Low Cost Items?

BMW · 12-20-2003, 01:31 PM

One of the things I noticed is that many of the items in the game are well out of the price range of my character, who was drafted as a mid-second rounder with a $250,000 bonus.

I go to the store, and for each category of items, perhaps 80% - 90% of the items (excluding the ones you can select from your character creation screen) are too expensive. And after I blow my money on the first one, then 90% of all the items are out of my reach. I now

I haven't seen that there is any real way to earn big money on the minor league level. This does make sense. However, I think it would be good not to have the selection of equipment so slanted toward the major league player.

yankeesrule · 12-20-2003, 01:37 PM

There are also less expensive things, plus you can also buy stuff off BBay

ZXLT · 12-20-2003, 02:17 PM

Yeah, I managed to buy a couple books while I was in the minors. See if you can corner your owner in the bar. I managed to get him to give me $20000 once.

Kaitiaki · 12-20-2003, 03:38 PM

I agree with the original poster; when you're in the minors the store should stock only items appropriate to your level (BBay probably shouldn't, change, though).

I look at it this way: each team is in a different city, which means as you move up and around, really, you're going to different stores all the time. In a market economy, why is a baseball store in an A-ball town going to stock Hall of Fame-caliber equipment when the store owner knows full well there's no player in that town who can afford and/or use such equipment.

Along the same lines, more variety in the equipment images would be nice. The stat variance is good, but I'm already getting sick of the same handful of bat pictures all the time.

spleen1015 · 12-20-2003, 03:40 PM

You guys know that the items in the store change every week, right?

Kaitiaki · 12-20-2003, 03:42 PM

spleen: yes, I know that, and I assume the other posters do too. That's not the issue. The issue is that while the actual items vary, the KIND of stock doesn't. In any given week the store is still only going to have 1 A-ball quality bat, and 11-12 higher-quality bats. Why? You can't use them. Nobody on your team can use them. They just sit there looking pretty? How does that make sense?

BMW · 12-20-2003, 03:58 PM

Being that the game has one graphic for every bat, glove, etc that you can purchase, it seems like there is a cap on the amount of items in the game, based on the amount of graphics.

However, I'd be much happier if the designers were able to re-use the graphic files to make additional items. I don't care quite as much about what the bat looks like (although I do appreciate the effort to make sure the game isn't totally generic in that aspect) as much as having a wide variety that I can choose from.

I, for one, would be happy to see 165 bats instead of 55, even if each graphic would be reused several times.

What about a Mario Mendoza Special bat that reduces your power, but adds to defense?

But I think it would be best to assure that your character doesn't have to become a multi-millionaire before he can afford some good lumber or a good glove.

Kaitiaki · 12-20-2003, 04:02 PM

BMW: look in your game directories, and you'll see that there isn't a picture for *each* item, just a handful that are already been reused for the something like 300 different items in the game.

Still, I think a lot of the replayability of this game is going to hinge on never-ending growth in the available items (or else we'll all get that "best" bat for our player, and never go to the store again).

EDIT> OK, so I just took another look, and there are more graphics there than I recalled, so you may be right about 1 for each item. I still think I've seen two different bats with the same picture, though...

Bigmoe · 12-20-2003, 04:08 PM

If you get a chance, like ZXLT said talk to the owner in the bar. I just got 1 million dollars for a shopping spree.

BMW · 12-20-2003, 04:24 PM

Just to clarify, I read the Bats .dat file.

There are about 100 bats in there. There are 55 pictures, so it appears that pictures can be reused.

So I have two questions:
1. Is 100 the max, or can it go higher?

2. I've played about 8 years, and had I not spent any money at all in my career, I'd have less than $800,000 total. I'm just going to make a guess, but I'd say that would exclude me from about 70% of the bats in the game.

12-20-2003, 01:31 PM	#1
BMW Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,030	Low Cost Items? One of the things I noticed is that many of the items in the game are well out of the price range of my character, who was drafted as a mid-second rounder with a $250,000 bonus. I go to the store, and for each category of items, perhaps 80% - 90% of the items (excluding the ones you can select from your character creation screen) are too expensive. And after I blow my money on the first one, then 90% of all the items are out of my reach. I now I haven't seen that there is any real way to earn big money on the minor league level. This does make sense. However, I think it would be good not to have the selection of equipment so slanted toward the major league player.

12-20-2003, 03:38 PM	#4
Kaitiaki Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,065	I agree with the original poster; when you're in the minors the store should stock only items appropriate to your level (BBay probably shouldn't, change, though). I look at it this way: each team is in a different city, which means as you move up and around, really, you're going to different stores all the time. In a market economy, why is a baseball store in an A-ball town going to stock Hall of Fame-caliber equipment when the store owner knows full well there's no player in that town who can afford and/or use such equipment. Along the same lines, more variety in the equipment images would be nice. The stat variance is good, but I'm already getting sick of the same handful of bat pictures all the time. __________________ BJHL: Commissioner; Owner: Wichita War Eagles

12-20-2003, 03:42 PM	#6
Kaitiaki Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,065	spleen: yes, I know that, and I assume the other posters do too. That's not the issue. The issue is that while the actual items vary, the KIND of stock doesn't. In any given week the store is still only going to have 1 A-ball quality bat, and 11-12 higher-quality bats. Why? You can't use them. Nobody on your team can use them. They just sit there looking pretty? How does that make sense? __________________ BJHL: Commissioner; Owner: Wichita War Eagles

12-20-2003, 03:58 PM	#7
BMW Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,030	Being that the game has one graphic for every bat, glove, etc that you can purchase, it seems like there is a cap on the amount of items in the game, based on the amount of graphics. However, I'd be much happier if the designers were able to re-use the graphic files to make additional items. I don't care quite as much about what the bat looks like (although I do appreciate the effort to make sure the game isn't totally generic in that aspect) as much as having a wide variety that I can choose from. I, for one, would be happy to see 165 bats instead of 55, even if each graphic would be reused several times. What about a Mario Mendoza Special bat that reduces your power, but adds to defense? But I think it would be best to assure that your character doesn't have to become a multi-millionaire before he can afford some good lumber or a good glove. __________________

12-20-2003, 04:02 PM	#8
Kaitiaki Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,065	BMW: look in your game directories, and you'll see that there isn't a picture for each item, just a handful that are already been reused for the something like 300 different items in the game. Still, I think a lot of the replayability of this game is going to hinge on never-ending growth in the available items (or else we'll all get that "best" bat for our player, and never go to the store again). EDIT> OK, so I just took another look, and there are more graphics there than I recalled, so you may be right about 1 for each item. I still think I've seen two different bats with the same picture, though... __________________ BJHL: Commissioner; Owner: Wichita War Eagles Last edited by Kaitiaki; 12-20-2003 at 04:04 PM.

12-20-2003, 01:37 PM	#2
yankeesrule All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,367	There are also less expensive things, plus you can also buy stuff off BBay

12-20-2003, 02:17 PM	#3
ZXLT Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Oregon Posts: 261	Yeah, I managed to buy a couple books while I was in the minors. See if you can corner your owner in the bar. I managed to get him to give me $20000 once.

12-20-2003, 03:40 PM	#5
spleen1015 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 6,002	You guys know that the items in the store change every week, right?

12-20-2003, 04:08 PM	#9
Bigmoe Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Apopka, Fl Posts: 44	If you get a chance, like ZXLT said talk to the owner in the bar. I just got 1 million dollars for a shopping spree.

12-20-2003, 04:24 PM	#10
BMW Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,030	Just to clarify, I read the Bats .dat file. There are about 100 bats in there. There are 55 pictures, so it appears that pictures can be reused. So I have two questions: 1. Is 100 the max, or can it go higher? 2. I've played about 8 years, and had I not spent any money at all in my career, I'd have less than $800,000 total. I'm just going to make a guess, but I'd say that would exclude me from about 70% of the bats in the game. __________________