It's time for graphics

[Portland Rain]

I've been around since OOTP3, and I love this game. I'm not sure that there is much more you can add to the game anymore. I've always thought how wonderful this game would be if it had real graphics. I want to see the players, I want to design their uniforms, I want to customize a ballpark. Earl Weaver had the ability to create ballparks, I think this could do better, after all it's been 20 years since Earl Weaver. It's time to take OOTP to the next level, combine incredible realism to graphics, I'd pay $60 for that game and I'd wait around for two to three years with only only roster updates to get it right!

[Cooleyvol]

Originally Posted by Portland Rain

I'd pay $60 for that game and I'd wait around for two to three years with only only roster updates to get it right!

I wouldn't. I'd just buy a title for PS3 if I wanted that. This will never be made into an 'arcade' title, IMO.

[rdomico]

A lot of us would like to see graphics, but Markus would have to hire programmers to make that happen. He doesn't sell enough games to hire people. So if you want graphics, convince 100,000 of your friends to buy the game.

[Malleus Dei]

This game is buggy enough without graphics. What it needs right now more than anything is a really good debugging before anything else is added to it.

Nothing will never be EWB again. We lost the future when the moronic decision to kill it was made. Plus there was even more magic coming.

Mal, who tested EWB

[robc]

Originally Posted by Cooleyvol

I wouldn't. I'd just buy a title for PS3 if I wanted that. This will never be made into an 'arcade' title, IMO.

Graphics doesn't always mean arcade. It could just be that a graphical representation of the play will unfold. You could play it exactly as you do now, except there would be the players moving on the field, etc.

I'm not necessarily advocating that since I like to get threw the games at a good pace.

[holyswish]

You are correct portland rain. Weaver Baseball was something (of course you didn't get the depth of stats). There was something neat about spending time on those uni in games like micro league, tony larrusa (even front page) and watching the games play out. I do believe 2D graphics is part of Markus' vision, which he briefll described in a post about a year ago.

[ELDoro]

I would like 2D graphics just to give me more of a feel whats going on. As for a 3d game, I would just buy MLB The Show for PS3

[PhillieFever]

These guys are running a two or three man operation on a shoestring budget, there is no way any type of graphical enhancement(that actually looks good) is even feasible let alone practical. Getting the AI right is just too important right now to concentrate on anything other than that. Get the baseball part of the game right and I'll be more than happy to fork over my cash.

[Eugene Church]

I'm with Portland Rain, "good" graphics would really complete the game for me.
I haven't looked at the ball animation or listen to the sound for over a year. IMO, it was poorly done and not worth the time and effort for me.

I wish we could design stadiums and uniforms, too.

Also agree with MD, that Markus should fix what's wrong with the game before creating new features. I also realize that he has to create new features to get new customers and renewals each year.

It is an endless cycle... new features... more new bugs to go with the old ones that will never be fix.

In spite of this, OOTPB is a tremendous game as it is.

[CobaltJays]

I think some sort of 2D stadium creator/generator would be a useful graphical improvement (much like FaceGen was), but I think it would be difficult to implement player animations and the like at this stage.

[Bluenoser]

It's possible to create customized uniforms and ballparks now.

[Cryomaniac]

Simple animations along the lines of the 2D engine in Football Manager '07 would probably be do-able, even if you have to animate every play-by-play outcome separately and just play the right one in the same way the PbP text is generated. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a lot of work, but it could probably be done.

[AESP_pres]

Originally Posted by PhillieFever

Getting the AI right is just too important right now to concentrate on anything other than that. Get the baseball part of the game right and I'll be more than happy to fork over my cash.

As he say, nothing personally against graphic but it's more important to fix what doesn't work right now and implement the historical rules who are curently incorrect.

[Tullius]

I think that simple animations around the lines would be nice but a complete
3D enviroment would be not possible because of technical reasons. People do not consider that the memory in the PC is not endless and i assume that a lot of memory is used by calculations during the games (the whole network thing) which are also visible on the screen and graphics are not cheap in terms of memory.

I thinkt a 3D solution is possible but would require a totaly new design of the game and a complete rewrite of the game. Then it would be a totally different game.

I remember that Markus said he does not like 3d in baseball because he sees all the gaps in the current engines.

[Leland]

I've only been around since OOTP 8. At the time, I thought graphics would mean something, but not now. As Eugene said, I haven't looked at the graphics or the sound. Actually, I rather not have sound, and listen to my own music.

I'm a stat freak, and that's what this game gives to me. I want to mess with the roster, and see what happens. So all I need is text. As a guy who travels often, this game is great for saving laptop power on long flights.

However, I must admit, if you could implement 2D well enough to follow action: ball tracking in the field, icons moving to ball or going around the bases, that would be neat. However, all of it would need to be synched with the stats. If a 18/20 speed fielder is chasing down a pop fly, he ought to move faster than a 10/20 fielder. Otherwise, the graphics are no more useful than the current animations.

[Portland Rain]

2d, 3d, whatever, I would like it. I just don't see much more, other than getting more accurate stats, that Marcus can do to take the game to the next level. Think about it, OOTP8 to OOTP10, not much has really evolved. When has the last time Madden eveolved? Madden sucks now, it's virtually the same game the last 8 years with small additions. If this game is ever giong to 'win the hearts and minds' of more gamers, we need an evolution to the next level.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by Portland Rain

2d, 3d, whatever, I would like it. I just don't see much more, other than getting more accurate stats, that Marcus can do to take the game to the next level. Think about it, OOTP8 to OOTP10, not much has really evolved. When has the last time Madden eveolved? Madden sucks now, it's virtually the same game the last 8 years with small additions. If this game is ever giong to 'win the hearts and minds' of more gamers, we need an evolution to the next level.

Your comment here is actually solidifies the argument against graphic improvement. What has Madden done over the last 10 years? Its gotten progressively worse and worse gameplay wise, while at the same time getting prettier and prettier to look at. Madden is a beautiful game graphically(just as Front Office manager was Ly) but under the hood, it's horsebleep. In last years Madden it was actually possible to cross the LOS and throw a pass without getting a penalty(among other things), that's some basic stuff right there, it looked good though

[Beach23BoyP]

I'm not for graphics. I've always kept the sound and the ball animation turned off. I prefer OOTP to be kept mostly as a "text simulation".

However, I played Football Manager for a number of years and I never thought I would like 3D in it -- but the screenshots of 2010 look excellent.

[Charlie Hough]

I'm willing to bet that, if OOTP Developments offered up an unpaid internship to a university graphic designer and programmer, they could get more graphics into the game without spending a dime. So I'm not quite buying the idea that they can't possibly do this on a shoestring budget.

A lot of students in graphic design and programming would jump at the chance to earn a credit on a fully professional game. It would be a huge resume builder.

[Malleus Dei]

I know a lot of those kind of people through my daughter the graphics designer. None of them could do it. Barring the sudden appearance of an unheralded genius intern, this task would require at least one real professional.