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Originally Posted by PSUColonel
It's not so much stats I'm talking about. It's immersion. The game covers almost every area of what a real manager faces not just on the field, but also off. Players, staff, owners, media, and fans all have dynamic personalities that come to life base on the very decisions you make. For instance, any given payer's character matters in how he interacts with his teammates and how that that transcends onto the field. Player personalities in OOTP feel a bit too much like numbers. Now I know they are likely based on numbers in FM too, but those numbers are concealed, and in place you must find out through the natural progression of time and interaction what the personality of your players are. The scouting system is so well done I can't even get into it. You can build and expand stadiums too. You are constantly getting feedback from owners. You can make requests of those owners. You can also give team talks. From a strategy standpoint wouldn't it be cool if we as baseball managers could set strategies for each individual batter based on hit charts our scouts have compiled and then make decisions such as where exactly on the field to play our second baseman, which way to shift our CF? You laugh, but this is the kind of strategy and depth FM provides for soccer. These examples only touch the iceberg of what this game can do. As far as the interface, with this kind of depth, I would argue it is well organized and very easy to use, once you learn how to use it. The real problem is, many people don't want to learn how to use it, or the nuances of the game for that matter. But I humbly submit this, once you learn it, it is very rewarding and fun, and dare I say the game becomes as addictive as liquid crack. All I am saying is, it seems like there are people around here, who don't want to see the game take on this form, and after playing FM, I think they would be crazy not to want to see it get to this level. I hate soccer, but FM is soooo well done and deep, that it doesn't even matter. Don't we want that for OOTP and baseball?
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you know, i often have to restrain myself from mentioning FM when im suggesting improvements/new features because i'd be mentioning the game all the time then. but youre totally right, FM does quite a few things well in terms of the immersion factor with players interacting with each other, or manager interacting w/players and other managers, team talks, basically a lot of the peripheral stuff than can be easily applied to any sport. i dont think these things necessarily add to a chore like feel to playing the game at all. quite the opposite; it detracts from, as you say, OOTP players feeling a bit too much like numbers. baseball is so much more stat based, i think its important to balance that out with a more subjective element. and we already have some basic building blocks in place: work ethic, intelligence, morale, popularity.
i think any serious OOTP player should do themselves a favor and explore a demo of FM to see what we're talking about, even if you hate soccer. when the little nuances of team management start popping up, its really f'ing cool. recent example: you have 2 very good players at the same position. you reward one of those players with a new contract and his counterpart demands an improved contract to match that salary, and if you dont give in to these demands, he may just demand to leave. i can go on w/examples but like i said, the demo is worth a look. i hope OOTP's time at SI games will rub off a little in this direction.