[kq76]

Originally Posted by Marc Duffy

Is he right? Is he wrong?

Rather than say whether he's right or wrong, I'll just say I agree with him on some points and disagree on others.

Is it unstable as in it crashes a lot? Not for me. It has some, but not so much that I'd call it unstable.

Is it buggy? Damn straight it is. And I'm tired of issues just being labeled "design decisions" or "feature requests" and apparently ignored. The truth, to me at least, is that if there is a problem with how it works, then it's a bug. You can call issues whatever you like, but they're still issues and they should still be fixed.

Is it true there are unresolved issues in the tech support forum? Yes, but I just can't at all blame anybody who isn't getting paid to work on the game and those who are are probably too busy on other tasks.

Is "Sadly, OOTPB 2007 will more than likely be a big full price OOTPB 2006 patch." true? I think so, but to be honest, like a lot of others here apparently, I'd rather issues in 2006 be fixed for 2007 than a bunch of new features be added. Sure, some new features should be added and I'll miss those that don't make it, but I'd much rather have a simple product that works wonderfully well than an extravagant one that frustrates the hell out of you. I think Chris' statement there is more a remark on 2006 than one on 2007 though.

Is the SI/OOTP merger a failure? No, I don't think so, but I wouldn't call it a success yet either. IMO, OOTP hadn't progressed all that much from v4 (I can't say about before) to v6 and I don't think I had much hope that it would if Markus kept it a small operation. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe he could have rewritten the entire game from scratch and what he got from SI's code library wasn't all that helpful, but I've gotten the impression it was and I think OOTP has so much more room to grow now with SI's help than it would have otherwise. It's too early to say, but I think the merger is, in baseball terms, still a prospect.

I imagine "A once online friendly game was released as an unseemly mess that was eventually patched to playability." is probably too harsh in some people's opinions, but in mine it's too soft. We could argue over the definition of playability, but in my definition you need to be able to take the league seriously and with the ridiculous AI moves, I just can't. I still fool around with the game some and reply to threads because I want to see it get better, but I just can't get into a league seriously with 2006.

I don't use it for a Mac, but I'll take his word that it has issues.

"[T]he lack of information about contract and free agent offers" frustrates me too and I've posted a few times now to have an offers screen.

I try to ignore "the AI doing weird things unless you shut it down for every team and every level", but I just can't. See my comment on playability above.

"[T]he lack of development information" bugs me too and to think it almost never existed at all. Sporr recently mentioned that it's random what gets reported and what doesn't and that makes me wonder why Markus even bothered putting it in at all. I guess he just wanted to shut me (us?) up on it, but I really don't like things half-assed which, to me, this was. I guess I should be glad it's at least somewhat in there, that our foot is at least in the door, but it needs to go further. Watching development is great aspect of the game and I simply don't have the time to keep such track of my players that I memorize all their ratings and check them every day to see if some have jumped a significant amount. Not to mention we don't need anymore commissioners being accused of cheating because their players' development wasn't reported. v6 didn't tell you whether a commish was cheating or not, but it was a lot better at allowing you to conclude whether one was or not.

"then there’s a pretty interesting game beneath the surface" is true.

"So interesting that I am putting up with the pain in order to play the game in an online league." I'm only doing that myself with the beta league in the hopes of making 2007 better. I wouldn't bother playing in a competitive 2006 online league, it would just be too frustrating for me.

Overall, I think Chris is frustrated and so I think he went too far with some things like calling the merger a failure, but in other ways I think he didn't go far enough.

Originally Posted by Marc Duffy

Where did we go wrong? Where did we get things right?

Not to be mean, but there's so many ways in which the group went wrong. I'd like to now focus on where to go from here though.

Where did you go right?

Interface

Well, I really do love the new interface. I know, a lot of people have had issues adjusting to it, but I love it. I still have issues with it, the most frustrating being that screens don't remember how you last viewed them and how it can be so difficult to find some things, but overall I love the new interface with its bookmarks, recent screens, right-click menus, views and all that.

Rewrite

I also think you went right in rewriting the game. While sometimes I wish we just got a game that built on and made v6 better, sometimes you have to stop and think things through so you can make some real progress. You'll rarely get very far by doing the same thing over and over again.

Customizeability

I also like how the game has gotten even more optional and customizeable and I want it to go even further. I do however agree that there should either: a) be a limited # of options available in the game with an editable file of more options outside the game like Skipaway once described, or b) heavy, medium and light options for option screens like BigCity described above. A sounds simpler and less work for Markus, but B does sound better and less work for users.

Personnel

I especially love how there are personnel in the game now with all these coaches and managers, but I want to see the game go even further with them. It seems as though baseball is so much more about the coaches and managers nowadays and reading about them and their decisions can be just as entertaining if not more than seeing the results players produce. I'd love this aspect of the game fully fleshed out with even more personnel, more stats for them, more ratings, and explanation about what influences what.

Originally Posted by Marc Duffy

Do you think the merger is a success or a failure?

I think it's too early to say. I have more hope with SI there than I would if they left. If SI wants to, I think they can put enough resources into the game to fix it. The question I have now is: will they do it? I get the impression that Markus really does care about the game and wants to make it the best he can, but he's only one person. Andreas apparently helps on the coding, but from lurking on the Title Bout forums I see he's got other responsibilities he needs to attend to as well. I can't help but think OOTP needs another couple of coders. I'd want Markus to lead them, but I think the game needs them. I also think that the beta testers who proved themselves should be paid so they can justify to themselves working even more on the game and the ones who didn't should be dropped in favour of new tryouts. Even though at times it seems like so much is wrong with it, I can't help but think that it's so close, that it just needs more manpower.

A couple more points I'd like to address:

2006 Forum Traffic

Originally Posted by LeiterFanatic

[snipped question of merger on purpose because I don't think it applies]... if SI and OOTP have scored or not [with 2006], just go back and look at server traffic on these boards during the 6.0 days and compare to now. This game doesn't seem to be generating the kind of long-term day in and day out passion that previous releases had. I am astonished that threads stay so close to the top even days after someone posts in them. That tells me that the community isn't that energized about the game, and no, I dont buy the "everyone is happily playing and not posting" arguements either. The game has potential and works well for some... [also snipped the part about world aspect being bad because I disagree]

I agree. Maybe I'm just remembering things wrong, but there does seem to be less traffic and I can't help but feel that it's because the game has become too much of a chore.

Reading the Forum More Than Playing the Game

Originally Posted by nanaimo

... In fact, I've spent more time reading the forum than I've played OOTP2006. That says something doesn't it?

I'm not sure it does. Did you read the forum more than play v6 too? I think I did. The forum is both informative and entertaining and to me a big part of the value in OOTP. The bigger problem I think is that I, and I'm guess others too, are doing less of both!

Buy or Don't Buy Recommendation

Originally Posted by cmdroverbite

the reviewer's job is not to cheerlead for what a game can be, it's to offer a straightforward opinion of whether a game is worth purchasing as it exists right now. Right now, I would maybe offer a qualified "yes," but I certainly wouldn't slag on anyone for saying "no."

I've been recommending that people... try the demo. Some people here sound quite happy with 2006 and so I'm sure there are plenty more who would also be, but there's plenty of people who are not and for that reason I don't think anyone should recommend a buy before a demo try.

No Full-Blown Cato

Originally Posted by headtrauma

As an online-only player, the ONE thing I wanted in a new version, a full-blown Catobase utility, is missing. Therefore, the endless flexibility of the new version is completely meaningless to me.

I'm surprised no one else has questioned this. Sure, there might be some things missing from it, but I think if there's anything Markus had to step up with 2006 to appease the masses it was the new in-game history and I thought he did a remarkable job with it. Add it to my list of things done right with this version.

World Focus

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

I don't buy that a "world focus" for 2006 matters at all. It's not big, it did not take that much time to develop, and much was borrowed from FM.

I questioned whether this was time well spent too, but I'll take the word of people who say it really didn't take all that much time to add.

Scouting

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

... scouting stinks. It does not resemble international scouting for baseball. The AI does not use it. It is hard to manage and is a repetitive tedious chore...

I haven't touched scouting yet simply because of all the bad things I've read about it. I want to enable scouts in my leagues and have all the added value they bring, but I don't want all the added work it sounds to be.

Switch to Just MLB Mode

Originally Posted by Elendil

Hockey fans consider EHM to be the greatest hockey management sim ever. They are dedicated to it even though it has virtually no customizability as far as fictional leagues go. What it does well is to replicate the rules and strategy of the NHL. The lesson for OOTP is that replicating the rules and strategy of the MLB is the most important thing in a baseball management sim. That's where 2007 needs to focus.

Posts like this one are what scare me most. Hockey is my second favourite sport and while I don't follow soccer closely I love watching it when I do and besides just checking out the demos of FM and EHM to see what could be brought to OOTP, I won't touch them without fictional leagues and customizeablity. This is not a threat as I know I'm only one person and I have no idea how many more are like me, but if OOTP ever switches to just MLB mode, it'll be time for me to finally move on. I just hope SI feels there is too much to lose by switching to MLB only mode than there is to gain.

Make Life Easier for Commishes

Originally Posted by BigCity

... (1) Tighten up everything in terms of what a commissioner has to do. The absolute worst way to get a bad reputation for the game is to make being a commissioner a living hell. Make the steps easy, and make sure they work correctly.

I agree whole-heartedly, but as I've said before even more important than making things easier for commishes is to give them the ability to do things at all. Some things are just not possible to do anymore and some edits that were only possible with 3rd party utilities really need to finally be added to the game.

Benefits of Improving the Financial Side

Originally Posted by BigCity

(2) Same goes for the financial picture. I think the game needs a serious rethinking on the financial side. Explanations for everything (as far as how it works and what it effects) is necessary... I always thought a "balance sheet" should be produced for each team - at any point in time. Income-Expenses=Profit, and the balance sheet should show you all the details.

Some people have posted that they think the way to largely fix the AI is to come up with better player evaluation. I don't disagree with that, I think it probably would help, but I think what would help even more is a better financial system. Right now OOTP is like somebody who just can't manage their money wisely. They buy what they can't afford, putting everything on credit, they then don't pay their bills on time, and then find themselves swamped under a massive debt. Then OOTP allows teams to basically declare bankruptcy and start over, but the problem is there's very little deterrent to doing so in OOTP. Sure, some teams should be better than others at managing their finances, but in OOTP it seems like they're all idiots. I sincerely think that if you put in more financial rules for the AI to follow that it would be forced to spend more wisely and then we'd see less ridiculous signings. I don't thnk it would fix it completely, but I certainly think it would help and I think it would not only help AI GMs, but human ones too.