Help with League Totals/Modifiers

[RunBlakeRun]

Hello! I've looked around, but haven't really found what I'm looking for. I've been playing OOTP for a long long time, but only in the last two iterations have I really pulled back the curtain and fiddled with the strats, league modifiers, and totals.

What I've always tried to do is bring back some balance to hitting (bring back hitting for average/accumulating hits, fewer three-true-outcomes hitters) without hurting league-wide pitching (in terms of ERA ballooning).

With OOTP25, playing exclusively live starts, I've been a bit confused with how the league totals should change post-2024. I thought (perhaps incorrectly) that after each season the league totals would change to that previous season's, the modifiers thus adjusting on Opening Day (ex: at the conclusion of 2024, going into the 2025 season the league totals will look like what had occurred in 2024, and so-on). I know, at least it used to be, it was like this for fictional games (ex: if you create a fake baseball league beginning in 1901, each season will import the league totals for that season going forward so long as the "lock league totals" box isn't checked). Is this the case for live starts?

Beyond that, I want to know from the experts (veterans?) what the best approach to messing with league totals/modifiers/league strategy is without breaking the game - how to balance things without having stats just drastically change overnight.

A sub-question is how does expanding the league affect league totals? If I add two teams in 2025, should I take that into account for the league totals? Theoretically, there would be *overall* more at-bats/hits/home runs, etc. because there are more players at the MLB level. Or do the *modifiers* handle this rather than the totals themselves?

Thanks y'all! If I need to clarify or expand on anything let me know; I've been trying to bring back pre-1990s type play but in a more organic way than just importing like 1960s-80s league season totals. I had hoped the in-game help would provide some insight but it doesn't.

[Garlon]

The modifiers look at rates, so it accounts for how many teams are in the league.

If you want the stats to look like 1986, you can use those as your league totals and the modifiers will adjust so that your league output is the same as that season.

[biggerme]

maybe that helps:

Based on the information provided, to increase the number of hits for batters while minimizing the impact on pitching statistics, you could:

1. Adjust the "Hits" modifier: Increase the Hits modifier slightly above 1.000 in the League Totals and Modifiers section. For example, setting it to 1.050 would increase hits by 5%.

2. Balance with other modifiers: To minimize the impact on pitching stats, you might want to make small adjustments to related modifiers. For instance:

- Slightly decrease the "Strikeouts" modifier
- Marginally increase the "Batting Average on Balls in Play" (BABIP) modifier, if available

3. Fine-tune related modifiers: Make small adjustments to modifiers for different hit types (singles, doubles, triples) to distribute the increase in hits realistically.

4. Monitor and iterate: After making these changes, simulate a season and analyze the results. You may need to make further small adjustments to achieve the desired balance.

5. Consider position modifiers: If you want to increase hits without affecting pitcher ERAs too much, you could slightly decrease the "Range" modifiers for some defensive positions. This would allow more balls in play to become hits without necessarily reflecting poorly on pitchers.

Remember that these systems are interconnected, so any change will have some effect on other statistics. The key is to make small, incremental adjustments and test the results to find the right balance for your desired outcome.

Would you like me to elaborate on any of these points or provide additional information?

[RunBlakeRun]

Originally Posted by biggerme

maybe that helps:

Based on the information provided, to increase the number of hits for batters while minimizing the impact on pitching statistics, you could:

1. Adjust the "Hits" modifier: Increase the Hits modifier slightly above 1.000 in the League Totals and Modifiers section. For example, setting it to 1.050 would increase hits by 5%.

2. Balance with other modifiers: To minimize the impact on pitching stats, you might want to make small adjustments to related modifiers. For instance:

- Slightly decrease the "Strikeouts" modifier
- Marginally increase the "Batting Average on Balls in Play" (BABIP) modifier, if available

3. Fine-tune related modifiers: Make small adjustments to modifiers for different hit types (singles, doubles, triples) to distribute the increase in hits realistically.

4. Monitor and iterate: After making these changes, simulate a season and analyze the results. You may need to make further small adjustments to achieve the desired balance.

5. Consider position modifiers: If you want to increase hits without affecting pitcher ERAs too much, you could slightly decrease the "Range" modifiers for some defensive positions. This would allow more balls in play to become hits without necessarily reflecting poorly on pitchers.

Remember that these systems are interconnected, so any change will have some effect on other statistics. The key is to make small, incremental adjustments and test the results to find the right balance for your desired outcome.

Would you like me to elaborate on any of these points or provide additional information?

I appreciate y'all! And yes, I would like some more info on whether I should stick with the actual totals from the initial live start setups before running any adjustments to the modifiers OR "reset to default totals" instead? They're different so I'm not sure if it will necessarily matter. I'm hoping to really do this whenever the newest patch/post-draft updates are put out so I can do a fresh live start.

[biggerme]

if you have not found documentation then this from OOTP24 should still be valid
https://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com...tals_modifiers

[RunBlakeRun]

Originally Posted by biggerme

if you have not found documentation then this from OOTP24 should still be valid
https://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com...tals_modifiers

I think honestly the only real question now is how marginally/drastically do I adjust the "other statistical modifiers" and "position modifiers"? I don't really have a good grasp on the "other statistical modifiers" outside of stamina and stealing success - the others aren't as intuitive. The position ones are much more self-explanatory but I don't want to move them too crazy!

[biggerme]

dont change totals, only apply changes to Modifiers, and try to keep changes below +-0.100.
Better have notebook ready to write down what you have changed if you want to revert some of those changes back later.

[atlbrave1]

Not sure about Live Starts, but for fictional, you can try these settings. Takes about 5-10 seasons for stats to settle in (due to player creation and AI), but these settings get 1980s statistical results. You can adjust to get to your desired output. As noted, small changes, typically one at a time, followed by some sims (I run 20 years out) to see if you like the output.

[Garlon]

You have the option to select the league totals from a given season. I suggest doing that rather than trying to estimate the modifier.

[OutS|der]

I really hope one day we'll be able to set more then just totals and modifiers and then have to hope our changes produce the desired results.

I want to be able to set the totals for my league leagues or league average, not the total for the whole league. IE I want my leaders to hover around the 50 HR mark, with an outlier challenging the record of 61. Or be able to set it so starting pitchers average 200 IP.

[biggerme]

Originally Posted by OutS|der

I really hope one day we'll be able to set more then just totals and modifiers and then have to hope our changes produce the desired results.

I want to be able to set the totals for my league leagues or league average, not the total for the whole league. IE I want my leaders to hover around the 50 HR mark, with an outlier challenging the record of 61. Or be able to set it so starting pitchers average 200 IP.

There is one way to but it still requires doing testruns until you reach your expected numbers. There are just so many things than can affect that result.
I would do like that to get my world created:
1. Prepare your Custom League with all the Teams, Leagues, Divisions, settings etc.
2. Save As Quickstart File - Quickstart Games -> Save -> SomeQuickstart
3. Start New Quickstart game from SomeQuickstart, call it TrialRun-v1
4. Change modifiers
5. Simulate that year, review if results match expectations,
6. If not, note down those modifiers and Create TrialRun-v2, change modifiers from previous Trial,
7. Repeat, TrialRun-v3. Repeat, TrialRun-v4, ....
That way you have a controlled sandbox

[atlbrave1]

Originally Posted by OutS|der

I really hope one day we'll be able to set more then just totals and modifiers and then have to hope our changes produce the desired results.

I want to be able to set the totals for my league leagues or league average, not the total for the whole league. IE I want my leaders to hover around the 50 HR mark, with an outlier challenging the record of 61. Or be able to set it so starting pitchers average 200 IP.

You can do this, but it is a lot of trial and error and a lot of simmed seasons. Between the PCMs, league totals and modifiers you can get to just about any type of statistics you want, but you have to be willing to put in the time. This is pretty much all I do for the first week after any major patch. It is more fun than it sounds. This current patch is looking pretty good, so it might be time to actually start a league.

[OutS|der]

Originally Posted by atlbrave1

You can do this, but it is a lot of trial and error and a lot of simmed seasons. Between the PCMs, league totals and modifiers you can get to just about any type of statistics you want, but you have to be willing to put in the time. This is pretty much all I do for the first week after any major patch. It is more fun than it sounds. This current patch is looking pretty good, so it might be time to actually start a league.

I'd rather not have to run multiple sims and take detailed notes. I'd rather be able to set some ranges and then let the game determine the league totals.

[biggerme]

Originally Posted by OutS|der

I'd rather not have to run multiple sims and take detailed notes. I'd rather be able to set some ranges and then let the game determine the league totals.

I hear you, but yeah it does not work like that, would be cool if it would.
What you could do is ask in MODS Forum if anyone has a quickstart that meets your criterias and is willing to share

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by OutS|der

I'd rather not have to run multiple sims and take detailed notes. I'd rather be able to set some ranges and then let the game determine the league totals.

OOTP doesn't know what the results will be with the initial settings. Remember that the game runs three sims of a season before deciding what the final modifiers will be for that season. So it being able to tell you what settings are needed to produce different results is far away.