etc - led to unbridled chaos as there was an enormous amount of roster turnover. So, I switched to Reserve Clause rules. At the same time, some random digging informed me that the first player trade in baseball wasn't made until the middle of the 1880s (link here) so I turned trades off since it made sense that there wouldn't be trades in a short-season league that has 70 games or so. However, that means there also isn't much in the way of player movement in the league. What to do??? Another thing: The league level is AAA, but renamed. I did this because the pre-professional competitions were made up of teams signing local and regional players. I ran into a weird problem via test when trying to create a MLB-level regional league, with the league region set as "US: Northeast" and every team set as "US: Northeast" or the more restrictive "US: New England"... Apparently, whenever you create an MLB-level league the game engine will attempt to populate with players from all over the origin country no matter if the league or its teams have region restrictions. This leads to major free agency issues, and also Inaugural Draft issues if your league has one. So, to make a regional league truly regional, while still allowing for some foreign players, I had to make it a level other than MLB. Another thing I could do is play it out until 1871, create my fictional pro/semi-pro split similar to what happened in real life, and then try to make another quickstart file while seeing what can be pared out so it isn't as big. Last edited by tm1681; 01-12-2022 at 08:54 PM.

01-13-2022, 09:57 PM	#20
hurricanekevin All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Florida Posts: 894	Nice work TM! Love the shoutout to the Falls River Marksmen football club! __________________ Fictional Team Logos