A Tale of Two Datapaths

pholmer · 05-12-2025, 06:09 AM

For the last several weeks I have been posting comments about my problems with both OOTP 26 and 25 crashing and not reopening. Not only will both versions not open, but the game informs me that both licenses have been invalidated. Now I admit that I caused this sequence of events by accidentally clicking on a button I didn’t intend to click. (I’d tell you which button, but I can’t open the app to look for it.)

However, I want address the problem I was trying to resolve when this happened and it is truly a tale of two datapaths. When you are playing OOTP Baseball 26 and want to save, backup or restore a game, your data is stored in or retrieved from a folder of the same name somewhere on your computer. I play on a Mac and my files were stored here:

Users/(username)/Library/Containers/OOTP Baseball 26/Data/Application Support/Out of the Park Developments/OOTP Baseball 26/(folder_name)
(Place where the datapaths separate in boldface.)

Files from OOTP 23, 24, and 25 were also stored here. But when I wanted to restore a game I was playing from a backup, OOTP said I would find it here:

/Users/(username)/Library/Containers/com.ootpdevelopments.ootp26macqlm/Data/Application Support/Out of the Park Developments/OOTP Baseball 26/(folder_name)

But there was no such folder on my computer. Sometime between February and April, I think, something happened to redirect the default datapath to the 2nd one instead of the 1st. I don’t know where my saved games have been going since the process seems to work properly. I really don’t care which folder my data goes to, I just want to know where my data is and for the game to be able to find it and use it.

For the last month I have been unable to use, restore, or validate OOTP 26 or 25. I love this game and have been playing it since version 9. LansdowneSt and Lukas have provided help and advice but nothing has worked. Now I am frustrated because Tech Support has sent me a list of all the OOTP licenses I have ever had, and when I try to use the license keys for 26 or 25 (which are identical to the ones I have been using), the game tells they are not valid. And in places where it says you can edit datapaths, you can’t, At least, I can’t.

First things first, Tech Support, I need valid License Keys for OOTP 26 and 25 so I can open them. Then we can figure out where my saved games are floating around in the ether. If you see them floating around, tell them “Hi” for me.

Chris Marquardt · 05-12-2025, 07:13 AM

Each license key only has a limited amount of concurrently activations.
If you can't activate the key you are most likely at the limit.
You can remove key activations on then QLM Self Help website.

Got to this website: https://qlm1.net/ootpdevelopments/qlmcustomersite/
Select "Get License Information"
Enter the License
You should see the computers your license is bound to
Preferable open a new tab and go to the website again
Select "Deactivate a License"
Enter the License again plus a computer ID
Repeat this for all entries

Now you should be able to activate the key again in the game.

When you are in the main menu of the game you can open the save game folder under "Settings", tab "Troubleshooting" and press the "Open folder containing saved games" button.

pholmer · 05-13-2025, 02:36 PM

What is the computer ID? The computer's serial number? Email? Thanks for your help.

Chris Marquardt · 05-14-2025, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholmer

What is the computer ID? The computer's serial number? Email? Thanks for your help.

The computer ID(s) will be listed on the website when you select "Get License Information".

pholmer · 05-14-2025, 07:15 AM

Here's what I got. You see why I feel like I need a new license key.

By the way, the computer ID that was asked for is the computer's serial number.

Chris Marquardt · 05-14-2025, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholmer

Here's what I got. You see why I feel like I need a new license key.

I removed the image from your post.

There are two spaces in your key after the last two minus signs. If you remove them then you can use the key.

pholmer · 05-14-2025, 04:01 PM

Thanks for spotting that. I was able to reactivate the license & reopen 26. I was having the same problem with 25. I put in the license key but nothing worked. So I went to the original license email, copied the number from that, and it worked.

I had been copying the numbers from screenshots of the 26 & 25 (as I always have in the past); apparently, some spaces, dashes or other artifacts were copied from the screenshots, but I just assumed the copies were correct.

But the problem of the two datapaths remains. OOTP 25 & 26 are looking for a folder that doesn't exist (.com...) in the containers folder, and the game won't let me get that up the datapath to edit it. In the attached photo, the top arrow is pointing to the containers folder is, but if I press the up button it doesn't take me there. The lower arrow points to the "new folder" button. It would be nice if there were a "select an existing folder" button there as well.

Can you think of anyway to solve my datapath problem? Whatever happened to change the datapath happened recently because I got 26 in early April and was able to import games from 25. I remember there were some posts in the forum about that time about people having problems importing games from 25.

Thanks so much for your help. You got me my games back!!!

Matt Arnold · 05-15-2025, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholmer

Thanks for spotting that. I was able to reactivate the license & reopen 26. I was having the same problem with 25. I put in the license key but nothing worked. So I went to the original license email, copied the number from that, and it worked.

I had been copying the numbers from screenshots of the 26 & 25 (as I always have in the past); apparently, some spaces, dashes or other artifacts were copied from the screenshots, but I just assumed the copies were correct.

But the problem of the two datapaths remains. OOTP 25 & 26 are looking for a folder that doesn't exist (.com...) in the containers folder, and the game won't let me get that up the datapath to edit it. In the attached photo, the top arrow is pointing to the containers folder is, but if I press the up button it doesn't take me there. The lower arrow points to the "new folder" button. It would be nice if there were a "select an existing folder" button there as well.

Can you think of anyway to solve my datapath problem? Whatever happened to change the datapath happened recently because I got 26 in early April and was able to import games from 25. I remember there were some posts in the forum about that time about people having problems importing games from 25.

Thanks so much for your help. You got me my games back!!!

If you want to import games on macs, you need to go through a separate process to handle that, due to how they handle the containers: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...65&postcount=2

Mostly you will have to copy your game to a location the new version can see directly.

pholmer · 05-15-2025, 06:36 PM

I did that and it worked. Thanks for your help. I've wondered all along if this might be a Mac vs. PC kind of issue and apparently it is. However, to the very limited extent that I have been able to edit the datapath, it has worked very well.

Doing the "Importing" method you suggested reminded me that I've done "importing saved games" this way before, when I first installed 26. (You remember I mentioned having seen posts in the Forum.) Since I keep the same game names from one OOTP version to the next, I did the following to keep track of which "!998 Yankees" game, for example, is the 25 version and which is 26.

I duplicated each 25 game folder, put all the copies in another folder which I named "New Teams", and moved the New Teams folder to the 26 saved games folder. When I chose "import from 25" and navigated to 26 saved games, selected New Teams. Then I chose the first duplicated game folder, imported it, and did the same with all the other duplicate folders. Finally, I threw the New Teams folder away.

One warning: if you're duplicating/Importing a newly-downloaded game, check to see if it has non-essential (to you) things, like previous box scores, jerseys and other clothes, or messages. One game I imported was taking a really long time to finish; I looked at the progress bar and it was importing Box Score 20,000 and something - all files of games the person who uploaded the OOTP game had played before uploading it.

pholmer · 05-15-2025, 10:39 PM

The datapath problem remains. I’ve found a couple of work-arounds for importing and accessing the correct stats database. I just posted an entry in the “recommendations for future versions” page. I suggested making the datapaths editable so that you can put your OOTP files wherever you want them. We’ll see.

05-12-2025, 06:09 AM	#1
pholmer Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 134	A Tale of Two Datapaths For the last several weeks I have been posting comments about my problems with both OOTP 26 and 25 crashing and not reopening. Not only will both versions not open, but the game informs me that both licenses have been invalidated. Now I admit that I caused this sequence of events by accidentally clicking on a button I didn’t intend to click. (I’d tell you which button, but I can’t open the app to look for it.) However, I want address the problem I was trying to resolve when this happened and it is truly a tale of two datapaths. When you are playing OOTP Baseball 26 and want to save, backup or restore a game, your data is stored in or retrieved from a folder of the same name somewhere on your computer. I play on a Mac and my files were stored here: Users/(username)/Library/Containers/OOTP Baseball 26/Data/Application Support/Out of the Park Developments/OOTP Baseball 26/(folder_name) (Place where the datapaths separate in boldface.) Files from OOTP 23, 24, and 25 were also stored here. But when I wanted to restore a game I was playing from a backup, OOTP said I would find it here: /Users/(username)/Library/Containers/com.ootpdevelopments.ootp26macqlm/Data/Application Support/Out of the Park Developments/OOTP Baseball 26/(folder_name) But there was no such folder on my computer. Sometime between February and April, I think, something happened to redirect the default datapath to the 2nd one instead of the 1st. I don’t know where my saved games have been going since the process seems to work properly. I really don’t care which folder my data goes to, I just want to know where my data is and for the game to be able to find it and use it. For the last month I have been unable to use, restore, or validate OOTP 26 or 25. I love this game and have been playing it since version 9. LansdowneSt and Lukas have provided help and advice but nothing has worked. Now I am frustrated because Tech Support has sent me a list of all the OOTP licenses I have ever had, and when I try to use the license keys for 26 or 25 (which are identical to the ones I have been using), the game tells they are not valid. And in places where it says you can edit datapaths, you can’t, At least, I can’t. First things first, Tech Support, I need valid License Keys for OOTP 26 and 25 so I can open them. Then we can figure out where my saved games are floating around in the ether. If you see them floating around, tell them “Hi” for me. Last edited by pholmer; 05-12-2025 at 06:14 AM.

05-12-2025, 07:13 AM	#2
Chris Marquardt OOTP Developments Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Germany Posts: 723	Each license key only has a limited amount of concurrently activations. If you can't activate the key you are most likely at the limit. You can remove key activations on then QLM Self Help website. Got to this website: https://qlm1.net/ootpdevelopments/qlmcustomersite/ Select "Get License Information" Enter the License You should see the computers your license is bound to Preferable open a new tab and go to the website again Select "Deactivate a License" Enter the License again plus a computer ID Repeat this for all entries Now you should be able to activate the key again in the game. When you are in the main menu of the game you can open the save game folder under "Settings", tab "Troubleshooting" and press the "Open folder containing saved games" button. Last edited by Chris Marquardt; 05-12-2025 at 07:15 AM.

05-14-2025, 07:15 AM	#5
pholmer Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 134	Here's what I got. You see why I feel like I need a new license key. By the way, the computer ID that was asked for is the computer's serial number. Last edited by pholmer; 05-14-2025 at 04:06 PM.

05-14-2025, 04:01 PM	#7
pholmer Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 134	Thanks for spotting that. I was able to reactivate the license & reopen 26. I was having the same problem with 25. I put in the license key but nothing worked. So I went to the original license email, copied the number from that, and it worked. I had been copying the numbers from screenshots of the 26 & 25 (as I always have in the past); apparently, some spaces, dashes or other artifacts were copied from the screenshots, but I just assumed the copies were correct. But the problem of the two datapaths remains. OOTP 25 & 26 are looking for a folder that doesn't exist (.com...) in the containers folder, and the game won't let me get that up the datapath to edit it. In the attached photo, the top arrow is pointing to the containers folder is, but if I press the up button it doesn't take me there. The lower arrow points to the "new folder" button. It would be nice if there were a "select an existing folder" button there as well. Can you think of anyway to solve my datapath problem? Whatever happened to change the datapath happened recently because I got 26 in early April and was able to import games from 25. I remember there were some posts in the forum about that time about people having problems importing games from 25. Thanks so much for your help. You got me my games back!!! Attached Images Last edited by pholmer; 05-14-2025 at 04:03 PM.

05-15-2025, 10:39 PM	#10
pholmer Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 134	Datapaths The datapath problem remains. I’ve found a couple of work-arounds for importing and accessing the correct stats database. I just posted an entry in the “recommendations for future versions” page. I suggested making the datapaths editable so that you can put your OOTP files wherever you want them. We’ll see.

05-13-2025, 02:36 PM	#3
pholmer Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 134	What is the computer ID? The computer's serial number? Email? Thanks for your help.

05-15-2025, 06:36 PM	#9
pholmer Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 134	I did that and it worked. Thanks for your help. I've wondered all along if this might be a Mac vs. PC kind of issue and apparently it is. However, to the very limited extent that I have been able to edit the datapath, it has worked very well. Doing the "Importing" method you suggested reminded me that I've done "importing saved games" this way before, when I first installed 26. (You remember I mentioned having seen posts in the Forum.) Since I keep the same game names from one OOTP version to the next, I did the following to keep track of which "!998 Yankees" game, for example, is the 25 version and which is 26. I duplicated each 25 game folder, put all the copies in another folder which I named "New Teams", and moved the New Teams folder to the 26 saved games folder. When I chose "import from 25" and navigated to 26 saved games, selected New Teams. Then I chose the first duplicated game folder, imported it, and did the same with all the other duplicate folders. Finally, I threw the New Teams folder away. One warning: if you're duplicating/Importing a newly-downloaded game, check to see if it has non-essential (to you) things, like previous box scores, jerseys and other clothes, or messages. One game I imported was taking a really long time to finish; I looked at the progress bar and it was importing Box Score 20,000 and something - all files of games the person who uploaded the OOTP game had played before uploading it.