[neojonas]

Immersion is a key component that could make OOTP 11 really stand out even more. Immersion is what gets most people addicted and continually playing day in and day out. It's what makes us fall in love with that pitcher that nobody else wanted, but you gave him a chance and he ended up winning the world series for you. I think it starts with improving the feeder leagues to watch the players grow more and adding personality. I couldn't have worded it better then Corsairs who just nailed it on the head. I think this type of immersion would draw in more people to the game who aren't just stat-heads, helping grow the brand and company.

Originally Posted by Corsairs

When it comes to back-of-the-box feature ideas that will move units, I know exactly where I'd start: Fleshing out the feeder leagues and the amateur draft. Sure, this is something I personally would be interested in, but until recently I wouldn't have suggested it as a bullet point kind of improvement. Over the last few years, though, the MLB amateur draft has become an increasingly big deal. All of a sudden you've got the draft being shown in prime time on ESPN. Players like Stephen Strasburg are getting extensive coverage from mainstream new sources. Fans are starting to pay attention to college (and even high school) baseball to pick out the rising stars. Some agents have reached almost celebrity status thanks to their negotiating tactics.

Clearly there's a buregoning interest in the amateur draft and everything that surrounds it. Since this is an area I believe a lot of current OOTP'ers would like to see beefed up anyway, OOTP XI would be the perfect opportunity to break these new features in. Amongst the ideas to consider (in no particular order):

• Enable high school players to "graduate" to a league's college feeder system.
• Add agents into the game, each with their own particular methods and quirks.
• Introduce signing bonuses.
• Allow top prospects to issue contract/bonus demands (through their agents) prior to the draft.
• Rather than automatically assigning new draftees, force GMs to negotiate contracts with them. While most lesser draftees will sign for slot money, negotiations with top prospects could prove more tricky.
• In addition to contract/bonus demands, allow for other means of player negotiating leverage, including:
  • Threatening to sign with a college
  • Threatening to sign with an independent league (or simply sitting out until next year's draft if no such league exists)
  • Pre-warning his desire (or lack thereof) to be drafted by a particular orginization
• Create other signing considerations beyond money:
  • Predilection for signing with a team due to its proximity to his home town and/or school
  • The presence (or lack thereof) of established players/high-profile prospects blocking the new draftee's path
  • GMs reputation
• Regadring GM reputation, consider tracking this. Teams with GMs who sign players to large contracts and generally show a willingness to funnel money into player development would be more desireable landing spots for new draftees, while those who play hardball could get blacklisted.
• Take the reputation idea farther by allowing GMs to make promises/assurances to top players and their agents. As examples: "We guarantee you this role in our organization," or, "You'll be with the big league club in no more than 2 years." If those promises are fulfilled, reputation increases (and vice versa).
• Build the hype by starting to show news stories about top draft-eligible players on the main league's page starting 60 days from the amateur draft, and also during the feeder league(s) playoffs.
• Imbue these players with personality! You often hear about the "makeup" of a player. Is he a hothead? Does he have a penchant for upsetting his teammates or getting into trouble off the field? If so, let's see some new stories related to this. These kinds of makeup issues could carry over to a player's pro career, giving GMs an extra thing to consider when drafting. Strive to make players as three-dimensional as possible!
• OOTP already allows the trading of draft picks, something that can't be done in MLB. I would suggest going further with this. For instance, the NHL allows for conditional draft pick trading (e.g. I give you a 3rd rounder, but it could become a 1st rounder depending on something occurring). Look to other pro leagues for creative expansions of the draft pick trading model.
• Live analysis of first round picks during the draft. ESPN has a panel of "experts" sounding off on picks as they happen; why not BNN?

By no means would anyone reasonably expect all of these features to get added into OOTP XI. This should be taken as a jumping off point. Pick and choose what you think would be the most valuable/easy-to-implement additions and have at it. Overall, though, I can't think of a more apropos area of improvement to explore if you're looking to attract the casual baseball fan's attention (and please your current user base at the same time).